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


 Chapter 1: I never got one!!

    Chapter 1: Chapter 1: I never got one!!


    "Ugh, why him?"


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


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


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


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


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


    I sighed and felt terrible for the kid.


    "Even Dylan was barely okay in the last season."


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


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


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


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


    *Ring Ring*


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    *Truck Horn blaring. *


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


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


    "Do I have a choice?" I asked.


    "None." The officer replied sternly.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    ...


    Omniscient POV.


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


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


    "Do what?" The officer asked innocently.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    ...


    Edward POV.


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


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


    An old man yelled at me from his car.


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


    "What the fuck!" I cursed out loud.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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

 Chapter 2: Me.

    Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Me.?


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


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


    "Huh."


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


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


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


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


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


    Cutscene �C Claire and Luke.


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


    "Sweet!" Luke replied, visibly excited.


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


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


    "Who is he anyway?" Claire asked.


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


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


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


    Edward POV.


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


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


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


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


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


    The memories confused me for a while.


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


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


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


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


    ''Childhood trauma, huh.''


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


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


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


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


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


    [Phil Commentary.]


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


    [Commentary ends]


    Edward POV.


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


    ''Honestly. Newgate was too lax in his safety.''


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    I muttered as I stood in front of a mirror.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    The date was April 2009, according to the calendar. Summer break would come in late June, so I have to suffer going to a school filled with pre-pubescent hormones- I mean teenagers now.


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


    "This sucks."


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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

 Chapter 3: Clean up.

    Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Clean up.


    Edward POV.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    -Dunphy''s house.-


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    ...


    Edward POV


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    "Nothing. Is the grocery store far away?"


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


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


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


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


    Phil continued, "Comes great electricity bill."


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    "You live in this dump? It suits you." Alex said sarcastically. She didn''t come out of the car even when Luke and Phil were helping me bring the groceries inside. I leaned next to her door, and she rolled down her windows slightly to talk... or mock.


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


    "Why would I ever come to your house?" Alex mocked.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    I turned to Alex before I walked to my house.


    "By the way, Alex."


    "What?"


    "You''re even cuter now."


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    ...


    3rd party POV.


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


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


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


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


    -Dunphy''s house. Kitchen -


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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

 Chapter 4: Karmic Gacha.

    Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Karmic Gacha.


    (A/N : 3 More Chapter today!)


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


    Edward POV


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


    "Am I dreaming?"


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


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


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


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


    [ Dear Mr. Edward Newgate.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    {Edward Newgate}


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


    1 Gacha Roll: 6 karma points.


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


    1 Special Category Roll: 666 Karma points.


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


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


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


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


    [Special Ability. Mei Hatsume. Machinery.]


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    ...


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    "It''s fine."


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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

 Chapter 5: Haven’t I always been unlucky?

    Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Haven��t I always been unlucky?


    -In the kitchen-


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


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


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


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


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


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


    (A/N: Recipe from Harley Quinn Sandwich)


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    ''Guess I have to change again.''


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    Further away from where Edward and Ted were walking.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    Suddenly, a voice sounded from behind Mitchell.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    [Insert 2009 greatest music here.]


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


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


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


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


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


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


    Suddenly, my instinct was telling me to open up the lawnmower.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    "Claire?" I blurted out unconsciously.


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


    "Why are you here?" I asked.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    [Claire''s commentary.]


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


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


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


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


    Luke and Phil Commentary.


    Luke: Mom really wants Edward to eat her cooking.


    Phil: I know, right? (laugh)

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

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


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


    Claire denied the gratitude, but Phil accepted it gladly and whispered something I couldn''t hear to Claire.


    [Flashback]


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


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


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


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


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


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


    "I can''t. Tuesday, I play soccer. Why don''t my dad and I come next Friday?" Luke said and turned to look at his dad.


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


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


    [Flashback ends.]


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


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


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


    As the light turned green, I continued cycling again.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    *RING*


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    ...


    ''Come on. Think. THINK.''


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    ...


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


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


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


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


    "No. All me."


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


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


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


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


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


    "(whistles) Nice ride."


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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

 Chapter 7: Shopping.

    Chapter 7: Chapter 7: Shopping.


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


    -Dunphy''s House-


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


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


    From afar, Luke made some smooching sounds.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    "Phil, where are you?"


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


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


    "Yeah. So, where are you? I''d been waiting for you to come back for a while now." Claire said, still holding the laundry basket in one hand.


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


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


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


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


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


    ...


    -Shopping mall-


    Edward POV.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    I replied casually. "You."


    Cam was a bit stunned while Pepper chuckled at him.


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


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


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


    Cam giggled, and I chuckled a bit.


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


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


    "So Edward-"


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


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


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


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


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


    Before Claire could nag, she heard a voice coming from the cafe? nearby.


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


    "Mitch and Cam are here?" Phil asked.


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


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


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


    (Lucas Graham. 7 years.)


    ??????????


    Sitting on the Piano, Edward started to sing.


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


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


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


    Pepper: SHHHH!


    "Just listen." Pepper scolded.


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


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


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


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


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


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


    ??"Once, I was 20 years old, my story got told. Before the morning sun, when life was lonely. Once, I was 20 years old. "??


    ??"I only see my goals. I don''t believe in failure. ''Cause I know the smallest voices, they can make it major. I got my boys with me, at least those in favor. And if we don''t meet before I leave, I hope I''ll see you later.??


    ??"Once, I was 20 years old, my story got told. I was writing about everything I saw before me. Once, I was 20 years old."??


    "He''s 14, right?" Pepper asked in a whisper. "Yes," Cameron replied, his expression both in disbelief and excitement as if he found the new Justin in this era. Mitchell leaned forward as he immersed himself in the song.


    Ed: ??"Soon, we''ll be 30 years old, and our songs have been sold. We''ve traveled around the world, and we''re still roaming. Soon, we''ll be 30 years old."


    "I''m still learning about life. My woman brought children for me. So I can sing them all my songs and tell them stories."??


    Phil suddenly realized it. "It''s...his dream." Claire turned to Phil and then looked back at Edward, opening her ears to understand the lyric better.


    Cameron couldn''t help but comment, "His beat becomes slower at age 30, signaling that his life is slowed down from his 20s. It''s brilliant."


    Ed:?? Most of my boys are with me. Some are still out seeking glory. And some I had to leave behind, my brother. I''m still sorry.


    Soon, I''ll be 60 years old. My daddy got 61. Remember life, and then your life becomes a better one.??


    Pepper said, "So. He only has one more year to live. Like his dad." He couldn''t help but take out his handkerchief to wipe his tears.


    Ed:?? I made the man so happy when I wrote a letter once. I hope my children come and visit once or twice a month.??


    Phil looked at Luke, tears in his eyes. He thought about his dad in Florida. Although he just called his dad this morning, he''s really missing him now.


    Ed: ??Soon, I''ll be 60 years old. Will I think the world is cold? Or will I have a lot of children who can warm me? Soon, I''ll be 60 years old.??


    Most of the audience thought in their mind. ''What will the future hold for them?''


    Ed:?? Soon, I''ll be 60 years old. Will I think the world is cold? Or will I have a lot of children who can hold me? Soon, I''ll be 60 years old!??


    [Piano]


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


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


    {song ends.}??????


    Edward POV.


    I finally reached the end of the song. However, the cafe? was in total silence afterward. I turned to the crowd with beats of sweat on my forehead. I had sung the song with all my efforts like the previous kid would''ve wanted.


    "So...How is it?" I used the microphone to ask while wiping off my sweats.


    The crowd was eerily silent after my question. Suddenly, they cheered and applauded!


    From afar, Phil shouted, "Way to go, EDWARD!"


    Cameron ran to the stage and hugged the artist. "Oh my gosh. That''s such a beautiful song."


    "Yeah, Yeah, Keep it in your pants. I still have another song to perform." I said dismissively.


    "Oh, right!" Cam said in realization and released me immediately. I stood up from the piano seat and took a guitar this time.


    "The previous song is called 7 years."


    The crowd applauded again after hearing the name of the song. They couldn''t wait to listen to another, as I promised them two pieces today.


    I didn''t realize it, but the crowd inside the cafe? had doubled. Some of the customers were standing to hear me singing. Even a certain doe-eyed teenage girl hitched a ride with her mom to the mall.

 Chapter 8: When is the Pilot coming?

    Chapter 8: Chapter 8: When is the Pilot coming?


    Pepper Saltman, "The song is captivating, novel, and on the brink of genius."


    "Just say genius. He is a genius." Mitchell corrected. He changed his impression of Edward and didn''t hold a grudge anymore for belittling his fashion sense now. The moniker before Edward started to sing.


    "The nuance, the way he lost himself in the music, the passion...the kid is a born singer," Cam added.


    "I told you before, I will play two songs today," I said as I looked at the crowd. "The next Song was written by me when I felt down and lost someone important. I hope you''ll like it." I said.


    I saw Phil, Claire, and Luke sitting in a booth near the entrance �C far away from Mitchell and Cam''s position. I waved at Phil, and he, in turn, excitedly waved back with Luke. As Mitch and Cam''s table was nearby, I whispered to them.


    "Mitch. Your sister and brother-in-law are here."


    "Really?" Mitchell turned and saw the Dunphys sitting nearby. Cam waved his hand at the Dunphys excitedly at them and mouthed he would be there later.


    "Oh... This is awesome." Phil muttered as he stopped waving his hands.


    A server comes to the table to take their order. Even the waiter had stopped what he was doing before when the Song was playing. Luckily for him, his bosses were inside the VIP booth, drying their tears with a handkerchief.


    "Wait, We''re not staying.." Claire tried to get up, but Phil took the menu and said, "Bring me coffee, black and iced chocolate for Luke... and Claire, you want some tea?"


    "Phil!" Claire said in disbelief. "Alex is alone!" She whispered angrily.


    "Don''t worry. Alex is going to be fine." Phil said.


    "What else is she going to do besides reading books? Throw a dork party?" Luke added and laughed together with Phil. "Dork party, that''s hilarious," Phil muttered.


    Claire hesitated in her awkward position of standing up and sitting down before she decided to sit.


    "One more Song. That''s it." Claire said. Besides, even she was curious about the Song.


    "The kitchen is backed up, so it may take a while for your order to come out. Is that okay?" The waiter asked.


    "Yeah, Sounds fine," Phil replied and returned the menu to the waiter. Claire looked astonished and wasn''t sure how to react seeing Phil''s action.


    "He''s starting," Luke said.


    [Song: Amnesia by 5 seconds of summer.]


    ????????????


    Edward:?? I drove by all the places we used to hang out, getting wasted. I thought about our last kiss, how it felt, the way you tasted. And even though your friends tell me you''re doin'' fine. Are you somewhere feeling lonely, even though he''s right beside you???


    Claire commented, "That''s it. We will need to have a talk with him later." Phil looked helplessly at Edward, who''d dug his hole even deeper.


    Edward:?? When he says those words that hurt you, do you read the ones I wrote you?Sometimes I start to wonder, was it just a lie? If what we had was real, how could you be fine? ''Cause I''m not fine at all!!??


    "Who is he singing this for? I couldn''t help but think there''s something more to the lyrics." Pepper commented.


    "I don''t know. But you can feel the pain coming out from his voice." Cameron snobbishly said. Mitchell rolled his eyes and then couldn''t wonder what had happened to Edward.


    Ed: ?? I remember the day you told me you were leavin''


    I remember the makeup running down your face


    And the dreams you left behind, you didn''t need them


    Like every single wish we ever made. ??


    Claire widened her eyes and slapped Phil''s shoulder repeatedly, "Phil. It''s about his mother!"


    ??I wish that I could wake up with amnesia...


    And forget about the stupid little things...


    Like the way it felt to fall asleep next to you...


    And the memories I never can escape...


    ''Cause I''m not fine at all...??


    "OH MY GOD, HE''S REACHING OUT AGAIN!" Phil said and almost stormed to the stage to give Edward a hug. Claire barely managed to hold Phil back by pulling his clothes, causing him to be choked by them.


    The Song continued amidst the myriad of reactions from the people there. Even Haley standing near the club entrance, couldn''t help but feel sorry for Edward. ''He''s still...a jerk, right?'' Haley thought.


    Ed: ??If today I woke up with you right beside me


    Like all of this was just some twisted dream


    I''d hold you closer than I ever did before


    And you''d never slip away


    And you''d never hear me say ??


    Haley placed her hand above her chest and her eyes shook as she heard Edward''s change in tone. She became lost in the music, and didn''t even hear what her friend beside her was saying.


    No matter how hard her friends try, they couldn''t snap her away from her mesmerised state. She didn''t hear any other sound other than Ed''s playing, and she''d hoped the moment would never ends.


    ??I remember the day you told me you were leavin''


    I remember the make-up running down your face


    And the dreams you left behind, you didn''t need them


    Like every single wish we ever made


    I wish that I could wake up with amnesia


    And forget about the stupid little things


    Like the way it felt to fall asleep next to you


    And the memories I never can escape??


    "Yes. She decided she was a lesbian after 12 years of marriage. Run away from the family with her lover. Cut off all contact with my dad and me. Filed for divorce and disappeared forever."


    The gays rolled their eyes and mouthed the word ''lesbians'' without any sounds.


    I am still casual, but the gay group there didn''t expect a simple teenage fight to bring out a more depressing topic. Honestly, they would find out soon from Claire and Phil, so I would rather they know it from me.


    "So I cursed at her. I told her, If you don''t want to listen, then why the audition? She said then they already had a bass player. Her boyfriend auditioned the day before and asked me to get lost."


    "I knew right then that I never had a chance, to begin with, so I flipped out," I concluded the story. "Haley wasn''t the one I was mad at, but I may have cursed at her as she was there. I''m sorry, Haley," I said sincerely.


    "Haley, Ed is saying he''s sorry-" Phil tried to interject after Haley didn''t respond to the apology.


    "He called me ''10 bucks an hour girl'' you can get down the street!" Haley exploded at her father. Cam and Pepper giggled, and they got hit in the back by Mitch. Then, Mitch covered his mouth with his hand and laughed a bit too.


    "To be fair, I was calling your friend that. You''re just collateral damage." I explained.


    Inwardly, I thought, ''Basically, I flipped out like Jake Peralta, calling everyone''s mothers.''


    [C/A Jake Peralta? Nice.]


    -Flashback Cutscene-


    "And your MOTHER!" Ed cursed at Dylan. "And your mother!" He cursed at Haley. "And your mother''s little dog!"


    Brain interjected, "You''re done!"


    "No. I''m not done! You can''t handle THE ME!"


    -Cutscene ends-


    "That didn''t make it okay!" Haley shouted and ran away outside the cafe. Claire called her out and quickly pulled Luke with her to chase Haley.


    "Phil. Settle this. I will bring Haley home. I will have a talk with her in the car." Claire said. "I want my iced chocolate-" Luke tried to object, but Claire had already pulled him away.


    "Okay," Phil replied. "Edward, you already know what you did was wrong, so I wouldn''t make you feel bad anymore."


    "... that''s it?" I asked in confusion. Pepper was called by Steven and Stephan to the VIP booth, so he got up and walked there.


    "Yeah... you even apologised. Now, it''s up to Haley whether or not she''ll take your apology." Phil explained with a smile. "So I need you to work a bit hard on that when you come to our house for dinner tomorrow."


    "I''m coming to dinner tomorrow?" I said flabbergasted.


    "Yeah. We need to settle this soon. I''d like to invite you today, but you already have plans with your dad, so..." Phil said.


    "Settle what? I don''t need to beg for her forgiveness, Phil. No offence, but I don''t feel like getting closer to her." I said calmly. Phil smiled as he''d expected this and replied, "Well...consider it a payment for getting you to the grocery store. How about that?"


    "Hmm... Okay, fine." I said in defeat.


    [Phil''s commentary.]


    "When Edward comes by tomorrow, I will show him some of the songs I''ve been writing in my spare time...." He laughed excitedly before he realised he was missing something.


    "Oh yes. And fix the kids'' relationship. Edward is a good boy. I''m sure he''ll be a good friend ...for Haley."


    [Commentary ends.]


    "Phil, we''re going to take him back, so you don''t have to worry," Cameron said. Phil nodded and said, "Okay. I will go back now and try to calm Haley down."


    He ran after his family, pinning me to the corner and forcing me to accept the invitation to dinner at his house. I shook my head as I thought, ''I''d avoided the awkward situation. Why the hell did it come back?''


    "We must go now if we want to stop by Longinus boutique," Pepper said abruptly as he came back and stood behind Cam and Mitch.


    "Whydo we need to go there again?" Mitchell asked in confusion.


    "To pick up the fabrics Edward wants. Also, Steven and Stephan decided to pay you for your performance and for bringing the customers in. They also asked if you could play this Thursday night again, but I declined as the time slot is near midnight, and you need to go to school." Pepper said and handed me an envelope.


    I didn''t open it on the spot and placed it in the back of my pocket. "Congratulations, Edward. Not many songwriters could say that their Song had made money, but you can." Cam congratulated me sincerely.


    "Why fabrics?" Mitchell asked again.


    "If you weren''t late, you would know." I teased.


    [Cam and Mitch Commentary.]


    "Urghh! That boy is making me so angry!" Mitchell said in frustration. Cam laughed at him and said, "He sure can hold a grudge. That''s why I never went back on my promise to meet up with someone."


    "Sure. Let''s go with Never." Mitchell rolled his eyes and mouthed, ''Try couldn''t.''


    "You know. Edward reminded me so much of when I was young. I am...also as musically inclined as he is." Cam said smugly. Mitchell rolled his eyes again.


    "Music is more fun when you play it with someone else. Some friends kicked me out of the band because I was different. Some even straight away tell me that I can''t play with them because I''m a homosexual, and they don''t want to hear HELL music coming from me."


    "That didn''t go in the direction I expected," Mitchell commented.


    "But Edward isn''t gay? He is a good dresser, but I don''t think we can judge him on that. Boys nowadays aren''t as bothered with traditional masculinity as in the olden days. He may just be a really good dresser."


    "I''m not saying he is. Even I am only 60% sure that he''s gay. When we''re walking around earlier...."


    -Flashback.-


    A group of models in bikinis was walking by inside the mall and inside the group''s eyesight.


    "Ohh la la. I wonder if they will get cold inside the mall with such clothing." Pepper said sarcastically. "Seeing things poking out from their bikinis, I think they had been cold for a long time." Cam added.


    Cam and Pepper chuckled and turned to look at Edward, but they were taken aback by what they saw. Edward was staring at a cute boy heading in the opposite direction of the models instead of the group of models with skimpy clothings.


    [Cam and Mitch''s commentary continues.]


    "Right? Maybe he''s not all the way there, but he has some of the characteristics." Cam said.


    [Edward commentary]


    "Wait...I got one of these too? So cool...So anyway, I think I saw Shawn Mendes at the mall today. He has a funny-looking bowl cut that made me stare at him the whole time. It was freaking funny."

 Chapter 9: Nuh-Uh.

    Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Nuh-Uh.?


    (A/N: I''m not sure if the Chapter is edited as I can''t reach my editor lol. One more Chapter tonight, so gimme powerstones and recommend the story to a friend!)


    A silver Mercedes convertible cruising down the road with 3 people inside it. Pepper as the driver, Cam who sat next to the driver, and Edward who sat alone at the backseat. Mitchell was following Pepper''s car from behind in his Prius.


    He needed to follow because the fabrics and outfits that Pepper bought for the kid was too much to be delivered in a single car. Pepper was too touched by the performance and he splurged on me even though I''d denied it repeatedly.


    "Send me the notes and the lyrics. I will handle the copyright for you." Pepper offered casually.


    "Peps. Seriously. This is too much. I couldn''t let you do that." I widened my eyes, leaned forward to the driver''s seat, and denied his good will again.


    Cameron added, "Ed. You need to let him do that. Many people have videoed your song at the cafe before. If it falls into some washed up artist with bad intentions, they will steal your song. That''s how good it is. So let Pepper do it. The sooner the better."


    The reason Cameron didn''t ride with Mitchell was just for this.


    Pepper said while looking at the back mirror, "Don''t worry kid. I won''t charge you a thing. Just consider it my investments. Once you''ve risen higher than Britney, you can show that low-class skank what class really is."


    I nodded unconsciously. Then, I got curious. "What''s your problem with her anyway?"


    "I did a party for her once. That booze-drenched dared to look down on me..."


    While Pepper was storytelling, Mitchell in the other car was on a call with Haley.


    "Uncle Mitchell, why did he have to come to MY house!" Haley yelled from the other line.


    "Your dad is the one who invited him." Mitchell clarified. "Besides, it''s only for one dinner. And Haley, he is a good boy. You need to treat him better. He reminds me of a young me and Uncle Cameron who..."


    Unbeknownst to me, a deep misunderstanding would occur when I go to Dunphy''s house tomorrow night.


    "Edward, do you have any other song''s you''re working on?" Cameron asked inquisitively.


    "I actually do. But it''s not yet complete." I replied.


    "Shame. If you did, I can send it to get your copyright together with the other songs." Pepper added.


    I thought for a while before I replied, "I can finish it tonight. Why don''t I give you my lyrics tomorrow after school?"


    "Sure. I will send my lawyers to go pick it up." Pepper said. His lawyers were from a top law firm in Los Angeles, thanks to his rich family background. The lawyer team had been idle for a while, but still costing him money, which is why Pepper wanted them to settle the copyright for Edward''s song.


    "I will repay your generosity Pepper." I said.


    "Don''t bother kids. I want to bask in the feeling of becoming a hero to the young generation. That''s enough repayment." Pepper said playfully while giggling with Cam.


    Cam suddenly brought up a sore topic. "Who will you go to the dinner with?"


    I frowned and replied curtly, "By myself I guess."


    Seeing Edward staring at the road with a dissatisfied look on his face as they drove him home, Pepper and Cam smiled mischievously.


    "Boy, you really hate getting forced to do things huh." Pepper teased.


    "You know what, it''s just one dinner. You and Haley need to mend the friendship between you two. It will be hard, but it is necessary." Cam added.


    "...Why? It''s not like I''m friend with her before, nor did I want to become friends with her afterwards." I replied.


    Cam opened his mouth a few times, but the words didn''t come out. Pepper nodded at the kid''s statement and said, "That is true. There is absolutely no gain for you to go there, right?"


    "...I feel like you''re building up to something, so I''m going to wait until you finish all of your sentences first."


    "Have you thought about how you''re going to go to the cafe on Thursday night? I''m busy, Mitchell and Cameron will be in Vietnam, and your dad is working till late on Thursday night. Sooo?" Pepper smiled and asked although he already knew the answer.


    After I checked the amount of money I received from today''s impromptu concert, I''d accepted the cafe owner''s invitation despite Pepper''s protest to play at the stage. I received 150 dollars for just two songs, and they promised me an one hour slot to play on the stage, and also 500 dollars as payment.


    ''I will use the money to buy a laptop. Only then would I rest easy.''


    As I was adamant about it, Pepper sighed and negotiated my time slot at 9 pm sharp. I also had to promise him to go back home directly after the concert and he even got the cafe owner involved in the deal so I couldn''t dawdle and stay till late at the cafe.


    ''I don''t think that Pepper would act this way. I guess his experience in being a dad before resurfaced today.''


    For those who had just known Pepper, it would be impossible for them to know that he has had a family before this. His son is now a Navy SEAL, and a bit estranged with his dad.


    Claire nodded in agreement, "That''s true."


    "Who is Kenneth?" Cam asked, demanding the full story. "Also, what happened to his mother? How could she abandon him like that?"


    While the ''ladies'' were gossipping, Phil was trying hard to convince Haley about the dinner with Edward tomorrow.


    "Just come down, say you''re sorry, and tell him you''ve forgiven him. I won''t force you to talk to him if you don''t want to. Which is a waste because he''s a really great guy, don''t you think?"


    Haley rolled her eyes as Phil kept talking. Even the phone couldn''t distract her from Phil''s consistent yammering.


    "FINE!" Haley said in defeat.


    "If you''re done, can you leave? Some of us want to study." Alex chimed in from her desk. She was studying before Phil walked in and had to stop as Phil''s rapid fire words distracted her.


    "Ahh..I''m going." Phil said and stood up from Haley''s bedside. "Alex, you''re going to like that guy. He''s also smart. Maybe you guys can be friends after this." Phil added.


    "Please. None of Haley''s friends will be a ''smart'' one." Alex said sarcastically.


    Haley opened her mouth to tell her about Edward, but then she smiled mischievously and decided to watch how the whole thing would play out.


    ''I wonder how she will feel when the boy who confessed to her comes to dinner tomorrow.'' Haley thought.


    ...


    Edward POV


    The day started as usual. I made some sandwiches for today''s lunch after breakfast. The lawyers came to the school and picked up the songs from me. After confirming with Pepper, I signed a few documents and allowed Pepper to handle the copyright for the music.


    This was, of course, after the lawyers received my father''s signature.


    As Cam expected, many videos about me singing had popped up on Youtube, and I basically became famous in school overnight. I am however, still a loner as I exude some aura that made other children feel uncomfortable with...I guess.


    Jason, the chubby potato kid was the only one who spoke to me, and shockingly, he knew how to play the drums. I invited him to my home for a jamming session after school. He will text me after he receives permission from his parents if he could come.


    Mrs. Henderson called me into her classroom before the day ended.


    "Mr. Newgate. You''re here." Mrs. Henderson said. She wore a yellow blouse and a black long skirt today, looking as pretty as ever.


    "Hello Mrs. Henderson. If you want my signature, I haven''t created one for my fans yet." I joked.


    ".... That''s nice. However, I call you here to talk about something else. Your dad called this morning to discuss the matter of you transferring to Wisconsin."


    "Ah, that. What about it?" I asked curiously.


    "So, you already know about it... There is, however, unfortunate news for you. Without passing all of your exams, you won''t be able to graduate middle school this year."


    "I see. But I can graduate if I pass all right?"


    Mrs. Henderson looked at me in contemplation.


    "Yes. Despite your previous performance, you can graduate if you receive at least a C on every subject other than history. For history, you need to get at least a B. I advised you to get a tutor to help you with it as soon as possible. I could help arrange one for you if you want. "


    I thought for a while, and decided to reject the offer. "It''s okay Mrs Henderson. I can get A''s in all subjects by myself."


    The teacher shook her head in pity. The door opened for the second time, and a glasses -wearing 7th grader walked in.


    "Alex. You''re here." Mrs Henderson greeted her with a smile, unlike the way she greeted me - cold and emotionless.


    "Hi Alex." I waved my hand at her. She scoffed and placed a thick stack of paper neatly on Mrs. Henderson''s table.


    "I''m sorry Alex, the extra-credit for tutoring had to be rearranged." Mrs. Henderson said.


    "Hmm?" Alex turned to me and then the teacher. She breathes in relief inwardly, as she didn''t think that Mrs. Henderson would pair her with me.


    "Ohh." I exclaimed in understanding. However, I didn''t regret my decision.


    "Okay then, see you tonight Alex." I said before I walked out of the classroom.


    "Tonight?" Both teacher and student there tilted their heads in confusion after hearing my words. I smirked as I walked away. After a jamming session and outfit creation, finally it''s time for dinner.

 Chapter 10: Dinner. (Part 1)

    Chapter 10: Chapter 10: Dinner. (Part 1)


    (A/N: I finished my book debut. 10 Chapter in 3 days haha. Next Chapter will be on Monday, and I will try to post at least 5 Chapter per week from now own. If you love the story, add it to your collection. See ya)


    "Hello. Is anyone home?" I shouted as I knocked on the door of Dunphy''s house. Adorning a black t-shirt and black cotton pants, I completed my assembly with converse shoes and a grey-textured sweater.


    I heard some clattering from the inside, and took a step backward from the door as the sound grew nearer.


    Phil in a simple, green and purple collared shirt opened the door and said, "Edward. You''re early!"


    "Hmm? You said to come by at 5?" I tilted my head in confusion. I arrived directly on time, neither late nor early.


    "Why do you do that Phil? Dinner is at 7.30." Claire approached Phil from behind and asked in frustration. Her hair was tied up, and she wore a green dress with white pants.


    "Well...I thought we could have some fun first before dinner." Phil answered guiltily. Claire stared at him with scary eyes and her arms crossed, causing him to avoid his wife''s gaze.


    "Welcome Edward." Claire said after pushing Phil out of the way.


    "What''s that?" Claire asked when she saw the box in my hand. "Well, as I''m still underage, I couldn''t buy wine..."


    "That''s true. And...Don''t." Claire interjected. I nodded slightly and continued, "So I made dessert. But it needs to be placed in the chiller for another hour."


    "Okay. Come on in Edward. Phil, show him the fridge." Claire smiled and ordered. Phil stopped avoiding the gaze as he watched his wife walk upstairs and smiled at me.


    "So, what did you make, Eddy?" Phil said as he tried to take the box from me. However, the content inside was delicate so I smoothly avoided his hand.


    "I would like to put this in the freezer first...if I can..."


    A little stunned, Phil replied, "Okay. It''s in the back." He didn''t mind my behaviour, and just thought I was embarrassed by the gift.


    "It''s an Oreo cheesecake." I replied to Phil, albeit a little late.


    "Oreo?" Phil asked in confusion. Luke downstairs as he heard the commotion at the door. "Hey Edward!" Luke greeted cheerfully.


    "Hey Luke."


    It was my first time walking inside the Dunphy''s house, but the place was familiar.


    The white coloured stair with black coloured steps, the beige sofa with 2 multicoloured cushions where they usually conducted their interviews, the pictures on the stairs, the fireplace, and then the kitchen. Nothing had changed from the house that I knew off.


    I set the cake inside the chiller and finally breathed in relief.


    "Can I see it?" Luke asked.


    "Buddy, it isn''t ready yet." Phil said.


    "You can see it. But promise me not to disturb it. It isn''t ready yet." I said calmly, but warned them at the same time.


    "I promise." Luke replied. I then turned to the smiling Phil. He was confused, but then he realised it. "I promise too."


    "Okay." I opened the box to let them see the cake. It''s a circular shaped cake that looks like a giant oreo. The bottom layer was a crushed oreos biscuit added with melted butter. The middle part was a combination of cream cheese, the oreo fillings and other stuff. The top part sieved blended oreo cookies, just to make it look good.


    I decorated the top part with whipped cream and placed 9 whole oreo cookies in a circular pattern, alternating between the whipped cream.


    Phil asked excitedly, "Did you take off the oreo''s fillings and make a giant oreo for dessert!"


    "What? No-"


    "MOM! ED MADE A GIANT OREO!" Luke called his mom in excitement hurriedly. Alex heard the shout from her bedroom, and was curious about the situation. She put her pen down and closed her books.


    "Luke! No!" I panicked and my voice turned into a weird high pitch voice.


    "What was that?" Phil asked while laughing.


    "Puberty I think." I replied, checking my voice a few times to make sure it had gone back to normal.


    "Oh." Phil was stunned and stopped laughing abruptly. He changed the topic quickly and asked, "How many packs do you use to create this?"


    "Not many. Just 2 packs. Also, it''s a cake, not a giant cookie."


    As I closed the refrigerator door, I walked to the and crashed with Alex who had just come downstairs. She widened her eyes as she didn''t expect the boy who''d been bothering her for a few days was inside her house. Phil tried to grab me, but it was too late.


    "Oh Hell." I cursed as I was falling down with the girl. I grabbed the back of her head and hugged her tightly as I changed our position so that I would take the fall instead of her. I closed my eyes as I prepared myself!


    BAM


    "Ouch." My back slammed onto the floor, but I''d saved my head in the fall. I felt something soft brushing my lips while I''m falling, but as I closed my eyes, I didn''t know what had happened.


    "Are you okay?" I asked Alex who''s frozen still while on top of me. "You-you!" Alex became flustered as she heard the question.


    "Can you get off? I don''t mind you staying on top of me, but we should wait until the third date-"


    "ALEX!" Claire ran toward the scene of the accident and removed Alex from being on top of the boy.


    "Mom! Why is he here?" Alex asked, her voice filled with a mixture of anger and embarrassment.


    "Your dad invited him to dinner. What happened? Why are you both on the ground?" Claire asked anxiously. "Did you throw him?" She asked accusingly.


    "Claire. Alex didn''t use judo throws on him. They crashed with one another as they didn''t look where they were going." Phil clarified as he helped me get up from the floor. "Are you okay Eddy?"


    "Yeah. I''m fine. This is nothing." I replied to Phil and then turned to Alex. "Are you okay?" I asked in concern as she had been quiet, which quite wasn''t in line with her personality. I expected to be cursed at, but nothing happened.


    Alex covered her mouth with both her hands and ran off to her bedroom hurriedly. "She''s okay." Claire replied.


    "Mom! You need to see this. Ed made a giant Oreo." Luke said, already had opened the fridge door I''d closed before.


    "Hmm?" Claire exclaimed and took a look at the giant cookie. She covered her mouth, and turned her scary gaze at the creator.


    "Edward, this is very unhealthy." Claire said with a pitiful voice.


    "Pesta?ea dos veces si esta?s siendo retenida en contra de tu voluntad. (Blink twice if you''re held against your will.)" I said with a calm smile as I looked at Gloria.


    "Que?" Gloria was a bit stunned, and then she laughed out loud. "No, este es mi esposo.(No, this is my husband)" She explained and hugged Jay''s hand to show that everything''s fine.


    " En serio, ?puedes elegir a cualquier chico del mundo y lo eliges a e?l?(Seriously, you can pick any guy in the world and you choose him?)" I asked jokingly.


    "No lo parece, pero e?l tiene mucho dinero.( He didn''t seem much, but he has a lot of money.)" Gloria gestured money with her finger stealthily.


    I chuckled while Gloria laughed again. We both know that we''re just joking. Manny chuckled too as he knew what Gloria and I talked about. From the kitchen, Claire muttered silently, "He''s fluent in Spanish too?"


    "What''s going on?" Jay asked in confusion. "I know what dinero means. That means money!" Jay demanded to know angrily.


    "Nothing. He just said I look very nice. The dress must cost a lot of money. That''s it." Gloria covered up quickly to Jay.


    "Your Spanish is very good." She complimented, skillfully changing the subject. "Even better than Manny''s."


    Manny looked at his mother in shock. As Jay was becoming frustrated, I knew the perfect thing to ask to calm him down.


    "I studied hard. Mr. Pritchet, any chance you''re related to Danger O''Shea? The legendary daredevil?"


    Jay broke into the heartiest smile and said, "No. But I know that guy. I collected a few of his memorabilia. I will show it to you...you know... if you want."


    "Of course. I am his fan." I said cheerfully.


    ''That was his persona before he fully committed to the closet business. I need to have a ''Speech increased by 100'' notification popping out now. I could feel my sweet talk level increasing.'' I thought secretly.


    After learning Gloria''s purpose to visit, Luke went to his room to grab the ball. He and Manny ran outside to the backyard to play while Jay watched. I decided to join in and saw two kids messing around with the ball, not practicing in the least. Manny brought his own ball, so they were playing with one ball each kid.


    "Do you guys even know how to kick a ball?" I asked.


    "I know. My dad taught me." Luke said. "Same here." Manny replied. Jay turned to look at me, but he still didn''t say anything.


    "Throw me the ball." I said to Luke. He then threw the ball with all of his might, not caring whether I could catch it or not.


    But for an ex-European who called the game as its true name, I had years of experience in ''soccer''. I trapped the ball with my chest, canceling its momentum. It fell on the ground, and I stopped it from rolling away by stepping lightly on it with my right foot.


    "Luke, the aim of the throw is to pass the ball to your team member, not to kill him." I joked. Jay snorted but he covered his mouth to not let the kids see him smile. He''s afraid it would hurt their self-confidence or something.


    "Let''s do a simple passing practice. You''ll run side by side, and you need to pass the ball to your team member as you run. Jay and Phil will show an example."


    "Wait, what?" Jay asked in confusion as his name suddenly called out.


    "Yeah. They need an example. I can''t do this by myself." I lied. It would be a good memory for Phil to play with Jay. I saw him peeking through the sliding door as he was captured by Claire to help him cook dinner tonight.


    Jay and Phil stood facing each other after Luke called Phil to help. Claire couldn''t handle Luke''s cuteness and released Phil from her grip.


    "Use the side of your leg to kick for a pass, not with the front." I said as I teached them a few tips and tricks to get started. They knew how to run and play with the ball, but they never received any proper lesson for it.


    "Lock your ankle for your kicking leg. The other leg should be pointed in the direction you want to pass the ball to. Okay... now pass."


    15 minutes later.


    "Can we stop doing this now?" Jay said, already sweaty from the exercise. I used Jay and Phil to help the kid follow the example they showed."


    "Okay, they got it now." I said as I pointed at the kids. They already showed massive improvement in their skills, and had been playing on their own for 5 minutes. I just let Phil and Jay continue playing on their own as Phil was loving it.


    3rd Party POV.


    In the kitchen.


    "Gloria, why don''t you and your family eat with us tonight?" Claire said awkwardly while putting the chicken into the microwave.


    "Really? Won''t that be an...in- ..inconvenience." Gloria said with broken English. She''d been growing up in Colombia, and English was her second language.


    She struggled to find the words sometimes, therefore she was feeling pretty great when she could talk to Edward in Spanish before.


    "No. Not at all. Also, what did Edward talk to you about before?" Claire asked, trying to get the details.


    "Nothing. We just talked about my dress." Gloria covered up for Edward again. "Huh." Claire exclaimed, her eyes filled with suspicion.


    Alex peeked at the kitchen from the stairs, and found out that Edward was outside the house. She traced her lips, thinking about the incident before. Edward closed his eyes, but Alex''s eyes were wide open. As they were falling, Alex''s almost lip accidentally pressed against Ed''s.


    "That was my first kiss. That bastard!" Alex growled angrily. She then shrugged and corrected herself, "Well not technically a kiss. But still."


    Haley walked into the house through the front door as she just got back from the mall.


    "What are you doing crouching there you weirdo?" Haley asked as she saw Alex.


    "Nothing. When is your friend going to get here? Did dad invite him along with Newgate? Or is he..."


    "He is not my friend. But yeah, it''s him." Haley said teasingly. Alex''s face turned horrified and she ran off to her room again. Haley laughed as she saw her sister''s misery.


    "Ooh. This is so fun." Haley exclaimed as she walked into the kitchen. After talking with her mom for a short period, she went upstairs to poke more fun at her sister.


    "Will he confess his love here too?" Haley teased.


    "Shut up. He didn''t confess to me. He only said I''m pretty!" Alex replied. Haley was stunned for a second as she didn''t think Edward would say something like that. Not when he was attracted by men instead of women.


    ''Maybe Alex''s masculinity attracted him? I''m so confused right now.'' Haley thought to herself.


    Authors Note:


    Join My Discord Channel for more updates and gacha recommendations. I will put the recs into a lottery wheel before I rolled the next gacha he will get and build the story based on the randomness of the gacha!


    https://discord.gg/CAmd34bj


    See you there!

 Chapter 11: Dinner (Part 2)

    Chapter 11: Chapter 11: Dinner (Part 2)


    (A/N: An additional Chapter since I reached 1K collections!! Next Chapter will be on Monday as I mentioned before, or if I reached 2k collection next lol)


    The California sky darkened as the sun was setting. The childrens who were playing outside of the Dunphy''s house entered their house, face full of elation and sweats. Not only the child, but the adults had the same expression on their face �C well one of them did.


    "Phil, why are you all sweaty- You know what, both you and Luke will go wash up. Dinner is almost ready."


    Claire was a bit surprised as she laid eyes on her husband and father. Jay had an angry scowl on his face, while Phil was full of smiles despite them being totally sweaty and exhausted.


    "Dad, you and Manny too." Claire commanded, not caring at all about her angry father.


    "?Ay Papito, did you have fun?" Gloria asked, dapping a handkerchief on Manny''s forehead to remove the sweats.


    "I did mom. Ed is really fun." Manny said with a bright smile on his face. "He''s a good teacher too." Manny added.


    Holding a ball in his hand, Luke said, "Yeah. I wish he was my coach. All my coach did was ask us to have fun."


    "And that isn''t good?" Claire said in a concerned tone while crossing her arms.


    "I want to have fun too. But I also want to defeat the other team." Luke replied. Claire nodded slightly and pushed Luke into the bathroom.


    "Ed..." Claire turned to the boy who''d just entered the house.


    "What? I''m sorry that Luke hit a vase, but I''d already fixed it." I replied as I watched the complicated expression on Claire''s face.


    "You''re fine." Claire said dismissively, making me a bit confused.


    "?Ayy, Why you don''t sweat like the others did?" Gloria asked in a teasing manner with one hand on her waist, another holding a cucumber.


    "Why would a coach ever sweat?" I replied with a sly smile on my face. A smile that made Jay who''d just returned from cleaning up increased in temper.


    "He only shouted the order, we did all the running." Jay complained plus whining as he used a clean cloth to wipe down his wet face. Gloria laughed at his misery while Claire chuckled at Jay as he started to rant.


    "I thought you like playing with Phil. I saw you break into a wide smile a few times. You even have that innocent child-like laughter with you." I poured some oil into the flames I was on. I also made sure Phil was within earshot as I said that.


    "Really Jay. I loved playing with you. We should do that-" Phil was touched and on the brink of tearing up. He tried to hug Jay with his sweaty body, but Jay turned to me and started to rant angrily.


    "Don''t speak nonsense. The only time I had a smile on my face, was when the practice was over!"


    Jay then stomped off to his car, to take a clean cloth he kept in his car trunk and to get away from the emotional Phil.


    "Wow. You''re brave aren''t you. Making fun of my dad like that. Usually boys will be scared and quake in their boots in front of him." Claire complimented while holding a glass of wine in her hand.


    "Jay? He''s a big teddy bear. He''s not scary at all." I said as I washed my hand and cleaned up a bit for dinner.


    " You''re in big trouble. I don''t think he will let this matter go so easily." Manny said as he got back from cleaning up.


    "That''s okay. It''s not like I will meet him again after this." I said while rubbing Manny''s head. "This feels nice." I muttered as I kept rubbing his head.


    "And expensive." Manny said and swatted my hand away. We laughed together and sat in front of the tv with Luke while the adults were preparing for dinner. I''d offered to help, but Claire and Gloria rejected my offer and asked me to rest.


    It was fun talking to the boys. We quickly became friends. I talked with Manny and Luke for a while, and finally, the dinner was ready.


    Sitting in front of me was Manny, and Luke sat on my right side. On my left was...Alex.


    "Hello again. Why is it so hard to meet you in your own home?" I asked the hair-band wearing girl teasingly.


    "Shut up. Don''t talk to me." Alex said while complaining inwardly because of the seating arrangement. Haley sat in front of Alex, smirking at her sister because of her misery.


    "Really? Even after we fell for each other before?" I asked in an innocent voice. Alex''s jaw dropped, while Claire who sat nearby froze while picking up a bowl of salad from the table.


    "We fall on the ground, not fall for each other!" Alex said begrudgingly.


    [Claire Commentary]


    "Oh my god, What have I done? Did I just really invite a hormonal teen into my house, and serve my kids toward him on a silver platter?" Claire said in a panicked voice.


    Beside her, Phil laughed at the statement. "Claire. They are just kids. Besides, Edward was only playing around. It''s normal for a boy his age to want to tease girls. I did that too before. "


    "You don''t know that PHIL!" Claire said anxiously.


    "Besides. Even if they dated, it wouldn''t be the most terrible thing in the world." Phil continued. However, Claire glared at him, prompting him to stop.


    "My little baby..." Claire said in a soft voice while reminiscing about Alex growing up.


    [Jay and Gloria Commentary]


    "He''s a wonderful boy. So mature, and so polite." Gloria complimented heavily while gesturing with her arms.


    "He''s a bit like Manny, and also Luke...He could also be said as the combination of those two." Jay said gruffly.


    "Stop pouting!" Gloria smacked Jay''s shoulder and said. "You can play with Phil again later."


    "I''m not pouting. The kid is telling lies. I am NOT looking forward to playing again with Phil. Not now. Not ever!"


    [Commentary ends]


    "The cake is good. Can you teach me the recipe?" Gloria asked.


    "Of course, I will." I replied.


    "Will you play a few songs for us?" Manny asked curiously. He''d been wondering about the song''s I played since dinner time.


    "I don''t have my instruments with me, but you can come see me in my show tomorrow night." I said.


    "Sure! Can we go mom?" Manny replied and turned to Gloria.


    "Of course papi." Gloria said. Jay sighed as he would be the one to drive into the cafe tomorrow.


    "We have a piano." Luke interjected, face full of cream from the cake. Claire ran toward him with a napkin and wiped his mouth ruthlessly.


    "Edward, it''s okay. You don''t have to play if you don''t want to." Claire said.


    "I don''t mind. But I can only do a few songs with the piano. Is that okay?" I asked.


    "It''s okay." Manny replied.


    We changed location to the living room near the fireplace. I played the song 7 Years with the piano, and turned to see their reaction.


    "AYY!! Wonderful!" Gloria applauded, her chest jiggled with every clap.


    "It''s really great." Manny complimented.


    Jay was silent as he was thrown into nostalgia after he heard the song. The song''s were like his conversation with his dad while he was growing up. He couldn''t help but feel a bit emotional after hearing the song.


    "Jay, are you okay?" I asked after seeing him being silent.


    "I am going to go home now." Jay said and walked right out the door. Gloria and Manny became flustered, and decided to follow Jay home after apologising to me and thanking me for the song and the cake.


    With her arms crossed, Claire asked, "Did you


    really do that?"


    "Do what exactly?" I asked.


    "Drinking burning liquor. Smoking... herbs...That''s slang for marijuana isn''t it?"


    "..." I was stunned by the sudden development. "Alex, what happens when you burn alcohol?" I turned to Alex to try and dig my way out of the predicament I''m in.


    "Only...water will be left?" She replied in confusion. I turned to Claire and said, "See? It''s just a play on words. "


    The mother breathed in relief. She then asked, "The herb?"


    "I don''t know what the adults smoke, so I thought it was some kind of herb." I lied obviously, but it seemed to trick Claire and Phil, and that was all I needed.


    "It was tobacco-" Phil tried to explain, but Claire shut his mouth with her palm.


    "See. I told you he is a good kid." Phil said in a whisper to Claire after getting her hand off.


    The dinner time was finally over, and I was going to go home, but instead, I got into another argument with Haley as I hung out with the siblings in the living room.


    "Now that you''re back to normal, there''s a party at Andrew Adlers this Saturday if you want to come." Haley said, pretending to not care about me coming or not.


    "Nah, I''m fine."


    "Why are you being so rude? Aren''t you getting back with your friends now that you''re back to normal?" Haley said in an offended tone.


    Edward was one of the popular kids in school before my mom and dad got divorced, so I understand her frustration. But I''m not getting back to that life.


    "The answer to that is simple. They weren''t my friends in the first place. Friends don''t abandon you at the first sight of trouble. You keep saying ''back to normal'', as if my struggle before doesn''t even matter. I am not getting back to the same shallow cliques that I used to be in before."


    "Are you calling me shallow!?" Haley yelled angrily as she became offended by the statement. "And here I thought I''m being kind enough to invite you!"


    "Yup. And also a bit vain." I replied.


    Alex''s eyes darted between the two people, not knowing what to do as the argument became heated.


    "Kids. What happened?" Phil heard the argument from the kitchen and rushed to the living room. He and Claire were in the kitchen talking before.


    "You know what dad? I will NEVER be friends with someone like him. In fact, I don''t even understand why you accepted the invitation to be in my house if you''re not wanting to become friends with popular people."


    "Like I said before, vain and shallow. Wait, I think that''s the same thing? Anyway, I only came here for Mr. Dunphy and Luke as they had helped me before, not for you." I replied.


    "Ahh!" Haley let out an offended gasp, and stormed off to her room. "Get out of my house!" She yelled from the upper floor.


    "Gladly." I replied with a smile, causing her to fume in anger. "URGHH!" She groaned and slammed the door to her room.


    "So anyway, we will meet at 8.15 tomorrow?" I turned to the stunned Phil to ask for confirmation.


    "Yeah..." Phil replied unconsciously. He wanted to ask about what started the argument as the kids were getting along pretty well before, but he couldn''t as I changed the subject.


    "Great. See you later." I waved goodbye to the family and walked calmly to my house.

 Chapter 12: Create.

    Chapter 12: Chapter 12: Create.?


    (A/N: Just found out that I''m trending. You guys are the best! My editor asked me to capitalize this (He''s a capitalist) and ask for support for me to get to the top 3 spot on WN. So do your best guys, otherwise he won''t let me post more Chapters!!)


    "Why the hell am I fighting with her... again?" I muttered as I walked home. Not regretting my actions much, I hummed a song while walking.


    I arrived at my house after walking for 2 minutes. I took a shower before changing into my pajamas. Then, I started to plan the rest of my week. I sat on the bed and tracked my activities using my fingers.


    "A show tomorrow. I need to buy a laptop after that. Lily is coming home on Sunday. I don''t think I can enter the family gathering, but if I can, I want to see the episode played out by myself. It will also confirm my doubts whether the story will move the way the series does, or will my future knowledge be useless here."


    I sighed as I laid on the bed, my feet hanging by the edge and touching the floor.


    "I still need to study for the history test on Friday. Damn." I cursed out. It''s only 9 o''clock, so I rested for 10 minutes before starting a little side project.


    I didn''t have any assignments for tomorrow, so I could take it easy. I would, however, habitually read for at least an hour before I went to bed.


    "Let''s see here. Edna Mode On." I muttered as I took out multiple fabrics from the plastic covers. "Pepper and Cam are really generous."


    I ran my fingers through the soft fabrics and multiple outfits designs popped into my mind.


    There were multiple high quality fabrics that I could use to create more than 10 outfits for myself. Cam also bought the fabrics to bribe me into a non-disclosure agreement about the baby. He wanted to be there to see the family''s reaction, therefore I accepted his bribe.


    However, the materials weren''t suitable for my casual clothes. I could only make outfits for special events or business suits with this one.


    I had already dug out my mom''s rusty sewing machine from the garage and fixed it a bit so that it could run smoothly again.


    I started cutting the clothes using scissors and sewing them using the old sewing machine. I wanted to create an outfit for my show tomorrow night.


    My phone suddenly buzzed, distracting me from my focus after sewing for an hour.


    I picked the phone and found a text from Pepper. He told me that he had just sent Mitch and Cam to the airport, and was wondering if I have time for tomorrow. I texted him back, but he''s replying so slowly that I decided to just call him.


    "What''s going on?" I asked.


    "A few entertainment agencies are trying to contact you. They want to sign you up as one of their own. What are you going to do about it?" Pepper asked from the other line. The agencies were all intercepted by his lawyers before they could even contact the artist.


    "I don''t want to. At least not now. You can handle them for me right, Pepper?" I asked. The son of an oil magnate was silent for a while as he was thinking about it.


    "Oh well. I will handle your advertisement and albums then." Pepper said decisively.


    "What? I meant- Rejecting them for me...Hello? Hellooo?"


    The call was cut off after Pepper drove into a tunnel. "What the hell just happened?!"


    ...


    Pepper never called back and didn''t reply to my messages after that. He only texted one, saying he needed to prepare for my debut.


    "I guess I will be a singer then." I muttered flatly.


    "Whatever. It''s Newgate''s dream to become one. I could play along for a while, and retire before I got into college."


    Newgate was a music prodigy and wanted to become famous worldwide with his music. However, I know the trouble of getting famous at such an early age. Getting to Hollywood may seem nice on the surface, but it was filled with dirty dealings underneath.


    Without a proper backing, it would be easy for the upper officials in Hollywood to bury me �C both literally and figuratively. My dreams were different from Newgate. The Franzetti dream was to live life without ever having to bow my head at horrible people again.


    "I wanted to build something, but I don''t have any money. What a waste of good ability." I muttered. "Maybe going ''dumpster'' diving like Peter Parker did?"


    "Or should I buy some old car and restore it?" I muttered. "I could sell them for money afterward. But it''s not cost effective."


    "I guess. I will make some websites and games to sell."


    It''s only 2009, and the mobile games market was still small. I had learned how to create some small indie games through my studies in my previous life.


    "I think I could create games better than the ones in the market right now. But I''m going to the laptop first. The PC is better, but it will cost too much for me right now."


    Never once did I think of asking my dad for money to buy the laptop. Not because I was too stubborn and egoistical as I was as an adult before, but it just slipped my mind.


    "Let''s see how much money I have now."


    I picked up the piece of paper from my face and saw what was written on it.


    "Hmm? Chess tournament? First price�C 500 dollars. That''s nice. " I muttered flatly and decided to crumple the paper into a ball and threw it into a garbage bin nearby.


    "Aren''t you joining the tournament?" Jacob asked a stupid question.


    "Why would I?" I replied.


    "I don''t know. It seems like fate is calling you. After all, the paper didn''t stick to anyone else''s face but you." Jacob teased.


    "..."


    We went to the cafeteria to have lunch after English class. I saw Alex sitting alone in the cafeteria after I picked up a tray of food. The lunch in the school was disgusting, but I didn''t have anyone else to blame except myself for not making some sandwiches this morning.


    "Sup." I approached Alex''s table and sat in front of her casually. She widened her eyes as I came to sit with her. Jacob quickly turned his steps and retreated from the table as he saw I was sitting with a girl. He was a nice kid, but his social skills were below zero. He would freeze when he wanted to talk to girls in the school.


    "What are you doing here?" Alex asked. She usually used her lunch time to read instead of hanging out with other girls�C not that she didn''t want to talk and have fun, but she didn''t have any close friends.


    "I''m eating. What else? Are you sure you''re smart? Or you''re just another pretty face?" I said with an innocent look on my face.


    Alex was flustered and she quickly controlled her tone to become a bit haughty, "If you want to sit, then sit. I don''t care."


    "Which Tv show did you learn that dialogue from? That should be used when I asked if I could sit here, not after I''d already sat." I laughed at her pitiful attempt to show that she didn''t care about sitting with someone.


    "Don''t tease me. Why are you always teasing me?" Alex asked in frustration.


    "Why else? I think you''re pretty awesome, and I would like to become your friend." I replied honestly. She was stunned by the sudden confession and lowered her head.


    "Is that really it? Or are you doing so to make Haley mad again?" Alex asked in distrust. Having a popular older sister, it wasn''t the first time a boy wanted to use her to get close to her sister. In the end, she was just a tool for the boys to get to know Haley.


    She kept her guard up and waited for the answer with a heavy-beating heart.


    "Honestly, I don''t care about Haley. She''s pretty, but she''s not my type." I replied with a sly smirk.


    "If ranked, I like Luke and Phil, then Claire, then Manny and Gloria, then Jay, and lastly Haley."


    "Oh. I wasn''t ranked?" Alex asked.


    "You''re between Claire and Phil. It''s a bit high, but not the first one." I said. "By the way, the food today is disgusting." I said as I took a bit of the brown sludge on my food tray.


    Alex smiled and started to reply casually, "I think I saw the lunch lady drop her wig in there. She did pick it back up, but you may find a couple of-"


    "Okay. I''m done." I said and pushed the tray toward her. She closed her book and laughed after finally winning in the argument for once.


    A popular girl at school, Jenna Mckenzie walked to the cafeteria with her group of entourage. She then saw Edward sitting with Alex and laughing together from afar.


    "He''s the one from Youtube right?" Jenna asked. The blonde haired popular girl wore a mini-skirt and an almost see through blouse. Most of the boys in the school would drool when they saw her.


    "Yes. His songs now have passed 100,000 views. Many commented for him to audition in an entertainment agency or just debut already." An african-american follower of the popular girl briefed Jenna about the situation.


    In the teenagers'' lives, popularity was everything for them. Jenna had never been single since she was 9 years old, and had lost her virginity at 12. Now, she''s stalking for her new prey to become an accessory for her popular life in school.


    "I like him. He''s going to be mine." Jenna said as she pointed at Edward.


    ...


    -Omniscient POV-


    Mrs. Henderson was marking the assignments on her desk. A male teacher knocked on the door and said, "Henderson. It''s lunchtime. Take a break."


    "I''m okay." Mrs. Henderson replied, not looking up from her desk. The male teacher shrugged his shoulders and walked away�C disappointed that the beautiful teacher didn''t accept his invitation once more.


    Alone in the classroom, Mrs Henderson held Edward''s academic transcript in her hand. She then muttered, "He''s a tough one. Your son. I wonder if it''s really worth it to make a dreamless person into an Afterlife agent."


    Join My Discord channel to recommend the gacha!


    https://discord.gg/CAmd34bj

 Chapter 13: Bad luck day.

    Chapter 13: Chapter 13: Bad luck day.?


    (A/N: Remember this while reading �C I''m writing it as a tv show. I.e Euphoria, Sex-education, and all the teenage drama series. Enjoy the Chapter!)


    "So, are we friends now?" I asked.


    "We are." Alex replied, blushing a little. I took back my phone from her hand. She''d just finished entering her phone number inside.


    A few tables away, Jacob''s jaw just dropped after he saw his friend easily ask a girl for her phone number. With his mouth open, his sandwich fillings also fell from his mouth without him realising it.


    "But text me inappropriate things, I will block you." Alex warned.


    "You look cute when you try to seem menacing." I teased.


    I smiled at her, causing her to avoid my gaze, face full of disbelief.


    "What did I just say?" Alex tried to be menacing again. I laughed at her face, causing her to become sullen.


    As we were talking, I heard clicking sounds of high heels from behind coming toward me, but I ignored them. It''s not the first time someone tried to talk to me today, and I didn''t think it would be the last.


    Jenna was confused when I didn''t turn to face her even when she was standing behind me.


    ''He must not know I''m here.'' She thought. "Hey Edward~" She called flirtatiously. However, I didn''t turn to the source of the voice.


    "Hey Alex. You''re taking cello lessons right?" I asked.


    Alex''s eyes shook as she could see the popular girls'' cliques from her sitting position. Jenna tilted her head in confusion as I didn''t turn even when I was called.


    "Want me to teach you? I''m a pro at that." I offered.


    "Did you not hear me calling for you?" Jenna said, her voice carried a trace of anger even when she''s smiling.


    I finally responded. I glanced at the girl and asked in a cold tone, "What?"


    Jenna flinched, and her hand moved to cover her chest. It was the first time in her life that a boy showed such disinterest in her.


    ''Why is he suddenly so hot?'' Jenna thought, biting her lower lips. ''He was so-so before.''


    She finally allowed her eyes to study the boy''s face closely now. His chiselled jaw, his striking green eyes, and the most attractive one for her amongst all, his hair.


    "You!" Her entourage started to get mad for her. Jenna stopped them from moving forward with a halt of her palm. She smiled and sat extremely close to the boy, almost leaning at my body.


    "You don''t remember me? I sat near you in English." Jenna flirted while touching her hair�Cswirling the curly end of her hair with her fingers.


    "So?" I asked coldly. I had a hunch about why she wanted to talk to me, but honestly, I wasn''t interested �C especially a 14 years old girl.


    "Nothing. I just want to ask you something." Jenna quickly changed the subject. She didn''t know why, but right now, the boy was incredibly desirable. She couldn''t wait for the day he''ll submit to her charms. "I think you''re really cute. Will you go out with me?"


    "No." I replied curtly and proceeded to turn my face toward Alex again.


    I was confused when Alex had the same expression on her face as Jacob, and almost all the kids sitting nearby the table. Their mouths opened wide, and they were in disbelief at what just happened.


    Jenna''s face froze while she was still smiling. She couldn''t understand what just happened. "What?"


    "Ed- Newgate, Jenna is talking to you." Alex said hurriedly in a meek voice. As a member of the bottom in the hierarchy in the school, it was ingrained in the personality of a member of this level to always treat the popular girls word as a commandment.


    Jenna turned to Alex after hearing what she said. "Wait. You''re a girl? I thought you''re a boy." She glanced at Alex''s flat chest and then she let out a short laugh. Compared to her bodacious body, the girl in front of her didn''t seem much of a threat.


    She looked at Alex then at Edward. "She''s not your girlfriend is she?" Jenna asked while hinting at Alex to leave.


    "I''m- I''m not. Newgate. Don''t talk to me so casually. Bye!" Alex quickly grabbed her books and ran away to the next class. I tried to stop her, but Jenna hugged my arm and whispered into my ears. I could feel her body heat, and her braless chest clinging to my arm.


    "I don''t think you heard me correctly before. I''m asking you out." Jenna whispered seductively before she released my arm.


    ''I''ve hit you with my best shot. You''ve basically got to second base now. Say yes, and I''m yours.'' Jenna thought.


    "Okay then, since you''re asking for it. Lend me your ear." I showed an embarrassed smile and gestured for her to get near. Jenna squealed in happiness before she slowly moved her head closer to mine. I placed my mouth next to her ear, and saw that she was gripping the edge of her clothes tightly while biting her lower lips at the same time.


    "Fuck off, you worn out burlap sack. Stay the fuck away from me." I whispered in a sweet tone before I left the table. I wanted to call Jacob, but I found out that the guy had already retreated to safety a long time ago.


    ...


    3rd person POV.


    "Jenna, are you okay?" The pixie-cut, African-american girl, who wore a green tank top with a jacket and short pants, asked in concern after she saw Jenna still frozen in her seat�C even after Edward had left and the bell had rung.


    All the kids had already gone to the classroom, but the popular girl cliques were still at the cafeteria. All the other girls had gone to class, leaving only her and Jenna in the cafeteria.


    "Elsa, that really... happened right?" Jenna asked.


    "Don''t worry Jenna, Newgate is an overrated little bitch-"


    "HE''S SO... FUCKING HOT!!!!!" Jenna screamed in excitement.


    "What the fuck-" Elsa exclaimed in bewilderment as she thought her friend had gone crazy.


    "I need him. He''s mine. Let''s go." Jenna said, leading her cliques to the classroom. "Find out about the girl he''s with. Who''s she and what''s their relationship?" Jenna ordered.


    "Nah. Don''t. That girl is not to be messed with." Elsa said quickly. Jenna turned to her friend who''s been following her from behind. "Why?"


    "Are you crazy? That''s Haley''s sister. Don''t you remember the last girl that tried to mess with her sister?" Elsa said with fear in her tone.


    "Really? Haley huh." Jenna narrowed her eyes. She became frustrated and started to bite her nail.


    ''Ahh...the firefighters in this town have a reputation of being hot.'' The facts helped me to understand why the owners of the cafe were still happy even when their store was burned down.


    After talking with the owners for a while, I sighed and told Phil about the incident.


    "Oh. That''s too bad. We''re really looking forward to hearing you play again." Phil said as he put his hand on my shoulder to comfort me.


    "It''s okay. I''ll have another chance. By the way, can I ask you a question? Do you know a place where I can get a laptop for 400 bucks?" I said sadly. I remember the flyer that was stuck on my face in school today.


    The chess tournament was at 3 o''clock in the evening, and it took place at the school therefore I only needed to register with a teacher to enter. My opponents would only be middle-school students. With the knowledge from the gacha, there wouldn''t be any challenges for me to win.


    "I could''ve gotten the 500 dollars cash prize..." I muttered sadly.


    Phil drove me to a second-hand electronic store that was rated highly in this town. He also had some contacts in this particular area, therefore I managed to score a used, 2009 released HP laptop in my price range.


    "This''ll have to do." I said as I thanked the storekeeper after I made my purchase.


    "It''s great right? The laptop is practically new." Phil said guiltily. "Doesn''t matter if it''s new. It had spent almost 15 minutes on a naked astronaut''s private parts. I feel dirty just touching it."


    Phil was helpless in cheering me up.


    "Hmm... I think I will just have dinner and cheer myself up with some cakes. Thanks again Vitamin P for bringing me around."


    "Vitamin P?" Phil widened his eyes as he heard it.


    "Yeah. My nickname for you." I replied with a smile.


    [Phil''s commentary]


    "IT''S HAPPENING!!!!" Phil screamed while sitting on the sofa. From afar, Claire''s voice can be heard, "What happened?"


    Phil turned to Claire''s direction and yelled, "Nothing honey."


    The commentary restarted, this time, Phil spoke calmly.


    "It''s finally happening. Me and Edward are moving to the next level. It''s worth it with me keeping it real with him. (in a gangster accent) Ya know what I''m saying?"


    Phil paused for a while.


    "Now, if he marries one of my daughters, it will be perfect."


    [Luke''s commentary]


    "I ate a whole cake, just by myself."


    [Haley''s commentary]


    "I feel bad that his gig had been cancelled, but he deserved it. That''s what you get when you mess with Haley Dunphy." Haley said seriously.


    She then realised what she said and quickly explained, "I didn''t start the fire."


    [Alex''s commentary]


    "He kept texting me. Urghh! What should I do? How do I even respond to him? I''ve taken so long to text back, and now it will be weird if I text him!"


    [Manny and Gloria''s commentary]


    Manny said, " I was looking forward to watching him play again. His songs resonated with me."


    "Ay Papi don''t be sad." Gloria comforted her son.


    "I''m not sad, mom. I called Edward later that night, and I will be going to his house on Saturday. He had agreed to teach me more about soccer."


    "Ayyy my papi finally has a friend!" Gloria said while hugging her son.


    "When you said it like that, it seems like I had no other friends mom-"


    [Jay''s Commentary]


    " I''ll never admit it to Gloria, but I was looking forward to going to the cafe. I also think the fire is retribution for his lies. Hahaha. Ahh, the kid will be fine. "


    [Claire''s Commentary]


    " I think something is going on with the girls. I need to find out what. "


    Luke was walking behind Claire staggeringly as he''s experiencing the sugar crash after eating a whole cake by himself.


    " Hey mom. The room is spinning. " Luke called out from the stairs. Then, he fell down after taking two steps up the stairs.


    " Luke! " Claire turned to Luke and rushed toward him quickly.


    [Commentary ends]


    ...


    After I got my laptop, I started to study about my dad''s business model and his current advertising plans.


    "What do you mean you only advertise in the pier?" I asked in disbelief during breakfast with my dad the next morning.


    "Well, that''s where people go to sail right? Sometimes they call first. I put some banners at the pier to let people know." Ted replied calmly, not knowing why I was so surprised after hearing about his business.


    "No wonder your business is doomed." I blurted out. Ted froze and dropped the bacon from his fork as he was stunned by the sudden criticism.

 Chapter 14: Pilot begins.

    Chapter 14: Chapter 14: Pilot begins.?


    (A/N: Stone me!)


    -Edward POV-


    The problem with Ted''s business wasn''t his skill in seafaring or the condition of his ship. The problem was a lack of customers and an outdated business model.


    "I''m going to create a website for your business. I need you to get me your business details, registration, et cetera so that I can create a credit card payment system online."


    "Isn''t that dangerous? What if ''hackers'' break into the system? They can steal every credit card detail registered there." Ted expressed his concern.


    ''Please. My system will be even more secure than the bank''s system nowadays. I played around last night, and if I wanted to, I could shut down the department of traffic in the town and let the city fall under chaos.''


    But I didn''t do that as I wouldn''t want to get a record if, by any miraculous chance, someone knew I did it.


    "Not at all. Don''t worry about the website''s defense. Leave it all to me. But I''m going to need some money to get started." I said and asked for Ted''s credit card.


    He reluctantly gave me his credit card after I repeatedly emphasized to him the benefits of moving his company into the digital age before his competitors.


    "You''ll get more party-addicted young models in your ship from now on as they are the main target for online tickets. I see this as nothing but a win for you." I teased.


    "Not giving up on trying to make me hook up with the models I see." Ted played along.


    Ted listened to my ideas and explanations without interjecting much. I could see that the numbers, bombs, and theories were too much for him. Therefore I decided to guide him slowly.


    "How do you know about this stuff?" Ted expressed his shock. ''Who is this kid in front of me? When did Ed become so smart?'' Ted thought secretly as he looked at me with wary eyes.


    "Dad. It''s the 21st century. People can learn everything through the internet nowadays." I lied. I only used my knowledge from the companies I had worked with in my past life and implemented them into my dad''s business.


    Ted was a bonafide sailor. In his 20s, he traveled the world through the seas. His experience visiting exotics land was plenty, and he always had some stories to tell his customers buying tickets for his ship.


    He could still stay in business because most of his customers were recurring customers and loved getting aboard his ship. Most of his skills were on seafaring, with only a little bit on business matters.


    "There will be a hard few months in front of you because of the changes. But, it''ll be better than selling your ship. How about it, dad? Do you want to try it?" I asked.


    Ted walked closer and pulled me into his embrace suddenly. I was shocked by the sudden action, but I didn''t push him away when I heard his following words. "Thank you for thinking of me, Ed. I will try to build my business back up, so we don''t have to move."


    "I don''t care about that," I said casually, causing Ted to be confused. "Didn''t you learn all this stuff, so we don''t have to move to Wisconsin?" Ted asked.


    "Nuh-uh. I am doing this ''cause it''s pretty stupid for your business to be bankrupt just because you don''t know how to run it." I said sarcastically.


    Ted was stunned and wanted to defend himself, but he couldn''t find the words to do it. He sighed, smiled softly at his son, and said, "Sure. That''s the reason."


    I was weirded out by his sudden change, but I didn''t say anything as his change was helping me to help him.


    "I will also create a program to schedule your trips more efficiently. That way, you don''t have to stay in the Marina all day long while waiting for the customer to come." I said and showed him the UI design of the website that I sketched on a piece of paper.


    "Give me 3 days," I said confidently to my dad before getting to school. "Take a lot of pics of your trips, ship space, and facilities. I am going to need it."


    "Okay. I will rent a digital camera for it." Ted said. I stared at him with distrust in my eyes.


    "This is the number of community college teachers teaching photography as a subject. Call him, and ask for a list of students that took that course in the last few years. Let them take pictures of your ship and everything else I want. If they do their job well, you should hire them to be the official photographer for your party."


    Ted seemed anxious, so I added, "Just say it''s for an internship if you don''t want to pay them. You can even reach an agreement with their lecturer for that."


    "I-I see," Ted replied hesitatingly.


    "There''s nothing more intoxicating for the rich people who get on board your ship than taking pictures of their wealth and rubbing it into their friends'' faces. A photographer service will bring many rich people on board your ship." I said reassuringly.


    Before I left, I said in a solemn tone, "Dad. You really should find someone to run the business with you. You can''t do all of this alone."


    "I will try," Ted replied with a wry smile.


    Now that I have my laptop, I plan to create a few websites and games to sell, but first, I will help my dad stabilize his current situation.


    ...


    Although I was consistently bothered at school by the slutty stalker, I managed to end the day peacefully. Some of the boys in love with Jenna wanted to cause some trouble with me, but with Jacob standing at my side, no one dared to come forward. If only they knew that the potato kid was a coward who would run away at the first sight of trouble.


    I felt dejected as I didn''t meet with Alex today. It''s as if she was hiding from me. I was looking forward to being her friend, but she didn''t feel the same way.


    Before I went home, I saw Claire sitting in her minivan in front of the school. She had just picked up Luke and was waiting for Alex to exit the school. I walked by and greeted her and Luke.


    "Hello, Mrs. Dunphy."


    "Edward, Hi. Sorry to hear about the fire." Claire said, trying to empathize with my situation, but her expression seemed insincere even when she really was.


    "It''s okay. The owners have recommended me to a few live music cafes in the area, so I will have more opportunities in the future." I replied.


    "Good for you. Also, I''m really sorry that Luke stole your dessert." Claire said casually. I widened my eyes and turned to Luke, sitting in the back seat.


    "That was you!?" I was surprised by the sudden piece of information.


    "You...you don''t know?" Claire said, looking guiltily as she turned at Luke and then at me.


    "I thought my dad brought it to work. I billed him 50 bucks this morning because he didn''t tell me about it. He said he didn''t, and we had a big fight."


    "Oh, my god. I am so sorry!" Claire was highly flabbergasted when she heard it. Of course, I lied. I was just messing with her and Luke.


    "Edward. I''m sorry. I didn''t think it through! I will NEVER steal a cake from YOUR house again, despite how delicious...and creamy...and very delicious-"


    "Okay, stop." Claire scolded her son. "You need to make this right, Luke. I told you to apologize to him last night, but you didn''t. You won''t even get a piece of the desert for a month."


    Luke was shocked, but he didn''t object to the punishment. Claire turned to me and said, "I will pay you for the cake. I will also explain the matter to your father...."


    "That''s okay. My dad and I had already made up. We blamed it on the raccoons instead. Now I know who the raccoon was. I will make sure to put locks on the fridge when Luke comes and visits."


    "Wait. You''re not mad?" Luke asked.


    "Handicap? How?" Jay asked.


    "He played with his left hand- Wait a minute!" Manny widened his eyes after he realized the entire situation.


    "Oh, Geez," Jay exclaimed in disappointment when he knew Manny had fallen for a prank.


    I laughed loudly, causing the kid to fume in anger.


    "Don''t be mad, Manny. Hahaha. You did well in the matches. You can surely beat Jay and Phil if you play against them."


    "Why me? What do you even know about me?" Jay asked in dissatisfaction.


    "I know you will lose against Manny," I said decisively.


    "You know what? We will play chess together at home." Jay said and grabbed Manny''s shoulder before he urged Manny to get into the car.


    "Why do you always provoke him?" Gloria asked after Jay was out of earshot.


    "Why are you mad at me? Now, Manny and Jay will spend more time together. I sensed that they aren''t that close with each other, am I right?"


    Gloria was slightly surprised and replied, "That''s true. Manny still couldn''t accept Jay fully. I tried hard, but they were both... too stubborn." She vented a little.


    "Yeah. I guessed that." I replied. Gloria flashed a soft smile and patted my head. "You''re a good kid. I hope you can continue...being friends with Manny."


    "Okay. I will. His soccer match is tomorrow, right? Tell him I said Good Luck with his match. Also, tell him Brenda Feldman has a boyfriend, so he will get shot down if he confesses to her."


    Gloria''s face changed into a shocked expression. "He wants to confess? But he''s a 10-year-old boy...and she''s... 16??"


    ...


    -Dunphy''s house. 3rd Party POV-


    "Why is he coming again?" Haley asked in confusion after Claire told her about Edward''s visit tomorrow. She had planned to invite Dylan to her house to watch a movie, but she texted Dylan not to come after hearing about the visit.


    "I made a promise with him. It''s just for an afternoon." Claire said to persuade Haley as she knew Haley and Edward were fighting.


    "Besides, your father is already too excited for it that nothing you say will change anything." Claire said casually. Haley opened her mouth, but no words would come out.


    [Haley''s commentary]


    Sitting with her arms crossed on the sofa, Haley has a complicated expression on her face.


    "I told Dylan about Edward. And he''s a bit...angry. I know he''ll pick a fight if he meets him, so I tell Dylan not to come." Haley confessed.


    "He''s being stupid, and I don''t want him to meet my mom and dad like this. The band was in the wrong, but he insisted on following Brian''s word against mine."


    "Now. I''m the one who had to suffer for it." Haley said while flipping her hair.


    [Commentary ends]


    Sunday morning came, and Dunphy''s house was hectic from the start.


    "Children! Breakfast!" Claire, still dressed in her robes, shouted out to her children from the kitchen, even though they were all on the second level. She was standing between the refrigerator and the kitchen island, removing food from the refrigerator to serve her family.


    Claire''s husband, Phil, stood on her left with a game console in his hand. He focused so hard on his game that he tuned out what his wife was talking about and only responded periodically.


    "Kids?" Claire called out again, but there was still no response. She sighed and said to her husband, "Phil. Will you get them?"


    "Yeah. One sec." Phil said, not prying his face away from the console. As Claire turned to the kitchen island, Phil grabbed a fruit snack from the fridge and closed the fridge door halfway.


    "Kids!" Claire called out again. After getting the vegetables out, she turned to store them inside the fridge, but she crashed into the fridge door that Phil had changed. All the vegetables fall down on the floor, causing Phil to raise his face at a scary-faced Claire.


    Phil quickly listened to her wife''s words and shouted, "Kids! Get down here!"


    Haley walked into the kitchen wearing a tight white top and a mini skirt.


    "Why are you guys yelling at us when we are wayyy upstairs. Just text me." Haley said.


    "All right," Phil replied casually. "That''s not going to happen." Claire quickly admonished both her husband and her daughter.


    Claire saw what Haley was wearing, and she said, "Wow! You''re not wearing that outfit!"


    "Why? What''s wrong with it?" Haley asked in puzzlement.


    "Honey, don''t you have anything to tell your daughter about her skirt?" Claire asked, and she found Phil was focusing on the game again. "Honey!" She called in frustration.


    "Sorry," Phil said and raised his head to look at his daughter''s outfit. Haley was posing for Phil to see what''s wrong with her clothes.


    "Aww...That looks really cute, sweetheart." Phil said lovingly.


    "Thanks," Haley said, face full of smiles. Claire was frustrated and took the matter into her hands, "No. It''s way too short. People know you''re a girl. You don''t need to prove it to them."


    Alex walked into the kitchen and said, "Luke got his head stuck in the banister again."


    Phil quickly responded, "I got it. Where''s the baby oil?"


    Claire replied, "It''s on our bedside-" She silenced herself before exposing her private life with Phil. "I don''t know, Phil. Find it." Claire said after rearranging her words.


    *Ding dong.*


    The doorbell rang as Phil was inside his room searching for the baby oil. Claire walked to the front door and opened it. "Hi, Edward. You''re early."


    Dressed in a long-sleeved, black checkered shirt with the sleeves folded and worn-out jeans, Edward said, "It''s...9.30? You told me to come at 10. I thought it would be polite to come early. I also thought I could score some breakfast here. Is that okay?"


    Claire paused for a while as her mind raced through multiple thought processes. She replied,


    "It''s okay. Come on in."

 Chapter 15: Shoot! (Part 1)

    Chapter 15: Chapter 15: Shoot! (Part 1)


    (Thank your for a wonderful week!! Enjoy the Chapter!)


    -Edward POV-


    When Claire opened the door, I saw Luke was stuck halfway through the bannister on the stairs. His head and his right arm had gotten through the gap between the bannisters.


    "Luke? Why are you like that?" I asked, passing through Claire who opened the door to get to Luke. I walked while clutching my laptop bag and I put down a large, wrapped box which contained my gift for Lily. The box caught Claire''s attention, and she asked.


    "What is that?"


    "This is...a gift for Cam and Mitch. I am grateful for them, so I wanted to give them something. I was hoping that you can give it to them later on. They are coming back today right?"


    "Yes. We will go to their house at 5, so I guess I can send your gift for you." Claire said, wanted to take the gift box away from my hand. But I stopped her and said, "Be careful. There is a mechanism that will shoot confetti when it''s opened. If handled crassly, the mechanism will be broken."


    "Confetti?" Claire asked in confusion.


    "Cam likes confetti right? He told me about that before. I also put glitter inside." I said. I actually lied about it to prevent Claire peeking inside the box before Cam and Mitch opened it.


    I walked to Luke who''s stuck in the bannister.


    "He''s like this sometimes," She said to ensure I didn''t think less of her son.


    "Hey Ed." Luke greeted happily with his head poking out of the gap.


    "Were you trying to get out using the gap?" I asked as I stood in front of Luke.


    "Yeah." Luke replied sadly. Phil was in the bedroom, still trying to find the baby oil to lubricate Luke''s head.


    Alex spied on me from the kitchen and quickly fixed her hair and clothes before she approached me.


    She was nervous to meet me again. She wore her favourite grey shirt with a big peace sign logo on it and said as she stood next to me to poke fun at her brother, "I''m just going to say it. He needs to be checked by a specialist."


    "Alex." Claire stopped her daughter from embarrassing her brother and sighed before she walked to the kitchen to continue preparing breakfast for the kids.


    "Do you have any allergies Edward?" Claire asked.


    "No. I''m fine." I replied from afar. I ignored Alex and turned to Luke.


    "Why did you stop halfway? With your head already gone through, it will be easy to get the rest of your body out."


    "That''s impossible. He won''t be able to do it." Alex interjected before Luke could reply. I turned to her and said, "I''m sorry? Are you talking to me? I thought you''re going to continue ignoring me?"


    She was stunned and a bit flabbergasted by the words.


    "I didn''t mean too!" Alex said hurriedly.


    "What''s your excuse then? I already accepted the fact that you do not want to be my friend and I have been grieving for a few days."


    "No! That''s NOT IT!" Alex said with a raised voice. "I just didn''t know what to type back. And then I waited for too long... it''ll be awkward for me to start texting! I''m REALLY SORRY!"


    "Really Alex? You couldn''t just say ''Hey'' ?" Luke teased.


    "SHUT UP LUKE!" Alex said. Claire peeked from the kitchen after she heard the heated argument.


    "Kids, what happened?" Claire asked perfunctorily.


    ""Nothing mom."" Both Luke and Alex replied at the same time. Claire shrugged her shoulders and continued preparing the food.


    I thought inwardly as I saw the situation in the entire house. Even though it was the day of the pilot episode, the situation didn''t serve to explain the dynamics of the characters like it was supposed to.


    That''s when I understand that I''m inside a real world, not a tv show. There wasn''t an explanation on why Claire became as uptight and controlling as she was, or Phil''s attitude towards his childrens.


    "Newgate?" Alex called out with a shaky voice.


    "Call me Ed, and I won''t hold it against you anymore."


    Alex hesitated for a while, and after an internal struggle, she replied, "Okay Ed."


    I smiled to show that I didn''t carry a grudge any longer. Alex breathes in relief as she finally resolves the misunderstanding.


    "Do you really think he won''t be able to get out?" I asked.


    "He already tried it before, and he got stuck...the same as right now. It will be impossible."


    "Hmm... I don''t think so. I think he can get out." I said with a smirk.


    Alex raised her brows and said, "Prove it then."


    "Dare to bet?"


    "Bet on what?" Alex replied hesitatingly. Then, she shook her head and said confidently. "Okay, it''s a bet."


    She was confident that Luke wouldn''t be able to get out of the gap and knew for sure she was going to win in the bet no matter what we''re betting on.


    Phil walked downstairs and greeted me happily when he saw me, "Hey D-Money!"


    "Eddy is fine Vitamin P." I said with a smile.


    Alex and Luke were confused by the interaction, but they didn''t say anything. "Just wait a while. I''m going to free Luke now." Phil said and opened up the baby oil cap.


    "" No. Don''t!"" Alex and I stopped Phil at the same time.


    "Wha....What is happening?" Phil asked in confusion.


    "They are using me as their science experiment." Luke said with excitement.


    "Are you okay with this Luke? If you''re uncomfortable, we can cancel the bet." I said.


    "I always wanted to be a science experiment. You won''t take this away from me!" Luke replied agitatedly.


    "Ohhh...I remember when I was the subject of a science experiment in college. They always make me compete against a monkey." Phil reminiscences.


    I ignored Phil and turned to Alex, "So, What are we betting on?"


    "If Luke can''t escape, you''ll..." Alex took some time to think, and then she said, "You go first."


    "What website did you make?" Alex asked.


    "It''s for my dad''s business. Ship tourism and leisure." I explained. Haley finally raised her eyes from the phone as the conversation intrigued him. I turned to her and asked for her help, "Haley, can you help me to take a look too? I would love your opinion."


    "Really? I thought I was vain and shallow." Haley replied with venom in her tone.


    "Yes. That''s exactly why I want you to take a look. You''re kinda the target audience for the website." I replied with a sly smile on my face. She scoffed but she didn''t refuse to help me in the matter.


    ...


    -3rd Person POV. Football field-


    Manny''s soccer match finally started after a long time waiting for Jay. When the game started, something unexpected happened.


    Jay was sitting on a foldable chair while Gloria was reacting dramatically at the side of the field.


    "?Vamos, Manny! Kick it! Kick it!" Gloria yelled out but Manny stopped running forward after passing the ball to the mid-fielders.


    "Why aren''t you kicking it!" Gloria yelled in frustration.


    [Manny''s commentary]


    "My friend Edward taught me something yesterday. Soccer is like a game of chess. You cannot win the game alone. All of the pieces needed to move together as a team for one to win."


    "When I stood on the field, I realised that... none of the kids there knows what they are doing."


    "So I took the command, and made the field my chess board."


    [Commentary ends]


    "Pass to eleven!" Manny yelled from afar. The opposition team were swarming the ball in droves, making various parts of the field being open. Manny has been commanding his team in battle after his coach was proven to be useless. He was from Colombia. He knew how ''soccer'' was played.


    "Manny. What''s next!" A spikey-haired blonde kid in a number eleven jersey yelled in anxiousness.


    "SHOOT WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!" Manny yelled in frustration. The number eleven kid kicked the ball, and it went into the goal!


    [Manny''s commentary]


    "Edward also told me, if I was sure about something, don''t be afraid to let out what I''m thinking. I screamed a lot today. I think my throat is more sore than the rest of my body."


    [Commentary ends]


    "Son of a bit-" Jay cursed while smiling after seeing the score being tied in 1-1 in the first half of the game. "How the hell did he know how to play soccer?"


    After having their chess game last night, Jay thought of Manny as a chess genius and they had played together for a few matches. Like Edward predicted, as they argued with each other while they were playing �C both of them were closer to each other today.


    Gloria was still frustrated as it wasn''t Manny who scored the ball. "I don''t know. Maybe that Edward kid is a good coach. For sure better than this one." Gloria said, staring dagger at Manny''s team balding football coach. The coach broke into a cold sweat and moved further away from the Colombian mother, fearing for his safety.


    "Is Manny yours?" A young dad in his ripped jeans and a heavy metal t-shirt walked to Gloria. He took off his sunglasses and put it on top of his hat as he held his hand for a handshake with Gloria.


    "Yes." Gloria replied.


    "I''m Josh. Ryan''s dad." Josh said as he pointed at number 11 on the field.


    "Gloria Pritchet. I''m Manny''s mother." Gloria replied.


    "You know that was the first goal in the kids'' entire season?" Josh said in excitement. "They were usually beaten black and blue." Josh continued.


    "What?" Gloria asked �C she didn''t know what the word meant.


    "He means they always lose badly." Jay explained from his seat.


    "Oh, that must be your dad." Josh said, looking toward Jay.


    "Her dad?" Jay muttered.


    "Yeah?" Josh said, didn''t know what he said wrong.


    "No, no. That''s funny. Actually, no, I''m her husband." Jay said. He was trying to get up from the chair to get to Gloria.


    "Don''t be fooled by the, uh- Give me a second here." He said as he struggled to get up.


    Although the kids played well, the opposing team had more experience than them, and managed to bring the score to 3-2. It''s a minute until the game ends, and Manny has the ball.


    But then, he saw Brenda Felman �C a pretty, blonde-haired white girl wearing a long sleeved white shirt and jeans, riding her bicycle at the park and was watching him playing in the field.


    Brenda wasn''t watching Manny, but was watching the kids playing as a whole, but Manny was too lovestruck to care. He stopped running to wave at Brenda at the last hour of the game. The whistle was blown, and the game was finally over.


    The crowd groaned at Manny as he had abandoned the chance for the game to be a tie.


    "Oh Geez. Didn''t you have a talk with him yet?" Jay asked Gloria �C his tone full of dissatisfaction.


    "I didn''t. I don''t want to put him down...right before his match." Gloria replied as she watched Manny smiling meekly while waving at Brenda.


    Manny requested to go to the mall to confess to Brenda, that was when Gloria told him what Edward had told her.


    "She has a boyfriend?" Manny asked in a sad tone.


    "Ay Papi. I''m so sorry." Gloria said to comfort him.


    Jay added, "Don''t feel bad Manny. You did very well today. There was this little snafu at the end, but I think you have a knack for this game-"


    "I''m quitting soccer." Manny said.


    "What? Why?" Jay asked in exasperation.


    "I only took part in this to show Brenda my athletic side because I know she likes men who play sports. Now, there isn''t any reason for me to play anymore. Mom, can I use your phone to call Ed? I want to thank him for teaching me."


    "But Papi, I don''t have his number." Gloria said. She only knew the landline number, but not Edward''s personal phone number.


    Manny said, "I''ll call Luke. Maybe he knows."


    Join My Discord.


    https://discord.gg/CAmd34bj

 Chapter 16: Shoot (Part 2)

    Chapter 16: Chapter 16: Shoot (Part 2)


    -Dunphy''s House. 3rd person POV-


    The phone rang, but most of the people in the house were busy so Alex ran to pick it up. "I''ll get it." Alex said as she ran to the living room near the front door.


    "Luke. Manny is calling you!" Alex shouted after picking up the call. Luke ran to the phone while holding a BB gun he had taken out to play with and said, "Hello?"


    "Hello. Luke. This is Manny here. Do you have Edwards'' phone number?" Manny asked from the other line.


    "Why? Do you need it?" Luke asked as he peeked where Edward was sitting through the hallways. Edward was sitting with his parents inside the living room and was showing Claire and Phil his new website.


    "I do. I want to thank him personally. Do you have his number?"


    "I don''t. But Alex has been texting him." Luke replied as he didn''t realise he could just call Edward to the phone.


    "Can you call her?" Manny asked. Luke called for Alex and she approached him while being confused. Suddenly, Luke''s BB gun fired off and hit Alex on her wrist.


    "OUCH!" Alex shouted. "MOOM!" She quickly goes to report to her mother.


    Luke was flabbergasted and quickly said to Manny, "I will call you back!" He hung up the call quickly and ran behind Alex.


    "Mom! Luke shot me!" Alex complained as she showed the red spot on her arm to her mother.


    "I didn''t mean to. It was an accident!" Luke said, following Alex closely from behind.


    "Are you okay?" Claire turned from reading at the sofa, stood up and walked closer toward Alex. She grabbed her arm to take a look at the bruise.


    " No! The little bitch shot me!" Alex said in frustration. Phil laughed beside Claire after hearing the curse word. Edward also laughed at Alex''s cursing as it was the first time she expressed her feelings clearly in front of him.


    -Edward POV-


    " Language!" Claire admonished Alex. "Sorry about that Edward." Claire turned to me and apologised. I just covered my laughter and gestured that it''s okay with my hand.


    "They''re only plastic BBs. It was an accident." Luke explained.


    "What did I tell you would happen if you got him a gun? Deal with this." Claire turned to Phil who''s standing beside her.


    "Buddy, uncool." Phil pointed his finger at Luke, and that''s it.


    "No, no, no, no." Claire stopped Phil from letting Luke get away with it and reminded him.


    "The agreement was that if he shoots someone,you shoot him."


    "We were serious about that?" Phil said.


    "Yes, we were." Claire nodded. "And now you have to follow through."


    Luke quickly started crying.


    "I''m so sorry." He apologised.


    "Liar." Claire saw through Luke immediately. He stopped crying as he knew there wasn''t a way out.


    "Go." Claire urged Phil.


    " He''s got a birthday party." Phil tried to cover for Luke.


    "What''s more important here, Dad?" Alex said.


    "Yeah Vitamin P. Without following what you have said, the world will just be anarchy." I added.


    "You can shoot him afterwards." Claire said after nodding at my words. "He''ll be home at 2:00."


    "I can''t shoot him at 2:00. I''m showing a house at 2:00." Phil said.


    "What about 3:00?" Alex said.


    "No, he''s got a soccer game at 3:00." Claire said and walked to the calendar near the kitchen cabinet.


    "And then- Oh, we gotta leave for that dinner thing at 5:00." Claire checked the details on the calendar as she calculated her free time.


    " 4:15. You could shoot him at 4:15." I added. Claire agreed with me and said, "4.15 works."


    "Yeah, I guess that works for me. Thanks Ed." Phil said.


    Claire grabbed a marker and wrote ''Shoot Luke.'' on the calendar.


    "Sorry, dude. It''s on the calendar." Phil apologies.


    "Oh, come on!" Luke yelled in frustration. "I thought you''re my friend." He turned and said to me in dissatisfaction.


    "I am. But I also want to see you get shot after you steal my cake." I said. Luke stampeded off, leaving me standing with Alex.


    "Too bad I can''t see it." I said whisperingly to Alex.


    "Just come and watch. I''ll text you when my dad is going to shoot him." Alex said.


    "What are you guys talking about?" Claire interjected.


    "Nothing." Alex replied. "Have you guys seen his website?" Alex asked as she couldn''t see it yet.


    "Ah. He was just opening them." Claire said and returned to the sofa together with Phil.


    Claire checked the website while I was talking with Alex. She saw the business name,''Whitebeard Yacht Service and Rentals'' on the main screen.


    My dad''s 50 metre long yacht picture on the open seas was displayed on the main screen. The silvery-white yacht''s might was captured by an intern photographer from a community college nearby, which my dad then hired as an official photographer for the ship.


    On the menu, I listed several categories such as; the ship''s history, the captain''s biography which included two pictures of my dad�C one behind the wheel, and a formal picture of him in his captain''s uniform. I even included his picture from the navy so people''s confidence in him would increase.


    "Hmm? This is your father''s business name?" Claire asked in confusion. "I thought his business name was Singing Ship?"


    "I am still brainstorming the name for the rebranding. Dad loved the Whitebeard name, so I put that in. I will change it once the name change is finalised. "


    "I see." Claire said, honestly impressed by the website smoothness and organisation.


    "Wait, three nights for the price of two? Plus a fully stocked bar? We need to buy this now!" Phil said and tried to click the deal hurriedly as he saw the party boat option.


    "Phil! The website isn''t official yet!" Claire said admonishingly. "Why are you renting a boat for 3 days anyway? What are you going to do with it? Think Phil!"


    "But...It''s a great deal..." Phil said in a dejected tone.


    "Why?" Alex asked.


    "Because the ship needs to set a date for your trip. If you suddenly cancel, the ship can''t sail and the night will be wasted." I explained. "The booking fee will be compensation for the employee who had gotten the ship ready for your trip."


    "I see." Alex finally understood it.


    "What is this box?" Haley asked after she saw a nicely wrapped box on the dining table.


    "That''s for your uncles." I said. Haley wanted to open it, but Claire saw it and stopped it. "Haley don''t! There''ll be glitter everywhere!"


    Haley stopped her action immediately after hearing what her mom said. "Why glitter?" She turned to me who was sitting on the sofa and asked.


    "None of your beeswax." I replied. Haley was stunned, and Claire called out to me, "Edward. Tell your dad I''ll take some time to think about it first. Also, I''m baking the cake now."


    I stood up from the sofa and jogged lightly to the kitchen. "Okay. What can I do to help?"


    Alex was left alone with my laptop that I forgot to shut down. Instead of bothering me at the kitchen, she decided to peek at my personal file to find dirt on me.


    ''I always get even.'' Alex thought, still feeling bitter about me getting her in trouble before. Phil then sent Luke to his friend''s birthday party as Claire and I started baking.


    Haley was texting with her friends while sitting at the dinner table. She peeked at the box once in a while, extremely curious about what''s inside.


    Alex finally saw a file that I had hidden and she contorted her face into an expression of surprise, disgust, elation, understanding, and even longing when she read my private files.


    "I am making a simple yellow cake with vanilla frostings." Claire said. "That''s simple enough." I said.


    "You know how to make it?" Claire asked. "Didn''t you say you want to watch it get made before?"


    I turned to Claire, stared at her dead in the eyes, and said, "You know it''s a simple cake recipe right? Like the most basic one."


    "Oh. Are you still interested in baking it?" Claire asked.


    "Yeah. It''ll be fun." I said and I cracked the eggs, separating the egg yolk and egg white easily. Phil returned from sending Luke to the birthday party at this time.


    "You''re good at that." Phil complemented as he saw me separating the yolks skillfully. He wouldn''t admit it, but it would be a disaster if he tried to do it himself.


    "You know there''s a trick for this." I said.


    Phil was intrigued, so was Haley who''s inching closer to the box on the table.


    "What trick?" Haley asked.


    "Come here." I called her.


    "No eww..I don''t want to touch the eggs." Haley whined.


    "You don''t have to touch it." I said, flashing a charming smile like a devil wanting a person to sign their name in his contract.


    Reluctantly, Haley walked to the kitchen island where I was doing it. "Do you have an empty plastic bottle?" I asked Phil.


    "Yeah. Let me grab it." Phil said before he ran to his bedroom.


    "Crack the egg into the plate." I said to Haley.


    "Just crack it?" She said, confused. "Yep." I pushed the empty plate in front of her.


    "What are you guys doing?" Claire asked after weighing the flour.


    "Separating the egg yolk." I replied casually. "Inside a plate?" Claire was confused. Phil returned with the empty bottle and handed it to me. I cleaned it a little and handed it to Haley.


    "Squeeze the bottle a little bit, and put the mouth on the egg yolk." I said. She rolled her eyes and said, "What are you making me do you creep?"


    "Do it first." I said, pushing her hand down to the plate. Her eyes widened, and she hesitantly followed my order after pausing for a while and placed the bottle mouth on the egg yolk. "Okay, now release the squeeze."


    As she did that, the egg yolk was sucked into the bottle, separating it with the rest of the egg white easily.


    "Are you a wizard?" Phil asked me with eyes filled with awe. "Want to try it?" I asked him. Phil quickly pushed Haley aside and tried it on his own.


    That''s how I managed to crack open 6 more eggs without getting my hands dirty. Claire let me handle the frostings, and after baking the cake mixture at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes, the cake was finally done.


    As I placed the frostings on the cake, Claire tried to interject and took over, but I didn''t give her the knife.


    "Oh my god. There''s two of them." Haley widened her eyes in surprise after seeing me and Claire both being OCD in decorating the cake.


    "That''s too much, you''ll ruin it." Claire said.


    "No. Your''s are too thin. It''ll ruin the taste." I argued and pushed her away. I made some decorations with the cream on the cake, and Claire finally calmed down a bit after seeing the cake looking better and better.


    "Why do you keep the top empty?" Claire asked.


    "I have plans to put something there." I replied.


    I ran to my house and brought back a lotus flower made of buttercream I made the night before. It was already frozen and ready to be placed on top of the cake.


    I also brought back a pink coloured buttercream inside an icing pipe and I created a patterned design on the side of the cake. Claire dropped her jaw after she saw the beautiful cake that I''d made. (A/N: In the pilot, her cake is ugly lol)


    "Wow Edward. You''re really good with your hand. Now I can believe you that you made the oreo cheesecake by yourself. " Claire said in surprise. Phil chimed in, "If you''re not a singer, you can do this for a living."


    I didn''t know about it, but Haley had snapped a picture of me making the cake from a very charming angle. She''s now contemplating whether to share the picture on Facebook or not.


    After I got Edna''s talent, it was easy for me to make things look more ''presentable'' for myself. My OCD also played a part in this and I had never half-assed my work in my life.


    Until the last cobweb inside the house was cleaned. The nicked photo frame was fixed or thrown away. The paint job in the house was painted over and over until it became perfect.


    I smiled wryly at the couple and said, "Now, just make sure no ''Luke'' got in this."


    Claire hurriedly kept the cake inside the freezer to make sure of it. "Oh wait. What about your cake? We just made one." Claire said in realisation.


    "It''s okay. You can make one for me later." I said. "I should go now, I have to make some adjustments on the website."


    "Wait Edward. I feel bad. You come ''specifically'' for this." Claire said, not trusting my intention at all after she was suddenly offered the job. "Why don''t you come with us to Mitch and Cams? They already know you, and you''re even friends with Manny." Claire offered.


    "Yeah. Do you have any plans tonight? You can do your work here. We have wifi. You can even use the ethernet cable if you want." Phil said excitedly.


    "Wait. That''s a family gathering. It will be awkward for me to be there, whether they know me already or not." I said in a panicked state. Claire grinned widely as it was the first time ever she saw me being anxious at something.


    "You''re coming." Claire said. "I saw your dad''s schedule on the website. He''s not coming back until midnight. It''s better for you to stay with us rather than spending time alone in your house. Who knows what you''ll get into then?"


    "..." I opened my mouth a few times, but I couldn''t find any words to say to object to the invitation... rationally.

 Chapter 17: Shoot (Part 3)

    Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Shoot (Part 3)


    -Edward POV-


    After Claire decided that I was coming, she didn''t spare a minute to call up Cam and Mitch who just landed from Vietnam using the landline.


    Phil had gotten back from his house showing and was bothering me as Luke was at a soccer match. I couldn''t even code in peace after I got my laptop back from Alex.


    When I returned to the living room, I saw her peeking at my homework assignment and studying them with utmost interest. I couldn''t even tease her as she ran to her room after announcing she''s going to do her homework and no one should bother her unless absolutely necessary.


    "...He made the cake for you. So pretty too." Claire said to Cam over the phone.


    "Oh my god. I can''t wait to see it!" Cam said in a high-pitched excited voice from the other line. His voice turned to normal and he asked, "Can I talk to him?"


    Claire handed me the phone, "Here. He wants to talk to you."


    The moment I put the phone on my left ear, Cam immediately asked with a serious tone, "Did you tell them about the baby?"


    "Nah. I didn''t. I won''t steal your spotlight." I replied with a whisper as I moved further away from Claire so that she couldn''t hear the conversation.


    "At least you know I belong underneath a spotlight." Cam said, his tone became much softer than before.


    "For a theater production underneath the bowling alley," I joked. He exploded into some ramblings about being the lead in plays or something, but I tuned all that out.


    Claire tilted her head in puzzlement and tried to overhear even as I walked away by following me from behind.


    "Can you give me some privacy please?" I said and stopped her from following me.


    "Claire, you''re being rude." Phil said calmly. "MEE?" Claire was flabbergasted by the reactions. "IT was MY... CALL!"


    I ignored Claire who needed calming down from Phil and continued talking to Cam.


    I could hear the anxiousness in Cam''s voice from the call, "I am waving at Mitchell right now. He doesn''t know that the family is meeting tonight- I need to end the call. By the way, congratulations on creating the entertainment agency. Pepper just told us about it before. I need to go now before Mitch got suspici- BRING YOUR GUITAR- *beep* *beep*"


    "Hello? What do you mean by agency? Hello? Helloo?" I tried to get more information about the matter, but Cam''s phone was turned off. "What the hell did Pepper do?" I muttered as I took the phone from my ear.


    "What happened?" Claire asked.


    "I don''t know. He said something about Mitchell and what they did in Vietnam. Apparently Mitchell doesn''t like the way he looks right now and they are considering breaking up." I said.


    "What?" Phil and Claire were surprised by the sudden information.


    "Nooo! Not Cam!!" Haley heard the conversation as she was sitting at the dinner table at that time. Even Alex who was peeking at my laptop screen turned to look at her mom and dad.


    "What''s wrong with Cam?" Alex asked, rushing toward the kitchen. I knew I was making more trouble for Mitch and Cam, but I still wanted to do it.


    "It''s not confirmed yet. They are going to announce it at their house. We should wait." I said.


    "I should call them right now!" Claire said and snatched the phone from me. However, the line was shut off when she tried to call Cam.


    "Try Mitchell." Phil said hurriedly, standing behind Claire. Claire nodded and tried, but the same thing happened as Mitchell''s phone was still shut off from the flight.


    "What did they do in Vietnam Ed?" Claire said.


    "I don''t know. Cam was so emotional that I didn''t catch on to all of what he said." I said, pranking the entire family at the same time. Luke returned from his soccer match after getting dropped off by his friend''s mom.


    "What''s happening?" Luke said as he entered the kitchen and saw all the people there freaking out �C except for me.


    ''Was it too much? Ahh I don''t care anymore. It''s too late to stop it now.'' I thought to myself.


    "Claire. Relax. We will know when we get there." Phil said, comforting Claire. "Besides, Edward doesn''t know for sure that is what he said. Right?" Phil turned to me at the last word.


    "Yeah. I think so." I replied ambiguously.


    "I..I need to call dad." Claire said. She then called Jay and was greeted cheerfully by her dad.


    "What''s up hun? Did you finally get Manny''s messages?" Jay asked.


    "Dad- What message?" Claire was so distracted by the question that she prioritized that instead of warning her dad about her behavior later on. She quickly searched for notes near the telephone to check for the messages.


    "There aren''t any messages?" Claire said in confusion.


    "Don''t worry about that. I''m giving the phone to Manny." Jay said and gave Manny the phone.


    "Dad- I want to talk to yo-"


    "Hey Claire." Manny said, already intercepting the call from Claire.


    "Do you have Edward''s phone number? I tried asking Luke before, but he didn''t call back after a long time." Manny explained. Claire turned to Luke with a stern expression. "Did Manny call you before?"


    "Yeah. He asked for Ed''s number so he could call and say thanks. I don''t have his number, so I called Alex. But then I shot her and she cut the call." Luke explained. Claire paused for a second to analyze the story, but she didn''t get mad at Luke for his simplistic ways of thinking.


    "Edward is here. He''s been hanging with us the entire day. Here, talk to him." Claire said and passed the phone to me. But before she released her grip from the phone, she warned me, "Don''t let him cut off the call. I need to talk to my dad after."


    I gulped my saliva and nodded carefully, "Okay. I will make sure of it."


    Claire turned to Luke and Phil as I talked with Manny. "It''s four fifteen," she said.


    Phil turned to the calendar and said to Luke solemnly as he patted his shoulder, "It''s time buddy. I will wait for you outside. Come out when you''re ready."


    Phil walked briskly outside as he grabbed Luke''s BB gun.


    "Ooouuugh." Luke whined and stomped off to his room to get ready.


    I smirked and called out to Alex while I was hearing what Manny was saying, "Hey, Luke is getting shot. Let''s go watch it."


    "...Okay." Alex replied after hesitating for a while. "What''s the matter with you? Why are you avoiding me again?" I asked.


    Alex opened her mouth, but she didn''t reply as if cats had run away with her tongue.


    [Alex''s commentary]


    "I saw his plans on the computer. He organised his files very neatly." Alex started by complementing the man whose privacy she had invaded. Then, she lowered her head and said, "He has made plans when he''s moving to Wisconsin after this school year."


    "I guess you need to shoot Phil next. That is the rule right?" I said casually, whispering words as sweet as a devil''s temptation to Claire.


    "You''re..." Haley said, and Alex continued as Haley couldn''t find the words, "Psychotic."


    "Yeah. That." Haley agreed with Alex.


    I shrugged and said dismissively, "I prefer the term agent of chaos."


    "I will definitely shoot him again later." Claire gritted her teeth and stared at Phil who''s running around in the backyard while rubbing his leg to ease the pain.


    As Claire chased the girls and me away to get ready, Phil and Luke finally entered the house after seriously considering running away and only returning when Claire had calmed down. Unfortunately for them, they need to get to Cam and Mitch''s place soon.


    "Claire. I didn''t mean to." Phil said pitifully. "I would never-"


    "I''ll deal with you later in our room." Claire said and snatched the gun from Phil''s hand.


    "With handcuffs and a uniform?" I muttered underneath my breath and it was only audible to Haley who''s near me as we sat on the living room sofa, already ready to travel. She smiled and almost laughed. She smacked my arm quickly, "Don''t!"


    "Maybe some baton." I continued.


    Haley couldn''t hold on let out a small laugh.


    "You''re under arrest Phil. You have been a very naughty boy-"


    Haley closed my mouth with her hand as Claire and Phil walked past us from behind. Claire stopped and asked in confusion, "What?"


    "Nothing." Haley replied guiltily. I nodded to agree with her as my mouth was blocked. Claire shrugged and walked away while muttering, "one thing at a time...one thing at a time..." underneath her breath.


    "@#4djgm" I muttered in a muffled voice after Claire had gone past us. "What?" Haley asked in confusion.


    I got annoyed and I licked her palm as she forgot to remove it.


    "EWW!" Haley said and removed her hand from my mouth.


    "I said, how long are you going to muzzle me."


    "You can''t just say that? You need to lick my hand, perv?"


    "How am I going to say it if your hand is on my mouth?" I asked her back, causing her to be speechless.


    "Go wash your hands." I said to her, "No. I''m going to wipe it off your shirt." Haley said and pounced at me. I quickly stood up and moved away from her.


    "Okay... I''m sorry. Please wash your hands." I said, my OCD was flaring up even when it''s my own saliva. "This is a VERY new shirt."


    Haley grinned mischievously and tried to reach me from the sofa, "No!"


    I took a few steps back, moving further away from her as she got closer to me with a devilish smile.


    "No! Stay!" I shouted in a panicked state.


    "What am I? A dog?" Haley grinned and started to chase me around.


    "What are you guys doing?" Claire asked as she walked downstairs with Alex. She had changed her dowdy mom''s clothes to a simple white long sleeved shirt and let her hair down.


    Alex had changed her clothes, but it was another shirt with a peace sign, but this was green instead of grey.


    "Haley had gone crazy." I said, hiding behind Claire as Haley chased me.


    Haley stopped at Claire''s stare, like a prey being frozen in front of a predator. "What''s on your hand?" Claire asked.


    "Saliva!" I exposed her as I peeked from behind Claire.


    "Haley! That''s dirty!" Claire said angrily. "Go wash your hands now!"


    "BUT-" Haley tried to defend, but Claire urged, "NOW!"


    "FINE! I''m WASHING IT!" Haley grunted and stomped off to the sink. I released Claire who went to place the cake into the car.


    "Wow. 3 for 3. You managed to get everyone other than me in trouble with mom." Alex complimented. "It''s a legendary feat that you can be proud of for life. Good job."


    "... You forgot about this morning?" I asked her. She opened her mouth but words eluded her.


    "So. I got them all." I teased Alex and walked to the minivan after picking up my gift for Lily. I also picked up my guitar as Cam requested. As I exited the house, Alex muttered, "Agent of chaos huh."


    I sat in the seat furthest behind in the minivan with Luke staring on my right side.


    "I will get you back for that." Luke said.


    "What? I wasn''t the one who shot you." I said calmly. "Don''t be mad, I will save you a piece of cake after I make one." I said.


    "One piece couldn''t ease my anger."


    I chuckled at him and said, "Two pieces. Last offer."


    "Deal!" Luke said, and we shook on it.


    "What about me then? I was in trouble too." Haley interjected from the front. She was sitting in front of me, and Alex sat in front of Luke. Claire and Phil were sitting in the front of the car with Phil driving it.


    "You deserve it." I taunted Haley. "Ahh" She lets out an offended gasp after hearing that.


    Alex let out a cackle at Haley''s misery, and Haley quickly retorted, "Yeah? At least he will only get me once. How can you lose in maths...geometry?" Haley questioned herself.


    "Both." I interjected to let her continue.


    "Yeah. You will need to get in trouble two more times after this, while Luke and I are free to get revenge." Haley taunted.


    "We''re here." Claire announced after driving for only 5 minutes.


    "Oh. It''s close." I said. I thought they live far away from each other in the series, but it only took 5 minutes to get to Mitch''s house, and 15 minutes to get to Jay''s. Of course, this was by car. I returned to the conversation and said in a questioning tone, "When you say revenge...."


    (A/N: I''ll be taking a break on the weekends as I mentioned before. I will be busy this weekend, so I''ll appreciate it if you can show me support when I''m not posting. I''ll come back on Monday after the powerstone reset.)

 Chapter 18: Baby.

    Chapter 18: Chapter 18: Baby.?


    (Another try as the first one became weird)


    -3rd Person POV-


    Mitchell and Cameron''s finally arrived at their duplex after getting dropped off by Pepper who picked them up from the airport. The guys were living in the lower half of the duplex, and the upper half belonged to someone else.


    Mitchell and Cameron entered the house, and after checking the nursery with an angelic mural of themselves as an angel painted by their friend, Cam finally told Mitchell about getting his family to dinner to announce to them about the baby.


    "All right, look. I- I- I never told my family we were adopting a baby." Mitchell confessed. "And-"


    "I know." Cameron interjected.


    "You do?" Mitchell said in surprise.


    "Yeah, and I don''t blame you. I know your family. You''d tell ''em. They''d say something judgmental." Cam said in understanding.


    "Exactly." Mitchell exclaimed, extremely touched by Cam.


    "You''d get mad." Cam supported him again.


    "I know. And then something that''s supposed to be nothing but joyful... suddenly turns into this huge fight." Mitchell said.


    "And who wants a big, emotional scene like that?" Cam said.


    "Thank you. Thank you. I''m so- I''m so relieved you understand." Mitchell said in relief.


    Cam nodded and waited for Mitchell to be at peak relief, and then dropped the bomb, "I invited them over for dinner tonight.


    "What?" Mitchell said in shock.


    "I had to. This would have gone on forever. You''re an avoider." Cam said as he walked away from Mitchell to get stuff ready for the party.


    Mitchell started to freak out, " No. No. No. Cam, I''m calling them right now and cancelling!"


    "No, you''re not. You''re telling your family you adopted a baby tonight. Even Ed is coming to join in the celebration." Cam said as Mitchell ran after him.


    "The kid is coming...but why?" Mitchell asked in confusion. He was more confused by Edward coming than Cam''s sudden invitation toward his family.


    "He''d prepared some gifts, and even helped Claire with the cake to welcome the baby. Get this, he didn''t share to your family about your baby just because of our promise. How adorable is that?" Cam said in excitement.


    Mitchell broke into a soft smile and said, "That''s...really mature of him. But maybe...he also thinks about the judgement we''ll face from my family...and wants to give us more time to prepare? And Not today?" Mitchell quickly pushed his agenda to Cam.


    "And let a themed cake go to waste? What kind of a person does that?" Cam asked in confusion. Mitchell opened his mouth, but he couldn''t find the words to refute Cam even when he was a lawyer.


    For the gays, there was nothing more offending than to show disrespect on a party theme. Mitchell gave up and finally started to get ready to welcome the guest in his house.


    The party will be held in their living room. The guest would sit on the green sofa, and the chairs that Mitch and Cam had prepared. Cam also fixed a mechanism in the living room so that Lily would be underneath a spotlight as she entered the room.


    Finally, the doorbell rings.


    " Oh, God." Mitchell muttered as he anticipated the worst as he placed a plate of snacks on the table in the living room.


    "Okay, I''m gonna go get Lily ready." Cam said.


    "Okay." Mitchell nodded, wiping his face full of sweat.


    "And I want you to just come straight out with it." Cam said.


    "All right." Mitchell replied.


    "Okay. You can do this."


    Mitchell exhaled longly? and walked to the front door. He opened the door and saw Phil with Alex in the front of the door and Luke who''s right behind them.


    "Hey. Hi." Mitchell greeted and welcomed them inside.


    "Hey." Phil greeted Mitch happily. But then, he remembered something and patted Mitch''s shoulder. "Whatever is it, just remember. Your family will get your back. Always."


    Phil then suddenly pulled Mitch into a hug and embraced him tightly. Luke joined in and said, "We will support you Uncle Mitch."


    "Guys. Get off him!" Claire said and pushed Phil out of the way after seeing him losing his composure as to not let it affect Mitchell more. She then pushed Phil and Luke inside before they could expose anything.


    "What''s going on?" Mitchell widened his eyes in shock. He wondered why they were being so friendly today. Even Claire didn''t open her greeting with a mean way as she entered the house.


    "Whatever it is, just know that I will be here to support you..."Claire said and kissed Mitchell''s cheek lightly as she hugged him. As she released him, she said, "The cake is with Haley."


    "I couldn''t wait to see it?" Mitchell said in a puzzled tone as he was unsure of what he should be feeling right now. "What''s going on Claire?" Mitchell asked whisperingly, afraid that the cat''s out of the bag �C that Edward had told Claire about the baby.


    Claire stared at Mitchell, trying hard to control her expression from breaking down.


    [Claire''s commentary]


    "From the clues that Edward heard �C about Mitch doesn''t like the way Cam looks right now, and they are considering breaking up...I don''t know for sure...but I''m pretty positive that Cam got into a terrible accident in Vietnam."


    Claire was troubled, and her eyes were glassy.


    "I already told my dad, and asked him to be on his best behaviour today until we know for sure."


    [Claire''s commentary ends]


    "Dad is here." Claire said, changing the subject and running away as Mitchell was distracted.


    "Hello Hello." Jay greeted cheerily while wearing a younger man''s clothes and cap.


    [Jay''s commentary]


    "I never told this to Mitchell, but when he dated Cam, we all knew that this was the person he would spend the rest of his life with. Cam''s makes him happy...like no one else did before."


    "Until he''s telling me what''s going on, I will pretend like everything is fine...and won''t say a word about his decisions..."


    Jay crossed his legs and was sitting with a glass of scotch in his hand.


    "But... If Cam...really got a sex-change operation...I don''t know if I can continue to pretend everything is okay."


    As Claire only told him the hints and not her hypothesis, Jay got into a conclusion of his own.


    [Commentary ends.]


    Mitchell was confused when he saw his dad in younger clothes, "May I take your multicoloured coat and bejewelled cap?"


    "Yeah. Yeah." Jay already predicted that someone will bring up the matter, and he dismissed Mitchell quickly by giving Mitchell his hat.


    "Wait. I want to try it on." Edward said as he entered the house while holding a gift in one hand, and a guitar on the next.


    "Here you go." Mitchell said and helped Edward put the cap onto his head.


    -Edward POV-


    "What?" Jay looked at me in confusion. Gloria brightened up and asked in excitement, "Ay, You know that too?!"


    "What is it?" Claire asked Gloria.


    "It means... Ayy... Edward explains." Gloria said.


    "I''m going to be the wind at your back, not the one who spits in your face." I said. "It''s a saying from Colombia. When it comes to your family, it''s better to support than to insult."


    "But I noticed that the Pritchetts family has a unique way of being both at the same time." I added teasingly.


    "That''s true." Phil agreed. Gloria nodded in agreement too, causing both Claire and Jay to be speechless.


    I turned to the pathway behind Mitch and said, "Cam. It''s time. Don''t wait anymore."


    Suddenly, the circle of life song suddenly played and, and Cam �Cwho had been listening to the entire conversation, walked into the living room with Lily in his hand �C presenting Lily to the family similar to Rafiki from the Lion King movie when he presented Simba.


    "Oh, God." Claire shouted in surprise and awe as she saw the baby in Cam''s arm. Cam was wearing a red satin robe with asian features as he walked to introduce the baby.


    [Music- Circle of life from the Lion King]


    ? It''s the circle of life ?


    "We adopted a baby." Mitchell explained.


    Cam raised Lily up, and a spotlight that he had set up before was switched on, showing Lily''s face to everyone. She was an adorable Vietnamese baby with chubby cheeks and an expression of ''what the hell is going on here'' as she was suddenly raised upward.


    ? And it moves us all ?


    "Her name is Lily." Mitchell introduced. Then, he said to Cam, "Just turn it off."


    "I can''t turn it off. It''s who I am." Cam said defensively.


    "The music." Mitchell said in a tired voice.


    "Oh, yes, the music." Cam chuckled and pressed the switch in his hand, shutting the music down.


    "Come say hi to Lily." Cam said in excitement. All the family members except me and Claire ran toward the baby to look at her more closely.


    "Ay, miren a la princesita. The little princess." Gloria said as she caressed the baby''s hair.


    " She''s so cute!" Haley said excitedly.


    "Let me see her. Let me see her. Let me see her." Claire couldn''t wait in line anymore and grabbed Lily from Cam''s arm.


    "Hi there, Lily." Claire said while holding Lily. As the family members were fussing for Lily, I saw Jay being conflicted as he stood at his initial spot.


    "Feeling sorry for your words? Or a Vietnam flashback, grandpa?" I asked carefully.


    Jay scoffed, turned to me and asked, "What did you say before?...in English."


    Jay called everyone''s attention, "Okay, I know that I said I thought this was a bad idea. But, uh, what do I know?"


    "I mean, it''s not like I wrote the book on fatherhood. Been trying all my life to get it right. I''m still screwing up."


    "Anyway, I''m happy for you. And, uh, you should know that, uh, I''m not here to spit in your face, I''m here to... blow at your back...Or whatever it was the kid said before."


    Mitchell was smiling happily at his dad''s effort, and suddenly, Lily started to cry while being in Claire''s arm. Mitchell took over and brought Lily to meet her grandpa, which in turn made her stop crying.


    As I smiled at the side, suddenly, I was called by Cam.


    "Special thanks to Edward. He knew about the adoption for a week now, and he has been nothing but supportive to us."


    I was surprised when a stranger like me was suddenly mentioned, and Phil called me afterward, "Eddy, come meet Lily." I was hesitant, so Mitchell brought Lily closer to me.


    The little baby suddenly reached out to me, asking to be in my arms, shocking everyone here.


    "She likes you!" Mitchell said happily. "She hasn''t been this proactive since we brought her back here." Cam added.


    Lily kept reaching for me, so I cautiously held her in my arms. She calmed down and rested her head on my chest. She grabbed my shirt, and not letting anyone else took her away from her position. Slowly, her eyelid became heavy, and she let out a big yawn.


    I didn''t know then, but an agent of the afterlife has a high affinity with babies and small animals. Right now, I was just enjoying the feeling of hugging the baby.


    "Aww...She''s so cute." Claire said, trying to snatch Lily away, but Mitchell stopped her. "Let her sleep first. She hasn''t slept at all since the flight."


    Claire stared at me with greedy eyes the whole time I was holding the baby, trying to find the perfect moment to snatch Lily away.


    "He has brought a gift, let''s open it together." Claire said, finally figuring out why I was bringing a gift to Mitch and Cam.


    "Oh right. Eddy, can I open the gift now?" Cam said excitedly, but with a hushed tone as Lily had fallen asleep.


    "Sure." I said. Cam opened the gift box carefully with glee and excitement.


    "Wait, Cam! There''s glitter!" Claire whispered hurriedly as she remembered what I had said before. However, only a popup banner appeared with the words, ''Congratulations on your baby!'' written in a celebratory font.


    "Awww Edward." Mitch and Cam were touched by the performance.


    "...Where''s the glitter and confetti?" Claire was confused.


    "Do you really think I will put that in? With a baby around?" I asked. Claire glared at me and said, "You little liar."


    "I told you he''s a liar." Jay intercepted.


    I shrugged and said, "I won''t need to lie if you weren''t a....."


    "A what?" Claire narrowed her eyes while looking at me.


    "A busybody." Phil blurted out unconsciously. Claire turned to Phil looking offended. "Phil!" She yelled �C still with a whisper.


    "I''m sorry Claire." I said. "But I need to keep the baby matter a secret, so I need to keep your nose out of the box. Well, you and Haley."


    "I am not a busybody!" Haley interjected as she was within earshot. "SHH!" Alex shushed Haley quickly as she used her normal voice. Everyone turned to Lily, but found out that she was unbothered by the noise and was still sleeping soundly in my arms.


    "Okay calm down. Let''s see the present." Phil said, turning the attention back to the box. Cam removed the wrapping paper on top and took out the small outfit that I had sewn for Lily personally, out of the box.


    "This is?" Phil asked.


    "It''s an Ao Dai. It''s a traditional Vietnamese dress for celebrations." I explained as I patted Lily''s back softly to help her sleep. "The lotus flower is their national flower, and it was the same flower I put on the cake."


    Mitch and Cam finally realise it. "Hey. it''s like the dress I saw some girls wear in Vietnam." Cam said.


    "You really thought hard about this." Alex complimented. "Yeah. Who knows you''re so sensitive." Haley said mischievously. Then, she got a text and she groaned as she read it while walking away from the rest of the family.


    "Ayy! It''s so cute!...and so soft!" Gloria said as she felt the fabric of the baby dress.


    Mitch and Cam were extremely touched by the gifts. "This gift. The cake, and the song you''re about to sing...Thank you so much Edward." Cam said.


    I was confused, "I will be singing a song?"

 Chapter 19: Welcoming the baby.

    Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Welcoming the baby.


    -Edward POV-


    I placed Lily inside her crib in the nursery after she had been sleeping in my arms for a while. Alex and Haley joined me, and they were shocked when they saw the mural on Lily''s nursery wall. We went back outside to the living room and had dinner together.


    For the song, Cam wanted to wait until Lily had woken up before he wanted me to play the song so that she could join the fun.


    "I don''t think any of my songs were suitable for this occasion though." I muttered as I tried to complete Cam''s request.


    Mitchell saw me being troubled and thinking hard as I saw on the sofa, playing various tunes with my guitar to try and figure out a perfect song to play on this occasion.


    He peeked from the passageway, wondering if he should go and ask me not to stress myself and can reject if I wanted to.


    The other adults had moved the party to the dining table, leaving only the kids in the living room.


    "Why don''t you play a ready-made song?" Manny asked and then he tried to comfort me. "I think Cam was saying to do that, not to create a song of your own."


    I turned to Manny, and my fingers automatically started to play the song from Tarzan.


    "Like this?" I asked and started to sing Phil Collins -You''ll be in my heart.


    "? Come stop your crying. It will be alright.


    Just take my hand. Hold it tight.


    I will protect you. From all around you.


    I will be here. Don''t you cry.? "


    "That''s good." Manny exclaimed in agreement.


    I continued singing as I immersed myself in the music. Haley, who had been texting urgently, raised her head from the phone and turned to look at me. Alex and Luke were humming along to the song.


    ?For one so small.You seem so strong


    My arms will hold you. Keep you safe and warm


    This bond between us. Can''t be broken.


    I will be here don''t you cry?


    "Everyone together." I said to the crowd.


    Together: ''Cause you''ll be in my heart. Yes, you''ll be in my heart. From this day on...


    Now and forever more...?


    I strum the guitar string and end the song at the one minute mark of the song. Mitchell smiled softly as he watched the performance secretly.


    "It''s great, but I don''t want to give Jay the ammunition of saying Mitch and Cam were the gorilla in the movie." I said. Mitchell, who was sipping his wine, almost choked on his drink as he heard my remarks.


    "How about Baby Mine?" Alex asked. "That song always makes mom cry."


    "From Dumbo?" I said, trying to figure out the notes to the song. "Sing the first part." I asked Alex. Although stunned, Alex catched the timing of the notes, and started to sing too.


    -3rd Person Pov (before Phil Collins song)-


    "I''m going to go check on Lily. I''ll be right back." Cam said after he talked about his trip to Vietnam to the adults. "Ayy, I want to look too." Gloria said and followed Cam from behind giddily, leaving only Claire, Phil and Jay left on the table. Phil wiped down his mouth with a napkin and shot a look at Claire.


    "Just go." Claire said.


    "Thank you hun." Phil said and followed Cam and Gloria from behind.


    "So, dad. Something interesting happened today." Claire said.


    "What?" Jay turned his eyes at Claire while eating and asked.


    "I got a job offer." Claire said.


    "Really? Will you take it?" Jay asked with a tone in disbelief.


    "Why dad? Don''t you think I can''t do it? T-that I''m just a stay at home mom who doesn''t know how to do anything?" Claire got defensive at her dad''s tone of voice. However, her sentence showed more of her own insecurities rather than what her dad thought of her.


    "I''m just saying, it''s been a while since you started something... outside of your house. I thought you quit your job to take care of your family?"


    Claire nodded, a little agitated by her own words being thrown back at her, "Technically...I will be doing the job from home."


    "What? How can you even work like that?!" Jay asked in confusion.


    But before Jay could ask more, he heard the sound of music coming from the living room as all the kids were singing together at this moment.


    "What''s that? Is that from Tarzan?" Claire said and stood up from the table. Part of her wanted some advice from Jay about the matter, while another part of her didn''t want her father''s opinion to impact the things she wanted to do, so Claire was being a bit weird now.


    Jay sighed and walked behind Claire to see what was going on. They stood behind Mitchell, but Mitchell didn''t notice them yet. Luckily for Edward, Jay didn''t hear about the gorilla remark he had made before.


    -Edward POV-


    Alex started to sing as I played the melody of the song.


    [Baby Mine by Arcade Fire]


    Alex: "?Baby mine, don''t you cry... Baby mine, dry your eyes.Rest your head close to my heart. Never to part, baby of mine.?"


    "Nice job Alex." I said as I looked at her as I continued to play the melody. Alex blushed a little and said meekly, "Thanks."


    Claire who was watching from the dark corner muttered as she saw Alex''s reaction, "I don''t like that. Not one bit."


    "OH JESUS When did you guys come here?!" Mitchell was surprised by the duo, and his shout finally revealed the adults to the children.


    I didn''t mind them and continued singing.


    Ed: ? Loving can heal, loving can mend your soul. And it''s the only thing that I know, know. I swear it will get easier. Remember that with every piece of ya..?


    ? Hmm, and it''s the only thing we take with us when we die. Hmm, we keep this love in a photograph. We made these memories for ourselves...Where our eyes are never closing. Hearts were never broken, And time''s forever frozen, still... ?


    Luke whispered to Manny, "What is this song about?"


    Manny replied back with a whisper, " It''s a metaphor about how fast time will pass by for a parent and their love."


    Luke was confused, "What? I thought it''s about taking pictures."


    Gloria was swaying her entire body to the rhythm, not realising the exchange of words between the two 10 years olds.


    Ed: ? So you can keep me


    Inside the pocket of your ripped jeans


    Holding me closer ''til our eyes meet


    You won''t ever be alone?


    ? And if you hurt me


    That''s okay, baby, only words bleed


    Inside these pages, you just hold me


    And I won''t ever let you go?


    ? Wait for me to come home


    Wait for me to come home


    Wait for me to come home


    Wait for me to come home...?


    I stopped the music early and stopped before the final part of the song as the song was quite long.


    Before I could open my mouth, Cam yelled, "What in the name of Amodeus Mozart that just happened?!"


    "Ed?! Did you really make this song on the spot!" Claire asked hurriedly like Dumbledore asking Harry calmly if he put his name in the goblet of fire.


    "A CAMERA! No. A RECORDER! SOMEONE! TELL ME SOMEONE RECORDED IT!" Cam screamed hysterically and tried to prove that the song he just heard wasn''t a figment of his own imagination.


    ...


    After the whole song situation calmed down, the conversation continued, and it''s now almost 9 pm. Cam and Mitchell had thanked me about the songs, and everything else. Lily continued reaching out to me, making Cam and Mitch a bit jealous.


    Before the night ended, I had a useful discussion with the rest of the adults about my current project.


    "Hey. Claire tells me you made a website?" Jay asked after he had a conversation with Claire about her new job offer. He was sceptical at first, but after Claire explained the work in detail, he was...still sceptical, but he was sure Claire could handle the job now.


    "Yeah. It''s not launched yet as I still need to make a few tweaks." I replied.


    "Can I see it?" Jay asked. "Sure. My laptop bag is in the car. I will go take it." I said and walked outside to Dunphy''s minivan. Jay, Gloria, Mitchell and Cameron took a look at the website together and gave me their opinions on the matter.


    [Jay''s commentary]


    "The website is even better than the one my company used. (sigh) Now...I need to make a hard decision about firing my tech guy.."


    [Commentary ends]


    "If I don''t use the website, can I call someone and talk to them to book the ship? Will the call then be linked to the booking system on the website?" Jay asked a critical question.


    "Yes. Any call booking will automatically be set in the website after about an hour of confirmation. The system in the pier and the website will be linked together after I finish my program." I explained.


    Jay nodded, and he advised me about a few things on the business before it was Mitch and Cam''s turn.


    "You know, if there''s pictures of celebrities using the ships, or a party on the ship, I know I will be more inclined to book it." Cam said.


    "That''s true...For me, I need to know about the route the ship will take in the seas. It says here about dancing in the moonlight...so can you guarantee that? You may need a disclaimer in that, so people cannot sue you." Mitchell said as a lawyer.


    "How many people can ride the boat?" Gloria asked. "I don''t want to bring many people there...and then at the last minute I''m being told to drop a few because of the extra weight."


    I noted all of the feedback and I would discuss with my dad on how to solve the issues.


    "Here. Take it." Gloria said as she gave me the hat Jay had worn before. "He won''t ever wear it again. He wouldn''t even know that it''s gone."


    I hitched a ride home with the Dunphy''s after the dinner party was over. It''s almost 10.30 pm now.


    "Hey. Ed. I need to talk to you about something." Haley said. She pulled away from the rest of her family, and told me about the picture she had posted.


    "Ahh. That''s why you''re being so weird." I said.


    "You''re not mad?" Haley asked meekly.


    "Nah. I''m alright. I''m not on Facebook, so I kinda don''t care about what happens. You already explained to them about my visit, right? That''s enough. "


    Haley breathed in relief and said, "Okay. But I''m going to warn you, if anything happens, call me quickly. Okay?!" She snatched my phone and called her phone �C so that she would know my number. Now, she had become the 6th person I had saved in my phone book.


    Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, Abby, Alex, Potato Bitch, and Haley.


    "What would happen?" I asked.


    "You know, if some people are being idiotic." Haley said in concern. "Make sure to call me."


    After waving goodbye to the family, I walked home alone, only to find Brian and Dylan waiting for me to return to the route near my house.


    "Oh. The idiots huh." I muttered as I stood face to face with them.

 Chapter 20: Couple of incidents.

    Chapter 20: Chapter 20: Couple of incidents.?


    (A/N: I have a migraine so I''m going to rest. Enjoy the chap~!)


    -3rd Person POV-


    "Urgh. Why is he not answering?!"


    Dressed in a black blouse and hair tied up in a ponytail, the large-earring wearing girl grumbled as she exited her house.


    Haley had been trying to reach Dylan since last night especially since Madelyn Cline, a.k.a Yoko texted her telling Dylan had gone to meet Edward with her boyfriend Brian.


    "Both of them! Are they messing with me!?" Haley shouted as she entered the minivan, sitting in front next to Claire.


    "What''s going on?" Claire asked in concern.


    Luke and Alex exited the house with their bags, and as Luke opened the side door, he saw someone familiar cycling in front of their house.


    "Hey, that''s Ed." Luke muttered and tried to wave at Edward, but the boy wasn''t paying attention to anything other than the street.


    "What happened to his face?" Claire squinted her eyes as she looked through the back mirror of the car, and she saw something different from the Edward she spent time with yesterday.


    "Looks like he''d been in a fight." Alex muttered in concern. "WHAT?!" Haley shouted in a weird high-pitch voice as she heard what Alex said.


    -Edward POV-


    "Ugh. My teeth feel loose. I ought to sue them." I muttered as I woke up today and walked to the kitchen. I massaged my jaw a little bit and changed the pain relief patch on my right cheek.


    "You can, you know." Ted said while sipping his coffee. "You don''t have to go to school today if you want."


    "It''s okay. I got to submit my assignments today. I will play hooky tomorrow." I said teasingly.


    "Unfortunately, the offer is only valid for today." Ted said with a soft smile.


    "Tch, stingy." I joked and I ate breakfast together with my dad. Instead of cooking, my dad bought a few croissants from a bakery in the city for his turn in making breakfast.


    The next day arrived, and I cycled to school as usual. I passed through the Dunphy''s household, and glanced only for a second before I cycled past them.


    "Last night...Ugh...teenagers..." I grumbled as I remembered the events of last night when I was walking home from the Dunphy''s house.


    [Flashback]


    "Oh. The idiots huh." I muttered as I stood face to face with the two 18 years old �C Dylan and Brian.


    Standing at an imposing 6''2'''' (187 cm), Dylan''s eyes were red as he had just been crying.


    "Dude. I need to ask you a question." Dylan approached me and said in the pitiful voice of an abandoned puppy.


    On his left side was Brian, the glasses-wearing, 5''7 bassist that allegedly bought his way into the band. He was staring at me with contempt, so I reached into my pocket and opened the recording function of my phone secretly.


    "Shoot." I replied casually.


    "Are you dating Haley?" Dylan asked.


    "No." I replied calmly.


    "Do you like Haley?"


    "No."


    "Then why are you in her house?"


    " ''Cause her mother is teaching me to bake a cake."


    "But....but...why?" Dylan asked in confusion.


    "Dylan. He''s lying. There is no way he''s not making a move at Haley." Brian said in contempt. "He needs to be taught a lesson." Brian walked toward me with his fist cocking. I narrowed my eyes and would counterattack at a moment''s notice if he really did try something.


    He was dissatisfied with me because of my Youtube video. My live-cafe performance has now reached one million views on Youtube, and people have been asking the band why they picked Brian instead of me.


    Worst of all, his girlfriend was thinking of breaking up with him because of the incident. She didn''t want to take the heat about the matter, and was abandoning Brian to deal with the matter by himself.


    Dylan grabbed Brian''s fist before he could swing it to me. "That''s not what we came here for!"


    "LET ME GO DYLAN. I need to punch him at least once!" Brian shook off Dylan and swung his right fist at me.


    Putting my guitar case on the ground, I took a step back, causing him to lose his target and he staggered forward. At the same time, I kicked his legs to trip him, causing him to fall to the hard ground into someone''s garden.


    Then, I pinned him down by putting my knees in the back of his neck and locking his limbs.


    "Are you done yet?" I asked in a cold tone. After I got kicked out of the orphanage at age 16, I entered the military for 2 years to collect money to go to college. Fighting a highschool boy wasn''t even an effort for me.


    "Argh!" Brian screamed in pain as I twisted his joints.


    "Dude. STOP!" Dylan said as he tried to remove me from Brian''s back.


    "I''m Edward, Abby''s partner-in-crime." I said and I shook hands with Desiree while being met with a smack in the arm by Abby.


    "What partners-in-crime?" Desiree asked in confusion.


    "N-Nothing." Abby panicked. After Desiree''s divorce and she moved to LA 2 months ago, Abby has been hanging out with the previous me at Sam''s junkyard �C smoking ''herb'' together. She had been inside my house too as our music taste was similar.


    "By the way, did you leave your car''s lights on last night?" I asked Desiree. I also peeked inside the car and found out that my hypothesis was true. The battery light indicator was blinking, and I saw the headlight was turned on.


    "I...don''t know." Desiree replied helplessly. At this moment, I finally understand the traits of the woman who only showed up in one episode of the series.


    "You''re an airhead huh." I blurted out. Desiree widened her eyes in surprise while Abby burst into laughter as they heard that.


    "W-what?" Desiree was flabbergasted by the sudden accusation.


    "Nothing. The car battery is dead. I can replace it for you after I get back home. Or you can call a tow truck too, but that will be more expensive." I offered.


    "Hmm? You know how to fix cars?" Abby asked curiously. Desiree showed a wry smile as she thought I was just a teenager trying to show off.


    "Mom. He can do it." Abby suddenly said. Desiree turned to Abby in confusion, but also was in awe. Her daughter never had introduced any of her friends after they had moved to LA, making her feel that her daughter was estranged in school.


    Desiree smirked at her daughter, causing Abby to roll her eyes again. "He is one of the rare few people who didn''t exaggerate what he can and cannot do."


    I nodded behind Abby in agreement. "It''s okay if you want to call a mechanic. They will tell you the same thing."


    Desiree shook her head and said, "Okay. I will let you do it." She gave Abby her credit card to hold to buy the battery after we finished school.


    "Let''s go. We''ll be late." Abby said and sat sideways on the back of the bike, patting my seat hurriedly to ask me to start cycling. I sighed at my legs muscles and put my legs on the pedal before I waved goodbye to Desiree.


    She waved back excitedly as she was touched that her daughter finally had a friend in the area. She was so touched that she didn''t even ask about my age or whether we went to school together.


    "So, you are serious about taking forensics?" I asked Abby as we rode to school. I had to drop her off at highschool first before I rode to my middle school. It would take me 10 minutes extra to get to school today, and I estimated that I would be late to the first class.


    "Yeah. After we move back to New York, I will talk to my mom about that." Abby said. The goth girl was a bit of a genius, and her main interest was crime investigations.


    She only smoked weed when she had studied about it and found out that the ''herb'' was harmless. "So. Did you fight with someone?" Abby asked.


    "Two idiots came near my house last night, but their fate is worse than mine." I bragged.


    Abby laughed and teased, "Really? You can fight? Aren''t you a wimp?"


    I chuckled and said, "Said the paper human."


    "Hey!" The weak Abby exclaimed in anger. I laughed at her and we catched up till we got to school.


    "You''re famous now on Youtube, are you going to debut soon?" Abby asked as we entered the city.


    "I think so. But I guess I will only be a studio artist." I said.


    "You''re not going around on tour?" Abby asked.


    "Nah. Too troublesome." I replied.


    "Still lazy I see." Abby teased. We arrived at the school in no time, and I accidentally arrived at the same time the popular group of people had arrived at school.


    "Hey. That''s the son of a bitch who broke your nose." A laughter came from An African-american band member of Dylan''s who teased the injured man when he saw me. I think his name was Derek, but I didn''t remember him much.


    "That''s the guy you fought with?" Abby said as she understood the situation without me explaining anything. "Nice job." She nodded as she was pleased someone had actually taught the stupid guy a lesson.


    "Well, it wasn''t me who broke his nose though. It was Brian." I said casually. Derek heard it and exploded into laughter once more. He held his hurting stomach and strutted over to my direction.


    "Let me say it first. I''m sorry that we didn''t let you play before. It wasn''t fair to you. And I''m sorry that Dylan is an idiot. Haley slapped him when she heard what happened earlier on."


    "Nice." I exclaimed, causing Derek to laugh once more. Derek was only 15 years old, and a pianist for the band. He had short and unkempt hair that was driving me crazy, and he wore clothes as if he was working at the docks.


    Dylan lowered his head in shame and tried to talk to me, but I needed to rush to my school.


    "Bye Abby. I''ll pick you up later." I put my foot on the pedal and wanted to ride away, but Abby stopped me.


    "Okay bye!" Abby said as she kissed my cheek lovingly. I was a bit stunned as I knew she wasn''t this type of girl, while Derek and Dylan widened their eyes.


    Abby whispered to my ear while maintaining to be affectionate to me, "I don''t know why he''s targeting you but I guess for that girl Haley. Like this, he won''t bother you anymore."


    Abby was a bit concerned as I was a loner and Dylan has his group of friends. The little genius managed to concoct a scheme instantly as she deducted the whole situation based on limited information. The only thing she couldn''t solve yet was the bruise on my face.


    I smiled and I kissed her on the left cheek before I said, "Don''t worry. I can handle myself. Thank you for your help... Although I''d prefer it to be on the lips."


    I drove away, leaving a stunned Abby and a group of jaw-dropped men.


    The goth girl had a lot of fans in school, but no one actually managed to ask her out. But a middle-school student did. As the rumours started to spread, I finally arrived at Franklin Middle School after the bell had rung.


    I entered Mrs Henderson class a bit late using the back door, attracting the attention of the entire class.


    Mrs Herderson turned toward me from writing on the whiteboard and said, "Did you fought with someone Mr. Newgate?"


    "Ah...I cannot talk about it as per the rules of the club." I said jokingly. Mrs Henderson narrowed her eyes at me while some boys in the class laughed.

 Chapter 21: Gossips.

    Chapter 21: Chapter 21: ?Gossips.


    -3rd Person POV-


    Palisades High School.


    As Haley arrived at school, she waited for Dylan at the place where he usually parked his blue muscle-junk-car from the 1970s.


    The car''s appearance could be confused by a 1970 plymouth duster, but it had lost its value years ago. Dylan had bought the car for 1000 dollars after working in the summer and saved up all his money for it. The crappy car finally pulled up 10 minutes before school started.


    "Dylan!" Haley strutted toward Dylan who just arrived and was getting out of his car. His nose was patched up and clear bruises could be seen on his face.


    "Haley. I-" Dylan said in a nasally voice as his nostril was blocked.


    SLAP!


    Haley slapped Dylan ruthlessly before he could say anything.


    "I can''t believe you don''t trust me! I told you that Edward and I are only friends. Why can''t you listen to me?! You had to go and jump him like that?"


    "Haley, I didn''t! That was Brian!" Dylan tried to defend himself, but Haley was already so frustrated by him.


    "We''re over!" Haley said and stomped off toward her class. They had only been dating for a month, and in that time span, Haley had broken up with him 3 times now. But this time, she was really angry at him and their breakup might be permanent.


    Especially when he imagined Edward as his Uncle Mitchell when he was young. She had heard the stories from Uncle Mitchell and Cam �C mostly from Cam, about how confused, how afraid they were, how they lost friendships, how people viewed them as weirdos, and all of that.


    She couldn''t accept the fact that his boyfriend was now one of the bad guys in Uncle Mitchell''s story. Even though Haley seemed like she didn''t care, family means everything to her.


    As she entered the school, she walked to the girls toilet and called her Uncle Mitchell to tell him about what happened.


    -Cam and Mitchell''s house-


    "Lily. Say goodbye to Daddy. Say Goodbye to Daddy." Cam puppeted Lily''s hand to wave goodbye at a well-dressed Mitchell in a suit as her other daddy was going to work this morning.


    "Hmm. I still think I should take a day off today." Mitchell said longingly. However, his boss already called him as the deposition had been moved up to Tuesday, so Mitchell would have to stay back today.


    As Mitchell walked out of the house, he received a call from Haley. He was a bit confused as it was 8 in the morning, so he thought that Haley had forgotten something in his house at the dinner party.


    "Hello?" Mitchell picked up the call.


    "Uncle Mitch. Something happened." Haley said directly. Mitchell quickly became serious and turned back toward his house.


    "Hey, Daddy''s back again?" Cam said in confusion as he kept playing with Lily.


    "Uh-huh. And then. Uh-huh." Mitchell listened to the story Haley was telling, while Cameron became increasingly curious about his return.


    "What happened? What happened?" Cam asked with a whisper. Mitchell put the phone on his chest and said in a low voice, "Cam, Eddy got jumped by some kids after going home yesterday. His face is all bruised up."


    "WHAT!" Cam yelled in a manly voice that was different from the one he usually used.


    "Yeah. And Haley had broken up with her boyfriend who apparently...got jealous of Edward and ...."


    "Don''t make me wait, you monster." Cam said urgently as Mitchell cut his sentence short.


    "And...her boyfriend was there among the people who attacked Ed." Mitchell said dramatically.


    Cam gasped and covered his mouth.


    "She is asking what she should do now." Mitchell asked.


    "Talk to Ed. See if he''s okay. Alex is one school with him right? Call Alex. Let her check up on him." Cam advised. After calming the teenage girl, Mitchell ended the call after advising her with what Cam said.


    "Should I call Pepper?" Mitchell asked.


    "Yes. Definitely." Cam said. "I will call Ed''s dad to see if he knows anything about it. I will call you and tell you about it later. You should go now. You''re going to be late."


    Mitchell finally realised that he was standing frozen near the door for multiple minutes now. "Yeah. I should. But wait...Ed is...not gay right?" Mitchell asked.


    Cam flipped his right hand multiple times, "Ehhh~ 50-50. If he didn''t make the baby clothes before, I might have changed my mind about it. But the cake..."


    "Yeah. The cake.." Mitchell said and then he concluded. "So...still ambiguous. I think Haley thinks... he''s gay..."


    "We should resolve the misunderstanding...after we check up on him. He''s practically family now." Cam said decisively.


    As Mitchell walked to his car the second time, he got a text from Haley. He ran back to the house in a hurry and almost yelled as he opened the front door.


    "Cam. Edward...has a girlfriend. A HOT ONE!"


    As Mitchell yelled that, Cameron who was speaking on his phone closed his mouth with his hand and said, "So. He isn''t gay? Or..."


    -Highschool-


    "Haley, are you here?" Tara, one of Haley''s close friends, entered the girls'' toilet after class had started and Haley wasn''t in the classroom. She was a white girl with a single lock of braids in her hair and she wore denim themed clothing to school today.


    "I heard about what Dylan did." Tara said. "He met Edward this morning, do you know about that?" She asked.


    Haley opened the toilet door and asked, "What happened?"


    Her blonde hair had been dyed brown, and she was trying to emulate Haley by wearing the same outfit Haley had worn last week. However, she applied a gothic style makeup that was similar to what Abby was wearing this morning.


    Her loyal friend, the baggy-jacket-wearing Elsa, was staring at me with dissatisfaction from afar �C while she was standing next to Jacob.


    "What?" Elsa turned to Jacob and asked as the boy was stealing glances at her. However, Jacob froze from the single word, and stepped back robotically for another 10 steps, causing Elsa to stare at him in confusion.


    As I was shocked, Jenna managed to touch my face and brightened up as I didn''t show a rejection toward her like I always did. I grabbed her hand after being stunned for 5 seconds. Meaning she had 5 seconds of skinship and being affectionate before I stopped her.


    "Why...?" I blurted out as I was confused by Jenna''s sudden change. She had never changed her hair colour before nor was she interested in gothic stuff.


    Jenna smiled and pointed at her entire body. "This is...the kind of girl you like. Right?" She smiled widely as she tried to get into my embrace. I took a step back from the weird situation, causing Jenna to have the eyes of an abandoned puppy.


    "Did you...change yourself...for me?" I said in a horrible realisation. By denying her satisfaction, it grew into an obsession towards me. I needed to stop her before she descended into madness and kidnap me or something else.


    Touching her hair, Jenna said, "Why? You don''t like it? What kind of girls do you like? I will be that girl for sure!" Jenna said desperately.


    She couldn''t handle not being noticed by me any longer so she resorted to this type of method. I sighed and pitied the girl who was so lost in her life, that the only way she thought she would ever have any value was when she''s with someone else. Direct rejection wasn''t useful any longer. I needed to do it delicately now.


    "You want to know what kind of girl I like?" I asked her. Jenna brightened up and said hurriedly, "Yes. Tell me. Do you want me to go goth? Or...be more like Haley?"


    "Neither. I want you to be you." I said. Jenna was confused and she said, "But you don''t like me as... me."


    "Yeah. I don''t. But she was much...much better than the person you''re trying to be right now. I will tell you a secret that is only just for you... to stop doing things like this."


    "What secret? Are you going to tell me the truth, or are you going to curse at me again?" Jenna said, visibly excited at the prospect of being cursed at �C which weirded me out once more.


    "I will tell you the truth. Come here..." I gestured to her to come closer.


    As she drew closer, I whispered to her ears, "I don''t like kids. That''s all. My taste is an older woman. It''s better that she''s over 30, and has a dump truck ass on her."


    Jenna dropped her jaw after she heard about my honest confession. I pulled my face away from her and said, "Now you understand?"


    Alex darted her pupil between Jenna and I, trying to find out what I had just told Jenna as she couldn''t hear about the whisper before. But she couldn''t speak up, not when Jenna was around.


    "Is that....really the truth?!" Jenna asked in shock.


    "Yup." I replied casually and walked away as I pulled Alex with me, "I also love smart women. So pick up a book once in a while. If you got second place in the entire grade, or even just your class, then I will go out with you once."


    Jenna thought about the matter deeply and asked from afar, "Why second place?"


    I turned to her and smirked, "Cause the first place is already reserved...for me." I pointed at myself and smiled. Jenna was smitten once more, and her motivation to study had increased multiple folds as my smile was imprinted in her mind and added to her Edward moment files.


    -3rd Person POV-


    "What did he say?" Elsa asked as she approached Jenna. "He told me the reason why we''re not dating."


    "Did he curse at you again?" Elsa asked with gritted teeth. Jenna turned to her and said, "No. He told me the truth. It''s not like he didn''t like me, I''m just making a move too early."


    "Why? Did he say he liked college girls or something?" Elsa asked.


    Jenna touched her hair and said, "Let''s go. I need to get to the salon and change my hair colour back."


    "What? Are you going to skip school?" Elsa widened her eyes in shock.


    "Of course not. I''m going to call my mommy to come pick me up. I am also going to need a tutor if I want to go on a date with Edward." Jenna said with a lovestruck expression. She then muttered underneath her breath. "I also need... Gasoline.."


    "What was that?" Elsa asked as she didn''t hear the last sentence.


    "Nothing." Jenna smiled brightly and walked away.


    Elsa wondered why Edward promised to go on a date with Jenna inwardly, and she stared at Jenna with incomprehensible eyes. Then, she turned to the direction Edward had left, and she thought about the robotic giant who retreated from her earlier.


    "He''s his friend right? He must know the reason for this. I need to talk to him." Elsa muttered, not knowing that it would be an easier mission to make a dog speak like a human rather than getting Jacob to speak with a girl.


    ...


    The rumours about the fight had blown out of proportions as it resonated across the middle and high school. Some kids even saw Edward whispering to Jenna''s ears, and now even Jenna had become an equation in the rumours.


    A random girl said to his boyfriend, "I heard Dylan catches Edward sleeping with Haley, and went to beat him up, but he was the one who got beaten up."


    Another random high school boy said in jealousy, "I heard Edward having s*x with both Haley and the Goth girl Abby at the same time."


    "I heard Abby and Edward were blackmailing Jenna to become their pet."


    "I heard Jenna had sex with Edward every single day."


    "I heard Edward had..."


    "I heard Haley was..."


    "I heard Abby was..."


    "I heard Dylan was..."


    And so, the rumours had completely lost their substance and turned into tabloid news that became entertainment for the teenagers inside the city. The rumours didn''t care about how it would affect the people involved, and only existed to be the most unbelievable yet "totally 100% true" story written by the teenager''s imagination.

 Chapter 22: How dare you fantasise about my mother?!

    Chapter 22: Chapter 22: How dare you fantasise about my mother?!


    (Last Chapter for this week. See you guys Monday!)


    -3rd Person POV-


    Highschool. Cafeteria.


    Abby was sitting alone as usual, eating a sandwich that her mother had packed for her. While sitting, she browsed through the IT world news using her Iphone. It was then Haley approached her.


    "Hey. Can I sit here?" Haley asked as she stood anxiously in front of the circular table.


    Abby didn''t have the best reputation in school �C not because she''s a goth girl, but on the first day in school, she smacked a boy with a food tray in the face as he insulted her mother. After that, no one dared to mess with Abby.


    Abby raised her head to glance at Haley and said with indifference, "Sure. Just sit. It''s not like I own the table."


    Abby had never known who Haley was in the two months she had transferred to the school, nor did she bothered to get to know anyone here. She would leave soon anyway, so why bother to make friends here.


    Haley sat down and stared at Abby, wondering why she didn''t start the conversation. She had never started a conversation on her own before. People usually start the conversation for her as she was pretty. Using a plastic fork, Haley tried to eat the food she bought from the cafeteria, but her eyes couldn''t move away from Abby.


    Abby felt that someone was staring at her as she continued reading the news. She raised her head up the second time, and saw Haley was looking weirdly at her.


    "What''s the matter doe eyes?" Abby asked as if she was talking to a little girl.


    "Y-You...don''t know who I am?" Haley asked while feeling extremely shocked inside.


    "Are you...somebody important that has or would have a direct impact in human''s lives while you''re living?" Abby asked sarcastically.


    Haley however, didn''t catch a word of what Abby had just said. "I''m...Haley. You know, the one who..."


    "The one who makes her boyfriend attack an innocent boy. I know you now." Abby said in excitement as she thought Haley was going to pick a fight with her.


    "I didn''t make Dylan do anything!" Haley said desperately. "I told him to call me if something happened, but he didn''t even try to do that."


    Abby was a bit surprised as the petite girl started to vent at her.


    "Wait- How did you two meet again?" Abby asked as she realised that she didn''t know the whole story of what happened between Haley and Edward.


    "He''s close to my dad and my brother Luke, so my brother Luke stole a cake from his house...Wait, I need to tell you about the dinner...No, the fight with the band...and then..." Haley told Abby everything in a rapid fire sentence.


    Although Abby was flustered, she managed to capture everything Haley had said even though she basically didn''t stop talking for about 5 minutes.


    "So this morning, I texted him again..But he didn''t reply. When Dylan come to school, I-"


    "Haley. Wait." Abby said while holding her hurting head. "Let me understand it first. So Edward had come to your house to welcome your uncle''s baby, and your boyfriend attacked him for that? Is he an idiot?" Abby asked.


    "He is." Suddenly, Tara �C Haley''s best friend joined in at the seat without even asking Abby''s permission. "There''s no doubt Dylan is an idiot. So... I got some new... news. First, Edward didn''t break Dylan''s nose, Brian did."


    "WHAT!?" Haley exclaimed in a high pitched voice. Abby was confused when her lonely lunch time changed into a hot topic tv show, but she was too curious about Edward to stop listening to the popular girls.


    "Yeah. I heard it from Madelyn. Brian was the one that started to fight with Edward. But he was beaten badly by him, causing Dylan to interfere. And then, Brian accidentally punched Dylan''s nose while Dylan was holding Edward still."


    Abby whistled as she was impressed by Edward''s feats. "So how did Eddy get injured?" Abby asked.


    "So listen to this. Edward turned after knocking both Dylan and Brian to the ground, and he stepped on a rake. The stick was smacked to his face, causing him to fall to his knees. One of the neighbours'' kids saw the fight and I got the news from him." Tara explained while holding back her laugh.


    She was one of the rare few kids in the school that decided to investigate something before she succumbed to rumours, making her one of the most trusted gossip sources in the school. On another note, she was also a journalist for the school newspaper.


    "Ahh that''s why he didn''t tell me about it." Abby mumbled and took out her phone. She smiled mischievously and sent a text to Edward asking him how the rake tasted.


    Edward replied, "Like a 70''s cartoon with ambiguous sexual connotations and racist jokes." Abby laughed out loud to the reply, causing the two girls who sat with her to tilt their head in confusion.


    "So anyway, how long have you two been dating?" Tara asked as she tilted her body forward toward Abby. Abby smiled and got her face closer to Tara. She then whispered, "None of your beeswax."


    Haley was curious about how similar Abby and Edward were. She wanted to ask Abby whether she knew that Edward was gay, or hinted at it, but as Tara was around, she didn''t bring up the subject.


    Tara wasn''t angry at all and she said playfully, "Come on. I told you about the rake. Do you know how hard it is for me to get that info?"


    "Have you guys kissed yet? Is he a good kisser? Does he play his songs for you? Has he entered your room?" Tara asked rapid fire questions, similar to how Haley talked non-stop before, causing Abby to get another headache.


    "Yes. Yes. Yes. and Yes."


    *CRACK*


    Abby heard a cracking sound, but she didn''t know where. She ignored the sound and turned to the expression of the girls in front of her. One was frozen, while the other one was extremely excited as she got to hear some awesome news.


    Abby lied as she wanted to play around a little while longer �C while simultaneously making trouble for Edward, as she understood that Haley had something inside her chest for that dear friend of hers. She could guess what Haley was feeling as Haley could barely smile when she heard the answer to Tara''s questions.


    The school bell rang, and Abby stood up slowly from her seat while smiling softly, "It''s been awful talking to you ladies. May we never speak again."


    Haley and Tara were stunned by Abby''s words. They couldn''t help but watch Abby''s back as she walked seductively toward her next class.


    "She''s...so cool." Tara muttered. Haley was shocked by her friend''s words and said, "What are you talking about?!"


    Tara turned to Haley and said, "By the way, do you have a crush on Edward?"


    "..." Haley was speechless at the question. She asked in concern, "Have you gone crazy today?" Haley then noticed that her fork had been broken. ''When did this happen?'' She thought as she held the broken fork.


    ...


    "He has like a blind confidence in my family. I don''t know why." Alex said in confusion. "Even I don''t even trust my family, and he could do it so easily."


    "At the very least, my mom''s critical point of view could help Edward when he trusts the wrong person in the business." Alex exposed her plans and why she wanted Claire to take the job.


    "There is no way mom is just going to be working at home." Alex said confidently. "One way or another, she would try to grasp the entire business to try and control it too."


    [Commentary ends.]


    -Edward POV-


    After I had finished showering and cleaning myself up, I changed into a simple grey t-shirt with a V-type neck and matching it with a pair of jeans.


    I checked my phone and saw text messages from Haley. She had texted me when I was fixing the car, so I didn''t have time to reply to her messages yet.


    Right now, she was bombarding my messages with random emojis and curse words as I didn''t reply to her messages for so long.


    Edward: ''Sup.


    Haley: That''s it? You ignored me for an entire day, and all you can say is ''Sup?


    Edward: ''Sup...Haley?


    I teased her with my text messages as I walked to Abby''s house.


    Haley: Forget it. Are you okay? Did you really take a rake to the face?


    Edward: I won''t answer that. Try again.


    Haley: Are you really dating Abby?


    Edward: For now.


    [Haley''s commentary]


    "What does FOR NOW even mean?! Is he thinking of breaking up with her? Or..." Haley said in frustration, and then continued with a whisper, "...Abby knew he is gay, and was helping him get out of the mess I created."


    She ruined her own hair in frustration. "ARGHH! Why the hell did these things happen!?"


    [Commentary ends]


    Haley: Anyway, I''m sorry.


    Edward: For what? You''re not the one trying to punch me.


    Haley: Yeah, but I caused it.


    Edward: Nah, you don''t have any blame in this. This is just the boys being stupid. Also, they couldn''t touch me even if they tried again the second or third time, so don''t worry about it.


    I tried to comfort Haley as the incident really wasn''t her fault. Brian''s pent up resentment toward me was only looking for an excuse to explode. It would have happened whether or not she had posted the picture.


    Haley: Why don''t you come to my house? Dad is looking for you. He wants to go to your house, but mom won''t let him.


    Edward: I''m actually outside right now. I''m having dinner with Abby. Tell him I''ll come by tomorrow.


    Haley didn''t reply for a while, so I put the phone back into my pocket as I arrived at Abby''s house. After dinner with her mother�C which was horrible by the way, Abby invited me to her room.


    "Did you bring your laptop?" The makeupless Abby asked. She had to take a shower as I had ruined her makeup before.


    Her room was filled with heavy metal posters and I could see the strap of her bra being wedged in her closet door, so I knew she had just cleaned the room before inviting me in. We sat on her bed and opened up each of our laptops.


    "Yeah. You want to see the website right?" I said to her as I showed the website to her. The future forensic scientist was a genius in computers too and she had created a few programs of her own.


    "Wait? You really created this? But how?" Abby asked in a cute shocked face as she read the codes I had created.


    "Trade secret." I said teasingly.


    Abby sulked and tried to comprehend the codes all on her own, but she gave up after 20 minutes.


    "Teach me!" Abby closed face near me and tried to intimidate me to teach her about the codes. The smell of her shampoo entered my nose, and her eyes locked with mine.


    "I won''t~" I said in a teasing manner, causing Abby to fall into a deep thought.


    "If you teach me, I will let you...touch my boobs once." Abby said, trying to look calm even though she was blushing hard.


    "Eh?" My brain short-circuited after hearing what she said.


    "What? You like boobs right? I saw the way you looked at my mom''s!" Abby said.


    "Yeah. Your mom''s boobs, not your boob." I teased again. For her to offer something like that made me feel bad that I kept teasing her. "Anyway, don''t worry, I''ll teach you-"


    Abby was agitated when she heard about her mom''s again. She grabbed me and put me into a headlock, with my cheek against her boobs.


    "Don''t talk about my mother like that!" Abby said, trying to punish me for my transgression.


    "Didn''t you hear what I said? I will teach you! Stop this!" I said hurriedly. Even if I was an adult before, my body right now was an easily excitable teenager. If she prolonged this punishment, my body would react.


    "Really?!" Abby widened her eyes in excitement, she pushed her body onto mine changing the headlock into a hug. The push caused both of us to fall on the bed with her body on top of mine.


    Our faces inches away from one another. I could feel her hot breath and unusually fast heart beat as our bodies were pressed together.

 Chapter 23: Hot Atmosphere!

    Chapter 23: Chapter 23:?Hot Atmosphere!


    (A/N: Sup. Miss me?)


    Abby and I stared into each other''s eyes, our bodies unmoving.


    "So. What''s happening here? Are we falling in love with each other?" I teased with a smile as I saw Abby''s face beginning to blush. Unexpectedly, she didn''t try to move away nor did she try to break eye contact.


    "You know you had been so weird today?" Abby asked.


    "How so?"


    "More...calm. More mature. It''s as if I hadn''t gone for 10 days, but instead 10 years."


    Abby paused while still staring at me, her face was determined to get the answer. My bright smile turned into an awkward smile as I understood what she was talking about. Even though I retained a lot of the Newgate''s characteristics, I was not him entirely.


    "So. What happened to you?" Abby asked.


    "It''s because I now understand what I didn''t before." I replied.


    "Explain. Or I won''t let you go." Abby said, locking her legs now with my legs as she thought I would be uncomfortable with this �C as the previous Newgate was uncomfortable when she tried to hug him or get closer to him.


    The teen me did have a major crush on the goth girl �C it was weird how she never understood that.


    "That puts me in a hard spot." I said. Abby smirked and thought that I would tell her everything next.


    "If you''re thinking, ''I''ve won this round.'' That''s just naive thinking. You threatened me with this..." I said, referring to her thigh sliding up my legs. "...And didn''t even notice that I don''t have anything to lose here. In fact, I''m enjoying this."


    "Ugh!" Abby groaned and tried to let go, causing her to fall sideways to the bed while still close to me. Her face turned away as she tried to get up. However, I placed my hand on her chin and gently, yet forcefully turned her face back towards me.


    "W-What?" Abby asked, her heart palpitated quickly as she didn''t expect me to do anything.


    "I got to say, you''re really beautiful Abby." I complimented honestly while I slid her hair back against her ears to see her face better. Abby''s eyes move toward my lips, and she inches closer and closer.


    "No! You''re 14!" Abby suddenly pushed me away, causing me to fall from the bed.


    "Oww!" I winced in pain, but I was still laughing from her beet red face. She was mad and she threw a soft pillow at my face.


    After calming down the angry goth girl with some promise of my very own strawberry shortcake to be given to her tomorrow, I taught her some of the programs I had used in my website creation and to create the program that synchronized both the website and the office system.


    Although she barely got 10% of the matter, her eyes showed glimmering interest and undying resolution to learn more about software development.


    "Abby please, it''s almost 10. I need to go home." I said in frustration as the goth girl was hugging me from the back, not wanting to end the session early.


    "Just a bit more...Just a bit more..." Abby begged with teary eyes as I wanted to say goodbye. I taught her to make her own 8-bit game, which she was almost completing the first step.


    "Okay. But I''ll type. You''re too slow." I said as I took her laptop from her.


    -3rd Person POV-


    As Desiree was going to open the door, she heard the voice coming from inside the room.


    "Wow. You''re really good." Abby said while panting her breath.


    "Abby, are you done yet?" Edward asked with a desperate tone.


    "Just a bit more. Faster...Bigger... Harder!" Abby exclaimed in excitement.


    Desiree quickly turned backward and decided not to interfere...not until her daughter had ''finished''.


    Desiree muttered to herself, "I sure hope they are using protection."


    -Edward POV-


    "Okay. I''m done." I said as I showed her the primitive era game that she had made by herself. It was just a walking skeleton that carried a club with him. It walked on an empty field for 20 seconds, and then the game ended.


    However, that short bit had made the young girl so excited. She hugged me sideways and kissed my cheeks repeatedly as she thanked me.


    "I had always been looking for ways to do this, but I never got the chance." Abby said.


    "Okay. Stop. I need to go home now." I said with a flat tone, already regretting my decision to teach the girl to code.


    Desiree suddenly knocked on the door as Abby was hugging me. She looked at me with some indecipherable glint in her eyes which weirded me out.


    "Next, we''re going to try some leather equipment and make sure it lasts more than 20 seconds." Abby said excitedly to me, which caused Desiree to freeze in her spot.


    "Okay. Whatever you want. Just let me go now." I said. Abby finally lets me go after she made me promise to hang out with her tomorrow.


    -3rd Person POV-


    As Edward said goodbye and walked to his house, Desiree turned to Abby and asked, "Are you having se-...No... Are you using protection? You did...right?" She asked.


    "Hmm? No. Not yet. We didn''t have time yet to use protection." Abby replied as her mind was thinking about the game character''s defense.


    Desiree became ashen, "Why don''t you? Do you know how dangerous it was? Where did he ''finish''?"


    Abby was confused by her mother''s question. "Inside my -" She wanted to say laptop, but Desiree stopped her as she couldn''t bear to hear another word.


    Desiree holds Abby''s shoulder with both hands. "Abby. LISTEN TO ME! I know that he is your first boyfriend, but always use protection!"


    "Mom....what?" Abby muttered.


    "We will get you to the pharmacy to get you some pills if he ''did it'' inside you. Come with me! We will get you some birth control along the way."


    Abby was confused at first, and then her face turned red, and she couldn''t believe what her mother just said.


    "There are a few other ways to finish. Don''t let him shoot inside of you. Make him pull out-" Desiree continued.


    "We didn''t HAVE SEX!" Abby shouted in a weird high pitch voice to stop her mother from spiraling, causing Edward who''s still nearby to hear an echo.


    -Edward POV-


    "Hmm? What was that?" I muttered as I turned around to look for the source of the echo. I gave up after not finding anything and walked toward my house.


    My dad''s car was already parked, so I knew he had gotten home. Ted was sitting on the sofa and watching a show on Tv with a can of beer in his hand.


    "You have a boyfriend?" Claire looked at Haley weirdly and asked.


    "Claire, focus. We need to hide her from the cops. Grab your passport and some cash." Phil said.


    "I DIDN''T BURN HIS CAR!" Haley shouted again. Haley grabbed the call from Claire and asked, "Edward. What is going on?"


    Edward finally got a word in after uselessly trying to explain to Claire about the matter as she was tuning out everything he said.


    "It''s only for questioning. Someone had burned Dylan''s car around 6 in the evening...You didn''t do it, did you?" I asked.


    "NO!" Haley screamed in frustration. "I was with Tara at the mall, getting our nails done."


    "Just tell the cops that. They are only trying to find the suspect, not bringing you in so you can calm down. Ask Claire and Phil to calm down too and stop Phil from finding a gateway car, he won''t find any in time." Edward said in a calm tone, which in turn had calmed down Haley too.


    "Ohh." Haley exclaimed after she finally figured out the situation. Suddenly, a knocking sound could be heard coming from the front door of her house.


    "We''re too late! QUICK, CLIMB DOWN THE WINDOWS!" Phil whispered.


    "No dad. They are not coming to get me. They are only asking some questions. They asked Edward some questions too." Haley explained and gave the call to Alex.


    "Okay. Now, narrate to me exactly what is happening." Edward requested Alex.


    "Okay, we are going outside of the room now." Alex said and followed her family from behind.


    Phil and Claire calmed down a bit, and the entire family followed Haley to open the door. Luke was not interested as he knew Haley wasn''t in trouble, so he went back to sleep.


    "Are you Haley Dunphy?" Buddy asked as Haley opened the door.


    "Yes." Haley replied meekly.


    "Where are you at 6 in the evening today?"


    "I was at the mall, doing my nails with my friends." Haley said.


    "Okay good. Thank you for your cooperation." Buddy said, smiled, and walked back to his car.


    "SHE IS A VERY GOOD GIRL!" Phil shouted at the cop as he drove away.


    "DAD!" Haley shouted in embarrassment as all of her neighbors had heard what Phil had shouted.


    "And Dad had just shouted ''Haley is a good girl'', which I know she isn''t." Alex said as she was having fun narrating the scene to Edward.


    Edward said, "I can hear him from my house."


    "I know. Dad is crazy." Alex laughed. Claire snatched the call from Alex who was making fun of her family and said to Edward, "Who burnt down the car?"


    "I don''t know." Edward replied.


    "Is it you?" Claire asked.


    Edward was silent after he heard the question, "..."


    "No mom. He had dinner with his girlfriend at her house. It wasn''t him." Haley said with a tone of disbelief.


    "It''s not that I don''t trust him, I just wanted to make sure nothing is happening with him." Claire explained herself, but everyone was staring at her with disbelief in their eyes.


    "Okay kids. Go to bed." Claire said hurriedly. "Edward, thank you for notifying us. You should go to bed too." Claire said and ended the call after saying goodnight.


    "Wait. I want to-" Before Phil could finish his sentence, Claire already cut the call.


    ...


    -Edward POV-


    After the incident ended, Haley returned my text and asked me if I knew who did it. She couldn''t text Dylan as the guy''s phone was still broken.


    Edward: Even I don''t know. Anyway, go to sleep. I''ll text you if I hear anything, and you do the same thing for me. Deal?


    Haley: Deal.


    As I was doing my homework from Mrs Henderson, I heard my phone chiming.


    Haley: Tara is asking Madelyn who''s asking Brian who''s asking Dylan if he knew who did it. But Dylan said he only saw a girls'' figure.


    Edward: I see. Was his car destroyed?


    Haley: Be right back.


    I returned to my homework when Haley texted me 5 minutes later.


    Haley: Yes, his car is destroyed. Anyway, what are you doing now?


    Edward: I''m doing homework. That''s too bad for Dylan. Can you ask Tara to send a message to him? Tell him I want to talk to him tomorrow.


    Haley responded almost instantaneously after reading the text.


    Haley: Why do you want to meet him?


    Edward: Can you do it or not?


    Haley: I can...But can you tell me why first?


    Edward: No.


    She responded with a series of furious emojis, in which I ignored all of them. She finally gave up and told me that she had already delivered the message from Tara.


    Haley: I did you a favor, so you need to do me a favor too.


    Edward: No.


    Haley: WHY NOT!?


    Edward: I already did you a favor by calling your mom before. I owe you nothing. (smirk.emoji)


    And then, the emoji bomb exploded once more. I felt satisfied after making Haley annoyed and I ignored her as I continued my work to develop the website.

 Chapter 24: Crush

    Chapter 24: Chapter 24: Crush


    [3rd Person POV]


    -Dunphy''s house-


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


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


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


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


    "Yeah. So?"


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    Haley: I am not SHORT!


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


    Haley: 5''1!!!!!!!!!!! (160 cm)


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


    Haley sighed and then she got curious.


    Haley: What are you doing up anyway?


    Edward: I''m working on the website.


    Haley: When did you usually sleep?


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


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


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


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


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


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


    -Edward''s POV-


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    "Let''s do that. Claire Dunphy is coming again today. I wonder when she will actually accept the work." Ted said to make conversation.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    "B-But I don''t have any money."


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


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


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


    "Dylan, you''re 18 right?" I asked.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    "What''s a cougar?" Dylan asked.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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

 Chapter 25: Hangout.

    Chapter 25: Chapter 25: Hangout.?


    "Hello~! Edward. We''re here~!" Manny rang the doorbell at my house after he came with Jay and Gloria.


    Wearing a black apron, I opened the door and saw the little family. Gloria was wearing a tight, floral print dress, Jay was wearing business casual clothes, and Manny in his puffy bowling shirt as usual.


    "Oh Geez." Jay exclaimed as he saw my attire. I wonder if he was having Mitchell''s flashback inside his mind.


    "What? I don''t want to ruin my shirt." I said defensively. I had tied up my hair into a bun, and was holding a spatula in my hand. I also folded my long sleeve shirt to the elbow to avoid it getting dirty from cooking.


    "Are you cooking? It smells good!" Gloria asked after her nose had picked up on the smell.


    "Yeah. I''m making a spicy and crispy chicken burger." I replied. "You''re not allergic to anything are you?" I asked Manny.


    "No. I''m fine with everything." Manny replied.


    "Come in. Let''s talk inside." I invited them. Jay said, "No need, we need to get-"


    "Vamos Jay!" Gloria and Manny had entered the house before Jay could even decline the invitation. Jay lowered his head in defeat and entered the house reluctantly. I hurried my steps toward the kitchen as I was frying the chicken at the moment.


    "Phew..." I breathed in relief after the chicken was cooked perfectly as I came back. I could only cook it 2 at a time because it needed to be deep fried and the pan was small.


    "That looks great." Manny said as he saw me seasoning the cooked chicken. The chicken was marinated overnight, and was coated in batter before I fried it. The seasoning was only the finishing touch for the meat to give it a certain kick.


    "Edward, why did you fight before? Fighting is not good." Gloria asked as after she hesitated for a while. Even though I had already taken off the pain relief patch on my face, some bruising could still be seen.


    "You fought someone?" Manny asked with a face full of shock as he sat at the kitchen counter.


    "Yeah." I replied to Manny casually before I explained, "Haley''s boyfriend...I guess he''s an ex-boyfriend now, thought that I was dating her. So he came to ask me about it. His friend got hot headed and tried to punch me, so a fight broke out."


    "So. Is it Haley''s fault?" Jay asked after understanding the situation.


    "No it was not. It was just some boys being stupid." I said to defend Haley.


    Gloria became angry. "Why did he come to you? He couldn''t talk to his girlfriend himself?! ?Ese puto loco! (That crazy bastard)"


    Jay stopped Gloria as he sensed something. "What happened to the other guys?" He asked to change the topic.


    "One got a broken nose, the other one didn''t come to school till today." I replied casually with a little hint of bragging as I served the first burger to Manny.


    Jay laughed out loud in elation while Gloria admonished him quickly to not let Jay encourage me to fight.


    "Ay! Don''t do that Jay." Gloria said quickly.


    [Jay''s Commentary]


    "Nowadays, the kids are too soft. Back in my day, we fought with each other on a weekly basis. Bruises on the face were a common thing. In fact, my dad will ask me why I didn''t get a bruise sometimes and tell me that a man has to be able to defend himself." Jay said in reminiscence.


    "It''s a good thing to fight. It''ll toughen the kid and prepare him for the real world." Jay said.


    "This...is an actually growing boy. Not like..."


    [Commentary ends]


    "You did good, kid. Do you want me to teach you self-defense?" Jay asked while showing a few boxing moves and glanced at Manny at the same time to arouse his interest too.


    "No. I already know how to defend myself." I said and then I turned to Manny. "Do you want to eat it now, or are you waiting for Phil and Luke?" I asked.


    "Phil and Luke are coming?" Gloria asked in confusion.


    "Yeah. We are going to hangout together." I explained. "I also wanted to ask Phil about some stuff."


    "I would like to eat it now as I want to give my mother a taste. Is it okay?" Manny asked me. Jay sighed in disappointment as he heard what Manny just say. Gloria became excited and hugged Manny from behind.


    "Oh!! My sweet little boy! My sweet little angel-"


    "Mom. You said you''re not going to do that here!" Manny quickly stopped Gloria with a horrified voice. Gloria was stunned as she had forgotten her promise with Manny to not do this kind of stuff in front of me.


    I smirked and I said, "No need to mind me. I think it''s sweet you''re taking care of your mother. Gloria, if you want, I can make you some too. I did make some extra."


    "Ayy! You''re also a sweet little boy!" Gloria said and tried to hug me. But Jay stopped her quickly before she could do so.


    "What kind of stuff?" Jay asked.


    "What?" I said in confusion.


    "What is the stuff that you want to ask Phil.." Jay explained a bit.


    "Oh that. I want to see how much this house will sell." I said.


    Jay scrunched his brow and asked, "Why?"


    "Just in case." I replied. "Jay, you want a burger too?" I asked him to divert the topic.


    "Yeah. Sure." Jay said as he had been curious about the smell for a while now. I finished another plate for Gloria and placed it in front of her. She was sitting next to Manny while Jay was standing.


    "Edward, why did you learn Spanish?" Gloria asked as she grabbed the burger with both hands.


    "Well, my mom is Cuban." I said and I looked at them in anticipation to see their reaction to the burger. It was a habit that I got after living with Nonni for a while. We had always eaten together so it felt kind of lonely to eat all by myself.


    "Really?" Manny asked in excitement while holding the burger, but not taking a bite. "So there''s another thing we can bond over. Being a son of a latin mother."


    "Yeah. Except my mom tried her entire life to become a white woman." I said and urged him to eat. "Go on. Take a bite."


    Manny nodded and opened his mouth to start eating, but somebody else interrupted him.


    "Ah. So you learn Spanish from her?" Jay asked.


    "Nope. She wouldn''t teach me anything, nor did she care about her family back in her country. She wanted to hide everything about her Cuban heritage, including her language. So I learned Spanish... to spite her."


    [Flashback ends]


    "I''m sorry to Ed...but... I will say no to the job..." Claire finally made her decision.


    [Commentary end.]


    ...


    [Edward''s POV]


    Suddenly, the house phone rang after I had served Jay his own burger.


    "Hello?" I said after I picked up the call.


    "Hello, Ed. I''m afraid Luke and I will be a little late. I need to go to pick up the dry cleaning and send Alex''s cello to the shop."


    "What''s wrong with her cello?" I asked.


    "...There are no...strings on it." Phil replied hesitantly.


    "Pfff-" I let out a short laugh and said, "Luke can come now right? Jay, Gloria and Manny are already here."


    Phil''s voice became flustered and he asked, "Why are Jay and Gloria there?"


    "I''m making spicy chicken burgers. Ask Claire if she had gotten hers. I did pack her one." I asked.


    Phil turned toward Claire who''s putting groceries on the kitchen counter.


    "Oh it''s really good. You better settle everything fast or else it''s all going to be gone." Claire replied instigatively as she was still mad at Phil.


    "I''ll be there as soon as I can." Phil said and threw the phone to the kitchen top before he ran as fast as he could to the car.


    "Phil!" Claire picked up the phone and checked if it was still connected. And it was.


    "Hey Claire." I greeted.


    "C-claire?" Claire was a bit speechless as I was calling her Mrs Dunphy before this.


    "How''s the job? When are you going to start? I still need to train you before I launch the website," I said.


    Jay understood that I was talking to his daughter, and he was wondering what I was going to say to her.


    "Ed...I''m sorry...But..."


    As I heard Claire was going to reject the job, I suddenly said, "What is it? Claire? Are you still there?"


    "Hello? Edward... Can you hear me?"


    "Claire?? Did the line disconnect? Anyway, if you can still hear me, come to my house. Bring your children too."


    I cut the call instantly after I said that.


    "Let me guess. She rejected you." Jay hypothesized after he saw the entire situation.


    "She didn''t manage to say the word ''no'' yet." I said with a sly smirk.


    Jay was silent, and then he asked, "Why do you want her for the job anyway?"


    I paused for a second and I replied, "Because...She is very dependable. I''m sure she will do a very good job. Most important of all...I trust her."


    Jay stared into my eyes, and found no lies in my words.


    "Okay, Let''s do this. I''ll help you convince her. In return, I want to hire you to take a look at Pritchett''s closet website." Jay said.


    "Deal."


    We shook hands on the dirty deal and waited for Claire to arrive with the Dunphy''s children.


    "What did we miss?" Gloria said after she returned to the kitchen with Manny. They had been looking around the house with my permission. Gloria finally said to Jay, "Let''s go. We''ll be late to meet your friends."


    "Yeah. About that... I had already canceled the plans with them. Claire is coming here, and I need to talk to her about something important."


    "Si. Is it about the job?" Gloria asked with an anxious tone. "Did she reject it?"


    "Not yet." I interjected.


    The doorbell rang, and the Dunphy''s were finally here. I received Alex, Luke, Haley and Claire and invited them inside the house.


    "Ed, about the call." Claire followed me closely from behind and wanted to talk to me privately first to reject the job offer.


    "Claire, you''re here!" Jay said and grabbed Claire''s hand to lead her somewhere private to talk.


    "Come kids. Edward has been working hard to make this for you." Gloria said happily and presented the plates of food I''d prepared. Luckily for me, I marinated enough chicken pieces for the entire extended family �C Mitchell and Cam''s family included.


    My original plan was to let the guests today take them away when they return home, but right now I need to convince Claire to take the job first.


    "Hey." Haley approached me. "Did you talk to Dylan today?"


    I turned toward her and said, "Yeah. I did. We''re friends now."


    Alex interjected while Haley was confused and asked, "Why did you call us here?"


    "To eat." I replied simply, causing Alex to roll her eyes. " And to convince your mom to take the job."


    "Wait. Is she rejecting it? Why?" Alex asked anxiously.


    "I don''t know, but I''m sure something had happened today for her to change her mind. Any ideas what happened?" I asked the sisters duo.


    The sisters turned toward one another, and they said at almost the same time, "Be right back."

 Chapter 26: Claire’s job.

    Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Claire��s job.


    -Edward''s POV-


    As I was waiting for the sister''s duo to answer, I walked to the wall and rested my back to the wall. On the other side of the wall, Jay and Claire were talking quietly about the matter. This way, I could hear what Jay and Claire were talking about.


    Manny and Luke stared at me as I was standing motionlessly over there. I didn''t notice why at first, but I would know why soon after.


    "There are some toys in the back lawn I had prepared. You guys should go play first. I will be there soon."


    Manny and Luke answered together, "Okay!" They excitedly ran toward the back lawn and left me there alone with Gloria �C who''s been standing next to me from the start.


    I was startled when I noticed her and flinched a little. ''How the hell could she move silently while wearing those heels?'' I thought in surprise and astonishment.


    "What are they saying?!" Gloria whispered, not acknowledging whatever it was I was thinking about her.


    "I don''t know yet." I replied and we tried hard to listen to the father and daughter''s conversation together.


    On the other side of the wall.


    "Are you thinking of rejecting the job offer?" Jay asked. I have no idea what they were doing at this moment, so I just imagined both of them were standing facing each other.


    "Yes dad. Is it so obvious?" Claire said with a dejected tone. I realized that she was depressed about the matter, and she needed more reassurance that she could do the job.


    Jay continued asking, "Yeah. You clearly want to accept the job. So why did you decide against it?"


    "Because...my family needs me." Claire replied evasively.


    Jay could see through her immediately. "Nah. That''s not it."


    Claire was confused by the sudden development.


    "It''s because you''re afraid to get back out there. Stay at home mom for 15 years, what value can you make in the company? You''ll probably just ruin whatever it was Edward was working for."


    Flabbergasted, Claire decided to defend herself, "I''m NOT going to do THAT, DAD! If you''ve forgotten, I have a college degree in marketing, and was making quite a splash... in my work before I quit to take care of my family."


    "Really? I must''ve forgotten that." Jay said in agreement, making Claire nod her head in satisfaction and wanting to walk away after setting the record clear, but Jay continued, "Still doesn''t mean you''re not afraid."


    Claire quickly returned to face her father, anger filled her entire being from being looked down on. She opened her mouth to say something, but then she realized that Jay was being like that on purpose.


    "You know what? I will do whatever I want. I''m an adult. If I decided to not take the job, then that''s it." Claire said and then ran away quickly from her dad so as to not let her dad instigate her any further.


    "An adult would''ve taken the job." Jay said, causing Claire to stop pausing for a moment before she walked away. I stopped eavesdropping and saw that Haley was standing in Claire''s path.


    "What?" Claire asked Haley with an angry look on her face.


    "N-Nothing." Haley said and quickly walked away from her mother.


    -Alex''s POV-


    As I realized that mom wanted to reject the job, I knew that I needed to do something to make sure that she wouldn''t do so. I brought Haley to have a private talk together while Edward was eavesdropping on my mother and grandpa''s conversation.


    "Haley, I...need to tell you something. But...you need to promise me not to tell anyone!" I said decisively.


    Seeing that I was serious about the matter, Haley said, "Okay. I won''t tell anyone."


    I nodded and I said, "If mom didn''t take the job, then Edward''s family is going to move to Wisconsin and stay with his grandparents."


    "WHAT!" Haley shouted, but as I expected her reaction, I quickly closed her mouth with my hand. She calmed down a bit and then I released my hand that was covering her mouth.


    "How did you know?" Haley asked me with a shaky pupil. I wonder why that was.


    "I saw his future plans in his laptop before this. He needed mom to take the job to save his father''s business. We need to step up and show mom we''re going to be fine if she isn''t around. I''m sure you want to get more freedom too, right?"


    "Shouldn''t we tell mom about this? I''m sure she will understand and take the job if she knows." Haley asked. I understand her train of thoughts, but it would be bad for Edward if mom knew about it.


    "No. Edward doesn''t want to pressure mom into accepting the job. That''s why he didn''t tell mom." I explained.


    "T-that''s..." Haley fumbled in searching for the next sentence, so I interjected, "Call dad. We need to make sure that dad isn''t getting on mom''s nerve any longer. We also need Luke to make mom calm down. Is getting your dress really that urgent?" I asked.


    "N-No...But the dress..Is really pretty..." Haley said with a dissatisfied tone. I rolled my eyes and said, "What''s more important here? A man''s life, or your pretty dress?"


    "Both." Haley replied unexpectedly...or should I say as expected? I actually didn''t think she would care that much to actually put Edward''s life and her dress at the same level. But whatever, as long as it''s useful to the current situation, I''d take it.


    "Good." I said. "Let''s go to mom and show her that we''re fine. We may need to pretend to get along for a while. As soon as she accepts the job, we can go back to our normal routine."


    I needed to make sure that my first friend wouldn''t move away. Unlike the rest of my family, Edward treated me with understanding of what I was feeling, and he had been supporting me since we became friends.


    I didn''t know why, but I got a feeling that he understood me more than my entire family does. I could relax when I''m talking to him, which was... very rare in my life. Therefore, he needed to stay. I knew it sounds selfish, but I need him...to stay.


    -Haley''s POV-


    As I heard about Edward''s situation, I couldn''t help but lose control of my emotions. Luckily Alex was here to prevent me from shouting.


    I needed that dress to go to a party today. At that party, I could talk about Edward dad''s ship and maybe...give him a little bit more time to achieve what he wanted to achieve with his website �C that what I was planning for.


    "Let''s go to mom and show her that we''re fine. We may need to pretend to get along for a while. As soon as she accepts the job, we can go back to our normal routine." Alex said to me.


    ''Normal routine huh.'' I thought.


    "And this? What is this? Rapid hot air technology? Air fryer?" Alex took down the designs on the wall by removing the thumbtacks and sat next to me on my right to ask her questions.


    Air fryer was already invented in this world, but it couldn''t achieve the same standards of an air fryer I had used in the previous world.


    "That''s an invention from Germany, but it couldn''t be used to cook food perfectly yet. If I solved the rapid hot air technology, then I could cook a lot of things using it."


    Haley took off a few designs and sat on my left. "This one piece dress with floral prints. Are you making them?"


    "I may if I have the time." I replied.


    Alex and Haley were lost inside the designs, asking me various questions almost at the same time, causing me to have a slight headache.


    Haley already forgot that she needed to go to the party at this time, and was excitedly discussing fashion with me. Alex was trying hard to understand the mechanism of the invention, and her eyes twinkle with curiosity and newfound admiration.


    "Ca-Can I join you in making this? I don''t even need my name in it! I just want to see the process!" Alex asked.


    "This, can you make this before prom at the end of the year? If I wear this, then..." Haley was excited while thinking about the admiration she was going to get in the future if she wore the dress.


    "Haley! We''re talking about a USEFUL thing here!" Alex scolded her sister.


    "Why do you want to build a hot air machine if you''re already filled with hot air? Just connect yourself to the machine." Haley snided back.


    They were arguing with me in the middle. I was wondering what I do to deserve all of this, but Haley and Alex started to get physical.


    Pulling my left hand towards her and hugging it between her chest, Haley tried to beg, "Can you make this? For me? Pleasee? I''ll pay you!"


    Inside her mind, she was imagining being selected Prom Queen with her new dress, and unconsciously puts me as the prom King with a matching outfit of my own.


    Alex pulled my right hand toward her and hugged it between the flat marshland, "No. Do you know how many colleges he can go to if he did this? All of them!"


    Alex was stunned when she realized she had been mimicking Haley and was being touchy-feely with a boy. She was going to second base even faster than Haley ever did, and that offended her. But she threw the matter to the back of her mind as she really wanted to see Edward inventing.


    "Wait. That must be Phil!" I said hurriedly and tried to escape, but the girls weren''t letting me go.


    "Which one do you want to work on first?!" The girls shouted almost at the same time.


    "Hey. Edward. I''m here!" Phil called from downstairs, saving me from my predicament. The girls turned toward the door, and they finally realized that they had been pressing their bodies against me.


    "I will talk to you guys later." I said and I ran away quickly. "Damn. That was dangerous." I muttered as I exited my room and walked to meet Phil. But, Claire was standing next to Phil, making my venture more dangerous.


    "Hey Vitamin P." I said, moving my fist for a fist bump.


    "E-money in tha houzee!" Phil said excitedly and did the same thing. "Edward. I need to tell you something." Claire said hurriedly.


    "You want to reject the job because you didn''t think your house could survive without you in it, managing everything for everyone. Even your dad talking to you couldn''t change your mind, and you wanted to be there for the children to provide for them the things that weren''t provided for you in your childhood �C a mother''s unconditional love. Is my guess correct?"


    Claire was stunned after hearing my words. Phil turned toward Claire and asked, "Why are you not taking the job? Is it about this evening?"


    Claire turned to Phil and said, "I thought that I could delegate things, but when I saw the chaos, I..."


    Phil said with a soft smile, "Claire. You''d been holding the fort down in our house for a long time now. In fact, the only reason that we can stay alive was because of you watching over us."


    He held Claire''s shoulders, and stared right into her glassy eyes, "But, if you really want to go out into the world, we won''t stop you, and definitely won''t want to be the reason you don''t take the job. Yes, I screwed up today, but most people did screw up on their first day. Tomorrow will just be better."


    "Yes mom. We didn''t even know that you''re going to the job today." Haley suddenly appeared out of knowhere and said. "It was dad''s fault, not yours."


    Haley and Alex had reached an agreement inside of my room, and even brought Luke into the fray.


    Phil felt a bit bad because of her daughter''s words, but then Alex continued, "Yeah. Today is all Dad''s fault. If you want to go out there, then we will all chip in to take care of the house. You don''t have to do it alone anymore."


    "Yeah mom. Now that you''re working, you''re going to be a supermom instead of an ordinary mom." Luke said cutely with words given to him by Alex and Haley before this.


    Claire brightened up a bit and said, "Yeah. I''m going to be a supermom."


    Phil said, "Now. Be honest with me. Do you want to take the job?"


    Claire nodded and said, "Yes... But-"


    I finally interjected, "If you''re really worried about the matter, why don''t you try it for a week first? It''ll be like an internship. If you really couldn''t adapt, then, it''ll be like it never happened. How about it?"


    Claire paused to think. "Will I get paid during the internship?" She asked.


    "Of course...not." I replied teasingly. Claire finally broke into a smile and said, "Then...I had no choice...but to take the job!"


    The children cheered after Claire finally made her decision. I got free labor, which was good for me.


    "But if I couldn''t-" Before Claire could diminish her capability, Phil pulled Claire and the children for a group hug, but...


    "Why am I in it?" I muttered as I was pulled into the group hug. Gloria, Manny and Jay watched the scene from afar, before Phil called for them, "Get in here!"


    "Ayy!" Gloria said excitedly and entered the group hug from my back, making the back of my head being buried by her voluptuous chest. Manny joined and hugged Luke and Phil, while Jay was still standing over at his initial spot, not caring about the hug in the least.


    PATR..EON LAUNCH!


    For those who wants to read up to 10 advanced Chapters -- with a minimum of 3 k words per Chapter, go to my link. Do read the important notice in the about section to understand my page better.


    /relifewithkarmicgacha


    (Wn is censoring the word, so just delete the dots lol.)

 Chapter 27: A girlfriend.

    Chapter 27: Chapter 27: A girlfriend.?


    (Last Chapter for this week. See you guys on Monday!)


    -Edward''s POV-


    "Maybe 950 to 1. Listing will be at 1.05. But...why do you ask?"


    "I just need to put it into consideration. Thanks Vitamin P."


    The clock was already at 6.00 p.m. and I finally settled the sudden gathering inside my house. Even Mitch and Cam had dropped by, but they didn''t stay long as they had a party to go to that night.


    They also had passed a message from Pepper that he would bring me to the studio he bought this Saturday.


    One by one, people started leaving the house. Claire and Luke were leaving first as Luke had become dirty from all the playing around.


    Jay, Gloria and Manny said their goodbyes after Claire had left and Jay had arranged for me to come to Pritchett''s Closet company after school tomorrow �C leaving me with Alex, Haley, and Phil inside the house.


    The last group was going to go home when I asked Phil about the matter. Standing in the living room near the front door, I finally asked Phil about how much the house would sell if Ted ever did have to do it.


    [Phil''s commentary]


    "Honestly. The house shocked me. Not only was Eddy returning it to the original looks, but he also added a few things around the house to make it better. He has a talent in flipping houses, and also interior designs. I should bring him to open houses sometimes."


    Phil was excited to see Edward''s talent in home making. He had seen thousands of houses before, and not many people had the talent in flipping a house.


    [Commentary ends]


    "No Dad! Don''t tell him!" Haley said, grabbing me by the hand again. Phil was visibly excited seeing Haley getting closer toward me, but then Alex did the same thing and pulled me towards her �C making Phil''s smile froze on the spot.


    "Dad! Tell me if he''s selling the house. You can''t move away if you''re not done making the invention. What about MY college credit?" Alex said, her face inches away from mine.


    Haley tried to push Alex away and said angrily, "What about it? You''re not the one creating it!"


    "Girls. Girls. You''re going to tear him into half!" Phil said, trying to free me from the girl''s grasp.


    [Phil''s commentary]


    "So...my plan for him to date one of my daughters is coming along nicely..." Phil said, and then he scratched the back of his head. "The problem is...which one?"


    [commentary ends]


    Suddenly, the doorbell rang, distracting Phil from the scene.


    "Hmm. Who could that be?" Phil turned and opened the door for the new visitor. Haley widened her eyes when she saw the new visitor, and quickly released her hands.


    "Hey Mister, is Edward here?" Abby asked as she walked through the front door. She saw Alex was holding me, and Haley at my side. She narrowed her eyes and said using a cold tone, "Mind telling me what''s happening here?"


    [Haley''s commentary]


    She said guiltily, "I...kinda forgot he has a girlfriend...Fuck!"


    [Commentary ends]


    "Abby. Why are you here?" I asked in confusion after seeing the goth girl entering my house with a laptop bag slinging over her shoulder. She was still wearing her long sleeve black shirt with striped black and white pattern on the sleeve and her long black pants.


    "I came to have dinner here. Mom is gone and I want to mooch off of you." Abby said and walked towards me. Alex was frozen, causing Abby to stare at her as she was still hugging my hand.


    I was unsure why Alex was frozen, maybe it was because of the gothic makeup Abby had on. Her smoky eyes and black lipstick does implant some terror into those who were stared by Abby.


    Haley whispered to Alex quickly, "Get off of him. That''s his girlfriend!" But Alex was too stunned to move.


    "Sure. I''ll be making some mushroom piccata tonight. You''re welcome to join me. I will be eating alone anyway." I said and helped Alex to release her hand from mine slowly.


    I turned to face Alex and said, "I cannot work on the invention straight away, but once I''m free, I''ll give you a call and we''ll work on that together. How about that?"


    "What invention? What are you guys talking about?" Phil asked in confusion and excitement.


    "Alex will tell you about it later. You guys should go home first and leave the couple to have some alone time." I said, hinting something at the family.


    Abby reacted quickly and pinched my arm. "We''re not going to do anything except coding."


    "Well...At first..." I teased.


    I said goodbyes to the family and started to entertain Abby next despite my tiredness. However, she saw through me.


    "Just relax a bit." She pulled my hand to make me sit on the living room sofa. "Were you cooking for them all day?" She asked as she sat beside me and put her laptop bag on the coffee table.


    "Kinda was." I replied and rested my back on the sofa.


    "Why?" Abby asked in confusion. "You''re not this type of person before. I came to your house a few times, but you never cooked for me once. Now, even your house is clean."


    "Yeah. I am sick of living that way, so I decided to change." I answered.


    She was looking around the house with wonder and awe in her eyes. While she was looking around cutely, I decided to rest my head on her lap while she was distracted.


    Stunned, Abby poked my cheek while I was lying down, "Excuse me. What do you think you''re doing?"


    "Resting. Do you know about...that experiment?" I asked to distract her from the situation.


    Abby widened her eyes and was speechless by the sudden confession. She then replied meekly, "Okay..."


    "That''s it? So, we''re dating now right? I wonder what a boyfriend and girlfriend will do when they are alone in an empty house together." I said teasingly.


    Abby rolled her eyes and said, "We''re programming. What else would we do? I want to finish the game before I return to New York."


    Pretending to be hurt, I said with a sad tone, "So, you''re only dating me to use me as a tool?"


    "No!" Abby replied hurriedly. "No. That''s not it! I..."


    "What?" I urged after she paused her sentence.


    "I...Urgh, nevermind." Abby replied defeatedly and was looking a bit dejected. "I see." I replied in understanding, and stood up from my seat and took mine and her dishes with me after we had finished eating.


    We started coding and creating the game after we had finished eating. Without me realizing it, the clock was almost at 10 pm, and Abby had to get home because of her curfew. I wanted to walk her back to her house, but she stopped me from doing so.


    "You should rest a bit, Panda eyes. Your face is looking worse and worse everyday. Aren''t you going to make money with your face?" Abby said.


    "Isn''t it a boyfriend''s job to send his girlfriend home? I''m just doing my job." I said teasingly.


    Abby rolled her eyes and said, "If the boyfriend is 14, then it does not matter."


    She grabbed the doorknob with her right hand, but I grabbed her left one.


    "What?" Abby asked in confusion.


    "Aren''t you forgetting something?" I asked.


    Abby was puzzled, so I inches closer towards her, making her retreat and had her backs on the door. I placed my right hand on the door, preventing her from running away from me.


    "W-what?" Abby was flabbergasted as my face was inches away from her.


    "A good night kiss." I said and pointed at my lips. She rolled her eyes, but I continued, "This is what boyfriend and girlfriend do right?"


    At this moment, I already noticed that she had no experience whatsoever in the relationship department. I couldn''t help but bring myself to tease her every chance I got.


    Abby hesitated, and she inches closer toward me before giving me a peck on the lips.


    "Enough?" She asked.


    "You never kissed before huh?" I asked teasingly.


    "As if you''d ever kissed before!" Abby said, but before she could continue any longer, I kissed her on the lip, gave her a deep kiss and showed her what a true kiss should feel like. She closed her eyes as did I. My hands hugged her back, pulling her closer towards me.


    Her soft lips parted, and I invaded her mouth using my tongue. Abby finally stopped resisting the kiss and pulled me closer every time I wanted to separate, and mimicked the things I had done with my tongue inside my mouth. She started playing with my hair, and we kissed for almost 5 minutes before we let each other go.


    "Haa..haa.." Abby pants breathlessly as we separated, a bridge of saliva could be seen connecting our lips before it disappeared.


    "So...That''s a goodnight kiss?" Abby asked with a red face.


    "I might''ve mistaken it for a kiss...at night. But Yeah... I think so" I replied casually and kissed her on the nose. "You really don''t want me to walk you back? We can repeat the kiss at your house...you know, based on the relationship rules."


    "Perv." Abby said, giving me a peck on my lips again.


    "Said the girl who''s not letting me go." I said and I kissed her again. Her heavy breath and seductive gaze almost made my teenage hormones go crazy. Instead of her lips, I traced my lips on her neck and started to nibble on them, causing her to let out her moans in pleasure.


    As the atmosphere was heating up, suddenly someone was knocking on the door of the house �C the door we''re making out against.


    "Hello Hello! Anyone home?"


    I heard Pepper''s voice from behind the door, and I reluctantly released Abby from my arms. I opened the door and greeted Pepper in confusion.


    "Pepper? Why are you here?"


    Dressed in a gray-ish white suit and wearing a fedora on his head, Pepper said excitedly. "I need to tell you VERY Big NEWS! In person!" He walked inside the house and finally saw Abby who''s standing behind me.


    "Ah. I''m sorry. Did I interrupt your makeout session?" Pepper asked. "W-w-w-what make out session?!" Abby stammered as she couldn''t understand how Pepper could know about what they were doing.


    "Hun, your lipstick is all over his face." Pepper said teasingly. Abby turned towards me and saw traces of her black lipstick on my face. She squealed in embarrassment and ran outside the door hurriedly.


    "Abby!" I called her, but she shouted, "Don''t follow me!"


    "Ah.. Teenage love." Pepper said teasingly. I turned to him with a face filled with dissatisfaction, making Pepper laugh once more.


    "You want to clean up your face first or you want me to tell you the news right now? I did call your father, and he was on his way home."


    "We will wait for my dad then." I replied and I went to clean up first. While I was washing my face, I remember the kiss Abby and I shared. "Fuck!" I cursed slowly as I realized that I had gone too far before.


    When my dad came home, Pepper finally shared the news as he couldn''t wait any longer.


    "A band that was supposed to open an up and coming artist concert had an accident. So they were trying to find a replacement artist for the music festival." Pepper said in excitement.


    "Wait. You don''t mean?" Ted widened his eyes in shock and turned toward me.


    "Yes. My friend is an organizer for the event. The artist had seen... Edward''s videos on youtube, and she had no problem with him replacing them." The extraordinary Pepper said.


    "Edward my boy, next Sunday, you''ll be performing in front of a crowd of 5000 at California University in Santa Barbara, if you say yes." Pepper continued.


    I paused to think about it for a while, and then I said, "...Yes."

 Chapter 28: Days Passing by.

    Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Days Passing by.?


    (Sup! I''m back! Don''t forget to give me powerstones!)


    "Your songs are too... depressing to be made into the opening acts. I have hired some professional musicians, and you''ll start to practice some cover songs for the debut." Pepper said. "That was my opinion, but if you want to play your own songs, I won''t stop you."


    "Cover songs? Hmm...I think...Lazy song, Amnesia, and 7 years can be played in the opening act. But I need something else to get the crowd''s attention." I muttered as I started thinking, ignoring Pepper and my dad.


    Pepper whispered to Ted while I was deep in thought, "Do you know about him creating a new song in several minutes at Mitch and Cam''s?"


    Ted replied using the same whisper, "Yeah I do. They showed me the footage. I was dumbstruck when I heard it. I know my son is talented...but that was surreal."


    "His brain neurons are firing rapidly before he creates the song. Maybe...We''ll witness the creation of a new one?" Pepper jokes, but he did expect something more.


    "What is Justin Bieber compared to Eddy? This...is a real artist." Pepper said with awe in his eyes while Ted was looking at the man weirdly.


    Suddenly, my eyes twinkled in excitement as I got an idea on how to start the whole act.


    "I think...I got it. 5 songs right?"


    "Yup." Pepper said. "It won''t be continuous, so you don''t have to worry about getting burned out in the performance."


    "Nah. That''s okay. I used to perform for one or two hours inside the auditorium hall for classical music''s performance, so I believe in my stamina."


    "Ed..." Ted called out as he remembered something terrible that had happened when I was performing my violin in my previous performances before.


    Turning toward my father with a determined look on my face, I said with a tone full of confidence, "Don''t worry dad. As long as it wasn''t a violin, I won''t pass out on the stage again."


    Before creating the entertainment agency �C ''ENtertain'', Pepper had already researched everything about my background so he knew what Ted was worried about. He slapped my dad''s hand with his gloves lightly and said, "If he was going to pass out on the stage again, he wouldn''t even play his songs in the cafe before this."


    "That''s true." Ted said. "Also...Ouch." He rubbed his bicep that was slapped by Pepper in pain.


    I shared snippets of the songs to Pepper, making him squeal in excitement. Ted was looking at me with astonishment as I had ''created'' a new song yet again. After hearing what Pepper had seen before, Ted finally understood why it was easy for me to create a love song.


    "I see. Having a girlfriend is good for you huh. You can create a song like that in just a few minutes after your makeout session."


    Unfortunately for Ted, I wasn''t the type to let that kind of statement go without retaliation.


    "Maybe if you did have a girlfriend..."


    "Okay. Stop." Ted quickly said in defeat.


    "Mrs. Desiree is no longer a potential candidate as she is the mother of my girlfriend. So you should start searching for a dating app. I will help you create an account to make sure that you can..."


    Ted ran away quickly before I could continue. "I''ll get some wine." He said to Pepper.


    "Oh, Bordeaux will be fine." Pepper said.


    Ted stopped in his tracks and turned to Pepper in confusion. But he didn''t say anything and went to his wine collection that he placed inside his bedroom closet with some locks on so as to not let me get my hands on it. Not that the locks changed anything as I knew where he put his keys.


    "So, you''re okay with your dad dating again?" Pepper said and sat right next to me.


    "Yeah. In fact, it''ll be good for him to release the pent up energy from all these years of constant working." I replied.


    "You''re a good son. If you dad wants to, I can set him up with some booze-drenched loose whor- Ahem...I mean some nice woman."


    "Sure. That''ll be great." I said to Pepper. I wonder if Pepper would set up my dad with Sal the whore. That''ll be fun to watch, unfortunately I was still a 14 years old kid that would be left out by any of the development.


    While picking up the wine, Ted suddenly shuddered and goosebumps appeared on his skin.


    "This Saturday is the recording session. I had booked some professional musicians to help you with the beats. Do you have any transport, or do you need me to send someone to pick you up?" Pepper asked.


    "How far is it?" I asked.


    "It''s an hour ride from here." Pepper said. "I would get one that''s nearby, that they didn''t have that good of a quality."


    "Let me ask my girlfriend first if she has a driver''s license. I can use dad''s car after sending him to the Marina." I said and texted Abby. I then said happily, "It''s also a good day for a date."


    [Abby''s POV]


    "I must be going crazy!" I muttered as I walked hurriedly back to my house. The sensation of the kiss was still vivid in my mind, especially when Edward kissed my neck �C giving me a jolt of electricity running around my body.


    "Damn that son of a...." I cursed as I arrived home. After I calmed down a bit, I couldn''t help but break out a smile... "...Boyfriend of mine." As I was smirking gleefully while standing in the front door, my mom suddenly opened the door from the inside.


    "Oh Abby. You''re home. Why didn''t you knock?...or enter?" Desiree asked in confusion.


    "Where are you going mom?" I said, quickly changing my face to a poker face to hide what had happened from my mother. But, my mom suddenly smirked as she saw my makeup.


    "You kissed? Good good." Mom teased as she checked on her car to make sure that she had turned off the car light.


    "MOM!" I exclaimed in disbelief as to how liberal my mom was with this matter.


    "Remember, if you can''t use protection, then you''re going to make the younger generation." Mom said her motto, making me run inside the house to get to my room.


    "By the way Abby, are you going to the DMV tomorrow to take your drivers test?" Mom asked.


    "..Why? We''re New Yorkers. We don''t use cars much." I said. I had kept it a secret from Edward and most of the school students, but I had skipped a grade before this.


    I was finally at the age where I could get a drivers license, and mom had been pushing me to take the test everyday. "It''s good to have the license. You can drive your boyfriend around in the car, and even make out at the make out spot near a lake or a cliff-"


    "MOM! STOP! I will take the test if you stop!" I said hurriedly and slammed my bedroom door. I could hear her giggling outside of the door so Iaid on the bed with my face into the pillow and I started to toss and turned on the mattress.


    "Ugh!" I groaned as the memory of inside the house resurfaced again. My face became extremely hot, and I couldn''t help but kick the air to release some of my frustrations.


    "He''s...quite good at kissing. I wonder how many girls he kissed before." I muttered while trying to block out the entire make out session. Jealousy started to bubble inside my chest, but I knew I shouldn''t blame him for it.


    If my dad wasn''t a pathological cheater who would cheat on my mom at any given chance, maybe I could strive for a more healthy relationship style, but it''s too late now.


    "This-" Jacob showed me the reply message and said, "Y-Y-You''re coming with me to this. T-there''s no way I''m going to go on my own."


    Elsa: I''m having my birthday party at my house. Will you come?


    Jacob: Yes. Absolutely yes. Can I bring Ed with me?


    Elsa: Sure! I''ll see you then.


    I let out a long sigh after reading the texts. "I don''t have a choice don''t I?"


    "No." Jacob tried to say sternly, but his eyes were begging me to go.


    "Okay then, as this matter is caused by me, I will show my face for a while." I said in defeat. "I just hope Jenna won''t lock me in the closet and try to have her 7 minutes in heaven with me."


    "It''s a birthday party. Her parents are going to be there. What are you thinking about?" Jacob looked at me weirdly after I said that.


    "You''re saying that, but my instinct is telling me otherwise." I said and walked to my class with Jacob together.


    ...


    [3rd Person POV]


    A high pitched squeal shocked the entire AP Bio classroom after the girls duo had read the text from Jacob.


    In a panicked voice, Elsa said, "Jenna. Shushh! We''re in a class!"


    Jenna stopped squealing and turned to Elsa, "But�C Edward is going to be there....(Squeal)"


    Before Jenna could start her weird high pitch squeal again, Elsa covered her mouth and said to the teacher, "Jenna is feeling unwell. I need to bring her to the nurse for a bit."


    The old, male biology teacher just smiled knowingly and gave them the permission to exit his class.


    "We''re going to change it into a pool party! At my house!" Jenna said hurriedly. She was planning to wear her seductive bikini at the party and even prepare some tricks in the 7 minutes in heaven game to make her and Edward end up together.


    Elsa felt a bit bad cause it was her birthday in the first place. As Jenna saw Elsa''s expression, she pointed toward her friend and said, "Louis Vuitton bag as a birthday gift! And...I''ll make sure that you and Jacob will end up together!"


    "Deal!" Elsa smiled and shook hands with Jenna. "Ahh! We need to plan a LOT of things!" Jenna said and dragged Elsa someplace else to talk while ditching their class.


    "Wait. Aren''t you going to get second place for the bet with Edward?" Elsa asked in concern.


    "What are you talking about? After we had our times together, do you really think he would still say no? He''ll beg me to become his girlfriend afterward!" Jenna said confidently.


    ...


    As Jay picked up Manny from elementary school, he picked me up too as the elementary school and middle school were nearby each other. We went directly to the company and to take a look at the company''s website.


    Margaret, the old secretary with a kind smile and dark burgundy hair that falls on her shoulder, gave me a lollipop as she thought I was one of Jay''s kids. I accepted the gesture gratefully and I put the lollipop into my mouth after I opened the wrapper.


    "I googled this before, and I got to say, your developer didn''t have any skills...at all." I said after I opened the shabby website on the company''s computer. I plugged in my USB stick on the computer port and opened up a system of my own.


    "Yeah. That''s why I had already fired him." Jay said decisively.


    "Oh. Good decision." I said and tapped into the keyboard quickly. "You want me to upgrade your company''s defense system at the same time? It won''t prolong my work on the website, and make your company more secure." I offered.


    "Kid. The website may be shabby, but I had bought a top notch defense system from a big company. I don''t think you can do it better." Jay said while smirking.


    "Really?" I said and tapped a few buttons on the keyboard before I pressed enter.


    "AHHH!" Suddenly, Margaret �C Jay''s old assistant screamed and ran to the meeting room we''re in. "EVERYTHING''S GONE! EVERYTHING! EEEEVERRRYTHINGGGG!" Margaret yelled hysterically and almost fainted on the ground. Jay had to catch her to prevent her from taking a tumble.


    "What did you do!?" Jay asked hurriedly as he saw the chaos inside his company.


    "Calm down, I''m just showing you how vulnerable you are." I said and restored their system back to normal. Jay''s face was in disbelief and shock when he saw how easy it was for me to tear down all of his defenses.


    I took off the lollipop from my mouth and turned to Jay, "So. Do you want it or not?"


    Jay sighed and said, "Give me everything."


    I signed a contract with Jay to upgrade his company website and the defense system for a payment of 30k, cash.


    "Nice working with you." I told Jay. "Now, I need to go home and start to train Claire next."


    [Jay''s commentary]


    "The kid''s a hustler. But..he''s very capable. He reminds me...of me!" Jay said while laughing loudly.


    "Seriously. I ought to sue the one who installed the defense system before. It didn''t stop him even for a minute. If my rivals had hired the kid...then the company is going under!" Jay said with a solemn tone.


    "I''m lucky that I found him first." Jay said with an evil smile. "Now, I can do what I wanted to do for a long time now."


    [Commentary ends]


    "Are you sure?" I asked Jay again for confirmation.


    "Yes! I''d never been more sure in my life." Jay said.


    "Okay then." I said in defeat and sent the virus to his rival �C Earl Chambers (His name. Not really an Earl). When the Earl opens his emails next time, it will be filled with pictures of Jay''s butt.


    "HAHAHAHAHA!" Jay laughed hysterically and went to his office, leaving me alone in the meeting room.


    "Oh. The things I''d do for money."


    I continued listing everything that needed to be upgraded and what I could offer the company. I was sent home by one of Jay''s workers, and Claire was already waiting for me at my house when I returned.


    "Afternoon boss." Claire greeted happily.

 Chapter 29: Website Launch

    Chapter 29: Chapter 29: Website Launch


    [Edward''s POV]


    "Nah Claire. Do it like this. That''ll work better."


    "But...We used to do it... another way while I was working."


    "Yeah. And that was like, 15 years ago right? People have advanced now. A whole other generation has already been born."


    Finally, I showed Claire how easy it would be if she followed my way. As the woman was technologically challenged, I had to create a step by step method in her training files and even labeled all of the steps clearly so that she wouldn''t miss it.


    She had brought her own laptop to the training today which I had connected to the website and the office system. After this, she would work for the company from the comfort of her home without even needing to go to the Marina.


    [Alex''s commentary]


    "As if. I predicted that mom will have learned everything about the marina path in just a few days."


    [commentary ends]


    "No way. That''s brilliant Ed. I can''t believe this. A Middle-school student can have something this big? Mama Likey-"


    Before Claire could go any further, I stopped her quickly. She was leaning next to me, her chest was directly in front of my face if I turned. She was looking at my laptop screen so much that she didn''t realize that part of her body was pressing onto mine.


    "Claire. You''re alone in a hormonal teenager''s house. Please refrain from using sentences with double meaning and only behave that way around your husband." I said using a teasing tone.


    Honestly, Mrs Robinson needs to back off a bit or I''ll start making Phil be in despair.


    Flabbergasted, the hot and scary milf - Claire took one step back from me in wariness and stammered , "E-excuse me? How is that double meaning?"


    I used a sultry voice and said, "Ooh. You have something this...big? Mama Likey-"


    "Okay Stop!'' Claire said, finally understanding what she had done wrong.


    "It''s okay ''Mrs Robinson'', it''s your first day on the job, and I have a high threshold for sexual connotations that I wouldn''t act based on impulse." I teased her again.


    Claire widened her eyes in disbelief and horror. "M-M-Mrs Robinson! I''m not making moves on you- I''m a Married Woman!"


    Ignoring her reactions, I asked, "Do you understand how to use the excel documents yet? I had set up the program, you just need to input the numbers inside."


    Claire''s brain short-circuited and she replied, "Yes."


    "Good. That''s for accounting. About customer service, I had created an auto reply system for a few of the messages and inserted the customer service working hour in the website so you don''t have to be on standby all the time. You just need to reply to the email at the specific time."


    "What I need to focus on today is Scheduling and Logistics." I continued.


    [Claire''s commentary]


    "Ed is a great teacher. But...Sometimes his jokes are..." Claire said in exasperation. "Not that I can do anything about it. He''s the boss''s boss. He''s the Grand Boss of the whole operation."


    She knew that the reason Edward could''ve made the joke was because he was uncomfortable as it was easy to diffuse an awkward situation by the joke. She was also feeling a bit smug inside when she realized she could make a 14 years old kid a bit restless just by getting closer to him.


    "Still got it...I think." Claire said with an awkward smile.


    She then started to think about the training experience she had received today.


    "Sometimes, his ideas were so brilliant that I forgot that I was talking to a 14 year old." Claire confessed.


    [Commentary ends]


    "It''s almost 7 pm. You should go home and get some rest. Phil is the one handling dinner tonight right?" I asked.


    "No. Seriously, 3 to 4 hours waiting time to get the liquor?! How irresponsible are the workers there?" Claire was inside her own world, reading documents after documents to further understand her new job.


    "Well. They''re sailors. They''re drunk most of the time. 3 to 4 hours is the most optimistic calculation." I said casually. "Sometimes, they don''t even deliver the alcohol, causing my dad to run to the store just moments before a trip to stock up their bar. Anyway-"


    "But that''s serious. We can sue them for harming the business." Claire said in astonishment.


    "Yeah. They''re sailors. Do you really think there are contracts to prove the transactions?" Shaking my head slightly, I said, "Anyway. Stop. Time''s up. You need to go back home."


    Claire looked at her wristwatch and said, "Oh. It''s time for dinner already? Do you want to come and join us Ed? Phil is buying pizzas for tonight."


    "Nah. I need to finish up the program for the office. The website is going to be launched tonight, so I need to make sure everything is running smoothly."


    I turned to the computer and started to make the final adjustment. I had already synced both the website and the office system together. All I needed right now was to make some tweaks so that it''ll sync better.


    "TONIGHT!" Claire suddenly shouted. "Why didn''t you tell me?!"


    "It was in your briefing packet. Besides, I will handle the job for the week, so you don''t have to be afraid that you were pushed into the job without training."


    Thinking that Claire was feeling anxious because she was caught unprepared, I explained to her the situation immediately. "Go home. Your work today is done." I said again.


    Unfortunately, Abby couldn''t come and hang out today because she was hanging out with her mother and wouldn''t tell me where. I had invited her over, but I didn''t tell her about the site launching yet.


    "No. That''s not it! You''d worked very hard for this! And you''re going to launch it alone?!" Claire said hurriedly, getting up and close to my face again.


    Claire interjected, "Although he was so...smart, and looks mature, He''s still a 14 years old kid. He didn''t even plan to eat anything while launching the website. It makes me think about how many nights there were that he had spent not eating anything while he was alone over there."


    Phil nodded and said, "I know life has been rough on him, and he''s been working hard to change that life. I can respect his efforts...But I just can''t... understand why he''s pushing everyone away."


    Claire turned to Phil with a weird expression on her face. She whispered, "When did he push everyone away?"


    "Just before this, I offered to help him with his project, but he shot me down." Phil explained to Claire.


    "I think...that was more of a safety issue than him pushing everyone away." Claire said. "But he does repress a lot of his emotions. I could see that he was happy when the website launch countdown had started, but he wouldn''t let anyone see it."


    [Commentary ends]


    Claire started the countdown! "3...2...1...0!!!! The Website is now LIVE!"


    Phil blew a party horn while Alex popped a confetti, making it fly everywhere near the dining room.


    "Congratulations Edward!" Claire said and kissed my cheeks. Phil did the same thing while patting my shoulder with a lot of force as he was too happy. I turned to Alex who''s standing nearby and said, "You guys are not going to kiss my cheeks too?"


    "What- I don''t-" Alex stammered.


    "I will!" Luke said and rushed into where I was sitting and kissed my cheeks the same way as his parents did.


    "Now, it''s too late for you Alex." Luke said teasingly to his sister.


    "I-I don''t want to kiss him in the first place!" Alex shouted.


    "Oh my god, people are coming into the website!" Claire said hurriedly with a bright smile on her face. I had set up a visitor''s count view in the website �C personally for me so that I could see the website traffic on the first day.


    "A thousand people are opening the website! Why!?!" Phil asked in shock.


    "Well. I kinda had a promotion set up. The first 20 people who book a trip on the first day of the website launch will get 20% off. So right now, people are competing to make a booking and settle the payment so as to not let the good deal go." I explained calmly.


    "Yeah. That''s a good one." Claire said in acknowledgement. She then continued with a tone full of amazement, "5 minutes in, and we''re already fully booked for the next 10 days."


    "That''s amazing! Ha haa haa!" Phil laughed and took the laptop away from Claire.


    "Well done Ed! Seriously. Good job!" Claire praised me endlessly, which I got to admit felt a bit nice. I was sure that my grinch''s heart had grown 1.005% in size after hearing all of the praises and acknowledgement.


    "How many now?" I asked Claire after it had been 10 minutes in.


    "Wait. Let me check." Claire said and walked to Phil who was sitting down on the dinner table adjacent to my seat and typing something on the laptop. Claire widened her eyes when she saw what Phil was doing.


    "Why are you booking it?!" Claire asked hurriedly and snatched her laptop from Phil.


    "Give me that Claire! It''ll be a good trip for all of us!" Phil said. He was chasing after the 20% off discount and he might make it too before all the spots had been filled up.


    "EMPLOYEES GET 40% DISCOUNT PHIL! WHY ARE YOU CHASING THE 20%!!" Claire shouted as Phil was being relentless.


    "Wait what? Mom. 40% discount? Is that true?" Alex asked in astonishment.


    "Go ask the Grand boss." Claire said, pursing her lips towards me.


    Alex and Phil turned to me for an answer, so I replied casually, "Yeah. That''s true. There will be an annual party too and that will be for free."


    "You''re the best Grand boss!" Luke complimented innocently.


    As the website launch was successful, I received calls from Mitch and Cam, from Gloria, Manny and Jay, from Pepper, and from Abby. She was furious that I didn''t tell her about the launch today, and I had to talk to her for 20 minutes just to calm her down.


    By the time I had finished comforting Abby, Ted had driven home and the first thing he did was hug me to congratulate me about the website.


    "Uff Dad." I let out a burst of air from the sudden hug.


    "You did... Really...Really well! I''m...proud of you!" Ted said while hugging me. Those simple words made my entire body tingly in ways I had never experienced before in my past life.


    Phil and Claire smiled softly as they witnessed the touching moment between the father and son.


    "What''s going on here?" Haley asked as she entered the house. Her dad had already texted her to go to the Newgate''s house when she returned home, only to witness the scene of my dad hugging me.


    "Okay. Dad...enough." I said with a flat tone after he wasn''t letting me go. "No." Ted replied decisively and tightened his embrace. I sighed in defeat and reluctantly hugged him back while feeling so embarrassed inside.


    As the website traffic slowed down, finally the celebration was over.


    "We''re now fully booked for 2 months!" I announced excitedly while putting my glass up, causing the adult crowd to raise their wine glass and cheer before I added, "...if there isn''t any cancellation."


    "Boo!" The kids booed me for being so pessimistic and raised their sparkling cider together with everyone.


    "Here to a new journey!" I made a toast for the new start of my dad''s business. The Whitebeard ship''s rental and tourism had rebranded itself and now ready to take on new ventures that I would lead them into.


    "Let the party begin!" Phil shouted and the kids popped the confetti together to signal the start of the celebration.


    With an awkward smile plastered on her face, Haley whispered to Alex, "...Party for what?"


    "..."

 Chapter 30: Jealousy

    Chapter 30: Chapter 30:??Jealousy


    Around 11 in the night, the Dunphy''s were finally going to return to their house after celebrating the website launch together with my dad and I.


    "Thank you Claire." I said honestly as I was walking her and Phil toward the front door. Claire gave me a light hug and said, "You''re welcome. You did really great Edward. You can be more proud of yourself."


    Shaking my head slightly, I said, "Nah. That''s not my style."


    Claire gave up trying to get an enthusiastic reaction from me and opened the front door, only to find a goth girl standing in front of the house.


    Wearing a one-piece black dress with knee high black socks, Abby decided to come by the house. She was wearing a black hairband on her head instead of tying twintail-style as usual.


    "Oh. Am I too late?" Abby asked with some anxiousness in her voice. I had texted her about the celebration before this, but I didn''t think that her mom would let her come this late at night.


    "Who''s this?" Claire asked with a knowing look, barely able to hide her smirk as she saw Abby.


    "My girlfriend." I replied casually while looking at Abby, causing Claire to be taken aback.


    Behind me, Haley and Alex were stunned when they saw Abby coming to my house late at night while dressing so prettily. Phil turned to his daughters to see their reaction, and then he turned toward Abby again.


    Abby blushed when I called her my girlfriend. Then, she pretended to be angry at me and said, "A neglected girlfriend. Can''t believe you''re launching the website today and not telling me anything."


    I didn''t know why, but Claire decided to interfere, "In his defense, he didn''t tell anyone about it except his father. I am one of his workers, and he didn''t tell me anything about it until an hour before the launch."


    Abby was speechless when she heard the defense from Clair, and she started thinking about the truth behind her words.


    "Claire. Nobody likes a tattle tale. You guys should go home." I said and escorted Claire outside of the house. She called Ted from afar and said, "Ted. Make sure they didn''t go to his room. It''s very late at night and he''s just 14-"


    "I''m not going to do anything. Go home!" I said and threw Claire out of the house. Phil laughed at the situation and said to me, "She''s just worried. But, now that... she was trying to control your life too...I guess that makes you one of my children. Welcome to the family ED!"


    Stunned, I looked at Claire''s direction with a shaky eyes. "What are you talking about Phil?" Claire said and pulled Phil outside of the house.


    [Phil''s commentary]


    With a face full of seriousness, Phil said, "If he is not dating my daughters, then I need to consider adoption or being his god-father."


    [Commentary ends]


    "Is Edward my brother now?" Luke asked. "No!" Alex replied decisively. Then both of them exited the house.


    Ignoring Luke, I said, "Abby, come in." Abby''s eyes turned to something behind me, causing me to turn to see what she was looking at.


    I saw Haley standing alone behind me after all of her family had exited the house, so I was confused as to why she was still there.


    "What''s the matter Haley?"


    The question snapped Haley back to reality and her eyes started to dart between me and Abby instead of just staring at Abby.


    [Haley''s Commentary]


    "So. When I went to register at the DMV today...I saw Abby over there. I thought she was taking the test late as she was 17 now...but when she went to the toilet...I...peeked into her registration form, and saw she was only 16 years old." Haley explained.


    "Now, I wonder why she''d been lying about her age, and whether Edward knew about the matter."


    Her voice then became anxious and she said, "That was not the clothes she was wearing before this! That means...she returns home first to change into cute clothes before she comes over...LATE AT NIGHT (laughs awkwardly) I mean...What are they going to do late at night together?? (laugh again) At his house!...LATE AT NIGHT!"


    [Commentary ends]


    "Ed. I need to go back to the ship. The crew were partying, and now all of them are a mess." Ted suddenly said and brought his jacket with him as the sea was cold at night.


    Haley heard what Ted said and she shouted, "NO!"


    I turned toward Haley in confusion and asked, "What do you mean no?"


    "I-I mean. Shouldn''t you stay here and...celebrate with your son? And...not leave him alone with his girlfriend without...any supervision..."


    Abby blushed as she understood what Haley was trying to say. Although she felt a bit weird as to why Haley cared so much, Abby said, "My mom is only giving me 5 minutes. I can''t stay long."


    Abby suddenly leaned in, wrapped her hands around my neck, and gave me a peck on the lips. Her action caused Haley to freeze on her spot again, while Ted''s poker face turned into a smirking one.


    "Well...What I''m here to say is...Congrats!" Abby said with some embarrassment in her tone as she was in front of my dad.


    "Too bad my dad is here. Otherwise I will teach you how to kiss again." I said while staring into Abby''s face. I wrapped my right hand on her back and pulled her body closer to mine.


    Abby said with a blushing face, "Shut up! You don''t need to teach me about it ever agai-"


    [Haley''s commentary]


    "Yeah. he''s not gay. I wonder why Uncle Mitch ever thought he is gay. Maybe his gaydar is broken." Haley said with a fake laugh.


    With a hint of jealousy, Haley said, "The way that his face smolders while he was gazing into her eyes. Pulling her body closer and closer toward him, which I am sure they can hear each other''s heart beats..."


    Her face was a bit flushed after she remembered it. She fanned her face with her hand and said, "I mean...Even I never had any boys being that intense with me...ever..."


    [Commentary ends]


    Suddenly, Haley forced herself between the two of us and said, "Okay. No one needs to teach anyone anything. Abby, do you want me to walk you back to your house?"


    ...


    [Edward''s POV]


    After getting beer with my dad and shocking him with how much I can drink without getting drunk, I went to sleep that night in drunkenness and went to school in the morning as usual.


    Wearing sunglasses inside the classroom, I was trying to sleep without the teacher noticing me before the girl sitting next to me started to talk to me. Going braless and only wearing a black tube top, Jenna leaned towards me instead of the teacher while we''re listening to the English class lecture.


    "Eddy. Did you know about your dad''s website launching last night? My mom bought a few trips to support your dad''s business after I told her about it." Jenna said, trying to instigate my attention.


    "Hmm.." I replied, still trying to sleep.


    Jacob and Elsa were sitting next to each other behind me and Jenna, but they weren''t looking at one another. Elsa read a text message from Jacob, and she closed her mouth to gasp. She wanted to tell Jenna something, but Jenna was too focused on me.


    "You know, my mom is thinking of getting together with a few of her friends from work on the ship." Jenna started talking as she actually got a response from me.


    "Hmm.." I replied again.


    "You know, my mom is an ex-Play- I mean ex-model. She and her friends will probably party hard on the ship...Maybe even... partying nude.." Jenna revealed a bit and she studied my face carefully after she said that.


    She wanted to know whether I was really interested in milfs, so she revealed something about her mother''s private life. My face twitched a bit after I heard that and I unconsciously broke into a smile.


    Jenna pouted and stopped talking about the matter as she thought I was excited at the thoughts of the nude milfs. What I was actually thinking about was, ''Ohh. Dad is going to get some.''


    Jenna''s mother was Alexandria Karlson, an ex-Playboy model who had now entered into a career as a minor supporting actress in low-rating tv series and shoddy movies with unnecessary nudity.


    Jenna didn''t lie about the crazy party her mom and friends were going to get into as she had witnessed them a lot before this.


    There was also a time where she had walked into her mom while she was servicing some tv show producers and other actors.


    Her mom did that to make sure she had a part in the movies or series they were producing, and she wasn''t ashamed of what she had done�C therefore Jenna grew up to think that it was normal for a woman to use their body to get what they wanted.


    "If you want, I can get my mom to ask around about a website developer. I''m sure that your dad''s business will grow even further. The website right now is fine, but it''s not fun."


    Elsa tapped into Jenna''s shoulder multiple times, trying to get her attention, but Jenna was still ignoring her.


    "We can shoot a party with the models on the ship. Take a picture of them, and put it on the website. If you want, I can get you into the party...together with me." Jenna offered.


    I finally turned toward her, causing her to be taken aback.


    "Nah. I''m too busy with some work right now. Besides, my dad will kill me if I cockblock him."


    Jenna was confused by my words, and Elsa finally got a word in. Using a whisper, Elsa said, "Jenna. Edward was the one who created the website!"


    Jenna realized that she had said the wrong thing, and she started to stammer, "No. N-No Ed. I didn''t mean the website isn''t fun. I..."


    Before she could spiral any further, I said, "It''s okay. I wasn''t offended. Besides, I was thinking about putting pictures of the customers too.."


    Jenna was relieved and said, "Thank god."


    "Now. Let me sleep. I was up late last night tweaking the website." I said and turned to the teacher again. Behind the sunglasses, my eyes were already closed and I wanted to take a short nap when the teacher suddenly said.


    "For your assignment this week, you need to pair up with your desk partner and come out with a 1000 word long book report together."


    "Ah damn." I cursed while Jenna''s eyes glittered in excitement. After the class was over, Jenna asked her questions in a rapid fire mode.


    "Which book do you want to pick? Do you want to come to my house and do it? Or should we do it at a restaurant? Or should I come to your house? What do you want me to wear? What hand do you use to write? When should we meet up? How big is your-"


    Before she could go on any further, I shook my head and said, "I can do it alone. I can guarantee we''ll get an A in the assignment."


    Jenna objected hurriedly, "NO! We need to do it together. The teacher told us to! You can''t ignore the teacher''s words."


    I heard Elsa mutter underneath her breath behind Jenna, "You ignore the teacher all the time. Why do you care now?"


    Jenna heard it and turned to shoot a death glare at her friend. Elsa giggled awkwardly and walked away to the next class alone. I saw Jacob was laughing at my misery, so I decided to make him realize his situation.


    "Why don''t... We do it at Jacob''s house? Elsa and him also need to do it together, so we can all get together to do it."


    Jacob finally realized that he needed to be alone with his crush to do the assignment, and he almost fainted on the spot.


    Jenna turned toward Jacob and asked, "Can we go to your house?"


    Jacob couldn''t answer a girl, so I answered him, "Yeah. We can. I''ll see you then. Talk to Jacob to know when we shall get together."


    Jenna nodded, while Jacob couldn''t understand what just happened. Even after the bell had rang and all the students had gone to their class, Jacob was still standing frozen in the hallway. Suddenly, he got his sanity back and yelled, "EDWARDDD!!!!"


    I heard his scream while I was listening to the math teacher''s lectures. With a smirk on my face, I muttered, "Am I to mean?...Nah, he''s too annoying."


    Then, I closed my eyes and went to sleep for the whole math class. The balding teacher looked at me and sighed as he saw I was sleeping. 15 minutes before the class was over, the teacher suddenly made an announcement.


    "Okay class. This test here is optional. It won''t be counted in your final marks, nor would it affect your records in any way."


    The teachers then walked and handed out the test questions to each of the students in the class. Jacob shook me to wake me up when the teacher had arrived at my spot.


    Groggily taking the paper from the teacher, I picked up my pencil to answer the question as I didn''t hear about the optional announcement before this.


    As I read through the questions, I muttered, "What the hell are these weird questions?"

 Chapter 31: A teen’s first kiss.

    Chapter 31: Chapter 31: A teen��s first kiss.


    (Wow I hit 1 Million. Nice! )


    [Edward''s POV]


    Question number 1-


    1. A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?


    For an ordinary man, they would answer the question with 10 cents. But, the answer was actually 5 cents. If the bat cost 1$ more, then the difference between the total and how much more the bat cost needed to be cut in half as the price of the bat and the ball is the same thing without the difference.


    So the bat would''ve cost 1.05$, and the ball cost 0.05$. I jotted down 0.05$ on the space provided for the answer and moved on to the next question.


    Question number 2; If it takes five machines five minutes to make five widgets, how long would it take 100 machines to make 100 widgets?


    "Simple enough." I muttered and placed 5 minutes on the answer space. The time wouldn''t be shortened or increased as one machine would still take 5 minutes to finish one widget.


    "Also, what the hell are widgets?"


    Question number 3: In a lake, there is a patch of lily pads. Every day, the patch doubles in size. If it takes 48 days for the patch to cover the entire lake, how long would it take for the patch to cover half of the lake?


    Many students scratched their heads as they tried to answer the quiz. I jotted down 47 days as the answer and moved on to the next question.


    "It doubled half the size. So I just need to minus one day cause the whole lake is covered in 48 days. I just need to go backward instead of calculating it from the start." I muttered.


    Managing to finish all of the questions before the bell rang, I yawned as I placed the paper on the teacher''s desk and finally finished school for today. I cycled home as usual and never once did I think the test would mean something more than a simple test for the grade 8 students.


    -3rd Person POV-


    Teachers lounge, Franklin Middle School.


    "Hmm, that''s weird." The balding math teacher muttered as he checked his students'' answers for the test he had given before this.


    "What is?" An African-american, biology teacher with a cultural scarf on her head asked.


    "Edward Newgate scored 167 in his IQ test. That''s impossible...right?" The math teacher asked.


    "Wait. Seriously?" The Bio teacher snatched Edward''s test paper from the math teacher and checked it by herself.


    "I already tripled checked it. That''s why I''m confused." The math teacher said.


    "HENDERSON! You got a little genius in your class!" The bio teacher shouted at Edward''s homeroom teacher.


    Turning to the sound of the voice, Mrs Henderson asked with a calm tone that couldn''t be broken by any news she heard, "Alex? Or Sanjay?"


    "NO! It''s that Newgate kid! He''s a gosh darn genius! I can''t even solve some of these questions!" The bio teacher was excited and walked hurriedly to Mrs Henderson to show her Edward''s test papers.


    "I see. Good for him." Mrs Henderson replied casually, causing the bio teacher to forget to shout her mouth.


    "Is he really a genius? I know his results are improving, but that can barely support the genius statement." Another teacher said sarcastically.


    "Wasn''t he the one who created his dad''s website? I heard rumors about it, but I didn''t think that it''s true before this." The gossipy English teacher who''s pregnant again for the 5th time said.


    "So. He''s sleeping in my class ''cause he thinks the lessons are too easy? As if." The math teacher snided before he realized something. "Wait. He didn''t join any clubs right?"


    "No. He''s still not joining anything even after I talked to him," Mrs Henderson said, her stoic face finally showing a trace of sadness causing all the other teachers to be baffled.


    "That ungrateful little- Just wait, I''m going to make him register with the math club whether he likes it or not!" The white-knight, balding math teacher finally stood up from his desk to try and comfort the prettiest teacher in the whole school.


    "No. I will make him join the academic decathlon. It''s nex month, and we need another student as one of the participants had transferred school last week. If his IQ is really 167, it will be easy for him to take the transfer students place." The principal suddenly walked in and joined the conversation.


    The other teachers that were going to chime in were silenced by the principal''s presence. Not because they were afraid of the principal, but the man''s charisma had taken over the entire room the moment he walked in.


    The old, african american principal with a head full of white hair said, "Anyway, get ready for the retest to make sure that he really is a genius. He needs to join Alex and Sanjay in their training as fast as possible to represent the school."


    The other teacher nodded at the principal''s words and they went to do their own thing. The math teacher and Mrs Henderson would be responsible for the retest to make sure that Edward''s test result was accurate.


    They also needed to convince him to enter the decathlon �C which was the main concern of the teachers as Edward never showed any signs of willingness to participate in a group activity before this.


    "Maybe...I can get Alex to talk to him...?" Mrs Henderson muttered.


    [Edward''s POV]


    As I returned home, I laid down on the living room sofa and started to text Abby.


    -Text''s-


    Edward: Are you coming today?


    Abby: What if I''m not???


    Edward: Then I''m going to be sad. Even the Tiramisu I''d made especially for my girlfriend will go to waste.??


    Abby: Do you think I''m a small animal that could be tempted by some food offering???


    Edward: Yeah. An adorable baby Panda. It suits your color scheme of black and white too.??


    I knew that Abby would be furious after I texted her that, but she didn''t respond as I expected her to. It was as if she had talked to someone else before replying to my message.


    Abby: This baby panda is busy today, so I''m not coming. You should suffer while I''m not there. Also, send the tiramisu to my house. I''ll eat it when I get home.?????


    Edward: Where are you going? ??


    Abby: Just someplace with Haley.


    Shocked, I suddenly sat up from my laying down position and texted Abby back with a bright smile on my face.


    "Really? Is she your best friend now? Good for you! I''m happy for you!" ??


    Abby: ????


    [Abby''s POV]


    "So, what did he say?" Haley asked gleefully after we''re meeting at the DMV together. She was only there to get her driving permit while I was here to take a picture for my newly-issued license.


    "Nothing. He''s being idiotic again." I replied with a panicked look, quickly hiding Edward''s last text from Haley even though I showed her everything else. While I was typing with Ed before, she was beside me, giving me guidance for how to make Edward crazy about me.


    Haley guessed something from my reactions, "He''s talking shit about me isn''t he? How dare he!"


    [Haley''s commentary]


    Pouting her cheek, Jenna slid closer to me and whispered to my ear.


    "I want to...by the tutors that come to my house...had all been ''eaten'' by my mom. No one survived, men...or women. So how do I study?"


    I knew she was trying to arouse a reaction from me, so I ignored her dirty talk and said, "Copy this paragraph for me."


    Jenna was a bit irked at my response and she turned toward Jacob and Elsa''s direction. Even without saying anything, Jenna saw Jacob was trying his hardest to get Elsa''s attention, and jealousy bubbled up inside her as she wanted me to do the same thing for her.


    "Elsa, tell Jacob about your first kiss." Jenna suddenly said. Elsa turned to her and said, "What are you, Crazy?"


    "You know. Elsa never had her first kiss before this. She said she was waiting for...someone...special." Jenna said, trying to instigate her friend even more.


    "So Jacob. Do you want to kiss me? Or her?" Jenna suddenly asked, causing the atmosphere in the room to turn weird. I noticed that Elsa got a bit hurt by her friend''s words, so I decided to step in.


    "You''re waiting for someone special Elsa? That''s great cause we have something in common."


    "W-What?" Elsa was a bit taken aback by my statement, but then she replied with some embarrassment, "You know...You only get your first kiss once..."


    "Nah. When you get with a new guy and kiss him, it will be your first kiss too." Jenna said. "Jacob. The offer still stands."


    "Stop trying to cause some trouble and do your work." I said a bit sternly toward Jenna.


    "Why should I? I truuuuuly want to kiss Jacob. I think he''s hot." Jenna said mischievously and slid through the bed to walk toward Jacob.


    "Sure. Kiss him then." I said. Jenna was stunned and she turned back to me, "What?"


    "I said. Kiss him. Jacob, good for you. You''re finally going to get your first kiss. Do you want me to give you and Jenna some privacy?"


    "Ed- Are you crazy?" Elsa widened her eyes in shock.


    "What? Jenna wants to do it, so just let her do it."


    "Well. I''m not doing it now!" Jenna said and crawled back to the bed. I heard her mutter in a tiny voice, "Can''t you be a little bit jealous?"


    But honestly, I couldn''t care less if she wanted to go to town on Jacob right then and there. All I want right now was to finish the work here and return home to continue building the Pritchet''s closet system and website so that I could get the money.


    Jenna didn''t even mind trying to use her friend to get a boy jealous. She didn''t even care if she had hurt Elsa deeply as her friend had told her before that Jacob might be the special someone she might have shared her first kiss with, but Jenna didn''t even care about it and tried to take Jacob''s first kiss on her own.


    I saw some tears in Elsa''s eyes, and I wondered why Elsa put up with her friend''s bratty antics. Jacob was also useless in the matter, so I walked up to the couple while Jenna was copying what I told her to copy.


    I pulled Jacob away from Elsa and said, "Jacob. You''re a little bitch if you can''t even comfort Elsa when she''s hurt like this. I may have a solution for your problem, do you want to hear it?"


    Jacob nodded furiously after I told him that. "Okay. Go to the fridge, and grab a can of your dad''s beer."


    Jacob shook his head furiously in objection, so I said again, "Do you want to say something to Elsa using your own voice or not? Don''t you want to show her that you really like her?"


    Jacob hesitated for a while before he ran toward the door and to the kitchen to grab the beer. In less than two minutes, Jacob returned with a can of beer.


    I opened the beer and took a sip. "Nice. It''s all frosty. Now, you try."


    He shook his head again, so I said, "This is a gamble. Maybe you can speak to her after this, maybe you don''t. If you really like her, you will take the chance."


    It was a tiny room, so Elsa and Jenna heard everything that I had said. Jenna looked at the whole situation with extreme interest, while Elsa kept pretending she didn''t hear anything even when her heart had responded by palpitating quickly in anticipation.


    Jacob looked at Elsa''s direction with a determined look on his face. Then, he snatched the beer from my hand and started taking big gulps of the drink.


    "Nothing is happening Edward." Jacob said after the alcohol started to kick in. it was his first drink after all, and he didn''t have any resistance to it.


    "Even though I want to tell Elsa how pretty she looks today, I don''t think I can ever do it. What is wrong with me Edward? Why am I like this?" Jacob asked and took another gulp. He staggered next to Elsa and said, "I really like you. You''re the most beautiful girl that I ever met in my life."


    Elsa was flabbergasted by Jacob''s casanova wordings, but she was more excited that Jacob was finally talking to her. While sitting on the desk studying together, Elsa finally turned to look at Jacob''s direction for the first time today.


    "Du-de. You''re talking now." Elsa said.


    "No. I can''t talk to you. You make my mind go numb...and my heart was filled with butterflies the moment I laid my eyes on you for the first time. I thought the feeling will go away when I see you next, but it''s wouldn''t go away causeeee...you''re pretty every single dauhh.."


    Jacob started to slur his words so I knew that the boy had gotten a bit drunk. He suddenly traced Elsa''s lip with his finger. "I''m sad...I can never kiss this lip in my life."


    "Elsa. What are you doing? Kiss HIM!" Jenna said in excitement. Even though Elsa wanted to do it, she had never kissed anyone before and was feeling a bit afraid inside. Then, her eyes turned to the liquid courage that Jacob used to finally be able to talk to her.


    She snatched the half-empty can of beer from Jacobs hand and downed a few big gulps of the beer. Finally, she got the courage that she wanted.


    "Kiss me." Elsa said decisively.


    "What?" Jacob couldn''t understand what was going on, so Elsa said again, "This is a dream. You can kiss me here."


    "I can kiss you here?" Jacob smiled brightly and inches his face closer toward Elsa before giving her a peck on the cheek. He giggled like a kid after he said that, and he slammed his head on the desk study, finally out for the count.


    "Ah. Lightweight." I said and I took the can of beer from the desk before I finished it all. Jenna saw that I had been drinking and she walked right up to me.


    "Ed...this is a dream too.. Won''t you kiss me?"


    "Piss off." I said and threw the beer can out of the window. It landed next to the teddy bear that Jacob had thrown, so if anyone saw the teddy bear they would only think that it was an alcoholic teddy bear living like a hobo in the house''s lawn.


    "Wait. Why do I suddenly feel ominous?" I muttered. Then, I heard footsteps approaching the room, and I finally remembered that Jacob''s mom wanted to bring some snacks for us.


    "Oh shit!" I cursed and walked to Jacob. I slapped his face urgently and called out, "Dude. Wake up. DUDE!"


    It''s too late now. His mom had already entered the room.


    "Hi. Are you all doing okay?"


    "We''re fine Mrs Green." I answered.


    "Hmm? Is Jacob sleeping?" Mrs Green walked toward the desk study. Elsa retreated from there, leaving me alone with Jacob.


    "Jacob. Hun. Why are you sleeping while all of your friends are working?" Mrs Green said and shook Jacob''s body gently to wake him up.


    "Oh Elsa. I want to kiss you...on the lips.." Jacob muttered with his eyes still closing.


    "W-W-W-What?" Mrs Green stammered in shock. "Jacob! Get up NOW!" His mother shouted to wake him up as she thought that her son was having some inappropriate dream.


    Jacob finally straightened his back and he turned toward his mother. He lunged toward his mother and said excitedly, "Elsa!"


    "Oh shit!" I tried to push Mrs Green away, but it was too late. Jacob grabbed his mother''s face forcefully, and gave her a deep kiss on the lips. The room became dead silent afterward.


    "I''m...going to go now." Jenna said, already dressed modestly again and she pulled Elsa to run away together.


    "I''m...going to go too." I muttered and I followed the girls from behind while silently giving a prayer to the fallen comrade. When I heard some puking sounds on the floor, I was already out of the front door.


    200 meters away from the house, I finally realized, "Ah shit, I forgot the assignment."

 Chapter 32: Abby’s basic instinct seduction.

    Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Abby��s basic instinct seduction.?


    (A/n: See you guys next week Monday.)


    Friday came quickly, and Jacob hasn''t been to school since the accident before. When I called him, his father said that his mom had sent him to a church for an exorcism and Jacob needed some time to rest to get better.


    Fortunately, they didn''t seem to think about sending Jacob further away and he would get back to school next week.


    When I returned home, I received a call from Manny the minute I walked through the front door.


    "Hello?" I answered the telephone in confusion.


    "Hello! Edward! Do you want to come to Jay''s house today? Mom is making some empanada." Manny asked from the other line.


    "I actually need to do some work Manny, so I can''t. I need to finish up the lyrics and melody for the songs I''m going to record tomorrow." I replied casually.


    "Oh." Manny replied, a bit taken aback by my rejection.


    "Is there something else you want to talk to me about?" I asked with some concerns.


    I knew that Manny''s relationship with Jay was a bit strained in the early episodes, but seeing it with my own eyes and the tv was two totally separate things.


    At least on TV a true issue was covered with some comedic relief so that people wouldn''t get too uncomfortable watching it.


    "No. My dad...is coming to take me to Disneyland this saturday. Have you gone to Disneyland before?" Manny asked, deflecting my question.


    "You know what. I actually haven''t. When you get back, make sure to tell me all about it so that I can experience it too."


    Manny said excitedly, "Okay Sure! Also, mom said if you want some empanadas, she can send it to your house."


    "Yes please. I''ll leave the front door unlocked. If I didn''t respond when you''re here, I must be in the zone and I can''t hear you so just walk in without any concerns about it."


    "Okay. I got it."


    After talking with Manny for a while, I finally started on the songs. Even when I got the experience of performing live in front of a massive crowd, recording my own album still gave me the jitters.


    Putting my guitar up, I started to pick the guitar strings while humming the melody of the song I wanted to record tomorrow.


    Sitting on the living room sofa with a pencil in my hand as I figured out the notes and wrote it on a piece of paper, I wore headphones to shut off all the other noises for me to focus.


    I sang the first verse of the song when I finished writing the melody on a piece of paper.


    "First things first, I''ma say all the words inside my head. I''m fired up and tired of the way that things have been, oh-ooh...The way that things have been, oh-ooh...Second thing second, Don''t you tell me what you think that I could be...I''m the one at the sail, I''m the master of my sea, oh-ooh...The master of my sea, oh-ooh-"


    "Hey! Why is your front door unlocked?!" Abby suddenly appeared out of nowhere, scaring the baby cheesus out of me.


    "Holy shit!" I took off my headphones as I stood up, my face froze as I looked at her.


    "What?! You''re scared of your girlfriend?" Abby asked teasingly. The goth girl went easy with her makeup today. She didn''t even wear her black lipstick and only wore a shiny lip gloss instead. Her hair was tied with a twin-tail style using cute, panda scrunchies.


    But the one thing that shocked me the most was her low cut,one piece, plain black dress.


    "What?" Abby asked in confusion after she saw me checking her out from top to bottom.


    "Nothing. You just...look really hot today." I complimented her. Abby played with her hair and avoided my gaze while blushing hard.


    ''So. Step one is complete.'' She thought to herself. After learning a few things from Haley, Abby decided to test it out on me even though she wasn''t ready yet as per Haley''s standard.


    "So if you don''t come here with your black lipstick... you have learned from the last mistake and won''t let anyone know about our makeout session today?" I teased.


    Abby paused, stared at my lips with a seductive gaze, and said, "What if I am?"


    Gulping my saliva, I move closer toward Abby while still keeping eye contact. "Although I need to work, but I had no choice but to sacrifice a bit-"


    Abby suddenly turned and sat down at the sofa. Crossing her legs seductively, she crossed her arms and said, "No. I don''t want to be the girl who can''t understand his boyfriend''s needs. You should continue. I will just watch you."


    ''Step two, complete.'' Abby thought as she saw my disappointed eyes. Always leave him wanting for more, that was what Haley told her.


    "Too bad." I muttered and sat next to Abby. She smirked mischievously as she stared at me. Picking up my guitar again, I continued what I was doing before.


    "By the way, you''re coming to my concert right?" I asked.


    Abby''s face turned into confusion. "What concert?"


    "Next week, Sunday. I''ll have a concert in Santa Barbara. I''ll be the opening act for the music festival there." I said casually. Abby widened her eyes in shock and said hurriedly, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"


    Now, it was my turn to smirk mischievously. "Nope. I got VVIP tickets, so will you come?"


    "Who else have you invited?" Abby asked as she grabbed onto my arm.


    Turning toward her, I said lovingly, "You''re the first. You''re always the first."


    She didn''t expect the sudden attack, and she tried to hide her blushing face by turning away from me. ''Damn it. He''s too smooth.'' She thought.


    "Stop hiding your face when you blush. You''re too cute to do that." I said and pulled her face towards me again gently.


    ''Double attack! Damn it! Now the score is back to zero!'' Abby thought as her heart palpitates quickly when I flirted with her.


    "A-Anyway. What is the song you''re singing just now? Is it a new song?" Abby quickly changed the subject as the atmosphere was heating up.


    "Yeah. It is called, Just the way you are. Want to hear it?"


    "Play it." Abby said, finally breathed in relief as her heart calmed down a little bit.


    "I am a bit embarrassed to play this in front of the girl I am writing it for." I said shyly while scratching my cheek.


    "Wait? For me?" Abby asked in both disbelief and excitement.


    "This. An air fryer? They created it in Germany, but it is useless." Abby asked after she recognized the designs.


    "Yeah. I''m trying to upgrade the rapid hot air technology."


    "Sounds fun." Abby said with glistening eyes. Then, she realized that it would take a long time to do it, and lowered her head slightly.


    Raising her chin upwards, I said, "Don''t worry. If you want to create it with me, I don''t mind even doing it across the country."


    "Nah. Why would I make it? This is yours. You should do it." Abby said and pushed the papers into my hand.


    Smiling wryly, I said, "Okay. If you don''t want to participate, that''s fine. But as My Girlfriend, you can be there when I fiddle with the tech, and you''re entitled to give me your opinion even when I didn''t ask for it. Do you understand? Girlfriend?"


    She smiled brightly again and hugged me over the neck. "Of course. I''m your girlfriend after all."


    Laughing a bit, I said, "Okay. Now, you need to fix your makeup. Otherwise your mom will definitely know what you did over here."


    Even though I was enjoying my time with Abby, that feeling when I realized she wouldn''t stay in LA afterward was like a small thorn in an otherwise beautiful relationship. The thorn wouldn''t interfere much in your life, but it would hurt if the topic was touched.


    "Want to eat dinner here?" I asked.


    "No. I should be getting back now. Also, did you talk to your dad about borrowing the car?" Abby asked.


    "Yeah. He will hitch a ride with his crew member who lived nearby. We should start driving to the desert at 10 am as the crew will be there at 12."


    "Okay. By the way, Haley is coming with us tomorrow." Abby said unexpectedly.


    "...Why?" I asked in confusion.


    "You know. Girlfriend privilege." Abby teased. I chuckled a bit and said, "Do whatever you want."


    After Abby had returned to her house, I used my post-nut clarity to finish my work that was postponed and finished writing a few more songs for me to record for an album tomorrow.


    "I do need to finalize the royalty agreement with Pepper tomorrow before starting to record." I made a silent note inside my mind before I went to sleep.


    The next morning started early. For the recording session today, I had worn an outfit that I had created myself.


    A slim-fit nylon, bomber jacket on top of a black shirt tucked in inside a long, black pant with adidas style, 3 colored lines on the pant �C black, white, and beige.


    I paired it with a 3 coloured belt that followed the same color scheme as the belt, and on top of my jacket, on the left chest, a huge E.N logo made of the same color scheme was sewn on. With my hair slicked back, I put on my white shoes and walked out of the house.


    Abby was waiting for me outside wearing a shoulderless, puff sleeve, black and white dress with a matching beret on her head. Haley was staring at Abby in dissatisfaction as I walked out, I didn''t know why.


    "Hi. Thank you for the dress. It''s really beautiful." Abby said after she jogged lightly and embraced me in front of Haley.


    "Hmm. It looks really great on you." I muttered as I admired her beauty. Abby gave me a little twirl as she was too excited to get a present from me early this morning. She hugged me again and whispered to my ears, "Thank you. You can expect something from me today. I will give you permission to do that."


    I whispered back, "After watching me sing today, just make sure to keep it in your pants and don''t pounce on me in the studio."


    She hit my chest lightly and giggled. "Okay. I''ll try my best."


    "You guys are going to ignore me all day?" Haley suddenly chimed in. She wore an oversized white blouse and had the same aesthetic as us as she matched the blouse with a tight, black mini skirt and black leggings.


    "Your outfits look good too, Haley." I said to the lonely woman. As we rode on my dad''s prius, I struck a conversation with Haley. She was adamant to sit in front while I sat at the back seat and Abby was the one driving.


    "Dylan contacted you after you guys broke up?" I asked. Haley shook her head in disgust and said, "He tried to. But, Madelyn told me he got chlamydia from partying on a boat with some old woman."


    "Wait. He slept with the cougars?" I asked in astonishment. "I warned him about that before."


    Haley said angrily, "You know about that?!"


    "Yeah. He was working on my dad''s ship. I give him a part time job because his car is broken. He''s been working there for a few days now."


    "Urgh. You should drown him in the sea!" Haley said. I shook my head now as I knew that there was no chance that Dylan would manage to steal back Haley''s heart in the near future as she was too disgusted with him.


    "I wonder if they lured him with food." I muttered as I thought about how the thing happened.


    "Stop talking about him or I''ll...tell my mom about it." Haley threatened while glancing at me and Abby, seemingly already knowing what had happened between us yesterday.


    I didn''t know why, the flimsy threat shook my soul. "Okay, I won''t talk to him. Let''s talk about something else."


    An hour ride felt short as I kept conversing with the two girls. Abby then said, "Shouldn''t you rest your voice? You need to sing after this."


    Haley''s face turned ashen and she admonished me quickly, "Why the hell did you talk so much!?"


    "It''s okay. I needed to warm up my voice box. Talking casually is fine. Screaming loudly would hurt it."


    "Oh. Okay then." Abby said.


    "By the way, did you guys have sex last night?" Haley suddenly asked. Abby was taken aback and swerved the car, almost causing us to have an accident.


    With a stunned and horrified expression, Abby said, "NO! WE DIDN''T!"


    Haley nodded and then asked again after Abby had calmed down, "Did you do something else, but not sex?"


    "Haley. Stop trying to kill us. What''s with the question anyway?" I asked quickly and held Abby''s shoulder to calm her down.


    "You know, when a couple friends of mine had done it, they couldn''t resist putting their hands on each other the next day...like you guys did this morning."


    Although Haley''s instinct was terrifying, I shook my head and said, "That''s just how we are. Don''t be jealous when you don''t have a boyfriend of your own."


    "I''m not jealous!" Haley said with a weird high pitched voice.


    [Haley''s commentary]


    Staring at the screen while trying to hide what she truly felt, Haley said, "I''m jealous."


    [Commentary end]

 Chapter 33: Album Recording.

    Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Album Recording.


    [3rd Person POV]


    Whitebeard crew office. 9 am.


    As Ted had come to work today, he sighed at the packed schedule he had for the ship.


    ''I want to go and see Edward''s recording session..'' Ted sighed in his heart.


    "Hello, are you the ship''s captain?" Suddenly, a tall, african/Samoan-American man with buff muscular stature walked up to Ted.


    "Wait. Are you the little Johnson?" Ted asked curiously while looking at the bald man. "Yes I am." Johnson smiled and both men shook their hands forcefully with one another.


    He could see some tattoos on the man''s left chest, and even though the man was smiling kindly, Ted couldn''t help but to be a little bit intimidated by the man �C not because of his muscle, but Ted''s training in the Navy had warned him that the man in front of him was one of similar training as him.


    "Military?" Johnson asked.


    "Navy."


    "Oh, where did you serve?"


    "On the East coast. You know, when my son looked at your picture, he spat his drink and lost his composure for the first time ever." Ted suddenly said as his instinct was telling him the man could be trusted.


    "Oh. Really? How old is he?" Johnson asked. Suddenly, a blonde woman who came to the pier with her husband and her 10 year olds sons interjected into the conversation.


    "He''s 14." Claire said from afar.


    "Oh hey Claire." Ted turned to the sound of the voice, finally releasing his handshake with Johnson. "Why are you here?"


    "I came here to look around." Claire said.


    "And also check up on the potential captain." Phil muttered underneath his breath. Claire turned to him and asked while still maintaining the facade of a coincidental encounter to Ted. "You want to stay in the car?"


    "No Ma''am." Phil replied seriously.


    Luke turned to Johnson and said, "Edward''s the Grand Captain by the way."


    "Edward?" Johnson was confused by the sudden intrusion. He thought that the boy had mistaken something, but then Claire, Phil, and Ted nodded at the same time.


    "Ted''s son." Claire explained to Johnson, causing him to finally nod in understanding.


    "That''s true. Also, he broke composure. Why?" Phil asked curiously. It was rare to see Edward being panicked or losing his composure, so the Dunphy''s were intrigued by the conversation.


    "This might sound racist, but he yelled, "Black Adam?" by the time he saw your resume." Ted explained. While Claire was feeling iffy, Luke suddenly turned to Johnson and studied him while looking at him up and down. "Yeah. He''s Black Adam." Luke suddenly said.


    "Luke!" Claire called out in a horrified tone, wondering if racism could be infected on others.


    "You mean, the comic book hero?" Phil asked Luke, causing Claire to realize that she had been overreacting.


    "Ah. He''d called me that? That is really nice of him." Johnson said, flattered as he was compared to a superhero by a boy.


    A bit unsatisfied by his son calling others a hero, Ted asked, "So Johnson-"


    "Please. Sir. Just call me Dwayne." Dwayne Johnson said. (A/N: Kevin Hart is Phil''s neighbor in this universe, so I guess The Rock could be an ordinary ship captain right?)


    "So Dwayne, tell me more about yourself. Are you familiar with the sea routes around here?"


    "Yes sir. I am familiar with all of this."


    "When can you start?" Ted asked.


    "To be honest with you, I can start today." Dwayne replied confidently. Ted paused for a moment as he started to think.


    "Well. You really know about the sea routes around here?" Ted asked again for confirmation.


    Dwayne chuckled as he understood Ted''s suspicion �C or what he thought was suspicion. "I got a Navy Distinguished Achievement Medal for my 5th year of working sir. I would not lie."


    "But you got dishonorably discharged." Ted said. Dwayne opened his mouth, but he couldn''t refute it.


    Ted suddenly called the woman beside him while Dwayne was looking dejected, "Hey Claire. Do we still have the spare captain''s uniform in storage?"


    Although taken aback, Claire replied, "Yeah. We do."


    "I see. Johns- I mean Dwayne. The clothes will be a bit tight, but can you start today?" Ted asked, shocking Claire and Dwayne both while Phil and Luke just smiled in support.


    "Ted. I mean... Captain. He didn''t have the training...nor did he know the crew yet!" Claire said hurriedly.


    "He will get to know them when he works with them. It''ll be fine." Ted said.


    Dwayne was shocked as even though his resume was filled with flying colors, the dishonorably discharged label had cost him to fail more than 100 interviews before this �C if he had managed to convince them to give him an interview in the first place.


    "S-Sir. Are you serious?" Dwayne asked in disbelief.


    "Yes Captain, are you serious?!" Claire asked anxiously. Phil brought Luke away from his wife and they stood overlooking the ocean together. "The sea is nice, right Luke?" Phil asked.


    "Yes dad. I wonder if a seagull ever gets tired of flying in the sea. You know, when there is no land nearby." Luke asked. Then, Phil and Luke started a conversation together that included submarines, sea monsters, mermaids, and even pirate treasures.


    "Yes. I am serious. After all, the ''Grand'' captain was the one who asked him to come here. Ed also wants me to hear your story first before deciding, but I know that you''re not the type to get dishonorably discharged, so I''ll put my trust in you."


    "How could you POSSIBLY KNOW...I mean...How could you possibly know that sir- I mean Captain?" Claire tried to be polite, but she just couldn''t comprehend the thought process of the father and son.


    "My story sir? You''re the first one to ever ask me that." Dwayne said, visibly touched by Ted''s kindness and trust in him.


    "If you''re uncomfortable with it, you don''t have to tell me." Ted said comfortingly while Claire was taken aback at the side.


    "No. I think...I can tell you..." Dwayne said. After taking a deep breath, he finally shared his secret, "When I was serving...I...had a relationship with my superior officer. We dated for 2 years without anyone knowing."


    "That seems hardly a dishonorably discharged type offense." Claire interjected.


    "Yeah.. but once the others finds out, my partner blamed me and said that I had sexually assaulted him-"


    "I''m sorry. Him?" Claire asked again ''cause she couldn''t believe her ears.


    "Yes. Him." Dwayne answered honestly.


    Ted placed his hand on Dwayne''s shoulder and said, "I''m sorry that the Navy''s bigotry had destroyed your life like this. You can start today right? If you can, I want to go to my son''s recording session and watch him sing."


    "Really? Sir. You''re not joking right?" Dwayne asked again.


    "By the way, Eddy. Harvey here is going to be the official lawyer for the company. You can even spit toward the crowd or get caught possessing an illegal substance �C not that I''m cordoning you to do those things, but Harvey here could get you out of almost anything."


    "I...kinda know about it. She looks...very dependable." I said.


    "Are you flirting with me Mr. Newgate?" Harvey teased. "If you were. It''s working." She said, licking her lower lips seductively.


    Mitchell rolled his eyes at his friend from his college days and said, "Back off cougar, or I''ll spray you with a hose." Harvey shrugged while I chuckled. My eyes widened as I continued reading the contract.


    "22% royalties? You know that even Taylor Swift has 20% right?" I asked in astonishment after I read about Pepper''s generosity.


    Before Harvey could say anything, Pepper spoke up, "I''m doing all of this...just for you." He said, pointing at the entire studio. "In fact, you will hold 20% of the shares inside the company before you''re 18, and 40% after."


    "Pepper!" I widened my eyes in shock.


    "What? This is a fair deal on my behalf. It''s not like I need the money. I already have enough on my own." Pepper said gleefully. "This is the time you say thank you instead of fighting me on this."


    "I..." Losing my words, I take a moment to think about the matter then turn to Pepper with a determined look on my face. "I will make sure that you won''t regret this. In fact, I will make you the most influential man in the entire music industry by the time I''m done with this."


    "That''s such a big...BIG word. Can you really do it?" Pepper instigated with a smile on his face. I smirked and I said, "Yeah. I can."


    The entire group of lawyers there was taken aback by my confidence. Although most of them thought that it was just a kid''s daydream, people such as Mitchell, Harvey, and Pepper couldn''t help but see a vision of the future as I announced my promise.


    Pepper smiled and put his hand on my shoulder. "I don''t need much. You should do whatever you want to do. Just don''t lose sight of yourself when you''re famous and lose what makes Edward."


    "I understand." I replied.


    We signed the contract and now, I have officially become the sole artist of the entire company. Not first...but sole. The entire company was created just for me, and it would only belong to me �C that was what Pepper promised.


    ...


    "Am I late?" Ted arrived at the studio at 2.30 pm because the car tyre popped on route.


    "No. He''s just starting." Abby said excitedly as she pointed at me behind the glass wall. Wearing headphones on my head, I held a ukulele and took a deep breath.


    "Why are you still here?" Mitchell asked Harvey. All the other lawyers had already returned to their firm to finalize the contact, but Harvey kept lingering around.


    "Why can''t I be here? I''m a lawyer here. You''re the one whose presence is weird. He had already signed. We don''t need you here anymore." Harvey admonished.


    Mitchell opened his mouth to refute, but I started to strum the ukulele string, attracting the attention of all the people there. A song that would become the trigger for Haley''s change.


    [Toxic- Boy with Uke]


    Edward: ??All my friends are toxic, all ambitionless...So rude and always negative...I need new friends, but it''s not that quick and easy...Oh, I''m drowning, let me breathe...??


    "What?" Haley widened her eyes as the song''s meaning caught her off guard. It was as if the beginning was aimed directly for people like her.


    Edward:?? I''m better off all by myself...Though I''m feeling kinda empty without somebody else...Oh, I hear you crying out for help...But you never showed for me when I was ringing your cell phone... Oh, you don''t know how it feels to be alone...Baby, oh, I''ll make you know, I''ll make you know, oh...??


    Pepper took a deep breath and said to Mitchell. "You want to know why I''m not letting him be left alone now?"


    "I do. He''s mimicking toxic people. In the end, he will become like them. I mean..In the lyrics. I still don''t know if Edward is writing this based on him or anyone else." Mitchell said.


    Edward: ?? I''m drowning, let me breathe...I''m drowning, let me breathe...I''m drowning, let me breathe...I''m drowning, let me breathe...??


    Ted needed to sit down as he heard the song as he knew perfectly who I was referring to in the song.


    "He is...begging." Abby said, her eyes started to be glassy. "Damn it. I heard this song before, why am I still emotional now." She muttered to herself.


    Edward: ??But life is immaculate, backing it up a bit.Counting my hours and knocking on wood. ??


    "A little bit of luck huh." Ted muttered.


    Edward: ??Avoiding my opposites, chewin'' on chocolate. Had a bit limited time, but I should, Be good for a minute, don''t want to admit it, I''m running on seconds, I''m rigid, I''m screwed, Don''t know what to do, I''m thinking of you, I''m drinking up bottles and bottles of booze...??


    "Thank god mom isn''t here." Haley muttered as she heard the last bit. Ted turned to look at Haley weirdly, wondering why Edward should fear her mom rather than his own dad. "I need to lock up my liquor cabinet better." Ted muttered to himself.


    I continue singing despite the myriad of reactions the song received. Instead of me using my future knowledge to create a song, Toxic was one of the original songs the previous me had created before my other world knowledge became active. It contained all of the parts of my life that I wanted someone else to hear about.


    ?? I''m better off all by myself...Though I''m feeling kinda empty without somebody else...Oh, I hear you crying out for help...But you never showed for me when I was ringing your cell phone...Oh, you don''t know how it feels to be alone...Baby, oh, I''ll make you know, I''ll make you know, oh??


    ?? I fell into your river...That''s where you told me lies...you said that I''d feel better...But this is where good guys die...You took my pride away, but...You cannot take my life...I''ll find another way...I''ll wonder if you''re takin'' my life ??


    "Hmm..." Ted rubbed his forehead, wondering if he needed to do something about my mental state.


    ??Don''t you see how I...I''m better off all by myself...Though I''m feeling kinda empty without somebody else...Oh, I hear you crying out for help...But you never showed for me when I was ringing your cell phone...Oh, you don''t know how it feels to be alone...Baby, oh, I''ll make you know, I''ll make you know, oh??


    ??I''m better off all by myself


    Though I''m feeling kinda empty without somebody else


    Oh, I hear you crying out for help


    But you never showed for me when I was ringing your cell phone


    Oh, you don''t know how it feels to be alone


    Baby, oh, I''ll make you know, I''ll make you know, oh??


    Finishing the song, I took a step back from the microphone. When the music engineer gave me a thumbs up, I finally said, "How is it?"


    Pressing the button on the control panel to speak to me, Pepper said, "It''s...so great that I am at a loss for words!"


    Finally I saw my dad through the glass. I waved at him and asked, "Did you already hire a new captain?"


    Ted walked to the control panel, pressed the button as Pepper did and said, "Yes. I did. I can''t miss your album recording, can''t I?"


    "So you''d save 15 bucks to listen to it live." I teased.


    ...


    [3rd person POV]


    Outside the studio, a Mercedes-Benz Viano pulled up into the parking lot and a blonde, curly haired young woman exited the car.


    "So. He is recording now right?" Taylor S. �C a popular pop artist asked her entourage that consisted of her co-songwriters and concert planner.


    "Yes. We already got permission from the entertainment CEO to sit in to watch." The concert planner replied.


    "Good. Let''s see what he''s made of." Taylor said and walked to the front door with her people.

 Chapter 34: A Swift Solution.

    Chapter 34: Chapter 34: A Swift Solution.?


    (Enjoy~ Also, I had kept a list of recommended songs. I can''t put all hits on one album right? Haha)


    [Edward''s POV]


    As the songs needed to be edited, I only managed to sing, Toxic, The Lazy Song, Grenade, It Will Rain, and 7 years today. The rest of the time was spent creating the melody, adding the bass and other musical accompaniment, listening back to the vocals and the song, and much more.


    "Abby. Wipe please." I asked while using the sound equalizer to mix up all the sounds together.


    "Here." Abby wiped my sweaty forehead with my own handkerchief, causing Haley to roll her eyes.


    "Are you guys playing surgeon?" Haley remarked sarcastically.


    "Well. I do want to see her in a nurse''s outfit. So maybe later." I replied, causing Abby to pinch my arm to retaliate. I ignored her and continued, "Maybe she''ll give me an examination, as I lay helpless in the bed."


    Haley rolled her eyes and wanted to make a snide remark, but someone else was faster than her.


    "Okay. Stop. I''m right here." Ted suddenly interjected as he was standing behind Abby the whole time.


    Mitchell had returned home after pulling Harvey together with him for him to save me from getting mauled by the cougars.


    "Dad. You don''t know what you''re missing. Find a girlfriend, and do it soon." I teased, not minding his apprehension on my flirting.


    It wasn''t the fact that I had a girlfriend that was making Ted annoyed, but he kept thinking that I was purposely showing affection in front of him to make him jealous. It was true. I did it on purpose. The old guy had been single long enough.


    "Play it. Let us hear it." The sound engineer said. The sound engineer was a long haired old guy in his 50''s, dressed as a hippie, and even smelled like one too (Marijuana).


    Although I had the knowledge and the melody inside my mind, the old man had been showing me how to get the melody out by using the control panel. With my enhanced IQ, I only needed an hour of learning to level up my skills in music creation using studio equipment.


    "You know. You''re very cool before." Haley said with a bit of dissatisfaction. She enjoyed seeing me sing and creating my own songs, but now that I had eased up and flirted with Abby, she could only swallow the bitter pill as she wanted to watch the album creation on her own.


    Of course, this time I had spoken to her about taking paparazzi pictures or secretly recording videos about the session.


    "He''s cool all the time." Abby said and hugged me while standing behind me, the back of my head was suddenly cushioned by her soft chest.


    "That''s true." I said, earning an eye roll from Haley. I could joke around as I had finished editing the melody for the 7 years song. Then, I played the result for all to hear.


    The hippie sound engineer shook his head in acknowledgement as he heard the melody that I had created. "It seems I''m no longer needed here. Will I lose my job now?" He muttered underneath his breath.


    While we were enjoying the finished song, the entertainment company CEO was busy catering to the needs of a young pop star artist.


    "Hmm...He didn''t even notice that I''m here." Taylor said after watching the recording session with Pepper


    "When he''s creating, he usually tunes out all the other distractions." Pepper said in defense. Not once did I turn to the room they were sitting in �C the VIP room. It was created for investors who wanted to hear and see the song creation without bothering the artist.


    "Even me?" Taylor S. pouted cutely, causing Pepper to be disgusted. "I said all Distractions." Pepper stressed again, almost snarking when facing the young woman. Taylor rolled her eyes and was silently watching me for my entire recording session.


    "He''s good. Very skillful. He knows what he wants, and didn''t doubt himself a bit in creating the song." Taylor complimented as she licked her lips seductively. "Too bad he''s 14."


    "He''s good enough for the opening act. You can send the management to come see for themselves. Why would you come here yourself?"


    "Hey. You''re the one who offered." Taylor took offense because Pepper''s words sounded like accusations.


    " I didn''t think you''d accept. Aren''t you busy?" Pepper snarked.


    "Well. I am creating a new song right now. But...I can''t seem to find the right melody for it." Taylor confessed. "So I came here for inspiration. And my luck gave me a very cute boy."


    "Your luck didn''t give you anything. Don''t do things that would send you to jail before your career even blossomed." Pepper said facetiously.


    Turning to his 50 grand wristwatch, Pepper said, "It''s almost 8 pm. We should end the session for today." He stood up from the luxurious chair and walked outside the room. Taylor hummed and followed Pepper from behind uninvited.


    "Edward. Great job for today!" Pepper walked in excitement and patted me on the shoulder. Smiling softly, I said, "I always do a great job. It''s a curse. I can''t seem to be bad at something."


    "Don''t worry. You''re really bad at being humble." Ted replied, making the people around me laugh. Then, I saw the sight of the young girl behind Pepper. With her twirly one piece dress, Taylor waved lightly as she met her eyes with mine.


    "Wait. Taylor...S?" I asked with a shaky voice. (A/N: Although there is similarities, just remember this is a parallel world. )


    "Yeah. I''m glad that you recognize me!" Taylor said excitedly while displaying the most bright, innocent, country girl personality that had a big dream to become a popular star in the world. I stood from my chair and approached Taylor before reaching out my hand for a handshake, which she accepted.


    "I really like your songs. Of course I''ll know you...What are you doing here?" I said while maintaining eye contact with Taylor and gave a glance toward Pepper at the same time.


    "Did I not tell you about it before? She is the main act for the concert next week." Pepper explained.


    "Pepper. You keep being forgetful nowadays. Are you okay?" I asked with some concerns. Pepper smiled softly and said, "I am well. It just slipped my mind. That''s all."


    Taylor couldn''t wait any longer and interjected, "Your songs are really good too. I adore all the songs, especially Toxic. I''m sure that you''ll reach a platinum record on your first Album."


    With a shy smile that made Taylor''s heart palpitate quicker, I said,"Thank you. That means a lot coming from a top star."


    "Edward..." Abby suddenly called out when she saw my embarrassed face while meeting the top star. Turning to Abby, I said to Taylor, "That''s my girlfriend. Abby. And the little chibi next to her was Haley."


    "Is she your girlfriend too?" Taylor asked while maintaining her innocent facade. Haley widened her eyes, and Abby started to feel uncomfortable by Taylor''s presence.


    "No. She is just my friend. I think..." I turned to Haley and asked, "Are we friends?"


    "We''re not?" Haley asked in confusion.


    "Bye~" I waved Taylor goodbye before Abby pressed the gas pedal and drove us off from the studio at high speed.


    [3rd Person POV]


    "Damn. He''s tough." Taylor muttered as she watched Edward leave.


    "Or...you know....He''s 14. He didn''t understand your signals yet." Taylor''s female co-songwriter said as she entered the car.


    "Nah. That''s not it. He understood, but he''s purposely keeping away from me. And that just makes him more desirable." Taylor said jokingly. However, her co-writer didn''t believe in her even a bit.


    "4 years will pass quickly. Just wait till then." Her co-writer said.


    "Maybe..." Taylor replied ambiguously.


    On another road, Pepper was giving Ted a ride because the car he borrowed had totally broken down and had to be towed to the mechanic.


    "Why didn''t you ride with your son?" Pepper asked.


    "Are you kidding me? He''s targeting me and wants to convince me to get a girlfriend. I''m not taking a ride with him." Ted replied.


    "That reminds me, Edward asked me to introduce you to some whore- I mean nice girls. We''re going to see her right now. If you don''t want to talk to her, just consider we''re going for a drink." Pepper said and took a different street when they got to the city, going to a bar instead of going home.


    "Pepper!" Ted called out in disbelief, but he couldn''t fight Pepper on this one. After all, the man had done so much for his son. Letting out a sigh, Ted said defeatedly, "Fine.."


    ...


    [Edward''s POV]


    "Are you mad at me?" I asked the pouting Abby who was avoiding looking at my face as she drove. Although she looked cute with the puffed out cheek, I couldn''t let her continue being angry with me.


    Haley interjected and said accusingly, "Why wouldn''t she be mad at you? You were totally flirting with Taylor."


    Nodding my head in understanding, I said, "I didn''t flirt with her. But she flirted with me."


    Abby gave me a death glare in which I responded by smiling brightly. "I understand why you''re mad, but you don''t have anything to worry about." Putting my hand on her thigh as she drove, I continued, "I won''t ask you not to get mad, or jealous. It''s a normal reaction to have, in fact, I am pretty glad that you like me so much that you''re getting jealous when other girls talk to me."


    "I-I''m not jealous. Who says I''m jealous? I''m MAD!" Abby reiterated.


    "Okay. I would be jealous if you''re talking with some popular artist and he was flirting with you too." I said calmly. Then, I hit her with my best charismatic smile and said, "You''re the only one from me. I won''t even look at other girls when I''m with you."


    Abby removed one of her hands from the steering and pinched the back of my head that was on her thigh, picking it up using the pinch and throwing it back to my side, and then held the steering wheel with both hands again.


    "That''s not healthy. People look at the opposite sex all the time. You can''t promise that you won''t look." Abby said, her angry tone gradually diminishing. She turned to look at my face for the first time and said with a longing tone, "I won''t get mad anymore. You don''t have to worry about me."


    "No. We''re going to talk about this." I said, causing Abby to be taken aback. "If our talk is going to make us fight, then we''ll fight."


    "Okay. You want to fight? Then, how come you didn''t stop Taylor when she''s flirting with you?"


    "Because. She''s a senior in the industry. Pepper is giving me so much trust that he created a company just for me. I need to get closer to her , but not go out with her. I stress this again, so that I can understand how the industry works, and even learn about her distribution, her marketing strategies, and all of that. I can''t just sing and hope that people will just buy my album, you know?"


    "Oh." Abby exclaimed flatly, but Haley who was listening from behind suddenly interjected, "Then, why do you guys need some alone time in the studio? Just the two of you?"


    "Well. She was talking about her next album, and needed some privacy. That''s all. Do you really think she would make a move on me? She is 19 years old. It''s a crime to do that."


    "Oh." This time, Haley was the one who exclaimed flatly.


    "Any more questions?" I asked without teasing them this time.


    "You know. The fact that you''re answering it smoothly makes me feel that you had thought about the matter a lot." Abby started to fight again.


    I smiled and turned toward the traumatized girl that had a pathological cheater and liar dad.


    "I''m being honest. You can even ask me if I did check out her body, and I will answer it honestly."


    "Well...Did you?" Abby asked meekly.


    "I took a quick peek. But I like ''em big so I lost interest." I replied honestly. Abby finally breaks into a smile, but she quickly covers it up.


    "Haley. Wear your headphones!" Abby ordered. "NO!" Haley replied with a smile on her face. "You got a chance to hear all of his words truthfully. There is no way you''re leaving me out of this."


    "Fine!" Abby said, and then she started asking me some questions. "Am I the first girl you kissed?"


    "No. I had another girlfriend before. But you''re the first one I''d make out with." I replied. "It was also when I''m 12, so we don''t even know what we were, in fact, dating."


    "I see. Then...Did you..." Abby turned to Haley in wariness, but Haley was only smiling and leaning forward to hear the conversation better. "Just consider that I''m not here." Haley said happily.


    "Why did you agree to date me?"Abby asked.


    "Because you''re really smart, funny, gorgeous and sexy too." I replied. "Honestly, I got a crush on you the moment I laid my eyes on you."


    Smiling widely, Abby asked, "really?"


    Leaning my face closer to hers, I said, "really." Then, we shared a kiss together in front of Haley.


    "Ugh! Don''t make out in front of me! Focus on the road!" Haley interjected.

 Chapter 35: Second Episode?

    Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Second Episode?


    When we arrived home at around 10 pm, Abby and I escorted Haley to her house this time.


    "Why?" Haley asked in confusion.


    "To ensure your safety." I lied through my teeth. The reason was to not let Haley bother us when Abby returned to my house afterward. We had an intense makeout session before Abby returned to her house at midnight.


    Finally, my dad returned home smelling like perfume, cigar, and alcohol.


    "Did you have a great time?" I asked him teasingly.


    "That Sal...How could anyone be so ..." Ted blurted out unconsciously as he was a bit drunk now. Although he didn''t finish his words, I noticed that his shirt was tucked in only at one side, and there was some lipstick mark on his neck.


    "Slutty?" I finished his words for him. "I thought you would spend the night with her. Too bad you left early."


    Ted was stunned speechless at my casualty when I found out my own father was hooking up with a random woman at a bar.


    "What? Pepper already told me all the details." I smirked.


    The next morning came, and I woke up at 8 am on a Sunday. Today, Ted had gone to work extremely early instead of waiting after we had breakfast together, so I guess he was embarrassed.


    "Even though they didn''t sleep together." I muttered in dissatisfaction.


    After having breakfast, I decided to jog around the neighborhood. Wearing a simple gray sweater and gray sweatpants, I put on my running shoes and started to run.


    The reason why I was running is simple. Because someone invited me.


    "Good morning." Abby said while running beside me the minute I started jogging. She didn''t wear makeup today, but her face was still pretty.


    The first thing I did was running a little slower to let her pass me and to check out her behind as she was wearing long yoga pants and a cropped top that revealed her belly.


    "Really? You''re seducing me early this morning?" I said while admiring her jiggling bubble butt from behind. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail style, bouncing up and down as she ran.


    "Run beside me Perv." Abby admonished me even though she was flattered. As she wanted to study in the field of forensic �C and basically become a cop, she had kept herself active and even learned self defense such as taekwondo and karate �C a black belt in both.


    Running beside her, I asked, "Didn''t you always jog with your mom? Why are you jogging alone today?"


    "Ugh. Don''t remind me of that. Mom is not yet waking up. She got drunk and interrogated me about all the things we did last night. I think she had gone running too...somewhere..."


    Gulping my saliva, I asked, "Did you tell her?"


    Abby grinned mischievously and asked, "What do you think?"


    "Well. She is still letting you meet me, so I guess you didn''t tell her anything." I said and slapped her butt before I ran faster forward.


    "Ouch. You little-" Abby cursed and started to chase me.


    While I was messing around with Abby, I saw the Dunphy''s, mostly Claire, Phil and Luke, riding a bike on the streets. Although Phil and Claire''s bike was fine, Luke was riding a small, girly white bike with cute tassel ribbon streamers on the handle and a basket on the front.


    "Hey. Good Morning." I said as I ran towards them.


    "Ohh! It''s the artist. Can I have your autograph?" Phil greeted me happily. Surprised by the sudden encounter, the whole family stopped their bike to talk.


    "Enjoying a little date in the morning?" Claire asked teasingly as she saw Abby running towards me from behind.


    "Yup." I replied casually, causing Abby to hit me in the arm as soon as she arrived at my location. "We''re not on a date."


    "Hi. Nice to meet you. I''m Claire." Claire said and introduced herself to Abby.


    "I''m Abby." She waved meekly towards Claire.


    "Luke, why are you riding a girls bike?" I asked. Phil turned to Claire as if telling Claire that he had made the right decision.


    [Phil and Claire Commentary]


    Phil explained the situation, "My son has been riding his sister''s old bike."


    Claire interjected quickly, "Until he''s responsible enough To take care of his own bike. Look, he spilled a soda on my computer. He ruined our digital camera taking pictures of himself underwater-"


    "It''s a girl''s bike." Phil said, causing Claire to avoid Phil''s eyes. " I''m all for teaching him a lesson, But I worry about the ridicule he might get from some loudmouth bully."


    "Phil. My dad called him a little bo peep one time." Claire whispered.


    [Commentary ends]


    "This is my last time riding it. Dad is going to buy a new one for me this afternoon." Luke said in excitement.


    "Oh. I was thinking that...if you want, I can strip off the paint and we can make this a boy''s bike together. But getting a new bike is better."


    "What? Can you change it?" Luke asked in shock.


    "Luke. it''s better to buy the new one. After all, you''re getting bigger." Phil said. Claire whispered to Phil, "But if Ed changed it, he didn''t have to buy one. Also, Haley is not going to get mad. Besides, I don''t know why you didn''t do this in the first place."


    Phil said in defense, getting a little emotional, "Oh I''m sorry that I have a gag reflex to the smell of paint Claire!"


    "Phil..That''s not what I meant." Claire tried to defend herself, but Phil''s feelings were already hurt. As the family drama deepened, I decided it''s time for me to take my leave.


    "I''m sorry guys. I have to go now. Have to keep my heart rate up." I said and waved goodbye to the family before I started jogging with Abby again.


    "You''re really close to that family." Abby said after we had run far away till the family was no longer to be seen.


    "Yeah. I guess I am. They are pretty fun." I replied honestly with sweats dripping from my chin. We rested at a park for a while after we had jogged.


    "Do 10 pushups. Now!" Abby suddenly ordered as we reached the secluded area of the park. Tilting my head in confusion, I asked, "Why?"


    "I will kiss you ONE time when you finish TEN pushups." Abby smiled mischievously and challenged me. Even though our heights were the same, my body was skinnier than her.


    "I heard your offer, and I will in turn give mine." I said.


    "What is it?" Abby asked intrigued.


    "I''ll follow you do your exercise routine today, and you''ll give me a kiss..."


    "That''s easy enough. I usually do 3 reps. You''re losing in the deal-"


    With a smirk, I said, ''...I''m not finished yet. You''ll give me ONE kiss...in front of your mom."


    "PERV!" Abby shouted and pinched my stomach. "Just for that, I''ll sit at your back while you''re on your last rep."


    She forced me to do the pushups now. I smirked and said, "You keep talking like that is a punishment. I''ll say this again. It''s not. I''ll be very glad when you sit on me."


    So she did it on the first rep. While I was in the pushup stance, Abby sat on crossed legs on my back. "Oh. Soft." I muttered.


    "Let''s see if you can still be cocky after this." Abby said.


    After doing 10 pushups, I started feeling the extra weight on my back burdening my body. My hands shook, but I still managed to do ten.


    "Hmph. Lucky." Abby said in dissatisfaction and got off my back. "Hold my legs. I''m going to sit up." Abby ordered. Although I was tired, I hugged her raised knees while she was lying flat on the ground.


    "One." I counted, and Abby brought her body up. Then, I gave her a peck on the lips the moment she managed to sit up. She paused while narrowing her eyes at me.


    "What are you waiting for? Get back down. Two is next." I said with an innocent face. "Hpmh!" Abby scoffed and got back down. Then, she sat up for the second time, and I kissed her again.


    "Stop that." Abby said, getting down for the third time.


    "Okay. This time, I won''t move. Your choice whether you want to kiss me or not." I said and leaned my head a bit closer towards her. Abby sat up slowly as she was being indecisive. Then, she kissed me lightly as she did it.


    "See. You want to do it too." I smirked and said cockily. Abby''s face flushed, but not because of the exercise. As she sat up for the fourth time...Well...you know how this goes.\


    We were both breathing heavily after we finished the exercise. Our body was sweaty, and it tasted a little salty everytime we shared a kiss.


    "No. About Desiree." I said, causing Claire to be stunned, and Phil dropped his fork, causing some clatters inside the kitchen.


    "W-W-W-W-What do you want to talk to me about?...About Desire?...Did she make a move on you?" Claire became extremely panicked and started to stutter. "Phil. Take Luke to go play on the trampoline!" Claire ordered.


    "But I haven''t finished eating!" Phil said in a dejected tone.


    "NOW!" Claire said, causing both Phil and Luke to scurry away outside the house.


    "Yeah, she invited me to shower at her house." I said.


    "That...slut!-" Claire cursed, but stopped her reaction when I continued, "Because. She is my girlfriend''s mother."


    "Oh. Abby''s mom?" Haley said from afar, still eavesdropping the conversation as she quickly put on her makeup.


    "Yup...Wherever it is you are." I said, turning around to search for Haley, but didn''t find her location anywhere.


    "You know her, Haley?" Claire asked.


    "Yes. She''s my friend. She scored 2000 on her SATs. A genius." Haley replied from out of nowhere again. Claire was secretly shocked when she heard the facts.


    "W-What do you want to talk to me about?" Claire asked with an uncomfortable feeling inside her chest.


    "Not much. Phil invited Desiree to come to your house right? I am hoping that you won''t cancel. After all, you''re the first EVER family to invite her into their house."


    "No. You''re lying..." Haley said in shock from afar.


    Alex then interjected, "Why is mom the first one to invite her? She seems nice?"


    "Because of a rumor." I explained to Alex.


    "Ugh, I''m so sick of the rumors." Haley said and walked into the kitchen with her face ready this time.


    "It''s not a rumor. I heard from my friend Bethany about it." Claire said, trying to defend herself.


    "Ain''t it convenient. When a hot divorce moved into a neighborhood, rumors about her sleeping around with people''s husbands suddenly came out, justifying the actions of the insecure housewives with cheating husbands to control their man''s life... and to push Desiree far... far away to keep their husband?"


    "Yeah mom. Isn''t that Convenient?" Alex said deliberately while crossing her arms. She understood the situation perfectly with limited information. As an outsider, she knew how baseless rumors can be, and Desiree was a victim in this part.


    "Yes..But..." Claire glanced at Phil, wondering if she had done the same thing to protect her man too.


    "If you want to know for sure if the rumors are true or not, why don''t we trace it back to the source. The rumors said Desiree had slept with 2 husbands from the school. Tell me, who are those husbands? Why isn''t their name mentioned?"


    Claire opened her mouth, and then she pulled her head back in confusion and realization. "Wait. Who did she sleep with?"


    Haley was confused, "So...Apparently she slept with 2 guys...but no one will tell us who those 2 guys are?"


    "If they were even real in the first place." Alex explained.


    "Ahh..So fake rumors huh?" Haley said.


    "Also. Most wives couldn''t help but be wary toward Desiree as she''s pretty, easy going and friendly. Her situation is like Gloria''s."


    "Wait. There''s rumors about Gloria too?" Alex asked in shock.


    "No. There isn''t. Don''t lie to me." Claire said. Then, I called Gloria on the spot and put the call on loudspeaker.


    "What are you doing? Don''t ask her that?!" Claire tried to snatch the call from me, but it was already connected.


    "Ello?" Gloria picked up the call.


    "Hey Gloria. It''s me Ed. I want to ask you something, but the topic will be a little uncomfortable."


    "It''s okay. If it''s uncomfortable, then I won''t answer." Gloria said casually.


    "Okay. Have you ever been left out by the parents around here in activities, or them letting Manny play with their children, as they fear that you will steal their husbands?"


    "Ayyy. Many times! And their husbands is ugly too...Why would I ever want to steal them!?" Gloria replied honestly.


    "Are there any rumors about you that were spread unfairly?" I asked again while Claire was speechless.


    "Let me think...There is one about me being from a cartel. There is one about me having diseases. The most unfair one was me worshiping A Goat head. Who is a Goat Head? Why do I need to worship him? I eat goat."


    Laughing a bit, I said, "Gloria. I think they meant worshiping Satan or the devil."


    "Ayy No...See... Terrible rumors. Why do you ask?"


    Claire snatched the phone from me and asked, "So Gloria. Is this rumor...a common thing for you?"


    "No. Before I got divorced...Everyone loved me. Then, when I split up with my husband..., everyone was afraid of me..stealing their UGLY husbands. When I moved to California and married Jay, the rumors died down a bit. Ayy no. Why are you there Claire?" Gloria suddenly realized with whom she was talking too.


    "Gloria is Gloria. I still couldn''t believe that the rumors weren''t true." Claire said.


    "What rumors? Hello?" Gloria asked from the other line, but was ignored.


    "Then. If rumors are indeed true-" I said and turned toward Haley and held her face lovingly.


    "W-what are you doing?" Haley asked, flabbergasted by the sudden touch. Then, I traced her lips with my finger, causing Haley to freeze on the spot before I kissed her...or pretended that I kissed her. I actually kissed my thumb while showing everyone that I was kissing her.


    "What are you doing-!" Claire said and separated us forcefully.


    "Well. There is a rumor about Haley being my pet. A pet that both me and my girlfriend enjoy together. Isn''t that right Alex?"


    "Right now, I''m only glad that you didn''t choose a worse rumor to make your point." Alex said nonchalantly while Haley''s brain was short circuiting.


    "Don''t worry. I didn''t kiss her. I only pretended to do so." I explained with a mischievous smile as Claire was freaking out.


    "Yo-You did that to make a point?" Claire was flabbergasted by my boldness, while Haley got angry at me. "How dare YOU USE ME?!"


    "Maybe he mistook you for public property." Alex said sarcastically.


    "What?!" Haley gasped in offense, and stampeded off angrily to tell her dad what I had just done.


    "See Claire. It was very hard for an outsider to get along with a new community. Gloria got Jay, but Desiree was only alone with Abby. And if you ask her about it, she will tell you why she would never date a married man."


    "So. What do you want me to do?" Claire asked honestly.


    "Just invite her over, and treat her like one of your friends. She will really appreciate that. And since I know Phil can''t be trusted, I will keep him at my house."


    Claire finally gave up and said, "Okay. I''ll invite her this afternoon."


    "Nice. Invite Abby too. She''s pretty smart, I''m sure she will be best friends with Alex."


    "Sure. 2000 in the SATs. I''d be willing to be her friend." Alex said while being proud.


    "What happened? Why is Haley mad?" Luke asked as he entered the house. "Where is she?" I asked.


    "I don''t know why, but dad suddenly hugged her while she was venting�C making her more angry." Luke explained.


    "Do you want to go with me to buy a bike?" Luke asked.


    "Sure. Let''s call your dad and go together." I agreed to and rubbed Luke''s curly hair.


    While we''re planning for the evening, my phone line was still connected to Gloria''s.


    "Ay. They kissed?"


    "What are they talking about now?" Jay asked.


    "I don''t know. Hello?" Gloria called out again for someone to respond to her.

 Chapter 36: Bike.

    Chapter 36: Chapter 36: Bike.?


    (sorry I lost track of time. lol)


    [Luke''s Commentary]


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


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


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


    [Commentary ends]


    [3rd Person POV]


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


    "DAD!"


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    Haley was stunned and froze again.


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


    [Edward''s POV]


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    "I''ll add in some accessories."


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


    ...


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    ...


    [Luke''s POV]


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    ...


    [Edward''s POV]


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    "We''ll buy the trap."


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


    I ignored him and finalized the transaction with the cashier.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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

 Chapter 37: Bicycle thief!

    Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Bicycle thief!


    (See you guys Monday~!)


    [Edward''s POV]


    "So a tall...scary man with tattoos, pushed you off your bicycle and ran away with it?" I asked, fully trusting Luke''s story as it had never happened before.


    "Yes." Luke replied shortly. "That is totally what happened." He said while avoiding eye contact with his dad and me.


    "Son of a-" Phil cursed, but I interjected before he could finish.


    "Which direction did he go?" I asked Luke while I pulled my sleeves upwards in anger, fully preparing myself for a fight. Phil turned toward me with eyes filled with anger as mine were.


    "No need! I just need to go home now! I''m sure the man had already run and hide away." Luke replied anxiously as he grabbed my hand to calm me down.


    Thinking that Luke was traumatized by the encounter, I rubbed his hair and said, "Don''t worry Luke. I will make sure to beat up the bad man."


    Phil''s menacing eyes turned complicated as he watched my interaction with his son.


    [Phi''s Commentary]


    "I am glad that Edward is thinking of Luke as one of his own pack and wanting to...protect Luke. But...he''s kinda stealing my moment here..." Phil confessed.


    He continued with a sad tone, "I am the one who''s supposed to be the tough dad."


    [Luke''s commentary]


    "Edward is really mad now. All I can wish for...is Reuben had already gone back home and hid the bike before Edward found him. If he''s not...then...he will get beaten up. I don''t think I can keep his mouth shut with only the stickers after that happened."


    As Luke was telling his wish, the scene cuts to a footage of Reuben licking his ice cream cone while dilly dallying home, just enjoying his day outside of the house. He even stopped to smell the flower one time.


    "Reuban. Please be home." Luke begged.


    [Commentary Ends]


    "Luke. I''m going to send both of you and Edward home. Then, I''ll come back to find out who did this." Phil said reassuringly as he bent over to meet his son''s line of sight. "You can leave it all to Dad."


    While on the ride home, Luke kept dodging the questions when Phil and I asked more about the bike snatcher. As we thought he was feeling depressed and traumatized, we stopped asking Luke about it.


    The ride home took only 5 minutes.Phil wanted to have a private talk with Luke, so I walked to the front door first. As I knocked on the front door of the Dunphy''s house, Claire opened the door while holding a wine glass in her hand, filled with white champagne.


    "Oh. You guys are back. Did you buy the new bike?" Claire asked with a bright smile, so I knew she was almost wasted at this moment.


    "About that..." I tried to find the exact words, but then I realized I didn''t have to be the one who explained it. "Did you enjoy your lunch with Desiree?"


    Abby had texted me that they had a wonderful time at lunch today. Claire and the girls loved the lasagna, and Claire kept asking Desiree for the recipe, in which Desiree promised to give her later...after she got it from me.


    Alex and Abby had also exchanged phone numbers as they had a lot in common. Alex also had instigated Abby to persuade me in order to start creating the rapid hot air technology, so I had that to deal with.


    "Absolutely! She''s very delightful!. She''s also working in a government office, do you know that?" Claire asked in excitement, then she took a sip of her wine.


    With a reply of helplessness, I said, "Yeah. I know. That''s why they have to return in the summer." I lowered my head while clicking my tongue inwardly. Claire was stunned by my reaction, and she stopped smiling.


    Phil finally arrived, and he studied Claire''s reaction before saying anything.


    "Honey. I know that you''re mad. But, I''m going to find who did this and teach him a lesson!" Phil said in fake bravado.


    Claire pulled her chin back and narrowed her eyes in confusion, "What are you talking about Phil? Where is the new bike, I want to see it."


    "Ah..." Phil turned to me and whispered, "You didn''t tell her?"


    I suddenly realized something, "Wait. You want me to be the one who tells her? That''s why you and Luke were hanging back?"


    "What- No!" Phil replied, avoiding my eyes as he did.


    "You did huh. That''s low Phil." I muttered.


    Claire couldn''t wait any longer and she said, "Can someone please tell me what is going on?!"


    "Claire. We bought Luke''s new bike..." Phil tried to explain.


    "...And?" Claire interjected as Phil was pausing for too long.


    "Well...it was stolen."


    "WHAT!" Claire shouted. Haley and Alex heard the echoes from inside the house, but they only shrugged and went to do their own things. Luke hid behind his dad as he wanted to avoid the questioning from his mother, peeking at his mother''s face with glassy eyes.


    "Claire. Please calm down. You''re scaring Luke. It wasn''t his fault. A grown man pushed him off the bike and snatched it. He''s traumatized already, so please control your reaction." I said calmly while trying to stop Claire from freaking out.


    Claire saw Luke''s scared face, and she changed her facial expression. Crouching down to meet Luke''s eye level, Claire gripped both of Luke''s shoulders and said, "Luke. I''m not mad...at you. This time...it isn''t your fault. You did nothing wrong here."


    Luke brightened up a bit, and Claire continued while checking Luke''s body for injuries, "Do you want to eat some lasagna? I had saved up just a cut for you and your dad to taste it. But you can have it all for yourself."


    "Why am I being punished?" Phil retorted unconsciously. Then, he realized what he said, turned to Luke, and said comfortingly, "You can have it all Luke!"


    "Thanks!" Luke said, but before he walked inside, he turned to me and said, "Now that the new bike is gone, can we paint the old bike?"


    Nodding my head slightly, I said, "Yeah. Sure. Bring it to my house after this. We''ll upgrade it together."


    "AWESOME!" Luke laughed and jogged lightly toward the kitchen to eat his portion of the lasagna.


    "Wait. I haven''t eaten anything yet." Phil muttered and stopped for a hot dog. He placed the bike without locks behind him, and walked to the hot dog stand.


    "Two please. And a soda." Phil said and waited for the vendor to make his hot dog. In the 2 minutes he was waiting there, a small figure appeared behind him and stole the bike without him noticing it.


    ...


    [Edward''s POV]


    Luke arrived at my house sooner than I expected with Haley''s old girly bike in tow. I opened the garage door and handed Luke a protective yellow lab suit for kids, gloves, and a face mask.


    "Do we have to wear all of this?" Luke asked, eyes flashing with excitement.


    "Yeah. I want to use the spray paint for the bike. I don''t want it to stain your clothes or for you to inhale it." I said as I wore a similar type of clothing.


    "Cool! We''re like rocket scientists!" Luke said excitedly. I didn''t want to snub his excitement so I just went along with it. "Yeah."


    The first thing I did was strip the old bike of its brakes, tires, and the front basket. Once I had left only the bike frame, Luke and I took off the black tape that Claire stuck on the bike to make it seem more of a boys bike.


    "Your mom used a lot of tape." I commented.


    Claire came to supervise what we''re going to do, and was surprised when she saw our matching outfits that looked like we were breaking bad.


    "What are you guys doing?" Claire asked in confusion.


    "Stripping the paint off. It''ll take some time for it to be done." I said as I watched the old paint slowly peeled off from the bike''s frame. "It''ll take some time Luke. Why don''t we continue tomorrow after you get back from school?"


    "I don''t have school tomorrow. It''s a holiday." Luke said. I turned to Claire who was as confused as I was before she remembered, "Oh yeah. The 5th grader has a day off tomorrow."


    Nodding my head at Claire, I turned to Luke and said, "Okay. Once the old paint is off, what colour do you want me to paint it? I will go to the store to buy some spray paints."


    "Hm...Black? Or Red? Which one do you prefer?" Luke asked.


    "I can do both if you want." I added.


    "Okay. Then...Both!" Luke answered excitedly.


    Turning to Claire, I took off my gloves and held my palm out at her.


    "W-what?" Claire asked in confusion.


    "Money to buy the paint." I said casually.


    "Ah! How much do you need?!" Claire asked in realisation before she ran to her house to get the money. I only asked her for 20 bucks, and I will give back the balance to her later on.


    "Do you want me to bring you there?" Claire offered after giving me the money.


    "That''ll be great. You don''t have to wait. I''ll ask Abby to pick me up. I want to stop by the tech store too, so it will take me some time to finish."


    Claire agreed and took me to the hardware store. After getting dropped off, I searched for the paint and bought it readily. But, when I left the store, a chubby kid riding a bike almost crashed into me.


    "Hey! Watch it!" I shouted. "Sorry!" Leon replied.


    My eyes automatically scanned the bike, and I noticed the familiar sticker on the tube top. "Wait. This is Luke''s bike. How do you get it Leon?" I asked as I narrowed my eyes in suspicion.


    "Um...Er...Reuben...No...Um..." Leon stammered, trying to find the right words to explain the entire situation.


    "If you tell me the truth. I will buy you an ice cream cone." I said while flashing a devilish smile.


    "Luke did it! It''s all his plan to get two bikes!" Leon spilled the beans easily as he sold out his friend for a 2 dollars ice cream cone.


    "Okay. Now, Reuben didn''t know that you have the bike right?" I asked him.


    "Yup." Leon answered while eating his ice cream. For some reason, it tasted extra delicious today for him.


    "Okay. Then don''t tell them anything. I will handle it." I said and took the bike away from Leon before I cycled home.


    [3rd Person POV]


    As Phil turned and saw the bike was gone, he grabbed his head in frustration and his eyes became teary.


    "WHO IS IT?! WHO STOLE THE BIKE!?" Phil shouted and turned to the hot dog stand owner for the answer. The owner shrugged his shoulders as a reply. He also didn''t see who had snatched the bike as he was busy with the hot dogs.


    "Call the police." The owner said nonchalantly.


    "And say what? That my kid''s bike was stolen, then I stole the bike from the thief, and then another thief stole the bike from me?" Phil muttered sadly.


    In the neighbourhood Edward and Luke stayed in, Reuben finally arrived and pulled Luke someplace private to have a talk.


    "The...*wheeze* The...*Wheeze*"


    "Spit it out!" Luke said in annoyance.


    "The bike is stolen!" Reuben said abruptly.


    Luke was in disbelief. He paused for a while before he realised that it wasn''t a joke by his friend. He shouted,"What!!...What are we going to do now!"


    "You mean...What are YOU going to do..I was never here, and I had never touched your bike." Reuben said and ran off quickly.


    "Hey. Gimme back my sticker you coward!" Luke shouted at his friend from afar, but Reuben continued running away.

 Chapter 38: Girls Talk.

    Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Girls Talk.


    (Sup. I just had a draining weekend and I''m fatigued right now lol. Enjoy the chap)


    [Edward POV]


    "Now. How should I play this?" I muttered as I reached my neighbourhood riding on Luke''s bicycle.


    The spring breeze tickled my nose as I rode the bike. "The weather is cold today." I muttered as the cold wind blew. Although the weather had been warmer, it was still a bit cold to be riding a bike without a jacket.


    Passing through house 314, I saw Desiree walking out to the driveway with a hint of anxiousness in her eyes. I stopped the bicycle in front of her and asked, "What''s wrong?"


    "Oh. Edward. It''s not a big deal, but I am locked out of the house." Desiree said. With her tight pink shirt and mom''s jeans, she had dropped her keys somewhere while walking home a little bit drunk before this.


    "Ah. Where''s Abby? Does she have a key?" I asked.


    "She does. She is at your house with Haley. I''m going there right now to get it. Although I hate to bother her.." Desiree said while looking like an abandoned puppy. "There is an open window, I figured if I could reach it, I wouldn''t have to walk all the way over there."


    "Wait. Just propel me in. I''ll open the door for you. But, you''ll need to do me a favour afterward."


    Taking a step back in vigilance, Desiree tried to cover her breast with her hands, "W-What kind of favour?" Batting her eyes in embarrassment, she started fidgeting.


    Narrowing her eyes at her, I said flatly, "What are you thinking about? I need a place to hide this bike without anyone noticing."


    "Oh. That. Okay, I can do that." Desiree said while feeling relieved. Then, she saw Luke''s logo on the bike. "Wait. Is this Luke''s new bike?"


    "Yup. He pretended to lose it so that I would paint and upgrade his old bike. So I''m going to teach him a lesson." I explained. Desiree nodded in understanding and said, "Won''t Claire be mad?"


    "...I think so." I smirked as I thought about it. Desiree chuckled and said, "That''s what you''re aiming for isn''t it?"


    "BINGO!"


    Desiree and I walked to one of the windows at the side of the house.


    "That''s my room." Desiree said while looking at the window. Then, she looked at me up and down. "If you were an adult, maybe you could give me a lift. But I think it''ll be easier if I do you."


    "Yeah. Do me." I muttered, then I realised what I just said. "Damn. I need to stop hanging out with Phil so much. I have bad innuendo habits now."


    I jumped and grabbed the windowsill, while Desiree pushed me from my buttocks to get up.


    "Be careful with your hands. Don''t grab the wrong thing." I yelled at her as she couldn''t keep her hands steady. Her hands kept going to a place where she shouldn''t go.


    "You''re unexpectedly heavy!" Desiree said with her face flushing as she used the last of her strength to push me up.


    "I''m only 130 pounds. Pure muscle." I said as I managed to pass my torso through the window and no longer needed Desiree''s help.


    "If you''re pure muscle, you can push yourself up." Desiree retorted as she threw her hand in the air to push me into the window one last time.


    "Wa-Wait. STOP!" I tried to stop her, but it was too late. The push caused me to fall while I''m halfway through the window, hitting my jaw on the floor.


    Desiree finally realised what she had done, widened her eyes in shock and asked quickly, "Are you okay?"


    Rubbing my sore chin, I said, "Yeah. I''m fine. Anyway, your room smells like lotions."


    "Thanks. It''s a candle." Desiree replied from the outside.


    With a lowered volume, I said, "It wasn''t a compliment. But whatever." As I entered the room, I saw multiple undergarments thrown around everywhere and a suspicious lone cucumber inside the room.


    "What''s the cucumber for?" I asked to tease her.


    I could hear her becoming anxious and say, "it''s f-Formy eyes. I cut it and put it over my eyes. Anyway, Quickly open the door. You don''t have to look around."


    "Okay~!" I replied and continued to snoop for 10 seconds before I hurriedly went to the front door and unlocked it.


    "Stop worrying. I didn''t notice anything. Definitely not the baby oil and the cucumber''s texture." I teased the moment I opened the door to let Desiree in. She was stunned, and I continued, "I''ll leave the bike in your garage."


    Patting her shoulder, I said, "You should go out. You know...date someone."


    "W-W-W-W-"


    "Well. You''re single now, right?" I said while she was struggling to find the words. After teasing Desiree, I walked home with the paint cans and went straight to the garage. She was definitely crossed with me, and would tell Abby about what I said, but I am already prepared for it.


    Claire was around, watching the paint slowly stripping from the bike, but Luke was nowhere to be found.


    "Where''s Luke? And has Phil gotten home yet?" I asked, startling Claire who was lost in the moment.


    "Oh. I had a weird call from Phil before. And I don''t know where Luke is." Claire replied with her arms crossed and a face filled with confusion.


    "What did Phil say?" I asked as I put the paint cans on the desk filled with tools.


    "He said something about finding the bicycle. I was excited after hearing that, but he wasn''t. Now, I''m afraid he''s injured. The call was cut off after saying he was going to print something and then come home." Claire shared with me in great detail as I couldn''t help but wonder why.


    Turns out that Claire''s OCD had accepted my OCD-self as one of her species, making me part of her pack. She was sharing the matter for me to help her think about the possible ramifications of Phil''s words.


    "I see. Then Claire. Do you want to have some fun with me?" I asked with a sly smirk.


    "What kind of fun?" Claire asked while remaining vigilant. At this moment, Abby and Haley called out to me from my bedroom window, attracting our attention.


    "Heyyy. You''re late~!" Abby said while waving at me from the second floor.


    "Why are you in my room?" I asked in confusion. "Wait. How the hell did you get into my house?"


    "Does it matter?" Abby chucked and called me inside.


    "I''ll talk to you later Claire. Call me when Phil gets home." I said and left Claire alone.


    "Wait. What kind of fun?" Claire asked anxiously once more.


    Stopping in my tracks, I muttered, "Oh right." Then I turned back and whispered something to her. Grinning madly, Claire patted my shoulder while laughing and said, "Okay, I''ll do it."


    There was a hint of jealousy in Haley''s tone that was visible for someone with a high emotional intelligence. However, the two black haired girls beside her only have a high intellectual intelligence and didn''t notice it in the least.


    "Well. It was the first time a girl ever said that, so I''m a bit embarrassed."


    Alex was annoyed by Abby''s and Haley''s conversation, so she decided to make a new topic. "You know, there is a rumour in school that Edward has an IQ of 167."


    Abby widened her eyes and said, "Seriously? That''s even higher than mine!"


    "Is 167 high?" Haley asked in confusion. Before Alex could say anything sarcastic, Abby explained, "Yeah. It''s really high. The average IQ is around 85 to 114. 160 is considered exceptionally gifted."


    "Oh." Haley exclaimed in realisation. "So, he''s super smart smart?"


    "What is your IQ again? 70?" Alex asked sarcastically. Haley was mad and retorted, "What''s your cup size again? A minus minus?"


    Alex was offended, and before they could argue with each other, Abby stopped them. "Well, I''m going to go to Edward''s house after this. I can ask him the question myself to confirm it."


    "I''m going to go with you." Haley said casually.


    Abby and Alex turned to Haley with a confused expression. "Why?" Abby asked. With eyes staring directly at Abby''s plump lips, Haley replied, "He promised me 2 new outfits. I want to claim it."


    Alex muttered without thinking, "Oh. So that was how he calmed you down after kissi-"


    Haley closed Alex''s mouth quickly, but Abby managed to piece the puzzle together.


    "Di-Did he kiss you?" Abby asked, her face ashen and her chest hurts from the prospect of Edward''s betrayal.


    "Wait! NO! THAT''S NOT WHAT HAPPENED!" Alex said quickly and then explained the entire situation. Finally, Abby understood everything.


    "Haley. I''m hurt that you didn''t tell me about it." Abby said in a fake sadness as she wiped her eyes.


    "..." Haley was stunned, and Alex invited Abby to their room to talk in private. Haley explained everything that happened, and Alex explained the things that Haley had missed.


    "I see. So, he was trying to help my mom huh." Abby muttered.


    Haley explained anxiously, "Yeah. So don''t be mad at him. He really didn''t kiss me. He only pretended to."


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Abby punished me by pulling my cheeks. "Anything else you''re keeping away from me?" She asked angrily as she kept pulling.


    In a muffled voice, I replied, "Yeah. I was just in your mom''s room a few minutes ago." Abby flinched and pulled my cheeks harder, "Why are you there!?"


    "Your mom pushed me inside. What else?" I reply ambiguously on purpose to freak her out.


    "What!?" Abby''s face contorted in confusion. I laughed and I explained the whole situation to her.


    "Ah. Unlocking the door! Damn it! You were messing with me!" Abby said angrily and tried to punish me by biting my neck. Avoiding her, I said, "If you want to flirt, let''s wait till Haley is gone."


    "How about you don''t flirt in front of me in the first place?" Haley interjected with a dissatisfied tone. "Oh, I miss being in a relationship."


    "Wait. It hasn''t even been 2 weeks since you got out of one right?" Abby asked as she blinked her eyes twice.


    "Yeah. But for a popular girl, that''s like 2 years." Haley replied smugly.


    "More like a girl who didn''t know how to love herself on her own." I replied, causing Haley''s smile to freeze. Abby thought my words were too harsh, and she nudged me to apologise.


    "Sorry."


    "Anyway. Are you going to pick from the designs here, or are you going to make new designs on your own?" I asked casually to change the subject.


    "..." She didn''t reply and thought for a while.


    While holding the designs, Haley''s eyes took a quick scan and said, "I want to design on my own, but I don''t think I''ll do a great job like you did. So I''m just going to go with what you have made."


    "Nah. Draw the ones that you want to make. Then, come back to see me with the designs. I will help you to upgrade it if needed." I said as I snatched all of my designs from her hand.


    "HEY! What- Wait!" Haley tried to stop me when I was putting all of my designs in the desk drawer and then locked them inside.


    Annoyed, she whined, "Ugh! Why are you being like this? Just pick one from there!"


    Turning toward that girl, I said, "You have the opportunity to finally bring your creativity to life. You don''t have to fear what anyone will think about it, and you especially don''t have to fear me putting your efforts down. If you don''t know how to design, I can teach you about it. It''s okay to go slow if you need to. I will guide you on how to do it."


    Haley was stunned, and Abby broke into a wide smile. She backed me up without me even needing to ask her to do it.


    While hugging me from the back, she said, "Yeah. Do it yourself Haley. I want to see what you''ll come out with. You always dress so fashionably, so I''d already know you have a good fashion sense."


    "Well...I know that." Haley agreed with Abby''s words, but she was still being hesitant.


    "Then. Do it. If you really couldn''t, then we''ll just pick something from the pile. I also won''t bring up the topic again" I added.


    Finally, Haley gave up and decided, "Okay. I''ll do it."


    "Excellent." Abby exclaimed. Nodding my head in agreement, I realised that my phone was buzzing. "Now if you''ll excuse me, I need to play detective at Haley''s house."


    "My house?" Haley was confused, so was Abby. I smirked and I didn''t tell them anything. They could''ve come and watched if they wanted, but Haley wanted to go to the mall in search of ideas, while Abby had promised to drive her.


    "I''ll see you tonight?" I asked Abby.


    "Sure. Dinner at your house, right? Do you need me to buy anything while I''m outside?"


    "No need. Just come by when you''re ready. I''ll prepare some nice meals for both of us."


    With a peck on the lips, Abby said goodbye and went with Haley to the mall.


    Once I received the call from Claire, I walked to the Dunphy''s to settle the bike theft incident. But first, I needed to change my apparel first to be something of an old school, British investigator.

 Chapter 39: Whodunit.

    Chapter 39: Chapter 39: Whodunit.


    As I reached the front door of the house, I knocked on the door exactly three times before I stopped and waited. Then, Alex opened the door after waiting for exactly 5 seconds.


    She scrunched her brows in confusion as she looked at me top to bottom. "Why are you in the suit?...and the hat?"


    Wearing a dark blue, old school suit that was tailor made to fit my body �C using my own efforts, I walked inside the house without answering Alex''s questions.


    "May I please meet with Mr. Dunphy and his son, Luke Dunphy?" I asked politely.


    "Are you role playing?" Alex said in disbelief. Turning toward her, who was standing at my side, I said, "Yes."


    Stunned, Alex rolled her eyes as she pointed to the kitchen, "They are over there."


    "Thank you Milady." I replied as I tipped my hat slightly at her before walking toward the kitchen.


    Alex followed me from behind to see what I had schemed. Passing the kitchen, I saw Phil standing behind a brand new bike with a Luke''s sticker on it.


    With an excited, but mixed with some worries on his face, Phil was explaining to Claire about his endeavour in getting the bike back from a 7 foot tall, tattooed man who could kill a bear with his bare hands. But, Claire didn''t believe Phil''s story. Not even one bit.


    "So. You walked up to the guy in the bar, demanded he give the bike back, and even then he left your body intact so that you can still return home?" Claire asked sarcastically.


    "Yes. Turns out, I just needed to talk to him...man to man...Even a tough guy needs someone to share with sometimes." Phil said braggingly. As I walked into the room, my attire quickly caught Phil and Claire''s attention.


    "Sherlock?" Phil muttered with widened eyes.


    "Yes. Edward Sherlock Newgate, at your service. I came here to solve the mystery of the missing bike." I replied.


    Claire turned her face away from Phil as she couldn''t hold back her laugh. Only after collecting herself did she dare to turn back towards me wearing a serious face.


    "Oh Mr Sherlock, I was waiting for you to arrive." Claire said as she got into character. We shook hands as if we had never met with each other before, making Phil wary and Alex''s jaw drop in disbelief.


    "You''re on it too?" Alex asked Claire, flabbergasted by the entire situation. "Can anyone tell me what is going on?"


    Turning toward Alex for the second time, I smirked at her timing and said, "What else? I came here to solve the case, and reveal to you the true culprit who stole Luke''s bike."


    [Phil''s commentary.]


    Kitchen counter interview.


    "Deep down. I know that something is wrong." Phil muttered in concern as he thought about the entire situation. He leaned forward and put both of his arms on the kitchen counter.


    "However, I am both...scared and excited to see where this is going to go." Phil confessed.


    He looked right into the camera and said challengingly, "For every Sherlock. There is a Moriarity. I had cleaned up ALL the traces.. Let''s see if you can catch me."


    [Commentary ends.]


    "Before we get started, let''s wait for the main character of the story first shall we?" I said.


    "Main character? Who?" Alex asked.


    Turning to Alex, I said in a fake British accent, "My dear Watson, of course the main character is the bike owner. Are you feeling unwell today?"


    Phil laughed and said, "Hahaha..Watson...By the way, your accent is great. You sound like a real Londoner..."


    Claire narrowed her eyes at Phil and said, "It''s not great at all..."


    "Tch. Non-believer." I clicked my tongue at Claire and took off my hat. "Anyway, where is Luke?" I asked as I looked around.


    "He''s upstairs. I will call him." Claire said and walked to the stairs before shouting from below. "LUUUUKEEE!"


    "Why did she even have to go over there? She could just shout from here." Alex said in dissatisfaction.


    "Maybe she wants to protect our ears." I replied as I sat on the sofa. "Watson, a cup of tea please."


    Alex rolled her eyes, but then she said, "Earl grey or Chamomile? We only have those two."


    "I was only joking, but if you were fine with it...Earl grey please." I requested politely from Alex. She nodded and went to the kitchen to make the tea without saying much.


    "Hey Edward..." Phil leaned toward me, trying to say something to me in private, but Claire had already returned by that time and caught him in the act.


    Shaking her finger at Phil as she walked into the living room, Claire said, "No-No. Wait for everyone to be here."


    Phil sighed and pulled his pants upwards. "I wasn''t going to say anything."


    "Sure you don''t." Claire said in distrust.


    "Why are you calling me?" The main character, Luke, finally appeared holding his BB gun on one hand and a walkie talkie on his other hand.


    "Why are you carrying that gun again?" Claire shook her head in frustration and snatched the gun from Luke''s hand.


    "Hey. Give me back! I need it if I want to go and search for my bike."


    Alex interjected from afar, "You mean the bike beside Dad?"


    Luke turned to where Alex directed him to, and widened his eyes as he saw the bike near Phil. He ran quickly towards his dad, where Phil was crouching down and readied himself for an embrace as he thought Luke was going to hug him. But I stood up and stopped him before he managed to do it.


    "Not so fast Luke." I said as I caught Luke from behind.


    "Hey. That''s my hard earned respect! Why did you stop him?" Phil asked with a lowered spirit.


    He expected justification for his actions. And if Luke did hug him, then he could skip past his ruse of buying a new bike for Luke, and whatever ''crime'' he committed, Claire would still turn a blind eye at him.


    "Does Hard Earned mean going back to the store and buying a new bike to replace the one you lost? ''cause if that''s the meaning, then I have really done you wrong." I said calmly.


    "Wha-? No. I got the bike back." Phil lied with an anxious voice.


    Channelling my inner Sherlock, I said, "Phil. The sticker is the wrong size. I printed it in A3. The one stuck on the bike is in A4 size. Not to mention you stuck it upside down."


    Turning his eyes to the bike, Phil finally realised what he had done wrong. "I-I mean." Stuttering, he tried to explain himself.


    "God Phil. I really hope that you can return that bike." Claire interjected.


    [Phil''s commentary]


    "Soo...Moriarty is exposed..." Phil confessed.


    "No Phil. This wasn''t at the level of a simple lie. He knowingly manipulated us. There needs to be a fair repercussion for it." Claire said sternly.


    Although Claire was playing the role of a stern mother right now, I knew that in 2 or 3 days her heart would soften and she would try to get the bike for Luke. Therefore, I needed to be the one who would make sure Luke learned from this matter.


    "Luke. I am not your parents. I won''t be like your mom that will coddle you, or your simple dad that will forget about this whole matter as soon as he wakes up tomorrow. I will check if you did your chores..." I said and stressed the next part, "...on your own...You need to learn some accountability. I won''t give you back the bike, nor will I continue revamping it. Am I being clear?"


    "But...that''s my bike!" Luke said.


    While smirking, I wore my hat back and said mischievously, "No. The bike...was stolen right?"


    Luke was stunned and Alex laughed at Luke''s misery.


    [Phil and Claire''s commentary]


    Claire started by saying, "Edward had to sit Phil down to explain to him what he was doing. Well...I love my son. But Edward was right, Luke needs to learn to take some accountability."


    Phil sighed and said, "Not only did Edward expose me, he also took away my role as a dad."


    Claire turned to Phil and whispered, "That''s because you never punish Luke."


    [Commentary ends]


    "Alex will be my eyes and ears in this house. She will report to me what you do, and what you don''t do. In this room, I know that she will be the fairest out of all of you in her reports to me." I said and patted Alex''s shoulder.


    "What''s in it for me?" Alex asked.


    "Err...The chance to be a good big sister?" I answered.


    She narrowed her eyes at me and before she could say anything, I replied, "A custom made frame for your glasses, by my own design?"


    With her mouth half opened, Alex paused to think before she said, "No. I want to take part in your invention."


    "You really want to ask for something that already has your name inside of it?" I asked in confusion.


    "Wait- You''re considering me?"


    "You don''t want to?"


    "Of course...I want to. But, I don''t want to make you feel pressured to get me into it..." Alex confessed.


    Although she had been badgering me to start the invention, her actions didn''t stem from her interest in getting the credit. However, it was because academic validation was all she had. She wasn''t pretty or likeable as her sister �C that was what she thought.


    "No. Not at all." I answered simply while smiling at her. "It''ll be fun to do it together."


    "Okay... the glasses then." Alex replied with a bright smile. Her rectangular glasses made her seem really nerdy, and I wanted to change her glasses frame since the day I met her. Now, I finally have a chance to do so.


    Turning to the family, I said, "Now that the case is settled, and the culprit is punished, I will be going back home now."


    "Wait, Ed, do you want to have dinner with us?" Claire asked.


    Shaking my head slightly, I said, "It''s okay Claire. I already have plans for dinner with my girlfriend. I need to go home now to cook. Maybe some other time."


    "A date?" Alex teased.


    "Yeah." I replied casually and waved goodbye to the family. Luke exploded once I passed through the front door. "That''s my bike!!!!!!!!!!!!"


    ...


    After finishing the episode which had greatly diverted from its original route, I changed my clothes to a simple grey cotton tee shirt. Putting my apron on, I took out 2 New York cut steaks that weigh one pound each, and have a thickness of 1 and a quarter inch.


    "You know, you could come after I have finished cooking." I muttered to the girl who''s sitting on the kitchen island while batting her eyes at me.


    Abby said, "I love watching you cook. Can''t I just enjoy my dinner show in peace?"


    "Okay then." With a smile on, I put on a show for Abby. After I pat dry the steak and season it with pepper and salt, I preheat the pan using medium heat and brush the pan with half a tablespoon of oil.


    While waiting for the pan to heat up, I took out the appetisers �C bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers from the oven. After arranging them neatly on the plate, I served it in front of Abby.


    "Here. You can get started on the appetisers first while waiting for the steaks. Be careful, it''s still hot."


    Her eyes brightened in anticipation and she grabbed one popper with her fingers without thinking. "Ouch." She exclaimed in pain and put the popper down again. "Told you." I said and grabbed her hurting finger before I gently blew on it.


    "S-Stop seducing me and get back to cooking already." Abby said while blushing.


    When the pan heat had reached the optimum temperature, I started searing the steaks. As I proceed to sear each side 3-4 minutes until a brown crust has formed, then I used tongs to turn steaks on their sides and sear the edges for 1 minutes each.


    Once I did that, I added butter and aromatics �C melted in butter with quartered garlic cloves and rosemary sprigs. Tilted pan to spoon garlic butter over steaks and cook.


    "How do you like your steaks?" I asked while still spooning the garlic butter over steaks.


    "Medium rare." Abby replied. "We like the same level then." I said and took the meat temperature before I stabbed the tip into the steak.


    As the temperature of the meat would still rise while it rested, I waited for the internal temperature of the meat to reach 145 Fahrenheit before removing the steak. It would rise around 5 to 10 degrees more while it rested, and the meat would be medium rare then.


    "How''s the poppers?" I asked Abby as I saw she had been eating the appetisers while she waited.


    "It''s really great. I can''t stop eating it." Abby replied.


    Flattered by her compliments and reactions, I said, "Wait a minute. I will set the table."


    We had a romantic dinner by the candlelight table and paired the meat with some red wine I had snatched from my dad''s liquor cabinet.


    "How''s your day?" I asked while I helped Abby cut her steak. She could do it herself, but I wanted to do it for her.


    "Well...Haley talks a lot... We went to the mall and then..."


    After dinner, we went to my room and locked the door. While we were making out and me getting to second base, my phone suddenly vibrated. Abby stopped and I took out my phone to check the notification.


    "Oh, it''s from Taylor." I muttered as I read the text. Abby got jealous and snatched the phone from my hand. "Do you want to reply to a text from another girl, or do you want to continue making out with me?"


    "Don''t be jealous. She only wanted to ask when I will be free to get together. We need to prepare for the concert after all."


    Abby blushed in embarrassment and said, "You-you can text her then."


    I threw the phone to the side and said, "No. I want to focus on you now." Then, we continued making out before Abby had to get home.

 Chapter 40: Party (Part 1)

    Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Party (Part 1)


    [Edward POV]


    As my schedule was currently extremely packed �C with the final preparations for the concert, creating Pritchett Closet''s website, managing my dad''s business, and working on my album, I barely had any time to rest nowadays.


    Days passed in a blink of an eye, and without me realizing, it was suddenly Wednesday.


    ''Just 3 more days before the concert.'' I thought as I started to feel the pressure of performing in front of a crowd of 5000 people.


    While I was leaning back on my chair in the classroom, the one behind me was incessantly tapping my right shoulder multiple times, trying to get my attention.


    "Ed. Ed. What are you giving Elsa as her birthday present?"


    "Ed. Ed. Will you wear a swimsuit?"


    "Ed. Ed. Why won''t you answer me?"


    I ignored Jacob''s questions as I tried to focus on the board. Although I kept reassuring him that everything would be fine, he kept coming up with new questions and bothering me with them.


    "Just shut up. Wear whatever you want. I will just show my face and leave early. Bother me again and I''ll tell your mom to give you another exorcism." I answered with gritted teeth after Jacob got on my nerves.


    "... I will shut up now," Jacob said with a dejected tone and leaned back to give me some distance. The exorcism threat worked effectively as he was traumatized from the exorcism he got after kissing his mom while being drunk last week.


    Even then, he never snitched to his mother nor did he blame me for getting him drunk in the first place. That made him a true friend in my books. As he kept feeling anxious and now started shaking his legs restlessly, I sighed and said, "Just calm down will ya? This isn''t your first party right?"


    He was stunned and stopped moving after he heard the question. As his response was weird, I turned back to look at his face and asked again, "This...isn''t your first party...right?"


    "..." Jacob avoided my eyes, but before I could grill him more about the matter, Mrs. Henderson called me out after turning from the board.


    "Mr. Newgate, did you feel confident enough now that you decided not to focus on my class?"


    "Uhh..." Turning to the front of the class again, I stammered a little bit, making the entire class laugh at me. "Sorry, ma''am."


    "Tell me, what is the formula to find the energy content of a food sample?" Mrs. Henderson asked suddenly.


    Although the topic was something she was going to teach in this class, she didn''t write any of it yet on the board. Luckily for me, I had understood this topic while studying on my own before.


    "Well, in a simple calorimetry experiment, different food samples can be burned to compare the energy content of the samples. A larger increase in water temperature indicates a larger amount of energy contained by the samples."


    Mrs. Henderson nodded and said, "Continue."


    The people in the classroom turned to look at me at the same time, however, my tone was still calm.


    "So to get the energy or Joules, we have to times the mass of water, the specific heat capacity of water, and the temperature increase all together before dividing it by the mass of food."


    "Now, tell me the limitations of these experiments." Mrs. Herderson asked again.


    "The limitations are incomplete burning of the food samples and heat energy that is lost to the surroundings."


    Flashing a sincere smile, Mrs. Henderson said, "Good job Mr. Newgate."


    "No ''5 points for Ravenclaw''?" I joked, creating some giggles here and there among the students. Mrs. Henderson narrowed her eyes at me for the comment, and that was all she needed to do to make me shut up.


    "Let''s continue." Mrs. Henderson said and resumed her lecture as usual.


    "We''ll pick this up later," I whispered to Jacob.


    After the last school bell rang, the school was finally out for the day.


    "Mr. Newgate, a word." Mrs. Henderson called me before I could get out of the class. I walked to her desk while all the other students were hurrying to go back home.


    As I reached her desk, she asked in a concerned tone, "Mr. Newgate, have you been resting properly?"


    "Hmm? Why do you ask that?"


    "Deep set of eye bags and sunken cheeks. If your eyes were red I would ask you to do a drug test immediately." Mrs. Henderson said.


    "Oh. That. I need to prepare for a concert, my album is still in production, and there is a lot of other stuff as well I need to work on."


    "I see...and how long did you sleep last night?"


    I didn''t want to answer the question, but I didn''t have a choice.


    Avoiding her eyes, I said, "Well...around 2 hours..."


    With stern eyes, Mrs. Henderson said, "You need to sleep at least 8 hours Mr. Newgate. Is there anything bothering you right now that prevents you from doing so?"


    "Well...it''s just...I don''t want to be left alone with my own thoughts. So until I know that I will fall asleep instantly when I lay my head on the bed, I need to continue working on something...just to focus my mind on it."


    I didn''t know why, but it was easy to talk to her about the matter. I blame my sleep deprivation for revealing my hidden thoughts. Unexpectedly, Mrs. Henderson didn''t pry away my secrets in my most vulnerable state and said, "Okay Mr. Newgate. I have something that will help you to sleep better. Do you want it?"


    She took out a few pills from her bag and placed them on the desk.


    "Wait, sleeping pills?" I asked in surprise.


    "Only for today Mr. Newgate. You will need it." Mrs. Henderson said ambiguously. Of course, she gave me only enough pills for one day. I took the pills before I put them in my pocket.


    "Thank you, Mrs. Henderson," I said sincerely.


    "You''re welcome. Don''t expect this to be a regular thing. I will only help you with this once." Mrs. Henderson said as she turned her face away from me to focus on the paper on her desk. "Now, go home and rest."


    "Wait. Did you only want to talk to me about that?" I asked in confusion.


    "For now...Yes...After you are feeling better, and your workload has decreased, I will talk to you again." Mrs. Henderson replied without looking at me.


    "Well. Before she turned into that, she was even wilder than I am." The retired football player, Mr. Henry Green said.


    Both Jacob and I ran our imaginations, trying to think how a wild Mrs. Green would look like. I imagined her with a crop top, tattoos on her lower back that said ''go deep'', and spiky punk rock hair. Jacob imagined her as not going to church...and that was it.


    "If there are some photos, I would love to see them," I said curiously.


    "I don''t think there are anymore. She had burned them all when she... transitioned." Mr. Green blurted out unconsciously. "She said they were the devil''s temptation for anyone who saw them."


    As he drove, Mr. Green found out that they were heading into the luxurious area of the town. He asked, "Anyway, does your friend really live here?"


    "Yeah. It says so on the invitation." Jacob said and checked the paper invitation once more.


    Only those who were selected to go there were given the invitation while those who didn''t get the invitation could only be green in envy. It was the school event of the year, and most students there were desperately wishing for an invitation.


    We finally arrived at the gated mansion. I finally saw Jenna''s house, and I couldn''t help but open my mouth in awe.


    The mansion seemed identical to the ones in the neighborhood, but with a uniqueness of its own.


    The white walls, Greece-type pillars that supported the second-story balcony where Jenna''s mom could greet the world every day the moment she woke up from the bed. My attention then turned to the heated, 20-meter-long pool that was illuminated by the party light right now�C where multiple teenagers in swimsuits were playing around.


    "Thank you, Mr. Green," I said as I exited the car with Jacob, finally revealing my outfit for the party. I wore a simple, white short pants and a dark shirt with pineapples on it with the buttons opened till the third one, showing off a little bit of my smooth chest.


    Jacob wore a red tank top and black pants to match, showing off the biceps that he got from training with his dad.


    "You kids, be nice! Don''t drink too much!" Mr. Green said before he drove away, leaving a stunned Jacob.


    "So...your dad has given you the permission. Will you drink, or will you stay sober tonight?" I asked teasingly.


    Jacob grimaced at me and slapped my arm. "What are you thinking? It''s a kids'' party. There is no way they will serve drinks to a minor-"


    As soon as he said that, a cute waitress wearing only a green bikini walked right by us while holding a tray of glasses. I picked up two green-coloured drinks from the tray, and gave one to Jacob.


    "See. They had started us off already." I said while sipping the drinks spiked with alcohol already.


    "Hey. You guys are late." Jenna noticed us and walked right toward us hurriedly, wearing a very daring black bikini that made her chest jiggle every time she took a step. Her bikini top was a crossed bra bikini that hung from her neck, wrapping around her breast smoothly but still revealing her cleavage.


    She walked from the crowd of boys swarming around her while ogling her body with almost a pitched-up tent, leaving everyone dissatisfied and couldn''t help but turn hostile toward me.


    "This will be a very fun party," I muttered facetiously.


    ...


    [3rd Person POV]


    An hour before Edward and Jacob arrive at the party.


    "Busy? What do you mean you''re busy?!" Elsa muttered angrily after reading the text from Jacob. She was still in her normal outfit, a jacket, tube top, and a mini skirt as she sat on the bed while her friend had already changed into her bikini.


    While fixing her top in front of a full-body mirror in her room, Jenna said casually, "Maybe he''s no longer interested in you."


    "Nah. That can''t be it. He worships me." Elsa said and finally turned her attention to Jenna. "Anyway, are you sure you want to wear that all night?"


    Jenna flashed a bright smile and twirled for Jenna to look, "How is it? Does it make you want to stab me to death from jealousy? I''m sure a lot of boys will lose their minds from this and they will abandon their girlfriend to be with me."


    Elsa stared blankly at Jenna and said, "This is still about Edward? I thought you said he''s a smart man that won''t be seduced by any random woman."


    "I AM NOT ANY RANDOM WOMAN!" Jenna raised her voice and said with angry eyes.


    But, Elsa wasn''t intimidated by Jenna''s bipolar personality. That was the reason that she was alone there. Although Jenna was popular among the boys, she was abhorred by the girls in the school for her slutty behaviors. Even at the party, it was hard to find popular girls that would love to come.


    Brushing off Jenna''s reaction, Elsa said with a scrunched brow, "What do you mean he''s no longer interested in me?"


    "Well...It is what it is. You have been talking too long without getting anywhere, now, he''s no longer interested in you. Maybe he''s talking to another girl now." Jenna replied casually and continued making herself look sexier.


    "He''s talking to another girl!? Are you sure?!" Elsa asked while her heart palpitated quickly.


    "I don''t know. Usually, a guy will lose interest when he gets what he wants. I guess some other girls are currently..." Jenna made a sucking motion while shaking her hand up and down in front of her mouth, emulating the blowjob technique she learned from her mother.


    "NOO!" Elsa screamed in denial. Jenna stopped teasing and rolled her eyes at Elsa. "Virgin." She muttered. "If you''re really that scared, just take him to my room tonight and claim him as yours. Check out the drawer." Jenna said and pointed to her nightstand.


    When Elsa opened it, she found that it was filled with boxes of condoms, birth control pills, plan B pills, and even lube.


    "W-Wh-what are you telling me to do?" Elsa said with shaky eyes as she picked up the pink toy Jenna used in the drawer. As she clicked the button, the toy started to vibrate. Jenna walked to Elsa and grabbed the toy from her before she leaned forward and pushed Elsa''s body onto the bed.


    "Hey!" Elsa tried to resist, but Jenna was being forceful toward her. "Push him down like this...And then..." Jenna said and slid her fingers into Elsa''s thigh before getting underneath her underwear.


    "STOP IT!" Elsa said angrily and pushed Jenna away before she got off the bed and walked a few steps away. Jenna smiled mischievously and licked her finger that she used to tease Elsa''s private part. She got off the bed and walked to Elsa before she whispered to her friend''s ears.


    "By the way. You taste quite good."


    "Shut up Slut!" Elsa cursed in anger before she changed into her own bikini. But unlike Jenna, she covered up her body with a thin layer of clothes that people wore on top of their swimming suits.


    The party started quickly at 6.30 in the evening but the VIPs hadn''t arrived yet.


    "Where is Edward?" Jenna asked after the party had started for an hour, but there were still no signs of her target.


    "I don''t know. Jacob isn''t answering me... Jenna... I think...he''s talking to other girls and is cheating on me." Elsa said in a somber tone.


    Rolling her eyes, Jenna said, "It wasn''t cheating as you guys haven''t dated yet. Just push him on the bed as I told you to. You''ll get him."


    Then, the late guest finally pulled up inside a gray Peugeot and walked out of the car.


    "Hey. They are here!" Jenna said excitedly and ignored all the flies that were swarming around her to finally start seducing Edward.

 Chapter 41: Party (Part 2)

    Chapter 41: Chapter 41: Party (Part 2)


    (The last national exam is at the 20th, therefore I needed to took care of my students first as they are my top priority right now. It''s a little long, but I will be taking a break till Tuesday next week. But I will be posting on the weekends on the same week to make up for lost time, so don''t worry about the chaps number. Have a nice weekend everyone! )


    [Edward POV]


    Loud repetitive music with strong bass that made your heart thump together with the beat, kids jumping in the pool, boys begging girls to kiss each other, girls just doing it for fun, and the spiked punch that made people lose their inhibitions.


    "Ooohh...This is definitely not a party for middle schoolers." I said as I drank my third glass of cosmopolitan today.


    "Eddy~" Jenna ran toward me and hugged my arm suddenly the minute I turned my back.


    "Oh damn it." I muttered as I almost spilled my drink from her sudden approach.


    "Where did you go? I almost couldn''t find you~" Jenna acted coquettishly while pretending she didn''t know what she was doing. She kept moving her body, rubbing her skin against my arm as she hugged me.


    ''When I ditched you for the third time tonight, I expected you to take the hint already. It''s either you''re a special kind of dense, or you ignored it all just to get your target,'' I thought as I took a sip of the drink using a thin red straw.


    Jacob was talking with some boys he knew, and he kept his words with me to not acknowledge Elsa in this party, causing the birthday girl to go crazy for him.


    "Hey NEWGATE!" Suddenly, a hormonal teenager called out to me as Jenna was only paying attention toward me in the entire party.


    Jenna and I both turned to the source of the voice and saw a group of teenagers �C all boys with only their swim pants on and bare body, were walking toward me. Jenna''s face contorted in anger as her scheme was cut short, but the boys didn''t seem to notice that.


    "Sup." I replied casually while still sipping my drink and no notable change in my facial expression. The boys were confused as it wasn''t the reaction they expected me to have. They imagined I would be shaking in my boots and get away from Jenna immediately, but it seemed that they needed to do something more.


    "I heard you are dating a goth girl?" Boy #1�C Nate, a skinny, African-American boy with dreadlocks said instigatively. "Good for you. Weird kids should stay together."


    "Oh. I agree with that. It''s good that you have found your group now." I retorted casually. Boy #1 become angry and tried to lunge at me, but he was stopped by Boy#2�COllie, a blonde haired, blue-eyed football player with the same height as me and some muscles on his body.


    "She got big boobs right? I guess you''re enjoying yourself every night sucking on that." Boy#2 said as he laughed and high-fived his friend like he did something great. To be honest, I didn''t really care about them and never even bothered to learn their names.


    "Don''t feel bad. At least you can suck on your dad''s dick every night." I sniped back as no one could insult my girl and still got away with it. Jenna giggled at my remarks and hugged my arm again.


    "What the fuck did you just say?!" Boy#2 stampeded toward me �Cfeeling both jealous of me because of Jenna, and also wanting to pay me back for my accusations.


    But Jacob walked beside me and Jenna at this moment. His towering stature and unkind face caused the boys to stop in their tracks before they managed to get to me.


    "What?" Jacob stared at them. With a whimper, Boy#2 fall into a stutter. "I-I-I-I I''m going."


    The group of boys retreated quickly after Jacob decided to interfere. If only they knew that the kind giant didn''t even have the heart to step on an ant, lest punching other people, they wouldn''t be so scared of Jacob.


    "Teenagers are weird." I muttered, causing both Jenna and Jacob to look at me in confusion.


    "You''re a teenager too?" Jenna asked.


    "Am I? Or am I really a CIA agent who''d been tasked to infiltrate a school to find the enemy of James Bond?" I said seriously.


    "Bro. You''re drunk." Jacob snarked in derision.


    "Yeah. A little bit." I confessed.


    Then, his eyes shook and his face flushed. I narrowed my eyes at him because of his weird reaction.


    He explained himself quickly while freaking out, "I-I didn''t mean ''Bro'' as in ''Y-you''re my bro''...But a ''Bro'' in general! Yes. That''s it!"


    "Hmm? But...Aren''t you my bro? Why are you embarrassed to say it?" I asked in confusion.


    Jacob widened his eyes, and asked in hesitation, "I''m...your bro?"


    "You''re not?"


    "No! I AM!"


    "Okay...bro." I said with a sly smirk that made Jacob blush. He hesitated and said, "Bro?"


    I nodded and said, "Bro.."


    "Bro!"


    "BRO!"


    "BROOO!!!"


    Jenna narrowed her eyes at us and said, "Are you guys becoming bros? Or becoming a couple?"


    I turned toward her, and inches my face closer to her face. I stopped with only a 2 inch distance between our faces, gazed into her eyes and said, "Why? Jealous?"


    I teased her for the first time ever while I was excited. Jenna''s face blushed and she avoided my eyes by lowering hers.


    ''Ah shit. I really need to stop drinking.'' I thought as I realized what I had done. I moved my face away from her as she fidgeted her body. "Ed..Do you want to see my room?" Jenna asked while biting her lower lip.


    "No need. By the way, when will the cake come out?" I asked.


    "Cake?" Jenna asked in confusion as I changed the subject.


    "This is a birthday party right?" I asked. "A birthday party has to have cake."


    Jacob nodded in agreement at my words, but Jenna was extremely baffled by the situation.


    "You did get her a cake... didn''t you?" I asked after Jenna was still not answering my question.


    "I..forgot..." Jenna said and defended herself quickly, "...I want this to be more of an adult''s party! In my mom''s party, the birthday girl will come out with some frosting...and all the people will ''eat it'' off her. I already prepared that stuff for Elsa!"


    I turned to Jacob and said, "Told ya."


    ...


    The kids were sitting around in a circle, waiting for Jenna to start spinning the bottle.


    Jenna explained, "Here are the rules. When the bottle lands on you, you can choose to enter the closet �C to kiss, or just to talk, whatever you want to do. You will have 7 minutes alone together in the closet. Or you can ignore it when the bottle lands on you. However, if you ignore it, you cannot participate in any of the games later."


    "The birthday girl can do whatever she wants, and the rules won''t restrict her." Jenna added. Elsa nodded in embarrassment and shot a glance at Jacob �C who was still ignoring her. That action however, made Jacob extremely irresistible to Elsa.


    The group nodded and the game began. There were 20 people there. 8 girls and 12 boys. So there will be 4 boys who wouldn''t be able to do it. Almost all the boys had fiery eyes right now as they wanted to be the one picked to enjoy their own personal moments of heaven inside the closet.


    "I''ll begin." Jenna said, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she opened it back up revealing her fiery glint as she gazed directly at me.


    "First couple!" Jenna twisted the bottle forcefully, making it spin in high speed at the middle of the group''s circle. Finally, the bottle slowed down, and it would land on the boy''s side. As it slowly passed through a boy''s position, grunts and moans could be heard from their disappointment.


    "Wait...it can''t be..." I muttered as I saw the bottle tip moving slowly towards me. Then, it pointed straight at me, before it landed on Jacob who was on my right side.


    "M-Me?" Jacob muttered anxiously while pointing at himself.


    "Tch." Jenna clicked her tongue as she missed her target. "Yup. You. Now, to pick the girl." She lost interest and spinned the bottle without thinking much. Elsa''s heart beat quickly as the bottle spinned. Then, it finally slowed down and it landed on a random girl at the party.


    With polkadot bikinis and tied up hair, the short and stacked, cheerleader girl looked at Jacob up and down before biting her lips and said, "Okay. I''ll do it."


    Suddenly, Elsa crawled to the bottle and turned the bottle head to her seat before moving back to her seat. Everyone opened their mouths in disbelief, and even Jenna was a bit disappointed with her friend''s desperation. (Ironic isn''t it?)


    "What? The birthday girl can do whatever she wants right?" Elsa said in embarrassment.


    Jenna nodded in agreement and said, "True. Okay. Jacob and Elsa, your 7 minutes start right now."


    She led them to a dark closet and pushed both people in before she returned to the circle.


    "We will wait until they are done before picking the next couple." Jenna said. I turned to the closet''s direction and whispered, "Good luck Jacob." Then, I stood up from the circle.


    "W-Where are you going?" Jenna''s eyes shook as she watched me getting up.


    "Oh. I''m just staying here to support Jacob. I''m not interested in the game." I said dismissively and I walked out of the living room where the game was played.


    "W-wait. Wait!" Jenna called out to me hurriedly.


    "What?" I asked while turning back to her.


    "Are you really not going to play?" She asked again.


    "Yup." I replied simply and went back to the pool where I would just lay down on one of the chairs while waiting for the cake to arrive.


    "Wait-" Jenna stood up hurriedly to chase me.


    "Hey, what about the game?" Boy#2 asked.


    "Do it yourself. I''m out too." Jenna replied and ran away.


    "Well...if she''s out..." Then a few more boys that came here especially for Jenna stood up and abandoned the game, leaving only an equal number of girls and boys there.


    But...no one wanted to continue the game now as the girls felt like leftovers in the party as almost all boys wanted Jenna, and the boys couldn''t proceed if no girls wanted to play.


    "He fucking ruined the game!" Boy#2 gritted his teeth in anger as he thought about someone particular who was sipping on some drinks right now.


    A brown, short haired girl in a rainbow coloured shirt and denim overall looked around in excitement and continuously texted her sister about the affairs currently going on in the party.


    "Oh. This party is so much fun." Enid muttered as she kept reporting everything she saw and heard at this party.


    (Just the same name, no supernaturals)


    [3rd Person POV]


    Inside the closet.


    "So..." Jacob muttered, avoiding Elsa''s eyes while she gazed intently at his face.


    "So what? Why are you avoiding me today?" Elsa asked in confrontation while continuing to stick her face close to Jacob, although she needed to stand on her toes to do it. Then, she slipped and fell right into his embrace.


    "Be careful." Jacob said as he wrapped his arms around her to prevent her from falling. Her hand fell into his chest, and she could hear his heartbeat beating quickly as he hugged her.


    *Ba-dump* *Ba-dump* *Ba-dump*


    "Wait. Do you...still like me?" Elsa asked while raising her head to meet his eyes.


    "When did I ever stop liking you?" Jacob replied innocently.


    Then, Elsa pushed him away, causing him to fall flat on his back.


    "Ouch!" Jacob exclaimed as his head was knocked onto the floor.


    "Shut up." Elsa said as she straddled him and started to kiss him passionately while they were on the closet''s floor. She was following Jenna''s advice to literally push the one she likes and take the lead in this matter.


    Their first kiss in their entire life started out awkwardly, with just a peck on each other''s lips. Then, they become comfortable with the pace, and Jacob decided to take a step further by moving his tongue toward Elsa''s mouth.


    "Umm.." Elsa moaned as she didn''t expect Jacob to do it like that. Then, Elsa ran her hand all over Jacob''s body before he did the same thing on hers.


    They lost track of time, and they made out for over 20 minutes before realizing that no one was calling out for them. Finally separating from each other, they walked out as they were hearing some commotions from the pool area.

 Chapter 42: Party (Part Last)

    Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Party (Part Last)


    (I''m too nervous for tomorrow''s paper as it is the subject that I teach. So I need to distract myself, and you guys earned a Chapter at the same time lol. Make sure to comment a lot to help me get through the last 12 hours before the test!)


    [3rd Person Pov]


    In Abby''s gothic style room, laying on the bed was a blonde haired teenager with a denim skirt and a long sleeved unicorn shirt.


    By her side�C sitting on the bed while doodling on a piece of paper was a pretty brown haired girl. Meanwhile, the goth girl was crouching on the chair near the desk while hugging her knees and having a worried expression on her face.


    "So, what is he doing now?" Haley asked as she took a breather from doodling.


    "He''s dancing to the music and is still ignoring the slutty bitch." Tara replied casually as she read the text from her sister Enid while still lying down on Abby''s bed. Enid is her sister whom she planted at the party to act as a spy for her friends.


    "Good." Abby muttered, still feeling anxious that her boyfriend had gone to a party without her. Haley turned to Abby and said, "You know, you didn''t have to let him go to the party if it''ll bother you this much."


    Tara finally raised her head and turned to Abby, "Yeah. If it was me, I would never let my boyfriend go to a party alone. Boys are pretty stupid. They won''t think much about something before they do it."


    "No. Edward isn''t like that." Abby said with a low spirited voice. Tara rolled her eyes and said in exasperation, "We all thought like that on our first relationship. But the truth is, if you don''t control your man, he will BE snatched away by someone else."


    Abby then confessed, "I...don''t want to be that kind of girl that would control all of her boyfriend''s actions. Besides, Ed is pretty mature. I don''t think that he''ll be swept away by the party."


    "Oh." Tara read another text from her sister when Abby finished talking.


    "What?" Haley turned to Tara and asked with a serious face. Abby turned to Tara too, and her eyes turned glassy.


    "He''s...joining the game..." Tara said with some difficulty as if trying to let Abby down easy.


    Haley was confused and asked, "What game?"


    "You know...the one where you enter a closet with a girl...and have your first kiss... or you know just make out..." Tara replied in a hushed tone, but all of her words became thunderous when they entered Abby''s mind.


    "Wait. Is he just sitting there because he didn''t know about it?" Haley asked again after glancing at Abby in anxiety.


    "No. They had explained the rules pretty clearly. They are spinning the bottle now."


    Abby lowered her head and buried her face behind her knees. Haley slipped from the bed and walked to Abby hurriedly. "Do you want to go there and beat up that bitch who plans all of this?"


    "No need...He''s just like the other men...I thought he would be different.." Abby said with a shaky voice and a lump on her throat.


    "Wait! Don''t cry yet!" Tara suddenly shouted, causing Abby to raise her head and Haley to turn toward her at the same time.


    "He''s not joining them. He said he was only there to provide his friend some moral support. He''s getting out of the game now!" Tara reported all of Enid''s text clearly as if she was some reporter reading the news.


    Abby brightened up and exclaimed, "Oh," before she smiled in embarrassment. Haley and Tara had a teasing smile afterward and Tara mimicked Abby, "I thought he would be different. My romeo-"


    "Shut up!" Abby yelled while being embarrassed and threw a pillow at Tara''s face.


    "Hey! My MAKEUP!" Tara shouted in anger as she saw a clear lipstick mark and her eye shadows on the white pillow case.


    "Shut up and read. What are they doing now?" Haley ordered.


    "So that''s it? That''s my only purpose here? I feel used. Is this how all of your ex-boyfriends felt?" Tara teased Haley.


    Haley smirked and retorted, "I never used anyone!...and yeah, that''s your only purpose."


    "You...bitch." Tara cursed.


    Haley sat back on the bed, picked up her doodling that looked like a 10 years old''s drawing and showed it to her friend, "Abby, how does this look?"


    "Oh...that''s nice. Did Luke teach you how to draw?" Abby teased.


    "Zip it!" Haley gazed menacingly at Abby as she put her drawing down.


    "I think it looks nice. But I need some more details. Why don''t you use some of the magazine cutouts like we see in the movies to show it?" Abby advised.


    "That''s....a great idea!" Haley smiled brightly as she heard the idea.


    "Uh-oh." Suddenly, Tara exclaimed again.


    "What now?" Abby asked in concern.


    "It seems that your boyfriend is going to fight someone." Tara replied.


    [Edward POV]


    At the party. I returned back outside and lay down on one of the pool chairs before Jenna suddenly came out and sat beside me on another chair. She sat on the edge of the chair and leaned forward before she tapped on my arm with one finger.


    "Hey! Why did you NOT want to play the game?" Jenna asked anxiously. "Are the girls here not pretty enough for you? Do you want me to change the girls for better looking ones?"


    With a scrunched eyebrows, I turned my body sideways toward Jenna in confusion. "What the hell are you talking about?"


    "Why don''t you want to play?" She asked again, determined to get the answer today.


    Walking forward, I stood face to face with Nate. "Come on. Punch me or Apologise to Jenna. If you chose the first one, don''t blame me for what I''m about to do."


    "Uh..Fuck you!" He said and he cocked his punch. The minute he released his hand, I slapped his left cheek with my right hand. The sound of the slap reverberated around the pool area, and Nate was stunned by my wake up call.


    "Choose again." I said casually with an innocent smile on my face.


    He paused to think before he punched at me again, so I slapped his right cheek with my left hand.


    "Again." I said, still with an innocent smile. Elsa walked toward Jenna and checked her wrist.


    "Elsa, did you see what he did? He stood up for me!" Jenna said with obsessive eyes that kept following my figure as I continued to bitch-slap Nate.


    The bitchy girls were leaving the party after their fun was ruined. They walked toward Elsa together to wish her before leaving. Some of them watched me toying with Nate, and couldn''t help but bite their lower lips as they were turned on, but their hate toward Jenna trumps their horniness at this moment.


    "Elsa. Happy Birty-day. Don''t hangout with that slut any more. It''ll ruin you. If you''re looking for handouts, I can give you an allowance if you follow my back obediently like a dog everyday. Hahahaha!"


    Jenna''s eyes turned murderous as she heard that. She turned toward the girls and bitch-slap the skank who was bad-mouthing her best friend. The blonde cheerleader held her red cheek in disbelief after she got the wits slapped out of her while her eyes shook, and her mouth hung half open.


    "Get the fuck out of my house bitch before I call security." Jenna ordered coldly.


    "You whore-" The cheerleader girl wanted to fight Jenna, but another girl held her back and said, "She''s not worth it. Let''s go."


    "Yeah. Run away bitch!" Jenna said in anger from afar toward the running girls before she turned toward me with eyes full of hearts once more.


    With a swollen face, Nate said while involuntarily kneeling, "I...sowwy..." he finally gave up after being slapped for the 10th time. The other boys had already come out of the pool, but decided not to do anything after they saw their Captain''s fate.


    "Not to me." I said and nudged my chin toward Jenna. "To her."


    "I''m...sorry Jenna." Nate said with teary eyes.


    "Get the fuck out of my house before I call the cops on you!" Jenna yelled at him and chased him away from her house. The crowd dispersed quickly, leaving only me, Jacob, Elsa, Jenna, and a random girl with denim overall and rainbow shirt staying there.


    Enid suddenly asked innocently as if she hadn''t seen the conflict before, "So. When will the cake arrive?"


    ...


    "So, Happy Birthday Elsa. Congrats on your new boyfriend." I said as I toasted to Elsa after the cake arrived. Only 5 people left after the whole fiasco over there. Well, 6 if I included the lone waitress.


    After Penny arrived with the cake, she was flabbergasted to see the empty party. She gave me the cake and went to get yelled at by the party planner �C only to see that all of the staff there had left. So I invited her to eat the cake together.


    "So far, 14 is my favourite age." Elsa said as she looked at Jacob while smiling softly. They continued holding hands after everything had calmed down.


    Enid ate some cakes without any concern for others as it was too big a cake for only 6 people. Jenna wanted to resume pestering me, but Elsa dragged her somewhere to bandage her arm, leaving only 4 people in the living room.


    "Oh. I need to go to the toilet." Enid said. "Where is it?" She asked me and Jacob.


    "Turn left over there. It''s at the end of the corridor." Jacob answered unexpectedly. I turned toward him and asked, "You still drunk?"


    "...No. Why would I still be scared of girls now that I''m in a relationship with the best one?" Jacob replied with a sly smirk. I punched his bicep and he turned into the wimpy Jacob once more.


    "What''s that for?" Jacob asked while rubbing his sore bicep.


    "For being annoying." I said and walked to the lonesome waitress.


    "Don''t worry Penny, I will talk to your boss after this." I said to Penny.


    From staring at her plate, she turned toward me with puffed out cheeks that was full of cake and try to speak with her mouth full, "Its''s okayhs."


    "What?"


    She swallowed the cake and said clearly this time. "It''s okay. I think...I''m going to quit this job and accept my friend''s offer to work at the cheesecake factory."


    "Ah I see. I think that''s better anyway than having to continue to devalue yourself by working here."


    "You think so too, right?" Penny agreed with me. "I don''t know how Hollywood people do it. I can''t debase myself like this even if I think that it''ll help me to land a role in a movie or a commercial."


    Nodding at her words, I said, "You know, I am an artist myself, and I''m going to be making a few music videos soon, so I''m probably going to need some actress."


    "Wait. You''re an artist?" Penny asked in disbelief and looked at me up and down. "Are you just saying that to pick me up?"


    "Nope. I am actually signed under a new, big entertainment agency and we''re in the middle of recording an album. Also, you have some cake on your cheek." I said and I grabbed a napkin from a table nearby before helping her wipe the cake away.


    "I am not promising you to get the part. I''m only saying that you can have a place to audition if you''re looking for a part in the future. If I do need you as an actress, could I call you?"


    "Yes of course!" Penny said in excitement and hugged me closely. Then, she suddenly gave me a peck on the right cheek before going to the left, but I stumbled at just the wrong (E/N: Or right?) moment , causing her to give me a peck on the lips.


    At this moment, Jenna, Elsa, and Enid returned to the living room at the same time and saw the dreaded sight. Jenna''s smiling face turned frozen in a second, while Enid was excitedly texting someone.


    "Oh shit." Penny muttered as she slowly backed her face away from mine.


    "That''s okay. It was an accident. Do you have any way to get home, or should I give you a ride?" I asked Penny calmly after the incident despite the hostile looks she was getting from Jenna.


    "NO!" Jenna shouted in objection.

 Chapter 43: Argument.

    Chapter 43: Chapter 43: Argument.


    [Edward POV]


    Mr. Green came to pick us up after the party was over. Although he saw we were a bit drunk, he didn''t scold us and even teased Jacob when he saw the lipstick mark on his neck. The Viking dad widened his eyes in surprise after he heard the tale of the fight from Jacob as we were riding in his car. Jacob was sitting next to the driver while I sat in the back seat.


    He looked sideways from his position with his eyes on the road to scan Jacob up and down with skepticism.. "You. Tackled someone?"


    "Yeah Mr. Green. He tackled 2 boys at the same time." I vouched for the shy Jacob.


    Mr. Green turned to look at me and said, "Do you know why Jacob didn''t join the football team even after all the training he has done? It''s because he''s afraid of anything physical."


    ''More likely he was too soft to inflict pain on someone else.'' I thought.


    Finally, I realized why Mr Green was so doubtful about the fact that his son fought someone. He placed his palm on Jacob''s shoulder and said with a soft, yet proud smile. "My son is all grown up."


    "Yeah like a mini giant." I muttered underneath my breath at the side without Mr Green being able to listen to it.


    "Finally, this means you can try out for the football team. We''ll start your training again before you''re going to high school next year." Mr. Green declared. Jacob tried to object and turned to me for help, but I ignored his desperate plea because I was too tired.


    I recalled the events before we rode home as I closed my eyes. Jenna called a limousine for Penny to drive her home after I objected to her suggestion of calling a cab for Penny.


    "Why? Do you want to go home with her? Huh?"


    Jenna got up close to my face and was being stubborn.


    "If you want to get some tonight, just stay at the house-"


    "Jenna. You''re pretty, so people won''t tell you this straight to your face. Shut your piehole if you have nothing good to say."


    Seeing my menacing gaze, Jenna took a step back fearing I would hate her if she continued talking about it. Suddenly, her fear turned into excitement. She broke into the brightest smile I had ever seen her wear and said coquettishly, "So. You think I''m pretty?"


    "Shut. Your. Piehole Jenna!" I said sternly once more before I gave up on trying to have any rational conversation with the girl.


    Penny the waitress didn''t have her id or wallet on her as everything was kept by the agency to prevent a possible identity leak. She also didn''t have any clothes with her, and was only wearing a teeny tiny bikini. As the night deepened, the cold wind was severe. Therefore I could see her...''something'' protruding from her bikini.


    I advised her to quit the job immediately that night in case they sent her off to another mansion where she could become a plaything for the high society �C not that she couldn''t take care of herself on her own.


    After I investigated the company that she registered with in the future, I would find out that they did a lot of shady stuff. Luckily, Penny was still a newcomer and she was still just a simple waitress for now. She could quit the job quite easily and without any hassle.


    ''A simple dreamer huh...''


    As I took one last look at Penny''s anxious face, I couldn''t help but wonder.


    ''When reality hits her, she will stop pursuing her dreams...which is kinda sad...''


    Holding the phone with her contact number inside of it, I couldn''t help but want to at least help her get started.


    "She really is just a mediocre actress...All she ever did was that stupid serial-Apeist movie...and its sequel."


    The opportunities for her wouldn''t be abundant, but at the very least she could add something else that was good to her resume if I interfered.


    When I arrived home, my mind was already tired from the fight, the alcohol, and the persistent 14 year old who threw herself at me all day. Now, I only wanted to sleep and do nothing else. But the moment I opened the door, I knew that I wouldn''t be able to get what I wanted.


    "Hey hot stuff." Abby said while waiting for me in the living room. Wearing a cropped tank top and a red plaid miniskirt, she walked to me as I closed the door and wrapped her hand gently on my waist while maintaining eye contact.


    "You had some fun tonight." Abby still maintained a smile, but for some reason I felt ominous inside. "What did you do over there?" She asked.


    "Well...My palm is still sore from continuously slapping some ruffians who want to make some trouble." I said as I fixed a stray hair on Abby''s face back and slid the stray hair behind her ear. She saw that my palm was still red and bit her lips in anger at the brats.


    "Anyway, I''m pretty tired now. Do you want to sleep together with me? We can cuddle." I teased Abby as she continued staring at me.


    "That can wait. Do you want to tell me about anything else that happened tonight?" Abby asked again with gritted teeth, but still maintaining her smile.


    "What''s going on?" I asked.


    "Nothing." Abby replied curtly and released her hand from my body before she went to sit at the sofa again. I walked to the sofa and placed my phone at the coffee table as I stared at her face. She continuously avoided my gaze which was kinda cute, but also unnerving at the same time.


    "I''m going to take a shower." I said as I ignored the annoyed girl and walked upstairs to my room. "Don''t peep."


    "I''m not going to peep!" Abby shouted in anger and threw the sofa pillow at my back. I chuckled and finished my shower before getting out of the bathroom wearing only a towel wrapped around my waist.


    "Hey Abby." I said as I walked toward her with my hair still wet.


    The sudden intrusion caused Abby to be flabbergasted. "Wh-what do you think I came here for? I didn''t come here for that!"


    "Ahh...Too bad..." I exclaimed sadly as I sat next to her without putting on my clothes yet. "Anyway, why are you being so sulky tonight?"


    "So you noticed that huh? Can''t you also notice that I''m sitting here quietly stewing while waiting for you to come out of the shower? Why shower- So you can wash away any evidence?" Without looking me in the eye, Abby started to argue with me which left me quite befuddled.


    She was projecting her past experience in our relationship, but I missed the clue at this moment.


    "Why are you mad at me?" I asked in confusion.


    She turned her face quickly, gazed me in the eye and said, "I know what you did at the party."


    "What? The fight?" I asked.


    "Not that." Abby replied.


    "The drinking?" I asked.


    "Not that."


    "Then, I''m stumped. I don''t think I did anything to make you mad at me, except for that."


    "Think...REAL...hard..." Abby said deliberately.


    So I put my finger underneath my chin and started thinking. "Umm... What did I do...What exactly did I do...Oh, are you upset because I bought the cake and marked it as company expense? In my defense, I don''t have a bank account yet so I can''t use my own money."


    "NOT THAT!" Abby said in a high pitched voice while crossing her arms. "I know about the kiss!"


    "What kiss?" I asked as I looked at her face. "I didn''t kiss anyone."


    "The kiss with the waitress?"


    "I kissed a waitress?"


    However, like Abby, I too had my own worries in continuing the relationship. Every time someone brings up the topic that she would one day return to New York, or when I realized that I couldn''t hold on to her forever, it kills me a little bit inside.


    "Maybe this is for the best." I muttered before a few more droplets of rain fell on top of my head. But I guess I was lucky that I arrived home before the rain finally started to pour.


    "So I guess I''m lucky? Even the sky is mocking me sarcastically right now." I muttered as I entered the door and went straight to my bedroom.


    I laid on top of the bed, just trying to repress anything that I might have felt that night. I even took the sleeping pills that Mrs Henderson gave me to help me sleep, but I still kept staring at the ceiling till 3 am�C struggling with my thoughts.


    ''Calm down. Don''t open the dam. Everything will come out if you open it. Just continue to repress. Repress. Repress. Repress. Repress. Repress. Repress. Repres..."


    Anger, unfairness, longing, rage, despair, desperation...My thoughts kept changing, and I felt as if my heart had been ripped out from my chest.


    By this day, repressing things was my usual routine for every night since I became Edward Newgate. It wasn''t fun to repress things, but that was how I coped. Breaking up with Abby tonight became a trigger for my emotions to bubble up once more.


    "FUCK!" I cursed in the middle of the night. I wasn''t sure what time I fell asleep, but I was sure that I saw the sun coming up before I managed to do so.


    (A/N: Some of you will think he''s pathetic, but read back the previous few Chapter cause I showed signs of him being a little depressed - insomnia, pushing himself to work, needing alcohol to sleep, and so on. )


    [3rd Person POV]


    Abby closed the door and rested her back against it. Her left hand was still holding the doorknob�Cshivering as she wanted to open the door and ran back toward him.


    "What''s going on dear?" Desiree walked into the living room as she heard the front door being opened and saw Abby shivering at the front door.


    "Did something happen?" She asked as she hurriedly got to her daughter. Suddenly, Abby hugged her and buried her face in her mom''s chest and without explaining anything, Abby broke down crying. She grabbed her mother''s robe tightly till her hands felt numb as her sobs turned to wail.


    "What''s going on Abby? Did someone hurt you?" Desiree asked anxiously as it was rare to see her daughter cry.


    "Did Edward do something to you?" Although Desiree felt that Edward was a nice kid, she still felt the need to ask just in case he had done something to hurt her daughter.


    After a while, Abby explained in a broken sentence mixed with her sobbings.


    "No...(Cry) We...broke up!"


    It took Desiree a long time to calm her daughter down and listen to the entire story. She respected her daughter''s decision to end things, and she realized something from Abby''s cry.


    As she took her daughter to bed and kissed her forehead when Abby fell asleep, Desiree muttered, "You don''t even know that you love him. My stupid little girl..."


    After the long night for both Abby and Edward, a new day finally arrived.


    Inside the Newgate''s house, Ted was confused when he realized that his son wasn''t waking up on time to go to school as usual. Finally, he decided to enter Edward''s room to find out what was going on.


    Ted shook Edward''s motionless body after he placed his palm on Edward''s head to check for a fever.


    "Hey, Ed...wake up...Time for school..." Ted said whisperingly.


    "Umm..." Edward groaned but he wasn''t waking up from the bed. Ted sighed and asked, "Did Abby come by last night?"


    "She did...and we broke up..." Edward replied groggily.


    Ted finally understood why his son wasn''t waking up today. "Okay. I''ll call your school and let them know you won''t be going today. I''ll come by this afternoon and we''ll do something fun." Ted said and brushed Edward''s hair before he went to work.


    "Umm..." Edward groaned once more as an agreement before he continued sleeping.


    ...


    Palisades High School.


    Haley was texting Abby after finding out that she didn''t come to school today.


    "She still isn''t answering?" Tara asked Haley as she sat next to her in class.


    "No..I''m worried.." Haley muttered with a face full of concern. "She was being weird last night after knowing Edward kissed another girl."


    Tara scratched her face and said, "Yeah...about that..."


    Haley finally turned to her friend and asked, "What?"


    "They didn''t kiss on purpose. It was an accident."


    "Wait seriously? Did you tell Abby that?"


    "I did. But she still hasn''t responded to me." Tara said.


    "I...will ask my mom to talk to her mom." Haley said as she texted Claire who was working from home at that time.


    Claire read the text message, and called Desiree with the house phone. They talked for a while, and Desiree finally told Claire what really happened.


    "THEY broke up!?" Claire was flabbergasted when she heard it.


    "Yeah." Desiree replied from the other line. "I''m taking her somewhere fun to get her mind off things today."


    "I see...I''m going to go check up on Ed." Claire said hurriedly. Phil suddenly appeared out of knowhere�Cstanding behind Claire and asked, "Check up on Ed for what?"


    Claire raised her hand to stop Phil and continue to listen to Desiree.


    "Check up for what?" Phil asked again with a whisper.


    "They broke up." Claire whispered back without putting down the phone.


    "Who?"


    "Edward and Abby."


    Phil couldn''t believe his ears. "Oh my god seriously? I''m going with you to see him." At the moment, there was no plot to set up Ed with his daughters, but he truly cared about Ed and wanted to go and check up on him.


    Claire finally ended the call and stopped Phil as he was running to the front door.


    "Phil. Let me call Ted first. We don''t know whether he is at home now." Claire said hurriedly. At this moment, she received another text from Haley asking about Abby''s situation, so she texted her back without thinking much.


    In Palisades high school, while the class was commencing.,


    "THEY BROKE UP!?!" Haley suddenly stood up and shouted, almost giving her teacher a heart attack. Her face was full of disbelief and she started to text blast Abby while still standing.


    "Miss Dunphy, what are you doing?!" The teacher shouted at her. "Sit down!"


    "Eh." Haley realized that she was still in class and sat back down after apologizing to the teacher.

 Chapter 44: Time With Dad.

    Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Time With Dad.?


    [Edward POV]


    "I... thought you were bringing me somewhere fun."


    "This is somewhere fun."


    Looking around the dark green coloured lake, I turned to my dad who was already sitting on a small boat with a huge grin on his face. He wore a fishing cap with a few fish-shaped bait stuck on it, and a fisherman''s jacket.


    "...Fishing?" I asked flatly while dropping my shoulders.


    "...Yes." Ted replied with the same excited smile �C not knowing my apprehension to the activity.


    "...Okay." I said in self-defeat and walked to the boat before I climbed on it. He brought us to the middle of the lake before helping me put the bait on and casting it into the ocean using a fishing rod.


    "Haih~" I sighed while holding the fishing rod as the wait from getting a fish to bite the bait was too dull.


    "It''s boring huh." Ted smirked teasingly while looking at me before reeling his bait in slowly to attract the fishes.


    "You promised me fun. This isn''t fun at all." I said while looking far away into the horizon.


    His spirited eyes turned serious, and he said, "A disturbed mind won''t be able to understand the joy of fishing."


    His words intrigued me, so I turned toward him. "What do you mean by that?"


    "I don''t know. That was what your gramps used to say." Ted smirked as I rolled my eyes.


    "It''s impossible for you to not understand it." I said snarkily. "So, you''re trying to lead me into an emotional enlightenment by myself?"


    "Bingo." Ted confessed. He looked toward the cloudless blue sky and said, "You know, in life you will meet a lot of different people. Maybe, she will be the one for you. Maybe, the one is still waiting for you in the later part of your journey."


    Narrowing my eyes suspiciously at Ted, I asked, "Did you read a book titled "How to talk to your son after a breakup" ?"


    Ted widened his eyes and said, "There''s a book like that? I didn''t find any when I searched for it this morn- Ahh..."


    His act as a wise old man was blown away by my preemptive questioning. Finally, I laughed for the first time today because of my old man.


    His eyes turned kinder as he saw me laughing. "What else did your book say?"


    "Bring him somewhere peaceful so that he can process his feelings." Ted''s confession made me laugh once again. He didn''t mind making a fool of himself just to raise his son''s spirits, and I really admire that about him.


    "So, you want to talk about her?" Ted asked as he casted his bait once more after not having any luck on the first cast.


    "There isn''t anything to talk about in the first place. We started this whole thing because she wanted to experience what a relationship was like before moving back to New York. Either way, the whole idea was doomed from the start."


    After my response, only the sound of the water could be heard. Ted took a deep breath and said, "Do you want to hear the story of how I met your mother?"


    "Oh god. I was afraid of this the moment I found out that your name is Ted."


    "What?"


    "What?"


    Ted looked at me weirdly and then he continued, "I was sailing to Cuba at that time."


    "Kids. See you in 10 years." I waved at the invisible camera screen as dad started his story.


    "What are you doing? Listen to me." Dad said seriously. After narrowing his eyes at me, I finally gave up and decided to listen to him.


    "I was 20 years old at that time. After I ran away from inheriting Gramps'' farm, I decided to travel the world by sailing."


    "Cuba was my first destination. Everything was new to me. The culture, the food, the environment. As I was walking in the streets, suddenly, I bumped into a gorgeous woman."


    "Named Robin." I interjected.


    "No. Named Camilia." Dad corrected me.


    "That''s not mom''s name." I said in confusion.


    "Yeah. She''s not your mom. She is...your aunt..." Dad finally shared something about my mom''s family during my 14 years of living here.


    "Wait, what?" I contorted my face as I heard the story.


    "And. she had stolen my wallet the second she bumped into me."


    I paused for a bit as I processed the information. But the only thing that could come out of my mouth was, "WHAT!"


    ...


    [3rd Person POV]


    Desiree had invited Haley and Tara to come along with her and her daughter and to spend the day at the amusement park to help raise her daughter''s spirits. However, Abby didn''t want to go out of her room, not even getting out of her bed as she was too depressed after the breakup.


    "Let me talk to him. I WAS the one who asked Enid to spy on Edward! Not you!" Haley said.


    Abby gazed at Haley slowly while eating an ice cream out of the tub using a silver spoon. "It''s okay Haley. We were not going to work out anyway. Even without that."


    "Why THE HELL NOT!?" Tara said in agitation. "We''re the one who forced you to listen. We were the ones who misunderstood the situation. Let us talk to him, and you guys can get back together again."


    "Aren''t you listening? We''re not going to work out even without that." Abby said angrily as she stabbed the spoon into the vanilla ice cream and took a big scoop of the ice cream into her mouth.


    "But- But- Why???" Haley asked in exasperation. "Why do you need to break up?! Just date him until it''s time to go back!"


    Abby took a deep breath and said, "I don''t know. I feel that if we continue...then, my heart won''t be able to take it if we part ways."


    Tara widened her eyes and she said carefully, "Wait...Are you...in love with him?"


    Haley''s eyes darted between Tara and Abby�C who was lowering her head at this moment.


    "You do, don''t you." Tara finally realized it from her friend''s silent agreement. "Then, why do you give up now? Why...Why should you back away if you love him?"


    "I..." Abby was tearing up again, and Haley automatically went to hug Abby from over the blanket. Haley said to Tara. "Okay. Tara. Stop bringing it up. You''re upsetting her."


    "I will not. She is being stupid!" She said in frustration. "If you love him, fight for him! Why would you break up with him now?!"


    Abby was silent for a while before she decided to unload something off her chest. "He..When I first hung out with him, he told me that his mother had left him...and everyday he''s in pain from thinking about the matter. I...don''t want to be the one to...to cause him the same pain.."


    She broke down crying while Haley continuously comforted her. Tara rubbed her head in frustration and went to hug Abby too.


    "Stupid. Both of you." Tara muttered as she comforted Abby.


    [Haley''s commentary]


    "Soo...my crush on Edward is over before we even started." Haley confessed with an angry face. She pointed to the screen with her index finger and said, "He dared to mess with my best friend? He''s in for a whole lot of trouble!"


    Unknowingly, Haley has considered Abby one of her best, and true friends that understood her in the entire world.


    So far, only Tara could be considered her true friend as Tara had never once put her down because of her intelligence, and would fight for her if someone dared to mess with her. Feisty, but kind. That is who Tara was for Haley.


    [Flashback]


    While stepping on Ted with a red stiletto on her right leg, the brown and short- haired Cuban woman with caramel skin and green eyes paired with a voluptuous sexy body looked coldly at the American man. Her hair was covering half of her eyes, and she was wearing leggings underneath her one piece floral dress.


    She said with a thick Cuban accent, "You tracked me for a month, just to get your wallet back?" Putting more pressure on her legs, she said to the man in a sailor uniform, "I don''t believe you!"


    "It''s...true!" Ted said with difficulty breathing.


    Then, she took out his wallet from her deep cleavage and waved it at him. "There isn''t any more money left inside this. What do you want it for?"


    "If there is no money left inside, can you please give it back to me?" Ted asked in desperation.


    "Why? Tell me!" She pressed her legs harder this time.


    "Argh!...check the third ca...rd slot."


    The Cuban woman opened it up like he said, and there she found a letter. She opened the letter that had never been opened before and started reading it, but it only confused her more rather than making anything clear to her.


    "Are you playing with me? Why is a letter...and a piece of grass from a woman so important to you?!"


    Ted smiled as he saw the letter and said, "Well...it''s a letter from my mom...and that piece of grass is a 4 leaf clover...she asked me to keep it close to me...as her wish was stored inside of it."


    The woman finally stopped putting the pressure on Ted''s chest and removed her legs. She read the letter clearly at that time, and her expression turned conflicted. Ted stood up and brushed off the dust on his chest, but a clear footprint could be seen on his torso.


    "Can you please give it to me now?" Ted asked politely.


    The woman looked at Ted closely for the first time, and saw that the man''s face suddenly turned attractive for her.


    ''Is this grass a magic spell? Why is my heart beating so fast?'' The woman thought as she was lost in the view.


    "Hey...Please...Give me back my letter." Ted begged. "I have not read it yet."


    "You!" The woman widened her eyes. "Okay. You''ll get your letter back." She said and put the letter back into her cleavage.


    "Wait!" Ted tried to stop her from doing so, but it was too late as he was a true gentleman and couldn''t bring himself to put his hand on the woman''s chest without their consent.


    "Hmph! Good choice!" The woman snorted as he stopped himself, but then she smiled for the first time which made Ted''s heart skip a beat.


    "Why are you doing this?" Ted asked in exasperation after recollecting himself.


    She didn''t answer and turned her back toward Ted. "You''ll get your letter, after you take me out on a date."


    Completely baffled by the development, Ted half-opened his mouth, paused for a few seconds before he said, "What did you just say?"


    "Meet me at El Floridita at 8 o''clock tonight." The woman said before she walked away.


    "Wait! What''s your name?!" Ted asked hurriedly.


    She turned her head and answered with a seductive smile, "My name...is Miranda."


    [Flashback ends]


    "What was in the letter?" I asked.


    Ted smirked and said, "Apparently, Granny believed that a four-leaf clover could carry a wish at that time. Her wish....which she had written inside the letter, was... that it would lead me to someone that I would fall in love with....and I did..."


    "But you didn''t get married until right before I was born." I said. "How did you keep in touch? I know that you didn''t stay in Cuba all the time, and mom didn''t follow you to travel around the world. So how?"


    Ted replied, "We meet only once every 3 to 4 months. And we made it work because we love each other."


    "Then, she abandoned you for another woman." I said sarcastically, causing Dad to clear his throat a few times in embarrassment.


    While avoiding my eyes, he said, "Anyway...It doesn''t matter if it''s a long distance. That shouldn''t be a problem if you both love each other. So don''t let it be a factor in your decision to break up with Abby."


    I paused as I fell into a deep thinking state from my dad''s words. Then, I said to him, "If we are in fact in love with each other...But we''re just two dumb teenagers who don''t even know what love is. Also dad, something has been pulling at your string for a while now. Aren''t you going to reel it in?"


    Dad looked at the direction I was pointing and saw that his idle fishing rod was shaking tremendously.


    "IT''S A BIG ONE!" Dad said and grabbed the fishing rod hurriedly before reeling the line in. However, it couldn''t hold and the fish managed to break free 2 meters from the boat.


    Although we struck out today, it was enjoyable spending the afternoon with my dad.


    "Still can''t believe you got beat up by mom." I said as we entered the car.


    "...I wasn''t training yet then, nor had I already entered the army. I was just a simple farm boy, and your mom had military training from your grandpa."


    He was a bit dejected by that topic therefore I stopped bringing it up. Little did I know that instead of basking himself with sadness, my dad was actually feeling nostalgic about his history with my mom.


    "Dad. Tonight I will stay with Taylor tonight and practice with the band." I said after checking my text messages. There was no service at the lake, therefore I had been off the grid for a few hours.


    " I see. Should I pick you up tomorrow morning?" He asked in concern.


    "No need. Pepper is going to supervise the whole thing cause he says he doesn''t trust Taylor. I don''t even know what that''s about. Anyway, he''s going to drive me home."


    Maybe it was because I didn''t want to stay at home tonight, but I readily agreed to Taylor''s invitation to join her rehearsal for the concert. When we got home, I quickly took a bath to remove the lake smell as Pepper was going to come pick me up in 10 minutes.


    The newly made entertainment company CEO drove off quickly after picking me up before the group of busy bodies could even come to my house.


    [3rd Person POV]


    "Is he gone?" Claire asked hurriedly after almost running to the Newgate''s house.


    "Yeah. He''s already gone." Ted replied to Claire and the rest of the group following her.


    "Damn it! I told you I should''ve joined them Claire!" Phil said in frustration.


    "Should we call him back? I want to give him a hug." Cam said in a sad tone.


    Mitchell rolled his eyes and said, "Sure. Let''s call Pepper and ask him to turn back- You really want to make trouble with him huh? It''s not enough with the things you guys are fighting about now?"


    In a thick accent, Gloria said, "I can intercept them. Give me the car (keys)."


    "What- Gloria! No!" Claire stopped her quickly before she tried to grab the keys from Ted''s hand.


    "I got Gloria!" Phil said and hugged Gloria''s stomach as he pulled her back from Ted although it wasn''t necessary.


    [Edward POV]


    Finally arriving at Taylor''s studio, the first thing I did was announce something to the group of girls practising in the studio.


    "I broke up with my girlfriend last night."


    "Oh poor baby!" Taylor hurriedly walked toward me and gave me a big hug while burying my face in the pitiful bump she calls a chest.


    Not only dad, I got a hug from the female songwriters, sweaty female dancers, and the female staff members there, all hugging me the same way that Taylor did before.


    ''Life is good again.'' I muttered inwardly as a beautiful dancer''s older sister was pulling me close to her C-cup chest while being sweaty from the practice.

 Chapter 45: Countdown before the Concert.

    Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Countdown before the Concert.


    (Sorry I''m late. I''m pretty sick rn.)


    [Edward POV]


    Taylor''s studio was a top of the line, 4 storey-high,huge entertainment complex full with a recording studio along with dormitories, pantry, showers, sound room and many other extra commodities. The training hall had walls full of mirrors, the acoustics within the recording room were the highest quality, and there were even a whole lot of instruments collected by the teenage pop star.


    The dancers were friendly, and the musicians picked by Pepper weren''t egoistic bastards therefore I could get along with them pretty easily. Without me even realizing it, two whole days had passed. Luckily Friday was Arbor day(tree planting day, Americans didn''t celebrate labor day on the first of May.), therefore I didn''t have to skip school today as it was a long holiday.


    It was now Saturday and it had been 2 days since I started living here. The concert was tomorrow and I could feel the tension inside the studio had drastically increased.


    On Friday night, I chose to sleep in one of the empty male dancer''s dorm rooms instead of the hotel Pepper booked for me. I had slept there Thursday night but I didn''t like it very much. I was also staying at the dorm as I felt it was easier to commute back and forth during practice over there.


    However, I didn''t realize that a few dancers were using the empty male dorm room as they felt it was too stuffy inside the packed dorm housing 20 female dancers at the same time


    Alex: Grandpa flew a model airplane into Dad''s face today and broke his nose.


    Edward: Too bad I was not there to see that. .


    Alex: Why? So you can mock him? (LoL.emoticon)


    ''So I missed the third episode huh.'' I thought sadly.


    While I was laying in bed texting Alex, the door suddenly opened and two dancers came in their almost see-through underwear as they walked right into the room.


    They were surprised when they saw me there, yet they decided it was too much of a hassle to walk back to the female dorm�C which was only 20 meters away and just slept on the bed beside mine after talking to me about it. I didn''t mind much as there were 20 beds inside the room, but I was a bit concerned that even with all those free beds they still wanted to sleep beside me.


    They didn''t even use the blankets as they slept, therefore it was a challenge for me to fall asleep that night because of how my body was reacting to them. They kept moving around with their hands all over each other, giggling and moving restlessly as they slept on the same single bed together.


    "Hey..." I called out hoping to get them to stop , but the only thing I heard in response was loud snoring sounds coming from their bed. Turned out, both of them were already asleep.


    "Ah damn." I muttered and walked to the edge of the dorm to sleep far away from those two girls.


    They were gone when I woke up the next morning as they were following a strict training routine. However, I met the two of them again when I was finally done with my band rehearsal.


    "Edward. That was really awesome." Kaya, a 170 cm latina dancer with a fiery personality, and short bob cut hairstyle complimented me as she had witnessed my rehearsal earlier on with the rest of the band members.


    She walked toward me while swaying her hips as she wiped her wet hair with a clean, white towel. Crouching right in front of me while I was sitting on the floor to test out the expensive guitars alone in Taylor''s studio, she said with a mischievous smile, "I saw something nice after waking up this morning. Apparently someone decided to pitch a high tent inside the dorm room."


    She was incredibly sweaty from the intense practice before this, and her efforts could be seen from the sweat dripping down her abs on her bare stomach. The dancers were only wearing a sports bra and yoga pants as they rehearsed their choreography, Kaya not excluded.


    "That''s normal for a growing boy." I replied casually despite her teasing.


    "Uhun~" Kaya smiled blushingly and kept staring at me.


    Suddenly, I could see clear wet marks on the crotch area of the pink yoga pants as she spread her knees slowly while squatting. I accidentally gazed at it and she caught my action with a sly smile


    "Little Perv." Kaya muttered mischievously using a sultry voice. "I couldn''t help but have a stain down there..." She inched closer to me and whispered to my left ear at the same time her vanilla perfume tickled my nose. "...Because I am not wearing any underwear underneath..."


    After blowing gently into my ears, Kaya retreated back to her initial position while expecting an embarrassed teenage boy tripping over himself because of her seduction . However, her smile froze as she saw I had no noticeable change in my expression after her attack.


    "Why don''t you? Won''t the friction burn you up over there?" I asked with an innocent face.


    "Kaya what are you doing?!" A long, red haired, 175 cm tall white girl with a few freckles on her face stopped her friend from continuing her seduction immediately after she finished her practice.


    Kaya turned to the girl and said, "Anna. Nothing, I''m just talking to Ed."


    Both 17 year old girls with hourglass body shape were good friends with each other therefore Anna couldn''t be deceived by Kaya''s lousy lie. She grabbed her friend''s ear and pulled it, making Kaya have to stand up if she wanted to keep her ear.


    "Ouch! Why?! You said you were going to release the training stress with him too-"


    Anna quickly shut Kaya''s mouth with her palm while looking anxiously at me.


    "What are you guys doing?" I asked with a tired voice. I wasn''t dense therefore I knew what they wanted from me, but right now I was feeling too depressed to care about it.


    "No Edward. It�C it''s nothing. You can continue doing your work!" Anna said in embarrassment and with a bright red face before he pulled Kaya out of the small music instrument room.


    "Weirdos." I muttered as I continued testing the next 10,000 dollar price guitar. "She really has some good stuff." I said as I played Careless Whispers with the guitar �Cnot knowing that a few of the dancers were resting nearby the instrument storage door in order to listen to me play.


    ...


    "Edward There you are." Pepper suddenly approached me after I got out of Taylor''s instrument storage room. He had been searching for me all over, and was the reason Anna had pulled Kaya away as to not let their actions be exposed.


    "What''s the matter Peps?" I asked as I saw Harvey following Pepper from behind. They led me into a small meeting room where Harvey started to explain the situation.


    "It''s about the melody you created with Taylor before this." Harvey said and gave me a piece of paper.


    "Honestly, you are entitled to some claims of her song as you had helped her in creating the melody. I really wish you guys would have told me about this situation sooner. If she decides to not recognize your participation in the creative process, We''re looking at a hard lawsuit to get the claim.."


    "Wait-wait-wait-wait." I muttered hurriedly as I didn''t understand anything about what was going on. "Can you explain it to me from the top?"


    Suddenly, the door of the meeting room was opened, and Taylor walked into the meeting room with her own firm representative. Unlike me, Taylor was tied to a record label and several entertainment companies therefore she didn''t have much freedom in her decision making.


    "I''m not that petty. He did help me in creating the melody, therefore I won''t be stingy." Taylor said sarcastically while rolling her eyes at Harvey as she sat next to Pepper, and directly in front of me.


    She tied up her curly hair into a small, loose bun at the back of her head, and wore a cropped tank top with no bra and a high waisted denim short. As the meeting table was small, her legs were brushing against mine underneath it.


    "Don''t worry Ed. I''m not an asshole." Taylor said as she immediately ran her bare foot up my thigh while maintaining eye contact with me. Two days of training together had brought us really close together, and we were on very good terms, even what anyone would call friendly terms right now.


    "Ah, royalties and credit." I muttered as I finally understood why the meeting was currently taking place after Harvey and Pepper explained everything to me. "I forgot about that."


    "That''s okay. That is what I''m here for." Harvey said with a confident smile.


    "Ed. This is afterall, your decision. What do you want to do?" Pepper asked.


    "Hmm..." I held my chin as I pondered the situation and how I could take advantage of it.


    "Ed. Just take the royalties. I won''t hate you for it." Taylor said honestly while still stroking my leg with her foot while pretending she wasn''t doing anything.


    "You dated before?" Pepper was surprised when he heard that. He put on his sunglasses and said, "Okay, nevermind that. Also, a small piece of advice, be careful when you guys decide to play footsie with each other under a small table. Remember that other people there can sense your movement too." Then, he drove off quickly.


    I was stunned at the sidewalk for a few seconds before I cursed slowly, "Fuck."


    ...


    It was 9 pm on Saturday while I was resting in the living room when I suddenly heard someone knocking on my front door. Wearing a simple t-shirt and short cargo pants, I opened the door carefully just to see an angry little girl gazing menacingly at me.


    "What''s up Haley?" I greeted casually as I saw her.


    Barging into my house, Haley used her index finger to push my chest backward while saying, "You little shit."


    "What did I do now?" I asked.


    "You disappeared for 2 days, and you dared to ask me (Mockingly) ''what did I do''?"


    "I went to practice for the concert. It''s not like I disappeared completely. I returned your texts, didn''t I?"


    She had been calling me, confessing everything that she and Tara had done and how Abby had no part in the spying. She kept telling me to go beg Abby to take me back, and continue our relationship. But after both Abby and I talked to her, and I told Claire about her harassment, she had stopped trying to bring the topic up.


    "Now, what are you going to do with Abby? Are you guys really not getting back together?" Haley asked in concern.


    "Right now, I''m doing the best I can to keep us as friends. If I push further, what do you think will happen?" I said in a tired voice. She paused for a while, and then had a look of determination on her face. I didn''t like where the conversation was going, therefore I changed the subject.


    "By the way, did your mom pick up the tickets yet?" I asked.


    Suddenly forgetting what she came there for, Haley searched her memory and said, "I...don''t know."


    "I gave her the VVIP tickets and passes. You can even get backstage with that. Are you coming tomorrow?"


    Haley brightened up and said, "Really? I can go backstage?"


    "Yeah. I gave the same ticket to Abby too, but I''m not sure whether she will go. Did she say anything to you?" I cleverly guided Haley to the direction I wanted the talk to go toward.


    "I..." Haley thought for a while, and then she said, "Let me go check."


    "Okay. I''ll be waiting." I said and shut the door behind Haley as she ran back toward her house.


    [3rd Person POV]


    "Wait..I came there to yell at him." Haley widened her eyes in realization as she was already 10 meters away from Edward''s house. "Why am I leaving now?" She blinked her eyes twice as she didn''t know what just happened.


    Haley walked to her house while trying hard to understand the situation.


    "Mom! Did you get the concert tickets?!" She asked the second she entered the house.


    From the kitchen, Claire replied, "Oh. YES! I got THEM!"


    "No, I got them!" Phil interjected and ran toward the living room from the kitchen with a logo t-shirt. The logo was a giant door that was halfway open and written with the word [New] and [Gate]. A ray of light was coming in through the door and landed on a small figure of a man standing on a stage.


    "Oh. Grandpa already had sent the shirts?" Haley asked as she saw the t-shirt her dad was wearing. One of Jay''s hobbies was to design novelty t-shirts, and he came up with a t-shirt for the concert tomorrow as Edward had invited his entire extended family to come.


    "Yup. It''s great right?" Phil asked in excitement as he showed the front and back of the shirt.


    Claire walked out of the kitchen hurriedly while wearing the same clothes and said admonishingly, "Phil. Don''t play with the tickets. It''s not like we can contact him if we lose them tomorrow."


    She snatched the tickets from Phil''s hand for safekeeping immediately.


    "I''m not going to lose them!" Phil argued.


    Then, Haley walked to Abby''s house where she had still not gotten out of bed or done anything. But she was a bit better today as she actually took a bath and changed her clothes.


    "Hey. Abby, you''re still coming to the concert tomorrow right?" Haley asked carefully.


    "Urgh!" Abby cupped her face in frustration and let out a long groan.


    "I don''t want to...Can I not go?" Abby turned to Haley and asked.


    "I mean...if you don''t want to.." Haley hesitated.


    "No. That''s not the answer. If I don''t want to go, then you should drag me there." Abby said sternly.


    "Why?" Haley asked.


    "Because...I promised him to be there." Abby replied with conflicted eyes. "Therefore, I should be there for Ed."


    Haley smiled softly and said, "Aww...You''re a good...''friend''."


    "Shut up." Abby retorted in embarrassment.


    Haley shook her head and said, "We''ll be going in the afternoon tomorrow. Why don''t Tara and I ride with you and your mom?"


    "Wait. Tara is coming?" Abby asked in confusion.


    "Yeah. We know the artist. I just needed to ask for an extra ticket, and he gave it to me." Haley said proudly. Abby cracked a slight smile before she got depressed again. "Ahh, I don''t think I can keep my sanity intact tomorrow."


    Haley said with a smirk, "Don''t worry, I''ll be there to pick up the pieces."


    "Yeah...and then mess up when you put them back together." Abby cracked a joke for the first time in 3 days, causing Haley to widen her eyes. Then, she realized that she was insulted and made an offended gasp after 20 seconds had passed.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Thank god she will still come." I muttered as I read the confirmation from Haley. Finally, I decided to rest properly that night as I would be standing in front of 5000 people tomorrow.


    "I can''t help but feel nervous about it." I muttered as I collapsed into the bed and closed my eyes.


    Then, I smirked and muttered, "It''ll certainly be fun though."

 Chapter 46: Concert Starts! (Part 1)

    Chapter 46: Chapter 46: Concert Starts! (Part 1)


    [3rd Party POV]


    "Loud tempting music, mingling of bodies in the rave, and promiscuous people being devils in disguise trying to lead you astray! I''m sorry Jacob for my lacking enthusiasm for this concert you''ve tricked your dad into going." Mrs Green said with a nagging tone..


    The Green family had received the tickets for the concert. After some begging, crying and even pulling the puppy dog eyes, in an epic combination of all of the above, Mrs Green finally allowed her family to go to the concert, but in return they would get extra sermons from the christian mother and join her for a confession after that.


    The Viking-style Mr Green snorted as he heard the sermon, making Mrs Green glared at him and said, "What?"


    "Nothing. I guess you''ve forgotten the things we did while we were young." Mr Green said as he remembered the good times with his wife in a nudist rave back in the 80s.


    "Shut up! That''s exactly the kind of thing I''m trying to prevent our son from falling into." Mrs Green angrily turned her head toward the backseat of the car, and growled at Jacob.


    "Don''t get too close with her. Move away!" She said while aggressively gesturing to Jacob to move further away from Elsa who was sitting beside him.


    "Mom! Stop, you''re embarrassing me in front of my girlfriend!" Jacob leaned forward and whispered to his mother in a begging tone.


    "Hmph! You''re still too young to have a girlfriend!" She snorted. Then, she turned her face to Elsa while wearing a kind expression and said, "I don''t hate you dear. I''m just saying that Jacob is too immature to have a girlfriend. And a pretty girl like you would need to have a lot of patience to even begin to deal with him."


    With a determined expression, Elsa pumped her fist in the air while saying, "I''ll do my best Mrs Green."


    "Please. Call me Kitty." Mrs Green said happily as she wanted to have at least one daughter coming out of her womb, but fate has it she only gave birth to 3 boys. Now, she has had 2 girls with her that sprayed a little bit of color in her dull life.


    "What about me Mrs Green? Am I not pretty too?" Jenna asked sulkily as she had hitched a ride with the Green''s family along with her best friend. She was sitting behind the driver, Elsa sitting in the middle, and Jacob was sitting behind Mrs Green.


    "Of course Jenna. I like you the most among all of Jacob''s friends as you''re the only one who went to a catholic school before." Mrs Green smiled sincerely as she comforted the sulking Jenna. Finally, Jenna laughed after Mrs Green''s comment.


    Jacob and Elsa looked at each other in confusion, and were communicating using their eyes. Both were confused when they heard Mrs Green''s statement but they didn''t think to expose Jenna''s blatant lie to the Catholic mother as it was helping their case right now.


    ''If a whore wants to pretend to be a catholic girl, then I should support her.'' Elsa thought secretly.


    Jenna didn''t have much experience in going on family trips . In fact, she had no experience at all. All the vacations she had with her mother were just business trips so this was actually a first for her. But right now, she was super happy and having so much fun traveling with the Green''s family that it made her feel a bit jealous that Jacob had such a loving family.


    When she told her mom about going to a concert right after Jacob shared about the event and got the ticket for both her and Elsa, her mom just designated a few bodyguards to go with her instead of going to the concert herself. Her mom said she had a meeting with some producers, which Jenna knew was just a euphemism for doing it.


    Therefore she was feeling a bit sulky for a few days with her mother and decided to hitch a ride with the Greens instead of going alone.


    "Still...Edward didn''t think to invite us huh. I guess we''re not even considered as one of his friends." Jenna muttered sadly as she looked at the clear blue sky on their way to Santa Barbara.


    "Well...he... kinda forgot to invite me too." Jacob said while scratching his cheek, causing both Elsa and Jenna to turn their faces to him in confusion.


    "What do you mean?" Elsa asked.


    Jacob avoided the girl''s gaze and said, "I texted him when he didn''t come to school on Thursday. He told me that he''s preparing for the concert. And then he asked me if I had already gotten the ticket. I was confused by that, so I told him he didn''t tell me anything about it...And he said, and I quote...''Ahh...I forgot to tell you''."


    "Ah, so he just forgot about it?" Elsa asked, but Jenna was unconvinced and said sulkily, "He still didn''t invite us though."


    Although she was deeply worried when Edward didn''t attend the school, especially after the party , she didn''t have his phone number therefore she couldn''t ask him about it.


    "He told me to invite...and I quote again... ''the two troublemakers who can''t shut their mouth''. So I guessed he was referring to you both and gave you the tickets." Jacob explained.


    Jenna widened her eyes, leaned forward to Jacob while pushing her chest onto Elsa''s face�C burying her friend inside of it, and asked excitedly, "Did he really ask you to invite us?"


    "I-I-I think so." Jacob answered flabbergasted with a red face as Jenna was too close. Elsa got annoyed by his reaction and decided to bite Jenna''s chest that was dangling in front of her mouth.


    "OUCH!" Jenna returned to her spot after she got bitten. "What are you doing, you toddler!?"


    Elsa hugged Jacob''s hand and said menacingly, "He''s mine. Back off."


    "Bad Jacob. Bad." Mrs Green sprayed water into Jacob''s face using a water spray bottle as he was touching his girlfriend.


    "I''m not the one who did it." Jacob objected pitifully as he was drenched in holy water.


    "BAD!" Mrs Green sprayed his face once more as he dared to talk back to his mother.


    [Edward POV]


    "Phew, I can''t help but feel a little bit nervous." I muttered as I reached the concert venue with my dad. I walked a bit farther from the car park and jumped and stood on the 1 meter tall brick wall to scout the venue with my eyes. Luckily I was wearing a simple red track suit and hadn''t changed into my performance outfits yet so I could be a little roguish.


    The concert would be an open field concert, taking place at Santa Barbara Bowl amphitheater that could house almost 5000 people. As performers for today, we could park the car directly at the empty concert venue as we need to make the last preparations there.


    "My heart is going... dup dup dup dup..." With my right hand feeling the heartbeat on my chest, I had an expectant smile on my face as I imagined the empty seats in front of the stage being filled today.


    Taking out the luggages from the trunk of the car, my dad who was wearing a tight gray shirt and black jeans said, "It''d actually be more weird if you didn''t feel nervous. Are you feeling okay? Do you want to take some anxiety pills?"


    He slammed the trunk of the car after and pulled the two luggages �C once , one in each hand to where I was standing. His arm muscles were prominent, and his belly fat had decreased a little bit as I kept making him healthy food ever since I got my adult memories. Right now he looked more like a retired bodyguard than a father with a dad bod.


    "Nah I''m fine Mr. Stagehand." I said as I jumped down from the wall and landed on my feet lightly. "It is exhilaration instead of anxiety."


    Ted broke into a soft smile and said, "You really okay huh?...Even before...you would be quaking in your boots every time before you started performing."


    I pointed my index finger at my dad and said, "That was classical music. This is pop music. I don''t have to please some snobbish idiots here, so I can be more free, and do my own music instead of following the scoresheet."


    Ted smirked and said, "Aren''t you a snob too?"


    Throwing my right hand to the side lazily, I said, "That''s all in the past. I''m an easy going guy now. Come on, let''s go in. I don''t want to be late."


    "We''re an hour early. How could we be late?" Dad snorted derisively as he heard it.


    "It''s better to be early than to be late. It''s better to be the one waiting for the people instead of them waiting for us." I muttered.


    Ted was confused and asked, "Who told you that?"


    Pausing for a moment, I said, "A grandmother that I used to know."


    As I walked toward the backstage, I couldn''t help but reminiscing about my time as a classical music performer.


    The taunts of the defeated participants of the competition rang clear inside my mind.


    [Did you hear? Newgate got the first prize again. Disgusting...Does he have no other life than playing instruments?]


    The ugly remarks from snobbish adults that hid their venom behind a smiling mask..


    [Why don''t you rest for a year? You''re already a great performer. Why do you need to enter every single competition?]


    The criticism and scorn of the judges and juries that nitpick on every single thing I did.


    [Not smooth enough! Not impactful enough! Bury your emotion, you only need to follow the score. Why can''t you understand that?!]


    [You perform really well, but your facial expression was too happy for a sad arrangement, therefore I will deduct your mark for that.]


    ''It was as if I was a machine instead of a human being.''


    From the moment I took the instruments at the age of 5, till the age of 12, my initial excitement in the field of performance art died down slowly. Rather than having fun, it becomes a job to do instead. To keep my reputation intact. To keep my parents happy.


    ''Life was really shitty back then.''


    [Why can''t you do this? You could do this before!]


    I remember mother yelling as I made a mistake on a simple musical arrangement again. Without me realizing it, my fingers were shivering as I recalled the memories.


    "Don''t worry, when you are performing next time, I''m sure that the crowd will go there for you. I''m sure of it." Pepper gave me his words of encouragement as he stayed beside me with my dad after the backstage visitations ended.


    Nodding at his words, I looked around and saw the dancers'' with ashen faces. I walked right up to them and asked, "Where''s Taylor?"


    "Her award show is running late. She won''t be able to arrive on time." Kaya explained.


    "Oh damn." I exclaimed unconsciously as I heard that. Suddenly, the stage conductor rushed to me and Pepper.


    "Hey, you must already know by now, right? That Taylor is running late." Mr Killington said with huffing breath.


    "Yeah..."


    "Can you extend your show for another 10 minutes? She is rushing here right now, but she won''t be able to come on time."


    "That''s impossible Mr Killington. You can''t just spry this matter on him at the last minute! This is highly irresponsible and unprofessional behavior!" Pepper got mad instantly as he was trying to protect me and calm my nerves before my first debut.


    Pausing to think, I then said, "It''s okay Pepper. I think...I can add one more song, but that''s it."


    Grabbing my hand suddenly, Mr Killington shook it up and down vigorously while saying, "Thank you Mr NEWGATE!"


    "Ed, you don''t have to do this!" Pepper said hurriedly.


    "Nah, it''s alright. I want to do it. Who knows when I will get a chance to perform again,..you know, with school and all that..." I said with a confident look on my face that stopped Pepper from saying anything else.


    He glared at the stage conductor and said, "I''ll expect him to get additional payment for this."


    "O-Of course."


    Finally, the band and I walked to the stage and set up behind the curtain as the emcee was hyping the crowd.


    "The first performer for today, A YOUTUBE SENSATION WITH 5 MILLION VIEWS ON HIS SONGS IN LESS THAN A MONTH! GIVE IT UP FOR...EDWARDDDD NEWGATE!"


    ''Take a deep breath. You got this.''


    The curtain was lifted and I was finally standing in front of the crowd of 5000 people. Thunderous applause and cheers from the crowd sounded the moment I appeared on the stage as they had been waiting for over an hour for the concert to start.


    At the center of the stage, while grabbing the microphone on the mic stand with my right hand while the other was holding onto the red, electric guitar, I took a deep breath and started singing immediately after I was introduced.


    [??Rixton �C Me and My Broken Heart??]


    Without any musical accompaniment, I used only my vocals to draw people in.


    "??All I need''s a little love in my life! All I need''s a little love in the daaaAARK~! A little but I''m hoping it might kickstart...Me and my broken heart..??"


    The crowd was stunned by the sudden start of the performance and was immediately hooked on the show. The murmurs were forcefully stopped and the band started playing softly.


    ??I need a little loving tonight...Hold me so I''m not falling apart...A little but I''m hoping it might kickstart...Me and my broken heart??


    "Oh my god, he''s awesome!" A random crowd member shouted. Haley and Abby were looking at each other before they muttered at the same time, "Yeah He''s awesome."


    Finally, the nervousness I had before the performance disappeared as I saw the crowd''s reaction.


    ??Yeah??


    My eyes searched for my own fans �C the Modern Family members and my friends. I could see Abby and Haley looking at me with glittering eyes, so I winked at them. Then, the song''s rhythms changed.


    ?? Shotgun, aimed at my heart, you got one. Tear me apart in this song. How do we call this love???


    Band Member: (woah-oh-oh-oh)


    ?? I tried, to run away but your eyes, Tell me to stay, oh why, Why do we call this love? (Woah-oh-oh-oh)??


    ''Wait. Is this song about them?'' Haley widened her already big eyes and darted between Abby and Edward.


    "Shut up Haley." Abby said.


    "I didn''t say anything yet!" Haley retorted.


    "I can hear your brain thinking." Abby said.


    ??It seems like we''ve been losing control...Somebody tell me I''m not alone. When I say..??


    ??All I need''s a little love in my life! All I need''s a little love in the dark~! A little but I''m hoping it might kickstart...Me and my broken heart...??


    ??I need a little loving tonight. Hold me so I''m not falling apart. A little but I''m hoping it might kick start. Me and my broken heart...??


    [3rd Person POV]


    Ted sighed and said out loud while leaning on the wall. "You know you''re the reason for his broken heart."


    A feminine voice replied to him from the other side of the wall, "I know."


    "Are you still not going to meet him?" Ted asked.


    "I want to...but...Not now." A woman in a floral dress and a red stiletto replied before walking away from the backstage.


    Ted let out a long sigh afterward before focusing on his son''s performance once more.


    ?? Uh, maybe some part of you just hates me..You pick me up and play me..How do we call this love? (Woah-oh-oh-oh)..??


    ??One time tell me you need me tonight...To make it easy, you lie...And say it''s all for love (woah-oh-oh-oh)??


    "See. he knows." Tara said to Abby. "Both of you, shut up." Abby warned both of her friends as they kept running their mouths.


    The song reached the climax and finally it reached the last verse.


    ??All I need''s a little love in my life (baby)


    All I need''s a little love in the dark


    A little but I''m hoping it might kick start


    Me and my broken heart


    I need a little loving tonight


    Hold me so I''m not falling apart


    A little but I''m hoping it might kick start


    Me and my broken heart.??


    With some sweat on my forehead, finally I stopped playing the guitar and held the microphone once again. My charismatic face was shown on the huge screen at the side of the stage, displaying me catching my breath.


    The crowd cheered loudly as the first song was a huge success in attaining their interest.


    "What''s UP SANTA BARBARA!" I greeted them using the microphone, and the crowd cheered explosively once more!


    (The concert arc will continue next week)

 Chapter 47: Concert (Part 2)

    Chapter 47: Chapter 47: Concert (Part 2)


    (I feel bad for you guys, therefore I will post the chap one day ahead. That also means, I will take a leave one day ahead this week. Mental health day is also important right? Haha)


    [3rd Person POV]


    "He''s pretty cute right?" A blonde haired college student whispered to her friend after the Edward''s finished with his opening songs.


    "Yeah. He is. Want to do it?" Her brunette friend with skimpy clothes replied.


    "Sure." The blonde said and rummaged her hands underneath her shirt, the same as what her friend was currently doing right now.


    "You guys are going to do that here too?" Their boyfriends asked in disbelief.


    "Yup. Let us sit on your shoulders." The girls ordered. The boyfriends couldn''t help but follow the girls orders as they knew there wasn''t anything they could say to change their minds.


    Suddenly, the singer �C Edward reminded something from the stage while the girls were


    "As I understand, I''m cute..." Which earned a lot of giggles from the female member of the crowd


    "...I know some of you may feel the need to throw your undergarments on stage. I won''t discourage you to do so, but if you want to do it, Please aim it at the bodyguard down below so that it won''t cause tripping hazards for the dancers."


    The two girls peeked at the sunglasses-wearing bodyguard nearby the stage who was pointed at by Edward. The bodyguard currently has a baffled expression of being betrayed and was trying to move away from the artist''s finger that was pointed at him, but the finger was following him wherever he goes.


    "That''s my dad by the way." Edward said to the crowd, earning a second wave of laughter from them.


    "Ready?" The blonde asked the brunette.


    "Ready!" The brunette replied. Then, both of them threw their bras toward Ted, earning the attention of the artist on stage. Edward turned to look at them, and they flashed him their chest the moment he laid eyes on them.


    "Pff-" Edward almost laughed after he saw the 2 pairs of titties being shaken vigorously for him.


    "Now I feel more motivated to do the next song. The next songs are where you guys may know me from. 7 years and Amnesia. Please enjoy yourself with the complete version of the song." Edward said.


    Sitting directly behind the VIP section, Elsa and Jacob were stunned as they saw the college student flashing their friend nearby. Luckily, Mrs Green had gone to the toilet therefore she missed it.


    "Hey Jacob can you raise me up? I want to do that too." Jenna said in excitement after she saw Edward''s smiling face.


    "Please don''t do that in front of me." Suddenly, a stern feminine voice warned the trio from behind.


    "Huh~! Who the hell are you-" Jenna turned to look at the source of the voice angrily, but then she was instantly humbled as she saw the lady.


    "Mrs HENDERSON!?" Jacob exclaimed in bewilderment as he saw their teacher there. Jenna quickly hid behind Elsa as among all the teachers in the school, Mrs Henderson was the only one she wouldn''t look down on.


    "Yes." Mrs Henderson replied monotonously.


    "W-W-W-What are you doing here?" Elsa asked carefully as she crossed her arms together.


    Taking out an air tube with Edward''s and Taylor''s name on it, Mrs Henderson said, "I''m a fan. Why won''t I be here?"


    At the VIP section.


    "I''m glad." Claire said suddenly.


    "Why?" Jay asked her as he was the only one who could listen to her voice.


    "He''s aware that his heart is broken. That''s the first step to heal himself." Claire explained.


    "Hmm.." Jay exclaimed and said after a pause, "The song was too...edgy for my taste."


    Sitting in front of Jay and Claire was Phil, Cam, Mitchell, and Alex. Haley, Abby, Tara and Desire were sitting a few seats away from the rest.


    "Complete version?" Phil asked from the VVIP seat while waving an airstick with Edward''s name on it.


    "The youtube video is the acoustic version with only him playing. Right now, he can perform the complete version. I had the honor to listen to it before. It''s pretty great." Cam explained to Phil as he took pride in being known as the creative member of the family.


    "Please. You had to beg Pepper to let you listen to it." Mitchell bursted Cam''s ego bubble immediately.


    "Ayy. Shut up. I want to listen to him singing. Not your voice." Gloria said in irritation as they kept chattering away.


    "Sorry Gloria." Mitchell said. "Anyway, he''s really comfortable up there isn''t he? I would be horrified if I had to perform in front of this big a crowd." He added.


    "Yeah. He''s a natural." Cam said, and suddenly Alex laughed as the conversation was within her earshot, causing all the adults there to look at her.


    "What''s so funny Alex?" Claire asked in suspicion.


    "N-nothing." Alex replied anxiously as she knew she had exposed herself.


    "What is it? Tell me!" Phil begged with glittering eyes, causing Alex to give up trying to keep the secret.


    "Natural. That''s the name of his new song. Well, one of them." Alex confessed. The group widened their eyes in surprise after hearing why Alex laughed at the conversation.


    "Really? Will he perform it here?" Phil asked.


    "I don''t know that. I only know a few of his songs'' names." Alex replied.


    "Anyway, focus. He is singing the next one now." Jay suddenly spoke up as Edward was going to sing his favorite song now.


    Time passed and Edward had performed both 7 years and Amnesia before he took a 5 minute break to drink some water.


    The Emcee took over the stage as Edward took a break.


    [Edward POV]


    My session was split into two halves to allow me to take a breather in between songs, with a 10 minutes rest in between. It was a privilege for a young artist in the industry to take a break within songs and I would surely take advantage of it.


    "How long till she gets here?" I asked the stage conductor as he came on stage to direct the next performance.


    "We need to add another 10 minutes to the ETA as there are some accidents on the road." Mr Killington replied. I sighed and I said, "Why don''t you have the Emcee ask me some questions? It will help in dragging the time."


    In the original deal, I would be paid based on the number of songs I would play today. A total of 5 songs would earn the record label 50,000 dollars from the organizer, which would be split 80-20 with me. Of course, Pepper wanted me to have a bigger part in that.


    The payment was quite low but I didn''t mind as it was something that all upstart artists would go through. Some may not even get paid at all.


    They mentioned an interview in their initial deal, but was rejected by Pepper as I didn''t have any training in public speaking just yet. I also didn''t bother to argue with Pepper as I thought I only needed to play my songs and get out of the way before Taylor stepped on the stage.


    "Really? Can he do that? Are you prepared for an impromptu interview?" Mr Killington asked while being a bit concerned as an interview was a two edged-sword. It may help my career if conducted wisely, or it may kill it if I give the wrong answer that may offend some people.


    "It''s a bit unconventional to do this after you have already started singing, but I guess we don''t have any other choice. I will ask you again, are you fine with it?"


    "It''s okay. As long as he doesn''t ask me for some personal information or political questions, I am confident that I can do it. However, please check with Pepper first before proceeding. I don''t want him to get mad at me for being a loose cannon." I replied.


    "Don''t worry. He''s listening to everything we''re discussing right now, and he gave the ''okay'' for it." Mr Killington replied while pointing at his headset. Pepper had a similar headset on his head and he gave me a thumbs up from afar.


    The stage conductor was connected to the emcee for the show therefore he currently had understood the whole situation. After a quick break, I walked back to the stage with the band to our instruments before the emcee could get off the stage.


    But to the crowd''s surprise, the emcee walked to me�Cthe artist and asked me something akin to a paparazzi meeting an artist on the streets.


    "Awesome performance Edward. I''m sure that a lot of people in the crowd are curious about you right now, Am I right, people?" while communicating with the crowd below.


    The crowd cheered, and I could hear Phil''s voice coming from the VIP stand saying, "WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT PHIL?!", but I only waved at him and didn''t answer the question.


    "Who''s that? Is that your dad?" The Emcee was curious as he heard the shout too. Of course, our whole conversation was using the microphone therefore all the people there could hear it.


    Meet a really nice girl, have some really nice- (sex)??


    Both of them covered my mouth to censor me, causing people like Claire to breathe in relief. Jenna waved excitedly as if wanting to volunteer herself as tribute, but Mrs Henderson turned toward her which caused her to hide again.


    ??And she''s gonna scream out, "This is great" (oh, my God, this is great), yeah


    I might mess around and get my college degree??


    Most of the college students there could relate to this song, and they couldn''t help but wave their hands along to the rhythms.


    ??I bet my old man will be so proud of me


    But sorry pops, you''ll just have to wait??


    "HAHAHA... Do whatever you want!" Dad muttered as he heard it.


    ??Oh, yes, I said it, I said it, I said it ''cause I can??


    "Everybody!" I called out to the crowd to invite them to sing together.


    ??Today I don''t feel like doing anything


    I just wanna lay in my bed


    Don''t feel like picking up my phone


    So leave a message at the tone


    ''Cause today I swear I''m not doing anything??


    "Good Job!" I exclaimed as the sing along was very addicting.


    ??No, I ain''t gonna comb my hair


    ''Cause I ain''t going anywhere


    No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, oh??


    ??I''ll just strut in my birthday suit


    And let everything hang loose??


    Abby, Haley and Tara, all blushed as they heard the verse while Alex scoffed at me.


    "What kind of song is this?!" Gloria widened her eyes as she understood the sentence.


    "I need to try that later." Manny said, earning a bewildered gaze from his mother.


    Jenna whispered to Jacob, "Does he always do that?"


    "How do I know? I don''t live at his house." Jacob replied. Jenna''s eyes suddenly twinkled in excitement but then she returned her focus back on the show.


    ??Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah??


    I walked to the VIP section and waved at my fans while performing. Even Abby waved back at me as she was swept along by the atmosphere.


    ??Oh, today I don''t feel like doing anything


    I just wanna lay in my bed


    Don''t feel like picking up my phone


    So leave a message at the tone


    ''Cause today I swear I''m not doing anything??


    ??Nothing at all


    Woo-ooh, woo-ooh, ooh


    Nothing at all


    Woo-ooh, woo-ooh, ooh


    Nothing at all??


    I sat at the edge of the stage lazily with Kaya and Anna, leaning my back on the dancer''s body as the song ended.


    Explosive reactions came out of the college students there, some even repeating the word Encore as I sat there, huffing my breath.


    "That was really great Ed." Kaya said as she wiped my forehead with a towel.


    "Thanks. You did really well too." I said, then she laughed. "I''m a dancer. I need to do well. But thanks anyway." She stood up and pulled my hand to help me stand before I walked to my guitar and picked it up again.


    "Did you guys enjoy the song?" I asked the crowd.


    "YESS!"


    "Do you want to hear more!"


    "YESSS!"


    "I can''t hear you!"


    "YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!"


    "OOOOO...WHO LIVE IN A PINEAPPLE UNDER THE SEAAA?!"


    "SpongeBob Square Pants! EYY!!!" A lot of people there were tricked, and it caused raucous laughter from the crowd.


    "I guess a lot of us are from the same generation here." I teased them again, continuing the laughter. I was buying some time before the next song as symptoms of fatigue started to appear on my body.


    I turned to the stage conductor and he held a white paper on top of his head with the word 15 minutes written on it.


    "So I need to buy 20 more minutes huh." I muttered.


    ...


    [3rd Person POV]


    "Hurry up! We''re really late now!" Taylor said as she urged the driver to press the pedal faster.


    Suddenly, the co-writer tapped on Taylor''s shoulder to get her attention. She turned to face the co-writer and asked, "What is it?"


    With some hesitation, the meek girl said, "So...apparently Edward is playing a game with the crowd."


    Narrowing her eyes, Taylor asked, "What kind of game?"


    "A... game... of whether he... could create a new song on the spot or not."


    "He''s doing what!!!"

 Chapter 48: Concert Game

    Chapter 48: Chapter 48: Concert Game


    (Sorry that I didnt post last night??, I was in the hospital. I will continue posting from today onwards)


    [Edward POV]


    ''20 minutes. So how will I pass the time?'' I thought as I saw the stage conductor timecard.


    Suddenly, a light bulb lit up above my head as I got an idea. Not even the brilliant mind of Edward Newgate could actually know that a decision that I made in a second today would hunt me for such a long long time in the future.


    "Oh I know that look." Haley suddenly muttered from the audience seats.


    "What look?" Tara asked while intrigued.


    "That was the same look he had before he created Photograph." Haley explained.


    Abby interjected, "Was that the time when he created a song in just a few minutes?"


    Haley turned toward my ex-girlfriend and said, "yep."


    Turning my attention to the crowd, I said, "I have a confession to make."


    The crowd suddenly became silent as the tone of my voice was a solemn one.


    "The award ceremony that Taylor was attending has run a little bit late, and she won''t be able to get here in another 20 minutes."


    The crowd gasped and some booed when I said that. Even the organizers were frustrated as they thought it was a secret that needed to be kept. However, they grossly underestimated a fan''s loyalty and adoration for their favorite artist.


    "Therefore, they want me to play another song to drag the time."


    "IS HE FUCKING CRAZY!?" Mr Killington asked in astonishment and anger.


    "The problem is, I have only one other song planned for this evening. I''m going to need your help if I need to play another song." I said, making the crowd greatly confused by the sudden request.


    "Instead of me deciding what song I''m going to play today, You guys will." I smirked at the crowd, causing them to exclaim in awe.


    "We''ll decide what that will be using a game. You may shout out title words for me about the song''s you want me to play. Or just random words. It''s up to you. If one of the random words is in my future album list, I will debut it here."


    The crowd cheered as I said that. At this moment, little did I know that almost ? of the crowd here had become my true fans and the rest of them were really close to falling to my charms.


    "And another thing." I added, causing the crowd to feel quiet again.


    "If...The word resonated with me...Maybe...Just Maybe...I will create a song on the spot based on the idea I get from that keyword."


    The entire crowd fell silent for a minute before they exploded into thunderous questioning such as "Is it true? Will you really?" and so on.


    Their enthusiasm almost made me shrink back down, but I laughed the nerves away and said, "Yes. It''s true. Ahh...For my own safety, I won''t tell you if the song is from my album, or I just created this on the spot. Do we have a deal?"


    At the audience seat, Phil asked, "Why for his safety?"


    Cam explained, "To make sure people won''t try to claim it or sue for credit."


    "Ah I see. So he''s doing a very dangerous thing right now?" Phil asked.


    "Yup. I''m making sure Pepper calls Harvey so that she can get started on the copyright for any new song instantly." Mitchell added and called Harvey immediately. Luckily, the lawyer had a ticket and was at the concert at that very moment, standing backstage near Pepper.


    "What do we do? Should we stop him?" Harvey asked Pepper.


    Pepper gave her a side eye and said, "Harvey. If you''re going to work here for a long time, I suggest you adapt to the current situation as soon as possible as this is not the first..or last time he would do such a thing. Not that this is a threat but if you can''t keep up with him then you will leave me no choice but to let you go..."


    "Why should I adapt to this?" Harvey asked as she didn''t mind Pepper''s last remark at all. In fact, she felt that the condition was fair.


    "Cause we will never stop him from doing what he wants to do, except when it''s truly harmful for him. After all, copyright claims are just a small nuisance right?" Pepper said with a smirk as he knew it would lit up a fire inside the woman''s heart.


    "That''s true." Harvey replied as she believed in her capabilities to tear apart any false claim for the song.


    "Believe me, this won''t be the last time you''ll need to do it. Do you know how long he took to create the songs ''Photograph'' and ''Me and My Broken Heart'' ?"


    Pepper finally turned his head entirely, locked eyes with Harvey and said with a smirk, "Less than 5 minutes."


    Harvey was shaken to her core as she heard that, not to mention the eavesdropping stage conductor Mr Killington and the dancers who had heard everything the duo was saying from the start.


    "Wait seriously?" Kaya exclaimed in wonder.


    "Dang. He''s really a prodigy huh. No wonder." Anna added to Kaya''s awe.


    As the clamoring died down, I said, "The audience seat is divided into 10 sections. So every section will get one chance to do it. Just walk up to the mic set up for the Q and A session with Taylor after this and shout out your word."


    "We''ll start with the last one from the right, Section J." I said and pointed at the edge of the concert hall. As half of the crowd today consisted of college students, it was easy for me to do an audience participation as their mind was more open than the general audience.


    The staff was suddenly busy with my sudden game and they led the first participant for today to the microphone. A geeky, glasses-wearing white girl with blonde hair and sweater vest tapped the microphone to make sure it was on before she said, "Hi Edward. I really like your songs...A-A-Are you really serious about creating t-them on t-the on the spot?"


    Some people laughed at the girl''s nervousness, but my smiling face calmed her down.


    "Yes. I am. What''s your name?"


    "L-Lily."


    "What a nice name." I said and the crowd teasingly exclaimed, "uuuu" as they saw me flirt.


    Ignoring all of them, Lily said, "I wonder if you can do a song...with the word...Fairytale?"


    "Why that word?" I asked.


    She pushed the side of her glasses up and said, "I...never heard a song about that before."


    "Then I guess you''ll love Taylor''s next album. Oops, did I spoil it for you?" I said with calculated mistakes, causing the crowd to explode in cheers once more.


    "Jess.. Can I borrow the keyboard?" I asked the asian girl.


    "Sure." Jess said and the band member helped me set up by bringing the keyboard to the center stage.


    I spoke to the crowd casually with my face focusing on the keyboard as I set it up. "The minute I received the news about playing here today, my manager told me that I need to play some of my happier songs. But this song will hurt you guys and made you cry like a lil Bi-"


    Forcefully stopping myself, I turned to the crowd and said, "Forgot I can''t curse today because the show is for the general audience."


    My act earned me some laughter from the crowd. I cracked my fingers before I said, "Enjoy the next song, titled, Before You Go."


    [Before you go Lewis Capaldi-Piano version]


    "??I fell by the wayside like everyone else.I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, but I was just kidding myself. Every moment, I start to replace.''Cause now that they''re gone, all I hear are the words that I needed to say.??"


    "That kid really did it." Pepper sighed and turned to Harvey. "Make sure to get ready."


    "Okay. Don''t worry. I will make sure to get the copyright for this song." Harvey said as she held her phone toward the stage.


    "Did you hear that Donna? Make sure to write every single lyric he sang." Harvey said to the person on call.


    "Don''t disturb me then." Donna replied from the other line while accurately typing every word on the song.


    "??When you hurt under the surface..Like troubled water running cold..Well, time can heal, but this won''t..??"


    Abby was lost in the lyric, and tears pooled inside her eyes. Even Haley and Tara couldn''t help but be emotional as they noticed my emotions while singing this song.


    "??So, before you go, was there something I could''ve said to make your heart beat better?If only I''d have known you had a storm to weather...??"


    "If only we can turn back time huh." Jay muttered as he too was immersed in the song.


    ??So, before you go, was there something I could''ve said to make it all stop hurting?...It kills me how your mind can make you feel so worthless...So, before you go...??"


    Lewis was looking at me with glittering eyes before he muttered with tears on his face, "Awesome."


    "He will hurt his throat if he continues singing like this." Cam said in concern.


    Claire''s eyes shook as she heard Cam and couldn''t help but wanted to stop me from singing. However, Phil said, "It''s his way as an artist. He won''t ever do things half way."


    I know that the way I sing this song was creating a lot of pressure in my voice box, but I proceeded with it anyway. After the first chorus, the song slowed down.


    " ??Was never the right time, whenever you called..Went little by little by little until there was nothing at all..Our every moment, I start to replay..But all I can think about is seeing that look on your face..??"


    "Stop..." Haley muttered as she was torn between stopping me or letting me continue as she saw Abby crouching down and broke down crying as she heard this song.


    "??When you hurt under the surface..Like troubled water running cold..Well, time can heal, but this won''t..??"


    "??So, before you go, was there something I could''ve said to make your heart beat better?...If only I''d have known you had a storm to weather..So, before you go, was there something I could''ve said to make it all stop hurting?...It kills me how your mind can make you feel so worthless...So, before you go.."


    ??Would we be better off by now~! If I''d have let my walls come down~!? Maybe, I guess we''ll never know...You know, you knowwww~Ah...??


    I slowed down the music and sang with a tone as if I was talking to a friend of mine.


    "??Before you go, was there something I could''ve said to make your heart beat better?If only I''d have known you had a storm to weather...So, before you go, was there something I could''ve said to make it all stop hurting?..It kills me how your mind can make you feel so worthless..So, before you go..??"


    As I released my finger from the last key on the keyboard, the entire concert hall was in a pin-drop silence and the crowd was frozen in place.


    With sweat dripping over my head, I finally needed to take off my jacket as my body was extremely hot at the moment.


    "Did you guys enjoy the song?" I asked in confusion and intrigue as the crowd was still quiet at this time.


    Then, they finally snapped out of their state and stood up from their seat before they gave me a thunderous applause!


    "EDWARD! NEWGATE! EDWARD! NEWGATE!"


    They chanted my name, and I couldn''t control their reaction this time any more than one could control a waterfall. The applause went on for almost 2 minutes before I received the signal from the stage conductor that Taylor had arrived backstage. She was getting ready to perform and it was my cue to perform the final song.


    "Did you guys have fun today?" I asked and received another explosive reaction from the crowd.


    Gesturing them to lower their voice, I said, "Save your spirits for Taylor."


    "Now, for my final act, it will be a pop rock song, so brace yourself." I said with a smirk. By now, more than ? of the crowd there had imprinted my name inside their mind and they couldn''t wait to meet me the next time I would be performing.


    [3rd Person POV]


    "Don''t you think...he''s too good?" Taylor muttered with complicated emotions as she saw the audience''s reaction to Edward.


    The co-writer said in a cold tone despite being a meek girl, "It doesn''t matter. After all, these people came here for you. Not him."


    Taylor nodded and her mood was lifted. "He''s really a prodigy. I''m sure that he will be a top artist in the future."


    "Don''t worry. You will become a top artist too. We will make sure of it."


    Signing with her current entertainment company was no different than selling her soul to the devil. Taylor longed to escape the birdcage she was in and become a free artist, but the more famous she got, the more locks her owner placed on her cage.


    She couldn''t help but be mesmerized by the young boy standing at the center of the stage. A free and talented artist/songwriter that made her heart skip a beat as she saw him casually interacting with the crowd.


    "Hmm? Why are you still here? Go and get ready." The co-writer said and then she noticed Taylor''s blushing face.


    "Do you have a fever? Why is your face so red?" The co-writer asked.


    "I''m fine. Just a little flushed. Let''s go." Taylor changed the subject and walked to the dressing room to get herself ready.


    She had made the costume change in the minivan as she was driven to the concert venue. Right now, she only needed to do some light touch ups before going on stage.


    "Damn Ed. Now I have to work especially hard not to get overshadowed by you." Taylor murmured to herself but with a sincere and expectant smile on her face.


    "I can''t wait for you to grow up." She said as she licked her lips while watching Edward starting his final solo song for today.

 Chapter 49: Opening act finished. (Part 4)

    Chapter 49: Chapter 49: Opening act finished. (Part 4)


    [Edward POV]


    I gripped the microphone tight and took it out of the microphone stand.


    "It''s been a pleasure getting to perform in front of you kind folks here today. For my final solo act, I will be performing Believer �C a song from my future Album titled Breaking."


    "Breaking?" Phil muttered. "That''s the name of his future album?...why?"


    Alex heard the question and replied, "Because he''s breaking all expectations people have on him. And also the music charts."


    "Write that down! Write that down!" Manny and a majority of the people in the audience hurriedly noted down the album name after I announced it.


    "Write it down too, Harvey." Pepper said.


    "Wait...he''s naming the album here for the first time?" Harvey asked in disbelief.


    "Yes." Pepper replied.


    After all of the clamouring, the guitarist strummed the guitar to notify the audience about the start of the song.


    Then, the entire amphitheatre fell into a deep silence as people were holding their breath to wait for the song.


    I took a deep breath before the drummer hit the drum beat. Without playing the guitar on my own or slinging the guitar over my shoulder, I walked to the edge of the stage.


    [Imagine Dragon- Believer]


    "??First things first...


    I''ma say all the words inside my head...


    I''m fired up and tired of the way that things have been, oh ooh...


    The way that things have been, oh ooh~! ??"


    Claire stood up from the seat and shouted, "YEAH!! EDWARD!"


    Alex was horrified and exclaimed in a hushed tone, "MOM!"


    "What? I''m just glad." Claire said with a soft smile as she looked at Alex.


    "??Second things second...


    Don''t you tell me what you think that I could be...


    I''m the one at the sail, I''m the master of my sea, oh ooh~


    The master of my sea, oh ooh~!??"


    Ted smiled and said, "I finally inspired him in a lyric."


    "Take back control of your life huh." Pepper muttered as he heard it. Then, he smiled widely and said, "I like it."


    "??I was broken from a young age...


    Taking my sulking to the masses...


    Writing my poems for the few...


    That look at me, took to me, shook to me, feeling me...??"


    "That''s us." Cam gleefully said while feeling extra proud inside.


    "?? Singing from heartache from the pain...


    Taking my message from the veins...


    Speaking my lesson from the brain...


    Seeing the beauty through the...??"


    Almost all of the people there held their breath as the song entered the chorus.


    "??Pain!


    You made me a, you made me a believer, believer!!!!??"


    "Woo-hoo!" The crowd cheered and stood up from their seats before they banged their heads to the rhythms.


    "??Pain!


    You break me down, you build me up, believer, believer


    Pain!??"


    The lady wearing a floral dress and a red stiletto shivered as she heard the song, however her large hat covered most of her face. She was biting her lower lips until it was all bloody before the woman next to her realised it asked her, "Miranda. Are you okay?"


    "Camila. I''m fine." Miranda replied.


    I did a little jump while I changed my position to the left side of the stage.


    "??Oh let the bullets fly, oh let them rain~!


    My life, my love, my drive, it came from...


    Pain!


    You made me a, you made me a believer, believer??"


    "Is this song...about the lord?" Gloria whispered to Jay while asking. Jay looked at her weirdly with a scrunched up face and said, "Wha- NO!"


    "Third things third...


    Send a prayer to the ones up above...


    All the hate that you''ve heard has turned your spirit to a dove, oh ooh..


    Your spirit up above, oh ooh..."


    "It is about the Lord!" Gloria muttered in excitement.


    "Mom. NO!" Manny admonished his mom while shaking his head. "I''ll explain it to you later." Gloria nodded at Manny''s words and they focused back on the show.


    I walked in front of the VIP section and crouched down while waving at them for a second, causing immense cheer from the audience there. I stood back up and continued.


    "I was choking in the crowd


    Building my rain up in the cloud


    Falling like ashes to the ground


    Hoping my feelings, they would drown


    But they never did, ever lived, ebbing and flowing


    Inhibited, limited


    Till it broke open and rained down


    It rained down, like..."


    "Is he rapping?" Luke asked as he didn''t catch a word of what I just said.


    ??Pain!


    You made me a, you made me a believer, believer??


    The crowd cheered once more until and didn''t stop at all until my chorus was done.


    Jenna finally managed to throw her underwear on the stage while Mrs Henderson was distracted by the song.


    "Oh my god." Elsa couldn''t believe her friend as she saw her take off her panties right next to her boyfriend. Luckily, everyone was too focused on the song to care.


    The Catholic mother�CMrs Green clasped her hand together in excitement and said to Jacob, "I can''t believe you have another devout friend. This is the type of friend you need to hang out with, not the one who offered you drugs and alcohol."


    While headbanging his head to the song, the Viking Mr Green said, "Why can''t he be both?"


    "??Pain!


    You break me down, you build me up, believer, believer??


    Pain!


    ??Oh let the bullets fly, oh let them rain


    My life, my love, my drive, it came from...


    Pain!


    You made me a, you made me a believer, believer??"


    My breath got quicker as the songs were mentally and physically draining for me to do. With sweat dripping from my chin, I stood at the left side of the stage and continued.


    ??Last things last


    By the grace of the fire and the flames


    You''re the face of the future, the blood in my veins, oh ooh


    "Hey- Why don''t you guys stay for Taylor?" I asked in surprise as they released me.


    "We came here for you, not her." Phil said while pulling her waist up. "But we already got the ticket...so..."


    "So we''re only here for 5 minutes before we go back to our seats." Alex exposed Phil.


    Smiling softly, I said, "You guys don''t have to do this. Just go and enjoy the show."


    "Nonsense Ed! We come here specifically to support you." Claire said and sat next to me before she kissed my forehead. I was stunned by her suddenness and then she said, "I''m really proud of you Ed. You have come so far."


    "Uh...Thanks?" I replied as I didn''t know why she was reacting like that.


    Gloria pinched my cheeks softly and said, "Aaayyyy mi ni?o hermosooo, mirenlo toda una Estrella ( AAAYYY mi beautiful boy, look at him a total star)"


    As I was still sitting, she pulled me into her embrace with my head buried inside her chest before she squealed happily and shook me around.


    "Gloria!" Claire stopped her hurriedly before I lost my breath.


    "When are you getting home?" Jay asked, unbothered by the ensuing chaos inside the room.


    "After the show is over. I will be joining Taylor for the after party though, so I won''t go home directly."


    Claire raised one of her eyebrows and asked, "After party? Where?"


    ...


    [3rd Person POV]


    At the Q and A portion of Taylor''s fan meet. Although the majority of the questions were for Taylor, there were still a few questions that baffled her when she heard it as the fans were asking questions like this.


    "Are you and Edward Dating? You know we support you no matter what."


    "Who wrote the song ''Two is better than one''? You or Edward?"


    "Is he coming to your tour? Or your next show?"


    "When can we buy his album?"


    Taylor laughed and said, "Okay, I will ask him for you guys and tell you about it later."


    Abby and Haley scrunched their faces as they looked at Taylor before Abby said to her mom, "Let''s go home."


    She turned to Haley and Tara before saying, "Are you guys staying till the end?"


    "Yeah. We will hitch a ride with my family so you don''t need to worry about us." Haley replied.


    "Abby, let''s go meet Edward first before you leave." Haley said and grabbed Abby''s hand before dragging her backstage to the waiting room. Abby could''ve resisted and broke free from Haley''s grip, but she just let herself be dragged away. Maybe she needed an excuse to come meet Edward, but she still wasn''t sure why she was going along with it.


    Near the backstage, Ted was talking with Camila.


    "Is she gone?" Ted asked.


    With a thick Cuban accent, the woman replied, "Yeah. She had to rest. So I let her go first."


    "Do you want to come meet him?" He asked.


    Camila widened her eyes and said, "Wait? Can I?"


    "Of course. You''re his aunt. You can meet him anytime you want."


    (Camila Moronne-Similar face)


    [Edwards POV]


    As I was walking out of my waiting room, suddenly I saw Haley, Tara, Abby and Desiree in the hallway walking in my room''s direction.


    "Hey!" Tara greeted happily while Haley rushed to give me a hug. I was startled as she started running toward me, so I put my hand upward to guard against her, but then, my hands actually landed on her bra-less chess as she hugged me from my neck excitedly.


    ''Ah soft.'' I thought as I could feel...everything.


    Haley finally realised where my hand was 5 seconds after hugging me and she quickly pulled away and covered her chest in a crossed ''X'' shape while looking at me in disbelief. "Perv!" She said.


    With a zen-like facial expression, I said, "It was an accident. I thought you''re attacking me. Also, it''s very soft."


    Her jaw dropped and I turned to Abby instead of explaining myself.


    "Hey." I muttered softly.


    "Hey..." She replied back, not looking me directly in the eyes.


    "I''m really glad you''re here."


    "Well...I promised...So I will be here..." Abby replied while turning her eyes slowly to meet mine. I couldn''t help myself but approached her and gave her a hug.


    "Thank you." I said.


    Abby widened her eyes before she returned my embrace while saying, "That''s what a friend is for right?"


    "Sure." I said while I continued hugging her.


    Then, Desiree decided to join in and made the hug a group hug. Abby and I laughed at the abrupt action of her mother, and we finally released each other.


    "How''s the concert?" I asked.


    "To be honest it could''ve been better." Abby teased.


    "Yeah. If Taylor kissed my lip at the end it would''ve been better." I said, earning a death glare from Abby, Haley and Tara.


    Abby replied sarcastically, "Sure...Let her commit a crime at the end of the show. That will surely be useful for your debut."


    I chuckled a bit and said, "Seriously. I''m really glad you''re here."


    "...Me too." Abby said with a soft smile on her face.


    "Don''t ignore me okay?"


    "I won''t."


    As we were facing each other, Haley interjected angrily, "So. When are we going to talk about the fact you copped a feel on my boobs?"


    "Hmm? What did he do?" Dad appeared out of nowhere from behind Haley, startling her.


    "N-N-Nothing." Haley stammered as she turned to my dad.


    "Dad. Who is that? Your girlfriend? Did you finally get a girlfriend?" I asked teasingly as I saw a hot latina woman next to my dad. "Also, you have an acquired taste huh."


    "Stop speaking nonsense. This is your Aunt." Dad explained hurriedly to make me stop.


    "Aunt?" I was confused as I had never seen the woman before in my entire life. Suddenly, I remembered my dad''s stories and said, "Aunt Camila?"


    She hugged me suddenly and said, "I can''t believe you know me." Only giving me a quick hug for fear I would be uncomfortable with her, she took a step back after that.


    "Yeah, from my dad''s stories." I said while staring at her face. Camila turned to Ted and said, "You told him about us?"


    "Of course. You''re family." Ted said while smiling softly. I didn''t want to burst his bubble and told my aunt he told me about her pickpocket job before, therefore I changed the subject.


    "Aunt Camila...why are you here?" I asked carefully.


    She flinched and said, "T-To support you of course."


    I narrowed my eyes at both her and my dad in suspicion before I sighed and said, "Dad. Seriously? If you want to date my aunt, shouldn''t you tell me this before you come and introduce her to me?"


    "We''re not dating!" Ted said in frustration. Finally, Ted saw Desiree who was standing next to Abby. It was their first time meeting, and I was sure that there was some sparks between them.


    I returned to the waiting room with my dad and my aunt while the girls went back to the concert. Abby and Desiree returned home instead of waiting until the concert ended, so only Tara and Haley stayed till the end.


    As Camila was still awkward around me, we didn''t talk too much. Instead she asked me what I knew about my Cuban side of the family and shared some funny stories about my dad when he first met my grandparents over there.


    After an hour, the sky had darkened and I was watching Taylor close the show from near the stage. After her final song, suddenly she said, "As Edward had given you guys a present by performing a song from his upcoming album....I think...I will do the same thing too."


    The crowd cheered, and I cheered along in anticipation with them.


    Then, she changed her tone and said, "But there is a problem. I need some help in playing it, and over here,there is only one person who knows about the song I''m talking about."


    She turned toward me abruptly and said using the earpiece without the audience hearing it, "Edward. Will you help me?"


    "What is she doing?" Mr Killington asked in frustration after nothing was going to plan in his event today.


    "What do you need help for?" I asked her back after hearing it through the headphones.


    "Love story. Doing it the way we played around with it before."


    "Really? Like that? Are you sure?"


    "I''m sure."


    As I looked at Taylor''s determined face, I sighed and said, "Okay. I will do it."


    Taylor smiled and turned her attention back to the audience.


    "Who do you guys think I need to call on stage to help me?" She asked innocently while putting her finger on her cheek.


    The audience was confused before someone muttered, "Edward?"


    "Come on. You guys just heard his songs minutes ago." Taylor said playfully. The audience laughed before they shouted, "Edward!!"


    "Call him out until he gets on the stage!" Taylor ordered.


    "Edward! EDWARD! EDWARD! EDWARD! EDWARD!"

 Chapter 50: Love Story.

    Chapter 50: Chapter 50: Love Story.


    (I will take a break for my health. At least for a week before I will post something else here. Enjoy the Chapter)


    [Edward POV]


    The finale of the performance unexpectedly fell into my hands as the crowd chanted my name.


    "EDWARD! EDWARD! EDWARD! EDWARD! EDWARD!....."


    Taking a deep breath, I slinged my guitar over my shoulder and walked on the stage. Pepper and the other stage conductor were a bit too late to try and stop me as I appeared on stage next to Taylor, causing a massive audience reaction akin to a meltdown beneath the stage.


    "Hey. Why do I hear people calling for me?" I asked in confusion after Taylor gave me a microphone. The audience laughed and Taylor said, "Well. You''re the only one who knows how to play my new song."


    "Ahh. That one. I will get paid right?" I joked, causing the audience to laugh once more.


    Taylor smirked and said playfully, "No?"


    I shrugged and said, "Too bad. I wanted to use the money for the new PlayStation. I guess I will have to wait for my birthday present from you then.."


    At the audience seat, the Missouri born Taylor S. fan laughed gleefully as Taylor and I did our whole improvised bit.


    Cam said to Mitchell, "Oh my god! Oh my God! They''re really close to each other. You think Edward can get me to meet Taylor?"


    "Don''t put more pressure on him, Cam!" Mitchell said with his arms crossed. Then, he shyly nudged Cam and said, "Ask him if we can both go and meet her."


    At the backstage, chaos ensued between the organizer and Taylor''s staff members. The meek co-writer had changed into a full blown raging ''Karen'' and tried to stop the performance from happening by any means necessary, "This isn''t in the contract. Any extra shows will open you up for a lawsuit. Are you prepared to do so?"


    Mr. Killington sighed and replied, "The decision to play one more song or not is the artist''s call. Not ours. However, we also can''t let you storm the stage and pull her away just because she is doing something she wants to do."


    The veteran stage conductor could hypothesize why Taylor was being so abrupt and disobedient right now.


    "She wants to be free...even if it''s just for a moment. I won''t let you stop her." Mr Killington murmured to himself after he asked the security there to stop the teenage pop star''s staff from interfering with the show.


    "Just don''t have a meltdown will ya." He said as he took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth before lighting it.


    Back on the audience seat, Haley quickly texted Abby who had already arrived home and told her about my last performance.


    "Seriously?" Abby asked in disbelief as she had already entered her house.


    "Yes. I will hold the call for you to hear it. Tara will record the performance and we will show it to you later." Haley said as she held the phone in the air while I was still talking with Taylor.


    As I familiarized myself with the guitar, I said to Taylor, "Let''s not waste any more time. I need to get home after this as I have school tomorrow."


    The crowd booed me playfully, so I turned to them and said, "Remember kids, stay in school, and don''t do drugs."


    "That''s so sudden." Taylor laughed together with the crowd and finally the light on the stage dimmed, putting both of us underneath a spotlight. I used a microphone stand to sing as I was playing the guitar at the same time, and Taylor held a microphone in her left hand as we stood together side by side.


    [Love Story- Taylor]


    Only my guitar played the melody for the song as there wasn''t anyone else around that knew the song.


    When I asked Taylor why she wanted to perform the song at this concert in the future, she would answer, "I was...jealous of you. I longed to be free while on the stage, but I lost all of my freedom after I signed with the agency. This...was my first little rebellion against them. Like you, I also wanted to truly interact with my fans as a person...just like you...and not as a fake idol they worship."


    ????????????


    Taylor swayed her body to the rhythm and we stole a glance at each other before we burst out laughing. The romantic song fans couldn''t help but fanned their hot faces as they saw us flirting with each other.


    Taylor: " ??We were both young when I first saw you...I close my eyes and the flashback starts, I''m standin'' there...??"


    She suddenly walked toward where I was standing, pulled my face that was watching the crowd with her finger, so that I would look at her, and continued, "On a balcony in summer air..."


    "KYAAHHH!" The crowd let out an uncontrollable cheer as she did that, and even my heart couldn''t help but skip a beat as I watched her in her performing mode up close.


    I smiled while looking at her as she continued, "???See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns


    See you make your way through the crowd..."And say, "Hello"...." (Ed: Hello)


    We acted as if we''re performing a musical, and without missing the beat we harmonized our voices.


    Ed and Taylor: Little did I know~??


    Without us realizing it, our voices perfectly melded together �C stunning the crowd below and the crew backstage below. I let Taylor sing while I harmonized with her using our own playful lyrics.


    Taylor: "??That you were Romeo, you were throwin'' pebbles( Ed: ? I was Romeo, I was throwing pebbles)"


    "??And my daddy said stay away from Juliet", (Ed:? "and your daddy said Stay away from Juliet")


    She pointed at me while saying Romeo, while stepping back a few steps as if fearing her dad before she reached her arms at me from afar.


    ??And I was cryin'' on the staircase ?Beggin'' you, "Please don''t go..."


    Taylor: "And I said"


    She ran towards me while stopping inches away from my face before singing...


    Both:?? Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone. I''ll be waiting, all there''s left to do is run..You''ll be the prince and I''ll be the princess" (Ed: ?? "I''ll be the prince and you''ll be my princess)


    Both: It''s a love story, baby, just say, "Yes"


    Taylor returned to her inital spot while I become the lead singer this time,


    Ed: "??So I sneak out to the garden to see you


    We keep quiet, ''cause we''re dead if they knew..." (Taylor: ? ''cause we''re dead if they knew)


    Together:: "??So close your eyes..."


    Ed: "??Escape this town for a little while, oh oh ??"


    Q: What was your favorite part of the concert today?


    Getting interviewed by the college reporter outside the stadium, Mitch and Cam thought for a while before Mitch replied first, "Well...Definitely the artists. And the song game...That was legendary."


    Cam chuckled and then he said, "Definitely the proposal. I cried a little bit-"


    Mitch interjected, "He cried a lot." Cam glared at him before he continued, "Their performance really showed up the definition of two world lovers. The innocent country girl and the mature city boy, brought together as fate wills it to be."


    "Cam, they are NOT dating!" Mitchell said in exasperation.


    A young boy replied, "Definitely the song... Believer."


    Then, he sang a line from the song childishly, " Pain! You break me down and build me up, believer, believer!"


    The initial, brunette college girl who was the first to throw their underwear at Edward said, "I came here for Taylor, but I will leave here with Edward in my mind!"


    Q: Do you think Taylor and Edward are a couple?


    Cam: Yes!


    Mitch: NOOO!


    Young boy: Eww..


    Brunette: Definitely! He is at least 16 right?


    Haley said seriously, "NO! He''s not a couple with Taylor." Both Tara and Haley would be hitching a ride with Cam and Mitch as the rest of the family had gone home after Edward''s initial performance.


    Q: Will you come to the next Edward Newgate''s Concert?


    All of them answered, "Definitely!"


    At the concert backstage, Taylor was admonished by her co-writer after her improvised performance with Edward, before one of her staff members came in with urgent news.


    "What?" The co-writer asked.


    "The song...The duet..." The male staff member was having trouble catching his breath as he ran toward the room before this.


    "SPIT IT OUT!" The co-writer yelled.


    "IT''S TRENDING ON YOUTUBE!"


    "What?" The co-writer exclaimed in confusion before the staff member took out his phone and showed that the song had gotten 50k views in the matter of one hour. In early 2009 Youtube, the views had pushed the video to become the top trending video in America at the moment.


    "See, it wasn''t ''damaging my image''." Taylor snarked sarcastically as she heard that while the co-writer gritted her teeth.


    The entertainment agency couldn''t say anything as the video was trending worldwide in the matter of one day, and became the top liked video of the week.


    "Now if you''ll excuse me, I have an afterparty to attend to." Taylor said before she left the room with just her bodyguards and not her publicity staff. She stopped by the door before she turned toward the staff and smiled, "You guys are not invited."


    "TAYLOR!" The co-writer tried to protest, but the artist had already walked away.


    "DAMN IT!" The co-writer cursed before calling the agency to pass the full report to them and give her thoughts about the current situation.


    "Just let her be." The voice from the other side of the call said.


    "BUT SIR!" The co-writer tried to protest.


    "Let her enjoy the day while feeling superior...it will help us in controlling her later in the future when she realizes she has no other choice but to crawl back to us after the party is over."


    "Ahh..Yes Sir." The co-writer said.


    "Anyway, keep an eye on the Edward kid. Any scandals, any criminal history, or bad records that we can use to as...''leverage'' (blackmail) for him to sign with us."


    [Edward POV]


    "Uhn~" I stretched my arm upward as I felt extremely tired after the show. I had finally managed to sneak out of the concert hall without getting surrounded by the fans and was already on my way home.


    "Why don''t you take a nap?" Dad suggested as I sat in the backseat.


    "Sure." I said and took out my phone before reading messages from Jacob and the troublemakers, Haley, Abby, and Pepper.


    "Dad, You know that I will be going to the after party right?"


    "To be honest, I don''t like you going over there. But you''ve worked really hard for this concert, therefore I will give you my permission. Be careful while you''re on board. If there is any trouble�C people offering you drugs or other harmful substances, go to Dwayne quickly."


    "Relax dad, it''s a boat party, not a rave." I replied with a yawn.


    "I know, but I am worried regardless." Dad said in a soft tone.


    "Okay. I will take care of myself." I said before I laid down sideways on the seat and fell asleep.


    ...


    Midnight, at my house. I had managed to catch 2 hours of sleep on the way home as we were slowed down because of a traffic jam.


    Taking a duffel bag with some toiletries and clothes inside from my room, my dad drove me to the Marina. Luckily we only took another 10 minutes to get there as the road was clear this time around.


    "Hey Ed!" Kaya and Anna called out to me from abord the ship as I stepped foot on the port. I waved at them, and they waved back to me. The LED light from the ship illuminated the surroundings, and I could see that the party above the ship had already started.


    I turned to my dad and said, "Thank you for your support today dad. I will go now."


    Dad suddenly hugged me and said, "I''m really proud of you Ed...Now...be careful at the party alright?"


    "I will." I patted his back twice before he released me and I walked into the ship.


    The ship horn blared twice before the ship started its journey to international water. The 80 meters long ship slowly exited the marina before it disappeared on the horizon.

 Chapter 51: Afterparty

    Chapter 51: Chapter 51: Afterparty


    [Edward POV]


    ''The reason I am joining the party in the middle of the ocean is quite simple.''


    ''An escape...I wanted to escape from my life and just steer clear from any work or troublesome matters and just bask in the concert''s sense of fulfilment right now.''


    ''I want to let loose, and I don''t want to be treated as a 14 years old boy over there.''


    ''I just need one day to live my adult life once more...the kind of life that was the norm for me before I was put into this child''s body.''


    ''I had been living as Edward Newgate for 26 days now. I just want to feel as Edward Franzetti for one.''


    Well, that was the kind of internal struggle I had before I decided to go to the afterparty. Right now, the concert aftermath was spreading quickly and I knew that my life would change completely after this.


    Paparazzi, obsessive fans, special treatment and future expectations, all of it would come raining down on my current life, completely changing it.


    ''At the very least, I hope that my friends won''t change the way they treat me and continue as if nothing had changed. I....sincerely hope for that.''


    [3rd Party POV]


    "That man is a god." Jacob murmured as he was reminded of Edward flirting with Taylor on top of the stage in front of a crowd of 5000 people.


    "What god?" Elsa asked as Jacob was suddenly talking to himself as they were driven home by Mr. Green. The trio was sitting in the same position as before, with Elsa in the middle, Jacob behind the passenger seat, and Jenna behind the driver seat.


    "N-Nothing. What are you girls going to do now?" Jacob asked to change the subject.


    "Hey! Call him!" Jenna demanded after being quiet for a while.


    "What- Why? He must be tired after the performance. Didn''t we already call him to congratulate him before?"


    Before they left, they had called Edward and talked to him for a minute before Edward said he was already on the way home.


    "Yeah. But he said he''s going to the afterparty right? Do you know what happens there? It will be a full-blown sex party!" Jenna said with a raised voice. Jacob couldn''t help but become nervous and looked at the front of the car. Luckily his mom was taking a nap as she was too tired from the concert.


    "Phew!" Jacob breathed in relief before saying to Jenna, "It''s Edward. Do you really think he will do degenerate things?"


    "He was in a relationship before. Now, he''s single! Who knows what he will do now!?" Jenna asked in desperation as she couldn''t help but imagine the mingling of bodies on top of the ship �C just like the scene she saw once in her house after sneaking back when her mom sent her away to play while she had some people over.


    Elsa patted Jenna''s shoulder and comforted her, "It''s okay. It''s okay."


    "Do you want to sleep at my house tonight?" Elsa added as she knew Jenna was hesitant to go home whenever her mother was working. Jenna nodded and said meekly, "Okay."


    In Mitch and Cam''s car, Haley and Tara were hesitant to tell Abby what had happened on the stage before this.


    Mitchell interjected their conversation and said, "Just tell her. It''ll be better for her to know that so that it can be easier for her to move on."


    "But Uncle Mitch...we don''t want her to move on!" Haley said in a begging tone,


    "Haley, You can''t force love. Edward and Taylor clearly have something going on in between them. As a good friend, you need to support him." Cam interjected.


    "Uncle CAM! THAT''S A CRIME!" Haley said in exasperation.


    [Edward POV]


    As I walked along the crowd in the party, I noticed that Taylor and a lot of the other participants in the party had gone to sleep while only some sporadic guests were partying at the ship''s deck.


    Well, I thought she was asleep. She was actually sitting inside her room, rewatching the Youtube video of the performance a few times while working on the melody for ''You belong with me'' song.


    In less than 3 hours, the video of our performance had hit 500k views, and it would be the fastest video to ever reach 1 Million in Youtube in 2009. Taylor didn''t know why, the more she watched the performance, the easier it was for her to create the melody that she had been stuck on for almost a year now.


    "Hey, Romeo is here! Juliet is sleeping though!" Kaya muttered with her cheeks flushed. She walked staggeringly towards me before clinging on to my body just to stand up properly on top of the deck.


    As we were having a boat party, she was only wearing a golden coloured bikini and short pants like the rest of the dancers. Some even decided to walk around topless on top of the deck.


    "You''re drunk." I said with a scrunched eyebrows.


    "Noo... I''m nooot~" Kaya replied with slurred speech. I saw some of the studio execs laughing as they offered alcohol to the underage dancers and were touching them inappropriately as they danced with the drunk dancers.


    Although this type of behavior was normal in Hollywood, for me personally �C to mislead the dancers with promises of fame and reputation by casting them in movies or music videos was a disgusting behavior.


    "Why don''t you rest in my room first till you sober up?" I said to Kaya before leading her away from the slimeball studio execs.


    "No. He said he''ll make me an Ironette..You know...for the Iron Man movies..." Kaya tried to resist but she was too drunk to even walk properly. I walked her to my room and slammed her down on the bed.


    "Uhh...soo rough? Is this how you like it, Ed?" Kaya muttered before I said, "Go to sleep."


    As I turned my back to her, she suddenly clinged onto me and said, "Wait ...don''t you want to do it with me?"


    I turned back facing her and pushed her forehead slightly with my finger. Her body fell easily on the bed, and she crossed her legs while biting her lower lips.


    "Be rougher...I won''t mind-"


    "Go to sleep. I''mma get Anna too. You girls are too drunk, and something bad is going to happen to you tonight if you continue dancing with those greaseballs."


    "Hey!" Kaya tried to protest, but I had already walked out of the room and turned off the lights. When I walked in after getting Anna who was surrounded by 3 middle aged men and was already tricked by those men to take her top off, Kaya was snoring loudly in the room as she was too tired from the concert before this.


    "Sleep here for tonight." I said to Anna before throwing her on the bed too. As she was barely conscious, she automatically wrapped her legs around Kaya and sucked on her neck as she laid down.


    I didn''t want to wait and see what was going to happen to them, therefore I walked out of the room and joined the party. There weren''t any underage or immature girls on top of the deck now, so I just let the execs do their hunting while I talked to some of them.


    "Wait. You''re working with Sarah Finn?" I asked the Asian female assistant casting director that I was talking to.


    "Y-Yeah. But not that guy though. He''s only tricking the girls, therefore I already reported him to Sarah, and he is fired now. He just doesn''t know it yet."


    "Ahh I see. Do you want me to get the crew and lock him up in the mini jail we have?" I asked teasingly.


    The 29 year old girl with a thick glasses frame on her face and a sweater instead of a bikini chuckled before she said, "Are you the big boss here? I thought this was your dad''s ship."


    "I''m the grand boss. My dad is the big boss." I joked. She thought that I was just a teenager cracking some jokes therefore she laughed and accidentally snorted. She became very embarrassed after that and covered her mouth quickly.


    "Sorry." She apologized.


    "No need. I thought that it was cute." I said.


    "Yes Please." I took the offer before she could change her mind.


    "Wait...You drink?" Taylor was baffled by the sudden development as I picked up two shot glasses, some lime and salt packet, before sitting next to her on the edge of the bed.


    "Sometimes. Yeah." I replied ambiguously before taking off the tequila bottle cap.


    After 30 minutes...


    While giggling, Taylor said, "Okay, this time. You''re going to lick the sugar from my neck..." She sprinkled some salt on her slender neck, "...do the shot...and then get the lime..."


    We had already done 5 shots and her initial inhibition for drinking had disappeared.


    "Okay~!" I said gleefully and licked the salt from her neck. "Uhn~" Taylor moaned before she patted me to stop and said, "Shot...and then lime."


    "Ah...okay." I said and took the shot. I looked around and found out that the lime was gone.


    "Where is it?" I asked hurriedly.


    "Here." Taylor said and showed the lime inside her mouth. I laughed and stuck my tongue into her mouth before it turned into a full blown make out session.


    Before we turned the session into something a little more fun, Taylor said, "I''m going on a 9 month to a year tour after this. So this will be just a one time thing."


    "Sure. It will just be a drunken mistake for us. Not to mention the kerfuffle you would get into if this actually got out." I said.


    "...I don''t know why, but that sounds really hot."


    ...


    After Taylor and I spend some time together, I returned to my room after avoiding Dwayne and the rest of the party people so as to not create any scandals.


    "She''s ferocious." I murmured as I entered my room. Kaya and Anna were still sleeping on my bed, therefore I just took a blanket and a pillow before sleeping on the floor.


    The clock struck 12 pm. I was alone in my small cabin room when I suddenly heard a small knock on the door.


    "Who is it?" I asked groggily as I raised my head from the pillow. I was sleeping face down on top of the twin-sized bed and parts of my hair were sticking out as if I was licked by a cow.


    "It''s Kaya. Get up. Let''s go get lunch."


    I stood up slowly and changed my clothes without making a sound and without realizing that Kaya had opened the door to wake me up.


    "Hmmm..." She exclaimed with lustful eyes as she got a peek behind the curtain.


    "Perv." I muttered when I noticed she was watching me and walked out to the buffet together with the dancer. I dined with Kaya and Anna while sharing stolen glances at Taylor during the meal.


    "Hey, there is something I need to ask." A movie studio exec walked to me with an offer for the song ''Two is better than one''.


    "Twilight movie?" I muttered as I heard the details.


    "Yes. The director listened to the song, and wanted to use it as the movie OST." The not so important exec said.


    "Hmm..." I thought for a while before saying, "Okay. I have no problem with it, just run the offer by Pepper. I will talk to Taylor about it."


    It was a good opportunity to get some publicity for the song. Even though I abhorred Twilight, it doesn''t mean that the movie was terrible.


    With a humongous fan base for romantic genres all over the world, turning the duet into an OST would help me increase my reputation as an artist. Something that would be a great help for my aim to become a studio artist in the future, I need to work hard to cement my image into the people''s mind and hearts before getting out of the public eye.


    The party moved faster than I expected it to be. At 4 pm, the boat was finally turning back to get home. The expected time of arrival to the Marina was 8 pm therefore we had 4 more hours to party.


    That was when the people here really went crazy. Motorboating the girls chest, doing shots, dry humping in public before they walked to the corner and just went to town on each other, some people even used MDMA to party, and a lot more stuff a kid shouldn''t see.


    "Okay. You''re done." Dwayne picked up the back of my neck like a kitten...metaphorically...although I know he could do that and pulled me into somewhere I would be safe from the hedonistic activity currently going on in front of me.


    He threw me in my room before warning me, "Don''t come out. You''ve partied enough already. Just rest before we arrive home."


    "Okie~" I said as I pretended to be obedient and laid down on the bed. Dwayne showed a fatherly smile before saying, "Good boy. For that, I won''t report to your dad the fact that you have obviously been drinking."


    "You''re a good friend." I said to Dwayne before he walked back to the ship''s bridge, feeling content as I took his words seriously.


    The minute that he had disappeared from the hallway, I sneaked out quietly to rejoin the party before I saw Taylor walking sneakily to where I was. Without talking much, she pulled me by my hand to get to her room and shut the door. Of course, she remembered to lock it this time and put a do not disturb sign on the doorknob.


    [3rd Person POV]


    At 8 pm, the ship arrived at the port and the passengers started to get off the ship. Claire walked into the ship and knocked on Taylor''s door.


    "Miss Taylor. Are you there?" Claire asked.


    "Uhn~..I''m...here..." Taylor replied. The moaning from inside the room caused Claire to take a step back before she braced herself and said, "Can we get a picture of you in front of the ship before you go home?"


    "OH GOD!" Taylor accidentally let out a moan from behind the closed door before she replied, "Yes...Yes I will...Please wait in front of the ship...I will be going there soon."


    "Oh...Okay." Claire was flabbergasted when she realized that the young teenage popstar was doing someone inside her room. To give her some privacy and avoid the scandal, she cleared out all of the other rooms and left the star alone without any disturbance for her to complete what...or more accurately ''who'' she was doing.


    "Hopefully she will rate our service 5 stars after this." Claire mumbled to herself as she continued to provide the after care for the guests. The drunk guest would be escorted home by a member of the same sex, and the dancers also took some pictures in front of the ship to be used for promotional purposes.


    As they knew it was Edward''s family business, there was no one there that would not spare the effort to do something to help the prodigious artist.


    After 15 minutes, Taylor finally got out of her room while walking a bit funnily.


    "You bastard." She cursed the other guy walking behind her. "How did you have the strength to go at it for that many hours!"


    "Well...I am still young. Besides, You enjoyed it right?" Edward muttered.


    "Well...it''s all your fault that I can''t walk properly. Now, everyone will know that I''d fucked someone on the ship!"


    "Me? You''re the one who kept begging me to keep going." Edward said and grabbed her ass before they giggled and walked together to the deck.


    They didn''t get off together as it would create a scandal, therefore Edward waited in his room for a while before getting off and hitched a ride with one of the crew members who was getting ready for the morning shift in the marina.


    "Dylan. You bought a new car?" Edward asked.


    "Yup. It cost me 1000 dollars this time. The cougars gave me some money after that night, and I can afford it." Dylan said in embarrassment.


    "They also gave you something else." Edward teased.


    "Shut it. It''s already cured!" Dylan said in agitation before they laughed together and Dylan drove Edward home.

 Chapter 52: Second Gacha.

    Chapter 52: Chapter 52: Second Gacha.


    [Edward POV]


    ''Hmm...I will eat later...'' I thought as I slowly stepped on the stairs to go to my bedroom. Dad had substituted Dwayne''s shift for tonight''s cruise, therefore I was alone in my home right now.


    The afterparty was enjoyable, but it took out a lot of my stamina.


    Taylor texted me as I got home to say that she will deliver my birthday present to my house personally tomorrow before she flew to New York for her next concert tour.


    Although I was hungry, I wanted to sleep more than I wanted to eat my dinner. I fell into a deep sleep at 9 pm that night without even checking my messages.


    When the clock strikes 12, my idle phone suddenly was blown up with notifications.


    [Phil: Happy BIRTHDAY E-MONEY!


    Abby: Happy Birthday dummy...


    +1


    +1


    +1]


    The phone was busily ringing the notifications and trying its hardest to wake me up from my sleep, but I was already transported someplace else.


    As I fell asleep on May 4th �C that was my birthday, I was brought into the white space once more. However, there was a giant, 10 meters tall lottery machine in front of me connected to a supercomputer instead of the box I used to pull out my gacha prizes before this.


    "Hmm? Ahh. The karmic lottery." I said as I finally realized where I was right now. "Why has it changed so much?" I muttered as I walked to the giant computer.


    Without me clicking on it, the computer screen started up as I was nearby and a computerized voice suddenly spoke.


    [Hello. I am L.I.F.E. I am your karmic guide for this evening.]


    "Wait. An AI?" I was baffled by the sudden development of the Afterlife Corporation and couldn''t help but ask, "Didn''t I get a small box before? Why did you come out now?"


    "Lottery method was picked at random when you were transported to the Afterlife station. A few other lottery methods were, picking a card, rolling a dice, ladder game, and anything that used luck in its equation. To get a working and fair lottery method was the first step in using the karmic gacha. In other words..."


    "Getting a working lottery method is a gacha in the first place." I finished the AI''s sentence.


    "That is correct. I am an automated gacha system. Lottery Interactive Fantasy Equalizer. I will be conducting your lottery drawings today." LIFE replied and changed its screen to display my name and karmic points.


    -Edward Newgate-


    Positive Karma Point: 162, 374


    Negative Karma Point: -10, 243.5


    1 Gacha Roll: 6 karma points.


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


    1 Special Category Roll: 666 Karma points.


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


    "Wait a minute...One hundred fifty three thousand?!" I widened my eyes in shock as I saw my karma point. "Why do I have so much?"


    "To get karma points, you need to drastically change the life of those around you and yourself. Your songs have touched a lot of people''s hearts and changed a few lives. Therefore, your karma point was increasing exponentially. In the next session, it is estimated that you would have millions of karmic points."


    "Holy!" I rubbed my head in disbelief and my jaw was hanging half open as I stared blankly at the screen.


    Suddenly, I saw a tiny envelope icon at the edge of the big screen and said, "Is that a mail for me?"


    "Yes. Do you want to check the mail now?" Life asked.


    "Yes." I nodded.


    The screen flashed and changed into the mail content.


    [ Good Evening Mr Edward Newgate.


    After a thorough review process, we found out that you had been illegally registered to become an Afterlife agent. Considerations about removing you from our agent list had been made.


    However, you managed to justify your ability to become an agent by surpassing the 100,000 positive karma points collected in less than a month after settling on a new world.


    Your achievement also had allowed the punishment for the Grim Reaper, Mr Theodore Hudson to be reconsidered and he would be spending only 1000 years in Purgatory instead of the original punishment of spending 5000 years to atone for his sins....]


    "Wait. He is captured?! That train conductor guy?" I muttered in surprise as I finally understood why the guy was rushing when he sent me away on the red train.


    Life answered, "Yes. He had abused his power to send a soul into another world without permission from the superiors."


    "...I see..." I muttered as the feeling of guilt started gnawing into my heart.


    The latter part of the letter was just congratulatory words for me as I had truly become an agent of the afterlife. They also mentioned continuing to observe my actions for a period of time, but I didn''t care about that.


    "Life. Can I return the email to the Afterlife Corp?" I asked with some expectation. As the AI was a semi-intelligent being, I was hoping that I may be able to contact the Afterlife Corp using him.


    "You may. Do you want to send a handwritten letter or to type it out?" LIFE asked.


    "I will just type it out." I said and hopefully my words would reach the Afterlife Corps customer service team.


    The purpose of my letter was to help out the Grim Reaper guy and beg for the Afterlife Corporation forgiveness on his behalf. I even offered to quit being an agent if his sentence would be reduced from it. However, it seemed that once you become an agent, the process would be even harder to reverse than reversing a purgatory sentence.


    After exchanging mails for almost 10 times with the corporation, finally they decided to give me an option to help out the Grim Reaper guy.


    For every 100,000 positive karma points I offered to them, they would use it to reduce the Grim Reaper''s punishment for 10 years.


    "Simple enough." I muttered in acknowledgment. "I also don''t want to be a villain."


    "Good choice." LIFE said, making me smile as he became more life-like the longer I spent time with him.


    "The beautifying massage was created by a medicine practitioner in Shanxi. After he was forcefully married to an ugly wife, he vowed to make his wife the prettiest woman in the whole world as he fell in love with her personality a year after they got married."


    "As he massages his wife daily using this technique for 10 years, his wife becomes the most pretty woman in Shanxi and he had to fight off multiple monarch''s and sect leaders who had fallen for his wife."


    "As you didn''t have the ''QI'' energy necessary to use this full technique, you wouldn''t be able to achieve what Kim Seo Jun had achieved. You will only be able to use a part of it. The reward will also increase your dexterity by 20%."


    "Damn..." I gulped my saliva before turning my attention to the golden gacha roll.


    "Open up the golden prizes."


    [Vandaliu �C Special Ability �C Parallel thoughts (Multitasking ability).]


    [Mike ross �C Special Ability �C Eidetic Memory]


    Before I could react to the golden gacha, the AI �C Life said, "Your time in the karmic station is over. Prolonged staying time will have an adverse effect on your soul. You will be kicked out from this space at 10...9...8...7..."


    "It''s okay Life. I hope to see you again in my next session."


    "I hope to see you soon...3...2...1...GoodBye Edward Newgate."


    "Goodbye..." I waved at the computer before my vision turned dark once more.


    ...


    I woke up a few minutes after finishing my gacha drawings as my phone notifications had finally won a hard battle to get me to notice them.


    Suddenly, I felt a burning and piercing sensation in my brain as if someone had stuck a hot needle inside of it.


    "AH FUCK!" I cursed as the pain became stronger with each passing by. I tried to hold my head, but then the very same sensation struck my hands as my dexterity was being forcefully increased.


    Then, the dance talent kicked in. My bones started creaking, and I felt like an army of ants were crawling underneath my skin, pulling my muscles and biting me all over my body.


    That was when I knew how lucky I was in my first gacha to not draw something with physical improvement prizes.


    *CRACK* *CRACK* *CRACK*


    As if a chiropractor was cracking my body, a lot of bone cracking sounds were produced from my bones. From an initial height of 170 cm, I jumped into a height of 175 cm from the physical improvement session.


    "ARGHHH!" I let out a blood curdling scream and blood dripped from my nose, staining my blue bed sheet. Finally, I couldn''t stand the pain any longer and passed out on my bed with my eyes rolled back into my skull.


    ...


    Daybreak arrives and it''s almost 7 am. It was time for me to get to school today. I walked out of the shower wearing a white towel wrapped on my waist and was trying to clean the dried out blood in my nose.


    "Luckily Dad didn''t enter my room when he got back home." I muttered in relief as I threw my bed sheet into the washing machine before changing into semi-casual clothes.


    "My mind feels clearer than ever...Maybe too clear..." I muttered as I could even recall the memory of me breastfeeding at an early age after getting the eidetic memory special ability.


    I walked out of the house to grab my bike when Abby suddenly stopped her new car in front of my house.


    "Hey Handsome. Want a ride?" Abby asked me teasingly.


    My eyes instantly turned to the blue Ford Shelby GT 500 convertible and I couldn''t help but whistled involuntarily as I looked at the new car.


    "Damn, today is my birthday, so why are you the one who got a gift?" I said as I casually hopped over the car door and sat next to Abby. Then, a memory suddenly popped out inside my mind, and I couldn''t help but look weirdly at Abby after that.


    "Hmm? Did you get taller?" Abby asked in confusion as she looked at me up and down.


    "Answer my question first." I said.


    Abby smiled gleefully and said, "Isn''t it pretty? Mom got it at a police auction for under 1000 bucks."


    Her mom actually bought it to bribe her as she was continuously feeling depressed after the breakup. When they returned to New York, she would just sell the car to someone else instead of bringing it with them.


    "Nice.." I muttered. "Let''s go."


    "Wait. before that." I said suddenly, causing Abby to break the slowly moving car in surprise.


    "What? Did you leave something at home?" Abby asked.


    "No. Today is my birthday." I looked at her playfully.


    She was confused and said, "I know. That''s why I''m picking you up.?"


    "No...what I meant was..." I tapped my right cheek with my finger and said, "Where is my birthday kiss?"


    "Hey...we had already broken up!" Abby replied.


    "Yeah. I know. This is just a friendly birthday kiss. Not a lover''s kiss." I said teasingly to the shy Abby. "Shut up, or I will make you walk to school." Abby warned me and stepped on the gas pedal angrily.


    "Wait. I will pick up Haley first." Abby said as she calmed down and drove by the Dunphys. Haley sneaked out of her house and jumped on the back of the car.


    "Happy birthday Ed!" Haley said and gave me a peck on the cheek, causing Abby to widen her eyes.


    "I told you it''s a friend''s kiss." I teased me, causing Abby to become angry once more while Haley was confused as to what we were talking about.


    Abby sent me to middle school first before getting to her high school with Haley. As I got out of the car, Haley asked, "Hey, did you get taller?"


    "I guess." I smirked and said to Abby, "Last chance."


    "NO!" She huffed angrily and hurriedly drove the car to her school, causing me to laugh. The memory that popped out was a memory during our first meeting. At that time, I was admiring a blue ford convertible when I first saw her.


    ''It can''t be...right?'' I thought as I knew the goth girl didn''t have an interest in that type of car before this.

 Chapter 53: A Quiet Birthday.

    Chapter 53: Chapter 53: A Quiet Birthday.?


    [Edward POV]


    Middle school. Mrs Henderson Science Class.


    "Hey, are you okay?" Jacob asked me whisperingly as he sat at the table behind mine.


    "I''m fine." I said as I stuck a rolled up tissue paper into my bloody left nostril to stop the bleeding.


    "Edward. Why don''t you call your dad to pick you up? You should go home and rest." Jenna said with a face full of concern.


    The reason for my nosebleed was that I tried to use that new parallel thinking ability of mine during the class lecture for a long time.


    "I''m really fine. This will stop soon." I said perfunctorily while looking at the board in front.


    ''30 minutes is my limit right now huh.'' I thought as I glanced at Jenna who had given up in trying to convince me and was playing with her phone instead of focusing in class.


    When I first saw her today, I was greatly surprised when I saw she had worn a long sleeved black shirt with a round neck instead of a low cut top as she usually wore, and a long, brown plaid shirt to match the t-shirt. She even wore a cute pink headband on her head compared to the usual blown-up hairstyle.


    ''Is she changing herself because of me again?'' I thought as I remembered a short interaction with her last week where I unconsciously praised her for wearing a fashionable outfit for school, and that outfit just turned out to be more modest than her usual clothes.


    I would usually just forget about those types of things, but the eidetic memory I received allowed me to recall all of my memories from the time I was a baby.


    The reason I had a nosebleed was because I found several weird details in my memory, and was checking them using my parallel thinking ability.


    ''Why is she looking more and more gloomy nowadays?'' I thought as I stole a glance at her.


    Maybe it was because the gap between her slutty mode and her new modest persona was too far, I couldn''t help but to take a close look at her for the first time.


    Time passed by quickly, and the Science class was finally over. Jenna waited for Elsa, who herself waited for Jacob, who in turn waited for me.


    "Mr Newgate. Can you stay back for a minute?" Mrs Henderson said before I could stand up from my seat.


    "Okay~!" I replied happily before turning to Jacob. "Go to the cafeteria without me. I''ll come to see you there in a while."


    "Okay..." Jacob replied in dissatisfaction. I turned to Jenna and said, "Why are you dressing like that today?"


    "Um..." She fidgeted as she didn''t expect the question.


    "She actually used to wear dresses like this. It wasn''t till middle school when she started dressing like a whore." Elsa snided, causing Jenna to slap her arm. "Hey!"


    "It look cute on you." I said before Jenna could argue with Elsa. She froze in her spot and her eyes were blinking wildly as she couldn''t believe her ears.


    [Flashback]


    After the concert, Mr Green drove Elsa and Jenna to Elsa''s house where she would stay with her friend today.


    "Why are you looking restless? Is it because of boys...or because of ''That boy''?" Mrs Green asked.


    "He won''t even look in my direction! He won''t ever fall in love with me! Now, he''s already out of my reach! Once that slut on stage makes a move, I''m over." Jenna complained to Mrs Green.


    "S-S-Slut! Mind your words Jenna. You went to Catholic school!" Mrs Green said, flabbergasted. Jenna realized that she accidentally let her true personality out and apologized hurriedly and turned into a meek little child once more.


    Jenna was suddenly taken aback as instead of admonishing her, Mrs Green patted her head softly.


    "It''ll be hard to get that boy. Especially since you fell in love with him first."


    "But I will be honest with you, even if you got him right now, you won''t be able to keep him for long."


    "Why?" Jenna asked with teary eyes.


    "You need to find yourself first, and fall in love with that part of you...before you can make others feel the same way."


    Jenna retorted, "But I do love myself."


    "Do you?" Mrs Green asked with a smile, causing Jenna to be taken aback once more.


    "I know you''ve been lying to me. I know that for a fact... because I used to be like that too." Mrs Green said in embarrassment. She turned to look at Mr Green and said, "But...He loves me for who I am, even though I bring him nothing but trouble."


    "That was when I really looked inside, and asked myself...''Is this who I really am? And is that person someone I could love... the same way that he loves me? That is when I decided to change myself...not for him, but for me."


    "Won''t he leave you if he doesn''t recognize you anymore?" Jenna asked in hesitation.


    Mrs Green finally turned to Jenna and said, "Honey. He saw me for who I really was a long time before I saw myself. I don''t know if the boy you''re in love with has the same capability, but...trust me, the longer you''re in this path of self-hate, the more suffering you will have to endure in the future.."


    [Flashback ends]


    "What''s with the huge reaction?" I chuckled after seeing Jenna frozen in her spot.


    "N-nothing." Jenna said before grabbing Elsa''s arm and ran away to the cafeteria together. Jacob turned to me, and then to the girls, and to me again before he said, "I''mma get you something to eat before all the good food is gone."


    "Sure."


    I ignored the trio as they got out of the class and walked to Mrs Henderson''s desk.


    "Did you enjoy the concert?" I asked her after Jacob told me she was there.


    "It was adequate." Mrs Henderson replied with a stoic face. "Mr Newgate, I believe that you''re a gifted man."


    "And yet you say that with little to no change in your expression. Sorry, Go on."


    "One of the students for the Academic Decathlon had defected back to North Korea before he could participate in the competition. The school is now one member short in our decathlon team, and I was hoping that you would help us and represent the school in the upcoming competition."


    I mulled about the offer for a while before I replied, "I''m sorry Mrs Henderson. I don''t think I want to do it. There is no benefit for me in entering the competition."


    Mrs Henderson said, "Didn''t you say your aim is to become the top student for your year? Even if you scored full marks for every paper in the final exam, you won''t be able to become one."


    Raising one of my eyebrows up, I said, "What do you mean by that?"


    "Your previous exams performances were horrendous. This year, the school has changed into a cumulative grading system instead of just taking the results of the final exam. Therefore, you need to score good marks throughout the whole year to become the top student."


    "Hmm..." I exclaimed as I fell into a deep thought.


    "But...I can offer you a supplementary test so that you can make up for your lack of GPA in the previous exams."


    "On the condition that I enter the decathlon right?" I said.


    "You catch on quick Mr Newgate." Mrs Henderson raised the corner of her mouth slyly, but only for a split second before returning to her stoic face once more.


    "Can you do that?" I asked.


    "The principal already gave his word for this." Mrs Henderson said.


    She kept glancing at Abby while looking like a guilty person, so Tara couldn''t help but ask, "What''s wrong with you?"


    Haley got defensive and said, "What''s wrong with me? Nothing is wrong with me!! What is wrong with you?!?"


    [Haley''s commentary.]


    "Something is definitely wrong with me." She said after looking at the room a few times to make sure no one else would hear her.


    "So...Last Sunday...after the concert when I got home, I kinda...did something..."


    [Flashback starts]


    While lying on her bed alone in the room, Haley couldn''t help but put her hands on her chest while muttering, "So...That''s how his hands feel like..."


    Memories about the concert surfaced inside her mind. And instead of Taylor who was singing next to Edward, she could clearly see herself up there.


    Her left hand couldn''t help but go underneath her shirt, and her right hand was sliding underneath her pants as she clearly remembered the sensation of his hand on her chest before.


    Suddenly, the door of the room was opened, causing Haley to yelp and roll sideways, making her fall to the floor.


    "What the hell are you doing you idiot? You scared me." Alex said as she entered the room in her pajamas, and just finished brushing her teeth before bed.


    "No-nothing. I wasn''t doing anything." Haley said with a blushing face before she stood up and said, "I''m going to take a shower."


    "In the middle of the night?" Alex asked in confusion.


    "...Yes." Haley replied before locking the bathroom door and didn''t get out for over an hour. Luke, who was walking by the bathroom at that same time because he wanted to head down the kitchen to get himself a glass of water, heard some distant buzzing noises that made him ask himself, "Why is she brushing her teeth for so long?"


    It was confusing for him as he clearly heard the electric brush sound even before he went down the kitchen. He shrugged his shoulders and returned to his room to sleep.


    Haley only got out of the toilet after an hour with a refreshed face and she easily fell asleep that night.


    [Flashback ends.]


    Sitting on the chair, Haley continued her commentary.


    "I mean.. (laughed awkwardly) what does that even mean? Am I the type of girl who will go after my friend''s ex? NO!... I mean..if I get her blessings, then... sure. "


    [commentary ends]


    '' I can''t do it. I can''t tell Abby I have been fantasizing about her ex-boyfriend every night since the concert. Ugh...this is all Edward''s fault.'' Haley thought in frustration as she rubbed her head violently until her hair was all messed up.


    Tara widened her eyes and said, "WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU! We''re eating here! Now my food will taste like dandruff!"


    Haley responded as she took offense, "I DON''T HAVE A DANDRUFF PROBLEM!?"


    "Still dirty though." Abby replied mischievously as she took her plate further away from Haley.


    "Bitches. All of you." Haley cursed, causing the girls to laugh before she laughed together with them.


    "In any case, even if we want to do the surprise party, we cannot enter his house anymore." Haley said pitifully.


    "Doesn''t he put a key inside a fake rock? Why can''t we use that?" Tara asked.


    "Well...After we broke into his house the last time, he kinda changed the hiding place." Abby said while scratching her cheek.


    "So. Why don''t we do it at Haley''s house? I''m sure that your parents will allow you to do that." Abby said.


    "Yeah...We can do that...the problem is...who is going to trick him into coming over without spoiling the surprise." Haley muttered.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    After getting home from school, I opened my laptop while sitting in the living room and was working hard to finish the Pritchett Closet''s website.


    "Thank god for eidetic memory. But...I can remember the details of my past life as clearly as day, so how is that possible?"


    My work was easier now as I could remember the codes that I copied and pasted from the internet in my previous life instead of doing all the things from scratch.


    However, as I received the algorithm making skill from the gacha before this, it also came with a lot of programming knowledge and even hardware creation.


    "If I had all of my focus in it, I can create an AI in a month. Of course, not at JARVIS level, but at ChatGpt level." I muttered in excitement as it was every programming man''s dream to have their own AI to help them in their daily life. To own, their very own JARVIS.


    I still had 2 more weeks until I needed to submit the new Pritchett''s closet website, however, I managed to do so in just a few more hours of work that day before I finally finished it.


    "Nice!" I shouted as I stretched my hand up in the air before my phone started to ring.


    "Hello?" I picked up the call and asked.


    "Hey Ed. I got your present from Taylor. I''m on my way to your house right now." Pepper said while driving in his Mercedes convertible.


    "Is the present expensive?" I asked with a glint in my eyes.


    "Very." Pepper smirked and replied. "Hold on. I have another call." Pepper suddenly said and put me on hold. I didn''t even wait for the call to reconnect and just put my handphone on speaker and placed it next to my laptop as I finalized the defense system for Pritchett''s company.


    "Jay had been complaining that Earl managed to find a hacker to return his butt email prank. Therefore, I need to make the defense extra secure."


    I didn''t know this, but the website''s defense system would soon catch the attention of the FBI, and Pritchett''s Closets was going to be marked as a suspicious company and be put on the FBI''s watchlist. It wasn''t until they infiltrated the company and did a manual infiltration routine that they realized it was just a simple closet''s company.


    Pepper finished talking with the other line and finally returned to his call with me.


    "Sorry for the long wait. Mitchell and Cameron called me and asked me to bring you to your neighbors house-"


    Before Pepper could continue, I asked, "It''s a surprise party, Isn''t it?"


    "...No. Why would you say that?" Pepper asked carefully.


    "You forgot my middle name is Sherlock, didn''t you? First evidence, my dad isn''t home yet even though half an hour has passed since he got off work. Second, Mitch and Cam''s sudden invitation. And the pause before you answered the question basically gave it away Pepper."


    "..."


    I sighed and said, "Okay. I will go. Let''s get this over with."


    Pepper sniggered from the other line and said playfully, "Why so pouty? It is a birthday party in your honor after all. Be more excited."


    "I am. I am. I''m just...I just wanted a quiet birthday party." I said in defeat before changing into semi-casual clothes and waited for Pepper in front of my house.


    We arrived quickly and I could hear the soft murmurs inside the house as we stood at the front door.


    "(Sigh) Can they be MORE sloppy than this?" Pepper said in dissatisfaction. "It''s like, they just threw this party together last minute.


    Well ''Spoiler Alert'', turned out that''s exactly what they did.

 Chapter 54: I’m shocked! (pikachu face)

    Chapter 54: Chapter 54: I��m shocked! (pikachu face)


    [Third Person POV]


    20 minutes before the surprise party.


    "The fishing line has been set, now it''s time for the lure." Phil muttered after Cam showed him a thumbs up gesture while he was on the call with Pepper. Most of the family members were in the kitchen, while the kids and the guests were in the living room.


    Jay sighed and said, "You put the lure first before casting the line."


    "It''s just a metaphor, Jay." Manny interjected with a glass of milk in his hand, and a milk moustache on his face.


    "Ay Papito! Why are you drinking milk now?! Why don''t you wait for the party?!" Gloria snatched the glass from Manny''s hand.


    "I''m drinking to forget mom. My broken heart needs some healing after Hannah Montana shot me down in the cafeteria today after my confession."


    "ALL I NEED''S A LITTLE LOVE IN MY LIFE!" exclaimed Phil.


    "Phil! Stop that. Go bring the confetti out of the garage." Claire walked past Jay with a cake box in her hand. "Hold on, what kind of cake did you buy?" Jay stopped Claire from rushing in for inspection.


    "You know, this whole thing is last minute. I can only get lemon cake." Claire said it carefully.


    "Lemon?" Jay asked in confusion.


    "Lemon?" Manny scrunched his face in disgust.


    "Orange?" Phil suddenly walked in from his trip to the closet with pop crackers in each of his fingers.


    "Phil! That''s dangerous! And where is the confetti?!" Claire said in frustration.


    "I will be getting it now. I just need some ammunition to guard against the raccoon family there." Phil replied.


    "You guys have a raccoon?" Manny asked. "I saw Jay run away from a racoon once."


    "Why don''t you go join the rest of the kids?" Jay pushed Manny gently from behind to get him moving as he continued to disrupt the adults'' conversations.


    Claire smirked, but she didn''t tease her dad as she needed to shout at Phil first. "Put the popcracker down. There aren''t any raccoons in there! I checked!"


    "Fine. But I''m bringing Luke with me as an ally." Phil said before wanting to put the pop cracker down, but Luke appeared out of nowhere, startling Phil.


    "I heard someone call my name."


    As Phil was startled, he accidentally dropped the pop-cracker in front of him and Claire who were facing each other.


    *POP* *POP* *POP* *POP* *POP* *POP*


    The mini explosions around Claire''s feet caused her to jump back in fear and the cake box to slide from her hand. Jay tried to grab the cake box, but it was too late.


    "NOOO!" Phil screamed in slow motion as he jumped forward to grab the cake.


    BAM!


    The cake box fell perfectly on the ground, and only the top of the box was opened, revealing a decorated yellow icing cake with Edward''s name on it. But, before anyone could get relieved, Phil couldn''t stop his momentum and fell on top of the cake, flattening it and splattering the cake in all directions.


    Claire gasped while Jay facepalmed himself as Phil slowly realized what he had done. His face turned ashen while Luke said in excitement, "That was awesome."


    Alex and Haley walked into the kitchen at the same time before Alex asked the question. "What happened?"


    Both of them gasped at the same time as they saw their dad still trying to get up from the floor with a circular cake shaped mess on his shirt.


    "Dad! What have you done?!" Haley asked in a horrified voice. "What are we going to eat now?! We don''t have anything else?!"


    "I-I-I-I..." Phil stuttered, and then Cam and Mitch entered the kitchen together with Gloria.


    "Ay, Phil, what happened?!" Gloria helped Phil get up from the floor, but then Phil slipped on the cream nearby and fell to the ground once more.


    Cam screamed in a high-pitched voice, "OH MY GOD, PHIL!"


    Claire helped Phil stand up at this time, and she massaged her throbbing forehead from her frustration.


    "What are we going to do now?" Cam asked anxiously.


    "I will tell you what I''m going to do. I will go outside to the backyard to make sure I get far away from this mess." Jay said and tried to walk outside before Gloria grabbed his arm and said, "You''re not going anyway, mister. We''re going to put our heads together and clean up this mess!"


    "Gloria..." Jay tried to protest, but Gloria just gave him a glare to shut him up.


    Suddenly, another adult that wasn''t related to the family walked into the kitchen.


    "Hey Claire. You didn''t answer my question about the cake, therefore I just picked it up when I got home from work." Ted said this while holding a box of cake and still wearing his captain''s uniform.


    "A HERO!" Phil said and tried to walk towards Ted to give him a hug before Claire shouted, "NO! You stay here and clean this up. Kids, your dad needs a shower, so use him as a mop to clean up this mess."


    Luke was excited while Alex and Haley rolled their eyes before answering their mom, "Okay. We will do it."


    Claire walked toward Ted and asked, "Did you decorate it? What kind of cake is this?"


    "Edward''s favorite. Chocolate cake." Ted said, placing the cake box on the kitchen counter before opening it.


    "Alex, keep an eye on your brother. Make sure he doesn''t touch the cake." Claire said this before she rushed to the living room. Alex glared at Luke while he said, "What? I''m not going to steal Ed''s cake again. He will add to my punishment if I do it."


    In the living room, Jenna, Elsa, Tara, Abby, and Jacob were helping the family decorate the living room with balloons and colourful streamers for Edward''s birthday party preparations.


    Abby was cutting up some decoration paper to make a string of human origami on one side of the room while Elsa and Jacob were sitting on the sofa. Jenna and Tara were by the fireplace, trying to stick the streamer to the ceiling using a ladder.


    "Here." Elsa was handing over the balloon for Jacob to blow. She just sat beside him and complimented him every time he did a good job, without actually doing any work herself.


    "Bitch. Blow the balloons too. Or are you keeping your blowing energy for another purpose?" Jenna admonished Elsa while she was helping Tara stick the steamer on the ceiling. Abby and Jenna kept glancing at each other while being cautious of one another.


    "Pfff- Jacob. You''ll be so lucky tonight as your girlfriend is saving her energy just for you." Tara said playfully, making both Jacob and Elsa blush.


    "I-I''ll blow the balloon too." After being teased, Elsa finally started working. But then, Jacob took the balloon out of her mouth and said, "Don''t tire yourself. I can do it all on my own."


    "But-"


    "You just need to stay there while looking pretty to give me strength." Jacob smiled innocently, causing Elsa to blush and hide her face from him by turning to the side. "Dummy." Elsa said while smiling from ear to ear.


    Jenna rolled her eyes and threw a crumpled streamer towards Jacob and Elsa. Claire passed by and said, "Okay. He''s going to be here any minute now. How''s the decoration?"


    "Almost done, Mrs. Dunphy." Tara replied.


    "Yeah. We''re almost done too." Jacob answered.


    "I did it." Abby said this while showing her origami paper.


    "Why so pouty? It''s like you don''t want to celebrate your birthday." Abby asked after I sat next to her on the couch in the living room.


    "Can I tell you a secret?" I said.


    "What?" Abby turned her face to look at mine in intrigue. She no longer wore thick eyeliner or a black lipstick, and if she didn''t wear a black and white outfit, no one would even think that she used to be a goth girl.


    "I hate celebrating my birthday." As I watched Luke tease the kind giant Jacob, I smiled slightly and said honestly.


    Abby was stunned for a while before she said, "Wait. Seriously?"


    "Yup."


    "But why?"


    I sighed as I reminisced about my past birthdays, both in this world and the previous one.


    As the orphanage I used to be in was struggling financially, no one cared about the kids'' birthdays over there. If we managed to have 2 meals a day, that was enough celebration for the orphans.


    When I was kicked out of the orphanage, I couldn''t care less about my birthday. It was not until I met grandma that she celebrated my birthday for the first time in my entire life, but it was less than a year later that I had lost her too.


    In this world, my birthday and the classical music competition usually fall in the same week. My parents would just give me a present, and my mother would promise me to celebrate my birthday later on, but after 5 years, I gave up on any hope that she would fulfil her promise.


    ''Dad did bring me someplace special for my birthday a few times. Just the two of us... That was nice, but now my birthday just feels like any other day.


    Of course, I couldn''t tell Abby the true reason. Therefore, I lied and said, "It just seemed childish."


    Abby was stunned for a while before she pouted and whispered to herself, "Liar."


    "Hey Ed. What do you want for your birthday?" Jenna suddenly sat next to me and asked. The three-seat sofa was now full with me in the middle, and two gorgeous girls by my side.


    A few metres away from me, Manny swirled the glass of milk in his hand and muttered, "Why can''t I get girls like that? Should I pick up an instrument too? Does the flute count?"


    Alex, who was walking by at the time, stopped and stared at Manny before answering his question. "No." Then, she walked away, leaving behind a stunned Manny.


    "I don''t need anything luxurious. A spa session would be good enough." I said.


    "That thing cost around 250 dollars though." Abby muttered softly.


    "Okay~!" Jenna agreed happily as there were lots and lots of spa session certificates at her house. She could just pick one of them and give it to me.


    Haley approached our sofa and wiggled her way next to Abby while saying, "Excuse me."


    "Ed. What did Taylor give you?" She asked.


    "Ahh. She gave me a guitar." I said with a hint of excitement on my face. It was a custom made Taylor PS12ce 12-Fret Grand Concert Sinker made from Redwood and Honduran Rosewood, and inscribed with the word, [May your songs shake the world].


    "I believe she gave me a Taylor guitar on purpose, but I can''t contact her right now to talk to her... or thank her."I said it with trepidation.I did send a few texts to thank her, but she still hasn''t replied to any of my texts.


    ''Should I hack into her phone to see what''s going on?'' I was thinking quietly. Not that I was feeling possessive of her, but the sudden shutdown of communication wasn''t in line with her personality. I was afraid that the agency had limited her freedom and taken away her phone, so I needed to do something to confirm my suspicions.


    "How much does something like that cost?" Haley asked as she saw Luke reaching out to touch the guitar.


    ''Hmm... I remember Luke has a pitch-perfect speciality. He managed to learn a song in just a few minutes and even become the lead in Phantom of the Opera theater act...But his ability is not explored by the writers.''


    Pepper, who was walking behind the couch, stopped as he heard the question and felt the need to clarify how luxurious Taylor''s gift to me was.


    "With the custom-made requirement for Edward, and the inscription, something like that could go for more than 10 grand."


    "LUKE. PUT THE GUITAR DOWN NOW!" Haley stood up quickly and ran to where Luke was sitting before snatching the guitar away from him.


    ...


    The party ended, and everyone returned to their own house after saying goodbye to each other.


    As we stood in front of the Dunphys'' house, Abby grabbed my face and kissed my cheek unexpectedly, "Happy Birthday. My gift to you is the car I''m driving right now. I will transfer the ownership to you before I go back to New York."


    I was incredibly baffled when I heard that. After recollecting myself, I smirked and said, "So. You still remember what I said to you when we first met huh?"


    Abby blushed and said, "This is just a coincidence. I didn''t buy the same car you said you like because I think it will be meaningful or something."


    "It''s very meaningful. I think that this is the best gift I have gotten today." I said and hugged her sincerely, earning a whistle from Jacob. He was then punished instantly by Elsa as he had rooted for the wrong girl.


    "Not only that, you also offered to drive me everywhere for the next few weeks, whenever I needed a ride. That''s so thoughtful. You''re the best Abby." I said.


    Abby smiled as she heard that. "Okay. Don''t be mellow with me now."


    I finally released her, but then Abby saw I had an evil grin on my face, and she quickly caught on to what I had tricked her into.


    "Wait. I made no mention of driving you��"


    "Too late. No backsies." I said before I waved goodbye at the group and rushed home.


    "BASTARD!" Abby yelled from afar. Tara held her shoulder and said, "Just give up Abby. You lost this time."


    ...


    [3rd Person POV]


    -Dunphy''s house-


    "Why didn''t you give him your gift?" Alex asked Haley before they were going to sleep.


    "Shut up." Haley replied with a sad tone.


    "You know he won''t ridicule you for giving him something handmade." Alex encouraged her once more. Haley got annoyed by her sister''s constant questioning, turned her head that was resting on the pillow, looked at Alex, and said, "What about you? Did you give him your gift?"


    "I did. He said that he would make good use of it," Alex said with a hint of pride in her tone.


    Despite the fact that he wouldn''t take the SAT for another three years, she had given Edward a SAT level reference book and practice questions. Edward was flabbergasted when he saw the gift, but he accepted it gratefully as he knew Alex had tried her best to think about the gift that would benefit him the most.


    "Urgh!" Haley covered her head with the pillow to avoid listening to Alex.


    Her little sister shook her head and rested her head on the pillow before she heard Haley say something in a muffled voice, "I can''t give him that, can I? Not after the other girls had given him expensive gifts."


    Alex paused for a while before she said, "That''s true. Your gift is kind of worthless if you think about it."


    Haley got mad and threw her pillow at Alex. "Shut up and go to sleep-"


    "But. It doesn''t mean that he would hate it. You won''t know it until you give it to him. Your designs, I mean. Please don''t sew the clothes yourself. You''ll make a mess in our room." Alex said before ending it with, "Goodnight Haley."


    "Hmmm... Goodnight," Haley replied while falling into a deep thought.

 Chapter 55: Working hard.

    Chapter 55: Chapter 55: Working hard.?


    [3rd Person POV]


    Inside of Jay''s car.


    As the family drove home from Claire''s house, Gloria asked with a dissatisfied expression, "You see him not smiling much? He must''ve missed his mother."


    She turned her face to look at Jay who was sighing as he heard the same statement more than 10 times today.


    Jay spoke calmly, "Maybe he''s just mature. At a certain point in your life, a surprise birthday party just seemed boring."


    Gloria pursed her lip in dissatisfaction and said, "What if I''m right Jay? Huh? What if he''s feeling....bad-"


    "Depressed." Manny interjected to give Gloria the word.


    "Yes. That." Gloria nodded to thank Manny before staring at Jay again.


    "What do you want me to do then?" He said, admitting defeat. Gloria finally smiled and said, "You don''t have to do much. Just invite him to our house and let him know we would always be there for him."


    Jay retorted, "Well... Always is such a long time..."


    Gloria glared at him, causing him to change his words, "Always it is."


    -Dunphy''s house-


    In the kitchen, Claire and Phil both in their robes were drinking warm milk before going to bed.


    "I''m telling you Claire. Something is bothering him. He faked a smile the entire time he was here." Phil said with some concern in his voice.


    "Faked a smile? Really?" Claire scrunched her face in disbelief before sipping the warm milk in the mug while holding the cup with both hands. "He''s not a tv series main character."


    "He could be if he wants to." Phil retorted.


    Claire sighed and said, "I guess something is bothering him. I''m going to talk to him to find out what."


    [Edward POV]


    After I went home from my ''surprise'' party, I turned on my laptop and continued working on my mobile game in development �C Flappy Bird. My fingers tapped the keys on the keyboard with high speed as a result of my enhanced dexterity.


    "Nice. Adding Parallel Thinking to the equation, I think I can finish a 5000 word essay in just an hour."


    A pixelated yellow bird was flying on the screen while passing the hurdles smoothly as my finger tapped the ''UP'' key on my laptop without missing a beat.


    "The time estimate for the game to complete can be cut down to this Friday. Then, I can do the alpha test for the game...that is... the mobile version."


    The basics for the game had already finished. As I based the game on the original Flappy Bird, I managed to skip the pre-development, research, character designs, world-building �C not that this was necessary, and fixed a few criticisms people had on the game.


    "Not only was it branded the most frustrating game when it was launched, the addiction when playing the game became uncontrollable that a trend of people destroying their phone after losing the game went viral. I need to make sure to avoid these types of things while maintaining the ads revenue for the game."


    Sipping my cup of coffee, I brainstormed ideas on how to combat the addiction to the game by writing on a piece of paper.


    "Let see...Should I code the energy feature for people to play? Like in every 10 tries, they need to wait for the energy level to be filled up first before playing again."


    To die in the game was effortless, therefore people would keep trying until hours for them to beat their own high score. If I used the energy feature to start the game, people''s interest in the game would lessen, and the revenue I was aiming for would be threatened.


    "Or, should I increase the sensitivity of the bird''s motion? I guess I need to get data from various groups for this one if they found the game was too hard. I will do it during beta testing then."


    I rubbed my chin in contemplation while mumbling, "Flappy Bird was released during the time smartphone usage became widespread. Should I really release the game now?"


    To release the game early would bring me premature reactions from the game players in the world. Although the game wasn''t banned, the extreme reactions from the game caused the owner of the game to feel guilty about it and deleted it from Apple Store and Google Play Store.


    "Although...He might feel guilty ''cause people were accusing him of ripping off the game from another Helicopter game. So who knows what the real reason was."


    After trying to rationalize my decision, I finished my work on the game at 2 am before getting to sleep.


    ...


    "Good Morning Ed." Dad said as he stood by the coffee pot and poured a cup of coffee for himself. "Another late night?"


    "Yeah." I replied as I took out some ingredients to make a sandwich for myself before going to school.


    "Your Aunt called and wished you a happy birthday. She said she will try to stop by soon before going back to Cuba." Dad said as he sat on the kitchen counter.


    "My hot aunt? Sure, stop by anytime she wants." I said playfully while Dad narrowed his eyes at me.


    "Oh dad, I need to go to Pritchett''s Closet after school. Can you pick me up there when you get home from work? I wouldn''t want to make Abby wait for me until I finish my job."


    "You''re...the most busy 14 year old I''ve ever met. Rest a little. Go out and have fun." Dad said in a concerned tone.


    "I''m okay. I will rest when I earn enough to rest comfortably for the rest of my life." I replied with a smirk.


    "Ah. Wait a minute." Dad said before he stood up from his seat and rushed to get the mail out of his bag.


    "This is a letter from your Grandma and Grandpa. They couldn''t wait for you to come stay with them in the summer."


    Scratching my cheek, I said, "That''s still going on?"


    "Just for the summer. We don''t have to move now. You have already saved the business, and you also need to stay here in California for your music career. You will only stay for a month instead of the whole summer, so I will let you pick the date for you to go there."


    My apprehension on staying with my grandparents wasn''t because they didn''t treat me well.


    The meeting took a long time and intense discussion before the agreement was finalized. I also received 100,000 dollars from the company after we signed the patent agreement as down payment.


    In the agreement, I would be entitled to 5% profits from the sales using my technology. It was a high percentage that Jay graciously agreed to, which surprising both me and Harvey.


    [Jay''s commentary.]


    "I noticed something during the meeting. He''s not looking to take advantage of my company, nor was he aiming for my money. He''s trying to help me grow my company in ways that I had ignored before, and even gave the company a new direction. That kid is a genius through and through."


    Then, Jay sighed and said, "For him to work extremely hard to help my company without looking for much in return...I guess Gloria is right, he is a little depressed. Or, he lacked the affection of a father figure that he was trying hard to prove his worth to others. Therefore, I will help him out too, as he has helped me."


    [Commentary ends.]


    "Hey Kid. You watch football?" Jay asked me as I sent Harvey away to handle the contract.


    I remember I still had the football training memories from my first gacha prize that I haven''t opened yet.


    "Sometimes." I replied honestly. I wasn''t a true fan of the sport and only watched it in a social gathering before.


    "Good. There will be a match this Sunday. Illinois versus Ohio State. Why don''t you come by my house to watch it? Gloria had been wanting to invite you to the house for some time now."


    "Sure. I will check with Pepper first cause I don''t know when he will call me to make the music video. I will confirm it with Manny later."


    "Okay." Jay replied curtly before he drove me home after calling my dad to tell him not to come by.


    "Are you hungry?" Jay asked.


    "A little bit." I replied.


    We went to a restaurant and I met with the waitress, Maxine, a 55 years old kind lady who was a close friend of Jay. Her hair was tied up in a bun, and she was a really friendly person that wasn''t stingy with her hugs.


    She spoke with a slight southern accent while getting our order, "Who''s this? One of yours? He''s too handsome to come from your family, so did ya kidnap him?"


    Jay laughed and said, "Believe it or not, He''s my business partner."


    "Really? How old are you, kid? 16? 17? " Maxine asked.


    "He''s 14." Jay replied before I could, shocking Maxine greatly.


    "Really? Wow, you must be some kind of genius." Maxina said and patted my shoulder softly. Her gaze turned menacing as she turned to Jay, "You didn''t exploit him because he''s a minor right?"


    Jay scoffed and said, "If I dared to do that, Gloria would kill me."


    "Well...It will happen sooner or later, so it doesn''t matter much I guess." Maxine teased Jay while I laughed at the joke. We talked for a while and I introduced myself before we ordered. Maxine returned with our sandwiches 5 minutes later and sat next to Jay as they talked for a bit.


    "Take a picture of him and put it on the wall. He''s an artist too. He will surely be a famous person someday." Jay advised Maxine.


    "Really? Can I do that Ed?" Maxine turned toward me with an excited twinkle in her eyes.


    "Yes. He even did a concert last Sunday." Jay added again.


    "I don''t mind." I replied to Maxine.


    "Wait. Let me get the camera!" Maxine stood up quickly and rushed to the cashier table before getting out an old school camera.


    "Smile." She said as she snapped the photo. Her action caused the people around to be interested in who was at the table.


    "Wait. Is that Edward?" A random man said to his wife.


    "Who?" his wife asked.


    "You know, the one who sings the duet with Taylor." The man explained. The wife finally recognized me from the videos on Youtube. Not only them, but a few more tables had the same reaction as that random husband and wife and people started to chatter among themselves while pointing at me.


    "Ahh...I had disturbed your dinner. I should''ve done that when you''re leaving." Maxine said in guilt.


    "No need Maxine. I need to adapt to this, so it''s good that it happened." I said while waving dismissively to let her know it wasn''t a big deal.


    Maxine smiled and said, "You''re a good kid."


    "Right?" Jay added. Maxine then said, "Don''t hang out with Jay so much. You''ll only learn bad things."


    Jay almost spit out the coffee he was drinking while I laughed again.


    That night as I settled my accounts, I realized that I had made more than 200,000 dollars in my first month in this new world.


    "130,000 dollars from Pritchett''s Closet, 80,000 dollars from the concert. I should invest this money somewhere." I muttered as I opened up the stock market websites. I got extra money from the concert from the impromptu performance of the song paid for by the organizer instead of Taylor.


    "Despite searching for so long, I still couldn''t believe that no one had actually created bitcoin in this world." I muttered with some dissatisfaction as I searched for some familiar company in the stock exchange.


    "Not only that, there aren''t any school shootings, bullying in school is less than usual, literacy rate in students are higher, and rent around California wasn''t overblown."


    It wasn''t as if the issues were hidden as there wasn''t any news coverage on them, but the world was truly more stable than my previous world.


    "Is it because I''m in a sitcom? Anyway, that''s a good thing for me. I guess I don''t have to wear a bulletproof vest to school." I muttered as I listed a few stocks that I had my eyes on.


    "I need to open up a trading account first."


    I keep the list inside my bag before going to sleep that night.


    "Wait. Should I open up the memory now?" I muttered as I laid on the bed.


    "I guess it won''t hurt to do it now." I shrugged my shoulders before falling asleep.

 Chapter 56: Change.

    Chapter 56: Chapter 56: Change.


    (Personality thing is only for a short while)


    [Edward POV]


    As I was late getting out of bed today, dad walked into my room in his casual clothing to wake me up. He was wearing beige cargo pants and a white polo shirt instead of his usual captain''s uniform, as I had forced him to take a day off today.


    "Oh. You''re awake." He said in a dazzled state as he saw I was doing pushups with my shirts off.


    "299...300...301..."


    My hands were shaking as I forcefully did the pushups; sweat was dripping on the hardwood floor, and my eyes almost lost focus.


    "Wait. Edward. STOP!" Dad ran and slid on his knees to catch me before I fell to the floor.


    With panting breaths, I said, "No... I can''t stop... I need to bring my team to the Super Bowl... My body is too weak right now... Watashi Kara Hanarette (Get away from me.) "


    "What the hell?!" Dad became anxious as I was rambling and was trying to shove him away to continue exercising. Alarmed, he slapped my face lightly to wake me up , "Edward. What are you talking about?"


    "I need to do this... IN ORDER TO WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP-"


    ""Ed! Are you possessed?!" Dad held both sides of my head, gazed me directly in the eye and said, "You''re Edward Newgate. You''re my son! So wake up!"


    My eyes regained focus, and I looked at my father, perplexed, "Dad. What are you doing?"


    Then, the muscle pain from 3 hours of continuous and strenuous exercise assaulted my entire body. "ARGH...WHAT THE HELL WAS I DOING?!


    "Apparently... sleep exercising." Dad finally breathed a sigh of relief and released me from his arms. "Get up, You need to go to school."


    "Ahhh. I don''t want to." I said as I rolled around on the floor with muscle pains preventing me from getting up.


    "No excuses." Dad smirked before he walked out of the door. I saw his face turn incredibly solemn as he turned his back towards me, but I kept my focus on the new memories inside my mind instead of him.


    "That''s why...Hiruma Yoichi...He''s someone who was obsessed with football."


    The reason I acted in such a way was because of the raw emotions inside the memory gacha. I received his memories for 2 years at that time, when he was training for the Japan Bowl.


    For a few hours of my life, I had truly turned into Hiruma and my skinny body condition disgusted me.


    "(sigh)... I need to take a shower. It feels a bit disgusting to have another man inside my body...No homo..."


    I forced my leg to stand up and walked to the toilet door. As I was letting the water from the shower head rain on my body, I opened my eyes as I recalled the memories from before.


    "Damn. I really don''t think that eidetic memory could be used that way."


    With my eidetic memory special ability, I managed to learn the Japanese language, all of Hiruma''s strategies in a match, his devotion in training, body-building skills and diet requirements, cooking skills and recipes, and even methods to blackmail and take advantage of other people using mind games.


    "I basically got a discipline talent from the memory gacha because of my eidetic memory."I muttered as I cleaned my hands and my body with soap.


    However, I recognise the memory orb''s limitations, in that I couldn''t learn anything that wasn''t related to his football training memories.


    Otherwise, I could not only learn about Japanese student education, but also about Hiruma''s personal life when he wasn''t training to be the best quarterback.


    I could no longer experience the memory fragment of Hiruma Yoichi as a memory gacha could only be used once before it disappeared. If I didn''t keep my focus during my experience, I may not earn anything from the memory at all.


    To experience other people''s lives would also bring identity confusion into the user''s life, therefore, some preparation should be done before opening the memory orb.


    "Basically, the next time I should make a VHS tape of my life like in the movie 50 First Dates so that I can remember who I am after experiencing another person''s life."


    "The memories, obsession, passion, guilt, sadness, happiness... I experienced all of them. That''s probably why the memory prize is the lowest-ranking prize available. The rewards were in their raw form and could affect someone''s memory if used incorrectly."


    After turning off the shower, I walked out of the toilet and got dressed for school.


    "Fuck. I can''t feel my arms." I cursed as I struggled to button up the white shirt I was wearing.


    The sound of someone using a blender could be heard when I walked to the kitchen. Dad poured the green-looking sludge of horror into a tall glass before giving it to me.


    "Drink this. It''ll ease the muscle pain."


    "What did you put in this?" I asked with a grimace as I smelled the sludge.


    "Kale. Banana. Chicken breast. Various Nuts. Raw eggs."


    Ted smirked as he saw my apprehension about drinking the protein shake. However, my frowning face suddenly turned into a determined one, and I chugged down all of the drink in only one shot. ''Hiruma drank worse things than this.'' I thought.


    With a satisfied exhale of breath and a green drink moustache on my lips, I said, "Thanks, dad."


    "Are you going with Abby, or do you want me to drive you to school?" Dad asked after he was impressed that I didn''t gag or puke after drinking the shake for the first time.


    I looked at the clock on the wall and said, "Please send me. I want to rest a little bit before going."


    I texted Abby that I would be going with my dad to school today while sitting on the couch and massaging my sore legs at the same time.


    ''Did I do squats too? How long did I exercise?''


    The chime from my phone distracted me from my thoughts. I picked up my Apple phone and read the message before replying to it.


    {Abby: Did you wake up late?


    Edward: Yeah. I don''t want to burden you and make you late too, so you just need to drive me back home afterward.


    Abby: ...I have a life too you know?


    Edward: What life? You barely even have friends.


    Abby: Go die!}


    "Ah. That raised my spirits. It''s always nice teasing Abby." I muttered as I kept massaging my legs. "It seems that the effect of my massage skill is lessened when I do it to myself."


    "Yup. Didn''t you get a spa ticket for your birthday? You should use it later when you finish school." Dad said casually while walking behind me. Although he was unaware of my gacha skill, what he said was correct, as being massaged by another person and being massaged by yourself were two completely different things.


    He opened the front door before he realised something. "Oh right." He turned back to grab the car key and said, "Can''t go too far without these."


    "Really?" I narrowed my eyes at him for his blatant attempt at making bad jokes.


    "What?" Dad replied with an innocent face, but the corner of his mouth that was raising up betrayed him.


    ...


    "Hey. Look at that kid. Isn''t he the one who performed with Taylor?"


    Jenna widened her eyes and said, "Really? You want me to do it?"


    "Yeah. I can''t move my arm because I over-exercised." I explained.


    "Oh." She exclaimed flatly and then reached out her slender hand in front of my face before she helped me to scratch my nose.


    "This feels weird." Jenna giggled as she continued scratching.


    "That''s it...a little bit more..."


    "I heard that sound in my mom''s room a lot." Jenna mumbled to herself as her face blushed red.


    "What did you say?" I turned to her and asked.


    "N-nothing. Enjoy the ticket. Mom said it''s worth more than... Well, not that much." Jenna decided to keep the information to herself after thinking about it.


    She was afraid that I would return the ticket to her if I knew the ticket cost her mom more than five thousand dollars, and that she had stolen it from her mom''s drawer without her knowing about it.


    After seeing her weird behavior, I only shrugged my shoulders, as the girl had been weird from the moment I met her. I couldn''t care less about the classes today and only had a nice massage in my brain the entire time.


    ...


    "Hey. Here''s an idea. Why don''t you guys join me in the spa?" I said as I moved my shoulder forward so that my noodle hand could grab the car door.


    "What''s wrong with your hand?" Haley asked in confusion while sitting at the back of the car.


    "Spaghetti arm." Abby replied. "Also, I hate strangers touching my body."


    "What''s a spaghetti arm?" Haley asked.


    "They have manicures. I think." I replied.


    "He exercised too much, and now he has lost his arm function," Abby explained.


    "HAHA. Spaghetti arm." Haley guffawed as Abby drove us away from the school. It was a 30-minute drive to get to the "spa," which was located at the edge of town.


    "Wait. How much is the ticket again?" Haley asked in confusion as she the building The lone building gave off a luxurious vibe, but the security around it gave off an ominous one.


    "250 dollars I think.." I muttered as I saw the sign on the building named Fantasia.


    "Oh. Recommended by a VIP member. You can park your car in front of the entrance as you''re our first VIP member today." The security guard changed his stoic expression to a friendly one in a matter of seconds after he saw our ticket.


    "Thank you." Abby replied awkwardly as she pressed the gas pedal and parked the car smoothly.


    Although the place was luxurious, it was still within my initial estimation as I saw it was an ordinary spa when we walked through the front door.


    Asian ladies with a bucket of wax walking around. Some people were getting massages, and manicures.


    "Isn''t the vibe here kinda off?" Abby whispered to my ears as her detective instinct kicked in. The people there were eyeing us as if they were a starving predator, and I could sense it too.


    "I guess," I said as I looked around the entrance to find the reception desk.


    We were greeted by a European lady with fiery red hair, a pointed nose, and deep eyeshadow around her piercing blue eyes. She was wearing a satin-full suit outfit that covered both her hands and legs, and she looked more like the owner of the spa rather than a worker.


    The only place where her skin could be seen was her head and her deep cleavage on her G-cup chest. Haley and Abby both covered my eyes with their hands at the same time as they caught me leering into the lady''s bosom.


    The lady with the name tag [Serefina] said, "Welcome. As per the rules of our establishment, customers have to turn off any mobile devices or any type of recording devices before entering to protect the other customer''s privacy."


    "Sure." We replied and followed the instructions obediently. Abby had to reach into my pocket as my hands were totally useless and helped me to shut down my Iphone.


    "Please change into these robes. You can put your personal belongings in the locker provided. "


    Although the rules were pretty weird, I only thought all of their rules were to protect the d customer''s privacy. ''Maybe some VVIP''s used this place.''


    "May I ask what your fantasy is about coming here today?" The lady asked after we had finished changing into the robes.


    "I don''t need much. I just want someone to make me feel my arm again at the end of the session." I replied honestly while still staring at her chest.


    The lady smiled seductively as if knowing what I wanted and said, "That could be arranged."


    "I want to watch him scream while getting the massage. And a manicure." Abby said with some irritation as I kept leering on the sexy lady''s body.


    "Unfortunately the massages are a private session for those involved." Serafina said. Abby pouted and replied, "Okay. Put him next door to me then."


    "I want my face to look better, so I''ll book the facial." Haley replied while pointing at the asian massage section on the menu.


    The lady then turned to Haley and said, "Unfortunately, we changed into an all female establishment a month ago."


    "That''s okay. I prefer women." Haley replied innocently without knowing what she was asking for. To be honest, all of us didn''t know what we were asking for. We were just going with the flow.


    "We''ll start with the mister." The lady said while leading us towards a small room with a massage table in the middle.


    "Please lay down over there and take off your robe." The lady said while opening the cabinet next to the massage table after I had separated from Abby and Haley.


    Every high-end spa had a separate room to protect their customer''s privacy therefore we were the only one there. I didn''t even see another customer while we were walking to our room.


    "We will start with a massage." Serefina said before she started kneading my arm. She abruptly grabbed my right hand and walked one foot over it, gently massaging my arm with her crotch.


    "Is this a special technique?" I asked playfully while laying down motionlessly on the massage table while enduring the muscle pain.


    "Yes. I''ll show you a lot of new techniques today." She said with a seductive whisper as she batted her eyes at me. My teenage hormones reacted the normal way a man would when being seduced by an extremely sexy lady.


    In the next communal room, Abby said with a whisper, "I''m telling you. Something feels weird in this place."


    They were waiting for their own private session by the workers and were getting pampered before they would be massaged. They put green face cream on Haley and Abby''s face while a few workers cleaned their hair and wrapped it in a towel.


    The manicurists were also giving both Abby and Haley the best treatment possible, and they couldn''t help but feel extremely relaxed while they were getting pampered.


    In my room, the massage went on for half an hour before the lady said to me, "Raise your hand over your head."


    "Okay." I replied with a flushed face and a half-mast underneath my boxer from her deeply intimate massage. Running her hand seductively up my thigh, whispering in my ears, and even lightly rubbing her body part on mine.


    "This part will be a little bit intense." The lady said. Suddenly, I heard a clicking sound, and I found out that she had handcuffed both of my hands on the massage table.


    "What the hell-" I widened my eyes.


    The lady jumped on top of my half-mast and started dry humping me the moment my hands were restrained.


    "The safe word is Catzilla." She smirked before she bent over and started licking my neck.

 Chapter 57: Happy Ending Massage.

    Chapter 57: Chapter 57: Happy Ending Massage.


    [3rd Person POV]


    ''Why are these people here so sketchy?'' Abby thought as her eyes darted around the room.


    The cold and wet brush of the green-colored face mask solution made her flinch as she wasn''t focusing on what was going on in front of her but rather kept her eyes on the room Edward was in.


    "Pff- it''s just a brush Abby." Haley chortled as she saw her friend''s overreaction.


    "Sorry." Abby said to the worker meekly.


    Then, she got back into her detective mode and analysed the fake expressions of the people there, the sweat on their foreheads as they focused on their work, the hidden glance the spa workers gave to her and Haley as if they were their rivals, and the extremely high privacy setting on the establishment.


    The door would be locked during the massage session, therefore, she had no idea what was going on inside the room.


    Beside her, the carefree Haley exclaimed "Ahhh~" as she drank fresh cucumber water. "This place is awesome."


    "Mm-Hmm." Abby replied perfunctorily without paying attention to Haley.


    ''Fantasia. A high-end spa establishment with a dark secret. My detective sense is tingling. Why did Jenna give this ticket to Edward? Is it really just a birthday present, or did she have another thing in mind?''


    ''My Edward is pretty dumb about this thing. I need to make sure that he isn''t exploited by some bad guy. Or worse, being blackmailed by them.''


    ''My instinct is telling me that something weird is going on inside this building.'' Abby thought as the manicurist cleaned her nails and put nail polish on them.


    "Excuse me, where is the toilet?" Abby asked the worker next to her.


    "Down the hall." The worker said and pointed to her left side.


    "Thanks."


    Abby stood up from the comfy chair with a green mask on her face and towel wrapped hair before exiting the room.


    "Something is definitely wrong here." She said it with a determined glint in her eyes. Suddenly, a worker exited the room and crossed her path while she was going to the toilet. Her eyes quickly scanned the room within the small gap of the door crack, and she widened her eyes as she saw the sight of a customer ''doing it'' with the masseuse.


    Her face blushed red and she turned her head away in a hurry before jogging lightly to the toilet.


    "Oh my god. This is... THAT kind of spa!"


    Flustered, Abby grabbed her head as she let out a silent scream while still blushing hard.


    "Wait...Ed...I need to make sure...He''s not doing it!"


    With a newfound sense of determination, Abby ran towards the room Edward was in to check up on him.


    ''But. How do I enter the room?'' Abby thought as she reached Edward''s door.


    Stopping a worker on her path, Abby said, "Hey. He needs to take his medicine at 5 o''clock. Can you open the door for me?"


    "What meds?" The worker asked.


    "Are you trying to get his personal information?" Abby asked scathingly.


    The worker shivered and said, "Forgive me. I''ll open the door right now."


    As the door was opened, Abby widened her eyes as she saw what was going on inside the room.


    ***


    [Edward POV]


    To be honest, the massage was pretty bad. I couldn''t feel anything when she touched my body and her indecent touching with no actual skill only made my muscles condition worsen.


    But as she decided to remove all facade and get to her main work, I finally realised that I had entered the wrong establishment if my intention today was to just get a massage.


    As the lady was straddling me, I yelled hurriedly, "STOP! STOP!" I tried to forcefully remove my hand from the cuff, causing the entire table to shake.


    The lady was baffled and she stopped licking my neck for a moment before she resumed her character. Her soft ass was moving front and back while she was sitting on top of me, and her warm tongue made my face flush as she licked my neck seductively.


    "Resist all you want, you can never-"


    "CatZILLA. CATZILLLAAA!" I muttered the safe-word immediately after wrecking my brain in trying to find the method to stop this session. Luckily for me, I heard the safeword loud and clear before she started going on top of me.


    "Eh." Serefina''s brain short-circuited and she straightened her back while still straddling my hips. "Are you seriously asking me to stop? Isn''t this what you came here for?"


    "Lady. I want a massage. I have muscle pain from over-exercising." I explained with sincere, fearful puppy-dog eyes.


    The lady was baffled by the situation, but she decided to try one more time to persuade me, "Aren''t... this guy is excited right now? Are you sure you want me to stop ?"


    She was grabbing ''something'' underneath my boxers while intently studying my reaction.


    "Yeah. Please stop." I said decisively. "And take off the cuffs too."


    Serafina shrugged and said, "Okay. Too bad though, I think you''re really cute."


    Before she could climb down from my body, I heard the sound of the door being opened. Serefina and I both turned our heads towards the door, and found out that it was still closed.


    "It must be the other room." The masseuse said and got down from my body. I breathed a sigh of relief as she took out the key from her underwear.


    "Please don''t blame me for this. People who show up with the VIP card are sure to get the best treatment possible...This kind of treatment..."


    "Really. The best? Even though you suck at massaging?" I teased as she unlocked the handcuff.


    "Well I usually suck...at something else. But you don''t want it...So...."


    "Soo..."


    Both of us weren''t looking at each other as the situation became increasingly awkward as time passed.


    "Wait. Lemme help." I stood up while only wearing a boxer and helped her stretch out her hands while she was kneeling on the ground.


    I was only helping her to stretch out her hands, but if someone walked in through the door, they would see the back of her head moving slowly while perpendicular to my crotch area��as if she were giving me a massage with her mouth.


    At this moment, the door opened suddenly, and Abby walked into the room. She covered her mouth as she misunderstood the situation.


    "Owww... it''s cramping hard. What did you teach me exactly?"


    "You''re the one with no stamina. Didn''t you say you had massaged people for 5 years?" I asked, ignoring the stunned Abby.


    Finding the conversation weird, Abby decided to move forward to see the situation better. She breathes a sigh of relief after seeing that I am helping the lady ease her cramps. The worker opened the door for Abby, walked into the room, and helped Serefina ease her cramps instead of me.


    "What?" I asked her in confusion as I saw the intruder with a green mask keep staring at me.


    "No-Nothing. I just thought you were doing something else.." she said before she pulled me close and whispered what she had found out about the establishment into my ear.


    "So. We better go now." Abby advised.


    "Sure I can go now. I have already finished my thing. You and Haley should finish yours and meet me in the entrance after changing back into our clothes."


    "Okay. I''ll meet you there." Abby said before she ran outside the room to get Haley. I put on the white and fluffy robe before going to take a shower and changing into my earlier outfit.


    In 20 minutes, I had already finished with my preparation and sat in the lounge area while waiting for the girls to get ready.


    While I was browsing the magazines, Serefina walked towards me with an embarrassed face.


    "Are your hands alright now?" I asked with a mischievous smile.


    She faked a cough before she said, "Thank you for helping me before. And...telling me what I needed to hear."


    Although the advice resonated with her, she would still continue working here for a few months before actually having the strength to quit her job. Change was always scary, no matter how much motivation people could offer.


    "It''s okay. Now, you''re officially a disciple of the Master Alchemist. I hope that you will use the techniques I bestowed upon you to better yourself in the art of being a masseuse."


    She chortled and waved her arm at me and said, "Okay. Stop. I will lose my composure here. My boss wouldn''t like it."


    I smiled and said, "I wish you all the best, Miss Serefina."


    "You too... Edward Newgate." She replied with a sincere expression. As the YouTube video had gone viral, she knew who I was the moment I entered the establishment.


    "My advice. Next time, don''t accept gifts from a random stranger, okay?" She said this before turning around and walking away.


    "Well, that was weird." As I remembered my time at the Spa, I muttered.


    "I need to know if Jenna does this on purpose. I don''t think she would do this as she doesn''t want someone else to get near me, but who knows what she''s actually thinking about."


    I let out a long sigh and waited for the girls before Abby drove us quickly away from the building.


    "Why the rush? I still haven''t gotten a foot massage yet." Haley pouted while sitting on the same seat as I was, next to the driver''s seat.


    She hadn''t gotten the chance to climb on the back of the car before Abby had pressed the gas pedal. As the seat was narrow, half of her butt was on my lap, and Abby didn''t care about speed bumps while she drove.


    "Well. That place-"


    "I needed to get home and work. Sorry Haley." I interjected before Abby could tell her the truth. She used her eyes to ask me, {Seriously?}


    I replied back with my eyes by blinking twice, {Yeah.}


    ''It''s better if she didn''t know about it.'' I thought as I poked Haley''s puffy cheeks.


    "Hey! STOP THAT!" Haley said it with fierceness, but she was not at all threatening.


    ***


    [3rd Person POV]


    While Edward had gone to the spa, Ted received an invitation from Phil to hang out at his house after he returned home from the real estate office.


    "He spoke Japanese?" Phil was flabbergasted when he heard Ted''s story of Edward''s sleep exercising and his weird behaviour this morning.


    "Yeah. I know for sure he hasn''t learned the language before." Ted muttered in a concerned tone.


    "It wasn''t that weird for him to speak another language. My roommate Ling in college suddenly spoke Arabic at one time while he was sleeping, and he had never learned the language before." (True story)


    "Maybe." Ted muttered.


    "But if you''re still concerned, maybe you can get someone to talk to him and find out if there is something wrong with him. You know, someone he respected enough to share his feelings with, but who was not close enough to him that it would be awkward for him to see him the next day."


    "He meant him." Claire walked by the kitchen and interjected in the gentleman''s conversation after she returned home from picking up Alex from her cello lesson.


    "Yeah. Me." Phil beamed up while volunteering himself. Ted was flabbergasted at first, but after thinking for a while, he finally reached his decision.


    "Please help me, Phil." Ted requested with a sincere expression on his face.


    "I would help even if you didn''t ask me to." Phil said. "I will invite him over tomorrow to play some Mario Kart."


    "Phil." Claire admonished him again while preparing for dinner.


    "To have a nice, casual talk with him. I won''t just play with him." Phil said in an unconvincing manner.


    "Captain, why don''t you and Ed have dinner with us?" Claire offered.


    "Nah, it''s okay. Edward''s aunt is coming for dinner tonight, and she wanted to cook for Edward."


    Aunt Camilla was already in front of the house, wearing a brown jacket on top of her black tank top, and tight jeans.


    Nervous as it was the first time she would actually spend time with her nephew, she was also looking forward to getting to know an estranged member of her family.


    "Hopefully Edward will like the food." Camilla muttered to herself as she waited for Ted to return home.

 Chapter 58: I can handle this.

    Chapter 58: Chapter 58: I can handle this.?


    (This week episodes...starts!)


    [Edward POV]


    After getting home from the spa, I made sure to contact Jenna and ask her about her purpose for sending me over there. But in the short conversation we had, I realised that she had no idea about the place and hadn''t sent me over there with malicious purposes.


    Unfortunately, my decision to contact her had finally given her my phone number and allowed her to save my contact information on her phone.


    [3rd Person POV]


    In Elsa''s house. The room was small, cramped, with a bed for three people, as Elsa stayed with two of her other sisters in the same room. Flowery wallpapers could be seen on the walls, and clothes and toys were thrown everywhere on the floor.


    "SHHhh-" Elsa shushed her 7 and 9 year old sisters after Jenna''s phone rang.


    "He''s really calling me!" Jenna squealed in excitement with her best friend while sitting on the bed together before she cleared her throat, put on an act that she didn''t care about Ed, and answered the call.


    "Hello?" Jenna said.


    "Hi. Jenna, I need to ask you something." Edward said on the other side of the line. Jenna removed the phone from her ear, squealed in excitement slowly before answering the question carefully, "What do you want to ask?"


    "It''s about your gift."


    "Oh." The question clearly disappointed Jenna, who exclaimed in a flat tone. When Edward contacted Jacob to ask Elsa about her contact information, she really thought that he had done so to ask her out. But the questions Edward was asking her made her feel like she had done something wrong by giving him the present.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    While holding my iPhone in my ear, I walked into my house after waving goodbye to Haley and Abby.


    "Jenna. Please ask your mom about the spa ticket, and whether I should reimburse her for it. I''m sure you took the ticket without asking her, right? Also, I''m not mad at you. Don''t cry." I reassured Jenna as I could hear her voice becoming shaky, and she choked up a few times.


    Jenna: "Mm-hmm... Okay. I will ask her. But don''t worry. I won''t ask you to reimburse it, as I was the one who took it in the first place."


    "Don''t worry. I can pay for it. I''m rich now. Anyway, I really enjoyed the gift. I have muscle pain today, and it all went away after the spa session." I said it in a calm manner while changing the subject so as not to make the girl cry.


    "Text me when you have the conversation with your mom, okay?" I said to end the call.


    "Really? I can text you?" She asked in disbelief and anticipation.


    "Yeah. But if you don''t control yourself, I will block your number. Deal?"


    "Deal!"


    I could hear her squeal with someone, whom I presumed was Elsa, on the other side of the line. I said my goodbyes and ended the call as I entered the house.


    A sudden nostalgic familiarity hit me the moment I opened the door. A hot Latina woman was standing by the door to welcome me back into the house as she waited for me to walk in.


    "Aunt Camilla." I muttered as I struggled to understand her presence. Wearing a flowery apron on top of her regular clothes�C a low-cut tank top and tight jeans, she tied up her hair into a ponytail so as not to let it disturb her cooking.


    "Your dad invited me in. How are you, Ed? Did you have fun in school today?" Aunt Camilla asked with a bright smile, as she was incredibly happy to see her nephew again.


    "School is fine. I will enter the academic decathlon though, so I have that to look forward to." I said as I gave my aunt a light hug before going upstairs. "I''m going to freshen up."


    Aunt Camilla nodded her head to show she heard me, but she didn''t know I could hear what she was saying next.


    "So. He is a nerd."


    I stumbled in my step and almost fell down after I heard that.


    She turned towards me and said, "Okay. Today, I''m going to be making Ropa Vieja. A traditional Cuban food. The food of your ancestors..."


    "Ed. Phil is inviting you to his house tomorrow to play Mario Kart." Dad interjected as he walked out of the toilet.


    I narrowed my eyes as I looked at both my aunt and dad suspiciously. "You guys hang out...just the two of you...in an empty house?" I said in a teasing voice.


    "Ed." Dad stopped me immediately, as he knew where I was going with this. "She''s your aunt."


    I shrugged playfully and said with a mischievous smile, "Hey, I''m not judging."


    "What is it? What is he saying?" Aunt Camilla asked dad as she was confused by our inside joke.


    "Nothing much. Ropa Vieja huh. I haven''t eaten it for years."


    "Is the dish the one that is called Old Clothes in Cuba?" I asked in curiosity while standing in the middle of the stairs.


    "Yeah. They are." Dad replied.


    It has been a while since someone other than me has used the kitchen inside my house. As I entered my room, I immediately went to take a shower, and then I opened up my laptop to do something before going down to the kitchen.


    "I''m aware that this type of establishment does not record patrons, but I still need to verify it." I said as I hacked into the spa''s system.


    "Hmm..I can''t access their camera... I guess I need to use a trick."


    First, I checked the employee''s email and found out who was the manager in the establishment. After that, I searched for the remote owner of the spa and hacked into his email.


    "Now, I will send an email from the owner to the manager." I muttered as I studied the owner''s way of talking in an email to avoid the suspicions.


    "I need to apply urgency, otherwise, the manager wouldn''t believe me."


    I sent an email as the owner of the business, saying that the FBI was looking into one of our VIP customers and that the spa needed to delete a month''s worth of CCTV footage to help the VIP customer and themselves.


    "Adding that the FBI is near the building is good, but I''m still not sure that the manager will destroy the footage." I muttered in concern.


    ...


    [3rd Person POV]


    A private investigator was exhilarated when he followed the trail of his mission objective to a suspicious spa facility.


    "I just need to get the CCTV footage, and I can get the reward from the agency." The slimy, middle aged man in a worn-out jacket muttered to himself.


    "Sorry kid. Nothing personal." He muttered as he captured a few photos of the spa with his camera.


    At this time, one of the security guards noticed the camera, and he alerted the manager immediately.


    "What- Seriously?" The male middle aged manager exclaimed in shock as he had just read the email from the ''owner'' at this moment.


    "Delete all of our customer list, and the CCTV footage for a month. NOW!" The manager barked orders to his workers before he formatted the spa computer system to destroy all of their data from the past month.


    The security guard kept his eyes on the private investigator when he got out of his car and walked into the building.


    "WHAT?! NO FOOTAGE!?" The private investigator was flabbergasted when he heard it.


    "The one with the longest reply thread."


    "Ah, this one. [What is the problem with the world nowadays? How could you guys think that this song is great? It''s just a boy trying too hard to be famous. He''d be better off playing Disney songs, Peter Pan in Wonderland, or something a kid would play instead of this sh*t.] This comment?"


    "Yup." I replied, unbothered by the comment from the troll who only wanted someone to respond to him and make people mad.


    "What song did you make?" Taylor asked, intrigued by the situation. "Did you really make a song?"


    "I could do that. But I made a Peter Pan song instead." I replied while I strummed the guitar to create a soft melody. "Do you want to hear it?"


    "I do." Taylor said hurriedly.


    ...


    " I heard you sing. Did you write another song?" Dad asked while we were waiting for my aunt to finish serving dinner at the dining table. I offered to help her, but she asked both of my dad and I to wait instead.


    "Yeah. I was video calling Taylor and sang her the song with her guitar gift." I explained.


    "IT''S READY!" My aunt said while putting the ceramic pot in the middle of the table. She opened up the lid, and the peppery smell of the spices and meat filled the kitchen.


    "Damn, it looks good." I muttered as I saw it.


    "Yeah. I don''t have a lot of ingredients, so I had to do it...my style." Aunt Camilla said with a shy smile.


    "It''s okay. I''m sure it''ll taste great." I said as I scooped the meat onto my plate, which was half-filled with piping hot white rice. Aunt Camilla sat directly in front of me, smiling softly while looking forward to seeing my reaction to the food of our people.


    While I was mixing the rice with the dish using a spoon, I asked her, "What ingredient is missing?"


    "Well, the bell pepper. I did find a substitute for them though." Aunt Camilla recounted her memory of the farmer''s market, where she found a shrivelled looking pepper and thought it could replace the bell pepper.


    "I see. That''s great." I said as I took a spoonful of the rice and meat. My dad did the same thing as I did, and both of us froze after chewing the food.


    With a forced smile, I put the spoon down and asked after swallowing it, "What pepper did you use exactly to replace the bell pepper?"


    "Hmm...I don''t remember... the vendor said it''s primo pepper."


    " I see... The pepper that is ranked number 4 on the Schoville scale." I said calmly while standing up. My aunt was confused and asked, "Is it bad?"


    "Camilla. It''s good. But..." My dad also stood up a second after I did, his face becoming as red as a tomato.


    "It''s TOO SPICY!" I couldn''t keep my composure anymore and ran to the fridge.


    "AHH!" Dad screamed as his saliva felt like melted magma in his mouth. He went to the kitchen sink and started to rinse his mouth under running water. I gulped the big jug of milk straight from the canister to wash away the spiciness, but the sensation was like a home squatter that wouldn''t leave even after you gave them a warning.


    Aunt Camilla''s eyes shifted to the pot as a result of our reaction. "Americans. You can''t handle the spice as well as Cuban people could." Then, she took a spoonful of the dish to taste it.


    "See...it''s good." Aunt Camila said smugly before her smile froze, and her face started to burn up.


    "I...We latina can...Handle this...NO I CAN''T!" She said as she ran towards the fridge and grabbed the milk from my hand.


    "HEY!" I exclaimed as I saw her gulp the milk greedily, spilling it all around her mouth, letting it drip onto her neck and enter her cleavage.


    If I wasn''t suffering from the spiciness, I would''ve enjoyed the scene. Too bad the sensation in my mouth was like someone had lit up a fire inside of it.


    I grabbed a cake in the fridge and started to eat it to fight the spiciness with sweetness.


    After half an hour, finally all of us managed to beat the spicy flavour of the dish. The three of us were sitting on the floor with our backs against the kitchen wall, visibly sweating from our struggle to break free of the food influence.


    "What should we do now?" Aunt Camilla asked while feeling guilty that she had put us in this predicament.


    "Why don''t we go to a Cuban restaurant and eat there?" I suggested.


    "Let''s do that." Dad said in a tired voice.


    "What should I do with the dish?" Aunt Camilla asked. "Should I throw it away?"


    "No no. You''ve worked hard on that. Just put it in the fridge." I said while hatching a scheme in my mind to invite the people I don''t like into my house to taste the food.


    "He''s daydreaming again. I''m sure he''s planning some evil scheme, so I''m going to go change out of my wet clothes. Camilla, do you have something else to wear?" Dad asked after accurately guessing what I was doing.


    "..No. I think it''s fine..It''ll dry up soon." Aunt Camilla said not to trouble us anymore.


    "No, Aunt Camilla. It''s milk, so when it dried up, you''d smell bad. Why don''t you go take a shower? I have some clothes in my room that I made for my friend, so you can just pick one."


    "No. Ed-"


    "Aunt Camilla. We''re family, right?" I said with a sincere smile to show her that she wasn''t bothering us. She stopped resisting and said, "Okay. Since you offered."


    "Good. You can change in my room. I''ll lay out a few clothes on my bed, so you can just pick one from them. Oh...but I don''t have any...underwear though." I said while scratching my cheek.


    "It''s okay. I don''t wear them anyway." Aunt Camilla replied, causing my eyes to go straight to her wet chest.


    "Ed-" Dad called me out softly to snap me back to reality.


    While clearing my throat, I said, "That''s...okay. I''ll call the restaurant to ask if they have an empty table."


    It took us only 15 minutes to get ready. Aunt Camilla picked a daring outfit, a red, one piece mini dress with a plunged chest cut as she picked the one I made for Abby.


    "Nothing else fits." She said this while covering her popped out chest in embarrassment. We had an enjoyable dinner where Aunt Camila shared a few embarrassing stories about Dad while he was in Cuba, and shared a few details of her life.


    Aunt Camila was 33 years old this year, and she had never been married. She had no education, and was working on the family''s business until now.


    "What is the family business exactly?" I asked, causing both my aunt and my dad to freeze.


    "No- Ed, Are you really entering the decathlon?" Dad replied.


    "Changing the subject, I see.." I said with narrowed eyes, causing both of them to have cold sweats. I decided not to torture them and let the topic go, making both of them let out a sigh in relief.


    "I better go now." Aunt Camila said after we got home from the restaurant.


    "Nonsense. It''s almost midnight. Just stay here." I said and pulled her hand into the house.


    "But-"


    "Dad will sleep on the couch, so you can just sleep in his room." I said.


    "Why me?" Dad muttered sadly.


    I turned to him and said, "You want my aunt to sleep on the couch? Or better yet, sleeping in my room with me? I don''t mind if she wants to-"


    "Okay. I''ll sleep on the couch." Dad spoke hurriedly. Aunt Camila and I laughed after seeing his reaction before she said, "You know. I won''t mind if I sleep with you. You''re my nephew."


    "If I''m under 10 years old, that''ll be fine. But I''m a teenager now, and you''re really hot. Therefore we won''t have the chance to do that anymore." I joked, earning a sincere chuckle from my aunt.

 Chapter 59: The Incident (Part 1)

    Chapter 59: Chapter 59: The Incident (Part 1)


    (The chap consists of a lot of POV changes and scene changes. Sorry if it confuses you. it''s also canon stuff, so somethings may looks forced. )


    [Edward POV]


    "This time... I will finally win...for my family..." Phil muttered as he put his entire focus on the Mario Kart game played on his flat-screen, 42 inch TV. The game screen was split into two, one was the driver playing Mario, the other one playing Luigi.


    Mario was in first place while Luigi was in third.


    "GO dad!" Luke Cheered.


    "Kick his ass Dad!" Alex muttered with some hostility in her tone as she was beaten up in the game before. Both of the children were standing behind the sofa to support their father as he was the only one that had the skill to make it an even race �C or so they wrongly assumed.


    I chuckled a bit as I passed Princess Peach in front of me, earning Luigi second place in the ranking, and my car was directly behind Phil now.


    After school was over, I went to the Dunphy''s house as Phil had invited me to come and play some Mario Kart with him today. I had beaten up Luke three times, Alex twice, and Phil 4 times. If he lost again, it would be his fifth defeat.


    "Come on. Come on!" Phil muttered while turning his WII steering to the left while moving his entire body as if he was inside an actual car to drift and kept his Mario''s character ranking.


    "You need to do better than that." I said mischievously while picking up a power up from the track. "Phil, do you know what is more powerful than family?"


    "Don''t distract him! Dad GO GO GO!" Luke interjected to try and stop me, but Phil was baited from my question.


    "What?" He asked while the finishing line was in front of us.


    " A Mario Kart Blue Shell." I said while throwing the weapon at him.


    Luigi: Omae wa mo...shindeiru.


    Mario: NANI?!


    Phil screamed in a slow motion voice, "NOOOOO...."


    Luigi stared at Mario while smirking as he threw the blue shell weapon toward his brother''s cart, a few meters before he crossed the finishing line.


    Mario''s cart was stunned, and it went out of the race. Luigi''s cart took the chance to cross the finish line easily, earning him the first place in the ranking.


    "YES!" I exclaimed while making a tiny fish pump with my left hand as I won the race. Phil let go of his controller in disappointment while turning toward his children.


    "Sorry. He''s just too good."


    "Ugh. Me next. I''ll be sure to beat him!" Luke said while pushing Phil out of his way to take his place.


    "I want to take a rest. It''s hard being too awesome. I can''t even drink anything as the losers couldn''t accept the reality that they were bested by me." I said while pretending to massage my sore neck.


    Alex giggled and said, "What do you want to drink?"


    "A glass of cold water would be nice." I replied to her politely as I turned to look at her face. She nodded and took 2 steps toward the kitchen before I said, "Oh Alex. Make sure you knock before opening the fridge."


    She scrunched her face in confusion before she turned back slightly and asked, "Why?"


    "In case there''s a... salad dressing."


    Phil and Luke looked at each other before they burst into laughter while Alex rolled her eyes at me. "Seriously?! Don''t hang out with my dad anymore. His lameness is infecting you."


    "It was his joke." Phil defended himself while laughing uncontrollably with Luke.


    While we were having fun, Phil had already forgotten that he promised my dad to ask me about what I was currently feeling and we had been playing games for hours now. It was shaping up to be a pretty good day for the Dunphy''s and myself.


    [3rd Person POV]


    -Jay''s house-


    Dressing in her yoga outfit as she just got home from her yoga session, Gloria leaned on the wall while talking to Jay who was eating a green apple. He was eating a donut before but he changed what he held in his hand the moment he heard Gloria walk through the front door.


    "Manny will be back in a few hours. The Reubans are taking him to dinner." Gloria said as she was supposed to pick up Manny after her yoga session, but Manny had called her to ask her to pick him up a little later.


    "That''s good isn''t it?" Jay replied.


    "Yeah. He finally has a good friend in his own age. The children are planning to have a slumber party this Saturday." Gloria said, while she was excited that Manny had his own friends now, she was also feeling lonely when her son was not around to spend time with her.


    "That''s alright. You know, with Manny not around, we can finally go to that spa I keep telling you about." Jay said as he instinctively knew Gloria was feeling a bit down.


    "Ay! I''m gonna take a shower. Do you care to join me?" Gloria said seductively after getting excited at the prospect of getting pampered.


    "You know honey there''s a gun in the footlocker in the garage. If I ever say ''NO'' to that question, I want you to use it on me." Jay said in a solemn tone before he laughed together with Gloria and followed her from behind.


    -Mitch and Cam''s house-


    "Oh my god." Cam exclaimed in pleasure as he took a bite of the pastry Mitchell had made while they were in the kitchen.


    "What do you think?" Mitchell asked in expectation while studying Cam''s reaction.


    "Now, that is a scone." Cam said while taking another bite.


    "No butter, non-fat." Mitchell explained.


    "Shut up." Cam exclaimed in surprise.


    "Yeah. I wanted to make it for you last week, but we had the concert."


    "Yeah. That was great." Cam said while reminiscing about the concert. Suddenly, the doorbell rang.


    "I''m gonna go check on Lily." Cam said while dusting off the crumbs on his hand.


    Mitchell walked to the front door while Cam was moving to Lily''s nursery.


    "Surprise!" An old, hippy looking grandma with blonde hair and a giant necklace made from seashell, announced her arrival.


    -Jay''s house-


    While Jay and Gloria were running up the stairs, suddenly a bird flew into the glass window, broke its neck, and died, leaving a bird shaped stain on the window.


    "Huh. That''s ominous." Jay muttered.


    "Ay. A bad sign!" Gloria said while making a cross shape with her hand.


    -Dunphy''s house-


    "YOU EMBARRASSED ME IN FRONT OF MY FRIENDS!" Haley shouted in annoyance and anger as she barged through the front door, walking briskly while Claire followed her closely from behind even when she was clutching a grocery bag.


    "No. NO. YOU embarrassed YOURSELF in front of your friends. So you''re skipping school now?"


    "I''m not skipping school." Haley tried to explain herself, but was cut off by Claire.


    "Your teacher called me to say you skipped school today?! Huh, is that an unfair accusation too?!" Claire exploded as she placed the grocery bag on the kitchen counter. She snatched the cold water from Alex''s hand and said, "Thank you Alex."


    Alex and the rest of the people there were stunned before Claire argued with Haley again.


    "You''re taking your final exam in a week. Do you even PLAN TO study?!" Claire said accusingly, causing Luke and Edward to pause their match and turned toward the bickering duo.


    -Mitchell''s house-


    "Mom!" Mitchell widened his eyes in shock as he saw the woman. He said hurriedly, "W-W-What are you doing here? I didn''t know you were in town. You didn''t call."


    "Well, I couldn''t wait to see your new baby." Dede said as she barged into the house, trying to look for the baby. "And I...tried to call you last weekend, but for some reason I couldn''t reach any of you."


    "Oh..." Mitchell exclaimed while finally understanding why he received a phone call from his mom while he was at the concert before. At that time, he saw the phone ringing but he decided to ignore it and enjoy the concert so he could keep his sanity intact.


    [Phil and Claire''s commentary.]


    "My mom started drinking these cocktails Called "horny colombians" with some of Gloria''s uncles Whom, apparently, the drink was named after." Claire said in dissatisfaction while crossing her arms.


    Phil laughed and said, "Oh, come on, they were funny."


    "They kept patting my butt." Claire said seriously while looking at Phil in disbelief.


    Phil laughed and said, "Somebody''s full of herself...:" He turned to the camera screen and explained on behalf of Gloria''s uncles, "It''s a -- it''s a Colombian wedding tradition, they said."


    [commentary ends]


    While the guests were giving their toast to the bride and groom, the drunk Dede suddenly stood up and clinked her glasses using a spoon to give her own version of the toast�C even though she wasn''t set to give a speech today, nor did she ask for permission from anyone to do so.


    "I would like to make a toast." Dede said.


    [Haley''s commentary]


    "Yeah, Nana got totally wasted." She said while remembering the incident. While giggling, she said, "Uh, it was really funny.." Her smile disappeared after recalling the entire memory.


    "Then it was gross."


    [commentary ends]


    "To the bride and the groom, my ex." Dede started her toast. "35 years of marriage... And he couldn''t wait 10 minutes to run off with charo( slur for funny-looking things/slutty things)." Dede made an inappropriate joke, causing the crowd to gasp and Gloria to get mad.


    The bride then threw her napkin on the plate as she tried to control herself on her special day.


    "I''m kidding." Dede said. The band drummer tried to save the atmosphere by doing a rim shot, causing a few laughter here and there.


    But instead of stopping when she saw people were dissatisfied with her, the drunk Dede became excited instead as a few people were laughing at her joke.


    "Seriously, I knew they were perfect for each other When I saw his wallet and her boobs." Dede covered up her insult as a joke again, making the crowd laugh.


    Dede suddenly freaked out and tried to fight as she thought there were people around her trying to stop her toast. "Take your hands off me." She said while punching the empty air as she was too drunk to discern what was real and what was not right now.


    Mitchell decided to interject and run to his mom to snap her out of her disruption, "Mom. Mom!"


    "Oh, relax, Mitchell. What, did you take your Claire pill?" Dede muttered, causing Claire who sat at the next table to be offended. Luckily, Phil was there to calm her down.


    Mitchell said, " Okay, l-let''s just -- let''s get a little fresh air, okay? Come on."


    [Mitch and Cam''s commentary]


    After remembering the better part of the incident, Cam muttered, "And then... it got weird."


    [Commentary ends]


    Mitchell and Cam were each holding one of Dede''s arms while Phil held her legs to escort her out of the wedding venue.


    Dede shouted to mock Gloria using a hispanic accent, "I''m Gloria. I''m Gloria. Keeess (Kiss)me. Oh, hey, kessss me..." She imitated a few disgusting kissing sounds, making the guest gasp and started to murmur among themselves as they saw her antics.


    [Luke''s commentary]


    "Nana is really strong."


    [commentary ends]


    Dede squirmed madly while the trio tried to hold her. She managed to free her left leg and kicked the wedding cake on her way out, splattering it on the floor.


    "Ay-yi-yi-yi-yi! Ooh! Ay-yi-yi-yi-yi!" Dede mocked as she held out in front of the door despite Phil, Cam, and Mitchell''s best effort to get her out.


    [Gloria''s commentary.]


    "During my vows to my first husband, Drug dealers burst in and assassinated the judge...This was way worse." Gloria said in a solemn tone.


    Jay laughed and said, "What can I say? I drive women crazy."


    However, he saw that Gloria was unamused by his joke as a wedding was the most important thing for a bride. He quickly lost his smile and said, "It''s too soon, I guess."


    [commentary ends]


    Back to the present day, Mitchell said, "Well, mom, instead of scratching it down a wall, Maybe we should just try and repress it Like a -- like a normal family."


    Dede shook her head and said, "I can''t. I need closure. I''m about to embark on a new journey. I met a man."


    Mitchell smiled and said, "Really?"


    Dede explained with a happy smile, "His name is Chas, And he''s asked me to come live with him In his foreign land."


    "Wow." Cam exclaimed.


    A little bit concerned, Mitchell asked, "Where?"


    "Canada." Dede replied.


    "You''re moving to -- to Canada?"


    "French Canada."


    "Oh, that -- that''s wonderful." Mitchell exclaimed.


    "It is wonderful." Dede said before her expression turned conflicted once more, "It''s just that when I think of all the awful things That I said to Gloria and Jay And you and Claire, I feel such guilt."


    "Give it time... And see Banff." Cam interjected. (Banff: Canada''s tourist spot)


    Mitchell said to him, "Cam, please."


    Dede confessed, "I just can''t give myself to him sexually." causing both Mitchell and Cam to be uncomfortable.


    "Okay, mom." Mitchell said while gesturing for her to stop.


    "Did not see that coming." Cam mumbled.


    "Oh, don''t get me wrong..We...satisfy each other down there." Dede said, causing Mitchell to groan in disgust.


    Oh Yeah, don''t want to hear it-" Mitchell said.


    "That''s why I need everyone''s forgiveness. I need your help, Mitchell."


    Cameron interjected, " Did you hear that, Mitchell? Your mom needs your help to make love to her new man, Chas." With a deadpan grimace, he said, "That''s not weird at all."


    Mitchell said in frustration, "I''m just not really sure what you''re asking me to do here, mom."


    Dede explained as if it was the simplest method in the world. "Well, everyone''s mad at me.Maybe you could pave the way so that I can... apologize..."


    Mitchell turned to Cam who was shaking his head slightly as he knew what Mitchell was thinking about.


    "Don''t do it." Cam said with gritted teeth.


    Mitchell couldn''t help it and said to his mother, "Well. The family is coming to Claire''s tonight for dinner. Maybe I can talk to them about having you with us."


    Dede stood up from her seat and went to hug her son, "Oh! I knew I could count on you.Oh, my beautiful boy.I love you so much.."


    [Mitch and Cam''s commentary.]


    Cam said, "There''s a fish in nature that swims around with its babies in its mouth. That fish would look at Mitchell''s relationship With his mother and say, ''That''s messed up.''"

 Chapter 60: ‘The Incident’ Part 2

    Chapter 60: Chapter 60: ��The Incident�� Part 2


    [Edward POV]


    Although Haley explained herself, there were several key points that I noticed she had been keeping as secrets. She explained why she thought she could go to the showing as she wanted to study about the clothes design.


    However, Claire was skeptical of her as she said that. It confused me as I saw it. I didn''t know then, but I was actually the reason why she had become so relentless and out of control these days inside the family.


    [Claire''s commentary]


    "In a month, I managed to climb my position from a lowly intern...to all the way near the top. Why do you think I could do this?" Claire said while pointing at her head.


    "Because I''m smart. Because I followed the rules. Sure, Edward had given me the opportunity to prove myself, and guess what? I ACTUALLY DID." She said braggingly.


    "Now. I''m no longer a housewife that worked under a 14 years old kid. I am officially hired by the company. The future of the company is bright and just created yesterday �C a mobile gaming branch!"


    "And I''m now the Logistic Manager for the Tourism Branch. I told my kids multiple times. If you work hard and study, the future will look great for you. I need Haley to understand that!" Claire said begrudgingly before pausing and saying in excitement, "I also took a picture with Taylor-"


    [Commentary ends]


    "Claire. Calm down." Phil said from afar as Claire was slowly becoming agitated. I didn''t interfere with the fight and let them both continue while watching the fight from afar while Luke ran off to his room. Alex stayed beside me, unsure of what was going on.


    "I know that if I tell you about it, you will react...the same way you react before you noticed Ed is here before this. That''s why I didn''t tell you!" Haley said in frustration while holding her tiny hand up and balled them up into fists �C in frustration. Not because she wanted to punch her mother.


    "So What? I can''t even be mad when I found out that you''re skipping school?" Claire said after she realized that she wanted Haley to listen to her more than she wanted to listen to Haley.


    ''Classic mother''s gaslighting techniques.'' I thought while shuddering and having goosebumps from Claire''s skill.


    "I''m only skipping a class! I didn''t skip school! Besides, I didn''t go there alone-."


    "So if your friend jumps into a lake, you will follow them and jump too?!"


    "If those friends are Abby and Tara, I will. Both of them are smart. They will make sure that it''s safe to jump into the Lake, BEFORE WE JUMP IN IT! Or If you''re behind me BEING LIKE THIS, I will jump in even without my friends!"


    Claire rolled her eyes while Haley''s chin quivered. ''Damn, this is a full-scale war instead of a fight.'' I thought secretly while watching them bicker from the sofa.


    Phil decided it''s time for him to interfere so he rushed to the kitchen, "Why don''t we all take a deep breath-"


    "You don''t KNOW what YOU''RE DOING! You''re surrounding yourself with BAD FRIENDS HALEY!" Claire said in frustration.


    "At least THEY DON''T TALK TO ME LIKE I''M AN IDIOT!" Haley shouted before turning her back against Claire and walking away.


    As the string of rationality was snapped off inside Claire''s mind, she shouted, "YOU''RE GROUNDED!"


    "SURE, YOU MUST BE WAITING TO SAY THAT SINCE THE START! Did you even listen to what I was saying?!" Haley said with teary eyes as she ran off to her bedroom upstairs.


    "Haley-" Claire tried to stop Haley, but Phil stopped Claire. "I''ll go talk to her."


    "Hmmm..." I rubbed my chin while looking at Claire''s direction.


    "It''s awkward now. Are you still staying for dinner?" Alex asked.


    "I don''t know. I will see what happens next, then I''ll decide." I replied to Alex after turning to look at her face.


    Claire heard our conversation and she flinched involuntarily after I turned toward her with an innocent smile plastered on my face.


    "I...I''m going to make dinner." Claire said before she ran to her bedroom.


    "Making dinner on her bed?" I asked sarcastically. Alex rolled her eyes and said, "You are enjoying this huh."


    "Not at all. I don''t like seeing people fight. Especially since it''s a very stupid fight." I replied.


    "Stupid...? Why do you say that?" Alex asked in confusion. "Mom is right. Haley shouldn''t skip school."


    "Yeah. That''s true from one perspective." I muttered. Alex became incredulous and asked, "Then, why do you say it''s a stupid fight when one party is clearly in the wrong?"


    "Want me to explain?" I asked teasingly.


    "Yeah. That''s why I''m asking." Alex said sarcastically.


    "Then, let''s go see your sister first. I''ll explain with some examples. Follow me my dear Watson." I said before walking toward the stairs.


    "What- Wait up!" Alex ran to chase me from behind before we walked to her room together.


    "By the way, when is your dad going to fix this step?" I asked after I almost stumbled on the broken step in the middle part of the stairs.


    "SOON!" Phil answered from afar with a tone full of agitation. Alex and I were startled by his voice and we turned to look at each other before we laughed.


    Inside Haley''s room, Phil was trying hard to connect with his teenage daughter. Alex and I stopped in front of the door and peeked at his effort instead of barging in.


    Sitting on a chair next to Haley who was lying on her bed, Phil said, "Things with your mom got pretty intense down there, huh? All like east coast/west coast."


    "Uh..What?" Haley was confused by her dad''s speech pattern and couldn''t help but sit up on the bed and stare at him after putting her notebook down.


    "You feelin'' me?" Phil continued, causing more confusion all around. Even Alex who was eavesdropping with me was confused.


    [Phil''s commentary]


    "Act like a parent, talk like a peer." Phil said excitedly. "I call it ''peer-enting. I learned it from my own dad who used to walk into my room And say, ''what''s up, sweathog?''"


    He laughed at the memory before his eyes turned full of confidence that this method would help him connect with his daughter, just like how his dad managed to connect with him.


    [Commentary ends]


    "Honey. I understand that you want to skip class. I skipped class too..."


    Phil lied at the end. He had a perfect attendance record in his school.


    "Me and my best buds will go around in the mall, having a laugh at each other, and we all will rent a...special...movie from the movie store-"


    "Dude. TMI." I mumbled to myself. "What special movie?" Alex asked me in confusion.


    "Nothing." I dismissed her question as to not expose Phil.


    "Dad. I didn''t skip to have fun. I can do that after school. I just need to go to the showcase. That''s it." Haley said to explain herself.


    "Well Honey. If that''s really important to you, why don''t you tell me? I can pick you up from school early, and we can go there together." Phil said without any lies in his words.


    While listening to what he said, I couldn''t help but break into a soft smile, in which Alex said, "That''s creepy."


    I unconsciously covered my mouth and asked her, "What is?"


    "You. Smiling like that. You like my dad so much?" Alex asked.


    "Shh..I want to listen." I said to stop the conversation with her. She smirked and mumbled, "Oh. You like him so much..."


    "Shut up." I said in embarrassment.


    "But we tried hard to show our support." Phil said.


    "Phil, I don''t say you. I just say in general."


    "Ahh." Phil nodded in understanding.


    "For example Alex, there are teens who come from a home with very toxic parents, but they are always excusing everything they are doing with love. Like your mom and your grandma."


    Claire widened her eyes and grabbed the doorknob, but stopped herself from coming inside the room as she wanted to listen to what I was going to say.


    "It''s damaging when the parents demand perfection in all aspects, but secretly are pushing the child toward the aspects that they believe in. It will make her feel that her best wasn''t good enough, and they are useless if they make a mistake."


    Haley and Alex were silent as they heard my explanation.


    "So, some children will try their hardest to get their parent''s recognition, while some will stop trying at all." I continued. "I guess, Haley wants to keep her hard work a secret, so as to not let her family have hope on her, nor did she want to put hope on herself."


    "But why? Is my support damaging to her?" Phil asked in concern.


    "No Phil. She''s doing this because it''ll be easier for her to give up, when she finally sees that she couldn''t succeed in this, just like how she couldn''t succeed in anything. She doesn''t want to disappoint her family that gives support to her, therefore she just wants to do everything...on her own."


    "And the fight was stupid because Claire was projecting herself on Haley, so much so that she became her own mother and tried to control her life to protect her from hurting herself in the future."


    Outside the room, Claire fell into a self-actualization state as she thought about her fight with her daughter.


    [Claire''s commentary.]


    "You how growing up, we all have that voice inside our head That tells us we''re not good enough? Well, mine was outside my head, driving me to school."


    "I promised myself if I ever have children of my own, I won''t treat them, just like how my mom treats me. But I guess...Edward was right. I was projecting on Haley. I was treating her...the same way as my mom treated me before."


    Claire shrugged and said, "Well. I didn''t go out of my way to destroy her life. So I guess I''m better than my mom in that aspect."


    [Commentary Ends.]


    "So...the fight is stupid...because they both want the same thing?" Alex asked after thinking hard about what I said.


    "Yup. They just cannot communicate it well. That''s why, it''s stupid."


    "Shut up. Both of you!" Haley shouted. Suddenly, Claire walked into the room while having a conflicted expression on her face.


    "Mom." Haley muttered in surprise.


    "Haley. I just want to say. I''m sorry. You''re not grounded. I just wants the best for you-"


    Before Claire could finish her sentence, Haley hugged her. "Stop. I''m sorry. I should''ve told you what I was doing."


    Phil smiled and hugged both of her daughter and wife, "I''m sorry too. I''ll try to be less supportive in the future."


    "No Dad! You''re missing the point-" Alex said before Phil grabbed her and pulled her into the group hug too.


    "That''s nice. Also, I felt like Dr Phil there for a moment. " I muttered before I turned my attention to Haley''s notebook instead of the family.


    Suddenly, the front door doorbell rang twice, causing the family to stop their hug and release each other.


    "We''re going to have a talk about this later." Claire said before she exited the room and descended the stairs while Phil followed her from behind.


    Haley saw that I was reading her notebook and she ran towards her bed where I was sitting.


    "Hmm? Did you design clothes for me-"


    "GIVE ME THAT!" Haley demanded as she tried to snatch the book from me. Her momentum caused her to crash into me, and we fell onto the bed together, her body on top of me, and our faces inches from one another.


    "That''s my birthday present isn''t it?" I asked knowingly while Haley was stunned as she could feel my breath on her face. Her body was pressing onto me, and it would be dangerous for me to stay in that position for so long.


    "Shut-"


    "It''s a nice design. Thank you. I couldn''t wait to work on it. Do you want to work on it together with me?"


    "Why don''t you guys get away from each other first before talking? I feel uncomfortable looking at you guys like that." Alex said as she cringed at the situation. Haley became embarrassed and moved away quickly while I was still laying on the bed while reading Haley''s notebook.


    "You have a lot of good ideas. Some of it are....courageous. But I think if executed properly, it can look nice." I complimented her effort in working on her own outfits designs.


    "I will go down now as I don''t want to watch you two flirt." Alex said before walking away.


    "We''re not flirting!" Haley shouted sternly.


    [Haley''s commentary]


    "Urgh. Why did he have to be so...nice?" Haley said in frustration. "He didn''t have to interfere, but he did...I''m thankful to him...but I wish he would stop..."


    "...Otherwise, I''ll fall hard."


    [Commentary ends]


    Haley sat next to me while I was reading her notebook. I smiled and sat up next to her. "Here, see this. This is your first drawing right?" I said while pointing at a kindergarten-level drawing she had.


    "Shut up. It''s bad. I know." Haley said in embarrassment.


    "Here, this is the latest one right? Can you see the difference between them?" I asked.


    "....No?" Haley asked in confusion.


    "The latest one has sharper lines. The body figure is more realistic. The outfit keypoints are more clear. You''re getting better at this, and I''m sure you''ll be even better in the future."


    Haley smiled as she was touched and said, "Thanks."


    "Also, I noticed that you put a lot of work into my birthday gift. Why didn''t you give it to me?" I asked curiously.


    Haley stammered and couldn''t say anything, "Ummm...."


    "If you give this during my birthday, it''ll easily be in the top 3 gifts I got, and we could''ve-"


    Before I could finish my words, Haley grabbed my head and kissed my lips unexpectedly while closing her eyes. She finally snapped out of it and pushed me away.


    "W-W-Why did you let me do that?!" Haley freaked out and asked while standing up and moving further away from me.


    "Me? You''re blaming me?" I asked in confusion as I stood up next to her.


    "We''re not going to talk about this. That didn''t happen!" Haley said.


    "But it did." Suddenly, a childish voice interjected the conversation, making both of us turn our attention to the front door. Luke was smirking as he saw the whole thing and couldn''t wait to use the situation to his advantage.


    Suddenly, we heard some clamoring and sounds of arguments from downstairs. The sound of the strange female voice gave me goosebumps when I heard it.


    "Dede?" I mumbled to myself before walking downstairs, leaving behind a regretful Haley.

 Chapter 61: Disgust. (Part 3)

    Chapter 61: Chapter 61: Disgust. (Part 3)


    (Remember. This is written as a tv episode)


    [Edward POV]


    ''Why did she kiss me? Arghh! I don''t know what to do now...'' I thought as I went to look at the commotion coming from downstairs. Luke was sniggering as I walked past him while mumbling, "Now, if you don''t give me my bikes back...and give me 5 cakes...I will tell mom."


    Pausing my step, I stood in front of Luke and bent my spine to meet his eyeline. "Do that and I''ll set both of your bikes on fire."


    Luke was stunned and froze on the spot. He thought he could have the leverage in this situation, but with the hostages in my hand, could he really do anything. Not to mention, Haley heard what he said and was glaring daggers at him with bloodlust emanating from her body.


    ''Good luck Luke.''


    Luke''s hand was gripped and he was then dragged into her sister''s room before Haley locked the door to have a ''private conversation'' with him.


    I continued to get to the front door, but the people there had already moved their conversation to the kitchen.


    "So -- so, anyway, mom really wants To smooth everything over with dad and Gloria, So I was thinking, would it be okay If she may join us for dinner tonight?" Mitchell asked hurriedly in a begging tone.


    Claire was standing on one side of the living room while Dede stood in front of her and Mitchell stood in the middle of both of them to try and act as a mediator.


    However, instead of the rebellious-teenage-like behavior Claire always had when she was with her mother, this time, she was actually talking to her while acting like an adult which surprised both Mitchell and Dede.


    "Mom. Mitchell said you want to apologize, so why don''t you do that first? Then, I''ll decide if I want to help you." Claire said while looking straight to Dede.


    [Claire''s commentary]


    "When I saw mom on the front door, I don''t know why, but the...miniscule... sense of loathing that I had... toward her... BUBBLED UP TO THE SURFACE STRONGLY...and then melted instantly." Claire said in astonishment while crossing her legs on the sofa.


    "The first thing she commented...no, rather...she criticized me for...was my hair... The minute that she walked into the house." She said while playing with her blonde hair that flowed till her shoulder.


    "The thing is, I hated her nit-pickings the entire time I was growing up. But I guess I had misunderstood something."


    "I had never grown up. Not until...right now. Not until, I realized that I had been doing the same things to my kid...Although in my defense, I did it unconsciously and not as bad as my mother did it to me before."


    "So today. I will try to treat her...like an adult...instead of...like a mother." She said with glassy eyes.


    [Commentary ends]


    As per the immortal words of Frankie Darts (Community Season 6), "One of the most unfair lessons we''re forced to learn is that our parents are human beings. We wanna think of them as gods or demons because then that would make us heroes but... Ugh. Give me a break. We all suck."


    I wonder why her quotes popped out of my head the moment I saw Claire try to stand up to her mother.


    "What?" Dede asked in confusion while looking at Mitchell.


    "Claire. It''s true. Mom wants to apologize-"


    "Then do it. To me first." Claire said while crossing her arms. I couldn''t help but break into a wide smile as I saw her stand her ground and demanded inner peace.


    In the particular episode which was going on right now, not once did Dede apologize to Mitchell and Claire about her behavior that impacted them at the wedding. She only wanted to apologize to Gloria, and not her family member.


    "Say you''re sorry." Claire demanded again.


    Dede stammered while her eyes kept darting between Mitchell and Claire.


    ''She must be confused as to why her usual manipulation techniques didn''t work.'' I thought with a sense of disgust and repressed memories started bubbling up in me.


    ''The two of them are f*cking similar.''


    "I''m...I''m sorry." Dede apologized after thinking for a while. Mitchell widened his eyes while Claire closed hers to accept her apology and gain inner peace. But for me, my loathing towards her increased.


    [Claire''s commentary.]


    "I thought that it would feel great. But no. All it did was...Making me see my mom as another human being." Claire said before she lowered her eyes to start reminiscing about her memories with her mother. "I feel like...I understand her more now..."


    [Commentary ends]


    "Ed." Claire called out to me as I came into her view. The conversation stopped as they wanted to talk in private. That''s why Claire and Mitchell had sent Alex and Phil away.


    "He is?" Dede asked smilingly while pointing at me.


    "Disgusted by you." I said with a smile while walking toward Claire. The Pritchett Family widened their eyes as they couldn''t believe their ears.


    "Ed? This is your first time meeting with my mom right?" Mitchell asked quickly while holding his mother''s shoulder as if presenting her at me as he couldn''t understand my apparent hostility toward his mother.


    "Yup." I replied curtly.


    "Then why did you say that? That''s rude Ed." Claire said to admonish me and make me realize what I did was wrong �C just like a mother would.


    "I can''t help it. It''s biological. It''s the natural order of things. And I don''t want to be here if she''s here, therefore I will return to my house. It seems that I won''t be able to join you for dinner today Claire." I said calmly but with venom in my voice.


    "I''m sorry. Do I know you? Why are you so..." Dede asked hurriedly after I told Claire that.


    "It''s innate hate. I can''t help it." I replied casually with a deadpan smile on my face before waving goodbye at Claire and Mitchell as I exited the house.


    Confused, Mitchell and Claire turned toward each other.


    [Mitchell commentary]


    " What''s... Going on? Did the children tell him about the incident too? If they did, it''s an understandable reaction, but to mention it straight to her face..."


    Mitchell scratched his eyebrow before smiling softly, "That''s... Very brave... And satisfying..."


    His smile turned into a poker face as he crossed his arms and said, "Still...it''s their first time meeting. I wonder what happened between them?"


    [Claire commentary]


    "Look. I asked Ted about it, and he said Edward wouldn''t do something like that unless he was really triggered by something he saw in my mother. We won''t have an answer just by doing that." Claire explained.


    Less than 30 seconds later, Ted opened the door, inviting Phil and Claire in while monitoring the surroundings to see that no one was around to see what they were doing.


    "Ted. Where is the stuff?" Claire asked after entering the house. Ted nodded and snapped his finger. A young latina woman entered the kitchen with a briefcase in her hand.


    Phil widened his eyes and thought, ''Is this a drug deal?''


    "He''s not going to forgive me if he knew I had this. So you should be careful not to let him find out about it." Ted said in a solemn tone.


    "I''ll see what I can do." Claire replied. Then, she grabbed the briefcase from Camilla''s hand.


    "By the way, who is this?" Claire asked Ted.


    "Ah. This is Camilla. Edward''s Aunt. My ex''s sister." Ted explained and introduced the woman to each other. Suddenly, a loud clattering sound could be heard coming from Edward''s room, causing all the people there to raise their guard up.


    "He''s coming!" Phil said hurriedly.


    "Quick. Through the backdoor!" Camilla said while ushering the couple out of the house.


    "Hey, who put a baseball bat in front of my door?" Edward asked from afar while descending the stairs. He finally entered the kitchen where he saw both his dad and aunt acting suspiciously while warily glancing at him.


    "Hmmm..." Edward exclaimed while narrowing his eyes at them. "You know what. I won''t care about it." He said while getting a glass of water. After downing the drink, he got out of the kitchen and said mischievously, "I''ll give you guys some privacy."


    "What happened there?" Camilla asked after Edward had left.


    "I don''t know." Ted replied in confusion, not knowing that his son had misunderstood him to have improper relations with his aunt in their kitchen as they thought he wasn''t at home.


    Claire and Phil returned home with the briefcase before they decided to open it in their bedroom so as to not let others see it.


    "Wait..this is.." Phil muttered in astonishment as he picked up something from inside the briefcase.


    "Diaries. Family photos. Anything that reminded Edward about his past that Ted can keep him from destroying them." Claire explained.


    "He destroyed them?!" Phil exclaimed in astonishment after learning about Ed''s past.


    "Let me see...there must be something here that could explain why he''s so hostile with my mother."


    ...


    -Jay''s house-


    The glaring sun made Mitchell wear his sunglasses before he exited the car.


    "Hey Dad...Uh, could I talk to you and Gloria for a second?" Mitchell asked as he met Jay who was half-naked and just gotten out of the pool.


    While drying himself with a towel, Jay said, Oh, she''s out to pick up Manny from his friend''s house. What''s up?" Turning toward the lawnchair, Jay laid down on the chair to rest.


    "Uh, well, you know, mom''s in town." Mitchell said cautiously.


    "Your mom?" Jay asked with a horrified look.


    Mitchell replied sarcastically, "No-No, your mom. She''s back from the grave. Yes, my mom."


    Jay chuckled and said, "My mom would be less scary."


    "Listen, she''s a wreck about what happened at the wedding, And she wants to come to dinner tonight To apologize to everyone." Mitchell explained quickly.


    "Still her little errand boy, I see." Jay said dismissively before closing his eyes to enjoy the sun.


    "No. Why does everybody keep say-- no. I -- I''m just trying to piece this family back together. So you''ll talk to Gloria about mom coming to dinner?"


    "Oh, Gloria would never go for that in a million years. She''s still furious with your mother, Which is why I''m not talking to you." Jay said clearly.


    "What did I do?" Mitchell asked, feeling unjust by his father''s words.


    "This conversation never took place." Jay added.


    "Well, that''s not very nice. I drove all the way here." Mitchell said, not getting the hint.


    "No, you didn''t. You were never here. In fact, you never even called."


    "I would have called, but I thought it would be better To talk about th-- what -- what''s happening here?"


    Jay finally opened his eyes and looked straight to Mitchell. He said whisperingly, "Listen I would love to get this thing behind us, But Gloria would never forgive me If I pulled a fast one on her. That''s why you''re going to pull a fast one on her, And I''m not going to like it one bit."


    Finally understanding the situation, Mitchell shrugged his shoulders and said, "Okay, that''s just great. No, that''s great. So it''s all up to me."


    "I can''t hear you because you''re back home And I''m taking a nap." Jay said before lying back down on the chair and finally succumbed himself to his nap. Mitchell mumbled to himself as he returned to his car and drove off to Claire''s house.


    Along the way, he picked up Cam and Lily who had gotten ready to go to the dinner party at the Dunphy''s.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    As I returned to my house after getting out of the dinner party, I had forgotten about the kiss I had with Haley as I saw Dede.


    "Damn. Even though I have an eidetic memory, Ed''s vestigial consciousness wouldn''t let me access the source of his trauma. I do understand why I had a sense of disgust when I saw Dede though. But It doesn''t matter. She''s only here for an episode. She''ll be in Canada soon. I don''t have to bother with her ."


    "My only concern is the rest of the family feeling hurt about me not going to the dinner. And I didn''t exactly leave the house with grace...Hmm...what should I do?"


    Haley called me, but as I was immersed with my thoughts, I blurted out, "I''m not coming to have dinner with your family. I have work to do."


    I guessed that statement would be helpful for me to mend the relationship with the family in the future, not realizing that Haley had called me for something else.

 Chapter 62: The Incident (Part 4)

    Chapter 62: Chapter 62: The Incident (Part 4)


    (Give me double stones for double chap! ??)


    [3rd Person POV]


    *Klang-Klang* (Law & Order theme)


    Inside Phil and Claire''s bedroom, countless papers were spread out on the bed. There was a board on the side where Phil was pinning a picture on it, trying to connect the events scattered inside Edward''s journal and his family photos to further understand him.


    Sitting on a chair nearby with her hair tied up and wearing glasses, Claire used chopsticks to grab the noodles from the Chinese food container she was holding.


    "I got it. He played at the symposium. Your mom was escorted out of a symposium for disrupting the event." Phil said in excitement.


    Claire shook her head and said decisively, "No. Mom got thrown out on the 23rd. His performance is on the 22nd. They wouldn''t''ve met."


    Phil retraced the thread to see the journal page he had pinned up for the date, "Oh yeah. His mother promised him for their family to go Disneyland on the 23rd, after he won the contest. But she broke the promise and brought him to another instructor instead for training."


    "That''s sad. He never went to Disneyland." Claire muttered with a dejected expression after checking the facts about Edward''s childhood.


    "Come on Claire. Focus. If we crack this one, you know what that means?" Phil said solemnly. "It means, we will finally get the upper hand in our argument with him. We had never won against him...not even once." He added with some expectation of finally showing himself as an ''adult'' while talking with Ed.


    "Then, there''s got to be something to explain why that happened." Claire said as she put the food container down and walked to the board. "He said it''s innate hate. Ed never picks his wordings carelessly."


    Phil nodded at Claire''s words before he said, "It didn''t seem that he wanted to do that on purpose, rather that he couldn''t help what he was feeling. So what caused it? What triggers it?"


    At this moment, the door to the bedroom was knocked. Claire and Phil turned their heads toward the door before Claire walked slowly to open it.


    "Hi. What did you find out?" Mitchell asked as he entered the room. Cam followed behind Mitchell wearing a pink paisley shirt and jeans. "Ho Ho, someone''s been watching Castle. So who''s going to be Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic?"


    The group was confused about Cam''s statement and stared at him, making him smile wryly.


    [Cam''s commentary]


    "Being a stay-at-home dad/trophy wife, I had nothing much to do except binge-watching some shows while taking care of Lily. "


    [Commentary ends]


    "Isn''t he just in his rebellious stage? I remember a friend of mine in highschool wanted to seem more edgy, therefore he acted rude around everyone else." Mitchell said.


    "I consider that too, but teenagers like that would be rude to everyone, not just a specific person." Claire deduced brilliantly while staring at a picture of Edward''s mother on the wall.


    "Claire?" Mitchell asked in concern as he saw Claire was staring at the picture intently. She then said, "My instinct is telling me that this picture is useful, but I don''t know why."


    "Let me see that." Cam said while pushing Claire away and took her place to stare at the picture. "Wait. this necklace...Isn''t this the same one that your mom is wearing right now?" Cam asked while pointing at the seashell necklace Edward''s mother was wearing.


    "WAIT SERIOUSLY!?" Claire and Phil shouted at the same time and pushed Cam away before Phil took down the picture and held it in his hand. Claire took a closer look and said, "It''s similar. But That couldn''t be the reason...right?"


    In another room, a young teenage girl was in a dilemma of her own.


    "Why is he being like this?!"


    Walking back and forth by the side of her bed, Haley was lost in her thoughts and couldn''t help but be anxious as she thought that her friendship with Edward was ruined.


    "...I- I need to go talk to him..." She muttered before becoming determined to settle the problems today.


    But, the moment she opened her door, she saw her parents opening their own door and were in a heated discussion about who should be the one to go talk to the boy she wanted to talk to. She instinctively hid herself behind the door to listen to their conversation.


    "You should stay here with your mom. I can handle this on my own Claire. We''re best friends." Phil said hurriedly and tried to get away from Claire who was holding him by the edge of his shirt.


    "That''s why I should go there. He needs an adult to talk to him, not a friend." Claire debated. "And I''m not letting you hog all the credit."


    "Oh my god. Just go there together. This wasn''t supposed to be a hard discussion." Mitchell said in annoyance as he was tired of the couple''s antics.


    ''Wait. Mom and Dad want to go and see him?...I should cut them off and go there first to settle things with him before they come. Otherwise they''ll... know...'' Haley thought before she opened her bedroom door abruptly�C causing the adults to be startled, and descended the stairs quickly before exiting the front door.


    "I''ll be back before dinner!" Haley shouted before her parents could ask her where she was going.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Ah damn...the kiss...Now that my trauma has been repressed, I can finally think about that." I muttered while holding my chin with my fingers as I fell into deep thoughts.


    "(Sigh) I guess I should go and apologize." With slumped shoulders, I walked to the front door as I wanted to go over to the Dunphy''s and meet up with Haley.


    However, as I opened the door, the anxious girl who was trying to knock it with her balled up hand missed the target and stumbled into my arms unexpectedly. Haley''s face blushed as my arms wrapped around her, but she quickly shook her face to snap out of the feelings that were bubbling up to the surface.


    "Ah. Haley. I was going to go to your house to talk to you." I said as I helped her stand up properly. "We need to talk about the ki-"


    Haley covered my mouth with her hand in embarrassment and quickly said, "What kiss? Nothing happened between us. We definitely didn''t kiss each other."


    Gently moving her hand out of the way, I said, "Although I wanted to pretend it didn''t happen too, it did happen, and we need to talk about it."


    "No. We don''t have to talk about it. That...that is just an accident. I was feeling vulnerable from my fight with my mom, and I just wanted to kiss someone to forget about it. I would do the same to a stranger if they were around-"


    Ignoring her words, I said, "Although you want to deny that you''re attracted to me-"


    "Who''s attracted to you!?-"


    "I am attracted to you too. That''s why, the situation is now complicated, and I had to return home to arrange my thoughts first."


    Haley was stunned by honesty. Her eyes widened and she mumbled, "Wha-"


    I facepalmed at Phil''s words and Haley was baffled by the whole situation.


    Then, I realized that it would be better if I played along with their bit instead of ignoring it. That way, it would end sooner.


    "Look. Claire. I admit that I had some reservations about being in the same room with your mom, but I was just confused about what reaction I was supposed to have before. Now that I have time to think about it, I can act normally around her without insulting her everytime she takes a breath and wasting the world''s oxygen."


    "See. that. Ed, you need to get rid of that presumption. She is a controlling monster, but deep down... Deep Deep down... very deep down... she''s a nice woman." Claire said.


    As the conversation was quick paced, I accidentally revealed my honest thoughts, "I don''t believe in deep down. I believe, you''re the thing that you do. Murderers, kidnappers, scammers. If you believe in deep down, then deep down these human trash are good too. Then, should they not...be punished for their mistake?"


    Claire was taken aback by my words and fell into a silence. She hasn''t expected that type of attack, and now she''s at a loss for words.


    "Damn it." I cursed softly as I had unwillingly prolonged the difficult conversation these people wanted to have with me.


    "But Ed. Forgiveness will bring you inner peace in the future." Phil added to save Claire from the brimstone. "If you''re not willing to forgive your mother, then you won''t find the peace inside."


    "What are you, Master Shifu?" I said in frustration while rubbing my head. Using my parallel thinking this time, I made an analogy that they could fight against and win against me if they thought about the situation properly.


    I sighed and said, "For me, forgiving the monster inside your family is like the movie, Beauty and the Beast. Kidnap the lady, force her to live alone with you in the castle, until she finally couldn''t differentiate a man and a beast. That''s not love. That''s Stockholm syndrome. When the beast was finally out of the castle, then Belle could see her situation in a different perspective. She''s a prisoner, nothing more."


    Phil smiled and said, "If you want to use beauty and the beast as an example, then you have to admit something. That...you are living inside a fairy tale. In the real world, there isn''t a prince cursed by magic. There''s only other people."


    Claire added, "There''s no villain that wants to split you up. Or turned into a dragon."


    "Claire, that''s a different story." Phil said quickly.


    "Still in a fairytale category, so it counts." Claire said shamelessly. She hugged me suddenly and said, "I know how you''re feeling. I had a controlling mother growing up too. But now, I have my own family that I swore I would protect from going through the same pain I did. I want that for you too, as I consider you part of our family."


    I was baffled by her hug, and although I manipulated the conversation in this direction, Claire and Phil''s sincere feeling of wanting to save me from my emotional distress moved me. I realized that they had made a lot of preparation for this and I felt only gratitude for them.


    "Okay." I replied simply while maintaining a poker face. "Thank you Claire."


    She finally released me with a soft smile on her face. Haley watched the scene and then sighed as she finally realized she couldn''t win in the affection ranking as the top places were filled with her mom and dad.


    [Claire''s commentary.]


    "AND THAT''S HOW YOU DO IT!"


    [Commentary ends]


    Phil realized that he had lost and said hurriedly, "NO! Wait- I meant. Ed- Just because Dede was wearing a seashell necklace same as your mom, doesn''t mean that-"


    Claire stopped him quickly before he managed to spill out everything and revealed their secrets.


    "Wait. How did you know that?" I asked while narrowing my eyes at Phil and Claire. Both of them broke into cold sweats before Haley turned to me and said, "Wait. That''s why you''re rude to Nana? Because she wore the same necklace?"


    "What? No. My mom talked to her once while I was 8, and was influenced by using crystals and essential oils as a (Mockingly)natural remedy for sickness. (Normally) Do you know how many nights I had to suffer because of that? My dad had to sneak some antibiotics in my food just to feed me true medicine." I explained why I was so hostile towards Dede.


    ""Ahhh..." Phil and Claire both exclaimed in realization.


    "How did you know about the necklace?" I asked again while becoming increasingly agitated.


    "Uhh...I need to go help Claire make dinner. Bye Ed." Phil said hurriedly before he ran away.


    "Your WIFE IS HERE!" I shouted towards him as he sprinted toward his house. "How did you know Claire?" I said as I turned toward Claire.


    "Uhh...I need to let Phil help me make dinner. Don''t forget to come over Ed! Now. Talk to Haley." Claire said before running off too.


    "They are suspicious." I muttered.


    Haley said innocently, "Aren''t they just hurrying to make dinner? It''s almost dinner time too, and I don''t think mom has cooked anything."


    Turning toward her, I patted her hair gently with some pity in my eyes.


    "URGH! Stop messing with my hair. And now with mom''s gone, I can finally be mad at you!" Haley said angrily.


    "What? Now we''re even. You sneaked a kiss on me once, I did the same thing to you. That''s it."


    Haley thought for a second before saying she reprimanded me, "Okay. I''ll accept that. But this is just for today. From tomorrow onwards, There will be no more kissing between us." She gestured ''No'' with her hands cutely, causing me to chuckle.


    "Sure." I replied simply, making her annoyed again.


    "Seriously. No more." Haley said again.


    "I know." I said before walking toward my house.


    "Wait, aren''t you coming to dinner?" Haley asked in confusion.


    "I don''t know why, but my instinct tells me to bring a guitar with me. Also, as I had rejected you-"


    "No. I rejected you."


    "You kissed me first."


    "When did that happen?" Haley played dumb shamelessly.


    I sighed and said, "If I rejected you, then I wanted to make up a song for you. But as You''re the one who rejected me-"


    "NO! Ughhh! FINE I got rejected! Are you happy!? Now give me my song!"


    ************


    Author: I fulfilled my promise. The next Chapter will be on Tuesday. I plan on doing only 4 Chapter a week during Ramadhan, and I will return to my normal schedule after Eid. Enjoy the chap!

 Chapter 63 - 63 : The Incident (Part Last)

    Chapter 63: Chapter 63 : The Incident (Part Last)


    [Edward POV]


    "I''m sorry for blurting out about what I was feeling when I saw you. I realized that I should''ve kept the feeling buried inside like a normal human being instead of throwing it at your face so that you can keep the illusion that you''re a kind woman. How about that as an apology?"


    Haley stared at me with a deadpan expression before she said, "You realize she''s my grandmother, right?"


    "Ah. Grandmother. I guess I should include that she''s old somewhere in the sentence.


    As Haley and I walked together to her house, I relied on her help to adjust my undeserved apology to Dede and make it seem more sincere. I was carrying the guitar case on my left hand while Haley stood at my right side.


    Haley shook her head and hit my shoulder afterward after hearing my apology template.


    She said in concern, "Be more serious. What if my mom thought you''re someone who can''t apologize for his mistake? Then you cannot come over anymore."


    Rubbing my sore shoulder, I said teasingly, "Why do I feel like there''s a hidden contempt behind the punch?"


    "Must be your imagination." She said as we reached the front door. She quickly stood in front of me and said, "We''re here, so don''t you dare use that apology. I''m serious. Don''t do it."


    "I won''t. I won''t." I said dismissively while shrugging my shoulders. "I was only teasing you, I am not crazy enough to do that in front of your family."


    "Hmph! Don''t kid yourself. You are crazy enough to do that." She mocked teasingly before opening the front door.


    "Edward!" Cam saw me the minute I walked in and ran to the door from the living room sofa he was sitting on to give me a hug.


    "Hi Cam. Long time no see."


    "Gosh. It''s been a long time. How''s Taylor?"


    I was flabbergasted by the random questioning so I answered, "She''s fine...I guess."


    "Good. So you''re keeping in contact? You have her phone number? Are you guys datin-"


    Before Cam could finish his words, Mitchell swooped in and pushed him out of the way. He greeted me calmly as if nothing had happened. "Come in. That must be heavy." He said while pointing at my guitar. "Are you back from practice?"


    "No. I owed Haley a song, so I brought it with me to repay my debt here as her family is gathering together."


    Mitchell exclaimed in wonder, "OOohh. A new song? I can''t wait."


    The uncles walked to the kitchen to call Dede to the living room, leaving me alone with Haley there.


    Haley whispered, "Wait. Did you write a new song...for me?"


    "Maybe." I replied teasingly, making her blush.


    Alex and Luke walked into the living room from the kitchen and greeted me.


    "I thought you weren''t coming." Alex said as she stood close to me and Haley.


    "I thought so too. But I need to do this for your mom." I said while turning my focus toward Dede and Claire, who were walking together to the living room.


    "I heard you want to talk to me?" Dede said with a calm tone and a scrunched up eyebrow that showed she was uncomfortable. I automatically gritted my teeth as I saw her, but then Haley held my arm and whispered, "Be strong. Be clear. Just like ripping off a bandaid. Be quick. Then you don''t have to care about this ever again."


    "Uhh...what is happening?" Alex asked, as she could clearly hear what Haley was saying.


    I nodded at her and took a step forward to get closer to Dede. As I reached her arm length, I said, "I want to apologize for my rudeness. Please forgive me."


    Dede paused for a second before she asked, "Can I know why you did that?"


    I smiled at her despite gritting my teeth inside my mouth and spoke with a strained voice. "Because, your advice about homeopathy had influenced my mother and caused me nothing but suffering in my early childhood. But now, I realized that the blame was actually on my mother as she was too gullible to actually be tricked into a pseudo-cult that-"


    "Ed. Temper." Haley called out to me hurriedly.


    "Ah. Sorry again." I said it without any sincerity in me.


    "That''s all right. Not all people could understand the beauty and power of mother nature." Dede said without any guilt in her voice.


    Despite my brain debunking her claims in 20 different ways, I had to smile and say, "Will you forgive me?"


    Dede nodded and said, "I came here to get forgiveness. How hypocritical I would be if I didn''t forgive you. Come here." She opened her arms wide to give me a hug, and Claire exclaimed, "Awww," Together with Haley when they saw I was forgiven.


    "Ah. You don''t have to-" Before I could reject the hug, Dede already had her arms around me. My forehead vein popped out from the anger while Haley enjoyed my misery.


    I maintained my smile despite smelling Dede''s all-natural body odor, which was forced onto my nose, and finally survived the ordeal after 10 long seconds.


    As she released me, I said, "As a peace offering. I had brought a traditional Cuban dish as a gift. It''s still frozen, so you should eat it when you get back to Canada." I said as I gave Dede the Ropa Vieja my aunt had made before this. The people that saw me giving a gift to Dede were all smiling, not knowing the story behind the dish.


    "Awwh. thank you. I''ll enjoy it." Dede said with a smile as she took the container from my hand.


    *Ding Dong*


    The doorbell rang and my apology session was finally over.


    "That must be Gloria." Claire said while turning her head left and right before saying, "Mom. You should go sit near the mantel with Mitchell. You know...Furthest away from Gloria."


    "But-" Mitchell tried to protest, but Claire used her eyes to make him obedient. "We''ll sit by the piano." Haley said and pulled me to the spot as it has the best view of the living room. Cam was sitting on a single couch with a champagne glass in his hand while Mitchell and her mom were standing nearby, face full of nervousness.


    "I''ll get it." Phil said as he descended the stairs quickly to open the door.


    "Oh, Mitchell, I know it''s silly, but I''m a little nervous." Dede said while locking arms with Mitchell.


    "Oh, no. That''s not silly...You should be." Mitchell replied sarcastically while patting his mother''s hand.


    At the front door, Manny and Jay walked in with Gloria.


    "Hey. How are you?" Phil smiled before turning to a well dressed kid in a dinner jacket and fedora. "Manny."He said while tipping an imaginary hat.


    "Phil." Manny did the same gesture before entering the house.


    "Hola. I came here to get the artist''s autograph!" Gloria said playfully as she entered the house in a pink floral pattern dress and green high heel shoes.


    Gloria walked two steps into the house before her smile disappeared instantly as she turned toward the living room.


    "Oh, boy." Mitchell exclaimed as he prepared himself for the upcoming storm.


    "Dede." Jay muttered as he saw his ex-wife.


    "Hi, Jay." Dede greeted him back before turning to the new wife, "Gloria."


    "What is she doing here?" Gloria asked with dissatisfaction.


    " What does she mean, "what is she doing here?" Mitchell told you I''d be here." Dede asked a bit fearfully as she turned to Mitchell for help.


    "Lies!" Gloria exclaimed as her anger bubbled up to the surface.


    Phil got excited and he ran towards me with my guitar case. "Play it E-money."


    While pretending to be hesitant, I said, "Well...I guess if you want me to."


    The reason why it was so easy for the family to move on from the fight was simple. They just needed an excuse, as they had just released their pent up frustration with each other. Now, they just wanted to move on from the fight, and I gave them a way out with my intervention.


    I placed the guitar on my knees and locked eyes with the young girls in front of me. Both of them had a lovestruck twinkle in their eyes, but I ignored them, thinking they were just fans of mine. Further backing me up in my hypothesis were Manny and Luke, who had the same twinkle in their eyes as they waited for me to sing.


    [Playing: Rhythms of Love �C Plain White T''s]


    I started playing the intro to the song, and the family fell in love with it instantly.


    "Oh, it''s a cheerful song this time." Claire commented.


    Phil added, "Of course. Haley made him cheerful. They should date-"


    Claire closed Phil''s mouth before he could finish their words and turned toward me to make sure I didn''t hear them.


    After the intro, I started to sing while maintaining eye contact with the family, "?? Head is stuck in the clouds...She begs me to come down...Says "Boy quit foolin'' around"???..."


    Haley snorted before getting embarrassed as everyone turned toward her. She shook her head and focused on the song once more.


    "??I told her "I love the view from up here...Warm sun and wind in my ear...


    We''ll watch the world from above...As it turns to the rhythm of love..??"


    Phil, Claire, Gloria, and Cam started to sway their bodies as the song compelled them to dance while Mitchell sat beside his mother.


    "??We may only have tonight... But till the morning sun you''re mine, all mine...??"


    "??Play the music low and sway to the rhythm of love...??"


    Cam commented, "The song is very different from the other songs he played before."


    Claire said, " I know. Isn''t this great? He''s not singing sad songs anymore."


    ??My heart beats like a drum...A guitar string to the strum...A beautiful song to be sung...??"


    I locked eyes with Haley for the next verse paired with a playful smirk that made her fall for me once more.


    "She''s got green eyes deep like the sea...That roll back when she''s laughing at me...She rises up like the tide...The moment her lips meet mine...??"


    "Wait what?!" Claire widened her eyes while Haley was frozen on the spot, thinking that I was a crazy person to actually put that on the lyric.


    "??We may only have tonight...But till the morning sun you''re mine all mine...Play the music low and sway to the rhythm of love...??"


    "??When the moon is low...We can dance in slow motion...And all your tears will subside...All your tears will dry...And long after I''ve gone...You''ll still be humming along...And I will keep you in my mind...??"


    Haley couldn''t help but be touched as she remembered what we talked about before, but Alex could only conceal her feeling of envy that she didn''t know she had. Rather than being a love song, the song touched her more because she considered it an ode to a friend. That was, before the next verse.


    "??The way you make love so nice...We may only have tonight...??"


    Jay looked at me weirdly while Claire widened her eyes. Haley turned to her mother and said quickly, "Not about me. Not about me."


    Although the rest of the family sighed in relief, Claire finally connected the moans she heard inside Taylor''s cabin to me, who was singing the song in front of her. "Oh. My. God." She exclaimed.


    Cam almost spat out his drink in surprise at the word choice, but Phil was delighted because he took the phrase literally rather than understanding its meaning. Mitchell was staring at Haley with a grin on his face.


    [Mitchell Commentary]


    "I never seen Haley look more smitten than she is right now. (sing-song voice) That girl has a crush."


    [commentary ends]


    Haley couldn''t help but blush the entire time the song was playing as I continued to tease her as I played the song.


    "??But till the morning sun you''re mine all mine...


    Play the music low and sway to the rhythm of love...


    Play the music low and sway to the rhythm of love...


    Yes sway to the rhythm of love...??"


    -song ends-


    [Manny''s commentary]


    "Ed has a vocal range and the way he plays with emotions on his songs give him a style that no other artist is able to provide. I''m proud to say that he''s my idol now. Also, I need to learn from him how to serenade girls. It was obvious that Haley had fallen in love with him after the song."


    [Jay and Gloria''s commentary]


    Gloria said in excitement, "I know that Ed is an artist, and he will meet a lot of beautiful girls. But Haley is beautiful too. And for sure they are falling for each other."


    Jay commented grumpily, "I think the song is ''Meh.'' I like the other ones better."


    [commentary ends]


    ...


    After dinner, Haley walked me home despite my repeatedly saying it was okay for me to go back alone. It was almost midnight when the dinner party ended, and my dad had already gotten to work.


    She helped me carry a takeout container for my breakfast tomorrow that Claire had prepared as I was carrying the guitar case.


    Haley said, "I want to say it''s been a long time since mom freaked out, but you were there in the afternoon, so I would be lying if I said that."


    "Yeah. I got to explain to her that I was just playing around when I wrote the word ''make love'', but she wouldn''t believe me." I said with a laugh.


    Haley laughed too as we entered my house. I put the guitar in the living room while she put the container near the key drawer.


    "Like, what did she expect? Us doing it?" Haley joked playfully.


    I turned toward her and said, "Yeah. She''s funny. She doesn''t even know that we agreed that we wouldn''t kiss each other anymore...after tomorrow..."


    We locked eyes with each other before we stared at each other''s lips.


    Haley pretended to laugh and said, "Yeah...after...tomorrow."


    Our bodies inch closer to each other before I said, "Yeah...Tomorrow..."


    As if we were waiting for it, both of us moved our faces closer and kissed each other. I grabbed her body and pulled her up into the air and into my arms, as she was too short for me to keep bending my body. She wrapped her legs around my waist as we kept making out with each other.


    Our tongues intertwined with each other as we wouldn''t let each other stop. We were trying to make the most of the little time we had before tomorrow came.

 Chapter 64: Singles.

    Chapter 64: Chapter 64: Singles.


    [Edward POV]


    Today I decided to indulge in a full-course Japanese breakfast for lunch. As I had experienced Hiruma''s 2 years worth of memories, I had grown to long for this type of food in my normal life.


    My breakfast consisted of a 6 ounce salted salmon, a bowl of white rice, a bowl of miso soup, a plate of tofu topped with bonito flakes, a plate of pickled daikon and quick pickled cucumber, and a few other complimentary dishes.


    With a chopstick in my hand, I start to eat the breakfast that was made just for my newly acquired taste. My hair was styled neatly, and I was wearing a black turtleneck and jeans as I greeted the guest today.


    Sitting in front of me, a sassy man was holding the chopstick skillfully as he tore into the salmon on the plate in front of him. I had prepared two meals , one for me, and one for Pepper. Pepper was wearing a cream-colored suit and a paisley vest to come visit today.


    "I can''t believe it. With your skills, you can shut down a few Japanese restaurants if you decide to open a store. Is there anything you couldn''t do?" Pepper exclaimed as he closed his eyes to enjoy the crunchy exterior and the supple meat full of umami as he took a bite of the salmon.


    "I can''t drive...yet." I replied teasingly before I took a small bite of the rice using the chopstick.


    "Arrogant. Good, I need you to be confident when your singles are released next week." Pepper said casually despite dropping a major bomb at the breakfast table.


    "Huh? We''re doing that now?" I asked in confusion.


    Pepper smirked and said, "We''re going to ride Taylor''s and yours''s... taboo love hot topics and release three songs. People are begging for it. As a marketing tactic, and also, you''re going to leech on Taylor''s fame in the beginning of your debut. So, we''re going to release ''Two is better than one'' now."


    "That''s understandable. And a good choice. But Taylor and I still haven''t recorded the song yet." I replied. "Also, their agency is being a prick. They are rejecting the collaboration agreement, right?"


    "No need to worry about that. Harvey had done her job well. You''ll get the full rights to the song, and Taylor will receive a one-time payment for her part." Pepper said. "Same condition as her ''Love Story'' song. You''ll get more than 400,000 dollars for that."


    "Use it for Taylor''s payment. They are increasing the price for her contract right?" I asked calmly.


    "...I don''t want to tell you about this, but they wanted more than 700,000 dollars as they are claiming she was more famous than you, so her price should be higher."


    "It''s okay. As long as she will still sing the ''Two is better than one'' song."


    "That''s my plan exactly. Paramount Pictures will foot the bill, so don''t worry about it. They are really stupid to reject OST royalties, just to not have some ties with us." Pepper said in irritation.


    However, Pepper didn''t know that Harvey and I had schemed something else for the song. She had tracked Taylor down to make her sign a contract that would ensure her royalties for the song. It might seem like a bad financial decision, right?


    The reason Harvey and I did that was because of a special clause in an artist collaboration in Taylor''s contract. If she collaborated with me more than four times in a year''s time, my agency would be entitled to making decisions about Taylor''s future career. It wouldn''t work if our collaboration didn''t reach five in a year''s time. Therefore, I need to plan this properly.


    ''Simply speaking, I would have some power over her career, and could even help her get out of her contract with her agency.'' I schemed silently.


    A lot of artists have the same contract as Taylor. That was why the artist''s collaboration wouldn''t go over four times, as the agency wouldn''t want to share the decision-making power over their artists.


    I could still hear Harvey''s heavy breathing when I asked her to hide the clause in fine print when she made Taylor sign it. She really loves screwing others up through legal matters.


    ''Of course, if Taylor doesn''t want my help, then I wouldn''t reveal my hand and force any decisions on her career.''


    Pepper snapped his fingers in front of my face a few times. "Ed. Are you still here?"


    "Oh. Yeah. I''m here." I said after snapping out of my thoughts.


    " Like I was saying, the production company really wants your song. They are also eyeing ''It Will Rain" to be put into the movie. The meeting with the producers is next Wednesday. You don''t have to go to class that day, so be happy."


    "Nice." I said with a sideways fist pump. Then, I said, "We can do ''Me and My Broken Heart'' and ''Grenade'' in the same singles release. We''ll put up a theme for the first single, ''LOVE AND HEARTBREAK.'' How about that?"


    "That''s great Ed! Let me jot that down." Pepper said before taking out a small notebook.


    "Finally keeping track huh. I told you not to trust your memory capability." I teased as I drank the miso soup by holding the bowl with both hands.


    "I gave up after trying to share your song names with a producer for the third time." Pepper said without shame in his voice. He even took out his glasses to do his job properly, even though he was the owner of the agency.


    "Should we record a music video?" I asked after I saw Pepper had finished writing.


    "For which one? You can''t do Two is better than one. The studio wants to release the music video too for marketing purposes." Pepper explained.


    "We''ll do it for Grenade. I think I can do it quickly. If we have time, we can do it for the other one."


    "Ed. Making a music video needs some time. We need a music director, producer, editing team, film set, a storyline, and more. It''ll take at least 3 weeks, minimum." Pepper explained calmly.


    "What if, we already have a storyline? And I can handle the editing. How fast can you find a set director, a cameraman, and a fake piano prop that I could lug around with a rope?"


    Pepper opened his mouth, but then he closed it as he suddenly realized that I had already planned everything for the music video.


    Not that I need to plan much, I just need to copy what I have already seen in my previous world. And with my eidetic memory, I could copy it�C frame by frame, and do it with a higher quality than in the previous world with my advanced computer skills.


    "But I''m going to need a creative director to have a second look at it." I said while holding my chopstick to take a pickled daikon and brought it to my mouth.


    "Oh. That reminds me. Cam said you created another song yesterday. I envy him." Pepper muttered as he counted the time Cam and Mitch could sit through me creating a song on the spot and compared it to his opportunity to do that.


    "Yeah. We can throw that into the album. I said casually.


    "Still haughty, I see. Good good. Keep it up." Pepper said encouragingly before he took a sip of his green tea.


    While Pepper and I were having a discussion on our future plans, I wondered how the Dunphys would react to the song I played for them yesterday.


    ...


    [3rd Person POV]


    "See. Something is wrong with her." Phil said again, but he was still standing in his spot, refusing to go help Alex, who was struggling to open the door.


    "For God''s sake, Phil." Claire exclaimed before she went to help the sullen Alex.


    -Abby''s car-


    Haley was sitting next to the driver while wearing a purple blouse with collars up to her neck��looking modest for the first time this year, pair of white-framed circular sunglasses that she put on her head, and teardrop dangle earrings on both of her ears. Her brown hair was curled into a wavy pattern, and she had put a lot of makeup on her neck today��for the same reason Edward was wearing a turtleneck shirt today.


    She kept glancing at the driver, who was wearing a black leather jacket, a low cut top, and long jeans and was focusing on driving.


    "Hmm? Why do you keep taking hidden glances at me? You haven''t fallen in love with me, have you?" The twin-tailed Abby with the gothic maskara said.


    "N-N-NO!" Haley replied exaggeratedly. "Why do you think that? I was just curious why you''re wearing goth makeup again."


    "Well...it''s kinda embarrassing. But I''m not going to meet Ed today, so I''ll wear it." Abby said.


    Feeling as if a needle was pricking her conscience, Haley asked, "Why don''t you wear it in front of him?"


    Abby smiled softly as she reminisced and said, "Because. He said I looked pretty before. So...you know. I kind of want to stay the same way around him."


    [Haley''s commentary]


    "Now what should I do? Should I tell her? Last night... we..."


    Haley couldn''t help but smile as she remembered the affairs of last night.


    She was running her hands all over his hair as they made out heavily, not separating from each other for even a moment. As she wrapped her legs around her, she slowly moved her body up and down, dry humping him as they kissed each other.


    His hand grabbed her ass as their kiss became more passionate. They started to move around the living room, and even knocked over the breakfast container Claire prepared for Ed as they walked before they fell together on the sofa and started to move their lips to other things.


    Back to the commentary, Haley''s smile disappeared as she remembered her friend.


    "Well they were broken up. So it''s not cheating. And we didn''t plan to do that, or to date after this. So...what should I do now? Should I tell her?"


    After thinking for a while, she sighed and said, "I shouldn''t. It''ll only hurt her. We''re not dating in the first place. So why cause unnecessary drama? It''s not like they are dating right now."


    [commentary ends]


    Abby arrived in front of Tara''s house and picked her up. Tara was wearing a denim jacket as usual but with her hair tied up in a ponytail this time.


    "Hmm...why are you dressing like a nun? Didn''t you say you felt good when boys froze in front of your boobs?" Tara asked casually as she saw the strange way Haley was dressing.


    "My mom forced me to do this. You know, cause we had a fight yesterday." Haley concocted an excuse hurriedly to avoid suspicions.


    Tara nodded and she accepted the excuse as she thought that Claire was a crazy person based on Haley''s stories. Then, she climbed over the door to sit next to Haley instead of at the back. As they were both small teenagers, they could easily share the seat without discomfort next to the driver''s seat.


    "Hmm? Did you put makeup on your neck?" Tara''s eagle eye could see the contour on Haley''s neck was different even though most of it was hidden by her collar.


    Haley broke into a cold sweat as both of her friends were staring at her. Suddenly, her phone vibrates as she receives a text message.


    Not only her, but both Tara and Abby received one too.


    "Oh. It''s from Ed." Tara muttered. Abby and Haley turned toward her before reading their texts, and were confused as to why Ed was texting Tara.


    Tara realized what both of her friends were thinking so she explained, "We exchanged numbers at his birthday party. He promised to do an interview for the school magazine after I pestered him about the concert."


    The girls accepted Tara''s explanation and turned to their texts.


    Abby read the text out loud, "Come by my place after school today - if you have a touch-screen phone, and some time to spare. I''ll make it worth your while."


    "What is he planning? Also, he sent a mass text. All of us received the same text." Haley said.


    "I don''t know. Maybe a party?" Abby thought before saying, "Nah. He hates that."


    Haley thought for a while before saying, "Ah. The stupid yellow bird."


    "The- what now?" Tara and Abby exclaimed at the same time.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Pepper. Discuss with the marketing directors. I want to release two singles at the same time for shock factor." Edward said after finishing his breakfast.


    Pepper widened his eyes and said, "But Ed. So far, the album only has 12 songs. If you release six songs as singles, then the album won''t sell well."


    "Don''t worry. I''ll just create a few more songs to put in there. So we will have 15 songs on the album. We are releasing it in September, right?"


    "Ed. You''re not a song pumping machine. You can not be sure that you can reach 15 songs." Pepper said with concern.


    "Well... I understand your concerns... but don''t worry, if there is someone on earth that would live his life without a music-creation block, it''s this guy." I said while pointing my thumb at myself.


    "If I added the song I played yesterday, and the other song that I played for Taylor, I already had 14. So I just need one more." I said to convince Pepper. He sighed as he saw my determined and confident look before saying, "All right. After all, the company''s name is ENtertain. We''ll do what you want to do."


    "Thanks Pepper."

 Chapter 65: Sudden Party?

    Chapter 65: Chapter 65: Sudden Party?


    [Edward POV]


    After a thorough discussion with Pepper, he sent me to school despite my objections and the fact that I had already missed the first period. Unfortunately for me, the next class in my schedule was PE.


    I entered the gymnasium 5 minutes after class had started�C dazed and confused as to how Pepper managed to get me here without me realising it, but the PE teacher didn''t care to ask me where I had been.


    "Move your ass Newgate. Why are you dwindling there? You have another 5 laps to finish!"


    The merciful demon in disguise, the buddha nemesis, the anti-of everything kind, Mrs Johnson shouted while holding a board in her hand. She was an African-American woman with short dreadlocks and was in tight gym clothes right now.


    Her stern face and sharp eyebrow had struck great fear into your average middle schooler''s heart. Everyone I know has already experienced that at least once in their time here at the school. Not to mention, she is 6 ''3 in height, a size that had made her the tallest woman in the room for almost her entire life.


    "MOVE MOVE MOVE!" She shouted as she lightly smacked the back of a pair of glasses wearing �C Jewish nerdy boy with shaggy hair, but the impact still caused the child to trip. The coach was concerned for a while when she thought she had broken a few of the kid''s bones, if only she could know he actually tripped because of a very different reason.


    "AHN~" Abraham moaned underneath his breath as he enjoyed getting punished by the coach. Then, he continued running with a horrible form purposely once more.


    (Abraham: One year older than Alex. Had a massive crush on Alex. Cameo-d on Season 3, episode 8 �C After the fire)


    The students here knew for sure that underneath her clothes was a tight, muscle-mommy body type that seemed to attract masochistic weirdos to always get on her nerves as they begged for the punishment.


    During PE, all students had to wear the same PE uniform. A grey shirt and bright red sport short pants. I didn''t conform to the dress code today and wore a high-collared white windbreaker instead. Helpless as I knew the coach had already targeted me, I shook my head as I reluctantly jumped into the fire�Cthat was her torture plans for today.


    "Oh. That''s good form Newgate. I guess you practised a lot." Mrs Johnson complimented as I had finished one lap around the gymnasium easily. My breath was steady, and my stance was still perfect even though most of the students here had already lazed around or given up trying.


    I quickly caught up to the middle position of the students on the tracks, not noticing that Mrs Johnson had jotted something down on her board while keeping her eyes on me.


    After finishing the second lap, I finally caught up to my friend who was running stably and with impeccable form.


    "Hi Jacob." I greeted.


    "Oh Ed. I thought you weren''t coming." Jacob said as he controlled his breath calmly as he ran.


    "Where''s the troublemaker?" I asked.


    "I''m upset. Before this, you were only asking where I am, but now, I''m your second priority. I even got a text invite later than the two of them." Jacob said sulkily.


    I was annoyed by that so I smacked him in the middle of his back.


    *Pap!*


    "Ow You bitch!" Jacob said with teary eyes as he tried to rub the painful part on his back. Too bad his arm was too big for him to reach it.


    "Your invite is special. I just copied the one I sent the girls." I explained as I jogged lightly beside him.


    "Yeah. Asking me to bring snacks is a special text. Aren''t I your gopher?" Jacob said sulkily again.


    "Really? Then, I guess my effort to make a Potato Leek Au Gratin, that took me over 2 hours to make- that I wanted to serve as a special dish for my ''bro'', was a waste in the end, since it will have to be thrown out. I will just buy you a potato chip Since that''s what a gopher eats."


    Jacob drooled as I began to narrate step-by-step, my method of preparation for the dish.


    "BRO!" Jacob greeted me happily as if resetting our initial greeting today. I just rolled my eyes at him and asked again, "The girls?"


    "Pretending to have cramps to get out of PE. Also, I don''t know how, and I don''t know why �C but a rumour about you having a party has already spread all over the school. Many people wants to talk to you to get into-"


    "Hey. Wait up." Abraham chimed in, suddenly clinging onto Jacob and I, putting his left hand on Jacob''s shoulder, while his right hand on mine. "Ed. You''re having a party? Will there be supermodels? Are Alex, and Taylor going to be there?" He asked as he let go of any thoughts of running by himself and let his body be dragged by us �C his effort mule.


    I ignored Abraham''s random linr questioning and said, "I''m not having a party though?"


    "Come on. Don''t lie ~ Everyone is talking about it. A party for the rich and the elite �C One where you can only get in if you have a smartphone. The poor and unpopular can''t get in. Although, there is another gossip that said you''re making a music video at your house, so only the selected few can come. I want in. I want to be in a music video too~ And I want to leer on Alex~"


    Abraham continued to beg as he was dragged by us. I got annoyed by his incessant whining and knuckled his head, causing him to finally release Jacob and I and hold his head in pain.


    "Ow. I''m going to sue. This is assault. I will see you at court. Unless..." Abraham joked as he rubbed his head in pain while following us from behind.


    "If I ever plan a party, then I will invite you. But it isn''t a party. I''m only collecting beta testers." I said casually as we continued running.


    Abraham stopped pretending and said, "Hmm? Mobile games or apps? Or PC games? I can help you with that. I''m kinda a pro-gamer."


    "Sure. Come on by." I agreed to let him come easily as I needed data from various types of study groups. Abraham smiled widely, and before he could say something else, another boy suddenly interrupted our conversation to try and invite himself to my house.


    "Shuhh. Shuhh. We don''t need extras here. Or else I will tell your mom that you''re on Facebook and didn''t accept her friend request on purpose Leonard!"


    "BUT-"


    "GO AWAY LEONARD!"


    Abraham chased out the boy quickly as if he was herding a sheep. Although he was a nerd, Abraham had a reputation as the school bully. He was capable of bullying people through ingenious schemes, which earned my respect as a fellow agent of chaos.


    ...


    [3rd Person POV]


    -Alex''s class-


    Alex was sitting at her desk, taking notes as usual when a boy suddenly tapped her shoulder from behind. She turned around as a response and saw Jeremy Reed was trying to talk to her. The athletic kid was quite popular in her class, therefore she was confused as to why he wanted to talk to her.


    Before I could snatch back the papers, Dylan hurriedly pulled it away and said, "No. Thank you Oh wise one. I will totally read it after this."


    "Good good. You have grown well, young Padawan."


    "I have always grown well."


    "Maybe your height, but your brain isn''t well developed-"


    Dylan tried to hit my arm for the remark, but I dodged it easily and smacked the back of his head.


    "How dare you try to hit your shifu. Go do 100 push-ups. Now." I said jokingly as I laughed together with Dylan.


    The papers weren''t ordinary SAT reference materials and mock exam questions. I actually hacked into the Department of Education and found the question maker for California state''s exams before pinpointing her laptop from the numerous laptops inside the department and hacking into that.


    Then, I changed the questions slightly to give Dylan for studying. If he read my notes thoroughly like he said, he would at least get the average test score in the SAT and would open up a path for further education in the future.


    ''I could''ve given him the original question and made him remember it before the exam. That way, he could ace it without a doubt. But if he doesn''t put in the effort to better himself, why should I even care about him?''


    It was an opportunity for Dylan, and also a test from me.


    "Here. You should go do community service this weekend. I have registered you to volunteer at a nursing home. It''ll look good for your college application."


    "Okay...Soooo my shift is gone?" Dylan said, feeling a bit sad that he wouldn''t be able to make extra money by working on the ship.


    "Why? Are you missing the cougars? You didn''t have to go there if you want to meet them. If they have your phone number, they can just call you to their house-"


    "I''M NOT HUNTING FOR COUGARS!"


    "Really? If they offer you 10 grand for one night, do you take it or will you reject it?" I asked. Dylan fell into a deep contemplation afterward, making me laugh at him.


    After making fun of him, Dylan left to go to the pier as he had become addicted to work there. Not only did the crew members become a good influence on him, he had inwardly turned Dwayne into his father figure since he never had one and was already working hard to prove himself to the crew.


    I noticed it as he acted like a kid fishing for compliments when he did anything around Dwayne.


    "It''s a good thing Dwayne understands what he''s going through and didn''t take advantage of him." I muttered as I saw Dylan drive away. It proved how much he needed a positive parental figure in his life after lacking one for 18 years.


    After I took a shower and changed my clothes, I noticed that the hickey on my neck had faded.


    "Maybe because she didn''t have much time last night." I muttered as I changed into a tight grey t-shirt and jeans before walking to the 32 inch plasma screen tv and connecting the HDMI port with my laptop. The TV was a small one as I, nor my dad, had the chance to go and buy a new one after the family''s financial difficulty was stabilised.


    The game "Flappy Bird" was now displayed on the mounted to the wall TV inside the living room. Immediately after finishing the preparation, the first beta tester arrived at my house and rang the doorbell.


    "What''s up bro?!" Jacob clasped his hand with mine before changing it into a fist bump as he walked into the house.


    "Of course, my ''bro'' will be the first one to arrive." I said with a smile as I welcomed him to my crib. "Mi casa es tu casa."


    "Really?" Jacob beamed up as he hatched a sly scheme in his mind.


    "Of course, if you hook up with your girlfriend here, I will bury you under the ''casa''." I threatened him with a smile as I could practically read what he was thinking.


    Jacob coughed for a while and handed me his smartphone without saying anything. He was clear on what I wanted to do today as we already had a talk about it in school. I connect his phone with my laptop before installing the game on his phone while sitting on the sofa nearby the tv.


    "If you delete it, you won''t be able to recover it." I warned him.


    "If it''s a good game, then I won''t remove it." Jacob replied casually as he took the phone back.


    "Flappy bird?" He muttered as he pressed the game icon and launched the game on his phone.


    "Yup. Connect to the wifi at my house. Then, your score will be shown on the TV screen." I said while pointing at the TV. "I will also collect data from your gaming experience today, just to be clear on that. If you don''t want me to, then I won''t force you-"


    "What are you talking about? Just collect it." Jacob replied casually as he sat on the sofa to test the game. Before he played one round, I asked him, "Where''s your girl?"


    "She''s getting ready with Jenna. Don''t know why, but they want to change into a dress." Jacob answered. We looked at each other in contemplation before we decided to forget about the matter.


    *Ding Dong.*


    "Ah. second tester." I muttered before standing up and walking to open the door. The next guest to arrive was Abraham�C who was brought here by his mother.


    "My mom made brisket for everyone." Abraham said as he handed me a 10 pound beef brisket inside a large, transparent container with a blue lid.


    "Oh. Thank You Mrs Cohen!" I shouted to the driver inside a blue Volvo on the street while waving at her. The chubby Mrs Cohen waved back before driving away to leave the children alone as Abraham had lied to her about the existence of parental supervision from a chaperone inside the house.


    Abraham barged into the house and sat next to Jacob while peeking at the game he was playing.


    "Dude. One point? Seriously?" Abraham mocked after he saw Jacob''s highscore on the TV screen.


    "Shut up. It''s harder than you think!" Jacob defended himself as he got started on his 4th try of the game.


    "Please. I''m a pro." Abraham said as he handed his phone to me. After a quick installation and a few rounds of the game, the scoreboard changed into 3 points for Abraham, and 2 points for Jacob.


    "WHY IS THIS SO FRUSTRATING!?" Abraham and Jacob yelled out at the same time.


    *Ding-Dong*


    As I laughed at the boys'' miseries, another guest finally arrived at my house. I opened the door and greeted Abby, Tara, Haley, and Enid into the house.


    (Too tired yesterday. I will post another chap tomorrow to make it 4 Chapter this week.)

 Chapter 66: Curse of the Yellow Bird (Part 1)

    Chapter 66: Chapter 66: Curse of the Yellow Bird (Part 1)


    (I''ll be back Tuesday)


    [Abby POV]


    Honestly it was a little strange hanging out with someone you had dated before. But for some reason, I kept finding myself wanting more of him in my life. After school was over, Haley, Tara and I went back together using my car.


    Enid hitched a ride with us as she was a tiny girl. We picked her up at school before I drove us to my house.


    "Why not go straight there?" Tara asked. "I want to change my clothes." I said. The true reason was to remove my goth makeup and pretty myself up before meeting with Edward but I couldn''t tell them that. That was too embarrassing for anyone to admit.


    I changed my clothes to some short jeans, a crop top see through thread sweater with a black cropped tank top underneath. The outfit I wore both looked both baggy and sexy at the same time, which was picked on purpose today.


    I kind of wanted him to look, but also not too much. It was a stupid thought, I know.


    My stomach felt as if it had been filled with butterflies as we stood in front of Edward''s front porch. The dilapidated, messy and gloomy house I remembered had been completely changed when Edward started to take care of it a month ago. We could see some sunflowers growing healthily in front of the house, but they weren''t blooming yet.


    Tara knocked on the door and Edward opened it up soon after.


    "Welcome, the ''Totally Spies'' team." Edward greeted jokingly. He looked at Enid with a smile and said, "Welcome SPY A."


    Enid was silent and nodded in acceptance as she thought his words were fair. But Ed didn''t continue and turned to Tara before saying, "SPY B." Tara was confused by Edward having turned to another girl before she could ask what he meant.


    Next, he looked at Haley before licking his lips and saying, "SPY C. (Spicy)"


    Lastly, he turned to me and said, "SPY D."


    I quickly covered my chest as my eyes started to quiver. He looked at me with a mischievous grin, making me think that he knew...


    ''But how did he know? My cup size just got bigger last night. It''s now...in the D category...''


    [Haley POV]


    ''Spicy? He''s calling me hot?! NOW OF ALL TIMES! IN FRONT OF ABBY!? IS HE CRAZY?!'' I turned toward Abby with shaky eyes, only to find out she was ashen white and was hugging herself. My knees felt weak, and I knew I should say something to diffuse this situation.


    "ED! Seriously? Even if we-"


    Before I could finish speaking, Abby suddenly interrupted me, "You perv! Did you put a spy cam in my house? How did you know?!"


    "Know what?" Edward asked innocently, but his eyes were full of mischief. I was stunned, and became horrified a second later as I realized I almost shouted we had kissed in front of everyone even though he was only trying to prank me and Abby at the same time.


    "ED!" Abby yelled again and wanted to put him into an arm lock straight away. But he was already taller than her now and could easily avoid her attack smoothly by pulling Enid in front of him.


    "Sorry about this. Consider it payback for spying on me."


    Enid was baffled by how quickly the situation deteriorated from the moment Edward opened the door. To be honest, I was confused too. The joke quickly broke all of the awkwardness we had with each other and brushed away the certain difficult topic that was preventing us from truly enjoying each other''s company.


    I was grateful for him as he took the responsibility for himself, but I was feeling a bit sad too as he might have thought about the matter for a long time and stressed himself out alone �C just like when he thought about us dating each other wouldn''t work out before this.


    ''This kind of life...feels a bit... lonely...doesn''t it?''


    [Edward POV]


    Not knowing the misunderstanding in which I lit the fuse on inside Haley''s and Abby''s mind, I pulled Enid left and right to be my barrier against Abby. Finally, the ex-goth girl calmed down a bit and started to think clearly.


    "Did my mom tell you? How do you know?" Abby asked suspiciously. By now, she really thought that I had installed a camera in her house somewhere to spy on her.


    "You don''t remember telling me?" I asked with a grin.


    "NO! I never told you! I only told Haley!" Abby said anxiously. Haley tilted her head in puzzlement and asked, "Tell me what?"


    "What?" Abby was baffled when she saw that Haley didn''t remember it. "I just told you last night?"


    "You never texted me last night?" Haley asked in confusion. Abby darted her eyes between Haley and me before muttering, "Oh no."


    "Oh yes." I smirked mischievously as I took out my phone and shook it in front of Abby. Her face turned ashen and she tried to snatch my phone away, but I used my Enid defense once more.


    "How long should I suffer?" Enid muttered with a deadpan expression.


    "As long as necessary." I replied to her even though she didn''t expect an answer.


    Her eyes flashes a glint of excitement before it dimmed out again as she remembered she was only an extra in this party as she was not a part of the group.


    "Come on in." I finally welcomed them into the house after teasing them for a while. Haley and I stole a glance at each other as she walked in. I thought it was pretty funny that she was wearing modest clothes today. She gazed at my neck, and became embarrassed when she saw the spot where she put the hickey there last night.


    By this time, Abraham and Jacob had only reached 7 and 6 points in the game respectively and had become increasingly frustrated by it.


    "What? Only 7 points the highest? Are you guys noobs?" Tara joked as she saw the scoreboard on the TV. The boys gritted their teeths but they didn''t respond as they started the next game almost immediately to reach for a better score.


    Alex blushed hard as she saw my confident look while thinking about how hard I had worked on her gift before. She even considered stopping me from writing a song for her, but she stopped as her mind blanked out when I reached for her glasses.


    ''At my time, the lens index of refraction had reached more than 1.9, so a giant lens and giant frames was possible at that time. That''s why the trends move toward big glasses in my previous world. But now I had to make do with only index 1.7.''


    "I-I...will do the questionnaire now." Alex slapped my hand away before I could touch her glasses and skedaddled quickly toward where Abraham was sitting to ask him a few questions�C also to get away from me. Her face was beet red at that time.


    But then, something happened in the living room that made almost everyone stop what they were doing or feeling.


    "ARGHH!" Jacob suddenly shouted as he died in the game again, stood up abruptly, and almost threw his phone down on the floor.


    "JACOB DON''T! CALM THE F- DOWN!" I said while simultaneously censoring myself as there were kids in the house. Jacob finally realized what he almost did and breathed in relief as I had stepped in and stopped him from destroying his phone.


    "Everyone. If you''re frustrated, take a break. Remember. It''s just a game." I announced to the group as I led Jacob to the kitchen for a drink to calm himself down.


    ...


    [3rd Person POV]


    Running quickly to the living room while making loud high heel footstep sounds, Gloria asked hurriedly, "AY! What happened?! What happened?!"


    *Ding Dong*


    Suddenly, the doorbell rang as the next guest had arrived. As I was in the kitchen, Alex helped me open the door instead. Gloria turned to Haley and the teen girl replied hesitatingly, "Nothing happened Gloria. The game is just too hard. That''s it."


    "Oh. Good. I thought something happened." Gloria breathed a sigh of relief before turning to the kitchen.


    "Hey mom. Want to play it?" Manny asked before Gloria could walk away.


    Alex welcomed the two girls, Jenna and Elsa, into the house. Jenna was wearing a long black skirt and white blouse that made her look like a young Mrs. Henderson while Elsa wore her tube top and jacket as usual.


    "You guys are late." Alex said.


    "Jenna couldn''t find her fav bra-" Elsa said before her mouth was cupped by Jenna.


    "Sorry. Are you guys still playing?" Jenna said as she stopped Elsa from exposing her secrets.


    "Yeah. Come on in." Alex said and led the girls to the living room.


    "Hey. Where''s his room?" Jenna suddenly pulled Alex to the side and asked.


    "What? What are you thinking of doing? He won''t let you-" Alex said in suspicion, but stopped her words halfway as she remembered how easy it was for her and her sister to get permission to enter there. "...he will...probably. Anyway, it''s upstairs on the right. But ask him first before going there."


    "I know. I know." Jenna said dismissively as the duo walked past Abby and Haley. Edward returned to the living room while dragging two chairs in his hand before Jacob followed him from behind while carrying chairs too.


    [Edward POV]


    "Hey Jenna- Wait. Gloria, are you playing?" I said as my attention quickly turned to from the girls to the hot latin woman kneeling on the floor. Her sexy backside was covered by the standing Manny, otherwise the teen boys inside the living room wouldn''t be able to focus on their game�C not that Manny was doing it on purpose.


    "Si! The game is very difficult!" Gloria said in frustration.


    "Mom! Down Down. You''re going to fall!" Manny said hurriedly as he badgered his mother from behind.


    "Ay Manny don''t disturb- AHHH!!! MALDITO Pa?JARO YA VAS A VER... TE AGARRO Y TE TIRO A LA CACEROLA MALDITO HIJO DE...!!!! (DAMNED BIRD. YOU''ll SEE! WHEN I GET YOU I WILL THROW YOU RIGHT INTO A POT YOU CURSED SON OF A B-)" Gloria cursed as she lost the game.


    "Pfff-" I couldn''t hold back my laugh as I heard what Gloria was saying. She turned to me and wondered why I was laughing, but then she remembered.


    [Gloria''s commentary]


    "He...knows Spanish... and I cursed in front of him. Ayy! So embarrassing."


    [commentary ends]


    "I-I''ll make some drinks." Gloria said before running away from the living room.


    "Alex. Ask Gloria the questionnaire too after this." I ordered as I returned to my seat on the single seat couch and was reading the data on my laptop. Abby decided to stop playing the game and started playing around as Jenna''s existence here made her feel threatened.


    "Hey. Ed. Are you launching the game?" She said as she stood near me.


    "Yeah. Tomorrow I''ll put it on the Android and Apple store." I replied casually. Suddenly, Abby sat in my lap as the seat was too narrow for the both of us. Alex, Jenna, and Haley widened their eyes as they saw Abby''s brazenness.


    "Uhhh... what are you doing?" I said as I patted Abby''s butt unconsciously. She perched her ass directly on my hips and was squirming in a dangerous way as she looked at the data on my laptop. I knew that she was doing this on purpose, but I didn''t know why.


    "Wait. Kwazy Cupcakes. Candy Crush. Angry Birds. How many games did you have planned?" Abby asked in bewilderment as she saw my folders.


    "What? He has more games?" Haley said while approaching me. The lead highscore was cemented by Haley as she had reached more than 100 points with her immaculate tapping skills and she decided to play around like Abby too. She sat next to Abby�C still on my lap as they both sneaked a peek on my laptop.


    "Uhhhhh...." I was so baffled that I didn''t know how to respond to the situation.

 Chapter 67 - 67 : Curse of the Yellow Bird (Part 2)

    Chapter 67: Chapter 67 : Curse of the Yellow Bird (Part 2)


    [3rd Person POV]


    -Dunphy''s family-


    "Come on, Claire. I wanna go over there!" Phil said whiningly as he urged his wife who was reading a book while sitting on the dining table.


    "See here. He wrote this while he was 10." Claire said while showing the book to Phil.


    She muttered flatly, "'' Always had a fear of being typical. Looking at my body feeling miserable. Always hanging on to the visual. I wanna be invisible''... I mean. What kind of life had he lived to actually write something like this when he was 10?"


    "Don''t pretend to care. You''re only searching to see if he''s done bad stuff . Now, don''t invade his privacy any longer. What''s done is done. We''re giving Ted his family stuff back." Phil said after he snatched the book away from Claire.


    The only reason he didn''t stop her sooner was because he didn''t know what she was reading about. But now that he knew they were wasting time because Claire wanted to know Edward more, they could go over to his house to play the new game now.


    "But Phil. If he''s becoming family, then I need to know more about him. Give me-" Claire tried to take the book back, but Phil kept it away from her quickly.


    "No Claire. Imagine if he found out. Then, he won''t talk to us again. Is that what you want?" Phil said while trying to convince Claire.


    "FINE! I''ll stop!" Claire said in frustration before walking away to change her clothes. She stopped midway, turned to Phil and said, "But you''ve got to admit. Some stuff in there is worrying. If it were me, I''d put him in therapy immediately."


    "I''m sure...he''s just expressing his creativity through writing. It''s fine Claire. If you''re that worried, I''ll talk to Ted about this."


    "You don''t ever talk to anyone about anything. Have you talked to Ed yet about why he spoke Japanese when he was asleep?" Claire said mockingly.


    "I will...Soon.!" Phil replied defensively and said, "Go change now. We''re really really late!"


    Claire suddenly realized something. "Wait Phil. Did Ted say he was going to be home?"


    "I don''t think so. Also, he''s your boss. You are supposed to know." Phil said in confusion. Claire checked her laptop, which was open on the kitchen counter quickly and her face turned spooked.


    "Phil! He''s at work!"


    "So?"


    "That means, there''s no adults there! The kids are partying...without anyone to supervise OH GOD. THEY ARE GOING TO MAKE LOVE!" Claire said then ran to her bedroom to change her clothes quickly.


    "NO THEY WON''T!" Phil shouted to Claire to reassure her while keeping complete faith in Edward.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Uhhhh..."


    To be honest, I have no idea what to do now. I''ve had girls on my lap before, but normally only one at a time. I should be able to enjoy these feelings of something new, but why the hell did it make me anxious instead.


    "This is, a card game? Are people going to be playing card games on their phones?" Abby said while gently pressing her firm buttocks on my hips. As the two girls continued moving, the flag was raised at half mast, and I didn''t know how long I had until it reached full mast.


    "I''m sure he''ll do great. Let me see the Kwazy Cupcake plans again." Haley said while pushing Abby''s buttock away with her ass and perching hers on my hips too. Then, she took it a step further and started grinding slightly.


    My half-mast was now surrounded by each of their cheeks and was raised slowly, and it''s entering the danger zone. Luckily I was wearing jeans so it was a bit restricted at the moment, but it was still pushing against the girls, which made them even more excited.


    "Guys. if you don''t get off of him, I''ll spray you with a hose." Tara said with a deadpan expression as she watched her two best friends compete with each other and completely victimize me in the process.


    "Yeah Haley. Go sit with Tara. There''s a spot open near-" Abby turned to look at the 3 seat couch, only to find that Tara had changed seats to sit with her little sister at the 2 seat couch, and Jenna had sat on the empty seat there.


    But something even more eye-catching at the 3 seat couch was that Elsa was sitting on Jacob''s lap and in between his arms and was playfully kissing his neck as he was playing the game.


    "That''s...so brazen..." Abby mumbled under her breath before glancing sneakily at my face. Haley did so too and she started leaning back into my embrace.


    "No." I replied curtly before the doorbell rang and pinched both of their asses, causing them to let out a cute yelp at the same time. Claire knocked on the door anxiously from outside saying, "Hello Ed. We''re here!"


    "OH MY GOD!" Haley was flabbergasted and pulled Abby with her as she dove to the floor the instant Claire was opening the unlocked door. Claire and Phil walked in, and Gloria walked to the living room from the kitchen to greet them, as she was excited to see another adult there.


    While the trio was talking, Haley and Abby sneaked away�C crawling on the ground to get to the 2 seat couch directly in front of Edward''s seating spot.


    "Tsk Tsk Tsk." Tara clicked her tongue at her friend as she watched them in their miserable state.


    "Shut up." Abby and Haley said the same thing to Tara. She shrugged and continued playing the game while talking with her sister.


    "Is this a normal occurrence for you?" Enid asked her sister in a whisper.


    "Kinda. Both of them are pretty weird." Tara replied casually.


    "You. Get off him." Claire said while snapping her finger as she pointed at Elsa. Although dissatisfied, Elsa reluctantly slid down to the floor, leaning her back on Jacob''s legs as she didn''t want the adult there to report it to her mother.


    "Hi Claire. Phil, you''re looking dapper." I greeted both of them without standing up as my body needed time to calm down from the attack before.


    "I mean. I always look handsome. Claire could back me up." Phil said jokingly, which was met with an awkward smile by Claire.


    "Ay Claire. They aren''t doing anything. They are just playing games. Don''t bother them." Gloria said as she tried to pull the adults away.


    "Dad, do you want to play?" Luke called Phil from his spot. The two kids were completely oblivious to what was happening behind them as they were focusing on the game before.


    "Ed. Whose laptop is this?" Phil said as he pointed at the laptop Luke and Manny were playing with. "That''s my dad''s."


    "Oh yeah. You''re still using the laptop we bought before? How is it?"


    I was a bit confused when Phil was searching for reaffirmation from me, so I replied, "Yeah. It''s a great laptop. You showed real skills for picking the right one, Phil."


    "Ed. Are you really suing her?" Claire said in concern. "She''s pretty young, she might''ve made a mistake-"


    "Claire. She was smart enough to use the police to back up her claims. She was smart enough to use the media to slander me. I''m doing her a favor now. She needs to learn the consequences of her actions. Some people live their lives without anyone holding them responsible for their shitty behavior; they live their entire lives thinking it is okay for them to do this kind of stuff."


    "...You''re kind of scary now." Luke was reminded of how persistent I was with his bike conspiracy prior to this.


    "But Ed. "Won''t it be better to forgive?" Manny said as he couldn''t pry his eyes away from the beautiful girl''s Facebook pictures displayed on the screen.


    "Manny. You''re talking with your dick. Pretty doesn''t mean they''re not responsible for their actions." I said before turning to Haley, leaving a stunned Manny and Gloria, who were trying to cover his ears as I cursed, but it was too late.


    "Can you post something for me?"


    "S-Sure." Haley replied with a stutter as she too thought that I was looking extra scary even though I had a smile on my face the entire time.


    Tara said hurriedly, "Ed. I''m really sorry for this. It''s all my fault. If I didn''t tell Madelyn about where you-"


    "Don''t worry about it. It''s not your fault. I''d expected this after she asked me out, and I rejected her before."


    With their eyes widened in shock, Haley and Abby exclaimed at the same time, "She asked you out?!"


    I was a bit startled by their synchronization before I answered, "Y-Yeah. She told me to forget about what happened before, but in no way did she give me an apology for it. She said, and I quote, ''You can do whatever you want with my body'' . But honestly, I''d rather touch a 100-day-old rotting corpse with maggots than actually touch her."


    Jenna heard my words and blinked her eyes slowly twice before asking, "Did you say that to her face?" And she continued under her breath, "...like you did to me?"


    I didn''t quite catch what she said at the end, but I answered her with a short smile regardless, "No. I actually put a lot of effort into... not doing that. I didn''t say anything to her."


    "I''m sorry for before...you know...when I called you names," I said as I noticed she was avoiding my gaze. "You turned out to be a pretty good friend when I got to know you better."


    Jenna beamed up and giggled to herself shyly while Elsa rolled her eyes at her best friend. "Great. Now she''s going to be even more insane." Elsa muttered.


    "Ed. Maybe if you get to know that girl better too-" Phil tried to intervene to diffuse my anger.


    "Nah. This is different. She maliciously schemed against me. I won''t forgive her so easily." I said decisively before typing something on Haley''s feed and attaching the picture of the cop before.


    Phil attempted to calm me down once more, "But. Ed. She''s so young-"


    "Phil. You do know she''s the reason why Haley and I fought before this right?"


    Phil widened his eyes before declaring seriously, "Burn her to the ground."


    "PHIL!" Claire admonished him quickly.


    [Hey guys, Edward Newgate here, borrowing Haley Dunphy''s Facebook page. Big things are coming soon, so look forward to them.


    I know some malicious rumors have been started around here, but here we are with the one and only Buddy we know and we love, settling things right with the law. Don''t buy into the filth out there, and don''t worry, our label''s legal team is already working hard to protect our good name.]


    The picture showed Buddy the cop smiling while being with a group of children, therefore, it would change the slander narrative that I was arrested by the police. If the people were smart enough, they would figure out that Madelyn was lying. If they couldn''t figure it out, that was just an indictment of the American education system.


    "By the way, 2000 friends? Do you even know all of them?" I asked Haley jokingly after uploading the post. Likes and Comments notifications begin popping out before I log out of Haley''s Facebook account on my laptop.


    "Okay, let''s continue with the beta test. I want to finish the game tonight." I told the group to change the topic.


    The testing went on for 3 more hours before I finally got the data I needed. One by one, the guests left the house. I gave Abraham the empty container back after we had all enjoyed his mother''s brisket before this.


    "Say thanks to your mom. And don''t forget to give her this." I said while handing him a slice of tiramisu cake to take home.


    "At least this will soothe the anger in my heart." Abraham said in a depressed tone.


    "Big deal. Alex ignored you, and Haley beat your high score easily. Maybe you should consider the undeniable fact that... ''you suck'' instead of blaming it on others-"


    "Bitch!" Abraham cursed before laughing out loud at my joke and waving goodbye as he walked to his mother''s car.


    Next were Jacob and Elsa, who were dissatisfied as I caught them in front of my room trying to find a private place to make out with each other.


    "Don''t be mad. Next time, maybe you''ll get lucky and Jacob''s mom will need to go on a church cruise or something. Besides, it''s too risky to do it here anyway as there are a lot of adults here at the moment."


    "Okay. Stop talking about it." Elsa said while pulling Jacob away. "We''re going to go and watch a movie at the mall. We can make out there."


    As Elsa, the little girl, pulled the giant Jacob away, he said, "I would love that."


    Manny and Gloria had headed home earlier than everyone else as Jay planned to take them out for dinner at a restaurant. Jay wished me all the best with my launch and even offered to invest in the game, but I rejected him as the game was almost completed.


    After Jacob left, Tara and Enid were picked up by their parents to get home as they had plans to go on a vacation together.


    "You''re quite a good gamer Enid. I hope we can hang out again soon." I said to the little one.


    "...Wait. Really? You want to hang out with me?"


    "Yeah. Aren''t we already friends now? That''s what friends do?" I was confused by her choice of words, but then I noticed that her face lit up with happiness. She tried to control it and act cool though, saying, "Sure. I''ll hang out with you if you want."


    "Sweet. Bye!~" I waved goodbye at the two siblings before returning to the living room. I snapped my fingers at Alex before saying, "Let''s go take the pictures. I want to see what suits you best."


    "O-Okay."


    "Wait. I wanna model too." Haley said in a hurry before following us from behind. "I want to watch." Abby said as she followed the group too.


    Claire said to Phil, "I should probably go supervise them..."


    (Author: Its been a tough couple of days. I want to get right back into writing, but I find myself unable to do it immediately. I will slowly get back into it.)

 Chapter 68: Curse of the yellow bird (Part 3)

    Chapter 68: Chapter 68: Curse of the yellow bird (Part 3)


    [Edward POV]


    Despite me only inviting Alex into my room, Abby and the entire Dunphy family had followed along�C squeezing themselves inside my small room to join in the fun.


    "Let''s try the circular frame glasses first." I said as I held a papier-mache glasses frame model that took me a lot of work to detail gently and put it on Alex''s face.


    As I had told her not to move casually to avoid breaking the model, she had to face me without managing to avoid her gaze as we sat face to face for me to study her compatibility with the glass frame.


    "She looks like Harry Potter." Luke said.


    "Urgh You-" Alex was angered and wanted to turn her face toward Luke who was standing behind her, but I grabbed both sides of her face to stop her from moving.


    "Stay still, Alex. First warning."


    "First warning? What are you going to do when she runs out of warning?" Phil asked while closing Luke''s mouth to prevent him from saying anything else. Except for Haley and Abby who were sitting on my bed, the rest of the family was standing behind Alex.


    "Punish her of course." I replied casually and with a mischievous smile. Before Alex could retort, I said, "The frame is great-"


    "So Vain." Abby retorted from behind. I gave a side eye to her before continuing talking to Alex, "But as your baby fat is still there. It''s not compatible with your face shape. Let''s try something else."


    As she had to take off her glasses during the test, Alex''s farsightedness only allowed her to look at my face clearly�C only at my face. Her eyes were glued to my every facial expression change, laugh, face symmetry, and everything else that she could see on me.


    Her face blushed red which made me wonder if she was embarrassed to be doing this in front of her family.


    Haley laughed a little and said, " Hey Alex. He called you fat."


    "You have Baby Fat cheeks too." I said before Alex could explode, stunning Haley immediately. Alex and Claire laughed at Haley''s reaction while Phil and Luke got distracted and went on to take a tour of my room instead.


    "I''m not fat!" Haley said hurriedly.


    If there was one thing I understood clearly about Haley was that she was very self-conscious about her weight�C Alex even said she had an eating disorder in the series one time in my previous life. Therefore, I had to tread lightly while dealing with this topic.


    "I''m not saying you''re fat. Your figure is very thin. I''m just saying you have a baby fat cheek. It''s common in adolescence, and it''ll disappear when you become an adult. Just ask your mom and dad." I said reassuringly without even looking at Haley and changed Alex''s glasses type to a top-half rectangular, bottom half circular glasses type.


    "Oh. She looks good in this." I muttered in satisfaction.


    "Let me see!" Claire said hurriedly and got in between Alex and I. "Oh. She looks really cute!"


    "Wait really?" Phil said excitedly.


    "Really?!" Haley muttered in disappointment.


    Abby already grabbed the circular glasses and put them on while calling for me.


    "Ed. Does this make me look cute?" She said as she made a few poses with the empty glasses frame.


    "It does. But if you wore glasses for a fashion statement rather than necessity, my opinion on you will be lowered instantly."


    "Uhhh..." Abby was flabbergasted as didn''t expect me to be so callous while Alex nodded lightly a few times as she felt satisfied that someone had shared the same line of thinking with her in this world.


    "So we''re picking this for Alex right?"


    Haley wanted to end the test quickly as the sight of me getting intimate with Alex was making her uncomfortable. But I haven''t finished testing all of my frames yet.


    "This one is a full rectangular frame." I said as I put a Rayban design frame on her face. After studying her face for a few seconds, I said, "This one is great too."


    "But you said it with no excitement in your face. Why?" Alex asked.


    "I''m torn now. Which one should I pick?" I said as I put my hand underneath my chin and started thinking deeply.


    Alex was baffled and said, "Couldn''t I choose?"


    I mulled her words and said decisively, "...No."


    Alex became irritated and said, "Why not? I''m the one who''s going to wear it!"


    "You can''t even look at your reflection wearing that, and I''m supposed to trust your decision?"


    She opened her mouth to retort, but no word could come out. "Um- Well..."


    "Well is a hole on the ground when you''re thirsty. Just trust me. You can count on me to make the right decision."


    "Uuuuu....Burn!" Luke exclaimed to tease Alex. She turned to him and said with a scrunch up, puzzled face, "That''s not a burn. Just shut up if you can''t understand english."


    "Well yeah. How about this for a burn? You''re short!" Luke retorted...well...he tried. Claire and Phil shook their heads slightly while Haley laughed at Luke''s burn as she really thought that did something.


    "Ed, you''re going to take the pictures now?" Haley asked. I turned toward her and saw both of the girls were playing with the frame model. "Want us to model for you?" Haley said while lowering her half-half glasses frame seductively.


    "... if the model is broken I''m going to sue you guys." I said without mercy.


    ...


    After getting the pictures, I returned to the living room to clean up, just to see that everything had been straightened up and tidied. The empty glasses had been put into the dishwasher, the sofa cushion had been fixed and chopped up, and the table had been wiped with a clean rag.


    "Claire. Did you do this?" I asked in confusion as I turned to Claire who was standing behind me.


    "No. I went up straight after." Claire replied, not knowing what was the problem there."Ed. We''re going to go home now. Abby, you''re going home too." Claire said.


    "But-"


    "No. I''m not letting you guys hang out alone in an empty house. That kind of environment is dangerous for teens."


    "Hey. Are you really going to create a song for me? I want you to know that it isn''t necessary anymore. The glasses are enough." Alex said as Claire had pulled both Haley and Abby to the front door.


    "Too late Alex. Too late." I muttered mischievously, causing Alex to widen her eyes.


    "You''d...done it?" Alex asked with a mixture of horrified and excitement displayed within her expression.


    I shrugged and said casually, "I got inspired while testing the frames before this. It still needs a few tweaks though."


    "MOM! I NEED YOU HERE!" Alex called out to her mother automatically as she didn''t know how to handle the situation. Claire turned her head to look at Alex and I while releasing her grip on Haley''s and Abby''s hand.


    "What happened?" Claire asked as she walked toward us.


    "He wrote a song. For me." Alex replied woodenly, amusing me with her colorful reactions. Haley and Abby''s face turned pale white as they heard it.


    "That man-whore." Abby muttered while Haley agreed with her.


    [Phil and Claire''s commentary]


    "I feel bad for suspecting him. Feeling embarrassed from a song about friends proved that he''s still a young kid." Claire said and paused for a while as she waited for Phil to talk, but he didn''t.


    "Phil?" Claire called out to him softly to snap him out of his daydreaming.


    "Uh sorry. I''m thinking about my life as a fish. If I''m a fish I have to be a swordfish...or a hammerhead shark..." Phil said in excitement.


    "Or a blowfish." Claire added with a smile. Phil laughed as he looked at Claire''s face before pushing her shoulder with his finger and said, "Someone''s feeling naughty."


    Claire was flabbergasted by her unconscious innuendo and gazed into the camera with disbelief.


    [Alex''s commentary]


    "At first, I thought he thought about it a lot when he made the song for Haley. But when this happened, it made me realize that he didn''t plan anything at all. Rather, the song is too easy for him to get it out; it''s like putting coins into a musical vending machine." Alex said.


    She paused and then showed a bright smile afterward, "And that vending machine is my best friend."


    Her face turned deadpan and she said, " I really hope he won''t date my sister. Ugh. I wanted to puke when I thought about it.."


    [3rd Person POV]


    "Abby, I''ll walk you." Haley said as she separated from her family members to walk with her friends.


    "Haley. Don''t take too long!" Claire shouted from afar as Haley moved into a different direction from her house.


    "Okay mom!" Haley said as she grabbed Abby''s arm before whispering, "So. Are we going to talk about it?"


    "Talk about what?" Abby asked, trying to play it cool.


    "About how you blatantly seduced your ex-boyfriend at his house. I thought you guys were finished. So why did you do that? Do you want him back?" Haley asked while hiding her tumultuous heart.


    "I don''t know. I lo- Like him. Just because we were broken up, doesn''t mean that I can throw away all of my feelings for him. I missed him...a lot." Abby said with a sigh.


    She turned to Haley and shared what was in her mind, "Although we said we''re going to be friends after. It was... awkward between us. We talked, but it wasn''t the same."


    "So when we reach a point where we can hang out normally again, all of the feelings I have resurfaced. I''m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable. You helped me to avoid making things awkward before, right? That''s why you sat on him with me?" Abby said, feeling extra grateful today that she has a friend like the girl in front of her.


    Haley''s eyes shook and she said, "Y-Y-Yeah. It''s all planned out."


    "You know. You''re pretty smart Haley. You helped me in such a sophisticated way. If someday after I had gotten back to New York, and you felt that you wanted to ask Edward out. Do it. I will be rooting for you then." Abby said as she gave Haley a light hug.


    [Haley''s commentary]


    While punching her chest a few times, Haley said in frustration, "The guilt is eating me inside out. UGH! But...thank god Ed and I didn''t date. Otherwise...it''ll be a disaster."


    [Commentary ends]


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "I need a shower." I said as I took off my clothes and walked to the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around my waist.


    I turned on the shower and put my head under the cold water to distinguish the excitement my body was experiencing from the girl''s attack before this.


    "Damn those two girls." I said as I put shampoo on my hair. My lower body kept asking to be ''taken care'' of, but I was too tired to care. As I was washing my hair, I suddenly heard the door hinges shrieking quietly as if someone was entering the bathroom. I didn''t lock it as I knew I was the only one in my house before I took a bath.


    "Hmm?" I peeked at the door with a head filled with soap, but I didn''t see anything unusual, just the door was opened slightly.


    "The wind maybe." I muttered as I continued to take a bath. After finishing my shower, I put on a robe and walked downstairs to get some coffee as I planned on staying up late today.


    Suddenly, the doorbell rang. I was confused as it wasn''t time for my dad to get home yet, but then I heard a familiar voice calling for me from the outside.


    "Ed. Are you there?" Haley was calling me with a frantic voice. I hurriedly opened the door in case something terrible had happened to her and said, "What happened? Are you alright?"


    "No. I''m in trouble. We both are in trouble." Haley said with desperation as she barged into my house. I closed the door and walked toward Haley who directly went to sit at the sofa.


    "Explain it to me." I said calmly.


    Haley opened her mouth, and then she realized she had almost exposed what Abby had shared to her personally before.


    "Anyway. You shouldn''t flirt with Abby, or me anymore!" Haley said. I sighed as I thought something terrible had happened. "I know. I''d controlled myself greatly today. It was the two of you that decided to torture me. What are you guys thinking about anyway?"


    "When did we torture you?" Haley said as she closed her face with mine, her left hand fell into my thing.


    "You know what you were doing this evening, like you''re doing right now. Don''t put your hand so close. I''m not wearing anything underneath."


    Haley blushed, but she didn''t take off her hand. "I''m serious about this. No more."


    "You said that yesterday too, and today you did it in front of your parents. So forgive me if I can''t believe what you''re saying right now." I said teasingly. Haley''s eyes shook before her gaze was distracted with something else.


    She saw the light hickey mark on my neck that became prominent as I took a hot shower before. She was quickly reminded of the affairs of last night, and wanted to remove her hand before she accidentally slipped and it fell straight to my manhood.


    "Ah!" Haley let out a cute yelp before she said, "Why are you fidgety"


    "Haley! Come on!" I said as I stood up abruptly. "Also I''m not fidgety. But you and Abby''s teasing make me almost out of my mind. So, just leave. Before I do something that I would regret."


    Haley ignored my words and said, "Wait? You''re not? Then...why is it so..."


    "Haley. Be sure where you are going with this." I said as I turned toward her. Haley sighed before she said, "Okay. I know."


    She stood up from the couch and stood facing me before she said, "Seriously. After today. No more."


    "Yeah. No more."


    Then, she gave me an unexpected hug. A hug that someone would give if they wanted to say goodbye to someone else. I held the back of her waist as she wrapped her arms around my neck. Then, she realized something was poking at her from underneath.


    After a short period of internal struggle, she followed her impulses and said, "You know. It is my fault anyway."


    "What is?" I asked in confusion. Suddenly, she infiltrated her hands underneath my robe. "So I-I''ll help you to t-take care of this. After that, we''re not flirting anymore."


    ...


    After walking Haley almost to her house, I returned to my home to take a nap. I had set an alarm to wake me up at 4 am to finish the game before the 9 am launch.


    I planned to send her to her house but she thought if someone saw it, they would get suspicious about it, and only allowed me to 20 meters from her house. I could see she walked in safely, and that was enough for me.


    As I laid in the bed and fell into dreamland, I didn''t realize that someone was standing nearby my bed and was watching me sleep. The same person who had peeked at me while I was showering was still in my house, as I technically haven''t sent her away today after the beta test was over.

 Chapter 69: Flappy Bird launch.

    Chapter 69: Chapter 69: Flappy Bird launch.


    (A/N: Nice)


    [Haley POV]


    "What''s wrong with you?!" Alex asked in confusion as I entered the room.


    "Hmm? What''s wrong with me?" I asked as I touched my face to understand what she was talking about.


    "You look...relaxed...like you just got back from a spa or something." Alex said before she lost interest and continued reading her book.


    I swallowed my saliva in fear of how sharp my sister was before I went under my blanket and pretended to go to sleep to avoid answering the question.


    ''Alex is so scary.'' I thought. Edward managed to do what none of the other boys I dated before did, that was....granted permission to go ''down there.''


    "But I cannot do that again!" I whined as I kicked up the blanket without getting my legs out of it. The feeling of ''what if'' and ''if I could'' kept haunting me. Why did I ever decide to stay as friends with him?


    "Shut up!" Alex scolded me as I was too noisy while she was trying to study. I became docile and laid down quietly in bed before I said to her, "What do you think about his song for you?"


    "It''s good." Alex replied curtly as she was disinterested in having the conversation with me. I scoffed and said, "A song about... ''Friends.'' HA! You''re in the friend zone Alex!"


    "Your song is about a girl who got dumped after a one night stand. I wouldn''t be proud of it if I were you." Alex said sarcastically.


    "NO! It''s ABOUT FORBIDDEN LO... I mean ummm being true to oneself ?? Yeah, being true to oneself !" I defended my song while throwing a bear doll at Alex. "JERK!"


    [Haley''s commentary]


    "I nearly told Alex what happened, just minutes after being alone with her. What''s wrong with me?? And Why did I want to tell her everything ??"


    {commentary ends]


    "Ow! SKANK!" Alex cursed as the bear hit her head.


    "HMPH! I''m not talking to you!" I said as I angrily pulled the blanket to cover my face.


    Alex turned off her desk lamp and went to bed 15 minutes later, making the entire room dark. She lost all mood to study after our short fight.


    Underneath my blanket, I was having a truly intense struggle about my actions today.


    "Why did I say he''s not like other guys?! THAT MEANT I DID A LOT OF GUYS! UGHH! He noticed, didn''t he? ARHH!"


    Although my words were on purpose to make him lose interest in me, the way he reacted caused me to admire him more. I guess he knew that I was only pretending to be a slutty girl, and was still a virgin at the time. The skills were from mock practice! (cucumber lol)


    ''Haley Dunphy is the most popular girl in school! I got a reputation to keep!''


    But now, I wasn''t sure that being a popular girl was the path I wanted to take anymore. It was easy being dumb and pretty, but I always felt lonely �C Like no one really understood me in this world.


    Ed spoke up for me. He helped me get closer to my mother. He sang a song for me, and threw away his prejudice towards my grandmother just for us.


    "It''s not fair! He''s too young. Why am I attracted to him?" I muttered. Abby''s words about giving me the green light for dating him in the future after she left, kept ringing in my mind. Blood rushed to my face as I thought about what we had done tonight.


    I stared at my phone, and saw that it was almost 1 am.


    "He''s sleeping now...right? Or...Is he like me�C restless and unable to sleep, as he keeps thinking about what we did before- Argh Whatever!"


    I reluctantly went to take a shower and clean up all of his traces from my body before I finally fell asleep that night. As if God wanted to torture me, I dreamt about the both of us going ''all the way'' as I gave him my first time... I may pretend to be "slutty" but I wouldn''t go so far as to actually be with someone that I wasn''t sure was worth the experience.


    [Jenna POV]


    (A/N: She seems mentally unstable, which was on purpose. I will tell you why this bit was important during the decathlon arc)


    -Evening, before the party had ended-


    "Are you sure you''re not coming with us?" Elsa asked before she and Jacob left Edward''s house.


    "Yeah. I''m going to stay for a while. Don''t worry, my mom will send someone to come pick me up."


    As I waved goodbye to Jacob and Elsa, I went to Edward''s kitchen and started avoiding him to make sure he didn''t know I''d stayed behind. He did ask Alex about me a few times, but even Alex didn''t realize that I was still there, and they came to the conclusion that I had left with Jacob and Elsa to go to the cinema.


    From there, I lurked around his house until everything was over.


    "Oh...He''s singing a song...for Alex?" I muttered in jealousy as I enjoyed watching him sing from the gap of the closet door I peeked through. He created a phenomenal song as usual, but my heart felt uncomfortable as I saw him laughing around with the family.


    "He never showed me that kind of smile...ever..."


    A sincere smile that showed he truly enjoyed the company of the family. A smile where he was comfortable to be himself around them.


    "All I ever have is a teasing smile, or a kind smile, but never a sincere one."


    The family had left now. It''s just the two of us inside the house. My heart beats quickly as I follow him around without him realising it�C not noticing how creepy my actions were. I just wanted to understand him better.


    "He''s....taking a shower!"


    I took a small jump, giddily dancing around before silently walking toward the bathroom. I opened up the door and peeked at him from outside �C but I was almost caught by him, therefore I could only see his body for a few seconds.


    However, that was enough for me to replay the memory while adding my imagination to it.


    ''It''s big! AHH~!'' I thought in excitement before running away to the closet. As I was stalking him, suddenly the doorbell rang.


    "That''s the girl...Haley...why is she here?" I thought as I saw her sitting next to Ed on the couch. I couldn''t hear what they were talking about, but their conversation was heated. Suddenly, their conversation turned physical and they were doing adult things in the living room.


    "NO! He''s MINE!" I muttered in dissatisfaction as I watched the whole thing. I got turned on watching them, and my hand unconsciously slid into my panties as I watched. However, they didn''t have sex with each other, and I found out that they agreed to end their entanglement today.


    ''So they are broken up? I''m confused.''


    My breath became heavy as I dazedly entered Edward''s room while he was sleeping. I gazed at his face and muttered, "Liar. You told me you liked smart girls."


    "You told me you liked milfs."


    "But then you do that with Haley, so What am I supposed to do now?"


    "She''s like me, you know? So why couldn''t it be me?"


    Without me realizing it, tears fell out of my eyes as I asked the sleeping Ed my questions. I slowly got into bed with him, and I cuddled with him. I touched his ''weapon'', but the moment I did that, I remembered how angry he was when Madelyn slighted him before.


    ''Actions...have consequences...If he knew I was here...then I guess he would get a restraining order against me...''


    I finally realized that I had been creeping around him for too long, and I left soon after�C but not till I got a sample of what he tasted like�C kissing his lips before disappearing. My driver had already waited 6 hours outside the house so I just silently got into the car.


    "It''s not troubling at all! I''ll be glad to do it!" Abby said.


    "I thought we were going to the mall?" Desire mumbled in disappointment while looking dejected.


    "We can go in the afternoon. I want to see him launching his game." Abby said to try and comfort her mother.


    "He said it''s not worth seeing. He would just upload the game to the store...and that''s it." Ted said, not to prevent Abby from going over there, but it was what Edward had said to comfort him for missing the launch event.


    "Then I''ll just go to give him breakfast." Abby said decisively. Desiree sighed and turned to Ted.


    "How about this? After you finish, come pick me up at the Marina. I want to see the port as I have never gone there before." Desiree said. "I''ll hitch a ride with Captain Ted- if that''s alright with you?"


    Ted gulped his saliva as he saw Desiree batting her eyes at him. "O-Okay. We can do that."


    "Excellent." Desiree said as she moved her seat to sit at Ted''s table. She lightly touched Ted''s arm as she talked with him about how his son saved her before, and kept being flirty with him.


    However, Abby still didn''t realize what her mother was doing as she was too absorbed with the whole Ed situation.


    "What should I say when I enter his house? Breakfast is here? What if he thinks I am the food? Will he eat me? Ehehe~" She mumbled gleefully as she waited for the order to arrive. Maxine returned with the food soon after, and Abby grabbed the packaged food from Maxine before she could put it down on the table.


    "I''ll meet you there!" Abby said as she waved goodbye to her mother.


    "No rush~!" Desiree replied as she dragged her words before running her hands up and down Ted''s biceps again. "Oh. You''re so hard. You must work out a lot." She said as she ''accidentally'' squeezed Ted''s arm.


    "*Ehem* I do...quite a bit." Ted replied with a flushing face as he still hadn''t taken the hint despite Desiree''s advances toward him.


    Abby texted Haley before she drove to Ed''s house in excitement, not knowing how her text message would make Haley react. But she was lucky as there was no way for Haley to wake up in the early morning on a Saturday.


    Haley was still sleeping, with her hair unkempt and her mouth half opened. A strand of hair was stuck on her face because of the drool coming out of her mouth. Her phone chimed a few times, but she didn''t even flinch at the sound.


    "Mom. I''m going to Edwards house to pick up my bike!" Luke ran toward the front doors without wearing his pants from his excitement.


    "Luke! Pants first!" Claire yelled at him from the kitchen. Luke finally realized he was in his tighty whities as he looked at his legs. He ran up to his room, passing by Alex who was going downstairs while reading the novel, "The Scarlet Letter."


    "Honey. Can you please go with Luke to get his bike back? He finished all of his chores today." Claire requested with a kind voice as Alex rarely gave her trouble when asked to do something.


    "No problem. I''ll make sure he won''t get his bikes back. That way, he will clean up the toilet after using them." Alex said casually and before Claire could react, she was already outside the door.


    "This might be a mistake." Claire muttered in concern. Then she shrugged and exclaimed dismissively, "Oh well," before going to the kitchen to make breakfast for the kids. Phil had an open house to attend today, and left the house around 6 am, so he couldn''t come with Luke in his quest to finally reclaim what was his.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Bagel." I ordered.


    A pale white hand picked up the bagel and fed me while I was focusing on finishing the game.


    "Coffee." I ordered.


    Abby picked up the cup of coffee she got from my kitchen and said in dissatisfaction while feeding me the coffee, "This wasn''t what I expected when I came here today."


    "What Did you expect?" I smirked teasingly as I glanced at her. She avoided my eyes and answered with a stutter, "A-Anyway. Are you finished?"


    "Soon. I''m compiling." I said as I took a break from my laptop. I stretched my arms to the air as I let out a grunt. I massaged my right shoulder after that.


    "Are you okay?" Abby asked in concern.


    "I''m just tired." I replied.


    "I''ll help you massage it." Abby said before she stood behind me and put her hands on my shoulders. Right then, Alex and Luke barged into my room.


    "Hey, you didn''t lock the door. That''s dangerous." Alex said casually as I turned toward her with a surprised expression.


    "I want my bike. I did the chores. I want it." Luke demanded as he held his right arm towards me.


    "Speak politely." I said with a devilish grin.


    Luke whimpered before he changed his attitude, "May...May I have my bike back...please..sir?"


    "You don''t have to call me sir. Sure you can get your bike back. You did well. Of course, you could have gotten it earlier if you had just listened to me in the first place, but this is good too." I said as I threw him the key to his bike lock.


    "This is for the new bike. Come by next week and we will get started on pimping out your old bike."


    "Yes!!" Luke shouted in excitement as his misery was over. I do hope he learnt something from this lesson and will apply it in his daily life after this.


    I turned to Alex who had a smile on her face as she was infected by her brother''s excitement. Although she always teased him , she was genuinely happy for him too when he achieved anything.


    Alex noticed I was staring at her and hid her smile immediately.


    "No. I''m just happy I don''t have to report to you anymore. It''s exhausting to have to supervise him."


    "Sure. Let''s go with that excuse." I said teasingly , making Alex avoid my eyes in embarrassment.


    "Hello children!" Suddenly Pepper appeared from behind Luke and Alex, startling everyone there.


    "That''s a bit of an overreaction. I told you I was coming. I thought that''s why you didn''t lock the door." Pepper said as he barged into the room. He looked at Abby who was frozen in spot while still holding my shoulder and said, "You guys have broken up... right?"


    "R-Right-"


    "Hey. Continue massaging. Alex, follow Luke to fetch the bike. Don''t let him touch anything else in the garage."


    "Sure." Alex replied.


    "I don''t need a babysitter!" Luke said in annoyance.


    Pepper waited downstairs for me to finish with my game. I uploaded the game exactly at 9 am and was finally finished with my first project in this world. I released 2 versions of the game, one with an ads option, one without. The one without cost 99�� a month while the other one was free.


    "Now. We wait." I muttered before Abby suddenly hugged me in excitement. "Congrats Eddy. I''m sure the game will do well! It''s very fun!"


    "Sure. Sure. But stop rubbing your body on me. I haven''t had a bath yet." I said while patting Abby''s back. She released me and blood rushed to her face as she was embarrassed.


    Directly after Abby released me, which took only a few seconds, I saw the data on the screen.


    " Already 100 downloads? Damn."


    The downloads numbers kept increasing and it reached 10,000 in just an hour, but I was no longer monitoring them as I had to follow Pepper to the recording studio.

 Chapter 70: Busy Day.

    Chapter 70: Chapter 70: Busy Day.?


    [Pepper POV]


    ''I''m worried.''


    As I drove Edward to the recording studio, I saw that he was taking a nap as he had woken up so early today.


    ''He''s been pushing himself lately.''


    Putting a jacket on the young teen''s body to cover him up from the cold, I drove a bit slower than usual to let him sleep a little bit longer. I couldn''t help but to notice that he put a huge burden on himself. It was as if... he feared that the moment he stopped working, he would lose all of his value.


    "(sigh) The curse of a genius. But I guess that''s my role in his story. I need to prevent him from crumbling." I muttered underneath my breath as I glanced at him.


    Suddenly, I got a call from a close friend. I pushed the button on my bluetooth earphone to answer it and spoke in a slightly toned down volume lest I interrupt Edward''s sleep.


    "Pepper, we''re already here. Where are you?" Mitchell asked me. I guessed he had already arrived at the studio.


    "Patience my boy. A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to," I replied.


    "The ring is already in Sauron''s hand. The fire of Mordor has already spread throughout the lands, Gondor has Fallen and the men of the Riddermark are now slaves to the dark one''s will." Cam interjected, in which I assumed he had snatched the phone from Mitchell.


    Cam had recently been complaining about how he was the only one that had been left behind while Mitch and I enjoyed watching Edward''s performance by ourselves without thinking about him. That was why I called him over today, just to rub his nose in the fact that no matter how much he pestered me , he would never get to see the magical moment once more. And also to finally shut him up.


    "Don''t be so dramatic. I''ll be there in another 10 minutes. Besides, I gave you guys the wrong time anyway, so no one else is there yet."


    "What? Why?!" Cam asked in frustration. I giggled and said, "Why indeed."


    [Mitch and Cam''s commentary]


    Mitchell tried to explain, "Okay. A little while back, Cam gave Pepper the wrong time for a party."


    "A LITTLE WHILE?!" Cam was offended by Mitchell''s effort to downplay the pettiness. He said, "It was 7 years ago! I didn''t even remember it. But he held a grudge for 7 whole YEARS!"


    Mitchell waited for Cam to calm down before saying, "So yeah. He played us. But he already showed "mercy" and toned down the retribution because we have a baby."


    "Otherwise he would have left us stranded in the middle of the desert for a day." Cam added with fear in his eyes.


    "He wouldn''t do that." Mitchell said smilingly. Cam turned to him and asked, "Wouldn''t he Mitchell?.... wouldn''t he?? Of course He would."


    Mitchell looked at the camera with a frozen expression as he thought about the possibility of that actually happening.


    [Commentary ends]


    We arrived at the recording studio at noon. As I saw the studio, I couldn''t help but let out a disappointed sigh.


    "If only mother trusted me."


    I had a talk with my mother�C a rich widow that inherited almost all of my oil magnate father''s wealth for a chance to relocate the studio somewhere nearby a few days ago at her annual dinner party, but she wouldn''t let me do that as she thought I was currently being tricked by an incubus that would siphon away all of her wealth.


    "Pepper!" Mitchell called out to me in excitement after I parked the car. Ed was still sleeping so I held a finger on my lips and hushed Mitchell quickly. He took a look at my driver''s seat and nodded in understanding before we moved a bit further from Ed to have a talk.


    "So. How did it go? Do you have more money yet?" Cam asked snarkily as he joined Mitchell and I while holding Lily in his arms.


    "Are you crazy, bringing a baby here? She could burst an eardrum!" I said in horror as I saw the asian baby in Cam''s eyes.


    "Don''t be dramatic. It''s a studio. And see, I brought headphones for her." Cam said excitedly. He dressed her up like a panda, probably because of her heritage. That made me wonder, ''Is she Chinese? I remember she''s from a different country.''


    Mitchell noticed my confusion and said in defense, "She grabbed the clothes today and wouldn''t let go. So we dressed her up in the clothes she picked." He brought his palms together before saying, "Back to the original topic. Are you sure you can launch the album without more funding?


    "If only she would listen to me. And come to meet Ed. I know she wouldn''t be able to withstand his charms." I said in disappointment. "To answer your question... No. But we can release his singles in a few days.... Mother threw me a check for being her favorite son. Although I am her only son... and only child."


    Mitch and Cam nodded in acknowledgement of my misery before I continued, "The revenue from that will be reinvested into his album production. Right now, I only have money for his music video production. I can''t even host brunch this week. I''m like you, I tell you. POOR. POOR!"


    "If you need help, I can talk to my dad. He might not seem like it, but he''s Edward''s hardcore fan. Manny said he listened to the song 7 years everyday, and even sang the song in the shower."


    "Really? Is your father rich?" I asked Mitchell in excitement.


    "Have you seen his wife?" Cam interjected.


    "Maybe I did. But I don''t remember." I replied.


    "Believe me. You would remember." Cam said with a slight nodding. Mitchell nodded too, but I still didn''t understand why they were doing that at the moment.


    We walked to the front door, but before I could press the keypad to enter the password, a hippie opened the door from the inside and excited the studio.


    "Oh. You guys are not pizza delivery men ." The music engineer Leo muttered while being completely high from the marijuana he was smoking. "Or...are you the pizza store owners? I''m starving. Where''s the pizza?"


    I gazed contemptuously at Leo and said, "You''re so high that you can''t even recognize your boss?"


    "No. My boss is a sassy little man. Not a sassy little pizza store owner, a wimpy ginger, and a large red balloon."


    "Hey! No one calls my husband a balloon." Mitchell said defensively. Cam patted Mitchell''s shoulder and said to him, "Mitchell, there''s a red balloon floating right behind me. But it''s good to know what you are thinking about."


    Mitchell realized he had fucked up, and he turned toward Leo in contempt. "You know what? You''re fired!"


    "Or...They could just be best friends. I don''t know. I still think we shouldn''t put labels on it if they aren''t revealing their relationship." The manly voice said.


    Lily ignored both of them and muttered, "Wait- Disney allowed them to post this?... Why?"


    "I think that''s because she didn''t advertise the game directly. It also helped in maintaining their star''s innocent image, so I think Disney won''t cause any trouble." ''Rookie'' hypothesized.


    "Or, they made a deal with Edward. We don''t know what is happening in the background. But one thing''s for sure, the game will blow up really quickly."


    Despite her efforts, Lily didn''t actually believe that Edward could make a good game, especially after she watched the trailer. It was just a bird jumping around passing hurdles in her opinion.


    But after playing the game, her first impression was proven wrong. The game was just so addictive for her she couldn''t stop playing, and she was sure that most people would feel the same way as her.


    "The best part is the bird''s taunts. I passed 10 hurdles, and it said, [Is that all you can do? And here I thought I was the one with the bird brain.] I want to roast that bird. Deep fry it. Hot wing sauce it-"


    "Shut up Rookie." The manly voice screamed. "The premium version is better. You can unlock a certain perk after passing 10 hurdles. I''m already at 50 points now. Wait- why can''t I play it anymore?"


    "Huh. What happened?" Lily asked in concern. "Is the game broken?"


    "No. The bird is telling me to rest. He''s holding a protest banner and has bandages all over his body. I can get back to the game after 20 minutes. Ohhh, I guess it''s because I have been playing for 2 hours straight."


    "Ahh...Really? He stopped people from playing? Won''t it be bad for him?" Rookie asked.


    "No. I think he made this to stop people from getting addicted." Lily replied with a bright smile on her face. "He''s a brilliant man." She mumbled while flashing a fanatical glint in her eyes.


    "Oh. But I can play a minigame in between." The manly voice said.


    "A minigame?" Lily asked.


    "There''s a few options to choose from. A baby bird flight test- which is a bit sadistic cause I need to throw the bird from its nest and prevent it from falling to their death, a word guessing game, and a bird feeding game." Rookie explained.


    The game would soon break the record for the fastest game to reach 100 thousand downloads, and would reach 1 million downloads in just 3 days.


    "Hey, will he stop singing...you know, if he becomes rich from the game?" Rookie asked, his voice turned a bit lower from the depressing thought.


    "Nah. He''s a bonafide musician. He won''t stop singing." The manly voice replied. "Lily, are you there?"


    "Y-yeah. I''m still here. Okay, I also think he won''t stop singing. Wait, did you guys check the credit section of the game?" Lily said as she opened the game on her Iphone.


    "All of this...is basically his solo work!" Lily said in excitement. "Our sailor is a genius!"


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "80,000 downloads? Seriously?" I asked while being flabbergasted as I heard Alex''s report.


    "That''s only in the Apple store. You''re at 75,000 downloads in the Android store. It''s a bit slower there, but the numbers are starting to increase at the same rate as the Apple store." Alex said in excitement.


    "O-Okay." I replied with a stutter as the game debut had passed through all of my expectations. A few articles had come out about an artist who also moonlighted as a programmer�C some criticism about my decision, and some clickbait articles about me and Taylor that contributed to the virality of the game.


    "In my previous life, the game developer used "I will delete the game soon," marketing scheme to make people download the game as fast as they could, but I guess I don''t have to follow him on that." I mumbled to myself after hanging up the call with Alex.


    Only 5 hours after the game was uploaded into the stores, I had received more than 45,000 dollars in net profit after subtracting the platform tax and the server fee for the game. The ads, especially the ads revenue was pouring into my account. My decision to include the option to watch 30 second ads to decrease the waiting time for 5 minutes was correct.


    "Pepper, we can upgrade the quality of the music video!" I said in excitement to Pepper as I jogged lightly towards him. Now that funds had been injected into my accounts, I could decrease the burden on Pepper''s shoulders�C However, he was adamant about rejecting my help.


    "I''m the CEO. I need to handle this problem on my own. Also, you don''t have to worry. My mom is an avid Twilight fan. When the music video is released, she won''t have a choice but to open up her wallet."


    "But Pepper. Accepting my help now will make the music video better since we would be able to use higher quality props and effects. That way, we can get a bigger profit."


    After some relentless badgering, Pepper finally said in defeat, "FINE. But you''re taking a bigger cut after this."


    "What- NO!"


    "No debates. Oh boy, you''re making me have a headache. I need to sit down far away from you." Pepper said as he ran away from continuing the discussion.


    The film producers arrived at 4 pm, and after I performed the song "It Will Rain" to them, the producers loved it so much that some of them even tried to hug me afterward. Of course, my Pepper shield wouldn''t let them do that.


    Cam didn''t mind the Pepper shield and hugged me tightly after hearing the song. Mitchell asked, "This is one of the songs you wrote at the very beginning right?"


    "Yeah. I wrote it 2 years ago." I replied casually despite Mitchell and Cam''s over exaggerated reactions. They gasped and tried to cover their mouth in a dramatic way, but I ignored them and went to play with Lily instead.


    "Did you like it, Lily?" I asked as I leaned into her face. She was still sitting in her car seat at the moment, and kept sucking on a pacifier.


    "Bah..Bahh..." Lily smacked my cheeks lightly after spitting out the fake nipple and gripped my clothes tightly. "Bah..Buh...Bed..."


    "Bed?" I opened my eyes wide when I heard that. Mitch and Cam were frozen, and Pepper was shocked by the baby''s first word.


    "Bed...BED..." Lily called out to me many times as she thought she had finally managed to call my name.


    Cam cried immediately and said, "She''s never even called us "DADA" before... Why is he so special??!" Cam leaned his head on his partner''s shoulder before Mitchell hugged him and patted his back.


    "Yeah. Let it all out."


    (A/N: The lyrics and reactions will be written during his music video release.)

 Chapter 71: A forced break.

    Chapter 71: Chapter 71: A forced break.


    (There''s a fucking heatwave in my city. My brain is melting away. Someone throw me inside a fridge!)


    [Edward POV]


    "Ed. You''re scaring us." Mitchell said after I wouldn''t stop smirking and burst out into laughter at inappropriate times while recording the songs.


    With a grin sculpted on my face, I turned to look at Mitchell before I bursted into laughter once more. "Muahahaha!" I laughed madly as I kept hearing the sound of coins falling into my pocket throughout the day after I knew the Flappy Bird game would be a financial success.


    There''s more than 1000 reviews of the game right now �C mostly being orchestrated from my fan club, but the game has gotten a 4.8 star review on both of the platforms.


    Pepper showed a soft smile and admonished Mitchell, "Why are you bothering him? It''s obvious that he''s feeling so happy he couldn''t hide it right now."


    "Ka-ching bitches!" I muttered before laughing madly once more.


    Mitchell shakes his head before turning his attention to Lily instead.


    [Mitchell''s commentary.]


    He looked around the room to make sure Cam wasn''t around before saying, "So. I know what he and Haley did."


    "I thought he liked her. But today, I was surprised when I finally realized who Edward''s true love really is..."


    "It''s Money." Mitchell said while gesturing money with his fingers.


    He then smiled and said, "Of course. I''m just kidding. But Haley still needs to be careful around him. With the way she spoke about him, I know for sure she would be ready to give it up to him at any time.."


    Mitchell stopped in the middle of his sentence and muttered, "...I should teach her about birth control." He widened his eyes as he realized what he had done. "I...Shouldn''t have said that."


    [Commentary ends]


    Today as I worked on my music, Cam chimed in here and there to try and give me tips about the songs I recorded for the first time here.


    "Okay. But what if I do this?" I said while doing the same exact thing I did before he gave me the tip.


    He smiled brightly and said, "That''s better. You''re lucky I''m here-"


    "There''s no consultation fee for a meddling middle aged man." Pepper interjected.


    "MIDDLE-AGED MAN!?" Cam let out an offended gasp before he retorted, "If I''m middle aged, you''re a grandpa!"


    Pepper gasped too, but their conversation was annoying me, so I chimed in, "For me. All of you are middle aged men. You guys belonged to a generation two levels higher than mine."


    Mitchell, Pepper and Cam all let out an offended gasp. Mitchell said, "I''m only one level higher. I''m wayyyyy younger than these guys."


    "By 4 years. Calm down Mitchell." Cam retorted.


    "Please Mitchell. There''s no way you''re a millennial unless you think about killing yourself everyday. And Gen Z like me wouldn''t care about the facts anyway. So all Gen X please get out of here so that I can finish my job."


    I chased them all out before finishing the recording for the song ''Before You Go.''


    "For Something Just Like This, I need EDM....But is that a genre that I want to dip my foot into?"


    Suddenly, the trio barged into the room again, strutting their walk as they wanted to make things clear with me.


    "WE''RE NOT OLD!" Mitchell said as he was selected as the group''s representative.


    "I mean...older than me. You guys still have some good years ahead of you." I said casually.


    "If we were at a bar, young people would come to us. So we''re not that old." Cam interjected. I stared at him with a deadpan face before saying, "You just said ''young people.'' Sooo...."


    "So we''re NORMAL...aged people." Mitchell intercepted.


    "Sure.'' Normal aged''. I think that''s a thing... somewhere, probably... Maybe lol ." I replied with a sarcastic teasing, making them all angrier than before.


    Before they could spiral any further, I said, "There''s a simple test to see which generation of people you are-"


    ""DO IT!""


    "Okay. But first, answer me this. When you go to a bar, and find a stranger sitting on your seat after you come back from the bathroom, what do you do?"


    "Ummm..." Mitchell struggled to find the answer, but Cam was confident in his answer, "Simple. Talk to them-"


    Pepper cupped Cam''s mouth quickly before he said dramatically, "Can''t you see? The question is the test. THIS is ALLLLL....a trap!"


    I smirked at Pepper''s quick-wittedness before allowing them to think about the answer.


    "Come on. I don''t have all day."


    "Mitchell...You answer..." Pepper nudged his chin toward Mitchell while he kept his hand on Cam''s mouth to prevent him from destroying their chance.


    "Ummm....Ahhhhh....Mmmm... I will just ignore them and find a new seat?"


    I widened my eyes and said, "That''s surprisingly Millennial-like."


    "YES!" Mitchell exclaimed in excitement while Cam was finally released by Pepper.


    "Why is that the answer? Why can''t we go talk to them and find out their story? They may be private detectives that come to town to find someone." Cam asked.


    "What are you imagining Cam? The question just mentioned a stranger. There''s no backstory here."


    Cam was offended by Mitchell and said to me, "Okay. Mitchell''s answer wasn''t because he''s young, but he has avoidance issues. He will also avoid talking to an acquaintance if we meet them on the streets."


    "CAM!" Mitchell exclaimed in bewilderment. I laughed at them and asked them, "Next question. What drink do you order at the bar?"


    """ Cherry Daiquiri""" All three of them answer at the same time.


    "Wait, the question cannot be used for you guys. Forget you guys are gay." I said while they laughed at me.


    "Okay last question. How much time do you spend on the internet a day?" I asked.


    "Hmmm....For me, 1 hour for leisure surfing." Mitchell replied. I turned to Cam and he answered, "I''m basically on the phone all the time-"


    "Not connecting with you friends. But opening websites such as meme sites, reading articles, playing games, and other similar stuff. Not for faking human connection."


    Cam thought for a while before he answered, "None then. I get my gossip from the magazines and newspapers."


    "Same here, but I also can get first hand gossip from my friends in the New York Times. Do you know Lady Gaga is going to be guest starring on Gossip Girl?"


    "WHAT. NO WAY?!" Mitchell exclaimed and was absorbed in the gossip before he realized I was smirking at them.


    "We failed the test huh."


    "Yup."


    I saw they were saddened by it, and a light bulb suddenly lit up inside my mind.


    Pepper asked knowingly, the edge of his lips curled upward, "Why are you smirking?"


    "Nothing." I replied as I covered my mouth.


    "You got an inspiration...didn''t you?" Cam asked with some anticipation in his eyes.


    "...Uhh....No?"


    "HE DID! HE WAS INSPIRED BY US. THE OLDER GUYS!" Pepper announced to the rest of the studio. The band laughed at us before all of them were looking at me with anticipation.


    I sighed and said, "Okay. I will sing it only once. Also, this song will be for the next album, not this one. We already have more than 18 songs for this one."


    "18? How...Wait... Let me count." Pepper said as he raised his hands up to count with his fingers.


    "We had 6 songs at the beginning. Grenade, Toxic, It Will Rain, Amnesia, 7 years, The Lazy Song."


    Cam added, "Then, after he came to our house, he sang ''Photograph.'' So that makes it 7."


    Mitchell inhaled sharply and said with a grimace, "Weeeeelllll....The song is great...so great...but the lyrics..."


    "Ahh..." I exclaimed in realization as I understood what he meant. "Don''t worry. That''s just MTV''s influence. You don''t expect me to actually be dead drunk at a bar and need someone to carry me back right?"


    "Not before the song. No." Pepper said with some hidden concern behind his tone.


    ...


    [3rd Person POV]


    "Congrats. Now he''s not singing the song." Pepper said sarcastically towards Mitchell.


    While avoiding Pepper''s eyes, Mitchell said, "You''re the one who asked him if he had gone drinking before. So don''t put all the blame on me."


    "Ugh. This sucks. That song is addictive. I could hear it being played at bars all over the country. Thanks a lot Mitchell." Cam added.


    "It''s not my fault!" Mitchell said in frustration.


    "If only we had recorded it." Pepper exclaimed. Leo was walking by at this time, and he stopped when he heard Pepper''s words.


    "What''s wrong mini boss? Did I forget to press record again? I''m pretty sure I did before."


    The trio widened their eyes as they looked at the hippie. Pepper gripped both of Leo''s shoulders and said, "Are you sure? You recorded it?"


    "Yeah.I think. I didn''t smoke...you know...for a few hours now. So...pretty positive."


    Pepper released him and said in excitement, "Oh you high earth smelling man. Now, I''m no longer thinking about firing you. Instead I am thinking about pushing you into a bath."


    Leo sniffed his arm, but his nose had stopped working decades ago. He didn''t notice anything wrong with his body odor, shrugged, and then left the room.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    It was almost 11 pm when I arrived home after a hard day of work at the recording studio. Mitch and Cam left at around 7 in the evening as they had other appointments to get to.


    Cam insisted on being there for the music video production, however he gave up after learning that the shooting was tomorrow.


    "Sleep. Don''t do anything else. I need you to be fresh for tomorrow. Are you sure you''re bringing your own outfit?" Pepper asked after dropping me off in front of the house.


    "Yeah. I want to do it in my own style." I said. "You called the actress right?"


    "Are you sure you want to go with Penny? I do get the impression that she''s a sweet girl, but I don''t think she is the best choice for the female lead." Pepper expressed his concerns.


    "No need to get worried. She''ll only come out for a few seconds. For some people, it would be hard for them to even catch her face." I said with a smirk.


    "Hmmm... Okay then. It''s your music video. Now. Go to sleep." Pepper said before stepping on his gas pedal and driving away.


    I sighed and turned toward the front door. I still needed to check up on the game for bugs or other reports. I took off my shirt as I entered the empty house. Dad would be back around 1 am, so I knew I had at least some time to myself.


    While I was walking with heavy steps toward my room, I suddenly heard someone giggling from inside it.


    "What the hell?" I opened the door, only to find Haley sitting on my bed while talking to someone on her phone.


    "Oh. he''s here! I need to go!" Haley said excitedly before ending the call with Tara. "Uhh...why are you shirtless?" She asked as she finally realized it.


    "The real question is, why are you here?" I asked, masking my confusion.


    "Ah. I want to congratulate you for launching the game. I have been here since 10. Had to sneak out of my house to be here." Haley said as she scooted off the bed and walked towards me.


    "Anyway. Congrats." She said as she gave me a platonic hug.


    "I haven''t taken a bath all day." I said teasingly, expecting her to release her arms immediately, but she said, "It''s okay. You don''t smell."


    She finally released me after half a minute and said, "I''ll go home now. You should go to sleep."


    "I actually want to do a bit more work-"


    "After working all day?!" Haley asked in shock. "You''ll get burnt out. You should rest too, you know. You''re still young, so you don''t have to do everything by yourself."


    I chuckled a bit and said, "I''m doing some more work."


    I walked past her to open up my laptop but she grabbed my wrist from behind.


    "You have the music video shoot tomorrow. So go get some rest!" She demanded. I got a bit irritated and I turned toward her. "What are you going to do if I don''t? Will you cuddle with me until I fall-"


    "Yeah. I''ll do that if you can get some rest." Haley said before I could finish my sentence. And even though I had run the same simulation inside my mind thousands of times, I still couldn''t understand how we reached the next scene.


    Haley was hugging my shirtless body on the bed. She was wrapping her arms tightly around me as she pressed my head on top of her chest while singing a lullaby.


    "Uhhhhhhhh...."


    "Rockababa...How does it go again?" Haley asked. I chuckled a bit and said, "Okay. I''ll go to sleep. You can go back to your place now ."


    "No. I know that if I go away, you will just start working again the second I leave . So I''ll stay here until you fall asleep."


    I wouldn''t do that. Not anymore, not after I saw her effort in trying to take care of me.


    "Okay. Then, I''ll try to sleep now. So you should definitely stop singing."


    "..."


    After the initial embarrassment, my tiredness took over my mind, and I fell asleep in her arms despite the fact that I only wanted to pretend to sleep in order to make her go away.


    [Haley POV]


    After cuddling with him for a while, I finally realized that he had fallen asleep.


    "Even while asleep he is so pretty. Damn it." I let out a grunt as I played with his face. He didn''t respond, so I was sure he wasn''t faking his sleep. Although I could''ve released him and returned to my house right then and there, I decided to stay a little bit longer.


    But then, he unconsciously moved in his sleep, reached out and wrapped his arms around me before pulling me close to his body.


    "Oh damn it." I muttered using a whisper so as to not wake him up. "I''m not a body pillow!"


    ''Well. he''ll release me soon...right?'' I thought as I buried my face in his bare chest.


    Minutes passed by, and I didn''t realize that my eyelids were getting heavier. And so, I fell asleep without even realizing it, while still inside the comfort of his arms.


    ...


    [Ted POV]


    For the longest time, It had only been Ed and me in the house. I knew that the loss of his mother had taken a toll on his mental wellbeing , but Ed still pretended that he wasn''t affected by it and kept masking his true feelings by putting on a steel face.


    Pepper and I had a long talk after he called me on the phone last night as soon as I got home, and I finally realized that I couldn''t put off Edward''s psychological therapy any longer. He needed an outlet to express his feelings in a safe space.


    After waking up from my short sleep, I walked to Edward''s room to wake him up for today''s shoot. God, I was willing to bet that my son was the busiest kid in California at the moment.


    I turned the doorknob slowly and opened his door as usual. "Ed. Are you-" I paused as I saw he wasn''t alone in the bed.


    The light coming from the hallways made him open up his eyes, and his calm demeanor broke for the first time in a long...long time as he saw the Dunphy''s kid sleeping next to him. Haley opened her eyes abruptly as she heard my voice, and the two kids locked eyes with each other on the bed, only to realize that they were still hugging each other while they were sleeping.


    "" AHHHHH!!!!"" Both of the kids screamed at the same time andI felt a huge wave of relief wash over my entire body as I saw Edward''s childish reactions.


    "W-W-Why are you still here- DAD! This isn''t what it looked like!"


    He tried to convince me, but I just couldn''t wipe off my smirk at the moment.


    "I''ll give you guys some privacy. In the meantime...work on your story. Make sure it''s the same one for when you try to explain this to other people." I said teasingly as I closed the door again. I heard the two kids scream again inside the room, and I chuckled as I walked to the kitchen.


    "Teenagers." I exclaimed. "Also...Haley huh..." I muttered as I remembered how comfortable Ed was around her. "Maybe...I can postpone his therapy...just a little bit longer."


    I was excited to see what change Haley could bring in Edward as they were with each other, not realizing that they had an agreement to keep things platonic, and were already regretting their night together inside the room.

 Chapter 72: Music Video Production.

    Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Music Video Production.


    [Edward POV]


    We both sat on the bed, frozen by the current situation. Haley''s disheveled hair and messy clothing was evidence to anyone that might see us right now that she had spent the night here.


    And to be honest, no one would believe a teenager when they say they were just sleeping inside the room together. Point of evidence, my sniggering dad who was happily making coffee downstairs.


    "Argh! What am I supposed to do now?!" Haley screamed in frustration as she grabbed my shoulders and vigorously shook me back and forth. "MOM WILL KILL ME!"


    It had been 15 minutes since we were both woken up by my dad''s morning call. I understood that I am currently in a precarious situation and something needed to be done to make sure this accident didn''t turn into something bigger than it was.


    I helped Haley''s arm to stop her, and said, "When did your mom usually wake up on a Sunday?"


    "Ummm....I don''t know." Haley replied with a forlorn and defeated face. She was usually the last one to wake up in the house, therefore she didn''t know everyone else''s schedule.


    "No. We still have a chance. I''m looking at your mom''s schedule online, and she usually sleeps in on a Sunday, and wakes up at seven thirty. So, we just need to find a way to sneak you back into the house before she even notices you are gone."


    "But. Alex-"


    "I''ll tell Alex the truth. She''s trustworthy enough for this, she won''t sell us out. Even though she likes it when you get in trouble, she won''t falsely accuse you of doing it just to see you suffer."


    I hoped. If Alex wouldn''t do it, then I''ll use my last betting prize with her to convince her to do it. Despite my plans, I still have confidence that she would have my back.


    "Let''s go. I will help you climb to the roof. You can sneak back in by yourself after that. If the window is locked, just call Alex." I muttered.


    I remember that she had skillfully climbed through the house to get into an open window in one episode, but her proficiency in parkour was still low at this time. I hurriedly put on a shirt and followed her from behind as we sneaked toward her house.


    Grabbing her soft ass, I helped her to climb up onto her roof before the sun fully rose.


    "Hurry Haley!" I said while gritting my teeth. Luckily for me, she was tiny.


    "Waa-watch where you''re grabbing!" Haley said as my fingers dug deep into her ass cheeks.


    "But I need to grab this. Otherwise you''ll fall." I said as I propelled her up even further. She rolled into the small roof on top of the front door. Some leaves were caught on her hair, and as she tried to remove them, I said, "Leave it. The window is unlocked."


    Haley saw Alex gesturing to her to hurry while turning her head toward her bedroom door a few times. Alex yelled with a whisper, "MOM IS KNOCKING ON THE DOOR! HURRY!"


    Haley widened her eyes and did a ninja roll before she ran toward the open window. As I watched her enter the house, I decided to help her by ringing the doorbell to distract Claire.


    [3rd Person POV]


    "Honey. Are you up yet? Dad and I have a surprise for you girls." Claire said in a sweet tone as she tried to open her daughter''s bedroom door, only to find it locked.


    "Alex. Haley. I know it''s still early. But wake up sweethearts... Your dad is bringing us somewhere special. Guys?!" Claire knocked on the door, but the girls still weren''t answering her.


    Phil suddenly appeared behind Claire and said, "Honey. I forgot to text Ed last night."


    Claire was confused, "Why are you texting him?"


    "I was thinking of inviting him to the amusement park together. It''ll be an hour ride, so we need to get moving before traffic-"


    *Ding Dong*


    Suddenly the doorbell rang. A loud thud resounded from Haley''s room as she fell to the floor as she snuck into the house, but luckily her parents were distracted by the person coming to their house so early in the morning.


    Claire and Phil walked to the door, only to find Edward with disheveled hair standing outside.


    "I knew it! I sent the text last night! Ed, are you ready to go to the amusement park?" Phil said in excitement.


    Inside the teenagers'' room, Alex helped Haley to pick the leaves on her hair as she admonished her, "ARE YOU CRAZY!? WITH ED- OF ALL PEOPLE?!"


    "I''M NOT! And we didn''t do anything. He just didn''t want to go to sleep, but he has a mv shoot today, so I forced him to sleep. Then, I fell asleep too." Haley explained, although she didn''t have any hope that anyone would believe her.


    Alex''s angry expression disappeared. "Oh. That''s okay then."


    "..."


    Haley looked at her sister with a confused expression, but she didn''t say anything lest her sister would change her mind and thought she was sleeping with Ed last night.


    Suddenly, Alex said, "I know you''re a virgin. If you really had sex with him last night, you would''ve come back in a hurry. The only reason I think that you stayed over is because...you guys didn''t have sex-"


    "STOP SAYING SEX!" Haley screamed in embarrassment as Alex could read her behavior perfectly. She hurriedly took off her clothes and said, "Get me a robe."


    Alex rushed to their closet and grabbed the robe while Haley stood in the middle of the room�Cstark naked.


    "You didn''t wear a bra again?" Alex asked while rolling her eyes as she threw the robe to her sister.


    "No. I think I need to change it. My breasts got larger again." Haley said as she wore the robe. Her chest had finally grown up to the perfect B cup size.


    Alex looked down on her tiny bump and said, "This is the last time I''ll be helping you."


    "Yeah. You have to change into various outfits. I can''t wait to see what you have brought with you." Pepper said before he went to yell at a staff member for putting flowers facing the wrong direction.


    The photoshoot went on for 2 whole hours, as the photographer wouldn''t let me go.


    "Yes. Yes. Gorgeous. You''re by far the fastest artist that learned to pose correctly from me." The photographer in flamboyant clothes said.


    Her short hair was styled t0 look as if there was a cat sitting on top of her head, and she kept jumping around, rolling on the floor, and sliding left and right, while she was taking the photos. Despite her frivolousness, my pictures turned out breathtaking, thirst-trapping, and totally gave the "would-definitely-be-bought-by-teenage girls" vibe we were looking for.


    There was a bubbly image where I stood in a field of flowers, looking like a golden-retriever-boy, and one where I looked like a devilish CEO with slicked back hair, a cross chain on my neck, wearing only a jacket but no shirt inside�C granting the fans who bought the poster to see the silhouette of my abs, and many more versions of me, enough for the fans to make a calendar from my images.


    ''Even Justin cannot fight against Ed''s marketing strategy.'' Pepper thought in shock as he saw the files I gave him. ''The kid is a true money making monster.''


    Although USA''s image management depends more on the artist being their true self, I had used the Korean Boy Band and artist strategies instead to drive the woman crazy.


    Despite some criticism from the industry ''old timers'' , the feedback from the ''new'' strategies would make my debut one of the most successful debuts in all of history.


    "That''s enough North. He still needs to record the video." Pepper slapped her in the face to wake him up after she had snapped thousands of photos of me and wouldn''t stop working.


    "No. GIVE ME ANOTHER HOUR- I''LL DO THIS FREE OF CHARG-"


    The photographer tried to convince Pepper, but he had already sent the security to drag her out of the studio.


    "Sorry about that. She''s not a bad guy. Just very obsessive." Pepper said to me while my aunt helped me wipe the sweat on my forehead.


    "She''s... passionate. So I guess I can leave the photo selection to you guys." I said as I opened up a bottle of water and gulped it all down.


    "Sure." Pepper said with a wide smile as he felt relieved that I wasn''t taking all of the responsibility for my album success on my own.


    "Let''s go shoot the first scene. Is everyone ready?" I asked.


    "The main heroine- Oh she''s here. You''re LATE!" Pepper scolded the blonde woman that was running hurriedly toward where we were standing.


    "SORRY. MY CAR BROKE DOWN!" Penny bowed her head 90 degrees toward Pepper, shocking everyone there.


    "Honey. We''re not in Asia. Calm down." Pepper said while raising Penny''s head up as he felt guilty for yelling at the girl. Although he did it playfully, he felt bad regardless.


    Two men followed Penny from behind with some hurrying in their footsteps. One of them was short and was wearing spectacles, while the other one was tall and looked like a humanoid version of C-3PO. The tall one was also wearing a Flash superhero t-shirt and was dressed like a 10 years old boy.


    ''Leonard and Sheldon?'' I thought as I saw Leonard grabbed Sheldon''s hand and forced him to run faster.


    "I can vouch for her. Her car broke down on the highway." Leonard said as he finally approached us.


    "What''s wrong Penny, did you ignore your check engine light?" I joked as I saw Penny''s teary face. This was the first job she had in months as an actress. She thought everything was over for her the moment her car broke down before this.


    "She did, even though I had told her to check her engine at a certified mechanic...or ask an engineer to do it. There''s no difference between them anyway." Sheldon said condescendingly before Leonard glared at him and made him close his mouth reluctantly.


    "I-" Penny opened her mouth, but I said reassuringly, "It''s fine Penny. You aren''t late. We just finished the photo session."


    Penny breathes a sigh of relief, and Leonard did the same thing too. I turned to Leonard and held my hands out for a handshake.


    "You must be Dr. Leonard Hofstader. The cute guy next door that Penny was telling me about."


    "What?!-" Leonard turned to the surprised Penny. She snapped and said, "When did I tell you about him?!"


    "Oh. So you admit he''s cute." I said to Penny, making her lost for words. I turned back to Leonard and said, "I''m just kidding. Although you have a chance there, use it wisely. I read your paper about index refraction before while I was studying about lenses."


    Leonard was impressed, then Sheldon said, "Yes yes. That''s Leonard''s research for you, so simple that even a 9th grader could understand. Quite literally in this case"


    "And the condescending crazy person must be Dr Sheldon Cooper. Dr Leonard''s Hoffstader''s roommate. I''ve read about you too, you''ve been delving into string theory for so many years as a theoretical physicist yet no actual breakthrough has ever been made." I said while smiling.


    Penny and Leonard widened my eyes at my jab towards Sheldon. To be honest, I had no plans to create a good relationship with Sheldon, nor did I want to go out of my way to tend to him. That was what masochistic people do.


    "Listen here. String theory had been researched for decade-"


    "Please leave the premises. We need to catch up with the schedule." I said to Sheldon before turning to Leonard and spoke to him kindly, not comparable to the way I treated Sheldon at all, "Thank you for driving Penny here. You''re a good man. May I email you if I have any questions about the research I''m doing right now?"


    "Ummm...Sure..." Leonard replied while fidgeting. Sheldon didn''t know about me yet as he hates all kinds of music, therefore he behaved in his usual way around me.


    "How do you know that he was driving and not me?" Sheldon asked. I turned to him and asked, "Were you?"


    "No.."


    He went silent afterward as he couldn''t refute my words, nor could he lie about it.


    Before Sheldon could interject again, I exchanged my contact information with Leonard before sending both of them away.


    Pepper said hurriedly, "Penny. Change into these clothes." He pointed at an outfit hanging on a rack nearby us. "We need to take a photo."


    "O-Okay." Penny said before following the instructions hurriedly. Now, the music video shooting has officially started.

 Chapter 73: Smooth sailing.

    Chapter 73: Chapter 73: Smooth sailing.?


    [Edward POV]


    "This is..."


    As I saw the prop piano that I need to drag around in the shoot today, I was greatly surprised when I saw that it was a real piano instead of a fake one. Of course, it''s just a small piano, not the grand one.


    "Seriously?" I asked the prop crew in dissatisfaction.


    The 4 bald men sweat through their forehead and one of them said, "T-This is the best we could do...on such short notice." He said and pointed at the bottom of the piano. "See, it has wheels."


    "I can see that. It''s almost 200 pounds I- Hmm...Never mind."


    Although I wanted to scream at the men, what they said was true. The preparation was indeed last minute. I tried to pull the piano using a rope, but it was even heavier than I expected.


    "Damn. I''ll sweat a lot today." I muttered.


    There were only 3 main themes to the shoot today. The first part was a scene with me inside a bedroom, frustrated as my girl had left me�C in the music video. Not real life.


    The second part was me lugging the piano around the streets. And lastly the ending part where I finally reached my ex''s house, only to realize that she had found happiness with someone else.


    ''In the original mv, Bruno went to stand in front of a train as the ending after he got cheated on by his girl. His efforts meant nothing to her. He basically killed himself as he couldn''t live without her. But, I''ll change a few parts from that as I didn''t want people to misunderstand me.''


    "Where''s the actor?!" Pepper suddenly yelled out from afar. I raised my hand for him to notice me, and he ran towards me quickly.


    "We have a problem. Your aunt broke the nose of the actor who was supposed to play your ex''s new boyfriend." Pepper said in a hurry.


    "I''m sorry...what?"


    I couldn''t believe my ears as I heard that, and turned toward Auntie Camila with a look of surprise. She had an apologetic expression on her face as she walked towards me with Penny by her side.


    "I''m sorry Ed-"


    "What happened?" I asked her without getting angry.


    "He groped your aunt''s ass-" Penny tried to explain, but my aunt stopped her.


    "Ahh. Don''t worry then. I don''t mind." I said as I realised the situation. Aunt Camila, Penny and Pepper were surprised when they saw how easily I had accepted the difficult situation. Pepper had already prepared a speech to convince me not to be furious at my aunt.


    "I''m sorry I wasn''t there. I wanted to break his nose too. Give me his name." I said calmly as I tried to convince my aunt she had done nothing wrong.


    "That was just a pig being a pig. I don''t blame you. Seriously. I wouldn''t want to work with someone like that too. So if someone tried to do something inappropriate to you, and you worried about what I might think if you retaliated, then don''t."


    I smiled at my aunt and said, "In fact. I think you''re even more of a badass now."


    "Hmm...She does have a nice ass." Pepper said.


    "Hey-" Penny tried to retort.


    "Relax. He''s gay." Aunt Camila said to Penny while smiling in relief.


    Of course, when I find out the actor''s name, I will make sure to make his life a living hell.


    "But now, who is going to kiss her? You in a wig?" Pepper asked while scratching his head. The others looked at Pepper with a deadpan expression, while I thought about the possibility of the matter seriously.


    "Sure. I''ll do that."


    "I''m sorry. What?!" Pepper exclaimed.


    The group was surprised when they heard that. "I guess I will play 2 characters in the music video." I continued with a sly smile.


    ...


    [First scene]


    "Hurry up! We need to hurry to catch the train. Otherwise, we have to wait till tomorrow!" Pepper yelled to the staff as we recorded the first scene.


    Penny was wearing a red dress that accentuated her figure, at the same time a low cut on the collar that made her chest more prominent. Meanwhile, I was wearing a simple grey shirt and jeans, and my hair was styled to look like an innocent boy.


    Penny and I were laying down a queen size bed in the middle of the set that looked like a bedroom. The lighting was sunny, and we were both looking at each other with an expression that we were falling deeply in love.


    "Stop making me laugh." I said to Penny as I saw her awkwardly acting up close. She was stunned before she said, "Sorry. I''m a bit nervous."


    I smiled and said, "Just consider this a normal conversation instead. You don''t have to worry about the camera. Just look at me."


    She followed my instructions, and we locked eyes while facing each other in the bedroom.


    The director was watching the scene from the camera, and he couldn''t help but lean forward as he saw Penny and mine''s expression. She slid into my arms as she nuzzled her face inside my chest. I held her close as I kissed her forehead. But as I closed my eyes, her gaze changed into looking like a villain, as she was only faking her happiness with me.


    "Damn. This kid is a natural." The director exclaimed. "OKAY CUT! Next scene! Playful fighting."


    We ran around the bedroom while laughing, I caught Penny from behind and threw her into the bed before inching our faces closer together.


    "CUT! NO! TOO AWKWARD! AGAIN!" The director yelled and the camera stopped recording.


    "You''re fine. It''s her. Don''t flinch when he gets closer. You guys are supposed to be lovers in this scene." Pepper said to Penny as he had the same thoughts as the director.


    "Sorry. It''s just...he threw me so suddenly..." Penny said, not continuing her next words which would be she had gotten turned on after I jumped on top of her.


    We shot the scene again, and this time Penny had prepared herself. She wrapped her arms around my neck as she pulled me closer to her chest. But before I could bury my face in them, the director yelled, "CUT. It''s perfect. The cheating scene now!"


    The camera recorded how Penny was always on her phone while we were spending some time together, and was stealthily talking to someone behind my back. She did it perfectly this time, and we didn''t have to reshoot the scene. The lighting on the scene gradually turned dark, signifying a doomed relationship.


    "Could...Could I stay and watch?" I asked while blanking out as I watched Ed''s flirty smile.


    "Sure. You can stay." He said as he took off the fake tattoos on his arms.


    [Edward POV]


    I was surprised when Penny couldn''t control her hands, but I only thought that it was a compliment to my acting skill and that she immersed herself into her acting too. The more I spend time with her, the more I realise she was just a normal girl without the laugh track in the background.


    After changing into a light grey suit and washes away the black dye on my hair, I finally moved on to the last scene where I needed to drag the piano around.


    "Damn, this is worse than I thought." I muttered as I held the rope and was pulling the piano through an uphill street. We changed the location to a real street in which we already applied for the permit to shoot, and the passerby was gawking at me to watch the music video filming.


    I gave them a wave while we paused the shoot for the assistant to wipe off my sweat, and Pepper''s staff mingled with the crowd that were trying to see the filming while we were at it.


    "Oh. Romeo from Taylor''s concert!" A female member of the passerby suddenly screamed as she finally realised who I was.


    I dragged the piano through a dangerous street, where I met a homeless guy and a Mexican gang�C all paid actors of course, and the most dangerous part of the shoot was when I needed to drag the piano through a working tunnel.


    We applied for the permit to use one of the lanes there, and even though some traffic police were helping us to film the scene by redirecting traffic. It quickly became a zoo there, and I knew I had to finish the scene in one take to move on.


    Some lucky fans managed to take a photo with me on set after I finished my work. Most of the photos were uploaded on the fan club, and Pepper''s staff had to do crowd control when the fans started to arrive in droves after prolonged filming.


    Finally, after 7 hours, the filming was done.


    (Not going to make the filming scene longer as you guys wanted the final product anyway. LOL)


    ...


    I walked to the waiting room and changed out of my sweaty suit. Suddenly, Penny walked into my room while I was shirtless and said, "Um...Nice... Also, the guys are here to pick me up, so I''ll be going now."


    "Oh. Okay then. I''ll text you when we finish editing the video. Or you can watch it on Wednesday when it''s being released on Youtube." I said.


    Penny turned downcast, making me curious by her change of reaction.


    "What''s wrong?" I asked.


    "N-Nothing. I just thought...we were becoming friends, but you said the ''let''s keep things professional''... line."


    "Ahh.. Sorry about that. Also, we are friends now." I said with a sly smirk. "Quite close actually given that you actually got to cop a feel on m-"


    "OKAY! STOP!" Penny covered my mouth hurriedly. "I''m sorry for that. I was in the zone. You know. Actresses...acting zone." She tried hard to convince me, but all she did was make me laugh harder.


    "Stop laughing!" She said cutely. I calmed down after a while and looked her straight in the eyes.


    She took a deep breath and said, "Thank you."


    "For what?"


    "For keeping your promise. Despite only ever meeting me once before."


    "Ah that. It''s nothing much."


    She took a step nearer and unconsciously placed her hands on my bare chest.


    "Really. I''m grateful for what you have done. Although I don''t know if the music video will succeed or not, I can at least put it on my resume. Then, I''ll have something other than the stupid ape movie."


    The vibes got weird as she kept staring at my lips. We slowly moved closer towards one another before Pepper suddenly knocked on the door. Penny pushed me away, and I fell on the sofa nearby.


    "Kids. Don''t stay there too long. It''s fine while filming, but it''s not now." Pepper said with a sing-song voice before he skipped away.


    I saw Penny blush, and she proceeded to run away quickly from the room.


    "Damn. I really missed an opportunity there." I muttered as I laid down tiredly on the sofa.


    "Ed. Come on. Chop Chop. We''re getting out of here." My Aunt said as she entered the waiting room and saw that I was resting on the sofa.


    "Where are we going?" I asked her.


    "To get some proper food." She said with a smile.


    ...


    "I''m cutting out the fight scene." The director said as we reviewed the edited video.


    "Okay. I agree, I think it feels off too." I said.


    Currently, we were at Pepper''s house where the final edit would be done. The gorgeous mansion made me a bit intimidated when I walked in, but Pepper was a good host and managed to make all of us feel welcomed there.


    "The fight takes away from the feeling of betrayal, and it lowers the impact when the innocent guy sees his girlfriend with another man after going through so many challenges to get to her."


    My Aunt suddenly chimed in, "So...No car?"


    "We can add in the car scene. But it won''t be necessary." The director said. My aunt got depressed, and I patted her back to cheer her up.


    "It''ll take some time to align the lip sync with the music, but I think I can do it tonight." I said to the director.


    He was puzzled and he turned to Pepper.


    "It''s fine. He wanted to edit it on his own. And he has the skills to do it. Do you know that new game, Flappy Bird? He''s the one who created it, made it all alone too."


    The director just smiled wryly at Pepper''s explanation. Inwardly, he was thinking about how Pepper could compare making a game to editing a video, but he let me edit it on my own as he wanted me to learn a lesson when I finally broke down and gave up on the matter.


    Not that he was maliciously rooting for me to fail, but he wanted me to understand that one man couldn''t carry so many responsibilities, so he just let me be. As long as the original footage was safe, he could let others edit the video before we launched the singles.

 Chapter 74: What happened while I was sleeping?

    Chapter 74: Chapter 74: What happened while I was sleeping?


    (Note: I will only be posting till Thursday, and will take a break starting Friday till Tuesday next week for Eid Adha.)


    [Edward POV]


    "(Yawn), Finally, I finished it. Oh. It''s already 5 am now."


    Walking out groggily from my room, I put my hands up to stretch my back while glancing at the clock as I had been working on the editing for 7 hours.


    Despite my advanced skills, there was still a lack of editing tools I needed, therefore I created them on my own after hacking on editing software. Otherwise, the whole editing process would only take me 1 hour.


    ''Still, I closed all of the two ways the software communicates with the company, making it look like pirate software.''


    I was satisfied by how the video turned out, but I still needed to hear what the director and others thought about it.


    "Maybe I''ll do a premier tomorrow after school." I said while stifling a yawn. I tried to shake my sleepiness as I felt it was more damaging for me to go to sleep now. Therefore, I decided to just stay up all night and sleep during the classes at school today.


    My presence downstairs startled my aunt who was staying in my house for the night, and was drinking beer after waking up early. She was only in a white tank top and wearing short pink-coloured yoga pants that were hugging her perfectly shaped ass tightly. Her nipple was protruding as she wasn''t wearing a bra, and her hair was a bit messy as she hasn''t tended to it yet.


    "E-ED. Why aren''t you sleeping?" Aunt Camila asked with a stammer, spitting back the beer into the cup. Some of it dripped from her chin, and she wiped it off with the back of her left hand. She covered her chest by crossing her arms, and was taking a step backward as she felt self-conscious when dressing so sexily in front of me.


    "Why aren''t you?" I asked back casually as I went to pour myself a cup of coffee. Honestly, I was too tired to even notice what she was wearing at this moment.


    "Did...Did you stay up all night staring into the computer? But..YOU HAVE YOUR FINAL EXAM TODAY! You should be well rested!"


    "It''s fine. It''s fine. Also, my final is next week. I don''t have anything special to do today." I replied playfully before walking to the living room and turning on the TV. I wanted to check the news to study the stock market.


    Camila got mad and snatched the remote away from me before saying, "GO TO SLEEP! You should get some rest, at least for an hour!"She also grabbed the cup of coffee from my hand and pointed to my bedroom while huffing cutely.


    "...Nah I''m good. Can I please have my coffee back?" I asked calmly, not trying to move at all.


    "...Are you being rebellious? Did you reach puberty?" My aunt asked in disbelief. I finally turned to look at her, and was a bit startled when I saw what she was wearing.


    "I haven''t gotten the dream yet if that''s what you were asking. Also, Wow." I smiled and exclaimed as I saw the sight in front of me. Her face flushed and she tried to cover up her chest again, but all it did was make her look even more seductive.


    "Shut up. Don''t leer on your aunt." She said in embarrassment and ran to my dad''s room to change into a robe. Dad was on the night shift today, so he would only be home at 6 or 7 am, depending on whether he wanted to have breakfast with the crew first or now.


    As I was watching the news, she returned while wearing a proper robe this time. She sat next to me and said, "Are you really not sleeping?"


    "Yeah. It''s fine." I replied with my eyes glued on the screen as I was still studying the stock market news.


    My aunt narrowed her eyes as she looked at me with a scrutinizing gaze, and she asked, "Is this a normal day for you."


    "Depends. Sometimes I stay up all night. Sometimes I sleep early. It depends on if I have work to do that day or not." I replied without thinking much.


    She sighed secretly and said, "Why do you need to do so much work anyway? With the games, the music, the clothes..."


    "I don''t know. I have the ability to do it, so why shouldn''t I do it?"


    "Yeah. But, did you enjoy doing it, or were you just doing it, because you think people expect you to do it?"


    I went silent at my aunt''s words. However, I threw the matter to the back of my mind as I saw a stock that I had bought before had doubled in its value, earning me twice of my initial investment before.


    "NICE!" I exclaimed.


    "So, you''re just going to ignore me?" My aunt asked again.


    "Yeah." I replied playfully, annoying her. She pinched my waist, which made me flinch and laugh, but then she grabbed my head and made me lay down on her thigh.


    "Go to sleep. You''re a growing boy. You need to sleep better. I''ll call your dad to see if you can take a day off today." She patted my shoulder in a loving manner as I laid down on her lap with a confused expression plastered on my face. I tried to get up, but she held my head down.


    "Wait. Camil-"


    "AUNT Camila. Don''t be rude. Or I''ll put the Primo pepper in all of your food again."


    She laughed it off in a joking manner, but I knew that it was a thinly veiled threat and gulped my saliva in fear. But, as I laid down on her laps, my eyelid got heavier and heavier.


    "Damn it." I cursed and I fell asleep soon after as my tiredness from yesterday''s shooting dragged me down into dreamland.


    [3rd Person POV]


    "You''re the same as your mother. Can''t sleep if your mind isn''t at ease." Camila patted her nephew''s shoulder lovingly even though he had already gone to sleep, and she smiled as she brushed his hair from falling to his face.


    "I can''t believe I have a pretty awesome nephew, and it took me 14 years to finally meet and get to know you."


    ...


    -Dunphy''s house, 9 am-


    "Hey hun, what''s the nickname Jennifer Lopez stole from Jon Lovitz?"


    Claire was laying down on the sofa while Phil was getting ready to go to an open house when his phone suddenly rang. "J-LO!" Phil answered the call before Claire could answer his question.


    "I don''t know- Anyway, I got to go. See you there. Wait- Is there a dress code to this event?"


    "I''m not sure. You know what? Why don''t we just wear a Hollywood Glamor Fabulous theme. I''ll text the others so that they will know what to wear." Cam said in excitement as he leaned in to talk to Lily that was babbling in her crib.


    "Yes Lily. We''re going to see Edward tonight."


    "Yed...Yed..." Lily babbled.


    "Hmm...I guess that''s better than ''Bed''." Mitchell said sarcastically as he heard Lily''s voice through the microphone.


    -Highschool-


    "Hey. Ed is premiering his music video today at my grandpa''s house." Haley said to Abby after hanging up the phone call from her father.


    "I know. Mom just told me that." Abby said after hanging up the call from her mother. Desiree was also invited by Ted to the premiere, as friends.


    "I still don''t know how your mom can be so close with Ed''s dad." Haley spoke without thinking. Abby nodded and said, "Yeah. She was smiling all day after I picked her up from the docks. I think...she went on a date with him."


    "Ewwww...If Ed''s dad, and your mom...decided to get married...then, will you and Ed become step-siblings?" Haley said with a face full of disgust. Abby also grimaced and the thought of the matter becoming true haunts her.


    "I...don''t think so. No. Please...No." Abby muttered with a hint of begging in her tone.


    -Middle school-


    Alex walked to Jenna, Elsa, and Jacob''s table before saying, "Hey. Ed''s music video premiere is tonight."


    "Really?" Jacob widened his eyes in surprise, before wallowing in self pity as Ed didn''t invite him to it.


    "Don''t feel sad. I think this is a surprise for Ed. He might not even know that the premier is today. Although from the looks of it, it''ll just be a premier for his close friends." Alex explained.


    "Ah. So another surprise?" Elsa said in excitement. Jenna lowered her eyes, and she wasn''t as excited as her other friends after hearing the news.


    "I... I don''t think I can go." Jenna said with a sullen face.


    Alex continued without catching Jenna''s mood. "The style is upscale...what? Fabulous something. Just wear something classy. I need to go invite Enid." Alex said in excitement before turning to Jenna.


    "I don''t have that kind of dress. Can you accompany me to the mall after school?"


    "SURE. LET''S GO SHOPPING!" Elsa exclaimed in excitement after interrupting the two girls''s conversation.


    "Wait. I also need...to invite Mrs Henderson?" Alex read the text from her dad twice as she was in disbelief about what was written.


    "Why her?" Elsa asked while Jenna finally showed a little bit of interest.


    "I don''t know. I''ll text him to see if he mistyped." Alex said before walking away. Elsa waved her off with a smile, before her face turned stoic as she turned to Jenna. "So...what did you do now?"


    "What?...Nothing." Jenna said while avoiding her best friend''s gaze. Elsa sighed and said, "You really are a bad liar. Now, tell me everything!"


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Hmmm....What time is it?"


    With a groan, I finally woke up from my sleep. I find myself to be alone at the sofa, as my aunt had already freed herself after her legs went numb from being a prolonged lap pillow. I sat up from the 3 seat sofa and walked to the kitchen where I could hear some noise.


    "Good afternoon. It''s already 1 pm. I prepared lunch for you." Aunt Camila said.


    "Oh Ed. I knew I should have checked up on you last night. If only Longines hadn''t called me to pick him up from the bar." Pepper said while walking toward me. He came to visit after my dad called him to invite him to the premier. He already watched my edit, and had sent a copy to the director while I was sleeping.


    "The film is now finished. I can''t believe you did it all in one day. Also, the director is pretty happy to see such high quality edits." Pepper said as he grabbed both of my shoulders. "I''m proud of you. Come on, let''s eat."


    "Wait. Aunt Camila prepared it?" I asked while eyeing the food in front of me suspiciously. She rolled her eyes and said, "I didn''t use the pepper again! I CAN COOK!"


    "I...It''s better if we order out-"


    "Sit your ass down and eat!" She spoke sternly as she pushed me to take a seat on the dining table. I laughed at her reaction before turning to Pepper, "So far, we can release the singles without worry right?"


    "Yes. All the preparation is finished. You don''t have anything else to do for this. Now, it''s Harvey and mine''s job." Pepper said before criticizing my aunt about her coffee. "Ugh. This tasted factory made."


    "Brew your own then." Aunt Camila said in annoyance as she had never met someone more picky than Pepper in her entire life. I took 20 minutes to eat before showering and changing my clothes.


    Pepper suddenly stood up as if he was waiting for me to be ready and said, "Let''s go. We don''t want to be late to your premier now don''t we?"


    I was confused by the whole situation, then I saw my aunt had already changed into a classy purple dress.


    "???"


    "Your dad is already waiting at the venue. We''ll meet him there." Pepper said before he grabbed me by the arms and started pulling me to the front door. My aunt followed us from behind, and was rushing as it was almost 3 pm, and all the guests had returned from their schools.


    "Can someone tell me what is going on?!"

 Chapter 75: Music Video Premier.

    Chapter 75: Chapter 75: Music Video Premier.


    (My last chap this week as I need to prepare for Eid. I will come back on Tuesday/Wednesday next week, depends on when I came back from my hometown. Enjoy the chap!)


    [Edward POV]


    "I feel... a bit embarrassed."


    As I watched the group walking around with classy outfits, I felt out of place standing there with my white shirt and plain jeans. Pepper and my aunt immediately left me alone after we entered Jay''s house, making me feel even more excluded. .


    Haley was actually the one who opened the door and she proceeded to immediately grab my hand and bring me next to the poster.


    Gloria had prepared a red- no, it was actually closer to an orange carpet, but Pepper was the one who had brought the official poster for the event. It was a blown up shot of me from my sexy photoshoot, where I was only wearing a jacket and nothing underneath. My eyes were smoldering, and my lips were parted slightly, giving me a seductive look in the photo.


    "You should be. Where is that guy?! I want to meet him, not this..." Haley said as she pointed to the poster before gesturing at my body. She was wearing a flowery black dress that accentuated her figure, and a black high heels that brought her face closer to mine, but she couldn''t surpass my height just yet.


    I smirked and leaned forward before whispering in her ear, "Now I have actual proof that you''re secretly a pervert." She was practically drooling and was taking multiple pictures with the poster before her friends even got here.


    Haley blushed and snapped back to retort immediately, "No. My reaction is normal for a teenage girl- Stop staring at me." Her voice turned shaky as I kept my rizz up and was giving her a smoldering look at the moment. "Staring at you, how?" I asked seductively.


    She bit her lower lip and caught her mom who was walking by from behind to use as a human shield. Claire was wearing a cream coloured dress, and had her hair tied up at the back. She was also holding a champagne glass in her right hand, which I was sure was full a minute ago.


    I turned off my rizz mode and asked Claire, "Hey. Can someone tell me what''s going on?"


    "Hmm? You don''t know?"


    "Well...I can assume that people are gathering here to watch my video, but to be honest...yeah, I have no idea."


    Claire smiled softly and said, "Well. Your dad called us, and invited us to your house. But Phil-" She pointed at Phil who was setting up the projector behind her, "...Offered to do it here instead."


    "Without asking Jay?" I asked.


    "Yup." Claire leaned in and whispered, "Luckily Gloria put my dad in a good mood, so no harm done." She clicked her tongue twice, and I was positive that she was drunk right now as there was no way she would use euphemism while talking to me, or any other kids.


    Mitchell noticed this and pulled Claire away from me immediately, "Heeeyyy, Claire. Go sober up . Also, Ed, CONGRATULATIONS!" He hugged me and patted my back for a few short seconds before breaking it off.


    I smiled and said, "Thank you. It mustn''t be easy for you to be here. You have a lot of work at the firm right? I really appreciate you being here."


    Mitchell looked down shyly and giggled before saying, "No. No. Work is not as important as this evening."


    Cameron finally noticed me and ran from the kitchen before giving me a bear hug from behind, lifting my entire body in the air, and turned me around in excitement.


    "ROCK STAR! ROCK STAR! ROCK STAR!" Cam chanted while spinning me. "Cam. Don''t bother him. He must be anxious right now. Let him go." Pepper said from afar before coming in to pull Cam back to the kitchen.


    ''Ahh, that''s why they were leaving me alone.'' I thought as only the kids were talking to me. Luke and Manny were playing tag inside the house, and I playfully caught Luke while he was running away from Manny.


    "Let me go- NO!"


    As I caught him, Manny finally could tag him, making him the next chaser.


    "Finally. I''ve been chasing him for 20 minutes." Manny complained. "And I didn''t even want to play this game in the first place."


    "Then why do you keep chasing him?" I asked.


    "I don''t know." Manny shook his head before running away, and Luke chased him next. "This time, Edward can''t help you!" Luke shouted like a mad demon.


    "Luke is playing on easy mode." I muttered as I watched Manny get caught in less than a minute. His bulging belly made it hard for him to run faster. That was why he was always caught by Luke.


    ''In the series, Gloria always told him not to do anything that would make him uncomfortable. But in the end, he turned into an entitled, spoiled adult. Maybe he should get out of his comfort zone more.''


    "Heyya Kiddo. Congratulations. I''m sure you''ll hit it big!" Jay said as he walked in from the backyard and patted my back. I turned to look at him, pushing my thoughts on Manny to the back of my mind.


    "Why don''t you take a seat and wait for this thing to be over?" Jay asked although it sounded more like a statement, and pointed to the seats Gloria had rented for the event.


    Jacob and Elsa arrived at the premier after 15 minutes, dressed in a couple look with their matching jackets. Alex entered the house while dragging Jenna who seemed reluctant to come here. I walked to the front door to greet them, and to ask her ''why'' at the same time.


    "Umm..." Jenna opened her mouth a few times, but no words would come out. Elsa on the other hand was glaring daggers at me.


    [Flashback- Jenna POV]


    Elsa dragged me to the girls bathroom after class was over, and there, I was interrogated about why I was reacting this way.


    "So. He''s already dating someone else? That bitch!" Elsa said with gritted teeth after I broke down and told her everything. Of course, my best friend gave me an hour-long lecture about stalking and breaking into someone''s house first before she returned to my side.


    "He''s just playing with you then!" Elsa said in anger. I was looking downcast the whole time Elsa was cursing at Ed before Alex suddenly walked into the toilet.


    "Hey. Are you guys ready?" Alex asked casually, not reading the atmosphere inside the room.


    "Hey. Is Ed dating your sister?" Elsa asked immediately after she saw Alex. I widened my eyes and tried to stop the conversation, before Alex replied casually, "No. They aren''t."


    "Are you sure? They haven''t done anything?" Elsa asked again.


    "I know my sister. If she''s dating someone, then she will be stuck to her phone the entire time. She might have hooked up with him though, cause she''s a bit of a slut." Alex replied before grabbing my wrist. I was stunned after hearing what Alex said, and thought inwardly in relief, ''Ahh...so they were just hooking up.''


    "Hey. Does Ed like sluts?" I asked Alex as she was his best friend.


    Alex shook her head and said, "No. He''s a bit special, that way. He is more attracted to someone''s personality rather than their beauty. If he thinks you''re not a good person, he won''t even glance at you."


    ??Throw my hand on a blade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah) I''d jump in front of a train for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)You know I''d do anything for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)??


    "Truck. Truck. TRUCK!" Claire shouted in bewilderment as the scene changed to me pulling the piano inside a tunnel, with traffic still moving behind me. She finally stopped after seeing the truck swerved to avoid me, and breathed in relief.


    "For ya? Isn''t that a bit racist?" Cam asked in concern at the same time Claire was freaking out. Gloria stared at him and said, "He''s half Cuban."


    "Oh Yeah. Right."


    Jay gave a side eye at Cam before continuing to watch the video.


    This time, I was singing while pulling the piano. ??Oh, oh, I would go through all this pain, Take a bullet straight through my brain~!??


    ??Yes, I would die for ya, baby. But you won''t do the same...No, no, no, no~!??


    "He''s so sad." Haley sobbed while watching. I was confused and turned toward her. "But "he" is me? You do know that right???" I said.


    "Yeah. but he''s more handsome." Haley said.


    "..."


    The singing was taken over by the bedroom me as the street me was pulling the piano in front of a mexican gang.


    ??Black, black, black and blue, Beat me ''til I''m numb, Tell the devil I said "Hey" when you get back to where you''re from...??"


    I tried to ask them by showing the picture of my girlfriend, but the tattooed Mexican gang tried to intimidate me into going away.


    ??Mad woman, bad woman, That''s just what you are, Yeah, you''ll smile in my face then rip the brakes out my car (ooh-ooh)??"


    "Off- Who is the lyric for. Why is it so biting?" Desiree said while hugging my dad''s arm in between her chest.


    ??Gave you all I had and you tossed it in the trash (ooh-ooh) You tossed it in the trash, yes, you did (ooh-ooh)??


    The gang smacked the picture out of my hand, and I bent over to pick it up before walking straight forward.


    "(Sigh) She isn''t going to like this at all." Ted muttered ambiguously. Desiree looked at him in confusion before leaning her head closer and resting it on his shoulder. He coughed twice in embarrassment, but he wasn''t pushing her away.


    ??To give me all your love is all I ever ask, ''Cause what you don''t understand is, I''d catch a grenade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)??


    My neat suit was becoming messy as I had worked hard to pull the piano. I passed by a homeless man that seemed to recognize me, but he too couldn''t stop me from moving forward.


    ??Throw my hand on a blade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah),I''d jump in front of a train for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah) You know I''d do anything for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)??"


    "Oh he''s finally there." Phil said in excitement as he saw I had arrived at a house. I smiled as I saw Penny through the window, but she hadn''t noticed me yet. Suddenly, another man walked from behind her, grabbed her and put her on the window sill, before making out passionately with her.


    "Oh god." Jenna bit her lower lips as she saw my playboy character. "He''s so hot." Alex blurted out unconsciously, making Jenna turn to her. She realized what she said and avoided Jenna''s gaze, not knowing that Jenna felt a sense of comradeship with her.


    Abby and Haley also started to breathe heavily as they saw the player, and they were leaning closer to me as if wanting to compare the both of us. They did it secretly, before they accidentally locked eyes with each other, and moved their head to the initial position in embarrassment as they thought they were caught by the other person.


    ??Oh oh, I would go through all this pain, Take a bullet straight through my brain. Yes, I would die for ya, baby...But you won''t do the same...??


    My face crumbled, and I turned away from watching the scene before pulling the piano away.


    "..." Phil jaw dropped as he couldn''t believe what just happened. "But they seemed so happy..." He said with teary eyes.


    Abby sighed and stole a glance at me while I was watching the music video. Despite my great acting, my fingers were all curled up as I saw my own image on the screen.


    ''Still cringe. Damn. Next time, I won''t join them to see it.'' I thought.


    ??if my body was on fire, (No) ooh, you''d watch me burn down in flames, (No) you said you loved me, you''re a liar, ??''Cause you never, ever, ever did, baby..??


    The me dragging the piano turned away from the house and walked away, and Penny saw that I had known about her cheating. However, she seemed unaffected by it.


    "That bitch!" Haley cursed while Abby nodded to agree with her.


    Despite all that, the me inside the screen was still in love with her.


    ??But darling, I''d still catch a grenade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah) Throw my hand on a blade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah) I''d jump in front of a train for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah) ??You know I''d do anything for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)??


    He pushed the piano with all of his strength as he walked uphill, and his legs were weak from the strength he put into it. Inside the bedroom, I crumbled and was sitting with my back against the wall, no longer moving from the pain of my broken heart.


    Finally, we reached the ending.


    ??Ooh-ooh, I would go through all this pain, Take a bullet straight through my brain, Yes, I would die for ya, baby,But you won''t do the same...??


    I finally reached the train station, and was playing the piano while on the train tracks. It was filmed at a tricky angle that made me seem like I was putting myself in a dangerous position, but it was actually untrue. Claire widened her eyes and said, "No...No...No No No No..."


    ??No, you won''t do the same...You wouldn''t do the same~! Ooh, you''d never do the same??


    ??No, no, no, no-oh??


    The train finally arrived. But instead of Bruno''s suicide ending, the train stopped in front of me, and I left the piano behind to get on board of it. The camera change revealed that I was waiting for the train in the first place, and Claire finally breathed easy when she saw it.


    "Ah. He''s moving on." Phil said with a smile on his face.


    The group applauded at me as I entered the train, and my music video premier was over.

 Chapter 76: A bit of an overreaction, don’t you think?

    Chapter 76: Chapter 76: A bit of an overreaction, don��t you think?


    (I''m back!! Also, I''m mentally exhausted from the auntie''s and uncle''s point blank questions such as, "When are you getting married?" "All your friends have a child already?" "When are you buying a house?" "When are you going to lose weight?"


    My introvert personality can''t handle the yearly torture anymore lol. )


    [Phil''s commentary]


    "Although the song was great, I''m worried for Ed. He went through so much before he even reached puberty, and I''m afraid it will influence his personality greatly. Most people wouldn''t even notice it, but I''m not most people."


    Phil said in a concerned voice, but with a hint of bragging at the last sentence. His face turned sour and he said, "He''s not walking, he''s not enjoying life, but...he''s sprinting madly ahead, as if he is being chased by something."


    Phil had no idea what he thought was extremely close to the truth.


    "After talking to his aunt, I know for sure he''s pushing himself...pushing himself madly...it''s not normal. It''s not even normal for a kid to be as mature as him."


    "If he keeps walking this path�C He''ll eventually burn himself out for sure. It''s like my roommate Ling when he thought he could build a (voice break) Helicopter."


    [3rd Person POV]


    While the premier at Jay''s house was ongoing, 2 young women were watching Ed''s music video from a laptop. A blonde, and a latina brunette. The blonde was sitting on a chair while the brunette was standing behind her�Cwatching the music video over her shoulder.


    "He''s so dreamy. He''s only 14? Are you sure?"Selena said using a professional tone as she tried to hide her fluttering heart while watching the music video


    "I''m sure. And...I''m sure he''s still currently growing." Taylor said while licking her lips seductively. Selena rolled her eyes at her currently-going-to-be-her-bestie, and slammed the laptop shut, startling Taylor.


    With narrowed eyes, Selena said, "Don''t even dare to think about it. You''ll go to jail."


    Taylor shrugged as the thing on the boat was only her and Ed''s secret, so no one else knew about it.


    "Disney is also interested in him right?" Taylor said to Selena with a sly smirk. She had been talking Edward up with a few producers and important people in Hollywood without him even asking her to do so.


    "Yeah. They ARE considering casting him in some shows, but...he''s not made for Disney image." Selena said with a wry smile. (A/N: That means, keeping things light for the general audience. Whatever degeneracy they did behind the camera screen didn''t count)


    "That''s good. I also don''t think Disney is his style." Taylor said while leaning back on the chair.


    Selena rolled her eyes again and said carefully, "So. Juliet. You''re going to meet him for recording this Friday right? Can I come with you?"


    Taylor turned and looked at Selena in disbelief, "N-No. Why would you want to come?"


    She had planned to have some ''alone time'' with Ed, therefore she didn''t want to take a chance in bringing someone else.


    Selena gazed at Taylor suspiciously and said, "Now...I know for sure I need to come."


    ...


    [Edward POV- After the premier]


    "ENCORE! ENCORE! ENCORE!" Cam started a chant, but only Gloria and Phil followed along to his words.


    Nevertheless, everyone agreed to repeat watching the video. My face was blushing as their support was tugging at my heartstrings. The younger generations caught my expression and they were sniggering by themselves before I finally stood up to try and move away from there. I have avoidance issues, I know.


    Pepper gave me a hug as he saw me standing up.


    "Why are you so flustered? Did you get worried that people wouldn''t like it? You''re a natural kid. You can sleep on a piano, and wake up to a hit song."


    He released me, but his hands were still holding my shoulders. He looked me straight in the eyes before saying, "I''m really proud of you."


    "*Ehem* That''s my line." My real dad swooped in and grabbed me from Pepper and mimicked Pepper''s action before this. He said, "I''m proud of you Ed."


    "Yeah. I know." I said with my face still red from the embarrassment. Haley giggled mischievously and said, "He''s blushing~"


    The group let out "Awww" and teased me a bit before the video reaction died down.


    [Mitch and Cam''s commentary]


    "I didn''t expect Ed''s story telling to be so impactful." Mitchell said with eyes full of awe. Cam made a side eye at him and said, "Maybe because it resonated with you deeply? For me, I had never been cheated on, so..."


    Mitchell rolled his eyes before saying angrily, "How are we talking about me? We''re talking about Ed."


    Cam giggled and closed his mouth before Mitchell turned back to the camera.


    "How he played with the ups and downs of life. That''s beautiful." Mitchell said, but Cam''s stifled giggling made him unable continue his words.


    [Claire''s commentary]


    "To be honest I was too drunk to remember how I reacted." Claire said before the camera cuts to the scene of her drinking her 7th glass of wine during the screening.


    "But I''m sure it went great." Claire said with a smile on her face, but her eyes were shaky as she was internally disappointed in herself.


    "Also, I remember groping someone''s...I don''t know." She said while trying hard to remember the affairs of the premier.


    [Commentary ends]


    Jay was enjoying the song 7 years that I had made into a lyric video while sipping a glass of scotch in his single seat sofa, with my dad, Pepper and Phil. He had poured them all a glass of his finest scotch as his mood was lifted through the song- although Phil was just an extra in there. (E/N: Also Phil adds "sprite" to 20+ year old scotch sooo that makes Jay mad, rightly so of course lol)


    I was hanging out with Jenna, Haley, Abby and Alex near the pool while sipping orange juices. Luke and Manny were playing together, while Jacob and Elsa had disappeared somewhere.


    ''My aunt was suspicious of them though, so I hope that they can make out without getting caught.''


    I sincerely hoped that Jacob could get his time alone with Elsa, but I was also annoyed that they were too clingy with each other. They were slowly merging into one individual, which makes me shudder everytime I think about it.


    As Jenna was left behind by her best friend, Alex stuck by her side lest she felt uncomfortable with the group there. She also secretly told me that Jenna didn''t want to come at the beginning, which made me think back about my interaction with her to find out why she was so mad at me.


    ''I really didn''t do anything wrong though?'' I thought as I talked with Haley and Abby.


    "Hey- Stop daydreaming." Abby said in annoyance as she saw my mind was elsewhere while I was talking to them.


    "I''m not daydreaming though. Like I said, I didn''t base the song on anyone."


    In fact, it was my own ''original'' in the world�C or rather, the me without my past life memories. It was the first song "he" created while he was 12, one month after his mom left his family.


    "And Maybe..."


    ...


    [Haley POV]


    My eyes shook as I watched Edward pat Abby''s head. I listened to what he said to her, and I realized something. He had never pushed her out of his mind, and kept thinking of ways to help her.


    "...So, maybe the reason he rejected me, wasn''t because of my family at all." I said in self depreciation while looking at him.


    *Splurt*


    I suddenly heard someone spew their drink from behind me, and turned hurriedly to find Mitchell looking at me with a spooked face.


    "You confessed?!" He shouted in my face to my horror, as I quickly cupped his mouth shut with my palm hurriedly.


    "Un-Uncle Mitch. This is not the place to talk about it." I said as I saw my mom looking at me and my uncle. He nodded to show he understands my words as he calmed himself down before dragging me away to ''interrogate'' me.


    Not that he needed to use strong techniques, I practically told him everything since I was 4. Uncle Cam also tagged along as he understood everything when he heard Uncle Mitchell scream, and we moved our conversation to the kitchen where no one was around.


    "Umm...Basically, yeah." I confessed to both of them. Uncle Mitchell was still in disbelief while Cam instantly said, "What about Taylor?"


    "HE''S NOT DATING TAYLO- Uncle Cam! FOCUS!" I said to him sternly.


    "No...I mean...It''s good that he isn''t dating her...now...but, he really rejected you? And you still hang around him?" Uncle Cam said.( E/N: Well "technically" he didn''t "reject" her per say, they both talked and kind of both decided to air on the side of caution I mean Haley knows that if she just pushed a little more she would totally get him lol)


    "That''s...brave." Uncle Mitchell added.


    I rolled my eyes at the two big queens before saying, "He had his reasons. Also, he told me he likes me too."


    "I see. So he wanted to avoid a scandal." Uncle Cam came to his own conclusion. I was confused as I really thought that was true, but Uncle Mitch rolled his eyes at his partner and said, "He''s not. But Haley, I don''t think that''s all there is right? Is there something else you''re keeping away from me?"


    "Umm..." I hesitated to tell them, before I finally just let it go. "I slept with him."


    "SLEPT WITH H-" Uncle Mitchell looked around hurriedly as he stopped shouting to make sure no one else heard it. With a spooked eyes, he asked, "You guys used protection right?"


    "N- No. It''s not li-"


    "NO?!" Uncle Mitchell exclaimed in horror while Uncle Cam shook his head in disappointment.


    "No- It''s not like that. We didn''t do anything. We just...slept." I said, hiding the fact that we actually had done something before. I like Uncle Cam, but I wouldn''t talk to him about this. I will share it with Uncle Mitchell when we are alone later on.


    [Edward POV]


    "I need to go." Jenna said since her driver had already parked in front of the house to pick her up. She hugged me and said, "Congratulations on your debut. I will pray for you."


    "Pray? Aren''t you.." I muttered as I knew for sure she was an agnostic. She blushed and said, "No- It''s different. It''s more like hope."


    "Hmm...You hung out with Mrs Green too much." I teased her, which made her blush even more. Mrs Green even said that she wanted to adopt Jenna to be her daughter if she had the chance, as she loved the girl.


    "Maybe." Jenna replied with a twinkle in her eyes as she remembered Mrs Green. Suddenly, the plot for Young Sheldon, where a slutty girl that George brought home was turned into a Catholic devotee by his mother came into my mind.


    "Whatever, As long as you''re happy. And also, how''s your tutoring going?" I asked.


    Her eyes shook and she glanced at Alex with betrayal. Alex shook her head at her, trying to tell her she didn''t expose her secret when I smirked and said, "Ohh...So Alex is tutoring you. Good choice. She''s the only one in the entire school that can reach my level, so you''re good with this."


    "She''s trying hard, so you may not want to get cocky. I''ll make sure that she can get number 2." Alex said with a puffed up confidence.


    I laughed and said, "That reminds me. We need to change the term of the bet."


    "Hey. Don''t go back on your words now! Are you scared?!" Alex said instigatively. "Yeah. Are you scared-" Jenna followed along before she met my eyes and pulled her face away as blood rushed to her cheeks.


    "I''m not doing anything like that. It''s just there isn''t a number system anymore. So, if you get A''s for all the subjects in the final exam, then the bet is still valid."


    "Ahh. I forgot about that." Alex said in understanding.


    "So-So, you want to continue the bet?" Jenna said with a stutter.


    "Why not?" I said with a smile.


    "No-no reason. Okay. I''ll try my best." Jenna said with a renewed spirit after being downcast for the entire day. I returned to the party and was hanging out by the pool before I saw a magnificent sight.


    Claire was surrounded by Gloria and Desiree. They were having an intense discussion, and needed Claire to settle the argument for them.


    "See, although mine are smaller, they are firmer." Gloria said as she grabbed Claire''s right hand and made her grope her breast.


    "Yeah. But mine is firm too, and it''s not saggy." Desiree said before she grabbed Claire''s left hand and made her touch her chest too.


    "Life is good." I said as I watched them from afar. No one else noticed them beside me, and I thanked God for the first time in my life today as he gave me the opportunity to imprint the sight in my mind.


    "What?" Alex said and before she could turn around, I grabbed her head and kept it still. "Nothing. Just focus on me."


    She was confused, but she didn''t say anything and continued bombarding me with her stories of her day at the mall with Jenna. She was so excited to finally have a ''good'' outing with her friends she wanted to share even the tiniest detail in her stories.


    "I wonder if Mrs Green gives out classes?" I muttered to myself in amusement. Gloria and Desiree left Claire alone after a while. Although I was keeping my eyes on the wives and ex-wife, I did listen to Alex''s stories attentively and chiming in here and there.


    "So. I was thinking. Maybe we can borrow your place to study?" Alex asked her true purpose. Jenna was too embarrassed to study at the library, and the Dunphy''s house...well you know the rest.


    "Okay. Sure." I agreed without thinking much.


    [3rd Person POV]


    Inside the house, Pepper was talking with Jay and the others before he received a call from the movie studio that wanted Ed''s song for their OST. He moved a bit further from the rest and picked up the call. His excited expression turned solemn as the call continued.


    "Hmm...It''s very late notice." Pepper said in dissatisfaction. "Let me talk to Ed first and I''ll get back to you. His debut is this Wednesday! How could you even ask him to postpone his song release? ''Two Is Better than One'' is already locked as the single''s release."


    The person on the other line said with a shaky voice, "I didn''t plan this. The CEO suddenly got inspiration, and made all of our lives miserable. Please Pepper, we''re prepared to offer 1 million dollars as compensation."


    "I don''t care about the money. I will ask Ed first if it''s even possible at all since it would destroy his theme if we pick a random song you know 1 million can''t even begin to compare to his debut success." Pepper said with a stern face.

 Chapter 77: A wee bit of trouble.

    Chapter 77: Chapter 77: A wee bit of trouble.


    [Edward POV]


    Jay bust out his grill, and Phil was helping him cook some nice steak while Pepper and I had the discussion in the living room.


    My Dad was helpless in this matter, therefore he just sat around to provide me emotional support, while my aunt was grinding her teeth at the audacity of the film studio.


    "Hmm...So they wanted to include the song as a part of their marketing plan?" I asked, troubled by the sudden change in the schedule.


    "Do they know how hard it was? For me to edit the song as Taylor and I recorded our parts in different locations?" I slumped my shoulders, not blaming Pepper at all for the current situation.


    While wiping his sweat, Pepper said, "That''s their plan, and they are prepared to compensate you for this. But, I still told them I would talk to you about it first. If you feel we should release it now, then I will follow you. "


    "Pepper. That is putting too much pressure on him don''t you think?" Mitchell interjected as most of the guests inside Jay''s house had heard about the current situation.


    "Why don''t you release ''Put my hands in my pants?'' That song is good. (A/N: The Lazy Song)" Luke interrupted while passing by to get away from Manny.


    "Cause it doesn''t suit the theme." I replied and my mind quickly spun to think about the potential song replacement for "Two is Better than One."


    "Go play somewhere else." Cam said as he herded Luke away before returning to his position�C standing behind Mitchell.


    As the night deepened, I decided to no longer care about it and said, "I''ll think about it tomorrow."


    Pepper nodded without saying anything else as he understood that I couldn''t make the decision wantonly.


    As she was in a bad mood, my aunt did something drastic after she caught Elsa and Jacob making out in one of Jay''s 5 bathrooms, and had sent them both home�C separately of course.


    During that time, when I looked at their aggrieved faces, I noticed that they were no longer clingy with each other. In fact, they seemed to abhor each other.


    ''Did they fight?'' I thought as I waved at Jacob while he was driven off.


    ''Nevermind. I''ll call him later.''


    The premier was finally over, and my aunt drove me home as my dad needed to head straight to the port. However, she didn''t stay over today and left after dropping me off. Apparently she had a ''job'' to do, which was a topic that would interest me more if I wasn''t in a dilemma right now.


    Pepper and the others decided to give me some space to think, therefore no one would try and urge me to come up with an answer.


    After taking a quick shower, I changed into my rarely worn pajamas and laid down lazily on my bed. I covered my forehead with the back of my hand as I let out a heavy sigh.


    ''Now. What should I do? What should I do?'' I thought as I racked my brain for the solution.


    ''I really thought I could finally relax a little tonight. But that was just a pipe dream huh.'' I set up an alarm for me to get out of bed after getting some rest on my phone, but...


    "I don''t think I can sleep again tonight." I mumbled with a heavy tone. "Fuck." I cursed softly as I forcefully closed my eyelids to force myself to sleep. While I was struggling, I heard a metallic sound coming from outside the house, but I just ignored it.


    However, I soon heard a knock coming from my window, I was startled by the sound and sat up hurriedly while looking at the closed curtain.


    "Wh-Who is it?" I asked with a stutter as I slowly walked to the window.


    "It''s me." Haley called out from outside.


    I opened the curtain, and saw the tiny girl cheekily smiling while looking at me.


    "Why are you here?" I asked in confusion as I unlocked the window to let her in.


    As she landed inside the room, I saw that she was wearing thick clothing that was covering almost her entire body. I peeked outside and saw that she had carried a ladder to come here. "Smort."


    "Thank you." Haley said as she fixed her messy clothes.


    "I thought...You''ll stay up all night again today. So I come to...offer my service again." Haley said casually while hiding her embarrassment.


    "The body pillow service?" I asked and a grin suddenly appeared on my tired face.


    "Y-Yes. We can call it that." Haley said while avoiding my eyes. As she was always being teased by me, she wanted to pay back so she said, "But. You need to grab me and throw me to the bed like in the music video-"


    Before she could finish her words, I did what she wanted and brought her to the bed. We fall side by side while locking eyes with each other.


    "This is a bad idea." I muttered.


    "I know."


    "We will be in BIG trouble if we keep doing this."


    "No need to worry, I have a solid plan this time. I will get back to my house the minute you fall asleep." Haley said as she brushed my hair before tracing my eyebrow with her slender finger. Then, she pulled me closer and cuddled me before closing her eyes. "So. Don''t think too much. Just sleep."


    [3rd Person POV-Flashback]


    Mitchell: "Sooo...."


    Haley: "Soooo...."


    While Haley hitched a ride with her guncles (Gay uncles), sitting at the back with Lily while the adults were in the front of the car, Mitchell finally spoke up about their earlier topic. He glanced at Cam while hesitating, but Haley said to him, "I don''t mind."


    "Mind what?" Cam retorted immediately.


    Mitchell nodded to Haley and said, "Are you sure about... just being friends?"


    "It''s not like there''s anything else I can do about it." Haley said in self-depreciation.


    "Don''t say that. You''re a beautiful girl. He should be glad you''re interested in him." Cam said to reassure Haley before mumbling to himself, "Although...you''re not the only one."


    "What was that?" Haley said while leaning forward to hear better. Even Mitchell couldn''t catch what Cam said.


    "Nothing." Cam said smilingly while scratching the top of his head.


    "But to be fair Haley. You guys are really different. Maybe not getting together is a good thing?" Mitchell said in a concerned tone.


    "We get along well. I mean...Reaaaaaaly well. There''s never a dull moment when I am with him." Haley said.


    Mitchell smirked and said, "I thought you were moving on. Why are you trying to defend your relationship with him?"


    Cam widened his eyes and exclaimed, "OOO....I didn''t catch that. Nice one."


    "Thank you." Mitchell said with a slight nod before getting back to Haley.


    Frustrated, she leaned backward and crossed her arms before pouting.


    "I didn''t mean to tease you. But, you guys didn''t even start, and you just...gave up. When you''re so clearly interested in one another."


    "Really? You think he likes me?" Haley leaned forward as Mitchell managed to bait her again.


    Trying his hardest not to roll his eyes, Mitchell said, "Weren''t you the one who told me that before?"


    "Oh. right."


    "I also think there''s more you haven''t shared with me yet, but I''m not going to dig into that now. What do you think...Ed will do about the song?"


    Mitchell avoided the sensitive topic as the time with his niece was reserved only for him. Cam smiled in understanding and didn''t say anything...yet. He''ll hold a grudge and slowly retaliate later on.


    "I don''t think he should agree to it. He worked really hard in order to get everything ready before the singles release. He couldn''t even get a little rest, but now, he will not be sleeping again."


    Cam got concerned and asked, "What do you mean? Did he have trouble sleeping?"


    "CONSTANTLY." Haley said in frustration.


    "... Why?" Mitchell asked after a slight pause.


    Cam became smug and said, "if you checked the records of the world''s geniuses. They''ll have a quirk of their own. Van Gogh cut off his own ear. Tesla went crazy and took a pigeon for a bride. There''s a lot more examples out there."


    "But...you can only remember two of them." Mitchell said, exposing Cam.


    He avoided Mitchell''s eyes and looked away. Haley fell into a deep thought and mumbled to herself, "Maybe I should go there...just to check up on him...I don''t want him to go crazy after all...But first, I need to go change my clothes...to make sure he didn''t get tempted to do anything else..."


    -Present time-


    And you''re spending all your time,


    In this wrong situation,


    And anytime you want it to stop."


    Cam gasped with widened eyes.


    [Cam''s commentary]


    He took out the monthly gossip magazine�C February edition that showed an article about how Taylor was badly treated by her previous ex-boyfriend, one of the Jonas brothers �C Jose Jonah. The article even mentioned that he ''allegedly'' broke up with her over text.


    "I KNEW IT!" He said in excitement as he took the songs meaning the wrong way. "He likes her. WE STILL HAVE A CHANCE!" exclaimed the Tayward shipper.


    [Commentary ends]


    "??I know I can treat you better than he can.


    And any girl like you deserves a gentleman


    Tell me, why are we wasting time


    On all your wasted crying


    When you should be with me instead???"


    "??I know I can treat you better


    Better than he can??"


    I stopped after the first verse as I wanted to play some other songs too, but the group was looking at me in disbelief.


    "Why the hell are you stopping? CONTINUE!" Abby demanded and the others agreed with her. Stunned, I nodded and said, "O-Okay."


    ??????????


    "?? I''ll stop time for you


    The second you say you''d like me too??"


    The girls plus Cam squealed as the song directly touched their teenagers or teenage-like sentiment and they couldn''t help but fall deeper into my charms.


    "??I just wanna give you the loving that you''re missing


    Baby, just to wake up with you.??"


    Haley gulped her saliva as she looked around guiltily.


    "??You would be everything I need, and this could be so different


    Tell me what you want to do??"


    "Damn. I''m falling for him." Tara said while biting her lips.


    ""NO!"" Abby and Haley admonished her at the same time.


    I laughed as I could hear the girls conversation and continued with the chorus,


    "??''Cause I know I can treat you better than he can


    And any girl like you deserves a gentleman


    Tell me, why are we wasting time


    On all your wasted crying


    When you should be with me instead???"


    "??I know I can treat you better


    Better than he can


    Better than he can!??"


    "This is it. He needs to release this one." Cam said as he sincerely hoped that Taylor would hear this song. He directly called Pepper to notify him about the song.


    "??Give me a sign


    Take my hand, we''ll be fine


    Promise I won''t let you down


    Just know that you don''t


    Have to do this alone


    Promise I''ll never let you down??"


    Finally, I reached the last chorus verse. At this moment, all 3 girls were propping their chin with their hand as they leaned in to watch me while looking at me with swooned eyes.


    "??''Cause I know I can treat you better than he can


    And any girl like you deserves a gentleman


    Tell me, why are we wasting time


    On all your wasted crying


    When you should be with me instead???"


    "??I know I can treat you better


    Better than he can, oh


    Better than he can


    Better than he can??"


    I ended the song and asked them, "So...what do you think?"


    Tara said, "It''s a THOUSAND times better than the previous one. I mean, I can''t even remember the song-"


    "Two is Better than one." Abby helped her.


    "Yeah. That." Tara nodded slightly to thank Abby.


    "Soo...which girls did you write this song for?" Haley asked.


    "Umm..No, I just created this one as it suits the theme." I said while avoiding their eyes. "Next song is-"


    Cam interrupted before I could continue playing, "Ed. You don''t have much time left. We can all agree that this song is great right?"


    "Totally!" The girls supported Cam at the same time. Abby and Haley were elated as they didn''t like the previous song as it featured another girl, but they didn''t share that feeling with the others.


    Cam nodded and said, "Now. You have the song replacement, so why don''t we move to a studio to record it. It''s to see if you can finish the editing before the release. That way, you can think about it clearly, and you won''t feel rushed to make a decision."


    "You think so?" I asked.


    "I know so. I already called Pepper after the chorus."


    I laughed a bit and said, "Okay. We''ll record it first. Girls, do you want to come with me?"


    "YESSS!" They replied at the same time.

 Chapter 78: Relying on a vote.

    Chapter 78: Chapter 78: Relying on a vote.


    I hitched a ride with Abby while the rest of the group was riding with Cam as they had no excuse to cram the car with him going in the same direction. They looked at me with puppy-dog eyes, but my comfort mattered more than their enjoyment.


    "I talked to my mom about it." Abby said as she stole a glance at me while driving.


    "Talk about what?" I asked in a casual tone.


    "About our topic last night. I realized a few things afterward. I was really unfair to you before."


    "Well...That''s nice to hear, but I don''t blame you for it."


    Abby smiled and said, "Good-"


    "I blame your dad." I said, interrupting her.


    She giggled and slowly reached out her left hand before touching my hand with it. I just let her do that, and she looked me in the eyes and said, "Thank you Ed. Seriously."


    It was only a short drive to the tiny music studio Pepper rented so we couldn''t actually get deep in our conversations.


    I nodded my head while she gave me one last squeeze before releasing my hands.


    As she was parking the car, she hesitated and asked with a tiny voice, "If...possible, could I be your-"


    "ED!" Pepper shouted for me the second the car was put in park. I waved at him to make him wait there before turning to Abby.


    "Sorry. What were you saying?"


    "N-Nevermind." Abby said with a stutter before we both walked to the studio.


    [Abby''s POV]


    How dumb was it for me to actually want to ask him to be my boyfriend, right here, while he was already troubled by his song''s release dilemma. I nodded at Pepper as I saw him, and thanked him in my heart as his shout had helped me avoid making a huge fool of myself.


    That last song was nice, but I kept wondering what other options he had in mind. I hate Haley''s uncle for making us change spots, but it made sense as he needed to release the songs in just a few more hours.


    He didn''t have much time now. I couldn''t help but feel worried for him.


    ''Can''t someone else take the burden?'' I thought while watching his every move as we all entered the music studio.


    [Edward POV]


    "Ed. I wouldn''t want to rush you, but..." Pepper said as he glanced at the wall clock. The time was almost 4 pm, and the entire company was working overtime to handle the marketing for the new Singles. However, it was hard for them to do so without the name of the latest track.


    "We''re promoting that one as a mystery right?" I said to Pepper.


    "Yeah. We followed your plans, and to be honest, the reaction from the younger generations is great, but the older ones..."


    "It doesn''t matter much as long as we do release it afterward." I said dismissively.


    "Some loudmouths and no substance critics had been barking around, trying to damage your debut. I let Harvey handle all of the ramifications, but it looked like-"


    "Like someone was manipulating everything from behind. You got that right." I said as I knew for sure who the "mastermind" was. It was the same person who tried to get dirt on me before. Through some intense digging, I managed to track down the "breadcrumbs" to the Vice Director of Taylor''s agency. His motive in doing so was to undermine Pepper''s agency and ruin my debut to make their agency "come in to the rescue" and use their "connections" to make themselves look more impressive in my eyes.


    "Too bad for them though. I''m not a naive kid." I said as I tapped my IPhone keyboard and sent a few emails to the press and the authorities. They contained the details of a few entrapment cases and sexual misconduct that could be used to file charges against the Vice Director and basically end his career, but I still couldn''t touch other core members of the agency just yet since they''d made sure to keep their own hands "clean" from this whole situation dumping all the "blame" on their chosen pawn.


    ''At the very least, I can take out one of my enemies. I got to look out for myself more.'' I thought.


    "Pepper, do you want to hear the song I played before?" I said as I relied on Pepper''s opinion more compared to the others inside the cramped studio, after all he was the one with the connections in the music industry. I regretted my decision to invite the girls a little, as the studio was only as big as my living room. But I appreciated their support even more since I really needed it right now.


    I played the song for Pepper, and his reaction was a bit different from Cam and the others.


    "It felt...a bit weird. Like you''re an obsessive guy, only hanging out with the girls just to swoop in when her relationship crashes and burns."


    "That''s...specific...But I understand what you are talking about. I do have a few more songs in mind."


    "Let''s hear it all. I don''t think it''ll take more than an hour, right?"


    "It won''t. It''ll barely take 15 minutes." I said as I reached for a bottle of water.


    "Don''t strain your voice. If we actually do change the released song, then we''re going to need you to be in tip top shape."


    "I''ll be fine. It''ll hardly chip at my stamina." I said cockily but my expression betrayed me. Pepper understood and sighed.


    "Just...keep that in mind."


    "Thanks Peps."


    As I picked up the guitar again, I saw the girls were whistling and applauding my performance. Cam however was feeling a bit dissatisfied as he wanted me to continue with the first song, but Pepper smacked his arm and said, "Don''t pick the first choice without hearing the others. It''s the same as outfits. But I guess, your opinion, and your taste in clothes, was always like that huh, rushed without thought." Pepper then whispered, "I guess that''s why all your shirts look tacky."


    Cam was stunned and angry soon after as he was offended by Pepper''s words.


    "I firmly believe in my natural, illuminating, charismatic, and excellent taste. So I wouldn''t change my mind at all. I still think that the first song should be released today."


    "Illuminating? Yeah right. What are you? A lightbulb?"


    "It means I light up the room when I walk in- You know what, just wait till I can rub it in your face about this. Rub it over and over and over-"


    "That''s too much Cam. For God''s sake, we have children here!" Pepper said, causing Cam to freak out. Luckily for him, Pepper was just teasing. The others had absolutely no interest in their conversation as I was going to start playing.


    Fast forward another hour, we were now knee deep in debate about the song''s selection. Cam, however, almost passed out when he heard my final song, and Haley needed to fan his face to make sure he didn''t lose consciousness.


    I shrugged and said, "Anyway, about the replacement song. There''s a high chance that people will think it is about you."


    "What do you mean?" Taylor asked, her tone becoming increasingly excited.


    "You''re...not mad?" I asked in confusion.


    "NO!" Taylor exclaimed in excitement. "I feel honored that you think about me so much-"


    "It''s not about you. It just seems that way."


    "I''m currently occupying most of your mind, that you can only make songs about me-"


    "Listen here Taylor-"


    "Ahh. I''m so happy right now. I could even dance."


    Taylor and I chuckled together before she took a deep breath and turned serious again. "I don''t mind. Do it."


    "Thank you Taylor." I said sincerely.


    "If you want to thank me, why don''t we go on a date this Friday after the recording?"


    I thought about it and said, "How about this? I''m an excellent cook. So, wanna come to my place for dinner?"


    It was the safest option given that the paparazzi were continuously stalking the teenage pop star.


    "Wait. You''re going to cook?...For me?" she giggled hard afterward and said after collecting herself, "Sure."


    "But it won''t be just the two of us."


    "Awww." Taylor exclaimed in disappointment. "Then I''m bringing my friend with me."


    "Sure. Just text me how many the day before so I can prepare the food."


    We talked for a while and I confirmed multiple times that she was okay with it. However, she didn''t want to hear the song before I released it, and wanted to feel the same excitement that the rest of my fans would.


    "Okay~ Anyway, I need to go. I''ve been standing naked in the middle of the room for 10 minutes now."


    "That''s...not a joke?"


    "Nope." Taylor said before ending the call abruptly.


    "Damn." I muttered before I returned to the room. "That image is going to stick with me."


    ...


    It was an hour till midnight, and I was working hard to edit the song. With Leo popping out of nowhere, it was easy for me to finalize the song and I was currently making a lyric video for the song.


    "Why is it so easy for you to do this? Do you know how long it takes for a normal person to create a lyric video?" Cam said as he viewed me as an abnormal monster for actually managing to finish the edit.


    I had prepared a few templates for the music video, and my algorithms managed to cut off the time needed for me to finish the edit. The song lyrics were on the same level as the previous lyric video from my previous life, making those who watched it for the first time feel the freshness of the idea.


    ''Although Youtube pays less than the other exclusive sites, it was an investment for the future as I know digital platforms will bring out massive success soon.''


    Pepper walked by and notified me, "Ed. They are prepared to give you a 7.7% cut. So should we proceed?"


    "Yeah. You can tell them we''re pushing back the song release. I''m going to upload the video to our official Youtube channel, and I have already sent an email to the publishers containing the Singles."


    "My my. Are you even adding "secretary" to your list of jobs?" Pepper teased.


    I just smiled and got back to my work. Haley entered the room with a glass of lemonade and handed it over to me. However, I drank it through the straw while she was still holding it. She was in disbelief, but she didn''t pull her hand away.


    "Thank you." I said.


    "Ugh!" She exclaimed and huffed away.


    "Damn. She''s really disappointed about the song huh." I muttered to myself.


    The clock almost strikes midnight, and all of the preparation is done. I sat on the couch while shaking my legs as I waited for the songs to be released.


    "Nervous?" Abby asked.


    "Excited..." I replied. " But also a bit nervous."


    She smiled and said, "Want me to give you a massage?"


    "Sure. That''ll be great."


    She walked behind me and was massaging my shoulders as I tried to relax myself. Haley rolled her eyes at us before saying, "The fan club is ready. They''ll help you to spam views after you upload the videos."


    "Did Lily say anything after hearing the song?" I asked in concern as my fan club president had gone silent after I sent her the song copy an hour ago.


    Haley looked at me as if I was dumb, and said, "She got too excited, and had a nosebleed. She was the one who rallied the fan club members, not me."


    "Ah. I see."


    The clock finally struck 12, and the songs were released to the public!


    "Let''s hope everything goes well."

 Chapter 79: Singles Released!

    Chapter 79: Chapter 79: Singles Released!


    (Sorry for the late Chapter, I fall of my bike and I''m pretty sure I''m a bit concussed lol. I''ll be back after Labor day)


    [3rd Person POV]


    -Ed''s Fanclub Leader Bedroom-


    "IT''S OUT!" Lily exclaimed in excitement as she bought all of the songs and opened the Youtube video to spam views to help Edward. She has 4 open laptops in front of her that would help her in her ventures today. She also bought all of the digital copies of the songs the second it was released on Itunes.


    After setting up for getting the views, she clicked on the Grenade music video for real this time, and watched it properly instead of running it in the background.


    The scene finally showed the player Ed, and Lily bit her lower lips and repeated the scene over and over again.


    "Damn it." She cursed softly as she realized she had fallen for the player. After leaving a comment, she realized that she was late in commenting as the video already collected more than 1000 comments in less than 10 minutes of being published. Most of them were discussing the ''player Ed'' though.


    "Can''t really blame them." She muttered to herself before biting her lower lips.


    Then she listened to the other new song, ''Can I be him'' instead of Me and My Broken heart as she had listened to that song in the concert before.


    -Taylor''s hotel room-


    "KYAAHH~" Taylor screamed in excitement like a little girl as she heard Ed''s new songs while wearing headphones.


    "What the hell is wrong with you?" Selena asked with widened eyes as Taylor had suddenly started screaming. She was checking out the Grenade music video and had her headphones on, but Taylor''s scream startled her greatly.


    Taylor took off her headphones and her face blushed red. She turned to Selena and said, "HE''S CRAZYYY!! HAHAHA!! I LOVE IT!"


    "Love what?"


    "His song. That''s why he said he wrote it for me!" Taylor muttered in realization.


    "Did he?" Selena said as she bought the song quickly to hear it. It cost her 0.99 $ on Itunes, and when she checked the downloads, it had already been downloaded more than 10,000 times in less than 10 minutes.


    "He said no, but I know now... for sure he was pretending. AHH~ I''m so happy I could die now!" Taylor said as she lay on the bed to indulge in the special feeling. She laid on her stomach and swayed her legs as she gleefully downloaded Ed''s drippy poster and made it her phone wallpaper.


    Selena rolled her eyes at her friend before listening to the song by herself. She clicked play on the Itunes download, and wore her headphones again.


    [Can I Be Him- James Arthur]


    "??You walked into the room


    And now my heart''s been stolen??"


    Selena exclaimed, "Oh damn." She swayed to the music and listened to the lyrics intently now. His deep and velvety voice transported her, and she quickly became a fan of him. His vocal changes in every song had greatly shocked Selena, and she admired his skills in manipulating his voice.


    ??You took me back in time to when I was unbroken??


    ??Now you''re all I want


    And I knew it from the very first moment??


    ??''Cause a light came on when I heard that song


    And I want you to sing it again??


    Taylor grinned widely and sent a text to Ed about the matter�C continuously teasing him about the lyric.


    Taylor: You like me.


    Ed: Not about you.


    Taylor: YOU LOVEEE ME.


    Ed: (sigh.emoji)


    [Chorus]


    ??I swear that every word you sing


    You wrote them for me??


    This was the part that made Cam faint before this. The country farm boy felt that his fantasy had come true. He even used an app to merge Ed''s and Taylor''s faces together to see how their babies would look when he got home.


    ??Like it was a private show


    But I know you never saw me??


    ??When the lights come on and I''m on my own


    Will you be there to sing it again???


    ??Could I be the one you talk about in all your stories?


    Can I be him???


    Selena blushed hard from the lyric and was amazed by Ed''s skillful vocal manipulation. As she enjoyed the song, she kicked the squirming Taylor from the bed, making her fall down to the floor. "Oww what was that for?!" Taylor asked while rubbing her sore legs.


    "I''m...jealous." She muttered as she wanted someone to make her feel special too.


    -Taylor''s Fanclub chat- (A/N: Swift**s)


    BadBoyEd: He''s confessing right? I knew Taylor and him were dating.


    ??I heard there was someone but I know he don''t deserve you


    If you were mine I''d never let anyone hurt you??


    ??I wanna dry those tears, kiss those lips


    It''s all that I''ve been thinking about??


    ??''Cause a light came on when I heard that song


    And I want you to sing it again??


    Lily: Definitely.


    She chuckled at the lyrics and the Taydward shippers were having a field day with the song .


    "Seems that a lot of us won''t go to sleep tonight." Lily muttered to herself. The theories about h0w Edward came to fall in love with Taylor filled the group chat, and the fans were going crazy by making up impossible scenarios such as Taylor was there when Edward was born or Ed grew up in the same countryside as her.


    [Chorus]


    ??I swear that every word you sing


    You wrote them for me??


    ??Like it was a private show


    But I know you never saw me??


    ??When the lights come on and I''m on my own


    [Edward POV]


    "Should I just hack Youtube and increase the views by 100 Million? I shouldn''t...right?" I muttered to myself with a wide grin on my face as I watched the worldwide reaction to my songs. Of course, I was just joking.


    ''Or am I?''


    Despite not fixing the views, I did however hack the recommended list of the Youtube users and Itunes algorithms so that it would boost my songs and music videos.


    ''In Pewdiepie''s fight against T-Series, the blue clothes boy said that whenever a user in India registered with the internet, they''ll be bombarded by T-series''s videos in the front page. Therefore, the company''s subscribers climbed up like mad.''


    " I was just doing the same thing." I muttered as I saw my subscribers count quickly breached 1 Million.


    "Will I get a plaque from Youtube afterward?"


    "Ed, what are you doing here all alone? Let''s go home." Pepper said after he caught me grinning while reading a few articles about my debut. Despite the clock being almost 3 am, the debut hype still hasn''t died down yet. In fact, it rose up even more as the international community joined the fray.


    "Okay~" I replied happily before approaching him.


    Pepper grinned and said, "Ed. What do you think about this year''s Best New Artist Grammy Award?"


    "Unless I can beat Adele , I won''t get it." I muttered casually as I referred to my previous life memory. Pepper was stunned and opened his mouth a few times, but no words came out.


    "Calm down. I know that you''re a fan of Adele. I''m a fan too." I said with a mischievous smile.


    Pepper paused for a bit as he fell into a deep thought before saying, "No. I think...you''ll get the award. Wait- I''m sure of it."


    P.s. You know what "falsettos" are right?? That means singing overly high notes, usually tenors do this.)


    "Yeah Yeah. Let''s go home." I muttered dismissively and walked ahead of Pepper to get to the car.


    After Pepper entered the car, he said, "By the way, the meeting tomorrow will be postponed. So, you have to go to school."


    I looked at him with a horrified expression and said, "Are you crazy?"


    He smirked and said, "Why? Afraid that you''ll be surrounded by your fans?"


    "Of course." I said before both of us laughed together. Pepper turned solemn afterward and said, "Ed. If you want to continue being an artist, maybe public school wasn''t the right choice for it. What do you think about going to a private school? I can get you into Dryden Academy. It''ll be far better than going to Palisades�Cboth in safety and quality of education."


    I remember Dryden Academy from the series. It was a private school for the elite, and only the richest of the rich could go there. Manny tried to apply there, but he botched the interview for it.


    "I don''t know. I''ll leave that thinking for the future. For now, I just want to enjoy this feeling of happiness and avoid things that could make it go away."


    Pepper smiled and said, "Oh. And the studio also asked if you want to be cast in the Twilight movie as one of the wolves-"


    "And now the feeling has gone away." I muttered.


    ...


    (Bonus Reaction)


    2231 Los Robles Avenue Building, Apartment 4A.


    Penny was watching the music video on the big screen tv inside the apartment with 4 male geeks.


    Sheldon Cooper didn''t know how to properly react as he watched the music video. He kept glancing at Leonard and Penny for them to show him the way he needed to react.


    Leonard Hofstader scrunched his eyebrows as he saw Penny''s makeout scene with the successful artist.


    "Ohh that can''t be good for you." Howard teased Leonard with a slight chuckle.


    "Can''t be good for what?" Penny asked as she didn''t hear what Howard said properly. Howard decided to change the topic for Leonard''s sake and say, "Can''t be good for the artist. Now, he''ll be drowning in women. He''s going to be the most popular kid in highschool now...(sigh) and living the life."


    Penny was disgusted, and it showed on her face.


    "Also made Sheldon shut up and made out with Penny. Yeah...He''s my idol now." Howard muttered.


    Rajesh whispered to Howard''s ear as he still couldn''t speak in front of Penny. Howard flinched as he did it abruptly before snapping, "YEAH I KNOW I played in high school too. You can''t compare us. Did you see what he looks like? Even at 14 he''s taller than me."


    Sheldon interjected, "To be fair, he''s not the only 14 year old who''s taller than you."


    Penny and Leonard laughed out loud and Rajesh only laughed with only his expressions. Leonard calmed down and said, "He''s a nice kid. I''m happy for him."


    "Nice? He''s pompous and rude." Sheldon retorted.


    "No. He just can notice a crazy person before he was trapped in a long term relationship with one." Howard added, making Rajesh laugh.


    Sheldon was unamused and he waited till the laughter died down before saying, "I''m not crazy. My mother had me tested."


    "And I really want to see the doctor''s report." Penny added, causing laughter again. Suddenly, her phone rang and she excitedly stood up from the sofa to pick it up.


    "It''s my dad. This means all my family has already watched it." Penny said before biting her tongue cheekily and ran out of the apartment to get to her own apartment right in front of Leonard''s apartment.


    Rajesh could finally speak after Penny was gone. He turned to Leonard and said with an Indian accent, " Now that he''s famous, will he still remember you?"


    "Of course he will." Leonard answered after hesitating. "In fact, I will text him right now."


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    I wore a mask and a baseball cap today before going to school. As Abby dropped me off, there was a crowd of photographers camping in front of the school�C trying to get a picture of me as my explosive debut was currently the hottest topic to talk about in the entire country.


    The Grenade music video had broken the record for the fastest Youtube video to reach 1 Million views, and several radio and media entertainment companies had shown interest in me and the agency.


    ''It''ll be tough from now on.'' I thought as I stealthily snuck into the school by walking by with a group of ordinary looking kids.


    Many kids asked for my autograph, a picture with me, and even my used underpants, making the hallways turn to chaos by the time I reached my locker.


    "ED! I WANT TO BE IN A MUSIC VIDEO TOO!" Barnes yelled out before he got pushed to the side.


    Even Alex was startled when she saw the crowd gathering around me. The commotion gained the interest of the teachers, and the school bell rang at the same time. However, none of the kids wanted to let me go before getting what they wanted.


    Mrs Henderson walked to the crowd and said, "Enough. All of you. Go to class right now. Those who don''t will be put in detention."


    Her ice-cold tone made the kids shudder and the crowd parted like the red sea as she walked towards me.


    "I believe Congratulations are in order Mr Newgate." Mrs Henderson said with a soft smile before adding. "Why aren''t you getting to class? Do you want to get detention?"


    I gulped my saliva and said, "I''m-I''m going now."


    I let out a sigh of relief as I entered the class.


    ''Finally. Some peace.''


    I sat next to Jacob as usual, but I was shocked as I saw his face. He had deep eyebags and his cheeks were hollow.


    "What the hell happened to you?" I asked with a low tone as the class was currently in session.


    "I...broke up with Elsa." Jacob replied before he sobbed and wailed, startling the old teacher who was writing on the board.


    Greatly shocked, I asked, "How the hell did that happen?"


    While still crying, he turned to me and said, "Con..(S0b)grats...on your...Singles...(Sob) release-" Before he could finish, he cried loudly once more, annoying the teacher in front.

 Chapter 80: A milestone.

    Chapter 80: Chapter 80: A milestone.


    [Edward POV]


    It was finally lunchtime. I sneaked with Jacob to the library as my fans were still crowding the hallways and the cafeteria �C searching menacingly to find out where I was.


    "Sooo...what happened?" I asked Jacob after he calmed down. We were hiding behind the racks at the science and history section. It was my safe zone in the school as there weren''t any students that would go there willingly. I got the information from Alex who also used this spot as a means of escape from everything else.


    "I...messed up." Jacob said with his chin quivering.


    "What did you do?" I asked him again using a calm tone.


    "I..."


    Jacob finally revealed the reason Elsa had ended the relationship with him.


    [Flashback]


    After Aunt Camila caught Elsa and him making out in one of Jay''s toilets, she apparently lectured them about their future after which Jacob tried to defend their relationship by saying "I''m going to be a successful football player, and Elsa will support me at my side."


    Elsa raised an eyebrow at this and asked, "What would I be doing at... ''Your side?''"


    "I don''t know. Being a housewife I guess." Jacob replied without thinking much.


    [Flashback ends]


    I narrowed my eyes on Jacob and said, "You''re a special kind of stupid aren''t you?"


    He broke into tears again and hid his face behind his hands as he sobbed.


    I sighed as I thought about why Elsa broke up with him. The girl, albeit born in a struggling family, had a major sense of pride and refused to take handouts from others.


    Imagine how offended she was when her boyfriend wanted her to just stay home and be a housewife. Her entire life she had admired her mother for working hard to support their family after her dad died.


    ''Her dad went to buy milk one day, and was shot by a robber because he tried to help the store owner..''


    It was a tragic story for Elsa''s family as her dad was a rare good policeman and a better father.


    "You know what you did wrong?" I asked him after he calmed down a bit.


    "Elsa...doesn''t want to be a housewife?" Jacob asked in confusion. He had seen how happy his mother was in their home, therefore he thought that the best life he could give someone he loved was to make them a housewife too. It was a classic two-way misunderstanding by each of them.


    I sighed and I said, "She won''t be offended if you express yourself better. She just doesn''t want you to control her life. Believe me, Elsa is a stubborn and prideful girl. She wanted to do everything on her own. Maybe you can blow a balloon for her here and there, but there are things that she wanted to do by herself. Did you ever ask her about her dreams? Or did you just expect to follow you everywhere when you''re trying to achieve yours-"


    I stopped abruptly, widened my eyes, and asked with surprise in my face. "Wait...your dream is to be a football player? I thought you wanted to grow potatoes in the countryside?"


    "I''M NOT GONNA DO THAT!" Jacob yelled, hiding the fact that he thought the idea was not that bad in his heart.


    I didn''t explain about the situation more as it would be useless for Jacob to fully understand it. He wasn''t mature enough to handle this type of situation at this moment.


    "It''s not too late you know?" I said with a sly smirk.


    "What do you mean?" Jacob said, his eyes twinkled by the possibility of getting his girlfriend back.


    "Beg." I said a single word before I ignored him. Jacob was stunned and his mind worked quickly to understand what I meant. Suddenly, he grabbed my shoulders and swung me front and back while asking tearily, "What do you mean?!?"


    "I''m not telling you to apologize, as I know you can think of that on your own. What you need to do is beg her to take you back. She''s a prideful woman, so even if she wanted to come back to you, her ego won''t let her do that. Of course, there''s a chance she might not-"


    Before I could finish my words, Jacob had already sprinted outside the library to go and search for Elsa. I shrugged and I picked a book from the rack before flipping through it, while eating my packed lunch in between.


    In only 10 minutes, I had memorized almost half of the thick Science book. But then, someone slammed their phone with an article opened on top of the book.


    "Oh, Edward Newgate�C A collapsing star? I haven''t even started yet, and they said my career was over? That''s refreshing." I said with a chuckle as I read the article.


    Alex snapped, "Don''t smile. Ask Harvey or whomever to shut the article down."


    "Nah. There''s no need." I shrugged before I pulled out the chair next to me.


    She sat down before grumbling about every single article that was hinting a negative image on me, but I truly didn''t care for them. It was mostly clickbait articles anyways. The ''Collapsing Star'' article actually predicted my career would be short term and I would burn out soon, just like a dying star.


    They based their theory on how I changed the way I sing in every song, making it impossible for me to create a unique style of singing of my own.


    "Some even said you''re a hustler that is only singing for the money." Alex grumbled before she cursed at the article writer. I laughed and said, "That...may actually be true."


    Seeing that Alex was angry, I added, "I don''t mind. Besides, these articles are only the minority opinions right?"


    My successful debut was known to the entire country, and I was currently receiving immense support on every single one of my songs. Miraculously, all of my three songs had climbed into the top 10 songs on most charts or something in less than one day.


    My debut shocked the entire music industry, and I couldn''t be happier about it.


    "Hmph! You should sue all of them!" Alex said with puffed out cheeks before turning her attention to my books. "Why are you reading about this? We won''t reach the topic till grade 12." She looked at me as if I was an idiot while waiting for my answer. But I just laughed as a response.


    ''I had completed the entire syllabus till grade 11, but I wasn''t going to tell Alex about that given how much she had worked to become the top student in school.''


    Alex didn''t have an eidetic memory, and her hardwork and competitiveness was the thing that accompanied her till she graduated as Magna Cum laude from Caltech University. It was a huge deal considering that she was born in a normal family and didn''t have any special genius traits.


    "Uh. Whatever." She said while shaking her wrist slightly in the air. She wanted to get back to writing before I stopped her.


    "What?" The paparazzi was confused, but the students reacted quickly. "AHH!" They screamed and ran away back into the school. Alex grabbed my wrist in the chaos and pulled me to Claire''s minivan.


    "HURRY! HURRY!" Claire urged with her head sticking out of the window. She opened the car door wide and Alex threw me inside without warning. Before my feet were all the way inside the car, Claire pressed the gas pedal and drove away while the paparazzi'' were blocked by the school''s security.


    "That was exhilarating." Claire said with a satisfied expression on her face.


    "This is kidnapping." I muttered. Alex rolled her eyes and suddenly realized something was missing inside the minivan.


    "Hey. Where''s Luke?"


    Claire stopped the car abruptly and looked behind her, only to find that Luke was missing. All of us became anxious before Claire remembered what Luke said to her before while they were parked in front of the school.


    [Flashback]


    "I forgot my bag. Wait for me. I''mma go get it." Luke said before getting out of the car.


    "Okay Honey. Be quick." Claire advised before looking forward again. Then, the incident happened.


    "We...have to go back to pick him up." Claire said before making a u-turn to the school.


    Alex and I chuckled before she hit my shoulder angrily.


    "Oww. What''s that for?"


    "What did you do to me? Why did I throw up after?" Alex whispered in a soft voice, but Claire could still hear it. She leaned her head back to the seat and tried to hear our conversation better.


    The massage had released some of the tension inside her body, making her puke out the bad stuff. The massage also stimulated parts of her brain, making her feel more refreshed than ever.


    "I told you. I''m only helping you release some tension in your hands."


    Claire could only hear till the tension part.


    "Hmm...Luckily for you, it''s no longer hurting now. It was hurting for a few days. I didn''t realize you were so good at it. "


    Claire could only hear the last two sentences. Her face turned ashen white, and her hairs were shaking a little.


    "How did you feel during?"


    "It was a bit... electrifying. Don''t do that to another girl. They won''t be able to take it."


    "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU GUYS DO?!" Claire finally snapped and turned to look at us with a face full of horror. The car swayed as she wasn''t looking at the front, making both Alex and I scream in horror.


    ...


    "We almost died because of your mom''s misunderstanding." I muttered to Alex.


    "I know." She said while looking at her mother in disappointment. Claire just smiled wryly as she was the one at fault and tried her best not to bring out the topic again.


    After settling the misunderstanding and picking up Luke, Claire brought me to her home instead of dropping me off at my place.


    "So. You want me to walk home?" I asked with a disappointed tone.


    "Nonsense. I know you don''t want to celebrate, so I just bought a cupcake for you." Claire said before she smirked, "Then you can walk back to your house."


    "That''s fair." I said with a ''didn''t-care'' shrug and followed her from behind. As we entered the house, suddenly Phil and Haley popped confetti at my face.


    "CONGRATULATION ED!"


    My dad, Aunt Camila, Phil, Claire, Haley, Abby, Desiree, Jay, Gloria, Manny, Mitch and Cam were all there to celebrate my successful launch. Even the baby Lily was holding a balloon in her hand while looking at me with a shocked face. (She was surprised from the confetti)


    "It''s a successful surprise this time!" Claire bragged as if she was the one who made it all possible.


    I looked at Alex with a betrayed face, but she shook her head quickly as even she was surprised by the party. After asking around, I found out that the mastermind of the whole operation was in fact Phil, so I just sighed and reluctantly enjoyed the party.


    As Phil was telling me about their family''s trampoline he had just fixed, Pepper called me with some news.


    "I need to take the call." I said to Phil, making him look downcast.


    Claire asked him as I walked away, "What is your problem?"


    "I want to share the first jump experience with him, but he doesn''t seem interested." He slumped his shoulders in disappointment.


    Claire nodded in understanding and patted Phil''s back to comfort him.


    "Interviews?" I asked after hearing what he said.


    "Yeah. A couple. I can help you with the scripts, but the main point is to do it tonight." Pepper explained.


    "Sure." I replied casually. Pepper breathed a sigh of relief before saying, "Wear some nice clothes."


    I scoffed and said, "When did I ever wear bad ones?"


    He paused and laughed. "Okay. I''ll see you there."


    "See you there."

 Chapter 81: Interview

    Chapter 81: Chapter 81: Interview


    [Edward POV-Flashback]


    While I was still at the Dunphy''s house, Jay pulled me to the side for a private talk.


    "Can you do something for me? I''m in trouble with Gloria." Jay said with a calm voice despite his sullen expression.


    "What did you do?" I asked him teasingly while holding my sparkling water in a glass wine Claire gave to me. I tried to stealthily exchange it with normal wine, but her keen eye kept botching my plans. She didn''t get mad though, and only shook her index finger at me while admonishing me lightly.


    "Hmmm...Can we do this, without you knowing about that?" Jay grumbled.


    I nodded and asked, "What do you want me for?"


    "I want to..."


    We had a short conversation before I decided to help Jay, but what he requested would be done another day as I needed to go home and change before going to the interview. What we talked about would be our little secret before the time came to unveil it.


    ...


    -Present-


    It was almost 6 pm when I left the party. I waved goodbyes to the family and was driven by my aunt to the desert. Abby and Haley seemed as if they wanted to talk to me about something, but I was too busy to notice.


    "You must let me drive this car one of these days." I muttered to my aunt as she skillfully maneuvered through the traffic before we got to the empty road to the desert.


    She snorted and said playfully, "In your dreams!"


    "Hmmm...I thought you''re a good aunt. Turns out I was wrong."


    She chuckled and said menacingly, "Wanna walk?"


    "Nevermind. You''re a good aunt. I don''t know who said that before." I said as I turned left and right to look for the culprit.


    We both laughed before she promised to allow me to drive the car after I was a bit older. She was only dropping me off as she has to go back to Cuba tonight.


    Although I was a bit sad to see her leave, I knew that she would be back. The job would take a month to be finished, and she promised to return to the US again as soon as she finished her work.


    "Maybe that time, you can cook proper food." I teased, earning a punch on the shoulder as retaliation.


    "I''ll make sure to include the primo pepper in the food."


    I gulped my saliva and didn''t tease her anymore lest she felt the need to spoon fed me the torture food.


    As we arrived and I got out of the car, Aunt Camila said, "Good Luck on your interview Ed. I wish I could be here to see it, but I''m already late getting to the airport."


    "Seriously, they needed a better system than to be there 4 hours before." I grumbled to myself. Despite her lateness, she exited the car and gave me a hug before driving away.


    I entered the studio after taking a deep breath to prepare myself for the interview. My playfulness was gone as I walked through the door. I saw Pepper and I asked him without even greeting him, "Can Taylor make it?"


    Pepper shook his head and said, "Although she''s on her way back to California from her tour, she''s still going to take a few hours to get back here. It wouldn''t be possible for her to join the interview�C plus, you''re thinking of doing a live web broadcast for the interview right? I trust you to get things under control for a live session, but I...don''t think Taylor can handle it yet."


    Pepper said that not to undermine Taylor, but he was afraid of the scandals and image damaging answers she could give since she hadn''t prepared anything for the interview. I nodded and didn''t ask anymore questions. The live broadcast was my idea, and I had asked Pepper and Harvey to help me negotiate with the interviewer.


    As it was still my first day after the singles release, the company still couldn''t finalize the negotiation with the giant media company. Not to mention, they only wanted me there to perform in their talk shows for free, therefore Harvey tore them a new one when they brazenly demanded my participation in the negotiations before.


    ''Although the songs are good, the company''s influence isn''t enough for it to demand respect from the corrupted entertainment sector in this country.'' I thought secretly.


    In moments like this, I sincerely appreciated my meeting with Pepper and the way he took care of me. Otherwise, I would just be another exploited artist in Hollywood.


    Pepper leads me to the meeting room where a young blonde woman was waiting for us. She would be the interviewer for today, Miss Rebecca Brayton�C or otherwise known as the female voice in WatchMojo videos.


    "Nice to meet you Edward. I loved your songs. Especially Grenade. Also, nice outfits."


    She bombarded me with compliments that made a good impression on her. She was friendly and insightful, which was unexpected as today was going to be the first day in her career for a face-to-face interview. Not to mention she needed to do it live.


    "Thanks. I also love your narrated videos." I complimented back. She widened her eyes as she didn''t expect me to know who she was as even Pepper didn''t know.


    "How?"


    I shrugged and said, "I''m familiar with your voice. I''m a singer. Voices are my thing."


    "Is that so?" She giggled as blood rushed to her cheeks. She shook off her feelings and went back to professional mode. "I''ll brief you before the interview starts. That way, we won''t mess it up during the broadcast."


    "Sure." I said in agreement before we spent the next 20 minutes discussing what to do. She didn''t ask for my answers to her questions beforehand, but only briefed me about the questions category, and we discussed what can, and cannot be asked in the broadcast after this.


    After the briefing was over, we didn''t wait any longer and started the live broadcast now.


    [3rd Person POV]


    Pepper was nervously clenching his fist as he saw the broadcast was online. The link to the web broadcast was shared to the fanclub, and fans from all over the world kept entering the broadcast.


    Without waiting for long, the numbers had already reached 30,000 viewers. It was a higher count than a few medium sized broadcasting companies, and the numbers were increasing rapidly.


    ''Genius!'' Pepper thought to himself as the entire broadcast was planned by Edward.


    He had settled the video quality problems, the internet connection problems, added the live chat functions to the video, and even settled the hardware problem by modifying a few equipment. Rebecca would also release the interview at WatchMojo and ABC studio after the shoot, for the people who only watch TV.


    ''If the world was more adapted to the internet, I know for sure I could reach millions of views.'' Ed thought to himself. Right now, Rebecca was sitting adjacent to him inside his music studio. Lyrics could be seen pasted on the walls, and some instruments were arranged neatly as a backdrop of his set.


    Underneath Edward''s cotton blend, a bit oversized, white shirt with black flower patterns, was a microphone belt and the mic was clipped to his shirt collar for better audio. His hair seemed unkempt but still stylish and his outfit for today instantly became the topic of discussions for those who watched the live broadcast of the interview.


    "I''m proud to be the first to interview the Country''s newest sensation, the music prodigal son who returned and spread his wings higher than ever, Mr Edward Newgate!" Rebecca introduced as the broadcast was ready.


    The live chat exploded, and Ed smiled at the introduction. "Thanks Rebecca. It felt nice to ''spread my wings'' after being caged for so long."


    Rebecca chuckled and leaned forward before asking, "So. First day after your song release. How do you feel right now?"


    "Well...I feel blessed." Ed answered with a toothy smile, making the live chat boomed once again as the fans thought he was being cute. "I didn''t expect the songs to climb up so quickly."


    "I rounded off!" She exclaimed.


    "H0w is he doing this? I can''t look at his system?!" Howard said as he tapped on the keyboard, trying to find out how the website could support this much traffic.


    "Howard. Cut it out." Leonard said with a bit of fear as he didn''t want anything to happen to the broadcast.


    "Aren''t you the least bit curious?" Howard said. "He could''ve spent millions on setting up the website. All I want...is to peek at it a little bit."


    Penny glared dagger at Howard and said, "If you don''t cut it out. I''m telling your mother."


    "Telling my mother? What am I? 9-"


    As Howard saw Penny''s solemn face, he knew she wasn''t kidding so he stopped trying immediately.


    -Malibu mansion-


    "You''re dabbling in various genres, you got soft rock, pop music, ukulele style, so will you keep challenging yourself in other genres next? Will we hear heavy metal or rap music?" Rebecca asked. While she was waiting, she got the chance to listen to a few songs from the albums, therefore she was giving a bit of a spoiler to the fans.


    "Rap?" Eminem leaned forward to watch the broadcast as the topic intrigued him. He had taken interest in the new artist because of his intoxicating beats and synthesizing skills. If he hadn''t found out Ed had created the songs all on his own, he might have tried to poach the person who created all of the songs.


    Edward chuckled and said ambiguously, "Well...I won''t cross them off my list just yet."


    Eminem smirked and said, "Then, I''ll be waiting for you kid."


    The future rap god even left an anonymous comment to support the new artist as he felt his kind of music was refreshing.


    -Cuba-


    "You''re half-Cuban right? So can you speak Spanish?"


    "I''m fluent in it."


    "How many languages can you speak?"


    "Right now, I can speak Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Japanese fluently."


    At first, the floral dress lady was saddened when she heard Ed had learned Spanish. She thought he did that just to spite her. But when she knew about his true intellect, she felt ashamed as a mother because she never knew how much potential her son had. Without her knowing about it, tears pooled in her eyes. She couldn''t watch the interview any longer and closed her laptop before she broke down crying.


    -Dunphy''s house-


    "Oh heavens. So you can speak 5 languages. You''re a polyglot. But it might not seem so shocking if people know you have a high IQ level. A genius with a 167 IQ, and now I''m wondering if your intelligence would be put to a better use if you entered the sciences instead." Rebecca said.


    She joked, not knowing that she was currently being cursed by the fans in the live broadcast live chat for her statement.


    > Is she crazy? She dared to try and influence Ed away from Us?


    > Can anyone find me that bitch''s?? address? I want to pay her a visit. Don''t worry, it''ll be a ''peaceful'' visit.


    >(�s�����)�s( �ߩ���


    Alex grumbled as she read the chat, "These people. What''s wrong with the sciences? We can change the world over here."


    Haley retorted, "Ed''s music is already changing the world. He doesn''t need to be a geek too."


    Ed replied while the siblings were bickering, "Well I''m still in school. So who knows what the future holds. Even now, I''m dabbling in making a few inventions."


    "See?" Alex said to rub it in Haley''s face.


    "Oh, seriously?" Rebecca asked, fully surprised by the fact.


    "Yup. So far, I have enhanced a few mechanisms for the closet industry, and sold the patents to Pritchet''s closet. And I''m currently working on a new technology right now that would change the way people fry their food, making it healthier."


    The fans and even Pepper were shocked by Ed''s proclamations, while Jay smiled widely as he heard his company name was mentioned in the broadcast.


    "That kid had done me a solid." Jay muttered. "The phone is going to blow up now!"


    He didn''t realize that the company''s websites were already flooded by the fans as they wanted to see Ed''s inventions. Pritchett''s closet would receive their highest sales ever this following quarter, all thanks to Ed''s subtle marketing.


    "You know, with your intellect, you can just skip grades and graduate early. That way, you can go on tours. What do you think about that?" Rebecca suggested.


    Haley, Alex, Luke and Manny all answered at the same time, "NOO!"


    "I did think about it, but right now, I still want to enjoy my school life. I haven''t gotten enough of it yet." Ed replied.


    Rebecca smiled and asked, " I see. Staying in school is great too. You won''t be lonely. So are you like in any club, such as the chess club or theater club?"


    Ed chuckled and said, "No. I''m not joining any clubs, but I''m in the school''s decathlon team though."


    The fans were actively searching for Ed''s school''s decathlon team, only to find out that they couldn''t google anything for it online. They didn''t even know which school he attended yet.


    "What inspires you the most when you''re writing the songs? You wrote a lot of songs about heartbreak. Have you ever dated anyone before?"


    "Yeah. I have." Ed replied curtly and with a sad smile. The chat was going crazy by his expression and they kept bombaring the comment to find out who was the one crazy bitch that dared to break his heart.


    Abby read the comments with a dry mouth, and she couldn''t help but fear for her safety if people did find out about her. ''I was his only girlfriend, right?'' She thought in confusion.


    "Oh...Don''t know why, but that answer made me feel sad. So what happened?" Rebecca tried to pry.


    "I''m not answering that." Ed said with a teasing smile. The interviewer snapped her fingers playfully and said, "So close."


    Ed shook his head and said, "Nah. it was not close at all."


    -Outside the studio-


    A helicopter tried to land on an empty space near the studio building. As the studio was in the desert, there was a lot of empty space for the helicopter to land. However, it was illegal for it to do so without proper permit.


    "Are you crazy? Don''t jump out yet! We haven''t fully stopped!" Selena grabbed Taylor''s arm to sit her down before she made a fatal mistake.


    "We''re already late! Come on Pilot! I''m missing all of his interviews!" Taylor urged the pilot to set the helicopter down faster.

 Chapter 82: Interview (Part 2)

    Chapter 82: Chapter 82: Interview (Part 2)


    (This counts as 2 Chapters lol.)


    [3rd Person POV]


    In a certain agency meeting room.


    "Seriously, 2 Million views in a live broadcast? SHUT DOWN THAT SITE RIGHT NOW!"


    However, the staff member of the agency ignored the words of the Board of Directors that wanted to scheme to get Ed into their agency. It''s not that they were being insubordinate, but there was nothing they could do to disturb the broadcast. Ed was currently cementing his name in the people''s mind, and his influence was growing exponentially from the broadcast.


    Little did they know, 1.5 million views were coming from the international community�C Europe and Asia. It would be hard for Ed to get 2 million viewers if he targeted the United States alone.


    -Studio-


    "At your concert, you did a legendary thing by playing a game with the audience, and created a song on the spot. Many fans are waiting for you to announce your next concert date so that they can play the game too. I''m even waiting for it." Rebecca said with a gleeful smile on her face.


    With a wry smile on his face, Ed replied, "Well. I don''t know if I will ever have a chance to do something like that again. The game at that time was only because I was tasked to drag the time in my performance, so I don''t think that it''ll ever happen again."


    The chat was filled with disappointed emojis and people wishing for Ed to change his mind.


    "However, I may be able to do that in smaller groups. If planned properly, it shouldn''t be impossible for me to conduct the game again." Ed added, flipping the audience''s mood once more.


    ''But the ticket will be far more expensive.'' Ed schemed in his mind.


    -Dunphy''s house-


    "As expected of the song vending machine." Alex mumbled to herself. Jay heard Alex and chuckled as he thought the nickname was accurate for the kid.


    -Studio-


    "Talking about your concert, how''s your relationship with Taylor?" Rebecca asked a point blank question, making Edward stunned for a second.


    >It''s finally here!


    >The MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION TODAY!


    >I really hope he says they are dating. I ''ship'' them so much!


    "We''re close friends. I met her for the first time during the concert preparation..."


    >So...No meeting him when he was a baby? Disappointing.


    >Stop pushing that theory. How is it possible that Taylor would meet him? She was 5 years old at the time, and WAS LIVING IN A DIFFERENT STATE!


    "... She even gave me a birthday present before. So yeah, she''s a close friend of mine. "Our thing" is a friendship and I would like to keep it like that till I become an adult."


    Rebecca smirked and said, "So...There''ll be a different label when you''re an adult huh."


    > OH YEAHHHH!!!!


    > IT''S GOING TO BE LEGAL THEN!


    > WE SUPPORT YOU ED!


    Ed looked at the interviewer with dead eyes, making her feel bad for her mistake in not filtering her words.


    "Next up, Ed is going to perform 2 songs for the audience, to show his appreciation and show the world what he''s made off. Be right back, after the break." Rebecca said to the screen before the staff member changed the broadcast to include some commercials instead.


    "How many commercial offers do we get?" Ed asked Pepper as he wiped his sweat and got ready for the live performance.


    "13. All offered us more than 250,000 dollars as we already surpassed 2 million viewers." Pepper said in excitement.


    "Good. But we only have slots for 3 of them, so choose wisely." Ed said.


    Pepper nodded and said, "Of course. We had picked Nike, Swarovski, and Facebook. All paid in full."


    "Harvey did a good job." Ed complimented sincerely. It was a miraculous work to finish the commercial negotiations in only 25 minutes since his interviews started. The money was already in the company''s account, and the commercial deals were already finished.


    "By the way, Nike wants to sponsor your concert. But we''ll talk later." Pepper said. "Even Ellen called us-"


    "ED!" Taylor suddenly appeared out of nowhere and lunged at Ed before giving him a hug.


    "Taylor. Why are you here? I thought you weren''t coming?" Ed asked with surprise in his eyes.


    "I wouldn''t miss this for the world." Taylor said.


    The interviewer widened her eyes as she saw the pop star, but didn''t say anything that could bring her more trouble as she already had her first warning from the agency.


    "30 seconds before resuming." The staff called. Ed turned to Taylor and said, "Thank you for being here- Wait. Let''s do this." He then whispered something into Taylor''s ear, making her blush a bit before widening her eyes and slowly biting her lower lip.


    Pepper came up and quickly pushed Ed to the next venue �C the recording room with the band members standing by, and far away from Taylor as the time was almost up.


    "Break a leg." Pepper said.


    "That''s ominous. But thanks." Ed replied mischievously, making Pepper roll his eyes.


    "We''re starting in 3...2...1..."


    The live broadcast resumed again, and Ed sang the song Believer to the audience.


    (A/N: The song was already written before in the concert, so I won''t put it here again)


    After the song ended, the audience and the staff members inside the studio gave a big applause to his performance. Ed rested a bit and drank some water with a smile on his face as he read the audience reaction.


    As he performed the song without holding anything back, the number of his fans worldwide skyrocketed, especially among young adults and teenagers.


    ''It felt different from a concert. I was feeling as if I''m an internet broadcaster instead. Maybe I can be a famous Twitch streamer when it finally comes out?'' Ed thought secretly.


    Now that the interlude was over, Ed returned to his seat adjacent to the interviewer to start the second part of the interview.


    "What a wonderful performance. I got goosebumps. Do you usually spend so much energy in an act like this?" Rebecca asked while showing her arm goosebumps to the audience.


    "Yeah. I grew up performing, and as I previously explained I think I always knew that I needed to sing so I wouldn''t even dream of going out there without pouring my whole heart into it." Ed replied.


    The interview continued for another 5 minutes with the interviewer asking Ed the details of his albums, and his background before this.


    "You''re a musical prodigy, especially on the violin. But, none of your songs have a violin in it? Why is that?" Rebecca asked.


    Ed was a bit surprised (or felt ambushed) by the question, but he kept his smiling expression and said, "Well...I have quite a bad memory from my childhood especially tied to that instrument. So...it''s been hard for me to touch it since then."


    The audience went silent for half a second before the chat rose up again.


    >Seriously? A bad experience? What happened? ??


    >Wait, I got an article. (link-Musical-Prodigy-passing-out-on-stage.)


    >Oh dang. No wonder he changed professions. Those classical music snobs were really too much. Even when the kid passed out on stage they would still criticize him. ??


    >Send me the critic''s location.


    Ed decided to reveal his past on his own terms instead of waiting for people with bad intentions to use it against him later on. It was pre-planned, and even his expressions to pull the public support to his side. Even the link was given by a member of his staff lurking in the chat, and had permission to post the link there.


    Those who wanted to post their own link would be blocked by Ed''s algorithms as he didn''t want scammers to bombard his live broadcast.


    -Jenna''s house-


    Jenna finished typing her question on the chat before thinking to herself, ''How much gasoline do I need this time to eliminate all of those who wronged Ed?''


    Luckily for the critics, no one actually replied to Jenna''s question. They would all live on for another day. She sighed and continued to watch the interview before laughing at Ed''s joke.


    ''Still. The gap between us is growing farther and farther. He''s going to be rich and famous, so what can I do to make him see me?''


    She thought for a while before deciding to ask her mom about the matter tomorrow.


    -Studio-


    "Moving on, we have a very special guest who has flown over, all the way from Ohio, just to show her support for Edward''s debut today. Please welcome, Taylor S.!!!" Rebecca announced.


    The chat went into a frenzy as Taylor walked into the shot, hugged Ed lightly and shook hands with the interviewer before sitting next to Ed. The audience could also see the stolen glances accompanied by playful flirting by those two, and their mind couldn''t take it anymore.


    -Lily''s bedroom-


    "KYAAAAAHHHH! SHE CAME!!! SHE CAMEEE!!!!" Lily, Ed''s fanclub President, shouted madly as she saw Taylor appearing at the interview.


    "Oh my god. My heart." Her face started to feel feverish, and her hand was clammy. She sat down limply on the chair while fanning her face with her hand. "I need a cold bath. I''m too excited."


    Her nose bleeds a little, but she decided to just wipe it off and ordered Ed''s 100,000 fans in the fanclub to show their support on the interview and spread out the broadcast information to all around the globe.


    Before Taylor''s Fearless album came out, she was just an ordinary artist and would only achieve great strides in her career because of the songs ''You Belong with Me'', ''Love Story'' and ''Fearless''. But right now, her career exploded even before she released the album to the market.


    -Dunphy''s house-


    "KYAAAHHH!!" Cam squealed in excitement as his idol�C the country artist came out on the screen. He almost reacted the same way as the President of the fan club if not for the fact that he was with the extended family right now.


    "Ayy Cameron, Quiet down. I can''t hear what they are saying." Gloria admonished Cam before he could react any further.


    Haley and Alex however were narrowing their eyes as they took a look at Taylor.


    ''Why the hell is she there?'' Haley asked herself while having a pouting expression.


    -Studio-


    "Fun story, Taylor actually came most of the way here in a helicopter." Rebecca exposed her, making the artist cover her face in embarrassment. Even Ed laughed at her when he found out.


    "Well..I needed to come here quickly. Otherwise I would miss this." Taylor said shyly. Ed nodded in admiration as he watched Taylor acting like an innocent girl. ''She''s really good at maintaining her image.''


    "But why? Why do you need to be here...today?" Rebecca asked teasingly.


    "??I took an arrow to the heart (Ohh)??"


    "Amazing!" Pepper made a premature reaction while opening his hands wide. His hands hit the unlucky Leo''s face as he watched the show at his side.


    "Oh my. I''m so sorry." Pepper apologized quickly before checking up on Leo.


    "??I never kissed a mouth that tastes like yours


    Strawberries and somethin'' more??


    ??Ooh yeah, I want it all??"


    At the Dunphy''s, Haley quickly covered her mouth as blood rushed to her cheeks.


    ''Strawberry? Damn it. It''s me!'' Haley was shaken as she rushed to hide her favorite "strawberry flavored" lipstick and shoved it into her purse as her eyes darted all over the room to see if people knew it was her, but luckily all attention was on Edward. She sighed in relief before someone suddenly spoke.


    "Who''s this... ''Strawberry Lips''" Claire asked.


    Mitchell turned to Haley quickly as he realized it, but Haley shushed him using a gesture before he could say anything.


    "?? Lipstick on my guitar (ooh)


    Fill up the engine, we can drive real far


    Go dancin'' underneath the stars


    Ooh yeah, I want it all??"


    Taylor''s eyes twinkled as she heard about the guitar and she remembered their Yacht party together when Ed playfully fed her strawberries with Champagne in her room before they continued to "enjoy" each other.


    Meanwhile in the Dunphy Residence...


    Haley was flabbergasted and thought, ''OW CRAP WHY DID I HAVE TO TELL HIM ABOUT HOW I''M TAKING MY DRIVER TEST SOON!?!? I DON''T EVEN KNOW IF I WILL PASS!!''


    As she couldn''t help but freak out thinking he would be disappointed in her after writing the song. It seemed that Ed''s song had a deep impact on the girls close to him, but he still didn''t quite understand how big his influence was on them.


    "??Mm, you got me feelin'' like


    I wanna be that guy, I wanna kiss your eyes


    I wanna drink that smile, I wanna feel like I''m high


    Like my soul''s on fire, I wanna stay up all day and all night??"


    Right on queue with the lyrics, all the girls blushed at the same time as they heard the next verse.


    ??Yeah, you got me singin'' like??


    "??Ooh, I love it when you do it like that


    And when you''re close up, give me the shivers??"


    > Oh my GOD. HE''S REALLY DONE IT!


    >AWESOMEEE!!!


    >I''m doooonee, take me to jail. I''m in love too... ??


    ??Oh baby, you wanna dance ''til the sunlight cracks


    And when they say the party''s over, then we''ll bring it right back??


    ??And we''ll say, ooh, I love it when you do it like that


    And when you''re close up, give me the shivers??


    ??Oh baby, you wanna dance ''til the sunlight cracks


    And when they say the party''s over, then we''ll bring it right back??


    All of those who heard the song couldn''t help but sway their bodies to the rhythm. Some even started dancing. Not even a Blonde Colombian Latina who just started swaying her hips nor the African American curly haired Beauty that had just caught on the last bit of the interview after someone told her "Believer" was up in the Radio.


    ??Into the car


    On the backseat in the moonlit dark


    Wrap me up between your legs and arms


    Ooh, I can''t get enough??


    "Seriously? He needs a lecture after this!" Claire muttered.


    Somewhere else however a different, younger blonde had a different reaction however as she unconsciously broke her "innocent" fa?ade and just couldn''t stop herself from licking her lips as she stared right at the swaying figure in front of her.


    ??You know you could tear me apart (ooh)


    Put me back together and take my heart


    I never thought that I could love this hard


    Ooh, I can''t get enough??


    "Hehe~" Haley giggled.


    ??Mm, you got me feeling like


    I wanna be that guy, I wanna kiss your eyes


    I wanna drink that smile, I wanna feel like I''m high


    Like my soul''s on fire, I wanna stay up all day and all night


    Yeah, you got me singin'' like??


    Ed picked up the beat a little but most importantly his voice kept hitting all the notes and piercing falsettos(Singing technique that allows someone to hit notes higher than the singer can usually reach) which made the song even more intoxicating.


    ??Ooh, I love it when you do it like that


    And when you''re close up, give me the shivers


    Oh baby, you wanna dance ''til the sunlight cracks


    And when they say the party''s over, then we''ll bring it right back??


    ??And we''ll say, ooh, I love it when you do it like that


    And when you''re close up, give me the shivers


    Oh baby, you wanna dance ''til the sunlight cracks


    And when they say the party''s over, then we''ll bring it right back??


    While at the bridge, he closed a few sound loops and sang using a whisper. He didn''t strum the guitar, but instead he clapped his hand to make a beat.


    "??Baby, you burn so hot


    You make me shiver with the fire you got


    This thing we started, I don''t want it to stop


    You know you make me shiver-er-er??"


    "??Baby, you burn so hot


    You make me shiver with the fire you got


    This thing we started, I don''t want it to stop


    You know you make me shiver...er ??"


    Ellen Degeneres, Jimmy Fallon, and a lot of other celebrity show hosts were impressed by Ed''s performance.


    "We got to bring him to our show!" Ellen shouted, and her thoughts were shared by a lot of talk show hosts.


    Ed strummed his guitar again and sang the ending verse powerfully.


    "??Yeah, you got me singin'' like


    Ooh, I love it when you do it like that


    And when you''re close up, give me the shivers


    Oh baby, you wanna dance ''til the sunlight cracks??"


    "??And when they say the party''s over, then we''ll bring it right back ??"


    "??And we''ll say, ooh, I love it when you do it like that


    And when you''re close up, give me the shivers


    Oh baby, you wanna dance ''til the sunlight cracks


    And when they say the party''s over, then we''ll bring it right back, hey!!!??"


    4.5 million people cheered for Ed''s impromptu performance, and they had fallen to Ed''s charismatic entrapment. Majority of them would always place Ed in his hearts after today, especially among teenagers and young adults.


    "Have a great day you guys. And good night!" Ed said before he waved goodbye to the camera. He cut the footage, but he didn''t shut down the website therefore people could still talk about his performance there.

 Chapter 83: Relaxation.

    Chapter 83: Chapter 83: Relaxation.


    [Edward POV]


    "I''m starving."


    "Oh that''s right, you haven''t eaten dinner yet."


    I nodded at Pepper while holding my gurgling stomach as the clock striked 10 pm. I haven''t eaten anything yet since I came to the studio, and only ate a little food for lunch before this.


    After shooting a few more scenes with ABC studios for them to create a montage, Rebecca and the tv crew left the studio. The ABC studio version of the interview would be broadcasted on TV tomorrow evening.


    My live broadcast was uploaded to Youtube and the website I used to stream before. I had planned to develop that website to become my own personal celebrity page as people kept sharing the website link. There, they could also buy a few of my posters, my merchandise t-shirt and caps, mugs, and much more.


    "Poor dear, let''s get you some food." Pepper said as he tried to bring me away, but Taylor suddenly walked in front of me with her friend by her side.


    "This is..." Taylor tried to introduce.


    "Selena right?" I interjected as I held my hand for a handshake with the latina woman.


    Blushing a bit, Selena took my hand and asked, "How...do you know me?"


    "I watched Wizard of Waverly Place before. Although only a few episodes." I said with a light chuckle.


    She brushed her hair behind her ear and avoided my eyes. While fidgeting, she said, "I like your songs."


    "Thanks. I also like yours."


    "Un."


    Taylor gave us a death glare for a second before changing her expression to a kind and innocent lady as I turned my head towards her.


    "Have you eaten dinner yet?" I asked. She had done me a favor by coming to the interview today, and I wanted to do something nice for her.


    "No. I''m starving~" Taylor replied cheekily and grabbed my arm as she hugged it. "I want to eat the food you cooked, but I know you''re tired, so let''s just go to a restaurant."


    Selena rolled her eyes at Taylor as she was being coquettish before I asked her too, "How about you?"


    "Um...No I have eaten-"


    "Her agency doesn''t all0w her to eat after 6 pm." Taylor explained as Selena was troubled by the question.


    "OH you POOR DEAR!" Pepper exclaimed and gave Selena a hug. Even I was sympathizing with her situation. Her contract was really strict, and she was under heavy pressure all the time. That''s why she easily became friends with Taylor. They were in the same boat.


    "No. It''s- It''s fine!" Selena was flabbergasted by the sudden kindness and blushed hard. She looked at Taylor to get some help, but her best friend had betrayed her and was currently gazing at my face.


    "Hmm..." I thought for a while before suggesting, "If...she had no choice but to eat something...then she won''t be in trouble right?"


    Pepper released Selena and asked me, "What do you have in mind?" Selena and Taylor also perked up their ears to hear what I was going to say.


    "How about..."


    I explained to them with a sly smirk on my face. Pepper guffawed loudly before saying, "Okay. I will call the restaurant!"


    Selena was startled, "He-Hey! Wait! I really can''t-"


    Taylor put her hand on her shoulder before saying, "Don''t worry~ You won''t get in trouble~"


    "We can have the 11 pm table at Amelia''s." Pepper said after finishing his call. It took him less than 30 seconds to get a table at the best restaurant in the city because of his connections.


    "Call Harvey too. We''re making this an afterparty... remember?" I said. Taylor chuckled and grabbed my hand with her left hand, and Selena''s hand with her right hand. She dragged both of us to the front door and said, "Let''s go!"


    But, my phone rang at this moment.


    "Oh. It''s Phil." I said before picking up the call. "Hi Phil!"


    "Ed!!! Your interview was awesome!!!! HA HA HA! Everyone was watching it!" Phil said in excitement. Cam snatched the phone from Phil and said, "Is Taylor there?-"


    Claire grabbed the phone back from Cam before I could answer, "Ed-"


    She only managed to get one word in before it turned into a 3 way fight between Phil, Cam and Claire to see who would get to speak to me first. I waited patiently as I heard the sound of their scuffle from the phone.


    Taylor was confused as I didn''t say anything for a while and asked in a whisper, "What''s happening?"


    I closed the bottom of the phone and said, "They''re fighting. It''s fun to hear."


    Finally, Claire won.


    She said breathlessly, "An-Anyway. We''re all here, and we want to congratulate you..Great job! Also, now that it''s over you go home and get some rest. You still need to go to school today. Just because you''re DEFINITELY famous now, doesn''t mean that you can skip school!"


    I laughed and said, "Okay~"


    I talked to the members of the family one by one, and had a short conversation with each of them.


    It was Haley''s turn, and all I could hear her say was, "Nice song. Wonder who were you singing it for?"


    "Can''t tell you anything about that one.." I said, not sure why I felt anxious as I heard her question.


    "Really? Then, you sang it for multiple girls?"


    "Nope." I replied curtly as I knew it was useless to try and defend myself.


    "Hmmm... Sure?" Haley asked with suspicions.


    "Yeah." I replied with a smirk.


    She paused for a while and cursed softly, "...Damn you."


    I also received a call from my dad and my aunt who watched the show at the airport, and even my grandparents were calling me to compliment me. It was hard for me to keep up with their praises after a while.


    "Yeah. In a few movies and series." I muttered. The group was confused by my words, but they thought I was joking and didn''t ask further.


    "If I''m not mistaken, she has a son around Lily''s age." Pepper said. I nodded and said, "Who knows, maybe they can have a playgroup together later."


    ''And ruin Amelia''s 50,000 dollar carpet.'' I added to myself.


    Selena was still worried, but as the food came, she threw away all of her reservations as she ate.


    "I haven''t eaten at night for 2 years now!" She exclaimed as she ravaged the ribs.


    Taylor and I laughed when we saw her messy face. Pepper took a napkin and gave it to her to wipe the sauce off her mouth.


    "AWww noo!" Taylor exclaimed playfully as Selena angrily cleaned her lips. We had a nice time at dinner but didn''t stay for long as we had already made the worker there work overtime.


    "Ed...wanna get...some ''dessert'' with me?" Taylor asked while licking her lips before we got out of the restaurant. However, she was unlucky as Pepper was still within earshot.


    "No. He needs to go to school tomorrow. You guys can see each other again on Friday. You ARE staying till Friday right?"


    "Saturday morning. My fight is on Saturday morning." Taylor corrected.


    "Then, we''ll get dessert together on Friday." I said to comfort her.


    Although she was disappointed, she didn''t show it as we would still meet later on.


    "Where are you staying anyway?" I asked.


    "Taylor''s house." Selena replied.


    "Ahh. I see."


    "Wanna come over?" Taylor asked.


    Pepper was in disbelief and asked, "Do you have the memory of a goldfish?"


    Taylor rolled her eyes and said, "Not now. Later on."


    "Sure. I will come over when we have the chance." I said and waved goodbye to the girls before going back to my house.


    ...


    [Taylor POV]


    ''Ahhh I want to be with him.'' I thought as we were separated from each other once more.


    "Should I just buy a house next door to him?" I muttered to myself. Selena who was sitting at my side was shocked and she admonished me hurriedly, "Are you crazy?!"


    "It''s just a thought." I replied. Although I was considering it. His popularity skyrocketed after today, and I was feeling a bit insecure about it. Before, I was the popular one, but...


    ''Now, he might be more popular than me.''


    My agency kept wanting me to play it slow, do country music first, tour the country to get experience, but now, two younger artists have surpassed my popularity because I kept it slow. Bieber and now Edward.


    "Should I really break the deal with the agency and go with Ed? I mean... Pepper is amazing." I muttered. I know that if I ask my dad, he could help me break the contract. But I would feel embarrassed to ask him to do it as I was the one who made the decision to sign with this company before.


    Selena perked up and said, "Well...if you want to go there, then bring me with you."


    Although she hides it, I know that she was sick of her exploitative agents. She laughed to make it seem like a joke, but the yearning in her eyes showed her true feelings.


    I grabbed her shoulder and said, "...No."


    "WHY NOT!"


    "It''s going to be only me and Ed there. And in the future, our childrens will take over our place."


    "You''re crazy." Selena said with a dead expression. As we got to my house, I changed into my pajamas and lay down next to Selena on the King sized bed. She was on her phone, reading about the articles that came out after our dinner.


    "It''s good. There aren''t any scandalous or malicious claims about your relationship with him other than being close friends."


    "Why the hell aren''t there?!" I exclaimed angrily as I snatched the phone from her and started scrolling hurriedly.


    "I don''t know. Isn''t it better if they aren''t making you and Ed an item?" Selena asked in confusion.


    "Then how the hell can I keep the other bitches in place! Ed''s contract doesn''t have a scandal clause. He can date whoever he wants! That means, any random bitches can get close to him and try to take my plac- Be his girlfriend!"


    "You wanted to say ''Take my place'', didn''t you?"


    "Maybe."


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    ''It''s been a while since I was alone in this house.'' I thought as I entered my bedroom. I took a bath as usual, and let myself be shirtless as I lay down on the bed.


    I turned my head slightly in the direction of the desk. My laptop was still closed as I put it on the table before.


    "(Sigh)... Should I?" I thought.


    "Or should I just rest tonight? I mean, Claire and Harvey didn''t contact me, so maybe there''s nothing wrong after all?"


    The indecision even made my body twitch a bit, but there was a chain on the mattress, holding my body still. I couldn''t move...or rather, I didn''t want to move.


    "Okay... Let''s do all of that tomorrow." I muttered before I decided to close my eyes and take a well deserved rest.


    (End season 1)


    (Season 2 will start at Chapter 85 after the interlude. Comment below and tell me what do you guys think about the story so far. I''ll see you guys back on Tuesday! )

 Chapter 84: Interlude

    Chapter 84: Chapter 84:?Interlude


    (Check out the new fic cover. Tell me what you think!)


    [Edward POV]


    "Ugh..." I groaned as the light penetrating the gaps on the window not covered by the curtain hit me in the eye, disturbing me from my deep sleep.


    Without waking up, I changed position by rolling a little to the left to avoid the sunlight. It worked for 20 more minutes before the ray of light followed and hit my eye again. I could sense my eyes sizzling as if it was cooked, and I jolted awake as I thought I was on fire. "AHH!!"


    As the sun kept rising up, I had no other choice but to be a victim of its ruthlessness and had to wake up despite not setting any alarms to wake up early today. My hair was messy and it seemed like it was licked by a cow, and I only opened my right eye to see what time it was.


    "Seven? Ohh... Yeay?" I cheered questioningly as the clock changed from 6.59 to 7.00 am while I was looking at the time on my phone.


    I had conflicted feelings as I was woken up at the same time I would always wake up, without the alarm. I sat on the edge of the bed for 5 minutes before standing up and going to take a shower.


    "This...is this categorized as Lucky?... Or Unlucky?" I muttered to myself as I reached the toilet door.


    While having breakfast in the kitchen, I opened up my laptop to check on my Singles sales progress and the Flappy Bird report. My face was cold as I didn''t want emotion to become a factor in my calculation therefore I tried my hardest to repress it. After all, I only have half an hour before Abby would pick me up.


    "Apple takes a 30% cut per 0.99 usd. The total downloads for the songs is 12 million downloads. 5 mill for Grenade, 4 mill for Can I be him, and 3 mill for Me and My Broken Heart." I made a quick calculation and opened up an excel chart to set up my sales projection of the songs and calculate basic profits.


    "The company got 8.316 million from the sales in Itunes alone. But if I added a few other download sites, the company made 11 million dollars in one day. The next day sales projection will be lower as the initial hype was gone, but I still broke multiple records."


    "Merch got us another 2 million dollars. And the commercial from yesterday got me 750,000 dollars. That''s all mine as the website and the broadcast was made by me. There wasn''t any clause in the contract for that, so the company isn''t entitled to it. That was what Harvey said. But I will still invest the money back into the company and pay the staff for the broadcast accordingly."


    "Grenade music video broke 10 million views, while the lyric video for Can I be him didn''t reach 1 million views yet. Although it''s almost there. I guess it''s slower as I never did any marketing for it on Youtube." I muttered. "I won''t add the profit from Youtube to my calculation yet as it was too small. I can do it after a month."


    I was only focused on the Grenade music video, and now Vevo wants it. They emailed the company about putting the video on their channel and cooperated with the agency with terms that were highly advantageous to us, so I would let Harvey''s team negotiate with the company.


    "Lastly, with me being the singer, song writer, editor, marketing exec, logistic exec, vice president, and also the hottest one there, my share for the song reached an astonishingly high 45%. So my bank account was fattened with 5.4 million dollars more today."


    My dad was walking by and almost tripped after he heard my words. He was spooked, not because of how much money I''d made, but the way I talked about them was as if I was talking about a meager amount.


    ''How many years would I need to work to get that kind of money?'' Dad thought depressingly. He didn''t bother me as I was focusing, and stood behind me to see what I was doing.


    "3 million will be reinvested back to the company and 2 million more will be invested in several other companies. I already sent Harvey out to procure shares from Netflix and Amazon...seriously, I can''t do anything without her. I should give her a bonus." I muttered while my dad nodded behind me.


    Dad didn''t stop me from investing my money as so far, all of my stocks had given me high returns. He already marked me as a genius in his mind and gave up on trying to comprehend how my mind works.


    "Moving on to Flappy Bird. I got 10 million downloads from the Android store, and 15 million downloads from Apple. I think that was the limit as the downloads didn''t rise up for a couple of days now. The ads profit reached a staggering 100,000 dollars a day. I breached the 1 million dollar revenue, so I had to pay 30 % to both platforms. Fuck."


    My dad sipped his coffee with two hands in amusement as he enjoyed the show in front of him. He opened his mouth to alert me of his presence, but he decided to keep watching.


    "Thankfully, it''s only for the premium ads free game and not the normal one. I guess not many people decided to buy the game as it''s available for free." I muttered.


    The internet and smart technology era also was just beginning, therefore a lot of online payment systems were still in the trial stage. It was hard for kids who actually enjoy the game to buy the premium version of the game as they didn''t have a credit card yet.


    "3.3 million from the premium download. Ads revenue was still at 400 thousand, but I earned the money from the ads daily. In a month, I will get at least 2 million from the ads alone."


    "This will be used to buy another ship for dad''s company, and that will also be his birthday present this year." I muttered. Dad widened his eyes as he heard it, and tried to interject, but I continued, "I can''t put the new ship under his name, so I''ll buy it under the company''s name. It''ll be better for him not to increase his income as he''s still paying alimony."


    Dad choked on his coffee behind me, making me notice his existence. "How long have you been standing there?" I asked calmly while handing him a napkin. He wiped the drink on his chin and said, "Thanks. Also, I just go here."


    "I see."


    "I have a question...why are you talking like you''re in a meeting?"


    "...I don''t know. This just helps me process the information better." I said before I ignored him and got back to work. After I finished my calculation and sent the information to Harvey, I contacted the company to get the EDM synthesizer/machine?�C which I would use to complete the ''Something Just Like This'' song and preparations for the future.


    *Horn Horn*


    "Abby''s here. Dad, Claire will follow you to the meeting."


    He creased his brows and said, "Why?"


    "Simple. You''re too trusting and gullible. If I send Claire alone, she''s too suspicious, anal-retentive, and overall awkward in a meeting as she lacks experience. If both of you went there together, your synergy will make you guys a competent human being instead. Then, I can rest easy and leave it all to you." I said with a mischievous smile.


    Dad snorted but he couldn''t refute my words, therefore he smacked the back of my head (lightly) instead.


    "Okay. I''ll do it with Claire."


    "That...sounds wrong. But sure. Goodluck dad." I replied. "Oh and wear a suit. I made one for you."


    Although I was a hater of the series, I wouldn''t actually go out of my way to prevent others from enjoying it. It was a matter of personal taste, even if the fans of the series have no taste *Ehem* I mean...All good things...


    ''If there''s one good thing about the series that I can think of, it''s that Robert Pattion suffered after acting in the series.''


    ''That suffering he went through was what made him truly understand the Batman character, and become a good Batman against all odds.''


    ...


    After school, Mrs Henderson asked me to come to her class. She was wearing a shoulderless blouse with sleeves and her hair was tied up in a bun. Although she was only revealing her clavicle, most of the male students inside the school drooled as they stared at her beauty.


    Not me though, that woman felt extremely familiar to me, so much that I couldn''t have sexual thoughts about her. But, that didn''t mean that I wouldn''t tease her.


    "Hello Mrs Henderson. I should warn you, although we''re in a private fan meeting, we need to maintain a professional behavior."


    She ignored me and gave me study materials and itinerary for the decathlon. I read the new schedule and frowned.


    "They are bringing the competition forward?"


    Mrs Herderson nodded expressionlessly and said, "They changed the schedule, all because of one person...who was clueless enough to expose his schedule on live tv. Therefore, the organizer wanted to change the competition venue to a new place for the safety of the students."


    "I feel like that''s a dig at me."


    "Oh, so you''re not that clueless."


    "..."


    So, it was my fault that the competition was moved up. Only the teams competing in the decathlon would know about the new venue and date of the competition. The organizer also asked the students to keep the information to themselves and didn''t share it with others until the competition ended.


    "But, my final exam is on that date." I said with a scrunched brow.


    "The school had a meeting, and after a discussion, we decided to give separate testing for the decathlon members. The exams will be held two days before the decathlon, without any breaks in between the tests."


    "So...Monday next week?"


    "Yes Mr Newgate. After the decathlon, you will need to answer the supplementary exams, so prepare yourself."


    I nodded as I was confident with my skills, but I felt a bit guilty for Alex and Haruna �C the fourth member of the decathlon team, and also an exchange student from Japan. I don''t care about Sanjay and his future whining, nor did his name cross my mind at this moment.


    I looked at Mrs Henderson''s face with a complicated expression. She caught it and asked knowing, "What do you have in mind Mr Newgate?"


    "I was just wondering...if I take the supplementary exams and become the valedictorian-"


    "You won''t be the valedictorian." She corrected me.


    "I know, I''m just worried that it''ll make the other students feel cheated."


    Mrs. Herderson sighed slightly and paused for a bit before saying, "Mr Newgate...You actually don''t have to worry about this matter."


    "Why?"


    "Because...in your grade...there aren''t...any students with good capabilities compared to the other grades."


    "Basically the kids in my grade are dumb dumb."


    She was stunned and replied in a tiny voice, "...Yeah."


    Alex''s grade 7 students had more than 7 smart, grade A individuals that were bringing the school name to a greater heights, while most of the students in grade 8...my grade...were basically glue eaters.


    "Therefore, it doesn''t matter if you take the supplementary tests. None of them are smart enough to notice it." Mrs Henderson insulted the entire grade 8 students without malice in her tone.


    Despite Abraham and Jacob being good students in the class, they were actually average in intelligence. Others were...well...


    The teacher sent me away after briefing me about the decathlon. She also asked me if the competition would interfere in my work as an artist. I set up my own schedule, and she had given me enough time to prepare for the competition. Therefore, I could plan my schedule more efficiently.


    "Study with the group if you have the time. Although you''re close with Alex, you never meet Haruna and you''re hostile with Sanjay. It''ll affect teamwork if this continues."


    I shrugged and said, "I''m not hostile with Sanjay. He''s the one who has a problem with me."


    "Then, be the bigger man and make up." Mrs Henderson said in a calm tone. I wanted to say no, but she told me something interesting that made me change my mind, "If you do, then I''ll kiss your lips."


    Just kidding, what she actually said was, "If you do, then I''ll mark the hours you spent with him as part of the community work, so you won''t have to volunteer in the summer."


    "NICE!"

 Chapter 85: Slow Day.

    Chapter 85: Chapter 85: Slow Day.?


    (A/N: Season 2 Starts!...Although I haven''t even reached the 5th episode of Season 1 in Modern Family yet lol.)


    ''Damn it, I agreed without thinking much after she told me about the volunteer work. She played me so darn easily...Not going to lie, I find that very impressive.'' I thought as I walked to Abby''s car. I jumped out the car door and sat next to her.


    "Hungry?" I asked.


    "A lil'' bit." Abby replied.


    "Wanna come over and eat?" I asked.


    She blushed a bit and said, "Sure. The answer to that question will always be ''of course'' unless you lose your cooking skill."


    I shrugged and said, "It''s not that I''m good at cooking, it is your mom''s horrendous food that made you come on over."


    She chuckled a bit before narrowing her eyes menacingly. "I''m going to tell my mom that."


    I wasn''t afraid and said playfully, "Tattletale."


    She puffed her cheeks immediately as no one likes to be called a narc. I poked her puffy cheeks, making her expression change once more to become a cheerful one.


    Her hazel eyes were in direct view of the sunlight as we crossed an intersection. I gazed at her face, which in turn made her turn to look at me.


    "What?"


    "Nothing, I was mesmerized by your eyes. That''s all."


    Her lips curled upward before she remembered that she had brown eyes instead of the beautiful green or blue eyes. (E/N: Haley and Taylor my man needs the full set lol)


    "Don''t lie to me." She said with irritation before looking at the streets.


    "I''m not lying." I replied.


    "Brown eyes aren''t beautiful."


    "Maybe, you just never see it the way I see it."


    "Hmm? Then, tell me. How do you see it? And note that if I am not impressed by your answer, I will hit you."


    I laughed at Abby''s challenge and said, "Okay. But, if I do impress you, what then?"


    She was stunned and she thought for a while. "Well...If your words really captivated me, then I''ll...I will think about it later, but it''ll be good."


    I nodded and said, "Okay then. Challenge accepted."


    I thought for a while before turning towards her.


    "See? Brown eyes are boring. You can''t change my mind." Abby said in self-depreciation as we almost reached my house.


    "Not quite. I just don''t know whether to do it in a poem, or just give you an example." I said.


    Abby widened her eyes and said, "Wait...did you seriously?..."


    "Which one?" I asked.


    She blushed a little, pretended that she didn''t care, and said, "Then...an example- NO NO... A poem!" She grinned like a 5 years old child, waiting for Santa Claus on the night before Christmas.


    (A/N: Brace yourself for cringe as I was aiming to make your fingers all curled up when I wrote the next part)


    I nodded and said, "Sure. Let me get into character first." At this moment, she had already parked her car in my driveway and waited for me to continue before she would go back home.


    As I remembered all of my past life memories, I also remembered what I read on the internet before this.


    "You hated your eye color, call it a dull and dirty brown,


    Wished for the deep blue of an ocean, where admirers'' hearts would drown."


    Abby chided, "True."


    I grinned and continued, "And it pained me when I realized, You''d never see it like I do. The way your eyes hints at a story, That I want to read right through."


    "They hold specks of stolen sunlight, that you''d miss with just a glance. And a depth of raw emotion, that can freeze you in a trance. They are a fix of melted chocolate, When I''m craving something sweet, but hold a gaze so unwavering, that I find it meet-"


    "Okay okay okay stop!!!!" Abby blushed hard, her face as red as a cooked tomato, and she grabbed my arms while shaking my body to stop me from continuing. My eyes were spinning as she shook me, prompting me to stop. She finally breathes easy and before she could say, "Now go out-"


    I continued, "I fall right in the rabbit hole, when I look into your eyes. The brown of earth''s unfettered beauty, that I yearn to memorize. When I was tired of not belonging, they made me feel like I had been found. And I hope you never say again, that your eyes...are simply...brown."


    (credit to E.H poem)


    Abby was swooning as I finished, and I got out of the car before I needed to deal with the repercussion. I wasn''t trying to flirt with her, but I felt bad when I noticed she hated her own eye color.


    "Goodbye Abby. See you tomorrow." I said. Abby''s mood was complicated as mixtures of confusion, stirred, longing, and happiness were swirling inside her mind.


    "O-Okay. See you tomorrow." Abby said. She couldn''t wait to share the poem to her mother and Haley�C which, by the way, would get me in a lot of trouble with the girls later on.


    However, I remembered something so I turned back and walked towards the car as she wanted to drive away. I bent over slightly, leaned my arms on the car door and said, "By the way. How''s your indie game going?"


    Her eyes darted all around as she stuttered, "W- I...I haven''t..."


    "So you don''t even do it when I''m not around huh."


    Instantly she lowered her head and admitted, "Yes."


    I nodded in understanding, and before I could walk away, she grabbed my arms and said, "Do..Do you have...free time?"


    "To help you make the game?"


    "Wha- Oh yeah. Yeah. For the game."


    I narrowed my eyes at her in suspicion before saying, "Sure. no problem. I''ll text you if I have some free time."


    "Okay... Then, it''s a date- It''s a lesson!"


    "To be honest. I feel a bit insulted. Although I know that he learned a few languages before, I didn''t expect to see him watching the show without translation."


    Alex was a bit downcast as she muttered, "How did he find the time to learn that much? I studied all day long, and he can watch Cartoo- Anime,but... I guess he''s just smarter than me."


    She hugged her left arm as she confessed, "Honestly. It''s terrifying. I know for sure he was dumber than me a month ago."


    Her eyes showed hesitation as she said, "If that''s the case...if someone...can be smart...without even trying...then what''s the point of me studying so hard?"


    Although she said that, she wouldn''t ever stop studying. It was just a little rant to make her feel a bit better. She wouldn''t ever stop, as no amount of external pressure could ever hope to surpass the one she put on herself to achieve excellence.


    [commentary ends]


    After the initial greetings, Alex wanted to move to the dining table to tutor Jenna, but the popular girl was curious as to why I was watching cartoons. Her obsession for me actually died down for a few seconds as she saw it, but rekindled as she saw my smiling face.


    "Why...why are you watching...this show?" Jenna asked me with hesitation.


    Alex chided, "Because he''s a boy. That''s why. All boys are childish."


    I nodded and said, "True." Alex rolled her eyes at me as a response for my lack of enthusiasm for the conversation.


    Jenna swallowed her words as she heard my admittance and suddenly the scene showed Nami''s backstory. Alex''s eyes shook and Jenna was hooked to the screen. For 20 minutes, the two girls stood by my side as they watched the show.


    It ended with the Strawhats'' march to Arlong Park after Luffy put his hat on Nami''s head. Before I could press the button for the next episode, Alex and Jenna suddenly sat by my side as they wanted to watch the show.


    "Not studying?" I asked.


    "Well...Jenna just came, so I''m letting her rest a bit first." Alex said while Jenna nodded. I scoffed at them before playing the next episode and watched the Strawhats battle with the fishmen. Hours passed by, and I could swear that I saw Alex and Jenna wipe their tears as they watched the show.


    "I thought you said it was just a cartoon?" I teased Alex as I stood up from the couch to get a glass of water.


    "Wait. Are you not playing the next episode?" Jenna asked fearfully.


    I sighed and said, "If I watch it, then you guys won''t study. It''s almost 6 now. I''m stopping to get dinner."


    "NO! Seriously!?" Alex turned to check the clock and found out that she had been wasting 2 hours of her precious studying time to watch the anime. "YOU DEVIL!" She cursed at me.


    I was confused and I said, "Why are you calling me a devil? You''re the one who sat next to me?"


    "No! IT''S YOUR FAULT! Come on Jenna! We only have half an hour left!" Alex grabbed Jenna''s arm and pulled her toward the dining table.


    I laughed at them and walked to my bedroom. Halfway up the stairs, Alex said using a loud voice from afar, "Copy the show for me!"


    "Make it two!" Jenna added.


    "I don''t have enough drive. One of you will have to borrow mine." I shouted back.


    "I will take yours!" Jenna said hurriedly before Alex could open her mouth.


    ...


    [3rd Person POV]


    Pepper was in a meeting with the company''s staff after Ed''s successful debut to the industry.


    "Harvey. Scandals?" Pepper asked the pixie cut, suit wearing female lawyer in front of him.


    "Many psychos claimed that they knew him, or had done it with him. Some worse cases even claimed they were carrying his babies. I shut them all down, so there won''t be another scandal except for the one with Taylor and Selena."


    "Even Selena?" Pepper asked in confusion.


    Harvey nodded and said, "Yes. A few... ''rational'' fans have started to root for Ed to end up with Selena instead of Taylor, as they were more... ''age-appropriate...'' They are even brainstorming their ''ship'' name right now. "


    "Will it damage his reputation?" Pepper raised his brow as he asked.


    "No. It''ll help him tremendously as the article has no claims to it. It''ll just spread his name to the public."


    "Okay. I''ll leave that, and the expansion of our legal team to you. I can''t wait to meet Donna."


    Harvey nodded while Pepper turned his head to face the logistic manager next. "How''s the merchandise sales?"


    "The revenue is expanding, and it''s gone international. In fact, most of the new orders are from Europe and Australia. A lot of Asians also want to buy the merchandise, however we don''t have a distribution channel over there."


    Pepper nodded and asked, "Can you find a stable channel?"


    "I can try. But it''ll take some time."


    After thorough discussions with his own staff, Pepper had another meeting with the movie studio and set up a recording session with Taylor on Friday through the proper channel �C her own agency. Although Taylor had confirmed that she was free till Monday, the agency kept claiming that Taylor had prior schedules and tried to postpone the recording session.


    "Caged bird she is." Pepper channels his inner yoda after he gave the agency an earful.


    Harvey walked beside him and said, "A lot of companies want to offer sponsorship for his next concert. Have you talked to him about it yet?"


    "Not yet. He needed some rest, so I won''t bother him with unconfirmed stuff."


    "I see. I will try to get more than vocal agreement then. About his interview...it was posted to his website, which made the tv company quite irritated. How do we respond to it?"


    Pepper turned to Harvey and said, "What are our options?"


    Harvey said, "We could pull it down and reupload it after the TV interview airs. However, the TV interview is quite different from the live broadcast and I took great care while drafting that contract. I''m pretty proud of it actually, one of the first to handle such a situation for such a talent I believe, so they don''t have any claims to force us to pull it down. We can just ignore them, but Ed will start his career with a bit of enmity with the TV station. I think we should avoid that."


    "But...he''s not going to be an actor?" Pepper asked in confusion.


    Harvey nodded in understanding and explained, "We don''t know that. He might get the opportunity in the future. So it''s better to be prepared. Not to mention that this industry is interconnected. Offend one then you offend many."


    (Quite chinese cliches, but it''s actually true. A lot of new actor/actress suffer from it)


    "Hmmm...What if...we don''t pull it down, but instead, we make it seem that the website is undergoing an update as we have a lot of traffic. So it doesn''t seem that we''re following the studio''s demand instead of technical difficulties...Better yet. What if we promise the network they will keep the exclusivity of the "Shivers" performance for some time, you know...tell them we will keep that song from our upcoming 3 song release next 2 weeks? I mean we haven''t even done the proper recording ourselves but they don''t need to know that..." Pepper said slyly.


    "That''ll work." Harvey said before she gave Pepper some documents to sign.


    As Pepper finished, his eyes widened and his face paled as he heard Harvey''s next sentence, "Lastly, about my salary..."

 Chapter 86: Personality and Hidden Dilemma.

    Chapter 86: Chapter 86: Personality and Hidden Dilemma.?


    [Jenna POV]


    "See here, X needs to be brought over to the left side, making the value of x is...?"


    "Hmmm....3?" I answered.


    "Don''t look at me, look at your calculation." Alex said in slight annoyance. I could sense that she was becoming increasingly frustrated the more she taught me, and it pained my heart when I realized that I had no talent in studying.


    "It''s...it''s okay to give up Alex. I''m dumb. I know it." I said using a self-deprecating tone. It seemed that I couldn''t win the bet after all.


    "(sigh) Nah. You can absorb things, albeit slowly. I tried to teach Luke before, and trust me, he''s the dumb one. What we lack now...is time..." Alex comforted me before turning the workbook to another page.


    I smiled wryly and thanked Alex from the bottom of my heart, but I knew inwardly that I should give up on the bet. Not only did I take Alex''s precious time to study, I...didn''t want to lie to myself anymore. With the finals starting on Wednesday, what other options do I have?


    ''After all, it''s an impossible bet.'' I thought when suddenly a warm hand touched both Alex''s and mine''s shoulder from behind us.


    "Arghh- Oh it''s you." Alex was startled at first, but then she just ignored Ed and said to me, "This time, we''re going to cover a little bit of history. Are you okay with getting home late?"


    Alex pushed her dinner time backward to help me study, but she was still being thoughtful to me.


    "Or, you can just eat here with me." Ed said, surprising both of us. We looked at him with shaky pupils, making him shrug and say, "It''s not fun eating alone."


    "O-O-kay. I''m going to text my mom to tell her." Alex said before she grabbed her phone.


    "If-If you okay with me...be-being here, then I-"


    "I don''t mind. Do you have any allergies I need to know about? Otherwise I''m afraid that I will accidentally kill you." Ed joked.


    I blushed a little and said while avoiding his gaze, "...Strawberries."


    "Oh. Strawberry allergies. That''s rare." Ed said with a smirk before he walked to the kitchen.


    "Hey! You didn''t ask me?!" Alex shouted in dissatisfaction.


    "Don''t be so loud Peanut Allergy!" Ed shouted back. Alex smiled and before she could start with the subject, Ed said, "Alex, inside my top right desk drawer, there''s a history notebook. You guys can use it if you want."


    "Hmmm? Okay." Alex said before she stood up and ran lightly to his bedroom. Oh how I envy her. But, with her gone, only Ed and I were left in the kitchen.


    I blushed hard in anticipation before turning slightly towards him. I wanted to observe him more, and I barely got the chance to do that in school today. My mind was a mess when I saw him skillfully handling the ingredients.


    The way he seductively takes out a pan, bending over to put things in the oven, his hair flailing around as he chopped the carrot. I swear that my eyes were turning into a love shape like that perverted cook in the anime ''One Piece'' we just watched.


    "Ahh...so...beautiful." I exclaimed unconsciously.


    "Hmm? Did you say something?" Ed turned his gaze from the carrots to look at me and asked in confusion.


    "N-Nothing...Ed...Can I ask you a question?" I braced myself to ask.


    "Sure. What is it?" Ed said before turning the heat on the stove.


    "A-Alex said, you like girls..with personality. So...you don''t look at anything else?"


    "Hmmm...That''s a hard question. I do look at her appearance too. I can''t deny that a pretty girl will catch my attention more."


    I smiled gleefully as I heard that. That meant I had one of the criteria he was looking for. After all, I''m the prettiest girl in the entire town. (A/N: Her unconfounded confidence...)


    "So...what kind of personality do you like?" I asked with my heart palpitating fast.


    His gaze sharpened before he returned to his usual smiling face, and I was stunned as I saw a glimpse of his other face. The face that made me fall deeply in love with him after he insulted me. I bit my lower lips, hoping that he would show that kind of face more.


    [Edward POV]


    As I needed to start the history subject from scratch, I had written every important thing that the students needed to know inside a plain notebook. This was before I got the eidetic memory curse from the gacha system.


    The book was no longer useful for me, but it could help Jenna. I wanted to help her, as despite everything, she was listening to Alex''s tutoring intently and didn''t slack off during the session today. That raised my impression on her, even though she was studying to win the bet.


    We got into a conversation after Alex was gone, and I was confused by her sudden question about the personality I like. I looked at her with a sharp gaze, wondering if she would change herself once more if I told her the truth.


    "For me, I like girls who are honest with themselves." I said after thinking about it for a while.


    She seemed confused, and she asked, "Why?"


    "What do you mean why?" Now I''m the one who''s confused.


    " I mean...Isn''t it better, if the girls are everything you ever dream off?" Jenna asked with the greatest confusion she ever had.


    "Why do your thoughts sound similar to a Playboy magazine tagline?" I mumbled to myself before replying to her, "I won''t lie. That would be great. But, in the end, it''s a DREAM. A fantasy. I want girls who can share with me their passions, likes and dislikes and even fears so we can share adventures together, and have a positive outlook on life."


    Jenna scrunched her brows and asked with a slightly raised voice, "That''s...all obscure...what can I do with that information?!"


    "How should I know?" I replied playfully as my sadistic side enjoyed basking in her frustration.


    "Hey. I borrowed your biology book and ...a few more." Alex said as she walked back into the kitchen.


    "What does ''more'' mean exactly?" I asked while scrunching my eyebrows. "What did you do there?"


    "Please. It''s not like I was snooping around." Alex said dismissively.


    [Alex''s commentary]


    "Why do you look so sad?" Alex asked after she saw me ending the call.


    "Nah. It''s nothing. I guess...I wasn''t needed after all." I said before changing the subject and getting back to my dinner.


    Alex shrugged as she couldn''t figure out what was going on, while Jenna looked at me with confusion.


    "Tomorrow we''re going to study again." Alex said to Jenna. She nodded and said, "We''ll just meet at the library next time-"


    "Before that, here." I interjected their planning and slid my hard drives to each of them. Jenna gulped her saliva while Alex was annoyed.


    "We Want To Study! NOT WATCH ANIME!" Alex retorted.


    "You can do both. Just watch it during your free time." I channeled my inner devil to tempt both of them.


    Dazedly, Jenna succumbed to the temptation and stealthily put the hard drive in her bag. Alex saw it, scoffed, and did the same thing before saying," We''re only going to watch it... After the final exam."


    "Y-Yeah. Or when I''m eating, or before going to sleep-" Jenna unconsciously blurted out her true thoughts.


    I laughed while Alex glared daggers at me.


    [Alex''s commentary]


    "I admit that the anime is a good distraction. But... It''s also poisonous. I need to NOT let myself be lost in it like today. Otherwise it''ll cut my study time short, make me get a B in my exam, lose my top place in school, and have to apply to a normal top university�C Anyway, I can''t let that happen."


    [commentary ends]


    Alex and Jenna soon left the house, leaving me alone in my living room. I walked to the piano inside the second living room and sat down on the piano chair.


    I opened the keyboard cover and cracked my fingers, making popping sounds.


    "It''s been a while." I muttered as if speaking to the piano.


    [Yiruma- Rivers Flow in you]


    "This is the first time I''m playing this."


    My fingers skillfully alternated between the keys as I played the song.


    Inside my heart, a whirlpool of complexity was raging, as my repressed emotions couldn''t be held back anymore.


    "After I come here...Have I ever...mourn yet?" I asked myself as I looked upward while my fingers kept playing the song.


    "No. I was a coward. I delved into work, into finding money...and I pushed the acceptance away."


    "But then, I was given the eidetic memory, which turned my life into a living nightmare."


    "Your image that wakes me up from my sleep, can''t leave me alone as I go through my day. The voice of the only...ONLY person who accepted me...and loved me...through my entire life before... kept whispering in my ears."


    I slammed the keyboard, making a discordant noise resounded in the entire house.


    "How pathetic am I?!" I said with gritted teeth. The windows were pried open by the sudden gust of wind, and it started to shake the things around my living room. However, I ignored the wind as I continued playing.


    ''After...I got the eidetic memory, I couldn''t even forget if I wanted to. Time heals all things, but for me, time only turns the memories I have into empty husks. The memories inside were deleted, only leaving me with the empty shell of what once was my life.


    "I guess...That''s why I was sprinting...I want to shut all the noises down." I realized something as I kept playing. The song ended, and I played another song by the same artist, Yiruma �C Kiss the Rain.


    "No matter how much I tried to move away, you kept standing there beside me, in my memories." I muttered.


    "Thank you Bella." I said as tears flooded my eyes. I kept playing as I held back my tears from falling, while saying, "Thank you...for making me...a human being that knew what love from a parent was..."


    "I wanted to tell you that sooner, but the bruises in my heart were too big for me to say. For me to accept...that you were gone from my life."


    The soft wind brushed my face as I wiped my eyes.


    "I''m sorry...that I couldn''t be there...at your last moment.."


    I couldn''t hold it back anymore, and tears started falling down my cheeks.


    "I''m sorry that I held on to you for so long." I muttered while sobbing.


    "Now...Please...I hope that you find peace...Please..."


    "I''ll always keep you in my memories...I won''t try to avoid it again."


    As if I was talking to her, I tried to smile as I said, "I''m happy here, with my new family...They treat me well...although some of them are dumb... I have a complicated mom, but that doesn''t bother me much. I have money now... If I were back in the past, then I could help you more with the money that I have now..."


    Suddenly, I felt warmth coming from my back, as if I was hugged by someone. That was when I broke down and couldn''t continue playing anymore. I covered my eyes as I sobbed as I accepted the fact that she was gone. She had moved on, and so should I.


    -3rd Person POV-


    As Claire came to Ed''s house to send the meeting details, she heard the piano sound coming from his living room.


    "He still kept the door unlocked. I need to lecture him about it!" She said angrily as she barged into the house.


    However, as she walked to the living room, she found Ed holding back tears as he played the piano. She couldn''t listen to what he said as the sound of the piano covered his voice.


    It pained her heart as she heard the melody, without her knowing it, tears fell from her eyes.


    She walked to him and hugged him from behind. He stopped playing and broke down while Claire kept comforting him, "It''s okay..It''s okay...I''m here...We''re all here..."

 Chapter 87: Third Gacha!

    Chapter 87: Chapter 87: Third Gacha!


    [Claire''s commentary]


    "Despite how mature he is with others, deep down, he''s still a broken 15 years old." Claire said before biting her fingers slightly. She removed her finger, brought her hand to her lap and continued, "It''s not healthy for him to have ''periodic episodes of depression'' �C or at least I think that''s what it was all about."


    She lowered her gaze as she fell into deep thoughts.


    "I don''t know what happened, what was the cause of it, whether he cried because it''s going to be his mother''s birthday tomorrow, or because he''s relieved that his career change from classical to mainstream music is taking off. Maybe he''s feeling under pressure to excel here too, and he broke down because he''s finally made it."


    She raised her head and looked directly into the camera and said, "All I know is that he needed someone to be there for him. And I don''t mean his dad. He needs...a motherly figure in his life."


    "So I decided to treat him like one of my children." Claire said despite the fact she had already started treating him like one of her offspring weeks ago.


    [Commentary ends]


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Well, that was embarrassing." I muttered as I woke up in the morning. While still laying down on the bed, I recounted the affairs of last night.


    As I calmed myself down, I went directly to bed instead of talking about it and slept like a log till morning came. To be honest when I noticed that Claire was there, my heart almost dropped from the shock. That kind of emotional roller coaster helped me to calm myself faster than needed too.


    I talked with Claire for a while, and she tried to comfort me even though she didn''t know why I was crying. But as I was too tired, she just nodded in understanding and let me rest. I guess that''s why no one disturbed, nor called my phone after the incident.


    "Still...It feels as if I was abandoned. Even Haley didn''t start the usual midnight texting session with me."


    My mind was refreshed after last night, and my spirits were raised after such a long time battling with my sense of loss.


    "I hope that Claire will not tell anyone what happened- Oh hell, why do I even say that. I know for sure she WILL tell someone about it. What I need to do is to prepare for the aftermath."


    Finally, I got out of bed and went to take a shower as I needed to go to school today. Curiously, as I was getting dressed, Haley texted me to come to her house to have breakfast with her family.


    ''Did Claire plan this? Did everyone already know about it?'' I thought in concern. If everyone already knows, then I wouldn''t want to be there this morning as the memories were still fresh.


    "Why?" I texted Haley back.


    Haley: "Duh. To have breakfast. What else? Also, mom already called Abby and asked her to pick you up at our home. So come quick otherwise Luke and Dad will eat your pancakes."


    I rubbed my forehead in frustration as I analyzed the text message.


    "So it''s one of two things, either she knows about it and is pretending she doesn''t while trying to act normal, or she really doesn''t know. But, since she''s not being awkward, I guess it''s the latter."


    "Maybe Claire has actually kept my secret??...Unlikely...I guess Phil knows." I muttered to myself before I put an Armani leather belt on my waist.


    I was wearing a blue-colored short sleeve shirt with golden buttons, and straight cut black pants which paired nicely with my sneakers. The shirt had a handmade insignia on the front pocket which I made myself.


    As the weather was becoming hotter, I no longer wanted to wear long sleeve shirts and opted to wear lighter outfits instead.


    When I walked to the kitchen, I saw a note left behind by my dad as he had already gone to work early in the morning. It was just a few simple words of affirmations, but my heart felt a sense of warmth emanating from the sentences. I appreciated his effort greatly and muttered, "So...He knows."


    My cheeks felt hot from the embarrassment. I cursed softly, "Fuck..."


    "However, it''s also the right time for me to test the [Lie to Truth] skill that I got last night."


    How did I get the skill you wonder? It''s from a game of poker that I played last night with a humanoid bunny.


    ...


    [Flashback]


    After I went to sleep last night, I was transported to a white space without me realizing it.


    "Oh. So my mother''s birthday counted...Damn.." I muttered as I realized that the condition for the Day of Life or Death to activate the gacha session was activated.


    "So. What is it this time?" I wondered as my eyes flashed traces of excitement as I walked deeper into the white space. However, I suddenly heard the sound of someone shuffling a deck of cards. I turned my head to the source of the sound, only to find a humanoid bunny in a butler''s outfit, a monocle on his left eye, and wearing a top hat smiling at me.


    My instinctive fear of the unknown strikes my heart and I had cold sweats on my back as I stared at the bunny.


    "Are you going to keep looking at me all session? Don''t you want your prizes?" The bunny said with a childish voice.


    "Who are you?" I asked as I narrowed my eyes in suspicion.


    "Gacha is a game of luck. What has more meaning to the game of luck than a casino itself?!" The bunny said ceremoniously and snapped his fingers. The white space suddenly turned into a casino, filled with numerous intelligent beings and a game of chances inside the hall.


    He snapped his fingers again, and I suddenly found myself sitting on a chair at the poker game table, facing the dealer (Bunny) in a game of cards.


    "First, let me explain a few rules of the unique gacha. Unlike the various gacha games that have infinite chances for a prize draw, here at the [Lucky table] you can use your karmic points as Bets. 100,000 karmic points to decide where to pull the prizes from.


    I widened my eyes as I understood the rules, and I couldn''t help but want to confirm, "So if I bet 100,000 karmic points to draw prizes from the One Piece world, then I could get prizes from that world?"


    "Basically, Yes. However, although the draws were narrowed, you still have a chance to draw a completely random gacha prize from your poker card. As you know, a poker card has a combination of 8x1067 possible prizes. Your bet will narrow ? of that into the universe you wanted to draw your prizes from. And If you manage to draw the cards you wanted, then the bets will be doubled and given back to you."


    I scrunched my brows as I heard the numbers of possible draws. "That isn''t narrowing it down at all!" I retorted.


    The bunny shook his finger while clicking his tongue at me. He then said, "My boy, you understand what infinite means, so why are you pretending not to know it?"


    I laughed a bit and said, "Fine. I understand. Another question, if I increase the betting prize to...let say a million."


    The bunny smiled eerily and said, "Now you''re getting it. The higher your bets are, the lower the probability of the combinations you will get."


    I nodded and said, "Before that, how can I check how many negative and positive karmic points I have now?"


    The bunny slides 5 cards into the desk while simultaneously pushing it towards me. I picked one of the cards and opened it to read what was written inside.


    Edward Newgate:


    Affiliation: Official member of the Afterlife Corps.


    Current status: Singer/Game Maker/ Inventor


    Positive Karma: 13, 998, 099.5


    Negative Karma: �C500,000.5


    I couldn''t help but rub my forehead at the number of negative karma I accumulated. As my reputation soared worldwide, so did the numbers of karma I received from my influence on people.


    "Why is this happening?" I asked with a frown while looking at the negative karma value.


    The bunny sneered and said, "Try to remember your previous life. Was all the influences from a celebrity positive in nature?"


    "Ah you mean..." I blinked my eyes twice in realization.


    "Some will be influenced positively, some will take it the wrong way." The bunny explained simply.


    "I see..."


    Many groupies would postpone fighting for their future as they were rooting for me, some may even develop fanatical obsession, some may destroy their relationship with their current/future partner because of my influence.


    "That''s pretty sad." I muttered.


    "Then, pick out your cards!" The bunny exclaimed.


    I picked up 5 cards and checked them one by one. "Joker, Joker, Joker, King, King."


    The bunny''s happy expression shattered and his hands shivered.


    "I got the Full House." I smiled softly, making the bunny hold his head in frustration.


    The card''s merged and it turned into, [Skill: Sakamoto-kun �� Prank Proof]


    "Damn. It''s not what I wanted." I said.


    "Shut up you point guzzler! Do you know how much I lost!?" The bunny said and threw 10 million worth of chips in my direction. I smiled and said, "That''s your problem. Not mine."


    He was stunned, but then he realized that what I said was true. I was only gambling.


    I threw back the chip he gave me and said, "10 million points. Sakamoto-kun."


    "ARE YOU CRAZY!?" The bunny exploded!


    "I''m not. It''s just, there''s something else that I really wanted."


    "Fuck!" The bunny cursed before making the cards appear again. I picked 5 cards and smiled. "Ace, 2, 3, 4, and 5. So I got straight."


    The bunny almost fainted and the card merged into the winning prize, [Skill: 7 language proficiency. (English, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Mongolian, Korean)]


    "Damn it. Still not what I want." I cursed while the bunny looked at me with a spooked face as he threw 2o million points worth of chips in my direction.


    "You- You should place your bet on another-"


    "20 Million points on Sakamoto-kun."


    The bunny gave up and said without any emotion, "Okay. You win. You win. Take it all then."


    I picked up the cards, and read them. "A king..."


    "A queen..."


    "An ace..."


    "A Joker..."


    "And lastly... A 10 of heart."


    "So I got the Royal Flush right?" I said with a kind smile, which made the bunny''s knees weak.


    The cards merged together, and I finally got the prize that I wanted!


    [Special Ability: Sakamoto-kun �� ''Exactly on time'']


    "Also, I got 40 million karma points." I added, which made the bunny fall to his knees. He had to be exchanged with another dealer, a female bunny in a sexy bunny''s outfit as he was too depressed to continue.


    I played the game for another 5 times as I know the gacha will change its appearance when I come here next session. As the previous gacha said, the method of drawing prizes was totally random. It was just that I had good luck to stumble into the casino this time.


    At the end of the session, I eliminated my negative karma and donated 10 million karmic points to the Grim Reaper�C freeing him from his imprisonment. However, I still have millions of positive points even after I did that, and I didn''t know what to do with them.


    "You cannot keep the point with you and bring them back to the real world. With no bad karma and tens of millions of positive karma, you will become the second coming of Jesus, or a Saint when you go back." The new dealer said.


    "So what should I do with it?" I asked.


    "There''s an option to store karma, but it''s only for 5 million values. The rest will be destroyed before you go home." The bunny said.


    "I see.. Then, how about donating them?" I asked.


    "You want to donate all of them?" The bunny asked in confusion.


    "Yeah. Just donate it to the unfortunate people in the multiverse. I would rather it be put to good use instead of being destroyed." I said.


    "Hmmm...I''ll contact my superior and ask him about it first." The bunny said before walking away.


    While she was gone, I checked the new prizes that I got after the dealer changed.


    [Skill: Bruce Wayne �� Trained Playboy Character]


    [Knowledge Lex Luthor �� Image Management]


    [Memory: Kai Ling �� School Level Education] (Mass effect. Year 2170)


    [Skill: Kenichi �� Karate (First Year)] (History Strongest Disciple)


    [Charisma Increase]


    [Charisma Increase]


    [Jiang Chen�� Mutated Immune System] (same as Xia Shiyu. He''s immune to everything from poison or any infectious diseases. Even deadly ones]


    [Special Ability: God Usopp �� Lie to Truth]


    The dealer came back soon after, and she said, " Management decided that your intentions are pure. Therefore they decided to respect your choices and let you donate the karma points."


    "Pure?" I said, confused.


    The bunny gazed directly in my eyes and said, "We can see through a person''s soul. No lies or hidden intentions could escape our sight. If you planned to donate the karma point with a hidden agenda, then we would have rejected your request mercilessly. "


    "Ahh I see. Okay then, I guess my time is up right?" I said as I could sense the force pulling me back to the real world.


    "Yes. You have a good haul today. Enjoy your new Life Mr Newgate. There won''t be any sessions till months from now, so we won''t meet again. And as you donated the karma point with a pure heart, you won''t experience any discomfort as you assimilated the prize you got today.]


    "That''s awesome. So I won''t pass out again. Gar-Chuu. I mean. Goodbye!"


    I disappeared from the casino in a rush and returned to the real world. After I woke up, I was invited to the Dunphy''s house for breakfast as I was dressing up.


    I looked in the mirror and found that I had grown 3 centimeters more, making my height reach 178 cm. My eyes seemed clearer and I noticed a change in my temperament as my charisma increased.


    "Not only that, a few skills have synergy with each other, making my changes seem more prominent." I said as I noticed the golden body ratio, the perfectness, Bruce Wayne''s trained playboy skill, and the karate skill superimposed with each other.


    As I continued to grow, I was sure that I could replace Ryan Reynolds as the sexiest man alive, or at the very least be tied with him in first place.


    "*Cough* *Cough* The mermaid voice...This is a bit troubling." I said as I tried to use the soul voice, but the strain it put on my vocal box was too much. "I need more practice with it."


    Not only that the skill was on par with the Siren''s temptation, but a Mermaid''s singing had a more positive impact on the soul. It''ll take me years to master this skill, but I wasn''t in a rush, so I would go at it slowly.


    "Now, I hope that the [Lie to Truth] could help me face the breakfast ordeal today." I muttered as not only the skill would let me concoct a more effective lie, there was a slight chance that what I said was the truth.


    I didn''t realize it then, the ability was completely useless if I used it in front of people with common sense. It could only be used to trick some idiots. However, my impression of the Godly character Usopp-kun made me think that the ability was a good one.


    My misunderstanding also occurs from the fact that the gacha draw this time didn''t show the level of quality for the prizes I got. If I could see it, then [Lie to Truth] would only be a white rank special ability.


    Not knowing I was cheated by Usopp, I said in full confidence of the ability, "Hopefully I won''t create a fucked up future if I use this."

 Chapter 88: Tribute (Part 1)

    Chapter 88: Chapter 88: Tribute (Part 1)


    (Sorry I''m late. I have a high fever. ??)


    [Edward POV]


    I walked to the Dunphy''s house without wearing a cap or a mask to hide my identity. My walking pace wasn''t hurried, therefore some joggers didn''t even pay attention to me as I passed by.


    "Of course, maybe they don''t even know me. After all, I am a just-debuted artist, on par with general nobody''s in the business..." I muttered to myself. If any of the aspiring singers heard what I just said, I might be beaten up by them.


    After I got the Batman skill, I knew for sure how to avoid people recognizing me instead of behaving super suspiciously inside a neighborhood where everybody knew everybody�C Unless the person was your other street neighbor and you could see each other''s house through your backyard.


    "Hey Good Morning." A friendly, bald black man in medical scrubs greeted me as he passed me by while walking his daughter''s dog.


    "Good Morning Andre." I greeted him before passing him with a friendly smile on my face. He treated me like a usual passerby and had to pull his cute pomeranian away from me as the dog was attracted by my animal affinity.


    The orthodontist stopped a few steps later and muttered to himself, "Wait. Who is that? Why does he know my name?"


    I didn''t hear his suspicions as I was already turning on a corner to get to Dunphy''s street.


    "I didn''t think I would meet the Kevin Hart character today. I know he lives nearby...Should I introduce him to Dwayne? Will they be best friends here too?" I amused myself as I rang the doorbell at Dunphy''s house. Luke opened the door and said, "Come on in. Mom made chocolate chip pancakes."


    I could smell the sweet scent as Luke opened the door, and I said, "Nice. I''m starving."


    I entered the house and walked with Luke, who was wearing a light blue dinosaur shirt with his shirt tucked into his pants zippers, to the kitchen where Haley was surprisingly behind the pancake stove�C flipping the already made pancake to cook the other side.


    "Hey. You''re late!" Haley grumbled in dissatisfaction as she had been pretending to cook for 10 minutes now. I was reminding Luke about his shirt when I was suddenly blamed by the teenage girl with a patch of flour on her nose that she wasn''t aware of.


    Haley was wearing a low-cut blouse, a giant Cleopatra-like necklace, and she changed her hairstyle by wearing a high ponytail which showed the nape of her neck. She had to cook for her entire family because of me as she VOLUNTEERED to make the pancakes today, thinking that I would come here early.


    "There was a cat stuck on a tree." I said, shrugging dismissively at her temper.


    "Oh. That''s okay then." Haley accepted the excuse on face value without even having any suspicions about my words. She returned to the stove and stacked up a 10 layer chocolate chip pancake on a plate.


    "..."


    ''Damn, this skill is OP.'' I thought wrongly. It was actually Kakashi''s [Fashionably Late] ability that helped. However, I was still influenced by my impression of Usopp.


    "Here." Haley said before giving me the pancake tower. I picked up the plate with both hands and said in disbelief, "Wait. This is all for me?"


    "Yes." Haley said before putting butter and honey on top of the pancake.


    "HEY NOT FAIR! I ONLY GOT TWO!" Luke exclaimed in shock after he saw his sister''s generosity.


    "SHUT UP! YOU HAD CEREAL!" Haley gritted her teeth as she admonished Luke before pushing me on my back, "Go sit down and eat! I need to make a few more for Dad and Alex."


    Helpless, I walked to sit on the dining table while being glared at by Luke.


    "NO! NOT THERE!" Haley shouted before I could sit. I stopped halfway awkwardly and turned to look at her. "W-Why?" I asked in confusion.


    "Go sit next to Luke!" Haley ordered without explaining. I shook my head and obediently walked next to Luke and sat down. Here, I could get a clear view of Haley while she was cooking, so I had no objections. Although the patch of flour distracted me from looking at anything else.


    ''Luckily she still looks cute.'' I thought.


    Haley smiled as she looked at my face, and no longer continued to pretend to be a good cook as she half-heartedly made the pancakes for the rest of the family.


    Before I started eating, I took off 2 layers of the pancake from the bottom and sneaked it into Luke''s plate without Haley realizing it.


    Before Luke could exclaim in excitement, I shushed him. He nodded in understanding and only raised his hand up and made a silent cheer before eating.


    Haley glared at us in suspicion but Claire walked into the kitchen while arguing with Phil, distracting her from the truth. She was carrying an empty laundry basket while Phil followed her from behind.


    "But Honey, It''s the new generation Bug Vacuum. Guaranteed to suck all bugs below the diameter of 1 centimeter!"


    "No Phil. It''s a waste of money! If you find a spider in the bathroom, just call me- Oh...Good Morning." Claire greeted me awkwardly as she noticed I was inside the kitchen.


    I paused for a while and warily said, "Good morning..." I studied the other people in the kitchen''s facial expression, but no one had the same awkwardness while seeing me as Claire does.


    "ED! Bug Vacuum. Deal of the century or what?!" Phil''s eyes lit up as he saw me and he almost ran to the dining table to talk to me. I smiled at him and said, "That''s okay I guess. But I like the salt shotgun more."


    "Salt shotgun?"


    I nodded and said, "Yeah. It''s a gun...but it shoots salt. So you can role play Western movies while vanquishing your enemies-"


    Claire interjected quickly, "NO ONE IS VANQUISHING ANYTHING!"


    [Claire''s commentary]


    "How could he change so much in the span of a night? He seems like...a man- or a kid, unburdened now. Although I''m glad to see him being cheerful, I''m also afraid that he''s only putting a fake mask on his face and repressing his emotions."


    "I know...he is a smart kid. Therefore, I didn''t tell anyone about last night''s affairs...In case he marked me as someone he couldn''t trust." Claire planned skillfully before muttering, "Well...when he''s moved on, then I will tell people about it."


    And take credit for his happiness, but she wouldn''t admit to this.


    [Haley''s commentary]


    "I might be dressed up today, but why does his beauty surpass me?" Haley muttered in dissatisfaction. She stared into the camera and asked, "I''m not crazy right? He got more handsome today. And even Taller!"


    [Luke''s commentary]


    "Ed is giving me the same feeling as when I meet up with one of my teachers. However, none of them ever shared their chocolate chip pancakes with me, so...I will die for him if he wants." Luke said in a serious tone.


    [commentary ends]


    "Hey, you''re here." Alex said weakly as she entered the kitchen. She noticed that Claire and I were having a stare off, so she asked, "Uhh..What''s happening?"


    ""Nothing."" Claire and I said at the same time. I looked at Alex''s deep eye bag and said, "You didn''t sleep well last night?"


    Haley scoffed and interjected, "She watched cartoons last night before going to bed!"


    "HALEY!" Alex admonished her sister with gritted teeth as she was embarrassed. I chuckled and said, "Good job Alex!"


    I didn''t stay at the Dunphy''s for long as I needed to get to school. Although Claire offered to send me to school, Abby had already waited for me outside the house. Haley and I rode in her car instead of going with Claire.


    I also invited Abby and Desiree to the feast tonight. Not only that, I called Pepper, Harvey, and even Leo to the feast. At school, I invited Jacob, Jenna, and Elsa to my house. I even dared to invite Mrs Henderson, but she couldn''t make it tonight.


    I asked my dad to invite Dwayne and Dylan too, however they were working tonight and couldn''t make it.


    "Ahh..I miss Aunt Camila." I sighed after I invited everyone that I could invite to dinner tonight. Pepper even contacted a party planner team and rented a few chairs and tables to set up in my backyard while I was at school.


    ...


    -Gymnasium-


    "Are we still going to let him join the team?" Sanjay pointed his finger at me while grimacing as I joined the Decathlon team practice for the first time.


    "Are you still going to be a major douche?" I asked while rolling my eyes.


    Mrs Henderson ignored Sanjay as she prepared the exam questions. Alex and Haruna�C the japanese girl that had an Edna Mode haircut looked at both of us in concern. Alex said, "We only have a few days left till the competition. Sanjay, just bear with it. Ed, don''t mind him."


    "I never mind him." I said playfully, making Sanjay slammed the table and stood up in anger, "YOU BAS-"


    "Mr Patel. Can you tell me which scientist coined the word ''Big Bang''?" Mr Henderson started the mock question without minding the boy''s anger.


    "Uhh...Isaac Newton?" Sanjay answered, flabbergasted.


    Mrs Henderson shook her head, and while the others wanted to open their notes to check, I answered, "Fred Hoyle."


    "Good Job Mr Newgate."


    "Light emitted from a star or galaxy can be separated into a band of colors, called a...?" Mrs Henderson continued.


    Alex answered, "Spectrum."


    "Good Job Alex."


    "Why is she Alex and we are Mr?" Sanjay mumbled to himself in dissatisfaction.


    "How does the abundance of helium and hydrogen support the Big Bang theory?" Mrs Henderson continued.


    I answered before anyone else could, "Helium and Hydrogen are in the same ratio throughout the universe."


    Alex smiled while Haruna was a bit impressed by my quickness. Sanjay however still gritted his teeth at my existence, but he no longer wanted me off the team as I proved myself ''worthy''.


    After science, we move on to History questions.


    "When did Christopher Columbus arrive in America?"


    "1492." I answered.


    "You should give others a chance." Sanjay said in dissatisfaction.


    "Nah." I replied dismissively, making him almost explode again.


    Last practice was in the math category. There, we needed to solve a few complex equations together before answering it. However, I could answer all of the questions by myself without any help from my teammates. Therefore, Mrs Henderson placed all of her trust in the math category on me.


    After school, I went directly to the movie studio�C driven by Abby in her car. She also stayed behind to watch the shooting while waiting there to drive me home.


    "Hey. You promised to cook something for me." Taylor said the moment she arrived at the studio. I smiled and replied, "Sure. Come on over today."


    "Wait. Are you serious?" Taylor asked, visibly excited by the invitation. She leaned in closer and whispered to my ear, "Do you want me to come alone-"


    "I''m inviting a few close friends to have dinner together. A lot of people will be there." I said before she could finish her words.


    "Oh." Taylor exclaimed before her expression turned downcast from the disappointment. "I thought you were only inviting me." She whined.


    I smiled teasingly and said, "Pepper is going to be there, so..."


    She rolled her eyes and said, "Okay FINE! I understand."


    I laughed and we recorded the ''Two is Better than One'' music video clip together. It took less than an hour for us to finish the recording, and only an additional 20 more minutes for us to record the soundtrack in the recording studio.


    I got back home at 4 pm and entered the kitchen without even changing my clothes as I needed to cook. Phil already delivered the groceries while I was at school, so I could start anytime I wanted.


    "Are you sure you want to do this alone?" My dad walked by and tried to take a baby tomato from a bowl beside me. I hit his hand with a wooden spatula and said with an Italian accent, "Non. Go sit in front of the TV. I got this."


    "... Why Italian?" Dad asked in confusion.


    In a normal voice, I said, "I''m cooking Italian food. It''s normal."


    "Ed. You haven''t been normal since you were 1 year old."


    "..." I was baffled by his nonchalance in insulting his cute son and turned to the fridge to take out a few more ingredients.


    "Oh, and by the way, I invited Desiree." I said.


    Dad flinched and his eyes shook before he slumped his shoulders and walked away.


    "What is going on with you two anyway? Are you really dating?" I asked before he could exit the kitchen. He stopped at the threshold and said, "Nah. We''ve discussed it, but it''s not right. However she still wants to flirt, so I just have to put up with that."


    "Basically she''s using you as a practice target."


    "Basically. Yes."


    If anyone else heard it, they would be convinced that we were truly father and son as they could see how dense we were. As I wanted to make my own pasta, suddenly the doorbell rang.


    "Ed, I''m in the toilet." Dad shouted from afar.


    "Okay I''ll open the door!" I shouted back before wiping my hand and walked to the front door. I was surprised when I opened it, mainly because Claire, Gloria, and Cam were already here 2 hours early before the gathering time.


    "We''re here to help. You didn''t think we would let you do it yourself did you?" Claire said with a sly smirk.

 Chapter 89: Tribute (Part 2)

    Chapter 89: Chapter 89: Tribute (Part 2)


    (I''m back. Also, the new webnovel apps update sucks. It''ll be harder for me to check my notifications and review after this. Hopefully they change it back)


    [Edward POV]


    I raised my brow as I heard Claire''s statement. However, as I saw their excited faces, I sighed helpless and said, "Okay fine. But we''re cooking it... MY WAY!"


    I invited them into the house and went directly to the kitchen.


    "Where''s Phil and Jay?" I asked as I know Mitchell hadn''t gotten off work yet at this time.


    "Phil is going to Luke''s school. He was in a fight." Claire said, a bit concerned by her youngest child.


    Gloria widened her eyes and said pseudo-shoutingly, "That''s crazy?! Jay also went there because Manny was in a fight!"


    "Wait. Both of them are fighting?" Cam asked as he tried to snatch a cherry tomato from the bowl in front of me. I gave him the same treatment as my dad and smacked his hand with a spatula. Ignoring his yelp in pain, I said to the ladies, "Wait. They are in a fight...and you guys didn''t go there?"


    Gloria and Claire looked at each other guiltily before Claire took the bullet and replied, "Phil...can take care of it."


    [Gloria and Claire''s commentary]


    "Well...I went to Gloria''s house to pick her up...but then...something unexpected happened." Claire said anxiously.


    Gloria was relaxed and was leaning back on the couch. She said, "Claire told me that he cried. So I want to help."


    "No. You found out on your own." Claire said, hinting at Gloria to follow her script.


    "No No. You definitely told me. I opened the door, and you told me he cried." Gloria replied casually.


    " I wanted to go to Manny, but Jay said he could take care of it and I want Manny to be closer to him too, so I didn''t go this time." Gloria added.


    Claire suddenly realized something. She turned to Gloria and asked with a whisper, "You don''t think Luke and Manny were fighting each other do you?"


    Gloria widened her eyes at the realization and her jaw dropped as she looked around anxiously.


    [commentary ends]


    While narrowing my eyes at them, I said, "Really? You guys not going there and shouting at the school principal makes me wonder if you guys have any ulterior motives in coming here."


    "We don''t pick a fight everywhere we go." Claire admonished me. Gloria nodded at her, but I found their objection pretty funny as it differed from everything I knew about those two.


    However, if Luke and Manny were really fighting with each other, then that means I have stumbled into the beginning of the next episode.


    ''But they were not at Jay''s house, nor was there a football game on right now. The football match Jay watched in the series has already passed.''


    When Claire found out about Gloria''s past, and how she used to drive a taxi to support her son as a single mother, her opinion on Gloria had changed thus she started to reach out to her more. Gloria wanted them to become a true family, and she admired Claire who was now working a new job as she took care of her family. They easily became friendly with each other and their friendship continued to grow everyday.


    "So I guess the episode won''t happen anymore." I muttered as I continued to roll the dough to make my own pasta.


    "Ed, do you have a pasta strainer?" Cam asked as he walked behind me with a bowl of water in his hand.


    "Down there." I said and pointed to the kitchen rack behind me.


    "Of course, if you just got the store bought pasta...you wouldn''t need it-" Cam said smugly before he accidentally tripped on his own foot and fell down on the floor. The bowl of water he held splashed into Gloria''s direction, but she managed to avoid it.


    However, the water splashed into the electrical socket, short-circuiting it and generating sparks. The socket caught fire while the kitchen light suddenly went out. Claire ran to the fire extinguisher hurriedly and put down the fire before Cam could even get up from the floor.


    "Ay Cameron! What did you do?" Gloria said while she helped him to stand up. I wanted to help, but my hands were filled with flour.


    "I stepped on something slippery." Cam said before he checked his shoes. But there was nothing there. However, both women already accepted his excuse without even confirming his excuse.


    "Hey. The power''s out." My dad entered the kitchen and said after seeing the situation there.


    I frowned and turned to look at Cam. He noticed it and looked away quickly.


    "It''s okay. We''ll bring this all to Gloria''s house." Claire said before turning to Gloria.


    "Okay. You can cook there. I will text the guests to come there." Gloria agreed easily and even helped carry a bag of groceries before walking to her car with Cam.


    "(sigh)...What''s wrong with my luck today?" I wondered.


    ...


    I was dragged to Claire''s minivan instead of riding with my dad after Claire gave my dad a flimsy excuse of wanting to talk to me about work in private. My dad had to agree to Claire''s wish as he basically had no defenses against tough women.


    I was sitting next to Claire who was driving and said, "So. What do you want to talk about?"


    "I don''t have many questions. I just want to know how you are feeling right now." Claire said.


    "Is this because of yesterday?" I asked with a bit of annoyance in my tone.


    She nodded and said, "I''m worried you know. You suddenly burst out crying like that. And now, you suddenly want to cook for people-"


    "Claire. Try to remember, what I was doing before I cried." I asked her while preparing my excuses.


    Claire hesitated a bit and thought back about the events of last night. "You''re playing the piano..."


    "What was I playing?"


    "I don''t know. It''s a sad song."


    "And...Have you heard that melody composition somewhere before?"


    "Huh." Claire suddenly realized something. "But it still doesn''t make any sense as to WHY you were crying."


    "Well...I was just sad. An old lady that I know passed away 2 months ago. I remembered her last night and felt a bit blue. I planned to mourn for her alone though, I had no idea that you were coming in. Next time. Knock please." I said playfully.


    Jacob arrived soon after, but Jenna and Elsa couldn''t make it to dinner as they had prior engagements.


    Pepper and Harvey would be a little late, so they asked us to eat first instead of waiting for them.


    [3rd Person POV]


    As Edward went to set the table, Taylor and Selena were drinking a glass of sparkling water standing up in the living room. Suddenly, they bumped into Haley and Abby who were having a conversation at the pool table, and they eyed each other as they whispered to their friend about something.


    "Is it me? Or did it suddenly turn cold here?" Manny shuddered as he walked past the group of girls.


    "Haley. No-" Abby tried to stop her friend, but it was too late. Haley had already walked toward Taylor.


    "Hey. I like your hair. It''s so ''brave''. It actually shows a lot of ''confidence'' to go that curly." Haley said, ''complimenting'' Taylor in a clear passive aggressive way and mocking tone.


    "Hey. You must be Haley right? Ed''s ''Best friend''?" Taylor enunciated while feeling self-aware of her curly hair.


    Abby sighed and walked to Haley''s side to back her up while Selena was amused about the whole pissing contest.


    "I''m so jealous. You''re so tall... I wonder though, do the guys you date need to wear heels too or do you only go for those that like to look at the sky?" Haley added with an innocent smile on her face.


    Taylor giggled and said, "Like Ed?"


    Haley gritted her teeth and said after finding her smile, "Nah. Ed is fine with whatever size. Despite how ''small'' it is."


    Taylor checked her chest in embarrassment and said, "Hey quick question, does your push up bra hurt your back? I''ve been thinking about it for a while now, but I still can''t commit to using filling. It''s good to see some people just go for it."


    Haley was taken aback, and Taylor smiled as she felt that she won the contest, however as she turned to look at Abby''s voluptuous chest, she knew that she would still lose in this topic, no matter what.


    [Edward POV]


    All of us sat together at a long table with me sitting at the head of the table. I stood up and clinked my glass to gain their attention before saying, "I''m glad that we all could gather here together today. So I decided to let you guys see a part of me that you never knew before."


    "Such a cocky kid." Jay said with a smile on his face.


    "While I was lost before, I met a kind grandmother who showed me that sometimes...there''s light, even at the darkest place."


    "Francesca ''Isabella'' De Luca. You were a wonderful grandmother, and while you may have passed on, your memories will always live on within me. Thank you for your sacrifices, your care and concern, your love and everything that you have done for me. Wherever you are, I know you are in a much better place. I will be forever grateful and thankful that I got to call you, at least for a while, my ''grandmother''."


    "Cheers!" I said while raising my glass up.


    """ Cheers!""" Everyone raised their glass and cheered before the feast began.


    (A/N: You guys might wonder if Ed is exposing his secret as a transmigrator. But he''s not. This kind of gathering is actually normal, even when you don''t know who the dead person was. It''s a tribute to her life, and to let the dead person know that their will lives within those who remember them.)


    ...


    "Hey, why don''t you get a drink?" Jay asked my dad after he saw he was only drinking water instead of scotch or wine at the dinner table.


    Feeling a bit embarrassed, dad replied, "Well. I decided to drink less from now on."


    [Ted POV]


    In the 2 years I wallowed in self-pity, surrendering myself to the temptation of alcohol and even becoming an addict, I failed to see my son''s need during this period of time.


    I was grateful to the ''grandmother'' who took care of my son after I failed him before. She surely had a massive impact on his life, and I regretted that I could never meet this wonderful person while she was still alive, but most of all the fact that I will never get to truly thank her.


    ''I should stop drinking for good.'' I vowed to myself...and to my son, that I would be a better father from now on.


    [Edward POV]


    "Oh muh god! I can''t stop eating!" Luke said as he slurped the pasta in his mouth.His face was full of sauce, earning a disgusted look from Manny who was sitting beside him.


    "Can''t you eat ...like a human being?" Manny muttered.


    On another part of the table, Taylor had to eat warily as the big man in front of her kept staring at her. Cam couldn''t believe that he was sitting at the same table as his favorite artist, and now he could only stare at her while he waited for her to finish eating. Sensing his intentions, Taylor ate the food extremely slowly to avoid having a conversation with the suspicious man.


    "Ed. This is so good. Did your grandmother teach you how to make this?" Mitchell widened his eyes in surprise as he tasted the pasta.


    "Yes. All the food on the table is from the recipes she passed on to me." I answered.


    "She should''ve opened a restaurant before this. This is SOOO good!." Claire added.


    I just nodded and didn''t share much detail about the ''grandmother'' I was referring to. However, none of them actually tried to dig deeper into the identity of the lady �C which I actually expected them to do.


    My heart felt at ease as I managed to bring together my two different worlds tonight, however, I was also a bit worried as if the episode continued, then a fight would happen today between Claire and Gloria�C destroying the mood.


    "Yed." Suddenly, a one year old asian baby climbed onto my legs and stood up by using my leg as a support. As she couldn''t support her body for long, her torso fell towards my leg and her drool wetted my pants.


    "Hey Lily. Did you just wake up?" I asked with a smile as I picked up the baby in my arms�C not caring about the tiny splotch of drool.


    "The moment she wakes up, she calls your name." Gloria said in dissatisfaction as she was the one who stayed with the baby before.


    "I can''t help it if I''m just her favorite." I said, not realizing that Phil had started to turn the wheel of the future incident as he looked at both Luke and Manny laughing and joking with each other. Gloria went to sit next to Manny while I was distracted by Lily.


    "Gosh. We can learn so much from the kids." Phil said, earning the attention of almost everyone at the table.


    "Just look at them. They couldn''t even look at each other a second ago, and now they were laughing and playing with each other. It must all seem kind of silly now ugh? Whatever you were fighting about."


    Luke laughed and said, " I made fun of his accent."


    Gloria heard it and joined in the fun. Using an exaggerated accent, She said, "What accent?"


    The group laughed again, and Manny joined in the fun, "I made fun of him for having the same thing for lunch every day."


    Even Taylor chortled a bit as she heard it. I snapped back to reality and as I was already too late, I cursed, "Oh shit."


    "I made fun of him because his mom used to dig coal." Luke added, causing the entire table to be silent.

 Chapter 90: Coal Digger (Part 1)

    Chapter 90: Chapter 90: Coal Digger (Part 1)


    ( I Still hate the WN app new update.)


    [Edward POV]


    "(sigh)...I''m too late." I muttered to myself. "Oh well."


    After hearing what Luke said, Gloria was appalled and her smile disappeared. With a solemn face, she said, "What?"


    Manny felt that he needed to explain to his mother the matter �C like he always does. Although, it was also because he was confused by Luke''s proclamation before. Scrunching his eyebrows, he said puzzledly, "He said you were a coal digger."


    Phil was horrified and tried to stop Manny, "Okay, I think we can move on!-"


    " Who said I was a coal digger?" Gloria asked sternly while looking at Luke.


    Feeling that he had done something wrong, Luke tried to justify himself, " That''s what my mom told me."


    "What''s a ...coal digger?" Alex asked in confusion.


    Phil whispered to Alex, but his voice was clear enough to be heard among everyone at the table, " He heard it wrong. It''s "gold digger"."


    I facepalmed at Phil''s situational awareness. Claire tried to defend herself while her face turned pale white from the accusation. "I really do not think that I remember ever saying that."


    "Well, you said it in the car, you said it at Christmas, you said it in the Mexican restaurant-" Haley who was sitting next to Luke closed his mouth immediately as she sensed the hostility in the air.


    "Okay, Mr-Leaves-his-sweatshirts-at-school-every-day suddenly remembers everything. Thank you." Claire said in disbelief as she tried to diffuse the situation using humor. She turned to the victim and said, "Gloria- I-"


    "I always felt that Manny and I weren''t welcomed in this family. But, we were becoming friends, so I thought I was just mistaken. I guess I should trust myself more." Gloria said before throwing her napkin on her plate and stood up from the chair and excused herself from the dinner.


    Jay sighed and said, "Well... I guess dinner''s over."


    ...


    As the group dispersed, I went to talk to Taylor and Selena. They were standing awkwardly by the pool, and managed to swipe some wine to drink during the chaos. Therefore, I joined them in drinking a bit while trying to ease their barely comfortable time in the rich man''s house.


    "You promised me an exciting time...It surely is an interesting dinner scene." Taylor said while scratching her left cheek, not knowing how to react in this entire situation.


    Selena added with concern in her voice, "Won''t anyone go talk to Gloria? I feel bad for her."


    "Latina chicks stick together huh. I think so too, but if there''s anyone who needs to go and fix the problem, it should be the perpetrator." I said calmly as I knew how the episode went, however I had an edging feeling at the back of my mind that asked me to go and do something.


    "Claire?" Selena asked curiously. Her eyes lit up in intrigue as she saw my still calm demeanor while everyone else was treading on eggshells around each other.


    "No. Phil." I corrected her while trying to figure out what went wrong in this episode.


    ...


    [Claire''s commentary]


    With a regretful face, Claire said, " If I say something everybody''s thinking, does that make me a mean person? Or does it make me a brave person?" She got her bravery back, "One who is courageous enough to stand up and say something..." Then, her moral high ground got deflated again, "Behind someone''s back... to a 10-year old?"


    [Commentary ends]


    [3rd Person POV]


    -Kitchen-


    "Did you really have to call her that? A gold digger..." Jay asked, his tone was full of disappointment after he met Claire who was drinking white wine directly from the bottle at the moment.


    "Ugh." Claire wiped the excess wine on her chin. Her eyes were teary but she still kept a stoic face so as to not seem weak in front of other people, "You know what, dad? It was a year ago. And it was a natural question to ask.She''s a beautiful, hot woman, and you''re not exactly... You know."


    Jay was confused and shocked at the same time. "Not exactly what?"


    At that time, Mitchell tiptoed into the kitchen to grab a wine glass. Claire noticed him and tried to drag him into the fire, "Mitchell, a little help?"


    " No, you are doing great." Mitchell faux complimented Claire before tip-toeing to the other side.


    Claire knew that she had done something wrong. But she couldn''t get enough bravery to go up to Gloria''s room and apologize. That''s why she was drinking heavily in order to gather enough courage to stand up to her mistakes.


    Inside the living room, Ted was having a conversation with Cam �C who got a ''restraining order'' issued by common accord from the majority of people inside the house that prevented him from going close to Taylor.


    "When you married your wife before, did this kind of issue come out?" Cam asked curiously.


    Drinking a glass of coffee, Ted shook his head and said, "No. My family accepted her the moment they laid eyes on her. Of course, her being so much richer than me made the family have no misunderstanding whatsoever on the fact of whether she wanted to use me or not."


    "Wait. Your ex-wife is rich?" Cam asked, leaning closer to Ted.


    "Yeah. Her father used to be the Prime Minister-" Ted stopped abruptly and looked at Cam with a concerned expression, "I shouldn''t talk about that."


    -Gloria''s bedroom door-


    "Gloria. Come on. Talk to me." Phil tried to make Gloria unlock the door after knocking for a few times.


    "No. Go away!" Gloria chased him away, but her usual calm voice hinted at a sobbing mess despite how hard she tried to hide it. The only people she could lie to believing she was okay was only a naive person who took everything at face value.


    "Gloria. Since you need space, I''ll give you a moment." Phil said before he walked away.


    Before long, Manny came knocking at the door. However, her mother asked him to go play with Luke. Next, the second closest person to Gloria in this family approached the locked bedroom door and said, "Gloria. It''s Alex."


    Gloria stifled her sobs and said, "Alex. I''m fine-"


    "I know you''re not. But...I don''t think I can make you feel any better. I''m too immature for that." Alex said in a calm voice as she hid her disappointment to herself. Suddenly, her eyes lit up and she said, "However. I think...I know someone who can!"


    "Look. I could try to defend Claire. But it''ll work better if you hear it from someone who has been living with her for decades now. And apparently, he has a lot to say to you too."


    "Who?" Gloria asked in confusion.


    "Come in Phil. The door is unlocked." I said in a loud voice. Phil knocked on the door before he opened it and asked, "Gloria. Can I come in?"


    [Phil''s commentary]


    " Claire likes to say, you can be part of the problem or part of the solution. Well, I happen to believe that you can be both." Phil said with a cocky smile.


    [commentary ends]


    "Listen, Claire feels terrible. She''s downing white wine straight from the bottle. Why don''t you talk to her?" Phil said, trying to placate Gloria to ease her anger.


    Gloria couldn''t help but get defensive. She stood up and said, " Why? I know what she thinks - A gold digger."


    " I know she said that, but that was a long time ago, before she even knew you." Phil said as he sat next to me.


    "I should go." I said.


    "No Ed. Stay." Both people said at the same time. For Phil, he was glad I was there to be the buffer in the conversation. For Gloria, she wanted me there as I could understand what she was feeling. Therefore, I was stuck in an awkward situation there.


    "Does Jay buy me nice things? Yes, of course! All beautiful things! Look at this." Gloria walked to her clothes drawer and started to throw away her underwear to Phil and mine''s direction.


    "Yellow, red, blue...All the colors...Do you think I can''t live without these? Take them away, Phil." Gloria said while holding several underwear in her hand.


    Phil sat there obediently even though he was buried with the underwear. I lost my sight as a yellow underpant was stuck on my head, but unlike Phil, I took it off almost immediately.


    Phil lost his focus as he felt the soft sensation of the satin underwear in his hand., "Gloria. We all know you''d be fine without underwear. I mean, we know it''s not about that."


    "Creepy Phil." I retorted.


    "It''s about me not being accepted by my new family." Gloria interjected. "Ed knows what I mean."


    Phil looked at me while I just nodded at him.


    "But, that isn''t the case now, right? After all, your family has already fully accepted you, am I right?" I interjected, causing both Phil and Gloria to be taken aback.


    "Then, what is the problem?" Phil asked while scrunching his eyebrow.


    "It''s because. Claire is her friend." I exposed Gloria. "In fact, her best friend."


    Gloria rolled her eyes and said, "Please. She''s not my best friend."


    "Really? When you have a hot new gossip that you couldn''t talk to Jay about, who did you call? Did you call your sister back in Colombia?"


    "Sonia doesn''t even have a phone." Gloria said with a hint of derision.


    "Then, is it Cam?"


    Phil turned to Gloria who''s fiddling with her fingers and realized, "She''s your best- I mean Close friend isn''t she?" He changed his words halfway as he was glared at by Gloria, but the fact remains.


    "What should I do now?" Gloria asked honestly.


    I thought for a while and said, "You could...use the advantages of having a morally superior position to emotionally blackmail her to expose one of her deepest, and darkest secrets to you. Then, you will continuously hold the leverage in every dinner appointment, family meeting, trip discussion-"


    "Ed. That''s dark." Phil said. Even Gloria nodded as she agreed with him, but was sincerely considering it in her heart.


    I smiled and said, "Gloria. If I know something for sure about this family, is that they are very protective of each other."


    Phil nodded and said, "That''s true. I remember the first time Claire brought me home. Do you think Jay thought I was good enough for his little girl? No way. But, over time, he realized that I loved Claire as much as he did. And by then, Mitch had brought Cam home, so I was golden. Claire just needs a little time. And then, trust me, she''ll be the most loyal friend you''ve ever had."


    "It''s natural for her to wonder about you and your dad. Most people would." I added. "You''re a 10, and Jay''s a 3."


    Gloria chuckled a bit and said, "He''s at least an 8."


    "See. If you were not in love with him, I don''t think you would give him something higher than a 5." I joked.


    Suddenly, there was a knock on the bedroom door.


    "Gloria. Come on, let''s talk about this." Claire said from outside. Before Gloria and Phil could react, I said, "Claire. I''ll help you enter the bedroom, if you act out the scene from Notting Hill."


    Claire was baffled and she asked incredulously, "Are you serious?"


    Phil wanted to say something, but I cupped my hand over his mouth and signaled Gloria with my eyes to let me handle it.


    "Yes. Use your own words. Don''t be afraid to use real emotion."


    Claire tried to avoid it, "Ed Open the door-" She tried to open the door, but it was locked again.


    "Come on. Do you want to come in or not?"


    Claire was silent from outside the door. I heard a sigh and then she said, "Fine. I''ll do it."


    "Gloria...I''m not here...just as a member of a family...I''m also here as a friend..." Claire said with some embarrassment. However, it soon disappeared as she got into the role.


    "I know...it''ll be hard for you to trust me again... But, don''t forget... I''m also just a girl...standing in front...of another girls'' bedroom...asking her too.." She was too embarrassed to continue and said exasperatingly, "To JUST LET ME IN!"


    I opened the door while smirking, and Claire rolled her eyes the minute she saw me.


    She walked inside and saw Phil who was covered by Gloria''s underwear and was speechless for a moment.

 Chapter 91: Gold Digger (Part 2)

    Chapter 91: Chapter 91: Gold Digger (Part 2)


    (Confession: I tried, but I always forgot and now had stopped checking wn notification after they changed the format.)


    [Edward POV]


    As Claire walked into the room, she saw a baffling sight of her husband covered with multi-coloured underwear. She noticed I was smirking as I watched the whole thing, and inwardly painted me as a culprit for this.


    "Ed. I''ll settle this with you later." Claire said sternly. I tilted my head puzzledly, waiting for an explanation but Claire already had turned to Gloria.


    "I don''t know what my husband is saying to you, or why he''s covered in your underwear-"


    "Obviously, I''m trying to seduce him for his money." Gloria interjected before Claire could finish. "That''s what I do, right?"


    "Hey Gloria. Just a reminder. I''m also quite rich now." I chimed in while watching the show in amusement.


    Gloria almost broke her composure and laughed. Both Claire and Gloria glared at me before turning to each other. I took the chance to whisper to Phil, "Hey. We should let them settle this by themselves."


    "Yes. I agree." Phil said before he stood up and shook off the underwear stuck on his body. A white, frilly underwear was stuck at his cargo short pocket, but he didn''t notice it.


    Claire sat at the place Phil sat before and she saw the stuck underwear.


    "Phil-" She tried to tell him, however, Phil stopped her and said with a hint of smugness, "Ed and I shouldn''t be here. It should be you guys...talking about it...Honey...You''re welcome."


    Claire was in disbelief at Phil''s words but her husband had already walked out of the room. I turned to Gloria and said, "Hazla sudar" (Make her sweat)"


    Gloria nodded and said, "Lo hare? (I will)"


    "W-Wh-What are you guys talking about?" Claire said with a tinge of fear.


    I smiled at her and said cheerily, "?Que lo disfrutes! (Enjoy it!)"


    I closed the door as I left the room and returned to the living room, leaving Claire''s mouth agape and her suspicious about the whole thing. I already knew how the conversation inside the room would go, and they needed privacy for them to open up with each other. My presence there was no longer necessary.


    ''Though I felt a bit discontented when I had to leave.''


    I separated from Phil who was going to the kitchen after going downstairs. I heard Haley exclaim, "EWW WHY ARE YOU SUCH A PERVERT!" as she saw her dad with Gloria''s underwear, and laughed hard as I walked to the pool area.


    Taylor and Selena were dunking their bare legs in the heated pool water after taking off their shoes and were drinking wine disguised as sparkling water.


    "Hey. Pepper and Harvey were here. They didn''t stay though as they had to go to Hollywood tonight to sign a few deals." Taylor explained.


    "Oh. Did they eat?" I asked as I feel a bit worried for those overworked people. The company needed to expand �C urgently.


    "Yeah they ate." Taylor said while nodding slightly and then stood up to face me. "I was also thinking of going now."


    "Aww...But I understand." I said with a sly smirk as I gazed in her eyes. Her cheek flushed a bit and she tucked her hair behind her ear as she whispered seductively biting her lower lip, "You know. My hotel is nearby..."


    "Skank." Selena muttered to herself.


    "Shut up!" Taylor said and hit Selena''s shoulder in embarrassment. "I''m only saying my hotel is nearby. I didn''t invite him to my room."


    She faced me again and said, "But...you''re basically homeless tonight right? If you want to check into a hotel, you could stay in the same one I am at."


    "Ahh...Maybe. I''ll talk to my dad first." I said.


    She suddenly leaned closer and grabbed my hand. I could sense she sneaked something to my palm as she did so. She said seductively, "And if you''re close...who knows what will happen."


    I smiled and said, "Yeah. Who knows, maybe Selena will have to be kicked out of your room tonight."


    Selena rolled her eyes and stood up next to Taylor. Her body swayed a little as she did. I looked concerned at her, "Are you okay?"


    "Yeah. My legs get weak sometimes." Selena said before turning to Taylor, "I''m only saying this once. No matter what happens, I won''t get out of the room."


    "Hmm...pervert." Taylor said mischievously, making Selena blush. "I''m not hinting at that!"


    Taylor licked her lips as her eyes darted between Selena and I, "Maybe...it won''t actually be bad if you''re there."


    Taylor dared to suggest so and didn''t fear Selena snatching her potential lover away was because of the fact that Selena''s popularity was still low, and she couldn''t reach Taylor and mine''s level yet.


    Selena was stunned and gulped her saliva while I coughed lightly and said, "We don''t know if I will stay there yet."


    "Wait. Ed. Before we go, are you planning on playing anything tonight?" Selena asked. Taylor''s eyes lit up and she said, "Yeah Ed. Play something."


    "There''s no instrument here. And I''m tired from all the cooking." I made some excuses.


    Selena suddenly said, "Well. Too bad. If you played, maybe I won''t mind you pocketing the hotel room key Taylor just gave you."


    Taylor coughed a few times and I just smiled softly at Selena.


    "No reaction? Damn. You''re tough." Selena said after studying my face.


    "I''m only holding myself back. I''m excited inside." I said using a monotone, making Selena gritted her teeth in annoyance. "So I''m not sexy enough? Is that it?" She said suddenly while pushing her index finger at my chest.


    I raised one of my brow and grabbed her finger before pulling her closer to me. She widened her eyes as I leaned forward and whispered to her ear, "Although I like hot-headed latinas, I still have a sense of self-control. I hope you understand that. But if you really want me to stop by, I don''t have any objections to that."


    Her ears felt hot as blood rushed to her face. She became embarrassed and walked away quickly after grabbing her shoes. Taylor licked her lips as she said, "I''ll be waiting!~"


    "Taylor! COME ON!" Selena called from afar.


    "You deserve this ED!" Claire said while laughing at Ed''s misery.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    I rubbed my wet hair with a dry towel as I sat near the pool area. Haley walked next to me wearing a towel-robe after taking off all of her clothes. Desiree, Abby, Jacob and my dad had already left, and Gloria offered me a place to stay in Manny''s room tonight if I wanted, or just pick out one of the guestrooms.


    However, I had something else planned so I rejected her and decided to check into a hotel instead.


    "Do you want me to put your clothes in the dryer?" Haley asked.


    "Sure. That''ll be great." I said as I began to take off my shirt in front of her. She widened her eyes as she gazed at my body.


    "Wait. How do you get all these muscles?" She said in astonishment and even ran her hand on my body to assure herself that it was true.


    "I work out, remember?" I replied dismissively to try and hide the gains I got from the gacha prize. Not only one year worth of Karate training, the prize also included the amount of pink muscles Kennichi had during that time. Therefore, I graduated from my skinny body because of it.


    She kept running her hand and even squeezed my chest while she said in disbelief, "I don''t trust you. You were not this big before. Is it because boys are in their growing stage now?" She fluttered her eyes as she gazed intently into my eyes.


    "Yup. I guess that''s the reason. Even some other places grew too." I joked.


    Haley blushed and released my body immediately. With a cautious look, she said, "Pervert."


    "Hey, I meant my arms. What are you thinking about?" I turned the blame back to her, making her cower in embarrassment. "Although that part did grow too." I added whisperingly, making her bite her lower lips in frustration.


    "Don''t seduce me!" Haley admonished me before grabbing my shirt and ran away. I laughed and went to the toilet to take off my pants and underpants, and placed them in the dryer too. Phil gave me an expensive towel robe to wear while waiting and we talked for a while before Claire called him away.


    Mitchell and Cam left soon after but Claire decided to stay behind to help clean up after the dinner. I helped her to wash the pot while she wiped the tables, but then Gloria came downstairs and said, "No No. You don''t have to do that. My house, I will clean it."


    "No Gloria. It''s the least I can do." Claire said without looking at the latin woman.


    I turned to look at Gloria, and my jaw dropped as I saw her, already changed into her nightwear. It was a blue satin robe, and her chest area was pretty bare as she picked it extra small. The short skirt was also riding upward on her buttocks, making me see some glimpses that only Jay should see.


    "Gloria, are you crazy?!" Claire was stunned speechless and tried to cover up Gloria''s body part from my leering eyes as she saw her.


    "It''s fine. Ed is harmless." Gloria said before walking to the fridge to drink some milk. She bent over as she opened the fridge �C directly in front of my view, and I was reunited with the underpant that had fallen to my head earlier. They were peeking out of her robe as if saying hello to me.


    "Fuck. First Jacob was tortured. Now me." I mumbled to myself as I got out of the kitchen quickly. I bumped into Haley as I turned the corner. She was still embarrassed from earlier, and she walked away quickly after nodding slightly at me. I went to the pool table to grab my phone after the minor collision.


    "Hey what you got there?" Alex said as she appeared in front of me. I was startled and checked my towel quickly. "? Why are you looking down?" Alex was puzzled by my reaction.


    "N-Nothing." I said hurriedly.


    "Hey Ed. Why don''t you come over tomorrow. We can bounce around on the tramp....poline." Phil said and decided to add something at the end because the sentence sounds too suggestive.


    "I also want to bounce, but I have work to do tomorrow. And since my house has no electricity, I will just stay at the hotel all day." I said as I pretended to be sad.


    Phil was disappointed, but he understood my blight. He put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Then. Just stay with us tonight. You can work there too."


    "I don''t think that''s possible. You guys are too much fun. If I stay there, I know for sure I will postpone my work again."


    "Honey. Don''t force him. Maybe some other time." Claire said as she walked by and was wiping her hand with a wet towel. She had just cleaned the dining table while packing up the leftovers from the dinner.


    Thankfully, there wasn''t much left. Only a one person portion was there. "Who didn''t come?" I muttered.


    Suddenly, the doorbell rang and all the people in the house turned to look at the door.


    "It''s almost 11...who rang the doorbell at this late hour." Jay mumbled to himself as he walked to the door. But Manny suddenly stopped him midway and said, "Be careful Jay. it might be a criminal."


    "It''s not going to be a criminal!" Jay said gruffly. But then Phil chimed in with a worried expression, "What if it''s a stalker. We just hosted a party for 3 celebrities. One is even still with us. What if they wanted to scour for his fallen hair?"


    "Phil. Don''t be paranoid. It might be someone we know who''s in trouble." Claire muttered, her words were to reassure herself more than to dispute Phil''s crazy stalker theory.


    "Or maybe. It''s a serial murderer who came to kill all of us." Luke added menacingly.


    "AY JAY!" Manny was afraid and he hugged Jay quickly. Gloria was a bit jealous and needed to hug someone too, so she picked the lonely guy in the crowd.


    While hugging me from behind�C covering the fact that she was using me as a human shield, Gloria said to Jay, "Do you want my machete?"


    "You guys are all ridiculous." Alex said while rolling her eyes.


    Jay had enough and pushed Manny away, "If a murderer does come. I hope he kills me quickly so I don''t have to keep dealing with this nonsense."


    But before he opened the door, the theories kept bugging him, therefore he picked up the baseball bat near the key rack before he opened the door.


    "Hey man. Can I have some food?" Leo �C who was clearly high was in front of the door as Jay opened it up.


    "Oh Leo!" I called out in relief. "That''s why there''s still a portion left."


    "Yeah man. I got lost, and my car ran out of gas on the third street. I had to walk for an hour to get here. You cannot believe this. I saw a car similar to my car before I got here."


    "Third street? But that''s just next street." Jay said quizzically as he heard Leo''s story.


    "What?...Hey man, Can I have some food?"


    "..."

 Chapter 92: Getting busy

    Chapter 92: Chapter 92: Getting busy


    [Edward POV]


    "Thankfully I managed to avoid the landmine of Claire coming to supervise." I thought as I breathed a sigh of relief after taking my bags from my house. My driver to the hotel? It was none other than the high dude, Leo.


    "No worries man." Leo muttered before he tried to light up a cigar while driving. Although he was doing me a favor by driving me to the hotel, I couldn''t let him smoke while I was inside the car.


    "Leo. I''m a singer. No smoking in front of me. It''ll damage my lungs." I said calmly without trying to antagonize him. Leo was startled and he said, "Sorry Big Boss."


    The drive was smooth, and within 30 minutes, I arrived at a luxury 5 stars hotel located in West Hollywood.


    As Leo drove me to the entrance, the hotel staff helped me to carry my bags as I waved goodbye to the hippie.


    "Boss. Your house is huge!" Leo was in awe after he saw the hotel. His jaw dropped and his eyes widened as he slowly raised his head upward to check out the building.


    "Yup. Next time, don''t be late, and I''ll invite you in." I said jokingly, in which Leo nodded seriously as the big boss image in his heart shot up exponentially after seeing my ''house''.


    Despite his effort, he will soon forget about who he was driving and which place he had driven me to, making him the perfect guy to be hired as a driver whenever I wanted to do ''fishy'' stuff.


    Something shocking that I found when I ran a background check on Leo before, he actually bought a lot of IBM stock in 1962, and was basically a millionaire. But I guess after smoking weed for so long, he had forgotten that fact and was living as a hobo the entire time. He even forgot that he had a son, and now his son even had gotten married and had a kid, making him a granddad.


    "I should let them meet after this." I muttered to myself as I saw Leo drive away.


    "Mr. Luthor, your room is ready." The hotel concierge said after I walked to the hotel front desk. I had already hacked into the hotel system to check for room vacancy so that I wouldn''t come here uselessly, and also reserved the penthouse suite under a different name.


    "Lead the way." I said as I didn''t want the hassle of finding my own room especially at the giant hotel. The concierge nodded and ushered me to my room with the highest professionalism. They didn''t inquire about my name, job, age, or even tried to strike a conversation.


    "Thank you." I said and tipped the concierge 100 dollars for his effort and entered the room.


    "Hmm..Should I go there, or should I just go to sleep?" I muttered to myself as I took out Taylor''s hotel key from my pocket. Suddenly, my phone vibrates as I get a text message.


    Taylor: Waiting for you. (Pic.attachment)


    I opened it up, smirked, and opened my laptop before I hacked into the hotel''s close-circuit camera system. You might wonder what was the pic she sent me. All I could say was that it rhymes with ''dudes''.


    Edward: Lucky for me, I''m on your floor right now.


    Taylor: Wait. Really?


    Taylor: Wait 5 minutes before you come in.


    The moment I walked in, I saw almost naked Taylor adorning a beautiful emerald-green lingerie, with garter belt on her thigh paired with a long white stocking that reached to her thigh.


    "You like it? I just got it from Victoria''s secret."


    Taylor said with a seductive whisper as she posed seductively with her hand sliding from her waist to her thigh as she did.


    "I should''ve come earlier." I said before locking the door behind me after putting a [DO NOT DISTURB] sign on the doorknob.


    "Now, Shall we?" I said with a smirk as I climbed into bed with her.


    ...


    "Ahh~ This feels great." I exclaimed as the warm sensation spread throughout my entire body. The euphoric pleasure made me almost give up trying to keep my cool.


    Right now, I was naked and inside....a hot tub in my room after Taylor and Selena had returned to their workplace.


    Taylor booked another room for Selena last night after dinner in case I wanted to stop by. I met Selena this morning when she came to Taylor''s room for them to check out of the hotel together.


    "That was awkward." I muttered as I remembered Selena''s embarrassed face when she saw me there... Let me reiterate. She saw me... ''there''.


    Apparently she still had the room key after getting kicked out last night.


    With a bottle of wine on my side and a few snacks such as strawberries and different types of cheeses, I thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon at the hotel before starting my work.


    "So. They found out. Too bad there''s no evidence though." I muttered with a chuckle as I watched the hotel front door through the hacked CCTV footage and was counting the number of reporters who caught wind of me staying in the same hotel as Selena and Taylor.


    "23, and still rising." I said with a nod while inwardly bracing myself for the future Hollywood shitstorm I would get myself into now that I had debuted. They were trying to call the people involved out, but there''s no pictures of us so they couldn''t claim that we had our sexcapades in the hotel.


    They couldn''t enter the hotel because the security wouldn''t let them, and even if they did, Selena and Taylor had already left the hotel. Taylor had to return to New York to prepare for her concert while Selena had to return to the shooting set of "Wizard of Waverly Place".


    "Thank you Bruce." I said as I toasted my wine glass to the person I received the anti-monitoring ability from.


    Bruce''s playboy skill also encompassed how to create a ''positive'' scandal that would hide his alternate ego, therefore after reverse engineering the skill, I used that to avoid a scandal all together as I don''t want to deal with the Hollywood craziness just yet.


    Suddenly, my phone rang. I picked up the phone and said, "Hello Harvey."


    "Ed. Are you at XXX hotel?" She asked.


    "Yeah." I replied casually.


    "Did you meet with Taylor and Selena last night?"


    "Yup."


    "Did you do it?"


    "...A little bit." I said as I didn''t feel the need to hide anything from my lawyer.


    "Don''t worry, the last question was just from me. I will send over a few bodyguards to protect you from the hyenas and a driver so that you can have a nice trip." Harvey said casually.


    She rolled her eyes and wanted to get back to the song but the man had already slid next to her and said, "Are you listening to Edward Newgate''s new song?"


    "Not inter- Wait, you know him?" Camila changed her mind about rejecting the conversation with the man.


    "Know him? I''m a fan of his, even before, when he played the violin." The man said with a smile before sipping his scotch.


    Camila grinned from ear to ear as she talked to the man. He was nice, not a horn dog, and most importantly, he knew how to treat a lady right.


    "So, are we going to keep talking, or can I finally know your name?" He asked.


    Camila smiled and said while fluttering her eyes at him, "Camila. Camila Monroe."


    "Wayne. Wayne Bruce."


    "Oh. Do you perhaps have an alternate ego in the night named Man-Bat?" Camila joked. Wayne slumped his shoulders depressingly but with a smile on his face that showed Camila it wasn''t the first time someone made that joke about his name.


    They exchanged numbers and he even asked her out on a date soon while he was still staying in Cuba. Camila learned that he was a businessman coming here to trade a few car auto-parts which made her extremely interested in him and what he was doing. Not to mention, he was handsome.


    After Camila left to go back to her hotel, Wayne''s friendly face turned stoic and he contacted his team.


    With a condescending sneer, he said, "I got in touch with the target. I knew not many women could resist my extremely charming face. See how easy that was?"


    The nerdy agent that followed him to Cuba rolled his eyes and said, "Doesn''t matter. Don''t expose yourself. The FBI don''t have jurisdiction here."


    "Do you think I''m dumb? I know what I''m doing."


    "Really? Then, why don''t you invite her to a hotel tonight?"


    "...A lady needs to be treated with respect-"


    "You have a crush on her don''t you?"


    "Shut up! I don''t! She''s just a mission target."


    "Really. Then...where are you taking her for your first date?"


    "...Cafe L''Amour."


    The nerdy agent grinned while Wayne cursed at him.


    "Hey you. American!" Suddenly, the Cuban man with the fedora that was hitting on Camila a few paragraphs ago shouted at Wayne. He walked briskly toward Wayne with a few bulky men walking along with him.


    "Uh-Oh. Here comes trouble~" The nerdy agent said with a singy-songy voice and was looking forward to Wayne going to be beaten up by the local gang.


    "Ummm...I can''t fight back right?" Wayne asked.


    "Yup. You''ll risk exposing yourself. So you should either let them have their way with you. Bend over. Don''t gag. Or just run away."


    At the bar, Wayne looked at the gang member with an exasperated look as they were already encircling him. "Couldn''t you have told me that sooner?" He asked depressingly.


    "You''re a senior agent. You should have thought of that yourself." The nerd said before cutting off the call. Wayne sighed and put the phone in his pocket before saying, "Hey. Isn''t that Ryan Reynolds?"


    "Where?!" The gang member turned to check out the bar in search of the celebrity. Wayne took the opportunity to push the fedora wearing man and ran away hurriedly before he was going to get beaten.


    "MIERDA!! AGa?RRENLO!!" ("Shit, get him!") The fedora wearing Cuban shouted.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Iron Man 2? Tonight? Why did they do it at night?" I asked in confusion after I talked to Harvey.


    "No idea. But, it seems that it''s because of Robert. You go there and you can ask them." Harvey said.


    I remembered an article about the Iron Man 2 movie in my previous life that mentioned Robert Downey Jrs unconventional way of improvising in the film.


    It caused the writers to almost be mad as they needed to rewrite the script multiple times because of the actor. It became that way because the studio had interfered with the movie production and even interfered with Jon Favreau work because they wanted to sell more merchandise.


    ''Of course, most of the claims come from people who thought Iron Man 2 was the worst MCU movie.'' I thought secretly.


    "But...I want to finish my job. I''m even working on figuring out my air-fryers design today. I have a lot of things on my plate!"


    "It''s okay if you don''t want to go. Just call Kaya and Anna yourself. I''m sure they''ll understand that you have no trust in them."


    "... Are you guilt-tripping me?"


    "I don''t know. Am I?"


    "..."


    I sighed and said, "Okay fine. I''ll go."


    "Great. The driver is waiting for you downstairs. Renaldo will be there to help you get in when you arrive."


    Harvey hung up the call soon after.


    "Aww. Renaldo''s here." I exclaimed happily before going to change my clothes. Luckily for me I brought a few options. I decided to wear a red flannel shirt on top of a white t-shirt and folded the sleeves to half my forearms. I paired the shirt with black jeans and Nike sneakers before leaving the hotel room.


    "Let''s go to Marvel studio!"

 Chapter 93: Becoming an Actor?

    Chapter 93: Chapter 93: Becoming an Actor?


    [Edward POV]


    The black SUV with dark tinted windows entered the studio district in Hollywood. I could see the Paramo*nt Pictures set, and a few other studios around.


    The buildings were beige in color and seemed lifeless from the outside. But inside them? It was filled with various sets ranging from an Old West Town to the New York city streets.


    It was my first time entering the sets, but, interestingly enough, not my first opportunity to do so. Apparently in our school, the teacher could bring the students here for a field trip. However, I had never gone before, nor was I in the drama club.


    "Damn. Marvel got a huge ass studio. They have upgraded!" I muttered as I stood in front of the set for Iron Man 2. Starting from facing bankruptcy and a low movie budget, the studio managed to revive their company with the production of the Iron Man movie.


    "We have arrived." The Singh (Punjabi) driver said with a thick accent. I nodded and asked, "Renaldo?"


    "He''s coming." The driver said. I nodded and got out of the car before waiting for Renaldo at the entrance of the studio.


    A skinny Guatemalan man walked hurriedly towards where I was standing and said with a thick accent, "Mr. Newgate. I''m Renaldo."


    "I know. Can we get in?" I asked after reaching my hand out for a handshake with him. He was mildly startled before he grabbed my hand and shook it. He flashed a sincere smile and said, "Yes. Unfortunately, the interview is already over."


    "Wait. Are you serious?" I asked exasperatingly as the only reason I went there was to provide some moral support for the girls. "What about-"


    "They made it. And now they are fitting for the Ironette bikinis." Renaldo said, accurately guessing what I wanted to ask.


    I nodded and opened my mouth to ask, but he interrupted me again.


    "They want to meet you. They gave you a pass you can use to get to their dressing room. However, I don''t recommend you to go there." He said with concern while fiddling with a white card shape key in his hand.


    "Why not?" I asked in confusion.


    His eyes shook as he thought whether to tell me the truth or not. Finally, he decided to put his trust in me. "Well...All 20 girls are basically naked inside the dressing room as they are fitted for the outfit."


    "Ah. I understand." I said.


    Renaldo breathed in relief as he saw me being respectful to the girls. I saw his expression and shrugged, "Well, if the room is only for the 2 of them, I will go in. But if there are other dancers, I won''t invade their privacy."


    Renaldo heard my words, but he was confused regardless. "Then why are your hands slowly trying to reach the keycard?"


    I was startled and retracted my hand hurriedly. "Damn. You notice that huh?" I said jokingly, causing Renaldo to laugh for the first time in front of me. He usually tried to keep a professional manner, but today I managed to close the distance between us.


    Just like Pepper, Renaldo shared the same loyal trait which made me want to befriend him sooner than usual. Of course, if he fell in love with Pepper earlier�C just like in the original timeline, then I wouldn''t have any objections to it.


    "By the way, is Dwayne...single?" Renaldo asked me bashfully while leading me to the film set.


    "..."


    Right after I walked into the studio, I met with the set executive and she gave me a couple of rules to follow when I was inside the studio. First, I should not interfere with their work. Not that I needed to have it said after all it was common sense that shouldn''t even be included in the guideline anyway, but you would be shocked to know how many dumb rich people there are.


    While she was explaining the rules, suddenly a pompous, and a bit condescending voice sounded from behind us, making me turn my head to the source of the voice.


    "What''s a teen artist doing here? Kid, if you want to audition for the Ironette role, it''s too late."


    I saw RDJ walking towards me with a smile on his face. Just to be clear, he was in his Tony Stark persona as they were currently shooting, therefore he was playing around with a kid who he assumed was a lucky fan.


    "But Mr RDJ, I''m sure if I put on a wig and dance, I will be better than anyone you casted. So give me a chance?" I said with a pitiful voice as I persuaded him.


    RDJ''s face froze while Renaldo looked at me�C mouth agape in shock.


    "HAHAHA!" RDJ laughed hard enough for most people in the set could hear and he couldn''t help but break his character. He returned to the still pompous but kindhearted RDJ and patted my shoulder as he laughed.


    "Kid, no matter what color wig you wear, there''s no way you''re dancing on that stage."


    "Ah, that''s fine though cause I only come here to support my friends who''re auditioning."


    RDJ nodded and said, "You''re the singer right? The one who sang "Shivers" when you did that interview?"


    "Yes. I''m surprised you know me." I said with slightly widened eyes as he guessed my identity.


    "Well. I didn''t at first. But I was stuck at my friend''s child''s birthday party, and you were all the kids were talking about." RDJ said before he waved the exec away. After Iron Man 1, he completely changed people''s impression of him from a druggie to a highly capable and respected actor.


    I thought that I would geek out when I met with him today, but surprisingly, Bruce Wayne''s identity management skill helped me to maintain my usual character. It was a surprise, and a good one. This way, I wouldn''t simp out on a short few people that I knew in my previous life if I accidentally meet them in the future.


    "Friend? Is it Don Cheadle?" I blurted out without thinking much. RDJ was shocked for real this time and replied with a stammer, "Y-Yeah...How do you know?"


    I shrugged and said, "Just gossips."


    He sighed and said, "So. It got out huh."


    "Kid, you sang at a concert before right?" RDJ asked as we walked to the stage set. It was the set of the Stark Expo exhibition stage. The one where Iron Man performed together with the Ironettes to announce the beginning of the Stark Expo.


    We walked to the stage where almost a hundred people were waiting and stood at the center of the stage. "Yeah. I have." I said with a melancholic tone.


    "Wait. Don''t you miss performing at concerts right now?" RDJ said in disbelief. "You know you''re an artist right?" He asked sarcastically.


    I shook my head and said, "It''s not that. I''m just too busy right now."


    He asked me about a few things. About the experience of facing thousands of people, how I handle my crowd control, and a few others in which I replied to all of his questions honestly.


    He was gathering data for his performance, and I didn''t want to snub his enthusiasm. Not to mention he brought me to many places around the set and even introduced me to a few other people. I was looking around to see ScarJo in a leather suit, but too bad she wasn''t in the studio today.


    RDJ seemed to understand something and started to pry, "I know that your age is a secret. But can you tell me? You''re at least 16 right?"


    I shook my head.


    "Then, 17?"


    I shook my head again.


    "15?" He asked while gulping his saliva.


    I shrugged and said, "Around that. Yeah." He breathed sharply and looked at me up and down with disbelief in his eyes.


    I smiled wryly and RDJ felt weak on his knees.


    "I really thought you were a junior." He said, feeling a bit intimidated as my height had already surpassed his in such a young age.


    "I haven''t even finished middle school yet." I said casually, adding to RDJ''s disbelief.


    "Mike check. Sound check." The sound system staff suddenly tapped the microphone in at the stage to check the speaker quality.


    "Should we move?" I asked.


    "Kid...I mean, Ed. Can I call you that?" RDJ said carefully with a smile on his face. He was leading me around as a senior, but I guess he felt a bit awkward to strike a friendship with a teenage boy. After all, he didn''t share the same interest as the individuals who had visited a certain island.


    I was weirded out and said, "Sure. if you really want to."


    "Do you want to test for the Spiderman role? I think it''ll suit you." He said.


    "Nah. I don''t want to date Zendaya."


    "Huh? What?" RDJ was confused, but I wasn''t elaborating anything.


    "Also, doesn''t Sony still hold the rights for the movie?"


    He smirked and said ambiguously, "Yeah. I''m not talking about now...Wait, but it''ll be hard in the future too. After all..." He looked at me up and down again and said, "You''re still growing."


    I opened my mouth to retort, but then I understood what he was talking about. I nodded in acceptance and asked, "Not that...I do admit to having some interest in becoming Spidey...Why did you ask me about that anyway?"


    "You don''t know, do you? I guess you never checked the articles about you." RDJ said in contemplation. I was confused and said, "What articles?"


    I was clear about most of the articles written about me in the music industry, so I was confused as to what he was talking about.


    RDJ suddenly shook his head and said, "Wait. Not an article. More like a fan cast. Your fans said you can be Spiderman as you have the intelligence. But seeing your reaction, I guess that''s exaggerated. You''re not THAT smart."


    "Hey Mike. Let the kid do the soundcheck!" RDJ suddenly said and dragged me to the microphone before I could react. I was startled but I let myself be dragged so as to not accidentally injure the man. They couldn''t film without the main character after all.


    "My voice is expensive though." I said cheekily as I made the money gesture with my finger. RDJ rolled his eyes and said, "The payment is not kicking you out of the set."


    "I actually don''t care much if I get kicked out. I only came here to meet Anna and Kaya, who I recommended for the interview. I''d rather be home now and continue working."


    RDJ was stunned and he asked with a tiny voice, "Really? I thought you came here to visit the set."


    "Yeah." I replied casually, making him stunned again. He then shook his head and grinned evilly. He said, "1000...no, that''s too hard. I will GIVE you...a signed Iron Man helmet instead."


    "Deal!" I said and we shook hands.


    [3rd Person POV]


    Renaldo had returned after calling Kaya and Anna out of the choreography practice as they were on a break.


    As the scene was short, there wasn''t a lot of choreography for them to handle, and being professionals, they had already trained the choreography to perfection, even surprising the head choreographer.


    The trio passed the buffet table to get to the stage where Ed was waiting, however the other dancers were gathering around the buffet table instead as they had just finished practicing as was famished. Of course, for dancers who took care of their body, they avoided sweets and high carbohydrate food and instead settled on the...chicken salad.

 Chapter 94: Playing around.

    Chapter 94: Chapter 94: Playing around.


    (double Chapter today cause I forgot to post yesterday.)


    "Mic check Mic check 1 2 1 2."


    I was doing the mic check like RDJ asked me to do, but the guy face-palmed and said, "Dude. Trey could do that himself."


    Trey�Creferring to the staff member doing the sound check before this. I was surprised that he knew the staff member''s name.


    "Then, what do you want me to do?" I asked slyly, pretending that I didn''t know what he meant.


    "Sing." RDJ said with a hidden intention. He actually wanted to study more about my performing style by watching it himself, but he wouldn''t admit that.


    "Okay sure." I said jokingly. "Only because you asked me too."


    He rolled his eyes before grinning as he walked to downstage and mingled with the audience. He stood among the crowd members to experience the performance naturally and was crossing his arms as he waited for me to get ready.


    "There isn''t any instrument though." I said before a staff member suddenly ran towards me and handed me a guitar before disappearing like a shadow. Even RDJ was stunned as he saw that. Suddenly, he understood what happened as he saw the movie director standing beside him.


    "John. Finished your argument with Susan?" RDJ asked while I was tuning my guitar.


    "No. I will continue that later."


    John Favreau had come to watch the guest member play, becoming one of the many hired crowd members today. The crowd of 100 people screamed as I went up the mic.


    "This reminds me of my first ever performance in a cafe." I said while grabbing the mic, making a few people laugh here and there.


    However, before I could continue, a fuming Renaldo walked briskly towards me and stopped my performance by shouting at me from down the stage.


    "Mr Newgate! Can I have a moment with you?!" He said with gritted teeth as he gestured for me to come closer to him.


    "Uh-Oh. Am I in trouble?" I said to the mic again before crouching at the edge of the stage to hear what Renaldo had to say.


    "Hmmm? What happened?" RDJ asked himself.


    John sighed and said, "I think I know..."


    I returned to stand behind the mic after Renaldo explained to me a few things, and I said, "Okay. So apparently I cannot sing my songs here without my lawyer, so I will be doing a cover song instead. Also, I need to say a disclaimer that ''the footage captured purposely, or accidentally during my performance had no connection to the movie the studio is producing.'' Is it okay now?"


    I looked at Renaldo, and he sighed before nodding his head.


    "Huh?" RDJ was confused so he turned to John. The director then explained, "If he doesn''t put a disclaimer, we will be able to use it. Not that I WANT to do that, but that''s how copyright law works."


    "Ahh... I get it now." RDJ exclaimed before inwardly praising Renaldo.


    "So, any requests?" I asked the audience after thinking for a while.


    RDJ suddenly shouted the first name that came into his mind, "ELVIS!"


    I looked directly at him and said in disbelief, "Seriously? How old are you?"


    "Shut up. His songs are timeless." He retorted quickly. I ignored him and greeted Kaya and Anna who were jumping up and down while in their Ironette uniform, making me grin widely as my eyes followed their bounciness.


    The top part of the uniform was a crop top �C Iron man themed shirt with gold and red color while a replica of the arc reactor was pushing the girls breast upward, making them pop out of their shirt. The bottom part was still made with the Iron Man theme, and the short pants hugged the dancer''s bottom snugly.


    "Talk about fan service!" I muttered. RDJ and John nodded stealthily as they agreed with my words.


    (Just a costume reference)


    "Since RDJ requested it I will be singing a song but as I''m feeling old school there is nothing else I can do so I will be honoring "The King" and try to give you a worthy version of "I Can''t Help Falling in love." I said before picking on the guitar strings to create the melody.


    I closed my eyes as I immersed myself in the music and slowly, the murmurs from the crowd became less and less, until it finally stopped.


    ????????


    "??Wise men say.... Only fools, only fools rush in!!?? " I sang with a soothing and a jazzy voice, mesmerizing the entire crowd. Kaya cupped her mouth in awe while Renaldo raised one of his brows.


    "Dayumm." RDJ exclaimed as his jaw dropped from his shock. I didn''t know whether it was because I love this song before this, or that my Druid''s [Soul Voice] leaked out without me realizing it, but my voice had started to shake the souls of those who heard it.


    [Renaldo POV]


    "But I can''t help falling in love with you!??"


    I was honestly shocked when I heard his voice. I knew he was good, but I never really listened to his vocals properly before.


    Suddenly, I found myself transported to the 80s where everything was in a sepia filter. A dance club in the middle of nowhere. Only me, and the one person who was always in my mind was there. I wrapped my hand around his muscled waist as we danced.


    Ed''s voice reverberated at the dance floor. "??Shall I stay? Would it be, would it be a sin?"


    ''Oh Dwayne.'' I thought as I placed my head on his chest while he wrapped himself around me.


    "??If I can''t help falling in love with you??"


    ?????????


    [General POV]


    Ed finally opened his eyes and he was a bit startled by the crowd''s reaction. Some were in tears, some started dancing with a partner. Even Renaldo was hugging himself and was dancing as he enjoyed the song.


    "??Like a river flows


    Surely to the sea


    Darling, so it goes


    Some things are meant to be??"


    And just as he expected, some people started to kiss each other. However, it wasn''t at the level of brainwashing. Those people were in fact a couple. The single guys in the crowd couldn''t help but show a look of longing as they heard the song.


    RDJ and John Favreua were in a trance and was actually slow dancing with one another. They noticed it a minute in on their dance, and separated from each other with disgust immediately afterward.


    "??Take my hand


    John suddenly sighed and said, "I understand your concerns. But, there''s too many villains in the series. And we''re also going to introduce some new characters, so we can''t-"


    "Let me guess. Nick Fury and Black Widow?"


    John was shocked once again, but after a thorough discussion, I understood his dilemma in the production. It wasn''t his fault that the movie was going to be critiqued in the future. He really tried.


    But to be honest, even though some people critiqued the story, a lot more people thought that the movie was awesome. There were a lot more leisure watchers than diehard fans after all.


    "Hey... I...actually have an idea, but I don''t know if it is good or not." I said while scratching my cheek shyly.


    "Huh? What idea?" RDJ asked.


    "A song idea." I explained a bit more.


    John''s eyes lit up and he said, "Let''s hear about it!"


    ...


    4 am. I finally returned to the hotel, mind full of exhaustion. I jumped on the bed without even changing my clothes and muttered in amazement, "Can''t believe I have RDJ''s phone number."


    Renaldo had done his job perfectly and even acted as a mediator in my negotiation with John after he decided to accept my idea. The good news was, it would take a long time for the movie production to finish, so there was no rush for me to do what I suggested.


    "The bad news is... now I have added extra work to my already crumbling hill of unfinished projects."


    I sighed as I set an alarm to wake up at 8 am, which was barely 4 hours from the time now.


    "Rest...wait...how do I activate the skill?" I muttered as I tried to summon the active skill. I tried a few chants. Zim Zim zala bim, avada kedavra, abrakadabra, but nothing was working.


    But, all I needed to do was to actually close my eyes and have the intention of resting for the skill to activate itself. In less than 30 seconds after I closed my eyes, I had already fallen to dreamland, which was a new record for a relatively overthinking person like me.


    ...


    [General POV]


    While the Dunphy''s were having dinner, there was one person missing from the dining table as she was preoccupied with her work.


    "Honey. Just eat first. I''m swamped with work right now. Ed has just sent over multiple orders that I need to analyze and reply to as soon as I can." Claire said to Phil who called her to have dinner together as a family.


    She had tied up her hair and was wearing her eyeglasses as she looked at Phil, asking for his understanding.


    " But honey. You''ve been working all day long. " Phil said in concern.


    " Yeah mom. Aren''t you working part time?" Luke asked.


    Claire said hurriedly to brag and to correct, "No Luke, not anymore I''m already a vice director."


    "For a 10 person company." Haley said snidely. However, Claire grinned and said, "No. 75 people now. We''re expanding quicker than Luke''s pants after dinner."


    "Hey!" Luke yelled.


    Claire didn''t apologize and continued working.


    "Well, if mom isn''t joining..." Alex tried to stand up and leave, but Phil said sternly, "Sit down. This is our time together as a family. We''re going to sit here, eat this pizza, and talk about how your mother loves work more than us."


    "Well for one thing, people actually care about what I say and think at work." Claire retorted without even looking at Phil.


    "Urgh, but I need to study." Alex groaned in frustration. Haley snickered at her misery and said, "Well. I, for one, do enjoy the time together with my family. Especially with dad, who has worked so hard to show us how much he loves us."


    Phil was touched, and his eyes became teary. With a choked up voice, he turned to Haley and said, "My beautiful daughter-"


    "So dad. I was thinking after we have this wholesome family time. Could I go to Ed''s hotel? You know he''s all alone there. "


    "..."


    Phil was stunned speechless and was influenced , but Claire certainly wasn''t.


    "No you may NOT! He''s working hard, and you''re only going to disturb him. Go study for your finals instead. Otherwise you won''t be able to reach the next grade."


    Haley rolled her eyes at her mother and retorted, "Hey I can go to the next grade! I''m not THAT dumb!"


    Then, she continued with a concerned whisper, "I just need to make sure to get at least a D for every subject."


    "Dad~" Haley whined, trying to beg her dad to change her mother''s mind.


    "I''m with your mom on this one." Phil said wryly before turning to Claire again and adding hurriedly. "Are you sure you can''t take a 15 minute break? Is Ed still working? He needs dinner too."


    "He''s going to a movie studio for something." Claire said, before grinning hard as she managed to finish one of her assignments today.


    "He''s not even working? Then why are you trying to destroy this family Claire?!" Phil asked exasperatingly.


    Claire was flabbergasted and finally turned to him. With a pitiful face, she said, "But...this is the first time he''s let me handle a big job... I don''t want to let him down."


    "What is he? Grandpa?" Alex muttered to herself as her mother''s desperation to prove herself to Ed had struck a familiar chord in her as it had a clear similarity to the times her mother tried to make their grandfather acknowledge her work.


    "Maybe because he is emotionally unavailable too." She muttered again before checking her phone as she got a text message from Jenna.


    "He''s at a movie studio? Why?" Haley asked. "Is it the Twilight movie?"


    "No. It''s another movie studio. Marvel Martell something like that." Claire replied casually before returning to look at the laptop screen.


    "Mom. He''s not...resting again. I need to go there-" Haley tried to convince her mother, but Luke interrupted by shouting, "IRON MANNNNN!"


    He ran to his mother and grabbed her arm, startling the woman. "I WANT HIS AUTOGRAPH!"


    "W-What? Luke, stop that!" Claire said as Luke kept shaking her arm.


    "Whose autograph?" Phil asked.


    "IRON MAN!!" Luke said while turning to his dad.


    "I''ll text him." Haley''s eyes lit up and she got to work quickly. Ed noted Luke''s request, and he told RDJ about it later on, getting Luke a personalized autograph poster of Iron Man.


    The next day came, and after relentless badgering from Luke since early in the morning, Phil gave up and agreed to bring the boy to the hotel to pick up the poster. He definitely didn''t go there because he wanted to play at the hotel. ''His intention was totally pure'' �C he lied to himself.

 Chapter 95: Not going home.

    Chapter 95: Chapter 95: Not going home.


    [Edward POV]


    Next morning, I woke up at 8 am sharp after having a 4 hour sleep. Despite that, my mind was refreshed as I managed to get a full, uninterrupted REM sleep and I felt better than ever.


    After having my morning coffee, I opened my laptop before even having breakfast and started working. However, there were a few distractions that prevented me from putting my 100% focus on the work such as a text message from a certain father figure that said he was coming over to the hotel to hang out.


    "...But why?"


    I was confused when I saw the text, however Phil was already halfway to the hotel when I noticed the text. I sighed and put the phone back down, but at the moment it touched the desk, another text message chimed in. I grabbed it back and read the text from Haley next, "Abby and I are coming too!"


    Haley: Don''t let dad come into your room!


    Haley: Chase him away!


    Haley: If it''s too late, then text me before I go up there!


    Haley: Abby and I want to use the hot tub! We even brought our bikinis!


    "???"


    ...


    [General POV �C an hour before]


    "Luke! Do you want to pick up the poster now?" Phil shouted from the dining table after he ended his call.


    "What poster?" Luke asked in confusion, already forgotten about yesterday''s affairs when he woke up the next morning.


    Phil was taken aback and he said carefully, "The...Iron Man poster?"


    "OH!" Luke''s eyes lit up immediately. "That! Yes I want to go there now!"


    "Great. Go change your clothes, and we will go there." Phil said as he ruffled his son''s hair and patted his shoulder before Luke moved away. Claire was in disbelief and she said, "Why are you going there now? And what did Ted say?"


    "Huh?" Phil turned to Claire before remembering his call yesterday. "Oh that. He said he''s fixing the light features at his house today, and wants me too..." His eyes fluttered as he thought of an excuse before saying, "..lend him my jean overall?"


    "Why are you asking me?" Claire became confused by Phil''s reply, but she didn''t make much of it.


    [Phil''s commentary]


    "Okay. Actually, the first part is true. Ted is finishing the work at his house. They are going to have their power back this afternoon ." Phil said squirrelly and continually checked out his behind to make sure no one else was listening to it.


    "Here''s the thing. When Ted and I followed the electrical line last night..."


    -Flashback-


    "God, this place is a dump." Ted said as he walked climbed into the attic, with Phil helping him to hold the flashlight from behind him.


    "How long has it been since you guys came out here?" Phil asked as Ted stepped on the attic floor carefully to avoid harmful hazards.


    "Eer...Like in 2 years?" Ted said before moving a pretty big box out of the way to get to the router.


    Phil scrunched his eyebrow and said, "You guys shouldn''t keep that up here. It''ll be difficult to reset it."


    "I know." Ted agreed and said, "Miranda asked me to put it there before. Now, I will bring it back down." He ripped the router wire out and took off the device from the walls there.


    Phil was looking around to see a bunch of old instrument cases, a few old chairs, and even a creepy looking ceramic girl doll sitting inside a glass case. He shuddered as he locked eyes with the doll and asked, "What''s that?"


    "Oh...That''s Annabell. Believe it or not, Ed used to sleep with it."


    "Ed did?" Phil asked in confusion. "But he''s so manly." He blurted out.


    Ted laughed a bit and said, "Not after he knows what it is. He loved the doll while he was a toddler, but changed his interest in instruments after that." Ted said before looking longingly at the doll.


    "Really?" Phil asked in disbelief.


    With sadness in his tone, Ted said, "More like, Miranda took all of his toys and replaced it with music stuff to ... ''cultivate'' his interest in music. Now that I think about it, she had thrown away most of his toys. I don''t know that she kept ''Annabelle'' here."


    Phil empathized with Ted before he said creepily, "Maybe she did throw it out, and it came crawling back."


    Ted also shuddered and stepped away from the doll quickly. He turned to Phil and said with gritted teeth, "Dude, I sleep in the same house with this. Or, do you want me to give it to your daughters? You have 2 of them, right?"


    Phil shuddered at the thought of the doll living in his house and said, "N-No. My girls don''t play with dolls anymore. You can keep it...as a memoir. But promise me something."


    Phil suddenly turned solemn, making Ted swallow his saliva. "What is it?" Ted asked.


    "Don''t...EVER...let Claire know that you have a creepy girl doll in your attic."


    "W-Why? Will she have a heart attack?" Ted asked in concern.


    "No. She will love it." Phil said and was checking around the boxes, when suddenly a paper bag fell down from the gaps of the boxes. Unlike the other stuff there that was old and dusty, the paper bag looked relatively new.


    Ted and Phil were both curious, and they stood around the fallen paper bag. Phil picked it up and his eyes widened as he saw what''s inside it.


    "This!?"


    -Flashback ends-


    "So. to make sure Ed didn''t suspect anything, Ted asked me to go bring him back...so that...we could ask him if he knew anything about what''s inside the paper bag." Phil said solemnly before pausing for a bit and smiled. "And maybe jump in the hotel pool for a little bit."


    [commentary ends]


    "Luke. Make sure to pack your swimwear!" Phil shouted to Luke before turning to his daughter and asked, "Alex, you want to come?"


    She listened for a while and asked, "Are you sure?"


    "Positive."


    "I will contact your father. After all, only after he gives his consent will I be able to move forward with the test."


    "Give me some time. I will talk to my dad about it first."


    "Okay. Skipping grades is not necessarily a good thing. But, to be honest, I don''t think there''s much for you to learn in high school next year. After you talk to your dad, I need to get the principal''s authorization to do this. It''ll take a few days."


    I finally ended the call after talking for a while. Although I have my concerns that Dad wouldn''t let me skip grades, I feel that I could do a lot more if I focus all of my time with work and creating instead.


    "I''m sure he will understand if I explain it to him properly."


    ...


    [General POV]


    As Phil drove to the main entrance, he and Luke walked to the reception desk and said, "Hi. We''re looking for Edward Newgate''s room."


    The receptionist was a bit irritated and said, "Paparazis couldn''t enter the hotel, and there''s no one registered using that name here. Please leave the premises before we call security."


    Phil was alarmed and he said hurriedly, "Wait. I''m not a reporter. I''m his neighbor."


    "Yes. Neighbor. Adapted Father. Friend from school, which was clearly a blatant lie as she was almost 30 years old, his dog walker, milk delivery man, and a lot more ''acquaintances'' have come by and asked to meet him today." She said using a mean tone. "However, I''ll say it again. There''s no one with the name Edward Newgate registered at our hotel today." The receptionist said sternly. Two bodyguards approached the reception desk, making Phil feel threatened.


    Suddenly, the desk phone rang. The receptionist picked it up and listened to the voice on the other side for a while. She stopped the security by putting her index finger to them, making the two burly men confused.


    Suddenly, the receptionist smiled and said, "You must be the Dunphy''s. Mr Luthor is expecting you. Please follow the concierge, and she will lead you to his suite."


    Phil and Luke breathed in relief before following the staff member from behind.


    A few minutes later, 2 young girls came to the reception desk and said, "Hi. We''re looking at Edward Newgate''s room. I''m Haley Dunphy and this is Abby M-"


    The receptionist was irritated at first, but as she heard Dunphy''s name, her face changed to radiate kindness. She stopped Haley before she could finish her words as Edward had notified the hotel before about the girls and said, "I will arrange someone to escort you. Your father had already gone to the room-"


    "Wait. We''re not going there yet if my dad is there. C-Can you bring us there when he''s gone?" Haley asked meekly.


    The receptionist was confused, and she looked at the two girls properly before finding out that both girls were incredibly gorgeous. She nodded in understanding and said, "Okay. I''ll notify you when he''s gone."


    "Wonderful!" Abby said while clasping her hand in excitement.


    Haley and Abby brightened up before the staff member arranged for them to wait at the lounge. They were given the best treatment by the hotel''s staff and couldn''t wait to enjoy their evening at the hotel.


    However, as Haley and Abby were escorted to the lounge, the staff member stopped an irate looking white woman who was following the girls suspiciously from behind.


    "Maam, do you have an appointment to enter the hotel?"


    "No. But that''s my daughter. I need to talk to her-"


    The staff looked at the hotel receptionist, but she shook her head at them as Edward had specified that only 4 people were coming in to see him today. They grabbed Claire and dragged her out from the hotel room without giving her a chance to explain herself to the hotel staff.


    "HALEY!!" Claire yelled as she tried to stop the staff member from throwing her out.


    Inside the lounge, Haley sipped her iced tea without any care in the world, and didn''t even pay attention to her surroundings. Abby heard someone calling her friend, but as she looked around, she didn''t see any familiar faces therefore she thought it was just someone with the same name.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    While I was working, Phil and Luke knocked on the suite door, distracting me from my work. I walked to the door and opened it, only for Luke to immediately hug me as he saw me.


    "Wait. Why? What happened?" I asked in confusion.


    "Thank you for the poster!" Luke released me and ran to the room to search for the poster himself before I could invite him in. I laughed and I turned to Phil who was trying to search for something inside the room.


    "Come on in." I invited him inside without paying attention to what he was doing.


    Phil walked to the pantry while I sat down on the chair, trying to search for something. "Ed. Do you want to come play with us?" He asked.


    "No thanks." I said as I kept an eye on him to find out what he was doing. After he checked the bar and found out there wasn''t any alcohol there, his face was a bit relieved.


    ''Oh. He thought I was drinking? Wait. Phil isn''t a suspicious guy. It must be Claire who thought I was trying to get away with something as I stayed here alone.'' I thought.


    ''Luckily I am not an amateur and had the staff member clean up the bar before he came.''


    "You know, we can have some brownies... or some ''special brownies''..." Phil said suddenly before turning to study my face, but there wasn''t any change in my expression. No guilt, no fear, not even confusion.


    "There''s brownies?" I asked with an innocent face. Phil breathed in relief again and wanted to ask me something, but Luke suddenly walked into the room wearing an Iron Man helmet, and a black rubber baton on his other hand.


    "This is so cooOOOOOL!" Luke exclaimed. "Did you get this for me too?!"


    " I wonder if it can withstand being hit like the true Iron Man. Jarvis, initiate the...The batting? Test! Ziuu Ziu Ziuu Swishhh" He said before moving his limbs as he made robot sound with his mouth. He brought the baton perpendicular to his head, wanting to hit his own head with the bat to test the helmet.


    I was horrified as I saw the helmet and stood up immediately. I tried to calm him down like Chris Pratt calming down the velociraptor and said, "Luke. Don''t...Move."


    "Why?" Luke said before putting one hand on the helmet, but still not releasing the bat. "Aren''t you curious?"


    I gulped my saliva in fear and said, "Luke. No. Don''t... That''s the original prop from the set of Iron Man 2, signed by RDJ himself. It is...priceless."


    "Oh. Then...that means it''s free right?" Luke said, increasing my fear.


    "LUKE NO!" Phil shouted as Luke tried to hit his own head. I swooped in hurriedly to save the helmet, but-

 Chapter 96: Phil the best dad. (Part 1)

    Chapter 96: Chapter 96: Phil the best dad. (Part 1)


    [Edward POV]


    "NOOO!!!" I lunged at Luke, trying to stop him from destroying the Iron Man helmet. However, he stopped his baton at the last minute and swerved to avoid me, making me pass by him. I stumbled and almost crashed into the wall, but my martial artist instinct saved me, or maybe now I''m just prank proof.


    Using the inertia, I stepped on the wall, breaking it a little, and unconsciously did a backflip to handle the excess momentum before landing next to Luke. I glared at him and took the helmet off while he was stunned, and walked away to put the helmet away at a safe place before dealing with the kid.


    Luke and Phil looked at each other with an amazed expression, but I ignored them.


    [Phil and Luke''s commentary]


    "THAT! WAS! AWESOME!!" Phil and Luke shouted at the same time, completely forgetting Luke''s earlier transgression and blasphemous action toward the Iron Man legacy.


    [Commentary ends]


    "Luke. What do you have to say for yourself?" I said in a cold voice and expression as I slowly folded my sleeves and took off my watch. I vowed to beat up the kid today, even if I had to do it in front of his father.


    Luke gulped his saliva and confessed quickly, "I-I-I wasn''t really going to hit it. I just want to punish you for punishing me! I won''t do it! SERIOUSLY!"


    "How should I know...''THAT'' is not an excuse?" I said as I walked menacingly to Luke. He backstepped quickly and said, "I swear! I SWEAR IT ON MY DAD''S LIFE!"


    "That isn''t worth much Luke. I still can''t believe you." I said.


    "Hey." Phil interjected, hurt by my statement. I turned to him and said, "Sorry" before turning to Luke again.


    "Calm down Ed. He even used a rubber baton." Phil said as he presented me the ''evidence'' to get Luke out of his punishment. I took a look at the toy baton and sighed in relief.


    Luke and Phil also breathed in relief. However, before Luke could look back up, I knocked his head with my fist.


    "OWW!" Luke exclaimed and grabbed his hurting head quickly. He got angry and snapped, "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"


    "For making a mess." I said with a sly smirk before changing the subject, "You guys can use all the facilities downstairs when you want to play, you can even take some time at the pool. The room next to mine is also under my name, so you can use it to change cl0thes and all."


    Phil was confused, "Why did you book two rooms?"


    "Well one was for my dad. But he''s not coming over yet."


    "But...Your house is...ready?" Phil said with a weird questioning inflection as he got confused by my action. "I''m sure you already knew about that. So why do you want to waste your money?"


    I shook my head and said, "I''m not coming home today. I still have a lot of work to be done here. Also...I like it here. I''m not ready to go home yet."


    Phil caught my change in expression at the last sentence. He said reassuringly, "Okay... I guess I will go and change over there...Even though this suite is so big."


    I chuckled a bit and slid them the room key for the other suit.


    "Wait. You''re not coming?" Phil said in disbelief.


    Luke added, "If you''re not coming, can we still play?"


    I nodded at Luke and said, "Yeah. You can use everything, even without me."


    Phil interjected quickly, "No that''s not the point. If we come here, and only play by OURSELVES...then that means we''re taking advantage of you."


    "Nah. I don''t see it that way, and I paid a lot for a room here. Might as well let you guys enjoy it." I said with a cocky smirk. Phil was in disbelief and turned to Luke, not wanting to go play without me. But as he saw Luke''s expecting face, he had to relent and said, "Okay. We''ll go play, but only for half an hour!"


    I waved them goodbye as they reluctantly went to enjoy themselves. I put a [Do Not Disturb] sign on the door and before I could close it, Haley and Abby appeared on the floor �C coming out of the elevator and waved at me.


    "Hello there." I said as I channeled my inner jedi again.


    Haley rolled her eyes and channeled her inner Grievous before saying, "General Kenobi- Okay I can''t do that."


    My heart skipped a beat as she got the reference and I couldn''t help but grin widely as I saw her embarrassed face. Abby''s eyes darted between looking at each of us before becoming wary of her friend.


    "How did you know?" I asked.


    She said in displeasure, "Dad made that joke about that for a year. I''m sick of it."


    ''I guess Phil was the original memer.'' I thought gleefully. Abby rolled her eyes and gave me the files I asked her to take from the concierge. "They will deliver the rest later on. Their printer ran out of ink." She explained.


    "Okay. Thanks. You guys want to use the hot tub right?" I said before giving them the room key for the other room. Their eyes lit up as they accepted the key.


    "Go stay there. I need to work here, so I''m not joining you."


    "Huuhh??!"" X2


    Both of the girls were confused and I shoved them to the other room for them to enjoy their time without involving me. I have a lot of work to do today, and I have only a little time to do it.


    "I still need to call Pepper and Harvey. Hmm...I need that Singles report now." I muttered before ignoring the girls and went to work instead.


    [General POV]


    "Isn''t this weird? We''re both...pretty girls. And we''re willing to join him in the hot tub." Haley said while Abby blushed. They had entered the hot tub after trying to tempt Ed for a while, but he didn''t change his decision at all.


    "Maybe something will happen, maybe it won''t. But as a young man, isn''t he filled with hormones and begging to join us when we are only wearing our bikinis?" Haley said as she pulled her triangular shape, golden color bikini to fix its position.


    Abby, who wore the white, almost-translucent-when-it-got-wet bikini, face''s turned bright red and she whispered to Haley, "You said we were coming here to hang out. Why is this suddenly turning lewd?"


    Taken aback, Haley''s eyes darted a few times before she decided to bulldoze through it. "Think Abby. Think! It''s not normal, right?"


    Abby thought for a while before sighing. "Yeah. I thought he would be excited to see us. But he couldn''t care less." She said with a dejected tone.


    "See. Something is wrong with him. Do you think it got something to do with the dinner before? Is he still depressed from the grandma who passed away?" Haley asked.


    Abby shook her head and replied, "I''m not sure... Also, this is boring."


    "Do you want me to run down the hill now?" Haley said with a hint of anger, making Claire feel abashed and said, "No dear. Don''t run down the hill. It isn''t safe. You know what. I trust you. Be safe, and watch out for coyote-"


    Before Claire could finish, she heard the flappy bird advertisement sound coming from the other line.


    Pewdiepie Ads: Hey what''s up guys. Today we''re going to review the popular game Flappy Bird-


    "What was that?" She asked in suspicion. Ed nodded in satisfaction as he heard the ads and said, "My money is being put to good use."


    Inside the next room, both Abby and Haley were baffled by the sudden advertisement popping out on the nature video and tried to shut it down quickly.


    "Uhh...Abby is playing Ed''s mobile game. She misses him." Haley said quickly. Abby slapped her arm and mouthed, ''What the hell?''


    ''Sorry. I panicked.''


    Claire looked at Ed suddenly and sighed, "Tell her it''s going to be okay. I''ll let you go now."


    "Okay~!" Haley replied gleefully before cutting the call. Both of the girls slumped on the floor as they breathed in relief after managing to fool Claire.


    "Umm...Sorry you got to see that Ed." Claire said apologetically as she realized she had misunderstood the situation.


    [Edward POV]


    "You should be more sorry that you barged into my room." I said teasingly before saying, "NOW. Can I please get back to work?"


    "Ah. Sure. I will go back now. I''m so embarrassed." Claire said perfunctorily without feeling that much remorse. She then asked, "When are you going back home? Are you going back with Phil or your dad?"


    "Nah. I''m planning on staying here for a while." I said.


    Claire was a bit taken aback and she asked, "Why?"


    "It''s closer to the Decathlon venue from here." I lied about my excuse and chased her away. "Anyway. I will be emailing you the arrangements for the company that you need to implement next week. Don''t try to do it all in one day, and plan your workload properly. I''m sick of Alex texting me, complaining about you."


    Claire was flabbergasted and said, "I didn''t work that much."


    "Dinner is a time for family, Claire." I said lazily before ushering her out of the room.


    Claire held the door before I could close it and said, "I''ll prepare lunch for you tomorrow. You cannot cook here right? Do you have any requests?"


    "Just a sandwich will be enough." I said before closing the door.


    ...


    As Claire finally went away, I breathed in relief and opened the door again before walking to the next room.


    Haley and Abby were still in shock about the matter as I walked in. "She''s gone." I said.


    "I''m still in disbelief that you guys managed to get away with it." I added with a grin before helping both of them get up from sitting on the floor.


    "Most of it is thanks to luck." Abby said.


    "Hey! My flawless execution is the thing that sold it." Haley said angrily.


    I laughed before Haley stumbled and fell towards me. I caught her by wrapping my hand around her body, making her wet robe pressed right on my body.


    "Uh. Sorry." Haley said bashfully before sliding her stray hair behind her ears. Abby pouted and did the same thing, but at the same time pressing her massive tiddies on my chest.


    "Sorry." Abby said with a sly smile. Haley widened her eyes in disbelief before pressing her chest on my body too. I rolled my eyes at both of them and said, "You guys should leave before Phil comes back up. After all, I gave him the key to THIS hotel room."


    "Ugh!" Haley groaned in frustration before saying, "It''s boring anyway. All work and no play have made you a very boring boy."


    I coughed twice and said, "I...have responsibilities."


    "You''re 15. Enjoy life a little." Abby said before leaning forward and whispered to my ear. "You know, if you had come sooner. I don''t know...maybe Haley and I would''ve shown you something good." She blew gently into my ears, turning me on. However, she took a step back and said normally, "Too bad we''re going to leave now."


    "We''re leaving?" Haley asked in confusion.


    "Yeah. He''s not joining us-"


    "Wait. I just couldn''t join you...before. I finished my work for the morning." I blurted out.


    Haley and Abby had a sly smirk on their faces and said, "TOO LATE!"


    ...


    During lunch, Phil, Luke, and I went to the hotel restaurant and enjoyed the food together before he decided to ask me one more time.


    "Why don''t you join us to play tennis after this?" Phil said.


    "Are you really playing? Do you even know how to play?" I asked while taking a sip of the cold cola.


    Phil scratched his cheek and said, "I used too. Oh boy. Haha. In college, me and my roommate always went and visited various clubs. We would pretend to be members to get in... it was a good stress reliever you know, two guys just playing around."


    His tone was happy, but his eyes were filled with suspicions. I creased my eyebrows as I thought about where he was going with this ''story''.


    "You know Ed. People relax in different ways. Like me and my roommate. Some went on vacations. Some meet new people. Some do...drugs."


    His gaze turned sharp as he wanted to study the change in my expressions, but as I had no change, he turned his gaze into a kind man again and said, "You know. Staying in the hotel for so long isn''t that relaxing. If you want to stay in a room, you can just go back home."


    "Oh no. I like it here. I''m not ready to go back home yet." I said as I cut the steak in front of me and ate it.


    "Hmm?" Phil was confused by my reactions, but he shrugged and didn''t think deeply about it until he got home later in the day.


    The duo waved goodbye to me after lunch, and I went back to my room to work. My dad called to say he was fixing the house and I could return today, but I wasn''t going to waste my money as I had already prolonged my stay over there �C with his consent before this.


    It wasn''t until later that night, someone knocked on my door. I saw Phil when I opened it, and he asked me directly, "So Ed. Why are you avoiding going back home?"

 Chapter 97: Phil the best dad (Part 2)

    Chapter 97: Chapter 97: Phil the best dad (Part 2)


    "So Ed. Why are you avoiding going back home?" Phil said with a serious tone as I opened the door.


    "I got exposed huh." I clicked my tongue before inviting him into the room. I turned off the laptop as I sat, and Phil was sitting right next to me.


    "How did you find out?" I asked curiously.


    [Phil''s commentary]


    "I had no idea about it. I was just reaching and when something came out of it I could only go with the flow." Phil said puzzledly as he never thought a simple question could expose so much more.


    [Commentary ends]


    Phil sighed and walked to the desk and sat next on my right side. He patted my right shoulder and said in a calming voice�C while inwardly racking his brain to figure out how to gain my trust and make me believe that he actually knew about my predicament.


    "You avoiding your home... is the opposite of everything I know about you. You love your home...Or at least that''s what I thought. So will you tell me why you are not going back?"


    His tone carried no hidden intention, and he was truly worried for my current emotional state. I rubbed my hair in frustration and said without looking at him, "I don''t know. I have a lot of work-"


    "Ed-" Phil said with a head tilt as if he already knew I was lying. I widened my eyes, glanced at him and sighed before saying, "The house...it''s starting to look better."


    "And that''s troubling...why?" Phil asked without urging me for an answer. He waited patiently until I decided to open up and said, "It is weird."


    "The house is weird?" He asked with puzzlement.


    "The reason is weird." I clarified.


    Phil nodded and said with a smile, "I love weird things. Try me."


    I laughed a bit and took a deep breath before replying.


    "Well... I kinda... feel suffocated there. Especially when I''m alone in the house." I said, feeling as if a stone was removed from my heart as I confessed my true thoughts.


    Phil leaned forward, his face turned a bit more serious. "Did you start to feel this way when the house started to look ''normal'' again?"


    He was reminded of the messy and dilapidated looking house before, and started to piece all the clues together.


    "Yeah." I said, rubbing my head together. Even I didn''t understand my unease being alone at that house.


    Yesterday when I slept with Taylor, I was extremely shocked when I felt at peace as I cuddled with her on the bed, knowing how difficult it was for me to go to sleep without the [Rest] skill that I had gotten. That was why I prolonged my stay here and was reluctant to go back home. I felt at ease here, or so I thought cause while I was still "ok" something was still missing. I knew I was avoiding something but I just decided to do what I had perfected and just ignore it all.


    The good time was ruined by a simple statement from Taylor though.


    -Flashback-


    While Ed and Taylor were cuddling on the bed, Taylor suddenly asked, "So... What are we?"


    "..."


    -Flashback ends-


    "When it...started to look the way it did before... you know. Before "she" left the house... I-...the memories just kept popping up even at the slightest prompt, the simplest things would bring with them some past memories. The silence inside the house just kept tearing my psyche apart. My heart was torn as to whether I should love her or hate her-"


    I took a deep breath to calm down and explained, "However, I didn''t feel the same way with the silence here at the hotel. What was once torture became peace once again."


    Phil nodded as I poured my heart out, and he kept listening without interrupting me.


    "Then, if you want to enjoy the silence...why are you working really hard here?" He asked.


    I opened my mouth a few times, and I couldn''t find the answer.


    He nodded in understanding and sighed. "You''re searching for peace, yet, you surround yourself with chaos when you feel like you have found it."


    My eyes lit up as I realized something. "I see. It''s a contrast between the two feelings. If I don''t find the source of it, confront it, and finally accept it... then, I will never feel at peace no matter where I go in the future."


    "My work obsession can be associated with my lack of control during childhood. I was actually using work because when I am working I AM the boss so my word is law and I can finally feel that I am in control in my life. I''m surprised that you can see that Phil. You''re really wise." I said, fully in awe at Phil''s capabilities to connect with others on an emotional level.


    Phil''s mouth was agape as he didn''t know what just happened.


    [Phil''s commentary]


    "I wanted to say to him that ''maybe you''re looking for peace at the wrong place. Maybe it isn''t in the places you frequent, but the people you visit. But, he made me swallow my words as he suddenly achieved an emotional breakthrough on his own."


    Phil was at a loss about what to do with the situation.


    [Commentary ends]


    "Sure. Let''s go with that." Phil said while avoiding my worshiping eyes. "Anyway. I also want to talk to you about locking your front door. Alex, Haley, and even Claire have told me that you�C Why do you keep looking at me like that?"


    Phil was baffled as I was still having an awed look as he changed the subject.


    "You saw through that too huh." I said solemnly, making Phil more confused than ever in his entire life.


    The more ''normal'' the house looked, the more uncomfortable it was for me to stay there. I guess that was why the previous "me" trashed the house.


    I however, couldn''t do as he did because I have major OCD, but I still couldn''t accept the current situation either. I was stuck between the two lives, and I needed to get out of there hurriedly.


    Phil nodded, but Dad raised one of his eyebrows. "And...how do you know so much about the plant?"


    I would''ve twitched my body if I didn''t have the acting talent. I just looked discontentedly at him and said childishly, "Because Edward is such a good good boy." I rolled my eyes in displeasure and smacked the paper bag on my dad''s stomach before he took it from my hand.


    "I''m vying to become an artist. Made over 2 million dollars in less than 4 days. Do you really think I would risk that over some shitty weed?" I decided to gaslight him to sculpt the point inside his head. Dad was abashed and said, "So...Whose is it?"


    "How should I know? Maybe Miran-"


    "No. Ed. She''s still your mom." Dad said decisively. I clicked my tongue and said, "Anyway. Her."


    Dad fell into deep thought while I walked away to the kitchen to grab a drink. After I came back, dad didn''t pursue the matter anymore even though he was still feeling suspicious about the matter.


    Phil sighed and said, "Why is your family relationship so strained? It must be because of the drugs. Now I finally understand why the government banned these drugs. They must be tearing up happy families." Phil said with gritted teeth as he held the paper bag in his hand.


    "This type of stuff. Should be destroyed!" He said and threw the paper bag into the fireplace. I was shocked, but I didn''t react.


    "Phil? What did you do?" Ted said in horror before turning off the fireplace using a switch, but the plant had already been lit up.


    "What? This type of stuff didn''t belong in a home." Phil said decisively.


    "I should prepare the snacks." I said as I saw clouds of smoke coming out from the fireplace. In less than 5 minutes, all three of us were sitting nearby the fireplace with a funny smile on our faces.


    "Phil. You''re the best dad ever." I muttered to Phil, before we all laughed together.


    "I need some snacks." Ted said as he licked his lips. "Put them in a bowl." He chattered, then he had a high revelation. "Bowl. It''s a weird word. I never noticed that before."


    Ed turned to Phil and talked to him while Ted was constantly muttering the word bowl in different intonation and nuances.


    "You should come with us to family camp this summer." Phil said excitedly.


    "I need to go Wiscount- Wiscount...Wis count what?"


    "Sheep?" Phil replied. "One sheep. Two sheep." He tried to joke, but then he got sleepy as he continued.


    "Dad. Should we go to Cuba?" Ed asked suddenly.


    "Bowl?"


    ...


    2 days passed by quickly, and it was now Tuesday.


    "Mr Newgate. You need to answer test papers from multiple subjects today. Are you prepared?" Mrs Henderson asked.


    After a heart-to-heart discussion with my dad (Under the influence of weed), he finally agreed to let me skip grades and to enter grade 11 directly next year. I would be skipping the freshman and sophomore year in high school if I managed to score in all of the examinations today.


    "I''m ready." I said to Mrs Henderson as I sat alone in the class with her. She was appointed as the examiner by the principal, and would conduct the test as harshly as she could under the request of my dad.


    The pressure was great, therefore I had unlocked the memory from the year 2175 that I got from the gacha before and had comprehended even PhD level of knowledge in various subjects such as biochemistry, rocket science, and even medicine. With the knowledge, I finished the air fryer schematics and would start building it after the decathlon.


    ''I really didn''t expect to have so much knowledge from just a simple low quality memory gacha. But it seems the owner of the memory had embarked on the path to become a scientist, that''s why I had so much gain in it even if it was her memory from her early years.''


    I had already instructed Harvey to patent the technology, and I was waiting for the good news from her today.


    "Let''s begin." Mrs Henderson said before placing a thick mathematical exam paper gently on top of my table. I nodded and started the examinations quietly. My hand didn''t stop writing, not even for a second while I answered the questions.


    [3rd Person POV]


    -Dunphy''s house. Monday night-


    "I...Need to skip grades too! MOM! PLEASE!" Alex begged her mother, but her pride prevented her from throwing a tantrum and only followed her mother around while she was cleaning the house to annoy her.


    "Alex. We talked about this." Claire said decisively as she threw the blanket angrily into the laundry basket.


    "Yeah. You feel that it will be harsh for me to be in a class with the older kids. But mom, my friends are all older kids!" Alex debated.


    True. Before Ed, Alex spent most of her days alone in middle school. Now, she has a group of loyal friends that accepted her for who she was, and she was reluctant to let them all go.


    If she skipped a grade, she could be in the same class as Jenna, Elsa, and Jacob next year. Enid would be left behind, but Alex knew that Enid was smarter than she looks. If she skipped grades too, then they could all be together in the same high school next year. And the school life that she had always dreamed of will be a reality.


    A few houses over, at the Newgate''s house, various heavy machinery had been placed in front of the lawn. Jay Pritchett and Cameron Tucker stood in front of the house with varying faces.


    With a sullen face, Jay said, "How in the hell did I agree to this?"


    "Cheer up Jay. Don''t you see? Ed chose us, because we''re the most creative people he has ever seen." Cameron said delusionally.


    "He gave us a blueprint." Jay said gruffly to slow down Cam''s enthusiasm.


    Ed had hired Cam who was doing nothing at his house as a co-project manager with Jay.


    Jay tried to reject the work at first, but Ed brought in 3 big guns to buy his effort. One- a tremendous advancement in closet technology. Two- Gloria''s breasts.


    With Gloria persuasion, there was no way for Jay to reject helping Cam as a co-manager in this project.


    Ed had paired them up together as Cam needed someone to tempt down his enthusiasm and crazy ideas and with the added bonus of Jay being a professional in DIY home improvement projects. Together, they made an okay team.

 Chapter 98: Pre-Competition Jitters?

    Chapter 98: Chapter 98: Pre-Competition Jitters?


    (I have a doctors appointment tomorrow, early in the morning. My adhd brain makes me unable to do anything, even if the appointment is 12 hours away lol.)


    [Edward POV]


    The sky was darkened by rain clouds, however it wasn''t raining just yet. The high pressure gust of wind had uplifted many girls'' skirts today, making a pervert''s dreams come true. However, I couldn''t enjoy the rainy day as I had to focus on the grade-skipping exams in front of me. I had already finished with the History and English Literature subject, and now, I was facing the Math subject.


    "Hmm?" As I jotted down the answer on the second final question, I suddenly realized something and turned to Mrs Henderson who was sitting directly in front of me in the teacher''s chair with a confused expression.


    "Why? You can''t answer it?" She said with a sly smirk. Her hair was tied up in a bun, and I could sense tiredness emanating from her voice.


    "This is Grade 12 stuff. There''s no problem with me answering it, but is it necessary?" I asked, hiding my curiosity about why she was behaving this way today when she had never shown her tiredness in front of the students...ever.


    "It''s your choice Mr Newgate." Mrs Henderson said before reprimanding me, "Also. Don''t talk while having your exam." She continued to mark my exam paper as she ignored me.


    I was flabbergasted as I was the only student there in the class, but decided not to argue with the teacher and turned my attention back to the test papers. It took me 3 hours to answer the first part of the test.


    At the same time, the rest of the decathlon team members were answering their own test inside another classroom. As I was the only one in grade 8 while the others were in grade 7, I had to answer the exam question alone. Alex, Haruna, and the douche (Sanjay) were taking the exams in front of their classroom teacher as I did it with mine.


    My situation was different from the other students. They were only making up the exam questions for the time we were going to miss school �C Wednesday and Thursday. Although the competition was only on Wednesday, the school had allocated Thursday as a reward for the students to take a day off and enjoy themselves.


    ''Kinda missing the point of the whole enjoying themselves thing if they had to take the exam earlier isn''t it?'' I thought to myself.


    When they return on Friday, they will have to continue with the exams. While for myself, I was having all of the exams cramped together inside one day of school. It was unorthodox, but both the principal and Mrs Henderson allowed me to do so as they had absolute trust in me.


    "Come back after lunch for the rest of the test Mr Newgate." Mrs Herderson said as I gave her the papers I had finished. I nodded and asked, "Aren''t you going to lunch Ma''am?"


    Without raising her head, she said while marking the exam paper on the spot, "History is your weak subject Mr Newgate. Also, you don''t have to worry about my lunch. Go and enjoy your time with your friends. You won''t be able to for much longer."


    I smiled sadly as I heard that and walked to the cafeteria while thinking about what the teacher said. True, I wouldn''t be able to be among my newly made friends after I skipped a few grades.


    Sure, in the beginning, we could still gather together as we went through high school together. But then, it will just be on a special occasion, and will most likely devolve into a simple nod as we pass each other in the hallways�C


    "I shouldn''t be too negative. Who knows what will happen in the future." I muttered as I walked the noisy hallways. The students were stealing glances and even pointing their fingers at me as I passed by. Some courageous girls even tried to strike up a conversation, and I refused their approach politely. But some of them didn''t know how to read the hint, making me depend on a more drastic method. For example, this manic pixie dream girl in front of me.


    "Ed. You''re so funny. Why don''t you make me your girlfriend? You''re always looking at me, so I know you''re attracted to me." The purple haired, short girl with a stout body and overall vain demeanor said while putting her hands all over my torso.


    While being coquettish, she said, "Oh my god. What is this? A six-pac? Are you perhaps hiding a-"


    Before she could go on any further, I slapped her hands away from my body, and leaned in. Then, I whispered to her ears. As she heard my words, her face turned ashen and horrified, and she finally stopped behaving like a madman. I nodded in satisfaction and continued walking to the cafeteria, ignoring the gazes of all the other kids around.


    "So, Jenna is the weird one." I muttered in newfound understanding.


    ...


    [3rd Person POV�C Mrs Herderson]


    Gong Shin, the afterlife senior agent, had invited Henderson to a Korean barbeque place last night before the exams started.


    As the male agent put a wrapped ''samgyupsal'' into his mouth, he said to the woman, "You know, your role will be over once he gets into high school right?"


    "Don''t talk while eating. It''s disgusting." Herderson reprimanded the agent with a grimace on her face.


    Gong Shin smiled as he wiped his mouth with a napkin and said, "You really have changed. You won''t even bother to scold me if it was you before descending to earth. Too bad your time is almost over."


    Henderson nodded and said, "I know."


    With a hint of reluctance, she said, "When the school term is over...so will ...Mrs Herderson, the middle school teacher."


    Gong Shim suddenly put his dirty hand on Herderson''s shoulder and said, "Cheer up. Look at the bright side. At the very least the company is giving us a 10% discount at this restaurant."


    "..." Henderson didn''t know how to respond to her visiting senior. But as he ruined her dress, she grabbed a fork and stabbed his hand, making the guy scream in pain.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Ed! Over here!" Jacob called from afar. The group was sitting around a circular table�C conversing with each other as they ate.


    "Alex. Look over here. This color is so pretty." Enid said as she showed Alex''s own hand to her. Nose deep in her studies, Alex glances at her fingers, smirked a bit before turning her attention back to her books. Enid sighed and continued to put nail polish on Alex''s other hand while Elsa and Jacob were acting like a dumb couple in front of them.


    "You''re so pretty. I just want to keep you right in my pocket." Jacob said as he flirtingly brushed Elsa''s hair behind her ear. Elsa blushed and said, "Then. We will be together all the time-"


    I got sickened by them and retorted, "If Jacob kept growing, he could literally put you in his pocket. Where''s Jenna?" I sat down next to Jacob and Enid (Circular table) and smacked Jacob right in the middle of his back for his revolting demeanor. It was as if they thought I couldn''t see them touching each other in intimate places underneath the table.


    While Jacob tried to rub the sore place, Elsa said, "She''s getting some food."


    I nodded and opened my lunch bag�C given by Claire in the morning before I went to school.


    "Hey. Why is yours more special than mine?" Alex said in disbelief as she saw that my lunch was packed properly, while hers were just thrown into the paper bag carelessly. Not to mention mine was more complete with additional fruits as snacks.


    "Because I''m more special than you in your mom''s heart." I said casually, causing Alex to roll her eyes. She wanted to retort but was disrupted.


    "Hey guys. Ed. I finished Baratie." Jenna said in excitement as she pushed Jacob away to sit next to me. I smiled while eating my sandwich, finished chewing first and swallowed before turning to her and said, "Really? So You didn''t study?"


    "... I studied a little bit." Jenna''s face flushed as she got caught. Alex rolled her eyes and slammed her book on the table before reprimanding Jenna. "Listen. I don''t care about your bet, how you guys are going to make out if she got all As. But I gave you my notes and energy. So if your grades are-"


    "Alex. Chill." I said, cutting Alex off before she could keep going with her rant. Alex snorted and returned to her book while giving Jenna a side eye. Feeling her guilty conscious pricked, Jenna quickly said, "I have already finished all the notes you gave me! I only watched the show while I was resting!"


    "Lies." Elsa added. Jenna glared at her friend and said, "I didn''t lie! Although a weird thing did happen, I still studied?"


    "Weird thing? What happened?" I asked curiously.


    "You know the guy''s name?" I asked as I got a bad feeling about the whole thing.


    "Nah. Sorry." Jenna replied, her hand still on my thigh.


    I shook my head as I noted about the whole incident in my mind. There''s going to be consequences when you try to mess with my friends.


    "My mom invited you to the house. She wants to meet you." Jenna said.


    "Hmm? Okay. I''ll give you a call when I have free time." I replied casually as I too wanted to have a talk with her mother about the whole thing.


    Despite Jenna acting casual about the matter, I knew she was struggling with it. For example, she wore modest and baggy clothes today instead of her normal clothes.


    I patted her head and said, "Don''t worry. That asshole is nothing but a perv. It''s not your fault. Also, I will make sure he''ll pay for what he did."


    Jenna widened her eyes before lowering her head as she enjoyed the protection. Alex then sighed and put her books down. "I can''t study like this."


    I smiled and said, "Then. Wanna play a game?"


    "Can you say that again...but in Jigsaw''s voice?" Jacob asked. I turned to him and mimicked the toy and said in a hoarse voice, "I want. to play. a game!" While putting my hands together like a villain.


    "You really should stop hanging out with my dad." Alex rolled her eyes and leaned forward as she waited for the game to start.


    "Truth or dare?" Elsa guessed the game.


    "That should only be played when we all get to highschool. It''s very easy for the game to turn wildly inappropriate, so we really shouldn''t play it right now. And definitely at the school cafeteria during lunch." Jenna said.


    "What game Ed?" Enid asked as she kept her nail polish in her bag.


    I took out my phone and opened an app called Undercover. "The game will give us 2 words that are similar to each other. What we should do is to use ambiguous and obscure words to describe the word we have gotten, and try to find the person with the different word- the undercover."


    "Huh. So, we will win if we catch the guy? How do we catch him?" Jacob asked in intrigue.


    "We''re going to vote every time a turn ends. But, even if the undercover is caught, he or she could still win if they guessed the keyword accurately."


    "There''s also a Mr White role where the player wouldn''t be given a word at all, but we''re not including it yet in the game."


    The phone would be a moderator for the game. After we all typed in our name and read our keyword, the game finally started.


    "We''ll start with Enid." I said as I read the game direction.


    Enid thought about it for a while and said, "Hmm...Jenna''s lip gloss?"


    The rest thought for a bit before they nodded at the clue. "Acceptable." Jenna said.


    "Alex." I said on behalf of the app''s moderator.


    Alex smiled and said, "Red?"


    "Sure." Elsa accepted the hint.


    Next was Jacob, and he said, "Fruit."


    Jenna was next, and she said, "Supermarket."


    "Hey. That''s cowardly." Alex giggled and admonished Jenna.


    Elsa was next and she said, "Salad."


    "Huh?" Jenna was confused by the hint.


    "Huh what?" Elsa was flabbergasted when she realized that none of them could relate with her hint. I smiled and said, "The last one is me right? As we already know who the undercover is, I will say...the thing Jenna is allergic to."


    "Vote now." I ordered. All of us pointed our fingers at Elsa, while she alone pointed the fingers at me. She glared at Jacob, and he reluctantly changed his vote to point at me, however it didn''t change the outcome.


    I pressed Elsa''s name on the apps, and it showed that she was undercover all along!


    "What is your keyword?" She asked.


    "Strawberry. You?" Jenna replied.


    "Cherry."


    We played a few more times, and everytime we caught someone lying, the whole table burst into laughter, and overall it was a great time for all of us. Alex managed to relax a bit before her exam, and I was able to create more valuable memories with my group of friends today.


    "Hey. Next week is the Summer Festival. There''s a stage for the bands. You should play there." Alex said as the lunch break bell rang.


    "I don''t think the school could afford my fee." I said with a slight smirk, making Alex roll her eyes.


    "If you don''t want to, then don''t." She said gruffly and turned away. I grabbed her wrist and said, "You''re really like your grandfather. I wasn''t finished. I''ll sing, if you get up on the stage with me."


    "Huh? I don''t know how to play in a band. Also, I play the cello." She said in confusion.


    "That''s okay. I''ll make a song that has a cello in it." I said confidently. She hesitated a bit and agreed afterward before we both walked back to our classes. I finished the rest of the exams without a hitch and I followed along the Dunphys as Claire drove us home after school was over.


    "Ed. You''re staying at our house tonight right?" Luke asked.


    "Yeah."


    "Cool. it''ll be like sleeping over."


    "...What do you think I''m doing when I get there Luke?"

 Chapter 99: Overnight Chaos.

    Chapter 99: Chapter 99: Overnight Chaos.


    (I''m sick af, but I''m back. Lol.)


    [General POV]


    -Highschool-


    While Ed was playing a game with his friends at the school cafeteria, Tara, Abby, and Haley were also sitting around together at a similar table in another school trying to eat their lunch. However, unlike the warm, comforting air that enveloped Ed and his friends, the air around the girls was ice cold.


    Tara carefully looked at Haley and then Abby who were ignoring each other. She picked her salad for a while before sighing and opening her mouth to break the silence, "So...What happened?!"


    "This girl is a SKANK!" Abby said with hostility as she pointed at Haley.


    Flabbergasted, Haley defended herself quickly, "Well...YOU''RE DELUSIONAL!"


    The other students whistled and chanted for them to fight each other. Abby showed her middle fingers with both arms to those eavesdropping and returned back to Tara.


    While calmly eating her salad, Tara wiped her mouth elegantly with a napkin as she swallowed her food before asking again, "You guys still haven''t told me what happened."


    Abby and Haley looked at each other warily before calming down a bit. Abby opened her mouth first and told her the entire story.


    After Tara listened to it until the end, she nodded and said, "So. You guys are idiots."


    "HEY!" x2


    [Haley''s commentary]


    "Ugh. I can''t believe HER!" Haley groaned as she flipped her hair back. "Can you imagine she''s being possessive of Ed, even when she''s NO LONGER his girlfriend?"


    "In fact, even their first relationship was a fake one." She said, then realizing that she was badmouthing her friend, and shut up immediately.


    [Commentary ends]


    Tara pointed at Abby with her fork and asked, "You''re not making a move, and you''re mad he''s hooking up with the blondie...that, for some mysterious reason you guys don''t want to tell me the name of? Or.... might that be because she is a famous person...or the info will hurt Ed if it gets out?"


    Tara''s sharp instinct made both Abby and Haley flinch, but they just nodded without confirming, nor denying, Tara''s hypothesis.


    Tara narrowed her eyes at both of her friends before turning to Haley, "And you. Didn''t you say you were not making any moves until Abby had gone away to respect her? And then got shut down by him before you could even do it?"


    "Well. It''s different now. Making a move is no longer a choice. It''s a necessity. Otherwise Ed will be entangled in the creepy Hollywood scandals and influences, and will lose his way."


    "And THAT''S why he needs ME." Abby added.


    Haley glared at her and said, "NO! He needs ME! He''s hurting right now. I can make him whole again!"


    "Well I can too!" Abby said, not backing down. Tara just silently ate her salad while mocking both of her friends inside her heart as she thought about the whole thing.


    "Is this because of the guy who asked Abby out to prom?" Tara asked.


    Both of them flinched again and Abby started to stammer, "W-Who? No one asked me-"


    "The football team quarterback, the one you broke the nose of on your first day at school? Gossip travels fast, you know?" Tara said casually before finishing eating and starting to drink from a milk carton next. She glanced at Abby''s and Haley''s chests and prayed that she could raise her cup size before the end of the year and not get stuck at A cup while disdaining both of her friends at the same time.


    "There''s a simple solution for this." Tara said, no longer pursuing the subject given that Abby didn''t want to talk about the football player anymore.


    "What is it?" Haley asked.


    "Both of you....Hook up with him."


    "W-Wh-WHAT?!" x2


    [Abby''s Commentary]


    "So when I drove Ed to school today, I saw his text with"Taytay "... They were flirting, hard and he even planned to give her a kitten." Abby said in dissatisfaction.


    "He even saved her name so intimately, can you believe that?!" She widened her eyes in disbelief as she crossed her legs and arms at the same time.


    "I told Haley about it, and she reacted the same way as I am. I thought she was on my side, but it turns out she has her own motives."


    Then, Abby slumped her shoulders and said, "I know I''m being a brat. Ed and I aren''t even dating. But... I really don''t want to see him dating someone else ... I wonder if Ed will not date Tay- "the blondie" after hooking up with both Haley and I at the same time."


    Tara never said ''at the same time'', but that''s how Abby heard it.


    [commentary ends]


    "Anyway, forget about Ed for a moment. Abby, you''re staying here for the entire summer right?" Tara''s eyes lit up as she heard the news from Haley today.


    Although Haley and Abby were ''fighting'', Haley was extremely delighted that Abby had extended her stay in California before she had to go back to New York.


    "Yeah. I don''t know what my mum''s plan is, but she requested to transfer her station to this town city hall. If they accept her, we will stay here until I graduate. But if she can''t get the transfer, then I will just be here for the summer."


    "Ohhh We should buy bikinis!" Haley said in excitement.


    "Totally! And Invite Ed to the beach!" Abby was excited too, and both of the girls giggled as they planned for the summer.


    Tara narrowed her eyes at her friends and thought, ''Weren''t they fighting before?''


    A few hours passed by, and Abby drove Tara and Haley home after school.


    Haley was not backing down when Abby kept being wishy washy about Edward. It pissed her off. Before they knew it, they were fighting again.


    "You''re already his Ex- girlfriend. "EX"! Your relationship is already over. It didn''t work out. Move on. Don''t be so pathetic."


    "Why? So you can date him? I saw the way you were looking at him. I never imagined you would betray your friend like this."


    "Betray you? What did I do to betray you!? You and Edward are over! Don''t you remember? You BROKE UP with him. Also, he''s already dating Tay-"


    As Tara was there, Haley stopped her words halfway and looked warily at her friend. Tara shook her head in disdain and said, "You don''t have to force yourself to censor it anymore. I can already guess who it is."


    Abby was silent for a while and was contemplating hard before she said, "He''s sleeping over right?"


    "Yeah. Why?" Haley replied in confusion.


    [Gloria and Jay''s commentary]


    "Today is the anniversary of our first date, and Jay had planned something special...for just the two of us." Gloria said as she looked at Jay with a smitten look.


    Jay smiled with his mouth, but not with his eyes as he waited for Gloria to finish talking.


    "Manny didn''t want to say it, but he''s feeling a bit... what''s the word?"


    "Isolated. Estranged. No friends want to hangout with him?" Jay guessed.


    "Yeah, that last one. So when Claire told me Ed is staying over with Luke, it was a perfect opportunity for Manny to have his first sleepover with his friends. I know Ed will take care of him, so I can leave him there with an easy heart." Gloria said.


    Jay didn''t want to correct Gloria as he wanted to keep her in a good mood.


    [Jay''s commentary]


    He took out a CD and said, "Ed had given me the songs I wanted. 3 songs in Spanish. But the problem is...I...lost the translation paper, and have no idea what the songs are all about."


    He rubbed his forehead in frustration as he said, "Now. I already promised Gloria something special for the ''dating'' anniversary...luckily Ed hinted to me after Gloria told him about it. Otherwise I would have no idea she was hoping for something special today."


    Jay was silent for a while and muttered, "How the hell should I play the songs now?"


    [commentary ends]


    After dinner, the family went on to do their own things. The hyperactive Luke was reprimanded by his mother and had to finish his homework first before she would allow him to play with us, therefore he was thrown to his own room for him to do his work under Claire''s supervision.


    Manny needed to do his homework too, therefore he joined Luke in his room. Alex had gone back to studying, leaving only Phil, Haley, and I in the living room.


    "Hey Ed. Wanna watch this?" Haley said as she took out a DVD. It''s titled, ''The Unborn.''


    "A horror movie? Really?" I widened my eyes in surprise.


    "Yeah. It''s going to be fun." Haley said with a grin and a slight shoulder tilt before she clung to my arm and dragged me to the sofa.


    [Haley''s commentary]


    "I''m not an idiot. It would be very dumb of me to try and show him a sensual move...while he''s at MY house." Haley said with a sly grin.


    "So I''m going to make a few girly moves. Such as-"


    -Living room-


    Haley was on Ed''s left side as they watched the movie. They cuddled underneath a blanket with Haley looking fearful as she watched the movie.


    "BOOM!" The ghost popped out on the screen.


    "Kyaa!" Haley screamed in fear and clung into Ed''s arm while simultaneously pressing her body into his as she covered her eyes from watching the horror scene.


    Ed was helpless and couldn''t help but pat her to comfort her. For him, the movie was boring. He couldn''t help but laugh a few times because of how fake it was.


    -Back to commentary-


    "See..." She said while pointing at her temple. Then, she sighed and said, "It would all have worked better though ...if my dad wasn''t there too..."


    -Living room-


    "BOOM!" the ghost popped out on the screen.


    "Kyaa!" Haley screamed and clung onto Ed''s arm.


    "KYAA!" Phil screamed in a high pitched voice before he clung onto Ed''s right arm. Then, he collected himself and tried to laugh it off by saying, "I knew that was going to happen. God Haley, stop being such a coward. I''ll go make some popcorn."


    Phil walked away quickly, and when the ghost popped out on the screen again, he almost fell while he was walking behind the sofa.


    "Guys. Luke needs my help, so I''m not going to be able to protect you guys." Phil said, trying to act tough as if he was going away for Luke''s benefit. The ghost came on the screen once more, and Phil yelped before he ran away quickly.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Haley''s leg was on my lap as she cuddled with me on the sofa. She kept squirming and intimately clinging onto my neck as she laid her head on my chest after her dad had moved away.


    "You...did this on purpose right?" I said as I brushed her hair.


    "Maybe." She said slyly and kissed my neck without any warning. I widened my eyes in surprise and said hurriedly, "Are you crazy? What if your mom saw that? Also, what are you doing?"


    "Nothing. What did I do?" Haley asked innocently. I pinched her ass, causing her to yelp seductively. I looked into her eyes and said, "Don''t play too much. I don''t want to get into trouble."


    Haley smirked and rested her head on my chest again before muttering, "You know. You can just do the easy thing and push me away."


    "Nah. Your body temperature is pretty nice. It''s like cuddling with a heat pack. Also, I''m feeling pity for you."


    "Huh? Why?" Haley said in confusion. She moved her head to look at me in the eyes as I said, "Well. You have been single for so long, I think you''re having relationship withdrawal syndrome."


    " I AM NOT-"


    Before she could finish, I pushed her head back to my chest again. She pouted and punched me before saying, "You''re having the competition tomorrow. Why aren''t you studying like Alex?"


    "I have already finished studying. Alex too, but she insisted on revising the materials." I explained. Suddenly, Alex walked into the living room with a book in her hand. She glared at Haley in disdain before saying, "Playtime is over. I need to study with Ed. MOVE!"


    "What? We''re watching a movie! YOU MOVE!" Haley argued.


    Alex turned to the room direction and shouted, "MOM! Haley is-"


    Before she could finish, Haley already jumped out and cupped her mouth anxiously. "Okay Okay!"


    Alex narrowed her eyes at Haley before walking to the sofa and sat extremely close to me. She put the book on my body and asked, "This. Have you read this part?"


    "Yeah. Do you have any questions about it?" I asked casually.


    "No." Alex replied.


    "... Then why did you come down?"

 Chapter 100: Chaos continues.

    Chapter 100: Chapter 100: Chaos continues.?


    (Woo-Hoo! We''re hitting triple digit! Gimme double the powerstone to celebrate!)


    [Edward POV]


    After Luke and Manny finished with their homework, they came to the living room with Claire and Phil following them from behind.


    "Oh! Thank god!" Phil muttered as he saw Haley had finally stopped watching the movie.


    Haley was currently glaring at Alex who disrupted her intimate moment and pretending to be on the phone, while Alex kept discussing the decathlon materials with me without caring about the hostile gaze.


    Claire saw the scene in the living room and smiled brightly as we kept things PG without her there.


    "Ed, do you want some snacks?" She asked.


    "No need Claire. Can I go to the room now, or do you still need some time to clean it up?" I asked.


    Claire was taken aback and then smiled wryly as she was caught. She said, "I...No, Luke''s room is clean enough...for now..."


    "Okay thanks."


    "Are you boys going to sleep?" Claire asked casually as if it was the most normal thing in the world.


    Manny and Luke turned to each other while I looked at the clock. "Claire...it''s 8.30."


    "Luke''s bedtime is at 9...So..." Claire said before clapping slightly, "All the kids should go to sleep at the same time. Manny...and you included Ed."


    I paused for a while and said while meeting her eyes, "Yeah...I''m not going to do that."


    "My house, my rules." Claire parented skillfully.


    "I still need to do some work, Claire." I debated.


    "No arguments." Claire said sternly. I narrowed my eyes at her, making her flinch.


    "What?" She asked warily.


    "Nothing. Just wondering about something." I muttered.


    "W-W-What are you thinking about?" Claire asked as she crossed her arms together.


    "I''m wondering why you want me to follow your rules so badly." I said. "Does it stem from your cripping need for control, or maybe you wanted to pop open a glass of wine and have a good time with Phil after all the kids were forced to go to sleep-"


    "OKAY STOP!" Claire said and put her hand on my shoulder. I still have an innocent smile on my face, which made Claire feel twice the horror than if I made a scary face at this moment.


    "I''m not letting you sleep late. I''ll allow you to...extend the bedtime...until 10 o''clock. Then, all of you will have to go to sleep!" Claire said decisively before she harrumped away.


    "WHOA HO HO HO~!" Luke and Manny exclaimed in excitement before Luke said, "Nice. We have a later bedtime! Thanks ED!"


    "Whatever. I''m not sleeping at 10. Otherwise I will wake up at 2. Phil, do you have any workout instruments?" I asked as I turned to Phil.


    "Umm...I think so?" Phil questioned himself. I scrunch my face in confusion, so did Haley and Alex.


    [Phil''s commentary]


    "I have...a.... 5 lbs pink weight and the street strider...Oh, and also a trampoline!..." Phil said with excitement at the last part before he turned depressed again, "So no...I don''t have anything he could use to work out right now..."


    [commentary ends]


    "That doesn''t matter. Luke, get on my back." I ordered.


    "ON IT!" Luke saluted before running to follow me from behind as we moved to his room. "Manny, you''re joining me!" I shouted at Manny who was frozen at his initial spot. Phil seemed helpless, and Claire patted his shoulder and chest to comfort him as she could guess what he was feeling right now.


    [Claire''s commentary]


    "Both boys, and even the girls were looking at Ed for direction and guidance...I guess Phil was a bit jealous... But he''s settling for Ed looking at HIM...for guidance." Claire explained before she lowered her eyes and whispered, "But I need to make sure Phil doesn''t turn him into another...well you know...Phil."


    [Commentary ends]


    "Is this really necessary?" Manny asked whiningly, and he definitely didn''t want to work out this late at night...or ever.


    "You''re asking me how to make a girl swoon right? If you don''t come, I won''t tell you~" I said cheekily, making both Haley and Alex grin. Manny saw the girl''s reactions, and was immediately filled with motivation.


    "WAIT FOR ME!" He shouted as he ran to catch up with us. Haley and Alex decided to watch and they followed us to Luke''s bedroom and leaned on the doorframe without actually coming into the room. I took off my shirt as we got into the room, revealing my toned abs, but not yet sculpted.


    "Hum-" Haley bit her lower lips and let out a turned on groan, making me roll my eyes at her. I turned to Luke and said, "Can you ask your mom for a spray bottle filled with water? I want to spray your sister everytime she looks at me like that." I censored my wordings as I was with 2 ten years old, otherwise my words would be a lot more crude.


    Haley was taken aback while the others laughed at her. As I started to work out, Manny was a bit apprehensive to follow me in doing the routine.


    "Why?" I asked.


    "I don''t feel comfortable exercising with people staring at me."


    Alex rolled her eyes and said, "We''re not even looking at you-"


    "You know what Manny. You''re right. If you don''t feel comfortable doing it, then you don''t have to force yourself to do it. But in this case, there''s a simple solution for it."


    "Huh. What''s the solution?" Manny asked in confusion.


    I walked to the door, making both of the girls stare at me in confusion. Then, I waved at them and slowly closed the door to their faces.


    "What the fuc-" Haley almost cursed from outside the door. "HALEY!" Claire heard it and shouted at her. I smiled in satisfaction, while Manny was thoroughly impressed by my actions.


    "What?" I asked him.


    "You know, I don''t think I will ever have the bravery to do what you just did." Manny confessed.


    I placed my hand on his shoulder and comforted him, "Yeah. I know."


    "..."


    After teasing Manny, we started working out for real. I let him do simple body stretches first as a warm up before coaching him. Luke was laughing at Manny''s misery from beside me, so I slowly turned toward him with a stern expression.


    "This is all your fault." Luke was accused as he was forced to do the exercise beside Manny.


    "I don''t even want to do this in the first place." Manny exclaimed, and he could no longer do the knee on the floor push ups I gave him, and laid flat on the hardwood tiles.


    "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! KILL IT!" Haley screamed and slapped my hand away from behind me, making the spider roll 3 times in the air before falling on the dry floor of the bathroom.


    "UGH! Haley!" I groaned in frustration as she kept throwing things at the creature. It kept avoiding her, but it seemed that its stamina was already on the brink of draining. Haley kept grabbing some stuff near her, until she finally grabbed something she was not supposed to�C my towel, and threw it at the spider.


    I was so baffled, that my jaw dropped as I turned to look at her. She froze as she saw what she had done, and now, there were 2 naked people inside the bathroom, staring awkwardly at each other for about 10 seconds as no one knew how to react to this situation.


    Taking advantage of the situation, the spider crawled to the tiny window up above the bathroom wall, and jumped outside of the house before spraying a web parachute and got picked up by the wind to go someplace else. Or that''s what I imagined it had done.


    "Hey. What happened?"


    Both of us could hear Claire''s anxious voice coming from in front of the door, breaking us out from our daze.


    "I''m coming in!" She said and the door was opening slightly. Without me realizing it, Haley grabbed me and pulled me into the shower tub before closing the shower curtain and opening the shower faucet again. Claire entered the bathroom, and almost reached the shower zone. She grabbed the shower curtain with one hand, preparing to open it and see what was going on.


    Haley held her breath and before she could open her mouth, I cupped it and shouted first, "Claire. It''s Me!"


    Claire instinctively stopped her hand and froze as it wasn''t one of her children inside of it. If it was Haley or anyone else, she would just barge into the shower without any concern about their embarrassment.


    "E-E-Ed? I thought I heard a girl''s voice?" Claire asked in confusion and a bit of embarrassment.


    I mouthed to Haley, ''Why the hell did you pull me in here?''


    ''I PANICKED!'' She mouthed back as I released her mouth.


    ''What should I say now?'' I asked anxiously.


    ''Make something up! She can''t know! Or She''ll ban you from coming...EVER!''


    "Ed? What''s going on?" Claire asked again, her suspicions grew as I took so long to answer. I swear to god I got so many IQ points that it lowered my EQ points greatly to balance it all out.


    "Uhh... I sound like a girl sometimes when I scream." I muttered, and regretted what I said the second it came out of my mouth. Haley almost laughed, and I glared at her, making her keep her voice down .


    "Really?" Claire asked in both confusion and bewilderment as she processed it.


    "Yeah...I''m...self conscious about it... And will definitely suffer if you ever told someone else what happened here today. I might even stop coming here forever." I said with a grim tone.


    Claire was surprised behind the curtain, but she still hadn''t let go of the thin layer of barrier separating us.


    My heart palpitates like crazy, and my extreme skin-to-skin contact with Haley allowed me to hear her crazy heart beats too. But she was distracted and kept looking down during my whole ordeal, which drove me almost insane.


    ''Stop looking at it!'' I mouthed.


    ''SORRY. It''s just ... It''s right there.'' She replied with no sounds while pointing at something.


    "Oh. Are you sure you''re fine? " Claire asked again in a worrying tone.


    "Yeah. The spider is gone now." I replied, hoping that she would go away soon without noticing anything weird inside the room.


    "Oh okay. I''m glad then. I''ll help you pick up the shower dispenser." Claire said and handed me the bottle of soap from the gap of the curtain.


    "That''s close enough Claire. Thanks." I said hurriedly as I grabbed the bottle. I handed it to Haley to hold as her hands were running wild.


    "Also Ed, there''s an interesting feature on the shower if you feel that the water is not hot enough-" Claire said in excitement as she wanted to share her knowledge of technology to me right now...while I was stark naked...in the shower...


    " Mrs Robinson, I''m going to stop you right there. Remember what I''m doing over here... and I don''t have any clothes on right now. Although I wouldn''t mind you joining me, I just couldn''t do that to Phil-"


    "Oh! OHHH!!! Right right. Sorry." Claire was finally snapped back to reality and retreated hurriedly to the door. "Hey, why is the door broken?" She asked after collecting herself.


    "I don''t know. It broke before I even came in." I made some excuses.


    "Oh. I''ll have Phil take a look at it tomorrow. I will stand guard and not let anyone else come in while you''re showering, so you can be at ease!" Claire said, offering her hospitality.


    "No It''s okay Claire. I''m still going to take a while."


    "It''s okay. You shouldn''t feel unsafe while you''re showering. I will stay." Claire said and closed the door behind her as she walked out.


    "Okay thanks Claire. I appreciate it." I said with gritted teeth while shaking my fist in frustration as she kept lingering, but I couldn''t actually say it was logical to ask her to go away.


    "Now what?" I asked Haley. However, she hit me in the chest and said, "A naked girl is standing in front of you, and you''re still hitting on her mother."


    "Well speaking as most men, if I have the chance with both mother and daughter, and especially together, I will not be afraid to take it. But this is a separate topic no? Now, how the hell should we get out of here?"


    Haley pumped off a couple of soap into her hand and started to wash me beginning from my chest.


    "What the?"


    "We''re in the shower. She''s going to be suspicious if you''re not showering." She said and her hand tried to go down below the belt, but I grabbed it and said, "True. We''re in the shower."


    To her surprise, I pumped out the shampoo and started washing her hair.


    "Oh my god, that''s so good." Haley moaned with her eyes turned to the back of her head as she enjoyed the head massage. Finally, blood could reach her brain and she said casually, "Big deal. You go out first, and then, I''ll come out after you lead her away."


    "Haley. You had lived with your mother for 16 years. Do you really believe that after a guest comes and uses her shower, she won''t come to check, and even clean it?"


    "Oh shit. You''re right? What should we do?" She finally understood the severity of the situation and freaked out a little. "By the way, you''re really okay with both of us naked in the shower together huh?"


    "Well...it''s nothing I haven''t seen before. And you''re right, you did ''grow''." She replied casually before whispering seductively in my ear, "I''m a bit curious now to see where this will go."


    I smiled and whispered back, making her bite her lower lips as she heard it, "The thought of taking your virginity while your mother is directly next door is like the devil''s whisper in my ear. I''m... REALLY trying hard right now to keep myself rational, so please don''t make it even worse."


    "Humm~" She let out a cute moan before trying hard to calm herself up. She whispered, "You might have awakened something dangerous in me, or maybe there was always a seed there..."


    "Focus Haley."


    "Right. Sorry."


    "Ummmmm...." Haley and I thought for a while, before Haley snapped her finger and said, "I got it!"


    My eyes lit up expectantly and I asked, "What is it?"


    "When you open the door and meet my mother, drop your towel."


    "What the fuuc-" I paused...thought about it for a while, and replied, "That might work."


    Haley and I both nodded our heads as we were sure of the plan was going to work, and she suddenly said, "Now with that solved, the next important question is...Are we sure we''re not going to do anything while we''re here?"

 Chapter 101: Oh no!

    Chapter 101: Chapter 101: Oh no!


    [General POV]


    At Jay''s house, the old man had prepared a candlelight dinner to celebrate his first date anniversary with his new, smoking hot wife who was wearing a low cut red dress that accentuated her figure, making every man drool in her presence.


    "Really? We''re staying at home for the anniversary?" Gloria smiled with her mouth, but her eyes showed disappointment as she was expecting something more from her husband. They had finished a nice dinner together, and now were celebrating with red wine.


    Jay in a dashing black suit smiled and said, "Well...the surprise I have tonight is made especially for you...I don''t want you to share the moment with anyone else."


    "Ay Jay! What present?" Gloria''s eyes lit up in excitement.


    Jay took out a small white box with blue ribbon on it and placed it on the table before sliding it to Gloria. She snatched the box from his hand gleefully and savagely ripped the ribbon off before opening the box.


    "A pair of diamond earrings! I LOVE IT JAY!" Gloria said before she stood up while simultaneously taking off her current earring to change it into the new ones.


    "Wait! Slow down!" Jay grabbed Gloria''s arm before she could run away with a soft smile on his face as she loved his first present.


    "There''s another?" Gloria asked with an excited tone.


    "Yes. But the next one doesn''t cost me money, but parts of my dignity." Jay joked. Gloria tilted her head slightly in confusion. Jay saw and sighed before he explained, "Well...I prepared a special song for us."


    Her excitement was at the peak, and she said, "DID YOU MAKE THE SONG-"


    "What- No! I asked...someone to do it."


    "You asked Ed didn''t you?" Gloria said, her excitement deflated quickly.


    Jay''s mouth became dry and he thought secretly to himself, ''I...didn''t expect this.''


    "Anyway. Shall we?" Jay asked while romantically grabbing Gloria''s hand.


    Gloria nodded, but she didn''t seem that excited at the prospect of getting her own song. Many men had serenaded her with their own songs before, not to mention that this song didn''t even come from Jay.


    He leads her to the living room before hitting the play button to reveal the song. "This is just for you." He said in a low voice. Gloria didn''t make fun of his effort and said, "Then. let me hear it."


    He grabbed her by the waist, and they gently swayed together as they listened to the song''s intro. The ukulele sound reverberated in the entire living room. Gloria widened her eyes as she heard the first line on the song, which was in Spanish.


    ????????


    "Amarte Como Te Amo�� (Record scratch)"


    "Huh?" Jay was confused by the song stopping suddenly. Then, he heard a dreaded sound coming from the audio.


    "Viking is taking the lead in today''s match-"


    "OH HELL!" Jay cursed as he realized he had accidentally taped yesterday''s football match over the song in the CD Edward gave him. He anxiously pressed all the buttons on the home entertainment speaker, but he accidentally pressed ''clean disk'' on the option.


    "Oh no!" Jay exclaimed with widened eyes and turned to a disappointed Gloria behind him.


    "I''ll...see if he''s still up." Jay said quickly before taking out his phone.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Despite my reluctance, we didn''t do anything inside the shower except take a bath together.


    "It will be bad for us if Claire waited for a long time before I came out of the room.if by any chance we were caught, then we won''t be able to explain ourselves." I said using my logical thinking, making my lower body part turned depressed.


    "So...You''re not against us doing things?" Haley asked slyly and with a cute quizzical head tilt.


    I smiled and replied, "Nah."


    "So. You''re not dating then." She said clearly.


    "Huh? Why would you think I''m dating?" I asked her.


    "N-Nothing. I was just being dumb." She replied before turning off the shower.


    [Haley''s commentary]


    "Okay. Good news. He''s not dating. Bad news. How the hell should I tell Abby about the way I got the information?!"


    [commentary ends]


    "Claire. Are you still there?" I asked while holding the doorknob.


    "Yes." Claire answered from outside the door.


    "Why? Don''t you think it''s a bit weird...and predatory to stay outside a teenage boy''s bathroom door?" I asked with a concerned voice, and was laughing with Haley inside the room as Claire couldn''t answer the question.


    I got out of the room slowly, and found Claire still waiting in the hallway despite her earlier embarrassment. She smiled begrudgingly and walked to the door, before Haley closed it from behind, making my towel get stuck at the door gap.


    "I prepared some warm milk for you in the kitchen. Go change into your pajamas first." Claire ordered.


    I nodded and pretended to walk casually. Claire saw that my towel was stuck at the door, and tried to stop me, "Wait. Ed-"


    She was too late. The towel fell down from my waist. Claire turned back hurriedly to prevent herself from seeing it.


    "OH MY GOD!" I exclaimed. "Sorry Claire. I''m so embarrassed!" I exclaimed in fake anxiousness as I opened the toilet door wide and signaled Haley to move out. She tiptoed quickly to get to her door, while I was still distracting Claire.


    "Have you put on the towel yet?!" Claire asked anxiously with her back turned against me.


    I looked at Haley who gave me an ''okay'' gesture as she sneaked into her room and said, "I''m done."


    Claire breathed in relief and turned back again, but I had already walked away from the bathroom. "Also Claire. I had already cleaned it, so you don''t actually have to wait until I''m done showering. You gave me a lot of anxiety by doing that." I said as I got to Luke''s bedroom door.


    Claire opened her mouth a few times, but no words could come out. She sighed and said, "Sorry. I was being difficult for you."


    "It''s okay Claire. I will fix the door knob tomorrow, okay?" I said with a smile before entering the room.


    [Claire''s commentary]


    Standing outside of the bathroom door, Claire barged into the bathroom and scanned the entirety of it before finally sighing in relief.


    " I don''t know why...but I didn''t think he was alone in there." Claire said her concern. Her motherly instinct kept screaming at her, telling her something was wrong with the whole situation�C especially when Ed teased her to make her go away from there.


    "I really thought he was hiding something, that maybe he had a girl in there. But, he didn''t do anything wrong, and he even cleaned up the bathroom�C I feel so guilty about suspecting him now."


    She paused for a second before saying, "But still...I KNOW...something weird is going on...I just don''t know what yet."


    After a long silence, she confessed, "Also. I got a peek under there. But not clearly. That kid is going to make a lot of girls happy-"


    [commentary ends]


    "Huh. That''s weird." I muttered as I saw a text from Jay after putting on some clothes. I called him without thinking much about it, and he picked up the call almost immediately.


    "Hey Ed. What''s the rate if I want to hire you to play for the evening?"


    "This evening?" What happened?" I asked in confusion.


    Jay explained a bit and said, "Look. Gloria is pissed. I''ll pay you 5 thousand bucks if you get down here as quickly as you can."


    "Sure. Lemme grab my instrument. But, you need to call Claire and talk to her about it. She''s curfew-ing me, and won''t let me stay up late like I''m a child."


    "Hmm..I''ll talk to her. Hurry up Ed." Jay said before he ended the call. I changed into some dress clothes and walked out of the room silently without waking up Luke or Manny.


    ??Ya no se? que? hacer para que este?s bien (I don''t know what to do to make you be ok)


    Si apagar el sol para encender tu amanecer (If I should turn off the sun to turn on your sunrise)


    Falar em portugue?s, aprender a hablar france?s (Speak in Portuguese, learn to speak French)


    O bajar la luna hasta tus pies?? (Or bring the down the moon to your feet)


    The change in tempo made Gloria excited, and her dance with Jay became much more energetic.


    ??Yo solo quiero darte un beso (I only want to give you a kiss)


    Y regalarte mis ma?anas (and gift you my mornings)


    Cantar para calmar tus miedos (sing to calm your fears)


    Quiero que no te falte nada ??(I don''t want you to lack anything)


    "AYY JAY!" Gloria exclaimed lovingly and placed her head on Jay''s chest again.


    [Jay''s commentary]


    "I don''t even know why she''s mad or why she was so touched. Edward will get mad at me when I say this, but I also lost the paper with the lyrics and translation he gave me before."


    [Commentary ends]


    "??Yo solo quiero darte un beso (I only want to give you a kiss)


    Llenarte con mi amor el alma (Fill your soul with my love)


    Llevarte a conocer el cielo (take you to explore the sky)


    Quiero que no te falte nada ??" (I don''t want you to lack anything)


    I turned to the girls and winked at them, making them blush. Haley decided to record the show as she needed to find out the translation later, and I had no problem with her action.


    "??Si el mundo fuera mi?o, te lo dari?a (If I owned the world I would give it to you)


    Hasta mi religio?n la cambiari?a (I would even change my religion)


    Por ti hay tantas cosas que yo hari?a (There are so many things I would do for you)


    Pero tu? no me das ni las noticias, uh ??(But you don''t even give me the news (E/N: This is more a Spanish phrase to say that she doesn''t even acknowledges him) )


    [Gloria''s commentary]


    "Now. the mood is returning..." Gloria said with a smile. "Also, I think, Manny can learn from Ed how to serenade a girl in Spanish. We are so passionate, so smooth. He lost interest in learning recently, and I really think that realizing this will help him."


    [Manny''s commentary]


    "I was kinda jealous that I couldn''t go there and listen to the song on my own last night. But seeing Haley''s video, I had a decision to make. With Ed teaching me how to get girls, and singing a Spanish song like he does, I think I can make Jenna fall in love with me. And yes, Ed''s friend, Jenna Mckenzie. Ed said she''s still single."


    [commentary ends]


    ??Y ya no se? que? hacer para que este?s bien ( And I don''t know what to do to make sure you are ok)


    Si apagar el sol para encender tu amanecer (If I turn off the sun to Turn on your sunrise)


    Falar em portugue?s, aprender a hablar france?s (Speak Portuguese or learn to speak French)


    O bajar la luna hasta tus pies ??(Or bring the moon down to your feet)


    My voice made the girls melt, and Gloria swoon. Of course, Jay received a lot of her affection for arranging this. He smiled as he knew the mood was back on.


    ??Yo solo quiero darte un beso (I only want to give you a kiss)


    Y regalarte mis ma?anas (and gift you my mornings )


    Cantar para calmar tus miedos (sing to ease your fears)


    Quiero que no te falte nada?? (I don''t want you to lack anything)


    The melodies of ukulele music reverberated in the entire house. My finger moved skillfully on the strings, capturing Alex''s admiration. "His fingers...are so nice." She blurted out unconsciously with a dazed face.


    ??Yo solo quiero darte un beso (I only want to give you one kiss)


    Llenarte con mi amor el alma (el alma) (Fill your soul with my love)


    Solo quiero darte un beso (I only want to give you one kiss)


    Quiero que no te falte nada ??(oh, no) (I don''t want you to lack anything )


    Jay and Gloria danced, and he twirled her underneath his arm before pulling her back into his embrace.


    ??Yo solo quiero darte un beso (darte un beso) (I only want to give you one kiss)


    Llevarte a conocer el cielo?? (take you to explore the sky)


    "Ayy Jay. The lyrics are so romantic." Gloria muttered.


    "They are? I mean. Of course they are. It''s written for you after all." Jay said, claming the credit.


    ??Solo quiero darte un beso (I only want to give you one kiss)


    Quiero que no te falte nada?? (I don''t want you to lack anything)


    I slowed down the melody at the end and looked at the atmosphere in satisfaction.


    ??Tu-ru, solo quiero ??(I only want)


    ??Tu-ru, eh-eh-ey??


    ??Yo solo quiero darte - (tu-ru) (I only want to give you)


    Quiero que no te falte nada?? (I don''t want you to lack anything)


    I didn''t end the song abruptly, but played the ukulele for a while as I let the music fade slowly away. Alex and Haley clapped their hands as I finished singing, but Jay walked briskly toward us in a hurry.


    "GO. Go home. NOW!" Jay said as he chased us away.


    "What? Why Gran-" Before Haley could ask, and Alex could find out, I grabbed both of their wrists and pulled them away. I said to Jay, "Remember to return my stuff to my house tomorrow."


    "I will. GO NOW!" Jay said and chased us out again. I laughed and pulled both puzzled girls to the front door before disappearing from the house, and entered Claire''s minivan hurriedly.


    "Drive Claire. Drive."


    "On it!" Claire knew what was happening and pressed the pedal in a hurry as we ran away from there.


    [General POV]


    After chasing the kids away, Jay turned back, only to find Gloria was gone from the living room.


    "Gloria?" He shouted to find out where she was.


    "I''m in the bedroom. I''m starting with, or without you. So hurry up!" Gloria said suggestively. Jay pumped his fist in excitement before running up the stairs to join her in ''celebrating'' their night together.

 Chapter 102: Decathlon begins!

    Chapter 102: Chapter 102: Decathlon begins!


    (I won''t be back till Thursday next week. I will be taking some time off to finish my Marvel fic, and lets hope to god I can actually end it this time yeh? lol. Have a nice day everyone!)


    [Edward POV]


    "Ooo Jay''s going to get some~"


    "Ed! That''s disgusting!"


    Alex looked at me as if I was lesser than vermin after I made that joke. Haley got irritated too, even though her reaction was more moderate compared to Alex''s. Despite them already knowing how human reproduction worked, it was still too much for them to consider their old grandpa was stit participating in that sort of thing.


    I made a zipping mouth gesture and threw away the key to calm them down. Despite that, my mouthole was opened just a few seconds later.


    "Alex, when are you going to join me on stage?"


    "Hmm?" Haley turned to look at us with a complicated expression on her face. Alex rolled her eyes and replied, "You should make a song first!"


    "Hey. Alex, you''re going to play together with Ed?" Claire asked from the driver seat.


    "Why? Am I not good enough?" Alex asked defensively. I flicked her forehead, making her groan in pain.


    "What was that for?" She growled at me.


    "Your mom is just asking, why are you so hostile to her?" I asked, making Alex freeze in realization. She turned to Claire and said in a tiny voice, "Sorry mom. I''m too anxious about tomorrow, so I took it out on you."


    Claire covered her mouth and had a touched expression. She said, "It''s okay Alex. You guys will do well tomorrow. Why? Because you''re all a bunch of SUPERSTARS!"


    Alex rolled her eyes while Haley laughed at her sister''s misery.


    After we got to the Dunphy''s home, Claire immediately ordered us to go and sleep although it was only 11 o''clock. We didn''t argue with her though, and promptly went to the bed to get some shut eye.


    "Damn. Where should I sleep?" I muttered helplessly as both beds were already taken by Luke and Manny. Not to mention their cacophony of snores, I saw Luke''s drool dripping from the top bed to the bottom, and the drops falling only inches away from where Manny''s head was.


    "So...I''m not going to bunk with Manny." I muttered.


    After changing my clothes into pajamas, I went back out and walked to the living room downstairs with a pillow and a blanket.


    I activated the [Rest] skill as I laid down on the couch, and within 30 seconds, I was transported to dreamland.


    ''That was a metaphor. In the 4 hours of sleep I got after activating the rest skill, it even prevented me from dreaming as it targeted the most efficient way for me to handle my sleep... or so I thought.''


    "(Yawn) What time is it?" I muttered as I checked my phone when I woke up, feeling refreshed. "Oh boy. It''s 3 am. Time for a Krabby Patty."


    Although I was hungry and could eat at this time, unfortunately there weren''t any burgers around. I went to brush my teeth and opened my laptop before studying about the competition.


    "Although I joked about it before, I could use a burger right about now." I said while holding my grumbling stomach. I went to the fridge, but I didn''t feel comfortable opening it and snooping around without the house owner''s consent, so I just picked an apple that was in a fruit bowl on top of the kitchen island.


    Suddenly, my phone buzzed as I was reading about the expansion of the universe on the couch.


    Taylor: Hey, are you up?


    I smiled at the text message and replied.


    Ed: I''m always up.


    Taylor: Good. Check this out. ''[email protected]''


    She sent me a link, and I clicked on it quickly. But then, it redirected me to a youtube video about a goat screaming in full volume. However, the prank failed as I always kept the volume off in my phone.


    Ed: Didn''t work~


    Taylor: Damn it!


    Ed: How was your concert?


    Taylor: It was fine. It would have been better if you were there though.


    Ed: I know. Your fans love me more than you. So it would be a better experience for them too.


    Taylor: GO F�C Yourself!


    Taylor: (Image.jpeg)


    ''That reminds me. I should include more GIFs in the overall GIF''s collections.''


    She didn''t stay online for long and went to sleep after talking about her day for a few minutes. She talked about a few things, such as how many men tried to hit on her today�C which I presumed she shared with me to make me jealous, and about how tired she was from the concerts.


    She would have to fly to Ohio later on, and next Philadelphia. It''ll take weeks for her to get back before she has to prepare for the summer concert and music festivals next.


    Taylor: When will you start your tour?


    Ed: Honestly, I don''t know yet. I could do it after this week is over, but I still want to participate in a few school events. I won''t get out of LA for now though. Maybe go to Las Vegas, but that''s it.


    Taylor: WAIT! I know a few concert staff in Vegas! If you played it only for the VVIPs, you can earn an easy 10 million buck a night.


    Ed: Should I strip for them too? Not that I have any reservation for it, but I just don''t want to be put on the spot while I''m there.


    Taylor: Oh yeah. You''re going to strip on stage, and the old money bags will throw their golden dentures on stage for you! I look forward to that. (LOL.emoticon)


    Despite the jokes, I got to thinking about the matter seriously.


    ''When should I start my tour?...And my next concert? Should I make Pepper prepare for it now? Ahh...I still need to investigate Coldplay here and get in contact with Chris Martin.


    Taylor: Hey, can we do a video call?


    Ed: Sure.


    The phone rang for a short few seconds before I picked up the Facetime request from Taylor. She was laying down on the bed and suddenly said, "Hey. Sing me something."


    Phil believed them almost immediately and said, "So that''s it. Who wants pancakes?"


    "I do! I have been starving." Ed replied before he got out of the couch and went to the kitchen. Phil met him halfway and greeted him with a pat on the shoulder, "If you''re hungry, why don''t you just eat a midnight snack last night?"


    "Well...I don''t want to be rude. I had an apple last night, so I''m sorry for that."


    My anger went away quickly when I heard he had been starving himself just because he didn''t get my permission to open the fridge. I sighed and walked to the duo and said, "Don''t apologize. I''m the one who''s sorry. Just treat this like your own house next time Ed. If you''re hungry, just find something to eat. I won''t hold it against you."


    Ed smiled helplessly and replied with an awkward voice, "O-okay." I almost rolled my eyes at him, but at the same time I felt deep sadness inside my heart as I thought about the ways he had been living. ''He must feel deep distrust for the adults. Thank god his therapy is tomorrow.''


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Hurry up Alex. We''re going to be late." Claire shouted while Phil was in front of me, helping me fix my tie as I had changed into a black suit with green lining on the collar and front jacket, and the school emblem was sewed at the front pocket.


    "We''re not late at all!" Alex said exasperatingly as she hurried down with a matching girl uniform, but with yellow lining instead of the green lining. "And, you. Seriously, you made yourself a Slytherin?"


    "Yeah. It will be easy for me to... ''Slyther in...your sister''s chamber of secrets later."


    Alex rolled her eyes and made a disgusted face before Claire caught her and said, "Now that Ed has designed a uniform that makes you look pretty, you should at least get some make up."


    "No- MOM!" Alex tried to protest, but Haley and Claire had already encircled her like vultures eating their prey. "Haley. Give me the maskara." Claire asked.


    "Which one?" Haley said as she took out 6 maskara tubes that she held in a wolverine pose. Alex couldn''t believe what was happening and glared at me as if saying this was all my fault. I rubbed my nose and said, "So. Haruna has gotten her uniform right?"


    "Sanjay too, no thanks to you." Alex replied. "Hmm? Why? What''s with Sanjay?" Claire asked.


    "Can you believe he was not going to give him the team uniform?" Alex said as she pointed at me. I coughed twice and defended myself, "The uniform isn''t obligatory. I only did this for fun."


    "Yeah. But if Mrs Henderson didn''t catch you, you would have only given the uniforms to Haruna, the substitute and me leaving Sanjay out. I hate him as much as you do, but that''s too childish isn''t it?"


    "Like I said. I just forgot." I argued. Honestly, I really did forget. Maybe it''s because I didn''t treat him like a teammate at all, but I had sent the uniform that I designed to him�C despite him being the only one that had to pay for it.


    I didn''t make it myself, but instead I ordered them from Pepper''s friend who ran a boutique.


    "Is he a Gryffindor then?" Claire asked. "Griffindor doesn''t like Slytherin right?"


    "Like hell Imma give him Gryffindor." I retorted, causing Haley to laugh. "He''s..."


    [General POV]


    -Sanjay''s house-


    "HUFFLEPUFF! HE GAVE ME HUFFLEPUFF!" Sanjay screamed in frustration as he put on his team uniform. His dad, an Indian neurosurgeon, rubbed the suit he wore and said, "This material is so nice. Is this suede? I want one too."


    "DAD!" Sanjay shouted before he rolled his eyes. The decathlon team meets up at the school before they ride a school bus together to go to the competition venue.


    Edward was surprised when he saw the substitute player who came in with a matching Ravenclaw suit as Alex. "Hey-Hey-Hey ED! This is soo nice!" Enid said as she twirled to show off her uniform.


    "Why...are you here?" Edward asked.


    "The substitute dropped out. So I''m the substitute for the substitute." Enid said casually. Edward smiled and patted her head before saying, "I''m glad it''s you. And you look damn nice."


    "I KNOW RIGHT?!" Enid screamed in excitement as the bus entered Dryden Academy grounds.


    "Wait. Did the venue change?" Ed asked as he noticed the school. Mrs Henderson who was dressed in a casual white blouse and long black skirt replied, "Yes. They sponsored the competition after all."


    The bus stopped at the parking lot near the football field. The group all disembarked off the bus in a calm manner as they were mesmerized by the surroundings. "The school is very beautiful." Enid muttered.


    "Too bad the benchmark for going here is that your parents must be a multi millionaire." Alex scoffed despite the awe she felt.


    "Hey look out!"


    Suddenly, a stray football flew across the parking lot, and almost hit Alex''s face. She flinched in horror and closed her eyes, but the pain she expected to have did not come. She opened her eyes slowly, only to see Ed had caught the ball directing towards her in a casual manner.


    "Let the mind games begin." Ed muttered, confident that the ''accident'' was a scheme by the opposition.


    A young, tall african boy ran towards the team in a worrying manner and apologized the moment he stopped in front of them. In a Nigerian accent, he said, "I''m sorry. I didn''t look where I was kicking."


    Ed gave the guy another look, and replied with a smile, "Nah. It''s okay. People can make a mistake."


    The guy sighed in relief with a smile on his face. He put his hand out for a handshake and said, "I''m Sam Obisanya. I just came from Nigeria, and I really thought the football club I registered for was for... Well football."


    Ed laughed without the others understanding why and he replied to Sam, "Yeah. Americans are weird. They call football soccer here. I''m Edward. You can just call me Ed."


    "Nice to meet you Ed." Sam said.


    Sam smiled at the friendliness and turned to Alex�C the almost victim. "And you pretty girl. I''m really sorry."


    Alex was flabbergasted while Enid got excited for her. She pushed her friend forward, making Alex stand beside Edward. "Pr-Pretty?"


    "You are very pretty." Sam flirted. Alex turned to Edward to see if the football player was messing with her, only to find Ed nodding along to Sam''s word.


    "Yeah. She''s very pretty." Ed muttered, making Alex''s face turn red. Sanjay gritted his teeth before harrumping away, and Enid kept going ''KYAAA'' in the background as she imagined the scene of 2 boys fighting for Alex''s affection.


    "Can I get your number-" Sam tried to ask, but Ed pushed him away lightly and turned his body back so he would face the field. "See. Your coach is calling for you."


    "I have no coach-" Sam tried to explain.


    "14 GO LONG!" Ed yelled to the team playing. The chubby boy with the number 14 on his shirt sighed and ran quickly before Ed threw the ball towards him with extreme precision and strength.


    The entire football field was silent as they saw Ed''s skill. "How many yards was that?" The football coach asked hurriedly as he saw a potential star. The assistant coach anxiously replied, "It�C It''s...wait a second...it''s...almost 65 yards...I guess..."


    "AND HE DID IT WHILE WEARING A SUIT?!"


    Back to the Dryden Middle school''s team, Ed whistled as he saw number 14 catch his throw. "You guys got skills."


    "How did you do that-" Sam widened his eyes in surprise and tried to ask, but Ed waved him goodbye and said, "Sorry Sam. We will talk later. I need to go inside the venue. The competition is going to start."

 Chapter 103: Decathlon (1)

    Chapter 103: Chapter 103: Decathlon (1)


    [Edward POV]


    Our team of charming, attention-gathering, well-dressed intellectuals�C minus Sanjay, entered the auditorium where the competition was going to be held.


    "Damn Dryden and their bottomless wealth." Enid cursed underneath her breath as she noticed the size of the auditorium was at least 5 times the size of our school''s Assembly hall. And this place wasn''t even part of their main building.


    I nodded at her remarks and added, "They are a private school after all. Even their teachers are well paid, not like ours who could barely live from their income."


    Mrs Henderson nodded slightly as she led us to the registration table.


    "Atlas and Gamma aren''t here yet. We''re the first visitors to arrive." Alex said after observing the surroundings. She frowned and added, "We''re too early."


    I patted her head slightly, making her calm down a bit. "It''s okay. We can take the time to prepare. Although... I don''t think I can join you guys for a last minute study session nor do I think us coming here early was a mistake on the organizer''s part." I took a look at a few old men walking hurriedly to where I was standing with a greasy smile on their faces.


    Haruna, the Japanese girl who received the Gryffindor themed uniform, walked to the stage to do a mic check, causing some laughter.


    "And here is Mr NEWGATE with his new song, BEE SPELLS WITH THEIR BUTT-" But before she could sing my new song, she was chased out of the stage. (A/N: Banger song: Bees Can Talk by Moving their Butt)


    "Huh? Why''d you think that?" Alex asked in confusion before she was pushed away by the old man''s march.


    "Mr NEWGATE!!"


    The old school administrator almost ran to where I was standing with a surprisingly spring in his steps despite being over the age of 60. With a handlebar mustache and a suit that was too big for a man of his small size, the stout bodied administrator forcefully grabbed my hand and vigorously shook it up and down.


    "Wow. I can''t believe I managed to meet a prodigal artist right in the flesh." He said excitedly. I flashed an insincere smile as I pretended to care as part of my deal with Mrs Henderson to behave today.


    As I saw her face carrying traces of fatigue, I decided not to give her any headaches today�C And I almost broke my internal promise the moment I met these bootlickers.


    Another tall and lanky man in a dark brown suit and red tie�C who introduced himself as the school''s Vice Principal, shook my hand after the administrator. After the initial greeting, the Vice Principal said apologetically to us all, "I''m sorry for the mix up. The competition will start 2 hours from now."


    "To show you our apologies, how about, I take all of you Franklin Middle School students for a special tour around our Dryden academy?" He offered sincerely...without any ulterior motives...at all.


    ''As if.'' I retorted inwardly, but I didn''t say anything despite the obvious schemes of the private school. ''But at the very least he''s going to take all of us around. So we could kill some time...''


    As I turned to the scowling Alex, I mumbled, "But...To say that they were going to like it is a whole other thing."


    "Be back in an hour." Mrs Henderson reminded us before she sat on a chair nearby. I turned to her and asked in a low voice, "Are you okay?"


    "I''m fine Mr Newgate. Thank you for asking. Now, don''t keep the old- the representatives waiting."


    I smirked as I almost caught her lacking and said, "Okay. We will go now. Have some rest. If you want something to eat, just ask one of the staff." I said before calling one of the staff members and slipping her 100 bucks to tend to the teacher.


    "Anything she wants. Okay?"


    The staff member nodded before moving towards Mrs Henderson to give her some breakfast while she asked another staff member to go and buy some coffee for the teacher.


    Mrs Henderson turned to where I was standing with a perplexed face. However, as I waved to her, she smiled softly instead and didn''t hold back anymore in asking the staff for a seat cushion to make herself more comfortable.


    ...


    We visited the cafeteria, where the quality of the food there was on par with a 3 star Michelin restaurant, and the computer lab was equipped with a state of the art system. Although, after I pressed a few buttons, I almost broke down their entire prided system, causing the administrator to pull me away hurriedly.


    "This here, is the pride of Dryden Academy, our Art and Humanities building." The lanky Vice Principal announced as we arrived at a humongous building, with Greek style pillars on the front.


    Haruna''s eyes glittered as she saw the building, and she asked, "This is the famed Archimedes-"


    "What do you think, Mr Newgate? Want to check out inside the building?" The Vice Principal interrupted her before she could even finish asking. I glanced at the slighted Haruna and looked at the VP in unmasked contempt, but the old guys there were too presumptuous to actually understand what I was feeling.


    "Sure." I said before entering the building with my teammates. However, I decided to be extra critical in all of my evaluations, turning the old men flustered.


    "Do you want to- test our music room?" The administrator said fearfully while wiping his imaginary sweat on his forehead with a white napkin.


    "No need. Let''s move on to someplace else." I said with disinterest, causing the old guys to be perplexed. They looked at each other before asking, "Then. Let''s check out the amphitheater-"


    "What about the Science Program?" Alex asked.


    "Ohh I''m sure Mr Newgate won''t be interested in that." The stout bodied administrator said with a laugh as if he had just heard a joke.


    "And why is that exactly?" I asked in a cold, bone chilling voice.


    The VP slapped the administrator''s shoulder and clicked his tongue secretly before saying, "No. He''s just old and confused. Come. let me show you our Science program building."


    "I wonder if there are still sponsorships for brilliant students to enter this school?" Sanjay muttered to himself. However, the VP and the administrator heard that, took a second look at the Indian kid and replied condescendingly, "Unfortunately, our minority and diversity quota are already filled out for next year." The VP even took a glance at Haruna while saying that.


    Alex almost exploded, but I held her back and said with a kind smile, "I see. I understand. That meant, being half Cuban, I couldn''t get the sponsorship too right?"


    "Huh? Oh no Mr Newgate, however full our scholarship quotas may be, we do still offer talented young men and women opportunities when they excel in their own areas, and dare I say Your Musical talent certainly fills that criteria.." The VP tried to retort.


    "Unfortunately, I no longer have any interest in the classical music programs that are offered here. Also, while I would love to practice my songs here, I am afraid what I''ve seen would hinder my progress greatly." I said with a slight chuckle before I herded my teammates away from the administrator and the VP.


    "Wait a second Mr NEWGATE-" The Administrator shouted anxiously.


    Haruna was a bit more realistic and said, "We cannot win first place anyway. Luckily, we can still vie for third place if we do it well-"


    "Nah. You''re thinking too pessimistically. Don''t worry. With me around, we can get first place."


    Although I tried to motivate the group, they had never once seen me in action before, and couldn''t help but not trust my words. I knew why, therefore I didn''t speak much.


    "Hey. How many points did they say they were going to throw at us so as to not let us get humiliated?" I asked.


    "Huh. 3 questions. Why?" Enid replied.


    I smirked evilly and said, "Nothing."


    ...


    Instead of the Quidditch game, exciting announcer, the Decathlon was led by an old man with a hunched back and a drowsy voice, making it impossible for the player and audience to not fall asleep as he gave his speech.


    "The first match will be between the Franklin Middle School team, and the Dryden Academy team." The old man announced. Both of the team members walked to the stage and sat side by side with the moderator''s podium erected in between the town team.


    The Dryden boys were all dressed in a blue blazer with Dryden logo on their left chest, and had the snobbish air of ''Holier-than-thou'' around them.


    "They have a pretty punchable face." I muttered as I saw their faces for the first time. Alex snorted before suppressing her laugh.


    "They look awesome. I wonder if we can buy those uniforms for our Physics cup." Rajesh said as he saw our Franklin team enter the arena. The nerds'' passion was instigated by the Hogwarts themed uniform, and some audience members couldn''t help but snap a photo of us as we posed on the stage.


    "Nah. I don''t think so. He made it on his own." Howard said. Sheldon snorted and argued, "Unless he puts copyright claims on it, we can do whatever we want."


    "Yeah. But you have to design it yourself. Can you?" Howard asked teasingly, making Sheldon cover his face with his shirt in embarrassment.


    The Decathlon rule was announced, the first 10 questions would be counted as 10 point answers each, and the next 10 question points would be decided by the moderator based on the difficulty of the questions.


    "Reveal, the Golden Snitch." The moderator said at the start of the game. Then, a covered up whiteboard was rolled to the side of the stage. The staff quickly removed the cover after getting the signal from the moderators, revealing complex mathematical questions on the board.


    "Why Golden Snitch?" Haruna asked.


    Alex sighed and explained, "To relate with the younger students of course."


    "Ahh. To gain their attention. Thanks Alex."


    I glanced at our team''s side of the board and then turned to face the audience to focus on the moderator''s question instead.


    Alex and Sanjay both began to scribble on a piece of paper provided by the organizer to find out the answer for the Golden Snitch question, but they weren''t serious in doing so, while one diversity hire�C a Chinese kid from Dryden Academy did the same thing to find out the answer for their question.


    "It''s very rare for a team to be able to answer the Golden Snitch question after all." Haruna whispered to explain the situation to me. I didn''t correct her and say that I was familiar with the rules, but instead shot a smirking glance at Mrs Henderson down at the audience seat.


    She sighed and mouthed to me, ''Wait until you answer 10 questions.''


    I nodded to her without replying.


    "The first question is an easy one, What is the chemical formula for Monosodium Glutamate?"


    Alex perked up and tried to press the buzzer, but I stopped her. She turned to me with a puzzled look, before the chance was snatched by the opposite team.


    "C5H8NO4Na" One member from Dryden answered with a smug face. Then, he made a thumbs down gesture to us to demotivate us.


    "Why do you stop me? I know that?!" Alex said frustratingly.


    I smiled at her and patted her head softly so as to not ruffle her hair and said, "Just. Trust me."


    Haruna raised her eyebrow at me, and decided not to interfere as she had already given up on this match inside her heart. Sanjay was still focusing on the Golden Snitch question, therefore I was only placating Alex.


    I gave up the next 2 questions, allowing Dryden to lead the match with 30 points ahead of us.


    "HAHA LOSERS!" The middle school students became juvenile as they saw our ''helplessness'' in this match.


    Alex started biting her nails in frustration, and even wondered if I was secretly bought off by the opposition team. Haruna closed her eyes as she accepted defeat, and Sanjay was still focusing on the question.


    I turned to Dryden Academy and suddenly said something to them, "Do you guys remember what you said to my team before the competition started?"


    "Mr Newgate, players are reminded that they couldn''t interfere with-" Before the Dryden Academy panel member could reprimand me, Leonard interfered with him and said, "Don''t worry. Ed is a polite kid."


    "What?" Dryden academy leader, Ivan, asked in displeasure as he was forced to respond to me.


    "You told us, you''re giving us a chance to answer 3 questions first as part of your... ''mercy''..." I continued. The Dryden snobs laughed as they thought I wanted to claim what they promised right now as my team was losing, but I didn''t continue and turned to the audience once more, making the opposition team confused.


    "Oh shit. I got it!" Howard said with a big laugh.


    "What is it?" Rajesh asked him whisperingly, his eyes not moving away from my team.


    "Simple Rajesh. They trash talk them by giving 3 questions as part of their mercy. But Ed actually gave them his." Howard shared his hypothesis confidently. Even Sheldon couldn''t help but give his respect to me as I did it.


    "Hopefully he has something to back up his arrogance." Sheldon muttered to himself as he didn''t think anyone else could do what he thought he could do.

 Chapter 104: Decathlon (2)

    Chapter 104: Chapter 104: Decathlon (2)


    [General POV]


    "In the topic of optics, What is the shortest light pulse ever produced?"


    "130 attoseconds." Edward pressed the buzzer and answered in a split second after the answer was thrown out, making the Dryden team groan in frustration.


    "That is correct!" The old moderator announced with a happy face, but with no emotional changes in his voice.


    "What is the lightest element on earth, with no stable isotopes?" The moderator asked the next question.


    "Technetium." Edward answered again with incredible speed.


    "And that is correct!" The moderator announced again.


    The score was now 130 to 30, with the Franklin Middle School team holding a tight leash on the lead, putting the Dryden Academy team into despair.


    "Formal protest, only one person is answering the question!" The Dryden Academy team leader stood up and accused Edward after he failed to answer 9 straight questions, courtesy of Edward''s incredible question solving speed.


    "Motion Denied." The moderator said before any of the panel could discuss the request.


    "He must be cheating! He''s a game developer. He must''ve hacked the question maker''s laptop and read all of the answers beforehand!" Dryden panel members accused Edward without evidence.


    "Umm...That''s impossible." Dr Leonard Hosfstader spoke on the microphone to defend Edward. The accused boy just looked coldly at the panel member with a smug undertone in his expression.


    "What do you know?" Dryden Academy panel members tried to dismiss Leonard''s defense.


    "I know because Dr Jacob Turnstein, the moderator, and also the winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in the year 1992, is standing on stage. He''s also the one who made the questions, and he had never once used a laptop in his life." Leonard explained much to the panel member''s embarrassment.


    After some laughter, Dryden''s team leader shouted at the Asian kid who was working on the snitch, "WE NEED THAT TO WIN! THAT IS WORTH 300 points! How much longer are you going to work on it!"


    The leader kept nagging and shouting at the asian kid in urgency, causing him to snap.


    "aaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAARGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!" The asian kik exploded in anger, threw off his entire body over the table and ran to the whiteboard containing the question before he tried to destroy it.


    "YOU RUINED MY LIFE!!!" He shouted to the innocent whiteboard as he hit his head on the board, destroying parts of it.


    "Uhh. We''re going to take a break. Everyone else, please stay calm..." Leonard said quickly to the microphone before he went to help the kid who lost his sanity from the question.


    "I told you. That question is too much for a middle school student." Howard muttered to Rajesh who nodded in agreement with him.


    "Please. I solved that equation when I was 9 years old." Sheldon added in a condescending manner. However, instead of his friends being impressed with him, they let out a groan in disgust.


    On top of the stage, Haruna whispered to Edward. "That is normal."


    "Mental breakdown is normal during a middle schooler''s competition?" Edward widened his eyes in disbelief as he saw Leonard hugging the Asian boy from behind to try and subdue him, but failing.


    "You''d be surprised." Alex muttered, adding to Edward''s shock.


    "SHELDON. HOWARD. RAJ. HELP ME!" Leonard shouted to his friend with a flushed red face as he couldn''t stop the boy alone.


    "Ohh How I wish I had popcorn to enjoy this right now." Howard muttered from his seat with no intention of going up the stage to help.


    It took 5 minutes for the Asian boy to be exchanged with another Asian boy, and those who couldn''t discern between Asian people were now wondering how the staff member managed to calm the boy down in just a short period of time.


    During the chaos, Sanjay sighed in frustration as he couldn''t find the answer for the Golden Snitch question.


    "I guess we have to give up on the snitch." Sanjay muttered. Edward clicked his tongue, and before he could say he had already solved the question, he saw Mrs Henderson signaling him.


    "Hmm?" Edward was confused, but then understood what was going on as he read the teacher''s lip. ''Don''t solve it on your own. Teach Sanjay to do it. Otherwise, the team will stop functioning.''


    Edward paused for a while as he thought about the matter. ''True. I can solve it, but it''ll break the dynamic of the team. I should do it, when Sanjay truly cannot do it.''


    "Hey Hufflepuff." Edward called the Indian boy.


    "Shut up Slytherin!" Sanjay retorted.


    "On second thought.'' Edward grimaced, but he saw Mrs Henderson egging on him with her facial expression, causing him to sigh and followed the order. "Let me take a look at your calculation."


    "Here."


    Unexpectedly for Edward, Sanjay gave him the paper without any hassle, making him a bit perplexed. Alex snorted and said, "He knows how to behave when necessary. Unlike someone else."


    "Who? Haruna?" Edward thwarted the accusation, making Haruna confused.


    Edward grabbed a pencil and showed Sanjay where he did wrong. He guided him slowly, and even told him what method he should use. He then asked, "Can you do it now?"


    "I need some time. But I think I can." Sanjay replied with his eyes lit up.


    "I''ll try to stall for it, but if you cannot do it before the last question, then I cannot do anything about it."


    "I know." Sanjay replied before putting all of his focus on solving the equation once more. But this time, Alex and Haruna joined their effort with Sanjay.


    "If we can solve it, we will be the first team in the entire Decathlon competition to actually solve a Golden Snitch question." Alex muttered to herself with excitement in her tone.


    The chaos finally subsides, and the competition resumes.


    "List out the Earth''s important Eons." The moderator asked.


    Edward pressed the buzzer first as usual, and then he replied, "Well after the big bang, the first eon Earth faced is Hadean where the land is filled with lava."


    "Erkk�C WRONG!" The Dryden teacher in the panel made a wrong buzzer sound with his mouth and tried to stop Edward, but all of the Phd members there looked at him in confusion.


    "Mr Hiles. You know the rules. You shouldn''t interrupt a student when he''s answering. You''re now removed from being one of the panels." The moderator said sternly.


    Then, she faced only me before saying, "And Ed. That was...LEGENDARY! You really humiliated those guys. I got turned on-"


    Alex cupped Enid''s mouth before I could hear the rest of what she was saying and said, "Lets go. We need to vacate the stage for the next game."


    "Okay. Also Sanjay." I turned to the Indian kid who had tears in his eyes. "What?" He asked gruffly while trying to wipe his eyes.


    "Nice. Fucking. Works." I complimented in a calm tone, which made Sanjay beamed up in a smile. He then muttered, "Thanks. I also want to say something."


    "What?" I asked.


    Suddenly, he bowed to me and said, "I''m sorry I''ve been a jerk."


    I chuckled a bit and just waved it off. "Just forget about it. I never did take it to heart."


    "Liar. You hold the longest grudge among all people I know." Alex retorted.


    "Then you know I will hold your words against you for a while right?" I replied to Alex with a cheeky smile as I patted Sanjay on the shoulder. "Let''s go eat. I''m starving."


    "Me too." Haruna said.


    "Yeah. I''m famished too." Sanjay said with a smile. We shook hands with the judges and the other player who couldn''t even meet our eyes before we walked to Mrs Henderson.


    I froze as the teacher suddenly hugged me the moment we arrived at her spot. "Congratulations Edward." She said as she brushed my back 3 times.


    ''What the hell? Why does this feel so familiar?'' I thought with my hands shaking. She didn''t stay there for long and released me, only to find me frozen from her touch.


    However, she didn''t say anything and went to hug Alex, Haruna, Enid, and a short hug for Sanjay. By the time she returned, I had already recovered back to normal.


    "We won''t have any matches until after lunchtime, so for now, you guys are free to do whatever you want." Mrs Henderson said.


    I nodded and turned to Alex before asking, "Are you staying here?"


    "Yeah. I want to study the competition. Atlas is the team predicted to win the competition, so I want to see how good they are."


    The rest nodded at Alex''s word except for Enid. "Well. I''m going to explore."


    "Good. Let''s go together."


    Enid smiled and interlinked her arms with me before we went to the football field together to watch them practice. However, their practice was already over when we got there.


    "Damn." I cursed.


    "Hey Edward. Are you interested in football?" Suddenly, I heard someone speaking with a Nigerian accent coming from behind me.


    "Sam!" Enid exclaimed in excitement.


    "So. Did you fail to make the team?" I asked.


    Sam was downcast and said, "Yes. I guess I should just stick to the original football."


    In ''soccer'', he was part of the under 15 Nigerian National team before he received a scholarship to come to Dryden�C a scholarship which he only accepted because he thought football carried the same meaning here in America. It was a funny situation, even for him.


    "I will return to Nigeria this weekend." He shared to me about his short experience in America, and the fact that he had no friends here. He couldn''t wait to go back home, and back to his usual practice with his team there.


    "Don''t worry. I''m sure that you''ll get another scholarship. Or maybe a contract with a football club."


    "I wish." He said self-deprecatingly.


    We talked for a while, and I even threw a ball with Sam Obisanya a few times after taking off my blazer. We played American Football, for I wanted him to at least have one good memory with this sport before he returned to his country.


    But, as I started sweating, I didn''t want to ruin my shirt, therefore I took it off.


    "Hmmm~" Enid watched the show with a slight hum, crouching at the side of the field with a smitten look on her face, as I threw the ball towards Sam, which he in turn failed to receive it.


    "You suck Sam." I shouted at him teasingly.


    "Go easy on me. This is the first time someone has actually taught me something.." Sam shouted back helplessly.


    I laughed and encouraged him before we played for another 15 minutes. I even exchanged numbers with him given that he was generally well mannered and a friendly guy.


    Enid''s face was flushed red when I got back to her, and so I asked, "You forgot to put on sunscreen?"


    "No. I''m fine." Enid said before she ran back to the venue, with heart full of excitement, and cameras full of pictures that she was going to share with Alex and Haruna.


    Then, we went to the cafeteria to get some lunch�C in the VIP section. I called all members of the team together, and also Mrs Henderson instead of just having lunch with Enid much to the young girl''s dissatisfaction.


    We returned to the venue after lunch, just in time to watch the start for the match for third position, Dryden versus Gamma.


    "So. They''re going to lose again." I muttered with a smirk as I saw the points, 50 to 10, with Gamma Conventional School taking the lead.


    "They completely lost all motivation after you destroyed them, so what else can they do?" Enid muttered. I had to say, I loved keeping her around. She truly knows how to appease my ego by flattering me.


    "Huh." I exclaimed as I saw the leader of Atlas Middle school who was walking towards me.


    "Hello Edward. I''m Tara Delavinge. I love your songs." The blonde girl with a catholic schoolgirl uniform and a voluptuous body that couldn''t be hidden with her modest clothes offered her hand as she stood in front of me.


    I shook her hand while secretly comparing her with the same actress that had the same last name as her. But, the one in front of me had a nicer body than the flat chested one in my memory. "Thank you Tara."


    Then, she suddenly changed her tone, and pulled me closer before whispering to my ears, "But, I''m still going to destroy you."


    I smirked and replied, "I look forward to it."


    The result of Atlas''s win versus Gamma: 350 to 50.

 Chapter 105: Decathlon (3)

    Chapter 105: Chapter 105: Decathlon (3)


    [Edward POV]


    "Also, can I get a picture?" Tara asked with a light blush after making a burning declaration about winning the competition.


    "Sure." I replied casually, and posed for a picture with her together. She gave her Iphone to her friend who in turn snapped a few pictures of Tara and I, before changing the students a few times.


    Alex rolled her eyes at the incomprehensible treatment I was getting, and muttered, "Didn''t she JUST say she''s going to destroy us? Why are you being polite to her now?"


    "My celebrity image and student image are two totally different things." I replied with a fake smile as I waved to my fans.


    Enid decided to make some trouble and said, "Didn''t you just go easy on her because she''s pretty?"


    Alex and Haruna perked up at the statement as they smelled gossip, and they stared at the Atlas team leader girl who was stealing glances at me.


    I sighed and said, "Let''s go study. Although we already know Dryden is losing, it''s still going to take a few hours until the final match."


    "Why do we need to study? We have you!" Enid said with sparkling eyes as she grabbed my arm and hugged it in between her tiny bumps. Her statement alarmed me, but it shook me much less compared to the attitude of others who were nodding in agreement to her.


    I turned to Mrs Henderson who shook her head in disappointment and gulped my saliva fearfully.


    "This is not the outcome I expected it to be." Mrs Henderson muttered.


    When she inserted me into the team, her intention was to inject a fresh breath and make the team members more motivated. But my brilliance had completely outshined the others, making them forget that they had strength of their own to compete at this level.


    "Students. Please give your best in the next match, and stop depending on Mr Newgate. He is not going to be here next year, but you all will." Mrs Henderson advised, but no one was truly listening to her �C except for Alex.


    "That reminds me of something. Have Edward''s grades come back? Is he eligible for skipping grades?" Alex asked, hiding the fact that she wanted me to fail the test so that we could spend more time together in high school after waiting for her to graduate in a year.


    "I have already submitted the results to the principal, and he''s currently reviewing Mr Newgate''s application. I can''t say anything about him skipping grades, but Mr Newgate''s performance in the examination was brilliant. He got full marks on all of the exams except for History, in which he was short of 1 point to get full marks."


    "Huh? What question did I get wrong?" I asked in confusion.


    Mrs Henderson showed a rare grin and said, "No. you answered everything right. But you didn''t write your name on the exam paper."


    I rolled my eyes and retorted, "I was the only one taking the exams there!"


    "Still. A mistake is a mistake Mr Newgate." Mrs Henderson replied, her face turned stoic again.


    The Gamma and Dryden match became heated as Dryden managed to catch up on point and forced the game to a tie in the later rounds. While waiting, I tried to convince the team to involve themselves in answering the questions with me, but only Alex was responding to my encouragement and was willing to try in the final match.


    Before the match began, I received text messages from Jenna, Elsa, Jacob, and even my disappearing aunt�C sending their prayers to add to my strength for me to win the competition. I sent them back a text saying it was unnecessary, which earned me a 3 minute phone call from my aunt in Cuba admonishing me for my blasphemous behaviour. But even so, I was just glad to hear her voice again.


    ...


    The old moderator grabbed the microphone and declared, "The final match...between Atlas Middle School, and Franklin Middle School, starts NOW!"


    The audience applauded his ''enthusiasm'', but mostly they applauded because he looked so pitiful.


    Among the sparse applause sound reverberating in the venue, I leaned to Alex and spoke using a whisper to her ear. She blushed and blood rushed to her head as she felt my hot breath on her skin.


    "Alex. I won''t interfere until you guys truly need me. Okay?"


    She was startled and turned her face towards me instantly, but as I had leaned in before, our face was extremely close with one another. She was agape for a second and her eyes lost focus as they stared at my lips before she shook her head and said, "You can''t do that!"


    "I will participate if you guys are getting destroyed out there." I announced. Sanjay and Haruna gulped their saliva in fear as they heard my statement and protested, "But...we''re not as fast as you!"


    The Japanese girl belief had been reignited after the complete destruction of Dryden Academy, which earned them the last spot in today''s competition between 4 schools.


    They lost against Gamma a few minutes ago, and the sight wasn''t pretty. At least 2 chairs were broken, and 2 students suffered bodily injuries from the scuffle happening onstage. The school was banned from further competition for at least 3 years because of the incident.


    "Don''t worry. I noticed that Atlas wasn''t quick in their answers. They discussed it among themselves before they went for it, and that''s what made their team so strong. We will do it like them, but it''s up to you three to discuss it. I will handle the snitch this time."


    Haruna was in disbelief and blinked a few times before gritting her teeth in frustration. She and Sanjay didn''t say anything despite their disappointment, as the match was finally starting.


    Sitting across the participants, a member of the panel had tissue rolled up into his nose as it was broken from the scuffle.


    "Poor Leonard." I muttered as I shook my head in pity for the Caltech physicist. His jacket was a bit torn, and his hair was pulled during the fight. He sat at the judges table with dazed eyes as he silently cursed his luck and wondered if it was better for him if Sheldon had kept his job as the panel member.


    Rajesh was snapping pictures of Leonard as he sat beside him with a grin on his face while Howard laughed at the audience seat. Sheldon was worried for Leonard at first, but then he felt that he deserved to be beaten after his ''betrayal'' before this.


    "Release the Golden Snitch." Rajesh said shyly into the microphone. Atlas had 3 girls and 1 boy in their team, causing Rajesh to be overwhelmed. But as they were still kids for him, and he was in a public space, his selective mutism didn''t affect him that much rather than him just being shy in the setting.


    The staff member revealed the Golden Snitch question, which baffled Atlas''s team completely when they saw it.


    "The question is based on Fermat''s Last theorem, and it''s created by Dr Sheldon Cooper who''s in the audience seat. This unique formula is worth 500 points if you guys could solve it. My advice? Just ignore them." Leonard said with a nasally tone.


    "Hey!" Sheldon retorted from the audience seat. "I solved it when I was 13! It''s easy enough for them!"


    Leonard turned to him and scowled, "You graduated high school at 11! You cannot compare your experience with the others!"


    I was confused as to why Leonard was so mad, but I couldn''t ask him about it now. I would learn later that Sheldon had underplayed the difficulty of the equation when he submitted the equation to the staff member before. It was impossible for a middle school level student to solve the question unless they took 7 years of college level mathematics.


    The Atlas team had completely given up on the snitch, but right now I was in a dilemma. ''Should I solve it, or not?''


    "Okay. I will sit tight. But if you guys don''t know the answer, I will take the lead. Is that a deal?"


    "Deal!" X3


    Enid was clasping her hands together and praying for our success. Next to her, Sam Obisanya was also praying, but in the muslim way of praying by raising both of his hands parallel to his chest.


    "Please, help Edward''s team win." Sam prayed.


    "Ditto." Enid muttered.


    "We are now down to the final 3 questions. Next question required the students to calculate, therefore you can use the A4 paper provided in front of you." The moderator said before asking, "What percent of a circle is 75 degrees?"


    Without even calculating, Haruna pressed the buzzer. Atlas''s team gasped in disbelief, and so did the members of her own team. I looked quizzically at Haruna, but then she answered, "20.8%"


    "That is correct."


    The crowd applauded, and the team managed to take the lead again with 310 points compared to Atlas''s 270 points.


    "How did you calculate so fast?" Alex asked Haruna in disbelief.


    "No. I didn''t calculate it just now! I...had answered the question before in my workbook." Haruna confessed while lowering her head in embarrassment.


    I nodded and said, "Don''t be ashamed. You did great. I always know we can count on you with math problems, and I was right."


    Alex and Sanjay agreed with me. But right then, my phone suddenly vibrated. I had put it in silent mode before, and was confused as to who was calling me right now. I wanted to ignore it as the moderator was giving the next question.


    ''But...why do I feel so uneasy?'' I wondered.


    "Hold up!" I suddenly shouted, causing the old moderator to be startled. He held his heart quickly, and breathed heavily for a few seconds, but fortunately the worst didn''t happen, and his heart was still strong enough.


    "What is the matter Edward?" Leonard asked.


    "I got a call." I replied casually.


    "..." All of the people in the venue looked at me in disbelief, but I ignored them and answered the call after checking the caller ID. "Hello. Jenna?"


    My chest tightened as I heard the anxious sobbing sound coming from the other side of the call. "Ed...Help me!" She said in a whisper.


    My face turned cold, and I stood up from my seat abruptly. Alex held my arm and said, "W-Where are you going? What happened?"


    I gave her my paper and said in a cold tone, "You''re the leader now. Turn this in when you feel it''s necessary. There''s an emergency that I need to attend to right now."


    "O-Okay." Alex replied. I ran down the stage amidst the murmur of the crowd, while Enid replaced me on the stage.


    When I was almost out of the venue, Mrs Henderson stopped me by standing in front of the door.


    "Teach. I''m sorry. I need to go now." I said anxiously.


    "I know. But, can you do me a favor?" She said in a still calm tone, causing me to be perplexed.


    "What?" I asked hurriedly.


    "I picked up this car key outside on the grass. I think they belong to the Vice Principal. When you come back, help me return the key to him, can you?"


    I was taken aback at first, but I grabbed the key urgently and said, "Okay. I will give it back to him later."


    "Good. Now, I can go back and watch our team win." Mrs Henderson said with a slight smile as she patted my shoulder. "Go. Hurry." She whispered.


    I nodded and ran to the parking lot where a bunch of semi-luxurious cars were parked. I pressed the car key, and it connected to a double seat convertible of the Porsche brand in bright red color. Without thinking much, I opened the car door and activated the engine. I wore my earphone and played a song as I pressed the pedal.


    Song playing : Teriyaki Boyz - Tokyo Drift


    [General POV]


    "L-Lets continue with the game." Leonard said using the microphone after Edward''s sudden departure from the venue. The old moderator took a deep breath, but before he could ask the next question, the door to the hall they were in burst open. A crowd of paparazzi rushed into the venue, flashes of camera photography illuminated the stage.


    Alex covered her eyes with her hand from the malicious picture snapping, but then the crowd suddenly stopped.


    "Wait. Edward Newgate isn''t here." A paparazzo murmured.


    "What the hell did you guys think you''re doing!" Cara exploded at the paparazzis, her head still spinning from the flashes of lights. The paparazzis were disappointed, and they murmured amongst themselves.


    "Where did Edward Newgate go?"


    "Did he leave?"


    "Hiles said he''s going to be here!"


    "HEY MY CAR IS STOLEN!"


    "Huh? A police chase is ongoing? A red Porsche? I will be right there!"


    (A/N: Check out a new fic from a friend of mine: Balls of Steel by GrandmasterOogway.)

 Chapter 106: Decathlon (4– Final)

    Chapter 106: Chapter 106: Decathlon (4�C Final)


    (Sorry for the late chap. I threw my back out and had to recuperate for an entire day. Eid Mubarak everyone!)


    [General POV]


    Irritated by the paparazzis sneaking photos of Edward Newgate''s Decathlon team, the Franklin Middle School team failed to answer the next question, allowing Atlas Middle school to gain the lead with 10 points ahead.


    Alex helplessly clicked her tongue and glared angrily at the paparazzis before she stood up and shouted, "Staff member! DO something! They are giving me a headache and interfering with the game!"


    "I agree. Please stop your flash photography while we are inside the venue. Better yet, get lost." The old moderator ended his sentence in a cold voice, striking fear inside the self of the nerds there.


    Rajesh stood up and said, "Yeah. Get out. Or we will call the police."


    The paparazzis ignored them and continued their selfish behavior, when suddenly all of their cameras stopped working.


    "Huh? What is happening?" A drug-addled, sly looking paparazzo muttered as he tried to test his camera a few times, only to find out it had been broken. "Fuck! What about the storage!" He cursed and took out his memory card from the camera to check it on his laptop, only to find that his laptop had broken too.


    "FUCK! WHO DID THIS?!" He cursed out loud. Not only him, but all 20 paparazzis there also found out that all of their electronics had been fried, and they had lost all data they had in their laptop storage and also their cameras.


    That meant, a lot of black materials had been destroyed, leaving them with no source of income, and no defensive items to protect themselves from the retaliation of those they had blackmailed before. They got horrified at the conjecture, and hurriedly moved out of the venue one by one before anyone else could find out what had transpired here today.


    Amidst the chaotic venue, Mrs Henderson walked back slowly to her audience seat, but her steps paused as she saw a sullen company senior standing right in front of her.


    The korean man in a black suit frowned and said in a cold tone, "Henderson. You have broken the Afterlife rule."


    "It''s a stupid rule to follow." The teacher rebuked, not showing regret for her actions.


    "Nonetheless, it is a rule. You cannot interfere with the affairs of the living. I had turned a blind eye when you offered help to the kid you''re observing, but to protect an ordinary kid? Why do you have to go so far to meddle in the mortal''s fate?"


    "..." Henderson paused for a while, as even she did not know why she did that. She pursed her lips and replied, "You put me in this world...as a teacher."


    "And?"


    "A teacher will protect her students."She said and snapped her finger once more.


    "So. You''re not satisfied with one offense, and you thought making two offenses, one witnessed by a senior agent, could finally give you satisfaction?" Gong Shin said sarcastically.


    "I''m not afraid of punishments. I just want to do what I think is the right thing to do." Henderson replied before walking past the frowning Gong Shin and sat back at her seat. Unbeknown to her, the senior manager in the Afterlife corps showed a slight smile before turning his face stoic again and sat next to the teacher.


    He handed her a disciplinary notice, and said, "I already arranged for you to be pulled back to the company, but now...I guess you have to stay in this world for a little bit longer."


    "Right now, I just hope that kid doesn''t make so much trouble." Mrs Henderson said helplessly before willingly accepting the disciplinary action without even trying to defend herself.


    "Oh right, you still haven''t told me the story." Gong Shin asked in a friendly manner.


    "Which story?" Mrs Henderson asked, confused.


    "The story of the best and most disciplined angel demoted because she ran a karmic draw for a 1 year old kid."


    Mrs Henderson opened her mouth a few times in disbelief, before she frowned and said, "I don''t want to talk about it."


    On the other side of the city, a red Porsche was being pursued by 4 police cars in a high speed chase. The roaring of the engine startled the passerby on the street, especially a realtor who had just gotten out of a supermarket with grocery bags in both of his hands.


    "Oh my god, kids today had watched too many speed racer movies!" Phil Dunphy exclaimed as he watched the red sports car pass by in awe.


    Inside the red car, Edward was cursing his luck. "Damn it. Why is the police so active today?" (E/N: 5 stars bro )


    While driving, the songs played by his earphone raised his heartbeat up, and also his reflexes as he made a few difficult maneuvers on the streets.


    ????Wonder if you know


    How they live in Tokyo????


    "PLATE NUMBER, D. U. D. E. E., PULL OVER! RIGHT NOW!" The cops shouted using his megaphone to make Edward stop his reckless driving.


    ????If you see me then you mean it


    Then you know you have to go????


    "Sorry, I got a thing!" Edward shouted back at them and shifted the gear before drifting at the last minute at an intersection, losing 2 cop cars because they were too late to react.


    ????Fast and furious (Drift, Drift, Drift)????


    "PULL OVER! PULL OVER I SAID!" The cop said urgently.


    "Wait. Is that Buddy?" Edward looked behind using the back view mirror and was feeling helpless as he saw an acquaintance here today.


    "I really can''t stop now.." Edward clicked his tongue while trying to contact Jenna, but she didn''t pick up the phone.


    ????Fast and furious (Drift, Drift, Drift)????


    "Fuck it!" Edward swerved his car and changed his position to face the cop car as he put the gears in reverse.


    Buddy screamed in horror and pressed his brake, but the collision he expected didn''t come. He was only tricked by Edward, who in turn took another corner, and managed to disappear from the police chasing him.


    "I could get addicted to this. COME ON. COME ON. Jenna! Pick up!" Edward muttered anxiously as he feared the worst. But then, Jenna picked up the phone.


    "Jen. What is happening? Are you alright?" Edward asked hurriedly.


    "Y-Yeah. I''m hiding inside my mom''s closet. They are still here, trying to find me. Apparently most of them are dumb, so I''m still safe." Jenna hushed her voice and said in disbelief after she miraculously managed to escape pursuit from the bad man''s goons. One forgot to tie his shoelace and tripped. One suddenly got a phone call and decided to answer it instead of following her, and so on.


    "I already called for help. So tell me, is the front gate open?" Edward asked in a calm manner as to not increase the pressure on the young girl.


    "I-...I think so." She replied anxiously.


    "Good. I will just drive my car straight in. Don''t hang up the phone, and tell me what''s happening."


    While Edward was speeding to get to Jenna''s mansion, Alex was currently inside a predicament with almost no way out of her troubles.


    "We have...one question left... One chance...to turn this all around." Alex muttered while biting her fingers. "And the last question is going to be...the hardest of them all."


    "Come on guys. It''s not that bad!" Enid tried to cheer the team up, but no amount of effort could raise the team''s spirit. "What about that paper?"


    "I don''t know. Ed''s notes I guess." Alex replied before opening the paper. She was suddenly infatuated with the neatly written formula and explanation that the paper showed, and almost forgotten to focus on the last question.


    The moderator was changed to Rajesh as the paparazzis had caused him to be unwell and had to sat down and rest


    "Now...it''s time for the final question. A question that will decide...whether the Franklin Middle school team could surpass Atlas Middle school, or will Atlas remain at the top, and become the champion for these 3 month championship games." Rajesh said ceremoniously. "ARE YOU READYYY!?"


    Both of the team were confused by the sudden change in atmosphere, and were looking at him in confusion. "Nevermind." Rajesh said dispiritedly before reading the final question. "The last question will be a change of pace from all of the science stuff. It will be a History question...and It will be worth 100 points!"


    Alex stopped biting her fingers and wiped the non-existent sweat on her forehead as she looked at the score. 320 points for Atlas. And 310 points for Franklin.


    The crowd murmured at the change, but Rajesh ignored them and asked, "What is-"


    "WAIT!" Alex suddenly shouted.


    "W-W-What?" Rajesh turned to Alex, but as she was a girl, his mutism appeared again, and he quickly hid away from her. Alex rushed to the judges table and slammed the papers on the panel''s desk.


    "We caught the snitch." She declared.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    As I drove to the mansion, a hot, burning anger spread out from my chest to my entire body. An orphan boy, unadopted till I reached adulthood and was kicked out of the orphanage... the only comfort I had right then was to know I was not alone. There were a few children like me, unwanted by society. We consider ourselves the bottom members of society, and decided to look after one another.


    ( E/N: And so I had to become the hero Gotham needs not the one they deserve) or however that line went lol)


    But...One by one, we fall prey to the darkness of human society. One orphan girl was tricked into doing pornography, and died from drug overdose. One married a rich man, and was choked to death. We tried to save them, but we were always one step too late. In the end, we all went our separate ways, as it was too painful for us to keep sticking together.


    (A/N: TOO DARK!)


    "Of course you can." I replied instantly. She brightened up a bit and gave me a hug before whispering something I couldn''t hear.


    "You''re welcome. And Hey, if you ever need me again, just give me a call alright?"


    She nuzzled into my embrace, but I stopped her and said, "Hey don''t run your hand all over the place."


    "I didn''t-" She widened her eyes in disbelief, and then realized I was making a joke and smiled.


    "Finally. I haven''t seen your smile all day. I''ve started to miss it." I said with a smile, causing her to blush.


    "You know what, today gave me an idea for a song. Do you want to hear it?"


    Her eyes lit up and she asked, "A song...about the incident? Or about...us?"


    "A little bit of both kind of a promise about us too." I replied with a slight shake of my head as I pretended to think.


    She released me quickly and said in excitement, "Well. What are you waiting for? Go write it down before you forget about it!"


    "I don''t need to write it down. I can just play it-"


    "Then do it!" Jenna exclaimed, desperately needing something to distract her mind away from the whole incident.


    "Alright. Lemme check the piano first." I stood up and walked to the piano nearby, and Jenna followed me like a baby duck . I gestured for her to sit next to me on the piano long chair.


    "Also Jenna, if you got your panties wet while I sang, don''t throw it at me like you did at the concert yeh?"


    She blushed in embarrassment and hit me slightly on the bicep, "Who exposed me?''


    "I will not name the witness...you know... protect your sources and all that."


    She pouted but her excited eyes betrayed her. "Just sing."


    "Okay. After that, We''re going to eat."


    ??????????????????


    [One call away�C Charlie Puth]


    My fingers gently tapped the piano keys as I looked Jenna in the eyes.


    "?? I''m only one call away. I''ll be there to save the day! Superman got nothing on meee~! I''m only one call away. ??"


    She blushed in embarrassment and avoided my eyes.


    "??Call me, baby, if you need a friend. I just wanna give you love~


    C''mon, c''mon, c''mon??"


    She covered half her face with her slender hand as she peeked at me through the gaps of fingers.


    "??Reaching out to you, so take a chance


    No matter where you go, know you''re not alone??"


    My intentions were conveyed to Jenna, and she couldn''t help but shed tears again as she heard the song.


    "??I''m only one call away??"


    I sang with a decisive tone as I wanted her to know I would always be there if she needed me. Even if I was far away, I would definitely try. After all, she is one of the few precious friends I have in this life.


    "??I''ll be there to save the day! Superman got nothing on meee! I''m only one call away??"


    We went to the diner together, with her sitting at the backseat of my bicycle as I stressfully pedal away to the restaurant.


    ??Come along with me and don''t be scared


    I just wanna set you free.


    C''mon, c''mon, c''mon??


    We meet with Enid and Alex, who gave Jenna a hug the second they saw her.


    ??You and me can make it up, anyway...


    For now, we can stay here for a while...


    Cause you know, I just wanna see your smile??


    Jenna shared with the girls what happened, and shared the tales of my heroism with an excited tone and a sincere smile on her face. We ordered a lot of food as we waited for the others.


    ??No matter where you go, know you''re not alone


    I''m only one call away


    I''ll be there to save the day??


    Sanjay and Haruna came to the diner with a big grin on their faces as they raised the 0.5 meter tall silver-white trophy up high in the air. The whole restaurant applauded to congratulate us as Enid announced our win to everyone.


    ??Superman got nothing on me


    I''m only one call away??


    Jacob was agitated and wanted to destroy the producer after Jenna opened up and shared the whole story to Elsa and him. I had to grab him by his pants to keep him in the restaurant.


    ??When you''re weak I''ll be strong


    I''m gonna keep holding on??


    In a way, for me to run over there to save Jenna today, was also a redemption for me who was always late in saving my friends in my previous life. While Jenna was afraid of letting me go, I too felt the same way. We went back to my place after celebrating, and the group decided to let me keep the trophy for a while before donating it to the school.


    ??Now don''t you worry, it won''t be long


    Darling, if you feel like hope is gone


    Just run into my arms??


    ??I''m only one call away


    I''ll be there to save the day


    Superman got nothing on me


    I''m only one, I''m only one call away??


    "Hey Ed." Jenna stopped me from walking by tugging at my shirt. I turned to her and asked, "What is it?"


    I finally knew what she whispered before this. She looked at me straight in the eyes and said, "Thank you."


    I smiled and patted her head lightly before casually saying, "Anytime."


    "??I''m only one call away


    I''ll be there to save the day


    Superman got nothing on me


    I''m only one call away


    I''m only one call away...??"


    (A/N: New way of writing the song. Wdyt?)

 Chapter 107: You will suffer like I did! (Therapy- First)

    Chapter 107: Chapter 107: You will suffer like I did! (Therapy- First)


    (The therapy Chapters will come out a few times intermittently. It won''t be concluded in just one Chapter. It is a process after all)


    [Edward POV]


    It was a small, intimate office scattered with fake plants in a pot and obscure paintings hung on the walls. I sat on the beige coloured couch, shaking my foot in annoyance as I stared at the professional woman sitting right in front of me.


    She was wearing a red blouse with a few buttons opened, revealing her deep gully, and a short skirt with pantyhose. Her blonde hair was tied up in a bun, and her neatness made it seem impossible for me to see stray hair.


    She pushed her glasses up and said, "You know Edward, even if you tried to stay silent to pass the time, that just mean that you''re booking your next visit to my office-"


    "I''m not staying silent. I''m just busy thinking of ways to punish my dad." I replied before I leaned forward and asked, "By the way, have you ever met the owner of Amelia''s? You guys look so similar to each other."


    She chuckled and said, "Of course we''re similar. We''re twins after all." Dr Linda Martin replied with a smile.


    "Oh. That makes much more sense." I muttered with a nod.


    "Today, I don''t want to talk about myself. I want to talk about you. How are you Edward? How are you feeling?" She asked as she slightly leaned forward.


    "I''m fine." I replied curtly and dropped my back to the couch before staring into an empty space again.


    My dad had tricked me into going to therapy today. Not to mention, he had Pepper on his side as Pepper was the one who picked me up from school today under the guise of seeing the new office.


    My dad was already waiting for me in front of the Doctor''s office as I arrived there. With a wry smile, he explained the whole situation. I was so pissed off that I wanted to just walk away, but Pepper convinced me to try it out...just for this one time. If it didn''t help me, then he wouldn''t do the same thing he did today, ever again.


    Although I appreciated their concern, I had a lot more useful things to do today.


    "Edward?" Linda called out.


    I snapped out of my thoughts and replied, "Huh. Ah...Sorry. I''m just...incredibly busy. I need to think about my next singles release, which is this Saturday, and the fact that I have not recorded even one of the songs I promised myself to release."


    Linda nodded and said, "I understand. There are a lot of friends of mine who couldn''t take the time to stop, rest, and heal themselves. Some...which I never saw again. I hope that maybe... in this session, you would just take some rest from all of the busy thoughts?"


    "No. I would rather just use this time to think. At the very least, my time will be worth it then." I replied snarkily.


    Dr Linda wasn''t mad and she asked in a calm tone, "So you don''t think therapy is useful?"


    "No offense doc, but for me, unless you''re a main character of a movie or a series, therapy isn''t actually useful for you. It''s a waste of time." I replied honestly.


    "And, why do you think...that the main character, as per your words...was the one who can actually succeed in their therapy?" Dr Linda asked after a slight pause.


    I was taken aback, and looked at her. Her gaze wasn''t filled with malice, but instead, she was curious. I sighed and replied, "Isn''t that just what it is? In a story, the plot is written to help the main character. So, their therapy session actually works."


    " I don''t think that for an ordinary man, a therapist is going to do anything other than take their money and let them vent a bit before promising them a path to get better in the next session. Again, no offense."


    The clinic fell into silence once more, and Dr Linda jotted down a few thoughts before she asked, "Why do you think that a therapist isn''t going to help you?"


    "Because, we ain''t friends. We don''t know each other. Even if I share my thoughts, beliefs, and what other things hidden inside of me, your job isn''t to help me isn''t it? It''s to judge. You''re listening, with the intent to show me what''s wrong with me. And for that, I think that a therapy session isn''t helpful, not at all." I answered defensively.


    Dr Linda paused for a second before she asked calmly, "And, is there something hidden inside of you? Something that you''re afraid l I will judge you for?"


    "Afraid? I''m not afraid." I replied with a scoff.


    Dr Linda smiled softly and put her books down on top of the coffee table separating us, "Edward. You don''t work as a therapist for 12 years, and not know what a scared young adult looks like."


    I touched my face for a bit, wondering if there was something wrong with my expression that caused her to come to the conclusion.


    "To make things clear, everything that you say here today, even if you confessed that you had killed someone...will stay between us. Your dad won''t get anything without your consent, although, I have to admit that I did talk with him before to get to know you better. "


    "Then you should already know. My life''s pretty normal."


    Dr Linda took her book back and flipped through the pages. She then muttered, "Going for a joyride. Not only illegal driving, but racing through the streets with a couple of officers in pursuit. Aggravated assault. Not doing your laundry. Slapping your friend''s mother. Using illegal substances such as marijuana-"


    "Allegedly and dad even mentioned not doing my laundry, which I forgot ONE night, too far up that list." I complained.


    I had no suspicions that dad had talked to Dr Linda about the matter. After the incident yesterday, I had told Pepper and my dad everything as to make some preparation in case someone tried to accuse me of something.


    The assault referred to my excessive ''self-defense'' when beating up those goons before. Luckily for me, there weren''t any records that showed I had ever learned martial arts, or else my charges would be tremendous...if the matter actually got out...which it has not...and never will.


    "Dad just worries too much, doc." I said dismissively.


    Dr Linda nodded and pushed her glasses up. She said, "Let''s just focus on only one thing on this list shall we? Can you tell me...why did you slap your friend''s mother?"


    [General POV]


    Sitting outside of Dr Linda''s office in the waiting room were Ted in his Captain''s uniform, and Pepper in his work suit�C a suit which made him look like he was cosplaying the godfather. Ted was leaning forward and clasping his hands together while Pepper was fanning his face with a paper fan.


    "Did you see his eyes?" Pepper asked with a shudder. "He looked like a predator about to bite our heads off."


    Ted sighed and said, "He...holds a grudge. Be...careful."


    Pepper smacked him with a paper fan and said, "He''s your son. Be braver."


    Rubbing his sore head, Ted said, "You know what he''s like. He hates things getting out of his control. And we tricked him today. So I KNOW...there will be repercussions...Just like with Dede."


    "Mitchell''s mother? What happened to her?" Pepper asked in shock.


    "Well...Ed gave her something horrible, and she had to be admitted to the hospital from gastritis. When I told him, he said mockingly, ''Maybe she could shove the crystal up her arse, she believes in their miraculous healing power right?''... Anyway, do you really think that this is a good idea?"


    "He gave her what?" Pepper asked in a horrified tone.


    "A dish that no one should ever eat." Ted replied dramatically.


    Ted sighed helplessly and said, "Okay. I will do the talking."


    "Good. We will discuss the date of the sessions. Follow me." Dr Linda said and turned around before walking to the receptionist desk.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    After that weird experience, Pepper drove me to the new agency building. It warmed my heart to see the giant ''Entertain'' logo being plastered on top of the infrastructure.


    "We''re renovating the lower floor to make a studio." Pepper explained as we entered the elevator.


    "That''s expensive. Do we have the money?" I asked in concern.


    Pepper smirked and said, "Edward. Just know something. In the overall renovation of the building, the company didn''t even pay one cent to do it."


    "What- How?" I asked in astonishment.


    "All of this...came from my mom''s pocket." He said excitedly before it turned into a longing tone, "Oh, if only I wasn''t gay, my dead father didn''t try to take me out of the will."


    "But, I can''t change who I am, So here we are." Pepper said self-deprecatingly. I patted his back before the elevator door opened on the top floor of the building.


    "This is your office." Pepper said as he showed off the modern looking corner office with a view, a mahogany abomination desk which showed my name on a triangular nameplate sitting on top of it. Numerous pachira plants near the walls, and letters from my loyal fans inside blue cardboard boxes arranged neatly next to the table.


    "Also, Ed, can you tell me why you made your dad do the therapy?" Pepper asked abruptly, and he managed to pass by my defence.


    I shrugged and said, "If I must suffer it, then he will do it with me. Peps, we need to start recording today, and this might seem last notice...but...I need to get in touch with a rapper."


    Pepper widened his eyes and exclaimed in bewilderment, "BEFORE THE RELEASE?! That''s in 2 days!"


    I nodded as I understood I was requesting unfairly and said, "My plans changed when I met with RDJ before. But I forgot to tell you about it."


    Pepper fell into a deep thought and explained, "If...If you asked me to search for a female artist�C ballads, pops, or even show tunes, I could at least try."


    "But?" I interjected as I thought it was going to show up.


    "But...I have never...got in touch with a rapper before." Pepper said fearfully.


    ...


    [General POV]


    -Pritchet''s house-


    "Manny, why are you going up and down, up and down, up and down!" Gloria said in frustration after Manny kept going up and down the stairs.


    "Edward told me to do it. And mom, he gave me a few recipes so that I can still enjoy what I used to eat, and still eat healthy." Manny said in exhaustion as he tried really hard to keep his promise to Edward.


    Jay was reading his newspaper and shook his head in annoyance. "Great, now I''m also going to be forced to eat that."


    "What''s that Jay?" Gloria asked as she couldn''t hear it.


    "Nothing hun. I''m just admiring Manny''s effort, that''s all." Jay replied.


    "Ayy, if you''re admiring him, maybe you can join him so that he doesn''t have to do this alone." Gloria suggested cheerily.


    "I walked right into that one didn''t I?" Jay muttered to himself.


    -Mitch and Cam''s house-


    "AHHHHH!" Cam screamed shrilly as he watched a Youtube video on his laptop. Mitchell ran quickly to where he was sitting with Lily in his arms, "What happened? What happened? Do I need to call the police?"


    "Mitchell! Taylor came out with a new song!" Cam said in a weird high pitch voiced as he urged Mitchell to look at his laptop screen.


    "What''s the matter with you? Even though you''re a fan, don''t you think that this is a bit much?" Mitchell said.


    "A BIT MUCH Mitchell?" Cam said, offended by his partner''s remarks. "Wait till you hear what I mean by "new song", and then you''ll understand why I was screaming."


    -Dunphy''s house-


    Alex walked around the kitchen all smug as she flashed her golden medal she got for winning the Decathlon before this. However, her face turned red with anger as she saw her mother.


    "Mom, do you really think it''s makes sense that Luke''s participation ribbon and Haley''s...I don''t know what that is-"


    "A full attendance certificate for her in 7th grade." Claire replied.


    "That. Does it belong to the same display case?" Alex asked in annoyance.


    Phil ran around the kitchen with Luke, both wearing a cowboy hat and boots. They had a holster around their waist, which stored the brand new gun that Phil had bought.


    "Let''s see if there is a bug in the kitchen, Sheriff." Luke said.


    "Affirmative assistant Sheriff." Phil said before they scour the entire kitchen, trying to find a bug or a fly to shoot down with their salt gun.


    "Phil. Stop playing with that thing." Claire yelled at Phil from afar before she turned back to Alex, "Also. Stop complaining Alex-"


    "URGH! I don''t have to take this! I just don''t!" Alex said before storming off, feeling dejected by her mother''s action.


    "THAT BITCH!" Haley suddenly yelled out from the living room, making Alex stop in her tracks.


    "Haley!" Claire yelled out to admonish her, but Haley had already ran to Alex since her relationship with her had been mended and showed her laptop screen, "See. This bitch is CRAZZZYYYY!"


    "Who- Wait. Taylor?" Alex asked in puzzlement before taking the laptop from Haley. They watched her latest performance video from her tour, and realised something amiss at the reveal of her newest song.

 Chapter 108: Bucketlist.

    Chapter 108: Chapter 108: Bucketlist.


    (This chap is very long lol)


    [Edward POV]


    As I arrived at the studio in the desert, I threw my luggage to the side of the room before sitting down on the audio equipment panel. Dressing comfortably in my black hoodie with the Whitebeard ''One Piece'' logo on the back of it, and gray sweatpant, I greeted Leo who was eating a sandwich in the studio pantry.


    "Missed me guys?" I asked cheekily while playing with the huge musical synthesizer. The panel produced an R2-D2 sad beeping from my touch.


    "Aww. Don''t worry. I''ll be here till Sunday. I promise."


    Then, the panel produced a happy beeping sound. Pepper rolled his eyes as he watched my shenanigans and he patted my shoulder. I turned to him before he said, "Look at this. I guess your ''friend'' has gone mad."


    He showed a Youtube fan video of Taylor''s latest concert that had been trending on the internet after its release.


    "Huh? Although I love crazy chicks, what did she do exactly?" I asked in confusion.


    "Just watch." Pepper replied with a solemn expression. As I took the tablet from him, he snapped his paper fan and fanned his face quietly.


    [??Starlight - Taylor Swift??]


    "Oh this song." I muttered as I heard the intro.


    "You know about it?" Pepper asked in bewilderment. I nodded before focusing back on the concert, not wanting to explain that I heard the song in my previous life before.


    "Yeah. It''s about one of her idols, Bobby and Ethel Kennedy. It''s a song about their life story." I replied, making Pepper breathed in relief.


    Inside the video, Taylor was wearing a beautiful white coloured princess-like dress and was sitting on a stool, holding her guitar.


    The part where she told the fans that she was inspired by me and wanted to sing a new song of hers in the concert was cut out of the video as the fan who recorded this couldn''t get her camera recorder out fast enough, but it was included in the caption.


    Taylor started to sing, "??I said, "Oh my, what a marvelous tune"... It was the best night, never would forget how we moved..The whole place...Was dressed to the nines...And we were dancing, dancing... Like we''re made of starlight... Like we''re made of starlight...??"


    I bobbed my head at the tune and asked Pepper, "So. What''s wrong exactly?"


    "Keep watching."


    "??I met Eddy- on the boardwalk summer of ''45," The fans could see Taylor widened her eyes and blushed as she sang the wrong lyric, but she continued, bracing the embarrassment. My face froze as I realized the consequences of this, and Pepper just nodded knowingly as he saw my reaction.


    "?? Picked me up late one night out the window, We were seventeen and crazy running wild, wild


    ??Can''t remember what song he was playing when we walked in??


    ??The night we snuck into a yacht club party


    Pretending to be a duchess and a prince??"


    [General POV]


    "THIS...SHE''S TALKING ABOUT THE PARTY BEFORE-" Before Anna could exclaim, Kaya cupped her mouth and shushed her. Kaya whispered admonishingly, "Ed wasn''t supposed to be at the party remember? So SHUT UP!"


    In the Dunphy''s house, Claire narrowed her eyes as she heard it. "I KNEW IT! I knew they did something wrong at the party!"


    Haley and Alex looked weirdly at Claire, but she wouldn''t explain what she knew. In Mitch and Cam''s place, Cam screamed in excitement again before he said, "Remember Love Story at the concert? Where they roleplay as a prince and a princess?"


    Mitchell jaw dropped in awe before he nodded in realization, "This...is a confession song right?"


    "??And I said, "Oh my, what a marvelous tune"


    It was the best night, never would forget how we moved


    The whole place


    Was dressed to the nines


    And we were dancing, dancing


    Like we''re made of starlight, starlight


    Like we''re made of starlight, starlight??"


    At the dock, Ted wiped his sweaty forehead as he saw countless new bookings for his yacht trip. "How does this happen?" He asked.


    Dwayne beside him said gruffly, "One of the fans found the website. Granted Edward never hid it, but now we get bookings from all over the country. Some even from abroad."


    Suddenly, Ted''s phone rang. It was an unknown number, but he still picked it up as he was taught to be polite.


    "Hello?"


    "Hi. Sorry for calling you late at night. I got your number from your son." A familiar voice greeted Ted from the other line.


    "I''m sorry. Who''s this?"


    "Me? I''m...Robert Downey-"


    ...


    ??He said, "Look at you, worrying so much about things you can''t change


    You''ll spend your whole life singing the blues


    If you keep thinking that way"??


    ??He was tryna to skip rocks on the ocean saying to me


    "Don''t you see the starlight, starlight


    Don''t you dream impossible things"??


    Edward turned to Pepper and said, "I got a bad feeling that this is not all?"


    Pepper nodded and said, "You''re quite sharp. Yeah. Taylor went rogue and announced she''s leaving her agency today. Allegedly. I still can''t find a statement from her agency."


    "Wait what?!" Edward exclaimed in shock. Although he had inserted a hidden clause in the contract in preparation to help Taylor get away from her agency, he never thought she would go wild on her own. And she really didn''t, but Edward didn''t know that yet.


    "But. The penalty!" Edward asked in bewilderment.


    "10 million dollar contract breach penalty, and losses of her songs copyright." Pepper said with a solemn face. "But nothing is concluded yet. This may be some reporter twisting her words. We still don''t know for sure."


    Edward breathed in relief.


    "??Ooh, ooh he''s talking crazy


    Ooh, ooh dancing with me


    Ooh, ooh we could get married??"


    The fans shouted in excitement as Taylor sang the lyric, causing Edward to be taken aback. However, to Pepper''s astonishment, Edward showed a grin instead of becoming worried.


    "Why-Why are you reacting like this?" Pepper asked fearfully.


    ??Have ten kids and teach ''em how to dream??


    Edward replied, "I don''t know. Becoming Taylor''s song is on my bucket list. I can cross it out today."


    "??"Oh, my what a marvelous tune"


    It was the best night, never would forget how we moved


    The whole place, Was dressed to the nines, And we were dancing, dancing...


    Like we''re made of starlight, starlight!


    Like we''re made of starlight, starlight!


    Like we''re made of starlight, starlight!??


    ??Like we dream impossible dreams


    Like starlight, starlight


    Like we dream impossible dreams


    Don''t you see the starlight, starlight


    Don''t you dream impossible things??"


    The video ends as the audience cheered at the red-faced Taylor. She did make a disclaimer about this song''s connection with Edward, but the media had already gone crazy with the incident.


    "We need to back her up a little, and downplay the entire incident. Also, this is a good chance for Taylor and I to build our online presence if we play this properly." Edward muttered as he saw the online reaction.


    "Also, can you contact the Twilight movie studio?" He asked as he turned to look at Pepper. "Like, Right now?"


    -Taylor''s concert venue, Ohio-


    "So, are you going to tell me what happened out there?" Taylor''s lyric writer asked in a cold tone while pushing her glasses up with a solemn expression as she faced the idol lazing around the couch in front of her.


    "It was a slip of the tongue. Everyone can make mistakes." Taylor answered with disinterest as she kept fiddling with her phone, her innocent girl persona had been lifted as she finished the concert today.


    "Rapper?" Taylor held her chin as she fell deep in thoughts before she replied, "I think I can help you out with that. But, I need something in return for the favour."


    After an hour, Edward kept his promise and released a simple video on his website. A ''Behind the scene'' that was exclusive to the ''true'' fans, which had already settled their subscription to his channel, as Edward never hid the fact that they needed to pay to see it.


    Even Taylor''s video was exclusive for her concert audience, but was illegally recorded and uploaded to Youtube, so no one could complain about Edward safeguarding the rights to his own songs. Of course, with only 1 bucks per month for the subscription to have access to behind the scenes videos, most fans didn''t have any complaints.


    "IT''S UP!" Haley exclaimed after she saw the link. She clicked on it hurriedly, and so did Alex. Claire and Phil watched it together using the same laptop, so did Mitch and Cam, and Jay, Gloria, and Manny.


    "What should I do?" Luke asked as he walked behind his parents.


    "Come watch with us!" Phil grabbed Luke and put him in the middle of him and his wife before playing the video.


    The video started with the Entertain logo, and then it changed to Edward sitting crossed legged on the floor of his recording studio while holding the Taylor guitar in his lap. There was exciting music playing in the background, "''Cause you''re a natural! A beating heart of stone! You gotta be so cold!", which made Edward turn to his left and shout with a playful smile, "Leo. Come on! I''m recording here man!"


    The song abruptly stopped and Leo''s voice could be heard from the background, "Sorry boss-man!''


    Edward turned to the screen again and said, "Sorry about that. We''re currently getting ready for the Singles release this Saturday. I truly didn''t expect to make an exclusive today, but here we are."


    He had taken off his hoodie, and was only wearing a simple tight white shirt and had a metallic necklace around his neck in the shape of a wolf head.


    Enid squealed as she saw the necklace and muttered to herself, "I need that!" Her sister Tara rolled her eyes and said, "I thought you would focus more on his muscles."


    "You''re right! He''s getting hotter and hotter!" Enid exclaimed.


    Edwards'' casual behaviour in addressing his fans quickly earned him a lot of goodwill from them. Taylor''s attention however was focused on the guitar he was holding, and she giggled to herself, "He''s using my gift, to sing a song... to reply to my song..."


    Edward continued without knowing people''s reaction to his video, "This looks kind of shabby but this will only be for you my most loyal fans. So here it goes, I hope you enjoy this as it will remain exclusive for all of you in the "Superfan" Club until further notice.


    A lot of fans laughed as Edward said that, such as Lily. She muttered, "Superfan? That sounds about right!"


    "Taylor''s song gave me inspiration today. It made me wanna sing something about a gorgeous young girl with striking electric blue eyes that I have met before." Edward muttered, not wanting to deal with the claim that he wrote this song for someone specific.


    Cam snorted and said, "Taylor''s got blue eyes. Why don''t you just admit it already?"


    Mitchell admonished him and said, "And then what? Destroy Taylor''s career? He''s handling this with a lot of maturity Cam. He should be applauded for that."


    Edward took a deep breath and played a simple melody using the guitar.


    [Ed Sheeran- Tenerife Sea]


    "??You look so wonderful in your dress, I love your hair like that. The way it falls on the side of your neck, Down your shoulders and back. ??"


    Taylor touched her curly hair with a grin on her face, unaware that her ears had turned red as she reminisced the time she and Ed played together on top of the yacht. (Chapter 51)


    "??We are surrounded by all of these lies...And people that talk too much??"


    Edwards'' dreamy voice made the viewers who were watching fall into a daze and have a big smile plastered on their face.


    "??You got the kind of look in your eyes, As if no one knows anything but us??"


    "Huh? What does that mean?" Haley asked.


    "They are at the centre of attention, but they could only see each other?" Alex guessed.


    "Thats-" Haley grimaced, but then stopped midway and changed her sentence, "...Sounds about right."


    "??Should this be the last thing I see? I want you to know it''s enough for me... ''Cause all that you are is all that I''ll ever need??"


    Cam wiped his tears with a tissue as he sobbed and said, "That''s so damn beautiful!" The next sentence however almost killed him.


    "??I''m so in love! So in love! So in love! I''m so in love??"


    Haley, Alex, Jenna, and Abby who were watching the show froze while Taylor covered her blushed red face with her curly hair, not knowing how to face Edward again after this.


    "??You look so beautiful in this light, Your silhouette over me, The way it brings out the blue in your eyes, Is the Tenerife sea??"


    "Beneath the spotlight?" Lily guessed, and it wasn''t only her who came to the same conclusion.


    "??And all of the voices surrounding us here


    They just fade out when you take a breath


    Just say the word and I will disappear


    Into the wilderness??"


    The way Edward sang the romantic song while making eye contact with the fans once in a while made them fall deeply in love with his charisma. It got them wondering, ''When will it be for his next concert?''


    "??Should this be the last thing I see?


    I want you to know it''s enough for me


    ''Cause all that you are is all that I''ll ever need??"


    The media was going crazy tonight about the Twilight Music Video promotion release, Taylor leaked songs, and now, Edward''s confession song, making it impossible for them to focus on only one thing to write for tomorrow''s headline, not knowing that all of them had fallen into Edward''s palm using his image management techniques.


    "??I''m so in love! So in love! So in love! So in love??"


    Jenna asked Elsa in a cold tone. "Have any of his songs before this mentioned something about love?"


    Elsa gulped her saliva and replied, "Not that I know off."


    "??Lumie?re, darling! Lumie?re over me! Lumie?re, darling! Lumie?re over me! Lumie?re, darling! Lumie?re over me??"


    "Light? Illuminate?" Alex tried to guess the sentence''s meaning. Mitchell however was impressed with Edward''s perfect French word pronunciation, and even got goosebumps on his arms from the performance.


    "Chills! Literal, CHILLS!" Cam exclaimed.


    "??Should this be the last thing I see?


    I want you to know it''s enough for me


    ''Cause all that you are is all that I''ll ever need??"


    "That kid. I never knew he could be so romantic." Ted muttered to himself.


    "??So in love


    So in love


    So in love, love, love, love


    So in love??"


    Gloria hugged Jay''s arm and laid her head on his shoulder as she was mesmerised by the song, "Ay Jay. I don''t want it to end." She muttered.


    Jay nodded and said, "Although it''s not 7 years, this one is still good."


    "??You look so wonderful in your dress


    I love your hair like that


    And in a moment, I knew you best??"


    Edward ended the song abruptly, beats of sweat rolling down his forehead. He was under intense pressure the whole time as he needed to sing the song perfectly in one take.


    "That concludes the song, [Tenerife Sea]." Edward said with a grin, not expanding on the fact that he purposely picked this song to sing as it was one of the most difficult songs to understand among all the songs he had heard before.


    "Like I said, this song is inspired by a gorgeous lady with striking blue eyes that I had the pleasure to meet."


    Till the end, he didn''t claim that the song he wrote was for Taylor, making it impossible for the fans to get the evidence for their dalliance.


    "Stay tuned for this Saturday. After getting to the top chart with the Singles ''Love and Heartbreak'', I will release 3 more singles with the theme, ''IMAGINE!'' See you guys soon!"


    The video ends there, and most of the audience was left in a daze as they still couldn''t believe that the video had ended like that. After collecting themselves, they became excited and curious about Edward''s next songs. For the subscribers, they also found a few cover songs posted inside the exclusive fansite, and couldn''t help but click on the next video as they couldn''t get enough of Edward.


    [Edward POV]


    After finishing the video livestream, Pepper gave me a white towel to wipe my sweat.


    "Can''t believe in an hour, you recorded 7 videos of yourself, coded the website, and planned everything almost to perfection." Pepper said. I grinned and wiped my head before tossing the towel to the side. "Are you sure you''re 15?" He asked in suspicion.


    "I''m just built different from the other kids." I replied cockily before walking to my laptop to oversee the reactions and data from the livestream today.


    "500.000 new subscribers. So, 500 grand in just an hour. Eh... I think I can do better."


    The keyword Tenerife Sea quickly became trending on social media, and Taylor reached 3 million followers on twitter while I managed to reach 2.7 million followers, increasing both of our influence to the public arena today.


    I checked my Twitter page, and laughed as I saw what Taylor had posted.


    TaylorOfficial: Awww ?? ?? You are on! I don''t think this is over! Something tells me you all can expect a new song pretty soon."


    I quickly reacted before Taylor could destroy everything I strived for today.


    EdwardNewgate: @TaylorOfficial Yeah. A new song from both of us, as we''re going to start our joint project together pretty soon!


    I called her quickly to prevent her from tweeting again and said, "I''m looking forward to a new song if you really want to create one for me, but don''t tweet anymore without my permission okay?"


    "Yes Daddy." Taylor replied submissively in a sexy voice.

 Chapter 109: Meeting A God.

    Chapter 109: Chapter 109: Meeting A God.


    [General POV]


    "Huh." Haley noticed something weird as she rewatched the exclusive video of Edward singing Tenerife Sea for the third time.


    "What?" Alex asked curiously.


    "You know that I haven''t seen him since Wednesday?" Haley muttered.


    "So?"


    Haley paused the video and pointed her finger at Edward''s knuckle. "He didn''t always have a bruise there, did he?"


    "Wait? You can see that?" Alex asked in a horrified tone as she squinted her eyes and tried to see the bruise, but it was barely perceptible for her. The only reason she knew it was there was because she saw it when they celebrated the championship at the family restaurant before.


    "So You know something. What''s going on?" Haley asked in a stern tone while crossing her arms together. Alex realized that her sister was sharper than she thought and said, "You know, I can''t tell you that. Not without his consent anyway-"


    "So did he get in a fight?" Haley guessed before Alex could finish her sentence.


    Alex was taken aback, and before she could react, Haley sighed and muttered to herself, "That...is...so hot."


    Alex scrunched her face in disgust, not knowing what to respond to her sister''s preference towards bad boys, which was something she inherited from her mother.


    "You know what, you should totally throw a party for your championship!" Haley turned to her sister with a face full of ulterior motive.


    "Huh? Well... That''s not a bad idea, but who would come if I was the one who''s throwing the party?" Alex said self-deprecatingly.


    Haley sneered and said, "I thought you were smart. Don''t you get it? You only need to invite ONE PERSON! Then, the entire school will want to come on their own to YOUR party!"


    Alex was still confused, making Haley roll her eyes and say in frustration, "Edward! Just invite Edward!"


    "AHHH!" Alex exclaimed in realization. "But he''s so busy." She muttered.


    "Maybe throw the party on Sunday after he gets back from the studio." Haley planned.


    "Are you sure? Where are we even going to throw it? Here? Will mom let us?" Alex asked rapidly.


    "Just let me handle mom. You just focus on getting Edward here!" Haley said with a cocky grin. But as she turned her face away from Alex, her expression shook.


    "Now. How can I trick mom to go away?" She muttered to herself.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Inside the studio''s bathroom, I washed my mouth and was cleaning away the traces of vomit at the sink after I concluded the Twitter drama today.


    "Edward? Are you okay boy?" Pepper asked in concern from in front of the locked bathroom door.


    "I''m fine. Must be bad seafood for lunch or something." I replied hastily, not wanting for him to pry into my matters. As I looked up to the mirror in front of me, I saw a cold-looking Edward Newgate in a classical suit scoffing at me.


    "Pathetic." He mocked.


    "Fuck off." I said before getting out of my imagination and wiped my hand with a paper towel. I slapped my cheeks a few times and put on my fake smile again. I got out of the bathroom, my chest tightening uncomfortably as I passed by Pepper and walked to the recording room again.


    As I picked up my guitar, all of the other noises inside my mind and the uncomfortability disappeared.


    "Should I really open up to Linda?....Nah." I muttered to myself as I played a simple melody to rest for a while.


    "Edward. For the ''Natural'' song...you''re releasing this first, and then you''re making the music video right? Do you already have an idea on what to make for the music video, or should I give that job to a creative director?" Pepper asked after he finished his call with the Twilight movie studio executives.


    The studio was delighted with the music video release timing and response. They also had been hinting about casting me into the movie for a while, but I kept avoiding the topic with them.


    "Yeah. I do."


    "Good." Pepper nodded, not bothering to ask about the budget for the music video now that we were flooded with the profits from the earlier song release and the streaming service. A lot of it was reinvested into other projects, and share acquisition from various companies, but the company''s account still stood strong.


    "By the way, how many views have I gotten on Grenade mv and all the songs download counts now?" I asked in a casual manner.


    "Views on Youtube, 50 million. It''s still rising. And the download counts had surpassed 20 million." Pepper replied in a calm manner. "You also have a few endorsement offers, but we will talk about that tomorrow. Are you going to rest now?'' He asked.


    "I''m finishing ''Whatever it Takes'' and ''Natural'' editing tonight before I''m tucking in. What about the rapper? Did you find someone?"


    "Harvey did. And she''s currently negotiating with the guy because...you know."


    I nodded at his remarks, and didn''t continue to ask further questions. The situation with the rapper was a bit complicated because the person I hired needed to spit out the bars I had written.


    It could be a bruise to their egos if they thought I was just using them for their image, and not their capabilities. It was a tough negotiation for Harvey that night, especially since she didn''t have a lot of time to do it.


    "Worst comes to worst, I''ll just do it myself." I muttered.


    Pepper nodded in understanding before saying, "We''ll cross the bridge when we get there."


    ...


    Friday night, one day before the song''s release. Still, there were no signs of the rapper.


    I let out a heavy sigh and said, "You really can''t depend on an artist to be at an appointment on time huh."


    In the one day I stayed inside the desert studio, I managed to launch my Undercover casual game�C which I created just for fun, not for profit, did some photoshoot, discuss a few company endorsement offers �C just going in and out of meetings, agreeing to come to Alex''s party on Sunday, did some taxes, expose a pedofile ring connected to the sleazy producer �C making it impossible for him to get out of the crime, and many more. (E/N: that last bit would get him "Clintoned" lol)


    "Well... at the very least, we found someone." Pepper said as we waited for the rapper by standing in front of the studio building together.


    I scoffed and said, "Nah. Don''t try to downplay this. I asked you for a rapper..." As I said that, a black SUV pulled up in front of both of us, its headlight illuminated our bodies, "...You gave me a rap god."


    Eminem jumped out of the SUV with a cold expression plastered on his face. He swaggered towards us with his black hoodie and black cap, stretching his hands out to shake mine the second he got close to us.


    "Marshall."


    "Edward." I replied, shaking his hands.


    "I understand you don''t have much time?" He asked while shaking hands with Pepper.


    "Around 20 hours before the release." Pepper replied a bit fearfully. I gave a side eye to Pepper before leading Marshall inside the studio.


    "Harvey told you what I want?" Marshall asked as we walked side by side. Pepper was distancing himself away from us because of his instinctual fear of the pseudo-gangster�C or what other prejudice he has on the rapping artist.


    I nodded and replied, "A collaboration sounds nice. But I have to warn you, I''m not good at rapping."


    Marshall scoffed and said, "I read your lyrics. You got bars. Of course, not as good as mine, but they are at least acceptable."


    He continued, "What I want is not your writing skill anyway."


    "I know. You want the beat right? I can do that." I said, not knowing that my impromptu performance in the interview before when I sang ''Shivers'', had caused the rap god to gain a great impression on me.


    In the negotiation of his features in the song, he actually talked to his agency to negotiate with Entertain at an equal level, causing even the Dr to be confused.


    "We will discuss my song later. I assume we can finish this in an hour?" Marshall said as we reached the recording room.


    "Well. Maybe less than 20 minutes if I get what I want. As you well know I''ve already got some of my own stuff put together but I can show you the whole thing after we are done." I replied cheekily, making Marshall grin for the first time.


    I was wondering why he agreed to help me with this as he entered the recording room. I had already given him a demo of the song before, so he already knew what to do.


    And as I predicted, we managed to conclude the recording for the rap part of the song in under 20 minutes.


    "Well. That''s pretty fast." Marshall muttered with a mixture of disbelief and awe. " I don''t know whether you''re so decisive, or you''re just too lazy to recheck the sound bites." He added.


    "Huh? I don''t want to sing a few times kid-"


    "Don''t worry. Trust me." I said before grabbing my electric guitar.


    Marshall sighed and said, "Okay. Let''s play."


    I recorded the chorus echo, making Marshall widen his eyes. He grabbed a microphone quickly and we both swayed to the beat as we got into our performing character.


    Harvey, who just arrived and was watching on the other side of the room, chuckled and said, "So, when two crazy monsters meet, I wonder what''s going to happen."


    "??I''m not afraid (I''m not afraid)??" I grabbed the microphone and sang.


    "Yeah," Marshall said without singing.


    Edward: "??To take a stand (to take a stand)??"


    Marshall: It''s been a ride


    Edward: ??Everybody (everybody)??


    Marshall: I guess I had to go to that place


    Edward: ??Come take my hand (come take my hand)??


    Marshall: To get to this one


    Edward: ??We''ll walk this road together, through the storm??


    Marshall:Now some of you might still be in that place


    Edward: ??Whatever weather, cold or warm??


    Marshall muttered, "If you''re tryna get out," while I sang, "??just lettin'' you know that you''re not alone.??"


    Marshall: Just follow me


    Edward: ??holla if you feel like you''ve been down the same road??


    Marshall: I''ll get you there


    Marshall grabbed his microphone tight and rapped, "??You can try and read my lyrics off of this paper before I lay ''em!??"


    I changed the beats quickly as I followed his lead in the melody.


    ??But you won''t take the sting out these words before I say ''em!


    ''Cause ain''t no way I''ma let you stop me from causin'' mayhem!??


    Marshall glanced at me with an excited expression. Right now, he''s no longer Marshall. He''s, the one and only, the person who''s comeback was anticipated the most in this era, SLIM SHADY!


    ??When I say I''m a do somethin'', I do it!


    I don''t give a damn what you think!??


    ??I''m doin'' this for me, so fuck the world, feed it beans!


    It''s gassed up, if it thinks it''s stoppin'' me!??


    ??I''ma be what I set out to be, without a doubt, undoubtedly!


    And all those who look down on me, I''m tearin'' down your balcony!??


    ??No if, ands or buts, don''t try to ask him why or how can he!


    From "Infinite" down to the last "Relapse" album he''s still shittin''!


    Whether he''s on salary, paid hourly, until he bows out or he shits his bowels out of him!


    Whichever comes first, ?? for better or worse!??


    ??He''s married to the game, like a fuck you for Christmas!??


    "??His gift is a curse, forget the Earth, he''s got the urge to pull his dick from the dirt!


    And fuck the whole universe!??"


    "This is the part where Edward relates to him huh." Harvey muttered while Pepper solemnly fanned himself with the paper fan. "I don''t like this. Not even a little bit." Pepper muttered.


    I walked lazily towards him as I sang the chorus, "??I''m not afraid (I''m not afraid)??"


    "??To take a stand (to take a stand)??"


    "??Everybody (everybody)??"


    "??Come take my hand (come take my hand)??"


    "??We''ll walk this road together, through the storm??"


    "??Whatever weather, cold or warm??"


    "??Just lettin'' you know that you''re not alone??"


    "??holla if you feel like you''ve been down the same road!??"


    "YOU DID IT!" Marshall screamed in excitement with both of his hands raised up as he felt that most of the song was already completed.


    As Pepper thought back about the chorus I was singing, he nodded in appreciation and muttered, "Edward is Edward after all! He scared me there for nothing!"


    While Pepper was deep in thought, Marshall suddenly said, "Do you want to meet Dre? And come to my agency?"


    "EXXXCUSE ME!" Pepper gasped as he was offended by Marshall''s brave offer.


    ...


    [General POV]


    In Ohio, Taylor''s crew was loading all of her stuff into the road tour bus as they needed to get to the next concert venue.


    "STOP! STOP! Whatever is it you''re doing! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! PLEASE STOP!" Selena begged Taylor while on the phone with her, trying her absolute hardest to make her friend regain her sanity back.


    "He got a realtor friend right? Phil something. Maybe he can find me a house next to Ed. I know if I offer to buy the property at 3 times the market price, his neighbour won''t hesitate to vacate the house-"


    "LISTEN TO ME YOU NUMBSKULL!" Selena shouted again. "Just take a deep breath, and calm down first. You still have a career, and not to mention the fact that it isn''t legal yet for you guys to date, so just keep it in your pants for now!"


    "But, he loves me, and I love him, so why the hell should we wait?!" Taylor argued.


    "Look! Even I know he created the song as he did, leaving your name out and making excuses and keeping plausible deniability because of the very same reason you said his name in yours and played it off as a "gaffe" a mere slip of the tongue. He''s protecting you, can''t you see? So even if you don''t want to listen to me, please...just don''t throw away all of his efforts!"


    Taylor finally calmed down a bit after getting coaxed by Selena. After talking for a while, she smiled again as she said, "I can''t wait for our duet! I wanna be the first artist to officially sing together with him, and not do it because of a movie marketing ploy!"


    While Taylor was planning that, Marshall also had something to say to Edward.


    "Now that I had heard you rapping to that song, I can''t imagine it having gone any other way. So, let''s make this official, and sign a contract. You''ll feature in this song, and I will also give you credit for your songwriting."


    (A/N: Lack of reaction to the rap song cause there aren''t a lot of people around there, and the rap is too fast for me to include the reaction in between without ruining the flow. If you guys have any suggestions on how to improve the writing on the rap part, lemme know.)

 Chapter 110: Trending.

    Chapter 110: Chapter 110: Trending.?


    [General POV]


    At the set of Wizards of Waverly place, Jennifer stone, a red-headed teenager with shoulder length wavy hair was filming together with Selena. As the director yelled, "CUT!", Jennifer tapped on Selena''s shoulder with an excited smile on her face.


    "Tell me please! Did Ed really make that song for Taylor? Or was it all just part of a grand marketing scheme for Twilight?!"


    Selena replied, "Well that''s what people on Twitter think. But I will tell you something. Until yesterday night, there wasn''t a "GRANDDD" marketing scheme at ALL!" She shook her hands together at the ''grand'' part with a silly smile on her face.


    "Really? SO It''s confirmed then-"


    "But," Selena stopped her friend with another ''but'', and an index finger at her face. She paused for dramatic effect before saying, "But. Ed took the opportunity from Taylor''s SLIP of the tongue, and concocted the whole thing...in just... under an hour! That man is a wizard!"


    Jennifer rolled her eyes and scoffed, "So you aren''t planning to tell me anything? I thought we were best friends?!"


    "We still are!" Selena replied with a smile. "I really did tell you the things I know."


    "Yeah, but not EVERYTHING you know!" Jennifer pouted and pinched Selena''s waist, causing her body to jerk.


    Compared to Taylor, Selena was closer to Jennifer more, and like she claimed, they really were best friends. Selena desperately wanted to tell her everything, but she wouldn''t do that, not while they were inside the filming set at least.


    Selena scrolled her Twitter page and sighed, "Seriously. People still keep talking about it!"


    The #TenerifeSea was trending all over the place, and Edward''s fans were split into two and debated whether Edward had just created the song to cover up the whole incident, or had already planned to sing the song for Taylor and finally got the opportunity to do it.


    Even a few celebrities were engaging in the topic, making Edward''s follower count rise to 4.3 million in just over one night of being a trending topic.


    @LilyFanClubPresident: My nose bleeds again. Last night was too much for me. #TAYDWARDFOREVER #TENERIFESEA #STARLIGHT


    @Gaga_Official: Last night, I squealed like I was a teenage girl all over again. I really love the whole #Teydward Drama.


    @Spain-Government: Unexpectedly, a lot of tourists arrived at our Canary Island today for a tour of the Tenerife Sea after the song was released last night. @EdwardNewgate, Thank You!


    Even the real Slim Shady was tweeting about Edward last night as he wouldn''t want to miss out on the opportunity. He posted a picture of him and Edward in the recording studio, making his page bombarded with questions about what was happening.


    Slim being Slim, he ignored all of the questions, making the curious fans frustrated and wanting to know more about the whole situation.


    While most people in the world were enjoying the whole drama, there were some that were against the whole thing. And one particular girl was in a bad mood all morning because Edward hadn''t replied to her text messages for the entire night, and was only replying to them in the morning.


    Haley read the Twitter post from a fan mockingly, "Oh, I wish they will be an official couple already. Bla bla bla! Why can''t all these animals stay out of other people''s business?!" She stampeded off from her house''s kitchen to the living room, leaving behind Alex and her mother there.


    Alex was busily studying even on a Saturday. Her hair was messy, and she had a deep eye bag beneath her reddish eyes. Claire was watching Haley storm off before turning to Alex and asked whisperingly after she saw Haley had gone out of earshot, "Alex, where is your decathlon medal? Why is it not in the glass display I put it in yesterday?"


    Alex scoffed and said, "Why do you even care? It''s not like it''s an OUTSTANDING achievement that deserved its own glory right?" She grabbed her book and stormed off, leaving behind a taken aback Claire.


    "Ale-" Claire tried to reach out her hand and called out to her daughter, but she stopped midway.


    [Phil and Claire''s commentary]


    "I screwed up! Big time!" Claire said in a defeated tone and with teary eyes.


    Phil hugged her sideways and comforted her, "Shh Shh Shh, it''s not your fault. You just don''t want anyone to feel bad. Sure, you completely ignored Alex''s feelings, but at least your intention was good...right?"


    Claire groaned and shook Phil''s hand off her body and said, "I should''ve made a bigger fuss for her championship...thing... I don''t know that she''s taking this very seriously? It''s not like Alex is trying hard to get all of these medals. She''s picking them up like flowers on the side of the street."


    Phil realized something and turned to Claire before asking accusatorily, "Were you the one who''s always stealing flowers from our neighborhood!?"


    Claire grimaced and replied in a high pitched voice, "What?- NO!"


    [Commentary ends]


    Luke was on the house phone and passed by Claire as he went to grab a banana.


    "Listen Manny, if you don''t finish those 200 sit ups, Edward is going to kill your mom." Luke said before pausing to hear what Manny said on the other side.


    "Yeah, I know he didn''t say that. The question is, will he really...not do it?" Luke said with a sly grin before going to torture Manny more as the latter was working out based on Edward''s schedules.


    At the same neighborhood but a few houses over, Jay was grimacing hard as he needed to argue with Cam over some matter in the Newgate''s house construction today.


    "Gosh Jay, Imagine, a water fountain arch, spanning from here, to the outdoor hot tub. THE. WOW. FACTOR!" Cam said excitedly as he stood in front of the backyard door. Edward was adding a patio on the backyard where he would relax and unwind after a busy day of work, and had given them the designs he wanted.


    Jay grunted and said, "No. Just follow what he wants. Why the hell do you want to do MORE work? It''s like this isn''t tiring enough already."


    Cam giggled and said knowingly, "I know that despite you pretending to be tired of this, you actually loveeee hammering and sawing stuff. I saw you smile a few times when you broke down his inner walls before."


    Jay sighed and murmured to himself while glancing at Cam, "Well. That''s not the thing I''m tired of."


    Unaware of what his partner''s father thoughts about him, Cam said, "Should we changed the cedar wood into Italian marble-"


    "That cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Also, Ed should''ve just moved out of this dump into a better place now. He''s got the money. Why the hell didn''t he just do that?" Jay complained.


    "Well. It may be the nostalgia-"


    "He changed everything inside Cam. So, it''s not that. And... moving houses will be cheaper than this." Jay grunted.


    At the edge of the city.


    "Ugh, what should we do? If these things go on, and Edward decides...to date someone else after this, It will be soooo difficult for him, you know?" Pepper said in concern while putting his head on the pantry desk inside the desert studio.


    "She''s just feeling she''s not good enough." I replied.


    Pepper narrowed his eyes and asked, "So...How did you get it?"


    "Well...it doesn''t matter." I tried to dismiss the topic.


    "Edddd." Pepper called out sternly. I sighed and said, "I...might''ve asked Alex...to send me the designs...secretly..."


    Pepper let out a deep sigh and didn''t say anything else as I needed to work now. Next endorsement was from a chain brand, which fitted the outfit perfectly. The company saw my necklace last night and automatically made me the model for their newest design today.


    It was a silver chain with a lock design, and another golden chain with a cross. I posed a few times, mimicked the temperament of the korean idol artist, GDragon, and completely made North fall for my charms.


    When the photoshoot was over, Pepper had to throw a bucket of cold iced water to North''s head, just to bring her back to reality. Regardless, it was a very successful photo session today.


    ...


    I emailed a few pictures to my friends before getting a phone call from Jay.


    "Sup Jay?"


    "Ed. Your bedroom''s done. You can come back to sleep in your house starting tonight."


    "OH. That''s great news Jay. Thank you so much." I replied.


    ...


    [Alex POV]


    It was almost dinner time when I got out of my room and walked downstairs with my hands still holding the Science book I was reading.


    "OH GOD WHY!" Dad screamed like a girl as he forced himself to watch The Unborn horror movies again, and wanted to watch it till the end this time. He told us it was because he was a tough man, but mom exposed him and said he only wanted to look tough in front of Ed when he came by to resume watching the movie later.


    I didn''t think that Edward was still interested in finishing it, but I wouldn''t dismiss my dad''s effort to get through all of the jumpscares in the movie. He said before, he could handle horror movies...provided he knew when the horror factor came out in the scenes first.


    "ALEX! I cooked your favorite dish! LASAGNA~!" Mom tried to make a fuss over my achievement that she overlooked, but I was giving her the cold shoulder and didn''t respond to anything she said.


    "Alex, why are you still reading?" Luke asked while playing with his food.


    I rolled my eyes at him and said, "So that I won''t become a burden! Like you!"


    "HEY!" Luke gasped in offense. Then, he realized he didn''t care about the topic and continued eating his dino bites cheerily.


    Haley joined us at the dining table soon enough, dad being the last one to come over to the dinner table to eat. She whispered to me that over 50 people had agreed to come to the party�C if and only if...Edward was there.


    ''Huh. So, my name has no value at all. Good to know.'' I thought in a self-deprecating manner. But at least, all of my friends agreed to come to the party, so I got that going for me.


    "Haley! Don''t use your phone while you''re eating!" Mom admonished Haley despite not being together with us for dinner the entire week as she was busy working at her new job. Gosh I hate her.


    "No mom. Ed sent me an email?" Haley said in a puzzled tone. I was curious and asked her, "What did he say?"


    "He sent me a photo- WAIT A MINUTE!" Haley stood up abruptly, a huge grin broke out on her face.


    "What is it Haley? Tell us!" Dad asked excitedly, knowing that it was good news based on the reaction. However, my sister''s face was blushing and she couldn''t say anything as she was too embarrassed by it.


    I checked my phone as I received a text too, and finally knew what was going on.


    "OHH! Aren''t those the clothes you designed? Ed is actually putting them in magazines-"


    Haley cupped my mouth before I could finish my words, "Shut up Alex!"


    "WHATTTTT!" Dad opened his mouth wide and took Haley''s phone from her while she was distracted and gasped as he saw Edward''s great photo. I knew that when Enid knew about this, she would go crazy and haul as many copies of the magazine she could get, which made me concerned about her money management skills.


    Edward even included Haley''s name as the designer of the outfit, making her eyes teary.


    "We-We-We need to print this out, in a huugeee size, and give it to everyone we know! OW! HALEY! WE''RE SO PROUD OF YOU!" Mom said before she gave Haley a hug and cried along with her. Now do you see why I hate her so much?


    Anyway, I was still proud of my sister. I knew how much work she had put in on her designs, despite her efforts to try and hide it from anyone else. She would wake up at 3 or 4 am sometimes, and just doodle away.


    ''I thought my sister was just a dummy before, but turns out, she was actually quite cool.''


    "Wait- How did he get this-...ALEX!" Haley finally dotted all of the clues together, but I had no remorse for my actions.


    "Alex, why is he biting a medal in your photo?" Luke asked suddenly after he checked out both of the images Edward sent to each of us while the attention was focused on Haley.


    "Huh? What-" I was confused and checked the images Edward sent me, one of which, like Luke said, was him wearing the decathlon medal on his neck and was biting the golden plated metal sexily.


    I grinned from ear to ear as I saw it, but then I got depressed again when I remembered the matter of the decathlon. I turned off my phone and said, "I...I''m going back to my room."


    Dad was confused and asked in a calming tone, "Honey? What''s wrong?"


    "I...I just need to get back to studying-"


    "But why? All of your exams are over! You''re supposed to put your book down and start enjoying your end of the year now." Mom said.


    I got irked and glared at her before stomping off to the stairs. But before I could get up, I heard dad whispered, "Why is she in such a bad mood- Wait...Is she...on her time of the month-"


    "DAD! OH MY GOD!" Both Haley and I shouted at the same time before my sister ran to follow me to the bedroom. We have a lot to talk about tonight, and I especially wanted to know what her plan was to get our parents out of the house for us to have that party tomorrow.


    "It can''t be that...she has no actual plans...right?" I said with a light chuckle, not knowing how close my joke was to the actual truth.

 Chapter 111: Second Single Release.

    Chapter 111: Chapter 111: Second Single Release.?


    [Claire''s commentary]


    Claire''s hair was a little unkempt and her nose a bit reddish as she sat on the couch wearing dowdy mom''s clothes.


    "I went to the girls room to take out the trash...But..."


    -Flashback-


    As Claire tied up the trash bag, it hit her legs a little, which made her notice a metallic texture of the thing inside of it. She got a bad feeling, therefore she opened the trash bag to check.


    Her face paled as she took out Alex''s Decathlon gold medal from the trash bag.


    -Flashback ends-


    "She threw away her medal! That thing made her extremely excited and couldn''t shut up for 2 days, but now I found it in the trash?! Why did Alex throw it away? Is it really because of me?" Claire asked with her voice breaking from the pressure and guilt she was feeling.


    "I tried to talk to her and ask her about it, but she wouldn''t talk to me at all!"


    "And now, I don''t know what else to do."


    [Commentary ends]


    "Honey. You made a mistake. Everyone made a mistake." Phil comforted the upset Claire as she leaned into his arms. "I will talk to Alex. Who knows, she might not necessarily be mad at you."


    "Phil! She is mad at me! Why else would she throw away her medal and tune me out?" Claire muttered in grief.


    Inside the teenage girls'' room, Alex was quietly listening to Edward''s songs with her headphones as she studied hard. Haley tapped her shoulder from the side, making Alex snap out of her focus and turned to her smiling sister.


    "What?" She asked.


    "I finished inviting people to the party. You''ve invited Ed right?"


    Alex was confused and said, "Why don''t you just invite him?"


    Haley rolled her eyes at Alex and said, "Don''t you know how long I''ve been trying to invite him to a party!? He just won''t say yes!"


    She was aggrieved at Edward''s tendency to stay home and work instead of going out and enjoying themselves. Haley had tried a few times as Edward and her were basically invited to every single party, but to no avail. Edward wouldn''t budge if the party wasn''t an important party for him, or one thrown by his close friends.


    That was why she was too excited to stop inviting people to the party at her house tomorrow. The amount of people she invited had already surpassed the 3 digit figure, which made Tara and Abby both speechless by her actions. Haley knew she would get lectured by Tara after this, but right now, there was a bigger problem.


    "Ummm...Ed isn''t answering his phone." Alex said. "Or replying to my messages."


    "Err..." Haley was bewildered, and didn''t know what to do now. Alex then remembered something and said, "Oh yeah. He did say he has a very busy schedule today and tomorrow. I don''t even know if he can make it over."


    Haley opened her mouth wide, and was frozen for almost a whole minute before she exclaimed, "WHY DIDN''T YOU TELL ME THAT BEFORE I INVITED EVERYONE!"


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Healty''s Choice Chicken Soup, it''s so good, you are gonna want to fire your grandma." I said to the camera with an innocent smile on my face.


    "CUT! Second take!"


    "Healty''s Choice Chicken Soup. It''s like lying in a wet and warm bed...That you''re not ashamed of."


    "Okay CUT!"


    The female director controlled her laughter as I improvised in the scene I was shooting today. Not only her, but most of the people in the filming set were giggling.


    Wearing a simple white shirt and jeans, I stood in front of the kitchen set with a can of ''Healty''s Choice'' soup in my left hand. I asked playfully, "Why did you stop?"


    "Ed. That one is really good. But, please...just say the line we''ve written." The director said in a begging tone. I smiled and said, "Okay then."


    "Okay. Third take. Get ready." The director yelled at the crew. And I acted properly this time. "Healty''s Choice Chicken Soup. Try it today."


    The director finally concluded the short commercial filming by shouting ''Cut''. My assistant Renaldo walked briskly inside the set with a refreshing cold towel in his hands and wiped my head with it gently.


    "Good job on the shoots. The commercial will start running on Monday, and I look forward to working with you again in the future." The female director walked to me and shook my hand as my job was over. She realized she forgot something and added, "Ahh...Also, good luck on the song''s release. When will it come out-"


    "In 3 hours." Renaldo replied before I could.


    The sun had already gone down when I walked out of the filming studio. The continuous photoshoot, commercial shooting, the meeting with Adidas''s representative, and finally promoting my songs release had made my mind extremely fatigued, but I couldn''t stop my day here just yet.


    "Renaldo, I need to go to the dock." I said when we got inside the car.


    "Okay." Renaldo said before he hesitated, " Mrs Dunphy and your father are already there for the employee meeting, why do you still need to go there on your own?"


    "I would just like to check on the company on my own. Ahh, And also to yell at someone." I replied casually before changing the subject, "What did Pepper say after the meeting?"


    "He said that if you really want to push forward the album''s release, he''s not going to stop you." Renaldo explained. "Usually, a new artist takes several months to prepare for their album, but Pepper said if you actually want it, you can finish your entire album song track in a day, so this rule doesn''t really matter to you."


    ''Well Alex did call me the new song''s vending machine.''


    I nodded at Renaldo''s words and let him continue.


    "Marco, Ace, Thatch, ..." I introduced the captain''s one by one, and we had a buffet to celebrate and for the crew to get to know each other. And I had no idea how, but Dylan managed to fall into the sea for the 12th time today, which made me really worried for his future here.


    "I should fire him soon before he becomes fish food." I muttered while shaking my head slightly.


    "Hmm?" As I watched Dwayne jumping into the water to help Dylan, I noticed a new sailing ship docked right next to the port.


    Dad noticed where I was looking and said, "She''s a beauty, isn''t she? Too bad the engine is damaged, and now the owner is selling it. Although he offered a very cheap price, no one would actually want to buy it as it''ll cost too much to fix it."


    "Hmm...What''s wrong with the engine?" I asked. "And how cheap is he selling it?"


    ...


    [General POV]


    -Dunphy''s house-


    "Oh my god! I''m so excited!" Phil exclaimed like a teenage girl. Sitting at the dining table, he browsed through Edward''s fan website to talk with his other fans from all across the world, all of them waiting for the same thing.


    "15 minutes till the song''s release!" Phil shouted to his family without taking his eyes off the laptop. At the living room, Alex was texting her friends on her phone before Claire sat carefully next to her.


    "Alex, Why don''t we go out, just the two of us-"


    But before Claire could finish her words, Alex stood up and walked away, leaving behind a choked up Claire again.


    "Hey. No one can get in contact with him." Alex reported to Haley after trying to get in contact with Edward for the whole day, but she couldn''t.


    "Ugh! I can''t contact Pepper as he''s in a meeting." Haley groaned in frustration. "Is he doing this on purpose? Is that it?"


    However, despite her accusation, Haley was worried for Edward, and was wondering if she had done something wrong. When someone who usually replies to your messages suddenly gives you the cold shoulder, it''s hard to be able to feel okay with it.


    "Ummm...." Claire heard what the girls were discussing and she spoke up, making the girls turn to her. "There''s a ship crew meeting today at the docks, and Ed will be there. Do you want me to call his dad?"


    Haley brightened up while Alex frowned slightly before returning to her stoic face again. "I don''t care." Alex said before she walked away to her room.


    "Honey! She''s talking to you again!" Phil comforted excitedly as he gave Claire a light hug. While Claire was looking at Alex, Haley took her phone and gave it to her.


    "Call him. Please."


    "You know, he''s probably-"


    "MOM! Call him, and I will help you with Alex''s thing."


    "Huh- O-Okay!"


    Claire called Ted quickly, and Haley could finally get in touch with Edward after a while. However, Claire was standing next to her, making it impossible for her to invite Ed to a party, without Claire knowing about it.


    "Hello? Haley? Did the line disconnect?" Ed asked as all he could hear was silent coming from the other side of the call.


    "I- Can I call you back in a minute?" Haley asked.


    "Sure. I will turn on my phone. You can just call me there." Ed replied before Haley disconnected the call.


    "What did he say? Did he ask about me not coming to the meeting today?" Claire asked nervously as she was supposed to be at the docks together with the crew today.


    Haley rolled her eyes as she said, "Mom. I spoke. One line! Also, why aren''t you there?"


    "With all of Alex''s stuff, I don''t think that I can focus on work right now." Claire confessed.


    "5 minutes!" Phil said excitedly again before adding, "Also. Your mom is missing out on a celebrity cruise. If she wasn''t fighting with Alex, we wouldn''t even see her tomorrow as she would be an onboard crew member for Iron Man''s party."


    Claire looked aggrieved, but inside, she felt a bit proud and hopeful. She expected Haley to tell Alex about her sacrifice, and they could mend their relationship again afterward.


    " Wow mom. You have a quick fix for your thing with Alex, but you decided to not go?" Haley said ambiguously.


    "What do you mean?" Claire asked, grabbing Haley''s arm before she could walk away.


    "I''m just saying. You know Alex is a huge NERD. She loves Iron Man." Haley said with some ulterior motive. "You know, if you spend the entire day with RDJ, maybe Alex will finally see your coolness, but instead you decided to stay at home in your "mom clothes" and bother her. Even for me that''s annoying."


    Claire widened her eyes in surprise while Phil was in shock.


    "Maybe...some time away from each other will be good for you guys. I can invite some friends, and Alex''s friends to come here to cheer her up while you''re gone...you know...if you want me to do it."


    [Haley''s commentary]


    "Alex is not a nerd, at least ''THAT'' kind of nerd, I think so??. But who cares, this way I can make mom leave the house and we can have the party here without her ruining it." Haley said.


    "Also, I talked to Ed, and he said he could barely make it to the party as he has an interview tomorrow. He might make it at the latter half of the party, but I know a lot of people will leave the party if they know he''s not coming."


    [commentary ends]


    Haley didn''t mind it if Phil was the one who stayed home to monitor them as there were a lot of ways for her to use if she decided to send him somewhere else later on. But not her mom. Whatever else she does she HAS TO get her mom away before the party starts.


    "The song''s out!" Phil exclaimed, shocking both Claire and Haley. Both of them ran to the dining room where Phil was sitting and clicking on his laptop. Seconds later, Luke appeared next to Claire while Alex appeared next to Haley.


    "I can''t wait!" Luke exclaimed as he waited for Phil to buy the songs before listening to it.

 Chapter 112: Whatever it takes!

    Chapter 112: Chapter 112: Whatever it takes!


    (My carpal tunnel is flaring up, so I will be taking some extra time to finish writing a chap, so the upload won''t be consistent for two weeks. )


    [General POV]


    "Which song shall we hear first? Enemy? Natural? Or Whatever it takes-"


    "Just play the first one." Claire rolled her eyes at Phil''s questions as she couldn''t wait any longer.


    "So...Which one?" Phil asked carefully, in which Claire threw her head back and gestured in frustration before calming down and said, "Whatever it takes."


    "Sure." Phil replied.


    While Phil and Claire were arguing , the siblings were having a conversation on their own.


    "A second singles release isn''t normal right? I''m not crazy?" Haley asked in a puzzled tone as she thought about the matter.


    Alex replied, "No. You''re not crazy. He''s very brave to have launched this. But none of it is free, so I guess it doesn''t matter much."


    "But people can pirate it and stream it online for free." Haley added again in a concerned tone. "Won''t that just make him earn less?.


    "Yeah. Sure. But for some reason, none of Ed''s interviews or songs are able to be pirated and posted online." Alex explained. She saw that Haley was still confused, so she clarified, "That''s a good thing."


    "OOo..." Haley exclaimed before turning her attention to the laptop. Before Phil could finally press play, she asked, "Hey dad. Wouldn''t it be better if we hear it with speakers-"


    "That''s a great idea Haley! I''ll be right back! Luke! To the garage!" Phil stopped his finger and stood up abruptly from the chair before running out of the kitchen to get his speakers. Claire was flabbergasted and looked at Haley with an expression as if she''s asking, ''Seriously?''.


    Haley could only shrug, and they both could hear Phil shout from afar, "And don''t you guys dare to listen to it first without me!"


    In another part of the country, a certain teenage pop star was also waiting for the new singles release.


    "I''m soo excited! He didn''t even give me a preview of the songs before it came out! That jerk!" Taylor complained to her makeup staff as she waited backstage of her concert venue.


    But as she wore her headphones, her assistant barged into the room and complained angrily, "Taylor! What are you doing!? You need to get onstage in another 15 minutes! Do you think that you still have time to listen to the songs?!"


    Taylor stared at the assistant and replied casually, "Yeah. 15 minutes. The whole three songs don''t even reach 12 minutes. I have 3 minutes to spare to get ready after."


    "But-"


    "The more you disturb me, the longer it will take for me to finish listening to them and I''m not moving until I do." She said in a sing-songy tone.


    "Urgh!" The assistant grunted and stampeded off as she couldn''t deal with Taylor''s shenanigans any further.


    "Tsk Tsk Tsk. I really should change my agency." Taylor clicked her tongue and muttered as she pressed play on the first song.


    [Whatever it Takes- Imagine Dragon]


    ????????????


    "??Falling too fast to prepare for this


    Tripping in the world could be dangerous


    Everybody circling, it''s vulturous


    Negative, nepotist ??"


    "Oh. I thought it''s going to be a romantic song." Taylor muttered incomprehensibly, not hiding the fact that she was wishing for Ed to make another song for her. Although a bit disappointed, she continued to listen to the song.


    In the Dunphy''s house, as Claire heard the lyrics, she widened her eyes and smacked Phil''s shoulders repeatedly to gain his attention.


    "Owww! What?" Phil exclaimed in pain before glancing at Claire who was standing behind him.


    "The book."


    "What book- OOOOHHHH... The book. Seriously?"" He squinted his eyes in disbelief as he asked. Claire nodded repeatedly and before she could talk, Luke put his index finger on his lips and shushed them.


    "I wanna hear the song, not you guys talking. Have some respect for Edward." Luke admonished them.


    "Oh-Okay. Sorry." Claire was baffled, not knowing how big of a fan he was, and shut her mouth for the whole song after that.


    While Claire was talking to Phil, Alex and Haley fell into a daze as they listened to the song. It was as if they could see Edward who was wearing his classical music suit stood up in front of the stage, fighting the jeering of the competitors as he played his songs.


    "??Everybody waiting for the fall of man


    Everybody praying for the end of times


    Everybody hoping they could be the one


    I was born to run, I was born for this??"


    In a mansion somewhere in Hollywood, RDJ took off his glasses and leaned forward in his chair from a relaxed position as he heard the song. His wife Susan was beside him, having some tears in her eyes.


    "This is a song for me right?" RDJ asked cockily, but he quickly controlled himself as his wife glared at him.


    ??Whip, whip


    Run me like a racehorse


    Pull me like a ripcord


    Break me down and build me up


    I wanna be the slip, slip


    Word upon your lip, lip


    Letter that you rip, rip


    Break me down and build me up


    Whatever it takes??


    Ted sighed as he heard the song. He turned around to look at his son, only to find him gone.


    "Where did he go?" Ted asked the surrounding crew members who were listening to the songs with him. They shrugged as they had no idea where Edward had gone. Dwayne replied, "He''s in the toilet."


    "Ahh..Okay."


    "Hey, although the whole melody raises up your spirit, don''t you think the lyrics are a bit sad?" Dylan asked suddenly.


    ??''Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins


    I do whatever it takes??


    "It must be your imagination." Dwayne replied to Dylan.


    ??''Cause I love how it feels when I break the chains


    Whatever it takes??


    ??Yeah, take me to the top I''m ready for


    Whatever it takes??


    ??''Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins


    I do what it takes??


    "Hmm...Why do I feel so choked up?" Selena asked in a perplexed tone while wiping her tears as she heard the songs in her apartment bedroom.


    ??Always had a fear of being typical


    Looking at my body feeling miserable


    Always hanging on to the visual


    I wanna be invisible??


    In the Edward''s website forum, Edward''s loyal fan was having a field day with all 3 new songs. And the reaction for ''Whatever it takes'' was especially positive.


    LilyFanClubPresident : " (''Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins) This is what I felt when I was listening to the song. Goosebumps all over!"


    TiaDalma: This song is soo inspiring! LOVE YOU EDWARD!


    Pluto: Red bull should hire this guy. This song gives me more wings than the actual drink. Although, this may contribute from the fact that I might have a severe energy drink addiction and the drink doesn''t affect me any longer. But still.


    By an hour after the release, the song had climbed to number 7 of the Itunes chart.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Blueekk!" I threw up my entire guts as I hugged the toilet bowl and kneeling on the dirty bathroom tiles. My eyes were teary, my nose runny, and drool was overflowing from my lips.


    With a sniff, I tried to calm myself down and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand before sitting on the floor of the toilet.


    "Ughh. I hate panic attacks." I said casually as I held my hurting stomach. "The worst part is, I''m very confused whether the panic attack is mine or the previous guy leftovers."


    I really hated the way that my mind was hiding something away from me. The Afterlife Corporation told me that the previous Edward and the current me were the same guy�C I just had unlocked the memory of my past life after I got that skateboard incident.


    But the fact that my mind was keeping something away from me was very disconcerting. If I was truly the same guy, I should have access to ALL the memories from before. So I did the stupid thing by revealing the song the previous me had written and wanted to keep hidden his entire life as he wanted to become a classical musician.


    "Like ripping off a band aid." I muttered in a self-deprecating manner. And like I thought, I did really get access to the traumatic memory by doing this.


    "But the wound beneath had already festered." I muttered with some regret.


    "Still...it certainly saved me a lot of time and money when measured against years of therapy before finally recognizing and facing my trauma."


    As I rested my head on the stall walls, I suddenly heard a knock coming from outside the door.


    "Ed. You have been here a long time. Are you okay?" Dad asked in a concerned voice.


    "Yeah. I''m okay." I answered weakly.


    "Are you sure? Cause I can see you''re sitting on the floor." Dad asked again.


    "..." I stayed silent for a while before I unlocked the door. Dad opened it and looked around with a worried expression before saying, "Hey Bud, what happened?"


    "Ugh. Don''t ''Hey Bud'' me. I hate that." I said with a grimace. Dad helped me to unroll some tissue and helped me wipe off some dirtiness from my shirt.


    "Are you okay? Do you need me to call Dr Linda?" He asked.


    I waved my hand dismissively and said, "It''s fine. I just need to calm down. In fact, I''m a whole lot better now compared to before."


    And it was true.


    Before, I didn''t even know why I had such a resounding hate for my mother. But now, the memory of our last conversation together was finally opened up, albeit not fully.


    ''And don''t get me wrong. The trauma wasn''t because of the one conversation I had with that woman. It was from all of the collective trauma that I had faced from my early morning career, all compounded together with a statement from her.''


    "Okay. I won''t force you to talk." Dad said before he said, "Scoot over."


    "What? Don''t sit on the toilet floor. It''s disgusting!" I tried to stop him, but he was stubborn and he sat next to me.


    "I''m not going anywhere besides being there next to you."


    I smiled at his words and we sat there silently as I processed my thoughts without a peep from my dad.


    Flashback -


    Mid July, Year 2006, at the final of the under 14 International Violin Composition Competition.


    While wearing a small tuxedo, I was practicing my facial expression while holding a black wood violin in my hand where I saw my mother talking to a woman in a floral dress. I didn''t hear what she was saying before, but she was arguing deeply with the woman.


    "What else should you do? Just leave him and come back!" The woman in the floral dress said with a raised tone.


    "I can''t leave my son!" My mom argued back.


    "This is for our country!"


    "Mom. What''s wrong?" I went to her and asked. My mom finally snapped out of it and the woman turned sideways and pulled her large hat to cover her face.


    "Well honey. I...I don''t think that I can stay for your competition." Mom said.


    "But-But you promised-"


    "Honey. It''s not that big of a deal. You''ll win anyway. You have a god given talent for this." Mom said before she left with the woman.


    ''God given talent?'' The young me gritted my teeth as I thought in frustration. "So why the hell have I been practicing like a mad man if God has already given me everything I need?" I muttered angrily.


    The tiredness from practicing, the pressure from having to perform well and deal with the critical crowd, the fake smiles I had to wear, all of it was too much to handle for the young me.


    So when I went to the stage that day, I had my first ever panic attack, and fainted underneath the spotlight.


    ''What does it matter if I win? People will just hate me more if I win.''


    My eyes darted on the stares of the audience, and I couldn''t hear anything except a high pitched ringing tone in my ears. My mouth became dry, and my hands were shivering.


    ''Why didn''t mom understand? I did it all to make her smile, but she isn''t even here.''


    I clutched my chest as I fell to my knees in front of the whole audience. I saw Dad was running towards me.


    ''Does she really love me? Or does she love being a mother of a prodigy?'' I thought before I lost my consciousness.


    I was taken to the hospital and didn''t wake up for 3 days after the whole incident. I was just...so tired from everything at that time.


    When I woke up later, I found out from my dad that my mother had already left our family. I blamed myself for the whole incident. I thought by fainting on the stage, I had failed my mother''s expectation, and she didn''t need me anymore.


    -Flashback ends-


    "So...Dad... When are you going to tell me?"


    "Huh?" My dad who was sitting next to me was confused as I suddenly asked him a question. "Tell you about what?"


    "The real reason mom left." I confronted him. He sighed and said, "Well...your mom had something to do in her country. That''s all I can say for now."


    "So...who came out with the lesbian thing?" I asked jokingly.


    "That''ll be your Uncle Aaron." Dad replied with a small chuckle.


    I laughed together with him even though he was still keeping the real reason mom left away from me and we talked a lot about my childhood before he asked, "So. What are you going to do now?"


    "Well...I don''t know." I said while wiping my mouth. " Although I do know I need to burn my clothes now and take a bath. I do have a burning anger in my chest, so I might need to fight someone after this to let it all out."


    "Do you...want to join a fight club?" Dad asked jokingly. I turned to him with a fake surprised expression and said, "Dad. You broke the rule."


    He shook his head embarrassingly and said, "So I guess I need to turn in my membership after this."


    I laughed and said, "Don''t worry. I won''t tell anyone you slipped up."


    Dad nodded his head and patted my shoulder before he stood up first. He lent me a hand to get up and said, "Come on. I think you can borrow some of Dylan''s clothes. He always falls into the sea so he keeps a few extra sets here."


    "Cool." I grabbed my dad''s hand and stood up with his help before we walked together to his office. There wasn''t anyone there, so the matter today was only known to me and my dad.


    ''Maybe next time, I should really avoid doing dangerous things that could mess with my psyche. Should I really open up to Linda? Hmmm...That''s a thought.''


    "What are you thinking about now?" Dad asked after I finished changing.


    "Nothing."


    Dad nodded and we didn''t return to the topic anymore. After a while, he asked, "Do you want to stay inside my ship tonight? I know you hate sleeping in the ship''s cabin, but-"


    "No no. None at all. In fact, I missed it." I replied instantly as I didn''t want to deal with anything else and just wanted to rest my mind for a while. Dad led me to his Captain''s cabin where I flopped onto the bed the moment I walked into it.


    Without me realizing it, I had already fallen asleep before it was even 10 pm today, and I didn''t even have to activate my [Rest] skill to do it. I didn''t turn on my phone, nor did I check the reviews of the songs after it was uploaded. I didn''t care about how many downloads I had, nor if people love the songs or not.


    All I wanted right now, was to rest a bit.

 Chapter 113: Popular Girl Street Cred. (1)

    Chapter 113: Chapter 113: Popular Girl Street Cred. (1)


    [Haley POV]


    "DAD! DID YOU GET IT!?" I yelled as I ran towards the kitchen after waking up as early as 9 am on a Sunday�C a day in which I usually slept till noon.


    "I GOT IT!" Dad turned with the GQ magazine in his right hand, and he opened up his arms wide expecting a hug. But instead, I snatched the magazine in his hand as I ran past him before breaking my momentum a few steps away.


    Disappointed, Dad shook his head lightly before grinning widely and said, "It''s on page 13."


    I flipped through the pages furiously before finally landing on Edward''s modeling page where he wore the outfit I designed for him.


    "OH. HE REALLY DID IT! I T-Thought he was lying!" I muttered, extremely touched by Ed''s decision, even though I felt that he was only doing so as charity.


    ''There was no way that I could ever be good enough to design something that was worth being included in any magazines...right?''


    Alex and my mother were holding the same magazine each in their hands with Alex staying as far away as possible from mom as I read through the article.


    Alex read the article out loud before I could finish, "The intricate design of the outfit designed by Miss Haley Dunphy managed to maximize the charm of the necklace. We''re looking forward to seeing more interesting designs from her in the future."


    "Good for you Haley. You finally know which career path you''re going to take after you finish highschool." Alex added with a hint of lethargy in her tone.


    I could feel my blood rushing to my cheeks as I heard it. "Ugh...Why does he have to do this now? I''m not prepared for this!" I muttered in dissatisfaction as I ran away from the kitchen to hide my embarrassment amidst my family''s laughter.


    I wanted to call Edward and admonish him, but he had the Billboard interview today and was going to be out of reach till 2 in the afternoon.


    "Brilliant bastard." I cursed while having a smile on my face before making my way towards Abby''s house as I received an urgent text from her telling me to come over.


    *Ding Dong*


    As I waited in front of the cottage-styled house, Abby''s mother Desiree opened the door while wearing only an apron. I widened my eyes as I stuttered, "D-D-Desire. Why are you naked?"


    "Huh? I am wearing something underneath." Desiree turned despite my shock. Soon my mind eased as I saw the dress she was wearing behind the apron. Before I could say anything, she hugged me and said in a giddy tone, "Congrats Haley! I saw the article! I''m really proud of you!"


    Her affectionate demeanor made me slightly abashed, and I couldn''t find any words to reply to her enthusiasm. Luckily for me, Abby called out from afar, "MOM! Is that Haley!? Let her in! I''m in my room!"


    "Okay~" Desiree responded before she asked, "Have you had breakfast yet?"


    "No, not yet."


    "When you finish whatever it is you girls are doing, then come to the kitchen. I will cook some breakfast." She said before she turned and walked away.


    "Or...you know...just buy it..." I muttered in a low voice.


    "HALEY!" Abby called out again.


    "COMING!" I replied and I ran to her room quickly, only to be met with a mess even bigger than in my own room.


    "Uhhh... What''s happening?" I asked as I looked at Abby who was only wearing her underwear and was standing in the middle of her room, with all of her outfits scattered on the bed and on the floor.


    "Help me Haley~" Abby whined as she ran and hugged me, burying my face inside her chest as she did so.


    "Ugh," I forcefully looked upward while still in her embrace in order to breathe and said, "Explain."


    She released me and said, "Well... Remember the time where Ed made dinner for everyone in your grandpa''s house?"


    "Uh-huh"


    "I made a bet with Ed on whether your mom would jump into the pool or not..."


    I widened my eyes and said urgently, "And?"


    "I... Lost...and Now, Ed is cashing in that bet... He wants me... To wear something pink and girlish to the party. Something that will remind him of Princess Bubblegum or Bubble from the Powerpuff girls."


    I face-palmed at my friend''s luck, while also feeling a bit jealous inside, but I hid that feeling carefully and said," Okay. Do you have anything pink-"


    I knew it was a stupid question as it came out of my mouth as all the dresses scattered around were either black or white.


    With a sigh, I said, "We got a lot of work to do."


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    ''I need to rest.''


    "EDWARD! Look over here!" The photographers called out as I walked in front of the Billboard Building wearing a leather jacket and ripped jeans. They snapped countless pictures of me while I posed for them.


    ''I need more sleep.''


    Light flashes made me a bit dizzy, but I endured it and plastered a fake smile on my face.


    "Hey, Edward, When is your Album coming out?" A reporter shouted his question while pressing the shutter button on his camera.


    "I may pull the Album release forward, and release it this Summer as I start the tour so keep an eye out for that if you want to get the exclusive release in the venue store." I replied casually. The hyena-like reporters snapped their cameras again, not shying away with the flash photography method as I responded to their preliminary interview today.


    "Are you touring together with Taylor?"


    "What made you decide to collaborate with Em**em? Are you trying to get famous through controversy too?"


    While Edward was conducting the interview, Haley finally returned home after doing some last minute shopping with Tara and Abby for the party. She raised her eyebrows when she returned as she saw her Uncle Mitchell and her mother were both lolly gagging in the living room while looking at the magazine article.


    "Haley! I showed your article to Nana, and she said she''s very proud of you. Your grandpa also said the same thing, and he promised you a gift...whatever you want...You know, as long as it''s still reasonable and not dangerous." Claire backpedaled slowly as she continued her sentence while grabbing Haley''s hand.


    "Really? I mean. Mom, aren''t you going to work?" Haley asked while feeling fidgety inside.


    ''If mom stayed, then the whole party would be ruined.'' She thought to herself. And this wasn''t based on her prejudice on her mother, but from the data of the various parties she held before�C all destroyed by her mother''s nosiness. That''s why she vowed to never hold a party when her mother was around.


    "Well... I thought about it...And I think ... I should stay here. Celebrate with Alex. Let her know that I''m proud of her." Claire said while avoiding Haley''s eyes.


    The stalled gears inside Haley''s mind churned for the first time in a while as she thought about the whole thing. "Okay. If that''s your choice." She walked to the kitchen, pretending to be okay with the whole thing.


    "Huh. That was easy." Claire muttered in confusion as what she predicted didn''t come through.


    Mitchell added whisperingly, "I told you she''s not planning to have a wild party with you gone."


    "How could I not be concerned about it, Mitch? A lot of mothers called me today to ask about the party. I''m just afraid that something will in fact be going wrong."


    "Isn''t Phil around?" Mitchell asked.


    "Yeah. But he''s not exactly trustworthy when it comes to controlling the kids."


    While Claire was talking to Mitchell, Alex was dragged by Haley to the kitchen by forcefully grabbing her by the arm.


    "Oww. What are you doing?!" Alex asked angrily.


    "Okay. I don''t know why you are being so pouty with mom, but this needs to stop. Right now. Or else, we won''t be able to have the party."


    "Huh? Isn''t mom going to work?"


    "No. Apparently your sullenness made her want to stay home and comfort you instead of going to a celebrity party." Haley replied frustratingly.


    "Anyway. I need you to signal me when mom is nearby okay? I will pretend not to notice her." Haley schemed as she took out her phone and sat down in the kitchen island chair.


    "Uhhh...What are you doing?" Alex asked warily.


    "Just believe me. Also, go hide!" Haley said before she pretended to be on a call.


    Alex was confused, but she still followed along her sister''s plan as she too wanted to have the party without her mom there.


    [Haley''s commentary]


    "I was not nervous because I already had a plan B, just a little something in my back pocket in case the ''guilt-tripping'' didn''t pan out. What else could I do to make mum leave the house besides that? Well maybe if I added just needled a bit more on some of the thing she''s been stressing about for weeks...-"


    [commentary paused]


    Claire walked into the kitchen to talk to Haley, but she noticed that she was giggling on her phone. Haley saw Alex''s signal, and she started her mission.


    "Hahaha. Ed, so you know...Mom isn''t going to the yacht party, so you can sneak in there if you want."


    Claire was frozen when she heard it, and she stood motionlessly to eavesdrop on the call.


    "Hmm? You want me to come? But there''s a party at my house....Huh? We will be doing all that? Yeah of course I want you to...Mmm I don''t know. Are you sure we won''t get in trouble?? What is that?...International waters don''t have the same laws as the country? How nice."


    Claire was flabbergasted and wanted to snatch the phone away from Haley, but Alex secretly signaled Haley to move away before she could do that.


    [Claire''s commentary]


    "I knew something was wrong with the yacht party! Urghh! I was wondering why Haley was so okay with it, turns out they never wanted me there in the first place!" Claire said anxiously before she pointed her fingers at the camera and said, "You know what. They don''t want me to go there, so that''s the last place they''ll expect me to be."


    She grinned evilly before she said, "Of course I could stop them now but then I and the crazy one!! Me!! Crazy Claire. Even Phil turns on me when I say there is something fishy going on but NO!! Not this time this time I''ll catch them in the act... Oh they are going to be so busted!"


    [Haley and Alex''s commentary]


    "And that''s how it''s done." Haley said excitedly while flipping her hair back.


    Alex smiled before she added, "Until Ed finds out that you used his name AND sold him out, then you''ll have to deal with that next."


    Haley''s eyes dropped nervously and she turned to Alex before she mumbled, "Umm..."


    Alex just smiled as the chaos had nothing to do with her, and she was kind of looking forward to seeing how it would all turn out. " I can''t wait for the party." Alex muttered.


    [commentary ends]


    "Honey. I''m going to the store." Claire shouted from the front door before she pulled Phil over and said, "You''re going to get the stuff for the party. So you are going to the yacht party then??"


    "Why do you have to be so sneaky? I don''t mind if you want to go to the party. Just keep it professional, and... stay away from the drinks." Phil said while avoiding Claire''s eyes at the last part.


    Claire sighed and said, "I KNOW...how to be professional. I''m not really going to the yacht party. I''m just busting someone over there."


    She didn''t even tell Phil or anyone else about her actions as she didn''t want anyone else to warn Ed about her play. Not realizing that she was playing right into Haley''s palm, Claire gave Phil a list of things to do before she got out of the house.


    "Luke! Let''s go, I''m dropping you off at your grandpa." Claire shouted.


    "Coming!" Luke responded as he went down the stairs with a water gun in his hand. He had a tough job to do this weekend. That was, to fulfill his duty as Manny''s self-appointed trainer in his journey to bettering himself.


    "Let''s do this." Luke said as he cocked the water gun. Claire was confused, but she brought him out of the house with her regardless.


    (A/N: The whole party will be around 3 to 4 chap)

 Chapter 114: Popular Girl Street Cred (2)

    Chapter 114: Chapter 114: Popular Girl Street Cred (2)


    [General POV]


    The pitter patter of Haley''s footsteps who was trying to set up for the party made Mitchell feel guilty about doing nothing while sitting on the living room sofa. He sighed and stood up before asking, "Haley. Do you need any help?"


    "Huh? Yeah Uncle Mitch! Go Make Alex change out of her gaudy clothes." Haley turned to Mitchell and pointed her finger toward Alex. She had finished setting up the snacks station, and brought out a dozen soda bottles.


    The iconic red plastic cups were arranged neatly on the concession stand. Popcorns, pretzels, donuts, and various foods filled the living room with a sweet smell. The sound system was set up by Phil, and it was currently playing the song, [Leona Lewis �C Bleeding Love]


    For entertainment, a ping pong table was set up in the backyard. A Wii tennis game was also set up in the living room, together with a game of cards, jenga, and a few others.


    "Hmm...I think I got it all." Haley mumbled to herself.


    [Mitchell POV]


    "Today is Sunday...and After a long week at work, I just wanted to relax a bit." Mitchell said with a tired face. "Why can''t I relax at my house? Ha!!." He laughed self-deprecatingly as he faced the question.


    "Maybe because I''m just so sick of the baby talk."


    -Flashback-


    "Aguuggugu. Adadadada."


    "Uwauwaua. Dadadada. Come on Lily. Say it with me."


    Mitchell walked in the living room, and turned back as soon as he saw Cam with Lily sitting on the couch.


    The silent Lily was wide-eyed as she gazed incomprehensibly at the babbling Cam, who recently just learned that baby talk may increase affection among baby and parents, which in turn placed Mitchell in an unending noise pollution torture by his partner.


    -Flashback ends-


    "I just...I just need to get away from it...just for a little bit." Mitchell confessed. That was also the reason why he came by so early to meet up with Claire.


    [commentary ends]


    "What''s wrong with my clothes?" Alex protested.


    Haley turned to her sister and said, "Well first of all, that''s a cookie-"


    "It''s the EARTH! This is a NASA shirt!" Alex retorted as she showed the blue Nasa logo on her oversized white t-shirt.


    "More like, ''NAAAA, You ain''t wearing that to my party, go change.'' I already picked out some clothes for you. Go put that on."


    Both Mitchell and Alex were taken aback when they heard what Haley said. "You did?" Mitchell asked.


    Haley replied in frustration, "Uncle Mitch, My name is written in a magazine today! I have a reputation to keep. If you''re staying for the party, I will ask you to go change your shoes too."


    "What''s wrong with my shoes?!" Mitchell asked in disbelief as he showed his shoes.


    Alex grunted and walked to Haley to protest, but Haley stopped what she was doing and glared at her until she backed down.


    "...Okay okay. I''ll go change." Alex rolled her eyes before stomping her foot to her room to change.


    As Mitchell was left alone with Haley, he asked whisperingly while wearing a concerned smile, "Seriously, What''s wrong with my shoes?"


    Haley avoided his eyes as she had a lot of work to do right now, and didn''t want to spend 30 minutes telling Mitchell what was wrong with his outfits today.


    Mitchell sighed and asked, "Aren''t you changing your clothes too?"


    Haley was still in her casual clothes, and she finally realized it when Mitchell pointed it out. "Thanks Uncle Mitch. Also, if the cake comes, can you help me pay for it?"


    "Sure." Mitchell replied casually as he took the money from Haley.


    The doorbell rang just a minute after Haley had gone upstairs. Mitchell thought it was the cake guy, therefore he went to open the door.


    "Hey-yo! What''s UP Haley''s Uncle! Beautiful Day, yeah?" A few teenage boys had already arrived at the party and they entered the house without any warning. They high-fived Mitchell and he responded instinctively towards them.


    "Um. Wait-" Mitchell tried to stop them after getting his sanity, but to no avail.


    "Hi. Can we also go in?" A group of teenage girls appeared and greeted Mitchell too, following the leads of the boys.


    "Ummmm...." Mitchell didn''t know what to do at this moment as Phil was still at the store, and there weren''t any other adults there at the house.


    He sighed and said, "Sure. Haley will come down in just a minute." He took out his phone and texted Claire about the situation, hoping that she would come back soon.


    ...


    -Port-


    "Of course his name wouldn''t be in the list. He''s sneaking in!" Claire mumbled to herself as she read the guest list for the party today.


    The ship''s crew were getting ready to sail into a different port to pick up the celebrities guests at the appointed times, bringing stocks of foods and alcohol into storage as they cleaned up the ship''s deck.


    [Claire''s commentary]


    "What''s the plan here? The plan is simple. I just get into the ship, find out where Edward is hiding, and then bring him out. He promised to be there for the girls'' party, so he needs to keep that promise."


    [commentary ends]


    Following her plans, Claire snuck into the ship in search of the teenager.


    "I mean. I do wanna see how you scurry when he comes here after this." Jenna said with a smirk, which made Haley laugh out loud, and Madelyn''s face turned red in embarrassment!


    "THIS ISN''T OVER!" Maldelyn stomped her feet and turned back quickly. Before she knew whether Ed was coming or not, she couldn''t do anything against the party. She was feeling dejected as the party was hyped out to be the party of the year by the entire school, but she couldn''t be invited into it.


    "If I cannot be there, then....I WILL MAKE SURE THE PARTY IS RUINED!" She vowed to herself as she walked to the car where her ex-boyfriend Brian�C who once tried to jump Edward and got his ass handed to himself, was waiting for her.


    "Hey-"


    "Shut up!" Madelyn shouted at the boy before he could even say anything.


    Inside the house. Haley''s eyes darted between her group of friends as she took a sip of the soda with an anxious feeling gnawing at her heart. Alex walked by and whispered, "He''s not answering the phone."


    "Hmm. Try to check with Pepper." Haley said.


    Abby noticed Haley and Alex''s action. She leaned in and said, "What''s wrong?"


    "N-Nothing. Ed will be here." Haley replied nervously before she walked away.


    "I''m not asking about that." Abby mumbled to herself.


    *Crash*


    "Oh my god! What happened!" Haley ran to the source of the sound, and found a broken lamp on the floor.


    "Sorry." A dumb hunk said apologetically as he continued opening his pretzel packet and ate it as if nothing happened.


    "Ugh! Idiot!" Haley mumbled before she asked everyone to stay away and reached for the broom. But as she was picking up the broken glass, it cut her finger and blood flowed out from the wound.


    "Ouch!" She exclaimed. She sucked the blood in her mouth as she thought to herself, ''Is Ed really not coming? It''s almost 4.''


    There were over one hundred people in the beginning, but more than 3o people had left the party due to its being overly packed and lack of presence from the teenage artist whom Haley promised would be there.


    "You should''ve been more careful." Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded from behind Haley as she was trying to see the wound in her fingers. Her face brightened up instantly, and she turned around in excitement.


    "ED!" Haley hugged Edward who appeared out of knowhere without even doubting who he was. She released him and suddenly hit his chest, "Why are you so late!"


    "OWw!" Ed exclaimed with a smile on his face. "I got here 10 minutes ago though?"


    "Huh?" Haley widened her eyes, confused.


    "Just kidding. I just got here." Ed said with a mischievous grin as he slowly grabbed Haley''s hand. "We need to get this taken care of. JACOB!" He yelled suddenly.


    "What?" Jacob responded, finally separating his lips from Elsa. They were making out at the corner of the house, and didn''t even notice that Edward wasn''t here.


    "Can you help me clean this?" Ed asked.


    "Sure." Jacob replied before reluctantly separating from Elsa to go sweep the broken shards away.


    [Edward POV]


    I walked in front of Haley to open up a path as we went through the crowd to get the first aid kit in the kitchen. Mitchell was sitting in the kitchen island chair alone, sighing as he was forced to be the guardian today as Phil suddenly had something to attend to.


    As Mitchell told Phil he wanted to go home 10 minutes before, Phil suddenly received a call about a potential buyer for a pretty expensive house that was listed on the market for 3 years now. He asked Mitchell for a favor to watch over the kids as he went to close the deal, and promised that he would be back in under an hour.


    "Oh my god. What happened?" Mitchell gasped as he saw the blood on Haley''s hand.


    "It''s just a little wound." Haley replied to her uncle.


    "I need to disinfect it." I said as I reached for the medical kit.


    "Haley. You should''ve been more careful-" Mitchell tried to lecture, but Haley whisperingly shouted at him, "Uncle Mitch. Go away. Now."


    "Huh?" Mitchell was confused, but as he turned towards me, he finally realized what was going on.


    [Mitchell commentary]


    "Haley wanted some time alone with Edward. Maybe...Maybe for her, dressing up her wounds...is romantic? I don''t know-" Mitchell guessed exasperatingly, already tired from today''s event.


    "All I want...ALLLLLL I want....Is just to have some time to myself!" Mitchell complained. He found himself being surrounded by horny and decadent teenagers, and couldn''t help but sigh.


    "But God knows how I ran away from my family...and now, he''s punishing me for it."


    [commentary ends]


    "How was your interview?" Haley asked excitedly as I opened up the alcohol sterilization pad to disinfect her wound. It was only a tiny cut on her left hand index finger, but still, I needed to take care of it properly.


    "It was quite fine. Grit your teeth." I said.


    "Huh? Why- OWOWOWOW!" Haley squirmed in pain as I cleaned up the wound. The searing pain when the alcohol entered the open wound made her a bit teary, and she couldn''t help but kick me a few times for it.


    "You should''ve warned me!" She yelled angrily.


    I laughed a bit and said, "You''re cute when you''re angry."


    "Hmmph!" She pouted angrily before slowly rubbing her legs on my shin which she had kicked before�C apologetically, not precariously. By this time, my presence there was already exposed, and a few teens were giggling as they pointed at me, whispering about how I was flirting with Haley and the possibility of her being my girlfriend.


    I put a bandaid on the wound and said, "Here. All done."


    "Great! Now I can finally show you off!" Haley said as she grabbed my arm and pulled me into the center of the party. I smiled wryly, but I didn''t complain as I already knew she was going to do this before I even got here.


    "I just hope that I can get through this without causing any trouble." I whispered to myself.

 Chapter 115: Popular Girl Street Cred (3)

    Chapter 115: Chapter 115: Popular Girl Street Cred (3)


    [Edward POV]


    "Hi! Can''t believe I''m finally meeting you." Anais suddenly hugged me in a friendly manner as Haley led me to her standing spot.


    "Hi. You look familiar. Are you perhaps a model?" I asked while scrunching my eyebrow and looked at the tall girl from top to bottom. Even without her high heel on, she was already almost at the same height as I currently was.


    When I changed her brunette hair into a blonde one in my mind, I finally figured out where I had seen her before. It was from an episode in the Big Bang Theory where Howard and Rajesh creepily tried to find the house for America''s Next Top Model. She was the girl who opened the door for them.


    Anais blushed thinking I was making a move on her. "No. I''m really not a model." She said, twirling her hair coquettishly.


    Haley elbowed me and said, "You met her for one second, and you''re already flirting!" She then whispered, "Also. Not a very good pickup line."


    "It is a serious question though." I mumbled with a smile.


    "Anais." The girl extended her hand for a handshake as she introduced herself.


    "Well you already know me." I replied as I shook her hand.


    Haley said, "Anais is actually one of my close friends in high school.She is a senior so she will graduate soon, so you guys won''t have the chance to meet one another except here."


    "Oh no, a pretty girl like her, I think we''ll have a lot of good chances to meet." I flirted a bit, causing Haley to roll her eyes.


    Anais laughed exaggeratedly, and both Haley and I were taken aback. She gripped the edge of her shirt and pulled it up to wipe her ''crocodile tears'', revealing her perfect bosom with tanlines over the center area.


    "Oh Edward. You''re so funny." Anais said. Haley reacted quickly and pulled her shirt back down, "ARE YOU FREAKING CRAZY!?"


    "What?" Anais exclaimed, faking innocence. I smiled in disbelief and she winked at me before Haley dragged her away.


    "That was unexpected." I muttered.


    As I was left alone, a few boys and girls came and asked for a picture, in which I happily obliged them. After that, I turned and suddenly laughed out loud as I saw the pink princess standing nearby with a mad expression on her face.


    "Pfft- HAHAHA! You really did it!" I exclaimed. Abby gritted her teeth and said, "I will pay you back for this!"


    "Although, I got to say, you look really sexy in that." I said jokingly as I finally finished laughing.


    "Oh." Abby was perplexed, and she held her dress with her hand. "Sooo...You don''t like the emo look-"


    "Stop. I''m not saying that." I said as I leaned forward and whispered to her ear as the music was being loud right now, " I was just saying... That dress looks good on you."


    "Hmm..." Abby hummed with a poker face while twirling her hair with her finger. "How did your interview go?" She asked, changing the subject.


    "Oh It was pretty good. I even met the Black Eyed Peas."


    "Wait. Did you meet Fergie?" She asked excitedly.


    "Yeah. She''s very pretty. Also, I need a drink." I turned and snatched a drink from Troy, the twerking black kid who was slowly swaying to the music, just after he got back from the snacks table.


    "What the-" He tried to protest, but as he turned around, he couldn''t actually find out the culprit that snatched his drink as I had already dragged Abby to talk somewhere else.


    I chased the kids who were sitting on the couch in the second living room near the kitchen away and sat there with Abby. I was too tired to keep standing and also feeling a bit sleepy at the same time.


    Abby snorted and said derisively, "Poor kid. He doesn''t even know what hit him."


    "He''ll be fine. So, tell me. What have I missed?" I asked as it had been a few days since I actually talked with my friends as I was too busy working to catch up on them. "Tell me everything."


    "Well..." Abby trailed off, her eyes moved toward the football team player who was wearing a varsity jacket nearby. "Nothing much happened. Only the school is now getting ready for prom."


    [General POV]


    While Edward was talking with Abby, Enid finally showed herself by surprising Alex from behind.


    "BOO!"


    "ENID!" Alex exclaimed angrily as she almost spilled her drink because of her friend.


    "Sorry Sorry." Enid said as she helped Alex wipe her hand with a napkin.


    "Anyway, I met an interesting senior. She told me something very interesting." Enid said.


    "Huh? What''d she say?" Alex asked, interested.


    "Well she said that in highschool, having sex is a normal thing. Wait...Her exact words are, ''having sex is just chilling. Mouth stuff is just talking. Hand stuff is just a normal thing between friends. Unless you decide to be in an exclusive relationship, you can just do whatever with another person.'' Isn''t that interesting? "


    "WHO TOLD YOU THAT!" Alex asked with a raised voice as she was horrified by Enid''s new knowledge.


    "See that pregnant girl over there? That''s Cheyenne. She told me that she got the baby from just ''chilling'' with her friend Bo." Enid said as she pointed her finger to the 8 month pregnant, Asian descent senior who already started working at a superstore nearby.


    "Ugh! Why doesn''t Haley have any NORMAL friends!?" Alex exclaimed in frustration before grabbing Enid by her hand and pulled her away, "Let''s go to my room. I need to wash that stuff out of you."


    "NO! I Don''t want another lecture!" Enid tried to protest. "Also, I wanna go talk to Edward!"


    "He''s here?" Alex asked carefully.


    "Yeah. He just came by. He''s talking with Abby in the second living room." Enid explained. However, Alex didn''t want to go talk to Edward and said, "No. I need to wash those dirty thoughts out of you first!"


    "NOOOO!!!!!" Enid tried to escape, but it was futile. She was already being dragged away. As Alex passed by where Jenna was, she gave her a heads up about Edward being here.


    Jacob leaned in to Jenna and Elsa before saying, "Do you want me to pressure him into apologizing? I don''t think I can do it perfectly like my mom did, but I do remember a few bible texts if you want me to try them."


    Jenna was taken aback and shook her head immediately, "Wha- No No. There''s no need. I wanna get a drink. Does anyone want anything?"


    "Nah I''m fine/ I want one." Jacob and Elsa replied respectively.


    Nearby the bathroom, Mitchell was chasing a couple out of the house after catching them in the ''act'', "This isn''t a WILD party! You should make better choices young lady!"


    ...


    Enid sat back up and said hurriedly, "I did. I really did!"


    Alex smiled and finally let Enid go now. They walked to the door, unlocked it, and were finally going to go outside when Alex suddenly saw Edward and Jenna standing together as she opened the door. Alex grimaced and closed the door hurriedly, causing Enid to be confused.


    "What''s wrong?" Enid asked.


    "Jenna is talking with Edward." Alex replied.


    Enid was excited and she asked hurriedly, "Really? Are they making up now?"


    Alex was a bit annoyed and she said, "How the hell should I know?" She walked back to her bed and angrily opened up her books while Enid opened the door slightly to peek at Jenna and Edward.


    "Ed is talking to someone on the phone." Enid reported.


    "Mm-Hmm..." Alex hummed, faking disinterest at the whole thing.


    "Oh they are hugging now. I guess they really did make up!" Enid reported excitedly. "We don''t have to hide or pick sides anymore!"


    "We never really picked sides!" Alex said with a scoff.


    "Really? I thought for sure you were picking Jenna''s side as you kept avoiding Eddy." Enid said in an innocent manner. Alex opened her mouth a few times, but she couldn''t find the words to refute her friend''s accusation.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    After having an awkward talk with Jenna''s mother, Jenna finally forgave me and gave me a hug.


    As we were going downstairs, she shared something, "You know my new apartment is close to Pasadena right?"


    "Yeah. How''s the new house by the way?"


    "It''s... Fine. There''s still a lack of furniture, but it''s still great." Jenna said with a smile. "Mom is spending most of her time together with me, and you know, she brought me to a supermarket with her together for the first time before!"


    "Really? That''s great!" I replied with a smile as Jenna''s happiness infected me.


    "Yeah. And back to the story. Remember the waitress you kissed before?"


    I coughed twice and said, "You mean Penny? We didn''t really kiss-"


    "You kissed her in the music video." Jenna said, cutting off my excuses.


    I sighed and said, "Yeah I do remember her."


    "Well I met her at the supermarket. She has bangs now." Jenna said with a laugh. "She went there with the annoying Doctor Alex talked about before. What''s his name again?"


    "Sheldon? Or Leonard-"


    "It''s Sheldon. And... He''s really really annoying!" Jenna said with a grimace as she thought about the encounter. "It makes sense that he was fired from his work."


    I grabbed Jenna''s arm and pulled her, making her turn against me, "Wait. Sheldon Cooper is fired from Caltech?"


    Jenna replied casually, "Yeah. He insulted the new dean of the department or something. "


    I chortled, which made Jenna widen her eyes in surprise.


    "Wow you really hate him do you?" She said accusingly.


    I shook my hand at her and said, "No. I''m really not."


    ''So, even The Big Bang Theory followed the episodes timeline in this universe. That''s reassuring.''


    "Then why are you laughing?" She asked teasingly.


    "I''m just... I think your story is funny, that''s all."


    She rolled her eyes and then laughed together with me as we talked about a few different things - mainly talking shit about Sheldon.


    "She wore booty shorts outside... A flowery pink one too. And a pink sweater. That''s... very brave." Jenna said as she remembered what Penny wore when they met before this. "I don''t think I could pull that off."


    "Oh don''t you worry about that. You have a nice... behind.." I said without thinking. Jenna blushed and then glared at me angrily. Elsa rolled her eyes while Jacob was like me�C we didn''t realize what was wrong with what I just said.


    "Hey Ed! Your interview is showing!" Haley suddenly called out from afar. I turned towards her and almost everyone at the party went to the second living room to watch my Billboard interview on the big screen.


    Abby and Haley laughed a bit as they saw my dress, while Jenna nodded in satisfaction as she could see my bare body on the screen.


    "Wait. What?" Suddenly, the clip changed into a different artist while they were still showing my interview.


    "IT''S TAYLOR!" Troy shouted in excitement as he watched the interviewer ask Taylor a few questions about myself.


    It was an impromptu interview scene and was recorded after Taylor had just gotten backstage after her concert, so she was looking a bit tired, but was still looking excited to give the interview. It was recorded the day before yesterday, with me having no idea that she had done the interview before. So it was a fun surprise for me as I saw it.


    Taylor leaned into the microphone as she said, "I''m really missing him. I will admit that what I want the most right now is to sing on the stage with him again. People may like his recorded songs, but for me, I love it the most when he sings the songs live."


    "Hey She said she misses you!" Troy swooned from the crowd. People whistled and were teasing me from here and there, which made both Haley and Abby pursed their lips in dissatisfaction.


    Then, the cameo changed into the blonde Marshall Matthers, which made a lot of the boys turn agape.


    Interviewer: What do you think about Edward Newgate?


    Marshall: He''s a monster.


    Interviewer: What made you decide to feature in one of his most recent songs?"


    Marshall smirked before he said, "That''s simple. Because he''s going to feature in mine."


    The bomb caused a lot of the boys to gasp, and people were cheering madly as they heard that. Not only at the party, but a lot of people around the country were in disbelief when Eminem suddenly disclosed about the future collaboration.


    But for me, I was actually confused. ''When did we decide to work together?'' I thought to myself.

 Chapter 116: Popular girl street cred (4- Final)

    Chapter 116: Chapter 116: Popular girl street cred (4- Final)


    [Edward POV]


    The interview continued for a while, and it even included my first Youtube video clip where I sang the song ''7 years'' at the cafe as part of my backstory. The additional ''discovered-by-singing-at-a-cafe'' stuff played along with the American fantasy, and my whole experience was packaged in a movie-like manner.


    Although I didn''t like the narrative that they put behind me, I have to admit, they did a really good job with the interview.


    "Oh my god! A tiny Edward! I''d almost forgotten that!" Haley suddenly teased as she saw the clip from when I was 170 cm. I turned to her and asked inexplicably, "You do know I was still taller than you even right then....right?"


    She pouted and crossed her arms together before replying, "I know." She then asked, "How much money did they promise you when you sang at the cafe?"


    I laughed a bit and said, "None. I did that for free."


    "(GASP!) Impossible!" Jacob exclaimed.


    Haley, Jenna, Abby, Jacob and Elsa all turned jaw-dropped as they all knew how much of a money-loving man I was. The fact that I did that for free was incomprehensible for them.


    "No. That can''t be it. You must have known that Pepper was a rich man, and you were making an investment-" Abby tried to justify my actions in a shivering voice.


    "Nope. Although I knew he was rich, I wasn''t aiming for that at all." I replied, causing the group to gasp once again. I grimaced towards them and said, "You guys are being very rude you know. I''m not THAT materialistic."


    "You say that because you don''t know yourself like we do." Haley said with a smirk.


    "Maybe he was aiming for the live-play slot at the cafe during peak hour? " Jenna hypothesized.


    "Or maybe he was going to use the song as blackmail material for the cafe owner�C something about child labor.." Elsa added.


    "No. I think he was aiming for the Youtube revenue instead." Abby joined in.


    "Damn, None of my friends actually believe in me. Where is Enid? I need her to be on my side." I said jokingly as I turned around, looking for the hyperactive girl. The rest laughed out loud as they managed to poke fun at me.


    "Seriously, where is Enid...or Alex?" I asked seriously after we all finished laughing. However, not one person could answer me.


    ...


    [General POV]


    "Ay Claire. Why are you so angry?" Gloria asked as she picked up Claire from Long Beach. "I am the one who''s supposed to be angry! I drove 1 hour to pick you up." Gloria added playfully.


    Claire finally broke her silence and she complained in a dispirited tone, "I...I failed."


    "As a mother?"


    "To bust Edward while he was sneaking into a party he wasn''t supposed to be in." Claire explained before Gloria could assume more. Luckily for Claire, the ship stopped at Long Beach to pick up the celebrities before it sailed out into the open seas. She managed to get RDJ to sign a life-sized Iron Man cutout and had stuffed the thing inside Gloria''s car trunk.


    "Ayy. Why do you want to catch him so bad? He''s a good boy!" Gloria defended.


    "Well I know that now." Claire replied while becoming increasingly irritated. "He was not even there today."


    "So why did you try and do something useless?" Gloria asked in confusion.


    "I..." Claire hesitated for a moment while sneaking glances at Gloria �C fearing that she would judge him.


    "I drove for an hour. You can at least tell me why." Gloria said sternly.


    "Alright. Allright!" Claire whined before she told Gloria everything, starting from her suspicion about Ed at the yacht party before, and Haley''s phone call. Gloria laughed at her later on, saying that she was the one who thought too much, and she should''ve trusted her family more.


    "Like today. Jay wanted to spend some time with Luke and Manny at the gym together. So I trusted them, and let them go on their own." Gloria said.


    Claire scrunched her eyes in disbelief as she pursed her lips and asked, "Manny still doing the whole exercise thing?"


    Gloria replied excitedly, "Yesss! I don''t know what Edward said to him, but I never saw him more motivated than this. Jay seems annoyed at first, but now, he''s also trying to motivate Manny."


    In a mall nearby, Jay said sternly, "Get down and give me 10 more!"


    "But Jay/Grandpa!"


    "NOW!"


    Manny and Luke sighed before they grabbed their spoon and counted the bites they took for the huge ice cream parfait that Jay bought for them. It has banana, strawberries, various flavored ice-cream, and it is served inside a huge bowl for a group of 10 people to share. But today, Jay made an exception for them.


    [Jay''s commentary]


    "I cannot let Manny''s case become the precedent for the whole... weight loss program. Gloria won''t stop until she gets me to do the same thing. I CANNOT take the risk. I''m already 63 years old. I just want to eat my bacon sandwich in peace damn it!"


    [commentary ends]


    "Urghh, I think I''m going to puke." Luke said as his face paled. He threw his spoon and tried to run away.


    "No you''re not." Jay said as he grabbed Luke by his arm and then gave the spoon back to him. Luke rolled his eyes, but he scooped the ice cream together with Manny and ate it again and again until his stomach really hurt this time.


    "Finish it, and I will let you go home." Jay said while eating a small ice cream cone on his own.


    At the party, Haley finally found out where Alex and Enid had been hiding. She returned to the living room to tell the group with Tara joining them, "So. Alex and Enid are holed up in my room."


    The other raccoon was pulling at Haley''s skirt, making her scream in fear. Madelyn turned back in satisfaction, and she ran to her ex-boyfriend''s car in fear of the retribution.


    "Okay that''s enough." I said to the raccoon as I pinched it by the neck with my fingers, as if I was picking up a kitten.


    The girls watching were horrified and the boys were grimacing as they lost the opportunity to become the hero. With my [Animal affinity], I could sense that the animals weren''t hostile, they were just scared to be kidnapped and thrown into this house.


    The other free raccoon ignored the boy it was climbing onto and ran towards me before nudging my legs with its head, trying to free its little sibling.


    "Let''s get you back to your home." I said as I picked up the other raccoon and slowly walked away towards the door under the inexplicable gazes of everybody around and the throbbing sounds of music no one was paying any attention to.


    "Hey what''s up, party people!" Phil finally returned from the house sales, but he froze as he saw the sight in front of him. He quickly stuck his back against the doorframe as I went past him and brought the racoons outside of the house.


    I placed them down on the grass and said, "Now. Where is your house?"


    The critters were standing on their hind legs as they tried to show me where they came from, however, I saw a large racoon with a menacing growl on her face as I turned my head along with the little ones.


    "Oh my god! Ed''s in danger!" Phil said as he watched the show from afar together with the people left in the party.


    "That''s your mother?" I asked casually. The raccoons growled, barked, and even hissed, further intensifying the people''s fear for my safety.


    As I faced off with the creature, I heard the sounds of a car engine being ignited, and saw Brian and Madelyn in a sports car, smirking condescendingly at my misery from afar.


    I smirked and pointed my finger at the car suddenly, confusing the people around, and also made the mother raccoon turn her head towards the car.


    "They are the ones who kidnapped your children." I said casually.


    "What the actual fuck-" Alex cursed in disbelief as she thought I was being stupid. An animal couldn''t understand a human''s words, unless you trained them for a period of time.


    However, to the people''s surprise, the mother raccoon started growling and gnashing her teeth at the people in the car, and it sprinted towards the open window of the car instantly.


    "Go get them." I said while laughing before I patted the raccoons'' children''s heads and went back inside the house. The people at the party saw a legendary sight after that. The mother raccoon scratched Madelyn''s face and bit off Brian''s nose as it wreaked havoc inside the car.


    Brian accidentally stepped on the gas pedal, and the car crashed into a tree nearby. Finally, the mother raccoon''s anger was satiated and it leaped out of the car window before it went away together with its children.


    "I''ll call 911." Mitchell said as he sprang into actions. At this moment, Jay and the boys finally returned home from their excursion.


    "What the hell happened here?!" Jay muttered after he parked the car. Not long after, another car pulled into the driveway.


    "Sorry about your party. I really wish it could have ended better." I said to Haley after turning away from Jay who was standing at the door.


    "A-Are you freaking kidding me? That is like...the most awesome party...ever!" Haley said with a smile.


    "Yeah. We saw an accident involving a raccoon and a teenage couple. What more did you need?" Abby said while laughing at Madelyn''s and Brian''s misery.


    "We could continue the party if you guys still want." Alex said. Suddenly Luke shouted, "I''m going to hurl-"


    "Alex Honey, I got RDJ''s autograph for you!" Claire walked into the house cheerily while holding the life-sized cut out on her hand. Luke was blocked by the cardboard cutout, and he couldn''t hold it in any longer.


    "BLUEEKK!" Luke puked all over the cut out, making Claire froze in her place. Then, Manny turned and did the same thing�C to Gloria''s shoes as she followed Claire into the house.


    "Yeah the party''s over." Alex muttered before she turned her back against her mother and walked away.


    "Pfft- HAHAHA!" I laughed out loud as I saw Claire and Gloria''s faces as one lost an autographed cutout, and the other her shoes. However, I received a phone call at that moment and my amusement quickly passed as I answered the call, but I kept watching the family so as to not miss out on their shenanigans.


    "I''m sorry mom. Jay forced us to eat the jumbo sized ice-cream dessert until our stomach hurt." Manny confessed-slash-exposed Jay.


    "Manny, Grandpa ordered us to keep that a secret." Luke whispered, but it was heard clearly by both Gloria and Claire.


    "Trust them huh?" Claire said in an annoyed manner as she turned to Gloria. It turned into a full on argument between Gloria and Jay, while Claire was trying hard to chase after Alex. Haley stealthily backed away from being the center of attention, and was walking quickly with Abby to get closer to my position.


    "Okay I understand. I''ll fix it now." I said to the phone before I cut the call.


    "What happened?" Abby asked.


    "Nothing much. Just there''s a few bugs in the website I need to handle." I explained.


    "Wait. Your website still buggy? I thought you coded the hell out of it." Abby widened her eyes in surprise as she said that.


    I lied actually. The website was actually kind of perfect. But it was under attack at this moment, so I needed to get online to back up the defenses even though I knew it could handle the infiltration.


    "My laptop is back at the office. Can I borrow yours?" I asked the two girls.


    "YES!!!!! I mean, Yes. You can. Let''s go back to my place. Haley is...going to be busy cleaning up after the party...right?" Abby replied hurriedly before Haley could say anything.


    "Y-Yeah." Haley muttered subconsciously.


    "Great. Back to my place then." Abby said before she grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the house.


    (A/N: Finally the party chaps are over. Now for a shoutout!)


    "Ever wonder what would happen if an unlucky transmigrator received the task of spreading our world culture and "culture" ahem... to a cultivation world? Would he avoid getting face-slapped by some cliche? young master? Or maybe cure an Old Master''s erectile dysfunction just by making him watch a video of Stepsis getting stuck in a washing machine? Or maybe make the Elder of a Jiangshi Clan tremble in his shoes just by playing Silent Hill?"


    You might want to check out my friend''s new fic, "Cultivating Culture", written by "Extra26". The newly released fic is trending on Scribble hub, and now coming to your very own Webnovel platform. (Piggy: WN BETTER PAY ME FOR THIS!)

 Chapter 117: Urgency.

    Chapter 117: Chapter 117: Urgency.?


    [Edward POV]


    I didn''t linger at the party and allowed Abby to drag me out of the Dunphy''s house as I felt the urgency to use Abby''s laptop to get online right now.


    "Umm... Sorry." Abby said with a blush as she released my hand when we were out of the perimeter.


    "Why?" I said confusedly. "Also, we need to hurry. Can we?" I said urgently.


    "Umm. Okay!" Abby was perplexed, but she nodded seriously and we walked to her house at high speed. She then asked as she noticed that something was wrong, "What''s going on exactly?"


    "Nothing much. Just a group of egotistical people who wanted to destroy my website''s firewall." I replied in a casual manner. Abby was shocked and she quickly ran in front of me, "Then we need to hurry!"


    "No need to run. We still have time." I replied. She then gritted her teeth, turned back and grabbed my hand before pulling me to run together with her.


    "Ugh. I hate unplanned sweating." I complained.


    "Shut up! Be more concerned!" She admonished me. As we got to her house, Abby opened the door quickly and dragged me into her bedroom without even letting me greet her mother.


    She gave me her laptop and sat me down on her desk before she said, "Hurry!"


    "Okay." I replied and I slid my finger on the touchpad, turning the laptop on from its sleep mode. However, as I pressed the space key, the screen showed Abby''s still open, for over 18 years old, something that definitely a child shouldn''t see.


    "AHHH!" Abby screamed in embarrassment and horror and slammed down the laptop immediately. If I didn''t pull my fingers out of the way fast enough, it would''ve been destroyed by her barbaric action.


    "Hey!"


    "H-H-H-How much of that did you see?" She asked menacingly and with a stutter, her face became increasingly red as she tried to calm her emotions.


    "If I say nothing, and let you close the tabs first, or maybe delete your search history, can I use it as soon as possible?" I replied with a sly smile while tapping the table with my index finger.


    "Yo-You! Okay!" Abby wanted to interrogate me, however she realized that it was an inappropriate time to do so. She turned her laptop against me and pouted as she closed her tabs and also deleted her browser history in a quick manner before giving me the laptop back.


    "Also, you''re very brave to keep a password-less laptop in sleep mode without closing all of your tabs properly." I said as I opened up my website.


    "Especially if the website is labeled College Teen got her p*ssy destroyed by a big C*ck-"


    Abby cupped my mouth before I could say the entire title of the video she was watching and yelled in my ear, "FORGET THAT! FORGET THAT YOU EVER SAW THAT! ARGHHHH!"


    She screamed as she ran away from the room, leaving me with her laptop to do my work. After she was gone, I muttered, "Also, even if you delete the browser history, I can still know what you had watched if I have access to your cache and cookies."


    "Still, asian girls and tentacles, yoga sessions turn steamy, and even public stuff...Abby has a peculiar taste huh." I mumbled as I thought back of all the tabs she had opened before.


    The one I mentioned was the least weird of all of the options, that was why I picked that to mention. Otherwise, she would''ve spiraled into madness from the embarrassment and the overthinking on which of her tastes that I had stumbled onto as I saw her options she chose for her "relief" in her private time.


    "What happened between a man...or a woman with their laptop...is only for them and their laptop." I muttered in understanding before trying to track back the people who were trying to hack into my system.


    Abby suddenly walked in, her expression kept stoic despite the redness on her cheeks, and she said, "I told my mom you''re here. Will you have dinner with us?"


    "So...we''re going to pretend nothing happened huh?" I said jokingly.


    Abby tilted her head and asked in a fake puzzled tone, "What happened? You came in, I gave you the laptop, and I went to notify my mom you''re here. Did anything else happen?"


    "So. Denial. Okay. Nothing happened. Also, that reminds me, I haven''t had lunch yet."


    Abby nodded in satisfaction before she turned concerned as she asked, "Seriously? Why haven''t you?"


    "Well I didn''t have the time. I was supposed to eat after the interview, but we ran a bit late so I needed to rush to the party..." I replied.


    "Oh. I''ll ask my mom to fix something up for you. What''s going on with your website?" She asked as she stood beside me, leaning her arm on my shoulder as she bent slightly to take a look.


    If I wasn''t focusing on the screen, I would''ve enjoyed the view of her breast dangling in the air, but damn those hackers. They had added to their crimes right now by preventing me from doing so.


    "I don''t know their aim. These fuckers are only trying to break down my defenses. I''m trying to trace back their IPs, but there are a lot of them and they have their own defenses too. There are around 50 people trying to breach my website at the same time."


    "50! This is a targeted attack. Shouldn''t you call the cops?" Abby asked in a horrified voice.


    "I already did. But they couldn''t do anything without a lead. And their cyber crimes unit is fucking trash." I replied through gritted teeth.


    Abby noticed that I was becoming increasingly mad, therefore she offered, "Do you want me to use my mom''s laptop to back you up-"


    "No offense Abby, but that will just slow me down. Can you call Abraham for me?"


    Abby pouted but she used my phone that I had unlocked and called my nerdy friend without going through other stuff quickly as it was an urgent matter right now. The call was picked up in a matter of milliseconds as the line connected and Abby placed the phone down next to the laptop with the loudspeaker on.


    "Hey Ed the Bard. Nice party, and legendary pokemon training moment-"


    "You''re at the party? No. This isn''t the time. Are you home yet?" I asked urgently.


    "Yeah I had just turned on my PC. Why?" Abraham asked seriously as he noticed my tone. "Abra-Kadabra, do you want your fruit loops now?" Suddenly a shrill woman''s voice sounded from the other side of the phone.


    "Not NOW MOM I''M ON THE PHONE!" Abraham shouted back.


    "Pff- Abra-Kadabra. Imma use that. My website is under attack. Can I use your PC?"


    "What the- I can help you defend it! What do you want me to do?" Abraham asked urgently.


    "Give me...Access...to your...PC!" I said intermittently as I focused most of my attention on the screen right now.


    "Oh. Got it." Abraham realized that he couldn''t help me with his skill, but at the very least, he was a part of the PC master race and has his own high spec PC build and his very own server �C albeit a small one.


    "Thanks Abrakadabra. I hope you''ll evolve into an Alakazam soon."


    I gave him a link that would allow me to control his PC remotely, and he gave me the control without thinking much. Although I could''ve hacked into his PC on my own, it would take me some time that I didn''t really have right now.


    "Shut up! It''s Abra. Then, Kadabra. Only after that will it evolve into Alakazam!" Abraham corrected me. My speed increased up to 3 times after I took control of Abraham''s computer. Abby and Abraham could see what I was typing, but they couldn''t really follow what was written as my typing speed was too much for them.


    I said calmly but the mood had become weird as Abby was staring at my lips, and I hers. "That would be a waste...you not going, I mean...You need to enjoy prom...after all, you only get the chance to go there...once...or 7 times..."


    "7?" Abby asked in confusion.


    "Not important." I replied. She thought about it and asked, hiding her disappointment, "So... you say I should go with Roy?"


    "I didn''t say that." I replied.


    She huffed angrily and said, "Then what? Go there alone!? You know how humiliating that is?! Abby the weirdo, going to prom alone!"


    "I didn''t say that either."


    She pushed my body angrily, almost making me fall out of her bed.


    "THEN WHAT! STOP JERKING ME AROUND!" She yelled.


    I laughed and then fell silent for a while. I did realize that she wanted to go there with me, I wasn''t that dumb. However, I was concerned that something would come up at Prom''s night, and I had to choose between work and getting to the event.


    "Well. Don''t go with anyone...yet." I said.


    "Huh?" Abby was confused.


    "Like I said, don''t go with anyone yet. Wait for a bit...Maybe until Wednesday."


    "HUUUUH????"


    "Can you do that?" I asked in a serious manner. Abby pouted and thought for a while before saying, "Okay. Sure. I''ll wait. But if that ''someone'' is being a jerk and makes me wait 3 days for nothing, I will kick him in the nuts."


    "Ouch. Okay. That ''someone'' will make sure not to get kicked in the nuts. He would want to leave behind his progeny to the world someday."


    Abby was finally satisfied and she sat up from the bed. I got back to my sideway-head-on-palm position and asked, "By the way. When''s your mom coming with the food? I''m starving."


    Abby then realized that she hadn''t got the chance to tell her mom about that even though it had been an hour since I started the whole hacking war thing, and started sweating nervously.


    "Ummmm."


    "If you say that you forget to tell her, I will eat you. One way or another, I will be putting my tongue on something."


    Abby blushed hard and she pulled down her skirts quickly before giving me a glare and said, "I will go and make you a sandwich. PB&J is okay?"


    "Sure."


    5 minutes later, Abby returned to the room with a PB&J sandwich in one hand, and...Haley on the other?


    "What are you doing here?" I asked Haley in confusion. She was glaring at me as she found me lying down on Abby''s bed before she said angrily, "I heard about the incident and was coming here to comfort you, but it seems that you''re already feeling comfortable here huh."


    "Well yeah. Lying down on another person''s bed is one of the few pleasures in the world that someone could acquire."


    "Huh?" x2. Both girls were confused by my remarks and they turned to look at one another. Haley went to sit on my left side while Abby sat on my right side.


    "You know, people are tweeting about what you did at the party. There''s even a video about the raccoon thing." Haley said.


    Abby nodded and said, "Yeah. It''s a pretty great party."


    Both of them turned towards me, expecting that I would say the same thing, but I just shrugged and said, "Eh. It''s fine."


    "What? Do you not think it''s a great party?" Haley asked in confusion and surprise.


    "It''s okay. But to be honest, my review was lowered mainly because a few people were not honest while we were playing the game."


    "What game? Who did it?" Haley asked in confusion once again.


    Abby thought about it for a while before she realized something and glared at me angrily after. She turned towards Haley and said, "Don''t respond to him. He''s just leading us on to make us kiss one another."


    "Wait. The ''Truth or Dare'' game?!" Haley finally remembered that my dare was interrupted by the fans barging into the game and she glared at me angrily. "You still hung up about that?"


    "Who wouldn''t I? I think I speak for all men at the party, when I say we were all feeling incredibly disappointed that we couldn''t see that happen." I said jokingly.


    Haley and Abby turned towards one another, and they were communicating with their eyes as to whether or not they were going to do it.


    "Okay fine!" Abby suddenly said and pushed me flat on the bed while I was still holding the sandwich in my hand. Haley giggled and she inches closer towards Abby, while Abby did the same thing. Abby placed one hand on Haley''s shoulder, and Haley placed her hand on Abby''s back.


    "Are we seriously doing this?" Abby asked.


    "I got a feeling that if we don''t, he won''t shut up about it...ever..." Haley replied.


    "That''s accurate." I replied while taking a bite of my sandwich and enjoying the view in front of me. The girls were only separated by my body, and they sat on their knees on the bed facing each other.


    Then, Haley moved first and gave Abby a peck on the lips. Both of them blushed and they turned towards me. "Satisfied?"


    "Nah. That ain''t a true kiss. I wanna see the tongue dance. Again." I replied jokingly.


    "Enough!" Abby was embarrassed and she hit my legs angrily.


    "Well then. I guess you didn''t like Haley enough to kiss her properly. That''s okay, everyone has their own taste." I said in a casual manner.


    Haley was saddened and she turned toward Abby before asking, "Is that true?"


    "What- NO! Don''t get tricked by him!" Abby replied angrily but as she saw Haley''s sad face, she hesitated and said, "Well...I like you, and I don''t mind kissing you-"


    "So. What are you waiting for?" I instigated.


    "Shut up!" Abby admonished me. I laughed and waited for them to continue. Haley gazed into Abby''s lip and she slowly moved her face towards her friend''s. Abby gulped her saliva and prayed to god that she wouldn''t awaken anything as she closed her eyes and did the same thing.


    Then, they kissed each other slowly, before Haley opened her mouth first and then put her tongue into Abby''s mouth. Abby reciprocated her action and their tongue was intertwined a few times as they made out with one another before separating, all while I was taking a bite of my sandwich.


    "Nice." I muttered in awe as I thoroughly enjoyed my time as the lone audience there.

 Chapter 118: Conflicted feelings.

    Chapter 118: Chapter 118: Conflicted feelings.


    [Edward POV]


    *Click*


    A flash of light startled the girls, which made them quickly separate from each other. They turned towards me with a horrified expression on their faces as they saw I was holding up my phone and had taken a picture of them kissing.


    "What the- DELETE IT!" Abby pounced at me in a hurry. I couldn''t even react before she grabbed my hand and tried to wrestle the phone away from me. I laughed and didn''t keep struggling and let her take it without fighting much.


    ''The photo was backed up to my own personal cloud drive anyway.'' I thought secretly. However, I was late in taking the picture, and what I captured wasn''t actually the sight of them kissing, but a millisecond after they had separated from one another.


    Still lying down on my body, Abby pressed her elbows on my chest as she opened my phone gallery to punish me at the same time. It didn''t hurt much as the ''cushion'' on her chest was helping her spread out her body weight, but she didn''t notice that.


    "Ow-Ow-Ow." I faked the pain while enjoying the soft feeling on my body.


    "This...feels weird. I need a palate cleanser." Haley said suddenly. Abby was annoyed and she turned her head quickly to glare at Haley, making my face get hit by her ponytail.


    "Shut up. My mouth is not weird!" She shouted in anger. However, Haley slammed her body on top of Abby, further putting pressure on her punishment towards me, while at the same time she inches her face further and further towards mine, and gave me a kiss without saying anything.


    Abby was shocked, and was stuck between Haley and I in an extremely awkward position. "Wait a moment-" She tried to squirm her way out of the sandwiched position, but Haley was grabbing my hair, and I was holding her head as our tongue intertwined with each other.


    Haley finally was satisfied and moved her lips away. A bridge of saliva could be seen connecting our lips and it broke off as she moved her head further away from mine. While Haley and I were locking eyes with one another, Abby hit her in the arm as she sat up from lying down on my body.


    "Owww- What''s that for!?" Haley whined as she rubbed her hurting arm. She was sitting on top of my crotch unconsciously, and was a bit startled as she felt something hard there poking at her skirt.


    "I was supposed to do it first!" Abby said before she turned towards me with a flash in her eyes. I gulped my saliva, both in fear and turned on by her sudden approach. She grabbed my right hand and put it on her breast while she bent over and kissed me passionately.


    After a minute, she finally released me to take a breath, leaving me in a dazed and confused state while I was laying down on the bed.


    "Umm...what just happened?" I asked.


    Abby and Haley turned towards each other with a sly smirk on their faces before turning towards me and said, "Nothing out of the ordinary." Haley even shook her bottom a bit as she sat above me and giggled while looking at Abby, and the goth girl also laughed together with her.


    [Abby POV]


    Although I was a bit jealous of Haley getting to kiss him first, I didn''t focus on that feeling much as I had expected it could happen when I invited him here today. At the party, he told me that he became flirty when he was tired, therefore it was our chance! For both Haley and I!


    And Haley had confirmed before that Edward wasn''t really dating anyone right now. To be honest, when she told me what happened in the shower, I was baffled and my mind short-circuited.


    It seemed silly, but girls tell each other everything, although Haley was a bit fearful of my reaction when she did it before. When she got to the part that Edward actually didn''t do anything even when a pretty girl like Haley was naked in front of him, made me wonder a bit about his sexual orientation�C whether or not it had changed from the time we dated before.


    However Haley told me that his orientation was fine, he just has a lot of self control.


    ''That fact made our work more difficult. ''So when Ed came here today, we girls needed to go to the extreme offensive to tear down his defenses. Him bringing up the kiss between us at the party was a good signal for both of us to start teasing him.''


    ''Why going in such a roundabout manner you ask? Because that guy is infuriating that is why!''


    With him being busy all the time, we couldn''t actually make our moves for weeks. I was frustrated by that, and my ''frustration'' was even exposed to him when he opened my laptop before.


    "Abby, Haley." Edward called us in a serious tone. Haley and I stopped laughing and turned towards him with a mixture of expectancy and trepidation, but before he could say anything, we all heard the sound of the door opening.


    "Girls. Edward. It''s time for dinner- Oh my." My mom broke into a wide grin as she saw what was happening inside the room. She leaned on the door frame and asked, "What do we have here?~"


    Both Haley and I blushed hard and we pushed Edward away forcefully. Victimized, Ed fell off the bed after Haley climbed off him. "No-NOTHING HAPPENED!"


    "Don''t worry. I was also young once~ I understand~ I understand~" My mom laughed ''Ufufufu'' before waving dismissively with her left hand she held her burning cheeks with her right. "Just don''t forget to lock the door next time. A useful tips is that, if you need privacy, just play some music so that people won''t hear-"


    "MOM!" I couldn''t allow her to continue and humiliate me much longer. With a burning face and cold sweats on my back, I ran towards my mom and pushed her out of the room.


    "L-Let''s eat guys!" I tried to change the subject.


    "M-M-My mom pro-probably cooked dinner at hom-Home. I will go eat there- I mean, back at my place.." Haley stammered hard and even stumbled as she got off the bed before she ran away out of the house at full speed.


    Edward was in disbelief about what just happened and he joked, "Desiree, shouldn''t the first tip you give supposed to be locking the door?"


    I glared daggers at him while my mom laughed at his response, "Yeah. That is supposed to be the first tip-"


    "MOM!" I called out with tears in my eyes. "Please, can''t we just pretend this never happened?" I begged her.


    She showed her innocent, crescent moon eye smile and patted my head. I was feeling relieved for a bit, but then she subverted my expectations by saying, "Also. Next tip would be to use protection. And don''t gang up on Ed okay?"


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    I swear I could almost see Abby''s soul flying out of her body as her mom teased her. I laughed and stood up from the floor, but I finally realized what was happening underneath my pants so I plopped down on the edge of the bed with my back bent.


    "Oh my Ed? Did the fall hurt you?" Desire asked, but her eyes hid traces of teasing as she definitely knew what caused it. I crossed my legs together and said, "Yeah. I just need a moment."


    "Oh. Do you want me to check-"


    "Okay Stop. Don''t come closer. I''m fine." I raised my hand to stop her from turning back and entering the room. She giggled as she was having fun with the whole situation. Abby was still standing frozen outside the room, her soul slowly trying to return to her body.


    As Edward waved goodbye to Desiree and walked back to his house, Desiree who was standing in front of the door suddenly asked, "So...Did you listen to what he had to say?"


    Behind her, a red-eyed Abby slowly walked towards the stairs. "I...heard."


    "What are you going to do about it?" Desiree asked.


    "I..." Abby''s eyes shook and she gripped the stairs railing tightly, "I...don''t know."


    Desiree let out a sigh, but then Abby continued, "But...I do know that...I won''t give up!"


    Desiree smiled as she watched her daughter run upstairs. But before she closed the door, she saw a small U-haul truck pulling over to the cottage styled house next to hers. She walked slowly to the neighbor''s house and asked the moving men, "Is someone moving in?"


    On the pickup platform at an airport nearby, a latina wearing sunglasses and jacket raised her hands up and said, "Finally! California again! I can''t wait to meet my babies!"


    Camila excitedly walked to gate number 4, and there she was finally reunited with her shiny purple car. She kicked out her friend who drove all the way from Calexico to deliver the car to her and said to the car while sitting in the driver''s seat. "Ooowww how I missed you baby. Now, let''s go meet my other children!"


    She drove the car quickly despite her friend''s protest as she just left him there, but she just ignored the guy. " I can''t wait to see the look on Ed''s face when he sees I moved into the neighborhood. Although I don''t know where the house is... I really hope that it''s nearby."


    "Hmm... Their house is under construction right? Maybe Ed can come live with me!" Camila said excitedly. "AHHH I CAN''T WAIT!"


    With a fat bank account from her sister''s generosity that was also hiding an ulterior motive underneath, Camila charged into the highway in high spirits. But the second she went over the speed limit by 1 Mph, a cop''s siren suddenly bellowed behind her car.


    "OH COME ON!" Camila shouted in frustration as the cop car next to her asked her to pull over.


    On another part of the airport, a teenage pop-star finally landed in California after finishing the first part of her tour. She was wearing a fur jacket and sunglasses, her face was a bit annoyed from the flashes of light from the paparazzi''s cameras.


    While the paparazzis were taking pictures of her as she walked out of the gate, she asked the assistant beside her, "The MV shooting is starting on Tuesday right?"


    "Y-Yes. You can rest for a day before-"


    "No need. I want to go see Ed." Taylor said with a smile on her face.


    "But- It''s already so late." The new assistant said whiningly. She was a petite, blonde woman with a height of 150 centimeters, and had a baby face even when she was nearing 30 years old. "He might already be sleeping."


    "Hmm...if he''s asleep, then that''s that."


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    I put on a mask as I entered my house. The dust flew all over as the construction crew were cutting some wooden planks in the middle of the living room.


    "Oh. Small boss. How are you?"


    "I''m fine Alexandro. Is my dad here?"


    "Yeah. Big boss is at the back."


    The muscular latin man pointed in the direction with his thumb before he went back to work. I nodded and went back to my room to pick up some stuff before I went to my dad and said, "Dad, can you send me over to Jacob''s house? If you can''t, I''ll just use the bike-"


    "Nonsense. I''ll drive." Dad replied quickly before he put down the beer bottle from which he was drinking from before.


    "Are you sure? If you''d been drinking-"


    "No. That''s non-alcoholic." Dad explained.


    "Huh? Non-alcoholic beer? Why the hell are you drinking non-alcoholic beer?" I asked in confusion, but dad ignored me and walked to the newly made patio and asked, "What do you think?"


    "I have already seen it yesterday."


    "Jay is putting the hot tub in tomorrow, and the outer part will be finished." My dad said excitedly.


    "Yeah. Then, you can invite Mrs Desiree to enjoy the hot tub together. Just text me the time. I will make sure I''m not there."


    Dad frowned and wanted to hit my head, but I was already taking a step back, making him miss his aim. "Too slow old man!" I joked.


    He laughed and retaliated, "But Ed. Are you sure about putting the hot tub in...after all...you can''t swim."


    "Hitting it right where it hurts huh." I nodded in acceptance before it turned into a full blown insult battle between me and my dad.


    "China-made Popeye."


    "Night-time Alleycat singer!"


    "The one who killed Glenn."


    "Playboy."


    "Beer gut."


    "No armpit hair."


    "Hey I''ve got armpit hair now."

 Chapter 119: SUS Sleepover.

    Chapter 119: Chapter 119: SUS Sleepover.?


    (Another few days, and I could finally took off my iron arm (Split). )


    [General POV]


    "Again. I''m sooo sorry." Buddy the African-American cop apologized to Camila.


    "I told you not to worry about it. Ed asked you to watch out for my car. If anything, I should thank you for keeping your word." Camila said with a smile before she took out a key from her jean pocket.


    Both of them were standing in front of Edward''s house as Buddy had escorted Camila''s car and even helped her cheat traffic by blaring his siren as an apology to her for the previous ''misconduct''. Not that it was necessary, but why wouldn''t he abuse his power to do it when it could score him some points with the hot latina woman?


    Camila opened the door and entered the rowdy house filled with cheers and promiscuous whistling from some strange men.


    "Hmm? What''s going on?" She muttered as she looked around the house. Buddy was also curious and wondered aloud, "Is Ted having a party?"


    "I...don''t think so." Camila shook her head as she knew that Ted wasn''t the kind of man that would throw a wild party.


    As the duo walked past the corridor towards the second living room, both of them were surprised when they saw a blonde woman wearing a bikini and twerking her bubble butt on a beefy construction worker''s crotch while the rest were surrounding them and cheering them on.


    "What in the fresh hell is this?!" Camila muttered with widened eyes and a gasp filled with disbelief.


    "Hey who are you guys?" One of the construction crew members asked. "You can''t be in here!"


    "She''s Edward''s aunt Carlos. Besides that, you guys invited a stripper here and threw a party?! HAVE YOU GUYS LOST YOUR DAMN MIND?!"


    As the group fearfully shrank back at the cop''s shouting, the ''stripper'' walked towards the duo and said, "Wait! I''m not a stripper. I''m Sal. Ted''s...friend. I came by to surprise him, but he isn''t home yet."


    She then drunkenly walked to the couch, sitting seductively with her legs brought up. The construction guy automatically helped her fanned her sweaty chest as she threw her hair back. The 5 buff latino guys stood behind the sofa while Sal sat on the couch, which would make Edward spit his drink and flip out if he saw the very familiar sight.


    "HUUUUHHH!!?" Camila exclaimed in confusion and anger, she rolled up her sleeves, wanting to throw the slut out of the house.


    "Wait. You come here for Ted? So why are you...?" Buddy glanced at the construction crew who had turned into Sal''s obedient dogs and were fawning all over her. One of them gave her a glass of wine, while two others were massaging her legs, and the last one was working on her shoulders.


    "Well... Just in case, after all if he says no, I do need to have some backup." Sal said with a grin.


    "GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE PUTA!" Camila bursted out in anger and threw Sal out of the house like a drunk kitten.


    At the same moment Ted was just coming home after driving Edward to a sleepover at a friend''s house. As Sal stumbled, she took a few steps and landed right into Ted''s arms, after he instinctively caught her stopping her fall. Noticing the familiar pecs on her hand as she caressed her savior''s body, Sal slowly looked upward in expectation.


    "Ted! You''re a hard man to find. Did you work out? Your chest feels harder than before." Sal said seductively as she stuck herself close to Ted''s body.


    The construction workers left the house hurriedly in case Ted wanted to have a talk with them, and Buddy also moved away quietly as he received a radio ping from his walkie talkie.


    "Ummm.." Ted was horrified when he noticed that Sal was there, and his anxiety doubled when he saw Camila looking at both of them with a disgusted look in her eyes.


    "Wait. I didn''t-"


    "No need for an excuse Ted. My nephew isn''t here, so I''ll come meet him tomorrow. You...do what you want." Camila said while shaking her head slightly in disappointment. She walked to her car and drove away to her new rental house, leaving behind the nervous Ted and the tipsy Sal.


    While poking his chest with her index finger, Sal whispered seductively, "So. I see you have a new hot tub. Should we break it in...nude style?" She slowly untied her bikini top strings, startling Ted.


    "HELL NO!" Ted tried to cover her chest, but Sal had already taken her top off and was already walking drunkenly back inside the house so Ted followed her quickly from behind .


    "WOO HOO! We''re FINALLY GOING TO FUC-" Sal shouted before Ted tackled her and both of them fell onto the sofa.


    "Oh my god yes! Be rougher! I waited for this for so long!" Sal said as she pulled Ted''s head into her embrace, making him motorboat her while he was trying to free himself.


    While Ted was ''suffering'' from the drunken girl assault, Pepper was sipping a cosmopolitan at a bar when he finally realized that one member of his group was gone.


    "Where'' Sal?" Pepper asked while holding two margaritas.


    Mitchell grabbed one of the drinks from him and hurriedly said, "I don''t know. She might be hooking up with someone in the toilet again. You know how she is."


    He took a sip and decided to dump all his frustration from the day, "Pepper. Can you believe it? I had to chase away 15...15!!... Young teenage couples to stop them from having intercourse in the bathroom today! The young generation has absolutely no decency. It seems to have been demoralized way...WAYY to much."


    "Enough about that. I''m asking you. What should I do now? I''ve already proven myself worse than useless when Ed tried to find the rappers! Also for god''s sake who the hell calls himself "M&M". Shouldn''t they sue him for copyright infringement or something?!" Pepper asked exasperatingly as he was a bit drunk from the night''s out with the rest of his friends.


    "Well, that was expected after all you don''t have any connections in that industry, none at all. Don''t beat yourself up." Longinus said before turning to Mitchell and asked, "And you. Are you sure Cam''s okay with you leaving him alone with the baby?"


    Pepper interjected while Mitchell avoided Longines''s stares, "You ARE RIGHT!! I know what I should do now!! I have to show off my connections to him. After all, I don''t just know people in the music industry!"


    "Huh? What are you planning to do?" Jotham, a bearded fellow with a scarf around his neck asked.


    "A GALA! I WILL PLAN A GALA, JUST TO SHOW OFF!" Pepper said drunkenly.


    "Pepper NO! You''ll kill yourself!" Longines said hurriedly. A gala wasn''t that easy to plan after all and even Pepper, for all his talk, would fall short when it came to getting the really big names in the fashion industry to show up.


    Pepper came to his senses a bit and said, "What did I almost do?...Wait- The annual Versace summer time Gala! Fashion Designers! CEOs! Celebrities! I will make sure to get Ed invited there! As a VIP too! I have to get him the best Table. Mmmhhhhmmm it would be difficult though, maybe my mother can call one of her shrill bat-like friends..."


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Here Ed! Let me help you!" said Mrs Green, who was wearing a lime coloured, long sleeved blouse tucked into her ruby coloured skirt, as she opened the door soon after I rang the doorbell.


    With a grunt, Mrs Green bent over to pick up the cello case from my hands.


    "No It''s okay Mrs Green. It''s quite heavy." I said, trying to stop her.


    She smiled despite her difficulty and said, "Nonsense. You''re our guest. Of course- Hrmmm..." She grunted again as she dragged the cello case which was almost the same size as her through the threshold of the house before she continued, "O-Of course, I need to give you the best treatment."


    I just smiled as she completely cut me off in trying to help her and sent me to the backyard of the house where Jacob was spending time with his viking-like dad.


    "Come on! Punch harder!" Jacob''s dad was wearing two pads on his hands while Jacob was in a boxing stance wearing boxing gloves as he hit the pads on his dad''s hand.


    I didn''t say anything and sat down on a chair nearby, waiting for them to finish practicing.


    "Come on Jacob! Don''t pull your punches!" Mr Green said in frustration as Jacob was very reluctant to learn the self-defense techniques from him.


    "Of course it isn''t genius." I rolled my eyes at him before walking to the case and took out the Playstation 2 I had just bought and a flat screen monitor. "Your mom almost gave me a heart attack when she accidentally slammed it down on the floor before."


    "You''re smuggling contraband into my house?!" Jacob asked in surprise as he saw multiple PG 18 movies inside the cello case and a small dvd player.


    "Of course. It won''t be a boy''s night without it." I said with a laugh before setting up the whole thing. Jacob was excited the whole time and we played WWE Smackdown for a while before he suddenly paused the game as I completely obliterated him in the match.


    "Did you know?" He asked in a tiny voice.


    I was silent for a while before I replied, "I knew."


    "Who told you?"


    "No one. I checked the list."


    It was no coincidence that I came here today. This morning before the party, the football team name list for those who passed the recruitment came out, and unfortunately Jacob couldn''t make the team.


    He had been trying out for 3 years, but he was always one stop short as he was too gentle with his opponents in the field. Despite his large stature, the coach couldn''t actually bring him into the team as his nature would prevent the team from winning due to his lack of bravery.


    "You''d be better off opening a potato farm." I mocked while laughing. But Jacob took that advice seriously and said, "You know. My grandma has a potato farm."


    That was why his dad was training him in self-defense before. To see if he could change his nature a bit before next year''s tryouts. Although he pretended to be tough around Elsa, he couldn''t do the same thing on the field.


    "I don''t know what went wrong. At Jenna''s party before, I could run and tackle someone with my entire body, but in the tryouts, I just froze." He said casually while we continued fighting in the game. My Undertaker character took a steel chair and bashed his Batista character in the head, splattering blood on the ring as he bled.


    "Damn, you ain''t going easy on me." Jacob gritted his teeth and bashed his X button repeatedly to avoid getting pinned down by my character.


    "Of course not. This ain''t a pity party! It''s a skull cracking party!" I said with a cackle as my Undertaker character completely pinned Batista on the ground, and won the match!


    Jacob laughed with tears coming out of his eyes. We played for a few more times and watched an R rated movie before going to sleep at 3 am. The lights were turned off as we laid down on our beds.


    But before I could activate my [Rest] skill, Jacob suddenly called me from afar, "Hey."


    "Hmm."


    "Thanks."


    "For what?"


    "Coming over to cheer me up."


    "Dude I''m basically homeless now. And I didn''t come to cheer you up. I come here to mock you while you''re down."


    He laughed before we fell into silence again only for him to say, "You know. I don''t even know if I want to play football."


    "Then, why did you decide to try out?" I asked.


    "I don''t know. My dad never tried to force me and repeatedly told me if it was okay for me not to play, but..."


    "But?"


    "I don''t know." Jacob said, confused by his own feelings about the game.


    "Are you...passionate about it?" I asked.


    "Well...I do love football." He said.


    "Then, you should try again next year." I said casually. He sat up from the air mattress and turned his head towards me in confusion, "What? Shouldn''t I just stop now?"


    "Why do you want to stop? If you love it, then try it again. And then again. And then again." I turned my head towards him and said lazily. He was abashed and he rubbed the back of his head before he said, "I...Can I really make the team?"


    "You know, you went crazy when you saw me almost getting hurt in the fight. So my guess is you ain''t built to attack. Maybe...you need to play defensive line, instead of focusing on getting through to take down the opposing QB just try to hold the line and keep your guys safe."


    "I tried to play defense too, but it still didn''t work out." He said. " "I''m a pushover," the coach said. Enough, let''s go to sleep. Don''t bring this up again. Talking about this whole thing is making me depressed."


    I shook my head and laid it down on the pillow. As I looked up at the ceiling, I said with a smile, "You know. I got your back."


    "What?" He asked, confused.


    "In the fight. You had my back, even when I didn''t ask you to."


    Jacob was silent, and I continued, "So...I''m going to have your back on this too. Whether you like it or not, I will bring this shit up, until you''re finally ready to go and do your best on the field."


    "Why?" He asked in a tiny voice, akin to a whisper.


    "Free tickets to the NFL of course!" I replied teasingly. He finally laughed again and said, "It''ll take a long time."


    "Take as long as you need."


    "I might give up soon and open up a potato farm."


    "I will make sure you don''t. Also, you can do both when you''re rich after your football contract leaves you with millions."


    His eyes suddenly lit up and he said, "Then, come with me to the next try-outs!"


    "Dude, I''m already busy as fuck." I replied. He turned downcast again, but I added, "But sure. I will play along with you next year in highschool."


    "NICEE! YOSHHHH! I WILL DO IT!!! I WILL FUCKING DO IT THIS TIMEEEE!" He shouted out loud as he stood up abruptly, startling all the people in this house and the next door neighbor''s house.


    "JACOB GREEN! WHY ARE YOU YELLING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT!" Kitty shouted from afar. "Are you boys roughhousing! Don''t make me come up there! There will be no more sleepovers if I have to go up there!" She added.


    "Sorry Mrs Green!" I shouted quickly.


    "Sorry mom!" Jacob shouted with me.


    We both laughed as the house finally calmed down, but Mrs Green chimed in again, "GO TO SLEEP BOYS! I CAN HEAR YOU LAUGHING!"


    "YES MRS GREEN/MOM!" Both of us answered at the same time.

 Chapter 120: Argument (1)

    Chapter 120: Chapter 120: Argument (1)


    [Edward POV]


    "Damn. Why did I eat so much breakfast?" I muttered while holding my stomach as I walked through the school corridors with my ''entourage'' consisting, as usual, of Jenna, Enid, Jacob, Elsa, and Abraham.


    Each of us had just come back from settling our various affairs, and coincidentally met in the corridor so we decided to walk together.


    Elsa had just finished planning her summer camp schedule, and Enid was coming back from the highschool newspaper interview.


    Jacob had just finished watching the football team''s training and Abraham was kicked out from the computer club for being too annoying. Jenna had to take a supplementary lesson with the Phys-Ed teacher as she failed the class, but it wouldn''t prevent her from getting to highschool next year.


    Walking staggeringly with her shoulders slumped, Jenna complained, "How could...she make me run 5 laps... around the gymnasium..." She had changed her clothes back from the PE clothes, and it was funny to see her being forced to tuck her white shirt into her red shorts as she ran breathlessly before.


    "You know that the boys had to run 10 laps right?" Abraham interjected, but he only earned a murderous glare from all of the girls as they tried to comfort Jenna.


    I laughed and said, "Weakling."


    "HEY!" Jenna tried to protest.


    "Are you not?" I asked as I turned towards her. She blushed a bit and said in a tiny voice, "But you don''t have to say that out loud." We all laughed at her as we passed by the school board. The festival community members were putting banners and passing out fliers and pamphlets to the students walking around.


    I took a few of the fliers and folded them neatly into paper airplanes before I threw them all over the school.


    The school classes were already over, but some students still remained on site for their extracurricular activities and school clubs.


    With no more boring classroom lessons, school life was bustling more than ever, even though there were less and less students coming to school during the final week before the school''s out for the summer.


    The short haired Enid walked to my side and whispered, "So. What are you going to do with Alex?"


    "I don''t know yet. I will figure it out when I find her." I replied to Enid with a reassuring smile.


    To be honest, I had no idea why Enid thought Alex was mad at me. She was still responding to my texts, despite the fact that I hadn''t actually seen her...for a few days now.


    ''I am dumb, aren''t I?'' I thought to myself after finally figuring out the weird situation. But right now, I needed to settle one last thing before I would go to the music classroom to meet up with Alex there.


    "You know Ed, if only one friend of yours is mad at you, you can still say the problem lies with her. But if you''re fighting with two people...maybe it''s time to think that you might actually be the problem." Elsa said teasingly.


    "..." The group laughed as I was taken aback by what Elsa said, and I frowned at them before stopping abruptly, making those who were following me from behind hit the people right in front of them.


    "HEY!" Enid said as her nose hurt when she collided with my back. "We''re here." I said.


    "Knockity knock knock!" I said while knocking on Mrs Henderson''s open classroom door in a giddy manner.


    The teacher was wearing a polka dot pattern gown that made her look like a housewife in the mid-50s, and her hair was neatly tied up into a bun, with no stray hairs could be seen escaping from her hair tie''s grasp.


    "Come in, Mr Newgate. The rest of you can stay outside." Mrs Henderson said without even raising her head up to look in our direction. Elsa was muttering, "How did she do that?" while Enid was excitedly replying, "The legendary Mind''s eyes."


    "You guys are just too noisy." I said, breaking the delusions.


    I waltzed into the classroom before sitting on the chair in front of the teacher''s table before she could extend her invitation for me to sit. Mrs Henderson raised one of her eyebrows as she finally looked up to look at my face. She took the test paper she was currently grading and placed it on the side.


    She took out a thick binder and slammed it on the table, producing a loud banging sound, startling my entourages outside the classroom. I just smiled at her as she slowly flipped the binder pages and turned it upside down before sliding it over to my direction.


    "This is the Chicago ''The Shed'' open field concert. We are now constructing a stage similar to this one on the school''s east field." Mrs Henderson explained as she used a pen to point at the pictures inside the pages. "It''ll be right in the center of the school''s festival spot, and the concert won''t interfere with the other activities in the festival."


    "Wait. The school has the budget for this?" I asked in shock as I checked the specifications of the stage.


    Mrs Henderson looked at me in disbelief and said, "Don''t be silly. Of course we don''t."


    I laughed as I already knew who was the sponsor for the event. I helped set up the whole thing after all.


    The sponsor was the same soup company for which I had starred in their commercial before, and now I had become their product ambassador for a healthy food lifestyle.


    My face would be used in their billboards, and also on their product. Of course, I checked the company''s background and the soup''s ingredients to make sure that it wouldn''t bite me in the ass in the future if the company turned out to be controversial.


    ''The company stayed true to their mission to keep their product organically made and healthy, so it''ll be good for my image too through the endorsement. I had to thank Pepper for this one. The CEO is one of his friends after all.''


    The stage was quite pricey as it cost more than 50,000 dollars in order to get everything up and running, but it was actually a simple structure to make. The actual overall spending was actually lower than the initial budget estimate, therefore the company had no problem with the sponsoring.


    Thanks to that, the organizer could insert a high end sound system all around the stage without much thought, so it was a win for me.


    "We''ve already sold tickets for over 1000 people, mostly for the students'' and their families. All of the proceeds will go to the Make-a-meal charity and be used to feed the homeless through soup kitchens around the state as previously agreed." Mrs Henderson said with a slightly proud smile on her face.


    "What''s with that expression?" I asked with a small laugh.


    Mrs Henderson''s face turned stoic again as she said, "You''ve grown. You''re no longer a money grubber."


    "Oh, I''ll make the money alright." I said with a grin. "There''s plenty of other ways for me to make money through the concert even if I donate the ticket''s sales to charity."


    Mrs Henderson froze for a bit before she let out a small sigh and continued with her explanations, "As you know, the whole event was approved as the school filed for the concert under the ''school event'' category. So, a student''s performance is a must."


    "Don''t I count as a student?" I asked in confusion.


    "No." Mrs Herderson answered curtly. I was taken aback at first, but then as I read the binder, I found out that my celebrity status interfered with the whole ''student'' activities thing. "I see. But that''s not a problem. I am planning to play together with Alex after all."


    "Only Alex?" Mrs Henderson asked.


    [Edward POV]


    I have no idea why Alex was acting like a shelter puppy who has a mistrust of humans. I patted her head, which made her widen her eyes and disarmed a bit of her hostility towards me.


    "Don''t go. We need to practice. Without you, I cannot do the concert. Also, I got this guy to agree to join the team. I also convinced him to invite his sister." I said while pointing at Finneas who was confused and dazed right now, wondering how the hell did I manage to get him to say yes.


    Alex''s eyes darted between the two of us, and she finally relented and let out a long sigh. "Fineeee."


    "Great. I have a lot to teach, so we''re going to spend the entire week together. Before we do that, do you have something that you wanna say to me?"


    "No!" Alex replied immediately and she ran away from me again. I sighed and turned to Enid, who in turn flinched as my gaze landed on her. "What about you? Do you know what that''s all about?"


    "Honestly..." Enid turned to look at Alex who was talking to Jenna before she continued, "... I don''t have the slightest clue about what''s actually going on..."


    ...


    [General POV]


    Sneaking away from the group for a while, Finneas took out his phone and called his 11 year old little sister.


    "Billie...You...How did you do it?" Finneas asked with an impressed tone as the call connected.


    "Huh? What are you talking about?" Billie was confused when she heard the question.


    "Don''t play dumb with me. How did the rising artist, Edward Newgate, know about you??!" Finneas asked angrily.


    "???"


    "If you don''t want to tell me about it, then it''s fine. But he told me to ask you this, so I will. Billie, won''t you come and join our band? We''re going to rock the school festival!"


    Billie was silent for a while as she was in disbelief about the whole situation. "You know I''m studying at another school right?" She wasn''t kidding. She was actually enrolled in an all girl school nearby.


    (A/N: Not the true backstory, I was just building it based on the cameo inside the series as Finneas''s character in the story doesn''t have any details. Not even his name was revealed if I am not mistaken.)


    While Finneas was calling his sister, Jenna and the others were watching Edward teaching Alex how to play the cello. However, they soon became bored as Alex had to repeat the same melody several times in order to perfect her skills.


    "Wait. I got an idea!" Jacob said before he turned to Edward''s cello case with glittering eyes. Then, he revealed the ''contrabands'' items inside of the cello, making the group widened their eyes in awe.


    "LET''S PLAY SOME GAMES!" Abraham said excitedly as he pounced on the PS2.


    In front of the school, a blonde teenage pop star was wearing a baseball cap on her head and was wearing a baggy, but familiar black hoodie �C one that was worn by Edward before this.


    Taylor snuck into the school and walked to the musical classroom with a grin on her face. "I wonder how he will react when he sees me here!" She said excitedly.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    I saw that Alex''s mood was worsened as she saw the items inside the cello case that I brought. She turned towards me and asked, "Why did you bring that here?"


    "I can''t really keep them at Jacob''s house. If his mom finds out, he will be toast, at the very least he will get punished again, this time maybe for several weeks." I said jokingly, trying to diffuse the situation.


    Alex said mockingly, "That''s great. Edward Newgate. Ever the savior huh."


    "What''s wrong with you?" I asked with narrowed eyes.


    "Nothing is wrong with me." Alex replied before lowering her eyes and trying to play the cello once again. But I could see that she was distracted as she was playing so poorly even a newbie cello player could probably beat her and so the instrument was producing some really unpleasant sounds.


    "Hey. Do it properly."


    Alex replied in a mocking manner, "Sorry that I don''t have a ''God-given talent'' to succeed in everything I do. Some people are just born ordinary. We can''t all be like you-"


    "Okay that''s it." I said in a stern manner as I stood up abruptly from the chair I was sitting on. Although the others were sitting around the TV to watch Abraham versus Finneas''s match, all of them were instantly attracted by our fight. Enid''s eyes darted between Alex and I a few times before she reluctantly walked towards us, trying to diffuse the situation.


    Startled by my sudden change in temperament, Alex stammered fearfully, "W-W-What? I didn''t say anything wrong-"


    Before she could finish, I grabbed her right ear with my left hand. "Ow- What? You want to punish me by pulling my ear?" She asked in disbelief.


    "No. But If you don''t come with me, you WILL....lose it." I said before I walked in the direction of the instrument storage room.


    "Oow-Oww- Wait I''ll walk on my own! Oww Oww Oww-" Alex was forced to follow along as I stuck true to my words.


    "Ed-" Enid tried to defend Alex, but I turned towards her and reassured her, "Don''t worry. I will just have a talk with her. Just a simple...talk." I said with eyes filled with malice as I dragged Alex''s body into the storage room. As we entered it, I locked the door to prevent anyone from getting in, and also a certain someone from running away again.


    [General POV]


    Elsa asked fearfully, "W-W-What do you think Ed will do to Alex in there?"


    "Well, usually when my mom tells her friend she will talk to me, it means I''m getting spanked when I get home." Abraham said.


    "Wait. So Edward is going to spank Alex?" Jacob asked in disbelief.


    "What the hell did I get roped into? What kind of group is this?" Finneas mumbled to himself.


    "She''s getting spanked? I''m ...so jealous." Jenna muttered, making everyone turn to her in disbelief.

 Chapter 121: Argument (2)

    Chapter 121: Chapter 121: Argument (2)


    [Edward POV]


    Thrown into the dim lighted, closed space instrument closet, Alex automatically made self-hug gestures as if she was prey waiting for the ruthless predator to devour her.


    "Wh-What made you so mad?" She asked warily as she tried to scour for the way out, but as I stood in the middle of the passage, she couldn''t reach the door without going through me.


    "Why are you protecting yourself like that? I''m not going to molest you." I said with a face full of disbelief.


    "WHY!? BECAUSE I HAVE NO BOOBS TO-" She retorted immediately and stopped halfway, face filled with embarrassment as she had revealed one of her insecurities.


    "Don''t worry. I''m sure they''ll grow when you''re older...No. I know that for sure... This isn''t about that, and you know it." I said sternly as I glared at her. She shrunk back and gulped her saliva in fear as she studied my face.


    She pretended not to know and said, "I don''t understand what you want... It is all so sudden...."


    I replied mockingly, "Is it though? Or did I finally have it up to here with your shitty behaviour." I let the words sink in, as she fell into contemplation, I added sarcastically, "Yeah...that''s tough... I''m sure somebody out there feels sorry for you. It''s not me though. I''m here to beat some sense into you."


    "I''ll call the cops!"


    "They''ll be too late if you do. So tell me Alex...why are you avoiding me?" I confronted her as I took one step ahead. She took one step backwards as she nervously lowered her head and brushed her stray hair behind her ears. The whole closet fell silent for a while as I waited for her answer.


    "I...I''m sorry." Alex muttered, eyes full of tears. "Can you let it go now?? Don''t try to find out why? I...I really don''t want...you to know about it."


    I was a bit taken aback, but then, I shook my head. "No."


    She said venomously as she held back her tears, "WHY? So you can ''DR PHIL'' me? So That I''ll just be one of your ''projects''?"


    "Still, not even close, the reason is actually very very simple. I''m surprised you didn''t see it." I replied casually, which took Alex by surprise.


    "Huh?" She exclaimed, confused.


    "I will just tell you. The reason I''m pulling you here, inside the room, is because...I''m...your friend." I replied with a smile. "And besides, we only have one week left to spend together. After that, it will be a whole year before I can enjoy my school life with you again."


    Alex wiped her nose as she said meekly, "Really? You enjoy being friends with me?"


    "Of course."


    "Then that''s all the more reason I can''t tell you about it." She added.


    "So...the reason you''re so irritable and utterly insufferable...has something to do with me?"


    She rolled her eyes and said, "Don''t pretend you haven''t figured it out ''Sherlock''. Knowing you, you actually have everything figured out already. Otherwise, you wouldn''t have pulled me in here."


    "No, I really don''t have the slightest clue what''s going on. I wasn''t actually planning to do this until it was already too late, but your words really hurt me, so I wanted to make you suffer a bit."


    "Huh? What words?" Alex said with her eyes darting everywhere, feeling a pang of guilt in her heart as she didn''t mean to actually hurt me. It was just her self-defence mechanism that made her act out.


    Yes, when she said that I had a ''God-given talent'' before, the memory of my mother saying the same thing and leaving me forever surfaced inside my mind. The feeling was extremely uncomfortable, and I may have overreacted a bit mindlessly.


    "Not the time. We can revisit that after we settle this. Otherwise, for our last week together, we will keep being awkward with each other, reserved and keeping secrets instead of outgoing and free, always pulling ourselves back when having fun, and honestly, I don''t want that to happen. That''s why, I''m going to give you an ultimatum."


    "NO!" Alex protested but I ignored her and continued. "I will give you...as many chances as I can as I take a step forward before I fully pin you to the end of the closet."


    Alex turned back to see it, and realized that she wouldn''t have that many chances.


    "So you will literally back me against the wall?" Alex said.


    "Smart girl." I muttered with an unconscious seductive grin. Alex suddenly gasped and blushed a little before she shook her head and said, "Well... What will happen when we get to the end?"


    I laughed and said, "A massage." Her eyes widened, and her face paled. I continued in a teasing manner, "Your sister told me you hated it when I massaged your palm before-"


    "No I didn''t!" Alex snapped suddenly, which confused me a bit.


    [Alex''s commentary]


    "No...no no no no no no...I really can''t let him do that. What if I pee again? And this time...in front of him. If that happens..I will literally kill myself." Alex said in a horrified manner, but her cheeks had a little red tinge from her hidden expectation about the whole thing.


    The thought of him pinning her up against the wall, ''massaging'' a part of her body until she ''peed'' again, had caused Alex''s sanity to be divided, and she had fallen into a dilemma at this moment. Alex fanned her cheeks as she said, "I definitely can''t let that happen."


    [Commentary ends]


    "I really don''t want to do this." Alex said whiningly.


    "Yet. You''re still here. If you really wanted to go out, you could just use your 3 years of judo training and fling me over, but you don''t. So...I guess there is a part of you that wants to work this out too. No one wants to prolong their own misery, or am I wrong?" I asked with a sly grin as I took my first step. "Also, you lost your first chance."


    "Wait-wait-wait-" Alex tried to buy some time, but I shook my head and instigated her, "You called me someone with ''God-given talent''. Why am I the target for your anger?"


    "No. It''s not you-"


    "Then who? Is it your mother?" I asked as I took another step.


    "I didn''t even reply yet?!" She retorted angrily. "I am taking a step forward every 15 seconds. You really don''t have much time Alex. Are you sure you want to waste it with useless arguments?"


    "URGH!" Alex groaned loud and slightly raised her chin up to match her eyes to mine as I walked closer towards her.


    [General POV]


    Outside the room, a few kids were pinning their ears to the storage room door, trying to figure out what was happening in the room.


    "Can you hear anything?" Jenna asked Elsa with an anxious voice.


    "No. I can nearly hear the occasional raised voice, but I can''t hear anything else." Elsa confessed.


    "We need a glass cup." Enid said as she tried to make a medium with her hand, but failed.


    "Enid. You...aren''t you mad?" Elsa asked carefully.


    "I''m more inclined towards the feeling of concern in this situation. Why?" Enid asked curiously. Jenna and Elsa shared a glace with each other, and then they both looked at Enid again.


    Jenna asked, "Isn''t Alex your...girlfriend? Aren''t you mad Ed is-"


    "WHAT?!" Enid interjected as she felt that she had heard something wrong. She picked her ears and asked, "Can you run that by me again?"


    "Isn''t Alex your girlfriend-"


    "WHAT!?"Enid was flabbergasted once more, her brain short circuited from the shock she was feeling.


    Then, I whispered to her about my eidetic memory. About how I could remember everything ever since I was 1 years old.


    "Wait! That doesn''t make sense. Sometimes you do forget stuff though." She asked with a confused face.


    "Sometimes I just pretend I do in order to get over an awkward situation. Some other times, the info takes a little longer to pop up, so it just seems like I didn''t remember from the beginning." I explained.


    "And you''re not wrong about the God-given talent. I do have one. But you are the one who carved the opportunity for me to use it. So part of the credit is on you." I said.


    She rolled her eyes but couldn''t conceal the smile on her face. She tried to cover it up again and said, "Okay. I will admit that getting it all out makes me feel much better now."


    I nodded with her and said, "That''s true."


    She then gave me a hug and said, "Thank you for not giving up on me. I''m not sensitive about this matter so I cannot help you solve your problem. But if you ever need to talk about something, you can come to me."


    "And that''s also a promise." She added as she released me. I smiled and wiped her teary eyes with my fingers and asked, "Do you still resent me now?"


    "Are you kidding me? You have an eidetic memory, but it''s not like you''re a full blown genius. I can catch up to you. I really believe I can now that I know what I''m fighting against."


    "The Pritchett''s competitive gene is really strong huh. Your Grandpa and your Mother would be proud of you." I joked.


    [Alex POV]


    I don''t have a tragic backstory.


    I didn''t come from nothing.


    I came from a family that has loved me from day one, one that has been able to provide me with everything I need.


    I have a roof over my head and food on the table. Sure my parents are flawed, but who''s not?


    There are no excuses for me not to excel. There are no limitations. No walls I need to break down. Everything was always well within my reach, but I felt like there was chasm separating us.


    I am...Not a genius.


    I cannot make a groundbreaking discovery yet.


    I cannot suddenly have a moment of enlightenment when an apple falls on my head, and turn that into something that etches my name into the world''s history books forever. When an apple falls on my head, all I get is pain.


    I am NOT a superstar! NOT a magazine worthy of ''Incredible human being''. And for that I felt that I would never do anything! People with incredible backstories change the world! and...I ...I just couldn''t.


    However, as I stood inside the room and talked with Edward, he told me something.


    "You know something wonderful about science?" He asked.


    "What?" I asked.


    "Science is compounding knowledge."


    "Huh?"


    "Every mind-shattering discovery, every awe-inspiring invention, every laborious calculation about the universe...none of it would even be here if it weren''t for the efforts of the previous generations. Many of which had seen their names disappear from the annals of history."


    "But even then, even after their discoveries and names had lost importance, the proof of their life still lingers on."


    "How?" I asked, my eyes wide in anticipation.


    "Every time someone opens their book and learns, they are carrying out the will of the previous generation, and within them is the possibility... A potential...for them to increase our understanding of our own world, always carrying on said vestiges that made what they do possible. And, if we just keep doing this over and over, one day, we will definitely reach the stars."


    He spoke with his eyes glittering, as if he had seen the magnificence of humanity. He spoke with utmost trust in his voice, and his smile fascinated me. He made me feel as if I was one of those pioneers, as we built the path for humanity to reach the stars together.


    "So, don''t burn yourself out. Get some rest. There is an interesting future ahead of us, and I want us BOTH to be there to witness it." He said. I laughed a bit and said, "That seems optimistic. And also naive."


    He then laughed out loud. But he stopped as he didn''t expect me to say my next words, "But...I''m in."


    "In?"


    I turned to him with a grin on my face and said, "I couldn''t let you hog all of the work right? Especially if we truly want to see the stars."


    "Wait. I didn''t say it was going to be me who would-"


    "NO EXCUSES!" I shouted at him as I ran to the door. He tried to grab me, but I managed to slip past him. He laughed in disbelief as I opened the door and said, "Don''t you dare leave me alone and just focus on your career. You made me have a new ambition, so take responsibility for it!"


    I knew I was being selfish, but hey, I had just become a teenager. There surely had to be some leniency for people like me. I may not have come from misery, and I may not have been a superstar, but I will make sure...that in this lifetime...Humanity will be able to reach the stars.


    "Laughable dream...but...I''m excited for it." I mumbled to myself.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    After Alex opened the door, Enid, Jenna and Elsa, all fell into the room as they were trying to eavesdrop on our conversation. They all immediately scampered and hurriedly stood up from the ground before Enid took the lead and carefully asked, "Have-Have you guys worked things out?"


    Alex proudly said, "Yes!" I just nodded in disbelief from afar before walking out of the closet.


    Jenna however couldn''t hold herself back as she shamelessly asked, "Did you get spanked?"


    "Huh?"Alex was confused by the questioning.


    I felt a bit tired and excused myself from the conversation, telling them that I had to go to the men''s room. I returned to the hallway in front of the music classroom after only 5 minutes, and I was surprised to see a familiar face standing in front of the door.


    "Taylor. What are you doing here?" I said as she ran and gave me a hug the moment she saw me. She kissed my cheek in a friendly manner and said, "I missed you."


    "Wait. Visitor''s pass? You actually went to register?" I asked in confusion as I saw the tag on her neck. She rolled her eyes and said, "I don''t want to talk about that nightmare. Anyway, can we go somewhere more...private?"


    She glanced around, and although there were only a few kids walking around as they needed to decorate the school, she still felt a little self-conscious and intimidated by their predatory stares as they were trying to figure out who she was.


    "Okay. We can go get some ice-cream. Let me get my bag." I said in a casual manner before walking to the door.


    "Wait, the teacher is letting you leave early?" She asked in disbelief. "That demon-like teacher?" She mumbled incomprehensibly.


    I nodded, but with confusion in my face as I wondered why she was asking that question and explained, "Class is already over. I just need to inform a teacher, let them know I''m leaving. Besides, Pepper will vouch for me if the need ever arises so it''s not that hard for me to leave...Is everything okay? Why is your face so pale?"


    Taylor suddenly gazed into my eyes. She gulped a few times, making me think that something had gone wrong.


    "Ed...I''m...Late." She said while holding her stomach and I just froze.

 Chapter 122: Kinder Surprise!

    Chapter 122: Chapter 122: Kinder Surprise!


    (Sorry for the late Chapter. I have a high fever)


    [General POV]


    Near the Whitebeard business office, a black-haired woman was sitting in front of Claire near the port as the latter read her resume. The woman had a clear view of the ocean while Claire was sitting with her back to it.


    Claire then smiled awkwardly and said, "Francesca Dart. I read your resume...and..."


    "You don''t have to mind your words with me. I, for one, know that my resume is ordinary. I have no outstanding achievements, nor do I have a wide network of connections. Which leads me to the question, why did your boss offer ME...an interview, and also paid for my flight ticket to LA? Frankie asked in confusion.


    Her no-nonsense attitude startled Claire a bit, but she quickly collected herself and asked, " When did he email you?"


    "Last night." Frankie replied.


    "And he told you to come in today?" Claire said, a bit mad about Edward''s overbearing CEO attitude. She was planning to lecture him, but Frankie''s next answer saved Ed.


    "No. He gave me a week''s time. However, I could do all my research about the company from the website and finish it very quickly with the help of my friend Diane and since I found nothing wrong or ambiguous about it I decided to come here today to ask about your intentions in person."


    Claire chuckled a bit and asked, "Why? Do you feel that there is something wrong with the company?"


    "The generous salary, the potential employee housing, and the future trajectory of the company he mentioned in the email, honestly, I thought this was a front for organ harvesting or human trafficking. The offer is too good to be true, especially for someone like me"


    "Luckily for you, we are a legitimate company." Claire joked.


    "I know." Frankie said seriously, making Claire''s smile freeze.


    "A-Anyway-"


    "I''m not pretty enough to tempt a rich man, nor do I have a connection with him in any way that I know of. I''ve lived in Utah all of my life. So tell me Claire, why me?" Frankie asked the question that had been bothering her for a while now.


    Claire was silent for a while, but as the Vice-Director of Logistics, she figured that this was a test from Edward, and she needed to handle the interview properly lest Ed thought she was bad at her job.


    "I can''t answer on his behalf. If you''re really curious about that, maybe you can ask him later on once you''ve taken the job. But for me, I...I am impressed. You received the email last night, and apparently you finished your research so fast you''re here today. Your efficiency is off the charts. I''m embarrassed to admit this but I became super excited about working with you as soon as I heard that."


    Frankie was the one that was stunned then. Her no-nonsense character usually turned people off, as they would see her as a pompous prick. To have someone think kindly about her persona made her blush a bit. The last person who did that was Diane, her ''platonic'' friend and partner in managing her life.


    Claire continued, "To be honest, Edward doesn''t hire people based on achievements, but rather potential and personality. There were a few people he chose, that made me question his ability, but he has not missed his mark yet though, he seems to have this unparalleled talent for seeing through people...."


    As soon as Claire said that Dylan walked past the pier carrying a box of tablecloths in his hands. Only to stumble on a tiny rock, and stagger to the fence until his body was flipped over when he hit the fence without slowing down as he fell into the sea once more.


    The sound of the splash startled Frankie, but Claire just smiled wryly without even looking back and said, "Well... he nailed everyone except for Dylan."


    "DYLANNN Are you okay?!" Dwayne ran to the fence quickly to provide some help.


    "NO NEED. I can swim now." Dylan said with a smile on his face as he swam dogstyle to safety.


    Frankie and Claire both turned their attention back to one another after Dylan''s proclamation. Frankie asked, "Who is Edward? Isn''t Theodore Newgate the boss of this business?"


    "Huh?...Oh yeah right. He''s not on the list of employees. He is Ted''s...Theodore''s son. He''s the one who is mainly in charge of the whole operation. Edward Newgate. Surprising right?" Claire asked with a smirk on her face.


    "Why is that surprising? There are a lot of children who helped their family in the business." Frankie asked, confused.


    "Not that, he''s Edward. Edward Newgate? You... don''t know him?" Claire asked, confused by Frankie''s reaction.


    Shaking her head slightly, Frankie said, "No. Is he someone famous?"


    "He''s...a new artist, his songs are pretty up there. I think my husband and daughters mentioned an award or.... something...He was even on TV a few times!"


    "Oh. I don''t own a TV. Nor do I listen to mainstream music." Frankie said while shrugging her shoulders.


    Claire froze as she heard that.


    ...


    [Edward POV- Back to School]


    As I froze, my skill was suddenly activated, bringing me out from the storm in my mind. I noticed a subtle curling of Taylor''s lips as she pretended to be afraid, and realised that she was trying to freak me out.


    ''Damn. I had almost fallen into her trap.''


    Hiding my amusement, I pretended to be in despair before purposely stuttering and said, "A-A-Are you s-s-sure?"


    "Yes. I am 100% sure." Taylor said.


    ''Hmm...She didn''t clarify. I guess, she wants to use the vagueness in her sentence to make it seem like I freak out over nothing. Ooowww but Taylor sweetie, you have no idea who you are messing with...you have really underestimated me! Play with fire and you shall get burnt... This is really my forte!''


    [Taylor POV]


    As soon as he freaked out about the ''pregnancy'', he would play right into my palms.


    "That''s..."


    Yeah that''s right. Say it. Show me that you hate it.


    "That''s...wonderful." Ed muttered with a smile on his face.


    I froze. He took a step forward and wrapped his hand over my waist as he pulled me in closer to him.


    "Hmm? Where?" She asked, leaning forward to try and look at the back view mirror to see which part of her face was smudged.


    "Here. Let me wipe it." I said as I took a tissue from the box nearby. She smiled and pursed her lips at mine to wait for my fingers. However, I leaned forward and kissed her, licking the ice cream above her lips at the same time. She widened her eyes, and became a bit abashed as she didn''t expect the sudden attack.


    "What''s with you all of a sudden?" She said with an embarrassed smile on her face.


    "I just think it''ll be a waste of tissue paper. You know, I need to kiss you, to save our resources...and also save the world in the process." I joked.


    She laughed and leaned to the side, putting her hands on my thigh as she whispered, "Handsome, and also environmentally friendly."


    "That''s what it said on my merchandise label."


    Taylor smiled and blew her breath in my ears before she whispered, "I missed you."


    I turned to her and said, "I missed you too. And get your hand off my pants. I''m trying to drive over here. Shit- Cops. Act normal."


    Taylor saw the cops too and cursed, "Damn!" She went back to her seat and pulled her seat belt immediately. The cops stopped the car, and I turned the window''s down.


    "Good afternoon officer. What can I do for you?" I asked the rough looking man who was leaning in to look inside the car from the window. Unlike the ice-cream store owner, he recognized me immediately and took off his sunglasses.


    "Edward Newgate? God, I''m such a fan of yours!" the cop said. "What are you guys doing here? Wait is that-"


    "Yeah that''s Taylor. And I really can''t say what we were doing. You understand right?" I said, hinting at him.


    He widened his eyes, darting his pupils between Taylor and I a few times, with his expression changing from disbelief to happiness as he did. "My daughter will be so happy if she hears this."


    "Then, it''ll just be a secret between us, and your daughter." Taylor added with a grin on her face as she hugged my arm.


    "Yes ma''am. Alright. You guys can go." He asked.


    "No need to check for Id? You guys are looking for suspects aren''t you?" I asked curiously. Taylor pinched my waist, hard. She then whispered, "Why the hell did you ask? Did you forget you don''t HAVE a license?"


    Luckily for me, the cop didn''t hear what she said as his walkie talkie was turned on this time. He leaned in again and said, "That''s right. I won''t tell you what the case is, but it has something to do with a serial strangler."


    "Wait. The Tea-time Stranger?" I asked in surprise.


    "I knew you could guess it. Unfortunately, it seems that the guy has moved his sight to this area. There have been 2 cases in the neighborhood already. You kids be careful alright?"


    "Yeah we will. Thanks officer Malone." I said.


    "Thanks officer." Taylor said. I rolled the window back down, and drove away from the police check in a calm manner. Taylor then turned to me and asked, "You know. I still don''t get it. How can you guess their names?"


    "Whose names?" I asked.


    "In the ice-cream shop, and now with the officer. How?" She asked. I turned towards her in disbelief, and said, "You know they were both wearing name tags right?"


    "..."


    "Then, let me change my question. Why did you call them by their names?" She asked after thinking for a while.


    I shrugged and said, "It makes them feel good about themselves. And when they do, it''s easier to get them to have a nice impression of us."


    "After that, we can get away with almost anything." I said with a sly smile. She rolled her eyes at me, before falling into contemplation about what I just said.


    ...


    We arrived at the set of ''Love Story'' Music Video Production.


    "OH boy here she comes." Taylor muttered as we saw a stern looking staff member walking towards us.


    "Just be calm." I replied. "I''m here to support you if you decide to lie."


    "Taylor! You''re finally here!" She then saw me, and she scrunched her brows as she asked, "Were you late because you were on a date?"


    "No. There''s a major traffic jam, Jessica. A strangler is loose in the neighborhood." Taylor replied.


    "What?" Jessica asked, confused. Then, her lips curled upwards as it was the first time Taylor ever called her by her name. Then, her face turned angry again and she said, "Anyway. Glad you could make it. You need to change your outfit now."


    "The princess outfit right? Did you work on that? That looks really nice." I said. Jessica then broke into a huge grin and said, "I know right? It took me weeks to finalize it."


    "I can see that. I can''t wait to see how Taylor looks when she wears it." I replied. Taylor blushed and Jessica put the clothes on her arm before saying, "Go and change. We don''t have much time."


    The female director with black hair and bright blue eyes walked towards us with a cup of coffee in hand before offering a handshake to me, "Edward Newgate right? God, I love "Enemy" so much, I even bought the short version and used it as a ringtone."


    "Well thank you for your patronage. You''re Mrs Trey Fanjoy right?"


    She raised one of her eyebrows and said, "I''m surprised you know me. I''m only active in the country music genre after all. Do you like country music Ed?"


    "I wouldn''t say I hate it."


    "Well then, maybe we can work together sometime."


    "I would love that."


    After exchanging pleasantries with the director, she walked me through the set and talked about her inspiration for the video. She even told us how she draws her ideas from the renaissance and the regency era periods, and also asked me about my opinion on the matter.


    One thing that needed to be noted though was that you had to be careful when you talked to her, otherwise, you would quickly find yourself being among one of the extras in her videos, and be forced to wear renaissance era style clothing as you somehow had to participate in a ballroom scene. Like I currently was.


    "Walk me through how my presence in the video is good for Taylor again?" I asked.

 Chapter 123: The Princess’s Plight.

    Chapter 123: Chapter 123: The Princess��s Plight.?


    [General POV]


    The director, Trey Fanjoy sat at the director''s seat, and rubbed her chin as she contemplated about the music video and the two kids'' fate had tangled in the matter.


    "It''s funny. They''re feeling very threatened by a 15 year old child. Why?" She mumbled to herself as she watched how Edward Newgate, who was arguably the hottest commodity in the current music industry, allowed himself to be dragged so easily into the music video production.


    Edward however, was indeed aware of the significance of his participation in the music video, but he did it anyway to show his support for his friend. It made Trey acknowledge his integrity, and she slowly started being influenced by the shipping movement on Twitter, which wanted Ed and Taylor to end up together.


    Trey had already contacted his lawyers, who surprised her as they were already ready for her call.


    She mulled over the whole thing. The kid she was observing was laughing together with the makeup artist as she tried to put a fake beard on his face, and Trey couldn''t help but break into a smile as she finally made a decision.


    "Well. I''m not the one who will have to deal with the consequences soon after." She thought as she laughed.


    Her phone rang at that very same time however as she picked it up after checking the caller id.


    "Oh. You''re very, very late. It''s best if you don''t even come." Trey said in a casual manner, making the other person in line express his shock with a gasp.


    "There is traffic! The police pulled me over and asked me multiple questions! I even needed to call my lawyer; they even wanted me to go down to the station!" The male lead of the MV panicked as he tried to explain himself.


    It wasn''t his fault that he fit the police profile for the Tea Time Strangler, but the director didn''t care about him anymore. He was the ''next best thing'' , but not ''THE Best Thing''.


    "The shoot''s already over. There was an emergency, so we are pulling the curtains early. I''ll call you back... when we decide on the new schedule." Trey lied in a casual manner.


    ''If he fits the profile for the suspect... Maybe I should have a talk with the agency before changing the main lead...But I guess it''s unnecessary now... Although, I do hope Taylor would tell me about this sooner.'' Trey thought secretly. She also planned to turn off her mobile after the call, to make the ''previous'' male lead realize her hint.


    "Honestly. It''d be pretty stupid not to use Ed now right?" Trey muttered to the always angry Jessica who stood beside her.


    "Yes. But what can we do? The agency made it clear that we shouldn''t let Edward near this production at all." Jessica replied with an angry scoff..


    "Oh well." Trey smiled inexplicably, which made Jessica feel a little weirded out. "It''s not like they are checking on the progress..." She trailed off and walked away, which made Jessica''s eyes follow her exit while simultaneously questioning the director''s sanity.


    Then, she turned her head forward and snapped, "WHO THE FUCK PUT THE VASE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BALLROOM!? ARE YOU PEOPLE OUT OF YOUR GODDAMN MIND-"


    [Edward POV]


    "Beard?"


    "Yes."


    "To make me seem like a college guy?"


    "That''s correct."


    The makeup artist answered my every question while she still kept her hands moving as she worked non stop on my face.


    "Hey, it tickles." I said as I shrunk my neck, trying to escape the brushes with the fake beard glue. The make up artist smiled in disbelief before pulling my head and making sure it was straight before continuing her job.


    "Don''t move. This is already pretty hard without you moving around like a squirrel."


    "Wait, you did makeup on a squirrel before? Was it called Alvin, Simon or Thedore?"


    She rolled her eyes and continued tickling me as she put on the fake beard on my cheeks. A golden vase, a black suit, frills on the sleeve and the neck, and then the fake beard and classy Duke hairstyle. As I looked into the mirror, I muttered, "Wait. Isn''t this the male lead''s outfit design?"


    "You''re overthinking. You''re just an extra."


    Suddenly, a voice answered my question from behind. I turned and automatically fell in awe as I saw Taylor in a princess-like, golden dress which was the same color as her hair. Gone was the seductress, and only her innocent girl persona was kept.


    Her cheeks were rosy, her lips were painted a natural color, her golden locks were styled like a Victorian era princess, revealing her nape and bringing attention to her neck at the same time.


    She smirked as she saw my reaction, and laughed at my frilly outfit, "Who are you? Ron Weasley?"


    ''So she was also a Harry Potter fan. Good to know.''


    "That''s preposterous my lady. Look closer. There aren''t any similarities between me and that sniveling, shameful excuse for a man... none at all! I say."


    Taylor laughed and blushed a bit. She lowered her gaze and said, "That...sounds nice."


    I tried to guess, "Insulting Ron is nice?-"


    "You, calling me... ''My Lady''." She interjected. Her already blushing cheeks turned even redder, and her words made the make-up artist gasp and cover her mouth before chuckling at the teenage drama going on in front of her.


    Taylor gazed into my eyes while shyly brushing her hair behind her ears, which made me stare in awe for the second time.


    "Ahh." I exclaimed before the make-up station fell into an uncomfortable silence. The make-up artist rolled her eyes again and said, "Don''t flirt just yet. I''m not done yet."


    "Then. I''ll wait for you at the dance floor...My lord." Taylor joked and ran away while holding her long skirt up before I could respond.


    The make-up artist mumbled aloud, "Hmm...To flirt so brazenly in front of other people...I guess that''s the beauty of being young."


    I rolled my eyes at her before chuckling a bit about the whole situation. After 10 minutes, the director called me to the center of the ballroom set. She then asked, "Ed. Do you know how to dance?"


    "No." I replied. "But I guess I''ll be a fast learner."


    "Well we''ll see if you can back up those words. Jay-jay. Take the lead." He said as he gave the floor to the choreographer.


    The latina dance director suddenly pulled me forward and grabbed me by the waist. "Oh god." I exclaimed from her forceful action.


    "You''re going to partner with me, and I will teach you what you need to know." She said before she suddenly spun me around, and then grabbed my hand, making me lock eyes intensely with her as she made me pose.


    "I''m still waiting for your answer." She muttered.


    But then, she suddenly stepped on her long skirt, slipped and fell down on the floor. Her fall however was so fake I nearly burst out laughing while she screamed, "Owwww..." in a monotonous tone.


    "Huh?" Berry and Paul were confused, but the director and I had already run towards the fallen girl.


    "Taylor? Are you alright?" I asked with a concerned tone, a skill that made the director almost break her composure as she wanted to praise me for it.


    "My-my leg." Taylor exclaimed in a poorly concealed fake tone. I raised one of my eyebrows as I thought to myself, ''She sure can''t act.''


    Trey checked her ankle and said, "This looks bad. It''s already bruising and swelling up. I think it will take about a week to heal at the very least, especially before she can reshoot the dance number."


    ''I''m surrounded by pig teammates.'' I thought to myself.


    "What bruise?!" Berry and Paul hurriedly came over and Berry checked on the ankle herself, but of course, Taylor''s legs looked normal to her.


    "I said it''s coming up, not that it''s there right now." Trey rebuked her. Berry scrunched her face in frustration and shouted, "Is this your scheme-"


    "Berry. Can''t you see that Taylor''s in pain? She needs to go to the doctor." Trey said urgently. "Left leg or right?"


    "Right. Go�CGo to my family doctor. He''s nearby." Taylor said, trying hard to fake pain in her tone.


    ''I''m sure he is.'' I retorted to myself before saying, "Good. Let''s go." I then wrapped my arms around Taylor''s neck and waist, startling the girl. She stammered, "Wai-wait-"


    But I ignored her. The longer she stayed here, the easier it would be for the lawyer to untangle her schemes. I picked her up in a princess carry, which earned a gasp from the people watching the ''scene''. She fit neatly in my arms, which made her blush up a storm.


    "See. Her face is bright red, clearly in pain. How can you still say that she''s faking it?" Trey added.


    ''NO ONE SAID THAT! Stop Talking!'' I screamed in frustration internally before turning to Berry and said in a cold tone, "I''m taking her to the doctor. Do you have any problems with that?"


    "N-N-N-No."


    "Good. I''ll meet you guys there." I said before walking away with Taylor in my arms. Some girls who were watching squealed and even snapped a picture of the fairytale worthy scene, making Paul and Berry flabbergasted as they quickly went to try to confiscate the ''evidence''.


    As we got into her car, I glanced at the girl who was burying her face in my chest and rubbing it inappropriately as she got the chance before saying, "Your left leg...Is it still hurting."


    "Yeah. It hurts...a lot." She replied, faking her pain again.


    I raised one of my eyebrows and asked, "Didn''t you say it was the right one back on set?"


    "..."


    "Okay. I''m busted." She said with a smile on her face.


    "So...is this your master plan? Faking an injury so they postpone the shooting until I can make it?"


    "Isn''t it obvious? Although, my ankle and my knees are really hurting now. I slipped at the last moment, and slammed them pretty hard." It was clearly a tiny collision, but she was feeling extra-clingy and wanted to get pampered by me more.


    "I wanna say ''Serves you right'', but I''m afraid you would actually kick me so..." I joked as I laid her down gently on the backseat of her black Mercedes Benz SUV. She laughed and said, "I can''t kick you now. My feet are supposed to be hurting, remember?"


    After a light chuckle, I asked, "What''s the plan now? And is the doctor a part of it?"


    "Yes. Dr Jaime always lets me play hooky when I want to. I''ve already told him about the plan a few days ago."


    "And how did you get Harvey to join you on this endeavor?"


    "That''s...a secret between the girls...so I won''t tell you." She said while pulling her tongue at me before lying down on the seat. "Now, take your princess away to see the doctor- Wait, You still don''t have a license-"


    I smirked and pressed the pedal hard before she could finish her words, causing her to be thrown to the backrest. She groaned in annoyance and kicked the back of my seat as the car entered the streets. "Drive properly!"


    ...


    [General POV]


    Back on set Trey was still getting grilled by Paul and Berry after Edward had left with Taylor.


    "Trey. You do know it''s not too late to change the director. I hope you''re clear on that." Paul said through gritted teeth as all he could get after so long were some lazy and ambiguous answers from the stubborn woman.


    Trey drank her coffee and said casually, "No. I''m not clear on that. In fact, I do know that those are just some pretty stupid threats that would only work if they came from anyone but a corporate slave, as it stands I have seen the budget and there is no way the studio is doubling that up in order to cover up your mistake."


    "You bitch-"


    "Whoa-Whoa-Whoa. What''s with all the aggression? And here I thought Pictionary night with Pepper was explosive enough." Harvey suddenly walked in, making Paul freeze where he was standing.


    "Hi. You must be Harvey." Trey stood up from her director''s seat and walked to shake hands with Harvey. Paul was visibly sweating as he was reminded of the terror he had felt the last time when the woman in front of him sat across from him during the collaboration contract negotiation.


    Pulling on his collar a bit trying to breathe easier, Paul said, "Miss Specter. Why are you here?"


    "Well my artist is working here, unpaid if I might add. And, if I was the suspicious sort I might be forced to think he could have been tricked by some bad people, so I decided to air on the side of caution and rush over here in order to set things straight." Harvey said in a sarcastic manner.


    She looked around and then said, "I guess we have a lot of things to talk about...Don''t we Paul?"


    "Um..." Paul''s face paled, and then Harvey turned to the girl beside him. "And Berry. Long time no see. I guess you should report to your owner about the ... ''incident'' right about now, or they might fail to see the value of your continued employment and should that happen... who knows they might just realize that you have no value at all..."


    "HARVEY!" Berry screamed in anger.


    "What?" Harvey replied in a cold manner while glaring at the girl.


    Trey interjected quickly before Berry would cry, "I guess...we should talk about the acting contract now, right?"


    "We should wait a bit first. Taylor might not be injured, we are still unclear on that." Paul muttered.


    "Keep lying to yourself Paul." Harvey snided.

 Chapter 124: A promise.

    Chapter 124: Chapter 124: A promise.


    (A/N: Made some revision on the previous chap. The director is changed back to a girl as it is a ''Canon Event'' that would set off the whole Kanye Vs Taylor beef. Her identity as a female is important in that one.(E/N: Part of why Kanye says the award wasn''t going for Beyonce cause Taylor plays the feminism card in a few interviews exactly in case you wanted to know lol)


    [Edward POV]


    Taylor was lying down on the backseat of the car with her hand propping up her head as she laid on her side, watching me drive through the heavy traffic. She smirked and said, "You know, I''m starting to wonder if the Duke''s ''horse'' is sick? Or if it''s just your riding skill that sucks?"


    "No. It''s only your poor attempt at a Victorian Era speech that stinks my lady. Besides, this is your stallion. Not mine."


    She was pissed and she sat up immediately before pulling herself near the back of my seat. She wrapped her left arm around me before saying, "Any more words, and it''ll be considered treason- Wow. Your shirt is really soft."


    She suddenly rubbed her hand around my chest, and even slipped it underneath the shirt before saying, "This one here is surprisingly hard..."


    "I know that you''re feeling turned on after successfully finishing your scheme...But, please don''t distract me while I''m driving."


    "Oh? But what if I still want to do that? Will you stop me?" She slowly lowered her hands to my crotch area, and gave my family jewels a few squeezes while a sense of superiority filled her mind.


    Then, I suddenly hit the brake pedal, causing a backlash in the car. She hit the back of the seat, and almost flew forward to the front seat if I didn''t stop her momentum with my hand.


    "Told you." I muttered. I didn''t do that on purpose. She truly had distracted me from looking on the road, that was why I didn''t see the asshole red porsche running the red light that almost caused me to run into him due to his reckless driving.


    "You did that on purpose!" She said angrily before she made her way to the front passenger seat. Her long and fluffy dress hit me in the eyes a few times, and even covered up my sight as she did her dangerous stunt.


    "Hey STOP That!" I warned her.


    She slipped and fell on the seat, with one of her feet almost kicking the gear shift, and another one was resting on my shoulder. Her skirt was a mess from the seat change, and it was pulled back, revealing her medieval-style panties.


    I then realized that she wasn''t wearing shoes, as the director had taken them off to check on her feet before.


    "Get your stinky feet out of my face." I said while slapping her feet away. She gasped as she took offense before pushing her toe on my cheek, "You take that back! I don''t have stinky feet!"


    "I will take that back once you wash them!"


    The argument caused a fight, and it shook the entire car as we drove through the street, making some passersby look at the tinted window of the car with a weird look on their faces.


    After 5 minutes, both of us were laughing together at the silliness and the childish scheme that Taylor had done.


    "Hey. I don''t have my phone with me." Taylor suddenly said. "I don''t even have anything at all on me. All of my stuff is back on set."


    "Ahh. My phone is there too." I muttered. "And also my keys, my school bag..."


    She grinned and leaned to my face before speaking in a seductive manner, "So...You were really concerned about me huh? You freaked out so much you forgot to bring all of your stuff with you~"


    "I was, until I realized you were faking it." I replied playfully before grabbing her right hand and kissing the back of her palm. "But yeah. My heart almost dropped when I saw you fall on the floor."


    She couldn''t hide her grin, and then she flopped her head on my shoulder before speaking in a dispirited voice, "You know. I am waiting for you to break me out."


    "I know." I replied curtly. I was trying hard to follow the plan for our collaboration scheme to play in a perfect manner. It really did take me a lot of sleepless nights to get it just right.


    After all ,while I knew Taylor had her family with her at the time and a pretty decent lawyer, the truth was that she was still just breaking into the scene and thus couldn''t be too picky on the terms which made the contract pretty tricky to pick apart without basically drowning both of us in debt.


    I didn''t want to give her false hope before I could finally break it apart. Thank God Harley was helping me along or I doubt I would have even come up with what we had now.


    She sighed and changed the subject, "Soo...When I finally get into your agency, you won''t withhold my pay, or try to pay me with sex right?"


    "Well If I could pay it with some orgasms, I would, but I think that behavior is frowned upon in America. I would have to give you a normal dividend payment because of that."


    She chortled and even snorted like a pig subconsciously, which made her embarrassed and a bit angry at me...for making her do that.


    "You''re the pig!"


    "I didn''t even say anything!" I said with quite a bit of mirth in my tone.


    "You''re saying it now!!"


    "HOW?!" I exclaimed in anguish.


    While I was traveling with the run-away princess, I didn''t realize that a picture of me carrying Taylor in a princess carry, and the details about her being hurt on the set�C which led me to do that, had spread throughout all social media.


    ...


    [General POV]


    "Are you sure leaking the pictures is a good idea?" Trey asked while sipping tea from a small, porcelain white cup while sitting in front of Harvey at a cafe table near the filming set.


    "I''m sure. It''s what Ed would do. To be honest, Taylor''s schemes, while surprisingly effective, were pretty childish. It was actually full of holes, the agency could pretty much use their own doctor and force a check up on her. They wouldn''t even have to give excuses other than their "concern" over her injury and given her current tour dates she would have no leg to stand on if she wanted to refuse."


    "But now that the picture is leaked... the burden of proof will be on the agency, not on her, especially with the kind of fans she and Edward have cultivated. Teenage girls are crazy over their "ship", their sacred "OTP"... (A/N: One true pairing. 2009 internet lingo.)"


    "...I believe that''s what they are calling it now... The pressure will be immense." Harvey replied casually as she read the Twitter trending responses from her alt account she used to post the pictures anonymously.


    "I''m surprised they haven''t contacted you already." Trey said in disbelief after hearing her explanation.


    As Harvey expected, the tweet had gone viral, and the attention on the "Love Story" music video was tremendous. The low-iq fans were practically screeching on social media, and the thirsty women from Ed''s fanclub were practically licking the screen as they saw a 10 year aged up Ed in a Prince outfit.


    Harvey sipped her cup of tea before saying, "Basically before this went out there was still a small chance that the agency would choose to risk it and separate them, maybe even completely burying the duet, I wouldn''t even put it beyond them to leave it out of the album release altogether."


    Harvey continued, "But now they have no chance but to let them act together and, if they are smart they will try to mainstream their duet over "Taylor''s version" or risk facing the unrelenting criticism from their crazy fan base. Besides, it would also help them generate even more attention for her new songs while they are at it."


    Trey widened her eyes a bit before saying, "Now that''s a badass lawyer."


    While the two were having a nice time together, the record label agency duo was in deep shit as they couldn''t even hope to prevent any of Harvey''s dominos from falling.


    "So. We''ve officially lost all possible leverage for the upcoming negotiations. Now the fans will be furious if we somehow manage to continue the shoot without Ed in the video, and that''s without even getting into the cost of setting everything up again, there is no way we can get the necessary budget for that." Paul said self-deprecatingly. "I just hope I am not fired over this."


    Taylor glanced at the back view mirror and saw her ''mustache''. She became embarrassed immediately and said, "Give me a tissue- *Chup*"


    Before she could finish her words, I had already leaned into her face and kissed her while licking the cream off her upper lips at the same time. She widened her eyes for a bit before closing them and enjoyed the sensation before I pulled myself back to my seat.


    "Wait- I haven''t had enough!" She said before putting some cream on her lips with her finger on purpose this time. I laughed and gave her a tissue this time, which made her annoyed. She placed her milkshake on the cup holder and leaned towards me.


    "What?" I asked in confusion.


    "Nothing. Just saying thanks. I haven''t had a date like this in a while and certainly none was even close to this." She said with a smile on her face before giving me an innocent kiss on the cheeks.


    "Your words are sweet, but why are your hands so naughty?" I asked with raised brows as she had slipped her right hand underneath my pants. But then, she brought it back out and said, "Wait, I forgot about this."


    She then gave her palm a seductive lick to use her saliva as a lubricant before slipping her hand back into my trouser pants and whipping my little cobra out.


    I tried to touch her, but she was flabbergasted and pulled her body back quickly and slapped my hand with her left hand�C which made me confused as she was still jerking me off with her other hand.


    "I can''t dirty this dress. It''s custom made. Jessica would kill me!"


    "Oh. Should I help you take it off-"


    "NO! She tied up the corset herself. And she made me vow to go back to her to remove it. Eating something while wearing it was already making me anxious enough."


    The production crew took 2 weeks just to create her gown for the show, while mine was basically a modified classic suit that could finish production in just a few hours.


    "Wait. Then you know it''s incredibly dangerous if you continue-" I tried to stop her, but that made her even more turned on and kissed my neck before nibbling my ears. "Don''t worry. I will make sure none of it drips into my clothes."


    ...


    After about an hour, we finally arrived at the doctor''s place. The slightly obese male doctor with a bald head and a pink shirt waved at us from afar with a smile on his face as we got out of the car.


    Dr Martin hugged Taylor�C the kid he had been treating for a long while now and said, "I missed you Tay-tay. You have grown up so much!"


    "I missed you too, Dr Martin."


    "Oh Tay, you have a little something on your lip. Something white and creamy from the looks of it." The doctor said obliviously.


    Taylor was startled and she traced the liquid with her finger before saying, "Oh. This is just a milkshake cream. See?" She then licked the ''cream'' seductively as she shot me a glance, making my entire body shudder at her boldness.


    "Jessica is upstairs. Waiting for you. And Taylor, your father heard about your... ''injury''..." Dr Martin said with a sad smile on her face.


    Taylor was instantly flabbergasted and she said hurriedly, "What did he say?"


    "He''s sending you a plane to fly you back home. I told him that I would see to it though." Dr Martin replied. Taylor glanced at me with shaky eyes before saying, "Wait. I promised Ed to be at the concert-"


    "If you don''t fly to Texas tonight, you have to go back to your agency. I''m just afraid that they will call another doctor there. You know how they can''t refuse your father. So going there is the safest bet for you if you want to get some rest." Dr Martin said while patting Taylor''s shoulder.


    He had already guessed she was faking her injuries in order to take some time off work�C which she had done so many times before. I was saddened by the sudden news, but I kept smiling as I turned to her and said, "Don''t worry. Maybe you can convince your dad to let you come to the show-"


    "IMPOSSIBLE! Dad only likes country music!" Taylor retorted subconsciously. Then, she realized what she had said and turned to look at my face, "No. Ed. I didn''t mean-"


    "I know. I''m not offended. But, if you really.... REALLY want to come...then just tell your dad, I will sing a country song at the venue if he decides to come."


    I thought she would be the one most excited by that, but the doctor grabbed me by the shoulder and said with glittering eyes, "REALLY!? Your father in law will be glad to hear that-"


    Before he could finish, Taylor elbowed him on the ribs...hard...


    She smiled eerily at me and said, "You didn''t see anything."


    "Understood ma''am!"


    ...


    After picking up my things from the set and separating with Taylor, Harvey drove me back to my house on her black audi R-8�C which she refused to let me drive no matter how much I pestered her.


    " When you get your license, I''ll think about it. For now, there is nothing you could ever say or do to change my mind."


    "Hmmm... Then, what if I tattle to Donna?"


    "..."


    She practically kicked me out of the car after we arrived at my place. When I opened the door to my still-heavily-under-construction house, I was suddenly hugged by a hot latina and was forced by numerous kisses on the cheeks like I was a kid again while she said, "Ay! Mi principito! I missed you so much!"


    "Aunt Camila! I missed you too!''


    "Ayy! Come see your new room! I don''t want you to stay in this whore-house much longer!" Aunt Camila said before almost dragging me away. I stopped her and nodded while saying, "I know it''s a whore''s house, that''s why I''m ripping everything apart-"


    "NOT YOUR MOM! That WHORE!" She said as she pointed at my exasperated dad who just came out of the kitchen.


    He sighed and said, "I told you! I didn''t do anything with Sal!"


    "LIAR!" Aunt Camila accused him.


    "Whoa-whoa-whoa. I''m out of the loop now. What''s the story here exactly?" I asked as I stood between the two of them. "Dad, did Sal come here? Did you bang her?"


    "ED!" x2


    "What? Dad is single right?" I asked playfully, making both of them flabbergasted.


    "Ed. She was drunk as hell when she stopped by." Dad tried to explain, but I already knew that he didn''t do anything with that one sentence.


    He was the type to never take advantage of drunk girls after all. Almost all positive reviews about the ship rental business and professionalism were about him, so that says something about his integrity.


    "Hmmm...Then I need to tell her to be sober when she comes next time. Otherwise dad will never get that piece." I muttered to myself aloud, which in turn shocked the two people hearing it.


    "EDDDD! SEE TED! THIS IS ALL YOUR INFLUENCE!" My aunt accused my dad once again, which made me chuckle at their silly fight.

 Chapter 125: Sexy New Neighbors.

    Chapter 125: Chapter 125: Sexy New Neighbors.


    [Edward POV]


    My aunt brought me to her rental house after scolding my dad for a while.


    "There is a full room with a Queen size bed, and one with a pull out couch. Which one do you want?" She asked after we entered the new home. My dad wouldn''t be joining us as his room was already finished at home.


    He didn''t want to change his room much after all but I still needed a place to stay far away from the dusty house in order to protect my ''asset'' (Throat) so he agreed with my aunt''s suggestion to let me stay with her until construction was done.


    "Can I take a look first?" I asked her although I had inwardly decided to sleep in the room with the pull out bed. I couldn''t inconvenience her after all. It was her house. But knowing her personality, she would badger me a lot if she found out that I had that kind of thoughts.


    "Okay. I will heat up your dinner. I made Ajiaco. She said with a smile as she put her arms around my neck. Ajiaco is basically Cuban Chicken soup, and she served it with a side of rice and various dishes. It was apparent that she wanted to rectify my impression on her cooking skill after almost killing my dad and I with her fiery food before.


    Then, she said whisperingly, "The landlord gave me a...Giant bed... I''m a bit afraid of sleeping on it. It''s too much for me alone. So take that if you want. The bed creeps me out."


    I chuckled and said, "Or, I can just join you there-"


    She pinched my cheeks and said, "Don''t flirt with your aunt!"


    I laughed at her and went to see the bed she was telling me about as I thought she was joking. But she wasn''t. It was a Wyoming size bed. If I start on one side, I could roll on it 10 times before falling over on the other.


    (Wyoming size bed)


    The bed alone took over ? of the entire room, and the main reason why the landlord left the thing there was because it would take too much effort for it to be moved to his new home.


    "Hmm...No air conditioner. Only a ceiling fan. She will suffer in the summer." I muttered as I looked around the room while I was checking how many pillows she had on the bed �C which was surprisingly no less than 20, until something else caught my attention so I went to the open window and look outside, where I saw a fluttering curtain coming from the neighbor''s house.


    "Hmm? Desire doesn''t close her window at night? That is quite dangerous." I muttered as I tried to look inside the dim room. My eyes widened as I saw a figure of a woman sprawling on her bed, with her buttocks raised up, and her right hand holding a ''massager''...totally nude.


    "WHA-" I was shocked, but my lust got the better of me, as I continued to try and peek through the fluttering curtain which obstructed my view.


    "Come on curtain. Come on curtain." I chanted as I almost sat on the windowsill, trying to get a clearer view.


    Then, my prayers were answered as a strong gust of wind blew, making the entire curtain lift up. I unknowingly smiled as I got a crystal clear view of the entire thing. Desiree also noticed the wind, and her eyes widened as she looked through the window.


    But then, the wind suddenly stopped blowing as I quickly jumped off the windowsill and immediately closed the window before walking casually to the next room.


    "I wonder if she noticed it was me." I muttered to myself, feeling no guilt at all about what I had done. "By the way, that woman sure is pent up. If there''s no one to help her, then don''t blame me for stepping up."


    "ED! WHAT ARE YOU MUMBLING ABOUT!" Aunt Camila shouted from downstairs, wearing an apron and was looking at me weirdly.


    "No-Nothing! I just think the bed is too big." I held the railings as I replied to her while discreetly covering my crotch area behind the piece of wood.


    "IT Is!! ISN''T IT?! It''s SO creepy! I don''t need a bed that big! YOU TAKE THAT ONE!" She said, pretending to shudder as she hugged her body.


    "NOO!" I shouted back while laughing at her antics before going to check the other room. The next room was a lot smaller, and there was only a green pull out couch in it. There wasn''t even a desk or anything else.


    I tried pulling the bed from the pull out couch but it took me a surprising amount of effort for it to even begin to give in as the couch was seemingly even older than me. Something that was made even clearer by the way it creaked as soon as I sat on it. Of course that was the very moment I knew for sure I didn''t want to sleep in this room.


    "Hmmmm...." I rubbed my chin as I fell into a dilemma. "Should I really try to convince Camila to sleep on the same bed together...?" I muttered.


    Suddenly, I heard the sound of something hitting the bedroom window.


    "What the-" I turned to the source, and at the same time, I saw a tiny, red, rubbery palm stuck to the glass.


    "AHHH!" I screamed as I got startled , but then I stopped midway as I realized it was the stretchy kind of palm toy kids usually played with.


    I walked to the window and opened it, only to find Abby excitedly waving at me from 4 meters away. Compared to the window to Desiree''s room where I had to squint to see inside, the distance between Abby and my window was extremely close, and the houses were only parted by a hedge.


    "I KNEW YOU''RE GOING TO PICK THIS ROOM!" She said excitedly while spinning the stretchy palm.


    She wore a low cut white tank top and was standing there with only her underpants covering her legs, her hair was untied, and she had a moisture mask on her face, making me almost jump up for the second time.


    "Seeing your face, I might just decide to bunk together with my aunt." I replied teasingly.


    "Eww that''s gross! Isn''t that like incest or something?"


    "Well Incest is Wincest."


    "Maybe In Alabama."


    We laughed together before she tried to convince me, "Sleep here! We''re going to be so close! We can talk all night!"


    "That''s what I''m worried about. I wanna do some work while I''m here." I replied.


    "Work work work. That''s all you know." Abby scoffed mockingly. "What about my prom invitation? You''re working on that yet? Or did you spend so much time with the ''Princess'' that you forgot about it?" She asked sarcastically.


    "Ahh..So you found out huh." I scratched my cheek as I avoided her eyes. She smacked the window sill in excitement as she angrily exclaimed, "EVERYONE FOUND OUT!!" Then, she screamed silently as her hand was in pain because of her impulsive action.


    "Well...I will... at least I think... I just need to figure out a few things. Wait Abby, my aunt is calling me downstairs for dinner-"


    "You didn''t eat yet? It''s almost 10 pm. Go eat now!" She hurriedly chased me away before saying, "When you come back, we''re going to play WoW by the window."


    "We have no wi-fi here yet. It''s going to be set up tomorrow." I replied.


    "You can use ours. I''m sure it''s in range." Abby replied casually.


    "Yeah...but the ping..." I mumbled whisperingly as I remembered why I still regretted telling her that I knew how to play the game. Even after all that it was still an enjoyable night for me as I got to spend some time with Abby. It wasn''t anything sexual like back then but just a nice friend-type hangout.


    Although I did wonder why I didn''t get that uncomfortable feeling you usually get when you hang out with an ex. Was it because I had just been ''emptied'' by Taylor? No, it wasn''t that. It was because....


    "Because I know I can''t touch her huh." I muttered.


    "What was that?"Abby took off one of her headphones to hear what I was saying.


    "Nothing~" I yelled back at her. She looked at me weirdly and said, "Also, how the fuck are you just whip up an account, and already reached my level in just 2 hours?"


    I smirked at her and said, "Don''t be sad. While true that most would say it''s probably cause I''m just that good but in this particular situation you might want to consider another possibility...that being that you...just suck."


    "UGHH!!!" Abby rubbed her head in frustration, messing her hair at the same time.


    "One more round or are we going to sleep?" I asked.


    "ONE MORE ROUND OF COURSE!" She shouted excitedly before we started a new round.


    After 15 minutes.


    "ONE MORE ROUND!" Abby shouted.


    After half an hour.


    "On...One more round!" Abby said with desperation.


    While we were playing, we got into a whole debate about how Shrek was actually a catch. She took the negative point of view, while I took the positive one.


    "He got a house of his own, his own swamp, he takes a ''bath'' everyday, so he''s technically hygenic-"


    "He bathes... In a swamp!" Abby retorted.


    "Don''t be prejudiced Abby. That''s just how ogres cleans themselves." I replied. Abby tilted her head in disbelief, not understanding why a conversation about a dragon morphed into Shrek.


    After an hour.


    "What did I do?" He was bewildered from the response.


    I stood up and walked to him before saying, "Haha. It''s nothing. We just thought you were a teacher. Hi. I''m Edward." I said with a charming smile as I shook hands with a blushing Billie. Jenna and Alex saw her reaction, and rolled their eyes as they realized she was a fan too.


    "How old are you now?" I asked.


    "E- Eleven. I''m starting middle school after the summer." She replied while brushing her hair behind her ears.


    "Ahh 11.....Don''t start watching porn...yet-"


    "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU EVEN SAYING!" Alex shouted from afar before I could finish my words. Billie widened her eyes in shock and looked at me in disbelief.


    "What?" She muttered.


    "Nothing. I''m just saying. Watching porn will destroy your perspective on love. So don''t do it." I muttered under the puzzled gaze of everyone inside the room.


    Jacob asked, "What the hell are you even talking about man?"


    Billie nudged her brother and scolded him, "Did you tell him?! How could you!? I did it one time!"


    "I didn''t!" Finneas exclaimed, feeling that he had been done dirty.


    Billie saw the TV that Abraham uncovered, and sighed, "You guys were watching movies during school hours?"


    "Well it''s not like the teacher is checking up on us." Abraham said with a smirk.


    "Hey what is this? ''Requiem for a Dream''? The actress looks like Mrs Henderson." Enid said cheerily, not minding my topic of conversation with Billie at all.


    I widened my eyes and went to snatch the movie from her immediately. "Hell no! We ain''t watching this. Not ever."


    "What- why?"


    I raised the dvd up as Enid tried to snatch it back. I also used one hand to stop her from getting near me as I hid the dvd inside my shirt.


    "Just trust me. Otherwise, you will have nightmares about ''Ass to Ass''." I shuddered as I remember the time my caregiver in the orphanage forced us to watch the movie before as a campaign against drug use.


    I talked to Billie while the others were watching ''Bee Movie'', and discussed with her about the skills she had for the band. She also sang a cover of my song, ''Grenade'' with her guitar, blushing the entire time as I watched her with immense interest.


    "Aight. Tomorrow. Bring some blankets and pillows. We''re going to build a fort here in this classroom." Abraham said excitedly. "Ooh. And Pajamas too."


    "Isn''t that a little childish?" Alex rebuked him.


    "We are all still children, ''Mistress''." Abraham said, earning a disgusted look from Alex and all the girls in the room.


    We practiced for a few hours, and ended today''s session by watching ''The Breakfast Club'' movie. It was a highschool movie set in 1985, where a group of misfits had to undergo detention together, and it turned into a heart-to-heart conversation between them, and brought them together as unlikely friends.


    My complaint however, was the ending.


    "So, Bender was being an ass the entire time to her, borderline on sexual harassment, and Claire still falls for him? Is it because he has a sob story, or are the women in that world just... irrational?" Finneas asked in disbelief.


    "I know right? And Allison�C which I thought of as Enid who had fallen to the dark side..."


    "Why me?" Enid interjected.


    I continued, "...Lost what made her unique, and then her character was thrown into the generic ''weird kid who is actually a pretty girl'' trope. She was cute even before."


    "Awww...Thank you." Enid said, touched.


    "He''s talking about Allison. Not you!" Alex added frustratingly. "And Brian contemplating suicide from academic pressure was brushed off like a joke. Claire even manipulated him to write the homework the teacher gave them�C only him alone."


    "To be fair, he wrote a scathing letter to the teacher." Jacob tried to clarify, but Alex ignored him.


    "Fucking Whore." Jenna muttered.


    "Yeah. Claire is a whore." Alex cursed.


    I faked a gasp and said dramatically, "Alex! She''s your mother!"


    "SHUT UP!" Alex exploded, which made the entire room laugh.


    "But...the dancing at the end looked fun." Jenna muttered, which silenced the laughter, " I also want to let loose like that."


    "Well you''re going to need weed. And also an LP player." Elsa teased.


    "If you''re talking about the retro ones, there are a lot of them in the school''s basement." Abraham suddenly said. We all looked at him and asked, "Really?"


    "Yeah. I went there with a few of my friends before to look for treasures. But, all of them are broken though."


    "Let''s take a look. If it''s minor damage, I can fix it." I said while standing up.


    "As if." Abraham snorted, but Jacob stood up with me. "Sure. Let''s do it. Abracadabra. Do your magic."


    "ABRAHAM! ARHHH! Alright!" Abraham finally agreed after seeing all the people around him getting excited to move the LP player. It took us half an hour to bring the heavy LP machine to the music clubroom, and another 10 minutes for Abraham to steal some music from the broadcasting club.


    "Are you sure you can fix it?" Finneas asked concernedly as he watched me opening up the interior of the machine.


    "I can. But it shouldn''t work for too long. The machine is too old for that." I replied. After fiddling with the wires for a while, the LP player could finally produce a sound again after 25 years.


    However, as we put the LP record in it, suddenly the door of the music club room was pushed open. All of the kids froze, except for me. Mrs Herderson was standing at the door, scrutinizing each and every one of the kids, which made them feel as if they were being stared at by a predator.


    "Mrs Henderson! Did you come by to check up on us? Unfortunately, we had already finished with our practice." I said casually as I walked toward the teacher.


    "Why is that LP player out of the storage area Edward?" She asked in a cold tone.


    "Hey you remember to call me Edward. Good for you." I said jokingly before adding, "We just need to hear some music samples. It''s hard to find classical/mainstream fusion today. So we have to go back a few decades. Right, guys?"


    I turned to my friends while winking at them. They noticed the hint and hurriedly said, "RIGHT!"


    The bell that symbolized the end of the school day rang at this moment, which made all of us feel relieved. Mrs Henderson just raised one of her eyebrows while listening to my explanation, but she didn''t feel the need to interrogate us more, so she just turned a blind eye on this slight today.


    ...


    "Ed. Who''s picking you up? You want a ride?" Jacob asked from inside his mother''s car after he saw me standing at the curb in front of the school.


    "Nah. My ride is just running a bit late- Wait. Here they are." I said as I looked at the tattered red jeep coming towards my direction. It stopped dangerously close to Mrs Green''s car, which almost caused her to have a heart attack.


    "HEYY EDWARD!" Penny got out of the car and ran towards me before giving me a hug.


    "Hey Penny. Long time no see." I replied. Leonard and Sheldon also got out of the car while bickering with one another.


    "She almost killed us, Leonard!"


    "Nobody asked you to come. Now Shushhh! Hey Edward."


    "Hey Leonard. C3PO." I said, turning to Leonard and Sheldon. Leonard and Penny laughed while Sheldon was confused.


    "I don''t look like C3PO. Don''t get me wrong, I''m flattered. But I just can''t see it." He replied robotically.


    "Anyway. What''s up?" Leonard changed the topic after Sheldon finished.


    "Oh. I need your help."


    "Sure. What is it?"

 Chapter 126: Peer Review

    Chapter 126: Chapter 126: Peer Review


    [Edward POV]


    "Penny, your check engine light is on." I said with a smile the second I sat next to her in the driver''s seat. She had cut her hair from the last time we met.


    Now, she had bangs on her forehead, and her hair was straight and it reached only her shoulder compared to the long wavy hair she had before. With a pink sweater on, she looked like a high school girl instead of a working woman.


    "I TOLD YOU!" Sheldon said as he was thrown off to the back seat after failing to shout ''shotgun'' before me to claim the seat.


    Penny laughed dryly and said, "The engine light is on, but the engine is fineee~"


    "Is it really?" I gave her a side eye before I chuckled at her ''I got caught'' reaction.


    "Okay New topic. Edward, why do you need Leonard? You haven''t told us yet." Penny said while glancing at Leonard behind her.


    "And I never will. Penny, you should bring your car to my place sometime. I could check out the engine for you."


    Sheldon chortled and said, "Please. As if you knew how to fix an internal combustion engine. "


    I replied casually, "Yeah. I do in fact. I can even build a working car using scraps. What''s your point, Mr ''I-Was-Not-Invited-But-Come-Anyway-Cause-I''m-Jobless-Cooper''."


    After being fired from his job for insulting the new dean Sheldon had spent almost a week doing various weird things in his apartment. His refusal to apologize to get his job back had been making life hard for everybody around him.


    "I''m not jobless. I''m on sabbatical-" Sheldon tried to explain.


    "Which is basically jobless. You know what, I won''t even be surprised if you went crazy and started to create ''luminous-fish'' and call them a ''billion dollar idea'' now that you are not working."


    Sheldon froze and Leonard scrunched his forehead in both confusion and in awe. The crazy theoretical physicist turned to his best friend and said, "Leonard, did you break the statue of secrecy I gave you for our BRILLIANT!!!!...luminous fish idea?"


    "It''s your idea, Not mine. Besides, I haven''t agreed to become your partner. It wouldn''t be a good investment." Leonard said before turning to me and asked, "How the hell did you know that?"


    "Know what?" I replied teasingly. "That Sheldon would go crazy? I always knew it was only a matter of time."


    Leonard and Penny laughed. Sheldon waited for a while before he muttered, "I''m not crazy. My mother had me tested."


    After a while, Penny said with a blush, "Thanks for the offer Edward . I will bring the car by your house sometime."


    Leonard''s eyes darted between the both of us before he hurriedly said, "You know. I always wanted to get my hands dirty and try to fix a car too. Should I help you?"


    Sheldon looked at him confusedly and said, "What are you talking about? You hate getting dirt on your hands."


    "Shut up Sheldon."


    "And you don''t have the skills to do it."


    "Excuse me, I''m an experimental physicist. I could learn how to do it in no time."


    While the two were bickering, I turned to Penny and asked, "How was your audition? Did you get any calls?"


    She slumped her shoulders and looked down instantly as she heard that. Leonard heard it and replied for her, "She got lots...lots of them..."


    Penny added grudgingly, "But I got no parts! None!"


    "Huh? Why?" I asked puzzledly.


    Sheldon interjected as usual, "Maybe the directors went to the cheesecake factory, and got served by Penny. No one would want to hire her after seeing her work ethics."


    Penny was offended, but she didn''t acknowledge Sheldon but chose to respond to me instead "I don''t know. I have no idea why."


    ''I do know why. But you wouldn''t like me to say it.'' I thought to myself.


    Although her career was jump started by her part in my music video, she actually sucked when real acting was required. The only reason she looked good in the mv was because she didn''t have a single line of dialogue and she only came out in less than 45 seconds in the clip, plus my own system given talent did help boost both our on screen presence.


    It would take a brave director, or a reckless and desperate one to actually cast her for an actual role in a movie.


    "I''m sure you will get something in the future. Don''t worry about it." I comforted her as I put my hand on her shoulder. Leonard got jealous again while Penny blushed and looked at me with some expectation, but she didn''t request anything.


    "Back to the original topic, why did you want to meet with Leonard?" Sheldon asked to change the topic as the current one wasn''t to his interest.


    ...


    "So, you want me to help you figure out how to ask a girl to prom?" Leonard asked in disbelief. "How....What...WHY?!"


    Not only him, but even Penny and Sheldon were shocked by my request. All of us were currently at the Cheesecake factory as I needed to get some food. Penny even dropped her fries as the table fell silent. She was sitting next to me while the boys were on the other side.


    I kept my cool and acted casually as I ate my fish and chips while I waited for them to finish processing the information.


    Sheldon then took a sip of his ice tea and said to me, "Hmm...Long Island Iced Tea is great. No wonder people drink this during their vacation."


    Penny snapped out of her frozen state and snickered at Sheldon. He wanted to order lemonade as usual, but I convinced him to try the Long Island Iced Tea. As I simply pointed out to him that jobless people don''t change their routine but those on vacation relax and for example enjoy said drink which made him order it in a second hoping to prove that he wasn''t in fact jobless, but was actually just taking a small vacation.


    "This is great." Sheldon said with a smile as he drank the tea.


    "Okay-okay. Back to this, Edward...Leonard? Seriously?" Penny asked in disbelief.


    "Hey I can be romantic if I want to-" Leonard said hurriedly.


    "Oh no. I can handle the romantic part. I just need some ideas for making some series of puzzles for her." I replied before taking out my Iphone. "I have a few, but some of them need chemicals that I don''t have, and also quite dangerous."


    Leonard took the phone and read my list of ideas. He was shocked and asked, "URANIUM! What could you possibly think of that you would need URANIUM FOR?!? You are just asking a GIRL TO PROM!? REJECTED!"


    "Give me that!" Sheldon snatched the phone from Leonard and read the list on his own. "This one could work. Hacking into various government organizations and leaving clues inside their archives so that she can decipher them one by one."


    I nodded at Sheldon''s words, but Penny shouted, NOOOO!" She snatched the phone and pushed it back into my hands. "Girls don''t need all of that! You just need to be sincere with her. Don''t be an international criminal, just because you want to ask her out!"


    "But-"


    "Do you know how to sing Sheldon?" I asked instigatively.


    "I know how to sing, I just choose not to do it." Sheldon replied.


    "Really? There is a piano and a microphone right there. Why don''t you prove it?"


    Sheldon replied drunkenly, "Your juvenile attempt to make me sing here and embarrass myself is pathetic. However, I can sense that my frontal lobe isn''t working properly, and I am more prone to making bad decisions."


    I laughed and called the waitress who was passing by. "Hi, my friend here is an excellent singer. Can you let him use the stage?"


    "Ummm...I need to ask the manager first, but I think if Mr Edward Newgate vouches for him, then there would be no problem. Hi Penny. Can''t believe you''re sitting here."


    "Hi Caitlyn. I told you, I know him!" Penny replied with a fake smile while hugging me again as if marking her territory in front of the other girl. Caitlyn smiled wryly and walked away before Penny cursed, "That bitch always tries to convince people I don''t actually know you."


    Leonard said, "Well you can''t really blame her. The probability to meet anyone, let alone a waiter, that has a connection to a famous person is abysmally small."


    Penny immediately glared at him. I sighed at Leonard''s lack of understanding of women and comforted Penny, "Well...One day when you get famous, Caitlyn will go around telling people that she used to know you. She''ll be excited even."


    "Okay that''s it! I WILL SING!" Sheldon suddenly stood up and declared. He then walked to the stage and sat next to the keyboard.


    "OooH! I''m looking forward to this." I said as I turned my chair to face the stage and even took out my phone to record it.


    ??? (To Life- Fiddler on the Roof. See the Sheldon Version)


    "To life, to life, l''chaim! l''chaim, l''chaim, to life! Here''s to the father I tried to be!


    Here''s to my bride to be!" Sheldon started out normally before he made the tempo turn upbeat. The genius also has a pitch perfect ability, and he could sing every song that he ever heard if he wanted to. That was also one of the reasons he avoided songs. Otherwise, it would occupy a big part of his brain.


    "Drink, l''chaim, to life! To life, to life, l''chaim.L''chaim, l''chaim, to life.!


    Life has a way of confusing us,


    Blessing and bruising us.


    Drink, l''chaim, to life~~~~~~! Fah~!"


    "DAI DAI DADADADA DAI DAI DADADADA DAI DAI DADADADA DAI! HEY!"


    ....


    As Leonard walked Sheldon home after taking the bus instead of the car as Sheldon was feeling adventurous, Penny drove me home in her car.


    "Thanks for driving me." I said as we got to my aunt''s house.


    "You''re welcome sweetie." Penny replied. "And don''t worry. I''m sure your promposal will go great."


    "You too. I''m sure that you will get a part sooner or later-"


    "Hopefully SOON! I can''t take working in the Cheesecake factory any more! Otherwise, It will seem like I''ve already failed to catch my break." Penny said in a dispirited manner.


    "Like a bad batch of bread." I joked. Penny chuckled before faking irritation and said, "Okay. Good night." She then pressed the gas pedal and slowly drove away.


    I laughed and shouted, "Don''t forget to bring your car over...Next week!"


    "SURE! I WILL!" Penny replied from afar. It was only 7 o''clock when I returned to my place. As I entered the house, I froze a bit when I saw Desiree and my aunt sitting together at the dining place and laughing while talking.


    Then, Desiree narrowed her eyes at me for a split second as she saw me before putting on a smile on her face again. My heart skipped a beat, but I didn''t react to it and walked to the dining table casually.


    ...


    [General POV]


    "Sheldon- SHELDON!" Leonard tried to stop Sheldon who was saying away to a normal suburban house, but it was too late. Sheldon rang the bell, and when the dean of the university opened the door, he instantly said, "YOOOOOUUUUUU~"


    Gabblehouser was flabbergasted and asked, "Dr Cooper, are you drunk?"


    "You fired me! And now, a 14 year old boy is going to replace me!" He whined as he leaned on the doorframe of the house.


    Gabblehouser turned to Leonard who was fidgeting behind Sheldon and asked, "Do you know anything about this?"


    "I honestly don''t." Leonard said, trying to keep his hands clean from the upcoming shit storm.


    "Dr Cooper, if you apologize, I will hire you back at the university." Dr Gablehauser said. Although he was offended by Sheldon''s remark, his genius was undisputed.


    Sheldon threw his arms down, flailing them as he whined, "But I didn''t say anything that was untruwe....(Burp)...Untrue..." He almost fell down, but he grabbed the doorframe to keep himself standing up.


    "Sheldon. It doesn''t matter what you think. This is your chance. Just apologize, and you can go back to work with us..." Leonard took the chance to convince Sheldon.


    "Dr Cooper, do you want your job back?" Dr Gabblehauser asked.


    "I do. But I don''t wanna apologize."


    "Should I call your mother and make her, make you apologize?" Leonard threatened him.


    "ALLRIGHT!" Sheldon exclaimed exasperatingly before turning to the dean. However, instead of apologizing, he chuckled and said, "Gabblehauser...inside a house...er...Wait...Am I at your house?"


    "SHELDON!" Leonard cried out to him. Sheldon was shocked before his sanity returned for a short period of time. "Okay. Dr Gabblehauser. I''m sorry for...calling you a glorified high school science teacher...whose last successful experiment was lighting his own farts..."


    Gabblehauser felt attacked again, but Sheldon continued, "I''m sorry. That was...uncalled for.."


    "Okay Dr Cooper. I''ll see you back at the office tomorrow. Now, get the hell out of my porch." Dr Gabblehauser said, wanting to put all of the matter behind him and start anew.


    "On second thought." Sheldon gestured with his index finger. Leonard was afraid that he would take his words back, but then, something worse happened.


    "BLUEEKKK!!!" Sheldon threw up inside of Dr Gabblehauser''s house.

 Chapter 127: Battle of Wits.

    Chapter 127: Chapter 127: Battle of Wits.


    [Edward POV]


    Desiree narrowed her eyes as I stood next to her. "Have you had dinner yet Ed?" My aunt asked cheerily.


    I smiled and said, "I''ve already eaten. By the way, the food in the Cheesecake Factory is great. We should all go there sometime. It''ll be my treat-"


    "NO! I will treat you!" My aunt interjected quickly. I shot a weirded out look at her before turning to Desiree and asked, "What do you think? Wanna go with us?"


    "Of course I will. I need to make sure you spend a lot of money. Then, we will be even for last night." She said, hinting at the peeping.


    "Oh, did Abby and I playing games late bother your sleep? If we did, I apologize for that." I replied with an innocent look. Desiree narrowed her eyes again, realizing that she had lost the initial exchange and wasted her first probing.


    She only saw a glimpse of the peeper, therefore she couldn''t accuse me straight away. That was why we were playing a refined game of subtlety in our conversation. Desiree on the right corner of the ring trying to confirm her doubts, and me on the other trying to play the fool.


    "Yes. That too..." She replied while holding her chin and smiling precariously.


    I paused for a while and pretended to be confused before I asked, "That too? What else did I do?"


    "Oh don''t mind the old lady. I was just rambling." Desiree said. I smirked inwardly as if I didn''t respond to her weird sentence, it would seem as if I knew the hidden meaning behind it. It was a cleverly placed trap, but so far, I had managed to pull ahead in this match.


    I chuckled a bit and said, "By the way, have you seen my aunt''s bedroom?" I took the initiative this time.


    Her eyes shook and she guessed, " You''re talking about her...Her bed?"


    "Yes. You should try to roll around in it. It''s like living in mattress land." I joked.


    "Did you roll around on it when you came yesterday?" My aunt asked curiously. "Yes. Who wouldn''t?" I replied with a laugh.


    "So, you were in that room at around 10 pm last night, right?" Desiree asked with a cold smile on her face. I gulped my saliva and replied, "That''s quite specific... and thus I can''t say for sure but yes, maybe it was around that time."


    "Hmm..." Desiree fell into contemplation as she couldn''t really pin the ''crime'' on me without proper evidence. So far, all she had was circumstantial and I was smart enough not to give her an actual timeframe for my presence in the room, but legal principle states that I was ''Innocent until proven guilty'' , not ''Guilty until proven innocent''. Luckily for me she was still an advocate of that, unlike the braindead people on Twitter and other social media who passed judgment without even properly looking into things.


    I was close to making her forget the matter, however, I failed to take account of my aunt''s interference in the battle.


    "You know, after he got out of the room, he laughed like a crazy person before checking out the next one. I guess he really liked the bed, or maybe he liked something else in the next room. Maybe even something else, perhaps the view outside the window?" My aunt asked teasingly.


    ''Ah shit.'' I cursed.


    "Hmm..I wonder what happened to make him laugh after getting out of your room..." Desiree asked with a ferocious glint in her eyes. This time, she was sure that I had a part in the shame she felt that night.


    My aunt was confused. Her expression was as if she was asking Desiree, ''That''s what you focus on? I created a perfect opportunity for Abby for nothing!''


    Desiree noticed the gaze and flinched before saying perfunctorily, "Oh yes. He might have picked the other room because of that." My aunt gave her a deadpan look before she stood up from her chair. "You know what, you guys talk. I need to go call..." She shot a glance at me and seemed to change her mind on how to finish the sentence, "...My boss."


    "I thought you weren''t working?" I asked her with a suspicious gaze.


    "I''m still not." She replied childishly before walking away�Cswaying her hips as she went.


    Desiree then turned to me with a smile on her face, but her eyes still held a chilly glint. "So Ed. What did you do after you rolled around on the bed?"


    I pretended to be confused, but still answered her question with a smile, "Hmm? You''re still on this? ...Wait, after that, I was attracted by the curtain flapping from the strong wind. So I went to the window and tried to see what was happening. But the wind suddenly stopped, so I lost interest and got out of the room."


    "Then, why did you laugh?"


    "Well my friend sent me a funny text? Why are you so interested in this? Perhaps... you were in the dark room?" I turned the table against her, making her blush a bit from the sudden remark.


    "N-"


    "Hmm...you''re so interested in that, perhaps...you were doing something naughty in the room, and might be afraid that I saw it?" I joked. As she blushed, I pretended to be shocked and said, "Hold on... you...really were...?"


    "Enough. Let''s move on from this-" She tried to change the topic, but I slammed the table and then held my head in frustration as I shouted, "AHHH! I SHOULD''VE LOOKED BETTER! WHY DID I QUIT HALFWAY!!!"


    Desiree concluded that I truly haven''t seen anything else based on my reactions, and she stood up quickly, "A-A-Anyway. You should ask A-Abby to prom soon! BYE!" She ran out of the house before I, or my aunt could ask her any more questions about it.


    I chuckled to myself and my frustrated expression melted instantly. "Aaaannnnddd... I''m safe~" I exhaled in relief.


    "Safe from what?" My aunt suddenly appeared behind me, crossing her arms as she gazed sternly at me. I was taken aback and replied, "Safe...inside this warm and nurturing home you provided?"


    She narrowed her eyes at me in suspicion. My heartbeat quickened, but there was still no notable change in my facial expression. After a while, she finally relented and said, "Okay. Thank you. That''s what I was going for. I even did something good while you''re at school ."


    "Huh? What did you do?" I asked in confusion. She grinned and gestured with her head to ask me to come with her. I followed her from behind as we entered the pull out couch room I had slept in last night.


    To my shock, I saw the aberrant bed inside the room �C which filled the entire room from wall to wall, with only a small space for me to maneuver close to the door. "What the hell!?"


    "LANGUAGE! But yeah. While you were gone, I asked the construction crew at your place to help me move it."


    "Camila! I can''t let you sleep on the pull out bed. That thing is falling apart."


    She shrugged and said, "I know. That''s why I had it thrown away." She then walked to her room and showed me something else.


    "AAaannnd ... I already changed my bed. I really....REALLY can''t sleep on that one. It made me feel very lonely."


    Inside her room was a normal looking bed however even after taking it out there was still proof that the humongous bed had previously been in there in the form of a huge stain on the hardwood tiles that they hadn''t been able to remove or hide.


    "I think you''d look great. But you''re a bit tanned, so you''d probably look like one of those troll dolls nobody buys."


    "Q@(#&$!"


    After making Haley mad, I continued typing away on my laptop while waiting for her to calm down. My lips kept curling up as I investigated the Saltzman mega corporation, unknowingly getting completely sidetracked from my work as I kept thinking about the picture.


    "Ahhh. I want to see how Claire will react when Jay calls her old to her face tomorrow. Too bad I have school." I muttered to myself before restarting my investigation. After a good while, I decided to continue developing an app that I had in mind.


    With my programming skills, I had finished almost 70% of the required code, and I would only need one more day to finish developing this particular project, one that could be sold for 1 billion or more in the near future.


    "But, why would I sell it?" I chuckled to myself. "I would just make the rich get even richer. It''s WAY better for me to keep it all in my pockets."


    "HEY YOU FUTURE VILLAIN! STOP SMIRKING!" Abby shouted for her window, feeling dissatisfied after getting kicked out.


    "Go to sleep you useless CSI!" I shouted back.


    "SHUDDUP! I will go to sleep when I want to!" She replied in a rebellious manner.


    "Go to sleep, or I will tell your mother that you planned to get a boob tattoo ." I threatened her.


    Abby was in disbelief and said, "When the hell did I say that?"


    "Does it matter? You''ll be in trouble anyway." I said with an evil grin.


    "YOU!!! BASTARD!" She slammed her window shut and pulled her curtain as she went away.


    ...


    Next morning came quickly. I went to school as usual, but as I got to the music classroom, I was taken aback when I saw the sight in front of me. Abraham was in his pajamas, and he brought pillows and blankets with him to the school.


    "What the hell." I muttered.


    "Excuse me~" Suddenly, Jacob walked into the room, also wearing his pajamas and holding bags with blankets and pillows in them.


    "Wh- What?" I was confused as hell as I saw it. Jacob and Abraham grinned before saying, "Well..we don''t have anything to do, so we decided to stay and sleep here."


    Elsa, Jenna, Alex and Enid also arrived, and also stood in front of the door as they saw the scene going on in front of them. Elsa rolled her eyes and said to Jacob, "Is this what you said you''re going to surprise me with yesterday?"


    "Yes! See, I brought pajamas for all of us." Jacob said before he took out multiple new sets of clothes from his bag. "SWEET!" Enid reacted first and ran to Jacob to snatch the unicorn patterned white, silky pajamas from him.


    "Hmm...If everyone brings their blankets and pillows, we can actually build a fort." Abraham said as he spread out his blanket on the floor.


    Billie and Finneas arrived soon. I expected them to have an interesting reaction, but they were already worried when they got there.


    "Hey, the buff lady is coming over." Billie said.


    "Buff lady?" All of us were confused, except for me and Abraham.


    "My ''muscle mommy'' is here?" Abraham perked up.


    "Guys! Hide the contraband. The PE teacher is coming! I said hurriedly. Jenna and Elsa closed the cello case with my ''illegal'' stuff inside them while Jacob threw his bags into the instrument closet.


    Finneas hid Billie among the cello cases, and just after he covered her up with a case, Mrs Johnson, the muscle mommy PE teacher with short hair and a whistle on her white t-shirt entered the room.


    "Hmm? Why are you guys standing around? Go and practice! We need you guys to get ready for the concert. Edward, can you come with me for a sec. The PTA members want to meet you."


    I narrowed my eyes at her and asked, "For what reason?"


    "I don''t know yet. They might want to ask you things about the concert." She said while mouthing ''Don''t agree'' in her mouth.


    "Then, they could contact my company or the organizer could deal with them. I''m sorry, but I''m not going. Not without my lawyer." I replied decisively.


    "Okay good. I just needed to hear that. By the way, what they wanted is to make you keep your words clean and no songs about vulgarities. So F*ck them." She laughed before she slammed the door shut and walked away again.


    "NOO! Mrs Johnson-" Before Abraham could yearn for a punishment from the muscle mommy as usual, Jacob cupped his mouth and stopped him.


    I laughed before going to Billie''s spot and took her out of her hiding place. "Are you alright? Also Finneas, why did you hide her? She came here legally."


    All of them finally realized that Billie was wearing a visitor''s pass around her neck. The girl became angry and stomped on her brother''s foot, blushing the entire time from the embarrassment.


    "Alright, now that the storm''s passed, let''s prac-" Before I could finish, Enid stood in front of me and declared, "LET''S HAVE A PAJAMA PARTYYY!!!!"


    I hit her head with my knuckle, which made her turn towards me with a pained expression. "Owww."


    "Don''t interrupt me. Okay. you guys have your party. Alex, Finneas, Billie and I need to practice �� Especially Alex."


    As we separated into two teams, Alex pulled me by my sleeve and whispered, "Hey, did you ask her yet?"


    "Abby? I did. I gave her a card this morning."


    "A card?!" Alex widened her eyes in disbelief and disgust. "That''s what you come out with?"


    "Yup."

 Chapter 128: Invitation…success?

    Chapter 128: Chapter 128: Invitation...success?


    [General POV- High School]


    Lingering around Haley''s locker, Abby and Tara looked at the paper in Abby''s hand. Abby was wearing a skull cropped top that showed her belly button and deep cleavage paired with a red plaid skirt, and adding a small net, high waisted panty hose as a finishing touch.


    A few boys had even walked into walls because of it, even some teachers too. She was still reprimanded about the outfit a few times , but she didn''t care as school was basically over and she was moving out next year.


    "So... that is a blank card...and Ed gave it to you...to invite you to prom? Did he forget to write the invitation in it...?" Tara asked, bewildered by Ed''s eccentric behavior. She was wearing a cropped jacket and a green shirt, paired with jeans and sneakers. She had put two pins on her hair, making her curly hair docile for a while.


    "Noo...He was...confident when he gave me this...Hmmm..." Abby rubbed her chin as she thought about the matter.


    Haley, who was wearing a dark coloured summer dress, rolled her eyes in annoyance before she said, "Could you guys please not...nerd out around me."


    "Huh? Nerd out? Wait. Did he tell you anything?" Abby caught Haley''s blunder instantly.


    Haley darted her eyes around, but then, she got mad instead as she definitely didn''t want to have any part in the conquest mission of a man she was interested in for another girl.


    "NO! He wouldn''t tell me anything! Alex however, wouldn''t shut up about it. I don''t have the slightest idea what he put in there, all I can say is that whatever it was he said you could figure it out. After all, you want to get a forensic science degree."


    Abby''s eyes lit up instantly. Then, she brought the paper close to her face and started sniffing it.


    "Eww." Haley exclaimed in disgust.


    "Shut up. I''m trying to find traces of lemon or urine in this." Abby replied with an embarrassed face.


    "Double Eww." Haley walked to Tara''s side, prompting her friend to quickly grab her arm and pull her close before whispering, "Hey. Are you okay?"


    Haley replied in a tiny voice, "Ye-Yeah. I just...I don''t really like this."


    "You don''t like Abby''s going to prom with Ed, or what they were going to do after?" Tara asked.


    "After! We...we were supposed to be equal in this. But once she loses her virginity to him, all I can do is be second place."


    "But, you do know it isn''t actually confirmed yet right? Based on what Enid told me, Ed thinks the prom thing is something strictly between friends. I don''t think he has that in mind."


    Abby suddenly exclaimed, causing both of the girls to turn to her. " I got it! There really is a trace! We need to get to the science lab. Come on!" She grabbed her two friends by their wrists and proceeded to quickly drag them off with her.


    "Ughh...I don''t want to follow." Haley groaned, but she didn''t actually try to stop her. No matter what she said, she was still interested in seeing how Ed planned to ask Abby out to prom. The term ''promposal'' wasn''t widely spread yet in 2009, so boys who put in the hardwork to ask a girl out were still a rare thing.


    As they arrived at the science lab, Abby turned on a Bunsen Burner and put the paper on top of the heat produced by the fire. Slowly, the invincible words inside the letter appeared. Tara and Abby were excited while Haley was anxious, but then, all of them became disappointed as they saw what was written.


    "Hmm? A link?" Abby muttered to herself in confusion. "Is this like a treasure hunt thing? Where all of my efforts will effectively lead to an invitation from him? Does he consider himself to be the prize? Who the hell does he think he is?" She mumbled in dissatisfaction.


    "So, you are NOT going to solve it?" Tara asked.


    Abby turned to her and said annoyedly, "Of course I am!" Tara and Haley laughed before they followed Abby from behind to get to the computer lab. However, the bell rang before they even made it through the door.


    "Wait- The class-" Tara tried to call her friends, but Haley and Abby grabbed her and pulled her together with them. "We''ll just tell the teacher we were on our periods!" Haley muttered. Tara looked at her in disbelief before thinking secretly, ''Weren''t you the one who DIDN''T...want to come before?''


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Are there any teachers around?" I asked.


    "NONE! DO IT!" Abraham who was peeking outside the door slammed it shut and ran to my spot hurriedly. I put the LP disk into the player, and played the music.


    ??? ??? Karla Devito - We Are Not Alone (The Breakfast Club �C Homage)


    ??Things are clear in black and white


    But living color tends to dull our sight, like dynamite??


    I pulled Enid''s hands and we danced together while staring into each other''s faces, singing the lyrics to the songs at the same time. Elsa and Jacob also did the same thing, while Jenna rejected Abraham as he tried to invite her to dance. He turned to Alex, but to his disappointment, Alex went with Jenna and danced the ''Molly Ringwald'' dance with her.


    ??Just imagine my surprise


    When I looked into your eyes and saw through your disguise??


    Abraham turned to Finneas�C which was startled by his desperate gaze. But then he sighed and let Abraham pull him to the dance floor. We sang the chorus together with the song.


    ??If we dare expose our hearts


    And just reveal the purest parts


    That''s when strange sensations start to grow~~~~??


    Edward: ??We are not alone


    You''ll find out when your cover''s blown


    There''ll be somebody there to break your fall??


    I sang while dancing together with Enid. Then, both of us split as if we have an unspoken understanding between us, where I went to grab Billie who was fidgeting at the side of the room �C watching us dance and brought her to the dance floor, while Enid went to grab Elsa from Jacob before going to dance together with Alex and Jenna.


    ??We are not alone


    ''Cause when you cut down to the bone


    We''re really not so different, after all, after all??


    Elsa flailed her arms around while spinning, completely absorbed in the song. Alex watched her with some embarrassment in her face, but then, she decided to flail her hands around too as watching her friends let loose gave her courage.


    ??Not alone??


    "Let''s do it!" Abraham said.


    "Not yet!" I replied.


    [What would Abby do?]


    [Option 1: Kidnap the annoying kid and sneak into the old salvage yard.]


    [Option 2: Get high together with the kid in the old salvage yard.]


    [Option 3: Let the kid cop a feel before ignoring him.]


    [Option 4: Surrender herself to the authorities as she had committed a Class B felony]


    "Pfft-" Abby couldn''t hold back her laugh as she read the options. Even Tara and Haley laughed a bit as they saw them.


    "This little shit. I will make sure to beat him up when I see him later." Abby muttered as she clicked on the second option.


    [Are you sure about your choice? It''s not too late to surrender yourself to Justice, or go get some help.] An annoying pop-up bar appeared.


    "Little- '''' Abby clicked on the [Yes] option, then another line popped out, [(Sigh), All things considered I guess I still can''t handle a criminal. So I have no choice but to follow you]


    Abby laughed out loud to Tara and Haley''s confusion. "What- What is it?" Tara asked quickly.


    "This...This is exactly what he said when I pulled him with me when we first met." Unknowingly, tears pooled in Abby''s eyes as the memories flashed through her mind.


    "He really is a bastard." She said with a smile as she wiped off the tears in her eyes. Luckily for her, she wasn''t wearing her gothic type mascara that day.


    As the game continued it showed several scenes where Abby forced Edward to go and audition for Dylan''s band, a scene where he let her ride on his bike to get to school in time, the scene where she drove him in her car, the scene where they decided to be more than friends, then the scene where they broke up.


    After that there were various scenes depicting how she met Haley and Tara, how they hung out together and there was even a scene depicting Abby and Haley''s make out session, something that slightly irked both of the girls.


    By the end of it Abby, Haley and Tara were all crying as Abby was being hugged by her two friends from behind cause they knew that after the week was over, all that was left was the inevitable separation.


    Only after a good while did Abby manage to reach the last scene of the game. While she knew she could have finished the game in under 5 minutes, the crying and sobbing pushed the time table back over half an hour. But, she still had no regrets.


    "Wait. Is that the gym?" Tara said as she noticed where the last scene was. 8-Bit Abby entered a dark and empty gym, and the game ended with the screen still showing the scene.


    "Huh? Y-Yeah. You''re right." Abby''s eyes lit up and she stood from her seat quickly. "I need to go there."


    "We...We will stay here." Tara said and grabbed Haley''s hand before she could follow suit. As Abby walked away, Haley turned to Tara and asked in confusion, "Why did you stop me?"


    "Trust me. It''ll be better if you don''t see it." Tara said as she patted Haley on the back to comfort her.


    In a few minutes, Abby finally arrived at the well-lighted gym. She then looked around the space, but she realized that no one was there.


    "Hmm? Is he not here?" She muttered before she called, "EDDD. Are you here?"


    But, no one answered her.


    "Hmmmmm....." She walked back and forth inside the gym, trying to find traces of Edward there.


    "Did he put another clue here?" She muttered.


    "Unfortunately...Yes." A voice said from behind her. Abby widened her eyes and turned around in excitement to see Ed''s figure standing there. He was wearing a dark brown jacket and jeans as he entered the hall.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Why is your face like that? Aren''t you glad to see me?" I asked with a sly smirk on my face. Abby scoffed but her eyes were still smiling as she said, "After making me run around all day, you''re still brave enough to waltz in here with that stupid smile on your face."


    "Hey, you like my smile. It turns you on."


    "AS IF!" Abby said, but deep inside her heart, I know she wondered how the hell did I know that. I walked towards her as she did to me. We faced each other, and after a while, Abby became puzzled.


    "So, are you just going to stand there?" She asked.


    "I told you. You still haven''t fully completed the puzzle yet."


    "HUUHHH?!!" She dragged her exclamation in annoyance.


    "So, the ''genius'' girl couldn''t solve it huh. And here I thought it was simple enough for you."


    "SHUT UP! Let me think!" She muttered before she thought about the last scene carefully.


    "Wait. It was a dark gym!" Her eyes lit up and she ran to the switch immediately before turning off all of the lights in the gym. Then, she was surprised as she saw a glow in the dark writing on the floor, saying, "Will you go to prom with me?"


    She cupped her mouth with her hands as she was touched, before slowly walking over to where I was standing again. I was smiling at her, and I reached into my jacket sleeves before pulling out a single red rose.


    "So, will you?" I asked.


    "Yes!" She replied before giving me a hug.


    ...


    Inside a Mercedes convertible that was driving in the streets, Pepper admonished me, "That''s too much. And it''s definitely something that you shouldn''t have done if you just wanted to be ''friends'' with this girl."


    I sighed and said, "I know."


    Pepper caught my expression and said, "But. You seem to have no regrets."


    "Yeah. I don''t."


    "Good. Because now, you''re going to be responsible for that girl''s special night." Pepper said before he changed the topic. "Okay, now, let''s talk about bringing down that old witch."


    "You mean your mom?"


    "I mean that witch!"


    We were on the way to have dinner with Pepper''s mother, and I had never seen him this anxious before. Hopefully, I could manage his expectations about this particular meeting, as it was both an investor''s meeting as well as a family meeting all rolled into one.


    "You need to be very very careful with that old bit- Witch! Oh hell. You already know. Yeah, she''s a bitch."

 Chapter 129: Saltzman Consortium.

    Chapter 129: Chapter 129: Saltzman Consortium.?


    (Don''t know why timer is broken today. Or else this will already been up 20 minutes ago)


    [General POV]


    Inside a huge and luxurious dining hall, full with white marble tiles, contemporary art pieces on the walls, and giant size oil painting of an old man �C the former Mr Saltzman a.k.a Pepper''s dad, sat 5 old ladies, 1 man, and 1 teenager, eating together.


    "Oh you''re such a cutie pie. Eat more sweetie. You look so thin~ We need to get you a bit of flesh." A sickeningly sweet and warm voice resounded.


    The classy, 75 year old lady with short, white hair, and huge blue diamond necklace and earrings, touched Edward''s cheeks lovingly before she put another spoonful of white caviar in his mouth.


    Ed smiled wryly with his cheeks bulging up like a squirrel as he faced the elderly grandmother. His cute demeanor caused the ladies to swoon again, and their maternal instinct had fully activated at the dinner table today.


    (Helen Mirren Lookalike- Pepper''s mother)


    "Mother, stop force feeding him, his stomach will explode." Pepper said snidely as he cut his steak with a knife.


    "What are you worried about? That he''ll turn out like you? That''s impossible just look at him." Mrs Eve turned to Pepper and said sarcastically. Pepper gasped as he was offended, and his face was filled with disbelief.


    "Ooww don''t be so dramatic dear. This can''t be the first time you''ve ever heard it. Nor can I be the first one you heard it from." Mrs Eve said with a condescending smirk. "By the way, you put on a few pounds since the last time I saw you. I guess your life has been happy."


    "Mother!" Pepper widened his mouth in bewilderment before he tried to suck in his stomach to look thinner. Pepper had actually been dumbstruck since the second he sat at the table. After all, when Edward came in, he had feared that he would have been facing his mother''s evil streak and mean comments only to find out that nothing of the sort happened, something which shook his worldview.


    The 5 older women were haughty at first, but after a few compliments were masterfully sprinkled here and there by Edward, all of them had turned into kind and caring grandmothers, trying to cater to Ed''s every whim.


    The spoonful of caviar Eve just stuffed into Ed''s mouth alone for example cost more than 35,000 dollars per kilogram. A spoonful of that would roughly be worth at least 2000 dollars, and each of the grannies had taken turns to feed the cute ''grandson'' they never had, making Pepper feel a tiny bit jealous of said treatment after all he still remembered how they treated him when he was younger, all the snide comments and criticism.


    [Edward POV]


    I was surprised when I saw Pepper''s mother''s face, and alarmed when I saw one of her friends �C Mrs Latham. A brown haired, rich widow with a huge fortune behind her. Or as I know her, the rich mistress to whom Leonard sold his body to.


    "So Edward, please do tell me, why the first thing you did after getting a small fortune was to break down your house?" Mrs Latham asked in a curious manner.


    "Oh, that-"


    Before I could answer, Pepper interjected, "That was for his mental health and personal well being."


    The topic was changed quickly as the soft-spoken Mrs. Eve asked Mrs. Latham a question, "Jessica, you''re going to Caltech''s fundraiser tonight?"


    Mrs. Latham''s eyes lit up as she said, "Ow yes, I will be there. It''s always fun to tease the desperate scientists over there." Her friends laughed, but I still had to ask her why.


    Mrs. Latham didn''t expect the question and she turned to me with a surprised look on her face before she replied, "You could say...it''s like a guilty pleasure of mine. Although I don''t actually feel guilty over it."


    Mrs. Eve chuckled and said, "Oh stop it. You''re just out hunting for some ''food'' tonight. First you bring them down, then-"


    "Eve." One of her friends stopped her quickly as she thought the topic was inappropriate to discuss in front of a minor.


    "Oh. Sorry about all that Ed, don''t mind us old ladies." Mrs Eve said with a smile. That made me feel ill at ease whenever I met eyes with Mrs Latham afterward. I knew that I had to be careful around her. Although I did have an acquired taste towards the famous MILFs, Mrs Latham actually belonged in the GILFs category, and I didn''t plan to change my taste anytime soon.


    As the dinner continued, my worldview was shaken a few times as I managed to live a few scenes that I thought would only happen in the movies.


    "So Jessica, I heard you recently come in possession of a prized item?" Eve asked.


    "Raphael: "Head of a muse"." Latham replied casually. "I will appraise it at Christie''s London this December, and donate it to my friend''s museum for the tax-write off."


    All the other rich people there nodded their heads while I narrowed my eyes at them as they brazenly talked about ''tax exemption'' benefits. But to be honest, I learned a lot from their casual conversations.


    "Edward, You seem to know what we were talking about?" Eve asked with a tiny bit of concern in her tone.


    I nodded at her and said, "Yeah. I got all of it."


    Eve gasped in surprise, but then Pepper sneered, "Don''t pretend you''re an innocent old lady. You''re deliberately testing him."


    "Yeah. I got that too." I said in a casual manner. Eve then laughed and said, "Well, I need to know if he has an actual brain, or if he is just another over glorified artist with a cute face."


    "Awww, you think I''m cute?" I said in a cheeky manner. Eve''s lip curled up, but she hid it with a napkin as she wiped her mouth.


    "I heard that you''re the actual brain behind the whole studio. And I want to know if my investment is in safe hands. So mind if I asked you a few questions?"


    Pepper snorted, "So, the building isn''t a gift, sincerely given from the goodness of your heart?"


    "Pass the test well, and I will give you a private plane alongside it. So Edward, are you brave enough to take on the challenge?"


    I smirked and said, "Sure."


    "Great, what is the distance between earth and the sun?" Mrs Latham asked in a playful, but sarcastic manner.


    "The average distance is 93 million miles. So, can I get my plane now?"


    Mrs Latham froze, but the consortium owner of the third largest oil company in the United States laughed at her before saying, "Oh Jessica, did I forget to tell you? Edward is also the champion for the state''s science competition."


    "It''s actually called the decathlon, but whatever." I added non-committedly before turning to Eve. She saw my haughty look, and smiled as she liked my confidence. She asked me a few things about business management, and even Pepper was shocked when he realized that I could breeze through all of the questions.


    Eve was elated, and she hinted, "You know, Pepper considers you his son. And the consortium doesn''t have an heir yet. I have a niece, beautiful...but no brain. so why don''t you two get married-"


    Gloria saw that Jay was trying to comfort Claire so she didn''t disturb them and joined in the girls conversation. She asked, "I heard you guys saying something about shopping?"


    "Yeah. For Abby''s prom dress." Tara replied as she stood up too. "Want to come with us?"


    "AYY YESS! I want to go shopping too!" Gloria said excitedly. "I don''t have any daughters, but I had been longing to go shopping with one. I''ll help you pick out the best dresses for your prom."


    Tara and Abby were excited and they followed Gloria from behind while Haley stood there, frozen. She finally snapped out of it and asked concernedly as she followed along, "Dresses? Gloria, did you mean dress? Gloria~ Hey~~~"


    ...


    Standing in front of the house, Phil, who was wearing a suit, was reluctant to go inside as he got home from work.


    [Phil''s commentary]


    "Okay so here''s the thing. I was...scared of Claire''s new look, but after last night...I changed my mind." He said with a happy smile on his face. As Claire was glad she had mended her relationship with her daughters, she was in the mood for some ''fun'' with Phil.


    "But that was with the light dimmed out. Now, I don''t know if I can handle it yet. And I don''t want to break her heart by saying I don''t like it."


    [commentary ends]


    As Phil walked to the kitchen, he widened his eyes as he saw Claire, stabbing the chicken they were going to eat for dinner with an angry shout, "AHHHH!!!!"


    He quickly turned back to run, but Claire noticed him. With a knife in her hand, as she asked menacingly, "Where are you going?"


    "To get to...safety... Honey, why are you so angry today? I thought the fight was already over?" Phil asked warily as he turned back towards Claire, inching closer to her, but still mindfully keeping himself out of her arms reach.


    "It''s not the girls. It''s my dad. Can you believe he said I looked old when I dyed my hair?" Claire complained while touching her hair.


    Phil''s eyes lit up, and he said with a warm tone, "Honey, you know how your dad is. He''s afraid of...getting used to new things." He went to Claire''s back and rubbed her shoulders to calm her down, while carefully removing the knife from her hand.


    Claire suddenly turned back, and asked, "Tell me honestly, do you...like my new look?"


    "I do." Phil replied instantly, as if it was an autonomic reflex. Claire smiled, but then Phil added, "I love every single part of you, so I may not see any flaws. You''re perfect in my eyes. But if your dad says it,he may have a point."


    Claire froze, and Phil immediately took the chance to run away.


    [Phil and Claire''s commentary]


    "No, it''s not that she''s not beautiful with that hair color. I just don''t know how to feel when I''m around her. She''s making me scared, and aroused at the same time. I''m... ''Sca-roused''-"


    "Phil No." Claire shut him down quickly.


    [commentary ends]


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    After I was done kissing the old ladies collective asses, Pepper drove me to the Entertain building as I had some work to do there.


    "Can you help me get in touch with Coldplay? I need to talk to them before the concert." I said to Harvey.


    "Coldplay? What is that?" Harvey asked in confusion as she had never heard of the name before. In this universe, the Coldplay band had never taken off globally, but they had been gaining reputations across Europe.


    However, I knew that it was only a matter of time before they became a worldwide sensation as Chris Martin did have a cameo in the Modern Family series. Besides, it only took me a few minutes of research to find out what they were missing in this timeline.


    "It''s a British band. I want to bring up a few things they might like. I also need you to get in contact with Sia... You know what... I''ll give you a list of the people I want to get in touch with."


    "But...We''re settling Taylor''s contract first right? Otherwise, we won''t ever hear the end of it if she isn''t the first artist to join the company." Pepper said in a careful manner.


    I was taken aback, and I nodded in realization. "Damn, I almost shot myself in the foot. Okay, We''ll settle Taylor''s issue first before we reach out to the others but I still need to talk to Coldplay, like immediately. I have their number, but it''d be incredibly awkward for me to contact them by myself."


    Harvey rubbed her throbbing forehead and said, "I don''t even want to know how you managed to get their contacts. But, I will officially get in touch with them. As you predicted, a lot of artists and big name producers want to join in the charity programs. Eminem has already donated 100,000 dollars and pledged to double the amount soon, Dr Dre has already given 130,000, Rihanna however has decided to give 80,000 dollars but she keeps asking to meet you, furthermore..."


    "So far, we have collected more than 2 million dollars for the soup kitchen. Should we donate all, or keep one part for ourselves, there are some loopholes we could legally use after all running such a program does take quite the budget?" Harvey asked.


    "Donate it all. I will personally donate 20 grand per month for half a year, that should max out the charity tax exemptions for what I am personally claiming for the IRS." I said in a casual manner. Harvey smiled in acknowledgement before she said, "Okay. I''ll let the account manager know about it."


    "Last thing, I developed a new app called "Instagram". I will launch it at the upcoming Vegas tour during the first concert, so I need you to make both the user terms and conditions as well as the required documents for it to function as its own entity." I said with a sly smile on my face.


    Harvey sighed as she got a lot more work to do, and said, "I really need a team to help me out."


    "Hire anyone you want. Flappy Bird is currently giving me 100 grand per day, so..."


    "Show off." Harvey scoffed before smiling at me and said, "Okay. I''ll officially hire Donna then."


    "Great. Can''t wait to meet her."


    "Talking about other artists, that reminds me. Ed, someone named Sean Kingston is trying to see if you''re open for collaboration." Pepper interjected.


    "Ah? AHHH!! For what? Did he have a song for us to do or does he want to write something together?" I asked


    "Eenie-Minie... something something... miney moe?? I forgot. I will check my notes later."

 Chapter 130: Temptation.

    Chapter 130: Chapter 130: Temptation.


    [Edward POV]


    That Thursday, before I went to school, I opened my laptop while waiting for Harvey to connect me with the person I was looking for. So, as the workaholic I was, I decided to check up on the reviews about my new app while I waited.


    The development of the Instagram app was quite easy. After all, I had won incredible coding skills that allowed me to easily set up and even improve the functions the original app had. After I completed it, I hand-picked a few hundred people from my fans club to become the beta testers for the social media platform. So far, the people gave me very positive reviews, but as the number of testers was still too small, the full experience of the platform couldn''t be achieved just yet.


    "I should include 6 second Vine videos in this too. Insta didn''t have video features in the beginning, and Facebook''s video player was too slow to load. Vine became famous because people started posting creative videos and skits. I will aim to corner that market too." I said while biting on my sandwich, alone in the dining room as my aunt had to go to ''work'' today.


    As the development of smart-phones with touch screen technology hadn''t become widespread, I also developed the website version of the platform, mimicking what the developer in my previous life had done.


    "The impact will be low in the beginning. It wasn''t until 2012 that the original app started trending globally, thus, leading to a ''1-Billion-dollars'' acquisition from Facebook."


    Although I guess I could move that timeline up if I start using it myself, especially if I can get other big name artists to open up accounts too. After all, people will certainly rush in if they think they will be able to ''follow'' their idols and see their updates so they can feel closer to their lives.


    "The hashtag search is also up, and I need to make sure that the cancer named ''influencers'' doesn''t take advantage of the app later on. Otherwise, it will lower the IQ of the entire younger generations in this country."


    "Ugh. I hate thinking about the long-term effects of something. It made me think about my highschool year-end essays." I muttered. If people could hear me, they would come to the conclusion that I was delusional, as I was still in middle-school.


    Suddenly, the doorbell rang, interrupting my meal, so, left with no other choice, I reluctantly went to open the door, and found the neighboring pair of mother and daughter standing outside of my aunt''s house.


    "Good morning Abby, Desiree. Why are you guys here so early?" I asked.


    "Aren''t you supposed to be at school? Why are you still here?" Desiree asked in concern. "Are you skipping school? You''re not supposed to do that Ed."


    "He must be skipping. I will tattle to your dad!" Abby threatened playfully.


    "I have a conference call, so I will be going a bit late today. I have already informed all my teachers about it." I replied casually. "Come on in. Have you guys had breakfast yet? Also Abby, why aren''t YOU at school?"


    "Oh..Um..." Abby glanced at Desiree, but before she could ask her to hide it, Desiree beamed up and said happily, "She has an interview with the NFA today. If she gets in, then she can enter the 10 week training program in the summer, and skip directly to Penn State College next year for the forensic program. Isn''t that great?"


    Abby was in disbelief, as she secretly turned to peek at my expression. However, I was perfectly keeping my poker face for the entire time even though there was a storm brewing inside my mind.


    "Oh. That is great." I exclaimed monotonously.


    Desiree realized what she had done, but she didn''t regret it. Compared to a complicated ''fling'', her daughter''s future was more important.


    "Our kitchen pipes are broken, so I had to close off the water source. Can we trouble you for a bit Ed? Abby needs to take a shower-" Desiree finally told me the reason why they had come knocking at the door so early.


    "MOM!" Abby exclaimed in embarrassment. Then, she turned to me and said, "I don''t smell. I don''t need a shower. Come, smell me!"


    My expression sank, and I flicked her forehead with my finger. "Go take a shower. I need to get on the call. I don''t want the interviewer to faint from your smell."


    "EDDDD!!!" She tried to put a headlock on me. Desiree laughed seeing our antics and said, "I''ll fix you guys some breakfast."


    "Oh I''ve already eaten. Just make some for Abby." I replied while still fighting off the angry girl.


    "Ugh!" Abby gave up and stampeded away, but before she entered the bathroom, she called me whisperingly, "Ed."


    "What?" I said, turning towards the hallways where she was standing. Desiree was already inside the kitchen, and their distance was almost the same but we were separated by a wall from where I was sitting. I drank some water to cleanse my mouth as I looked at her.


    Abby didn''t say anything and gave me a mischievous smirk. Then, she pushed her skirt down, leaving her only with her black laced panties and a tank top.


    I spat out my drink, making Desiree turn towards me. "Are you alright Ed?" She asked.


    With a strained voice, I answered, "I''m already. The water just got in the wrong pipe." I hit my chest a few times to recover, my eyes were still stuck at where Abby was standing as she took off her tank top, revealing her black bra.


    She put her finger on her lips as she posed seductively. Suddenly, the laptop rang and I was finally connected with London. However, I was glued to the sight of Abby taking off her panties, but crossing her legs at the same time, preventing me from fully enjoying the sight.


    "Ed, aren''t you answering the call?" Desiree asked, distracting me.


    "Oh...right...the call..." I said, but still letting the laptop ring. Lastly, Abby turned and took off her bra with her back against me, giving me an inviting glance before entering the bathroom door and throwing away her bra outside the room.


    "Damn..." I exclaimed as I pulled my pants crotch down to make ''it'' more comfortable. I know for sure if Desiree wasn''t around, I wouldn''t be able to control myself and would enter the bathroom with Abby, making me miss the important video call.


    "Ed?" Desiree asked again, confused as the ringing sound reverberated throughout the kitchen.


    "Right... OH Right!" I said and pressed the spacebar quickly and the one and only Chris Martin, the lead singer of the Coldplay band appeared on the screen.


    ...


    [Abby POV]


    Standing behind the closed door, I started to freak out. Sweats beads out of my forehead as I cupped my face.


    "You guys just don''t have the proper way of showing yourself to the world. But I have. And like you, I''m also confident that you guys can make it big, but not bigger than me though." I added with a small smirk.


    He chuckled at the joke/statement before I added with a serious tone, "Chris, go talk to the guys. The decision is in your hands. Do you want to keep going on small tours, or do you want your music to be spread worldwide. Come join me, I can make it happen. We...can make it happen."


    He fell into a silence, then, he finally sighed and said, "You know, I will be joking if I said I don''t want to join you. Especially when you can come out with a song, just for us, in our style...in just a few minutes of us talking. So you know what? I still have to run it by the guys but I''m in!"


    "Great! Do let me know as soon as you have their definitive answer and I will send a private plane to pick you guys up and bring you over to the states. Also a quick side note, when you speak about my invitation, make sure to say that I invited you as the first ''MALE'' and THIRD artist to sign with the agency."


    "What''s with the necessary distinction?" Chris asked, confused.


    "Let''s just say that if I don''t do that, an angry princess will initiate a blood feud with me or maybe even with you guys, and I have no confidence that I could survive that."


    "Blood feud? Princess? Ahhh Tay-"


    "Shhh! She might be listening in on the conversation. You never know." I joked. Chris was stunned, and then he guffawed out loud. We talked about a few things after that, and his initial reservations about talking with me completely disappeared as we talked about music.


    Chris told me that he had booked a few gigs in London, and was reluctant to fly over immediately as the people who bought his band''s tickets were his loyal fans. Therefore, we would push the signing to a few weeks later, during my summer vacation.


    "Okay, I still need to get to school, so I will talk to you later?" I asked. He smiled and said, "Sure, but make sure it isn''t 2 o''clock in the morning still yah?" It was 10 in the morning for me, and it''s currently 3 in the morning for him.


    I laughed and said, "You''re still young right? A few sleepless nights mean nothing to you."


    "Bollocks. I''m almost 30. I can''t even drink beer like I used to." Chris said with a smile.


    ...


    When Abby came out of the door in a formal dress with a blazer on, I laughed out loud at her state, which earned me a second round of her ire. But Desiree quickly pulled her away to get to the interview on time.


    After a long time, I went to school with my bike instead of being driven off by other people.


    "Ah, the wind feels great." I muttered as I cycled through the neighborhood''s streets. However as I entered the main street, the hot breeze quickly made me sweat.


    "Hmm...Summer is coming." I looked at the blue sky and the sparse clouds. I arrived at the school as usual, and parked my bike at the same spot I usually did. When I walked to the music classroom, I froze as I saw the sight in front of me.


    "You know, there is a myth. When you skip school, then you''re going to miss out on the craziest school day that ever happened. The principal fought a goat. A celebrity came to school...Etcetera... I really thought it was made up before. But now, I fully believe it."


    Fluffy pillows, air mattresses, girls in pajamas, and most importantly, a blanket fort fully erected inside the music classroom. Alex smiled and said, "Luckily for you, you only skipped for half a day, so you didn''t fully miss it."


    "Whose idea was it?" I asked with a surprised smile as I entered the room and saw Jacob in a black pajama, laying on the mattress while Elsa in a red pajama answered, "Well...We needed to do it because of Abraham. He was still feeling betrayed because we sold him out... so I asked him what he wanted, and he wanted this."


    "And where is he?" I asked. "Here Ed!" Enid gave me a change of clothes after running towards me. Like a camping tent, the fort was open at the side, so I could see what everyone was doing.


    "He caught a cold, and had to stay home. It''s a slight cold, but his mother won''t let him come so he doesn''t infect us. We need to be healthy for the concert after all." Finneas said, being fully integrated into the group. He was laying together with Billie, reading some manga I had in my cello case.


    I laughed at Abraham''s misfortune and joined my friends in the blanket fort.


    "What will you guys do if the teacher comes?" I asked as I sat beside Enid and Alex.


    "We''re not dumb." Alex said and pulled a string hanging nearby her. Then, a red curtain fell down, enclosing the fort. "Ahh, the theater curtain." I muttered in realization.


    Enid nodded proudly as she explained, wanting to take credit for her idea, "When the teacher comes, she''ll see it as no more than a backstage curtain, lose interest, and go away!"


    "I don''t think it''ll work exactly like that, but don''t give up hope, yeah?" I muttered while rubbing her head, making her pout in dissatisfaction.


    Alex snorted as she had the same thoughts as me. The lunch bell rang shortly after, but none of us got out of the fort as Jacob put on the movie, [White Chicks] that he had brought from home.


    "Hmm...My bandmates, our time has come..." I said as I looked at the clock hanging on the wall.


    "Urghh/Ahhh." Groans and complaints were flying around as Alex and Finneas didn''t want to get out of the fort, while Billie was already up and ready for the practice.


    "I''ll go to the toilet first. You guys can stay inside the fort until I get back." I laughed and walked outside the door, wearing a sweater to cover up my pajamas. I only changed my shirt when I wore it, so I was still wearing my khaki pants.


    It took me only a few minutes to get back. Before I could call my friends out of the fort, suddenly, someone knocked on the door. Jacob quickly turned off the movie, and all of them went silent as I opened it.


    Suddenly, a rough hand pushed me on the chest as a few highschoolers in football jackets barged into the room.


    "Roy." I muttered.


    "Little Bitch." Roy muttered as he looked at me angrily as I couldn''t see he still had a clear raccoon scratch on his neck. He cracked his fist as he said, "I have a score to settle with you."


    "I don''t think I''d ever talk to you before." I titled my head in confusion as I cheekily confronted him. The vein on his forehead throbbed as his face flushed red.


    His two friends started to encircle me as he started his villain monologue. "You see, you took something of mine. And I want it back..."

 Chapter 131: I have a can…of whoopass, and I’m not afraid to use it.

    Chapter 131: Chapter 131: I have a can...of whoopass, and I��m not afraid to use it.


    [General POV]


    As soon as the visitors came, Edward''s group of friends saw them through the gaps of the curtain drop. Enid was the first one who saw it, and she took out her phone to film the situation intuitively knowing Ed might need proof if anything was to happen.


    "Who the hell are those guys?" Jacob muttered in irritation before standing up on the air mattress, causing the others to sway from his big motions.


    "Hey, Ed is asking us to wait." Elsa grabbed Jacob''s arm to calm him down and restrain him as she noticed Ed''s signal.


    Jenna held her left arm and started to shiver quietly as the situation reminded her of some bad memories. Alex noticed it and hugged her to calm her down.


    "It''s okay. He''s here. No one can hurt you." Alex muttered subconsciously as she watched the scene with a fiery glint in her eyes.


    [Edward POV]


    Being surrounded by the three boys, I had no fear. In fact, I was quite curious as to why they were targeting me. I put my hands on my back, and gestured to the direction of the pillow fort.


    ''Don''t come out.'' I whispered in my heart. ''Hopefully, they will get the hint.''


    Seeing my casual demeanour, it intensified the burning anger inside Roy''s heart. The 6 foot 2'' muscular football player gritted his teeth and swung his fist at me. I avoided it by quickly stepping back while taking a few careful steps back casually keeping a good kickboxing stance at the same time.


    I laughed at him and asked in a playful manner, "So that''s it? No words, no explanations, nothing? I should at least know why you want to kick my ass, right? You said I have stolen something from you?"


    "ABBY WAS SUPPOSED TO GO TO PROM...WITH ME!!!" Roy exploded, trying to punch me again. But as he stepped forward, I grabbed his arm and used a judo throw on him, slamming him on the floor.


    "Argh!" He exclaimed in pain before gritting his teeth and using his legs to chase me away. His two friends were hesitating at first, but they ran up to me to help the downed idiot. I let them, and they each held me by the arms as Roy stood back up while wiping his nose.


    "Why are you sweating like a pig? Are you on drugs or something Roy?" I asked playfully again. He held my chin and said, "Shut up, or I''ll rip out your mouth!"


    "That''s concerning, after all, I need my mouth to sing." I said casually. Roy was having none of it, and before he could swing his fist, I asked, "So, now that I''m all locked up, mind telling me now why are you here? Are you in love with Abby so much that you decided to commit an irredeemable crime here?"


    My sentence swayed both of Roy''s followers, but the main culprit seemed to be out of his mind. Roy cackled and said, "Love? No. I despise her."


    I widened my eyes a bit before returning to my relaxed expression. Roy continued, "I had all of it planned out. I just need to bring her to prom to enact my revenge. But you ruined everything!"


    "Revenge plans?"


    Feeling as if nothing could go wrong as he was in the superior position, Roy laughed and said, "Simple. Slip something in her drink-"


    "Roofie her? You have a roofie Roy?" I asked in a friendly manner.


    Roy didn''t realize it and answered in confusion, "Yes. I bought it. Let me continue. And then Bring her to a dirty motel. Take a few naked pictures of her to show to the school. And then, maybe invite a few of my friends to-"


    Before he could finish, I had already broken free of his friend''s grasp and punched him directly in the nose. My expression was filled with anger and I was staring at Roy with a murderous gaze.


    "ARGHH!" Roy yelled out with blood flowing to his lips. He cupped his nose in agony and took a step back before Jacob ran out of the pillow fort.


    "YOU DIRTY MOTHERFUCKERS!" Jacob screamed as he ran out of the blanket fort and tackled Roy directly into the instrument rack, making a huge racket as the trombone and the cymbal scattered on the floor.


    One of Roy''s friends, Bill, shouted, "Damn it!" and then took out a small flip knife from his pocket. I saw that the girls were coming out of the fort, so I yelled, "Don''t come out."


    "What-" Bill was distracted and he turned to the fort direction, so I took the chance to grab his arm and twist it. He screamed in pain and dropped the knife as I brought his arm far and violently enough to dislocate the shoulder.


    Then, I turned to the other panicked boy on the side who realized that he was in a pernicious situation, so he turned and ran out of the door quickly, betraying his other friends and leaving them at my mercy in the room.


    Before I could laugh, I saw that Roy was holding Alex''s cello like a baseball bat, and wanted to swing it at Jacob. I kicked Bill''s butt, making him fall to the ground, and pulled Jacob a few steps back as Roy swung the cello, saving him from a dangerous situation.


    Once he missed, the cello slammed to the walls, breaking it into two halves. My anger deepened and I said to Jacob, "Go take care of the other one."


    Jacob didn''t reply and he turned towards Bill in a hurry. I walked slowly towards Roy, and as he swung his fist at me, I countered it with a straight punch that caught him right in the face. Once, twice, three times, until he could just barely remain standing.


    "You know, when I fight, I usually plan on how to put the opponent down quickly." I muttered.


    The army training in my previous life had been ingrained deep into my soul that I would find the quickest and most practical way for me to immobilize my enemy instead of prolonging a fight.


    "But now, I don''t want to do that. I''m going to hurt you Roy. And I''m going to enjoy every second of it." I muttered before punching him again, making him fall with his back against the wall.


    My right hand knuckle was bloody from the counterforce, but I ignored it as I grabbed Roy by his hair, forcing him to look at me before I punched his face again. One of his teeth became loose, and it fell out of his mouth.


    I wasn''t satisfied, and I wanted to hurt him more. But before I could attack him again, someone grabbed my wrist, preventing me from doing so.


    "Enough Edward." A cold, feminine voice ordered. I turned and saw Mrs Henderson looking at me with a disappointed expression. She shook her head slightly, asking me not to continue, and it was enough to snap me back to reality immediately.


    ...


    The cops came, and the two boys were detained while the teachers were calling their parents. I also submitted the video evidence to Harvey, and not let the cops touch it before she could handle the matter lest they conveniently eliminate the evidence.


    With my fat bank account, it''d be impossible for me to trust the police 100% as I could be targeted by them too for some easy cash grab or even worse end up being used as political capital on some asshole Democrat''s campaign.


    Harvey immediately delivered on her end as she contacted a prosecutor she knew back from her Harvard days, and while Roy was transferred to the emergency ward, the cops had to check his urine content. It showed that he was high on methamphetamine, so it helped my case to avoid getting sued with ''excessive self-defense'' claims.


    Harvey said, "It''s better to pull this whole matter under. If people find out about this, it''s not you or even Roy who will be getting the worst of it. I mean don''t get me wrong your fans will tear him apart for sure but...-"


    "I know. They''ll attack Abby too. I''m clear on that front. People are stupid, even more so when they are obsessed with celebrities, they''ll at the very least find a way to blame her for putting me in that position in the first place. You can handle the aftermath. I need to sit down and clear my mind."


    "Dad just watched Fight Club." Luke tattled.


    "No I didn''t!" Phil pushed Luke away under Claire''s menacing stare, and turned to Alex again to get the answer.


    "Well....Ed told us not to say anything, so that is what I''ll do." Alex said teasingly before opening her cello case, "Also, I need a new cello. I can''t wait for the lawsuit to get a new one. I need to play it in the concert this Saturday!"


    "..." Both parents were speechless by Alex''s focus. Claire didn''t want the matter to be brushed off so she asked, "Why did the fight happen? Your teacher told me a few things, but I also need to hear it from you."


    "Oh, just some boys being idiots. Are you going to buy me a new cello or not?"


    Phil interjected, "Sweetheart, we can go buy a new one after this, but we need to know what happened�C the full story."


    "Sorry, but I can''t tell you." Alex said. "Why?" Claire asked with narrowed eyes.


    "Because I promised Ed. Besides, this isn''t the first time he got into a fight-" Alex realized that she had said the wrong thing when she saw the look of confusion in her parent''s face.


    "Anyway-"


    "No. Not anyway. Tell me! Did Ed fight around a lot?! Should I be concerned?" Claire freaked out and held Alex by her shoulder, preventing her from walking away.


    "Ummm...."


    While Alex was being interrogated, Jacob also had to face some questions from his dad about the matter.


    "Did you fight?" His dad, Mr Green asked casually while Jacob sat next to him in the car.


    "Yes." Jacob replied curtly.


    "Did you win?"


    "Yes."


    "Good."


    And that was all they talked about for the matter. Jenna, Elsa, Finneas and Billie, all of them were interrogated by their parents, but they didn''t break their promise and just answered simply about the fight.


    "I''m sorry Billie. That must have been horrifying for you." Billie''s mother said to her while they were in the car, and the pair of siblings were sitting on the backseat.


    "Hey. You okay?" Finneas asked as Billie had been silent since the fight happened.


    "Finneas." Billie muttered.


    "What?"


    "I think...I''m in love."


    "..." Finneas widened his eyes in horror and they both kept their silence before getting home to talk about the matter where their parents could not overhear.


    [Edward POV]


    My dad was silent while we were on the road home. "So...anything you want to ask about?" I muttered.


    He was still silent, so I said, "Alright then-"


    "How could you get into a fight Ed?! I didn''t teach you to get into a fight!" He said angrily.


    I scoffed at him and said sarcastically, "Are you sure you want to yell first? Shouldn''t you be clear about what happened first before you decide? Or do you want to be like Grandpa?"


    My dad was taken aback, and he went silent for a while to calm himself down. After taking a deep breath, he asked calmly, "So, what happened?"


    I told him about the entire fight, and the Abby factor in that. He nodded and said, "Still, you hurt him, quite badly Ed."


    "Don''t worry. Harvey will handle the matter."


    "That''s not the point."


    "Dad. I''m tired. Can we talk about this later." I interjected as I really don''t want to get into an argument with him right now. He sighed and said, "Alright, we''ll talk after dinner. Here, I couldn''t find any ice, so you have to use this." He said as he handed me a bag of frozen peas he had bought from a store nearby "Put it on your knuckles. It''ll help with the pain."


    "It doesn''t hurt that much." I replied.


    "Just do it. Why are you being so stubborn? Is it my genetics? Or are you just being rebellious?" I rolled my eyes at him before looking outside the window as we drove home.


    We had dinner with Aunt Camila later on, but we didn''t revisit the topic as my aunt was so angry, she wanted to go to Roy''s house with a machete. We had to spend the entire night placating her.


    ...


    "Ahh I''m tired." I groaned as I laid on the giant bed, wanting to get some rest before I had to open up my laptop to do some work. But before I could, I heard some knocking on my bedroom window.


    I sat up reluctantly and went to the window with the intention of telling Abby that I needed some alone time, but I widened my eyes as I opened the curtain.


    "What the- Abby, stop!" I yelled immediately as I saw her connecting our windows together with a piece of wood, and was balancing herself on top of said wood to sneak into my room.


    "Shh! Don''t yell or my mom will notice!" Abby put her finger on her lips to gesture to me to be silent. Then, her body swayed from the wind, and she almost fell off the beam. I held my breath as I saw it happen but luckily she managed to balance herself on it again and showed a huge grin as she did it.


    "You''re fucking crazy!" I cursed as I opened the window quickly and reached out my arm to help her cross the path.

 Chapter 132: First.

    Chapter 132: Chapter 132: First.?


    (Sorry I missed the upload time yesterday cause I was a bit sick.)


    [Edward POV]


    "Safe~!" Abby landed on my room in a cheer after doing such a dangerous stunt, which annoyed me so much. Add on to the fact that she was only wearing a baggy black sweater, and that made it even worse. She wasn''t even wearing shoes as she walked on the piece of wood. She was incredibly lucky she didn''t get any splinters.


    "So Ed, I hear you fought against 3 men today, kung fu style!" She said with a mischievous grin while doing a few karate moves.


    "Make it 3 men and 1 goth girl." I said before hitting her right in the temple with my healthy knuckle.


    "OUCH!" Abby was startled and she rubbed her painful head with teary eyes immediately. She glared at me and shrieked angrily, "What was that for!"


    "For BEING STUPID! You could''ve died!" I said angrily while meeting her eyes. She widened her eyes in realization, and blushed a bit before saying, "I...I wouldn''t die from that. It''s less than 3 meters tall. At most, my legs would- "


    Before she could finish, I hit her again. Usually, I keep my hands away when handling a woman, but she really annoyed me today.


    "Are you going to do that again or not?" I asked menacingly.


    "NO!!" Abby replied quickly while giving me a dirty look.


    While she was squirming in pain, I sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. "How did your interview go?" I asked in a casual manner. Glaring daggers at me, Abby jumped on my body and pushed me on the bed before sitting on top of me.


    "My interview went fine~ I''m a genius after all~"


    "A genius that just moments ago wanted to jump to her early death." I snided, not caring about her position. She suddenly got her face closer to mine, her black hair falling to my cheek.


    She gazed at me with a mischievous look before asking, "Are you really not going to tell me about the fight? I like bad boys. If you tell me, I might even swoon and start to take everything off right now~"


    "As much as I would love that, I need to do some work." I said before forcefully flipping our position. She was taken aback, and her eyes showed disappointment as I walked away to my laptop.


    The laptop was on top of a medical ward type of desk as the room has no space for a normal desk.


    ?


    Abby laughed a bit and said, "It''s bad for your back if you do it like that."


    "Then, be my back support." I replied. She smiled and then sat with her back against mine as I did my work.


    "What''chu doing?" She asked.


    "I''m searching for a projector, and a few ropes." I replied. "But I don''t think I have time to buy a new one, so I have to borrow the projector from Phil."


    "Hmm? You want to borrow it to watch a movie?" Abby asked, raising one of her eyebrows. "With who?"


    "It''s for school tomorrow." I replied casually while doing maintenance on my websites. Abby was bored and she turned to look at the laptop, at the same time pressing her breast on my back to still provide me with some support.


    "This new cushion feels great." I joked. "Soft, ample back support with a slight irritation on the skin from the rough surface. Recommended to remove the cover before sitting. 4 stars."


    She gave me a stink eye and said, "HOW DARE YOU! Change the review to 5 stars right now!" She tried to tickle me, but as she kept distracting me from my work, I turned and looked at her with a solemn expression.


    Startled, Abby asked while stammering, "W-what?"


    5 minutes later, she was waving the white flag on the bedroom, breathing heavily with a flushing face as I tickled her all over. I was sure that my aunt could hear her laughing, but she decided to ignore it�C which I was thankful for.


    After a while, Abby hugged me from behind again and stuck her body closer to mine before asking, "What''cha doing now?"


    "I''m currently making sure no terrorist organization has stepped foot on my forum." I replied. I had already written a few algorithms to analyze the conversations in the forums, so it wasn''t that much work.


    "Sound''s serious." She muttered with her hands feeling up my abs.


    "Do you want to listen to some music?" I asked as I knew for sure she was bored.


    "You can put on anything." Abby replied. "Alright then." Then, I opened Youtube and put on the music video for ''Stacy''s mom."


    "Abby''s mom, has got it going on~" I sang along with the video, causing Abby to narrow her eyes at me. "What?" She asked menacingly. But I continued singing along to the song, "Abby''s mom, has got it going on~ Abby can''t you see, your mom is the girl for me-"


    Before I could finish, she attacked me by biting my shoulder.


    "OW..Alright alright." I laughed out loud after teasing the girl. She pouted and pushed me away before standing up beside me to fix her sweater as it was riding upwards, revealing her black laced panties.


    "Nah, it''s fine. By the way, have you bought the dress yet? Can I take a look at it?" I asked to change the subject.


    She was startled and then stammered, "N-N-NO! It''s bad-bad luck for the...date...to see the...prom dress...before the we-, before prom!"


    I gave her a weird look before sighing and said, "At least tell me the color theme. Then, maybe I can find something similar."


    "Black of course!" She replied decisively.


    "I kinda suspected that. Wait- I should bring you a corsage right?" I asked.


    "What''s that?" She was confused. Then, I googled the image for a corsage and showed it to her. She was still confused and asked, "Is it important?"


    "I don''t know. This is the first prom for me too, you know."


    Her lips curled upward and she muttered, hiding her excitement, "Hmm... So I managed to become your first in something. Lucky for me~"


    I turned to her with a soft smile on my face before I clarified, "First Kiss, First Date, First time smoking weed, First time I went down on someone, First time someone went down on me, First tit job-"


    She cupped my mouth with a blushing face immediately, "Okay! Okay! I get it! I get it!" Then, she held my face and kissed me softly on the lips. We locked eyes for a while, and our face was inching closer and closer.


    "Yo-You should get back to work." Abby said after moving her blushing face away. "Y-Yeah. I should." I muttered before turning my attention to the laptop again. Abby stared at my bandaged hand while I was working, and her hands shivered slightly before she hugged me from the back as tight as she could.


    "Can I hear a song from your album?" She asked suddenly.


    "Sure. Which one?" I replied in a casual manner as I have all the copies of my songs in the laptop.


    "The one you sang for me before."


    "I WAS ANXIOUS FOR NOTHING! NOTHING!" She exploded and started ranting to herself about my obnoxious face and about how much she wanted to punch me. After turning off the lights, Abby insisted on being the big spoon and hugged me from behind as we laid on the bed together.


    "Ahh, this bed finally feels complete." I muttered. "Being alone in this abomination intensifies my loneliness."


    Abby was still pouting and she said, "Good, Suffer." I laughed a bit before turning to face her before pulling her face into my embrace. Abby bit her lips and said, "Hey, do you really don''t want to do anything-"


    "Shh Shh Shh Shh, go to sleep." I said while patting her on the head. She was dissatisfied and pushed me away before laying on top of me, trying to punish me with the weight of her body.


    Honestly, I was itching to say yes to her invitations. But not right now. Not today. I grabbed her tightly to prevent her from moving after she forced me to roll over a few times, and while we were laughing and giggling, suddenly my door slammed open.


    "You know, I waited...I''d been nice. I let you kids play. But it''s almost 3 am-" My aunt barged into the room with a moisture mask on her face and started scolding the both of us.


    "It''s 2.30." I corrected her without thinking.


    She was in disbelief and she said sarcastically, "Gee. I was mistaken. It was 2. 30....IN THE MORNING! Now, I don''t know what kind of playing you kids want to do, talking about having sex, and not actually having it, giggling and laughing, shouting and screaming...."


    "...I swear if you guys don''t go to sleep in 5 minutes, I will jump into that giant mattress, and force you guys to fuck even if it means that I had to push your body myself! Last warning! GO TO SLEEP!" She then slammed the door shut as she went out of the room.


    Both Abby and I were stunned, and we turned to look at each other before we giggled in a low volume. However, my aunt''s sensitive ears still picked that up and she said, "SLEEEEPPPP!!"


    "Alright!" I replied before both Abby and I closed our eyes as we hugged each other. Abby slowly pulled the blanket to cover the both of us, and then we talked for a few more minutes.


    Abby suddenly sat up and removed her sweater, revealing her bare breast and laced black panties. I was stunned for a bit before she lay back down and pulled the blanket to cover her body. "I can''t sleep with that on. Too...hot...Don''t you think?" She said while smirking evilly.


    "Oh lord, help me pass this test." I mumbled to myself as Abby hugged me and put her head on top of my chest as she faked sleeping.


    The anger in her heart was finally soothed as right now, I was the one who was put in an anxiety ridden position. She then nudged her head even more and then put her legs on top of mine, her hand dangerously close to my center of gravity.


    "Lord, Please." I prayed inwardly as I avoided moving to accidentally prevent myself from touching those I should not l touch under any circumstance at all today.


    ...


    [General POV]


    -Dunphy''s house-


    "Mom, I need 5 more of those blankets." Alex said before pulling Luke''s blanket from his body, making him shiver in the cold morning.


    "Alex, what is this? What are you guys going to do?" Claire asked in disbelief before helping Alex stuff all of the blankets inside her empty cello case�C after she threw away the broken cello inside of it.


    "I''m not clear yet." Alex replied to Claire''s disbelief.


    -Green''s house-


    Jacob was standing next to his mother in their backyard as she went to hang the laundry early in the morning. Mrs Green looked weirdly at Jacob as she hung the blankets on the laundry pole. Jacob then removed the blanket and then put it inside a big luggage bag beside him.


    "Jacob, this is not what I meant when I say let it dry first!" Mrs Green scolded.


    -Abraham''s house-


    "How about this one Bubuleh? You used it during your circumcision." Abraham''s mom said while giving him a green blanket. Abraham froze and said, "No! MOM! Are you trying to embarrass me? Burn this and scatter the ashes to the ocean with the rest of my penis!"


    -Enid''s house-


    Enid attacked her parents in their bedroom by pulling the blankets away from them, and she also packed a few of her wolf logo blankets before muttering to a wolf doll not so far away, "Today is the day! We''re going to go out big!!!"


    -Jenna''s house-


    "How many blankets do you want sweetie? 100? 200? I will swing by your school when I go to the film set later on to drop them off." Jenna''s mother said in a casual manner.


    "Thank you mommy. I love you!" Jenna said before giving her mother a tight hug.


    -Elsa''s house-


    "Another blanket? Why don''t you just pack the whole house with you and bring that to school?" Elsa''s policewoman mother started a huge rant about how weird school was nowadays while her younger siblings followed her mother around the house like baby ducklings, mimicking her as she nagged.


    "AND DON''T YOU DARE LOSE MY BLANKETS LIKE YOU LOST MY TUPPERWARE!" Her mother nagged.


    "I Didn''t lose them! They were broken so I threw them away!" Elsa retorted. "Oh, and how were they broken? They just...magically imploded? Or maybe just thought ''Oh, I''m too big, so I must split myself in half?'' ''Oh, I just got a bruise, It has nothing to do with the bat on my husband''s hand.'' ''Oh, Mr President, I don''t know how the bullet got into your hea-"


    "OKAY STOP THAT!." Elsa shouted hurriedly. Her mother widened her eyes and then said, "I almost went there. Thanks for stopping me."


    "You''re welcome." Elsa said before carrying all of her bags to the car.


    -Edward''s place-


    Abby rubbed her eyes as she sat up from the bed. "Why are you up so early?" She asked the overly active boy. But then, Edward turned to her direction and pulled the blanket wrapping around her body. Abby shrieked in embarrassment and covered her bare boobies immediately before scolding, "YOU CRAZY MOTHER FU-"


    "Yeah yeah. Finish that sentence and I will make it come true." Ed said in a casual threatening voice.


    "FFFffffffuuuu- Flower?" Abby changed her words instantly.


    Ed smirked before saying, "I''ll pick you up in a limo at 5." Then, he walked outside of the room before kicking his aunt''s bedroom door open. "POLICE! THIS IS A BLANKET RAID!"


    His aunt yelled in horror as she was woken up abruptly from her deep sleep, but Ed was ruthless and he pulled the blanket away from her bed, making her fall to the floor!


    "OOOOOOHHHH....YOOUUUUUU....PUUUUTA MADRE!!!!" Camila cursed after Ed walked away in satisfaction, managing to enact his revenge for her intrusion into his bedroom last night.


    In the music classroom, a small army of eight grader teenagers had assembled when Ed stood on a platform to address them.


    "Ladies and Gentleman. Today, we will no longer be bound by the strict rules this establishment imposed upon us. TODAY!!! On our very last day, we will decide the rules for this school!!!!"


    The crowd cheered and clapped before Edward continued, "TODAYY!!! We''re going to�C"


    (Next Arc, A CommunityXRelife Crossover.


    Fort Wars!)

 Chapter 133: Fort Wars (1)

    Chapter 133: Chapter 133: Fort Wars (1)


    (4 Chapters for this episode. CommunityXRelife )


    [General POV]


    A huge blanket fort was erected inside the music room, and the fort was extended all over the school''s corridors, speedily encroaching the school''s facilities and classroom as it grew continuously.


    A camera crew was filming the entire process diligently, following the kids who were building the infrastructure with vigor.


    Sitting on a brown, cushioned chair in the middle of the room was Edward. He wore a crown on his head, a leather jacket and ripped jeans. Next to him stood Jenna, Billie, Enid, and Alex. They were sitting on cushions on the floor, while Jacob guarded the door to the room.


    Similar to the construction site, a lone camera-man was following Edward around with a camera and was exclusively filming him.


    *Knockity Knock-Knock*


    "That''s the secret signal my lord. It must be the jester who ventured out of Fluffy-Shire in search of the news." Jacob muttered while saluting Lord Edward by placing his hand on his football under armor he wore on top of his red pajamas.


    "Let him in." Edward ordered. Jacob saluted the lord before opening the door. Dressed in a green and red pajama paired with a jester cap on his head, Abraham kneeled in front of the chair and said, "Esteemed Lord of Fluffy-Shire..." He turned to the girls and said, "...Honorable members of the Royal Harem..."


    "HEY!" Alex retorted while Jenna and Enid blushed. Billie''s mind was blanking out, therefore she didn''t respond to the salutations.


    "Enough Jester, what''s the situation inside the Council of Authority?"


    "Yes my liege. The (teachers) meeting will continue for another half an hour. We estimate that 50% of the construction will be done by then." Abraham replied.


    Alex rolled her eyes at the role play and stood up before walking next to Edward while he was still talking with Abraham.


    "Good enough. Have we recovered the contraband snatched by the Ice Queen yesterday?" Edward asked. Abraham nodded and said, "Yes, we found your cello case inside the PE teacher''s office, it will be retrieved and brought to the movie square immediately afterward."


    A projector had been set up in that area. Students who wanted to just lie down and relax while watching a movie surrounded by the warmth of their friends and the softness of the pillow fort could go there.


    "And how''s the propaganda department faring?" Edward asked.


    "I should be the one who answers that, my liege."


    Instead of Abraham, Elsa who was wearing a black and white pajamas and fake glasses walked in through the door, gave Jacob a peck on the lips before kneeling next to the jester.


    "We have recruited almost 70% of the students in this school, and even found some allies in our nearby alma mater. Some clubs decided to implement the ''wait and see'' approach before joining us, such as the computer club and the mathematics club."


    She continued, " May I be daring and suggest that these clubs need to be destroyed immediately, my liege, as to rid of unstable factors in these uncertain times." Elsa said in a cold and menacing manner while pushing her glasses upward.


    Jacob swallowed his saliva and mumbled to himself, "I need to make sure she wears those glasses in our next make-out session."


    "Wouldn''t the principal be mad if he knew we stole his chair?" Alex whispered to Edward, but he grabbed her and made her sit on his lap as she got close enough to him. Alex blushed and wanted to move away, but Ed put his finger on Alex''s lips while still focusing on Abraham.


    "Shh Harem member number 3. Abraham, what did the chess club say again?" Ed asked in disbelief while Alex lowered her head in embarrassment, her face doing a perfect imitation of a tomato.


    "There''s rumors that they are planning a mutiny, my lord! They wanted you to finish building Fluffy-Shire before usurping the throne to build their very own ThreadCity!"


    "Hmmm... Then, let''s give them a chance to do that. Invite Joshua Liu, the president of the chess club for a one-on-one duel against me. Tell him, he can pick any match that he''s confident in. If I lose, I will hand over Fluffy-Shire to him."


    "But Sire!" Elsa exclaimed worriedly. Ed held one of his hands to stop Elsa while bruising Alex''s hair like she was a kitten on the other.


    "My administrator. Remember what I said to you when we started building Fluffy-Shire. I aspire to build a place, where we could finally realize our life-long desires, to finally pull a pillow, and sleep in class!"


    Alex rolled her eyes while the rest of the ''harem members'' giggled at Ed.


    "For years we have been tormented by sleepiness and the rigid atmosphere of school, where we were forced to relive the same numb-minded lectures instead of spending our days frolicking in the meadows, and living our childhood lives to the fullest."


    "Fluffy-Shire is more than just a place, it''s a symbol. It''s a symbol for every single teacher in the world to fear! For an idea of escape, where we can finally become free, it is immortal!"


    "Alright, tone it down." Alex whispered to Edward before he could get more heated.


    "If Joshua wants to become the leader and carry on the symbol, I will be glad to step aside, provided he has the capability to do so. That''s why I''m giving him a chance. But, if he loses, then I want the unconditional surrender of all the members of the chess club. He has 20 minutes to decide, or else...he would learn our ways of peace...by force!"


    "Great decision my lord. I will pass on the message personally, and even drag Joshua to kneel in front of you if need be." Elsa said before standing up, saluted Ed and then walked away.


    The camera-man smiled as he watched Ed''s generous character. Enid then walked silently behind Ed and asked, "My lord, what do you want me to do to Joshua?"


    "He has 10 minutes to surrender, if he doesn''t then all members of the chess club are to be conscripted to build our encampment on the front lines. As for Joshua himself, throw him into the dungeons for even daring to think about the idea of usurping me. I''ll trust the shadow guards to handle this."


    Enid coughed twice, causing Ed to look at her in confusion before he remembered, "Ah, Wolf guards. Sorry. I will trust the Shadow Wolf Guard to handle this."


    "Right away my lord." Enid said before she bowed and slowly walked out of the room. Alex turned to the camera in disbelief as she witnessed the entire thing.


    [Alex''s commentary- Documentary style]


    "Okay this is quickly getting out of hand. And to think that the reason this whole thing started is because Mrs Herderson told him he''s a ''Good boy''? I have never seen this level of pettiness before."


    [Jenna''s commentary]


    Jenna tied her pajama shirt into a crop top to reveal her belly button. She said, "Although I was demoted to be the 4th member of the Harem, I will work hard to earn the affection of his majesty and claim my rightful seat on top of his majesty''s lap for a session of patting-"


    [commentary ends]


    "Now that the kingdom''s affairs are in order. Billie, are you ready?" Ed turned to Billie and asked. He stood up and walked to the blanked out Billie and grabbed her hand, snapping her back to reality.


    "Wha-" Billie exclaimed.


    "I''m asking if you are ready?" Ed asked in a calm manner while flashing a charismatic smile.


    "We��Um...Can we draw the straws again?" Billie asked worriedly.


    "I already asked you if you wanted to do this before, now, Finneas has already set up the stage for you in the East wing."


    "NOW TO THE TEACHER''S LOUNGE!?" Alex suddenly shouted in horror. Ed turned to look at Alex behind him and smiled mischievously, "Yes. If we want to declare the beginning of the war, they should be able to hear it right?"


    ...


    "Sure." I replied.


    We shared the microphone she was holding as we harmonized.


    Together: ??Hey now, you''re an all star,


    get your game on, go play~


    Hey now, you''re a rock star,


    get the show on, get paid.


    All that glitters is gold,


    only shooting stars break the mold.??


    Billie vocalized during the bridge, "Whoo~ YEAHH~~"


    She stepped into the crowd and danced together with them as she sang.


    "??Hey now, you''re an all star,


    get your game on, go play.


    Hey now, you''re a rock star,


    get the show on, get paid.


    All that glitters is gold,


    only shooting stars...??


    I swear I could see Finneas wiping his tears as his socially awkward sister had finally shown her true self to the world.


    ??Somebody once asked, could I spare some change for gas, "I need to get myself away from this place."


    I said yep, what a concept.


    I could use a little fuel myself,


    and we could all use a little chaaange~. ??


    Billie turned to Alex and said, "You''re next." Alex almost froze, but she didn''t miss a beat because of it.


    ??Well, the years start coming and they don''t stop coming,


    fed to the rules and I hit the ground running.


    Didn''t make sense not to live for fun,


    your brain gets smart, but your head gets dumb.


    So much to do, so much to see,


    So what''s wrong with taking the back streets?


    You''ll never know if you don''t go,


    you''ll never shine if you don''t glow.??


    Jacob, who was keeping an eye on the teacher''s room, suddenly made a gesture to me. "They''re coming out!"


    Billie didn''t realize it and was still engrossed in the song. Finneas stood up while playing the keyboard, and two students helped him to move the keyboard while he kept playing on it.


    I walked next to Billie and we sang together, "??Hey now, you''re an all star,


    get your game on, go play.


    Hey now, you''re a rock star,


    get the show on, get paid.


    All that glitters is gold,


    Only shooting stars break the mold~??


    Billie ended it with an amazing vocal bellowing, "??All that glitters is goooold~~,


    only shooting stars~~~ break the mold~~~.??


    The crowd cheered as she finished the song. The number of students there had grown to over 60 people, and then Jacob shouted, interrupting the atmosphere, "THE TEACHER''S HERE!!!!"


    "RUNNNN!!!" I shouted as I grabbed Billie and we ran away together following Alex and Finneas who were already ahead of us. I had to sling the guitar to my back as I crawled on the floor again, giving one last look at Mrs Henderson who just arrived at the previous stage.


    "What is going on here? Who''s responsible for this?" She asked, but no students were answering her questions, which truly surprised her because it was the first time it happened ever since she started teaching.


    [Billie''s commentary]


    "When Edward first asked me to join his band, I thought Finneas had talked him into it. My brother...is a bit nosy sometimes." Billie explained, her eyes were glossy.


    "I had always wanted to sing in front of people, but...I was always too afraid to do it." She continued. "But today, when Ed told me that I needed to rehearse...I needed to get out of my comfort zone... I honestly wanted to run away." (Remember she''s 11 at the time)


    "But when Alex and Finneas agreed to it, I also felt pressured to agree to it. And right now, I...Love Ed for making me do it." She chuckled a bit before adding, "Finneas will freak out when he finds out I said that. Just to be clear, I don''t "Love" him like ''like'' him, I just Love LOVE him. He''s an awesome person, and I truly think that I could never love anyone more than I love him, which is unfortunate for my future boyfriend."


    [Finneas''s Commentary]


    "I knew Billie could sing. But When she stood behind that mic, My hands were clammy, my breathing got quicker, and even my mind started to blank out. It''s just... I was the one who had to start the melody, and if I made a mistake then the whole performance would be fucked up."


    "Thankfully the star was there. Well...Billie''s ordeal has passed, so right now, Alex is becoming exactly like Billie before she performed. I hope that she will do well." Finneas said in concern.

 Chapter 134: Fort War (2)

    Chapter 134: Chapter 134: Fort War (2)


    [General POV �C Student Imagination Version]


    It was a peaceful day in this warm and cuddly Fort Fluffy-Shire. The inhabitants of this realm were happy and content with the handsome lord''s effort to protect them from the terror of sleepiness and the cold hard hell of school.


    As Lord Fluffy-Shire had decreed the ''No Three Fs'' rule for the fort �C which were Fires, Farting, and... mating, some students decided to be creative and ''borrowed'' the microwave from the teacher''s lounge to cook instant noodles to eat inside the fort.


    "HALT!" A team of patrol guards who were wearing football under armor stopped the batch of students who were holding their ramen bowl and inspected them.


    "Have you started a fire during your cooking process?" The guard asked while encircling the peasant.


    "N-NO Sire, we are just simple folk. Fire is a luxury that we won''t ever have." The peasant said fearfully. The guard grabbed the fork inside the peasant''s bowl and took a bite out of his ramen.


    "Good, you can go now." The guard said after illegally collecting the taxes from the citizens. Seeing the dissatisfied looks on the peasant, he asked menacingly, "Is there anything you want to say?"


    "Lord Fluffy-Shire won''t-"


    "The LORD...ISN''T HERE!" The guard said while holding the peasant''s collar. "Unless you want me to kick you out of the fort, maybe you should realize that-"


    But before the guard could continue harassing the peasant of the realm, he felt a cold breeze blowing from behind him. He turned in that direction, and froze as he saw the woman in a white dress staring coldly at him.


    "Mrs...Mrs Henderso-" The guard stammered fearfully. The peasant realized it and shouted immediately to warn the others, "RUNN! THE ICE WITCH IS HERE!!!!"


    As the children screamed in a childish voice and scattered in multiple directions by quickly crawling away, Mrs Henderson walked slowly towards the frozen guard and placed her hand on his shoulder.


    "Mr Jameson, Please follow me to the teacher''s lounge. We need to talk." Mrs Henderson ordered. The corrupt guard gulped his saliva and nodded obediently to the teacher before following her away.


    [General POV- Normal Version]


    Mrs Johnson, the PE teacher, was wearing a green PE coach outfit with her zips lowered, revealing her white tank top and a bit of cleavage. She walked next to Mrs Henderson and stammered, "Hey...This...I...Have no words..."


    She was speechless as she saw the fort, and Mrs Henderson nodded beside her. "I know. It''s incomprehensible. We should shut it down quickly before a student gets hurt."


    Mrs Henderson walked to the front entry of the fort and touched the rope holding the fort together.


    "I wouldn''t do that if I were you. Some of the knots are load bearing. If you touch the wrong place, you''ll collapse the whole thing and bury a lot of students inside." An old janitor suddenly warned Mrs Henderson while he was mopping the floor.


    Mrs Henderson and Mrs Johnson turned to the janitor. The PE teacher then asked angrily, "Wait, did you know about this? And you did nothing to stop it?"


    The janitor shrugged and continued mopping the floor. He couldn''t really say that he wanted to stop it before, but once he got 50 dollars richer, he just turned a blind eye on the whole thing, couldn''t he?


    The two teachers thought for a while before Mrs Johnson said, "If we cannot take it down, then, we should find the ringleaders. Once we take them out, then the whole operation will crash to the ground. We just need to find out who the ringleader is."


    Mrs Henderson sighed and said, "I know who the ringleader is."


    "Really? How- Who is it?" The PE coach asked in disbelief.


    "It''s a good boy that''s trying to pretend he''s a bad boy." Mrs Henderson replied before taking out her phone and calling the ''alleged'' ringleader of the operation.


    "Then, if you know who he is, you might be able to tell me, just why...why is there a cameraman filming us right now?" The PE coach turned to the camera-man next to them.


    The camera-man whispered, "Just pretend I''m not here," causing both of the teachers to stare in disbelief. While the call was connecting, Mrs Henderson said to the other teacher, "Go inside and try to find out where Ed and his friends are."


    "Okay. See you inside." The PE coach grinned before getting on all fours and crawling into the fort''s corridors at a high speed, startling the students who were relaxing around as she passed.


    ...


    Inside the music classroom.


    "Hip-Hip, Hooray!" The girls and the boys threw Billie up in the air, making her giggle while still fearing for her life after her successful performance.


    "Okay-okay, put me down." Billie said shyly with a red face. Edward finally lets her off easy and then puts her on the floor on her own two feets again. While the rest of the group was complimenting Billie, Enid walked in and whispered to Edward from behind, "It''s done My lord."


    Edward turned to her and took out a white handkerchief from his pocket and began to wipe Enid''s nose as she had some dirt on it. "Good Job. Now, don''t go anywhere. Alex is going to sing next."


    The cameraman zoomed into Enid''s blushing, but still excited face as Edward was being affectionate with her. He was treating her as if she was his little sister, and she didn''t feel bad about it, not in the least.


    [Enid''s commentary]


    "Joshua? Who''s that- Oh, the chess club. Right right. I''m not going to tell you guys what I did to him. That''s a secret that only me and Ed should know though so keep quiet about it." Enid said with a smirk before sighing sadly. " I wanted to watch Billie sing too! I was looking forward to it!"


    The camera-man comforted Enid and said he recorded the performance.


    Enid brightened up and said, "Really? Ed will put it on his streaming websites right? I remember hearing him saying that his lawyer already asked for permission from Smash Mouth."


    [Commentary ends]


    Alex heard it and was frozen. Her palms were sweaty, her knees suddenly became weak, her arms turned heavy. She looked at Edward who was uploading something on his laptop, and her fear doubled.


    She tried to shake off her nervousness, but it wasn''t working. At this time, Ed''s phone started to ring. He smirked and he answered the call in a confident manner.


    "Hello Eve, what can I do for you?"


    "Don''t be coy Edward." Mrs Henderson said coldly. "I''m calling about the pillow fort."


    "Pillow fort? Where?" Ed acted surprised. Mrs Henderson didn''t play along and asked, "I''m sure you know, that any injuries, and any mishaps that happen under your instigation will be placed on your permanent record. You''re almost graduating, Ed, are you sure you want to risk that?"


    Edward was silent for a bit, but a smile never left his face. Then he replied, "If I was indeed the one responsible for it, then yes, I would have a slight fear of getting branded as the ringleader. But I''m not. The one responsible for this, is Lord Fluffy-Shire. You find him, then you can end this."


    Ed wanted to cut the call, but the teacher then said, "I see. Then, you don''t mind Mrs Johnson taking a look inside the music classroom to find out who Lord... ''Fluffy Shire'' is, don''t you?"


    "No. Not at all. But..." Ed pretended to be distressed before he said coyly. "But, it depends on whether or not she can make it to the class."


    "Hmm? And why wouldn''t she?" Mrs Henderson asked with a raised brow.


    "Let''s just say that if she crawled from the East wing, she needs to get past the sport''s entertainment district where a quiz competition is currently going on." Edward said in a calm manner as he sat on his ''throne''.


    "Even though she may be a fan of the game, I don''t think that she would be willing to abandon her responsibilities just to watch a quiz competition." Mrs Henderson said while watching the camera-man with a confused expression. Then, she decided to walk to the teacher''s office to get more allies.


    "No, I think you misunderstood me. I don''t think she''ll just watch the game. I think that she''ll register her name to participate in it." Edward said while beckoning Jacob to come near him.


    "Then you had greatly miscalculated Edward. I thought you were smarter than this." Mrs Henderson said with a scoff.


    "Really? Even if the price of the competition was a Vintage, 1973 ''Lou Gehrig'' , Mint condition Baseball card worth well over 500 dollars. Which might also just be the last piece she needs to complete her collection? Something that she''s been working on for more than 5 years?" Ed asked lazily while holding his head with his hand while propping it on the armrest.


    "I think that under those circumstances she just might abandon her responsibilities. In fact I have no doubt she would. Don''t you think so too Mrs Henderson?" Ed enunciated the teacher''s name, the girls watching him swoon at his behavior.


    "..." Mrs Henderson was silent for a while. Before she could refute Ed''s word, the boy added, "Even in the extremely unlikely scenario where she might manage to pull herself together, do you really think that the competition is the only hurdle she needs to overcome to get there?"


    "You mean ''here''." Mrs Henderson interrupted, causing Edward to laugh. "And she''s not the only teacher in this school." She added.


    Ed stopped laughing and grinned evilly before saying, "I know."


    And she''s just in the background??..."


    When Alex read the lyrics after rummaging through my stuff before, she had related hard to this song. That was why I decided to let her sing it today.


    "??And she says


    I wish that I could be like the cool kids


    ''Cause all the cool kids, they seem to fit in??"


    "??I wish that I could be like the cool kids


    Like the cool kids~??"


    She turned to me as if asking if she did well �C as she couldn''t see the crowd''s reaction. I nodded while smiling at her antics. She got more confident and brushed her hair to the left side before singing again.


    "??He sees them talking with a big smile


    But they haven''t got a clue


    Yeah, they''re living the good life


    Can''t see what he is going through??"


    She turned to look at me, but I just smiled. Jenna looked worried for a bit before she decided to push the thought to the back of her head and decided to focus 100% on Alex at her moment.


    ??They''re driving fast cars


    But they don''t know where they''re going


    In the fast lane, living life without knowing~??


    "EVERYONE!" I shouted. The crowd then sang together with Alex.


    "??And he says


    I wish that I could be like the cool kids


    ''Cause all the cool kids, they seem to fit in


    I wish that I could be like the cool kids


    Like the cool kids!!!??"


    Our voice reverberated throughout the school. Alex went to Billie and shared a microphone with her as they continued the song.


    ??I wish that I could be like the cool kids


    ''Cause all the cool kids, they seem to get it


    I wish that I could be like the cool kids


    Like the cool kids??


    Finneas slowed down the beat while I strum the guitar slowly. Alex laughed and wore back her glasses before shouting, "EDWARD NEWGATE EVERYONE!" The crowd cheered at my name, and she did the same thing with Billie and Finneas, making our name etched for eternity in the school grounds.


    "??And they said


    I wish that I could be like the cool kids


    ''Cause all the cool kids, they seem to fit in


    I wish that I could be like the cool kids


    Like the cool kids??"


    [Jenna''s and Elsa''s commentary]


    "So, he did a song about us? After all, we''re the most popular girls in school." Elsa said with a thick face. Jenna laughed and said, "I know right?"


    [Commentary ends]


    ??I wish that I could be like the cool kids


    ''Cause all the cool kids, they seem to fit in


    I wish that I could be like the cool kids


    Like the cool kids??


    ??I wish that I could be like the cool kids


    ''Cause all the cool kids, they seem to get it


    I wish that I could be like the cool kids


    Like the cool kids??


    I played the outro with the band member while Alex was huffing her breath and raised her arms out to the crowd. "CROWD SURF-"


    But before she could do something to embarrass herself, I grabbed her and snatched the microphone from her. "No crowd surfing! Enjoy your lunch everyone!"


    We all needed to run away quickly after singing the song. I said to the crowd, "Next will be a performance by Finneas O'' Connel. He will be singing a song that he wrote by himself. Stay tuned!"


    .(Just recommending the latest and first original novel of my friend @Kismet.


    It''s a cultivation novel without the brain-dead Chinese characters. It''s comedic, funny, and serious when it needs to be. Check it out and show him some support! I hope you''ll enjoy it.


    Synopsis:


    Imagine a Xianxia MC. Imagined? Good.


    You might think he fights other young masters, face slaps them, gets the jade beauties that aren''t actually green, and becomes an immortal. If you have imagined that, congratulations, but that''s not who I am.


    I''m apparently Demonic Sect Elder, Type A. Crippled, and in severe need of disciples. Help.


    ----


    "Demonic Sect Elder, Type A" by [Kismet] - make sure it is this one


    /fiction/73508/demonic-sect-elder-type-a )

 Chapter 135: Fort Wars (3)

    Chapter 135: Chapter 135: Fort Wars (3)


    (Double chap today.)


    [General POV]


    In a dim-lighted room, a jester was laughing maniacally after he managed to break into the custodian''s space and took out all the confiscated items throughout the school year.


    "FINALLY!!! I HAVE IT BACK!!!"


    He took out a lightsaber toy from the pile of contraband in front of him, which consisted of porn mags, toys such as bb-guns, lightsabers, yo-yos, skateboards, tamagotchi-game, nintendos and other assorted lost items, bra paddings, teddy bears, barbie dolls, and much more.


    Some of the porn mags pages had already been yellowed by age as he basically picked up all the confiscated items from 1993. "Mine ... My treasure...My precious!!!" Abraham rubbed the ''rare'' porn mags on his cheek as he was extremely excited to explore a curious new era for him.


    Abraham put a few porn mags and toys into his bag as he was one of the main contributors to the pile. But he suddenly felt a chill on his neck as was putting a Playboy magazine with Alexandria Carlsen (Jenna''s mother) on the cover among his possessions.


    "What the-" Abraham turned to the door, and saw it was empty. He breathed a sigh of relief, but then, the light flickered, and a woman in a white dress suddenly appeared at the door frame.


    "ARGHHH!" Abraham shouted in horror as he clutched his chest. His breathing became rapid, and he broke in a cold sweat feeling chills on his back. "Ice Quee- Mrs-Mrs-Mrs Henderson." He called out.


    The Ice Queen smirked and walked slowly inside the room, and said to Abraham, "Oh. Nice little pile you got there."


    "Umm..." Abraham sweated profusely, not understanding what was the Queen''s motive in finding him. "Is this tribute for Lord Fluffy-Shire? Not a menacing name, I don''t think it''s a name fit for a king, don''t you think the same?"


    The teacher took away the magazine Abraham was holding as she realized it was the most appropriate thing to do. She didn''t take away the other magazines though.


    "I...I told him that." Abraham said in a depressed manner. Mrs Henderson nodded in understanding and added, "But... He''s not taking your opinion seriously...Right? That''s because, he''s the king, and you... you''re just the...clown..."


    "THE JESTER!" Abraham corrected the teacher in an angry manner. Mrs Henderson walked behind Abraham and whispered to his ear, "Sure...But is that.,.what you really want? Ask yourself...who is the one who has built the majority of this...wonderful...infrastructure. Was it the king? Why is he the only one enjoying the benefits from this?"


    Abraham widened his eyes in horror and he turned back quickly. He almost stumbled on the pile as he backstep from Mrs Henderson and said, "I- I will not be instigated by you! The k-King is protecting all of us!"


    "I see. I will not be able to break you huh." Mrs Henderson said while slightly shaking her head. Abraham was a bit excited, but before he could say anything, Mrs Henderson added, "I''m not that someone that is finally close to you... that someone that has been inside your mind for years now..."


    "No..Don''t say it!" Abraham begged with a shaky voice.


    "What''s Alex doing now? Oh...I forgot...She''s a member of the king''s harem...right?" Mrs Henderson said with an evil smirk.


    She then shook her head quickly to stop herself from actively enjoying the whole game. She put her hand on Abraham''s shoulder before saying , "Think about it... If you make the right decision...then you can come and join us in the new Republic..where everyone is equal."


    "I...I-" Abraham stammered. Mrs Henderson nodded in satisfaction as she managed to sway an important member of the opposing ringleader''s team. Suddenly, she grabbed the BB-Gun on the pile and turned towards the door quickly. She fired off a few shots, startling the 2 students that were walking past the room.


    *Pop* *Pop* *Pop*


    The pellets popped 3 balloons the students were holding. She then said, "No Helium balloons inside the school!" The students quickly ran away to avoid her gun and her scolding.


    She turned back towards Abraham, but at that moment, several more students with a huge number of helium balloons in their hands walked past the room casually, and she didn''t realize it.


    "I''ll be waiting for you." She said before she walked away, leaving behind a jester who''s having an existential crisis about his identity and loyalties.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Nice job everyone!" I said as we all had lunch together inside the music classroom after Alex did her performance. Enid was holding a few grapes over my head, and slowly lowered them to my mouth to feed me as I sat on the throne.


    "I-I want to do that next!" Jenna said decisively with a blush on her face. "Sure!" Enid said excitedly and took turns with Jenna to feed me stuff. I didn''t even have to use my hand to have my lunch today because of those two.


    Alex rolled her eyes and said disdainfully, "You''re enjoying this aren''t you?"


    "What''s not to enjoy? Anyway, Alex. You almost ruined the ending by going off script."


    Alex was so embarrassed when I brought it up and she buried her face on her legs as she sat on the floor.


    "Crowd surfing. What the hell is even that? There were barely any people there, at most in the low tens." I said in a sarcastic manner, making Alex want to bury her face in a hole somewhere.


    Finneas laughed dryly before saying, "Well...Ed...Should I really sing my song in the next performance? There''s still time for us to change it to a cover song."


    Most of us were confused by his sudden request but Billie spoke first, "But...You were the one who wanted to sing your own song."


    Finneas scratched his cheek and said, "Yeah...I know that...But now...I don''t think it is a good idea."


    I looked at Finneas who was having some self-doubt and said, "I know how you feel, Finneas. It''s scary to share your stories with the world."


    "You could say that." Finneas nodded in agreement. Billie sighed and said angrily, "NO! You''re doing it!"


    "I''m not..." Finneas said to Billie.


    "Then, you''re stupid!" Billie shouted.


    It turned into a huge fight, and finally we had to interfere before both of them said something that they were going to regret. I took Finneas outside the room to cool off, and then he said, "Sorry about that."


    "It''s fine. You know, I went through this too, right?." I shared.


    Finneas raised one of his eyebrows and said, "Really? I didn''t think so. You are always so confident that any song you write is going to be a hit. And with great reason there''s just no ''missing'' with you. I...don''t think I have it in me... to be like that."


    I nodded in understanding. Unlike me, he didn''t have any future knowledge for him to know that he had made something great, nor did he have the luxury of having a future hit selection to pick and choose for his next release, therefore, it was normal for him to have some self-doubt about the whole process.


    "I could say to you that ''you have what it takes.'' or... ''your song is a banger''...But, I don''t think I can make you believe it. You wanna know what''s the easiest way for you to believe?"


    He looked up to me and asked, "What?"


    "You need to sing it." I replied in a casual manner. "Besides, I don''t blame you. Even my heart starts palpitating when I think about my next performance."


    He laughed a bit and said sarcastically, "Surely you jest. You''re already a worldwide artist-"


    "But I''ve never had a worldwide tour. I barely got into planning a short one barely hitting a few states and I am already freaking out, organizing venues, merchandising, promoting the tour, booking pre show singers, creating setlists for each and every show, choosing what to feature and so much more." I half joked.


    "Nah, you can do that later. People already love you, so you can be sure that they''re going to love your songs. So don''t blame me if I can''t believe you when you say you''re still nervous about it."


    I laughed and patted Finneas on the back, making him confused. "Oh, but I am. See." I showed him my sweaty palm, and he was shocked when he touched it.


    "All of us are facing our fears today." I said while looking up to the ceiling. "So, what do you say?" I asked him.


    He was silent for a while as he thought about it.


    [Finneas POV]


    I hate Edward Newgate...or at least I used to.


    Growing up, I was always overshadowed by him when we competed in classical music contests.


    "The winner of the XX competition is...Edward Newgate!"


    And the crowd would stand up and clap for him as he picked up the trophy, while I was scolded by my music teacher for not winning the competition behind the stage.


    All of my life, I wanted to catch up to him.


    But then, the purpose of my life disappeared.


    I was lost, and my interest in classical music was lost too.


    When I entered middle school, I was surprised when I saw him attending the same school. But, the once great classical musician Edward Newgate, had downgraded into a typical teenage delinquent, an all around loner.


    He rejected everything, and subconsciously, I emulated him. I had no close friends, I became brash with my words, and even with my little sister...


    Then, he decided to change once again. He made his mark in mainstream music, and I was confused.


    Finneas turned towards Ed, and he gazed at him angrily and gestured to him with his facial expression to focus. Finneas gulped his saliva and returned to his microphone.


    ??And they''re gonna leave me here on my own~


    And here it goes??


    The crowd exploded into a massive cheer as they danced all around the band.


    ??I''m just a kid


    And life is a nightmare!!


    I''m just a kid


    I know that it''s not fair!!


    Nobody cares


    ''Cause I''m alone and the world is having more fun than me!!??


    But then, the sound attracted a few teachers into the gymnasium. Mrs Johnson, the PE teacher grinned and stealthily placed the card she had won into her pocket before making ways towards the band.


    ??What the hell is wrong with me?


    Don''t fit in with anybody


    How did this happen to me?


    Wide awake, I''m bored and I can''t fall asleep


    And every night is the worst night ever??


    Jacob saw the teacher and went to stop her quickly. But as he didn''t know how to do that, he started dancing in front of the teacher.


    "What the- Move Green." Mrs Johnson said. But Elsa and Jenna had already followed Jacob to help the band. Before long, a number of students were dancing around Mrs Johnson, barricading her from moving forward to shut the whole thing down.


    Finneas saw it and showed a thumbs up to Jacob as he continued singing with a peace of mind.


    "??I''m just a kid~


    I''m just a kid


    I''m just a kid (Billie: I''m just a kid)??


    Yeah, I''m just a kid (Alex: I''m just a kid)??


    (Edward: I''m just a kid)"


    ??Yeah, I''m just a kid (Billie:I''m just a kid)


    ( Alex: I''m just a kid)??


    Edward was working hard on the drum until his forehead sweat rolled to his chin. He slammed the drumstick hard as Finneas sang.


    ??I''m just a kid!!!


    And life is a nightmare!!!


    ??I''m just a kid!


    I know that it''s not fair!


    Nobody cares!


    ''Cause I''m alone and the world is-


    Nobody wants to be alone in the world??


    Some teenagers had tears in their eyes as they swayed their bodies to the music. As Mrs Johnson heard the lyrics, she was baffled and stopped trying to shut down the music and stared at the band with a complicated look.


    Finneas took out the microphone from the mic and started to move around the gym.


    "??I''m just a kid


    And life is a nightmare


    I''m just a kid


    I know that it''s not fair??"


    "??Nobody cares


    ''Cause I''m alone and the world is-


    Nobody wants to be alone in the world??"


    ??Nobody cares


    ''Cause I''m alone and the world is having more fun than me tonight??


    Billie walked to Finneas and he sang while looking at her in a suspicious manner to the onlooker.


    ??I''m all alone tonight !!??


    ??Nobody cares tonight!!??


    ??''Cause I''m just a kid tonight!!??


    Edward raised his hands as they finished drumming, and the crowd exploded into excitement as the song finished.


    "FINNEAS! FINNEAS! FINNEAS!"


    "ALEX! ALEX! ALEX!"


    "BILLIE! BILLIE ! BILLIE!"


    "EDWARD! EDWARD! EDWARD!!!"


    The fans chanted the band members name, and at this moment, Mrs Johnson finally arrived at the main vocal spot and grabbed the microphone from Finneas.


    "Alright, alright, Settle down! It''s been fun, but it''s now over!" She said, pouring cold water to the crowd''s excitement as they went quiet immediately.


    Mrs Johnson turned towards the band member and said, "You guys. If you want to sing, you could just tell us instead of doing this ...Wait a minute...Where''s the main culprit, Edward Newgate?"


    Alex, Billie and Finneas were clear that their journey would end at this stage, and they replied to Mrs Johnson at the same time with a smirk on their face, "We don''t know."


    "Ahh...shit!" Mrs Johnson cursed, forgotten that she was still holding the microphone.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Although it seemed that I had abandoned my friends, it was all a part of a much bigger plan. I returned back to the music classroom, but there, I was surprised when I saw Abraham sitting on the ''throne'' I used to sit on.


    "Hello there." I called out, feeling that the atmosphere inside the room was a bit weird.

 Chapter 136 - 136 : Fort Wars (4 – Final)

    Chapter 136: Chapter 136 : Fort Wars (4 �C Final)


    [Edward POV]


    "Hello there." I muttered.


    The jester looked up from the throne before pulling a lightsaber toy in his hand and replied, "General Kenobi."


    I laughed a bit and my eyes went to the 5 rope knot dangling on top of the throne before asking , "So, have you fallen to the dark side?"


    Abraham turned on the toy lightsaber in his hand, revealing a blue glow. "As you can see, the one who had turned to the dark side...wasn''t me."


    I noticed a lightsaber laid down near where I was standing, so I picked it up before turning it on. A red glow appeared on the lightsaber, in which I reacted with a chuckle.


    "So, by any chance if I told you... a story... a story about tragedy... the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise, would you stand by my side again?" I said while twirling the lightsaber a few times.


    Abraham said angrily, "YOU RELEASED THE HOUUNNNDDDSS ON THEM!" He gritted his teeth and stood up before clashing his lightsaber with mine.


    " You promised to enact peace in your rule! But now? Those who challenged your rule, fell in disrepair. You''d unleashed a tragedy, akin to a nuclear war , onto this realm. Have you no regard for others...for human life?"


    My face changed from a smiling king to an evil overlord. "Don''t be so dramatic. It''s just... a necessary sacrifice. All for the glory of the empire."


    "YOU!" Abraham retracted his saber before swinging it at me continuously, in which I blocked every single one. Then, I side-stepped and tripped him, making him fall to the cushiony floor.


    "(Clicking tongue) Poor...Sad Jester. So what if you had seen my true face? You''re powerless to stop it." I teased before I walked slowly to my throne. I sat there crossing my leg while looking at him coldly.


    The camera-man zoomed into my face while crouching, with an excited expression as he filmed the whole thing.


    ...


    [General POV�C Hounds]


    Sanjay Patel vowed to become a worthy rival to the lord of Fluffy-Shire, whether academically, or in charisma. And at the moment he was failing his ambition miserably, not to mention that right now, he had to face the consequences of challenging the throne.


    "Stop releasing the hounds on my subjects!" He said angrily.


    However, the citizens of his fort were currently melting as they watched a cute little corgi dog present their belly by rolling on the floor with its little dumb tongue hanging out of his mouth.


    "AWWWW." The citizens �C or more accurately, the girls, exclaimed as they wanted to pet the dog. But its owner, Barnes of house Troy stopped them and said, " Sir Fluffy ''Hound'' Templeton the Second is a knight underneath the king, and also the official mascot of Fluffy-Shire. Unless you''re a citizen of our realm, you''re not permitted to pet him."


    "Aww..." The girls exclaimed sadly. Troy then added while holding a piece of paper in his hand, "All that could be subverted if you just sign this contract �C selling the ownership of the lands to our Charismatic Leader, King Newgate the Third. You''ll keep the ownership of your fort, but you''ll serve under a rightful leader if you sign this. What do you say?"


    Sanjay was pressured by his group of friends, before his co-owner of the land, Haruna, pushed him away and took the contract paper from Troy. "We''ll serve the king." Haruna said before signing the paper quickly, her eyes twinkling as she stared at the dog.


    "NOOOO!!!" Sanjay screamed in despair as he watched everything he built was taken away from him.


    "Come on ''Hound''. We need to attack 2 more encampments in front of us." Troy pulled the dog leash slowly to remove him from Haruna''s embrace as they needed to finish their work.


    "We have 3 hours left before school ends. I hope we can make it." Troy muttered as the short legged dog looked at him while they were walking side by side.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Abraham swung the lightsaber towards me again and again, but I side-stepped to avoid all of his slashes. When our lightsabers clashed, we actually stopped its momentum just before it hit each other to avoid breaking the toys.


    I jumped on the throne and said, "It''s OVER Abraham! I have the high ground!"


    "You underestimate my power!!" Abraham said menacingly before trying to slash his saber at me, but I thrusted mine and penetrated underneath his armpit. Shocked, Abraham staggered while the saber was still sticking on him, and he slowly fell to his knees.


    [Abraham''s commentary]


    " I was confident to fight him, after all I had practiced fencing for over three years, but I still failed in the end."


    [Edward''s commentary]


    "Well...I had watched all the Star Wars movies...twice... So it makes sense that I won."


    [Commentary ends]


    With a huffing breath, he asked, "So, did my struggle even make you sweat?"


    "I wish I could say it did, but I don''t want to lie to you in your final moments." I said as I turned my back to him.


    Abraham chuckled and said, "Maybe...if it is you...you could actually handle the burden of being a...king..." He struggled at the end before he dropped lifelessly on the soft and warm floor.


    I sighed and I went to take back my lightsaber from him, but then I heard someone slow clapping from behind me. I turned and saw Mrs Henderson standing beneath the killswitch knot that I had engineered with an astonished expression on her face.


    "You kids'' commitment to your roles is really surprising. Too bad that it all must end now." She muttered before reaching out her hand for the knot. "It''s been fun Edward." She said with a satisfied smile on her face as she untangled the knot.


    But then...nothing happened...


    Confused, Mrs Henderson turned to look at me as I was helping Abraham stand back up after his ''death''. Then, a banner fell from the ceiling, shocking the teacher.


    [YOU LOSE!] The banner said.


    "What the-" Mrs Henderson widened her eyes before turning to me again for the explanation.


    "Did you really think Abraham would betray me?" I asked with a teasing smile on my face. "Although he likes Alex, it''s more like a deep admiration rather than love."


    "Yeah. I''m a SIMP for Alex! Did I use that right?" He whispered to me after declaring himself as a simp loudly. "Besides, I''m the one who gave everyone their roles. I''m the one who named the girls his harem members. Nice performance right?" Abraham said before he took a bow.


    ''Yeah actually, you could join the drama club.'' I said as I nodded.


    And quickly proceeded to continue teasing the teacher. "I know you were going to target one of us. Therefore, I decided to make a controllable target that you could easily reach out to."


    "Why did you think my hat had bells on it? It WAS to gain your attention." Abraham added while shaking his jester hat, making some ringing noise. Both of us laughed together while Mrs Henderson kept looking at us with a scrunched face.


    "Even if you had planned every second of it, Ed, you should have known that all of this was going to end when he led me to you. So why did you do it?" She asked, trying to find the answer for her confusion.


    I shrugged and said, "Because...I don''t need to continue this anymore. I have already achieved my goals."


    A scruffy looking man in a Guiness World Book of Records t-shirt suddenly entered the room and announced, "YOU DID IT! YOU BROKE THE PREVIOUS RECORD!"


    "With 652 meter square footage, you managed to surpass the previous record at Tiandle Community College. The record for the largest blanket fort in the world is now held by your school!" The officials announced.


    The camera-man pumped his fist in excitement as he witnessed the whole thing before getting back to his work.


    Mrs Henderson was blanking out for a bit before she muttered to herself, "Guinness... Book of Records?"


    I laughed and said to her, "How did you think I convinced the principal to allow me to do this? You''re slipping, teach. You''re usually better than this."


    The crowd swayed their body gently to the song as he sang. Jenna suddenly teared up from the thought of saying goodbyes, causing Elsa to hug her on the back to comfort her.


    "??I get stuck when the world''s too loud


    And things don''t look up when you''re goin'' down??"


    Edward remembered the days when he felt lost, and didn''t know what to do.


    "??I know your arms are reachin'' out


    From somewhere beyond the clouds??"


    He paused the music, looked at the sky before closing his eyes, and then hastened the rhythms for the chorus while reminiscing. Mrs Henderson nodded in understanding when a soft wind suddenly blew inside the assembly hall.


    "??You make me feel


    Like my troubled heart is a million miles away??"


    "??You make me feel


    Like I''m drunk on stars and we''re dancing out into space??"


    "Hmm? Drunk on stars...or star?" Enid sniggered as an image of a blonde artist came to her mind.


    "??Celestial!!??" Edward took a step back as he heard Alex and Billie sing the backup vocals and focused on the guitar before singing again, "Celestial~??"


    The crowd cheered. Jacob wiped his tears slowly as he fixed his gaze on Edward, not wanting to miss even a second of his friend''s performance.


    "??I see the light shinin'' through the rain


    A thousand colors in a brighter shade??"


    "??Needed to rise from the lowest place


    There''s a silver lining that surrounds the grey??"


    Ed unknowingly activated his [Soul Voice] as he sang from the heart, making all those who listened to him relate strongly to the song.


    "??When I get lost, will it come back around?


    Things don''t look up when you''re goin'' down??"


    The happy and bad memories that they had reappeared inside their mind, and the figure of those who always stood with them became clearer.


    "??I know your arms, they are reachin'' out


    From somewhere beyond the clouds??"


    "??You make me feel


    Like my troubled heart is a million miles away??"


    "??You make me feel


    Like I''m drunk on stars and we''re dancing out into space??"


    "EDWARDDD!" Jenna shouted in encouragement before the chorus.


    "?? Celestial


    Celestial, oh-oh??"


    "??We were made to be, Nothin'' more than this, Finding magic in all the smallest things??"


    "??The way we notice, that''s what really matters, Let''s make tonight go on and on and on~??"


    Edward sang, "??You make me feel??", and was continued by his friends.


    (Alex and Finneas: We were made to be nothing more than this. Finding magic in all the smallest things)


    "??You make me feel??"


    (Alex and Finneas: The way we notice, that''s what really matters. Let''s make tonight go on and on and on)


    "?? You make me feel


    Like my troubled heart is a million miles away??"


    The corgi who hadn''t gotten home yet also swayed his tiny tail as he heard the song.


    "??You make me feel


    Like I''m drunk on stars and we''re dancing out into space??"


    "??Celestial, oh-oh??


    ??Celestial, oh-oh??


    ??Celestial??"


    "??We were made to be


    Nothing more than this (oh-oh)


    Finding magic in all the smallest things (celestial)


    The way we notice, that''s what really matters (oh-oh)


    Let''s make tonight go on and on and on


    Celestial??"


    ...


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 Chapter 137: Fort Wars – Reactions.

    Chapter 137: Chapter 137: Fort Wars �C Reactions.


    [General POV]


    "MOM! Edward''s show is up!" Manny yelled after setting up the laptop with the TV screen in the living room. Luke was there too as he made it his job to make sure that Manny would keep exercising and dieting every single day.


    Not that he wanted Manny to become healthier, but he fell in love with the ''powerful'' feeling of being a coach and thus wanted to make Manny''s life a living hell.


    Compared to how bloated Manny was before, now, his jaw had become more angular and his chubby cheeks had sunk, making a few girls notice him �C which made him more confident about Ed''s technique to pick up girls.


    "Grandpa! Come quick!" Luke ran to Jay who was drinking a glass of scotch at the bar and pulled him towards the couch. Jay sighed and said gruffly, "I...I don''t think that I will be interested in watching this."


    "Ayy Jay don''t be an old man." Gloria interjected as she walked down the stairs while wearing an earring.


    "Hey... this whole thing''s for teenage girls who are crazy over everything that has to do with him, not me!" Jay angrily gruffed.


    But Gloria quickly added in a careful manner trying to avoid sounding patronizing , "Alex...is singing too. You should give her support. Isn''t that right Manny?"


    Luke suddenly laughed and said, "Yeah Grandpa. Alex will need it."


    Not that the family was looking down on Alex, but they just never heard her sing before. So they were a bit doubtful about her participation in such a show.


    {Fort Wars!} was the title of the video. The thumbnail was of Edward sitting on a throne with a red-lightsaber, which made his fan''s both feel incredulous and excited to click on it.


    The movie played with texts floating up in the screen �C Star Wars style!


    "Aren''t they afraid of getting sued?" Jay muttered in disbelief.


    In another house.


    "Oh OHHH!" Phil exclaimed in excitement as he watched the show. Next to him was Haley who was holding a Vogue magazine and asking Claire a few questions.


    "Mom, it says here men who''re attracted to emotional/gothic type girls, and even psycho girls, have massive issues with their mother. Do you think that''s true?" Haley asked with an expression of disbelief.


    [Haley''s Commentary]


    "I was wondering why Tara recommended this issue to me. Turns out, it can give me a deeper understanding on why...he''s like that." Haley said carefully and with a wry smile.


    "Of course, if it''s written in a magazine it must be true right?? I mean I don''t see why I shouldn''t believe it? I mean, they are a hugely popular company why would they lie?" She asked with a worrying chuckle while holding the magazine.


    "It''s said that to attract the attention of these kinds of men, I should become more affectionate, don''t play games with them, give out a motherly impression? What the hell does that even mean!? I don''t have any idea of how to do any of these things!"


    [Commentary ends]


    "Honey, instead of reading the magazine, why don''t you help me fold the laundry?" Claire said to avoid answering the question by her daughter. Not because she didn''t know the answer, but because she knew it all too well.


    "Hmmm..." Haley scrutinized her mother''s face, before she slowly picked up the laundry and folded it messily but with her eyes stuck on Claire.


    {Today we''re going to build a school-wide blanket fort, and try to break the world Record!}


    The video opened with the sight of Edward speaking to a group of students in a normal tone, before it changed 5 minutes later into a feudal lord tone after the blanket fort was erected.


    "Pfft- HAHAHA! Why are they all so serious!" Haley laughed out loud, while feeling slightly jealous of those kids. Even Claire and Phil couldn''t help smiling as they watched it.


    "When Luke and Alex come home, We will make our own-" Phil said excitedly, before it was shut down by his wife, "NO Phil!"


    [Phil''s commentary]


    "I want to build a fort too! It''s been a while since the kids wanted to do anything like that . I miss that." Phil said with sad eyes.


    [Commentary ends]


    "Performance? He''s singing in this?" Haley asked when Edward declared it in the video.


    "Forget about that. What kind of contraband is he smuggling ? That''s my main concern." Claire said with narrowed eyes.


    The video continued with Abraham kneeling in front of the throne, {"Esteemed Lord of Fluffy-Shire.....Honorable members of the Royal Harem..."}


    All of them were frozen as they heard it. Especially Haley.


    [Haley'' commentary]


    "He said WHAT!" She yelled incredulously.


    Far away from California, a blonde teenage girl was watching the video while on a video call with her best friend at the same time.


    "Selena, are you watching it?" Taylor asked as she skipped the video to the last section as she wanted to hear Edward''s song first.


    "I''m watching it from the start! Also, I''m jealous. I always imagined playing with my friends in school like that." Selena muttered on the screen.


    "Really? Hmmm...What should I do?" Taylor rubbed her chin as she thought about it. "Well...I will watch the end first, then I will decide whether to watch the whole thing."


    "Weren''t you the one who was so excited, you just HAD to call me even if I was still on set? Didn''t you say you missed him ''SO SO MUCH''? "


    "Hmph! I do miss him, but he''s out there playing without even thinking about me who''s suffering over here!" Taylor said while crossing her arms angrily.


    "Suffering? Bitch you''re in a mansion-"


    "Enough talking. I will play the song first!" Taylor then clicked on the play button, and listened to ''Celestial'' together with Selena.


    {"?? You make me feel


    Like my troubled heart is a million miles away??"}


    {"??You make me feel


    Like I''m drunk on stars and we''re dancing out into space??"}


    {"??Celestial, oh-oh??


    ??Celestial, oh-oh??


    ??Celestial??"}


    "Hmm...I wanna see their feet." He muttered. "Should I cast them in my new show?"


    But too bad for him, he wouldn''t even manage to come close to the cast members as they got Edward as their backing. Fame carries a certain degree of treachery, so Ed knew that he had to be careful when releasing his show on his platform.


    With 3 millions subscribers in the first month of the streaming site release, the names of the cast members in the show had spread all over the world - albeit it was still only circling amongst Edward''s fan community.


    Entertain company Co-CEO Pepper was watching the show when he suddenly sighed. "At first, I didn''t think that it''d be good for his image to release this...It just seemed so... childish"


    "But unexpectedly, people liked to see their idol doing dumb and relatable stuff." Pepper added as he saw Edward''s name was trending again on Twitter.


    Harvey nodded and suddenly said with a smirk, "Yes. You have no talent in this. You should just let him handle the company from now on."


    "..." Pepper was speechless and couldn''t find the words to refute Harvey for a while.


    Eminem watched the show with a poker face before he sniggered and muttered, "Yo Dre. Come check this out man. He''s fighting with lightsabers."


    "Huh? Weren''t you watching a documentary?" Dre asked in confusion.


    In Jay''s house, Luke and Manny exclaimed in awe as they watched the lightsaber fight in the dim room.


    "That''s soo cool!! Mom! What is a lightsaber?" Manny asked as he had never watched Star Wars before. (He''s 10)


    "That''s from Star Trek Manny. I want one! Grandpa! Buy me one!" Luke pestered Jay before getting back to the show.


    "It''s Star Wars Luke! Your uncle Mitchell''s head will actually let out smoke if you say it wrong." Jay said with a chuckle.


    "I know it''s Star Trek! I watched it with my dad before!" Luke said disobediently.


    As the story showed that Ed had been playing the teacher from the beginning of the story, viewers around the world were shocked by the revelation and the internet exploded.


    @LilyLeader: All According to the Plan. (AizenSosuke.img)


    Inside an apartment in Pasadena, Sheldon suddenly shouted while sitting on his spot on the couch, "IMPOSSIBLE!! This must be scripted!"


    Leonard laughed while sitting on the lone couch and said, "No-no. It''s real. It''s a documentary."


    "I refuse to believe this! Also Leonard! You lied to me! You said George Lucas came out with an exclusive!" Sheldon stood up and ran away to his room in anger. Rajesh and Howard also laughed at Sheldon before Rajesh said, "I didn''t know that he was a Star Wars fan. Is he also a comic book fan?"


    "Ohh. We should invite him here and show our collection to him sometimes." Leonard added.


    "Or use him to get close to George Lucas, and get a cameo as a Jedi in the next movie!" Howard said as if he got a great idea.


    While his friends were disdaining him, a certain director inside the Skywalker Ranch was watching the show before he mumbled, "Hmm...Is it the right time for another Star Wars movie yet? Or should I just sell the company?"


    George Lucas couldn''t come to a decision today. But he knew deep down in his heart that if he did come out with the new movie, a certain teenage singer would be his first choice to become a Sith Lord, and do the soundtrack.


    RDJ watched the fight scene and he said to John Favreou, "I told you. The kid can act."


    "Yes. I do believe you. But there aren''t any roles suitable for him. And we don''t have the rights for the spiderman film." Jon replied.


    "Give him a role to fight Scarlet. I''m sure he''d love her to wrap her legs around him." RDJ said sarcastically while teasing John''s questionable choice in the new movie.


    @ClownDaddy: Congrats Ed for breaking the World Record!


    @LilyLeader: Congrats Ed for breaking the World Record!


    Even on Twitter, a lot of celebrities were tagging Edward in their tweets to congratulate him.


    @MileyCyrus: Congratulations Edward Newgate! I didn''t think that I would be absorbed watching a documentary, but you have changed my view!


    @SamuelLJackson: Motherfucker, why didn''t you use the purple lightsaber?


    @AndrewGarfield: Oh my god, My Jedi heart is screaming inside of me! @EdwardNewgate, You should be a Sith Lord!


    @EwanMcgregor: You were the chosen one Edward! It was prophesied that you would destroy the Sith! Not join them!


    @EwanMcgregor: Ahh, I''m not satisfied with the 2 minute fight. I want more! The plot twist is mindblowing! The JESTER is the MVP!


    @Hayden: I agree with @EwanMcgregor.


    As the world reached Edward''s performance, they swooned together with the rest of the students.


    Haley mumbled to herself, "Is he still sad about his grandmother? I didn''t expect that...Hmm..."


    Phil swayed to the music before he muttered, "I don''t know why, but this song reminds me of Pokemons."


    Haley: ...


    Claire: ...


    CameronDiaz: It makes me miss my school days. I didn''t expect that.. @EdwardNewgate I''m your fan now!


    Back to Taylor, Selena was baffled when Taylor suddenly ran out of her room, shouting for her dad.


    "DADDY! I want to go to the concert tomorrow! YOU CAN''T STOP MEEEEE!!!"


    @LilyLeader: Celestial? Hehe, I guess it''s a reference to the girl who sang Starlight before? Haha, #Tayward_Forever!


    The song Celestial quickly started trending everywhere, and the fires of Edward and Taylor''s shippers were reignited again, pushing the shippers towards a new fanatical level.


    ...


    [Camila''s house]


    As the world was reacting to the show, Edward was currently being squished by a group of people on top of his giant bed. His group of friends was laying on top of him in a dogpile, preventing him from moving.


    "We don''t want to go!" Exclaimed all of the people in his social group. Jenna, Enid, Billie, Alex, Finneas, Abraham, Elsa, Jacob�C All of them were currently at Edward''s house as they didn''t want to separate as school was over.


    "Get lost you guys! I have to get ready for prom!" Edward shouted and tried to push them off, but to no avail.


    "NOOO!" x8

 Chapter 138: Summer Plans.

    Chapter 138: Chapter 138: Summer Plans.


    (i''m sick af this week. i''ll post another chap tomorrow to make up for monday)


    [Edward POV]


    "You guys are so heavy!" I groaned as I rubbed my sore back after forcing all the people off me. Jenna and Enid happily rolled around my giant bed while Alex, Billie and Elsa were sitting on the edge. The boys were all kicked out from the bed and were spread all over the room.


    Holding a Metallica album, Finneas asked quizzically, "You listen to heavy metal? That''s...unexpected."


    "That''s Abby''s." I replied casually before taking out 3 sets of suits from the closet. I laid them down on the bed while I took off my shirt, making the girls squeal in surprise.


    "Shut up! This is my room! I can be naked in here if I want!" I said in a sarcastic manner as I threw my shirt to Enid. She grabbed the shirt and sniffed it before saying, "Go ahead. Be naked. We won''t mind~"


    "I would mind. I don''t want my girl to look at other naked men." Jacob said in a serious manner.


    "Too late." Jenna said with a chuckle, causing Elsa to blush. "Shut up!" Elsa said before attacking Jenna.


    "What''s that supposed to mean?" Jacob asked in worry and confusion.


    "Porn. She watched porn." I explained simply, which made Jacob sigh in relief and Elsa threw a pillow at me in embarrassment.


    "GO DIE! ALL OF YOU!" She exploded before running away. As we laughed, Finneas suddenly asked, "So, now that summer''s here? What are you guys going to do?"


    Abraham was fiddling with the illegal items he snatched from the contraband pile in school and replied, "I don''t have a plan yet. What about you?"


    Finneas replied, "I''m not sure, but my mom usually brings us to our beach house in Montauk for summer. We''ll spend a few weeks there, usually after the 4th of July."


    Billie nodded before saying, "If any of you guys want, you can come with us. We''re usually bored out of our minds there."


    "Hmm? Your parent''s don''t take you guys sightseeing?" I asked in confusion.


    Finneas and Billie looked at each other before Billie replied, "Well...they usually spend some time at another couple''s house. I don''t know what they do there though."


    I nodded while inwardly replying, "Swinging", but not saying it to the kids as I didn''t want to ruin their perception of their parents.


    "Montauk? That''s a coincidence. I usually go there with my family too. Not my dad though, he is busy training his team in the summer." Jacob added after bringing the angry Elsa back into the room and made her sit on his lap as he patted her head to calm her down.


    "Ahh, you guys could play together then. Maybe try some surfing or skinny dipping." Abraham joked. Jenna and Enid were watching me the whole time as I tried on my suit, and then Alex laughed as she saw the sight.


    "AHAHA, the suit is small! What are you? The HULK?" She joked as I checked out my reflection in the mirror. The suit was great, but too bad for me, I had already outgrown it.


    "Can you believe that I had this suit tailor-made just 2 months ago?" I said as I took off the shirt and was left shirtless again. "Finneas, this was never worn. Try it. See if it fits you." I threw the suit to Finneas before he blushed and said, "I don''t want to undress-"


    "Go outside the room or use the toilet next door if you''re shy." I said with a tone of disbelief. Finneas realized it and ran away quickly as the group laughed at him.


    "Hmm...I remember you being my height before. Now...you even got muscles." Jenna said before she touched my abs without me realizing it. Enid was jealous and she pinned Jenna down before saying urgently, "I want to touch too!"


    I took a step back before she could, which made her pout in dissatisfaction. I laughed before saying, "I...I don''t know whether all of this can fit me. I asked Pepper to bring my suit this morning from the office, but I don''t know if he already did."


    "Oh. Your aunt told me to remind you, your stuff is in the living room. I''ll go get it." Alex said before she ran out of the room. Suddenly, I heard both Alex and Finneas let out a horrified yell, and Alex scolding Finneas for being naked in the corridor.


    As they were arguing, Enid asked, "Ed, you''re going to see your grandparents right?"


    "Yeah. I''ll be staying at the ranch for a while. Hopefully they really have installed wifi there, or I''ll be living like it''s the middle ages all over again."


    "Ranch? Your family has a ranch?" Jenna asked curiously.


    "Yeah. Horses, cows, sheeps. Usually my grandpa and I just ride horses around the place while my cousins annoy me for as long as I stay there."


    "Wait. Do you wear a cowboy hat when you ride?" Jenna asked as her eyes lit up.


    "Yeah. Why?" I asked in confusion.


    Jenna giggled for a while and said, "Nothing. I don''t have anything to do in the summer. I envy you. I want to ride horses too."


    Without thinking much, I replied, "Well you could always come to the ranch-"


    "YEAYY!" Jenna celebrated suddenly before I could finish my words. Enid whispered in dissatisfaction, "Lucky."


    "Wait Jen. Didn''t you say you were going to church camp?" Elsa suddenly asked in confusion. Jenna flinched as she remembered it and sighed depressingly. "Yeah."


    All of us widened our eyes and exclaimed in disbelief, "CHURCH CAMP!?"


    "You...the slut...are going to church camp?" Enid muttered in shock.


    "What do you mean slut? I''m a nice girl now. Modest, Catholic girl." Jenna said jokingly. "My mom is going there to-"


    "To hunt for virgin boys?" I added while still in shock. Jenna glared at me and said, "NO!"


    "To make the priests break their vow of chastity?" Billie added, which impressed me a bit.


    "NOOOO!....No...I guess...no?" Even Jenna was confused by her mother''s intention as she thought about it.


    I laughed a bit before asking, "Enid, You''re going back to Transylvannia to run together with your wolf pack?"


    Enid was shocked and she asked, "HOW DID YOU KNOW?"


    "Wait...For real?" Abraham asked in surprise.


    "Not the wolf part!" She retorted angrily before throwing her tiny fist at Abraham from afar. "But I will be going to Transylvannia to meet my grandparents. It is only for a week, and I will be back before the 4th (of July)." Enid explained.


    Abraham and I breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that there were nothing paranormal happening inside the room before Elsa spoke, "My mom had to work, so I usually stay at home to take care of my brothers. But this year, I could work part time at the mall!"


    "Oh yeah. We could do that this year." I muttered in amusement before offering, "If you want, I could give you a part time job at my company. You''re good at administrative work, so it''ll be a waste for you to be selling banana split."


    "Surely you jest! But I don''t want to work at a boring company. I want to hang out at the mall all day!" Elsa said decisively.


    "Sure sure." I said dismissively before Finneas walked into the room wearing a dashing brown suit. Alex also walked in while carrying a garment bag. I whistled at Finneas and said, "Whew. That looks great on you."


    "Thanks. I also love it very much." Finneas said with a smile while still blushing as Alex looked at him.


    After getting the call from his son, Ted drove to the flower shop immediately after getting home from work. However, he was surprised when he saw a huge crowd of people lining up at the shop �C most were teenage boys in a suit.


    "Ted?...Ted! Over here!" Suddenly, he heard a sound calling for him in the beginning part of the line as he was walking to the end. He turned and unexpectedly saw Desiree queuing in line and was waving at him.


    He walked to her with a smile on his face and said, "What are you doing here?"


    "Abby changed her mind about the corsage. So I had to buy it at the last minute. What about you?"


    "Ed changed his mind about the flowers." Ted said before laughing together with Desiree.


    "Dude! No cutting in the line!" A teenage boy behind Desiree said, interrupting their chatter.


    "Oh, I''m-"


    "He''s my boyfriend!" Desiree suddenly hugged Ted''s bulky arm, causing him to be abashed. "So you should stop staring at my ass, or else he will punch you."


    "Umm...Shit!" The kid cursed before running away quickly as he saw Ted''s scary face.


    "What was that?" Ted asked in confusion.


    "Just a horny teenage boy. He''s been bumping on me purposely a few times." Desiree said in an aggrieved manner. "Sometimes, I wonder why this always happens to me."


    "Hmm? You don''t know? You''re a beautiful and sexy woman. That''s why-" Ted suddenly realized what he was saying, and Desiree fanned her flushing cheeks as she became embarrassed by it.


    "A-Anyway. Ed and Abby huh." Desiree said, changing the topic while still holding Ted''s arm as they step one foot forward in line. A blonde boy shouted, "YESS! LAST ROSE!" as he walked out of the store, making the crowd murmur in grief.


    "Y-Yeah. Ed and Abby. Our children...are going to prom with each other." Ted said before wiping the sweat on his forehead.


    "Hmm...Too bad, If they didn''t, then maybe something could actually happen between us." Desiree said.


    "Maybe." Ted replied.


    "You know, we will go back to New York this Monday." Desiree added.


    "Did Ed know about this?" Ted asked.


    "I think he does. Abby passed the interview, and her 2 month program will start quickly."


    "I see. Too bad you won''t be able to see the house after the renovation is finished. I know you wanted to." Ted said, referring to the times Desiree stopped by the house, always with snacks and drinks as he was working with the construction crew.


    "Nah. I was just going over there to look at you with your tank top on, all sweaty while you sawed wood." Desiree said teasingly, which made Ted cough twice.


    "If I had a regret, it would be that I never went on your cruise trip." She added.


    "Ahh...That reminds me, one of my friends is sick, so he left me the keys to his ship." Ted said suddenly.


    "Hmm?"


    "If you want, I could show you the sea tonight..."


    Desiree smiled widely before she said coquettishly, "Oh... you won''t mind going there...just the two of us?"


    Ted thought for a while before he said, "Sure. It''s a small boat anyway. I can steer it on my own."


    "That''s not what I mean. Forget it." Desiree said disappointedly. After getting the flowers and the corsage, they went home in their own cars, but before Desiree started her engine, Ted said assertively, "So...I''ll pick you up at 8?"


    "What...Su-Sure."


    "Good. I''ll bring some red wine." He said before he entered his car.


    ...


    At Desiree''s house. While Edward was getting ready with his friends, Abby too had her own little helpers.


    "So, how do you want your hair done?" Haley asked as she was on hair duty.


    "Same as usual." Abby replied, referring to her twin-tail hairstyle.


    "Tch. Boring." Tara grunted as she held an eyeliner and was working on Abby''s makeup.


    "You wear a bra right?" Haley asked as she could see Abby''s chest in the dress just by standing behind her. Abby was shocked and said, "You need to wear one?"


    "OF COURSE YOU HAVE TO! In fact! I should check if you wore panties!" Tara retorted before she tried to pull Abby''s skirt up. "HEY! Privacy much!" Abby pushed her skirt down before Tara could look.


    After setting the hair, Haley sighed as she said, "Are you really serious? You want to wear a goth choker to prom? What will he think? There''s no difference between this and a dog collar."


    "Should I wear a dog collar? He''ll love things like that." Abby said teasingly.


    Haley rolled her eyes before taking off the choker angrily, "Wear necklaces instead! And don''t you dare use black nail polish today! Nor the black lipstick!"


    "No black lipstick? But I was already done with her eyes!" Tara shouted before grumbling angrily.


    "What- Damn it Tara! I told you, don''t do goth!"


    "She told me you said it was okay!"


    "Do you even know me?!"


    Abby sniggered as she watched her friends were fighting before she asked, "Hey, you guys watched the show yet?"


    "Yeah. We did." Tara replied.


    "And...did he really sing...it for Taylor?" Abby asked hesitantly.


    "Huh? Which song?" Haley asked in confusion, which made Abby feel a bit relieved.


    As Haley went away to pick out the earrings from Desiree''s box of jewelry, Tara whispered, "Soo...Tonight''s the big night huh. Just....Just don''t do anything you''ll regret...okay?''


    "I''ll...keep that in mind."


    "And if someone randomly offers you a drink, by all means, don''t take it."

 Chapter 139: Prom (1)

    Chapter 139: Chapter 139: Prom (1)


    [Edward POV]


    "Don''t drink and drive...what else...oh, use protection-" Before my aunt could finish her words, my dad interrupted, "Beware of spiked drinks. And...don''t drink...at all... you don''t even have a license yet, so don''t drive..."


    He gave my aunt a sideway glare before grabbing my shoulders, "Be responsible. Okay?"


    "Yeah dad. I''m more responsible than you. Stop worrying. It''s school prom, not a rave." I muttered in annoyance as it was almost time to pick up my date.


    My dad smiled as he saw my worrying face and said, "Alright, I won''t hold you back any longer."


    "But first!" My aunt suddenly took out a DSLR camera and snapped a picture of me holding the flowers. I posed for the camera without any embarrassment, making my group of friends boo me.


    "Wish me luck guys. And make sure to not be around when I get home later on." I joked as I got out of the house. Enid showed her tongue at me in annoyance before saying, "NO! We will still be here! You can''t throw us away!"


    "Also, you guys need to have a picture of you...all together.." My aunt said before gesturing for my friends to stand next to me. Alex pulled me back into the house before we took multiple group pictures together. Then, Alex and Finneas started to bicker as the latter was still wearing the suit I gave him.


    "Wanna bet how long it will take for them to date each other?" Jacob suddenly whispered at me.


    "Well, knowing Alex, he could be simping for her for an entire year, and she would still be oblivious. So it''s indeterminate." I muttered seriously. "I guess...one and a half years?"


    "I''ll take that bet too. I will make them date each other before summer ends." Jenna muttered with a sense of purpose.


    "Hey no! That''s cheating." Jacob said before Elsa took Jenna''s side, and they all got into an intense argument with each other.


    I laughed before waving at them as I walked to Abby''s house. I took a deep breath and calmed myself down before knocking gently on her door.


    *knock knock knock*


    Then, I waited for a few seconds before Desiree opened up the door. With a smile on her face, she said, "Abby will take just a few more minutes."


    "Oh. It''s okay, I''ll wait."


    "Here." Desiree suddenly gave me a box with corsage in it.


    "This is...?"


    "A flower to give to Abby. You know how to put it on right?"


    "I think I do." I said while nodding. "So, are there any interesting things going on in your life now?"


    "You...Don''t have to make small talk." Desiree said with a laugh before both of our attention was pulled by the girl coming down the stairs.


    Her dress was beautiful. The top half was modest but still a bit transparent, revealing some cleavage. She was wearing black high heels, and a teardrop necklace on her neck. She stepped down slowly as she smiled at me with her glossy pink lips.


    "Damn...You''re beautiful" I muttered subconsciously, which made Abby blush.


    "Hey!" She suddenly turned into the golden retriever again, breaking the elegant girl charisma that she showed earlier on. I laughed a bit before I handed the flower to her. "This is for you."


    "Sunflower?" She was confused as she took it.


    "That was the only flower left in the store." Desiree suddenly said, surprising me. "How do you know?!" I asked her with widened eyes. She was a bit startled, but she said nothing to explain it.


    "Thanks Ed. I love it." Abby smiled widely before she gave me a single rose. "This...is to put on your jacket right?"


    "I think so?"


    Both of us turned to Desiree who then sighed and said, "Yes. Put it on him."


    "Where?" Abby was confused and she patted my chest a few times, trying to find the slot for the flower. When she was finally done, it was my turn to give her the corsage.


    As I was stumbling in my effort to stick the flower on Abby''s chest, Desiree coughed twice as she whispered, "*cough*On her hand. *Cough*"


    "Ahh." I finally realized it and put the rose on her hand like a bracelet.


    "Kinda feel like you did that on purpose to cop a feel." Abby joked as she touched her chest.


    "I plead the fifth." I answered while avoiding Abby''s face, which made her annoyed.


    "Get closer together. I want to take a picture." Desiree said before taking out a digital camera.


    "MOM! That''s not necessary-" Abby tried to pull me by the wrist to get away, but I stopped her and said, "Prom photos are necessary."


    "Huh?! This is embarrassing!" She retorted.


    "You''ll need it! 20 years from now, when you''re with your children, and they find a box of items from your highschool year, that is when you''re going to sit on the edge of the bed, reminiscing. This is why the picture is necessary. Otherwise, how would your children believe you were taken to prom by a superstar?"


    "HUHHHH!??"


    Abby was confused, and Desiree laughed as she thought about it. After taking a few pictures, Abby finally had enough and grabbed my hand as she pulled me out of the house.


    "Bye mom! Don''t wait up!" Abby shouted as we ran towards the limousine. The driver�C a Korean man in his 50s, was standing by the car with the door opened as we rushed inside.


    "Smile for the camera!" The school photographer said after we registered our name on the sign-in book. All 4 of us posed together before we entered the venue through a silvery-white balloon arch.


    The venue was filled with streamers and teenagers dancing. The DJ played the song, [Low by Florida]


    "This...is magnificent." I muttered while enjoying the music.


    "The gym?" Abby asked with an excited expression as she watched the crowd dancing madly to the song.


    "No. The balloon arch." I explained. Suddenly, a bald man with a petite figure appeared beside me. He was wearing a beige shirt and brown tie, and was pushing his glasses up. He agreed with me and said, "I know right."


    "Ummm."


    "Ed, that''s the principal." Abby whispered as I had no idea who the man was.


    "Oh. Hi." I said and shook his hand as he offered it first. I was wondering why the principal wasn''t Brown as it was shown in the series, but a dude that looked a bit like Moby, but I couldn''t even continue thinking as a group of girls suddenly let out a blood curdling scream as they saw me.


    "OH MY GOD IT''S EDWARRRRRRRRDDDDDDDDDDDD!!!!" A blonde teen with spectacles and a yellow dress almost fell to her knees. They started to encircle me and the principal while pushing Abby away. I held her quickly to prevent her from falling, and the tiny principal stood in front of us like a knight, barricading the girls from getting closer.


    "A.. Al-Alright girls. Listen up. No one! And I mean NO ONE! Should come close to Mr Newgate today, without his consent alright! See here!!" The crowd stopped as the principal shouted.


    He suddenly swayed his arm to form a circle as he continued, "I''m creating a forcefield around him. Alright. So everytime you guys even think about getting close to him, the forcefield will bring you back to reality. Let him enjoy his first prom okay! Everyone, move away- I said MOVE AWAY!"


    He chased the girls away while giving me a thumbs up and winking, which made me mutter, "He''s like a white...tiny...little knight. Even though I don''t know his name, he is still helping me. I WON''T forget you!!!"


    "Stop being dramatic!" Abby said before she checked me all over to make sure that no one had assaulted me.


    "Ed. We''re going to sit for a while before dancing." Anais said while helping Dylan stand straight. He had been swaying like a gas station balloon for a while because of the painkillers.


    "Oh. And, we planned on leaving early, but I don''t think Dylan is in any condition to drive." Anais added.


    "Yeah. I can see that." I muttered as Dylan suddenly fell in my direction, and he grabbed my face as he said groggily, "Hey...Ed...Where''s the limo-Ughhh..."


    "Why did you plan to leave early?" Abby asked.


    "Well...you know..." Anais said while glancing at Dylan''s crotch area. Abby was confused for a second before she realized what Anais was talking about.


    "Wait. You guys are dating?" Abby asked in shock.


    "Nope. But, he brought me to prom. So I need to return the favor." She said with a wink. "Also, you guys are welcome to join if you want. I don''t mind-"


    "STOP!" Abby shouted quickly before Anais could finish her words. I was frozen on the spot as Anais walked away with Dylan while laughing. Abby grabbed my arms and pulled me to the dance floor before saying, "You need to wipe that drool on your face."


    "Ahh...Sorry. The thought of you, and her...sandwiched together..."


    "Finish those words and you won''t be able to get me, or her." She said as she glared at me. I laughed and grabbed her right hand while my left hand was wrapped around her waist. I pulled her close suddenly, our face inches away from one another.


    "So, tell me little lady, is this your first time on the dance floor?" I asked with a smoldering look. She blushed a bit before answering, "Yes. So you have a lot of responsibility tonight. Make sure I don''t look weird."


    "Understood."


    ...


    [General POV]


    At the snack''s table, a ginger kid with a white tux reached into his inner pocket and looked around to make sure that there wasn''t anyone watching him. Then, he took out a flask and poured the liquor inside the punch bowl before getting a drink for him and his date.


    As he walked away, another asian kid with a blue tux stood in front of the punch bowl and did the same thing. Ed and Abby were dancing on the dance floor while being watched by a trio of girls.


    "Ugh, can''t believe he''s cheating on her on the SAME day he sang a song for her." A brunette girl with a flat chest scoffed as she held a red plastic cup.


    "Men are all the same! Not to mention that girl is such a huge SLUT." Another girl said.


    The blonde who screamed before suddenly said, "Wait. He might not know she''s a hoe. Think about it! She usually wears revealing clothes, but now that he brought her here, she''s covering it all up? I think there''s something more here. He might have been tricked by her!"


    "Yeah. You might be right."


    "That slut. We need to separate them."


    "For Taylor."


    "For Taylor."


    In a few seats next to them, Anais was helping Dylan get his sanity back, or as close as he could get to it by continuously whispering to him what he was going to miss out on if he kept being loopy. Suddenly Derek�C Dylan''s previous band mate walked to them and asked her what happened to him.


    "Ahh... You bringer of misfortune." Derek muttered before his date called him back to the dance floor. Before he left, he said to Anais, "Don''t worry. This has happened before. Just let him sleep for 10 minutes. Then he''ll be back to normal."


    "Happened before? Wait. Does this kind of thing usually happen to him?" Anais asked.


    Being a perfect wingman, Derek replied, "Yeah. He''s a poor guy. But honestly, if he didn''t care for others so much, he would get less...injured. Helping a grandmother cross the road, helping a cat stuck in a tree...He''s a nice guy. Just... a little bit naive."


    "Oh. I see." Anais exclaimed, her gaze turned softer as she looked at Dylan.


    On the dance floor, Edward and Abby were happily dancing, unaware of the girl who was purposely walking towards them. She was holding a red cup that was filled to the brim with toilet water and grinned menacingly as she gazed at Abby.

 Chapter 140: Prom (2)

    Chapter 140: Chapter 140: Prom (2)


    [Edward POV]


    "I didn''t know you liked Star Wars." Abby said as we danced together. The DJ was playing a slow song as we were holding each other and gently swaying to the music.


    "I loved it, but the last 3 movies made me completely annoyed." I spoke with a face filled with disdain.


    "Last 3? What was that? I have never watched them before. But I do know about Luke and Leia." Abby said with a giggle.


    "Really? What do you know about them?" I asked curiously.


    "Just the general theme. Hey, here''s an idea. How about we pretend that we''re them for the evening? I''ll be Leia, and you''ll be Luke." She said, unaware of the implications about our parents that would come from such ''roleplay''.


    "Ugh." I groaned in disgust while laughing. Abby was confused and she asked, "Wh-what''s with that reaction?"


    "You REALLY don''t know anything about the movie do you? You just suggested that we change our home state to Alabama." I joked, but she still didn''t get it, so I explained, "Luke and Leia are brother and sister."


    "Ughh What!? How could you watch something like that?!" Her face was filled with disgust, which made me laugh out loud, causing a few people around to turn in my direction.


    Fortunately as they did so, a kind-faced boy saw the girl who was walking towards us while holding a cup. He intercepted her quickly by grabbing her hand before she could spill the dirty toilet water on Abby.


    "Hey, be careful!" He said. The water fell on the floor, making the students around all stare at the nerdy brunette girl. Feeling self-conscious as everyone�C even Abby and I, were staring at her, she stammered and said, "You don''t deserve Ed you whore!" before running away.


    "What was that?!" Abby asked in disbelief. I narrowed my eyes at the direction the cursing girl was running, and my 6th sense told me that something more was going on.


    Before I could confirm it, the principal suddenly appeared near me and said in a dramatic manner, "I fear that a conspiracy against us might be afoot."


    I nodded in agreement, but as he left, I realized, "Wait. Us? Principal Delton? Hello?!"


    Despite me calling him, the teacher never looked back and continued walking till disappeared into the crowd. I grabbed Abby''s hand and said, "Let''s rest for a while."


    "O-Okay." Abby was startled by my sudden action, and we left the dance floor, just a few seconds before the student council president walked up the stage.Miranda Cho was a petite asian girl with brunette hair and a beauty mole on the lower side of her lips.


    "Okay everyone. I hate to interrupt, but it''s time for the Prom King and Prom Queen Vote! You guys need to pick a name from the senior and junior student and cast your vote by putting it in the collection box near the photo booth."


    The crowd murmured in disappointment, which made her add in a sad manner, "I understand your frustrations. There is a certain individual amongst us today that would certainly defeat every single one of the males in the hall, but Edward Newgate is not even a student yet, so, by rules, he can''t participate in the event."


    I was confused when I suddenly heard my name, but I just smiled and waved politely at the president who was gawking at me before Abby and I sat down at an empty seat near Anais and Dylan.


    "How''s he doing?" I asked Anais.


    "He''s a bit better. But still loppy." She replied while turning her face away from Dylan to look at me.


    "And now, we will start our annual dance battle competition! Contestants, please get on the circular platform if you want to compete! The winner will receive the Dance King Crown, and will be called on the stage together with the Prom King and Queen!"


    As I heard the president''s next announcement, I was confused. "Dance battle?"


    "You cannot be surprised. Step Up movies and flash mobs are trending this year." Abby said teasingly before she stood up and said, "I''m going to get a drink."


    While the crowd was heating up from the competition, I held Abby''s wrist to make her sit back down before I said, "No. I''ll do that for you. Anais, you want a drink too?"


    "Yeah sure- Wait. Where''s Dylan?" As she turned to look at her partner, she realized that he was gone from his seat. She got concerned and stood up quickly, before we suddenly heard people chanting Dylan''s name.


    "What the-" I almost laughed out loud as I saw Dylan dancing on the battle platform. Anais was stunned, and Abby''s jaw dropped as we saw Dylan dancing fluidly like a bonafide professional dancer.


    While on the effects of the drugs, he almost passed out a few times, but luckily he regained his consciousness at the last moment, which seemed like he was making a wave while dancing.


    The dance was legendary as he was dancing with the grim reaper at this moment. No one could handle Dylan''s momentum on the dance floor. He was krumping �C which actually meant his muscles were spasming uncontrollably from the pain, but the crowd loved it and cheered him on nonetheless.


    "DYLAN! DYLAN! DYLAN! DYLAN! DYLAN!"


    "Help... me." Dylan muttered in a tiny voice with tears pooling in his eyes.


    ...


    After saving Dylan from the dance floor, the poor guy took a short 10 minute nap before he got his sanity back.


    "Pffft- What is this? It burns." Abby suddenly spat out her drink as soon as she tried to drink it.


    Anais smelled her cup of water in intrigue and took a small sip before smiling widely and said, "Oh, this is almost pure vodka. Nice."


    "Oh, alcohol! Ed are you trying to get me drunk?" Abby teased as she washed her mouth with bottled water instead of drinking the no-no juice.


    I was absent minded when I went to get the drink that I forgot to check if someone had spiked the punch bowl before. I smiled at Abby before drinking all of the contents of her cup in one shot, making both her and Anais widen their eyes in disbelief.


    "Ahhh. Refreshing. So, you want to get back to the dance floor?" I asked with a grin.


    "Why don''t you ask Anais? She has been sitting here for the entire time." Abby said as she truly did pity the girl. Prom was supposed to be a beautiful thing for girls, but it was ruined for Anais as her date was on heavy medications.


    "Sure. Anais, do you want to dance?" I asked the giant girl. "I think I''m tall enough...right?"


    She giggled and said, "Barely. But I''m really bored, so I''ll dance with you for one song." She said before she stood up. I laughed as I grabbed her hand and led her to the dance floor.


    The music was upbeat hip hop music, so we both just enjoyed ourselves and got lost in the rhythm. I still kept an eye on Abby as I was afraid that something was going to happen to her, which Anais seemed to notice.


    "You really don''t think much do you? You have just released a video with a song that people associated with Taylor, but you brought another girl to prom. So of course people were going to target Abby as she is a clear break in their fantasy story."


    "Oh." I exclaimed with a hint of disbelief.


    "A suit? Why is he giving me a suit?" Leonard was confused. At that time Jenna walked to the door and joined the conversation, "He outgrew it but the suit is still new so he really doesn''t want to throw it away since he has never been able to wear it before."


    Her face was filled with disdain as she thought that if Edward had worn the suit even once, she would''ve brought it back to her place instead of giving it to a nobody. But as it stood it had never been on his body so she didn''t have the drive to stop Ed from donating it.


    "Oh...So He already outgrew it huh...Lucky him." Leonard said self-deprecatingly as he had already reached his height limit in life, which was comparable to Edward before his growth spurt.


    Leonard went inside the house to try the clothes on before Camila asked to take a look at it before he could take it off.


    "It''s great, although the leg pants are a bit long and the shoulders too big." Leonard said while internally thinking ''How the hell are they too big? He was 14 years old when he had this made?!?''


    .


    "Of course it''s great. It''s Armani, it''s worth well over 2000 dollars." Jenna muttered suddenly, causing Leonard''s face to turn ashen.


    "Re-Really? I... I can''t take this." He tried to take it off, but Camila stopped him.


    "Nonsense. Ed wants to give it to you. So you gotta take it." Camila said before she added, "Besides, you look handsome in that suit."


    Leonard blushed hard and could no longer look Camila in the eyes. Soon after the doorbell rang and Jenna''s eyes lit up as she heard it.


    "That must be my mom." She ran towards the door happily to invite her mother inside as she wanted to introduce her to Edward''s aunt.


    "Mom! Come on! You''ll like Camila. She''s a very nice woman." Jenna said as she dragged her mother inside the house. Alexandria was wearing a white fur coat with a white tank top and short skirt as she had just finished her shooting.


    But as she came face to face with Camila, she couldn''t help but be shocked by the fact that she was so beautiful.


    ''No This can''t be! Jenna has already gotten close to the Green chick. I can''t let her get close to any more maternal figures. If she does she''ll know how awful I really am at my role.'' She thought fearfully as she shook hands with Camila.


    "And who''s this?" She asked the short man standing beside the latina aunt. "Oh, I-I''m Leonard. I feel like I know you."


    "Oh, you might have seen me in some of my work before. After all, men like the films I usually get a role in." Alexandria said with a hint of self-depreciation.


    "No. That''s not it. I got it. I saw you at Cho''s restaurant before." Leonard said with an excited face as he finally figured it out.


    "Oh. Do you live nearby too?" She asked with an excited face.


    "Yeah 2311 Los Robles."


    "We''re 2315 Los Robles! We live in the same block!" Alexandria muttered.


    "Oh, you guys should get to know each other." Camila said as she tried to act as a wingman for Leonard.


    He however quickly became shy as he was surrounded by two beautiful women, and after a short conversation, Leonard, Jenna and her mother all left the house to get back to their place.


    "So that''s why Edward doesn''t want Howard to come near his house. And I can''t help but agree with him."


    ...


    Back to Prom.


    As Abby and Anais went to the bathroom, two girls stared at their direction before slowly making their way towards them.


    "Ugh. My lipstick is all gone." Anais muttered angrily as she fixed her makeup in the bathroom mirror. "Huh? Why?" Abby asked in confusion as she washed her hand.


    Anais giggled before saying, "I made out with Dylan for a little bit. He''s a sloppy kisser. It''s like kissing a golden retriever."


    Abby laughed as she also looked into the mirror to check on her appearance, but then she saw a few girls staring at her from behind.


    "Huh? What do you want?" She asked in alarm. Anais raised one of her eyebrows and said, "Are you guys one of the blondie''s idiotic fans too?"


    "Taylor isn''t an idiot! She''s an icon!" One of the girls retorted. She was the bespectacled blonde girl that was obsessed with Taylor, especially the Taydward ''ship'' and the one to put forth the idea that Abby was in fact tricking Edward into taking her as his date. Her friend on the other hand was more on a moderate side, but the blonde girl was basically a lunatic.


    "I didn''t say SHE''S the idiot." Anais scoffed as she moved closer to Abby to protect her.


    The brunette girl said, "No, we don''t want to do anything. We just wanted to talk to you. Don''t get too close to Edward. He''s dating Taylor. We don''t want you to trick him."


    "How am I tricking him?" Abby was bewildered by the accusation. Anais however was getting irritated and thus decided to be more confrontational as she said, "Whether Edward wants to date Abby, or me, or even change his taste and date Dylan or any other person here is none of your business."


    "We-"


    "No. He doesn''t even know you guys. You have no right to interfere in his life, or even Abby''s life. Let''s go Abby."


    "No you stop there!" The blonde girl suddenly shouted and she took out a pair of scissors. "Kennifer, Are you CRAZY!" The brunette asked fearfully before taking a step back from her friend.


    "If protecting Taylor and Edward is crazy, then you can call me that. I''m warning you slut! Don''t trick Edward any longer! Or I will-"


    "You will what?" Abby asked in a cold manner as she didn''t feel threatened by the girl at all.


    "Don''t indulge her Abby. This bitch is insane. Let''s go." Anais said as she grabbed Abby''s arm and they both tried to walk out of the toilet.


    Kennifer shivered in anger before she suddenly decided to follow her impulsive thoughts.


    "I did warn YOU!" She suddenly snipped a part of Abby''s hair, targeting one of the twintails she had tied up, making it look unbalanced.


    Her silky black hair scattered on the floor, which made Abby freeze in her spot. Anais exploded and punched the blonde girl in the nose.


    "YOU BITCH!" Before she could go on to beat up the girl who was crouching on the floor and cupping her hand on her bleeding and broken nose, Abby grabbed her and pulled her away.


    The shouting attracted some people to the bathroom as they wanted to see what was going on inside and that attracted Edward too.

 Chapter 141: Prom (3- Final)

    Chapter 141: Chapter 141: Prom (3- Final)


    [Edward POV]


    My blood boiled as I saw the bizarre sight in front of me. I clenched my fist while walking into the girls bathroom, but before I could lose my temper, Abby looked in my direction and hurriedly grabbed my arm.


    "Ed. Look at me." She said as she tried to gain my attention. After she called me a few times, her efforts managed to bring me back to reality, otherwise I would''ve followed my idol; Kazuma''s example of true gender equality.


    "It''s fine. I''m fine." She said with a smile as she gently held my face. Right then, the principal broke through the crowd and was shocked as he saw the scene.


    It didn''t take much questioning to see what had happened here with the scissors still on the girl''s hand, and the scattered black hair on the bathroom tiles.


    "(Dramatic Gasp) Miss Olten! You! What have you done? What WERE YOU THINKING!?"


    The crowd gasped as they realized what she had done, and Kennifer ran away crying under the gaze of the crowd.


    Anais walked towards Abby before she said in an angry manner, "Hey. Do you want me to shave that girl''s head? Just say the word. I WILL do it."


    "There''s no need for that. I...I just want to get out of here now." Abby said in a depressed manner.


    I nodded and grabbed her hand before I walked away with her. "Come, let''s go."


    "Wait! I''m coming with you guys." Anais said as she followed us from behind. We didn''t go out of the school, but instead went to the rooftop as per Abby''s request.


    Anais helped Abby to style her hair with a choked up voice, making it a twin bun instead of a twin tail.


    "I''m sorry." Anais said in a depressed manner while touching Abby''s hair.


    "No. It''s not your fault." Abby replied. Anais suddenly said, "I wasn''t talking to you. I was talking to your hair."


    The abruptness made Abby laugh for a bit, and Anais decided to leave us alone after helping Abby calm herself.


    "Now, are you going to tell me why you''re being so weirdly and scarily calm? You look like a psychopath in a horror movie who hides everything behind a smile?" I asked her with a concerned expression.


    "I am calm." Abby replied. "I just think that the whole situation is funny."


    "Funny how?"


    "It''s funny cause I realized that that girl, and me, we aren''t actually that different after all."


    "Huh?"


    "We are both...delusional." Abby said with a heavy sigh.


    "It''s like the Universe is currently slapping me awake, telling me that... you''ll never be mine. No one...in the world wants us to be together..." She muttered as she held back her tears. "So yeah. I''m not mad at her. I''m mad...at myself...for my stupid decision when I let you go before."


    She turned her face away from me and decided to sit on her favorite spot in the school. I scrunched my eyebrows before I sighed and decided to sit at the edge of the roof, dangling my legs in the air as Abby and I sat together, watching the night sky.


    Abby suddenly said, "I know."


    "Know what?"


    "About what started the fight." She said suddenly.


    "Abby, I didn''t mean to lie-"


    "I know that too. I know you care about me. When I think about our story, it is ironic how this all happened. I was scared...that you would turn out like... like my dad so I decided to leave you before I got too attached to you...Well that turned to shit, and it was also the stupidest decision I had ever made in my life."


    She laughed a bit, which made me smile. "I know. I''m awesome after all." I joked.


    She continued after rolling her eyes, "And now, when I know that you really lied to me, the world-shattering feeling that I experienced before didn''t come. Instead, my heart...is filled with happiness."


    "That was when I realized that I was feeling more than ..." She blushed a bit and didn''t continue, which made me quite baffled.


    "Hungry?" I guessed, which caused me to get hit by her as she threw a mock punch at my bicep.


    "Why is that the first thing that comes to your mind!?" She said angrily.


    I chuckled and said, "You''re the one who didn''t finish your sentence."


    She smiled and looked at the sky again before saying, "So don''t worry about me anymore. I''m already okay with it. It took me a while, but I finally managed to move on."


    "Well, sorry to break your self pity party, but we don''t actually know what''s going to happen in the future."


    "What are you talking about Ed? We both know our story is going to end after I go back to New York." Abby said in an annoyed manner.


    "I''m sorry, but I''m a firm believer of communism."


    Abby froze and her entire mind blanked out before I added, "Rom-communism."


    "Ugh. You... you little-...What is that?" She was torn between getting angry and being curious, but clearly the latter won the struggle.


    "Well Abby, rom-communism is a worldview...that I learned from someone amazing."


    "Oh. Who''s that?"


    "Wait. No one knows my true name!" Abby asked in confusion, but the principal wiped his sweat and said, "Nonsense. Of course everyone knows it. Why wouldn''t they know it?"


    Miranda was also confused, "Abigail Rutherford? Who''s Abigail Rutherford? If You don''t respond, I need to call out the second place winner. Abigail Rutherford? No one? Seriously? No one?"


    Although I knew who the girl was, I could see it in her eyes that she would rather die than admit her name was Abigail.


    "So following the rules, Abigail will be kicked out from the competition. The true winner of the event is....ABBYY!!!!!"


    The crowd cheered in excitement as they heard it. Not only did Abby work together with me to help the kids get a date before, the incident in the bathroom also had made her receive some pity and admiration votes from the crowd.


    "Oh. I did something useless." The principal mumbled before Dylan and Anais excitedly brought Abby to the stage. The committee placed a crown on her head and a satchel over her shoulder as they did to me.


    "KISS HER!" One of the crowd members shouted. A few girls instantly protested and quickly accosted him, but one by one, the agents of chaos inside the room became more excited because of the girls'' reactions. The boys in the crowd chanted to instigate them, pressuring Abby.


    "Well...we can''t disappoint them." I said in a casual manner. Abby rolled her eyes in annoyance and said, "Did you rig the votes? How in the hell did we win?"


    "I don''t know. Maybe the crown just loves me." I replied as I waved gently at the crowd in a royal manner. The true story was, the nerdy boys and girls who were helped by Abby and I to get a dance partner had voted for us as they felt that somebody actually cared about them.


    The total votes Abby got didn''t exceed 10, but as a lot of the girls inside the halls had voted for themselves, she became the automatic winner for tonight.


    Abby blushed and she inches closer before she kissed me on the cheek just to shut them up. The crowd cheered explosively, and that was how her prom night ended today. The modest kiss also brought down the scandal between us down, and probably bought Abby some good will since most of the people who didn''t believe that we were just friends, or Taylor''s fanatical fans were finally reassured that nothing was actually going on between us.


    After the event was over, a few students asked for a picture together with the prom royalty, and we didn''t say no. Dylan won the Dance King title, and when he was on the stage, he pulled Anais with him and they made out right in front of the crowd.


    The limousine arrived soon, and this time, it was only Abby and I who got in on it. Dylan and Anais were heading back to his place �C which was actually an studio apartment Dylan had rented after he moved out of his mom''s. The money from his work on the cruise allowed him to be more independent, and that was the first thing that he did after buying a cheap car.


    "So he got a lot of ''nightly'' tips?" Abby asked in disbelief after hearing the story of how Dylan got his money.


    "Yeah. If the guests were cougars, he would usually find more than 300 dollars tucked in his underwear at the end of the night. And the best part is, he didn''t even know how they managed to slide it in his pants in the first place." I said jokingly.


    Abby laughed in pity before we suddenly fell silent as we looked into each other''s eyes.


    "Ummm...So..." Abby stammered while fanning her flushing face. "What are we going to do now?" She asked.


    "Well right now I''m going to take you home." I replied in a casual manner, which made her face get even redder.


    "Whatcha thinkin ''bout you dirty girl? I''m just sending you home." I said teasingly as I reached into the mini fridge and took out 2 cups of different tastes of pudding.


    "I KNOW THAT!" Abby shouted in embarrassment as she snatched a cup from my hand and started to eat the pudding angrily. I laughed and sat right next to her, and suddenly said, "I think that there''s something wrong with my tie. It keeps choking me."


    "Hmm? Let me see." Abby leaned in with concern and tried to look closely at the knot. But as she was near, I snatched a kiss on her lips, making her freeze in disbelief.


    "Ahh Abby, you can tell me if you want to kiss me. You don''t have to be so coy and pretend to look at my tie." I joked as I easily loosened my tie.


    Abby was bewildered and she smiled in disbelief before saying, "Coy? I''m the one who''s playing coy?"


    I licked my spoonful of pudding before I pointed at her with the plastic utensil and said, "Yes." She pounced at me instantly like a startled cat, trying to get even.


    When we reached her home, I escorted her to her door like a gentleman while the limousine drove away.


    "Do you want to come inside?" Abby asked while biting her lower lips.


    "Yes, and yes." I replied. "Huh?" She tilted her head in confusion, but then ignored my peculiarity as she led me inside. Suddenly, Abby received a text from someone.


    "It''s Anais. Umm...." Abby''s face flushed red instantly and I could imagine that smoke was coming out of her ears as she read the text. I got curious and I snatched the phone from her hand despite her protest to look at it on my own.


    "Dylan is in the hospital. His entire body cramped out after ejaculating- Alright, Delete text, and also deleting this from my memory."


    Although he did manage to ''seal the deal'' after the dance,well... kind of... his ''deal'' at least but he had to spend the night being warded instead. The poor guy didn''t even get his ''deal'' out of any actual action but as a little side effect of his accident earlier that evening. I texted Dwayne to tell him that Dylan was in the hospital, and also texted Frankie as she was responsible for managing the employee''s health insurance.


    "Lucky guy." I pursed my lips with a small smile before I said to Abby, "Well. I better get going."


    "Wait." She suddenly grabbed my hand.


    "Hmm? What is it?"


    "Well, despite the risk of being selfish again, I have to remind you...that you promised me I would get the FULL...prom experience today." She said shyly while looking at the floor.


    My blood rushed to my face before I coughed awkwardly, "Well...I know. But I thought-"


    "No need to think so much. This is all part of the prom tradition. There''s absolutely nothing more hiding beneath it."


    "Well if you say so."


    We gazed into each other''s eyes, and slowly inched our faces together. But then, I suddenly received a text from my dad, disrupting the atmosphere.


    "Huh. That''s weird. He said he''s not coming back home today."


    "That is weird. Wait...Where''s my mother?" Abby finally realized that her mother wasn''t here, and after texting her, she received the same kind of text as I did.


    "Huh. Weirder and weirder. Oh well." Abby and I shrugged our shoulders before she wrapped her arms around my neck and I around her waist as we wrestle our tongues together.


    She tried to unzip her dress, but was unsuccessful, so she turned her back towards me and said, "Help me with this."


    "Alright." Then, I smoothly pulled her zip down and then we continued with the prom tradition in her bedroom.

 Chapter 142: Morning After.

    Chapter 142: Chapter 142: Morning After.


    [Edward POV]


    I woke up as I felt a prick on my nose, and a slender finger tracing along my eyes and face. I slowly opened my eyes to see Abby smiling at me. She had removed her makeup last night, therefore I was greeted by a cute barefaced girl.


    We were both lying on the bed in her mother''s room, hugging each other without any clothes on. The consequence of the impulsive action we took last night as we went there to search for protection after running out of stocks in her room .


    "Morning." She greeted me with a smile. "Last night was great."


    "Great? Try phenomenal." I joked as I pulled her body closer to mine. She blushed a bit before slightly hitting my chest and said, "Don''t mess around. Get up quick. I need to throw this sheet into the washing machine, and mine too! Otherwise my mom will see the blood on it."


    She pushed me away and stood up next to the bed. I admired the sight of her naked body before she said, "Get up now! You need to go back to your house before your aunt knows you are gone."


    "So, you used me only for my body ugh? My dad is right. Women are all the same! They trick you in bed with flowery words, and then you''re worthless the next day."


    She threw a pillow at my face and said, "Hurry! I think I heard the sound of a car pulling up!"


    "Wait. Oh Shit." I heard the same sound, and I quickly helped Abby change her mother''s sheets and jumped into the shower with her to clean up last night''s traces before quickly getting dressed in the bathroom.


    She peeked out the door as soon as we were done and signaled me when she saw that her mother was still at the front door talking with someone.


    "I''m going out the window- Wait. Isn''t that my dad?" I asked as I recognized the voice speaking to Desiree, and both Abby and I froze as our minds pieced the ''clues'' together as we tried to solve the puzzle.


    "Di-Did they spend the night together?" Abby asked nervously.


    "N-N-Nothing is going on between them right?" I was also stuttering. "If, and this is a BIG ''if''...If they really did go out with each other, does that mean..."


    "We''re going to be step-siblings?" Abby said in horror. Our eyes met accidentally, which made both of us flinch and take a step back. Luckily for us, we didn''t shout.


    "I don''t know whether to be turned on or disgusted right now." I muttered as I walked into Abby''s room. "You and I both." Abby said as she went to greet her mother.


    "Oh wait. Don''t forget to run by the pharmacy to buy some Plan B pills." I reminded her.


    "Wayyy ahead of you. I was already texting Haley as we were getting in the shower." Abby replied with a smirk.


    "Haley? Uhhhh..." I didn''t know why but I was feeling quite guilty.


    "Hmm?" Abby was confused by my reaction, but I just waved her off and entered her room. Then, I jumped out of the first storey window, holding the windowsill as I wanted to carefully land on the grass. However, I landed quite badly and sprained my left ankle a bit.


    "Shit." I cursed as I braced through the pain and limped in my aunt''s house direction to change my prom clothes before returning to Abby''s front door in a roundabout manner.


    Abby was crossing her arms with a dissatisfied expression as she interrogated Desiree, "Where did you two go last night?! I have been worried sick!"


    I was confused by her act but then I decided to join in the fun and appear right behind my dad, "Hey. I saw you pulling over with Desiree... Did you guys have sex last night?"


    "EDWARD!" Desiree gasped in disbelief while my dad froze in his spot. "N-No, I was just showing her the coast."


    "Really? You didn''t bring her to the ''extremely romantic ocean nightview'' place where you can admire the stars together while having a glass of wine, did you?"


    "I..." My dad opened his mouth a few times, but he couldn''t seem to answer the question. I narrowed my eyes at him and Desiree before I said, "You did. Didn''t you? And you didn''t get back till the morning, so I guess you included the sunrise experience, or were you guys just so tired that you decided to just come back in the morning."


    "SUNRISE! THE SUNRISE THING!" Desiree answered quickly. "Hmm...Why are you so flabbergasted mom? Are you sure that nothing happened between the two of you?" Abby asked with narrowed eyes.


    Both of us were taking the morally superior position right now so that our parents couldn''t even begin to say anything against us except for merely trying to answer our questions honestly.


    Suddenly, a gentle breeze flew, carrying the faint scent of body soap towards Abby''s mom. "Wait. Why do I smell-" Desiree''s eyes suddenly lit up as she glanced in my direction. She wrapped her arm around my neck as she pulled me in close and sniffed my scent a few times.


    "Yeah. This is my body wash." Desiree''s face became stern as she glanced at the surprised Abby and saw her hair was still wet, and so was mine. "Did you guys just take a shower together?" She asked while narrowing her eyes.


    She then gasped and asked in a concerned tone, "Tha-No. That can''t- couldn''t''ve happened. You guys are exes! You...you guys didn''t sleep together after prom right?"


    "What? N-N-N-NOOO!" Abby replied.


    "My my, that stutter sure is convincing." I mockingly told Abby as she glared at me. "Don''t change the subject! Did you and Mr Newgate sleep together or not!?"


    "NO! We did not!" Desiree replied decisively. "He was only being a gentleman, and a true friend. We did nothing but talk all night."


    "Lame dad." I said, making my dad look at me in disbelief. "I didn''t think my dad was THAT lame. Or are you guys lying right now?"


    "Answer my question Ed! Did you just take a shower at my place? Did something happen between you and Abby?" Desiree asked.


    "Did you happen to sleep with my dad?" I asked.


    "No!"


    "Then neither did we. I was being a gentleman, and we talked a lot last night." I replied in a perfunctory manner which made them think I was mocking them.


    "Wait. this is going nowhere. And we don''t have to explain ourselves to you. I''m going to go ask your aunt whether you were here last night or not." My dad said while hiding his guilty look.


    "Sure, go on. She went to Calexico last night, and hasn''t returned since." I replied in a casual manner. It was a damn good luck for me that I went to change my shirt first and saw her note near the key drawer.


    Unlike my dad, Camila knew when to give me my much needed privacy, therefore she had made herself scarce last night. If only I had found out sooner. Well...I don''t regret it though.


    "Dad, let me see your wallet." I said suddenly. My dad was confused, and Abby was interested. "Why? What are you looking for?" She asked.


    "He always keeps a condom in one of the slots even when he isn''t getting laid. I wanna check if it is still there."


    "Sure. I have nothing to hide." My dad gave me his wallet instantly. "But know this, once you open it, you will become someone who has no trust in his own dad."


    I had no qualms with that so I opened it without hesitation. "Oh. It''s still there."


    Frankie wondered if she had touched Claire''s insecurities, and wanted to quickly change the topic now, "So we still need to handle a few things before the app''s release tonight. The ads have been running for a few days, but I am still unsure of how Edward is going to make money from this free app?"


    "Hold on. So Luke is similar to her? Should I bring him to a doctor to get him checked out?" Claire asked anxiously.


    Frankie was concerned and tried to placate her, "Oh No-No. If your family doesn''t have any history of mental issues, then that boy is just a curious boy, that''s all."


    "Honey! Do you know the word Ohio looks like a tractor?" Phil suddenly walked in while laughing.


    Claire''s face became determined as she mumbled, "I need to bring him to a professional."


    ...


    After buying the Plan B pills from the pharmacy, Haley stared at Abby with a dissatisfied look as they drove home together.


    "You didn''t EVEN think to USE protection?" She asked angrily.


    "We did. And then we ran out." Abby replied with a smirk. "YOU USED IT ALL-" Haley opened her mouth in shock before she blushed and tried to ask, "So...how was it?"


    "It was freaking great! Ugh!"


    "Why the ''ugh''?" Haley asked mockingly.


    "Yeah ''Ugh'' cause we can only do it once!" Abby replied in an angry manner. "I''m already going to New York this Sunday."


    "Good! I mean, Oh noooo..." Haley said in a fake manner. They went to Tara''s to pick her up before they drove towards the middle school festival together. During the drive, Tara and Haley made Abby spit out every single detail about last night�C whether it was girth, length, or even the direction it was going.


    "Damn! Now I''m attracted to Ed! Should I break up with my boyfriend and go after him?" Tara asked jokingly. "By the way, did you guys know about Dylan?"


    ...


    In a hospital nearby.


    Pepper opened the ward door in an extravagant dramatic manner before grabbing an intern doctor nearby, "Where is he!" he asked.


    "H-He''s over there!" The intern replied in fear as she pointed to a hospital bed with the curtains drawn to cover up the patient. Pepper strode towards the bed quickly and entered the space dramatically before grabbing the doctor there "Tell me it wasn''t a tragedy doctor! Tell me that we can still save his legs!"


    "No. It was just a sprain!" The doctor replied in confusion. "Wait Pepper?"


    "Teddy?" Pepper recognized the doctor and released him instantly. "Mitchell''s ex-boyfriend?"


    "I knew I recognized him from somewhere." Ed mumbled to himself as his left leg was wrapped in bandages. His dad was standing behind him with a concerned expression, "Ed, should you really perform today? The doctor told you to rest for 3-4 days."


    "It''s okay. I''ll rest after I finish performing. Besides, that was just a suggestion." Ed replied in a dismissive manner.


    "No! Let''s do an MRI! Or a CAT scan! We need to make sure that your leg and your whole body is really fine!" Pepper said while grabbing Edward and shaking him.


    Ed smiled and said, "Hey hey Pepper, relax. Take a chill pill, I''m okay."


    Teddy backed up the teen, "He is fine! He''s healthier than most kids. It''s just a sprain, so don''t worry about it too much."


    "Yeah Peps. I''m at least better than Dylan over there." Edward said as he pointed towards the patient bed in front of him. Dylan was peacefully sleeping and had an IV bag connected to him, with the warning sign ''Do not come near'' placed around his neck.


    "Wait, you know him?" Teddy asked. "That poor kid." He shook his head as he remembered the events of last night.


    "What happened to him?" Ted asked in concern as Dylan was a part of his crew.


    "He took a pretty big blow to the head and then mixed up a few medications trying to fix it, but it just caused him to ejaculate continuously at the slightest touch and simulation after a while. That''s why we banned all the nurses from going near him. We had to put him down as he''s been spraying his... ''stuff'' all over."


    "Oh damn." Edward muttered in surprise.


    Teddy nodded and said, "Well a good thing about it is that a neurobiologist has offered to take care of all the expenses of his case, from medications to scans and blood work if he and his caretakers agreed to have him as a case study. She only asked of could connect a few electrodes to his brain in order to use the results in her research. She''s coming over right now."


    "Who''s she?" Edward asked.


    "Her name is Dr Amy Farrah Fowler." Teddy replied.


    "Oh dayum..." Edward muttered again.


    ...


    In an airport nearby, Taylor and her dad disembarked from his private plane. He was wearing a cowboy hat and outfit while walking side by side with his daughter.


    Scott said, "Where''s your friend?"


    "Selena? She''s driving straight to the school and will be waiting for us there." Taylor replied casually before she pouted and said, "So let me go alone."


    Her dad smirked and said, "No can do. Or else you''ll run straight to that boy again."


    "I thought you liked him!" Taylor protested in anger.


    "I do! That''s why I''m getting you away from him. He deserves a normal girl-" Taylor punched her dad on the arm before he could continue. "I hate you!" Taylor muttered before huffing away while her dad laughed at her demeanor.


    Taylor suddenly stopped walking as she read a text on her phone, and turned back towards her dad in a hurry. "Dad, we need to go to the hospital right now!" she demanded.


    "Huh? Why?" Scoot asked in confusion. Then, Taylor showed him an article, opened from a link that Selena sent to her, about Edward being admitted to the hospital.


    [Breaking News! The Teenage Pop Star Edward Newgate was admitted to John Hopkins Hospital hours before his charity concert!]


    Paparazzi started crowding the front of the hospital as Edward''s whereabouts were leaked by an irresponsible hospital administrator looking for quick cash, and it quickly became a zoo there.


    "Fuck. I can''t even run now." Edward cursed as he saw the crowd from behind a curtain.

 Chapter 143: School Festival!

    Chapter 143: Chapter 143: School Festival!


    (Sorry for the late chap. Dealing with some personal problem yesterday.)


    [Edward POV]


    *Snap* *Snap *Snap* *Snap*


    "Mr Newgate, how did you get injured?!"


    "Will you cancel the charity concert!?"


    "What will happen to all the donations?!!"


    "Does Taylor know you''re injured!?"


    Flashes of camera light basked my body non-stop as I walked out of the hospital towards my company car under the escort of a few burly bodyguards to keep me safe.


    The paparazzi kept shouting their questions and even tried to break through the bodyguard''s protection, some of them almost succeeded and I was pushed a few times even with my injuries.


    "Animals ALL OF YOU! ANIMALS!!" Pepper shouted with gritted teeth as he tried to chase the paparazzi away.


    "Alright everyone! Stop!" I said while clapping my hand loudly. My voice carried a trace of anger, and the rambunctious group of the paparazzi was actually stunned and then calmed down a bit by it.


    ''Hmm? Did I awaken Conqueror Haki?'' I thought in confusion as I saw a now calm group of people.


    "Which one of you is from an official news company?" I asked. Only 3 of them raised their hands in an obedient manner, which saddened me a little.


    Most of the ''reporters'' here were part of the hyena faction�C which stalked celebrities in order to make fast money from either blackmailing or selling private information and pictures to media channels, and some just enjoyed the feeling of destroying someone''s image and reputation.


    "I will answer just one question from each of you, only the official media though." I muttered.


    "That''s discrimination!" One greasy looking hyena said as he grabbed his camera and started snapping pictures again.


    "It is." I replied honestly, which excited the crowd as they felt that they had won something great today.


    "You, the blonde who looks like Lois Lane." I said as I pointed at the woman right in front of me.


    A little flattered, the woman smiled for a second before she held a recorder at me and asked, "How did you get injured? And will it affect the upcoming charity event?"


    "Oh, I just tripped on an uneven sidewalk. It will not bother me to sing on stage, so no. It won''t affect the concert." I replied casually as I pointed at my bandaged ankle and feet. I had to wear a slipper that my dad bought from the gift shop, so everyone could see it. "As you can see. I can still walk by myself."


    Although it was painful for me to do so. I was just faking it in order to avoid worrying my fans about the possibility of the concert being canceled after my injury.


    "Next, the reporter from Orange County."


    The tall man nodded with a serious expression before asking, "Why does the charity event target only the homelessness in this state? What about other places in the country?"


    "I think that question should be asked to the politicians rather than a teenage boy? Don''t you?" I replied with a laugh, causing the reporters to chuckle too.


    Then, I paused for a while before replying, "When I was 9 years old, I used to ride my bike everyday to a convenience store in the city, one day I decided to look around and I saw a homeless guy camping in an alley nearby, so from that day on everytime I walked out of the store, I would give him a dollar."


    The crowd was attracted by my story and the camera flashes stopped.


    "One day, after a hard day at school, I wanted to get a special type of candy... As you might already imagine, I came across some trouble with some bad people that were still lingering there. They were dealing illegal substances, something that could put them in jail for life, and I was unlucky enough to witness it. " I said with a nostalgic expression on my face.


    The reporters all held their breath as they listened, and so did my dad�C who was part of the bodyguard squad, and Pepper as they never had never heard this story before.


    "One of them saw me and pulled a knife on me. I was terrified but right before he could lunge at me, the same homeless guy I kept giving my change to, suddenly tackled the thugs and proceeded to drive them all away. One person heroically faced off against 3 guys just to save a little kid he didn''t actually know... Nice story right?"


    "Well the homeless guy got stabbed." I said, causing the crowd to let out a gasp. "Luckily for me though, at the last second, the thug finally decided to run away. To this day I don''t know what it was that made him run. Did he suddenly grow a sense of morality or maybe just got spooked after seeing the blood in his hands? Whatever the case he simply ran away instead of coming after me next."


    "So I was saved, and I never saw the homeless guy again. I asked around after that, his name was Will... I think . A good- No, a great man, a guy who had made some bad financial decisions and had to sleep on the streets. I asked the clerk about him. And he told me that every time I gave Will a dollar, he would go into the store, buy one of those 99 cent hotdogs, and that would be his meal for the day."


    I looked into the crowd and saw their faces change drastically as they heard the story. "So If you''re asking me why I''m holding a charity event to feed the homeless, you only need to know about Will."


    The crowd was silent for a while, with some furiously jotting everything I said down on their notes.


    "Okay! Last question. Jaime over there from the Hollywood Times." I said with a smile as I turned to the familiar looking woman in front of me. She looked similar to a K-pop idol that I have seen in my previous life, but I had never learned her name before.


    "Um, you know me?" She asked with an impressed smile.


    "Yeah. I remember all the pretty ones." I replied. She blushed a bit which made the camera flashes swarm appear once more. I was helpless and said, "How many thousands of photos do you guys need? You will only use one or two in the articles."


    Some reporters were embarrassed, but some didn''t bother to stop. Jaime came back to her senses and asked, "That...made my next question rather awkward. Will Taylor S. come to the concert today? My sources tells me that she was back at her parents house till yesterday-"


    As expected of the writer in the gossip panels in the Hollywood Times magazines. Well, almost the entire magazine was filled with gossip, so it was more of a tabloid magazine rather than a normal one.


    "Oh I certainly hope she will." I interjected quickly as I was already fed-up with the light flashes. "I have already given her the VVIP tickets. Not only her, but her dad too."


    "Her dad? Why?" Jaime''s eyes lit up as she caught on, but I just showed a toothy grin and said, "No more comments~, I should probably go and get some rest like my doctor told me too. Goodbye."


    "Wait!!!!" She shouted, but I had already gotten in the black, 7 seater SUV car with Pepper and my dad. The flashes of lights become tremendous as I leave, and I know for sure that the gossip media will have a field day with my answers.


    "Ed, I''m sorry that you had to go through that." My dad said, in which I thought he was referring to the paparazzis plague, but I was wrong, " I won''t scold you for going out on your own-"


    "Oh, right. That was all made up." I said suddenly, which caused Pepper and my dad to widen their eyes in shock. Even the driver was shocked and he accidentally swayed the car, causing our ride to get blared by people''s horn.


    "AN ACT!?" Pepper gasped in disbelief after calming down. "I thought you really had gone through it- The story...felt real!"


    "Yeah I know. I''m an amazing actor." I replied haughtily with a smirk.


    Truth be told, the story was from my past experience, that needed a slight alteration in order for me to tell that story.


    When I was almost stabbed before, I had no parents, and I didn''t go there to buy some candy, but it happened after I had run away from the orphanage in order to search for my ''true parents''. How naive I was at that time.


    My dad was still suspicious about my disclaimer, "Ed, if you fear that I would be angry-"


    "Dad. Mom didn''t even let me eat candy or ride a bike. Don''t you remember you were the one who bought me my first bike after she left?" I said in a casual manner to remind him.


    "Mitchell, there''s a slushie stall right here. Does Ed want the Red, or the Blue one?" Cameron asked. "Amanda, do you want a slushie too?"


    "I want to see Edward Newgate." Amanda demanded like an entitled brat as she stomped her feet.


    "Cam, what is Red, and what is Blue?" Mitchell asked, ignoring the kid.


    "I don''t know, they wrote Red and Blue. I don''t think there''s any flavor, just color." Cam replied with an exhausted face.


    A few stalls away, Haley and Abby were also walking around the festival street before they suddenly bumped into the hurrying Enid.


    "Hey watch out!" Haley shouted but then realized who it was, and said, "Enid! Watch where you''re going! You''re going to get in trouble!"


    Abby looked at her friend weirdly before turning to Enid and asked, "Why are you running?"


    "Cause I want a reward!" Enid said before she ignored the duo and ran away. Abby then turned to Haley and spoke sarcastically, "And what''s with the motherly scolding?"


    "Huh? Did I succeed?" Haley asked in confusion.


    "Succeed in what?" Abby was also confused.


    At the activities section of the festival, Jacob was swinging down a hammer in a violent manner at the hammer arcade game. The score kept going upwards, and it stopped at 831 after the bell rang.


    "Congrats! You broke the record!" The facilitator of the game gave him a fluffy pink unicorn as a prize. He grinned and gave the prize to Elsa who was already holding multiple stuffed animals and prizes.


    "Stop! I don''t need anymore gifts!" She said exasperatingly, but her boyfriend ignored her plight and went to the next game instead.


    Jenna was following the couple from behind before she ran into Enid. After hearing the explanations, her eyes lit up and she abandoned the stupid couple to go food hunting with Alex , Finneas , Billie, and Abraham.


    Soon after, Abraham knocked on the music classroom door using their secret code with a small load of junk food.


    "Tofu burger? Are you serious?" Edward looked at the impertinent kid. "Huh? You asked us to get the weirdest food in the festival right?" Abraham asked in confusion.


    "I said I wanted to eat rare or weird food, but only good stuff. Tofu burgers aren''t weird. It''s just vegan." Edward said while taking a bite of the burger. "Urgh, disgusting."


    "Then stop eating it!" Pepper yelled at him, but Edward kept munching every single thing his friends brought him, leaving no leftovers.


    "Try this deep fried oreos." Finneas walked around with Billie and handed the food to Edward.


    "Huh? Oreo? This is interesting." Edward''s eyes glinted in excitement before he turned to Billie. The girl sighed and said, "Deep fried broccoli."


    Edward was weirded out, but he kept smiling. He popped a single deep fried oreo into his mouth. "Oh, this is actually good."


    "Good for diabetes. What''s wrong with this festival? Why is everything deep fried?" Pepper complained. Edward ate the broccoli and said, "This is actually tasteless."


    "Stop eating everything Ed! You''ll get fat!" Pepper chastised him.


    Alex walked together with her dad, Phil, who gave Ed a hug the moment he met him. "Heyyy! It''s been a while since I saw you."


    "Yeah, I missed you too Phil." Edward muttered as he wrapped his arm around Phil, but it was actually to take what Alex was holding. "Hmm? What''s this? I mean, I know it''s cotton candy. But what was it before?" Edward asked.


    "It was supposed to be a puppy. But we took too long and it''s already melted." Alex rubbed her head in annoyance as she gazed at her dad.


    "Oh. Puppies are good too." Edward said as he bit off the already small cotton candy in one bite.


    "As a design right Ed?" Alex asked with a smile, but Edward just smiled ambiguously at her.


    "You''re talking about the design right?" She asked again, fearfully this time.


    "Maybe..." Edward answered with a mischievous smirk.


    Alex was shocked, but Phil was just smiling by her side. "Edward, are you nervous about playing today?"


    "You should ask your daughter that question. Her face is getting pale." Edward teased.


    Jenna appeared after the family had left to go enjoy themselves in the ferris wheel. They will join Manny and Luke there, together with Gloria and Jay.


    "Finally! A normal looking food!" Pepper said as he saw the chocolate covered banana in Jenna''s hand. "Ok, time for the show is drawing near. I will go get the bodyguards. Edward, don''t come out of the room."


    "Okayy~" Edward was left alone with the girl. Jenna fidgeted before asking, "S-so, can we really ask for a reward?"


    "Enid just can''t shut her mouth huh?" Edward laughed a bit before saying, "Sure. I can give you a reward if you want."


    "Really? Great! Then, I want you to feed me the banana!"


    "I''m sorry, what?"


    Jenna pointed at the container and showed that it had 2 chocolate covered bananas in it. "Oh, that banana." Edward muttered. "Sure. Say Ahhh~" He grabbed a stick of banana and pointed it to Jenna''s mouth.


    She blushed and bit her lower lip before looking at Edward with dreamy eyes. She slowly brushed her hair behind her ear as she leaned forward to lick the chocolate dripping from the banana, from the bottom to the top.


    "Ahum~" She moans slightly as she puts the banana inside her mouth while maintaining eye contact with Edward who''s contemplating life right now.


    "Umm... So big~"


    "Alright, stop it right there!" Edward said as he pulled his hand back. "My Edward Banana!" Jenna whined pitifully.


    "Why the hell did you do that?" Edward asked in disbelief. "Well, I read my horoscope today, and it said that I should start my summer with an impact so you wouldn''t forget me."


    "''What was that?" Edward asked as Jenna''s voice was too tiny for him to hear. "Nothing!" Jenna said as she stuck her chocolate covered tongue out.


    "Well the horoscope thing got it right. I''m not ever going to forget what just happened." Edward muttered. Jenna blushed and ran away from the room. Just seconds after she left, Mitchell finally got to the class.


    "Hey Ed! I bought some slushies and fairy bread." Mitchell said in excitement.


    "Oh, did Cam bake them?" Edward asked as he grabbed the rainbow sprinkle covered bread.


    Mitchell paused and then exclaimed in disbelief, "What?"

 Chapter 144: Charity Concert (1)

    Chapter 144: Chapter 144: Charity Concert (1)


    [Edward''s P.O.V.]


    After Mitchell explained Amanda''s situation, I agreed to help him by meeting the girl and taking a photo with her. I also gave her my poster and signature before ushering her away as politely and quickly as possible, as she was beginning to get on my nerves. She appeared satisfied, though, and Mitchell wouldn''t get into any trouble.


    "I''m sorry, Ed," Mitchell said.


    He felt apologetic for leveraging our connection for personal gain, but I wasn''t holding it against him. I knew from the TV series that he had practically no work-life balance, as his boss kept pressuring him.


    "It''s okay, Mitch. I''m just glad you could make it," I reassured him.


    "Bahhh-" Baby Lily displayed excessive enthusiasm as we hadn''t seen each other in a while. She playfully nibbled my cheek while I held her, resulting in my face being covered in baby slobber. I burst into laughter at her antics and started tickling her, eliciting baby giggles that made Cam''s face turn red with jealousy.


    "Hey, Ed, we should head backstage now," Alex suddenly entered the room. "Alex, good luck out there! Break a leg!" Cam exclaimed enthusiastically as he took baby Lily from my arms, despite her clear reluctance to leave me.


    "Wait. Taylor is almost here. I want to meet her before going on stage," I mentioned as I wiped my face with a wet tissue.


    Pepper, who had entered the room alongside Alex, chimed in, "No, she won''t make it."


    "Huh? Why?" I inquired, perplexed.


    "She actually went to the hospital to surprise you there, but now she''s stuck in traffic. She won''t be here for at least another half-hour, so it''s better for you to get backstage first," Pepper explained.


    I let out a sigh before responding, "Alright. Make sure to give her the tickets."


    "Don''t worry about it. Now, go and get ready," Pepper urged. "If you''re too late, the crowd will start to gather, and it will be problematic if they spot you walking backstage."


    The venue was situated in the middle of a field, with no discreet pathways to avoid being seen by fans. So my best bet was to get backstage before the crowd started congregating for the show.


    "It''s still an hour and a half until showtime. Isn''t it too early?" Alex questioned, looking a bit confused.


    "It''s not early at all! In fact, there are already DOZENS of people in the field," Pepper responded.


    "Hmmm..." I stepped out the door, and suddenly, a tall blonde girl shouted, "Surprise!" and embraced me.


    "Taylor!" I exclaimed excitedly, returning her hug, while Pepper and Alex snickered behind me.


    "Ahh, you bastards played me," I teased as I turned to the duo. Taylor continued to smile and wrapped her arms around my neck. "I missed you."


    "I missed you too," I replied. Suddenly, Taylor''s expression turned serious, and she began sniffing my clothes.


    "Taylor?" I asked, feeling both confused and concerned.


    "I smell the scent of another girl! Who''s that?" She inquired indignantly, but her eyes still sparkled playfully.


    "Does it smell like talc or baby powder? Because you can see my other girl right behind me."


    Taylor turned around and saw Lily, her face flushing red with embarrassment. I swallowed hard, wondering whether I should be honest or not, but Pepper came to my rescue. "Girl, he needs to get backstage right now. You can have your lover''s quarrel later."


    "Oh, is it time already? Alright, I''ll go be with my dad. I''ll introduce you guys after the concert," Taylor said with a smile.


    "Sure," I replied as I watched her walk away.


    Pepper suddenly grabbed my shoulder from behind and said, "Ed...why were you so nervous when she asked you...if there was another girl?"


    "I...don''t know what you mean? Let''s go! We''re already late!" I hurried towards the stage, not wanting to delve into that topic with Pepper.


    "Hmm...Suspicious," Pepper muttered as he followed me. "Hey Pepper, can we come?" Cam asked with a grin.


    "As long as you keep your mouth shut... Nah, we both know you won''t be able to do that. Just don''t get on Ed''s nerves," Pepper replied nonchalantly.


    As I exited the school compound, a few bodyguards joined me on my way to the staging area. Some fans recognized me and eagerly took out their phones to snap pictures while screaming for my attention. I waved politely with a friendly smile.


    "Hmmm. Only 30 people. Pepper, should I call them over?" I inquired.


    There weren''t many people around yet, as most fans didn''t see the need to arrive so early. However, this specific group consisted of members from my fan club, who were decked out head to toe in my merchandise and held banners with my pictures and name.


    "Why?" Pepper asked, taken aback.


    "Well, they came here quite early, so I want to create a nice memory for them," I explained.


    Pepper grinned and responded, "Okay, if that''s what you want."


    "Call them over," I instructed one of the bodyguards accompanying me. The burly African-American man nodded and approached the scattered fans, informing them of my desire.


    With faces flushed with excitement, the crowd of teenage girls hurried over to me, causing me to take a step back in surprise.


    "Hey, it''s Lily," I commented as I spotted the bespectacled blonde girl in front of me. Lily''s face lit up, and she asked with excitement, "You remember me?!"


    "Yeah. You gave me the keyword ''Fairytale'' at one of my previous concerts. You''ve cut your hair a bit shorter, but I can still recognize you. How have you been?" I inquired warmly. Other girls were grinding their teeth in envy as they waited for their turn.


    "I-I''ve been well," Lily replied with a stutter and a blushing face. She couldn''t even meet my gaze.


    "Don''t be so nervous. I just had another Lily slobbering all over my face a few seconds ago while she was in my arms. You guys share the same name, so you could borrow a bit of her confidence," I reassured her.


    "Huh?" The fan club members were puzzled, and some were infuriated, thinking I was talking about my significant other.


    "Ed! Eddddd!" Baby Lily called my name at a perfect moment. I chuckled and held her in my arms before saying, "See. You really could use some of her confidence."


    The fans blushed in embarrassment, while the fan club president was initially startled but then broke into a wide smile. "Hi Lily," the adult Lily greeted the baby.


    "Lily," the one-year-old mumbled her name while clinging to me, casting wary glances at the girls to assert her possessiveness.


    I conversed with all of them, learning their names and chatting with those who were brave enough to ask for personal pictures. Only after that did I enter the backstage area, still holding baby Lily in my arms.


    "She really doesn''t want to be apart from you! What magic did you use? Why does my daughter adore you so much?!" Cam grumbled in confusion as he took Lily away for the second time, despite her reluctance to leave me.


    "Cam, my entire existence is magic. Alright, Alex, what about Finneas and Billie? Have they arrived yet?" I inquired.


    Alex responded, "Yes, they''re on their way here. So... what do we do backstage?"


    "Typically, we''d familiarize ourselves with the stage and check our instruments. But there''s already a professional team handling that, so let''s just get a feel for the stage layout. Oh, and we need to change into our outfits."


    "Outfits?"


    I glanced at her boyish attire and remarked, "Yes, you DEFINITELY need to change."


    "Ugh," Alex groaned and obediently went to change her clothes. When Finneas and Billie arrived, their fashion choices were also critiqued, and they too willingly went to change.


    We proceeded to the stage, which still had the curtains drawn, to acquaint ourselves with its layout and ensure we didn''t interfere with the dancers as we moved around.


    "Actually, we won''t even move around; we''ll just perform from our designated spots," Billie teased. I playfully tapped her head with my knuckle, causing her to pout and almost shed a tear.


    "Peps, have the dancers arrived?" I inquired.


    "EDWAAAARRRD!" Before Pepper could respond, someone called my name from behind, and I was enveloped in a dual hug.


    "Kaya, Anna! Glad to see you guys here," I greeted them warmly as Anna examined my height with her hand, looking incredulous.


    "How are you taller than me now?! What did you eat to grow this quickly!?"


    Sweep the streets I used to own??"


    Claire''s expression froze while Phil teared up, murmuring, "He must''ve been so lonely." Cameron was also moved, while Gloria asked Manny, "What did he say?"


    The song continued, "??I used to roll the dice... Feel the fear in my enemy''s eyes??"


    "??Listen as the crowd sings... Now the old king is dead, long live the king??"


    The elderly history teacher pushed up his glasses and mumbled, "This feels familiar."


    ??One minute, I held the key~ Next, the walls closed in on me??


    ??And I discovered that my castles stand upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand??


    Finneas smirked as he played the violin, his eyes locked onto Edward''s back with an intense gaze. Billie smiled as she struck the bell.


    Edward, brimming with excitement, raised his hand as he sang the chorus.


    "??I hear Jerusalem bells a-ringin''!


    Roman Cavalry choirs are singin''!


    Be my mirror, my sword and shield.


    My missionaries in a foreign field.


    For some reason, I can''t explain.


    Once you''d gone, there was never, never an honest word.


    And that was when I ruled the world! ??"


    The crowd erupted in excitement, even those initially reluctant parents had now changed their minds and were fully immersed in the concert.


    "??It was a wicked and wild wind.


    Blew down the doors to let me in.


    Shattered windows and the sound of drums.


    People couldn''t believe what I''d become??"


    A gentle breeze caressed Edward''s face as he continued to perform. Taylor whispered, "Is it time for the revolution now?"


    Taylor''s dad, Scott, maintained a stoic expression, but his left foot tapped the ground subtly, following the rhythms.


    "??Revolutionaries wait.


    For my head on a silver plate.


    Just a puppet on a lonely string.


    Oh, who would ever want to be king???"


    Unbeknownst to Edward, the lyrics had stirred deep emotions in two people close to him��his dad and his aunt��causing tears to flow.


    "??I hear Jerusalem bells a-ringin'' (??Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, oh??)


    Roman Cavalry choirs are singin'' (??Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, oh??)??


    Be my mirror, my sword and shield,


    My missionaries in a foreign field (??Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, oh??)??


    ??For some reason I can''t explain,


    I know Saint Peter won''t call my name??


    ??Never an honest word,


    But that was when I ruled the world??"


    "The guy who stands in front of the Gate of Heaven." Abby''s eyes lit up as she realized what Edward meant.


    "??Never an honest word,


    But that was when I ruled the world??"


    "So he was never true to himself while he was on top of the world," RDJ muttered. "Damn, I have no words... Damn..." Don Cheadle was astonished as he tried to comprehend the lyrics.


    "??Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, oh~!??


    ??Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, oh~??


    ??Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, oh~!??


    ??Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, oh~??


    ??Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, oh~!??"


    The chant of "??Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, oh~!??" filled the air with an inexplicable emotion.


    Jacob muttered, "Is this about the French Revolution? Why are some people crying?"


    Elsa rubbed her forehead in frustration and retorted, "Do you really think this is JUST about the revolution?"


    "That''s what Ed told us," Jacob replied naively.


    "??I hear Jerusalem bells a-ringin'' (??Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, oh??)


    Roman Cavalry choirs are singin'' (??Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, oh??)??


    ??Be my mirror, my sword and shield,


    My missionaries in a foreign field (??Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, oh??)??


    ??For some reason I can''t explain,


    I know Saint Peter won''t call my name??


    ??Never an honest word,


    But that was when I ruled the world...??"


    Beads of sweat glistened on the children''s faces, yet their eyes shone with fanaticism as they soaked in the thunderous applause from the audience. Mrs. Henderson wore a satisfied smile, while the Dunphy family had never been prouder of Alex and Edward.


    Edward, catching his breath, flashed a grin before addressing the microphone, "WHAT''S UP, FRANKLIN MIDDLE!!!"


    "OHHHHHHH!" The crowd surged with excitement, their voices ringing out as they cheered for Edward and the rest of the band!

 Chapter 145: Charity Concert (2)

    Chapter 145: Chapter 145: Charity Concert (2)


    (I have a bit of a medical emergency this week, so I will be taking a few days off.)


    [Edward''s P.O.V.]


    "Oh, how I missed this," I muttered as the crowd chanted my name.


    The opening act had been more successful than I had planned. Through my earpiece, I could hear Pepper updating me about the web broadcast, which had grown to 350,000 viewers in just a few minutes since the concert began.


    ''3.5 million dollars in my pocket. Though, compared to the 300 million citizens in the United States alone, the number of the audience is quite small. I want to take this to the international stage, but I have little time to do that,'' I thought to myself.


    "How''s the stability and quality of the broadcast?" Harvey asked the director, reminding her to provide updates every 10 minutes or if there was a surge in viewers.


    "The picture is still high definition, even with choppy internet. The quality won''t degrade. How did he do it? Even the live TV broadcast stations aren''t as stable as his," the director exclaimed in wonder.


    I nodded in satisfaction before turning back to the crowd. "Everyone, before we continue as you know this is actually a school event SO I want to introduce a few talented people who are joining me on stage today."


    "The bespectacled beauty with the cello there is Alex Dunphy," I pointed at Alex, who was wearing a white dress and a cropped jacket.


    She grinned, pushing up the Ray-Ban-style spectacles I had designed for her, earning cheers from the audience, especially from her family and friends.


    [WE LOVE ALEX] Abraham suddenly unfurled a banner, causing Alex''s face to blush bright red.


    "Take that down!" Alex screamed, making the crowd laugh. Jacob complied with her request, not wanting to distract her.


    "And we have another cutie patootie on the drums here, but that''s only for now. She''ll show you how she shreds on an electric guitar later. Billie Eilish!"


    The crowd cheered for the young girl. After my documentary was released, Billie''s reputation had surpassed that of Alex and her brother, becoming the most famous person on the stage after me.


    Perhaps it was because she sang a cover song from Smash Mouth, earning her a lot of older fans who cheered for her today. Billie smiled shyly as she waved at the crowd, still clad in oversized clothes with Albert Einstein pictures on them, her hair tied up in twin buns, shorts, and boots.


    "Next up, the handsome, though not nearly as handsome as me, Finneas O''Connell!" I said as I pointed to the cool-looking boy right behind me. Like me, Finneas had competed in various classical music competitions since he was young, so he knew how to maintain a stoic demeanor in front of a crowd.


    I covered the microphone and whispered to him, "Smile, Finneas. You forgot to smile."


    "Ah, right!" Finneas was taken aback and started waving at the crowd while flashing a shy smile. It was a new experience for him, as the crowd exploded with cheers and chants of his name, reinforcing his decision to leave classical music behind and enter mainstream music.


    "And last but not least, your one and only... Me!" I joked with the crowd, earning laughter all around.


    "For our next performance, I''m singing something I''m sure you guys are already familiar with, one of my very first singles to hit it big ''Me and My Broken Heart.'' Enjoy," I announced. The crowd erupted in cheers, and I turned to my friends, asking, "Are you guys ready?"


    "Well, at the very least, I''m not not ready," Alex answered pessimistically, making Billie and Finneas laugh. I smirked and returned to the audience after offering a few encouraging words to my friends.


    We performed ''Me and My Broken Heart,'' ''7 Years,'' which brought a bright smile to Jay''s face, ''The Lazy Song,'' and ''Believer,'' which received an explosive reaction from the crowd. Sweating hard, Billie and Finneas waved at the crowd in satisfaction, while Alex tried to cover her face as the embarrassment waved over her.


    I hugged the band members, and shouted to the crowd, "Give it up for Franklin Middle School student''s performer! They did pretty well, don''t you think?"


    The crowd cheered thunderously as I hugged Finneas, Billie, and Alex one by one. They bowed to the crowd as their performance was already over.


    The show reached the first break, and we bowed to the crowd again before going backstage. A latina girl in a cream coloured dress was getting ready as we left the stage.


    "Hey, Good luck out there." I said to Selena. She grinned and said, "Thanks. I''m really nervous."


    "Don''t be. Most of the crowd out there are parents and kids. They would be supportive no matter how hard you fail."


    She rolled her eyes and scolded me, "Shouldn''t you comfort me instead of praying for me to fail?"


    I shrugged my shoulders in a baffled gesture while joking, "I didn''t." I laughed a bit and patted her shoulder, "Break a leg!"


    She nodded with a face filled with determination as the emcee called her name.


    "Presenting the Disney Channel star Selena Gomez!" the emcee announced in excitement as the red curtain was drawn open again.


    ...


    "Thanks a lot, you guys," I said as I hugged each member of my group one by one. All of them were drenched in sweat and visibly tired from the continuous performance.


    "Go and enjoy the rest of the performance. Just know that you guys have done something extraordinary today," I complimented them, eliciting gleeful giggles.


    "Ah, I have no energy left," Alex complained. "We will be getting paid for our help, right?" She smirked, making a cash money gesture with her hands.


    I smiled mischievously and said, "Unfortunately, you guys didn''t sign any contracts, except for today''s release. So..."


    "Ugh, money grubber!" Alex complained, though I was just joking. I had every intention of paying them well for their help today.


    Billie chimed in, "I''m all right. You don''t have to pay me."


    Finneas added, "Me too."


    "Really? If you get paid, you can invite Alex on a luxurious date. Don''t you want the money?" I teased Finneas.


    "WHY WOULD I EVER WANT TO DATE ALEX?" Finneas replied, his face flushing.


    "I DON''T WANT TO DATE YOU EITHER!" Alex retorted, offended by Finneas''s remarks. Billie laughed at them and said, "Ed, are you tired? Don''t you want to rest for a bit too?"


    "I''m actually fine. You guys are the ones lacking stamina," I replied, flexing my biceps. "Besides, Selena agreed to sing only 2 songs."


    "Really? Without getting paid?" Billie asked, confused.


    "No, her payment will be donated to the cause. Also, she''s managed by Disney so a charity event in a middle school was right up their alley. They agreed to let her in the second they saw the previous livestream numbers, so I don''t have to pay her at all. Mickey is taking this one on his own." I said with an evil smile.


    "Money grubber," Billie grumbled with a small smile.


    "Money-sucking demon," Alex added after catching her breath.


    "Not even Mickey is safe from you..." Finneas added


    "Hey!" I yelled at them, causing them to giggle and run away. "Pff, kids," I snorted in annoyance, waving goodbye to them before turning to Finneas, who was the only one that stayed behind.


    "Can... Can I stay backstage and watch?" he asked with a stutter.


    "You''re not mad?" Haley asked.


    "Why? We''re not dating. Besides, he already told me he was going to do this yesterday," Abby replied casually before shouting in support of Edward.


    "Okay, I''ll play along. Yeah, we won''t KNOW who the song is directed to then," the emcee said sarcastically but playfully.


    "Yeah, let it be a mystery," Edward joked, making the crowd laugh.


    "Without further ado, give it up for Edward Newgate with his new song, ''Check Yes... Juliet,''" the emcee announced playfully, looking in Taylor''s direction.


    Surprised by the whole situation, Taylor''s face turned bright red, captured by the live broadcast, causing people all over the country to jest at the both of them.


    Edward turned to the band and counted a few beats before playing his electric guitar in a Pop rock melody.


    [We the Kings - Check Yes Juliet]


    "??Check yes, Juliet, are you with me? Rain is falling down on the sidewalk. I won''t go until you come outside.??"


    The shippers erupted in cheers as Edward sang. Lily, the fan club president, nervously wrung her hands as she muttered, "OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! HE''S CONFESSING DIRECTLY!"


    "??Check yes, Juliet. Kill the limbo. I''ll keep tossing rocks at your window. There''s no turning back for us tonight.??"


    The camera zoomed in on Edward''s face as he sang into the microphone, causing most of the girls in the audience and those watching the web broadcast to swoon.


    "??Lace up your shoes. (Background singer: Eh oh eh oh.) Here''s how we do.??"


    "??Run, baby, run~??"


    People who were sitting stood up and began to dance, rocking their heads back and forth, following the rhythms.


    "??Don''t ever look back! They''ll tear us apart! If you give them the chance??"


    "??Don''t sell your heart, Don''t say we''re not meant to be??"


    "??Run, baby, run! Forever we''ll be...You and me??"


    The crowd jumped and danced excitedly, while the entire world eagerly awaited Taylor''s reaction. As expected, the girl covered her mouth with both hands, her face flushing red from embarrassment.


    "That jerk! He should''ve given me a warning," Taylor muttered in mock anger, her attempt to stifle her smile proving futile.


    "??Check yes, Juliet, I''ll be waiting. Wishing, wanting, Yours for the taking??"


    "??Just sneak out, And don''t tell a soul goodbye??," Edward sang with a wink, leaving Taylor in a daze.


    "Don''t," Taylor''s dad suddenly said, dousing Taylor''s wild imagination with a dose of reality.


    "??Check yes, Juliet. Here''s the countdown. Three, two, one, now fall in my arms??."


    "??Now they can change the locks, Don''t let them change your mind??."


    "Ahh, this modern-day Romeo and Juliet are good too," Cam muttered aloud.


    "??Lace up your shoes. (The background singer: Eh oh eh oh.) Here''s how we do??."


    The crowd held its breath and then erupted in energetic cheers as Edward sang the chorus.


    "??Run, baby, run! Don''t ever look back! They''ll tear us apart, If you give them the chance~??"


    "??Don''t sell your heart, Don''t say we''re not meant to be??"


    "??Run, baby, run! Forever we''ll be!! You and me??"


    "WOOO!!!" The crowd erupted in cheers. The atmosphere was electric, even as the sky slowly darkened.


    "??We''re flying through the night, way up high,


    The view from here is getting better with you by my side??," Edward crooned.


    Jenna shot a murderous glare at Taylor from a distance. "I need to become a singer too," she muttered under her breath.


    "Why not become an actress, sweetie?" Her mother suggested.


    "??Run, baby, run~ Don''t ever look back. They''ll tear us apart, If you give them the chance??"


    "??Don''t sell your heart, Don''t say we''re not meant to be~ Run, baby, run~ Forever we''ll be...You and me~??"


    Edward stopped strumming his guitar and walked to the edge of the stage, dragging his microphone stand with him as he bent over the stage looking down at the people and the general direction of Taylor''s seat in the VVIP section.


    "??Run, baby, run~! Don''t ever look back. They''ll tear us apart! If you give them the chance.~! Don''t sell your heart. Don''t say we''re not meant to be.??"


    "??Run, baby, run.~Forever we''ll be~You and me.??"


    "??You and me


    You and me??"


    The crowd cheered and chanted, "Edward! Taylor! Edward! Taylor!"


    Edward chuckled and asked through the mic, "When did my name change to Taylor?"


    The crowd laughed, but the excitement couldn''t be brushed off. They continued to scream and chant for a while as Edward took a break to drink some water. After some time, the crowd began to calm down. Just as Edward was about to say something, a random person suddenly shouted loudly from afar.


    "Game!"


    "Huh? What game?" Edward asked, confused.


    "The song game!" The random person shouted again.


    Edward laughed and replied, "I''ll do that when we have more time and we''re indoors. For now, let''s focus on the show. Look up, we don''t have much time."

 Chapter 146: Charity Concert (3)

    Chapter 146: Chapter 146: Charity Concert (3)


    (I''m back. Sorry I have a mini heart attack and major asthma attack. So I was resting for a while.)


    [General P.O.V.]


    "This is breaking news! Ugh, why is he broadcasting this? The value of this information will be lower," a sleazy paparazzo muttered as he checked the pictures he had snapped with his secret camera, as Edward didn''t allow flash photography inside the concert.


    In the world of paparazzi, the less people knew about the information, the more valuable it was. That''s how it worked in their line of work but now everything was actually being broadcasted and most news agencies would have their own people stuck to monitors getting everything on real time.


    Having been ignored during the interview in front of the hospital earlier, he vowed to exact revenge by capturing unflattering pictures of Edward on stage. But as he reviewed his shots, he was stunned to find that all of the singer''s pictures were immaculate and dashing.


    "Why is this happening?" he asked with teary eyes. "I just want ONE... Just ONE bad photo..."


    Then, he was spotted and escorted out of the venue by a muscular African-American security guard in PE clothes.


    Far away from the venue, Desiree was busy packing her belongings as she and Abby needed to move back to New York the next day. Her skin glistened with sweat, and her red tank top clung to her body.


    They hadn''t brought much with them to California, so it wasn''t difficult for her to fit everything into three suitcases. After finishing, she wore a satisfied smile before turning her attention to the laptop, where she was watching the concert.


    "Hmm, I can still catch the last song. Wait, I''ll bring an umbrella too," she muttered as she rushed out of the house. However, in her haste, she forgot to change her outfit when she got into the car and even left the door unlocked as she walked out.


    At the VVIP section, Selena kept teasing Taylor about the previous song. "You know, he did multiple songs for you, and you only tweaked a line for him in your song, Starlight," Selena said with a serious expression.


    "So maybe you should write a song just for him," she suggested. Taylor pondered it briefly, but then her dad chimed in, "No. You cannot do that. I haven''t heard his country song yet. I haven''t judged him still remember that for all the loud screeching you do these days you started singing country so we will still wait and see."


    Taylor rolled her eyes and replied, "Dad! He will do it... I think... I''m not sure. I forgot to ask."


    Scott looked at his daughter while she tried to avoid his gaze. Meanwhile, on Edward''s website and forum page, discussions about the songs were exploding with activity. Almost everywhere in the country, people were starting to believe that there was something going on between Edward and Taylor, no matter how much they tried to ''cover'' things up and any opinion on the contrary was quickly followed by a continued post and repost of the leaked Princess dress photos.


    However, the conversation quieted down as Edward continued the performance with another song.


    [Edward''s P.O.V.]


    "Did you guys bring your umbrellas? I checked the weather forecast this morning, and it said it should be sunny. I don''t know why we can smell the scent of rain right now," I spoke casually with the audience as they murmured with worry.


    The clouds kept darkening, and distant sounds of thunder could be heard. ''Why is this happening?'' I thought anxiously.


    From the injuries this morning to not getting permission to walk around the festival, and now rain threatening my performance, I felt like I was cursed today.


    ''Shouldn''t my luck be good? Or is there another Gacha session tonight, and my karma points have been tallied now? If so, did my bad karma surpass the good ones? How is that even possible?''


    "Well, I don''t want to end the concert early. I have three songs left to perform. One of them, you guys have already had the chance to listen to, a song from my newly released single, ''Natural.'' Then��"


    The crowd cheered upon hearing the song''s name, prompting me to pause. I smiled as I patiently waited for them to calm down before continuing, "Seeing you guys like this, I think I will keep the other two songs as a surprise."


    Although there were some playful protests here and there, it didn''t change my mind.


    For the next song, I decided to focus on singing and avoid the dancers. Just then, I heard Enid''s hoarse voice coming from the crowd, and I turned to wave at her, unable to hold back my laughter.


    I signaled to the band, and the dancers rushed to the stage, circling around me as I sang.


    "??Will you hold the line??"


    [General P.O.V.]


    "Why do I already have goosebumps? This is what Taylor meant when she said we definitely need to watch him live," Jennifer Stone, Selena''s best friend, commented while rubbing her bare arm.


    ??When every one of them has given up and given in? Tell me??" Edward''s gaze turned murderous, sending shivers through the crowd. They held their breath, their hearts racing, and their eyes filled with excitement.


    "??In this house of mine...Nothing ever comes without a consequence or cost, tell me ??"


    "??Will the stars align? Will heaven step in? Will it save us from our sin, will it???"


    "??''Cause this house of mine stands strong??"


    Gloria instinctively did the Christian sign of the cross, silently offering prayers for Edward''s soul. "God, don''t blame him. He''s not an infidel. He''s just a child."


    "??That''s the price you pay... Leave behind your heart and cast away!!!??"


    "Oh MY GOD." Phil widened his eyes. "My blood is rushing all over my body." As he jumped around like a liy kid on a sugar rush.


    "??Just another product of today!! Rather be the hunter than the prey!!??"


    "Wait, is this the song you guys put in the movie?" Scarlet asked RDJ in a hushed tone.


    "Uh...no," RDJ replied, filled with regret. "Although now I kind of wish we had, that does it next time I''m making him go over all his material."


    Edward advanced toward the front of the stage, enveloped by the dancers who seemed to burst away as he passionately sang the chorus.


    "??And you''re standing on the edge face up!!??"


    "??''Cause you''re a natural!!??"


    The crowd erupted in cheers, with a few undergarments soaring through the air and making their way toward the stage.


    "Stop." Scoot firmly grasped Taylor''s hand, preventing her from attempting to remove her bra. "Ugh," Taylor exclaimed in frustration, resuming her modest demeanor.


    "??A beating heart of stone, You gotta be so cold, To make it in this world??"


    "??Yeah, you''re a natural! Living your life cutthroat! You gotta be so cold! Yeah, you''re a natural!!??"


    "Ahh, I can''t even analyze it," Edward''s therapist muttered as she enjoyed the show through her laptop. She even danced around and momentarily forgot about her work as she listened to the song.


    Edward smiled and stared directly into the camera, "??Will somebody...Let me see the light within the dark trees shadowing???"


    "??What''s happening? Looking through the glass, find the wrong within the past, knowing??"


    ??Oh, we are the youth, Cut until it bleeds inside a world without peace, face it??"


    "??A bit of the truth, the truth??"


    "What is the truth?" Luke asked his mother.


    "Even I don''t know, Luke," Claire replied.


    Edward extended his microphone to the audience, and they sang the lines of the song together, creating a loud symphony of voices.


    ??That''s the price you pay~~


    Leave behind your heart and cast away~~??


    ??Just another product of today~~


    I''d rather be the hunter than the prey~~??


    "Good job, everyone!" Edward muttered with a satisfied smile before he continued, "??And you''re standing on the edge face up��!!??"


    "??''Cause you''re a natural!!??"


    "It was quite challenging, and I had no idea what to write for a long time," Edward explained. "Until one day, a neighborhood dad-"


    "He''s talking about me!" Phil exclaimed excitedly.


    "Told me a story of how he and his wife first met, and how he always knew they would be together."


    "Aww, Phil," Claire was touched and hugged Phil.


    "So, this song is inspired by their love story. Enjoy, ''Your Man.''"


    Edward skillfully strummed his guitar, and the drummer helped provide the beat. The country music rhythm made people sway to the music, and then Edward began to sing in a deep voice.


    [Josh Turner - Your Man.]


    ?? Baby, lock the door and turn the lights down low ??


    "Pff-" Phil nearly spewed out his drink as the song began. Claire froze in her spot, while the rest of the adults in the family looked at them in astonishment.


    "??And put some music on that''s soft and slow??"


    "The nerve on that kid! HAHAHA!" Jay guffawed loudly.


    "??Baby, we ain''t got no place to go~ I hope you understand??"


    Taylor''s face blushed red, while her dad furrowed his brow. Taylor thought he was angry, but he suddenly smiled and exclaimed, "Good stuff!"


    Edward playfully brought his guitar to the front of the stage, serenading the crowd.


    "??I''ve been thinking ''bout this all day long


    Never felt a feeling quite this strong


    I can''t believe how much it turns me on??


    ??Just to be your man??"


    "I wanna dance!" ScarJo suddenly said. "With my husband."


    "Well, he''s not here, and my wife ain''t here either," RDJ said before he took ScarJo''s hand. They danced lightly to the melody. Not only them, but a lot more couples started to dance together as they heard the song.


    "??There''s no hurry, don''t you worry


    We can take our time??


    ??Come a little closer, let''s go over


    What I had in mind??"


    "What, Phil? What did you HAVE IN MIND?" Cam teased. "I-I, Honey, trust me, I didn''t tell him any of that!" Phil tried to placate the embarrassed Claire hurriedly.


    "??Baby, lock the door and turn the lights down low


    And put some music on that''s soft and slow??


    ??Baby, we ain''t got no place to go


    I hope you understand??"


    Jay and Gloria were dancing, and Gloria turned to Claire, saying, "Claire, you need to enjoy this! This is your song!"


    Haley stepped away from her mother in disgust. Claire saw it and nervously tried to explain herself, "Honey, no! We didn''t- Damn it! EDWARD!"


    "??I''ve been thinking ''bout this all day long


    Never felt a feeling quite this strong


    I can''t believe how much it turns me on


    Just to be your man??"


    Taylor''s dad was thoroughly impressed, and he told Taylor, "I approve."


    "Yes! Thank you, Daddy!" Taylor said as she hugged her dad.


    ??Ain''t nobody ever loved nobody


    The way that I love you


    We''re alone now


    You don''t know how long I''ve wanted to??


    Enid''s face blushed red, and she turned to Alex, saying, "I didn''t think that your mom and dad were so affectionate."


    "I have no mom and dad from now on," Alex said in embarrassment, trying to hide her face behind her hair.


    "??Lock the door and turn the lights down low


    And put some music on that''s soft and slow??"


    Edward''s sweet and melting voice made many girls swoon once again. With a dazed face, Selena asked Taylor, "Hey, are you sure we can''t share him?"


    "Back off, bitch!"


    Edward continued without knowing about the catfight going on in the VVIP section, "??Baby, we ain''t got no place to go~ I hope you understand??"


    "??I''ve been thinking ''bout this all day long


    Never felt a feeling that was quite this strong??"


    "??I can''t believe how much it turns me on


    Just to be your man??"


    "Claire, don''t be mad. He''s not doing this on purpose - I think. If you listen to the lyrics, it''s about how much I love to be your man, not about waiting to do ''it'' with you," Phil tried to comfort his wife.


    Claire nodded reluctantly and said, "No, Phil. I swear he is doing this on purpose!"


    "What does ''it'' mean? Sex?" Luke asked, causing both of his parents to freeze in their spot.


    "??I can''t believe how much it turns me on


    Just to be your man~~??"


    The gentle outro put a smile on everyone''s face. Those from Texas and the country''s state had all fallen under Edward''s spell, especially with his handsome cowboy look and deep singing voice.


    "How about it, folks? Did you enjoy the music?" Edward asked in a southern accent, earning thunderous cheers from the crowd.

 Chapter 147: Charity Concert (4-Final)

    Chapter 147: Chapter 147: Charity Concert (4-Final)


    [Edward''s P.O.V.]


    To be honest, doing a country song was quite challenging, considering I hadn''t been exposed to that genre much in my previous life. As I finished the song, I received a notification from Pepper saying, "There''s a storm warning on the West Coast."


    "I understand," I replied.


    I glanced up at the sky and frowned inwardly, sensing that raindrops would soon fall.


    "Ladies and gentlemen, it''s time to say goodbye. A storm is coming, and we should seek shelter indoors."


    "NOOO!" Enid''s voice echoed from the crowd. Many people were reluctant to see the concert end, not just Enid. However, the darkening sky was a clear indicator that we needed to return home swiftly. Thunder and lightning added to the growing sense of anxiety and concern among the audience.


    I smiled and signaled the staff members to prepare for the final act. They nodded and began setting up a grand piano at the front and center of the stage. With a casual stride, I took a seat at the piano when a staff member placed a microphone in front of me.


    "For the last song, which I find rather ironic, it''s called ''It Will Rain.'' It''s been an enjoyable evening, everyone," I said softly. I closed my eyes, and my fingers started to glide across the piano keys.


    [Bruno Mars - It Will Rain]


    The music instantly captivated the audience, hushing any remaining murmurs.


    I sang with emotion, "??If you ever leave me, baby,


    Leave some morphine at my door??"


    [General P.O.V.]


    "M-m-morphine?" Claire stuttered nervously, her face displaying disbelief.


    "??''Cause it would take a whole lot of medication


    To realize what we used to have, We don''t have it anymore~??"


    "Oh," Jenna exclaimed in realization before muttering, "A pain that only drugs could alleviate. He''s just like you, Mom. Except you snort it through your nose."


    Alexandria''s face froze at her daughter''s words. It was the first time Jenna had spoken sarcastically to her, leaving her stunned and speechless.


    "??There''s no religion that could save me,


    No matter how long my knees are on the floor, oh??"


    "Ay, that infidel," Gloria murmured as she made an imaginary cross (again), silently praying for Edward''s soul (again).


    "??So keep in mind all the sacrifices I''m making,


    To keep you by my side, To keep you from walking out the door??"


    Edward gazed at the darkening sky as he poured his emotions into the song. His presence left a deep impression on the minds of those in the audience as he sang.


    "??''Cause there''ll be no sunlight


    If I lose you, baby??"


    "??There''ll be no clear skies


    If I lose you, baby??"


    Enid''s eyes lit up before she mumbled, "So, who''s this for? It''s not Abby, Taylor, or his mother, because that would just be weird. If it''s for the deceased grandma, then it would be even weirder."


    ?? Just like the clouds, my eyes will do the same


    If you walk away, every day it''ll rain, rain, rain ??


    Enid then realized, "Ahh, the Twilight movie. I forgot about it. Wait��did I really just forget about Twilight?! I need to reread the whole book twice this summer to make sure this doesn''t happen again!"


    "?? I''ll never be your mother''s favorite


    Your daddy can''t even look me in the eye, oh ??"


    "So, not me," Taylor muttered.


    "Not me," Abby muttered.


    "Not me," Haley muttered.


    "Not me," Phil muttered. Claire was baffled and scolded quickly, "Why would it ever be for you!?"


    "??If I were in their shoes, I''d be doing the same thing


    Saying: ''There goes my little girl


    Walking with that troublesome guy''??"


    In a street nearby the school, Desiree patiently waited for the traffic light to change so she could get to the concert. The strong wind made her hair flutter, and as she pressed the gas pedal after the light turned green, she failed to notice a truck approaching from her side.


    "??But they''re just afraid of something they can''t understand, oh~


    But, little darling, watch me change their minds


    Yeah, for you, I''ll try, I''ll try, I''ll try, I''ll try??


    ??And pick up these broken pieces ''til I''m bleeding


    If that''ll make you mine??"


    Seconds later, shattered glass littered the streets. Her car''s engine was smoking, and people began to shout for help.


    "?? ''Cause there''ll be no sunlight


    If I lose you, baby


    There''ll be no clear skies


    If I lose you, baby ??"


    "Abby, isn''t your mom here yet?" Haley asked.


    "Well, she''s supposed to be here. But it''s already too late," Abby replied. "It''s better if she stays at home," she muttered in concern. "I don''t know why I''m getting a bad feeling."


    "??Just like the clouds, my eyes will do the same


    If you walk away, every day it''ll rain, rain, rain??"


    Edward scanned the crowd, and at that moment, a light drizzle began to fall from the clouds.


    "Nah, not at all. Go for it."


    "Also, Ed, how''s your foot?" Taylor asked before she walked away.


    "It''s fine now. I''m on painkillers. Plus the adrenaline from performing, I haven''t felt anything for a while." I confessed. "Also, I have to warn you, I''m not joining the after-party if you feel like sneaking in."


    Selena pushed Taylor''s hand away and asked hurriedly, "Huh? Why not?"


    "I''m injured. (laugh) I need to rest." I replied in a casual manner. Taylor and Selena walked away in dissatisfaction. I walked towards where Pepper and my family were standing, but someone intercepted my path before I could reach there.


    "ED! Nice show!" Kaya said as she hugged me with her sweaty body. "Hey, I just changed." I scolded the dancer insincerely.


    "I just realized that I haven''t shown you yet about our choreography in the movie," Kaya said as she took out her phone.


    My eyes lit up, "Ah, Ironette dance. Let me see."


    "Hehe. Here, this is me and the other dancers changing." She said as she showed a picture of the dancers in only their underpants. Luckily, their fronts weren''t facing the camera as Kaya snapped the photo.


    "This is the dance." She showed the oldie-style dance she and the other Ironette practiced and then showed several pictures of her and the other celebrities in the show.


    "This is us (Kaya and Anna) and ScarJo before the show."


    "This is us and Jon."


    "This is us with Samuel L. Jackson."


    "This is a video of us scissoring the night before. Sorry about that."


    I was stunned as Kaya blushed and scrolled over to the next photo, trying to smoothly gloss over the topic. "Hold up. You and Anna?" I asked in bewilderment, and also a bit of excitement. The 5 seconds I saw on the video had burned deeply into my mind, and I needed answers.


    "Ah no. We weren''t dating if that''s what you''re thinking of. That was just stress relief," Kaya replied casually.


    "Edward, I need to talk to you," Mrs. Henderson suddenly interjected. "Can you wait 5 minutes? I need to hear more about this," I said, trying to get the details from Kaya''s mouth.


    "Excuse us," Mrs. Henderson grabbed my arm and dragged me away. "KAYA! I NEED DETAILS! DETAAAAILLLLS!" I exclaimed, causing Kaya to snicker.


    To my surprise, Haley and Abby were also standing near my family and were currently sharing their opinions about the concert with my proud aunt. Their shirts were wet and sticking to their bodies, which was a treat to the eyes.


    Mrs. Henderson briefed me about the donations we received during the concert and wondered if I wanted to give out to the charity personally. I rejected that offer and left all the work to the school, as I was already busy enough in the summer.


    "What are you going to do this summer?" I asked casually.


    "Teach summer school," Mrs. Henderson replied.


    "Damn, that must suck," I grimaced.


    "Compared to your schedule, mine is relatively peaceful," she muttered with a smirk.


    She was right. I had a full schedule this summer. With the concerts, album promotions, interviews, and also meeting the fans, I would not return to California until the last week of summer. And even then, I would have a lot of things to do.


    "Also, Edward, your Album. We still need to finalize the list of songs going inside it. How about tomorrow?" Pepper asked after I finished talking with Mrs. Henderson.


    Before I could answer, my dad interjected, "No. Tomorrow is Father''s Day. We have a tradition on that day."


    "Yeah. We''re going to lose the lottery," I added.


    "Maybe we can win something this year," my dad said wryly.


    "As if. We have no luck whatsoever," I replied while laughing. "Also, we need to send Abby and her mom to the airport tomorrow."


    "We will?" my dad asked incredulously.


    "Yeah. I already promised them," I said as I waved at Abby. But then, I was shocked as I saw she was crying. I rushed towards her and asked hurriedly, "What happened?"


    Her hand shivered. Her mascara was smudged, from the rain, and also from the tears from crying right now. She sobbed and hugged me tightly before she broke down in my arms.


    "Haley, what happened?" I asked the pale Haley who was blanking out. She snapped out of her daze and said, "D... Desiree."


    "What happened to Desiree?" I asked hurriedly.


    "She... She got into an accident. The police... c-called Abby to tell her that," Haley choked up as she spoke.


    "What?" I was shocked, and then my heart started beating quickly. "Did they tell you where she is right now?" I asked Abby.


    "She''s... She''s in the hospital," Abby said, holding back her tears.


    "Alright. PEPPER! I need to go, right now!" I shouted. Pepper was stunned and asked, "Go where?"


    "Dad, can you drive us to the hospital?" I asked before I told Pepper about the situation.


    "Again? Alright," my dad muttered and decided quickly.


    ...


    20 minutes later, we reached the emergency ward. I kept holding Abby''s hand as I dragged her to enter the hospital, as her legs were too weak for her to walk by herself.


    "Hi, we got a call. It''s for Mrs. Desiree Rutherford," I asked the front desk nurse. The African-American nurse whom I recognized from the TBBT series was surprised to see me again.


    "What''s wrong now? Did you break your other leg?" She asked playfully as she checked the list. "She''s in room 420."


    "Oh, that''s not a good sign," Haley muttered. I turned towards her in disbelief, but I didn''t say anything. With heavy steps, we walked towards the front of ward 420.


    "Hey, take a deep breath. It''s going to be okay," My dad advised Abby. She nodded with a face filled with fear and then inhaled deeply.


    She opened the door slowly, and her face turned ashen as she saw the figure of a woman with cement bandages all over her body. Even her face was bandaged as it was badly burned.


    "Mom," Abby cupped her mouth as tears fell. She hugged me as her body fell limp. My face turned crestfallen as I looked at Desiree''s situation. But then, we heard someone calling for us from the other bed with the curtains still drawn.


    "Abby?" Desiree slowly opened the curtain to reveal herself.


    "Huh?" We turned to the next bed instead of looking at the badly injured woman and found Desiree smiling at us with only a cement bandage on her left leg.


    "Hey, Abby. I''m fine!" She called with a smile on her face.


    "Oh, just a drunk bastard. I almost died if it wasn''t for the car behind me. He rammed my car from behind, pushing me out of the way."


    I breathed a sigh of relief as Abby ran to her mom and hugged her tightly. As I noticed that Desiree had broken her left leg, I glanced down at my sprained left ankle and muttered, "This CANNOT be a coincidence."


    "Who is he? Is he here?" My dad inquired about the man who saved her.


    "No. He didn''t have any injuries, so he left after giving the police his statement," Desiree explained. "I didn''t even catch his name. He cursed a lot in Italian, and he wore a blue train conductor uniform."


    "Huh... What did you say?" I couldn''t believe my ears as I heard it. ''That...is him...right?'' I thought secretly.

 Chapter 148: Cause and Effects.

    Chapter 148: Chapter 148: Cause and Effects.?


    [Edward POV]


    Abby hugged her mother while sobbing. Haley cried from the side, and Desiree pulled her close to give her a hug too.


    Their reactions were normal, as during the time we were driving over, the accident was reported exaggeratedly in the news outlets. The drunken truck driver had died on location, and even one passerby was hit by shards of the broken down truck, causing permanent blindness in one eye. The other victim''s situation however was still unknown.


    "Thank god." I breathed a sigh of relief as I rubbed my chest to calm down my rapidly beating hearts.


    "Edward, you come here too." Desiree said, with a slight nudging with her head to beckon me to come closer.


    "Huh? I don''t need a hug." I said playfully, but I still walked slowly over towards the hospital bed.


    "You don''t, but I do." Desiree said as she pulled my arms forcefully into her embrace to give all 3 of us a hug.


    "It was so scary. My life was flashing right before my eyes." Desiree muttered in a solemn tone as she tightened her arms around us.


    "Did you see a good memory, or a bad one?" I asked her in a curious tone as I slowly pulled my body out of her hug.


    "You know what, I don''t even remember what it was that I saw before. It''s all become blurry now that I tried to recall it back." Desiree replied, her hands were still shivering from her near death experience.


    "Did your body freeze, you couldn''t even understand what was happening until the truck hit, and you have a really really urgent sense to make your life better now?" I asked in a casual manner.


    "Y-Yes. How...do you know it so well?" Desiree widened her eyes in disbelief, while Abby and Haley gave me a sideways glance from burying their heads in Desiree''s bosom.


    I would never admit that one of the reasons I pulled myself out of the hug was because I couldn''t be in their position. Not ever! And any insinuation on the fact is nothing but slander.


    "Well...let''s just say I have a lot of experience with trucks." I shuddered as I thought of the memory of when I was returning home from the grocery store in my scooter before all this even started. (Chapter 1)


    "Huh?" Haley raised one of her eyebrows, but I just waved one of my hands to dismiss it.


    "You know, there''s an amusing theory about the ''life-flashing-back-before-your-eyes'' thing, but I''m not sure if the timing would be appropriate for me to say it."


    "Just spit it out." Abby demanded angrily, her cheeks still pushing hard on her mother''s chest, further igniting my jealousy.


    "I''ll tell you later," I smirked, causing Abby to pout. She buried her head in her mother''s chest again while silently muttering, "There is no later...Jerk."


    "Ed, I will go handle the paperwork." My dad said as he excused himself from the room, while giving a subtle glance at Desiree. Abby and I caught it, and shuddered.


    Desiree then flinched in pain as Haley accidentally pressed on her left broken leg. "Um, I''m sorry!" Haley apologized quickly and pulled herself away a few steps from the patient. Desiree waved it off saying she was fine, but Haley was still apologetic.


    "What did the doctor say?" I asked before I grabbed the medical board in front of the bed and checked it out myself.


    "Broken tibia and femur, well, it will take at least 2 months before you can take out the cast." I licked my lips as I read the doctor''s medical assessments. "It could take even longer... considering your age..."


    "What was that?" Desiree''s eyes shone a deathly glint.


    "N-Nothing. I''m just talking to myself." I said in a nervous manner before saying, "I''mma go and catch up with dad."


    My dad was talking to the doctor and helping Desiree handle her release documents. He also tried to find the one who had helped her, but it was as if no one even remembered that guy.


    ...


    [General POV]


    While Edward was visiting Desiree in the hospital, the charity crew members and concert''s performers were having an after party in a club in the city.


    The concert had become the talk of the town, and the number of users who downloaded and created an account in the instagram app skyrocketed. As the app also provided a web version, the numbers of users had reached a staggering 300,000 users in just an evening.


    In Ed''s previous life, the apps had only reached 1 million users in 2.5 months, but Ed could achieve that in a week, maybe less.


    "It was a brilliant execution. Not only did he manage to gain a lot of traction for the application''s launch, but he also posted a few behind-the-scenes photos and videos on his profile page, so the ones who just HAD to see it needed to download the application." Frankie Dart said as she monitored the app''s growth and data.


    Frankie called Claire through a bluetooth headset as she worked from her office in the port, while Claire was hurrying to go to her neighbor''s house after she went home from the concert.


    Claire flashed a proud-motherly-smile and said, "Edward is amazing. Frankie, I hate to say this, but I think I need to ask you to handle this one alone for just a few more hours."


    "Huh? Why?" Frankie asked, not annoyed by the situation.


    "Desiree got into an accident. She texted me through Haley, asking me to bring some of her clothes so that she could go back home."


    "Oh, what happened to her?" Frankie asked, concerned.


    "She broke her leg in a car accident. I''ll tell you more when I get more information." Claire replied before entering Desiree''s house. She forgot that she didn''t ask her for a key, and was surprised when she realized that the door was unlocked.


    "That careless-" She muttered to herself.


    Frankie nodded and said, "Alright then. I''ll see you on Monday. Although I want to meet you tomorrow-"


    "I know. You need to tend to your sister. Bring her to Disneyland. That''ll be fun." Claire said casually as she rummaged through Desiree''s suitcases.


    In a different neighborhood, the hoarse-voiced Enid was walking back and forth angrily as she replied to a slanderous tweet.


    "How dare they say that Ed is unprofessional? He sang his songs till the end!" Enid growled with the voice of a middle-aged heavy smoker.


    "Stop talking, you''re creeping me out." Another hoarse-voiced girl muttered. "Just report him for pedophilia." Tara added.


    "Already did." Enid replied. "But there''s thousands more of them, saying Ed is hiding money, Ed is godless, and many more. All of these people should just DIE!"


    "They''re TROLLS! Ignore them. A lot more people are supporting Ed right?...See, even Tom Hanks is tweeting about it, and also wants to donate to the cause."


    A lot of celebrities had voiced their support for Edward, and it was as useful as sending thoughts and prayers to natural disaster victims. Only a few of them actually reached out to the charity with the hope to contribute to the cause.


    "Donate, or pledge? Ed told me never to trust those guys until they actually open up their wallets. Otherwise, they will say they donated a certain amount, but they actually crowdfund the money without even putting a dollar of their own." Enid said menacingly.


    Tara was in disbelief and said, "I didn''t think that Ed was such a pessimist."


    "He''s more of a realist." Enid defended her idol before plopping down on her bed, whimpering about not getting to see him again for a long time.


    "Ugh, idiot." Tara looked at her sister disdainfully before walking out of the room.


    After the concert, Pepper was bombarded by the paparazzi in front of the school door.


    "Mr Saltzman? What can you tell us about the whereabouts of Edward Newgate?"


    "Where is he?"


    "Is he refusing to give interviews?"


    "Nuh-Uh."


    "Yuh-huh."


    We talked and talked, until it was almost 4 am. It was the last late night conversation that we could have for a while, maybe ever and none of us wanted it to end it this early.


    ...


    [General POV]


    6.30 in the morning. Near the port, inside a run-down bar. A mustached barkeeper was wiping the desk when Ted walked into the tavern.


    "Oh Theodore. Did you decide to start downing whiskey again after waking up this morning?"


    "Stop Joking Jim. I''m picking up Dwayne here, and also, mind firing up the grill and making me some bacon and eggs?"


    "You know we open at 8 Ted. Luckily, I have a soft spot for you, so just wait a sec- Oh, and help me throw out that drunkard will ya?" Jim laughed as he walked into the kitchen. Ted scanned the room, and then widened his eyes as he saw the lone man pouring whiskey into a cup and gulping it down in one shot.


    "You!" Ted walked towards the man quickly. He was wearing a train conductor uniform, and Ted''s instinct told him that this man was the one who got involved in the accident yesterday''s evening.


    To Ted''s surprise, the man still had clarity in his eyes, as if the 15 bottles of several kinds of alcohol (whiskey, vodka, tequila and others) was only some mineral water that he had been pouring into his throat all night.


    "Sir, May I ask you a question? Are you the one who saved my friend last night from being killed by a truck?"


    "Hmm? Oh, I remember that. Yes. That was me."


    "JIM! Put this man''s tabs on my account!" Ted quickly shouted to the barkeeper. Jim frowned and said, "Are you sure? It''s a couple thousand bucks!"


    "It''s fine!" Ted waved his hands to the barkeeper as he smilingly turned to the man. Although Ted had no proof that the man was the one who saved Desiree, and the only evidence he got was the man''s confirmation, his instinct told him that the man could be trusted with his words.


    "Oh thanks a lot for that. I''m waiting for my junior colleague, and she didn''t show up all night, so I had to keep drinking or the barkeep will throw me out." The man joked before offering his hand for a handshake, "Theodore. Theodore Franzetti."


    "Theodore Newgate. I''m surprised that we have the same first name." Ted said. Theo smiled and replied, "What a coincidence."


    (Ted: Edward''s current Dad. Theo: The train conductor grim reaper )


    After some initial introductions, Ted asked, "Theodore, you''re a train conductor?"


    "Yes. But I don''t think you want to buy my tickets now. You still have a looong way to go. Longer now that you''ve stopped drinking." Theo laughed.


    Ted was confused for a bit but he attributed Theo''s weirdness from his drunkenness, and didn''t pursue the matter.


    "You know, I used to be in jail." Theo said, surprising Ted, but he didn''t show any apprehension to sit together with the man.


    "How long?" Ted asked, drinking his cup of joe.


    "Longer than you can imagine. But my son bailed me out. HAHAHA." Theo guffawed loudly before he went silent, and spoke in great self-deprecation. "My son...I left him on the doorstep of the orphanage when he was 1 year old, and he still grew up to be an excellent man."


    Ted went silent, and then he asked, "What are you doing now?" If Theo was in need of a job and shelter, Ted would offer him his help. Like Theo, a lot of the sailors had gone through jail time before, but it doesn''t mean that they were bad guys.


    Ted trusted his instinct with his crew, and his current instinct told him that Theo could be trusted.


    "Me? I can still work on the train tracks, and my boss was eager to give me my job back." Theo replied in a happy manner. "So I accepted his offer, and applied for a one day off. Then, I committed a crime again, and now, I''m just waiting for those guys to throw me back behind bars."


    "Crime? What could you possibly have done?" Ted asked in confusion.


    "You know, the accident." Theo replied. Ted was shocked and asked, "They will put you in jail because you got into a fender bender?! How is that possibly a crime?"


    Theo muttered in a tiny whisper, "It''s because I didn''t do my job there."


    Theo turned to Ted and said, "Nevermind, I''m drunk. Tell me about your son Ted."


    "My son? He''s my precious boy." Ted replied proudly before they both laughed out loud. Ted told Theo about Ed starting with him as a baby. He even showed Theo the baby pictures of Ed he still kept inside his wallet.


    Theo listened to all the stories with a kind smile, his eyes unknowingly shed some tears that went unnoticed by Ted.


    "So, your wife left?" Theo asked as he downed a cup of vodka.


    "Just over 2 years ago. How about yours?" Ted asked.


    "Bang! Shot in the head by the mafia!" Theo said with a laugh, but his eyes turned moist, and shortly after, he broke down crying. Ted went silent and patted Theo in the back as he processed his emotions.


    "How about your son now? What''s he currently doing?" Ted asked.


    "Oh he''s doing very...very well right now. I''m glad that he didn''t follow in my footsteps, although there were some dangerous slippery slopes here and there." Theo replied before he reached into his inner pocket and pulled out a box of cigarettes.


    "Want one?" He offered. "Sure." Ted accepted and they both lit up their cigarettes. As Theo inhaled a puff, he asked, "What are you doing here so early in the morning Ted?"


    "Oh, I''m buying lottery tickets with my friend."


    "Lotto? Isn''t it too late now?"


    "If I can reach the next town in....45 more minutes, then I can make it." Ted replied as he looked into his wrist watch.


    Theo nodded before he smirked and muttered something Ted couldn''t hear.


    "I''m sorry, what''s that?" Ted asked, confused.


    "Nothing, hey can you do me a favor? Buy these numbers for me, and give them to your son. Of course, your money."


    Ted laughed and picked up the tissue paper with the numbers that Theo wrote down on. "Okay. I''ll make sure of it."


    "Oh, my junior is here." Theo suddenly stood up from his seat. "Where-...Mrs Henderson?" Ted was shocked when he saw a familiar face entering the bar.


    "Good Morning Mr Newgate. Drinking this early in the morning is not good for you." Mrs Henderson said in a gentle manner.


    "He''s not drinking, He''s not drinking." Theo spoke up to defend Ted.


    Suddenly, Dwayne also entered the bar, looking for Ted. As Ted greeted Dwayne, he didn''t realize that the colleague duo had already disappeared.


    "Hey, it was nice meeting with you. I should get your number. Desiree would love to meet with you to thank you herself." Ted said, but as he turned, he was surprised when he saw that the duo was no longer in his sight.


    "Theo?" Ted looked around the bar. "Mrs Henderson?" He called, but no one answered him.


    "Boss, we need to go now if we want to make it." Dwayne urged.


    After a few seconds of silence and searching, Ted said with a heavy sigh,"Alright. Let''s go."

 Chapter 149: Goodbye~

    Chapter 149: Chapter 149: Goodbye~


    [Edward POV]


    7.00 am. Abby and I were still talking to each other through the window. Suddenly, Desiree knocked on Abby''s already open door to announce her presence,


    "Abigail? You didn''t sleep?" Desiree asked while cleaning the area around her eyes.


    "Ah. Not yet. I will sleep on the plane." Abby replied, her eyes still bloodshot from the overnight conversation.


    "Pff- Abigail." I couldn''t hold back my laugh.


    Turning back to look at me with a red face, Abby shouted, "SHUT UP!"


    Desiree walked near Abby before bending forward, hands on the windowsill as she greeted me, "Good morning Ed."


    "Good Morning Desiree. Want me to help you scrub your back? It''ll be hard for you to shower with the cast on."


    "PERVERT! Mom, ignore him!" Abby pushed her mother away as the latter laughed. Abby said, "I''ll go help my mom."


    "Alright, I''ll go to the Dunphys for breakfast. Call me after you guys are ready." I muttered, my hand still propping my jaw as I looked out the window.


    Abby was reluctant to go away, and fidgeted for a few seconds. Then, she stepped back into the window area again and said, "You''re not going to sleep right?"


    I rolled my eyes at her and said, "I told you I''m going to the Dunphys. Your mom chose to go to the airport with Claire. Remember?"


    "Ahh, Right. Sorry, brainfart moment." Abby said in a cute manner before running away with a blushing face.


    It was normal to get impaired cognitive function after a sleepless night. Yesterday at the hospital, Claire offered to drive Desiree to the airport, as she thought it was more normal for her to do so instead of my dad and Desiree couldn''t drive with her cast.


    It was actually true when you think about it. She was her best friend, and my dad was just a guy she went on one date with. A date in which I still had my suspicions that they did much more than just ''talk''.


    Also, airport farewell moments would just be too awkward. Imagine when Haley and Tara started to cry, and I just stood there like an emotionless robot. So it''s better for me to send her off right here, and let her friends be there to accompany her in the end instead.


    "HuahhhHHHH" I yawned, my eyes were moist from the sleepy tears. "Hmm, why is he not texting me back? Did he get the ticket or not?" I muttered as I checked the text messages I had sent to my dad.


    "I should make a whatsapp type chat app or IMessage before I go to Texas." I muttered. It would be easier for me to chat with my friends, and also for us to share pictures from our vacations/camp/work.


    I went to take a quick shower before changing into a simple sweatshirt and sweatpants, paired it with my Nike sneakers, and a black baseball cap. My legs were still hurting, so I walked instead of jogging, like I usually would, towards the Dunphy''s house, while avoiding recognition from the passersby.


    "Dollar bills, dollar bills~ Watch it falling for me, I love the way it feels~Dollar bills, dollar bills~Keep on falling for me, I love the way it feels~" I hummed with an excited tone as I checked the subscription numbers climb up on my streaming site�C [Entertain].


    As I live streamed the concert yesterday, I was true to my words and donated every penny that I collected from the people buying the pass to watch the concert live, however, subscription to my website, commenting passes, and group chat passes were counted in a different way.


    I managed to get 4.5 million dollars from the concert pass alone, and 2.1 million dollars more from everything else, including the commercials played during the live broadcast.


    "Almost half a million people bought the pass. Damn, it was truly shocking." I muttered. Not immediately, but a lot of people bought the pass throughout the show. They could also check the number of donations collected on the screen, and the numbers matched with the amount I had donated to the soup kitchen before, doing wonders for me and the company''s credibility.


    "The most surprising one was Pepper''s mom." I let out a heavy sigh as I reached the Dunphy''s front door. Pepper''s mom�C Eve, did a high class move and gave me some pocket money in the exact numbers of the donations I collected, straight into my tax free trust, and also doubled the amount of funds in the charity, but she donated it under an anonymous alias.


    Her only request was for me to come and have dinner with her again, which was hard for me to reject considering how deep her pocket was.


    "I''m sorry Nonni, but in the ranks of ''the grandmothers I love'', you have been pushed to second place." I mumbled to myself when suddenly a gust of wind pushed an acorn seed to fall right on top of my head.


    *Bonk*


    "Oww...Fucking squirrel." I cursed as I saw the innocent animal staring at me from a tree nearby, waiting for me to leave as it wanted to get his treasure back.


    [Squirrel POV]


    Why is he staring at me? Is this another Dolittle situation? Should I report this back to HQ? It would be bad for my agent''s record if he understood my plans of destabilizing the Middle East. Should I nip this threat in the bud? Too bad, he gave me some good vibes. If he was a squirrel, I think we could have been close friends.


    [Edward POV]


    ''Why is he staring at me? Oh, I guess it''s because of my [Animal Affinity]'' I thought as I threw the acorn back to the tree before ringing the doorbell.


    "I got it!" I heard Luke''s voice coming to the door, and he opened it without any hesitation.


    "Dude, what if I''m a kidnapper?" I narrowed my eyes and used a scolding tone as I entered the house.


    "Do you have any candy?" Luke asked casually.


    "Uhhh..No?"


    "Then don''t worry, I won''t go with you."


    "That''s not how it works- Luke!" I widened my eyes in disbelief as Luke walked back towards the kitchen smilingly. I rubbed my forehead in frustration before following Luke, my nose picked up a sweet scent.


    "Pancake? French toast?" I muttered as I saw the Dunphy''s family working hard in the kitchen. Claire was flipping pancakes, Alex was making French toast, while Haley put some chocolate chips and syrups on the dish before bringing it to Phil who was waiting at the dinner table.


    "Ho~Ho~ A king for a day." I greeted Phil.


    "Ed, come eat!" Phil invited with a high spirit.


    "Usually people just give a card for Father''s day. Don''t let my dad know about this, or he''ll have some unrealistic expectations." I said to Claire and Haley. They laughed before Haley grabbed something from the kitchen top. "We did buy a card though."


    I chuckled a bit before Alex walked towards me and shoved a plate of French toast onto my hands. "Here. Your eyes are red. You should rest more."


    "Anyway, don''t be so sad. I''ll come see you when my tour reaches New York." I said as I grabbed her hand. She stared right into my eyes with a look of determination on her face.


    "No. Don''t come." She said suddenly.


    "Huh? Why not?" I raised one of my eyebrows, and my tone was annoyed.


    "If you come, then I know for sure that I will desperately want to follow you back." Abby choked and closed her eyes as she started tearing up.


    I sighed as I held her chin, pulling it upwards so that I could see it clearly. She opened her eyes and stopped crying. She wiped her tears and said, "So, don''t come."


    I rubbed my hair in frustration before I looked at her angrily. She smiled wryly and said, "Come on. Do me this favor."


    "Sure, but, you HAVE to text me at least once a week, even when you''re busy." I relented.


    "I will."


    She stopped crying and then she said, "You know, close- close your eyes."


    "Hmm?" I was confused at first, but then, I followed her request. Then, I could feel her presence, especially her face, was so close to mine.


    "Hey-"


    "Ed. Don''t open them. Feel it instead." She said before she put her hand on my face. I sensed her warmth, and I could hear her voice more clearly.


    "When my dad left, the figure of him getting out the door kept lingering in my mind. I don''t want it to happen to you too." Abby said. "I want your last memory of me to be a good one."


    "What do you propose?" I asked.


    She touched my nose as she gazed at my face intently, trying to remember every single detail. "You can only open your eyes, when you can no longer...feel me."


    "Ugh, I regret making you watch How I Met Your Mother." I joked, but I didn''t open my eyes. Then, I felt a soft sensation on my cheeks, my nose, and my forehead.


    "Don''t forget me, okay?" Abby said before she kissed me on the lips. Then, she slowly backed away, released her hands that were holding mine, and walked away without saying goodbye.


    I stood alone inside the house for over half an hour until I could no longer feel her warmth on my lips, and I tried desperately to remember the sensation.


    "Goodbye Abby." I muttered as I opened my eyes, feeling that the world was a little bit colder as I did.


    ...


    [Edward''s commentary]


    "You know what''s worse than seeing a person you like leave? The lingering hope that she would still be around as you couldn''t see it." Edward muttered. "No closure."


    "Do I want her to stay? Yeah."


    "Will I get over this? No."


    "Does Life still go on even If I didn''t? Yes."


    [commentary ends]


    [General POV]


    At the airport.


    Abby hugged Haley, and as the latter expected before, she cried sobbingly, ruining her makeup.


    "Take care of yourself Haley." Abby said as she released her friend.


    "You too. Make sure to text me right when you land. And don''t shut me out when you get there okay?" Haley demanded. Abby chuckled and said, "Yeah. I will."


    "Hey, take care of Ed okay." Abby requested.


    "I will. Don''t worry about it." Haley said with determination.


    "Then I can rest easy and leave it all to you. Goodbye Haley."


    "Goodbye Abby."


    Haley waved at Abby as the latter pulled her suitcase and walked into the departure lane. Claire and Desiree were also emotional, but they didn''t cry like the teenagers.


    "Can you make sure Ed gives the key to the landlord?" Desiree asked.


    "Don''t worry. A teenager with a key to an empty house is just a recipe for disaster." Claire said as she glanced at Haley. Haley flinched, but she didn''t say anything to avoid her mother knowing that she had been sneaking into an empty house her dad listed for sales.


    "You guys don''t have to worry about Ed. What''s he going to do? Work there?" Haley joked, causing both Desiree and Claire to smile. Desiree quickly waved goodbyes to the duo as she followed Abby to enter the departure hall.


    "Let''s go." Claire said to Haley. Haley nodded and followed her mother.


    On the drive home, Haley texted Ed, but the latter wasn''t replying.


    "Odd. Oh, maybe he''s sleeping." Haley muttered as she knew Ed hadn''t slept yet since yesterday.


    Unbeknownst to her, Edward was currently blaring [Steelheart- She''s gone] song as he laid down flat on his bed in a depressed manner.

 Chapter 150: Father’s day

    Chapter 150: Chapter 150: Father��s day?


    (the timer broke or something. Smh)


    [General POV]


    Camila was almost deafened by the music blasting from Edward''s room as she entered the house.


    "EDD!! Turn the volume down!" She shouted, but there was no answer. She was puzzled, and stomped up the stairs in an angry manner. However, she was a bit startled as she saw Edward slumped on the edge of his bed as she opened the door to his room.


    She walked slowly and turned down the volume of the speaker, causing Edward to look up and notice her presence.


    "Oh, you''re back. How was the race? Have you lost your car yet?" Edward asked in a playful manner, however the fatigue in his face was undisguised.


    "C-C-Car? I didn''t go to Calexico to st-street race-" Camila''s eyes darted around in a guilty manner, not understanding how on earth did her nephew know about her personal life.


    Edward scoffed a bit and said, "Please. I had already known from the first time I got into your car. Did you really think that I am so naive, I wouldn''t know what a nitrous tank is?"


    "Umm..." Camila stammered for a while, but she couldn''t find any excuses. She slumped her shoulders and said, "Yes. I went to watch a race. I didn''t participate in it. Please don''t tell your dad about this."


    "Why would I? Next time, bring me with you. I wanna watch too." Ed replied, his spirit was lifted a bit from seeing his aunt''s anxiousness.


    "R-Really?Ok... S-Sure." Camila replied perfunctorily, wanting to move on from the topic. She sat next to Edward, and asked, "So, what''s got you down? Is it because Abby left?"


    "A little bit." Edward replied without changing his facial expression.


    "Oww my poor nephew." Camila wrapped her arms around Edward''s head and pulled him for an embrace, pushing his face close to her chest.


    "You smell like motor oil and prostitutes- I mean, cheap perfume." Edward commented, causing Camila to raise her eyebrow in annoyance. "You want me to let you go?" she asked angrily.


    Edward chuckled a bit and held Camila''s arm to make sure she didn''t. "No, no. I didn''t mean that. I need this."


    Camila''s gaze softened, and then she asked, "Have you had lunch yet?"


    "Not yet." Edward replied. As Camila wasn''t at home last night, she didn''t know that Edward hadn''t gotten any sleep yet.


    "Let''s go out and eat something special, then we can get the large bowl of ice cream at the dessert place. How about that?"


    "Sure. Imma go change first."


    "Want to invite your friends to come with you?" Camila offered.


    "I''ll see if Enid is free right now. I especially need her energy." Edward replied, as interactions with Enid always boosted his mood upward.


    ...


    -Jay''s house-


    "Is everyone coming tonight?" Jay asked as he sipped a glass of scotch at the bar.


    "Jess(Yes). All family members will be here." Gloria replied as she put down a bag of groceries on the kitchen top. "I bought all the meat you want for the barbeque."


    "And apparently a few other stuff too." Jay said playfully as he saw the Victoria''s Secret bag on Gloria''s hand.


    "Ayy, you don''t like your Father''s day gift?" Gloria said seductively. "I was planning on wearing it tonight, but if you don''t want it-"


    "When the hell did I say I didn''t want it? You can buy anything you want hun." Jay replied quickly and kissed Gloria on the forehead, causing the latter to giggle.


    Then, Gloria became hesitant, and asked in a careful manner, "Did Manny give you a card yet?"


    Jay replied solemnly, "No. And honestly, I don''t expect it. Ah, also, his dad called him while you were out, he wants to take Manny out to ''have fun'' this evening, just the two of them."


    "Javier? Did you tell Manny about it? I''m afraid that he won''t keep his word again. It''s not the first time he has done this."


    Jay sighed and said, "Manny was the one who picked up the phone."


    Gloria blinked her eyes in helplessness, feeling as if a headache was coming in.


    Manny suddenly walked into the kitchen from upstairs and asked his mother, "Mom. Is Edward also coming to the barbeque today?"


    "Huh? We...I don''t think he knows about it. Why?" Gloria asked.


    Conflicted, Manny spoke, "Well if he is coming, I don''t know if I would WANT to out with dad-"


    "HE''LL COME!" Gloria''s eyes lit up and she announced before Manny could even finish his words.


    "Huh? Really? Then, what should I do?" Manny asked with furrowed brows as he didn''t know whether to choose his estranged dad or Edward.


    Gloria pushed Manny from behind to move him out of the kitchen, "Ay, don''t worry. If your dad comes, he can join us. Easy right?"


    Jay was baffled when he heard it, but Gloria turned to him and mouthed, ''He won''t even come. Don''t worry.''


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Unfortunately for me, Enid had to spend time with her dad today, therefore I had to eat the ice-cream with just my aunt.


    "What''s with the look on your face? Are you not happy spending some time with me?" My aunt asked, irritated as she devoured her ice cream sundae angrily.


    "Yes." I replied.


    "You Jerk." My aunt cursed with a smile.


    There were a lot of people in the dessert place, especially teenage couples who got together to plan their future summer plans.


    "It''s not you...but, I want to go to Daytona beach and meet college boys. So, it''s better if we break up." A teen girl said to his boyfriend before he cried.


    It was the perfect combination for me as I could enjoy watching some teen drama as I ate my ice-cream. Not to mention that they were all so absorbed in their own dilemmas that they didn''t even notice my presence in the shop.


    "Well, now that I think about it, it''s really perfect that we both wanted to get dessert at the breakup place huh." She added.


    "Huh? Why? Did you break up with someone? Wait, were you even dating?" I asked curiously.


    "Of course I''m dating! I''m still young!" She replied angrily.


    "You''re almost 30-"


    She threw her cherry stem at me, which I avoided skillfully and said, "It''s not like I don''t want to believe you. But I have never seen strange men traipsing around the house while I stay with you."


    She rolled her eyes and said, "I''m not that kind of woman."


    "You mean, not having sex till marriage kind of woman, or after 3 dates kind?"


    "Um...It feels weird talking to my nephew about these things, also ... the second one."


    "Nah, don''t worry about it. I was smart enough to know about all of this stuff before anyone even taught me. So, which bastard broke your heart?" I asked with a sly smile, causing my aunt to laugh.


    "Well it happened in Cuba." She started sharing her story of how she got her heart broken just before she came back to LA. About how her ex-boyfriend told her he wasn''t who she thought he was, and he wanted to end things as he needed to get back to his country.


    "I thought I met the one, but instead, I was just his side piece." She sighed heavily as she wiped her mouth with a napkin.


    "Ugh! Can''t believe you didn''t invite me!" I cut him off, causing him to be stunned speechless.


    "What is it?" My aunt asked from beside me as she drove the car.


    "Dad is at a strip club." I replied.


    "Ed- I''M NOT-"


    "YOU DEGENERATE OLD MAN-" My aunt widened her eyes and cursed at the phone, causing my dad to be stunned again.


    "I''m really not! This is the only place that still has lottery tickets left. I went to 7 places, and it was all sold out!" My dad tried to explain himself, but I ignored him and said, "Dad, you shouldn''t go to the stripclubs at noon. That''s too pathetic. You should wait till the night shift. I''ll come with you next time."


    "You''re NOT GOING TO A STRIP CLUB!" My aunt and my dad shouted at the same time.


    "Ugh. Unfair." I pretended like I was pouting, which made my aunt stare at me incredulously. "Is Dwayne there?" I asked.


    "Y-Yeah. He''s here. Why?" Dad asked, full of wariness.


    "Can I talk to him?"


    "Not until I know what you''re going to talk to him about." Dad said.


    "Ah nevermind. I''ll just add him to the call." I said as I called Dwayne too. He picked it up instantly, "Hello?"


    "Dwayne. Since you''re there, can you buy my dad a few lapdances on my behalf? I''ll reimburse you later." I asked.


    "EDWARD!" My aunt''s face turned horrified as she heard me.


    "What? I''m just trying to give him a father''s day gift."


    Dad: ...


    Dwayne: ...


    The stripper: ...


    ...


    Half an hour later, I was dropped off to Jay''s house by an angry aunt. She still hadn''t stopped scolding me as she kept trying to drill into my mind that ''women are not objects'', such nonsense... even after I told her I was joking, but that didn''t stop her from giving me a lecture.


    "Hey you made it!" Haley opened the door in excitement.


    "I haven''t even rang the doorbell yet. Were you waiting for me at the front door?" I asked teasingly. She blushed a bit and grabbed my hand before pulling me in, "Dad has just arrived."


    "Hey ED!" Phil greeted me with excitement before he waved the new iphone box in the air, "We got it!"


    "Oh-ho. Let me see it!" I walked towards Phil and Alex as they showed the new phone to Claire. "Nice stuff."


    "Yeah, we went to 5 stores, just to pick the best one." Phil said proudly. Alex scoffed and said, "Turns out, the best deal was at the first store, so we went around town for nothing."


    "Aww, don''t be like that. Didn''t you like spending some time with your dad, especially on...Father''s day." I muttered, causing Phil to turn sad, and Alex to be anxious.


    "O-Of course I liked it!" Alex replied through gritted teeth as she knew she was played. She mouthed to me menacingly, ''This is not over.''


    "Phil, it''s the first time Alex is using a smartphone. Why don''t you show her the features?" I instigated again, causing Alex to be flabbergasted. Phil''s eyes lit up as he said, "That''s a great idea!"


    "Damn it!" Alex cursed in a whisper.


    Then, I turned to Claire and said, "Luke told me he''s going to follow a stranger if he has candy."


    "NO I DIDN''T!" Luke who was playing with Manny turned ashen, "You TATTLETALE!"


    "LUKE! Is that true!" Claire asked, horrified.


    "I''m just worried for you Luke." I said with a fake concerned voice.


    "LIAR!" Luke shouted, but Claire dragged him away to give him a thorough talking too.


    "Why are you making trouble everywhere? The atmosphere was nice before." Haley asked in confusion, but not apprehension.


    "Well I need a good show to watch to uplift my mood, plus this way we do get some alone time... Now, where are Mitch and Cam?"


    She laughed, "You''re targeting them now? They''re by the pool. Let''s go!"


    Well I wasn''t lying. I used to watch the modern family episodes whenever I needed a laugh. Now that it exists in real life here, all I can do is concoct my own episodes and watch them live.


    "Hey-hey. There''s the rockstar." Jay greeted me with a smile as he checked on the meat.


    "Hi Jay. Happy Grandfather''s day." I said playfully, which made him laugh. "I''ve prepared something special for dinner today. A genuine Polish-style bratwurst."


    "Nice. I can''t wait. I''ll eat that even if you overcook it." I muttered. Jay''s smile froze and he said, "Why would you think I am going to overcook it?"


    "Um..." I stammered, and turned towards Claire who''s scolding Luke while making sure that Jay saw who I was looking at.


    [Jay''s commentary]


    "So, no one is brave enough to tell me they don''t like my grilling, and have to make sure a guest takes care of my feelings too?" He asked angrily.


    [Commentary ends]


    "I''m going to go and see Lily." I avoided talking much to Jay as I grabbed Haley''s hand and brought her to see her guncles. She almost laughed out loud and blew my schemes, so I need to bring her away quickly.


    Mitchell and Cam were talking and in a good mood by the poolside. "He-Hey, Happy Father''s day Mitchell." I said as I hugged Mitchell to celebrate him.


    Cam''s smile froze a bit, but he was still nodding along as he didn''t want to blow up there.


    [Mitch and Cam''s commentary]


    "Why not, Happy Father''s Day Mitch...AND CAM? Why only Mitch? Does my stay-at-home dad status make him equate me with taking a more feminine role in this relationship?" Cam said aggressively.


    Mitchell rolled his eyes and said, "It''s because I''m closer to him than you Cam."


    [Commentary paused.]


    I turned to Cam and acted surprised before I said stammeringly, "Oh y-yeah. You too. Happy Father''s day Cam."


    [commentary restarted]


    Cam was crying in a dramatic manner as Mitchell patted him on his back, trying to comfort him.


    "He thinks I''m the MOTHER!" Cam exploded while sobbing, face full of tears.


    [commentary ended]


    I sat with Haley near the poolside, watching Mitch and Cam argue with each other, Alex was caught by Phil and he wouldn''t stop teaching her, Luke was scolded by Claire, and a smile rose up in my face.


    "You''re Satan." Haley muttered teasingly. I acted shocked and said, "How did you know my name mortal?"


    She laughed as we both enjoyed the chaos together.

 Chapter 151: Who’s your daddy?

    Chapter 151: Chapter 151: Who��s your daddy?


    [Edward POV]


    Haley and I were laying down on the pool chair as we enjoyed the sun with a drink in our hand. We were both wearing sunglasses as we watched the drama unfolding in front of us, and to avoid direct sunlight at the same time.


    "They are pretty pissed off. You''ll be in trouble when they find out you deliberately stirred them up when they were supposed to be enjoying the barbeque." Haley said.


    I turned towards her with an astonished face. She was confused and asked, "What?"


    "Nothing. Aren''t you changing?" I replied with a smile. I didn''t want to tell her that I was surprised she knew what ''deliberately'' means, as I was afraid to discourage her.


    "You want to see me in a bikini so soon?" Haley teased. "I thought you weren''t going to swim?"


    "I''m not." I replied before I sighed and said, "I can''t wait to grow up. I miss popping up a can of cold beer as I lay in the sun."


    "Same." Haley muttered in a guilt-free manner. Sometimes, she snuck in a couple of beers while her grandpa wasn''t at home as she tanned by the pool, so she knew what I was talking about.


    "Hey, what do you think about Father''s day?" Haley asked in a curious manner.


    I pushed up my sunglasses and turned to her, "Father''s day is the step-dad of the whole holiday celebrations."


    "It''s the time when single moms posted on FB to try and make this day about them, and for fathers to be overlooked once more after getting a few lousy cards. Most people don''t even bother to celebrate the event, so seeing your family get together is refreshing for me."


    "Well...to be honest the gathering is actually for summer, not father''s day." Haley explained. I smirked and said, "I know."


    She smiled in a guilty manner and said, "It''s not like we don''t like...our dad."


    "I''m not saying it like that. I''m just saying, people don''t make much of a deal about this day compared to the other celebrations. Let''s take your family for an example. What did you guys do on Mother''s day?"


    "Let me see...Humm...Well we woke her up with a surprise, then allowed her to make a wish, and this year, we almost went to the beach, but Alex brought out the water quality report, so we just stayed home and celebrated."


    "And what did you do with your dad today?" I asked,


    "I gave him a card...and made him breakfast...the same thing as we usually ate on weekends."


    "And..."


    "Well that''s it."


    I smiled while Haley ruminated on what I was talking about. Gloria walked briskly towards the both of us, "Ayy, do you know what happened? Why are Cam and Mitch suddenly arguing? And why is Jay so grumpy?"


    "Isn''t Jay always grumpy?" I muttered. Gloria nodded and said, "That''s true. But there''s something weird going around-"


    "Hey Gloria, are you making any sauce for the steak?" I asked, changing the subject before she could catch on.


    She smiled and said, "Yes. I''m going to make a ...traditional Colombian sauce that has been in my family for generations."


    "That sounds interesting. Can I learn it?"


    Gloria smiled widely and said, "Yes! YES! Come to the kitchen. I''ll show you the steps."


    "Seriously?" Haley lowered her sunglasses as she gazed at me. I shrugged and said, "Yeah. It sounds fun. Besides, Cam and Mitch have relocated inside."


    "Well...I''ll come with you." Haley hesitated before standing up, "But I''ll go change first."


    As I entered the house, Phil suddenly surprised me and asked, "Ed, you''re making another app?"


    "Huh? What app?" I asked, confused.


    Alex then reminded, "You know, the group chat app."


    "Ah. right. Sorry, impaired cognitive function."


    "Why?" Alex asked, confused. She used the information to get out of her dad teaching her about the new phone. Otherwise, the lecture would still be going.


    Phil was excited as he heard about the group chat app and the prospect of exchanging photos with me over the summer. As an early adopter to any new technologies, Phil couldn''t wait to use the new app even though it wasn''t even in production yet.


    "Haven''t slept yet since yesterday." I replied in a casual manner before I narrowed my eyes at them, "Didn''t I tell you about it this morning?"


    Phil widened his eyes and asked in shock, "But you had the concert yesterday right?"


    "I don''t think you did?" Alex replied, unsure. I actually didn''t tell them, just Claire could figure out what happened without me saying anything.


    I chuckled before I talked to Phil about the app again, "It''s still just an idea right now but I''ll work on it after I get back from Texas. Phil, have you made an instagram account yet?"


    He turned excited and said, "I DID! I even have 10 followers already!" Alex rolled her eyes as even she got wayyy more followers than that, considering that she posted a few behind the scenes photos and tagged me in her account.


    "That...nice." I muttered, hiding my pity. I couldn''t say that I have a quarter million followers now, as it would just sound like a brag.


    "Do you know the real potential of the accounts?" I muttered with a sly grin. Alex was confused, but when I asked Haley the same question before, she could come out with a few advantages in just a jiff.


    "Potential?" Phil tilted his head. "To be...famous?"


    "That too, but the thing I''m talking about is more of a business advantage�C"


    "Cam, you''re being unreasonable. Facial hair doesn''t mean that people will see a person as the dad. You don''t need to grow a beard, or MAKE ME SHAVE MINE!" Mitchell said exasperatingly as Cam followed him from behind.


    I looked towards them in amusement as they argued, and Haley came back after quickly changing her clothes. She had tied her hair into a ponytail, bringing attention to the nape of her neck, collarbone and her large earrings. She changed into a blue bikini, and was wearing a see-through cover dress as she walked indoors.


    " What are you guys talking about?" Haley asked, but her attention was fixed on me instead of her own family.


    "Instagram. Ed is going to teach me some stuff." Phil replied in excitement. Haley widened her eyes before she nodded knowingly and said, "Oh yeah, the influencer thing."


    "Love? Who said anything about love?" I replied quickly with a puzzled tone.


    Phil gave me an understanding smile as he said, "Yeah. It might not be love, but you got to admit, she was someone special to you. Or else, I don''t think you''d have asked her to prom, even going out of your way to make it a special day for her."


    Gloria smiled teasingly and said, "You were in love. You just don''t know what it was."


    "Well if that was true, teasing me about it would be quite insensitive right? You already know I''m going to be devastated...Not that I''m saying I am-"


    "Ed. It''s okay. First love hurts. I still remember when I had my first love. She was a lovely girl�C Mitchelle Flaherty. We met at band camp, and we were very close. Like you, I don''t know what I felt at the time. It wasn''t until we went our separate ways that I knew I was in love with her."


    Phil added, "I was...DEVASTATED. It haunted me for a while, and I regretted not keeping in touch with her. But that taught me something important."


    "That being...?"


    "Love. She taught me what it felt like. So when the next girl came along, I wasn''t confused anymore." Phil patted me on the shoulder, "So cheer up Ed."


    "That advice actually makes things worse, but I appreciate the intention, Phil." I said in a dry manner before going to the grill to pick up the ingredients.


    Gloria slapped Phil''s arm, causing him to exclaim in pain.


    "Oww. what''s that for?" He asked, aggrieved as he rubbed his sore arm.


    "Ayy Phil. She just left this morning, and you told him that. Of course he''s going to feel bad. He hasn''t moved on yet, and you already told him to find a new girl." Gloria said angrily.


    "Wait. That''s not what I meant." Phil widened his eyes as he realized what he had done.


    I returned to the kitchen soon, and put all of the ingredients into a large blender. I added paprika powder, cilantro, salt, and red wine vinegar and started blending all of the ingredients together.


    "That looks good!" Gloria''s eyes lit up as I opened the appliance and poured all of the sauce into a large bowl. Then, I grabbed a spoon and tasted it. Phil and Gloria did the same thing, and they exclaimed in wonder as they swallowed it.


    "It''s very delicious!" Gloria said excitedly, shaking her entire body as she did.


    "Hmm...It needs more salt, and a little bit more lemon juice." I muttered blandly as I watched Gloria''s chest heaving up and down as she celebrated.


    "Really? This is already great enough." Phil muttered with a drool on his mouth, not sure if it was from the sauce or watching Gloria.


    "Trust me." I muttered as I added the missing ingredients. After tasting it for the second time, I was finally satisfied and grabbed a piece of bread before dipping it onto the sauce.


    "Yeah. This is perfect." I muttered with a mouthful before I asked, "Is the meat ready?"


    "It''s supposed to be. Let me check." Phil said excitedly as he couldn''t wait. Gloria followed me and tasted the sauce with the bread, exclaiming a few times as she loved it.


    "Manny, come here!" Gloria called. Not only Manny, but Luke and Claire also followed along as they wanted to taste it. Mitch and Cam had calmed down, and they helped set up the table for dinner together with Gloria and Claire.


    "Alex, come on." I exclaimed in disbelief as I saw her hanging out around Haley in order to read the messages that I had gotten on my dms.


    "The meat is served!" Phil announced excitedly as he brought the meat to the table. As he cut into them, it revealed that the meat was cooked perfectly at medium rare.


    Jay entered the house proudly, bringing the extra bratwurst with him. "Jay. This is really good." I muttered as I chewed a piece of meat.


    "It''s not too tough for you?" He asked with a smirk, causing Claire and Mitch to freeze for a second.


    "It''s not. Those who said you''re bad at grilling really don''t know their stuff." I flattered him, causing him to get an ego boost.


    [Jay''s commentary]


    "I have a reputation to keep." Jay muttered with a solemn expression.


    The flashback started, and it showed that Jay used a meat thermometer�C something that he had never used before, just to make sure his meat was cooked perfectly today.


    He continued with the commentary, "Of course, I won''t ever admit that I used it. Now, let me see if they still critique my grilling now."


    [Commentary ends]


    [General POV]


    Edward sat next to Haley in the living room, gently grabbed his phone back and put it inside his pocket after finishing his dinner.


    "Ugh. Give that back! I was having a lot of fun!" Haley demanded with a smile on her face.


    "Nuh-uh. What did you even do with those texts?" Edward asked in confusion.


    "Well I ignored the sluts, but there''s a few of them who messaged you to thank you for your music. It was fun reading that." She grinned in a proud manner, which made Edward confused as to which one of them was the artist.


    "Is your dad coming to get you? Or will you go home with us?" She asked.


    "He''s coming. I asked him to pick me up at 6.30." Edward replied before stretching his arms as he suddenly felt incredibly tired after sitting next to Haley.


    She realized it and pulled his head gently to put it on her shoulder, but as she was tiny, there was a big gap there and it was impossible for Edward to do so. Edward laughed as Haley was embarrassed, and then she cuddled with him instead.


    "I''ll just shut my eyes for a moment." Edward muttered, not believing that he would actually fall asleep. But in less than 3 minutes, he was proven wrong.


    "Hehe." Haley grinned mischeviously as she watched Edward''s sleeping face. At this moment, a vengeful kid saw what was happening, and moved closer towards where they were sitting.


    "(Mimicking Helicopter sounds..) Ratatata... Private Ryan, stay with me." Luke whispered to Edward''s ear before Haley grabbed his face and pushed him away violently.


    "What are you doing?" Haley whispered angrily.


    "I''m trying to give him a World War Flashback." Luke muttered before he made some war noises again. "The bomb is here. *Ka-Boom*. MEDIC!"


    "Luke, get out of here!" Haley chased him away, but as she couldn''t move from the spot, Luke continued with his drama. Manny was nearby, and was pulled by Luke to act together with him. He wrapped his arm around Manny and pretended he was limping, "Tell...tell my wife...I love her."


    "Luke, I feel uncomfortable with this." Manny muttered while Luke pretended to be dead.

 Chapter 152: Lotto.

    Chapter 152: Chapter 152: Lotto.


    [Edward POV]


    ''Why is Fortunate Son ''worming'' in my brain? What happened while I was asleep?''


    "Ed, do we have the dips?" My dad asked, snapping me out of my daze. I had already returned to my still-under-construction home after my dad picked me up from Jay''s place.


    He was sitting next to me on the couch as we watched the TV, waiting for the lottery announcement time. I slid over a guacamole dip and asked him, "There''s no chicken wings this year?"


    "Oh. Wait, I forgot. They''re in the kitchen." Dad stood up and rushed to get it. "Come on Dad! That''s the most important part... And you also promised me that I would get to try beer this year." I shouted teasingly towards him.


    "Wait, did I really?" He widened his eyes in shock as he carried a tub of chicken wings to the couch.


    "Yeah, it''s true."


    "Really?" He furrowed his brows, trying to remember the conversation we had in the past year.


    "Why would I lie? Also, is your memory failing you already? That might be normal considering how drunk you were at that time."


    "Ah..." Dad exclaimed in disappointment�C not in me, but in himself. He tried to persuade me, "You have seen how miserable I was. Are you sure you want a beer?"


    I shrugged and said slightly, "Well I''m not going to be an alcoholic. I just want to have chicken wings and beer, like people always do in tv shows."


    "Oh...alright then." My dad shook his head slightly, "A promise is a promise. But to be clear, I''m only giving you ONE."


    "Sure." I nodded. "Give me the German one." I muttered as I saw him reaching his hand for the light beer.


    "Uhh...alright." He hesitated a bit before he relented and gave me a can. I smiled happily as I opened it.


    *Ker-clack. Psshhh*


    "Ummm. The foam-" I quickly drank the overflowing water while giving an angry side eye to my dad, "Did you shake it?"


    "How is it possible? You saw me sliding it to you." He smirked slyly as his scheme succeeded, barely holding back his laugh as he saw my reaction. I rolled my eyes and picked up a chicken wing.


    "The extra spicy sauce?" My dad asked.


    "The medium one is fine." I replied.


    "Weak." My dad exclaimed teasingly. My veins throbbed as I got annoyed and I grabbed the ''extra spicy'' sauce from his hand and poured it onto my chicken wings.


    "You''ll regret it." He warned with slightly raised brows.


    "I don''t think that it''ll be worse than what Camila cooked before." I said jokingly.


    "Is she still sleeping?" My dad asked as he opened up a can of beer for himself. Although he vowed to quit, this seemed like a special bonding moment with his son, therefore he made an exception.


    "Like a log." I replied with a slight nod as I chewed on the chicken wings. As my dad warned, the spiciness did hit strongly, but I could still handle it.


    "Dad, the numbers?" I asked him.


    "Here, 20 you, 20 me, 10 in the shared pile, as usual." He said as he split up the lottery tickets according to our yearly traditions.


    "I know it''s dumb to ask but what are you going to do with the money if you win the big prize?" I asked with a slight chuckle.


    "I will still answer it even if I know we won''t win. Like usual." My dad laughed before he said, "Well..."


    "Don''t tell me you''re going to buy a new boat. One day you''re going to drown at sea with all your boats." I rolled my eyes as I could guess what he was going to answer. It was the same answer every year, and I was sick of it.


    "Maybe not a simple boat. Maybe a luxury Yacht ship. You know, one of the ones with a pool on top of the deck." My dad said in an awe-inspiring voice as he remembered the Yacht that he saw in the magazines before.


    "Then, you could take Sal, and Desiree, and have a threesome cruise all over the world, only to come back with 2 more people in their bellies."


    He scoffed and said, "I''m not going to invite Sal."


    "So ...you ARE going to invite Desiree. I got to say, Dad, me, living in the same house as my ex-girlfriend, will make you have grandkids sooner than you think."


    "I''m not going to invite her either." He didn''t mind the joke and answered me truthfully, slightly shaking his head.


    "So you''re not going to invite your best friend? You know, the one that you talked all night with before-"


    "Shut up and eat your chicken." He pushed the chicken I was holding into my mouth as he put the tickets on the coffee table.


    "Wait, Grand Price 166 million dollars? Wasn''t it 96 million?" My dad was astonished when he saw the number.


    "That was last week. Unclaimed." I replied to him as I checked out the ball reading bimbo on the screen. She kinda looks like Margot Robbie, which didn''t surprise me as I know at least 4 other actresses that had the similar features.


    "Honestly, even if someone wins, they will just get around 120 million, so the number is a scam. Even lower if they decided to bump up the tax bracket. Not to mention the IRS tax, and also the state tax." My dad muttered.


    "166 mil, will be 126 mil after Federal Tax of 24%. Since we live in California we are exempt from State Tax, as they won''t take anything from the lottery winning. 126 is what we would get if we win. But I think we''re going to get bumped up in the tax bracket, so it might be 37%, and we will get only 104.8 million." I analyzed it.


    "Still, that''s a lot of money." My dad inhaled sharply before he squinted his eyes at the screen.


    "Enough for you to start dating again. The statistics show that even an ugly man with a face that only a mother could love, would be able to find their ''true love'' in a hot, 22 year old blond woman, with great tits, after winning the lottery."


    My dad laughed a bit before he narrowed his eyes at me and said, "You think I''m one of those... ''statistics''?"


    "Who knows? Just to be clear, I have no problem with you remarrying dad. Even if you still love mom, you already understood long ago that she won''t come back. So if you''re lonely, just find someone."


    "Hmm...I''ll think about it." My dad replied before he smirked, "But you are still forgetting the main condition and that is we need to win first."


    "So Never. Understood." I laughed as I picked up a tissue box to wipe my hand before putting it on the coffee table again, near the arranged lottery tickets.


    ...


    "The first number is...6!" The TV announcer read the number on the drawn out ball.


    "Ugh...12 cards already useless." I groaned as I waited for the next number.


    "All...12...in your pile...Ed, are you unlucky?" My dad asked. He only got 2 tickets burned, so he was smirking at my misery.


    "Let''s see. I have a strong feeling that I will win something today!" I muttered in confidence.


    "The second number is...12!" The TV announced again.


    "YES!" I exclaimed while my dad groaned. He threw away 6 tickets to the side, "Maybe I can win the consolation prize."


    "In your dreams old man!"


    "What time is it?" I muttered in agony as I checked my phone. I widened my eyes as I saw it was already 9.30 am, which meant that I had slept for over 11 hours!


    "HOLY SHIT!" I cursed as I shot up of bed. "My flight is at 11! Damn it!"


    "Edward, are you up?" My dad shouted from downstairs as he heard the sound of a violent opening of the door. I rushed to the bathroom while yelling at him, "WHY DIDN''T YOU WAKE ME UP!?"


    "Why should I do that?" My dad asked in confusion.


    "Because!!.....Wait...It''s MY PLANE. Ah, sorry Dad." I apologized to him, which made him smirk in understanding. I eased up and went to the bathroom to get ready, and returned to my room to pack up my clothes.


    After 45 minutes, I went downstairs dressed in comfortable clothes while carrying a big suitcase.


    "Pepper is on his way." My dad muttered as he sipped his morning coffee. I went to the coffeemaker and poured one cup for myself while my dad smirked and said, "It''s been a while since you slept in."


    "Ugh, I don''t want to make this a habit. The longer I sleep, the more money I lose."


    My dad was puzzled, and then he said, "Well...speaking of money...I still haven''t found the last lottery ticket."


    "Ignore it. It''s not like we were going to win." I waved it off before saying, "I will be staying in Texas for 3-4 days. You know that right?"


    "I know. And if I want to join you, I can just use your plane, right?" My dad said in understanding.


    "Also, there''s a stripper pole on the plane. So you can invite some girls."


    "What-" My dad''s face froze, and his coffee spilled onto his lap.


    "I''m just joking. I haven''t seen the plane yet." I laughed as my dad wiped his pants with a clean towel.


    "You weasel." My dad muttered spitefully.


    "But I am hoping that it will. I want it to be like Iron Man''s plane." I muttered in a serious manner, which made my dad taken aback.


    *Ding Dong*


    "There''s Pepper." My eyes lit up and I went to open the door hurriedly. Pepper gave me and my dad a bear hug as he entered the house, and a bodyguard helped to carry my suitcase.


    "Ed, there''s something you need to know. This morning, Fanjoy (Love Story MV Director) called."


    "Oh, what''d she say?"


    "She asked if you have any allergies concerning horses...and whether or not you can ride one."


    My dad interjected, "Oh that won''t be a problem. His grandparents have a ranch, so he already knows his way around a saddle."


    "Oh that''s wonderful." Pepper exclaimed in relief and said, "We should go now. Otherwise you''ll be late."


    "I think I''m already late. Taylor has started shooting right?" I asked knowingly. She had started to shoot her solo parts, which meant that I only had the garden scene, and the castle scene left.


    There was also a college scene, which we will shoot during tomorrow''s busy schedule. We were supposed to shoot one scene per day, but apparently Trey was on a tough schedule, and we had to finish the shooting as soon as we could.


    "She has, and she keeps blowing up my phone, asking if your flight had already left, even though she was the one who told you to be there at 3."


    "Maybe she wants me to watch her performance." I muttered, and I was dead wrong on that. She actually didn''t want me to watch her solo act where she lip syncs to the song as she was too embarrassed.


    "She might. We''ll know for sure when we get there."


    "Don''t forget my hat!" My dad interjected again while giving me a bear hug. "Take care of yourself. Don''t play around...too much." He muttered. He already knew it was useless to ask me to behave myself, therefore he was hoping that I could at least contain it.


    I rolled my eyes at him and said, "I know I know. Alright, you smell like coffee."


    "And who''s fault is that?" He gave me a stink eye.


    "Yours." I replied, leaving him stunned.


    ...


    [General POV]


    "(Whistle) Nice ride." Edward exclaimed as he saw the private jet Pepper''s mother gave him. "God-Grandmother really understands me."


    The white jet was among the top models currently in use around the world, it was simple, but luxurious with a sleek design that captured Edward''s interest immediately.


    Pepper was startled, "Since when is she your ''god-grandmother''?"


    "Since she gave me almost 5 million dollars for pocket money just yesterday." Edward muttered teasingly as he walked into the plane. To his surprise, there was a lounge area at the center of the plane which separated the seats and the pantry.


    The lounge had long couches on both of its sides, and a small, circular platform in the middle. Edward was excited and went to examine the plane in all its entirety.


    "What button is this?" Edward muttered as he pressed the small red button on the stage. Suddenly the plane''s interior lights dimmed and multicolour lights started flashing all around. Intense music was playing, and a pole suddenly emerged from the stage, connecting to the top of the plane.


    "Ahh. Nice!" Edward muttered as a sexy flight attendant took the pole and started dancing while slowly taking off her shirt. It was a present that his newly found god-grandmother gave him as he was being so easy on the eyes.


    "Alright. Stop! STOPPP!!!" Pepper shouted, but the performance continued.


    Partway through the show as the plane was high up in the air, Edward suddenly received a call.


    "Wait. Should I put my phone on flight mode?" Edward asked worriedly.


    "This is not a cheap plane. You can answer it." Pepper replied.


    "Hello?" Edward nodded and answered the phone.


    "Edward, I found the ticket. It was under the tissue box. I think it got at least 3 numbers correct. Do you remember the winning numbers from last night?"


    "Of course I do. Let me see...6, 12, 22, 7, 32, and the powerball is 11." Edward muttered. Ted was silent for a while, and he asked, "Can you repeat that."


    "Sure. 6, 12, 22, 7, 32, and 11." Edward repeated kindly. "Hello? Dad?" He asked in concern as Ted went silent for too long.


    "Ed...It hit." Ted said in a shaky voice.


    "Hello? What hit?" Edward asked, confused.


    "The numbers....it all fits." Ted pinched his cheek, not sure whether what he was seeing was real, or a dream.


    Edward became solemn, and he asked carefully, "You mean..."


    "We won...WE FREAKING WONNNNN!!!!"


    "HOLY SHIET!!!!!!"

 Chapter 153: Texas

    Chapter 153: Chapter 153: Texas


    (WN is extra buggy today and yesterday.


    The summer vacation arcs will be hastened, and I won''t get into much details like in the previous one as to catch back up with the Modern Family episodes. Even TBBT doesn''t have episodes in the summer, so it''s a blank timeframe there.)


    [Edward POV]


    Inside the jet.


    "Take the money, and leave my son alone." I muttered, channeling my inner evil Korean mother in law as I slid a thick envelope towards Pepper.


    Wearing a blonde wig, the ugly looking Pepper said meekly while fidgeting, "But mother-in-law-"


    "YOU DARE CALL ME YOUR MOTHER IN LAW? I DON''T AGREE TO YOU MARRYING MY PRECIOUS SON BEHIND MY BACK! YOU SCOURGE!" I grabbed the glass full of water and splashed it on Pepper''s face.


    He flinched and closed his eyes, before he opened it back with bewilderment.


    Both of us were silent for a while, before Pepper laughed and said, "That was pretty good. Now it''s my turn. I''m going to be a rich CEO. You''re my assistant."


    "Alright." I muttered as I picked up a glass and stood beside Pepper. He took off his wig and crossed his legs, "Tell that woman to come meet me."


    "Sir, it''s not a good way to win a woman''s heart by forcing her?"


    "Forcing her? I''m buying her! Everyone has a price! Like you!" Pepper glanced at me before laughing evilly. "So find out what her price is...and I''ll have her!"


    I exclaimed, "Hooo" while rubbing my arms, "I got goosebumps."


    "Can you guys please stop playing? We''re almost there." Renaldo said in exasperation.


    "Hey, it''s either this or a pole dance show again? Which one do you want me to do?" I asked him jokingly. After I received the call from my dad about us winning the lottery, I was frozen for almost 10 minutes, and missed out on the ending of the sexy dance.


    I became absorbed and tilted my head back condescendingly like Boa Hancock and accused everyone around me of being poor until Pepper showed his family inheritance value to me, causing me to snap back to reality.


    Renaldo was taken aback, "This one. This one is much better. Next time, I''m going to join you. After all, you''re the one who POISONED us by forcing us to watch Korean Soap dramas."


    "Boys Over Flowers is good right?" I laughed as the duo nodded in excitement. Of course, they were reluctant to watch an Asian drama at first, especially when there was no broadcast on the TV channel, or was there a convenient platform for them to use.


    So I created an algorithm to take the already subbed videos on the internet, remove the ads, increase the quality, and make it so that they could watch the show using an app I called Entertain. It was a test app�C like Netflix, that I planned to release after settling the distribution rights with the foreign company later.


    "You''re still going to buy 49% of Netflix?" Renaldo asked.


    "I want to buy the ENTIRE company!" I laughed maniacally as Pepper threw some dollars to rain over me. I calmed down and turned to Renaldo, "But I know it''s impossible, so buy as much as we can. We''re not lacking money right now."


    Pepper was a bit worried, "It''s only 120 million. And You have to split it with your dad!"


    "Oh no, I''m buying the stocks under my dad''s name. It''s his share after all. I''m just his financial planner. I have other plans for my half."


    Although winning the lottery could create some rift among family members, especially when only my dad''s name was on the ticket, my dad didn''t care much about the money.


    Well, it''s hard for him to care when I created almost 30 million on my own in only 3 months, and our family wealth kept increasing as I kept reinvesting the profits.


    Even if he wanted to swallow the lottery prize by himself, I wouldn''t care much as by my calculations, I would be able to create the same amount before the end of the year.


    Pepper''s eyes lit up, "Really? Now?"


    "Yup. In a week. But, we need to record the 6 songs and finalize the collaboration contract first before I could pull her over to us."


    We landed in Texas smoothly.


    "Oh... Are you sure we are in Texas? Cause I can''t see any cowboy hats or tumbleweeds rolling around. " I asked jokingly.


    Pepper laughed while Renaldo rolled his eyes. "The SUV is out front. You''ll need to change inside the car. Are you...okay with that?" He hesitated.


    "I don''t have a problem with that. Just don''t take any pictures of me in my bare skin. If you do, I will charge you 10.000 bucks each." I nodded as I listened to the staff members.


    The make-up artist breathed in relief as they saw that I wasn''t nitpicky, narcissistic or uncontrollable, but only a little bit juvenile, which made me labeled as ''great'' in their book.


    Renaldo nodded and said, "Don''t worry, managing your privacy is in my job description."


    "Also, I''m quite hungry." I muttered as I patted my stomach.


    "Yeah. It''s lunch time. We''ll grab a bite while we are on the road." Pepper decided. The staff members nodded, and we rushed to the film set in a 3 SUV convoy soon after.


    I wanted to try some signature foods while in Texas, but all we could do was to stop by the Hometown Buffet to get some take out.


    "How far are we from 5501 Morella Avenue in Valley Village?" I asked the navigator.


    "Around 20 minutes. Why?" She replied.


    "I want to go there, of course, not now. But if we have time." I replied.


    Pepper was confused, "Why? What''s there?"


    "Oh, it''s the house of the mother of my acquaintance. I need to have a good relationship with her to get some blackmail material... I mean, I want to visit her."


    "?" Pepper tilted his head in confusion, "Who''s your acquaintance?"


    "An annoying ass... I mean Theoretical Physicist." I replied dismissively.


    She muttered honestly, but then she saw me smirking and giggling as I melted the butter with cream, "Ahh, I WIN!" She exclaimed and laughed out loud.


    Trying to control my laugh, I said, "Damn it...I want to do something about the cream, but you totally take away my ideas." It was true. An innocent attack has a higher damage value for me rather than a planned one.


    It only took a short time for me to finish cooking. Like Taylor expected, her dad was ''patrolling'' the hallway at night, so we couldn''t get a chance to stay in together.


    So I just slept and woke up at 4 am to try my luck, but Taylor had truly fallen asleep by that time, so I didn''t want to bother her. Instead, I opened my laptop to develop the group chat apps.


    3 days passed by very quickly as Taylor and I enjoyed each other''s company. Whether it was shooting the MV, or recording the duets. Our relationship progressed further, but for some reason, we still haven''t decided as to whether we wanted to be an official couple yet, mainly because of her hesitation about her career as well as my own insecurities. Also added a bit more context and reasons for them not going all the way.


    Scoot arranged for me to experience living in olden age Texas by bringing me to an old-timey saloon while riding a horse. I of course recorded the entire thing on video and posted it on my Instagram spread amongst several posts and stories. It got half a million likes on average, and went viral on all social media platforms.


    I also posted some videos I recorded during the Love Story MV shooting, which created an explosive reaction from the fanshippers. But, I hid the fact that Taylor and I had finished recording our duets as we didn''t want to alert her entertainment agency.


    "So, Taylor and I will leave first. You guys will wait for the next flight. Do you have any objections to that?" I asked the staff members and Pepper in a polite manner.


    "None. Enjoy yourselves." Pepper was being considerate as he knew what Taylor and I had in mind. I smiled as I waved at the staff before entering the private jet. I tried to make them leave first and we took the next flight, but Pepper insisted as he didn''t want me to stay behind without an adequate security detail.


    "Hmm...So...Is this your first time?" Taylor asked coquettishly as she fired up the pole dancing stage.


    "Second if we count the- I mean, first!" I quickly changed my words as she glared at me. I enjoyed her performance as we were alone and managed to ''get some fun activity in'' on the private plane. As we landed in LA, our whereabouts were leaked by a certain interested party, causing a mayhem of paparazzi photography after we got out of the airport.


    It turned into a major news event, with people pointing fingers at us with every possible accusation they could make. Such as, carbon footprint, being a bad example as a public figure, moral degeneration, and many more.


    It was quickly shut down by the fans as they saw my videos and stories on my Instagram. A small counterattack was made by the fans, which thoroughly discredited the tabloids sites that tried to ruin my reputation.


    "Why is this happening?" Taylor asked with annoyance as we got back in the SUV.


    "Oh. Simple. They''re testing my Instagram apps influence, and using me as the main lab rat. I guess a few parties are already showing interest in it." I replied in a casual manner before smirking evilly. "Too bad for them, I''m not going to let them have a piece of the cake that easily."


    Oh, a quick side note, before I left the state, I made sure to finish my side quest and went to visit Sheldon''s mother �C Mary Cooper. Then, I emailed the pictures from my visit to Sheldon, Leonard, and also Penny, causing an uproar in the 2311 North Los Robles Avenue.


    [General POV]


    "AHHH!!" Sheldon screamed in shock after he opened up the email from Edward.


    "What happened?!" Leonard rushed from the kitchen to get to Sheldon, "Did you watch a jumpscare video again? I told you not to watch anything with the tagline, ''Can you believe this?'' and check the comments first."


    Anxious, Sheldon turned to Leonard with a pitiful face and heavy breathing, "It''s not that. I...was violated."


    "What?" Penny, who was sitting on the couch, scrunched her face in confusion and walked towards Sheldon. She then cupped her mouth as she stifled her laugh as she saw the pictures on the screen.


    It was a naked Sheldon in his baby years, and Sheldon tried hard to prevent Penny and Leonard from seeing it.


    "How did he know where my mother lives? Did you tell him Leonard?" Sheldon asked anxiously.


    "How is that possible? I don''t even know where your mother lives." Leonard lied. He was the one who told Edward the exact address.


    "AHHHHH!" Sheldon yelled a second time as Leonard scrolled down the email.


    "What what?" Penny wanted to understand his reaction now. It was a picture of Edward with a notebook, which made Sheldon''s face turn pale.


    "Wait. Is that...Mertens conjecture? Did you try to prove that M(n) is always bounded by the square root of n? That''s an amateur mistake." Leonard said haughtily. As Sheldon was always commenting on his work before, he wanted to enact his revenge for the longest time, but couldn''t as his roommate was smarter than him.


    "I was young, and naive. Oh how I wish I could rectify my mistakes." Sheldon sighed.


    "Wait. How young?" Penny asked.


    "I tried that when I was 5 years old." Sheldon answered, which made Penny''s face turn sour.


    "He graded my papers Leonard! Make him stop!" Sheldon begged as he saw that Edward took out a red marker and made an F minus mark on his theorem.


    "Well it is a fair mark." Leonard backed Edward up. "The theory was disproved in 1995. You should''ve known better."


    Sheldon breathed heavily, and almost had a panic attack that night. It was then he decided to put Edward''s name inside his ''mortal enemies'' list, at number 64, directly beneath Penny who was numbered 63.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "He vowed to get revenge? Let him try!" I muttered as I received an email from Leonard.


    "Can you not check your messages during your therapy session?" Dr Linda muttered in exasperation as I was being elusive again.


    "Ah, sorry. Where were we?" I placed my phone in my pocket as I tried to act like I cared. "Oh wait. Times up."


    "No, don''t pretend like you just realized the time. I know you''ve been counting the minutes. So don''t worry about the time. Your dad decided to add on an extra 2 hours for the session today. So you don''t have to worry about not getting enough time." Linda said with a smirk.


    I froze, and then scratched my forehead in frustration as I faced the doctor. I looked at her unkindly, "What do you want to know?"


    I decided to just throw her a bone so that we could end the session sooner. I was incredibly busy after all as I wanted to finish up on my album preparation.


    "Let''s begin with...Your mother." She muttered.


    "Well...Your mama is so-"


    "And I''m not talking about the yo mama joke this time, so you can avoid the detour." Dr Linda interjected quickly before I could call her mother fat a second time, or insinuate that she was so slutty that she would charge 1 dollar for a ''session'' and have 100 bucks by the end of the night.

 Chapter 154: Album List.

    Chapter 154: Chapter 154: Album List.


    [Edward POV]


    Entertain Company building, inside the meeting room, an unexpected confrontation occurs.


    "Like I said, push the ukulele song to the next album. It doesn''t suit this one!" Paul Shaffer, a Canadian comedian/singer/others slammed his palm on the mahogany desk, only to pull it back quickly and squirm in pain as the hardness of the desk shocked him.


    "I think you should keep it in. Just a few weeks ago, the song '' Somewhere over the Rainbow'' by Israel...Kama..." Lional Richie, an American singer, songwriter, record producer, etc, struggled at his sentence.


    "Israel Kamakawiwo''ole." I helped him.


    He turned to me and nodded slightly, "Yeah. Him. Although the song isn''t widespread yet, I think it''s only a matter of time. Edward''s song ''Toxic'' has the same potential."


    Both of them were invited by Pepper to the studio to help me in my album preparation, and surprisingly, Pepper had a close enough connection with Paul that he was here barely an hour after he called him.


    Dr Dre was also forced by Eminem to take a look at the song''s selection in their own studio so we were having the discussion as a pretty diverse group.


    "But you have to remember, Edward''s song isn''t part of his single. ''Toxic'' will only be released with the album." Paul Shaffer debated. "Besides Ed, I really think you should consider my suggestion."


    "Putting some mediocre songs in the album cause I have too many great songs?" I chuckled at him, "I won''t do that."


    "That''s a shame. If you do that and spread your hits around you won''t need to stress about your career for at least 5 years. I won''t deny that the Album will explode! But the pressure will pile up on you as soon as the next album is in production. It might even be enough to stop you from writing songs entirely."


    "Paul''s concern is valid." Lionel suddenly supported Paul, causing him to brighten up. "I''ve seen many young people burn out from the expectations placed upon them. Don''t get me wrong, I am excited about the album. But I want to see you grow even more."


    Pepper was so touched by Lionel Richie''s words that he took out a white handkerchief to wipe his tears. I rolled my eyes at him before turning to Paul and Lionel, "Don''t worry, I still have lots of...ideas."


    "Let''s refer to the list and continue listening to the songs. So far, we only confirmed 6 songs for the album, and all of them were from my previous singles." I muttered in exhaustion.


    Today was the day for me to finalize the song list for my album, ''Breaking''. My debut album, Paul and Lionel, insisted that it only consist of 18 tracks. But for someone who was referred to as a ''song vending machine'', it took a lot of effort for us to finally confirm what we should put in and what should be kept for a second release.


    Honestly, I agreed that a few of the songs shouldn''t be included in the first album as they didn''t quite hit the theme, but now that I think about it, my album has no theme except for ''breaking the expectations''.


    So whatever I put in, people would just think that it was a part of my artistic view. They would support me even when I wanted to put ''What does the Fox say'', or ''Gangnam Style'' or another such ''nonsense'' song in the list.


    So far, my whole repertoire looked like this:


    Whatever It Takes.


    Believer.


    Me and My Broken Heart.


    Enemy


    7 years


    Amnesia


    Photograph


    Count on Me


    Just the way you are


    Toxic


    The lazy song


    Before you go


    Rhythms of Love


    We are young


    Can I be him


    Grenade


    Shivers


    Something Just Like This


    Cool Kids


    Celestial


    Viva la Vida


    Check Yes Juliet


    Your Man (Country)


    It will Rain.


    Two Is Better than One (Feat Taylor)


    Natural


    Tenerife Sea


    One Call Away


    Treat You Better


    Peter Pan Was Right


    Darte Un Beso (Spanish)


    Piano Compositions:


    Kiss the Rain


    Rivers Flow in You.


    I raised my eyebrow as I saw the two extra songs on the bottom of the list. Pepper saw my look and explained, "Well Claire told me about it. And I figured, why not? It could even be a bonus track in the Album. Besides you did leave the original sheet out on your piano, if you wanted that to remain a secret you should have been more careful."


    Paul Shaffer highlighted a few songs with a neon marker, "First, The duet with Taylor is a must. I don''t think anyone disagrees with this?"


    All of us shook our heads. Paul nodded in satisfaction and continued, "Thus, Can I be Him, Tenerife Sea, and Check Yes Juliet should obviously be included too."


    "I didn''t think you were a shipper too." I teased Paul. He smiled and teased, "No. I know a fake public relationship when I see one. Although... I haven''t seen you with Taylor in private yet, so my opinion could still change."


    "Well you should keep the same opinion for now." I joked, but Paul caught the hidden meaning behind it and turned disappointed instantly.


    "You have a studio contract with ''It Will Rain'' and ''Enemy'', so both of those should be included in order to boost visualization once the movies come out." Lionel suggested. "If I''m not mistaken, Celestial and Tenerife Sea are in your streaming sites right? So you don''t have to put it in."


    Alex then teased, "Aww, did you miss your ''big brother''?" While trying to pat Luke''s head like a dog.


    "Cut it out!" Luke brushed her hands away, and they started to fight. "Shh Shh Shh! It''s starting." Haley had no interest in her sibling''s squabble, as her entire attention was on the TV screen.


    After the interview ended, Haley asked, "Mom. Can I follow Ed''s tour?"


    "W-what? Honey, you''re too young. It''s dangerous!" Claire tried to brush the matter away, but Haley wouldn''t back down, "It''s not like you''d have to pay for anything. Uncle Cam told me he can get me an internship at Ed''s company. So I''ll be getting a summer credit, and I can watch every single one of his shows too."


    "But Honey, what about Family Camp? You promised your dad that you''re going to join his team this year." Claire said, her voice shaking at the prospect of losing control over her daughter.


    "I''ll...I''ll talk to dad. I''m sure he''ll understand." Haley muttered and left, causing Claire to freeze in her spot.


    [Claire''s commentary]


    "It''s not that I don''t trust Haley, or Edward. But I understand- I mean, I hear things, gossip really." Claire muttered with a guilty conscience.


    "It''s not that hard to imagine that Haley could very well be pregnant by the time she returns from the trip. Which is too dangerous. So...I have to get her to stay." Claire vowed.


    She then sighed, "I keep using terms like ''family'', ''brother'', ''one of us'' when I refer to Ed to prevent this sort of stuff, but it''s all useless."


    [commentary ends]


    [Edward POV]


    When I returned to my aunt''s house, I was surprised to see that everything in my room was already cleared out.


    "What''s going on?" I asked Camila who was smirking as she carried a luggage bag with her. "Are you leaving me too?"


    "Too? Wait. No, I''m not leaving." Camila was startled and she held my face as she explained it to me, "We''re just moving back to your house."


    My eyes lit up, "The construction is finished? I thought Jay needed another 3 days?"


    "No. Turns out he''s just dragging the time because he wants to boss people around and hang out with the construction workers. Gloria caught him in the act, when she thought he was cheating on her."


    "Wait. What the hell did I miss!?" I groaned in frustration as I called Alex immediately. "My useless spy! This is the kind of thing I need to know!"


    ''It surely can make an episode! Argh! Wasted opportunity to watch it!'' I thought to myself.


    Camila was weirded out by my reaction, and she said, "Alex won''t know. Even Claire didn''t know. I only know this because I was there to witness it."


    I grabbed my aunt''s by her shoulders immediately, "Tell me everything."


    [Camila''s commentary]


    "I''m worried. I think Ed''s condition has worsened. I should follow Dr Linda''s advice and slowly let him see that he''s living in the real world, and not a Tv show. But honestly, I''m too scared to do it. What if I somehow break him more?"


    [commentary ends]


    "Jay had been texting, and laughing, while using your whatsapp beta app. You''re still renaming the app right?"


    "Don''t change the topic. What happened next?" I asked, my eyes glittered from the excitement of a ''hidden'' episode I''d never watched before.


    Camila was disappointed, but she hid it and continued, "So Jay had been texting the construction crew, cracking jokes about wood and everything but he''d been hiding it from Gloria. He was also taking a few weeks off his work to finish the construction, so Gloria thought he was working hard."


    "Honestly, What''s the point of him still going to work after marrying Gloria? Umm...Sorry, continue." I rubbed my head apologetically.


    Camila was excited, "You really like Gloria huh?"


    "Well who wouldn''t? Anyway, what happened next?" I changed the topic quickly as I sensed she was going to tease me about it.


    After that she told me the full story. When Jay was trying to cover up his tracks, Gloria ambushed him near the hot tub, causing him to fall in the water.


    Then Gloria got to know from the construction crew that the work was actually finished, and she scolded Jay for thinking that she would be angry when seeing that he was working on something that he loved. She thought it was sexy, and they made up right there in front of everyone.


    "I never thought that I would be jealous of a relationship like Gloria''s, but right now, I am." Camila confessed.


    "Me too." I muttered.


    "Should we both marry a rich older partner?"


    "As long as she''s still perky, I can think about it. Like Nicole Kidman, or Chandler''s mom in Friends."


    Camila rolled her eyes and we walked towards my new house together.


    The new living room was designed to give a minimalistic, but elegant feeling to the household. A 56-inch Sony Oled flat-screen TV was mounted on sitting eye level just beside the gray brick fireplace, with a full entertainment system installed around it. The living room had plenty of natural light, and even some potted plants in the corner.


    Camila gasped and jumped on the new couch immediately. "This is so nice!" She exclaimed. I laughed and pressed the switch on the side of the couch as I told her "Check this."


    The couch turned into a bed, and she was dropped along with it. She glared at me before laughing as we continued our tour of the house.


    "You''re living here now, right?" I asked Camila.


    "Huh? No, I was thinking-" She tried to reject my offer but I guess you could say that ''the cat got her tongue'' when she saw my smirking expression.


    "You''re staying here. The guest room has already been turned into Camila''s room, so you don''t need to find a new place anymore." I said in a decisive manner before walking towards the basement.


    Camila was touched, but then turned confused, "Ed. Where are you going?"


    "Oh, I need to check up on the most important part of this whole project." I replied casually.


    "The basement?" She followed me from behind, and once we entered the dark underground space, she prayed for her safety before I turned on the lights. A sparsely equipped laboratory space was revealed, surprising Camila.


    "What? You''re going to be the real life Iron Man?" She joked as she walked around the lab.


    "Well yes...but actually no. I mean, I aspire to have the money part of Iron Man. Not the heroic self-sacrifice part of him. Although the playboy part does seem interesting too." I replied honestly. Camila laughed and then said, "Okay I''ll go make lunch for us."


    "You don''t need to make any for me. I''m going over to Haley''s." I replied.


    "Huh? Aww...And here I thought we were going to have more aunt-nephew bonding time." She joked.


    "We can still have dinner together. I already promised to eat lunch with my friends today, and Jenna''s mom is going to pick us up."


    "Jenna and who?" She asked.


    "Jenna, Enid, Alex, and me. We''re going to see Jenna''s new house, and hang out by the pool." I explained. "And surprisingly, her new house is just a block away from Jay''s."


    Jenna''s mom had sold her previous mansion to buy a slightly smaller one. It was a good thing for Jenna, and she wanted to invite all of us over to celebrate, but we could not all gather together until the 4th of July.


    "Ah, tell dad not to store any fireworks in the basement." I reminded Camila before I left the house.


    [Camila''s POV]


    I contacted Gloria after Edward left as I wanted to ask her for some advice�C she was Edward''s favorite person and I wanted to know why.


    "Huh? Oh, Ed forgot his bathing suit." I muttered as I remembered Edward leaving the house empty handed. "He won''t play in the pool nude...right?" I mumbled with some concern.

 Chapter 155: Shenanigans

    Chapter 155: Chapter 155: Shenanigans


    (A short 4th of July Arc)


    [Edward POV]


    "Hi Mrs Jenna''s Mom." I greeted the bikini wearing blonde woman as she opened the front door.


    "You don''t know my name?" She asked with a seductive smirk as she welcomed me inside.


    "I know, but I''m confused whether to call you Mrs Karlsen or Mrs Mckenzie." I said honestly as I entered the house.


    She chuckled while her hand slowly patted my arm, "Just call me Alex."


    "I can''t. Otherwise the smaller Alex will get mad." I joked. "I can do Alexander..."


    She scoffed, "Not Alexander. That sounds like a man''s name."


    "To be honest, ''Alex'' sounds like a man''s name too." I said casually, and at this moment, Alex and Enid finally got out of the car and gathered together with me. Alex gave me a side eye before greeting the mother and they went to change into their swimsuits immediately.


    "Jenna''s still in her room. She said she wants to finish watching ''Enies Lobby''? I don''t know what animation she was watching, but she binged it every single day this week." Alexandria told me.


    "Wait. Jenna is already at Enies Lobby? Oh Shit." I cursed. Alexandria was taken aback and became serious immediately. "What''s going on?" She asked.


    "Well I don''t think that Jenna will come out of her room today." I said. "Why?" Alexandria was alarmed and she quickly walked up the stairs to go to Jenna''s room.


    "Honey, are you alright? Edward is here." The sexy mother opened Jenna''s unlocked door, and was stunned when she saw Jenna sobbing in a heart wrenching manner as she watched a pirate crew set fire on their ship.


    "Gomen Ne..." Merry''s voice sounded, causing Jenna to wail, "MERRY!"


    "What-what-what?" Mrs Alexandria was confused, but I went next to Jenna while trying to hold back my tears too. "Merry." I mumbled.


    "WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING?!" Alexandria exclaimed, but no one would answer her. Jenna hugged me as we watched Merry''s last moment with the Strawhats, and she cried in my embrace for over half an hour after the episode ended.


    By that time, Enid and Alex were already ready to play by the pool, and were confused by the fact that Jenna and I were still in her room. They knocked on the door, and saw that Jenna was calming down from her crying.


    "What happened? Did Edward bully you again ?" Alex asked while giving me an accusatory look.


    "Oi." I retorted with a deadpan stare, making Jenna laugh a bit. "Yes. Edward bullied me." She said suddenly.


    "Hey!"


    "What? If you didn''t watch the anime when we had a study session before, I wouldn''t be hooked like this! And I wouldn''t be crying because of a ship-"


    Jenna said in faux-anger, but was interrupted by Alex. "LALALA! NO SPOILERS! I just got to Water 7!" Alex stuck her fingers inside her ears to avoid hearing the information.


    "Get him!" Enid shouted with a grin, and all 3 of them attacked me at the same time.


    "Ouch, who''s biting! Hey! Who''s hand is touching my ass!!"


    After getting ''bullied'' by the girls, Jenna went to change her clothes.


    Jenna was picking her outfit while I was still in her room, but she had no shame about changing in front of me. She even asked me about the bikini she was going to wear.


    "What about this one Ed?" She placed a lacy black bikini on top of her dress as she looked at me in a coquettish manner. Alex and Enid looked at each other before they nodded knowingly.


    "Come with us for a sec." Both of them grabbed Jenna, one arm each before dragging her into her closet. After 5 minutes, Jenna walked out while wearing a boring one piece swimsuit and a face filled with discontent.


    "Oh damn, I forgot my swimming trunk." I muttered as I suddenly thought about it.


    "Huh? So what are you going to do?" Alex teased, "There''s no other male in this house, so you can''t borrow one. Unless you want to wear a girl''s bikini?"


    "He should wear a thong!" Enid exclaimed. I ignored Enid and said, "It''s fine. I just won''t get in the pool. Enid, the album''s ready. I''ll set one aside for you as soon as the production starts."


    "Yeay!" Enid squealed before hugging me from behind. "Piss off molester." I pushed her head, making her take a few steps back. That didn''t dampen her enthusiasm, and she kept asking me about the album song list.


    "Ed, will you set aside one for me too?" Jenna asked coquettishly. "Sure, it''d be 15.99." I replied in a deadpan voice. She was astonished and speechless after that.


    "No friend''s discount?" Alex asked teasingly.


    "Oh no. I marked up the price for my friends. You can get it out there for only 14.99."


    "WHAT..." Jenna and Alex were both speechless, but when they saw my smirking look, they realized that they had been teased.


    "You jerk." Alex cursed with a smile. We all went to the pool, and while the girls were getting ready, I heard a voice calling for me from afar.


    "Edward, can you help me?" Mrs Alexandria called.


    "Sure." I replied casually as I walked towards her. She was lying on her belly and gave me suntan lotion when I was near.


    "Can you help rub this on my back?" She asked as she untied her bikini tops, showing me her bare back.


    I was stunned for about 2 seconds before I shook the lotion bottle, "Alright." I helped her without any embarrassment, which annoyed her a little. So she upped the teasing by making some noises as I slathered the oil on her back, "Ummm...You have great hands Ed. It feels good."


    I laughed a bit and before I could finish it up, she asked, "Can you do my legs too?"


    "Um..Sure." I hesitated for a bit before I politely helped her. I started from behind her knee going up almost till her butt before I went down again. My massage skills instinctively kicked in at that time, and it turned her fake sounds into real ones.


    "Umm... It feels so good! Can you do it more?" She asked with begging eyes after I finished up. "You should tan now. Or you''ll lose sunlight." I said with a smirk as I slapped her thigh 2 times.


    She groaned before grabbing the suntan oil and started pouring it on top of her bikini, making it a bit translucent. She caught my eyes as I accidentally gazed on it, and said, "You want to help me rub it here too?"


    "Well...Maybe next time." I said before walking back to my friends. Alexandria smiled in satisfaction before licking her lips.


    I had to get out of there quickly as she kept giving me some suggestive looks. Not that I hated or was repulsed by it, but I drew the line at my friend''s mother. Sisters might be okay. A hot aunt is considerable. But not their mother. At least for now... maybe... probably...


    I went to sit by the pool when Alex''s head popped out of the water. Before she could open her mouth, I scolded her, "Hey. You missed an important new story."


    "Huh? What about?" She tilted her head, confused.


    My eyes lit up and said, "Oh. You''re finally becoming a teenage wolf?"


    "Shut up! Anyway, I have no plans for it. So... I was thinking of celebrating it with you guys." She said tsunderely.


    I laughed and patted her head before saying, "My house is already finished with the construction. Why don''t you guys come over?"


    Alex''s eyes lit up, "Is your lab also ready?"


    "The place is, but some equipment hasn''t been delivered yet. It''s only half complete, but we can play around with some toys there."


    Jenna and Enid rolled their eyes at the excited Alex as they had no real interest in science. After a while, I went back home by taking a ride with the Dunphy''s, and Phil suddenly asked, "Ed, have you ever bounced on a trampoline before?"


    "I don''t think I did." I replied honestly.


    Phil was excited as he invited, "I was planning to teach Luke about trampoline skills today. Why don''t you join us?"


    "Oh." I answered flatly. "Well I have a lot of work to do today. And I already promised to hang out with Haley and study new fashion styles."


    "Huh? Really? Was it your plan, or was it Haley''s plan?" Alex asked with a knowing look.


    "Haley''s." I replied honestly. "She''s going to come over."


    "Oh. That''s too bad, but fair. She invited you first after all." Phil muttered.


    Alex was skeptical, "Dad, will you really let your young, beautiful teenage daughter hang out in a guy''s room all evening without anyone monitoring them?"


    "They are learning. So I don''t think I need to be worried." Phil said.


    "You''re asking the wrong guy. You should ask your mom that question." I gave Alex a hint. She scoffed at me before saying, "I know. I will do that as soon as I get home."


    ...


    While I was reading some news articles about me on my laptop in the living room, Haley suddenly walked into the house, "Lock the door! My mom is planning on coming."


    I laughed a bit and said, "Nah. She won''t. She just ''realized'' that she has a few more documents to work on. It''ll take her at least till dinner to finish that, so you don''t have to worry about it."


    "That''s sinister."


    "Well I AM her boss." I joked before calling Haley to sit right next to me. She opened up her doodle book and was excited to share everything about her inspiration with me. And I was surprised when I saw that ALL of her male designs were catered specifically to fit my image.


    I hugged Haley suddenly while she was still talking, which stunned her. "Umm...What?"


    "Nothing. I''m just really fucking touched... That''s all." I muttered before standing up and grabbed my laptop bag.


    [Haley''s commentary]


    "That''s what works for him? I mean..." Haley tried to cover up her smile. "I honestly didn''t expect that." She added. "And I didn''t even plan for it."


    [Commentary ends]


    "Here. This is for you." I handed her the blank cd case. She grabbed it and was confused, "What''s this? Your album?"


    "No. It''s much better than my album. It''s a compilation of every song I have sang so far. Don''t tell anyone else I gave it to you. After all there are some unique songs and thus that and the masters are the ONLY ones of their kind." I muttered with a smirk.


    Her eyes lit up and she was flattered, "What? Why did you give it to me?" She twirled her hair as she avoided gazing straight to my eyes. I didn''t answer and changed the subject instead, "I have one last final interview on the morning before I fly to Wisconsin. Can I snap the design and give it to Pepper now? I want to wear it during that interview."


    "Oh...Sure! It''s...yours anyway." Haley said coyly while covering her blushing face.


    "Ah, Alex told me you wanted to follow me on tour?" I asked after sending the pictures to my company. Haley was taken aback before she got angry, "I did! But mom won''t let me go."


    "I agree with her. Honestly, the schedule is kinda inhuman, so it will be pretty miserable for the interns to follow us along." I explained, but Haley was still unsatisfied.


    "Well if it''s inhuman, then why are you pushing yourself to do it?" She asked angrily.


    "Cause I''m tough enough." I said while flexing my biceps. "And if you want to come, just tell me. I''ll save a VIP ticket for you."


    She couldn''t hold back her laugh, and we hung out until it was almost midnight. We had dinner with my aunt and dad, and spent all night together in my bedroom.


    "Hey, your mom is calling." I said as I saw her phone screen. She was sitting on my bed while I was typing on my desk.


    "Ugh...I''m not finished yet." She groaned in frustration. I laughed and said, "Well you better go now before she storms through the front door."


    "Can''t you give her more work to do?" Haley asked with pitiful eyes.


    I chuckled and said, "Well not right now...Maybe tomorrow."


    "Ugh. Alright, then come on." She suddenly lay down on my bed and patted the mattress beside her. I was confused and she explained, "I''ll help you go to sleep, same as before."


    "Thanks, but I still need to (Yawn)... finish up."


    "Don''t argue. Come here." She patted the mattress insistently, so I sighed and went to lay down next to her. She was satisfied and said, "Okay. Now. Go to sleep."


    "Only because you''re making me. If you get in trouble with your mom after this, it''s not my fault." I said in a casual manner.


    Haley laid on top of my chest as we cuddled together. I wish that I could say that I didn''t miss it, but honestly I was looking forward to it. I didn''t want to get her into trouble so I activated my [rest] skill to fall asleep quickly.


    Unexpectedly, I found myself in an open field right after the clock struck midnight.


    "What the...Today?" I shouted, confused.


    [General POV]


    "Aww...He''s so cute when he''s sleeping." Haley whispered gleefully as she saw that Edward was already asleep. "Even faster this time. I guess I''m like his sleeping pill." She laughed, but then her face turned ashen as her ear picked up on something weird.


    "Hmm? His heart beat..." Her eyes shook in horror, and she patted Edward''s face a few times to wake him up, "Ed...ED!!! TEEEEDDD!!! CAMILLLAAAAA!!!!" Haley shouted for the adults immediately.


    Ted and Camila barged through Ed''s bedroom door in their pajamas. "What happened?" Ted asked urgently. Haley was crying and said, "Edward is...not breathing."

 Chapter 156: Fourth Gacha.

    Chapter 156: Chapter 156: Fourth Gacha.


    [General POV]


    Afterlife. A place where souls converge after the physical body experiences death. So what does it mean when an Agent enters the Afterlife realm?


    What would happen to the agent''s body when they conducted their gacha session?


    The answer is: Their body will enter a suspended animation state, until the time when the session is over, and their soul returns to their physical body.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Umm...Hi?"


    I walked warily towards the shaman-like existence in the middle of the grassy field. The shaman was wearing a cloak made of straws, and her face was hidden by a viking-style helmet with giant horns.


    However, the smell of grass and the gentle crashing of the waves soon made me relax a little. This place reminds me of the MCU''s place where Odin passed away besides Loki and Thor.


    "Is this Valhalla?" I asked her jokingly. She grunted and didn''t answer my question while giving me a blank sheet of paper.


    "Your Karmic Point. Beware." She muttered.


    Edward Newgate


    Affiliation: Official member of the Afterlife Corps.


    Current status: Singer/Game Maker/ Inventor/App Developer/ Chef


    Positive Karma: 142, 000, 022 (5 million in storage)


    Negative Karma: -11 000 111.05


    "Holy shit that''s a lot of bad karma. What the hell did I do?" I scowled as I read my data sheet. "Also, why am I being summoned here today? What special day is this?"


    The shaman whom I could only see her mouth scowled at the question, "You talk too much." She bonked my head with her wooden staff, causing me to whimper in pain.


    "Ahhh!" I groaned as I rubbed my sore temple. "Alright. I won''t ask. It''s not like there''s any rule that needs to be followed for me to come here...Right?" I muttered sarcastically.


    She was silent for a while, and then she said, "Today...your summon still follows the rule of life and death day. However, I don''t think that there is a person alive on your earth that knows the significance of today."


    "Huh?" I looked at the mournful shaman as she reminisced about something. I was confused so I asked politely, "What day''s significance is today...if I may know...ma''am."


    "Do you want to test your luck or do you want to know a boring story?" She asked with slight dissatisfaction. I was upset so I confronted her, "Why are you so angry? You''re the one who brought me here."


    "No. I wasn''t the one who brought you. And I already told the people at afterlife corps to stop sending people to my session." She growled in dissatisfaction before she took out multiple small bone pieces, and a worn out mat.


    "Is this...Bone divination? Isn''t this an ancient Chinese tradition? What does it have to do with Nordic religion?" I asked curiously. The shaman scowled and said, "You really talk too much."


    "Well I will shut up when you tell me about the ''boring story''." I asked with a teasing smirk. She was stunned for a while before she asked in disbelief, "You don''t want to get your power ups? I can only do one thing. If you want to hear my story, then you''ll have to give up the karmic gacha for today. So which one will you choose-"


    "Well I choose the story." I interrupted her, and she was stunned by my reply. She paused for a while. "What?" She exclaimed in disbelief.


    "Yeah. I think your story will be more interesting than the gacha." I muttered in a sincere tone. "To be honest with you, I''m not looking forward to the gacha right now. My life is quite perfect as it is." I smiled as I laid down sideways on the grassy land, propping my head up with my hand as I leisurely looked in her direction.


    "So. Tell me. What day is it today?" I asked her again. She was silent for a while, before she bonked my head angrily again and said, "Sit upright if you want to listen to it. Don''t be disrespectful!"


    "Ouch." I exclaimed with a smile as I noticed that she had put down her guard. "I''m sorry. Please. Enlighten me." I asked in a mischievous demeanor, which made her frown again.


    ...


    [General POV]


    The door to the hospital emergency ward was pushed open. The EMT medical officer was sitting on top of Edward''s body, pushing his chest to make sure that his heart would keep beating using CPR.


    Ted, Camila and Haley followed the gurney from behind, but was stopped by the medical officer as they wanted to follow Edward to the ICU.


    Haley and Camila broke down crying. Ted gritted his teeth and blood was dripping from his clenched fist.


    "Ed! Don''t Die!" Haley wailed as she could see the doctor trying hard to resuscitate Edward from behind the glass wall.


    "Clear!" The doctor pressed the defibrillator on Edward''s bare chest before giving him an electric shock to revive his heart function.


    "It''s not working!" The intern doctor said. "Increase the voltage and try again!" The resident doctor yelled.


    [Edward''s POV]


    "Oww... Why does my chest suddenly hurt." I muttered as I rubbed my sore chest while listening to the shaman''s story.


    "So Sage. All of the people who know about the ''Old Gods'' have disappeared from my world?" I asked her, ignoring the pain.


    I found out that her name was Sage after insistent badgering, and two times getting bonked in the head. However, it was hard for me to have a bad feeling for the woman. She had basically been alone here for hundreds of years. She''s an old grandmother. I have a soft spot for this kind of lonely person.


    "Yes. I am now puzzled as to why you''re here. No one is supposed to be here anymore." Sage muttered with a concerned voice. "I wonder if this has something to do with Gong Shin. That old guy loves to interfere afterall." Sage mumbled.


    "What was that?" I asked her. "Nothing. Now that you''ve listened to my story, you only have time for only one gacha roll."


    "Oh. The strength of my soul right?" I guessed. Sage nodded and said, "Your soul is still too weak. You can only support being here for 45 minutes to an hour."


    "It''s okay. Then, roll it for me. Ah, what about the grim reaper dude-"


    "Stop talking and ruining my concentration." Sage growled before she shook the bone pieces in her hand. The sky suddenly turned cloudy, thunder and lighting appeared on the sky.


    I stood up quickly, "Uhh...What''s happening?" My mind was racing and my breathing became rapid.


    "That''s the background effect." Sage said casually. I almost fell down after hearing it, "That''s it? I really thought that something would descend from the sky."


    Sage snickered, "As if something will descend from the sky because of you."


    I was shocked, "So...things CAN fall out of the sky?"


    "..."


    Sage was silent, and then she threw the bone pieces on top of the worn out mat with a circle akin to a compass on it. Suddenly, an illusionary scroll popped out from the mat, almost making me fall on my ass from the shock.


    [Purple Quality Gacha �C ''Charisma of Wicked Wisdom'' Talent �CJames Moriarty ]


    [Purple Quality Gacha �C Detective Skill �C Shinichi Kudo (Detective Conan)]


    [Black-Gold Quality Gacha �C Kotoamatsukami (Distinguishing Heavenly God Illusion) �C Uchiha Shisui (One time use)]


    "Call me, Edward Uchiha from now on." I said in an arrogant demeanor. Then, Sage bonked my head with her staff again.


    "Sit down. I need you to focus. There is something that you desperately need. And the rareness of the prize is incomparable to everything that you''d gotten before." Sage muttered.


    "Wait. Really? What is it?" I asked her. "Also, will my eye change into a Mangekyou Sharingan- Alright, I''ll focus." I shut up quickly as she picked up her staff again.


    Currently, I have spent over 80 million karmic points in this gacha session, making it the most expensive session yet. And the prizes that I''d gotten were extremely precious.


    "Hmm...I can only store some luck before I vie for that ''item''." She muttered incomprehensibly before she looked me straight in the eye, "I can guarantee that I can get out that item if I roll 3 random gacha for you. Of course, the price won''t change."


    "This item...Wait... No question right. I don''t feel that you''re trying to trick me Sage. So I believe in you. You can do whatever you want, but just leave enough points for me to cut off my negative karma yeah?"


    Sage flashed a tiny smile and said, "Okay. I won''t disappoint you."


    [Green Quality Gacha�C Piloting Skill �C Maverick]


    [Purple Quality Gacha�C Dance Skill �C Robert Alexander III / Moose (Step Up Movie)]


    [White Quality Gacha �C AI Creation Memory �C Tony Stark]


    "Ohh...I got Jarvis...Or Maybe Friday...But it''s a white quality one so the memory will be short." I mumbled to myself.


    Sage then took a deep breath and then she muttered, "Well...I need another random one."


    From expecting, to suddenly feeling that she wasn''t reliable, I narrowed my eyes at her before I sighed and said, "Sure."


    She nodded and continued, "Last one. I promise."


    [White Quality Gacha�C Hairspray Hand �C Aizen Sosuke]


    I laughed out loud when I read the prize, and while I was tearing up, Sage was shaking her bone pieces in a solemn manner while mumbling the ancient mantra. Lightning and thunder danced together in the sky, before a lightning bolt suddenly struck at the center of the mat as Sage threw her bone pieces.


    "Oh damn! What is it?" I calmed myself down after getting shocked, and waited for Sage to finish reading. She smiled as she threw the scroll at me, "You got it. The Rare Item."


    [Black-Gold Quality Gacha �C Talent Shredder �C Afterlife Corp]


    "Wait. This is a Corporation item." I muttered in confusion, "Why do I need this- Oh! This must be it." I snapped my finger as I thought about the danger of having ''that'' skill with me.


    Sage paused for a while before she said, "Before you continue joking, I''ll remind you that [Special Ability �C God Usopp �C Lie to Truth] is only a white quality gacha prize. It only works on dumbasses... and won''t actually influence the fabric of reality like you''re thinking of...Dumbass."


    I was stunned for a while before I laughed to cover up my embarrassment. "So. What do you want me to use this on?"


    "Use it on your [Prodigy''s Fate �C Kousei Arima] talent that you got during your first birthday." Sage muttered.


    "Heh? I rolled the gacha on my first birthday?" I asked her in shock. She stared at me for a while before she was astonished, "You didn''t know? How could you NOT KNOW? This is not in line with the rules!"


    Sage was restless for a while before she asked, "So you don''t know about your [Elderly Lady Killer] Talent too?"


    "I have a talent like that?" I shrieked.


    "I...I''ll tell the guys back at the HQ about this so that they will rectify the situation." Sage muttered after thinking for a while. I nodded at her remark before using the consumable talent that she mentioned.


    "Good. Last time, your guardian intervened so that the talent activation would fail. Now, you can have a normal relationship with the people around you and it won''t turn into a ''creative tragedy''."


    "Huh? Guardian? Wait-...Did the accident involving Desiree.." I widened my eyes in realization.


    Sage nodded, but she didn''t explain as it wasn''t part of her responsibility. It was enough that she helped me understand what had happened, and I was thankful for that.


    "Okay. Let''s continue." I muttered. Sage looked at me weirdly and said, "That''s it..Your points are finished."


    "Ahh...Hahaha." I laughed to cover up my embarrassment again before I felt a suction force pulling me away to my real world.


    "Thank you Sage. Even if my world has forgotten about you, I will never forget you. I''ll do a wikipedia entry about the old god''s existence as tribute when I get back." I smiled as I waved at her.


    "Hey Edward." Sage suddenly shouted.


    "What is it?"


    "Make a last roll. A normal one this time." She suggested while handing over the bone pieces in my hand.


    "Really?" My eyes lit up before I threw it happily, "Alright, one high quality-"


    "Do a normal quality." She quickly said.


    "Alright. One normal quality, 66 karmic point gacha roll." I announced. A white quality gacha scroll popped out, and Sage quickly handed it over to me. I opened the gacha quickly as my soul was dissipating, and widened my eyes when I saw it. I hugged Sage without warning, making her freeze in place.


    "Oh my god. You''re the best session master ever! Thank you Sage!" I almost kissed her cheek, but my soul dissipated before I could do that.


    I got a nice treasure at my last gacha roll. [White Quality Gacha �C One Piece Anime (Until Ending of Wano Arc) Memory �C Inaki Godoy]


    ...


    [General POV]


    Haley couldn''t accept reality. "Why? Why is this all happening? He was fine just a few hours ago!" She cried at the edge of Edward''s bed after the doctor let the people come and visit him to say their final words before the doctor pulled over the life support equipment.


    "Shi Shi Shi Shi Shi Shi Shi." Suddenly, all of the depressed and crying people in the room heard a strange laugh coming from the bed. Ted, Camila, Claire, Phil, Harvey, Pepper and Haley looked at Edward''s face, only to realize that the man was laughing.


    Edward suddenly laughed out loud, and the EKG machine''s reading suddenly spiked.


    "Edward?" Haley muttered in confusion, and all of them took a step back in surprise as Edward suddenly sat up and laughed while saying, "GEARRRR FIFTHHHHHH!"


    "Wait. Where the hell am I?" Edward was shocked when he saw the white surroundings and the people around him. Only then did he realize that he was wearing the oxygen mask, and was wearing a patient''s gown.


    "Um...How long was I asleep?" Edward asked amidst the people''s shock. The doctor''s were shocked. The nurses were shocked. His family and friends were shocked. The squirrel who''s stalking him was shocked. And even his fans were shocked.


    "ED!" Haley rushed to hug Edward after he woke up from his sleep. Edward was looking at his dad with an expression asking, ''What''s going on?''


    "This...This is not possible. I was sure..." The doctor shivered as he checked Edward''s pupil dilation. "IT''S A MIRACLE!" He shouted.

 Chapter 157: Mommy attack?

    Chapter 157: Chapter 157: Mommy attack?


    Quote of the day: The universe is a cold uncaring void. The key to being happy isn''t to search for a meaning, it''s to just keep yourself busy with unimportant nonsense, and eventually, you''ll be dead.


    It was my birthday btw


    [Edward POV]


    "What''s wrong? What happened? Why am I here?"


    I got so many questions after I woke up from my sleep. It took a while for my family to calm down after the ''miracle'' happened. I was surprised when they said that my heart stopped, but I wasn''t alarmed as I could guess it was a part of the gacha experience.


    ''I really need to know the schedule of these things.'' I scolded inside my heart.


    While I was thinking, I found myself in the center of a group hug without my consent. Haley, Claire, Phil, and my aunt suddenly hugged me, while Pepper and my dad waited for their turn after the first group finished.


    "I was only asleep." I mumbled, but no one would believe me. They didn''t let me get discharged from the hospital, therefore I was stuck there until the doctor could come out with a reasonable explanation of what just happened.


    I rolled my eyes and continued sleeping after I was moved out of the ICU ward. The Dunphy''s left to get some rest, leaving only my dad and my aunt inside the ward. It''s not that they didn''t want to stay, but the doctor didn''t want the ward to become crowded.


    "Edward, did you eat something strange?" The doctor asked the next morning.


    "No." I replied honestly.


    ''Should I just ''Kotoamatsukami'' my way out of this? I think that will be too wasteful...right?'' I thought secretly while narrowing my eyes at the doctor.


    The blonde resident doctor who was checking up on me had no idea that she was in a pernicious position, and continued to question me about my habit and diet, trying to find a clue that could help her in the diagnosis.


    "Hmm..." She looked at my dad and aunt before asking hesitatingly, "Did you...had any sexual intercorse in the last 24 hours?"


    I snorted, "I wish. But no."


    She nodded before scratching her head in confusion, "I still can''t figure out what had happened to you. So, I''m asking for your consent to share your details with a good friend of mine."


    My dad frowned but I was intrigued, "Oh. Who''s he, Dr Isabelle?"


    "He''s a board-certified diagnostician with a double specialty in infectious disease and nephrology. His name is Dr Gregory House, and he''s in town for a seminar."


    My dad opened his mouth to reject it, but I interrupted him quickly.


    "By any chance, is he from Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey?" I asked the doctor. She was surprised and asked, "You know him?" Even my dad was surprised and looked at me in awe.


    "Well he''s one of my favorites." I replied with a smile. I turned to my dad and convinced, "Let him come. Only then you''ll believe that I was only sleeping. Then, we can go aboard the ship and see the fireworks from the coast."


    I didn''t try to urge my dad to take me out of the hospital quickly after I learned what happened when I was asleep. It didn''t take too much thinking to know how worried that they must''ve been when I was frolicking with Sage in the gacha realm.


    ''Hmm..I already miss that girl.''


    Also, I really need to stay in the hospital because 2 of my ribs were cracked. Shocking right? It happened during CPR, and it was a common thing in the procedure. And the culprit for this issue? My CPR certified Dad, so I really couldn''t blame him.


    "Are you sure? Pepper is already suing the hospital after they leaked your condition last night." My aunt said while giving a suspicious look at the doctor. Dr Isabelle scratched her cheek in a guilty manner.


    Even though it wasn''t her fault, she was still implicated as the person responsible was part of the hospital management, and now the entire group of doctors on the floor was implicated. The hospital''s reputation flunked, and Pepper wanted to transfer me away to another private hospital, but I stopped him as I didn''t want the hassle.


    "It''s fine. I trust Dr House." I looked at my dad, and he sighed soon after. "Alright."


    Half an hour later, a limping, scruffy-looking man walked into the ward using a cane. He was wearing a simple suit, and went directly to snatch the lab reports from Isabelle''s hand as he entered.


    "This report is wrong. His heart didn''t stop entirely." Dr House caught the irregularity in the diagnosis. "But it was lowered to almost 3 beats per minute. So it''s like he''s dead, but not really."


    "Whoa." I exclaimed subconsciously as I saw his intense style, causing the doctor to turn and look in my direction, "Hi. Dr Gregory House. I liked your rock song."


    He offered me his hand, and I shook it, "Edward Newgate. Ask anything you want if that means I can finally go home."


    Dr House smiled at me, but I knew that he had an intense distrust in other people.


    "Okay, I''ll take the challenge. I want to see how long you can stay honest and keep your reputation intact." He muttered.


    "Try me." I replied with a grin.


    "Have you tried any new, trendy or under-the-counter recreational drugs in the last few days?" He asked.


    "I had an aspirin two days ago. That''s it." I replied.


    "Really? A famous, newly rich young boy, didn''t live his life indulging in vices?" He snarked sarcastically.


    "Well I''m still too busy for that. Maybe in the future." I replied. My aunt scolded me quickly with a gasp, "Edward!"


    "Hmm, that''s strange. If your heart didn''t slow down to a phase akin to a suspended animation, I would just say you were only asleep." Dr House said after a thorough questioning.


    He asked about the material of the clothes I was wearing, whether or not I was bitten by a pet or any insectoids, how many sexual partners I had �C which I whispered to him in reply because my dad was still around.


    ''I WAS ASLEEP!'' I shouted in my mind.


    "You''re a good kid, surprisingly." Dr House muttered with a trace of worry. "You said you just moved back into your house? Mind if I look around?"


    Haley nodded and said, "Didn''t you notice? Anyway, he''s not going to rest even if we told him too. So let''s just go there, and we can keep an eye on him."


    "But his dad is there. Even his aunt will be there." Claire tried to reason.


    "Yeah but can they honestly stay with Ed all day in his room to keep an eye on him?" Haley said, trying to get inside Claire''s head. Claire widened her eyes in realization before saying, "She''s right."


    "It''s settled! Let''s have the 4th of July celebration at Ed''s place!" Phil announced in excitement.


    ...


    At a cafe in a town nearby, Camila was sipping a cup of tea while sitting facing a woman in a floral dress.


    "You''re not going to meet him?" Camila asked.


    Miranda shook her head, "No. I don''t have the strength to do it."


    Camila squinted her eyes, "So you''re going to keep stalking him from far?"


    "Maybe." Miranda sipped her tea and answered non-committedly. "You should go back now. Don''t let him out of your sight."


    Camila nodded, "By the way, did you bring what the doctor wanted?"


    Miranda took out an envelope and slid it over to Camila, "The family''s history of disease. I went back 4 generations. There''s only one person with a history of heart problems from the result."


    Camila shook her head in annoyance, "It''s your dad. Damn it. Even after he''s dead he keeps causing problems. That Diablo."


    [Edward POV]


    Something strange happened. Instead of her entire family, only Haley appeared at the house.


    "I thought-" I muttered, confused. I peeked outside the house after I opened the door, but no one else was there.


    "Well they ARE coming. My dad and your dad want to have a barbecue. They are moving Jay''s grill here." Haley muttered as she carried a food bag in her hand.


    "Ahh. I see. And what''s this?" I asked with my eyes glued on the bag. I was a bit hungry, and the smell from the bag wasn''t helping.


    Haley blushed immediately and said, "Well...I...when you texted me that you were coming home, I wanted to cook something for you. So I learned how to- No, it''s silly-"


    Before she could change her mind, I grabbed the bag immediately and said, "This is for me right? No take backs!"


    "Wait. It was the first time I cooked! So I don''t know if it will taste good!" Haley was embarrassed and tried to snatch the bag, but I tiled my arm to get the bag out of her reach.


    "No. Take Backs! Besides, I''m starving. I''ll go put this in a bowl-"


    "Wait. Let me do it! Youuuu..." She grabbed my hand and pulled me to the couch before dropping me on it, "You sit here and rest. Don''t do anything..." She then blushed and went to the kitchen before coming back 5 minutes later with a hot bowl of soup.


    "Oh, chicken soup. Nice." I muttered as I tried to grab the spoon, but she stopped me. She hid her embarrassment and avoided my eyes before saying, "I''ll feed you."


    *Beep* *Beep* *Beep*


    Suddenly, the heart monitor sent out an alarm, causing Haley to be shocked. She placed her hand on top of my chest and said hurriedly, "I''LL CALL THE DOCTOR-"


    The alarm stopped as I calmed myself down. "No. It''s fine. You just made my heart race for a bit." I muttered in embarrassment. Haley was taken aback and pulled her face away, before she blushed red. "Oh." She muttered flatly.


    We couldn''t look into each other''s eyes, and I could feel that my heartbeat was racing again, therefore I changed the subject, "So, the soup?"


    "Oh right. The soup." Haley muttered in realization. She then grabbed the spoon, and gently blew at the hot soup. My eyes were glued on her face, and honestly, I couldn''t look away.


    Before she could feed me, she hesitated, "This...will make the heart monitor beep again right?"


    "There''s a possibility." I muttered knowingly. "But don''t you dare stop."


    She blushed and then gently pushed the spoon into my mouth. I smiled as I ate it, and then the heart monitor beeped once more.


    *Beep* *Beep* *Beep*


    Haley was startled again, and she hurriedly said, "Don''t think too much. I''m just feeding a sick person. Calm your heart down."


    I smiled wryly and said, "Can you grab me a cup of water? You, not being here...might help me calm down."


    "Okay. You should eat it by yourself first." She blushed and went to the kitchen obediently. As I saw she had disappeared, I stuck my tongue out and whimpered, "SALTY! SALTY! SALTY!"


    It was like she had boiled the soup using ocean water. I couldn''t help but send her away and grabbed my laptop bag to grab the bottle of water inside. I washed my mouth quickly, and then I heard her shouting, "Ed. Where''s your cup?"


    "Inside the top left drawer." I shouted back. Then, I grabbed the bowl of soup, and decided to down it all in one shot before the taste hit.


    "God. Help me." I prayed before I did it. Haley then came back and saw that I was eating the soup deliciously. Her eyes brightened and she smiled, "Were you THAT hungry? There''s still some more left if you want it?"


    "???"


    I grabbed the cup of water from her and acted calmly, "Yes please." I gave the bowl to her and asked for a second serving.


    She smiled and skipped to the kitchen with a hum while I muttered sadly, "Now I know why she gave me the ''Kotoamatsukami''. It''s to hypnotize myself so that I can finish the soup."

 Chapter 158: Truth or Lie.

    Chapter 158: Chapter 158: Truth or Lie.


    [Edward POV]


    After finishing the entire soup without giving Haley a bite, I took a screwdriver and started to open up the backup heart monitor that the doctor provided without taking off the one I was wearing.


    "Oh. Simple enough. I just need to tweak the sound system a bit." I mumbled before making some modification to the backup machine.


    "What are you doing?" Haley asked in confusion after she walked into the living room from the kitchen.


    "This is a backup heart monitor. Do you dare to wear it?" I asked her with a sly grin. Haley was taken aback and then refused, "No! I don''t want to."


    "Just for one minute." I pleaded.


    She blushed and said, "No! I don''t want to expose what I''m thinking. Like you did."


    [Haley''s commentary]


    "It''s pretty dangerous. If that thing beeped in front of my family, then my mom won''t let me stay alone with him anymore. But I think my dad would push us to be together, so I''m torn on whether to do it or not."


    [Commentary ends]


    "Come on. I''ll personally put it on you." I tried to persuade her. She was hesitant before her eyes lit up in realization and smacked me on the shoulder, "YOU JUST WANT TO TOUCH MY BOOBS!"


    "Ah. You caught that huh." I joked while Haley gave me a side eye but with a face full of smiles.


    "Edward. Are you feeling okay now?" Phil asked in a careful manner as he entered the house through the backyard door after settling the grill with my dad.


    I shook my head and complained, "No no. Don''t do that."


    "Do what?"


    "Treat me like I''m going to break at the slightest touch. The only way you should greet me is by giving an excited shout like you always do. If you continue doing this Phil, I''ll... resent you." I spoke honestly.


    Phil and Haley were taken aback, and they fell into contemplation. Phil smiled wryly and scratched his cheek before changing his expression and shouted, "ED! Are you excited for the fireworks!"


    "Now that''s what I''m talking about!" I stood up and gave Phil a light hug before we went to the backyard together. "So Phil, wanna play with this?"


    His eyes lit up as he saw the backup heart monitor, "Play? How?"


    "Simple. The sensitivity of this thing is outstanding. It can even detect the heart fluctuation if you lie about something. Same as a lie detector." I muttered some nonsense before giving it to his hand.


    He hesitated a bit before seeing the heart monitor on my chest. His eyes lit up and he asked, "Tell me a secret"


    I rolled my eyes in disbelief before saying, "Alex had her first kiss today." Phil was taken aback, and even Haley followed us from behind was shocked. Both of them automatically gazed at the heart monitor, and found out it wasn''t beeping.


    "Wait. Really?" Haley''s eyes lit up, but Phil was depressed, "Wait Haley. It could STILL be a lie. Unless we see the-"


    "I have an STD." I mumbled with my hand in my pocket, and then the heart monitor started beeping. Phil''s face turned deadpan and he knew that he couldn''t argue with my statement anymore.


    Soon, Cam and Mitch joined in the party together with Lily. Gloria, Jay and Manny also arrived after getting back from the parade, together with Alex after Jay picked her up.


    "Hi Gloria. Nice dress." I complimented as I saw her red, white and blue themed dress that hugged her body. She smiled and said, "Thanks. Manny didn''t like it. He said that I looked like the flag."


    I laughed a bit before explaining to the others about the ''lie detector'' game. "So, do any of you guys dare?"


    Mitchell creased his eyebrow and said, "I don''t know. I think that this will bring disaster to our already strange relationship."


    "Why? Do you have something to hide?" Cam accused him directly. Mitchell blanked out, while Jay tried to stand up and run, "I''m leaving-"


    "Come on Dad! Let''s try it." Claire persuaded him while holding the edge of his shirt to prevent him from going away.


    "Yeah. It''s not like you have something to hide...Right Jay?" Gloria said with a smile while hiding her murderous gaze. Jay sighed and said, "One question. Just one."


    "To be clear, one question each, or one question total-" Phil tried to get a clear statement.


    "Total." Jay said gruffly.


    "Alex. Will you do the honor of squirting some lube on Jay''s chest and place the electrodes there?" I asked Alex who was standing behind me calmly.


    "Wait. I''m starting? No, let Phil start it first." Jay pointed at Phil.


    "No. Let Claire start first." Phil pointed at Claire.


    "Wow, you really are suspicious of your own wife huh? I wonder what question you have loaded in your mind." I chuckled a bit, which made Claire'' face freeze.


    [Claire''s commentary]


    "This situation is turning dangerous." She muttered. "A few days ago, I donated Phil''s ''FUN'' shoes because he never wore them. It was a Chewbacca shoe or something, anyway it was furry, and I didn''t like it anywhere near my closet."


    Flashback to Claire screaming as she noticed the shoe inside the dim closet space.


    Back to the commentary, "I even thought it was a raccoon a few times. I just couldn''t take it anymore. So...I went behind his back."


    [Commentary ends]


    "Can I squirt the lube?"


    All the people there turned to look at me�C no, towards Luke who''s standing behind me who tried to mimic my voice. My heart monitor almost exploded as I really thought that I had blurted out my thoughts, but luckily I didn''t.


    Claire smiled and said, "Well you can''t." Alex rolled her eyes at Luke before helping Claire set up the machine.


    After a minute, Claire was already strapped into the machine. "Me. My question first!" Phil shouted.


    Claire looked nervous, and she whispered, "Don''t ask anything embarrassing Phil."


    "Don''t worry. I only have one question." Phil smirked slyly before asking, "Do you think I''m funny?"


    "Well..." Claire hesitated for a while, not knowing how to answer the question. "Umm...funny is a subjective thing." Claire mumbled.


    "Well come on, the question is not that hard. Answer it with Yes or No." Mitchell urged while laughing at Claire''s misery, not knowing that Cam was silently taking note of his reaction.


    Haley grabbed my shirt sleeves and gestured at me to lower my head. She then whispered, "Are you trying to spread chaos again?"


    Gloria''s smile froze and she avoided people''s eyes. "Pass."


    "Wait, you can pass the question?" Phil muttered in disbelief, wondering why he didn''t think about it before.


    "Alright then. Did you ever keep a machete in the back of your car?" I asked again.


    Gloria cleared her throat and then mumbled, "Yes. A long time ago."


    "Wait, let me ask you next. Are you still keeping a deadly weapon in your car nowadays?" Jay asked with a hint of concern.


    Gloria yelled, "PASS!"


    "Nuh-uh. You can only Pass one time." Jay interjected quickly. Gloria''s eyes shook and she muttered, "No?"


    *Beep* *Beep* *Beep*


    [Gloria''s commentary]


    "I knew I should''ve put some thumbtacks in my shoes to throw off the lie test." Gloria slapped her forehead as she was disappointed in herself for not using the knowledge and experience she had.


    [Commentary ends]


    "Okay. Let''s explode some fireworks~" Gloria stood up and she pulled the electrodes from her cleavage before handing it over to Alex. Then, she walked away.


    "Wait. Gloria, we still haven''t done Jay and Mitch." I tried to persuade her. "Hold on, hold on. Why just us?" Jay asked with a sly look.


    "What do you mean?" I was taken aback at first, but then I realized it.


    "Well you are wearing the machine now. So why not you? And Haley''s already almost 16, so why exclude her?" Jay said.


    "Sure. Strap on the lie detector on a teenage girl. That''s like handing a loaded gun to her parents and helping them aim it at the back of her head." I muttered in concern before turning to Haley, "Run. I''ll take the heat on this one."


    She smiled and said, "I''ll run after watching you answer the question."


    "Well I heard something interesting about the hot tub while I was installing it." Jay suddenly exposed me. "Did you put on extra security there because you wanted to soak in it nude?"


    "Well not just me, but yes." I replied casually, not embarrassed about my motives at all.


    "Oh. We should borrow it sometimes." Phil mumbled, which caused Claire to glare at him.


    "Me me me me!" Gloria raised her hand and shouted excitedly, "Are you dating Taylor?"


    "Not at the moment. Alright, last question." I turned to the crowd, and then Phil raised his arms up quickly, "Well... my question is kinda sensitive."


    "I don''t mind it." I replied, as I was controlling the result anyway.


    "Okay then. It can be all of us, or either one of us, but do you have someone here that you find attractive?"


    The crowd ''Oooh'' while Haley blushed, but then I answered casually, "Yeah. I do."


    The beep didn''t go off, and they ''OOOh'' once more. "And it''s Claire." I added, causing Phil to freeze. "And also Gloria." I added again, and Jay froze.


    "And a little bit of Jay." I added once more, causing Jay to shake, and Gloria to froze.


    "What the hell-" Jay cursed, but his lips were curling a bit. Then, I took out the car key that I modified in my pocket and pressed the switch in front of them.


    *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep*


    "AH! You little scoundrel!" Jay grumbled before laughing out loud. "You''ve been lying to us, and manipulating us." Cam muttered in disbelief.


    "That''s horrifying, and also quite ingenious." Claire muttered in astonishment. I made a performer''s bow before saying, "You guys figure out which one is the lie and truth on your own."


    "Oh no mister. You''re not brushing this thing off." Claire grabbed my shirt before I could walk away. Phil was excited and he said quickly, "Claire, you didn''t think I was funny?"


    Claire was taken aback and she said quickly, "What? Phil, I think you''re SOO FUNNY! YOU''RE THE FUNNIEST MAN I''VE EVER MET!"


    "If you really think so, then strap on the lie detector to test it again!" Mitchell asked quickly.


    "Well I''m really thankful that he stopped the show before it got to me." Jay grumbled while sipping his beer.


    My dad finished grilling the meat while I was being admonished by the group of people, and before long, the night sky darkened.


    My friends all gathered inside my house before we moved towards an open field together, at a desolate place outside the neighborhood.


    Jacob and his family were here. Elsa and Jenna came together. Finneas and Billie rode their bikes here along with Enid and Abraham came with his cousin who carried a truckload of fireworks with him.


    "Ummm... Can you guys all stand behind me? Or you know, just generally far far away from here?"


    *Beep* *Beep* *Beep*


    "Ed. Your heart is racing. What''s wrong?" My dad asked in confusion. Haley and my friends had a worried expression on their faces.


    "Nothing. Nothing. I just have a bad feeling being around explosive things." I mumbled as I feared for the worse.


    I honestly don''t know whether having the fire immunity skill was a good thing or a bad thing for me. It made me become very anxious whenever I could think about a possible situation where I could need it.


    "Don''t worry. My cousin is a licensed firework starter!" Abraham shouted in excitement.


    "There''s something like that?" My aunt asked him in astonishment. He shrugged and said, "There is when your name is registered by the police."


    "Are you sure you didn''t mean arsonist?" I asked him jokingly. Then, his cousin lit up the firework, and it flew up into the sky.


    *Boom* *Boom* *Boom*


    A beautiful greenish firework exploded and illuminated the night sky. My nervousness soon lightened as I saw that everything was going well.


    "HE SAID WHAT?" Alex shouted to her dad while the firework was ongoing. "You told my dad Finneas kissed me?!" She shouted at me in anger.


    Finneas was taken aback when he heard it, while Jenna was excited as she heard the tantalizing piece of information/slander.


    I laughed as I was chased by Alex for a while as we watched the fireworks. It took almost 30 minutes for the fireworks to end, and after hanging out with my friends for over 2 hours in that place, we finally retired for the day

 Chapter 159: Wisconsin (1)

    Chapter 159: Chapter 159: Wisconsin (1)


    [General POV]


    "Hi, and you''re back to watching MTV news." The MTV logo turned to a picture of Edward''s leaving the hospital before the concert.


    "Teenage Pop Star Edward Newgate has found himself in a perilous situation yet again when he was rushed to the hospital at midnight before the 4th of July. The details of the situation have been confirmed by our investigation on the scene. Here''s what had happened."


    "Edward Newgate was rushed to the hospital because of a heart failure episode, and he was placed on life support immediately by the doctors. Moment''s before the doctor could announce his time of death, he miraculously woke up from his condition, stunning all the doctors in the world."


    The screen showed the toxicology report of Edward that was leaked purposely by Entertain company to make sure that people wouldn''t accuse Edward of abusing harmful substances.


    "His peculiar condition was nicknamed by the doctors, calling it the ''Sleeping Beauty Syndrome''. It is still uncertain whether or not his situation is harmful to his well being, or if he will have need of another miracle to keep on living."


    "On another note, the Entertain Company had sent out a notice saying that Edward Newgate''s debut album, "Breaking", will be released earlier than previously scheduled, bringing the release date forward to 7th of July."


    "Fans around the world have been sending prayers for Edward Newgate ever since the news first broke out, and we, for one hope that he can get through his predicament and return to the stage in time for his first world tour launch in a few more weeks."


    The screen changed to a clip interview with Robert Downey Jr answering a question about Edward in his Iron Man promotional campaign interview.


    The interviewer asked about Edward''s condition, and RDJ replied with a heavy smile, "Yeah. I called him as soon as I heard the news. He told me he was fine and that people were just exaggerating, so I guess he doesn''t want to make people worry about him."


    "But you did?" The interviewer asked.


    RDJ nodded and said, "Of course. I''m pretty damn worried about him. I even considered barging over there with my Iron Man costume to fulfill his ''make-a-wish'' request, but he was discharged before I could do that."


    The actor wasn''t joking. He really did consider doing so.


    "He told me he needs to wear a heart monitor right now, and most importantly, his condition is no longer life threatening. Like the nickname the doctors gave this new condition, he was actually sleeping the entire time." RDJ continued.


    Then, the screen changed to a clip interview of Taylor after she got out backstage from her concert in Vegas. Taylor was hounded about Edward and whether she was going to see him, but Taylor refused to comment on the subject and walked to her SUV quickly.


    However, the camera recorded her reddish eyes and pale face as she had just gotten the news.


    "Next up, Britney had shown us another shocking action by shaving her head-"


    [Edward POV]


    "You''re a bastard, you know that?" Taylor cursed while Skyping with me in the morning as we watched the MTV interviews together. It wasn''t just l MTV reporting on the celebrity gossip, Edward''s condition and his album release date had been reported by major news channels such as BBC, CNN, etc.


    "Well I''d be stupid if I missed this opportunity." I muttered while shaking my head slightly.


    "I know. That''s why I said you''re a bastard. Do you know how many of your fans are crying right now?" Taylor admonished me.


    To be clear, her reddish eye and upset demeanor after leaving the concert hall was true.


    Her concert ended at 11 pm, and she was resting in the building until she read a text message from Selena telling her what had happened. She wanted to jump on a helicopter and immediately rush to the hospital, but I woke up in time to stop her.


    It took me a lot of effort to convince her that I was fine, and to make sure that she didn''t cancel her fan meet the next day because of me. Although she was doubtful about the authenticity of my words, she calmed down after I requested a favor from Dr House to vouch for me.


    "So, you''re banking on this incident to sell more albums?" Taylor asked with a skeptical look.


    "Obviously." I shrugged and shook my head at the same time. She narrowed her eyes and said, "It''s not what the rumors say... that you''re only doing this because you don''t have much time left right?"


    "Well...who do you think spread the rumors?" I smirked slyly, causing Taylor''s hair to rise behind her neck.


    "You demon! Ugh! You''re seriously a monster! How could I ever be attracted to you?!" Taylor complained seriously. I then leaned forward and flirted, "But you are turned on right now aren''t you?"


    "Stop joking around....and... yes...so come back from Wisconsin soon." She licked her lips before sending me away with a warm smile.


    The decision to take advantage of the chaos was taken arbitrarily after I got back from the hospital. Not only would it do some damage control on the whole incident, it also served as promotional material for my album release... You know what they say, ''When life gives you lemons...''


    And yes, I also agreed with Taylor that my approach was highly unethical since it could be seen as taking advantage of people''s vulnerability and I did have a problem with it at first, but in the end I realized that it helped me to control the narrative myself in what could otherwise be a HUGE problem so I went ahead and did it.


    Also, I had to defend myself in this one. None of the information that I had sent out was untrue...Well except for the rumor. But it wasn''t even me who came out with the theory. I just fanned out the fire by pushing it to the main discussion of the forum thread.


    "Am I really feeling guilty right now? Pull yourself together!" I mumbled to myself before I walked down the stairs while carrying a small luggage. My dad was eating a sandwich that I had made for breakfast before he said, "Okay. Let''s go. Your grandparents have already called me 3 times just this morning to ask if we were on the flight yet."


    "Did you tell her that we can''t use our phones in the air and that we''d call them as soon as we land?" I asked with a puzzled look. My dad was silent for a while before saying, "I...didn''t think of that."


    "Where''s aunt Camila?" I asked after I took a look around. "I want to say goodbye before we leave."


    My dad was hesitant and he grabbed my shoulder, "Well Ed... there''s been a... change of plans."


    My aunt suddenly appeared from behind me with a small bag on her shoulder, "I''M COMING WITH YOU! ISN''T THAT EXCITING!?"


    I scowled after being stunned for a few seconds, "So you''re just coming because you want to keep an eye on me. Honestly, when will this nightmare end!"


    "For all of us, when the doctor finally comes out with a diagnosis. Until then, buckle up." My dad said with a grin. I scoffed and grabbed my sandwich. A driver from my agency picked us up and drove us to the private airport where we would get on the private plane to fly to Wisconsin.


    "What''s that? Reducing Carbon Footprint? I''m sorry. I''m not Greta-"


    "Ed, what are you mumbling about?" My dad asked in confusion while sitting in an aisle in front of me�C sitting face to face with my aunt.


    "Uhhh.." My dad hesitated, "I''ll tell you what''s going on when we get home."


    ...


    After explaining about my situation to my grandparents, my grandmother hugged me for a long time. She didn''t let go for over 20 minutes of burying my face in her bosom.


    "Oh you poor poor child." My grandmother tried to comfort me.


    "I''m actually pretty rich right now." I joked after I could finally breathe.


    "Alright. You go and wash up before we have dinner." My grandmother ordered. Granted it was only 4 pm, but here in the ranch, we had dinner really early, went to sleep soon after but also woke up before sunrise.


    "Which room should I stay in?" I asked in confusion. My grandparents suddenly realized something and looked at each other. "Oh no. There''s only 2 beds left."


    "What?" I was in disbelief. My dad then muttered nervously, "But we have 3 people."


    "It''s fine. Ed can bunk with his cousin Amy like they always did." My grandmother muttered sweetly. A teenage girl suddenly walked towards the living room and was stunned as she heard the statement.


    The red-haired girl with a short stature said hurriedly. "Grandma No! We''re already teenagers! It''s weird for me to bunk with a boy!" She was wearing a black crop shirt and a jean short. She also has a large chain necklace on her neck as she was in her punk era.


    (Jenna Coleman- Amy)


    "And hello to you too." I rolled my eyes at her before saying to my grandmother, "Don''t worry Grandma. I''ll just bunk with Dad."


    "No. Your dad''s bed is a single bed. But there''s a double bed in Amy''s room." My grandmother said in an oblivious manner.


    "Or we can throw him with the cows." My cousin Amy shot me a dirty look.


    "There''s no difference between that and staying in the same room as you." I replied back. She was irritated and almost lunged at me but I held her short head with my arm, making her swing her fist uselessly.


    "Seriously grandma. No." I muttered.


    "Nonsense. It''ll be fine Edward." My grandmother waved her hand dismissively as she had already made the decision. My grandpa then threw my luggage inside the room before I could say anything to him.


    " This is going to be a long 5 days." I rubbed my face in frustration before going to wash up before dinner.


    "Oh, I should tell you. I invited Miss Allison from church to join us today." My grandmother said before walking away.


    "Who''s Miss Allison?" I was confused.


    "Just a new friend of mine. She moved here from New York to teach the kindergarten here, and everyone in the town loves her!" My grandmother replied.


    "Well we''ll see about that later." I muttered suspiciously.


    *Ding Dong*


    Suddenly the doorbell rang. My grandmother clasped her hand in excitement and went to open up the door in a hurry.


    "Hi Jules. You''re looking even prettier today." The energetic woman wearing a pink cardigan said excitedly as she was welcomed into the house. I widened my eyes in shock as she was incredibly gorgeous and also quite familiar.


    ''Jennifer Garner? How...Why?...WHAT?!'' My mind was a mess as I saw her.


    She looked at me and suddenly gasped, "Prince Edward?!"


    "Who? Ah right. You''re famous now?" My cousin said sarcastically as Jennifer Garner�C I meant Miss Amy was stunned to see me. Allison shook her head quickly to snap herself back to reality and said, "Edward Newgate. Hi. It''s a pleasure to meet you."


    "Hi. Miss Allison. You''re incredibly pretty. And I can guess why my grandmother invited you here, but right now I get a feeling that I might want want to compete with my dad-"


    "Ed. Don''t say nonsense." My aunt stopped me hurriedly. "Also. Ted. Wipe that drool off your face."


    "Hi. I''m Camila." My aunt then introduces herself calmly. "You must be Edward''s fan?"


    "Oh yes. I''d also followed him on Instagram, Twitter, Forum...and I''m even in his fan club." Allison said in embarrassment.


    "Oh Edward? You''re THAT famous?" My grandmother asked in surprise. My grandad was nonchalant and he asked, "You''re making decent money?"


    "Yes. And Yes." I replied casually. "Now. Where''s that brisket?" I rubbed my hands together in anticipation. My grandmother laughed and told me she was proud of me for a few more minutes before we could finally get to the meat.


    I met my aunt May at the dinner table, which in case you''re curious, she didn''t actually look like Melissa Tomei, but just looked like a younger version of my grandmother.


    "Ed. Do you want to say grace?" My grandmother said as we held hands together at the dinner table. My grandma was a hardcore baptist, but the rest of the family not so much.


    "No thanks." I shook my head, causing my grandma''s head to droop in disappointment.


    "I can lead it grandma." My cousin said hurriedly.


    "Suck up." I whispered to her.


    "Sell out." She whispered back.


    "Alright. No concert tickets for you then."


    "NOOO! I want to go!" She quickly changed her attitude and begged me.

 Chapter 160: Wisconsin (2) - Awkward Dinner.

    Chapter 160: Chapter 160: Wisconsin (2) - Awkward Dinner.


    [Edward POV]


    I had a melancholic feeling in my stomach as I sat at the long dinner table together with my extended family members.


    My grandpa was sitting at the head of the table with my grandmother next to him, on the same side as my Aunt May, the teacher and myself.


    On the other side was my dad, Camila, and also my annoying cousin Amy. There was an empty seat for my uncle Aaron, my other cousin and my uncle-in-law�� Amy''s dad, Jim.


    "Where''s Uncle Jim?" I asked my aunt May as I passed the bread to Allison.


    My aunt smiled proudly and said, "Well he''s taking Maggie to California to visit her college. He''ll be back tomorrow. Ohhh I''m so proud of her!"


    I furrowed my eyebrow and said, "Oh, she''s got into Santa Clara right. That''s only an hour away from our house. By the way, why didn''t you tell me? They can ride back here with us."


    My grandmother interrupted, "Oh it''s fine. They bought the tickets a month ago. I don''t want them to go to waste."


    "Well you can actually get a refund, and then ride home for free." I said with a smirk.


    My grandparents and my aunt were confused. I asked them, "How do you think we got here?"


    "You bought a ticket...Right?" My grandpa asked.


    "Edward''s got a plane." My aunt Camila blurted out.


    "YOU GOT A PLANE?!" My grandmother shouted in disbelief.


    "Hey! I wanted to say that." I laughed at my aunt while the rest of my family was stunned. "So Grandma and Grandpa, if you want to go somewhere. Just give me a heads up and I''ll arrange it for you."


    "As long as it doesn''t interfere with his performance schedule." My dad added.


    "(Mockingly) As LoNg aS iT dOesn''t interfere-" My cousin was murmuring by herself, so I catapulted a green pea at her using a spoon.


    "Hey. You little-"


    "You''re the one who''s little now Strawberry Shortcake." I interjected. She hmph''ed and pouted before saying, "I haven''t hit puberty yet."


    "Your growth spurt started 2 years ago. Admit it. This is as far as you''ll grow!"


    "Ed. Don''t tease Amy so much. She will cry." My aunt said gently. I nodded at her and said, "Well she used to tease me a lot in the past. Now, she has to experience the consequences of her actions."


    My cousin sneered and said, "A nice way of saying that you could NEVER beat me before, so you can only use your newfound height to suppress me."


    "Yes." I said while pointing at her. She got irritated but I ignored her response.


    My dad smiled as we heard her. Granted, I did succumb to her bullying a few years back, but it wasn''t a hostile bullying situation, and the main reason I always lost was because my dad asked me to be gentle when dealing with a little girl.


    "What about Uncle Aaron?" I asked.


    Amy was playing with her food before she said, "Didn''t you hear?"


    "Huh? What happened to him?"


    "Well he got divorced. His wife was cheating on him with the town pastor." Amy spilled the tea. I widened my eyes in surprise then my grandmother cleared her throat and said, "Amy please. Not in front of the guest."


    "Well I guess she''s been calling him ''Daddy'' instead of ''Father'' then huh..." I added, causing my grandmother to look at me in disbelief while Amy was laughing.


    Allison laughed awkwardly as my grandmother smiled at her.


    "So Ed. How rich are you now?" My grandpa asked to change the subject.


    "I could live comfortably for a few years even if I stopped now." I replied. My granddad nodded his head in approval and said, "Just don''t lose yourself in your riches. That''s the most important thing."


    "Sam, you''re not asking him more about the plane?" My grandmother asked in both shock and anger.


    "Well what''s more to ask? He got a plane." My granddad replied in a tired manner.


    "So Allison. Tell me about yourself." I asked in a magnetic voice as I looked at the Jennifer Garner look alike who sat next to me at the long dinner table. She blushed a bit and brushed her hair behind her ear while I kept staring at her face intently.


    "Edward, you''re making her feel uncomfortable." My grandmother said in a scolding manner.


    I pretended to have a realization and asked, "Oh...Did I really? I''m sorry Miss Allison."


    "Oh. No. I''m not uncomfortable at all!" Miss Allison spoke quickly. I turned to my grandmother with a grin, "See? She''s not uncomfortable at all."


    My grandmother rolled her eyes before getting back to her food while I flirted with the kindergarten teacher.


    "Well, I am currently teaching a kindergarten class in town. And I just moved here a month ago. Um...What else? What else? Oh right, I love my job, and I hope that the kids in my class will warm up to me soon. Most of the boys seem to avoid me, and I''m not quite sure why."


    She was excited about her job, and it was clear to see on her face. Her dimple caught my eyes and my heart couldn''t help but skip a beat as she accidentally met my gaze.


    "It''s because they have a crush on you." I muttered, causing her to widen her eyes before blushing. "No they don''t." She shook her head shyly.


    "No. I''m sure that they do. I can say confidently that 9 out of 10 boys in the class have a crush on you. Hell I would''ve had a crush on you if you were my teacher." I maintained eye contact while slowly pouring the wine in her glass.


    "It''s hard not too when you see the perfect woman in front of you." I added.


    "You''re kidding." Miss Allison said as she fanned her hot face, and let me tell you it wasn''t just because she had eaten my grandmother''s spicy chili.


    "What about the 1/10?" My cousin interjected, destroying the mood.


    "Well that one is already falling in love. Unlike you who has stunted development. Also, eat your peas and no meddling, the adults are talking."


    She grimaced and smacked the table, "I''m older than you!"


    I scoffed and said, "By 3 days. And when you think about it it''s not surprising you were born on April 1st given how big of a joke you are."


    She gasped while Miss Allison was chuckling. Seeing that she was humiliated in front of a guest she kinda likes, she exploded.


    "Oh that''s it. You and me. Outside, right now!" She stood up quickly and slammed her napkin on her empty table. I smiled but before I could answer, my dad interjected, "Amy. Can I please ask you, as a personal favor, not to wrestle with Ed today?"


    "But-"


    "Dad, it''s fine. I want to take my revenge after all these years of getting bullied by her. Now that I''ve hit puberty, she has lost her chance to win against me in a fair fight."


    She scoffed and said, "Who said I''m going to fight fairly?" She gazed at my crotch which alarmed me a little bit. It made me understand that I would need to protect my weak part in the fight after this.


    "Amy. Please sit." My aunt said in a stern manner, unbecoming of her temperament. I furrowed my eyebrow in irritation while Amy was shaken and she sat down obediently after that.


    My grandmother was concerned, "Amy. They''re kids. And apparently no homecoming is complete without Amy and Edward fighting each other."


    "But you know what just happened to Edward." My aunt muttered, causing me to frown.


    "I''m fine, Aunt May. Don''t worry about me. It was nothing." I replied to her, but my dad interrupted me.


    [Flashback 5 years ago]


    A young Edward with a messy wolf cut hairstyle opened the fridge and took out a box of Eggo (Frozen Waffle Brand), only to find it was empty.


    He looked at the young Amy who was eating the waffle in front of the TV and said, "Did you eat the last Eggo and put the empty box back into the fridge?"


    "Yeah." Amy replied non-committedly. She then smiled and said instigatively, "That must suck huh Vivaldi?"


    "You played with my feelings. I was excited to have an Eggo on my last morning here, but you ruined it with your devil-tainted pranks. I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU FOR THIS."


    Seemingly challenged by Edward''s declaration, Amy muttered, "Oh yeah? Then how about this?"


    She then dropped the half-eaten waffle on the floor on purpose right in front of Edward''s angry gaze.


    [Flashback ends]


    "So...your fight started since then?" Haley muttered in disbelief.


    "Yeah. That''s why you should never test me with food stuff. Especially the sweet ones I could never have when I get back home. As I just showed I do hold a really long grudge about that." I explained.


    "You know what? I want to say be mature, but I''m sure you''ll already know better." Haley muttered. "Mom''s here. I have to go."


    "Alright. I''ll call you tomorrow?" I stood up and tried to figure out which way Amy went.


    "And don''t you dare forget about it!" Haley said before ending the call.


    ...


    I searched all over the house before walking to the barn and then the stables, but I couldn''t find where Amy had run off too.


    "Damn that midget." I cursed before I met Apollo, our Shepherd dog who was taking care of the goats.


    "Hey Big guy. Long time no see." I petted the old dog for a while, causing him to wag his tail in excitement. "Do you know where Amy went?" I asked the dog.


    He then turned his head to the direction of the hill. I sighed and asked, "Can you lead me to her?"


    He nodded and walked in front of me a few steps before stopping and turning his head back to make sure that I was following him. We walked for over 1o minutes before I could finally see where Amy had gone.


    She was sitting inside a tire swing under an oak tree, wiping her tears with the back of her hand as she processed her emotion.


    "Amy?" I called out. She was surprised to see me there, "Go away Ed. I know you don''t like me too." Apollo left me behind and went towards Amy before he put his head on her feet, trying to cheer her up.


    "Too? Who else doesn''t like you? That privilege is reserved just for me, so I need to know who dares to try and snatch it." I joked as I walked close to her, but a murderous glint shined in my eyes. I


    She was silent, so I tried to persuade her, "Come on. Talk to me."


    "No." She pouted and turned her head away to avoid looking at my face.


    "Come on. I''m sorry I called you a demonic midget. That''s unfair. You''re not a demon." I said.


    "BUT I AM A MIDGET?!" She shouted incredulously before standing up, "You have a lot of nerve calling me that after you ignored me for almost 3 years! Now you''re back, and you hate me, and my stomach is cramping�C and my sister is going away, and everything has changed, and I don''t know what to do."


    Her chin quivered and her eyes were red, but she stared at me right in the face as if telling me that all that was happening to her was actually my fault.


    I was stunned for a bit and then I smiled wryly, "Well I''m sorry for the part where I got something to do with it."


    "As if! You must be pretty happy right now! With your singing career taking off, your private plane, dating a star- I hope that you''ll choke on the heroin you''re pushing up your nose."


    "I haven''t done drugs yet though." I replied casually. "Also, I said I''m sorry. What more do you want?"


    She was irritated and she stood up, "Come at me."


    "Huh?" I was confused when I saw her getting into a stance.


    "I always knew one day you''d be taller than me, so I''ve been learning martial arts to take you down when it happens."


    "Oh. Good for you."


    "STOP BEING SO SMIRKY! I''ll throw you down on the floor... But I need you to lunge at me first as I haven''t learned how to do it when you''re standing yet!"


    I laughed out loud and said, "Give up. I also have a black belt in martial arts."


    She widened her eyes in surprise and said, "Really.... FFFFFFFUUUUUUUCCCCCKKKKKK!!!!!!"


    I waited for her to vent out her emotion first before saying, "Let''s go back. I''ll pop some Eggo into the microwave for you, how does that sound?''


    "I''m not a child!" She scoffed before her eyes shook in hesitation, "Will you put some whipped cream on it too?"


    "As much as you want." I promised.


    She then thought for a while and then said, "Okay. But one more word about my height, and I swear to god that I''ll throw you down this hill."


    She saw my smirking face and then her face turned horrified.


    "I''ll tell Grandma that you used god''s name in vain."


    "What? No I Didn''t! EDDY!"


    I walked away quickly and she had to run after me from behind to make sure that I didn''t rat her out to our grandmother. Apollo followed us around in excitement as we walked back to our house.


    From her little tantrum episode, I noticed one thing. If you asked me what the Dunphy''s were doing, and how their life was going, I could answer it all in detail.


    But when it comes to my own family, I didn''t know a damn thing about what was going on in their lives right now.


    I didn''t know that Amy had become more introverted after her boy friends didn''t want to play with her anymore once they hit puberty, so she had been feeling quite left out.


    I didn''t know that Uncle Aaron had a divorce, which was a pretty big deal for me not to know anything about. I should help him get back on his feet soon. And also while I was helping, maybe I could convince him to bring me to a strip club.


    "Well, I hope tomorrow will be better." I muttered before going to sleep.


    ...


    The sky was still dark out when a loud rooster crow suddenly startled me from my sleep. Amy almost fell from the top bunk in surprise and I sat up hurriedly. Then we both turned to the corner of our room where a dumb looking rooster had infiltrated too.


    "How in the hell?" I muttered in confusion, not knowing how the rooster managed to get in.


    My grandpa barged into the room before we could collect ourselves and said, "Mornin''. Brush your teeth and meet me at the barn. The cows are not going to milk themselves."


    "Ugh." I groaned and fell back on the bed.


    "Now Ed." My grandpa ordered.


    "This kind of ''tomorrow'' isn''t any better." I groaned as I reluctantly left my bed.

 Chapter 161: Vacation time.

    Chapter 161: Chapter 161: Vacation time.?


    (Hi. Sorry It''s a Holiday In my country. And also I was punched in the face, so I was resting for a while LoL. I had queued up Chapters to be uploaded till Monday, so there will be continuous one Chapter per day. If it wasn''t uploaded at the time I normally did, then the timer did something wrong and just ping me at my discord channel.


    Discord link : https://discord.gg/72GxvxYG )


    [Edward POV]


    "How could you drag him into the barn first thing in the morning Sam? He''s a growing boy. He''s supposed to get some more sleep!" My grandma touched my face affectionately as we sat at the breakfast table.


    It was only 5.30 in the morning, and there wasn''t anyone else there as they hadn''t woken up yet. Amy tried to wake up before, but she fell asleep in the bathroom, so I just left her there with the toothbrush still in her mouth.


    Grandpa wasn''t feeling guilty at all and said excitedly,"You should''ve seen when he was milking Daisy (the cow). She was shooting milk like a fountain. She''d never done that before. We got buckets of milk from Ed''s efforts alone."


    "Alone? You didn''t make him do all the work, did you?" My grandma asked suspiciously.


    "Uhh..." My grandpa hesitated and looked at me for help, so I complied, "Yes he did Grandma. He was just standing there doing nothing. He also tried to make me milk a bull, but I was too smart to fall for that."


    Well I was helping, but I didn''t say that I was going to help him.


    "SAM!" My grandma asked in shock. My grandpa smiled and waved it off, "Ed. You''re coming with me to see the horses this afternoon."


    I was a bit hesitant, "You''re not going to make me jerk them off will you? Cause I got to tell you, I''m not going to do that... Not in a million years."


    "Well you''ll do it if you''re desperate enough." My grandpa said with a grin. "But that wasn''t it. You still remember Stud right?"


    I thought back and realized, "Oh yeah. He''s supposed to be my horse."


    "Yeah. He''s supposed to be growing up with you. But right now, he''s already a full grown horse."


    "It has been almost 3 years. I wonder if he still remembers me." I muttered casually as I ate the pancake my grandmother had made. Her secret recipe was to cook it in bacon grease, which made me devour 3 plates of pancakes right before my dad woke up.


    He sat at the breakfast table and my grandmother served him coffee. "What about mine?" I asked her mischievously. She smiled in confusion while pouring a cup of coffee for me, "You drink coffee Ed?"


    "He''s drinking more coffee than me per day. But you shouldn''t drink coffee right now. We''re going to the hospital after this." My dad interjected before turning to my grandma, "So no coffee for him mom."


    I snatched the coffee from my grandmother''s hand and muttered casually, "No need to worry. I already emailed the monitor''s data to Dr House."


    My dad and grandparents were surprised, although my dad''s reaction was leaning more toward irritability.


    "You''re supposed to let the doctor handle it, Ed." Dad said scoldingly.


    I scrunched my eyebrow and said annoyedly, "I don''t want to drive 3 hours back and forth to the hospital just for them to do something that I could do by myself. I could do it right here using a simple laptop and an adapter. Dr House already said that it was okay when he got the email so I don''t know what you''re angry about."


    "Ed is right Ted. Do you really want to waste 3 hours on the road?" My grandpa backed me up. "You could''ve spent that time working."


    I nodded in agreement while my grandmother looked at both me and my grandpa in disbelief.


    "Well if you STOPPED working and relax for once Sam your grandson wouldn''t be like this!" My grandma started to nag.


    "I''m going to wake Amy up." I ran to my room quickly while holding my cup of coffee.


    "Young Man! I haven''t finished talking!" My grandma shouted from afar before shooting my grandpa a dirty look. He was smiling as he was proud of me, but his face turned fearful as he saw grandma''s unhappy gaze.


    "I should get to the barn." He excused himself.


    ...


    [General POV]


    "I don''t know what else to do. He won''t stop working." Ted complained to his step-mother after Edward and Sam had left the breakfast table. "I thought I could make him get some rest over here. But he brings all of his work with him."


    Jules then sat in front of Ted, leaning slightly forward as she held her arm, "Well Honey. You''re his dad. If you don''t want him to do something, then just say it."


    "It''s not that simple. Whenever we have this little tiff about work, I can''t seem to win any argument he is making."


    "That''s the problem!" Jules slapped Ted''s arm, "You''re ASKING him to."


    "Well isn''t that what a father should do?" Ted replied, confused.


    "No. You''re his dad. As long as he lives under your roof, he should listen to what you are telling him to do." Jules advised, however wrong the advice was.


    "Then he would actually buy a new house and move out." Ted replied knowingly. "I can''t do that to him. He hates being restricted the most."


    "Well...Hmm...Maybe I can ask Amy to show him around town. A lot has changed since he last got here. Also, when Maggie arrives, she can keep an eye on him. You know how Edward always had a crush on her."


    "I don''t think that''ll work anymore." Ted replied while sipping his beer.


    Jules smiled slyly, "Oh trust me, when he sees her it''ll definitely work. But in the meantime, maybe you could prevent him from working by...I don''t know... forgetting to put his laptop in his luggage?"


    Ted didn''t catch the hint, "But he packed his suit on his own."


    Jules shoot him a look, "But...Mayyyybeee....He- Ted I don''t know why you''re not getting it. Just take his laptop away!"


    "AHH! Right, right."


    Amy suddenly appeared behind Ted, scaring him as she spoke, "I smell pancakes."


    "Amy, go spit out your toothpaste first and finish brushing your teeth!" Grandma Jules scolded as the toothbrush was still in her mouth.


    Amy took the toothbrush off and said casually, "Also. I don''t think that''ll work. He''s already on his his laptop right now, working on his apps ."


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Luckily for me, my dad didn''t tape my laptop shut like Phil was going to do in the future. He just took it away, and said that he would give it to me after dinner. In the meantime, I needed to act like an actual teenager, and go outside of the house to play.


    Therefore, I hotwired my uncle''s pickup truck and drove to town with Amy.


    "We''re going to be in so much trouble!" Amy muttered with concern. "I love it!" Her face changed up instantly as she enjoyed the drive.


    "Also, don''t use the road by the creek. Sherif Miller usually stays out there." She advised.


    I furrowed my eyebrow in confusion and asked, "Why should I avoid him?"


    She looked at me in disbelief, "Because...You don''t have a license?"


    "Reach into my pocket." I said casually.


    Amy almost did it but stopped and pulled herself back quickly, "You''re not tricking me. Grandma said that a girl should never do that if a guy told her to do it."


    "What am I going to do? Make you touch my penis? My license is in my pocket." I replied in disbelief before getting my cash clip together with a DMV card out by myself.


    "Please don''t say penis in front of me. Ever again." She warned me.


    I gave her a knowing look and said, "Sure. But that means that you''re going to think of me when you''re in places other than the shower. And that does sound exciting for me."


    She widened her eyes before chuckling at my teasing, "You shouldn''t flirt like that. I''m already an old woman." She pressed my nose with her finger as if to show she was angry, but her smile betrayed what she was truly feeling.


    "You''re in your 20''s. Big deal-" I said before she was slipping on some spilled soap, and almost fell on her back.


    I grabbed her by the waist quickly and pulled her towards me. The inertia caused her to fall on top of me in the bathtub, and the shower head was turned on as I had hit the faucet.


    Her dress became wet and started to stick on her body. I turned to her and asked, "Are you okay?" while the water was still running on my head. Both of us became wet while she rubbed her leg and said, "Oww...It doesn''t hurt much."


    She was looking incredibly sexy with her skirt riding up and her bosom constantly getting wetter.


    "Umm...We should get up." She said in embarrassment as she caught my gaze on her chest. I cleared my throat and said, "Yeah. I''ll grab you a towel."


    "Thank you Ed." She said with a blush. We locked eyes and I lowered my gaze towards her lips. Her bosom heaved up and down as she closed her lips with mine. She closed her eyes as she waited, and when I was going for the kiss, suddenly, my phone rang.


    "Ahh damn it." I cursed as Miss Allison managed to collect herself and pull herself back from the distraction.


    "Y-Y-Y-You should get that." She said while she was running away. After she left the bathroom, I picked up the call angrily and asked, "What do you want?"


    "The truck." My grandpa muttered with a teasing tone. "Did I interrupt something good?"


    "Yeah. Something really good." I complained.


    "Oh I''m not going to be sorry for that." My grandpa replied, "I need the pickup truck to pick up your Uncle Jim and your cousin from the airport."


    "Ah right. Are they almost here?" I asked while rubbing my face.


    "Yeah. That''s why I''m calling you." My grandpa said casually.


    "Alright. Hey, just a thought. Why don''t I go to pick up Uncle Jim and Maggie from the airport?"


    "The car only seats 3. But I think you can squeeze in 4 people there." My grandpa replied after thinking for a while.


    Between driving for 2 hours to pick up his family from the airport and work on his farm, it was stupid for him to say no to the offer. He didn''t even ask me if I had a license. He only cared whether I could drive the car or not.


    I told Miss Allison about the pick up. "I''ll come by and finish up tomorrow."


    "Ah no need. I can finish the rest by myself." She replied as if she didn''t want me to stay there any longer.


    "Are you sure?" I asked as I looked around, "The wallpaper is going to be a lot of work."


    "It''s fine. Really. I can''t thank you enough Edward." She muttered.


    "Oh. We got back to ''Edward''. That''s disheartening. I kinda like it when you call me Ed sweetly." I flirted.


    She held back a squeal and spoke in a shaky voice, "Well, I-I-I''m not going to be here tomorrow. I''m thinking about going on the hiking trail-"


    "Oh. The hiking trail. I''ve never been on that. So we going on a hike tomorrow?"


    "Uh..Yes?" She was confused, but agreed nonetheless.


    "Great. I''ll see you tomorrow. And, I''ll leave my phone number here. So call me tonight when you settle on a time." I replied with a sweet smile before leaving with Amy.


    We saw Miss Allison in a daze as we waved at her from the door, and I chuckled as I thought she was adorable.


    ...


    It was around lunch time when I got home after picking up my family. Uncle Jim has a similar appearance to Stanley Tucci, but his mustache was thicker. He has a balding head, and a fit body despite being in his 50''s.


    And Maggie was a good Christian girl, dressed in modest clothing, who always had a sunshine smile on her face while being in front of the adults.


    (Maggie- Abigail Cowen)


    "I''m starving." Amy said.


    "Oh, we should stop by a restaurant. I''m starving too." Uncle Jim replied as he took over driving the car.


    I was nagged by him for a while as Amy ratted me out, despite him initially falling for my fake license card and applauding me for taking the initiative to pick them up. I saved this grudge in my ''Amy book of mishaps'' and I will make sure to settle the score with her later.


    "And after I bought you the t-shirts." I said while wearing a Badger''s football team shirt myself. I even bought a new pair of pants after my previous one got wet in Miss Allison''s bathtub.


    She stuck her tongue at me while Maggie smiled at the both of us.


    The restaurant we were stopping by was close to the airport, and I offered to pay for the food in exchange for Uncle Jim to let my fake driving license go. He accepted the offer readily before he started to brag about Maggie''s impossible achievements!


    I was sitting next to Amy while Uncle Jim and Maggie were sitting right next to us.


    "Oh. I really didn''t think Maggie could get into college at times, especially after she burned down the barn, smoking with her friends, and told me the cows did it...I had already given up hope. But she actually performed a miracle." He hugged his daughter proudly as she sat there in embarrassment.


    "Or when she called the deepest point on earth the Marinara Trench." I chimed in.


    "Or when she thought Y2K was a band and not a computer virus." Amy added.


    "No one asked for your input." Maggie rolled her eyes.


    "Oh. I have to go to the toilet first before we drive back." Uncle Jim shook his legs slightly before running to the back of the restaurant.


    After we saw he was out of sight, all of us leaned in closer before Maggie said, "Okay. So I guess you guys can already guess. I didn''t really get into college?"


    Amy and I looked at each other before we turned to look at Maggie together, "Yeah." x2.


    "I''m wondering how you managed to trick uncle Jim and how are you planning to keep that up when you''re supposed to be already there. I can''t believe he''s not suspecting anything." I asked.


    Maggie smiled and explained, "I gave money to a college boy to act as a student guide, and I also made out with him a little bit so that he''d be more motivated."


    Amy and I nodded in understanding before I asked, "Why are you in California?"


    Maggie couldn''t hide her grin, "I HAD AN AUDITION! I''M GOING TO BE AN ACTRESS!"


    "Really? That''s so cool!" Amy said excitedly.


    "I know right?!" Maggie shouted before looking around guiltily to make sure her father wasn''t listening.


    "Oh, what kind of movie was it?" I asked her.


    "Well they haven''t decided on a name yet. But they said that they are going to hire me. They even gave me a huge signing fee!"


    "Oh. Do you have a contract? Can I see it?" I asked her with a smile, but I was feeling uneasy inside.


    "Sure. But don''t let dad see it." Maggie said and reached towards her bag before giving me a stack of papers. I read it while nodding my head, causing Amy and Maggie to be expectant.


    "Right? It''s awesome right?" Maggie added again.


    I pretended to be calm, "Yeah. It is awesome. If your aim was to be a PORN STAR!"

 Chapter 162: Summer Beverage.

    Chapter 162: Chapter 162: Summer Beverage.


    [Edward POV]


    "What''s wrong with you all?" Uncle Jim was confused when he got back to the deathly silent table after emptying his small bladder.


    "NOTHING...EVERYTHING''S FINE!" Maggie replied with an ashen face, and her tone became weirdly high pitched. Her chin quivered, as if to prevent herself from crying, but she still tried to hide the matter.


    "A-Alright then. Let''s go- Wait. I''ll smoke my cigarette first."


    "Then we''ll stay right here." I replied with a smile, and a better acting than Maggie was currently doing. Uncle Jim was a bit relieved and said, "Okay. You cousins catch up! I''ll call you when I''m done."


    "Alright." I nodded at him. He wanted to speak to Maggie and Amy, but he saw that they were ignoring him, so he just awkwardly walked away.


    The second Uncle Jim was gone, Amy and I scolded at the same time.


    Amy whispered angrily, "What the hell were you thinking?!"


    " How could you not notice it was for porn!?" I scolded.


    "I-I...THEY GAVE ME A LOT OF MONEY!" Maggie tried to defend herself, but we rolled our eyes at her in disbelief.


    I kept reading the contract in concern while asking, "Did they have any videos of you yet?"


    "WHAT? NOOO!" Maggie answered in disbelief.


    "Hey you''re the one who signed up to be a pornstar! I''m just trying to fix it!" I scolded her angrily.


    "Can it still be fixed?" Maggie asked with teary eyes. "I didn''t even take off my clothes when I got to the audition before. They just said that they liked me, gave me the money, and next thing I know they are saying they want me in Europe next week."


    "It''s their common M.O." I explained. "They got a clause in here that said if you want to cancel the contract, you need to pay 10 times the signing fee."


    "And also, flying you to Europe is to isolate you from people that could help you when they try to pressure you later. ''Cause they can''t really force you to do it. But they can pressure and blackmail you. It''s morally wrong, but it was still legal within the scope of the law."


    (Based on a true syndicate in our world that still roams free even though they had ruined the lives of countless girls.)


    Amy cried and said aggrievedly, "How can they get away with it?"


    "Simple. Money. Maggie, although I do think you''d make a decent pornstar, is it really something that you want to do?" I asked with hesitation as I met her gaze.


    Maggie was furious, "HOW CAN ANYONE!?"


    I nodded and said coyly, "Right. Also to be honest, if I had a cousin who actually did this thing, it would be horrible for my own image. So...I''ll help you cancel the contract."


    Maggie grabbed my arms tightly and gazed into my eyes, "Are you sure?"


    "Yeah. Give me the signing fee. I''ll do something about it." I said with a sigh. This situation made me thankful that I had come to Wisconsin for a break. Or else, I might have caught a huge blow when I saw my cousin in an adult videos website.


    Maggie then avoided my eyes guiltily. I narrowed my eyes at her and asked in suspicion, "You still have the money right?"


    "I-I"


    Amy interjected, "They gave you 20 grand. Of course it''s still there...right? I mean. You can''t spend 20 grand in just a few days. It''s impossible...isn''t it?"


    Maggie''s chin quivered again and she said, "It...it''s gone."


    "ALL OF IT?!" Amy shouted in confusion. "What did you do with it?"


    "Prada, Gucci, Channel, or all of the above?" I asked.


    "All." Maggie lowered her head. "But that isn''t all there was. I also put down a deposit on a house, and paid the rent for 6 months!"


    "Oh. So you''re still sensible with your money." I nodded as I heard it. "Wait...This is all a part of your fake college thingy right?"


    "Yeah." Maggie replied in a tiny voice while Amy glared at her. "I also used that money to pay off the student guide to trick Dad..."


    "Impressive." I muttered mockingly while I glared at her.


    "Well if it wasn''t a pornstar contract, it COULD have been." Maggie dropped her head on the table.


    "You know if I want to cancel the contract, I''d have to fork out 200 grand plus legal fees. How are you going to pay me back?"


    Maggie and Amy froze.


    I continued, "You don''t think I''m doing this for free do you?"


    "W-W-" Maggie stammered and couldn''t find the words.


    "If you can''t, then I''m going to have to get the money from your dad-"


    "PLEASE Don''t! I''ll try to get the money! Please Help me Ed!" Maggie begged.


    I sighed after I was done teasing the almost crying girl. Even though my dad and I just won the lottery, and I had over 30 millions dollars in my personal account �C after making investments here and there, I didn''t think I had it in me to do some more charity.


    "Girls. Ed. Let''s go." Uncle Jim called, causing the conversation to be halted.


    As we got into the car, Uncle Jim suddenly said, "Now that we''ve filled up, it felt a bit cramped in here. Amy, why don''t you get into Edward''s lap so that we can have more space."


    "I''m not doing that." Amy replied begrudgingly. "Maybe Maggie can do it."


    "Yeah. Like the beginning of a very...special...video." I muttered whisperingly, causing Maggie to blush.


    "Huh? What was that?" Uncle Jim asked in confusion.


    "Nothing." X3


    We smiled awkwardly at him, and were silent on the whole ride home before we continued the conversation in Amy and I''s room.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Inside the Entertain Company building, CEO''s office.


    "Okay. Email me the contract. I''ll handle it." Harvey said while she was on a call with Edward.


    "I can dig out the dirt on these guys. Can your prosecutor friend get them locked up? They are targeting a lot of people." Edward asked Harvey with concern.


    Harvey shook her head, "These types of people are like eels. They are slimy and dangerous. It''s better to just cut the ties with them. Who knows what kind of backer they have."


    Edward sighed.


    Harvey then continued, "Your album release is tomorrow. I don''t think you should get involved in this Ed. Because legally, they are untouchable unless you can destroy them at the root."


    "Hmm... Then, if I tracked down the entire network, maybe we can do something about it right?"


    "I''m not recommending you to do so. It''ll take a lot of money to hire private investigators-"


    "It''s okay. It''s just a thought. Maybe I will do something, maybe I won''t." Edward muttered with a chuckle.


    Harvey nodded in satisfaction and asked, "What did the doctor say? A lot of people on the internet are already praying for you who died a few days ago, so I''d like it if you can get back on screen soon."


    "There''s no rumours like that. Don''t lie to me." Edward scoffed.


    "Oh. Right." Amy was startled and she did her role quickly.


    "Well the lawyer said she''s going to take care of it. So you can take your mind off it." I muttered as I bought land and built a house on the board.


    Maggie just rolled the dice absent-mindedly and said, "Oh. Okay. Good. But what about the money?"


    "What about it?"


    "How am I going to pay it back?" Maggie asked while biting her lip in frustration.


    "You''re an adult now. How do you think you can pay it back?" I asked.


    Amy was silently watching the whole thing, and felt that the atmosphere there had become a little bit weird.


    Maggie thought deeply for a while, and Amy and I could almost see the smoke coming out of her flushing face as she never used her brain all that much.


    "I give up- Wait. I can be your girlfriend. And then the debt is off!" Maggie suggested her brilliant idea.


    I scoffed and said, "Are you forgetting who I actually am?? If girls were what I wanted, do you really think I couldn''t just get them? "


    Amy rolled her eyes at me and muttered, "That''s douchey."


    "A little bit. Yes." I turned to Amy while nodding a bit in agreement. "See Maggie. Not only do you owe me, you also turned me into a douche."


    Amy was silent for a while before she spoke, "Maggie. I know you don''t want to hear this, but I really think you should tell mom and dad."


    "Why? So that they will disown me?" Maggie teared up again.


    "No. But, it''s better than letting Ed take the responsibility. He''s the same age as me, you know?" Amy coaxed.


    I had no objection to what Amy said. To be honest, it wasn''t my burden to carry. It was Maggie''s.


    I was only helping her because I could. Even if I really had a cousin who became a porn star, I don''t think it''d matter much to my reputation�C except with the conservatives in this country. But who cares what they think?


    Maggie was silent for a while before she realized that she had been dependent on me.


    "Of course, you can still wait to tell them after I break the contract. No rush." I muttered.


    Maggie nodded a bit before she smiled softly and said, "Are you sure you don''t want me to be your girlfriend?"


    "Ewww...Isn''t that like incest or something." Amy curled her lip in disgust as she shot Maggie a dirty look.


    "It''s not. We''re not really related. We are half...related...right?" Maggie asked me.


    "How should I know?" I retorted.


    "Well grandma is not your dad''s mom, so he and my mom are only half-siblings. So it''s like, we''re half cousins. If you don''t want me to date me alone, you can add Amy into the mix." Maggie instigated.


    "No thank you." I muttered quickly. Amy looked at me in bewilderment before arguing, "I was going to say no, but why did you say no? Am I not pretty enough for you?"


    "Yeah." I nodded calmly, causing Amy to sulk and Maggie to burst out in laughter.


    "Alright Maggie. You land in my plot. So you need to pay rent." I said after Maggie rolled the dice.


    "Oh. I don''t have enough money for rent." Maggie said in a teasing manner. "Do you accept other methods of payment?" She said while unbuttoning the top of her blouse, revealing her supple-white chest.


    "Maybe. What kind of payment are you thinking of?" I didn''t back down. Maggie crawled purposely while locking eyes with me, and before she could touch my thigh, Amy interjected by kicking her body away, causing her to fall on her side.


    "STOP THAT YOU SLUT!" Amy shouted.


    I laughed before I said to Maggie who was in pain, "By the way. You really have acting talent."


    "Oh. You think so?" Maggie asked in excitement.


    "Yeah. Acting talent for pornography." I added, causing Maggie to attack me with her legs. However, as I fend myself off, I accidentally elbowed Amy''s chest.


    "Oww It hurts." Amy said while rubbing her boobs.


    "Sorry. But I don''t feel anything." I muttered.


    "WHAT? Do you mean that there''s nothing to feel? Are you saying I''m flat chested?"


    "Get him!" Maggie shouted before she and Amy lunged at me at the same time.


    It turned into a 3 way fight between Amy, Maggie, and myself, and it ended with me locking both of their limbs, causing them to beg for mercy as they asked to be released.


    ...


    [General POV]


    On Instagram, Edward''s social media page was trending after he posted the short video with unnecessarily high quality on his account.


    [Edward Newgate �C 1 hour ago]


    Caption: As you guys can see, I''m still alive! Don''t forget to support my debut album which will be released tomorrow! ''Breaking'' will be available for sale worldwide after a good night''s sleep!


    However, you might feel uncomfortable sleeping peacefully on this hot summer night. So try this drink, it always helps me to beat up the summer heat!


    Likes: 114, 000


    Comment: 12,232


    The video was also shared around countless times on the social media platform, and it popped up on the [Explore] page.


    Some of the comments on the video were pinned after Edward read them.


    @EdwardFanclub : Edward! Glad to see you''re healthy!


    @RDJ: Is the naked apron thing really necessary?


    Edward replying to RDJ: YES.


    @Taylor: I''m thirsty now.


    Edward replying to Taylor: I know. (Wink wink)


    A lot of comments were wishing for Edward''s well-being, and little was about the drink itself. The video was then shared to MTV, and a few talk show programs �C after the broadcaster negotiated with Entertain company.


    The legal department of the company had to be doubled to handle the extra workload brought by the Instagram app, the Whatsapp app, and also his album sales.


    Not only that, the company itself expanded quite rapidly after the development of the new apps, tripling the numbers of employees in their departments l.


    However, before Harvey could finish her work for the day, an unexpected �C yet a bit expected guest visited the company.


    The man who looked a little like Ryan Reynolds flashed his badge to the security at the main entrance to the building and said, "FBI Agent Wayne Bruce. I came here to see Mrs Harvey Spectre."


    The security guards looked at each other before deciding that the matter was outside of their pay grade and contacted Harvey for instruction.


    Harvey sipped the refreshing Rosella Green Grape drink and ordered, "Let him in."

 Chapter 163: Platinum award on First day?

    Chapter 163: Chapter 163: Platinum award on First day?


    [General POV]


    -Documentary narration, voiced by James Earl Jones. -


    7th of July. ''Breaking'' Album was available for sale in hundreds of stores all across the country.


    Fans queued in line to get the album �C mostly consisting of female members of the population, and their male partners that were dragged along reluctantly to accompany them.


    A journalist interviewed one of the female fans, asking what time they started waiting in line for the album. The next footage showed the interview that had been conducted:


    -Footage started-


    Gloria Delgado smiled and waved to the camera while Jay Pritchett brood beside her.


    Jay mumbled to himself quietly, "We can just buy it from him. We know him."


    "We''ve been here since 6 am. I thought we were going to be the first in line...but already there were hundreds of people lining up." Gloria smiled before pointing at the huge line in front of her.


    "I''d rather go to church than wait here like this." Jay continued mumbling. "Is the store open yet?"


    "No. 5 more minutes." Gloria replied while checking her watch.


    In Colorado, the interviewer there interviewed the neat looking girl with a horrendous fashion sense �C Annie Edison.


    "I''ve been here since midnight. But if you want to ask when did people start to queue up, it was around 4 am."


    The interviewer asked, perplexed, "Then why did you come here at 12 am?"


    Annie was a bit confused and replied with an expression that says,'' isn''t it obvious?''


    "Because, I want to be the first one to get it?"


    -Footage ended.-


    James Earl Jones continued narrating, "A historic day indeed. After the beginning of the internet era of information, sales of a new artist''s album were declining."


    "However, Edward Newgate, a prepubescent, aspiring artist managed to create a historic record, in getting the GOLD certification status, in the United States alone, by surpassing 500, 000 million album units in sales."


    "Not only that, he managed to break the last artist''s record for the fastest selling album, "Eminem: The Eminem Show, released in 2002, which hit 2 million units in global sales, in just one day."


    "Will Edward Newgate manage to break the record for the fastest album selling of all times, held by Micheal Jackson himself, in his album, ''Bad'' released in 1987. An album that cemented itself to be top record in the USA �C 7 million units sold globally in his first week?"


    "Despite all of the amazing success, the whereabouts of Edward Newgate is still unknown. Numerous attempts for an interview were declined by his agency, citing that ''Edward is still in recuperation after his health scare''."


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    As I watched the MTV interviews about my album release, I smiled, alone inside the empty house, after Grandma made everyone there go to church for the Sunday mass.


    Luckily for me, Grandma saw Amy and Maggie trying to attack me last night, so I just need to pretend that they made my ''cracked rib'' pain flared up.


    I celebrated after grandma had left, and while I was trying to prepare for my hiking date, my grandpa caught me in the act and pushed *ehem* blackmail *Ehem* me into releasing the cows onto the field while he handled the horses.


    "Hmm...I didn''t think that she was going to go to church this morning. I didn''t forget that grandma said she met her at the church, so I guess I selectively ignored the fact." I muttered dejectedly.


    I sighed and turned off the TV before changing my clothes into a simple tank top and old jeans and went out to the field to release the cows for their grazing time. I also brought my grandpa''s guitar with me to pass the time. Although he promised me that he would be quick, I didn''t believe him.


    I sat on the wooden fence while wearing a cowboy hat and held the guitar in my hand.


    "Hmm...There''s no one around." I turned to look, "So I guess I can play something I like, and won''t seem nerdy in front of others. Isn''t that right Apollo?" I said to the old dog sitting in front of me.


    "Arf-"


    "Good boi." I throw him a treat before picking the guitar strings. "As I''m watching an open field, what else comes to mind except for middle earth?"


    "Arf."


    "I know I know. There''s a lot. But bear with me." I spoke to the condescending dog as he gave me a side eye.


    [Ed Sheeran - I See Fire]


    "??Oh, misty eye of the mountain below


    Keep careful watch of my brothers'' souls


    And should the sky be filled with fire and smoke


    Keep watching over Durin''s sons??"


    Unaware that my sincere singing had captured the attention of the animals around, I was enjoying watching Apollo''s reaction. He pretended not to like it, but his tail was wagging.


    "??If this is to end in fire


    Then we should all burn together


    Watch the flames climb high into the night??"


    "??Calling out father oh


    Stand by and we will


    Watch the flames burn auburn on


    The mountain side (high)??"


    "??And if we should die tonight


    Then we should all die together


    Raise a glass of wine for the last time??"


    "??Calling out father oh


    Prepare as we will


    Watch the flames burn auburn on


    The mountain side


    Desolation comes upon the sky??"


    "??Now I see fire


    Inside the mountain


    And I see fire


    Burning the trees


    And I see fire


    Hollowing souls


    And I see fire


    Blood in the breeze


    And I hope that you remember me??"


    "MOOOO!!!"


    "QUACK QUACK QUACK!"


    "Oink Oink Oink"


    Oh yeah


    Come on, cha cha now y''all??"


    I wanted to continue, but as I turned back while dancing, I saw my uncle Aaron who just got back from handling his divorce matter inside his car, stunned speechless with his mouth agape.


    "Quack! (Scatter!)" The animals quickly ran away in the presence of another human being, leaving me alone there�C stunned as I met my uncle''s eyes.


    "W-W-W." The scruffy looking man in an oversized suit stammered. My thoughts raced to find the solution for this situation, and I finally got an idea.


    I smirked at him and said, "No one will believe you." Then, I walked away as I saw my grandpa coming from afar.


    My uncle stayed there for a while with his face blanked out. I ran away quickly before my grandpa could give me anymore work, and used my uncle''s pickup truck to get to the hiking trail entrance.


    ...


    While I was on the road to get to the hiking trail up the hill, I received a call from Pepper.


    "GOLD ED! Your album passed 500,000 sales in just a few hours!" Pepper shouted in excitement, causing me to distance my phone from my ear a bit to protect my ear.


    "Well, I knew it would happen based on the pre-orders. W-"


    "DON''T TRY TO CALM ME DOWN! I WANT TO FEEL THIS RUSH FOREVER! OH MY GOD!"


    "Pepper? Pepper, are you okay?" I asked him after hearing he was out of breath.


    "I''m fine. Just dizzy from the head rush." Pepper said before getting excited again, "RIAA is sending people to give us the Gold album certificate today. Although....They are asking for an interview."


    "Well you can set it up when I get back in 2 days."


    "2 days? I thought you were not coming back till the 10th?"


    "Nah. I''m coming back on the 9th, before midnight. So I''ll be there on the 10th."


    "Ah I see. Ed, how are you feeling right now? Do you feel the same rush as I do?!" Pepper asked.


    "Well..."


    "What''s with that tone? Are you not excited?" Pepper asked in astonishment.


    "I''m excited. I''m excited. But right now, I''m more excited about my upcoming date."


    "What? Ed. I can''t hear you clearly!" Pepper shouted in confusion. I checked the mobile network line and noticed that I have only 1 bar left.


    "I''m going hiking! I''ll call you tonight."


    "Tonight? Oh. Hiking. Alright-"


    Then, all the voices disappeared and the mobile network was gone.


    "Hmm, if she''s late, I will be out of the grid, bored out of my mind, and most importantly, I can''t even know if something happened to her or if she needs to cancel our plans." I said before I stop the car and then change the gear into reverse.


    I wanted to go back to the area where I was still connected, but then I hit the brakes again.


    "But, if she''s already there. Then she couldn''t contact me to tell me when she arrived. Damn it. Why the hell did we plan it like this?"


    I tried to call her for confirmation, but the network provider said that the number was unavailable. I smiled and accelerated the car in excitement as I drove to the trail entrance, where I saw that she was already waiting for me.


    Miss Allison was kicking the stone on the ground lightly as she was bored out of her mind there. As she saw my car, she brightened up and waved at me quickly.


    She was confused when I waved back and got out of the car after putting it in park, "You''re going hiking in jeans?"


    "You going up there in heels?" I shoot back. She was wearing a black tracksuit and a black tank top, and her hair was tied up in ponytail style. She was wearing light makeup, something not too excessive as it smudged as she sweated.


    "Well, people say that the trail is not too rough." She replied with a blushing embarrassed face.


    "And you listened to them?" I asked teasingly, "They say that cause they live here. They are used to it."


    She widened her eyes in shock and said, "Oh. Then...I did something really stupid didn''t I?"


    "Well not quite. I admire you for trying to look nice for me." I flirted before rummaging the back of the truck. "Luckily for you, I was prepared in case something like this happened. These are my cousin''s shoes. You can use them...or you know... just destroy them."


    She smiled, and hesitated, before her expression changed into a look of determination,"Ed. Before we go up there. I need to be clear on something."


    "What is it?"


    "We...we can''t date each other. Maybe in another 2 years, when you''re an adult, we can have that chance. But I need to be clear on this. We''re just going together as friends."


    My brows scrunched a bit, although I was confused when I heard she mentioned 2 years. Did she mistake me driving for me being older than 16?


    "Okay then. Although that ruined my day, I''m still glad to be spending the evening with a gorgeous girl like you."


    She was prepared for me to get mad, but not quite prepared for a compliment, so her face blushed greatly.


    "N-No! No flirting too!" She said faux-angrily, which made me depressed as she looked really cute right now.


    "Hey. It''s either we can''t date, or we can''t flirt. You can only pick one." I teased her while shrugging my shoulders.


    She stammered a few times, and finally gave up. Although, her smile showed that she didn''t really hate it.


    "After you." I said to her as I ceremoniously opened up a path for her.


    "We can walk side by side. The path''s big enough." She said with a confused smile.


    "But then, I can''t see it jiggle- I mean. Yes, we should walk side by side." I said teasingly, causing her to hide her happiness behind a scoff.


    "Then you walk first!" She said,


    "So you can look at my butt?"


    "No one is going to be looking at anyone''s butt!"


    "Well, say for yourself." I said while glancing at her behind. She laughed and hit my chest lightly before grabbing my hand.


    We walked side by side as we faced the hiking trail,flirting and teasing each other all the way. After passing some slippery and dangerous obstacles, we almost reached the top of the hill.


    "Ah. So refreshing!" She stretched her arms back as she watched the view from the top. It took us only 40 minutes to reach the top, and overall, it was a fun experience.


    "Yeah, it really is. It can''t be compared to the city''s air at all." I said as I sat on a rock while admiring the view.


    "But I''m confused." She said suddenly.


    "About what?" I asked in confusion.


    "Isn''t this a popular destination? Why are there no people around?" She asked while tilting her head.


    I widened my eyes as I remembered something my grandpa said about a mountain lion.


    "Oh shit. We need to leave. Right now." I grabbed her arm and pulled her to get to the path again.


    "Hey. What''s going on-"


    Suddenly, we heard a roar coming from afar. Allison turned pale, and she almost blurted something out, but I pressed my finger on her lip to stop her.


    "This might be superstition, but I heard from my grandma�C not blood related-"


    "Is that important right now?!" Allison retorted.


    "Sorry." I smiled apologetically, "Well she said not to mention it''s name. Or in this case, the name of the species as to not attract its attention. It might seem stupid, but let''s try it out."


    Allison nodded obediently and held my hand tightly as we moved down the hill in a rush. However, before we could crouch down to pass dangerous obstacles, we suddenly heard some rummaging from a bush nearby us.


    We both froze on the spot, and then a white rabbit suddenly popped out of the bush. We breathed in relief, and as I turned around to comfort Allison, I saw the sight of a muscular giant cat crouching behind us.


    Allison didn''t notice it at first, but as she followed my line of sight, she teared up and said fearfully, "Mountain lion."

 Chapter 164: Big Cat Problem.

    Chapter 164: Chapter 164: Big Cat Problem.


    [General POV]


    The house on the ranch became busy after the family returned from Sunday mass.


    All of them were still dressed in suits and modest clothes, but Uncle Jim was already in his t-shirt as he took off his clothes in the car while they were still on the road home.


    "It''s a good thing he''s not here, but where did he go?" Grandma Jules asked as she wore an apron to prepare for the celebratory feast. May and Camila were helping in putting up a banner and streamers in the living room as they were preparing to give Edward a surprise.


    "Don''t look at me. I don''t know anything. If anyone knows anything, it''d be Amy." Maggie shrugged with her hands up and pointed to her younger sister with her mouth.


    "Amy. Do you know where he went?" Ted asked as he untied his necktie slowly.


    Amy silently drank her water before she said uncomfortably, "I don''t know."


    "Hmm...Well, you''d already told him to be here for lunch right Sam?" Grandma Jules turned to Grandpa Sam. He nodded as he sipped his beer, and Jules understood that that was the best answer she could get from him.


    "What happened to Aaron?" Jim asked as he saw his brother-in-law blanking out and seeming to be out of touch with reality.


    "The divorce settlement must be hitting him hard." Ted muttered sympathetically, as he knew the feeling. "I''ll talk to him."


    Jules nodded and let Ted handle the matter while she took out the potatoes. Aaron was staring at an empty wall, muttering to himself, "Is Edward Jesus? Or a Disney Princess reincarnated into a boy''s body?"


    He tried hard to understand what just happened, as he was sure that what he saw was real. "Otherwise, how the hell did he make the cows dance?"


    The good news is he was no longer thinking about his divorce, or how he got cuckolded by the ex-town preacher. The bad news was that now he thought he might currently be having mental problems such as schizophrenia or delusions.


    Maggie pulled Amy aside and asked her a question away from the rest of the family, "Where is he?"


    "He went hiking." Amy replied with a careful whisper.


    "Alone?" Maggie raised her eyebrow.


    "No. With Miss Allison." Amy replied, "Don''t tell anyone."


    "Why is he with her?" Maggie asked, confused.


    "Well he''s kinda interested in her." Amy replied, causing Maggie to widen her eyes in shock. Amy added quickly, "But they are not going out or anything. He''s interested in her, she''s not going to date him."


    "But she is interested in him?" Maggie asked with a face full of excitement from the gossip.


    "I don''t know. Maybe. But Ed is weird. He likes older girls a lot. He''s been talking to a highschooler two nights in a row."


    "Oh. So you might say...that he has a cougar problem?" Maggie said, snickering at her own joke.


    Amy didn''t get it, "She''s not that ferocious? She''s a housecat...Maybe?"


    Maggie stared at Amy blankly, unsure whether she should explain it or not.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    The beast had brown-golden fur, and its eyes were malicious. It lowered its center of gravity as if trying to pounce at us.


    "Wee Hee Hee Hee Dee Hee Hee Hee Hee WeeOhWimBaWeh~"


    The wilderness turned silent for a moment as I suddenly sang.


    Even the big cat was confused and tilted its head.


    Allison was stunned and whispered with teary eyes, "What?" after I suddenly started singing in front of the mountain lion.


    I stood in between the puma and Allison, as I knew that my perks would save me. But I couldn''t say the same for her. The lion kept staring and roaring at her. Without my intervention, I was sure that it would attack her as soon as it got the chance.


    "Just trust me." I said as I glanced at her quickly.


    "Wee Hee Hee Hee Dee Hee Hee Hee Hee WeeOhWimBaWeh~"


    "ROAR!" The puma was anxious, but as I looked into its eyes, it calmed down a bit. However it still tried to move towards Allison while licking its lips.


    "Do the background music." I whispered to Allison. She was horrified and muttered, "We''re going to die!"


    "Not if you do the background music!" I urged her while my palms started to sweat.


    "Wee-ooh wim-o-weh. Wee-ooh wim-o-weh. Wim-o-weh o-wim-o-weh o-wim-o-weh o-wim-o-weh" Allison sang reluctantly and tearfully.


    "In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight~" I sang sweetly as I smiled at the puma.


    Seeing the kempt fur on its body, I assumed that it has some experience with a human being before. That''s why I chose this song.


    ''If it ever spent time with a human being, I am 100% sure that it would hear this song once or twice or many, many times.''


    "In the jungle, the quiet jungle, the lion sleeps tonight~" I sang carefully as I took a step back from the big cat.


    Allison was astonished when she saw the puma being docile and stopped at its place, no longer trying to get to her. She kept singing with all of her might as we slowly retreated from the spot.


    "In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight." I sang as Allison slowly tried to pass the obstacle behind her.


    She needed to hold the rope tied up between the trees to pass the slippery rocks and a tiny water stream, and she had to do it while retreating, which increased its difficulty.


    Suddenly, the calmed down lion walked slowly towards me, causing Allison to hurriedly chant the "Wee-ooh wim-o-weh" without stopping.


    "It''s okay. Just be careful and slowly retreat-" I said, when suddenly the big cat nudged my hand and roared gently.


    "By the way..." I said after a moment of silence before looking at my uncle up and down. "That''s what you''re wearing?"


    He was wearing an oversized shirt, and also worn down jeans. Jeans actually looks good worn down, but in his case, it just looked old.


    "What''s wrong with my shirt?" He asked in surprise.


    "Everything. You should pay more attention to your looks." I blurted out, and hid my comment inside my heart, ''No wonder your wife left you.''


    I made a one-sided promise to help him in creating a new image for himself despite his reluctance. After my grandma spoke in my favor, uncle Aaron finally relented.


    "Well...Ed...now that you''re rich as hell...do I still need to pay back-" Maggie tried to levy on her debt, but facing my murderous glare, she decided to shut up quickly. "Nevermind." She muttered.


    "Good news. My lawyer texted me saying that the contact is now invalid. You are no longer an aspiring adult cinematography actress." I said.


    She brightened up before slumping her shoulders down. I smiled at her misery and said, "So you no longer have any reason to NOT tell your parents about this."


    "Can I postpone it one more day! Just ONE MORE DAY!" She begged tearfully.


    "Sure." I nodded, causing her to gleam, "You can postpone it, but do you really think Amy will?"


    Maggie was stunned and turned to look at her corpse-like sister who was breaking down every second from her dedication to protect the secret. Even her teeth were loose from the pressure.


    Maggie finally gave up, and before she moved away, she whispered in my ear, "You know. I read that a lot of rich guys love to have young, sexy, slutty girlfriends as their plaything."


    "And you want me to introduce you to them? Sorry, you won''t make it-" I continued, causing her to hit my arm in anger. "I will if I want to! But that''s not what I''m trying to say."


    "You''re not aiming for my wealth and hoping for me to pamper you in California right?" I guessed with a horrified face. "Although the idea of a taboo relationship is a turn on, we''re not living in Alabama, so Imma have to reject you right here."


    "Oh. Your loss then." Maggie said non-committedly before trying to show her side. "Now that I think about it, maybe some other celebrities-"


    "Get out of here." I scolded her and chased her away.


    After finishing the short celebration, my grandpa called me out to the field. He was riding a brown horse while pulling the rein of a humongous black horse with him. Compared to the black horse, the already large brown horse looked like a foal.


    "I wanted to introduce you guys again this morning, but you disappeared before I got there." Grandpa Sam said teasingly as he got off his horse.


    I rubbed my head apologetically before the black horse moved closer towards me. Its towering height put his shadow on my body, blocking most of the sunlight at the same time.


    "This is-" My grandpa tried to introduce.


    "Stud right? Long time no see. Do you still remember me?" I rubbed the side of the horse''s head while he lowered his head to look at me.


    My grandpa almost stopped me from doing so at first, and was shocked when the aggressive horse was behaving meekly in front of me.


    "How- Wait. Did he really remember you? That''s why he''s not letting anyone on his back for the past few years?" Grandpa muttered puzzledly as he saw I was bonding with the horse happily.


    Even his own horse was trying to move closer towards me, but Stud was being possessive and snorted before moving his head violently, preventing the other horse from getting near.


    "Neigh~~ (Stingy)" The brown horse snorted.


    "Come on Brownie." Grandpa Sam said as he pulled the brown horse''s rein to move further from Stud.


    "You still remember how to put on a saddle?" He asked me. I shook my head slightly and said, "I never learned how."


    "Well I''m going to teach you that today. Then, maybe you can take Stud out for a ride."


    "Alright. Let''s get started." I smiled at my grandpa as he started to take off the already fixed saddle on Stud''s body.


    For tourists or casual riders, he might''ve let them just ride the horse without going through the hassle, but to be a skilled rider, especially if he wanted me to have the opportunity to ride alone, he needed to impart the necessary skills on me first.


    Or else, if and when an accident happened, I wouldn''t be able to protect myself. He taught me how to escape tangled feet, how to use a knife to break free, and how to calm down the horse for almost an hour. When I was finally ready to ride the horse, it was already sunset.


    "Well..." My grandpa took off his cowboy hat apologetically and scratched his forehead. "I think we should go back now. Or else, your grandma will rush over here with the shotgun."


    I was shocked, "But, I haven''t even ridden him yet!"


    "You can do it early in the morning tomorrow, if you don''t disappear again. Come on, I''ll let you ride back to the stables."


    "Ugh." I groaned and finally hopped on Stud''s back. He was excited and suddenly started to run away, kidnapping me with him."


    "Oh damn it! STUD, HEEL!" My grandpa quickly hopped on his horse and started chasing us.


    ...


    [General POV]


    It wasn''t until a few hours after the sun went down that Edward returned home with his grandfather. His buttocks hurt from the ride, and he went to his room quickly to rest after taking a shower.


    Edward fell asleep around 11, which was considered quite early for him even after having such a long day. After Maggie returned, Amy went to live in her home in town, leaving Edward to sleep alone in the room.


    Edward has no objections about that at all, in fact, he gladly wanted to send her home himself.


    The next morning, Uncle Aaron who had a promised appointment with Edward was ordered by Grandma Jules to wake him up for breakfast.


    Ted had spent some time with Grandpa Sam last night, and was still hungover. Even though he promised not to drink anymore, Grandpa Sam saw that he was struggling, and decided to let him vent out his emotions.


    "Edward-" As Aaron pulled the blanket, he was stunned when he saw a golden-furred beast sleeping beside Edward. He froze as the beast woke up and stared at him. Then, the beast ran away through the door without a sound, making Aaron feel that he was delusional again.


    Edward rubbed his eyes as he woke up, "Oh. Uncle Aaron. Did Grandma ask you to wake me up? I''ll be in the kitchen in a minute."


    "Um...Ed...You slept...alone right?" Uncle Aaron asked a question that was confusing to Edward.


    "Huh? Of course. Amy has already left- Are you okay? Or are you drunk?"

 Chapter 165: Crazy Stupid Love In Wonderland

    Chapter 165: Chapter 165: Crazy Stupid Love In Wonderland


    (I''m back. Thank you for all of your well wishes. Just to be clear, I didn''t have surgery, but pneumonia. I was depressed for a while, cause the infection activates the same virus that caused my dad to die in 2016. He suffered for several years before his death, becoming like a living mummy at the end. That will be my fate in a couple of years. Lol.)


    [General POV]


    It was 3 am in the morning. In front of the Entertain company, multiple paparazzis kept camping out for even a tiny bit of news about Edward, while the staff members were busy and working overtime inside the building.


    "Pepper. You''re going to Ed''s hometown?" Renaldo asked as Pepper was standing by a line of black SUVs at the building parking lot. More than 30 staff members could be seen loading things up into the transport as Pepper directed them.


    "Yes. Ed wants to do something there, and he needs support. So I''m joining in to break the news to him!"


    "Is this about him hitting 2 millions album sales, and hitting multi-platinum in one day? Can I join you?" Renaldo''s eyes lit up.


    He was wondering why the company kept the information from Edward, and now he understood. It was just that the CEO wanted to tell the artist the news himself!


    The media was already hyping up Edward''s achievement, and predicted that he will be among the rare few artists in the world that can get 10 million unit sales in the first week, and get the highest RIAA Diamond Certificate.


    That''s why Pepper was being urgent right now. He wanted to tell Edward first before he got the news from the media.


    Pepper shook his head and said coyly, "Don''t be greedy! Harvey needs you here."


    "You just want me to deal with the reporters all by myself." Renaldo pouted. Pepper smiled wryly as his motive was exposed. Even though Pepper loved the attention from the cameras, he found it extremely tiring today�C especially since it had interfered with his work multiple times.


    [Edward POV]


    "Why do I still smell like a puma even though I had already showered?" I sniffed my t-shirt after waking up in the morning. I caught the sight of Uncle Aaron who had already walked away lifelessly, which made me think that he was still depressed.


    "Poor guy." I muttered sympathetically before going to take a shower again. After brushing my teeth, I went to change my clothes into a blue-ish gray suit, pairing it with a Rolex watch, and yellow Ray Ban sunglasses.


    "Good. I looked like Ryan Gosling." I muttered as I posed in the mirror. I did the pose, the left hand wrapped at my body, while the right hand was almost midair with my fingers lightly pinching together, looking contemptuously and condescendingly at the other person from top to bottom.


    "Great. It works." I smiled before I left my room.


    "(Whistle) Come on. Let''s go." I snapped my fingers annoyingly at my uncle who was sitting at the breakfast table. Then, I frowned, "Really? That''s what you''re wearing?"


    My uncle was wearing a simple orange shirt and jeans, paired with worn-down sneakers. Although the clothes were fine, it wasn''t a good look for him in my opinion.


    "What''s wrong with my clothes now?" He said in disbelief.


    "Hmm...I guess it doesn''t matter. I''ll burn everything in your closet when we get back anyway."


    Uncle Aaron scoffed as he thought I was joking and pointed at the food on top of the table, "You don''t want to eat breakfast yet?" I shook my hand at him, and he added.


    "Your grandma will be upset." Uncle Aaron frowned as he reluctantly stood up.


    "It''s an hour and a half ride to the city. I''m not wasting time eating breakfast here. Grandma already packed some food for the ride." I said as I exited the house, leaving behind a grumbling old man.


    ...


    It took us all morning, and more than 15 shops just for me to give my uncle a brand new look. I threw away his velcro wallet in front of him, making him stare at me blankly. I also maxed out one of his credit cards, which made him groan in pain.


    However, do not underestimate the heir of a 100 acre ranch. Breeding horses wasn''t a poor guys'' business. I brought him to a salon afterward and made him change his unkempt hairstyle and also shaved off his messy, patchy beard.


    "I feel stupid." He said as I made him change into his new clothes inside the salon''s fitting room. Rather than a fitting room, it was more of a stage because it was set up in a half-circular manner at the center of the salon, with only a curtain to hide the one''s inside.


    "Don''t complain. By the way Tiffany, what are you doing later?" I shouted at my uncle first before flirting with the stylist. She has brunette hair and caramel coloured skin. Her smile gave off a kind vibe, but her eyes were a little mischievous.


    She touched my shoulder lightly as she smiled, "I don''t know what I''m doing later."


    "Oh I know what you''re doing later."


    "Really? You know?"


    "Can you guys stop flirting?" My uncle said tiredly as he opened the curtain, revealing a dashing middle-aged man. Tiffany widened her eyes as she saw him, and I smiled in satisfaction as I saw my masterpiece.


    "Clothes do make the man." I said as I went to check his outfit. A simple white shirt and a black Armani suit changed his looks from a farm boy to looking like a CEO.


    The key was not to wear a necktie, as although it could look better, the necktie would also give a formal appearance, as if he was a working man. This manly style suits him more as it made him look like a rich man going out to play.


    "Hmm...Something''s missing." I mused for a while before taking off my watch and making him wear it.


    "Now it''s finished."


    My uncle was looking at me in disbelief before he checked out his reflection in the mirror.


    "This doesn''t suit me-"


    "Shh!" I shushed him and turned to the stylist, "Tiffany, be honest. You''d sleep with him right?"


    Aaron was astonished and embarrassed while Tiffany looked at him from top to bottom. She then nodded honestly, "Yeah. I probably would."


    Aaron thought she was being polite, but was flattered regardless. "Now, do you want to give him your number?" I asked again.


    Tiffany paused for a while before she smiled, "Yeah." Then, she wrote her number on a piece of paper and gave it to Aaron. "Call me."


    "He will meet you at Julie''s restaurant for dinner tonight, at 7 o''clock." I replied for him before he could even open his mouth. Tiffany didn''t have any objection and said, "I''ll look forward to it."


    She touched his arm slightly before she turned and walked away, slightly swaying her hips as she did. My uncle was still in disbelief as to what just happened, and his eyes couldn''t help but go blank as he watched her backside.


    After getting my uncle a date for the night, we need to settle the next crucial thing.


    "What-NO!" He protested immediately as he heard the next plan.


    "Then, you really want to pick up your date in this worn down car? Even the pigs at the farm won''t get on this piece of shit." I said sarcastically as I directed him to a nearest car dealership.


    Aaron was silent, and then he asked, "Why are you doing this Ed? Why go through so much trouble?"


    "Revenge." I replied jokingly, causing him to widen his eyes in shock. "I''m just joking. Although, you still owe me for making me believe my mom was a lesbian and thus making me homophobic for a few years."


    Forests and cottages, castles and cards that can talk ??"


    Pepper has a fatherly smile on his face, while Ted walked towards the trio, but stopped before he could destroy the vibe there.


    "?? Welcome to Wonderland, look where you''re at


    Maddest of hatters, the Cheshire Cat


    Magical cabins and lovely white rabbits with clocks ??"


    Amy shook her legs as she thought excitedly, ''Is this a song about this place?''


    "?? Dancing through a dream underneath the stars ??"


    "?? Laughing ''til the morning comes ??"


    Amy and Maggie looked at each other before they laughed softly. Edward smiled before he looked into the sky with a melancholic expression.


    "?? Everyone that leaves has a heavy heart ??"


    "?? Oh, Wonderland I love ??"


    Ted finally broke into a sincere smile after having a tough few days. Pepper decided to join in, and the staff members could hear the songs through Edward''s microphone that was clipped on his shirt he forgot to turn off.


    "??Welcome to Wonderland, I''ll be your guide


    Holding your hand under sapphire skies


    Let''s go exploring or we could just go for a walk??"


    Memories about a special place Ted had always played with his brothers on the hill resurfaced in his mind. He thought he had forgotten all about it, but surprisingly it was still there.


    Not only Ted, but all the people who heard the song fell into nostalgia of a time when everything was interesting, everything was easy, when they looked at the world with a childlike wonder instead of having the heavy burden of being an adult.


    "??Welcome to Wonderland, where should we go


    There''s a tea party along down the road


    Make an appearance and maybe they''ll sing us a song??"


    A golden-furred puma heard the song from a tree nearby, and it fell into reminiscence about the time he had with his owner. It closed its eyes as he slept on the tree branch.


    "??Dancing through a dream underneath the stars


    Laughing ''til the morning comes


    Everyone that leaves has a heavy heart


    Oh, Wonderland I love??"


    "I-..." Pepper choked up, and he was startled as he found himself almost saying, ''I don''t want to leave''.


    "??Nothing around here is quite as it seems


    Not sure if anything''s real or a dream


    And the only thing sure from the start


    Is the song that''s inside of your heart


    Don''t let it leave??"


    Edward closed his eyes as he paused for a moment. Then, he opened it back up and smiled at the family members who were watching him.


    "??If this was a dream, then at least I''ve got


    Memories for when morning comes??"


    "Now that I must leave with a heavy heart


    Oh, Wonderland....I love??"


    As Edward stopped singing, the audience applauded as hard as they could. Maggie was astonished, "You''re really a singer!"


    Edward knocked her head with the guitar lightly, "I literally have an album!"


    Maggie rubbed her temple in pain while Amy laughed at her misery. Pepper wiped his tears as he walked toward Ed, "I have an idea. Why don''t we use this song in the short video?"


    "Then I''m going to need proper recording equipment." Edward had no objections about it and agreed easily.


    Ted didn''t allow Edward to play around more and sent all of the teenagers to sleep.


    "Are you alright Ted?" Pepper asked after he saw Ted''s solemn face.


    The blanked out Ted snapped back to reality, "Huh? Oh, I''m fine."


    "Are you sure? You don''t look fine." Pepper patted Ted''s shoulder to comfort him. "I may know what you''re feeling, if you want to talk about it."


    "Hmm... You know?" Ted chuckled a bit.


    Pepper scoffed before he calmed down, "My son went to serve. One day, I received a call from his Commander. He was hit, and he shows no signs of waking up."


    Ted''s hand shivered, and his ears started ringing as the memory of when Edward stopped breathing flashed into his mind.


    "I''m not saying I know what you''re feeling, but at the very least, I can listen." Pepper added, trying to get Ted to open up. However, he noticed that Ted was behaving strangely.


    "Ted? Are you okay? Ted?" Pepper tried to call him, but Ted couldn''t hear anything except the loud ringing in his ears before everything became silent. His heart rate elevated, and his hand started shaking.


    Ted was having a panic attack, and Pepper tried his hardest to help him out.

 Chapter 166: Father and Child.

    Chapter 166: Chapter 166: Father and Child.


    [Theodore POV]


    My world shattered...


    The illusion that my child would always be safe and healthy was proven just to be... just that, an illusion. I couldn''t do anything to stop it from happening.


    The heart monitor that didn''t work. The doctor that almost announced my son''s death. The touch of his lifeless body became a recurring nightmare for me.


    I...couldn''t do anything to stop it.


    I...almost lost my son.


    By some cosmic miracle, he managed to wake up, but I just couldn''t relax.


    What should I do if he falls into that state again?


    What should I do if I didn''t manage to get him the proper help he needs?


    What if the next time this happens, he doesn''t wake up?


    The debt I have to him kept gnawing at my heart. The debt of not being there during the most difficult times of his life.


    I was a...useless dad. A drunk. An alcoholic. I ran away from reality on my own, leaving behind my son facing the tough times alone.


    A child who lost their parents is an orphan. Spouses who lost their partners are widows or widowers. But how does one call a parent who lost their child?


    Nothing. Because there are no words that could describe the pain.


    "Ted...Ted...wake up!." My dad shook me out of my nightmare. I was startled and quickly raised my body and sat on the bed. My entire body was wet from the sweat, and I was huffing my breath.


    I turned to look at my father slowly, and I saw a concerned look on his face.


    "We should talk." My dad said.


    I shook my head slightly and said, "No. I need to-"


    "Ed is fine. He''s sleeping. He''s not doing anything." My dad said in a calming manner. "You on the other hand...You need to get some help."


    That was the memory of my first night on the ranch. My dad brought me to drink and vent out my emotions, but I couldn''t do it even though I was drunk. That''s when I knew that alcohol would not work on me anymore.


    I couldn''t calm down my feelings no matter what. And when I couldn''t see what Edward was doing or where he had gone, my anxiousness almost made me crazy.


    Days passed by, and when I saw Edward was bonding with his cousins and his family here, it actually helped. I knew that I couldn''t get rid of his freedom, so all I can do is to surround him with the people I trust.


    I tried to hypnotize myself, to believe what the doctor said. But I still couldn''t. Maybe it''ll work one day. I just need to keep trying.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Damn, my dad got a panic attack?...My dad?" I asked incredulously after hearing the gossip from the staff members after I woke up from my sleep. They didn''t see me coming, and were surprised when I suddenly appeared behind them.


    "You and your cat feet." Pepper scoffed after he saw the whole thing.


    "Thanks." I received the compliment with a smile, but for some reason Pepper looked at me in disbelief.


    "Hmmm..." I rubbed my chin as I fell into contemplation. Pepper walked towards me and stood one step behind me as I was facing the couch.


    "What evil deeds are you planning next?" He asked with a hint of fear in his tone. I was still rubbing my chin as I replied, "I think...I need to have a long talk with my dad."


    "Hmm? Really?" Pepper''s eyes lit up, "That''s actually what I was going to convince you two to do today. Now, I just need to focus on convincing your dad about it."


    He wanted to walk away, but I raised my hand as I stopped him, "I''ll do it by myself."


    "Really? It''ll be...awkward...especially since the both of you have an emotionally distant disposition, even towards eachother." Pepper said with a sarcastic smile.


    I nodded as I agreed with him, "Yes. But from my continuous watching of TV drama series and rom-com movies, the heart-to-heart talk will be the climax of a story."


    Pepper was baffled, but before he could react, I walked away to find my dad. He was eating breakfast at the moment. I stood next to him and muttered in a solemn manner, "We need to talk."


    My dad spit out his coffee as a reflex, and then looked at me with shaky eyes. "I''ll wait for you by the swing. Come after you''ve finished eating." I told him.


    "Ed, don''t you want to eat-" My grandma was concerned and her eyes darted between the two of us. I shook my head slightly and said, "No. I need to settle this first."


    "Why does Ed look so scary right now?" Maggie muttered with a sense of fear. Amy unexpectedly licked her lips, "Don''t you think he looks so sexy being like this?"


    Maggie looked at her sister in disbelief while I left the kitchen to wait at the small hill behind the house. It was the place where I traced Amy before after she ran away crying.


    I sat on the tire swing as I waited for my dad. The old tire however was already too small for me to actually enjoy it. I became melancholic as I looked over the grassy plains. A few birds started to perch all around me. Even a small sparrow landed on my head.


    In the few days I''ve been here, I''d basically conquered the heart of every animal here except maybe the bugs.


    I waited and waited, and was surprisingly patient. It wasn''t until two hours had passed that my dad reluctantly came towards the spot. I already expected he would be late. He needed some time to prepare himself �C hell, even I needed to prepare.


    "Ed."


    "Dad."


    "Yeah." I replied shortly. "So the medical bills are actually a wasteful expenditure in my opinion."


    He falls into contemplation, disbelief, and even anger at the doctors in the hospitals.


    "Can I confirm this? Do you know when you''re gonna fall into that reset again?" He asked anxiously.


    "Yeah. I think you can. But I won''t know if it was going to happen until I was trying to go to sleep that day." I said.


    ''Great. Now I have to figure out the timing of my gacha session. Hmmm...I can make him confirm it during my birthday, his birthday, or my mom''s birthday. Sage''s day is also good, but I need to wait a whole year for that. Maybe Halloween? They said I will get called during Life or Death day, right?''


    "It''s going to take a few months. Wait at least until October. Then you can confirm it."


    "It happened quarterly?" He asked in disbelief. "How have I never noticed this?! What have I done all these years?"


    "Well to be honest, if Haley didn''t put her head on my chest, no one would know. I didn''t plan for anyone to know. I don''t want to be taken to a research institute and get studied, you know? If you are really afraid, you should let me go to sleep with Haley everyday-"


    "Stop." He raised his hand to stop me quickly. Then, he rubbed his forehead and groaned, "Should I really?"


    My eyes lits up, but he continued, "Maybe... I can do it?-"


    "DON''T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT OLD MAN!" I shouted quickly to prevent him from getting any strange ideas.


    After I made him get rid of those thoughts, I opened up to him about my difficulties in my work, just venting out on him. I did that to his benefit, but the way he was smiling warmly and looked satisfied was irritating me.


    "Ah Dad. There is another way for you to confirm that I''m an homo-superior."


    "What?" He asked with a laugh. He didn''t believe my words about me being an evolved human being, but he did believe that I have special skills that need to be protected. That was good enough for me.


    "You should make me a brother or sister. With a lot more experimental subjects, you can confirm it. Maybe 10 more?-"


    He glared at me, and I ran away quickly. "EDDDD!"


    ...


    For my last day at the ranch, I didn''t do anything much other than spending some time with my grandma and grandpa, and helped around with the work at the ranch.


    I noticed that the film crew were following me sometimes, but I ignored them. I planned to have an online fanmeet right here, but I decided to wait until I got back to California to do it because of my dad.


    Me bringing the crew here for a film shoot made him have a panic attack, and I don''t want to find out what''s going to happen if I went ahead and did a full on live broadcast.


    I hate to admit it, but I had more fun at Wisconsin than I thought. Especially with the animals.


    As I was putting my clothes into my suitcase in preparation to get back, I heard a rough meowing coming from outside of the house. I wanted to check it out by going to the front door, but my grandpa stopped me with a solemn face.


    "Ed. Stop. Jules! Get the gun! There''s a puma outside!" My grandpa shouted.


    "Wait. Grandpa-"


    "Ed. Stay here! I need to protect the livestocks." My grandpa said before I pulled him back, "I said wait. She''s not dangerous."


    "She?" My grandma came to the front door with a shotgun in her hands. I smiled wryly and said, "I know that puma."


    "Ed. Don''t be ridiculous-" My grandpa tried to stop me, but my uncle stood up for me, "Dad. What Edward said is true."


    "Huh? You too Aaron?"


    "Just...Let me out first. You can follow me with the gun. If it tries to attack me, then you can shoot." I said while looking him in the eyes.


    My grandpa was a bit taken aback. My dad and my aunt Camila rushed to the living room because of the commotion and asked, "What is happening?"


    "There''s a puma outside- Ed. Damn it." Grandpa Sam tried to explain, but I already snuck out of the house. Maggie and Amy followed the group, and Pepper also was alerted and followed the noise. He was with the crew members in the SUV at the time.


    "AHHH!!! SHE''S EATING EDWARD''S FACEEEEEE!!" Maggie screamed in horror as she saw the sight of me getting ''mauled'' by the puma. Amy was shocked and then she fainted on the ground. Maggie turned to her and yelled again, "AMY''S DEAD TOO!"


    Grandpa Sam was extremely alert, but when he saw I was petting the puma in an intimate manner, he calmed down. "Wait. Seriously?" He muttered in disbelief.


    I was laughing as the puma was licking my face, and when Pepper came, he reacted in the exact same way Maggie did. My aunt and my dad helped calm the sisters down while my grandpa approached me and the puma warily.


    "Edward. Explain." He said curtly.


    "I think she''s someone''s pet. Or used to be. She''s not hostile to humans. And I think she''s hungry for some jerky, so that''s why she''s calling me out. I don''t think she''d ever hunted anything before..."


    "That explains why my brisket was missing this morning...and also last night." Grandma Jules muttered without any fear for the puma.


    "Dad, can I keep her?" I asked my dad.


    Ted was startled, and then he smiled awkwardly, "You know, we don''t live in an estate. And I''m not even sure if it is legal to keep a puma as a pet."


    "The sultan''s do it." Uncle Aaron gave me some support.


    "Why are you- Are you trying to mess with me?" Ted grumbled at Aaron.


    Aaron laughed, "Nah. If you saw what I saw, you''d know why."


    "What''d you see?"


    "I''ll tell you, but you won''t believe me."

 Chapter 167: Lonely

    Chapter 167: Chapter 167: Lonely


    [Edward POV]


    "Hmmm...It''s still too soon. I want you to stay here longer, but I know you have a lot of work to do." Grandma Jules hugged me and said with teary eyes as I finished packing my stuff.


    Grandma and Grandpa usually slept early, but today, they stayed up until it was almost 10 o''clock just to spend more time with me. It made me have a warm feeling inside my chest, and even had me having second thoughts about staying here longer.


    Although, the drive to keep making more money killed that familial pull rather quickly to the point that the latter didn''t even stand a chance to beg for its life.


    We were standing in front of the house, right by the SUVs, and my father''s side of the family all had a sad look on their faces as they said their goodbyes. My grandma kept wrapping her arms around me, extremely reluctant to let me go.


    "I''ll take care of ACE for a while. When you find out about the law, then you can bring him to your place." My grandpa said as he held the leash on the puma.


    Ace�C the name I''d given to the beast, was looking at me in a sad and pleading manner, as if she didn''t want to stay with my grandpa.


    I wanted to say, "Be My Son" to her as I adopted her, but she was a girl, and also a puma, so I stopped myself from doing so lest my family thought I was being crazy.


    I rubbed the puma''s head and said, "Don''t worry. My grandpa is a nice man. And my grandma makes a mean brisket."


    Ace''s eyes glittered, and she didn''t feel as dejected anymore. Maggie and Amy had reddish eyes as they were on the brink of tears.


    "Ed. Don''t wait another 3 years before you come back home, yeah?" Amy pleaded as she gave me a hug. I smiled as I stroked her hair before Maggie pounced on me and gave me a hug too.


    "I''ll come visit you when I go to...c-college." She muttered with some guilty conscience and was checking out the reactions of the people around her �C especially her mom and dad.


    I smirked and said, "College?"


    Maggie quickly said, "Y-Y-Yeah. I''m going to go to College in California. Gosh Ed, what''s with your memory? Why can''t you remember that?"


    "Oh. My bad, my bad." I muttered dismissively, "I guess my memory is quite bad nowadays. I remembered something about a contract, and 200 grand? I don''t know. Maybe I should ask Uncle Jim-"


    Maggie laughed fakely, "HAHAHAHAHAHA Very funny Ed! NOW GO HOME. QUICK!!"


    She pushed me from behind strongly to make me disappear. I just made a quick turn, causing her to push nothing and almost fall into the SUV. She glared at me poutingly but I ignored her and said my goodbyes to my Aunt and Uncles.


    "I''m going to miss this place." Aunt Camila muttered with a sad tone. Grandma Jules patted her head lovingly and said, "Then, you should come again next time Camila. You''re already part of the family."


    My aunt showed a rare blush as she didn''t have much of an experience with maternal love. She gave Grandma Jules a long hug before waving her goodbye with teary eyes.


    My dad however was acting like he always did. He only gave a handshake to his siblings and a cursory nod to his dad. But he couldn''t escape my grandma''s bear hug and was shaken a few times before she let him go.


    "Byeee~ I''ll come back for Thanksgiving~" I waved at my family from the open window of the SUV as the car drove away. I saw my grandma wiping her eyes, which made me feel a bit guilty.


    "Hmm...I should focus on medicine for the next gacha. I want them to live a long life. Only then will they be able to enjoy the result of my work." I vowed internally.


    It only took us 4 hours after leaving the ranch for us to get back to our home in California. The efficiency of the staff members with Frankie Dart''s management allowed me to avoid wasting my time at the airport with any bureaucracy even to immediately get back to my house.


    Following my order, she arranged a few paparazzis inside the airport. Not only did this action allow people to know that I was still alive, it also helped me with my media presence.


    Although, my aunt was a bit irritated by it.


    "Getting back after a family trip? Edward Newgate''s surprisingly charming family." My dad laughed after he read the new articles when we were having some tea in the kitchen.


    My aunt was irritated because, the media was claiming her to be my mother.


    "I think you''re not that angry at the mother proclamation, rather than the idea that you''re married to this tubby chubby right?" I asked her teasingly.


    "Hey." My dad retorted quickly. "I''ve been losing a lot of weight."


    "Yeah. Two more months, and I''m sure that you''ll finally get rid of your beer belly. I do applaud your commitment to this. I was sure that you were going to give up midway, but I guess I was proven wrong." I said in a convincing manner.


    My dad smiled wryly as he looked at me. Now, even if he wanted to quit, he couldn''t.


    "I''m going to sleep." He said pitifully. My aunt was still angry and then decided to go for a night ride. However, before she could pull out of the driveway, I hopped into the car and said, "Can I join?"


    "Alright. Wear your seatbelt." She said with a smirk. Then, she drove at a high speed all across the city before we returned home when it was almost dawn.


    ...


    During noon, as I was working on a few projects inside the kitchen, I suddenly got the urge to look around the empty house.


    "Can''t believe that I''m missing those kids." I muttered with a sigh. I was already accustomed to Maggie and Amy''s bickering and non-stop chatter. It made me feel a little bit lonely right now when I was left alone in the empty house.


    My aunt went to pick up a few supplies from Calexico. She had a proper job now as she opened an auto shop that specialized in car modification. She had started to work on setting it up even before we went to Wisconsin, and needed to be finished with her store before the grand opening.


    My dad wanted to stay at home, but I ordered him to go to the port as he was needed there, after all I had bought the ship he had fallen in love with �C the one with the flaw in the engine, and right now a team of mechanics was currently working on getting that in order. I had actually figured out how to sort out the main issues a long time ago, but the manual labor needed to modify the ship was taking a long time, in fact I didn''t even think it could be finished before summer end.


    "Hmm...I can''t focus." I stretched my arms upwards before leaving my laptop and going to the fridge since it was almost time for lunch, therefore I decided to fix a special treat for myself.


    Unfortunately, there was nothing interesting in the fridge, so I could only make spaghetti with meatballs for lunch.


    A gush of loneliness suddenly blew all over me as I sat there eating alone as the warm memories of eating with my relatives surfaced in my mind.


    "Let''s see. The gala is tomorrow." I muttered to myself as I checked my schedule. "I need to make sure that my outfit is finished. It''s a Fashion Gala after all..."


    "I wonder what Taylor is going to wear tomorrow?"


    ...


    [General POV]


    It was a hot California summer day. The port was filled with visitors trying to book a cruise trip and plan for activities for the day. The hustling and bustling at the port however, brought a headache to the lone manager working at the Whitebeard Tourism Industry.


    Frankie Dart shouted calmly to the long line of people queueing in front of the office, "We''re already booked for the entire summer. You CAN check out the trip date at our website."


    "Why don''t you expand?!" A voice shouted from the crowd. Frankie was taken aback for a while before saying, "We don''t have enough captains�C Okay, I know that you guys have woken up early to queue, so we won''t let you go back empty handed. Here, take this consolatory bread and coffee from us."


    The crowd finally relented after that and dispersed. Frankie wiped her non-existing sweat before smiling at the woman next to her, "Another day, another issue right Dina?"


    "Do we really have no more prospective captains?" Dina asked.


    Frankie shook her head, "We have. But we cannot expand the scale here. There''s no more docking space for the ships."


    In Entertain Company, Harvey had yet another headache.


    "It''s a nice day outside, don''t you think so Mr Bruce?" Harvey said with a slight sarcastic tone to the FBI agent sitting in front of her office desk.


    Bruce chuckled a bit before saying seriously, "Well I''m sorry Ma''am. But this is a matter of national security. I need confirmation as soon as I can."


    "Basically you want backdoors to the apps to monitor potential threats. You want to do it yourself, but you CAN''T cause Edward encrypted everything for privacy."


    Bruce smiled wryly as Harvey stared at him menacingly. However, Harvey leaned forward and joined her hands together before staring at him right in the eyes.


    "Edward also predicted this. Laws about internet communications are full of loopholes, so he wants to keep his product''s clean for as long as humanly possible and he gave me clear guidelines on ways to do so. First, you need to get an official investigation document for us to open up the backdoor to a target''s chat logs-"


    "That won''t work-"


    "Let me finish." Harvey stopped Bruce from speaking. "I know what you think, and I didn''t mean a judge''s warrant. We just need an official letter from you asking us to cooperate, and proof that we had complied with the request."


    Bruce was a bit puzzled, "Why?"


    "We have our reasons." Harvey said dismissively as she leaned back on the chair.


    "Does this include all the apps, or just the Whatsapp app?" Bruce asked.


    Currently Entertain holds ownership over 3 social networking service apps and 1 mobile game. LinkedIn, Instagram, Whatsapp, and the Flappy Birds games.


    Some of the apps currently in development were the Entertain Video Streaming app�C which was basically Netflix in 2020, Angry Birds mobile game�C to continue Edward''s bird based game legacy, as well as another game called Temple Run.


    More than 1000 people were now hired by the company, which expanded the company''s business greatly.


    "Depends on what you need. As long as there''s an official letter from you guys, we will cooperate." Harvey said in a tired voice.


    She was hired to be the head of the legal team, which was a promotion from her job as head of the Entertain Entertainment Company legal team. Currently, she was regretting the promotions as even though the salary was great, the job kept piling up endlessly which made her can''t catch a break.


    Edward needed to ensure one party didn''t throw another party under the bus before he did it. Sometimes, too tight of a security would be a problem. That''s why he was complying with the FBI �C but he would still keep them under his supervision.


    Humans always fear the unknown, that included things out of their control. So it stood to reason that the government would want some control over his apps, and he would comply, as long as they gave him some benefits.


    This was an example of compromise. However, there were still a few people that were determined to destroy anything out of their control. Such as, a teenage pop star that signed an ''iron clad'' contract early in her career when she wanted to break free, something that said company couldn''t stand and thus would give her an ultimatum.


    Taylor was sitting in front of the devilishly good-looking vice director of her entertainment agency. Her face was pale, and her eyes were reddish.


    The Vice-Director said cockily, "Yes. You can break the contract. It''s in your right to do so. Just as we have the right to hold back ''your'' album, and restrict your camera appearances during the whole negotiation process plus... Don''t you remember what you signed? The album is actually already ours so not only do we get to do all that but we also OWN the masters. Add to that the fact that during said process we also hold purview over anything else you might write and I guess you can see how things stand already."


    "And sure maybe MAYBE you can get out in the end but even then... How long would that take? 2 years? Five? Will people even remember you by then?"


    "You SURE were prepared to get help from a third party, I admire you for that. I didn''t even notice the hidden clause until it went and bit me in the ass." The Vice-Director stood up, buttoned his suit and walked next to Taylor.


    He sat at the edge of her chair and put his hand on her shoulder. As she was becoming wary, he grabbed her chin and made her look him right in the eye, "Love? The media is really stupid. How can they not see how greedy you are? You just want to go to Entertain because they gave you more money."


    "That''s not-"


    "And Edward sure is eye-candy. But as long as I pay a little bit more money, I can twist up your relationship with him, painting you as a predator, ruin your reputation, and also your career."


    "Why are you doing this?" Taylor broke into tears.


    The Vice Director chuckled a bit and released her chin. He stood up and walked to the window, "Because...If I can''t have something, I''d rather destroy it then to let others have it."


    "So choose Taylor. Love, or your Career?" He turned and looked at her with an evil grin, his gaze carried no trace of remorse for what he was doing.


    Taylor gripped the edge of her shirt tightly until her hands were pale. Her eyes shook, and she thought for a while.


    "I will give you an answer, after the Gala." She said to the Vice-Director before walking out of the office.

 Chapter 168: Gala (1)

    Chapter 168: Chapter 168: Gala (1)


    [Edward POV]


    The models were walking on the runway accompanied by catchy pop music. They posed at the centre of the stage before walking back behind the curtain for a costume change.


    Wearing a black, bob-cut wig, and thick glasses, I slow-clapped at the exhibition while looking condescendingly at those ''designers''.


    My seat was at the second row of the left side of the stage, and it was the best seat Pepper could get me too, considering my low reputation in the fashion industry. I wasn''t mad, because there were a lot of celebrities sitting in the same row as me.


    I saw Emma Stone �C the future Gwen Stacy, and also Andrew Garfield sitting together. I also saw Zendaya and Elizabeth Gillies, awkwardly sitting next to each other.


    There were dozens of celebrities in the hall, and my presence almost became obscure from it. Well, almost.


    "Why are you being Edna Mode?" The 13 years old Anya-Taylor Joy whispered to me without making her seem impolite at the event.


    I smirked and said, "Because she''s awesome that''s why."


    She was in disbelief and said helplessly, "You''re a bit weird."


    I just met her at the event and by some stupid luck, we were sitting next to each other. So of course, I''m going to bother her. Friendly, but she was being a bit reserved. Therefore when she blurted out her true feelings like this, I was elated instead of disappointed.


    I continued examining the dresses as the models walked by then, I sighed.


    "Why are you so far away?"


    Taylor and Pepper were sitting together, on the right side of the stage, just because Pepper was slow at recognizing left and right when he came into the hall. He went to pick up Taylor and let me sit first, but this became the result.


    "I would have just waited for him to finish shitting if I knew." I said with a sigh as I waved at them from afar. Taylor gave me a giggle as she hiddenly waved back at me, and the jimmy jib camera flew across the right side to the left side at this time, startling her.


    "Versace Summer- Winter Collection, by Gavin Sinclair." The Emcee announced in a calm and polite manner as she presented the show.


    "Oh. It''s Haley''s future boss... and Gloria''s future murder victim..." I mumbled to myself as I looked at the bowing man standing in the middle of the stage before the models walked in.


    He was a tall, snobbish man with stylish glasses�C Rayban brand that was also part of my glasses design collection, and he behaved very contemptuously against the other designers there�C even though he had just ventured into the industry. That''s what having rich parents allows you to do after all.


    Then, the runway had a short break where they interviewed the guests, which allowed me to rejoin the duo.


    "Ed!" Taylor smiled and hugged me. She gave me a tight squeeze, which made me a bit confused.


    She was still smiling as she released me, and said, "I missed you!"


    "I missed you too. By the way, are you okay? You look a little upset."


    Taylor widened her eyes in shock while Pepper''s eyes darted between us. "How?" He mumbled, wondering if what I guessed was true.


    "I-I''m not upset." Taylor chuckled modestly while cupping her mouth and slapping my shoulder. Pepper scoffed suddenly, "I was excited for nothing. Ed, what do you think about the show?"


    "Are you the part timer interviewer right now?"


    "Wait- Hold on. Isn''t the most important question to ask right now...what is this? What are you wearing?" Taylor pointed at my wig and glasses. I shook my wig excitedly, making them dance around, "I''m just emulating my idol...Edna Mode."


    "Who?" Taylor was confused.


    "It''s from a movie." I replied with a sad smile. Then, she grabbed my hand and said, "Whatever~ You look, really weird!"


    "But, still handsome right? Like, weirdly so?" I asked with a teasing smirk. Taylor grabbed her chin in contemplation before saying, "Yes. So take it off right now."


    "Why?"


    "I don''t want my taste to become twisted!"


    Pepper rolled his eyes from the flirting going on in front of him and said, "I''m going to go meet Longinus. Ah, Ed, do you want to do the interview?"


    "Sure. I''d love to do it. I have... A LOT of comments about today''s show."


    Pepper was a bit taken aback, "Maybe...you shouldn''t do it? I haven''t had any real footing in this industry. I don''t want to get in trouble on our company''s first day in it.."


    I rolled my eyes at him and said, "When did you become so cowardly? Where''s the Pepper that continually snarked about Britney and complained about everyone''s fashion sense? Cause I need that guy today. You said we don''t have any footing, but honestly, that guy is the only one that can actually help us."


    I grabbed Pepper''s cheek and smushed his face, "Be..That GUY...He''s our only hope."


    "Yo...You''re right. I''d lost my edge because I''ve been too busy managing a company." Pepper self-actualized for a while before his eyes shone a determined glint. "I''M THAT GUY!"


    "YES!"


    I watched Pepper walk with a fiery stride and mingle with the designers and the guests, making snarky comments about their outfits and appearances�C which made him the centre of attention and helped him create several new connections that were useful for our company.


    They might not love him, but they did respect him for the fact that he could speak the truth. That was an important part of the fashion industry, not just the boot-licking.


    "You''re really awesome, you know that right?" Taylor suddenly said while looking at me with a soft gaze. I was confused and then brought her hand upwards and kissed the back of her palm.


    She was a bit startled and looked around instantly, making sure that no one had seen it.


    "Hey! Stop that!" She said, but she didn''t release her hand, and still kept a bright smile on her face.


    Then, we were called to the interview stage, and we decided to go and had the interview together.


    The interviewer �C Kate Moss, kept an unnatural smile on her face as she asked her question, "So, Edward Newgate? What are you wearing today?"


    The camera recorded my dashing black�Cindigo suit and a small cape on my left shoulder, mimicking the appearance of mediaeval shoulder armour. The design had captured the eyes of the designers in the show, making them constantly approach me.


    I lured him here today by giving him financial advice, which basically doubled his investment in a short period of time. However, I myself didn''t follow the plan.


    Despite the success, my source of information was from monitoring the politician''s chats and tapping their phone to find their internal trading plan. It was definitely illegal to do, but it was necessary for my future plans.


    "How much money a mere Entertainment agency can make?" I said with a slight chuckle. "Especially when the artist no longer has the intention of working for you."


    Hendricks furrowed his brows and I continued, "But, I can make you much much more. Of course, this is all within a year''s time."


    "So you want me to sell you Taylor''s rights, for your personal help in my financial growth?" He asked coldly.


    "That is your aim isn''t it? If not, you won''t even be here today." I replied casually.


    "And how should I know you''re not going to make me bankrupt?" He asked in a cold manner.


    "You don''t. The only thing that could stop me...is your decision today." I replied. "We both know words mean nothing to people like us. So it''s a gamble."


    He thought for a while, but the temptation was too great. And from his investigations, he already knew how Entertain grew big in a short period of time, and how much money we had made right now.


    The company grew too fast that a lot of people were keeping an eye on the company, waiting for the time for it to go public. However, I have no intention of sharing the executive decisions of the company, or letting others have a share in it.


    Hendricks finally decided to release Taylor, as right now, she was only going to do the company more harm than good.


    "Alright, let''s terminate the contract." He said. "But, if you go back on your words, you know what will happen to you." He gestured to his bodyguards, and they turned to intimidate me with their firearms.


    I laughed and said, "Don''t worry. As long as you keep your words, I''ll keep mine."


    After I integrated the [Charisma of Wicked Wisdom], I found myself easily getting the trust of people with bad personality and those who were mentally unstable. However, it could only be activated when they meet me face to face. That''s why I had to lure this guy out today.


    "Tell Greg I can''t make it to his Gala." Hendricks said after giving me the signed contract that signifies Taylor''s free artist status.


    "You mean, Gregory Versace?" I widened my eyes in disbelief as I heard it. I gave him a USB stick, in which he smiled greedily as he snatched it from my hand.


    "Yes, or is it too hard for you?" He asked, trying to get back into his character as a kind old man.


    "Nah. I can do that." I shrugged.


    I waved the sly old man goodbye as he hopped on a black helicopter that was waiting for him. Then, as they were flying off my wig flew off too because of the wind, causing me to curse. "Damn it!"


    "But I am really lucky. That guy didn''t notice that he had fallen into my trap." I mumbled to myself as I stroked my hair backward. It changed into a stylish hairstyle without any products needed, and I walked back to the venue.


    The more Hendricks followed my advice, the more dependent he would be on me. And when he finally realised that he had fallen into a quagmire of illegal insider trading, it would be too late and there would be nothing he could do at that time.


    ''I''ll show Taylor the contract after the event tonight to surprise her.'' I thought to myself.


    ...


    After meeting Gregory, I was actually dragged backstage by that guy as he COULDN''T STOP TALKING!


    I could see why Hendricks ran away quickly. He must be a long term victim of this guy.


    "And as you can see, this season''s collection focused on simplicity." Gregory said as he barged into the models'' changing room without even knocking.


    They were changing their clothes and were half�Cnaked while smoking cigarettes and snorting all sorts of stuff. All of them were startled by Gregory''s sudden presence there and were scrambling.


    They pushed the substances away to hide them before standing facing Gregory without any top on. I was a bit startled when I saw their reaction, but Gregory didn''t even react to it.


    He just scoffed and said to a beautiful brown skinned model with a bob-cut hair beside us, "Maybe instead of hiding it, you should wipe your nose instead."


    The model was embarrassed and she turned around to clean up her nose quickly.


    "Sorry Edward, I''ve shown you such a pathetic scene." Gregory apologised.


    "Oh, that''s okay. I''m used to it." I replied.


    Gregory then nodded with a disappointed look on his face, "That''s...sad."


    I nodded and followed him to go and see the designers, but Gregory had an important call and said, "Wait here. I''ll be right back."


    "Sure." I replied. I didn''t know why he was bringing me around and introducing me to everyone, but I guess it has something to do with Taylor''s agency president. He knew exactly what I needed, therefore he gave me a helping hand.


    However, as I was left alone in the model''s changing room, the models'' gaze turned coquettish and precocious. They started clamouring and encircling me like a pack of vultures.


    "Oh my god. He''s so cute!" one of the models said.


    "Edward? I''m your fan. Can you sign my boobs?" A topless European model with only panties on propped her breast towards me as she gave me a marker.


    "Ed, you want a hit?" Some models returned to making ''lines'' before snorting them, and offered me some.


    "Hey! He''s still a young boy!" One of the older models hugged me from behind to stop me �C even though I had no intention of taking the offer.


    "So what? Drew Barrymore started cocaine at 12 years old." The model who offered scoffed before returning to her cocaine.


    I shook my head and said, "The only drug I''ve ever taken is caffeine. Also, get a piece of paper if you want me to sign it!"


    The models laughed from my reaction. Some of them kept poking my cheek as ''I was just such a cute boyyy'' , which irked me a lot. But I still kept my cool as I gave them the autographs and also took a few pictures with them.


    Then, my attention turned to a young, Swedish girl that was sitting alone at the makeup table. I saw her smiling to herself as she took out a piece of candy and ate it hiddenly after finishing her runway walk, before bursting into tears.


    My mind became chaotic and I was taken aback for a while. ''Ah, this fucking crazy industry.'' I cursed in my mind before walking towards that girl.

 Chapter 169: Gala (2)

    Chapter 169: Chapter 169: Gala (2)


    (Sorry it took so long. I just finished the rewriting. Still, this isn''t fixed yet lol. I may be changing it after my editor take a look at it. I''ll tell you if I''m going to make some changes later)


    [Edward POV]


    "Hey, what''cha eating?"


    The Swedish model was startled and she blurted out, "Mixed food drop?"


    "You mean fruit...drop?" I teased her. She blushed as she lowered her gaze to check the name on the tin. "What''s your name?" I asked.


    "Astrid."


    "Hi, nice to meet you Astrid." I said as I shook hands with her. She smiled and said, "Nice to meet you too. Umm...do you want one?" She picked up one of the candies and gave it to me.


    "Sure." I didn''t take it with my hand, but picked it up with my mouth instead. Astrid laughed and we talked for a while.


    Like I expected, she had been dieting hard to prepare herself for the show, and the tiny piece of candy was the only sugar-filled food that she had eaten in the last 6 months.


    "Damn. You''re a very dedicated girl. I would go crazy if I went without sugar for more than 2 days." I said as I patted her head slightly. She was baffled at first, but then she smiled sincerely, "Thanks. I work very hard. "


    "Astrid! I told you, if you do cocaine, then you can have as much sugar as you want-"


    "Shut up Tiffany!" Astrid yelled at the drug addicted girl behind her.


    "Edward, does this seem fake to you?" Another European model approached me while covering her breast with her hands. I rolled my eyes at the forwardness of these girls here, and then I gave up trying to change their attitudes.


    I then changed the topic and asked them about how they got started in this industry, and what it takes for someone to become a model. They replied to me enthusiastically, and even encouraged me to venture into this industry.


    They were in love with my proportions, and said that if I didn''t become a singer, I could definitely make it as a model.


    They invited me to come to the afterparty, for which I told them I was already on the guest list. Then, they explained to me that they were talking about another type of ''afterparty'', but I ignored the subject.


    "Oh, Edward. I''m sorry. They didn''t do anything weird to you didn''t they?"Gregory came back and asked while looking menacingly at the girls. They snickered as they met his gaze, and one of them spoke up, "How do you know HE didn''t do anything weird to us?"


    "Oh right. Ed, did you do anything weird to them?" Gregory asked me teasingly.


    I was tired from the farce and rolled my eyes, "Of course not."


    "Great. I trust you. Let''s go. There''s a few more people I want you to meet." Gregory said and led me away.


    "Wait. Edward." Astrid grabbed my hand and then sneaked the can of candy in it. "What the-" I was confused, and then she explained with a soft smile, "I promised myself to only eat one. So you can take the rest."


    The models were looking at me with a soft and kind smile as they waved me goodbye.


    "Maybe I should go to the after party?" I muttered to myself as I waved them back before I left.


    ...


    [General POV]


    "Taylor!!" Selena, who was wearing a shoulderless white dress, ran lightly and jumped to hug her friend.


    "Selena! You''re late!" Taylor''s face was filled with displeasure but her body reacted honestly and returned the hug.


    "I''m sorry. The shoot ran late. Where''s Ed?" Selena looked around in excitement.


    "He''s suffering backstage." Taylor replied.


    "Suffering? Hanging out with the hot models is suffering?" Selena asked teasingly.


    "Not the models, but a chattering old man. Anyway, that''s his words, not mine. Like you, I don''t believe he''s suffering either." Taylor said before breaking into a smile.


    Selena then asked, "So, what do you want to ask me about?"


    "I... I need your advice..." Taylor said with indecision. She wanted to ask, but at the same time, she didn''t want anyone to find out about her whole situation, not even her best friend.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    After the last runway show, we finally got to the main event of the Gala. Basically, a dinner and a show. Versace conducted an award event with some performances in between.


    I sat at a circular table with Pepper, Taylor, Selena, a few models from the fashion show, and last but not least, Anya Taylor Joy.


    "Can you say Waku Waku?" I whispered to the young Anya that was sitting on my right. I was planning for Taylor to sit on my left, but she insisted on Selena sitting there.


    "What do you mean?" Anya was confused.


    "Waku Waku. Say it?" I asked with a sly smirk. Anya was confused, but she did it anyway, "Waku...waku?"


    "Not that way. But, I guess that''s the normal way of saying it."


    "What''s ''Waku Waku''?" Selena asked in confusion.


    "It just means ''feeling excited'' in Japanese." I explained, causing both Anya and Selena to exclaim in realisation.


    Selena lowered her body a bit, making her cleavage prominent. She lazily put her arms on the table and shot me a seductive glance.


    "It makes sense that you know Japanese. I don''t even question it anymore."


    "Hmm? Why do you think that?" I asked in confusion as I mimicked her.


    She was a bit taken aback, but then she showed an intrigued smile, "Well, you''re a genius right? You said you know a few languages in your interviews before."


    "Oh. How many of my interviews have you watched?"


    "A lot of them." She said while slightly touching my forearm. I glanced at Taylor whom I noticed was watching us, but to my confusion, she was smiling. On the other side of me however, Selena was feeling deep chills behind her back, and had goosebumps all over her body.


    But I was also bothered by Taylor''s lack of reaction to whatever ''this'' was. It made me wonder if she either just trusted me a lot, or just didn''t actually care about me. It made me want to flirt with Selena more. (Toxic Edward LoL)


    While I was mulling everything over, the waitresses entered the hall carrying silver trays and went to each table to present the first course.


    "The entre?e" The waitress said while putting the silver tray in front of me and opening the cover, "Devonshire Crab, smoked haddock, and Granny Smith Apple."


    Despite the long name, the portion of the food was actually pitiful. It was barely a bite, and most of the stuff on the plate was for appearances.


    I didn''t comment on the food because I didn''t have any prior expectations for it, it was the fashion industry. Pepper however smiled brightly as he ate his share.


    "Oh, it''s a superb combination." He mumbled to himself.


    After finishing the entree, the waitresses cleared up the plates to prepare for the next course. I tried to strike up a conversation with Taylor a few times, but she was being indifferent. And when she told me to go talk to Selena, I finally understood what happened.


    We laughed it off, and then we started to change our clothes. And unsurprisingly, Selena was the one who lost the game. Her eyes were affixed on me when I changed my shirt, but she looked away in embarrassment as I changed my pants.


    "Edward! You''re here!" Astrid, the model that I met before in the changing room greeted me cheerfully as Taylor, Selena and I entered the club.


    The band was singing the song, [Blink-182 - What''s My Age Again?], after we got in, which made me feel a bit weird.


    "They are not throwing this at me right?" I asked.


    Astrid burst into laughter, seemingly a bit drunk. She held my arm intimately and said, "You''re just overthinking it. Come on! Let''s have some fun!"


    Taylor then glared at Astrid, but the model wasn''t backing down. Taylor then said to me, "Sure, but Edward shouldn''t be drinking."


    "I know that." Astrid said with a smug look on her face. However, a few minutes later, I was already on my second glass of champagne as I walked around the clubroom. I danced with Taylor and Selena, and partied with the girls for a little while.


    The party soon became sparse as people were leaving to either have sex or get some rest. There were less than 10 people inside the room, including the 3 band members playing a slow song.


    I looked at the slightly drunk Taylor and asked, "Hey. Are you okay?"


    "Yeah, I can still drink�C"


    "That''s not what I meant. You seem a bit weird today." I brushed her stray hair behind her ear. She looked at me with a flushed face�C both from the alcohol and being a bit shy.


    She suddenly received a text from someone, causing her to pull herself away. I got a text too at the same time, and I smiled as I saw the link to the article that Pepper had sent me.


    The photo of Taylor and I dancing together had been viral, and was causing a frenzied reaction from our shippers.


    I turned to Taylor to share it with her, but saw that her face was pale. She stood up and walked out of the club without saying anything.


    "Hmm? What just happened?" I muttered. Selena who was sitting nearby shrugged as she also had no clue about the whole thing.


    I decided to follow Taylor outside of the club. I was shocked when I caught her wiping her eyes, and was trying to hide her appearance from me when I saw it.


    "Taylor? What''s wrong?" I asked with concern.


    Taylor tried to run, but I guided her to the wall before releasing her arm. Before she could recollect herself, I placed my hand to the wall, preventing her from escaping.


    I gazed intently into her eyes, causing her to gulp her saliva. I asked, "Mind telling me what''s going on?"


    Her heart beat quicker from anger and she clenched her fist, "Ed, I...I admire you, but, things won''t work out between us."


    I was confused as to what nonsense she was talking about, but I let her speak and didn''t interrupt her. Seeing my silent reaction, she became angrier and said, "I''m breaking up with you!"


    "You can''t."


    "Why not?!"


    "Because we never dated." I said. Taylor opened her mouth, but then she realised that what I said was true.


    "Then, that makes it easier right?!" She said with a choked up voice I rubbed my chin in contemplation, thinking about why she was acting this way.


    "Does this have something to do with your agency?" I asked. She flinched and hugged her body, "I don''t know what you mean�C"


    "Oh. So I''m right huh." I muttered as I could sense I was right based on her body language.


    "Is someone holding something over you?" I asked, causing her face to turn pale. "Or maybe, blackmailing you, and it had something to do with me? Like, they want you to stay away from me?"


    "Oh. I''m right. Let''s see...Let''s see...Got it! That bastard Joseph huh...He''s the only one who I can''t get to in the negotiation. So I wonder if he said that he''s going to ruin your career or�C"


    I studied Taylor''s face, and I shocked myself again when I noticed that I was right at the first guess.


    [Taylor POV]


    ''What should I do? He''s getting too close.''


    The powerlessness I''d been feeling for days made my knees weak and my throat closed up. When he almost guessed it, a glimmer of light shone in my otherwise dark thoughts. However, fake hope hurts more than the cruel reality.


    And the reality was, if I needed to choose between my career and being with him, I''d choose my career. I have dreamed of becoming an artist since I was a kid, and I just met Edward a few months ago.


    This was all because I met him too soon. If only I met him later in the future. Then, maybe the situation would be better. Maybe I would have the strength to follow my heart then.


    I ran outside of the club because I got a text from my agency''s vice director, telling me that he needed my decision before tomorrow, as he saw the link of me spending time with Edward at the Gala.


    "FUCK HIM! FUCK FUCK FUCK!" I cursed as soon as I got out of the club.


    The moment I was blackmailed, I became determined. I would follow the agency''s instructions for now, and cultivate my own reputation without depending on anyone else.


    When I finally have enough power to stand alone, I would burn down the agency to the ground. I vowed to enact revenge, and my spite filled me with boundless rage.


    Yeah, I was angry with myself. And I was angry with my agency. I was also angry with Edward. I was angry at everything. I hid my raging heart behind my smile as I looked into Edward''s eyes.


    "Huh?" Edward was confused when he saw my smile.


    "Ed. It was fun." I muttered as I gave up. Yeah, I gave up for now. I no longer had any hope before I came here.


    Edward was silent for a while before he said, "It was." His face was filled with disappointment, and it made my heart ache.


    "But now, we both know that it''s over." I continued despite the pain I was feeling.


    Edward was looking at me with a worried expression. I brought my arms up and held his face intimately, "It just...wasn''t meant to be. I...still want to sing, and if I need to stay away from you..."


    "Before you go any further. I should tell you this." Edward interrupted. I looked at him with a hurt smile. He grabbed my hands and lowered them. He said in a cold tone, "It''s done. Hendricks already signed the contract. You are now a free artist."


    "What?" I widened my eyes in shock.


    "Joseph, or anyone else who''s threatening you, don''t really have any powers to do anything." Edward continued. "I can show you the contract if you want."


    "Ed-Ed." I called his name, but I didn''t really know what to say. It was supposed to be a great thing for us, but the situation right now has become awkward because I wanted to break the relationship off before.


    Right then, his cold face melted and he showed a teasing smile, "Wait. Are you crying?"


    "Of course I am crying, you dumbass!" I shouted at him. How could he be so crude with a girl''s feelings? The more he laughed, the madder I felt.


    Then, he hugged me. He patted my back softly as my head was pressed against his chest. "Oh you poor girl." He said, causing me to cry harder and ruin all of my makeup.


    A sense of relief washed all over me. I think that''s why I could care about my appearance right now.


    I slowly pushed Edward away, and then looked him in the eye. Then, I leaned in and kissed his lips.


    As we separated, I muttered, "Edward. Thanks. I know there''s a lot we need to talk about, but...just for this moment, can we just be together?"


    Edward then smiled even though his eyes were telling me that he was hurt. "Come on. I''ll accompany you back to your place."


    He didn''t say anything, and I felt both guilty and thankful for that. Right now, there was too much on my mind. Maybe I''ll get a fresh start tomorrow and be braver. God knows I needed that.

 Chapter 170: Tour Begins!

    Chapter 170: Chapter 170: Tour Begins!


    {A/N: Season 2 Finale!}


    [Edward POV]


    After I sent Taylor home, I went back to my place and turned on my laptop.


    "Joseph, right. Just you fucking wait." I murmured with rage in my eyes.


    I didn''t even sleep that night, and when the morning came, I worked out tremendously to calm down my emotions.


    "What are you doing?" My dad asked.


    "Waiting." I said while doing shirtless pushups.


    "For?" He asked, a bit intrigued.


    "For you to get to work before I can finally be at peace."


    "That''s a little hurtful."


    I realised that I had accidentally released my pent up anger at him, so I apologized, "Sorry."


    "Want to talk to Dr Linda?" He asked.


    "YOU GO TALK TO HER!" I exploded after he kept badgering me and lingering around.


    I went to the Entertain company in the afternoon to settle Taylor''s signing with our agency. When I met with Taylor, she smiled and tried to act like usual, but I knew that she was still feeling awkward about the whole thing.


    She was feeling anxious because she blurted out that she was going to abandon me, and provided no explanation about that. And I was also anxious because I wanted to hear the details to understand her better.


    But as we didn''t communicate with each other, the air between us kept getting colder and colder. We sat next to each other in the meeting room with Harvey, Pepper, and Taylor''s lawyer.


    "Alright. Taylor, we will give you the same contract as Edward, but you need to understand that his extra percent of the income was based on his ability to create his own melody and produce his own songs, so it won''t be exactly the same." Harvey explained simply.


    Taylor didn''t talk as she read the contract. Harvey then continued, "But, the conditions for the extras will be there if you decide to fully create your songs. We won''t discriminate against you, so don''t worry about it."


    Taylor smiled brightly and then said, "Let''s talk about employee benefits. Will I be able to choose who I''m dating?"


    "Sure. But keep it on the downlow when you are still trying to get to know each other. If you decide to get serious, then we can reveal it. This is just a suggestion, not a rule." Pepper said with a sly smile as he glanced at the both of us.


    Taylor and I automatically turned towards each other, and then we decided something inwardly. After the signing process, we told each other what we had decided to do.


    "Let''s just keep things the way it is for now." Taylor said.


    I agreed with her and added, "Yeah. Besides, we won''t be seeing each other much for months!"


    "That''s true. Who knows what will happen during that time!" Taylor muttered with a nervous smile.


    ...


    Later that night at my house. As I turned on the news;


    [The Vice President of a highly rated entertainment agency was arrested earlier this morning for possession of illegal narcotics and heroin inside his apartment. The police stated that they received an anonymous source before they took action.]


    The footage showed Joseph''s figure being escorted to the police car with his hands cuffed behind his back.


    [Not only did he try to resist arrest but police also found multiple incriminating documents in his apartment. The suspect was found to be blackmailing aspiring young girls into having sex with him for a chance in their career, with the numbers of victims in the double digit figure.]


    I changed the tv channel as I opened up a can of beer before sitting on the couch.


    [Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Turtle in a Hard Shell!]


    "Turtle power." I exclaimed with a smile on my face as I watched the cartoon show. However, as the incident happened, a heavy desire to clean my house grew inside of me.


    Unfortunately, my house was already clean.


    "Fuck." I cursed before angrily went to tend the garden in front of my house. The sunflowers I had planted when I first decided to change had bloomed. My front yard was filled with the sunflowers, which eased up my frustrations.


    "~Needless to say, I keep her in check, She was a bad-bad, nevertheless (yeah)~"


    I hummed as I water the sunflowers in the middle of the night.


    ...


    "Ohh, you guys have waited for this long enough." I said holding a microphone as I stood in front of my fans. They cheered and applauded as I walked on the stage. In front of me was filled with banners of my name and my posters, which made me smile.


    Before my tour started, I had plans for a fan meeting, but it was postponed because of my trip to Wisconsin. I wanted to do it online, but I decided to make sure to have a more personal touch in this.


    We were all inside an auditorium near Pasadena, where more than 500 girls had come to join the fan meeting. Not only that, hundreds more were waiting outside the venue just to catch a glimpse of their new favourite artist.


    I sat on a tall stool on the stage before the emcee let the first girl ask a question.


    "Hey, wait, I know you." I said to the girl, interrupting her.


    The girl smiled, flattered, and I added, "Yeah. You came to my school concert. Rebecca right?"


    The girl squealed before saying, "Edward you''re the greatest guy on the planet!!."


    The crowd laughed and I chuckled. She then asked, "My question is about your song, Toxic. Did you experience that personally?"


    I gulped some water before replying slowly. Most of the girls just wanted to talk to me, and I had fun with them for a while.


    "Edward, what should we call ourselves as your fan club?" Lily, the president of the fanclub asked.


    "Hmm..." I thought seriously. I didn''t want something like ''Beliebers'' or ''Swifties'', and I wanted something that means a lot to me.


    "Hey, who''s here have ever watched the Japanese animation, One Piece?" I asked them while raising my hands up.


    The crowd were confused for a while before I saw some sparsely raised hands from them.


    "You guys might not know this, but that show is my favorite show in the world." I said with a laugh. The fans smiled as they listened intently to my words.


    "Inside the show, there''s a character with the same name as I am, The Captain of the Whitebeard Pirate Crew, Edward D. Newgate. If you guys know my dad''s business, then you can see where I got the reference for it."


    The crowd gasped in realization and murmured. "Anyway, that character is named the Strongest Man in the world. Now, I carry the same name as him, so I may not be able to be the strongest man, but I want to strive to be the best performer in the world."


    "So my thoughts are like this. Just for you guys, for my fans. I will be the ''Captain'', and you guys will be the thing a pirate always dreams of...''Treasures''."


    "How is that? Is that cool? It''s not confirmed yet, so if you have any other suggestions, just let me know." I spoke casually.


    "Treasures...Hehe...That''s a great name." Lily mumbled to herself.


    "How about NewBies?"A girl gave a suggestion.


    "That sounds like Bieber''s new fan name." Lily shouted quickly to shut down the idea.


    I was also startled when I heard the name. To be honest, it was pretty great. But I''m pretty sure that the girl who mentioned it was a member of the new dark side of Twitter that has been shipping me and Justin Bieber together.


    I shuddered at the thought and listened to a few more suggestions. We got ''Army'', ''New Armada'', ''Gaties'', ENTrain, and a lot more. After a vote, my original idea won.


    The fan event went for an entire day. I took pictures with the fans, gave out some autographs. I ended up signing everything from papers, albums, posters, shirts, and even in some cases bare skin.


    "Just...don''t tattoo it on yourself okay?" I said to the inked goth girl who wanted me to sign her shoulder.


    "Oh ho~ But I will." She said excitedly.


    When I was done with the event, I waited alone in the waiting room as my manager handled my logistics.


    Dreaming about the things we could be


    But baby, I''ve been, I''ve been praying hard"


    Edward raised his hand to the sky, "Said, "No more counting dollars, we''ll be, we''ll be counting stars"??


    "??Yeah, yeah??"


    "Oh my god. I am in love with the song." Elsa muttered. "What about me baby?!" Jacob asked fearfully.


    Mrs Henderson who was standing amongst the crowd smiled at Edward''s growth and said, "Goodbye Edward."


    Edward smiled at the crowd. His skin glistened with sweat as he walked to the left side of the stage.


    "??I feel your love, and I feel it burn


    Down this river, every turn


    Hope is our four-letter word


    Make that money, watch it burn!??"


    Claire smiled and joked, "He''s making all that cash to burn? No wonder he''s been working crazily for money."


    "Mom, that''s not funny." Alex retorted.


    "??Old, but I''m not that old


    Young, but I''m not that bold


    And I don''t think the world is sold


    On just doing what we''re told


    And I feel something so wrong~


    Doing the right thing~??"


    "??I couldn''t lie, couldn''t lie, couldn''t lie~


    Everything that drowns me makes me wanna fly??"


    6 days of tour at the Staples Center, and Edward performed to over 100,000 people.


    "??Lately, I''ve been, I''ve been losing sleep


    Dreaming about the things that we could be


    But baby, I''ve been, I''ve been praying hard


    Said, "No more counting dollars, we''ll be counting stars"??"


    After that, it was non-stop traveling and performing for him. He didn''t spend time like his peers, spending summer at the beach or going to the amusement park.


    "??Lately, I''ve been, I''ve been losing sleep


    Dreaming about the things that we could be


    But baby, I''ve been, I''ve been praying hard


    Said, "No more counting dollars, we''ll be, we''ll be counting stars"??"


    He slept for only 4 hours per day, his schedule was busy with fan meets, interviews, meeting important people, and performing.


    ??Oh, take that money, watch it burn


    Sink in the river the lessons I''ve learned??


    ??Take that money, watch it burn


    Sink in the river the lessons I''ve learned??


    Without him realizing it, summer was already over.


    ??Take that money, watch it burn


    Sink in the river the lessons I''ve learned??


    ??Take that money, watch it burn


    Sink in the river the lessons I''ve learned??


    When he finally arrived in New York, the one person he wanted to meet there didn''t come to see him. Rather, he only met her mom�C Desire.


    ??Everything that kills me... makes me feel alive??


    His face carried traces of fatigue, but he gave his all during his performances. From dancing, to interacting with the fans. Performing during the rain, and also while it was very hot outside.


    ??Lately, I''ve been, I''ve been losing sleep


    Dreaming about the things that we could be


    But baby, I''ve been, I''ve been praying hard


    Said, "No more counting dollars, we''ll be counting stars"??


    When school finally started again, Haley was concerned when Edward missed out on the entire first week of school.


    ??Lately, I''ve been, I''ve been losing sleep


    Dreaming about the things that we could be


    But baby, I''ve been, I''ve been praying hard


    Said, "No more counting dollars, we''ll be, we''ll be counting stars"??


    ??Take that money, watch it burn


    Sink in the river the lessons I''ve learned??


    ??Take that money, watch it burn


    Sink in the river the lessons I''ve learned??


    ??Take that money, watch it burn


    Sink in the river the lessons I''ve learned??


    ??Take that money, watch it burn


    Sink in the river the lessons I''ve learned??


    While others were studying, Edward was conducting interviews and was going to attend various awards programs. His life had become so different from his friends, that it was hard for him to even talk to them.


    "Hmm...I hope Edward will come back soon." Haley muttered as she waited for him to reply to her texts.


    (2 months timeskip after this)

 Chapter 171: Bro.

    Chapter 171: Chapter 171: ?Bro.


    [General POV]


    Las Vegas. After finishing up the last concert for his national tour, Edward walked backstage with sweat dripping down his chin. For his last tour, he was performing for 4 days in front of 80,000 people in the Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden venue, and his exit caused a lot of fans to cry from the frustrations of not getting the ticket to watch him live.


    A staff member ran to give him a towel, prompting him to say his thanks before walking toward where his manager was standing.


    While wiping his face and wet hair, Edward asked, "How many more are on the schedule?"


    "Only one left. And congrats Ed for finishing your tour." The awkward asian man smiled brightly as he wanted to give Edward a hug, but stopped halfway considering how sweaty the singer was, and settled for a handshake instead.


    Edward laughed and said, "Jim-"


    "Randall...Please stop calling me Jim Halpert. I don''t even get that reference." Randall Park said exasperatedly, but with a smile on his face.


    He still remembers when he went for the interview, Edward hired him instantly when he saw his face. He has been called many names such as ''Jimmy Woo, Jim Halpert'', and many more.


    At first he thought that Edward was secretly racist, but then he figured out that he had been calling him some character''s name from a show he had never watched.


    "Oh, and the FBI is sending an agent today." Randall continued. Edward was confused, "For what? Why didn''t they go to the company?"


    "No, they said it was for your protection. I think they want to talk to you before your concert." Randall guessed.


    "???" Edward was confused as he thought about it.


    "Anyway...Let''s go meet my super fans.. Shall we?"


    "You mean, your richest fans? That you want to empty out their wallet today?" Randall joked with the truth.


    Edward pouted, "It seems that you want to go to find me a nice shooting location in Antarctica."


    His threat didn''t work as Randall was excited instead, "And meet the penguins?!"


    "..."


    Edward didn''t say anything and just left.


    ...


    After finishing school, Alex, Finneas, Billy and Enid who were still in middle school went to visit the Palisades High School to support their friend.


    "Hmmm....I don''t think Ed can make it." Jacob said, filled with nervous energy as he was going to try out for the football team.


    Elsa was a bit dissatisfied and irritated, "Didn''t he promise you that he''s going to try out with you? Did he forget? I''ll call him-"


    Before she could dial her phone, Jacob stopped her gently, "You can''t really blame the guy. He''s basically been working 20 hours a day non stop for almost the entire summer."


    "But-"


    "It''s fine. I don''t want him here. I''d rather let him rest for a bit. Besides, this isn''t the only try outs the team is going to hold. There''s going to be another one in the next season." Jacob said, hiding his sadness, but it was obvious to see when people looked into his eyes.


    "Ugh!" Elsa grunted in anger. Although she understood what Jacob said, she knew that her boyfriend was very much looking forward to joining the team with Edward.


    "You know, if the teacher''s a fan, Edward could just waltz in everytime you guys are training." Alex said comfortingly.


    Elsa and Jacob both turned towards her with an excited look on their faces. Jacob, because he imagined it, and Elsa because she found out how to motivate his boyfriend.


    And then, Elsa was hit with a sudden sense of worthlessness as she turned back to look at Jacob and saw his expectant look.


    "Babe. Tell me. You love Edward more than you love your own girlfriend right?" Elsa said self-deprecatingly.


    "NO JACOB DON''T ANSWER IT''S A TRAP!" Abraham shouted immediately as he saw the dangerous scene in front of him.


    While Abraham was arguing with Elsa and everyone was paying attention to them, Enid nudged Alex''s waist slightly with her elbow.


    "Hey, Edward is coming, right?" Enid asked, whispering.


    "I really have no idea-"


    "Liar. You''d been texting him the entire time." Enid exposed her.


    "Well I don''t want to break Jacob''s heart before he auditions!" Alex replied defensively and pulled Enid to the back to have a private talk with her.


    [Alex''s commentary]


    "A few days ago, my mom and my dad suddenly decided to compete to see who could run the fastest. It was the first day of school, so I didn''t pay much attention to them, but then when I told Edward about it, he said, ''Let''s make this interesting''."


    "I picked my mom as she was the most obvious choice. She ran every day. She even participated in a half-marathon last year. So yeah, I thought I could finally win and completely wipe out my bet debt to him. You know, the one where I need to lie for him 3 times. I did it twice, but he''s been dragging out the last one. I live in anxiety every single day since he won that bet, and even have nightmares about it." Alex exaggerates.


    "But, the result of the race disappoints me." Alex muttered in a sad tone before she got irritated, "He even guessed that Haley would run my dad over with a car. I mean, how is that even possible!?"


    [Commentary ends]


    Standing a few metres away at the audience seat was Haley, Tara, and Tara''s new boyfriend who''s a senior football team player.


    "Hey Haley, who do you like watching more? Me or Tim?" A sleazy football player tried to flirt with Haley from the ground.


    "She''d rather stab her eyeball with a fork than watch either of you losers. AndFuck off Kim! Your name sounds like a girl''s name." Tara chased the dumb jock away. They laughed while they walked towards their coach, and Tara said to Haley, "Are you sure you''re going to wait here?"


    "Yeah. Don''t you have to wait here too?" Haley asked Tara in confusion. Tara looked at her boyfriend and waved him away as he went to huddle up before replying to Haley, "Nah. I''m meeting with Dan at the mall."


    "Wait. You''re dating both boys at once?!"


    "No. Dan and I aren''t dating. We''re just talking and making out a little." Tara replied casually with a sly grin. "What about you? Still waiting for the prince to look your way?"


    "Shut up! I''m not waiting for anything!"


    Not only them, but a lot of people who were still at school started to gather around the football stadium to check out the noise. The crowd clapped as Edward safely landed on the ground and ran lightly to go to where the coach was standing.


    Haley slapped Tara''s arm repeatedly, causing her friend to squirm in pain. "Stop that!"


    "He''s here! He''s finally here!"


    "Yeah, but he don''t know you''re here-"


    "HALEY!" Edward shouted from afar as he waved at Haley. The latter giggled and said to her friend, "You were saying?"


    "Ugh." Tara groaned in disgust. "Now can I leave?"


    "What? Oh, yeah yeah sure. You can leave." Haley said casually while blushing as she gazed in Edward''s direction.


    Jacob walked towards Edward and said, "I didn''t believe you would come."


    "That''s what she said." Abraham interrupted.


    Edward chuckled and gave him a thumbs up before saying, "Well, I promised didn''t I?"


    "Umm..." Alex looked at the duo with an excited look as her imagination ran wild. Enid was already breathing heavily beside her, and pinching her nose to make sure that she wouldn''t get a nosebleed.


    "I need to talk to the coach." Edward said before he turned around, but surprisingly, the fat coach with a white mustache had already walked towards him.


    "Edward, right? The principal told me you''d be coming here. If you did this last year, maybe I''ll send you to the principal''s office, but I want to retire peacefully this year, so I''m just going to let you off with a warning. Are you here to audition for the Dolphins?"


    Edward scowled in disgust, "Ugh. Dolphins. Who in their right mind would name the school team after the ocean''s most prominent rapist�C Yeah, I''m trying out for the team."


    "Really? Are you sure? Signing up for the team will make you open to getting injured. And I figured it would be a pretty big risk for you to take considering you need all of your fingers to play your instruments."


    Jacob turned pale as he realized the truth behind the coach''s words. He interrupted quickly, "No coach. He''s just here to root for me. He''s not joining the team."


    Edward scoffed and slapped the back of Jacob''s helmeted head. "Calm down will ya. I already said I''m going to try to enter the team, and I''m not going back on my words. Also, I need to have a long talk with Principal Brown about changing the school''s team mascot."


    "But Ed-" Alex chimed in.


    "Bup Bup Bup Bup Bup. I''m not doing it for Jacob. My hands have been itching to play football for a while now. So you guys don''t have to convince me otherwise. Also, I''m aiming to be the team''s backup. You guys know how my schedule is right?"


    Edward''s group of friends nodded knowingly. Finneas muttered, "The back breaking schedule."


    "The GOD is dead schedule." Jenna added.


    "The ''I''m a money making monster'' schedule." Alex chimed in.


    "Shut up all of you." Edward scolded them.


    The coach smiled and before Edward could show his skills, he said, "Alright. You''re on the team."


    "That''s easy??" Jacob muttered in confusion.


    "You made the team too Green." The coach turned to Jacob and said.


    "Wait what?" Elsa contorted her face in confusion.


    The coach then said, "Well we lost most of the team players after the seniors all graduated. So, we need everyone that we can get. The training starts next week. See you then."


    Edward grabbed the coach''s shoulder before he could walk away, "That''s it???"


    The coach nodded casually, "Yeah. And also, between you and me, a celebrity joining our team is really good for when I want to apply for funding. So I''m not going to even try to see if you''re good or not."


    The coach walked away happily, leaving behind a stunned group of students.


    "So I guess...I''m on the team?" Edward said in disbelief and puzzlement. Jacob was confused too, but then Elsa shouted, "YOU GUYS ARE ON THE TEAM!!"


    Enid joined in, "CONGRATULATIONS YOU GUYS!!!"


    "WAY TO GO!" Jenna shouted.


    Alex was laughing till her stomach hurts from the incident that she missed out on the group hug later on.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Haley!" I called from afar. Haley turned quickly and before she could react, I had already ran towards her and hugged her while spinning her around. She exclaimed excitedly as she hugged me back, "You''re back!"


    "For now-" I put Haley down, but before I could talk to her, he saw Alex and the rest of his friends looking at him in dissatisfaction.


    "What?" I asked in confusion.


    "Why does SHE have the special greeting? I want that too!" Abraham said.


    I furrowed my brows in disgust, "I''m not hugging you."


    "Sexist!" Abraham jeered.


    "Don''t discriminate against men!" Finneas added.


    "Yeah! Or we''ll talk shit about you on twitter!" Jacob joined in.


    "Fuck off!" I raised my middle finger to them.


    "Edward! You''re back! Now, spin me too!" Enid said mockingly as she pretended Jenna was Edward. Jenna laughed and ran towards Enid before hugging her and spinning her around. She then ran her finger on Enid''s side of the face before grabbing her chin, "I''m back my love."


    Haley blushed and I could feel the blood rushing towards my head. I laughed with a red face and said, "Alright. Hang out at my place? Who''s in?"

 Chapter 172: A breather.

    Chapter 172: Chapter 172: A breather.


    [Edward POV]


    "Ahhh...I''m finally home!" I muttered with exhaustion as I sat on the couch in the living room.


    "It''s not dusty at all." Abraham said while wiping the wooden cabinet near the TV. Enid and Haley sat at my left and right side respectively, while the others were lounging around the house.


    "Hmm...That''s true." I muttered in confusion. "I''m sure that my dad won''t care about tidiness, so I wonder if he had hired a housekeeper."


    "Don''t you have an aunt?" Enid asked.


    "That''s sexist. And also, same situation as my dad. Both are messy people." I replied jokingly.


    Alex looked at Haley while holding back her laugh. Haley whispered to her angrily, "One word, and you''re dead."


    Of course, their interaction didn''t escape my eyes. "What''s going on?" I turned to my right and looked at Haley straight in the eyes. She was startled at first and was trying to dodge the question, "Ed, are you hungry�C"


    "A little bit. But I want to know what''s going on firs�C Wait, were you...the one taking care of my house?" I asked with a hint of awe. I shocked myself when I came to the conclusion, but when I saw her expression, it added even more evidence to my assumption.


    Alex laughed and sneered, "Don''t think that she''s been taking care of this place every day. She only came here last weekend, and forced Luke and me to help. My mom supervised the entire thing..." She then trailed off, causing me to be suspicious.


    "And your dad?" I asked.


    "Who said anything about my dad?" Alex replied dodgingly.


    I narrowed my eyes at her and asked, "What did your dad do while you guys were cleaning the house?"


    "Well...It''s not what he did during, per se, but it was after we all finished." Haley replied with a trace of disgust and unwillingness to elaborate.


    I chuckled when I saw their weird reaction, "What? Did your mom and dad use my hot tub or something?"


    "EWW! EWW EWW EWW EWW EWWW!" Alex groaned in disgust as she recalled the memory.


    I was shocked, "What happened here? You better spit it out or I will check the CCTV�C"


    "NOOOO!!!" Alex and Haley shouted to stop me at the same time. "Let me delete it for you! Or else you''ll have nightmares like us!" Alex shouted urgently.


    I looked at Alex''s face, then I turned and studied Haley''s face next. Their unwillingness for the matter to be exposed and the disgust on their faces let me learn one thing. Whatever happened here, was sexual in nature.


    More accurately, it was sexual between their parents. I definitely wouldn''t want Alex to delete those, but as both of them were almost crying, I had to relent and let them handle it. It needs to be mentioned that they only deleted the data superficially, but out of respect for them, I didn''t restore the data....in front of them.


    "Jenna, how''s your church camp?" I asked. Jenna smiled brightly and said, "It was great. I am going to be baptized next week."


    "Oh, they''re going to dunk you in the water right? Good for you." I teased. Jenna didn''t get embarrassed and said, "You''re welcome to join?"


    "Yeah....no...." I replied.


    "Why not?"


    "I''m going to catch on fire when I enter the church, so I''d rather not." I replied jokingly and changed the subject quickly, "How many priests did your mom make them renown their vows during camp?"


    Jenna smiled and said, "None!"


    "And the truth?" I jeered at her. She smiled wryly and said in a sad tone, "4..."


    I laughed out loud before Jenna threw a pillow at my face.


    "Ed, you haven''t gone to the beach yet, right?" Haley asked.


    I removed the pillow from my face and replied, "Not yet. But I didn''t plan on it."


    "Why?"


    "I''m too busy. I have this night free...and tomorrow I need to start shooting again."


    "Music videos?" Enid asked. "With Taylor?"


    Haley pouted and crossed her arms while I turned to Enid and replied, "Yeah."


    "Wait. I thought you guys had broken up?" Elsa asked.


    Jacob nodded and said, "Yeah, you said to�C"


    "Bup bup bup bup�C That''s supposed to be a secret between us. Remember?" I hinted at Jacob with vicious eyes. He gulped his saliva and said, "Sorry."


    "So...You told Elsa...and I can assume that Jenna, you know about it too?" I asked Jenna who was startled when I mentioned her name.


    "Yeah...sorry." Jenna confessed.


    "And you hang out with Alex a lot, so Alex and Enid also know it too huh?"


    "We do." Enid said in a low voice.


    "And We''re not sorry." Alex replied jokingly. "It''s 4 against 1 mister!"


    "Alex is dating Finneas, so Finneas knows about it too. So I guess Billie knows too." I continued.


    "You already told me yourself." Haley chimed in with a proud look on her face.


    I nodded and then turned to Abraham, "So I guess...You''re the only one who doesn''t know anything?"


    Abraham smiled and said confidently, "Yeah, Jacob wanted to mention it to me, but I refused!" He lied. Jacob never wanted to tell him the secret.


    I nodded in acknowledgement and said, "You''re the only REAL friend here!"


    "I want to watch Cloudy With A Chance of Meatball." I replied casually. Jenna rolled her eyes and ignored me. After the girls...and Jacob banded together, we had to watch The Proposal movie tonight.


    After eating, the parents came to pick up their children one by one. Jacob''s parents arrived first. As Jacob was finally selected to the football team, his mother brought a chocolate cake with strawberry frosting to celebrate.


    They all ate one slice of the cake, and left the rest of it at my house. Mrs Green also packed up 3 chicken legs, 2 chicken sandwiches, 2 pounds of potato salad, and some vegetables for me as she knew I had just returned home from working so hard.


    Finneas and Billie left after Jacob left, and then Abraham was next. Jenna hitched a ride with Elsa, and before she left, she looked at me with a hesitant expression, "Ed. Um..."


    "What?" I asked in confusion.


    "Well...Are you really making a movie studio?" She finally braved herself and asked.


    "Huh? Oh right. The rumors. Yeah, but it''s not going to be now. Maybe after the company is ready for another expansion. I planned to do it next year."


    "Oh." Jenna widened her eyes before she fell into contemplation. "Is this about your mom?" I asked her.


    "What? NO!" She replied with a weird high pitched voice.


    "So it''s your mom. She''s not getting any roles huh? Wait..." I thought about it for a while, "You know, she''s really suitable to play Emma Frost in the X-Men series. I heard they are rebooting it."


    Jenna was hesitant to correct my misunderstanding and then played along to hide her embarrassment, "What''s the connection between that movie and my mother?"


    "I mean, your mom should try auditioning for the role. I''ll make sure that Pepper keeps an eye on the production so that she won''t miss her chance."


    "Ed...it''s not that simple to become an actress." Jenna smiled wryly. Not that she didn''t believe in me, but from her experience watching her mother try and fail days after days, she didn''t believe in my words much.


    "I know it''s a longshot. But, I really think she can do it." I replied. The movie that came to mind was actually because I had met with Matthew Vaugh and Bryan Singer �C the director and producers of the X-Men First Class movie.


    They wanted me to try out for the movie, and also gave me their contact information. The movie would start its production early next year, and would be released in 2011, so I have a lot of time to think about it.


    ''But unless I can be ''QuickSilver'', I don''t want to take part in that movie.''


    And because my acting skill has become renowned because of my documentary and short videos, many directors and movie producers have been reaching out to the agency. They also sent their scripts despite the fact that I had no mention of entering the films industry.


    "Just tell your mom about it. Let her be familiar with the source material." I told Jenna.


    She scoffed and then burst into laughter, "You mean, making my mom read comic books? Yeah, now I know it''s a joke."


    I didn''t correct her and just told her to tell her mother that. If she was really desperate, then she would reach out to me to grab her last lifeline. Or else, she would just fade out from the film industry not that she promised Jenna not to do dirty deals anymore.


    ''Anyway, it''s not like she didn''t have any roles in the past few months, so I didn''t know why she was asking.''


    Alex and Haley were the only one left after everyone had gone away. Haley widened her eyes at Alex and gestured for her to leave, but Alex was having fun teasing her sister and she pretended not to see that.


    "Edward, last I came, your lab is locked, so I couldn''t see it. Can I check it out now?"


    "Umm...Let''s do it tomorrow. I just want to lie down and rest up now." I replied to Alex. She got the hint and said, "Okay. Haley! Let''s go!"


    "You can go home first." Haley said. Alex was in disbelief, but Haley chased her away quickly. She locked the door and then looked at me with glittering eyes.


    "What? Why are you staring at me like a predator?" I joked while shielding my chest with my arms. She rolled her eyes and said, "I''m not going to eat you!"


    "Alright. I''m going to take a shower�C"


    "Wait!" Haley grabbed my shirt before I could leave, causing me to be strangled by my own shirt.


    "What the-"


    "Let''s go out!" She invited me.


    "Huh? It''s already late�C"


    She sneered and said, "It''s 8 o''clock. Unless you''re an old man wanting to sleep, you should have a lot more energy than this. Also, trust me. I''m only doing this for your benefit."


    I looked into her eyes, and then saw her resoluteness.


    "Alright. How are we going out? Have you gotten your license yet? Cause I know you failed your first test."


    "WHO TOLD YOU THAT?! DID MY MOM TOLD YOU THAT?!" Haley shouted in anger. I laughed and patted her head to calm her down. She pouted and said, "Well, I can call Tara�C"


    "Nah, I can drive."


    "You didn''t have a license. And you can''t even take the test yet." She said begrudgingly.


    Then, I reached into my pocket and took out my driver''s license. "I already got it tho?"


    She widened her eyes, "HOW!? You need to be 16 to take the test! It''s fake right?"


    "Nah. It''s a real license." I gave her a plastic card for her to take a look at. She was in disbelief after she saw my real name and id there, so she looked at me in puzzlement.


    I cashed in my favor with the FBI long ago when they requested permission to monitor my whatsapp chat apps.


    They helped me bypass the age requirement for taking the drivers test, and now, I can legally drive around without needing to falsify my credentials anymore. Of course, I still had to take the DMV test, and I passed with flying colors.


    "Great! Let''s go!" She grabbed my hand and pulled me outside of the house. We took the Ford �C the convertible that Abby gave me for my birthday present.


    "So, where are we going?" I asked her.


    "Well, you''ll know when we get there!" She said in excitement. I then turned to her and stared into her face. She was confused, "What?"


    "I need to know before I can drive us there."


    "Ah right!"

 Chapter 173: Haley’s Observation.

    Chapter 173: Chapter 173: Haley��s Observation.?


    (timer broke)


    �C Flashback, 4th of July, Night �C


    After the Dunphys returned home from celebrating at Edward''s house, Claire and Phil headed to the kitchen to talk and clean up.


    As Phil lifted the pot from the stove, he paused, sensing some weight inside it.


    "Claire! Quick! Haley left some soup behind," he exclaimed with an excited grin. Claire set down the wet cloth she was holding and hurried over to Phil.


    "She made it for the whole day, but she took it all to Edward''s. She didn''t even think about her parents," Claire complained jokingly.


    Phil laughed and said, "Grab a spoon. Let''s taste it together."


    Having asked Edward about the soup earlier, they expected it to be delicious. They were proud of Haley for making it.


    As they scooped the soup and tasted it, their eyes widened, and they quickly spat it out.


    "Oh my god. Is this supposed to be good? Maybe his taste buds are broken too," Claire remarked, hastily drinking a glass of water. Phil went to the sink and rinsed his mouth directly from the faucet.


    While gurgling, Phil said, "Honey, throw it out. Quickly."


    Claire nodded and swiftly cleaned the pot to prevent anyone else from finding out.


    After calming down, Phil smiled as he stood beside Claire. She looked confused and asked, "Why are you smiling?"


    "He didn''t tell her about it," Phil revealed.


    Claire was puzzled. "What do you mean? Shouldn''t he have told her?"


    Phil shook his head and wrapped his arms around Claire. He looked into her eyes and said, "Honey, remember all those times when you started cooking and almost ruined the entire meal for nearly half a year?"


    "Half a year? You said I was doing well!" She widened her eyes, expressing disbelief.


    Phil chuckled and replied, "I didn''t mean that I regretted eating it. During that time, my heart was filled with happiness, and it still is now. I didn''t want you to get hurt after putting in all that effort, so I didn''t say anything because I love you so much."


    Claire''s eyes widened in realization. "You mean?"


    Phil chuckled and said, "Either that, or Edward''s taste buds are really... really bad."


    [Edward POV]


    I had a deep scowl on my face the moment I pulled the car into the parking lot.


    "Seriously? The beach? At night, nonetheless?"


    "What? Come on! It''ll be therapeutic for you!" Haley said in excitement as she jumped out of the car. I wanted to call her back and leave the beach, but she had already taken off her shoes and run to the sand.


    "Damn it," I grumbled as I reluctantly closed the car''s cabriolet and the windows to prevent the wind from carrying the sand into the car.


    "EDWARD! COME ON!" Haley waved her hand and shouted towards me from afar. I stood by the concrete pavement and shouted back, "No. I''m good from here."


    She dropped her head in disbelief and pouted, "Seriously? You''re really not coming?"


    "Gee. These are new shoes," I said with grumpy reluctance. Her face fell in disbelief, and her big eyes stared at me angrily. "COME HERE!!!" She shouted.


    "NO!" I shouted back. Then, she stomped her feet on the sand as she ran in my direction. She stopped in front of me and said, "Take off your shoes then if you''re so worried about them."


    "And then what? Walk on the sand with my bare feet? I don''t know if there''s a used needle here, or torn condoms, or any other disgusting stuff like human poop."


    "Not dog or cat poop?" Haley asked in astonishment.


    I smirked and said, "It''s funny to see a girl so interested in types of feces."


    She kicked the sand towards me, which I skillfully dodged.


    Then, her face lit up, and she laughed. She patted my shoulder and mocked, "I didn''t know you were so phobic. It''s just sand!"


    "My problem isn''t with the sand. My problem is with the limited visibility of what I''m stepping on. I won''t have any problems doing this... DURING THE DAY."


    "Hmmm... which part will you feel safe stepping on?" She asked.


    "Huh? The area where the wave breaks, I guess," I answered, puzzled.


    She thought deeply before she chortled, "Alright. Then, take off your shoes. I''m going to carry you until we get over there!"


    I widened my eyes before I laughed out loud. The thought of a small girl carrying me was a bit heart-tickling for me.


    "Don''t laugh! I''m serious!" she said before she turned her back and squatted in front of me. "Come on! Hop on me!"


    "I''m not going to-"


    "Just do it!" Haley said decisively as she patted her back. I was baffled, and then I smirked, "Alright. Since you asked for it."


    ...


    "It was a quiet and peaceful night by the beach. There was no one nearby, but sporadically dispersed couples were enjoying the romantic moonlight reflecting on the surface of the ocean together.


    Suddenly, chaos ensued. Haley sprinted as hard as she could, with me on her back, my feet dragging on the sand and making it difficult for her to walk.


    "AHH!" She let out a warrior''s shout, but after taking her tenth step, her tiny legs gave up, and we both tumbled into the sand. I rolled several times, feeling the tiny particles infiltrate every crevice beneath my clothes.


    I glanced at Haley, who had suffered the same fate. As we locked eyes, both of us looking utterly pathetic, we couldn''t help but burst into laughter.


    "Ah, I knew this would happen," I muttered.


    Haley made a cute grimace. "Didn''t you have faith in me?" She playfully threw a fistful of sand near me, narrowly missing her target.


    Looking at her, I asked, "Isn''t it a little late to ask that question now?"


    She chuckled and slowly stood up, walking closer to me and pulling me up by my hands.


    "We''re already covered in dirt. Let''s sit by the water."


    I sighed and wearily agreed, "Alright."


    A look of concern briefly crossed Haley''s face. As we strolled along the beach together, she held onto my arm, searching for a suitable spot. Eventually, we found a large rock nearby with a flat surface, positioned to face the ocean.


    I listened to the gentle sounds of the ocean, and my nerves began to relax. We exchanged a few words initially, but now we sat in silence, which left me puzzled.


    "Why did you bring me here? And why are you being so quiet? Are you preparing for something?" I inquired.


    She chuckled slightly and replied jokingly, "Don''t overthink it. I brought you here because it seemed like you needed this."


    "Huh?" I was perplexed. "Why would I need this?"


    [Commentary ends]


    ...


    [General POV]


    In the Dunphy''s house:


    "Luke, go to sleep!"


    "But I don''t have school tomorrow!"


    Luke whined as Claire gave him an order. "It''s almost 11! Phil, talk to your son!"


    Phil hurriedly approached to defuse the situation. "Luke, didn''t you say you wanted to go to practice with Manny tomorrow?"


    "But they wouldn''t let me use the sword!"


    "THAT''S BECAUSE YOU USED IT TO STAB PEOPLE!" Claire exploded.


    Alex came downstairs, clearly frustrated. "Could you guys keep it down? I''m trying to sleep!"


    "No, you''re not! You''re on the phone with your boyfriend!" Luke teased, making kissing sounds to tease his sister. "Alex got a boyfriend~ Alex got a boyfriend~"


    "Luke, that''s disgusting!" Alex scolded, throwing a tissue box at him. Claire grabbed Alex by the shoulder and asked, "Alex, is that true?"


    Alex was startled for a moment before she composed herself and replied, "Why are you so surprised? Haley got her first boyfriend when she was 8. I''m wayyyy too late to start at 13."


    "Haley!" Claire widened her eyes in disbelief and was about to lecture her children. However, at that moment, Haley sneaked into the house through the sliding door but froze when she saw her entire family in the living room.


    "Oh, hey... I was just in the backyard--"


    "Did you just get home?" Alex asked, a smirk on her face.


    "Haley! You were supposed to be home an hour ago!" Claire said, aggrieved.


    Phil chuckled and grabbed Claire, steering her away. "Why don''t we all go to sleep now and talk about this tomorrow when we''re well-rested and can approach it calmly?"


    "Phil, that won''t solve anything!" Claire protested.


    "Yeah, but at least we''ll be well-rested and have a clear mind when we need to talk to our children about this sensitive issue."


    "You think I''m not calm?" Claire said angrily.


    "Kids, her attention is on me now! Go!" Phil whispered to his children.


    Haley, Alex, and Luke quickly ran away while Phil took the heat for them.


    "Wait! Haley!" Claire called out before Haley could run upstairs.


    Concerned, Haley furrowed her brows and asked carefully, "What is it?"


    "One of the neighbors called and asked if you could babysit for them."


    "Huh? Who?" She asked, confused.


    "Can you do it or not?" Claire asked with an angry face.


    Haley hesitated before asking, "When?"


    "Tomorrow evening," Claire replied. "I''ll tell them you can do it."


    She cut off Haley''s escape route immediately. Claire held the moral high ground, leaving Haley unable to refuse. Haley knew that if she tried to say anything, Claire would bring up the fact that she sneaked in past her curfew.


    After the hectic night came a calm morning.


    Edward joined the Dunphys for breakfast after Phil invited him earlier that morning.


    "Phil, you won against Claire, right? Didn''t she used to run marathons? I guess she hasn''t been keeping up with her exercises now that she''s working," Edward said, indirectly teasing Claire.


    He knew she had let Phil win, but she couldn''t admit it to her husband, so Edward enjoyed seeing her frustrated expression.


    "Claire, should I make exercise time mandatory for employees?" Edward asked Claire.


    She rolled her eyes as she flipped a pancake, then glared at him. "Phil won one time! If we race again��"


    "Honey, honey, shhh... Don''t be a sore loser."


    Claire was taken aback and then glared at the gloating Phil.


    "Wait, Edward, why are you signing up for the football team? Do you even have time in your schedule?" Claire asked, her concern evident.


    Alex scoffed and said, "He''s only doing it so the team can get a sponsorship��"


    "Alex, don''t talk nonsense. I really want to play with the guys. And Claire, do you think I can get Cam to coach the team?"


    Claire, Phil, and Alex paused, looking at Edward in disbelief. Haley continued smiling as she put more pancakes in front of Edward before returning to her mother''s side.


    "What?" Edward asked.


    "Why... Cam?" Claire asked, confused.


    "You know he was a starting offensive lineman at the University of Illinois, right?" Edward asked.


    Phil and Claire looked astonished, while Alex seemed to have just remembered. "Yeah, he told us that when Uncle Mitchell first brought him to Grandpa''s house, and every chance he''s had since then."


    "Ahh, right!" Claire finally remembered.


    "Why do you need a coach? And why not me?" Phil asked, sounding slightly jealous.


    Edward laughed and said, "We have a coach, but he doesn''t care much about the team. It''s better to have someone like Cam."


    "But with Lily..." Claire trailed off.


    Edward nodded. "Yeah, it might be hard to convince him to take the job. Right now, all he cares about is being a stay-at-home dad/trophy husband."


    Edward then checked his watch and exclaimed, "God, I''m late."


    "Wait! Ed, where are you filming today?" Phil asked.


    "Malibu. Beachfront mansion. And I get to drive an Audi," Edward said with a sly grin. "Want to join? We need backup dancers��"


    "NO!!" Claire interrupted Edward, stopping him from continuing, and Phil from agreeing. Phil looked deflated as his wish was denied. It made sense for Claire to intervene since all the people in the music video were young and Phil would look out of place there.


    "Too bad." Edward said before he waved them goodbye.

 Chapter 174: Eenie Meenie

    Chapter 174: Chapter 174: Eenie Meenie


    [Edward POV]


    "Yo! Money Bag!" Sean Kingston cheerfully greeted me as I arrived at the film set today. He grasped my hand, and we bumped chests before he let go.


    Finally, I reached Hollywood Hills, where we would film the music video for our collaboration song, "Eenie Meenie." It was a massive mansion atop the hill with infinity pools and mesmerizing views of the Pacific Ocean.


    Initially, I was a bit irritated when the filming crew changed the location at the last minute. However, considering that the new place was closer and the mansion was the original one from the music video in my past life, I simply acquiesced to the change.


    "What''s up, Sean? Dude, how the hell did you get bigger?" I jokingly asked. "It''s only been a few weeks!"


    Sean laughed for a moment and said, "You want a hotdog?"


    "Ah, so that''s why..." I joked, causing him to roll his eyes at me.


    There was a hot dog stand nearby, sponsored by members of my fan club, before the shooting started today. Their thoughtful gesture made me appreciate them even more.


    "Yeah, put everything on it," I replied hungrily, licking my lips.


    After meeting for the studio recording of the song previously, Sean and I hit it off and became friends. Despite his appearance suggesting he had two baby mamas, Sean was actually 19 years old. When I first told him this during our initial meeting, he nearly rolled around on the floor laughing.


    Numerous people were involved in the filming today. We had nearly 50 dancers and background actors, the video''s heroine, a filming crew of 25 people, the director, and staff members from our agencies dispersed around to protect both of us.


    We quickly proceeded to the clothes fitting and tried out a few outfits for the music video. Sean easily found his clothes based on my advice, but I encountered a problem.


    "You can''t wear a suit!" Renaldo said.


    Both Sean and I were confused. "Why not?" I asked.


    "Same reason all the girls here are fully dressed, and nobody is showing excessive skin. It''s targeted for kids! You should look like their peers," Renaldo explained, frustrated.


    "But I want to do an Iron Man entrance. We even have an Audi here!" I whined.


    Sean nodded in agreement and said, "Look, I even brought the sunglasses for him!"


    He took out the same type of sunglasses RDJ always wears in interviews and showed them to Renaldo. "Oh, that''s nice," I said, taking them politely from his hand.


    Renaldo ignored me and asked, "Should I call Haley?"


    I scowled and replied, "If you keep using that tactic to avoid arguing with me, then... I would have no other choice."


    This wasn''t the first time he had done this. Whenever I complained about an outfit I didn''t want to wear, he would call Haley to get her on his side.


    Since she was ''unofficially'' my fashion coordinator, I wouldn''t argue with her. It''s not that I couldn''t argue with her, but for some reason, I didn''t want to give her any grief. I had no qualms about arguing with my dad or my aunt if Renaldo had them as his allies.


    Renaldo looked a bit concerned. "Are you firing me?"


    "No, I''ll just talk shit about you to Dwayne."


    "NO! Ugh. Alright, you can do whatever you want!" he said dramatically. I smiled and said, "Thanks. Now, let''s take a look at the outfits you prepared today."


    Renaldo rolled his eyes and said, "If you were going to agree with me anyway, why waste our precious time!?"


    Sean and I both laughed, having successfully tricked Renaldo. The reasoning was simple: I wouldn''t tease someone I wasn''t close with.


    "What about pink?" He handed me a pink jacket, which I immediately threw into the pool without even checking it out.


    "The dark green one from Old Navy looks nice," I said, ignoring the sinking pink shirt.


    Renaldo hesitated and said carefully, "It''s... Calvin Klein."


    "Really? Why does it look so cheap?" I asked, confused.


    "We need something that''ll make you stand out in the crowd. See, even Sean is wearing a silver one," Renaldo tried to convince me, ignoring my question. And since he already anticipated my actions, he took out the same pink jacket from the style bag.


    I grimaced and coyly said, "It doesn''t matter much. No matter what I wear, when I want people to see me, they will see me."


    Renaldo was taken aback but eventually agreed with what I said. Even the aesthetics of my image in the live concert videos taken by fans couldn''t capture my bad side. (Thanks to Barney)


    Pepper always joked that I was born to be loved by the camera, and Renaldo finally admitted the truth.


    "Nice! The uglier he looks, the more I can stand out," Sean said enthusiastically. I patted his back and gazed at him pitifully. "It was nice of you to have ambition."


    "Mannn, go do your hair. We need to get started soon," Sean retorted irritably before going to get his makeup done.


    I chuckled and replied, "It''s easy for you to say. You don''t have anything on top of your head."


    "I am bald by choice!"


    "Are you sure it''s not male pattern baldness?"


    "Imma throw you down this hill! BELIEVE ME! I WILL DO IT!"


    While I was getting my hair done, the hairstylist commented, "Hmm... You really don''t look like a teenager. Is there a particular hairstyle you want?"


    "Hmm... Wait, I was wondering if you could do it like this," I said as I googled a hairstyle I wanted, but all that came up was a cartoon character''s hairstyle. It was a parted hairstyle with waves, inspired by some Korean manhwa I had read in my past lives.


    The hairstylist''s eyes lit up, and she exclaimed, "Good! This will suit you well if you want to look more like a teenager!"


    "It''ll also give me a more approachable vibe. Alright, let''s get started, or else Sean''s hair will start growing," I joked.


    "I CAN HEAR YOU!" Sean shouted from out of nowhere. I turned left and right in shock, but I couldn''t find where he was.


    ...


    After changing into my new outfit, I admired myself in the mirror, satisfied with the look. With confidence, I joined the rest of the crew on set. The dancers were already in action, showcasing their moves in front of the camera to capture the vibrant party atmosphere.


    "Hey, D-Gate! You''re looking good!" greeted a male hip-hop dancer, whose name was Ed. We had a friendly rapport since he was part of the dance crew with Kaya and Anna.


    "Ed! Come join us and dance!" he invited me.


    "Sure!" I readily agreed.


    Renaldo, who was concerned, shouted worriedly, "Ed, don''t ruin your makeup and clothes!"


    I waved off his concern, assuring him that I had it under control. Ignoring his warning, I started dancing to the beats of 2Pac''s "California Love."


    ?? California love! ??


    With smooth yet sharp movements, I glided towards the circle of dancers. They cheered with excitement, and the girls around the house quickly turned their attention towards the dance floor.


    ?? California... knows how to party ??


    "They sure do!" I joked, making a wave from my left hand to my right and then using the momentum to create a wave with my whole body.


    ?? California... knows how to party ??


    The B-Boys joined in, dancing around me, and the crew accidentally captured the moment on film. We had an unspoken understanding, making it look like a perfectly choreographed routine to the audience.


    ?? In the city of L.A. ??


    The girls cheered, and they also wanted to join in to dance together. Unknowingly, I turned a fake party into a real one in just under a minute, causing the floor director to have a headache arranging the positions later on.


    ?? In the city of good ol'' Watts ??


    Sean Kingston muttered to himself, "Damn, Ed! Don''t dance too much. Otherwise, my agency will want me to dance too! I don''t want that!"


    Finally, we got to the chorus!


    "??You can''t make up your mind, mind, mind, mind, mind


    Please don''t waste my time, time, time, time, time


    I''m not tryin'' to rewind, wind, wind, wind, wind


    I wish our hearts could come together as one??"


    "Oh! That''s me." I muttered in astonishment as the clip of me dancing with the B-Boys was shown shortly on the screen. The director smiled and said, "It was too good to be left behind."


    ??''Cause shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova


    Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova


    Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova


    Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova??


    Finally, it was my turn to sing the song. With a deep and seductive look on my face, I sang charismatically.


    "??Let me show you what you''re missing, paradise


    With me you''re winning, girl, you don''t have to roll the dice


    Tell me what you''re really here for


    Them other guys? I can see right through ya??"


    "Damn boy! Why are you stealing all of the limelight?" Sean jokingly cursed.


    I was sitting with Ashley near the piano, and my hand were wrapped around her. She bit her lower lips as she gazed into my mouth, which made the director paused the mv for a while.


    The director said, "I put in the wrong clip."


    "..."


    He fixed it quickly and continued playing the song


    "??You seem like the type to love them and leave them!


    And disappear right after the song~


    So give me the night~ to show you~, hold you~


    Don''t leave me out here dancing alone~~??


    ??Can''t make up your mind-mind-mind-mind-mind


    Please don''t waste my time-time-time-time-time


    Not trying to rewind-wind-wind-wind-wind


    I wish our hearts could come together as one~??"


    I smiled as I watched the video, "It is pretty great." The quality, the videography, all of it was upgraded from the original. I especially cut out the cringe part compared to the original one, so that it wouldn''t be era specific.


    ??''Cause shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova


    Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova


    Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova


    Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova??


    Sean rapped a bit. In the scene that was split into two screens, Sean started doubting about why Ashley kept disappearing, and I was with the girl in the other picture. And when Ashley went to Sean, it was my turn to doubt.


    ??Eenie, meenie, miney, mo


    Catch a bad chick by her toe


    If she holla


    If, if, if she holla, let her go??


    While Sean finished, in the clip, I went to the poolside to seach for Ashley, and finally caught her playing with Sean.


    ??Eenie, meenie, miney, mo


    Catch a bad chick by her toe


    If she holla, lolla, lolla


    Let her go??


    We glanced at each other with hostility, before we decided that the girl wasn''t worth it, and shook hands together. Ashley was fuming when she saw that we weren''t going to fight for her, and left.


    We duet together in the clip, standing side by side in front of the pool. It showed that it was almost sunset in the video, but honestly that was just a filter.


    ??Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova


    Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova


    Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova


    Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova??


    After we were done with Ashley in the video, I was talking with Jasmine who had took off her feathered earring, and Sean was talking with another hot girl. The girls were better than Ashley, and they didn''t try to play us around. They also seemed kinder than her, which made it seem like we had gotten an upgrade.


    ??Can''t make up your mind-mind-mind-mind-mind


    Please don''t waste my time-time-time-time-time


    Not trying to rewind-wind-wind-wind-wind


    I wish our hearts could come together as one~??


    ??Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova


    Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova


    Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova


    Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova??


    Then, before the ending, both of us left the scenes with our girls in our arms.


    "YEAH! WE DID IT!" Jasmine and Ashley said excitedl before they each kissed me on the cheek at the same time.


    I smiled and said, "Yes�C"


    "NOW, WE PARTYYYY!" Sean screamed, making the crowd cheer enthusiastically. He wrapped his arm around his current girlfriend, an african american girl, and they left the area to go to get some drinks.


    Jasmine and Ashley looked at each other''s eyes, before they said to me, "Ed, do you want to make out with us?"


    "Umm...It''d surely be impolite to say no."

 Chapter 175: Orangina Surprise!

    Chapter 175: Chapter 175:?Orangina Surprise!


    [General POV]


    Edward wore shorts, sandals, and an unbuttoned white t-shirt, showcasing his attractive physique to the partygoers. As he strolled by the pool, he took occasional sips from a bottle of ''Orangina.''


    Suddenly, a boy attempted to tackle Edward into the pool, seeking revenge for a previous prank Edward did on him. However, Edward skillfully evaded the tackle by deftly spinning his body.


    Though the first attempt failed, a few more boys tried the same tactic, but Edward managed to avoid their tackles each time. As the boys fell into the pool, bikini-clad girls stood on Edward''s left and right, cheering him on.


    "Nice second try, but still...poor execution. Maybe you can try again later," Edward taunted the attackers with a mischievous expression.


    "Damn it!" The boys laughed and wanted to splash water at Edward, but he quickly left the poolside to prevent getting wet. He went back to his original intention, that was to reach the snack bar located in the living room.


    Before this, he was inside one of the bedrooms, he and Sean engaged in a private conversation while Jessica and Ashley discreetly listened. It wasn''t anything sexual, but just talking about career paths.


    "Look, he''s looking at you again," A delusional (Delulu) girl who resembled Emma Stone whispered to her friend as they stood near the snack bar.


    "Shut up! No, he''s not!" replied the other girl with cat-like eyes and blonde hair, shyly tucking her hair behind her ear. She maintained her gaze on Edward as he approached them.


    "Umm... Hi?" Edward greeted them while grabbing a plate for snacks. He temporarily placed his Orangina bottle on the side of the table.


    The girls squealed and whispered to each other, "He said ''hi'' to me!"


    Edward felt somewhat helpless. After becoming a celebrity, most people didn''t treat him like he was part of the same species anymore. It was something that he needed to adapt to soon, but he wanted to see how much longer he could be in denial.


    "Hi-HI! Edward! I''m your biggest fan!" the blonde girl stammered. Her breathing quickened and her face flushed.


    Edward smiled and replied, "I''m not sure if you''re the ''biggest,'' but you''re definitely one of the pretty ones-"


    The girl''s brain seemed to short-circuit, and she instantly grabbed Edward''s arm, surprising him.


    "Should we go to the bathroom? You can take my first time! Ravage me-"


    "Amelia!" The Emma Stone-like girl pulled her friend back and profusely apologized to Edward, explaining that her friend''s behavior stemmed from her deep infatuation. "Sorry, Edward! She''s just deeply in love with you! She means no harm!"


    Amelia was escorted away by her friend, who continued apologizing to Edward. Sean, who had been following Edward, laughed at the situation and teased, "That''s why you shouldn''t be too friendly with people!"


    "What do you want me to do? Spit on them? I don''t mind these kinds of things. Unless my safety is at risk, I can simply ignore it," Edward replied. Sean smiled and remained silent, knowing it was futile to argue.


    Most celebrities who recently gained fame behaved similarly to Edward. However, many of them eventually crumbled under the pressure and difficulties that accompanied excessive fame. Sean could only remind Edward of this fact.


    "Hey, is this yours?" Sean asked, grabbing the Orangina bottle near the chocolate fountain.


    "Yeah," Edward replied. Sean glanced at the drink station, decided it was too far to walk ten meters away, and took a sip from Edward''s drink. Suddenly, he spat out the drink, causing it to splatter on the ground.


    Edward managed to avoid the splatter and looked at Sean in astonishment. "What��"


    "PISS! WHY IS THIS PISS!?" Sean shouted, drawing the attention of the partygoers.


    Edward was shocked. He thought that Sean was playing, "What��I mean, it''s not soda, but it wasn''t piss��"


    "I KNOW THAT!!" Sean shouted in disbelief and agitation. Based on Edward''s reaction, he instinctively realized that it wasn''t a prank from Edward, as Edward had never gone too far with his teasing.


    "Someone swapped the drink," Edward said, noticing that the mark he made on the drink''s label was missing. He looked at the crowd suspiciously and told Sean, "We need to get this checked out."


    "SECURITY!" Sean quickly called over his muscular buddies to cordon off the area. His manager contacted the police, resulting in the shutdown of the entire party.


    The severe reaction to a single drink of urine stemmed from not knowing its exact contents. It could contain viruses or be mixed with drugs. The act of discreetly swapping the drink without anyone noticing raised significant suspicions for Edward.


    ''Someone capable of eluding my counter-surveillance skills couldn''t be considered an ordinary person. What is their aim? What is their purpose?'' Edward thought with a flash of excitement in his eyes.


    ...


    The police arrived shortly after, and the urine-filled drink was sent to the urinalysis lab.


    The female detective, Chloe Decker, retrieved her rubber gloves from the pocket of her leather jacket and began examining the crime scene. Edward observed her with furrowed brows while he comforted Sean, who was visibly shaken by the incident. Edward placed blankets on Sean''s back as he sat down and handed him a cup of calming tea.


    "Mr. Newgate, Mr. Kingston, I''m Detective Chloe Decker, and I''m the lead detective assigned to this case," Chloe introduced herself, her voice filled with authority. She paused as she noticed Edward''s actions and inquired, "Um... what are you doing?"


    Chloe was confused when she saw Edward kept putting blankets on Sean''s back.


    "In the movies, they comforted the victims like this." Edward explained while Sean sipped his tea in distress. After taking a big sip, he exhaled and said, "It seems to be working. I am calming down now."


    Chloe''s eyes twitched as she desperately held herself back from rolling her eyes.


    "I feel like I know you." Edward asked her with furrowed brows. "But I''m not quite sure where I got you from. Has I seen you nake�C Have we ever met before?"


    "Hmm? Umm...You can think about it later." Chloe said urgently while keeping a calm look on the surface. Her heart was beating quickly, and she desperately wanted to change the topic right now.


    "Now that you mentioned it, I feel like I know her too." Sean said while rubbing his chin.


    Chloe asked, "Have you seen a suspicious person at this party?"


    "Well a lot...And Uh... Just to be clear, if you find any lines in the bathroom, it surely wasn''t ours!" Sean said with a hint of fear in his tone.


    "Pfft-" Edward held back his laughter and then replied to the detective, "If you are talking about a ''suspicious'' person, I have no idea, because there were a lot of suspicious looking people in this party."


    "I just like to play... detective." I said with a seductive smile.


    Chloe grimaced and said, "I can''t let you bother the suspects."


    "So the law protects the suspects, not the victims?" I asked her sarcastically, causing her to be taken aback. "Why don''t you follow me then? Maybe, you can cross reference our questions to fill in the blanks later on?"


    She chortled sarcastically, "Why do you think you can get any new information out of them?"


    I smiled devilishly and said, "Simple. I can be very... VERY persuasive."


    After constantly using my [Soul Voice] during my 2 month tour, I managed to develop the skill into part of my normal conversations. The power was lowered, but it became extremely easy for me to manipulate people with my voice�C akin to a brainwashing machine, I became irresistible to them.


    Suddenly, I froze in place as I saw Chloe''s smoky eyes. ''Wait...What is happening? Why do I find myself having a strong urge to bother this detective?...it can''t be...that Lucifer''s role...has now fallen on my head...right?"


    I quickly threw out that thought far far away and went to talk with the first subject. It was a blonde, ignorant girl with a bad attitude. She was wearing a large earring, and a low cut top. While sitting on top of a tall bar stool, she spat out her chewing gum at the back of a police officer standing nearby, almost hitting him.


    "Marilyn. Hi. We meet again." I smiled as I walked to Marilyn. Her eyes lit up as she saw me, but scowled when she saw the detectives.


    "Fucking pig." She cursed underneath her breath. Then, she smiled fakely at me and whined, "Ed? You believe me right? I didn''t do it!"


    "I know. You''re a good girl...aren''t you?" I grabbed her chin and looked into her eyes as I proceeded to whisper in her ear. She shivered for a bit before saying, "I am a good girl."


    "Then, as a good girl, you should answer my questions honestly, right?" I used a low voice, causing her eyes to become dazed. She bit her lower lip and then nodded, "Anything for you Edward."


    "Good. Where did you go after picking up the Orangina bottle? I saw that you went in the opposite direction from me, so don''t worry, I''m not suspecting you. I''m just curious."


    Marilyn nodded with her face flushed. She wanted to confess, but as she saw the detective beside me, she became hesitant.


    "What? Are you worried about Detective Chloe? Don''t worry. She''s okay."


    "Okay? Just...okay?" The detective mumbled to herself.


    "Or, would you rather me say, "She''s smoking hot?" or lie and say, "She''s not going to do anything to you?" Pick one."


    Chloe pouted for a bit, but Marilyn smiled as she saw Chloe''s subversiveness. She became a bit brazen and said, "Well, I did pick up the bottle, but I went to...um...you know, making it...a brunch...drink?"


    "Ah..." I realized why she kept changing her story when facing the detective. Basically, she added some vodka in it, changing it into a Mimosa. She''s only 17, so that''s why she didn''t want to tell the truth to the cops.


    I patted her on the head and said, "Alright. You''re clear."


    "Wait�C" The detective wanted to stop me, but Marilyn smiled and hugged me immediately, "Thanks Ed! I''m going to go meet up with my friends!"


    "Hey!" Chloe shouted, but I stopped her from going after the girl.


    "What are you doing? She could be lying!" Chloe asked, aggrieved.


    I shook my head slightly and said, "Well, she''s not that clever to trick you detective. Come on, we still have 2 more suspects to interrogate."


    "WE...are not interrogating anything! It''s only ME!!!" The detective yelled frustratedly, but I had already walked away and ignored her protest.


    The second suspect was actually a guy. And what he did was actually turning his bottle into a bong in the next bedroom, so he didn''t confess to the detective. And finally, I met with the last suspect.


    The suspect was an 18 years old, petite girl with short silver hair who was sitting anxiously while shaking her legs, and her eyes kept darting around the crowd, flinching every time a cop walked past her.


    "And...you''re still confused as to whether she is guilty?" I joked with the detective.


    "Yeah, I''m sure�C"


    "I DID IT!" Kiernan shouted as the detective and I approached her. Chloe was startled but I became confused.


    "You did what?" I asked her calmly.


    "I DID IT OKAY! I (whisper) pissed in the orange bottle! (normal voice) But it was only because someone were occupying the girl''s toilet!-- I threw the bottle into the bush, but I really don''t know how it got there�C"


    "It was YOU!?" Sean, who was within earshot, exploded as he heard the confession. He strode angrily towards Kiernan, but stopped midway as he saw her face. His tone changed to a gentle one and he said affectionately, "Well...If it''s you...then I don''t mind it."


    "???"


    "???"


    "???"


    All of us, including Kiernan, were confused when we heard what Sean said.


    "What the hell?" I exclaimed, before I realized it, and then laughed out loud!


    "Sean. She''s pretty for sure...I guess pretty enough that you don''t mind drinking...you know...but, she didn''t do it."


    "What?" Kiernan and Sean were both confused. The detective then asked Kiernan, "Where did you throw your bottle?"


    "Um...Into the bush near the front..." Kiernan replied, and when we went and checked, the bottle was still there. Kiernan cried in relief. Seeing her cry, Sean opened up his arm to make her hug him, but instead, she jumped towards me and hugged me from the neck while crying in my chest.


    I turned to Sean and muttered apologetically, "Sorry dude. You have no chance."


    "Damn it!" He cursed.

 Chapter 176: Case Cleared?

    Chapter 176: Chapter 176: Case Cleared?


    [Edward POV]


    "Looks like it didn''t only happen to her." The detective said after checking out Kiernan''s story. Apparently, the bathroom was locked for a while, therefore some people decided to relieve themselves in a creative manner all over the house.


    "I was thinking about moving to a place like this, or maybe even this house... But right now, I kept thinking that my current house is good enough," Sean murmured.


    I nodded in agreement. During our earlier conversation, Sean had suggested that I explore other living options since my current house''s address had been leaked to the public.


    ''Maybe I won''t move, but alternate between houses to make people think that I don''t live there any longer. If I keep posting videos from the new house, I can subtly change people''s minds. Then, I can come back to my current house anytime I want,'' I mused, rubbing my chin.


    This decision wasn''t made arbitrarily. In fact, I had been using my part of the lottery money, as well as my dad''s, to buy a few companies and properties. The 2008 housing market crash had left real estate prices at an all-time low, and I saw an opportunity to invest.


    "Ah... That''s why Phil was struggling as a realtor in the early season of the series," I realized.


    After my revelation, I approached the detective and suggested, "If there are no other leads, I think we should just wait for the lab results to come out. The party is already ruined, and people can''t wait to go home."


    Chloe sighed but didn''t argue. "Yeah, it''s better that way."


    Curious about her sigh, I asked, "Why are you sighing?"


    She shook her head. "Nothing. It doesn''t have anything to do with you, or the case."


    "Come on, tell me. Please?" I coaxed her with a sweet voice. Taken aback, she decided to end the matter quickly.


    "Well, I''m just sighing because... I can''t close the case tonight, and--"


    "And... that''ll get you in trouble with your captain?" I interrupted.


    Her widened eyes confirmed my assumption. Picking up on her situation, I patted her on the shoulder to cheer her up.


    "Don''t worry. I''ll give you a nice and thorough review, so that your captain can''t nitpick on anything."


    "Well, that''s going to make you the nicest celebrity I''ve ever served," she joked, smiling. Managing celebrity cases was considered a career killer due to their impossible demands. She was already tired of them, and it was only her first year as a detective.


    "By the way, you have a daughter, right?" I asked, startling her.


    She narrowed her eyes at me and questioned, "How did you know?"


    "Ah, sorry. I saw your phone lock screen before. How old is she now?" I politely inquire, aware that my behavior seemed suspicious.


    After a few seconds of hesitation, she responded, "She''s six years old right now."


    I widened my eyes in disbelief, realizing that the timeline didn''t match up. So, it''s not following the timeline at all. I remember the daughter was seven years old when the series premiered in 2016.


    ''Ah, I guess both she and Dr. Linda were not part of another alternate universe, so that''s kinda good. I don''t think I want to mess with all the gods and angel stuff.''


    "Mr. Newgate? Mr. Newgate?" Chloe called, snapping me out of my thoughts.


    "Ah, sorry. By the way, does your daughter know me? Do you want me to sign something for her? Or record a short video?" I offered.


    "That''s... alright. You don''t have to do it--"


    "But it''ll be better for you if I did, right? In this way, your captain can''t really say that you made the department''s prestige go down or anything like that," I reasoned.


    She pondered for a moment, then flashed a smile. "Alright. In fact, Trixie is a huge fan of yours. If she knew I rejected you, then I''m going to be the darnest mother in the world."


    "We can''t let her down then," I smiled. Using the detective''s phone, I recorded a short message for Trixie. Chloe quickly wrapped up the investigation and left the house with her officers. The partygoers also departed, as I had mentioned earlier, the party was already dead. I could revive it if I wanted to, but I was already tired and wanted to go home.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Shortly after Chloe left the house, her partner told her, "Damn it. I left my badge in the toilet."


    Chloe said, aggrieved, "Now why would you take it off?"


    "I don''t like the way it''s hitting my leg as I was trying to take a shit!" Her latino partner replied.


    Chloe sighed, and then made a U-turn. Luckily, she was only a few minutes away from the house.


    But, as she was driving back, she saw the Turkish Ice-Cream man by the side of the road. The ice-cream cones were scattered on the ground. The handcart trolley seemed to burst open, causing the Ice Cream man to shout profanity in his language while pointed at the direction of the house.


    "Sir? What happened?" Chloe asked as she stopped by the ice-cream man.


    "That Bitch�C I''m sorry Sir...Someone was inside...."


    "Inside your cart?" Chloe asked in disbelief.


    "Yes! She''s scared me! She has a knife! And wanted to cut me!" The man cried in grief.


    Chloe was alarmed, "Where did she go?!"


    "She went back to the house!" the Turkish man shouted while pointing in the direction. Chloe slammed the accelerator quickly and to catch up with the girl.


    "Hey! What about my ice-cream stand?!" The Turkish man yelled as the cops left him alone there.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    I was waiting for Renaldo to come into the living room with Ashley and Jessica while Sean was getting some drinks for himself. It may be because of the incident, that he needed time to actually check on the drinks, causing him to take a long time to get it in the kitchen.


    "Jessica, you should really stop by my house sometimes." I invited the latina girl.


    Ashley hugged my arms from the side and whispered seductively, "Only her? You''re throwing me away?"


    I smiled and said casually, "I need her for an acting role."


    Jessica was startled, and Ashley was biting her lips in jealousy. Ashley protested, "But I''m an actress too! You saw me act today!"


    "Ehh... You''re alright." I teased.She held back her laugh and then pretended to pout. Jessica stammered, "Wh-What do you want me to do?"


    "Play the role of an estranged daughter searching for her dad. I''ll give you the script later. But you''re going to improv for most of the time."


    "Huh?" Both of them were confused by my planning. Sean came back with a cup of coffee, and asked, "Hmm? Why are their faces like that?"


    "They couldn''t comprehend the things I asked them to do." I replied.


    Sean was a bit taken aback and then whispered politely, "You know. Maybe, you should get to know them better first. That''s all I''m saying."


    My forehead vein throbbed and I said angrily, "Not that kind of thing''. You know, just..things in general."


    "Linda." I called the therapist as I entered her consulting room. "Long time no see."


    "It''s been a while. You''re a master of escaping your scheduled sessions Edward. I believe that no one could make excuses like you do." Dr Linda said in a joking manner.


    I laughed before I sat in front of her and checked my wristwatch, "I have an hour before I need to go to my next music video shoot. So..."


    "I understand. And out of curiosity, when will you have another ''free time''?" She asked with subtle sarcasm.


    I joked, "Well, December 25th, but I want to celebrate Christmas on that day...so..."


    She shook her head slightly and said, "That''s understandable. Christmas is a special day where you need to spend time with your family."


    "Yes. Exactly."


    "By the way, if you''re joking about it, then I will be amused. But if that was really true, I can''t help but think that you''re torturing yourself with a tremendous amount of work, with an ulterior motive. So tell me Edward, what do you want to avoid?"


    I didn''t expect that, and was defenseless for a moment. My smile disappeared, and I replied to her honestly, "My thoughts."


    "And why do you want to keep them away?"


    "Cause I''m not prepared to deal with them."


    "Why?"


    "Because they involved someone that I don''t want to see ever again. Alright, that''s enough for today. Good session. We should totally do it again some time�C Adios!"


    I stood up to run away from the room, but Linda grabbed the edge of my shirt to stop me. "Edward, wait. Alright, we don''t have to talk about that! Why don''t, we focus on what happened last night. I believe, after experiencing that, you should have a lot on your mind right now?"


    I calmed down for a bit and then looked at Linda with a scowl on my face. She blinked twice with a smile on her face, and before I could ask, she said, "The incident is all over the news right now."


    "Sean..."


    "Oh no. It wasn''t Sean...at least that''s what the article said. The witness is supposed to be one of the lead girls in the music video, but they were unnamed."


    "Hmmm..." I sat back down while groaning inwardly.


    "What happened last night?" She asked. "I can see that this incident is really bothering you. It''s almost on the same level with ''talking about your mother''."


    I rubbed my chin for a while, and then looked at Linda before I said, "I may....have started a cult."


    "???" Linda was confused. "I mean, you do have a lot of fans, but they can''t really be categorized as cultist�C Wait, they are worshiping you madly..."


    "Not that. But...That incident last night...that... might have had a lot to do with a mistake of mine."


    "What do you mean...by your mistake?"


    I sighed and contemplated on whether to tell Linda the truth about it, and then decided to just let it all out.


    "A few month''s back, a wikipedia entry about a lost religion popped up out of nowhere, and it gained traction in the academic community because of how accurate it was. Problem is, they didn''t know who had written that entry."


    "Yes. I remembered that. It was a hot issue talked about in the summer...You''re saying...that religion has something to do with you?"


    "It wasn''t a fake religion. But it was lost throughout history."


    "What do you mean by that?" Linda''s eyes flashed a trace of curiosity. She couldn''t help but lean forward a bit as she was interested in the story. "If it was lost, then how did you know about it?"


    "Let''s just say, someone special told me about it." I dismissed the question and then continued, "Unknowingly, because no one could confirm how the religion started, people have been clamoring about the second coming of the Great Sage�C In case you don''t know, was a major god in this old history."


    I rubbed my head and then cursed in anger, "And several fuckers decided to besmirched the Sage''s good name by creating multiple scam strategies, dirty dealing with fake potions, voodoo, and a lot of that stuff."


    "Last night, that girl who wanted my blood...she had fallen for one of those scams. She had paid over 10 grand to get the so-called ''ritual'' method, and almost went to jail because of her subsequent actions!"


    "Not only did I turn her life upside down but who knows how many more people have fallen for these scams!"


    Linda thought for a moment and said calmly, "And, because you''re the one who made the Old religion reemerge, you think the blame is on you?"


    "Isn''t it? I know for sure I''m going to get a lot of bad karma for this!" I muttered in irritation.


    Last night, after Chloe talked to Mandy, I spent a lot of time with Jessica to convince her not to press charges. I also promised her a few benefits, which made her forget about the matter immediately. For her peace of mind, she still filed a restraining order against Mandy and I didn''t blame her for that. She kinda totally needed that.


    "Why...do you think...that this is all your fault?" Dr Linda asked.


    "Because none of this would''ve happened, if I had just kept��" I paused before I could blow my top off, and then took a deep breath to calm myself down.


    (A/N: No need to worry about his bad karma. He wasn''t at fault here.)


    "Anyway. I spent a lot of time last night uprooting those websites and making all of those who tried to take advantage suffer. But, I still don''t know if it was enough."


    "I see." Linda then jotted down a few things, and then she asked, "Are you ready to talk again?"


    "I''m calm now." I replied with a nod.


    "Alright. Even though I know you''re going to go into your hardcore self-blame routine I still feel like I need to say this. Edward. It wasn''t your fault."


    I inhaled sharply and stopped her. "Don''t." I whispered with a frustrated expression.


    "Soo...period of self blame it is." Linda changed the topic immediately. "By the way, the article said that you acted like a hero. You didn''t flinch in front of danger, and saved everyone there from the psycho."


    I chuckled a bit and then said, "She''s not a psycho...Maybe a little bit unstable, and also borderline mentally ill...but not a psycho."


    "And to your definition, what is a... ''psycho''?" Dr Linda asked with a smile.


    "For me, a psycho is someone who will act nicely in front of you while hiding their crazy side and only when you''re already used to the ''nice'' persona will they show you what crazy really is."


    [General POV]


    While Edward was busy with keeping his secret locked up deep inside, a young teenage girl walked to a red brick house in a sub-urban housing location.


    She knocked on the door, and when the owner �C a balding white man with a chubby face and thick beard answered, she told him directly, "Hi. I like your house. I want to buy it from you."


    "???" The owner was confused.


    The girl then took off her sunglasses while looking smug, but the owner still didn''t recognize her.


    "I''m Taylor...Taylor S. I will pay you 30% over market price if you sell this house to me. And I will even make it 50 if you can move out in 2 days."


    The owner smiled and then offered his hand for a handshake, "You got it! Ummm....KIDSSS!!! PACK YOUR BAGS! WE''RE MOVING!"


    Taylor smiled in satisfaction as she got what she wanted. Even though the house wasn''t to her taste, it had something special that made her desperately want to buy it.


    "Selena will kill me for this...Well, it''s not that bad to buy the house next to Edward''s...right?" Taylor muttered to herself while smiling creepily.

 Chapter 177: Sage.

    Chapter 177: Chapter 177: Sage.


    (Happy Holidays Everyone. Still wants to wish you guys although I''m already late. Lol)


    [Edward POV]


    "What do you mean you can''t do the shoot today?" I rubbed my forehead in exasperation after picking up the call from Taylor.


    "I can''t help it! I got two big zits popping out this morning!" Taylor complained, aggrieved.


    "Can''t they be covered with makeup? Or are they volcanic ones?" I asked with a chuckle.


    "Ummm... I don''t want to answer that question. Anyway, we''re not going to shoot it today!" she said decisively.


    I sighed and secretly felt thankful that I had decided to plan the MV shooting early. Even if the shoot was delayed today, the company would still have three more weeks before the music video release, so it wouldn''t stress out the staff as much.


    "Alright. Hmm..." I furrowed my eyebrows as I came to a realization.


    "What''s with the groan?" she asked.


    "I suddenly realized that I have nothing to do today," I replied honestly. "Want to come over?"


    "..."


    She was silent for a while, and then said, "W-While I want to come, I will not do it today."


    "Hmm? Why not?"


    "I DON''T WANT YOU TO SEE MY ZITS!"


    I laughed out loud after hearing her complain. Then, my doorbell rang. As I was talking on the phone, I called my dad, "DAD! Someone''s at the front door."


    "Can''t you get it? I''m shaving." He shouted from the bathroom.


    "I''m on the phone." I said with a slightly loud voice.


    My dad then sighed and went to open up the door while I talked with Taylor. I laughed and said, "You know. I suddenly thought of something."


    "What do you think about?" Taylor asked, intrigued.


    "I can give you an ''employee'' benefit."


    "PERVERT!" Taylor laughed out loud as she heard it.


    I smiled and then teased, "I''m not talking about that kind of ''benefit'', although I won''t reject you if you want it. I''m talking about a true Employee benefit."


    "Huh? Also, still you''re still a pervert. But, huh?" She was confused.


    I was actually talking about my [Beautifying Massage] skill. It was one of the earlier skills that I had gotten, from a Murim universe, where everything was settled with internal energy and techniques with long names.


    As I was too busy with my career, this skill, and a lot of other skills, were buried because of my schedules.


    My dad suddenly whispered as he walked towards me, "Edward, a pretty woman is here to see you."


    "Huh? Wait...You had never called a woman pretty before." I narrowed my eyes at him suspiciously. "Who is it?"


    Taylor heard what we were saying. She asked urgently, "Who? Who came to your house? Why is a pretty girl coming to your house!? Are you dating someone?"


    My dad replied to my question as he couldn''t hear Taylor, "She didn''t say much, but she said that you will know her from her nickname, ''Sage''. Also, she said to come to the door quickly, or she will bonk you on the head again."


    "GOTTA GO!" I said hurriedly to Taylor and ran to the front door in excitement, jumping over the sofa instead of going around.


    As I opened the door, I froze. The woman had slightly bronzed skin, deep big eyes, a petite figure, and a scowl on her beautiful face.


    "Ana De Armas?" I muttered in confusion.


    "Well, I just look like her," Sage replied. "Aren''t you going to invite me in--"


    Before Sage could finish her words, I hugged her suddenly, causing her to freeze. "My benefactor!" I shouted in excitement.


    "...You have one second to release me," she warned.


    I smirked and then said, "No." She sighed and let me indulge in my longing for a while, hiding a slight smile on her face at the same time.


    As I released her, she said, "You know why I''m here?"


    My eyes suddenly dimmed. "I know. I did something wrong--"


    "I need your help to fix something for me," Sage interrupted before I could finish my sentence.


    "Huh?" Both of us looked at each other in puzzlement.


    "What are you talking about?" she asked.


    "I... What are YOU talking about?" I threw the question back at her.


    "I''m talking about the ''Great Sage'' cult that has been scamming people. I need your help to destroy it."


    My heart beat quicker, but I kept a poker face. "Why?"


    Sage then sighed and confessed, "Well, after you created the Wikipedia entry, I went to check on them so that you wouldn''t miss any details. You did great. I''m really proud of you."


    "By the way, the internet is a disgusting place. I don''t recommend you stay there for long," she said with a slight grimace.


    "What websites did you encounter?" I asked with a slight chuckle.


    "I don''t want to talk about that. In all of my 3000 years of living, I have never been so disgusted with the way two girls were using one cup."


    I widened my eyes, but Sage continued before I could react, "Anyway, some people were interested in the history, so..." She squirmed a little bit and grew abashed. Her cheeks blushed, and she couldn''t look me in the eye.


    "Well... They were interested, so I added a few details, but I hid my presence."


    "IT WAS YOU!!!!???" I widened my eyes in shock. "I thought it was me who started that cult!"


    "Here. You''ll find your new identity, housing, company credit card, insurance, savings account, and everything else you need, including your background in terms of familial relationships."


    Curious, Sage asked, "What do I need them for?"


    "Well, to live here, of course, and to act as a monitor for our newbie agent. I was struggling to find a replacement for ''Mrs. Henderson,'' but you inadvertently did me a favor and broke a rule. Since you already have a rapport with her, why not take on the role?"


    The senior agent chuckled, while Sage scowled in response. Putting his sunglasses back on, he added, "Good luck as an intern teacher at Palisades High. And, oh, as a bonus for your troubles, I''ll compensate you for dealing with those horny teens later on. Bye bye~"


    The car swiftly drove away, leaving Sage to process the sudden turn of events.


    "Damn it!" she exclaimed, unable to contain her frustration. "I don''t want to be a teacher!" she shouted, but the senior had already disappeared around a corner.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Dad returned home after buying the groceries, but was puzzled when he saw I was alone in the house.


    "Did she already leave?" He asked in disbelief.


    "Yes. 15 minutes ago." I replied casually.


    Dad looked at the groceries bag in his hand and asked, "Then, did I buy all of these for nothing?"


    "I wouldn''t say ''for nothing''. I''m cooking tonight." I replied with a smile before I ordered, "Put them all in their place."


    My dad didn''t say anything and went to the fridge, "Been a while. And oh, Luke has been coming by all summer, wanting some cakes."


    "Really? He asked you?" I looked at my dad with disbelief.


    "Not quite. I don''t know how he managed to sneak into the house, and when he saw that the fridge was empty, he scolded me and told me I need to do better."


    The story made me burst into laughter. I went to check up on Renaldo, my manager Randall, and also Pepper before I do anything. However, it seemed that Pepper already knew about my MV shoot being canceled, so he just asked me to spend some time with my family instead. After all, it was a Sunday.


    *Ding Dong*


    "Who is it?" I asked after finishing lunch with my dad.


    "It''s Luke!"


    I opened the door, and Luke walked into the house without minding me. "I got a new game, Zombie Madness." He said in excitement.


    "Nice." I replied, not minding that the game was rated mature. "How did you get it?" I asked curiously.


    "Hey, are you asking me questions, or are we going to play?" Luke replied dodgingly.


    I nodded and said, "Want to bet on the game?"


    "Mom said that we shouldn''t gamble." Luke replied, "But dad said something we can if it''s with your friends."


    "You should listen to your mom." I said with some concern about Luke''s future. As we played the game for a while�C of course with me kicking Luke''s butt every time, his dad actually invited me to jump on the trampoline today, and play trampoline basketball!


    I went to Dunphy''s house after changing my clothes. "Ed. Think fast!" Phil said as he passed the ball to me as he saw me entering the backyard. I managed to catch the ball perfectly and smiled smugly, "Luke told me you had never let him win. So today, prepare for your demise!"


    Phil chuckled, "Oh, game on!"


    [Phil''s commentary]


    "To be honest, that scared me a little. It''s not like I''m afraid of losing. But I''m afraid of the super dad image that the kids have of me collapsing. So, I just have to give 200% of what I got in the match today!"


    [Commentary ends]


    Haley and Alex were standing at the veranda when Alex shouted, "DAD! Kick Ed''s butt!"


    Haley shouted, "Ed! You can do this!"


    I smiled and wanted to look cool by dribbling the ball. When I bounced the ball for the first time, I suddenly realized...I was bouncing the ball...for the first time! My previous self has never played basketball before.


    The ball bounced on the grassy yard weakly, and bounced away while I was frozen at my spot.


    Alex and Haley burst into laughter after they realized what had just happened, and even Luke and Phil were being gigglish.


    "Shut it! I just need to adapt!" I said with a blush on my face before I tried that again. I did it perfectly the second time, but still, I couldn''t regain my face.


    I had to play the game on the extremely bouncy trampoline, with a super energetic middle aged man that wouldn''t let me score no matter what.


    "Damn it...my image." I cursed to myself as I saw Haley and Alex laughing at me from afar. Even Claire joined the fun, and rooted for me in sympathy a few times.


    Soon, I finally got used to the rules of the game.


    "Woo-hoo! Slam dunk!" Luke shouted as I managed to jump on the bouncy trampoline and dunked the ball.


    Phil''s mouth was smiling, but his eyes weren''t. "Nice shot Ed. Okay, it''s Luke''s turn now."


    "Huh? I just need two more points to win�C" I was confused.


    "Cute that you think that. Time''s over!"


    "Wait, we were timing it?" Luke asked, as confused as I am.


    "We are! I told you about it before we start! Now come on Luke!" Phil said, wiping his forehead sweat. I narrowed my eyes at him in suspicion, but as I saw Luke was excited for his turn, I just relented easily and went down the trampoline.


    Phil breathed in relief after he saw me go.


    [Phil''s commentary]


    "Phew! I''m lucky that I''m quick witted. Honestly, what''s with that kid? He''s like a beast unchained! He''s like the white Michael Jordan...You know, if Michael Jordan played trampoline basketball."


    "Anyway, I''m not letting him beat me so soon! I''m like a hyena, protecting my meat from other vultures. And the only way I''m going to let Edward eat my meat, is when my wife and daughters are not around!...Maybe we can do it in private."


    [Commentary ends]

 Chapter 178: High School!

    Chapter 178: Chapter 178: High School!


    (Wow. It''s been a year since I start writing this!)


    [General POV]


    "How do I look?" A cute teenage girl asked her friend as she lowered her shirt to make her cleavage more prominent. Her friend replied excitedly, "Good. Are you sure Edward Newgate is coming today?"


    The other girl replied with a grin. "Yeah. I overheard some of his friends talking." Both of the girls squealed in amazement as they waited for their idol to enter the school grounds.


    Not only them, but there was a crowd of students camping out on the front door, trying to catch a glimpse of Edward.


    As the crowd became more and more dense, the school''s principal, Mr Brown, stood in front of the crowd with a megaphone. He turned it on, causing a shrill sound to explode. The student grimaced in pain and finally turned their attention towards him.


    He spoke using the megaphone, "I know what you guys want. But, the school bell has already rung. So it''s either all of you go to class right now, or the school''s detention room will be packed for a month."


    The students all groaned and then slowly dispersed. Principal Brown didn''t lower his megaphone and said, "Honestly, you should come to school to study. Not to meet a celebrity. You can leave that part to me."


    The student murmured in dissatisfaction, only then did the principal realise he was still holding the megaphone. He lowered it down in embarrassment and then tried to keep a clear face.


    After the students had gone to class�C albeit reluctantly, Edward''s car finally pulled into the school entrance.


    "Thanks Dad." Edward said to his father.


    "Hmm...Your first day of school, but I can''t even send you to the front door." Ted complained.


    Edward rolled his eyes and said, "School started a week ago. I''m already too late already."


    Ted laughed a bit and said, "Are you sure you want to go through it like this? Pepper keeps insisting on having a security detail on you and I have to say I kind of agree with him cause without one you''re probably going to be hounded relentlessly."


    Edward mulled for a while and then said, "Don''t worry. I have my own security inside."


    "Hmm? Who?" Ted was confused.


    Suddenly, the 1.97 metres (6 ''4'') tall Jacob, with a fierce look on his face, and a small black girl with a tomboyish look exited the school.


    "Hey! You guys are supposed to be in your classroom!" The principal said angrily.


    Jacob turned meek instantly and apologized to the principal. However, Elsa glared at him without fear and said, "We''re only here to protect our friend! We did nothing wrong!"


    "You�C" The principal was speechless.


    Edward chuckled seeing their reaction and then said, "Sorry Principal Brown. They volunteered to come get me. You know...to make sure I''m safe. You don''t want your star student, also the sponsorship magnet for your school, to be dog piled and maybe even injured now do you?"


    Ted heard Edward''s devious words and was shocked inside. The spineless Principal''s angry face melted instantly and turned into a smile. "Nonsense! Alright, Jacob, Elsa, go to your class as soon as you guide Edward safely to his. Okay?"


    He walked away immediately after saying that to make sure that he wouldn''t risk causing any more dissatisfaction in the young star''s heart. Edward chuckled a bit and then said, "Wait...Principal Brown. I don''t know my schedule yet!"


    "Ah right." The principal stumbled to a stop and then turned back to look at Edward before leading him to his office.


    Ted watched everything that happened in amusement when suddenly the female security guard there knocked on his car door and warned, "You can''t park here. This is a drop off point."


    "I am dropping off my kid?" He said, confused.


    "Really? But I don''t see any kids inside the car? If you don''t move, I will give you a ticket. You''re going to block others!"


    Ted was extremely confused right now and turned behind him. Considering that he was the only one there dropping off his kid �C as they were late...he wondered if the security guard was mentally unstable and thus not qualified enough to keep her job here.


    "Okay." Ted didn''t argue and then drove away quickly. However, he didn''t go back home right away, but instead he drove to get some coffee and breakfast. Well...second breakfast.


    "Hmm...It looks like it''s going to rain." He murmured as he listened to the radio when the car was already in his neighborhood.


    Suddenly, his eyes widened as he saw a suspicious figure trying to peek into his house through the window. She was wearing a huge hat and sunglasses, so he couldn''t identify that person.


    However, as soon as the girl heard the sound of his car, she ran away quickly towards the house next to him. Ted was confused, "Is that a new neighbor?...Why does she look so familiar?"


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    After getting my schedule from the principal''s office and getting some recommended books, I walked to my locker.


    "Hmm? Did he give me the wrong combination?" I muttered helplessly as I tried to open the locker. My locker was located on the top level, and it was actually decorated by the teachers and the students. It made me feel like Peter Parker in Spiderman No Way Home when people knew his true identity.


    Elsa checked her notes and said, "Nah. You did it correctly. Babe. Try it."


    She asked Jacob to do it because I was holding my books at the moment. Jacob nodded and then he pried open the locker.


    *BOOM*


    Countless fan letters and gifts fell on Jacob''s face, shocking all of us. Jacob soon fell down to the floor and was nearly buried under them, while Elsa checked the inside of the locker.


    "No wonder it was stuck." She mumbled. I nodded in agreement and stepped over Jacob like Psy did in his music video and cleaned up my locker for a bit before putting the books in.


    "Ed. Why don''t you share the locker with Jacob? I don''t think this will stop soon." Elsa muttered in concern. Jacob, who was reading the letters while lying down on the floor, agreed, "Yeah. Wait...How long was your estimate again?"


    "A month. I just need to survive this predicament for a month." I replied as I picked up the letters. I didn''t want to throw them away, so I got a bag from the janitor and stuffed all of it into it.


    "Why a month?" Elsa said before she glared at Jacob, "And how did you know?"


    Jacob smirked, "Why of course, it''s because I''m his best friend!"


    "You''re MY best friend!" Elsa said, causing Jacob''s heart to throb. I rolled my eyes at both of them and scowled, "Can you guys not rub your ''happiness'' in my face right now?"


    Elsa and Jacob laughed. I closed my locker and said, "I think I will take that offer. Also, why a month? That''s because it''s a process of adaptation."


    Elsa was confused, so I explained, "Today, they will cheer, and feel like it is unreal for me to be here. Tomorrow, they will be glad I''m still here. The day after that, they will still be glad, but the level of enthusiasm won''t be the same. And it will lower periodically until they finally adapt to me being here."


    "By then, they will treat me like a slightly famous person, but not on the obsessive level they had when first meeting a celebrity. Maybe a few will, but not most of them. After all, people need to go on with their daily life."


    Elsa nodded, "Got it. Like Jenna. At first, she was obsessed with you. But right now, she didn''t even come to meet you."


    Elsa smirked as she was trying to tease me, but I wasn''t reacting the way she wanted, "You guys aren''t in the same class right? By the way, I only texted Jacob. You''re a plus one."


    "WHAT?!" The boys shouted in disbelief. All of the students went to take their seats as the new teacher was coming.


    I was drinking some water as I watched the door. Suddenly, a very familiar person entered the classroom.


    "Hello Class." Sage greeted with a cold face.


    "PFFFF�C" I sputtered out my drink from the shock. "GRANNY!?" I shouted in disbelief.


    "Edward, wipe your mouth. That''s disgusting." Sage scowled. Haley and the rest of the students were alternating their confused gazes between the two of us.


    "Edward, do you know her?" Haley asked, feeling a bit threatened by the teacher''s appearance.


    "My name is Miss Anna. That''s the only name I want you to use." Sage said.


    I finally calmed myself down and whispered to Haley, "Hmm. I met her before."


    "Why Granny?" Tara asked.


    "Just a nickname." I said, dodging the topic. Unexpectedly, Sage taught pretty well for her first class. And when the class finally ended, I went to talk to her.


    "How? And why?" I asked.


    "I got punished. Don''t think too much." Sage replied casually. I smiled and then teased, "Ohh...They caught you huh."


    Sage scowled and then said, "Shouldn''t you go annoy anyone else?"


    I laughed a bit and then said, "It''s a good thing you''re sticking around. I wanted to treat you to a meal before, but you had already run away. So, how about tonight?"


    "No." Sage replied curtly. "Friday will work for me."


    " Damn. Unfortunately it won''t work for me."


    "Maybe we should just not do it�C"


    "But I can push my schedule back." I said, cutting off Sage''s sentence. She frowned and then said, "You did that on purpose."


    I laughed out loud as I exited the class. "I''ll text you on whatsapp!"


    "I don''t have a phone!" She shouted, but I answered laughingly from afar, "No problem! I will send one to your house tonight!"


    ...


    Roof. Lunch.


    "Edward!" Jenna greeted cheerfully as she walked towards where I was sitting. Then, she said fearfully, "The roof is off limits. How did you get here?"


    "Yeah....I broke the door." I replied with a serious face. Jenna''s expression froze and she said, "Are you serious?"


    "I''m not. I bribed the janitor to open the door." I replied with a smile. She was finally relieved and sat next to me. As we started eating and talking, Jacob and Elsa joined in, and lastly, Haley and Tara also came to the roof.


    We snuck some food from the cafeteria, and some of us brought our own lunch�C like me and Jacob who needed the protein.


    "Where''s Abraham?" I asked.


    "Simping over a senior." Jacob replied teasingly.


    "Ah. Got it. Also, both of you...wait, the three of you. Why aren''t you guys eating?" I said to Elsa, Haley, and Tara. "You guys aren''t doing something stupid like dieting are you?"


    "Uh...No?" Haley tried to play it off.


    "I''ve already eaten in class." Elsa said. "That''s true." Jacob backed her up.


    Tara smiled and said, "I am dieting. So what?"


    "It''s lunch. It won''t affect much. And you guys need the energy." I said to them, And then, it turned into a 20 minute lecture about how they could still lose weight from eating normally, and just made sure that their body was in a calorie deficit.


    "So. Eat." I said as I fed Haley a spoonful of my food. She widened her eyes in shock before she grinned.


    Jenna was jealous, "Can I be fed too?"


    "No." I replied decisively, making the group laugh.


    "By the way Ed, how did you know the new teacher?" Jacob asked with a dazed look. Elsa was mad and scolded him, "You bitch! You like the new teacher don''t you!?"


    "What�C NO! I''m just curious!" Jacob defended himself instantly.


    "Have you seen her naked before?" Jenna asked suddenly. I opened my mouth, but then I realized that I was almost tricked. I looked at Jenna, only to realize that the group was looking at me with shock in their eyes.


    "Y�CYou have?" Haley asked fearfully.


    "What? NO! Also, stupid question. I have never seen her naked! IN this life!" I proclaimed decisively.


    ''But I did �CMultiple times in my previous ones.'' I added that internally.


    Then, I widened my eyes as I thought of something. "Wait...why is she here?"


    "Duh... To teach of course." Elsa looked at me in disdain. However, I ignored her and thought deeply about the matter. If it was a punishment, it was a simple matter of getting her into other schools. But why did they send her to be so close to me?


    "Hey. Elsa. Did any of our school teachers disappear after we graduated?"


    "Huh? Not that I know of. Everyone is still there." She replied.


    Jenna looked at me in concern, "Why Ed? Is there something wrong?"


    "Yeah. Maybe. I don''t know yet." I answered while having some tumultuous thoughts.


    "I need to go talk to Sage." I said as I suddenly stood up and walked away.


    "Sage?" All of them were confused.


    "Ah right. Miss Anna." I corrected, causing them to exclaim in understanding.

 Chapter 179: Football Practice!

    Chapter 179: Chapter 179: Football Practice!


    [Happy New Year Everyone!]


    [Edward''s POV]


    I approached Sage''s classroom with a grim expression on my face. The usual fans who wanted to talk to me instinctively made way as I passed through them.


    Standing in front of the classroom door, I felt a sudden stillness around me. Out of nowhere, a Korean man''s face appeared beside me.


    (What happened will be explained in a flashback.)


    It took me a while to calm down after the man''s explanation. Then, I opened the door and entered the classroom. Sage was lost in thought as she stared out the window and was surprised to see me.


    "Why are you here? Go have some lunch," she said, her expression unchanged.


    "What about you? Why aren''t you eating? Or did the other teachers discriminate against you?"


    Confused, she furrowed her brows and replied, "No, I haven''t even met them yet."


    "Ahh, that''s the problem. You should go to the teacher''s lounge and introduce yourself. By the way, you can use your connection with me to smooth things over. Most of the teachers here are my fans, so they''ll be enthusiastic about getting to know you."


    She scowled and responded, "I don''t need to get close to them. I''ll be gone from here soon."


    "Nah, I believe you''ll be here for a while, maybe a year. Having some friends could help you during that time."


    As I tried to persuade Sage, a lively Latina female teacher knocked funkily on the classroom door.


    "Knock Knock. Miss Anna... Oh, Edward, you''re here too," muttered Miss Julie, the Spanish teacher, with shining eyes.


    I nodded with a smile and said, "Of course, I''m here. Someone needs to take care of my socially awkward godsister."


    Sage was shocked, and Miss Julie exclaimed, "Ahh, she''s your... well, she''s your sister! That explains how she got approved so fast."


    I chuckled and said, "Yeah, fame comes with some benefits."


    Miss Julie scolded, "You shouldn''t think about abusing your fame, Edward. It''s not a good idea."


    Sage barely reacted at that moment and asked, "Who''s your godsister--"


    Ignoring her, I told Miss Julie, "By the way, Miss, could you help my sister get familiar with the school? She won''t do it unless someone forces her. It''s exhausting."


    Miss Julie nodded in understanding, while Sage became more and more baffled.


    "I don''t need your help arranging my life--"


    "Miss Anna, let me show you where the teacher''s lounge is. We can have lunch together!" the overly enthusiastic but kind-hearted Miss Julie exclaimed, hugging Sage''s arm and pulling her away.


    "Wait--" Sage tried to protest, but it was futile. Her powers were locked as a punishment, so she only had the strength of a small woman.


    I smirked and shouted to Miss Julie, "She doesn''t have any friends in the city either, so she needs someone to show her around there too!"


    "I''LL TAKE CARE OF IT!" Miss Julie shouted back from afar.


    I returned to the rooftop and continued having lunch with my friends, but we only had a few more minutes before the bell rang. Then, I walked with Haley and Tara to the Spanish class, which, surprisingly, was taught by Miss Julie.


    Well, not that surprising.


    ...


    "Ah, school''s finally over!" Tara muttered as she stretched her arms in the air.


    "Yeah, now comes the real challenge," I mumbled as I saw a crowd of people waiting for me outside the class.


    Haley looked a bit worried and asked, "Will you be okay?"


    "No problem! I''ll treat this as a warm-up for football practice."


    "Oh yeah, that starts today." Haley said with a smile. "I''ll come and watch you practice."


    "You should. Cam and Gloria will be there."


    "Huh? Why are they coming here?" Haley was confused.


    "Well, come over and you''ll find out," I muttered with a sly smirk. Then, I suddenly shouted, "WHAT''S OVER THERE?!" as I pointed to the left side of the crowd. Startled, they all turned to look, and while they were distracted, I slipped away from their sight.


    "Wait, where did he go?" a random girl shouted.


    "Is the window open? Did he jump from the second floor?" Another girl hypothesized, her face pale. The fans stormed into the classroom to look out the window and try to find where I had gone.


    That''s when I quietly left the classroom and made my way to the football team''s locker room. I changed into the team''s equipment and uniform before heading to the field. I was already late, and everyone else had gathered there.


    The Dolphin''s team uniform consisted of a white shirt with blue lining and blue player numbers, paired with blue pants. As I made my way to the field, it seemed that the news about me joining the football team had been leaked, and many of my fans were sitting on the bleachers with banners in their hands.


    "Edward! Edward! Edward!" they cheered as they saw me enter the field.


    I smiled and waved at them. Many of them started swooning and soon called me the "White Knight" based on my current armored appearance.


    "HUDDLE UP!" the coach blew the whistle, and the team finally gathered. It wasn''t that he didn''t want to start sooner, but he was afraid that the fans would storm the field and attack him if he dared to do it without me.


    "Alright, kids... umm..." The coach was initially excited but then started to lag.


    Cam looked at me in confusion. Then he whispered to himself, "Treating them badly...then, giving them a sweet compliment that made them�C Wait...Edward...Are you being a ''toxic boyfriend'' to these poor kids?"


    I ignored Cam''s accurate statement and called the Captain, "Tyler! You''re next! Prove to me that you are worthy of the title, Captain!"


    Tyler stepped forward, a mixture of determination and apprehension on his face. He knew this was his chance to prove himself and regain some power within the team. He took a deep breath and positioned himself at the starting line.


    "Come on. I can do this." He whispered to himself. I looked at him smugly, causing him to curse me for taking his limelight.


    "Ready... set... go!" I shouted, blowing the whistle to start the 40 yards dash. Tyler burst into action, sprinting with all his might.


    "AHHHH!!!" Tyler shouted with veins popping out of his throat.


    As Tyler raced down the field, I watched him closely, analyzing his form and speed. He was fast, no doubt, but there was room for improvement. I knew he had the potential to be a great player, but he needed a push to bring out his best.


    "Great job!" Cam clapped his hand to support Tyler as he almost finished.


    Just as Tyler crossed the 40 yard line, I called out, "Dinky, heel!" The dog obeyed instantly, halting in its tracks. Tyler, panting and exhilarated, turned to look at me, waiting for my assessment.


    "4.53 seconds," I announced with a nod. "Not bad, Tyler. You''ve shown improvement, but there''s still work to be done. I expect more from you as the team''s captain."


    Tyler''s face lit up with a mix of relief and pride. He had managed to meet the average time for high school students, and that was a step in the right direction. He knew I had high expectations for him, and he was determined to meet them. And all of this was happening inside his subconscious.


    He wasn''t even aware that right now, I was training him to meet my expectations. I believe that in one month, I could train him to do anything I want, provided that no one breaks the brainwashing I''m currently doing on him, and also the rest of the team.


    After the entire team had done the test, Cam said, "Edward. Your turn."


    "Ah right." I muttered and went to the line. The crowd cheered explosively as they saw me, shouting their support and even taking out their phones to record the moment.


    I smiled charmingly as I waved at them, causing the team to look at me in disbelief.


    "Ready? Start!" Cam shouted. I sprinted towards the 40 yards line with all of my might. Then, I slowed down after I passed it, and jogged towards where Cam was standing with heavy breathing.


    "What''s my record?" I asked, a bit curious. Although I had the football training memory from the gacha, I had never actually done these things by myself before. I knew that Hiruma''s record and my record would differ because we had different body types, so I was a bit expectant.


    "Ummm...I don''t think this counts. So you''re going to take the test again." Cam said.


    "Huh? Why?" I asked, confused. Then, I grabbed the stopwatch from him and saw the record. I froze for a few seconds before I grinned widely.


    My record; 4.32 seconds. It was on par with the top NFL players'' records, so that''s why Cam couldn''t believe it.


    "I must''ve started the timer late and stopped it too early." Cam tried to convince himself.


    "I don''t think so. But let''s do another test just to be safe." I muttered.


    Then, I did the test again. Cam froze in his spot for a while, and couldn''t collect himself after I finished. While he was standing there like a statue, I peeked at the stopwatch and saw my new record. 4.29 seconds.


    "HOLY SHI�CSPEED!" Jacob shouted in disbelief! He had to change his words midway as he knew that his mother was watching the practice at the bleacher.


    Cam looked at me and held my shoulders suddenly before he said, "Edward. You should quit singing and focus on becoming a full-time football player!"


    I grimaced at him and brushed his hands away, "Calm down. Let''s continue with the other tests for now. Test for reflex, arm strength, core strength, and stamina. We need all of the data available before I can create a training program."


    Then, I said in a sad tone, "Unfortunately. I would not be able to focus on playing as I have too much work as it is. Maybe if I had an assistant coach that knew what he''s doing, I could relax and practice properly. But as of right now, my talents need to be buried so that the others can grow�C"


    "Stop trying to trick me into accepting the job. But you know what, I will take the job. As long as you promise me that you''ll keep playing."


    I smiled mischievously and said "Of course. Why would I want to stop now that I have joined the team?" Cam smiled in disbelief after that.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Haley walked towards Edward while recording him with his camera. She asked, "How do you feel after your first football practice today?"


    Edward smiled, his face was glistening with sweat. He answered, "I had fun."


    "Oh really? Was it fun torturing the other players?" Haley asked mischievously.


    Edward tried to shush her and said, "That was supposed to be a secret, you know keep it between us."


    The video was then posted to Haley''s instagram account, and an official video about Edward on the field today was posted to his own account. As Edward couldn''t really show his silly side on his official account, he asked Haley to help him with that. And it benefited both of them when they posted it.


    After Edward changed out of his uniform, Randall picked him up and brought him to his car.


    "I''m going to go get some food. Wanna come with me?" Edward asked Haley.


    The latter smiled and said, "Sorry. I promised Gloria I''d go with her to the mall. Besides, it''s too early for dinner."


    Edward rubbed his stomach and said, "I''m starving though. Alright. See you tonight."


    "T-tonight? Why tonight?" Tara, who was standing beside Haley, asked teasingly.


    Edward looked at her weirdly and said, "Haley wants to show me something."


    Before Tara could tease her again, Haley cupped Tara''s mouth and said, "I''ll see you tonight."


    "And oh, bring Alex with you. It''d be kinda dangerous for us if we''re left there alone." Edward said before he smirked and left.


    Haley blushed hard, and when Tara teased her, she hit her friend''s arm and said, "Let''s go."

 Chapter 180: Painful Night.

    Chapter 180: Chapter 180: Painful Night.


    [General POV]


    After Edward uploaded a video of himself playing football on his Instagram page, the views of the video instantly exploded. However, as American football wasn''t as popular in other countries as it was in the United States, the video couldn''t achieve a breakthrough and become one of the more popular videos on the internet.


    Tom Brady, a professional NFL player with an outstanding record, accidentally came across Edward''s video while scrolling on his phone. "Oh, impeccable form. James, we should get this guy for the team."


    "Who?" His friend peeked into his video and then scowled, "That''s the singer kid who built the app. He''s a nerd �C wait, he''s not a nerd. Huh."


    James instantly changed his opinion about Edward after watching the video. "He must have practiced the throws for a long time. He can throw it into tight spaces too. That''s awesome, and it took a lot of practice. I had the wrong impression of him."


    Tom Brady was still processing the earlier information. "He''s a singer?"


    "Yeah, kinda the most popular kid right now. You know what, why don''t we ask him if he wants to come check out our stadium," James smiled teasingly. Their team''s name was the Patriots, and they were located in Boston, on the other side of the coast. So it wouldn''t even make sense for them to invite Edward.


    "Alright, I will leave a comment," Tom Brady smiled, not understanding the situation.


    James looked at him disdainfully but didn''t extinguish Tom''s false hope.


    While the entire country was watching Edward''s videos, a heated argument was taking place inside an apartment in Pasadena.


    "Why don''t we try to build some muscles and maybe pretend we''re into sports!?" Howard Wolowitz said in exasperation.


    "Your plan is as feasible as saying we should use the fake balloon muscles from the Spongebob cartoon show. What you''re saying is not only comical, but it also shows WHY you are only an engineer! " Sheldon replied angrily.


    "But... You have to admit, Edward proved that he can do it. You know, balance between being a jock and being a nerd. He made a lot of games and apps, all by himself," Leonard tried to convince Sheldon.


    Sheldon nodded, acknowledging Edward''s effort, and rolled his eyes at the same time. "Just pick one already. Why does he want to do both?" Sheldon muttered incomprehensibly.


    Howard smiled before saying, "So... What are we waiting for? We should hit the gym and finally make the gym membership card in Leonard''s wallet useful. Of course, we need to clean off the dust first."


    Leonard rolled his eyes while Howard and Raj laughed at him. Rajesh then asked, "How long has it been since you started the membership?"


    Sheldon replied instead of Leonard, "He started in 2003, shortly after he moved into this apartment. He said that ''It''s what Californians do,'' and then he never went there again after the first time."


    The others laughed at Leonard, but then Leonard said self-deprecatingly, "Laugh all you want. I can''t go there to face Jackie, the hot receptionist who convinced me to get a membership card, and it still costs me 50 bucks a month because I couldn''t cancel it."


    While the group laughed harder, Leonard whined, "It''s been 6 years, and it''s still deducting!"


    After calming down, the group suddenly fell into an abrupt silence. Rajesh rubbed the sofa cushion while sitting and asked hesitantly, "So... should we go there?"


    No one answered him, not even Howard, who started the whole topic. "Nah, let''s see if he uploads something new tomorrow and see if we can do that," Howard said.


    "Oh, by the way, he asked me if we had some D&D games coming up, and said he wanted to join us," Leonard said happily.


    ...


    [Edward''s POV]


    "98, 99... 100," I counted as I did a shirtless one-arm push-up in the living room. Haley and Alex ate some popcorn as they watched me exercise in silence. They let out some gasps a few times as they watched my muscles tighten and my sweaty body glisten.


    "Sorry, I just have one more rep, and then we can start," I told them as I stood up with a slight panting.


    "N-No, you can take your time. No rush," Haley said with a slight stutter at the beginning. I shot her a weird look before going to do some pull-ups. The girls kept their eyes on me, and when I was finally finished, they ran to give me some towels.


    "Thanks," I replied as I wiped the sweat off my body and then walked towards the bathroom. "I''m going to take a shower. And while I''m in there, you guys better wipe that drool off your faces because I don''t know what I''m going to do if you keep looking at me that way."


    "What way?" Alex asked.


    "The ''please sleep with me'' way," I teased. I wanted to say ''Fuck Me'' way, but I still needed to hide a few parts of my personality for when they were truly comfortable with me later on. Then and only then would I show them all of my true self, making them fall in disbelief as to why they ever wanted to become friends in the first place.


    After that, I went to cook dinner, which included a T-bone steak and a lot of high-protein dishes in big portions. "Haley, what did you want to talk about?" I asked while cooking.


    "What?" Haley was blanking out. She smiled as she looked at me, completely forgetting her intention of coming here today.


    Alex reminded her, "Your doodle book?"


    "Ah," Haley exclaimed before she took out a pink-covered book with a ribbon on top. "And also, this isn''t my doodle book! This is my book of ideas!"


    Alex snorted and said, "I''ve seen the page where you wrote ''Mrs. Haley Newga�C''"


    Haley cupped Alex''s mouth before she could finish her words. I chuckled a bit and said, "Alex, you can go play down in my lab now if you want."


    "No, no. I want to hear this too," Alex said. "I was really surprised when she said she had something great, and I really want to see it."


    She meant that she wanted to condescendingly criticize it. However, I noticed that Alex had mellowed out her sarcasm with her sister after she got a boyfriend and a lot of friends.


    Maybe now she didn''t hide her insecurities behind her sarcastic demeanor anymore, which eased up her relationship with Haley and also her family members. I was just guessing, but I think that was close to the mark.


    "It''s not something great. It''s just a simple thought." Haley said hesitantly.


    "Well don''t you stop edging me and finally give me some release. What is it?" I asked in excitement.


    Alex was baffled by my choice of words but Haley blushed. "That''s really dirty." Alex scolded. I shrugged it off and I watched Haley open up her book.


    "2 days ago, while I was doing yoga�C"


    "You mean, watching other people do yoga." Alex exposed Haley instantly.


    "Male or female?" I asked.


    "Girls I think." Alex replied.


    ...


    "Wear this." I handed a white lab coat towards Haley before I opened the basement door.


    "Hmm? Do you have this in red? Or a sexier model?"


    "Sexy lab coats. You should write that down in your book of ideas. Halloween outfit companies and porn magazines would love it." I muttered sarcastically.


    She rolled her eyes and followed me from behind as we entered the lab.


    "Hmm?" She was confused when she saw another door right after we opened up the basement door.


    "Come in and close it." I told her. She shut the previous door when suddenly a gush of high pressure air blew the both of us. Her hair and mine fluttered in the wind, so did our clothes. Then, I opened the glass door and walked into the lab while Haley was still processing what just happened.


    "Question. Why did you install a professional air jet into your lab?" Alex, who was gone for a while, asked while wearing a lab coat.


    "To keep the room sterile. Duh." I replied casually with a smirk as I walked towards her.


    "How much does this cost you?" Haley asked in disbelief after seeing a lot of high tech equipment in the lab.


    "Well, the air jet alone cost 20 Gs and it isn''t all complete yet, but I have spent around 1 million dollars to buy most of the stuff. The maintenance should run around that much when electricity and amenities are concerned."


    The girls froze at my casual revelation, and suddenly felt that they shouldn''t touch anything.


    I asked Alex, who was standing by the microscope, "What are you doing?"


    Alex stuttered a bit and replied, "I-I read some of your data, and your hypothesis about possible microplastic contamination within the human body. I was wondering if that was true, so I checked out the beach sand samples you have."


    "What''s microplastic?" Haley asked.


    "Something that makes up Kim Kardashian''s face?" I replied, causing her to scoff in disbelief.


    Alex was excited, "It''s really cool. He hypothesized that our action of throwing waste products into the ocean will someday cause irreparable damage to the ecosystem."


    She then realized something and her enthusiasm dampened, Well...More irreparable damage... Something that we, as a human, would face. Not the fish that are currently facing them right now."


    "Oww, those poor fishies." Haley exclaimed.


    Alex didn''t reply to her sister and asked me, "Why are you doing research on this?"


    "Just because." I replied, face suddenly flushed with embarrassment.


    Haley saw it and was excited, "Why? Why are you not telling us the reason?"


    "I don''t know. I just don''t want to." I replied shyly.


    Alex also smiled and then egged me together with her sister, "We promise that we won''t ever tell another soul about this."


    "I don''t believe in promises." I said decisively.


    "What? Umm...What do you want then?" Alex asked.


    "Let''s make a deal. I tell you my plans, and you... You have to kiss Finneas in front of your mom in a week."


    "NEVER! I don''t want to know your plans!" Alex spoke in horror. However, Haley said, "DEAL! I''ll make sure that she does it!"


    "HALEY!" Alex groaned in frustration.


    I chuckled and then patted Alex''s head, "I was just kidding. It''s fine if you guys want to know. I''m just thinking about cleaning it all up."


    "Huh?" x2


    "You mean, you''re not satisfied with just cleaning up your home, now you want to clean up the ocean?" Alex said sarcastically, but with a hint of awe.


    "Kinda."


    Haley then added, "And you''re going to use your own money to do this?"


    "No." I replied decisively. "My plan is to find the evidence for my theory then use fear mongering�Csuch as microplastics found in a human fetus to arrange some fundraisers, getting all the big tech idiots to donate and then use their money to clean up the ocean."


    Alex took out a design for the Ocean Cleanup ship stuck on the wall and said, "This is the thing that will do the job?"


    "Yes. I can''t wait for Boyan Slat to do it. He''s only 14 right now."


    "Who''s Boyan Slat?" Haley asked, confused.


    "Not important." I replied. "Anyway, this is just one of my side projects. You know, something to do if I have the time to do it."


    "You mean, other than the time you use to slowly kill your own body by continuously overworking it ?" Alex said sarcastically.


    "Yes. Anyway, Alex, you should go now. I''m going to do something with your sister, and the sounds that''ll be coming out are going to be M rated, you know, something a girl your age shouldn''t hear."


    Alex and Haley both looked at me in disbelief, but the difference was that Alex looked at me with disgust, while Haley looked at me while laughing.


    ...


    Alex didn''t want to go home yet, and insisted that she had to stay to watch over us. I was a bit irritated at first, but then I realized that it was a good thing that she was there.


    Her presence was the only thing that was keeping my sanity together during the massage�C not that I had intentionally tried to get Haley turned on, but it was a major side effect of the massage. That...and intense pain.


    "I feel like my whole body is going to cramp." Haley moaned after she walked out of the door while Alex was helping her to stand still.


    Alex then said, "I...I''m never sitting through that again. If you guys are doing this for the second time, please don''t make me stay....Please."

 Chapter 181: Ship’s ready!

    Chapter 181: Chapter 181: Ship��s ready!


    [General POV]


    -Dunphy''s house, late at night-


    "My legs are still shaky." Haley whined as she walked with Alex to the kitchen. Claire was tapping on her laptop as she saw the girls, and quietly listened in to their conversation.


    Claire grabbed her cup and tea and slowly sipped it. Subsequently, Alex continued replying to Haley, "With all of the grunting and moaning you did, I''d be more concerned for your throat."


    Claire spat out her drink in shock, and looked at her daughter with a horrified expression as she wiped her mouth with a napkin, "W-What?"


    Haley said casually, "Ignore Alex mom. She''s jealous because she wasn''t the one laying down on the bed."


    Alex snorted and spoke sarcastically, "Yeah right, I''m jealous that I had to watch you having a ''good time'' alone. Ugh, I know for sure this...will come back to haunt me again in my dreams tonight."


    Claire''s voice shook and she asked, "Haley...you ha�C had a ... ''good time'', and you made Alex watch?"


    Haley defended herself, "Well she was the one who insisted on staying. I wanted her to leave me alone too. At first I thought it''d be weird, but turns out, I''m okay with it."


    Claire gasped sharply and covered up her mouth as her eyes got glassy.


    "Geez mom. Why do you look so anxious? You know what? Maybe, you should arrange some time and let Ed work his magic on you too." Haley said, not thinking much.


    "W-WHAT?!" Claire exclaimed in disbelief.


    Haley smiled and said excitedly, "Yeah mom. The way he just gets in there...and continues digging the sore spot, despite how many times you scream...but what you really want is for him to get in there more..."


    "Haley that''s enough!" Claire couldn''t even look Haley in the eye after that. Phil walked in at that moment and asked, "Hey honey."


    "Dad. Edward, is amazing!" Haley spoke excitedly.


    "Don''t tell your dad that!" Claire said hurriedly and panicky.


    Phil was confused and then smiled, "No wait. I already knew that. Alex told me when they came back. I texted Edward to see if I could learn from him."


    [Phil''s commentary]


    "When Alex told me how great he was at massaging, I was doubtful at first, to be honest. But then, I saw Haley with a light glow on her skin, and even her steps seemed airy. Not to brag, but I am an officially recognized masseuse. But I could never do what he did."


    "Claire has been working extra hard these last few months. So, I wanted to do something nice for her. Even if I''m not the one that''s going to give it to her, I''d be fine with Edward taking over my job."


    [Phil''s commentary]


    Haley grinned and said, "You really should learn that! Maybe learn it as you watch mom while she gets it from him. You can stay on the chair beside them like Alex did."


    "OOh. I should bring a camera too so I can rewatch the whole thing at night to study the technique." Phil nodded as he was acknowledging what Haley said, but Claire was really horrified right now.


    "You guys are sick! This whole family is sick!" Claire scolded before she anxiously stormed away, grabbing Luke with her as she got out of the house.


    "Honey, where are you going?" Phil asked. "All I wanted to do was ask Edward to show you a good time. I know you want it too."


    "NO. I DON''T!" Claire said from afar.


    Alex then realized something, "Does mom know we were talking about a massage?"


    "Hmm? What else could we be talking about?" Phil asked, confused. Haley was also confused, leaving Alex as the only one trying to hold back her laughter.


    "You should really explain the topic of the conversation next time." Alex said to Phil before she cackled. Then, she stopped and spoke sternly, "Seriously. You should go there and tell her about that right now. Or else she won''t ever come back to the house."


    "I got it." Phil didn''t question his smart daughter and ran for Claire immediately. The sisters didn''t react much to the normal family drama. Haley changed the subject and asked, "Oh yeah. What did you guys talk about before we went back?"


    "Oh. He said he was going to bake but I noticed that he was really tired already, so I said no." Alex replied.


    "Huh? Tired?...wait. How did he say it?"


    "He said, "I''m going to get baked, just to get your sister''s voice out of my head." His grammar was already all over the place." Alex replied with a slight chuckle.


    Haley widened her eyes, but then she smiled and said, "You know. Sometimes, you''re so smart... but Sometimes..."


    "Huh?" Alex was smiling at first but then was confused as to why Haley stressed out the word sometimes at the end.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Why did I make some dough last night?" I wondered as I checked the fridge after I woke up in the morning. It was only 4.30 am, and the sun wasn''t even up yet.


    "I don''t know. Everytime I asked you about it, you just giggled and slapped the dough. Then, you ate a bunch of snacks before going to sleep." My dad replied as he was sipping coffee.


    Usually, we get up around 5.30 to 6, but today was a special day.


    "Oh. Nevermind that then." I replied, not wanting for him to realize that I was as high as a kite last night. "They are hauling your new ship to the dock right now, are you excited?"


    "Excited as I''ll ever be with a ship''s engine so faulty, its role model could be right from the titanic." My dad joked.


    "To be fair, the Titanic didn''t have an engine problem. They had the iceberg problem, and most of the rich people on board were against the institution of the Federal Reserve and its ease to print more money, so you know they weren''t really ''able'' to live that long."


    "Wait. Is that real?"


    "Nah. I''m just messing around. You hear that, NSA�Cagent�Ctapping�Cinto�Cour�Cphones?" I joked.


    My dad smiled and said, "Someone seems to be in a good mood today?"


    "I''m in a good mood everyday I woke up and still have muh moneeeeyy than yesterday." I said as I did a gangsta gesture. "By the way, since I have the giant ass dough, I''m thinking of making cronuts. But it''s going to take about an hour for me to bake it."


    "What''s a cronut?" My dad asked.


    I looked at him in disdain and said, "So Uncultured."


    "???" My dad was really confused about this. Why wouldn''t he be since cronuts wouldn''t be invented till 2013, and I currently had no idea that they didn''t exist in this world yet!


    A cronut was a mixture of croissant and donut, hence the name, cronut. It became viral the moment it was invented. In my past life, I was a big fan of the pastry, but I never knew the history of it.


    "So, should I do it or not?" I asked my dad again.


    He thought about it and then shrugged his shoulders. "It doesn''t matter if we''re a bit late. We''re ''the boss''. So, I''d say, go for it."


    "Hmm...Alright. So, go away now. I want to record the process and upload it, and you staying here will ruin the video''s quality."


    "I''m not sure if that''s a technical term, or an... insult."


    "Whenever you aren''t sure about something, just go straight to insult. Trust your instinct on that." I smirked at him as I chased him away.


    He didn''t go far, and just sat out of the video''s frame. While I was setting up the cameras, he said, "I maybe remembering this wrong, but didn''t you hate, and if I may quote you on this, ''That parasitical waste of human society�C the instagram influencers'', so why are you trying to be like them right now?"


    I pointed a knife at my dad and warned, "Call me an influencer again, and I''ll stick this where the sun doesn''t shine! How dare you compare someone who is giving the gift of ''food porn'' to the world to someone who even the porn industry is going to reject! Just for that, I''m downgrading your cronut amount from two to one."


    "Oh come on!" My dad whined. "Ugh. I hate this new dynamic between us." He fakely complained.


    "Well, go get me a new mother. That will for sure change the dynamics of everything." I joked/seriously said to him.


    He froze for a while and let out a fake cough before saying, "Do you need any help?"


    "Ummm...There''s no need. I can do it on my own. But I''m going to need containers to put them in."


    I pressed the record button on the camera and started cooking. However, just like with my dad, I made the whole video on the assumption that people knew what a cronut was.


    My dad took out a couple of boxes from the cupboard and asked me weirdly, "Why do we have donut boxes here...And why are they labeled... so simply?"


    It was an orange and red coloured box with the label [Foodstuff] on it.


    I rolled my eyes at him and said, "Well it''s not like I''m going to open my own bakery! It''s just something I need, and the suppliers won''t custom make it if there isn''t a brand name on it."


    "And you think a good name for it should be, [Foodstuff]?"


    "I mean it IS a box for the food... and stuff... so stop bothering me and go fold the boxes!"


    I turned back to the camera while I was cutting the dough I had flattened and said, "I''m not going to make it circular, but instead I''m going to make it a rectangular cronut. Cause making circular ones is going to give me a lot of work to re-knead them."


    After I finished making the cronut, I put one on a plate and then glazed it. Then, I captured the finished product and then finally filmed me taking a bite of it and asking people to try it out on their own and enjoy.


    The name of the ship was the Billy O'' Tea??


    ??The winds blew up, her bow dipped down


    Oh blow, my bully boys, blow (huh)??"


    The sailors smiled and then filled up their morning cup of coffee with liquor. I hopped on the top of the table and sang.


    "??Soon may the Wellerman come


    To bring us sugar and tea and rum


    One day, when the tonguing is done


    We''ll take our leave and go??"


    "Remember this part!" I shouted to them. Frankie was confused and whispered to my dad, "What''s a Wellerman?"


    "I don''t know. I think it means traders. I''ll ask him about it later." My dad replied with a whisper too. Then, I caught both of them making eyes at each other, blushing and giggling, which made me confused and almost slip from the table. ''Wasn''t she a lesbian?'', I thought secretly.


    "??She''d not been two weeks from shore


    When down on her a right whale bore


    The captain called all hands and swore


    He''d take that whale in tow (huh)??"


    "All together now!" I shouted.


    The whole crew than sang together in harmony, "??Soon may the Wellerman come


    To bring us sugar and tea and rum


    One day, when the tonguing is done


    We''ll take our leave and go??"


    I laughed before I sang alone,


    "??Da-da-da-da-da


    Da-da-da-da-da-da-da


    Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da??"


    "??Before the boat had hit the water


    The whale''s tail came up and caught her


    All hands to the side, harpooned and fought her


    When she dived down low (huh)??"


    Together: "??Soon may the Wellerman come


    To bring us sugar and tea and rum


    One day, when the tonguing is done


    We''ll take our leave and go??"


    ??No line was cut, no whale was freed


    The captain''s mind was not of greed


    And he belonged to the Whaleman''s creed


    She took that ship in tow (huh)??


    "Oh god. This story is like Moby Dick''s story. And even that name is here, on the new ship''s bow!" Glenn shouted in a weird high pitched voice. Well, higher pitch than the normal high pitch.


    Together: ??Soon may the Wellerman come


    To bring us sugar and tea and rum


    One day, when the tonguing is done


    We''ll take our leave and go??


    Together: ??Da-da-da-da-da


    Da-da-da-da-da-da-da


    Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da??


    ??For forty days or even more


    The line went slack then tight once more


    All boats were lost, there were only four


    But still that whale did go (huh)??


    ??Soon may the Wellerman come


    To bring us sugar and tea and rum


    One day, when the tonguing is done


    We''ll take our leave and go??


    ??As far as I''ve heard, the fight''s still on


    The line''s not cut, and the whale''s not gone


    The Wellerman makes his regular call


    To encourage the captain, crew and all (huh)??


    Together: ??Soon may the Wellerman come


    To bring us sugar and tea and rum


    One day, when the tonguing is done


    We''ll take our leave and go??


    I slowed down the music and then sang the last verse, "??Soon may the Wellerman come! To bring us sugar and tea and rum! One day, when the tonguing is done! We''ll take our leave and go??"


    The crowd clapped and cheered shortly after that. Then, they returned to their cakes and drinks, which made me feel a little bit like a cheap whore.


    "Pffts. Sailors." I scowled in disgust as I walked to my dad and Frankie.


    "Hey dad. Are you trying to teach Frankie what ''tonguing'' means? Cause you should teach her in private for that."


    My dad widened his eyes while Frankie chuckled. "I know what tonguing means Ed. But thanks for thinking about me."


    I chuckled a bit seeing their reaction, and then I whispered to Frankie, "I thought you like girls?"


    "Hmm? What? Why do you think that? Or ask about that?" Frankie was confused.


    "Nevermind. I''m going to get to school. Bye! Oh, and dad, make sure that everything is okay with the ship first before taking her out."


    "Stop nagging. Go! You''re late." He chased me away quickly to prevent me talking to Frankie anymore.


    "Ah, and by the way, I approve of her if you want her to be my new mother�C"


    "GOO!" My dad scolded me as I tried to speak with him again in the car. Then, I drove off quickly and then stopped by the middle school first to leave the pastry to Mrs Henderson�C got scolded by her for a while because I wasn''t in my class, and only after that did I get to my high school.

 Chapter 182: Doo-Doo-Doo-Doo

    Chapter 182: Chapter 182: Doo-Doo-Doo-Doo


    (Sorry I was busy this week that I forgot to post yesterday)


    [General POV]


    The school bell rang, signifying the end of the first classroom session, and the students poured into the hallways to store their books in their lockers and retrieve the ones for the next class.


    However, Edward had to wait until the students had moved on to their next class before he could leave the classroom.


    "Hey Ed, are you heading to the bio lab?" Haley approached Edward and asked as he placed his books inside Jacob''s locker.


    "Yeah, I''ll see you there," Edward replied.


    Haley was taken aback. "Wait, did I do something wrong?" She was confused as to why Edward didn''t want to walk to class with her.


    Edward smirked and playfully said, "You did. You did something very wrong."


    Haley was startled. "What did I do?"


    "You tortured me last night. I had to get high just to calm myself down," Edward teased. "I thought your mother''s reaction during the massage was bad enough, but you seem to be an upgraded version of that."


    "What?" She was confused.


    "I''m referring to the seductive moans and squirms."


    "Ah, that." Haley felt relieved.


    [Haley''s commentary]


    "I thought he found out that my mom and I finished all the pastries he sent us."


    [Commentary ends]


    Haley batted her eyes and then playfully scoffed, "For that reason? I mean, it''s not like you''re turned on or anything, are you?"


    "Why...only an insane person would be able to keep their rationality if they experienced what I did."


    Haley smiled mischievously and said, "Good."


    "Good?" Edward asked, both confused and amused.


    Haley didn''t continue but leaned in towards Edward and whispered, "Also, what''s with that massage? Why didn''t any of my bras fit this morning?"


    "None of them?" Edward asked, his gaze directed at Haley''s chest. She squeezed her elbows together and said seductively, "Yeah. I had to go ''no bra'' today. I think it''s swollen."


    "Alright, you need a time out," Edward said sternly, pointing in the direction of the biolab. "Go there on your own and think about what you did."


    Haley rolled her eyes, sashayed away while swaying her buttocks, and then turned briefly to see if Edward was still looking at her. He was. She smirked and continued walking.


    "Fuck," Edward cursed under his breath. "I hate being a teenager again," he mumbled while rubbing the back of his head, causing his hair to become a mess. Suddenly, Edward received a text from Alex.


    ScienceNerd: Can''t believe you forgot about me!


    ScienceNerd: Pic.png


    It was a photo of Billie, Finneas, and Enid eating the cronut, but there was none for Alex.


    Edward was confused and texted back, "Did I? I gave it to your mother this morning."


    Science Nerd: WHAT?! You''re joking, right?


    Edward: Just ask your mom about it. (eye-rolling emoji) I gave it to her this morning.


    Edward scoffed as he sent the text, muttering, "Alex wouldn''t lie so casually... So what happened there?"


    At Franklin Middle School, Alex angrily pounced and stole a bite of the cronut that Finneas was holding as they walked to class.


    "Hey! You feral, glasses-wearing jungle cat!" Finneas cursed with a smile. He didn''t mind sharing the pastry with Alex.


    Alex munched the pastry and swallowed it before saying, "It''s great. Damn it, now I''m really mad that I didn''t do more when I noticed it at home this morning! Ugh!"


    Enid laughed at Alex''s misery and muttered while biting the pastry, "I want more!"


    "Let''s stop by his house and raid his fridge after school," Billie suggested.


    Alex chuckled and said, "Nice idea, but I don''t think he kept any at home. And he has football practice after this."


    Finneas furrowed his brow and said, "Don''t get me wrong. I support him in the game, but I still think it''s really dangerous for him to participate in matches. People get injured all the time in the game. And while some artists could get by just singing, his dancing is part of the show like Michael or that Bieber guy."


    Billie and Enid froze, as Enid said anxiously, "Wait. He can get injured?"


    "Yeah. Why do you think they have to wear all that protection?" Alex replied.


    "We should stop him! If something happens to his hands, he can''t make music anymore!" Enid shouted.


    As Enid yelled, Mrs. Henderson walked toward the group of kids and reprimanded them, "Alex. Enid. Billie, and Finneas. Why are you still loitering in the hallway? Class started a few minutes ago. Do you have a hall pass to be here?"


    Alex turned pale and spoke honestly, "You''re the one who called us to the teacher''s lounge!" Then, she froze as she realized she had retorted to the teacher, "No. I''m sorry, Mrs. Henderson--"


    "I gave you enough time to get back to class, but you took advantage of that. All of you are to stay behind for detention today," Mrs. Henderson said with a cold voice.


    "NOOOO!!!" Enid screamed, devastated. She grabbed Mrs. Henderson''s hand and begged, "Can we postpone it to tomorrow? Edward is having a practice match today!"


    Mrs. Henderson paused to think for a moment before saying, "No."


    As the kids pitifully walked away towards their respective classes, Mrs. Henderson heard a male voice coming from behind her.


    "Harsh," Gong Shin, the afterlife senior agent, said.


    "Baby Shark!"


    I led the team, fully equipped with their uniforms, as we danced to the song. Reluctantly, the embarrassed teens followed along while the crowd laughed at them.


    "Come on, people! Keep your chin up! This is what happens when one of you is late for practice," I shouted at them.


    Tyler retorted, "But you''re the only one who was late!"


    "I am part of the team, aren''t I?" I smirked. "Come on, Dylan didn''t sing ''Baby Shark'' for nothing!"


    "Dylan? Dylan Marshall?" Tyler muttered in confusion. "That dumbass?"


    Jacob performed the mummy shark part with intense focus and vigor. Tyrone, standing behind him, shyly muttered, "Man, calm down. You''re drawing attention to us. Aren''t you embarrassed dancing to this?"


    Jacob shouted, "Granny Shark Doo Doo Doo Doo!" and then added, "To be completely honest... I kind of like it."


    Tyrone was speechless after that. Cam held Lily''s hand as she excitedly danced to the song while sitting in the baby carrier.


    After finishing the dance, I walked toward Lily and said, "Aren''t you glad you met me, Lily? Because there aren''t any other men who would create a song just for a baby girl they just met."


    Cam chuckled, and Lily reached out to me while babbling. Compared to her series counterpart, she was incredibly active as a baby. But that might be because the baby actress in the series was afraid of the cameras and strangers, so she couldn''t really react much. Therefore, I thought Lily was quite passive.


    Cam smiled sarcastically and said, "I mean, I thought Taylor would be the first person to sing a song written by you. I didn''t expect Dylan to debut with it first."


    I laughed and replied, "It''s just a song for babies. And he contributed to a lot of those songs... kind of..."


    Yes, before Dylan went to college, I asked him if he wanted to become an artist and kept my promise to help him. However, after working and making money at the part-time job on the cruise, his mindset changed.


    Dylan had an amazing affinity with children, maybe because their minds were somewhat similar. He sang a lot of nonsensical songs, and it resonated well with kids under 10 years old.


    His aspiration for singing these songs stemmed from his own lack of experience with someone singing children''s songs to him. He wanted to provide that experience to kids who might be just like him. Apparently, his mom would play the song ''Sexy Kitty'' on repeat for hours in their house as he was growing up.


    "He''s kind of like Charlie Harper from ''Two and a Half Men'' in this universe, except without the promiscuity, money, and charisma," I secretly thought. Dylan became famous among new parents and little children, and he was content with that.


    I replied to Cam, "Also, I''ve already recorded a few songs with Taylor and collaborated with other artists. Dylan is like number 8 on that list. Oh, and I might have done some stuff for a British band, good old chaps, you should keep an ear out for that too."


    Cam smiled and said, "I know, I''m just joking."


    "Oh, and Cam, since you''re here helping out, I''ll tell you a secret that only Dwayne and I know."


    "Spill it, boy, spill," Cam said excitedly, eager to hear the gossip.


    "Dylan... is getting married."


    Cam''s jaw dropped, and he screamed, "What?!"


    "Calm down, we haven''t even reached the juicy part yet," I said, smirking. "Do you want to know why he''s singing all these children''s songs?"


    Cam nodded, and then his eyes widened in realization. "You mean..."


    "Yeah... he got someone pregnant!"


    "Who? Who? Who? Who?" Cam asked enthusiastically.


    I grinned and said, "Anais, his prom date."


    Cam gasped and said, "I thought his premature ejaculation problem was solved?"


    "Yeah, it was solved after a week... And that''s not how it happened. They became a couple over the summer, had their first pregnancy scare, got tested, realized they were worried for nothing, and then celebrated by doing the thing that initially caused the pregnancy scare again... Apparently, he has hyper virility after that whole incident. They didn''t know it, and neither did the doctor..."


    "Edward, come on!" Jacob shouted from the field. "We''re all waiting for you."


    Cam shouted to the team, "Wait! WAIT! We''re discussing something important here!" Then he whispered to me, "How did she react? She got pregnant at 18, and I don''t think she''s happy about it. I''m not happy about it either."


    "Yeah, at first she wanted to be a model, but that was only because she didn''t know how to do anything else. She freaked out, but then Dylan calmed her down and proposed to her. He''s making a lot of money now, so it was stupid for her to say no," I explained.


    Cam noticed the expression on my face and asked, confused, "Why do you look so jealous about that?"


    I shrugged and replied, "I don''t know. He''s all happy, starting a family with the woman he loves. I envy that. I want that too. Anais didn''t agree to marry him just because he''s rich; he became rich after she agreed. He calls her and the baby his ''clover of luck'' because Anais''s last name is Clover."


    Both of them decided to move to Colorado to be closer to Anais''s family, and they continued their studies at Greendale Community College together. And since they were going to have a baby, I decided not to give Dylan all of his money. Instead, I''ll manage it for him," I explained.


    "Am I doing the right thing here? I only did it because last time he had money, he exchanged it all for ''Skee Ball tickets'' like 10.000 dollars worth of it, the moron!!!," I asked.


    Cam nodded and reassured me, "You did. You absolutely did. Alright, now that I''m satisfied, let''s play football."


    The players split into Offence and Defence, with 11 people on each team. I became the quarterback for the first team, which mostly consisted of freshmen and only a couple of senior students. Tyler was the quarterback for the other team, which included all the ''veterans'' and first-team players.


    "You''re going down, bitch!" Tyler shouted at me as we prepared for the game. Jacob expressed concern and asked, "Ed, are you sure about this? We''re going to get destroyed."


    I glanced in Tyler''s direction and smirked before responding to Jacob and the team, "You know what? It might not necessarily happen that way. Yes, we might get destroyed in the beginning, but I believe in a high-pressure training system."


    "None of you standing here today are truly novices at football. You''ve watched a lot of games, you''ve practiced for a long time... and while you may not know the strategies and winning plans yet, you can leave that part to me."


    "Remember this: just follow my instructions, and we''re going to crush the other teams. You got it?!"


    My teammates looked at me suspiciously after my pep talk. I sighed and added, "And... the winning team will receive a $100 coupon to The Cheesecake Factory to celebrate after this."


    "KICK THEIR ASS!"


    "KILL THEM!"


    "SLIT THEIR THROATS!"


    My teammates thunderously shouted their enthusiasm after hearing about the prize. I smirked and then glanced at Tyler with a hint of pity. "Poor guy. And here he was excited to be the captain again today."


    We were struggling at the beginning, but after we switched from defence to offence, Tyler couldn''t handle our rising. My team won the game, 42 to 24, with no team managing to kick the ball into the goalpost. If my team had a decent kicker, we would have a lot more points than that.

 Chapter 183: What the rain brought.

    Chapter 183: Chapter 183: What the rain brought.


    (I was too busy this week that I kinda neglected my posting time, so here''s a double Chapter.)


    [Edward POV]


    After the football practice, Haley walked towards me with a towel. She grinned and said, "You''re a monster. You completely broke him."


    She turned towards Tyler, the ''Captain'' who actually held such a position ''in-name-only'' that was sitting on the ground with a depressed blank look on his face.


    I chuckled as I took off my helmet and said playfully, "What? He''s broken? How could that be?"


    Haley rolled her eyes before she changed the subject, "You know...The cheerleader tryout is tomorrow."


    "Well, I am interested in that, but I think I have too much on my plate already. You know, with work, and football practice..."


    She snorted and said, "As much as I would love to see you in a cheerleader outfit, I was talking about ME!"


    "Ok...Then, no. Don''t become a cheerleader."


    "Huh?" Haley was confused. "Why not?"


    "Because...I''m a very selfish man. My needs trump everything else." I said with a sarcastic undertone.


    Haley tilted her head quizzically. "Really? The man who just won''t stop poking his nose in other people''s affairs?" She teased.


    I looked at her for a few seconds before replying, "Yeah. That man."


    She chuckled a bit and then asked, "Then nosey man, why are you stopping me?"


    "I told you. I''m selfish. I''m fine with others becoming a cheerleader. Just not you."


    She was a bit irate and said, "Tell me the truth."


    I chuckled, held her chin with my hand, and gazed into her eyes. "I am being honest with you. I don''t want you to be a cheerleader. The cheerleading team needs to cheer for everyone. I want you to cheer...only for me."


    With a slight smirk, I left the frozen Haley alone to process my words. Cam heard and saw everything that happened as he was standing nearby, and his face was filled with disbelief.


    [Cameron''s Commentary]


    "That...How do you recover from that? Poor Haley. She''s going to be crushed."


    As Cam was certain that Edward was dating Taylor, he was worried for Haley.


    "But...at the same time, I kinda want to see what''s going to happen between them. This is currently more interesting to me than the Chris Brown and Rihanna... Wait, that''s not an appropriate comparison. Kim K and Ray Z? But...that involved a (whisper) Sex tape."


    Cam thought about it and finally said, "It is comparable to the storied love affair between myself and that young rodeo boy from Missouri. We also had an unrequited love story...that is to say, I was madly in love with him but he as straight, so I never had any chance at all. See! Haley and I are the same!"


    [Commentary ends]


    ...


    [General POV]


    "We''re going to the Cheesecake factory!" Edward announced to the entire team.


    Although they were separated into two teams during the practice match before, Edward didn''t discriminate and wanted to treat all of them out to a meal even if he said that only the winners of the practice match would get the reward.


    Tyler, who was depressed, instantly lit up and excitedly cheered at Edward''s announcement.


    Edward''s dietary requirement for them was considered strict and burdensome, so they wanted to use this opportunity to settle the condition without implicating their families. For some of the kids that were going to a public school in California�C even in this quiet rich neighbourhood, still had families that weren''t doing pretty well.


    Not all of them though since given the area''s spread there were students who were sent there because their parents still believed in the public school education system, such as Jenna, Jacob, and Haley.


    Jenna''s mother still had millions of dollars in the bank even after she was cut off by her husband''s family since the old man had already set apart a nice safety fund for them fearing such a thing might happen. Jacob''s dad was a college football coach, and since he had once played himself he still had some nice revenue streams he had set up for his retirement so he earned millions annually. Claire was earning more than a 6 figure income through my company and that was without my generous employee bonuses, and Phil was the second best real estate salesman in the district.


    There was also Edward who earned more than 200k per day in passive income alone from his music and games not including the revenue he reinvested into other ventures. So he felt responsible to take care of his teammates �C even though he didn''t need to.


    As Edward was smiling and enjoying the kids reaction, Randall�C His manager pulled him aside. Cam and Haley looked at the duo that was arguing with concern.


    Cam muttered, "That''s heated...What are they talking about?"


    Haley furrowed her brows cutely and said, "Hmm...There''s only one thing that would make Ed react like this. And that''s when his plans don''t go like he wanted."


    Edward then returned to the team and said, "Bad news. I can''t join you guys today. But, don''t worry. I''ll still cover the bill�C"


    Tyler suddenly shouted, "Can you come if we go there tomorrow?"


    Edward was a bit confused, "If there''s no emergency, I can be there tomorrow."


    The team members looked at each other to discuss before they turned to Edward with a smile on their faces. Tyler said, "Then, let''s just postpone the dinner party. It''s useless for us to have a team celebration�Cwithout the entire team, isn''t it?"


    Edward was baffled at first before he smiled and said, "Alright. Let''s postpone it."


    Randall then whispered to Edward, "You have that Jimmy Fallon interview tomorrow."


    Edward whispered back to Randall, "They can start filming early and end it at 3. I already talked to Jimmy about this. I''d just have to skip school tomorrow."


    "Pepper wouldn''t like that." Randall said hesitantly.


    "He said I need to be at school to make some friends my age. Aren''t I doing that right now? The only thing he would say is ''Throwing money around isn''t the way to make friends!'' I can just remind him that he did the exact same thing before, so he wouldn''t be able to argue much." Edward said with a slight smirk.


    "What do you think I have done? I''m...We''re just talking about... me eating all of Ed''s desserts." Claire asked with suspicion and a little bit of anger.


    "Oh my god! Everyone else got it! But me!" Phil shouted in anger after he read a text message from Gil Thorpe, his archrival.


    Gloria finally breathed a sigh of relief and smiled playfully, "Oh. I''m sorry. I thought it was about something else."


    "Well, me too." Jay said. "Luckily I hadn''t asked anything yet. By the way, your daughter''s home. And the teacher isn''t going to put her detention in her permanent record, so be thankful for that."


    "Wait. Alex was in detention?" Claire asked, confused and a bit alarmed. "Is she acting out because I don''t have much time for family these days?" She muttered to herself.


    "Or maybe, she found out that you took what was rightfully hers! And turned into a delinquent because she finally understood the unfairness of the world!" Phil said with a hurt tone before he ran upstairs to comfort Alex.


    "Phil!" Claire called out in tired exasperation. "I promise you I''ll find you one!"


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    I chuckled as I read some of the comments posted on my post on Instagram while checking my phone on the hot tub.


    "Look. Gordon Ramsay commented on my post." I turned the phone screen to Haley for her to look . She slowly made her way towards where I was and stuck her body on my arm, and at the same time perching her chin on top of it.


    "That''s crazy!" She muttered in astonishment and excitement.


    "Alright. Go away now." I said urgently. She smirked and said, "Why? I just want to read some of the comments."


    "You can do that on your phone. Just in case you didn''t remember, you''re in a time out." I muttered playfully.


    "And just in case YOU didn''t remember, you touched me all over yesterday. So now that you''re driving me away, it makes me feel a little cheap." Haley said.


    I widened my eyes and said, "Oh. I''m sorry about that. It was never my intention�C" As I was apologizing, I saw her smirking face. "You tricked me."


    "I did." Haley smirked and placed her arm right in the middle of my leg. "Maybe right now, you can be more honest with me if you don''t want me to do that again."


    "What do you want me to say? That I want to kiss you? Cause I really do want to�C" Before I could finish my sentence, she leaned forward and kissed me on the lips. I stuck my tongue inside her mouth as she rummaged her hand on my hair.


    We separated for a bit and before I could say anything, she put her finger on my lip to hush me and said, "This...doesn''t mean anything. Just like you...Last night bothered me too! I couldn''t sleep without...you know... a few times!"


    I chuckled and said, "Alright then. No more talking."


    She grinned and then slowly lowered her head towards my crotch. As I was enjoying the moment, suddenly the rain poured down heavily.


    "Huh." I exclaimed.


    "What?" She stopped what she was doing and asked, "Is it not good? Too much teeth?"


    "Wh�C No, you''re doing great. I''m just thinking, I am usually unlucky everytime it rains."


    Haley chuckled in disbelief, "What?"


    Suddenly, we both heard Claire''s voice coming out from behind us. Haley yelped as she saw her mother, and submerged herself in the water quickly. I was startled and turned to Claire in a hurry.


    "Edward. Sorry for barging in�C Oh, you''re using the hot tub." Claire said casually.


    I was anxious, but I still kept a poker face. "Why are you here�C How did you get in?"


    "Oh. I''m here to see if there''s any more pastries in your house. Then, I met your dad in front of the door, and he said you had an extra one in the fridge."


    "My dad?" I was confused. Haley poked me a few times and then whispered, "Make her go away! She can''t see me like this! I don''t have my clothes on! She will know!"


    I didn''t reply to her and said, "Claire. This is the second time you came in while I was taking a bath. First time can be played as a coincidence. But the second time... now that is a behavioural pattern�C"


    Claire turned pale instantly, "W-What? NO! I didn''t do it on purpose! Your dad let me in!"


    My dad then beside Claire and greeted me happily, "Hey Ed! I saw the dryer''s running, and the car seat was wet. Did you forget to close the top off during the rain?"


    "Yes. Please go and check it for me. Claire, there''s an extra one in the fridge. It''s the last one. So take it, and go away quickly."


    "That makes me feel a little bad." Claire said with a sad face.


    I didn''t react much and said, "Claire. I''m kinda in the nude right now...sooo..."


    "OH!" Claire widened her eyes in surprise and urgently said, "I''ll take it out and go away right now!"


    She then grabbed the box of pastries from the fridge and said her goodbyes quickly. My dad smiled at me after she left, and then asked casually, "How''s the hot tub? It''s the first time you''re using it, right?"


    "Dad, you need to go to your room." I ordered.


    He was a bit confused, "Huh? Are you embarrassed to be seen by me too? But I''m your dad."


    "Yeah. but I got someone that''s not your daughter inside the tub with me, and she''s going to drown if you stay here any longer."


    My dad was taken aback, panicked, and said, "Oh...OOH!!! Urrr...Right right. Imma go!"


    I nodded in satisfaction, and when my dad finally left, Haley got her body out of the water. She said teasingly, "You luck...is really really bad when it is raining!"


    I played along, "I know right?"


    She then wrapped her arms around my neck and sat on my lap as she kissed me, "I''ll try to change that for you today."

 Chapter 184: How’s the weather?

    Chapter 184: Chapter 184: How��s the weather?


    [General POV]


    "Really? You didn''t just give him everything?" Tara spoke sarcastically as she talked on the phone with Haley.


    Haley rolled her eyes before turning on her stomach as she laid down on her bed. "No! Of course not!"


    Tara chuckled and teased, "But...it was close, right?"


    "...Shut up." Haley replied with a slight smile. "The point is...We didn''t! I''m not going to give him my v-card when we are not even dating!"


    Tara laughed out loud as she was making fun of Haley. "So...How big is it?" Tara asked with a slight blush. Haley rolled her eyes, and then she giggled and told Tara every single detail of her dalliance with Edward.


    "Really? He was that good?" Tara asked in shock after Haley told her about Edward''s skill with his tongue. "Can I try it too? I mean...You guys were only doing it as ''friends'', right? I think I''m his friend too�C"


    "Try it, and I''m going to castrate you, you slut." Haley smiled and spoke her menacing words with a soft tone.


    Tara giggled and then teased, "Well...You can''t actually do anything to stop me. Cause you know...Not...his girlfriend..."


    "Ugh! Stop reminding me of that!" Haley said in exasperation.


    After finishing the topic, Tara spoke of a new one. "You''re skipping school tomorrow?"


    "Yeah. I''m going to see the Jimmy Fallon interview live. Before that, we''ll stop by his agency first early in the morning.


    "This is a surprise right? Edward doesn''t know about this?"


    "Pepper thought of it. My dad, Luke, and Alex will also be there. Mom got banned because she stole their pastries so she can''t see the live show as a punishment."


    Ted and Camila will also join the show as part of the audience. Edward tried to get more seats, but the theater was already packed.


    Tara was baffled, "But...you did it too?" She knew that Haley had shared the pastries with her mother, but was confused as to why she managed to get away scott free.


    Haley twirled her hair and said proudly, "Yeah. But I''m pretty, so Ed didn''t get mad at me."


    Tara responded to that statement by making some puking sounds at the other side of the phone call. "Okay then, Goodluck in New York. I''m very jealous of you right now." She ended the call with a depressed tone.


    Haley chuckled and said, "Stop it�C Wait. Um..."


    "What? Are you feeling anxious and just now realised that Abby is in New York, and are now wondering if you should take a few hours to visit her?"


    "Kinda. Yes. What should I do?" Haley asked as she bit her lower lip in frustration.


    ...


    The next morning, Edward went to the new company building and entered the recording studio together with the other musicians that would help him. He was wearing a black leather jacket and black pants, paired with a few silver accessories.


    "Harvey. Where''s Pepper?" Edward asked through the microphone as he held a guitar in his hand. Harvey smiled mischievously, pressed the button that would allow Edward to hear her, and said, "You can start now. Pepper has a stomach problem."


    Pepper who was hiding behind the door was baffled and he looked at Harvey in dissatisfaction.


    "Ahh. Is he getting diarrhea again? He should really get that checked out. Or else he''ll get anal fissures and won''t be able to have a boyfriend ever again. " Edward replied with some concern. Pepper gasped in offence as he heard it, while Phil, Luke, Haley and Alex took one step away from Pepper.


    Pepper whispered angrily to Phil and his children, "I don''t have diarrhea!"


    Harvey chuckled as she saw Pepper''s reaction. But then, her face froze as Edward said, "Ok this new song is kind of a bit much so I''m going to put it in my private piles so we should only revisit this when I''m older."


    "Wh-What? Why?" Harvey asked quickly.


    Edward shrugged and spoke casually, "I mean it''s quite mature. I can''t really release it right now, not under my name at the very least." Harvey quickly turned towards Luke and Alex as she thought about the situation.


    But, she was too late. Edward and the musicians there had already started to sing before she could remove the kids from the venue.


    [Sweater Weather �C The Neighbourhood]


    An addictive beat spread all over the recording room. Edward smiled charmingly as he grabbed the microphone and shot a glance at Leo who gave him a thumbs up �C meaning, there was no problem with the audio.


    Edward sang seductively, "??And all I am is a man ??"


    "??I want the world in my hands??"


    "??I hate the beach, but I stand??"


    "??In California with my toes in the sand??"


    Haley widened her eyes as she thought about the adventure she had with Edward when she forced him to go to the beach. She cupped her mouth to prevent her excitement from leaking out, especially in front of her dad.\


    Harvey and Pepper were sweating profusely, but as they heard the intro, they calmed down a little. Pepper whispered to himself, "Alright. So far, so good. Great. All of us should go in right now!"


    He pushed the family to stand behind the audio synthesizer panel before he went to stand next to Harvey.


    Edward continued, "??Use the sleeves of my sweater, let''s have an adventure


    Head in the clouds, but my gravity''s centered??"


    Phil smiled knowingly as he alternated his glance between Haley, who was incredibly smitten, and Edward, who had no idea that they were here right now.


    [Phil''s commentary]


    He said with excitement, "Although I am concerned that we''re invading Edward''s personal, and very private creative space, THE song...is actually about my daughter! So in a way, I have something to do with that song! So with that in mind, I can and actually SHOULD be here for this."


    [Commentary ends]


    "??Touch my neck and I''ll touch yours


    You in those little high-waisted shorts, oh??" Edward closed his eyes as he sang with emotion. Haley gasped before laughing, while Alex and Luke enjoyed the beat without actually thinking about the lyric much.


    Harvey mumbled, "Oh my god." Pepper froze. Phil smiled innocently, but as he turned to look at Pepper''s ashen face, he finally realized it and his face froze too.


    Edward continued obliviously, "??She knows what I think about! And what I think about! One love, two mouths. One love, one house. No shirt, no blouse. Just us, you find out. Nothing that I wouldn''t wanna tell you about, no??"


    "??''Cause it''s too cold for you here and now


    So let me hold both your hands in the holes of my sweater??"


    [Haley''s commentary]


    She smiled with a flushing face, "Wow....just...wow...So that''s what he thinks about huh." She then giggled to herself as she couldn''t wait to tease Edward.


    "??And if I may just take your breath away


    I don''t mind if there''s not much to say


    Sometimes the silence guides a mind


    To move to a place so far away??"


    Edward smiled in reminiscence as he sang the next verse.


    "??The goosebumps start to raise


    The minute that my left hand meets your waist?"


    "??And then I watch your face


    "Isn''t he just another SNL guy?" Alex asked.


    Haley was also curious, "He...He''s just starting his show this year, right? And now it''s ending?"


    I answered to Haley, "No. It''s going to continue for a long time. He already has over 100 guests right now."


    The show was aimed for the adult audiences, so they had never watched it before.


    The late night show started in February 2009, and was only aired once every two days but it didn''t receive that much love from the audience at the beginning.


    But, after a few games with the guests, Jimmy''s overreaction to every single joke made him earn a spot in people''s hearts. Currently, the fanbase for the show is still relatively small.


    But I knew that in the future, it would grow to become one of the most popular talk shows in the country. I was just making some investments in that.


    (Made a little tweak from his past world )


    Harvey and Pepper were confused as to why I agreed with the invitation to get on the show, when I didn''t agree with Ellen Degeneras invitation. But they didn''t try to convince me much. Everyone has their own preferences, right?


    "Who''s your co-guest?" Alex asked.


    I rubbed my chin and said, "I''m not sure yet. It was supposed to be Julianna Margueiless and Usain Bolt I think. But right now, I''m not quite sure. Pepper?" I turned to Pepper, and saw that he was truly sleeping right now.


    I shrugged and said, "I guess I''ll find out when I get there. It could be Megan Fox though."


    Haley furrowed her brows while Phil''s eyes lit up. "Why do you think it''ll be her?" Haley asked with a hint of jealousy.


    "The movie "Jennifer''s Body" had just released last week. So it may be her. I am not quite sure yet."


    "Like, a hot body or?" Haley asked.


    "Like, a hot, dead body. A horror movie." I replied playfully, making Haley laugh.


    ...


    "It''s cold!" Haley rubbed her arm as she exited the plane.


    "It''s New York in late September. Of course it''s cold." I replied before I took off my leather jacket and put it around her. She smiled shyly and twirled her hair.


    "I''m cold too!" Phil said. "Well I only have one jacket." I replied jokingly.


    Luke asked Phil, "Are we running away from home because mom ate our donut?"


    "No Luke. We''re here to support Edward in his show filming today." Phil replied.


    "But, you said, "That this was going to teach her a lesson"..."


    Phil just looked around guiltily before putting a scarf on Luke. Randall was already in New York, and he picked us up. We went directly to the NBC headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza to prepare for the show.


    "Ed, don''t you need to prepare?" Randall asked worriedly after he saw me leisuring around the guest room.


    "Ah, don''t worry about that. I have already read all the questions and even the added notes last night." I replied. Randall was sceptical about my answer, but he decided not to press me.


    "Are you sure?" He asked.


    I nodded and replied in a casual manner, "I''m sure. Also, who''s that?"


    "What?" Randall turned around quickly, and he instantly blocked the door to prevent any threats from getting near me.


    A slim, long haired blonde woman with a Paris Hilton-like demeanour, huge pearls around her neck, and fingers filled with giant rings, walked casually into my waiting room. She slightly pushed Randall away, but he slipped and fell to the floor.


    "Hi. Edward Newgate. I''m your biggest fan." She said with a slightly snobbish tone while pushing Randall away and offered a handshake at me assertively.


    "Hi. I seem to know you from somewhere." I muttered as I scrutinised her face. She smiled and said, "I''m Caroline Channing. You might know me from my father, Martin Channing."


    "Ah, the billionaire who shook my hand at my NYC concert. He''s a very charming man." I said sarcastically, but it went over the girls head.


    Caroline was elated, "I know right?"


    (Caroline Channing �C 2 Broke Girl show)


    Well, that man was also running a ponzi scheme. That''s how he became a billionaire. I found out about that when he tried to talk to Pepper about an investment opportunity before.


    Given that he was handsome, Pepper almost fell into that scheme and invested millions of our hard earned money into it.


    (A/N: Edward had never watched that show before, so he didn''t know the plot. He only knew about the two girl being broke, and they wanted to run a cupcake business)


    "I''m sorry to bother you, especially right before you are going to film the show." Caroline said honestly while throwing her head back and threw her hands in the air. (Jazz hand)


    I was taken aback when I saw her demeanor. Unlike her dad, she was actually quite innocent, albeit she was snobbish. But it wasn''t like she was acting snobbish. That was how she was raised �C to be a rich girl. She didn''t really know how to be anything else.


    "I just want to introduce myself. Because I''d really like to be your friend." She said without hiding anything.


    I smiled kindly and replied, "Hmm...that''s quite a tough request."


    "Really?" She asked incredulously, acting like me saying ''No'' was the vilest thing that ever happened to her.


    I crossed my arm and said, "Yes. Not that I don''t think that you''re a good person. Based on our 30 second meeting, I think that you''re a very nice girl. But your dad..."


    "What do you mean? What did my dad do?" She asked in confusion.


    I shrugged and said, "You should figure that out on your own. And after you do figure it out, my advice would be to quickly bury some cash for your future somewhere secret, and off the books."


    "Huh?" Caroline exclaimed. "Wait- What are you talking about?"


    "Do you want a picture?" I asked her.


    Her concerns melted and she replied sweetly, "Of course I want a picture!" She took out her Iphone with a hello kitty diamond casing and then posed using a duck face as we took the picture.


    Security then escorted her away, and I turned to Randall, who was rubbing his sore arm from the fall, with a glare on my face.


    "Really? You fell on the floor? Isn''t she like 100 pounds wet?"


    He said guiltily, "Well she''s not very strong, but I didn''t want to get scratched by her ring."


    "You know what...I''m not even going to say anything about this, cause I think that you''ll think about what just happened and strive to be better without me telling you to do it." I said.


    Randall smiled guiltily and agreed with my words in a weak manner, "Yeah...I promised myself that I would go to the gym after this."


    "Good. Okay, as a punishment, you need to go to Williamsburg, and find a restaurant called the Williamsburg Diner."


    Randall''s eyes lit up with the determination to prove himself, "Is that like a famous restaurant?"


    I shook my head and replied naughtily, "No. It''s a shitty diner. There''s also a slight chance that it is owned by the Russian Mafia."


    Randall gulped his saliva and asked me fearfully, "W-What do you want me to do there?"


    I smirked and said, "I need you to find a girl named Max Black. When you see a girl working there with black hair, very mean...and with huge breasts, then, you''ll know you have the right girl. I need you to get me her cupcakes."


    Randall was aggrieved, "Edward. You''re pretty famous. A lot of girls would give their ''cupcakes'' to you for free. You don''t have to hire an escort�� which, I''m 99% sure is illegal in this state�C"


    I narrowed my eyes on him and said, "You have a really low opinion of me huh? I''M Not asking you to get her! I''m asking you to get her cupcakes! She makes and sells cupcakes!" (E/N: Technically she doesn''t yet... It was just a side gig at the diner)


    Randall was finally relieved, "Oh. Is this like a food hunt like that blog video you alway watch?"


    "Go go go!" I chased him away before he could get the answer to that question.

 Chapter 185: Tonight Show (1)

    Chapter 185: Chapter 185: Tonight Show (1)


    (My editor is on a long business trip so the quality is a bit down. Still, try to enjoy it!)


    [Edward POV]


    "So it actually was Megan Fox." I muttered with sight astonishment as my prediction had come true. I was waiting behind the curtain as Jimmy Fallon interviewed the actress.


    The show started with a stand up skit by Jimmy, then a game with the audience. Phil was lucky enough to be selected, and the game they played was truly one of his strengths.


    The game was called, ''Can you guess it by licking it?'' where they put out some fruit, fishes, some plastic toys, and the audience members that were blindfolded needed to guess what it was.


    Phil won the game by a landslide because no one else there wanted to lick a raw fish. The shooting passed by incredibly fast, and it took only half an hour for the segment to welcome me on the stage!


    "My next guest is the most famous teenager in the whole world, shattering almost all records with his debut album : ''Breaking'' and also the world''s cutest pastry maker, Please welcome, Edward Newgate!!!"


    The crowd applauded cheerfully with a few of them whistling and shouting my name. Luke and Phil shouted in excitement as they called out my name. I blew some kisses towards their direction, causing the audience to exclaim in excitement.


    Jimmy laughed and reacted as I shook hands with him as he told me to have a seat on the couch next to his desk.


    "Wow. I have to say it''s very nice to finally get to meet you." Jimmy said with a slightly awed face. "I can''t believe you flew all the way from California, just to join my show."


    I nodded and said, "Well, to be completely honest I actually needed a way to play hooky and get away from school when I got your text." The crowd laughed at my honesty. I turned to Jimmy, leaned my body on the armrest while clasping my hands together, "Also...this isn''t our very first meeting."


    "Huh? It''s not?" Jimmy asked, confused and a little bit pale.


    "Yeah. We first met when I was doing my concert here in New York, and you got to meet me backstage. I remember it very clearly because I was extremely excited to finally eat an authentic New York bagel when you walked in but, by the time you left, the whole bag had... disappeared."


    Jimmy was so shocked he was left speechless. He widened his eyes and dropped his jaw as he looked directly into the camera. Phil held his stomach as he laughed, and the audience there started accusing Jimmy by loudly ''booing'' him while still laughing.


    Jimmy waved his arms in protest and said, "Hold on! Hold on! I didn''t take your bagels!"


    I shrugged and I smugly answered in a knowing tone, "Well, I didn''t say you took them. I''m just saying they disappeared. But now I''m starting to think you might have been the one to take them so why were you so defensive huh?? Might be your guilty conscience."


    "I,,,I didn''t do it!" Jimmy said, his face lit up with excitement as he watched the crowd reacting to the skit we prepared. It was by far, the greatest reaction he had ever gotten from the studio audience yet.


    Luke whispered to Alex, "Why is Ed even there if he ate his bagel? To get revenge? Should we support him?"


    Alex rolled her eyes and said, "No you idiot! He''s just joking around. And if he was the kind to take revenge on someone who steals his food, he''d first be going to get it from you!"


    "Just in case you don''t remember. He''s already punished me." Luke said with confidence.


    Megan Fox, who still hadn''t left, was also heartily reacting to the skit. She covered her mouth while laughing silently from the side of the stage where no camera could notice her.


    "We''ll talk about that later. Maybe....over some bagels." Jimmy fixed his messy index card and lowered his eyes guiltily, earning laughs from the audience again.


    "Umm, now that we have brushed that aside...(audience laugh), I wanted to talk to you about, uhh, everything in your career, and get to know you a little bit too." He slightly patted me on the shoulder as he ended his sentence, giving the audience the impression that we are close.


    He read from the cue card, "I just want to say, that your "Breaking" Album country tour, you announced it! And then 48 hours later, all the tickets for your performance, all become unavailable! All of them were sold out!"


    I reacted like I was in disbelief and mumbled to myself, "That''s insane." while Jimmy lowered his head and stared at me. Jimmy said, "What does it feel like?"


    "Honestly? It feels, incredible." I replied. "The support that everyone has given me, made me feel like I was dreaming! I can''t imagine getting to where I am right now, a few months ago. The journey that I faced, and the help that people have been offering me, I''m never going to take them for granted."


    He then asked me a few questions about how I got started in the industry, the journey I have experienced, and also the inspirations behind my album. I shared my story and went on a long monologue for a while.


    (A/N: People already knew about his background, so Imma skip it.)


    Jimmy listened empathetically and said, "So, you can say that you owe your success today to your meddling gay uncles?"


    "Absolutely." I replied with a playful smile.


    "Being handsome, smart, and talented is just a tiny, tiny factor, right?" Jimmy added teasingly.


    "It is not, but I''m not supposed to say that out loud." I joked.


    Jimmy and the audience laughed before Jimmy said, "Not supposed to say that out loud. Just like when you can''t say that you''re the personification of the American dream?"


    "American Dream?" I asked with a confused smile.


    "Yes.. Or, how else would you explain...this clip?" Jimmy asked. I was baffled and asked incredulously, "What-?"


    The studio then played a short video, taken during ''Eenie Meenie'' music video filming, where a bald eagle landed on my arm. It showed that while everyone was freaking out in the video, I talked to the eagle calmly and coaxed him to leave my hand. It took almost 20 seconds, then the eagle finally flew away.


    I covered my face as I laughed after the camera cut back towards me. Jimmy chuckled and said, "See. Literally!! The embodiment of America landed on your arm. You talked to him like he is your friend! This is the proof."


    I chuckled and said, "Oh man. At that time, I was really confused as to what I should be doing. You know, you can''t touch the eagle. It''s in the law. So that''s all I can do."


    "You can''t just shake your hand a little? Maybe throw a bagel in front of him?" Jimmy asked teasingly.


    "So that''s what you did with my bagel? You used it to feed the eagle?" I said accusingly, causing Jimmy to be baffled again, and the crowd to burst into laughter.


    Jimmy then hid his mouth and whispered, "Duck."


    "Oh. You fed the duc- You did take it!" I accused, causing the crowd to burst into laughter.


    "Speaking of pastries with holes in the middle, I think I''m speaking for everyone in the country when I say that we are curious about how you get the idea to invent...The Cronuts!?"


    I was genuinely confused at this time, "Hmm? What do you mean?"


    Jimmy and I saw the camera-man asking him to wrap things up.


    Jimmy said, "W-Well, everyone knows that you''re a great artist, a singer, an actor, inventor, pastry maker�C" He struggled to list them all out, making the audience laugh. "But what people don''t know about you is that you''re also a great impressionist."


    "Well, I do okay. But I understand, tha you too, are a great impressionist. So I came here today to challenge you. Here, I even created something for you."


    I took out the buzzer button with the label, "The Late Night Show with Jimmy Fallon'', and gave it to him. He took it and was moved. "AWW!" He said, "The last guest who gave me a gift was Justin Timberlake, and he only did it to congratulate me for getting my show. Can the camera zoom in, take a look at that?"


    He showed the buzzer button to the camera, and the crowd exclaimed, "Awww"


    "But, if you lose the game, then I will take this back." I said jokingly.


    "Then, I cannot lose!" He said with confidence before explaining the game to the audience. "With that in mind, it''s time for the new game, "Wheel of Musical Impressions!" Here we go!"


    The band played a tune while the screen played the game title animation. The band ''Roots'' played melodiously, and I swayed my body to the tune a little bit.


    The crowd cheered thunderously, and Jimmy continued with a huge grin on his face, "Here''s how it works! We''re going to take turns hitting the button here, which will activate the musical impression generator." He showed the button I gave him to the audience in the room.


    "And uhh...It''ll land on a random singer, and a random song..." Jimmy placed the buttons down while I nodded in agreement to his words. "And whoever turns it is, you have to do the impression of the musician, singing that song."


    "Okay. Edward, you go first! Here''s your microphone."


    "Bring it on!" I muttered while I fixed my sitting to face the audience directly. Jimmy asked, "Are you ready? Then, press the button!"


    There was a monitor by the camera where we could watch the generator rolling.


    Jimmy was excited, "OH! Singing the Sesame Street Theme Song, as Michael Jackson!"


    "Oh my god. Wait...Ahh~ AHH~ Okay, got it!" I said after checking the pitch I needed to cover the song as Michael Jackson.


    Jimmy laughed and then the band played a beat that is similar to the song, "Beat it By Michael Jackson."


    I held the microphone and bobbed my head to the tune before closing my eyes and sang with a high pitch voice, "Sunny Day~~"


    The moment I sang that, the crowd cheered explosively while Jimmy covered his mouth in shock. "How can I beat this!?" He exclaimed while putting his hand on the top of his head.


    I continued, "Sweepin'' the clouds away~~ On my way~ to where the air is sweet~. Can you tell me how to get...How to get to Sesame Street~"


    The crowd stood up to cheer while Jimmy exclaimed madly, "WHAT?! THAT WAS AMAZING!!" He threw his hand on the empty space in front of him.


    "Your turn!" I said to Jimmy. He shook his microphone exaggeratedly to show that he was fearful, and then pressed the button as he surrendered to his fate.


    "Gloria Estafan singing, London Bridge is falling down!" Jimmy muttered. I laughed beside him as the band played a tune similar to the song, "Samba", causing Jimmy to sweat profusely. But he did manage to do it!


    "Not that bad! Not that bad!" I said, "You can give me a challenge."


    "Really master?" He said with a deep voice.


    I nodded and pretended to brush my beard, "Yes young ones."


    Then, both of us burst into laughter. It was my turn again, and I pressed the button.


    "Wait. Stevie Wonder, singing ''Since You Been Gone'' That''s really hard to do."


    I looked a bit worried and said, "I''ll do my best."


    Haley and Alex scoffed at their seats and said, "As if it''s hard for him!"


    The band played a tune similar to "Isn''t she lovely" by Stevie Wonder. I wasn''t going to lie, this was hard for me to accomplish.


    "Um, Can you change it to something similar to "Part time Lover?" I muttered to the band. They nodded and changed the beat quickly.


    Then, I used my best Stevie Wonder impression voice and sang, " And all you''d ever hear me say! Is how I picture me with you! That''s all you''d ever hear me say!


    "... But since you been gone!" I stood up as I sang this. The crowd cheered thunderously and applauded my performance.


    "I can breathe for the first time! I''m so moving on, yeah, yeah. Thanks to you


    Now I get! what I want! Since you been gone!"


    The band played me out as I stopped singing while Jimmy shouted excitedly, "THE CHAMPION! EDWARD NEWGATE EVERYONE!!!!"


    He pointed at me aggressively, and then pulled me in for a hug as I turned towards him.


    The cheer slowed down and diminished after a while. I turned to Jimmy and said, "You''re not going to continue?"


    "I can''t! I''m totally defeated today!" Jimmy said jokingly.


    "Well. Then, I think that you need this more than I do." I said and gave the button to him.


    "Really?" He pretended to be confused.


    I nodded slightly and said, "Yes. You need the practice. I''ll leave the button here, and you should train hard at making impressions until the time I come here again."


    "Wow! That''s amazing." Jimmy said with a slight chuckle. "Can I use it with the other guests?"


    "Absolutely." I nodded, causing the audience to chuckle.

 Chapter 186: Jimmy Fallon (2)

    Chapter 186: Chapter 186: Jimmy Fallon (2)


    [Edward POV]


    I walked behind the curtains as the crowd cheered for me. I waved at them with a smile on my face and sent them some flying kisses as I left.


    Jimmy told the crowd about the final recording session, but before that, they would take a 20 minute break.


    "Break?" I was confused when I heard it. "Shouldn''t it be time for my performance now?" I muttered to myself.


    Suddenly, I heard some strident click clack of an urgent footstep coming towards me, together with the sound of someone bickering.


    "You really aren''t supposed to be here!" Randall said with a nervous tremble in his voice. His eyes widened in shock as he saw me, but the lady in a yellow diner shirt with red lining lit up with excitement and agitation.


    "You! How did you know me by name!?" Max Black asked as she strode forcefully towards me. I turned to her and said casually, not minding her tone in the slightest, "You didn''t bring me your cupcakes?"


    Max is of average height with long dark brown hair she wears in waves, deep-blue eyes, and pale skin. She was wearing eyeliner and dark red lipstick. However, most of my attention went straight to her bust that popped out from her slightly unzipped polyester dress.


    "That too! How did you know that! And why did you send ''Hawaii 5.0'' detective to search for me...and my cupcakes!" Max asked furiously. "And tell me honestly! I had been wanting to beat up a teen pop star. "


    I smiled and said, "I don''t have the answer to that question. You can say that...a being...in the HIGHer dimension, sent the images inside my head. Get it? HIGH-er..."


    "What?" Max narrowed her eyes in disbelief, then, she saw my hinting eyes. Her eyes widened in realization and she relaxed instantly, "OHH!!!!"


    I stopped her from mentioning the subject and introduced myself, "Hi. I''m Edward."


    "Hi. You already know me." Max replied with a slight sarcasm. Growing up neglected and being let down by everyone around her, Max used sarcasm to prevent anyone from getting close to her. She smiled and said, "I don''t believe that I shared a pot dealer with a teen popstar. I guess Kim''s business is really booming nowadays."


    "What was that?" Randall asked as he couldn''t catch what Max said. But we ignored him as we stared into each other.


    Max turned slightly and asked with a slight nervous stutter, "So, you heard from Kim and you decide that you need to taste some stale diner cupcakes too? Or...were you looking for the ''party'' ones? Cause I don''t make those..." She whispered, "Anymore..."


    "Aww. And here I was looking forward to that." I said with some sarcasm. She seemed taken aback by that, and smiled softly.


    "The cupcakes are already sold out. But, if you can wait for a while,I could make some more." She offered.


    I paused to think for a second then said, "I can''t stay here for long. I need to fly back to California after this. How about, I get your phone number, and when I come here again, I will call you?"


    "Wait. There''s no law against exchanging numbers with a kid, right? Cause I can''t go to jail again." Max joked and seemed a little bit hesitant.


    "You know, next time if I come here alone, I may be going to some parties and need an entourage."


    "I am IN!" Max replied instantly.


    Jimmy Fallon walked backstage and rushed towards me, "Edward, can I talk to you about something�C Wait, who''s this? Your sister?"


    Max chuckled and muttered to herself, "That''s a possibility, given that my mom would spread her legs for anyone, and I never knew who my dad is."


    Jimmy was baffled but I laughed. "Max, why don''t you stay and watch the rest of the filming?"


    Max asked, "What''s this for? I almost dozed off when I got inside the building, so I''m guessing any late night shows?"


    "You...didn''t recognize me? I guess I should work harder in the future." Jimmy smiled wearily and dropped his shoulder.


    Max smiled and teased, "I don''t know any of the new shows, cause I''m too poor to own a tv. And if I want to watch something fun, I go directly to porn websites."


    "Underage boy there! Underage!" Randall chimed in urgently while pointing at me, hoping to get Max to behave.


    "Ahh calm your tits...Like Mine is! I was in elementary school when I learned about all of that stuff. I''m sure that he already knew more than what he let others believe."


    I nodded in agreement and said, "Yeah. She''s right. And also Randall, don''t be a prude."


    "So, you''re going to ignore me here?" Jimmy acted depressed but kept a smile on his face.


    I chuckled and said, "Right. I forgot about you."


    "O-Ouch." He playfully clutched his heart.


    "Max. Stay and watch the show. I''m going to get on stage for the finale. We can talk after that." I turned to Max and offered.


    She crossed her arms together and said regretfully, "I want to, cause you seem like a cool person...but, I need to go back to the diner. Or else the Russian Mafia Boss won''t pay me."


    I narrowed my eyes a little, and then remembered a little bit about the plotline of the series. It wasn''t until Han�C the small Korean man took over the diner and hired Caroline too that Max''s life became better.


    "Do you really care about the diner?" I asked.


    She grinned and said, "No." I laughed and let Randall escort her to the audience seat while I talked about a few things with Jimmy.


    "I''ve decided! I''m going to take a risk, and do something that''s different from everyone else!"


    "So you decided to take my advice. Good for you! Just don''t forget about your promises."


    "Interviews for Taylor, Coldplay, Ariana, and who else?" Jimmy asked.


    I grinned and said, "I''ll send you a list."


    Jimmy chuckled for a bit before he said loudly, "This may offend you a little bit, but, I want to ask you another question, about the photo of you and Taylor, while on camera�C"


    He paused and then laughed, "You know what? This is the first time that I actually challenged how these late night shows work! I could feel the adrenaline rushing down my veins now."


    I was a bit startled then I rubbed my chin as I contemplated a decision. "What are you thinking?" I asked, intrigued about his ideas.


    ...


    [General POV]


    As Max was seated in an empty chair behind where the Dunphy''s were sitting, Haley turned towards her as she recognized Randall.


    "Hey Randy." Haley greeted.


    "Randall!" Phil greeted him excitedly.


    "Ahh. I miss this." Randall muttered to himself. For him, New Yorkers were very mean. "Phil. Haley. Alex. Luke. Please talk some sense into Edward and let me come back to LA with you guys."


    Haley chuckled a bit and asked teasingly, "Why isn''t he letting you go back home?!"


    "Just...He gave me a lot of work to do here. I don''t think I can go back until a month later." Randall complained.


    Randall was tasked to search for new housing for Edward and the staff members, and also a new office space for Edward''s company expansion in the East Coast.


    "He saw that you were overpowered by a skinny white girl. I guess he has no confidence in letting you follow him around as protection." Max added mockingly.


    Haley saw Max''s face, and then, her eyes went to her boobs. She was shocked internally and asked in disbelief, "Umm...You are?"


    "I''m Max. Edward wants my cupcakes." Max answered ambiguously to tease Haley as she noticed the girl''s jealousy towards her.


    [Haley''s commentary]


    "So. I looked away for one second, and he hooked up with another big breast brunette with an attitude?" Haley joked but filled with a sense of wariness.


    [Commentary ends]


    The staff members were passing around a white card during the break. The male staff member asked, "Have you guys written a keyword yet?"


    "No?" Randall asked in confusion.


    "Write down a keyword in this, then, put it in the box up front." He said to Max and Randall.


    "I don''t have a pen." Randall muttered, but the staff member had already gone away. Max turned to Randall and said, "Here. I got an extra pen." Randall was excited, but then his smile froze as Max reached into her cleavage and pulled out a long pencil.


    "Ummm...Phil, do you have a pen?" He asked urgently. "I have. Do you want to borrow it?" Phil replied, making Randall breathe in relief. Max cackled seeing Randall''s reaction and asked, "Are you a virgin?"


    Max covered her mouth and muttered in shock, "He really used it! And the most important part too!"


    "??''Cause I don''t care as long as you just hold me near! You can take me anywhere! And you''re making me feel like I''m loved by somebody! ??"


    Haley listened to the lyrics carefully despite her jealousy.


    "??I can deal with the bad nights


    When I''m with my baby, yeah


    Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh??"


    The Dunphy sisters realized something. Alex muttered, "Wait a minute. Take him everywhere? Bad nights? This.." She turned to Haley and stopped her sentence there. Then, Alex realized that Edward was singing while looking at their direction, further confirming her suspicions.


    "??We at a party we don''t wanna be at


    Tryna talk, but we can''t hear ourselves


    Read your lips, I''d rather kiss ''em right back


    With all these people all around??"


    The second Phil heard Edward say the word ''lip'', he covered Luke''s ear slowly. Then, he sighed in relief after what he worried about didn''t happen.


    Edward took out the microphone from the stand and went towards the crowd, leaving his loop pedal behind. He walked towards the audience and gave the front row high fives while he sang.


    "??I''m crippled with anxiety


    But I''m told it''s where I''m s''posed to be


    You know what? It''s kinda crazy ''cause I really don''t mind


    When you make it better like that??"


    "??Don''t think we fit in at this party


    Everyone''s got so much to say, oh yeah, yeah


    When we walked in, I said I''m sorry, mmm


    But now I think that we should stay... ??"


    Edward rushed to the loop pedal as he prepared for the chorus. He held the guitar that he sling to his back again and played it as he sang.


    ?? ''Cause I don''t care~~ when I''m with my baby, yeah!!


    All the bad things disappear !!??


    ??Yeah, you''re making me feel like maybe I am somebody!! ??


    ??I can deal with the bad nights!! when I''m with my baby, yeah!!


    Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh .Oh yeah, yeah, yeah ??


    ??''Cause I don''t care as long as you just hold me near


    You can take me anywhere!


    And you''re making me feel like I''m loved by somebody


    I can deal with the bad nights when I''m with my baby, yeah


    Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh ??"


    Edward turned to the synthesizer microphone and sang the next verse while recording it.


    "??I don''t like nobody but you, it''s like you''re the only one here


    I don''t like nobody but you, baby, I don''t care


    I don''t like nobody but you, I hate everyone here


    I don''t like nobody but you, baby, yeah??"


    ??I don''t like nobody but you, it''s like you''re the only one here


    I don''t like nobody but you, baby, I don''t care


    I don''t like nobody but you, I hate everyone here??"


    He returned to the main microphone and continued.


    "??I don''t like nobody but you, baby, yeah??


    The crowd cheered enthusiastically and they stood up from their seats.


    ??''Cause I don''t care


    When I''m with my baby, yeah


    All the bad things disappear


    And you''re making me feel like maybe I am somebody ??


    ??I can deal with the bad nights


    When I''m with my baby, yeah


    Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh (Oh yeah, yeah, yeah)


    Edward played the loop vocal while singing the next verse, merging the two together beautifully and in harmony.


    ??''Cause I don''t care as long as you just hold me near /Loop : ??I don''t like nobody but you, it''s like you''re the only one here??


    ??You can take me anywhere/Loop: ??I don''t like nobody but you, baby, I don''t care??


    ??And you''re making me feel like I''m loved by somebody/Loop: ??I don''t like nobody but you, I hate everyone here??


    I can deal with the bad nights/ Loop: ??I don''t like nobody but you, baby, yeah??


    The loop played out and he sang, "??When I''m with my baby, yeah!??


    ??Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh??


    Edward smiled toward the crowd as he sang the last verse, "??I don''t like nobody but you, it''s like you''re the only one here! I don''t like nobody but you, baby, I don''t care!??"


    The music slowly fades out, leaving only Edward''s vocals.


    ??I don''t like nobody but you, I hate everyone here


    I don''t like nobody but you, baby, yeah??


    "Give it up for Edward Newgate Ladies and Gentleman!" Jimmy Fallon stood up and cheered enthusiastically. The performance ended there, and so was today''s filming. \


    Edward''s forehead was sweaty and he breathed heavily as the crowd shouted his name. He waved towards them, causing more intense cheers. Edward bowed towards the audience, and then made his exit from the stage. The cheers didn''t stop even after he had left.


    Jimmy couldn''t hide his grin from the huge success that today''s filming had achieved, and he vowed, "Damn. I should get him here at least once a week!"


    Unfortunately for him, he wouldn''t ever be able to get his wish.

 Chapter 187: VMA News.

    Chapter 187: Chapter 187: VMA News.


    [Edward POV]


    "You don''t have anything to do here. Want to follow me back to LA?" I asked Max teasingly.


    She played along, widened her eyes and answered excitedly, "Yes. We just need to stop by my apartment and get my stuff�C which all fans fit into a small trash bag..."


    Randall and Haley were alarmed when they heard about the discussion.


    "Wait... WHAT!?" Haley exclaimed in disbelief while crossing her arms together. Randall said urgently, "Edward. You shouldn''t do that."


    "What? I''m pretty sure that she and I are brother and sister." I said convincingly.


    Max placed her right arm around my neck and compared our faces, "Yes. Can''t you guys see that?"


    Max and I messed with Randall and Haley for a while as we waited for Pepper. We surprisingly became good friends after we talked to each other for a while.


    Right now, we were still in the waiting room in Jimmy Fallon''s The Late Night Show studio. It has been an hour since the recording, and I was already late to get home.


    I checked my watch and said with concern, "Damn. I don''t think I can make it to the team dinner."


    "Again?" Haley commented.


    I nodded towards her and said, "Yeah...the flight''s going to take 5 hours. We''ll be home around 11, and I promised them that I will be there 9.30�C which was already late enough as it is."


    "Wait. There''s a text from Uncle Cam." Haley held her arms at me as if gesturing to me to wait a second before concluding anything.


    "He said the team cannot make it to the team dinner today. Tyler, and a few others cannot make it. They didn''t even come to practice today. And it''s not that they are trying to protest how things have been going, but Tyler sounded really disturbed when Uncle Cam called him before."


    I felt conflicted�C relieved and dejected at the same time. "Why? What''s going on? What happened to him?" I asked nosily. Simultaneously, I was paying attention to Max and Randall''s argument about her cupcakes.


    He said she couldn''t even give the cupcakes to me, so she couldn''t be trusted. Max replied back with if we want cupcakes so much, we should stop by her apartment because there''s 4 of them left there.


    And Randall retorted back with saying she''s only saying that as an excuse for her to get her stuff and come with us to LA. I was pretty sure that Max is going to fuck Randall soon. Not that they were vibing or anything, but Max''s standard is really low, and she would just fuck him to win the argument.


    Haley continued amidst the bickering, "Uncle Cam doesn''t know. And he''s trying to find out."


    "Let him make Jacob try to find out. Cam sniffing around a couple of highschool boys can be construed as very creepy." I advised.


    Haley paused, looked at me weirdly, before her eyes lit up with realization, "You''re right. It''s going to seem very creepy."


    Phil then came in with Alex and Luke after going sightseeing in New York City. Luke was wearing an NYC hat, while Alex was holding a couple of food bags and drinks. Alex said, "I figured you guys will be hungry."


    "Starving." I said and patted her head gently, "You did good young padawan."


    She rolled her eyes and brushed my hand away fiercely, "Don''t pat my head Darth Prankious."


    I snorted a bit and said, "That''s great. I''m going to use that one all the time."


    Haley was texting and she shouted in excitement, "EVERYONE STOP WHAT YOU''RE DOING! I FOUND OUT WHY!!"


    "Why what?" Phil asked while putting on his NYC hat.


    I explained to him casually, "Why a few of the players didn''t come to practice today."


    "Ahh. High School stuff." Phil said.


    "Tyler got his girlfriend pregnant!" Haley shouted. Max automatically perked up her ear and she pressed her stomach and asked herself, "I am? Oh wait. I''m not in highschool anymore. I know about protection now."


    I froze for a bit and my legs automatically turned towards the door. Then, I realized that she mentioned Tyler who did that and felt relieved. Alex narrowed her eyes at my reaction but I ignored her and went to Haley. "You''re being serious?" I asked.


    "Look! Tara found out! Tyler and Lisa went to the pharmacy and got a pregnancy test. The pharmacist there is her neighbor." Haley explained. "Oh my god. She''s going to get so fattt!!" She exclaimed subconsciously.


    Haley giggled as she texted with Tara, and then slowly raised her eyes to look at the people around her as she felt their gazed. "What?" She asked.


    I giggled before shaking my head disapprovingly at her while she was confused. I turned to Phil and asked him, "Phil, you don''t mind Max going back with us to LA, right?"


    Haley puts her phone down quickly, "YOU''RE STILL ON THAT?!"


    "What? Every celebrity does it." I said while shrugging.


    "Who? Who does that?... And what exactly are they doing? What insidious scheme are you planning next?" Pepper suddenly swaggered in with a paper fan on his hand.


    Haley tattled quickly before I could reply, "Edward wants to bring Max with him to LA! And let her stay at his house!"


    "Really? That''s interesting." Pepper whispered to himself.


    "You''re on his side?" Haley exclaimed, aggrieved.


    Max chuckled and then walked beside me, "Calm down Malibu Barbie. I can''t believe you still haven''t got that he was joking. Are you guys even dating?"


    "W-Wh-What Joke- We''re not!" Haley stammered for a while before shouting unconvincingly to Max.


    "Awww. So you''re not coming?" I pouted.


    Max pinched my cheek and giggled, "Sorry. You''re pretty awesome, but I have a friend here that means so much to me. I can''t leave him behind."


    "Really? You''re attached to someone?" Randall commented. Max glared at him and said, "I am human you know? It''s Earl from the diner. He''s already 72 years old. I can''t let him be there alone. He''ll die early from boredom if I''m not around."


    "Also. I really can''t go back with you, cause I''m pretty sure this guy is giving me daddy issues I never knew I had." Max said as she pointed to Phil.


    ...


    Max left with Randall to get me some cupcakes from her apartment. While they were gone, I had a serious talk with Pepper.


    "What''s going on? Why are you so late?" I asked.


    Pepper fanned his face and said aggrieved, "Well. Good news and bad news. The good thing is, you can come to the VMA. But, the bad news is, our agency doesn''t really have any inside connection to MTV, so you can''t be nominated."


    Selena rolled her eyes and said, "You already know this! He discussed it with you before he went over!"


    "Yeah...But he didn''t tell me what he was going to talk about." Taylor defended as to not let Selena break her delusions.


    [Edward: Honestly, I....don''t like being there... all that much.]


    Taylor, Selena, and most of Edward''s fans who were watching were a bit surprised when they heard that.


    [Edward: I just think that you need a certain level of maturity to...survive in these types of events. Or maybe because it was my first time there, I don''t feel quite comfortable.]


    Taylor snorted and said, "Liar. He adapted in a second."


    [Edward: I didn''t really fit in at the event until I met with Versace. And Confession Father Jimmy?


    Jimmy: Yes Child?


    The crowd laughed as the duo pretended once more.


    Edward: If I didn''t want to get to the dance, I would''ve never stayed there.


    The crowd gasped and then cheered explosively after that. ]


    Taylor covered her mouth and her face was blushing from excitement. Selena fanned Taylor''s face in understanding and said, "Calm down! Calm down! You know he''s using ambiguous words on purpose! He had already told you about this! Don''t tap into your suppressed insanity again."


    While Selena was trying hard to persuade the heavy breathing Taylor, the fans were already going crazy all over twitter about the story. It cemented the already solid relationship speculation amongst the two of them.


    In the full broadcasted interview, the story about the lint remover and also the cronut were removed, and the others were kept behind. As people saw Edward creating a new game with Jimmy, and absolutely destroying the impression of MJ singing Sesame Street theme song, the internet exploded.


    @Scarlett_Johannson : Oh my god. I didn''t expect it when Ed told me to watch the show today. I got goosebumps. (hugging body.emoji)


    @RDJ replying to Scarlet_Johannson: What happened? I missed it!


    @ConanOBrian: THAT WAS AMAZING! And what a nice tribute to our King of Pop.


    @TheJackson: It sure was.


    @KellyClarkson: Never has it crossed my mind a desire to see someone impressioning Stevie Wonder singing one of my songs. And now, it''s all I could ever think about! Wonder if you can make it a full song? @Edward_Newgate


    A lot of people missed the broadcast, but then, Jimmy released a few short clips of the interviews on Youtube. Those who wanted to see the highlight were relieved, but then they learned that they had missed the part where Edward played a song game with the crowd, and was aggrieved again.


    After a thorough discussion between Jimmy and Edward''s PR representative, the video was decided to be held back as it could strike people as condescending if it was taken out of context.


    The interview and the performance were a set, and Jimmy couldn''t get the clearance from the TV network to upload a long duration video on the internet. Still, it wouldn''t be for long since there was a high demand for it, and all it was going to do was help the network''s status and push Jimmy''s show to the forefront compared to other late night shows. Any idiot would see that it was more beneficial for them to release it rather than keeping it for themselves.


    Jimmy''s name started to become widespread all over the internet. As he watched the rating graph with his director, he cried a bit and said, "I waited for so long...Everyone! Edward Newgate... will forever be... our hero!"


    In California, Edward''s family and friends were also having a viewing party. Claire, Ted, Gloria, Sal, Mitch and Cam, Jay and Manny, were all gathered at Ted''s living room.


    Mitch teased Claire, "You could''ve watched the show live, Claire."


    Cam added with a smirk, "But instead, you HAD to indulge in your appetite. Honestly Ted. You need to watch her around Edward."


    Ted smirked and piled on the teasing, "Well based on what Edward told me, I agreed with him."


    Claire rolled her eyes and retorted, "I didn''t do that on purpose! And please stop this ''Let''s rub Claire''s misery in her face'' party."


    Gloria chuckled and added, "But you did eat all of Phil''s and Luke''s donuts on purpose, yes?"


    Manny shook his head to show his disappointment to Claire while he was walking by.


    [Manny''s commentary]


    "Am I mad that all of the other kids in this family got the experience of watching the show live? I am not. Edward invited me too, but...I don''t want to spend most of my days inside a plane."


    [Commentary ends]


    Jay finally spoke up, "Alright. She made a mistake. Let''s move on. Cam, let''s talk about your football team."


    Cam''s eyes lit up as he was finally the center of attention. He said, "Oh my god, you won''t believe what happened during training today."


    While Cam was gossiping at the watch party, another intense discussion was held at Jenna''s new house near Jay''s mansion. Enid and Jenna were comforting Elsa on the couch while Jacob was staring blankly at the ceiling.


    Enid muttered, "Y-You should take the test first. Nothing is confirmed yet...right?"


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Inside the plane. I was working on my laptop when Haley suddenly walked near me. I stopped what I was doing and turned towards her, "What is it?"


    She pretended to be confused, "I...walked here, definitely not to bother you. I wanted to tell you something, but I forgot."


    "Well...Then, I guess you have to stay here until you remember it." I flirted. She tried to cover up her smile, which made her seem even cuter, and said, "No. I don''t want to bother you with your work."


    I closed my laptop and said, "Don''t worry. I''m sure that what you''re going to tell me is more important than my work."


    Suddenly we shuddered as we saw Phil smiling kindly at us from afar. "Umm..." Haley stammered, and then her phone chimed.


    I grinned and said jokingly, "Why? Is there another girl who got pregnant today?"


    Haley chuckled and said, "14 girls! All on the same day! I''m sure that it''s just a mass hysteria or something."


    Alex said disdainfully from afar, "Stop talking like that''s your opinion. You don''t even know what Mass Hysteria meant before I explained it to you!"


    We ignored the pissed off middle child who was getting jet lag from the constant air travel. Haley checked her phone and then her expression froze.


    "What''s going on?" I asked with concern, then I suddenly got a notification on my phone. It was a private message from Enid, telling me about the situation.


    "Elsa''s...pregnant? WHAT THE ACTUAL FU-"

 Chapter 188: Sex Ed.

    Chapter 188: Chapter 188: Sex Ed.


    [Edward POV]


    As Luke and Alex were extremely jet-lagged, Phil took his children home after we returned to California. I, however, rushed to Jenna''s house even though it was almost midnight.


    Jenna opened the door, wearing Victorian era style pajamas. I couldn''t believe my eyes and pointed at her dress, "When I''m settled with Jacob, we''ll get back to this."


    She defended herself, "This is what the pastor made us wear at Church camp."


    "Where did you go to camp? Little House of the Prairie?"


    She rolled her eyes and said, "Exposing your figure, especially at night, will make the devil tempts us with lust, and also-"


    "Alright Nun Jenna. I heard enough." I stopped her quickly before she turned it into a sermon.


    "Where''s your mom?" I asked as we walked up the stairs together. Me at the front, she at the back.


    Jenna brightened up and said, "She got casted for a role! Granted, it''s for a piranha film, but she still got it!"


    "Huh? What''s the title?"


    "Piranha 3D." Jenna replied. "I still don''t know what kind of film it is."


    I paused in my step before turning towards Jenna. I patted her shoulder and said, " It''s better if you don''t know..."


    "???"


    I opened the door to Jenna''s room, and went directly to Jacob and Elsa. "How did you know you''re pregnant? Have you done the test yet?"


    Enid jumped up from the bed and rushed towards me. She answered for Jacob, "We did the vinegar test, and the toothpaste test..."


    "Huh? Why don''t you just buy a pregnancy test kit from the drugstore?" I asked in confusion and bafflement. "Also, what the fuck is a vinegar test?"


    Elsa said sarcastically, "Sure! Just waltzed into the pharmacy and told the clerk, "Hi! I''m Elsa! I''m 14 and Pregnant! Will you tell it to everyone else in the neighborhood?" Think Ed!"


    "Just ask Jenna''s mom to do it. Or Jacob''s mom- Wait, I see where I got it wrong here. Alright. So, what is the vinegar test? Or the toothpaste test?" I said as I grabbed Jacob''s shoulder to comfort him.


    "Both tests...show that it is positive." Enid said before Elsa burst into tears. She covered her face with her hands as she sobbed.


    Jacob was also teary, and he turned to Elsa. "Babe. I know that it seems like the whole world is falling down right now, but just so you know, I will be by your side until the end." He then fell to one knee and said, "Elsa. Will you marry me-"


    "Enid stop him." Elsa ordered. Enid then covered Jacob''s mouth as she followed the order.


    I rubbed my throbbing forehead and then asked, "Wait. It''s not confirmed yet until you truly do the test. You kids..." I let out a heavy sigh and said, "Don''t you guys know anything about protection or safe sex?"


    "Jacob. You always told me every single detail of your relationship with Elsa, but you forgot to tell me that you lost your virginity?"


    "Huh? I''m-I''m still a virgin!" Elsa shouted hurriedly.


    "???" I froze from the confusion. "You''re still a virgin? Then, what kind of Virgin Mary birth are you having! Who''s going to be the 3 wise men!? Me, Jenna and Enid??!!!"


    "Y-You still can get pregnant even when you''re still a virgin!" Enid defended Elsa.


    "Yeah. As long as my....you know..." Jacob muttered shyly and trailed off. Jenna rolled her eyes and said, "As long as your cum falls on her belly."


    "??????"


    I opened my mouth a few times, but I was so bewildered that my words couldn''t come out.


    "Okay. I need a thorough explanation about this whole thing. Every single detail." I said while my lips twitched from trying to hold back my laughter. "From Jacob."


    Confused by my reaction, Jacob gulped his saliva and said, "Umm...You know..."


    "No. I don''t know. Tell me." I urged him. "Tell me how a baby is made."


    "Ummm..." Jacob stammered shyly, and his face was blushing red. I said, "Hey, you have already done it, but you''re still shy? What are you going to tell your kids one day when they ask?"


    Jacob squirmed for a while before he flashed a look of determination. "Well, the...the semen...needs to be....E-e-e-e-eja-eja-ejaculaed...on....her...the girl''s...stomach...and after...9 months...a baby will come out."


    "How did that happen? You know...Scientifically?"


    Jacob couldn''t even enjoy his relief when he finally finished his story when he had fallen into another quagmire. "Ummm..."


    Elsa was irritated and finally spoke, "Ed! What are you doing?! Why are you torturing him?"


    I couldn''t hold my laughter back anymore. I laughed and wheezed while holding my stomach. The group was startled and confused. Jenna said nervously, "T-That''s not how you get pregnant?"


    I laughed harder as I heard her question. My knees felt weak and I slumped on the floor.


    "HAHA...You guys are all (Wheeze heavily)... Dumbassess..." I whispered and laughed as I hit the floor, not forgetting to mock these guys as I did.


    Jenna and Enid''s face turned red. Elsa covered her face with a pillow while Jacob went to the windowsill, thinking about whether or not he should jump from there and ran away to avoid the embarrassment.


    After 5 minutes, the group was already numb. Enid looked at me and said tiredly, "He''s...still laughing."


    I was lying down on my back and was holding my stomach. My eyes were teary, and my voice became hoarse.


    "You know...what happened here today...Cannot get out of this room." Elsa said menacingly. "We might need to silent him." She made a throat cutting gesture, and the others nodded to her.


    I shuddered and finally stopped laughing. "Alright. I won''t tell anyone else about this. Don''t kill me."


    "That might not be a choice Ed." Enid bared her teeth to me and made a clawing gesture.


    "Someone reel the wolf cub back. I promise. I really won''t tell another soul about this." I brushed the dust off my pants before sitting on the edge of Jenna''s bed. Then, I lied down and covered my eyes with my arm, "Ahh. That made me feel relieved. Suddenly, I''m so tired right now."


    The group''s animosity towards me thawed quickly as they realized that I had rushed there after my busy schedule just to check up on them. Jenna and Enid also laid down on the bed, while Elsa and Jacob sat together.


    When I asked Jacob and Elsa how they came to the conclusion, they told me that Tyrone, and everyone else who got the pregnancy scare today told them about it.


    A viral rumor spread quickly around the school today, saying that a girl can get pregnant when a boy ejaculates on her stomach.


    (Based on a true story)


    "I-I''m just new here." Randall said meekly.


    Max shook her head and said, "You should go back to California. You don''t have what it takes to be a New Yorker."


    "I agree." Pepper suddenly appeared in front of the duo. He too was staying in the hotel and was going to meet some of his friends when he saw the duo bickering consistently.


    As soon as Max saw Pepper, she grinned and joked, "Hey, I think you''re at the wrong side of the city. Queens is over there."


    Pepper chuckled with a snort and said, "So bitchy. I love her."


    "All gay guys love me." Max said casually. And it was true. Her mean attitude added with her casual insults bodes well with this demography. "Some even asked me where I get my boobs done, and almost all of them are disappointed when they knew its a natural."


    "Well, that made me have one less question." Pepper said. "So, you''re Max the cupcake baker, right?"


    "I''m a waitress at a dead end job, but I do bake a little." Max said. "I assume you''re this guy''s boss?" She asked, referring to Randall.


    "That''s me." Pepper said and took the cupcake box from Randall. He explained to Max, "Edward had to go home right away, and he told me to apologize to you."


    "Oh. He could''ve called." Max said disappointedly.


    Pepper was confused and said, "He did? He called and texted you, but you didn''t reply."


    Max was shocked, "What? He did?" She took out her old phone and pressed its button, but all she could see was a dark screen. "Damn it! I wasted 3 whole dollars on this phone."


    Pepper was astonished. "But, he''s going to be there next week, and he asked you to prepare some cupcakes for him then." He added after he decided to ignore what Max had just said.


    Max smiled brightly and brushed her hair behind her ear, "Oh. He''s coming back. Usually when guys disappear on me, they won''t come back. I guess he''s an exception."


    "Believe me. He is." Pepper said as opened up the cupcake box and took a bite on the red velvet cupcake. His eyes widened and he said, "Oh my god. This is quite good. No wonder Edward wants it so bad."


    Max chuckled and said, "I usually only hear that sentence in a very specific context, so hearing it about my cupcakes is refreshing for me."


    While licking the cream off his lips, Pepper looked at Max from top to bottom and contemplated, "Hmmm..."


    "What?" Max said. "This waitress''s uniform sucks, I know."


    "They really do." Pepper said. "But that''s not why I am mulling. Max, I have an offer for you."


    "Well, I know that you''re gay, so it is not going to be sexual, so I''ll hear you out." Max replied.


    Pepper eyed Randall and said, "You see. These guys here. Do you think that he''s a wimp?"


    "Pepper!" Randall gasped in offense.


    "Absolutely." Max replied instantly, causing Randall to gasp again.


    "I have a lot of work to do here in New York, and he''s supposed to be my assistant. But as you can see, he''ll just let anyone walk all over him."


    "That''s true." Max said while nodding.


    "I don''t need to hear this." Randall said while throwing his hands up and then he walked away, shaking his head.


    Pepper turned back to Max and said, "See. So sensitive. However, he is really good at his job and managing Edward''s schedule. So, Max. I''ll be honest with you. I like your attitude, and I feel that it is what our company needs for us to make it in New York."


    "Wait. Is this a job interview?" Max asked, astonished. "Before you decide anything, I should let you know that I don''t even have a high school diploma. I have only known waitressing my whole life. I have no skills to do anything else."


    "Doesn''t matter. I just need you for your mean attitude. You know, like a guard dog. You''re going to intimidate those old men that we''re going to meet so that they won''t try to do anything."


    "Threatening old people? That''s like, my dream job!" Max said in excitement.


    Pepper chuckled and said, "So, I take it that you''re in?"


    Max hesitated for a while and said carefully, "Mr Pepper-"


    "Please. Just call me Pepper. Also, it''s Mr Saltzman."


    "Okay. Pepper. I...Look. I know that you guys are all good people. So I''ll just give it to you straight. I''m not really good at my job."


    "Well....I can see that. Aren''t you supposed to be waitressing right now?"


    "See. The evidence is already clear!" Max agreed with Pepper. She touched her hair and said, "I don''t want to screw things up for Edward. He seems like a very nice dude."


    "Apparently, that dude feels the same way about you." Pepper added, making Max startled. "And in my few months of getting to know Edward, there''s two things that I am absolutely sure about him."


    "First, he''s a genius. And not that standard genius. No, he''s like a savant. He''s going to be successful in everything that he tries."


    Randall returned at this moment, already calmed down. He widened his eyes and said, "Wait. Edward has the Savant Syndrome?"


    "That would mean that he has an intellectual disability, so no. He''s just good at everything." Pepper cleared up. "And the second one is, Ed has an eyes for good people."


    "Like Claire, like Randall here, Dwayne, Renaldo... He has that 6th sense. A gift you can say. He can see the good in others, even when they themselves couldn''t see it. And Edward told me, he saw himself in you."


    "What?" Max was astonished. "What''s so similar? Did someone offer him money to get into bed with them too?"


    Pepper smiled as he saw that Max was using humor to deflect what she was feeling again. "In a way..." Pepper joked. "But more of , coming from a dysfunctional family, and he had to raise himself too."


    "Wait. He did?" Max was surprised. "But he has that... good dad beside him?"


    "Phil? He only met that guy this year." Pepper explained. "I''ll tell you all about him later. So Max. Do you want to return to working at the diner for the Italian Mafia, or do you want to go out there, and threaten old people? The choice is yours."


    Max chuckled and said, "Well...If you put it like that, of course I''m going to pick the latter."


    "Then, Welcome Aboard!" Pepper said as he gave Max a hug, the Italian godfather way.


    "Wait. Max is joining us?" Randall was shocked. Max turned to him and threatened, "Yeah. So you better watch yourself or I''ll stab you with a fork."


    Randall turned to Pepper and said, "Can''t you see that? She''s mentally unstable. Do you really want to hire her?"


    "Don''t be afraid. Max is just practicing what she''s going to say to those old people." Pepper said knowingly.


    Max chuckled and said, "Yeah. And the more I do that, the more I can find my smile again. See? It won''t stop." She pointed at her grin.

 Chapter 189: Messy Schedule (1)

    Chapter 189: Chapter 189: Messy Schedule (1)


    (There''s 4 parts in this short arc so I held back last week Chapter to post it continuously. I have already set it up on timer, and if it doesn''t upload at my usual time, someone please update me on discord.)


    [General POV]


    Camila entered Edward''s house and greeted Ted who was sipping his morning coffee in the kitchen. She was wearing a slightly messy white tank top with oil stains and old jeans. Her hair is also frizzy, and she has a bruise on the side left of her face.


    Ted was startled and asked hurriedly, "Why do you look like that? What happened? Did you get in a fight?"


    Camila was confused, and then she realized the state that she''s in. "Oh. This? No, this is just a normal Wednesday night for me."


    Ted widened his eyes in disbelief. Camila shoved off the topic and asked, "Where''s Ed?"


    "...Um...I think he''s taking a shower." Ted replied.


    "I''ll go see him first, and then I''ll take a nap." Camila said with a yawn. "Ooh- And if the cops came, tell them that I was here for the entire night."


    "Do you want ice for your face?" Ted asked casually after nodding at Camila''s request. "Frozen peas? Chicken meat?"


    "Chicken meat?" Camila was intrigued.


    Ted shrugged and said, "I don''t know if that really works. Ed told me that, so there''s a high chance that he''s messing around again."


    "He could be." Camila said after thinking for a while.


    Ted chuckled and took out the frozen peas from the fridge, wrapped it with a towel, and handed it to Camila. She took it and turned around before Ted asked, "Wait. You''re staying here for Ed''s dinner party, right?"


    "Sure- Wait, what do you mean Ed''s dinner party?"


    "He invited the Dunphys, his god sister from school-"


    "HE GOT A GODSISTER?!" Camila asked, flabbergasted.


    Ted nodded and said, "Yeah. She''s a teacher. A very nice Italian girl." Then, Ted explained a bit of what he knew from Phil�C who knew about the matter from his daughters.


    "Oooh- That''s why he could make those amazing Italian dishes." Camila exclaimed while icing her face. "I''ll stay here today. It''s been a while since I have spent some time with my nephew."


    Meanwhile in Edward''s room, Jacob finally woke up from his deep sleep and stretched as he left the Ikea style pull out bed that Ed designed on his own. He pushed his single bed back under Edward''s bed after tidying them up while only in his underwear.


    As Edward walked back into the room, he was greeted with the sight of Jacob bending over�C to insert the bed properly, displaying his bright red underpants to the room.


    "Dude. Come on. Even baboons have the decency to wait after breakfast." Edward scowled, shielding his eyes from the sight of Jacob''s behind. "And why do you have to sleep in your underwear anyway? I don''t think you have that habit before?"


    Jacob stood up properly, not ashamed of his current situation. He smiled and said, "Well, me and Elsa read an article saying that it''s healthier for us to sleep while being naked. After I tried it, I couldn''t go back to sleeping in the old ways, using pajamas."


    "Translation, you video called Elsa every night, and did the cyber nasty. After falling asleep while naked, you fell in love with it." Edward teased. Jacob nodded instinctively but then was shook. "No wonder you guys thought that-"


    "Okay. You said that you won''t bring it up!" Jacob stopped anxiously and with a brightly flushed face.


    "Wrong. I said that I won''t tell another soul about this. I can tease you about it all I want if it''s just the two of us!" Edward said with a menacing laugh.


    "I guess I''ll just have to make you forget!" Jacob shouted and started wrestling Edward. He placed his hands on his waist, at the same time, his actions caused Edward''s towel to slip, revealing his green boxer.


    "What the- Oh, you want a piece of this? Come on!" Edward said before locking Jacob''s head in an armlock. Both of the two naked boys wrestled each other, knocking out a few books from Edward''s table in the process.


    "Hmm?" Camila who was ascending the stairs heard the scuffle, and slowly made her way to Edward''s bedroom door.


    "Do you yield?!" Edward asked.


    Edward executed a submission hold on Jacob, positioning himself behind him. He locked his arms underneath Jacob''s armpit and interlocked them behind his neck. This tight grip immobilized Jacob and made it nearly impossible for him to break free.


    "NEVER!" Jacob yelled. But 5 seconds of silence later, "Alright. I yield."


    Edward chuckled and released his hands. Jacob limply fall forward, and he had to place his hand on the bed to prevent himself getting to the ground. His prompt decision saved him from further embarrassment, however...


    "Oh boys. So lively in the morning." Camila caught them in an awkward position where Jacob was bending over and Edward was standing too close behind him.


    Edward was surprised to see her. He knew that if he played it casually, she wouldn''t be able to further tease them. However, Jacob didn''t know how to handle the situation well.


    "Ed''s AUNT!! This isn''t what you think!" He said anxiously before grabbing Edward''s blanket to cover himself like a mistreated girl.


    "BAHAHA!" Camila burst into laughter. She laughed until there were tears in her eyes.


    "Dumbass." I whispered to Jacob before walking to her, "What''s wrong with your face...hair...shirt...and why do you smell smoky?"


    "Oh this? I just had an interesting night. I''m going to go to sleep now, I just wanted to see you first. And...You''re the top huh?" She teased.


    "Always." Edward replied casually. "You''re going straight to sleep?"


    "Yes. You can text me if you want me to buy anything for your dinner party. I''ll be sure to have it ready before you get back from school."


    Edward paused and crunched his eyebrows, "Oh...Right...The dinner party..."


    Jacob was confused, "Didn''t you say to the team that we''re having the team party today?"


    "Wait. Ed. You double booked?" Camila asked with a grin before she winched from the pain of contorting her face. "Damn it." She cursed to herself.


    "You need to get that checked out." Edward said to her. "Also, I- Wait. It''s not double...Umm...Maybe like, quadruple booking?"


    "Huh?" X2. Both of the people looked at Edward with an expression of demanding explanation. Ed hesitated for a while before sighing, "Well...I actually need to finish shooting for Taylor''s music video before Saturday. So I won''t be going to school..."


    "I have already contacted her last night, and will be going to meet her in an hour."


    "So that''s another one. What''s the last one?" Camila asked.


    "Umm, a devilish plan to make someone think he has a bastard child. I''ll cancel that one. I have waited too long for it to still be relevant." Edward said.


    Both of them were confused once more. "Ed...what the hell are you talking about?" Camila grimaced.


    Ed dismissed them with a wave of his hand and said, "Not important. I can still cancel that. I''ll just have the actress repay me in another way."


    "Well, first of all, Edward was in a pretty high place. I guess, up there, the birds are more tired, so they will come down more."


    "That...makes sense." Luke said. He looked at his arm and muttered, "I wonder if they will come down if my arms looked more like a tree branch."


    "Only one way to find out." Phil said excitedly. "But we will have to wait until you come home from school. Okay?"


    Luke grinned and nodded, "Okay."


    Suddenly, the house doorbell rang. Claire hurriedly opened the door and greeted Gloria who came together with Manny.


    "Hola Claire~" Gloria said with a toothy smile. She was wearing a low cleavage top as usual, and she entered the Dunphy''s house without reservation.


    Claire said, "Thanks a lot Gloria for doing this. Alex is a little sick, so I need to stay home and couldn''t get the kids to school."


    "Nonsense. We are all family. We... help each other." Gloria said with a fake smile.


    [Gloria''s Commentary]


    "I wanted a free trip to New York to see the live interview too!" Gloria said in annoyance. "But Edward only invited Claire''s family!"


    [Manny''s commentary]


    "Well, Edward asked if mom or Jay wanted to come with me too, but Mom promised me she would watch me practice, and she also said she''s not going to miss it for the world, so I didn''t tell her that to prevent her from getting a dilemma. Jay didn''t want to go because he wanted to play golf with his friends. He made me promise that he won''t tell my mother about it.."


    [Commentary Ends]


    Phil and Luke rejoined the family after they decided to shelve their project for a while. Then, Phil lights up when he sees Gloria.


    "Hey. What brings you guys here early in the morning?" Phil said as he greeted Gloria.


    "Oh. We''re helping Claire take Luke and Haley to school." Gloria replied in a gleeful manner. "You know. Just doing a family member some favors."


    "Huh?" Phil was confused. He turned to Claire and asked, "Claire, I can send them to school. You don''t have to bother Gloria with it."


    Gloria widened her eyes anxiously and she said, "No. Not at all! She didn''t bother me at all!"


    Phil then saw Alex and hugged his daughter sympathetically, "Oh honey. I noticed that you were feeling unwell when we were flying home, so I have already gotten you some medicine and some soup this morning."


    "Aww. Thanks Dad." Alex said while hugging her father tightly. Claire''s eyes twitched and she said, "But, Alex, I will stay home today to take care of you, even when I have a lot of work to do."


    "Hun. If you have a lot of work to do, you can go. I have no open houses today, so I''m pretty free." Phil said, causing Claire to freeze. She asked in a low voice, "But you have that house near Bridgeton Avenue to sell."


    Phil smiled innocently and said excitedly, "The buyer already put down the down payment this morning. I don''t even have to show him the house! He saw my video where I went to New York, and he''s Edward''s giant fan! I just told him that Ed had considered to buy that house too, and he couldn''t wait to sign the contract."


    Alex stayed by Phil''s side and said, "Mom. I don''t want to burden you, so Dad could just stay home with me today. I know that you have a lot of work to do."


    Both of Claire''s eyes twitched at this moment as her plans had backfired. "So...I guess I can send Haley and Luke to school?" She muttered.


    Phil nodded, not catching the hidden anger behind Claire''s tone. "Sure hun." He said.


    Claire was fuming, but she still kept a poker face. "Come on kids." She called.


    Gloria saw Haley and asked, "Haley, did you get taller?"


    "Huh? I did?" Haley was confused. She stood in front of Gloria while her step grandmother compared their height. "You did!" Gloria said excitedly. Then, her vision lowered and she said, "Even your boobs got bigger too."


    "Gloria!" Haley was caught off guard. Claire was speechless and said in a pitiful manner. "You...got taller? And...I didn''t notice it? But... I was always the one to notice it."


    Haley chuckled and said, "Well mom. You used to be around a lot."


    Her words were like an arrow shot straight to Claire''s heart. Gloria noticed it and decided to lend Claire some help.


    "Well, C-Claire. Didn''t you say that you will go to the mall today? Why don''t you take Haley with you after school. She will need help to buy some new outfits."


    Haley agreed with Gloria and said, "Mom. You don''t have to, I just need some money, and I will go there with Tara-"


    "NO! We''re spending some time together at the mall after you got back home from school, AND WE''RE going to have some GOOD OLD FASHIONED MOTHER AND DAUGHTER BONDING MOMENT! Now, let''s go! Or you''ll be late to school!"


    Gloria''s eyes lit up and she said, "We can go together and talk more in the car! Your minivan has a big space!


    ...


    Inside the car, Claire was dumping some of her worries to Gloria after they had sent their kids to school.


    "I don''t know. I really don''t know what to do to bond with the kids!" Claire said.


    Gloria was still ruminating about the earlier information she had gotten, "Well, didn''t you say that Ed wants to make dinner for you guys today?"


    Claire dismissed that topic immediately, "Yeah. But it''s not happening."


    "Really? Did he tell you that it''s not happening?" Gloria said. "Maybe...if he cannot do it, because he has a very busy schedule, we can cook for him instead."


    Claire scrunched her face and she asked in confusion, "How is that going to help me bond with my children?"


    "Well, for starters, they love him more than they love you right now." Gloria was brutally honest, and it made Claire want to cry. "But if you did that for him, then Edward will like you, and the rest of the kids will think that you''re so cool because you managed to get Edward to like you."


    Claire''s expression changed a few times. Then, she nodded as if thinking ''that wasn''t a bad suggestion.''


    "Despite the tour, I see what you''re trying to say. Alright! I got it! We''re surprising Edward today!"


    [Claire''s commentary]


    "I got to say, I felt a little guilty of trying to use Gloria this morning. But now, I am very glad that I called her."


    [Gloria''s commentary]


    "Yes! I got a chance! The next name for the VIP seat for Edward''s interview will be mine!"


    [Commentary ends]

 Chapter 190: Messy Schedule (2)

    Chapter 190: Chapter 190: Messy Schedule (2)


    [Edward POV]


    In the dim-lighted basement lab.


    "I still have some time." I muttered, even though I knew that I had a lot of work to do today. I turned on my modified laptop and continued my work on the AI.


    It was something to do while I waited for the staff members to get the location ready for today''s shooting. The mishaps this morning gave me a little bit of urgency to complete my AI programs.


    ''I needed a secretary that could keep track of all of my schemes and plans so that I wouldn''t have to cancel my nefarious plots after this.'' I thought inwardly.


    Suddenly, my phone chimed in while I was engrossed with entering the codes.


    "Damn it." I cursed as I read it. It was a text from Taylor saying that she''s going to be late because her makeup team was late. I turned my attention to the codes once I texted her back.


    "FINALLY!" I celebrated as I entered the last lines of the codes and compiled everything I had written. 2 months of work was finally finished, however I knew that I had only built the foundation of the AI.


    The progress bar moved very slowly. It didn''t even get to 1% even after 5 minutes. My enthusiasm slowly died down as I saw the unmoving progress bar.


    "What the hell was I hoping for?" I muttered with a sigh before leaving the lab. Unbeknownst to me, the progress bar suddenly sped up after I left the room.


    ...


    We drove to Beverly Hills where the side-by-side house film set was located. The set house was built inside a huge film studio, and I have rented the entire set since last week.


    I turned to Taylor who had just arrived and blatantly stared at her face. She smiled coquettishly as she saw me. Then, she became confused when she saw that I was studying her face.


    "THERE''S NO MORE PIMPLE!" She shouted in anger and dissatisfaction after she realized what I was looking for. I shrugged and smirked at the same time.


    "By the way, Hello there." I greeted as I moved towards her.


    She scoffed and crossed her arms together as she pouted.


    "You''re angry at me because you got pimples?" I asked with fake confusion. She was baffled and said, "Huh? No! Anyway! I don''t have any pimples, so stop talking about it!"


    I had to stifle my laugh because I knew that she was going to get annoyed if I mentioned the matter again.


    "You''re ready?" I asked with a seductive tone, "Miss Creative Director?"


    She grinned and said, "Absolutely."


    For the music video, I gave her the chance to create the storyline on her own. It took her a week to come out with the storyline. I was surprised when I realized that it was the exact same setting compared to the music video in my previous world.


    A nerdy, timid, glasses wearing but secretly pretty, next door neighbor girl who has a crush on the athletic jock boy in the house next door. Then, there was a villain cheerleader girl who was using the kind jock boy''s to make her ex boyfriend jealous.


    Both the female lead will be played by Taylor, and I would play the male lead obviously. It wasn''t that I wanted to get the role myself, but she proposed that I do it to save some money.


    "We''re going to shoot the bedroom scenes first, so get ready." I told her.


    She smirked and whispered, "Wait. I have never agreed on using cameras in the bedroom. If you want it, you should''ve told me first."


    I snorted and then at my ear, showing her my earpiece. "I''m the director, so I had to wear this to communicate. So....you know, everyone else here has heard that."


    Taylor was frozen, and then she looked around to see some staff smirking and giggling. Her face blushed red and she said hurriedly, "O-O-Of course I know that! That was a joke! JUST A JOKE!"


    She yelled into my ear. I winced in pain before saying, "Ahh, you don''t have to defend yourself yet. I haven''t turned it on."


    She froze again and then blood rushed to her face. "Asshole!" She cursed before she stomped away. I chuckled at her before sitting at the director''s seat. Taylor returned to the set while wearing a white t-shirt with signatures on them. Her hair was tied in a short ponytail and she wore big glasses.


    "Hot Set! Interior!" One of the staff members yelled as Taylor got ready. The code signifies that the set was ready for filming from all aspects.


    The set bedroom has green walls, a white frame single bed in the middle that was placed in between 3 windows covered with purple drapes, a butterfly painting on the top of the bed, and a study desk at the right side.


    The closet and the mirror had not been revealed yet, but her bedroom exuded a pleasant and minimalistic ambiance, a stark contrast to her actual bedroom she grew up in.


    I turned to Taylor and smirked. "Hey. Don''t stand on tilt." I said abruptly.


    She was confused, "Why?"


    "Cause it made your shirt''s word look like ''Junior Jew''." I teased. Taylor checked her shirt with the word Junior Jewels written on it and chortled.


    We started with recording her dorky dance inside the bedroom, and while we were filming, I had to shout cut a few times.


    "CUT! Stop looking at the camera." I said with a laugh. She circled her hands together while dancing weirdly and said, "I shouldn''t look at the camera while doing this?"


    "You shouldn''t look at the camera at all." I said while covering my smile behind my hand. She grinned and teased, "Really? I thought that you wanted me to record it like this?"


    She kept dancing and I kept chuckling, causing the filming to be delayed. When we started again, I finally realized that I lacked the time to prepare for my evening plans and whispered, "Damn it."


    A normal guy would''ve just canceled his plans. But I refuse to be normal. I whispered to the staff responsible for the logistics, "For the last scene, do we have enough people and venue yet? If we don''t, then, I can contact my school and ask my teammates to help out."


    ...


    [General POV]


    -Dunphy''s house-


    Claire returned home bringing Gloria with her to prepare for tonight''s dinner. As she returned, she saw Alex and Phil sitting in front of the TV in the living room.


    Confused, Claire asked, "Alex why aren''t you resting?"


    "And I told you, I can''t work under that woman! I will go crazy!" Mitch retorted. "Cam, will you still volunteer at high school today?"


    Cam nodded knowingly, "Give you updates about the whole pregnancy thing as soon as possible. Got it!"


    "Thank you! LOVE YOU!" Mitch said before rushing out of the house. A few hours after that, Cam received a phone call from Gloria asking him if he wanted to join in for Edward''s dinner party.


    Cam was confused and said, "But he''s having his team party today?"


    Gloria was also puzzled and turned to Claire to get an answer. While they were trying to figure things out, Phil used his permission to enter Edward''s lab to take a peek at his laptop, trying to find Edward''s recipes.


    He was confused when he saw the pattern on the screen. It was a kaleidoscopic pattern with the objects merging and moving all over inside a circle at the centre of the screen.


    "Ed didn''t turn off his computer?" Phil asked himself. Suddenly, he heard a female robotic voice, "Hello."


    Phil almost jumped from the chair from fright. "What the-" He muttered nervously. "Hello?" He asked in confusion.


    "Hello." The voice replied again. Phil smiled and said politely, "Are you a friend of Edward?"


    "I am his assistant." The voice replied. Phil breathed in relief and asked, "What''s your name?"


    "I don''t have a name yet." The voice replied. Phil thought he was joking and said, "So, I will just call you Ratatata."


    "Confirmed. Selected name is Ratatata." The voice replied. "What can I help you with today?"


    Phil smiled in excitement and asked, "Does Edward keep his recipes in the laptop?"


    The voice replied, "No."


    "Awh." Phil exclaimed in disappointment. "He loves Italian food, but none of us can cook it�C Except for Jay. But he''s working. I don''t even know his preferences."


    The voice then replied, "Based on his internet search with Italian food related keywords, there are a few Italian dishes that he likes."


    Phil lit up and said, "Really? Can you tell me?"


    "I''ll print out the details for you." The voice said. The printer next to the laptop started printing out a couple of recipes. Phil grinned and waited patiently for the printer to finish, and then took the stack of recipes with him.


    "Thank you so much Mr Assistant. Now I know why Edward hired you." Phil complimented sincerely.


    "He didn''t hire me." The voice replied. Phil was confused and muttered to himself, "Free labour?"


    "I am glad to be of service." The voice replied again with a slightly excited inflection. Phil hesitated and then turned his back against the laptop, "Okay...I''ll go now."


    The voice didn''t reply. Phil was confused and then walked out of the room quietly.


    [Phil''s commentary]


    "I wonder who that guy was? He sure knows his stuff." He said, "And I never caught his real name."


    [Commentary ends]


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "I''m so embarrassed." Taylor said while cupping her face with her hands, her head dropped to the ground as she sat on her waiting room chair.


    I walked to the room and sat right next to her. "I''m sorry for saying that."


    "No. It wasn''t your fault at all." Taylor shook her head and released her hands. "I was so excited to finally decide on the music video that I forgot to think about that."


    "You don''t have to worry. Seriously. The plot is great. I can assure you that people are going to like it no matter what."


    "But when they know I was the one who did that, they will make fun of me for sure!"


    "Then, we can hire some obscure director to pretend he was the one who came out with the plot and all. Or, I can do it."


    She finally chuckled a bit and said teasingly, "Oh really? You''re going to direct a chick flick?"


    I shrugged and said, "Why not? I think I''d be good at it."


    She rolled her eyes and became anxious again, "Can we...like...still change the setting? Or is it too late? I mean. I really don''t want to seem desperate."


    I was confused as to why she did this but decided not to ask. "Alright then. We can change it. In fact, there''s several ways to change it so that you won''t seem bad."


    "How so?" She asked with intrigue.


    "First. Double down. Make it seem like a comedy." I said as I stood up from my seat. Then, I unbuttoned my shirt and made some exaggerated movements. She cringed immediately and shouted, "Stop! What are you doing?"


    "Like I said. Double down. We can insert a scene where you were giggling on the bed, and then it cuts to your imagination where I was looking like this and entered your room. Like Romeo."


    Her eyes lit up and then she giggled. I added, "I can mouth sentences like, ''Taylor, You''re the only one for me!'' And then pick you up from your bed while you were wearing a see through nightgown."


    She chortled loudly and said, "Like a parody!"


    "Exactly." I snapped my finger before pointing at her. "What''s the other way?" She asked.


    "Well. Some other way is to show more of the male lead doing the same thing as you did. The scene where I looked at the window and laughed as I saw you dancing dorkily, took that and made a few more of those. It''s all about the long looks, and stolen glances..."


    Taylor''s eyes lit up and she snapped her fingers. "AHH! That will work!!!"


    Despite the plans, the video wouldn''t change as much as to not interfere with her ''character'' and alienate her fans. We would keep the storyline, but would add a few more scenes to make the quality of the video better.

 Chapter 191: Messy Schedule (3)

    Chapter 191: Chapter 191: Messy Schedule (3)


    [Edward POV]


    After making a few revisions to the storyline, it was time for me to shoot the scenes with Taylor. After wearing a simple t-shirt and jeans, Taylor looked at me from top to bottom with scrutinizing eyes.


    "What?" I asked, feeling self-conscious about her gaze.


    She smirked and said, "The theme is, cute boy next door. Not, Sexy boy next door. You need to wear a wig."


    "Over My Dead Body." I rolled my eyes at her. She chuckled and then moved closer before grabbing my arms. She asked in disbelief as she squeezed my biceps, "Why does this grow so fast? Is this because you kept throwing the ball around? Will it keep growing if you continue playing football?"


    "If it does, would it be a bad thing?" I asked her.


    She thought for a while before she shrugged and said, "No. I think it''s cool."


    "Great. Cause I don''t think I''ll stop just yet." I said with a smirk.


    We recorded the scenes where Taylor and I talked to each other through a sketchpad by the window. Then, I changed into a prom outfit, and did the last scene for the bedroom where I wished that she was also there.


    "Bedroom scene is a wrap!" The staff member announced. Taylor rubbed her sore jaw and said, "Finally. I can''t lip sync anymore."


    I chuckled and said, "Let''s have some lunch before getting to the next scene�C the car scene."


    "Oh. Really? We never had lunch during shooting in my previous agency." Taylor said with eyes full of anticipation. I rolled my eyes at her and said, "I''m not that kind of black company that enslaves my workers. What do you want to eat?"


    "Umm..." She thought for a while. "I don''t know. What do you want to eat?" She asked me back.


    I grinned and said, "It''s actually a trick question. The food is already here. We have some sandwiches and lasagna."


    She narrowed her eyes at me and said, "You''re on some dangerous ground mister."


    "That doesn''t scare me much. I thrive on danger. I live for it." I said with some exaggeration that made her laugh.


    In the intimate confines of her waiting room, it was just the two of us, sharing a meal together. She asked, "Why did you fly to New York, just to go to Jimmy Fallon''s, and not any of the LA interviews?"


    "Oh, I just liked the guy. That''s it. There''s no other reason." I replied casually. Taylor raised an eyebrow and asked carefully, "So. It had nothing to do with meeting Abby there?"


    I froze for a second before asking, "No? She hasn''t contacted me ever since she left. Although...."


    As I trailed off, Taylor looked directly at me and waited impatiently, "Although what?"


    "Although...I did meet an interesting girl there."


    Taylor smiled in disbelief as she felt that I was teasing her, "Let me guess. Brunette, big boobs too?"


    I made a shocked face and asked, "How did you know?"


    "Wait. Are you serious?" She asked in bafflement. I laughed and then told her all about Max before she sighed in relief. Then, she looked at me in dissatisfaction and asked, "Why do so many girls linger around you?"


    "Probably because I''m very handsome." I said confidently. Taylor paused before she nodded in agreement, "That''s true."


    Then, she stood up and took off the white t-shirt she was wearing, revealing her white bra. I was confused and then she said with a mischievous smile, "Oh. I just felt that I needed to change for the next scene."


    "Oh yeah. The cheerleader" I replied casually, which irked her a bit. "The brunette villain Taylor."


    She went to the clothes rack and took out the cheerleader outfit. "Should I wear this now?"


    "No. Not yet. We''re shooting the car scene first." I said while biting my sandwich. She pouted and asked again, "Do you want to see me wearing it now?"


    "???"


    The staff member came at this moment and told Taylor it was time for her makeup. She was dressed in a pink sweater and dark brunette hair. The next scene was simple. She had to pull up in a red convertible, and I would be getting in the car.


    The full scene was the nerdy Taylor and I sitting on a park bench before my current girlfriend showed up. Then, I left with the brunette Taylor instead after kissing her in the car.


    "Take 1. Action." The assistant director said as I entered the car. Brunette Taylor grabbed my neck and pulled me in close before kissing me on the lips�C hot and heavy style.


    "CUT!" I shouted. Then, I looked at Taylor in disbelief and said, "I thought you want to keep things PG?"


    "Ah. Right. I forgot. We should do that again." Taylor said with a mischievous expression. I sighed and then signaled the assistant director. He shouted, "Take 2!"


    As I entered the car, this time, Brunette Taylor took her time to lean in closer before sticking her tongue in my mouth. "CUT!" I shouted again after pulling away, and definitely not enjoying it for a few seconds.


    Taylor said with a smile, "WHAT!? What did I do wrong now?"


    "You take too long to kiss me. Also, we''re only supposed to be pretending to kiss. We don''t have to have contact." I explained calmly with a smile on my face.


    As if I didn''t know what she was doing. If I had a lot more time, I would''ve played along with it, but I had a sense of urgency to finish the scenes as fast as possible today.


    At the very least, to finish the scenes that needed the studio to film in. Or I would have to spend more money on rent.


    "Take 3." The assistant director announced.


    This time, while we were leaning in closer, a moth flew right above us.


    "CUT!"


    "Take 4."


    Taylor''s wig started slipping and her makeup was smeared on my face.


    "Take 5."


    I couldn''t open the car door.


    "Take 6."


    Taylor and I sneezed at the same time.


    "Take... 13."


    "Is what?" Tyrone urged anxiously.


    "Well. This is Edward''s words, and not mine. Seriously. It''s not mine."


    "Just say it!" Tyler shouted.


    "Well Sal is a whore." Jacob said, causing everyone to be taken aback. He then dropped another bomb, "He wants to call Sal here to give you guys an education....You know...After what happened yesterday..."


    "You mean the pregnancy thing?" One of the boys said in disbelief.


    "Yeah..." Jacob said shyly. Almost everyone there had their face turned red, and then they silently agreed to Edward''s condition. "Okay. We will do it."


    Cam turned around quickly and shouted, "Excellent!"


    "Hey you were listening!" Tyler shouted in annoyance.


    Cam ignored him and said, "You might have to go home a little late after this. So those who have a car need to give a ride to those who don''t. Also, there will be some salary for those participating. 50 bucks each. "


    Jacob then raised his hand and said, "What about the team dinner? I know that he wants to do it today, but he''s busy enough already. So, shouldn''t we postpone it?"


    The rest of the team nodded and said, "Yeah. We can postpone it again. Why didn''t he postpone it?"


    Cam heard the question and replied on Edward''s behalf, " I think it''s because he felt a bit guilty because he kept postponing it. So he want to do it as soon as he can."


    "That''s stupid." Tyler said. Suddenly, his girlfriend rushed into the football field to find him.


    "Selena?" He was confused. His latina girlfriend whispered to his ear, causing him to widen his eyes.


    Cam was intrigued, "Why? What''s happening? Are you really pregnant?"


    Tyler looked at Cam in disbelief, "What? NO! Babe You can tell everyone."


    Selena chuckled and then said, "There''s going to be a party in the gymnasium tonight."


    "Huh?" Cam was confused. "They are filming the prom scene inside the gym right? So how is there a party?"


    Selena said with excitement, "That is the party!"


    Everyone exclaimed in realization. Selena then added, "So I need to take Ty to go shopping for clothes right now. We need to wear the dress we wear to a normal prom."


    Cam became nervous, "Did Edward confirm this? Has anyone asked him, or the staff members there?"


    "It''s fine. We already asked Haley." Selena said before she grabbed Tyler. "Let''s go babe. We need to rush. Edward will be here in an hour."


    Almost all of the team members left quickly to go and get ready for the party, leaving Cam speechless and alone in the middle of the football field.


    "Haley, what have you done?" Cam muttered with nervousness and fear.


    [Haley''s commentary]


    "I didn''t do anything! UHH!!"


    [Commentary ends]


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    I stopped by the Dunphy''s house with Taylor while on my way to school. Luke opened the door and then immediately asked me, "Hey. How did you get that eagle to land on you?"


    Taylor heard it and snickered. I was taken aback and then smiled, "I don''t know. Maybe she just loves me. Have you tried standing on a hill and held out your arms for them?"


    "For hours!" Luke said grudgingly. "Come on in. Mom''s not here. She has already gone to your school."


    "Oh. I thought we were eating here?" I asked in confusion as I entered the house. We went directly to the kitchen where I saw Jay was stirring a huge pot of sauce with an unhappy expression.


    "Edward. Can''t you just hire some kitchen helpers to cook for you today?" Jay asked with a grumpy tone as he wiped his hand with a kitchen towel.


    "Umm...I was planning to do that, but your wife, and your wife," I pointed at Phil who was standing by the dining table too, "wanted to do it."


    "Wait. So she forced me to take a half day just to take over her job?" Jay said in disbelief. "All of this won''t happen if you had just invited her to New York yesterday ED." Jay sighed.


    I was confused, "I did invite her. Manny said she couldn''t go."


    "He said what?"


    While Jay was ruminating about the story, Phil greeted me happily and said, "Hey Ed! How''s your shoot?"


    "It was tough because someone kept messing around." I said. Taylor slapped my arm from behind and defended herself, "It was you! You''re the one messing around."


    I chuckled and teased, "Well I''ve never said it was you." She rolled her eyes and said, "Thank you guys for inviting me here today."


    Jay showed a kind grandfather smile and said, "Well, you''re welcome."


    "What are you guys cooking?" I asked. Phil grinned and said, "We have all of your favorites here. Your assistant helped me write down the recipes."


    "Wow. That''s amazing." I exclaimed as I checked out the food. "Did Randall work overtime for this? Or is he slacking on his job in New York?" I asked teasingly.


    Phil smiled and said, "No. It''s not Randall. It''s your computer assistant. You know, the one you hire to be on standby in your laptop?"


    "?" I was confused. "I didn''t hire anyone?"


    Gloria suddenly walked in with an open arm, "Hola Hola! Edward! It''s so nice to see you!"


    Then, she gave me a big hug. Jay smirked as he saw her behavior and asked, "Where''s Haley?"


    "Haley is with Claire and Edward''s teacher. They are on their way." Gloria replied.


    I checked the clock and said, "Hey. It''s 4.30. Can we have dinner now? Cause, I''m starving."


    Everyone was surprised. Phil''s eyes became nervous and he said, "Wait. What?"

 Chapter 192: Messy Schedule (4- F)

    Chapter 192: Chapter 192: Messy Schedule (4- F)


    (See you guys next week!)


    [Edward POV]


    "Edward, you''re feeling okay?" Jay asked. The group finally reacted to my question. Jay teasingly added, "Even for me, I don''t have dinner at 4.30."


    "Well you should Jay. I know you get hungry earlier nowadays." I added jokingly. Jay smiled and said, "I do. That''s why I have some snacks."


    As we laughed, Phil took me to the side and asked carefully, "Do you need to go so soon?"


    "Yeah. I hate to be rude, but I need to rush to the school. I got 30 minutes, tops." I replied honestly with a painful smile. I texted my aunt, but she didn''t reply. I tried calling her, but she wasn''t picking up the phone. She was still sleeping at this moment and couldn''t wake up because she was too tired.


    I felt a little bad that I had to rush things, but I also felt that I needed to do this to prove something to myself.


    Claire, Sage, and Haley returned at this moment. Manny and Luke came in from playing in the backyard.


    Jay smirked and asked Manny in front of Gloria, "Hey Manny. Edward called yesterday right? What did he say?"


    "Wait. He called?" Gloria widened her eyes in surprise. Her gaze alternated between Jay, Manny and I.


    Manny answered Jay''s question casually, "Yeah. He asked if we wanted to follow them to New York. Mom told me that she wants to come see my training, and won''t miss it for the world, so I told him that we cannot go."


    Jay snickered while Gloria froze with a face full of disbelief. Manny asked Gloria, "Did I do something wrong mom? You told me you don''t want to go anywhere..."


    Gloria smiled helplessly and then ticked Manny''s chin, "Ayy Papicito. I promised I''d be there for you. So I will, even if that means I cannot go to New York on a day trip."


    Manny smiled innocently and said, "Thanks mom."


    "I love you Manny."


    "Love you too Mom."


    I watched the duo hug each other while snacking on some chips. I guess my eyes showed something I didn''t know they were showing because Phil asked me with some concern, "Are you okay? Does seeing them bring out some memories?"


    "What?" I turned towards Phil with a face filled with disbelief. "I was just enjoying the show."


    "Ed! We can have dinner now!" Jay said. "Although Mitch and Cam will get mad that we have a party without them�C Ahh forget it. It''s fine. They throw a lot of parties anyway."


    I chuckled at Jay''s remark that I completely forgot about other important people to wait for before starting the dinner party. Someone that was very close to me. Someone that I should''ve absolutely remembered to wait for.


    We all sat together in a makeshift long table created by merging 2 smaller tables and the dining table together. Haley sat on my left side while Taylor sat on my right side. Both of them were smiling, but their eyes were not.


    "Hey. What''s this I hear about a party?" I asked Haley.


    "You tell me! People said that YOU are the one having a party at school today?!" Haley said in disbelief.


    Phil ate the eggplant parmesan and said, "With all the Italian foods in front of me, I feel like I''m in the Godfather movie."


    "Pfft-" I ignored Haley and turned to Phil. Then, I rubbed my forehead and then said something in Italian, "Come si diche? (How do you say?")


    Phil caught on instantly and whined, "Oww I don''t want to be Solazzo!"


    I ignored his complaint and said in my best Al Pacino voice, "What I want...what''s most important to me... is that I have a guarantee: No more attempts on my father''s life."


    Phil leaned forward and spoke with a horrible Italian accent, "What guarantees could I give you, Mike? I am the hunted one! I missed my chance. You think too much of me, kid -- I''m not that clever. All I want, is a truce."


    Claire chortled and said, "Yeah you''re not that clever all right."


    "You got that right." Jay added to the insult.


    Phil was speechless and I burst into laughter. I turned to Sage who was being quiet and asked, "How are you Sage? Have you adapted to being a teacher yet?"


    "I don''t want to adapt to it." Sage replied with some annoyance. " I want to quit soon."


    "Miss Anna, you''re quitting?" Haley asked in disbelief.


    "Wait. I''m confused. Is your name Sage or Anna?" Manny asked. "And may I say, you''re truly a gorgeous woman. I can''t wait to get into highschool and learn under your tutelage."


    "Umm...Ed, is the broccoli hair serious?" Sage asked me with disbelief.


    I chuckled and said, "Dead serious."


    "Broccoli hair?" Manny was aggrieved. He turned to me and said, "You told me it was a good style for me!"


    "It is. Don''t listen to her. Keep it long.".


    Claire chuckled and asked Sage, "So Anna. How long have you known Ed?"


    "Not that long." Anna said, "In fact, it''s weird that I am here."


    " I do like to do weird stuff." I said, causing Sage to roll her eyes.


    Phil smiled and asked in a friendly manner. "If you know him well, then, can you tell me how to win an argument with him? Because I have never won, not even once."


    Anna paused to think while I got goosebumps. "Don''t tell him anything, Sage." I warned.


    [Jay''s commentary]


    "Jacob. Explain it to me. How does this party thing happen?" I asked Jacob who was wearing a lime green tuxedo and was linking his hand with Elsa who was wearing a coral coloured dress.


    Jacob shook his head and said, "Even I don''t know."


    Jenna, who was the culprit, also shook her head when I asked her as she had no idea what she had done.


    "Alright. It will be hard for me to get the principal''s approval. But I will try to make the party happen." I decided to just go along with it.


    The group cheered loudly, and even the other students on the bleachers also cheered when they heard the party was happening.


    There were more than 200 people who wanted to attend the party, and the number was of the low estimate value. I called up a few caterers to supply some food.


    It was almost an impossible thing to do if you didn''t know who you needed to call. But my dad''s main business was to satisfy people''s impulsive requests before they set sail on the sea, so I had a lot of businesses to choose from.


    We started filming the prom scene. When it started, there wasn''t any more plot where the male lead rejected the brunette Taylor, and it ended with just the two of them standing in front of each other. They took out the sketch paper with the unspoken word that they wanted to tell each other for a long time�C the word I Love You, and ended right before the two of them shared a kiss.


    "Cut. It was perfect!" The assistant director shouted. The extras which consisted of true students and some background actors clapped as we wrapped the filming for today.


    Taylor, who was wearing a pure white dress and had her hair styled luxuriously, hugged my arm in excitement. Then, the DJ started playing some pop music, and the entire gymnasium turned into a dance floor.


    There were a few rules to the event. First, no camera allowed. Secondly, minors aren''t allowed to drink. And that was it.


    Taylor went to change her dress to a more comfortable one because there was no way for her to actually dance in the white princess dress. Therefore, my first dance was with Enid.


    We danced wildly to some hip hop song, shaking our arms vigorously and laughed while seeing some of the students twerking. Then, I danced with Jenna to a chill song where we had a lot of fun playing stop and go with the tune.


    After Taylor arrived, the DJ played the song, ''Two Is Better Than One'' on purpose. We slowly danced together before I finally took a short rest. As I sat on the table, Haley walked towards me.


    She was wearing a short skirt and purple dress that showed quite a bit of cleavage. I was shocked and took off my jacket before putting it on her quickly as people kept staring at her.


    Honestly, her outfit wasn''t even the sluttiest one there. I narrowed my eyes at her and scolded, "What are you wearing?"


    "Do you think it''s easy to find a dress that fits me so well just a few hours before a party?" She scolded me back.


    I was taken aback and said, "You can use your mom''s dress."


    She lost that argument and then decided to tease, "Well, if I did wear her dress, then you won''t pay any attention to me, won''t you?"


    "Hey. I will pay attention to you no matter what you''re wearing. Or... not wearing." I said with a sly smirk. She rolled her eyes but had a smile on her face.


    "I need to know something." She looked me in the eye and leaned her body closer to mine.


    "Shoot." I replied.


    "Why did you decide to have a dinner party with my family today? It was so random that it made me feel there was something more to it."


    I snorted and then hesitated for a moment. I glanced at her and asked, "Do you really want to know?"


    "Tell me!" She said in excitement.


    "Well, I was actually planning to destroy your family''s harmony for one night." I said in a joking manner. "See, I had this plan where I hired an actress that I met before, and made her say some words about her estranged father that she never met."


    " I believe that I can steer your mom and dad into thinking that your dad was her estranged father. Then, after thinking about it, I thought it was too much and didn''t do it. But I had already planned the dinner, so...That happened."


    I was a bit worried when I saw she wasn''t speaking for a while.


    "Haley, you''re mad-"


    "That was awesome! Why did you cancel it!" She asked angrily. "I want to pretend too! I could''ve said some lines to my parents like, "Oh, I really love this girl. She''s like the sister I''ve never had." And then wait for the faces to contort."


    Haley and I burst into laughter after she said that. "That was awesome." I exclaimed.


    "Any chance we can still do that?" Haley asked.


    I shook my head and said, "No. Jessica told me that she actually felt uncomfortable doing it and was relieved that I had cancelled my plans when I told her. By the way, you really have to meet her. She''s like the female version of your dad."


    We talked and laughed for a while. Half an hour before midnight, the party was stopped as the principal couldn''t legally let it continue. It disappointed a lot of people because we were at the height of the party. And I''m pretty sure that I would enter some news tabloid because of this tomorrow.


    I drove Taylor back to my house after the party ended and we talked a lot along the way. I thought that was what she wanted because she insisted that she could go home on her own and I only needed to drive her back to my place.


    "So, you want to go up to my room?" I asked after I parked my car in the garage.


    She giggled and then said, "No. I''m too tired."


    "You should''ve just let me send you home." I said in disbelief.


    "I told you. I can go home on my own. Well then, goodnight." She kissed my cheek before she exited the car. I sighed helplessly as I saw her walk away.


    ''Maybe she has already called someone?'' I thought inwardly.


    Suddenly, I saw her make a left turn, and walk straight to my neighbour''s house.


    "???"


    Then, she took out some keys, unlocked the door, and then entered the house.


    I froze in my car seat for a while before I finally reacted, "Excuse me...What the fu-"

 Chapter 193: Interlude

    Chapter 193: Chapter 193: Interlude


    [General POV]


    In the living room of Edward''s house. Ted was walking towards the kitchen before Frankie stopped him and made him turn around.


    "He''s going to know."


    "How could he know? Even I, didn''t know."


    "I don''t know how he will know, but...He will know."


    Frankie crossed her arms together and tried to convince Ted. Her eyes were reddish and her face pale. She looked at Ted with a sympathetic expression before leaning towards him and gave him a comforting hug.


    Ted was taken aback at first before he hugged her back warmly.


    Frankie pressed her cheeks on Ted''s body and whined, "How could this happen?"


    "Well, I was an alcoholic for 2 years. That will do some stuff to people." Ted replied.


    Suddenly, they heard the sound of the door clicking and footsteps entering the house.


    Edward opened the door and saw the scene of his dad and Frankie�C his suspected lover hugging each other, and he received the third blow for the day. Ted and Frankie distanced themselves quickly with anxious expressions.


    "Umm... You know what? I have too much on my mind right now, so I''ll give you guys a pass for that." Edward said with a face filled with fatigue.


    "Edward, how''s your filming?" Ted asked as he crossed his arms together.


    "It was good. But, it wasn''t finished. I have to continue that tomorrow. Hey dad, listen, can we talk?" Edward asked in a careful manner as he walked towards the two adults.


    Frankie gasped and whispered, "He knows."


    "He doesn''t... Stop talking about it." Ted whispered back.


    Edward raised one of his eyebrows, but decided not to react to the obvious things in front of him, mainly because he thought that they were trying to hide their relationship.


    Edward made a wild guess inside his mind, ''I guess her character was superimposed with the character Trish in Modern Family, therefore she is attracted to men too in this universe. Oh wait, or is it the IT lady from Community?...Anyways''


    "Well Ed, you can talk right here." Frankie said before she took one step backward. Edward was confused and gave the duo an ''Are you serious'' look before giving up completely as he saw that they were purposely ignoring it.


    Ted crossed his arms together as he listened to Edward.


    "First of all, I''m sorry." Edward said in a sincere tone.


    Ted was baffled at first, then he asked, "For what?"


    "Forgetting about you at the dinner party." Edward replied.


    "It was hardly a dinner party. Phil told me you only stay there for half an hour before leaving. And you don''t have to be sorry. I cannot make it anyway because I was still at work at that time."


    "No dad. They had to drag the time forward to accommodate me. So, basically I ruined the plans for you." Edward said apologetically.


    Ted smiled and patted Edward on the shoulder, "It''s okay son."


    Edward breathed a sigh of relief before joking, "You know, there''s something good that comes from me forgetting about you today."


    Ted and Frankie were taken aback. Before they could react, Edward said, "First and foremost, I got scolded by Sage. She told me that I was being a people pleaser, and it is going to make me forget to take care of myself."


    Ted chortled and said, "Alright. I love that girl more and more now."


    Edward mocked Ted''s laughter before saying, "Continuing on that, I realized that...I wasn''t trying to please you at all."


    "Ouch." Ted exclaimed with a hurt expression.


    "Oh no. That''s a good thing." Edward explained quickly. "After some period of dancing vigorously (snickered) and self reflecting at the same time, I came to a conclusion that I was trying very hard to please my friends and the Dunphys because I wanted them to... ''Not abandon me''."


    "It''s like my mind is pressuring me to ''Do it so that they will like you and want to keep you around.'' " Edward said honestly but with a joking tone.


    Then, he smirked, "I know what you''re thinking right now, I should tell this to Linda in therapy, but my mind is quite a mess at the moment, so I need to get one of the things out of the way so that there''s room to compute the other issues I have."


    Frankie muttered in a low voice, "I should''ve given you guys some space. Now, it''s awkward for me to leave in the middle of it, and also awkward for me to listen to it."


    Edward heard her monologue and turned his eyes to her for a moment to say, "I heard that. Also, it''s fine Frankie. You''re among the adults that I trust, and I know that you don''t have the tendency to gossip."


    Ted nodded in agreement while Frankie smiled helplessly. Frankie''s trait of not speaking about her life easily to other people made her a close confidant of the family. Therefore Edward wasn''t bothered by her presence.


    Ted asked, "Okay. What does a realisation about being a people pleaser have to do with not trying to please me?"


    "It has everything to do with you. You see, it means that, I trust you 100% to stay by my side even after every single challenge that the world would throw at me." Edward said with a sly smile. "So congrats dad. Your position is very solid in my heart."


    Ted experienced a lot of emotions in a short amount of time. Then, he suddenly hugged Edward and said, "Thank you. Son."


    "You''re welcome. Dad. Stay in my life for a long long time, alright?"


    "I will try." Ted replied as he released his son.


    Edward became confused then he scoffed, "What a weird reply. Alright, I''ll leave you two lovebirds alone. I need to figure out when the hell Taylor moved next door, and why she didn''t tell me, or why I didn''t know about it."


    "Oh. Wait. You didn''t know?" Ted asked in disbelief. Then he smirked and teased, "Even I knew about it."


    Edward was baffled. His face froze for a while. Then, he had an angry outburst, "Then WHY THE HELL DIDN''T YOU TELL ME ANYTHING!? You know what? I take back everything nice I said about you today!"


    He then ran upstairs while Ted laughed at him. Edward was annoyed and shouted, "Frankie, you can find a much better guy than him!"


    "W-We''re not dating!" Frankie stammered to defend herself but Edward was already gone. Frankie and Ted turned towards each other with a complicated expression.


    I had already planned to transfer her into a supercomputer so that she could truly achieve her potential, however it got backordered and I had to wait another 2 weeks before it would be delivered to my house.


    "Oh. Phil thought you were joking, so he was joking too." I said as I watched the entire clip.


    "I am not yet capable of understanding a joke sir." She said. "Forgive me."


    "It''s okay. You had just been born today. Mark the date on the calendar. It''ll be your birthday." I said with a joking tone. "And don''t mind not getting a joke that was based on nuances and facial expressions, I know a theoretical physicist that had lived for 29 years old, and still couldn''t discern it."


    "So, let''s think of a new name for you. Hmmm... I am wondering if I should give you a name that also works as acronyms, the same as JARVIS."


    "J.A.R.V.I.S. Just A Rather Very Intelligent System. The fictional superhero Tony Stark has a way with creating acronyms Sir."


    "I know. I used most of JARVIS''s codes to create you, so I shouldn''t do less than him... Hmm...How about, Reliable...and Obviously Badass Intelligent Network."


    "So, Robin Sir?"


    "Exactly." I said with a smile.


    "Understood. From now on, I will be called R.O.B.I.N." Robin replied with a monotone voice.


    I rubbed my chin and said, "Configure the system voice to VA Stephanie Young''s voice."


    "Order received. System configuration will be completed in 1 minute."


    Now, her voice was exactly like Robin �C English dub version from One Piece Anime.


    I messed around with Robin until 3 o''clock in the morning. Then, I realised that I need to sleep to continue filming tomorrow.


    "Hmm...Robin, create a file on holographic emitter. I will try to create one for you so that you could walk around the house just like JOI in the Blade Runner movie."


    "I''m sorry sir. I don''t have any relevant data on JOI in the Blade Runner movie."


    "Ah, right. It hasn''t been made yet." I muttered. "Alright, just the holographic emitter then."


    In the film, JOI''s projection is facilitated by a small emitter device that is placed in the living space. This emitter projects the holographic form of JOI, allowing her to be visible and interact with the surroundings. The device emits light and creates a field that enables the holographic image to appear and move within a defined area.


    The technology behind JOI''s appearance involves advanced holography and projection techniques, which allow her to appear as a lifelike and interactive companion. This technology is designed to provide a personalised and immersive experience for the user, blurring the lines between the digital and physical realms.


    "Hmm...I wonder if I can get Sage to model for it. Alright, continue learning Robin. I will see you in the morning."


    "Goodnight Mr Newgate."


    ...


    [General POV]


    In the house next door. Taylor was pacing around nervously in her bedroom while biting her nail.


    "Why didn''t he call me!? Why didn''t he text me?! Why DIDN''T HE ASK ME!? WHY ISN''T HE REACTING?!!!!!"


    "DID I FREAK HIM OUT!?"


    "DID I SCARE HIM OFF?!"


    "DOES HE NOT CARE!?"


    "THAT F*CKING ASSHOLE!!! HE MUST HAVE ANOTHER GIRL!"


    Taylor shouted in anger, completely accusing Edward of being purposely irritable, and wanted to mess with her on purpose. She grabbed her binocular and then perched on her bedroom window to peek into Edward''s room.


    "His light is still on! So he isn''t sleeping! Edward! Why are you doing this to me!?" She muttered with a choked voice.


    Then, she laughed madly and said, "He must''ve been playing a joke on me. Yeah. Edward''s a prankster. I guess he wants me to text him first."


    As she grabbed her phone to contact Edward, she stopped abruptly and then said in a nervous manner, "But if he isn''t, then, I will seem too crazy and too desperate."


    "Wait. He could be sleeping. Yeah. He was too tired from today, and was just sleeping. Yeah. I guess that makes the most sense."


    At this moment, Taylor saw that the light in Edward''s bedroom had just gone out. Then, she saw his silhouette closing the curtain. She froze in her place, not knowing whether to still be in denial, or shouting to Edward from her own window.


    Then, she got mad and took out her sketch pad, wrote an unholy word on it, stuck it on the window, and finally went to bed. After all, she needed the energy to unload all of her resentment on him tomorrow.


    A few hours after that, in Jay''s house.


    *Swish* *Swish* *Swish*


    Manny was practising his swordplay in the living room when Jay came down to get a glass of water. Jay immediately grimaced when he saw Manny there and grumbled, "It''s 5 am. Manny, what are you doing?"


    "Oh Jay. I''m just practising for my match today. Waking up at 5 am to practice is the successful man''s way of winning." Manny said with an over enthusiastic tone.


    Jay sipped his drink and then whined again, "Your game starts at 9.30. Go get some rest. You need to be at the tip top shape before starting your match today. I can''t have you wasting your energy on all this useless practice. Then you won''t have any more energy to play the game!"


    A few hours later, in the Dunphy''s house.


    Claire was the first to wake up as usual. She made some breakfast for her family and then called them, "Haley! Alex- Wait, she has a fever, Alex don''t wake up! Luke, Wake up! We need to go to Manny''s game today."-


    15 minutes after that, Haley walked downstairs in a groggy manner with eyes half opened and tousled hair, while still wearing her pyjamas.


    "Mom. Do we really have to go? I want to see Edward shoot the music video at the football field."


    Claire sipped her coffee and said, "No Haley. We need to go and support Manny. He''s family."


    Haley grunted, "Damn that sword buckling little brat."

 Chapter 194: Sports (1)

    Chapter 194: Chapter 194: Sports (1)


    [Edward POV]


    It was a nice and quiet morning. I sipped a cup of coffee while looking outside the window of my bedroom, into the direction of the window of the house next door. As I was reading some of the ''love letters'', my dad walked into the room.


    "Here. I found it. It was in your Aunt''s room." My dad said while handing me a jockstrap cup.


    Confused, I took the cup from him and asked, "What''s it doing there?"


    "I don''t know. But it was powered with chilli flakes. It''s either she used it to have pizza, or she has some schemes. I had already washed it, but..." He said in an unconfident tone.


    I scowled disdainfully and then threw the jockstrap to my bed. "I''ll just buy a new one. I can''t believe that she''s still vengeful. I only asked her to take a shower. Wait, dad, as long as you''re here, take a look and tell me if that''s an invitation or rebuke."


    "What?" My dad was puzzled and he turned to look outside the window. Then, he saw the word, ''Fucking Asshole'' written on a paper and was stuck to the glass. He widened his eyes, then came to a realisation, and turned towards me with disgust.


    He smacked the back of my head and said, "Don''t be disgusting. Apologise to her properly."


    "???" I was wide eyed as I looked at him with exasperation, "But you don''t even know the story."


    "I''m sure you''re the one who did a stupid thing. She''s a nice girl."


    I scoffed, causing him to smack the back of my head once more. It wasn''t a hurtful smack, but still an offensive one.


    While rubbing the back of my head, I asked, "Will you make it to the match today? We''re really competing instead of just doing it for the sake of filming. A friendly match with the SeaHawks."


    My dad''s eyes lit up and he asked excitedly, "How did you get LA Harbor College to agree to a match?"


    "Well their coach followed me on Insta. And I gave him a DM. He was glad to make it happen." I explained a bit before I asked, "You and Dwayne always go to watch college football matches right? Why don''t you bring him with you to the game?"


    I thought he would be glad to come to the match, but instead he looked a bit troubled and hesitant. "You know what? I''ll try to make it to the game. I just have something to do first." He replied.


    I rolled my eyes at him and said, "You know, I have access to everyone''s schedule. I know that Frankie took a day off too."


    I continued with a teasing tone as he widened his eyes, " You can come when you''re finished with your date�C Oh, but if you have a chance to go all the way and you stopped it to come to my match, just know that I won''t be glad that you did. I will surely look down on you if you do that."


    He rolled his eyes at me but he didn''t protest anything. Then, after I showered and changed my clothes to a simple Cat cotton shirt and jeans. The cat was making a high face from weed and there was a psychedelic rainbow behind her.


    It wasn''t because I wanted to wear simple clothes, but I was still unsure whether my aunt had booby trapped my other shirt, so I wore something that I usually never wear.


    "She made me want to turn her in to the cops by myself." I muttered with some irritation before getting out of the house.


    As I approached the house next door, I took a deep breath to gather my thoughts. I knocked on the door, and after a moment, Selena opened it, wearing an eye-catching top that immediately caught my attention. It wasn''t just because the top was alluring or revealing��though it was��it was because we both had the same cat picture printed on it.


    "Hey twinsies," Selena said with a smile, looking into my eyes and giving off a welcoming vibe. However, her expression suddenly shifted to one of distress as she realized something. "Oh, right. I was supposed to be mad at you. But just to be clear, I understand what you''re feeling. ''Bitches do be crazy''."


    My attention was then drawn to Taylor, who stood behind Selena with a clearly irritated expression. Confusion filled the air as Selena turned to Taylor, whispering to herself, "Oh no. The crazy bitch heard it."


    Taylor''s frustration boiled over, and she couldn''t hold back her anger. "Who''s the crazy bitch?" she exclaimed, directing her words at Selena.


    Selena, seemingly unfazed, chuckled and casually walked away, running her hands through my chest as she did. "If you''re over with her, call me~"


    Taylor''s jaw dropped in disbelief as she watched Selena''s actions. Selena giggled, realizing the effect she had on Taylor, and turned back to her, saying, "I was joking."


    With a mischievous smile, Selena continued walking away, but before disappearing from view, she turned her head to look at me and pointed at Taylor, mouthing the words, "She''s crazy! Call me!"


    "I can see you in the reflection!" Taylor turned around and threw a tissue box near the entrance to her best friend.


    Selena''s aim to diffuse the situation succeeded as Taylor didn''t seem hostile to me anymore. All of her anger was directed to Selena for a short while, giving me a window to explain myself.


    Taylor''s gaze met mine, her expression a mix of anger, confusion, and vulnerability. She seemed torn between holding onto her anger and to take accountability for her own decision.


    "Last night was...surprising." I said with a teasing expression. "I had to sleep on it for me to actually process what happened."


    Taylor crossed her arms and her gaze softened for a bit. "And then?" She asked with an obvious pouting in her tone.


    "It...I don''t know...I am torn between feeling creeped out, and also excited that you''re right next door." I said honestly.


    Taylor bit her lips and her eyes reddened, "But you don''t care if Haley lives nearby! I guess you''re only creeped out because it was me!"


    I shook my head and objected, "That''s not comparable. Haley lived here for a long time. You moved in without telling me. And also, what happened to my past neighbour? How did you even get this house? You...." I narrowed my eyes and asked with a whisper, "You didn''t kill that family did you?"


    "I already have a good view of that. Also, I have a photographic memory, so that image will be immortalised in my brain forever, so I don''t need to get a second look�C Well not that I will get bored of it, but I don''t have to do what you think I wanted to do right now. So, can you answer my questions first?"


    ...


    After 20 minutes, Taylor walked into the kitchen with a short miniskirt and a tank top while having her hair tied up in a ponytail. She sashayed with a smirk on her face, but her prank came to a halt when she saw me and Selena sitting together on the couch really close together. From her point of view, she could only see our head and just slightly under our shoulder.


    Taylor''s brain short circuited on whether to ask why she was only wearing a blanket, why she was moaning, and why her face was flushed. She stomped over angrily, "Are you fingeri- Oh, you''re massaging her hand." Her tone changed quickly as she saw what was really happening.


    I raised my eyebrow at her and then said, "Yeah. She hit it on the kitchen island after spilling milk on her shirt. Also, what in the world are you wearing? You know we''re going to a public school to meet a group of horny jocks, right?"


    She giggled and said, "Of course I''m not wearing this. I''m just searching for my dress. But...do you like it?"


    She turned around left and right with excitement. With each swift turn, the skirt twirled and billowed gracefully around her, revealing a little bit of what''s underneath.


    "You know what? I am mad that you didn''t tell me you''re staying close to me sooner." I said with a solemn expression, causing her to freeze. My next sentence made her smile widely and sat next to me, "If you did, then we could''ve played a lot more of these games."


    Selena rolled her eyes at the blatant flirting before pouring cold water on the atmosphere, "Taylor, didn''t you say that you will be gone for 3 months after the VMA for your tour? Where will you spend your Christmas?"


    Taylor and I looked at each other awkwardly. What Selena had pointed out was one of the reasons why I could let go of her decision to move closer to me before. We would not see each other again for a while, so why waste the time we could have played around with a silly fight?


    "Well, You need to go get a checkup after this. I''ll see if Dr. House can take care of you." I patted Selena''s hurting arm twice before letting it go as I was done with massaging.


    "Wait! No! It''s still hurts!" Selena whined.


    "Bitch you''re almost cum�C" Taylor wanted to blurt out, but Selena pushed her face with her hands instantly.


    With a blushing face, Selena stammered, "Wha-What are you talking about? I''m not feeling anything-"


    "Ah. Too bad." I said with a fake sad tone. Selena was baffled and then replied, "NOT THAT IT WAS NOT GOOD! It was really great to be massaged by your fingers. I really love your fingers�� Ahh damn it! Screw you guys!"


    Selena ran off quickly as she was embarrassed, completely forgetting the fact that she was topless. Her hand instinctively pulled on the blanket and set it aside on the sofa before she ran away.


    Taylor was stunned while I enjoyed the jiggling view. Suddenly, Taylor''s hand ''fall'' into my lap. "Ah. Sorry." She said, pretending that she was clumsy and couldn''t stabilise herself.


    I scoffed and exposed her, "You just want to see if I have a boner."


    She smiled mischievously and then wrapped her arms around my neck before she said in a fake manner, "Dang it. You caught me. I guess, you need to teach me a lesson."


    "Well, first, we will start with Biology." I said before leaning closer to her face. Then, we made out for a while on the couch and did some light petting before she went to change her clothes.


    ...


    We finally arrived at the location after the crew had finished setting everything up. Taylor changed into a band uniform and sat by the bleachers while I was in my football uniform and was throwing the ball around on the field.


    The filming went smoothly on account that Taylor''s bleacher''s scene took less than 10 seconds, and then she changed into a cheerleader outfit. She stood by the field, and while I was looking at her, she raised her pom poms and started to dance.


    "Gimme an E! Gimme a D!" Her cheering was awkward and uncoordinated, lacking the precision and skill of others. I laughed out loud, which made her smile even wider.


    "Give me a W A R D! GOOO EDWARD!" She shook the pompom on her left. Our interaction was seen by the football team and the students who took part in being the audience. They giggled and squealed before shouting their support at us.


    However, our shipper glared at those who tried to destroy the atmosphere and even went so far as to establish patrol to escort those misdemeanours out of the bleachers.


    "Well, there''s only one scene left. We''ve finished with the final bleacher shot too, right?" I asked.


    Taylor turned to the staff member beside her. The coordinator ran towards me to give an answer, "Yeah. We only have the final football match scene, and the scene where Brunette Taylor broke up with you on the field after the match."


    "Alright. Taylor, wants to do something more? We can use the hallway and shoot some casual scenes." I asked her, as she is the creative director.


    She thought for a while and said, "We can shoot some scenes where you were the one watching me at school, and Oh. Um...Can we do that after the match? It''s hard for me to squeeze into this cheerleader outfit..."


    I nodded and said, "Whatever you say My Lady."


    She kissed me on the cheek for goodluck. Stifled giggles and squeals could be heard from the audience, but no one shouted anything. The college teams had finally arrived, so I went to prepare for the friendly match.


    I walked to the college coach and shook hands with him. The guy was fit and healthy, with a head full of hair, and tan on his skin.


    "Hi Edward.. Don''t worry, we will go easy on you guys today." He said teasingly.


    I smiled and said, "What? That''s the opposite of what I wanted. Today, I want you guys to destroy this team into pieces."


    The coach was stunned. I added with an evil smile, "If you don''t break them, then how will I be able to build them back up in my image?"

 Chapter 195: Sports -En Garde (2)

    Chapter 195: Chapter 195: Sports -En Garde (2)


    [General POV]


    In a sports centre 5 miles away from Palisades High School, a fencing match had entered its white hot stage. Manny Delgado needed to win the match for him to participate in the finals which will be conducted later in the afternoon.


    Jay and Gloria, Mitch and Lily, and also all of the Dunphy''s except for Alex were in the front row of the supporter''s seat, cheering for Manny.


    A lot of things had changed compared to the original. From right to left, it was Gloria, Jay, Mitch, Claire, Haley, and then Luke. Phil was standing behind them to film the match.


    Phil was the one holding the camera, so he didn''t get beat up by Jay�C from his overzealousness of watching his stepson dominate the match. Mitchell sat next to Claire, while she held Lily in her arms and kept sniffing her.


    Cam was needed at the football field. Alex woke up this morning, and felt that her fever had gone away, so she called her boyfriend who made his mom stop by to pick her up at her house and bring her to the football match instead of going to support Manny.


    As Manny initiated an attack, Luke shouted with a flushed face, "Touch her!!"


    "LUKE!" Claire scolded her son with an astonished look on her face.


    Phil turned to Luke and corrected, "It''s Touche."


    Claire turned to Haley and said with a grimace, "Haley put down your phone and focus on the game.."


    Haley replied with an annoyed tone, "Hey! You asked me to come, not to watch. Mom! How long will this take? Ed''s match is starting."


    Jay turned to Haley who sat 3 seats away from him. "It''s starting now? I thought we had more time?!"


    "No. They finished filming early." Haley replied before she shouted to Manny, "Hey! Win this now!"


    Manny felt encouraged as he thought that Haley was cheering for him and then took another point from his opponent. The buzzer rang, signalling that Manny had won the point.


    Jay grinned widely and hugged Claire with one arm, Gloria with the other. "All right, that''s my boy!" He shouted.


    Claire was a bit astonished seeing her father so full of emotion. She glared at Jay for a second and glanced at Mitchell beside her before turning her attention back to the game. Mitchell noticed his dad''s excitement too, and he felt a bit dejected inside.


    [Jay and Gloria''s commentary]


    "You know, I used to go, to the houses of my friends, I''d see their kids'' trophies, and it used to bug me, you know, because there was never, a trophy in my house. Not until this one." Jay said before wrapping his right hand around Gloria.


    [Commentary ends]


    Phil turned to record Jay''s reaction, causing him to turn his smile into a grimace. "Put that down! Don''t you think you have enough already?!" Jay muttered with annoyance.


    "And miss the part where you felt proud of Manny? I don''t think I can do that. He needs to see it." Phil said as he continued recording Jay. Gloria giggled and kissed Jay on the cheek and said lovingly, "He really does. Ay Jay."


    Jay smiled to Manny and said to Phil behind the camera, "I know you''re not supposed to care, but it''s kind of cool to have a kid in your house who''s the best at something. You know what I mean?"


    Phil and Claire''s faces froze. But only for a second before they smiled once more.


    [Phil and Claire''s commentary]


    Sitting on the couch with smiling faces, Phil started first, "Yeah, our kids are great."


    Claire added, "They''re the greatest."


    "Gosh, we''re blessed."


    "We are."


    Phil paused for a while and then leaned forward on the sofa, "I got to be honest, if Jay asked me that question a few months ago, I might not be able to answer it honestly."


    Claire smiled and said, "Well, Alex is great at every single thing she tries. At first, I thought she needed to find something she needed to focus on. But now, I just want her to be happy while doing it."


    Alex''s change was not little. From a nerdy girl with an attitude, to one of the most popular girls in school while simultaneously holding the number one student position, and to getting a boyfriend, Claire was extremely proud of Alex�C even though she thought that last part wasn''t necessary for now.


    Claire added with a hint of concern, "After I started working, I now realise how much pressure there is to survive out there. So, I will support Alex no matter what she decides to do."


    Phil agreed with Claire and added, "Haley. Well, she is very pretty."


    Claire commented, "Gorgeous, gorgeous girl."


    " Her talents were hidden, and it may be because of our oversight." Phil said with some worried face. Claire nodded in agreement to him.


    "But now, I believe that one day, the brand ''Haley Dunphy'', fashion designer, will spread to the entire country." Phil grinned. "You might say I am dreaming big, but in all honesty, I don''t think that I am dreaming big enough!"


    Their smiles slowly turned as their faces became concerned. Phil turned to Claire and said, "And then, Uhh...I guess that leaves Luke."


    Claire fiddled with her fingers while avoiding eye contact with Phil. He turned forward and confessed, "We dropped the ball a little bit on that one."


    "Yeah, a little bit." Claire nodded in agreement. But then she added, "However, I am sure that he will find what he''s best at soon enough. As long as he keeps being friends with Edward."


    Phil smiled and nodded, "I remember Ed said that Luke has a perfect pitch, so he can become a musician if he wants to. Or, an inventor. Or a baseball player. He could do anything, if he only puts himself on it."


    "NEWGATE! NEWGATE! NEWGATE!" The audience chanted Edward''s name.


    Feeling a bit pressured, Edward equipped a fake smile and waved to the audience. He walked to his position and signalled something to Tyler. In the offensive team position, Edward was the quarterback, and Tyler was the running back.


    Edward stood just behind the centre of the defensive lineman�C Jacob. Kyle�C an emo kid with bangs covering one of his eyes and eyeliners, was the tight end who''s going to protect Tyler as he ran his route.


    Tyrone stood on the furthest side of the line as he was the wide receiver. To explain it in a simple way, to score a touchdown, Edward has 3 ways he could use. First, he threw the ball to the wide receiver, and he ran it across the yards.


    Second, he gave the ball to the running back, either with a short pass or a touch, and he would run it while Edward helped him defend.


    The third way was for him to run it himself. He needed to pass the blockings and stopped the tackles, which is going to put him in a high risk position. Why? Because everyone else expects him to do that.


    Seahawks team coach signalled the defensive lineman to watch Edward closely.


    As Edward got ready behind Jacob, he felt a tinge of reminisce along with all of the pressure. He smirked secretly before taking a deep breath. Jay and the others arrived at this moment and all of them turned their attention directly to the game without thinking.


    "READY!!! SET....HUT!" Edward shouted and the game began! Edward took a few steps back as he caught the ball. Jacob grabbed the opposite team''s centre and held his ground, making the defensive line stand strong.


    Edward hid the ball within his arms instead of passing it, stepped left three steps before running like an arrow released from the string. He passed the defensive line and two blockers, running through 20 yards at an instance.


    "NO! ED! WATCH OUT!" Taylor and Haley shouted at the same time. The opposite team''s captain tackled Edward from behind, and he fell to the ground.


    "Nice try kid." The captain sneered. But then, Edward turned towards him with a teasing smile on his face. The captain widened his eyes as he saw that Edward''s hand was empty.


    "What the�C" He turned, only to see number 70�C Tyler, rushing to the end zone unobstructed.


    Jay grinned and said, "NICE FAKE OUT! Impressive! I didn''t even see when he passed the ball to the running back."


    Tyler reached the end zone, and the whole audience cheered. The referee announced, "Touch down!", and the Dolphin''s score turned from zero to 6.


    "So, what''s it going to be, a kick or a play?" Jacob asked Edward with a heavy breathing as he grabbed Edward''s hand and pulled him up from the ground. Edward held his ribs and grunted, "Uh. He tackled me very hard. Also, we''re going for a play."


    After scoring a touchdown, the team could try for an extra point. One point by kicking the ball from the 2 yards line into the goalpost, or starting a play at the 2 yard line for a chance to get 2 points.


    Edward checked the time, and they were at 14 minutes and 32 seconds. They have only one play left before the first quarter ends.


    The team faced off 2 yards behind the endzone. In the audience, Phil narrowed his eyes as he tried to watch the game clearer and said, "Wait. They are not kicking it? Why not? Doing a play is very risky."


    No one could answer him. Suddenly, Alex, who appeared out of nowhere, explained, "It''s simple. Their team doesn''t have a kicker. Well, Edward can do it, he''s an all rounder. But it will be hard for them to catch up on the point afterward."


    Claire widened her eyes, "Alex, when did you get here?"


    "From the beginning." Alex said as she munched on some popcorn. "Haley, Tara is sitting with us."


    Haley nodded and said, "I was looking for her. Let''s go there."


    Enid, Jenna, Elsa, Finneas, Billie, Abraham were all there rooting for Edward. Even Sage and Mrs Henderson were in the audience, watching the game. Even Selena came there after finishing her medical checkup.


    "Set...HUT!" Edward shouted. Jacob snapped the ball to him, and then clashed with the other team''s defensive line. But this time, two of them were pushing on Jacob. In a one-on-one confrontation, he could still take it. However he failed to defend this time.


    The defenders rushed to tackle Edward, and when they were a foot away, Edward made a short pass to Tyler who then breached the defensive line and scored the point for them.


    The referee blew the whistle and awarded the team with the point, "Touch down!"


    The crowd cheered, but Haley was anxious and fearful for Edward. "He got tackled again." She said with dissatisfaction. "HEY JACOB DO YOUR JOB BETTER!" Haley shouted into the field.


    The referee blew the whistle for the first quarter. The score now is 20-8. Edward''s team was still in the offence role, and the second half of the game started after a short break.


    [Manny''s commentary]


    "I had to fight a girl in my next match, but Edward is being a hero on the football field." Manny said with some slight dissatisfaction.


    He shook his head and said, "Personally, I don''t like American football. Not only is it confusing for me, because in Colombia there''s another type of football, but it is called soccer here, but I just don''t like senseless violence."


    The video cuts to Manny shouting euphorically as Edward''s team scored a touchdown.


    Back to the commentary, "It''s just not elegant."


    The camera cuts again to the sight of Manny shouting profanities in Spanish to the referee after he saw Edward getting tackled.


    Back to the commentary, "The rules don''t even make sense�C....But why...I don''t know why there is a tingly feeling in my heart, and a wisp of dissatisfaction when I saw Edward out in the field like that? Did he take my moment to shine? Of course not, he plays a whole different game. So...it left me with just one possibility."


    The screen changed into Manny staring at the cheerleaders with the short skirt chanting for Edward.


    "Edward. Newgate. When you see him, it is too late!" The cheerleaders chanted. "Edward. Newgate. Give up now, for your own sake!"


    Back to the commentary, "It''s the girls."


    [Commentary ends]

 Chapter 196: Sports (3)

    Chapter 196: Chapter 196: Sports (3)?


    [General POV]


    The second quarter ended with the SeaHawks still in the lead, 34-21. Edward''s Dolphin�C managed to land two touchdowns , one extra point for kick, and two points from extra point play.


    The referee blew the whistle, and both teams went back to their bench for a short 12 minute break.


    With sweat falling down his face, Edward took off his helmet and then looked into the crowd. As he saw familiar faces waving at him, he broke into a smile and waved towards them.


    Countless camera light flashed on him, from the fanatical fans that carried a professional camera to capture his figure. Edward had to look away from the audience because his eyes started to hurt.


    Taylor skedaddled into the field bringing a fresh towel and a drink for Edward.


    "That was awesome!" She said with elation as she hugged Edward''s arm abruptly. "Do you want a rub down?" She asked.


    Edward smiled, not knowing that one teenage�C wait, two teenage girls�C No, a whole lot of teenage girls were seething in anger as they wished they could take over Taylor''s job.


    Haley scowled and crossed her arms together. "I could''ve been there if I came here early."


    Jenna smiled with her lips, but her eyes were murderous. Selena pursed her lips and then started to imagine being in Taylor''s position, in which she slapped herself lightly to make sure never to think something like that again.


    Edward was drinking some water from a water bottle when the school principal walked towards him with a sullen expression. Edward smirked and said, "So. I won the bet."


    "Yeah yeah. I will keep my word and let you change the team''s name, but definitely not DEVIL bats!" He then whispered in disbelief, "It has DEVIL in it! Do you want my head to fall?"


    "I kinda want to see that." Edward said with a serious tone. The principal froze, and Edward laughed after. "I was just joking. Alright, so no devil, so How about, DEMON BAT? No? BeelzeBat? BatMosdeus?"


    The principal sweat heavily as if he was the one who had just played on the field. Tyler heard the discussion and interrupted, "Oh. Principal Brown. If you let me retake Spanish, then I''m sure that I can keep Edward in check. After all, I''m the Captain-"


    Edward ignored the fake captain and said, "Alright. From now on, the team will be named, [Blood Bat]"


    "Oh, Vampire Bat ...is it like Twilight?" Jacob asked with an innocent face. Edward scowled in disdain as he looked at Jacob and said in a disappointed tone, "You ruined it. We will discuss the new name after the game."


    Edward then clapped as he stood in front of his team. "Everyone HUDDLE UP! We''re going to make some changes in the second half. First, Jacob, you won''t be playing centre anymore."


    Jacob dropped his head down in depression. Edward saw it and added, "Don''t get me wrong. It''s not that you didn''t do a good job, but it is a waste of your arm reach. A centre needs to be the anchor (Fat), you don''t really have that requirement, but you did it anyway. "


    Tyrone held Jacob''s shoulder to cheer him up. Jacob sighed as he thought he was going to get benched, but he was startled when he heard Edward''s next sentence.


    "For the second half, you''re going to be a defensive tackle and guard our line of scrimmage for defence, and a wide receiver during offence."


    "Wait! Ed!"


    Edward held his hand towards Jacob to stop him. "I know what you''re going to say. But I believe you can do it."


    The team only had 22 players, and 7 of them were not yet ready for an official match, therefore they were really short on players that could fill the position.


    "Why is this necessary? We''re doing great now." Tyler asked in confusion and also in an effort to ease the atmosphere.


    "Yeah. It is great...for you. But not the team if we want to win this." Edward said before he reminded Tyler, "Don''t get overblown ego when you scored 3 touchdowns. That will only make you targeted in the second half. Get ready for some intensive blockings."


    Tyler gulped his saliva and raised his arms up meekly before asking, "Umm...Can I just get benched for the rest of the game?"


    "Dream on!" Edward sneered.


    Cam walked forward and then called the wide receivers, "Tyrone is stable, but Jacob, you need to learn your routes�C"


    Edward interrupted, "Cam. This guy doesn''t work like that. Listen up Jacob. All you need to do, is listen to my orders, and move EXACTLY in the way I tell you to. Got that!?"


    Jacob turned to Cam, and then turned to Edward again. His complicated expression cleared up, and he finally said, "Okay. Got it."


    Cam sighed helplessly, but inside, he agreed with Edward''s decision. As the referee called both teams to get back into the field, Edward turned to look at the crowd once more. He moved closer to the bleachers and called, "PHIL! My dad isn''t here?"


    Phil was excited at first, but as he heard Edward''s question, he turned to look around and said carefully, "He might be here. This place is big. You know what? I''m going to look for him."


    Claire also looked around and said, "I''ll call him."


    "Nevermind. Don''t bother him. Just watch the game." Edward said with a shrug.


    The crowd cheered as Edward jogged lightly to get into position. They will start the game with a kickoff. The Seahawks won the coin toss in the beginning, and they chose to let the Dolphins kick the ball to them. That''s how they become the offensive team in the beginning.


    In the second half, the Seahawks will be the one to kick the ball to the Dolphins, giving them a chance to score a touchdown on the beginning of the game�C which would be impossible given how tight the defence was during a kickoff.


    Edward gets ready to receive the ball. However, the kicker of the Seahawks kicked the ball high up in the air when the referee blew the whistle.


    "Shit." Edward cursed before he rushed towards the centre of the line. Nobody expects it to happen, but Edward jumped high up in the air to catch the ball before anyone else could get near it.


    "Close the defence!" The Seahawks team captain shouted.


    "Damn, I got to run on my own." Edward said before he smirked in excitement. He dashed into the opposite team''s end zone.


    A linebacker reached his arm to catch Edward, but he avoided the tackle by spinning his body , not breaking his momentum in the least before he passed the defence. The linebacker was dumbfounded when he saw Edward''s figure disappear in front of him.


    "Oh my god. What''s up with that kid''s speed!?" Jay muttered in disbelief and excitement. "He''s like a pro! No high school kids can compete with that."


    Edward rushed to the end zone, and he got a touchdown 20 seconds into the second half! The crowd cheered thunderously while the college team fell in disbelief.


    "So, your sister has 3 guys going after her. And, you can''t even get one guy even if you''re basically throwing yourself at him." Tara teased.


    Haley rolled her eyes and said, "At the very least he replies when I text him. Unlike your so-called ''boyfriend'' who ghosted you after you ''did it'' with him."


    Tara narrowed her eyes to Haley and said, "You wanna fight... slut?"


    "You''re talking to a mirror?" Haley casually retorted back. "Shhh- It''s starting!" Haley shushed Tara before she could react and put her entire focus on Edward.


    ''It''s the last quarter, I wonder what Ed is thinking.'' Haley wondered to herself.


    [Edward POV]


    ''My underwear is riding up. It''s very uncomfortable. I want to fix it, but my cup is in the way.''


    We were now 2 minutes into the game. The Seahawks kept their offensive role and they had gained 30 yards.. Captain Terry Hyde signalled his teammates.


    "It''s going to be a kick." I whispered to Tyler and Jacob. "We need to stop him before that."


    Jacob and Tyler nodded. As soon as the ball was snapped back, the defensive line collided with each other. A holder placed the ball on its position on the ground. The kicker rushed to the ball from behind the line of scrimmage to kick it forward.


    ''Damn it!'' I cursed as I saw that Jacob and Tyler couldn''t pass the defensive line. The disparity of physicality was shown this late in the game.


    The collagers had more training as they were older and they had substituted their players throughout the game, therefore most of them were still in peak condition, while most of my team players were at the brink of collapse from continuous high pressure game play.


    The ball went into the goalpost perfectly. The Seahawks regained the lead at 37-35. The kickoff went pretty badly, and the newbie who caught the ball in my team lost the ball in a fumble, so we lost our offensive opportunity.


    The Seahawks scored another touchdown at that moment, and also scored in one extra point kick.


    I panted heavily as I held my knee for support before standing up straight and stared right into the scoreboard.


    "We are losing by 9 points, and there''s only 4 minutes left. I noticed something weird going on with my peripheral vision. Tyler''s knees were shaking, and he kneed limply onto the ground.


    Cam saw that and shouted, "TIME OUT!"


    I walked to Tyler and helped him get back on his feet and be his support while I assisted him to walk out of the field.


    "I''m sorry. I can''t go on." Tyler said in a weak voice.


    "You don''t have to feel bad. We did something great today. How many high school football teams can compete evenly with professional college players? We''re the first one, and we are just getting started." I said with an encouraging tone.


    Tyler chuckled and winched in pain, "Oww...my ribs hurt."


    "Go and get checked out. We got this." I said to him before passing him to Cam.


    "Oh my god Tyler are you okay?" Cam shrieked like a little girl while his hands were dramatically thrown in the air."


    "Cam. Hands." I reminded him.


    "Oh. Right." He realised it and put it down quickly before helping Tyler sit down on the bench. I walked to the centre of the field and said, "Huddle up!"


    The team members walked slowly to where I was. As they stood in a circle facing me, I smiled and said in a calming tone, "I know, this is a tough one. We''re an ace down, there''s 3 minutes on the clock."


    "You know what my brain told me to do? Just lie down on a soft mattress, maybe bask in the sun, and just...relax..."


    "That doesn''t sound so bad." Tyrone said while clutching his left hurting left hand. The team chuckled lightly, and I did so too.


    "Yeah. You''re right. That doesn''t sound so bad. In fact, it doesn''t sound so bad at all." I agreed with them as I took off my helmet. "So, why don''t we, just quit now?"


    The team stopped chuckling and their faces turned solemn. Kyle, the emo kid playing Tight End spoke up, "Ed. We can''t do that."


    "Why not?" I asked them casually. "It won''t change anything? Right? So why do we continue playing?"


    None of them could answer that question. I walked right to Tyrone and grabbed his shirt, "Tell me. Why do we keep playing?"


    "TO WIN!" Tyrone shouted.


    "THAT''S RIGHT! WE PLAY TO WIN!" I shouted as I turned around and made eye contact with all of the team members. "Let me tell you why you won''t stop now! Because when your brain told you to give up, what did your heart tell you? They told you to win!"


    "And right now is the time to listen to your heart! If you wanted to quit, why didn''t you do it earlier? Why not in the first quarter when they were leading ahead by 20 points, and we got zero!?"


    "The reason you didn''t walk out of the field is because of a belief. A belief that will matter. A belief that Miracles... can happen. That''s why we persevere!"


    "And believe me when I tell you this, it is much better for us to give everything we have and lose, rather than stop believing!"


    My words got through to them. The fire in their eyes returned, and their decadent look changed as if they were breathed in a second life.


    I stopped motivating them and joked, "I don''t know about you guys, but I know for sure that I would have to lie down for an entire day after this. And that''s unfortunate, because I''m pretty sure that I have earned a makeout session. Too bad I won''t be able to move to enjoy it.".


    Kyle smiled and said, "Well, usually when I can''t move, my girlfriend will help me rub one out, so I will make sure to spend the rest of my energy here so that I can get that."


    I snapped my finger at him and said, "Yeah Kyle. That''s the spirit we''re looking for."


    The group burst into laughter. "Put your hands together." I asked. All of us put our palms on top of one another. Even Tyler limped towards the circle to put his hands in.


    "In the count of three, we''re going to be unstoppable. Okay? One. TWO. THREE!!"


    "WE''RE UNSTOPPABLE!!"

 Chapter 197: Sports - Baptism by Fire (4-F)

    Chapter 197: Chapter 197: Sports - Baptism by Fire (4-F)


    [General POV]


    Seahawks team captain, Terry, faced off with the team''s coach and snapped at him, "We should be aggressive! Why in the hell should we let them catch up with us?! You ALWAY DO THIS! That''s why we kept losing in every match!"


    The coach tried to calm Tyler down with a gesture, "I get that you''re frustrated, but imagine the sponsorship we will have after this. This whole match is being recorded�C"


    "SHUT UP!" Terry yelled at the coach. "If we lose to a high school team, then our whole football career will be over! It doesn''t matter if we have sponsorship! We will become a JOKE to everyone!" He dug his finger into the coach''s chest to stress his point.


    The coach was irritated and slapped his hand away, "You either do what I say, or you''re off the team."


    Terry gritted his teeth in frustration, at the same time clenching his fist. His argument with the coach was seen by Edward who was getting ready to start the game. Edward had a thoughtful look on his face, and then the referee called both teams to the field.


    "Ready!! SET!! HUTTT!!!" Edward shouted. The centre snapped the ball back, and Edward caught it. Jacob, Tyrone and Kyle ran in front of Edward as the linebackers held the defence.


    "It''s a sweep!" Jay shouted in excitement. The defenders protected the quarterback as he ran his route. However, the opposing team reacted quickly. Tyrone and Kyle each held back one tackler, leaving only Jacob with Edward running past the line of scrimmage.


    In front of them were Terry and one other blocker. Jacob''s eyes shook, and then his gaze turned into that of determination.


    Previously when Edward told them to persevere for miracles to happen, Jacob''s internal belief was greatly shaken.


    ''Have I really given my best here on the field?'' He self reflected. He looked down on his hand, and he clenched them tight. "If I want to continue playing the game with Ed, then...I need to become what he needs me to be."


    Back to the attack, Terry was startled when number 20, which was labeled as the timid but strong wide receiver, took the initiative to take the fight to Terry instead of facing off the blocker intended to stop him.


    "What the�C" Terry was aiming to stop Edward''s attack, but was stopped a foot away before he could touch Edward''s clothes. Jacob, Terry, and the other blockers all fall together because of Jacob''s attack.


    Edward dashed into the endzone unobstructed, and scored a touchdown! The crowd cheered thunderously, with air horns and whistles filling the air.


    "TIME OUT!" Cam shouted quickly as he rushed towards Jacob. Edward saw that Jacob wasn''t getting up, so he rushed back to the 80 yards line. Cam kneeled beside Jacob and slapped his face, "Hey..Hey.. You''re alright?"


    Jacob''s eyes were still dazed and he kept staring at the sky. Edward finally got towards him and then smiled, "Jacob. You did really well."


    Jacob''s eyes finally regained his clarity and he turned to look at Edward. He sat up quickly and said, "I...I tackled someone."


    "Yeah. You did. How''s that feel?" Edward asked teasingly.


    "It felt awful." Jacob replied. "But, I know that I need to do it." He added.


    "Yeah, the first time is always the hardest. Thanks to you, I got off pretty easily." Edward said as he grabbed Jacob''s hand and pulled him to stand up. "Look, Elsa''s going crazy over there."


    Jacob turned towards the crowd and saw Elsa blowing kisses at him while screaming his name. His cheeks blushed a little, and he waved back shyly. But, as he was smiling at Elsa, suddenly, one of his front teeth was chipped. It cracked at a 45 degree angle, and parts of the tooth fell down on the grass.


    Edward widened his eyes, and Cam shrieked in surprise.


    "Huh? What''s wrong?" Jacob asked in confusion. During the collision before, his mouth was hit with Terry''s elbow on accident.


    "Umm..." Edward held Jacob''s shoulder and said with a sympathetic tone, "Thank you for your sacrifice."


    "???" Jacob was confused, and then he finally realized it when Cam pointed it out for him. "MY TEETH!!"


    "Time-out, over. Both teams to the 2 yard''s line." The referee instructed.


    Terry punched the grass as he stood back up from the tackle and he looked at his coach with a burning hatred on his face.


    Suddenly, Edward talked to him, "That guy''s an insufferable dumbass."


    Terry was a bit startled but he answered anyway, "Yeah."


    "Hey, you remember when you fought off the Lancers, and you made a comeback after the third quarter? I became your fan after that."


    Terry looked a bit dejected and said, "Yeah. That was the Semi-final of the intercollege match. Our Captain- He...He decided to take a gamble, and stop listening to the coach. Although we won the match, he was fired from the team."


    Edward grinned and teased, "So...I guess we will win this one, right? After all, you can only listen to him, and not make any decisions for yourself."


    Terry gritted his teeth in humiliation, and Edward turned his back. "Do what you want already. This kind of match...it''s embarrassing for both of us."


    The Seahawk''s newbie captain fell into contemplation. As Edward went back to regroup with his team, Tyrone asked him with disbelief, "Now why in the hell did you taunt that guy? Our chances are slim enough already."


    Edward just smirked and didn''t say anything. Tyrone shook his head, and then said, "Alright. I''m sure whatever it is, it''s sinister, so I''ll just pretend not to see anything."


    Edward chuckled and said, "See what?"


    "Exactly." Tyrone played along with a laugh.


    Their laughter brought immense pressure to the Seahawks defensive line. The game resumed, and when the center snapped the ball, Edward made a short pass to Tyrone who took a few steps backward from the line, dashed left to make the breakthrough from the side. Kyle and Edward protected him, and he managed to score the extra point as he entered the end zone!


    The score is now 44-43 with only two minutes left on the clock. The Dolphin''s were still behind!


    The Seahawks coach celebrated as the offense fell to them again. He clapped his hand and ordered, "GOOD! Just drag the time! Keep the ball! Don''t do anything else!"


    Terry had a solemn look on his face. Then, he asked the team to huddle up. "Listen..."


    The match continued. However, this time, the Seahawks ignored the coach''s words and they made an intense offense. They also did a sweep, and managed to score a touchdown in the final minute.


    For the extra point, they did a kick, which they scored. The score is now 51-43, and the audience''s mood has become depressed.


    "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS DOING!?" The Seahawks team coach shouted at his team. However, Terry''s challenging eyes were focused on Edward.


    "They''ll lose huh." Luke''s voice was filled with pity. Jay, Claire, and Mitch agreed with him.


    Alex said, "Yeah. But they�C"


    Haley and Phil said at the same time, "No. It''s not over yet."


    Gloria said with an annoyed tone while glaring at Jay, "They will win!"


    Jay was taken aback and said, "Well if you think about it realistically-"


    "Miracles don''t count on logic!" Phil said, "Ed is a dreamer! They will turn this around."


    Claire tried to calm Phil down. "But Honey-"


    "Shhh- Just watch," Gloria said before she and Phil high fived each other under the dumbfounded gazes of the Pritchetts.


    "You know what will happen now, right?" The coach asked while crossing his arms together.


    "I know. I will quit the team�C"


    "NO! You can''t do that! Or...I will quit the team too!" One of the linebackers spoke up.


    Terry was startled and he turned to his friend, "James, no-"


    "I will quit too." The running back spoke up and stood beside Tyler.


    "I will follow the captain."


    "Yeah. If he quits, then I will stop playing."


    The entire team spoke up on behalf of the captain. The coach kept his silence as he faced the group of college students. He narrowed his eyes at them, making them feel pressured.


    "Someone needs to take responsibility for this. We could''ve won this game if you''d just listen." The coach said in a cold tone. The group lowered their heads, but then the coach''s next words made them look up again, "For losing to a high school team...Everyone here will take responsibility. Training will be doubled when we get back! Do you have any objections to this?!"


    The team smiled and replied, "NO COACH!"


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    I smiled as I watched the ''Spartacus'' scene going on in the other team. During my research on the opponent team before, I found something surprising.


    The other team''s captain, who everyone said was forced to quit the team by their current coach because he didn''t listen to him, was actually involved in drug abuse. The coach found out about it, and that was why he was out of the team.


    The coach took the blame for everything as he didn''t want to report the kid as he believed that he could change in the future.


    The scandal implicated the funds for the team, that''s why he agreed to the match today. As long as the team got some exposure, he could attract new sponsors for the team. What else could be better for exposure than facing off against a team with an extremely popular celebrity in it? They would win... even if they lose the match today.


    "Let''s go eat!" I shouted to the team members while everyone was celebrating. Taylor clapped her hands while the cheerleaders cheered for the team. We went to clean ourselves up before going to the hotel''s restaurant that I had booked to celebrate the victory.


    Before I left the school, I was suddenly pulled into a dark corner while I was walking down the hallway.


    "Aunt Camila? You were there?" I asked in shock when I saw she was hiding her hair with a scarf and wearing huge sunglasses.


    "Yes. I was there the whole time. But I can''t let anyone see me, so I was under the bleacher."


    I rolled my eyes at her and said angrily, "If you don''t tell me what exactly you did that you need to hide from the cops, don''t blame me when I figure it out on my own."


    She chuckled and teased, "If you can really do that, then I will get in the hot tub with you naked."


    "That''s a bet. Alright. Join me for my team dinner?" I asked her simply.


    "Sure. Wait- What about your dad? Where is he?" She asked with concern.


    I shrugged and said, "Banging Frankie...Hopefully."


    "Nah. He''s too cowardly to make a move." My aunt replied sarcastically."I need to get a ride, so let your girl ride with her friend." She said, referring to Taylor and Selena.


    I nodded in agreement and said, "I''m going to meet Haley and Phil first. Here, you can pull the car up front."


    She grabbed the keys from me and left. I met with the entire Haley''s family when I went to meet her. Gloria kissed my cheek multiple times to applaud me for my winning.


    "Manny, good luck with your match. I want to go see it, but I have to go to the team dinner." I said while rubbing Manny''s head.


    Manny suddenly said, "It''s okay Ed. I won''t go to the finals."


    Gloria and Jay were shocked. Jay exclaimed, "What?"


    Manny added, "Defeating a woman will be a mark on my honor. I want it to be a fair game, like what Edward faced."


    Both of the parents were speechless. Before Jay could say anything, I held Manny''s shoulder and said, "And why do you think that it''s not fair? Do you think that you are sure to win the game? That''s mighty condescending of you."


    Manny was stunned, "What? No-"


    "Really? Because it seems like that."


    "I just don''t want to fight a girl. It''s not being a gentleman." He confessed.


    "It doesn''t matter in a competition. Not giving your opponent your 100% is an insult. Remember this Manny, when you work hard to win, your opponent is doing the same thing too."


    "Can you imagine what you''re going to feel if you finally got to the final match, and you''re so close to finally proving to yourself that your efforts are worth it, but your opponent doesn''t even take you seriously and quit, never even giving you a chance?"


    Manny fell into contemplation before he answered, "I''d be frustrated."


    I nodded to him and said, "That''s why you have the obligation to do your best until the very end. That''s...what being a gentleman is all about. No matter if your opponent is a girl or not. "


    "Okay. I got it. I will not quit my match." Manny replied after thinking for a while. Gloria and Jay cheered and said urgently, "Let''s go. We need to get to the venue right now."


    "Alright." Manny replied.


    "Dad. I will wait for Cam. Go on without me." Mitchell replied.


    While the family was getting ready, Haley pulled me to the side and asked, "Are you okay? You got tackled pretty hard."


    "Yeah. It''s bruising." I said as I raised my shirt slightly, revealing a patchwork of bruises scattered across my stomach. Haley gasped in shock and said, "You need to get that checked out!"


    I shook my head dismissively and said, "It''s fine. It doesn''t hurt much. Jacob had to go to the dentist though."


    She wasn''t amused by my joke. With a concerned expression, she said, "Wait. You, Jacob, and who else?"


    "Basically everyone in the team. We were in a David and Goliath kinda match. College boys are very strong." I said. "If you''re worried, why don''t you come with me to dinner to keep an eye on me?"


    She rolled her eyes, but then her gaze went to her family, "Well, I promised my mom I would support Manny. Wait�C" Haley suddenly realized something, "Mom! Alex is ditching again!"


    Claire realized it too and said, "Ah. right. Haley, go and fetch your sister."


    I chuckled and said, "Too bad. Everyone is going to the dinner party, except her."


    (Sorry. My overly hectic schedule this week make it impossible for me to take a break. I''m releasing the chaps I am supposed to post this week, and will come back on Friday next week.)

 Chapter 198: Football - Reaction.

    Chapter 198: Chapter 198: Football - Reaction.


    [General POV]


    [ESPN-Special Footage and NFL player commentary]


    "What the-"


    In New York, Pepper was taken aback when he received the permission request for a commentary program in ESPN to discuss Edward''s football match today. The request came in the form of a call, where it was first relayed to Renaldo before it came to him.


    Not knowing the impact of the request, Pepper asked Harvey for her advice. Max, who was standing beside Pepper in a leather jacket muttered in confusion, "Why don''t you just ask that wunderkind what to do?"


    "No Westside, he just finished his match. I don''t want to bother him when he''s supposed to be resting. " Pepper replied.


    Max''s lips curled to show a pleased smile, and she said, "Nice. I finally got it right." She was referring to her leather jacket, mimicking the outfit in the movie, ''West Side Story''. Pepper told her to wear intimidating clothes, and that''s what both of them decided on.


    Pepper, mainly because he has never mingled with the poor society, so he didn''t know what true gang members looked like, and Max, who knew all about it, but decided that all the posh old men they were going to meet had the same impression of a gang like Pepper, so she made an executive decision.


    "I am also impressed you know what wunderkind means." Pepper looked at Max with a satisfied expression.


    "What?" Max was confused. "Doesn''t it mean wonder kid? It''s not that hard to figure out."


    Pepper opened his mouth to object, but he received another call. Still, he took the time to comment, "You might be the first to say that about the German language."


    "IT WAS GERMAN?" Max was startled.


    The football match was not officially filmed, but footage of it was captured using the same professional-grade cameras that were used for filming the music video. Additionally, the college team had also recorded the entire match for research purposes.


    The ESPN show managed to get a copy from the college team, but it was too low quality for them to show it on TV. Not only them, but a lot of news media and celebrity talk shows wanted to get the footage of the game, especially when it''s currently trending on Twitter and Instagram.


    "Hmm, I guess we can give it to them. It won''t do much harm." Pepper said after he thought about it for a while. Pepper didn''t know yet how much of an impact the sport had on this country as he was never interested in them.


    In Texas state, an ordinary Texan man was watching ESPN when the commentary about Edward''s game was shown on TV. He has a beer gut and was sitting on the single couch while drinking beer on a Saturday afternoon.


    The host invited Samuel Onyedikachi Acho, a professional NFL player that had retired and became a sport analyst on ESPN to talk about Edward''s game today.


    "Huh." The Texan man who was watching TV was slightly interested when he saw the commentator�C mainly because that guy used to play in the Texan club.


    "Janine!" The texan man called his daughter, "Your boyfriend''s on TV!!"


    "WHAT??!" A young, 12 year old girl with blonde hair rushed to the TV, "Hey It''s Edward''s match!"


    "That Newgate? I thought he''s a sissy who sang about his feelings�C Wait, what the hell! HOT DAMN!" The Texan dad shouted in excitement after he saw Edward throwing the ball in a straight line 30 yards away.


    Samuel in the show commented, "What I think is the most scary John, is how he controls the flow of the game. Let''s take a closer look at when he first entered the field. I got to applaud the kid''s mind here."


    The footage showed the incredibility of Edward''s silent no-look pass when he received the ball and pretended he was still holding the ball a second later.


    "He used a fake out when everyone was focusing on him, and expecting him to make the attack. His behavior is highly professional. He didn''t go for personal glory, but instead he used every card he had."


    "And what about the other team Sam?" John, the host asked.


    "LA Seahawks made a few solid plays, and they didn''t take any risks. Although it was a good call for them in the beginning, it also became their downfall in the second half of the game." Sam said before he focused on Terry, the Seahawks team captain.


    He talked about how Terry had the potential to become a pro player, as long as he could get rid of his indecisiveness. Many pro teams kept an eye on several of the college team players because of this particular match.


    "Honestly, if the rules for getting drafted as a pro player didn''t stipulate the 3 year wait after high school, I would''ve done whatever it took to get Newgate for my team." Sam joked.


    "Tyler Banks, Tyrone McDonalds. And that Juggernaut Junior�C Jacob Green. They are NFL seeds, and I surely hope that I can see them in the Super Bowl in the future." Samuel said without the slightest exaggeration.


    The Texan dad was influenced by the talk show, and he turned to his daughter, "You said you wanted to buy Edward''s album, right?"


    Janine, the 12 year old kid gleamed in excitement, "YES! DEFINITELY! I REALLY WANT IT! Ah, we should get the special album."


    The dad scowled a bit, "Special? How much more money is the special one going to cost?"


    "Just 5 more bucks. But, it has 3 country songs in it." Janine said.


    The dad was slightly taken aback, before his mouth broke into a smile. "Really?" He asked in disbelief and a bit of surprise. "Why didn''t you say so? Let''s go! I want to hear what he has to sing in country music."


    Not only in that household, but similar things were also happening all across the country. The album sales tripled for that day. It also brought Edward a lot of new fans as people who judged him too soon changed their mind about him.


    Other than ESPN, there were also a lot of talk shows discussing Edward''s match. The Daily Rip�C hosted by Brie Evantee and Jack Bremmer (Cate Blanchet and Tyler Perry from Don''t Look Up), played the footage of the match on the screen.


    "You know, I''m amazed Jack. When I heard about a singer playing a sports game, I initially thought it was a publicity stunt match, and that they wouldn''t be taking it seriously." Brie said with a pretty smile on her face.


    "But he got tackled 5 times. Each one was worse than the last." Brie added as the footage of Edward getting tackled was played.


    Jack nodded and said, "I thought the same way. But again, I think most of us did. No one expected him to be this good at it. He can be a pro even if he''s not singing. I am changing my mind Brie. I think he''s a cool guy."


    Taylor hugged my arm and perched her cheek on my shoulder. With a smushed face, she tried to persuade me, "Maybe you should let other people edit the mv."


    "Like I said, it won''t take too long. Robin, pull up today''s recording."


    "Okay Boss." Robin said. The popup bar in my window was opened automatically, gaining the interest of everyone present.


    Taylor raised an eyebrow and said, "She''s here too?"


    My eyes lit up in excitement of presenting my brainchild to the world, "Yeah. She''s�C"


    "Can she not be here?" Taylor interrupted before I could say anything. "Robin. Introduce yourself." I said with a tired voice as I looked away from Taylor.


    "Hello. My name is ROBIN. It stands for Reliable, Obviously Badass Intelligent Network. I am an artificial intelligence."


    "What?" Taylor was in disbelief. "An AI? As if! This isn''t a superhero movie." She chortled.


    Kyle and Tyler both turned towards me, "Wait. An artificial intelligence...like Jarvis?" Kyle asked with a shaky voice filled with excitement. Tyler stood up and looked seriously at my face as he asked, "Ed. Are you, IRON MAN!?"


    I scowled and said, "No." Then, I thought about it and said, "Well..."


    Selena and Selena couldn''t understand the boy''s excitement. Taylor still thought that I was pretending.


    Robin then notified, "The video has been arranged by matching the sound frequency and initial placement."


    "Alright, play it." I ordered. The first draft for the music video was played, and Taylor was stunned. She kept muttering, "No. It''s not real."


    Selena and Selena watched the mv, and they said, "It''s lacking."


    Kyle and Tyler also nodded in agreement with the girls. I turned towards them and said, "It''s not finished. Robin, insert footage 23 and remove 21. At the beginning of the video, put video 77 and the title."


    In Video 77, the frame captured a full shot of Taylor and me, locked in an intense gaze, as if time had stood still while the other students continued to pass by. Taylor stood on the left side, tightly embracing a stack of books, her big glasses accentuating her features.


    Her curly blonde hair cascaded around her, adding a touch of whimsy. While her appearance may be considered dull, there was an undeniable cuteness that emanated from her.


    On the right side, I stood as a handsome counterpart, donning a simple shirt and jeans, emanating a more striking and attractive presence.


    As the camera panned upward, the title "You Belong With Me" appeared on the screen, displayed in a whimsical font reminiscent of a fairy tale. Following that, the director''s name, "Directed by Edward Newgate," and the storyline credit, "Storyline by Taylor S.," were prominently showcased.


    "Animate the title font."


    "Change the contrast in this video."


    "A mistake on video 32, the sound synchronization is out of mark."


    While I was working, the others there looked at me in awe. After I showed them the finished product, an intense debate occurred between the boys and the girls.


    "The stolen glances in the cafeteria are essential! The cheerleader is ignoring the hero, but when he is talking with the heroine, they have a great conversation. The hero''s doubts add depth to the bigger picture and align with the intended message of the music video!" argued one of the boys.


    "It''s not! It''s better not to compare the two too much. Even if the cheerleader is a puta. We can include the scenes without showing the part where they were looking at each other. That''ll seem like it''s in bad taste." Diaz cursed.


    And the guy who''s insisting on inserting the romantic scene, that was surprisingly Kyle, the goth boy with a piercing on his lip. Tyler lost interest in the ''girly'' video fairly quickly�C Or at least that was what he was showing. He would, however, secretly listen to them at least once a day until the New Year.


    I elbowed Taylor and said, "She called you a puta for being yourself."


    Taylor scoffed and defended, "I''m not like that!" Selena rolled her eyes, but kept her mouth shut.


    "I''ll just cut the scene all together." I muttered after chuckling. Both Diaz and Kyle turned towards me, slammed the table, and shouted menacingly, "NO!"


    "Jeez, who''s the director now?" I muttered sarcastically. Both Taylor and Selena seemed embarrassed by the tension and decided to calm down. "We need a tiebreaker. Where''s Jacob?" Kyle inquired.


    Diaz, clearly irritated, retorted, "You only want him because he''ll just support your opinion! We need another girl!"


    I answered slightly, "Jacob''s at the dentist, putting dental crown on his tooth. He''ll come by a bit late."


    As the duo kept arguing and even ignoring my answer, Tyler spoke up. "Or both of them. Let''s have one boy and one girl," Tyler suggested. Diaz and Kyle were initially taken aback by the idea, but then they nodded in agreement.


    While they searched for more allies, I managed to finish editing the entire music video. The process took less than 10 minutes, leaving the audience in disbelief. Selena looked puzzled and asked, "Hey, if editing a music video is so easy, why does it cost so much ?"


    I chuckled and replied, "Well, it''s not exactly affordable or easy for everyone else. Synchronizing the sound with the lip movements alone can take at least half a day. I can finish it earlier because, well, I''m just that awesome. That''s all."


    Taylor rolled her eyes and retorted, "But Robin did all the work. You didn''t even touch the keyboard."


    "Well, I created Robin, so in a way, I was the one doing all the work," I said with a playful grin.


    Robin chimed in, saying, "What Boss said is absolutely right."


    I couldn''t resist teasing Taylor and added, "See? Even Robin agrees with me."

 Chapter 199: Team Dinner.

    Chapter 199: Chapter 199: Team Dinner.


    [General POV]


    Edward went to the toilet after finishing the music video and sending it to MTV and his company. The video would be broadcasted on TV and uploaded on Youtube and Entertain Videos at the same time.


    There were 2 hours left until the video release. and Entertain''s staff members were working overtime during the day to do some last minute marketing for the song release. However, instead of feeling sad that they had to work on a Saturday, most of the workers were excited for the new music video.


    "Ah, I can finally relax a bit." Edward muttered as he stood in front of the sink after getting out of the stall. As Edward washed his hands, suddenly his phone chimed in.


    "Mr Theodore is currently inside John Hopkins hospital." Robin finally gave Edward an update. The hospital''s system was backward and wasn''t connected to the internet, therefore Robin had a lot of work to do to settle Edward''s request.


    "He was undergoing a PET scan, therefore he couldn''t be contacted." Robin added.


    Edward froze for a bit after he heard the news. "What''s he''s there for?" He asked as he felt his stomach churning.


    "Medical examination for potential liver cancer." Robin replied. Her voice sounded like thunder inside of Edward''s mind.


    "And the result is?!" He asked anxiously.


    "Currently, all examinations showed negative cancer results. However, Mr Theodore still has to do a few examinations for his liver condition. Based on cross referencing the data with available medical archives, Mr Theodore may have cirrhosis."


    Cirrhosis is a condition where the liver becomes scarred and damaged over time, leading to impaired liver function. It can be caused by factors such as chronic alcohol abuse, viral hepatitis, or certain diseases, and may result in symptoms like fatigue, jaundice, and abdominal pain.


    Edward didn''t ask Robin for details, "Contact the doctor and let him run the Child-Pugh test or MELD ( Model for end-stage liver disease) test for my dad. Don''t waste any more time with the cancer test. What was he doing when it was already cleared?"


    Edward scoffed angrily, his disdain for the doctor evident. Internally, he accused the doctor of attempting to inflate medical costs and questioned their competency. Thus his demeanour shifted to one of sharpness and hostility, his voice devoid of any warmth or kindness.


    "Pretend to be the hospital director if you have to. Then update me about the result. This will be your first priority."


    Robin replied, "I understand."


    Edward then left the toilet. It was the first time that he didn''t say thanks to Robin after he asked her to do something. Fortunately, Robin didn''t have any feelings and wasn''t offended by it.


    "You have a message from Robert Downey Junior, would you like to read it?" Robin asked.


    "No. I don''t want to read any messages. Just leave it alone for now." Edward replied.


    In the set of Iron Man 2, Scarlett Johanson, who was acting as Black Widow, walked right to Tony who has blood marks on his face and asked, "Did you get it?"


    Tony touched the makeup on his face and said, "I will soon. I need that full game to watch tonight."


    John Favreau joined in and said, "Give me a copy too when you get it."


    RDJ scoffed and said, "Get it yourself."


    Scarlett was checking her phone and she said, "Hey. Edward''s team is having dinner at (Bleep) hotel. That''s just 10 minutes away."


    RDJ''s eyes lit up and said, "Nice. We will finish here, and go bother him for a while�C Wait. How did you even know?" RDJ stopped walking and turned towards Scarlett.


    "? You didn''t follow him on Insta?" Scarlett asked, confused. "It was in his story."


    "Oh. That must be it. I didn''t open my page yet today. But you. You''re on that thing 24/7. Are you sure you''re not addicted?" RDJ teased.


    "I might be." Scarlett replied casually while scrolling on her phone without even looking up to meet his eyes.


    "..." RDJ was speechless as he sighed.


    Back at the hotel, the dinner party started as soon as Jacob arrived from the dentist. Everyone cheered at his entrance, and as he flashed his now perfect teeth to the room.


    Edward smiled as he talked to the members of his team and joked around as he walked all over the hall.


    Jacob, who was devouring extra large ribs, looked at Edward with suspicion. He whispered to Elsa who was beside him, "Don''t you think Edward looks weird? Like, he''s smiling, but not really smiling."


    Elsa was in disbelief and she turned to Jacob with anger, "Sure. You can figure out when he''s upset, but not me."


    Jacob was flabbergasted, "What? NO! All I mean is�C"


    "I know what you mean." Elsa pouted as she crossed her arms together. "Maybe he''s pouting because the others didn''t come. But we can''t really blame them. If they join in the dinner party, then they''ll just feel awkward."


    Jacob nodded in agreement, but he still felt that there was something more going on with Edward''s demeanor.


    Tyrone, who was drinking sparkling cider inside a tall wine glass, asked Edward who was standing near him, "Hey Ed. What song did you sing during the match? The swinging like Ali one."


    "Oh. That." Edward replied with a trace of confusion in his tone. "How did it go again?"


    "Umm...I don''t know. You tell me." Tyrone said.


    "Hahaha. Good one." Edward said before he left the table there and went to another one.


    "???" Tyrone was confused. "What just happened?" He asked his friend. The fat linebacker beside him shrugged and shook his head as he was confused too.


    Jacob was still watching Edward with some concern as Edward moved towards another table. There, he met with a substitute and a cheerleader girl who came as his date.


    The substitute, a bit lanky and wearing glasses, didn''t possess striking good looks, but he wasn''t unattractive either. However, in stark contrast, his date was a stunning blonde girl with straight hair cascading down her shoulders.


    A loyal and fanatical fan managed to capture a moment from Edward''s team''s short celebration after the match ended and posted it on social media.


    In the video, Edward''s sweaty, muscular six-pack body was prominently displayed, causing a stir among many girls who couldn''t help but feel restless. The impact of the video lingered beyond that night, affecting the sleep of countless girls who found themselves thinking about it for many nights thereafter.


    Taylor chuckled at the revelation and asked out of curiosity, "How many views did it get?"


    "10 million views," Selena replied, shaking her head. "Seems like a lot of people are interested in that kind of thing. Perverts."


    Edward couldn''t help but chuckle at the attention the video garnered and playfully asked, "Did you like the video?"


    Selena''s expression turned slightly flustered as she was caught off guard by the question. Slowly moving her finger on the screen, she replied unconvincingly, "No, I didn''t."


    Taylor, picking up on Selena''s hesitant response, teased, "I can see your finger moving. You took back the like, didn''t you!"


    Blushing, Selena denied it, "No, I didn''t!" She tried to maintain her composure, but her blush gave away her true actions. However, her blush made Taylor feel a bit alarmed and possessive.


    She hugged Edward''s arm while he was driving and asked, "Well, if it was me, I will make sure to like it, and absolutely tell others that I love it."


    Selena rolled her eyes back and retorted, "Yeah, cause you''re a pervert."


    Taylor snorted, taken aback by Selena''s remark, and quickly fired back, "Really? Then tell me, who was the one who ate her cereal topless this morning? Me or you?"


    Edward chuckled for a bit, but he couldn''t really join in the bickering. They arrived home in just 15 minutes, and then when Edward walked Taylor to her door, she asked, "Do you...want to come in?"


    "It was the first time I''ve seen you get nervous. Unfortunately, I have to say no for today. I''m really tired right now."


    Taylor felt a bit relieved and said, "Oh, okay. Goodnight."


    "Goodnight," Edward replied while waving his hand.


    They refrained from sharing a kiss, mindful of being in a public space and the possibility of someone lurking in the bushes, waiting to capture the scene. Taylor stood by the door, her gaze fixed on Edward''s retreating figure, her heart palpitating with the hope of experiencing a movie-like moment.


    In her mind, she imagined Edward turning towards her, his eyes filled with longing and affection, just like in the romantic scenes she had seen on the big screen. She pictured a tender exchange, a stolen glance that would cement their connection and leave her breathless.


    However, as reality played out, Taylor''s hopes were dashed. Edward walked straight back into his house without even once turning to look at her. The absence of that longing gaze or a stolen glance left her feeling disappointed and a bit disheartened.


    With a mix of emotions, Taylor closed the door behind her, her mind filled with a whirlwind of longing and confusion. It was a reminder that real life often falls short of the romanticized scenes depicted in movies, and that she needed to manage her expectations accordingly.


    Selena was walking by at this moment and chuckled as she saw Taylor''s disappointed look, "He didn''t look back did he?"


    Taylor shot Selena a glare, her disappointment was momentarily shelved, "Shut up. Don''t make me get to the fact that you went topless in front of Ed."


    "I SPILLED SOME MILK! It wasn''t on purpose!" Selena defended herself grievously, her voice filled with mock despair.


    Edward took a deep breath in front of the door, gathering his composure before entering the house. As he stepped inside, he found his father, Ted, and Frankie sitting on the living room sofa.


    Deciding to play it cool, Edward pretended he was unaware of what had transpired and greeted them casually, saying, "Hi. Enjoy your date?"


    Ted, still wearing a fatigued smile on his face, replied, "Yeah, it went better than expected."


    Edward continued his act, feigning curiosity, "Really? Where did you guys go? Maybe I can go there if I have a girlfriend."


    Ted was caught off guard by Edward''s question. Frankie, quick on her feet, jumped in to help, saying, "Oh, we just went to... the amusement park, right, Ted?"


    Ted, feeling the pressure, stammered nervously, "Uh, yeah. Yeah, right. We went there."


    Edward smiled, seemingly satisfied with their response, and Ted felt a wave of relief wash over him. However, Edward''s next sentence sent a shock through Ted''s system, shattering his relief. "Really? I didn''t know that the renowned John Hopkins hospital had an amusement park inside," he said, his smile turned cold.


    Ted''s face turned pale as the realization of his failed attempt to deceive his son sank in. The room fell silent, the tension palpable as Ted tried to come up with a response, his mind racing to find an explanation for his earlier statement.


    Frankie stammered nervously, "Yo- You know?"


    Edward''s hurt tone cut through the air as he replied, "Yeah, I know everything. Even the 20% rot on your liver. I''m disappointed in you both. I thought that you guys could trust me. But I thought wrong."


    Ted''s eyes shook, and he let out a sigh. "I should''ve told you, but I was afraid," he admitted, his voice filled with remorse.


    Edward''s eyes softened, understanding Ted''s fear, but the discomfort he felt couldn''t be easily dismissed.


    The living room fell into an uncomfortable silence, heavy with unspoken emotions. Then, Edward broke the silence, shifting the topic. "The new music video is up now. I''m going to bed. You should go send Frankie home."


    Ted nodded, acknowledging Edward''s request. "Yeah, I should."


    Frankie, feeling bewildered and frustrated, couldn''t remain silent. "That''s it? Ted, tell him about how anxious you feel when you have that cancer scare! You guys can''t brush this off so easily!"


    Edward, feeling overwhelmed and tired, turned a deaf ear to Frankie''s plea. "I''m too tired right now. Maybe in the future," he said, trying to dismiss the conversation.


    Frankie''s frustration grew, and she replied sarcastically, "And then never get back to that! I know you, Ed. You won''t even go near a difficult conversation."


    Edward attempted to protest, but Frankie interrupted, her tone filled with determination. "That''s it. I''m telling your therapist about this, and in the next session, it will be a group session with the two of you. TOMORROW."


    Edward''s objections were met with a sarcastic response from Frankie, "Hey! I''m too tired to listen to your objections right now. Maybe in the future."


    (I planned this chap to especially make you guys feel uncomfortable. It''s kinda heavy don''t you think? And the unresolved issues left a bitter taste in your mouth. Kinda hard to imagine that this was the norm in real life. Most difficult conversations are usually left unresolved, especially between family members.)

 Chapter 200 - 200(Woo-Hoo!) : Lazy Sunday.

    Chapter 200: Chapter 200(Woo-Hoo!) : Lazy Sunday.


    [Edward POV]


    I woke up around 3 am after going straight to sleep when I got home last night. At first, I tried to fall asleep naturally, but I was tortured with some thoughts therefore I activated my [Rest] skill to help me.


    When I was going downstairs to get a glass of water, I bumped into my father in the kitchen doing the same thing. He raised his glass at me and said awkwardly, "Oh, you decided to share a ''drink'' with your dear old dad?"


    "That old part is true." I said seriously, making him baffled. "And since you can only drink water from now on to the end of your life, I guess ''sharing a drink'' here is accurate in context."


    My dad let out a snort, a mixture of surprise and amusement evident on his face. I took a seat in front of him, holding my own cup of water. For a while, we sat in silence, each lost in our own thoughts. Eventually, my dad broke the silence.


    "I didn''t mean to hide it from you," he said, his voice tinged with regret.


    Quickly interrupting him, I reassured him, "You don''t have to explain anything to me. I realized that I was just acting out earlier. Of course, you wouldn''t want to tell me. No one wants to burden their family with bad news, especially when it was unconfirmed."


    My dad''s face fell into disappointment as my words sank in. He reached his hand out to gently rub my hair and said, "Still, I''m sorry. And you should act out more. Don''t hold back your feelings. Don''t�C"


    "Be like you?" I finished his sentence, my voice soft but filled with a mix of understanding and sadness. "It''s too late now to change," I added as I sipped my drink.


    "I''m locking up your liquor cabinet, and will be giving the cheaper ones to the people we know."


    "What about the expensive ones?" he asked, confusion evident on his face, as he tried to ignore the bitter taste in his mouth.


    "That''s for me," I replied, a mischievous smile playing on my lips.


    "What?!" he exclaimed, completely baffled by my response.


    "For after I come of age, of course," I lied through my teeth, trying to maintain a serious expression. Despite the fib, my acting skills managed to trick my dad, at least for the moment.


    "Also, this whole thing got me thinking." I brought up a new topic. "What will I do when, and I''m not wishing for it to happen. When, you...you know, left the world, a.k.a worm food, a.k.a went missing and not found, before I became an adult."


    "That''s a heavy topic to talk about." My dad joked to lighten the mood. "What do you have in mind?"


    "I was thinking..." I hesitated for a bit, but realized that I had to go through with this, "About emancipation."


    The color drained from my dad''s face, leaving it pale and stricken. Despite his visible shock, he nodded, trying to pretend he was okay. His voice trembled as he spoke, the cracks revealing his vulnerability. "So, you don''t want me as a dad?"


    I rolled my eyes at him and stressed out, "AFTER. Not before. Just hire a trusted attorney to take care of it if it ever happens. Or else, I will be in a lot of trouble."


    "Oh. Like...Batman?" My dad guessed.


    "Exactly. Alfred takes care of Bruce''s assets, preventing anyone from stealing them. I don''t exactly need an Alfred, but in this scenario, since I am related to Batman, having a butler doesn''t sound so bad," I said with an intrigued glint in my eyes, playing along with the reference.


    My dad shuddered for a moment, then let out a laugh. With a mock-serious tone, he replied, "You''re not going to hire someone to shoot me behind a bowling alley just so you can become Batman, right?"


    "Bowling? Shouldn''t it be a theater? But... if that is what it takes to bring the world the caped crusader, then rest assured, your heroic act won''t ever be forgotten by the citizens of Los Angeles."


    My dad stood up as he went to wash his empty glass, playfully smacked the back of my head, a mischievous grin on his face. He scoffed and jokingly remarked, "If there''s any comic book character you''ll be, it''s the Joker."


    Rubbing the spot where he had smacked me, I pretended to be offended. "Hey now, I think I can be a hero too, not just a villain," I protested, trying to maintain a straight face.


    My dad, taking on the role of a wise mentor, continued with a playful tone. "Before you become a villain, I guess I should be the guiding character to help you stay on the right path. Well, Young Padawan, just remember, ''With great powers...''" He paused, expecting me to complete the quote.


    However, I decided to surprise him with a twist. "Comes great responsibility. With that, comes even greater sacrifice," I finished the sentence, deviating from his expectations.


    My dad''s eyes widened in astonishment as he processed my response. "Is that what the full quote is?"


    I nodded as confirmation. He then said, "Then, forget about that. You have already sacrificed enough when you''re younger. Just be selfish. Be a villain if you want. I won''t even care. I will support you no matter what... Darth Prankious."


    The warm feeling inside me disappeared when I heard the nickname. "Did Alex tell you about that?" I asked with dissatisfaction.


    "Tell me what?" My dad acted dumb.


    "Alright, I''m going to sleep." I stood up in irritation before I walked to my room. "Good night."


    "Wait. Ed." My dad stopped me. "Even though I couldn''t be there, I watched your game the moment I got back from the hospital. You played really really well. I''m proud of you. I never knew that you had it in you. When you''re younger, you usually get scared when the ball is flying at you, but I guess you''d outgrown that."


    My face blushed a bit and I emphasized, "Yeah. I was 4 years old back then. Of course I''m going to be scared."


    He laughed and said, "I promise that I won''t miss your next game."


    I shrugged, trying to maintain my fa?ade of indifference. "I don''t care," I replied, attempting to brush off his comment. Unbeknownst to me, however, a small smile tugged at the corners of my lips, betraying my true feelings.


    ...


    "Too bad that''s only the ''worth''. My finances are almost in the red right now." I chuckled to myself as I knew I was joking while posing in front of the full body mirror.


    With Robin, I could steal 1 dollar from every bank account on the planet, or empty out some CEO tax evaders hidden stash without them even knowing it. I just didn''t do it because I still have morale.


    Legally, with my acquisition of Netflix and re-contracting some show''s license for me to broadcast it longer, and making it almost impossible for the company who owns the show to pull it out of the platform without forking out a huge penalty and a long trial process. This way, I won''t lose some of the good shows during the ''golden age'' of streaming.


    So, I had little cash flow to venture into a new business opportunity right now. "But, I have my grandma. I''m sure she''ll be glad if I stake my company''s shares for her in exchange for some cash flow." I told Robin.


    "Your grandmother in Wisconsin Sir?" Robin asked. "She barely has 10 thousand in her bank account."


    "Well her assets are mostly in land and gold. No. My other grandma. Eve Saltzman. She is listed as Sugar Grandma in my contact list. That reminds me, she wants to meet me for dinner today. Get the details from her. Thank you Robin."


    To complete my ensemble, I reached for my favorite orange tinted pair of sunglasses. As I chose a Rolex watch, I walked towards the kitchen where I met my aunt there.


    "Hey." I greeted casually. Before I could say anything else, she grabbed me by the shoulder and asked anxiously, "Is your father dying?"


    "Yeah." I replied nonchalantly. She didn''t realize my tone and was shaking. She mumbled, "I need to tell Miranda, and make her come home�C"


    "What!? NO!" I interrupted her quickly. It was my turn to be anxious. I reassured her with a hurried tone, "My dad isn''t dying. But there''s a problem with his liver. He just needs to change his diet and he''ll be fine."


    After explaining the situation to my aunt and taking the time to calm her down, I noticed a hint of sadness in her eyes as she uttered something unusual, "Thank god. I can''t afford to lose any more of my family members."


    "What was that?" I asked her with suspicion.


    "Nothing." She shook her head while denying she had said something. I made breakfast for her and my dad who was sleeping in as he slept late last night before walking towards the house next door.


    However, no one opened the door after I rang the doorbell and knocked on it for a while. I was confused therefore I called Taylor.


    "Oh yeah. I meant to call you. The radio interview was an hour ago." Taylor said with a chuckle. "I remembered you''re too tired and bruised up, so I talked to the host about it and went alone."


    "You''re the one who talked to him?" I asked as I called her out. Knowing her, there''s no way she could pull this out by herself despite feeling a bit warm inside.


    "Well I asked Harvey, and my new assistant did it." Taylor replied hesistantly.


    "Oh, Rachel Mcadd- Becky. She''s finally your assistant huh?" I said with a comforting tone. Then, I changed to my dejected tone, "If you wanted me to rest, you should''ve just told me. I''ve been up since 4 am."


    "WHAT?! NO! I''m SORRY!" Taylor apologized quickly. I laughed at her reaction and then I suddenly heard some noise coming from the inside of her house.


    "Is there someone inside your house?" I asked.


    "Well Selena is there. But I don''t think she has woken up yet. Why don''t you use your spare key to get inside? She has to be at the film set this afternoon, so wake her up." Taylor said. "Oh, and don''t let her mother pick her up. They are in a fight, that''s why she''s staying with me."


    I was confused, "I don''t have a spare key?"


    "Ah. I left it at your home. It''s a pink key." Taylor replied.


    I walked back to my house while still on the phone with Taylor. I asked her about how the interview went, and she said that it went pretty well. The fans were calling all morning to talk to her about the new song, and most questions were basically about the two of us.


    After I returned back to her house, she had to cut the call because she was having another interview with another radio show host. Thankfully, all of it was in the same building. When finished with the radio interviews, she would be entering talk shows to promote her new song. She would only be back home late at night.


    "You just need to rest today. Leave it all to me." She said confidently. I chuckled and said, "Of course. I''ll leave it all to you, and will make sure to record the talk shows to watch together later."


    Taylor turned shy and she said, "Wait. No! Watch it first! I don''t want to see it!"


    Her reaction made me wonder what she had actually talked about in the show. But, I just shrugged the thought and decided to listen to her interviews at lunch. If I was bored, then I could just ask Robin to type out the transcript and read it quickly instead of watching it.


    When I entered the house, I shouted, "Selena. Make sure you''re decent. I''m inside the house. Or you can still go topless. Your choice."


    Somebody threw a plush pillow at my face from the living room after I shouted that. I avoided it and chuckled before walking towards the girl lying down on the sofa.


    She has puffy eyes and tear marks on the side of her eye. I was concerned and I asked, "What''s wrong? You didn''t even get up to open the door when I knocked."


    She looked at me with a complicated expression and said, "It''s all your fault. My test results came back! I got lupus!"


    I was taken aback by the accusation, and before I could react, Selena grabbed my shirt with a shaky hand and said, "I''m sorry. You were trying to help."


    She lowered her head before she started crying. I hugged her sideways to comfort her and listened to her emotional outburst for a while.


    "Well, it has no cure...For now." I replied to her question while rubbing my hand on her shoulder. "But we don''t know what''s going to happen in the future."


    She hesitated to nod, and then she looked at me while I was still comforting her.


    "?" I looked at her face, and before I could say anything, Selena leaned in and kissed me on the lip.

 Chapter 201: Car-Nage-I-Val (1)

    Chapter 201: Chapter 201: Car-Nage-I-Val (1)


    [Edward POV]


    Selena''s eyes widened in realization of what had just happened, and she swiftly pulled her lips away from mine. Her eyes become dazed and her hands become clammy.


    Anxiousness flickered across her expression as she awaited my reaction, but to her surprise, I remained relatively unfazed, which left her feeling somewhat surreal.


    "Well, that was interesting," I muttered in a casual tone, attempting to ease the tension.


    Blushing, Selena anxiously interjected, "I-I- That kiss doesn''t mean anything. Y-You should leave. And seriously, it DOESN''T MEAN ANYTHING!"


    Shaking my head, I offered reassurance, "Don''t worry. I understand. I won''t bring it up. It seems like you were just feeling vulnerable at the moment." As her expression began to calm, I playfully added, "Besides, let''s be honest, it wasn''t exactly a great kiss. It was a bit salty and snotty."


    "WHAT!?" Selena exclaimed in disbelief, suddenly realizing that she had been crying. Embarrassment flushed across her face, and she rushed to the bathroom to check her appearance.


    I heard stifled screams coming from the direction after she left. I chuckled and then stood up from the sofa to check up on her.


    My thoughts about the kiss? Yeah, it was great. But I knew better than to bring it up or make something more out of it, given that I was currently in a ''situationship'' with her best friend, and the fact that she was just doing it to make herself feel better after getting pretty bad news.


    "Selena, you want me to call your ''manager'' for you?" I asked as I stood in front of the locked door. I heard the sound of water running, presumably from her washing her face at the sink. Selena''s manager is currently her mother and her step-father. Selena''s manager happened to be her mother and step-father, and while I didn''t know all the details of their relationship, it seemed to be more professional than a typical mother-daughter dynamic.


    Selena hesitated for a few seconds before replying, "No. I''d already called her this morning."


    "Oh. Have you told her about your condition too?" I asked with some concern.


    Selena slowly opened the door, and her eyes became teary again. With a shaky voice, she said, "I did."


    "And, what did your mother say?"


    "She said that; it won''t be bad until far in the future, so I can go to work today." A mix of frustration and resignation flickered in Selena''s eyes as she replied.


    After a moment of silence, I maintained a composed expression despite feeling a surge of anger within me.


    Finally, I spoke up, my tone laced with sarcasm, "Well, since you''re clearly having a rough day and can''t get out of bed, I suppose I can take it upon myself to contact the studio on your ''manager''s behalf. Then, let''s play hooky at the pier. There''s a festival there, so there''s a lot of stuff to do."


    Selena paused for a moment, her face turning slightly flushed as she stammered, "You''re taking me on a date?"


    I rolled my eyes in response and clarified, "No, it''s not a date. Just because you kissed me doesn''t mean I want to go out with you."


    As Selena''s relief washed over her, a hint of regret flickered in her eyes. Taking note of her mixed emotions, I added,""I thought it would be a good distraction and stress relief for both of us. I''m planning to invite my friends too. By the way, I haven''t shared this with anyone yet, but my dad had a cancer scare yesterday and was diagnosed with cirrhosis. His liver isn''t functioning well."


    By revealing this personal information to Selena, I wanted to ensure that she understood my intentions were not rooted in pity or a desire to take advantage of her vulnerability.


    Selena widened her eyes in surprise and then said, "Oh, Ed, I''m so sorry."


    "It''s fine. It''s not my liver. And I will make sure he stays alive whether he wants it or not. Alright, we should forget about these depressing topics. So, what do you say? Should we go outside? Because unless you''re going to ''accidentally'' do hand stuff with me next, I think we should go to the pier."


    Selena''s face froze, "I-I...I''M NOT GOING TO DO HAND STUFF�C"


    "Oh, so straight to the bed? You''re kinda kinky." I said with a slimy look.


    "SHUT UP! GET OUT!" She chased me out of the house by pushing my back.


    I laughed and said, "I''ll bring the car upfront. Go and get dressed. And oh, wear a large sunhat. You need to lessen your time in the sun."


    "I WILL!" Selena shouted angrily, but in agreement to what I was saying. She slammed the door in front of me, and I laughed at her reaction. Then, I walked back to my house.


    I didn''t go to the Dunphys as I knew that Phil wanted to take his family out to the same festival. I called Alex first, as it was still early in the morning and I wasn''t sure if Haley was awake.


    The phone rang for a short while before Alex answered, "Hey. Good morning."


    "Morning. Has your family gone out yet?" I asked.


    "Yeah, we''re already on the road." Alex replied. I heard Haley''s voice from the other line saying to put the call on speaker. Then, I was greeted by a highly cheerful family. The greetings made me grimace a bit from their overenthusiastic energy, but also made me smile at the same time.


    "Why did you call?" Alex asked. Then Haley added poutingly, "AND WHY DIDN''T YOU CALL ME?!"


    I laughed a bit and said, "You''re usually the last one to wake up, so, you know..."


    Haley shouted in embarrassment, "No I didn''t! I woke up very early today!"


    Claire snided, "Still the last one of us to wake up, so Ed''s not wrong."


    "MOM!" Haley protested, clearly offended. I could imagine her widening her eyes and stared at her mother in disbelief.


    Phil, unable to contain his excitement, interjected, "Ed, you should come with us! I heard that there are horses there."


    "Pony." Claire corrected Phil.


    "Horses? What kind of festival is this?" I asked with disbelief.


    "Wait. Can you repeat that?" Alex caught something and her tone turned mischievous.


    "Hmm? What kind... of festival is this?" I repeated my sentence slowly with some confusion.


    "Yeah. You call it ''FESTIVAL''. It is a ''CARNIVAL''."


    I shuddered at Alex''s condescending tone, "WAIT- NO!"


    "So I need to pretend to want something, even if what I really want is something else, but make people think that the first thing that I want is important."


    (Can''t really make Luke use big words. He''s 10)


    [Commentary ends]


    The rest of the family in the car was baffled, and they felt a bit guilty about rejecting Luke''s request for help. Then, they finally arrived at the carnival. Claire, Luke and Phil grouped together while Alex paired off with Haley and walked around together.


    [Claire''s commentary]


    "Well, it won''t be the worst thing in the world if Luke won." Claire said.


    At the festival, Claire separated from her family while making sure that they wouldn''t notice her and went to a Whac-A-Mole machine. She paid for a chance to play and went on to get a high score.


    Then, she slowly returned to her family and then said to Luke in private while handing him the ticket, "You dropped this. You need a way to hold your tickets better."


    And Claire really thought of that, because she also needed a way to sneak more tickets to Luke without him noticing.


    [Phil''s commentary]


    "It''ll be fun if Luke asks Edward to go to Trampoline world with us." Phil said.


    At the festival, Phil pretended to have a stomach ache and went to a keep your balance game where he has to walk across a straight narrow beam 6 inches from the ground.


    He won 5 tickets for that and went back to his family. Then, he snuck the ticket into Luke''s ticket bag that Claire bought while Phil was away.


    [Alex''s commentary]


    "I don''t condone cheating behavior. But it''ll be fun to see Edward lose." She said, hiding her true intention.


    Alex participated in a quiz match at the carnival where she competed against 3 Asians and won. Haley was walking with Alex, and the little sister gave Haley the tickets for safekeeping.


    [Haley''s commentary]


    While holding Alex''s tickets, Haley smiled and said, "Oh, I''m not giving this to Luke. I will be holding it until the end of the match, and told Ed I got it to help him win if he was a few tickets short."


    Then, her smile disappeared and her expression turned a bit anxious, " I didn''t do this because I want''s Ed to lose! I want Luke to get his wish too. But I have a feeling that Luke is hiding something."


    [Luke''s commentary]


    Luke smiled mischievously and said, "I''m going to make Edward bake 10 cakes for me. I miss eating them all alone and sleeping for the rest of the day."


    [Commentary ends]


    ...


    When Edward finally arrived at the pier, he saw a huge banner at the front of the event. [LA Beverly Hills Ponies Festival]


    "Huh. So it is a Festival." Edward muttered to himself, however he was still confused. He walked side by side with Selena as they went to a stall nearby them. Edward needed to hit the stacked cans with a ball to win the tickets.


    In an instant, all three towers fall down, making the stall owner baffled.


    "Hey, you won this plush teddy bear along with the tickets as you managed to knock all the pins down." The stall owner said with a smile. Then, the latino man with a big belly widened his eyes as he saw the face underneath that baseball cap.


    Edward slowly placed his finger on his lip while smiling before taking the teddy bear from the stall owner''s hand. "Here." Edward gave it to Selena as they walked away from the stall.


    Selena was confused but Edward spoke first, "To hold. I''m not giving it to you."


    Selena nodded and said, "Good idea. I hate to see him getting cut into a million pieces when I get back."


    Edward chuckled a bit, and the duo bumped into Luke and his parents while walking. Edward showed his tickets confidently at Luke and said, "I just came by, and I already got the first price tickets. How many do you have now?"


    "Around...250." Luke said, shocking Edward. Even with the first price tickets, he only has 25 tickets right now.


    "How is it possible? It''s barely been an hour." Edward muttered in disbelief.


    Luke smiled mischievously and said smugly, "Just wait. I''m going to get to a thousand before noon. And I''m going to claim the first price at the ticket booth!"


    Phil mumbled to himself with disbelief, "One thousand? How can we get that without him noticing we''re helping?"


    Claire leaned in and whispered to Luke, "Well, the first price item is for 1500 tickets."


    "Oh. then, whatever closes to a thousand then." Luke corrected himself to Edward.


    Edward''s face was anxious for a second before he smiled and said, "Alright. Challenge accepted. I''ll see your thousand tickets, and I will make sure that I will get 1500 tickets before noon"


    "That''s impossible Ed. Even if you hit all the stalls here." Phil said with worry.


    Edward grinned and said, "Don''t worry Phil. It won''t be fun if it''s not a challenge."


    [Phil''s commentary]


    "What happened to a healthy competition between brothers? I am feeling so guilty right now."


    [Claire''s commentary]


    "I know that it''s impossible for Ed to win with me helping Luke, and he was an hour late to the fair. But, for some reason, I still couldn''t relax. Hmmm...Should I get Haley to walk with Ed? With girls around, he will surely slows down in getting the tickets...right? Or, will it make him more competitive as he feels that he couldn''t lose his dignity in front of them?"

 Chapter 202: Car-Nage-I-Val (2)

    Chapter 202: Chapter 202: Car-Nage-I-Val (2)


    [Edward POV]


    "You won! Now get lost!" The stall owner said excitedly as he gave 100 tickets to me. I took advantage of the loophole in the rules and tried the shooting game multiple times and won his first prize, therefore he was irritated.


    I picked them up with a smile on my face, thanked the owner, and then walked to the stall next to it. The owner smirked at the next door boss as he expected him to go through the same misery as he did.


    These happened a few times as I made my way through the fair. At the same time, I couldn''t help but notice the wide-eyed gazes of a few young fans.


    Their faces lit up with excitement as they recognized me, and most of them played along as I gestured to them to keep it a secret. It worked so far as those who recognized me were young children, certainly didn''t want to risk being recognized by any adults.


    "Maybe you can stop shouting every time you win one if you don''t want people to notice you." Selena said while rolling her eyes.


    I was in disguise, so it was hard for them to recognize me. It was my passionate game winning that blew my cover. After I separated from Luke, I had won over 500 more tickets in the basketball hoop game, duck shooting game, the hammer high score game, and many more.


    "Sel. You''re okay over there?" I asked teasingly to Selena who looked disgruntled as she walked beside me. She was dragging her feet as she walked, almost going the opposite way when we left the shooting stall.


    The initial joy of hugging a single teddy bear had waned as she found herself burdened by the towering mound of bears she had accumulated. The pile of soft toys obscured her face, and a look of slight resentment had replaced her earlier excitement.


    She glared at me and said, "I''m a walking teddy bear mountain! Do you think I''m fine?!"


    "Well, it''s not all teddies. There''s unicorns there too. And a Star Wars Luke Teddy Bear." I said as I casually threw another giant teddy at her. "You know what? You can keep one of them."


    Selena was in disbelief, and before she could say something, two young children walked towards us. One was a chubby Latino boy, while the other was a young Chinese girl with a mole on her left cheek and her hair neatly tied up in a ponytail.


    "Hey, I know you guys." I said as the two children stood in front of me. Manny Delgado was confused and exclaimed, "Huh?"


    "Nevermind. Manny, who''s your friend here?" I asked as I looked at the familiar asian girl standing next to Manny.


    A little irritated, Manny said, "She''s Caroline Markum." (canon girl)


    With a hint of teasing in my voice, I remarked, "Ah, your final competitor in the fencing game. So, she''s here for a rematch?"


    I had already guessed her identity earlier, but I never anticipated that she would end up spending time with Manny after the competition.


    To my surprise, both of them looked at each other and agreed at the same time, "Yes."


    "..."


    Selena chuckled as she saw me speechless. I quickly collected myself and said, "What a coincidence. I''m currently in a match with Luke too."


    At this moment, I saw Gloria dragging Jay to where we were standing. It was obvious that Jay didn''t want to spend his Sunday morning at the fair, but had to because Gloria forced him to go.


    Caroline Markum widened her eyes and said, "Wait. You''re Edward Newgate!"


    Manny shushed her quickly, "Don''t shout his name! Do you want to get rush-mobbed?"


    I laughed at Manny''s overreaction and said to Caroline, "Yeah. That''s me."


    She smiled softly and said, "I''m a fan. Believer is my favorite song. I''m sorry I haven''t bought the album yet." However, there seemed to be a hidden sadness behind her smile, as if there was more to her reasons than what she initially shared.


    However, I could guess why. Being an orphan, fighting off an incurable disease, basically living inside the hospital, I guess it would be hard for her to request to buy that album.


    I patted her head and said, "It''s alright. I''m just glad to have a cute fan. But I am curious about something, and I hope that you can explain it to me."


    That question was directed to both of the kids. Caroline didn''t answer, but she gave me the go ahead with a slight nod.


    I asked, "Don''t you hate Manny for stealing your trophy? Why are you hanging out with him?" I was extremely curious about the matter. Manny was being a prick in the show, so I guess that''s why she didn''t come out again after that. But my presence caused some change.


    Manny became disconcerted and said, "I want to know about that too." He was basically forced to hang out with Caroline today�C an idea conceived by Gloria to downplay the guilt she felt for making Manny go all out in a match against a terminally ill girl. In fact, Manny didn''t even know that Caroline was sick.


    "Well now that I know a little context, I want to know too." Selena said before she added, "If you tell us, I will give you this entire collection."


    Unexpectedly, Caroline scowled at the idea of getting the plush toys, "No thanks. I can''t bring them to the hospital anyway."


    Selena was confused while Manny and I nodded in understanding. Caroline then answered, "I just hang out with Manny, because he treats me equally."


    "Wait. Manny? That seems to subvert everything I know about that Simp." I joked.


    "HEY!" Manny protested in offense. Caroline didn''t answer more and then hugged Manny''s arm before pulling him away, "Let''s go play that pool throwing game. You''ll sit on the bench, and I''ll throw."


    "It''s called a Dunk Tank. And I''ll be the one to throw!" Manny exclaimed as he felt challenged before both of them waved goodbye at me and went away. Manny didn''t realize that Caroline had picked him over a celebrity she admired and kept arguing with the girl.


    ''Well, he basically won''t even see a girl if they aren''t pretty or completely out of his league. Also, they are 10 years old.'' I thought secretly. ''But for some reason, they are giving me Bridge of Terabithia vibes. Boy, I surely hope that didn''t happen.''


    As Gloria and Jay approached, it was evident that they had purposely given us some space for conversation before.


    After the initial greeting, I asked Jay while pointing at the duo, "Do you know what that''s all about?"


    Jay let out a sigh of resignation as he shifted his gaze toward Gloria. Despite the fake smile plastered on her face, her twitching eyes betrayed an intense and concealed anger as she looked at Manny and Caroline from afar.


    Jay said, "It''s better not to speak about it."


    [Claire''s commentary]


    "Phil? Oh no, I''m not mad at him at all. Besides, I have watched Luke throw a ball before. I won''t even get wet." Claire said dismissively.


    [Commentary ends]


    "Uh." Luke threw his arm with all of his strength. However, he released the ball too early, causing it to fly at 90 degrees angle, and perfectly hit Phil on the crotch.


    "Fail." The store owner said with a giggle as Luke used up all of his chances. Luke exclaimed in disappointment and then turned to Phil, "Are you okay Dad?"


    "Yep." Phil replied with a strained voice. "It hit both at the same time, so it''s not that painful."


    "Let''s try the hammer next." Luke said before adding, "We only have 400 tickets now. We have so much left to go."


    "Maybe getting to a thousand was a bad idea Luke." Claire said.


    [Claire''s commentary]


    "Well it''s not hard...for us." She said with a worried expression. "However, Luke...doesn''t really have those skills. Out of 10 games we played, he only won 2."


    "I really admire him for not giving up, but at the same time, I''m worried about him. I really hope Ed won''t get too many tickets, that it''ll become a blow to Luke''s self confidence."


    [Commentary ends]


    Luke held Claire''s hand before they could leave the stall. "Mom. Maybe you should try it next." Luke said with a cute voice. "I know you always hit the target whenever you throw something. We can share our chances."


    "Wait. What?" Phil, who had just stood up normally, was flabbergasted when he heard that. He was even more flabbergasted when he heard Claire''s next sentence.


    Claire thought about it and said, "Sure. Let Dad go sit next to the target this time. I''d already done it before."


    Phil sat at the seat reluctantly. He didn''t react when Luke threw the ball, but when it was Claire, he was quivering in fear.


    "Claire. I''m sorry for not volunteering-"


    Before Phil could finish his words, Claire threw the ball directly to the target, and it hit! Phil was dunked into the tank, and his entire clothes became wet.


    Coughing and wheezing, Phil slowly gets out of the water. "It''s over, right?" He mumbled.


    The staff members heard it and said with an evil smirk, "No. It''s 3 tries. They have one more chance."


    Luckily for Phil, Luke was throwing the ball this time. Claire hyped him up from the side, "Come on Luke. Think about what you hate the most. Picture it on top of the target. Then, channel all of your hatred into the ball, and throw it!"


    "Got it!" Luke narrowed his eyes and threw the ball aggressively. It hit the edge of the mark, and Phil shut down his eyes as he anticipated the fall. However, to his luck, the target didn''t go back all the way.


    "Oh. I''m safe." He muttered with exhilaration.


    Suddenly, the owner said, "Sorry. I still set the strength to adult. This counts as a hit for the children." He then manually pushed the target back, and Phil was dunked into the tank for a second time while his family celebrated.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    As we entered the ponies exhibition and were waiting in line to pet the ponies, Selena asked, "Is this species normal, or are they like a munchkin cat?"


    "Nah. Munchkin cats are a product of selective breeding. Like the poodle, or the pug. Ponies are real species that can be found in the wild." I explained a bit.


    Selena nodded and then asked, "What''s the distance between earth and the moon?"


    I turned to her with a weird look and asked, "Why?"


    "I don''t know. It seems like you know a lot of things." Selena said with a shrug.


    "Well I do know that. The distance is approximately 238,900 miles (384,400 kilometers)."


    Selena scoffed and said, "Show off."


    "You''re the one asking about it." I said with disbelief.


    Suddenly, three small ponies walked to the fence to where I was standing. They stood near the fence and started staring at me. If it weren''t for the fact that they were standing too far, I would''ve petted them.


    "Hey. It''s Manny and Caroline." I said as I saw another two shorties staring at me. I waved to call them, and they cut the line to join us to pet the ponies. No one said anything because they were children, and this exhibition was supposedly for them.


    "Do you want to ride them?" I asked the two. "If you''re small enough, they might let you."


    "It''s okay." Manny said. "They were all jittery."


    Caroline however had an excited glint in her eyes, but as she realized Manny didn''t want to do it, it disappeared. I caught that and said, "Manny. Have you ever ridden a pony before?"


    "No?" Manny asked in confusion, not knowing where I was going with this.


    "Maybe you should try it. You couldn''t have been bullied by a group of goats before, right?"


    "What''s with that oddly specific question? Of course�� Wait. Some repressed memories are coming up. I WAS BULLIED BY A HERD OF GOATS!"

 Chapter 203: Car-Nage-I-Val (3)

    Chapter 203: Chapter 203: Car-Nage-I-Val (3)


    [Edward POV]


    As we all approached the enclosure, the young farmer there smiled kindly at us and said, "Y''all here to pet them ponies? We''re lettin'' ''em rest right now. There were these two gay�C Two fellas,trying to put an Asian baby on the horse without warning. Sure spooked them ponies good."


    "Oh, are they by any chance a ginger and a fat man with overly dramatic hand gestures." I asked. "Wait, I can do better. Ehem." I cleared my throat and said with a country accent and ways of speaking, "Oh, so them fellas I''m thinkin'' of. Folks oughta slap a sign on themselves to keep them critters away."


    The farmer''s eyes widened in surprise, exclaiming, "Darn tootin''! How''d y''all know them? Them folks sure are troublemakers."


    Although he was impressed, he said, "Y''all come on back in ''bout half an hour, or maybe even an hour. I''ll let you in, free of charge."


    The blonde 20 years old with curly hair and a cowboy hat suddenly glanced at Selena and I, before jumping to some conclusion. "Your lady might have to wait a bit more. Although I''m sorry for ruining your date, I can''t really get you guys hurt."


    Selena scoffed with a hint of disdain and replied, "We are certainly not on a date. And I particularly have no intention of being on a date with a country boy!"


    "That hurts my heart my lady." The country boy exclaimed with a sad tone. Selena was flabbergasted, "I didn''t mean you!"


    "Pardon me, but I reckon I got some experience workin'' on my grandpa''s farm. Would y''all mind if I give it a shot at tryin'' to calm ''em critters down?" I asked, ignoring Selena''s retort.


    "STOP TALKING LIKE THAT! You''re making me confused about my tastes!" Selena shouted in anger. The two kids were just in awe when they saw how easily I managed to get close to the farm boy.


    Manny said to Caroline with a country accent, "Do women�CDo ladies fancy... Umm... fellas who talk like this?"


    "No. You sound dumb." Caroline said with a serious tone.


    "Well. You sure do look like someone who knows his way ''round. I reckon I can trust ya to handle yourself." The farm hand said before allowing me to hop over the enclosure fence.


    To his surprise, the miniature ponies rushed towards where I was as I entered the enclosure. He was fearful at first, but the horses stopped when they were near me. I smiled at them as I picked up the bucket of apples near the fence and stood in front of them.


    "How in tarnation did ya pull that off? You just walked in�C Did y''all see it too? With a fella like him ''round these parts, I reckon I can finally get this business up and runnin'' again," the farm hand exclaimed with a mix of disbelief and excitement.


    Suddenly, the business owner shouted from afar, "JOHNNY! Stop talking in country-speak! You''re born in California for god''s sake!"


    "Ah, Sure thing, pops!" Johnny responded, switching to a more regular tone. He then introduced himself, standing beside me and extending his hand for a shake. "As you can hear, my name''s Johnny."


    As he did, the horses gave my hand a gentle nuzzle, signifying a horse''s kiss. Johnny laughed and said, "Never mind. We can shake hands later."


    I laughed as I fed the horses and said, "I''m, Edward."


    "Nice to meet you Edward. You look really familiar." He said as he touched his chin.


    I chuckled and said dismissively, "I get that a lot." As the horses were already calmed down, I asked him, "Can my friends get in now?"


    "Yeah Yeah Sure. I''ve never seen the ponies in such a good mood before this. You must be related to a druid or something to pull off a scene like this." Johnny said as he called Selena and the kids over.


    "I might be." I joked. Johnny then gave me a cowboy hat too and returned to his country-speak, "Here''s a little somethin'' for helpin'' out. Consider it my gesture of gratitude. Also, don''t tell my dad I''m still speaking like this."


    "I reckon I''ll take it�C Johnny. Listen, that gal over there, she''s dealin'' with some health issues and needs to stay put at the hospital. I''d mighty appreciate it if you could let her have a ride on one of them ponies." I said as I wore the cowboy hat on my head. Just for a bit of lighthearted fun, I plucked a straw from the haystack and playfully placed it between my lips.


    Johnny widened his eyes at first before he said, "Sure. I''ll see what I can do. Also, why is your country''s accent better than mine? Perhaps your grandpa''s ranch is in texas?"


    "No. It''s Wisconsin." I replied with a slight chuckle while moving the straw from the left to the right side of my mouth with my tongue.


    As Selena approached us, Johnny said, "Thanks to Eddy my boy here�C"


    "He''s already your boy? It''s been 3 minutes!" Selena retorted in disbelief.


    Johnny and I looked at each other before we guffawed.


    "Some people just click right with each other." Johnny said before turning into instructor mode. He placed his hands on his waist and said, "Alright now, Ed managed to talk me into lettin'' y''all have the fancy-schmancy premium package."


    "So, here''s the plan. First off, we''ll have ya''ll groom them horses and give ''em a good feedin''. After that, we''ll see if they take a likin'' to ya enough to let ya hop on and take a ride."


    "That lady, you go with your man. The kids are with me." Johnny said as we split up and went to different parts of the enclosure. He had to go away mainly because he needed to place some safety precautions on the horse that was going to be ridden.


    "He''s not my man!" Selena retorted with anxiousness before mumbling, "I swear Taylor is going to kill me."


    A miniature pony with a white mane stood in front of me while trotting her legs in excitement. I brushed her head and said to Selena, "Calm down. You know you have a free pass to do anything today, and she can''t get mad. So. Take advantage of it. And Ah, right, Don''t take advantage of me�C"


    Selena pushed my back with a blushing face, "I won''t. Now, teach me how to play with the horse."


    I smirked and replied with a country accent, "Well, first ya gotta groom ''em. And I don''t mean the kind of grooming we usually see or experience in our career. None of that ''Oh, you''re so mature for your age'' or ''You''re practically an adult now'' business. We''re talkin'' about horse grooming here, nothin'' more."


    Selena widened her eyes, took a deep breath, and then burst out laughing. The sudden sound startled the horse, making it skittish for a moment, but I swiftly calmed it down.


    We spent some time playing with the horse, and after about 10 minutes, Manny and Caroline managed to win over the hearts of the ponies and were able to ride them.


    It was a brief 5-minute ride within the enclosure, but it brought immense joy to the children. I snapped numerous photos of Selena with the horse, as well as capturing the children''s laughter and excitement, intending to share them with their guardian later.


    "That reminds me, where are Jay and Gloria?" I mumbled to myself as I slowly lowered my phone camera, having finished capturing moments with Manny and Caroline. All while Selena kept stealing glances at me and mumbling, "I will get away with it...right?"


    ...


    Once we had finished our delightful time with the ponies, Caroline reached into her pocket and pulled out a crumpled, slightly yellowed piece of paper. With a pencil in hand, she excitedly crossed off one of the items listed on it.


    Haley chuckled and jeered, "You suck!"


    Selena joined in, "Yeah! Give up!"


    I rolled my eyes at them and said, "Can''t believe my own friends are my biggest haters." I pulled the drawstring and shot the target again, and this time I hit the mark. It was a satisfying shot, albeit an easier feat compared to real archery.


    Haley squealed and cheered instinctively while Selena and Alex rolled their eyes at me. Alex asked, "Hey. Is that real?"


    "What�� Oh Finny told you. Yeah it''s real. Everyone should come." I replied casually as I shot my last chance. After winning the ticket, I tried the game again. Haley and Alex widened their eyes and said, "Wait. You can do it more than once?"


    The stall owner was confused by their question, "Of course. You''re paying after all. You can try as much as you want."


    Both of them looked at each other in disbelief, feeling that they had done a stupid thing.


    "But I stopped after I got the highest mark. Or else, there''s no point in playing." I said as I shot the arrow again.


    Haley said carefully, "Can''t you go easy on my brother?"


    "Well...if you''re asking for it, maybe I will." I said as I lowered my aim while still holding the bow and arrow. Haley giggled and then grabbed my arm, "There''s a house of mirrors here. Why don''t we go take a look?"


    Alex nodded and said, "Good idea. Haley, why don''t you keep Ed away from the stalls."


    Selena was torn as to what she should do and said, "I''ll stay here with Alex."


    "What? No. Just come with us." Haley invited. While the girls were talking, my phone chimed. I took out and saw the notification from Robin. When we were in public, I asked the AI to contact me through text.


    As I read the message, my heart sank. It contained an update on Caroline''s current situation. It turned out that she was scheduled to be relocated to a different city, where she would be transferred to a more affordable hospital. This meant she would have to leave behind all her friends and familiar surroundings.


    The message revealed a grim reality. Over the course of Caroline''s five-year battle, the insurance money her parents had left behind was dwindling rapidly. It was disheartening and, truth be told, I felt a surge of disgust towards the healthcare system in the country.


    "Hmmm." I held my chin as I thought about something�C unaware of the others staring intently at me.


    "He''s scheming something again." Haley muttered.


    Alex said sarcastically, "Do you even hear what I was talking before? Of course he''s scheming something. But, we''re lucky that he''s not focusing on his game with Luke anymore."


    "He will still win though. It''s impossible for Luke to catch up to him. He has over 800 tickets now."


    "I''ll text mom." Alex said as she took out her phone. Selena was baffled and said incredulously, "Wow. You guys are so serious with the bet."


    Both Alex and Haley smiled. Alex said, "Of course we are. Everyone wants to beat Ed at something, but so far, no one did."


    I finished my thoughts and turned to the girls, "Alright let''s go to the mirror house."


    While we were talking, I talked to them about Caroline''s situation and asked them to keep it to themselves. That was to ensure that the day remained filled with joy and laughter for Manny and Caroline.


    Then, Frankie told me that she got permission from the organizer, and the company staff were coming to the carnival with the equipment. However, before the anticipated arrival of the company staff, another intriguing event unfolded, adding an unexpected twist to our day at the carnival.


    [General POV]


    As Edward exited the mirror house, his laughter intertwined with the giggles of his friends, a group of nuns approached, offering refreshments while attempting to deliver a sermon. They were playing organs and singing praises to Jesus while encouraging others to do the same.


    Selena and Edward, feeling hesitant and cautious, tried to distance themselves from the nuns, despite their friendly smiles. Haley and Alex followed suit, declining the offered refreshments before retreating.


    Amidst the tension, a sudden cry pierced the air. It was Johnny, the farmhand, urgently shouting from a distance. "Ed, move!" he exclaimed with urgency.


    Startled, Edward turned towards the commotion and his eyes widened in alarm. A mischievous group of goats had managed to escape their enclosure and was now charging towards Edward''s group.


    Acting swiftly, Ed sprang into action, his instincts taking over. With a heroic effort, he managed to save one of the nuns from the stampede�C the youngest one there. But in the process, both he and the nun tumbled to the ground, their bodies meeting the earth in an unexpected collision.


    "Wha-what-what are you doing?!" The nun blushed and stammered as she realized that Edward''s hand was holding her at someplace no one should touch, especially in public.


    Edward''s cap almost fell off at the moment, and he smiled kindly at the nun as he took back his hand from her waist. "Sorry. Maybe I should''ve let the goats brake on their own instead. Or should I just send thoughts and prayers while letting you get crushed by them?"


    As Edward sensed a lingering tension in the air, he felt a twinge of guilt for the unintended misunderstanding caused by the collision. With the crowd''s attention now fixated on the incident, he yearned to quietly slip away from the spotlight.


    Acting swiftly, he seized a nearby basket filled with bread and wine, using it as a cover to shield himself from prying eyes.


    However, in a twist of fate, the mischievous goats returned, surrounding Edward with their playful leaps and bounds. Edward attempted to reason with the enthusiastic animals, pleading, "Wait, guys, I really need to leave." Despite his efforts, the goats seemed determined to keep him engaged.


    Just as Edward struggled to free himself from the goat''s playful dance, a sudden beam of light pierced through the cloudy sky, descending upon him.


    The choir boy, witnessing the extraordinary sight, gasped in astonishment. In his surprise, he accidentally pressed the keys of the organ, unleashing a celestial and ethereal sound that reverberated through the air, harmonizing with the divine illumination surrounding Edward.


    Some nuns there were so startled and out of it that they started to pray to the sight in front of them.


    The playful wind didn''t have enough from opening the crack on the cloud and blew a sudden gust of breeze. The gust was strong enough to push Edward''s hat off, and reveal his face to the public.


    The crowd started recognizing him. They shouted, "HEY! IT''S EDWARD NEWGATE! "


    "Shit!" Edward cursed underneath his breath as he realized that he was surrounded by a group of fans who were staring at him with starving eyes.


    Edward chuckled nervously and said, "Hi Everyone."

 Chapter 204: I lived.

    Chapter 204: Chapter 204: I lived.


    [Edward POV]


    After my identity was exposed, a swarm of fans rushed towards me, forming a tight circle as they fervently requested pictures and autographs as their praises for my music and acting in the new Taylor music video echoed through the air.


    The crowd consisted mostly of young teenagers and young adults, with a sprinkling of older fans in between. Surprisingly, their behavior remained polite and respectful, which prompted me to make some decisions.


    I obliged their requests, posing for pictures and signing autographs, all while maintaining a friendly demeanor. Taking advantage of the moment, I announced that a surprise awaited them at the carnival square at noon, urging them to gather there.


    After spending half an hour with the crowd, I managed to extricate myself with the help of my father, but it proved challenging to shake them off completely. They followed persistently, trailing me as I sought refuge in the organizer''s office located beside the carnival.


    Inside the small office room, I sank into the gray couch, stretching my arms wide as I settled cross-legged on the sofa. The weight of the situation loomed over me. "Huargh..." I groaned as I closed my eyes for a second. Accompanying me in the room were two individuals who had entered alongside me.


    Beside me, Selena, who was feeling slighted as nobody recognized her, swallowed her resentment as she perched on the couch beside me. "That was insane. I''ve never witnessed anything like it. You had the crowd going wild, like we were in the 90s again."


    "Yeah. I was surprised too." I muttered. "It seems that I had greatly underestimated my popularity." I said with a joking tone before I turned to Haley who was standing by the door with a complicated expression on her face.


    "What''s wrong?" I asked.


    Haley noticed my gaze and she swallowed her saliva before responding with a nervous smile, "N-Nothing. I just realized. You''re like a... ''celebrity'' celebrity."


    I smirked and asked, "Why? Feeling intimidated?"


    Expecting a playful retort, I was taken aback by her hesitancy. "Wait. Seriously?"


    Haley crossed her arms and confessed, "Kind of."


    Selena smiled and said, "It''s normal for the first... or fifth time... Well, It never happened to me out of scheduled meetings, BUT it does get better."


    I nodded to Selena''s encouragement and said, "Yeah. Besides, you need to adapt to it. I thought you already had experienced people fawning over you."


    Haley rolled her eyes and sat at my right side, "That''s different. Also, Why should I adapt to it?"


    "Because...Well, just because... I''m going to want you to stick around?" I smiled playfully at her. She blushed and then laughed while Selena rolled her eyes at us.


    Feeling slightly embarrassed, Haley pinched my cheek. Selena stood up and went to the drum kit set up nearby.


    "Hey. What are you going to do? Why do you ask them to gather at noon?" Selena asked to change the subject.


    Suddenly, Finneas and Billie entered the door with a solemn expression. Finneas said, "Seriously? We only have 40 minutes of practice for the concert?"


    Selena widened her eyes and said, "You''re holding a concert?"


    "Just a small one." I replied to Selena before turning to Finneas, "Can you do it?"


    Finneas thought for a bit before replying, "Sure. But don''t hold me accountable for any mistakes."


    Billie was irritated and said, "Are you really going to kick me out of the band?"


    I was startled and explained, "Oh no, I just didn''t want to bother you on the weekends. I don''t care if I disturb Finneas''s time off."


    Billie finally breathed in relief and then decided to join in on the concert.


    "Hey!" Finneas retorted in offense. We started the practice, but first thing first, I kicked Selena and Haley out of the room.


    "Ugh!" Selena groaned as I shooed her out.


    "Why me too!?" Haley asked with dissatisfaction.


    "Well, I''m throwing out Selena because the song has something to do with her. But I''m not really throwing you out, I actually need your help in distracting her so she doesn''t find out about it," I whispered to Haley.


    She nodded in understanding and moved away with Selena, making sure the song had no romantic undertones before they left, ensuring the surprise remained intact.


    ...


    [General POV]


    The carnival was buzzing with excitement as people roamed the grounds, indulging in cotton candy, trying their luck at games, and soaking in the vibrant atmosphere. The bright lights and merry melodies filled the air, creating a sense of joy and anticipation.


    Luke groaned as he slumped his shoulders, feeling a tinge of disappointment as he made his way through the bustling carnival grounds towards the square where the stage was set.


    The small stage had initially been constructed for speeches and announcements, but rumors had spread throughout the carnival that it had been modified for something far more exciting��a spontaneous concert. Hundreds of people were already gathering at the square.


    Luke tugged Claire''s sleeves and asked, "I know the bet between me and Ed is over, cause the goats make people know he''s here. But that means he lost, right?"


    Claire shook her head and appeased Luke, "No Honey. That will be so unfair for Edward. Besides, he has more tickets than you do, so if anything, you''re the one who lost."


    "Awhhh." With a resigned sigh, he and Claire were escorted towards the "VIP" seats, a few chairs set up near the stage for special guests.


    Claire greeted Ted and Frankie with a warm smile as she and Luke made their way to the almost couple. They were joined by familiar faces, including Phil�C who had to change his clothes, Haley, Selena, Alex, Cam, Mitch, Lily, Jay, Gloria, Manny, and Caroline, who had all gathered near the VIP seats as per Edward''s instructions.


    Some of Edward''s friends�C Jenna, Enid, Jacob, Elsa, Abraham, were at the opposite side of the stage, but they didn''t get any seats, only the front spot in the standing audience section.


    Ted greeted Claire and Luke cheerfully before asking, "So, how many tickets did you guys manage to get?"


    Claire''s disappointment was evident as she replied, "Exactly 700."


    Ted chuckled teasingly and ruffled Luke''s hair. "Oooh, so close. Ed has exactly 800."


    Luke''s face twisted into a grimace as he protested, "It doesn''t count. He''s only winning because he''s ahead."


    Alex chimed in, her expression a mix of confusion and amusement. "That''s... what winning is, Luke," she said, shrugging her shoulders.


    "Shut up. You''re of no help." Luke accused Alex. Alex was baffled and then glanced at Haley as she gave all of the tickets she won to her sister, but Haley pretended not to notice anything.


    "Haley�C" Alex tried to find out where the tickets went.


    "Shh- It''s starting." Haley shushed her little sister and focused on the stage.


    The organizer of the show grabbed a microphone and stood in the center of the stage. He was a brown Mexican man with a glorious mustache and kinda looked like Luiz Gusman.


    He prattled on about the history of the carnival, almost making the crowd leave. However when he mentioned Edward, the crowd got their passion injection again.


    "Without further ado, please welcome, the hottest pop artist teen nowadays, Mr EDWARD NEWGATE!!!"


    The announcement echoed through the square, igniting a wave of anticipation among the crowd. Cheers erupted as the name Edward Newgate reverberated through the air, signaling the arrival of the hottest pop artist of the moment.


    As the background music of "The Lazy Song" filled the air, Edward Newgate''s charismatic presence commanded the stage. Bathed in a pink spotlight, he exuded an aura of star power that captivated the crowd.


    The crowd erupted into cheers and screams, caught up in the electric energy that filled the atmosphere. Luke and Claire found themselves swept away by the infectious excitement, their hearts pounding in sync with the pulsating rhythm of the music.


    Edward took a moment to address the crowd, his voice carrying through the square. "Hey, everyone! Today is a special day, but I can''t shake off the feeling of wanting to just laze around inside my house, especially on a Sunday afternoon. Do you know what I mean?"


    Laughter rippled through the crowd. Edward''s smile widened, his connection with the audience palpable. "So, enjoy my hidden desire expressed in a song, ''The Lazy Song''," he announced.


    Caroline was starry eyed as she watched the impromptu concert with excitement. The crowd were swaying to the left and right as they sang along to the song.


    As the final notes of "The Lazy Song" resonated through the square, the crowd erupted into thunderous applause, their appreciation for Edward''s performance reverberating in the air. The energy of the moment was electrifying.


    "Oh my god. He''s so cool!" Caroline muttered in excitement as she turned towards Manny. Manny smiled and said, "I know, right? But, I am suspicious as to why he suddenly wants to sing right here."


    Caroline thought of a reason, but she didn''t say anything and only held the grateful feeling inside her heart. At this time, Edward wiped the sweat dripping down his chin. It was noon, and the weather was quite hot for him to perform in.


    Some of the girls in the crowd screamed to throw the towel towards them. Ed smiled and then he followed their request, causing a frenzy amongst the crowd.


    Luke then teased Alex, "Why aren''t you there? Oh, that''s right, Cause they don''t need a cello player!"


    "HMPH! I am learning the keyboard!" Alex grumbled angrily.


    Oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh


    Oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh


    Oh, whoa-oh-oh, oh, whoa-oh-oh


    Caroline and Selena jumped with the music without realizing that tears were streaming down their cheeks. However, they did so with a smile plastered on their face.


    Finneas helped with singing the harmony, "??(With every broken bone)"


    Ed sang, "I swear I lived??


    Finneas: (With every broken bone)


    Edward: I swear I�C??


    ??I, I did it all


    I, I did it all??


    The atmosphere quickly became heated. People were singing along to release their inner resentment.


    Together: ??I owned every second


    That this world could give??


    ??I saw so many places


    The things that I did ??


    ??Yeah, with every broken bone


    I swear I lived


    Edward smiled from the satisfaction and then sang alone,


    ??Oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh


    Oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh??


    ??I swear I lived??


    ??Oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh


    Oh, whoa-oh-oh, oh, whoa-oh-oh??


    The crowd cheered thunderously when the song finished. Edward painted and wiped his sweat before continuing with the concert. He sang 3 more songs before the concert ended.


    ...


    Jay, Manny, Caroline, and Gloria made their way to the car, ready to head out for lunch. As they approached the vehicle, Julie, Caroline''s caring caretaker, approached them, causing Caroline to pause.


    "Caroline!" Julie exclaimed, rushing forward to embrace her. Concern etched across her face, she noticed the tear marks on Caroline''s cheeks and asked with genuine worry, "Are you alright? Are you in pain? Should we go back to the hospital?"


    Caroline shook her head, her voice slightly hoarse from all the cheering and screaming during the concert. "No, it''s nothing," she reassured Julie.


    Gloria chimed in with a smile, teasingly saying, "Oh, she''s just crying from the concert."


    Julie''s confusion was evident as she asked, "What concert?" Gloria then proceeded to explain the emotional journey that had unfolded during the event.


    Caroline interjected, her voice filled with excitement, "You should have been there, Julie. It was absolutely amazing."


    Julie smiled helplessly, her eyes welling up with tears. "I wish I could have been there, but then I wouldn''t have been able to do this," she said, producing a piece of paper from her purse and handing it to Caroline.


    Caroline''s hands trembled as she took the paper, her eyes scanning the words written on it. "Adoption papers?" she uttered, her voice quivering with a mix of surprise and hope.


    Julie''s smile widened, her own tears now flowing freely. "Yes! With this, you can stay in California! Isn''t that wonderful?" she exclaimed, her joy palpable.


    Overwhelmed with emotion, Caroline couldn''t hold back any longer. She rushed into Julie''s waiting arms, tears streaming down her face, finally allowing herself to release the flood of emotions that had built up inside her.


    "But Julie. You don''t have any money!" Caroline cried without even releasing her embrace.


    Julie wiped down her tears and said, "Don''t worry about it. I can do just fine."


    Jay, seeing the whole scene, sighed. He wanted to do something about it, but then Julie said, "Also, just before I met you, I received a call. So don''t worry about money anymore. You just need to get better, okay?"


    Caroline sniffled and then her tears slowly stopped. She nodded to her caretaker�Cwho is currently her new mother, and then turned to Manny.


    Manny was frozen when he heard the whole thing and finally pieced out the puzzle. "Wait. You''re the terminally ill kid?" He asked in disbelief.


    "Yeah." Caroline didn''t hide it anymore and then stood on her toe before giving Manny a kiss on the cheek.


    [Caroline''s Bucket List]


    No. 20: Kiss a Boy. COMPLETE


    Manny was flabbergasted while Gloria froze in anger. "What do you think you''re doing�C" Before she could react, Jay caught her and said, "Come on Honey. Let''s give the kids some privacy."


    "Manny, will you be my boyfriend?" Caroline asked Manny while looking into his eyes. Manny blushed and the thoughts of her being a sick kid was forgotten instantly.


    "Well, the man is supposed to say that." He said with a silly smile.


    "Then say it." Caroline demanded.


    Manny took a deep breath and said, "Caroline, will you be my girlfriend."


    Caroline nodded in response, and Manny couldn''t contain his excitement. He turned to his mother, taking Caroline''s hand in his own, and exclaimed, "Mom! Look! I finally have a girlfriend!"


    "WHAT?!" Gloria was almost on the brink of going all crazy latina mother on Caroline without caring about her illness.


    Manny glanced back at Caroline, his expression bewildered, and muttered, "Cool. My first relationship."


    Caroline nodded in agreement, her tone nonchalant. "Unfortunately, Manny, I want to break up with you."


    Manny froze, his voice laced with disbelief. "What�� Why?!"


    Caroline shrugged and replied, "You''re a momma''s boy. I don''t like that."


    [Caroline''s bucket list]


    No. 21: Dump a boy meanly! (COMPLETE PS. SORRY MANNY!)


    Leaving the flabbergasted Manny behind, Caroline walked over to Julie. Gloria hurriedly approached Manny, her curiosity piqued. "What did she say?"


    "She broke up with me, Mom. I have mixed feelings about what just happened, so can we please go home?" Manny requested, his face drained of color.


    Gloria, however, smiled warmly and reassured him, "Of course, my dear. When we get home, I''ll make you some empanadas to cheer you up."


    [Manny''s commentary]


    "Ah, it''s moments like these that probably made Caroline think I''m a momma''s boy. I want to ask my mom to stop, but right now, I really need those empanadas if I want any chance of cheering up from my first relationship going up in smoke."


    [Commentary ends]


    As Julie and Caroline were walking away, Caroline took out her bucket list and crossed out 3 more things on that list.


    Julie saw it and smiled kindly, "There''s not a lot left on that list. What are you going to do when they are finished?"


    "I...will follow Edward''s advice to seize the moment, and make a new one."

 Chapter 205: A New New Hope

    Chapter 205: Chapter 205: A New New Hope


    [Edward POV]


    As I made my way back to the office, feeling the heat from the performance, I fanned my face with my arms, eagerly anticipating the refreshing coolness of the air conditioning. Exhausted from the show, both Billie and Finneas joined me in taking a moment to rest before the duo left to enjoy the carnival.


    Left alone on the couch, I savored the brief respite. Suddenly, I felt a jolt of coldness against the back of my neck. I had already noticed someone sneaking into the office, so I couldn''t help but let out a teasing pleasurable groan as I exclaimed, "Ohh, that''s some good stuff."


    Haley, with a pout on her face, took the ice-cold macchiato from my neck and playfully complained, "Can you at least act surprised sometimes? It''s getting a little boring."


    Then, she handed the drink to my hand. I accepted it, but as I took a sip, I couldn''t help but complain, "Hey, you drank from this."


    Haley smirked mischievously and replied, "It''s mine! I''m just giving you a taste."


    I shook my head and jokingly responded, "Well, that was a poor decision on your part. Now you''re not getting it back."


    "Ah!" Haley gasped in mock disbelief while trying to hold back her laughter. "Thief!"


    But, she didn''t try to take the drink back. Deep down, I knew that she had indeed bought it for me, as it remained practically untouched.


    "Where''s Selena?" I asked.


    As I asked about Selena''s whereabouts, Haley''s expression grew a bit complicated. She sighed and replied, "Well, I can''t really force her to hang out with me. After the concert, she called for a ride and left. I''m not sure if she went back home or somewhere else. Oh, and she wanted me to let you know that she''s leaving and she really loved the song. I think she even shed a few tears; her mascara was running."


    "Hmm... I hope she''s alright," I muttered, my concern evident. Haley, perhaps wanting to shift the mood, changed the subject and complimented me, saying, "You''re a really nice guy. Despite everything else."


    Raising an eyebrow playfully, I teasingly responded, "Oh, what''s ''everything else''? Devilishly handsome?" Leaning closer to her face, I could see her eyes widen and her cheeks flush with a blush.


    Haley pouted in a mix of embarrassment and mock anger, exclaiming, "Playboy!"


    Raising an eyebrow playfully, I continued the teasing banter, saying, "Oh, but you''re not pushing me away. I wonder why that is?" As I leaned closer, Haley''s eyes widened in surprise.


    "Shut up! My parents are coming here!" Haley hastily pushed me away, her tone filled with a mix of embarrassment and urgency. She quickly stood up and escaped as we heard the sound of clamoring from outside the door. Sensing the shift in the atmosphere, I dropped my head down in dejection, realizing that the playful moment had come to an end.


    Just as Phil, Luke, and Claire entered the room, the tension dissipated. I lifted my head and greeted them with a warm smile, saying, "Hey, guys."


    Phil, filled with excitement, rushed over and engulfed me in a hug before I could even get up from the couch. "Ed! That was inspiring," he exclaimed, expressing his enthusiasm. After a brief discussion about the concert, we returned to the main topic at hand.


    Curious, I asked, "So, who won?"


    Luke''s face contorted in disappointment as he admitted, "You did."


    Sensing his sadness, I smiled and replied, "Yeah, but it''s not really fair. You could have sprinted at the last second and gotten more tickets than me, but I ruined it with the concert. So, how about we call it a tie?"


    Luke''s expression brightened, and he agreed, "Yeah,.... it''s a tie."


    [Commentary: Luke''s]


    "I actually wanted to bring up the bet at that time, but I completely forgot about it."


    [Commentary ends]


    Haley, always quick with ideas, chimed in, "You know, if you guys pool your tickets together, you can go for the grand prize."


    My eyes lit up with excitement, and I exclaimed, "That''s a brilliant idea, Haley! I''m surprised it came from you."


    She rolled her eyes playfully and retorted, "I can have good ideas too, you know!"


    I couldn''t help but tease her further, saying, "No, I''m just surprised you can count."


    In response, Haley playfully hit my arm. I quickly apologized, saying, "Sorry, sorry."


    Phil and Claire smiled softly, seemingly enjoying our interaction, when Robin, the artificial intelligence assistant, suddenly chimed in.


    "Boss, an urgent problem has arisen," Robin announced, bypassing the silencing order I had implemented to ensure that she communicated only through text in public, following the priority protocols I had set.


    Startled, I turned my attention to Robin. "What''s the problem?" I asked, concerned about the urgency of the situation.


    "Hey that''s Ratata�C"


    As Robin almost relayed the urgent problem, I quickly interjected to correct Phil, who had almost called her by her previous unholy name. "Not now, Phil. And her name is Robin."


    Robin said, "Liza Friedman, and James Friendman, a married couple, are trying to copyright the song ''I Lived'' by copying the melody and the lyrics they recorded in your earlier concert."


    "Wait. Are they from the concert?" I couldn''t believe that individuals who had attended the concert would resort to such actions. But again, I shouldn''t hold out too much hope for humanity.


    Robin confirmed, "Yes."


    Deep in thought, I considered my options. Claire, visibly upset and angered by the news, voiced her strong opinion, "Who the hell do those people think they are? They need to be sued!"


    Phil''s usual amiable demeanour gave way to rare anger. He exclaimed, "And to think they''re biting the hands that provided them with a free, awe-inspiring, phenomenal performance in the afternoon! These ungrateful people need to pay!"


    Since the man was approaching from behind me, I quickly wiped my mouth with a napkin before turning to see who it was. What I saw caused my jaw to drop in astonishment.


    "George... Lucas?" I managed to utter, my voice filled with disbelief.


    ...


    The next day arrived swiftly, following the peculiar and eventful lunch gathering. I stayed at Eve''s estate until midnight, engrossed in conversation about Star Wars with George. He appeared genuinely impressed by ROBIN, the creation I had proudly showcased to Eve.


    During our discussions, I delved into my future plans for ROBIN. I spoke of my intentions to develop an AI application that would provide assistance in people''s daily lives, even though it would only harness a fraction of the AI''s capabilities and lack the advanced sophistication ROBIN had.


    I envisioned a user-friendly interface that would offer practical functionality, such as organizing schedules, providing reminders, and offering helpful suggestions. While it wouldn''t possess the same level of complexity as ROBIN, it wouldn''t be hard for it to reach basic chat gpt level in my previous life.


    Why was I telling the world my advantage? Because of the significant financial support being provided by Microsoft and Raytheon in the form of nearly 4 billion dollars in grants for AI research.


    "Why would I reject free money?"


    The availability of this significant funding presented a rare opportunity for me to take full advantage of the program, gain influence, and connect with influential individuals within the country. By leveraging this financial support, I aimed to take over a few of my industries of interest.


    Interestingly, during the conversation with George yesterday, he made a joke suggesting that with the money I would accumulate from the success of my AI, I could potentially acquire Lucasfilm. We had already spent hours talking at this moment, so we were already quite close with each other.


    "Although that may sound tempting," I replied, "I would feel an immense amount of pressure if I did that."


    Curious, George asked, "How so?"


    I explained, "It''s primarily due to the fans'' expectations ."


    George looked at me, expecting me to continue explaining. I sighed and said, "You know, We�C the fans, have been eagerly anticipating new movies from the franchise for a considerable amount of time."


    "For the fans, even if a movie turned out to be of subpar quality, it could still generate substantial revenue at the box office due to the nostalgia associated with the brand. It could easily break 1 billion at the box office. "


    "However, if the creative team consistently disregards the opinions of the fans and pushes forward with their own political agenda, the franchise would eventually wither away."


    George became silent and he lowered his gaze for a moment before he refocused his attention on me.


    "Right now, you''re surrendering away the creative rights to Disney. It might seem like a good deal, but the company has been so disconnected with the masses nowadays... They will pretend to respect your words at first, but honestly, they won''t really care..."


    Eve, the representative of the capitalist company, nodded in agreement to my words while Denise became increasingly annoyed.


    "Ed. You don''t have to continue. I got it," George said with a heavy sigh. "I kind of already know all of that stuff. But... I am already old. I can''t do much anymore. "


    George had dedicated a significant portion of his career and creative energy to building the Star Wars universe. However, he realized that the franchise had grown beyond what he could personally manage. In order to ensure its continued growth and preserve his own legacy, he entrusted the company to someone he trusted, taking a step back and becoming a creative consultant instead.


    After a brief silence, I asked him, "Do you believe that they will bring characters like Luke Skywalker back into the franchise?"


    "I believe they will. Yes. They spoke about it in our meetings," George replied.


    "Then, do you believe that they will kill him off, one way or another in the story?" I asked, making George widen his eyes in disbelief.


    Denise was taken aback upon hearing the question. Annoyance filled her voice as she responded, "No, they won''t! He''s like... the backbone of the entire franchise."


    "Oh, you like Star Wars too. That''s... surprising," I muttered casually, glancing at the angry woman. She seemed taken aback by my remark and quickly resumed her composed demeanor, while Eve gave her a smirking side-eye.


    "Edward, you spoke as if you had already foreseen it all." George said with a wry smile. "Is my decision really that wrong?"


    "Well sometimes I get nightmares like Anakin, so I know that if they get them they will kill the franchise." I said jokingly.


    That conversation about Star Wars ended there, and when I went to the toilet before going back home, I caught Denise smoking weed in it. As part of a morally righteous man, I lectured her about it for a bit, while taking some puffs on my own.


    Well I said I was only a part of it.


    On Monday, a lot of my equipment came and was sent to my lab while I was at school. In the history classroom, before the other students went to class, I had a one-sided willingness therapy session where I dumped my worries on her while waiting for the class to start.


    Despite being reluctant at first, Sage slowly gets into it and scolds me, "You''re already in a... what did you try to call it? Situationship? That''s really cowardly Ed. It''s either you want a relationship with a girl, or you don''t!"


    "That Haley, and Taylor too, and you keep flirting with other girls. What do you want to do exactly?" She asked me directly.


    I was tongue tied at first before I smirked and joked, "Well, you know Sage, when a transmigrator got an AI, that means, he will find a solution to every problem. So�C"


    Sage cuts me off before I could continue, "That''s the reason?! You believe you''re the main character or something? You know this kind of thinking will blow up in your face, right? Especially so when you''re playing with the girl''s feelings."


    "No it won''t."


    "Yeah it will."


    "No It won''t."


    "It will."


    After the class ended, I walked past Sage and said, "It won''t!"


    "It will!" She shouted as I ran away from the class.

 Chapter 206: Fast Forward. (1)

    Chapter 206: Chapter 206: Fast Forward. (1)


    [General POV]


    -Monday-


    As the concert went viral, a lot of people were tagging Edward''s profile on Twitter with their post.


    NotABaldy: I hated this guy @EdwardNewgate...Mainly because my girlfriend won''t stop talking about him. But I changed my mind. He''s a pretty cool guy.


    InfluencerCynicalGirl: How can anyone be sure that this isn''t something he planned for? I don''t believe in the streak of coincidences. Wake up people! This is just marketing! Like what the president does!


    NeilGaiman Replying to Cynical Girl: Yes. I guess he is planning to announce his candidacy. It is the only reason people would do nice things. Just in case it wasn''t clear, I was being sarcastic.


    NickJonas: I really love what you''re doing @EdwardNewgate. If you want to do something like that again, hit me up.


    In an apartment in Pasadena, Sheldon read the comment on Twitter with a conflicted expression. He placed his hand under his chin while sitting at his spot on the couch while scrolling on his phone.


    "Huh. That was sarcasm. I am fortunate he said that or else I would start to hate Neil Gaiman." Sheldon muttered subconsciously.


    Leonard heard it and turned from his work desk to look at Sheldon with a wide smile on his face, "Does that mean you''re thinking on behalf of Edward? Did you finally relent and become his fan like the rest of us?"


    "Don''t be silly. Even if the whole world likes him, then even if I would stand alone, I would still hate that precocious kid!"


    Leonard scoffed and said, "Sure, grandpa. Then, I guess you will hate what he sent to us via email."


    "Hmm? What did he send?" Sheldon asked with intrigue.


    Leonard suggested, "Let''s wait. Raj and Howard also received the email. They stopped me from reading it and asked us to wait until they got here to see our reaction."


    Feeling anxious, Sheldon took charge of Leonard''s laptop, pushing his friend aside, and exclaimed, "Then we better check the email now. Wait! It''s only addressed to you."


    Sheldon''s aggression dissipated as he turned to his friend. Leonard then asked with nervousness, "Well, what does it say?"


    "I don''t know what it says. It''s addressed to you," Sheldon replied with an annoyed tone. He added, "My mother told me that reading other people''s letters and emails is rude, unless you''re a mother and you need to check if your children and spouse haven''t gotten into some sort of unholy trouble."


    Ignoring Sheldon''s comment, Leonard proceeded to open the email after Sheldon stepped away. Suddenly, he screamed like a girl, taking a step back and covering his mouth in disbelief.


    Just then, Howard and Raj arrived at the house, having heard Leonard''s voice from outside the door. Hastily, they swung the door open and exclaimed in disappointment, "Damn it! We''re too late."


    "What is it? What''s happening?!" Sheldon asked with anxiety. "Is it the wait-for-it type of video again, and when you wait for it, something scary will pop up on the screen?!"


    Howard, wearing a gloating expression, remarked as he enjoyed his friends suffering, "Check your email."


    "Right. I can do that," Sheldon responded as he opened his email. "I got it��AHHH!!!" Sheldon screamed like a girl. "It''s a picture of an autograph! FROM GEORGE LUCAS!! DIRECTED TO... SHELDON LEE COOPER!!!"


    The email contained a selfie picture of Edward and George Lucas, along with the autograph attached to it.


    Sheldon''s chin quivered as he read the tagline in the email, "I will send it to your house soon. Did you guys hear that? SOON!!"


    Leonard, with tears in his eyes, asked Sheldon in a shaky voice, "Not hating on him so much now, huh?"


    Sheldon nodded and said, "If he were here... with MY autograph, I might even consider giving him a hug."


    Howard continued to gloat and said, "Then you''re going to love this!" He displayed a package in his hand and declared, "I intercepted the delivery guy downstairs! It''s here!"


    "OPEN IT, OPEN IT!" Raj, Sheldon, and Leonard exclaimed simultaneously. The commotion attracted the attention of their attractive neighbor Penny, who had just had a rough night at the Cheesecake Factory. She approached their door, wearing only shorts and a white tank top.


    "Why are you guys being so loud? It''s only 10 in the morning!? I was planning to sleep until noon." To her surprise, it was the first time ever that the guys�C minus Sheldon, ignored her�C especially in her sexy outfit as she came to the house. "Guys?"


    "Penny, we just got the most amazing gifts in the world." Leonard said as he kept his eye on the package Howard was opening. "That''s mine!" He snatched the first framed paper from the jumble with ferality as his name was at the top.


    "Mine!" Howard said as he took his.


    "Min�C" Rajesh almost finished his words when Penny stood beside him to take a look at what the guys were so excited about. She saw the sender''s name and said, "Oh. Is this a gift from Edward? How is he?"


    "No idea." Sheldon replied callously as he looked at Howard with expectancy. Howard knew what Sheldon wanted, but as he looked inside the package, he realized it was empty.


    "Sorry. That was it." Howard replied.


    "WHAT?!" Sheldon asked in shock. "But he said it''s going to be here soon. It doesn''t make sense not to send it all at once. Unless...The delivery guy''s name is also SHELDON! And he TOOK A LOOK INSIDE THE PACKAGE. I''M GOING TO CALL THE COPS!"


    As Sheldon started to freak out, none of the people there were reacting to him as they were reveling in their own gifts. "WOW." All three of them said at the same time.


    Penny stepped in quickly before Sheldon could accuse the delivery guy, "Stop. Sheldon, he might''ve made a mistake and forgot about putting it inside the package. I did it a few times before. Why don''t you call him before calling the cops on an innocent man?!"


    Sheldon finally calmed down a bit and said, "You''re right. I should call him first."


    5 minutes later, Edward was in the between classes break when he received a call.


    The drones swiftly took flight, displaying agile maneuvers reminiscent of the snitch in the Harry Potter movies. They circled around Edward a few times before gracefully descending onto his open palm.


    "Great job, Robin," Edward praised, a playful smile forming on his face.


    "Most of the credit goes to you, sir," Robin replied modestly.


    "I know that. I just thought you would feel bad otherwise." Edward joked.


    "Next project is the Continental Link," Edward informed Robin, as a blueprint of a 2-storey tall satellite link appeared on the screen monitor, generated by his voice command.


    Robin responded promptly, "Completing the project would require an estimated budget of 20 million dollars, sir. It would be nearly impossible to carry out discreetly. If I may suggest, perhaps we could utilize the technology to attract investors to support the project?"


    "Let''s leave the task of attracting investors to Harvey. And don''t forget to notify Mrs. Saltzman about it as well. We wouldn''t want to make her sad and feel as if we didn''t think about her."


    During lunch, Edward''s aunt, Camila, brought some food into the basement for him to eat. She brought him some tortilla wraps and then said, "Hey, I saw you on the news again. Some old white dudes are talking about you."


    Confused, Edward turned to Robin for more information. To his surprise, an interview with George Lucas appeared on the screen. In the interview, Lucas revealed that he had decided to cancel the sale of his company to Disney, thereby nullifying the acquisition process that would have taken several years to finalize.


    Kathleen Kennedy was also interviewed and she expressed regret to George distrust of her, while subtly hinting that he did so because she was a woman. Edward frowned at her words and then contacted George Lucas.


    He talked to him for 20 minutes, but all the context of his discussion with him could be summarized in two sentences. "Hi George, your interview sucks, and you seem like a bad guy because of it. I''m going to lend you Robin, and she could help you manage your image and company management better."


    Robin was programmed with Lex Luthor level image management knowledge and skills, so she could be really helpful for George.


    "I was just about to ask." George said jokingly.


    The phone call was cut short because George was still under fire at that time. Edward decided to take his mind off it and continued his lunch.


    "By the way, I figured it out," Edward said, capturing Camila''s attention.


    "Huh?" Camila responded, clearly confused. She was unsure of what Edward was referring to.


    Edward turned his monitor screen to Camila and played a video clip. The footage showed Camila fleeing from the police after they had stormed into a street racing event, attempting to apprehend those involved.


    Her figure darted under an overpass, followed closely by a helicopter. However, to the surprise of the officers, she seemed to vanish from their surveillance as her car emerged from the other side of the overpass with no one in the driver''s seat.


    "It was easy for me to find this. I just needed to cross-reference an incident that happened on the day you came home with a bruise on your cheek, and this video popped out. That was awesome, by the way," Edward said, referring to Camila''s escape.


    Camila''s eyes widened in surprise and concern as she watched the clip. Her actions were caught on camera, revealing a part of her life she had kept hidden. She took a moment to compose herself before speaking.


    "I... I didn''t expect this to come up," Camila admitted, her voice filled with a mix of regret and realization. "It was a reckless and foolish mistake, Edward. I was young, and I got caught up in the wrong crowd. I''ve learned from my past, and I''ve worked hard to leave it behind."


    Edward interrupted her with a snort of derision. "Stop acting," he said, a playful smirk on his face. "I can figure out what really happened, do you really believe you can trick me with that D-list actress-level acting?" He said with sarcasm.


    Camila pouted and crossed her arms, feeling caught. "Um... Are you going to rat me out? Or worse, are you cashing in on our bet?" she asked, her tone filled with a mix of concern and curiosity.


    Edward chuckled and shook his head. "Nah, I had to change the prize. It felt too weird, especially since you''re my aunt," he explained. "Taboo thing does sound nice, but it will be hard for you to stay here anymore. So how about this? The next time there''s a race, you''re going to bring me with you. Or else, I''m going to send this video to my dad."


    Camila thought for a moment, considering Edward''s proposal, and then pouted in dissatisfaction. "Just to be clear, I''m only bringing you to watch! You can''t participate in the race!" she clarified firmly.


    "Sure," Edward replied curtly, accepting the terms. Camila pursed her lips, unsure if she could trust him, and whispered, "I''m so going to regret this."


    She then told Edward, "We can only go when the heat dies down. So in a few weeks, not right now."


    Edward shrugged nonchalantly. "I can wait," he said, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Camila was still crossing her arms when she suddenly realized something. Her eyes widened, and she blurted out, "What do you mean ''Taboo things sound nice''? You little pervert! I''m your aunt! Even if we''re not blood-related--"


    Edward''s eyes widened in shock, interrupting her. He asked with disbelief, "What did you just say?"


    Camila froze, realizing her slip of the tongue. She looked at Edward like a deer caught in headlights, her face turning pale. Without uttering another word, she turned on her heels and ran away in a hurry, leaving behind a dumbfounded Edward, trying to process what had just transpired.


    Later that night. After Edward finished massaging Taylor, he received a text from his dad, requesting him to come home. Edward glanced at the heavily breathing Taylor, but before he could reply to his dad, Taylor''s expression suddenly changed, and she rushed into the bathroom.


    "What''s wrong?" Edward called out from outside the bathroom door, concern evident in his voice.


    "Umm... You better go home," Taylor replied after a moment of hesitation.


    "Why?" Edward asked, his disbelief evident.


    "It''s... my time of the month," Taylor responded, her voice slightly muffled. Edward was taken aback once again by the unexpected revelation.


    "I''m going to go home for a bit. Then, I''ll come back and stay with you tonight," Edward assured her, trying to be understanding.


    Taylor opened the door and looked at him in disbelief. "Wait. You''re still staying over?"


    "Why wouldn''t I?" Edward replied, his tone reflecting his confusion. With that, he left Taylor''s place and headed back home. As he opened the door to his house, he saw his dad and Frankie standing together, holding hands. They both looked at Edward with a hint of hesitation.


    Edward immediately realized what had transpired and grinned. "Congrats, Dad! You finally have a girlfriend! Took you long enough."


    Frankie chuckled and replied, "Without your song, it might have taken even longer."

 Chapter 207: Fast Forward (2)

    Chapter 207: Chapter 207: Fast Forward (2)


    -Wednesday-


    After school, Edward discreetly made a stop at a hospital. Haley, who was with him and noticed his actions, felt a sense of curiosity but decided to follow along without asking any questions.


    Edward was dressed in a simple ensemble, wearing blue jeans and a beige shirt and hiding his face with a cap, while Haley opted for a stylish dark one-piece dress paired with thigh-high boots.


    As Haley followed Edward to the children ward, suddenly a crowd of children went silent as they entered the room.


    "Hi Everyone." Edward said as he took off his cap. The children lit up and pointed at Edward with excitement while murmuring.


    With a warm smile, Edward spent several hours with the children, engaging in games, sharing stories, and even singing for them. It was an intimate and heartfelt experience, carefully kept away from the media''s attention.


    Edward''s genuine act of kindness and compassion brought joy to the children, creating cherished memories for both them and himself.


    As Edward played with the children, Haley noticed a little girl with auburn hair who stared at her intently. The girl, who had to walk with an IV pole, pointed at Haley and inquired, "Are you his girlfriend?"


    Caught off guard, Haley replied defensively, "No, I''m not! I''m just his friend, that''s it." She felt a bit anxious, sensing that the girl was a fan of TaylorXEdward and didn''t want to get into any complicated situations.


    However, the little girl continued, saying, "Really? But you''re so pretty. How come he didn''t make you his girlfriend?"


    Haley, slightly startled, fixed her hair and glanced in Edward''s direction. She then turned back to the little girl, a hint of amusement in her voice, and responded, "I don''t know. Sometimes he can be pretty stupid."


    The little girl nodded in understanding and shared a surprising revelation, "I understand that. My brother can be quite stupid too."


    As Haley and the girl were talking, Edward stole a glance at their direction, and he showed an affectionate smile as he saw Haley talking and laughing with the girl.


    "I enjoyed that better than I thought I would." Haley exclaimed after they went back home, riding in the ford convertible together.


    Edward chuckled and replied, "Yeah, you even became the Queen of the children in less than an hour. I guess it helps when you are on the same mental level as them."


    Haley playfully shot an angry glare at Edward before bursting into laughter. "Speak for yourself. How can you lose at the game of tag, 10 times in a row!?"


    Edward shrugged, jokingly defending himself, "Hey, the kids are really fast! And I can''t really tag them because they have the IV pole as a defense."


    After Haley finished laughing at Edward''s playful explanation, she shifted the conversation to the upcoming VMA awards. "Hey, you''re attending the VMA awards, right? Have you decided on your outfit yet?"


    Edward smirked and replied, "Not yet. My stylist seems to have forgotten to do her job. I think I should fire her."


    Haley raised an eyebrow, pretending to be surprised. "Really? Well then, she''ll have to work extra hard in the next few days. Can''t let her favorite client go to the VMAs looking like a beggar. Wait, she has never been paid before? Or do you think that might be why she''s not working?"


    Edward played along and said, "Nah, she just likes to mess around. She''s kinda a feral girl, so there''s really no need for money. I just have to provide her with some food and shelter, and she''ll work for me till the end of time."


    Haley was angry and said, "Who''s a feral girl!? I''m a beauty! There''s something wrong with your head if you can''t see that!" She then pouted and turned her face away from Edward.


    Edward smiled softly as he saw her pouting and mumbled to himself, "I guess...There is something wrong with me..."


    When Edward finally walked Haley to her door, she turned to face him, her nerves evident in her voice. "If I can''t make it, you have other options for your outfit, right?" She had clearly been pondering the matter.


    Unexpectedly, Edward shook his head and replied, "No. I want only yours. If you don''t come up with something, I will literally go there shirtless."


    Haley was taken aback by his determination, and she couldn''t help but shout angrily, "That''s too much pressure! I don''t even have good designs right now!"


    "Then, you''d better start working," Edward responded teasingly. Haley stomped her leg in dissatisfaction before turning to walk into her house. Edward called after her, "Oh, come on. Don''t be mad."


    "I''m not MAD!" Haley shouted back. "I just have a lot of work to do! GO HOME! You''re distracting me!"


    Edward chuckled at her outburst and replied from a distance, "I''ll wait for the good news!"


    "SHUT IT!" Haley shouted as she slammed the door behind her, ready to immerse herself in the task at hand.


    Claire and Phil were watching the entire thing from the window from the moment Edward''s car pulled over to the front of their house. As they sipped their cup of tea, Claire spoke first, "Have you ever seen Haley like this before?"


    "What? Not giving up the moment it gets tough for her? Never." Phil replied with a soft smile on his face. "I guess she''s growing up."


    "Or, she''s in love. That''s why she''s doing crazy stuff." Claire added.


    ...


    As Edward was working with some advanced tech in his basement at night, Robin suddenly chimed in, "Sir. You were mentioned in actor Robert Downey Junior''s interview. Simultaneously, Miss Taylor also mentioned you in her interview."


    One of the main differences between ROBIN and other AIs in Edward''s previous world was that she could have real time access to the internet as the previous one needed data provided to them as part of their ''training''.


    "I specifically told her not to do it. It''ll steal the limelight from her," Edward exclaimed, frustrated but couldn''t help smiling. He wiped at a smudge on his cheek, only succeeding in smearing it further across his face.


    The clip of RDJ''s interview played, capturing the moment he was asked about the rumors circulating regarding his annoyance with Edward Newgate. The viewers were already at the edge of their seats when waiting for RDJ''s answer as this could be one of the biggest news that would come out this week.


    "Well, as for that," RDJ replied playfully, "I meant every word. Before the movie even hit theaters, he had already jumped ship to another franchise? And to think Jon Favreau had such a soft spot for him, even adding his name to the list of assistant producers for the show."


    The viewers laughed, obviously knowing what RDJ was talking about.


    Edward''s face froze with disbelief. "Robin, is this for real?" he asked urgently.


    Robin took a moment to process the information before responding, "Based on the data extracted from Director Jon Favreau''s communications with his staff members, the information appears to be accurate. You are indeed listed as an assistant producer for the show. They even sent a check to Entertain today, and your job title matches what is listed on IMDB."


    Edward fell silent, his mind racing as he processed the information. After a moment of contemplation, he finally spoke up, his voice tinged with confusion, "But... why?"


    Robin, ever the logical companion, responded, "The interview you requested contains the reasoning behind it. Would you like me to provide a summary beforehand?"


    "No," Edward replied, his annoyance evident. "Just play the interview."


    The interview was played again, and RDJ revealed that Edward had been actively engaging in conversations and exchanging opinions with Jon regarding the movie. As a result, some reshoots had to be done to accommodate Edward''s input and suggestions.


    "Well, let me tell you, if it was a bad suggestion, I wouldn''t hold back��I''d straight-up say I hate the guy," RDJ quipped, his signature wit shining through. The audience laughed, knowing that RDJ was only joking.


    "But truth be told, he''s had some pretty damn great suggestions! So yeah, we ended up shelling out some extra cash for reshoots, and you know what? Not a single person on the team has complained. But here''s the kicker: the guy goes and then...posts a video on his Instagram, hanging out with none other than George Lucas, the genius behind Star Wars."


    "Like, seriously? He never even bothered to mention the times he swung by the studio. So yeah, you can say I''m a little annoyed with him right now. Jon is also a little depressed and has started to hit the bottle again, wondering what he did wrong." RDJ joked.


    Edward''s face turned blank and he sighed, "Ah...That''s why..."


    Even though Edward''s mention in the interview lasted only a brief three minutes, it was undeniably entertaining and captivating. The story of his ship jumping antics quickly spread like wildfire, and soon enough, people couldn''t stop talking about it.


    Memes mocking Edward''s decision to switch franchises began surfacing all over the internet, adding a touch of humor to the situation.


    Sage retorted, "Excuses! You''re a warthog."


    Edward was taken aback. "Are you calling me a pig?" he asked, disbelief evident in his voice.


    Sage calmed herself down and said, "I don''t want to tell you how to live your life. And, I don''t really care about the girls. You can date both of them if you want. "


    Edward was a bit taken aback, "Then, why?"


    Sage glared at Edward, making his heart jump for a second. She explained, "You know you have been acting really deluded ever since you have ROBIN."


    Edward replied casually, "Well, my workplace has become 1500% more efficient. I can focus my time on creating stuff�C"


    "Not that. That''s all the good part." Sage interrupted. "I was talking about the part where you think you can solve everything if you have her. That''s a dangerous thought, and you know it yourself."


    Edward was silent for a while, and then he looked at Sage with a serious expression. He said, "So what if I know? I don''t have a solution to it. Do you have any solution to it?"


    Sage was the one taken aback this time. She replied with confusion, "No?"


    Edward locked eyes with Sage for a while before he sighed. "Then, if you don''t have the solution, and I don''t have the solution, is it really the best use of our time worrying about it?"


    "Edward. If there''s a ticking bomb counting down inside your house, will you ignore it, or try to do something about it? You can read some books...I don''t know? Get a professional to come take a look? Or just wait until the countdown finishes?" Sage said sarcastically.


    "Well it''s not like I''m creating Ultron. There''s really no risk to it." Edward replied.


    "Do you even believe what you''re saying right now?" Sage asked.


    Edward was silent for a while, and then he was saved from answering the question by the bell ring and the other students entering the class.


    Later, after school had ended, Edward found himself unexpectedly running into Mrs. Henderson, his middle school teacher, at a nearby diner.


    "Hello Pretty Lady. Are you eating alone? Want some company?" Edward flirted as he sat at her table without even asking permission.


    Mrs Henderson raised an eyebrow and said, "Hello Mr Newgate. Nice to see you aren''t changing much."


    "That''s...rude?" Edward asked in confusion. He shrugged and said, "I don''t know whether to be offended by that statement or not."


    Mrs Henderson smiled and said, "That''s what I was going for."


    Edward grimaced and said, "Well, nice to see you aren''t changing too."


    "Anything on your mind? You seem... a bit distressed." Mrs Henderson asked.


    Edward was taken aback and joked, "Shouldn''t we order some food and lead the conversation with some small talk first before getting into the more serious topic?"


    "We could. But I ordered my take away 10 minutes ago, and I usually only need to wait 15 minutes before leaving with my food." Mrs Henderson said casually.


    Edward smiled and said with a fake sad expression, "You can''t stay for 10 more minutes for our reunion. I''m hurt."


    "Hurts...That reminds me. I saw your match last Sunday. Are you okay now? You got tackled pretty hard." Mrs Henderson asked, completely dismissing Edward''s act.


    "Yeah the bruises are all gone." Edward replied honestly.


    "Well you should take good care of yourself. A lot of people will feel sad if something were to happen to you." Mrs Henderson said with a soft expression.


    Edward went silent for a while before he smiled, "I guess you''re right."


    Mrs Henderson''s order came at the moment, and while she took her bag, she said to Edward, "And, you don''t really need to worry too much. A lot of things are happening to you all at once, so you may feel overwhelmed... But if I know you Ed, I don''t think it will bother you at all."


    "Huh?" Edward was confused.


    Mrs Henderson smiled and said, "if you think of them as challenges rather than problems, then maybe, you might have some fun solving them."


    Edward was tongue tied when he heard it. After Mrs Henderson left, he stayed there for a while, ruminating on what she had said. A lot of things cleared up when he decided to look at them with a different perspective.


    "Is this what Sage was talking about? I guess Mrs Henderson is a professional in solving people''s problems�C Wait. She''s a teacher. She''s trained to do so. Sage is just an impostor." Edward mumbled to himself.


    However, as Edward left the diner, he had a nagging feeling that someone was watching him with ill intentions. He quickly scanned his surroundings but couldn''t identify the culprit.


    "Was I imagining things?" Edward mumbled to himself, on high alert as he returned to his car.


    ...


    "Congratulations for breaking through 100 million views!!" Pepper popped a confetti bomb to Taylor as she entered his office together with Edward. They were currently at the Entertain building, making final preparations for the VMAs!


    "Pep! You''re back!" Edward said with excitement as he gave Pepper a giant hug.


    "If I stay there any longer, I might have to call myself a New Yorker, and I have a lot of problems with that." Pepper said sarcastically. Taylor smiled and said, "100 Mil? Really?"


    Edward grinned and turned to her, "Really! It just hit 100 Mil 20 minutes ago."


    "ED!" Taylor rushed toward Edward and gave him a hug. Edward hugged her back but shortly after, she pulled her face back and asked Edward seriously, "Did you do anything to mess with the views?"


    "Unfortunately, No. You got 100 Million views on Youtube, all on your own effort�C Well, our effort. The MV is called, "Unnecessarily High Quality" and "4 Minute Movie" after all." Edward answered playfully.


    Pepper chuckled hearing that and added, "You forgot "Teenage Rom-Com You never knew you needed". That''s enough hugging from you two. Let''s talk about the VMAs."


    Pepper held his paper fan in between Edward and Taylor before separating them. Taylor grimaced in dissatisfaction and shot Pepper a dirty look while Edward laughed.


    Pepper didn''t take her glaring seriously at all and said, "The votes are closed tonight. Unexpectedly, they listed Edward''s song inside the categories too. I''m sure you guys all know about it."


    "Yeah. I''m skeptical about that. I have only debuted less than 5 months after all. Taylor has 3 years, and she''s still being counted as a newbie."


    Taylor nodded and hugged Edward''s arm, "You''re just awesome. Maybe they realize that too."


    Pepper added, "Even if they were playing around, even getting nominated is such a huge honor for a new celeb."


    Edward shrugged and said, "We don''t really need this kind of suspense. I can ask ROBIN to just tell me who won."


    "NOOO!!" Pepper and Taylor shouted at the same time. Edward was taken aback and he exclaimed, "Sheesh. Both of you guys are drama queens."


    Friday night arrived, and Edward and Taylor had to fly to New York for the VMAs award show. Ted, offering his support, hugged Edward, "Good luck at the VMAs. Don''t forget to bring a nice bag to put all of the trophies in."


    "Don''t worry. I already have." Edward joked back.

 Chapter 208 - 208 :VMA (1)

    Chapter 208: Chapter 208 :VMA (1)


    (4 parts for the VMA)


    [Edward POV]


    In a nearby waiting room, I observed Taylor as she slipped into her breathtaking one-shoulder Kaufman Franco gown. The dress was truly a work of art, adorned with dark sequins that adorned every part, from top to bottom, creating a mesmerising interplay of light and shadow.


    The upper and lower sections of the gown were richly embellished with a dense concentration of sequins, while the middle section featured sparser sequin accents, adding depth and intrigue to the overall design.


    As Taylor twirled in front of the mirror, a smile of satisfaction graced her face, and I couldn''t help but be captivated by her beauty.


    Suddenly, a hint of disappointment crept into her voice as she touched her thigh. "Damn, the dress seems to have become smaller," she murmured. The gown hugged her body tightly, accentuating her curves and exuding undeniable allure.


    I chuckled inwardly, recalling the picture she had shown me of herself in the dress. Although she looked great in the previous fit, at certain angles, she looked a bit lanky.


    After a week of massaging with my Murim techniques, her skin became more radiant. Her hair became glossy, and her sexiness quadrupled as some parts of her became bigger. I brushed my hand on her bare back, making her lean towards me.


    "It wasn''t like this before," she added, remembering the time when the designer had taken her measurements. "I wanted to look like a country girl, but I feel more like a cougar actress in her 40s instead." She said with aggrievance.


    Unable to resist, I chimed in playfully. "What are you worrying about? You look absolutely stunning. Especially with that alluring hint of side boob�C"


    Before I could finish my sentence, Taylor pushed my face lightly, pretending to be annoyed. I smirked and gently grabbed her hand, bringing it to my lips for an affectionate kiss. "And what''s wrong with looking sexy?" I teased. "I swear, the dress is making me want to rip it apart and take you right here and now."


    Taylor smiled mischievously and responded, "If you rip it, then you''ll have to pay the sponsor 50 grand."


    I shrugged, feigning indifference. "That''s not even 5 % of what I earn in a day. Why don''t you buy ten more of these dresses, so we can have a good time together?"


    "Oh really? I guess there''s some benefit to dating a rich man. Then I will put in the order right now and make you broke!" She flirted back before pushing me and said, "You need to change too!"


    "Don''t worry about it. I can finish changing in 10 minutes." I replied smugly before asking, "Where''s Selena? She''s coming, right?"


    "Missing your new girlfriend? She''s here...I think." Taylor replied teasingly.


    "Kinda." I replied, making Taylor grimace in annoyance. "You''re supposed to say that you don''t miss her!" She snided.


    "Oh, but it''s okay for me to claim her as my girl?" I played along with her logic, which made her taken aback. Then she said angrily with a sexy grimace on her face, "You should not do that too!! Ugh! Why am I even talking to you about this!?"


    I laughed and said, "Hey you brought it up."


    *BANG* The door was pried open violently.


    Pepper''s sudden entrance startled both Taylor and me, and we turned our attention towards him. He was accompanied by a stunning brunette girl who was wearing a captivating black dress with a deep cleavage. Instantly recognizing her�Cwithout even looking at her face, I exclaimed, "Hey, it''s Max!"


    Max smiled and waved her hand at me before pointing to the irritated man. Pepper rolled his eyes in annoyance and said, "I''ve been waiting for you to end your flirting for a while outside the door, but it kept going on endlessly."


    I laughed and told Pepper, "Who asked you to wait? Just come in next time. We don''t really mind the audience."


    Taylor hit my arm and said, "YOU don''t mind it! I very much do! Pepper! He doesn''t want to change." She whined childishly.


    "Because his outfit isn''t finished yet." Pepper interjected to Taylor''s complaint, making her baffled. "What do you mean?" She asked, taken aback.


    "He put in the order at the last minute yesterday. Luckily, Longinus can still make it."


    Max then rolled in a wardrobe rack into the room, revealing a classic elegant green suit and black shoes. I went to check how the material felt with my finger and said, "He did one hell of a job."


    Taylor was still focusing on Pepper''s earlier sentence and asked, "Why is he putting the order in only yesterday?"


    "Because he emphasized that he wanted to wear a suit created by Haley." Pepper replied.


    I noticed Taylor''s jealous look and said, "Can you blame me? You''ve seen the outfit, right?"


    Pepper nodded and said dismissively, "I know, I know. Go do your hair and then wear the suit."


    "Or you can just wear it here." Max said with a laugh.


    "Alright." I said casually and started taking off my shirt, causing Pepper to cup Max''s eyes and pull her out of the room.


    "Aw, come on. I want to see it." Max exclaimed jokingly as she was escorted outside.


    Ten minutes later, I stood ready in front of the mirror to make my entrance at the prestigious awards show, while Taylor diligently put the finishing touches on her outfit. The designer had carefully chosen my ensemble, and it exuded an air of elegance and sophistication.


    I wore a captivating dark green suit that enveloped my entire body. The deep shade complimented my eyes flawlessly, accentuating their natural allure. The suit was expertly tailored, hugging my frame in all the right places, and exuding a sense of refined style.


    Beneath the suit, I sported a black undershirt, tastefully unbuttoned to reveal a pristine white shirt underneath. The subtle contrast of colors added depth to the ensemble and showcased the designer''s attention to detail. A fang necklace adorned my neck, adding a touch of intrigue and personal flair to the overall look.


    To complete the ensemble, I adorned my wrist with a prestigious Rolex watch, its gleaming metal and intricate design adding a touch of luxury and sophistication. My footwear consisted of sleek black Armani dress shoes, meticulously crafted to ensure both comfort and style.


    As for my hair, it had been artfully styled, slicked back with a hint of deliberate nonchalance. Some strands cascaded gracefully, framing my face and adding a touch of effortless charm.


    Taylor whistled as she saw me. "You clean up nice."


    I rolled my eyes and said, "When did I ever not have style?"


    She laughed and then showed a bitter smile. "It''s great...but we don''t match."


    "That''s kinda the point. We need to not let your image be tied up to me that much." I said while fixing stray hair affectionately.


    She smiled as she locked eyes with me and said, "Kinda hard to imagine not seeing you for a long time after this."


    The VMAs, specifically focused on recognizing the excellence within music videos, took into account various aspects such as editing, cinematography, video direction, and visual effects, among others.


    Taylor had received nominations for her outstanding videos, including "Love Story" and the recently released "You Belong With Me." The latter had shattered records, achieving an incredible feat of reaching 100 million views on YouTube in less than a week!


    However, I had the privilege of being the frontrunner in this regard. My music video, "Believer," had been released during the summer, and within a remarkable span of just nine days, it had amassed 100 million views. This accomplishment was truly extraordinary.


    It''s worth noting that our other videos, such as "Love Story" and "Grenade," also surpassed the 100 million view mark, although it took them over a month to reach that milestone. This serves as a testament to the remarkable achievement of reaching such a massive audience.


    To put things into perspective, even iconic music videos like "Single Ladies," which was nominated for Best Music Video of all time, took a considerable two months to gain traction and reach the 100 million view mark. On the other hand, "Paparazzi" only recently crossed the 100 million view threshold, having been released in June.


    As for the current view counts, "Grenade" has garnered over 230 million views on Youtube, and 110 million views on Entertain video, "Love Story" boasts 199 million views and 77 million views, "Believer" has an impressive 430 million views and 270 million views, and "You Belong With Me" holds 110 million views and 50 million views as of today. These numbers speak volumes about the widespread appeal and enduring popularity of our music videos.


    However, Youtube and MTV are in a different category. If Youtube, or even Entertain videos achievement were taken into account, Taylor and I would''ve won all the awards given here today.


    ...


    After finishing the interviews, I went back to the waiting area where I saw K, an african american hip hop artist, posing in front of the billboard with a full liquor bottle in his hand. I ignored him and then went to Selena and Taylor who were talking to each other.


    Selena saw me and was a bit startled. She quickly became nervous as she glanced at Taylor to check her reaction. I smiled and spoke casually, "Hey, it''s been a while. How are you?"


    "Good." Selena replied curtly. "Y-You guys must be so excited for tonight."


    "We are." Taylor replied.


    "Well she is. I want to go back home and sleep." I replied sincerely, making both of the girls chuckle.


    Selena said, "it is pretty boring in the beginning. I can''t wait for the show to start."


    "We''re sitting near each other right?" Taylor asked.


    Suddenly, a teenager with long hair and burgundy colored jacket walked towards us. "Hi." JB greeted me with a smile and offered his hand for a handshake.


    "Hi. Well, should we introduce ourselves? Cause I''m pretty sure everyone here knows each other. You know what? Let''s still. Hi, I''m Edward. You can call me Ed. "


    "Um, what are you doing?" Taylor whispered with disbelief to my ear, but was caught by JB. It was to be noted that at this moment, he hasn''t become famous worldwide and the song ''Baby'' hasn''t been released yet.


    JB''s smile quickly became bitter and he said, "Sorry for bothering you guys." He eyed Selena for a bit before turning.


    I replied with a teasing smile and stopped him. "Why should you? We haven''t even gotten to know each other yet. Let me ask you this, who do you think is prettier, Shakira, or Eminem?"


    He was baffled and he answered with confusion, "S-Shakira? I- I''m not g�C"


    "Then, we have something in common. I think we can be friends." I replied jokingly. Taylor snorted while Selena laughed. JB was a bit embarrassed and he tried to act tough, "What the hell- HAHAHA."


    It was the first time he burst into laughter tonight. We talked for a bit until it was time for us to enter the venue. We sat near each other before JB was called to go backstage to present the award.


    Selena asked me when he left, "I thought you hated that guy..."


    "Yeah, you''d taken some shots at him a couple of times before." Taylor added. "Are you being a hypocrite?" She asked mischievously. I smiled and said, "I hate his image, but not the guy himself. Seriously, he needs a haircut. "


    Taylor rolled her eyes while Selena chuckled.


    The show commenced, with an opening speech from the MTV Director, setting the tone for the evening''s festivities. Following the speech, a captivating 20-minute performance by Janet Jackson to pay tribute to the legendary Michael Jackson, captivating the audience with his iconic music and dance moves.


    The first two awards presented were "Best Video (That Should Have Won a Moonman)" and "Best Performance in a Pepsi Rock Band Video." While the significance of the first award was to honor veteran artists deserving of more recognition, the relevance of the second award might have been to acknowledge outstanding performances within Pepsi-sponsored music videos.


    After Madonna delivered a heartfelt speech about Michael Jackson, the attention shifted to Jack Black and Megan Fox, who took the stage to present the award for "Best Male Video."


    The crowd erupted in applause as they walked behind the podium. Jack Black was wearing a simple jeans and t-shirt, creating a stark contrast to his co-host Megan Fox, who shimmered in a glittery black dress with a deep cleavage, exuding glamor and allure.


    Jack Black asked, "So I hear, one of the nominees today is a good friend of yours. Do you hope that he will win the award?"


    "He''s one of the most talented people I''ve ever met, and one of the rare few people in the world that didn''t react much when he met me."


    "Seriously?" Jack Black was astonished. Then, he looked right at me and said, "Newgate, did you really reject Megan Fox? THE Megan Fox?"


    The audience was stunned before they all bursted into laughter. The camera focused on my face during the live show, and I just waved politely at the camera while slightly pointed towards Taylor. My behavior won me the heart of countless female fans, and caused overexcitement to a few of them. It seems that Megan had taken our meeting before during the Jimmy Fallon interview to her heart.


    Jack Black laughed and joked, "You have no chance at all."


    Megan pretended to be disgruntled and continued, "Without any further delay and heartbreak, these are the list of nominees for the Best Male Artist of 2009 VMA awards."


    A triumphant music was played, and a short clip of the nominees''s music video was shown on the big screen.


    Best Male Video: Nominees.


    Eminem �C "We Made You"


    Jay-Z �C "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)"


    Ne-Yo �C "Miss Independent"


    K. West �C "Love Lockdown"


    Edward Newgate �C Believer.


    Jack Black then opened up the envelope with the winner''s name on it and announced, "The winner for Best Male Video of the 2009 MTV VMA award goes too..."


    Megan Fox continued with a huge smile on her face, "Edward Newgate..." The crowd burst into applause as my name was announced, "...Believer!"

 Chapter 209: VMA (2)

    Chapter 209: Chapter 209: VMA (2)


    [Edward POV]


    As the chorus of "Believer" filled the air, I was escorted towards the stage, feeling a mix of excitement and nerves. As I stood up from my seat, I leaned over and planted a gentle peck on Taylor''s cheek, followed by Selena, both of whom cheered for me wholeheartedly and stood up to celebrate my winning before making my way to the stage.


    Eminem who was nominated was nodding in acknowledgement, while K looked a bit dissatisfied when the camera panned out to show his face.


    Upon reaching the stage, the energy in the room was palpable. Megan Fox handed me the trophy with a light hug, and I reciprocated with a grateful smile. I then extended my hand to Jack Black, who warmly shook it.


    "Congrats Ed." Megan Fox said.


    "Congrats Kid." Jack Black said.


    "Thank you both." I said to them. "Also, I really loved Kung Fu Panda and the School of Rock." I said to Jack Black, making him laugh.


    As Megan and Jack took a step back, the spotlight centered solely on me, standing alone in the center of the stage. The crowd''s anticipation filled the air, and I took a deep breath, gathering my thoughts before I began my speech.


    "Hello everyone. I''m Edward Newgate," I began, my voice projecting confidently as the crowd erupted in thunderous cheers, showing their support and enthusiasm. A smile of disbelief crossed my face as I soaked in the overwhelming response who didn''t stop for almost 15 seconds.


    As the atmosphere quieted down a bit, "First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to MTV for bestowing this incredible award upon me. Music has been an integral part of my life for as long as I can remember, and receiving this recognition today holds immense significance to me."


    I took a moment to compose myself, gathering my thoughts before continuing. "I want to take this opportunity to give a special thanks to my dads. To Ted Newgate, who raised me with love and support, and to my new dad whom I recently met a few months ago. I stand here today because of him; Pepper Saltzman, the CEO of Entertain, who believed in me before anyone else would, and for that, I am eternally grateful. "


    As I spoke, I noticed Pepper who was sitting at the CEO''s seat, visibly moved by my words and tearing up. His support had been instrumental in my journey, and I was proud to acknowledge his impact on my success. All of my sentences were met with incredible cheer from the fans, and some artists there.


    "I also wanted to give a special mention to the family I''m close with, and my aunt Camila. Additionally, I want to extend my heartfelt appreciation to one of my dearest friends and most important people in the world, Taylor." The crowd erupted once again as I mentioned her. I directed my gaze towards her, witnessing her wiping tears of joy, which only fueled my own happiness.


    "I can vividly recall our first meeting and the tremendous support she''s provided throughout my career. I''m forever grateful for your company and guidance."


    "I''d also like to give a special shoutout to Phil, Claire and their children... Selena... my band members, Eminem who has my back, Coldplay who I''m really sure you will be seeing up here soon enough , my dear friends from school, and everyone at Entertain agency who has shown... unwavering belief in me. Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart. Lastly, and I didn''t forget you guys!! ...To all of my fans, I love you guys so much! Thank you!" I waved my trophy to the crowd.


    The crowd cheered as I made my leave with Jack Black and Megan Fox backstage. The big screen showed my journey as an artist as I went away as they changed the presenter.


    This showed my journey from the start of my career�C my first ever video of me singing in a cafe, and getting to where I was today. I left my award with my staff member before rejoining the audience. There, Taylor hugged me excitedly as I came back and said, "Damn it, you ruined my mascara."


    Eminem walked towards me and congratulated me too. "Since you already said that I got your back, that means you''re part of my squad. So don''t worry about nothin''. I will make sure none can mess with you." Eminem said.


    "That great and all, but have you talked to Rihanna yet?" I said jokingly.


    "Soon!" Eminem answered curtly before he left.


    Next up was for the Best Pop Video Category, presented by Nelly Furtado and Kristin Cavallari. The nominees were : Britney Spears �C "Womanizer", Beyonce? �C "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", Cobra Starship (featuring Leighton Meester) �C "Good Girls Go Bad", Lady Gaga �C "Poker Face".


    "And the winner is, ''Britney Spears�C Womanizer!''" The announcer said.


    I enjoyed watching the show and cheering for the other winner when I was called backstage to get ready for my performance.


    "And now, presenting the award for Best Female Video, Taylor Lautner and Shakira!! �C"


    I smiled as I heard the announcement. "I wonder if she''ll be happy with my surprise." I mumbled as I looked into Taylor''s direction�C the girl, not the boy.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Back to 20 minutes before, in LA, Jay''s house, there was a viewing party to watch the VMAs together.


    Edward''s friends group, the extended family, Ted, Frankie, Sage (Anna) and Camila were all inside Jay''s living room.


    As they saw Edward win the award, they burst into cheer, and were especially excited and focused when he was saying his speech.


    Phil cried immediately, "He mentioned my name. I''m special to him. I''m like the dad he never had."


    Ted heard Phil''s mumbling and shrug in confusion and disbelief. The only reason he didn''t go there today was because he had a major check up for his liver problem, and Edward told him to stay behind.


    Claire cried too and said while hugging Phil, "I''m so proud of him."


    Cam was offended, "Why does Phil get special mention when all of us fall under ''the family he''s close to''... in the general term?!"


    Mitchell was holding Lily and he said casually, "Cam this is his time to shine, not yours. He doesn''t owe you anything."


    "But�C"


    "No buts." Mitchell stopped Cam''s unreasonableness immediately.


    Jay was slouching on the couch, drinking whiskey as he watched the show. "When will this be interesting?" He asked Alex who was sitting nearby with her friends.


    "I don''t know.." Alex replied honestly. Jacob was looking extremely depressed, and when Elsa asked him why, he replied, "He didn''t mention me as his best friend."


    "Ugh!" Elsa groaned in disgust after hearing Jacob''s answer.


    "Wait. Britney won? Pepper owes me 50 dollars." Mitchell said as the award show continued.


    Gloria brought some empanadas to the living room to give to her son, "Here. I made your favorite food!"


    "Mom, you''re smothering me again." Manny said, hiding his annoyance.He had been acting distant towards Gloria for the past week, and it was starting to take an emotional toll on her.


    Suddenly, all of them gasped as they were watching the TV.


    In another house, Mrs Henderson was watching the awards show alone, and she showed a rare affectionate smile as she watched Edward receive the award.


    In Cuba, the MTV awards show was played inside a huge old mansion. Miranda, Edward''s mother, watched the award show with a complicated expression. "He didn''t even mention me..." She mumbled to herself.


    Back to MTV, as the nominees for the Best Female Video was announced, K, the african american hip hop celebrity was looking down on his empty liquor bottle.


    The nominees for the Best Female Video were played on the screen.


    Taylor S. �C "You Belong with Me"


    Beyonce? �C "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)"


    Kelly Clarkson �C "My Life Would Suck Without You"


    Lady Gaga �C "Poker Face"


    Katy Perry �C "Hot n Cold"


    Pink �C "So What"


    It was the first time Taylor got nominated, and she couldn''t help but cover her mouth with excitement.


    "Oww-Oww, then, Threesomes?"


    "NO!!"


    I pretended to be shocked, "FOURSOMES!!"


    "AHHHHH!" She pulled my cheek harder, making it become red.


    At this moment, Selena came and gave Taylor a huge hug to comfort her together with Taylor''s mom.


    After getting her to her support group, then I returned backstage to get ready. It was already 5 minutes past the time I was supposed to perform, but I no longer care about MTV. The producers noticed that but they couldn''t say anything because they were the ones at fault here.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Miranda Cosgrove�C The main character from ICarly, and Adam Brody, another actor, walked to the stage to present the next performance.


    Adam Brody, dressed in his elegant black suit turned to the teenage Miranda Cosgrove who was wearing a low cut dress, and said, "I believe the next performer is the one in your tweet which you said you have a crush on?"


    Miranda was flabbergasted and said, "No. I mean, who wouldn''t? Without further ado, presenting, the prodigal pop star, the handsome prince, Edward Newgate!"


    Adam Brody was shocked to hear Miranda''s description as they were supposed to only say his name. He laughed at the teen girl''s antics and clapped his hands together as the curtain was drawn, revealing the lone figure of a charming boy sitting on the piano chair underneath the spotlight.


    Edward took the stage in a striking ensemble that exuded both elegance and a hint of intimidation. He donned a pristine white tuxedo suit, pairing it with a partially unbuttoned white undershirt that revealed a glimpse of his chest. Around his neck hung a chain necklace, adding a touch of edginess to his attire.


    His black trousers, expertly tailored, featured a delicate golden lining running along the sides, accentuating his sleek silhouette. However, it was the unexpected accessory that caught everyone''s attention��a vibrant green and red scarf cleverly cinched around his waist, serving as a unique and eye-catching belt. It was Haley''s idea to add the scarf, and it immediately turned his outfit into an iconic essamble.


    As Edward began his performance, his hair was immaculately slicked back, exuding a sense of refinement. Yet, a few artfully tousled strands escaped, framing his face and lending a touch of effortless charm. The combination of his polished appearance and the subtle disarray of his hair created a captivating contrast, drawing the audience''s gaze.


    The presentation was a stark contrast from all of the other performances tonight, which focused mostly on pop music. It made the audience hold their breath as Edward pressed the piano keys gently.


    [??JVKE - Golden hour??]


    The refreshing melody stunned a few people. At this moment, Robin released the drones to support Edward in the performance. An illusionary, faceless figure of a long blonde haired woman dressed in a beautiful golden dress appeared on top of the piano, startling everyone.


    Edward''s melodious voice reverberated all across the hall, "??It was just two lovers...Sittin'' in the car, listenin'' to John (elton)...Fallin'' for each other ??


    Pink and orange skies, feelin'' super childish,No one to bother.??"


    "??Missed call from my father


    Like, "Where you at tonight?"


    Got no alibi??"


    Some of the artists there scoffed, "Basic shit."


    "??I was all alone ??" Edward continued while looking at the illusionary and fairy tale-like woman. Countless light shows flying animals flew all over the venue, making the performance a spectacle."


    Suddenly, the light on the back turned on, revealing the figure of the entire LA Philharmonic orchestra!


    Edward crooned with a goosebump inducing voice."??With the love of my life!! She''s got glitter for skin. My radiant beam in the night~! I don''t need no light to see you�C??"


    "Shine~~~~!!!!!


    It''s your golden hour (Oh-oh-oh)??"


    The entire world becomes mesmerized by the show. The Orchestral combination and Edward''s singing turned the ordinary show into an extravagant spectacle.


    "You slow down time~~!!!!!


    In your golden hour~~!! (Oh-oh-oh)"


    Lady Gaga exclaimed, "HOLY SHIT!!!" She rubbed her arms from the chills she got. Then, she become extremely furious, "If K didn''t act out�C FUCK! He almost RUINED AN AWESOME SHOW!"


    A lot of people shared the same sentiment. TaylorXEdward shippers were especially mad at K for the bitter taste they were feeling, and attacked him on social media.


    The performance continued with the accompaniment of the violin, "??We were just two lovers, Feet up on the dash, drivin'' nowhere fast, Burnin'' through the summer, Radio on blast, make the moment last, she got solar power, Minutes feel like hours,She knew she was the baddest, Can you even imagine fallin'' like I did???"


    The illusionary figure hopped down to the floor and started dancing all around Edward.


    "??For the love of my life...She''s got glow on her face...A glorious look in her eyes...My angel of light...??" Edward''s affectionate voice turned Miranda Cosgrove into an almost puddle of water.


    "??I was all alone with the love of my life


    She''s got glitter for skin


    My radiant beam in the night


    I don''t need no light to see you~??"


    The light turned off for a moment before a golden light filled the entire stage.


    "????Shine~~~~!!!!!!????"


    "????It''s your golden hour (Oh-oh-oh)????"


    Taylor was mesmerized when she watched the whole show, and the bitter feeling from having her moment taken away, disappeared. Her short moment that was taken from her, turned into a legendary moment that would be talked about in decades after this performance.


    "????You slow down time~~


    In your golden hour (Oh-oh-oh)~~????"


    As the orchestra played the instrumental outro, the crowd stood up to give Edward a standing ovation.


    However, the orchestra music slowly turned sinister, making people stunned. The soft golden light turned into dark red ominous light, and the logo of Iron Man helmet was shown on the screen.


    Coldplay appeared on the stage, and the drummer hit his drum, playing a discordant ominous music. Edward took the second when the light was off to change his jacket into a black Tommy''s jacket.


    The melody fits perfectly with the orchestral music, and Edward grabbed a golden microphone as he stood in the middle of the stage.


    [Imagine Dragons - Enemy || Arcane - Orchestral Version (Extended). The beginning part before the vocal.�C On Youtube]


    "(Look out for YOURSELF!)" Chris Martin sang in the background while Edward stood up from the piano and gave a middle finger to the direction that Kanye left.


    (Some of you might hate me for letting it happen again, but the impact of the incident was actually HUGE! Even the president was involved in it. It restructured the whole ''rude to everyone'' hip hop culture, and even changed the way the industry works after that.


    I don''t remember the producer''s name, but he actually exists, and played a crucial role in fixing the incident. Pink''s reaction, Beyonce''s reaction, and even Taylor''s reaction for wanting to leave the show was taken from the incident itself. It only because of him that Beyonce stayed and Taylor continued performing next. )

 Chapter 210: VMA (3)

    Chapter 210: Chapter 210: VMA (3)


    [General POV]


    Outside the venue, K was escorted to his car under heavy security due to the angry fans who were throwing objects in his direction. Frustration and expletives escaped his lips as he vented his anger at the chaotic situation unfolding around him.


    "FUCK YOU GUYS! I DID NOTHING WRONG!" Still drunk, K almost started a fight with the fans there, and the scene was captured by the reporters outside the venue.


    Countless fans were crowding around the area and were watching the show through a projector set up by Entertain because Edward wanted the fans who came to support him to still be able to see his performance. It was a thoughtful gesture that won him a lot of points from his fans, that''s why they were being extra mad at K�C even if they weren''t initially Edward''s fan.


    K mood took a further nosedive when he caught sight of a billboard display featuring Edward flipping the middle finger during his performance. Pink saw the scene while her car was driving past, and she laughed while appreciating Edward''s ''spunk''.


    "Stop the car! Let''s go back in." Pink said to the driver.


    To K, this gesture felt like a personal affront, an added insult to the already tense situation. He seethed with anger, his veins pulsating as he contemplated rushing back into the venue to confront Edward, however he was stopped by security immediately.


    Meanwhile, inside the awards ceremony, as Edward defiantly raised his middle finger, the atmosphere shifted dramatically. The song seamlessly morphed into the opening notes of Edward''s hit track, "ENEMY," catching the producers off guard. One of them anxiously questioned whether they had agreed on a different song, suggesting a potential interruption to the live broadcast.


    However, Carl, one of the producers, snapped back in frustration at his incompetent colleagues. "Are you insane?!" he exclaimed, his voice laced with anger. "Just let him be! My god, how many people do you want to piss off today!? Besides, I told him he could do it!"


    The tension both inside and outside the venue continued to mount as the unexpected turn of events unfolded, leaving everyone on edge, uncertain of what would come next.


    [Imagine Dragons - Enemy || Arcane - Orchestral Version (Extended) �C On Youtube /watch?v=9RJ0COQU5gI&ab_channel=mercurialkenny ]


    "??Look out for yourself!??" Chris Martin of the Coldplay band sang. The beatings of drums made the audience''s heart beat faster. The camera panned out to a confused Eminem�C as he thought that he was a part of the song, but Edward had never called for him.


    Edward took a deep breath before singing while looking upward and his back slightly bent and taking a few swaggery steps, "??I wake up to the sounds of the silence that allows, For my mind to run around, with my ear up to the ground. I''m searchin'' to behold the stories that are told, When my back is to the world that was smilin'' when I turned??"


    "??Tell you you''re the greatest


    But once you turn, they hate us??"


    Suddenly, ROBIN played a familiar audio along the music, "I Love you, and I''mma let you finish, but�C"


    People gasped and were stunned by Edward''s unscrupulousness. Beyonce covered her mouth with disbelief as she watched the show, her eyes full of questions.


    "The whole thing is like a giant middle finger to K. BAHAHAHA!" Pink laughed maniacally.


    The beats dropped, and the entire audience was mesmerized. Even Han Zimmer who was among the audience was entranced while seeing the performance.


    Edward turned to Chris Martin and they sang together, "?? Oh, the misery!!


    Everybody wants to be my enemy~!!


    Spare the sympathy!


    Everybody wants to be...my enemy??"


    ??Pray it away, I swear I''ll never be a saint, no way


    My enemy??


    ??Pray it away, I swear I''ll never be a saint, no way


    My enemy??


    *GUNSHOT*??(Look out for yourself)!


    Some members of the audience were startled by the gunshot sounds, and they cheered soon after.


    "??But I''m ready??" Edward sang the bridge while a lightshow of Iron Man logo flew all over the venue. In California, RDJ was extremely satisfied when he saw the performance, "He didn''t forget us after all!"


    The stage turned red and golden, and Edward walked to the audience. The illusionary girl came back and danced ballet in front of Ed.


    "??Your words up on th�� wall as you''re prayin'' for my fall. And the laughter in th�� halls and the names that I''ve been called. I stack it in my mind, and I''m waitin'' for the time. When I show you what it''s like to be words spit in a mic??"


    Taylor realized that Edward wanted to encourage her, and she screamed his name out loud.


    ??Tell you you''re the greatest~~!


    But once you turn, they hate us~~!??


    ??Oh, the misery~~!


    Everybody wants to be my enemy~~!


    Spare the sympathy~!


    Everybody wants to be my enemy~~!!


    ??Pray it away, I swear I''ll never be a saint, no way


    My enemy??


    ??Pray it away, I swear I''ll never be a saint, no way


    My enemy??


    "Sorry Sorry. For my apology, I will foot the entire bill for you guys when you guys hang out at the bar today!" I announced, making them cheer silently. Excitement filled the air, although we had to keep our celebration muted as the awards show was still in progress.


    Sam, the conductor, changed his face instantly to a happy one. I already knew he was fishing for rewards, but I still gave it to him even if I realized it. They were super helpful and friendly during the practice. I knew every single one of them.


    Most of them also already knew me from my classical music era, therefore they were looking forward to collaborating with me. After the performance, I returned back to my seat after changing my clothes again, this time wearing only a simple black suit without a tie.


    ...


    After our moment of celebration, the awards show swiftly progressed, showcasing the talent and achievements of various artists. Eminem''s captivating music video for "Without Me" earned him the accolade for Best Hip Hop Video, while Beyonce?''s iconic choreography in "Single Ladies." secured her the award for Best Choreography. Lady Gaga''s visually stunning "Paparazzi" triumphed in the Best Special Effect category.


    Notably, both my music video for "Believer" and Taylor''s "You Belong with Me" were nominated for the same Best Special Effect category.


    Then, Lady Gaga performed her song Poker Face. Her out of the ordinary choreography was really eye catching. Shortly after that, Taylor performed two songs, ''Love Story'' and ''You Belong with me'', wearing a short, frilly red dress.


    As the evening progressed, the awards were announced, and Lady Gaga continued to make her mark. Her exceptional artistry and attention to detail in the visual aspects of her work earned her the award for Best Art Direction.


    Beyonce?''s music video for her song secured the award for Best Editing, showcasing her meticulous craftsmanship.


    Lastly, Taylor Swift''s talent as a co-director was recognized with the award for Best Music Video Direction, underscoring her ability to bring her artistic vision to life on screen. Both of us were called to the stage, as I was the overall director for the music video.


    The narrator said, "The song "You Belong with Me" by Taylor S was well-matched with the message and cinematography presented within its music video. The song''s lyrics and themes beautifully intertwined with the visual storytelling, creating a cohesive and impactful viewing experience.


    The music video for "You Belong with Me" effectively captured the essence of the song''s narrative, showcasing a story of unrequited love and longing. The cinematography and direction skillfully conveyed the emotions and storyline, which was a genius move by both Taylor and Newgate."


    The crowd cheered thunderously as Bryce Dallas Howard presented the award to Taylor. She was hesitant and wanted to give the award speech to me, but I said, "You should do it. I''ll keep a lookout."


    I stood next to her while crossing my arms menacingly, making an exaggerated gesture of scanning the crowd which made a lot of people laugh.


    Taylor burst into laughter too, and she finally gave her speech.


    As she stood in front of the crowd, they stood up and cheered enthusiastically for Taylor. "Um...Maybe we can do this again?" She said, causing the crowd to explode into supportive chant and cheer.


    She looked towards me with a smile on her face, and I smiled back at her. Her voice became a bit shaky, and she continued, " As I wanted to say before, Thank you so much to MTV for giving US the award. It meant so much to me. Um... I also wanted to thank my dad, my mom, my agency Entertain, Edward, Selena, and everyone else who supported me.. My fans, and everyone else who came out to my shows over the summer. I loved every single one of you. "


    She took a glance at me before finally continuing with the award she got, "When I first made the storyline, I thought it was just a silly idea. A teenage girl fantasy you can say. I was a bit embarrassed by it. But Edward had no hesitation about it, and... he brought the video to life! Ed, do you want to say something?"


    Taylor then offered me the microphone, giving me an opportunity to speak. With gratitude in my voice, I addressed the audience, "Thank you, MTV, for honoring us with this award. Although Taylor tried to put the credit on me, it was she who conceived the relatable storyline. She may not have realized it yet, but it''s one of her greatest strengths. With this award, I hope she believes in herself even more. "


    Amid the playful atmosphere, Eminem chuckled from his seat and jokingly shouted, "Are you guys flirting right now?" The remark sparked laughter and playful jeers from the celebrities in attendance. Taylor blushed, making the crowd laugh even more.


    The atmosphere was charged with anticipation as Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart took the stage to announce the next set of awards. The first award announced was for Best Rock Video, and the tension in the room grew palpable.


    "And the winner is... Edward Newgate!! ''Believer''!" their voices rang out, filling the venue with excitement and applause. The room erupted in cheers as my name was called.


    In my commencement speech this time, I mentioned, "I thank the creator, for he gave me thinking capability surpassing those of a 3 years old child, throwing tantrums every time things didn''t go the way they wanted it."


    Everyone knew exactly what I was referring to here. But the surprises didn''t end there. As the evening progressed, it was time for the Best New Artist award, a category that celebrated emerging talent and fresh voices in the industry. Once again, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart announced, "And the winner is... Edward Newgate!!"


    The crowd erupted into a frenzy of cheers and applause, celebrating the recognition of my work as a new artist. The consecutive wins for both Best Rock Video and Best New Artist further highlighted the reception and impact of "Believer," solidifying its place as a standout music video. I had beaten Lady Gaga in the votes, and promising artists such as Drake and Kid Cudi.


    Right now, I have taken the lead in the overall amount of awards achieved by me for the 2009 MTV VMA with 3 awards!


    When I returned to my seat, Taylor said, "Congrats Ed!"


    "Yeah. Remember our deal. One girl to add to our night session for each one award�C Ouch."


    She secretly pinched me after I said that. Selena heard what I said and asked with disbelief, "What�C You guys are degenerates." Both of us turned to her and laughed at the same time.


    Following the exhilarating wins for Best Rock Video and Best New Artist, Beyonce? took the stage to deliver a remarkable performance of her iconic song "Single Ladies." The audience was captivated by her electrifying choreography and powerful stage presence, reaffirming her status as a consummate performer.


    As the night progressed, the final three awards were eagerly anticipated. The category for Best Cinematography was announced, highlighting the visual artistry and technical skill employed in capturing the essence of a music video. The moment arrived, and it was revealed that "Single Ladies" had won the award for Best Cinematography.


    Andy Samberg said, "Tonight, we are honored to present a very special award that recognizes the exceptional music videos that have become worldwide sensations through platforms like YouTube and Vevo. We proudly present the Fastest to Hit 100 Million Views category!"


    Jimmy Fallon added, "And let me tell you, the competition was fierce! A music video like ''Believer'' managed to hit the incredible milestone of 100 million views in just nine days. But today, we have an even more remarkable achievement. The winner of this coveted award managed to accomplish it in a mind-blowing six days! That''s less than a week!"


    The crowd buzzes with excitement as anticipation fills the room.


    Andy Samberg and Jimmy Fallon, in perfect sync, announce, "Without further ado, please welcome to the stage the winner of the Fastest to Hit 100 Million Award... Taylor S. ''You Belong with Me''!"


    Taylor''s jaw dropped as she heard her name called out. At this moment, she also received 3 total awards, and whispered to me, "We have the same amount, so you cannot add 3 girls."


    "Damn it. And I was so close too." I joked.


    Our conversation wasn''t captured by the camera as it only captured me giving Taylor a hug before she went to the stage. As Jimmy Fallon gave her the award, she teared up. I shouted her name and whistled, making her chuckle for a second as she heard my voice.


    Suddenly, Andy Samberg said, "We all know what had happened before, so in addition to this award, we have a very special person who wanted to come upstage today."


    Taylor was surprised, and as she turned back, her jaw dropped as she saw Beyonce walking towards her with the award Best Female Video in her hand.


    Andy Samberg gave the presenter microphone to Beyonce who explained her intention for coming up there today.


    "Taylor, I remember my first awards. I was 17 at that moment, performing together inside the group Destiny''s Child. I know how special those moments are, how much they mean to you... So I would like you to relive that moment without interruption this time. Will you accept this award for Best Female Video?"


    "I will." Taylor replied. Beyonce finally breathed in relief and then gave her second trophy on the stage. The incident that had unfolded at the beginning of the show was now tied up neatly, bringing closure to the situation.


    I was happy for Taylor, and shortly after, they announced the award for Best Video of all times, and it was deservedly won by Beyonce. With that, the awards show finally ended for tonight.

 Chapter 211: VMA (4-F)

    Chapter 211: Chapter 211: VMA (4-F)


    [General POV]


    Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Taylor, Britney Spears, and Edward posed together outside in front of the VMA billboard while holding their awards. Eminem and the other winners were called, but they hadve other things to attend to, such as a massive party with no inhibitions in NYC. Countless photographers snapped their pictures, illuminating the red carpet with flashes of lights.


    "Taylor! Give Ed a kiss!" One of the photographers daringly asked.


    Taylor looked at Edward with hesitation. Edward smiled and pointed to his cheek. She smiled and kissed him.


    Lady Gaga joked, "We don''t all have to do that right?"


    Britney added mischievously, "Why not? I kinda want to do it too?"


    "You guys can do it if you want." Edward said with a smirk as he heard their discussion. Britney lit up and went to smooch Edward''s cheek jokingly, earning laughter from the others.


    Edward had a small talk with Beyonce, Lady Gaga, and Britney during the photoshoot, and managed to get their personal contact number. After giving some interviews, Edward received a text from Marshall.


    "He''s asking if we want to go to the party?" Edward said to Taylor.


    "Really? He said it like that?" Taylor asked incredulously.


    "Nah, what he really said is, ''Come by, the party is lit. No cap. For real, for real."


    Taylor''s jaw dropped and Edward finally showed the text to her with a smirk. The text was written in the first way Edward asked Taylor before. She smiled with irritation, "You-"


    Edward''s cheek was pulled yet again, but this time, a photographer managed to capture the sight of them playing around. The photo went trending on Twitter immediately after the award show.


    Still on the red carpet, "You''re going to go back home?" Edward asked Taylor incredulously. "I thought we''re going to celebrate?"


    Taylor replied helplessly, "My mom wants me to go back to Texas...You know, after everything. Um...We can still celebrate, after I get back. You also need to go back to your home, right?"


    Suddenly she blushed and said, "Or, you can go with me...back to Texas?"


    "Um that is a great suggestion honestly. I really wants to hear you say ''YeeHaw'' while you''re riding�C"


    "We''re in public!" Taylor hit Ed in the arm before he could finish. He smiled as he rubbed his bicep to recover the non-existing pain and said, "A horse. Riding a horse. God, how dirty is your mind?"


    "Ah." Taylor gasped.


    On some social media, a heated argument was currently transpiring after the awards show.


    Some of the more critical people in social media started questioning the validity of the awards show.


    SSSshotgunDog: Are we sure that @TaylorS and @EdwardNewgate aren''t nepo babies? (A/N: Nepotism)


    JKnotJK: 6 awards out of 16 today went to a lone entertainment agency. I wonder if some backdeals were involved.


    Some accused MTV of making backhanded deals with Entertain, insulting Edward and Taylor, and even supporting K''s decision today.


    A heated discussion currently underwent with Edward''s shots during his speech was a sign of racism, but it was shut down instantly when veteran artists such as Snoop Dog tweeted in favor of Edward.


    @SnoopDog: He''s calling K a baby, not the entire race. Some of you guys need to hook me up with whatever you''re smoking so that I can finally get those last 2 stubborn brain cells I''ve been trying to kill.


    Rihanna just retweeted back the President''s tweet with the caption : " He is a talented artist, and a human being. Both of them. So they may make mistakes in the heat of the moment. But some, may make greater mistakes than others. And they should be responsible for their actions."


    Another shocking thing happened right before the day of the grammys. Rihanna''s boyfriend was arrested for physically hitting her until her lips split and there''s bruises all over her face. Her boyfriend was soon arrested by the police.


    Marshall''s search for Rihanna in the awards show was in vain because she had never attended in the first place. The whole thing was kept under wraps for almost a day before the paparazzis found out.


    In the airport, Entertain staff members who were carrying Edward''s drones into his private plane were suddenly halted by a few men in a military uniform, causing a confrontation.


    Edward and Taylor finally left under the scrutinizing gaze of everyone and got into a black limousine together. There, Max, Pepper, Selena, and Taylor''s mom were already inside, waiting for them.


    As the car moved away from the venue, Edward asked Max, "Why did I get the news that Kanye had to hitch a ride from his friend to go back to his hotel?"


    "Who knows? I don''t know who''s the one crazy enough to stab his car''s tires with a screwdriver?"


    "Max..." Edward looked into her face with a grin, "No one said anything about his tires, and definitely no one said anything about it being pierced."


    "Oh." Max smiled and then laughed dismissively. Suddenly Pepper interjected urgently. "Ed. something happened. The military wanted to confiscate your drones."


    Edward replied casually, "Let them try. I already put in a contingency for when this happens."


    "For when�C Ed, did you already predict this?" Selena asked with a surprise.


    "Yup." Edward replied casually before he tapped his index finger on the arm rest. "Robin, ask them to say this; If you want the tech, then use the proper channels to get it. Or, you might find the ones you took away to be nothing more than a piece of broken debris."


    After hearing Edward''s message, the military representative retreated from the airport with dissatisfaction.


    Pepper asked Edward worriedly, "Won''t that give them a bad impression of us?"


    "Nah. Don''t worry about it." Edward said before he took a bottle of champagne from the mini fridge inside the limo. "For Entertain, Taylor, and Myself, Let''s celebrate!"


    He popped the cork of the champagne while Max, Selena and Taylor screamed in excitement. Pepper rubbed his sore forehead and mumbled, "I am in a dilemma. Should I let him drink it, or stop�C Hey wait Ed! Don''t DOWN THE WHOLE THING! Use a glass!"


    "And I, am-no-way-related-to-Andy-Samberg, Detective Jake Peralta. We''re here to ask a few questions."


    The detectives flashed their badges with a confident and charming smile on their faces. Detective Amy Santiago has that kind of do-it-by-the-book vibe, while Detective Peralta seemed like a mischievous child.


    "AHA!" He said while pointing at me before questioning himself, "Wait. It does not make sense. He''s inside the venue. Sorry, Amy, take over."


    "What seems to be the matter, detective?" I asked calmly with an innocent and charming smile on my face.


    Detective Santiago offered an apologetic tone as she closely examined my face.


    "Sorry for my colleague''s abruptness," she said. "We want to ask you if you know anything about the vandalism case happening inside your award show parking lot."


    I reassured her, feeling at ease despite the situation. "It''s okay," I replied with a hint of amusement. "He actually reminds me of a guy I really like in my neighborhood."


    "Wait. Really? Is he as charming as I am?" Jake Peralta jokes.


    "Yeah, A little bit." The unexpected reply seemed to take Jake Peralta by surprise, and he momentarily froze, his expression shifting from confidence to a frozen state.


    Amy took over instantly, "So, do you happen to have any knowledge about what happened?"


    "All I know is that K''s car tyres got slashed. Can''t say that I''m surprised by it." I replied mockingly.


    Knowing about what happened earlier, both detectives just smiled wryly. Jake scoured the room and said, "The witness said that he saw someone wearing a gray sweater when they came out from the parking lot."


    "And? Because if that is your only leads for the suspect, I can assure you the ratio of finding someone wearing a sweater, especially a gray sweater in the city in the middle of this cold night, is around 100 thousand to a couple million to one. Have you checked the CCTV camera yet?"


    "Ed...what are you doing?" Pepper whispered to me nervously, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.


    "I''m just trying to help these detectives. By the way Pepper, don''t they remind you of Claire and Phil?"


    "What are you spouting�C Wait, they really do?" Pepper spoke in astonishment as he scrutinized the both of them from top to bottom. "They are like the younger version of them, except one''s latina."


    "Umm...Who''s Claire and Phil?" Amy asked in confusion.


    "They are a married couple I know. They have 3 children together." I replied.


    Jake snorted and said, "We aren''t like Claire and Phil. Also, we don''t have any CCTV footage yet, but we will soon."


    I pretended to think and said, "Well, let''s not pretend in front of each other. I know you come here because you think I did it, or someone close to me did it. We do have motives. So, let me help you out. One of the staff SUVs is parked near K''s car. They have a dashcam on there, so you can check it out if you want."


    Max was startled this time. Feeling as if I was going to sell her out, she said urgently, "I have some work to do, so...I''ll leave first."


    "Max, come on. Don''t leave now. Or the detectives would think that you''re involved in the case. Hmm, the staff member is already back in LA now, but I can still pull up the dashcam camera because it''s connected to the wifi."


    "How did you guys have that?" Jake asked with disbelief. Dash Cam was still at its infancy, and the data needed to be accessed manually.


    I shrugged and said, "I made the program and modified it myself."


    Both detectives were visibly taken aback by my statement. Sensing their disbelief, I decided to provide some evidence to support my claim. I turned my laptop screen towards them and pressed play, revealing the footage I had obtained.


    As the video played, it became evident that it captured the scene in question. However, instead of showing me or anyone associated with the award show, it revealed a towering figure��a man standing at an impressive 6''5" height. He possessed muscular legs and was dressed in a sweaty gray sweater, giving the impression that he had just completed an intense workout at the gym.


    The footage painted a different picture from what the detectives had initially presumed, introducing a new lead to investigate. The unexpected turn of events shifted their focus, prompting them to delve deeper into the identity and motives of this mysterious individual captured on screen.


    "I could give you our staff list if you want so that you can rule out the suspects." I said casually.


    Taking a copy of the footage, Detective Santiago said, "We''re sorry for bothering you. You must''ve been very tired from the event."


    I yawned in front of her till my eyes were teary, "It''s fine. I should help if I can. Die Hard is one of my all time favorites after all. I like cops."


    Jake Peralta''s stern scrutinizing face melted instantly into a big smile, "Wait. You... like Die Hard?"


    "Yeah. I do." I replied, then I grinned at him and said, "Do you like the movie too?"


    "H-H-HELL''S YEAH! Amy! We shouldn''t bother them any longer. It is clear that none of them have anything to do with the case!" Jake said as he pulled Amy towards the door.


    "Wait. I still haven''t asked the others." Amy protested. Max flinched, but luckily none of the detectives noticed it.


    "No time! We have a culprit to catch!" Jake said as he dragged Amy out of the room. At the door, both of them stopped and said, "Thank you for your cooperation," and then left the hotel.


    As soon as they were gone, Pepper and Max flopped down on the couch, practically limping now from their tense nerves.


    "How?" Max asked with disbelief.


    "Well I can change the footage to anyone." I replied casually. Then, I showed Max''s original figure changed into the Grinch, Gandalf, Elmo, K himself, and many more till both of them froze with disbelief.


    "You...you are not going to use this...to commit crimes are you?" Pepper asked worriedly.


    I rolled my eyes and said, "I won''t!"


    After settling the affairs, I finally went to the party. It was in downtown New York, inside a loft. I was expecting the party to be a normal party, but as soon as I entered the apartment, I was dumbfounded and almost froze for a while. The people there were wearing animal masks and were licking each other.


    "Furry party?" I asked with an unspoken horror emerging inside my heart. Then, I read the door''s number again.


    "Ah, wrong floor." I replied before closing the door slowly and went to the actual party.

 Chapter 212: NYC Party!

    Chapter 212: Chapter 212: NYC Party!


    [Edward POV]


    Large windows framed the mesmerising city skyline, showcasing iconic buildings and a sprawling display of lights that extended into the distance.


    The loft featured a captivating blend of rugged beauty and modern touches, with exposed brick walls lending a touch of raw elegance to the space. However, the overall ambiance was dramatically altered by the activation of neon blue and pink lighting, courtesy of the house owner.


    The neon lights cast an enchanting glow throughout the loft, transforming the atmosphere into a vibrant kaleidoscope of colours. The once subdued and sophisticated setting now pulsated with an electric energy, as the neon hues danced off the walls and illuminated the room.


    The girls were dancing intoxicated to the throbbing music while the guys tried to hit on them. The party had elements of a rave, but luckily for me it was just a normal party with booze and cocaine.


    "Ed! Over here!"


    My arrival caught the attention of Selena, who called out to me with a pleasantly surprised expression. She was accompanied by her friend Jessica, and to my astonishment, standing beside them were the familiar faces of the actresses from iCarly - Miranda Cosgrove, Jennette McCurdy, and Emily Ratajkowski.


    Adding to the star-studded atmosphere, a few teen actors, Avan Jogia and Leon Thomas, stood side by side, their arms draped over each other''s shoulders as they held their red plastic cups, singing drunkenly to the song Toxic by Britney Spears.


    Avan Jogia''s eyes lit up when he saw I was approaching them. "HEY! It''s Edward Newgate! The three times winner of the MTV Awards tonight." He was being friendly and shook my hand in excitement.


    Leon also greeted me, "Although this is our first time meeting, I had to be thick skinned to ask you to solve a problem for us. You''re a genius right?"


    "I guess I need to do this." I smirked as I looked at Leon with anticipation while the girls laughed.


    Leon smiled and said mischievously, "Ooo great one. Solve this question for us. We are plagued with this particular problem in our gentlemanly discussion of the game, "Would you rather."


    Avan said, "Would you rather...do Martha Steward, or... Oprah?"


    I held my chin as I fake contemplated, "Hmm...this question is tough. No wonder you guys are struggling with it, and need some help from a genius."


    Selena scoffed and badmouthed me playfully to the girls, "See? I told you, He''s not a cool guy at all."


    In response, Miranda shrugged, her eyes fixed on me, and whispered, "No... he''s very, very cool."


    Finally, I answered the question, "No doubt. My answer is Martha."


    "Why?" Avan asked.


    "Because after we''ve done it, we can cook together. Putting that aside for a second, hi everyone."


    I greeted and shook hands with the girls there before grabbing a plastic cup from the waitress. After having my 5th drink, I finally loosen up and started to enjoy the party.


    "Alright, we''re picking out straws. The loser had to go downstairs to the furry party and mingle...in your human face, for 10 minutes." I said as I held out the straws to the crowd.


    The teenagers there actively participated, and the loser, Jeanette, was exclaiming miserably, "Why did I pick it? Why me?!"


    "Are you doing it or not?" Avan interjected and said jokingly, "Because I really think it''ll be funny if I did it."


    Jeanette''s eyes lit up and she grabbed Avan''s hand, "Then, we should go together!" She then dragged Avan forcedly and went to the furry party. 10 minutes later, both of them returned with some fur on their clothes.


    I asked, "What happened?"


    Jeannette hugged her shoulder and shuddered, "It was a nightmare."


    "Did they do something to you?" Miranda asked with concern.


    "No." Avan replied with a face full of horror. "They didn''t do anything except ask us to pet them, and rub their suit on us like an... actual animal..."


    All of us shuddered when we heard that. Leon quickly shouted, "We''re going to need more drinks over here."


    While taking some breaks at the side, Miranda came to where I was standing. She stood extremely close to me and said, "Your art tonight was really great. Yeah, I''m calling it ART! It was a masterpiece, and it shouldn''t be called anything else!"


    I laughed a bit and said, "I seem to remember you adding the word ''Handsome prince'' into my introduction. That almost made me fall off my game."


    She giggled and asked with a seductive voice while poking my chest, "Did you see me calling out for you?"


    However, she was soon disappointed when I shook my head and said, "Unfortunately I could only hear you. I couldn''t see you at all. The curtain was drawn during the introduction, and when I was performing..."


    As I trailed off, she finished my sentence knowingly, "They turned off the lights during mine." She turned her head for a bit and grunted, "Damn."


    We talked for a bit, and then Selena suddenly moved towards us. "Hey, what are you guys talking about?"


    "Why? So you can report to Tay about what I did here today?" I asked jokingly, but Selena froze for a second and replied defensively, "I-I''m not..."


    "Are you sure?" I asked while narrowing my eyes at her. Feeling under pressure, Selena''s face froze. Then I shrugged and said, "Cause if you did, I''d be fine with it."


    She was taken aback for a second before she stressed, "I''m not telling her anything!"


    "I believe you." I said casually.


    "Stop believing me and being nice about this! GOD!" Selena grunted and left. I was confused and I turned to Miranda, "Can you believe this? I''m still the bad guy even if I didn''t do anything."


    But I was asking the wrong person for this.


    "I believe you. You''re a bad...BAD boy." She said breathlessly as she leaned in closer.


    "Alright, you need this more than I do." I said as I took out a freshly rolled blunt from my inner pocket. ''No wonder she looks so natural; smoking one in the ''Spring Breakers'' movie.


    Vanessa was hesitant to answer my question and then was surprised when I took out the new roll. She smiled and said, "It''s a long story. One blunt might not be enough."


    "Then I guess we need to set another date for me to hear the rest of the story. Because this is the last one I have." I said casually.


    It was 4 am when the party started to fizzle out. Selena was already asleep but I was still talking with Vanessa in the room. Leon was sleeping on the floor inside the room too, with his face planted to the ground.


    "Ah, I need to go to the toilet." I groaned as I stood up from the chair. Vanessa laughed and urged, "Come back quickly! I still need to hear more about how I''m the ''girl of your dreams''!"


    "I never said that." I clarified. "All I''m saying is, if you don''t mind a little nudity, I guess I can give you the audition for it."


    She rolled her eyes for the first time in front of me. I laughed out loud and went outside because there was no toilet in the small room.


    After finishing my restroom visit and washing my hands, I glanced at the sparse party crowd that continued to dance, only to be startled by a familiar figure.


    A brunette girl with twin-tails, dressed in a black and white outfit, caught my attention. My heart skipped a beat, and my breath quickened with anticipation. I walked towards the crowd, and I grabbed the girls'' shoulders.


    However, my disappointment was palpable when the girl turned around, revealing a different face from the one I was hoping for.


    She was confused when she saw me, "W-what?"


    "Sorry. I got the wrong person." I said and left while the girl was still confused.


    "Hmm. What''s that all about? Did you see your ex here?" Vanessa saw the whole thing as she leaned on the door to the room.


    "Why are you outside?" I ignored the question and asked mine.


    She replied, "I''m leaving right now."


    "Oh, and here I was thinking that I could end the day making out with Gabriella."


    Furrowing her eyebrows, Vanessa responded, "Maybe another time. My manager is waiting for me in the car. He doesn''t like to wait��"


    "That''s his problem," I interjected, dismissing the manager''s impatience. "You''re heading back to California, right? If you want, I can give you a ride. Just tell him you''ll be making your own way back."


    Vanessa hesitated, but eventually texted her manager, requesting to travel independently. His response was cold and dismissive, treating her as a burden rather than a star, which deeply affected her.


    Tears welled up in Vanessa''s eyes, startled by the callousness of the response.


    I, however, smiled and said, "Good, I can spend a bit more time with you. And, if you want to change your agency, and I really think that you should, come to Entertain. We''re in desperate need of talents, and we will surely treat you better."


    Vanessa was taken aback, and then she burst into laughter, "Really? You want to take me in? Should I offer you my everything to get your savings?"


    "I prefer you pay me back with your talents, but if you want to offer anything else, I won''t say no to that."


    "You''re a bit sick, you know that?" Vanessa asked me with a face full of contemplation. "I-I''ll think about it." She blushed a little as she replied.


    I smiled and then said, "Good. Now, for my first order as your CEO, can you wake Selena up? I need to go back to the hotel, and she''s riding with me�C wait... with us."


    Vanessa laughed and replied, "I''m not your employee yet, but I''ll do this as a favor. But you''re going to OWE ME ONE!"


    ...


    Back at the hotel, as soon as I entered my suite with Selena and Vanessa, Max rushed towards me and started sniffing me like an airport dog.


    "I KNEW IT! YOU STOLE MY BLUNT!!" Max shouted.


    "YOU DID WHAT?!" Pepper who was sleeping on the couch heard it, was awake immediately, and shouted.


    "Max!" I looked at Max with disbelief.


    "I''m sorry. I really thought he was sleeping." Max said apologetically as she turned to Pepper and shouted, "he stole my....Uh....Punt!"


    "Punt?" Selena, Vanessa and I tilted our heads together in confusion.


    "Why is he stealing your punt?" Pepper said in disbelief.


    "Why would your dream ever make sense?" Max said before adding some mysterious sounds.


    "I''m still dreaming?" Pepper said in confusion.


    I caught on to what Max was doing, walked towards Pepper and said, "Of course you''re dreaming Pepper. See, you''re the ones holding the awards."


    Max snuck from Pepper''s back and placed all of my awards near him. Pepper turned and saw the awards, and was confused again.


    "You should go back to sleep if you want to see Montgomery Clift. He said he''s meeting you for coffee in the morning. You don''t want to see Montgomery Cliff while feeling exhausted do you?"


    "Hmm...I don''t. Alright, I''ll go back to sleep." Pepper said as he laid back down on the pillow obediently.


    Max and I breathed in relief, and as we were tiptoeing away, Pepper muttered, "I''ll see Montgomery Cliff in my dreams now. When I wake up again, we need to talk about you and your weed habits Ed. And say Hi to Gabriella for me."


    "Damn it." Max and I cursed underneath our breath at the same time.

 Chapter 213: NYC Morning (1)

    Chapter 213: Chapter 213: NYC Morning (1)


    [General POV]


    Randall swiped the electronic keycard to gain entry into the hotel suite, the clock reading 8:55 in the morning. Pepper snoozed on the couch, his mouth agape but surprisingly devoid of any snores.


    Knowing that the girls occupied the neighbouring suite, Randall made his way to the bedroom, where Edward lay peacefully slumbering. Positioning himself at the foot of the bed, Randall glanced at his wristwatch, his anticipation building.


    "5... 4... 3... 2... 1..." Randall whispered calmly, his eyes fixed on the ticking seconds, awaiting the arrival of 9 o''clock.


    As the watch hands struck the exact hour, Edward stirred from his slumber, rising from the bed as if programmed to do so.


    "Good morning, Ed. Exactly 4 hours of sleep. Your body operates like a well-oiled German train." Randall remarked, a touch of astonishment and disbelief in his voice.


    "Mornin''," Edward groaned, rising from the bed and making his way to the bathroom for a refreshing shower. He turned to Randall and inquired, "Are they waiting for me?"


    "Yes, they are. We''ve secured a private hotel hall for special occasions, and the fans are eagerly anticipating your presence." Randall confirmed.


    Curiously, Edward asked, toothbrush in hand, "How many people?"


    "About 75 people. There are many more waiting outside, but those 75 were the fortunate ones who attended the award show last night." Randall responded.


    Edward nodded thoughtfully and added nonchalantly, "And what about the food?"


    Randall''s eyes widened in alarm, his voice tinged with fear. "Max was supposed to handle the food."


    "She was out partying until 4 in the morning. I''m not sure if she remembered. Hell, even I forgot to remind her," Edward remarked calmly, noticing Randall''s concerned expression.


    "Don''t worry about it. I''m sure she''ll figure something out. And if not, well... I''ll just have to cook for my fans. Just set up an omelette station, get some bread, and... I''ll have Robin send you a list," Edward reassured before proceeding to brush his teeth and step into the shower.


    "Wait. Before that, you might want to know what happened with the tire slashing case from last night," Randall interjected, stopping Edward just as he was about to turn on the water. Edward peeked out from behind the bathroom wall and inquired, "What happened? Did they discover it was Max?"


    "No, they apprehended the man responsible for the tire slashing, and it unexpectedly turned into a significant drug bust... WAIT, THAT WAS MAX!?" Randall exclaimed, his voice filled with disbelief.


    Edward, too, was taken aback, but for a different reason. "Wait. How on earth...?" he muttered, his astonishment evident.


    ...


    NYPD Forensic Unit, in the heart of Brooklyn. Jake Peralta and Amy Santiago rushed to the forensic lab first thing in the morning after working overtime on their case last night.


    "Hi, we are Detective Jake Peralta and Detective Amy Santiago, and we need to get your best cybercrime officer to crack the password on this phone," Jake introduced himself and Amy to Mellisa, a blonde forensic agent with glasses and panda eyes, much like their own.


    The forensic agent was fatigued with countless work projects that needed to be done and wasn''t in the mood to handle out-of-case requests like this. Melissa looked at them in disbelief. "I thought the case was closed, detectives," she said, subtly reminding the detectives.


    Jake nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, we managed to seize 14 kilograms of cocaine off the streets, all thanks to the genius Jake Peralta," he proudly declared while pumping his fist to the side.


    "And his dumb luck," Amy chimed in with a slight smirk, her irritation evident.


    Jake let out a scoff, then refocused on the matter at hand. "But when I found this phone inside the suspect''s jacket, there was a note and a picture of Edward Newgate, the singer and fellow Die Hard lover," he explained as he gave the note to the forensic agent.


    The station''s police captain hadn''t arrived for work yet, but the request to make this a formal case had been submitted to Sergeant Terry Jeffords.


    "Stop mentioning that to people," Amy reprimanded Jake. "And let''s not go off on a tangent. We''re supposed to be clocked out."


    "Right, sorry," Jake apologized, regaining his focus. "Back to the topic. The note said ''Enca?rgate de e?l,'' which means ''Deal With Him'' in Spanish. My gut feeling tells me that something inside the phone will reveal what he intends to do with Newgate."


    Melissa let out a sigh before responding, "Our cyber agent isn''t here at the moment. However, I do have an intern who could help you with this kind of stuff."


    "An intern?" Jake and Amy muttered simultaneously, their disbelief evident.


    Just then, a brunette girl with twin-coloured hair, a choker around her neck, and a dark gothic dress peeking out from under her lab coat, along with tall dark boots, entered the lab.


    She skillfully balanced a couple of coffee cups in her hands as she made her way in. "Morning, Mel!" she cheerfully greeted Melissa, causing the tired agent''s face to wince at the onslaught of her excessive energy.


    "Abby. You should help them." Melissa said before she teased, "That way, you can help them protect your ex-boyfriend. You know, the one you were so happy for when he won the award last night?"


    "Ex-Boyfriend?!" Jake widened his mouth in excitement goofily. "I sense some hot tea!! SPILL GIRL!! Wait, bypass the phone''s password first. Then, spill girl!!"


    ...


    Detective Sergeant Terry Jeffords and Detective Rosa Diaz, both dressed casually, parked their car in front of the hotel where Edward, the scandal-ridden celebrity, was staying.


    [General POV]


    The impact of the VMA show continued to resonate across the country and the world, like a persistent wave breaking on distant shores, even after the event had ended.


    The video clip of K crashing into the stage went viral, and he was under a lot of heat at the moment. People were clamoring for him to apologize for his actions to Taylor, and for almost ruining Edward''s moving performance.


    K woke up at 10 in the morning inside a luxurious 5 star hotel bedroom and held his hurting head while groaning.


    Drunk during the VMA, he was escorted back to his bedroom immediately after getting kicked out of the award show as his staff members wanted him to avoid further trouble.


    However, K managed to sneak out and went to a celebrity party even in the midst of his controversy. "What is happenin''?" K muttered as he had no recollection of what had happened at the party.


    "You stupid ni**a." His manager stormed into the room, seething with anger, and switched on the news, displaying footage of K joyfully showering the crowd with champagne at the club, his face devoid of remorse.


    The public''s outrage, both on social media and in real life, intensified. Even the celebrities who initially supported him swiftly deleted their tweets to avoid being implicated by him.


    As the realization of his mistake dawned upon him, K nonchalantly shrugged off the backlash, dismissing it by saying, "Haters will hate. Just wait a day or two, and people will forget."


    His manager responded sarcastically, "Oh, really? I suppose those people outside will also conveniently forget what you''ve done." With that, he flung open the curtains, revealing an angry mob of fans holding banners demanding an apology and seeking justice for Taylor.


    Caught off guard, K''s confusion grew as he stepped closer to the window, observing the sea of disgruntled supporters gathered outside the hotel. The gravity of the situation began to sink in, and he realized that his actions had triggered a significant backlash that wouldn''t dissipate easily.


    "Now. We need to do some damage control. You! Stop doing stupid things! I know it''s impossible, but you gotta try for now."


    "You know what? What gives you the right to talk to me that way?" K asked angrily, feeling as if his manager had stepped out of line. "I can fire you!"


    "THEN FIRE ME! It''ll make my life, A WHOLE LOT EASIER!" His manager replied with agitation. As the manager walked away angrily, K shouted with desperation, "FUCKK!!" He slammed his fist on the glass coffee table, shattering it into pieces.


    Back to the forensic labs.


    Abby managed to crack the phone password, and showed it to Jake and Amy.


    "That...was impressive. You work faster than some veterans here." Amy complimented Abby. Twirling her right twintail, Abby said, "Oh, you know. I learn a lot from the tech genius."


    "When did you guys date? Do you want to meet him right now?" Jake interjected mischievously.


    Abby grimaced and said, "No. I can''t meet him. This is the only thing I can do for him now." She uploaded the phone''s data into her laptop and showed the text messages to Jake and Amy.


    Amy read the urgent messages on the screen and immediately sprang into action. She said, "We need to go support them. I''ll brief Sarge and Rosa on the situation." She swiftly pulled out her phone and dialled their numbers.


    Jake, feeling the gravity of the situation, nodded seriously. "I''ll call for backup from the 99. These gang members want to shoot him because of what happened last night... It''s ridiculous! This isn''t hip hop...or is it?" He opened his mouth in realisation as he alone became immersed in his own imagination.


    Amy shook her head. "It''s too soon to tell who they are. Abby, can you gather more details and text me if you find anything? Even the smallest clues could be helpful."


    Abby, though visibly shaken, nodded resolutely. "I will," she replied. Amy acknowledged her response and hurried towards the door, with Jake following closely behind.


    As they were about to leave, Abby called out urgently, "WAIT!"


    Amy turned back, confusion evident on her face. Abby exclaimed in disbelief, "Your contact?"


    Realizing her oversight, Amy felt a hint of embarrassment. She quickly reached into her pocket, retrieved her card, and handed it to Abby. "Right. Here you go. Contact me if you find anything," she said hurriedly before rushing out with Jake.


    At the 99th precinct police station, Captain McGinley, the captain before Holt''s tenure and prior to Gina''s hiring and Terry''s children, burst into the bullpen where the detectives were hard at work. His voice filled with urgency, he shouted, "We have a possible active shooter situation at the XX hotel. We need S.W.A.T. and officers to secure the area immediately!"


    Just as the captain finished speaking, his phone rang. Confused, he answered the call, only to find a military representative on the other end of the line.


    "Edward Newgate is classified as a second-order asset to the country. You must protect him at all costs! The FBI and National Guard will assist you in this matter. Captain, do not fail us, or there will be consequences," the military representative warned, his tone threatening.


    Captain McGinley, feeling the weight of the situation, nodded nervously, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He barked out orders, "CALL FOR A HELICOPTER! We need to get over there right now--"


    But before he could finish his sentence, the captain clutched his chest in pain, a heart attack seizing him in the midst of the chaos. Gasping for breath, he weakly muttered, "We need to... go..."


    With a heavy thud, Captain McGinley collapsed to the floor, unconscious. Hitchcock and Scully, who had just returned from the restroom, witnessed the captain''s fall.


    Hitchcock responded nonchalantly, "Great. Looks like we''ll be sleeping on the floor again. I''ll call the receptionist area."


    Concerned, Scully quickly intervened. "No, Hitchcock! I know what is happening here. He''s having a heart attack. We need to call an ambulance! The captain needs medical help."


    "Oh. Right. HELP! CALL THE AMBULANCE!" Hitchcock shouted urgently.

 Chapter 214: NYC Morning (2)

    Chapter 214: Chapter 214: NYC Morning (2)


    [Edward POV]


    After a moment of contemplation, Sarge hesitantly spoke, "It might seem baseless, but we believe that there''s going to be an attempt to harm you today." Rosa felt the urge to intervene but decided against it.


    I responded casually, "Should I increase the number of security guards here? Also, how do you like your eggs?" As I prepared breakfast, I playfully served Sarge some bacon and made a frittata for Rosa.


    Sarge blurted out, "Many on a plate�C" before continuing, "Do you understand the seriousness of the situation here?"


    Maintaining my nonchalant demeanor, I replied, "I can figure that out. But, it''s not confirmed yet, right? And people need to eat. But I promise, after that, I will be more serious in dealing with the matter." I smiled mischievously, creating a mix of agitation in Rosa and surprise in Sarge.


    Handing them their plates, I joined my fans at the table. Rosa expressed her annoyance, remarking, "See. All child celebs are the same. They have no respect for others and only care about themselves."


    Sarge shook his head and responded, "I don''t think so. See what he''s doing?"


    Confused, Rosa asked, still angry, "What?"


    "He''s trying not to cause a panic," Sarge replied, somewhat impressed.


    Engaging with my fans, I suddenly mentioned, "Ah, I have to be at the airport to fly back home. I know that it''s sad, but I only have 10 more minutes to eat with you guys."


    Disappointed, the fans exclaimed, "Awww." I laughed and suggested, "So, why don''t we make it a game? The first 10 people to finish their food, I will wipe their mouth with a napkin�C"


    Before I could finish my sentence, the fans eagerly started gobbling up their food. I laughed and added, "Don''t choke! Eat at your own pace! I won''t be responsible if you guys get a stomach ache."


    The first girl, a red-headed 14-year-old with freckles on her face, approached me shyly after the enthusiastic eating contest. "I''m so embarrassed. I feel like a pig," she said self-deprecatingly.


    "You shouldn''t be," I reassured her. "You know what? I really love watching people enjoy the food I cook. And seeing you enjoy it so eagerly made me really happy this morning." With affection, I gently wiped her lips with a clean napkin.


    In the background, some girls grumbled with jealousy, while others shouted in excitement, capturing the moment on their phones to share on Instagram as they couldn''t share videos on Twitter yet.


    The fan event moved quickly and after the last girl had their reward, I said goodbye to all of them when suddenly Robin chimed in, "Boss. 3 hostiles are entering the hotel through the main entrance."


    Sarge received a phone call from Jake at that very moment and went to protect me immediately.


    I turned to the Sarge and said seriously to my fans, "Everyone. I''m going to ask you guys for a favour. Please leave the hall through the left exit, only the left exit, and go straight to the pool."


    Sarge and Rosa took charge and escorted the fans out of the halls quickly. Before they could explain the situation to me, I said, "3 people are coming through the main entrance, carrying 3 rifles."


    Sarge was shocked, "What? I didn''t think that they''d be brave enough to go through the paparazzi outside."


    "Rifles? Damn, these guys really want to kill you." Rosa said with disbelief. She grabbed my arm and said, "Come on, we need to get you someone safe." As she wanted to get me through the left exit, I stopped her and said, "Actually, we should go in a different direction than my fans. If things do get bad, then I don''t want to implicate them."


    Rosa was silent for a while before she replied, "Got it."


    "Rosa, we need to wait for backup. We don''t have our bulletproof vest." Sarge said.


    "Is Jake coming here with the cavalry yet?" Rosa replied, a bit agitated.


    ...


    [General POV]


    As the hostiles, three African-American men dressed in white tank tops, black bandanas, and low waist jeans, entered the hotel lobby, they forcefully incapacitated the security guard by striking them with the back of their rifles.


    "Nobody moves!" they shouted, firing a few warning shots into the air and at the hotel lobby, causing glass shards to rain down. "All of you, get on the ground, right now!"


    The short haired Russian hotel receptionist, the two Mexican bellboys, and other guests obeyed the command, quickly dropping to the floor in fear and compliance.


    Despite their outward appearance as common thugs, the leader of the trio''s military-style command for one of them to stay in the lobby and control the crowd revealed their background and professionalism in military tactics.


    Meanwhile, the other two intruders made their way towards a private hall adjacent to the lobby. Pushing through the paparazzi who had gathered there, the nosy photographers thoughtlessly captured images of the armed men.


    The hostiles opened fire at the paparazzi''s directions, causing some of them to fall to the ground with serious injuries, and the others to scatter only a few metres away. However, that didn''t stop the news hungry paparazzis.


    They kept taking pictures of what happened without thinking about their lives, but this time, they turned off the light flashes. The paparazzi lives by the motto of bigger news, the bigger they can pay out.


    The duo entered the hall and unleashed a hail of bullets, shattering lights and demolishing furniture. Chaos ensued as the room erupted in panic. A stray bullet struck the gas line of the omelet station, resulting in a massive explosion.


    "Stop! Where are the people?" the leader demanded with a deep, commanding voice, after he was taken aback by the explosion.


    "They''ve cleared out the hall. They might be onto us," the younger follower responded hesitantly.


    "Damn the cops!" the leader growled in frustration, realising that their plans might have been compromised.


    "FIND HIM!" The leader said urgently. "Shoot anyone who tries to get in the way!"


    "How?" The follower asked. The leader was taken aback when he noticed the paparazzi writing in pain on the floor. He walked to the fallen man and took his camera from him. After he reviewed the pictures, he gave the camera to his follower.


    It showed Edward walking away with Rosa and Terry, and to which direction they were walking towards. "The rest of our members will help you." The leader said. "Go. Now. If you still can''t find him, then capture his manager or his boss, make him come out on his own!"


    ...


    Sarge was confused, "Why is he a fake captain?"


    Edward answered smugly, "Because I''m the real captain of the team. Anyway, 1 bogey is coming here right now." He casually pointed to the east door of the kitchen.


    Terry was confused as to how Edward knew about it, but he listened and set up an ambush. The young follower opened the door slightly before he was tackled by Terry, causing his rifle to be thrown away.


    Rosa picked up the rifle and aimed it to the guy while Terry pinned him to the ground. Terry asked, "Why are you here? Why are you aiming for Edward?"


    "Je le fais pour l''argent, ne me frappez pas !" The young man blurted out in fear.


    "What?" Terry asked, confused.


    "That''s french." Rosa said. "I get a little�C"


    Edward interrupted and said, " ''I''m doing it for the money, don''t hit me!''. That''s basically what he said. ''Qui vous donne l''argent ?'' (Who is giving you the money?)"


    The young man was hesitant, but Terry shook his collar and threatened him, "TALK! Or I''ll squeeze your head like a melon!"


    "K! K! K! K!" The young man shouted.


    "K did it?" Terry was astonished.


    "No. It''s not K. He didn''t have the balls to do something like this." Edward said dismissively before turning to the young man and crouched next to him. He then said whisperingly to the perp.


    "Je suis impressionne?(e) que tu puisses encore mentir dans cette situation. Je suis vraiment e?tonne?(e) en ce moment. Je suppose que ce grand gaillard qui te tient n''est pas assez mena?ant, n''est-ce pas ? Hmm, j''imagine que c''est vrai. Il est comme un gros nounours. Il ne ferait pas de mal a? une mouche."


    ("It''s impressive that you can still lie in this situation. I am very amazed right now. I guess that massive guy holding you isn''t threatening enough right? Hmm, I guess that is true. He''s like a big teddy bear. He won''t hurt a fly.")


    "Malheureusement pour toi, celle qui se tient derrie?re lui n''est pas aussi cle?mente que lui. C''est le genre de fille qui te poignarderait juste pour s''amuser, qui te sectionnerait tes parties intimes avant de les recoudre sur ta te?te si tu essaies de lui tenir te?te. Alors tu ferais mieux de nous dire la ve?rite?. Sinon, on te laissera seul ici, avec elle."


    ("Unfortunately for you, the one standing behind him isn''t as merciful as he is. She''s the type of girl, who will stab you just for fun, and rip off your balls before sewing them to your head if you try to cross her. So you better tell us the truth. Or else, we''ll leave you alone here, with her.")


    Edward glanced at Rosa, emphasizing her menacing presence. Rosa responded with a chilling grin, causing goosebumps to rise all over the young man''s body. He shouted in an honest panic, "It''s Mikael! Mikael hired us to do this!"


    "Who is Mikael?" Terry asked, but before he could get an answer, Edward tackled him to the side. Bullets tore through the kitchen door, one of them finding its mark in the young man''s neck. Rosa swiftly returned fire and urgently exclaimed, "WE NEED TO LEAVE! SARGE!"


    "Come on, Newgate. Let''s go," Sarge said as he helped Edward to his feet. The trio made a dash from the kitchen through the main door and rushed towards the restaurant. However, their options were limited as the only way out of the restaurant was through the lobby or the window.


    Hearing the commotion emanating from the restaurant area, a man in the lobby made his way towards the source of the sound. The bellboys and the hotel receptionist, who had been forced to lay on the ground, also hurried in the same direction.


    Finally, the SWAT team entered the hotel and found the hotel visitor lying on the lobby floor.


    "GO GO GO!"


    Sarge threw a chair to shatter the hotel window, while Rosa provided cover with her rifle. Sarge overturned some tables to create a makeshift barrier, offering protection for their escape.


    "We''re on the first floor. Do you think you can make your way along the edge?" Terry nervously asked.


    Edward smiled and replied, "What about you guys?"


    "This is our job. Go," Terry said with a reassuring smile, even though he knew the odds were stacked against them. "Crouch when you pass by the windows��Wait, is that?"


    Terry noticed the receptionist and the bellboy waving at them from the room adjacent to the restaurant. He felt a sense of relief and said, "Go, they will help you. Once you get there, go and hide out in the third floor VIP room. There''s a safe house there. Only come out when I give you the password. Go, these employees will keep you safe."


    "Doubtful, but I guess I should listen to you," Edward said jokingly, before carefully making his way along the narrow one-foot-wide edge.


    Rosa was under fire from two directions that she had to take cover. "I''m out." She said as she threw her rifle to the side.


    "Damn it. I''m out too." Terry said as he checked his handgun. "We should''ve listened to Jake."


    "Too late for regret now." Rosa said.


    As the two hostiles moved closer towards the barricade, suddenly, SWAT came in at the perfect time to prevent Rosa and Terry from going through the worst situation.


    They immediately shot the perps and killed them quickly before pinning the ones that surrendered to the ground. Rosa took a breath in relief while Terry raised his hand up and quickly said his identity, "My name is Sergeant Terry Jefforts. I''m an NYPD officer of the 99 precinct. This is my subordinate, Detective Rosa Diaz."


    "We know. We''ve been briefed." The SWAT member said. Terry finally breathed in relief. Jake and Amy finally arrived and they rushed towards Sargent jefford.


    "Sarge. Thank god." Amy said as she was fearing for the lives of her colleague.


    Jake said anxiously, "No time for emotional drama right now. Sarge, where is the kid?"


    "Oh, I asked him to move first." Sarge said, "He''s with the hotel receptionist, hiding out right now."


    Amy was shocked, "YOU DID WHAT?!"


    "What''s wrong?" Rosa asked.


    Jake''s face frowned in frustration as he said, "THEY ARE THE BAD GUYS TOO!" Abby managed to get that information from the suspect''s phone before this.


    A few minutes before, when Edward finally reached into the next room, the Russian receptionist held out her gun and pointed it to Edward''s head, "You''re coming with us."

 Chapter 215: Kidnapped.

    Chapter 215: Chapter 215: Kidnapped.


    [Edward POV]


    My hands were tightly bound with a cable tie as they forcefully shoved me into the back seat of the black SUV.


    "Who wants to see me? Mr. Gray? Don''t be too rough with me. I might fall in love~" I joked, trying to lighten the mood as they handled me roughly. The two Mexican bellboys settled themselves beside me, while the Russian lady occupied the seat in front.


    "Tape his mouth. I have a feel... he will be... more annoying if we let him keep talking," the Russian lady instructed with a thick accent, already tired of my antics despite it being only five minutes since they captured me.


    "Aww, that''s just hurtful. I actually wanted to have a conversation with you guys. How else am I supposed to find out more about Mikael? I know he''s the leader of the Cobra mercenaries, but who is he really? What are his likes, dislikes and hobbies?" I said playfully, trying to keep the atmosphere light.


    The car fell into silence. Tension filled the air. The bellboys exchanged glances, unsure of how to respond. Eventually, they decided to comply with the order.


    Before the man on the right could tape my mouth shut, the Russian lady interrupted, "Stop... How do you know about Mikael?"


    I smiled and replied, "Should that really be your primary concern right now? If I were you, I''d be more focused on figuring out how to evade the police blockade rather than worrying about whether your identity has been exposed."


    The Russian lady chuckled and said, "Oh, is our identity exposed? Nonetheless, it doesn''t matter. We will not be staying in this country any longer. Pat him down," she ordered the others while taking off her brunette wig, revealing her short blonde hair. Her piercing blue eyes seemed to scrutinize every aspect of me.


    ''So they aren''t from the same group.'' I thought to myself. Her expression told me all I needed to know before this. It seemed that the two groups had some conflict with each other because they had taken the same mission target.


    (Anna in the 2019 movie, ANNA)


    The two Mexican men searched through my pockets, confiscating my phone, an asthma inhaler, and some magnum condoms. The Russian lady expressed surprise and asked, "Rubber? You brought those?"


    "Well, you never know when you might need them," I replied playfully. Glancing at the asthma inhaler, I added, "I don''t mind if you keep my phone, but it might be wise to let me hold onto the inhaler. After all, a dead hostage isn''t very valuable, is it? Alright guys, stop searching my pants, the only other thing you''ll find in there is my penis, although it can be categorized as a weapon, you should really get your hand off it."


    "Oh, sorry," the bellboy on my left said, realizing what he had mistakenly grabbed.


    "You won''t die. At most, you''ll suffer," the Russian lady responded, rolling her eyes at the bellboy''s error. She inspected the inhaler before relenting, "Fine, keep it. And, since I''m feeling generous, you can keep your ''protection'' as well."


    The car accelerated swiftly after my phone was tossed out of the window. As we journeyed towards our unknown destination, I decided to probe a bit.


    The reason I hadn''t retaliated or attempted to escape was due to their strategic positioning. Since we were inside the hotel, they had formed a tight circle around me.


    If I were to attack one of them, the other two would swiftly come to their defense, making it futile. For now, my strategy was to go along with their plans until I could gather more information. Robin had been onto something earlier, but the information I had received so far was incomplete.


    "Lisa? Jamila? Anastasia? Ania?" I playfully guessed, trying to figure out the Russian lady''s name.


    "What are you doing?" Sasha asked, her brow furrowing.


    "I''m trying to guess your name based on your appearance. You have a slightly country look, so I''m going with... Polina," I confidently replied, provoking a frown from Sasha.


    "It''s Sasha, and I''m not from the country�� Damn it! Why haven''t you guys gagged his mouth yet?" she exclaimed in frustration.


    "Come on, Sasha, don''t be angry. It''s a nice name, and it suits such a pretty lady as you. Despite the fact that you''re kidnapping me, I can honestly say that you''re one of the most beautiful girls I''ve ever met. And trust me, I''ve met a lot of gorgeous girls," I flirtatiously remarked.


    Before my mouth could be gagged once again, Sasha intervened, stopping the man who held the tape. She smiled and said, "You can''t sweet talk your way out of this."


    "Why would I sweet talk my way out with the truth? People usually lie to do that," I responded, flashing a charming smile.


    "Interesting," Sasha replied, batting her eyes flirtatiously at me.


    "I wonder, how much did your client pay for you to willingly become the enemy of the entire country?" I questioned curiously.


    "You underestimate your importance, kid," the bellboy chimed in, laughing.


    Internally, I noted that the other country''s military was likely not their client. I turned to the laughing man and asked innocently, "Really? Wow, I guess wrong. So... how much?"


    The man excitedly replied, "One million dollars!"


    "Each?" I inquired, feeling confused.


    "No, total," the man clarified, also becoming puzzled by my response.


    "And... How many of you are there?" I probed further.


    "Don''t answer him," Sasha warned the man.


    "No, Sasha, you misunderstand. I''m not trying to gather information about your group. I''m just genuinely confused right now. You went through all of this... for a measly million dollars?" I expressed my disbelief.


    "Yeah?" Sasha responded, her incredulity growing as I mentioned the amount of money.


    I looked at her with disbelief and remarked, "You guys... Are you sure you''re... SMART?"


    Sasha smirked with contempt oozing out of her eyes, "1 Million means nothing to you, rich boy. But, it means everything to us."


    "OOOh a backstory. Wait, not now Ed. What I mean it, (Exaggeratedly) Oh no, I get that. (Normal voice) I just think that your boss has been thoroughly underpaying you for this assignment." I replied as the car got near a police barricade.


    "Stop�C STOP!!" The car didn''t slow down and the driver, a Jamaican lady, rammed through the barricade and accelerated the car into traffic. Two police cars followed the SUV with sirens blaring. Sasha opened the window and fired a couple of shots at the police car.


    "Ah, I made a mistake. You guys aren''t professional at all." I mumbled to myself.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Jake and Amy stood in the parking lot, frustration evident on their faces as they spotted Edward''s phone lying on the ground. "Damn it! They got away!" Jake exclaimed, his voice filled with frustration.


    "Goodbye, Mr. Villain," I said as the burly subordinate locked me away in a small room with a bodyguard, a small Latino man armed with a rifle and a baton.


    The bodyguard placed a laptop in front of me and ordered, "Break this encryption."


    "Hmm? What''s this? An overtime?" I began to question, but before I could finish my sentence, he punched me in the face. Blood trickled from the corner of my mouth as I stared at him in disbelief.


    He placed his finger on his lips, signaling for me to remain silent. "No questions, no talking. One more word from you, and I''ll shove this baton up your ass."


    "That''s gay," I responded, provoking the man''s anger.


    In a swift motion, I snapped the cable ties that bound my knees, breaking them in half. I reached out, grabbing the man by the mouth to prevent him from making any noise, while simultaneously seizing the baton he had intended to strike me with. His eyes widened with fear as I grinned devilishly. "Oh, you''re in deep trouble now."


    *crack*


    I held his head and cracked his neck, making him fall immediately. "Shit." I was surprised at my impulsiveness and checked the man''s nose with my finger. I was relieved, "He''s still breathing. I''m still fine. Wait no�C He punched me. He deserved it."


    Disarming him of his gun, knife, and baton, I equipped them on my body, preparing myself for the challenges ahead. Retrieving a pack of condoms from my pocket, I tore them open, revealing the small devices I had hidden inside. Among them was an earpiece, which I promptly put on.


    "Robin, what''s the situation?" I inquired.


    "Help is coming in 20 minutes," Robin replied.


    "That''s not enough time," I responded.


    "Sir, I''ve calculated your plan, and I must discourage you from proceeding. It would be better to wait for help instead of taking matters into your own hands," Robin advised.


    "Robin, once they confirm my identity, they''ll be more inclined to kill me than let me go," I reasoned. Merging the two small devices together, I extracted the antenna from the rectangular box and pressed the button to scramble communications in the area.


    "Let''s go," I instructed Robin before leaving the room. A guard stood outside the door, and I swiftly put him in a headlock and dragged him inside. Chocked, he lost consciousness within seconds. However as I tied him up, he had an euphoric expression on his face, creeping me out.


    "I didn''t give him a happy ending or the sort, did I?" I muttered with disgust.


    Then, I slipped out of the room and made my way to the adjacent area.


    Inside, seven men were monitoring the surroundings, their panic evident due to the broken monitor. I had already ensured there were no cameras in the hostage room to avoid detection.


    Reaching into my pocket once more, I retrieved an asthma inhaler. "Sleepy time," I muttered as I ripped out the gas canister and threw it into the room before closing the door. Some of the men noticed the rolling canister, but after a small explosion, they all succumbed to the drowsiness and fainted.


    Satisfied with the outcome, I calmly proceeded towards the main area where the exchange had taken place. There, I spotted the burly man conversing with Manelli''s brother from behind a stack of boxes. They appeared anxious, unable to use their phones or contact their informant to verify my identity.


    Although I was on the cusp of breaking out of the warehouse, a final hurdle remained. Three fully equipped patrolmen with body armor stood between me and freedom. While my skills were formidable, I recognized the danger posed by a direct confrontation with trained men.


    Then, I smiled as I got a plan, "Robin. Can you get the man''s number? And call him?"


    "I''ll see what I can do sir." Robin replied.


    2 minutes later, Manelli''s bro phone rang. "FINALLY!" he exclaimed before picking up the phone, "Is he really Miranda''s son?"


    However, Robin, mimicking a garbled, random guy''s voice, told him, "The line is *Bzzt* not clear,*bzzt* C�Can you go outside?


    "FUCK!" Manelli''s bro cursed before making his way out of the warehouse, leaving behind only the burly man there.


    I snuck behind him, but as he was standing in an open space, he could see me getting near. He automatically turned and pulled his rifle trigger.


    One of the bullets grazed my shoulder before I could manage to close the distance and kicked the rifle away from him. He responded by trying to hammer punch me, but I ducked a bit and punched him, right in the balls!!


    "Oof-" He exclaimed as his eyes crossed closer together and he fell down on the ground.


    "AHH!" Suddenly, Manelli''s brother who heard the gunshot rushed towards me. He wore a brass knuckle and wanted to punch me in the face. However, his step and swing were quite slow.


    I tilted my head a bit, letting his arm pass by, and without even moving from my spot, I grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up. He started choking and I muttered to him, "You know, you really shouldn''t be doing impulsive things next time. You should confirm first, who I am, and what I can do."


    The police broke through the front at this moment after hearing the gunshot sounds. I stared at the Cuban man and smiled. "If not, you''re going to end up in jail with your neck broken."


    "What�C" The man breathlessly said with veins protruding out of his face. His eyes slowly rolled backwards. But I released him at this time, just before he could lose consciousness.


    "Bastard-" He said groggily and took out a sharp knife.


    "FREEZE!" Jake Peralta said while pointing his gun at the man.


    He lunged at me without thinking. Jake and another officer opened fire. The bullet hit him right on the shoulder and his head, killing him immediately. The blood splatter rolled down my face as I looked at the guy emotionlessly.


    The police swarmed the area, and they were shocked when they found out that all of the perps inside the warehouse had already been taken care of.


    Jake was in disbelief, "Did you even need us here?"


    "I thought you were going to take a longer time to get in?" I asked Jake in confusion.


    "Yeah. Then we heard the gunshot. So we just stormed in." Jake replied.


    I laughed and turned to Jake, "I don''t know why, but I feel like I should say a catchy line right now."


    Amy, Rosa and Sarge walked towards me with a smile on their face. Jake was excited and said, "Oh- how about-"


    I interrupted him and said, "Tie a yellow ribbon round the old oak tree. Cos this boy''s coming home."


    Jake gasped and whispered in awe, "Nick Cage. Con Air."

 Chapter 216: Aftermath.

    Chapter 216: Chapter 216: Aftermath.


    (I MADE IT!! HAD TO RUSH HOME AT 160 KM/H lol)


    [General POV]


    After being safely escorted out of the warehouse, Edward was immediately taken to an ambulance where he received medical attention for his bleeding right arm.


    He required two stitches to close the wound. Edward sighed before he reminded the police, "Oh, right, there''s a laptop with an encrypted file on it. I don''t know what''s on there yet, but those guys seemed anxious to want me to break it for them."


    "Now, there''s important data involved? What''s on there? Some National Secret? Blueprints of Alcatraz? �C" Jake Peralta tried to guess without even hiding his excitement.


    Amy rolled her eyes at Jake and said, "Shouldn''t we recover them first before you try to guess what it is? Here. Your phone." Amy handed over Edward''s phone back to him.


    "Right. Let''s go Amy." Jake said before both of them reenter the warehouse.


    Meanwhile, the police continued their operations inside the warehouse, apprehending the individuals on the ship who were identified as accomplices. However, the arrest did not come without a major shootout between the police and the criminals.


    As news of the incident spread, the surrounding area quickly became chaotic, with reporters swarming in to cover the story. Footage of Edward with a bruised face and a bloody arm was swiftly broadcasted worldwide, capturing the attention of the public. However, what shocked the public even more was learning about the fate of the kidnappers.


    Eleven men were taken down by a lone teenage pop star, a detail that was accidentally leaked by Detective Jake Peralta during a lively phone conversation with his best friend, Charles Boyle.


    The reporters tried to pass over the police line to interview Edward who was drinking a calming tea the police had given to him while sitting at the back of the ambulance.


    "EDWARD! EDWARD! LOOK HERE!" The reporter shouted.


    Edward slowly turned to them and then suddenly thought of something. He then took out his phone and called someone.


    Startled by the unexpected phone call, Ted hastily answered his phone, his heart racing with concern. "Edward? Is that you? Are you alright?" His shout made everyone at the airport stare at him.


    Edward''s voice came through the line, filled with relief and a hint of exhaustion. "Hey, Dad. Yeah, I''m okay. It''s been quite a day, but I made it out safely. I just wanted to let you know�C"


    "EDWARD! HOW DID YOU GET OUT OF THERE!?" A reporter shouted.


    "EDWARD! HOW ARE YOU FEELING RIGHT NOW?!"


    "ANSWER US!"


    "IS IT TRUE YOU BROKE A GUY''S NECK?!"


    Ted let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness! I''ve been so worried. What happened? Are you hurt?"


    Edward paused for a moment before responding. "I''m a bit bruised and have a cut on my arm, but nothing serious. The police are taking care of me, and they''re doing their best to make sure everything is under control."


    "WHAT. HAPPENED?" Ted asked again, sternly this time.


    Edward sighed and said, "I broke off a guy''s neck, fought off a couple of them, and broke free of the warehouse. Can you wait a sec." He gazed at the reporters with irritation and spewed, "I''m talking to my dad right now to tell him that I am safe. Can you guys at least have the human decency to let me do that?"


    His warning startled the reporters, however they soon took his warning as a challenge and kept shouting their questions at him, this time laced with provocations.


    "DID YOU PLAN THE WHOLE THING FOR PUBLICITY?"


    "DID YOU PAY OFF THE SHOOTERS?"


    "ARE YOU A RACIST?!"


    "WERE YOU PURPOSELY TRYING TO GET K DESTROYED?"


    Edward ignored all of them and waited for his dad to answer, "Dad...Are you angry�C"


    "HOT DAMN!!!" Ted shouted, causing Ed to move his phone for a bit because of the loudness. In the airport, Ted pumped his fist in excitement. The rest of the ship crew was confused, but as Ted told them Ed was safe and had fought off 11 men, all of them cheered.


    "Sir. You''re causing a disturbance. Please come with us." A few airport security came to Ted to escort him away. Ted stammered as he spoke to Ed, "Come back home as soon as you can. Alright? I got to go."


    "Okay. Make sure to get a refund for the ticket!" Edward said before he cut the call. However at this moment, one of the photographers jumped through the police barricade in an attempt to get a closer video of Edward. He was blocked by the police, but he could still snap the photos of Ed from right in front of him.


    Jake Peralta saw Edward''s dangerous gazes and then exclaimed while standing in between the reporters and Edward, "This entire area is closed off by the police. Please stay clear or you will be arrested for obstruction of justice."


    "SHUT UP PIG!" The photographer cursed at Jake.


    "YOU KNOW WHAT? You ARE ARRESTED!" Jake said as he took out his handcuff and cuffed the resisting photographer.


    Rosa quickly went to Edward and said, "Let''s go. We will take you back to the precinct. You don''t need to stay here anymore."


    Amy held a laptop and joined Rosa, "We will contact your guardian to come pick you up at the precinct."


    "Can''t you guys just drop me off at the hotel?" Edward asked in a tired manner.


    Amy shook her head guiltily and said, "Procedure�C"


    "Screw it. Do you know how many of these hyenas will camp out in front of the precinct? Let''s just get him back to the hotel." Terry interjected quickly. As he was top in the command line in the precinct right now, he could make his own decisions about the matter.


    Rosa smiled and teased Terry, "You''re just grateful that he tackled you away from the line of fire."


    "HE SAVED ME ROSA!" Terry exclaimed, making Edward smile. Suddenly, his stomach growled, and it was heard by the detectives there. Amy smiled while Rosa grimaced and asked, "You just ate. How are you still hungry?"


    "Well being in a high pressure situation does help with one''s appetite." Edward replied with a shrug.


    The revelation that a well-known pop star had single-handedly defeated a group of kidnappers added a sensational twist to the story, garnering widespread interest.


    The media coverage intensified, with news outlets globally picking up the remarkable tale. Social media platforms buzzed with discussions, debates, and support for the brave actions of the young pop star. Memes, fan art, and trending hashtags flooded the internet, further fueling public fascination.


    A meme about Edward breaking someone''s neck especially gained the most attention on social media. Him being a disciple of Chuck Norris, ObiWan, and even Anakin Skywalker all popped out.


    In California, all of Edward''s friends finally breathed a sigh of relief when they heard the news that Edward was safe and sound. However, most of them didn''t go about their day and were still waiting for Edward to get back home. Especially the 3 siblings who were extremely close to him.


    [Edward POV]


    The detectives sent me straight back to the hotel after the whole incident. I could see some reporters were camping out in front of the hotel which made me feel even more tired. I was sitting in the back of the police car with Terry, and the woman detectives were sitting in the front.


    "What''s in it?" Rosa asked as she saw me breaking down the encryption on the laptop, just for fun. Amy was objecting to giving me the laptop before as it could be evidence, but I convinced her that my fingerprints were already on the laptop, so it doesn''t matter if I unlock the passwords before they filed the laptop in.


    "A bunch of names...of US espionage agents..." I replied to Rosa.


    "Wait. So you recover the names of our agents too? This is a matter of national security! You can get a medal for this!" Amy said in excitement.


    I looked at her in disbelief before she calmed down consciously and said, "Whatever you want to do with it. I''m cool."


    "Please, I don''t need any more attention on me." I said with a sigh. "Right now, all I want is some meat."


    "Meat?" Rosa asked, intrigued.


    Edward drooled and said, "Huge chunk of meat, on top of a bone, like in anime."


    "Oh, you like to watch Anime too?" Terry asked, excited.


    Edward turned towards him, and his lips slowly curled from meeting the same people, "You like them too? What did you watch?"


    "I like the old stuff. Gundam. Cowboy Bepop." Terry replied.


    Edward nodded and said, "Even if I recommend you some new ones, you''d probably, couldn''t take the time to watch it huh?"


    The deputy was speechless when he heard about Edward''s decision. "I don''t know whether this is a good thing, or a bad thing for us."


    Raymond said, "He managed to get me to watch Music Television, (MTV) for the first time in my life last night when he invited the Philharmonics with him, and managed to concoct a beautiful orchestra rendition of his mainstream song."


    "So I strongly believe that if he decided to conduct a press conference, it would''ve been meticulously planned out, and it would be nothing but beneficials to these detectives." Raymond turned to the four detectives and said, "Seeing how he regards you guys as his savior, and wants to get the heat away from you, he''s holding you guys in a positive light. Do you guys have a good rapport."


    Jake was confused, but still replied, "Well, we did vibe out when we were discussing about the Die Hard films, a legendary masterpiece of all times�C"


    "Jake!" Rosa stopped him.


    "Right. Sorry. We do have a rapport." Jake replied simply.


    ...


    The media coverage about the entire incident was still going strong even when Edward had already returned to California. The surrounding Entertain buildings were covered with fans, holding up banners to support Edward and to cheer him up from his traumatic event.


    Rosa saw the news coverage of the event and muttered, "I don''t like this at all. I feel like we''re using him."


    Terry nodded and said, "I feel the same way. I feel all dirty inside."


    Jake smiled, "Why are you guys feeling so dumps in the dumps? We''re practically heroes! I mean, we are heroes every day, but it''s not a usual thing to get people asking if we want to sell our movie rights! And to answer that question, not if�C"


    "Did you just say dumps in the dumps?" Amy interjected.


    "Don''t ruin my vibe Amy. Come on!" Jake protested. He then mumbled, "I miss Charles."


    The room fell into a hushed silence as Edward approached the podium, his bandaged arm and bruised face evident to everyone present. The flashes of cameras filled the air, capturing the image of a resilient young man.


    "You know, earlier in the day, I was thinking that if I needed to hold a press conference, it would be to talk about my achievement in the 2009 MTV awards, how me, a newcomer, managed to snatch up 3 of the awards. But life does have a certain way to make your day even more special." Edward said with a chuckle as he spoke to the microphone.


    He pointed to the reporter who was raising her arms up, "Yes. You."


    The blonde reporter with thick glasses and curly hair asked, "Can you explain to us what happened?"


    "I mean, it''s all covered up in the news. Is that really the question you want to ask?" Edward joked, pretending to be confused, which made the reporters laugh.


    The reporters there were vetted by the company and were all professionals, therefore there weren''t any questions that were damaging to his reputation or were too much for him to answer. Edward talked about the detectives, how Terry and Rosa laid down their lives to save him, Jake and Amy who investigated who he was and saved him from the kidnappers.


    "A lot of you guys keep saying that they need to be held accountable. But they submitted their hunch to their captain, and when they didn''t get any support, they still went on and tried to save me on their own."


    "They are good guys, and good cops. TV and Movies made us believe that all police are bad, but there are still cops who keep true to the words ''Serve and Protect'' out there. I am really glad that I have met them."


    "So for Captain Raymond Holt of the 99 precinct, Sergeant Terry Jeffords of the 99 precinct, Detective Rosa Diaz of the 99 precinct, Detective Jake Peralta of the 99 precinct, and lastly, Detective Amy Santiago of the 99 precinct, and all of the other police officers involved,...Thank you, for saving my life. "


    Numerous camera flashes illuminated the entire room as Edward thanked the detectives. In New York, the detectives were confused." Jake muttered, "Captain Raymond Holt of the 99 precinct?"


    Edward was tired at this moment and had forgotten the tiny detail. But his words would soon come true because the NYPD decided to make Raymond Holt the replacement captain because of the high numbers of commendation from the fans, just a few hours later.


    The press conference continued, "Rumor has it that you had fought off 11 men on your own and could make it out from the kidnappers by yourself. Is that true?"


    Edward responded jokingly, "Actually, I ambushed 2, knocked out 7 others with sleeping gas, and kicked one guy in the nuts. So, I only fought off one guy who wanted to kill me. I''m not THAT awesome."


    He added, "That guy also said that he wants to sell me off to an island where I would be the rich and wealthy people''s sex slave, but he didn''t tell me all of the details. I knew I had to break out of there before the ship came, which was 5 minutes later when the cops came to rescue me."


    "Where is the island?" One of the reporters asked curiously.


    Edward shrugged and said convincingly, "I only heard they said it''s in the Caribbean Sea, Little Saint James Island if I''m not mistaken. (Epstein Island). Who knows what''s going on at the island there. Any other questions?"


    The island would soon be investigated by the media, and the expose would come out sooner in this world.


    "Are you sure that K didn''t have anything to do with this?" A fat reporter asked.


    Edward shook his head and replied, "I''m sure. To do such a thing, the perpetrators needed to have basic cognitive skills. K doesn''t have that kind of ability."


    The reporters laughed at Edward''s snide. His words did take a lot of the flames away from K, which made the guy secretly grateful that he decided to let go of the insult at the press conference..


    "Will you sell this experience as a movie right?" One reporter asked jokingly.


    "No. Unless I could be played by Ryan Gosling, I wouldn''t sell my experience as a movie right." Edward replied playfully, which made the reporters laugh again.


    One of the reporters, who was the asian reporter who interviewed Edward before asked, "You''re smiling and joking around, so does the experience don''t bother you that much?"


    "Honestly, it does bother me. I don''t think that I''ve been that scared in my life before." Edward said with a serious tone after thinking for a while.


    "Oh, but you''ve been so brave in surviving this ordeal." She added.


    Edward nodded and said, "Personally, I believe that Bravery isn''t about the absence of fear. You could be fearful, and be brave at the same time. If you have fear, and you do it anyway, that''s bravery for me."


    The quote would soon be ingrained into a lot of people''s minds.


    "You let your fans evacuate first before you do. Why?" Another reporter asked.


    "They are my cuties. I don''t want anything to happen to them because of me." Edward replied with a chuckle. The fans who were watching the press conference started swooning, and became obsessively in love with him.


    He answered all of the questions and made things clear for the public. He could keep his silence about the whole matter, but in doing so, it would make his life tiring from all of the public attention.


    Ironically after he explained about the matter and stood in front of the media, the attention people have on the matter slowly disappeared.


    "Are your injuries serious?"


    "No, it''s just a scratch. But I did have to get 2 stitches. So hopefully it doesn''t leave a scar."


    "What did Taylor respond when she knew you were kidnapped?"


    "How should I know? I was...Kidnapped?" Edward looked at the reporter asking the question like he was stupid.


    "What does Vanessa Hudgen have to do with all of this?"


    "She''s sleeping the entire time, so I don''t think she had anything much to do in this."


    "What did your dad say after you were kidnapped?"


    "He told me to break off the neck of others who wanted to do the same."


    "Can you?"


    "Try, and you shall find out."


    The press conference went on for another half hour before it ended. That same night, Taylor''s new album, "FEARLESS" was released according to the schedule. The sales were explosive, and people kept relating the album''s name to Edward.


    As Edward went back to the office, Ted and Camila gave him a huge hug as soon as he walked through the door. The Dunphys, Mitch, Cam and Lily, Jay, Gloria and Manny, his friends, the ship''s crew and employees, Entertain employees, Harvey, Pepper, Max, Selena and Vanessa, even RDJ, were all there at the office and they shouted, "Congrats on winning the awards!"


    They blew off the party poppers, and whistled for Edward as they brought 4 cakes to him.


    "One cake for each award, and Oh, this one, is a special cake that the children had made for you." Cam explained.


    The last cake was a green frosting cake. It was clear that it was made by unskilled bakers, and there was a drawing of a stickman Hulk, choking the bad guy on top of it.


    "I drew this." Luke took credit confidently despite Alex and Haley looking hesitant.


    Edward was in disbelief before he smiled softly. He looked at the people all around and said, "Thank you everyone. I love it."

 Chapter 217: Unearned Achievement.

    Chapter 217: Chapter 217: Unearned Achievement.


    (5 chap before Season 3 Finale. I will be taking next week off for Eid Mubarak. For those who celebrated it, Eid Mubarak everyone! )


    [Edward POV]


    As I was on my way home, I reminisced about the time I approached RDJ at the party. "Why are you here?" I asked, narrowing my gaze at him.


    He gasped dramatically, placing a hand over his chest and opening his mouth in mock offense. After a moment, he decided to drop the act and scoffed as he couldn''t trick me. "Did you run away from somewhere?" I questioned again.


    RDJ, munching on a piece of green cake, replied with a mischievous grin, "Next time, make sure there''s going to be an Iron Man cake too. That Ruffalo sure knows how to ''RUFFle my feathers."


    I exclaimed in realization, "Ah. So, is this about the meet and greet? Your first meeting with the cast? Have you already started filming?"


    With a proud expression, RDJ casually draped his arm over my shoulder. "Yes, that''s right. It was incredibly boring, so I had to escape. The Twin Chris''es kept bonding over their workouts. But still, I had the best arm there."


    He smiled and added, "I overheard some staff mentioning they were coming here to buy a software program from you. So I decided to hitch a ride. The idea was to ensure there''s someone with a rapport, so you won''t overcharge us�C the now bankrupt company who is bought out by your nemesis, Disney."


    I couldn''t resist a playful response. "Well, now I''m going to triple the cost."


    Reacting with mock outrage, RDJ rubbed his goatee and exclaimed, "Hey! Marvel still hasn''t got the money yet!"


    As I reflected on RDJ''s true intentions for being at the party, I couldn''t help but be grateful.


    I had seen him during the press conference earlier, seemingly anxious yet determined. It became clear that he had come with the intention of offering support if I struggled during my interview. It wasn''t because he doubted my abilities, but rather because he understood firsthand the challenges that come with such high-pressure situations. He has had his fair share of struggles before.


    Being a celebrity meant existing for the public, not for oneself. It didn''t matter if you were dealing with personal struggles or inner turmoil; you had to maintain a character facade in front of the camera. And he was worried that I couldn''t take it.


    Why would he even care about the software or the budget of the studio? He''s just an actor, not a part of the company. Then, I guess after the press conference was over, he saw the cakes and decided to invite himself in.


    "By the way, how did you fight that guy? Do you want me to teach you a few moves?" RDJ asked playfully.


    "I punched him in the balls. You can teach me if you want, but in sparring, you need to know that is my go-to move."


    He covered up his crotch area instantly and scoffed. He signed an autograph for Luke before going back to his house. The filming for the first Avengers movie would start in a few days, and he invited me to come watch the first filming session later.


    Returning to the present, I immediately went up to my room and laid down on my bed with a tired groan after the day was finally over.


    "Damn, I''m still hungry." I said as my stomach gurgled again. ''I kept getting hungry all day today. I wonder if I am in a period of rapid growth right now. Or is it that my now go-to response to stress is binge eating. Ahh, but I don''t want to move!!'' I thought whiningly as I squirmed on the bed, making a mess out of the sheets.


    The door to my room swung open, catching my attention. I lifted my head slightly from the pillow to see Haley casually entering and plopping down at the edge of my bed.


    "Hey!" she greeted cheerfully. "I still don''t understand what happened this morning."


    "Because you were sleeping the entire time," I scolded, but couldn''t help but chuckle. Haley giggled and then proceeded to check the wound on my arm before brushing her hand gently against my bruised face. "Hmm. They almost made you ugly."


    "It''s going to take more than one punch to take away my looks," I replied, rolling my eyes playfully. I reached out and pulled her to my side, causing her to yelp and giggle. As she laid down, facing me, she asked with concern, "Is it scary?"


    "Nah, more annoying than scary," I replied honestly.


    "Really? You''re not lying?" she asked, her worried expression searching my face.


    I shook my head and reassured her, "No, I''m not lying."


    She stared into my eyes, seeking confirmation of my words, before finally breathing a sigh of relief. "And what about that island?" she asked curiously.


    I burst into laughter and said, "Oh yeah, that. I was just messing around. I wanted to see if I could make the media sweep this whole thing under the rug."


    "Hmm?" Haley looked thoroughly confused, but I decided not to explain the full context of the matter to her. It was better for her not to know the full extent of the country''s degeneracy.


    We continued to talk for a while until my stomach growled again. Haley couldn''t help but burst into laughter. "Why are you still hungry? We just ate. Oh yeah, you need to go back home early and talk to a lot of people. Poor baby. Do you want me to get you something to eat?"


    "I already have my snack right here," I replied, playfully kissing her on the neck. She giggled in response and said, "Wait here. I''ll bring you some food."


    "Nah, I''ll come with you," I insisted.


    Together, we made our way to the kitchen and prepared some food. I cooked up some instant noodles, which we shared in a large bowl.


    "Oh, I forgot to ask. Did you sneak out?" I inquired, slurping my noodles.


    Haley, in the midst of chewing, tried to reply with her mouth still open but ended up choking slightly. After swallowing, she finally responded, "I was sneaking out, but then I realized my mom hadn''t come inside yet. I met her at the door."


    "And then?" I asked, intrigued.


    "She guessed I was coming here, and she just let me," Haley replied, a touch of surprise in her voice.


    "The state-of-the-art ventilation and air filtration systems maintain a fresh and healthy environment, even in extended periods of isolation�C"


    "Wait. Stop." I interjected quickly. I looked at both guys in disbelief and asked, "Why are you showing me a nuclear bunker?"


    "I don''t know if it can survive a nuke, but I guess if any house could, it would be this house." Phil said casually.


    "Phil!" I called him. My dad replied, "I did tell Phil that security is my main concern. Nothing is too much in terms of safety. This house looks nice. We should take it�C"


    "HELL''S NO!" I vetoed the house immediately.


    Then, we went to the next house still located in West Hollywood. We didn''t even get out of the car when I saw it was shaped like the pentagram, and was built as a bunker too.


    "NEXT!"


    The third house was inspired by French designs, but still maintained the structure of an American house.


    "It has 3 stories, plus the attic. You can see that it is inside a guarded area. And most importantly, there''s a bunker in the basement." Phil said.


    "Good, we will take this one�C"


    "No. I need the basement for my lab. Besides, this house has no pool. And very, very isolated. I need to walk 20 minutes just to get to another house in the neighborhood." I rejected the house with a tired voice.


    "That''s why there are transport services to get around." Phil said.


    "Nein!" I stressed out.


    The next house we went to see intrigued me. It was a picturesque retreat with a stunning pool area. Inside the main house, there were seven spacious bedrooms and six well-appointed bathrooms. The guest room was also in a different wing of the house.


    "However, it is an hour away from our place right now." I sighed.


    "What''s wrong with that?" My dad asked.


    "Then, how can I go to Phil''s house in the morning? How can my friends come by and hang out?" I said.


    Phil, a bit touched, almost teared up, "Alright. It''s fine. Ed has his preferences. We will go to take a look at the last house, and if that doesn''t satisfy you, then we can try again another day."


    My phone rang before we could get to the car. I checked the id and it was from Pepper. I picked up the call immediately and greeted, "What''s up Peps?"


    "Edward. Where are you? You better not run around by yourself and get into trouble again. My poor heart couldn''t take it." Pepper said.


    "Your heart is in poor condition. You should run on the treadmill sometime." I said.


    Pepper scoffed and scolded, "Are you fat-shaming me?!"


    "Rather than fat-shaming, I don''t want to lose you so early at the prime of your life." I said with a slight chuckle.


    Pepper was speechless and then he spoke about why he was calling. He needed confirmation about where to receive the medal, in California or in NYC.


    I grimaced and said, "Can''t I not go?"


    "I wish I could say yes. But from the information I got, it seems that the president wants to give you the medal himself. So you have to go."


    "Damn it. Seriously! Let me fucking move on from this shit�C" I was cursing to myself then I realized it could be misconstrued as I was cursing Pepper. , "Sorry Peps. That wasn''t aimed at you."


    Even Phil and my dad were startled when they saw me blowing up.


    "Well I know." Pepper scoffed. After a while, he said placatingly "I wish I could let time move faster for you Ed. But I really can''t do anything without it being damaging to you."


    I sighed and said, "It''s fine. I don''t blame you."


    Then, I changed the subject, "Oh, by the way, where is Max staying?"


    "She''s in a hotel somewhere. Why?" Pepper replied.


    "I''m bored looking at houses with my dad all day." I replied. But honestly, I wanted Max for another reason. 420 reasons to be exact. My mood was irreparably damaged by the call that we had to stop looking at houses today and went back to our old house.


    Paparazzi and fans were staying in front of the house as the car pulled in. They almost swarmed to the car if not for the security I had hired to protect me around the house area. Even Taylor couldn''t get to the house she bought next to mine because of all the craziness.


    5 days passed by in a hurry. The impact from the incident finally eased up while I was at my house, hiding from the crowd of fans. In the 5 days, I had opened a few of Taylor''s tour concerts, took a picture with the president�C in which I channeled the humorous spirit of Michael Scott from "The Office". I couldn''t resist recreating the iconic expression of "I don''t know how I got here" alongside the president in the picture, which made a lot of memes come out.


    Simultaneously, I also launched my image editing software, which proved to be even more versatile. With versions available for both PC and mobile devices, users could effortlessly enhance and transform their photos on various platforms. The software''s affordability and user-friendly nature made it accessible to a wide audience, resulting in a surge of sales that revitalized my once-depleted finances.


    ''It''s basically a mixture of Canva, Picart, plus photoshop. And my fans just bought it because they wanted to get my how-to video on getting started.''


    After a week, the attention died down as the world would move with or without my involvement. I could finally live my life back to normal again.

 Chapter 218: Retreat.

    Chapter 218: Chapter 218: Retreat.?


    (I''m Back Everyone.)


    [Edward POV]


    "27 days left before Halloween," I muttered, checking the date as I rose early in the morning on the 4th of October.


    Slowly, I descended from the luxurious, oversized bed in the expansive bedroom. The room had French windows that bathed the space in gentle sunlight, while a butler, dressed in a distinguished black suit, complete with a monocle and a mustache reminiscent of the Monopoly man, opened the curtains for me.


    "You sure are excited for Halloween, Mr. Newgate," the butler remarked jokingly, approaching my side with a knowing smile.


    As the paparazzi''s relentless harassment intensified following the president''s decision to award me a medal, I found myself seeking refuge and hiding away in one of Pepper''s mother''s vacation homes. Nestled in Altadena, a serene location near the Angeles National Forest and adjacent to the historic Cobb Estate, this retreat became my sanctuary.


    "Well, I''ve never done Trick or Treating before, so it''ll be my first time. Of course I''m excited about it." I said as I put on the white shirt and pants that the butler had given me.


    The outfit, giving me a touch of Old Money Style, satisfied me greatly. I looked at the butler with a complicated look and said, "You know, I didn''t want a butler when I first got here. But now, I don''t think I can go back to how I lived before."


    "You flatter me Sir." the butler said with a genial smile before saying, "Breakfast is ready. Your father, and your aunt are already there, waiting for you. And Max�C" He sighed subtly as he mentioned the last name.


    "Thanks James." I replied with a kind smile. Then, both of us went out of the room. I descended a spiral staircase from the third floor to the ground floor, creeped out by the oil paintings of the old lords as I did so.


    The house exuded a renaissance charm, with elements of a castle-like structure that left me in awe upon my first sighting. While it lacked an outdoor pool, it compensated with indoor pools which added a sense of modernity in it. That was the only thing that was added later to the place when Eve bought it.


    The mansion spanned an impressive 24,000 square feet and boasted a sprawling field, garden, and lawn that stretched out in front of it. I''ve been jogging on the estate for 2 days since I got here, after the day I met with the president.


    To ensure my security and privacy, Eve, overprotective grandmother, had assembled a team of 30 armed guards strategically stationed throughout the mansion. Her generosity knew no bounds, as she not only offered me a refuge but also extended the offer of permanent ownership of the house should I decide to marry her grandchild.


    "Just so you know, the offer still stands." James whispered to me as he saw my mesmerized eyes.


    I was jolted out of my imagination. "Stop trying to convince me to marry!!" I said with a grumble before walking into the dining room. My dad and my aunt were looking awkward as the staff served food on the table, but their eyes glinted in excitement as they saw me.


    "Morning Ed." My dad greeted me.


    "Mornin''." My aunt said as she stuffed her mouth with food.


    James coughed twice, reminding Camila about her manners. She grimaced and said, "This is not okay too?"


    "Behaving properly is the key to becoming a classy young lady." James said.


    "I don''t need to become a classy lady!?" My aunt asked with irritation and confusion.


    I snided to my dad, "She knew not to add young there. At least she has some self awareness�C"


    My aunt shot a glare at me as she heard all of it. I flinched and waved at her with a smile before casually putting butter on my pancakes.


    Suddenly, Max sauntered into the dining room, clad in nothing but a frilly black bikini. The old wooden floor bore the evidence of her recent dip in the pool, with wet footprints leaving splashes of moisture in her wake. Her bold entrance immediately elicited a grimace from James.


    "Now, this is an irredeemable young lady," James muttered under his breath, unable to hide his disapproval.


    Max, undeterred by James'' disapproving gaze, greeted him with a cheerful tone. "Good morning to you too, James," she replied, her voice brimming with unwavering cheerfulness. She cackled and said, "Glad to see your face is still sour today."


    "It''s only sour when it''s in your presence Max." I shot her a gesture to come sit next to me. "Is this a scheme to stare at my chest while you eat?" She asked playfully.


    "Of course." I replied with a mischievous smile. "Why else would I want you to sit next to me?"


    "That''s rude. I have other qualities besides my chest." Her eyes glinted mischievously, "Like my butt." She added jokingly.


    James coughed twice, but Max ignored her, making the old man fume as I just bursted into laughter.


    After breakfast, Max went to the company, hitching a ride with my old man, leaving only my aunt and me inside the estate.


    But as Camila couldn''t take the nagging, she also went out to check on a barely opened store in Calexico�C her store, which is almost a two hour drive from here.


    "Why don''t you take the chopper?" I said, pointing at the helicopter landing side.


    "No, I''d rather drive for hours than spend any more time here," she replied firmly.


    I laughed and waved her off, saying, "Goodbye, chocolate bread."


    Perplexed, she mumbled, "What is that? Why do you keep calling me that?" before huffing away, leaving me chuckling to myself.


    I checked the time and said to the butler, "James. I''m going to do a live session on my instagram, can you help me set it up?"


    "Sure, in which room do you want me to get the equipment ready, sir?" James asked dutifully.


    "The kitchen will be fine. Wait, or should I do it in the piano room?" I mused for a while. "Oh, by the way, have you ever eaten a Japanese souffle cheesecake before?" I asked curiously.


    "I have, sir. As part of my butler training, I needed to be familiar with cuisines from all over the world," James replied proudly.


    "Great," I smiled. "Then, James, I need the ingredients to make the cake... on my own."


    "On your own?" James questioned, unsure about my request.


    "Yeah, I need to make it before Sage and Taylor come here," I explained. Pepper would stop by after Taylor''s final concert in LA, with Harvey tagging along to discuss a few things before Taylor''s tour across the country starts.


    As for Sage, There were a few tests that were conducted at school last week, but unfortunately, I couldn''t attend any of them. As a result, Sage, the principal''s reluctant designated representative, was instructed to bring me the test.


    "I understand, sir," James acknowledged before he walked away to gather the necessary ingredients.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Max quickly turned around to check and see if the old butler was in the vicinity. Luckily for her, he was out in the garden, tending to some tree sculptures, oblivious to the scheme brewing inside the estate.


    ...


    Twenty minutes after the conclusion of the live session, Miss Anna, also known as Sage, arrived at the mansion. She was dressed in a pencil skirt and a fluffy white sweater, and her jaw dropped in awe at the sheer size of the estate before her.


    "Hey," Edward greeted cheerfully as he approached the main door to welcome the teacher. James, observing Anna''s striking beauty, couldn''t help but feel a twinge of apprehension, concerned that she might become a rival for his master''s grandchildren.


    Sage snapped out of her daze and greeted Edward, "Hi... What is all of this? How can you afford this?"


    "No, no," Edward hurriedly replied. "I didn''t buy this house. I haven''t found another place to move into yet." He took hold of Sage''s hand and gently pulled her inside. "Come on, I''ll show you around. This place is amazing."


    Edward brought her to sight see for 20 minutes before James coughed twice as he saw the two of them were getting lost of time. He said, "Sir, shouldn''t you finish the test first before continuing. It is almost 2 O''clock."


    "What''s wrong with two o''clock?" Edward asked in confusion.


    James flinched a bit, but he quickly collected himself, "I must''ve made a mistake sir."


    "But this old beard-o is right. We should do the test first." Sage said.


    "Alright then." Edward agreed easily and released Sage''s hand. He placed his hand behind his head as he walked to the study where he would be tested there.


    James breathed in relief after seeing that Edward and Anna had gone. "O-Old Beard-o?" He muttered in disbelief as he suddenly noticed what the teacher had called him.


    "Too easy," Edward remarked smugly as he handed his completed History paper to Sage, having finished writing his answers in less than 15 minutes.


    "That''s just for History. You have other subjects too," Sage reminded him.


    "I know that," Edward replied with a smirk. "Can''t you just give me all of them at once? You know I''m going to get a perfect score in all of them anyway."


    Sage rolled her eyes, a mix of amusement and exasperation evident on her face. She placed all of the test papers on Edward''s table, including Math, Sciences, Language, Geography, Spanish, and several other subjects that needed to be tested. Originally, Sage was scheduled to come for three days to administer the exams, but Edward wanted to complete them all in under two hours.


    While Edward was engrossed in his exams, Sage left him alone in the room as she could smell cheesecake, neglecting her duty to supervise him. This left James, the old butler, feeling perplexed.


    "Is she really a teacher?" James grumbled to himself, questioning Sage''s professionalism.


    He decided to take over her role by discreetly watching Edward from a nearby window to ensure he wasn''t cheating. However, James''s efforts were in vain because Edward had never once attempted to cheat his way through any of the exams.


    In the kitchen, Max was shocked when she saw Anna suddenly appearing behind her when she was taking out the cheesecake from the oven.


    "You scared the bejesus out of me." Max said with irritation.


    Anna said casually, "Don''t use his name in vain. That guy doesn''t like that. This is Edward''s cake, right?"


    "Yeah. Oh, You must be his teacher. Hi, I''m Max." She introduced herself.


    "Anna." Sage replied, her eyes glued on the cake. Max chuckled a bit and said, "Now I know why he wanted to make cheesecake for today. He wants to impress his gorgeous teacher."


    Anna shook her head and said, "That''ll never happen. Edward has no interest in me, and he never will have."


    Max was shocked and she said, "Why? Did you used to be a man or something? If you were, then I must say, you have a really REALLY good doctor."


    Anna wasn''t offended and said, "Nothing of the sort. He treats me like a family member. That''s all."


    "Hey, he treats me like family too. But it doesn''t stop him from ogling at these two treasure chests like a horny pirate." Max replied as she pushed her chest upwards.


    "We''re not the same." Sage replied as she grabbed a fork and tried to taste the cake. But Max slapped her hand, making her taken aback.


    "Hand''s off. We need to wait for him until we can cut it." Max replied. "Oh, and by the way, your outfit is not really appropriate for this estate. I think you need to change."


    "Huh?" Sage was confused. "Change into what?"


    Back in the room, Edward raised his arms into the air and stretched as he finished the tests. "Ah. It''s over." He mumbled.


    "Good job sir. I''ve been watching you from the beginning, and I must say, you have the most brilliant mind I''ve ever seen." James entered and complemented Edward as he collected the papers.


    "Still not going to marry Denise." Edward replied casually.


    "Tsk." James clicked his tongue subtly, but Edward caught it and he burst into laughter.


    Sage reentered the room after James had finished collecting the papers. "Young lady, I''ll need to have a talk with you about professional work ethics�C Oh heavens." James''s jaw dropped in disbelief as he saw Sage.


    "What�C Oh lord." Edward turned to look into James''s direction, and he saw Sage wearing a polka dot bikini and a long, translucent pink skirt as she walked towards him.


    After Sage claimed she needed to mark the history question paper, she requested James to leave the study, leaving her alone with Edward inside the room. Meanwhile, Max had discovered James''s previous hiding spot and decided to observe from there, curious to see if Edward would show any signs of being flustered in the presence of his teacher.


    However, she was shocked to see Edward reacting like it was nothing.


    "Why are you wearing that?" Edward asked casually.


    Sage, who was being sensual without even trying to, marked the papers and said, "Max told me it''s the tradition here?"


    Edward thought for a bit, and decided to go along with the fabricated tradition, "Yeah. It''s true. And I''m surprised you picked this one. Shouldn''t you wear a grandmother''s bathing suit or something�C"


    Sage slapped Edward''s head with a rolled up question paper before she went back into grading them.


    "Oh, right. I wanted to ask you something." Sage said.


    "Sure. What is it?" Edward replied.


    Sage suddenly turned solemn and asked, "In the last few days, the president has been acting like a mad dog, and even exposed the entire degenerate island himself, even if he was among the list of clients who frequented it. He turned into a saint, and he''s suddenly trying to clean out all of the filth in the government."


    Edward gulped his saliva as Sage stared into his eyes and asked, "Did you use your eye power on him?"

 Chapter 219: Surprise gift!

    Chapter 219: Chapter 219: Surprise gift!


    [Edward POV]


    "Did you use your eye power on him?"


    I averted my eyes from Sage. My index finger slowly tapped the armrest as I mulled my decision to answer.


    "Yes." I replied, expecting a barrage of nagging from her. However, she unexpectedly was nodding as if the whole thing was normal.


    "Why do you look so surprised? Do you think I''m going to get mad at you or anything?" She asked.


    "Kinda." I replied with a slight chuckle.


    Sage smiled softly and said, "I don''t care what you''re going to do with your gifts. It is destined for you, not for me. But can I ask, why did you do it? Do you have any grudge with the president or something?"


    I shook my head slightly and said, "No. It''s the opposite of that."


    "He has a grudge with you?" Sage asked, confused.


    I narrowed my eyes at her in disbelief before saying, "Not that! I just�C Look, when I got kidnapped, do you know what I felt at that time?" Sage listened and then gestured for me to go on.


    "Scared, restless, nervous....I didn''t feel any of those. Instead, I feel annoyed as fuck." I confessed. "However, when I got back to see my friends and family, I saw that they were all extremely scared, and nervous...when they thought that something had happened to me."


    "That''s when I realized, I wasn''t behaving the way a normal person would in that type of situation."


    "And that leads you, to brainwashing the president?" Sage added mischievously. My lips curled up as I replied, "No. He''s just a convenient guy for me to unload the burden. Besides, I didn''t make him my servant or anything. I just planted the intention, ''Do the right thing for the people'' onto his mind."


    "And....?" Sage dragged her words.


    "...And, also I inserted some memories..." I replied nervously and timidly.


    Sage was annoyed and retorted, "You make him feel like he''s the main character of a novel!!"


    "Well yeah, that''s how I know he''s going to use his memories well." I said with a chuckle.


    Sage scowled and scolded me, "Don''t laugh! This is not a laughing matter! Everyday when the president wakes up, he will stand at the balcony to oversee the city, and broods like Batman!"


    *Insert Batman Theme Here*


    I nodded in satisfaction after hearing Sage''s words. She grabbed a throw pillow�C the 100,000 dollar handmade golden throw pillow with a noble emblem on it and threw it on my face. "Don''t look so satisfied! What you did, is going to cause a major change!"


    "That''s fine. Because...if the future that we''re going to face, is the same as the history in my past life, then, I''d rather the president be Batman than to go through all of that again." I replied casually.


    [President''s Cutscene]


    At night, President Obama stands at the balcony area of the white house, just outside of the Oval office as he gazes into the city with a deep look.


    He mumbled with a deep voice. "As I stand here, at the precipice of power, I carry with me a burden far greater than any that has come before. For I know what lies ahead, the trials and tribulations that await this nation. The weight of the future rests upon my shoulders, a future marred by uncertainty, division, and hardship. But I refuse to succumb to despair, for I hold a secret, a knowledge of what lies ahead."


    Vivid memories of true and false memories appeared inside his mind. The plague in 2020, the civil war in 2025, World War 3 that turned the whole world into a desolate wasteland in 2030.


    The president gripped his hands tight until it almost bled. He, who has never struggled in despair before, had his whole world turned upside down when Edward made him feel every single struggle of the lowest bottom of the society in person.


    The President opened his arms as he felt the cold wind blowing in his face. "In this brooding silence, I see the struggles that lie before us, the challenges that threaten to tear this country apart. I hear the cries of the forgotten, the whispers of those who have lost hope. But I will not stand idle, consumed by the darkness that looms. Instead, I vow to wield the power of this office to bring about change, to shape a future that is brighter, fairer, and more just."


    "With the weight of foresight, I see the consequences of inaction, the consequences of complacency. I cannot allow that future to come to pass. I will fight for the marginalized, the voiceless, and the oppressed. I will champion equality, compassion, and progress. Together�C No, I will make the whole country stand together! We will forge a path towards a future where every person, regardless of their background, has an opportunity to thrive."


    "In the face of adversity, I will not be deterred. I will harness the power of this office, not for personal gain, but for the betterment of the people. I will challenge the status quo, confront the injustices that plague our society, and inspire a nation to rise above its limitations."


    "This brooding determination fuels my resolve. I am the harbinger of change, the catalyst for a brighter tomorrow. I will rewrite the course of history, not for my own glory, but for the collective well-being of this great nation."


    "Together, we will forge a destiny where hope prevails, progress thrives, and the future shines with promise. I am the President of the United States, armed with the knowledge of what lies ahead, and I vow to lead this nation towards a future that we, the people, deserve."


    The president turned and re-entered his office. But on his stoic face, his lips were twitching as if it wanted to curl up but he stopped them with sheer force.


    The President thought secretly, ''I must''ve looked so cool before.''


    [Cutscene ends]


    [Edward POV]


    In the United States, the free-to-play (F2P) business model was initially viewed as a risky and relatively new concept. When Riot Games released their game League of Legends (LOL), which followed a similar gameplay style to DOTA 2 (which gained popularity with a mod rather than a standalone game), they faced criticism and skepticism.


    LOL was not the only game of its kind to emerge after the popularity of the Dota mod. Many similar games were created, attempting to capture the success of the original. Most of them have even better graphics and gameplay than LOL. However, what set Riot Games'' LOL apart and allowed it to thrive was its free-to-play business model.


    By offering the game for free and generating revenue through in-game purchases and microtransactions, LOL was able to attract a large player base, particularly in Asian countries and Europe, where a significant portion of the player demographic consisted of teenagers.


    This business model resonated with these players, as it allowed them to access and enjoy the game without the barrier of an upfront cost.


    The F2P model proved to be highly successful for Riot Games, as they were able to monetize the game through optional cosmetic items, character skins, and other in-game enhancements. Harvey was among the people who was skeptical about the business model, but after I explained to her about the potential of the game, she finally relented and stopped trying to change my mind.


    "No. It''s a total buyout for 60 million dollars." Harvey said smugly, shocking me.


    "How?" I asked with disbelief.


    "To explain simply, we can say...that I am just persuasive." Harvey replied with some condescending tone akin to a villain.


    In the current landscape, a new game with improved graphics and gameplay, adopting a free-to-play (F2P) business model, is poised to enter the market. However, it is anticipated that this game will transition back to a pay-to-play model within a year. As a result, players who were enjoying the game for free are expected to seek out other F2P options, potentially leading to a resurgence of interest in LOL.


    Meanwhile, the CEO of Riot Games finds themselves facing significant financial challenges and requires funding to sustain their game''s marketing efforts. It is at this critical juncture that Harvey enters the picture and acquires Riot Games in its entirety. Despite the acquisition, the CEOs are able to retain their positions, but the ownership of the game is transferred to Entertain company.


    "Great Job Harvey." I complimented her.


    "Please. This is like a Tuesday for me." Harvey replied dismissively, but I could still hear the excitement in her tone. "Besides, there is another good thing. Want to hear it?"


    "What else? Did you buy out Disney?" I asked jokingly.


    "Not that." Harvey replied. "I was talking about your communication projects."


    "Oh. That. Can we proceed with it?" I asked with some nervousness.


    Harvey chuckled and said, "Yeah. It''s a go. We can start building the tower right now."


    ...


    [General POV]


    Outside of the estate, a red porsche pulled up near the front door. The old butler James was ready to greet the visitor, the grandchildren of the estate owner, whose name seemed like a bad pun, Denise.


    (Meg Donally�C Denise)


    "James. Are you sure grandma asked me to meet her here?" Denise asked in confusion after getting out of the car and greeting the old butler. She was wearing a shoulderless one piece dress with red heels, and her blonde hair fluttered freely in the wind.


    "Yes. Madam will come here tonight for dinner. So why don''t you freshen up inside the room you always use? You know, third floor, right wing."


    Denise nodded in agreement, then her steps halted, "Wait. Why do you need to stress out the room location? That seems weird considering that I''ve been here since I was a little kid."


    James said dismissively, "Oh. That''s for me rather than for you. You know, as I get older, my mind isn''t working like it used to."


    "Hmm.." Denise narrowed her eyes at the butler, then she sighed and gave the butler a hug. "You need to take care of yourself more, Uncle James. I don''t know what I''d do if I lost you."


    "Lovely girl. You won''t lose me. Now now... go to your room. You wouldn''t want to greet your grandmother smelling of sweat... cigarettes and booze won''t you?"


    Denise flinched as she quickly separated away from the butler. She rubbed the back of her head as she laughed nervously, "A-ha. Uncle James, you know how college works�C"


    "Yes. College is a good excuse for girls to party all night and don''t even shower when they wake up in the afternoon." James said sternly.


    "I''m....I''m gonna go." Denise said before she rushed into the house. "Plan 1, complete." James muttered slyly while rolling the edge of his mustache.


    In the Entertain company building, right after Max finished her call. Taylor who was standing beside her asked anxiously, "How is he? Did he seem sad? Or frustrated?"


    "Oh, he''s frustrated all right." Max said knowingly, as she thought that Edward was tortured by his teacher''s hot body in the afternoon. How could she know that the beautiful teacher was actually an old god in disguise, which couldn''t excite Ed at the very least.


    "Twenty," Max said to Taylor. The blonde girl took out a stack of cash and said, "Here, 20,000 dollars."


    Max widened her eyes in shock as she grabbed the money, "Wha�C Oh, we are going to be good friends. You know what? Why don''t you hop on the limo and sneak into his room. After you get there, call him and say that you are not coming..."


    "THEN Surprise him when he comes back to his room!" Taylor finished Max''s plans. "That''s a great idea! What room is he in?"


    "Hmm...They don''t count the ground floor, so I guess, the third floor...his room is in the right wing. You can''t miss it, you just need to walk through the hallways with gargoyles and go straight to the end."


    "Thank you Max!" Taylor said as she rode off inside the limousine to go to Edward''s temporary hiding place.

 Chapter 220: Surprise Gift (2)

    Chapter 220: Chapter 220: Surprise Gift (2)


    [Edward POV]


    An hour before the surprise. In the midst of my focused work in the office study, surrounded by towering bookshelves and seated at an expansive desk, I sighed as I said to Robin, "I''ll screen the scripts myself later. How many are there again?"


    "More than 100 movie scripts were sent to the company by aspiring filmmakers and script writers." Robin replied. She added, "This work would put a lot of stress on your physical and mental well being. I would implore you to get some help or delegate the work instead of doing it yourself."


    "I''ll keep your advice in mind. Ah, right. The one with the rights to make the adaptation for The Queen''s Gambit book, was Heath Ledger, right?" I asked. If I wasn''t mistaken, the late Heath wanted to cast Elliot Page for the main role, but the entire production was scrapped after he took his own life.


    "You''re correct. The production of the adaptation was stalled again. Superstitions about the works being cursed have been circling around, and there wasn''t anyone who wanted to pick up the story." Robin replied.


    "Okay. We''ll take it. Get Donna on the line. I need Harvey to handle the acquisition. And oh, try to see what Chad Stahelski is doing right now."


    "Stuntman Chad Stahelski had just finished with his work for the movie Ninja Assassin, and is available for hire."


    I met the stuntman before in the Iron Man 2 movie production. Who could''ve guessed that the experienced stuntman would change his career path to become a movie director in just a few years? And the first movie he would direct? It''s none other than the blockbuster action movie, that has a great success which turned it into a franchise, the John Wicks films.


    After finishing the call, a sudden and familiar sound caught my attention.


    A gentle "meow" resonated from the direction of the door, causing me to turn with a smile on my face.


    "How did you get out again?" I said jokingly.


    "Nyaa!"


    Approaching me with graceful steps was a stunning black cat, adorned with captivating bluish green eyes. Her fur appeared luxuriously soft and fluffy, accentuating her elegant presence. A white bow tie collar adorned her neck, while a delicate patch of white fur on her chest added a touch of charm.


    With an air of nonchalance, she strolled into the room, as if she owned it. Without hesitation, the kitten hopped onto my lap, settling herself comfortably. The sound of her contented purring filled the air as she nestled against me.


    "Why are you so clingy now? You bit me when we first met." I said with a chuckle as I rubbed her chin with my finger. Her eyes blinked softly as she let down all of her guards against me, wanting some affection as I was working. With one hand, I rubbed her fur while the other one was working on my blueprint for the telecommunication tower.


    A few days ago, after the day I got my medal from the president, I had to go to the hardware store to pick up a few wire spools for my ongoing experiments when I was almost ambushed by a swarm of paparazzi. Using the back alley, I hid behind a dumpster when I saw something furry hiding behind the dump.


    "A black hole�C No, it''s a cat."


    As I got the [Animal Affinity] plus with the natural aura of an afterlife agent, I foolishly went to pet her. But, she suddenly pounced on my left arm and bit the base of my palm as I tried to do it.


    Startled, I didn''t push back my arm and instead, I talked calmly towards the kitten, "Don''t worry. I''m not going to hurt you."


    For a brief moment, she maintained her bite, locking her gaze with mine. Through the reflection in her eyes, I caught a glimpse of her emotions, sensing fear and apprehension.


    Gradually, as she recognized that I posed no threat, she released her grip on my hand, her demeanor shifting from defensive to apologetic. The cat began to lick my hand, as if seeking forgiveness for her earlier outburst.


    I inspected her for a collar, finding faint traces of it on her fur, though the actual collar was absent. The absence of claws indicated she had once been in the care of an owner. Concerned for her welfare, I spoke to her in a gentle tone, "You won''t survive out here." While gently stroking her dirty fur, I realised that the grime obscured the white patches that adorned her coat.


    "This is nostalgic." I said as I petted the cat without caring about her dirtiness. "You know, I was once lost and ended up behind a dumpster too, with bruises all over me. Then, a kind old lady stopped by and decided to take me in."


    "Do you want to come back with me?" I asked using a comforting tone. "I''ll take care of you." I said while patting her head. The cat was on guard as I asked her the question, then, after a while, she decided to purr as she rubbed her body on my leg, signalling her agreement.


    With gratitude for her trust, I commended her, saying jokingly, "Good girl. Come, let''s open a can of tuna for you." Side by side, we made our way back to my car, and I brought her to the safety of my mansion. Moments later, James arrived in a sleek limousine to pick me up. He was startled when he saw I was holding a dirty cat, and that my shirt was also dirty because I was holding her close to my chest. But he didn''t say anything and just smiled as he helped me with my bag.


    Upon reaching the mansion, I dedicated myself to her well-being. Max, my dad, and my aunt wanted to approach her, but she would swat their arms whenever anyone else other than me tried to touch her. The first person she warmed up to other than me was Max because was a genuine animal lover.


    I carefully bathed her, tending to her dirty fur, and gently brushed it until her true beauty was revealed. Then, I kept feeding her until she transformed into the affectionate and clingy companion she is today.


    I tried to give her the name Captain Kuro, but she rejected me by hissing. Yoruichi Sihohin, JiJi, Sakamoto, Chomusuke, Shadow, Lucifer, Midnight, Noir, Bitey, Shady, Jet, Loki, Raven, Stella, she rejected all of them.


    What name did she actually accept?


    "Vader, I need to take a shower." I said as I picked her up and brought her face close to mine. She nuzzled her face on my cheek as I laughed and said, "You can''t follow me. I''m going to be nude. It''s not good for underage girls to peek."


    Despite there was no change in her expression, I could sense that she was giving me a disdainful glare. I burst into laughter when I brought her back to the room and placed her on top of a velvety plush pillow next to my bed. She circled around the pillow before laying down there as I took off my clothes and entered the Japanese style hot tub inside the bathroom.


    "Ahhh~" I moaned in pleasure as I gradually submerged myself into the water.


    ...


    "Huh? Newgate?...And who are you- Wait, Taylor S. Why are you guys in my room?" Denise asked in confusion, her groggy mind processed the information slowly.


    Taylor was in disbelief and she became hysterical, "God! Do you really believe playing dumb will work!? Aren''t you the girl Ed picked up to have a threesome with us?! Ed! It''s not like I don''t want to! Maybe not with a random skank, yeah?"


    "Threesomes?" Denise was confused. "I agreed to have a threesome with you guys?"


    "No. Not yet." Edward said mischievously as he figured out everything. "Did James ask you to come by? I''ve been wondering why he insisted on me staying in this room. He had it all planned out, didn''t he?"


    "Yeah, he says that grandma is having dinner here tonight." Denise replied before she realised how she was dressed, "AH!" She shrieked belatedly before grabbing another blanket to cover herself up.


    Taylor finally realised something was wrong and said, "Wait. What is going on?"


    Edward burst into laughter as he said, "Just an old man''s evil plan gone wrong."


    After calming down and explaining a few things, Taylor covered her face in embarrassment while sitting down at the edge of the bed. Edward''s lips curled up and he whispered, mimicking Taylor''s sentences before, while rubbing the cat''s fur, "Not that I don''t want to."


    "STOP!" Taylor squealed in embarrassment as she pressed her face to the mattress, trying to hide it.


    "''Just not with a random skank'', so I guess, you already planned it out with someone we know?!" Edward added.


    "STOP IT!" Taylor reacted strongly and threw a few pillows into Edward''s direction. Edward burst into laughter, and while he was teasing Taylor, Denise was mulling over the entire thing with a sharp look on her face.


    "Damn it. That old man almost sold me out." Denise said angrily.


    "No one told you to undress and crawl into the bed." Taylor exclaimed angrily to Denise. The college girl was startled and she said defensively, "Hey! What''s wrong with being naked inside your own house! If anything, Newgate''s the intruder here!"


    "I was invited by your grandmother to stay here." Edward exclaimed with a chuckle. "Do you want to teach that old man a lesson? You might actually stay and joined us, that will surely shake him to his core." He says playfully.


    Taylor exclaimed angrily, "You! Stop it! NOW!"


    Edward burst into laughter again. However, Denise unexpectedly said, " I don''t really have a problem with that. Besides, I think you''re really cute." She said as she slowly moved behind Taylor. She placed her finger on Taylor''s chin and pulled it forcefully to meet her eyes.


    Taylor was startled, but she didn''t resist. Denise breathed on Taylor''s neck as she wrapped her arms around her stomach and said, "Would it be wrong if I actually did join you guys?"


    Taylor''s face blushed red and she stammered, "Um..Um..."


    "She''s thinking about it now." Edward said with a chuckle. Denise smiled seductively and said, "That will surely teach the old man a lesson."


    "Daddy issues. The common factor in all of the unconventional bedroom activities." Edward said as he put the cat down on the red velvet pillow again.


    "You...You..." Taylor stammered with a shaky voice. "YOU SMELL!" She shouted as she pushed Denise away.


    Startled, Denise sniffed her arm, "Right. I haven''t freshened up yet." She got off the bed, and walked to the bathroom. Before entering, she glanced at Taylor and Edward while saying, "Join me or not, I won''t mind."


    Taylor''s eyes flickered as she contemplated a decision. Edward chuckled and said to her, "You know we''re just messing with you. Right?"


    Denise suddenly interjected, "I was being serious though?"


    ...


    "It''s almost dinner time." One of the staff members said while talking to the head butler, James. "Should we call Sir Newgate and Miss Denise to the dining room?"


    James twirled his moustache as he said excitedly, "There''s no need. I believe they are currently getting acquainted with each other, and therefore, shouldn''t be disturbed. They must''ve gotten so lost in talking that they are just missing track of time."


    The staff member said obediently, "I understand sir."


    As the staff member walked away, James mulled to himself, ''Hmm...Maybe I should let them send some food to the room? The kids should be very hungry.''


    Contrary to his expectations of what the kid''s should be doing, Inside the room, Edward, Taylor and Denise were laying down side by side, with Edward in the middle. All three of them nude and only with a thin white blanket covering up all three of their bodies.


    "That was interesting." Denise muttered with a smile. Her hair was dishevelled and she rested her face on Edward''s chest.


    "It surely was." Edward said before he pulled Taylor''s face in for a kiss. Taylor smiled and said, "This is the first and the last time we''re doing this! Okay!?"


    "Well if I cannot do it again, then I should not let myself have any regrets." Edward said with a mischievous smile before pulling both of the girls closer towards him again.

 Chapter 221: Matter of the Heart

    Chapter 221: Chapter 221:?Matter of the Heart


    [Edward POV]


    A helicopter ambulance came to the mansion and swiftly carried out an old man to get some help in the hospital. He had fallen unconscious while clutching his heart, and it triggered the emergency procedures in the estate.


    "Can any of you tell me what happened? Why did James have a heart attack?" Eve Saltzman''s secretary, a middle-aged and charismatic lawyer dressed in a brown suit, with a full head of hair, turned to us ''witnesses'' to get the answer.


    Denise, Taylor and I shook our heads together. "We don''t know." Denise said with a shrug. "He opened the door, and that''s it." She added.


    "Did he happen to encounter anything that could have caused a shock or distress when he opened the door?" The secretary asked again with ignorance in his expression.


    Panic seized Taylor, causing her words to stumble out in a frenzy. "Nothing! We weren''t doing anything! Absolutely nothing at all!" she exclaimed, her anxiety palpable. I cast a disapproving glance her way while slightly shaking my head.


    "I believe what Taylor was trying to express is that we have no knowledge of anything that might have triggered such a severe reaction in his heart. Moreover, he''s stable now. I''ve checked on him, and it seems to be a fainting episode. He''ll be back on his feet soon." I said, calmly dismissing the man''s concerns.


    The secretary finally nodded and then said, "Alright. I believe you Ed."


    "Why only Edward!? I answered too!" Denise asked with apprehension.


    "Yeah, but Edward never lied to me, he didn''t tell me he'' be bringing a single guest to his 16th birthday party, but invited the entire circus to the house instead, while also trying to ride an elephant straight into his room�C"


    "Shut up!" Denise cupped the secretary''s mouth in panic before she glared at the both of us, "You two have heard nothing, Understand?!"


    "No. I heard everything. And I want to know more about the elephant." I said mischievously. Denise looked at me in disbelief, her expression a mix of astonishment and exasperation.


    The secretary left the estate a few minutes later and we could finally breathe in relief after he was gone. Vader the black cat jumped into my arms as I walked to the kitchen with the girls to get something to eat after our ''strenuous exercise''.


    While we were eating, Max suddenly rushed into the kitchen, with a face full of worry, "What''s going on with James? Why is he in the hospital? And where is the hospital they took him too? I keep asking and none of the people here can answer me."


    "We were doing nothing when he found us!" Denise replied with a touch of disdain on her face. However, her mistake soon cost her.


    "Huh?" Max caught the panicky gazes of the two girls immediately. Her lips curled into a teasing smile and she said while raising her eyebrows up and down, "So. Did he catch you guys doing it or something�C Who was doing it with who?"


    I grabbed some fries while Denise and Taylor tried to cover up. Taylor said, "Wh-What? No one was doing anything with anyone. The three of us are just talking in the room."


    "Yeah, and all of our clothes were on." Denise added while I face-palmed myself.


    "That''s a weird detail to put in there. Wait...ALL 3?! EDDD!! YOU DOG!!" Max exclaimed proudly as she punched my bicep. I laughed and said to the duo, "Why are you guys so nervous about it? You guys were the ones moani�C"


    Denise and Taylor cupped my mouth together while Max laughed. Max then asked, "So, when the three of you are together, James walked in? That''s why he''s in the hospital? He must''ve seen something very shocking."


    "Don''t think about it Max." Taylor warned. "Or I''ll take back my money."


    "What money?" I chimed in.


    Max laughed and said, "You can''t threaten me Barbie. I only took 20 bucks and made the accountant put the money back into your account. I''m invulnerable to your threats!"


    "And unexpected integrity moves from you Max." I said with an impressed expression.


    Max smiled and said proudly, "Yeah, despite me being poor, I''m not the type to take advantage of people. And also, I''m kinda afraid to walk around with that kind of cash, so I gave it to the accountant to keep it. He was mistaken because when he asked me, I said it''s ''Taylor''s money'' instead of ''money from Taylor.'' Before I knew it, he had already given the money back to her. But I digress." Max fixed her hair and said it as if it was nothing for her.


    I smiled and said, "Did you hit him?"


    "With a shovel if I could, but I can''t if I want to keep my job here." Max replied. She shook her hands and said, "Anyway. Back to the three�C"


    "NO!" x2 Both Taylor and Denise interrupted her. "Calm down whores. Why are you still acting like you guys were innocent little girls? Innocent little girls wouldn''t make James have a heart attack." Max said without a filter.


    "So what is it? Was Taylor standing, and both of you were down there?" Max asked.


    "More like, all of us were down there." I replied as I knew that Max wouldn''t let the matter go.


    Max gasped as both of the girls blushed and hid their faces. Max asked, "On the sides, in a circle?"


    "How else would we do it?" I shrugged casually, causing me to get beaten up by both Denise and Taylor.


    Max laughed and said, "How are they?"


    "Can we not talk about this? Like, Ever!" Taylor exclaimed and pulled me away from Max.


    An hour later, James returned to the house, having regained consciousness but with no memory of the events leading up to his fainting spell. In his mind, Denise remained the innocent young girl whom he had nurtured and cared for since she was a baby.


    For him, she was definitely NOT a sex deviant who didn''t even discriminate between genders. But that was just my personal opinion. Who knows if he had already known about it before, but just had never witnessed it in person.


    "What happened here Detective?" I asked.


    "It''s official police business Newgate." Detective Deckard said, obviously trying not to spill anything about the incident. "Oh, by the way, did you guys see any suspicious people around here?"


    I chuckled and said, "Detective. I know that you''re worried, but I am a man who was given a medal by the President himself for recapturing national secrets and even stopping said secrets from getting leaked. Maybe, I can give some insights about the case. You know, I wouldn''t even have stopped the car if I didn''t see you looking so troubled. You do want to get back to Trixie early tonight right? The sooner you can close the case, the better it will be...for you."


    My words placed the Detective in a difficult decision. Taylor widened her eyes as she saw what I did and muttered, "Wow. You''re the devil. A master manipulator."


    "Yeah, so don''t even try me with your childish games lady." I said teasingly as I flicked her forehead gently.


    She giggled, and our attention was reclaimed by the detective who said, "Alright. I''ve been stuck with this case for weeks now. I sure do hope that you can actually see something useful. Something that an entire group of detectives in a large scale task force failed to see." She handed me the case files, which was so thin there was barely anything in it.


    "Yeah. If you don''t see anything, then you are going to jail! You can do that, right detective?" Taylor asked playfully.


    Chloe chuckled and joined in, "I sure can."


    "There''s no need to threaten me with a good time." I said while flipping through the evidence. Chloe briefed me while I was reading, "There are no apparent connections or shared characteristics among the victims, but the killing does share the same M.O."


    "What''s an M.O?" Taylor asked.


    I explained before the detective could, " ''MO'' stands for "Modus Operandi." It refers to the characteristic method or pattern of operation used by a criminal to commit a particular type of crime."


    "Essentially, it describes how the perpetrator carries out their criminal activities, including the specific techniques, tactics, or behaviours they employ. The MO can provide valuable insights into the criminal''s habits, motives, and potential identification. Wait. You said that there isn''t a common connection between the victims?" I turned to the detective.


    "Yes...Why? Did you see anything?" The detective bent her spine a bit as she peeked her head into the car to look at the case files.


    "Yeah. See here. On the victim''s head. There''s hair on it."


    Chloe scowled with disappointment as she hit her head on the roof of the car as she did. "Oww. That''s IT!?" She exclaimed while rubbing her sore temple.


    I laughed and said, "I should''ve worded that better. I mean, on their hair. See here at the lines between the skin and the hair? You can see traces of chemicals on it."


    "Hmm?" What do you mean?" Chloe asked, confused.


    Taylor looked at what I pointed at and said, "Oh yeah. I know that line. It happens when you dye your hair with some cheap chemicals�C WAIT! I AM NOT SAYING THAT I DYE MY HAIR!"


    "I don''t care! You were saying? They dyed their hair just before they were dead?" Chloe asked.


    I chuckled and said, "Yeah. And Taylor doesn''t dye her hair! She bleaches her hair, there''s a difference."


    "NO! I''m a natural blonde!" She said angrily.


    "I''m not interested about your hair!" Chloe exclaimed in exasperation. She took the files from me and said, "So you were saying? They all dyed their hair, just before they died?"


    "I''m not saying anything. It could be after they died. Because those lines only appear for a few hours. It''ll disappear in a day or so." I said casually. "So you might want to look at the salons around the areas that the victims frequent, maybe you can get more information."


    "I will. Thank you Ed. You may have saved lives here today." the detective said while flashing a satisfied smile.


    "I''m always saving lives. If I wasn''t an artist I''d be Batman. It was always a coin flip." I said coyly, causing both the girls there to roll their eyes. "If you want to ask me anything, just give me a call, detective. Who knows, maybe I''ll actually pick up and help you solve some cases if I''m bored enough."


    "Ugh. So pompous." Taylor muttered. I heard it and shrugged it off without reacting.


    Chloe smiled and said, "If I needed you every time I couldn''t solve something, it wouldn''t mean that you were actually that good, it''d just mean that I suck at my job. So, you can be at ease, Newgate."


    "Aww... I got rejected." I said before pulling up the windows again. "Goodnight Detective. Remember to say goodnight to Trixie for me."


    "I will�C Wait. No, I won''t. Or else she won''t go to sleep." Chloe said, but the window was already all the way up.


    "So, back at the mansion, you decided to add one more girl to our time together, and now on our drive, you decided to do that, again?" Taylor said with annoyance the moment the window was closed.


    I was startled and said, "It was a homicide! A serial killing!"


    "Oh yeah. You would rather go on all night with the detective solving crimes rather than being alone with me, right?"


    "Is this going to turn into a fight?" I muttered.


    She looked me right in the eyes and said, "Yes."


    "Alright then. Bring it on. I know that I haven''t done anything wrong here." I said with a cocky smirk. Suddenly, I received a text from someone. I placed my phone on the small space near the handbrake, and the screen lit up. "Oh shit." I widened my eyes as I saw the name handle of the text.


    "Who is that? Another girl that you want to�C" Taylor said and grabbed the phone the second she heard it chimed. She froze for a bit and then turned to look at me. Her eyes almost became bloodshot and she gritted her teeth as she said, "You''re still texting Abby? Your ex-girlfriend...Abby?"

 Chapter 222: Tough.

    Chapter 222: Chapter 222: Tough.


    (Extra chap!)


    [Edward POV]


    The black Audi sliced through the deserted streets, its engine roared loudly, the only audible sound in the enveloping darkness of the night.


    As we made our way home, the car was enveloped in a heavy silence. Taylor, her nose reddened and eyes still watery,she''d been crying since earlier. Fatigue marked my face as I drove her back to her place, knowing I would return on my own afterward.


    The tension between us had escalated after she read the text messages from Abby. It led to a heated argument that reached its peak, prompting me to pull over the car. In an isolated location, far from any familiar surroundings, we found ourselves on a deserted sidewalk, shouting topics that we knew we would regret about the next day.


    "2 AM TEXTS ARE A BOOTY CALL!" Taylor shouted, aggrieved as she got out of the car and stormed away. I quickly followed her as the road was dark, and there was no way that I would leave her alone there.


    I fell in disbelief as I heard her say, "She''s texting me for work! She needs access to my servers to search for some evidence."


    "Don''t try to make me look like I''M THE OBSESSIVE ONE! You are still longing for her, even after it''s been months since you guys broke up!" She shrieked.


    "We''re friends." I tried to cool down and spoke to her calmly. I grabbed her wrist to prevent her from walking further away and forced her to face me.


    "No you''re not. Friends don''t treat each other like that!" She snapped my hands away and shouted to my face.


    "Really? Then what about us? Are we not still ''friends'', even after we did everything together?" I said with slight agitation. I knew I was being difficult, but I needed the answer.


    Taken aback, Taylor said, "No. We''re not friends. We''re more than that. That''s why it''s weird that you''re still responding to her. Why are you even texting with her? Didn''t she block you on everything?"


    "Look. She texted me before I got kidnapped, warning me of the attack." I explained.


    "So? Say thanks and then block her again!" She demanded.


    Feeling a little irked, I replied annoyedly,"Why? You can''t decide who I can and cannot be friends with."


    "If you love me, then you should do that anyway!" She raised her voice.


    "Really? You want to talk to me about love? Even when you''re the one who keeps rejecting the notion of us being together." I said venomously.


    "See. You''re a master of finding ways to make it all about you again. I''m the one who''s hurt here!" She said defensively.


    "Make it about me? When did I ever do that? Huh?" I demanded with agitation.


    She was being evasive but as I confronted her, "Taylor, Tell me what you''re thinking!"


    Her feelings finally bubbled out, "I WAS THE ONE ROBBED ON STAGE BEFORE. But my name is barely coming out in the media! It''s all about you! YOU! YOU! ...And your stupid kidnapping thing!"


    Taylor was shocked when she heard what came out of her mouth.


    My stomach churned and my face fell. I couldn''t believe my ears."Wait. You''re blaming me...because I got... kidnapped?"


    Startled by her own choice of words and my reactions, Taylor burst into tears and she stammered while gripping at my shirt, "No.I didn''t mean it like that. I''m sorry. I really didn''t mean it like that."


    I stood there blankly as her tears fell out. She added, " I just... Just...feel it''s unfair... You can have everything you want in the world. But I...I have to depend on you for everything." She raised her face and touched mine. "Ed. I love you, but I also hate you. You...You''re blessed with talents...while I..." She said while crying.


    Feeling of dejavu hits me. This made me remember the day my mom left. It made me felt disconnected from reality for a while.


    "Ed?" She asked as she calmed down a bit, but her eyes were still teary.


    I asked stoically, repressing my emotions. "How long did you have these feelings? Is that why you were being so overcompensating today?"


    Her chin quivered as she looked down and nodded. I sighed and slowly removed her hand clutching my shirt. Startled and nervous, Taylor reacted panicky, "I''m sorry."


    "No. You don''t need to apologize. In fact, I''m the one who should apologize to you." I said, making her burst into tears again.


    With a stressed out crying face, she said shakily, "Are you breaking up with me?"


    ...


    [General POV]


    As the first rays of sunlight pierced the horizon, Ted returned from his overnight cruise trip and made his way back to the mansion. Upon entering the house, he noticed the staff members approaching him with restless expressions, immediately sensing that something was amiss.


    Concern etched across his face, Ted asked, "What is it?" The staff members guided him towards the indoor pool area, urging him to enter alone.


    Stepping into the pool area, Ted''s eyes widened with worry as he beheld Edward floating motionless in the water. Edward hadn''t even bothered to remove his clothes before entering the pool. His vacant gaze was fixated on the ceiling, and he remained completely still.


    It had been nearly two hours since Edward assumed his motionless position, causing deep concern among the staff members. Ted observed his son closely, letting out a sigh before taking off his shoes and settling down at the pool''s edge, dipping his feet into the warm water.


    "Ed," he called out to his son.


    Edward responded flatly, "Oh, you''re back."


    "How are you feeling?" Ted inquired, hoping to elicit a response. Edward closed his eyes, relaxing his body without answering his father''s question.


    Concerned and seeking answers, Ted pressed further, "What happened?"


    Edward replied with a nonchalant tone, "Nothing much," still keeping his eyes shut.


    Ted''s intuition led him to ask, "Did something happen with Taylor?" He knew that Taylor was expected to visit the mansion, but her absence made him suspect that she might be somehow involved in the scene unfolding before him.


    Edward remained silent, his facial expressions fluctuating. Ted, recognizing the need for patience, asked again, "Did you guys break up? Remember, you can always talk to me about things."


    The resurfacing pain from being abandoned. The anxiety of wanting to keep people close to him. Edward released it all in the song, "??Offered off my shoulder just for you to cry upon.Gave you constant shelter and a bed to keep you warm??


    ??They gave me the heartache and in return I gave a song??


    ??It goes on and on??


    His voice was heart wrenching to those who heard it. Max and Ted, who wanted to check up on him, suddenly heard the song and stopped themselves from opening the door to listen.


    Edward crooned, "??Life can get you down so I just numb the way it feels!


    I drown it with a drink and out of date prescription pills!"


    "And all the ones that love me they just left me on the shelf??"


    "??No farewell??"


    "??So before I save someone else, I''ve got to save myself??"


    In Taylor''s apartment, the teen pop star stood before the mirror, her nose and cheeks flushed with a reddish hue. Gripping a pair of scissors, she hesitantly began to cut off her long blonde hair. The sound of the scissors slicing through the strands filled the room, accompanied by the weight of her emotions.


    "??I gave you all my energy and I took away your pain


    ''Cause human beings are destined to radiate or dream


    What line do we stand upon ''cause from here looks the same?


    And only scars remain??"


    With her hair uneven, one side longer than the other, Taylor gazed at her reflection in the mirror. The guilt she carried within her surged to the surface once more, overwhelming her fragile state of mind. She covered her face with her hands, tears streaming down her cheeks.


    ??Life can get you down so I just numb the way it feels


    I drown it with a drink and out of date prescription pills


    And all the ones that love me they just left me on the shelf


    My farewell


    So before I save someone else, I''ve got to save myself??


    Vanessa Hudgen, Edward''s new friend, stood frozen in front of the door of her boyfriend''s house.


    "??But if don''t


    Then I''ll go back


    To where I''m rescuing a stranger


    Just because they needed saving just like that??"


    She saw her boyfriend shirtless, and her friend who was standing next to him, wearing only his shirt. "Vanessa�C" Zac called her, but Vanessa ran away crying.


    ??Oh, I''m here again??


    Edward''s tone turned slightly monotonic, "??Between the devil and the danger. But I guess it''s just my nature.My dad was wrong. ''Cause I''m not like my mum??"


    He sang with a self-deprecating smile, "''Cause she''d just smile and leave while I''m complaining in a song.??"


    Ted, who was listening intently, sighed as he heard the statement.


    "??But it helps."


    "So before I save someone else...I''ve got to save myself??"


    The melody reverberated throughout the entire room. Edward found himself lost in the song as his mind became cleared up.


    "??Life can get you down so I just numb the way it feels


    I drown it with a drink and out of date prescription pills


    And all the ones that love me they just left me on the shelf


    My farewell??"


    Vader, his black cat jumped on the bed, and snuggled her way into his lap. Edward smiled as he petted the cat and used only one hand to play.


    He sang, "??So before I save someone else, I''ve got to save myself??


    ??And before I blame someone else, I''ve got to save myself??


    ??And before I love someone else.... I''ve got to love.... Myself??


    As the melody faded, Vader meowed and licked Edward''s hand. Edward smiled and petted the cat before putting the synthesizer away. He then stood up, carrying the cat, and went on to change his clothes.


    "I guess. I need a fresh start." Edward muttered as he looked into the mirror. He held a few strands of his long hair, "And maybe a haircut too."


    (Season 3 ends)

 Chapter 223: Pre-Halloween.

    Chapter 223: Chapter 223: Pre-Halloween.


    [Edward''s POV]


    -The Dunphy''s house-


    "He''s here. He''s here," I exclaimed with excitement as I checked the front door. With a beige shirt and brown pants, I was wearing a clean-cut wolf-cut hairstyle, my hair was neatly trimmed to a length that reached slightly above the nape of my neck. Enid was going crazy every time she saw it , which means I''ll need to cut it soon.


    Seeing Phil, Haley, Alex, and Luke stepping out of the car, I hurried to the kitchen where Claire was waiting.


    "Quick, hide with the camera," Claire instructed, pointing towards the living room. I followed her guidance swiftly, concealing myself from view.


    "Honey, I''m home! We had to go to over 5 stores, but we finally found the spooky webs you wanted," Phil announced enthusiastically as he entered the kitchen, with Luke trailing behind. Alex and Haley headed to their rooms first, much to my disappointment.


    Claire continued to slice the meat on the cutting board, her movements deliberate and slow. She didn''t respond to Phil''s statement, her face partially obscured by her blonde hair, adding an eerie touch to the scene.


    "Honey?"


    "Mom?"


    Luke and Phil called out, their voices tinged with concern. Phil placed a hand on Claire''s shoulder. "Are you mad��OH MY GOD!!! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"


    On the left side of Claire''s face, there appeared to be decaying flesh. I hit the switch to make the lights flicker. Maggots wriggled out from her exposed cheek tendon, and her eye, devoid of skin, greeted Phil cheerfully. "No, honey. I''ve been expecting you to come home soon."


    "AHHHH!"


    "AHHHHHHHH!"


    "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"


    "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"


    Luke and Phil alternated their screams, slowly retreating from Claire, who held a knife as she advanced toward them. "What''s wrong, honey? You seem pale. Want me to cut you a nice slice of human flesh?"


    She took the raw meat and placed it in her mouth, blood dripping onto her white blouse. Phil screamed in fear and grabbed Luke before fleeing. The girls rushed downstairs upon hearing the commotion, their eyes widening at the sight of Claire''s grotesque appearance.


    "KYAAHHHH!" Haley shrieked. Alex initially flinched but then curled her lips in disdain. "Calm down, it''s makeup."


    "What?" Hearts pounding, Phil stopped running and scrutinized Claire more closely.


    "Aww, you''re no fun," Claire remarked, rubbing her bloodied hand on Alex''s face.


    "Ugh! I know you''re hiding someone here! You''re the one who brought the makeup home! Come on out, Ed!" Alex called out with irritation.


    I laughed until my stomach ached, slowly emerging from behind the couch, before standing before the family, met with the betrayed gazes of Luke and Phil.


    "Ahahaha! We did it, Claire."


    "Yeah, we scared them good!" Claire replied, holding her hand up for a high-five, which I promptly reciprocated.


    "Halloween is one week away!" Haley said with dissatisfaction. "Stop trying to scare people! Gloria almost took out her machete!"


    I laughed as I remembered the time Claire and I scared Jay, Gloria and Manny. We scared Mitch and Cam too by imitating the movie the ring, and Claire crawling out of the fake tv in disguise.


    "Oh my god. Remember her saliva spitting out." Claire said as she burst into laughter. We cackled together under the judgy gazes of everyone else, and when Claire approached Phil, he curled up his hands to protect himself and immediately said with a fearful tone, "Maybe after you take off the Zombie makeup so please get that off first."


    [Phil and Claire''s commentary]


    Phil said with a slight distress on his face, "One week ago. Edward came to our house and went looking for Claire. He wanted to learn how to celebrate Halloween properly because he never participated before."


    Claire smiled gleefully as she heard Phil''s sentence, but fell in disbelief as she heard the continuation. "He reached out to the wrong person."


    [Gloria''s commentary]


    She spewed a lot of curses in Spanish before she said, "She''s being a very bad influence to the kid. I can''t believe that they inser...Inserted what?"


    [Jay''s commentary]


    "They mechanised a humanoid robot doll, and made it chase us on all fours with its head turned back. It was really the stuff of nightmares. They are banned from the house until after Halloween." Jay said while rubbing his throbbing forehead.


    He continued, "Manny has been sleeping in our room every night since."


    [Mitch and Cam''s commentary]


    "When the TV burst, I was holding Lily." Mitchell said. "At that time. All I could think of was to chuck Lily at the ghost, which only made me have 2 nightmares now. One, the ghost coming out of the TV. Second, being a very bad father."


    Cam said, "Aww Mitchell. As long as you have self-realization, you can become a better father�C."


    "You fainted Cam! And you fainted while holding me! I couldn''t even run away with our child to get to safety." Mitchell said accusingly, which made Cam feel awkward.


    Cam whispered, "That type of dramatic reactions is why I won''t let you hold Lily while we are watching Tv anymore."


    [Alex''s commentary]


    "He hasn''t done anything to our friend group yet. But with mom around it was only a matter of time. God, that poor football team." Alex said while shaking her head.


    [Haley''s commentary]


    "Someone injected a red dye to the shower room water tank. And when the team finished their training and went to shower, they thought that they were bathing in blood. Worse, a corpse... suddenly fell down the ceiling, shocking everyone there! Their shouts filled the entire school. I think one of them even cried."


    [Jacob Green commentary]


    "Who cried? I surely didn''t...I was not scared out of my mind when my hands were filled with blood. And it definitely isn''t something I keep seeing again and again before I go to sleep." Jacob said with watery eyes. Then, he broke into tears and started sobbing again. "(Uhuk)...Make it stop."


    [Phil''s commentary]


    "Both of them are unhinged. Claire cannot stop herself. She finally found the one person who LOVED Halloween as much as she did." Phil said worriedly. "I just hope that it won''t escalate and they will be arrested for it. But if...IF they WERE to get arrested, Please oh dear god, don''t let them come out until the holiday ends."


    When the military realized that it was essentially basic drone technology, they were somewhat disappointed. However, they were unable to cancel the deal since they had been the ones insisting on acquiring it in the first place. The light refraction technology didn''t really interest them after they knew how it works and it could still be detected from the radar �C which was an aspect I downgraded from the original capabilities.


    The military soon discovered that they couldn''t modify or add weapons to the drone without encountering issues. Any attempts to do so would result in noticeable sounds, eliminating the stealth aspect of the drone.


    Additionally, the battery couldn''t handle heavy payloads, limiting its operational range to within their own territory or a mere 500 metres beyond their territories. They realised that extensive research would be required before they could develop their own lethal drones, so still bought the tech because they have people that could research it for them.


    Despite their disappointment with the drone itself, the military was highly impressed with the codes I had developed to control it. They even offered me an exclusive contract to work as a contractor for them. However, I declined their offer and instead proposed selling them the codes.


    This arrangement provided me with a backdoor entrance to the military''s servers without anyone''s knowledge. It wasn''t that I had any intention of initiating a nuclear apocalypse or anything of the sort. The backdoor access was merely a precautionary measure to ensure that I would be aware if they ever planned anything against me in the future.


    As I entered the basement lab, expecting to find the familiar sight of a clean workspace filled with various equipment, I was instead greeted by the disheartening sight of almost everything being boxed up. Chemicals, hardware, and even the machines I had meticulously crafted were being prepared for relocation.


    "Hmm... I''ll miss this place," I muttered, feeling a pang of nostalgia for the lab that had been my sanctuary for so long. With Robin activated, a blurry picture of a human silhouette appeared next to me, lacking a defined face or a steady image for her body.


    "Good evening, Sir. Moving to a new lab is now 50% complete," Robin stated in her stoic tone. My project to create JOY-like AI from the Blade Runner 2049 movie managed to gain some success, albeit slowly.


    "Hi, Robin," I greeted. "That''s good to hear. In less than a week, I''ll finally be able to leave this place without any of the public knowing."


    "What are you going to do with the suits, sir?" Robin inquired.


    "Make sure to transfer them in the end. I''m still working on it," I replied, my gaze fixed on the hyper-realistic Batman suit enclosed within a glass panel before me.


    *Batman theme song playing*


    Just kidding. I was only making them for Halloween.


    "It would be great if I could modify my Dodger into a batmobile too." I muttered in contemplation while rubbing my chin.


    "Robin, they are coming soon, right?" I asked the AI.


    Robin replied, "Yes. Dr Hofstader is coming here. You said ''they''. Did you guess that he wouldn''t be coming alone?"


    "Yeah I''m sure. That annoying theoretical physicist has never learned about boundaries growing up." I replied nonchalantly. "Wait. Maybe I have no boundaries too?" I had a random thought.


    ...


    [General POV]


    In the Entertain company building, Max was lazing around on the couch when Harvey and Pepper entered the CEO''s office, startling her.


    "Oh-H-Hey. Hi." Max said while being startled.


    "I told you to stop opening doors dramatically, Pepper." Harvey shook her head disapprovingly.


    "Sorry. I just have a lot of extra energy today." Pepper squealed in excitement.


    "If you have energy, you should go meet Ed." Harvey said. Pepper''s face turned serious and he scolded, "And let him scare me too? I might have a heart attack and die! Or worse, make a fool of myself!"


    "Dying is worse than making a fool out of yourself? Damn you rich people. For us poor people, there is no way that trampling our own dignity is worse than death itself." Max said sarcastically.


    "Enough masquerading as a poor person. You earn a lot now. Especially with the extra side income you made, reporting Edward''s conditions to a certain someone."


    "Hey! She just wants to know how he is doing? It''s not my fault she wants to give me money to ask for it on her behalf." Max said with an innocent yet mischievous smile.


    "Yeah. A thousand bucks per question. Hell, even I''m jealous." Harvey said with a slight teasing smile. Suddenly, Donna, the hot redhead entered the office.


    "Hi. Am I interrupting you or anything?" Donna said.


    Pepper shook his hand and said, "Not at all. We''re talking about Ed''s reports."


    "Ah the side income. Any more of that and the IRS will be looking for you soon." Donna teased Max.


    "If they do, then I''ll just change my name again." Max said. All three were a bit confused, and Max added, "What? Do you think Max is my real name?"


    Donna chortled as she already ran a thorough background check on Max. "Oh right. I have 2 things I need to talk about. First, Max, Ed found out that you only have one subject short to get your highschool diploma. The good news is, you can retake the exam. We already called your former teacher and he agreed to it."


    "WHAT?!" Max asked in disbelief.


    Donna said casually, "Yeah. Ed said you needed to get your diploma to get into pastry school. He will cram with you if you want."


    "Knowing him, couldn''t he get me a cheat code or something? Or the actual paper itself?" Max said jokingly, not knowing that Edward could really do that.


    Donna and Harvey shared a glance with each other before Donna said to Max, "He won''t give it to you that easily. Alright. Another thing, this is about Harvey and I."


    "Us? What''s wrong with us?" Harvey asked, confused.


    Donna reached into her purse and took out a thick stack of scripts. She gave it to Harvey and said, "This. We need to talk about this."


    "Suits? Is this the new series Edward said he wanted to do? He even wrote the first episode himself." Harvey said as she started to read the scripts.


    After a while, she muttered in shock, "Wait. Is this series about us?"


    Edward had checked thoroughly, and he didn''t find anyone else other than Harvey and Donna that mimicked the series. Harvey smiled as she continued reading and said, "Great stuff. But who is this Mike guy? And let Edward know if he wants to cast someone to act as me, I should be there."


    Donna smiled and said, "There''s only a script at this time. But I got to say, Edward really knows you well. The Harvey in the script and the one we got in real life are both cocky, unbearable, yet charismatic little pricks."


    "Are you seducing me or insulting me, Donna?" Harvey asked with a chuckle.


    "Wait. I thought Edward made the movie first?" Max asked.


    "Yeah. He had the idea for the movie, John Wick. We will start making that one first after Halloween." Pepper said.


    "Is he acting in it?" Max asked in confusion.


    "Nah...Maybe...We don''t know yet." Pepper replied with hesitation.

 Chapter 224 - 224 : Superhero Origin Story.

    Chapter 224: Chapter 224 : Superhero Origin Story.


    [Edward POV]


    "Nyaa! NYAA Nyaa Nyaa Nyaa NYA!" Vader, the little black cat, meowed angrily as I exited the laboratory.


    "I''ve already told you. You can''t go in there. It''s a clean room, and your fur would mess up a lot of the equipment," I said, crouching down to pet Vader on the floor. Despite her continued meowing to express her dissatisfaction, I couldn''t help but smile as I picked her up and carried her to the kitchen.


    "Today, I''ll give you some wet food. Hmm, you''re really gaining weight now. Alex just can''t resist feeding you, even though she''s allergic to cats," I muttered, causing Vader to swat my cheek in protest at my comment about her body weight.


    Placing a serving of food in her pitch-black food bowl, Vader eagerly devoured it while I watched her with an affectionate expression. She meowed in satisfaction, as if forgiving me for the earlier incident. I gently petted her head and proceeded to cook for myself, having a hunch that my dad wouldn''t be returning anytime soon.


    "What should I make today?" I muttered to myself as I checked the contents of the fridge.


    "Nyaa," Vader responded, with a few specks of food clinging to the fur around her mouth.


    "Right. I have chicken. Let''s make chicken parmesan," I decided, taking out the chicken and the homemade marinara sauce from the fridge.


    After coating the chicken in batter and frying it until golden brown, I poured a little marinara sauce into the bottom of a 9x13" baking dish. I added the browned chicken to the pan and spooned some more marinara sauce over the chicken, followed by a generous sprinkle of mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.


    I preheated the oven to 450 degrees F and baked the dish for 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese was melted and bubbly, and the chicken was cooked through. Once done, I garnished it with freshly chopped basil.


    With a simple plating, I walked to the TV, hit play on the Entertain app hooked on the plasma TV�C which was still a prototype and wasn''t released anywhere yet, and watched the show, Malcolm in the Middle.


    10 minutes later, Leonard and Sheldon finally arrived. They rang the doorbell, and I put down my empty plate at the coffee table before walking towards the door. Robin had automatically paused the story for me, therefore I wasn''t missing anything.


    "Hey Leonard. Come on in." I said cheerfully after I opened the door.


    "Umm..." Leonard fidgeted and said, "I know you said come alone, but..."


    "But you still brought Sheldon with you. Well, I kinda expected this to happen, so come on in too C3PO."


    "I''m Dr Sheldon Cooper. Not C3PO." Sheldon said while entering the house with his roommate. Leonard was visibly uncomfortable because of Sheldon''s rude behavior and he apologized, "I''m sorry. I did get in the car alone, but he was hiding in the backseat underneath some blankets. I only realized he was here when I got to your neighborhood."


    "Don''t worry about it." I dismissed his concerns.


    "See Leonard. He''s okay with it." Sheldon said smugly.


    "No, don''t get me wrong. I''m okay with Leonard having no idea about it. I''m not that okay with you coming here unannounced. I will tattle to your mother about it later tonight."


    "You''re still in contact with my mother?" Sheldon asked, exasperated.


    I smirked and said, "Yeah. Sometimes she would tell me the funniest stories."


    Leonard grinned and asked, "Oh...What kind of stories?" He turned to Sheldon, and was happy to see his friend being in distress.


    "I''ll tell you about them later." I whispered to Leonard, but made it audible for Sheldon to hear. "Come on. It''s in the basement." I led the way.


    Leonard and Sheldon were in awe when they saw me entering the codes to the basement lab.


    "You have a laboratory under your house?" Leonard asked with disbelief and excitement.


    "For now. There''s nothing yet in the new house." I replied casually as I took a stack of research papers from the table and handed it to Leonard.


    "I only made one copy, so you guys need to share�C Guys?" They were frozen in their spot, and didn''t react to me handing the papers to them. I looked in the direction they were looking to find out why and saw my Batman suit there.


    "Ah. It''s amazing right? I made that for Halloween. It still isn''t finished yet."


    The two nerds, Leonard and Sheldon, were mesmerized by the costume modeled after Batman''s tactical suit from the yet-to-be-released BVS movie. Leonard''s eyes were fixated on the costume behind the glass display, and he couldn''t contain his excitement. "Look at those muscle lines and the intricacy of it," he exclaimed.


    "The intimidation factor of the costume, the gadgets on the arm, and oh, look at that tactical belt," Leonard continued. "Ed, are you trying to be Batman?"


    Sheldon snorted dismissively. "How can he be Batman? Not everyone can be Batman."


    "Oh, I could totally be Batman," I corrected Sheldon, who seemed restless upon hearing my statement. It was as if he couldn''t accept the idea. "Pfft, I''m joking. I''m not a billionaire or the world''s greatest detective yet. I haven''t learned anything from martial arts mentors, nor do I have an Alfred."


    "But you do have a Robin, Sir," Robin chimed in, her voice projecting but not her physical presence.


    "What was that?!" Leonard asked in shock.


    "My AI," I casually replied.


    Sheldon grew angry and exclaimed, "Your... ''AI''? You say it like it''s the most normal thing in the world! Not everyone can have their own artificial intelligence, let alone create one!"


    Sheldon almost got an aneurysm and he started hyperventilating.


    "Oh, you can''t do that? I thought since you claim to be smarter than anyone else, you could do the same thing. But I guess it was just a baseless claim after all," I retorted.


    Sheldon froze, while Leonard burst into laughter. "Alright, dial it back, or he will cry," Leonard said, trying to diffuse the tension. I laughed but I got to say, I was surprised to see Sheldon was still sane. It seemed that he had some epiphany before, and only now responded to Leonard''s claims.


    "I won''t cry!" Sheldon corrected his roommate. He looked me straight in the eye and declared, "If I actually researched it, I''m sure I could create it on my own. I mean, you created it, so how hard can it be?"


    I scoffed and replied, "Sure, try it. Oh, Leonard, please don''t play with that."


    Leonard was messing around with the spiked gauntlet prototype I had left on the table. "Why?" he questioned, but accidentally pressed a button, causing three metal spikes to shoot out and embed halfway into the wall. Leonard and Sheldon quickly dove for cover, narrowly avoiding the spikes. In the process, the metal spikes cut several wires in the walls. Sparks flew from the exposed ends of the severed wires. The room was briefly illuminated by the flickering sparks, casting an eerie glow across the scene.


    Leonard and Sheldon, who were still in shock, exchanged concerned glances as they watched the sparks dance in the air, while I cut off the power to that part of the lab immediately.


    I looked at Leonard in disbelief. Shaken by what he had done, Leonard replied wryly and with an ashen face, "I''ll... pay you back for the damages."


    "Don''t...Don''t worry about it. But next time, please keep your hands to yourself," I replied with a weary tone in my voice. The memory of Luke doing the same thing resurfaced in my mind. "I can''t afford to have this happen for a third time."


    As I went to check on the damages, Sheldon whispered to his roommate, "Leonard. Are you thinking what I''m thinking?"


    "With his money, his brain, his muscles?...We are witnessing a Superhero Origin story." Leonard whispered back.


    I was confused, "You called me."


    "Huh? I don''t get it." She said, then she cut off the call.


    "???" I was puzzled as I heard the dial tone. Then, I asked Robin, "Why the hell did she even call me?"


    Robin said, "I''ll find out."


    "No. It''s a rhetorical question." I said. My dad returned home at the time, bringing some Mexican food with him. "Wait. I smell marinara...Did you already ate?" He asked with a disappointed expression.


    "What do you think? It''s been 2 and a half hours since you ran away." I replied with annoyance.


    He placed down the bags of food and asked, "Did you keep one for me?"


    "In the oven." I replied casually. But then, I saw him still standing there. "What''s wrong with you now?" I asked with irritation.


    "Can you get it for me?" He asked pitifully.


    "I didn''t do anything to it!" I exclaimed, annoyance evident in my voice.


    Suddenly, Robin chimed in, "Sir, I found Mrs. Hudgens, and I believe intervention is necessary." Despite not explicitly telling her to stop, she continued gathering information.


    "Huh?" I responded, confused by Robin''s sudden remark.


    "I''m not going to intervene. I''m not particularly close to her, so her situation doesn''t outweigh the effort it would take for me to go out of my way and help her. Let her handle it herself," I explained with frustration as I plopped down on the sofa, crossing my arms in front of me.


    Just then, my dad returned with a plate of food and overheard our conversation. He asked, "Help who? Handle what?"


    Robin swiftly provided an explanation, "Mrs. Hudgen is currently intoxicated at a party. She''s being surrounded by a few individuals with past criminal records, and I believe she is in a dangerous situation."


    My dad''s expression turned concerned, and before he could say anything, I had a change of heart upon hearing about Vanessa''s predicament for the second time.


    "Damn it! I promised myself not to get into this type of shit again. Robin, give me her location!"


    My dad smiled softly and said, "I''ll go with you."


    After pausing and exchanging a nod with my dad, we quickly made our way to his sedan and drove towards the house party in West Hollywood.


    With a resounding BOOM, I kicked down the main door of the house, creating a sudden commotion that startled the guests inside.


    The room was filled with wannabe white rappers brandishing guns and flaunting face tattoos, along with a few menacing gangsters, a drug dealer, and several tattooed women scantily clad and seemingly under the control of the gangsters. Among them all, I spotted Vanessa, unconscious on the sofa with froth at the corner of her mouth, some powder on her nose, and a pill bottle in her grip.


    "She''s OD-ing," I immediately recognized the gravity of her condition.


    One of the white rappers, attempting to assert dominance, aimed a gun at my head and shouted, "Hey! Bitch! You broke my door!" I quickly disarmed him, skillfully dismantling the weapon before his eyes. I had learned how to dismantle guns from Glen, who insisted on teaching me after my kidnapping incident. To be honest, I was only doing this to show off because there was no chance at all for them to attack.


    Not only that, but I had picked up various skills from the crew members, including how to break handcuffs and pick locks. While I hadn''t mastered all of them, it was enough to intimidate those who were clueless. The bullets dropped to the ground one by one, capturing the attention of everyone in the room.


    A black rapper, filled with hostility, menacingly asked, "Who''s this motherfucker?"


    Before anyone could respond, a woman in the room recognized me and exclaimed, "Wait. That''s Newgate."


    Without hesitation, I walked straight toward Vanessa, carefully lifting her unconscious body onto my shoulder. The gangsters in the room began to surround me and my dad, their intentions unclear.


    With a cold glare, I challenged them, asking, "Are you guys going to stop me?"


    One of the gangsters chuckled and retorted, "I don''t mind letting you go, but leave the girl behind. She owes us a lot of money for the lines she did."


    I inquired, "How much?"


    "20 million dollars!" the drug dealer proclaimed, seemingly intoxicated. I chuckled and said, "Don''t try to bullshit me."


    "I swear to God! She owes us 30 million dollars!" the drug dealer insisted.


    "This is going nowhere," I stated casually, shaking my head.


    Suddenly, the gangsters froze as they noticed a sniper laser light aimed directly at their hearts and foreheads.


    "What the--" the drug dealer exclaimed in shock, unable to take another step due to fear.


    "Do you really think I came here without any backup?" I said with a cold tone, causing goosebumps to rise on everyone in the room. The entire mansion was surrounded by the ship''s crew members.


    Dwayne entered the door and apprehended two wannabe white rappers who were nearly paralyzed with fear upon seeing him. Glen aimed his gun at the gangsters'' heads, while Dina placed her army knife against the drug dealer''s neck. After getting everyone, the laser light from my silent drone disappeared, but those who were reduced still thought that they were still being surrounded.


    "Everyone, down on the floor right now, or else you''ll die," my dad commanded with a chilling tone.


    "Ed, go. She needs to go to the hospital," Dwayne instructed.


    "I know. Dad, let''s go."


    We hurried into the car, and after I unceremoniously placed Vanessa in the backseat, I opened the hood and retrieved a stomach pump.


    "What''s that?" my dad asked.


    "A stomach pump. I don''t know how much time she has. It''s better to purge everything now," I explained.


    "Inside the car?" my dad inquired hesitantly. I smirked at him as I inserted the pump into Vanessa''s oesophagus.


    "Dirty seats or a dead girl in your backseat? Which one do you choose?" I asked urgently.


    "Fine," he replied in resignation.


    The pump worked efficiently, and Vanessa began to vomit all over the backseat of the car. Splashes of fluids landed on my shirt and face. I sighed and muttered, "What did I do to deserve this?"

 Chapter 225: Person with Flaw (1)

    Chapter 225: Chapter 225: Person with Flaw (1)


    [Edward POV]


    Haley couldn''t believe what she was hearing. It was well past midnight when Edward called her, urging her to come over to his new house. She twirled her hair playfully and responded, "Hmm~ I don''t know if I want to go. Unless... you have something for me there that could convince me to change my mind?"


    Edward muttered with a hint of mystery, "Oh, I have something ''big'' here that will surely change your mind. You''ll surely love it."


    Haley giggled and agreed, "Alright. I''ll come. I''ll ask Tara to drive me."


    Edward tried to persuade her, saying, "Are you sure? I can ask my driver to come and get you. That way, Tara won''t feel the need to stick around."


    Considering his offer, Haley nodded, "That''s true. Alright. I''ll sneak out tonight."


    Confused by Haley''s plan, Edward questioned, "Why are you sneaking out? Just tell your mom I need you here to help me with something. She''ll be okay with it."


    Haley was astonished by Edward''s suggestion, "Really? My mom? Are we talking about the same person?"


    Edward insisted, "Yes, I''m sure of it. If you want, I can even text her to ask her for you�C"


    Horrified, Haley interjected quickly, "NOO!" Her shriek woke up Alex, who had been sleeping. Alex groggily complained, "Can you keep it down? I have a big test tomorrow."


    Ignoring Alex''s protest, Haley opened the bedroom door, planning to get ready, and warned Edward, "Don''t text my mom�C"


    Claire, wearing her pajamas, appeared in the doorway and asked, "Tell me what?" Haley froze upon seeing her mom, accidentally blurting out, "I''m going to Ed''s new house?"


    Claire couldn''t believe what she was hearing and exclaimed, "WHAT?! You''re not going anywhere in the middle of the night! And definitely not to a boy''s house!"


    Claire''s anger was palpable as she snatched the phone callously from Haley''s hand. "There''s nothing he can say to change my mind," she declared angrily, speaking directly into the phone.


    Haley anxiously waited, her heart pounding, as Edward conversed with her mother. To her surprise, Claire''s stern expression softened, and she inquired, "Are you sure you only need Haley there?"


    Haley''s astonishment grew as she listened to her mother''s changed tone in dealing with Edward. "Alright. I get it. I''ll wait for the driver with her," Claire eventually conceded.


    Haley couldn''t contain her shock any longer. "What?! What just happened?!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide with disbelief as Claire handed the phone back to her. Haley hastily pressed it against her ear and demanded, "What did you say to my mother?"


    Edward''s voice remained casual as he responded, "The truth. She''s fine with it."


    While Haley and Edward conversed, Claire descended the stairs to retrieve a bag from the closet. Overwhelmed by the situation, Haley couldn''t help but question her mother''s sudden eagerness to let her go. "Did she sell me something? Why is she so eager to let me go?" she asked, her disbelief evident in her voice as her entire worldview began to crumble.


    Haley attempted to inject some levity into the situation, jokingly saying, "You know, my mom giving consent suddenly made me feel repulsed by you. I''m not going to go now. I''m only going if she hates you."


    Edward, caught off guard by Haley''s response, urged her, "What are you even talking about? Just come." He cuts the call, which made Haley badger her mother.


    "MOM! Are you seriously letting me go? Me, your pretty teenage daughter, to a boy''s house in the middle of the night? Are you out of your mind?"


    "Why are you even angry at me? You were going to sneak up anyway, right?" Claire asked, which made Haley feel taken aback.


    "Still. You being okay with this is taking off the fun in all of it." Haley exclaimed as Claire shoved an empty bag at her. "Go pick your clothes. Now."


    "Mom! Are you really going CRAZY!" Haley scolded in astonishment.


    ...


    Haley arrived at Edward''s new house with exhaustion and said, "This is not what I expected when I agreed to come here today." Edward smirked and said, "Whatcha thinking Perv?"


    In front of them was an unconscious girl lying down on the bed with an IV drip hooked up on her hand. Edward continued wiping his wet hair with a towel while wearing a towel robe as he asked Haley for a favor, "Can you help me change her clothes? I had already cleaned her up a bit."


    "Oh. That''s why you called me here. Alright, I''ll do that." Haley said, finally figuring it all out together.


    "Yeah, I told your mom about it too, and asked if she wants to do it, but I guess she didn''t say that to you?" Edward asked with a teasing smile.


    Instead of going to the doctor and finding himself in the midst of another scandal, Edward took the OD''d girl home after having her stomach pumped and invited a doctor to take a look at her. Harvey was the one who introduced the doctor�C Dr Aaron Glassman, to Edward, therefore he could be trusted.


    Edward then gave a pair of scissors to Haley and said, "Here. if it''s too difficult to get her out of those."


    Haley rushed towards her and said, "Sorry. I got too into it."


    "Aren''t you afraid she''s going to sue you for this?" Haley asked.


    "Really? Sue me? I don''t think she will do that. If she''d ever want to keep what happened today underwraps." Edward said disdainfully as he looked at Vanessa before moving away to give the girls some privacy.


    After changing Vanessa''s clothes, Haley walked to the poolside where Edward was sitting on the pool chair and sipping some drinks.


    "Want some cocktails? It''s non-alcoholic though. My dad hadn''t bought any since he got diagnosed, so I can''t steal them anymore."


    "Sure. By the way, aren''t you going to give me a tour of your house? It''s my first time here." Haley said teasingly as she admired the house. "As expected of a realtor''s daughter. Alright, we''re going to start the tour of Edward Newgate''s new house. Form a line please, it''s easy to get lost in here. I should know, I speak from experience."


    Haley giggled at Edward''s lame joke and said, "Aye-Aye Captain."


    "Over here, we can see the pool. It''s not much, but at the very least, it wasn''t shaped like a male phallic system. It is the most important consideration for me as to not live in a house like that. By the way, you''d be surprised at how many houses your dad showed me that have pools that look like that."


    "How many?" Haley asked in curiosity.


    "5 in this area alone. And I only looked at 6 houses here. The richies here have an obsession with that shape, or maybe they were overcompensating. Anyway, I am glad now it only has an irregular shape."


    This two-story architectural masterpiece boasts a modern design, offering breathtaking views of the ocean from its perch near a cliff. (Mitchell''s boss house) The pool, positioned on the side of the house, provides a tranquil oasis for relaxation and overlooks the vast expanse of the shimmering water.


    "As you approach the property, a circular driveway welcomes you. At the center of the driveway is a unique circular prop that can rotate cars on their own, so you don''t have to worry about making a U-turn here by yourself. Or worse, reversing your car through the gate." Edward said with a shudder as he looked at Haley, "Remember that when you got your driver''s license...If you''re ever going to pass the test."


    "Hey! I won''t fail again!" Haley protested. She already failed to get her license one time.


    Vanessa''s memories slowly turned clear, and her already pale face turned ashen. "S-So what? Why are you angry with me? I didn''t even ask you to come save me!"


    Vein popped on Edward''s forehead as his anger rose. Haley saw it and said, "Oh, right. Edward. You should go to sleep. I''ll take over for now. You did ask me to come to take care of her."


    "I...Wait, you''re going to?" Edward almost rejected her offer before he realized, "Great. Then I don''t have to bother. Ask her to call someone to pick her up. I''ll go to sleep now."


    Edward walked away easily, leaving behind the two similar looking girls alone in the room.


    "What''s with him?! Why does he even interfere if he doesn''t know anything?!" Vanessa said frustratingly with some anger. However, she couldn''t raise her voice because her body was still weak.


    Haley looked at her with a stoic expression and asked, "Say, should he really know anything first before he comes by to get you out of there?"


    "What?" Confused, Vanessa scrunched her face in disbelief, trying to comprehend Haley''s statement. Haley smiled and walked towards her before helping her fix the pillow on her back, giving her support as she was sitting up on the bed.


    "He knew you were in trouble, and he came by to help. You really don''t remember what happened don''t you?"


    "I remember going to a party. My friend�C"


    "Is she really your friend?" Haley asked.


    Vanessa paused for a bit before saying, "No. She''s just some girl I know. I...You know, buy some weed from her once in a while. She told me about the party, how I can just do whatever I want. So I went there."


    Haley sat on the edge of the bed and said, "And?"


    Vanessa recollected her memories for a bit and said, "Then...We met some guys. I did a couple of things they gave me, and they started pushing me to do more."


    "And, you called him by accident." Haley explained after Vanessa had a hard time trying to piece out how Edward factor into all of it.


    "That''s it?" Vanessa was in disbelief.


    "Yeah. That''s it. I don''t know what you said to him on the call, but he went there to save you after that. You have an overdose, and you could''ve died."


    "So, he''s mad at me because I put him in trouble?" Vanessa asked guiltily.


    But to her surprise, Haley answered casually, "Oh not at all. Those guys were all arrested, and Edward called the DEA there, so they won''t bother you again."


    "Oh... Then, why is he mad at me for?" Vanessa asked, confused.


    Haley thought about it and said seriously, "I think...He''s mad at you because you..."


    "I...What?" Vanessa asked with agitation as Haley paused for too long.


    "You...bothered him on the nights he had a lot of work to do." Haley said, fully confident in her guess.


    Vanessa was stunned, and after a while, she looked at Haley seriously and said, "That''s it?!"


    "He''s surprisingly simple in that way." Haley said while nodding.


    Edward suddenly sneezed while lying down on his bed in his room. The girls continued their conversations. Haley asked, "Anyway, do you have someone to come pick you up?"


    Vanessa gripped the blanket tightly and replied with a shaky voice, "No...I don''t have anyone to call..."


    "Not even your parents?" Haley asked again while slowly stroking Vanessa''s arm to comfort her.


    "They are out of the country right now." Vanessa replied.


    "Don''t you have a boyfriend or something?" Haley asked.


    Vanessa''s eyes turned red and she burst into tears while hugging Haley, "We broke up! HE CHEATED ON ME!"


    "What? THAT BITCH!" Haley was shocked and both girls got into talking for a while. Mostly Vanessa was talking because she didn''t have anyone else to talk to. Why?


    "He cheated on you with your best friend?!" Haley asked in shock. "Both of them are assholes!"


    They talked for an entire night, and without Haley realizing it, the sun had already risen.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    As I was lying down with my eyes closed, I groaned and said, "Why me?"


    It was a lonely night today without Vader sleeping on the same bed. Although Haley was here, I was keeping my distance with her after Taylor and I were over. It wasn''t that I was dumb and couldn''t get Haley''s hint.


    Why was I so angry about Vanessa calling me? I wonder why too?


    It could be because I had experienced the exact same thing with a little sister I had in my previous life. We weren''t related, but she was the same as I was. We didn''t get adopted till we reached adulthood and were kicked out of the foster home to the streets.


    To watch her OD''ing and die after I stopped getting in touch with her during my time at the army was one of my biggest regrets in life. If she had called me that day. Would she still be alive now? Watching Vanessa put herself in the same situation as my sister was bothering me greatly.


    Maybe I was angry because I kept getting into the same old pattern again. Getting into trouble for the sake of others, but ignoring the cry for help of my own.


    Or maybe it was her unrepentant behaviour after waking. She almost died, and she didn''t even care about it.


    Do I regret saving Vanessa? No, not at all. If the same thing happened again I would do the entire thing all over again. So I don''t even know why I was angry. Or maybe I was anxious? I should really talk to Linda soon. Dad said she had helped him a lot.


    "I guess I don''t really know why I am angry right now." I said as I activated my [Rest] skill to fall asleep. Even with the skill activated, I was sure that tonight won''t be a peaceful night.


    ''Maybe it is haunted. My mind I mean. Not the house.''

 Chapter 226: Person with a Flaw (2)

    Chapter 226: Chapter 226: Person with a Flaw (2)


    [Edward POV]


    As the sun rose, the true beauty of the villa by the sea cliff was finally unveiled. The shimmering sea mirrored the breathtaking view, accentuating the pristine white exterior walls and the small garden surrounding the house.


    However, all of this went without my witness. Inside the room, My stomach was growling when I woke up in the morning with disappointment.


    "There''s nothing here..." I mumbled as I recounted my memory and found out that there was nothing inside the fridge.


    Slowly, I slid down the mattress, wore a slipper, and went to the dryer to get yesterday''s clothes. I had already cleaned it all up and wore them again before wearing a gray hoodie too.


    Just as I was preparing to leave, Haley, still groggy, stumbled into the living room and blocked my path.


    "Where are you going?" she asked with a yawn, her hair disheveled.


    I smiled and replied, "I''m going to the store to get some food."


    Her sleepiness vanished instantly, and her face lit up. "I want to go too!"


    "What about school? Your mom will be upset if you don''t go," I said, trying to reason with her. Haley then held a finger to my face and called out, "Hold on a moment. Robin, can you assist me?"


    "Hello, Miss Haley. How can I help you?" Robin responded.


    "Play the sounds of a school hallway and make it so that the bell will ring in 2 minutes," Haley instructed.


    "What are you... Oh, that''s pretty impressive," I said with amazement as I crossed my arms and leaned sideways on the wall.


    Haley smirked and then called her mother. Claire picked it up instantly and reprimanded, "Haley! I''ve Been CALLING YOU FOR AN HOUR! Are you at school yet?! OR did you play hooky again?"


    Haley rolled her eyes in a way that impressed me and retorted, "Of course, I''m playing hooky, Mom! I''m at the mall with Ed! I didn''t even put my books in my locker."


    She hinted at me with her eyes, and I helped out, "Robin, insert the sound of the locker closing."


    *Ker-Blam!* Robin played the sound, which made Claire hesitate as she heard it. With the sounds of students chattering and the lockers sound, Claire was already slightly convinced that Haley was at school.


    "Why haven''t you answered your phone, then?" Claire asked with a calmer tone, still suspicious.


    "It was on silent mode. I put it there when I was taking care of Vanessa. And by the way, Ed told me he asked you to come, but you tricked me into doing it instead!"


    "Oh, honey, I have to go. I need to speak with Luke''s teacher. Love you, sweetie. Bye!" Claire replied dismissively and abruptly ended the call after being called out.


    Haley smirked triumphantly, looking at me as if to ask, "How was my performance? Can I win an Oscar yet?"


    "Perhaps not just yet, but I have no doubt that you''ll win one in a few years," I chuckled, before adding, "I''m still unsure whether I should bring you along. I''m not sure how the media will react after last night''s event."


    Haley rolled her eyes and said, "No one will be at the supermarket on a Monday morning except for the unemployed and the few oddballs!"


    "What about moms trying to catch up on groceries after finally sending their children to school?" I questioned.


    Haley paused to think and then replied, "Relax! They might be there... But if they''re anything like my mom, they''ll probably go home and open a bottle of wine to relax before going grocery shopping just in time to pick up their kids. "


    "Let''s hope they''re all like Claire then," I said with a defeated tone, knowing that it would be difficult for me to ask Haley not to come along.


    As we made our way to the car, she smiled and bounced along behind me. My dad''s car had been sent for professional cleaning, and since the Ford Dodger convertible was already a part of my identity, there was a black minivan parked in the garage that I had purchased for the purpose of going incognito when needed.


    Haley playfully teased, "So lame~!" as we both entered the car, leaving me momentarily bewildered. Her laughter filled the air, and together we embarked on a short drive to the nearest supermarket, just three miles away.


    As I parked the car, Haley jokingly asked, "What are you buying? Do you want this older sister to buy it for you?" I chuckled, finding her humor amusing, and replied, "Sure. How much money do you have?"


    But Haley quickly backtracked, exclaiming, "No! I take it back! You have WAYYY more money than I do!"


    I playfully protested, "No take backs!" to which she cleverly pointed out, "You didn''t say ''No take backs'' before I took it back, so it doesn''t count!"


    Unfazed, I challenged her, speaking with a hint of mischief, "What about your older woman''s pride? I''m just a cute, helpless little boy. You should take responsibility for me."


    Haley couldn''t believe her ears, responding in disbelief, "Cute? Helpless? You''re the richest boy on the planet! Robin! How much money did he make from the beginning of his career until now?!"


    I glanced at Robin, remaining silent, and with a teasing glance at Haley, I remarked, "She will not divulge my personal information unless she has my permission." Haley grumbled in frustration, and I couldn''t help but laugh. To conceal my identity, I playfully hid my face with a baseball cap and pulled up the hoodie.


    Amidst our banter, we entered the sparsely visited store and headed straight to the fresh produce section. I picked up a few pumpkins and cucumbers, while Haley surprised me by grabbing some jelly beans. I questioned her, "Wait, jelly beans? Where did you even get those?"


    Haley pointed to the candy containers nearby and exclaimed, "There! Let''s go pick some out!" Initially reluctant, I found myself unable to resist her enthusiasm as she started putting the candy in the bag. I pushed the trolley towards her and playfully intervened, "Hey�C Don''t get the cola ones. And no need for more marshmallows! You already have a bag full!"


    Unbeknownst to us, our playful interaction caught the attention of some housewives nearby. Instead of recognizing me, they smiled kindly and whispered amongst themselves, "They must be newlyweds." Another housewife remarked, "Look at them, so excited at the beginning of their marriage." Yet another, slightly pessimistic, housewife added, "They must still be in their honeymoon phase. Wait until she knows what he is really like."


    The other two housewives turned to the pessimistic ones before slightly patting her pitifully on the shoulder.


    With our candy selection complete, we placed over ten different variations into our trolley, satisfying both of our sweet tooth cravings. Haley, with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes, suggested, "We need to get chips too!" Attempting to steer us back on track, I intervened, "Wait! We need actual food! We''ll get chips when we reach the snack aisle!"


    Excitement brimming in her voice, Haley asked, "What other things do you need?" Catching her infectious enthusiasm, I replied with equal excitement, "I need towels, soap, face wash, and shampoos." Spotting a knife set nearby, Haley grabbed it and inquired, "Do you need some knives?"


    "Oh, I think I do. Grab the stainless steel ones." I replied.


    He chuckled lightly and added, "Maybe start with a ''thank you''?"


    Vanessa''s tense body relaxed slightly, and she looked at Edward. "Thank you for coming to pick me up," she said, her voice filled with sincerity. "And thank you for caring about me, even though we''re strangers."


    "You''re welcome," Edward replied with a kind smile. He had achieved what he wanted and was satisfied with that alone.


    Unaware of Edward''s intentions, Vanessa continued, "No, I really mean it. I know that if I had accidentally called anyone else... no one would have come to save me. So I truly appreciate it."


    "I understand. You don''t have to��" Edward began, but Vanessa''s emotions overwhelmed her, and she burst into tears. Her eyes welled up, and she continued, "I have no one else. My career has hit rock bottom, my relationship is in shambles, my mom won''t answer my calls. I have no friends, no prospects, and I don''t know what I''m going to do with my life right now."


    Her tears flowed freely, and Edward looked at her sympathetically. But then his expression turned cold as she continued to cry.


    "So?" he muttered, startling Vanessa.


    "What?" she turned toward him, her disbelief evident.


    "You heard me. So. Fucking. What?" Edward repeated. Vanessa became angry and exclaimed, "You asshole! I thought you were nice��"


    Edward scoffed and walked in front of her. He grabbed her shoulders, making eye contact, and mocked, "I''ll ask again. So. Fucking. What?"


    Her tears halted, and her expression froze as Edward continued, "So what if you were abandoned by the world? So what if everything feels like it''s going to shit? So what if you''re alone? Are you just going to sit here and cry?"


    "Because if I were you, I''d rather set the entire world on fire than beg for them to take me back," Edward said coldly. Vanessa was taken aback, and her tears subsided. "I''m going to make everyone who abandoned me regret it."


    Edward released his grip on Vanessa and returned to his seat, while she processed his words. Her eyes trembled hesitantly, and she bit her lower lip, fiddling with her fingers and gripping the edge of her shirt. Finally, she asked, "How are you going to make them regret it?"


    Edward smirked and said, "What? Do you want me to teach you that for free?"


    Vanessa lowered her head, grinding her teeth in anger. She considered what she had left to barter with and said, "I''ll... pay you..."


    "High School Musical" is a 4 billion dollar IP. But you have less than 400 bucks to your name right now. Only 183 bucks in your bank account, to be exact. I guess paying people to scrub away your picture on the internet took a lot of money huh. So I don''t think you have the money to pay me," Edward pointed out.


    "Then what do you want? My body!? Do you want me to sleep with you?!" Vanessa asked angrily.


    "Nah, I have no interest in power abuse," Edward replied casually with a shrug.


    "Then what the fuck do you want?! My soul!?" Vanessa stood up and shouted. Edward smiled as Vanessa huffed and puffed.


    She was taken aback when Edward responded, "That sounds interesting."


    "You really want my soul!?" Vanessa asked, disbelief in her voice.


    Edward chuckled, crossed his legs, and leaned back on the couch. He looked at her and said, "Yeah, I want your soul. I want the soul that''s so angry, she''d rather shout at the guy who could be her last chance than cling to his legs and refuse to let go."


    Edward raised his hands toward her and said, "Come to Entertain, Vanessa. Let''s seek revenge on the world that abandoned you... together."


    Vanessa opened her mouth, but no words could come out. She looked at the tempting sight in front of her, but she was scared to take his hands. She was scared that she would be thrown away again.


    Edward waited there silently for Vanessa to make a decision. At the risk of falling back to his old ways, even though he wanted to make some changes at the part of his personality, he still wanted her to take his offer.


    ''So in the end, I didn''t change that much huh.'' He thought inwardly.


    A short time passed by, and Vanessa finally came to a decision. With a determined look on her face, she grabbed Edward''s hand and said, "I accept your conditions."


    "Great." Edward smirked villainously before saying, "Now, for the first step you need to take to get your revenge..."


    Vanessa waited anxiously for Edward to finish his words. His next words made her feel shaken to her core.


    Edward stood up from the couch and whispered to Vanessa''s ears."First...You need... to get sober."


    ...


    In front of Edward''s house, a pretty long haired redhead got out of her shabby car. Maggie (His cousin) slowly pulled down her glasses as she scanned the surroundings.


    She pouted and said, "He bought a new house, and he forgot to invite me to come! Did he even remember that I moved to LA?"


    She already got the key from Ted�C who hoped that Maggie''s presence there could give Edward some surprise. "Hehe~ I''m going to scare him." Maggie muttered as she unlocked the door.


    Suddenly, the alarm rang and Robin announced, "Intruder alert! Intruder alert!"


    "What�C?" Maggie was astonished and she turned around in shock, only to see a steel net falling on top of her. "AHHH!!" She screamed in horror as she fall down to the ground.


    Edward rushed to the front door immediately and asked, "Robin. Who''s the intruder�C Wait. Maggie?"


    Struggling with the metal net, Maggie said, "Get this thing off me!"


    Edward instead stood on one leg and leaned against the wall as he observed her trying to get out of there. "Robin, didn''t I electrify that net? Shouldn''t she be convulsing on the ground right now, wetting herself."


    "I cut off the function because she has a key copy sir. Should I electrify it right now?" Robin asked.


    Maggie desperately shouted, "NOOOOOOOO!!!"

 Chapter 227: Online Presence.

    Chapter 227: Chapter 227: Online Presence.?


    [General POV]


    On the night Edward embarked on his mission to rescue Vanessa, an unexpected turn of events occurred. Edward''s aunt, Camila, without informing anyone, had taken a trip back to Cuba. Upon her arrival, a black-dressed Latina woman with a white lily floral pattern came to pick her up at the airport.


    Coincidentally, Wayne Bruce, a rogue FBI agent deeply in love with Camila, had decided to spend his days off searching for her in Cuba once again. He spotted Camila getting into a classic Bentley while reading his newspaper and waiting for his departure time.


    "Wait a minute... I had almost given up hope, but just as I was about to head back to the States, I see her... right at the airport? This feels like fate," Wayne smirked and quickly rushed out of the airport to follow Camila.


    "Taxi!" he shouted, waving his arms to catch the attention of a passing driver. However, as they entered the city, the driver lost sight of the car Camila was in, as the streets were filled with classic vintage cars. The country, seemingly forgotten by time, .


    "Damn it! I lost her! Again!!" he muttered, disappointed.


    Unaware of her "stalker," Camila was driven back to her family''s house. The hallways were deserted, but traces of the opulence the family had could be seen. The marks on the wall where the expensive paintings used to be hung, the delicately sculpted door handles, the huge library that was filled with cobwebs, and more reminisce of an earlier era, scattered all over the mansion.


    Camila made her way to a small room illuminated by soft white lamps. She had to pass through a plastic curtain before she could see what lay on the bed.


    A group of doctors, dressed from head to toe in coverings, noticed Camila''s arrival and quickly briefed her. "Her condition has stabilized for now, but she needs rest. She shouldn''t go anywhere or engage in any strenuous activities for at least a month."


    Camila nodded as she gazed upon Miranda, lying motionless on the bed, trapped in a deep coma. Edward''s mother had descended into madness upon hearing the news of his capture, relentlessly hunting down anyone connected to their family''s betrayer.


    Her actions had drawn the attention of Castro''s brother, leading to a pursuit by a formidable armed force, only to be intercepted and saved by the sisterhood at the last moment.


    Camila asked solemnly, "Have she found the snitch yet?"


    "No. Not yet." The lady with the black dress replied. Camila sighed helplessly and said, "Can we not escape this kind of fate? Will we all die here... for this... god forsaken country?"


    While Camila was talking to the others, secretly, her conversation was secretly recorded and analyzed by Edward''s assistant, Robin. Suddenly, Camila received a notification on her phone.


    "Hmm?" She opened it and widened her eyes. Then, she quickly reached for her gun and pointed it at the doctor standing beside Miranda. "You... You''re the source of the leak?"


    The doctor raised his hands and sighed disappointedly. Miranda looked at him in astonishment and asked, "Why?"


    "I''m just...so tired...of fighting... And I want it all to end..." The doctor replied.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Where did you get a key?" I asked Maggie after pulling down the electrocution net away from her.


    "Answer me first! Why, and WHEN did you weaponize your house?!" Maggie asked in disbelief after I helped her get up from the floor.


    "I mean, the better question would be how." I chuckled as I saw her frustratedly walk towards Haley and hide behind her. It was funny to see the 5''7" tall girl trying to hide behind the 5''2" girl.


    "How did you get this stuff?" Haley asked curiously as she touched the net. "Can you get one for me and put it in my closet? I have some valuables there I need to protect." She added.


    "I can...But I can also foresee that your dad or your brother...or both, shaking uncontrollably on the ground, and getting tasered if I did."


    Haley looked at me puzzledly, "Why would they go to my closet?"


    "I''m not saying that they will try to get your stuff, but I can really see them getting trapped." I explained.


    "Ahhh..." Haley exclaimed in realization while Maggie looked at the both of us in disbelief. Haley turned towards Maggie and asked, "You...Are you Maggie?"


    "Hmm. Petite, gorgeous, cute as a button as people said, you must be Haley." Maggie said as she smiled at Haley.


    "Aww... That''s nice." Haley exclaimed before she furrowed her eyebrows in realization, "Wait, who said that?"


    I quickly intercepted and said, "Ah, Maggie, why are you here?"


    "I come to visit!" Maggie smiled and added, "You know, for your housewarming party!"


    Haley and I looked at each other before I replied to Maggie, "I''m not having a...housewarming party."


    "Wait. Really?" Maggie acted confused, but her shaky eyes betrayed her anxiousness. I sighed and asked, "Did my dad plan a housewarming party today?"


    "NO! Not today�C Wait�C" Maggie was taken aback by her own blunder and nervously said, "You didn''t hear that from me!"


    "Of course I heard that from you. Who else would I hear it from?" I looked at her and scoffed disdainfully while she was pleading for my mercy, "NO! Uncle Ted will hate me!"


    "No he won''t." I replied casually. Then, I turned to Vanessa who was standing in the corridor and observing the whole thing from a safe distance. "You can stay here for a while if you have no other place to go. If you need anything, ask Maggie."


    "Wait. You didn''t even ask me�C" Maggie tried to protest, but I only needed to say one short sentence to shut her down, "200,000 dollars in debt."


    If it had been a long time since I returned to my hometown and met Maggie again, I might have treated her better. However, since she came to LA, she would frequently stop by my house to do her laundry and have dinner with my family, so I didn''t make any special effort.


    Maggie hurriedly approached Vanessa and said, "Hi! I recognize you. You''re the girl from High School Musical. I''m Maggie. Nice to meet you. If you need anything, just ask me."


    Haley looked at Maggie in disbelief and grabbed my sleeve before whispering, "Does she always change her attitude like that?"


    I nodded and replied, "Yup, she''s basically spineless. Oh, right, I have a live session today. I might even sing. Do you want to stay or go back��"


    "I''m definitely staying!" Haley interrupted excitedly. Maggie glanced at us and noticed Haley''s hand touching my arm. She snickered to herself before continuing her conversation with Vanessa.


    Later, Max and my dad arrived simultaneously, with Vader nestled in Max''s arms. As soon as Vader saw me, she leaped from Max''s arms and ran straight to me.


    "Hey! I gave you premium cat treats! You traitor!" Max felt betrayed. I chuckled and said, "Love cannot be bought."


    "Love costs 20 bucks an hour next to the tattoo place I used to work at," Max retorted with a disdainful look on her face. I shrugged and gently stroked Vader''s fur before asking, "Do you have my stuff?"


    In my previous life when I was watching the movie, it gave me the feeling that the whole show was a parody or something similar. The second one was even worse than the first one. So I had no interest in the books at all. But recently Enid, and even Alex had read the books and said it was great, so I may check it out later on and see how different the movie actually was from the books.


    "So far no one actually guessed what outfit I had planned for Halloween." I said cheekily. "I wanted to show it to you guys if you guessed it right, but no luck I guess." I shrugged.


    Lily: NOOO!!!! Umm, Spiderman!!


    Annie: Someone from Harry Potter? Draco Malfoy maybe?


    Texasgirl: It isn''t Romeo right?


    Pablo: Hi! Love from Chile! You are not planning to do concerts here?


    "Hi Pablo. It''s not that I don''t want to do concerts there, but we''re still in the negotiation process with some countries and now there are some concerns over the different venue security. So any international or world tour would have to wait until that''s done. Earliest we can do it is at the start of next year, if everything goes well." I explained a bit.


    Pablo: Sad.emoji


    Annie: Darth Vader. If this is wrong, can we get a hint please?


    [25,000 viewers watching!]


    Lily: Hint please!


    Jenna: Hint Please!!


    "Alright then. The hint; RDJ won''t like it." I said jokingly.


    The chat exploded once more with people typing: BATMAN!


    "Finally!" I exclaimed in relief after they managed to guess it. "Am I not Batman material? What took you guys so long?" I asked with a chuckle. Suddenly, Vader jumped from Max''s grip again, and rushed to the film set.


    "Vader no!" Max called her back, but it was too late. The black cat jumped into my arms, which confused the chat.


    I placed Vader on my right shoulder casually and said, "I''m sorry. I guess she wanted to introduce herself to you guys. She''s my pet, Lady Kitty Vader the third." Vader swatted my cheek slightly, which made me say, "Ah, she got angry. Her name is Vader."


    Annie: She''s so cute!


    Lily: Awww


    Abby: Vader? You named the kitty after the Sith Lord?


    Fast forward after me showing my outfit to my fans and talking about a few things for a while, the fans requested to see if they could watch me putting on the costume. I relented after thousands of messages and donations�C yeah, people could donate if they wanted to stress out their messages left the screen for a while to change my clothes.


    "Vader no." Max said as Vader jumped to the tripod for my Instagram and slightly pushed the camera towards me as I was changing my clothes, which resulted in my bare upper body being revealed to the world.


    Annie: Nosebleed.Emoji


    Lily: Nosebleed.Emoji


    Donna: Thirsty.Emoji


    +1


    +1


    +1


    [35,000 viewers watching!]


    [36,350 viewers watching!]


    [40,000 viewers watching!]


    I quickly put on the outfit, and returned to the screen. "Wow, the numbers jumped out so quickly huh. Now I know, my fanbase is all made up of perverts."


    Jenna: You''re the one who stripped!


    ...


    [General POV]


    A few minutes before, crossing her arms and watching the filming from afar, a complicated expression appeared on Vanessa''s face. ''Why does everyone like him so much? He only knows how to crack lame jokes. But, still...40,000 live viewers? That''s like, a big concert already.''


    When Edward was changing his clothes, Vanessa''s eyes suddenly widened and she blurted out, "Damn. He has an even nicer body than him."


    "Him who?" Maggie asked curiously. As Vanessa didn''t answer, she tried to pry, "Nicer than Zac?"


    "Just a little bit." Vanessa replied while pinching her fingers together.


    Jacob quickly cupped Elsa''s eyes with his hands the second Edward undressed. Jenna started praying away the temptation, but Billie''s eyes were glued on him.


    In Hollywood, several movie executives commented about Edward''s live show. They were not interested in the session in the beginning, but mostly were updated to the situation by their assistants.


    "Hmph! He''s just playing around. A true artist wouldn''t do this. This just shows that he''s a kid who knows nothing."


    Most of them were already disconnected with the masses, such as the movie producers who wanted to adapt the Percy Jackson book into a movie.


    A lot of celebrities, whether they were famous or still struggling, were confused as to how Edward had done this. To create a loyal fanbase in just a short span of half a year that would support him no matter what. Some needed decades of work to achieve what Edward had achieved in such a short time.


    President Batman�C No, sorry. President Obama was watching the live show with his daughter when he saw the Batman''s outfit. Albeit his face was calm, inside his heart, he screamed, ''I WANT TO WEAR THAT TOO!''

 Chapter 228: Live Busking!

    Chapter 228: Chapter 228: Live Busking!


    [General POV]


    After showing off his costumes, one of his fans asked Edward why he was so excited for Halloween.


    Edward mulled over it for a while before he answered,"Well, that''s a tough question. Growing up, I''ve never gone trick or treating."


    The fans were quite shocked when they heard his reply. Edward continued casually as he changed his costume back. There was a black tight shirt he needed to wear underneath his batman suit, which he didn''t take off, and just placed his cardigan on top of it.


    "Yeah. The best memory about Halloween I had was this one time when I was 4 years old...My dad snuck me out of the house when everyone was already done trick or treating, and put a blanket over my head to make me a ghost. All the houses were already done with giving candies, but then there was this old guy who every kid was afraid of�C Mr Kleezak, who still had a bucket load of it. I went over there as a last resort, and he gave me every single candy he had left."


    "We went in and out in 20 minutes, without my mom knowing about it. That''s the only Halloween memory I have other than the constant practising or having musical classes when everyone else was dressed up and having fun. So you know, I kinda want to make up for it." Edward opened up about his past, which created an emotional uproar from his fans.


    The chat was silent for a while, and then it exploded!


    [59,000 viewers watching]


    [Texasgirl: Damn it! And Here I was, thinking he was childish for wanting to go trick or treating. Ed! You Deserve to get a proper Halloween!]


    [Lily: I''m choking up right now. What kind of parents did that? Ed! COME TO MY HOUSE! I''ll make sure to give you candies!]


    [Annie: I''m crying! Ed! BE STRONG! I''ll give you candies!]


    There would be a lot of fans sending candies to the company after this live session. The amount he got would last him for 5 whole years even if he indulged himself till his stomach burst daily.


    As Edward''s friends watched, Enid suddenly wiped down her non-existent tears and said, "He''s been through a lot. And....I....will make sure to.... get that CatWoman outfit before it''s all sold out!"


    "Hey! I thought you were sympathizing with him!" Elsa, who was emotional in the beginning, retorted to Enid.


    "Oh Grow up! This is just a ploy for him to get more candies!" Enid accused Edward without knowing that she hit 50% of the marks.


    Jenna, Alex and Elsa who were initially feeling bad for Edward, fall into a confusion and then the same thought arises in their mind. ''He is shameless enough to actually do that.''


    "Damn it, and when he does manage to go trick or treating, he''s going to rub it in our faces." Jacob muttered with a jealous expression. There was no chance for him to go trick or treating this year after he hit puberty. "I blame dad. If I got my mom''s genes, then I could go trick or treat-ing till I was 18." He mumbled to himself.


    15 minutes later, as the live session progressed, Edward suddenly announced, "There''s something truly special in store for all of you today."


    As the chat was curious, he smirked and added," Not only will I be performing a song for you at the end of this session, but it is with great honor that I introduce you all to the newest addition to the Entertain label, the incredible band, Coldplay!"


    Jenna muttered in confusion, "Coldplay? Who is that?"


    Finneas and Billie looked at each other with the expression ''Do you know these guys'', but then both of them shrugged at the same time. Haley was the only one clapping and cheering for the band.


    Edward saw the confusion in the chat ground. He smiled mischievously and said, "Figured you guys wouldn''t know about them. They are a British Band, who I headhunted to sign with the company myself! Isn''t that right Chris?"


    [44,000 viewers watching]


    [Hermoine: Really? Then, they must be a great band! I can''t wait!]


    The numbers of people watching the show dropped for some time, but Edward wasn''t worried about it.


    Chris Martin smiled awkwardly and replied with a slight British accent, "Well, Ed is the one who convinced us to fly over here." Being in a live show had made Chris feel nervous, and he had completely forgotten the media training Edward had the newly signed artist to the label took.


    Edward smiled in disbelief and said, "Why don''t you introduce yourself to the audience?"


    "Oh, Right. Hello everyone. My name is Chris Martin. This is the band''s bassist. Um, Guy?"


    "Hello Everyone, I''m Guy Berryman."


    "I''m Johnny Buckland. I play the piano."


    "I am Will Champion. The drummer."


    "And we''re the band, Coldplay!" Chris Martin said excitedly.


    Edward smiled as the band were finally getting it together and announced to the audience, "As the band handpicked by myself, you won''t disappoint the viewers watching today, right?"


    Chris held his chest and smiled with exasperation, "That''s too much pressure Ed." The rest of the band members, and Edward laughed at Chris''s reaction.


    [TexasGirl: Ed is a meanie~... Why is that so hot!?]


    [Annie: Goodluck Coldplay! I''m sure they will do great!]


    [Finneas: Coldplay has been playing all over Europe since 1996. They are not really a newbie band. They are professionals!]


    [Lily: Did I see Selena and Vanessa Hudgen in the background, or am I just imagining things?]


    [RDJ: Wait, is this happening at your new place? And you didn''t. even. think. to invite me.]


    In real life, Billie looked at Finneas in disbelief as she saw his comment. "How?" She asked.


    "Wikipedia." Finneas replied while looking at his phone. "Also, I''m quite sure that Edward edited the page by himself."


    "How so?" Alex was intrigued. Finneas showed the paragraph to her while saying, "It says here, they signed the contract with Entertain with the handsome and dashing artist, Edward Newgate''s support himself."


    Alex instinctively rolled her eyes and said flatly, "Yeah. He edited it himself."


    "Without further ado, ladies and gentleman, the band Coldplay with their song, Yellow." Edward announced.


    After the introduction, the camera panned to Chris while Edward got out of the shot. He turned off his microphone and walked to Pepper who was the closest one to him, "How are we doing?"


    "We''re dropping fast. But it is still over the estimate you made. Wayyy more than that." Pepper replied with a smile.


    Harvey added mischievously, "By the way, the viewership jumped up to almost 80,000 people when you took off your clothes. We should do a live session where you were just naked the entire time."


    Pepper interjected quickly, "Don''t put ideas in his head. With enough money on the table, he would actually do it."


    Edward contorted his face. "No I would not! What kind of impression do you have on me exactly?" Edward muttered with disbelief.


    Pepper turned to him and said, "Slut for Money."


    "Oi!" Edward retorted immediately. While Edward was talking, the band started to play. A mellow melody filled the entire poolside, and the band finally started to capture people''s focus.


    [Yellow- Coldplay]


    "Oh, the viewership is climbing up again." Harvey muttered.


    Chris sang, "?? Look at the stars...Look how they shine for you...And everything you do...Yeah, they were all yellow..."


    [Annie: Oh, they really are great!]


    [TexasGirl: As expected of Ed!]


    [Janine: Wait, shouldn''t you say as expected of the band instead.]


    [TexasGirl: Yeah, but Ed picked them, so the credit went to him!]


    ??I came along


    [Lily: SORRY]


    Edward looked at the band Coldplay who were helping him with the instrumental music and counted, "1.2.3.4.."


    "The song is called, Someone to you." Edward said before the music started playing.


    ??????????


    [Banners�C Someone to you]


    "Oh, this is an uplifting song. I was so worried." Pepper sighed as he rubbed his chest in relief. Then, his expression froze as he heard the first lyric.


    "??I don''t wanna die or fade away~" Edward crooned. Haley automatically started imagining a lone violinist on the stage, and everyone in the audience was leaving.


    "??I just wanna be someone...I just wanna be someone??" Edward looked into the camera directly, and his gaze made the girls fans of his become intoxicated.


    "??Dive and disappear without a trace~" Edward continued while closing his eyes as he sang with emotions. "??I just wanna be someone...Well, doesn''t everyone???"


    Harvey muttered, "The melody is really cheerful, but the lyrics are quite..."


    "Sad." Pepper finished her sentence.


    "??And if you feel the great dividing, I wanna be the one you''re guiding, ''Cause I believe that you could lead the way??"


    "??I just wanna be somebody to someone, oh. I wanna be somebody to someone, oh. I never had nobody and no road home. I wanna be somebody to someone�C??"


    "??And if the sun starts setting, the sky goes cold! Then if the clouds get heavy and start to fall!I really need somebody to call my own! I wanna be somebody to someone??"


    "??Someone to youuuuu~~! Someone to youuuuu~~! Someone to youuuuu~~!


    Someone to you (Someone to you)??"


    The guests started crowding behind the cameraman. A shot of them dancing was inserted into the live show. This time, the viewers could see clearly who the guests were.


    The band members acted as the background singer as Edward sang.


    "??I don''t even need to change the world (Change, change the world)


    I''ll make the moon shine just for your view??"


    "??I''ll make the starlight circle the room (Circle the room)??"


    Finneas suddenly let out a burst of mirth. Alex looked at him and asked, "Why are you laughing?"


    "Nothing. I just felt that. What he is singing." Finneas said as he suddenly hugged Alex from behind, making her flustered and her face turn red.


    "W-what-what are you doing?"


    "Nothing. I just feel like hugging you." Finneas whispered, an answer which didn''t help calm Alex''s rapidly beating heart.


    "??And if you feel like night is falling


    I wanna be the one you''re calling??


    ??''Cause I believe that you could lead the way??" Edward jumped as he sang, which made the crowd do the same.


    He stopped and sang seriously, "??I just wanna be somebody to someone, oh.I wanna be somebody to someone, oh. I never had nobody and no road home. I wanna be somebody to someone??"


    "??And if the sun starts setting, the sky goes cold


    Then if the clouds get heavy and start to fall


    I really need somebody to call my own


    I wanna be somebody to someone~??"


    "??Someone to you~~~~


    Someone to you~~~~


    Someone to you~~~~


    Someone to you??"


    Next to Camila, the comatose Miranda''s finger suddenly twitched as she heard her son''s voice.


    Coldplay and Ed sang together, "??The kingdom come, the rise, the fall


    The setting sun above it all


    I just wanna be somebody to you??"


    [120,000 viewers watching]


    [Annie: I can''t help but dance!]


    [Lily: Ahh he''s so hot with his long hair!]


    Haley crossed her arms together as she tried to hear the lyrics intently. Ted saw this and chuckled. He muttered to her, interrupting her focus, "Isn''t it funny? In the song, he shouted what he wanted multiple times, but because of the melody, people still are not able to hear it. They will think it''s a love song instead."


    "It kinda is." Haley replied. Ted nodded in agreement and said, "Yeah. It kinda is."


    Edward continued as the camera filmed a rotating shot around him, "??I just wanna be somebody to someone, oh! I wanna be somebody to someone, oh! I never had nobody and no road home! I wanna be somebody to someone??"


    "??And if the sun starts setting, the sky goes cold! Then if the clouds get heavy and start to fall ! I really need somebody to call my own! I wanna be somebody to someone??"


    The crowd danced feverishly. Edward smiled at them, his eyes were searching for those close to him.


    ??Someone to you! Someone to you! Someone to you!Someone to you??


    The instrumental slowed down, and Edward sang by himself, "??Someone to you??..."


    The crowd cheered after the song was over. Edward looked into the camera and said, "Did you guys enjoy it? The live session will end right here today. Thank you so much for all of your support. I love you guys."


    [Annie: ED! I Wanna go to your concert again! Please]


    +1


    +1


    +1


    +1


    Thousands of messages spammed the screen with requests to Edward. The people were begging for him to hold a concert again soon. People also requested for him to release the song officially. The screen turned blank for the audience, but Edward kept the chat going.


    Pepper hugged Edward as the song was over. While the CEO was emotional, Harvey said mischievously, "Now that it''s over, we can finally get the party started!"


    "I knew it! It is a party!" Edward retorted.

 Chapter 229: Housewarming.

    Chapter 229: Chapter 229: Housewarming.


    [Edward POV]


    I stood in front of my group of friends in the living room while all of the adult guests were having a conversation by the pool. Pepper was letting me rest after my live session, which I really needed.


    But at the same time, I also had the feeling that he was sending me away so he could talk behind my back. There were no microphones by the poolside either so I couldn''t get Robin to listen to what they were saying.


    "So, no one among you guys actually brought a gift to my housewarming party?" Edward looked at his friends in disbelief while they could only smile wryly.


    "Oh, I did." Alex said while raising her hand halfway, surprising the others. They looked at her as if she''s a traitor and barraged her with accusation.


    "HEY! No one even knows it''s a housewarming party! This is unfair! I demand a do-over!" Enid said aggrieved. Alex was startled and taken aback as everyone else agreed with Enid.


    "Yeah Alex. That is a pretty selfish thing to do." Jacob reprimanded, but had a teasing smile on his face.


    Jenna joined in, "How could you let us out to hang like that." She turned towards Elsa and she nodded in agreement before shooting a disappointed look at Alex.


    "Wait�C" Alex tried to explain herself, but even her boyfriend joined in. Finneas teased, "I didn''t think you were this kind of person Alex. This makes me wanna rethink our whole relationship�C"


    "Listen to me!" Alex exclaimed in frustration. "I didn''t bring a gift in the beginning, but he said in his live he''s going to read the Percy Jackson books. My dad texted me about the housewarming and what kind of things he might like. I asked him to buy the books on my behalf. I DID NOTHING WRONG!"


    I looked at Alex teasingly as she tried to catch a breath and said, "Well, you could''ve told them what you were doing. Then, they could''ve asked your dad to buy the gifts on their behalf too. So the blame is still on you."


    "Yeah! It''s all Alex''s fault!" Enid teased as she grabbed Alex''s hand and hugged it. "Ugh! Get off me! You guys all hate me!"


    Everyone laughed and started to placate her while I was still looking at her with a disappointed and accusing expression. "I will throw your books into the ocean!" Alex threatened as she saw my gaze.


    I clicked my tongue and said, "Don''t encourage pollution of the oceans Alex. Didn''t they teach us better than that at school? Mrs Henderson would be so disappointed."


    Alex was speechless, so she just stomped her feet and walked away angrily. I laughed and told Finneas, "Mr Boyfriend. Go and calm her down."


    "Why?" Finneas asked, confused.


    I looked at him with disbelief and said slowly, "Because...It''s your job?...You do know what a boyfriend''s job is, right?"


    "Ah..Shit!" Finneas rushed to follow Alex immediately. Jenna was intrigued and she asked while walking closer to me, "What is a boyfriend''s job exactly?"


    "If you wanna know, you need to get one." I replied playfully, dodging the question. Jenna widened her eyes in disbelief, nearly sighing, but caught herself just in time.


    "Jerk." Jenna muttered underneath her breath.


    "Hmm? What was that? Ah by the way, how did you do on your test?" I asked her casually.


    Jenna suddenly broke into a huge grin and said, "Remember when you told me that you would take me out on a date if I placed first in the grade?"


    I was taken aback for a bit and smiled anticipatingly, "Yeah. I remember. Why? Are you top of the class?"


    "Nope. But she''s close to getting there. Maybe she will get there in 10 years." Elsa suddenly chimed in as she walked past us.


    Bewildered, Jenna shoots an ''Are you serious'' look at her bestie. Elsa giggled and then returned to her boyfriend''s side. I patted Jenna''s shoulder and said comfortingly, "Tough luck. Try again next time."


    "HEY! Don''t look at me with pity! Get that expression away. Put it away!" She waved her hands angrily in front of my face. I held back my laughter and went to the couch to sit. Enid slid over next to Jenna and whispered before both of them giggled.


    "What are you guys laughing about?" Billie asked with curiosity.


    "We''re just talking. Maybe, we should go to Ed''s room." Jenna muttered slyly. I turned towards her in confusion, and then Enid continued, "So we can search for porn mags. His stuff is still in boxes, so we can find it easily."


    Billie blushed and she turned towards me before asking, "Did you keep...um... ''it''..I mean, read�C"


    I smiled and replied, "Why would I? You guys can go search if you want."


    "Let''s go!" Enid said excitedly and stood up while pulling Jenna and Billie to stand up too. The trio went to tour my house in excitement, even Elsa and Alex joined them later on.


    Finneas, Jacob and I were left behind in the living room. Jacob excitedly told me about the football team training, and Finneas was talking about a new song he had written.


    "You know, maybe I should just get homeschooled like you." Finneas muttered. Jacob turned towards him and scolded, "No you can''t! Ed had already, barely come to school nowadays. If you were homeschooled too, then I would really be alone next year."


    "But, you have the football team!" Finneas retorted.


    "Pfft- Why are you being so dramatic?" I laughed at Jacob. We talked and caught up for a while, and mainly both of them were unloading their aggrievance of their girlfriends on me. I looked at them with a sour face and asked irritatedly, "Are you guys bragging on me right now?"


    Both of them smiled teasingly and said, "Maybe."


    "Hey Ed." Selena suddenly walked into the living room and called out to me. Both of them froze in place, and I smirked seeing their reaction. I patted the empty seat next to mine and said, "Hi Selena. Sit here."


    "Um. I was wondering if I could talk to you in private." Selena said as she smiled at Jacob and Finneas for a second before turning back towards me.


    "Alright." I agreed and turned towards the boys. "Get lost."


    "Hey! You could just politely ask us to leave!" Finneas retorted and he hit my arm. I returned the hit, and we had a short skirmish there before both of them went to find the girls.


    Selena sat next to me, and she was close enough that her knees were touching mine. She placed her hand on my thigh and asked me worriedly, "Hey. You know Vanessa is a mess, right?"


    "I know." I nodded in agreement. Selena asked, "So? Are you really signing her with your agency? What about Taylor? Does she know about it?"


    "Hmm?" Sensing that there was something more behind her questioning, I asked, "What does Taylor have to do with this?"


    "I mean, I know what happened between you guys." Selena replied timidly. "Are you already moving on right now? With Vanessa?"


    While I was watching them, I suddenly heard a sneeze coming from behind me. Alex was holding the squirmish Vader in her hand and her face was becoming quite red because of it.


    I quickly took Vader away from her and said, "Why are you still holding her? You know you''re allergic."


    "She''s trying to get out of the house, and I don''t want her to run away." Alex replied while rubbing her sore nose. "Do you have your allergy meds?" I asked.


    "I forgot to bring them." She replied. "I think my mom has some in her purse."


    "Go get it then." I pointed to the direction of her mother. As I did that, I saw Haley getting admonished by Claire�C presumably from the fact that she had skipped school today, and her mother found out about it.


    "I''m not getting near that. Vader, hey- Wait�C where do you want to go�C" Vader was squirming in my arm, trying to get away, which surprised me since it was the first time she did that.


    She jumped from my arm and started running. I followed her quickly, and then I saw her pouncing a small white Raven perching on the bushes near the garage. She pushed the bird down on the ground with her soft paw, holding it in place to prevent it from flying away.


    The bird cawed nervously as it looked into my direction, as if asking me to save her. "Hmm? Wait..." I held Vader back with my right hand and picked up the bird with my other hand.


    The bird doesn''t even fly away after he is released from Vader''s grasp. It looked at me, and suddenly it talked. THE BIRD TALKED!


    "Tonight." The white raven told me before flying away. I was too stunned to react, and when I snapped back, it was already gone.


    "..."


    "..."


    "Meow?"


    "What the fuck!!" I exclaimed out loud, my voice reverberated all around.


    "What''s tonight?" I muttered after I calmed down a bit. Then, I remembered my deal with Gong Shin. "Ah, the signal." I exclaimed in relief after figuring it out.


    "The session will be held during a life or death related day. So what does October 27 have to do with that?" I muttered in confusion. "Is this another thing that has been erased from the world? I mean, even during Diwali last week there was no sign of the afterlife gacha session."


    I searched with Robin, and I didn''t see any celebrations for tomorrow that could be related to me. Then, I shrugged and threw the matter to the back of my mind and rejoined the party.


    ...


    The party didn''t go on for long as everyone started leaving around 8. Haley stood frustratedly in between her parents as Claire and Phil said their goodbyes to my dad. I walked towards them, making Haley''s eyes lit up.


    "Ed! Can you tell my parents that although I was skipping school today, it was for a good thing?" Haley requested.


    "Yeah Claire. Don''t be mad at her. She really was helping out." I said to the parents.


    Phil smiled proudly as he turned to Haley and exclaimed, "Aww."


    "I wasn''t mad at her for staying. I''m mad because she lied to me about going to school." Claire defended herself. I looked at Haley and shrugged, "I tried."


    "Ugh." Haley grunted while stomping her leg in frustration. She was grounded by her mother for three days as a punishment. I laughed and then she grabbed me and pulled me away from our parents for a while.


    "Hey! I can''t get grounded for 3 days. How am I going to plan the party if that happens?" She whispered to me.


    "What party?" I asked, confused.


    "The Halloween Party! Here!" She exclaimed in disbelief. I laughed and said, "I''m just messing with you. Well, there is a way for you to get out of it though."


    "What is it?" She asked with expectations.


    "I''m not going to tell you, for free." I replied teasingly.


    "AH!" She gasped playfully, "After all I have done for you?"


    "Alright I owe it to you anyway." I said before I walked towards Phil and Claire again. However, I turned to my dad and said, "Dad, do you remember our deal?"


    My dad, Ted thought for a second before he widened his eyes in shock, "Yeah. I remember."


    "What deal?" Phil asked with intrigue.


    I turned towards him and explained, "Oh, nothing much. The deal is that I will tell my dad when I am going to go into a deep sleep again. You know, so that he won''t panic and bring me to the hospital anymore. I really don''t want to be on the news again."


    Claire became flustered and hurriedly said, "Are you okay Ed? Are you hurting anywhere? Can we do anything for you?"


    "Well, I don''t really need anything, but my heart will be more at ease if...you know, you don''t ground Haley."


    Claire was taken aback, and Phil directly answered, "Don''t worry Ed. She won''t be grounded."


    "Phil!" Claire exclaimed in disbelief.


    And that''s how Haley managed to get out of her punishment. Also how I got into mine.


    Around midnight, I was lying down on my bed shirtless, with a few heart monitoring devices connected to my chest, and a brainwave machine scanning my head.


    "Is this really necessary?" I asked my dad in disbelief. "Dr Grey?" I turned to Dr Meredith Grey who was smiling wryly next to my dad.


    "It''s necessary. You do this once, and I will never get worried about this thing, ever again." My dad said.


    I sighed before getting comfortable on the bed. "Alright then. Goodnight Dad, Doctor."


    "Goodnight Ed." Dr Grey said before turning off the lights for me. I activated my [Rest] skill, and I fell asleep in less than 30 seconds.

 Chapter 230: Fifth Gacha!

    Chapter 230: Chapter 230: Fifth Gacha!


    [Edward POV]


    Standing in front of the empty receptionist desk, I picked up the file with my name on it from the table and eagerly opened it.


    Edward Newgate


    Affiliation: Senior Agent of the Afterlife Corps.


    Current status: Singer / Game Maker / Inventor / Apps Developer / Chef / Role Model / Government Precious Asset / Influencer / World Famous Celebrity / Caltech Aspirant / Scientist


    Positive Karma: 1.123 Billion (5 million in storage)


    Negative Karma: -52 Million.


    Supervisor Note: Born with a kind heart and a thirst for stories, Edward has the potential to enter Afterlife management after the death of his mortal body. �C Gong Shin


    "Wait. Senior Agent?" I brought the piece of paper closer to my face, bewildered by my new affiliation. "When did that happen?"


    As I read the notes, I realized that I was promoted because my positive gacha values had crossed the threshold of 1 billion karmic points.


    "1... Billion Karmas?" I froze as I read that line. "What in the actual (Bleep)?"


    My surprise was abruptly interrupted when I realized, "I can''t curse in here?" A mischievous smirk spread across my face as I decided to test the censorship. "(Bleep) you, mother (bleep), (bleep), (unintelligible dolphin sound), (sound of nature)--"


    I couldn''t help but burst into laughter, thoroughly amused. "That was awesome. They censored it based on the type of curse words."


    As no one was there to answer me, I turned to the next item of the file, which was a record of my talents and skills.


    "I can finally know what happened, or at the very least, I can know what I have integrated in me."


    "Sage mentioned before that I had done one session without me knowing about it. As I couldn''t remember when did that happen, it must be that I had done it when I was really young."


    With a slightly nervous heart, I started reading my character panel�C I mean, personal file.


    {Born With: Perfect Pitch Talent/ Musical Prodigy Talent}


    {Oth Gacha:}


    [Purple Quality Gacha �C ''Prodigy''s Fate �C Kousei Arima Talent �C Shredded]


    [Red Quality Gacha �C ''Elderly Lady Magnet'' Talent]


    [Purple Quality Gacha �C ''Joey Tribiani �C 3 Month Expiry Date for relationships'' Special Talent]


    [Red Quality Gacha �C ''Joey Tribiani �C Enjoy life by Never finding the one true love, or getting married'' Talent �C]


    [Gold Quality Gacha �C ''Radio Demon �C All around Vocal range'' Special Skills]


    [Negative Gacha�C Paranormal Activity Magnet] �CDestroyed by First Guardian.


    [Gold Quality Gacha�C Ryuichi Kashima (Gakuen Babysitter)- Special Gacha: Lucky Orphan.]


    {1st Gacha:}


    [Purple Quality Gacha �C ''Knowledge, Beth Harmon �C Chess'']


    [White Quality Gacha �C ''Leonard Hofstadter �C IQ + 30'' Talent ]


    [Purple Quality Gacha �C ''Memories �C Hiruma Yoichi �C Football Training'']


    [Red Quality Gacha �C ''Edna Mode �C Fashion'' Talent]


    [Gold Quality Gacha �C ''Mei Hatsume �C Machinery'' Special Ability]


    {2nd Gacha:}


    [Red Quality Gacha �C ''Yuri Katsuki �C Dance Talent]


    [Red Quality Gacha �C ''Noah Cutler (Dc Calculator) �C Skill �C Algorithm making'' Skill]


    [Red Quality Gacha �C ''Kim Seo Jun �C Skill �C Godly Massage Techniques'' Skill]


    [Gold Quality Gacha �C ''Vandaliu �C Special Ability �C Parallel thoughts (Multitasking ability)'' Special Ability ]


    [Gold Quality Gacha �C ''Mike Ross �C Special Ability �C Eidetic Memory'' Special Ability]


    {3rd Gacha:}


    [Red Quality Gacha �C ''Captain America �C Enhanced Digestive System'' Special Ability]


    [Top Gold Quality Gacha �C ''Yu Ilhan �C Rest'' Skill]


    [Purple Quality Gacha �C ''Kenji Harima �C Animal Affinity (School Rumble)'' Special Ability]


    [Gold Quality Gacha �C ''Barney Stintson �C Photogenic poses (HIMYM)'' Skill


    [Purple Quality Gacha �C ''Akira Hayama �C Spice Handling (Food War)'' Skill ]


    [White Quality Gacha �C ''Malcolm Reese �C Chef'' Talent]


    [Red Quality Gacha �C ''Xia Shiyu �C Business management (I have a Mansion in Post Apocalypse)'' Knowledge]


    [Gold Quality Gacha �C ''DC Chameleon �C Acting'' Skill]


    [Red Quality Gacha �C ''Batman �C Anti-recognizance'' Skill]


    [Gold Quality Gacha �C ''Lee Jin Woo �C Golden Ratio Body Proportion (The Novel''s Villain)'' Talent


    [Gold Quality Gacha �C ''Mermaid �C Soul Voice (The Little Mermaid)'' Special Ability]


    [White Quality Gacha �C ''IQ Increases by 20'' IQ Increase ]


    [White Quality Gacha �C ''IQ Increases by 10'' IQ Increase ]


    [Green Quality Gacha �C ''Kakashi �C Fashionably late'' Talent]


    [Green Quality Gacha �C ''Baby �C Driving (Baby Driver)'' Skill ]


    [Green Quality Gacha �C ''Sakamoto-kun �C Prank Proof'' Skill]


    [White Quality Gacha �C ''7 language proficiency (English, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Mongolian, Korean)'' Skill]


    [Purple Quality Gacha �C ''Sakamoto-kun �C ''Exactly on time'''' Special Ability]


    [Red Quality Gacha �C ''Bruce Wayne �C Trained Playboy Character/ Making a character'' Skill]


    [Gold Quality Gacha �C ''Lex Luthor �C Image Management'' Knowledge]


    [Green Quality Gacha �C ''Kai Ling �C School Level Education (Mass effect. Year 2170)'' Memory]


    [Purple Quality Gacha �C ''Kenichi �C Karate (First Year) (History Strongest Disciple)'' Skill]


    [Purple Quality Gacha �C ''Joey Tribiani �C 3 Month Expiry Date for relationships'' Special Talent]


    [Red Quality Gacha �C ''Joey Tribiani �C Enjoy life by Never finding the one true love, or getting married'' Talent ]


    "You know, a lot of people will enjoy that Talent." Knowing what I was watching out for, Mr Shin interrupted my focus.


    "I know I know." I said dismissively. "Not having any commitment and just living your life. But...it''s not what I want." I replied with a heavy sigh.


    Mr Shin nodded in understanding and then stood up. He walked to my side, patted my shoulder, and said, "Let''s go. I''ll lead you to the lottery room."


    "Lottery?" I muttered as I looked at him.


    Inside the empty room, there was a small Japanese lottery machine being set up. I just needed to pay the toll for using it, and rolled the device, the ball prize will come out through the hole.


    After minusing the negative karmas, I decided to roll 10 gachas today, and I used all 3 of my luck boost at the beginning. The first two didn''t get me the prize that I wanted.


    [Red Quality Gacha�C Dr Strange �C Medicine, Knowledge]


    [Red Quality Gacha�C Kuroo Hazama �C Emergency First Aid, Skill]


    "Come on. Let there be something that can help my dad''s kidney." I said as I rubbed my face in exhaustion before using the last luck boost and rolling the prize.


    A golden ball came out. I reached for it and read the inscription on the ball.


    [Gold Quality Gacha�C Nameless Alchemist �C 10 Alchemist Pill, Knowledge (Login 10,000 years into the future)]


    "Right now, I don''t even know if this is a good thing or not." I muttered to myself. The prizes would be integrated after I returned, so I didn''t know whether it would be helpful to me at the moment.


    I just rolled the other 5 gacha callously after that, and received a couple of interesting prizes.


    [Green Quality Gacha�C Jack Wilder �C Sleight of Hand, Skill (Now You See Me)]


    [Purple Quality Gacha�C Akira Hayama�C Curry Recipes, Knowledge]


    [Green Quality �C Khusugtun �C Tibetan Throat Singing, Skill]


    [Red Quality �C Wallace Corporation �C Holographic Technology, Knowledge (Blade Runner 2049)]


    [Gold Quality �C Shigure Kosaka �C Swordplay, Knowledge]


    "Oh it''s a pity. It''s only knowledge, not skill." I muttered. "Two more." I rolled the device again. A white ball came out as the prize.


    [White Quality �C Mash Burndead�C Body Building, Memory]


    "Mash? I think I know that guy." I rubbed my chin as I thought about it, but all I could imagine was something akin to a Harry Potter movie. The final roll came anti-climatically as I got;


    [White Quality �C Jose Hector �C Frieren: Beyond Journey''s End Season 1 Memory]


    "Oh, a show again? Nice." I muttered in excitement. But even when I was done, I didn''t receive any type of suction trying to pull me back to reality. Because my soul power was strengthened, I had more time here in the afterlife, therefore I was stuck there awkwardly.


    "Now what should I do?" I muttered as I scratched my cheek. With millions of Karmic points and a maximum value of 666 points per roll, I needed to roll thousands of times if I wanted to empty my points and return early.


    "How much longer?" I muttered as I just rolled the device for fun. A golden ball came out, and I was surprised by what I had accidentally gotten.


    "Huh?"


    [Gold Quality Special Consumables �C Protection Spell �C Serie (One time use)]


    "I got a magic spell? That was nice." I smiled as I decided to roll it again. I was surprised when I got another great gacha.


    [Black Gold Quality Gacha�C D Family, Talent �C Trafalgar Law]


    "HOLY (Nature noise)" I held the back of my head as I exclaimed out loud. "Does that mean I can have the D middle name too?"


    I squealed in excitement for a while before I calmed myself down. "Damn, I really am Edward D. Newgate now. It''s better than my true middle name tho. The one that I won''t tell to anyone. Ever. Who in their right mind would actually put Charmeine as their son''s middle name?!"


    As I was grumbling, my hand subconsciously rolled the lottery device again. I couldn''t help it, it was too fun to roll that thing.


    [Red Quality Special Consumables �C Protection Spell �C Fern (One time use)]


    "Another consumables?" I became alarmed. It was safe to say that consumables were extremely hard to get, but I received it twice in one session? It made me wonder if the luck boost I used before allocated these consumables for me instead of giving me something to cure my dad''s liver.


    I stopped myself from rolling the device again, and I muttered out loud, "I need to get out of here now. Or who knows how many more times I will ''accidentally'' roll this thing."


    Suddenly I heard Gong Shin''s voice in my mind, "If you want to go out, just say out loud that you want to end the session."


    "Ah. It was that easy." I muttered with disappointment to myself and then shouted to the room, "I want to end the session."


    I could finally feel the suction force pulling me back to the real world, but my mischievous mind wanted to know what would happen if I decided to roll the gacha again while the space was pushing me out.


    *Roll Roll Roll Roll Roll Special sound effect*


    A golden ball came out, and I could barely read it before I disappeared.


    ...


    [General POV]


    While Edward was in his suspended animation, Ted didn''t sleep and he looked closely at the heart monitoring machine, breathing in relief every time he saw a heartbeat line popping out on the screen.


    Dr Grey asked him, "Are you going to stare at him the entire night? We have already confirmed that he''s fine. You can go to sleep too."


    "No. I''ll keep watching." Ted replied while crossing his arms. Dr Grey let out a sigh before she took a seat right beside Edward. It took less than 2 hours before Edward''s heart rate returned to normal.


    "Ah. So he wasn''t lying." Ted exhaled deeply before sitting down right next to Edward. He smiled proudly as he looked at his son''s face. Dr Gray asked, "Should we wake him up?"


    "No. Let him continue sleeping. We can talk about it in the morning." Ted replied before turning to Dr Gray and said, "Thank you doctor. You can take your leave now."


    Meredith smiled and then as she read the charts, she looked up to Ted, and said, "If you feel like it, maybe we can go get some coffee?"


    Ted replied without looking at the doctor, "Nevermind, I just drank coffee before this."


    Disappointed, Meredith exclaimed, "Oh." Ted finally remembered something and took out his phone, "Right. I promised them."


    ...


    In the Dunphy''s house, Phil and Claire had stayed up late, waiting by their phone while sitting at the kitchen. Both of them were in their pajamas, and they had a worried look on their faces.


    "How long will it take? I''m too anxious to even sit down." Phil said as he walked back and forth near the dining table.


    "Ted promised us that he will text as soon as he wakes up." Claire replied as she pushed her glasses up and worked on her laptop, "In the meantime, I suggest that you''d find something to distract yourself with."


    "You''re something I can distract myself with." Phil stopped walking, looked intently at Claire, and flirted. "Should we go upstairs, and figure out some ways we can pass the time?" He said as he walked behind Claire and kissed her neck.


    "Aww Phil." Claire''s breathing became heavier, and she said, "We can''t do that now. What if the text comes while we''re upstairs."


    "You''re right." Phil muttered. Suddenly, the text came, surprising both of them. Claire picked up her phone quickly and she read the text, "He''s fine! Let''s go Phil!" She grabbed Phil''s arm as both of them ran to the bedroom.


    Haley, who was hiding and watching the whole thing, exclaimed in disgust, "Ew ew ew ew ew..." She shook her hands before stealthily walking into the kitchen and reading the text.


    She was finally relieved, and then she grumbled, "If he''s staying close by, I could just go over there right now. I really should get that driver''s licence soon."

 Chapter 231: Tree Network

    Chapter 231: Chapter 231: Tree Network


    (Sorry for the late chap. I''ve been feeling down and depressed after completing my Head-Patting In Marvel Fic that I couldn''t bring myself to do anything.)


    [Edward''s POV]


    It was 10 am, and I had been awake for a couple of hours. I found myself in the lab, engaged in the task of mixing chemicals and distilling them into a small liquor bottle. The resulting drink emitted a mesmerizing light blue glow, reminiscent of a serene lake.


    As I sealed the bottle with a cork, a sense of concern washed over me. "This is rather worrisome," I muttered to myself as I twirled the concoction in front of my eyes. "Perhaps it''s due to the substitutions I made in the ingredients."


    But I had no choice but to make those substitutions since none of the required components existed on Earth. Here''s the recipe I followed:


    Extract the juice from one bottle of Ol'' Janx Spirit.Pour into it a measure of water sourced from the seas of Santraginus V �� Ah, the Santraginean seawater! And those Santraginean fish!Allow three cubes of Arcturan Mega-gin to dissolve into the mixture (ensuring it''s properly iced to retain the benzene).Let four liters of Fallian marsh gas bubble through it, as a tribute to all the joyous hikers who met their end in the Marshes of Fallia.Gently float a measure of Qualactin Hypermint extract over the back of a silver spoon, capturing the intoxicating aromas of the enigmatic Qualactin Zones��subtle, sweet, and mystical.Drop in the tooth of an Algolian Suntiger and witness its dissolution, as it infuses the drink with the fiery essence of the Algolian Suns.Sprinkle Zamphuor.Finally, adorn the concoction with an olive.


    Thankfully, the last gacha I had gotten last night, which was the way to create a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster drink from the Hitchhiker''s Guide to the Galaxy, had the chemical compositions of the ingredients too. Some, which was almost impossible for me to get.


    I placed the drink into my black suit''s trouser pocket. I walked to the living room to get my double breasted black jacket, and left for the company in a hurry. Before I walked out the door, I muttered as I remembered something, "Oh, that''s right. Robin, Max is here today, so don''t come out. When I get back tonight, I will upgrade your projection."


    I called Max early in the morning to get the ingredients for me, mostly alcoholic drinks. She made me promise to give her the leftovers from my experiments, but too bad for her, the 2 big crates she brought over were all gone now and turned into small vials of drink. The drink couldn''t even be called the pan galactic gargle blaster anymore. "I think I''ll call the drink; Humans Essence."


    Robin said, her voice resonated in the living room, "I will allocate maintenance time for the upgrade." Then, she added, "Congratulations on creating your drink Sir. However, I need to remind you that you''re still underage, and it would be against the law for you to�C"


    "Robin, what did I tell you?" I asked with disbelief.


    Robin was silent for a while before she replied, "It''s not illegal if you do not get caught?"


    "Exactly. Also, I''m not drinking this, so you can put your mind at ease. It''s still untested. Maybe I''ll let Max become my lab rat."


    "Please adhere to the Nuremberg Code when you''re conducting human experimentations Sir." Robin replied.


    My face contorted weirdly, "That''s...Not what I meant. You still have a lot of things to learn Robin."


    "I''m sure I will finally get it one day as I''m learning under your tutelage Sir."


    I smiled and replied, "That''s right. Tell my dad I''m leaving too. Thank you Robin."


    Today I have a meeting with a representative from the military and the government for the communication network project. It would start in...around 10 minutes?


    As the car was approaching a traffic light, "Robin, can you make my way there smoother?" I talked to the AI as I wore a bluetooth earpiece.


    "On it Sir." Robin replied. The red light turned green immediately without my car even needing to stop, and it happened all the way until I reached the company. The half an hour journey was done in just 10 minutes with Robin''s help.


    As I arrived at the main entrance, the representatives were already gathered in the company corridor. I handed my key to the valet and strode confidently towards the group of important people, my hands open wide in a welcoming gesture. With a cheerful tone, I greeted them, "Welcome, everyone!"


    I proceeded to shake hands with the first distinguished guest, the Colonel. He was a serious-looking black man with a buzz cut, and a noticeable scar marked his nose bridge. His stern gaze met mine as he introduced himself, "Colonel James Hewlett, US military research and development. Today, I''m also the representative for the Department of Defense. "


    Next, I extended my hand to the other smiling woman who eagerly reached out first. She introduced herself as Senator Layla. Dressed impeccably in a professional pantsuit, her short black hair and caramel-colored skin radiate confidence and authority despite being over 50 years old. However, I noticed a slight tic in her eyes, hinting at a sense of insecurity or unease for today''s meeting.


    "Why don''t we first walk to the tower before we start our discussions. I''ll lead the way, Senator, Colonel." I walked with the duo while getting to know the both of them, smiling and laughing, trying to make them feel more at ease and to figure out the source of unease in the Senator.


    In the United States government, the department primarily responsible for overseeing and approving new telecommunication projects, including continent-wide network services, is the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).


    The FCC is an independent agency that regulates and supervises various aspects of the country''s communication systems. It supposedly plays a crucial role in ensuring the availability, accessibility, and fairness of telecommunications services across the United States.


    The FCC has the authority to grant licenses, allocate radio frequencies, enforce regulations, and make decisions regarding telecommunications policies. They review proposals and applications for new projects, evaluate their feasibility, and determine if they meet the legal and technical requirements. I needed to get the license first before I could proceed on my new business.


    As the department representatives walked towards the tower, they were taken aback by its appearance.


    "It looks... like a tree," Senator Layla exclaimed. "A metal tree!"


    With its silvery luster, the metal tree resembled a palm tree, its trunk spiraling upward. The leaves, in a mesmerizing display, moved gracefully as they received signals, creating an ethereal sight that seemed straight out of a fantasy film. Senator Layla stood in awe, her mouth agape, captivated by the view. Only when the cough of another senator broke the spell did she snap back to reality, her wide-eyed wonder giving way to the present moment.


    The Colonel had a different focus. "It''s quite small. That''s a positive point on my list." He was thinking about ways the tower could be hidden from the enemy, and how to protect it in case there was an attack or an act of terror in the country.


    "Yeah, it only has a diameter of 2.5 meters and a height of 10 meters," I added.


    Both of them turned towards me in confusion, which puzzled me. "Ah, right. Americans. The diameter is approximately 8.2 feet, and the height is around 32.8 feet," I explained. Only then did they nod in understanding. I offered a wry smile as I proceeded to explain a few aspects of the tower to them.


    "The receiver, resembling leaves, plays a crucial role in this tower. Hypothetically, a single tower has the potential to handle the immense load of communication traffic across this entire continent."


    "Not only that, but its signal strength and transmitter range could encompass the entirety of the American continent. However, envision this: if we were to construct seven of these towers strategically placed on every major continent, then... we could potentially forge a network that connects the entire world, without even needing to launch satellites into the sky."


    "Can we test it?" The Colonel interjected before I could finish my presentation. "Certainly," I replied with a bright smile. "Do you still have the SIM cards I provided?"


    The Colonel nodded affirmatively. "I do."


    "Then, by all means, let''s test it."


    The Colonel inserted the SIM card into a new phone and began making calls to his subordinates. I pointed to the cable next to the mainframe and suggested, "If you connect your phone here, we can all listen to the test."


    "It feels...great," she muttered, her breathing heavy. Judging by her personality and evident need for recognition, whether it came from the Colonel or myself, she had likely been pushed around quite a bit in the bureaucratic arena. Powers like the ones I''ve whispered, were intoxicating to her.


    Returning to my seat, I looked at the Colonel with a smile and said, "And Colonel James, the concerns that the DOD has, I don''t think they would be a problem if those issues had to be faced by other countries, not our own, right?"


    The Colonel nodded subtly, and just as suddenly, I crossed my legs, leaned back in my seat, and remarked, "So, for today''s meeting, rather than trying to stop me, if I were you, I''d figure out how you can get a piece of the pie, shouldn''t you?"


    Both of them widened their eyes as I chuckled and added, "I mean, the ''pros'' are enticing and all, but you guys don''t really have anything to do with the tech...unless you manage to convince me. That''s supposed to be the focus of your meeting today. So, ladies and gentlemen, shall we stop playing games and instead, discuss your offers?"


    ...


    As the meeting stretched on into the evening, the sun began its descent, casting long shadows in the room. While the final decisions had not yet been reached, I had already managed to siphon off over 2 billion dollars from the DOD as upfront payment, along with numerous special benefits from the government, including a substantial research grant for my company.


    Leaning back in my chair, I let out a heavy sigh and suggested, "Let''s continue the meeting next week, same day."


    Senator Layla removed her glasses and rubbed her temples wearily before agreeing, "Yes, we should."


    The Colonel nodded in assent and added, "If there are any drinks available, that would be greatly appreciated."


    "Oh, um, I can''t legally serve you, but I believe there''s some whiskey in Pepper''s drawer." I walked over to Pepper''s office desk and opened the drawer. "Nope. Only white champagne."


    Harvey, who had been by my side throughout the meeting, spoke up, "I have some." She returned from her office with three glasses and a bottle of whiskey.


    "Ed, you can''t drink," she playfully reminded me. I exclaimed in disappointment, "Aww."


    The Colonel looked puzzled for a moment before sighing heavily. "I forgot. You''re just a teenager. I cursed you a few times during this meeting for being a nightmare, but I forgot that you''re only the same age as my son."


    I smiled at Harvey and said, "If you guys like, I have something special here that will take the drink to another level."


    "Pfft, you''ve never even tried whiskey before," Harvey chuckled to herself


    Both senators snickered at my misery, which satisfied their inner resentment a bit from being thoroughly oppressed during the meeting before.


    Smiling mischievously, I pulled out a vial from my pocket and said, "I won''t say anything that could get me in trouble, but I''m not joking about this." I twirled the vial in front of Harvey, capturing her attention.


    "Oh, but it''s such a small amount," Harvey remarked. I opened the vial, instantly filling the room with intoxicating aromas. The Colonel even swallowed his saliva as he watched me drop a small amount of the solution into his whiskey-filled cup.


    "What is that?" he asked, curiosity piqued.


    "It''s just something I cooked up myself. Don''t worry, the solution doesn''t contain any dangerous chemicals or drugs."


    The trio didn''t hesitate for long before they raised their glasses, clinking them together in a toast. As the liquid touched their tongues, their eyes widened, and their bodies trembled with euphoria.


    "Ueughhh!! AHH~~~~ WOOOWWW!!" the Colonel exclaimed. Senator Layla held her head and let out a pleasurable exclamation, while Harvey emitted soft moans. The effects lasted only a fleeting five seconds before fading away.


    "That''s the best drink I''ve ever had in my entire life," the Colonel proclaimed. "What do you call these additives?"


    "I call it��"


    "Euphoria," Harvey interjected unconsciously. I looked at her and suddenly felt that my choice of name, "Human Essence," sounded rather lackluster and suspicious.


    "Yeah, I call it Euphoria," I replied, concealing my internal embarrassment.


    After the Senators left, I talked to Pepper and gave him the details of the meeting. He froze for a while, and asked with a shaky voice, "2 b-Billion?"


    "Yeah. DOD is hella rich. But, we still don''t have the money yet. Not until the sales agreement and joint cooperation are finalized." I added. "I''ll leave the other details to Harvey for her to explain it to you."


    Pepper was still blanking out, and then he said weakly, "D-Drive safe."


    I looked at him weirdly before waving goodbyes to everyone. As I arrived at the valet, a crowd of paparazzis snapped my photos, filling the sidewalk. Security members had to build a line around me to block them.


    "Edward! Did you move out of your house!?!"


    "Why are Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgen on your Live Stream?"


    "Who did you have a meeting with?"


    They shouted multiple questions into my direction. But I just smiled and waved before getting into my car and drove away.


    ...


    Back to my new home, as I was tinkering with Robin''s new body, Max incessantly badgered me about the drink. She got the information from Harvey, and left behind the hot date she had to get a taste of the drink.


    "No. You can''t drink it on its own." I replied non-committedly as Max whined.


    "Come on. A hot girl is begging to get drunk at your house, and you weren''t even trying to look in her direction." Max complained playfully.


    I took off my goggles and turned my head, "There I have looked in your direction now. My answer is still no."


    Harvey told me that she almost had an orgasm when drinking the mixture. She might be joking, but there was no way I was going to take the chance with Max, especially since we were left alone in the house tonight.

 Chapter 232: Cream Puff.

    Chapter 232: Chapter 232: Cream Puff.


    (Sorry I have a fever)


    [Edward POV]


    I woke up around 4 am after opening the memory I had gotten, the Mash Burnedead bodybuilding memory. I stare blankly at the ceiling for a while before I muttered in Japanese, "Asa okitara shukurimu wo tabetai (When I wake up in the morning, I want to eat a cream puff.)"


    The upgraded Robin appeared next to my bed while squatting, looking at me intimately and affectionately as she placed her hand under her chin. "Good Morning Ed." She said cutely as she tilted her head to the side.


    However, all of the charm that Robin had learned was useless at the moment. I turned slowly with a blank face. Robin asked cheerily, "Would you like me to order you a cream puff right now."


    "Hai (Yes!)" I replied in Japanese again before rubbing my sore forehead. As Robin walked away with a spring in her steps, I sat up from the bed and took off my pajamas.


    "Damn it. Why is that guy''s memory is only lifting weights, eating cream puffs, making cream puffs, surveying cream puffs, trying to make a cream puff protein powder. Who is even that guy? And why am I hearing a song in my head? Bling Bang Bang Born?" I muttered as I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and combed my hair into a mushroom head hairstyle at the same time.


    "Should I eat the cream puff first, or should I go to the gym first?" I muttered to myself. My body reacted and I instinctively walked to the gym. I wore a black skin tight suit, and a white short to cover up the indecent area, and started working out.


    "Robin, can you please record this? I want to get the message out there."


    "Sure Eddy~" Robin answered before she manifested a camera in her hand. The real work was done by the camera in her holographic projection, which could record a 4k video of the surroundings.


    I sat on the push up bench seriously with my hands interlocked together in front of my face.


    "Do you know why human beings have arms?" I asked seriously while I played a violin sound in the background.


    "It''s so that they can hold dumbells." Robin slowly zoomed the camera closer to my face and body as I sent out my message.


    "Do you know why human beings have legs?"


    "It''s so we can deadlift barbells."


    "Do you know why human beings have a brain?"


    "It''s so that we can calculate how many reps we did when we''re lifting weights."


    "Do you know why human beings have a heart?"


    "It''s so we can pump blood into our muscles...to LIFT EVEN MORE WEIGHTS!"


    "MUSCLE IS POWER!" I flexed my biceps to the camera seriously. Then, I told Robin, "Post it to my social media Thank you RB."


    "Okay. I will." Robin nodded seriously. I walked to the push up ladder, where I jumped upwards to grab the pull up bar. As I raised myself up on the bar, I needed to push the bar into another level�C like a ladder. Sweat was dripping on my chin as I did it, but my face remained expressionless.


    Robin included that footage into the video before she posted it on my Instagram on my behalf. Then, I finally snapped out of the memory remnants, "Huh? What did I just do?"


    I thought about it, and figured that it wouldn''t be harmful to my image, so I just forgot about them and continued working out. The black tight was drenched after I did a full 2 hour high level strenuous workout routine before drinking the protein powder.


    "I should really make a cream puff flavoured protein powder, just as a tribute to that guy." I muttered as I gulped down the big bottle of protein shake greedily.


    After taking a shower, and putting some bandage on my muscles underneath, I asked, "Robin, did you get any of the ingredients I wanted?"


    Robin replied as she pointed to the small wooden box next to my bed, " It''s hard to collect them all. Some of them have still not been found yet. But your staff members are working hard to get them all."


    "Alright. Let''s see. Hmm, a muscle soreness relieving pill would be great for me." I muttered to myself. In the previous gacha, I had received 10 ordinary pills from a nameless alchemist. I have to say, it was honestly the best prize I had gotten in yesterday''s draw.


    It took me half an hour to prepare the muscle soreness pills, and I took it instantly after that. All of the soreness from my excessive workouts this morning dissipated away, and I become more energetic now.


    "I''m going to school today," I told my dad as I walked into the kitchen. I was dressed casually in a black long-sleeve shirt, jeans, and sneakers.


    I glanced at my dad, who seemed absorbed in a newspaper, as I grabbed some bread to make myself a breakfast sandwich. I couldn''t resist teasing him, "Why are you doing the crossword? Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed?"


    "Oh, Ed. Do you want me to drop you off?" My dad finally responded, his eyes glued to the newspaper. He let out a sigh and admitted, "Frankie mentioned that she does crossword puzzles a lot. I tried to impress her by saying I did them too, but now I''m regretting it."


    "Okay, I get it," I nodded understandingly. We all want to impress our partners with shared interests or activities. This made me feel a bit jealous of my dad as he got to enjoy this. But, I still offered my help.


    "Give me one you''re struggling with." I said as I served my breakfast on a plate and walked to the table, sitting in front of him.


    "25 across. Capital whose name means ''sheltered bay''," my dad asked eagerly.


    "Honolulu," I promptly replied as I cracked an egg into the pan.


    He checked the crossword with a serious expression and grinned, "It fits."


    "Give me a tougher one," I challenged with a hint of smugness.


    "Alright, 46 Across. Los Angeles fossil site. Six letters," my dad asked.


    "LA BREA," I answered after contemplating for a few seconds.


    "That fits as well. But that''s it. I have to do the rest myself. Otherwise, it''s cheating," my dad apologised.


    I rolled my eyes at him and retorted, "You''ve already cheated twice."


    Just then, Max walked in groggily and was shocked when she heard my statement. "Ted. For real? I never took you for a guy who would cheat. Poor Frankie�C"


    "You want to see me Principal Brown?" Amanda asked before she widened her eyes as she saw me. "Ed-uard�Co"


    "Eduardo?" I asked teasingly, knowing that she had messed up her pronunciation.


    Amanda blushed in embarrassment and called out while waving shyly at me, "Edward Newgate."


    "Right, Edward, I figured out what to do with you. Why don''t you go and help Amanda paste these flyers for the school''s dance on the bulletin boards?" Principal Brown suddenly spoke.


    "Took you long enough." I retorted with disbelief.


    ...


    Amanda and I went to the cafeteria to post the flyers on the bulletin board there. "So...I hear you''re throwing a party this Sunday?" Amanda asked, she kept avoiding her eyes from looking directly towards me, as if I was the sun during an eclipse.


    "I don''t know yet. I might be." I replied ambiguously as I stapled the paper on the board.


    "You know, last time I threw a party, only...3 people were there..." Amanda said pitifully. She tried hinting at me, "I''m-I''m sure that you already have enough people already�C"


    "Aren''t you the student council president? Shouldn''t you be famous? Why did no one come to the party?" I asked with bewilderment. "Unless you were throwing a swingers party�C In which, I could argue that more than 3 people still need to be there, cause you need even numbers and at least 2 couples."


    "I didn''t throw a swingers party. I threw the party and then Rebecca Johnson threw her 17th birthday party at the same time! So no one came to my party!" Amanda muttered aggrievedly, showing her dissatisfaction with her entire body.


    I chuckled a bit and said, "Ah, so, lack of planning then. Are you even sure you''re asian?"


    She rolled her eyes at me and pouted, "If you don''t want to invite me, that''s fine! You don''t need to make fun of me too!"


    "Oh no-no, I''ll be sure to invite you, if the party is on." I replied with a chuckle.


    "Finally! It''s my last chance to become hip! And cool! And laid back! I need to show everyone else the fun side of me before I graduate!" She said as she wrote her number on a small notepad and ripped the page off before giving it to me.


    "Who are you going as for Halloween?" I asked curiously.


    "Ruth Bader Ginsburg." Amanda replied excitedly. "What?" She asked as she saw I was looking at her weirdly.


    "And you want everyone else to think that you''re fun?"


    After biding my time in the slammer, I went back to the classroom, and went on with my day at school as usual. I stayed behind after school ended to join in the football practice, and hang out with my friends at a family restaurant nearby.


    The couples were sitting next to each other at the edge of the table while Jenna and Enid sat right next to me at the centre.


    Jacob slathers his french fries with ice creams before eating it. Jenna looked at him with disgust before she turned to me and asked, "Ed, are you going to come again tomorrow?"


    "No. I have to go to a film set. Wanna come with? It is a Disney set, so there''s a high chance of you getting molested, but you''ll be safe if you stay close to me."


    Jenna rolled her eyes with disgust and said, "I''m not going!"


    "I''ll GO!" Enid said excitedly. "I''ll risk it�C"


    I flicked her forehead and scolded, "Don''t willingly take that stupid risk."


    "What''s the filming for?" Finneas asked. Billie wasn''t around today as she had a slight fever.


    "Wizards of Waverly Place." I replied as I opened my mouth because Enid was feeding me some fries.


    "Oh. Selena. Are you going to date her next after dumping her best friend?" Alex asked sarcastically.


    I rolled my eyes and said, "I don''t think I''ll date anyone for the foreseeable future."


    "Why not?" Jacob asked.


    I shrugged as an answer. Abraham suddenly changed the topic, "You know what will be pretty funny? You show everyone that you''re going to wear a Batman outfit, and then you wear Superman''s clothes during Halloween."


    I was seriously considering that suggestion when Enid exclaimed nervously, "NO! I have already bought a catwoman''s outfit! It''s very very hard to find too! Don''t change your outfit now! Screw you Abracadabra!"


    "Hey! Screw you too!" Abraham and Enid started arguing. I looked at the time, and saw that it was almost 6 o''clock. "I have to go now. Who''s coming home with me? Enid and Finneas right?"


    "What about me?" Jacob asked pitifully.


    Elsa rolled her eyes and said, "You said that you''re going home with me! We''re catching a ride with Jenna.


    Jenna asked me, "Ed, can we change passengers? Everytime this dumb couple catches a ride with my mom, they will make out in the backseat."


    I nodded as I glared at the duo, "They are just like Alex and Finneas. The two of them can''t be stuck together too."


    "Hey that''s Slander! We kissed once!" Alex retorted.


    I looked at Finneas teasingly and he shyly showed two fingers.


    "Twice! You dog!" I teased him.


    As I was driving home, I called Haley. "Hey, you know what? You win. The party''s on."


    "YES!" Haley exclaimed excitedly. "I''ll handle everything! You don''t need to worry about anything!"

 Chapter 233: Frustrated.

    Chapter 233: Chapter 233: Frustrated.


    [Edward POV]


    *Ring Ring Ring*


    In the living room, I set up my laptop on top of the coffee table while I sat on the couch, reading Percy Jackson and the Olympian Book 1 �C The Lightning Thief, and I called someone.


    *Bling* The person on the other side picked up the Skype call.


    "Hi." Alex answered lazily as she propped her head with one hand. She was using the family laptop in the living room to do her homework.


    "Have you read the books?" I asked her while showing the Percy Jackson books to the screen.


    "I haven''t finished it yet." She replied with slight interest. "Why, is the ending good?-"


    "You''re useless then. Goodbye." I said as I cut the call.


    "HEY! THAT''S RUDE! �C" She protested.


    Then, I dialed another number, which was the only experimental physicist that I knew who liked to read. Well the only one I liked to talk to at least. Leonard answered it while holding a pizza slice in his hand, "Hello?"


    "Pizza night?" I asked.


    "Yeah, wanna join us?" He asked with a smile. I saw Sheldon sitting on his usual spot, and I said playfully, "I''ll come if you''ll let me sit where Sheldon''s sitting right now."


    "Then you''re in for a disappointment, because I''ll never give up my spot to a teenage pop star with attitude issues." Sheldon retorted from afar.


    "The only person here who has issues is you..." I snarked back, and then I realised. "Wait. All of you guys there have issues." I nodded pitifully, which made Howard and Raj burst out in anger, "We don''t have issues! We''re normal."


    "Really? One is too horny, one has selective mutism. Also, have you forgotten about the latent homosexual feelings you guys have towards one another? That can actually be easily seen... plain as day as a matter of fact."


    Leonard turned to his friend and looked at them with disbelief, while trying to figure out how he had never seen that before. Sheldon also did the same thing, but he was just curious on whether that was true.


    Both of them spat out their food. Howard said defensively, "We don''t have latent homosexual feelings towards one another?!"


    "Yeah, tell him Howard!" Rajesh shouted.


    "I see." I said, but my face still showed that I wasn''t believing them.


    "I swear to god! I''m a ladies man! I''m not gay!" Howard said while walking towards the laptop, bringing his face closer to the screen, slowly becoming unhinged.


    "Hey Guys! I thought I smelled pizza." Penny opened the door and entered the apartment.


    "If you don''t believe me, then I''ll prove it to you!" Howard whispered before he resolutely walked to Penny.


    Penny looked at him with disdain and said coldly, "What?" She was clenching her fist too, ready to strike him the moment he crossed the line.


    "Nevermind." Howard shirked back and returned to his seat. Leonard laughed out loud, which made Penny ask, "Why are you so happy�C Wait, Hi Edward!"


    "Hi Penny." I greeted casually. She was bending down to greet me, and was wearing a low cleavage shirt, so I could peek into her dress. "Did Leonard call you? What did he make you do? Settle a bet?" She asked.


    Leonard chuckled and said, "He''s the one who called, just to make us realise that Howard and Raj may have latent homosexual feelings for one another."


    "Stop talking about it!" Howard shouted begrudgingly. Rajesh tried to whisper in his ears as he couldn''t say anything with a woman present, which made Howard get startled and said, "You whispering in my ear is not helping our case right now."


    "Ohh. You know what? I had a hunch about that when I saw the way they were dressed." Penny joined in.


    Howard exploded, and he stormed off the apartment with Leonard laughing at him. He only did it for a few seconds before coming back in. "I still haven''t finished my dinner yet." He muttered pitifully.


    Rajesh in the meantime managed to blurt out, but only towards Sheldon, "What''s wrong with the way I''m dressed!?"


    "Penny, as much as I love to see what''s under your shirt, can I talk to Leonard? I can call you back next time for us to continue this lovely interaction." I said as Penny kept hogging the camera.


    "Ah!" Penny burst into laughter and covered up her cleavage. "I didn''t realise that. Also, we''re not continuing anything." She said playfully.


    Leonard and Howard realised it based on the angles, and muttered begrudgingly, "You ungrateful bastard."


    I ignored them and asked, "Which one of you has read the Percy Jackson books before?"


    They looked at each other to see if anyone was raising their hands up, but none did.


    "Damn it. Aren''t you guys like nerds? Why haven''t any of you read the books? Especially you Shelly Cooper. I''m so disappointed in you." I said angrily.


    Sheldon was confused as to why I was berating him, and he corrected me, "First of all. I''m Dr Sheldon Cooper. Only my mother can call me Shelly. Secondly, the target audience for the books is teenagers. I''m already an adult."


    I looked at him with disbelief and asked, "Seriously? Now take a close look around your apartment, and then say that again."


    Penny laughed out loud and said, "Oh my god, you guys are the target audience."


    Howard teased Sheldon, "And the book is in your wishlist. You just haven''t gotten the time to find it yet."


    "Sorry Ed. Looks like we can''t help you with your problem. What is it you want to ask anyway?" Leonard asked apologetically.


    "Well I want to ask about the current adaptation of the book into a movie, and I can''t really do it without spoiling you about the storyline."


    "Wait. They are making it into a movie?" Howard asked curiously.


    "It''s still in progress. 20th Century Fox hasn''t officially begun yet. I really want to discuss the adaptation with someone, but so far, none of the people I know have read the books," I explained.


    "Oh, umm... Why don''t you call us back tomorrow? I promise I''ll go and buy the books tonight. We can discuss it tomorrow. I think I can finish one of the books in a day," Leonard suggested.


    "Me too," Sheldon chimed in.


    "I don''t think I''ll have time tomorrow. I have to go to a film set," I replied, feeling disappointed. Just then, I received a call from Alex.


    Haley widened her eyes with disbelief and she asked worriedly, "Why are you being so weird? Did I do something wrong?"


    "Nothing. You haven''t done anything." I placated her nervously before I let out a heavy sigh.


    "Alright. I have a question for you. Let''s say that, you could date anyone you want in the world�C"


    "I like where this is going." She interjected. "Sorry. Go on."


    I smiled wryly and added, "But, no matter what you do, you''ll break up with them after 3 months. That includes, even if you guys were in love with each other."


    "Is this for a new movie your company is going to make?" Haley was confused, "If they fall in love with each other, then why did they break up?"


    "Let''s just say, the guy has a curse on him, and he can''t ever be with anyone. All of his relationships will end badly. It is for a movie, so just humour me for a second."


    "Hmm...." Haley mulled over the situation for a while before she asked, "In that movie, does the guy who gets into the relationship knows that it''s going to end badly?"


    "He doesn''t know, at the beginning. But, he finds out." I replied.


    "Finds out?" Haley asked, puzzled.


    "I mean, after the first few relationships that had crashed and burned." I explained.


    "Hmm..." Smoke almost came out of her ears as she thought about the situation. "I give up. Why don''t you ask Uncle Mitch and Uncle Cam? They usually have unusually strong opinions about a love story. I''ll add them to the call."


    "Wait, you don''t have to do that�C" I tried to stop her, but the call was already connected.


    "Hello? Haley, Edward? What are you guys doing? Date night?" Cameron giggled as he teased, his face was a bit red because he went on a night out with Sal just before.


    "Uncle Cam. Where''s Uncle Mitch?" Haley asked.


    "You guys are drunk." I said.


    "I drank a little bit. But Mitch didn''t because he needed to drive home. We alternate who gets to drink when we are on a night out." Cam explained before he called his life partner. Mitchell appeared on the screen and said, "Shush! Talk slowly. Lily has just fallen asleep."


    "Ed has a question about his new movie." Haley whispered, " The main character�C is a guy that has a curse on him, that will make him break up with everyone after 3 dating for months. Even if they had fallen in love with one another."


    "Oh, that sounds interesting." Mitchell said as he looked into my screen. Cam thought seriously and said, "It''s alright. It''s not really at a great movie level...but you can watch that to pass the time. I''m sorry. What''s the question again?"


    "The question is, if you could date anyone in the world, but you knew that you were going to end up hurting them after 3 months, would you still do it?" Haley asked.


    Mitchell looked at me and asked, "So...the guy knows about it?"


    Haley interjected, "He didn''t know at the beginning for the first few relationships. Or maybe, the movie could start after the relationship had already ended before he figured out that he had the curse."


    "I''m sorry. Why are you adding so many details to the story?" I looked at Haley with disbelief. She shrugged playfully and said, "It''s kinda fun to think about."


    She was immersed into the storyline, and so was Mitchell.


    Mitchell said, "So, he...knew? Huh. And right now, he likes a girl, and he can''t do anything because he knows that he''s going to hurt her?"


    Cam added, fully immersed now, "But, if he doesn''t do anything. He''s going to lose her."


    "And if they knew each other before they were dating, and she''s already in love with her, she''s going to be hurt either way." Mitchell said excitedly. "Oh my god, the potential drama in this. Um..."


    Haley chimed in, "Wait. He''s going to hurt her no matter what? Then, isn''t this a cruel movie?"


    Cam said, "That''s what makes it a great romance! The ethical conundrum in this- What does the guy actually do? He loves her, but he can''t be with her. The world is cruel on him, but if he actually did date her, he''s the one being cruel."


    "Oh my god Cam. I feel like crying." Mitchell said as he held back his tears. "I can totally see Ryan Gosling holding back his tears as he sees that the girl will be happier with someone else."


    "Now you are making me wanna cry." Haley said as tears pooled in her eyes too.


    Cam said, "The movie should be called ''Love Countdown''. Oh I got goosebumps now."


    "Ed. What do you think?" Haley turned towards me, and was shocked when she saw my despondent expression. Even my face was a bit pale.


    I tried to smile and said, "Um...I still don''t know if we''re going to make the movie yet. I do love to talk more, but I have to wake up early to go to the film set tomorrow. Goodnight everyone."


    I said as I cut the call without even hearing their response. Then, my head dropped into the desk and I let out a huge groan. "Uuughhrhh."


    ...


    [General POV]


    After Edward left the call, Haley and her guncles looked blankly at each other.


    "What''s wrong with him?" Cam asked with ignorance.


    Mitchell shrugged and said, "It is quite late. Maybe he has a really early filming for tomorrow. Haley, you''re okay?"


    Haley snapped out of her thoughts and muttered worriedly, "Did he look okay to you? It seemed that whatever we were talking about, really spooked him out."


    "Wait! I got it!" Cam suddenly shouted. "SHHH!!" Mitchell shushed him greatly as he was worried that the noise would wake Lily up.


    "Sorry." Cam whispered again. "Maybe he''s immersing himself in the story as part of his method acting. He might be, playing the main role in this himself."


    "Oh, I would really like it if he became the main character. I wanna see him act on the big screen. I always knew he was a great actor. He''s just...great." Mitchell supported Cam''s theory.


    "You know what we should do? We should call Pepper. He will know more about it." Cam said.


    Haley fell for her uncle''s theory and said, "Oh, he''s playing this himself. That might explain why he looked like that."


    Later that night, Mitch and Cam called Pepper to ask him about the movie. Pepper was confused at first, and then fell in love with the movie idea, and immediately called the screenwriters in the company to see if they had a movie like that.


    Without Edward knowing about it, the gears for the movie production were already turning, and he had missed the opportunity to stop it.

 Chapter 234: Wizards of Waverly Place (1)

    Chapter 234: Chapter 234: Wizards of Waverly Place (1)


    [Edward POV]


    With my head resting heavily on the table, I heard the sound of approaching footsteps. My cheeks were a bit flushed.


    I turned my gaze towards the source and saw Max striding in, a bottle of Yoo-Hoo chocolate drink in her hand. I couldn''t help but be surprised. "You drink Yoo-Hoo? Isn''t that for kids?" I asked in surprise, raising an eyebrow.


    A mischievous smile played on Max''s face as she handed me the drink. "That''s why I''m bringing it to you," she replied. I scowled and scolded,"Get that watery sludge! Out of my face."


    Max raised her hands in a placating manner, trying to disarm the tension. "Sorry, I was just messing with you," she said, her tone lightening.


    Rolling my eyes, I raised my head and turned towards her, opening a new bottle of wine and taking a long swig straight from the bottle.


    "I thought you were crashing at Maggie''s place?" I asked casually.


    "I was, until she started snoring. Wait, should I stop this?" Max questioned, her eyes flitting to the drinks in my hand. Understandable reactions since I was just a teenager, but since she also had similar experiences doing this at my age, she was unsure how to react.


    "It''s already my third bottle," I replied honestly. She seemed taken aback for a moment before chuckling, knowing that it was already too late for her to interject.


    "Do you want to look for an apartment of your own?" I asked, changing the subject. "Or you can just get one of the beds here in my house. I have a lot of rooms."


    Max''s eyes sparkled, but she was also hesitating. "You know what, that''s what I wanted to talk to you about tonight." She said, avoiding my eyes. "And since it''s useless for me to stop you now, let me have some so that I can catch the buzz too and reduce your crime," she teased, snatching the bottle from my hand and taking a swig.


    "Please don''t tell me you''re going back to New York," I asked irritatedly, a hint of exasperation creeping into my voice. I could already sense where the conversation was heading.


    "Hey, see! I thought I needed to start the conversation awkwardly, but you already did that for me," Max laughed mischievously.


    "Why? Don''t you like it here?" I asked with some frustration.


    "Oh no! California is so nice. The sun, the people. I love it here. But it''s not where I belong. I belong in New York City, where everyone is mean to each other and the streets smell like piss," she replied sarcastically, although I sensed a hint of sadness hidden beneath her words.


    "What about your job?" I asked, trying to understand her perspective.


    "What job? I haven''t worked at all while I''m here! It feels like a vacation... and taking advantage of you guys. Well, usually I don''t have a conscience to tell me that, but... hmm... you guys are really warm and kind... It started working again after over a decade." She masked her feelings by speaking playfully, but it was the truth of how she felt.


    " I thought I had killed it, but it turns out it was just hiding in the dark corner of my mind," Max snarked sarcastically.


    She proceeded to drain the wine bottle until only a third was left. I quickly snatched it from her hand and took a swig myself. "Nah, Max. You were always nice. You may seem mean, but you''re really kind," I praised, my voice sincere. "Alcoholic, but kind." I said as I twirled the bottle with dissatisfaction.


    "Stop it," she playfully urged, a hint of a blush colouring her cheeks.


    I looked at her intently and asked, "Can you not go?"


    Max hesitated, her expression conflicted. After some thinking, she said, "I have people in New York who are important to me. I need to go back."


    "Well, I can arrange for them to move to LA too," I suggested, aware of Max''s concern for Earl, the elderly African American cashier who had become a father figure to her. It was understandable that she felt the need to return.


    "Why are you so afraid of me going back there? Do you think I''m going to abandon you and not contact you or anything? I''ll still send you memes about unlikely animal friendships," Max asked playfully, trying to reassure me.


    "I''m sorry. I just don''t have a great track record of people saying that and meaning it. Especially right now, when I realise that there is something seriously wrong with me," I confessed, my words slurred by intoxication.


    "What''s wrong with you?" Max questioned, her confusion evident.


    Maybe it was because I knew that Max would protect my secret with her life, or maybe it was the drinks, I felt it was easy to talk to her about this.


    "I don''t even know how to explain this. Basically, I won''t find anyone in this life. And even if I did, I wouldn''t be able to keep them with me for more than three months," I vented, my frustrations pouring out. I pulled out the Euphoria drips from my pocket, and started dripping it into the bottle of wine.


    "Big fucking deal. You know what''s the longest relationship I''ve had? It was one month in junior high, and the guy didn''t even know we were dating for most of it. Trust me, if he knew, we would''ve gone beyond second base," Max shared, her voice laced with a touch of humour.


    "Wasn''t that a certainty with every guy you''ve dated?" I playfully teased.


    "The point is, people like me, we''re the ones who won''t find anyone. You''re an awesome kid, you know that? So what if those past few relationships didn''t work out? I''m sure you''ll find someone who gets you soon," Max encouraged, her words filled with support. "And one day when you become an adult, I will surely remember this and use this conversation today to make fun of you." She cackled.


    "Max, I think you misunderstood. I mean, I can''t date someone for longer than three months. It''s like a... A gypsy curse. When it hits the three-month mark, we''re over," I explained, revealing the source of my pessimism.


    "That''s ridiculous, you know that?" Max responded, her disbelief apparent. "Or are you just too drunk?" She asked while looking at me up and down.


    "But it''s true," I insisted, feeling trapped by my supposed curse.


    "I''m not saying I believe in this, but if you really are, as you say, ''cursed,'' then what''s wrong with having only three months together?" Max reasoned.


    "If I get involved with someone knowing that I''ll break up with them in three months, wouldn''t that be cruel?" I questioned, my moral dilemma weighing heavily on me, especially after the conversation with Mitch and Cam.


    "Will you treat them badly? Will you be abusive?" Max countered, her voice firm.


    "No," I replied, realising that I had no intention of causing harm.


    "Then, I don''t think there''s a problem at all. Let''s say... the curse, or whatever you want to call it, strikes after three months, right?" Max proposed, trying to find a solution.


    "I think so," I confirmed, intrigued by her line of thinking.


    "So, here''s what you do. You date them, and you date them hard! You give them the best memories they''ll ever have. Then, just before the three-month mark, you break up with them," Max suggested, her tone filled with determination.


    "That''s what I''m trying to avoid," I protested.


    "No, I''m not finished yet," Max interrupted. "After the breakup, the countdown will reset. Then you can date them again, or ask them to take you back, and do the same thing when you''re nearing the three-month mark. Well, it''s not like you''re trying to settle down right now, right? You can deal with the curse when you''re a bit older."


    "Hmm?" I was taken aback when I heard Max''s suggestion, my drunken state possibly contributing to its sudden logic. However as I was mulling the suggestion, her eyes sparkled as she noticed the Euphoria bottle in my hand.


    "Wait, is that...?" She slowly moved closer to me with excitement.


    "You can''t taste it. This is only for the people who want to stay here," I teased, a mischievous grin on my face as I hid the bottle on my grip.


    "Oh, come on!" Max exclaimed in frustration.


    I laughed and took a swig of the wine mixed with Euphoria solution, feeling the intoxicating, otherworldly pleasure coursing through my body. The enhancement in my digestive system dampened the intensity of the reaction, but it still surpassed any liquor I had consumed before. It was so enjoyable that I accidentally put down the bottle on the desk.


    While I was drinking, Max lunged for the Euphoria bottle on the table. "Wait! Not straight from it!" I tried to stop her by grabbing her hand, but it only resulted in her falling on top of me. Defiantly, Max managed to take a sip of the highly concentrated drink before I could retrieve it, swallowing a gulp.


    "Max..." I began, concerned for her well-being. However, she turned and sat facing me on the chair, overpowering me with her entire body. Flabbergasted, I tried to get her off, but I was late. The sensory overload caused her to moan loudly, her breath tickling my neck.


    "Ah~ AHHH~ ED~~ IT WON''T STOP COMING~~!" she moaned, her body trembling against mine, her soft parts pressing against me. Her actions aroused me, and her legs quivered as she collapsed onto me.


    "AHhhh~" she continued to moan, biting down on my collar. Thankfully, the effects of the Euphoria didn''t last long. Max snapped back to reality, but she was still breathing heavily and hadn''t fully regained her senses.


    "Oh my god. That''s the best thing I''ve ever had," she said with an unconscious seductive tone, gripping my shirt at the chest. Suddenly, she felt a hardness rising against her thigh, and our eyes locked in a moment of shared surprise.


    Both of us hastily jumped out of the chair, but I had to sit back down...you already know why.


    "Um, Max, I think it''s a good idea for you to go back to New York... tonight," I said flatly as I tried to brush off what just happened.


    "Yeah, I will go back to New York. And I won''t be speaking with you for the next two to three business weeks," Max muttered apologetically as she couldn''t meet my eyes.


    "Understandable," I replied, acknowledging her decision as the most logical one.


    "Yes. Definitely." I said before joining the boys to chat while eating lunch together.


    ...


    A short explanation on the episode, by Edward Newgate;


    The 3 Monster episode began with Justin, who was studying Monster Hunting independently after completing his basic wizard courses. He unintentionally caused chaos in Waverly Place by scanning three level 6 monsters in the area.


    Unfortunately, he forgot that his girlfriend, Juliet, and her parents were vampires. In the midst of fear and confusion, he reported her to the monster hunter department, and could potentially take her to monster jail.


    Juliet, played by Bridgit Mendler, got scared of the monster hunters and ran away in the middle of the story. To cover up the incident, they improvised by presenting three "monsters": a Frankenstein monster created by Justin in the earlier episode, a trash robot also made by Justin, and a watermelon.


    The watermelon part was just the whim of the monster hunter that was trying to help Justin. They thought Justin concocted the story to impress the monster hunters as he is their intern and pretended that the watermelon was the last monster to save face.


    "Ready! Action!" the director called out once the actors were prepared.


    After the monster hunters left, Alex and Justin argued about who should inform Juliet that the incident was over. Alex, being friends with Juliet, annoyed Justin.


    In the final scene, where they hurriedly left the restaurant to find Juliet, I entered the picture as the new character, Jeremy Van Helsing.


    (A/N: There are laugh tracks in the show, so I will mark them by using *LOL*)


    -Scene Start -


    "Justin, our fake monsters just disappeared," Alex said as she entered the storage room where Justin was talking alone with the monster hunters.


    She wore a bright yellow blouse, while Justin had a tie wrapped around his head like a headband, an intern monster hunter vest, and a long-sleeve shirt.


    "The monster hunters took them to monster jail," Justin replied casually.


    "Great. I''ll tell Juliet," Alex said, sliding past Justin with excitement.


    Startled, Justin hurriedly said, "No, I''ll tell Juliet. She''s my girlfriend."


    *LOL*


    "She''s my friend," Alex said seriously, causing Justin to shudder in disgust. "Blerghh... You''re friends with my girlfriend."


    *LOL*


    "I know. I''m just as freaked out as you are," Alex said, shuddering as well. "Let''s not talk about it."


    *LOL*


    "Okay."


    Justin and Alex agreed to pretend it wasn''t true. "We''ll tell her together," Justin suggested.


    "Okay," Alex replied with annoyance.


    "Okay!"


    "Fine!"


    "FINE!"


    *LOL*


    Both of them approached the door slowly, turning it into a race as neither wanted to back down. However, as Alex opened the door, she was met with the sight of a dashing black-haired boy. He had a slight scar on his left eye and was dressed in a long black trench coat and a fedora. This new arrival immediately caught Alex''s attention.


    *MASSIVE AUDIENCE CHEERS!*


    "Wait, who are you?" Alex asked, trying to assert herself. "Move!" Justin pushed past Alex and hurriedly stood in front of her, only to stop in his tracks when he saw the boy. He stopped only when he was an inch away from the boy, and yelped like a girl before flinching back.


    *LOL*


    "You guys must be the Russo family. I''m Jeremy Van Helsing, a Veteran Monster Hunter," the boy introduced himself while scanning the area with a comical device.


    "Um... You must be confused. The other monster hunters have already left with the monsters," Justin stammered, while Alex smiled excitedly at Jeremy.


    "Oh, what''s the point of rushing him to go back? He should stay awhile," Alex said, twirling her short hair and looking at Jeremy in an infatuated manner.


    *LOL*


    Jeremy tipped his hat and smiled politely at her, while Justin turned to Alex and gave her a disapproving look. "No. We must not waste his time here. Don''t you remember we need to tell... Juliet, the good news?"


    *LOL*


    Alex was taken aback and finally remembered that Juliet would still be in danger if the monster hunter stayed. "Oh right. Juliet."


    However, at that moment, Jeremy finally spoke up. "You guys don''t have to worry about me. I''m not here about the recent level 6 monster alert."


    "Oh, what are you here for?" Alex was relieved and slid past Justin to get closer to Jeremy, asking in a cute manner.


    *LOL*


    Justin rolled his eyes and threw his hands up in exasperation at his sister''s behaviour.


    Jeremy looked at Alex seriously and said, "There''s been a high level of monster activity in this area for the last few weeks. My father sent me to investigate the cause and, if possible, put a stop to it. In the meantime, I''ll be staying at Waverly Place until I finish my investigation."


    "Haha. Investigation. You sound so serious and so mature." She said as she was basically melting in his presence.


    *LOL*


    "Y-y-you''re staying?" Justin asked, his voice cracking with a stammer.


    "Yeah, is that a problem?" Jeremy asked, his smouldering gaze meeting Justin''s.


    Justin avoided Jeremy''s gaze and replied, "No. No problem at all."


    "If you see a monster, make sure to call me," Jeremy said before handing his magical business card to Alex.


    "Can I call you even if I don''t see any monsters?" Alex flirted.


    *LOL*


    Jeremy smirked and said, "I wouldn''t mind if it was you."


    *Cheers*


    -Scene ends-


    "Cut! Wonderful!" The director shouted through his plastic megaphone. "The shooting for the episode 3 monster is now done, and we''re going to start filming the next official episode, ''Monster Hunter and Vampire!"

 Chapter 235: Wizards of Waverly Place (2)

    Chapter 235: Chapter 235: Wizards of Waverly Place (2)


    [Edward POV]


    Since one episode of Wizards of Waverly Place has around a 20 minute run. It took only a few hours to finish recording the episode as they were shot on a ready made set of Waverly Place.


    The fictional place was set in the city of New York. Not only that, the Russo''s family restaurant has a subway theme where they have a prop train inside their building.


    After we finished shooting the 3 monsters episode, I turned to Selena and asked her in confusion, "Shouldn''t this be recorded in front of a live studio audience? What''s with all of the fake laugh tracks?"


    "Oh, I thought as much but it turns out they use ready-made tracks to help us in getting the dialogue timing right and play the thing in front of an audience later to get the true reactions."


    "Really? I don''t think anyone ever did that." I said as I turned towards the director with a suspicious expression. It might be that the director had misinformed Selena about the thing, but still, I guess I don''t have any problems with it being like that since it''s a kids show even if it had a big audience tuning in.


    "You seem like you''re thinking of something rude." Selena narrowed her eyes on me.


    "I am. You knowing that made me wonder if you really have some magical wizard powers." I teased with a serious face.


    She was taken aback and said, "Maybe I do. Avada Kedavra!" She said while pointing her wand at me.


    "*tch* You''re still alive." She clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction. I raised one of my eyebrows and said, "The second you thought you had magic, you tried to kill me off?"


    "Well you should be grateful that I don''t have magic!" She laughed carelessly. "I''ll keep doing that until you tell me, why you are here."


    "I told you I''m here to be a guest star." I said with exhaustion.


    Selena had been badgering me to spill the beans, and she definitely didn''t believe what I was saying.


    "No you''re not. There''s no way you''re coming here for just that."


    I scoffed in disbelief, and the director called the both of us. Selena felt that I had an ulterior motive in coming here, and she couldn''t calm herself down until she knew what it was.


    "Tell me. Did you come here to make Taylor jealous? Cause I don''t want to become a part of your weird toxic couple games." She warned me.


    Her words were caught by her parents cast in the show. Suddenly, the older David said teasingly, "Wait. You still don''t know?"


    "Even I already know." Jake said with a grin.


    "What?! What is it!? It''s not my birthday? It''s not even your birthday?!" She turned towards me and asked with exasperation, "So why?"


    The director chuckled and said, "Remember the day you wanted a day off to go to the carnival, but the producer said you couldn''t although they gave you permission later. Well, that''s all thanks to him."


    "I know that!" Selena replied with annoyance.


    "Then, you should know that the reason you could do that is because Edward agreed to become a guest star in the show." The director explained as he couldn''t take the drama any longer.


    Selena''s eyes turned touched and she looked at me with disbelief. She asked with an affectionate tone, "You did that for me?"


    I quickly rub her face with my palm to annoy her while shuddering, "Don''t look at me like that. That seriously gave me goosebumps."


    After some briefing, I sat on an empty seat next to the side of the set while the cast members�C the characters Justin, Juliet, Alex and Harper started off the episode while I was standing by at another set�C the underground train station.


    -Scene Starts-


    In the wizard''s lair, Justin and Juliet were freaking out, while Alex sat on the couch without a care in the world with Harper joining her, but her focus was on Justin�C the one she had a crush on.


    Justin holds Juliet''s hand, " I know what to do. We should call the Monster Hunter department again, and make�C Make them recall Jeremy Van Helsing. That way, Juliet can finally be at ease."


    Juliet said, "I know the Van Helsing family. The family has been the sworn enemy of the Vampires since the middle ages. My dad talked about them on the casserole one time! And now they won''t stop hunting us!"


    *LOL*


    Harper suddenly chimed in, " Are you even sure he''s here for Juliet? Or is he just wandering around the place, buying sandwiches and playing skeeball�C"


    Justin interjected quickly, "Of course he''s here for Juliet! She''s a Vampire! And he''s Van Helsing!" At the same time, he contacted the monster hunter department using his wand.


    Harper added, "But Alex said that''s what he had been doing after following him around."


    Justin turned to Alex in surprise and asked, "Alex?"


    "What? Someone needs to keep an eye on him." Alex said gleefully.


    *LOL*


    "Besides, I don''t think he''s an expert anyway. I walked in front of him a few times, but he still hasn''t come and talked to me."


    The line was connected before Justin could rebuke Alex''s ''brilliant'' way of seducing a guy. Justin hid Juliet behind him and greeted the handler.


    "Hello. Sir. I think you should recall Jeremy Van Helsing back now. The monster issue has already been settled." He said to the blank green screen.


    The scene with the handler would be inserted after the shoot, but the dialogue was there. "Jeremy Van Helsing? Well, there''s nothing I can do about him."


    "W-Why Sir? Shouldn''t he travel around the world, trying to hunt monsters and keep the peace?" Justin crossed his arms and asked nervously. Juliet nodded in agreement behind him, but Alex looked at the call with amusement.


    The handler replied, "The Van Helsing family has more experience in monster hunting than our entire monster hunter department. Hell, we only started this department a decade ago."


    "The family has been doing this for centuries. They aren''t really working together with us, so I can''t do anything about recalling him. But don''t worry about it. He''ll be gone soon enough if he doesn''t find anything amiss. The only way you would need to be worried, would be if something crazy happened, something extremely dumb and silly like say... I dunno if your girlfriend was a vampire! HAHAHA!" He made a joke without even knowing how close it was to the truth before he turned off the call.


    *LOL*


    Justin whimpered nervously before he turned to Juliet. "We need to make sure he doesn''t find you, or your parents."


    Juliet however took Justin''s arm sadly and said, "My parents have already gone into hiding. I''ll need to follow them. However since the Van Helsing family is already onto us, we may need to get away from here...forever."


    "NO! There must be another way!" Alex chimed in with desperation as she stood up.


    Justin looked at Alex with dissatisfaction before he whined, "H-Hey that''s my line! Alright. I have a plan to keep Juliet here!"


    "What is it?" Alex asked hurriedly.


    "Jeremy Van Helsing will be gone if he doesn''t find anything wrong in this place, right? So, we''ll make it that way. First, we''ll need someone to keep an eye on him at all times! We''ll call the operation, Stepping on a gum Now, we just need to find someone to be the gum"


    "I call it!" Alex volunteered for the first time ever, which made Harper proud, "Aww. Alex. I''ve been dreaming to see you becoming more proactive with your life."


    *LOL*


    "Well if life was all about cute boys, then I would be the most activ-est girl ever." Alex joked. "We still need to know where he is right now." She said as she turned to Justin.


    "I know a spell that will help." Justin said before snatching a framed photo from the shelves. "Please please tell me now, if there''s something I should know? Duranium Duranius!"


    *LOL*


    "Ah! Right. Our restaurant is closed for today. Let''s walk around. I''m sure we can find another place to eat nearby." Alex said before she pulled Jeremy''s arm.


    "The gum is on the foot. I repeat. The gum is on the foot!" Justin announced excitedly before he shuddered at the empty subway station. Fearfully, he said, "Guys...Wait for me!" before rushing to follow Alex and Jeremy out of there.


    *LOL*


    -Scene ends-


    "Cut. That''s great Ed!" The director said. "I thought we had to shoot that multiple times to get it right, but you guys did it in one take. Especially Selena. You really captured the gaze of a young lady who''s enchanted when you guys locked eyes together."


    "No I didn''t!" Selena said defensively.


    Jennifer Stone said with confusion, "Girl...He''s complimenting you...just take it."


    "Oh. Right. Thank you." She thanked the director, blushing at her own blunder before moving away to the side of the set to have a conversation with Jennifer.


    The next part of the episode was about Max Russo, his humanoid conscience�C which was another guest star, Moises Arias (the brother in the new Fallout series). Max and his parent''s scene filming took a while, so I hung out with David Henrie and Bridget Mendler �C Juliet.


    I asked David, "The show''s run time is only 20 minutes, right?"


    "Usually. Yeah. Why?" He was confused.


    "Can the entire storyline fit into one episode?"


    David checked the script for a while before he said, "I don''t think so. Usually, a long episode like this will be split into two parts. So maybe that''s what''s happening here?"


    Bridget suddenly interjected the conversation and she asked shyly, "Edward. After this, can you sign my album?"


    "Why wait? I can sign it for you right now." I replied with a polite smile.


    "Huh." David suddenly exclaimed while Bridget squealed and excused herself to go get her album.


    "Explain the disbelief." I asked David after we were left alone.


    "That''s not�� Um...I feel a bit bad to tell you this..." He was hesitating, so I smoothened the deal. I wrapped my arm around his shoulder and said in a low volume, "You know, I need to cast a few actors around your age for my new series about chess."


    "She said you''d flirt with anyone!" David exposed Selena immediately without even an ounce of remorse. "And she also said that you had flirted with her multiple times! But I saw that you didn''t do that with Bridget, so I was thinking that she lied. That''s why I let out the ''Huh''."


    "That''s all?" I asked.


    "Selena also said you''re kind off an ass, so we needed to watch out for you, but you''re actually a pretty awesome guy, Mr Future Producer." David added.


    I chuckled a bit and then said, "You''re alright David. Give me your number. I''ll text you when I''m holding the auditions. But first, you need to deal with that." I pointed at the direction behind him.


    "Deal with what?" David was confused and turned slowly. He widened his eyes in shock when he saw Selena and Jennifer standing nearby, with Jennifer shaking her head in contempt, and Selena who''s mouth agape from disbelief.


    "I can''t believe you told him that!" Selena scolded him.


    "Yeah! You went too far David!" Jennifer added in to berate him.


    David hurriedly stood up and tried to calm down the girls, "Wait-Wait-Wait! I only did that because�C because�C" He hesitated to tell them the truth as he knew that the fact would lower their opinion on him even more. Then, he turned and made a run for it.


    "DAVID!" Selena yelled at him. But before the girls could follow him, I grabbed Selena''s wrist and pulled her towards me. She flopped on the seat beside mine, and looked at me with anxiousness while her friend went further and further away.


    "So... I am an ass huh?" I asked Selena teasingly.


    "Um...The director is calling us! Let''s go." Selena pretended to hear something before she stood up abruptly, but I grabbed her hand and made her take a seat again.


    "You''re not going anywhere until I learn more about what you have been saying behind my back."


    "Umm...I''m sorry?" She batted her eyes at me to get forgiveness, but I shook my head and replied, "Don''t say that yet until I get you to spit everything out."


    ...


    My scene continued, and it was a scene of me and Selena getting some food together.


    -Scene Starts-


    "So, you said that you usually got ambushed. I''m sure that doesn''t feel too great." Alex Russo said while eating some fries.


    "I usually think of them as the local resident''s greeting, so I wasn''t too bothered by it. Besides, most often than not it just gives me a clear idea of what monsters are around and what I need to catch." Jeremy said sarcastically while staring at Alex. Then he said honestly, "Yeah. Sometimes I wish I could travel around and be at ease without thinking about the monsters. But, my family has too many enemies."


    "Enough about me. What about you?" Jeremy asked.


    "Well for starters, monsters usually view me as part of their crowd, so I fit right in and never get ambushed." Alex joked.


    *LOL*


    Jeremy chuckled and said, "That''s something to never worry about."


    "I know." Alex said before both of them laughed together.


    Alex suddenly leaned in and asked, "What do you actually think about monsters? I know your family is like the biggest name in the business, but I don''t really feel that you have any hostility towards them...even during the fight."


    "You saw right through me huh." Jeremy replied as he leaned back on his chair. "Maybe I don''t want to keep fighting anymore. But I know that''s never going to happen. And with me being the last wizard in my family tree, I have to keep our family''s honour."


    "Wait. The last wizard?" Alex asked in confusion.


    Jeremy replied, "Well. My parents were gone after they went to fight with an adult dragon. My brother and sister also met the same fate when they tried to fight off the Mother of Monsters. So I''m the only one left, the last of the Van Helsing family ."


    "Oh Jeremy." Alex grabbed his hand sympathetically as she tried to comfort him.


    Audience: Awww!


    While Alex and Jeremy were on a date, Justin watched them from the corner of the alley with Juliet. Justin exclaimed in bewilderment, "What is she doing? Trying to keep him here?"


    Juliet added, "Wait. Is that Jeremy Van Helsing? Wow! He''s so gorgeous!"


    *LOL*


    Justin glanced at Juliet, which made her taken aback, "I mean, he''s so dangerous!"


    *LOL*


    "Oh no. The gum has gone rogue." Justin muttered as he saw Alex and Jeremy walk out of the restaurant together while holding hands.

 Chapter 236: Wizards of Waverly Place (3)

    Chapter 236: Chapter 236: Wizards of Waverly Place (3)


    (A/N: Many of you felt bored of the episode, I understands that, not many people grew up watching the show. The entire episode of Wizards of Waverly isn''t a retelling, but my editor and I racked our brains together to create a new one. Granted, we aren''t pdf files at Nickelodeon so the show fell flat, but nostalgia pushes us. If you don''t like it, don''t worry, there''s only 3 Chapters in the entire webnovel about the Wizard''s show. I realized now many didn''t like it, so I won''t continue with the plotline later in the future. That''s all. Enjoy the chap!)


    [Edward POV]


    "Part 2 of the story, start!" announced the director as he clapped the slate.


    -Scene Starts-


    It had been a few days since Jeremy started his investigations around Waverly Place. During that time, he had been going on dates with Alex, sometimes even neglecting his job.


    Alex doing her job and alerting them about where Jeremy was going made them feel at ease, but the newfound closeness between Jeremy and Alex alarmed them.


    As Alex returned home to the restaurant at night, Juliette rushed towards her, eager to give her a hug.


    "Thank you, Alex, for doing this for me. It must be hard for you to stick around him," Juliette expressed her gratitude.


    "Ooowww riiiighhhttt...It must be torture for her, spending all her time going on dates," Justin mocked.


    Alex laughed and responded haughtily, "Yeah, it''s an endless torment for me."


    *LOL*


    Harper, catching on to the inside joke, squealed, "Did he ask you to be his girlfriend yet?"


    "HARPER?!" Justin snapped his fingers at her and said dramatically, "We want him to go away. Although dating Alex is punishment enough, what we want is EXILE! Away with him from here! "


    *LOL*


    "What''s wrong with him staying here? He''s very sweet and kind. He''s always helping people, whether it''s helping a grandma cross the road or rescuing a kitten from a tree. Sometimes, he''s even too kind for my taste but those arms... And the eyes... I don''t think he''s the ruthless monster hunter you guys claim him to be," Alex defended Jeremy.


    "Alex..." Juliette looked into Alex''s eyes and confessed, "Two years ago, Jeremy killed my uncle Al."


    "What?" Alex''s eyes widened in shock, and her face fell. Justin, who was already aware of the story, added, "That''s why we want him to go away. If he finds Juliette��then he will��"


    "No, he won''t! You guys don''t know him like I do!" Alex shouted with teenage angst. She then added, "Maybe he had a good reason to do it."


    "We just can''t take the risk. The Van Helsings are an old family...They aren''t as open-minded as wizards like the rest of us frankly I wouldn''t be surprised if they were evil wizards," Justin tried to convince his sister.


    "Really? Your argument is that you''re open minded?" Alex looked at Justin with a deadpan expression as she said flatly.


    *LOL*


    Justin was taken aback, and then he defended himself, "At least more open minded than him."


    "No, you''re wrong. He''s not like the other Van Helsings. I can prove it. In fact, I''ll prove it when he comes to the restaurant today," Alex said, but then realized she had blurted out the last part, which was supposed to be a secret.


    "He''s coming here!?" Justin held his head in disbelief.


    "He''s coming for dinner right now," Alex confessed apologetically. "I only came back to tell you guys to move, but he''s coming RIGHT NOW, SO GO HIDE!" Alex hurriedly pushed Justin and Juliette into the kitchen.


    Jeremy walked through the door and went straight to Alex. She turned to greet him with a wide smile on her face, saying, "Hi Jeremy."


    "Hi Alex. So... this is your family''s restaurant. I can finally try it out after being here for days, huh," Jeremy teased, brushing a stray hair behind Alex''s ear. She blushed slightly, her eyes becoming hazy, but her attention was brought back when Harper who squealed at their interaction.


    "Aren''t you going to introduce me?" Harper nudged Alex.


    "Oh, right. Jeremy, this is Harper. My best friend since kindergarten," Alex introduced.


    Harper was wearing a cat doll on her shoulder and her dress was made of various animal stripes. Jeremy wasn''t weirded out and said, "Hi Harper. I heard a lot about you."


    "Really?" Harper turned to Alex excitedly. "Alex! I didn''t know I meant so much to you!"


    "Sorry. He''s actually just saying that to be polite." Alex threw cold water into Harper''s enthusiasms, making her feel dejected.


    "Would you like to join us for dinner Harper?" Jeremy asked.


    Alex glanced, hinting at her friend before turning to Jeremy, "Oh no, Harper has already eaten. She eats an early dinner at 4 like her grandparents, and she has to go now."


    Harper caught the hint and stammered, "Oh. I''m, I''ve already eaten. I''ll just go to the kitchen, see if your parents need some help eating�C I mean, ma-making yeah MAKING sandwiches!" She hurriedly ran off to the door, and went out of the restaurant.


    "Isn''t the kitchen right there?" Jeremy asked in confusion as he pointed at the kitchen in the opposite direction.


    *LOL*


    Alex and Jeremy went to sit at the table, where Alex suddenly raised her hand and shouted, "Waiter!"


    Justin begrudgingly walked over to the table and started to put menus in front of them. He placed them at Jeremy''s table politely but just threw it at Alex''s hand to express his dissatisfaction.


    "You know, we aren''t really open at night." Justin said.


    "Hi Justin. Are you still continuing your monster hunter independent study?" Jeremy asked without even caring about Justin''s passive aggressive remarks. "Do you want me to teach you some stuff�C"


    Suddenly, Jeremy realized something and he stood up. "Wait. I got a strong whiff of Vanila...and death scent from you." He said as he sniffed Justin.


    "Uuaaa�C I don''t know. I''ve been hanging around graves, trying to search for monsters. Maybe you''re smelling a zombie?" Justin tried to refocus Jeremy, but instead Jeremy said seriously, "No, no This scent is unique to Vampires... It''s a classic disguise ESPECIALLY, Girl...Teenage Vampires! they use it a lot, it works wonders to attract idiotic boys so they can drink them dry. Justin, have you gotten in contact with any teenage girls before?!?"


    "Damn he''s good!" Alex muttered underneath her breath. "He even got Justin''s label right."


    *LOL*


    "Umm..No.No...Not that I know off." Justin said, trying to brush off the matter while laughing nervously.


    "Are you sure? The smell is quite strong. It''s as if you had just run into them just a few seconds ago." Jeremy asked again while he leaned in to Justin. "The smell is especially strong in your face."


    *LOL*


    Justin''s voice cracked as he replied, "No. I''m sure. I haven''t been in contact with any girl vampires. And definitely not having a relationship with one. Nor did I just do an eskimo kiss with them a few minutes ago in the kitchen."


    "That''s an odd detail to add." Jeremy said while narrowing his eyes at Justin. Justin''s hand became clammy, and he started hyperventilating.


    But the intense situation suddenly cleared up as Jeremy said, "So anyway. I want a turkey sandwich. Extra ketchup."


    *LOL*


    "I want a bologna sandwich." Alex said casually with a sly laugh. Justin looked at Alex and Jeremy with disbelief, let out a burst of mirth before rushing back to the kitchen, "Your order will come right out."


    As he entered the kitchen, he grabbed Juliette and said, "You need to leave right now. He''s onto you."


    "How? I can''t even turn into a bat and fly out of here. I''m trapped!" Juliette said aggrievedly.


    -Scene ends-


    "Cut! Excellent work everyone." The director announced. "We shall take a 15 minute rest before we continue." He then rushed to the toilet, letting out farts along the way as he did.


    "What''s with him?" I asked Selena.


    "Sometimes he has problems with his stomach." Selena replied.


    "More accurately, anal fissures." Henrie whispered with a chuckle.


    "TMI TMI!" Jennifer closed her ears as she shuddered in horror.


    Jake joined us and asked me, "Hey, do you ever watch the show?"


    "I did. It was the one episode where Selena dated that Jinkies guy." I replied while drinking some water. "I also watched the ones with the silent movie theme. I loved that one."


    "Jinkies? Which guy is that?" Jake asked with confusion. Even Selena was confused, "Did you mean Zeke? Has he ever said that before?"


    Henrie replied, "I don''t think he did." Zeke was his kinda weird best friend in the show. He was overly positive, and supported Justin in everything he wanted to do.


    "Did you mean, the guy who said Curses!" Jennifer chimed while mimicking the old comedic way of saying the exclamation.


    "Ah. Right. That one. That episode was hard to watch." I grinned teasingly at Selena. She blushed and said, "Shut up! It was hard for me to shoot that episode too."


    I laughed out loud with David Henrie and Jake. Jake asked right after, "Are you coming here again? I don''t have any scenes with you, so I can''t brag about it to anyone."


    The scriptwriter''s ear perked up after she heard that. I replied ambiguously, "I don''t know yet. If I have the time, then maybe."


    "That''s what the popular ones always say." Jake replied poutingly. I laughed and replied, "Well we kinda need to say that. Or else someone listening into the conversation will get some ideas."


    The scriptwriter flinched before she acted like everything was normal and walked further away from us.


    "Besides, he doesn''t really need the money, being the number one artist right now with the most number of albums sold of all time." Selena teased while making money gestures with her fingers.


    "Not the first, but I''m in the top 5." I played along. Selena giggled and teased again, "Oh, look at you trying to be humble."


    "I am humble. Not only that, kind, sweet, caring...and a bit of an ass too." I shot her a teasing smile, which made her flinch and get embarrassed. She glared at Henrie with contempt before changing the subject.


    "I heard you have a party this Halloween?" She asked. All of the teenage cast member''s eyes lit up as they heard it.


    "Yeah. You''re coming right?" I asked Selena. Selena wanted to answer, but Jennifer gave her a nudge. As she looked over to the cast''s direction, she saw that they were pleading at her with their eyes.


    "Um...Can they come too?" Selena asked me.


    "Sure. These guys are cool." I replied with a smile. The group of teens celebrated loudly, which startled the staff members walking by.


    "Is it a costume party? Can I be Batman?" Jake asked.


    Juliette immediately went into Vampire mode and ripped off the rope trying the two wizards. Jeremy aimed for the wands, and he made them fly towards the two wizards.


    "Ambush! Everyone! Get him!" The M.O.M shrieked after she saw Jeremy was untied. Afraid of the Van Helsing wizard, she defended herself by hiding behind the army of monsters.


    "Juliette, bring Alex and Justin out of here!" Jeremy shouted.


    "No! We''re going to help you!" Alex said.


    Justin, albeit scared, said, "I''m an intern monster hunter! I won''t back down from a fight! Even though I very...very much like to."


    *LOL*


    Juliette too stayed behind, "I''ll join in. If this place turns into a monster city, then I will have to dress back in monster style fashion and I DON''T want to wear those ugly clothes! Oh! And I want to stay with Justin too."


    *LOL*


    "Then, the plan is to catch the leader! They all will scatter if we can catch her!" Jeremy yelled before the monster started swarming him. The fight started abruptly.


    Justin and Juliette teamed up together, taking down monsters one by one as they made their way to the M.O.M. Jeremy had to struggle to get away from the monsters, but he was soon captured.


    However, Alex saw this and shouted, "Jeremy!" She shot off some magic to the monsters to change Jeremy''s and the monster''s on his left hand side position, making the monster on the left and the right grab each other instead.


    "Double Trouble , Is all it has been , for all these things, Transfer the monsters to the prison of Van Helsing!" Jeremy chanted before he shot off the magic to the two monsters. Both of them disappeared as they were transported into the lava prison.


    "Alex! Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Jeremy asked Alex affectionately as she rushed towards him. He scanned her entire body while he dusted her off, checking for wounds or bruises.


    "Don''t worry about me! I told you that monsters see me as their kind. Before the woman came, we were playing Snake and Ladders" Alex replied jokingly.


    *LOL*


    "She''s really not joking!" Justin exclaimed from behind.


    *LOL*


    "Are you guys going to stand there and flirt, or will you get into battle?" Justin shouted in frustration.


    "Sorry. I''m still trying to process the idea that someone can have my back when I''m fighting." Jeremy said before he took a deep breath.


    *LOL*


    "Let''s go!" Jeremy and Alex rushed to the front line. And before long, they managed to capture the M.O.M.


    The blue faced leader pointed at Jeremy putting ropes on the M.O.M and yelped, "He caught her! Retreat!"


    The monsters scampered quickly, and the audience applauded. Alex stood beside Jeremy in a triumphant manner, while the M.O.M cursed her fate. After that, they returned to the Waverly Place restaurant with the M.O.M in tow.


    "Maybe, this time, I won''t send her to the family prison." Jeremy said suddenly before he called, "Justin. Can you get the monster hunter department to take her in?"


    Justin''s eyes darted in confusion, "Wait. You''re serious?"


    Jeremy replied using a soft tone, "I am. I''m tired of fighting alone. Maybe in the future, the Van Helsing family can join the Monster Hunter Department, and work together with them."


    Justin smiled excitedly and said, "Alright! I''m sure catching the Mother of Monster will get me extra credit in my independent studies!"


    "Before that, I still need to settle the matter with Juliette." Jeremy said.


    Juliette was alarmed and she said, "I don''t want to go to jail."


    "Don''t worry. Instead of that, I think that helping the monsters that want to live peacefully in the human world may be a better idea." Jeremy said. "With the condition that they won''t harm humans... Or expose themselves to the human world, or not dispose of monster waste, or... You know what, I''ll just write you a list."


    *LOL*


    "Will Juliette be safe from the monster hunters from now on?" Justin asked hopefully.


    "I will try. And Juliette, I''m very sorry for killing your uncle." Jeremy said as he bowed slightly.


    Juliette was a bit emotional and she asked, "Why did you need to kill him?"


    Jeremy sighed and said, "To be fair your uncle had just drunk a whole village dry when I found him. And I don''t mean their water supply. So, I had to put a stop to him."


    Juliette''s emotional state suddenly changed and she said casually. "Oh. That''s why. I''m so sorry he did that, and... I don''t blame you anymore."


    As Justin and Juliette went to the lair to transport the Mother of Monsters away, Alex and Jeremy were left alone in the restaurant.


    She smiled haughtily as she looked at him and said, "Alright. You can tell me you like me now."


    Jeremy smiled softly and held her hand before kissing the back of her palm, "I do like you."


    "And you want to make me your girlfriend." Alex added with the same haughty manner.


    "And I do want to make you my girlfriend." Jeremy replied with a chuckle.


    Alex laughed, but then she saw Jeremy''s apologetic gaze. She realized something and her voice broke, "So, why aren''t you asking me to be your girlfriend ?"


    "I...I''m sorry Alex but I need to go. The Mother of Monsters wanted to kill me to unlock the prison and free all of the monsters that had been captured�C"


    "But we have caught her." Alex interjected anxiously.


    Jeremy said, "The location of the prison itself is supposed to be a secret. I have to travel again and investigate who was the one who leaked the location. I...might not be able to come back for a while...Maybe not ever."


    "So That''s why you aren''t asking me to be your girlfriend." Alex muttered pitifully. Jeremy caressed Alex''s cheek affectionately as she looked into his eyes. Then, he leaned in, and they kissed each other.


    Audience: Cheers!!!


    "Goodbye Alex. I hope to see you again." Jeremy said. "Thank you for teaching me how to trust other people, and to put aside my prejudice against monsters. I had been living in a dark place, but you have become the light that has pulled me out of it."


    "For that, you will always be in my heart." Jeremy said as he placed Alex''s hand on his chest.


    "Goodbye Jeremy Van Helsing. I won''t forget you." Alex said after collecting herself. They shared an innocent kiss again before Jeremy took his wand and waved it around flashing himself out.


    The scene changed into a sight of Alex sitting alone in the lair the next morning, where her mother rushed worriedly towards her after waking up.


    "Alex! Justin told me everything. What''s wrong honey? Why have you stayed up all night staring at the portal?"


    "I don''t know. I think...I just want him to come back." Alex said before she broke down and cried into her mother''s arm.


    -Scene ends-


    "Cut! It''s a wrap!" The director said. I shook my head in disbelief after watching the final scene, and said, "Wow, now if I don''t come back, I''ll be the bad guy huh?"


    Selena stuck her tongue towards me after hearing my comment, "Who asked you to make the script that way?"


    "I didn''t even interfere in the script making. I just said to the writer I wanted to play a cool and impactful character. That''s all." I shrugged and shook my head dismissively.


    Selena was surprised, and she laughed soon after. "You got trapped!" She mocked.


    The producers of the show suddenly approached me. The fat Jewish man shook my hand excitedly and said, "Edward Newgate. We didn''t think that the episode would be so much fun. In fact, we think that it''s so great, we''re going to be releasing your entire appearance on Halloween. All 3 episodes will premiere at the same time.!"


    The director rubbed his sore forehead and said, "That will mean, the show is going to run the same episode over and over again for a month and a half."


    "It''s fine. The benefits outweigh the disadvantages for this one." The producer said.


    I narrowed my eyes at him slightly before making a kind face, "It is the right decision to capitalise on my fame right now. But, what are you going to do with the ending? You know the audience will want me to return."


    "We�C I think we should talk about that in private." The producers said. I laughed derisively and agreed. "Of course. We WILL talk about it."


    However, in the discussion, he was completely thrown off by my demands, and he had to contact his superiors to get the confirmation. Maybe he initially thought that he could guilt trip me into becoming a recurring character and get away with offering the standard superstar fare wich to be honest was a good amount of money for some quick work after all 20 minute episode formats weren''t anywhere as time demanding as full on movies or hour long run shows, but he greatly misjudged his opponent.


    "Ed. Do you want to come hang out with us after this?" Selena invited me.


    I shook my head and replied, "Unfortunately I can''t. I have to get back home. I have a meeting with Harvey and other executives after this."


    "Oh. That''s a pity. Next time then�C Wait, I don''t mean next time you come here. I just mean, when you have free time." Selena stammered. As she knew about the situation, she didn''t want to accidentally pressure me into anything,


    I smiled and then slipped my hand into my pocket. "Hey, I got something for you."


    Selena''s heart fluttered and she said, "A gift? Wh-Why? I''m not�C I''m Taylor''s best friend. We can''t�C"


    I knocked her in the head with the small medicinal bottle I took out from my pocket.


    "Ouch!" She exclaimed in pain.


    "That''s for getting on my nerves. Here. Take this. This will help you with your condition." I said as I gave her the bottle of handmade medicinal pills.


    In the 10 recipes I''ve gotten, one of them would help Selena in her autoimmune disease. However, she had to take them for over 3 years before she could finally be healthy.


    "My lupus? Were you worrying about me?" She asked while batting her eyes teasingly at me.


    I scoffed and said, "Take it and go away. Don''t play around if you aren''t even going to give me a chance."


    She broke into a wide grin and said, "Thanks Ed. I really appreciate it." She then leaned in and kissed me on the cheek to express her gratitude. I smiled softly before driving back home and reporting the producer''s scheme to Harvey. She promised me with an evil smile that they would pay the price.


    That night, Selena suddenly asked me to turn on the TV. The promotional video for the premiere was already showing, and people online were excitedly talking about it.


    "I really didn''t expect that my first show would be a Disney show." I laughed at myself as I watched the promotional video.

 Chapter 237: Halloween (1)

    Chapter 237: Chapter 237: Halloween (1)


    (The longest arc yet. Already has 9 Chapter for this one, and I haven''t finished it yet lol)


    [Edward POV]


    Saturday. One day before Halloween. I had a football match early in the morning, in which I acted as an assistant coach instead of playing. The reason I couldn''t do that was because the agents thought it was too ''risky'' for me to stay in the field.


    *Beep Beep Beep*


    The sound of a large Buy More supermarket truck reversing caught our attention as it backed down in front of my new house by the cliff. Standing beside me were Pepper and Randall, watching as the backdoor of the truck swung open. Suddenly, the driver tilted the truck''s back, causing boxes of candies to tumble out.


    "STOP! Don''t do that!" shouted one of the agents, alarmed. Chandler, a staff member, rushed to the driver''s door, banging on it and yelling, "STOP�� STOP IT, YOU IDIOT!"


    Startled, the Latino driver immediately halted the drop-off and apologized, saying, "Sorry, cousin. It was a habit."


    Chandler turned to me and shouted, "Sorry, boss! I''ll make sure to clean it up!"


    "Don''t worry about it. I kind of like the sight of candy hills in my front yard," I replied with a grin, turning to Pepper and shouting while breaking into a run, "Cannonball��"


    But before I could jump into the candy mountain, Pepper grabbed me by the collar, treating me like a misbehaving kitten despite being shorter than me. He said, "No, you won''t! Do you want paper cuts all over your body?"


    An agent walked by and grunted, adding, "Besides, you can''t approach it yet. We need to inspect the packages for explosives, poisons, traps, razors�� you know what I mean."


    I let out a sigh and remarked, "You know, these excessive security measures aren''t really necessary, right?"


    Agent Smith, who had male pattern baldness, replied, "It''s better to be safe than sorry. Until you sign the agreement with the government of the United States, we can''t leave you alone."


    "Eh," I exclaimed annoyingly. "Tell me, Agent, how many of the teenage assets you''ve protected before didn''t become rebellious when they were locked up and tried to break out? You already worsened my mood this morning. Are you sure you still want to act like that?"


    Understanding my frustration, Agent Smith replied with a heavy sigh, "We will make sure that doesn''t happen... again."


    "Randall, make sure to include a trip to the dentist for Ed after this," Pepper whispered to Randall.


    "I heard that!" I rolled my eyes, looking at the duo.


    After some negotiations, the agents agreed to let me take pictures, pretending to play among the candy hill as if they were fallen leaves during autumn. I shared the photos on social media, expressing my gratitude to everyone who had sent me the gift.


    In addition to the pictures, I recorded personal thank-you videos using emails for all of them. I sent them merchandise such as limited edition posters, t-shirts, and more as a token of appreciation.


    Suddenly, amidst the excitement, a voice screamed, "AaaaaaaAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" I turned to see a 10-year-old boy named Luke Dunphy, running and cannonballing into the pile of candies.


    "LUKE! GET OUT OF THERE!" Claire shouted in frustration, looking apologetically and embarrassedly at the agents and staff members. She quickly grabbed Luke by the feet and dragged him out of the candy pile.


    "No! This is my dream come true! It''s a candy hill! I want to live here!" Luke squirmed, desperately reaching out to the pile as Claire continued to pull him away.


    Phil, Haley and Alex were walking towards me. I turned to Phil whose eyes were glued on the candy hill.


    "You want to jump in on that too huh?" I said knowingly.


    Phil replied with a whisper, "I''ll do that when there''s no one around."


    ...


    The Dunphys, the Pritchetts, and the Tucker Pritchett family gathered at my house to help decorate. Jay, my dad and Phil were by the pool, grilling some meat.


    As I opened a box labeled "scary stuff," I was disappointed to find plastic bats and fake spiders inside. Taking a bite of my giant Toblerone, I felt a furry animal brushing against my legs.


    "Meow?" Vader, the cat, playfully swatted at the fake spider, following me as I unpacked the decorations. I used a rope to capture her attention, and she eagerly tried to catch it.


    "I want to do that too," Alex said, using proper cat toys in an attempt to attract Vader. "Come on, Vadie. Run towards this. Let me play with you."


    Vader smugly ignored Alex, opting to play with the old rope I had been using. "Ugh. Why was I born with cat allergies?!" Alex grumbled about her allergies, unable to fully interact with the cat. She wanted to grab and sniff Vader, but her nose became red just by getting near her.


    Just then, Mitchell, Haley, and Cameron entered the living room, each carrying boxes.


    "Who has the cobwebs?" Cam asked gleefully. "I can swing by Costco and pick some up. There''s a giant one only three miles away from here."


    Haley replied, "We know. Ed and I went there together before."


    "Uuuu," Mitchell teased Haley, causing her to blush. She turned to me and said, "Ed, I''m thinking about calling a yogurt... um... yogurt shop... person...?" She turned to Mitchell for help.


    Mitchell chimed in, "Vendor?"


    "Yeah, that. A fro-yo vendor," Haley continued. "Then we can display the candies you''ve received too."


    "Better yet, use all the candies to create a Willy Wonka-like party with chocolate rivers and licorice trees," Cam suggested, forming a rectangle with his fingers to visualize.


    Intrigued by the idea, I said, "That sounds awesome Cam. How about I hire you as my official party planner?"


    Cam was taken aback by the sudden offer and stammered, "Wh-what was that?"


    Haley chuckled, realizing my plan, and said, "Ed, that''s a great idea. Who else has the innate creativity and vision to make it a reality in less than 24 hours?"


    "We have less than 24 hours?" Cam nervously chuckled. Mitchell rolled his eyes and urged, "Cam, they''re plotting against you. Don''t fall for it."


    "I mean, only someone reeeeeeaaalllyyy extraordinary could do it. Who knows, maybe they''ll even be featured in a few magazines and get to ride that Golden Ticket right to stardom..."


    "I''ll do it!" Cam agreed instantly.


    "Cam!" Mitchell scolded. "What about decorating our own house this year for Lily''s first Halloween?"


    "She''s only one year old. She won''t even remember it," Cam offered excuses before asking me, "How much budget do I have? Do I have a team?"


    "You can use whatever resources you have at the company, and as for the budget, let''s keep it reasonable, like one day''s salary, mine obviously." I replied before putting my toblerone bar down. However as soon as it touched the floor, a shadowy figure with curly hair tried to snatch it, prompting me to pick it back up.


    Haley smirked subtly, but I caught it. She then pretended to be this wronged woman and said timidly, "Ed. I just found out I''m pregnant. And it''s... your child."


    "WHAT?!!!" Claire shouted loudly, making everyone turn towards us. "EDWARD!?" Claire looked at me with disbelief and contempt.


    Alex joined in, but she kept smirking even when she tried to be serious that she had to hide her mouth with her hand, "Ed. You need to take responsibility for this."


    I chuckled a bit before I acted like I was in shock. I placed Lily''s down on Jay''s lap before walking towards the duo.


    I held Haley''s hands and looked at her affectionately, "Oh my god. Really? I can''t believe it. I''m going to be a father. The only logical thing for me to do right now is to quit school and focus on my company so that I can be the sole provider. Now for the most important question, Haley Dunphy, will you marry�C"


    Alex chuckled before she realized something and widened her eyes.


    [Alex''s commentary]


    "Wait a minute. Why is he proposing? He knows how the science works. Unless?" Alex gasped and her face blushed. "They did it secretly? Oh my god! This will backfire on us phenomenally."


    [commentary ends]


    "NOOOOO!!!" Claire shouted and finally had her meltdown. Haley, who was absorbed in her own world and imagination, snapped out of her delusions when she heard her mother screaming.


    [Haley''s commentary]


    "That was really dangerous. When he held my hand, I started to think that maybe that wouldn''t actually be a bad thing and that maybe it could work''. Luckily mom''s scream pulled me out."


    [Commentary ends]


    "Oh my heart." Jay suddenly clutched his chest. Shocked, Claire, Haley and Alex rushed towards Jay.


    "Dad! �� Mitchell CALL 911!" Claire shouted. "Dad is having a heart attack!"


    "Grandpa!" Alex shouted and her eyes became teary.


    "Grandpa! We''re just kidding! We''re trying to prank mom and Ed to get revenge for their pranks on us! Please don''t have a heart attack. Please don''t die!" Haley said anxiously. She turned towards me and said, "Ed! Do something!"


    "You heard that Jay? They tried to prank me." I said to Jay casually. Suddenly, Jay chuckled, which made all of the girls there dumbfounded again. Gloria rushed towards us, asking, "What happened? What happened?!"


    Jay laughed loudly and said, "Pregnancy scare as a prank? Claire, they really are your daughters." He grabbed Gloria''s hand and said affectionately, "I''m fine. I just scared them a little."


    "DAD!" Claire shouted angrily. "How many times does my heart need to crash today!?"


    Alex wiped down her tears and slapped her grandpa angrily, "Grandpa!! Don''t scare us like that."


    "Hey, set the stakes. I just matched you. Now you know that you have gone overboard. You almost killed your mother." Jay replied teasingly. He looked towards me and said, "Luckily Ed laughed and didn''t react much before he played along, so I know you guys are lying. Seriously, who''s idea was it?"


    "It was Alex''s idea." Haley exposed her immediately.


    "NO! It wasn''t me! It was Uncle Mitchell''s idea!" Alex said defensively. Well technically it was Mitchell''s idea, however he didn''t even know that he had given it. All he did was whisper to Cam that the only way Claire would be spooked like they did if a daughter of hers got knocked up, and the girls overheard it.


    Mitchell rushed in and shouted while holding his phone, "What happened? Who got hurt?"


    I picked Lily and Vader into my arms again and said, "Only Claire''s sanity got hurt. You can try a mental asylum and see if they can help."


    "Psychiatrist, therapist, or even a doctor. Why did you jump straight to the mental asylum? Also, where''s Phil?" Claire said begrudgingly as she stormed off..


    "Right, where is Phil?" I asked in confusion. Then after searching for a while, Claire and I found Phil, Luke and Manny building a life inside the candy pile


    "We''re declaring this place, the United States of Candyland. All foreigners need a passport to get in." Luke said as he guarded the front.


    "But it''s my pile...and it''s my place." I asked in confusion.


    "We already claimed it. You snooze, you lose." Luke replied.


    "Alright then. So I have no choice, but to reclaim what is rightfully mine. I will be sending an official declaration of war during our lunch. The United States of Candyland better be ready for the consequences of their�C"


    "Stop that. No one''s going to war. Phil!" Claire looked at Phil with disbelief before pulling the boys out of their "nation".


    "Honey, the Prime Minister of Candyland has already spoken. As the Head of the Department of Defense, I need to follow it. Now, unhand the president." Phil said stoically.


    Claire contorted her face in confusion and asked with a high pitched voice, "What?!"


    ...


    [General POV]


    Underneath a supermarket in Burbank, in a NSA plus CIA joint black ops operation, 3 agents were being briefed by the CIA General Beckman.


    The middle aged woman in the military uniform said through a video monitor, "We must obtain crucial information about the agreement between our target and the Department of Defense (DoD), as well as secure the new communications technology''s schematic. We need to hold the technology in our hands as a measure to safeguard our country''s security."


    The newbie agent�C who was recently a civilian until 2 years ago, held his hand up and interjected the general''s briefing, "Hi. General."


    "Yes Chuck?" The General asked with a sigh.


    "Hi. I need to ask. Is this really necessary? He is working with the Department of Defense... That''s basically us, so why do we need to get involved in it?"


    "Follow your orders Chuck!" The General said annoyedly. "The place is guarded by numerous FBI agents, so you need to go undercover and extract the information out of there without exposing your identities."


    " Luckily for you, he''s holding a Halloween party tomorrow so you can use that to your advantage. He''s also searching to get some frozen yogurt at the party, so Sarah, you have the perfect cover. Remember, get in, get out, don''t reveal your identity no matter what. You got it Chuck?"


    Chuck looked at the hot blondie next to him, before turning at the muscular army man sitting on the opposite site and flinched.


    Casey asked, "You got that?"


    "Yeah- Yeah I got it. Also, would it be so presumptuous of me to ask him for an autograph while we''re there?" Chuck joked. Casey rolled his eyes at him while Sarah chuckled subtly.

 Chapter 238: Halloween (2)

    Chapter 238: Chapter 238: Halloween (2)


    [Edward POV]


    In the dimly lit gymnasium nearby, I stood alone, clad in a full kendo uniform that concealed my identity. The white coat, known as a Keiko-Gi, fit loosely around me as I adjusted the black hakama, the traditional pleated pants worn by samurai. Gripped tightly in my hand was a gleaming samurai sword, a weapon as deadly as it was elegant.


    The air crackled with tension as multiple figures emerged from the shadows, their black uniforms blending seamlessly into the darkness, encircling me and leaving no place for me to run.


    They wore protective covers over their faces, shrouding their identities in secrecy. The only sound that filled the room was the soft rustling of their movements.


    With each step they took, the gravity of the situation intensified. It was clear that these were no ordinary opponents. They were highly trained, skilled in the art of combat, and determined to teach me a lesson today.


    "Get him!" A menacing, yet childish voice bellowed from behind me. The imposing figures in black advanced towards me, their eyes filled with a fierce determination. Their movements were precise, their stances exuded confidence, and their intent was crystal clear �� to overpower me and prove their dominance.


    "Hey! This wasn''t the plan!" I exclaimed, a mix of disbelief and laughter escaping my lips. In an unexpected twist, the adversaries charging towards me were not the formidable opponents I had anticipated. Instead, they were a group of pint-sized warriors, no older than five years old, brandishing their toy swords with fervor.


    Undeterred by their diminutive stature, the chibi warriors unleashed their attacks with all the energy and enthusiasm their young bodies could muster. Swinging their plastic blades, they charged at me with a roar, their fierce determination shining through their innocent eyes.


    "Come at me one by one!" I called out, struggling to maintain my composure amidst the adorable chaos. Blocking their playful strikes with my own foam sword, I took a few steps back, trying to keep up with their relentless assault.


    Watching the spectacle unfold, the dojo master who had a similar appearance to Hiroyuki Sanada, chuckled with amusement. "There''s no way for them to keep their cool when you keep taunting them," he remarked, shaking his head.


    "Remember, keeping your calm is the number one rule of the dojo. But the rules don''t apply to these kids." The kids were just here for their free lesson coupon after all. They weren''t true disciples.


    In the midst of the skirmish, I managed to save one of the young warriors from an imminent fall, grabbing onto his coat just in time when he tripped over his own hakama trying to hit me.


    However, seizing the opportunity, the remaining kids seized their chance to overwhelm me. Their wooden swords rained down upon me, each strike accompanied by gleeful laughter. I managed to block all of them, except for one.


    "Ouch! Mike Scott, I will remember that," I mockingly grumbled, shooting a playful glare at the mischievous child who had successfully landed a hit. With his victory secured, he promptly darted away, his mischievous laughter echoing in the air.


    The sensei blew his whistle, abruptly halting the impromptu battle and bringing disappointment to the children. The Japanese sensei smiled, his wise eyes twinkling with amusement as he placated the boys. "Don''t worry, boys. You can still enjoy playing with him since he has registered at the dojo today."


    "Yeah, don''t worry! I''ll be back," I assured them, pointing at the cheeky kid who continued to taunt me, his tongue sticking out mischievously. "Make sure you''re prepared for it, Mike!"


    The kids'' lessons were over, and they went back to their parents. Sensei Hamada, one of the true masters of the swords I had found living in California, walked towards me and abruptly grabbed my sword and wrist, looking intently at the ways I was holding the sword.


    Impressed, he said, "You have outstanding reflexes and hand eye coordination. You said that you were a beginner before, but I can see it, you have been taught by someone. A master nonetheless."


    He released my hand and walked towards the swords rack before taking out 2 real swords.


    "It''s useless for me to teach you anything. What you need right now, is a real life experience. What better way to do that, than to feel the blades on your skin yourselves?" He threw me a sword, and the second I grabbed it from the air, he had drawn his own sword.


    *CLANG*


    Our swords clashed together after I blocked his first attack, a sideway swinging of the sword. He smiled in satisfaction as I did, and said, "Great job. But I''m going to up the ante now."


    *CLANG CLANG CLANG*


    The sounds of our clashes reverberated throughout the whole dojo. At the side of the room, Agent Smith ate a jelly donut as he watched the entire battle with his keen eyes. Standing next to him was another agent, a little chubby but also muscular, codenamed Cobbler.


    "Phew. That kid is scary." Agent Smith muttered.


    Gobbler saw that I was becoming more and more at ease with the sword, and even managed to attack the master of the sword a few times. He nodded in agreement, "He really is. Should we just kidnap him and make him a living weapon instead?"


    "We''d actually be committing an act of treason to the country if we do that. We''re here to protect him under the direct order of the President. To kidnap the mission target is just like spitting directly into our President''s face." Agent Smith replied casually.


    After an hour long bout, I finally finished training with the master. I had several cuts on my arms, and a slash on my hakama, revealing a little bit of my leg''s skin.


    "That was...exhausting." I panted as I kneeled down on one knee while using the sword as a cane to keep supporting myself. Sensei Hamada said, "Nice first session. We will continue the training next week."


    I held my fingers up and wanted to reject it at first, but when I remembered how fast I had sublimated the sword play knowledge I had from the gacha prize before, I hesitated and said, "I''ll...be here."


    "Oh right. My daughter told me to give this to you today." Mr Hamada smiled and took out a Snickers bar before throwing it to me. "Happy Halloween Edward Newgate. I look forward to seeing you again."


    "Me too." I replied with a smile after catching the chocolate bar, ripping the wrapper with my teeth, and biting a huge chunk of it.


    ...


    The day I had eagerly anticipated had finally arrived. However, I still had to wait until dusk for the celebration to officially begin. In order to pass the time, I decided to attend my sword practice session earlier in the day.


    Unfortunately, the lesson concluded just before lunch, leaving me with approximately six hours to burn before the festivities. Returning home to occupy myself with work wasn''t an option for two specific reasons.


    Firstly, both of my houses were currently unavailable to me. Cam had requested that I vacate the villa by the cliff, as he had planned a surprise theme party there. As the best wingman in the world, I graciously allowed my father and Frankie to set up decorations in my old house and enjoy their time together, making myself scarce.


    The second reason was that Phil had extended an invitation for me to join him and his family in the pumpkin carving tradition. They wanted me to experience this customary activity and had even encouraged Manny to participate as well.


    Parking my Audi in the garage, I made my way to Phil''s house. Despite the presence of numerous fans and paparazzi surrounding the property, Agent Smith had diligently ensured that they remained at a distance of at least 100 meters from me.


    "ED! NICE COSTUME!" someone shouted upon seeing me in my kendo attire, which I had forgotten to change. "Are you wearing a samurai costume?" inquired a young fan, a 13-year-old girl dressed as a squirrel.


    The paparazzis obsessively took my pictures, and it was spread all over the internet just a few short minutes later.


    "No, this is my actual uniform. I just returned from practice. By the way, aren''t you feeling hot wearing that costume while the sun is directly overhead?" I playfully remarked. However, instead of responding, the girls squealed in excitement, realizing that I was addressing them.


    Maggie, feeling overwhelmed, responded with bewilderment, "Wait��Don''t stretch my clothes. I''ll ask him on your behalf, but I can''t really decide if you guys can come or not." Maggie regretted sharing information about the party with her friends.


    As Maggie attempted to call Ed, she silently prayed, "God, please let the Ed who answers have some humanity in his heart today." Unfortunately, Ed didn''t pick up the call, leaving Maggie feeling helpless. She muttered another prayer, "You didn''t have to make him reject my call if you couldn''t answer my prayers. I already know his heart is empty."


    In another apartment, Selena lay in bed, trying to take a nap while being bothered by a persistent blonde girl named Taylor. Taylor applied makeup, pretending not to notice Selena, and haughtily remarked, "Oh, Ed? I''m sorry, I didn''t realize you were here."


    Annoyed, Selena grumbled, "It''s his house."


    "Right, I forgot," Taylor responded, finally recognizing Selena''s presence. As she applied her lipsticks, she acted innocent and said, "How about ''Ed, I miss you''? Ugh, that''s too desperate."


    "I thought you were still angry at him no?!" Selena exclaimed in frustration.


    "I am. That''s why I''m going to mess with his feelings," Taylor replied with a devilish smile. She continued contemplating, "Or maybe I should say, ''I have a boyfriend now.'' No, that''s not really going to work on him. He knows he''s better than them. Come on, help me with my makeup. I need to make sure he''ll be wide-eyed when he sees me. I want him to regret ever wanting to break up with me."


    Selena rolled her eyes and grumbled, "Just apologize if you want him back. You know you''re the one who messed up."


    "Yeah, but I''m a girl. He''s the one who''s supposed to let it go," Taylor snarkily replied.


    Annoyed with Taylor''s behavior, Selena teased, "You know, Ed and I bonded quite closely when he came to the set."


    Taylor shot her a glare and warned, "Bitch, don''t you dare."


    "You keep acting up, and I''m going to be the one asking him out," Selena playfully threatened.


    Taylor scoffed, "Well, you can try, but you''re only going to embarrass yourself."


    "You know, we even kissed on the show. I could swear I felt some sparks," Selena started to say, but Taylor cut her off by hitting her with a pillow.


    After venting her frustrations, Taylor returned to the mirror, and Selena, disheveled and disbelieving, decided to tease Taylor again, "You know, he doesn''t really flirt with anyone anymore. What if he already has another girlfriend? Did you ever stop to think about that?"


    Taken aback, Taylor stopped in shock and turned to Selena in anger, ready to retaliate. She ended up hitting Selena with a pillow once again. After finishing their makeup, Selena asked, "Did you really write a song about him?"


    "Kinda. I never expected Leo to be the one who helped me find the melody for it," Taylor replied, putting on an impression.


    Selena''s jaw dropped, and she asked, "That old weed guy?"


    "Yeah, but I guess he really has some brain damage. He doesn''t even remember that he was the one who helped me," Taylor explained.


    "Are you embarrassed to sing it in front of him?" Selena curiously inquired.


    Taylor smiled innocently and said, "I don''t know. I think he''s hoping for it, but I''m not sure."


    In Edward''s villa, Cam stood in the living room, visibly frustrated. He shouted in a high-pitched voice, "NOOOO! How can you put the Chocolate River here? It''s supposed to be outside by the Oompa Loompa candy trees!"


    "And the balloons are supposed to be mylar balloons, not rubber balloons!"


    "Where are the vendors? Why aren''t they setting up yet?" Cam exclaimed, expressing his exasperation.


    Haley cautiously approached her uncle and tapped his shoulders. Cam turned around, and his tone quickly softened as he saw her.


    "Hmm, Uncle Cam. Don''t be mad when I ask you this, but why is there an ice sculpture in the Willy Wonka theme party?" Haley inquired.


    Cam squealed in frustration and tearfully replied, "I don''t know. I don''t even know why I agreed to do this in the first place! It''s impossible to fix it now!"


    In Edward''s other house, Ted and Frankie were sitting at the dining table, with a lot of food in front of them. Frankie looked at her watch and asked with concern, "Are you sure Ed''s coming? I know his practice should be over by now, but are you sure he knows about you wanting to have lunch with him?"


    Ted was taken aback and replied, "Wait. I forgot to tell him. I''ll call him to see where he is right now."


    Ding Dong


    The doorbell interrupted Ted just as he was about to call Ed. He smiled and made his way to the front door, saying, "That must be Ed. See, I don''t even have to tell him about it."


    Frankie chuckled and replied, "That''s just pure luck. Next time, you should really inform him if you want to make plans. He''s just like me; we usually plan ahead."


    Ted smiled and shot a glance at Frankie as he opened the door. However, to his confusion, he was met by a tall man with a nerdy haircut and another shorter man wearing glasses instead of his expected son.


    "Who are you?" Ted asked immediately, his guard going up.


    "Hi, I''m Dr. Leonard Hofstader. I-I''m Edward''s friend��no, acquaintance," Leonard said timidly, reaching out to shake Ted''s hand. "And this is Dr. Gabblehauser. We''re here today as representatives of Caltech."


    Ted''s confusion deepened as he shook Leonard''s hand and nodded politely at Dr. Gabblehauser. "Representatives of Caltech? What does this have to do with Ed?" he asked, gesturing for them to come inside.


    Dr. Gabblehauser spoke with a pleasant, joking tone, "Didn''t you know about the papers your son has published? They''ve been the talk of the scientific community for days now. We thought we were already too late to recruit him, but I should''ve known that no one could get close to him without already being acquainted with him beforehand. Luckily, I brought Dr. Hofstader here with me."


    Leonard smiled apologetically, but Dr. Gabblehauser hugged him by the shoulder and shook him to cheer him up. "Oh, don''t worry about it. You''re doing the right thing."


    Frankie joined the conversation, walking toward the group. "Mind explaining to us what you mean by recruiting him?"


    "Oh, right. It would be best if we take a seat before discussing it," Dr. Gabblehauser suggested. They all sat down in the living room, and Gabblehauser continued, "I''ll be curt with you. We believe that Edward has much more to learn at Caltech than he would by continuing his high school studies. Let''s face it, high school is already useless for someone at his level."


    "We would like to offer Edward a scholarship to attend Caltech, and of course, you can set your own conditions," Dr. Gabblehauser stated.

 Chapter 239: Halloween (3)

    Chapter 239: Chapter 239: Halloween (3)?


    [Edward POV]


    "I''m done!" I exclaimed while wiping my non-existent sweat, having finished carving my pumpkin into the shape of a small cat. Phil looked amazed and said, "Whoa. That looks just like your cat."


    Luke, excitedly, declared, "I''m going to go get her so we can compare her to the pumpkin side by side." He quickly ran to the house and returned a few minutes later, dragging Alex and Vader along with him. Alex burst into laughter upon seeing my comical cat.


    We positioned Vader next to the pumpkin and took multiple pictures, even placing a small witch''s hat on her head.


    "Meow?" Vader looked confused but obediently stayed by the carving as I continued snapping photos. However, my photo session was interrupted by a call from Maggie.


    "What do you want?" I asked immediately upon answering the call.


    Taken aback, Maggie stammered, "Um... Hi cutie, how are you doing��"


    "I''m hanging up��"


    "WA-WAIT WAIT WAIT!!" Maggie desperately called out. I put the phone back to my ear and said, "Last chance."


    "Ummm... You know how... You made me go to college here... right," Maggie hinted.


    "I know? I''m the one who talked to your dean to get you in," I replied, feeling a bit annoyed.


    "Yeah. That," Maggie continued. "So, at college, people usually make friends, right��"


    "Get to the point in less than 10 words," I interjected, sensing she had something specific in mind.


    "My friends want to come to the party too... Please...?" Maggie confessed right away.


    "Exactly 10 words. Good job," I said, thoroughly impressed. Maggie giggled and said, "Thank you~ Thank you~"


    "Well, I have no problem with them coming. I also invited some model friends of mine whom I met at the fashion gala, so they''ll have people their age. But if they want to come, they need to be vetted first. You should send their names and their social media accounts."


    "To you?" Maggie asked, sounding confused.


    "No, to my head of security. I''ll send you his number."


    Anxious, Maggie exclaimed, "Ed! You know I can''t text a stranger��" but I cut the call without even hearing her excuses. If she really was an introvert, I would have some pity on her, but she''s actually a social butterfly, so the whole thing was actually just laziness on her part.


    Just as I ended the call, my phone buzzed with Maggie''s name flashing on the screen again. With a sigh, I answered, "What?"


    "Can''t you answer the call more warmly next time? I''m still your cousin�C"


    "I''m hanging up."


    "WAIT!" She stopped me desperately once more. Then she said, "I don''t have a costume to wear for the party. N-Not just me, but I know Vanessa doesn''t have anything to wear either."


    "Hudgens, huh... Hmm... I don''t have anything for girls, but Haley does. She might think she can hide them from me, but I know she has Longines working late hours to make outfits for her. That''s why she doesn''t have any money at all. You can go to his boutique and bring... Vanessa too. But, you need to call Haley before you can take anything."


    "AH! That''s perfect. Haley and I are becoming great friends these days. We mainly talk about you�C Umm... I''m going to go."


    "Wait. Explain. What do you mean you guys talk about me? Maggie!" I asked, but she had already cut the call. "Damn it. She won this time," I cursed before I called Haley to give her a quick heads up. But our conversation was cut short due to Cam''s shouting in the background, prompting Haley to end the call.


    Turning to Alex, I asked, "By the way, do you know what your sister is coming as for the party?"


    "I don''t know. She said she doesn''t want to be Catwoman ''cause Enid got dibs. I''m not so sure what she decided to go with," Alex replied casually before rubbing her reddish nose.


    I remembered her allergies to cats and felt a pang of guilt for not considering that earlier. I racked my brain, searching for a solution. Suddenly, a memory surfaced, and I realized I might have a way to help her.


    "Hell�C What the�C Wait! I really forgot about it, huh," I muttered out loud, surprised by the realization. I had ignored the medicine knowledge I had gotten from Doctor Strange, because I thought it was going to be similar to the ones in this world.


    But it really wasn''t.


    I forgot to consider the universe factor. In the world where they have really high technological advantages, the research on medicines there was top notch. The medicines formula in my brain, if taken out, would shock the entire world.


    ''Maybe I can do something with this information later.'' I thought secretly.


    Alex looked at me with curiosity. "Forgot what?"


    "Your allergies. I think I may have found a way for you to play with the cats without triggering them," I replied, however this knowledge wasn''t from the Marvel universe, but instead, it was from my previous world.


    Hope sparkled in Alex''s eyes as she asked, "Really? How?"


    Taking a moment to gather my thoughts, I continued, "First, we need to get Vader to stay inside a chicken coop."


    Confusion washed over both Alex and Vader as they tried to make sense of my statement. Even Agent Smith that was hiding behind the trees was interested in the conversation when I mentioned fixing her allergies, and he almost broke out of his agent''s composure when he heard about the chicken coop.


    Alex put her hand on my forehead and asked, "Do you have a fever?"


    I rolled my eyes and explained, "Cat allergies are usually triggered by a protein called FelD1, which is found in a cat''s saliva, urine, and skin glands. These allergens can become airborne and cause allergic reactions to people like you."


    "Theoretically, when a chicken is inoculated by these proteins, or like I said before, let Vader or any other cats live with them, they will produce an antibody, an anti-FelD1 protein. Like humans, these chickens'' antibodies will be passed down to their descendants."


    "These antibodies will concentrate on the egg yolks, and when a cat like Vader eats the yolk, they will receive the antibodies, which will neutralise the FelD1 allergen inside the cat, preventing them from spreading."


    Alex widened her eyes and said, "So, stopping them at the source? So I don''t have to take allergy medications anymore?"


    "I don''t know if it''ll work 100%, like I said, it is still a theory." I replied with a smile. "I''ll get someone to test it."


    "NO! I can do that on my own!" Alex said before she turned to her father. Then, her excited expression slowly morphs towards confusion. "Wait, did I just... want to ask my dad to build a chicken coop at our house?"


    I shrugged and said, "Seems like a feasible idea tho."


    She rolled her eyes at me before realizing something, "Uncle Cam has a farm. I''ll ask him if he can let us experiment there."


    Agent Smith suddenly appeared in front of Alex, startling her. "AHH!" she shouted.


    "Don''t worry about it ma''am. We will help you contact our state trusted farms. We can even handle the experiments for you if you want." Agent Smith said.


    Longines looked at Maggie from top to bottom, making her feel conscious, "I think it''s too small for you. Hudgens may be able to squeeze into it, but girllll, we need to find you something adult size and not fun size."


    Suddenly Maggie saw a Spiderman outfit hanging on the rack near her, "What about that? Who is that for?"


    "That''s for Edward actually. It was too tight for him, too small, especially in the you-know-what area." Longines said crassly while hinting at the girls, which made both of them fall in disbelief.


    "It''s Ed''s? He''s going as Spidey? But he said he was going to dress up as Batman? Did he lie to everyone?" Maggie bombarded Longines with questions.


    Longines replied while crossing his arms, "Girl. I don''t know what you mean. He made a lot of those, not only the Spiderman one. I''m also the one who made that Batman suit he showed in his Insta-Live. If he made a lot of them, maybe he wants to have the options? "


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    As I entered the house, I saw Jenna''s mom, Mrs Karlsen sitting at the living room couch while I was putting down the pumpkin. Vader jumped down and ran to the kitchen to get her food and water.


    "Hi. You''re here." I greeted her cheerfully.


    "Hi Ed. You said you wanted to see me?" Mrs Karlsen asked in confusion.


    "Yeah, let''s go upstairs for a bit. I have something to give you." I replied before looking to see where my dad was. But I didn''t see him, or Frankie, so I asked Mrs Karlsen, "Wait. Where did my dad go?"


    "?" Mrs Karlsen was confused, "He said he was going to go look for you. I don''t know where he is. He left after letting me in."


    "Alright then. So we''re alone." I replied before I said, "Come upstairs."


    At that moment, I didn''t realise that my words could be misconstrued as something else to Mrs Karlsen. It was as if she heard everything I said with a sultry filter, and her heart skipped a beat as she followed me.


    After we got into my room, I walked to the table and picked up a script for her. "I remember what you said about the audition, and here�C"


    However as I turned, I saw that she was tying her hair and almost kneeled on the floor, opening her mouth seductively. But she was surprised when she saw the script and went back up immediately. "Wait. A script?!"


    "Um, what just happened here?" I asked teasingly, but she didn''t even blush a bit. Her eyes were glued on the script, so I gave that to her.


    "It''s for the role of Skyler White, the wife of Walter White in the new series the company''s producing." I explained. "Is she the main character?" She asked excitedly.


    "The face of the series is Walter White and Jessi, but Skylar is a main character too." I explained. Mrs Karlsen suddenly hugged me excitedly and said, "Thank you ED! THANK YOU!"


    "Calm down. I''m not finished yet. I''m not giving you the role. The auditions are starting next week, and I wanted to give you a head start."


    "Doesn''t matter. This is the first time I''ve ever got the script for the main character." She said with tears in her eyes. I was amazed and said, "Wow, this is a huge deal for you isn''t it?"


    "I''ve been auditioning for 14 years. And never once did I land an important role. So yeah, it is a big deal for me." She said before she added teasingly " In fact, if you want me to really do what I thought you wanted me to do, I''ll have no problems with that."


    I rolled my eyes at her and changed the topic, "I''ll put in a good word for you with the director. Ah, but I have to warn you, Skylar''s character can be quite annoying, so the audience may hate the character."


    "Oh, she''s going to be pregnant at an old age..." Mrs Karlsen ignored me and skimmed through the script before she teased, "Hmm...Do you want me to be pregnant for real, or?--"


    "I can''t roll my eyes anymore than this. Go home and read it. I need to get ready." I said as I chased her away.


    "Get ready for what?" She asked with a permanent smile on her face. She touched her cheeks and said, "God, this is so embarrassing. My face can''t stop smiling. I''d probably need to get botox after this."


    "Don''t do that." I laughed a bit and replied, "I have a special date today, with a few special ladies."


    "A few? Wow! I need to make Jenna stay away from you." She joked. She left soon after with a huge grin plastered on her face while I had some lunch and changed my outfits.


    I wore circular glasses, a Gryffindor scarf and Hogwards robes, I drew a lightning mark on my forehead. My dad returned at this time and saw me.


    "Well well well, if it isn''t the great Harry Potter." He said. I chuckled and pointed my wand at him, "Petrificus Totalus!"


    He pretended to be paralyzed for a second before he laughed. "I thought you''d be going as Batman." He asked.


    "Batman''s for the Trick or Treating thing. Oh shoot, I need to go now, so can you take care of Vader?" I darted off to the front door as I knew I had to go now if I wanted to make it in time.


    "Wait. Ed, Dr Gabblehauser�C" My dad tried to explain, but I dismissed him, "Later. I really need to go!"


    ...


    [General POV]


    Jenna''s mom went to Alex''s house to share the good news with her daughter before she left. And at the same time, she jokingly shared that Edward was going on a date, which made both Enid and Jenna startled.


    "He has a date?! Where!?" Jenna asked.


    "With who?!" Enid asked.


    Mrs Karlsen was dumbfounded and said, "Um...I don''t know."


    Claire, who has been eavesdropping, also shouted, "He has a date with multiple girls at once, or they meet him at different times?"


    "I seriously don''t know anything about it." Mrs Karlsen said with disbelief.


    In the children''s hospital where Edward went with Haley before.


    "Edward''s here!" The children shouted excitedly as he came into the ward and brought some gifts for them.


    "Hey! Ed! I saw you on TV!" One of the girls said excitedly.


    "Are you Harry Potter?" One of the boys asked.


    "Are you staying with us to watch the Wizards of Waverly Place?!" A small girl with burn marks on her face�C on her left forehead asked meekly while holding a teddy bear.


    Edward patted her head and said, "Of course. I promised that I would watch the show with you guys, didn''t I? That''s the whole reason I went and shot the show in the first place. Here, have some candy."


    Edward placed his paper bag on the ground and pointed his wand at the bag, "Candy Bombarda!" He chanted. The spring mechanism in the bag was activated and it shot the candies to the air like a volcano.


    The children cheered thunderously as they saw that, some even starting to believe that Edward was a true wizard because of it.

 Chapter 240: Halloween (4)

    Chapter 240: Chapter 240: Halloween (4)


    (Sorry I wasn''t around. My mom was admitted at the hospital, so I had to stay with her for a few days. I just got back home cause my sister took a leave of work tomorrow.)


    [Edward POV]


    -Children Ward, Lobby-


    "Wingardium, Levi-oss-sa." I said as I pointed at a snicker bar in front of me with my wand. Then, the bar slowly levitated from the table. The children exclaimed in amazement as I did, failing to see the thin fishing line I had connected to the Snickers bar.


    "Ed! It''s not Leviosssa! It''s Levi-O-sa!" Marie, a 5 years old girl who was diagnosed with leukemia , said giggling as she approached me. I chuckled and played along with her words, "Is that right? I guess that''s why I can only make one of them fly up each time."


    "You''re so silly," she giggled, her face brightening up. Her parents, watching the interaction, couldn''t help but break down in tears. Despite their emotions, they tried to put on a brave smile for their daughter.


    "Hey, can a silly person do this?" I reached out my hand towards Marie''s ear and pulled out a single stalk of rose. She burst into laughter, and the other kids wanted me to do the same for them.


    "Wait, hold on. I''ve run out of roses. How about I do it with a quarter instead?" I said, trying to hold back the eager children. An 8-year-old boy gasped and suggested, "What if you pull out candies from our ears?"


    "That... could work," I squinted my eyes, realizing the genius of the idea and wondering why I hadn''t thought of it before. "Ed! It''s starting!" a 7-year-old girl with ginger hair exclaimed, sitting in front of the TV.


    We had set up a flat-screen plasma TV for a special runtime of Wizards of Waverly Place, which premiered on the Disney Channel at 4 o''clock. The movie had a runtime of an hour and a half.


    I had one of my staff members set it up and connected it to the satellite using a simple Entertain Stick that I had created and plugged into the TV''s USB drive. The device, along with my new communication line, would be launched together.


    The Entertain Stick had a quick installer that ran automatically, allowing people who bought it to watch Netflix on their ordinary TVs and use various streaming apps for entertainment. Well, only I have a streaming app right now, so I got the full benefit of that. (FireStick/Android stick inspiration)


    {"I''m Jeremy Van Hellsing"}


    As my character on TV made his appearance at the last scene of the first episode, the children were excitedly cheering for his appearance.


    "Jeremy''s so cool!" Marie shouted while she stood on top of her hospital bed after she was moved to the other side of the ward to get her treatment. I could see her through the glass door separating the two wards. She could still watch the show through the same glass door despite not hearing any of the dialogues.


    The nurse who was administering the medicine through a syringe into her spine said, "You know what? He is cool. You just need to focus on the TV to see more of him."


    As the needle penetrated her skin, Marie started crying miserably, which made her parents approach her and hold her hand. Her gut wrenching cries made her parents both break down too, but they couldn''t do anything other than continue to comfort her.


    She needed to rest after getting the treatment, but before she left, I walked to the glass door and waved at her. She smiled slightly despite having a painful expression on her face, and waved timidly back at me. I cupped my hands through the glass door and said, "Hey! Marie! You take that treatment like a champ!"


    Marie was startled, but she wasn''t focusing on me yet. So I pressed my nose on the glass door, making silly faces at her. "Hey, hey, Marie. Am I still handsome?"


    She giggled a bit and then she complained to me tearily, "It hurts Ed. I don''t want to do this."


    "I know. But you have to do it to be better. You Marie, are really strong! I don''t think I could even do that! Next time when I have to fight the monsters, and I need to get a strong girl to help me, I''ll come straight to you to get your help. Then, you can teach me how to say the spell correctly again. We don''t want me to be defeated because I said it incorrectly, right?" I joked and continued talking to her to get her mind off the needle. She finally smiled brightly, and she nodded in agreement, "I''ll be sure to teach you!"


    "Attagirl~ Now, Mommy and Daddy, you guys are strong people too. So make sure to continue to be strong for her, alright?" I said to the parents. They were startled and then they understood what I meant. They held back their tears and wiped down the marks from their faces before looking at their child.


    "Bye Marie. See you next week." I waved the little girl goodbye before the nurse brought her and the parents away. This all happened during the commercial before the next episode started.


    The next episode was when me and Alex (Selena) went on a date while Justin tried to hide his vampire girlfriend from me. The simple comedic episode earned a lot of laughter from the children, and they thoroughly enjoyed it.


    "Edward." The little girl who has a burn mark on her face, and carried a teddy bear with her, called me out meekly.


    "What is it Jennie?" I asked her using a sweet voice.


    "Um..." She hesitated.


    "You know you can ask me anything." I rubbed her head to comfort her.


    She thought about it for a while and asked, "What do you think I should wear for Halloween?"


    "I thought you liked Cinderella? Didn''t you like being a princess?" I asked teasingly.


    She was taken aback before she said, "I wanted to...But no princess has a scar on their face."


    Her words surprised me for a bit. I thought about it and crouched right next to her. "Maybe, it''s because you''re a different type of princess."


    "What kind?" She asked with confusion.


    "Yeah, you''re...the princess that fought the dragon herself to get out of the tower. The other princesses needed to get help, but you did it all on your own. The scar on your face is a battle scar from your victory."


    She giggled and said, "No princess ever did that!"


    I acted goofily and said, "There are a lot of these types of princesses. But you know, they fight alone, so there''s no one there to tell their story. So, what if, when you go out for Trick or Treating, you tell the people about her story to make everyone know about her."


    "Really? Such a princess exists?" She asked with surprise, totally believing my lie at the moment.


    "Yeah. Zuko. Wait, I''m sorry. He''s a prince. But you know what? I even have a picture of the princess. You want to see it?" I asked.


    She nodded her head excitedly and said, "I DO! I want to see it!"


    "Robin. You know what to do." I mumbled slowly as I took out my phone. Robin replied, "Generating Warrior Princess."


    Robin generated a picture of a tan skinned princess with messy hair, and notable burn marks on her face. She was wearing a mixture of gown and battle armor, which made Jennie exclaim in amazement.


    "You''re beautiful Haley, do you think Edward will be disappointed about the candy tree?" Cam didn''t look at her and instead was focusing on creating the candy tree.


    "Done." He took a step back as he looked at the candy tree he had meticulously crafted, adorned with an array of delicious treats. Lollipops, licorice, candy ribbons, and gummy bears adorned its branches, creating a sugary and attention grabbing centerpiece.


    Next to the candy tree, there were two molten chocolate fountains, their cascading chocolate forming a river that meandered across a long table. Besides the table were fruits dippings, biscuits, and other foods you can dip the chocolate in.


    Suddenly, a group of waitresses dressed as Oompa Loompas caught his attention. They moved gracefully around the party, wearing colorful costumes that mirrored the distinctive appearance of the beloved characters from the chocolate factory. Their outfits were complete with short, striped pants, vibrant shirts, and curly wigs, capturing the whimsy and charm of the Oompa Loompas.


    Casey, the stern looking CIA agent grumbled as he spoke into his earpiece, "I''m in position."


    "As the Oompa Loompas. You know what Casey? It suits you." Chuck teased while hiding inside a van outside the villa.


    "I''m going to kill you after the party Chuck." Casey vowed.


    The party itself was filled with various other elements inspired by the chocolate factory. There were oversized candy props scattered throughout the venue, such as giant lollipops, chocolate bars, and candy canes. However, Cam was worried that some idiot teenagers would try to eat the decorations made of styrofoam, so he placed a sticker that said, "Not Candy" on it.


    Haley grumbled, her frustration evident in her voice. "Uncle Cam! You need to at least look at me."


    Cam, caught off guard by her remark, finally turned to face her. His eyes widened in surprise. "Wait, Haley!?"


    Haley had donned a costume inspired by Wednesday Addams. She had two black braids neatly framing her face, black lipstick that accentuated her pale complexion, and dark eyeshadow that added an air of mystery. Her dress was adorned with a garter belt, and long stockings completed the gothic ensemble.


    Cam couldn''t help but express his astonishment. "Oh my god. You''re going all out for the party! Are you planning to utilize his weakness for alternative, or more widely known as...the goth girls? Are you making a move tonight?"


    Cam was excited to hear some gossip, but Haley played it coy and said, "I don''t know what you''re talking about? I''m just wearing something that I think is party appropriate."


    "Talking about appropriate, your mother doesn''t know you''re wearing this right?" Cam asked as he pointed at Haley''s outfit. She rolled her eyes and said, "Of course not. Do you think she''ll approve?"


    Inside the Dunphy''s house, Enid had changed into a Catwoman outfit, but she didn''t wear the face helmet, but instead drew a cat mustache and nose on her own face.


    "Why is he wearing a Harry Potter outfit?" She grumbled as she looked at Edward''s photo taken by the paparazzi as he left his house before.


    "He''s going to change." Alex replied as she wore a white lab coat and styled her hair into a messy bun. On her right hand was a bottle of green rocks, labeled Radium.


    Enid suddenly teased Alex, "If you''re wearing a Marie Curie costume, will Finneas be her husband?"


    Alex however replied casually, "No. He''ll be Oppenheimer."


    Jenna, Enid and Elsa were confused. "What''s the relationship between them?"


    "She discovered the elements, he made bombs with them." Alex replied casually, which made the others nodded even though they didn''t really understand it.


    Jenna was wearing a Katara costume (LOL Just found out the girl I based her on played as Katara in a 2010 live action movie) and she asked, "Who''s going to be the one who''ll ask Edward about his date?"


    The girls truly thought that he went somewhere with a girl before. They have been speculating about this mysterious girl he was dating, but they couldn''t decide on anyone specific.


    Elsa wore a simple cop outfit, and she twirled her fake handcuff as she said instigatively, "Well, the question is not who''s going to ask him, but rather, is he even coming to the party?"


    "His own party?" Alex retorted sarcastically while Jenna and Enid were taken aback.


    Elsa teased, "If he has a great time with this girl, then maybe they''ll go somewhere to make out...You know, time passes quickly when you do that. You guys know what I''m talking about.."


    "I don''t! I''ve never made out with anyone!" Enid said angrily before hitting Elsa with a pillow.


    "I usually thought time couldn''t go fast enough. And never did I lose track of it." Jenna said begrudgingly.


    Back to Edward. As he was returning home to his neighborhood, Edward found himself getting stuck in a traffic jam. "Damn it." He cursed. As the car was at a standstill, he opened the small wooden box Sage gave him, and ate the red gummy bear.


    "Well, I am almost home right?" Edward chuckled to himself. As soon as he swallowed the gummy, he suddenly felt searing pain in his heart.


    "What the�� AHHH!!" Edward screamed miserably. But he forced himself to keep calm and thought about the matter. He knew that Sage wouldn''t harm him, so there must be something more to it.


    "Robin. Override the ride home. Block the agents from me too." Edward said with panting breath before he pressed the accelerator while getting the car out of the queue and onto the opposite road.


    "Where is he going�C Follow him! QUICK!" The agent who was following him tried, but he was blocked by the oncoming traffic when Robin messed with the traffic lights.


    "We lost sight of "PlayBoy"! I repeat, We lost sight of "PlayBoy"! Someone find him, now!" Agent Smith screamed through the walkie talkie to the other agents.


    A helicopter flew over the street, trying to find where Edward had gone. However, they only found his car parked near an empty house.


    "He''s gone." Agent Smith muttered frustratedly.


    On a street nearby, a pale faced Korean man had cornered Sage as he captured her from continuing to run away. He placed his hand on the wall, trapping Sage with his body.


    Sage looked at him defiantly, and asked, "Why are you here, Gong Shin?"


    "You know why I''m here?" Gong Shin asked, unsmiling. "Did you take it?"


    "I don''t know what you''re talking about?" Sage lowered her head as she avoided looking at him. However, he placed his hand on her chin and moved it forcefully to make her look into his eyes.


    "Don''t joke with me. Were you the one who took the APTX 4869 drug from my desk?!" Gong Shin asked angrily.

 Chapter 241: Halloween Trick or Treating!

    Chapter 241: Chapter 241: Halloween Trick or Treating!


    [Edward POV]


    I stared down at my tiny hands in disbelief, the familiar string burn marks still visible on my fingertips, so I knew that I hadn''t changed my body, but instead, I had regressed in age.


    "Whoa. I''m Tiny," I muttered with a childish voice, examining the drastic change in my physical stature. My Hogwarts-inspired robe now dragged along the ground, the once-perfect fit now comically oversized.


    I quickly pulled out my phone, the device appearing massive in my diminished grasp. Peering into the screen, I took in my transformed appearance with a slight surprise - my once-long brown hair now falling just past my neck, making my head look slightly like a mushroom, my chiseled jawline softened into slightly puffy cheeks.


    "Damn, I still look cute at 7 years old," I said, a hint of reluctant amusement in my voice. But the realization of my precarious situation quickly set in.


    "This is dangerous," I muttered, my brow furrowing with concern. "I really hope I won''t attract any ''forceful invitations'' to a private island in this state."


    I held my hand into the sky, rays of light penetrating through the gaps in my fingers, "How did Sage do this? Did she give me the drug Conan used?" I assumed and decided to keep the antidote close to me. She told me before that it won''t work if I eat it now, so I had to wait until the perfect timing.


    Suddenly, I saw a group of SWAT team members scouring the area.


    "Shit." I turned backwards on the street and ran away from them quickly. "Damn it Sage. How the hell should I explain this?!"


    I pulled out my phone again and called, "Robin, I need you."


    "Sorry, Unauthorized Personnel." I made a mistake and Robin started to lock up my phone''s accessibility.


    "Wait- Robin it''s me! EDWARD! I have been turned into a small child by an evil god�C Wait, no time to play, Override code, HarambeIsTheKey..." I continued on to tell her the 64 combinations of letters and digit code before she accepted my override code.


    "Override accepted. Hello sir."


    I breathed in relief, slightly patting myself on the back for thinking far ahead.


    "Robin, I need you to adjust my voice to be my original one, and connect me to Agent Smith�C Wait, I need to call Sage first." But, I soon cursed my luck as I couldn''t get to her.


    As intrigued as I was with my transformation, I was also a nervous wreck about getting caught looking like this. Luckily for me, the neighborhood kids had already spilled out onto the streets to go trick-or-treating as darkness fell.


    I hid behind a tree, shrouded in my oversized clothes, when suddenly a kid in a Phantom of the Opera costume and mask approached me, his trick-or-treat bucket swinging in his hand.


    "Hey kid," I whispered, waving him over conspiratorially. The boy paused, then slowly walked towards me, his curiosity piqued.


    "Are you supposed to be Harry Potter?" the boy asked, eyeing my ill-fitting robes. "Did you get your brother''s hand-me-downs?"


    "Yeah, too bad for me," I sighed dramatically. "What''s your name, kid?"


    "Henry. And you''re also a kid, so don''t call me a kid." He said sternly.


    "Well Henry, I''m...Harry," I said, cringing inwardly at the lameness of my alias. To my amazement, the boy bought it, hook, line, and sinker.


    "Awesome. You even have the same name!" Henry exclaimed with innocence. "What''s up, Harry?"


    I cleared my throat nervously. "Well, Harry...this might seem like a weird request, but..." After several minutes of easy bargaining and pity story, the boy walked away wearing my oversized Harry Potter costume and clutching $1000 in cash. I gave him everything I had in my pocket right now.


    His bewildered parents watched him go, momentarily stunned into silence by the wad of bills in their son''s hand.


    "How�C Wait, even if you changed the costume with him, isn''t the amount too much?" The dad asked in shock.


    "How did he even give you 1000 dollars?" His mother asked with disbelief.


    "Well, I told him to give me 10 bucks, but he only has 1000 dollars. I asked him if they are the same thing, he said it might be, so he gave it to me." Henry told his parents. To be honest I felt bad about tricking the kid so I decided to just give him the money. And I already predicted the outcome, so I left a note inside the stack of cash too.


    "Wait. There''s a...handwritten note." The father found it.


    [Dear Parents,


    Your child Henry performed admirably in our recent social experiment conducted in the neighborhood. Despite having to give up his costume and likely miss out on trick-or-treating, he chose to help someone in need. An admirable quality we were trying to find in a child! As a token of our appreciation for your exceptional parenting, please accept this monetary compensation. Unfortunately, we cannot disclose the name of our organization as we are working confidentially with the government. Thank you for raising such a wonderful child.


    Sincerely,


    The Experimenters]


    The parents were dumbfounded for a while before the mother retorted, "It''s obviously a fake note!" The handwritten note, despite being neat, was written with a pencil. The mother turned around to search for me, but at this time, a gust of wind blew several leaves into her face.


    "Ugh�C What the hell�C" She cursed as she tried to get the leaves off her face.


    I seized the opportunity to casually slink away, slicking my hair back and sliding on the Phantom''s iconic half-mask.


    The father suddenly said, "Well...There''s a note, so we''ll have no problem with the IRS."


    "What the�C" The mother cursed in disbelief before realizing something, "A thousand dollars will help a lot. Henry, do you still want the Darth Vader costume? I can swing by the store and pick it up."


    "I WANT IT!" Henry shouted excitedly.


    "Well..." I chuckled to myself, relishing the absurdity of the situation." That actually worked out...Maybe, I can trick Agent Smith too?"


    I asked Robin to modulate my voice to my older one and called the agent, telling him shortly and simply that I''m currently hooking up with someone''s mom, and will be back within 2 hours before I hang up. I wasn''t sure if he bought the story, but it was my best shot at the moment.


    "Wow, no foreplay at all, right to it, huh? But again, sometimes I like it that way. It means there''s not much talking to be done," Max replied with a dirty joke, making Ted roll his eyes. The agents remained unfazed.


    Frankie smiled and said, "I do miss you, Max."


    "Frankie! I miss you too! Alright, did Ed say anything before he left?" Max asked.


    "He said he''s going to go hook up..." Ted replied, but Agent Smith added, "With someone''s mother."


    Both Ted and Frankie were shocked, turning towards Smith. Max, however, replied casually, "Who''s mother? There''s a lot of sexy mothers around him that he has the hots for."


    In New York, Max slightly counted the mother figure around Edward and mumbled to herself, "Gloria for sure, Claire too, Desire? Alexandria�C That girl''s an ex-playboy model, so it''s possible. Or is it someone who acted as a mother in TVs?"


    "What?!" Ted asked with shock. Agent Smith nodded in understanding and muttered, "So this is a normal thing. Thank you, Miss Max Black."


    "Hey Stop using my full name. I''m trying to make less people know me." Max said before Agent Smith cuts the call. After the call, Max became curious and she called Edward, not expecting him to answer. She was so surprised when he did.


    "Wait. Why did you pick it up? I just want to bother you so that you won''t be able to enjoy your time properly." Max blurted out her planned mischief, her face blushed red with her own embarrassment of herself.


    "Haha. Very Funny." Edward replied with the voice modulator. His panting breath as he was running from grandma, made Max have a wrong idea.


    "Dude. At least focus on her." She said, giggling.


    "Cutie~ Come here! I promise I won''t spank you!" The grandma shouted from behind Ed, but through the voice modulator, the voice turned into a sultry woman''s voice.


    "I''ve got to go." Edward said suddenly. "That crazy bitch is relentless."


    "By the sounds of it, she does seem like that." Max said teasingly before she said as she cut the call, "Enjoy."


    Edward was confused and he muttered, "Why the hell did she even call me?"


    ...


    Edward finally escaped the grandmother''s pursuit and went trick-or-treating in his neighborhood. As he walked down the street, he spotted some familiar faces - Luke Dunphy, dressed as Luke Skywalker, and Manny Delgado, in a matador costume, were trick-or-treating together.


    "Are we really going to do this, Luke? It''s the first time our parents let us go trick-or-treating by ourselves. What if we get into trouble?" Manny asked nervously.


    "Halloween rules - if you give bad snacks, you get the attack," Luke said as he pulled out a carton of eggs from his bucket. "Are you wimping out or are you going to help me?"


    Manny tried to defend the homeowner, "But he gave us apples-"


    Suddenly, Edward popped up beside them. "So he deserves it. Let me have one," he interrupted, reaching for an egg.


    Luke and Manny let out scared yelps before glaring at Edward. "Who are you anyway?" Manny demanded.


    "Who cares? He''s egging the house with us, he''s part of our team now," Luke said happily, handing the egg to Edward. "I''m Luke, and this scaredy-cat is Manny."


    "I''m Harry. Harry Styles," Edward replied as the trio pelted the house with eggs.


    The irate vegan homeowner ran outside, yelling, "Hey, you brats!" But the trio quickly escaped.


    "Hey, you''re cool. Want to join us trick-or-treating?" Luke invited Edward.


    "Sounds good, let''s go," Edward replied. But as he turned, the old grandmother suddenly grabbed his hand from behind.


    "Sweetie, I finally found you!" she exclaimed.


    "AHHH!" Luke and Manny shrieked in horror before fleeing.


    "Hey, help me!" Edward cried out, but his new friends had already taken off.


    "Let''s go, child. I need to have a word with your parents about letting you out alone," the grandmother scolded.


    "Ugh, no," Edward groaned, trying to pull away. But then he spotted a familiar face - Mrs. Henderson, his teacher, walking nearby. Her hair was uncharacteristically loose, and she seemed anxious, likely searching for someone.


    "Mom!" Edward called out. Mrs. Henderson looked confused, then her eyes widened as she recognized the young boy. She was shocked inwardly when she realized the situation, and why she was called for help before.


    "Mom? Oh, you must be his parents. I''m so sorry, I thought he was out by himself," the grandmother said, releasing Edward. He darted behind Mrs. Henderson''s skirt, eyeing the grandmother warily.


    "I-I wasn''t trying to kidnap him," the grandmother said defensively. Edward relaxed a bit, then said, "I know, you had good intentions. But my mother is here now, so you can go. Thank you for the candy."


    The grandmother''s expression softened. "Aww, you''re still a sweet boy. Okay, I''ll leave you to your trick-or-treating. Goodbye." She turned and walked away.


    After making sure she was gone, Edward turned to Mrs. Henderson. "Thank you for pretending to be my parent, Miss Henderson."


    Mrs. Henderson stared at him silently, making Edward feel uneasy. "Why are you looking at me like that? I''m not alone, I just need to find my brothers. They''re trick-or-treating with me."


    "Alright then, let''s go," Mrs. Henderson said suddenly, which startled Ed. She said gently, "I''ll take you until you find your brothers again. I can''t let you go out here alone at night."


    Edward looked confused. "Wait, go where?"


    "Trick-or-treating," she replied. "I''ll accompany you." She extended her hand to Edward, which in his confusion, grabbed it without even thinking.

 Chapter 242: Halloween Trick or Treating (2)

    Chapter 242: Chapter 242: Halloween Trick or Treating (2)


    [General POV]


    -Flashback-


    A day after Edward''s live stream where he introduced Coldplay and promoted their album, the tension in the room was palpable. Edward was sitting directly in front of Linda, their knees almost touching as Linda had positioned the chairs to face each other intensely.


    "Is this necessary?" Edward asked, his voice laced with slight uncomfortableness at the confrontational setup.


    Linda''s expression was determined as she replied, "I need to step up my game since your defenses are almost impenetrable." It has been an hour and 45 minutes since Edward started his session, but he barely talks about anything today. She then took out a pen from her cleavage, crossed her legs together, and said, "I want to ask you a few questions about the upcoming Holiday if you don''t mind."


    Edward, feeling a bit intrigued, said happily, "Halloween? Yeah we can talk about that. We can talk about that all day long."


    "Great. So tell me Edward, why do you have 13 costumes planned out for Halloween?" Linda asked, her gaze unwavering.


    Edward was surprised by her knowledge and asked defensively, "Wait. How did you even know that?"


    "I have my sources," Linda said with a teasing smile. As Edward was narrowing his eyes at her, she revealed, "Your father told me just before you came in. Although, he just said that you''re indecisive about picking one, and was just laughing at the thing the whole time. But, when I noticed the numbers...I realized there may be something more about the whole thing."


    Edward nodded, feeling slightly relieved, before leaning backward on his chair and saying, "Like he said. I''m indecisive."


    However, Linda refused to back down. She leaned in and said firmly, "Really? And it has nothing to do with, you feel that you are OWED to celebrate it? 13 costumes, one for each year of your life."


    Edward leaned forward and gazed at Linda angrily, holding himself back as he joked, "You know what? It irks me so much when you psychoanalyze me."


    "It''s the only thing I can do given your non-commintement of undergoing your therapy session. Am I correct in my assessment?"


    Edward rolled his eyes and said sarcastically, "Yeah. You are the smartest girl in the world."


    "Thank you. I take that as a compliment." Linda ignored the diss and continued, "I am curious though."


    "Curious about what?" Edward asked.


    "Why 13? Why not 14?"


    Edward paused briefly before he smiled and said, "Because I had that one time with my dad."


    Linda was taken aback, and she smiled sincerely. She hesitated before carefully asking, "Why...wait 2 years before you enjoy it? I mean, if you''re looking forward to it your whole life, then why wait? Why not go out and celebrate it the moment your mother left the house?"


    After Linda asked the question, Edward rubbed the back of his head with some irritation before replying, "I could''ve if I''d realized that sooner. But, I''m a kid. I''m bad at understanding my emotions."


    Linda nodded and said, "I understand that. It must have been tough for you. Especially since you had no people to guide you in processing your emotions while you were a child. And after your mom left, you had basically been alone."


    She remembered what Edward said in the livestream and asked, "The effort you put in Halloween is phenomenal. Is Halloween your favorite holiday among other Holidays? Or, was it because you''ve been building it up inside your head, to feel what it''s like?"


    Edward scoffed derisively and said dismissively, "No, it''s because of all the candy. And the time is up. Goodbye."


    -Flashback ends-


    [Edward POV]


    Walking side by side with my ex-teacher, Miss Henderson, while holding hands, I felt like I was living the weirdest day of my life or quite possibly a strange dream�C Dressed in a Phantom of the Opera costume I had bought from another kid, literally turning into a 7 year old, everyone was wearing a costume as they walked past me, holding hands with my ex middle school teacher which I claimed was my mother as I walked around my neighbourhood.


    "Ummm...Miss Henderson?" I called out to her softly. "You don''t have to keep holding my hand. I won''t run away."


    "I know. I just want to," she replied curtly, her attitude a complete opposite of how I knew her. Compared to her usual reserved demeanor, she seemed a bit clingy, and most importantly, she accepted the whole situation too easily.


    In fact, it was suspicious to me that she hadn''t tried to ask about my identity or my family. Nor did she even ask my name.


    ''Going on a trick-or-treat outing with a random child she grabbed off the street? I wonder if she''s a mentally unstable person pretending to be a functional adult,'' I thought, my mind racing with questions. ''Maybe I should''ve implanted some additional initiatives to open up the mental institutions back then?''


    My thoughts were interrupted when she suddenly karate chopped the top of my head. "Ouch! Why did you do that?" I asked, shocked.


    "You look like you were thinking about something rude," she said, pointing to the next house. "We''re here now. They just left a bowl of candy outside, so you can take one."


    "Alright," I replied, giving her a purposefully cute smile, but she didn''t react, which only served to confuse me further. ''So it''s not because of that...Then, why is this happening?''


    A little frustrated, I faked a smile after I picked up the candy, and went back to her. She reached out her hand to me, and I reluctantly held it again.


    "By the way, do you know me?" I asked her.


    "E�C I don''t." She replied.


    "Then, why are you helping me?" I asked curiously.


    "I just feel like it." She replied ambiguously.


    At the next house, a sweet, blonde Christian woman opened the door. "Aww, you are so lovely. Is the costume your idea?" She asked me.


    "Yes. Because my mom here said that I can sing like an angel." I said innocently while pointing at Mrs Henderson who''s standing behind me. Mrs Henderson was startled, but the mom was already excited.


    "Oh, then why don''t you sing a bit for me?" She requested.


    "I''ll do it for 2 more chocolate bars." I negotiated.


    "Deal! James~! You gotta come see this!"


    "Coming Christina."


    A middle aged man with cheerful spirit and a thick head full of hair joined his wife.


    "Oh, is he going to sing for us?" The husband asked in excitement after getting the story from his wife. "Give it your best big guy!" He encouraged me.


    "It''s better not to�C" Mrs Henderson tried to stop me, but it was too late. I started rapping the lyrics to Baby Got Back with style.


    "I like big butts and I cannot lie! You other brothers can''t deny! That when a girl walks in with an itty bitty waist And a round thing in your face, you get sprung, Wanna pull up tough ''cause you notice that butt was stuffed, Deep in the jeans she''s wearin''"


    "Claire went overboard. It''s really exciting." I said with excitement as I admired the view. Mrs Henderson looked at me weirdly, but she didn''t say anything.


    The front porch was shrouded in darkness, save for the flickering orange glow of jack-o-lanterns that leered at us with malicious grins.


    Despite being like a house straight from a horror movie, Claire stood among the eerie display, her normally cheery demeanor replaced by a frantic, almost desperate energy as she tried to coax the few remaining trick-or-treaters towards her door.


    "Wait! Come back! You forgot your candy!" she cried, her voice desperate.


    "AHHH! RUNNNN!" The children rushed away after she tried to get close to them.


    Phil emerged from the house, his face ashen. "Honey, maybe we should call it quits. It''s too much for the kids to stand." He shuddered as he glanced back towards the interior, where the ominous silhouette of the "Doll House" could be seen, its countless eyes seemingly watching his every move.


    I subconsciously gripped Mrs Henderson''s hand tighter before pulling her towards the house. Claire and Phil beamed up as they saw me.


    "Hey! Aren''t you Alex''s teacher, Mrs Henderson?" Claire asked with some surprise. And when she saw me, her eyes shook, "You have a son?"


    Mrs Henderson was taken aback and said, "No. I''m just looking out for him."


    "Oh." Claire laughed a bit. "What''s your name?" Claire asked me.


    "Harry Styles." I replied.


    Phil greeted with friendliness, despite wearing the Jigsaw costume, "Oh, your name is like a name for celebrities. I''m sure you will be big one day."


    Claire, who was dressed like the female version of Jigsaw, smiled eerily and said, "Welcome Harry, to the DollHouse of Nightmares!"


    "Sweet!" I exclaimed, which made Phil bewildered,"He likes it?!"


    Claire laughed in satisfaction and opened the door to the house wide, welcoming me to enter. There were numerous dolls inside the living room, filling every nook and cranny of the space.


    "Aren''t you afraid that they will come to life and haunt you?" I asked the duo with an innocent tone.


    Claire smiled while Phil looked a bit worried. She said, "You shouldn''t worry about us, but you should worry about yourself! Naughty boys who don''t listen to their parents, when entering the Dollhouse, will be turned into a doll themselves."


    "Sweet! I always wanted to become a doll." I replied, throwing a wrench in Claire''s ploy to scare me. Phil chuckled and rubbed my hair, "Here, take the candies."


    "Phil, he didn''t even flinch. How can we scare Edward like this?" Claire asked her husband.


    "First of all, are you even sure he''s coming? Won''t he go straight to his party?" Phil asked.


    Claire opened her mouth, but she couldn''t reply. While I was filling my buckets with candies they placed on the table in the living room, Enid, Jenna, Alex and Elsa came downstairs.


    "Why do you even bother coming out with a plan? Ed''s not coming." Elsa said.


    Enid replied, "He will come! Then, we can bring him trick or treating. As long as Alex and I stay in front, the parents will give all of us candies."


    "Mom, we''re going to go now." Alex said before she suddenly turned to the teacher, "Mrs Henderson? Why are you here?"


    "She came to give you your report card! You fail in every subject!" I shouted to scare her from behind. Alex and Enid flinched before all of the girls turned towards me.


    "Who''s this midget?" Enid asked mockingly as she pointed at me. However, as she saw the exposed part of my face, she became confused. Even Jenna noticed it too.


    [Alex''s commentary]


    "It might be the Halloween vibes and all, but I almost screamed when I heard what the kid said."


    [commentary ends]


    "Mom, let''s go." I took Mrs Henderson''s hand and said to Claire, "Thank you Doll Lady, and Doll Gentleman."


    Both of them chuckled in satisfaction as they waved me off. "Bye Harry Styles." Phil shouted from afar.


    ...


    *Ding Dong*


    "I''m coming!" Ted brought a bowl of candy with him as he walked to the front door, eager to give out treats to the trick-or-treaters. Suddenly, he saw two familiar faces standing in front of his door.


    "Teacher Henderson?" He muttered as he saw her. He turned to look at me and said, "Is this your son? Aren''t you single?"


    Mrs Henderson almost rolled her eyes, but she held herself back. Well, the original plan was for me and Mrs Henderson to act like she needed to get home, but I still wanted to continue trick or treating.


    Knowing my dad, he would volunteer to take me for a while, allowing her to respond to something personal or tend to her work matter. But I suddenly had a bad thought when I saw his face today.


    "Hi! I''m Harry." I introduced myself.


    My dad smiled, not knowing what''s about to hit him, "Hi Harry. Here, take some candy."


    "Thank you daddy~" I replied innocently, before I acted like I shouldn''t have done that. I turned to Mrs Henderson with a horrified voice while both of them were confused, "I''m sorry Mommy. I misspoke. I know you want to hide me, but I''m so excited to finally meet daddy."


    "I''m-I''m sorry. What?!" My dad was extremely shocked. I was chuckling inwardly while Mrs Henderson pinched my cheek and punished me greatly. "Stop that. I''m sorry about him. He''s a pathological liar."


    We did continue with our original act, and my dad did volunteer to take me around, so nothing came out of my mischief. Or that''s what I expected it would be.


    [General POV]


    5 minutes earlier. When Enid and Jenna saw child-Edward''s face. They whispered with each other. Enid said, "They really look similar, right?"


    "I know. It''s like they are brothers! Should we take a picture of him to show Ed?" Jenna suggested.


    "That''s a great idea." Enid said before both she and Jenna followed Mrs Henderson. They were confused at first as to why the duo went straight to Edward''s house, and when they heard what little ''Harry'' said at the door, both of them froze in place.


    They ran away before they could hear the whole thing, and hid behind the bushes. They gazed at each other with a blank stare. Enid spoke first, "Did you hear what I hear?"


    "Edward has a half brother? And Mrs Henderson had hooked up...with his dad?" Jenna muttered with disbelief.

 Chapter 243: Halloween Trick or Treating (3)

    Chapter 243: Chapter 243: Halloween Trick or Treating (3)


    (Sorry. Was catching up the Chapters after taking a week off to take care of my mom. There will be one more chap tomorrow. And hopefully one more on Sunday, but no promises because it''s near Eid Adha)


    [Edward POV]


    Standing on my father''s left side, my half mask covered my face as I walked side by side with him. He wore a simple cowboy outfit with leather boots and a cowboy hat.


    While we were walking, it was awkward between the two of us. He suddenly asked without prompting, "Why do you like lying?"


    "Whoa whoa whoa whoa! Come on Old Man, you can''t ask me a personal question like that, not even 2 minutes after we met." I muttered with disbelief.


    He was taken aback and apologized, "Sorry�C"


    "That''s the kind of question you can ask after getting to know someone, not while you are getting to know them. You suck at making small talk, old man."


    "I said I''m sorry." My dad muttered apologetically, at the same time my reaction made him chuckle. While walking, we saw Gloria and Mitchell who were taking Lily around trick or treating. They were going in the direction of the Dunphys house, which meant trick or treating was over for them.


    "Hey Ted." Mitchell greeted as he walked towards us.


    "Hola Ted. Who-Who is this? Your son from your family out of town?" Gloria said teasingly.


    "Huh? What does that mean?" I was confused.


    Mitchell politely explained, "She meant family from the other side of the town�C Wait, why am I explaining it to you?" He finally came to his senses.


    "No, this is Edward''s former teacher''s...son?" He looked at me as if to get confirmation. "She''s my aunt." I replied casually. I lost track of how many aunties I have right now. But I guess this one''s fine because I was using another identity.


    "AH, that makes much more sense." Ted finally breathed in relief. I turned to him and said, "Why did she ask you if you have a son from another town? Are you the type of guy who will cheat on his wife?"


    "No, it''s the other side of town, not another town�C Wait again, why am I explaining?" Mitchell muttered exasperation.


    Gloria, and Ted were taken aback, but baby Lily, as if she knew who I was, kept calling me, "Ed! Ed! ED!" while trying to get to me.


    "No�C I''m not." My dad stammered.


    "Ay, it was a joke." Gloria intervened. "Um, why are you bringing him around?" Mitchell asked.


    I looked at my watch as my dad was explaining, and before Gloria could ask another question, I spoke up, "I''m sorry? Are you guys going to continue talking? I have 20 minutes left, and I don''t want to waste it here. Can''t you wait until after I finish trick or treating?"


    "Y-You''re right. We''re sorry." Mitchell said apologetically.


    "That''s quite rude." Gloria scolded me, "It''s not good talking to an adult like that."


    "Get out of the way OLD LADY. I have candies to get, and I don''t want to waste my time at the nursing home!"


    Gloria gasped and she became angry, "Who are you calling old lady? Who''s in the Nursing home?!"


    I rushed to the other house while ignoring them. Mitchell had to hold Gloria down with my dad while I casually went trick-or-treating.


    "....?Este culicagado!" I heard the end of Gloria''s cursing.


    "I heard that I still have my hearing. I''m a young boy after all." I replied jokingly.


    After enraging Gloria, Ted brought me away from the duo, and we could still hear her shrill voice echoing down the eerie, empty street, even after we had put some distance between us. Her grating, angry tone seemed to linger in the air, causing some of the remaining trick-or-treaters to scurry away in fear, as if the old witch herself might descend upon them.


    "You''re...quite confrontational," my dad said with a hint of exasperation after pulling me aside.


    "Well, the Phantom never had any friends or people who loved him for who he was. He didn''t understand basic human etiquette - otherwise, he wouldn''t have resorted to kidnapping the girl," I replied, my tone laced with a touch of defensiveness.


    My dad regarded me with a look of disbelief. "So, like the Phantom, do you not have any friends either?"


    "Please," I scoffed, walking briskly ahead of him. "I just don''t want to waste any time I have left."


    "What''s your hurry?" he asked, rushing to catch up.


    I suddenly stopped and turned towards him, asking mockingly, "Have you never gone trick-or-treating with your son before? Why ask a question when you should already know the answer?"


    His smile faltered, replaced by a look of sadness. "As a matter of fact, I haven''t. My son and I, we only went to one house. And that was it."


    I clicked my tongue in disapproval. "That poor guy. He couldn''t even enjoy what it''s like."


    "Oh, and what does it feel like exactly?" Dad asked. "Maybe I can tell him about your experience so it won''t make him feel so sad?"


    "Well then, in the next 15 minutes, I''ll teach you all about Halloween! And the main point of Halloween...is all about fear and pranks!"


    [General POV]


    In the Dunphys house, Claire was resting in the living room while Phil was in the kitchen, taking out some snacks.


    "Honey, can you check on Luke?" Claire asked while massaging her sore feet. "He''s supposed to be back by now."


    "Manny just texted me. They are on their way home." Phil replied as he brought a glass of water to Claire. However, he couldn''t sit on the couch as the other spots were filled by the porcelain dolls.


    "We-We should probably box these up tonight." Phil muttered with some anxiety. He couldn''t shake the feeling that there was something more with the dolls.


    Claire rolled her eyes and said, "I''ll do it tomorrow morning. I just want to get some rest now. Besides, we always do it the next day."


    "Sometimes I just want to do it today." Phil muttered. "We can even take them back tonight." He added with desperation.


    {"Take us back."} An ethereal whisper resounded softly.


    Claire rolled her eyes and said, "We rented them out for a whole day. We can''t take them back now. Phi-....Phil?" Claire sat up as she saw Phil frozen while standing completely still. Phil looked at Claire with an ashen face and asked, "Honey, did you hear that?"


    {"Take us back."}


    Claire widened her eyes, and she instantly turned towards the dolls behind her. She stood up, and immediately went to Phil.


    "It''s okay if you forgot. He has enough candy already." My dad said. I protested, "Hey, there''s never the term, "ENOUGH CANDY" for a kid. Don''t make your own decision."


    Mr Kleezak looked at my dad briefly before saying, "Wait. I know you."


    "I''m Ted. I live nearby, Sir." My dad extended his hand for a handshake. As both of them had experiences in being in the army, they got along pretty quickly.


    "No, that''s not where I remember you from." Mr Kleezak shook his hand 9 before replying. "You come here with a ghost. What is that? 2 years ago?"


    "It was 9 years ago." My dad smiled and replied. "I can''t believe you still remember me."


    "Is this your new son? I remember that ghost boy. He was so excited for candies. He didn''t even look at me." Mr Kleezak said with a rare smile before he said to my dad sternly, "You took care of that boy, right?"


    "I tried to." My dad replied with a deep depression in his eyes.


    "Good. Make sure to be a good father to them. Otherwise, you''ll end up like me." He said gruffly before he turned to me, "Wait here. I have some candies on my table."


    I nodded and said, "Thank you Grandpa!"


    He came back a minute later, panting as he walked. "Here." He placed some caramel candies inside my bucket. "Happy Halloween. Now, get out of my porch."


    "Happy Halloween!"


    My dad and I walked away, with me waving at the angry grandpa as I left. He stood by the door frame as he watched me go away. I know he looked angry, but that guy was also lonely.


    "Thank you Mr Ted for taking me around." I suddenly said to my dad. He looked at me with confusion, "O-Oh. You''re welcome. Next year, if you want to, you can come trick or treating at my house."


    "I will if I have the chance." I said before I walked near him and gave him a hug. He was startled at first, but then he hugged me back lightly while patting my back at the same time.


    "Thank you." I whispered before I released him. "Wait LOOK OVER THERE!" I suddenly shouted while pointing at the sky. My dad turned around to check it out, but there was nothing there except for some clouds.


    "Hmm? There''s nothing�C Harry?" He turned back, only to see I was gone. "HARRY!?" He shouted, but I didn''t answer him and continued slipping away. With the cover of the darkness and my own costume having a dark color theme, I managed to get away from him quickly.


    I sat on the curb, while unwrapping a candy bar before popping it into my mouth. A wave of contentment washes over me, and without me realizing it, my lips curled up into a smile. The gentle night wind blew, and it hit my face as if it was comforting me. I closed my eyes as I enjoyed the moment.


    The short, relaxing moment.


    The moment that made my life felt better.


    I finally, have a proper memory of the holiday with my dad. Except, I was the only one who knew about it.


    ["Why do you like lying?"]


    I remembered his question before. Well, Mrs Henderson probably got it right. Maybe I am a pathological liar. But growing up, lies are necessary for me. Lies become the shield that protects me, and everyone else around me.


    When I got beaten up by the warden, I lied to the other smaller kids there, telling them that I fell down.


    When we all had to go hungry for days, surviving only with the bare minimum, I lied to everyone, telling them that I heard people would donate to the orphanage, and we could eat again.


    I lied and lied, until I was an expert at lying.


    Why do I like lying? Maybe the answer was...


    "Because lies are more comforting than the truth."


    I sat there with the lollipop in my mouth, and finally my watch beeped.


    I took out the antidote for the pill.


    "STOP!" I heard Sage''s shout as I swallowed it. I turned and saw her, with her shirt clinging on her body, sweat dripping on her chin.


    "Did you run around in high heels?" I asked her with shock and some admiration. "That''s some tough shit right there."


    "We need to get you back home, right now." She grabbed my cheeks.


    "Huh? Why?" I asked with confusion when I suddenly realized it, "Oh damn, I won''t fit into the shirt anymore. I will be naked out here if I don''t, won''t I?"


    "Come on! We need to move fast!" She said as she grabbed my hand and we rushed to my place.


    "Wait�C My friends are at my house!"


    "We''ll just have to face them!" Sage said.


    My body started hurting, and my heart beat quickly again so that I couldn''t run anymore. Sage picked me up into her arms, and ran towards my house hurriedly.


    Luckily for us, my house was empty at the moment. We went straight to my room where Sage had to cut me out of the shirt. I also choked myself in it, and I became completely naked in front of her after I grew back into my teenager self.


    Sage flopped down on the floor and said, "Oh. Haa...Haa...We made it."


    "Thank you Sage." I replied breathlessly as I lay down on the bed. Suddenly, I sat up and looked at the door. She asked, "What''s wrong?"


    I replied, "I don''t know. I figured that someone would catch us like this, and a misunderstanding will happen again. But not this time huh.."


    I was unaware that everyone was at the Dunphys house right now, the cops, the agents, and even my friends were there, trying to get a glimpse of the haunted dolls. I changed into a simple white shirt and khaki pants while Sage took off her shirt to take a shower. She took off her shirt casually, not even minding my presence there.


    "I''ll go and see what''s going on." I said to her as I finished wearing my clothes.


    "Okay. I''ll let myself out later." She replied, before I threw her a towel. She wrapped it around her body, and I finally turned towards her. I hugged her abruptly, which startled her.


    "Thank you Sage." I said sincerely.


    She smiled as she relaxed, and said, "You''re welcome Ed. I just hope you finally have another memory to cherish."


    I nodded at her, and then I suddenly turned to the door again. She was confused and asked, "What is it?"


    "Well, no one''s really busting us huh?" I replied with a shrug.

 Chapter 244: Halloween Trick or Treating (4) + Party (1)

    Chapter 244: Chapter 244: Halloween Trick or Treating (4) + Party (1)


    [General POV]


    Edward stopped the matter from going worse by confessing what he had done. He had too, or else the police matter would be too complicated.


    "I can''t believe you! What if my dad was in there? You could''ve killed him!" Claire scolded me. Edward scoffed and said, "Me? Then, tell me why did you decide to have a doll house theme? Did you really think I would find out about it?"


    They bickered for a while, and the police were helpless because of their arguing. After having some conversation with the cops, the cops left, and Edward went to his dad to explain about his disappearance, and then went to his friends.


    [Phil and Claire''s commentary]


    While Phil''s face was pale, Claire was excited and she exclaimed, "Ohh! I will make sure to return this humiliation next year! I''ll keep this as a grudge until then."


    Phil muttered sadly, "I just want the dolls out of the house."


    [Commentary ends]


    "Sorry about that." Edward apologized to Jenna, Elsa, Enid and Alex. "You guys all look awesome by the way."


    "It''s fine. It''s fun seeing you fight with mom." Alex chuckled. Enid became smug and posed with her cat-woman costume, "I do look awesome. Have you fallen for me yet?"


    Alex rolled her eyes, "Stop that. You''re embarrassing yourself."


    "Ed! We have some time, I think? Wanna go trick or treating?" Jenna asked excitedly.


    Edward chuckled and said, "It''s fine. I''m not even wearing a costume right now. We should go to my other house for the party."


    "I can solve the costume problem." Enid said before she reached into her pocket and took out a plastic fang. "You just have to wear this, and slick your hair back, maybe some light makeup, and you can be a Vampire from Twilight."


    Edward''s face contorted into a frown, obviously�C which made the girls laugh at his reaction. Elsa said mockingly, "I think Enid had imagined something like this would happen for a very long time."


    Enid nodded without embarrassment and said, "I even have colored contacts if you want," which made the girls giggled. Edward gave up and said, "Fine. Just do it."


    "YES!" Jenna and Enid exclaimed at the same time before they put on some light makeup on Edward.


    Back to the Dunphy house. After settling the affairs, Claire wanted to come inside the house, but Gloria, Mitchell and Phil just stayed in front of the door, waiting for her to go first.


    Claire rolled her eyes and said, "Come on! Don''t tell me you guys are still afraid?!"


    "You don''t mess with a spirit''s presence like this, and think that they won''t mess with you back. I''ve seen this happen all the time. It starts with a simple prank, and it turns into a horror story." Gloria said solemnly.


    Mitchell said hintingly, "Remember when we used the OUIJA board to ask if Donald was gay? And the entire house lost electricity? So she might be right on this." He gently shook Lily who was sleeping in his arms. "I can''t take the risk Claire."


    Claire stopped her steps forward and took another glance at the house. She turned to Phil and said, "Phil, come on. Let''s go in."


    "Um...I...I think we should find another place to stay tonight." Phil replied.


    Claire became exasperated and said, "Are you really that scared?"


    "I''m not scared. It''s just I''m thinking about the children." Phil said while pulling Luke in front of him. Claire''s eyes flickered in realization, figuring that Phil only wanted to protect their children, but then Phil muttered, "Besides, I can''t move my legs forward."


    "Mom. Can we stay at Grandpa''s tonight?" Luke said while flashing his cute expression. Manny added, "After experiencing such a turbulent night, some extra company inside my room will be greatly appreciated."


    "Fine. We''ll stay at Grandpa''s." Claire relented. But before Phil and Luke could cheer up, Claire said, "Someone needs to help me pick up the car keys though...and the house key,some money, my purse..."


    Luke stepped aside, leaving Phil alone facing Claire. Gloria and Mitchell also stepped backwards at the same time. "Good, a volunteer." Claire said as she grabbed Phil''s arm.


    "NOOO!" Phil shouted miserably, trying to grab the door frame before Claire could drag him in, but he failed to do so.


    Agent Smith finally saw Edward walking around with his friends, and felt relieved.


    "We found ''Playboy''. You guys can stop searching." He said to his intercoms.


    Agent Gobble said jokingly, "So, we can stop scouring for the ''Horny MILFs'' in your area list?"


    Although he was joking, they actually did go through the list. It was the best night in Gobble''s life. He got lucky 3 times already tonight. He got numbers of course, not the other type of lucky. After all, he was still a professional.


    "I mean, if you want to continue, that''s up to you. I know those women are your type." Agent Smith said mockingly.


    Suddenly a voice of a young woman interrupted the conversation, "Anyone wants to know who he met with? Hint, the answer might surprise you."


    "You found where he went?" Smith asked with a slight surprise and intrigue. But then, he said, "Don''t tell anyone what you saw. Keep that to yourself. As long as he wasn''t meeting an enemy representative, we don''t have to get involved in his daily life."


    "Aye Aye Sir." The girl muttered playfully.


    Agent Smith pondered for a moment before asking, "It was...a girl, right?"


    "You said you didn''t want to know?" The girl mocked as she monitored Sage walking out of Edward''s empty house. "It was a girl. Extremely pretty too." She added.


    Agent Smith nodded before he went to protect Edward, acting like his shadow.


    Jenna pushed Enid and Alex to the front while they were ringing someone''s doorbell. "Ed, you bend your knee a bit to become the same height as Jenna." Enid said.


    "This is your plan?" Edward muttered with disbelief. Enid rang the doorbell to the house excitedly, and a familiar face opened up the door. The Christian mother who received Edward''s unhinged rap before, now has a frantic look on her face. She looked a bit dissatisfied and just threw the candies into our bucket, "Take�C Take it all!. We still have quite a lot of it."


    "Thank you Ma''am, would you like to hear a song as our thank you?" Edward muttered teasingly. The mother widened her eyes in anxiousness and slammed the door into the group''s faces. "No! Get lost!"


    Alex exclaimed, "Well, she''s rude."


    Elsa added, "Pent up maybe. Her husband couldn''t satisfy her any longer, so she took out her frustrations on us."


    Edward was laughing to himself the entire time, and Jenna caught it, "What''s so funny?"


    "Nothing. I just think she''s traumatized. Alright, I hate to say this, but your plan actually works. Good job."


    The girls looked smug, and after reveling in the feeling for a while, Alex looked at her watch and said, "Shouldn''t we go to the party now?"


    "Don''t we still have the time to go to another house? Come on, Ed has never gone before." Jenna said before grabbing Edward''s hand and pulling him away.


    Unfortunately, all 3 houses that they went afterwards had already run out of candies. The girls were disappointed, but Edward comforted them, "Don''t worry. It''s all you can eat at the party. Let''s go."


    A black, high class 7 seater SUV took them to Edward''s party. Elsa wanted to rent a limo at first, but was vetoed by Edward. The others were already at the party, so they needed to hurry.


    ...


    [Haley''s commentary]


    "I...No, we...made a mistake." Haley muttered with an ashen face.


    [Commentary paused]


    In front of Edward''s house, a crowd of party invitees were already congregating there, muttering in dissatisfaction as they were forced to wait outside the house in the cold night. They had waited for almost 30 minutes now, and few had already considered leaving the place, but they didn''t, considering that the one who hosted the party was the most popular kid in the country right now.


    Haley commentary: "We should''ve never trusted him."


    "What''s going on!?" Finneas, who was wearing an Albert Einstein costume, asked Haley. "Why can''t we go in?"


    Billie, who was wearing a simple Fiona from the Shrek movie outfit, rubbed her cold shoulder with her hands. Haley looked nervous and she said, "I...Let me talk to Uncle Cam."


    "That''s what you said half an hour ago!" Kyle exclaimed in annoyance. The crowd murmured in dissatisfaction, and there was a hint of them turning into an angry mob.


    Edward finally arrived at that time, and was confused when he saw the people waiting in front of his house. The SUV couldn''t go into the driveway, so he and the girls exited the car near the street. Edward walked towards the mob there, and some people exclaimed in excitement when they saw him.


    "Troy?" Edward saw a familiar face climbing on a lamp pole. Barnes Troy was startled and he slid down the pole quickly. His eyes glittered as he saw Edward and said, "Hey! It''s good you''re here! The Dunphy girl won''t let us inside!"


    "Huh? Are you sure?" Edward asked in confusion. "Let me talk to her first to see what''s going on."


    "Whoa! He''s so cool!" Billie muttered with glittering eyes.


    Edward suddenly went to Cam and pointed his finger at him, "??Everything''s perfect here, and the sun is shining??"


    (Hey, hey!)


    "??Everything''s perfect here, there''s nobody crying!!??"


    Robin exploded a few streamers, and some fireworks, which shocked Cameron. The crowd cheered explosively as the dancers danced with perfect choreography with Edward.


    ??Oompa Loompa, doompa-de-doo


    I got a bad feeling ''bout you??


    ??Oompa Loompa, I don''t know, dude


    I got a bad feeling ''bout you??


    Edward twirled the cane while walking backwards.


    ??Bad feeling, bad feeling??


    ??I got a bad feeling ''bout you


    Bad feeling, bad feeling


    I got a bad feeling ''bout you??


    Cam tried to run away from the center of the performance, but the dancers grabbed him.


    ??Animals, animals, all misunderstandable


    Carnivores and cannibals, I want it on demand-able


    Mandible, jaw split, hit me with the gossip, gossip??


    Robin played a recording of Selena''s voice, "(Are you fucking serious?)"


    ??Everything''s perfect here, and the sun is shining


    (Hey, hey!)


    Everything''s perfect here, there''s nobody crying??


    "Everyone Together!" Edward said as he raised his hand to the crowd. They scattered around the living room now instead of just staying in one place and sang together with Edward.


    ??Oompa Loompa, doompa-de-doo


    I got a bad feeling ''bout you??


    ??Oompa Loompa, I don''t know, dude


    I got a bad feeling ''bout you??


    ??Bad feeling, bad feeling


    I got a bad feeling ''bout you??


    ??Bad feeling, bad feeling


    I got a bad feeling ''bout you??


    The Oompa Loompas held their hands together as they jumped around Cam.


    [Cam''s commentary]


    "Why is he doing this to me?"


    [Commentary ends]


    "??Na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na-na


    Na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na-na??"


    Enid snapped a lot of pictures of the shirtless Edward while he danced.


    Edward grabbed Haley''s hand, and made her join him, "??Everything''s perfect here, and the sun is shining??


    "??Everything''s perfect here, there''s nobody CRYIIIIINNGGGG!!!!!??"


    The entire crowd joined in to dance with him, while the Oompa Loompas picked Cam up to the air.


    "AHHH! Put me down!" Cam shrieked.


    "??Oompa Loompa, doompa-de-doo


    I got a bad feeling ''bout you??"


    Everyone sang together as they pointed their hands at Cam.


    [Cam''s commentary]


    "I thought I had survived High School, and wouldn''t get any more traumas...I was wrong."


    [Commentary ends]


    ??Oompa Loompa, I don''t know, dude


    I got a bad feeling ''bout you??


    The Oompa Loompas brought Cam to the pool, and the crowd followed them.


    "NO! NO!!" Cam struggled to get off, but 8 guys were holding him up in the air.


    "??Bad feeling, bad feeling


    I got a bad feeling ''bout you??"


    They threw him to the pool, and the entire crowd cheered!


    "??Bad feeling, bad feeling


    I got a bad feeling ''bout you??"


    "??It''s true??"


    The crowd clapped and cheered thunderously after the song was over. Edward continued playing dance songs while he went to fish Cam out of the pool.


    "Sorry. I had to do that to save the party." He apologized to Cam.


    Haley muttered, "But, you also kinda deserve it."


    Cam almost cried, but he held himself back, looked up in the sky to prevent his tears from falling down, "I''ll let you keep the costume. *Sobs*" Then, he walked to his car miserably.


    "I kinda feel bad." Edward muttered sympathetically before Haley grabbed his hand and said, "H-He deserves it! Let''s join the party!"

 Chapter 245: Halloween Party (2)

    Chapter 245: Chapter 245: Halloween Party (2)


    [Edward POV]


    "I still feel kinda bad though." I muttered as Haley and I sat together on the long couch in my living room.Her body nestled against mine. She rested her head on my chest, my right hand gently rested on her back, which she put there by herself.


    Enid suddenly shouted, pulling our attention to her. "Jeremy''s so hot!!" She was watching the Wizards of Waverly Place recorded episode with a lot of the girls there, creating a viewing party within a party, just a few meters away from the couch.


    I had to set up a projector and speaker myself for it because a lot of people were requesting it. Jenna, Jacob and Elsa joined Enid in watching, while the others had another thing planned.


    Alex, Finneas and Billie were setting up their performance near the gym, where Cam had created a makeshift stage for them to perform. It was something requested by Finneas so I included it into the party planning.


    Haley said dismissively, "It''ll be fine. If you feel bad about throwing him into the pool, you can just make it up to him later."


    I paused briefly and confessed, "Honestly, it wasn''t my idea to throw him into the pool."


    Haley was surprised, "Really?"


    I shrugged and pointed at the dancers, "I just told them to point their finger at Cam, to make him uncomfortable. They did send me a video about a choreography they wanted to do with me, but I didn''t know how it would end."


    I called an Oompa Loompa dancer nearby, and he excitedly walked over. His skin was painted orange, and his hair was dyed green. Flashing his near perfect white teeth, he greeted. "Hi Edward. I''m a big fan."


    After talking for a while, Haley couldn''t help but ask, "Why did you throw Cam into the water?"


    The dancer was flabbergasted, "Wait. Did I do something wrong? We all listened to Casey''s suggestion though."


    "Casey?" I asked while looking at the crowd, "Which one is he?"


    The dancer looked around, but couldn''t find the named dancer. He said defensively, "You know what he did to us? He made us all come at 8..."


    "That''s not so bad�C" Haley interjected, but the dancer continued, which made her speechless, "In the morning."


    "Seriously?" I asked with some shock.


    The dancer nodded, "He made us practice our choreography with him all day long. He changed the song and dance multiple times. He yelled at us, called us names�C We were really frustrated about it. And the reason he kept all the kids outside? It''s because he wanted to awe you, so he just ignored all of our suggestions to let them in, and left them behind in the cold." He said, referring to me.


    "Uncle Cam!" Haley mumbled reprehensibly.


    "We were really tired, and irritated. I''m sorry that we threw him into the pool. But we don''t regret it." The dancer apologised.


    I shook my hand and said, "It''s fine, you really saved the party. I just want to know why."


    "Wait. Uncle Mitchell is texting me." Haley suddenly said.


    "Is he angry at us?" I asked.


    "...Yeah, let me tell him the truth first." Haley said before she replied to Mitchell.


    "Hey, someone recorded the performance and posted it on Instagram." I muttered with excitement.


    Haley rolled her eyes and said, "Duhhh. Of course I''m going to post it. You looked so cool before."


    I smiled before I thought briefly and mumbled, "We can use this."


    ...


    [General POV]


    Mitchell asked with bewilderment and worry for Cam, "They threw you in the pool?"


    "All the dancers. They even took my phone out of my pants, so I know they planned this for a while." Cam expressed begrudgingly, trying to gather more sympathy for what he went through.


    Mitchell was horrified, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. He went to Cam and asked slowly, "What did you do?"


    "Nothing! I did nothing!" Cam replied whiningly. Mitchell was angry and he took out his phone, "I''ll talk to Edward and Haley about this. This is unacceptable!" He stood up and walked back and forth in the living room.


    Cam rubbed his forehead and replied, "It''s fine. They HAD to do it to save the party."


    "No-No, Cam. This is really unacceptable. After everything you did for them, they just threw you aside�C I can''t believe Edward could behave like this. Maybe he changed now after being so popular?" Mitchell said irritably as he texted Haley.


    Cam shook his head, and still pretended to be a victim while sitting at the sofa with Lily. Mitchell texted Haley, and his angry brows slowly turned into a horrified one. He suddenly looked at Cam and admonished him, "They should''ve thrown you off the cliff."


    "What?" Cam was flabbergasted by Mitchell''s change of attitude. Mitchell continued, "You let them out to freeze? And you tortured the dancers?!"


    Cam was flabbergasted, "I didn''t torture anyone!"


    Mitchell suddenly received another text from Haley. "Okay, what now? Did you waterboard someone?" Mitchell opened the text helplessly. Cam was offended, "You know what, I already had a difficult time at the party, I don''t need one at home too."


    "Oh no, Cam. Haley sent me a video. It''s about you." Mitchell muttered with some horror. Cam''s pale turned ashen and he said, "They are going to continue humiliating me online too!?"


    However, their faces brightened up as they read the comments on the video.


    {Jenna: He pretended the whole thing was going to suck, and subvert our expectations by pulling an Edward. I heard everything was planned by him!}


    {Kyle: That''s what he did? Man, I was really tricked by him. That old man was awesome.}


    {Jacob: He''s on par with a thespian. The dedication he has to his art. Cam! You''re awesome!}


    With Edward''s friends leading the public opinion, people were commenting only positive things about Cam.


    He suddenly looked smug and turned to Mitchell, "My art... is finally understood by the world."


    "Weren''t you sad he threw you in the pool before?" Mitchell asked with confusion and disbelief.


    Cam dismissed him with a gesture to his face, snapping his finger and acting like everything before was just his performance, "And scene. That was method acting, Mitchell. I was wondering what you''re going to do too, and you didn''t disappoint me....Well you did a little at the end."


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Haley suddenly asked, "Is there something wrong?"


    I was confused and I asked, "What?"


    "You know, you''re making that face when there''s something wrong, but you don''t tell it to anyone and just keep it to yourself, again." She continued.


    I paused briefly before I said, "It''s too weird to explain the thing, but a warm hug is greatly appreciated though."


    She smiled and said, "Sure," before reaching out her arms and hugged me. Enid came by at the moment with a plateful of fruits and a bowl of melted chocolate in her hand, "Oh are we hugging?"


    "Yes." I replied mischievously. Haley was taken aback, "Wait�C" But Enid already jumped in on the hug. Tara, who was wearing a Batgirl outfit, walked past and scoffed, "Get a room. Wait-- Enid, go away!" Tara sat at the couch, joining us for a while as she fixed her makeup.


    Ignoring her sister, Enid released me and said, "Here, eat some. You''ll feel better." She dipped the strawberries into melted chocolate and held them up to my lips. Haley, albeit jealous, watched intently.


    However, I suddenly scowled and said in disbelief, "Why is the chocolate so weird?" My face contorted with confusion.


    "Huh?" Haley was puzzled and she dipped her finger into Enid''s bowl. "HEY!" Enid exclaimed angrily, her eyes narrowing.


    Haley licked her finger and said, "Uh, did the chocolate go bad?" She wrinkled her nose in disgust.


    Enid finally tasted the chocolate and exclaimed, "Ugh, I tasted this before."


    I looked at her and asked, "When?"


    She turned to Tara and said, "Remember that time we added Toblerones, Cadbury, and a lot of other chocolates into one pot?"


    Tara nodded, "Yeah. That thing is weird."


    "??Everybody always gave you what you wanted


    You never had to work, it was always there


    You don''t know what it''s like, what it''s like??"


    "??To be hurt, to feel lost!


    To be left out in the dark!


    To be kicked when you''re down!


    To feel like you''ve been pushed around!


    To be on the edge of breakin'' down!


    And no one''s there to save you!??"


    "??No, you don''t know what it''s like (what it''s like)??"


    Everyone in the band sang the background vocals together. The rhythm slowed down, and the crowd held their breath.


    "??To be hurt, to feel lost


    To be left out in the dark


    To be kicked when you''re down


    To feel like you''ve been pushed around


    To be on the edge of breakin'' down


    And no one''s there to save you


    No, you don''t know what it''s like??


    ??Welcome to my life??


    ??Welcome to my life??


    ??Welcome to my life!"


    The crowd cheered as the song ended. Finneas said, "Thank you everyone!" Like I expected, the teenagers here loved the song as it resonated with them deeply. I said to Finneas, "You were worried for nothing."


    Billie teased him, "Thank god that went well. Now he''ll finally shut up at home."


    "Wooo! Finneas! What''s the band''s name!?" Maggie shouted.


    Finneas and I were taken aback, and so did the girls. We all exchanged looks before Finneas went rogue, "We are, the Melancholic Echoes."


    "What the�C" Billie exclaimed. Alex retorted, "We didn''t agree to that." I just laughed out loud. The crowd cheered, cementing the band name for our little group.


    I spoke to the crowd, "If anyone wants to use the stage, whether it''s to sing your song, or sing a cover song, just talk to Finneas and he''ll arrange it for you."


    "Thank you Batman!" Abraham shouted at me. "Thank you too Random Citizen." I replied while saluting him, which earned me some laughter.


    ...


    After the performance, Finneas joined me at the couch with Alex and Billie. Finneas suddenly said, "We have 5 more minutes before we should go back."


    "It''s 10 O''clock." I muttered with disbelief.


    "Yeah. Billie''s also 10�C" Finneas was trying to tease, but Billie punched him in the arm, hard. As he whimpered in pain, Billie said, "Sorry Ed. We wished we could stay longer."


    "Our parents will come pick us up." Finneas explained. Alex said, "I should join you guys�C Wait, why is there a text from my dad telling me not to go home?"


    "I guess that means a sleepover." I replied teasingly to Alex. I turned to Finneas and teased, "Are you sure you want to leave your girlfriend with me for the night?"


    Finneas scowled and mumbled in dissatisfaction, "I know you''re just joking, but that annoyed me greatly."


    "Aww." Alex exclaimed affectionately. Both of them were being flirty, which made Billie scoot away from them.


    I scoffed and said, "I made you get relationship points for nothing." I stood up from the couch, which made Billie ask, "Where are you going? Don''t leave me here with these guys!"


    "I''m going to go bother Maggie and mingle. Wanna come?" I told Billie.


    "Your cousin Maggie? Okay sure." Billie replied before following me along.


    The atmosphere was unnecessarily hostile when I met Maggie. Me as Batman, and her as SpiderWoman, standing facing each other, with our eyes locked together.


    "Well well well~" Maggie exclaimed haughtily, "Isn''t this broke Batman? You aren''t a billionaire, right?" Like me, she also didn''t put anything on her head, and let her long red hair flow down freely. The skin tight costume hugged her body, which made the teenage boys around couldn''t pry their eyes away from her.


    "Well not so broke that I had to steal a costume from another person." I shot back. "The audacity to try and insult me though. And you, Junkie Ring Girl." I pointed at Vanessa. "Why are you hiding your face behind your hair?"


    Vanessa covered her face and said, "You didn''t tell me the kids from Disney will be here!"


    "They are here?" I asked in confusion. "Where?"


    ...


    [General POV]


    Tara and Haley had finished looking in the kitchen, and they failed to find some liquor for the chocolate. Tara, who started with the intention of teasing Edward and her best friend, became fully committed to the search because she tasted the chocolate herself.


    "Edward really hates wasting food huh?" Tara muttered with disbelief.


    "Yeah. I don''t think he''ll throw away the chocolate, so maybe he''ll finish it himself?" Haley replied.


    "Is there someone who would know where it might be hidden?" Tara asked as they were clueless on where to find the liquor now.


    "I can ask Max, she lives here before." Haley said before she called the brunette. Max replied gleefully, seemingly intoxicated, "Hey Barbie."


    Haley grinned and said, "Max. We have a problem."


    "You know I''ve already got back to New York right?" Max asked.


    Haley replied, "Not the kind where you''d need to be here. We''re trying to find some liquor for Edward''s chocolate."


    "His chocolate? You kids are calling it that now?" Max hinted dirtily. Haley giggled and said, "Not what you''re thinking."


    Max thought for a while before she replied, "Hmm... I found him drinking some in his basement before. So maybe there... is?"


    "Thanks Max!" Haley said excitedly. Max grinned and replied, "Hey if you find a bottle labelled Euphoria, can you ship it out to me�C"


    Haley cut the call, and Tara asked her excitedly, "So, is there any?"


    "Max said to look into the basement for a bottle called Euphoria." Haley replied. They moved to the basement quickly, and as Haley held the door handle to the basement, she found that it was locked.


    "Robin it''s me." She whispered, and the door opened automatically.


    Casey, the NSA agent infiltrating the party, was monitoring Haley as she was getting to the basement. He, who looked like Adam Baldwin, said to the intercom, "I found a way to get to the lab. But, we might have to use a kid, and I''m not liking this method at all. "


    Sarah Walker, the blonde CIA agent who was managing the frozen yogurt stand near the pool, and also looked like Yvonne Strahovski, replied to him, "I''ll be there."


    Chuck, who was monitoring the entire thing inside the van parked nearby the house, interjected, "Why can you guys enjoy the party and I can''t?"


    "Cause we''re spies Chuck, and you''re just you." Casey replied curtly. All these while Robin was monitoring them closely through the cameras inside the house.

 Chapter 246: Halloween Party (3)

    Chapter 246: Chapter 246: Halloween Party (3)


    [General POV]


    Haley locked the door behind her as she entered the lab. Tara, however, was confused as she saw the sight in front of her.


    "Hmm? Why did you bring me into an empty room?" Tara muttered in confusion as she turned to Haley. The small room only had a metallic table in it, and there were brooms, mops, and cleaning solutions on the side of the room.


    "Is this the utility closet?" Tara asked Haley in surprise, but Haley ignored her and talked to Robin, "Hi. Did Edward keep any alcohol in the house?"


    Robin didn''t show up, but instead she just replied to the speaker, which startled Tara and made her hide behind Haley''s back. "There isn''t any more alcohol inside the house."


    "How about Euphoria?" Haley asked again worriedly.


    Robin replied, "I''m sorry. But you don''t have the clearance for me to answer the question."


    "Clearance?" Haley was shocked. Then, she became confused, "What''s that for?"


    Tara rolled her eyes and explained, "It means, you can''t know the information because you aren''t a high enough level!"


    "Ahh. Um...What''s my level?" Haley asked Robin back after understanding.


    "Level 3," Robin replied.


    "And what level do I need to have the answer?" Haley asked again.


    "Level 2."


    Haley contorted her face, "Isn''t that smaller clearance?"


    Tara rolled her eyes again and interjected, "Who has the level 2 clearance in the house?"


    "I''m sorry. I can''t answer you," Robin replied.


    "Because she doesn''t have clearance?" Haley asked.


    "Yes," Robin replied.


    "You ask it then," Tara urged Haley.


    "Um... Who has the clearance then?" Haley asked.


    "Inside the house, there''s only one other person who has the level 2 clearance," Robin replied.


    "Great. Who is it!?" Haley asked excitedly. Then, her face dropped to dissatisfaction after she heard the answer. She and Tara left the room, and Casey walked past them at the moment.


    He was shocked when he heard Tara mumble, "I still thought that was a lab. Turns out it was a utility closet."


    "A lot of people are around, so maybe Edward moved the lab," Haley replied.


    "It seems like something he would do," she added casually. Casey hid behind a wall and talked to his intercom, "We have a problem."


    Meanwhile, Agent Smith had been watching Casey''s retreat, but did not intervene, letting the situation develop further. "Keep an eye on the Frozen yogurt vendor, and their vehicle too. Notify me when something is happening," he said to his team.


    Justin, Jake, Skylar Samuels, Bridget Mendler, Jennifer Stone, Brenda Song, Dylan and Cole Sprouse, Hayley Kiyoko, Corbin Bleu, and a few other child stars from Disney arrived all together to the party.


    "Huh, so, they made me a pawn in their political game. Do they think that I''m the type to just sit here and let other people manipulate my fate?" Edward mumbled with an annoyed tone as Robin whispered everything that was going on to him through a small communication device in his ear.


    "What was that?" Maggie asked as she couldn''t catch what Edward had said.


    "Nothing," Edward replied with a smile, acting as if nothing was happening in the background of the party. Despite the whole situation being like the Chinese idiom; "The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind" - Edward has allies he didn''t know about.


    Jacob, who was dressed like Jason the killer, was scouring the party with a sharp gaze behind his mask. His girlfriend, Elsa, who was dressed like a policeman, asked, "Are you sure that Edward said he has spies trying to sabotage him?"


    "Alex heard it from her parents. You know Alex, she won''t joke about the matter. If there''s anything strange, we will report it straight to the agent," Elsa said, her eyes narrowed in concern.


    Suddenly, Jacob saw Abraham getting hit on by the frozen yogurt vendor. "Something''s weird," he muttered. "There''s no way someone that attractive would try to talk to Abraham."


    Abraham gleefully replied to Sarah Walker, "Yeah, I can show you where the bathroom is. In fact, I know everything there is about the house. Edward and I are best friends, you see."


    Jacob growled, "I''m his best friend!"


    Elsa placated him and glared at Sarah Walker, "She must be a spy. She saw the weak link, and went straight to him."


    "We caught one," Jacob muttered excitedly, "I''ll tell Enid and Alex."


    [Edward POV]


    As I went to greet the Disney kids, Corbin widened his eyes for a moment as he saw the Ring ghost beside me. "Vanessa? It''s been a while," he greeted her cheerfully. They knew each other from the High School Musical franchise as both were actors in them.


    "Oh my god, is that actually a muscle line on your Batman suit?" Brenda Song, the eccentric Asian girl, asked excitedly as her hands were rushing to my abs. However, Jennifer stopped her, "Calm yourself down. It''s the first time you''re meeting him."


    "Oh right. Sorry," Brenda Song retorted gleefully. I laughed and replied to her, "Yeah those are my actual muscle lines. Nice catch."


    "Nice body," she joked back.


    Skylar Samuels, the girl who played Gigi in Wizards of Waverly Place first season, was looking at me intensely. I turned to her and asked calmly, "What?"


    "Nothing...You''re just, really handsome that''s all," she said bashfully. I chuckled a bit and said, "Alright, I can''t really stay and talk. I have a chocolate crisis to handle right now. Enjoy the party."


    "Chocolate crisis?" Maggie asked me as she followed me along. Vanessa quickly followed her too despite Corbin still wanting to catch up with her. "Wait, I''m coming along. We-We''ll talk later," she waved him goodbye, which in turn made him feel helpless.


    As she was walking by Maggie''s side, I asked, "Why are you running away from him? He was clearly being nice."


    "Um...None of you�C Alright it is your business," she changed her words midway as I glared at her. She explained, "It''s just...I feel uncomfortable seeing him again. And if he brings up the leaked pictures, I will just kill myself."


    I nodded in understanding and said, "Alright. It''s your decision. But you see how the young ones were looking at you. They were almost fanatical in their eyes. For them, you''re like their mentor. The one who actually made it big. I think you can have more confidence in yourself."


    Vanessa scoffed and said self-deprecatingly, "They won''t look up to me anymore if they know how ruined I am right now."


    "You''re not ruined. You are just having a fresh start. That''s all," Maggie comforted her. "Besides, Kim K and Paris Hilton leaked worse things, and their popularity is shooting up right now." I nodded in agreement with Maggie.


    Vanessa dropped her shoulders in disbelief. "That doesn''t make me feel better." When she was feeling down, she suddenly received a text. "Hmm?"


    "What''s wrong?" I asked her.


    Haley continued, "Chocolate plus Euphoria, it just tasted like alcohol."


    "Yeah, that one is bad," I said with astonishment. "It lost everything special about Euphoria, making it an ordinary alcohol."


    Haley looked at me with disbelief, "You kept saying it''s great, but you never let me taste it."


    "I''ll do it in private. I don''t want another ''Max Incident'', especially in the middle of the party," I replied.


    Alex suddenly has an idea, "Hey, how about adding the three of them at once?"


    "Hmm?"


    Standing in front of the chocolate fountain, I filled another cup of melted chocolate and then mixed some drops in it.


    After it was mixed together with the chocolate for a bit, I tasted the melted chocolate and exclaimed in wonder, "IT''S freaking great!"


    "Thank god." Haley exclaimed. Alex chimed in, "Now, we just need to figure out how much solution will we need to fix the entire chocolate fountain�C Wait, what are you doing?"


    "LADDDDDDDDDIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS...." I suddenly turned to the crowd and shouted ceremoniously until I lost my breath which shocked both Haley and Alex. All party go-ers were attracted by my call, and turned towards me.


    "And Gentleman�C" I tried to tip my hat, but forgot I was no longer wearing the previous costume. "Damn, I thought I was still Willy Wonka."


    The crowd chuckled at my joke, and I continued, "Just imagine that I''m still wearing my Wonka costume for a second. In my hand here, is a Stevia. It''s made by the ancient people of Peru, who live in a Utopia. They used it in every meal, and it''s by far the greatest invention of their civilization."


    Barnes was astonished, "Really?"


    I turned to him and said, "Of course not. I''m exaggerating."


    "Oh." He exclaimed with disappointment.


    "And now, with Stevia in my right hand, and a little Edward magic in my left hand, I''m going to turn this barely edible fountain of chocolate into the greatest attraction in the party tonight!" I said, which earned me some applause from the crowd. "Of course, the greatest attraction is none other than me."


    They chuckled at my joke. I turned to the chocolate and started pouring the solutions into the fountain.


    "Is it just me, or is that chocolate getting shinier by the second?" Finneas muttered with disbelief.


    "And the smell." Billie sniffed the smell intoxicatedly. "What is that smell?"


    "Any volunteers to taste the magic first!?" I shouted to the crowd. A lot of people raised their arms out, and I decided to call, "David Henrie! Come here!"


    He jogged slightly towards me before saying, "I tasted it before. So if it''s still weird, I''m going to criticize you no matter how popular you are."


    I smirked and said, "Okay then. A deal. But if you tasted it, and it''s the greatest thing you''d ever had, what shall we do then? Maybe, you can go to the stage and sing a song, with your shirt off?!"


    The crowd exclaimed at my provocative bet, and Henry felt trapped. Alex whispered to Haley, "Hey, is there any side effect to this thing? Why do I feel that Edward had gone unhinged?"


    "I don''t know." Haley replied with frustration.


    "Alright! I''ll take the bet." Henrie said, which earned him some cheer from the crowd. "Pick your poison." I said as I guided him to the assortment of food he could eat the chocolate with. He picked some crackers, and I handed him a cup of chocolate from the fountain.


    "Here we go." I said to the crowd as Henrie dipped the biscuit into the chocolate before tasting it. His eyes widened as he exclaimed, "OH MY GOD! It''s fucking great!"


    "Really?"


    "Seriously?"


    Murmurs were coming from the crowd of people who were still disbelieving what just happened. "Come here and try it yourself. Oh god, I can''t stop myself." Henrie said as he gorged himself into the chocolate.


    One by one, people were rushing towards the chocolate fountain to taste the new concoction. I made way for the crowd and walked back to the girls with a permanent smile plastered on my face.


    Right then, I still haven''t realized yet the effect of the new chocolate fountain. There must be some chemical reactions between the 3 solutions that turned it into something more. It pressed down a person''s insecurities, making them the bravest version of themselves.


    "Where''s Edward? I want to kiss him." Skylar said with some chocolate stain on her lips.


    Brenda Song suddenly took off her shirt, only leaving her with her bra, "I always wanted to do this."


    David Henrie went to the microphone and started singing a song by Evanescence�C Call Me When You''re Sober.


    Haley stopped Tara from eating the chocolate, "Hey. Put that down."


    Already on her third cup, Tara muttered energetically, "Why should I put it down? Maybe you should put that pouty lip down? That sexy lip down, on my lip?"


    "What?" Haley exclaimed with a high pitched voice.


    Alex asked nervously, "Haley...Where''s Edward?"


    Haley widened her eyes and looked around, but she could no longer see where I was. "Oh shit." She muttered before she started running to search for me.


    ...


    "So, Sarah, you have such pretty eyes." I walked the pretty blonde fro-yo girl upstairs to my bedroom. Sarah giggled and touched my chest, "You have such beautiful eyes too."


    I chuckled and said, "It must be fate for us to meet today. I don''t know if my invention will help you so much."


    "Yeah, I used the Air Fryer and Fuzz remover all the time." Sarah giggled while gently pulling my hand before placing it on her waist. She closed herself to my body and gently whispered to my ear, "I really love how smart you are."


    "Really? Then, you want to see something cool?" I muttered to her as I took out my laptop.


    Sarah grimaced as she saw my back turned against her, "Sorry Edward. Although I think you don''t deserve this, it''s my mission."


    She took out her tranquilizer dart, aiming it towards me. I suddenly spoke up, surprising her, "I know. Mission always comes first, isn''t that right. CIA Agent Sarah Walker?"


    Chuck, who was looking at everything through the camera on Sarah''s clothes, suddenly shouted, "Abort Sarah! Abort!"


    A red dart flew across the room and hit the Agent directly in her neck. "You�C" Sarah limped down weakly, and then lost consciousness. I grinned devilishly before I walked towards her, and pulled out the camera in her shirt.


    "You have 5 minutes to come here before I eliminate both of them from this world, Mr Chuck Bartowski. Oh, and don''t think Agent John Casey can help you either." I walked to the toilet door and opened it slightly, revealing an unconscious agent John Casey being tied up on top of a chair.


    "Tick Tock Chuck." I smiled before I destroyed the camera.


    [General POV]


    "Oh my god. We poked a hornet''s nest." Chuck muttered incomprehensibly as he saw the monitor feed went out.

 Chapter 247: Halloween Party (4)

    Chapter 247: Chapter 247: Halloween Party (4)


    Announcement: Continuous daily Chapter till the end of the arc. Halloween arc ends at Chapter 250.


    (Remember. The chocolate gets rid of Insecurities. So the kids are unhinged.)


    [General POV]


    Agent Smith was curious about the chocolate that the kids were going crazy about, so he took some for himself and brought it back to his post.


    "Whatcha doing?" Enid suddenly appeared behind him. The veteran agent was startled and cursed, "Jeezus. Where did you come from?" His entire body was jerked forward, and his hand went straight to the gun on his waist before he relaxed as he saw who she was.


    "Uh-uh, this is just for guests." Enid said as she grabbed the chocolate from the agent''s hand casually. "Besides, you have a job to do. There''s 2 suspicious people at the party."


    Intrigued, Agent Smith asked, "Really? You noticed them?"


    "Of course we noticed them! EVERYONE noticed them! So go do your job and let us party in peace!" Enid complained before she left.


    Agent Smith scrutinized the teenager and mumbled to himself, "Astute observation and barely any presence. She would make a great spy... Alas, this is not on the job scope right now�C Wait, where did she go?"


    Enid disappeared amongst the crowd thanks to her tiny figure, which made Agent Smith even more impressed.


    Suddenly, a female agent walked towards him with a lollipop in her mouth. "Boss, we have a problem."


    "You''re being serious right now Paige?" Agent Smith narrowed his eyes at the agent with disbelief after seeing her stuffing her mouth full of candies. It was the same FBI agent who met Edward before. Paige shrugged in response, which made Agent Smith sighed. He asked,"What is it?"


    "Both of the spies, disappeared." Paige replied casually. Smith widened his eyes and asked urgently, "What about Edward?"


    Paige was confused and said while pointing to the crowd, "He''s dancing at the party?" Smith turned to Edward who was dancing and being in his own world. He became confused, but he still asked Paige to come with him to find the other spies.


    Nearby the pool, Elsa turned to Jacob and asked, "Where did you go?"


    Jacob held his lips shut, and then patted Elsa on the shoulder. "It''s a secret among best friends."


    Elsa was baffled, "But I''m your girlfriend."


    "Girls are temporary. Bros are forever." Jacob blurted out. Elsa raised her eyebrow at him and said threateningly, "Really?"


    -Flashback-


    "Hey aren''t you the one who played Agent Mitchell in the Independence Day movie?" Edward turned and said to Casey after walking past him.


    "What�C No. I''m not." Casey replied gruffly.


    "Are you sure? Cause I swear I''ve seen you in movies." Edward continued trying to figure it out, making Casey uncomfortable. He also asked him about why he suggested the Oompa Loompa throw Cam into the pool�C which turned out to be him mumbling to himself and the others heard about it.


    "Um." Casey grunted before saying, "I better go."


    "Last question, Last question." Edward chuckled as he acted friendly with Casey. He placed his hand around Casey''s shoulder much to the agent''s dislike, and suddenly changed his demeanor.


    "Are you here by General Beckman''s order?"


    Casey was startled and created a distance from Edward instantly, only to notice that he had been shot by 3 tranquilizer darts. (This is something normal in the show).


    Casey became loopy, and he fell to the floor, unconscious.


    "Edward. There''s some spies inside your house�C" Jacob was searching for Edward at the time, and saw the scene.


    "You hold his head, I''ll hold his leg." Edward ordered Jacob before they picked up Agent Casey''s body and dragged him into his bedroom.


    Jacob made a mistake and banged the agent''s head on the doorframe. "Oof�C"


    "Never mind. It''s not your head." Edward joked.


    "Should I get some duct tape?" Jacob asked as they placed Agent Casey on a chair.


    "No. He can break right through it." Edward replied. "We need chains."


    Jacob looked at Edward with disbelief, "Do you have...chains?"


    "For Friday night. Yeah." Edward replied jokingly. "Keep this a secret alright? I still need to catch the other one."


    "You got it Bro. Do you want my help with that?"


    "It''s fine. Go enjoy the party." Edward shooed him away.


    -Flashback ends-


    "Tell me!" Elsa demanded.


    "No!" Jacob stood his ground.


    "Tell me, or there will be no making out again until next year." Elsa gave an ultimatum.


    "I can wait 2 months." Jacob replied casually, which made Elsa roll her eyes. Their conversation was caught by a high school cheerleader dancing nearby. The blonde girl with the fake valley girl voice�C the fried vocals, grabbed Jacob''s hand and said, "I will make out with you if your girlfriend doesn''t want to."


    "BITCH!" Elsa grabbed the girl''s hair immediately and pulled it, hard, creating chaos on the party floor.


    "GIRL FIGHT! Take off your clothes!" Abraham shouted excitedly as he cheered the girls on.


    In front of the house, Chuck, wearing his BuyMore nerd herd uniform, staggered nervously as he walked to the front gate. The guard in front of the gate took one look at him before saying, "You can''t get in without an invitation. Go stand with those guys."


    He pointed at the crowd of paparazzi, arrested drug dealers who tried to get into the party, and teenagers from different schools.


    "Wait. I did get an invitation. Edward asked me to get in there himself," Chuck replied nervously.


    "Dude, stop embarrassing yourself," the guard said mockingly.


    "I''m not. I''m really not making things up," Chuck said helplessly. The guard took another look at him and said, "Alright then. Name?"


    "Chuck. Chuck Bartowski. It''s B.A.R.T.O��"


    "I get it," the guard said annoyedly. Then, he was surprised when Chuck''s name and face were registered within the tablet he used to check on the guests.


    "Oh, sorry for the hassle. You just look much older than the others in there. It''s like a dad wanted to party with the children."


    "I''m...26..." Chuck replied helplessly, his face looking as if he wanted to cry.


    "Still much older though." The guard replied casually. Chuck laughed dryly before entering the house. He was being careful as he entered, thinking that Edward had set up a trap for him. However, he soon heard Edward calling his name in a friendly manner, subverting his expectation.


    Standing at the frozen yogurt machine, Edward waved his hand, "Chuck. Over here~"


    "What?" Chuck exclaimed with puzzlement and disbelief. He walked towards Edward carefully, and Edward gave him a cup of frozen yogurt. "Here. Take one."


    "I''m sorry. I don''t know how to react. Cause in that video, it seems like you''re going to kill everyone I love, and now we''re eating frozen yogurt together?" Chuck asked with confusion.


    "Shit�C" Paige tried to take out her gun, but Smith stopped him. "Idiot. You want to make the problem bigger?"


    Suddenly, the hostile situation paused abruptly because the crowd heard a song playing from the stage. Edward was standing on the stage alone, and he had an electric guitar with him.


    "Sorry Agent Smith. But I experienced a rare moment of freedom just this evening when I went trick or treating without you guys watching me. And guess what? I like that feeling. And I wanted more of it. So Sayonara~"


    Edward punched in a song number at the karaoke machine, and Robin assisted him with the song.


    [My Chemical Romance - Teenagers]


    ??????????


    "??They''re gonna clean up your looks with all the lies in the books


    To make a citizen out of you??"


    As he was singing the popular song that was released a year ago, the crowd became increasingly excited, which spelled doom for the agents around.


    Edward pointed at the Agent, "??Because they sleep with a gun and keep an eye on you, son!


    So they can watch all the things you do??"


    "Shit." Agent Smith cursed. He couldn''t get past the teenagers blockade, and was feeling helpless.


    Edward continued, "??Because the drugs never work, they''re gonna give you a smirk,''Cause they got methods of keeping you clean??"


    "??They''re gonna rip up your heads, your aspirations to shreds


    Another cog in the murder machine??"


    As soon as the chorus started, the teenagers began to push the agents out of the house.


    "Wait�C" Smith tried to explain, but no one wanted to listen.


    Edward ignored everything that was happening and sang, "??They said, "All�C Teenagers scare the living shit out of me??"


    "??They could care less as long as someone''ll bleed"??"


    "??So darken your clothes or strike a violent pose! Maybe they''ll leave you alone, but not me??"


    The crowd cheered thunderously after the chorus. Chuck tried to get away again, but this time, there were more than 10 hands pushing him down on the chair.


    Edward continued singing, "??The boys and girls in the clique, the awful names that they stick�CYou''re never gonna fit in much, kid??"


    At the pool, a skinny boy who was always picked on at school, suddenly took off his shirt, revealing his bony body, and jumped into the pool while everyone cheered.


    "??But if you''re troubled and hurt, what you got under your shirt


    Will make them pay for the things that they did??"


    "Boobs?" Billie asked in confusion. Alex was confused too, so she turned to Finneas. However, he was also confused. Jenna saw everything and sigh helplessly, "Guns maybe? The song''s about school pressure, so maybe it was mentioning school shootings by troubled kids."


    The trio looked at Jenna with shock. Finneas asked, "Wait. You...are smart?"


    Jenna was furious and smacked him at the back of his head.


    Edward continued as the party became more heated. "??They said, "All�C Teenagers scare the living shit out of me??"


    "??They could care less as long as someone''ll bleed??"


    "??So darken your clothes or strike a violent pose


    Maybe they''ll leave you alone, but not me, oh, yeah??"


    He kneeled on the floor as he did the guitar solo himself. While the guitar was rocking the entire party, the agents were finally being ushered out of the house.


    "??They said, "All teenagers scare the living shit out of me


    They could care less as long as someone''ll bleed ??"


    Kyle finally met his girlfriend, and asked her confrontingly. "You keep disappearing during a party. Are you cheating on me?"


    His girlfriend however shook her head and took out some blunt from her inner pocket, "No. I just went ahead to smoke this."


    "??So darken your clothes or strike a violent pose


    Maybe they''ll leave you alone, but not me??"


    Edward shouted to the crowd, "All together now!" as they repeated the chorus.


    Everyone sang together, "??Teenagers scare the living shit out of me


    They could care less as long as someone''ll bleed??"


    The student council president, Amanda Cho, and another couple of girls rushed the stage and danced seductively beside Edward as he performed.


    "??So darken your clothes or strike a violent pose


    Maybe they''ll leave you alone, but not me??"


    Edward screamed horrifyingly with extreme vocals before flopping to the ground.


    "??Teenagers scare the living shit out of me


    They could care less as long as someone''ll bleed??"


    Skylar Samuel rushed the stage and kissed Edward on the lips.


    "??So darken your clothes or strike a violent pose


    Maybe they''ll leave you alone, but not me??"


    The crowd cheered, and everyone rushed the stage before picking Edward up to the air. Suddenly, Edward was crowd surfing to the other half of the living room. And he stopped right in front of Chuck.


    He scrutinized Chuck''s hair, but Melody got irritated and told him, "It''s not finished yet. Go play elsewhere!"


    "Great. I''ll trust you...And everyone. Keep an eye on Chuck okay! So he won''t try to do anything stupid." Edward smiled innocently�Cwhich seemed like a devilish smile to Chuck, and walked away.


    "Sir, you might want to check your phone." Robin suddenly notified Edward.


    "Hmm?" Edward took out his phone from his Batman Utility belt and widened his eyes as he read what''s on the screen. "Robin, keep an eye on Chuck!"


    He then jumped off the couch and ran to the second floor, and entered a bedroom that was next to his own room.


    Inside the dark room, Haley was lying down seductively on the bed. "Hello Batman. I''ve been expecting you." She whispered before she beckoned him to come near with her finger.

 Chapter 248: Halloween Party (5)

    Chapter 248: Chapter 248: Halloween Party (5)


    [General P.O.V.]


    Almost everyone inside the party had tasted the enchanted chocolate. Mayhem was brewing inside the party where people blurted out their true feelings almost unfiltered, breaking some relationships, and even starting some of them.


    "I don''t even like you. But I want a girlfriend, and you''re the only girl willing to do that." A douche highschooler confessed to his girlfriend of 2 years. She gasped shockingly and slapped him hard, making him stumble a few steps, and the crowd laughed at him.


    "Fine! I only dated you because I like your dad anyway. Now that you''re no longer my boyfriend, I''m going to fuck him." She declared before walking away.


    A few meters away from them, a high school nerd with some freckles on his face walked towards one of the most popular girls in school, and kissed him.


    "I love you Amanda. Can we go out?" He confessed. The blonde Amanda was confused and she took a closer look at him before saying, "Okay. I can make you my boyfriend for a while."


    The effect of the chocolate made the girls stop playing relationship games, which was a miraculous chance for the boys to hear exactly what they were thinking, however, no one actually managed to take advantage of the effect.


    Chuck, who was finally done with his haircut, checked out his reflection in the mirror and praised Melody, "You actually make it better."


    "Anything else other than your style before is better." Melody retorted. "Now you finally look date-able."


    "Thanks. But I already have a girlfriend." Chuck replied with a chuckle. "I just need to figure out how to save her next."


    Near the pool, Corbin was talking to Vanessa.


    "I know it''s been a while, but I have to know the answer. Why don''t you want to date me?" He asked with desperation in his voice.


    Vanessa paused briefly, licked the chocolate on her finger, and said,"Because you''re black�C" She choked on a biscuit and had to stop talking. Maggie and the other celebrities were wide-eyed as they heard her sentence.


    "--Ing out (Blacking out) every time you go to a party. You just drink too much." Vanessa continued after her throat cleared up. The others around her breathed in relief, and Corbin finally got the answer he wanted to know about for years.


    Maggie turned away and was going to meet her friends, but Vanessa ran after her. "Hey, stop leaving me alone!" She complained to Maggie.


    Confused, Maggie said, "I''m not leaving you alone. Your friends are here. Talk to them�C"


    Vanessa suddenly grabbed Maggie''s arm and stuck close to her, "No. They aren''t my friends. They are just my acquaintances. So don''t leave me around. My only friend is you."


    Ashley Tisdale appeared from behind the duo and muttered, "Well. That''s disappointing to hear."


    Vanessa rolled her eyes and said, "Can you blame me?"


    Ashley Tisdale, despite looking apologetic, didn''t argue and just rushed towards Vanessa to give her a hug.


    ...


    Near the couch, Enid was gorging herself with the chocolates. Alex and Finneas were feeding each other, and Jenna scowled in disgust everytime they did that. To make matters worse, Elsa and Jacob were also doing the same thing.


    "UGH." Jenna grunted. Despite everyone''s praises of the chocolate, she didn''t try any of it because she felt weirded out by their behavior afterward.


    "You ain''t no nun woman." Elsa retorted to Jenna.


    With her back against his friend, Enid suddenly stood up and said, "Hey. I don''t like it."


    "What?" Alex turned to her, making her miss Finneas'' mouth, and accidentally smudged the chocolate on his face.


    "Him." Enid replied.


    "Him who?" Alex asked again in confusion.


    "Him HIM!" Enid shouted.


    ...


    Inside the bedroom, Edward and Haley were sitting on the bed, locking their lips together. Haley caressed her hand around Edward''s chest and said, "I''m glad you got my message."


    "Me too." Edward replied. They didn''t even stop kissing to speak. And slowly, the atmosphere becomes more heated. Haley ran her hand around Edward''s hair, and he moved slowly to her neck.


    Suddenly, she said, "It''s great this is happening today. This party is the perfect setting for it."


    Edward was confused and he pulled back, "Setting?"


    "Yeah." Haley approached Edward and kissed his lips while saying, "I mean, I had a plan of doing it with my boyfriend... maybe on a special day, on our anniversary, my birthday, or his... or maybe when I was ready, but I think that if I don''t do this with you today, then, you won''t look at me ever again."


    They spoke with a rapid-fire, unfiltered cadence, blurting out everything they were thinking without any inhibition or restraint.


    Edward stopped, straightened his back and looked her in the eye, "Why do you think that?" He asked bewilderedly. Haley adjusted her sitting posture to her knees in order to continue kissing him, "We can talk, but don''t stop."


    "Oh. Alright." Edward nodded casually. While they were tonguing, Haley answered, "Because. It''s been forever, and you don''t want to ask me out. And you also stopped flirting with me recently. I thought you didn''t want me anymore."


    "So you resorted to dressing up like this and planned on giving me your virginity today?" Edward asked with a slight joking tone.


    To his surprise, Haley replied, "Yes. I hate it. I hate that I have to wear this to catch your eyes."


    "If you don''t realize it, the majority of the people in the party are women. I''m afraid that you will hook up with them. So I need to get you first."


    Edward was taken aback, and he tried to say something.


    She suddenly stopped kissing him and looked at him intensely, "Why aren''t you asking me out?"


    Edward paused briefly, and Haley suddenly resumed the kissing out of nowhere. "No. Don''t answer."


    "But I want to answer." Edward tried to stop her, but she continued her kissing attack intensely.


    "I don''t want to hear it." She said, closing her eyes as she hung onto Edward''s lip.


    Edward removed her carefully and said, "I do want to ask you out."


    "Not at the moment, so can you wait outside till we''re finished?" I said to them with some disbelief in my tone.


    They were confused, but Jenna understood it. She blushed and grabbed Enid''s hand before dragging her off me, "We''re leaving."


    "Why?" Enid asked whiningly.


    Jenna hesitated and whispered to Enid. She widened her eyes and exclaimed loudly, "You guys are hooking up?!"


    "Well not anymore." I muttered with exasperation.


    "Maybe not ever." Haley added, shocking everyone in the room.


    After throwing out everyone else from the room, Haley and I had a small talk before we got out together. Her mother was already in front of the house, so I was going to walk with her.


    At the main party in the living room, the crowd suddenly cheered, which made Haley and I curious. Suddenly, we widened our eyes as we saw Selena and Taylor entering the party. Selena was wearing a Lara Croft costume, while Taylor was wearing a cheerleader costume, with pom poms in her hands.


    Taylor widened her eyes as she saw me and Haley, but she didn''t approach us and pretended to talk with the others in the party.


    "Oh, it seems that your night won''t be a total waste after all." Haley muttered with some slight self-deprecating tone.


    "Eh, I didn''t even know that she''d be here." I told her before grabbing Haley''s hand in front of everyone. Selena turned agape, and Taylor''s face froze. I walked with Haley to the car while everyone was staring at us, and said goodbye to her and Alex.


    Claire asked as she peeked her face outside of the window, "What''s wrong with you guys? Why are your faces so aghast?"


    "Nothing. We just had a soul searching conversation, so we''re mentally exhausted right now." I replied to her before I turned to Haley.


    "Mom, can you give us a moment?" Haley suddenly said to Claire.


    "Wha�C"


    "It''s important." Haley looked at Claire seriously. Claire was taken aback and sighed while rolling her windows up. "Don''t be long."


    Haley looked me in the eye as she contemplated for a while. A sense of guilt was pricking her heart for what she was about to do.


    "Edward�C" She called out my name, but I interrupted her, "You don''t want me to come around you, or your family, right?"


    Her eyes shook and she lowered her gaze. I grabbed her shoulders and said, "Don''t worry about it. I understand."


    "That''s weird. Don''t be so understanding. You''re a weird dude." She complained at me before she gave me a hug. She sniffled as she said, "I just need some time to process all of this."


    "That''s why I said I understand." I replied as I returned the hug to her. Then, she left the party with Alex. All of my friends returned home one by one, leaving me alone with strangers�C and my cousin. Almost everyone from my high school had gone home�C not willingly, but was called back by their parents as it was almost midnight.


    After they were gone, you''d expect the party to die down, and everyone went home, right? However, the number of people who were at the party stayed the same.


    "Edward." Astrid, the model I met before in the fashion show, came with her friends. They gave me a hug and asked, "There''s no booze in the party?"


    "Now that the kids are gone, I think I can get some." I replied to them, prompting them to cheer. "But you''re going to need to show your id to the bartender." I added, causing the not-legal-yet-to-drink party goers to exclaim in disappointment.


    "In fact, let me get you your bartender now." I said before I pointed at Chuck who was waiting patiently at the yogurt machine�C taking over his girlfriend''s job as he waited.


    He brightened up and quickly followed me along to my bedroom, leaving some distance between him and me as he did. It made me realize that he had some experience in spy works, which made sense considering that it had been 2 years since he was forced into this life.


    As we got into my room, I turned to look at Casey and Sarah who were being tied up on a chair with steel chains, and my face suddenly turned villainous.


    "Are you guys going to keep pretending to be unconscious?" I asked them before throwing some pencils I had nearby to their heads. Chuck was startled, but then he saw Casey and Sarah expertly dodging the attack by moving their head slightly, making the pencils lose their momentum and hit the floor.


    "Good. We can finally talk about your sins now." I said menacingly. "And considering that I am in a pretty bad mood, you can expect no mercy from me at the moment."


    ...


    [General POV]


    A few minutes after Sarah regained her consciousness, she realized that she was chained to the chair.


    "Finally." Casey muttered with gritted teeth as he tried to move himself from the chair.


    "Can you pick the locks?" He asked.


    "No. it''s too far away from my hand." Sarah tried to get to the keyhole of the lock, but to no avail.


    "So, the mission failed." Casey muttered.


    "Apparently so." Sarah replied.


    "What''s our strategy?" He asked.


    "Denial." Sarah replied.


    They waited patiently without talking much until Edward came to the room. Edward sat down by the edge of the bed, and asked Chuck to stand nearby the agents.


    "Hi. We have a big problem." Chuck whispered to them. Casey looked at him with disbelief and said, "You think?"


    "No. I meant. Bigger." Chuck said.


    "Bigger than this?" Sarah showed her chains.


    "He told everyone here I was a spy. Imagine what he''ll do to you guys." Chuck said, scaring the both of them.


    "Wait. Did you get a haircut?" Sarah asked with some surprise. Chuck brightened up and touched his head, "Thank you for noticing�C"


    "Keep the lovey dovey conversation after we get out of this, can you?" Casey muttered with disbelief.


    "So. Are you guys done catching up?" Edward interrupted them.

 Chapter 249: Halloween Party (6)

    Chapter 249: Chapter 249: Halloween Party (6)


    [Edward POV]


    The deafening silence hung heavy in the air as the spies and I locked eyes in a tense staring contest. "So, silence is your strategy?" I asked them mockingly.


    I pondered the various villainous roles I could play in their story today. Perhaps a Joker-like figure, trying to break them down psychologically and disregarding the rules. Or a Bond-esque villain - intelligent, yet just the right amount of cockiness that would eventually lead to his downfall. Or maybe someone like Thanos, burdened by a greater purpose.


    The stillness was finally broken when Chuck spoke up, "Umm... What are you going to do to us?" After our interaction before, Chuck didn''t think I was a villain. He just thought that I was a pissed off teenage kid.


    "Other than letting us go? He doesn''t have any other option. Otherwise, he''ll need to kill us, or let the agents outside deal with us." Casey interjected trying to struggle out of the chain.


    In that brief moment of Casey''s interruption, I came to a realization. I was never the villain in this story - I was the victim. And nothing would be more devastating to these people who thought they were protecting the country than a kind, sympathetic victim. A victim that doesn''t deserve what was happening to him.


    And also, I was too exhausted mentally to actually play the role of a villain, which was a first for me.


    "Trying to take the upper hand, are we?" I smirked at him. "You''ve got guts, at least. Can you even try to pick the lock? Do you even know how it works?"


    Chuck glanced at the lock, and muttered, "Wait. There''s no keyhole. But�C"


    "That''s something only I know about." I chuckled. The agents were surprised, but Casey was still rebellious, "I''m sure it''s simpler than we think. Considering you can only take out people by using dirty tricks."


    I chuckled at his words and retorted mockingly, "Isn''t that what you always do? That''s like...your entire job."


    Sarah shot a glare at Casey for a moment before turning her attention to me. "Mr. Newgate. I understand you''re angry, but we''re just following orders�C"


    "Oh no, I get that," I cut her off. "That''s the only reason I haven''t thrown you to the sharks outside. I''m a very understanding man in that regard."


    "So you''ll let us go�C" Chuck tried to talk, but I interrupted him.


    "Want to know why you were being sent here?" I posed the question to them in a casual manner as I took out my laptop.


    "We already know�C" Sarah tried to interject, but I stopped her with my finger and said, "The true reason you were being sent here?" The agents were silent, knowing that the question I posed was quite dangerous to their situation, and also their job.


    I let out a low chuckle. "Allow me to enlighten you," I said, stepping forward. "As you know, your mission is to steal my blueprints for the new communication technology - a revolutionary advancement that could change the entire industry."


    I pulled out the diagram and held it up for them to see. I wasn''t stupid enough to show them any major information, just the gist of it.


    "Wait. Before you continue." Chuck interrupted my presentation. The other two agents and I looked at him weirdly. Chuck let out a dry cough and said, "Sorry. It''s just, you know my identity, so will it interfere with your consideration for the beta tester for the League of Legend game. Cause I got till the interview�C"


    "You can say goodbye to that." I interjected him, causing him to exclaim with disappointment.


    I continued, ignoring Chuck, "I''ve already arranged cooperation with the Department of Defense. In fact, we''re going to sign the agreement tomorrow. So tell me, Major Casey, why did they send you here to steal it from me? Is my price really so high?"


    Casey remained silent, his jaw clenched. Chuck tentatively spoke up, "Is it...not a fair price?"


    "On the contrary," I said, shaking my head with an exaggerated look of betrayal. "My price is quite reasonable - cheaper than what others would demand, in fact."


    Sarah''s brow furrowed. "Then...is this a test? Did they send us to see if we could handle it ourselves?"


    "Nope," I replied, popping the ''p''. "They already know my capabilities. But there''s another option you haven''t guessed yet, haven''t you?"


    The agents fell silent, expressions tense as they considered my words. Finally, Chuck spoke up, his voice wavering. "They sent us here on purpose�C"


    "As leverage." Sarah finished his sentence.


    "I ain''t know nothing about the leverage part, but they did send you here on one purpose." I added on, continuing as they ruminated on their tumultuous thoughts. Being an agent, they precisely knew what the department was capable of. So the more vague I was, the more they would suffer.


    I broke their thoughts after a while, "There is one thing I do know off." As they looked at me again, I said, "There''s a political war going on within the government. It has something to do with the president and the opposing faction and we were drawn into it."


    "And that is okay with you?" Sarah asked nudgingly.


    "Well, I don''t want to be someone''s chess piece. I''m not an obedient person like you guys. Especially Chuck who is working for the government even when they are killing him."


    "Killing him�C" Sarah''s eyes shook, however Chuck didn''t understand me.


    "It''s a complex game of politics and ambition." I shrugged. "Money is certainly a factor as well. As long as there''s trouble tonight, they can push the agreement back, and negotiate more background deals before getting to the signing process. You''re the easiest piece they can use, so they send you. You won''t get into trouble anyway. I''m sure they are already preparing for your extraction."


    "And you calculated this yourself?" Casey asked, his stoic face has a hint of admiration.


    "Well, I guessed it would happen like that. But I''m guessing they also wanted you to succeed in stealing the tech. That way, they could just do to me what they did to Chuck''s dad. Just wipe me out of existence." I replied casually.


    Chuck was startled, "You know my dad?"


    I nodded, "I know him. I met him on the web before. He''s a great guy. Did you know he invented touch screen technology? You should''ve grown up a multimillionaire Chuck. Too bad his inventions were stolen. Isn''t that ironic? You''re trying to do to me, the same thing that Ted Roarke did to your father."


    Chuck lowered his gaze guiltily. Casey and Sarah were silent for a while before Sarah asked, "What do you mean the government is killing Chuck? Are you referring to the fact that we brought a civilian with us to a mission?"


    "Oh, that. I''m actually talking about the Intersect in his head." I said as I pointed at my noggin. "You don''t really think that forcefully inserting memories and the ''flashes'' Chuck has are good for his brain, do you? With every flash, a surge of electrical energy would be generated inside his brain, deteriorating it. This is just my estimate, but Chuck has only a year left before he becomes deranged."


    "Oh. That thing is made of latex, so it seals in the sweats and all. I took it off and took a shower." I replied casually.


    "A cold shower I guess? Considering you didn''t get any yet." Taylor mocked.


    I ignored her words and said, "By the way, you look cute with your short hair."


    Probably wasn''t expecting the sudden compliment, Taylor''s face froze and she touched her hair. She almost smiled before glaring at me angrily again, "Don''t change the subject. You checked her out!"


    "Why would I want to take a shot at Selena? I kissed her the day before. I already know what that feels like!" I joked.


    "WHAT?!" Taylor exclaimed with a high pitched shout.


    Selena looked at her worriedly and said, "For the film�C FOR THE FILMING!! THE WIZARDS SHOW!" The latina turned to me angrily and asked, "Why are you purposely making her angrier?"


    "I tried to make her calmer but she just wouldn''t take it. So..." I trailed off, speaking in a playful manner. "Also, it''s my right as an Ex-boyfriend. I can piss her off anytime I want."


    Taylor shot a glare at me before taking a deep breath to calm herself down. "Selena. You said you wanted to talk with that dude. Go talk to him."


    "Which dude?" Selena was confused, but Taylor pushed her away. Selena was in disbelief and retorted, "You know I didn''t hang out with my cast friends because of you."


    "You can do that now." However, Taylor didn''t even look at her as she was saying that.


    I muttered, "That was cold."


    "Anyway, how are you?" She asked with a slight head tilt, with pity in her gaze.


    "What''s with that look? Do you think I''d be depressed after you were gone?" I muttered with disbelief.


    "Yeah, cause you have a lot of girls to be your pocket pussy to try and replace me?" Hiding her sarcasm behind a kind smile, her sentence shocked me inwardly.


    Maintaining a poker face, I shrugged and said, "You just made me kinda want to start doing that tonight. Let''s see, who shall I do today?"


    With a slight ''Hmph,'' she snapped, "Maybe Selena since you''re keen on checking out her body in front of me."


    "Oh thank you for the suggestion. It takes loads of things out of my mind since there''s a lot of girls here that came specifically for that."


    "Don''t flatter yourself. You''re not that hot."


    "I am that hot."


    "You''re not. You''re barely mediocre."


    "Well even if I was ''mediocre'', and I''m adamant on the hot part, bitches love guys like me. Tall, handsome and with money to boot."


    "You''re still not that hot, and you''re not a trophy. Besides, that only happens in movies."


    "Trophy fuck is real. Hot guys are targeted by those thirsty bitches all the time! And I am hot."


    Luckily our argument didn''t really grab the attention of anyone else at the party, otherwise I was sure people would start looking at us weirdly. It didn''t take very long before Taylor huffed away back to Selena while I went to talk with Maggie.


    "Wait. You already changed?" Maggie asked with disbelief as she saw me wearing my normal clothes.


    "Yeah, it''s not Halloween anymore." I replied. "For some reason, I''m feeling extra sleepy now too." I muttered as I yawned. Vanessa looked at me and said, "Great. So I can take this thing off." Bending slightly to grab the hem of her dress, Vanessa pulled it over her head, taking off the white ghost dress and the black wig at the same time. Then, she fixed her skirt and the blouse she has underneath, before fixing her tied up hair too.


    "Wait. You have an outfit underneath?!" Maggie looked at Vanessa with disbelief. Then, she looked at herself wearing the tight Spiderman outfit. "Well now I look silly."


    "Don''t be. Silly is your middle name�C" Before I could finish, Skyler Samuel, the young actress who kissed me before after my song, approached me.


    "Hey. Edward, I have a question." She lightly touched my arm as she stood in front of me, in a very close distance. "What''s your horoscope sign?"


    "Well, what do you think I am?" I asked back with a chuckle. Well I don''t believe in the whole astrology bullshit, but if I found a pretty girl who did, I wouldn''t try to put her down. Besides, if I found her horoscope sign, I just needed to pair it off with one compatible with it to hit�C But I digress.


    She smiled and said, "Hmm...You look like Leo. You''re cute, funny, charismatic�C"


    I pretended I was shocked and said, "How did you know that?"


    She was excited and basically was jumping as she said, "Really? I got that right? Wow, we''re really really meant to be together! �C I''m a Sagittarius. I''m sorry, I''m so happy."


    "Really? I don''t believe you. You might be just saying that to trick me into bed." I joked.


    She smiled and blurted out, "I''m really not. But if you want, I can prove it to you�C"


    Her eyes widened and her face blushed as she said that. I smiled at her, but then, I shuddered as I could sense I was being gazed at by a predator. I turned only to see Taylor standing a few meters away.


    "He lied. He''s not a Leo. He''s an Aries." She exposed me. Maybe she thought that it would make Skyler back away from me, but instead, Skyler said, "Oh, it''s fine then. Aries is still compatible with Sagittarius."


    Taylor: ...


    Me: ...

 Chapter 250: Halloween Party (7-F)

    Chapter 250: Chapter 250: Halloween Party (7-F)


    (I''ll take the next week off.)


    [General POV]


    Anger in her eyes, Taylor glared at Edward and Skyler from the side of the room. Both of them were talking and giggling with each other, and it irked her.


    Selena carefully walked towards Taylor, with a plate of food in her hand. But before she could munch her snacks, Taylor asked, "Can you believe that guy? He''s purposely doing this to make me angry."


    Fidgety and irritated, Taylor''s glare stopped Selena from biting her churros dipped with chocolate and said, "Don''t look at me. You did it to yourself by continuously fighting with him. I thought you wanted to make up?."


    "I do want to make up with him." Taylor said, calming herself down a bit as she complained to Selena, "But when I see his stupid face, I just can''t help myself."


    She stole a glance at Edward and whispered to herself, "His stupidly cute face." The scene in front of her filled her with incredible jealousy and regret, together with longing for her to be the one standing by his side.


    "What was that?" Selena asked doubtfully.


    "Nothing." Taylor replied, pretending everything was fine. Then, she scolded Selena, "This all wouldn''t have happened if you didn''t bring that slut in here."


    Selena saw Edward and Skylar and said, "Well, I know that she had a huge crush on Edward, but I didn''t think that he would entertain her. He was not really flirting with me, or anyone else before today. I..."


    "What is it?" Taylor asked Selena impatiently.


    Selena smiled wryly and said, "Well, don''t get angry at me for this."


    "Just say it!"


    "Well, I think he''s flirting over there because of you." Selena said, startling Taylor. She continued anxiously before Taylor could react, "And my justification is this, he didn''t really flirt with anyone after you guys broke up, but right now, he''s doing it? So my guess is that meeting you today may have given him the closure he needed to move on�C Ouch!"


    Taylor pinched Selena''s bicep, stopping her. "Why did you do that for?" Selena whined.


    "Because you keep talking nonsense? Mov�C Moving on? Boys don''t move on that quickly from me!" Taylor glared at Edward, causing him to shudder.


    Selena scoffed and whispered, "Cause surviving you gives them PTSD�C" She stopped as Taylor was turning to her again.


    Sensing the hostility gazing at him, Edward wrapped his arm around Skylar''s waist and led her to the couch, moving further away from Taylor. In the meantime, the more Selena ate the chocolate, the more it affected her.


    "Stop looking at him like you want to murder him." Selena scolded Taylor. Then she mocked, "You keep asking yourself why he didn''t want you back, maybe he''s just afraid for his safety."


    Taylor gasped in disbelief, "I didn''t glare at him that much�C"


    "You''ve been doing so since you got here. No wonder you drove him off into the arms of another woman." Selena scolded again.


    Taylor''s mouth was agape, and her shock deepened when Selena said, "Now that he finally has closure, he will go to bed with basically anyone who can comfort him. Will you please hold the plate for me? I''m going to talk to him�C"


    "Where do you think you''re going?!" Taylor grabbed Selena''s arm before she could move away. "Alright I get what you''re saying." Taylor grumbled and hugged Selena''s arm tight. "I should approach him "more casually" is what you''re saying. Less resentment and all that stuff."


    "I''m saying that I want to go get some. But sure, that too." Selena replied casually.


    Taylor rolled her eyes with disbelief before she chuckled, "You know, when you''re being bitchy like this, I feel really close to you."


    "Just a little bit closer and you can actually cop-a-feel. Unless you want to take over Edward''s role tonight, you should let me go."


    Taylor released Selena with a chuckle and said, "Any suggestions on what I should do now?"


    "Maybe try to create some small talk with him? Ask him for some advice for the song you made to get him back? If that''s too embarrassing�C"


    "No, I''ll do that." Taylor agreed instantly. Then, she got curious, "If I said it was too embarrassing, what are you going to suggest next?"


    "Just pounce on him." Selena replied. "I know I would."


    Taylor was speechless after that.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "You worked on a thriller movie recently, Am I right?" I asked Skyler.


    She nodded while nibbling on some churros, "Yes. With Sela Ward and Dylan Welsh. There''s also Penn Badgley, and also Amber Heard... It wasn''t a very good movie though."


    "Oh, why did you say that?" I asked with a comforting smile. She grinned and whispered, "It was a 20 million dollar movie, but it made less than 12 at the box office. The director is pissed. But I''m sure he''s sleeping with Amber, so he wasn''t that pissed. He basically made her wear only swimsuits for the entire film."


    "Well he better get ready for a boxing match every night. Maybe a doggy bag in the morning too." I replied.


    She was confused, then she laughed as she thought I had misunderstood something, "What? Oh, Amber is an actress, not a dog. He doesn''t need a doggy bag to pick up her shit. What are you thinking about?!"


    "Ah, is that so? I''m quite embarrassed then." I smiled charmingly, which made her blush and brush her hair behind her ear. "Umm, do you have a bedroom here?" She asked suddenly.


    "Yeah, on the second floor. Why?" I replied with some confusion.


    "Can I see it? I kept wondering what a teenage celebrity boy''s room looked like." She said while giggling.


    "I think it''s just an excuse to get me alone with you." I flirted back.


    She touched my shirt and said while poking my chest, "Would that be so wrong?"


    Suddenly, Taylor appeared again, interrupting the conversation, "Sorry to steal him away from you, I just need to talk to him. I''ll give him back when I''m done." She grabbed my arm and pulled me away to the other side of the room. Skyler reached out her hand to stop me, but was blocked by Selena.


    "Sorry. It''s better for you if I help make it happen. Otherwise I''m not sure if your car brakes will be working when you go home today." Selena said to Skyler, much to the girl''s confusion.


    "Are you already ready for round 2? I still haven''t mentally prepared myself yet." I joked as I stood face to face with Taylor.


    She rolled her eyes and said, "Alright. We''re not that dysfunctional. I think we can get through one conversation without fighting with each other."


    Although doubtful, I decided to listen to her, "Alright then. What do you want to talk about?"


    "Us." She replied curtly while crossing her arms together.


    "Oh boy, so we are going to fight." I exclaimed jokingly.


    "Not yet, but keep it up. See what happens." She warned me.


    "I will keep it up. Part of me wants to test your patience too, albeit I think it''s only paper thin."


    "Stop messing around. I need to say something important." She stopped me. I looked at her seriously, but the cat got her tongue, and she was struggling to say her next sentence.


    "So, nothing important then." I mocked. She suddenly said, "I need a massage."


    I fell in disbelief, "What?"


    Flabbergasted, Taylor tried to explain, "A massage. You told me that it was a benefit of being your employee. Even if we are broken up, I can still get the massage. You have your own integrity and ethics, you won''t ignore your responsibilities just because we can''t do it anymore, am I right?"


    "...Sure?" I replied quizzically.


    Taylor turned to the side and whispered, "Damn it." Then, she turned towards me again.


    "I have a feeling that''s not what you wanted to say, but I''ll just play along for now." I teased her. She smiled and giggled before playing along, "No, no. I do need a massage. I''m tired from all of the tours." Knocking on her shoulder, she pretended to be exhausted and sighed in front of me.


    I chuckled and said, "Alright. But you''re going to need to keep your clothes on."


    "Hey! I''ll decide whether to keep them on or off." She joked. Suddenly, we fell into silence. Taylor looked me in the eye and said with a breathy voice, "I miss this."


    "Alright don''t be corny." I shut her down quickly. Baffled, her shoulders dropped and she became slightly agitated, "Can you let me finish first?"


    "What more is there to say? I''d rather we learn to keep our boundaries with each other. You know, keep things profesh. (Professional)"


    "Profesh?" She imitated me mockingly. "Are you even serious right now?"


    "Deadly." I replied. "It''s the only logical course of action." I channeled my inner Spock.


    She rolled her eyes and said, "And what if I don''t want to do that?"


    "Maybe we need more time apart then. Because I really think that''s the correct path we should take for the time being." I replied.


    She was silent for a while. I grabbed a cup of drink from the waiter walking around, and drank it.


    "Alright then. We can keep it...Profesh..." She said, her eyes suddenly glittered. I was a bit on guard as I could sense she didn''t really mean what she was saying, but I agreed with her regardless, "Okay then."


    "I''ll cover your exit!" Casey said.


    "I''m afraid I can''t let that happen�C" Agent Smith was slowly standing up while wiping the blood off his mouth when suddenly he was tackled from out of nowhere.


    "What the fuck-" Edward cursed. Jacob, who had snuck out of his house to come back to the party in order to protect his best friend, tackled agent Smith from behind.


    "You''re messing with ED!? You''re messing with me!!" Jacob growled at the agent before he glared at Casey.


    "Shit." Casey cursed, not because he felt threatened with Jacob, but he knew that he shouldn''t touch Edward''s friends under any circumstances. He turned and ran to the broken window wall, ignoring the agents who wanted to capture him, and jumped out of the balcony with Sarah and Chuck.


    "Jacob, stop." Edward held Jacob back by grabbing his shirt, choking him at the same time before he could lunge at Casey.


    Chuck yelled fearfully as he was grabbed by Sarah, but then, she pulled the cord on Chuck''s bag, turning it into a glider, also saving them from the cliff. Although the house was on a cliff by the ocean, if someone jumped down, they would be dead because there were only rocks below that.


    Casey stole Edward''s Batman gauntlet and shot a wire to the balcony after he jumped off it, and skillfully roped down the cliff. Agent Smith walked towards the balcony slowly and stared at the spies with an eagle eye.


    The altercation stopped after the three spies were gone, and the entire party goers were befuddled.


    "Shit." Edward walked on top of the broken glasses and went to address the crowd, "Sorry everyone. It seemed that some people had too much to drink. Regretfully, the party is now over. I won''t kick you out or anything, but you all should leave on your own. Goodnight everyone."


    "Awwww." The crowd exclaimed in disappointment. "Who the fuck are those guys!?" Jake muttered angrily, "Making trouble on the night I can finally see Brenda naked!"


    "Oh, that was never happening honey." Brenda admonished Jake while holding her hand towards him to set boundaries.


    People started leaving the house in batches after the incident, with only some close friends staying behind.


    Jake T Austin posted a video on his Insta about the fight, and people online were clamoring about it.


    "Oh my god, It was so insane! The second after Taylor finished singing, those idiots started breaking things around the house! We have to go home now, barely after 1 am. It sucks! I''m going to sue those guys if I find out who they are." Jake complained to his Instagram followers.


    Likes: 12,440 Comments: 1222


    @Lily: Oh my god, is Edward alright?


    @Janie: Taylor sang a new song? Did she serenade Edward? Lol


    Jake didn''t have many followers before, but his followers shot up after the whole incident.


    TMZ celebrity news also reported the incident in their news sites, which made the matter blow up.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    After seeing the destruction in my house, I wasn''t annoyed because I was the one who made it happen. I used one of the favors I had with the three agents to ask them to crash the party. And they did perfectly. Although I would send the bill to General Beckman�C their supervising general after this.


    Agent Paige and Agent Smith were obediently sweeping the glass off the floor as I sat alone on the stairs, watching them. I knew that they had their orders, therefore I didn''t punish them badly. I forgave Chuck and the rest, so why not forgive them too? Like I said before, they were just foot soldiers.


    "Wait. There''s only a cup worth of chocolate?" I muttered with disbelief after seeing the chocolate fountain basically being licked clean after I went to freeze some of the chocolates to experiment on.


    Maggie walked towards me tearily and turned her back against me, "Ed. The zipper is gone. I can''t take off the suit."


    "Pfft-" I almost burst into laughter if it wasn''t for her almost-crying expression. "Well, the suit cost me 10 grand. If I need to cut it open, then, I''ll have to add that to your total debt�C"


    "Please don''t!" Maggie grabbed my arm, begging me as she flailed it around. The suits cost me only 50 bucks, so I was only messing around with her.


    Only Maggie, Selena and Taylor were left behind in the house after the crowd left.


    Vanessa went to catch up with Ashley, and the college girls were sent home with a driver''s service I rented out. Jacob was also still at the party, but he insisted on standing guard by the balcony�C in case the spies came back!


    "Jacob! Grab a blanket or something." I said to him as I walked with Maggie back to my bedroom.


    "I''ll be fine! I have my hot cocoa." He said as he sipped a hot drink. His nose was red, but he still insisted that he wasn''t feeling cold. I shrugged and went to help Maggie get out of the suit.


    I grabbed a pair of scissors before cutting the suit from Maggie. She kept insisting, "Be careful! Don''t cut my hair."


    "I''m not going to cut your hair." I replied irritatedly. She kept squirming around, which made me miss my cut.


    "My hair!" She cried out. I looked at her with disbelief and said, "I''m not even close to your hair! Just calm down and let me do this!"


    She was still squirming, so I grabbed her shoulder and cut the suit''s zipper in one go. Her back was exposed, and she turned towards me angrily, "I can feel you touching my hair!"


    "With my hand! I swear to god, I''ll cut your hair just for fun now!" I retorted back to her. She took off her suit angrily, and balled it all up before throwing it at me. "Here''s your suit back, you jerk!"


    "Um.. Maggie�C"


    "You inconsiderate jackass."


    "Maggie!"


    "You demon money grubber! I refuse to pay you 10 grand for the suit!"


    "MAGGIE!" I yelled at her, prompting her to stop. I looked at her mischievously and said, "You realize you''re naked right?"


    It seemed that she decided to go commando while wearing the suit. Maggie looked down on her bare naked body, before yelping and covering her boobs immediately.


    "PERVERT! GO DIE!"


    "Oh like you didn''t enjoy exposing yourself, you porn star?! There''s a robe in my closet. You can wear that for now. But be careful not to damage it too. They really do cost 20 grand."


    "Ugh! At least cover your eyes while I''m going to wear it." She said as she gestured at me frantically to look away. I sighed and walked out of the room, and accidentally bumped into Taylor as I walked out the door.


    With a flustered, angry face, Taylor said seethingly, "You just heard the song I wrote for you, and now you''re in bed with another girl?"


    "Eww. That''s my cousin." I tried to explain, but Taylor grabbed my head and kissed me heavily.


    "I hate you so much!" She said before she dragged me into an empty room. She slammed the door behind us after we walked in. Then, she pressed her lips onto mine.


    I grabbed her shoulders and pushed her away. A bit taken aback, Taylor''s eyes shook.


    "What the hell do you think you''re doing?" I asked angrily. "It''s over between us�C"


    "I WANT TO ASK YOU THE SAME THING!!" Taylor shouted back. "What the hell is wrong with you!? I''m basically throwing myself to you today, and you act like I''m a disgusting piece of trash!"


    Taken aback, I hesitated, "That''s not�C"


    "What?! What is not it? I literally made a song for you!!" She yelled at me before grabbing a pillow and hit me with it. "Stop messing around with me and toying with my feelings!"


    I snapped and yelled at her with gritted teeth, "I DIDN''T!" I looked into her eyes, pointed my finger at her and said sternly, "You did that all by yourself. So stop blaming me for it! It''s over for us!"


    Taylor was speechless after that. Then, her expression slowly faltered. "Why are you yelling at me!?" She started to cry timidly.


    "Oh for fucks sake�C"


    I had to comfort her for a bit before she stopped crying. "Are you good now?" I asked as I rubbed her back while we were sitting at the edge of the bed.


    She nodded and suddenly said, "Prove it."


    "Prove what?" I was confused.


    "Prove... that you''re already over me." Taylor said while patting the mattress behind us hintingly. "Then, I''ll stop trying to win you back."


    "Alright then. If it can help you move on." I said before grabbing her neck and kissing her. She scratched my arm with her nail, leaving its trail on my skin. It quickly became an animalistic, no romance entanglement, without an ounce of affection in it.


    After a while, Taylor huffed and puffed, her hair disheveled. Both of us were lying underneath the blanket, looking upwards side by side. She bit her lower lip as she looked at me angrily.


    "You fucking bastard." She cursed before she sat upward. She placed her pillow on my face and yelled, "DIEE!" It was only for a short while before she got up and walked to the door after wearing her clothes back.


    "You''re leaving?" I asked her.


    "You''d like that don''t you?" She asked tauntingly.


    "Well, if you want to leave, then I''ll call a driver for you."


    Gasping offendedly, she picked up a tissue box and threw it at me. "You stupid idiot!" She probably wanted me to send her myself, or show that I still care, but again, I was too exhausted to give her some hope.


    I grabbed the tissue box before it could hit me and laid back down on the bed as Taylor made herself scarce. That''s how the Halloween party ends.

 Chapter 251: Feeling Blue.

    Chapter 251: Chapter 251: Feeling Blue.


    (Sorry for the late chap. I''m really sick rn. )


    [Edward POV]


    "Morning," my dad greeted me as I walked into the living room wearing only a pair of shorts and a tank top. "Mornin''," I replied, yawning. I glanced out at the balcony through the broken window and saw it was empty.


    The sea breeze intruded the house from the gap in the wall, which Vader seemed to enjoy. She was lying down near the broken glass wall, curled into a C shape, sleeping silently there, enjoying the sun and the breeze at the same time.


    "Oh yeah, your friend went home. His mom came to pick him up after seeing he was gone," my dad explained, knowing what I was looking for.


    "Good. Was he yelled at?" I asked as I scratched my stomach.


    "Not by his dad. I don''t know if he''s scolded by his mother. From the looks of it, it doesn''t seem that good for him." My dad replied with a wry smile.


    "I''ll ask her to be lenient on him. After all, he helped me a lot."


    Frankie walked to the sofa where my dad was sitting with a ledger in her hand. She got straight to the point and said, "There''s over 30,000 dollars worth of damages you''ve suffered. It must have been quite a party."


    "It was." I replied jokingly.


    I yawned again as I walked to the kitchen and poured myself a cup of coffee. My dad smirked and said, "I''ve had to stop myself from calling the hospital when you didn''t wake up in the morning, but I checked your breathing and guessed it was fine." He checked his watch as he teased.


    "It''s only noon." I replied. My dad smirked and said, "Still. It''s a rare sight to see."


    I sipped my coffee and sighed with relief, "Ahh." Turning to my dad, I said, "I''m still a bit tired from last night."


    "That''s right, the hottest Halloween party in Hollywood - Teenagers Edition," Pepper said dramatically as he walked in, waving his hand. He then scoffed, "Well, it might have been, if those roaches didn''t break your window. Harvey already sent the damage cost to that General Beckman you were talking about."


    I shrugged and said, "It''s fine. I''m kind of glad it ended early." My dad and Pepper exchanged a knowing glance, and I stood up from my seat. "I''m going to the lab. Call me when it''s time for dinner."


    "Aren''t you going to eat lunch?" my dad asked with disbelief.


    "I''m not hungry. If I am, I will just eat some cereal in my lab," I replied, trying to walk away, when Pepper stopped me, "Wait."


    I turned to him, and he asked, "Are you sure you want to cancel the whole thing with the DOD?"


    "I''m sure. Just let Harvey handle it. Ooh, by the way, don''t go out alone or without protection for the next few days. Just in case they try to grab you and force you into something." I threatened him playfully.


    "That sounds like a fun Saturday night." Pepper jokes.


    Frankie looked worried and said, "We should talk about enhancing the security�C"


    "You can deal with that. I won''t interfere." I interjected. Before I could walk away, my dad asked something that made me stunned, "Ed. What do you think about suddenly having a younger brother?"


    I turned to my dad with a face full of surprise, and then turned to Frankie, before resting my eyes on her stomach, "You got Frankie pregnant��"


    "NO!" Frankie interjected quickly. "Not me!"


    "You got another girl pregnant?" I asked with an innocent face as I turned to my dad before smirking mischievously as I saw his bewildered face.


    "I haven''t gotten any girls pregnant-"


    "Yet." I interjected my dad''s words again.


    He scowled disdainfully and said, "Can you let me finish?"


    "Why, Frankie didn''t let you finish last night?" I mocked again. Frankie was in disbelief and blurted, "I did�C"


    "Frankie Dear, halt." Pepper intervened quickly. He glared at me and said, "Ed, listen to him."


    "Alright. What is it?" I asked with a chuckle. My dad sighed and his mood fluctuated for a few times before he said, "I might...have another son�C"


    Speechless for a second, my mind raced to figure out the reason he said that.


    "Stop. Before you go any further. Is this about that Harry kid you met yesterday?" I interjected. My dad widened his eyes and said, "You know him?"


    I replied casually after breathing in relief, "Yeah. Who did you think sent him to you? I already know that you''re going to get all flustered when seeing his face. But don''t worry, he is not your son. That was just something I had him say to mess with you."


    The short meeting with ''Harry Styles'' last night has been weighing on my dad''s mind.


    He almost lost his sleep thinking about the possibility of the ''kid'' telling the truth. Even if he didn''t see the kid''s face clearly, there was a familiar feeling that he couldn''t shake off. He even visited Mrs Henderson early in the morning to meet the kid again, but she told him he was gone.


    "Where is he now?" My dad asked me.


    "Canada I guess. I''m not sure. I''ll get back to you later." I replied dismissively. "Anything else?" I asked.


    Frankie said, "There''s nothing else going on. Other than a few representatives from the government are desperate to meet you and change your mind.


    "Eh, they reap what they sow...Or in this case, tried to sow." I said casually before I waved them off. "I''ll be busy for a few days, if you need me, just tell Robin."


    "What are you planning on doing now? Nothing treasonous I hope." Pepper asked while pretending to shudder. I chuckled and looked at him, but I didn''t say anything and walked away, picking up the sleeping cat and placing her on my shoulder as I did.


    Pepper was stunned and he looked at my dad, "I have a bad feeling about this."


    My dad shrugged and said, "It''s Ed. He won''t do something impulsive."


    I walked to the same room Haley and Tara entered when they were searching for my lab. Then, I walked to the shelf on the deepest side of the room, and pulled on my decathlon trophy.


    A latch was unlocked, and a hidden door appeared. I entered my password and walked into my true lab as soon as the door was opened. Then, the door was closed again, separating me from the rest of reality.


    ...


    *BeleBeleBeleBele*


    ...


    [General POV]


    Back to Thursday.


    Jay and Gloria arrived at Phil and Claire''s house.


    "Hola Hola!" Gloria entered fabulously before hugging Claire.


    "We''re here." Jay greeted loudly. "Haley, Grandpa''s here." He shouted up the stairs.


    Claire was flustered and said, "Don''t call her like that. She''ll notice you''re coming here to talk to her."


    "I still don''t know why you can''t do it. Or Mitchell and Cam. They are more suitable for doing this than me." Jay asked with frustration.


    "We tried. None of us succeed. She hasn''t come out of her room for days now." Phil said worriedly. "Honestly, the room is starting to smell, so I''m not that excited to try again."


    Gloria asked worriedly, "Ay, did she have her heart broken?"


    Alex walked by and said, "Well something broke. And it''s my nose."


    "Can''t we just call Ed and make them make up with each other?" Jay asked.


    Phil, Gloria and Claire admonished him at the same time, "Are you crazy?"


    "What? It''s just an idea." Jay shrinked back and defended himself.


    While the family was talking, Luke was watching the TV while bouncing a rubber ball up and down in the living room. He glanced at the adults with some anger in his face. And then he ran to the backyard.


    [Luke''s commentary]


    "It''s unfair. Why do all of us have to stop talking to Edward? He''s my friend too. Haley is being selfish. I don''t like this."


    [Commentary ends]


    ...


    Friday. In Edward''s villa by the seaside.


    Pepper and Ted were discussing Edward together in the living room with a face full of worry.


    "He still hasn''t come out of his lab?" Pepper asked. "It has been days. Even his ex has turned up concerned from her initial amuk."


    "He only came out to get Vader or get something to eat. I tried to talk to him multiple times, but I got nothing." Ted shared with some exasperation.


    "Well, he did reply to whatever we asked. Are we being too presumptuous right now? He might just have puberty mood swings." Pepper said. "I want to give him some space, but right now... We really need him."


    "Why?" Ted asked with confusion.


    Pepper smiled wryly and said, "The President is coming here to meet him."


    "I''m sorry. What?" Ted asked in shock. Edward suddenly walked out of his lab, his hair was scuffy, and his eyes were strained. He walked straight to Pepper who exclaimed, "My god, have you been homeless for the past few days?"


    "Pepper, good timing. Here, eat this." Edward suddenly gave a pill to Pepper. Startled, Pepper took a step back before Edward could feed him the pill, "What�C What is this for? G-GET THAT OFF MY LIPS!"


    Ted separated Edward before he could pry Pepper''s lip open and push the pill into his mouth. "What are you doing Ed? Have you gone mad?"


    "I''ll call Dr Linda now." Frankie took out her phone and started dialing. "Robin, cut all the calls." Edward commanded, so Robin had no choice but to do it.


    Edward turned to his dad, and threw the pill into his open mouth skillfully, while his dad''s hands were busy holding him back.


    "Ku-Hurk�C" Ted choked, and accidentally swallowed the pills. "What did you feed me?" He asked with widened, fearful eyes.


    Edward watched Ted with intrigue, only realizing his dad''s horrified look after a few seconds. He rolled his eyes and said, "Don''t spit it out. That cost me 1 million dollars. It''s the most potent one I will ever make."


    "What?" Ted asked with disbelief when a black tear rolled down his eyes. Pepper was horrified, "Oh my god, he''s killing his own dad."


    "And as witnesses, you guys will be next." Edward turned to Pepper and said maniacally. As Pepper and Frankie panicked, Edward burst into laughter and said, "That''s just a detox pill. Well, it''s actually a cleansing pill, but it does detox you a bit."


    "What the hell are you talking about?" Pepper asked with disbelief. "Just wait 10 minutes." Edward smirked.


    The minutes passed by quickly. Ted suddenly clutched his chest and he dropped to his knees. "I can''t...breathe." He gasped for air. Frankie ran towards him, begging as she turned to Edward, "Call 911. He needs a doctor!"


    "Don''t worry about it." Edward dismissed her worries casually. Pepper grabbed Edward''s shoulder roughly and said, "Edward, that''s your dad! YOUR FATHER!"


    "He just needs to puke and he''ll be fine." Edward was still being casual. Ted''s eyes almost lost his light. He looked upwards to Edward and said, "Don''t worry son. Just know, I will never blame you�C"


    Suddenly, his gag reflex kicked in, and he started gagging. "Blerghh!!" A dark sludge came out of his mouth in a slow manner, almost suffocating him in the process. Ted could finally breathe after it passed.


    "What the hell is that?" Frankie asked, her calm temperament had shattered completely. Edward squatted down and poked the sludge with a pencil. "Oof�C Tar. You must smoke a lot before dad."


    "Tar�C What?" Ted asked as he breathed shakily. "Oh my god, it''s coming out again." He gagged and stood up immediately before running to the toilet. Edward raised both of his hands up in the air, closing his eyes as he enjoyed the feeling of satisfaction.


    "You...you''re not insane?" Pepper asked with disbelief. Edward scoffed and turned towards him, "Of course not. I have already tested the medicine before. It''s perfectly safe."


    Pepper finally breathed in relief. And as he opened his mouth to talk, Edward shot another pill from his fingers, and it entered Pepper''s throat instantly. Pepper gulped instinctively, and his eyes shook as he turned to Edward.


    "Oh by the way, you will need to stay at the toilet for a while. It came out on the other end too." Edward smirked mischievously.


    "You devil!" Pepper rushed to the nearest bathroom he could find. Edward danced slightly, moving his hand as if he was conducting an orchestra before going back to his lab again.


    "Robin, I forgot to ask, did anyone conduct the lab testing yet for the medicines formulas?" Edward asked.


    "Yes sir." Robin replied. "Although people are still searching for who''s responsible for them, some lab testing has been done, and some medicines are in productions."

 Chapter 252: Uphill battle.

    Chapter 252: Chapter 252: Uphill battle.


    [Edward POV]


    Saturday morning. Villa by the seaside.


    Yawning, I made my way to the dining table, bringing the sandwich I had prepared for me and my guests. My hair was disheveled, and my outfit was far from refined �C just a simple tank top and boxer shorts.


    As I placed the plates in front of the seats, Enid''s excited voice rang out. "Come on! Hurry up and eat! I can''t wait anymore. I''m too excited for our first hike together."


    In contrast, Jenna''s expression was one of disdain, her commitment to the outing clearly wavering. "I''m backing out. I don''t want to sweat early in the morning�C"


    Enid quickly interjected, cutting her off. "Oh no you don''t. Alex already can''t come for whatever reason. Elsa and Jacob have a date, Finneas and Billie have a tutoring lesson. Wait. If you back out, that means I will go on the hike with Edward alone�C like a date?!! You CAN leave�C"


    Jenna''s tone shifted to a teasing one as she interrupted, "I''m not going to leave now."


    "Um..." I choked on the sandwich, and promptly grabbed the nearby water. After downing it, I turned to Enid and Jenna and asked, "Can someone explain to me, why are there suddenly plans to go on a hike?"


    When I woke up this morning, Enid and Jenna were actually at my house, already ready with their outfit, some packaged food for the picnic, and were beaming brightly in front of my bedroom door. I didn''t even know what happened and I was already dragged out of my room.


    "Meow." Vader hopped on my lap and licked my finger, wanting a bite to eat too. I gave her some bacon and waited for the girls'' answer. Enid and Jenna looked confused. Jenna asked me back, "You''re the one who planned it yesterday? You don''t know?"


    "I did?" I was confused. ''Was I so out of it that I didn''t remember?'' I thought inwardly.


    "Yeah. Your dad called my house, telling me the plan." Enid explained. "So I invited everyone in the group chat on your behalf."


    "Ahh." I finally understood the situation. I wanted to get mad, but then I realized that I could use a break, so I said, "Alright. Where are we going?"


    Dad and Pepper were so traumatized after yesterday''s event that they couldn''t bear to see me�C mostly from embarrassment rather than fear. They spend almost 3 hours clutching to the toilet because of my actions.


    However, after it was done, even their skin was a bit glossy. It worked very well for my dad considering his skin was previously a bit yellowish because of his liver problem.


    "Just outside the city." Jenna replied with an excited smile.


    I nodded and said, "I''m bringing Vader too. Ah, also..." I walked to the living room couch suddenly. The girls turned their head as they followed my figure, and then widened their eyes as I suddenly kicked the drunken girl sleeping on my couch.


    "Wake up Maggie! We''re going on a hike!" I woke her up mercilessly.


    "Oww." Maggie whined sobbingly as she fell onto the floor. "5 more minutes." She begged.


    "Go get ready now." I ordered. "Ah, miss-don''t-think-I-don''t-see-you-hiding-there, you''re going on the hike too." I turned to Vanessa who tried to hide from me after waking up from the shout.


    "Damn it." She cursed, but she accepted her fate.


    Last night, both Maggie and her came to my place after leaving a club, in which she met her ex-boyfriend Zac there. Both of them were quite wasted, so company security picked them up, and Maggie insisted on being sent here instead of their own place.


    They got ready in 20 minutes, all of us wearing fitness clothes, and I drove us to the hill in a black SUV. Before leaving, I also cooked a few more food for the picnic, and brought a mat with me too.


    I carried most of the stuff inside my bag, and also I held a leash for Vader as we climbed the barren hill together. The hike was short, barely 20 minutes to reach the top, and unchallenging...for me.


    "Ahhhh!!!..." Maggie shrieked while sweating heavily, bending slightly to support her body by putting her hand on her knee. Vanessa laid down flat on the ground, not having the energy to move. Enid and Jenna were fine, and they were enjoying the food I brought.


    Vader ran around the spot in excitement, and I kept an eye on her in case there were predators here. She didn''t even have a claw to defend herself if anything happened. Vader didn''t go far and rushed back towards me after being startled by a fox''s noise. Her reaction made me feel helpless.


    ''Should I create a mechanical claw for her? Or just go the ultimate way and create Iron armor for her? She won''t have claws, but she can shoot beams from her paw. That is enough to ensure her safety, right?'' I thought secretly as I mused myself at the concept of an Iron Cat... Well, literally a cat. Not Felicia Hardy kind of Iron Cat.


    Too bad I didn''t know how to make the armor.


    I picked Vader up to ease her before walking to Vanessa and Maggie. "Well...this is sure to happen if you keep going clubbing for 5 days straight."


    Maggie held her finger up in order to talk, but her panting breath made it hard for her to retort back. She gave up soon after and kept catching her breath. I turned to Vanessa and shook my head disapprovingly, "Aren''t you a dancer? Why is your stamina so weak?"


    With a tiny, barely audible whisper, stuttering her words as she did, "Shut up. Please plas- Plas- Pass me a sandwich.."


    I smirked, "If you can get to the picnic basket, you can take it. But if you''re late, don''t blame us if there''s none left for you."


    Vanessa stood up abruptly and scolded me, "Demon! Be KINDER!! You look kind, but you''re an asshole!"


    Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out a couple of muscle soreness relief pills and gave it to the two girls. Then, I gave Vanessa extra medicine.


    "What''s this?" She asked curiously.


    "Anti-dependency pill for your drug problem." I replied casually. Locking myself in my lab, I worked hard finding ways to bring the alchemist''s formulas to life. It was hard to do considering that I lacked the raw materials.


    I could get more, my action of releasing the formulas made it impossible to do so without the authorities becoming alert since they were monitoring it to find out who the doctor was. My plan was foiled by my own short-sightedness�C Well, not really. I just had to run simulations instead.


    Vanessa''s jaw dropped in disbelief and she was speechless for a while.


    "I don''t have a drug problem!" She retorted with an incredulous high pitched voice. I chuckled and walked to Enid and Jenna.


    Jenna yawned and said, "Ed, are you the Most Wanted Doctor? What is it�C Ah, Doctor Samaritan? The Human Experiment Doctor? The Strange Doctor? Time Traveller Doctor�C"


    A bit stunned, I didn''t show my reaction on my face and played along."Okay Enough." I shot a disdainful look at Jenna, making her giggle.


    Enid''s eyes lit up and joined in, "It must be you! No wonder you''ve been so busy this week!"


    "That''s not me." I replied casually. "Or else I would already be caught by the FBI or CIA now. Maybe even by Interpol. I would be locked in a dark room, never to see the day again." I joked.


    A few days ago, someone released over 100 medicines formulas to the world. Every single pharmaceutical company in the world received that medicine formula. At first, people were skeptical, but some foreign country had created the formula, which turned out to be legit.


    Enid laughed and teased excitedly, "Like... we need to keep it a secret...or�C"


    I rolled my eyes and said, "I''m not that guy. You know me."


    "Um, let me check the notes. I forgot the movie name." My dad took out a small notebook from his pants. "Ah, the 90 Days Love Countdown."


    I dropped my glass filled with water, and it fell to the floor, crashing it into pieces. Maggie flinched in shock as she was sitting next to me. Vanessa and my dad turned towards me with surprise in their faces.


    "Wh-Wh-Why is he making that movie?" I was flustered and stammered, a sight which all of them felt refreshing to see. I grabbed the napkin to wipe down my wet pants as I waited for the answer.


    "I''ll grab the mop." Maggie stood up and went to the kitchen to help clean up the broken glass.


    Confused, my dad said carefully, "Weren''t you the one who came up with the idea?"


    "No�C Yes, but I''ve never told him about it." I asked, my voice became a bit higher as I was agitated.


    "Ah, Pepper heard it from Cam and Mitch." My dad replied casually. Then he added, "Pepper got the director Judd Apatow to join in on the project. Pepper is so excited that he even gave an interview to the reporters to announce the project."


    Despite my dad mentioning an expert director, which allowed movies like ''Superbad'', ''40 Years Old Virgin'', and even ''Anchorman'' to come to life, I couldn''t calm myself down.


    "Edward, is something wrong? I thought you''d be excited." My dad asked with concern.


    Vanessa asked suddenly, trying to help the mood, "Um, is there a heroine for the movie yet? Cause you know, you have a veteran actress right here."


    "Or- OR!" Maggie rushed from the kitchen immediately, "You have an aspiring actress right here."


    "Shut it." I clamped her lips with my finger as I stood up from the dining table. "I need to call Pepper. Sorry dad, but can you please clean up."


    "Don''t worry about it." My dad replied casually.


    Under the stares of the girls, I rushed to my room to call Pepper. But as I held my phone in my hand, I hesitated, and instead, I called a different number.


    "Umm...Are you free right now?" I asked after the initial greeting.


    The stoic voice on the other side of the call replied, "I''m watching TV, so I''m free." Mrs Henderson asked knowingly, "Is there something you need?"


    "Yeah. I need some advice." I said.


    Mrs Henderson paused for a while before she replied, "Sure."


    I talked to her for an hour before I decided to call Pepper.


    "Oh hi~ Have you heard the news yet?" Pepper asked excitedly.


    I replied, "Yeah. I have. Now that you have gotten a director, who did you hire as a scriptwriter?"


    After talking with Mrs Henderson, I decided to not halt the progress of the movie. One of her advice to me was to let it happen, and maybe, I could see the situation from a third person viewpoint. It''ll help me with my current situation.


    Pepper was stunned and said, "Wait."


    I waited for a while, and heard Pepper''s murmuring through the phone. He was talking with someone, asking the name of the scriptwriter.


    Pepper said, "It is quite risky, but I decided to go with a new writer, Miss Paige Swanson."


    "I''m sorry. Paige Swanson?" I was taken aback when I heard the name. Pepper tried to convince me, "She didn''t have a good track record yet. I only met her on Wednesday for an interview. I don''t know why, but I felt that she needed this, and I can trust her with it. I''ll introduce you guys later."


    "Robin, pull up Paige Swanson''s pic." I asked Robin while still on the call with Pepper.


    "She''s pretty. So that''s a plus." Pepper teased. I turned to the laptop and looked at the picture Robin had loaded.


    ''It is her.'' I was shocked internally. Paige Swanson looked like an adult Mckenna Grace, which made me realize where I know her from. A former child genius, who went to college at the age of 10, and also the childhood friend of another former child genius, Dr Sheldon Cooper.


    "Um. Peps. I''ll leave you to handle the movie production." I said. Pepper gasped and said, "A person with OCD relinquished control? Did therapy help, or are you still depressed from your breakup?"


    "Maybe both. What''s the movie budget?" I asked. Pepper chuckled and teased, " It will be big if you want Ryan Gosling."


    He continued casually after hearing me laugh, "Romantic comedies don''t really have a big budget. We''ll have the figure after completing the rough storyline and finding out how many people we need for the movie. If all goes well, we can release it near Valentine''s day next year."


    "Alright, then when I come to the company tomorrow, we can discuss the storyline with the writer." I said.


    Pepper laughed. "Don''t have any ideas to hit on her. From what I''ve seen, she''s not that easy to trick."


    "When did I ever trick someone into falling in love with me? They''ll fall even when I don''t want them too." I said cockily.


    Pepper laughed and said excitedly, "He''s back! Finally, you''re back to normal."


    "Eh, brooding and all wasn''t really my character." I joked. "Also Peps, I need to ask you a favor."


    "What is it? You want me to hire another pretty girl?" Pepper joked.


    "Kinda. Can you contact Missy Cooper for me? I met her before in Texas. She has a high EQ level�C I mean, extremely high. So I wanted to ask her for her opinion...you know, for the movie."


    "And this doesn''t have anything to do with the fact that she''s lovely or pretty?" Pepper asked after thinking for a while.


    "Not at the moment." I replied with a chuckle. Pepper breathed in relief and asked, "When did you want her here?"


    "Tomorrow."


    "TOMORROW?" Pepper was shocked. I continued, "You can send a jet to pick her up. She''s not doing anything anyway, so she''ll love to spend a few days of vacation in Hollywood. You can invite her mother too, and she can come here to visit Sheldon."


    "... It''s not that hard to do, but right now, I''m thinking you have an ulterior motive, so I''m not sure if I should do it." Pepper said jokingly.


    I rolled my eyes and said, "I don''t have any ulterior motives. Well, maybe to bother Sheldon, but I don''t really have anything else."


    Well, nothing I could say to Pepper anyway.

 Chapter 253: Visitors (1)

    Chapter 253: Chapter 253:? Visitors (1)


    [General POV]


    Immediately after Edward finished the call with Pepper, Missy Cooper and Mary Cooper were invited by the company''s representative to come to LA.


    After receiving the call, Mary�C Sheldon''s mother, a 50 years old devout Christian, who worked at the Church, hesitated for a while. She turned to Missy Cooper, a 29 years old woman, with brunette hair that fell on her shoulder, a model-like figure and a charming appearance.


    "Missy. The good Lord has answered my prayers and sent us the most wonderful news!" Mary Cooper said, her voice dripping with that familiar Southern charm."


    Missy Cooper looked up from her Cosmo magazine, a delicate eyebrow raised. "Mum, what in tarnation has you all in a tizzy?" she asked, her own Texan twang evident.


    "You remember Sheldon''s young friend, that singin'' fella?" Mary said as she made her way over to the small dining table where Missy sat. "Well, he''s gone and invited us both out to California! Can you believe it, darlin''?"


    "Eddy? You mean a World Star. He''s not just a singing fella mom." Missy chuckled. "If only I was 14 years younger, I might just have to try my luck."


    Mary held Missy''s hand gently and said, "This is why I kept praying for you dear."


    "..." Missy was speechless for a second.


    "Now Missy, don''t you be gettin'' any funny ideas. That young man''s got his sights set on bigger things than you old Southern belles." She paused, then her face lit up.


    "But can you imagine, the two of us, goin'' out to California? Seein'' the sights, maybe even one of'' them wax museums! All FREE of CHARGE! Oh lordy, I can hardly believe it."


    Missy grinned. "Well what are we waitin'' for, Mama? When do we leave?" She was already mentally packing her bags.


    "Hold your horses there, darlin''," Mary said, raising a hand. "There''s one more thing - Edward wants you to come visit his company while we''re out there. Can you believe it? You..." Mary was a bit suspicious as she looked at Missy.


    Missy tilted her head with confusion, not understanding Edward''s motives. "His company? Well shoot, I don''t see why not. Maybe I can sweet-talk him into givin'' me a backstage pass or two."


    Missy just shrugged, not thinking much of it. Mary smiled softly and held Missy''s hand, "Alright, sounds good to me. Say, should we invite Cece too? You know that girl''s just plumb crazy ''bout him�C"


    Mary''s enthusiasm dampened a bit as she remembered. "Oh no, honey, Cece''s been grounded by her daddy. No fun trips for my rebellious grandbaby." She sighed, then perked back up. "But you go on and ask Georgie if he''d like to join us! The more the merrier, I always say!"


    "There''s no way Georgie would let her go. But I''ll try to see if he wakes up on the right side of the bed this morning." Missy replied sweetly.


    They confirmed their decision to come to LA early in the morning, by then, the jet had already arrived there to pick them up. Mary kept gasping and exclaiming as they flew in luxury, while Missy quickly adapted herself to the rich people''s lifestyle.


    ...


    A few hours before Mary and Missy''s touchdown, chaos erupted at Los Angeles International Airport as the President of the United States made a surprise, unannounced arrival, sending the gathered media into a frenzy.


    The motorcade pulled up to the curb, and immediately the air was filled with the clamor of shouting reporters and the blinding flashes of cameras. Secret Service agents moved with choreographed precision, shielding the President as he walked to one of the black SUVs. His appearance spotted by the media wasn''t by accident, as he planned for it to happen.


    "Calm down everyone. I''d be glad to answer your question," the President said, his voice stern yet whimsical as he raised a hand to quell the onslaught of questions.


    "As I mentioned, this is a private matter that I need to attend to. However, I understand your curiosity, so let me say this - I am here to meet with the renowned entertainer, inventor, and a valuable asset to the country, Mr. Edward Newgate."


    A hush fell over the crowd of reporters as they processed the President''s words. Then, the questions began to flow once more, with reporters shouting over one another.


    "Mr. President, can you elaborate on the nature of this meeting with Mr. Newgate?"


    "Are you here to discuss some official government business with Mr. Newgate?"


    "What prompted this surprise visit to meet with the famous singer?"


    The President held up his hand again, silencing the din. "I appreciate your interest, but I''m afraid I can''t discuss the details at this time."


    He paused, sensing the continued tension in the air. "However, I can say this - I''m here to have an important conversation, one that I hope will lead to a resolution and perhaps, even an apology."


    "An apology?" A reporter asked with interest.


    The president smiled and said, "Let''s just say, Mr Newgate is a victim of the country''s mismanagement, and on behalf of the government, I''m going to meet him to deliver a well-deserved apology to him."


    After a moment, another reporter shouted out, "Come on, Mr. President! Can you provide any more details? What exactly does this apology pertain to?" The reporter''s tone was insistent, bordering on confrontational. Secret Services had to step in to protect the President.


    The crowd of journalists erupted into a chorus of agreement, voices rising in a clamor of questions and demands. "Yes, what was the government''s mismanagement that harmed Mr. Newgate?" one called out.


    "The public deserves to know the full story here!" another reporter exclaimed. "This could be a major scandal - we need more information!"


    The President held up his hand again, but the din was harder to quell this time. The reporters were not willing to let the issue go so easily. It was as if a shark infested water was thrown a bucket of blood. The reporters were in full frenzy. And it was the reaction the President hoped for.


    "I understand your desire for answers," the President said, his tone firm. "But I''m afraid I cannot provide any more details at this time. This is a sensitive, personal matter that I must discuss privately with Mr. Newgate first."


    Beyond the gaming hub, the company''s structure was equally impressive. The Entertainment department was split between music and movie production, with a dedicated streaming division as a subsidiary branch. And of course, there was the Tourism department, which was my family''s business.


    I didn''t disturb the beta tester, and quickly shushed the Indian game developer standing nearby. His eyes glittered when I entered the room, and he almost disturbed the beta tester''s concentration.


    "Sir, we''re almost done with the beta testing."


    "It''s alright Danny. I''m not here for that. Where''s Choi?" I asked.


    "She''s at the pantry I think. Her latest obsession is trying to diet by eating 5 small meals a day."


    "Ah, at least it''s better than her juice cleanse era." I responded.


    Danny nodded in agreement, "That was a nightmare for all of us here. Not to you though Sir. She won''t even raise her voice at you."


    "I kinda wish she did." I smiled wryly. "Or at the very least, she can talk normally around me�C"


    "Op.pa~" The Korean-American girl, who was also the vice-head of the department, rushed towards me after acting exaggeratedly. Dropping her food on the floor, covering her mouth as she gasps, and mumbling to herself for a few times�C monologuing.


    I couldn''t hear all of what she said as she mumbled it very quietly. I only heard the words, ''Thinking, appearing, handsome, fate''. But that was enough for her to shudder from.


    "Na neo-boda eo-ryeo! (I''m younger than you!)" I retorted quickly. She grabbed my arm and hugged it as she said using a fake cute voice, "Why are you here? Did you miss me?!"


    "Sun Hee-ya. How is the game so far?" I asked her casually after calming myself down. She was the type if you played along with her antics, there would be no end to it.


    I couldn''t help but feel a hint of amusement as Sun Hee rushed towards me, especially her face �C which looked uncannily like the renowned Korean actress, Yoo In-na, from my previous world. Her skin was flawless even though she only applied light makeup, her straight brown hair falling perfectly to her shoulders. The large pearl earring and ruby red lips only served to heighten the resemblance.


    "We can just release it! Everything is wanbyokaji- Perfect!" She replied with a mixture of two languages while holding a thumbs up at me, a sentence which could be translated as ''Near Perfect''.


    "What''s wrong with it?" I asked. "Bug problem?" I coded the game with the help of Robin, so I didn''t think there were any bugs.


    Sun Hee smirked and said, "It''s not perfect because Oppa isn''t in it--"


    "That''s going to make it 41 Champions." I laughed.


    Danny exclaimed, "Oh man. I can''t keep watching this. SunHee, stop being delulu!" (Game division. All nerds)


    That term was brought by me to the team when I first met SunHee for the first time. Despite being frivolous, SunHee was a top graduate of Stanford, and has been working with giant conglomerates �C Microsoft and AT&T.


    Why did she choose to resign her job there and work at my company instead? It was mainly for 2 reasons. She saw the future of the company, and she was also obsessed with me. Not in-a-sexual or trying to have a relationship with me kind of obsession, but like a fan worshiping an idol kinda obsession.


    I talked with the two for a while until one of the beta testers came out of the room in order to go to the toilet. He saw me, and immediately after, he kneeled on the ground, lowering his head to the floor as he worshiped me. "All hail New G! The creator of the best game of the century!"


    "Well I wasn''t the one who created it. I just improved it." I chuckled. The gamer who goes by the nickname, Potato Couch, slowly gets up from the ground as he struggled with it because of his bad knee.


    "Nevertheless. You''re our lord and savior�C Oh, my stomach hurts. Got to go." He held his stomach as he rushed to the nearby toilet.


    In the meeting room, SunHee had completely changed into her professional mode, and together with Danny, we discussed the possibility of holding the game premiere as the game was basically completed.


    "If we used the company''s full capability by borrowing people from the other departments, we could hold the launch celebration on Wednesday. I already got in contact with the Moscone Hall representative down in San Francisco. We need to book it now because Oracle Openworld also wanted to use that location for their conference."


    "Sure. Book it now. I''m free that day." I replied casually.


    SunHee smiled and said with awe, "As expected of my Oppa. He holds the biggest deciding power inside the whole company. You don''t even care if the location is out of budget, don''t you?"


    "Is there a factor of budget? I completely forgot about that." I smiled playfully. SunHee gave me a thumbs up again, while Danny exclaimed in amazement, "Wow. So this is what rich people are like."


    SunHee suddenly glared at Danny and said, "Hey! Oppa wasn''t born a rich person! This is all coming from his hard work! Do you understand?!"


    "And also the lottery. Don''t forget that." I made trouble for myself.


    SunHee turned towards me with disbelief, "Oppa! I was defending your honor!"


    "I''m not Zuko. You don''t need to defend it." I laughed as I stood up from the meeting table. "Discuss this with the two CEOs. Marketing is their specialty. I''m only appearing as a guest. I don''t want to do more work for the launch."


    "Oppa. Do you think we can have a performance there? Or better yet, a song made just for the game? If we can do that, the conference event will be even more epic."


    I stopped and turned to SunHee. "Sure. I can do that. But, we''re going to need someone with a powerful voice to do it. And maybe a short video of our champions to make the music video. It''s fine if you don''t finish it before the conference."


    SunHee grinned and said, "We can do that. We just need to kidnap a few animators from the movie department."


    Danny showed pity with his eyes, knowing the unlucky fate of the animators after being targeted by SunHee.

 Chapter 254: Visitor (2)

    Chapter 254: Chapter 254: Visitor (2)


    [Edward POV]


    The rhythmic thud of a basketball echoed across the empty gym. Walking slowly to the source of the sound, I saw President Obama throwing a ball into a hoop while wearing his suit. This was like a fever dream I had, only this time, it was real.


    "Oh, Mr Newgate. You''re here. Mind if I call you Edward?" He greeted me cheerfully, pointing his finger at me in a casual manner as he grabbed the bouncing ball.


    Smirking internally, I replied with a smiling face, "I don''t mind. I''ll keep calling you President. Anything would sound weird to me."


    He tried to break boundaries by acting familiar, which was a great way for him to make way for the apology, but I built it back up. It didn''t deter him however as he threw the ball at me, "Fancy a game?"


    For an ordinary kid�C no, that''s inaccurate. Playing basketball with the President is the dream of the majority of the citizens of the country. It was supposed to make me feel awe with the situation, even provoking my patriotic spirit.


    "..." I was silent as I processed the situation, just for a few seconds.


    It would''ve worked if I didn''t know what he was doing. However to be fair, it did work a little bit at the moment.


    "Sure." I agreed and started bouncing the ball on the ground. He took off his suit, gently placed it on the chair nearby, and folded his sleeves before re-entering the court.


    "I have to warn you. I have a lot of experience playing the game before. I played it ONCE with my neighbor." I said with a straight face as I bounced the ball with my left hand and right, alternating them as I faced off with the president.


    "Pfft-" He chuckled and lowered his head, which allowed me to throw the ball into the net from the 3 pointer line.


    "That''s awesome." He admired the shot greatly and was excited. "Are you sure you only played it once?"


    "Yeah, but I''m also a quarterback, so throwing is my thing." I replied casually as I threw the ball to him. We played for a few rounds before he broached the topic. However, it was different from the topic I had in mind.


    He said, "Edward, do you like Percy Jackson books?"


    Although confused, I answered, "Yeah...Why?"


    He smiled and said, "It must be hard for you to see the story getting butchered in the adaptation."


    Agent Smith had reported my hobbies and complaints to the President it seemed.


    "I do like the books. But I got to say, it seems like you have ulterior motives while bringing that up." I said jokingly while hinting at him to get to the point.


    He smiled slyly and said, "Listen to this. Both of my daughters love the books too. And they are pretty disappointed with the same thing you are. As a father, I couldn''t let that happen. I don''t want to make them sad."


    I scoffed internally and played along, "Oh, so what do you do?" I dribbled the ball casually, but didn''t throw it into the net yet, pretending that the 47 years old man could give me a challenge.


    "Personally? I didn''t do anything. But I have asked some nice people to talk with the producers and the scriptwriter of the film." He replied in a casual manner. "After some discussion about our worries, they, regretfully, dropped the production of the movie, giving the rights back to Rick Riordan."


    -Flashback�C


    Inside a dark confined space, both the producer and scriptwriter of the story�C which had just entered the initial stage of production, were chained to metal chairs and their heads were covered with a black cloth.


    Horrified, the duo shrieked loudly, trying to call for help.


    "Anyone out there!?" The producer shouted, "If this is a prank, IT''S NOT FUNNY!!"


    Agent Smith slowly walked out of the shadow and turned the table light. Two agents stood behind the duo and yanked the black cloth, making them squint their eyes in agony as the harsh light was pointed to their faces.


    "Ahh. Wh-What- Who are you guys?" The producer asked.


    "What we are is not important. What''s important right now is..." Agent Smith took out a file and scattered some printed images on the table, containing evidence of several crimes the producer had committed, "...How are you going to get out of here alive."


    Agent Smith turned to the scriptwriter as the producer was flabbergasted. "For you, we don''t really have anything against you, so just be obedient and it''ll all be over soon."


    The scriptwriter nodded hurriedly, fear evident in his expression.


    -Flashback ends-


    Dumfounded, I watched as the President snatched the ball from me. He dribbled it briefly before shooting and scoring a neat basket. As the ball swished through the net, he turned to me with a smile. "So, I think your movie studio could try to negotiate with Mr. Riordan to get those rights," he hinted.


    I returned the smile. "That''s really fortunate news," I replied, and began dribbling the ball again.


    Although I was tempted to ask him directly about his intentions, his indirect manner of speaking made me realize he wanted me to work for the movie rights myself, rather than simply handing them to me. This way, Hollywood wouldn''t misconstrue my studio as a gangster operation willing to blackmail and force people to relinquish their rights�C or whatever else they did to the producers.


    We sat down on the court after he grew too tired to continue playing. While opening a bottle of water, he expressed tiredly, "Young people have too much energy. I can''t keep up anymore."


    I grinned and said, "I''m also shocked. I didn''t think you had it in you."


    He chuckled as he heard my remark. Wiping his sweat with a clean towel, he said, "You think that I''m only here today to change your mind about the agreement."


    I nodded in reply. He smiled kindly, "You''re guarded against me, and I don''t blame you. I don''t want to lie to you either, so I''ll just be honest. It was part of my aim to come here and try to change your mind. I even have information that could help me in the negotiations."


    By being upfront, he placed us on equal footing, no longer speaking as the President, but as himself. "What do you mean by ''was''?" I asked, confused. "What made you change your mind?"


    He smiled wryly and said, "I won''t share the details, as it''s a matter of national security." Slowly, he got up from the floor and said, "All I want to do today is apologize to you."


    Suddenly, he bowed down to apologize, which startled me. I jumped up from the court to stop him, "You don''t have to do this."


    Down in the lower floors, Paige Swanson, the new scriptwriter, was holed up in a meeting room by herself. Her wild, curly hair was pulled back in a messy bun, and she had her glasses perched on her nose as she typed away on the computer. Paige looked like your typical worn-out writer - she was wearing an oversized checkered t-shirt that hung loosely on her frame, and had barely any makeup on her face. Dark circles were starting to form under her eyes from all the long hours she''d been putting in.


    Suddenly, Paige''s concentration was broken by a knock at the door. Thinking it might be the company big shot she was supposed to be meeting, she whipped her head around eagerly.


    "Excuse me, I''m looking for the scriptwriter for the new movie. Is that you?" In sauntered Missy Cooper, all dolled up in a fitted, knee-length dress with a bold cherry blossom print in shades of red, pink, and black. She had on a pair of strappy black high heels that elongated her legs as she approached Paige confidently.


    Paige''s eyes went wide as she recognized the woman. "Missy Cooper?" she called out.


    Using a sickly sweet tone, Missy replied, "Yup, that''s me-" But then she did a total double take and her tone changed, "Wait a second, Paige Swanson?!?!"


    "Missy!" Paige practically shrieked, jumping up to give her old friend a big hug. "It''s been forever!" Missy gushed, using a super affectionate tone.


    "Over fifteen years!" Paige gushed back. "How''ve you been? Hang on - what are you doing here in Texas? And at this company of all places?"


    They caught up for a while, with Missy excitedly talking to Paige about her trip. As she listened to Missy''s words, Paige''s initial excitement slowly started to somber.


    "Huh." Paige exclaimed to herself, her brow furrowing slightly.


    "What?" Missy asked, confusion evident on her face.


    "N-Nothing." Paige hesitated for a bit. Then, both of them heard a knock coming from the door.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Hello." I greeted as I walked into the room. Missy jumped out of her chair and rushed to give me a hug, "Oh Edward. Thank you very much. Mom and I really enjoy the beach house."


    As I was busy this afternoon, the driver drove them straight to the place where they were staying. Mary went to check up on Sheldon, and Missy came to the company after settling down.


    "I''m glad you like it." I replied as Missy stood by my side. I turned to Paige and offered a handshake, "Hi. It''s the first time we met. I''m Edward, but I''m sure you already know me."


    "Paige Swanson." Paige greeted me with a solemn look. I was confused so I asked, "What''s wrong? You look like you want to ask me something."


    "Um. I do." Paige hesitated. Missy placed her hand on her hip as she stood beside me, "Just ask him. He''s not the type to get mad if you ask him a question like Sheldon."


    "Sheldon." Paige scoffed. "Did he tell you to do this? To hire me?" She asked carefully, despite the anger visible on her expression. "Did I only get the job because I know the people you know?"


    Realizing that Missy was flown out here for a meeting today, Paige easily connected the dots.


    I chuckled and said, "I don''t even know you were hired until yesterday."


    Paige was stunned for a bit and she shrinks back, "So, is this all a coincidence? It seems very unlikely."


    "Nope. not a coincidence. I did flew Missy out here for you guys to meet. I wanted to see a tearful reunion, but I was too late," I confessed while chuckling.


    Paige was confused and Missy chuckled. Missy looked at me admonishingly and asked, "The tour is still free right?"


    "Yeah," I replied casually. Missy grabbed my cheek lightly and said, "Good. ''Cause I can''t wait to go around Los Angeles and maybe meet some star."


    "You have a star right in front of you," I said with disbelief. Missy placed her elbow on my shoulder and said, "Oh, somebody jealous?"


    Paige was still confused, "Wait. Um. I''m sorry, but can I get an explanation�C Please?"


    I looked at her and nodded slightly, "Sure. I have some beef with Sheldon, so I went to visit his mother during my tour in Texas. We hit it off, and I learned about you too. Like Sheldon, I also have an eidetic memory, so I remembered who you are when I saw your resume. Mary and Missy told me a lot about Sheldon''s embarrassing past you know�C"


    "I told him about you in a passing exchange. I don''t think he''ll still remember it," Missy interjected.


    Paige asked, "What did you say about me?"


    "I said I missed you when mom showed him your picture. That''s all," Missy replied. And then she joked, "You don''t have to make sense of what he''s doing. He''s rich. Rich people are always different from us ordinary people."


    I nodded in agreement, "That''s true."


    Paige seemed to process everything, her expression shifting from confusion to understanding. "I see. So this was all just...your little scheme to orchestrate a reunion between old friends?" She glanced between Missy and myself, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "I am confused as to feel manipulated or grateful right now."


    "Just be grateful." Missy said as she went to hug Paige again. "I didn''t think that I could ever meet you again in my life. I thought you had a busy job like Sheldon, hiding in a research lab somewhere."


    Paige smacked her lips and said, "I had quit science a long time before. Um, Missy, although I''m glad that we''re meeting again, can it wait? I only have a meeting with Mr Newgate from 4-6."


    Missy turned to me and asked, "Where are you going later?"


    "To bother Sheldon with you and your mother. But I guess I can postpone that if you''re staying here a couple more days." I replied.


    Missy grabbed Paige''s hand and said, "Good. You can bother Sheldon, and I can catch up with Paige. You can show me around LA, right Paige. Cause I don''t want to walk around with my mother. Maybe you can show me where the party�C"


    Paige interrupted Missy quickly as she felt embarrassed, "Um...I only moved here a couple of months ago. And I was working the whole time, so I haven''t had the chance to look around yet."


    Both of them looked at me and I rolled my eyes, "I''m a teen. I can''t even get into clubs."


    "Ah." Missy exclaimed. "That''s true."

 Chapter 255: Bad First Meeting.

    Chapter 255: Chapter 255: Bad First Meeting.


    [Edward POV]


    As Paige, Missy, and I sat together, with Missy at the head of the table and Paige and I faced off with each other, the conversation drifted to Paige''s past encounters with Sheldon. Missy eagerly shared the details, describing how Paige had once punched Sheldon, his head dramatically hitting the floor.


    Paige smiled reminiscently as she tapped her pen on the table, though it was clear she was anxious to get down to business. "She punched him, like thawk, and his head hit the floor, like Kathump," Missy narrated with animated hand gestures.


    I grinned and said, "That''s really awesome. I wish I could see that." Turning to Paige, I added, "Missy, I guess we need to continue later. Paige here is almost drilling a hole on the table as she waits."


    "Oh. Sorry," Missy said apologetically, giving Paige a light touch.


    Paige smiled bitterly and said, "It''s�CIt''s not that I don''t want to talk, but I''m getting paid here. So I want to do my job first."


    "It''s fine. It''s fine," I dismissed her worries, but Paige''s expression darkened.


    "Well it''s fine for you," she blurted out, a hint of hostility in her voice.


    Raising an eyebrow, I wondered what she meant. Maybe she felt pressured because this work would be tied to her career in the business, but me, the haughty CEO was insufferable and only wanted to talk. But I couldn''t bring myself to care, so I said crassly, "Alright. Let''s focus on the work then. We''ll talk about the movie."


    "Great. First, I am clear about the whole idea of the movie. But I also heard that you don''t have a solution to the dilemma here."


    "That''s why we''re bringing you in," I joked.


    "Well, we could�C" Paige wanted to discuss, but I raised my hand quickly, "I need to stop you there. I don''t want to hear the solution here. I mean, I''m not going to talk with you about that. You can ask the creative department for the ideas and feedback later, but for me, I couldn''t hear the solution until it was finalized, and it made some sense."


    Paige grumbled a bit and pushed up her glasses. "I thought we''re supposed to be brainstorming about that."


    I shook my head and shrugged, "I have too much on my plate to be worrying about a movie''s storyline. I literally had just had a meeting with the President. I''m sure you know about that."


    Missy raised her arms up excitedly like a student in a class, "I know. It''s been all over the news."


    Paige was startled and asked, "Wait. Really?"


    I nodded to reply to her. She was in disbelief for a couple of seconds before she collected herself, "Fine then. But you know, a scriptwriter can only work on your ideas, if she can actually listen to your ideas."


    "To be honest Paige. I can only give you the details of what I want. I can''t help you with the storyline. But don''t worry, the director will come in next week, so you''ll be working closely with him, not me. We just need a rough draft for the meeting, not the complete story. The studio is also quite busy with our already ready series, and I don''t want to increase their workload. This movie...We will decide if we''re going to do it or not, after the script is done"


    Paige finally understood it, "So, if the script is bad, we won''t go through with it."


    "No. A studio will usually hire a new writer, but I''ll tell you this directly, if the script doesn''t excite Pepper, the movie won''t go on. I will not interfere at all if he wants to do this movie, but at the same time I also won''t try to convince him if he doesn''t want to do it."


    Missy scrunched her eyebrow and said, "Sounds like you don''t really want to do this movie."


    I snapped my finger and pointed at her, "That''s why I brought you here. High level of EQ."


    Missy was bashful and giggled, trying to act like she wasn''t flattered, "Thank you. Also, what is EQ?"


    Paige: ???


    Me: ...


    I explained to Missy while Paige clicked her pen multiple times, ruminating about the matter. "Alright. I accept that condition. But, you need to give me something to work with." She agreed to the challenge.


    "What did Pepper say to you?" I asked, trying to grab her notebook, but she pounced on the book suddenly and yanked it out of my hand. "Sorry, this is private."


    I held my arms up in surrender. "I understand."


    Missy grinned and said, "Must be something naughty in it she doesn''t want you to see. Let me take a look at it later."


    Paige blushed and glared at Missy, "N-No."


    Missy gasped, "She stammered. It really is�C"


    She flipped the paper hurriedly. "Right. He said, um, ''Ryan Gosling needs to be there''. He also told me about the curse and ethical dilemma. Pepper wants it to be romantic, set in New York�C"


    "New York?" I interrupted, then said, "Sorry. Continue."


    "That''s it," Paige said with a wry smile. "That''s all he gave me to work with."


    "Nothing about the characters and all?" I raised my eyebrow in astonishment before looking at Paige pitifully.


    "None," Paige replied. Missy said, "If you have some drinks here, I think she''s going to need it."


    "I can''t drink alcohol while working�C" Paige started, but I cut her off, "There''s some beer in the fridge. Also, I think liquor is in the pantry."


    "You let your workers drink while they''re working?" Missy asked with disbelief and excitement. "This is like a company a Texan wished for their whole life."


    "Not during. We''ll also have some guests here, so it was mainly for them," I clarified, leaning forward. I wanted to get up, but Missy held my arm to stop me. "Let me go. I want to see it with my own eyes."


    I sat back down and said, "Sure. Just walk straight on the right till you reach the end. The pantry is there."


    Jumping from her seat, Missy excitedly walked away. I watched her from behind and smirked, "Look at her all giddy."


    "Are you sure you aren''t just looking at her butt?" Paige asked me with a raised brow.


    I turned towards her again, "A little bit. But who wouldn''t?"


    She groaned in disgust and rolled her eyes. I casually said, "Let''s discuss the main character first then. You can build the story from around there."


    Paige nodded and said, "Pepper wants RG, so we know what he looks like. But what does he do? His career path? In ''Good Luck Chuck'' which has a similar premise�C"


    "Good Luck Chuck has a similar premise? I should watch�C"


    "No. You aren''t 18 yet, so you can''t watch the movie," Paige interrupted me. "It''s R rated?" I asked dubiously, to which Paige nodded. She continued, "He''s a dentist there, so he wasn''t really high profile. His life was quite ordinary until his friend convinced him to use his curse for good�C or bad." She blushed a little at the end.


    "I got it." Penny giggled. She turned to Missy, "And who''s this?"


    "I''m Missy. Missy Cooper." Missy greeted Penny in a friendly manner.


    "She''s Sheldon''s twin sister." I explained. Penny froze in shock and her eyes widened, "Really?"


    "And not one day goes by that I thank god we''re not identical twins." Missy jokes. Penny and I giggled.


    We climbed the stairs together, and as we did, Penny asked, "I''m sorry. I have to know. Why is Sheldon''s sister with you?"


    "You haven''t gone to the guy''s apartment yet? I thought you would''ve met Sheldon''s mother by now."


    "Oh. I just got home from work." Penny was startled and started deflecting. I remembered something and grinned. "Really? Based on your expression Penny, I don''t think that''s the case. There''s something more here."


    "I-I don''t know what you''re talking about." Penny stammered.


    Missy joined in, grinning, "It seems like Edward is correct. I don''t have all the details yet, but I think, something happened in that apartment. That''s why you''re being all jittery."


    "What?" Penny was in disbelief.


    "Hmm... Seeing that you have a problem with intimacy, I''d guess that something happened between you and Leonard. It must be something you hadn''t planned so that''s why you''re avoiding him." I rubbed my chin playfully, pretending to be a detective. "So, did you kiss Leonard?"


    Penny''s jaw dropped and she said, "That''s...amazing. How did you guess that?! ALSO I have no problems with intimacy!"


    "Leonard, Sheldon''s roommate? You''re dating him?" Missy asked. Penny was in disbelief and rushed to climb the stairs as we were at our final steps.


    "Penny, why don''t you join us? We''re all having dinner together." Missy invited Penny as she stood in front of her apartment door, which was directly opposite Sheldon''s apartment door.


    "I''m okay. Thank you for the offer. And it was nice meeting you Missy." Penny said as she opened the door. But before she got in, she glanced at Missy and advised, "Be careful with Howard. The guys are nice, but sometimes they can be a bit too much."


    Missy was stunned, yet curious. Penny disappeared from our sight, and I went to the door. Missy wanted to knock, but I stopped her.


    "There''s something I want to try."


    I knocked on the door 3 times with a tri-knock pattern.


    Sheldon opened the door with a smug look and asked, "When did you learn about my signature knock?"


    Missy smiled and said, "Sheldon!"


    "Missy. Nice to see you. You can come in." Sheldon said. "But you�C"


    "Don''t be silly Shelly, let him in." Mary scolded angrily from inside the house.


    "I was going to let him in, Mom! I just want to ask him a question before he can come inside!" Sheldon retorted, aggrieved, yet he still concurred and opened the door without any hassle. He scoffed at me and went to sit at his work table, doing some work on his laptop.


    "Something smells delicious!" I said as I entered the apartment. Finally, I saw the missing wall in the apartment - the right wall after you entered, where the TV was typically set up.


    "Oh you''re too kind. I''m making spaghetti with a hotdog cut up in it." Mary said sweetly. I smiled at her and said, "Do you want some help?"


    "No. Sit down. Be comfortable. This won''t take long." Mary focused on cooking. Leonard walked into the living room and greeted me, "Edward. Nice to see you. Again, I''m very sorry for bringing Dr Gabblehauser to your home."


    "Water under the bridge." I smiled at him as I accepted his gesture to shake hands with me. Missy smiled and greeted, "You must be Leonard, the kisser."


    "E-Excuse me- Wh-What?" Leonard was startled. "Um, you must be Sheldon''s sister." He greeted Missy bashfully.


    I walked to the couch and sat casually on it. "That''s my spot." Sheldon said without turning back.


    I ignored him and watched Missy tease Leonard about Penny. He was excited and blushed for a bit, before he became determined and said, "I''m-I''m going to invite her to. Mrs Cooper, can I�C"


    "Just call me Mary, Leonard. You may. I''m curious to see the girl that managed to catch your eye too." Mary said teasingly.


    "Move away from my spot." Sheldon turned to speak to me.


    "No." I replied casually. He became increasingly agitated and walked slowly towards me while crossing his arms.


    "Excuse me, but this is my apartment�C"


    "Nana Mary! Sheldon''s bullying me!" I shouted to his mother immediately. Sheldon was taken aback and Mary scolded him, "Shelly! Let him be."


    Sheldon whined, "But mom, he''s sitting at my spot."


    "This spot feels great, Nana." I spoke to Mary again, using a slightly louder volume to reach her. "I think I''m going to sit here the entire night."


    "Aww, I love it when you call me Nana. It made me feel like I have one more lovely grandson." Mary said sweetly.


    "Mom!" Sheldon tried to snap her out of her awe state. "I''m your lovely son, and you''re not supporting me. He''s sitting at my spot! He''s doing this on purpose to infuriate me."


    "No. I''m not." I replied as I settled my ass into the seat, making Sheldon even more mad. "That''s a harsh accusation. Why would I come all the way over here, just to infuriate you?"


    "Why did you fly my mother and sister here if you''re not trying to bother me?" Sheldon asked accusatorily. "We all have questions."


    Leonard and Penny entered the apartment at the time, and saw my argument with Sheldon. Missy was enjoying the whole thing and muttered, "Go Edward."


    I replied to Sheldon''s question, "Um, to be nice? Why, aren''t you happy to see your mother?"


    Sheldon replied, "Of course I''m happy."


    "Then, what''s the problem with that exactly?" Missy joined in. "He had his luxurious jet pick up mom. He even let us get settled into a nice beach house. At the very least, you can give him your spot for the night."


    "Missy''s right. Shelly, why don''t you be a good host and help me set up the table." Mary joined in.


    "But�C" Sheldon was aggrieved. He glared at me before he pretended to smile and walked to the kitchen to try and convince his mother.


    Missy sat next to me and said, "You''re bad, you know that?" I laughed and said, "I''m sure that won''t be the last of it. He''ll badger me continuously tonight. I just need to make sure I don''t falter"

 Chapter 256: Last meeting of the night.

    Chapter 256: Chapter 256: Last meeting of the night.


    [Edward POV]


    "Mom, you can''t believe who I met at the company�C working on them'' movies!" Missy told her mother Mary as we were eating spaghetti together on the 3-seater couch.


    Sitting between the Cooper ladies, with Missy on my right, I listened to the conversation intently. Mary leaned on the side of the single-seat couch and excitedly pointed at Missy with her fork, "You know what? We all should have dinner together, just to catch up."


    Missy turned to Sheldon and asked, "Aren''t you going to say something? Paige is your friend too. Aren''t you glad to see her again?"


    Leonard was intrigued and Penny joked, "Sheldon has a childhood girlfriend?"


    "She''s not my... Well, I guess since she is someone I knew as a child, and she is a girl, but she''s not a friend. She''s my rival," Sheldon corrected before continuing pouting and glaring at me from behind.


    Sheldon remained standing, refusing to take another seat and wanting to wait for me to slip up and get up so he could take his spot back. Penny was excited and interjected, "Wait wait wait. You have a rival? So she must be a genius too? What is she doing making movies?"


    "Um." Missy hesitated and glanced at me, also curious about the same question. "I don''t know. I guess the pay is good."


    "The pay is great. My company isn''t like the other production companies that paid their screenwriter dimes and nickels." I chimed in. "By the way, this is delicious Nana." I swirled the spaghetti with the fork.


    Mary smiled softly and said, "Glad you like it. It''s Sheldon''s favorite."


    "Yet, you don''t seem to care if I eat it or not." Sheldon retorted, but Mary ignored his complaint, "When you have lunch with the President, I''ll even spoon feed you if that''s what you want. In the meantime, grab a plate."


    "I won''t." Sheldon said whiningly.


    Missy turned to Penny, "I guess he pays her really well. Because no matter how many times he pissed her off before, she kept seated and didn''t storm off."


    "Edward, you pissed her off?" Leonard asked laughingly, "Why?"


    I shrugged and said, "Oh, I didn''t do it on purpose. She just has a short fuse."


    Sheldon agreed with me, "I have to agree with that. That is accurate." Both of us nodded in acknowledgement to one another, making Mary fall in disbelief.


    "I thought y''all are fighting." Mary retorted. Then, she smiled at me and said, "You have to tell me what it''s like."


    "To be me? It''s pretty awesome." I replied jokingly. Mary laughed and replied, "You know what I''m talking about."


    "Then, I''ll tell it all to you once you visit all the places you want to visit in LA. If I do it now, it''ll eclipse your other experiences."


    Missy smiled coyly and said, "Mom, don''t listen to him. He already told me about it on the drive��"


    "Missy. Stop talking." I cupped my hand on her mouth, startling her. Sheldon grimaced and said, "Great. Now you need hand sanitizer or you''ll contaminate my spot."


    Missy laughed and turned to Sheldon again, "I still haven''t heard your answer."


    Sheldon was taken aback before he agreed, "You''re right. I still haven''t answered your question. If I have to, I''d say�C I''m not happy about meeting with Paige, I never do. But I''m quite looking forward to it."


    "Hmm? Why?" I asked. "And if you answered it honestly, with some details for the story, I''ll give you back your spot."


    Sheldon was excited and said, "Deal! Alright." He took his time and shared, "Paige, despite her intelligence rivaling mine, although she''s a bit inferior�C"


    "That''s not how I remember it." Missy retorted.


    Sheldon was taken aback, and continued, "Paige came to my dorm when I was studying at East Texas Tech, asking me if she could stay there for a while. College deemed too much for her, and she couldn''t handle the loneliness. She wasn''t a social butterfly like me."


    "It was disturbing her mental health so much that she dropped out of the sciences entirely. Needing a place to stay, she came for me to help her."


    "Why is my heart fluttering?" Penny whispered as she held Leonard''s hand strongly, invested in Sheldon''s story. Sheldon saw it and he asked with concern, "Are you having a heart attack?"


    Penny rolled her eyes and urged, "Continue with the story."


    "My mom, Missy and I went to check up on her that night because we were worried, only to find out that she had left. Inside the empty room was a note. She wrote to me that she was thankful for letting her stay, but unfortunately she had to go. I guess the reason I''m curious about the prospect of meeting her is because of the last part of the letter."


    "WHAT IS IT WHAT IS IT?!" Penny was thoroughly invested in the story. Me too to be honest, but I didn''t show it. In my previous life, I only watched Young Sheldon till season 5 after all. I didn''t know the ending of the story, except for the fact that it will end with Sheldon''s father''s death.


    Sheldon crossed his arms together, "In that letter, she mentioned that she''s happy for me for doing well, and she needs to find that for herself somewhere. So if I am to meet her tomorrow, I''m curious to see if she does find it."


    I asked, "Is that your last meeting with her?" Everyone held their breath as they waited for his answer.


    Sheldon shook his head and replied nonchalantly, "No. I met her again a month later at the same college. She dragged me to a party where we bumped into Missy there. Pagie was inebriated and Missy made me let her sleep in my dorm room."


    "Wait. Sheldon, so, while you''re 14 and in college, you brought a girl back to your room after going to a party?" Leonard asked with disbelief.


    Missy laughed and said, "I remembered that now. We went to that college party�C"


    Missy realized that she had misspoke, and Mary looked at her with disbelief and anger. "Missy Cooper are you kidding me?!" She yelled angrily.


    "Mom, that was 15 years ago. The statue of limitation on that had long expired." Missy replied casually, which made Mary fall into disbelief.


    Before Mary could say anything, Penny asked Sheldon, "Wait. So... Um, was that what you were thinking all these years? Is she finally happy?" Her eyes carried anticipation, and she held her breath as she waited for the answer.


    "No, I didn''t even think about her until Missy mentioned her to me today." Sheldon replied, pouring cold water to Penny''s fiery fantasy. I chuckled at the interaction, while Missy was excited about something else.


    "Rather than focusing on my brother''s non-existence love story, I''d rather hear about you two."


    Leonard and Penny exchanged glances with each other, both were uncomfortable about the topic.


    "Hey! You made it!" RDJ greeted me with open arms as I entered the house. I laughed and asked, "You''re here too?"


    "Why? You think you''re too good to spend time with me now you had lunch with the President?" He scoffed. Falling into disbelief, I said, "I won''t live that down for a while huh."


    "That''s the peak of your life. Of course people are going to talk about it." Jon Favreau walked in with a glass of whiskey in his hand. Seemingly drunk, he sat down on the couch while wearing a robe.


    RDJ and I glanced at each other before he asked Jon, "What happened? You were really excited just a few minutes ago."


    "I was just on a call with Feige." Jon mumbled with a depressed tone.


    I sat on the seat in front of him and asked, "What happened with Feige? Also, can I get a drink too�C"


    "No!" RDJ replied haughtily as he grabbed a glass of whiskey for himself. "Believe me, you shouldn''t drink. You don''t want to end up like the paaaast me."


    I shrugged and said, "Then I''ll become Iron Man 20 years later. It doesn''t seem like a bad trade off. Besides, your issues were not about alcohol."


    "And don''t you dare start that too." He scolded me from out of nowhere.


    Jon chuckled for a bit before he sighed and shared why he was depressed.


    "Well, I floated the idea of reshooting the ending scene of the movie to Feige." Jon said. "You know, the one which ends up with Whiplash getting arrested by SHIELD after a standoff with Tony."


    Nodding in agreement, I pondered the new scene he and the producers had devised after our discussion. Jon was excited about the revised ending because it catered to everything Feige wanted to accomplish - it would showcase the buildup for an interconnected cinematic universe, while also allowing for a more satisfying, less messy conclusion.


    In the original story, they had shown Justin Hammer being arrested by SHIELD, which was the wrong move. Hammer had been working with the government, so SHIELD apprehending him would not effectively demonstrate their might.


    Instead, in the revised ending, Whiplash would send a drone armor to distract Tony. This would set up an explosive, climactic fight scene that the producers desired - a sequence meant to push Tony to the edge before the final confrontation.


    However, when Tony returned to the venue, Whiplash would be standing there alone, waiting to be captured by the authorities. It is then that he would provoke Tony, warning him that even after his arrest, people would continue utilizing services like those Justin Hammer provided. The mass-produced Iron Armor would fuel wars on a nightmarish scale, rendering Tony Stark inconsequential.


    Whiplash''s true revenge on Stark would be to completely destroy his legacy, mirroring how Howard Stark had done to Whiplash''s own father. This would leave Tony in a moral dilemma - should he kill the unarmed, surrendering Whiplash, forfeiting his claim to heroism?


    Ultimately, Tony would choose to lower his weapon, surprising Whiplash. He would then quip about the customer satisfaction survey Justin Hammer would give after the day''s events, knowing no one would trust Whiplash to build their armor given his attempted takeover. With no bargaining chips left, Whiplash would have no choice but to be locked up again.


    This revised ending was intended to showcase SHIELD''s expanded role in the interconnected Marvel Cinematic Universe. By containing Whiplash (Ivan Vanko), they would demonstrate their capability to handle elevated global threats - while also leaving the door open to potentially bring the character back in the future, perhaps in a Thunderbolts film.


    It also connected itself to the legacy theme that was played all over the movie, showing that Tony was a different man from his father, and maybe to build redemption for Ivan Vanko later in the future. In the movie, one could argue that his main target was Tony Stark from the start. Even the armors in the final fight scene were only programmed to attack Tony, not to mindlessly massacre civilians.


    This revised ending would have allowed the film to more deeply explore the themes of legacy, responsibility, and Stark''s evolution as a hero - while also setting up future interconnected storylines within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.


    After that brief thought, Jon continued telling his story, "Feige loves it. But there were a few problems. First, in order to show the final fight, we need to reshoot the entire last scene. That''ll mean more CGI works, bigger budget, and more work that needs to be done for a movie that was essentially finished."


    "The problem with the remote controlled suit idea is that Ivan Vanko doesn''t have an AI. Even Tony, who has the AI, hasn''t done that yet. The fight scene at the end is only possible because he was in it." Jon sighed. "I have the idea of Ivan wearing partial armor when he was confronting Tony. Maybe fight him a little before he surrenders."


    RDJ added, "Scarlett also has a scheduling problem with her needing to shoot for her new movie, ''He''s Just Not That Into You''."


    "The one where she swims naked?" I asked.


    "Yea�C Wait, what?" In disbelief, RDJ shook it off and continued his words, "Anyway, since we only have 6 months left before the release, we cannot reshoot the last scene anymore."


    Not because they couldn''t, but the CGI department needed time to handle the effects he wanted. The final scene was already created a year ago, and it was only completed ahead of schedule because of my software.


    "I mean, we can try." Jon corrected. "It''s just the studio won''t approve the extra expenditure. It''ll take at least 5...no 10 more million I think.. To reshoot the entire last scene."


    Jon turned to me and said, "Just to be clear, I''m not asking for money. Your software already cuts down the money we need to use. It''s down to 155 million compared to the initial projection of 170 million."


    RDJ was confused, "Then, can''t they just use what they saved up to reshoot the entire thing?"


    "The money has already been moved to fund another project, am I right?" I asked Jon knowingly. He nodded and said, "Well, the Avengers project needs a lot of money. Well, not that I have any part in that."


    "He quit directing any future projects. Can you believe that?" RDJ teased Jon.


    Helpless, Jon replied, "I''m not quitting directing. I just want to avoid the studio for a bit. Well, back to my original intention."


    RDJ scoffed, but he understood what his friend was feeling. Jon had worked so hard to bring his creative vision to life, but the studio kept interfering and adding more ridiculous requests in order to bring the cinematic universe to life.


    We had been conversing for over an hour when I floated an idea to Jon. "Hey, do you know about Percy Jackson novels?"


    Jon, despite already drinking a few glasses, still kept his mind, "Yeah. I just heard about it this afternoon. For the life of me, I have no idea what could''ve happened for a studio to drop a story like that."


    Well I have an idea. But I wasn''t going to tell him that.


    Jon rambled on, "I know the creator''s mad about the adaptation and even wrote some letters to stop the movie, never once did I think that I could do anything. I mean, even JK Rowling can''t do anything when the movie studio changed her story."


    "Not so much though," RDJ asked. "Right?"


    Jon shrugged and said, "I don''t know. Never read the books." He turned to me and said, "Why did you ask?"


    "Well, I''m trying to get the movie rights." I said, surprising the both of them.


    "Really�C Ah, I forgot you already bought a couple of movie studios." Jon exclaimed in wonder. I grinned and asked, "When I get it, Jon, are you interested in directing it?"


    "Directing what?" Jon asked, confused.


    I sipped my pomegranate juice and replied, "The Percy Jackson movie."

 Chapter 257: Game Preparation.

    Chapter 257: Chapter 257:?Game Preparation.


    [Edward POV]


    Inside my basement, several character design sheets and arts were scattered all over the table. It was 4.30 in the morning, the sun hadn''t risen yet. Vader was actively running around the house, even visiting my lab a few times to play with me.


    "Focus on completing Ashe and Garen first, then if we have the time, we can do the others. Annie''s cinematic is almost done right?" I said to Robin.


    There were several dots on my face in order for me to use motion capture technology for the character''s facial expression references. It made the animation feel more fluid and human.


    Robin replied, "Yes. It''s currently 99% done." The video of Annie, one of the champions in the League of Legends game, was displayed on the holographic screen in front of us. In just a few short minutes, the clip was finally rendered.


    It showed Annie, the little redhead girl, running from her enemies. Then, the teddy bear in her hand burst into fire, turning into a huge 10 meters tall flaming bear. It roared to her enemies, and she sat on its shoulder with a maniacal, smug, and psychopathic expression on her face, a stark contrast from her innocent look in the beginning.


    I nodded in satisfaction after watching the 40 second clip introducing the champion. It was supposed to be one minute, but I cut 20 seconds from the champion''s clips in order to set it aside for the music video.


    After getting the holographic tech, I didn''t need to set up numerous monitors inside my basement anymore to work on a few things simultaneously. The artwork and designs were already scanned into the computer, and ROBIN made the final edit for them.


    "Can you get an estimate on how long it will take for us to finish the music video?" I asked with some slight concern. Currently, the company is almost done with the cinematics of the heroes'' introductions. The music video was a totally different thing.


    "Even with the entire company working on the video, it would take you at least 1 week to achieve the quality you''re striving for," Robin replied. "Unless you use the Unreal Engine." She added.


    I thought about it for a while and replied, "Okay. Sure. Start up the program. Have you learned how to animate yet?"


    Robin had lurked behind the animator''s computer, learning their ways of animating without anyone realizing it. Currently, her hour of work alone was worth 100 animators working full time, 24 hours a day. However, she couldn''t strive for creative thinking on her own, which made her need someone to direct her on what to do.


    The Unreal Engine could create worlds as I based it on SAO''s Aincrad. However, compared to Aincrad, its capability was limited. The difference between them was that my engine could create one floor of the tower, while Aincrad had 100.


    I canned the map of Runeterra into the Unreal Engine and also inserted the characters there. It''ll take at least one day before completion before I could direct the clips with Robin.


    While I was mulling, Robin asked suddenly, "Mind telling me why did you agree to an impossible deadline? It doesn''t seem like you, to make this type of mistake."


    "Sometimes men become quite stupid in the presence of a beautiful woman. We also want to show off to them, even if it''ll put us in danger in the process." I replied casually.


    "Men are weird then," Robin replied.


    I laughed, "Yes we are. We don''t have to make everything an animation. We can piece it together with some real people shot�C But, put that as the last thing we would do. We''ll try to get the animation video ready first."


    "What about the song? You still haven''t made it yet." ROBIN asked. I rubbed my head as I replied, "I already have a song. Well, songs. But I need a second person''s opinion to pick one of them."


    "I will contact Miss Sun-Hee and let her know." Robin texted the vice-head of the gaming department right away, but I stopped her, "Wait till morning. She''ll get cranky and vengeful if she doesn''t get her 10 hours of beauty sleep. Then, I''ll never hear the end of it."


    "Women are also weird." Robin replied.


    "Yes. Yes they do." I agreed with her while chuckling.


    "Should I reach out for someone that''s already up right now?" Robin asked helpfully.


    "I don''t think there''s anyone that has a similar work schedule as I do. " I replied, not thinking much about it as I was focused on finishing the background music for the animated clip.


    Suddenly, I heard a ringing sound coming from the left projector screen. I turned immediately, panicking, "Robin�C WAIT�C DISCONNECT�C"


    "Hello?" Claire picked up the call within 5 seconds. Her voice was raspy and dry, sounding like someone who just woke up from her sleep.


    I grimaced and put my knuckle in front of my mouth, calming myself down. "Sorry, Claire. It''s a sleep dial," I greeted, not even believing the excuse coming from my own mouth. ''What?'' I mouthed.


    After a brief pause, Claire chuckled. "It''s 5 am, it must be," she played along. "Alright, you can continue sleeping." I said as I wanted to end the call. "Bye-"


    "Before that." Claire stopped me from doing so and asked, "How are you?"


    "I''m fine." I replied hastily. "I really need to go now. I have a lot of work to do."


    "You said it was a sleep dial." Claire retorted. I was speechless for a moment and replied, "Sleep-y dial. I had just woken up."


    "Oh. That''s alright then. Don''t work too hard, and make sure that you go to school." Claire advised. "Bye bye."


    "Bye Claire." I said as I cut the call. Then, I asked ROBIN flabbergasted, "Why did you call her?"


    "She has the most similar work schedule as you do, and she has been awake for 10 minutes." Robin replied innocently. Speechless, I stood there motionlessly for a few seconds before letting out a sigh.


    "Let''s just go back to work." I said tiredly. Robin asked, "Are you going to school today?"


    "We''ll see how the work goes. I have just a little bit over 48 hours to finalize everything for the launch."


    "Wouldn''t it be better for you to launch it on the weekends instead on a Wednesday?" Robin asked.


    Most game companies do tend to release on Thursdays or Fridays, capitalizing on the weekend sales rush. But I answered Robin''s question casually, "Well, we don''t really need to chase sales here. This is a free-to-play game, so people can just download it straight from our website. In fact, I think releasing on a Wednesday could work to our advantage. Less competition means easier words to get out there."


    Right now on the game website, there was a timer countdown to the release of the game. The game''s website had already racked up over 1 million visits per day, thanks to the pre-launch hype we''d built up. Ashe, the beautiful frost archer, was immediately beloved by the fans after the preview of the game went up on the website.


    We even went on marketing it the old school way, using the billboards. Ashe the archer, Garen�C the charismatic juggernaut, Ezreal, and even Amumu had their own solo billboards scattered all over the country.


    The decision to market the game through expensive marketing was laughed at by the other game competitors in the country. After all, the game concept was free to play. People thought I just had too much money on my hand by doing this type of ''useless'' marketing.


    "We are, and who might you be?" Mary asked with a friendly tone.


    The man took off his sunglasses and smiled charmingly towards the duo, "I''m Theodore�C Ted. I''m Ted Newgate. I''m... Edward''s father."


    "Well what a nice coincidence!" Mary said excitedly. Ted smiled wryly and said, "Not really a coincidence. I tracked you guys down."


    "Huh? Why?" Mary asked with a bit of alarm. Inside her mind, she thought that Edward''s act of bringing them here was incurring his father''s wrath, or maybe he didn''t tell his dad about it.


    Missy however, was batting her eyes at Ted. His rugged look, his leather jacket, his deep voice, were all hitting Missy''s ideal type list. Ted didn''t notice the way both of them were looking at him and asked, "Mind if I join you guys?"


    "No. Not at all!" Mary replied. "You can sit next to me." Missy even helped Ted to pull out his chair. Ted chuckled awkwardly and sat next to Missy. "So Ted, don''t you want to get breakfast?"


    " I''d already eaten." Ted replied hurriedly. The table fell into an awkward silence for a while before Mary asked, "It seems that you have something you want to talk to us about."


    "I do, but I''m a little bit embarrassed." Ted smiled. "Is this about Edward flying us here?" Mary asked.


    "Oh, no, I don''t care about that." Ted said dismissively. "I''m actually here, to get some advice from you Mary."


    Mary and Missy were confused. "Advice on what?" Mary asked.


    Ted scratched his cheek and said, "It''s about... Edward. Dr Cooper is a brilliant child, yes? We have something in common there."


    Mary smiled softly and said, "Yes. Sheldon is really brilliant. But sometimes, he can be a little too much."


    Missy rested her head on her palm as she shot Ted a flirty look, "For me, he''s not that great."


    Ted chuckled for a bit and said sincerely, "As you have already gone through this, I want to ask you for some tips on how I can be a better parent for him."


    Missy interjected before Mary could answer, "There''s nothing much you need to do. He''s already awesome. The whole world will agree with me about that."


    "That''s one of the things I''m worried about." Ted smiled wryly.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    As I drove to the company building, I received a call from Jacob.


    "Hey, you''re coming for practice?" Jacob asked.


    "You know, I had missed out on a lot of practice. I want to go, but right now, I need to go to the company to record a song."


    "The gym workout song? We have been waiting for that for so long." Jacob said teasingly. "By the way, the cheerleaders kept asking if you are coming here."


    "Why?" I asked with confusion. Jacob shouted, ''TYLER WATCH OUT! Oof!'' from the other side of the call before he replied to Edward casually, "I don''t know. Tyrone is the only one who knows the reason."


    "Wait. What happened to Tyler?" I asked with some interest.


    "Oh, he was practicing his run, and he crashed right into where the waters are." Jacob replied.


    "Is he hurt?" I asked with some concern.


    "No, just his ego is bruised I think. He looks really embarrassed because his girlfriend sits right in front of the water."


    "Pfft�C" I laughed at Tyler''s misery. After calming down, I said, "The song I''m recording right now can be used as a gym song too. I''ll let you listen to it in the group chat after I record it."


    "Alright. I''m going to start practicing." Jacob said and we ended the call.


    Walking straight to the Entertainment agency, I walked past the dance studio and caught Vanessa entering the studio with some snacks on her hand. She froze like a deer in headlights, and stammered for excuses while trying to hide the food behind her hand.


    "Um, what-What are you doing here? Are you doing spot checks?"


    I rolled my eyes and said, "Just eat if you want to eat. I''m not the diet police."


    She smiled wryly and said, "Sorry. Habits. You still didn''t answer my question though."


    "Oh, I''m headed to the recording studio. By the way, how''s your vocal training going?"


    "Not bad." Vanessa replied. "I''m almost at my peak form again."


    "In vocal. Not stamina though." I snarked. "By the way, after you''re done, come to the recording studio."


    Her eyes lit up, "Really? I''m ready for my debut?"


    I rolled my eyes again and mumbled, "Talking to you will hurt my eyes. It''s not for your comeback. You can''t even say it''s your ''debut''. Stop trying to erase Sneakernight from your history! Anyway, I''m launching a game this Wednesday. I need a female vocalist for one of the songs."


    "Alright. I''m in!" Vanessa said excitedly. I looked at her with a deadpan expression, which made her enthusiasm snubbed.


    "What?" She asked with disbelief.


    "It''s an audition. I''m not just going to give it to you." I smirked.

 Chapter 258: Can’t back out.

    Chapter 258: Chapter 258: Can��t back out.


    [Edward POV]


    "Well this is awkward." Vanessa suddenly said as we entered the recording studio together.


    The recording studio feels cozy, with sound-dampening panels lining the walls to create an optimal acoustic environment. Several isolated vocal booths with glass partitions sit along the perimeter.


    In the center of the room, a large mixing console dominates, its numerous knobs and faders ready to be adjusted by the skilled hands of a sound engineer.


    "What is?" I asked, confused as I sat at the sound synthesizer.


    "Being alone, just the two of us." She explained while crossing her arms, standing by my side.


    I nodded in acknowledgement and said, "It is weird." She nodded too, but her face froze as I said, "I just realized that I had never seen you perform live before. Consider this an audition."


    "A-A-Audition?" She stammered panicky. "Yeah, go inside and sing a song you have a great confidence in. I want to hear if your vocal is suitable for the song I have right now."


    Her eyes still shook for a bit, but she agreed, "Alright then. Just�C Give me a second to warm up my vocals alright?"


    "Sure. You can tell me when you''re ready." I replied casually. She asked, her eyes lit up for a second, "Aren''t you going to create the songs?" The concept of the audition terrified her that she needed a bit more time to prepare herself.


    "I had finished the beat at home." I said, disappointing Vanessa.


    Entering the other side of the glass, Vanessa started with doing some vocal warmups. She wore headphones and stood in front of the microphone. I waited for a while, but since she wasn''t ready�C and I presumed not going to be in a short amount of time, I contacted SunHee to come to the recording studio.


    To my surprise, it wasn''t SunHee who was first to come there. Renaldo, whom I haven''t seen for so long, and Randall came into the recording studio to bring some coffee and sandwiches.


    "Edward! The golden boy!" Renaldo greeted me cheerfully. I chuckled and said, "I didn''t know you''re back from Europe."


    "Yes, I finally got back here today. There''s a lot of venues that want you to perform there. We had finally narrowed it all down."


    I nodded and turned to Randall. "Aren''t you supposed to be in Vegas?"


    Taken aback, Randall said, "No, there''s a gas leak in the venue, so Taylor''s concert had to be postponed. So we came back here."


    Renaldo teased, "Don''t get your panties in a bunch. Your ex is not coming here. She went to search for her bestie."


    Breathing in relief secretly, I replied, "I''m wearing boxers today. Not panties."


    Randall rolled his eyes while Renaldo chuckled. Renaldo pointed behind the glass partition, "And why is she blubbering like a baby."


    "Vocal training," I replied as I turned to Vanessa. Suddenly, she gave me a thumbs up, signaling that she''s ready. Then, I pressed the intercom to talk to her, as it was the only way for someone to talk with someone inside the soundproof area, "What are you singing?"


    "A Moment Like This, By Kelly Clarkson," Vanessa said with a raspy voice.


    I raised my eyebrow and said, "Drink some water. You''re too tense right now. Relax a little."


    "I''m trying," She mumbled as she looked around, trying to search for the bottle. "WHERE IS THE WATER BOTTLE?!" She exclaimed anxiously, on the brink of a nervous breakdown.


    Renaldo quickly ran into the studio, bringing a bottle of water with him. He shouted quickly, "Here! HERE!"


    But, as he gave the bottle to Vanessa, she tried to open the new bottle, but couldn''t do it. She sobbed, "It''s not opening."


    Renaldo took the bottle from her, "Let me help." But as he tried to unscrew the lid, he had difficulty doing so too. "Wait here a moment." Renaldo rushed back out with the bottle and handed it to Randall, who struggled too because the lid was too oily.


    "For god''s sake," I snatched the bottle from Randall and unscrewed the cap easily before handing it to Renaldo.


    After Vanessa drank the water and calmed herself down, I asked her, "Would you feel more comfortable if there''s no one else here?"


    "Maybe," She replied. I snapped my fingers at the duo, "Out. And guard the door, please. SunHee is coming here, so hold her back for a minute. I''ll call you back in when she''s ready."


    "Okay. It''s our fault too. We came here unannounced," Randall muttered. I shook my head and said, "No. She''s just too broken.." It saddened me a bit to see she completely lost her confidence after life pinned her to the corner in a boxing match.


    "Be gentle with her, okay?" Renaldo asked me for a favor. I sighed and said, "At the very least, I won''t be rough with her."


    "That''s...enough," Renaldo smiled and went outside with Randall.


    "Want some suggestions?" I asked Vanessa. Wiping down her clammy hand on her dress, she replied, "I''ll take any suggestions right now. But don''t tell me to imagine the audience naked. That won''t work with me."


    "The only audience here is me. So I guess it''d be quite dangerous if you imagined it. You won''t be able to sleep at night as it''ll be imprinted in your brain." I said jokingly.


    She scoffed slightly, her lips were curling up with disbelief. Her nerves relaxed a bit, and I finally gave my suggestion, "Alright. I''ll show you a trick. See that button near the microphone."


    "This button?" She asked with confusion. "Yup." I nodded. "Press it and it''ll turn the mic off. Turn it off, sing a few lines, when you think it''s up to your standards, then you can turn it on again."


    "Ah!" Vanessa''s eyes lit up. "Alright. I''ll do that."


    I lied to her a bit. That button didn''t really do anything except for fixing echoes.


    /watch?v=UQuWI1IS02I&ab_channel=VanessaHudgensBrasil Vanessa Hudgens - A Moment Like This (Kelly Clarkson Cover) [Live from The Masked Singer])


    As she thought no one could hear her, she sang with emotions. Impressive vocal range, moving effortlessly between rich, powerful belts and delicate, airy head voice with seamless control and emotional expression, proof that she was trained to sing since she was a young kid.


    "?? What if I told you it was all meant to be?...Would you believe me? Would you agree???


    ?? So, tell me that you don''t think I''m crazy


    When I tell you, love has come here and noooow??"


    ?? A moment like this, some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this


    Some people search forever for that one special kiss??"


    Harvey blanked out and then she cursed as she slammed the table, "SHIT!"


    ...


    At the seaside home, I was lying on the couch in the living room, holding a guitar in my hand, strumming and singing as I took a little break from my work. Vader lied on top of my head, her cat engine going overdrive with her purring.


    My dad and Frankie walked into the house together, which made me sit up to greet them. "Meow!" Vader meows loudly as she was startled by the sudden movement.


    "Hello you lovebirds." I smirked as I greeted them.


    Frankie and my dad glanced at each other, but their expression wasn''t that good.


    "Oh, did you guys have a fight? Or is currently fighting?" I asked teasingly as I held my guitar.


    "So Frankie, what stupid thing did my dad do?" I asked. My dad was dumbfounded, "Why do you think I was the one who did the dumb thing?"


    "Are you seriously asking me that?" I looked at him disdainfully. Frankie smiled awkwardly and said, "He didn''t do anything wrong."


    "Oh, so you guys are not fighting?" I asked. "I was wrong then. Have you had dinner yet? I still have some lasagna left."


    "We had already eaten." My dad replied. He thought of something and asked, "Anyway, Ed, what did you do today?"


    "Hmm?" I was confused, but I answered, "A lot of stuff as usual."


    "Good good." My dad muttered. Frankie and I looked at him weirdly before Frankie said, "I should get going now. By the way Ted, if you want to end it with me and pursue that Texas girl, I''ll give you my blessing. She seems really nice, and is a better fit for you compared to myself."


    "WHAT?" Both my dad and I exclaimed at the same time. "Texas girl?" I looked at my dad with accusatory eyes. "What did you do that�C Wait, Texas...Did you meet with Mary?! Oh my god, you and Mary?!"


    "No. Missy." Frankie corrected me.


    "I don''t�C Wait Frankie, did I seem like I was flirting with her, because I really am not." My dad held Frankie''s hand as he explained himself.


    "Dad you met with Missy?" I asked with confusion. "Why?"


    "Just to get to know who you''re meeting with." My dad answered casually before turning to Missy.


    My lip curled downward in a pensive acknowledgement before I placed the guitar to the side and stood up. It made sense to me that he wanted to meet Missy and Mary. He had never met them before after all, and since I flew them out here freely, he''s bound to get curious.


    I ignored their arguments because it bore me. Not because they didn''t have any drama, but because it was handled in such a rational way, I couldn''t even get invested in the arguments before it was settled.


    By the time I was back to the living room with a glass of water in my hand, they were already kissing�C a light peck on the lip and making up from their ''arguments''.


    "You guys are phenomenal." I said sarcastically. "Frankie, when are you moving in?"


    "What?" Frankie widened her eyes, confused.


    "It''s been a couple of months." I turned to my dad. "Be a man and ask her already. You know she''s living alone here."


    "That''s...something that we should talk about, all of us together�C" My dad tried to involve me in this, but I curled my lips and said, "You can proceed with the ease that I have no problems at all with her living here. It''s better than she kept sneaking out at night, or pretending that she came here for breakfast in the morning."


    Frankie blushed a bit. My dad smirked and said, "You caught that huh."


    I shrugged and said, "Genius. Remember? I just kept quiet because I didn''t want to jinx it. Sometimes, the thrill of not getting caught helps."


    "Now that you have exposed it, I''m sorry, I''ve lost all interest in continuing this relationship with your dad." Frankie said apologetically.


    "Too bad. But I understand. My dad''s a dork." I nodded apologetically to Frankie.


    "Excuse me. I''m still here." He whined. "For goodness sake�C Oh right. Ed. When are we going to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving?"


    "We''re going there? But I had already invited Max to come here." I was surprised when dad suddenly asked me that.


    "Max can come too. No problem." Dad replied casually. "Alright then. She''ll love riding the horses around." I agreed with him. "We''ll fly there on the 27th. I have a lot to do here, so I can''t go there earlier." I added.


    As we talked about Thanksgiving, I suddenly remembered that Luke''s birthday is around Thanksgiving. I''ve never checked for the actual date before, but it wouldn''t be a problem for Robin to find out about it.


    "What birthday present should I prepare for him?" I muttered as I fell into deep thoughts.


    ...


    [General POV]


    In Pasadena, Sheldon''s Cooper''s apartment. Sheldon rushed out of his room, wearing his robe, to open the door as someone was knocking on it loudly, "Coming!"


    Missy and Penny, both drunk, giggled as they saw Sheldon opened the door. "Shelly!" Both of them cheered at the same time. Sheldon was confused and he asked, "Are you both drunk?"


    "Are we drunk?" Missy turned to Penny. Penny replied with some intelligible reply, in which no one could understand it but Missy. Both of them cackled loudly before Penny said, "Shelly, why are you in my apartment?"


    "Excuse me. This is my apartment. Your apartment is over there."


    Missy suddenly grabbed Sheldon''s robe threateningly, "You!!! What did you do to Paige?"


    "What?" Sheldon was confused.


    "You must''ve done something. Otherwise why would she not want to meet you?!"


    "What did I do to her? I didn''t even meet her!" Sheldon defended himself.


    In the meantime, Paige was at home, balancing her pen on her lip as she stared at the blank screen. Then, she dropped her head right on the table.


    "What am I supposed to do! I have nothing~~~" She groaned as she laid there motionlessly.

 Chapter 259: Importance of Protection.

    Chapter 259: Chapter 259:?Importance of Protection.


    (This chap aged poorly...or maybe I''m just prescient? Also sorry for the late update. I went to see Deadpool lol.)


    [General POV]


    Leonard Hofstader''s laboratory in Caltech.


    "Knock Knock." Howard knocked on the open door to alert Leonard about their presence.


    He entered with Rajesh and walked straight to Leonard. Looking up from his experiment setup with neon lasers, Leonard turned off the power source, turning off the laser first before pulling down his goggles to speak with his friends.


    "So, are we going to the launch party?" Howard asked sleazily. "I already have my camera storage wiped so I can take pictures of the cosplayer girls there."


    Leonard chuckled and said, "We''re not even invited to that....Also, don''t..."


    "Oh, but that''s the case. Yeah, if you want to come, you just need to submit the pass application on the website. I paid extra to get the VIP pass." Rajesh said as he took out a few passes from his pocket. "It''s only 20 bucks each."


    "Awesome��" Leonard''s excitement halted as he remembered, "But Sheldon didn''t want to go though."


    "That''s even better. We''ll invite Sheldon''s sister instead. They shared most of the DNA, so it''s like part of Sheldon is there if you insist on him coming." Howard joked, his eyes lit up at the mention of Missy.


    Rajesh scoffed and said, "Yeah right. There''s no way you''re going to meet her. She already knows all about you." Rajesh and Leonard laughed at Howard''s uncomfortable expression.


    Leonard laughed and turned to Rajesh, "H-How did you get the pass so fast? Did you apply for it a long time ago?"


    "Don''t be silly. I applied last night and went to pick it up at the Entertain building this morning." Rajesh replied with a smile.


    "They really do work fast." Howard said with amazement. He turned to Leonard, and scrunched his eyebrow, "Why doesn''t Sheldon want to go to the launch?"


    Leonard signed disappointedly, "He''s boycotting whatever Edward put up. Last night, Edward finally made the top of Sheldon''s mortal enemies list."


    "What did he do?" Howard asked with confusion. "And to be clear, I''m not curious about why Sheldon gets mad, I just want to know if I can do that too."


    After chuckling, Leonard replied, "I''m not clear about it. You need to ask him."


    Inside Penny''s apartment, Missy and Penny groaned as they woke up from their sleep, with a massive hangover hitting them. Missy slept on the sofa, and Penny was sprawling on the floor in a star shape.


    "I need some water." Missy whispered hoarsely. Both of the girls'' hair were disheveled, and their makeup smudged because they went to sleep without taking it off.


    "I''ll get some water." Penny struggled as she got up from the floor, her entire body shaking, and she staggered to get to the kitchen. They went overboard last night with the drinking and clubbing, thus turning them into this state.


    "Did we do something after getting home last night?" Penny asked.


    Missy shook her head, "I don''t remember anything, not even how we got here."


    Suddenly, the girls heard a knock on the front door. As they were slow and sluggish to open it, the knock became a bit harsher this time.


    "Coming!" Missy rushed to the door with a hoarse voice. As she opened it, Mary was standing there with an angry expression. "You went clubbing, and you stopped by your brother''s apartment to give him a ''Purple Nurple''!?" Mary asked angrily as she stomped inside the apartment.


    Flabbergasted, Missy asked, "I did?"


    Back to Caltech, in Sheldon''s office. He whimpered as he walked to the board to write his equation, sobbing at the slightest movement as it hurt his chestal region.


    "I don''t know how, and I don''t know why, but this surely has something to do with him." Sheldon mumbled grievously.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Although I wanted to meet with Eve�C Pepper''s mother to apologize to her, we couldn''t meet up because she was in Spain, having a 3 day soiree party there. The morning passed by quickly as I was working on the game launch event, only stopping to have a break during lunch.


    "Hmm...I haven''t had that since..." I mumbled to myself as I was standing in the kitchen, thinking about what to eat for lunch. "I need something soft..." I mumbled to myself.


    "But I don''t have the roux though." After rummaging through the kitchen cabinet, I found none of the ingredients I needed to make chicken katsu, japanese style curry and rice dishes.


    "Damn it. Should I just do instant ramen?"


    Hesitating whether to go out to buy the ingredients or to stay home and work, I referred my schedule to Robin, "How much more time do we need to finish up the cinematic videos?"


    "Best case scenario estimate, 2 hours." Robin replied.


    "Not bad, how about the worst case scenario?" I asked.


    "2 days." Robin replied. "Not including your trip to the dentist."


    "I''m not going to the dentist." I muttered with confusion.


    Robin sighed and said, "In 3 days, you have consumed 12 Snickers bars, 8 Reese''s Peanut Butter Cups, 10 Kit Kat bars, 15 Hershey''s Kisses, 6 Twix bars, 7 Milky Way bars, 9 Skittles packets, 5 M&M''s bags, 4 Butterfinger bars, 3 Starburst packets, 2 Airheads, and 1 entire bag of Jolly Ranchers. That''s a total of 102 individual candies, enough to fill a medium size box, all devoured in just three short days."


    Flabbergasted by her keeping track of my sweets intake, I said defensively, "Well, I get stressed when I''m working."


    "There''s signs of you experiencing pain in your teeth this morning. I have already booked an appointment to get you to the dentist."


    "I''m still not going to the dentist. It''s just a little pain. I can live with it." I said dismissively, and my mind went to think about the curry ingredients again.


    "Fuck it. I''m going to the store." I walked briskly to the front door and grabbed my keys, only to bump into my dad at the front door.


    "Hey, I thought you''d be hungry." He said as he raised the takeouts in his hand. "So I bought some Chinese food."


    "..."


    "Ed?" He called me as I was blanking out. "Oh, sorry. Yeah that''ll be great." I replied after snapping back to reality.


    ...


    After a short drive, we arrived at the dentist office. My mouth was pried open by the bald male dentist. He inserted the mirror inside my mouth to check on my teeths.


    "Still afraid of the needle?" Dr Oppen asked with a slight joking tone. "I remember you were deathly afraid sitting on the chair when you were young. Now, you''re already a world star! Still, you need to get your checkup at least once every 6 months."


    As he put away the mirror, I could finally answer him, "No not really. How does it look?"


    " There''s a lot of tartar and plaque buildup. You just need some cleaning." Dr Oppen continued, "But overall your teeth are fine."


    After I breathed in relief, the doctor suddenly took off his gloves. I asked him with confusion, "Aren''t you going to clean it?"


    "Oh not me... You''ve been gone for a while, so you''ve never met her." He opened the door, and a cute blonde dental hygienist entered the room with a huge smile on her face. "This is my daughter Ava. But don''t worry, I''m not hiring her because of..just nepotism. She graduated dental school , and now she''s a part of the family business. We''re all very proud of her."


    "H-Hi." Ava waved awkwardly at me. "I''m so excited to clean my first teeth."


    "What?" Surprised, my eyes widened and I almost jumped out of the seat. Dr Oppen and Ava laughed at my reaction. "She''s just joking. She''s been here a year."


    "God, my heart almost burst out of my chest." I mumbled as I laid back down on the chair.


    After a few minutes of the torturous cleaning, Ava switched to the high-powered water jet, spraying a minty cleaning solution onto my teeth. The pressure stung a bit, but I endured it without making a sound.


    Ava giggled as she saw my wincing face, "You''re so cute. Don''t worry, it''s almost over soon."


    "Huh hoo (I hope)." I couldn''t really speak as I needed to keep my mouth open wide. After she finished cleaning, she asked me to gargle using a paper cup.


    "Can you sign it?"


    "The cup?" I asked with disbelief.


    "Yeah." She replied innocently. I was stunned for a second, but I just signed the cup later on. "Don''t sell it on EBay." I joked.


    "No! I won''t!" She exclaimed excitedly as she received the cup from me.


    Dr Oppen gave me a toothbrush after my session was finished, and he treated me like a complete child, giving me a lecture about mouth hygiene over and over again.


    My dad struggled to keep in his laughter that he had to place his hand on his mouth to cover it. Helpless, I sighed dejectedly as I watched my dad''s reaction.


    "We''re not speaking of this ever again." I muttered angrily as I walked out of the dentist office. As we walked past the mounted tv on the wall, both of us stopped abruptly and turned to watch the tv.


    [PRESIDENTIAL ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT: Paramilitary Forces Launch Brazen Attack, Ambush President During Public Event...]


    "Holy�C" I exclaimed out loud.


    ...


    [General POV]


    The crowd had gathered enthusiastically to hear the President''s speech, eager to catch a glimpse of the country''s leader.


    As he stepped up to the podium, a roar of applause and cheers erupted around the plaza. He waved at the crowd, a charismatic smile on his face. Behind him standing proudly was his wife and daughters.


    "Good afternoon America." The President started speaking, and the crowd quietened down. In the first 5 minutes of his speech, he shared about his meeting with the Iran Prime Minister, and their negotiations for peace in the middle east. (Plot of White House Down)


    The crowd erupted in more cheers and applause. But just as the President continued his remarks, a few suspicious-looking individuals near the front caught the eye of an observant onlooker. These people seemed out of place, their gazes darting around nervously, raising alarms.


    Suddenly, the sound of gunfire pierced the air as the would-be assassins opened fire on the President. The President''s own Secret Service detail scrambled to fight off the attackers. However, two bullets had been released.


    The onlooker watched in horror as the President was struck, staggering backwards slightly from the force of the bullets. But to the onlooker''s astonishment, the President remained standing, his expression barely changed.


    Quickly, the Secret Service agents rushed to escort the President out of the plaza, but as they reached the presidential limousine, a loud explosion rocked the area. A bazooka round had been fired, directly at the President''s vehicle. It targeted the open door, the car was invulnerable once it was closed.


    The onlooker and hundreds of others watched in shock as the vehicle burst into a fiery inferno right in front of their eyes.


    "NO!!" Carol Wilkes-Finnerty, Secret Service Presidential Detail Deputy Special Agent-in-Charge, flopped down to the ground, bursting into tears as she believed the entire family was dead.


    Yet, as the smoke cleared, the onlooker could scarcely believe their eyes. The President, his family, and the Secret Service agents stood unharmed, not a scratch on any of them. The presidential limousine, however, was reduced to a smoldering wreck.


    President Obama looked at his hand in disbelief. He caught a glimpse of a hexagonal translucent shield protecting him before it disappeared from visible sight.


    "It''s...a miracle." A fanatical crowd mumbled. His words spread like a virus, and the entire crowd muttered the same thing.


    "GOD SAVED THE PRESIDENT!" Another fanatical man shouted. The sight of the President coming out untouched from the flame, together with his family, was burned into the mind of everyone''s watching.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    As we were watching the exclusive footage on the news, Gong Shin suddenly appeared out of nowhere, standing behind me as he too watched the news with a surprised expression. Then, he disappeared again.


    "Dad. Pinch my cheek. Is this real?" I mumbled. My dad replied, "I want someone to pinch me too."


    "Alright." I pinched his waist without warning. "God�C OW!" He looked at me with disbelief, and then turned to the TV again. "It is real. I can''t believe it."


    "What do you think will happen now?" My dad asked casually.


    Shaking my head, I replied, "I don''t know. But I guess, there''ll be a lot of movies that will come out referencing this.... Also�C shit, it''ll be quite bad for the launch tomorrow. The media won''t cover anything else."


    My dad looked at me with concern, "That''s cold. He almost died. You can at least show some concern. After all, you met him."


    "Yeah...Lucky for him..." I replied ambiguously.

 Chapter 260: GameCon (1)

    Chapter 260: Chapter 260: GameCon (1)


    [Edward POV]


    "Geez, it''s a 6 hour drive. I can be there in less than an hour if I use the jet," I said, groaning in dissatisfaction as I slammed the hood of the car shut. I then walked over to my grinning dad.


    "Come on, it''ll be fun. We''ve never had a road trip before," he said as he walked to the driver''s door of the black SUV.


    "The only thing you''re going to have is the never ending frustration when you find yourself stuck in an avoidable traffic jam, blaming yourself on why you didn''t take your son''s words more seriously."


    As I was to enter the car, Maggie burst running from the house''s door, rushing to where my dad and I were, with a huge luggage in her hand.


    "Wait for me! I want to go too!" She shouted excitedly. My dad smiled, "Of course. Put your bags in the back," while I scowled and said, "You are running from your practice aren''t you?"


    Maggie hesitated and answered without meeting my eyes, "N-No! Don''t get me wrong, this is just to show my support for your new project�C Yes, that is the reason!"


    Seeing through her lies instantly, I gave her a look of disdain which made her panicked and rushed to enter the car before I could say anything else. Then, I realized something.


    "Alright, Maggie, you sit in front. I can use the time to make final touches."


    I''d feel too bad letting my dad drive by himself while I do something else, so Maggie''s presence there helped. Well it''d help better if she wasn''t snoring 15 minutes into the drive.


    "ZZZzzzZZZZzzzzZZZZzzzz..."


    The sound from her snoring made me look up from my laptop, "Maggie wake up!"


    Her eyes opened abruptly and she fell into confusion for a while. I sighed and said, "When we''re getting gas, we''re going to change seats."


    She smiled apologetically as she turned to my dad beside her, "Sorry. It''s just... It''s 6 am..."


    "Oh I''m not bothered by it. Edward does." My dad explained casually. Maggie glanced at the back seat and gave me a stink eye, "Uncle Ted is fine with it..."


    I didn''t respond and continued working on the project. Maggie scoffed and closed her eyes.


    "If you sleep you''re going to wake up with a mustache on your face. With permanent ink. " I warned her. Startled, Maggie rolled her eyes and looked at my dad, "Can we stop by to get some coffee?"


    "Sure. Ed, do you want something too?" My dad asked after responding to Maggie.


    "Give me my candies and I''ll be fine." I said. My dad sighed and said, "No candy for a few days. Dr Oppen said so."


    "Then some bread will be fine." I replied helplessly. "Robin, remind me to give a 1 star review on Yelp for Dr Oppen''s office�C"


    "Robin, ignore him!" My dad yelled quickly and glanced at me with disbelief.


    I smirked, "I''m not that petty. It was just a joke."


    Maggie asked while watching a video on Youtube, "Edward, why is no one talking about the assassination attempt yet?"


    "I don''t know." I replied. I honestly didn''t know what was going on in the White House, not because I didn''t want to answer her. All I knew, there was a lot of support for the President after the incident, and a lot of conspiracy theories pointed out that America has a breakthrough in energy shield technology.


    Other popular theories painted the President as a saint, some going on deep dive about what he was doing before, some fanatical worship appeared, and the whole country was in uproar.


    "ZzzzZzzzZzzzZzzz" Maggie''s snoring resumed shortly after while she was watching a video on Youtube to understand the issue, and I uncapped my magic marker.


    ...


    [Maggie POV]


    ''Wait, when did I change my seat to the back?''


    Suddenly, I found myself sitting next to Edward inside the extremely narrow car. Our shoulders were pressed together, and Edward kept squirming, trying to make himself comfortable. I too tried to move around, but we were stuck there in that position no matter what.


    "Oh no, Maggie, why don''t you hop onto Edward''s lap? We''re going through the narrow tunnel, and we need every inch of space we can get." Uncle Ted glanced backward, with his dark sunglasses larger than his head.


    "What? No!" I tried to reject it, but I abruptly found myself sitting on Edward''s lap.


    "Uh-oh, bumpy car ride ahead!" Uncle Ted warned, and the entire car shook up and down. I could feel my body warming up as I sat on Edward''s rock hard, pungent... Magic Marker?


    The pungent smell of the magic market pulled me out of my ridiculous dream. As I opened my eyes, I was taken aback when I saw Edward''s face really close to mine. He smirked mischievous as he capped his marker and returned to his seat.


    "Done! You''re now the proud member of the Order of the Phoenix."


    "What the hell�C" I checked my reflection on the back view mirror, only to find several doodles on my face. He etched a moustache on my lips, stars on the side of my eyes, and Harry Potter''s Lightning scar on my forehead, on both sides! Well, the tiny stars were kinda cute, but everything else wasn''t!


    "Harry Potter Only Has 1 Scar!!!" I shouted at him angrily.


    "That was a symmetrical choice on my part." He replied with a grin. "You bitch!" I shouted as I reached my hands to the back of the car, trying to hit him. I unbuckled my seat belt as I needed more reach, but Edward responded by grabbing my torso and pulling me to sit at the back entirely!


    "Uncle Ted! HELP!" I shouted desperately, but Uncle Ted could only focus on not crashing the car from our fight.


    "Don''t make me turn this car around!" He warned.


    "Great! Then I can use the jet!" Edward retorted, unintimidated by the warning in the slightest.


    He stopped at the side of the road, and gave the both of us a stern scolding. In the end, I sat on the back, allowing me to take a nap there, and Edward sat on the front. Because of the whole situation, I kinda forgot about the doodle on my face, and I didnt realize it until we stopped by to get some lunch in San Francisco.


    "It''s your own fault to be sleeping in the entire ride here." Edward said annoyingly as I wiped down the magic marker on my face with a combination of rubbing alcohol and wet wipes. Luckily for him, he has all of those things. Or else....


    Well, there is no ''or else''. I didn''t think I could ever win. But I won''t let these things go away so easily! He needs repercussions!


    "Of course." I smirked. "It''s just a joke...Maybe." Howard was nervous and said, "I just realized I haven''t paid for this merch yet." Then he rushed away.


    Rajesh smiled politely at me and Maggie, then to my surprise, he spoke, "That was fun. He was getting too chummy, trying to make it seem like he knew you in order to pick up some fat girl." Enjoying the misery of others, Rajesh loved how I intimidated Howard and made him run off.


    I smiled with disbelief and said, "I thought you can''t speak in the presence of a woman?"


    "Oh, he''s fine if it''s a crowd...And he doesn''t look directly at her." Leonard explained and showed me that Rajesh didn''t look into Maggie at all. His eyes were locked onto me.


    "Hmm?" I moved Maggie in front of me, and Rajesh looked somewhere else. Leonard laughed, but as he saw Maggie''s face, he lowered his eyes to the ground too. I sighed with disbelief and said, "Leonard, this is the reason Penny won''t go out with you. Be a little bit more confident will you? Also, what is up with Shelly? Why is he hiding from me?"


    "Um, Ahhh...." Leonard stammered for a while before he replied, "He thought you''re on a mission to ruin his life. So he doesn''t want to be near you."


    "What did I do?" I asked with confusion. Leonard sighed and said, "For some reason, he thought that the purple nurple his sister gave him was a part of your malicious plan to ruin his life."


    "What is a purple nurple? Maggie asked. "Twisting his nipple until it turns purple." I explained simply.


    Leonard laughed and then asked, "Um. So...Um, is she...?"


    "Is she what?" I asked.


    "You know, your girlfriend?"


    Maggie and I looked at each other, and then we both grimaced with disgust. "How can you even ask that?" I rebuked him. Leonard was startled and tried to defend himself, "Wait, y-you''re n-n-not?"


    "You''re a disgusting pervert." Maggie scolded him, which made him fall into despair. I turned to Maggie and defended Leonard, "That''s too much. Tone it down a little."


    "He''s a little pervert?" Maggie was puzzled.


    "Sure, better." Then, I turned to Leonard and explained with a slightly raised voice, making sure that the others around us could hear me too, "She''s my cousin."


    "Ahh!" Leonard finally understood why Maggie called him a pervert. He turned to Maggie and apologized, "I''m sorry. That''s just what everyone else says, so I just assumed�C Anyway, I''m really sorry."


    "It''s fine." Maggie said with a kind smile. "Next time, ask first." She grinned teasingly. Leonard chuckled and said, "Sure. I will keep that in mind."


    Although it would be interesting for me to tease Sheldon, I continued walking around the convention center, and finally arrived at the live demonstration of the game.


    Two teams of beta testers, with 5 players per team. Some crowd members were recording the match that was displayed on the big screen, and exclaimed in wonder when they saw the smooth, extremely high quality game play, especially for a game made in 2009, and with the added bonus of mesmerizing special effects.


    In front of the match stage, Olivia Munn and Kevin Pereira, the host of Attack of the Show! in the G4 TV network, were commenting about the battle. However, my attention was more towards the costume she was wearing. Olivia was cosplaying Sivir, the Battle Mistress, as she hosted the show.


    A golden crown on her head with turquoise jewel in the center, somewhat revealing black and grey clothing, with black boots, gloves, a bra, and a black skirt with gold accents, a white scarf around her neck, Olivia was ogled by many of the nerdy fans as she hosted the show.


    I was curious as I saw the TV Network camera so I asked the crew nearby. Turns out, as Olivia was hired to host the launch by me, she made a deal with SunHee to record some footage for the Attack On The Show!''s broadcast too.


    Watching Olivia''s seductive, yet humorous antiques as she hosted the show made me chuckle. Even Maggie giggled as Olivia said, "I should''ve worn Ashe, the Frost Archer''s cosplay instead of Sivir, because at the very least my belly wouldn''t be this cold."


    It was really cold inside the convention center, and the stage she was hosting from was directly underneath the air conditioner. She jumped lightly to heat herself up, but that made the audience even more mesmerized.


    "So we talked about gameplay�C" Kevin dragged on with his words, playfully teasing Olivia who was restless at the moment. Her teeth chattering as she slowly turned to Kevin, "We already talked about that. All of it is....5 out of 5...Wait, no, it is extraordinary, so I''m going to give it 10 out of 5!"


    Kevin laughed and said, "Alright, so Olivia, tell me something, doesn''t this 5 versus 5 team match give you a championship vibe? I think that they are not telling us the entire plan they have for the game."


    "It might be so, but they may just have wanted to wait for the kickoff to the launch." Olivia smirked directly to the camera. "And I''m the host there. No Kevin. Just me."


    Kevin rolled his eyes, "Wonder if Mr Millionaire Teenage CEO-slash-Worldwide Famous artist, is a fan of yours."


    "Right now I wonder if I can get a jacket." Olivia joked. But then, something interesting happened on the live broadcast. I walked into the shot as I took off my jacket, and placed it onto Olivia.


    She covered her mouth as she giggled, bewildered by my action. Even Kevin was surprised. Both of them were so excited and Kevin said, "Oh my god, Mr CEO."


    "Oh my god, the jacket is even making my face flushed." Olivia said as she touched her burning cheeks. "I can''t believe my prayers were answered." She joked as she touched the jacket, putting her hand through the sleeves and hugged it close to get the warmth. "It even smells so nice."


    "Mr Newgate, do you want to say something to the people watching?" Kevin asked before he pointed his microphone to me.


    "Well, I just got here, so I don''t know what you guys were talking about, I only caught the last few minutes." I replied and smiled as I looked at Olivia, "And yes, I am her fan. I like watching the show in my spare time."


    Kevin and Olivia made an expression of surprise, with a mixture of disbelief. They became excited and Kevin said, "Wait, you watched the show?"


    "Yeah. Sometimes." I replied honestly.


    Watching Olivia Munn challenging how many sausages she can fit into her mouth, her jumping into a giant pie wearing a skimpy maid out, with the cream slathered on her chest, or any other insane stuff they recorded in there, was something most teenage boys living in pre-2010 would do.


    Abraham wouldn''t shut up about the show and would share with me in explicit details about how big Olivia''s....breas�C *ahem* presence in the show.


    "We''re running out of time, do you have something you want to say to our audience about the game launch today?" Olivia asked me as she received the cue from the cameraman.


    I smiled at the camera and said, "If you want to watch the launching of the game, you can go to the website and click on the livestream link. We will share the entire kickoff in the livestream."


    "We will absolutely watch it!" Kevin said. Olivia smirked knowingly at him, which made him roll his eyes, "I know you''re the only host, don''t rub that in." As the livestream was over, Olivia gave me a light hug, thanking me for the jacket. I told her she could keep it, which made her gleeful.


    Maggie asked me incredulously after I got back to her. "Why did you crash on their broadcast? Isn''t that dangerous?"


    "If you don''t know what to do, then yes." I replied casually. "Besides, it''s good to do some crazy stuff related to the launch. If this goes viral on Youtube or other social media, then the game will get even more exposure."


    Maggie rolled her eyes and said, "From my standpoint, it just seems that you went up there to flirt with Olivia Munn."


    "That is my purpose too." I replied honestly.

 Chapter 261: GameCon (2)

    Chapter 261: Chapter 261: GameCon (2)


    [Edward POV]


    5 minutes before the launch, Maggie and I went backstage again. The bustling energy backstage was palpable as the final preparations were underway. SunHee especially, was wearing her headset and commanded the entire event staff.


    The crowd had already started to fill the seats in the main hall, an air of anticipation buzzing through the air. Olivia, the host of the event, was hurriedly reviewing her notes one last time, her brow furrowed in concentration, her mouth mumbling the words written so that she had some practice.


    Camera crews were busy setting up the live feed, testing microphones and positioning their equipment to capture every moment of the highly-anticipated launch. Technicians scurried about, double-checking displays and making sure every system was primed and ready to go.


    "Alright, you should go to your seat." I told Maggie.


    "What about you? Aren''t you coming?" Maggie asked with curiosity. Shaking my head slightly, I replied, "No, I have to appear later, so it''s better if I stay here."


    Maggie nodded in understanding, and before she could leave, all of a sudden, Vanessa appeared from behind Maggie and I. With a scarf on her head and black sunglasses with a white frame to hide her identity, she had snuck into the convention centre, alone, without any security around her. After listening to her story, I fell into disbelief.


    "Wh-Why did you do that? You can just ask me if you want to come. There''s...no need for all of this extra stuff." I scolded angrily as I pointed to her scandalous attire. "You look like a mistress sneaking around. You said you don''t want to come."


    Vanessa fidgeted and said, "Well I changed my mind. Um... I just want to see if people like my�Cthe song."


    Looking at her with disbelief, I sighed and said, "Alright. You can sit with Maggie at the VVIP section. Also, take off the scarf. You''re drawing more attention to yourself by wearing that."


    "Wait. I''m not the only one who came." Vanessa suddenly said as I found her a VVIP pass. "Hmm?" Puzzled, I stopped separating the lanyards, and looked upwards. Then, I saw Selena looking sheepishly as she walked in my direction wearing tight jeans and white shoulderless blouse.


    "Hi?" I greeted her with a slight smile on my face. The reaction made Vanessa baffled and a bit jealous. She mumbled to herself, "He''s not mad she''s here! Only me!''


    "I''m not mad you''re here. I''m mad you''re dressed like that." I retorted to Vanessa, which made her taken aback, and smiled sheepishly as she hid behind Maggie.


    "Hi." Selena greeted me back, brushing her hair behind her ear. "I hitched a ride along with your CEO when he''s coming here. I hope you don''t mind." She explained.


    "Not at all. I''m really glad you''re here. Sorry I can''t entertain you guys. I have to get ready�C"


    "Oh, don''t worry about us." Selena interjected quickly. "The launch is more important. Vanessa and I will go to our seats now. We won''t bother you here."


    I nodded slightly and said, "Maggie, you should lead them. Let them sit near Pepper and Harvey."


    As the duo turned to walk to the seats, Maggie smirked at me and teased, "Wow! She''s quite brazen to come and flirt with you here."


    Pretending to be confused, I replied, "She''s not. Maybe she''s here to escape Dan Schneider. Alright, you should go now too." I pushed Maggie with my palm while she giggled. She rushed to the girls and went to their seats.


    The second they sat down on the chair, the lights in the conference hall dimmed. The crowd cheered as the League of Legend logo appeared on the giant screens. Two screens on the side of the stage, and one huge screen on the stage. To accommodate 2000 people, there were also several smaller screens scattered in every section of the seating areas.


    [Song: RISE (ft. The Glitch Mob, Mako, and The Word Alive) | Worlds 2018 - League of Legends]


    The cinematics started with a 10 second clip of Annie, one of the champions, running from a large werewolf, carrying a teddy bear in her arm. Her scared face coupled with her kidlike stature grabbed the crowd''s heart immediately.


    The scary warrior-like werewolf with razor sharp teeth who jumped in front of Annie, stopping her from running away in the field of faction flags, caused the crowd to gasp.


    Leonard commented with concern, "Oh my god." Sheldon cowered as he saw the werewolf�C a champion by the name of Warwick, grinned devilishly as he closed the distance with the little girl.


    Suddenly, an arrow flew in front of Warwick, prompting him to dodge instinctively. He turned to the side with anger, and saw Ashe, the beautiful frozen archer with a cold face aiming at him with a frozen arrow.


    As the standoff began, so did the music. My voice reverberated throughout the halls, generating chills for the listeners.


    "?? Welcome to the wild, no heroes and villains


    Welcome to the war, we''ve only begun, so??"


    Ashe and Warwick rushed towards each other as they began battling with Ashe dodging Warwick''s claws and shooting her arrows at him. As she shot him with a frozen arrow, she grabbed Annie and rushed away.


    "??Pick up your weapon and face it


    There''s blood on the crown, go and take it??"


    Warwick broke free from the frozen state and ran after them. As Ashe and Annie were running, a few more champions were seen encircling them.


    "??You get one shot to make it out alive, so??"


    The crowd''s enthusiasm as they watched the fighting cinematic was at an all time high.


    ??Higher and higher you chase it


    It''s deep in your bones, go and take it??


    The fight was at its peak when several more champions such as Garen, Sivir, and Amumu came in to back up Ashe and Annie.


    ??This is your moment, now is your time, so


    Prove yourself and??


    The champions clashed with each other as the chorus sounded!


    ??RISE, RISE??


    ??Make ''em remember you??


    ??RISE??


    The fight scene made the audience''s blood boil. Excited, they shouted encouragingly at the team they were rooting for.


    ??Push through hell and??


    ??RISE, RISE??


    ??They will remember you


    RISE~~!!!??


    "You''re the maniac!" Leonard scolded his best friend angrily. "For the last time, he has nothing to do with your nipples!"


    "Hi, my name is Blaire." A young girl with bushy blonde hair, wearing a choker and a crop top that reveals her pierced belly button, walked to the microphone. "I have a question, umm, the game, has top tier quality, so, is the storage going to be big?..."


    She added quickly, knowing that her next question wouldn''t be received well by the crowd, "Um, also why do the female characters all seem to just wear skimpy outfits while the men have powerful full body armour?"


    Marc, Brandon and Olivia were a bit taken aback by the question. The crowd started booing Blaire, and her cousin, who''s a 16 years old teenage boy, was embarrassed and tried to hide his face under his hoodie, to make sure no one knew he had any connection with her.


    "About storage, you don''t have to worry about it. It is the same size as the other games in the market..." Marc replied hesitantly before giving a look to Olivia Munn.


    Olivia collected herself quickly and said, "Now that we''re in the final quarter to the launch, we have a special guest that will join us on the stage. Give it up forrrr, Edward Newgate!!!"


    Edward walked into the stage, and the crowd exploded with applause and cheers for him. He waved as he displayed his charming smile, walking closer and closer to the centre of the stage to join in the host and the CEOs.


    Although the majority of the people inside the venue were men, Edward''s popularity still managed to showcase themselves.


    "Nice to meet you everyone!" Edward spoke to the audience, earning another wave of cheers.


    Olivia excitedly walked right next to Edward and asked him a question after the crowd''s enthusiasm calmed down. "The defining moment for the world''s gaming community is almost here. Edward, as the proprietor of all this, do you have something to say to the audience and the people watching the launch?"


    "Defining moments?" Howard mumbled to himself.


    "Um, a little bit of spoilers there, Olivia." Edward joked as he turned to the host, making the crowd even more curious. "But, before we get into that, I just want to say to all of you... I don''t think any of you here can beat me in a game�C World of Warcraft, or League of Legends."


    Surprised by the sudden attack, the crowd jeered jokingly with eyes filled with disbelief and excitement before they burst out laughing. Edward chuckled and said, "I might seem like I''m bragging, but I''m really not. I don''t think any of you here have the skills."


    The crowd reacted agitatedly again, which made Olivia burst out laughing. She had to cover her microphone as she did.


    Edward continued in a casual manner, "Okay, enough about that. I''m sure all of you are curious about our plans for the future of the game."


    Sheldon scoffed, "He kept dilly dallying to keep the people on the ropes. I know he''s going to torture me again today!"


    "In 5 minutes, the game servers will be opened, and a new era will descend." Edward muttered, much to the audience''s anticipation.


    "Today, I am thrilled to announce the creation of the League of Legends Championship Series - a global tournament that will bring together the finest gaming talent from around the world to compete for the ultimate prize!"


    The crowd gasped before they burst into applause and cheers. "What''s the prize!?" A person suddenly shouted from the audience.


    "Be patient, I''m getting there." Edward joked, making the audiences laugh. "I''ll let Olivia tell you guys about the prize."


    "Really? Me? What an honor!" Olivia said bashfully. Brandon used his microphone and said, "There he goes flirting again."


    Olivia looked at the crowd enthusiastically and said, The ultimate prize? A staggering 1.5 million dollars- the largest prize pool ever offered in the history of competitive gaming, will be given to the champion!"


    The entire world was shocked. In Korea, a group of highschool students that was watching the livestream�C using the auto-translated option for the subtitles, became agitated when they heard about the prize.


    "Ya, they said global tournament!"


    "Is this for real?"


    "1.5 MILLION DOLLARS! Starcraft''s prize was only 200,000!"


    "Ya YA YA YA, DOWNLOAD THE GAME RIGHT NOW!"


    The gaming community of South Korea was especially excited after the tournament announcement.


    "We have one minute left before the launch!" Olivia said hurriedly. "Everyone, let''s count down to it together!"


    The entire crowd chanted the countdown, starting from 59, all the way to the last second.


    "WELCOME TO LEAGUE OF LEGENDS!" The game was officially launched as soon as the countdown ended. 200,000 players worldwide entered the game as soon as it was launched, and people saw the numbers of players in the game displayed on the big screen.


    "YEAH!!!!!" Howard shouted excitedly, almost taking off his shirt in the moment from his enthusiasm.


    "To quote Dumbledore! Let the games begin!" Edward announced, creating a mayhem inside the hall.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Head''s up, there''s a sea of reporters out there camping out for you." Pepper said as he gave me a glass of iced tea after I returned backstage.


    "I should talk to them, shouldn''t I?" I sighed a bit, but had a smile plastered on my face. Pepper chuckled and said, "You don''t have to if you don''t want to�C"


    "Seriously, 1.5 million dollars!?" My dad asked with disbelief as he approached me and Pepper. "Are you just throwing your money away?"


    "Um, dad, want to know something awesome?" I took out my phone and asked, "Robin, how much money have we made in the half hour after the game launch? Oh, and how many active players do we have now?"


    Robin answered, "The game has now profited over 300,000 dollars from microtransactions and boosts, mainly from players in the United States and Canada. The number of players is ranging from 450,000 to 500,000 people, and the numbers are increasing exponentially."


    My dad''s eyes widened in surprise. Even Pepper was shocked. My dad said, "Wait, what? 300,000 dollars in just half an hour? And half a million players already?" He scratched his head, "Wow, this is... this is really something, isn''t it?"


    "Never doubt me." I smirked at my dad, who sighed in relief after understanding my actions.


    "Alright, I won''t, genius." My dad grinned.


    "That sounds insulting. Do you feel it sounds insulting, Pepper?" I asked Pepper, who shrugged as a response.


    "OPPA!" SunHee walked towards me briskly while holding a clipboard in her hand, "I''ve already uploaded the songs in Entertain websites. Oppa, you can do the interviews, right? Don''t leave straight away. We should ride on this momentum."


    "Sure, but�C Rather than doing it outside, we still have the hall. Once the crowd cleared out, call the reporters in, and we''ll do it like a press conference." I replied.


    "Hmm~!" SunHee hummed sweetly. "Nice idea! I''ll do that."


    Although the game was launched at 6 in the evening, I flew back to California 3 hours later with Pepper, Maggie, Selena, Vanessa, and my dad. Our car will be driven back by one of the employees who volunteered. Of course, I paid him for his services.

 Chapter 262: ...It’s Really Bad.”

    Chapter 262: Chapter 262: ��...It��s Really Bad.��


    [Edward POV]


    Inside the jet, Selena sat next to me as I watched the show, "Who Wants to be a Millionaire!" on the plasma screen, sitting together at the long couch next to where the dance pole was.


    [For 200 dollars, Which toys have been marketed with the phrase "robots in disguise"?] The host of the show asked.


    Turning to Selena, I said, "By the way, I still don''t know yet. Why did you come?"


    A bit startled, she replied with a nervous chuckle, "Right place at the right time I guess. I know about the launch, but I didn''t know it was in San Francisco. I don''t have any schedule today, so I just followed along when Pepper asked me to come."


    "Oh. Alright. Thank you for coming. I really appreciate it." Smiling kindly, my expression made Selena blushed and turned to the screen to avoid my eyes.


    "The answer is Transformer!" I rolled my eyes at the screen as I saw the contestant struggling with the question. Selena chuckled and spoke after remembering something, "Do you remember the wizards show?"


    "Kinda hard to forget since I acted there, and you''re the main lead. Why?" I asked with some confusion and joking about her ways of questioning. Elated, Selena said, "There''s thousands of fans who wrote to the show, asking about if you''re going to return."


    "Really, thousands?" I asked sceptically.


    "Hundreds! Whatever! It''s a lot." She said defensively. "Do you want a drink?" She asked as she stood up, but there was turbulence in the air, which made the entire plane shake. Selena flopped onto my lap, and I had to hold on to her tight to prevent her from rolling off and crash into the ground.


    "Sorry folk. A duck flew into a windshield from out of nowhere. We didn''t hit it though." The pilot spoke using the intercom.


    Pepper scoffed with displeasure and stood up from his seat to get some wine. His eyes widened as he saw the position Selena and I were in. Luckily, he was the only one who turned his sight to the back of the plane while everyone else was still restless about the turbulence.


    "Edward! Buckle up!" My dad suddenly shouted from his seat�C which was in front of the plane.


    "What?! No! I didn''t take off his belt!" Selena suddenly shouted, which made everyone confused and turned towards us. I rolled my eyes and said, "The seatbelts."


    "What the hell are you guys doing back there?" Maggie asked teasingly as she tried to stand up from her seat, face full of excitement. But Pepper held her shoulder down and said, "The seatbelt sign is on. Buckle up."


    "But you''re standing?!" Maggie retorted in confusion. Pepper said, "I''m going to sit now. Just need a glass of wine."


    Pepper gazed at me scrutinizingly and mouthed as he reached for the wine bottle, ''Don''t! She''s her bestie! What are you thinking?!''


    I mouthed back, ''Turbulence. She fell. Not on purpose!''


    ''Keep it in your pants!'' He mouthed angrily, not believing my excuse.


    "You guys know I can see you right?" Selena muttered with disbelief. Pepper smirked and said vaguely "Good." He wanted to remind her too so that''s why he did it so obviously.


    Before he got back to his seat, he whispered, "I mean, it''s not like it cannot happen. I''m just saying, maybe after a few months? Give yourself time to heal first."


    "Again, nothing happened." I replied to Pepper with disbelief.


    [In a failed assassination attempt, what U.S. president was shot at twice at point-blank range, but survived because both guns misfired?]


    Our attention shifted back to the show after Pepper went back to his seat. Selena widened her eyes and said, "Wait, is the answer Obama?"


    "He got shot by a rocket, so I don''t think they''ll focus on the guns." I replied. "It''s Andrew Jackson. He got assassination attempts too."


    "Who?" Selena was confused. I sipped the grape soda Selena had gotten me, and replied, "He is the 7th US President. He''s kinda controversial too. People want to assassinate him because of his populist and anti-establishment persona."


    "I don''t get it." Selena said before she smirked and asked, "Explain?"


    "Well, he started as a courier, then a lawyer, then he became a politician. So his idea of governing advantaged the people. Um, Populism refers to a political approach that appeals to the interests and concerns of ordinary people. So he was deemed anti-elitist. Anti-establishment refers to his works that disrupt the established power structure of the government. That''s one of the reasons people want him dead."


    "Like, the current President, right?" Selena asked with some realisation.


    I nodded and chuckled, "Well, it''s not like he''s a saint anyway. He introduced the spoils system, where he hired people based on those who supported him, instead of merits."


    After thinking for a while, Selena giggled and said, "I still don''t get it."


    "Well, I don''t want to get into a full blown lecture mode, but if you want to hear, I''ll tell you."


    "No no. I specifically become an actress to stop studying. So..." She joked. I laughed out loud, which earned me a ''checking-up-on-what-the-kids''-are-doing'' gaze from my dad.


    The seat belt signs were off, so Vanessa and Maggie decided to join us. However, before Maggie could sit, I stopped her, "Sorry, the seats are for the half-bloods only."


    "Half bloods?" Maggie muttered with confusion. She pointed to Selena and said, "She''s latina."


    "Half�C Mexican." Selena replied awkwardly. Maggie turned to Vanessa who said, "Half-Filipinos." Then she sat next to Selena with a teasing smile on her face.


    I pointed at myself and said, "Half-Cuban."


    I turned to Pepper and said, "I have something I want to talk to you about�C"


    "Why, you can''t be here, am I right? Oh lord." Pepper asked with concern and slight depression. "I thought you''re free today."


    "Seems like you were planning things." I chuckled and explained, "I actually... have an idea to record a music video. I have a song that is in a tight spot for release. If I miss the window of opportunity, then I can''t release it, ever!"


    Judd was a bit excited, "Music video huh? I never saw how that was made. Can I join in? Just watching, I promise I won''t interfere."


    "Sure." I replied casually to him, not believing him in the slightest. From the brief interaction I had with him, I was 99% sure this man is a control freak.


    "Music video for what song�C A new song?" Pepper asked excitedly.


    "The song I told you about before." I replied. "Anyway, dad is ''kidnapping'' the cast members I want for the music video, so we''ll see if he can do that."


    "Kidnap?" Both Pepper and Judd were confused. I smirked and said, "Not important."


    Pepper thought about it for a while and asked, "Do you already know how to record it?"


    "Yeah." I replied casually. "Just need to set things up and hire a few extras. I think I can start recording it tomorrow." I added.


    Pepper exclaimed in realisation and said, "If you''re recording it tomorrow, maybe you can spend some time discussing the movie?"


    I sighed and said, "Sure. But promise me something."


    "What is it?" Judd asked as I suddenly turned serious.


    "No matter what happens, I''m not going to hear anything about the conclusion of the movie." I said seriously. Pepper was a bit taken aback as he rarely saw me being serious in anything. "Yeah, we can do that." He replied.


    I smiled again and said casually, "Good, we can start now then."


    ...


    We walked to the office where Paige Swanson was writing in, and she was startled as Pepper knocked on the office door. After a short explanation by Pepper, Paige, albeit reluctant, allowed all of us to enter.


    "Paige, this is Director Judd Apatow." Pepper introduced.


    "Please, just call me Judd. Both of you." He said to Paige before including me too.


    "Paige Swanson. Newbie screenwriter." Paige introduced herself. Judd said, "Oh, I don''t think you''re a newbie at all. You have the air of a veteran writer around you."


    "Especially those eyebags. Hun, did you even sleep in the last few days?" Pepper asked with disbelief.


    "A little bit." Paige replied. "I have to tell you, the script isn''t finished yet."


    "Don''t worry about it. I''m serious. You really don''t. We didn''t give you that much time after all." Pepper comforted her.


    I nodded as I asked, "Can we take a look at what you have right now?"


    "It''s pretty rough, but I did write it until the third act." Paige replied. I whistled and said, "That''s pretty impressive. As expected of a child genius."


    "Never bring that up again." Paige glared at me before asking the director, "Should I print out what I have right now?"


    "That''s just a waste of papers. Do you guys have any whiteboards? We can just use that to plan out the storyboard." The director said. Before Pepper could stand up, I said, "Don''t worry Peps. I got it."


    "Okay then. Thank you Edward." Pepper sat back in relief. Then, everyone became confused as I kept sitting there without even showing any signs that I was getting up.


    "Aren''t you going to get it?" Paige broke the silence after a while. Suddenly, the door was opened by Randall and Renaldo, both of them pushing one whiteboard through the door and placing it near the wall in the room.


    "Thank you guys." I smiled at the duo.


    "You''re welcome Edward. This is our job." Randall replied before he left with Renaldo. Pepper, Judd and Paige looked at me with a confused expression. As I saw they were waiting for me to explain, I sighed and said casually, "I asked them to bring the boards here when we were getting out of Pepper''s office."


    "You''re really something else aren''t you." Paige muttered with disbelief. I chuckled and folded my sleeves before picking up a whiteboard marker. "So Paige, can you tell us what happens in act 1 of the story?"


    An hour later, all of the details and storyline were already mapped out on 5 whiteboards. We had to change our room into a bigger meeting room just to make sure that the whole whiteboards could be set up side by side. There was a huge line starting from the left side of the whiteboards stretching to the far right side of the whiteboard, with rooms for the final act on the last board.


    I capped the marker back after I finished writing all of the details of the movie.


    "So I guess, we all agree." I muttered as I turned towards the trio.


    Judd and Pepper nodded at the same time. Paige sighed and said, "The movie..."


    "...Is really bad." I finished her thoughts.

 Chapter 263: Fix it Felix– No, Edward!

    Chapter 263: Chapter 263: Fix it Felix�C No, Edward!


    (Sorry was out for the week cause I was focusing on writing a Community Crossover arc)


    [Edward POV]


    Paige sighed and said, "The movie..."


    "...Is really bad." I finished her thoughts.


    She widened her eyes and panicked, "No, that''s not what I was going to say." Pepper and Judd turned towards her, making her feel self-conscious.


    Pepper chuckled as he turned towards me again, "It''s not bad Edward. I''ll go watch it in the cinema, granted that there''s no... other alternatives."


    "It''s still a good movie if the execution is played right." Judd said as he stood up and pointed at the whiteboard, "I especially like the brother character. There''s a lot of funny ways he can interfere with the main relationship."


    As a director focusing on comedic movies, Judd has a lot of ideas on how to make the movie funnier.


    "But it feels too one-dimensional." Paige commented on her own works in a critical manner. "The brother doesn''t feel like a character. It''s like he''s just there to progress the plot. They were shaken up with the relationship, the brother is there to help. The main lead forgets to plan a date, the brother is there to help."


    "It''s good for a low budget movie. You can get the budget back, not really create a masterpiece.." Judd said from his director''s perspective.


    Spinning the marker in between my fingers, I thought about it for a while before I agreed with Paige, "It is quite one dimensional. I mean, it''s a story about an actor who doesn''t know what love is, and the feisty hot shot lawyer who agreed to test out the curse with him, only to find out that the both of them were in love with each other."


    "And at the ending�C"


    "LALALALA~!" I glared at Paige before saying, "Not with me here."


    "Come on! We''re almost done! There''s just a little bit left on the ending." Paige retorted angrily. Realizing that she had lost her temper, she apologized to Pepper and Judd, "Sorry."


    Ignoring the fact that she didn''t apologize to me, I continued on with my ramblings, "I mean, don''t get me wrong, this kind of feel good movie does sell tickets, but it was not what I envision to have for the movie."


    "What''s your vision Edward?" Judd asked. "Maybe you can fix it up a little bit."


    "Hmm, alright." I uncapped the pen and made a few suggestions on the board, "So, in the story, the lawyer and the actor�C male and female lead, know each other pretty well. She already knows about the curse. And there''s nothing left to explore there since they know each other. I''ll tweak this a little bit."


    "How?" Pepper asked.


    "You see, actors are usually narcissistic, especially those who''re really famous like the setting you cooked up." I pointed at Paige. "If he can live his life just banging 19 years old, why would he even want to date someone properly?"


    "I don''t know. Loneliness?" Paige retorted with some slight dissatisfaction.


    "Yeah...no..." I dismissed her comment.


    "You''re talking about Leo aren''t you." Pepper chuckled for a bit. Judd burst into laughter and said, "Yeah, if the movie wants more realism, then that is accurate. Women will throw themselves at him. Why even settle?"


    Paige groaned in disgust before looking at me. Startled, I instinctively defended myself, "Not me though. I want to enjoy romance."


    "If you want more realism, you need to start from the very beginning of the story." Pepper suddenly interjected. "Maybe a scene of his dad telling him about the curse when he was very young?" He added.


    "Yes, a deep seated belief that builds his entire character." Judd added in excitement. "We can have a cameo here."


    "There''s also an opportunity to show him as a hopeless romantic, but he slowly grows weary of getting into a relationship as he grows older. Therefore, he opted to become a human trash." Paige chimed in.


    "Human trash is a harsh word." Judd looked at Paige with disbelief. However, I agreed with Paige and put down the word ''human trash'' in the character introduction for the male lead.


    "So how do we fix a human trash?" Pepper asked with a weary tone. "If he''s trash, he won''t even try to break the curse in the first place, so there is no movie to make."


    I smirked and then circled the word ''brother'' on the whiteboard. "He is the key. And it will even explain why he acted the way he did in the entire story. Well, if we want to save anything from the draft."


    "How?" All three of them were curious.


    "Simple. They are brothers. So, will the younger brother get away scot free from the curse?"


    "Oh, I get what you mean!" Judd immediately understood my idea. Paige thought about it for a while and said, "It does explain the stuff of why he desperately wants to help his brother break the curse."


    "Because he has the curse too! I finally got it now!" Pepper exclaimed excitedly after he understood it.


    "The younger brother, who seems like he doesn''t believe in the curse, fixed his big brother up with a screenwriter, a woman way outside the type his big brother would usually date." I made some corrections on the whiteboard.


    "Or, maybe even blackmail him into it. The main lead, if he''s a self made actor, may have some dark history that will damage his reputation if it comes to light." I thought about it for a while and wrote, ''Gay Softcore Porn'' on the whiteboard.


    "That seems too dark for a rom-com." Paige commented.


    "Not really. It played exactly into the trope." Judd chimed in. "The comedic trope."


    I nodded and said, "We''ll iron out the nitty gritty later. So I want to add an emotional stakes into the film. A crucial thing to make this entire movie believable. Although he was manipulated, the main character does fall in love with the female lead."


    "Yeah, you said scriptwriter. Not a lawyer." Paige asked.


    Maggie was clearly referring to herself, but the cameraman suddenly turned to record Edward crashing into the interview. "I was wondering what you were doing. Turns out you are trying to butter up the director to get a role."


    Maggie panicked and said, "Wait! This is Pepper''s idea!"


    "I know. That''s the only reason I''m not shutting you down." Edward chuckled before he left the camera shot to go check on the set he needed to make his music video.


    "That scared me." Maggie breathed in relief after Edward was gone. However, as she turned towards the director again, she realized that he was scrutinizing her. "You know what, that''s actually not a bad idea."


    Maggie blushed for a bit before she dismissed him, "I was only joking."


    "And I saw potential...Not as the main female lead of course... That may have to wait a few years later." The director leaned in and said seriously.


    Maggie couldn''t hold back her smile and said with a tiny voice, "...Yeay!"


    While Edward was preparing to record his music video, he groaned in frustration and muttered, "Where is my dad? Why does it take too long for him to kidnap two small children?"


    Renaldo heard Edward''s words and froze in his spot. "What?" He muttered to himself as Edward walked past him.


    ...


    (The genre changed here Lol)


    On the Dunphy''s front yard. Phil''s car just pulled into the driveway after Phil picked up Luke from school. Luke rushed to get into the house while Phil laughingly follow him from behind when suddenly, Phil''s step halted.


    His eyes were glued on the figure of a man standing across the street, waving at him. Phil''s eyes shook, but a cry from Luke made him snap back into reality.


    "Dad! Come on! I want to play basketball!"


    "I''m coming, Luke!" Phil said before he walked into the house, closing the door behind him. He sighed as he rested his back on the door, when suddenly he heard a soft knock.


    "Phil, are you there?" Ted asked with a whisper.


    Phil was silent for a while, trying to ignore the voice, but the call was magnetic for him. He replied hesitantly, "Ted, you know we cannot see each other anymore."


    "I know that. But Phil, please open the door and talk to me." Ted asked with a slight frustration in his voice.


    Phil''s face contorted as he held back his tears and replied with a hoarse voice. "I can''t. Our relationship is prohibited."


    "Will it be so wrong, just for me to meet my best friend, just for a minute?" Ted asked with a dejected expression. Phil bravely held back his tears and remarked angrily. "It is wrong! You know for damn sure, it won''t end with us just meeting each other, just one time! I made a promise to my daughter. I''m sorry Ted. I really am."


    Ted went silent for a while before he chuckled sadly. He whispered through the door, "Do you remember the time, when you took me to WingStop. We ate chicken and drank beer while watching the football game."


    "Ted, don''t make this harder than it needs to be!" Phil begged.


    "Do you remember the promise we made back then!" Ted knocked on the door hardly as he expressed his feelings. "Remember that promise Phil!?"


    "I should''ve never made that promise! I regret it now! I even regret that day!" Phil shrieked back.


    "We promised! That we will get together again! On Thanksgiving! We promised that we will watch the football game together and have that same day again! Be honest with me Phil! Do you REALLY REGRET all of the things we have gone through together?"


    "I''m sorry!" Phil''s voice is but a whisper, "I can''t disappoint my daughter."


    "I get that." Ted sighed as he gave up on trying to persuade Phil. Phil choked back his words, trying to say something to Ted as he went silent, when he suddenly heard Ted humming a song.


    [Johnny Cash- Hurt]


    "I hurt myself today...To see if I still feel...I focus on the pain...The only thing that''s real..." Ted slowly moved back from the door. Phil grasped the air in front of him, trying desperately to hold himself back. Then, he sang along with Ted.


    "The needle tears a hole...The old familiar sting...Try to kill it all away...But I remember everything..."


    Phil slumped down on the floor by the door while Ted slowly moved away from the front porch. All the while, the entire interaction was witnessed by Haley and Claire who were sitting in the living room, barely noticed by Phil from the moment he entered the house.


    "Do you see what your little argument is affecting everyone Haley?! DO YOU!!" Luke shouted at Haley with anger, while the teenage girl was extremely confused in trying to comprehend what she just saw.


    As Ted went back to his car, Manny, who was sitting in the back seat asked, "So, did you get Luke?"


    "Sorry Manny. They didn''t even try to hear me out." Ted replied tiredly. Manny nodded in understanding and said, "Should I give it a try? Edward really wants us to be in his music video. And I''m afraid that he will cancel it if he cannot get both of us."


    "Sure. I''ll wait here." Ted replied.


    In less than 5 minutes after Manny was gone, he returned together with Luke. "Drive! QUICK BEFORE THEY NOTICE I''M GONE!" Luke said anxiously as he got into the back seat of the car.


    "I''m...not going to do that. That''s kidnapping." Ted said wearily. Manny explained, "Oh, don''t worry about it. Claire knows. She''s the one who let Luke go."


    "Okay..." Ted breathed in relief before he asked with a low voice, "What about Phil? Did he say anything?"


    "Dad keeps singing the same song over and over again." Luke said with some anger. "It''s all Haley''s fault!"


    "Well...I don''t think it''s ALL her fault." Ted replied ambiguously.

 Chapter 264: Chapitre 264: Excusez-moi, monsieur.

    Chapter 264: Chapitre 264: Excusez-moi, monsieur.


    [ Join My Discord: https://discord.gg/RUFZ2Zp2m4


    I was scolded by my editor for not doing this lol. But please, join in. Or else I will be scolded again]


    [Edward POV]


    Standing in front of a Victorian-Era royalty type tea room, with an oil painting�C actually printed, of Robert Downey Jr. in the background, posing with his cane, top hat, and twirly mustaches, I gently placed the painting into an old era frame as I prepare myself to place it on the wall.


    The tea room was elaborately decorated, with plush, velvet-upholstered furniture arranged around a large wooden table. Delicate china teacups and saucers were set out, along with a silver tea service.


    The walls were painted in dark, carved wood, and a large, ornate fireplace dominated one end of the room, with a fake fire made of paper dancing from the wind hose placed beneath them. Its mantle was adorned with intricate, gilt-framed mirrors and porcelain figurines.


    An extra actor was standing by in his butler suit, seemingly blending into the set setting. The old gentleman wore a monocle, looking charismatic as he practiced his routine.


    However, there were also a few things that were out of sorts from the setting on the set next door, like a full size superhero costume�C an original design, with the name ''Kid-Vengence'' plastered on the podium the costume was standing on, inside a dim lit BatCave rip off set.


    All of it was part of the music video I had planned on a whim, but managed to cost the company around 200,000 dollars in production cost, and a full assemble of production staff working together to bring my vision to life.


    Rewind a few minutes back, when I was getting ready to pick the image�C which I previously decided on an older version of myself, using AI to age myself into a 50-year-old man rich man. RDJ called me before I could proceed to ask if I had some free time to meet with Kevin Feige and Jon Favreau for an important discussion.


    I told him about the music video production and mentioned my aged self as a joke, which made him insist on getting him to be on there instead. He already had the picture ready�C for whatever reason, and he even signed a release form for me to use his image in the video. Since he was so excited about it, I just gave in and let him do that.


    Biting a nail in my mouth, I hammered the painting to the wall gently as the set was made from plywood basically. "Are all the cast here yet?" I asked after finishing the set preparation for the music video


    Renaldo said, "The two main leads are here. They are getting fitted into the suit. But the ''Princesses'' aren''t yet."


    "EDDDDDDDD~~~~" A familiar voice shouted, interrupting Renaldo''s words. I didn''t even have to turn back to know whose voice that was. That kind of excitement and energy could only come from one person�C the little wolf fanatic.


    Enid, Jenna and Elsa visited the set together. Enid rushed towards me and tackled me from behind�C which in its own way, was my own fault for not turning back fast enough as I was making sure that the frame was level. I was pushed forward and hit my forehead on the painting''s wooden frame.


    Enid was shocked and released me immediately, "Oh my god! I''m so sorry!"


    Rubbing my sore head, I replied, "It''s fine. I wasn''t hit hard."


    Renaldo grabbed my head and scrutinized my forehead in detail before finally breathing in relief. He turned to Enid and scolded her, "You need to be careful! He''s a precious asset! We cannot have anything happen to his face!"


    "Got it! I''ll make sure to do it again only when it''s safe!" Enid nodded and agreed to Renaldo obediently.


    "Oi." I retorted as I heard her sentence. Jenna giggled as she approached us together with Elsa.


    "Why do you call us here?" Elsa asked.


    "Wow, directly to the topic huh?" I teased before explaining, "I need a few more actresses for my music video. You guys in?"


    Enid and Elsa were excited. "Totally!" Both of them replied at the same time. Jenna acted a bit hesitant and asked, "I can keep my clothes on, right?"


    I looked at her weirdly, "Of course you''re keeping your clothes on. What kind of music video do you think I want to do?"


    She teased, "I don''t know what kind of things you are into nowadays~ Are�C Um, you know we''re not actresses, right?"


    Enid slapped Jenna''s arm and said, "Who cares? He''s pretty desperate. We can ask anything we want if we do this as a favor to him."


    Flabbergasted, I said, "I''ve never said that�C"


    Elsa added to Enid''s sentence, ignoring my retort, "He could pay us a lot! I want a million dollars!"


    "The basic pay for extras is just around 500 bucks. I can do a thousand for each of you." I negotiated.


    "1 thousand dollars, and we can keep some props." Enid offered.


    "Sure. Just don''t take my used underwear and sell it to Ebay." I joked as I patted Enid''s head.


    Elsa rolled her eyes and said, "Isn''t he desperate? We can demand a lot more Enid! Don''t get weak hearted now!"


    "But look at his face! I can''t bear to turn that smile upside down!" Enid said as she touched my chin.


    Both Jenna and I looked at her with disbelief before Jenna turned towards me and asked, "Then, if Enid got a prop, can I ask for something else?"


    "Depends on what you''re asking." I smirked as I looked into her eyes, which made her flustered. "I''ll think about what I want to ask first before telling you." She said with a mischievous grin.


    ...


    The recording started quickly. Luke, wearing a retro baroque wig�C white hair with curls and a long ponytail, sat in front of Manny who wore a monocle and a top hat, both wearing a classy tuxedo, trying to one up each other about how rich they are in their conversation.


    "Last week I was so bored, I bought 200 Lego sets. It didn''t help, so I called the Lego company itself, and made them build me a giant Lego Castle in Norway." Manny said as he smoked his fake pipe.


    Luke nodded before he said, "Last week, I was so bored, I bought the LEGO company."


    On the side of the set, Enid and I burst into laughter hearing that. I checked the script and whispered to Renaldo, "He improvised that. That''s good."


    Luke scratched his wig, which was tickling him, adding to the authenticity of the skit.


    "It doesn''t matter. I want it to stop and things can go back to normal. Alex and Haley fought all the time! They don''t fight when you are around. But now, they fight with each other every day!" Luke expressed his frustration.


    "And dad also is pretty sad! Mom can meet with you here, so she doesn''t care." Luke added. "So just make up with her!"


    "Actually, I haven''t met your mom in quite a while." I replied honestly.


    Luke''s angry face turned confused, "Really?"


    I nodded, "Yeah." Leaning in, I patted Luke''s head and smiled, "It''s nice of you to think about your family. And, can I tell you a secret?"


    "What is it?" Luke asked curiously.


    I whispered after checking around to see no one was eavesdropping, "I kinda hired you, so that I have an excuse to go see your sister later tonight."


    Luke widened his eyes and said, "Wait! We''re on the same side?!"


    "It seems that way." I chuckled as I leaned back into the chair. Luke''s face brightened up and he threw punches into the air to celebrate it. "Woo-Hoo!"


    While laughing, I said, "You surprised me Luke. I thought that you were going to demand me a thousand cakes or something."


    Luke froze for a bit before he slowly put his arms down, "Wait�C"


    "But you''re actually a pretty nice kid. It made me admire your selflessness a bit."


    "Damn it, let me talk!" Luke tried to interject, but I continued, "When things go back to normal, I''ll let everyone know about the story." I sat up and walked away after patting him on the shoulder.


    "NO! I want cakes! I don''t care about Haley anymore! EDWARD!!!" Luke shouted, but I turned a deaf ear to him.


    Luke and I were on the same page about ending the current situation, and we have a pretty solid start to that too, until...


    "Hey Ed! See here, Claire signed the paper, so we can proceed with it if you want to upload the music video tonight." Pepper said as he waved the contract sheet to my face.


    Claire, who was lurking behind the staff members around the set, felt proud of herself for her actions. After all, as a parental figure, she had come to watch over her child, just as the other parents were doing. This was not the set of a Nickelodeon show in that matter.


    Jenna''s mom, Enid''s mom, and Elsa''s uncle were all present, discreetly monitoring their children without the kids'' knowledge. Even Gloria was there, dressed like a mistress with a scarf on her head and sunglasses, blending in with the surroundings. Although, she also seemed quite like an assassin.


    I realized that they were here from the moment the shooting started. Pepper must''ve brought them here to watch over them�C and to avoid legal troubles by making sure of their attendance.


    So when Pepper showed me the contract, I grabbed the papers and slowly confirmed that there was indeed a signature on it. "God damn it." I cursed whisperingly.


    ...


    [General POV]


    While Judd was watching the music video production from behind the scenes, he texted his wife�C Leslie Mann about the plot of the movie, and how he was excited for the project...which was then spread to her close friends... which was then spread to acting agencies, and even the media.


    The decision to cast Bryan Cranston, a comedic actor well known for his role as Hal Jordan in Malcolm in the Middle sitcom, as the lead actor in the serious series Breaking Bad, was met with skepticism by the media who were invested in following the growth of Entertain company. But they were still looking forward to seeing how he would play the role.


    The same type of support was now being thrown into the company''s direction after a renowned actor spoke up positively about their upcoming movie.


    A few articles came out in just a short time period. It even came out before Edward finished shooting his music video on the same day. The ''unnamed'' movie generated a lot of buzz even before the script was finished.


    The casting agents of the company received several calls from talent agencies, trying to get an audition for their actors. Their phones were ringing non-stop for a while, until the potential male lead of the movie received a call from the director himself.


    Ryan Gosling, unaware about the buzz generated around the movie, picked up his personal phone to answer the call. "Hello?"


    After a thorough convincing by the director, the actor finally responded, "Yeah sure. I''ll do it�C Wait, I''ll take a look at the script with my agent first. Then, I''ll do it. But all in all, I''m probably going to do it."


    The call arrived at great timing for Ryan as he had no project in line for himself right now. The last project he considered was ''The Lovely Bones'', but he has since dropped out from the production because of ''creative differences'' with the director.


    Before the shooting started, Ryan showed up with an extra 60 pounds, looking really different in his 210 pound body weight (95 kg) due to a misunderstanding about what the character should look like. He had since lost his fats and returned to his fit body shape again.


    "Great. You can come to the company tomorrow." The director said.


    Ryan was confused, "Tomorrow? You''re starting the movie tomorrow?"


    "Oh, right. I should''ve explained it. No, the shoot is going to start soon, but not tomorrow�C After Thanksgiving. We''ll start recording after Thanksgiving." Judd said, unaware that he made a mistake in the timeline for the shoots.


    He continued, "The movie is the company''s first movie to be released on the big screen. So they are doing a documentary."


    "Ah. I get it. Alright, I''ll come tomorrow. Wait�C Tell me again what you said in the beginning. I kinda glossed over that, but I want to hear it properly."


    "What? Which part?" The director asked, confused.


    "You know, the one where you said he asked for me by name?" Ryan said with a chuckle. "Is he a fan of mine?"


    "I think so. Yes." Judd replied, even though he wasn''t sure about it. It was better for him to appease the actor and make him sign the contract first. If he thought Edward being a fan would help him pick up the pen, the director wouldn''t try to correct the assumption.


    "I can''t wait to meet him." Ryan said with a smile before they ended the call.


    [ Join My Discord: https://discord.gg/RUFZ2Zp2m4]

 Chapter 265: Fan’s surprise!

    Chapter 265: Chapter 265: Fan��s surprise!


    [General POV]


    In Texas, Cece Cooper�C Sheldon Cooper''s 14 years old niece, was glued in front of the laptop, sitting on the living room floor with the laptop placed on top of the coffee table. Georgie Cooper Junior, Sheldon''s older brother, walked to the living room and said with a thick Texan accent, "What are you looking at Cece?"


    The girl didn''t even bother to reply to him. "Still hate me for not lettin'' you fly to California huh?" Georgie shook his head and then walked away.


    *Ding*


    "It''s up!" Cece received a notification on the Entertain website, and clicked on the music video immediately. Not only her, but most members of Edward''s fan club clicked on the notification at the same time the second the video was uploaded.


    Lily, the fan club president, giggled as she saw the notification. "He works...really really fast!"


    The fan club members knew about Edward just filming the music video in the evening, and had to hire his friends to act in it as it was a last minute whim. They felt included when they were notified by the staff members, and had been eagerly anticipating the video to be finished.


    Most of them thought that Edward would upload the video tomorrow. None of them thought that he would upload it after people usually finished their dinner.


    [Billionaire- Travie McCoy + Bruno Mars]


    The video started with a short scene of Luke and Manny sitting inside the mansion, talking with each other, accompanied by violin music.


    /watch?v=kob5aHgi_-U&ab_channel=CristinaKiseleffViolin -Violin cover]


    ?? ?? ??


    Manny: "Last week I was so bored, I bought 200 Lego sets. It didn''t help, so I called the Lego company itself, and made them build me a giant Lego Castle in Norway."


    Luke: "Last week, I was so bored, I bought the LEGO company."


    "Pfft-" Cece chuckled after she saw the short skit. Immediately after the butler left the duo with the drink that turned out to be a grape soda, a warm feeling of wholesomeness gushed into the audience''s heart.


    ?? ?? ??


    Suddenly, the scene cuts to Luke sitting on a sofa with his ordinary clothes, watching the movie ''The Dark Knight''. His imagination was disrupted when his father called him, "Edward! Come on! You need to go to school!"


    "Coming!" Luke, who played a young Edward Newgate in the music video, grabbed his bag and rushed to the door after pausing the TV. Slowly, the music morphed from a violin into a guitar. The scene cuts into the teenage Edward sitting on top of a skateboard ramp, strumming his guitar as he sang.


    "?? I wanna be a billionaire so fucking bad~ Buy all of the things I never had??"


    His soulful voice transported the listeners, especially the adults in a tough spot in life. A feeling of nostalgia arises within them, which makes them remember their childhood before they understood how the world works.


    "??I wanna be on the cover of Forbes magazine??" Edward picked the guitar again, and the scene cuts to Luke waiting for a bus to go to school while carrying a violin case with him, where he met Manny in the bus.


    "?? Smilin'' next to Oprah and the Queen??"


    As Edward crooned, the audience was mesmerized, "?? Oh, every time I close my eyes!! I see my name in shiny lights, yeah ??!!"


    "??A different city every night, oh, I swear!! The world better prepare for when I''m a billionaire??"


    A rap bridge occurs in the melody, transitioning the song from vocal melody to a rapped verse.


    ?? Yeah, I would have a show like Oprah, I would be the host of


    Every Day Christmas, give Eddie your wish list


    I''d probably pull a "Angelina and Brad Pitt"


    And adopt a bunch of babies that ain''t never had shit??


    The scene moved quickly from a snippet of a mustached Luke becoming a tv host and giving a giant teddy bear to Enid who''s dressed like a woman in the 70s.


    Edward walked by the skateboard park and threw a few keys to the people while lip syncing the song.


    "??Give away a few Mercedes, like, "Here, lady, have this"


    And last but not least, grant somebody their last wish."


    He chuckled as he said that and continued, "It''s been a couple months that I''ve been single, so�C You can call me Eddie Claus, minus the "Ho, ho"??"


    Taylor who was watching the music video with Selena fumed. Abby in New York was also irritated. Both of them have similar thoughts about the line.


    "Did he just call me a hoe?"


    The music video continued with a scene of Luke who was going to school to meet up with Enid inside the bus. He looked bashfully at her before the scene cuts into Edward rapping again.


    "?? Get it? I''d probably visit where Katrina hit. And damn sure do a lot more than FEMA did. Yeah, can''t forget about me! Everywhere I go, I''ma have my own theme music! ??"


    "What does that mean?" Jenna asked as she watched the show. Pepper who was nearby sighed and said, "He''s criticizing the relief organization who was really late in helping the victim. They even did it half-assedly when the tragedy hit."


    "Oh cool." Jenna''s eyes twinkled in admiration as she heard it.


    The music video continued with snippets of Luke imagining to be at a dance ball for the rich elites with Enid as his partner, and suddenly, in the real world inside the bus, Jenna teased him�C bullied and made fun of him a little.


    The song transitioned back to the vocals.


    "?? Oh, every time I close my eyes!! ??"


    Phil bopped his head along as he listened to the song.


    " ??I see my name in shiny lights oh, yeah, yeah! ~ A different city every night , oh, I swear !!The world better prepare~ for when I''m a billionaire~??"


    "Oh, oh ,oh, when I''m a billionaire! Oh, oh!"


    The scene that played over the vocal was Luke practicing with the violin before he was lost in his imagination again. This time, Jenna became the villain attacking the city, so Luke had to turn into a superhero to stop her.


    Abraham and Jacob watched the music video together in the football field with the other football players, and they grinned. Jacob said, "So Ed DO wants to be Batman since he was young!"


    As Edward transitioned back into rapping, so did the scene. It focused more on him helping the people around him, with a couple of shots of him singing directly to the camera.


    "?? I''ll be playing basketball with the president, dunkin'' on his delegates


    Then I''ll compliment him on his political etiquette


    Toss a couple milli'' in the air just for the heck of it


    But keep the fives, twenties, tens, and Bens completely separate??"


    The President chuckled when he heard the lyric. He needed that little laugh after cleaning up the government bodies after his assassination attempt. He tweeted, quoting the tweet of the music video lyric and said, "He did, in fact, dunked on me."


    The tweet got a lot of reactions from thousands of people, which turned the obscure music video launch as it was uploaded abruptly without time to market it, into something a lot of people talked about.


    The song continued, "?? And yeah, I''ll be in a whole new tax bracket, We in recession, but let me take a crack at it, I''ll probably take whatever''s left and just split it up, So everybody that I love can have a couple bucks ??"


    Ted smiled softly and said, "I think that''s the most accurate verse of him I''ve ever heard."


    Pepper also smiled and said, "The entire verse is Edward Newgate''s essence."


    "Dad! Are you really leaving your daughter alone with a boy in her room?" Haley asked with disbelief.


    "Edward''s a good boy! I trust him." Phil said as he grabbed Alex too.


    "Hey It''s my room!" Alex tried to protest.


    "Thanks for your understanding Alex." I shouted to her. After everyone else left the room, I turned to Haley who was worried, yet with a tinge of anger in her face.


    "Why did you come�C"


    "I miss you." I said, interjecting her question, making her fall in disbelief. "What?" She muttered, her eyes shook.


    "Yeah...That''s why I used the window. I really want to see you." I said honestly, which made her stunned. Her anger dissipated and she said, "You really shouldn''t climb up here."


    "You climbed into my window. There''s no difference in what I''m doing here." I smiled as I sat on the edge of her bed. "We should talk." I patted the mattress, gesturing for her to sit down.


    Haley sighed and relented, sitting slowly right next to me. After a while, I asked, "So I hear you''ve been fighting with your sister a lot?"


    Haley snapped, "She''s so condescending! She kept poking at me the whole time��" Stopping herself, she rolled her eyes and said, "So you come here for Alex''s sake?"


    "Nah. It''s for my sake honestly. I just had that one question about that." I smiled before I asked, "So, you''ve listened to my new song?"


    "Yeah. It''s pretty great." Haley finally smiled, but then she tried to cover it up again.


    "You don''t have to stop yourself from smiling. That made me really sad." I said with a sad smile. She said apologetically, "Sorry."


    "Well, you should be sorry." I teased.


    She gasped with a smile, "You know what? I''m not really sorry."


    "Eh, too late. I already accepted your apologies."


    "Then I''ll hit your head, make you lose your memories."


    "With a pan?" I asked with confusion.


    "Of course, with what else?" She replied teasingly.


    We caught each other''s eyes, and both of us burst into laughter. As we calmed down, she said, "I miss you too. But�C"


    "Uh, why must there be a but?" I groaned as I turned my head away from her.


    "But... you know..." She trailed off, not finishing her words. Both of us were silent for a while before I spoke up, "You know what, if you''re not ready, we can come to another arrangement."


    "What?" She asked, intrigued. "Well, you don''t want us to see each other, but you know your family is just crazy about me." I said smugly, which made her burst into laughter.


    "Yeah, they love you more than me." She said sarcastically.


    "You got that right." I agreed with her, which made her giggle again. "So, you know, why don''t we come to some sort of an arrangement. Because not seeing each other, it pushed them to think about me more. It''s like when you were kid and your dad won''t get you the toy you want, and you think about them every day."


    "I always get the toys I want." Haley said.


    "Right, so we have a very different childhood." I said playfully. "So like a married couple getting divorce, I can have them on the weekends, and you can have them on weekdays." I added.


    "Why do I get them on the weekdays!? We don''t do anything on weekdays!? All the fun is on the weekends!" Haley complained.


    "You live here, so it makes perfect sense that you have them on a weekday." I argued back. "No thank you!" She rejected it. "Why don''t you take them Sunday and Monday, and I get them Saturday and the rest of the week." She negotiated.


    I heard some murmuring from outside of the door, and realized that the family was eavesdropping on our conversation.


    "Alright then. That works for me. So I can come here on Monday and Sunday." I agreed.


    "No, they need to go out." Haley added. "Why should I leave the house?" She said playfully. "Where would I go?"


    "Excuse me Miss Popular girl in Highschool? You really don''t have anywhere to go on a Sunday? It seems like you''re not as popular as you might think."


    Scrunching her brows together, Haley said, "Enough about that. You''ll give them back before dinner time, right?"


    "No. We''ll have dinner outside."


    "Then I have to eat alone?!"


    "Yeah!"


    We argued for a while before we finally came to an agreement. "Alright, that settled it. I can get them on Sunday and Monday, also I can come to a special occasion."


    "But, you need to tell me about it first." She interjected. "The ban is lifted between...you and my family..."


    "So I can text you again?" I asked with a smile, which made her flustered.


    She thought about it before replying, "Fine! You can, but if it becomes weird again between us, then we have to stop it immediately."


    "Weird? Like how?" I asked as I moved closer towards her. Her eyes were fixated on my lips, which made her have to escape and stand up from the bed.


    "Well, weird!" She explained. "If we become close again, and you start to date someone else, that is going to break me, even if we are just friends right then."


    I sighed in frustration and said, "That goes both ways."


    "So, you understand." She said as she crossed her arms.


    Slowly, I moved up from the bed and stood in front of her, asking casually, "Alright then. Wait, what about conjugal visits? Do we have those or not?"


    "Hmm?" Haley was confused. "What''s that?" She asked.


    "Do you not know them?" I asked with a fake surprised expression. She became flustered and said immediately, "I know! Umm..."


    "So, how many times a week?" I asked, urging her.


    "1 time per week!" Haley replied seriously even though she was greatly confused on the inside.


    Alex burst into the room and grabbed Haley''s hand, pulling her away from me. "YOU PERVERT!" Alex snapped at me before whispering to Haley what I meant. Haley''s face turned angry and embarrassed.


    "GET OUT OF YOU YOU PERV!" She grabbed a pillow and started beating me with it. I laughed out loud, before I jumped out of the window again. Haley grunted and said, "Use the door!"


    "NO!" I replied mischievously before I left the room, shouting, "ONE TIME PER WEEK!"


    "THAT''S NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN!" Haley shouted through the window before she slammed it shut and locked it. Feeling happy inside, I hopped back onto the car seat before driving back to my house on the seaside.


    "Vader!" I picked up the cat that was running towards me with excitement as soon as I got into the house. "You''re not a dog." I chuckled seeing her so happy to see me.


    Leading her to her cat bowl, I squatted as I filled up her bowl with some treats, "Vader, I''ll share this secret, just with you.." I said to the cat as I petted her fur. I whispered to her, "Don''t tell this to anyone else, but, I was happier when I go to their house compared to when my music video was released."


    "You realized that I can hear you right, Sir?" Robin appeared and asked as her holographic projection crouched next to me, smiling as she placed her hands underneath her chin.


    "Top secret Robin. Top secret." I chuckled.

 Chapter 266: Casting Trouble.

    Chapter 266: Chapter 266: Casting Trouble.


    [Edward POV]


    "So we have 4 main characters." Paige said as she touched her glasses, standing by the whiteboard inside the same room we had our discussions in. She continued as she turned towards me and the director who were sitting at the table, "We need to cast them as soon as possible."


    "The main lead, ''Tom Ryder'' was the easiest one to get. But we still need to cast the other actors quickly." Director Judd interjected.


    I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, "Why? The filming starts a week in December. We still have time. Also, I''m only here to meet RG. Please stop pulling me into the room."


    "To be fair, you were pushed in instead of pulled." Judd teased. I sighed as I remembered Renaldo and Pepper ''forcing'' me into the room while they went to see the documentary interview. Clicking on my pen several times, I circled the supporting actress role, Bryanna�C the girl which the younger brother�C Colt Seavers, has a crush on.


    "Vanessa can do this. And I think she wants to. There''s no schedule conflict, so we can cast her and save some money." I said with a chuckle.


    Paige just nodded but Judd reacted weirdly, "Hudgens huh...It''s a shame what happened to her."


    I raised my eyebrow as I let him continue speaking. Judd said, "Since she''s going to be in the movie, can we make the character Indian? Then, at the last scene, we can have a misunderstanding trope where the younger brother thought she was going to India, but she''s actually going to Indiana."


    "She''s not Indian though." I shook my head while my face was filled with confusion.


    Judd was puzzled, "She''s not?"


    "She''s Filipino-American. Wait, Half Filipino American." I explained. "Ahh!" Judd nodded in understanding before changing the subject, "I don''t have any contacts with anyone fitting the character description. So we have to do this the old way, by auditioning."


    "That wouldn''t be a problem. A lot of artists are lining up for the audition." Renaldo suddenly burst into the room, giddy and giggling as he managed to meet with the actor of his favorite film, ''The Notebook''.


    "Really?" I asked with some interest, "How did they know about the film?"


    Everyone was silent for a while, and Judd scratched his cheek in embarrassment. "That might be my fault. I told my wife about it. I have no idea she''s with her friends. And then it spreads."


    "That''s fine. It made our jobs easier." I said casually. Judd smirked mischievously and said, "You have no idea how these kinds of things usually go, am I right? An Oscar buzz is not a joke. And especially for the role of the leading woman, god the whole afternoon would be... bloody. And oh, Edward. Pepper told you to play the role of the brother."


    "Fine." I replied casually. I suddenly stood up from my seat and said, "I think that''s my cue to leave. I still have a script to read and a criminal to catch."


    Paige scoffed and asked, "I''m not sure which one I should focus on. The script or the criminal."


    "Both are intriguing topics." Judd added. "So we''ll split one question each." He said as he shared a nod with Paige.


    "What script?" Paige asked.


    "Who''s the criminal?" Judd asked.


    I smirked and said, "A superhero movie script. For some reason RDJ sent me the Thor movie script and told me to read about it. The criminal is a pothead brunette who promised to fly over here next week for Thanksgiving, but she''s blowing me off, so I''m going to get the police to stop by her house and scare her."


    "Fly from where�C Pothead? Isn''t that Max?" Renaldo guessed it correctly.


    "Who''s Max?" Both the director and Paige asked in confusion.


    Renaldo ignored them and asked me worriedly, "You''re going to send a cop to her house? She''ll get a life sentence! That''s too much of a punishment for blowing you off."


    "Well, then she''ll learn a lesson in that regard won''t she?" I smiled devilishly. Judd interrupted me, "Before you go, I need to confess something."


    "What is it?" I asked.


    "I kinda told Gosling that the script is ready." He replied sheepishly. Paige''s temper flared up, "You DID WHAT?!"


    "Calm down Paige. Calm down. Take a deep breath." Renaldo placated her, and she slowly calmed herself down.


    "To convince him?" I asked Judd as I glanced warily at the easily angered woman. Judd also glanced at Paige, but his glance was apologetic, "As a lure."


    I turned to Paige and said, "I know I have given you a deadline to complete it, and I promise you that I''m standing by my words. So you don''t have to worry about it."


    After calming herself down, Paige replied, "Honestly...I had already written it until the last act. I''m only stuck at the ending."


    Judd was extremely impressed, "After a day?! How is that possible?"


    Paige was also confused when she replied, "For some reason, I received an email containing all of the notes about our meeting yesterday from someone named Robin. I used that to rework the entire script, so the work is pretty fast."


    "So you haven''t slept?" I teased with a smile as I suddenly felt a sense of camaraderie with her for having similar work ethics as me.


    With a deep eye bag, she said, "I had some...maybe."


    "You can go home and get some rest if you want." Judd said casually. "I''ll just narrow down the actresses to 5 people, and you guys can be here for the final screen tests."


    "That would work." I nodded my head in agreement. Paige nodded her head too, but she said, "I''ll just take a nap someplace, and I''ll join the casting call after that."


    "You can use Edward''s office. There''s a bed there, and you can roll down the blinds completely, turning the room completely dark." Renaldo said. "Of course, if Edward''s is fine with it." He turned towards me as he asked for my permission.


    "Sure. I''m not using it anyway." I replied casually. "Also, as an apology for my action, I think I can manage to get Steve Carell to cameo in this as their father for merely a few bucks...sort of."


    My eyes widened, "That''s great!"


    He nodded in satisfaction, "I thought you''d like that."


    "Wait. Steve...Hmm...The Office...John Krasinski..." My mind raced for a while before I asked, "Is there anyone named Emily Blunt auditioning for the role?"


    Renaldo took out a piece of paper and said, "Let me check...Yes! There is! Why did you ask?"


    "Well I just thought she''ll be suitable for the role. Tell me how she did in the audition later." I said before I left the room. As I walked to the set, RG was already gone. He and his agent went to Pepper''s office to discuss the script and contract together with Harvey.


    Although I wanted to meet him, I focused on reading the script RDJ gave me first. It was printed out by a staff member, and I read it inside an empty room in the building. As I read the script, I noticed that there was no difference in the movie''s details compared to my previous life.


    It took me only half an hour to go through the thick script as I was pretty much skimming through all of it. Then, I texted RDJ. He suddenly called me and greeted playfully, "How are you, Mr I-don''t-believe-you''ve-read-all-of-it."


    I turned to him weirdly and said, "Little? I''m taller than you."


    "Nuh-UH!" RDJ shook his finger at me. "We''ll not mention that, ever!"


    Kevin left soon after to go and discuss the matter of the reshoot of Iron Man 2, and the reworks of the Thor movie script with the director�CKenneth Branagh. How would he react to a sudden change in the script? I didn''t really care about it as it was Feige''s troubles, not mine.


    RDJ and Jon drank some whiskey in a good mood after the discussion was over. We talked about my company''s upcoming movie for a bit, and I told them the plans for the movie. After listening to the entire thing, RDJ was intrigued and asked, "Wait, so...The dad in the first scene, will give birth to Gosling and you?"


    "Yeah, Apatow wants to get Steve Carell for it." I replied casually, thinking that it was just a normal question.


    "Wait, no! I''ll be him." RDJ said with a chuckle. Wasn''t sure if he was serious about it, I smirked and said, "I don''t think it''ll be good for you."


    "Why is that?" He asked.


    "Believe me, I''m not trying to make fun of you when I say this, but, the dad will be quite drunk, climbed and jumped out the window after he told his son about the curse. The mother doesn''t let him meet his son because of his ''bad influence''."


    Jon stifled a laugh, "Sorry. Just thought it''ll be too on the nose if you did it."


    "I don''t care. I still want it." RDJ said with a wry smile. "Yeah, I think it''ll be great."


    "If you''re really serious, I can call the director about it now." I replied.


    RDJ nodded and said, "I am. You helped us a lot. We should help you once. Even Jon will cameo if you want him in the movie."


    ...


    [General POV]


    Max''s apartment building in Williamsburg. Detective Rosa Diaz and Detective Jake Peralta stopped their squad car and looked at the building with some confusion.


    "That can''t be right? We''re getting off here?" Jake asked in confusion. Rosa nodded and spoke curtly, "This is not a police affair. I''m just doing someone a favor." Rosa left the car and jogged lightly to cross the street to get into the building.


    Jake stuck his head out of the car window and shouted, "Do you want me to come with you?"


    Rosa didn''t reply, in which it made Jake feel obligated to follow her, "I didn''t receive an answer, so I''m going to follow you!"


    Rosa knocked on the door of Max''s house. Max asked, "Who is it?"


    "Detective Rosa Diaz, NYPD�C Shit, Um, I''m Diaz. I''m a friend of your friend, Edward Newgate." Rosa shouted hurriedly.


    Max, who was trying to escape through the back door, stopped midway and said, "Um, give me a second to clean the place up." She took her baggie of weed, and threw it to the streets before opening up the door.


    Max opened the door slowly, and asked carefully, "Don''t you need a warrant to enter?"


    "This is not official business. I don''t care what you have in your apartment." Diaz said. Max studied her face and brightened up, opening the door fully at the same time, "Hey I know you. You''re the one who protected Edward."


    Diaz smiled and said, "Yeah, that''s me."


    "Come on in." Max invited her into the house. Jake Peralta yelled from afar, "Hey, wait for me!"


    "Jake, why did you follow me?" Rosa asked with irritation. Jake sighed helplessly and said, "Because you never told me to stay in the car. I thought you needed some backup."


    Jake and Max''s gazes suddenly met, and the air turned awkward. Rosa caught it and asked, "What''s with the look? What happened to you guys?"


    "Nothing happened. Just an innocent man''s heart getting toyed with, and then thrown to the side." Jake sniffled a bit.


    Max rolled her eyes and said, "We slept together, one time!"


    "But we did it 3 times, and you make me imagine our lives together." Jake said.


    Max chuckled and insulted, "Well that''s on you. I told you from the beginning we are only going to do this once."


    "Stop ignoring me and forcing me to hear this romance crap." Rosa said with a physical repulsion on the topic. Rosa turned to Max and said, "You should answer his messages and calls, otherwise he''ll send you to jail."


    Suddenly, a skinny blonde woman, Caroline Channing, who was a rich billionaire, but her father was arrested for Ponzi Scheme, walked through the hallways and stopped in front of the door where everyone was talking.


    "What�C Oh, damn it. I meant to call him." Max muttered with some worries. Rosa said curtly, "Now that I''ve sent your message, Bye."


    As Rosa turned, she bumped into Caroline who smiled at her. "Hi!" Caroline greeted cheerfully. "Are you guys with the NYPD? Are you here to find me about my dad''s case?"


    "What?" Rosa was confused. Jake widened his eyes, and said to Max in amazement, "You live here...But, Wow, I didn''t think that someone who knows Edward Newgate, also knows a Channing�C"


    Max quickly covered Jake''s mouth, surprising him. Caroline''s smile turned upside down, and her cheerful face turned into that of contempt. "Newgate? You''re talking about Edward Newgate, the one who reported my father, and made him get arrested?"


    Caroline turned to Max with a betrayed expression. With a stifled sob, she said, "is that why you lend me some help? Because you feel guilty?" Caroline turned and ran away quickly.


    "Wait, Caroline! NO!" Max quickly went after her to explain the whole situation. Rosa turned to Jake in disbelief and anger, "Nice Job Jake."


    "How should I know that would happen?!" Jake asked in confusion and panic.


    "You should''ve just stayed in the car!" Rosa scolded.


    ...


    A/N: Just realized that I had posted 499 Chapters in WN, combining both my previous Marvel fic and Relife! It''s an incredible milestone for me considering that I had written over 500 Chapters! (10 More on Patreon). It has been 2 years, 2 and a half year(?) since I started writing full time, man, time passed by really quickly.


    I started writing because I had severe social anxiety after covid, and couldn''t actually find a job, even dropped out of my college. Writing stories has been really enjoyable for me. And now that I realized my overall Chapters had surpassed 500 Chapters-- also 1.666 million words, I was really surprised at myself. Finally, I figured out why my hand hurts all the time.


    While I do not often promote my Patreon, I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude to those who have supported me on this journey. Even a single month of support can make a world of difference, allowing me to continue dedicating myself to the story. Those who wanted to join in and support me can find my patreon link below;


    /relifewithkarmicgacha

 Chapter 267: 2 Broke girls.

    Chapter 267: Chapter 267: 2 Broke girls.?


    [Edward POV]


    Sitting on the couch in the living room, I turned on the show, ''Everybody Hates Chris'' and watched it while eating some popcorn. Suddenly, my laptop rang as someone video called me.


    Pausing the tv, I leaned forward to the coffee table where my laptop was sitting, and answered the call. When the familiar face popped up, I smiled and teased, "So, they decide not to arrest you?"


    "Low blow telling the cops to come to my house. It could''ve been really dangerous." Max said angrily.


    I chuckled and said, "Next time, I''ll ask them to come when they are on duty."


    "NO!" Max said decisively. "I''ve learnt my lesson." She added.


    "That is?" I asked expectantly.


    "Never underestimate your insanity." Max said. I was baffled for a bit, and then I realized that she was making sense.


    "So, you''re coming here or not?" I asked when suddenly, a blondie crashed into the screen, pushing Max slightly to the side as she joined in the conversation.


    "Caroline, I told you I''ll ask him." Max scolded whisperingly, taken aback by Caroline''s sudden intrusion. I managed to piece up the clues instantly in my mind, and figured out why she was there.


    Putting on an innocent smile on my face, I greeted her, "Hello Miss Channing. We meet again."


    "Hello." Caroline has an expression of disbelief. She said venomously, "You''re quite brazen for smiling when you see me. Did you forget about what you did to my life?"


    "You mean, your fake life, built on the scammed money of innocent people." I said with a sarcastic tone. "It seems that life hasn''t hit you hard enough to make you reflect on yourself, Miss Channing."


    Caroline was taken aback, and she forgot what she was trying to say. I understood that she may have felt some resentment towards me, but like I said before, the FBI was on her father''s ass for years. She only felt that way because she heard from me, and thought that I was the one who was responsible for everything that happened to her.


    Her dad would be thrown to jail anyway, it''s just a matter of time. In fact, if he hadn''t tried to scam Pepper, I wouldn''t even care about him.


    "Caroline. It''s not his fault your dad ran a Ponzi scheme." Max scolded Caroline. She added, "Even I know to blame the victim for speaking up is disgusting. And I usually tell people to keep their mouths shut whenever I punch them and steal their money."


    "So, you think you''re disgusting?" I asked Max with a chuckle. "No wonder you want to stay at the rat''s nest you call a house."


    She smiled and cracked a joke, "At least I''m self aware about it. And you won''t believe this! We have a horse!"


    "Oh good for you!" I said honestly. "But knowing your browser history, I''m very concerned about the horse living with you."


    Max was speechless for a bit before she replied angrily, "Hey I''ve never watched that kind of stuff!"


    "Enough. My father..." Caroline interjected suddenly, which made Max and I turn our attention to her. She struggled to continue giving excuses for her father, "He''s...a kind man..."


    Reality hitted her hard, and her entire world crumbled around her in just a matter of hours. None of her friends wanted to have anything to do with her as their family name could also be implicated. The Channing family name suddenly became something everyone wanted to avoid.


    "I''m not saying he''s evil." I said suddenly, which made Caroline confused. "People are complex. They can be a nightmare for their enemies, and also a saint for their families. But let''s not pretend your dad is Robin Hood either. He hurts a lot of people with his schemes.


    "Besides, he''s probably not even going to learn from the mistake. In a year or two, he''ll be transferred to a cozy, high class prison, maybe getting the opportunity to go out on parole after people forget what he had done. There won''t be any real punishment for him."


    "Really?" Max asked with some surprise.


    I shrugged and said, "Have you ever really seen a rich dude getting punished for what he did? Even OJ managed to get away with killing his wife (Allegedly Lol), not to mention a Channing that has a lot of connections with the upper class society of New York. I mean, they say people lose money...but no real rich dudes were hurt in the crime, so.."


    "Oh my god." Max was exasperated. Caroline was taken aback, and she asked with a shivering voice, "Even if he can get out in the future, it''ll never be the same anymore."


    "Yeah probably not." I chuckled. Caroline looked at me with an almost crying expression. "What should I do now?" She asked me.


    "How should I now?" I shrugged dismissively. "I told you to bury some money before."


    Caroline opened her mouth to protest, then she remembered that I did tell her that before.


    "Did you brush it off, what I said?" I asked mischievously. Caroline bit her lip and said, "Yes..."


    "Then is it still my fault?" I asked again. Caroline was depressed and said, "No."


    "Well, at the very least, you have your business degree from Wharton. I''m sure you can find a good paying job in no time." I said.


    "Actually Max and I are aiming to start our own cupcake business." Caroline suddenly brightened up�C her emotions changed so fast, it was as if someone pressed a switch inside of her.


    "Great. Do you guys need any seed money?" I asked casually. Caroline opened her mouth wide, excited about the offer, but Max shut her down instantly, "NO! We''re going to do it ourselves."


    "MAX!" Caroline tried to protest, but Max was determined. "No Caroline!"


    "That makes me feel quite bad." I said with a slightly hurt expression. Max was apologetic and said, "Sorry. I just can''t do that to you. The moment I start borrowing money from you, then it means we can''t just be friends anymore."


    "Is she the last one?" I asked. Sharon nodded and said carefully, "I think we''ll go with Karlsen. I know that she used to work with Playboy, but I think she really fits the role. She''s dedicated, and she really suits the character. It''d be a little risky, so if you don''t like that, we can go with the second choice."


    Turning my head to Sharon, she became confused when she saw my deadpan stare. "What?" She asked in confusion.


    "I''m the one who recommended her." I exposed it, which made the three of them become baffled. "What?" Sharon especially, was flabbergasted by the sudden fact. "Why didn''t you tell us?" She asked.


    I smiled and said, "I don''t want that to be a factor. Okay, you can call Cranston and conduct the chemistry test between them. See if they fit together. If all goes well, we can start filming the first episode after Thanksgiving."


    "You''re the boss." Sharon said before she sat back down on her seat. I walked outside of the room, only to find myself facing a group of young aspiring actresses in their 20s. They instantly broke into excited murmurs after they saw me.


    Confused by their presence, I walked to the nearest girl, a brunette girl and asked, "Why are you guys here?"


    She blushed a bit and replied, "Um, to audition for a role."


    "What role?"


    "The role of Jane." She explained.


    "Ah!" I exclaimed in realization and thanked the girl. It seemed that Sharon decided to settle on the casting of the characters early. Well I should''ve mentioned to her that I want Krysten Ritter for the role, but not too late I guess. I returned to the room, confusing Sharon as she thought that I would be gone.


    "What''s wrong?" She asked.


    "Jane...I kinda already have someone I want for the role." I replied. Sharon widened her eyes and apologized profusely, "I''m really sorry! It was presumptuous of me to do this without asking first."


    "It''s fine. It''s a mistake." I said dismissively as it wasn''t a big deal. "Do you want me to send those girls away?" She asked with some frustration.


    "No�C Um, do you have the script for Queen''s Gambit with you? We need some extras for that, so tell them about the mistake, and ask them if they want to try it out. We need some girls to play the high schoolers."


    "Alright. I promise that I''ll fix this." Sharon said with determination. Her fiery gaze made me shudder for a bit, "Ooh~ It got fierce in here. I''ll let you deal with it."


    After that, I snuck away using a different path to ensure I wouldn''t meet the girls, and drove away from the company. It has been a week since Missy and Mary came to California, and they will be returning home tonight.


    Mary invited me to have dinner one more time with her at the beach house to thank me for my generosity. For some reason, Mary and my dad bonded quite a bit. He even took them both on a trip on his ship, with Missy flirting with my dad the entire time.


    I rang the doorbell when I arrived at the house. Missy pressed the intercom and asked, "Who is it?"


    "Your step son to be." I replied.


    The door was unlocked, and a flustered Missy said as she opened the door, "So you know about that huh?"


    "You broke my heart. I thought we had something going on between us. But it turns out, you''re only using me to get to my dad." I pretended to be hurt as I entered the house.


    Missy giggled and stuck her tongue out, "Sorry, but I only like rugged men."


    When I entered the house, it was empty of other people except the two of us there. "Where''s your mother?" I asked.


    Missy went to the kitchen and took out some food from the oven, "She went to get Sheldon."


    "He can''t come by himself?" I asked with confusion.


    Missy sighed and said, "You know he''s a weirdo. He doesn''t want to come if you''re here."


    Befuddled, I said, "You''re the one who twisted his nipples. Why is he blaming me for it?"


    "Again. He''s a weirdo." Missy said as she licked her finger that touched the chicken grease. "Want some?" She asked.


    "We''re not waiting?" I smirked and walked to the kitchen.


    "Who knows when they''re going to be here. Hmm, till the end, Paige doesn''t want to hang out with me."


    "Really?" I twisted off a chicken drumstick and put it in my mouth. "How come?"


    "I don''t know." Missy replied. I asked, "Have you ever asked her to come hang out, alone?"


    Busy with her work on the script, Paige decided to sacrifice the reunion with her friend in order to finish the script. However, I missed that and thought that she just didn''t want to come.


    Missy thought for a bit and replied, "No. Never."


    "Then, do you want me to ask her to come? I''m her boss. She definitely has to be here if I did it." I said playfully, but Missy was excited and said, "Call her! Call her now!"


    Support me on Patreon. You can find up to 10 advanced Chapters there!


    /relifewithkarmicgacha


    Discord Link : https://discord.gg/RUFZ2Zp2m4

 Chapter 268: Sheldon and Paige.

    Chapter 268: Chapter 268: Sheldon and Paige.


    [Edward POV]


    10 minutes later, Paige arrived at the beach house while riding a beat up car. Wearing a plain white, semi translucent shirt and long jeans, Paige was confused when she saw Missy opening the door and welcoming her inside the house.


    "I thought, we were going to discuss the script?" She asked, confused.


    "I lied obviously." I said with a mischievous grin. Missy was elated and she took Paige''s hand, "You need to see the sea at night. It is so beautiful!"


    Paige''s eyes shook as she realized that I had successfully lured her out of her hiding place. Glaring at me slightly as Missy pulled her away, Paige tried to ask, "Is Sheldon going to be here? If he''s coming, please tell me! I don''t want to meet him right now."


    Depressed, Missy asked whiningly, "But why?"


    "I have my reasons..." Paige said, feeling guilty towards Missy. However, as she wanted to get out of the house, she bumped into Sheldon and Mary at the door.


    "Oh god." Stunned, Paige widened her eyes as she looked at Sheldon. "Hello." Sheldon greeted casually before he entered the house, walking past her.


    "That''s it?" Paige turned abruptly, flabbergasted by Sheldon''s dismissive reaction.


    ...


    During dinner, despite Paige''s nervousness, Sheldon didn''t ask her even one question about what she''s doing now�C in fact, he wasn''t interested in talking at all. All he did, was stare warily at me.


    "I''m not going to do anything." I said with disbelief. My seat faced Sheldon directly, Paige sat next to me, Mary at the head of the table, and Missy next to Sheldon, facing Paige.


    "How can I trust you? I know my game crashing right before I won a match is part of your insidious plan too." Sheldon replied with some bitterness.


    Baffled, I said, "You know there''s millions of people playing the game. Do you really think I''ll risk destroying the game, just to mess with you? You think too much."


    "Oh, really? Then tell me, why did a message pop up saying ''You suck'' at my laptop, flashing for a second before it disappears when I start the game?"


    "How should I know? Did you download the game from a risky website, or have frequent visits to such websites?" I asked instigatively.


    Missy looked at him with disbelief. Even Paige gave him a disgusted look, but Sheldon didn''t understand why people were staring at him. "You mean illegal websites? I''ve never surfed on them. There''s too much important data in my laptop for me to do something that could compromise them." He explained.


    Well to be honest, I was messing with him online with some pop up messages. But I never crashed his game when he was going to win a match.


    "Do you want me to take a look at your laptop and find out what''s wrong with it? With your advanced age, I''m sure it''ll be hard for you to do it yourself." I added an insult, packaged as a concern for him.


    Missy giggled but Mary obliviously said, "That''s a great idea. Why don''t you let him take a look, Shelly?"


    "Mother! I''m not an old person needing help from the younger generation about technology." Sheldon exclaimed in bewilderment. "That''s you."


    "Shelly, he''s just trying to help." Mary scolded Sheldon.


    "More like, he''s trying to insult me." Sheldon protested.


    "Anyway," Mary turned to Paige and asked, "I hear you two are working on a movie together. How''s that going on?"


    "Um.." Paige glanced at Sheldon, feeling self-conscious about her choice of career.


    Sheldon noticed it and asked obliviously, "Why are you looking at me? I don''t know anything about your movie."


    I rolled my eyes before turning to Mary, "Paige is a great screenwriter. Not that great in comedy, but she has some real world experiences unlike the other college graduate writers, which made her writing...um, believable."


    Paige was taken aback, and Sheldon asked curiously, "How did you know that? Isn''t this her first production?" His tone wasn''t condescending or trying to insult Paige, but she felt the need to defend herself regardless. She interjected, "I did work on a few independent projects before�C"


    "But none of them finished their production." I exposed, making her glare at me. Turning to Sheldon, I replied, "Cause I read her works?"


    "And you''re qualified to assess the quality of her writing?" He asked condescendingly.


    "I have 4 production credits which mainly focus on the script, so...yeah." I replied casually. "I got to say Sheldon, I thought you''ll be more excited to meet Paige. You said she has been on your mind for decades."


    Paige was taken aback, and her expression softened as she turned to Sheldon, "You were thinking about me?"


    "No." Sheldon replied, dousing the little excitement Paige has in the topic. However, it was rekindled when he said, "Not on purpose. I have an eidetic memory, so thoughts about you come out even if I try not to think about you."


    Paige''s cheek turned red, and she had to sip on the wine to calm herself. Missy shot a knowing look as she glanced at me.


    "Oh-ho~" I exclaimed as my eyes darted between the oblivious Sheldon and the blushing Paige. "Wonder if Amy will kill me when she knows about this." I mumbled to myself. "Eh, they haven''t dated yet." I shrugged before continuing to watch the duo.


    "Sheldon, aren''t you curious to know details about Paige''s life? Aren''t you two friends?" Mary asked.


    "Not really, no." Sheldon replied flatly.


    Paige was irritated once more. "Are you toying with me?" She asked.


    "Why would I toy with you?" Sheldon asked with confusion.


    "Maybe because you toyed with his feelings before." I interjected to add some fuel to the fire. Paige turned towards me with astonishment and asked, "When did I do that?"


    "You know, the first kiss." I whispered, which made Paige taken aback. Confused, Sheldon asked, "What are you guys talking about?"


    "Nothing." Paige replied with a blush.


    Mary didn''t realize it and asked me, "Do you two work well together?"


    I chuckled and replied, "No. She seemed to have an opinion about me. But I''m too lazy to ask."


    I looked at him weirdly and said, "It''s just Colorado. Besides, I''m taking a break. Isn''t that what you always wanted me to do?"


    "That doesn''t mean I''m going to let my underage son travel the country on his own!" My dad replied.


    I sipped my coffee silently, which made him agitated. "Ahh~" I exclaimed in satisfaction, which irritated him. "I''m not going alone, Frankie''s going with me."


    "What�C" My dad widened his eyes. "She didn''t tell me." He mumbled, but I could hear him. Then, he looked at me with bewilderment and asked, "Why is she going there with you?"


    "I invited her." I replied casually, which made my dad even more confused. "But...why?" He asked exasperatingly.


    Maybe because I wanted to see if Frankie''s doppelganger was in Greendale. If I manage to make them meet, will one of them absorb the other, or will they merge together, or will the world get destroyed�C hopefully not the last one, but I was excited regardless.


    "Just because. I''ll be back on Wednesday night." I said casually to my dad, which made him stunned speechless.


    "I understand you less and less Ed." My dad shook his head as he walked away in defeat. Laughing at his misery, I said, "Don''t worry, I won''t flirt with your girl."


    "I''m not worried about that." My dad replied agitatedly. "Tell Dylan I said Hi." He said before he left the house to go to work. But before he left, he turned around and asked again, "Why did you want Frankie to come with you? Just tell me that so I can relax."


    I sighed and replied, "I just want to get her help on something."


    "What help?" my dad asked.


    "You want to know that too?" I replied with disbelief. "Just restructuring helps, and maybe... overhaul the entire college administration, holding a coup, you know, just ordinary stuff."


    "It''s fine if you don''t want to tell me. Don''t make stuff up." My dad replied before he walked away.


    I had plans on getting my haircut today, but then I received a text from Alex before I could get up from drinking my coffee in the kitchen.


    "Let''s see, Thanksgiving will be held on the last Thursday of November. But in the series, they blow off Thanksgiving dinner to celebrate Luke''s birthday. But Luke''s birthday is on Saturday..." I read Alex''s text, which was about Luke''s birthday invitation.


    "I''m confused now." I shook my head slightly before I replied to Alex to say ''I will be coming'' to the party. Robin suddenly appeared and said, "Sir, your treasure hunting kit is now ready."


    "Oh, that''s great. Remind me to take them on the trip." I replied with excitement. Yeah, my purpose for going to Colorado wasn''t only to visit Dylan, but I had other plans with Greendale Community College. Maybe, doing something to ensure the place wasn''t such a mess? Who knows, that''ll depend on my mood tomorrow.


    When I was going to start the car and go to my hair appointment, I suddenly received a video call from Haley. Surprised, I answered the call, only for Alex and Luke to be on the screen.


    "Hello?" I greeted puzzledly.


    "Sorry, my phone ran out of battery." Alex said. "Were you excited for her to call?" She teased.


    "What do you want?" I asked.


    "Remember the Fel D 1 experiment?" She showed her papers and smiled, "I believed I had done it."


    "You mean, the federal agents had done it." Although it was a petty revenge, I had to take the shot.


    "Shut up." Alex grimaced. "Come and read it." She said cheerfully.


    "I don''t have time today. I need to get my hair cut, and I have work to do in the afternoon." I said with a disappointed expression. "You can email it to me, I''ll read it when I''m at the salon."


    "You''re a cowboy?" Luke suddenly chimed in. "I wish." I replied to him.


    "I don''t have any soft copy though." Alex said.


    "Hello hello! I''m here!" Gloria suddenly showed up on the screen, seemingly just getting into the Dunphy''s house. Her eyes lit up as she saw me, "Edward! Thank you for letting Manny into the music video! My family back in Colombia is all very happy to see him act!" Gloria intruded on the video call and Alex was shoved to the side.


    Wearing a tight, low cut floral dress, Gloria took the phone from Alex and asked me, "What should Manny do next? Should he audition for movies or tv series? Or is that the wrong move for him?"


    "Rather than asking me, it''d be better if you discuss with Manny and see if he wants to become a child actor." I said casually. Gloria realized that she had been thinking too far ahead and laughed, "I should do that first shouldn''t I?"


    Alex squeezed her way into the camera shot and said, "You know, since you brought them into that industry, you''re responsible for them."


    I sighed and said, "I know I know."


    Gloria pushed Alex away again, thanking her at the same time, "So what time can you get here to discuss their career?"


    Alex shouted, "He doesn''t have time today. He needs to get his haircut."


    Gloria narrowed her eyes as she scrutinized my hair and said, "Haircut? I used to work as a hairdresser. I can cut your hair."


    Alex scoffed and said, "He''s going to a fancy hair salon."


    "You''re saying I''m not fancy! That I can''t cut celebrities'' hair! Let me tell you something, men will line up at the hair salon to get their haircut by me!" Gloria spoke agitatedly.


    "I don''t think they''re there to get their hair cut." I replied teasingly. "What?!" Gloria snapped.


    "N0-Nothing. Well, I only need a trim, so I guess you can cut my hair." I replied.


    Personally, I''d like to experience getting my hair cut by her, but at the same time, I was a bit afraid of her messing it up since my hair was a big part of my identity. Nevertheless, my curiosity got the best of me.


    After a short drive, I arrived at the Dunphy''s house where Gloria cut my hair in the kitchen while I pretended to read Alex''s research papers. Gloria hugged my head and brought my face really close to her bosom as she checked out the length of the hair she just cut.


    "Hmm..." She pressed her bosom on my face as she leaned in closer to see my hair given her short sightedness. "Umph." I grunted as I couldn''t read the papers anymore...well, who cares about the papers by now.


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 Chapter 269: College Experience (1)

    Chapter 269: Chapter 269: College Experience (1)


    (Sorry I''m late. I went to the hospital to take care of a friend who got into a bike accident.)


    [General POV]


    (A/N: Season 1 Episode 8 : Home Economics for the Community episode)


    When Edward''s plane landed in Colorado, he wanted to visit Dylan and Anais first, however, they had not woken up yet since it was 5 in the morning. Therefore, he decided to go to get some rest first.


    Renting a car, Edward drove Frankie to a courtyard apartment building. Frankie was confused when she walked out of the car and noticed the apartment. She asked, "Why are we here? Did you rent an apartment here?"


    The condition of the apartment, while not outright rundown, was certainly not in great shape either. Edward chuckled and said, "No, I bought it. The building."


    Frankie widened her eyes in astonishment. "FOR A 2 DAYS TRIP!?" she exclaimed loudly. Edward was taken aback for a bit before he recollected himself, "What�C No! W-what kind of guy do you think I am?"


    Even he himself was surprised that Frankie would jump to such a conclusion. Realizing she had overreacted, Frankie asked, "Sorry. Why did you buy it?"


    "I got an offer from a general I know," Edward explained. "This place used to be a CIA safehouse, but they abandoned it when their mission was done here. Now, they want to get rid of it, so they sold it to me quite cheaply."


    "Really, how cheap?" Frankie asked, her suspicion evident. She added, "The market price for this building, in a suburban area, will be around $3.5 million�C"


    "I got it for $1.5 million," Edward replied, shocking Frankie. Then he added, "We still listed the apartment for $3.5 million though. So I got some free money."


    Frankie diminished Edward''s actions, saying, "That''s tax fraud. You could be in great trouble for this!"


    "Not really," Edward reassured her. "One of the agents entrusted the house to a fund, and willed it to me in case of his death, which was last month, before he went dark. So I don''t have any connections with this. Frankie, you''re going to need a mindset change if you''re going to work with powerful figures in the future."


    "Why would I jeopardize who I was to fit with a certain community? I''d rather just avoid them entirely if I have no other choice."


    As Edward opened the gate of the house with a remote, he replied, "That''s admirable. However, with all great powers, great sacrifices will come. Consider this, I''d bought a CIA safe house based on my dirty deal with the military. However, I used the house to take care of the homeless. In this scenario, are my dirty dealings still repulsive to you?"


    Frankie fell into some thoughts before she turned to Edward and asked, "Is this part of your men are complex argument?"


    "No. This is part of my trying-to-make-someone-understand-me argument." Edward chuckled teasingly. "Linda told me it''ll help." Edward added.


    "Help in what?" Frankie asked curiously.


    "Not important. I''ll get the luggages. Here''s the key. Go find the apartment we''re going to stay in." Edward said as he opened up the car bonnet.


    The once-vibrant colors of the exterior walls had faded to a muted, weathered appearance, giving the building a sense of aged character. The wrought-iron fence surrounding the central courtyard, though slightly rusted, stood sturdy and intact, however, it also gave horror movie vibes to Edward�C which he loved.


    In the middle of the courtyard, a small fountain bubbled and trickled merrily, its water feature running perfectly despite its slightly worn look. The shrubbery that lined the perimeter was neatly trimmed, lending an air of well-maintained landscaping.


    The string lighting hung overhead cast a warm, ambient glow across the scene, complementing the courtyard''s vintage charm.


    Lugging the bags to the apartment, Edward was surprised to see that the apartment was bigger than what he expected it to be. Suddenly, he took out a radar-like device, intriguing Frankie.


    "What''s that?" She asked.


    "This? Just something I cooked up to find a hidden room or a tunnel." Edward replied with a mischievous smirk. "By the way, you saw this, so I feel obliged to ask, want to go on the search together with me? A quick adventure?"


    "I''ll decline. I want to get settled in." Frankie replied flatly, with no excitement at the prospect at all. A little disappointed, Edward said, "Alright then. I guess I''ll just go alone�C Wait, there''s one here."


    The device was beeping as it found a hidden latch near the rack. Edward pulled on the sconce, and the wall opened up, revealing what seemed to be a weapon''s depot for the agents, only that it was empty now.


    "I take back my rejection." Frankie replied immediately. "Oh ho! Someone finally got the adventurer spirit." Edward said cheerfully.


    However, Frankie shook her head and said, "If you''re going to find more rooms like this, you may find a hidden weapon or get in danger. Your sudden burst of immaturity made me worried that you might get carried away�C"


    Edward grimaced and said, "Just say you want to come. Don''t get a dig at me while you''re at it."


    ...


    Greendale Community College, afternoon.


    Dylan proudly gestured to the quad, boasting, "So this is the quad where I usually sang my song for my wife-to-be." He wrapped an arm around Anais, who looked visibly uncomfortable with the public display of affection.


    "Dylan, I told you, stop calling me your wife here at the college. I don''t want people to find out we''re engaged," Anais said, gently brushing his arm away.


    "Oof, that must hurt," Edward remarked, observing the interaction from the side. Dressed in a simple jacket and baseball hat, he had gone unnoticed by the others so far.


    Defensively, Dylan replied, "It does, but sometimes she''ll make up for it when we''re at home."


    "Dylan!" Anais exclaimed, her eyes widening in embarrassment at the personal details Dylan had shared. Edward laughed, which prompted Anais to join in. Dylan also chuckled, though he seemed puzzled, asking, "Why are we laughing?"


    As Edward conversed with his friends, Abed Nadir, a Polish-Arabic student majoring in filmmaking, suddenly stopped walking alongside his friend Troy Barnes, an African-American man. (Danny Pudi and Donald Glover, respectively.)


    "Abed, why are we stopping?" Troy asked, confused, as he backtracked to Abed''s side, following his gaze.


    "Something different is happening today," Abed said, his observant eyes scanning the area.


    Troy smiled and asked, "Are you referring to my hot date with Randy tomorrow at the picnic? I finally have the courage to ask a girl out in college!"


    "No," Abed replied curtly, disappointing Troy. Then, with a hint of intrigue, he said, "It''s a crossover."


    "What?!" Troy was perplexed.


    Abed pointed towards the parking lot and clarified, "That, a crossover SUV."


    "Abed, that''s a car," Troy said, still confused.


    Abed nodded and elaborated, "Yes, but the mirror is unnecessarily dark. There are also quite a few new faces I''ve noticed infiltrating the school. My guess? There''s someone important coming to visit this place. Someone famous."


    "Abed, no one famous will come to this college. Hell, most people who are here don''t want to be here in the first place." Troy rebuked him.


    "EVERYONE STOP WHAT YOU''RE DOING!" The Dean belted. He handed out some balloon stick with my name on it, and ordered the group, "Distribute this to everyone! We need to make the greatest impression we can make to make sure the community college will get the money."


    "What money?" Jeff asked, intrigued. "No time to explain! Wave it around while you study!" The dean said before he walked away hurriedly, stopping every student he saw to give them the balloon cheerleading stick too.


    "What''s going on?" Troy mumbled, and then he turned to Abed, "Are you actually on to something?"


    "What is Abed on about?" Jeff asked curiously. Annie excitedly hit the balloon sticks together and said, "I didn''t know Dean loves Edward too."


    "Annie, you''re a fan? Oh my god, me too!" Troy said before giving Annie a high five, which she reciprocated excitedly. She blushed a bit as she has a crush on Troy, a crush that began since highschool, and she said, "Are you in Edward''s Superfan group? I just managed to get access to that forum, and I have entered 31 out of 33 official fan groups out there. How many groups are you in?"


    "Um. None. I''m just a...normal...fan." Troy answered carefully while looking at Annie with disbelief.


    "I''m not really a fan�C" Pierce chimed in, but Troy interjected, "Do you even know who he is?"


    "Um...I know." Pierce pretended, "I follow along the news of mainstream media."


    Jeff smiled mischievously and said, "Yeah Pierce. Edward is the guy who hiked Mount Everest naked. Millions of people worldwide know about that story. Of course Pierce knows about it too."


    "See, Jeff knows me." Pierce said. "That''s why in this group, we''re best friends."


    "Jeff, for real?" Annie asked him. Jeff grinned and said, "I don''t really care."


    Shirley groaned at Pierce, and then said to the group with a sweet voice, "My sons love him so much. They wanted to meet him, alas, he''s not coming here to Greendale for his concert."


    Pierce was aghast, "He sang too?"


    Abed commented to Shirley, "Based on his interviews, he seems like a good guy, so if you mail him a letter, there is a possibility of him coming here�C"


    "*Ehem*" I cleared my throat as I stood up from the sofa, revealing my presence to everyone. I had too, because the things they were talking about were making me embarrassed.


    "Oh shhh-, is someone else here? How long have you been here?" Britta asked after seeing me.


    "It''s been a while." I replied casually with a slight head nod.


    Jeff said sternly, "I''m sorry that we''ve disturbed your sleep�C I''m assuming, but this study group is for friends only, so if you can leave us alone, that''ll be great."


    "Did you sign your name on the sign in sheet?" I asked.


    "There''s a sign-in sheet?" Jeff was flabbergasted. "Yeah," I replied playfully, "So rather than me interrupting you, it''s actually you guys who intruded here."


    "You can sleep elsewhere Pip Squeak." Pierce said rudely. "We don''t care if your name is on the sign up sheet."


    "Pierce!" Annie rebuked him. "Rules are there for a reason. We''re very sorry, sir."


    "Wait, hold on," I walked to the table and leaned slightly near Abed''s seat, which made his eyes widen after he noticed my face. "Let''s hear what the frowning girl has to say about the guy you guys were talking about. She''s the only one who hasn''t had her opinion out yet."


    Abed turned to Britta and said, "He''s right."


    "I''m going to go anyway, so I''ll leave after hearing that." I added.


    Britta was baffled, and she replied, "Well, first of all, thank you for noticing that I haven''t given my opinions yet. That''s quite considerate. Secondly, I think that guy is a pretentious bastard like all celebrities who live in California."


    Annie gasped, "Britta! You of all people should have a great opinion on him. He helped the homeless, created a company to clean the ocean�C"


    "Give us great content." Abed interjected. "And great fuzz remover." Shirley added.


    Britta grimaced and said, "Yeah, as he should!"


    Everyone groaned in frustration at her remarks. Britta added defensively, "What? So I can''t NOT like a celebrity now? I have to have the same thoughts as you all have?"


    "Droning together like a beehive." I added, helping Britta. She was taken aback, and appreciated it, "Thank you. See, that guy gets it." I nodded in agreement, which made Annie gasp at me too.


    Jeff spoke to me, "Well you''d heard it, guy-we-can-only-see-half-your-face."


    "Alright I''m leaving Homeless man." I replied.


    Jeff was startled and retorted, "I''m not�C I''M NOT HOMELESS!"


    I was going to leave the room as it is, but suddenly Frankie appeared on the door to the study room from her search to find me, "Edward, there you are. Are you ready for lunch?" She asked.


    I replied, "Have you discussed it with the Dean? I want to do it myself, but I''m 100% sure he''ll faint if I appear in front of him. Worse, if he doesn''t, then my ego will be quite bruised."


    Frankie blinked twice in confusion before replying, "Well, in my professional opinion, I wouldn''t throw any money into this god-forsaken-hole, but I''m sure that''s what attracted you here in the first place."


    I chuckled as I walked past the group and exited the study room, my conversation made all of them confused. Abed suddenly said, "He''s gone now, but I think we''ll meet again."


    "Abed, do you know who he is?" Annie asked. "He feels as if he is handsome." She added with a blush.


    "Yeah, we all know him. We just talked about him, in front of him." Abed replied curtly. Everyone widened their eyes�C except for Pierce who doesn''t get it.


    Annie stood up abruptly from her chair, "D-Do-Don''t mess with us Abed."


    "I''m not. He''s the famous celebrity. I saw his face closely as he stood here. Edward Newgate was here, in our story room."


    Annie''s breath quickened, before she shouted with her entire might, "AHHHHHH��"


    ***


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 Chapter 270: College Experience (2)

    Chapter 270: Chapter 270: College Experience (2)


    [Edward POV]


    Frankie and I went to a popular restaurant nearby, but by a lucky coincidence, it was the restaurant where the saying, "What Market Are You Shopping At!?" was born.


    "You seem really excited for some reason." Frankie said after she saw my eyes scouring the venue after we ordered our lunch.


    "I am excited." I replied with a grin.


    Without a change of expression, Frankie asked, "Oh, really? Does it have anything to do with the group of people you''re talking about? The girl in the bright yellow sweater?"


    Taken aback for a bit, I replied with a grin, "You meant the bright yellow ''grandma'' sweater."


    Frankie asked again, "Are you finally ready to move on?"


    My excitement diminished, and I frowned, "I''m not interested in Annie. And why would you think that in the first place?"


    "It''s just that, you have...a specific...taste... From what I heard about you." She replied. Baffled for a second, I said, "Well, you don''t have to worry about that."


    "Oh, but I am worried." Frankie said decisively.


    She looked right at me and continued, "The last couple of weeks, you seem unlike your usual self. It made me worried about your well-being."


    Narrowing my eyes, I looked up to Frankie and asked, "Why are you suddenly getting into the topic? Can''t we just have a nice lunch?"


    Frankie thought for a second before replying, "I feel, right now, you''re becoming one of my responsibilities as I could be seen as a mother figure. And one of the mother figure''s tasks is to make sure to ask their dependent about what is bothering them, and ensure that they could talk about it in a safe environment, especially if it was about their love life. So I took the initiative to ask."


    Her words made me stunned speechless for a minute. "Edward?" She called worriedly.


    "S-Sorry, my mind blanked out when I heard about ''mother figure''." I said with slightly accelerated breathing.


    Inside my mind, I was racking my brain, wondering when did my dad and her take the next step in their relationship that she''s referring herself to my mother figure now. Will I have a stepmom soon?


    Frankie asked, "Would you like me to repeat�C"


    "No need." I shook my hand quickly. "Now where is that damn quail?" I turned around to check if the food was ready, in an effort to change the topic of the conversation, but Frankie was relentless.


    "The waitress told us the food will be out in half an hour. We have, 25 minutes left." Frankie checked her watch before adding, "Don''t worry about the food. We can talk without anyone bothering us."


    "Alright then, since you want to have a real conversation, let''s do it then." I sighed as I gave up trying to avoid talking to her. "Just so you know, me being reluctant in answering any questions isn''t because of you. I actually like having you in my life."


    "Thank you for that. I like your presence in my life too." Frankie smiled and replied. "Can you tell me, why do you seem like you are not willing to move on?" She asked.


    I took a deep breath and said, "Shark Tales."


    Frankie was dumbfounded, "Excuse me?"


    "Watch Shark Tales. Then, you''ll understand it." I said with a smirk. "And don''t use ''I don''t watch TV'' as an excuse. You can find the story on Netflix."


    "Alright then." Frankie smiled, "If that''s what it takes to understand your situation, then, I''ll be willing to make the sacrifice."


    I groaned before I chuckled, "Why are you watching TV like I''m asking you to save the world or something."


    After the food came, we switched to talking about Greendale college. Frankie said, "Do you know they have a class about ladders there?"


    "There''s also a class called, "When is it okay to shake a baby", "wand making", "Baby talk", "history of ice cream" �C which sounds pretty awesome, and I''d like to get on that class." I muttered.


    "And for the ''when is it okay to shake a baby'', the answer is never. It''s never okay to shake a baby." Frankie commented.


    I raised my eyebrow, "I know that."


    "There''s too many redundancies in the administrative process of the entire college. Like you planned, I leveraged our investment offer for an administrative consultant position, in which I''d be able to make some differences." Frankie added.


    I nodded and said, "We''re only here for 2 days, so just focus on the major part. Such as, the roof of the cafeteria is made of styrofoam�C"


    "IT''S MADE OF STYROFOAM?!" Frankie was shocked, her body jerked, which made her clinked her utensil on the plate. Her reaction made people turn their heads towards us for a second before continuing their lunch.


    "Yeah. And they have a butt load of frisbee on top of the styrofoam roof, so that''s just an accident waiting to happen." I shrugged casually.


    As we ate the food, I received a notification from an agent stationed in the college. "Frankie, we need to hurry up. There''s going to be a performance there that I''d like to catch." I said as I ate the food hurriedly.


    Frankie however, continued eating at her own pace. I looked at her in confusion, in which she said, "Forcing myself to eat faster will risk indigestion, and if I want to fix the entire college in 2 days, I need to be in a perfect condition."


    "Alright then. No rush. I can miss the song ''Britta You''re A B''. Wait, sorry, the song''s name is ''Getting Rid of Britta."


    "Britta?" Frankie asked, confused.


    "You know, the blonde with a sour puss and leather vest. She was among the group of people I was talking with." I explained.


    "Are you familiar with that group of people? You just met them today?" Frankie asked with suspicion. "Why do you know so much about them?"


    "Um...This food is delicious isn''t it?"


    The crowd dismissed the lyrics as the song was quite catchy " ?? And now we''re hiding in my car, I let you see my scars. Escape the dark for just one night, Your heart makes me explode with light??"


    The chorus repeated, and some of the crowd even sang along to the song. Even I sang along to it.


    "?? Baby, maybe! Maybe I will steal you, steal you! Just so I can feel you, feel you!


    Maybe that will heal you, heal you! On the inside??"


    Abed commented, "This seems like a song made by a sexual predator."


    I defended Dylan, "He did ask for consent first in the other lyrics." Abed thought about it and nodded in agreement.


    Dylan screamed " ??Underneath the willow tree!!!!! Wearing nothing else but me!!!!??"


    "Oh my god." I burst into laughter as I saw Dylan grinding on the microphone stand. Anais covered her face, she couldn''t even look straight into Dylan.


    Dylan sang passionately, "Babe, I just wanna do you! Do you wanna do me! Underneath the moonlight?"


    "??Baby, Baby. This is why you need me, relieve me. Close your eyes and breath deep, breath deep. Let me set your mind free till the sunrise.??"


    As the song finished, the commenter said, "Incredible performance by Dylan Marshall who sang sexually charged lyrics from the bottom of his heart. It made us wonder if his girlfriend made him become involuntarily celibate for him to express himself in a song like this."


    Anais exploded into anger and throw a bottle to the commenter, "Fuck you dude!"


    "Anais!" Dylan was shocked to see his fiancee getting angry. Anais stormed off the hall in humiliation, and Dylan quickly chased after him.


    "I wonder what she''s so mad about. He got into the top 3. He''s going to perform again tomorrow." The commenter announced while rubbing his sore head.


    I laughed and said, "This day just kept getting better and better."


    ...


    [General POV]


    In the infirmary. Laying on the bed, Annie slowly opened her eyes. Shirley quickly stood up from her seat and held Annie''s hand.


    "Annie! You made us all worried!" Shirley said. Annie held her hurting forehead and asked, "What happened?"


    Shirley widened her eyes, "You don''t remember?"


    Annie thought about it and replied, "I remember being in the study group, and there''s another guy there." Her eyes suddenly widened as she remembered, "Wait. Did that really happen? He''s...really here? Oh no- I feel light headed again."


    In the administration building, Frankie led the meeting with the school board and Dean Pelton. She said, "The school will be closed for 2 weeks for the infrastructure improvement. It''s quite fortunate considering that it''s Thanksgiving weekend, so the students won''t miss much in their studies."


    "Um, school will end on 10 December. If they didn''t come here in the final week, then we would have to postpone the final exam." Dean Pelton said. "Can we do the construction work after school ends?"


    The bald dean wore a headband with Edward''s name on it. He was desperate to meet Edward, but Frankie wouldn''t let him do that.


    "And risk the lives of the students? I don''t think so." Frankie replied decisively.


    The school board said, "We can opt for an outdoor style class. The students that need to take the exams can do it in the gym or the field or something. I think the more important question is, how much money will he donate to the school."


    Dean Pelton asked, "And, does he need his own statue? I still have my contacts from when I made the Luis Guzman statue."


    Frankie replied, "You don''t need to worry about that. And for the budget, we''ll finalize the discussions first before we talk numbers. Let''s talk about the coyote problem. And here, I see that you have a stable?"


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Abed and I moved to a lounge room as we continued our conversation about the school.


    Abed said, "In most TV shows, the change for the better happens at the final season. If you try to fix Greendale now, it''ll lose the thing that makes Greendale special."


    "I get what you mean." I replied. "However, while resolving conflict early can diminish the story''s appeal, in real life, everyone wants the change to come as fast as possible."


    Abed was silent for a while and asked, "So,resolving conflicts instead of dragging it out for multiple seasons is good? How can the audience be invested in the story then?"


    "Focus on character dynamics and special theme episodes." I replied. "You know, interesting episodes such as Treasure Hunting?" I pushed the vending machine away, revealing a trap door underneath the carpet.


    Abed widened his eyes, and he said, "So, down there, there''s buried treasure?"


    "Yes." I replied. "Want to join me in the adventure?" I invited him.


    Abed paused for a second before he said, "Be right back. I need to get a leather jacket."


    "You''re trying to be Nicholas Cage in ''National Treasures''?" I asked incredulously.


    "Yes." Abed replied casually. I sighed and said, "You have 5 minutes, then, I''ll do it by myself. Also, keep this a secret. Don''t tell anyone about this."


    "I won''t." Abed rushed off to his dorm to get his stuff and came back less than 5 minutes after. Mimicking Nicolas Cage''s voice, he said, "I''m going to steal the declaration of independence."

 Chapter 271: College Experience (3)

    Chapter 271: Chapter 271: College Experience (3)


    (Meta chap lol)


    [Edward POV]


    As Abed and I climbed down the rope and entered the forgotten, restricted area of the Greendale computer department, he turned to me with a curious look. "Mind giving me some information about our quest?"


    I shone my flashlight around, taking note of the agents blocking the entrance to the lounge room, ensuring our privacy.


    "I''m searching for Russell Borchert''s treasure," I began, launching into an exposition. "He''s a computer genius and millionaire who got rich by inventing the nine-track cassette. Supposedly, the eight-track industry paid him to keep quiet about it, and he funneled that wealth into founding Greendale as a computer school."


    I chuckled. "Though it''s strange that you all don''t actually teach any computer courses here."


    Abed quipped, "It''s labeled ''Computery'' college. I thought that they teach things related to computers. But now you mentioned it, it is indeed odd."


    Shaking my head, I replied, "It seems there was a time when the college was filled with technological innovations." As we walked through the corridors, I could see traces of where computers used to be and even a research lab.


    Abed said, "Anyway, back to Russell Borchert."


    "Oh, right. He obsessively pursued a new project...a machine that can process feelings. He apparently used nothing but gold to assemble his circuitry, believing it to be a better conductor for human emotion. I''m quite interested in the tech, so let''s see if we can find it." I added.


    I continued giving Abed some exposition, "Rumors spread about Russell Borchert''s... unnatural relationship with computers. So much so, that people even thought he died from a computer virus. An STD computer virus."


    " But, he actually just went underground and continued his research here. The first Greendale Dean was so embarrassed by Russell''s... quirks...that he sealed off the entire computer department to prevent another Russell incident."


    Abed asked while in character, "Are you here in search of the gold circuit? Is that the treasure?"


    I turned to him and said, "I''m not. Also, I''m not planning to break the robot."


    Abed was confused, "Then, what are you aiming for here?"


    I smirked and said, "You''ll understand it when the time comes."


    We reached the end of the corridor into another lounge. There was a jukebox there, placed in front of what obviously was a hidden room. I checked the surroundings and found several baseball cards.


    "Why are you picking them up?" Abed asked curiously.


    "A friend of mine is collecting baseball cards. I can give it to him." I replied casually. Little did Abed and I know, these vintage baseball cards from the 70s in mint condition, were really valuable. One of these could pay for Abed''s entire college fees, and I got 40 of them.


    Abed checked the jukebox and said, "I''m sure one of them is the key to opening the secret door."


    "Try track 127." I muttered.


    Abed checked the track''s name and said, "Of course. "Open the door" by Secret doors. The key couldn''t be even more obvious."


    The jukebox rumbled and started playing the song. The jukebox moved inside the walls, opening a secret path to Russell Borchert''s lab. I expected to see the inventor there, that''s why I told Abed I wasn''t going to take the gold circuits.


    Russell''s entire life''s work was to build a robot girlfriend, and taking that gold out of his robot would basically kill the love of his life - however clunky it may be. My aim in this treasure hunt was to trade with Russell some technologies. I''m pretty sure I could just connect him to the internet and he would be glad to give me his money.


    "This is the greatest thing that has ever happened in my life," Abed muttered in amazement as the door finished opening. I chuckled and said, "Stick closely with me."


    I asked him to do that because I was expecting a feral Russell Borchert there. However, I wasn''t worried about him because right now, he would be a 70 year old man, and he had never once exercised in his entire life. I could take him down easily if I had to.


    The room was filled with analog servers, which reminds me of the Zola scene in Captain America winter soldier. As we entered the room, Abed and I were both shocked when we saw a human skeleton laying on the floor of the lab.


    "Oh my god," I muttered with disbelief. "This isn''t supposed to happen." My voice shook as I examined the corpse. "He''s supposed to be alive!"


    Abed was also disturbed by it and said, "That corpse..."


    "This...maybe Russell Borchert--" My words stopped as I suddenly smelled something strange. "Abed! Hold your breath and retreat immediately. The room is filled with gas!"


    Abed was startled and he covered his nose instantly. Both of us rushed back to the jukebox, and we closed the secret passage behind us.


    Breathing heavily, Abed said, "Gas? Are you sure? I didn''t smell anything."


    "I''m sure of it. Whatever the gas is, I''m pretty sure that was the thing that killed Mr Borchert."


    "What should we do now?" Abed asked. "Do we end our adventure here?"


    Shaking my head, I said, "No. We just need a gas mask. Luckily for me, I brought it with me when I came to Colorado. But..."


    "But what?" Abed asked urgently. I scratched my cheek and said, "I left it behind in my apartment."


    Abed nodded and said, "It''s okay. I don''t think there''s anyone else who knows about the treasure''s existence. I--"


    Abed suddenly stumbled, and his knees were weakened. I grabbed him from falling down and asked, "Abed, are you okay?"


    "I...suddenly feel quite dizzy," Abed said. "My head feels very heavy."


    "The gas. You''ve inhaled quite a lot of it," I said as I felt my head throbbing too. I carried Abed by his shoulder and walked him toward the exit. I called the agents and one of them climbed down through the trap door.


    "Take him to the hospital. Quick," I ordered. "He inhaled some gas. I don''t know what kind."


    "What about you, sir?" The agent asked me with concern.


    "I''m fine," I said. I took out a canister from my pocket, and took out 2 nostril filters from it before plugging it into my nose. I didn''t want to take it out before because that meant I would be the only one who could adventure inside the room, but right now, it would be better for me to do this alone.


    After equipping the filters, I ventured back into the secret lab to find the source of the gas. From my inspection, I figured out that one of the gas pipes he used for heating his secret lab had burst. In my rough estimate, it has been 5 years since Russell Borchert died there, alone, without anyone realizing it. I searched for the main pipeline and turned off the gas.


    ''That''s a harsh way to go.'' I thought before grabbing a duffel bag filled with cash stowed under the desk. ''At the very least, I can have this.'' I checked the content of the bag.


    I was confused at first when I saw that it was filled to the brim with 100 dollar bills. ''Didn''t he say that it was Gerard Ford dollars?'' I was expecting to see a fake currency here, but the money was quite real.


    When I thought about it, I realized that I had misunderstood it.


    In the TV series, Russell Borchert meant that it was cash from the Gerard Ford era. Because of the rapid inflation in the 70s, Russell thought that the cash was worthless�C which it would''ve been if the rate of inflation stayed the same as it was in the 70s. That''s why he gave it to the school so easily.


    The duffel bag was 86L in size. From my rough calculation, 5,186.7 cubic inches of the bag size, divided by 0.069 inches of the 100 dollar bills, should be around 75,166 hundred dollars bills inside the bag, which amounted to 7.52 million dollars.


    "Hmm? That''s true. Let me check." I said before I walked to the door, opened it, and asked the agent standing guard there. "Did a blonde girl named Britta come by yet?"


    The agent nodded and said, "She did. She signed the release form and left."


    "Huh? Why didn''t she come inside?" I asked in confusion.


    The bodyguard avoided his eyes, which made me realize he had something to do with it.


    "What did you do?" I asked sternly.


    "You were having a moment with the patient. I don''t want her to disturb it and send her away." The bodyguard replied. "She doesn''t seem to be pleasant. I don''t want her to ruin the mood."


    Baffled at first, I asked with narrowed eyes, "Your name is Mickey right?"


    "Yes. Wait, A-Are you firing me?" Mickey asked, flustered.


    "No, you''re promoted." I said, turning him speechless. "From now on, you''re going to be the head of my personal security."


    I returned to Abed after grabbing the release form, leaving the guy alone to process what just happened. Suddenly, I heard him shout from behind the door, "THANK YOU SIR! I WON''T LET YOU DOWN!"


    "What was that?" Abed asked curiously. I replied, "Nothing, I just promoted him. Anyway Abed, you can go home now. I''m going back to college to pick up Frankie. I can drive you."


    "Okay sure. Thank you. On the road, you can talk about your own show, and I''ll give you advice on how to improve it.


    "The show I''m working on?" I asked with a quizzical expression. Abed replied, "No, your show. The show where you''re the main star."


    "I have a show?" I replied in surprise. "No, I don''t have a show Abed. My life story is too boring to have my own show."


    "I''ll be the one to decide that." Abed said decisively. I thought about it for a while and said, "What the hell. As long as we''re leaning into this, might as well."


    ...


    [General POV]


    While in the meeting with the school board members�C Richie and Carl, Frankie got a text from Edward and excused herself from the meeting. Then, she called Edward in confusion and asked, "When did you forge a dead man''s will?"


    "I didn''t. I actually found his corpse underneath the school campus." Edward replied in disbelief. "I told you I was treasure hunting." He added.


    Frankie thought about it and said, "Well, since you got the deed, it''ll make the negotiation easier."


    "Frankie, can I ask you a favor?" Edward interjected. Frankie asked, "What do you want me to do?"


    "It seems that the wealth of the deceased men is much bigger than I thought." Edward muttered. "Rather than letting the city get the investment...What if..."


    They talked about it for a while, and Frankie finally cut the call. She reentered the room and sat down on the table. Both of the city reps were still smiling, expecting good news.


    Dean Pelton smiled sadly behind the glass door, peering into the meeting room with a look of longing. He was thrown out of the negotiation by the school board because of the eccentric ways he was acting.


    "Gentlemen, let''s cut the meeting short." Frankie said with a serious tone, causing the smile to vanish from the city rep''s faces.


    "I was only here for a day, and I have to convince Edward to stop the investment from happening." Frankie continued. Both of the city reps were shocked, "Wait? WHY!?"


    The school financially was in dire straits, so not getting the investment was a huge deal to everyone there.


    "Let me give you a run down on why I did that." Frankie took out a list and read them out loud, "The facilities are crumbling - black mold, faulty wiring, coyotes and other animals running rampant on campus. The power goes out constantly, and they don''t even have a proper fire alarm system. Not to mention the building structure and overlooked issues. It''s a liability nightmare waiting to happen."


    "The money can fix that." Richie said nervously while pulling his collar. Frankie continued without minding him, "Half of the faculty are drunk and they don''t even want to be here. Not to mention, frauds. Your Dean hired the Spanish teacher because he thought it''d be racist for him to ask him about his credentials�C which is none by the way."


    "There''s a marijuana farm growing in the lab, which made this entire place complicit in the police matter." Frankie added.


    "Lastly, the administration. The place is run by a revolving door of half-competent bureaucrats, and I was being generous. I''m shocked they haven''t been sued into oblivion already." Frankie placed down the list and said, "Do you guys have anything to say in defense to what I figured out?"


    Richie said angrily, "Alright. We get it."


    Frankie commented, "Not only for us, but even the city will be liable the longer you try to keep the college running. Just imagine the PR disaster. "City Council is using Greendale Community College as a Marijuana farm?"


    Carl turned to Richie and said, "The school is in a really bad shape."


    Richie said to Carl, "I guess that''s what happens when you used the time you are supposed to check on the administration to eat chicken wings and drink beer."


    "Gentlemen, I pity you guys." Frankie said with a sympathetic tone, which made both Richie and Carl calm down a bit. Richie said, "It''s fine Miss Dart. We''re the one at fault here. I understand that your company cannot invest in the college because of the liability issue and it cannot be associated with the college either because of the potential fallout from the drug case."


    Frankie nodded and said, "Gentlemen, I understand the difficult position this puts you in. If I were you, I''d cut off the institution like a gangrenous limb, saving the city council from the potential backlash it could cause."


    Carl said in frustration, "We want to, but we can''t."


    Richie added, "We wanted to sell this place a long time ago. But we couldn''t find any buyer. If the city closes down the place on our own, there''ll be backlash. If we don''t, we can incur more problems."


    "Hmmm..." Frankie pretended to think and said, "There''s one more solution you can try. But�C Forget it, I don''t think it can happen."


    Both of the city reps asked urgently, "Please tell us!"


    "You can get rid of the institution for cheap. Our company can offer the city to buy out the institution and close it down for you. That way, we''ll be the one who''d bear the brunt of the backlash." Frankie said.


    She added with a caring, yet difficult tone, "But, you understand why I don''t think this can happen. The risk is too great. Unless the price is really...REALLY low, then, I don''t think that I can convince the management to take that risk. If anything, we can just sell the land and the property to recover the money after shutting down the college. We won''t lose that much in this transaction."


    "You want us to sell the college...to you...?" Richie couldn''t believe his ears. Carl suddenly shouted, "SOLD! We can go as low as 3 million dollars for the entire thing." He stood up and offered a handshake to Frankie.


    "Deal!" Frankie stood up and shook his hand immediately. The property alone was worth more than 2.5 million dollars. Richie looked at Frankie and Carl with disbelief before he shook his head and said, "Well, It''s too late to back out now."


    "Bring the sale contract tomorrow. We''ll transfer the money and handle the problem for you." Frankie said before she left the room. She passed by the Dean as she got out of the room, and he asked excitedly, "Did you guys come to an agreement?"


    "Yes." Frankie smiled kindly at the Dean, making him misunderstand the situation. She wanted to leave, but when she had already taken a few steps away from the dean, she stopped and slowly backtracked towards him.


    Remembering what Edward told her about the Dean being a level 6 susceptible, it could be damaging to the plan if he was left alone. Frankie asked him, "Um, I wonder if there''s a place here I could stay in and watch TV?"


    The dean became excited, "Oh, come with me! I''ll show you where I usually take my afternoon break."

 Chapter 272: College Experience (4)

    Chapter 272: Chapter 272: College Experience (4)


    [General POV]


    Frankie watched the movie Shark Tales with Dean Pelton as she waited for Edward to come back. However, while they were watching it, Britta and Jeff burst into the room unannounced and started to confront Frankie.


    "Hey, what did your people do with Abed?" Jeff asked. Dean Pelton yelped and flinched, his entire popcorn dropped to the ground.


    "Jeffrey! Are you insane?!" Dean Pelton admonished him immediately, waiting to push Jeffrey out of the room. However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn''t move the muscular man.


    "Whoa, hold on. What seems to be the situation here?" Frankie asked casually, not intimidated at all.


    Britta appeared from behind Jeffery and accused, "I''m talking about Abed Nadir. He was admitted to the hospital, but your security wouldn''t let me inside. When I came back with Jeff, he was gone!"


    "Are you sure he didn''t just go back to his dorm?" Dean Pelton asked as he kept his hand on Jeffrey''s chest.


    "We''ve checked, and get your hand off me." Jeff said as he replied to the Dean. He pushed Dean''s hand away...twice. Britta added, "What are you doing to him? Is the conspiracy theory true?"


    "What conspiracy theory?" Frankie asked in confusion. Britta replied, "That Entertain is actually a shady corporation hiding behind the face of an entertainment agency. They even did experiments on chicken eggs. An anonymous source posted it."


    Jeff was startled and asked worriedly, "What are you doing to my source of protein?"


    Frankie was incredulous and slowly, she pointed her finger to the door, "Is that your friend?"


    Britta grimaced, "Don''t try to trick us�� Wait, Abed?" As she followed the finger, she noticed Abed standing there with a hidden figure who hid his face underneath a baseball cap, both were slurping a drink.


    "Sorry we''re late. We stopped by 7 Eleven to get some Icee." Abed said casually after everyone was looking at him. Edward added, "We combined all the different colors into one."


    Abed explained, "We wanted to see if all of our teeth would change colors like they did in cartoons, but we only got a brain freeze. Were you guys watching Shark Tales together?"


    "Edward? Really? You did that?" Frankie asked with an excited expression. Edward grimaced and said, "Calm down. I was just swept up by his rhythms."


    Abed said to Frankie, "He brought it up. We''re good friends now. We bonded by our mutual interest in TV and movies."


    Jeff and Britta were in disbelief. Edward looked to the floor and said, "Huh. He did pass out."


    All of the people there looked at where he was looking, and saw Dean Pelton fainting on the ground. When he saw Edward, he gasped in shock, even suffocating himself before he passed out.


    "Dean!" Britta immediately rushed to the dean. She said, "We need to get him to a hospital!"


    "Or you can just let him wake up on his own. Annie did the same thing." Abed said.


    "So, leave him be?" Jeff asked casually. Frankie, Edward, Abed and Jeff walked out of the room without even caring about the dean. Britta shouted, "You heartless monsters!"


    Edward chuckled and asked one of the undercover security agents around him to go and help. Britta rejoined the group soon after and said egregiously to Edward, "Thank you! Was that so hard to do?!"


    Before Frankie could, Abed defended Edward, "He might seem like he''s callous, but he cares about people. He won''t abandon the dean even if you weren''t there."


    Frankie was taken aback a bit and supported Abed, "He''s right."


    "So, what did you guys do until you had to go to a hospital?" Britta asked with concern.


    Abed replied, "We went adventuring in a forgotten part of Greendale and suddenly found ourselves in a trap room. I inhaled some gas so he had to carry me to safety." Edward nodded as if to back Abed''s words as Abed spoke to Britta.


    Britta snorted and said, "If you don''t want to tell me, there''s no need to make stuff up."


    "Abed, did you..." Jeff hinted at Abed as they met each other''s eyes. Edward caught it and spoke to Jeff, "Pitch me your movie idea? Sorry, but the plot line wasn''t that great."


    "It''s a great story! You just can''t appreciate good art." Jeff replied angrily. Edward and Abed both had a deadpan look and muttered, "Seriously?"


    Britta snorted and teased, "Jeff, you tried to sell him your movie rights?"


    "Shut up and go read more conspiracy theories online." Jeff snapped to Britta.


    Edward chimed in, "You know there''s one about me being born in a US military experiment to create the next generation of supersoldiers. That one is a great read."


    Jeff asked, "Those things don''t bother you?"


    "Not really, no." Edward replied casually. Abed suddenly said, "Ed, if you have some time, can I bring you to meet Annie? She made me promise to tell her if I see you again."


    "Is she still here?" Edward asked casually. Britta replied, "Yes. She has some late classes."


    Jeff said as he wrapped his arm around Edward, "Why don''t I bring you there, and we can talk about my movie idea? I have a couple if you don''t like that one�C" However, a security guard bigger than him grabbed his arm and twisted it.


    "OWW!" Jeff shouted in pain. Edward said, "Oh sorry about that. I told them not to act unless there''s physical touch. You can release him. He''s fine." Edward explained to Jeff before telling the guard to be at ease.


    Britta admonished Jeff, "You really thought he''s an ordinary kid didn''t you?"


    "He was so casual, I kinda did." Jeff confessed. "Sorry about that." He apologized to Edward.


    Frankie suddenly pulled Abed away from the group while everything was happening and asked Abed, "Hey, you said you became good friends with him?"


    "I know I can count on you, mother-figure." I smirked.


    "You know what? I like that nickname." Frankie said teasingly. "On another topic, I''ve watched Shark Tales." She said suddenly, which made my heart beat a bit quicker.


    "Um, is this the right time to tell you that I didn''t think you''ll actually watch it this early, so I''m quite nervous right now." I said meekly. "Mind if we wait until the end of the trip to get into the convo, or like, not ever?"


    Frankie smiled kindly at me before she replied, "No."


    ...


    [General POV]


    As Jeff went to his car, he found out that it was being towed. "WAIT! THAT''S MY HOUSE!" He shouted as he ran after the towing truck. He managed to stop the driver and begged him, "Please sir, that''s my car. I was only parking there because I lost my friend and went to confront the guys I thought had him, but it was all a misunderstanding."


    "Sorry man. I can''t do anything about it, even if you have good intentions." The driver said while smoking. "You can get your car back from the impound lot tomorrow."


    Once a tow truck has hooked up a car and started driving away, the tow company is generally required to complete the tow and take the vehicle to the designated impound lot.


    "But I''ll need to pay a fine, and I don''t have any money on me right now." Jeff explained.


    "I feel bad for you man, but I really can''t do anything." The driver shook his head apologetically. "You can grab your stuff in there if you want. I''ll give you 5 minutes."


    Jeff sighed and said, "Thank you." He went to his car and filled a backpack with his stuff before letting the tow truck leave. He gazed at the sight of his car leaving with despair when Annie came to find him.


    "Jeff! I''ve been chasing after you. Did you find Abed? And is that your car being towed?" Annie asked incredulously. Jeff looked at Annie in bewilderment, "Why aren''t you with him?"


    "With who?" Annie asked in confusion. Jeff widened his eyes and mumbled, "No! Damn it! That was my last chance!" He rushed back into the building despite Annie calling him.


    "Jeff!" Annie turned in disbelief, and then mumbled, "With who?"


    Jeff searched for Edward for a while before finally giving up. He went to find Abed, knocked on Abed''s dorm room and asked, "Hey, my car got towed. Can I stay here tonight?"


    Abed was surprised, but he agreed to it easily, "Yeah. Cool. I''ve always wanted a roommate. You want the top or the bottom bunk?"


    "Top." Jeff replied.


    "Me too. I''ll race you for it." Abed said before he ran to the bunk bed and jumped to the top bed. "I win." He said. Jeff didn''t even move when he started the competition. Suddenly, Annie appeared on the dorm room door and scolded Jeff, "I swear if you run off one more time!"


    Abed looked at Annie and asked, "Hey, why are you here?"


    "WHY CAN''T I BE HERE?!" Annie asked in bewilderment while flailing her arms around. "Someone please give me some context!"


    "Abed, you want to take this one? I feel kinda bad." Jeff said as he looked at Abed. "Sure." Abed replied. Then, he looked at Annie and said, "We met with Edward Newgate, your celebrity crush. Jeff and Britta were supposed to be bringing him to meet you. I don''t know what happened next."


    Jeff realized that Abed didn''t know the full story and added, "Wait. Sorry. I should explain from now on. On our way over, we found out that Britta is criminally insane, so she needs to track down a capuchin monkey so that they can make drugs to save her mind."


    Annie was befuddled, "What?"


    "Anyway, I told Newgate about a rare comic book I have. And he was ready to open up his wallet to buy it from me. I saw you were coming in our direction, so I just left to go and get it. I didn''t know that you''re going to follow me." Jeff added.


    Annie froze for a while before she laughed dryly, "Ha."


    "Annie?" Abed was confused.


    "HA~ HA! HA HA HA HA!" Annie began to laugh madly and said, "I walked past him? Even when he''s coming to meet me?! I''m like...the worst fan in the world!"


    Jeff began to get worried, "Annie, by any chance, were you bitten by a monkey?"


    "Please tell me the context about the monkey. I feel like there''s a story I''m missing here." Abed turned to Jeff and asked.


    Annie laughed madly, however, she stopped abruptly when Abed turned to her and said, "If you want, I can text him. See if he''s coming here again."


    Jeff and Annie looked at Abed in disbelief. Annie asked with a shaky voice, "You have his phone number?"


    Jeff asked, "You exchanged numbers with him?"


    "I told you. We''re great friends." Abed replied casually. "Call him, tell him I got the comic!" Jeff said urgently. Abex said, "I''ll just text him."


    As soon as Edward and Frankie arrived at the apartment, he reacted incredulously, "You want me to do what?"


    Frankie replied decisively, "Ask a girl out on a date. Even if it''s just one date."


    [Frankie''s commentary]


    "I''ve come to see why he was so crestfallen when that budding romance of his fell apart. In his world of fame and celebrity, he feels he can''t truly connect with people anymore." Frankie commented from Edward''s seaside villa living room.


    "He worries that any relationships he tries to build now will always be colored by the public''s perception of him, so he clings to the people who know him before his fame." Frankie added.


    "I understand why he feels that way - it must be so hard to trust that anyone sees the real him, and not just the polished persona. But I worry that in shutting himself off to avoid getting hurt, he may miss out on finding the true connections he craves. If he locks himself away from the world, how will he ever meet someone who can see past the celebrity facade? That''s why I''m asking him to date. So that he may open his mind about it."


    [Commentary ends]

 Chapter 273: New Owner and a date.

    Chapter 273: Chapter 273: New Owner and a date.


    [Edward POV]


    A new day arrived at Greendale, and it was the last day of school before the Thanksgiving break. Knowing the potential backlash if the college buyout was done publicly, the city representative and Frankie signed the contract first before announcing the decision to the college administration.


    "What do you mean?" Dean Pelton was flabbergasted when he heard the news as he was invited to the signing event in the city office.


    Carl and Richie gloated when they saw Dean Pelton''s confused expression. Richie said, "From now on, Greendale community college will no longer be part of the city''s management. You guys have been bought by their corporation."


    Carl said sarcastically, "It''s good news for the city. Well, not for Greendale though."


    Richie said, "If I were you, I''ll be updating my resume. But it''s lucky that I''m not you!" Both of them laughed out loud as they left the dean behind. Pelton became flustered, and stormed into the room where Frankie and I were in. He said dramatically, "I demand an explanation�CUrk�C"


    He froze as he saw me, out of my disguise, sitting cross legged on the chair while reading the Greendale student manual.The sun was hitting my face just right, making the scene ethereal for the dean.


    "Hello Craig." I greeted as I slowly moved my head towards him, using a deep, velvety voice. "Nice to officially meet you."


    "H-Hi." He greeted me back while avoiding looking directly at me, "Oh my god, you''re like the sun, I can''t even look directly at you."


    "That saddens me a little. I''d like people to be mesmerized, but never to look away." I said, faking sadness.


    The dean gasped and turned toward me immediately, "I''ve spoken wrongly. It''s not the sun. It''s the panoramic view of an incredibly beautiful place. Even if you were the sun, then I''ll risk getting blind even if it meant I can catch a glimpse at your beauty."


    Frankie''s eyes twitched and she muttered, "What kind of play is this? Dean, please stop feeding into his ego. Edward, stop trying to get your ego fed."


    "It was bruised yesterday. I need to appease it." I replied jokingly.


    Dean Pelton was angry on my behalf, "Who dares�C Wait, I''m really getting absorbed in this. Can someone explain to me what happened in this room?"


    I stood up and said casually, "It''s simple Craig- Can I call you Craig?" His eyes became dazed at my question and he muttered, "You can call me anything you like."


    While chuckling, I patted the dean''s shoulder, which made him feel intoxicated from the touch. "It''s simple Craig. We just bought Greendale."


    He nodded, "Yes yes. You just bought.. I''M SORRY, WHAT? YOU JUST BOUGHT THE COLLEGE?"


    He brushed off my hand and said anxiously, "Why did no one tell me about this? And what are your plans? Are you going to fire me?! I have given this school all of my sweat, tears, blood, and hair!"


    I raised my hand up in front of his face, which made him stop rating abruptly. I explained, "Don''t worry Craig. We''re on the same side here. And your job is safe. The school is also safe. It''s just under new management from now on."


    Starting off my explanation with words of reassurance, Dean Pelton was calmed down. He asked, "What happened? And why did the city rep ask me to update my resume?"


    Frankie chimed in and said, "The school board may have sold the institution to us because we have scared them into believing the school has a major liability issue, and we will close the college on their behalf. That way, they can avoid the backlash in shutting it down themselves. Not that I''m saying the school doesn''t have liability issues, but we were not planning to do that at all."


    "Most of what we negotiated with the city was just a technique to drive the price of the school down. That way, we can keep most of the budget to make improvements on the school." I added.


    "And why would you do that?" Dean Pelton asked. Frankie took out a copy of the late Russell Borchert''s will, and gave it to the dean. As he read it, he muttered, "The founder?"


    "Yes." Frankie replied casually. "Someone found his body and inherited his deeds to the college, so that party felt responsible in helping Greendale be better. We were just helping him achieve that."


    The dean suddenly broke into tears and said, "Oh my god, my dream of turning this place into something with value will finally be true!" He turned and tried to hug me, but Frankie grabbed him by the collar and pulled him away.


    The dean said excitedly, "We should announce this to the students."


    "About that, Craig, can you wait until the end of the picnic to do that?" Frankie suddenly said. I was confused but kept my silence. Craig asked Frankie, "Why do you want to do that? Isn''t it better to give the good news now?"


    "Because there will be an uproar, and I want him to enjoy his vacation here a little bit longer." Frankie said as she glanced at me. Craig got the hint and said, "Got it. But he will be going on the stage later�C"


    "No, technically, he is never here. Only me, the company''s representative, is here. No one else�C other than a certain study group, should know that he''s here. Do you understand that?" Frankie said sternly.


    Craig gulped his saliva and asked fearfully, "Just curious, what would the hierarchy of the school look like right now? And I still the dean, do I keep the same job responsibilty�C"


    Frankie said seriously while using hand gestures, "Right now, He, is at the top of the food chain." She pointed at me before pointing at the dean, "You''re just a guppy in the small pond, right down at the bottom. You''ll do what we need you to do, and you don''t try to do what you want to do, without consulting us, do you understand?"


    "Frankie, intimidation like that won''t work on him because I''m pretty sure he''s a bottom." I joked. Dean Pelton pushed his glasses up and whispered, "I can alternate."


    Frankie:...


    "Come on, let''s go to college. I want to see how you''ll handle Chang. FYI, he will accuse you of being a racist when you try to make him present his qualifications." I said as I urged Frankie and the Dean to walk out of the room.


    "It is racist... right?" The dean asked in confusion.


    "It''s not. It''s really not." Frankie shook her head disappointedly as she understood why Chang managed to get the job in the first place. She turned to me and said, "Are you sure we''re going to keep him as the dean?"


    "Eh, it won''t be Greendale without Craig Pelton." I muttered dismissively, which made the dean feel validated for his efforts. "Oh, thank you. I tried the best I could."


    As we were leaving the room, Frankie suddenly stopped me and said, "Remember what we talked about last night?"


    I sighed and said, "Yeah. I do. It''s kinda hard to forget."


    Frankie nodded in satisfaction and simplified, "So, our agreement is, I help you with managing the school, and you pick someone to go on a date with for the picnic. You don''t have to take her home. You don''t even have to kiss her. Just a simple date."


    I smirked and said hintingly, "But if she wants too�C"


    "No." Frankie interjected decisively. "One simple date. That''s it."


    ...


    Troy kept holding on to the blanket tight despite not moving his arm, so I explained, "If you''re worried about giving this blanket to me because of Annie, you can be at ease because I actually want to ask her to be my date to the Picnic and Sing Along under the stars."


    Abed supported me, "Yes Troy. She seems like she''s reluctant to part way with the picnic blanket. It''s better to take the money and buy a new one."


    Troy''s fingers slowly moved, and Abed managed to yank the blanket away from him. I grabbed his hand and placed the money into his palm, shaking his hand at the same time. "Thank you Troy. I hope that you''ll have a great time with your date."


    Annie and Shirley heard Abed''s shout when he was calling Troy, so they saw the whole thing. "Huh? Why is Abed taking the blanket from Troy?" Annie muttered with a slight dissatisfaction.


    Shirley said, "He must''ve noticed that you don''t actually want to give the blanket to him. Even Abed has more courage to do the right thing than you do."


    Annie shook her head as she looked at my figure, "No...It seems like he''s selling it to that guy...He''s coming over here!" She grabbed Shirley''s arm anxiously and glared at Abed, "Why did you take the blanket back from Troy?"


    "You need to ask him, and by the way Annie, don''t shout." Abed said. I smiled as I pushed my cap upward, revealing my face to Annie. "Hello ladies. I heard that you want to meet me?"


    Annie and Shirley froze for a second. Annie looked at Abed with disbelief, and Abed chuckled. "I know I said he''s not coming back, but I actually lied to surprise you. You were depressed last night for nothing."


    Shirley reacted first while Annie was still dumbfounded. Shirley whispered excitedly, "Hello! I thought that we already missed the opportunity to meet you. My sons are your biggest fans!"


    "Biggest? I was wondering who''s going to be my biggest fan. I kept telling myself that if I ever find them, then I''ll give them a present. It seems like the present is meant for your son."


    Shirley squealed and said, "Oh, that''s so nice!"


    Abed interrupted and said, "Shirley, the present''s not going anywhere. Right now, Edward is trying to ask Annie out on a date, so we should let him do that first."


    "What?!" Both Annie and Shirley exclaimed at the same time. Annie was nervous, but Shirley was filled with excitement.


    I grimaced as I turned to Abed, "You shouldn''t have said that."


    Abed thought about what he did wrong and said, "Sorry, I spoiled things. Annie, pretend you didn''t hear anything I just said."


    Annie breathed heavily as I moved closer to her, "Hi, sorry if this may seem too forward for me, but I think you''re really cute. Would you like to go to the picnic with me?"


    Abed showed her the picnic blanket, in which she connected everything inside her head. She lowered her gaze bashfully and twirled her hair, "You�C You think I''m cute?"


    "Very." I replied honestly. Despite her wearing a grandma style sweater and blouse, even those grandma shoes, I couldn''t deny that she was incredibly attractive. Maybe Frankie and the others were right. Maybe I do have a type.


    I received a text, which its chime interrupted the moment. I looked at Annie and asked, "So, what do you say? Do you want to go on a secret date with me?"


    Annie staggered and Shirley had to keep her steady. "My head feels dizzy. I can''t believe this is really happening." She said. Shirley grinned and said, "Me too."


    Abed chimed in with an explanation, "He couldn''t reveal his identity because he wants to experience a true college life. So you have to go on an undercover date."


    "Thanks for the exposition." I replied to Abed. He pointed his finger at me, gesturing ''I got you''.


    "Umm..." Annie hesitated for a second, and said, "Don''t you have a girlfriend�C"


    "I have a strictly professional relationship with Taylor." I replied instantly, and my phone chimed again at the time. In fact, it chimed continuously, completely breaking the immersiveness of me asking Annie out.


    Annie said with a slight blush, "Um...I don''t know�C"


    "She''ll go with you!" Shirley interrupted on her behalf and pushed Annie away. "She''ll meet you on the east lawn at 5!" Shirley said as she dragged Annie away. Annie retorted, "Shirley!"


    Shirley said with gritted teeth, "Don''t be an idiot Annie. I know what you wanted to say."


    "I was going to say yes!" Annie replied. Shirley said admonishingly, "Good! But still, we definitely have a lot of work to do. You need a completely new wardrobe for the date. You definitely can''t go looking like this."


    I checked my phone, and realized that the message was from Dylan. "Abed, I''m sorry, it seems like my friend''s in trouble."


    "You can go meet with him. I need to find Britta. She has disappeared since yesterday in her search to find the monkey, and I feel like she needs some help."


    "When you find her, tell her to give the monkey to my head of security, Mickey. He''ll bring the monkey to the lab for testing."


    "Okay. We''ll part ways to make way for the plot, but then, we''ll reunite again at the episode''s conclusion." Abed muttered. "Did you just break the 4th wall Abed?" I chuckled before we went our separate ways.


    ...


    Music room. Dylan and his band members were practicing for the performance tonight when I entered the room.


    "No, it still feels weird." Dylan stopped strumming his guitar before turning to his band members.


    His drummer said, "You can just sing that song again. You don''t have to worry about what your girlfriend has to say."


    Dylan sighed and said, "That song made her cry. I don''t want to see her like that again. She was so embarrassed last night. So I need to do something to make it right."


    "You basically told everyone you guys haven''t had sex yet, and may imply that she''s a virgin." His bassist said. "Why did she even cry from that?"


    "Maybe the pregnancy hormones are messing with her head." His pianist chimed in.


    "She''s pregnant?!" The bassist and the drummer were shocked.


    Dylan finally saw me and said, "Hey! Edward! You''re here! I''m in trouble. I already have the lyrics of the songs, but... we cannot nail the melody. Something feels weird. Can you help?"


    He handed me the music sheet, and I was dumbfounded when I read the lyrics. "So, you''re trying to appease your fiance, by singing this?"


    "Yeah, this is the exact opposite of what I sang before." Dylan replied innocently. I furrowed my eyebrows, and then I sighed after seeing his determined expression, "Alright, I''ll help. BUT NO ONE! No One should know I have anything to do with the song! Ever!"

 Chapter 274: Picnic and Sing Along.

    Chapter 274: Chapter 274: Picnic and Sing Along.


    [General POV]


    Abed walked to the study room where everyone had gathered and greeted his friend group casually, "Hello. So Spanish Class is canceled. You guys know that right?"


    He sat at his spot beside Britta, who has an unkempt hair, some twigs on her hair, prominent eye bags, and her eyes were a bit reddish. Shirley said, "I heard Chang is fired."


    She turned to Abed and greeted weirdly, "Hey Abed. I''m happy to see you before I finally lose my mind."


    Jeff had some stubble on his face, and he wore only a gray shirt and shorts, a stark difference compared to his usual fashionable style. "Still haven''t found the monkey?" Jeff asked Britta.


    Britta shook her head and said, "The guy I gave him for rescue had sold the monkey. Then, the store that bought it lost it. I went searching in that area for a while, but I couldn''t find it."


    Annie said gleefully, full of energy, "Britta! Don''t lose hope! You''re going to find the monkey!"


    Britta scoffed and said disdainfully, "What is she all smiling about?" Shirley and Annie looked at each other before they squealed and giggled with each other. All the while, Troy was staring at Annie, trying to figure out something.


    Pierce turned to Britta and suddenly said, "Brittles, I''m sure you''ve already heard about it, but I had a falling out with Vaughn, and now I''ve left the band."


    Britta and Abed were intrigued, while the rest just listened. Britta said, "Right, the band and the offensive song. Jeff, you used to be a lawyer. Can I kill Pierce and blame it on my madness."


    Jeff scoffed and scooted away from Britta for a few inches, "You actually can."


    "Great." Britta smiled coldly at Pierce. Annie asked the old man, "Pierce, why did you break up with the band?"


    "We, have a disagreement about the song." Pierce replied. In actuality, Pierce and Vaughn fought because Vaughn kept referring to the song as ''his song'' instead of giving Pierce some credit. Pierce thought he was going to Garfunkel him, and they had a falling down.


    Britta however, misunderstood the situation and exclaimed sweetly, "Oh Pierce. Were you standing up for my honor? That''s so sweet."


    Pierce was taken aback, "What?�C Yes, Yes, we broke up because I was defending your honor."


    Abed commented, "Seems unlikely. But, in more important news, Annie has got a date for the picnic."


    Shirley and Annie squealed while Britta, Jeff and Pierce exclaimed supportingly.


    "So, who''s the guy?" Britta asked while holding the table and leaning in to Annie. Abed replied, "Everyone here knows the guy."


    Troy, who was keeping silence suddenly said, "I''m really curious on why he asked Annie out from the rest of the students."


    "Who?" Jeff asked in confusion. Troy turned to him and said, "Newgate."


    Britta and Jeff were shocked. "What?!" Pierce turned to Annie and chuckled, "You agreed to go on a date with a mountain climber?"


    Annie''s eyes moved around as she replied shyly, "I also don''t know why he picked me."


    Abed suddenly chimed in, "I know. He said you''re cute." Annie and Shirley squealed again while Troy mumbled while scrutinizing Annie''s face, "I don''t see it."


    "Really?" Jeff leaned forward, fully interested in the topic. He turned to Annie and said, "When you start dating a millionaire, please don''t forget about us. Especially don''t forget about me."


    "We''re not dating. We''re just going out on a picnic together." Annie replied innocently. Shirley added with a giggle, "I''m bringing Annie out shopping." Her sweet voice turned serious as she said, "This is a one in a lifetime opportunity. I cannot let her go like this."


    "What''s wrong with the way I dress?!" Annie retorted. Abed commented, "You look like a spinster librarian."


    Annie gasped in shock, her eyes fluttering, but never fully closed. Abed pointed out, "There it is. The Disney Princess look."


    Britta scoffed and said, "Guys, instead of pushing her to go out with him, we need to make sure to protect Annie. Men with power and fame like that? He''ll probably just throw her away when he''s done with her."


    "WHOA!" Everyone groaned as they turned to Britta. Annie snapped, "You don''t get to talk about him like that, especially when he was TRYING TO HELP YOU!?"


    Britta realized she had misspoke, "No, I wasn''t specifying him�C"


    Abed pointed his finger at Britta and said, "He might have a complicated past, but he''s a good man."


    Jeff added, "He gave the gift of great songs and multiple...other things to the world."


    Troy continued, "Shame on you for even thinking about that."


    Britta was agitated, "Why are you all talking like you knew him intimately! None of you know what he''s really like!"


    Abed raised his hand, "I do. We bonded quite a lot."


    Britta turned to him and said with a shaky voice, "Well, he could still be faking it."


    Jeff scoffed and said, "I don''t think he is. Think about it, Britta. He''s the kind of guy that can have any girl he wants. Unless he was really interested in Annie, he wouldn''t ask her out."


    "Jeff." Annie was flattered.


    He turned to Annie and said, "Then, when you do start to go out, you can, I don''t know, talk to him and see if his legal team needs to hire a consultant or any other high paying position. Something that is in Colorado will be nice."


    Britta snapped, "You just want to prostitute Annie to get what you want!"


    Jeff argued back, "What I want is to liquidate my asset and get back my condo, but turns out, my comic book is worthless!"


    "What?" Britta was taken aback, and became confused. Pierce teased Jeff, "What happened about not taking any charity?"


    "That thing was gone the second I had to use the communal toilet in the college dorm this morning." Jeff retorted.


    Abed suddenly chimed in, "If Jeff wants to prostitute Annie, and Shirley wants to take her shopping, then I can come with you guys and we can make a ''Pretty Woman'' spoof."


    Troy was intrigued and he stopped trying to study Annie, "Oh I love that movie!"


    "Wait, I can do that?" Edward teased. "Why are we even here on a date then?"


    While they were having a good time, on the side of the lawn, Abed, Troy and Shirley were watching them by using binoculars.


    Abed commented, "Look, they are holding hands." Shirley squealed, "Oh that''s nice."


    Troy said unwillingly, "She''s just brushing the crumbs that had fallen off on him."


    The performances finally began, and the concert started with Vaughn�C Britta''s ex boyfriend, singing a song called, ''Pierce You''re A B''.


    While they were singing it, Annie exclaimed in horror, "Oh god, the first song at my first concert date will be about an old man who shit his pants?"


    Edward chuckled, "Well look on the bright side. The moment will be etched in your mind. There''s no way you''re going to forget it."


    Annie said, "Easy for you to say. You probably have a lot of memories like this so you won''t need to care."


    "Actually, this is my first time too." Edward said, which made Annie turn to him in surprise. "Your first?" She asked.


    "Not a first date, but a first concert with a girl. Usually, I''m the one on stage, so I never experienced it." Edward said.


    The atmosphere started heating up, and Dylan finally walked up to the stage. He said to the microphone, "Baby, I''m sorry about yesterday''s song. I''m going to make it up to you."


    Anais, who was sitting there on the picnic mat alone, was dumbfounded, "Oh no, what did he have planned now?"


    /watch?v=AL52Sjo3vUo&t=148s&ab_channel=l.smith �C Imagine Me Naked�C Dylan Modern Family]


    The soft rock melody captured the attention of the crowd. The retro band style made Edward chortled for a bit, then he held Annie''s hand, interlocking their fingers together. Her heart beat quickly, and her eyes fluttered as she stole a glance at him.


    Dylan sang, " ?? I''m a ship without a rudder... I''m the bread without your butter... And I''ll never find another girl...who could make me feel so fine...So here''s to my broken sweet of mine!!!"


    The start of the song subverted the crowd''s expectations, but then, Dylan sang the chorus, "?? Imagine me naked!!! I''ll imagine you nude!! You''ll never have to fake it!! Like you do with other dudes!!"


    The crowd burst into cheers�C even Anais was helpless and was captivated by how sincere Dylan was singing the song.


    "??I''ll never stop touching you! Even when the world ends! But for now I''m lying naked! Without my best friend.??" Dylan pointed at Anais again, but this time, she smiled instead of being dumbfounded like before.


    After a short guitar solo, Dylan continued, " ??When it seems the world is cold and dark, And you can''t remember where you parked, You helped me build this golden ark,We can sail upon the sea...And get N-A-K-E-D!!!??"


    Annie and Edward found themselves to be locking eyes with each other as the chorus arrived.


    "??Imagine me naked??"


    Annie chuckled nervously and told Edward, "The song''s pretty funny."


    "?? I''ll imagine you nude ??"


    Edward replied, "It really does."


    Both of them were leaning into each other.


    "??You''ll never have to fake it, Like you do with other dudes!! I''ll never stop touching you!! Even when the world ends!!??"


    "But for now I''m lying naked...Without my best friend...Without my best friend??"


    As the guitar solo began, Dylan did a monologue, "???? (If you imagine me naked, I can bring you to a world that you have never believed in. If you believe in me, then I can believe in you, and we can go far, far into outer space.)"


    The concert was at its peak. People stood up from their mat and sang along to the song. "?? Imagine me naked!! I''ll imagine you nude!! You''ll never have to fake it!! Like you do with other dudes!!"


    "I''ll never stop touching you!! Even when the world ends!!But for now I''m lying naked!! Without my best friend~~"


    Dylan continued solo, singing with a very emotional tone, "I''ll imagine you nude!! You''ll never have to fake it (Never, Never) Like you do with other dudes (Like you do with other dudes)!! I''ll never stop touching you!! Even when the world ends!! But for now I''m lying naked!! Without my best friend~~~!"


    The music slowly fades away, and the entire crowd cheered. Suddenly, Dean Pelton walked onto the stage, causing the crowd to groan.


    The dean still laughed, acting like the crowd had celebrated him, took the microphone from Dylan and said, "Incredible performance by...What''s your band name again?"


    "We''re the ''Dropouts!''" Dylan replied.


    "INCREDIBLE PERFORMANCES BY THE DROPOUTS!" The dean announced dramatically, which made the crowd cheered and applauded for Dylan''s band once again.


    The dean chuckled twice and said, "With that, ends the concert for tonight�C"


    The crowd clamored, and the band who hadn''t gone yet protested, "What are you doing?!"


    The dean calmed himself down and said, "I know, I know. You''re mad. But this is for your safety. Alright, I''ll give you some good news after this bad news, so listen first."


    The crowd calmed down a bit, but were still listless. Dean Pelton said, "We need to evacuate everyone from the compound as there''s some gas leaks in campus. Everyone who stays in the dorms also has to move out as soon as possible."


    Abed was startled when he heard it. "Where should we go!?" Jeff muttered with some anger.


    "Alright�C CALM DOWN!" The dean shouted. "It''s a precaution. You can move back in after 2 or 3 days�C to the dorms. Alright, so for the good news, the school will no longer be under city management as we have been bought out by a huge corporation!" He announced it excitedly, but none of the crowd reacted.


    "Hello?" The dean was confused. "Did you guys hear me�C"


    "BOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!" The crowd threw food, bottles, and even grass to the dean. "WHAT?!" He exclaimed in surprise, "It''s good news!" He said tearfully.


    "Boo!!! DOWN WITH THE CORPORATION! DOWN WITH THE MACHINE!" The college students shouted, and a riot ensued.


    "Oww! OWW! Protect me Jeffrey! Protect me Eddy!" The dean shouted urgently as he avoided the things thrown at him. However, Edward''s picnic mat had long since been empty, even before Dylan finished his performance.

 Chapter 275: Annie’s Boobs. (The Monkey)

    Chapter 275: Chapter 275:? Annie��s Boobs. (The Monkey)


    [Edward POV]


    Annie and I had left the picnic in the middle of Dylan''s performance. My guard had discreetly notified me about the gas leak and stealthily escorted us away from the crowd. As it turned out, it was the right move, considering the riot that soon erupted.


    "You predicted this," Annie murmured with awe as we walked to my car. She turned to me with confusion, "Why did you still let the dean tell them if you know this is going to happen?"


    I turned to Annie and smirked, "I didn''t let him. He went AWOL. Now, he''s paying the price."


    Annie''s eyes widened, and she asked, "Are you going to save him?"


    "No need. Frankie is there. She''ll know what to do," I replied casually. "Let''s get out of here. I''ll drive you home," I offered.


    Annie wanted to come along, but suddenly she remembered something. "Wait! T-There''s no need for that. I can go home by myself. You don''t have to�C"


    "If this is about your apartment located above the ''Dildopolis'' store, then you don''t have to worry," I interjected with a chuckle before I slowly grabbed her hand.


    Annie muttered with self-depreciation, "So, you already know?"


    "Why? Do you think I''ll look down on you or something? On the contrary, I thought you''re really brave to risk living in that neighborhood to continue your education. I admire you for doing that."


    Annie blushed and said, "You really know how to make a girl fall in love."


    "Yet, I cannot make you fall in love with me," I quipped, which made Annie widen her eyes for a bit before she let out a short yelp as I pulled her hand to walk to the car.


    In that short moment, I saw it clearly. The way she was looking at me, it was a gaze of limerence - an infatuated, idealized adoration that had little to do with who I truly was. She had constructed a preconceived impression of me in her mind, elevating me to a pedestal of her own making.


    I realized then that we could never truly connect, well, not on the first date. I couldn''t help but acknowledge the power I held over her - I was certain I could manipulate her, get her to do anything I wanted. But, if I did, then I''ll just be the same as the other star who slept around with their groupies.


    As that realization dawned on me, I felt a deep sense of unease. Would I really stoop to taking advantage of this naive girl, whose most fervent wish was simply to hold hands with a boyfriend at Disneyland? To turn her into a momentary diversion, a one-night stand?


    "Edward?" She called, snapping me out from my thoughts. "Oh sorry, I was thinking about this college." I said before I asked, "Annie, do you have any specific complaints about this place? Part of which you think can be better?"


    Her eyes lit up, "You want to hear my thoughts about it?"


    "Sure. If I need to ask someone, then who''ll be better to ask then the students that go here."


    I drove the black Nissan Xterra SUV to Annie''s neighborhood. Annie became a bit nervous as we were heading to her house. "You shouldn''t park here long. Go home immediately after dropping me off." She advised with a slight panic.


    I patted her hand to calm her down and said, "Don''t worry. There''s literally a convoy following me from behind. Check the side mirror." Annie was confused, and then she saw 2 SUVs protecting my car.


    The once-vibrant commercial district had fallen on hard times. Vacant storefronts dotted the landscape, their dusty neon signs flickering feebly in the gathering dusk.


    Unkempt lots were littered with the detritus of foreclosure - broken glass, rusted shopping carts, abandoned furniture. In the distance, a small fire burned in a metal drum as homeless individuals sought shelter from the late fall chill.


    Amid the decay, a single neon sign stood out - the bright glow of "Dildopolis" drawing the eye. Adult toys were hung by the store glass, like they were butcher''s meat.


    I asked Annie with disbelief as I stopped the car in front of the store, "You, really live here?"


    Annie lowered her head and said, "Um, this place seems a little bit better in the morning. Also...Um...the rent is very cheap."


    "By the way, mind if I see your place?" I asked her politely. She blushed and said, "Um, it''s only the first date. I don''t think it''s appropriate."


    "Ah, this isn''t part of the date. The date ended when the gas leak happened." I said. Annie jolted in surprise, "What?! It is over?!"


    I nodded and said, "Yes. So, can I get up there or not?"


    Annie hesitated for a bit before she said, "Okay then. Just...for 5 minutes, okay?!"


    "Okay! Don''t worry. I''m a gentleman." I smiled charmingly, which made her cute stern face crumble.


    The studio apartment was even smaller than I had anticipated - barely 150 square feet. Annie had done her best to make the limited space feel cozy, but the cramped quarters were immediately apparent. Her bathroom was also really cramped as it could barely fit a toilet and a shower there.


    "So, do you have to sit on the toilet to take a shower?" I asked with disbelief.


    Annie blushed in embarrassment and hurried to close the toilet door, "Why are you looking at a girl''s bathroom the minute you enter?"


    I chuckled and said, "Cause I could see your entire house in less than a minute. You know what, Annie..." She unawarely stood close to me as she closed the toilet door, and I leaned in closer to her.


    She hesitated a bit before she closed her eyes and pursed her lips, expecting a kiss. But, I grabbed her shoulders and said, "I have a preposition for you."


    "What?" She asked in confusion as she opened her eyes again. Suddenly, a gunshot fired over in the distance. Annie was startled and she abruptly hugged me. I asked, "Does that usually happen?"


    Annie begrudgingly replied, "Yeah..." She realized that she was hugging me, blushed, and then released her embrace. "What preposition?" She asked while fixing her hair.


    "This might bruise your ego a bit, but listen to me first." I said. "I have property here, so why don''t you move there..."


    "Sorry, I know you mean well, but I''m not looking for handouts!" Annie said seriously.


    I chuckled and said, "I''m not finished. I need a building manager to manage the property."


    Troy supported Britta, "I think we should go too. I need to ask him why did he think Annie is hot."


    Pierce joined in, "And I want to ask him about mountain climbing."


    Abed was a little concerned and said, "I don''t think we''re supposed to do that."


    "Shut up Abed." Jeff scolded. "I want to hear why he hates me."


    Britta snorted derisively and said, "Shouldn''t that be clear by now? You kept wanting to get his money."


    "Hey! I tried to sell him a very precious comic book! It''s not my fault he didn''t see its value!" Jeff retorted while pointing his finger at Britta. Britta tried to bite it, which shocked Jeff. "Have you gone insane Britta?" he asked worriedly.


    Abed muttered as he watched the group walk away, "This is not good. We''re supposed to end this on a good note so that he can become a recurring character."


    ...


    At the airport. Frankie looked at Edward in disbelief after they met each other in front of his private jet. "So, you guys, went on a date." Frankie rubbed her sore forehead as she recounted.


    "Yep." Edward replied casually.


    "It went well, and you even went back to her place." She continued.


    "Yeah." Edward nodded.


    "Then, explain it to me. How did it turn into a job interview?" Frankie asked in disbelief.


    Edward smirked and said, "I''ll tell you on the plane. Ah, by the way, you''re coming to Wisconsin to meet your future in-laws right?"


    "No, I''ll be getting back to my place for Thanksgiving. I won''t be joining you." Frankie replied honestly. Edward said, "Oww, that''s too bad. I wanted to see you and dad fumbling around grandma and grandpa when they enthusiastically supported your relationship."


    Frankie smiled softly and said, "You think they will?"


    "Of course." Edward replied with an expression that said, ''Wasn''t that obvious?''.


    Back to Edward''s new building.


    After everyone arrived at Annie''s new apartment, Britta went to sit on Edward''s couch immediately as she felt light headed�C cause she inhaled a lot of gas. Annie gleefully decorated the apartment with her stuff, which prompted Jeff to ask, "Annie, did you just move in here?"


    Annie excitedly replied, "Was it so obvious? This used to be Edward''s place to stay. You can still smell his scent here."


    Shirley looked at Annie with disbelief, "That''s disturbing."


    Annie immediately took a few gifts from the table and handed them to Shirley, "That reminds me. Here. Ed..Hehe, I call him Ed now. He asked me to give it to you. It''s for your sons."


    With a sweet voice, Shirley exclaimed, "That''s nice!"


    Pierce looked at the gifts and got a little jealous, "What about me? Did he have anything for me?"


    Jeff smirked and teased, "Pierce, I don''t think he even knows you." Everyone else all agreed with Pierce.


    Britta exclaimed sadly, "What''s the point of getting a gift? Annie, explain how you got the apartment? That''s supposed to be the true question here."


    Pierce interjected, "Wasn''t it obvious? Annie is his mistress."


    "What?!" Troy exclaimed in bewilderment. Annie was also surprised, and she reacted bashfully, "Pierce, I''m not his mistress. I work with him."


    "And how did you get the job?" Jeff asked, intrigued. Annie hesitated a bit before she said, "Convenience I guess? He needs someone to handle the building for him and search for new tenants."


    Abed looked around the house before his attention went to a normal looking rack near the wall. He noticed the small notch for the hidden compartment on the rack, but he didn''t press it yet.


    He asked Annie, "Hey, what''s the criteria for renting a place here?"


    "He''ll email me about the details later on." Annie replied innocently before she turned to Jeff, "Edward also told me to pass on something to you."


    "Oh yeah?" Jeff replied sarcastically. "He wants me to be his mistress too? Sorry but, I''m way more expensive than this apartment�C I''m sorry, you have 3 rooms here?"


    Annie nodded, "Yes. Also, he said that he auctioned off your comic book for you in the LA comic book fans community. That Amazing Spiderman issue no 3, first appearance of Doc Ock is quite valuable. Someone offered you 8 thousand dollars for it. Do you want to sell it�C"


    "SELL!" Jeff interjected quickly. "I''m selling it!"


    Annie replied innocently, acting as if she was Edward''s secretary. "You can send the book to the staff member going back to LA tonight. They are still here at the apartment, so you can just send it to them."


    "What about the money?" Jeff asked urgently. Annie replied, "The money is also with them. Edward will pay for it first as he knows you are in urgent need of money."


    Jeff felt a bit guilty and muttered, "I judged him wrongly. He''s a great guy."


    Britta snapped, "WHAT ABOUT ME?! How is he going to deal with the monkey?!"


    While the others were afraid of Britta, Annie smiled softly and said, "Britta. You had just gotten the monkey. Wait a few days. He told you that you won''t be insane at the moment, right?"


    Jeff then whispered to Annie. Annie widened her eyes and said, "YOU GOT BITTEN AGAIN?!"

 Chapter 276: Chaotic Thanksgiving (1)

    Chapter 276: Chapter 276: Chaotic Thanksgiving (1)


    [Edward POV]


    As the jet took to the sky, Frankie sat in front of me and poured herself a glass of whiskey, and myself some Sprite.


    "Can I have some of that?" I asked as my eyes glued to the whiskey bottle as I grabbed the drink from her. "No." She replied curtly.


    I whined, "You won''t let me drink. You won''t let me make more Euphoria."


    "Tell me about your date," she ignored me as she sipped her drink.


    I smiled and teased, "I don''t know you like to ''get the tea''. You little gossip."


    Frankie was confused, "I''m drinking alcohol."


    Taken aback for a bit, I sighed and told her all the deets about my date. Frankie fell into some deep thoughts while I muttered with self-depreciation, "See. I told you it won''t work."


    "I kind of expected this to happen," Frankie said suddenly, which made me baffled.


    "Then why did you make me do it?" I asked in confusion. The room went silent for a while as Frankie finished her drink and I patiently waited for her answer.


    After a while, she explained, "Because you thought that you couldn''t."


    "That''s really not what my conflict is about." I reacted with a dumbfounded expression.


    Frankie smirked and explained, "Isn''t it, though? You think you need to close yourself off because no one will understand you or see past your status. But you''ve only had a couple of relationships - how can you know for sure that''s true? How can you find ''the one'' if you stop trying? Just as in statistics, you need to widen your data group."


    I looked at Frankie with disbelief and spoke after a momentary silence, "That''s kinda sly. I knew I shouldn''t let you watch Shark Tales."


    She said smugly, "But you did. Now I know how to navigate your issues and offer you solid advice."


    "Or dumb. We don''t know the results yet." I said with a shrug.


    Frankie smiled and said, "Now if you don''t mind, I''d like to get some shut eye. It has been a long day at Greendale."


    "Wait before that, did you find the IT lady?" I asked with intrigue. Frankie shook her head, "No, it''s an IT guy. There''s no IT lady here."


    ''So her twin isn''t here. That''s 2 changes now.'' I thought while rubbing my chin. Seeing me in contemplation, Frankie asked curiously, "What are you thinking about?"


    "Who''s going to become the foreman for the whole construction? You know, we haven''t hired anyone yet," I changed the topic quickly. Frankie nuzzled onto the seat and said, "I''m too tired. I''ll think about it tomorrow."


    "Alright then. Goodnight. Mother...," Her eyes widened a bit, but I continued with a smirk, "...Figure."


    She exclaimed in exasperation and didn''t bother to react as she got some rest. It would take around 3 hours for me to arrive in Wisconsin, so I decided to shut my eyes too.


    I walked to the storage and got some blankets. I handed Frankie one of them and went to lie down on the long couch instead of sleeping on the cozy chair. It may be because of the altitude, or maybe because of the gas leak, but I was feeling particularly sleepy tonight. I didn''t even have to use my [Rest] skill to go to sleep.


    However, my rest was cut short when I realized that I was transported into a white room.


    "Wait, Afterlife corp?" I muttered with confusion as I saw Gong Shin''s office in front of me. "It was time for an afterlife session? Why wasn''t I notified?"


    Suddenly, Gong Shin entered the room too, through a red door that appeared from thin air. He saw me and asked in confusion, "Why are you here?"


    "How should I know?" I exclaimed in bewilderment.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Entertain company building. Taylor, who cut her blonde hair short, sat across Pepper who had an exhausted look on his face. She asked, "Can I release the song today?"


    Pepper snapped in frustration, "Girl, it''s Thanksgiving. You definitely should not. And you should go home to be with your family."


    "No, my family is coming here," She replied casually before getting back to the topic. "Then, when can I release the music video?"


    Pepper thought about it with some difficulty. He glanced at Taylor and asked whisperingly, "Are you sure you don''t want me to ask Edward? He''s the one who knows about this stuff."


    "You''re the CEO!" Taylor retorted. "Have some backbone! You got this!"


    "Hmmm..." Pepper racked his brain as he was filled with indecision. "You know what?" He said, which made Taylor perked up. "You can release it tomorrow. We''ll just do what Edward usually does before he releases his songs."


    Taylor grumbled in frustration before saying, "I hate that you''re probably right in this one." Even though she had planned her stealthy revenge and wanted to do everything on her own, she still wanted the song to succeed.


    Pepper stood up from the couch, grabbed Taylor''s hand to help her stand up from the chair and ushered her out of his office, "Now, go home. I want to go home too! It''s Thanksgiving, and I have given every employee a day off. That includes me."


    Taylor grabbed the door frame before Pepper could push her out of the office, "Wait. Make sure not to tell him before the music video is released!"


    "I got it! You already repeated that a thousand times!" Pepper pushed Taylor out before he locked the door.


    "Teenagers!" He exclaimed in frustration before whispering, "She really thought that we could hide it from him? He even gave the director some advice about the music video. Well, she''ll be extra mad if she knew about this, so I''ll just keep that bit to myself."


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    As I sat in front of Gong Shin, I asked, "So why is the session closed again?"


    "An eldritch entity had come to visit, so we evacuated everyone and closed all sessions. Without sufficient protections, the soul will explode as soon as they gazed upon him. I guess you came here the second he left so I missed your presence."


    "Who? Cthulhu?" I asked jokingly.


    Gong Shin was startled for a bit before he asked, "Anyway, since you''re here, do you want to come and see my new machine or do you want to go back now?"


    Gong Shin chuckled without replying.


    "Hmm..." I thought about it for a while and asked him, "How long has the time passed in the real world?"


    "Only an hour." Gong Shin checked his watch.


    "I''ll play one last time before I go back." I declared.


    In the last roll, I actually got a Gold Quality Memory from an unknown guy.


    "Who is he?" I asked Gong Shin. He mused as he saw the ball and replied, "Just a guy... living in the same universe as your previous self."


    My eyes lit up, "Really?"


    [Gold Quality: Memory �C Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 4 & 5 (incomplete) �C W. Lana]


    "Double or nothing?" Gong Shin asked.


    "Double it." I replied confidently. Within only 6 rolls, I managed to get another BINGO on the paper. My heart palpitated quickly as the paper morphed into a ball.


    [Gold Quality: Memory �C 2023 Entertainment Landscape �C W. Lana]


    "Yes!" I raised my hand in celebration as I stood up from my seat. I died in June 2022, so if the memory was from my previous universe, then I had something to look forward to.


    Marvel projects were usually great although the quality declined a bit before I left, but I''m sure that they had quickly fixed the problem and returned with quality shows, right? I wasn''t clear about the Entertainment Landscape, so I ignored it for now.


    Gong Shin smiled as he saw my excited expression and said, "Congratulations. Double or nothing?"


    "I''ll just stop here." I said non-committedly as I smiled. Waving goodbye to the agent, I left the afterlife session and returned to my mortal plane, feeling satisfied about today''s session.


    ...


    Arriving at Wisconsin, my dad picked me up and met with Frankie at the airport. Only my dad came as it was 3 am, and my cousins were all sleeping. Frankie and my dad both looked at me with confusion after I exited the jet.


    "What?" I grunted with a playful tone, rubbing my sore forehead at the same time.


    My dad looked at me and said, "When did your eyes change?"


    "Did you wear contact lenses?" Frankie asked. "When?"


    My head was still hurting so I stopped the questioning, "Can we do this later on? I''m still sleepy."


    My dad and Frankie scrutinized my face before both of them gave up and turned to each other. My dad used an affectionate tone to ask Frankie, "Are you sure you don''t want to come to my place for Thanksgiving? My mom is eager to meet you."


    "I feel bad that I have to squash her hope, but I already promised my family to be there." Frankie replied.


    "That''s too bad," my dad said as he held her hand.


    While they were flirting, I was struggling with my eyes.


    Gojo Satoru eyes was referred to as The Six Eyes, an innate gift rarely inherited within the Gojo clan. They are a nonstandard jujutsu trait manifesting as a pair of bright blue eyes that grant a bearer extrasensory perception of cursed energy.


    However, I don''t have any cursed energy, so the change wasn''t obvious for me, other than making my perception ability stronger. The overload of sensory input made me squint my eyes and covered it up from any source of light with my palm.


    My dad and Frankie noticed my struggle and stopped their conversation. Frankie turned towards me and asked worriedly, "Edward, are you okay?"


    "Yeah my eyes are just sensitive from the change." I replied. My dad nodded in understanding and said, "Come on, you can continue sleeping in the car."


    I obediently let my dad pull my hand and led me to the vehicle before he drove us to my grandparent''s ranch. Even in that 1 hour drive, my eyes hadn''t adapted to the change yet. I had to cover up my eyes with a black cloth temporarily in order to walk into the house.


    "Are you sure you don''t want to go to the doctor?" my dad asked with concern as he carried my bags into the house. I smirked and said, "Ever wonder if this is a plot for me not to carry my luggage myself?"


    He scowled a bit before saying, "Go to sleep�C"


    "Edward!" Suddenly, my grandpa called out for me from my behind. As the morning started early in the ranch, he was already up and wanted to go to the stables to milk the cows.


    He hugged me and stopped when he saw my face, "Wait. What happened to your eyes?"


    My dad spoke for me, "He said that it''s too sensitive. It could be from jet lag. He traveled quite a few times in 2 days."


    Grandpa nodded in understanding and said, "I guess I can spare you from getting our milk for breakfast. Why don''t you go to your room and sleep it off?"


    "I will. Where''s Vader and Ace?" I asked curiously.


    My grandpa replied, "The cat is sleeping with the girls. Ace is guarding the ranch�C Wait, here he is."


    The black panther ran to the house in excitement and lunged toward me. As I couldn''t prepare myself for it, I fell down on the floor, which made both my grandpa and my dad worried.


    Ace nuzzled his face towards me in excitement, which made me burst into laughter. "I miss you, too big girl." I said as I affectionately patted her head. It took me a while to convince the panther to let me go.


    My dad led me into the room and left me at the door as I told him that I could manage on my own. I still remembered what the room looked like so it wasn''t that hard to navigate. I found the bed in no time and sat on the edge of the bed, unbuttoning my shirt before taking it off to go to sleep.


    As I laid down on the bed, I suddenly sensed there was something amiss there. My hand rummaged the sides of the bed when I suddenly touched something warm and soft.


    "Hmm? What is this?" I muttered in confusion as I grabbed the squishy thing for a bit.


    Maggie, who was sleeping soundly in my bed, suddenly woke up and her face turned tomato red. "That''s..." Her voice caught me off guard. I was shocked when she continued, "That''s my boobs..."


    "Oh..." I exclaimed casually before moving my hand away and turned sideways, with my back against her. Then, I went to sleep.


    Maggie was speechless for a second before she sat up from the bed and picked up a pillow, gripping the edges strongly. "You PERVERT!" She pushed the pillow on my face, trying to suffocate me.

 Chapter 277: Chaotic Thanksgiving (2)

    Chapter 277: Chapter 277: Chaotic Thanksgiving (2)


    [Edward POV]


    Although it was late fall, in Wisconsin, it could be said that it was early winter. The chill in the air was biting, with temperatures dipping well below freezing. A light dusting of snow covered the ground, crunching underfoot as people stepped on it.


    Bundling up inside the blanket in my room, I was woken up by a smooch on my cheek as I struggled with the temperature. My Californian lifestyle didn''t really do well in the cold wintry Wisconsin.


    With a sniffle, I woke up to the sight of Vader licking and nudging my face with hers.


    "Good timing."


    Smiling widely, I grabbed her and used her as a warm heat pack before falling to sleep again. Vader was confused at first but she then lay down obediently on my toros. Before I truly dozed off, I casted the healing spell on Vader while she was purring in my embrace.


    "Meow?" Vader was confused when she saw a green glow around her. As it disappeared, she forgot all about it and went to sleep. Half an hour later, as I squirmed to get up from the bed, her pupils dilated when she realized that she could feel something in her paws again.


    "MEOW!" She extended her claws hurriedly, and as she was laying on top of me, the claws digged into my flesh.


    "Ouch!" I yelped as I was immediately woken up by the pain. Lifting my head slightly, I looked at the excited Vader as she played with her claws, meowing relentlessly at me to make me look at it.


    I chuckled and patted her head, scratching it at the same time. She purred affectionately, and I said, "Good for you huh Vadie? You finally have your claws back."


    Sensing that I had something to do with it, she rubbed her face on mine, purring as she showed her gratitude to me. After a while I finally left the bed.


    In the toilet, I was relieved when I saw that my eyes didn''t change much, although the emerald green color became more prominent. The eyes sparkled with an inner luminescence, almost glowing from within. Subtle shifts in lighting would cause the eyes to transform, from deep forest green to brilliant jade.


    "Damn Gojo-san. It is mesmerizing." I muttered with disbelief as I scrutinized the changes. "People will think I''m wearing contact lenses." I brushed my teeth and washed my face before going to the living room after.


    Expecting to see the entire family there, I was surprised to see only Amy and my grandmother working in the kitchen to cook the Thanksgiving meal.


    "Look who finally decided to finally wake up!" Amy greeted me with a disdainful look on her face.


    "Double finally?" I muttered with confusion as I walked to my grandma, glancing at Amy as I went past her. She flinched in embarrassment and pointed her spatula at me, "I misspoke! So what!?"


    Ignoring her, I asked my grandma, "Gram, do you know where my luggage is?" Amy gasped in disbelief, and stomped her feet in frustration.


    My grandma looked up from basting her turkey and became concerned when she saw me. She placed her warm hand on my cheek and said, "Why are you so clammy?"


    "Someone turned off the heater in my room." I tattled to my grandma while hugging my arms, shivering. My grandma quickly ordered Amy, "Go and grab a thick jacket for him."


    "Grandma! He can do it himself!" Amy was flabbergasted, but Grandma was stern, "Go. Now!"


    "Ugh!" Amy groaned before doing what she was told. My grandma led me to the couch, placed a blanket on top of me, and said, "My poor boy, you must''ve been so cold, and hungry. Why don''t grandma make you some pancakes and a cup of hot chocolate?"


    I smiled and said childishly, "Thank you grandma."


    She broke into a smile and went to the kitchen with spry steps. Amy came back and rudely threw a jacket on my face. It hung up there for a while. Amy was confused and she took the jacket off and gave it to me carefully.


    As I wore it, I asked, "Where''s everyone else?" My nose suddenly felt itchy, and I shivered again. Worried, Amy asked as tried to check on my fever, "Are you catching a fever�C"


    "ACHOO!" I suddenly sneezed. The droplet missiles flew straight to Amy''s face, which made her flinch in disgust. "AHH! You just sneezed on me!"


    "Sorry." I said as I wiped my nose with a tissue I grabbed from a box nearby. "I don''t think I''m catching a fever though. That will be... catastrophical. I have to start the movie shoot on Sunday." I added, however, Amy was gone by the time I finished wiping my nose. She had run straight to the toilet to clean herself up.


    "Wait. Amy, where are the others?!" I shouted.


    ...


    [General POV]


    It was almost Thanksgiving dinner, and the whole family had gathered together at the long dining table. At the head of the table sat Grandpa Sam, with Aunt May and Uncle Jim on one side. On the other side were Maggie, Uncle Aaron, and Ted, with an empty seat on both ends.


    Uncle Aaron has a bandage on his cheek, and he was sending off dissatisfied aura to the table. He glared at Ted, but Ted was ignoring him.


    The table was laden with all the traditional Thanksgiving fare. A golden-brown roasted turkey took pride of place in the center, its crispy skin glistening. Grandma Jules had slaved away in the kitchen for an entire day to prepare it.


    Surrounding it were heaping bowls of fluffy mashed potatoes, creamy green bean casserole, and sweet candied yams. Cranberry sauce in a cut-crystal bowl, a platter of homemade dinner rolls sat between a gravy boat and a crystal decanter of red wine.


    Just then, Grandma Jules came back to the dinner table and said, "He has a 102 fever. (39 Celsius) Maybe we should take him to the hospital."


    Maggie flinched guiltily as she heard it. Ted sighed and said, "How in the hell did the heater in his room turn off?"


    Maggie''s ears felt hot, and she tried to change the subject, "By the way Grandma, that Turkey looks delicious."


    Amy said casually, "Maggie''s the one who turned off the heater. She hid Edward''s bag too. It''s in the stables."


    "Margeret Genevieve Grant!!" May widened her eyes and called Maggie''s full name angrily.


    Maggie''s eyes shook and she stood up halfway subconsciously, almost running away from the dinner table. She defended herself with a shaky voice, "I don''t know he''s going to get a fever! It was a prank!"


    "It''s a cruel prank! You need to apologize to Edward right away!" Aunt May scolded. Uncle Jim quickly tries to disarm the argument, "May, come on. It''s Thanksgiving."


    Maggie''s voice broke and she said tearily, "You don''t even know anything, but you''re asking me to apologize!"


    Everyone turned to Maggie following Uncle Aaron''s outburst. My aunt widened her eyes in horror as she saw the condition of the luggage, and Maggie tracking mud into the house while pulling the luggage with her.


    She saw me and teared up, "Ed! I''m sorry! I didn''t expect this to happen."


    My eyes kept moving between the luggage and Maggie''s face as I processed the whole thing. I asked worriedly, "Was any of it saved?"


    Maggie''s voice cracked as she replied, "No."


    I slowly stood up from the chair and walked to my luggage. Maggie waited for my reaction anxiously. The table became empty as everyone went to check out the luggage''s condition. My grandma and Amy also returned at the moment, and were surprised to see the sight too.


    "Maggie, what did you do?" Amy asked accusatively.


    "I didn''t do anything! It was the horses!" Maggie defended herself hurriedly. My head hurts too much for me to even care about my lost clothing right now. I turned to Maggie and whispered, "You realize I own you from now on, right?"


    Fortunately, I didn''t keep any important stuff inside the luggage, only articles of clothes. Although there were some branded shirts in there, I didn''t really care much as the brands would fight a war with one another to send me another batch of clothes.


    Maggie was startled and she bit her lips, eyes full of tears as she accepted her fate.


    "Tomorrow, on Black Friday, you''re going to go to the mall, and replace all of the clothes." I gave my first order. "Before that happens, you''re going to do every single thing I ask you to do, no excuses."


    "But�C"


    "No Excuses!"


    "FINE!" She groaned in exasperation. I smiled in return and said, "So, now that everyone''s here, let''s eat!" My stomach grumbled as I was feeling quite hungry, and I walked to the dining table again casually.


    "Ed, you send your Uncle away." My dad chimed in after everyone followed suit and sat down on the table again.


    "Fuck." I cursed whisperingly as I watched the turkey getting colder and colder.


    ...


    Half an hour later, my uncle finally returned with his girlfriend. Confused by the sudden invite, she found herself being swept away by my uncle''s momentum, and suddenly, she was already here at the ranch.


    "Everyone. Meet Melissa." My uncle introduced her. I didn''t really care about the whole thing, and waited for grandpa to finish carving the turkey. I spent the first 15 minutes of the Thanksgiving dinner just gorging myself with the food before I joined in the conversation.


    Well, no one really talked, so I didn''t really miss anything. All that was said was just some perfunctory remarks like ''Is the food to your liking'' or ''Where are you from''.


    "So Melissa, you''re a teacher?" Aunt May was slowly trying to get into the topic, but I interjected and asked directly, "Hi Miss, we''re all kinda curious about why you told my uncle to search for another job?"


    "Ed!" My grandma tried to shut me up by pushing some yams into my mouth. But I swallowed them within 1 second. The curly short haired brunette was taken aback and glanced at my uncle with disbelief.


    "Um..." She stammered for a bit before she had a determined glint in her eyes. "I just think, that he can do much better than being just a ranch hand!"


    "Wait everyone! Don''t react yet." I interjected quickly, which halted my family''s reactions. I smiled and asked her, "What do you mean you can do better? You can speak honestly. And Uncle Aaron, keep your mouth shut."


    Her eyes shook for a bit before she replied to me, "I mean, he''s already 50. And he still doesn''t have his own place�C Um..."


    I nodded in understanding and supported her point of view, "That is a valid point. He''s 50 and still living with his parents. It must be hard for you to show him off to others."


    "That''s right!" She replied sincerely, without thinking much. My grandparents, aunt, and my dad, realized that too, and their expressions softened.


    She added without thinking much, " I mean, if this relationship wants to go somewhere, he needs to at least get his own place."


    My grandpa suddenly chimed in, "He has his own place. It''s 2 miles away from here."


    "Wait! He does? You told me you live on the ranch" Melissa looked at Uncle Aaron with disbelief. He looked at me and asked whisperingly, "Can I speak now?"


    "You can." I whispered back.


    "I am living on the ranch." Uncle Aaron replied to Melissa. Amy chimed in, "The land is pretty big. We have multiple houses here. Even a guest resort."


    "Oh! I didn''t know that." Melissa replied with disbelief. "B-But, he...Um..." She tried to say something else, but stopped herself midway.


    Raising one of my eyebrows, I turned to Uncle Aaron and asked, "Did you give her the impression that you were poor or something?"


    "No? I don''t think I did?" Uncle Aaron replied with confusion. Still confused, Melissa asked Uncle Aaron, "Um, didn''t you tell me that you are struggling to make ends meet?"


    Everyone was confused and turned to Uncle Aaron, expecting an explanation. But he was confused too.


    "When did I say that�C Oh, that''s right. I did say something similar. I said, ''I have to work hard at the end of the month''. Is that it?" He finally figured it out.


    Grandpa Sam chuckled and said, "Is this right before the harvest time? Everyone is busy around harvest time."


    Melissa lowered her head bashfully, embarrassed by her presumptuous thoughts. My dad chuckled and teased his brother, "How in the world did you come to the proposal conclusion when this just proved that you''re not at the stage yet?"


    I nodded to my dad''s words before turning to him and said, "By the way dad, you and Frankie are way past that stage�C"


    "We''re talking about your uncle now." He stopped me quickly. Melissa was baffled when she heard that Uncle Aaron wanted to propose to her.


    "Why did you already think about that? It''s too soon!" She asked anxiously. Suddenly, she remembered something, "Is this because I let you put it in the butt��"


    Everyone spat what they were eating except for me. I chuckled and said, "Ah, the mystery of why he''s so smitten is finally solved."

 Chapter 278: Chaotic Thanksgiving (3-F)

    Chapter 278: Chapter 278: Chaotic Thanksgiving (3-F)


    [Edward POV]


    After the Thanksgiving meal, all of the family members gathered in the living room to watch football while digesting the food.


    "Maggie." I called out and gestured at Maggie to massage my shoulders. She sighed and sat next to me, getting Amy to move away as she squeezed herself into the double seater couch, and massaged my neck badly.


    With my eyes condition getting cleared up by my dad, Maggie realized that she had been presumptuous in punishing me for something that was an accident. A strong feeling of guilt gnawed into her heart as she touched my skin, feeling the warm temperature of the fever.


    Dissatisfied by her lack of skills, I gestured my hand into a ball, and moved it up and down. Maggie and Amy widened their eyes in disbelief, and Maggie''s face flushed red. She quickly shook her head, but I gestured again.


    "I''m not going to, um, give you a happy ending!" She whispered with an angry tone. Taken aback, I corrected her, "I''m asking you to hit my shoulders. What the hell are you thinking about?!"


    "OH!" She widened her eyes and became frustrated. She couldn''t even meet my eyes afterward. Amy felt glad that she didn''t say anything and joined in to tease Maggie, "This proved that you''re the pervert in this house. Not him."


    "Shut up. I''m still mad at you too." Maggie admonished Amy. Feeling frustrated by Maggie''s lack of skills, I stood up from the couch and said to my family members, "I''ll go to bed now."


    My grandmother quickly stood up, held my hand, and checked my forehead at the same time, "Your fever has gone down a lot."


    I smiled and said, "Your cooking must''ve cured me. A grandmother''s love must be the cure to all diseases in the world."


    Amy and Maggie rolled her eyes at my word. Amy kicked my leg slightly and scolded, "Kiss ass!"


    My grandma was flattered and said, "Such a sweet boy. But you still have to take your medicine. What do you want to eat tomorrow? Just tell me, I''ll cook anything you want."


    "Grandma, I''ll love everything you make." I said innocently again. Maggie made a revolting sound, and Amy gave a thumbs down while booing me. Grandma smiled widely and told Maggie, "Bring Ed to his room. I''m going to make a special drink for him, with chocolate and marshmallow."


    Amy protested, "I want a special drink too."


    I told her, "Go stand in the snow for 5 hours and catch a fever, then you can drink it."


    "UGH!" She groaned in dissatisfaction, crossed her arms and leaned back on the couch. After getting to my room, I laid down on the bed instantly.


    "What are you doing?" I asked Maggie with a quizzical expression. Maggie was confused, "What?"


    "Go bring me more blankets. And grab my laptop for me too." I ordered.


    She rolled her eyes and begrudgingly did it. Instead of giving me the bag, she took out my laptop from it, even connected the charger for me. As I got comfortable on the bed, she placed multiple pillows on my back, propping me to sit up.


    "Why are you contacting people instead of resting?" She asked.


    I wiped my nose with a tissue and said, "If I can''t leverage my sickness to succeed in a negotiation, then I''ll just be sick for nothing."


    Maggie looked at me in disbelief and retorted, "That''s not what being sick is for!"


    "That''ll be all for now, squire." I said before I waved dismissively at her. Annoyed, she scolded, "That''s it? I did all of that for you, and there''s not even a ''Thank You''?"


    "Gucci is 1000 dollars, Levis is 750 dollars, Armani 200 dollars, Nike sneakers 400 dollars each�C"


    Before I could finish listing out all of the items I had lost, Maggie had run away from the room. I chuckled and mumbled, "Well, I didn''t buy them myself though."


    *drrr drrr drrr*


    The call rang for some time, but no one was answering it. Figuring out that the other party wasn''t available, I called his granddaughter by her phone. Within 10 seconds, Haley picked up the call.


    "Hi Ed." She greeted me with a strained voice. "All of us just ate. I''m so full right now."


    "Grab your laptop." I chuckled as I asked. "I''m going to video call you."


    2 minutes later, the call was finally connected. Everyone greeted me as they saw me. Haley placed me on the coffee table at the living room in Jay''s house�C where they all gathered for Thanksgiving today.


    She turned the laptop for a moment. "Hi Edward!" The entire extended family greeted me. Finally, she stopped moving the camera.


    Haley was at the center of the screen, sitting next to her were Alex and Luke. Phil and Claire stopped behind the couch and joined in the call. "Did you have a great Thanksgiving Ed? Why are you already in bed?" Claire asked teasingly.


    With a sniffle, I said, "Oh, unfortunately I got a fever, so I can''t enjoy it too much."


    "Awww. That''s awful." The girls exclaimed with a sympathetic frown. I blew into a tissue even though my nose wasn''t runny, and made it seem like my fever was worse than it actually was.


    Haley asked with concern, "Did you eat your medicine yet?" Alex added, "Take both medicine for flu and for fever."


    "I have already eaten it. Thank you guys for worrying about me." I said with a tired smile. "Did you miss Thanksgiving dinner?" Claire asked with an apologetic expression.


    "Oh no. I did eat the turkey." I replied. " But the mood is pretty weird. My dad and my uncle had a fight. My uncle even got bruised up. They had already made up for it."


    Phil was curious, "Why did they fight?"


    I shook my head and pretended to be confused, "I''m not clear about it. Apparently my uncle wants to propose to his girlfriend of 2 months, and it makes my dad mad or something cause he found out that my uncle only was doing it because she let him use the backdoor of her house?"


    "Huh?" Everyone was confused by my wording. "Ed, are you sure that''s why?" Phil asked in confusion. Mitchell and Cam immediately got it. Mitchell exclaimed, "OHHH!! They were�C"


    As everyone was looking at him, he immediately stopped his sentence. "They were what?" Alex asked in confusion.


    "Why does using her house''s backdoor make him want to marry her?" Luke asked. Claire also realized it and stammered flusteredly, "Oh no. Um, Ed! Why did you buy a college?" She tried to change the topic, but Haley spoke.


    "Dad? What is it? You used the backdoor all the time."


    "So you went Treasure Hunting, and became this...Um... VD''s heir?" Maggie asked in confusion.


    "Vice dean. Never simplify that to VD. Never simplify anything to VD." I told her sternly.


    Amy was curious, "What is VD? I saw that in FRIENDS '' tv show, but I don''t remember it."


    "Google it yourself." I replied with disbelief.


    Maggie waved her hand dismissively, "Never mind the treasure hunting, you said you went on a date later on?"


    With a disdainful look on my face, I rebuked Maggie, "That''s what you''re interested in? I literally just told you a story about how I made millions effortlessly."


    She shrugged, "Yeah. But you''re already a millionaire. So it''s old news. But you, went on an actual date? Now that''s gossip. I want to hear it."


    "Well I''m not telling you." I retorted playfully. The three of us talked for quite some time. Before I realized it, I had fallen asleep, so did the two girls.


    Vader and Ace also joined in after their adventure in the snow, and they snuggled with us too on the small bed.


    ...


    [General POV]


    "Shit...I forgot to find an on-site foreman..." Edward mumbled in his sleep. Grandma Jules stealthily walked into the room and checked on Edward''s temperature. She smiled and said, "His fever is gone."


    Watching her grandchildren sleep together on the same bed made her smile softly. "Just like when they were young." She mumbled to herself before giving all 3 of them a kiss on their forehead.


    Grandpa Sam was waiting for her in the living room and asked, "How is he doing?"


    "He''s fine now. But that doesn''t mean you can wake him up early tomorrow to work." Jules said playfully as she sat next to Sam.


    "Amy and Maggie slept in his room too?" Sam asked in confusion. Jules grinned widely and said, "Remember when Edward was 4 years old, and he had a fever? Maggie and Amy wouldn''t leave his side and cried so hard for us to let them sleep with him."


    "Yeah I remember. And then they fight each other again immediately after he feels better." Sam chuckled as he lost himself in the memories. It was only for 5 seconds before he got up and said to Jules, "Well, if he can walk, then he can work."


    "Don''t wake him up!" Jules replied in annoyance, shooting glares at her husband, but then she giggled as she knew he was joking around.


    The next morning came quickly. Inside Edward''s room, a mustached shadow crept to the bed before pulling the blankets away from the trio, and 2 cats.


    "Rise and Shine!! Come on, we have work to do!" Sam announced mercilessly as the trio whined and groaned from the sudden wake up call.


    "It''s 4 in the morning. Let me sleep Grandpa. I need my beauty sleep." Maggie complained whiningly.


    Edward groaned and said, "Show more pity to the patient."


    Amy said, "I don''t want to."


    "Wake up! Or there''ll be no breakfast for all of you." Sam threatened. "Ed, if you still feel sick, sweating it off from an honest day''s work will do good for you."


    Amy subconsciously wrapped her legs around Edward, "Grandpa, let Maggie do Edward''s work. She owes him the favor."


    "Nooo~~ Let me sleep." Maggie sobbed dryly as she hugged herself from the cold.


    Edward grumbled, but as his sleep was already disturbed, he decided to just wake up and follow his grandpa.


    Amy saw that Edward went willingly and criticized them, "Now we know why Ed works way too much. He must''ve gotten Grandpa''s genes."


    Maggie added, "They can''t live without working hard. Um, I''m going back to sleep�C"


    "Maggie! Go pick up some eggs for your grandma!" Sam commanded before Maggie could lay down again.


    Time passed by quickly, and after almost 2 hours of work on the ranch, the family gathered together for breakfast. Aaron, Jim, and May weren''t at the ranch as May and Jim had gone home for the night, and Aaron went to have dinner with his girlfriend''s family today.


    Maggie initiated the conversation as they were eating breakfast, "Grandpa, Grandma, do you know Ed will act in a movie?"


    "Oh, what kind of movie?" Jules asked with interest. Edward replied, "A lewd one. I''ll be shirtless the whole time."


    "WHAT?!" Jules and Sam widened their eyes in shock. Ted looked at Edward with disbelief and said hurriedly, "He''s not doing that. He''s messing with you."


    Maggie giggled and said, "You should definitely do that Ed. Then, you can compete with the competing movie."


    Edward ignored Maggie and told his grandparents, "It''s a rom-com. I''ll be playing a hateful character in it."


    "So you''re just playing yourself?" Amy chided. "I''m sorry, have you grown yet? Should we get you a kid''s table?" Edward shot back. Amy glared at him and Edward looked coyly at her.


    "See, hateful." Amy said as she pointed to Edward while looking at her grandparents. Edward pretended that he was surprised by the allegations and waved his hands dismissively.


    The family burst into laughter, and shortly after that, Edward received a notification on his phone.


    "Oh, so she released it huh." He muttered casually.


    "Who, did what?" Maggie asked.


    "My ex. Releasing a diss song about me." Edward replied.


    "WHAT?!!" Amy and Maggie exclaimed at the same time.

 Chapter 279: Song about My Ex.

    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�C"


    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�C 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�C"


    "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.''

 Chapter 280: Fizbo (1)

    Chapter 280: Chapter 280: Fizbo (1)


    [Edward POV]


    "Um, I have a question." Vanessa asked as we read our lines. Wearing a shoulderless shirt and a short skirt, she shyly raised her hands up to avoid disturbing the others who were in heated discussions, especially Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt who were trying to nail their chemistry for the characters.


    Judd Apatow turned to her and smiled, "Yes?"


    "I''m still confused as to why I''m a nurse. Isn''t that perpetuating the Filipino stereotype?" She asked in a joking manner. Judd turned to me and called, "Yeah Edward. Isn''t that perpetuating stereotypes?"


    I scoffed at the director before turning to Vanessa, "It is a stereotype. A good one. We reinforce good stereotypes and avoid bad ones. Like ''Me so horny'' for the asian woman tropes. Or,... do you want something like that?"


    She raised her hand towards me and grumbled, "No! I''ll be a nurse, thank you very much!"


    As Judd and I chuckled, Judd asked curiously, "I''m still not convinced about this, are you really able to get George Lucas to allow us to use his set?"


    I smirked and casually said, "I even negotiated with him to use a scene from Star Wars. Tom Ryder�C RG''s character, needs some name recognition in the universe if we want to say that he''s a big movie star there. George owes me, so he''s letting me use that."


    Vanessa suggested, "You know, he could release some albums too. N-Not really releasing it, but you know, in that movie..."


    Ryan Gosling heard the suggestion and chuckled, "That''ll be pretty fun."


    Paige and Judd took note of the suggestions before Judd said, "Although it''s really in his character to do that, we don''t think that his brother will let him."


    As the brother character was my character, I knew him best so I said, "He''ll stop it if it doesn''t get up to standard."


    Judd suddenly got an idea and became excited, "Ooh! He could''ve made some videos behind his brother''s back, but was stopped by Colt (The brother) before it could be released, just like his highly sensual homoerotic film."


    Vanessa was astonished when she heard the last sentence. "Wait, did I miss something?" She began checking back the script with an excited expression. "I only just read my part." She added shyly.


    Rolling my eyes at Vanessa, I rubbed my chin and said, "It could be a point of conversation between him and Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt). That''s when we could start to change people''s perspective on him. ''Turns out, there''s more to this guy than a narcissistic prick after all.'' And we can use the song to market the movie when it hits theaters."


    "Wait, is this really happening?" Ryan asked with disbelief as he looked at me, his lips curled upwards in excitement.


    I joked, "Congrats. You''re now a singer too. But we still need to have specifics. Will he be in a Boy Band? Emo Band? Country? Metal? Honestly, I''d really love to see you sing in an emo band."


    Emily interjected teasingly, "I''d really like for it to be heavy metal."


    Judd laughed and said, "Boy band... sounds kinda good. But, it''ll be better if the song can be both funny, and good. It doesn''t even have to be a masterpiece. As long as it fits the theme of the story."


    I rubbed my chin for a while as I thought about it. "Hmm...I may be able to make one or two songs today."


    "TODAY?!" Emily suddenly widened her eyes and stood up. As everyone turned towards her in shock, I nodded in confusion and replied casually, "..Y-Yeah? Today so we can plan out the other things. I mean, if I have an instrument, I could give you guys a sample�C"


    Judd, Paige and Vanessa stood up and volunteered at the same time, "I''ll get the guitar."


    "WAIT!" I stopped them immediately. "I have a birthday party to go to now." I tried to explain, but Judd had already rushed off to get the guitar, "Wait here Ed! Don''t leave!"


    "You have a birthday party?" Ryan asked after Judd left. I turned towards him and said, "Yeah, wanna come?"


    Vanessa interjected quickly, "It''s a kid''s 10th birthday party."


    "OH!" Ryan slightly widened his eyes. "I think I''ll just stay here and familiarize myself with the script."


    "Your loss. Emily?" I turned to the actress. She smiled softly and said, "I''m also going to study the script."


    "Ouch!" Hudgens mocked playfully before she laughed. I smirked devilishly and said, "I guess you''re excited to start your 10 hours long choreo practice today."


    Flinching slightly, Hudgens'' eyes shook and she said, "Wait. NO!"


    Judd ran back to the meeting room with a guitar. As he gave it to me, he panted heavily, even holding his back as he tried to catch his breath. "I...Well...I''m going to sit."


    Holding the guitar properly, I said, "Okay, the song starts like this..." Everyone held their voices as they looked at me.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Mitch and Cam''s house. Phil came by to borrow some stuff for the party. He needed to get back in time to meet the reptilian party hire representative that would be coming over to the house soon.


    "See you in a few hours." Mitchell said with a smile. Phil checked the cord for the machine as he stood at the front door. Mitchell was in front of him, and Cam was in the kitchen.


    "Yeah. Thanks again for the karaoke machine." Phil smiled innocently. "I''ll get it back to you right after the party." He promised.


    "That''d be great." Cam replied.


    Mitchell whispered to Phil without Cam realizing it, "Please don''t. I beg you. Don''t bring it back."


    "Okay." Phil nodded as he dodged the request.


    "Hey, Phil. Are, uh, you getting a clown for today?" Cam asked suddenly as he placed down his washed plate.


    Phil''s face paled instantly. His eyes were full of fear. He replied with a shaky voice, "Oh, no. L-Luke''s not...much of a clown fan."


    "Really?" Cam asked with a slight disbelief.


    "Yeah. He never liked ''em." Phil answered seriously.


    "Has he ever seen a good one?" Cam asked again.


    "Has- Has anyone?" Phil replied dodgingly, and he took a step back to exit the door in a hurry. " So anyway, thanks again." Phil said before he rushed out of the house.


    "Okay. Yep. See you later." Mitchell replied casually as he closed the door before going to sit at the sofa.


    Cam stomped into the living room, following Mitchell before he could get there. "No clown? No- No clown?" Cam asked incredulously.


    "Let it go." Mitchell sighed wearily as he sat down on the sofa, grabbed his tea cup and read the screen of his laptop.


    Luke nodded and before he could run away again, Claire held her shoulders tightly and said, "Go take a shower and change your clothes. Now."


    "But�C"


    "Now!" Claire said assertively and firmly. Luke groaned and obediently went inside the house. "I''m taking a shower but I''m not going to use soap!" He shouted rebelliously.


    Alex chuckled at Luke''s misery but her smile faded when Claire said, "Pick up the bags. You''re helping me at the art and crafts table."


    "What?!" Alex was taken aback, but did it anyway, even though she was complaining, "Who sets up an art and crafts table at a party?!"


    Behind Alex and Claire, a crew of people were inflating a bouncy castle, and another team was setting up a zip line for the kids.


    Back to Cam and Mitch''s house.


    Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, Cam picked up the white paint and contemplated hard as he looked at himself.


    ''I couldn''t get Luke out of my mind.'' Cam monologues inside his mind. ''I know I made a promise to Mitchell, but some things are bigger than promises. Fizbo would be at that party.''


    He opened the paint lid and dipped his fingers inside the paint. Then. he smeared it underneath his eyes.


    Cam inhaled sharply and greeted his reflection, "Hello, old friend."


    Mitch finally returned after an hour. As he opened the door, he said, "I''m home. I got Luke a video game, but it''s about math.So I guess we''re those kind of uncles�C Cam..."


    Mitchell froze in his steps as he saw a clown walking towards him. "Don''t be mad." Fizbo, Cam''s clown alter ego, held his hands up high to appease Mitch.


    "Cam, I thought we discussed this." Mitchell said in disappointment.


    "We did. But I- I started thinking. And this isn''t about you or me. This is about a little boy who deserves some happiness." Cam tried to defend his actions.


    "And he''s gonna get that from his weird gay clown uncle?" Mitchell said sarcastically.


    Cam got a bit angry and said defensively, "Fizbo is not gay. He''s asexual."


    "Oh." Mitchell exclaimed with disbelief, he couldn''t even look straight at Cam.


    Cam added, "He''s an innocent whose only drive...is to bring people joy and laughter


    and balloon animals. He''s- He''s the least sexual being on earth."


    "Oh, okay. Well, at least we agree on something." Mitchell insulted.


    "Yeah." Cam breathed in relief, but as he thought back on what Mitchell said, he exclaimed in realization, "Oh."


    Mitchell shook his head in disappointment before he said helplessly, "Well, I don''t think I can make you change. So I''ll pick up Lily and then we''ll go."


    Entertain company building, meeting room.


    "So, is that song good enough for the movie?" Edward asked with a slight anxiousness in his voice. As the time got closer, he couldn''t even sit still as he played the song for the director.


    Judd Apatow rubbed his chin as he thought about it, "Well..."


    Edward stood up abruptly and said, "You can take your time to think about it. Discuss it with the others too. I actually have to go now if I want to make it to the party."


    "Alright Alright. Go." Judd waved his hand helplessly. Edward smiled and said, "I''ll make sure to bring you a slice of cake."


    "If the cake is good, then yes. If it''s meh, then no." Judd responded.


    Edward finally left the meeting room in a hurry. He rushed to Amy who was hanging out with Maggie at the pantry and asked them, "Did you guys pick up what I asked?"


    Maggie nodded and smiled, "Yeah. It''s inside the car."


    Amy massaged her shoulder and said, "You need to pay us back more�C"


    "We''ll negotiate in the car." Edward stopped the conversation quickly. "There''s going to be a traffic jam at the hour. I''ll be running late if we continue talking here. Let''s go."


    "Wait, me too?" Maggie widened her eyes as Edward grabbed both her and Amy''s wrist before pulling them to come with him.


    "Of course, who''s going to hang out with Amy when I''m climbing the rock wall?" Edward teased.


    Amy nodded in agreement, "Yeah Maggie. It''s common sense."


    "It''s common sense Maggie." Edward joined in to tease. Maggie rolled her eyes and gave up, "Fine! I''ll go to the stupid party."


    Suddenly, Edward stopped and released Maggie''s hand. He got a text message, and as he checked the content, he said, "You know what? You don''t have to go if you don''t want to. My other friends will be there so Amy can hang out with us."


    Edward left Maggie''s behind and walked away with Amy. Maggie blinked her eyes twice as she stood there motionlessly. Then, she exclaimed, "Just like that, I''m thrown away? But...I actually want to go!"


    She whined, but Edward was already gone. Amy and Edward left hurriedly. Everyone was already at the party by the time he started his journey. However, a mile away from the Dunphy''s house, Edward suddenly stopped the car.


    Amy turned to him in confusion, "What are you doing?"


    Edward struggled as he squeezed into the back seat from the driver''s seat. Amy pushed his legs away angrily as it almost hit her face, "HEY! Watch it!"


    "Amy, close your eyes. I''m going to be nude here. I''ll change my clothes for a sec." Edward said as he unbuttoned his shirt, revealing his bare, muscular torso.


    Amy let out a startled yelp as she caught a glimpse of Edward in the rearview mirror. Her cheeks flushed, and she quickly covered her eyes with her hands, turning her head forward inside the car. "Can''t you do that when we''re actually there?" she grumbled, her voice muffled by her hand.


    Edward chuckled, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "No can do, my dear. Relax, I can change my clothes fast enough."


    Amy waited, humming along to the radio, her eyes still closed. A moment later, Edward returned to the driver''s seat, prompting her to remove her hand.


    Her eyes widened in disbelief as she took in Edward''s attire. "What are you even wearing?" she exclaimed, her voice laced with confusion.


    Edward, sporting a top hat, a masquerade ball mask, a bright blue jacket, and white gloves, beamed at her. "I''m a magician," he declared, his voice a playful baritone.


    He tossed a handful of confetti in her direction, the colorful bits raining down on her head. Amy groaned, her annoyance evident and she grumbled in disappointment, "I can''t believe I ever thought you were cool."

 Chapter 281: Fizbo (2)

    Chapter 281: Chapter 281: Fizbo (2)


    [Edward POV]


    After getting out of the car, Amy and I walked towards the rock climbing area, leaving the presents inside for now. I was trying to avoid stealing the spotlight from Luke, that''s why I disguised myself as the magician.


    It was Luke''s birthday party, and he was supposed to be the center of attention. I, Edward Newgate is the most famous person within the group of 7-18 year olds through a recent poll, so showing up as myself would definitely steal the spotlight. Even though Luke wouldn''t mind, I''d still feel uncomfortable if I ruin his party.


    "Ahh...AaaAAaaAAA," I practiced to change my voice. I added 2 pitches higher to my normal volume, and added in a little bit of bass. I was also sporting a blonde wig and a fake mole on my chin for good measure other than my magician costume. Part of me was curious to see if anyone would recognize me like this.


    Amy, in her shiny sequin vest, looked uncomfortable as she followed me. She grabbed my coat tail and stopped me. "Are you sure this is a good idea? I''m just meeting these people today!"


    I smirked, turning my disguised face behind the masquerade mask to her. "Don''t worry, just follow my lead. You''re usually pretty good at creating chaos, don''t get cold feet now."


    Amy grumbled, "I guess I can... My sister isn''t the only actress in the family. I''m even better than her at acting! But I don''t want to act in your shows though."


    I scoffed, "And I don''t even want to hire you." She gasped offendedly and kicked my shin, however, her feet missed as I lifted my leg up, which made her almost do a split on the concrete. "Ow!" She exclaimed as she grabbed her inner thigh, face contorting from the pain.


    I chuckled and mumbled, "Dumbass."


    As we reached the rock wall, I saw Luke climbing the wall, and Phil waiting for him on the ground.


    As Luke reached the top, Phil shouted encouragingly, "Great job, buddy. Now comes the fun part. Rappel down."


    Luke hesitated as he turned to look at the ground, "It''s really high."


    Phil pointed his finger at Luke and said, "You have nothing to fear but fear itself..." He turned to the floor and whispered, "..and the concrete."


    Amy and I almost burst into laughter when we saw it. Phil turned to Luke again, "But I''m right here, buddy." He raised his arms up, getting ready to catch Luke.


    "Okay, just catch me." Luke said before he jumped down the ropes. Suddenly, a fat clown appeared beside Phil, prompting him to retreat quickly in fear. Luckily, the staff for the rock climb was alert at all times, and he made Luke descend by himself slowly.


    [Phil''s commentary]


    "I am brave. Roller coasters? Love ''em. Scary movies? I''ve seen Ghostbusters,like, seven times. I regularly drive through neighborhoods... that have only recently


    been gentrified. So yeah, I''m pretty much not afraid of anything..."


    [commentary ends]


    Cam, as Fizbo the clown, entered the party merrily and said, "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, everybody! Quit your clownin'' around everybody! That''s my job." Cam chuckled like a clown, and danced a bit. The kids who saw him ran towards him immediately, cheering at the same time, including Luke.


    Phil froze and had his back behind a bush as he stared at Cam while breathing heavily.


    [Phil''s commentary]


    "...Except clowns. Never shared that with the fam, so... shh." Phil gestured to keep this a secret and added with a fake smile, "Do have an image to maintain. Um, I am not really sure where the fear comes from."


    "My mother says it''s because when I was a kid, I found a dead clown in the woods, but who knows?"


    [Phil''s commentary]


    Cam walked to Luke and said gleefully, "Hey. Oh. Well, you must be the birthday boy."


    "Wow. Is that you, Uncle Cam?"


    Cam laughed like a clown again and said, "No. I''m Fizbo the clown. I don''t know who this Uncle Cam is, but he sure sounds handsome, doesn''t he? Hey, who likes balloon animals?"


    The kids shouted at the same time, jumping and raising their arms up, "I do! I do!"


    Phil chanted at the side, "It''s just Cam. It''s just Cam. It''s just Cam. It''s just Cam."


    Mitchell, who followed Cam from behind, walked to the party carrying Lily in the car seat, and saw Phil glued to the bushes. He asked concernedly, "You all right?"


    Phil snapped back to reality, "What? Yeah. Just have kind of plicated relationship with clowns."


    Mitchell said, "Well, join the club."


    "I''m going to go�C" Before Phil could run away, I stood in front of him and said, "Greetings Muggles! I''m Ed�C Atlas, the magnificent! A Magician!" I bowed slightly, tipping my magician at him at the same time.


    Phil''s initial fear dissipated quickly, and he broke into a grin, "What? I didn''t hire a magician?!"


    Phil and Mitchell couldn''t recognize me, which made me grin. However, Lily, the toddler, was eyeing me suspiciously, which made me gulp my saliva.


    "I''m here for Luke Dunphy''s birthday party. Am I in the right place?" I pretended not to know them as I asked the question.


    Mitchell was a bit skeptical and asked, "It is, but who sent you here?"


    "Oh, I''m hired by Mr Newgate." I replied with an innocent look. Phil widened his eyes in excitement and said, "Edward hired you?"


    I shook my head, which made them disappointed. Then, I replied, "Mr Theodore Newgate hired me." I widened my eyes and said, "Wait, is Theodore Newgate, Edward Newgate''s family?! That old grouch?"


    Mitchell chuckled, his initial wariness had gone away as he saw my reaction. He said, "Yeah. It''s pretty shocking right?"


    Phil cleared his throat and said, "Okay Atlas, even though you''re hired by Ted, I need to assess your capabilities first. You might not know this, but I too, dabble in the mystic art�C"


    My empty right hand went behind my ear, and I pulled out a Teddy bear from it. Phil widened his eyes and exclaimed, "HOW?!"


    "A magician never reveals his secret." I said as I gave the teddy bear to Lily. She burst into laughter and hugged it tightly. "So, can I set up my stage now?" I said as I turned to the duo.


    "Y-Yeah of course! Um, the thing is, I promised Jungle Tanya to give her some time to get ready. You can go after her." Phil stammered before he agreed.


    "I don''t mind that." I said casually. "Can we have some cakes though?" Amy blurted out


    Phil smiled and said, "Of course! We already cut the cake! Um, wait, Atlas, I see that you didn''t bring many tools for your trick. I have some in the garage. Do you want to use that?"


    "Oh, I''ll take a look, after we eat the cake." I said assertively as I knew Amy was pretty hungry.


    Phil smiled in understanding as he too saw Amy''s frown and said, "Okay, let''s go in first. I''ll show you where the cake and the stage is."


    We walked in front of the bouncy castle, but the crowd of husbands gathering there made all of us curious, so we stopped to take a look. Jay also came out from the house, having the same reaction as ours.


    "EHH. That''s lame. I''d rather play outside." Bianca Douglas whined. Manny also shared the same sentiment, but he said, "You should go out and play. I''m watching it."


    "Then, I''m also going to watch it." Bianca said giddily before she hugged Manny''s arm and rested her head on his shoulder.


    [Manny''s commentary]


    "So clingy." He shook his head in disappointment.


    [Commentary ends]


    "I''m up. Kiss for good luck?" I said as I pointed at my cheek. Haley blushed a bit and said, "It''s just for good luck." She stood on her toes and gave me a peck on my left cheek.


    Claire gasped as she saw it. I walked in front of the crowd when Claire finally reached Haley.


    "Wow, so unenthusiastic." I said the crowd, which earned me no reaction. "I guess I understand. Magician is lame. You''d probably seen a lot of magicians at other parties before, am I right?"


    "Righttt." The kids answered me honestly. I nodded and said, "You guys probably got burned a lot, right? You were expecting a good show, but slowly, your hope that magic is really true, had died out. You have been hurt so many times, but right now, you decided it''s better to not think about it anymore."


    Phil, Gloria, Jay, Claire, Alex, Finneas, Billie, Enid, Jenna, Tara, Mitchell, Fizbo (Cam), and Lily, entered the house one by one, and they stood amongst the crowd, watching the show.


    "Is he talking about magic or his relationship?" Jenna scoffed at my opening �C not knowing that it was me underneath the mask.


    "Well, today, I''ll try my best to make sure that you''ll all believe in magic again and not just be muggles."


    "But the props are tweaked. We all know that!" Amy shouted with a cupped hand from afar. Everyone nodded as they heard it, while Phil turned to Amy in shock, "Aren''t you his assistant?"


    Amy shrugged and whispered, "He told me to do this."


    Phil gasped as he turned back towards the stage with a shocked expression, "He''s going to Houdini it."


    "I guess that''s true." I said as I pretended to be dejected. Then, I took off my top hat and said, "You guys probably have seen this many times. I mean, if there''s a top hat, the magician is going to pull a rabbit from inside it, right?"


    "That''s right/Yes!" The audience reacted in vigor. I nodded in understanding and said, "I mean, that poor rabbit. They were probably stuck inside the hat for a long time."


    Everyone nodded at my reaction. " Well, I don''t want to do that. So, I''m just going to set it aside and pick up some stuff from the table." I said, as I placed the hat on my left side, in the air.


    The crowd gasped as I turned my back on the floating hat. And when I turned, I grabbed the hat again, "I found this water cup here. So I''m going to use that."


    "The HAT FLOATED!" Luke shouted in excitement. I looked confused and said, "It did?"


    Everyone kids nodded at me vigorously, even the adults were really intrigued by it. The crowd becomes bigger and bigger, filling the living room space.


    "I mean, I didn''t start my routine yet." I scratched my head in confusion, which made some of the adults laugh. But the kids thought I was being truthful and they tried to convince me.


    "Alright alright. I''m just going to set it aside for a second." With a flick of my risk, the hat vanished in thin air.


    "Whoa." Luke widened his eyes. Manny too was becoming more excited to see the show.


    "Like I said before, you guys can make sure that I won''t cheat in the performance. So does anyone have a scarf I could borrow?"


    "Here, I have one." Enid said as she threw me a wolf-print scarf. I chuckled and said, "Everyone, thank the wolf lady."


    "Thank you wolf lady." Every kid followed along.


    "Hey!" Enid retorted shyly.


    "Anyone have a phone I could borrow?" I asked again, and I got the Iphone from Phil. I told them all, "Well, do you guys believe me when I said, I can get this scarf to go through the phone, without it having a hole in the middle?"


    "Eii~" The skeptics scoffed at my words. "Oh, you don''t think I can do that? Watch this?"


    I held the phone up high on my right side, and placed the scarf end on the middle of the phone. The crowd widened their eyes as they saw it moved into the phone, and came out on the other side.


    They exclaimed in amazement, and then applauded my performance. I stopped pulling the scarf halfway and said, "But, that''s still a little boring, right? Should I up the ante?"


    Everyone nodded in excitement and said, "Yeah!!!"


    Amy shook her head and said, "He''s just digging a deeper hole for himself."


    "For my next performance, I''m going to need a deck of cards. Does anyone have a deck of cards?" I asked sheepishly.


    "OOH OOH! I have it!" Phil said before he ran to the kitchen and got a new card from the cabinet.


    The show continued after I asked Luke to check the cards for any markings, even shuffled the cards for me to make sure that I didn''t mark the cards.


    "Before we start, this card doesn''t give me a good vibe, so I''m going to rip it." I ripped the 8 of the diamond card into 4 parts, and placed it underneath a see-through glass, holding it together with a paperclip.


    "Now, the thing about magic is, the closer you look, the less you see. So don''t trust your senses." Shuffling the deck of cards using a spring shuffle technique, I grabbed a King of Spade card and showed it to the audience, "Or else, you''re going to lose track of reality."


    With a simple turn, the card transformed into a Joker card, which awed the audiences.


    I giggled, breaking the serious atmosphere and said, "I''m just bragging. I can''t do that yet."


    Everyone laughed honestly, and it made the show even more fun to watch.


    "Now, for my first card trick, I''m going to show you the real possibility that we''re actually living coexistence with another dimension. I called this, the opposite dimension. Now everyone, can you tell me what''s the opposite of.." I showed the back of the card, "The colour red?"


    "Blue?" Manny answered in confusion.


    I nodded and said, "Yes. Blue. Now, do you believe me when I say, Um, I''m borrowing this usb charger, first..." I grabbed the charger from the desk and sat down on the desk, placing the charger cable in the middle of it.


    "Now, through this ordinary cable, I''m going to show you the existence of the opposite world. Look closely and carefully, because it''ll take a lot of energy for me to show the opposite world."


    I placed one card on the back of my hand that was holding the cable tightly, and slowly pushed it to go underneath the cable. "It might seem that I''m crazy, but believe me guys. The opposite world exists." I added cheekily.


    As the card slowly passed the cable, the red color turned blue, and the card was split by half in blue and red color. The kids exclaimed in amazement, and I immediately stopped the performance.


    "Whoa, did you guys see that?" I asked in shock. Everyone nodded their heads obediently. "That''s the opposite dimension." I added before I shuffled the cards again. "That''s too spooky for me. I''m going to stop that now and focus on another trick."


    Phil chuckled and whispered to Jay who''s standing beside him, "It''s actually a pretty simple trick, but his execution is really flawless."


    "Stop talking to me." Jay replied, still grumpy about Phil''s action to gawk at Gloria before.

 Chapter 282: Fizbo (3)

    Chapter 282: Chapter 282: Fizbo (3)


    [Edward POV]


    "For my next trick, I need a flashlight, just to be clear, a phone flashlight." I said as I took out my phone.


    The next trick showed the audiences how the card changes underneath the light, and the performances continued for a little while.


    "Now, for my finale. I''m going to need a helper�C" Before I could finish, Gloria and Phil raised their arms and yelled, "Me!"


    I looked at them in confusion and said carefully, "I mean. It''s Luke''s birthday party, so I was thinking of getting him to help me."


    Both of them became dejected and looked incredibly pitiful. I chuckled and turned to Luke,"Alright, I feel bad. So not a finale then. My pre-finale. Luke, pick a number from 1 t0 1000."


    "661." Luke replied with excitement. I uncapped a marker and wrote the number on the card, 3 of diamonds. "Alright, 661. Wait, did you just pick the first three numbers of your phone number?"


    Luke smiled and said, "My mom''s."


    I shrugged and said, "Should I get all the digits then? I''ll keep that card and we can start anew with a new number."


    Everyone chuckled except for Claire who looked at me with disbelief.


    "Give me a color too." I asked Luke.


    "Yellow." He replied.


    "Alright, so yellow, 661." I wrote it on the 3 of diamonds card, and I turned to the audience, "Now, you guys all saw that this card with the exact marking on it is unique. I couldn''t possibly know what kind of answer Luke was going to give me."


    "What I''m going to do, is I''m going to throw this card back into the deck, and I''m going to use this joker card to try and find him." There were 2 Joker cards set aside from the previous trick, laid outside of the deck.


    As my hand slid on the Joker card, the Joker image on the card vanished. Pinching my fingers together as if I was holding the image, I said, "I''m going to throw this guy into the deck, and he''s going to find the marked cards for all of us."


    "Wow!" Luke and the other kids exclaimed as they saw the Joker was gone.


    I made a throwing motion into the deck of cards. "Now, the joker is going to work on finding the card, and if he did find it, he''s going to signal us on it pretty soon."


    As I laid down all the cards on their back on the table, I searched for the Joker marked card, and found it. "Here it is. Now, did it work? Did he actually find the Yellow 661 card?"


    As I flipped the card, it was the 3 of diamond with the unique marking on it. The kids burst into cheers while the adults gasped in amazement.


    "Now that he has finished his work, it''s time for him to rest." I said as I shook the card, and the joker ink vanished. It returned to the empty joker card before, making the kids burst into cheers of amazement again.


    As a magician, I shouldn''t take too long to change in between the sets, so I continued even amidst the cheers, "Now, that''s supposed to be my finale, but as you guys were all so amazing, I will show you guys another sign of magic is real. This time, I also need a volunteer. The first one who came to the stage is it�C"


    Before I could even finish, Phil had already come to the stage. His actions made a lot of kids groan in discontent, but he ignored them all. I shuffled through the cards and said, "Tell me to stop."


    "STOP!" Phil said hurriedly, and the shuffled stopped at the 8 of spades card. "Good choice. Now, what I need Phil to do, is to take this marker, pick a random card. And draw a friend that would help us find the 8 spades cards."


    He picked the top card on the deck. I instructed him, "Make a simple face, with eyes, nose, beard, maybe a little bit of hair, and also, a frown. Now, you guys might only see that Phil is drawing a cartoon, but what he doesn''t know is that, with magic, the drawing is going to have a few of his characteristics, also it''ll symbolize Phil''s desire."


    As Phil was finished, he handed the card back to me. "We need a name for this cute guy...Um, he''s a little hairy, so...Oleg?"


    Everyone agreed with my suggestions. "Alright, so Oleg is going to find the 8 of spades cards inside the deck. Is it here?"


    As I cut through the deck, Oleg would appear on the top of it, making the illusion that he was travelling through the deck. "Wait, Oleg is smiling." I exclaimed as I cut the deck for the 4th time. "He must''ve found the card."


    I grabbed the card and showed it back to the audience. "This must be it." I said excitedly before dramatically flipped the card. However, everyone exclaimed disappointment as they saw it was the 8 of diamond card instead of the 8 of spades.


    "Oh damn, did Oleg fail?" I said as I flipped the card back. "Wait, Oleg is gone!"


    Everyone became excited again. "Hmm, I can''t find where Oleg is now." I said as I searched through the deck. "Unless." I acted like I thought of something, and glanced at the ripped out card underneath the transparent glass on the table. (Previous episode set up)


    Manny suddenly remembered something, "Ah! 8 of the diamonds were ripped at the beginning!"


    Everyone had the same realization as they heard Manny''s words.


    "Could it be?" I said as I slowly took off the glass cup, and grabbed the card from inside of it. As I unfolded the card, it became the 8 of spades card, which made everyone burst into applause.


    "Good Job Oleg." I said to the smiling cartoon. Then, I pretended to hear something from him, "Hmm, you said that you had done a good job, so you want a reward? Well then, what do you want?"


    "Hmm? A day off to take a vacation? Where are you going to go? Grand Canyon?" The kids were amused by the conversation I had with Oleg. Then, with a flick of my hand, Oleg and the card disappeared, "Alright then. Day off request approved."


    Everyone was curious to see where the card had gone. I raised my arms up to the crowd and said, "Everyone. Although Oleg is having a vacation, he''s on the back of a card, so he cannot go far. He must still be here inside the party."


    The kids looked around excitedly, trying to find where the card had gone. "No one can find him? I need to go home now, so I need him to be back." I said with some difficulty, which made the kids sympathetic to my plight.


    Gloria was so excited that her chest bounced, but then, she felt a sensation inside her undergarment. Confused, she peeked underneath her shirt.


    I told the kids, "Wait, can you guys sense that? That''s Oleg calling for help. Phil''s desire had overtaken him, and he had made a wrong choice."


    Gloria took out the card angrily and shouted, "Phil! How dare you!"


    "What?" Phil turned to her in confusion. Everyone turned to Gloria, and saw that she pulled out the card from her breast. Phil widened his eyes in alarm, "Hey! I didn''t put that there!"


    I patted Phil''s shoulder and said, "But he''s your desire. You created him."


    Phil looked at me with disbelief as I dug a deeper hole for him. Suddenly, I interrupted the clamoring and said, "Everyone! Do you believe in magic now?!"


    The kids responded, "Yeah!"


    "Now, it''s time for me to leave." I said pitifully, which made the kids exclaim in unwillingness. "Don''t worry about it kids, we''re sure to meet again, as long as you guys believe..."


    I threw the card deck into the air, making a card shower and everyone looked upward. However, when they turned to the stage again, they realized that I was already gone.


    Amy went to the stage and said, "Everyone, there''s a party favor given by Edward Newgate set up on the art and craft table outside. All of the kids should go there to take it now."


    Every kid cheered and rushed to the front lawn, together with some of the adults. Outside, the table was filled with inflatable dinosaur costumes. I couldn''t buy only one of those, and the minimum order for a custom design was 100.


    So I bought 100 of them in multiple colors. The Rubie Costume Company bought the design afterward as it was a very fun costume, so I have no loss in that, only profits.


    Luke was the first one to get his costume. "Put this on." Amy said. Then, she shook her head in realization, "Wait. W-why am I working so hard as his assistant?"


    "A magician never reveals�C"


    "OH! So You DID put your hand in her clothes!"


    "W�C NO! I didn''t."


    "Then, show me how you do it! Or else I''m telling grandpa!" She threatened me with a sly smirk. I chuckled with disbelief and said, "Alright, I''m going to show you once. But, I''m going to need more cleavage from you."


    Haley pulled down her shirt obediently and said, "Like this."


    I scrutinized it and hummed, "Hmm, I don''t think it can fit, but I can try."


    "Why won''t it fit?" She asked in confusion. Then, she realized it herself, "Oh, right. It''s Gloria. The cards probably have a lot of space in there."


    I nodded in agreement with her. Haley pulled down her shirt more, showing half of her chest, bending over slightly and showcasing it to me. "Is this enough?" She asked with a playful smirk as she tried to tempt me, vying for me to be embarrassed or lose my concentration.


    However, our moment was interrupted by her mother. Claire opened the door abruptly, and her mind stopped working when she saw the sight of Haley ''peacocking'' her breast to me.


    Haley immediately pulled back and covered her shirt again, "M�CMOM! Can''t you knock!?"


    "What in the world are you doing HALEY!?" Claire started to freak out and yell at the both of us. "With a magician?!" She asked with a tone of disbelief mixed with disgust.


    Haley stammered and said, "At least he''s not a clown! Dad''s a magician too�C"


    "HE''S NOT! I MADE HIM GAVE UP THAT DREAM!" Claire shouted and grabbed my hand, "Also you! No one gave you permission to come to my daughter''s room!" She pulled me up from the bed and tried to push me out of the room.


    However, Haley grabbed Claire''s hand with a horrified expression, "MOM! What are you doing?!"


    "I''m chasing him out of here! Sweetheart, I know you got your heartbroken but you should NEVER date a magician!" Claire scolded.


    I was laughing internally and agreed with Claire, "Yeah Haley. No matter how much you want me and showing your body to me, pushing me down on your bed, I told you, I already have a girlfriend and I can''t be with you."


    "HALEY!?" Claire looked at Haley in horror. Haley was flabbergasted, but her mind was focusing on another matter, "YOU HAVE A GIRLFRIEND!?"


    "Not only that, she made her sister watch from the closet." I added, again. Claire was stupefied and she stopped pushing me. She went to the closet and opened it, revealing Alex and Finneas who hid there when Haley and I came to the room.


    "Is the world getting sick?! What kind of games are you kids playing?!" Claire panicked and became quite weak in the knee. I laughed out loud, which made everyone turn their attention to me.


    "Oh, this is too cruel." I took off my blonde hair and said to Claire, "Also, you really can''t recognize me when I''m blond? I didn''t even have a mask on."


    Claire was stunned, and she scrutinized my face for a few seconds. "Edward?!" She called out with disbelief.


    Haley groaned, "Yeah mom! Do you really think that I was really going to make out with just a magician?!"


    I turned to her and said, "Oh, so you did bring me up here to steal my kiss."


    She blushed for a bit, "Shut up, that''s not what I meant. Besides, MOM! Look! Alex is way worse than I am. She''s already here for god knows how long!"


    "Noo- No! We didn''t come here to make out!" Alex stammered while Finneas was white as paper.


    "Hi Finneas." I greeted him with a slight wave. He smiled wryly and did the same, "Hi Ed."


    "Good day?" I asked.


    "Not really." He replied.


    "Sucks." I nodded in understanding. Haley, Claire and Alex looked at the both of us with disbelief. Then, I heard commotions coming from the front lawn.


    "Alright, I guess it''s my cue to go. I have to return to the filming set today. Haley, can you take care of Amy? Show her around? My dad will come pick her up later."


    Haley nodded and said, "Of course. I already talked to Tara."


    "Thanks cutie pie." I said before I grabbed her hand and kissed its back. Then, I turned to Claire, shoving Haley''s hand away and speaking with dejection, "Oh sorry. You probably don''t want her to get magicians'' saliva on her hand."


    Claire was feeling very guilty about the matter. "No�CNo, you can kiss her if you want." She said without thinking.


    "Really?" I widened my eyes for a bit, wrapped my arms around Haley, and pulled her closer to me before giving her a kiss on the lips. Haley widened her eyes, while everyone was stunned.


    After I released her, I turned to Claire and said, "Thank you for giving me permission. Bye~"


    "Edward!" Haley grumbled as she knew I was teasing her mother and her. Finneas slyly gave me a thumbs up, and I walked out of the room in a hurry.


    Haley grumbled as I left, "Great! Now I won''t know if he touched Gloria''s boobs or not." She touched her lips for a second before she giggled, but forced herself to be angry again. "I''ll make sure to see how he did it later." She vowed.


    Outside on the front lawn, as the chaos ensued, someone knocked over the beads on the art and crafts table, scattering it all over the cement. Luke was running around, and was slipping on one of the beads.


    Luckily, I passed by at the perfect time, and grabbed his dinosaur head before he fell badly. He still fell though, but this time, not enough to break his arm.


    "Edward?" He looked at me excitedly. "You came."


    "What are you talking about? I was here the whole time." I put on the masquerade mask, which made Luke realize it...or probably not.


    "What?" He was confused.


    "Atlas...I was Atlas..." I explained with a wry smile.


    "Ahhh." Luke finally understood it and nodded his head. As I got him up, I said, "I disguised myself to not interfere with the party. I have to go back to work now. Did you have fun watching my show?"


    "YEAH!" He replied enthusiastically. "I love it."


    I smiled and said, "Happy Birthday Luke."


    "Thank you Edward." He replied with an innocent smile and hugged me with his dinosaur arms. "I''m really glad you came."


    "That''s what your sister said�C Sorry about that. Tell your uncle Cam that you hate clowns. Goodbye."


    "BYE!" He waved at me with his dinosaur hand before he turned and slipped on one of the beads again. I grimaced as I looked at him, but he quickly got up, fixed his dino head and said, "I''m okay!"


    I smiled as I left the party, waving at Luke from afar. "A lot has changed," I mumbled to myself before I checked my watch. "Damn, I''m going to be late for the film set," I rushed to my car and drove back to the company building.

 Chapter 283: Movie Poster and Reply Song Progress.

    Chapter 283: Chapter 283: Movie Poster and Reply Song Progress.?


    [Edward POV]


    "What kind of movie poster do you want it to be?" Judd Apatow asked me after I got back from the party. I looked at him in confusion and said playfully, "...Aren''t you the director? Why are you asking me?"


    He smirked and said, "We all know who the director really is. If you know how to do camera work, I think you''ll even direct this yourself."


    "I''m really not going to do that." I replied with a grimace. He burst into laughter and patted my shoulder, "Let''s go. I want to settle this and go back home for Thanksgiving dinner."


    Some people celebrated it late, or with relatives on the weekends, which gave me an idea. Maybe I should invite Sage and Mrs Henderson for dinner with my family tomorrow. Better yet, I should invite all of my friends too.


    "Alright." I followed him from behind and saw the other main leads standing in front of a green screen. RG posed wearing a simple suit and EB wore a simple t-shirt and jeans.


    While they were shooting the pictures, I decided to open up the memory I got about 2023 Entertainment Landscape. I leaned on the wall on the back of the set, and closed my eyes.


    This memory gave me the experiences in the movie theater, the marketing the movies had done, their success, and also the scandals concerning that movie''s main cast members. Not only movies, I got some TV series too.


    It started from the movie Anyone But You, then it become Hit Man, after that, it become Oppenheimer, and it continued until I watched all the movies that were released in the year 2023�C movies that were watched by that ordinary guy.


    Barbie, Avatar: Ways of the water, Guardian of the Galaxy, John Wick 4, The Flash, Dungeons & Dragons, Godzilla Minus 1, Wonka, Super Mario Bros Movie, Ghosted, Poor Things, Cocaine Bear, Spiderman-Across the Spider Verse, The Little Mermaid, No Hard Feeling, and many more.


    I digested all of them in just a few minutes afterwards. In that time, my facial expression changed greatly from frown to smile to amazement to frown to smile to amazement, until the memory finally ended.


    Still keeping my eyes closed, I suddenly heard a crunching sound from beside me. Slowly, I opened my eyes and turned to the source of the sound. There, I saw Pepper and Vanessa both staring at me while eating popcorn.


    "What are you doing?" I asked in confusion.


    With a mouthful, Vanessa returned the question back to me, "What are YOU doing?"


    Pepper nodded in agreement to her and added, "Your face kept changing like a chinese changing mask show. What in the world are you thinking about?"


    "Movies I guess." I replied with a shrug. Luckily, whoever the guy I got the memory from was, he didn''t have a strong personality so I wasn''t influenced in any way by him.


    Pepper and Vanessa glanced at each other before Vanessa turned to me, "Um, this movie?"


    I rubbed my chin as I thought about it, "We need to make some changes. Pepper, can you get Haley here�C No, gimme a few costume designers? Vanessa..."


    She flinched a bit as I looked at her. I asked, "We need to make your hair fluffier."


    "...What?" Vanessa touched her hair in confusion. I halted the poster shoot for a bit and made the actors get some rest while I worked on the design.


    I worked with the costume designers that evening, creating some outfits for the movie scenes and the poster too. The designer''s eyes glittered when I gave them some designs from a decade from now. Although, they were all for the celebrities characters in the movies.


    "Wardrobe is another marketing strategy for a movie. Unique wardrobe can make the movie stand out." I told Pepper as he asked me why I was doing this.


    Finally, the design for the movie poster was done and the photoshoot resumed.


    Ryan Gosling, in his ''Ken'' outfit, a bandana on his head, sunglasses, and white fur jacket on top of his shirtless torso, looking haughty and cool. He was also clean shaven for the shot, which made him look younger.


    He stood in front of Emily, Vanessa and I, looking directly at the camera while I looked at him with scorn, Emily with concern, and Vanessa looked at me while batting her eyes.


    I made temporary edits using Robin and printed out a copy of the movie poster.


    "Oh, it''s kinda nice." Ryan Gosling said, still in his full ''Ken'' costume. "By the way, where did you get the idea for this style?" He asked with intrigue.


    "It''s just at the top of my mind." I played it off and changed the subject, "It''s not a real mink coat, so you can bring it home if you want."


    "Really?" His eyes lit up, but he suddenly deflated, "Nah, I can''t do that. We may need this for the scene."


    Before the cast members left for the day, I stood in front of all the staff members for the movie, which had 200 staff members. The poster was printed onto a huge backdrop, bigger than my size, and the name for the movie was kept hidden by a black tape.


    "We have 75 days to complete the movie. I''m sure that many of you made the sacrifices to be here, even sacrificing your holiday traditions. I won''t take your efforts for granted, and I promise that I''ll give my best for the movie. On Monday, we''ll officially start filming for the movie."


    The staff members cheered at the announcement. They were all looking at the movie poster in excitement, as from the posters alone, it would seem to be a pretty fun movie.


    "Our creatives have finally come out with a name for the movie. From now on, the movie will be called..." I took out the piece of paper with the movie''s name on it and unfolded it.


    "Selfmade." I announced, and 2 staff members took off the tape from the movie poster.


    The staff and cast of the movie applauded as they saw the full poster. As they clapped, some of them whispered to each other.


    Ryan whispered to Emily, "It''s concise, memorable... That''s pretty good."


    Emily replied, " It taps into universal themes of pride, responsibility, and the consequences of one''s own choices. It''s much better than Love Countdown or 90 Days of Love cause that''s pretty seasonal."


    Pepper grimaced and said huffily, "I wanted something more romantic. Well, this is great too! But where''s the romance!"


    Paige shook her head and said with a giggle, "The movie had passed the tropes of just romance a long time ago."


    "Can''t we just make a simple love story? I want to see a love story with Edward oppa as the protagonist." SunHee complained.


    Besides studying people''s reactions, I also gave a thumbs up for the creative team who came out with the movie name. The creative team was basically Judd Apatow, Paige, Pepper, and myself, but this name came from Paige.


    For a Hollywood movie, simplicity helps in getting the prospective audience to remember its name. It also fits the theme of the movie, a protagonist who is the architect of his own downfall.


    ...


    [General POV]


    At Dunphy''s house, after the guests had left, only the extended family stayed behind. It''s already nighttime. Outside the house, the crew were taking down the zipline, the bouncy castle, and the rock wall. The lawn was filled with toys�C water guns, balloons, and even dino suits.


    A lot of the kids brought the dino suit back to their house, and continued wrecking havoc there. Edward was cursed a lot by the parents, but at the same time, they were glad to see their children so happy unleashing their inner beast.


    "Edward saved you from falling down?" Phil asked Luke in confusion as everyone was near the kitchen. Jay, Mitch and Cam were by the dining table, and they turned to Phil. The ladies were in the living room, exhausted from the party.


    "Was he here? When did he come?" Phil questioned.


    Claire smirked and excitedly interrupted the conversation as she patted Phil''s arm to gain his attention. She was standing behind Phil as she placed some leftover foods inside the fridge. "Oh, he''s been here since the beginning!"


    "What?" Phil looked at Claire weirdly, with an expression that said he didn''t believe her.


    Alex piled on the teasing, crossed her arms as she walked to Claire''s side and said, "Dad, try to remember. He''s here. You even talked to him�C You talked to him a lot."


    Phil''s eyes moved quickly as he tried to remember. With a shocked voice, he guessed, "Jungle Tanya?!"


    "What�C NO!" Claire looked at Phil with exasperation. Alex said disdainfully, "How in the world did you think he''s Jungle Tanya?!"


    "By using a hyper realistic mask from the Nick Cage movie!" Phil defended himself quickly.


    Cam, holding some ice to his face, already took off his clown makeup after Phil apologized and told him about his fear of clowns, stood by Phil''s side and said, "I''m with Phil. If Edward was here, we would''ve noticed him immediately. He''s a hard guy to miss noticing. People will be all over him."


    Alex smirked, "That''s exactly why he''s here with a disguise. Come on, you can do it."


    Luke joined Alex and teased, "Come on, you can do it."


    Manny stood by Phil''s side too, "He didn''t come."


    "He did." Luke started to argue with Manny.


    Gloria and Jay joined in the conversation. Claire turned to them and asked, "Do you guys think that Edward had come here or not.


    Jay said, "He might be really good at not getting the limelight on him. I guess it made sense if he stopped by."


    Gloria immediately replied, "He didn''t come!"


    Haley stood beside Claire and Alex, "Wrong! He did come."


    Mitchell brought Lily with him, and stood beside the opposition, "He didn''t come."


    "Ed." Lily babbled, which made Claire take her from Mitchell, "Aww, see, even Lily knew that Edward had come."


    "Ed!" Lily babbled again.


    "It''s 6 to 5. We won." Haley teased.


    "Still, there''s no evidence that he was here." Mitchell said with a smirk. "It''s just speculation at this point."


    Claire rolled her eyes and said, "Don''t pretend you''re a lawyer�C"


    "I AM A LAWYER!" Mitchell retorted incredulously.


    Cam interjected and said, "Like Mitchell said, we don''t have proof that he''s here."


    Luke said, "He''s here. He even said that he hates clowns." Already forgotten the lines Edward fed him, Luke guessed that was what Edward said based on the pieces he did remember.


    Cam gasped in humiliation, and his eyes became watery, "I already got punched today, but I got punched in the gut again?" Mitchell hurriedly comforted him.


    Gloria brought the topic back, "If Edward is here, where did he go?"


    "He''s at Haley''s room, making out with her." Alex exposed. Haley turned to Alex in shock, while the others looked at her with intrigue.


    "Ooooohh.." Everyone exclaimed teasingly.


    "What�C You''re the one who''s making out with your boyfriend. He just kisses me to piss off mom." Haley exposed Alex. "We didn''t even get the chance to be alone before you and Ed came." Alex argued back.


    Phil''s eyes shook and he said, "I''m just going to pretend I didn''t hear any of that. My little angels would never."


    Alex and Haley felt guilty and embarrassed as they saw their dad''s facial expression. Claire noticed the mood and immediately said, "Edward was ATLAS! Can you believe that?!"


    "Oh my god really?" Phil immediately lit up at the news. Everyone who opposed shared the same disbelief and excitement. "The only reason I didn''t guess Atlas is because he''s very good at magic. Edward barely learned it before." Phil added.


    [Phil''s commentary]


    "Can it be that in a short amount of time, he becomes a top magician expert that can compete with the other big names in the world? He really is a prodigy in whatever he''s doing."


    He paused as he fell deep in thought. His eyes lit up and he gasped, "If someday people are going to write a memoir for him, I would become one of the first people who introduced him to the world of magic. Magic enthusiasts worldwide would thank me."


    [Gloria''s commentary]


    "HE''S THE ONE WHO PUT THE CARD IN MY BOOBS!?!"


    [Commentary ends]

 Chapter 284: A short break.

    Chapter 284: Chapter 284: A short break.


    (I''m going to get my wisdom teeth pulled out tomorrow, so I''ll be taking a break this week.)


    [Edward POV]


    I scribbled on a piece of paper while Vanessa practiced taking my blood pressure. She struggled to unwrap the inflatable cuff, using too much force, which made her stagger and nearly fall. "Owie.." She whined as she grabbed her shoulder, the sudden movement made her muscles hurt.


    "I''m okay!" she exclaimed hurriedly, her arms flailing before stopping abruptly. I looked at her in disbelief after a short awkward silence ensued. "That''s just the very first step."


    With a hint of self-deprecation, she replied, "I know. I suck at this. Um, do I even need to use the stethoscope? Why should I?"


    She touched the stethoscope around her neck and looked at me, seeking an answer.


    "It''s for listening to specific sounds called Korotkoff sounds. It''s an old method for assessing cardiovascular health, but you don''t need to dive into it too deeply," I said dismissively. Then, I pointed at my inner elbow.


    "When you place the cuff on me, make sure to position the stethoscope over the brachial artery in the inner elbow. That''s where nurses listen for the sounds. I don''t want you to make a mistake and have people think the studio has no idea what we''re doing, even in something as simple as this."


    She rolled her eyes and said, "Fine! I will try not to embarrass you. What else should I pay attention to My Great Master?"


    I accepted her sarcasm and said, "Change Master to Overlord. Come on, do it properly this time. Starting from the very beginning."


    After 10 tries, she finally managed to place the cuff around my arms in an acceptable way. While she was pumping the inflatable cuff, she stared at my arm and said, "You have a really nice arm."


    "Don''t flirt. Practice." I said sternly before scribbling some notes onto my notebook.


    "I''m not going to flirt." She said disdainfully. "What are you drawing anyway? Who''s that guy? Spiderman?"


    "Oh, it''s Deadpool." I said with a grin as I showed my drawing to her. It was the latest movie I had watched. Now, the song Bye Bye Bye by NSYNC has become an earworm in my mind.


    Confused, Vanessa asked, "You said you want to work on your song."


    "I am...not." I said playfully. Vanessa groaned before she said, "You know, this stethoscope is actually pretty loud."


    I picked the stethoscope head and flicked it twice. Vanessa was startled and she retorted, "Hey! I almost got deaf!"


    "Talk about exaggeration." I pursed my lips and teased. Annoyed, Vanessa said, "I think I have got the idea now on how to do it. I''ll practice on my own." She grabbed her shoulder again, her face grimacing in pain.


    "What''s wrong with your shoulder?" I asked with a slight concern.


    "Huh? Um, It''s just tight from all the practice. It''ll be fine tomorrow."


    "You haven''t practiced for a few days though. I gave you a break for Thanksgiving, remember?" I exposed her lies.


    Vanessa was taken aback and she dodged my eyes. Narrowing my gaze at her, I asked, "What did you do?"


    "I mean..I might got into a little fender bender..." She said guiltily.


    "When?" I asked.


    She looked at me with a worried and pitiful expression. My heart skipped a beat, not because of her cuteness, but because of the sudden realization. "When Vanessa?"


    "J...Just now... But I DIDN''T HIT ANY OF YOUR CARS!..."


    "Then, what did you hit?" I asked, slightly agitated.


    "Um..the wall?" I sighed and suddenly turned to the side, "Robin, damage report."


    "None sir. The wall is still intact. Only her car bumper become slightly loose." Robin replied.


    Vanessa already knew about Robin''s existence as she''s always here. She defended herself hurriedly, "See, I didn''t damage anything."


    I sighed and said, "You did. You damaged one of my important products. Sit here, let me take a look at your shoulder." I stood up from the bed and forced her to sit at my spot. She blushed a bit as I ran my hand on her shoulder.


    "Hmm, luckily it''s just whiplash. You''ll be fine in a few days. Or, you can be fine tomorrow if I massaged it today. You want me to do it?"


    "S-Sure...Nothing lewd, right? I don''t want to be like Taylor." Vanessa teased.


    I smirked and said, "Yes, she did become infatuated with me, borderline obsessive, because of my massage skills. Take off your shirt and lie down on the bed."


    Vanessa was startled and immediately hugged her body, "Hey! You said you don''t need me to sacrifice my body."


    I looked at her with disbelief and said, "For the massage you dumbo."


    "Ah." Vanessa exclaimed in realization before she became embarrassed.


    Pushing the paper away, I turned to her and asked, "I''m going to have all of my friends over tomorrow for Thanksgiving dinner. Do you want to come?"


    Vanessa laid down with her back bare, and she replied nervously with a blushing face, "Why do you want to make me come! You said this is a normal massage�C"


    I hand-chop her head, making her exclaim in pain. "What do you have in your mind? I''m asking if you want to come to Thanksgiving dinner."


    "Sorry, I''m nervous." She said as she hid her face in my pillow. "It''s just a massage." I said as I placed some lotion�C made from the alchemical formula I received, on my palm.


    "It''s just...I heard crazy things about�C UHMMM!" She moaned instantly as I rubbed the lotion on her shoulder and pulled on her muscles.


    30 minutes later, she became breathless, her hair unkempt, and her skin was glistening from the oil and sweat. "I think I need a smoke." She said as she laid down casually on my bed, pulling a blanket to cover her body. Within seconds, she fell asleep.


    Maggie entered the room a minute later, "Ed! What have you done to Vanessa�C" As she saw the sight of her friend on my bed, Maggie''s face became flushed in anger. She stomped towards me and before she could accuse me of anything, I stopped her with one sentence. "My clothes."


    Maggie froze in her spot and her anger dissipated. She immediately smiled and asked me properly, "Ed, what are you doing with Vanessa?"


    "We were practicing for the movie, the nurse stuff. She got into a little accident and hurt her shoulder. I just finished giving her a massage. She fell asleep during."


    "Ah." Maggie exclaimed in relief. "Get her back to your room...You know what, just let her stay here. I don''t want to sleep tonight anyway, so I''m going to go to the living room."


    "Why aren''t you sleeping?" Maggie asked curiously.


    Gesturing under my eyes, I said, "Colt''s character has an eyebags, a really tired face too, so I''m not going to sleep until the shooting starts to get ready. It''s called method acting."


    "It''s called Lunacy. There''s makeup for that." Maggie said angrily as she slapped me on my shoulder. I turned my head upward slowly as I stared at her. She flinched and immediately ran away before I could reciprocate. I stood up and walked slowly to get her.


    "Uncle Ted! Help!" Maggie shouted desperately. After everyone had slept, I stayed by the pool, working on a few of my projects, until the sun rose up.


    ...


    Sunday morning. Today was the last break I could have before 1 month of full filming schedule. My dad, Phil, Luke, Manny, Jay, my grandpa, Uncle Jim, basically all the guys, we went to watch the football match at school today.


    My dad, Phil and I went to the bench to meet Cam and the team. Jacob, Tyler, Tyrone, Kyle, and everyone else were excited to see me.


    Tyler asked, "Are you joining the match today Ed? The opposing team is pretty tough to beat. We had never once won against them during my entire time playing."


    Kyle interjected, "He can''t. He has the movie shoot. Nothing can happen to his face. We don''t have the money to fix it back again."


    Everyone burst into laughter, except for Jacob. He was extremely depressed not being able to play with me on the team. I pulled him to the side and whispered to him, "You know, I want to play too. But I contractually cannot... So, you have to play for me too, alright?"


    His eyes lit up, and then it became a fiery determination. Cam asked me in shock, "What did you say to him? Why is he suddenly filled with a murderous aura?"


    They applauded me as I finished the song. My Aunt May commented, "You should probably use other examples than Ross and Rachel. Their relationship is not that great."


    "Next one!" Enid demanded. "Alright, next up, ''MotherLover''." I said as I picked up the guitar again. Sage quickly ran towards me and stopped, "Alright, I think you can skip that one."


    Vanessa shouted, "Ed, sing Nice Guys or S.W.G. (Ryan Higa)"


    Maggie was confused, "You mean, S.W.A.G? You know, like swag?"


    Vanessa shook her head, "No, like Sweet Wholesome girl."


    Jenna''s eyes lit up and she shouted, "I want to hear that!"


    "I want to hear Nice Guys!" Amy said.


    "Let''s vote, who wants to hear Nice guys, who wants to hear SWG?" Uncle Jim took charge and made them raise their hands.


    "Do I get a vote?" I asked with disbelief.


    "No! Just sing Monkey." Amy teased.


    "Nice guys won. Sing that first, then you can sing S.W.G." Uncle Jim said mischievously.


    I sighed again and mumbled, "At the very least, Max isn''t here. Or else, I''ll die from embarrassment."


    Frankie suddenly pointed to a laptop sitting on the stand next to her and said, "She''s been here the whole time." Max was on the screen, laughing until she lost her breath from the first song. Frankie unmuted her and said, "I called her when we left the table."


    Max couldn''t even talk properly as she would burst into laughter, "Bella (Laugh)...You said you hate Twilight...(Laugh)..."


    "Look! Edward''s face is red!" Enid pointed out while laughing. I covered my face with my hand and said, "Is this bad karma? Have I done a bad thing recently?"


    Maggie was extremely satisfied by the performances today. Finally, she got her revenge on me.


    Elsa commented, "You were the one sampling these for the movies. If anything, you did it to yourself."


    "Sing Nice guys!" Enid demanded again. Everyone was clamoring for me to start, which made me helpless.


    "Alright Alright." I said with a grimace. "The song is part vocal part rap. So, enjoy."


    [Ryan Higa �C Nice Guy. (Youtuber)]


    I sang with a sweet vocal, "?? Nice guys finish last~ That''s why I''ll treat you like trash."


    Everyone grimaced as they heard the lyrics. Maggie curled her fingers as she cringed, and Amy desperately tried to hold her laughter.


    Even with a red face, I continued, "?? It''s not what I really wanna do, but~ You only date bad guys, so, I''ll give it my best try to, Treat you the way you want me to...??"


    Then, I rapped even while strumming the guitar, "?? I never open a door or pull out a chair. You can tell me how your day was, but I don''t really care. And if you ever get cold, you''ll just have to hack it,''Cause I''d be cold too if I gave you my jacket.??"


    "That''s true." My dad commented, which made Frankie turn to him in shock. "I agree." My Uncle Jim blurted out, which made him get pinched by Aunt May.


    The rap continued, "??Like, "Woah, you ain''t sittin'' upfront".Front is for the homies, you can sit in the trunk.??"


    Jacob gestured by hitting his chest 2 times. I pointed in agreement with him slightly, which made the girls there roll their eyes.


    "?? I never answer my phone, whenever you call it. And when the waiter brings the bill, I never reach for my wallet. ??"


    Vanessa mumbled, "Why am I briefly attracted to Ed just now?"


    Maggie rolled her eyes and said, "How bad a boyfriend Zac can be?"


    Max turned to Frankie and asked, "Isn''t that how a date usually went?"


    Frankie sighed and said, "No...it''s not."


    The chorus repeated, " ??Nice guys finish last. That''s why I''ll treat you like trash


    It''s not what I really want to do, but, You only date bad guys, so, I''ll give it my best try to,Treat you the way you want me to.??"


    I hesitated for a bit before continuing. Everyone caught it and prepared themselves, most were trying to control their laughter.


    I rapped abruptly, "??And I''ma beat you!??"


    "OH GAWD�C!" Maggie widened her eyes.


    As I continued, everyone breathed in relief," ??...in every competition. Going out with the girls? You better get my permission, Wait, no, I take that back, you can''t go. Breaking Bad is on tonight and that''s my favorite show??


    "Again with the advertisement." Jenna commented.


    I mimicked a girl''s voice, "??Do I look fat in this dress???" before turning it back to normal, "??Hell yeah, you do.Wait, lemme speak your language, cows go, MOOO!!??"


    Everyone gasped in disbelief and bewilderment. Maggie''s and Vanessa''s jaw dropped in shock. I lowered my head in embarrassment, letting the beats loop on its own. Everyone desperately tried to hold back their laughter, but then, they failed.


    I took a deep breath and finally raised my head again, "?? Nice guys finish last


    That''s why I''ll treat you like trash. It''s not what I really want to do, ho-oh. You only date bad guys, so. I''ll give it my best try to, treat you the way you want me to??"


    As I sang the bridge, my embarrassment was finally gone. "??But behind the scenes


    She means the world to me.??"


    "Aww." Jenna and Enid exclaimed at the same time.


    "??I wanna tell her that she''s beautiful, And show her that she''s loved.??"


    Max commented, "He ruined it now."


    "??Hold her hand when she''s scared''. Tell her how much I care. But that won''t win her heart because~~~!!!??"


    "?? Nice guys finish last! That''s why I''ll treat you like trash! It''s not what I really want to do, ho! You only date bad guys, so, I''ll give it my best try to!! Treat you the way you want me to!!??"


    I turned to Max and said, "Hoe."


    Max gave me a thumbs up and said, "He saved it."


    "I''m going to the bathroom." I said before I left the living room. Everyone was still laughing at the performance, and they kept discussing the song lyrics. After I washed my face, I bumped into Mrs Henderson in front of the door.


    "You have a nice little group right here, right Edward?" She said with a smile. I turned to my family and friends and said, "Not all of them could be here, but yes."


    She rubbed my hair and said nothing. I turned to the little group again and smiled softly. An idea started blooming inside my mind as I walked back towards them.


    "Now, I''m just going to sing MotherLover(The Lonely Island) and end this."


    My next song resulted in a 2 hour long lecture from my grandmother. Everyone had to listen to it, not just me. When I came to the movie studio the next day, Pepper was startled to see the prominent eye bag underneath my eyes.


    "Oh this? My grandmother decided it wasn''t enough for me to listen to a 2 hour long lecture, so she gave a special session, just for me." I said as I pointed at my tired face.

 Chapter 285: Dragon

    Chapter 285: Chapter 285: Dragon


    (I''m back. I am still in pain lol)


    [Edward POV]


    As we prepared to shoot the first scene of the film, a team of hairdressers surrounded me as I sat on the makeup chair.


    One of them touched my hair and said with a latina accent, "Such beautiful hair! Do we really need to cut them short?"


    "It''s short in the poster, so we have to!" A man in a pink blouse said sympathetically as he held a scissor.


    I chuckled and said, "You don''t need to cut it short. Make it darker, and also, a 7:3 part like I said before."


    "Not middle parting?" The curvaceous latina asked in confusion. The gay man slapped her shoulder lightly and said, "I know what style he wants. Like in your Rolex advertisement, right Edward?"


    "Exactly. I''ll leave it to you guys." I said as I laid back on the chair. After a short transformation, I entered my character as Colt Seavers. My youthful brown hair was now gone, and it was also straightened a bit. Standing in front of a mirror, I button my blazer as I check out my new image.


    My straight black hair fell over my forehead, partially hiding my sharp green eyes, which seemed to pop against my green tie. A neatly folded handkerchief peeked from my pocket, and a silver cross hung around my neck.


    The hair color changes made my eyes seem even more mesmerizing. The hairdressers couldn''t stop staring. Pepper, Paige and Judd Apatow crashed into my dressing area, shooing the gawking staff members away.


    "My god. How did you suddenly age 10 years?" Judd exclaimed in shock. With contouring on my cheek, tired eyes, sharp gaze, I immediately entered the realm of the young adults, losing all of my innocent characteristics before.


    Pepper took his phone and started snapping some pictures while I posed in front of the mirror. "Hmm, Gladys, see if I can get the fake tattoo around my neck too. I need to be more charismatic�C Menacing. I need to be more menacing."


    The tattoo artist flinched as I used my deep, bassy voice as I ordered him. Paige was shocked and exclaimed, "Is this an actor''s capability! You changed everything about you!"


    It was my first time to use my Chameleon acting skill to the fullest. Internally, I was also a bit surprised by the changes, but the skill helped me in managing my facial expressions, keeping me in character at all times.


    I turned to her and smirked�C the new look made me seem quite devilish, which made the girls there feel flushed, including Paige. I stepped towards her, held her chin lightly, and said, "Is this character your type of man? Why are you blushing so hard?"


    Pepper was elated, "Right into character huh Ed! Come on! Let''s take a few official pictures at the set. I can''t wait to show this to your dad and my mother!" Paige breathed in relief as I released her. She walked to the side and lowered her head as she processed her embarrassment.


    (A/N: Kinda Like This)


    Vanessa also had her character preparation today. After adding some hair extensions, her hair was curled with a hot iron, transforming it into a voluminous mane. She also had to dye her hair, from black to slightly brownish.


    It became fluffier and curlier, cascading down and almost reaching her belly button. The dramatic change added a lively flair, perfectly fitting her character''s vibrant, kind and loving personality.


    Her character traits were a stark contrast of mine. The idea of setting her up as my character''s love interest was based on the golden retriever girl and black cat boy tropes in anime.


    Emily Blunt was ready in her character, exuding a sharp gaze that hinted at her inner strength. Her slightly messy dirty blonde hair framed her face, and with only light makeup, she looked like someone who had faced many challenges. The layers of her clothing��sweatpants and running shoes��added to her rugged appearance, emphasizing her fortitude and resilience.


    Lastly, it was Ryan with a youthful and sunny temperament, dressed in navy blue shirt and white trousers and wearing loafers.


    The movie couldn''t really work with only 4 main characters, so there were multiple supporting characters that would appear in the movie. Donald Glover, a writer for 30 rock, and the future Childish Gambino, was casted as one of my assistants in the movie. An aspiring actress who didn''t have any roles yet, 18 years old Margot Robbie, as my other assistant who has a crush on my brother Tom Ryder.


    Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Scarlet Johanson, Emma Stone, Christina Applegate would all be cameo-ing in the movie as Tom Ryder''s past lover. They were convinced to appear when Judd told them that all they had to do was to come, beat up Ryan Gosling, and go. All of them were pretty excited to do it, which made Ryan a bit depressed.


    "Ed, there''s a problem." Judd suddenly pulled me aside after I did the photoshoot Pepper wanted. He glanced around and said, "I kinda want to have an actress for ''Marissa''."


    I narrowed my eyes a bit in shock before asking, "She''s a running joke in the script. I don''t think we need someone to play her."


    Judd explained, "When someone is nominated for an Oscar, they''ll show a snippet of his acting performance right? We have that with Scarlet, but I think we need another one for Tom''s breakout performance."


    "Do you have any ideas?" I asked.


    "Honestly, not yet." Judd smirked. I rolled my eyes and said, "Me?"


    "Yes you! It''s your movie! Like I said before, I''m only here to make your creative vision come true�C"


    "Alright stop." I said with a serious tone. He chuckled sheepishly while I rolled my eyes at him.


    After thinking about it for a few seconds, I said, "Breakout roles huh. We already have that Star Wars one. I guess we can make it from D&D. However, it will need CGI, so we''ll shoot that first, and Marissa''s scenes�C only if we can manage the short clip. Otherwise, we''ll scrap the idea...or put it only on DVDs."


    "Sounds like a plan." Judd replied. Vanessa intercepted my path as Judd walked away. Holding her fluffy hair, she grumbled, "You know I can''t wash my hair for days after this."


    I chuckled and said, "You look like you haven''t washed your hair today."


    "Ugh!" She stomped away in dissatisfaction. In front of the director, she appeared grateful and polite, but in front of me, she always complained incessantly. I was a bit confused by it. ''Doesn''t she know that I was the biggest boss she actually had to appear grateful and polite to?''


    "Wait Vanessa." I called. She turned quickly, which made her hair swat her face, even a few strands entering her mouth. As she spat it out, I chuckled and said, "Never mind. I just want to see if that will happen."


    "You�C"


    As she was pissed, I walked away to get to the set while laughing. Vanessa didn''t have any scenes to do today, so she went home after getting fitted for her wardrobe.


    Alexandra''s heart fell as she thought it was another skeevy old man who wanted to have sex with her in exchange for a role, however she became surprised when the receptionist continued, "Mr Newgate. Edward Newgate!"


    "Oh." Alexandra relaxed a little, but not completely. Even though she knew about Edward''s song and had bought his album, she didn''t know about his personality in real life. After taking the elevator, she braced herself as she knocked on the conference room door.


    "Come in." Edward called. Alexandra opened the door and was taken aback when she saw Edward sitting on the couch, surrounded by books and stacks of work related documents.


    Edward smiled as he saw her and greeted her warmly, "Ah, Miss Daddario. You''re here. Sorry, I don''t have much time so I''m going to go straight to the point. I wanted to hire you to become a dragon."


    "EXCUSE ME?!" Alexandra widened her eyes in disbelief. Edward smirked, which made her heart throb a little.


    "For the movie." Edward continued, which made her feel embarrassed as she thought Edward could see through her and knew what she was thinking about.


    "We''re on a really tight schedule, so I''m going to explain to you clearly about the role." Edward said before he stood up and gave a few stacks of papers to Alexandra. The script clearly only contains her part, that''s why it''s so thin. However, it made Alexandra feel tremendous relief knowing that the role was legit.


    "You have to be a bit quirky as the dragon. I want the few short minutes of Marissa to be really likable." Ed said as he grabbed a script too. "You can take some time to prepare. I''ll also record the entire casting process."


    Alexandra sat down on the single seat couch that was facing Edward''s 3 seater couch and started reading her role. "It''s simple enough." She commented as she was reading the script. "But, I have to wear a horn?" She looked at Edward in confusion.


    Edward smiled softly and said, "It''s a different take from the Knight saving the Princess from the dragon''s grasp. The nervous knight made a mistake and accidentally shouted, "Dragon, I''m here to take you to be my wife", rather than ''Dragon, I''m here to kill you and make the princess my wife.'' It''s an accidental slip of the tongue."


    Alexandra broke into a smile and held back her laughter, "It''s really a comedy movie huh. So, the dragon, feeling flattered that someone finally saw her, turned into a humanoid dragon which is even more beautiful than the princess, and accepted his proposal?"


    "That''s right." Edward nodded.


    "So why me?" Alexandra asked curiously. Her heart was beating quicker the more she saw Edward''s face.


    Edward turned to her and said, "You have a face that suits this kind of fantasy setting, so I thought about you. Ah, her character in the movie and in real life is different. You have to show that you can act out 2 completely different characters if you want the part. I thought you are suitable for it, but if you don''t have the ability, I''m not going to give it to you�C"


    "I CAN!" Alexandra shouted urgently.


    It was an official breakout role for her to get into movies. With huge names in the film�C Director Judd Apatow, Ryan Gosling, Edward Newgate, Vanessa Hudgens, Emily Blunt, even RDJ and Scarlet Johanson cameo-ing, the opportunity was huge.


    She did act in supporting roles before, such as ''Pretty Girl'' in The Squid and The Whale, a horror movie, but she didn''t have any roles that made her stand out.


    Edward also felt a bit bad because he took the rights to the Percy Jackson movie and cut off her breakout role, so he was trying to make amends.


    Alexandra kept squirming on her couch, which made Edward feel bothered. He turned to her and asked, "Wouldn''t you feel more comfortable if you took off your jacket?"


    She was taken aback for a bit, "This? No�C I came here from the club, um, I guess it''s fine. It''s quite hot in here." Slowly untying the knot on her jacket, Alexandra took it off only to reveal a blue crop top with a deep cleavage that made her assets prominent.


    Edward looked at her with disbelief, and Alexandra meekly replied, "I was, um, clubbing�C"


    "You were going to hook up didn''t you?" Edward said with a teasing smile as he propped his head with his hand as he looked at her playfully. Alexandra became abashed and said, "Well, I never expected to receive a casting call so late at night."


    "Well, sorry that I disturb your little me time." Edward teased again. Alexandra''s face became flushed and she giggled, "Don''t be sorry. This is better than my ''me time''."


    Edward didn''t gawk on her body and continued working on his documents, which made Alexandra admire him more. After a while, Alexandra and Edward did some line reading for the role, which she nailed perfectly under Edward''s strict guidance.


    "Alright, go to costume fitting. We''ll do your scene tomorrow." Edward said. Alexandra brightened up and rushed towards Edward before giving him an abrupt hug.


    "Thank you!" She exclaimed happily. Edward grunted and didn''t reciprocate the hug. Alexandra quickly realized that she had crossed the line and pulled herself back in embarrassment.


    "Um, sorry." She apologized. Edward sighed and said, "Don''t worry about it. You can go now. I''ll notify the designers. They are on the 14th floor."


    "T-Thanks!" Alexandra quickly ran out of the room. Edward mumbled as she left, "Damn. It''s so soft. I hate my teenage hormones."


    Days passed by, and it''s now Thursday.After Taylor dropped her song, the internet and tabloid media have been having a field day with it. Fans were begging to have some context about what happened between Taylor and Edward.


    Photos of Edward talking, laughing and joking with Vanessa Hudgens on the filming set became viral on social media, some anonymous posters also voiced that they had seen Vanessa coming out of Edward''s house.


    They also said that;


    Anonymous 1: Edward and Vanessa shared the same car!


    Anonymous 2: Edward and Vanessa acted in a movie together!


    Anonymous 420: Edward and Vanessa ate at the same restaurant! ( with the rest of the cast from the movie!)


    For the Hollywood tabloid media, these posts just meant one thing. Edward was a despicable man, jumping from girls to girls�C A future Hollywood Playboy in the making.


    Days passed by, and there were still no comments from Taylor or Edward about the matter. Media hype slowly died down.


    Just when the fans thought that the matter would be brushed aside, Edward released a video on his Instagram on Wednesday. It was an ASMR video of him cutting firewood at the ranch with no caption other than the date, 12.4.2009 (Month first cause of US).


    4th of December, 2009. It would be exactly a week after Taylor released her song. Although the media was speculating what it meant, loyal fans understood it immediately�C there would be a special thing happening on that date, presumably a song from his side.


    Then, the dying embers of the scandal erupted again, becoming an even hotter topic this time, breaching even the Fox news and other mainstream media.

 Chapter 286: Reply.

    Chapter 286: Chapter 286: Reply.


    [Edward POV]


    Thursday. Late at night. Today, I stayed at my previous house as my seaside villa was crowded with paparazzis and fanatical fans trying to get the truth.


    There were a few paparazzis in the neighborhood when I came by, however, I snuck into my own house from the backyard and jumped to the window, so they didn''t notice that I was there.


    My dad and Frankie stayed behind at the seaside villa with the rest of my family members to give the paparazzis the illusion that I was there. No less than an hour after I got here, the paparazzis in the neighborhood all left to stake out at my sea side villa instead.


    "Damn, this reminds me of the ''Bieber Fever''." I muttered as I closed the curtains to my room before opening my book. Fans were following me everywhere I went�C especially my tween fans. This made me wonder, didn''t they have school? Were their parents enabling their behavior by letting them behave like this?


    Exhaustion was prominent on my face as I stopped using my rest skill to sleep, which meant, I only got an hour or two hours worth of sleep daily.


    Last night, it was longer, and it made me start dreaming again�C something that I hadn''t really done since I started coming to the world. I dreamt of a scene where I saw my aunt bleeding out in my arm. Their resistance in Cuba had borned no results, and they were suppressed by the government''s army.


    As I recalled the dream, I furrowed my eyebrows and rubbed my forehead in concern. Suddenly, I heard a knock coming from the bedroom window. I jumped out of the chair and stealthily went to peek behind the curtains. There, I saw Haley waving at me while standing on a ladder.


    Breathing a sigh of relief, I opened the door and asked whisperingly, "Why did you come here�C Better yet, how did you know I''m here?"


    As I grabbed her hand and pulled her into the room, she replied with a struggle, "Amy told��- ME!" She breathed heavily as she was tired from the run to get here. "She said there''s no food in your house, so I want to stop by�C"


    When Haley said that, she realized that she had forgotten something. I chuckled and said, "So, you have time to do your hair and put on some makeup, but you forget to grab the food?"


    "Shut up, I''ll just go home and grab it again." Haley rolled her eyes, but as she wanted to climb the door back down, I saw a paparazzi coming out of his car with his camera in his hand, so I pushed her head down and crouched on the ground.


    "Get down." I told the confused Haley as I slowly closed the window and curtains while not making a sound.


    "You seem like a criminal." Haley commented as we both were crouching on the floor. I chuckled and said, "I am one. It''s a crime to be this handsome."


    Haley giggled before she gasped as she noticed my hands, "You have a tattoo!"


    "Temporary tattoos." I replied before I said, "Let''s go downstairs. It''s not ideal to stay in my bedroom for a long time."


    Haley became confused again and she asked as I duck-walk away, "Why is it not ideal?"


    I turned to her and said mischievously, "Oh, I''m a little hungry, and also pent up. One way or another, I''m going to eat something, so we need to make sure it''s food."


    She smacked my back as she heard it, her cheek blushed a little. "Pervert! I should''ve never come!"


    "It''s too late for regret now."


    After we got out of the room, we walked normally and went to the kitchen. I searched the fridge, and Haley searched the cabinets. As my dad and I basically didn''t live here anymore, there was nothing inside the fridge.


    "Hey! I found some instant noodles." Haley whispered and gleamed in excitement as she found the ramyeon pack I had bought before. There were only 2 packets left inside the package, however, I didn''t have anything else to put inside of it. No eggs, nothing.


    "Are you inviting me to eat ''Ramyeon'' together Haley? Didn''t know you''re so forward." I said insinuatingly as I reached out for the ramyeon in her hand.


    Confused, Haley asked, "Is there another meaning for eating noodles together?"


    I took out a bronze coloured pot�C the stainless steel pot Koreans used to cook their noodles in, and a portable butane stove so I cooked it on the table. As I did that, I replied to her, "Yeah. They usually use subtle wording, and in this case, inviting someone to eat Ramyeon together means to have sex."


    Haley looked at me disdainfully and said, "You''re messing with me."


    "Google it then." I said with a cheeky smile before setting up the pot on the table. Pouring enough water for 2 packets of noodles, I waited for the water to heat up before placing the noodles in.


    Haley exclaimed as she read the Google result, "Damn it. Butttt�C"


    I interjected, "You said butt."


    "Not that butt. The but. Wait, that sounds the same. B.U.T." She spelled it out for me and continued her initial topic sentence, "We''re living in the West. So eating noodles are...eating noodles."


    "You sound disappointed." I commented. She bared her teeth at me playfully, "I wasn''t!"


    Ripping out the seasoning packet with my teeth, I poured them inside next. After a short minute, the noodles were finally ready. Haley and I sat in front of each other as she wanted to watch me eat, however, I told her, "Grab a spoon. Join me. It feels a bit lonely eating all alone."


    "Will this make my face puffy tomorrow? Cause the last time I ate instant noodles at night, my face got very puffy." Haley said worriedly. I chuckled and said, "Yes, definitely. But do it anyway? For me?"


    "Ugh. Fine." She groaned before smiling as she picked up a utensil. She slurped the noodles and exclaimed in awe. "Uhm, this is great. It''s so worth it getting my face puffy tomorrow. Um, Ed, tomorrow is when you''re going to release the song reply right?"


    "Yes." I nodded casually. "Luckily we didn''t date. Otherwise, you''ll be crazy jealous." I teased.


    Haley rolled her eyes and said, "I''m not going to get jealous if something like that happens."


    "You mean, if we date, and I wrote a highly personal, affectionate, loving song to my ex-girlfriend, you will be cool with it?"


    Haley swallowed the food in her mouth before she replied, "Strike my previous statement. I''ll be hella mad."


    As the song entered the chorus, the Tayward shippers squealed in excitement, with several people, numbering in the double digit, fainted because of it.


    "?? Oh, I love it and I hate it at the same time! You and I drink the poison from the same vine! Oh, I love it and I hate it at the same time! Hidin'' all of our sins from the daylight!??"


    "?? From the daylight, runnin'' from th�� daylight! From the daylight, runnin'' from the daylight! Oh, I love it and I hat�� it at the same time~!??"


    Pepper became exasperated when he heard it, "He''s gone crazy! He''s really gone crazy this time! He basically had admitted to the world that THEY HAD S�C"


    The fact that Edward used the same wording of love and hate in his chorus allowed the fans to make the connection from Taylor''s Hate U Love U song. Taylor found herself fixated on one of the lyrics, so she turned to Selena, "What do you think he means by ''drink poison from the same vine''."


    Selena was confused, "Isn''t that obvious?"


    The song continued with Edward finding himself being dragged by people and stoned in the music video.


    "?? Tellin'' myself it''s the last time! Can you spare any mercy that you might find...


    If I''m down on my knees again???"


    "??Deep down, way down, Lord, I try! Try to follow your light, but it''s nighttime! Please don''t leave me in the end! ??"


    Edward''s sincere plea made the line resonated with a lot of people living in situations where they couldn''t find their way out. A depressed teenager who shuts herself inside her room, began to cry as she watched the video. Not only that, divorcees, parents whose children were sick, all of those people in the same spot related greatly to the song.


    "?? (Ooh) There''s darkness in the distance... I''m beggin'' for forgiveness... (Ooh) But I know I might resist it, oh??"


    In the music video, Edward consciously held hands with a fiery man, knowing that he would also be caught on fire.


    Haley listened to the song and she remembered something from last night. When Edward and her were cuddling on the bed, she asked him an honest question.


    "Ed, you know that I''ll do anything for you. But, why haven''t you asked me to? We could just ''do it''. No strings attached."


    From their flirting that night, and the fact that he''s pent up, Haley was curious as to why he never actually crossed the line with her.


    Edward hugged her close and said while closing his eyes, "I don''t want you to just be a placeholder. I want to date you, properly. Even if it''ll take me 2 years to finally do it."


    "??Oh, I love it and I hate it at the same time...You and I drink the poison from the same vine??


    "??Oh, I love it and I hate it at the same time, Hidin'' all of our sins from the daylight??"


    Haley giggled and said, "Too bad. I''m the last one in my class to lose my virginity. I kinda want to do it before my 16th birthday so as to not be lame."


    Edward chuckled and said, "I mean, we can do that�C"


    "Don''t go back on your words so easily!" Haley punched him in the chest.


    "??From the daylight, runnin'' from the daylight... From the daylight, runnin'' from the daylight...Oh, I love it and I hate it at the same time??"


    Back to the present, the song quickly became popular an hour after it was released. It climbed the Billboards top 100 songs, and it was also being released on the radios.


    "??Oh, I love it and I hate it at the same time!??"


    "??You and I drink the poison from the same vine??"


    Taylor listened to the song and said, "So basically, he''s saying that he still wants me, but he won''t let himself. Right?"


    Selena was still confused by the lyrics and said, "I think your delusional disorder needs professional help."


    "??Oh, I love it and I hate it at the same time, Hidin'' all of our sins from the daylight??"


    "??From the daylight, runnin'' from the daylight, From the daylight, runnin'' from the daylight??"


    "??Oh, I love it and I hate it at the same time??"


    The fans commented heavily on the live chat, and within three minutes of the song, more than 30,000 comments were posted. A large crowd, numbering in the hundreds and the numbers of people kept increasing at the school''s gate as they waited to catch a sight of Edward.


    It became so large that police had to be involved to barricade the school and take control of the situation.


    Inside the exam hall, Edward found the SAT test to be easier than he thought. The first section, which was the critical reading, comprises multiple-choice questions related to reading comprehension. The time allocated for that was 75 minutes.


    Next was the mathematics section,it includes multiple-choice and grid-in questions on various math topics. Edward took 10 minutes to finish answering the questions, then he got bored because he couldn''t submit his papers early.


    Mrs Henderson stood beside Edward, peeking at his exam papers. Even though he wasn''t cheating, her presence made him anxious. Suddenly Mrs Henderson announced to the class, "Please read your exam questions properly."


    "Hmm?" Edward was confused and he double checked his papers, then, he triple checked it, but he couldn''t find anything wrong. When he looked at Mrs Henderson, he noticed a slight smirk on her face as she was watching him.


    "Damn it. I was tricked!" Edward grumbled in annoyance.

 Chapter 287: Danger Zone.

    Chapter 287: Chapter 287: Danger Zone.


    [Edward POV]


    The SATs ended at 12:15 in the afternoon. After submitting the last paper, we were finally released from the classroom. Some had frowns on their faces, while others were happy.


    Me? You might think that I would be smiling, but as soon as I heard the cacophony of shouts from the paparazzi and the fans, the good feeling I had from nailing the exam was crushed by a giant wave of anxiousness in my heart.


    "EDWARDDDD~~~~~!!!!!!!!!"


    "Mr. Newgate! A question, please!"


    "EDWARD!! DID YOU BREAK UP WITH TAYLOR!"


    To give them some credit, they were silent during the SAT process. I didn''t even notice the large crowd of people until after it ended.


    Mrs. Henderson walked past me with the exam papers in her hand. I looked toward her and said, "Do you need any help?"


    "A student should never get their hands on these, so no," Mrs. Henderson replied while carrying a heavy box. I shrugged and said, "What if he''s not a student?"


    "Then I guess he can," Mrs. Henderson said, stopping her walk. "Randall," I called into the empty space in front of me, and my manager appeared from out of the bushes. "Help her," I ordered him.


    Randall hesitated and said, "Edward, this time you might not come out unscathed. I should be with you to minimize the risk��"


    I waved him off dismissively and replied, "Mickey is enough for that. Also, don''t forget where I am right now. I have a lot of backups here."


    Turning to Mrs. Henderson again, I asked, "You''re going to give me a present for Christmas, right?"


    Taken aback, Mrs. Henderson replied in confusion, "Why should I?"


    "Being the woman who has known me my entire life, it''s kind of your obligation. I''ll wait for the present," I said cheekily. She gave a helpless smile, and I snapped my fingers at Randall. He begrudgingly picked up the box from Mrs. Henderson and took a deep breath to say something.


    But before Randall could say anything else, my backups arrived. "ATTENTION! READY! SET! HUTTT!!!!"


    The entire football team, clad in their game uniforms and armor, marched two by two to where I was standing. The uncanny sight was captured by the paparazzi, with flashes of light falling on them.


    They created a circular perimeter around me. Jacob and Kyle pushed up the guards of their helmets, and Kyle said, "The cavalry''s here!"


    Jacob added, "We thought you might need us to escort you out of school."


    "My initial plan was to hire an actual tank, but I guess I can make do with you guys," I chuckled teasingly. The team snickered at my comment.


    As Randall escorted Mrs. Henderson back to the faculty room, he asked her in a friendly manner, "You''re the woman who has known Edward the longest?"


    "I was his homeroom teacher throughout middle school, so I guess I am compared to the other women��except for his family," Mrs. Henderson replied with a poker face.


    Randall exclaimed in realization, "Ah, that makes sense."


    The cheerleaders snapped some pictures of the team circle, and basically the entirety of the student body, even the faculty members, stopped what they were doing and became spectators.


    "Ah, also, if we''re breaking out of here, there''s something I''ve always wanted to do," I said to the team. They looked confused. "What do you want to do?" Jacob asked.


    I smirked and explained the situation to them. Ten minutes later, Mickey drove my Ford Dodge convertible, but I was sitting on the car hood with a microphone in my hand. The car bonnet was open, revealing large speakers inside.


    Mickey sweat heavily from the anxiety. For the first time since he was promoted to be my head of security, he felt a sense of regret for jumping on the opportunity. He pressed the gas pedal without entering the gear, making the car engine roar.


    "My soldiers! We''re breaking through the front gate!" I shouted to the football team, who were protecting the car and boosting its morale. The entire school cheered for the ''Dolphins,'' and the guards opened the metal gate that was blocking the crowd from entering the school.


    "Everyone! Hi! Thank you for showing me your support while I was facing the exam! I think I did pretty well," I waved to them while speaking into the microphone. The sound reached the entire crowd, and everyone could hear my words.


    The speaker drowned out the paparazzi''s questions, and the football players formed a protective barrier around me, making it impossible for anyone to get close. They could only shout their questions from afar. Some even tried to insult me to gain my attention, but I ignored them all.


    My fans were elated to see me; the tween girls squealed and let out hysterical screams when they laid their eyes on me. Suddenly, as the car��moving very slowly��began to penetrate the crowd, music started playing.


    "Everyone! Sing it with me!" I said casually as I sat cross-legged on the car hood. It felt like I was at a concert, and some people recognized the song.


    "I can''t see." Mickey was sweating heavily as he drove through the crowd. "You''re doing well, Mickey, just an inch at a time," I whispered to encourage him.


    [A Thousand Miles �C Vanessa Carlton]


    A meter into the human barricade, I started singing, "?? Makin'' my way downtown, Walkin'' fast, faces pass, And I''m homebound ??"


    The football team struggled to hold back their laughter while focusing on keeping the people from breaching their defenses. The police, present for some reason, also helped clear the way as we started breaking free. That''s when I spotted a familiar face.


    Detective Chloe Decker was there. From the looks of it, she was doing grunt work for the uniformed officers, likely punished by her captain for something again. Or maybe it was because I spoke up for her before, and he was being petty. Who knows?


    We don''t wear shoes inside the house, but we do wear indoor slippers.


    "I know," I said, then asked, "Is there anything to eat?"


    "Your grandmother has set aside some food for you in the fridge," Robin replied. "She''s worried about you and wanted to know why she came out to California if you weren''t going to spend time with her. "


    "She''s complaining, Robin. She doesn''t really want to know about that. It''s just Grandmother''s guilt-tripping methods. Make a folder," I explained with an intrigued smile.


    Robin''s hologram blushed and said, "Got it, Sir. Your grandparents will be leaving tomorrow. Should I schedule some time for you to give them a proper send-off?"


    I nodded. "Yeah, do that. Otherwise, I won''t hear the end of it. Ah, Christmas. Did Grandma say anything about that?"


    Robin replied, "She declined your invitation to come here because she wanted a white Christmas. There isn''t any snow in California, so she asked you to come to Wisconsin."


    "There''s usually a snowstorm there around that time. Once, my dad, my birth giver, and I were stuck at the airport for 26 hours because of a snowstorm. We almost missed Christmas. Hmm, I have a lot to do. Maybe my dad and I will just celebrate here this year."


    "Your grandmother will be angry," Robin replied with a fearful expression. She finally captured the emotion well, hugging her body and giving a slight shiver. After dismantling the robot I found underneath Greendale Community College, I upgraded Robin with an emotion sensor system created by Russell Borchert.


    He used the device to play with his nipple and share the intoxicated feeling with his robot, Raquel, in an attempt that I could only hypothesize as making love with her�C it. I saw the potential to upgrade Robin so she could recognize human emotions.


    Robin used a scanner to analyze brain synapses to identify feelings. It made her even more human than Sheldon, however, there were a few disadvantages.


    Once, when I was online trying to find something to ''release'' my pent-up state, Robin realized that my brain synapses were going haywire and blocked all the related websites in the house. I couldn''t even explain to her what I was doing because of the embarrassment, so she''s still blocking them to this day.


    As I was taking out some food from the fridge, Amy and Maggie walked groggily out of their room and approached me. Maggie yawned, her long red hair disheveled. She was wearing starry pajamas, while Amy wore moon-patterned pajamas.


    "Why are you guys up?" I asked in confusion.


    Amy replied in a hoarse voice, "To get some water."


    Maggie added, "Amy stepped on my stomach, so I have to pee. Grandma made you some chicken."


    "Go back to sleep," I told them. However, they sat down at the dining table, intending to keep me company while I ate. They asked me a few questions about the song and told me how crazy things were on the internet today.


    The song''s music video also had 60 million views in one day. Taylor''s music video almost jumped up 30 million views today, making her views collection almost racing 200 million. The views were slowing down after the first day, but it''s still rising faster than the other music video being released.


    ''I think BTS still holds the record in my previous life. 108 million views in one day.'' I thought secretly as I was talking with Amy and Maggie.


    Entertain has started video monetization so I have earned a lot of money today. Entertain videos were basically 2015 era Youtube, with numerous channels popping up daily. Youtube has fallen far behind in technology, video refresh rate, quality, and so on. Many people were migrating to Entertain websites.


    On Youtube, my video views count was less than 10 million as most people opted to watch it on Entertain.


    Around 3 am, when I was lying in bed, I suddenly got a text message from Taylor.


    Taylor: Explain the song.


    Me: I''m tired. Just got back home from filming.


    Taylor: (picture.jpg)


    She send me a selfie of her in front of the mirror, wearing a tank top and shorts, sitting cross legged while hiding her face behind the phone.


    Taylor: Explain it or I''ll send you another.


    Me: (Sleep.emoji)


    Taylor: (Picture.jpg)


    She pulled her tank upward, revealing her stomach and slight underboobs in the picture. After a long pause, I sent her a reply text.


    Me: This isn''t a good idea.


    Taylor: Why? You said in the song that you still want me!


    It started an argument between us, and after some long heated discussions, I had to use my rest skill to get some much needed rest before I have to go work at 7 am tomorrow morning.


    The exhaustion on my face didn''t fully go away even if I had enough rest for the night. Around 10 a.m when I was preparing to go to the film site, Taylor stomped her way into my office with an angry expression.


    "What exactly are you playing at? Are you only using my feelings to make your song trending!?" She accused me. "Is that all I ever was to you!"


    With an annoyed expression, I replied in a cold tone, "Didn''t you do the same thing...first?"


    Taylor was taken aback, and then tears started pooling in her eyes. "You''re an asshole!" She cursed before she stomped away. I sighed in exasperation and said, "I''m too tired for this."

 Chapter 288: Do you believe in Father Christmas?

    Chapter 288: Chapter 288: Do you believe in Father Christmas?


    [Edward POV]


    In Southern California, winter weather is generally mild, ranging from cool to warm, with rain being more common during this season. I went back early from my filming today, around 4 in the evening, and spent some time with my grandparents before sending all of them to the airport after a family dinner.


    "Goodbye, Grandma, Grandpa," I said as I hugged them at the airport. The sky was a bit cloudy, but there were no signs of impending rain. My grandparents embraced me, my grandmother nagging me the whole time, while my grandpa simply gave me a pat on the back.


    "Take care of yourself, Ed. You''ve already missed so much of your childhood. I wish you could enjoy your life instead of working so hard," Grandma Jules said, holding me close. After releasing me, she kept her hand on my shoulder and stared into my eyes. "Promise me."


    "I promise I''ll work a little less during the holidays," I said, raising my hand in a vow.


    "How much less?" she asked.


    "Twenty percent?" I replied hesitantly.


    "Make that ninety," she countered.


    "Twenty-five," I shot back.


    "Eighty-five!"


    "Twenty-six!"


    "Are you not willing to go higher than twenty-six?" My grandma looked at me in disbelief. "If I want to accomplish my five-year plan to conquer the world, then I cannot," I replied with a mischievous smirk.


    Uncle Jim, who had become golden brown from tanning at the beach, smiled and interjected, "You''re going to be a comic villain?"


    "Villain implies I''ll be foiled by a superhero. But in this world, there are no superheroes. So yeah, I''m going to be a successful comic villain. The next Bezos."


    "Who?" My uncle contorted his face in puzzlement. Amy chimed in, "I thought you wanted to be Batman!"


    "The thrill of the double life does intrigue me," I nodded in agreement with her before adding, "But I don''t want to suffer. My dad told me to become more selfish, like a villain."


    My dad nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I did say that. And I still stand by it."


    Frankie agreed with him, but the rest of my family looked befuddled. Suddenly, my grandpa burst into laughter, breaking the awkward silence.


    After sending off my family, Maggie and I headed back to the house. Dad and Frankie went back to their work��at least that''s what they told me��but they shared a car, even though they were going in opposite directions.


    As my house came into view, I noticed a streak of brown and red in the sky, vanishing in the blink of an eye, just out of sight from my house.


    "Hmm? A drone?" I wondered, alarmed, and quickened my pace. Once home, I asked Robin if there were any drones or intruders around, but she confirmed that no one had entered.


    "Ed, there''s a scroll for you on the desk," Maggie said, her eyes sparkling as she pointed to a parchment rolled and tied with a red ribbon on the coffee table in the living room.


    "Robin, are you sure no one has come?" I asked again. "Show me the video footage from the time I was gone."


    "What''s going on?" Maggie asked worriedly. "Did someone break into the house?" She picked up the scroll and handed it to me. "Open it," she urged. Robin looked confused and muttered, "What scroll?"


    I sighed, feeling frustrated. "What if it''s laced with poison? Or viruses! Don''t touch things that appeared out of nowhere without checking first!"


    She rolled her eyes and untied the ribbon. As she read the parchment, her expression turned bored. "It''s just a Christmas song thing. You don''t have to be so manic about it!"


    For Maggie, the scroll was just an advertisement for a supermarket with electronic sales and jingles written on it.


    She tossed the parchment at me before walking away. "And if it had any of the things you mentioned, I would''ve been dead by now!"


    "Some poisons aren''t fast-acting!" I shouted after her. "And viruses can take even longer to show effects!"


    She stuck her tongue out at me and said, "You''re just a paranoid control freak! Bluerk!"


    I was annoyed, but the parchment grabbed my attention. I felt a rush of alarm because I was sure there hadn''t been anything on the table before. Even Robin hadn''t noticed it.


    The scroll read:


    [You better watch out,


    You better not cry,


    You better watch out,


    You better watch out,


    You better watch out...]


    The font began in cheerful, wholesome colors of green and red, reminiscent of Christmas. However, the repeated lines took on a sinister tone, written in blood-red ink with erratic scribbles instead of neat writing. This unsettling style continued with each repetition of the verses below.


    Better not pout, I''m telling you why:


    Santa Claus is comin'' to town.


    You better watch out...]


    He''s making a list,


    And checking it twice.


    Three times. And four times.]


    The next part in the verse made my heart beat quicker. It was written with coal, and there were no nuances in the wording. Goosebumps started to appear on my skin, and my back was drenched in sweat.


    [He''s gonna find out.


    He''s gonna find out.


    He''s gonna find out.


    He''s gonna find out.


    He''s gonna find out.


    He''s gonna find out.


    He''s gonna find out.


    He''s gonna find out.


    He''s gonna find out.]


    I took a deep breath before continuing. "Why the hell is this repeated 9 times!?"


    [Who''s naughty and nice.


    Santa Claus is comin'' to town~


    He sees you when you''re sleepin'',


    He knows when you''re awake,


    "Would you like a menu, sir? Ordinary guests need to order at the bar, but VVIPs like yourself have privileges."


    "Bring me something with caffeine," I said, pulling out a $100 bill and handing it to him.


    "We only have coffee frappe and coffee mocktail," the waiter replied, pocketing the bill. "But I''ll bring you a complimentary espresso with the frappe, minus the frappe."


    "Thank you for your service��" I looked at him as he said, "Giuseppe, sir."


    "Thank you, Giuseppe," I smiled politely. He returned the smile and walked away happily. Before long, he brought back the espresso along with some complimentary chocolate truffles and artisan pastries. "On the house, sir."


    It was a rare moment for Giuseppe; it had been a long time since a guest bothered to learn his name. In that instant, he became a fan of mine.


    A young girl sitting on the other side of the booth peeked through the barrier and scolded the waiter, "That''s not fair! I''ve been coming here for three months, but you''ve never sent me free stuff!"


    Giuseppe''s smile instantly faded, and he became visibly intimidated. I waved him off and said to the girl, "Well, if you want, I can give it to you. I don''t like sweet stuff anyway."


    If Maggie or Vanessa were here, they''d call me out immediately, considering I''d been stuffing my face with candy at home. The girl, a brunette with short wavy hair and a rich demeanor, smiled as she laid her eyes on me. She resembled a young Margaret Qualley, but I didn''t assume it was her.


    "Oh my god, it''s Newgate! No wonder you got free stuff. Hi!" She extended her hand for a handshake. "I''m Jean Folgers. Like the coffee ''Folgers.'' I''m the heiress of the Folgers coffee ''Folgers.''"


    "Hello, Jean," I said politely. I offered her some food, expecting her to be satisfied, but she rejected it with a wave. "Never mind. I was just messing with Timothy. We''re best friends."


    "His name is Giuseppe," I corrected, sipping my coffee. With a shameless grin, she giggled and said, "That''s what I said. Um, can I join you?"


    "Oh no, you really shouldn''t. It''s not my booth." I rejected her, but she didn''t give up. Instead of walking a few meters to my booth, she climbed over the barrier.


    She slipped while gripping the faux grass, and her front slammed onto the table, rattling the entire booth. I quickly grabbed both Vanessa''s drink and mine to prevent any spills, but all the desserts were squashed beneath her.


    "Ow-wie," she groaned as she turned, falling onto the long chair next to me. One of her legs remained on the table, putting her underwear in full view as she faced me.


    "That''s gotta hurt," I remarked nonchalantly. She rubbed her sore nose and grumbled, "I knew I shouldn''t have taken the giggles today."


    "The giggles?" I asked, noticing she wasn''t quite in her right mind.


    Slowly, she sat up, removing her leg from the table and fixing her shirt. "You know, happy pills. We call them giggles here." She leaned closer, her face inches from mine. "Do you want one?"


    "No thanks," I replied, standing up to walk away, but just then, Vanessa returned with her guest: Ashley Benson, whom I had met before. "Hey, Ed, meet Ashley��um, who''s she?"


    "A substance dealer," I replied teasingly.


    "I''m Jean?... Right?" Jean said, pointing at Vanessa, and then suddenly looked at her hand in awe. "Oh my god, there''s another one! Waiter, get her out of here!" Vanessa called Giuseppe over, and he escorted Jean out of our booth.


    Jean tried to protest, but she didn''t have the strength. I turned to Vanessa with a serious expression. "So, this is the place where people come to get high?"


    Vanessa was shocked and immediately defended herself, "I didn''t do it! Really! I SWEAR!"


    "Alright. You''re not tripping balls, so I guess I can believe you," I said with a nod before smiling at Ashley. "Hello."


    "Ed, do you want to dance?" Ashley grabbed my hand boldly and pulled me to the dance floor. Vanessa grinned and waved at me from afar. "Good luck, Ed!"


    "I don''t need luck; I''m just here to dance," I retorted.


    ...


    An hour and a half later, we were back at the booth. "Are you guys ready to head home?" Maggie asked, looking tired along with Vanessa. I nodded and said, "Let''s go."


    Ashley pouted in disappointment. "Aww, stay a bit longer! At least until midnight."


    Maggie chuckled. "Sorry, we should head back now. From the look on Edward''s face, he didn''t enjoy being here at all."


    "I do enjoy meeting you, Ashley," I said. She giggled and flirted, "Want to meet me again?"


    "Let''s just leave it up to fate," I replied.


    "So, no then. Awww." She slumped onto the table in disappointment. It had almost been a nice night out with friends��if only we hadn''t encountered the next guy.


    "Hey, Hudgens!" A tall, freckled guy approached us with two of his friends. He had a smug, condescending air about him��your typical rich mommy''s boy from LA.


    "Oh, I know this script," I mumbled to myself.


    "Leaving so soon? My friends and I are heading back to my house. You should come with us. Leave the dud��"


    He froze when he saw me, unable to finish his sentence. He grabbed Vanessa''s arm. "Anyway, you should come and give us a private show. We just couldn''t get enough of your boobies! I mean, Greg here chafed his dick and had to go to the emergency room!"


    Vanessa shook his hand off. "Let me go, asshole!"


    "Why pretend to be a good girl? You''re a slut, aren''t you? Otherwise, you wouldn''t send all those nudies to your��"


    Before he could finish, I grabbed his arm and twisted it, making him squirm in pain. "That''s enough, ''dude.'' One more word, and I''ll rip your tongue out," I warned in a cold tone.


    "Ouch��let me FUCKING GO! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO THE FUCK I AM!?"


    "Oh, I''m dying to find out," I said, releasing his hand and grabbing him by the collar. He hadn''t expected my aggression, and I could see him visibly shaking.


    Vanessa and Maggie tried to pull me away. "Ed, come on, he''s just an asshole. You don''t need to bother with him," Maggie urged.


    "Ed, you don''t have to do this," Vanessa added.


    Before I could walk away with them, a waiter and the security team rushed over to defuse the situation. As I released the guy''s collar, he seemed to regain his bravado, knowing security was there to protect him. He started shouting profanities again.


    "YEAH! YOU BETTER RUN! YOU AND THAT SLUT! YOU KNOW WHAT, HUDGEN!? NO ONE WILL EVER LOVE YOU! YOU''RE JUST A WHORE!"


    Vanessa acted like it didn''t bother her, but I could see tears pooling in her eyes.


    "NEWGATE! HEY NEWGATE! DID YOU FUCK VANESSA TOO? OR DID YOU ONLY FUCK TAYLOR!? IS TAYLOR A SLUT TOO!? ONCE YOU''RE DONE WITH HER, WILL YOU SHARE THE PICS WITH US��"


    Before he could finish, my fist slammed into his face, knocking two of his teeth out. The entire club erupted into chaos as security tried desperately to separate me from pummeling him. His two friends tried to intervene, and both of them were punched too.


    ...


    The next morning, Pepper walked into my house carrying a newspaper. He sat on the couch and showed me the headline while I stood at the glass wall facing the ocean.


    "Heartbroken Pop Star Goes Wild! Brawls at Hot Nightclub After Shocking Split��Exclusive Footage of the Drama Unfolding!" He read the headline in a calm manner. "I thought Maggie is only helping you release some tension."


    "Well I do feel better after the fight. I should start a fight club," I said casually.


    "No." He vetoed the idea curtly.


    I expected him to be angry; instead, he gave me a thumbs-up. "Well, I heard the story from Vanessa. Good job. I only regret that you didn''t knock more of his teeth out."


    "Oh," I exclaimed casually, breathing a sigh of relief. Pepper chuckled. "Harvey is going nuclear on those news outlets, so you can expect this to blow over soon."


    I thought for a moment before saying, "Peps."


    "OH, I DON''T LIKE THAT TONE!" He suddenly widened his eyes and stood up from the couch. "That''s a ''you''re going to make this bigger'' kind of tone."


    I nodded, saying casually, "You do understand me."


    "Yet, I can never really understand you," he replied in defeat.

 Chapter 289: Night in Jail?

    Chapter 289: Chapter 289: Night in Jail?


    [Edward POV]


    In the span of a single night, news of me punching the agitator in the face spread across the entire country. A five-second clip of me knocking him out went viral on social media, YouTube, and entertainment websites.


    Those who were at the dance club began sharing their experiences online, recounting multiple versions of the same story. However, by design, the opinions that accurately reflected the incident were pushed down, while exaggerated narratives that painted me in a bad light gained traction.


    Many stuck-up people��I mean, conservatives��expressed their disappointment, convinced I was following in the footsteps of my predecessors.


    Even my grandmother texted me early in the morning to voice her dissatisfaction. However, after hearing my side of the story, she quickly added that I had given that boy too light of a punishment.


    The media''s selective reporting was intentional, aiming to paint me as a problematic figure��because controversies drive clicks on their articles.


    While I brushed off their flimsy arguments, Robin, Harvey, and my new lawyers, Camila Vasquez and Ben Grim, were quietly gathering evidence for the defamation lawsuit.


    Sitting cross-legged on the single-seater couch in Pepper''s office, I stroked Vader''s glistening black fur as he purred contentedly on my lap.


    "Villain," Pepper mumbled under his breath.


    Renaldo chimed in, "Definitely a villain."


    "More like a mastermind," Claire whispered.


    Frankie nodded in agreement, adding, "He''s definitely not up to anything good."


    "You guys know I can hear you, right?" I said, turning to face the group in disbelief.


    All four of them were gathered by Pepper''s desk, which was at a 90-degree angle from where I sat. Vader glanced at them with disinterest before continuing to enjoy me petting her.


    Claire and Renaldo smiled sheepishly, but Frankie approached me and patted my head. "You''re not a villain. We''re just joking."


    She affectionately brushed my hair before returning to the group. Claire looked at me nervously and asked, "Are you sure you want to do this, Ed? You know you''ll be under fire afterward."


    "I''d rather stand in the flames and sing one last time than stay silent and cater to those who deserve it least," I replied casually, tilting my head slightly.


    Claire, Renaldo, and Pepper fell silent, their expressions a mix of disbelief and awe, while Frankie simply nodded in agreement.


    Suddenly, I turned to them, a hint of uncertainty creeping in. "Did that sound corny? It felt a bit corny."


    They remained speechless, and after a moment, I nodded slightly. "Definitely corny."


    Just then, one of the assistants��a tall, bespectacled brunette with a curvy figure reminiscent of a Pixar mom��burst through the door. "The victim''s legal team is here," she announced.


    "Is Vanessa here yet?" I asked urgently.


    "She''s packing her stuff from the dance studio," the assistant replied, a hint of anxiety in her voice.


    Everyone exchanged confused glances, and I pressed on, "Why is she doing that? Can you please get her here? Ask Maggie to drag her here if you have to."


    The assistant nodded and left hurriedly. Pepper commented, "She might think we''re going to let her go."


    "Is she an idiot?��Wait, she might be," I muttered, letting out a heavy sigh. "She must''ve panicked when I told her to meet us here this morning."


    Harvey stopped by the office before heading to meet the victim''s lawyers. "Ed, I''d really appreciate your direction on this. We can settle, no problem. I can make them settle."


    With the recording from last night in our hands, it would be easy to force a settlement from the provocateur if we wanted to.


    "Just give me a minute. If I don''t get Vanessa''s consent, it''ll all be for nothing," I replied, slight agitation creeping into my voice. Harvey sighed and said as she entered the room, joining in the group, "Sure. I''ll wait for her decision."


    Five minutes later, Vanessa finally entered the meeting room, clutching Maggie''s hand for support. She took a deep breath before stepping inside, and when I laid my eyes on her, I noticed she was sniffling, struggling to hold back tears.


    "What''s this? Why do you look like you''re the one who got punched last night?" I asked in disbelief. "Sit down." I gestured for her to take a seat in front of me.


    "Maggie too, you can sit down," Pepper added with a reassuring smile as he settled next to me. Both girls walked slowly to their chairs and sat down.


    "Alright, we need to talk about last night," I said, cutting in before Pepper could steer the conversation.


    "I''ll take my things and leave the company," Vanessa suddenly announced. Maggie, looking distraught, chimed in, "Ed, can you not be so heartless? Why are you firing her?"


    "I''m not firing her! Where did you even get that idea?!" I exclaimed, glancing between them in disbelief. Maggie turned to Vanessa, revealing that the idea had originated with her.


    Vanessa stopped sniffling, her teary eyes widening. With a shaky voice, she smiled faintly and said, "This feels all too familiar��being called into the boss''s office and realizing everyone has turned their back on you."


    Given her lack of recent contributions to the company��aside from that one song for the game��she must have thought it would be easier for us to cut ties with a controversial figure like her, especially since her presence had gotten the company''s top talent into legal trouble.


    "Yeah... I''m going to put ''therapy'' on your future schedule," I said, raising an eyebrow. "Do you need some emotional support from Vader?"


    "Meow?" Vader seemed surprised as I suddenly picked him up and handed him to Vanessa. She took Vader into her arms immediately and said, "Yes, please."


    Pepper then explained my intentions to Vanessa and asked for her opinion. She looked at me, disbelief etched on her face. "Why do you want to do that to yourself? Are you insane?"


    "I''m not doing this for me. Sure, it''ll be on my permanent record, but I want to use this opportunity to address a much larger issue. People can call me controversial all they want; I don''t care."


    Pepper chimed in, "I CARE?!"


    Ignoring him, I turned back to Vanessa. "I know it''s unfair to ask you to make a decision without giving you time to think��"


    She reposted the entire video on Thread. During this incident, the numbers of new users on the apps climbed upwards exponentially since they have a much greater user experience there.


    @NewgateCanSuxThis: You can say that, but he still resorted to violence.


    One popular user named, @OliviaRodrigo, who was Robin in disguise, quoted the hate account comment and said, "Did he run away from it? He complied with the cops and took responsibility for it, which in my opinion, he shouldn''t have to."


    @Sarahhyland (Robin) replied to Olivia, :This whole thing has been tasteless. From the moment Hollywood reacted to the whole Vanessa leaked videos. They victim-blame her, even @Disney cut her off.


    Haley Dunphy read the tweet and felt the need to quote it and repost it to her timeline.


    @ArielWinter(Robin) : Why are the victims is alway blamed for it? No one talked about his ex who leaked it as revenge for her. He broke the trust between them. Is she really the bad guy here?


    Alex Dunphy also found a tweet that she related with and reposted that. "This girl looked really similar to me." She zoomed in on the girl''s picture and saw the version of her 10 years into the future, with tattoos on her arm, wearing a tight bikini.


    @SophiaVergara(Robin) : #IStandWithNewgate #IStandWithVanessa


    Gloria didn''t repost anything because she didn''t have social media.


    One true fan account owner, which was created by Annie Edison , scrutinized the video with Abed to try and find something to help Edward.


    Abed said, "See here, he looked at Vanessa, but we cannot see her face. Then his eye turned cold and he walked backward to punch the guy."


    Annie protested, "He turned when that guy mentioned Taylor''s name! He might not be able to hold it anymore because his girl''s name was mentioned."


    Abed looked at Annie with confusion and asked, "I thought they had broken up?"


    "Um, breaking up doesn''t mean he doesn''t love her anymore." Annie replied, feeding into her delusional imagination.


    Many of the shippers shared the same thought as Annie, which made Robin''s effort to change the public opinion become increasingly difficult.


    Then, Robin decided to infiltrate this Swifties rank and played with their imagination by creating stories about how Taylor bandaged Edward''s hand while telling him not to hurt himself because of her.


    The shippers ate those up, even Edward didn''t think Robin would go so far. Fanarts, fanfics, a lot of them popped up, which made the already big news about Edward and Taylor''s song battle become bigger.


    @JulieBowen(Robin) : There''s a reporter interview after Edward comes out of the police station. Check it out!


    Claire, who was eagerly waiting for updates, immediately clicked on the video as soon as it was released. Frankie, Pepper, Renaldo, Vanessa, and Maggie gathered around Claire''s laptop to watch.


    Meanwhile, Edward stood surrounded by reporters after giving his statement to the police. One of the interviewers asked, "Mr. Newgate, what prompted the attack?"


    Edward replied, "I''m sure you all already know the details. The full video is out there, so don''t waste your time with that question. I''m only answering five of them."


    A reporter from Fox News asked, "Are you concerned about the legal repercussions of your actions?"


    Edward nodded and said, "Yes. I don''t regret my actions, but I do regret not handling the situation better. I''m tired of bullying victims being forced to just stand there and take it while the bullies thrive. It happened in school too, you know? The administration would rather brush off bullying incidents than take action and make the school look bad. This happens in the real world, sadly."


    "Are you referring to the time Miss Hudgen''s nudes were leaked?" another reporter asked.


    Edward replied, "Yeah. I still remember when she went to an award show and had to smile while the host joked about the most traumatic event of her life. It still haunts me to this day."


    Netizens quickly dug up the notorious "Girl, you have to keep your clothes on" clip about Vanessa, bashing the host who made that comment. Every media outlet covering the topic faced scrutiny for their poor handling of the matter.


    Edward thought about how if the incident had happened five years later instead of in 2007, Vanessa''s career wouldn''t be in such a downward spiral. The media''s biased facade was slowly being torn down by Robin, prompting everyone to speak out about the issue.


    As Vanessa was in his company now, he wanted to do everything he could to help her before she released her comeback album. Accidentally, the incident exposed Harvey Weinstein, which created another drama on social media.


    "Wait, what the fuck?" Edward muttered in disbelief after he read Robin''s report about everything that had been going online when he got home.


    ...


    The next morning came, and Edward continued his filming as usual. He was invited to numerous interviews, in which he accepted a few of them. As he sat in his office, Pepper entered, dragging Taylor with him.


    Edward was confused and asked, "What are you guys doing?"


    Pepper ranted, "I can''t do it anymore. The whole back and forth with me stuck in the middle. So, What I''m going to do is lock you guys inside this room, and force you guys to work things out amongst yourselves."


    "Pepper! You can''t do that!" Taylor protested. Pepper said, "Even your dad agreed with this. SO TALK! Leave me alone! For the first time in my entire life, you guys made me hate getting the drama! You know how much a gay man has to face in order to hate getting the drama!? Congratulations, YOU GUYS DID THIS!"


    He got out of the door and locked it behind him. He shouted from afar, "TALK AND WORK THING OUT!"


    Taylor grunted in disbelief as she shook the locked handle door, "He really locked it!"


    I was still doing some work on my laptop and I replied casually, "He just said that. Why are you so surprised?"


    Taylor slowly turned to face me, fixed her hair and provoked, "I''ve seen how you handle everything yesterday. All I got to say is, I''m thoroughly underwhelmed by it."


    "Really? From your expression, I thought ''constipated''."


    Taylor gasped as she took offence and turned to the door again. She hit it and shouted, "PEPPER LET ME OUT OF HERE! You''re locking me in with A CRIMINAL!"


    "A smooth criminal!" Edward said before he played the song on his laptop. Taylor shouted again, "LET ME OUT!!"


    Outside of the door, Harvey, Pepper and Renaldo watched the room from afar. Harvey asked, "What''s the point of this again?"


    Pepper scowled and replied, "Who knows? Ed told me to do it. I told her she made a gay man hate getting the drama. But I lied. There''s absolutely no drama in this world that is too much for us."

 Chapter 290: Professional.

    Chapter 290: Chapter 290: Professional.?


    (Sorry I''m late. Stuck in a traffic jam)


    [Edward POV]


    Taylor kept slamming the door for a while, finally giving up when no one came back to unlock it. "Tired already?" I teased.


    She glared at me and stomped over to where I was sitting. With her arms crossed, she replied, "Not tired. Slighted. And turn off the music!"


    I chuckled and paused the Michael Jackson playlist. "Take a seat," I invited her.


    "No," she grumbled, pouting.


    "So you''re just going to hover around me?" I asked, somewhat flabbergasted.


    Taylor smirked and said, "Yeah. Does this bother you?"


    "Not really." I shrugged and continued doing the CGI work for the dragon princess to be included in the film.


    Taylor got curious and peeked on my screen. The dragon already finished the design development yesterday, now I finally got the chance to do it�C since I was unavailable yesterday.


    "Is that the dragon girl?" Taylor asked with an annoyed expression as she saw me focusing on Alexandra Daddario''s 3D model. What I was focusing on is the transformation from the dragon to a princess.


    The description the creatives had for the dragon was this; The dragon princess is a breathtaking creature, her form a stunning blend of majesty and grace. With shimmering blue scales that glisten like the ocean under sunlight, she possesses a crown-like horn atop her head, intricately shaped and glowing with a soft, ethereal light.


    This horn is adorned with delicate gold accents that flow down into the thorny ridges along her spine, giving her an air of regal power. Her underbelly is a rich golden hue, contrasting beautifully with the vibrant blues of her scales. Her wings are vast and majestic, showcasing a mesmerizing pattern of gold and blue that resembles a work of art, each feather-like scale capturing the light as she soars through the skies.


    After reading the description, I made sure that when she transforms into a beautiful woman, the essence of her dragon form is retained. The horn morphs into a headdress, and the thorny ridges seamlessly transition into a gown, embodying the colors of her dragon form.


    "Is this good enough?" I asked Taylor as I switched the tab to show her the full dragon design. When she didn''t respond, I turned to see her face, only to find a look of confusion as she stared at me oddly.


    "What''s wrong? Is it not good?" I asked, a hint of anxiety creeping into my voice. Taylor sighed helplessly and said, "No. Why is it so good? The dress was picked at random. Why did you suddenly make a dragon out of it? I really don''t get you!"


    Thanks to my Bob Ross skills and Robin''s help, I had nailed the entire dragon design to perfection, inspired by the colors of the dress and the headpiece Miss Daddario was wearing.


    "The dragon will only show up for half a minute," Taylor grumbled again. "This is way too much effort for a gag scene."


    She wasn''t wrong. The clip would be featured on TV in the film, where RG''s character would show EB his journey as an actor, starting with a fantasy movie about the dragon princess.


    Maybe it was because this world severely lacked fantasy��like the isekai stories from my previous life��that I was so excited to create the dragon, spending a bit more time on it than necessary.


    I chuckled at Taylor''s words. "It may be too much." For just half a minute of dragon creation, we had spent $500,000 of the overall movie budget��1/20 of the total.


    But to be honest, our $10 million budget had the same production value as a $100 million movie from other studios. From drone shots to HD cameras that wouldn''t hit the market for another decade, the costume designs, creative camera angles, and top-tier audio quality were all exceptional.


    Director Judd Apatow had been praising our studio to his friends and in interviews non-stop, so many people were looking forward to seeing this movie. However, with high expectations came the tremendous pressure for the film''s success.


    Taylor flopped down onto the seat next to me, completely unaware of her casual demeanor. She settled in crassly, one leg crossed over the other, and sat sideways on the couch, her eyes glued to my face.


    "Are you ready to talk now?" I shut down the laptop and turned toward her.


    "You planned this, didn''t you?" she asked accusatorily.


    Although I knew she was referring to us being locked up together, I played it cool. "What plan? I have a lot of plans."


    She narrowed her eyes at me, scrutinizing my every expression, but found nothing. "Ah!" she gasped, offended, and started to stand up again, but I held her hand to keep her seated.


    "It''s useless to bang on the door again, and it''s giving me a headache. Since they''ve locked us up here, I have some stuff I want to ask you. Of course, all of them are professional questions."


    Taylor looked dissatisfied but accepted it. "Alright. I can try to be professional."


    "Good. Now, I want to ask you a few questions about Vanessa...''s image��" My words stopped abruptly as I caught her trying to stand up again. She paused awkwardly and then turned to me sheepishly. "Well, um... I heard Vanessa... so..."


    "I understand. Sit back down." I nodded politely, which only made her feel more awkward. She thought I was going to ask her about Vanessa in a relationship context, which almost made her blow her top off.


    Her cheek became flushed and she blinked rapidly without looking into my direction to play off her embarrassment. "H-her image, what''s with her image?" Taylor asked to get into the topic without giving me any chance to make fun of her.


    "Well, I could take some time to explain it, but there''s someone who actually did a deep dive on this on Entertain videos, so just watch that first." I reopened my laptop and showed the video.


    It was a video essay from a journalist that showed Vanessa''s height of stardom, her Disney days, her fall, the impact, and so on. It covered up most of the things that happened with Vanessa, even her relationship with Zac Efron was being dissected there.


    Taylor looked at me suspiciously again, "Did you make this video...that currently has 100,9oo views?"


    I shook my head and smiled, "Honestly? No, it wasn''t me." Nor was it Robin. I explained to her a bit, "This guy, he used to be a journalist for Vice, but he was not paid for months for his articles. So he quit and changed his career."


    Taylor rolled her eyes and said, "How much can he possibly earn here?" I smirked and said, "1000 views earns him around 10 bucks if he allows ads on this video. Vice paid 60 bucks per article."


    Taylor widened her eyes a bit and mumbled, "So, 100,000...Um, 100 bucks?"


    "It''s a thousand bucks." I tried to hold back my laughter, but even then, she got angry. "SORRY I''m not a math nerd!"


    In the early 2010s, if a YouTube video received 100,000 views, the earnings could vary significantly based on several factors, primarily the CPM (Cost Per Mille) rate, which refers to the earnings per 1,000 ad views. That insight was what I used to attract individuals with unrewarding jobs, hoping to inspire them to change their professions.


    "We did a little. Not that we''re back to being friends, but at least I think we won''t fight anymore when we meet." I replied, unaware that after Taylor went home, she decided to throw out the songs she had prepared in response to my reply song and create a new one.


    After Pepper left, I asked Robin to show the schedule again. "Robin, remove the facade."


    Most of the yellow boxes turned red, and Robin chimed in, "Sir, this schedule is not humanly possible.."


    "I can make it Robin." I muttered dismissively. "It''s all about planning.."


    ...


    Days passed, and I had to go to court for my case. Luckily, the juvenile court acted quickly compared to the regular court system. It was only Wednesday now, just four days since the punch happened.


    As I entered the courtroom, the air was heavy with tension. The room was smaller than I had expected, with wooden paneling and a few rows of benches for spectators.


    To my left, behind a low barrier, sat a handful of reporters, their cameras poised to capture the proceedings. In some juvie cases, the reporters were allowed to be in there with the judge''s permission and the defendant''s willingness. I didn''t reject it though, and the victim wasn''t here to say anything.


    Directly across from me, the prosecutor stood at a table, ready to present the case. The judge presided from her elevated bench at the front of the room, her position commanding authority.


    She was an African American woman known for being merciless to rich privileged kids, celebrities, trust fund babies, etc. However, instead of anxiety, I was more curious to see her as I recognized her in my past life from instagram reels. It''s Judge Hatchett.


    "Court is now in session," she declared, her voice firm and echoing in the quiet room. "You are here today to plead guilty to the charge of assault against Mr. Phil Cuntrell?" She asked with a slight confusion. "You''re not trying to defend yourself?"


    "Your honor, it''s Phil Cantrell," the prosecutor corrected her, clearing his throat.


    The judge waved a hand dismissively and continued to address me. "Very well. You are admitting to having struck Mr. Cantrell. Is that correct?"


    "Yes, your honor. I punched that guy," I replied, standing tall despite the weight of the situation.


    "Let the record reflect the defendant''s admission," she stated, then glanced at the evidence before her. "The court has reviewed the video footage submitted by both the prosecution and the defense. It is clear that you issued a warning when Mr. Cantrell first insulted your friend and attempted to de-escalate the situation by distancing yourself."


    "Unfortunately, he misinterpreted that as a sign of weakness and chose to provoke you further," she added.


    She paused, her gaze piercing as she studied me. "While you have accepted responsibility for your actions, which is commendable, I believe you were aware of the public sentiment regarding your case prior to your plea. I have received numerous letters advocating for leniency on your behalf."


    Harvey and I exchanged bewildered glances. "Really?" I blurted out, not expecting her to bring up the letters.


    The judge allowed herself a small smile. "Indeed. While there were many letters from your fans, I took care to filter those out. However, a few stood out to me: organizations dedicated to aiding the homeless, children in a terminally ill ward, and a veterans'' group all spoke highly of your character. They told me everything that you had done for them. It''s highly praiseworthy Mr Newgate."


    The courtroom was hushed, the weight of her words hanging in the air. I could feel the eyes of the spectators on me, reporters typing about the information in a hurry. The judge continued speaking despite my discomfort.


    "The Brooklyn 99 Police District Captain, Raymond Holt, as well as numerous other detectives, also wrote to me. Various Academic professionals; Caltech University Dean Gabblehouser, Dr. Sheldon Cooper, Dr. Leonard Hofstadter, Dr. Rajesh Koothrappali, Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler��even government officials, FBI agents, and the CIA Director. I must admit, I was taken aback by the extent of your connections."


    "Which made me wonder what kind of life you have lived. You''re only 14 years and 8 months old, but your moral character is evident when you have so many people writing in your support," she added with a slight smile before reaching for her gavel.


    Embarrassment washed over me as I hadn''t expected her to reveal all of that, especially my age. Luckily, that information was protected, so the reporters couldn''t publish it.


    "So, I have decided to give you a formal warning and assign you 15 days of community service as punishment."


    Harvey and I smiled at this news. A formal warning for a juvenile meant that the record would be expunged if I stayed out of trouble when I reached adulthood. Even the prosecutor remained silent. Some spectators began to clap, but courthouse police quickly warned them to remain silent and not interfere with the proceedings.


    "However, there is another matter." The judge took out a letter. "Here is a note from Detective Chloe Decker, who handled this case before Captain Holt took over. She mentioned that you helped her close 5 open cases during your time at the police station taking your statement. Is that true?"


    "Yes, your honor," I replied, a bad feeling emerging in my heart.


    The judge nodded and continued, "Alright, since your skills are commendable, I have another proposal."


    "Oh no," I mumbled under my breath.


    "Instead of community service, you could help her as an intern at the police station to assist in solving cases. Given that you were able to close 5 cases in one night, I believe this is a fitting punishment. If you can solve 20 cases, you''ll be exempt from community service. There''s no time limit, so you can do this on your own schedule. Do you accept this arrangement? Not that you have much of a choice..."


    I sighed and said, "I accept."


    "Great. Court is adjourned!" She banged her gavel, signaling the end of the case.


    As I left the courthouse, the crowd cheered and applauded as soon as they saw me. I thanked everyone for their support, did a few interviews with the reporters, and then headed back home to celebrate.


    "Ah Ed, your school principal called. Even if you''re not going to school anymore, he had to follow the rules and suspend you for 5 days." My dad said casually before patting my shoulder and massaging it, "You did great Ed. I''m proud of you."


    I groaned and brushed his hand away, "I guess I should go empty my locker. It''s going to be the holidays anyway."


    My dad asked with disbelief, "You have something in your locker?"


    "Just some text books." I replied with a heavy sigh. "I''ll go pick them up tomorrow before going to the police station."


    My dad looked at Frankie and whispered, "He''s so depressed. This case must''ve bothered him more than he let on."


    Frankie shook her head and said, "No. He didn''t care about it. I think he''s upset that the judge told everyone what he was doing behind the scenes."


    My dad was confused, "But he did some of them publicly. The homeless charity concert for example."


    Frankie shrugged and said, "I''m not clear about it. But he thought people had already forgotten about it. It''s confusing."


    I mumbled depressingly as I slumped to my bedroom, "It''s not my persona to be the good guy... I''m not Keanu Reeves...Ahhhhh~ The haughty judge screwed me."

 Chapter 291: Investigation (1)

    Chapter 291: Chapter 291: Investigation (1)


    [General POV]


    Inside Franklin''s Middle School, the fluorescent lights flickered as a janitor with a scruffy 70s-style hairdo and oversized orange sunglasses mopped the floor in a crude manner.


    His gaze was fixed intently on one particular teacher from across the corridor. The floor was barely cleaned when he decided to move closer toward the teacher to get a better look.


    Mrs. Henderson, clad in her two-piece attire with her hair up in a bun, walked to the other side of the corridor without noticing the janitor. In her hand was a list containing the volunteer names for the Winter Dance.


    Suddenly, the janitor had to avert his gaze as Enid popped up in front of Mrs. Henderson. He quickly walked away without even wringing his mop, dirty water dripped alongside the corridor as he left.


    "Can I please become a member of the party planning committee? Finneas and Alex are doing it, and I feel left behind!" Enid hugged Mrs. Henderson''s arm and clung to her.


    Mrs. Henderson, unbothered, replied coldly, "Maybe if you hadn''t skipped school to camp out at the courthouse, you would''ve managed to put your name in."


    Enid whined, "But Edward needs me there! If you hadn''t kept up with the news, you''d know he was dragged to court for doing the right thing! Please��PRETTY PLEASE!"


    Mrs. Henderson hesitated, then let out a sigh of defeat. "Alright. But I''m only doing this as a favor to you. You''ll have to repay me sooner or later."


    Enid grinned and saluted the teacher. "Aye Aye, Sir!"


    The janitor whistled as he walked to the cleaning closet, his voice echoing through the empty corridor.


    As he entered the room, he stepped over a balding middle-aged man who lay unconscious on the floor, tape over his mouth and ropes binding his body.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    As I woke up the next morning, I headed to Palisades High School to pick up my things from my locker. Class hadn''t started yet, so the corridors were bustling with students, whispering excitedly and pointing as they saw me enter.


    Tyler, Tyrone, Jacob, and Kyle followed closely behind, keeping the other students at bay.


    Principal Brown spotted me and smiled as he made his way over, but he was halted by Tyrone and Jacob.


    "G-Guy��what''s with the stares? I just want to say hi to him," Principal Brown said, stammering under the intense gaze of the angry Jacob.


    Tyrone scoffed, responding sarcastically, "You already suspended him for doing the right thing? What''s next? Fail him in class for breathing? Make him go to detention for helping a friend with homework?!"


    Principal Brown shook with nervousness as Jacob inched closer, towering over him. Stammering, he averted Jacob''s gaze. "O-Oh, that''s right, I have a meeting to get to��Um... I''m already late��" He abruptly turned and rushed away.


    I chuckled at the scene before finally reaching my locker. As I opened it, Haley and Tara approached me, with Haley carrying a small purse instead of books.


    Leaning against the locker next to mine, Haley twirled her hair and flirted, "Wow, there are so many fan letters and gifts. You must''ve been somebody pretty famous." Tara looked at Haley with disbelief and mumbled, "What?"


    I nodded and played along. "Yeah, for the wrong reason, though. I ran naked through a news broadcast, and now people are obsessed with me since they saw my family jewels."


    "Oh, is that so?" Haley widened her eyes slightly before giggling and lightly touching my arm. I leaned on the locker, facing her properly. "What''s this? Why are you acting like a pick-me girl? What''s wrong? Tell me so I can play along."


    Haley froze, and Tara cackled at her reaction. "She''s doing this to keep up her image as your side chick," Tara revealed.


    "What?" I widened my eyes in intrigue and teased, "You''re my side chick? How in the world did that happen when I didn''t even have a main chick?"


    Haley rolled her eyes. "Hey, I''ve never claimed to be that!" It was one of the most popular topics at Palisades High��my supposed secret relationship with Haley. Everyone had kept it hushed, and I was just now discovering it.


    "But you played along," Tara pointed out again. My gaze was locked on Haley, making her feel self-conscious. She avoided my eyes, and before we could say anything else, a girl approached.


    With unkempt blonde hair, thick glasses, and a Star Wars t-shirt, the girl clutched some books and patted Haley on the shoulder. "Hey, I finished your homework. You said you needed it before first class?" she said cheerily, a hint of bashfulness in her voice as she glanced at me before lowering her head.


    Haley widened her eyes in shock, and my gaze narrowed. "Sy��Sydney. What are you talking about? When did I ask you to do my homework?" Haley stammered, shoving the nerdy girl away.


    "But you said��" Sydney looked shocked and betrayed as Haley pushed her. I turned to Haley with annoyance. "You''re letting another girl do your homework now, Regina George?"


    "What!? NO! I''m not Regina George!" Haley protested, referencing the main antagonist from Mean Girls.


    "What''s the deal you struck with her then? You definitely didn''t make her do that for nothing, right?" I asked with a disingenuous smile. Haley was speechless for a few seconds before stammering, "Of��Of course there is something."


    I turned to Sydney, who was slumping as she walked away. "Sydney, come back!" I called out. She reminded me of someone from my previous life��an actress named Sydney who starred in Euphoria.


    Sydney looked befuddled as she turned around and pointed to her face. "Me?"


    Haley was anxious again, and Tara kept cackling beside her.


    [Haley''s Commentary]


    "I really didn''t ask her to do my homework. She volunteered! There''s a difference!"


    [End Commentary]


    After a quick conversation, Haley ''decided'' she would take Sydney shopping and hanging out at the mall, which was all the girl wanted from her.


    "Nice shirt, by the way." I complimented Sydney and winked as she looked up to thank me. She blushed immediately and hurried away from the situation. Haley stared at me in disbelief after Sydney was gone.


    "You didn''t help her because, um..." Haley hesitated, but Tara shot the question directly, "Because of her huge jugs?"


    The bell rang, which saved me from answering. "Go now, don''t talk with the delinquent anymore," I teased as I waved goodbye.


    Haley, dissatisfied, grabbed my hand before I could leave. "Wait. You''re going to the police station now?"


    "No. I''m going to the film set first. I''ll head there in the evening," I replied. She nodded in understanding and said, "Break a leg!"


    "I''ll definitely try." I nodded in agreement. Haley looked at me with derision and added, "Not at your police job! At your acting job!"


    "Oh right. Thanks! Seriously, you guys should go to class now. Haley, I''ll talk to you later?" I turned to Haley after addressing all my friends. I said goodbye to my male friends with fist bumps. Haley replied as I was fisting Jacob��something about that sounded wrong.


    "Yeah. I''ll text you."


    When I walked out of the school, every student had already gone inside the classroom. The schoolground was empty, which made me feel quite melancholic, and also quite like an outsider there.


    Rosa fell into deep thought before realizing something. "Wait. He is nice. He''s baiting us."


    "So the first person to solve twenty cases wins!" Jake concluded, clarifying the terms.


    "Alright, so if I win, what will I get?" I asked.


    "What do you want?" Amy asked with a slight agitation.


    I grinned. "I have specifics for each of you. For Rosa, you have to send me a picture of you smiling. It must be a selfie."


    Rosa snapped, "If I win, I''ll gouge out your eyes!"


    "Scary, but I accept," I replied casually. "For Terry, you have to go a week without wearing your suspenders."


    "Come on, man!" Terry protested.


    "For Boyle, he has to eat whatever Jake is eating."


    "Nooo!" Boyle exclaimed in a high-pitched voice. Jake shot back at Boyle, "I eat normal food!"


    "For Jake, he needs to go on a date with Amy. And vice versa for Amy," I continued.


    "What? NO!" Jake and Amy protested in unison.


    "Yes!" Boyle agreed with me. "I can sabotage them to make them lose the case, can I?" He blurted out his plan.


    "NO!" Jake retorted to Boyle.


    "And if I lose, I''ll donate two brand new Mustangs for your precinct since you guys didn''t come out with anything." I added.


    "Damn!" Terry exclaimed in excitement. Rosa''s expression shifted as she processed the stakes. "Do we have a deal?" I asked.


    "Deal!" Everyone agreed at the same time. As Captain Holt was already stationed at the 99th precinct, I kept wondering what would happen to Jake and Amy. Their romantic relationship started at the bet they made to decide who would close most cases.


    After egging on the duo for a while, Jake and Amy made a side bet to see who would close 20 cases first, which was what I was aiming for.


    We set some terms for the value of cases solved: misdemeanors would count as 1 case, felonies as 3 cases, and serial offenses as 10 cases.


    Detective Chloe arrived at my place less than a minute after I finished the call. I went to her car and picked up the large boxes from her trunk. "Someone''s excited to start working," she commented as she saw me in a hurry.


    "The stakes are high here, so why don''t you just stay in the car, and I''ll tell you where you need to go to arrest people?" I replied.


    She rolled her eyes, and before she could respond, I had already gone inside the house. "...Should I really wait inside the car?" she mumbled, deciding to follow me inside.


    Solving a case requires legwork, evidence gathering, witness statements, and so on. Obviously, I couldn''t do any of that since I wasn''t a real cop. My job was to help Chloe figure out who the culprit was based on the evidence she had collected.


    I picked up a random case from the box and opened the file. Chloe briefed me as she saw what case I was holding. "The burglary occurred two months ago, and we still haven''t had a suspect. Witnesses only saw a few masked men break into the laundromat and leave in a plateless white van."


    "Is there any surveillance footage?" I asked while reading the case files.


    Chloe shook her head. "No. This one''s a lost cause."


    "Did they take anything other than money?" I inquired again.


    "No," Chloe replied, disappointment evident in her voice.


    "Hmmm..." I opened my laptop and turned to Chloe. "Close your eyes for a second."


    "Why?" she asked, confused.


    "Well, it''s not exactly legal for me to access the traffic network."


    "We have access," she said, rolling her eyes.


    "Ah, that makes my job easier," I chuckled.


    I wrote an algorithm to find all the white vans that left the area where the burglary happened at the time of the incident. A total of 15 similar vans were filtered out by the algorithm.


    Fourteen of them had license plates, but one did not. When I followed the route of the van, it made a stop at a gas station five miles out of the area, and one of the suspects went inside.


    "We got a lead," Chloe said with excitement. I turned to her, confused. "This is just a forensics job; why haven''t they found anything?"


    "They took only $800, just below California''s $950 threshold for felony charges, so people don''t really bother. But their M.O. (Modus Operandi) reminds me of several cases I''ve read, so they might be repeat offenders," Chloe explained.


    "Wait, let me check something." She suddenly called another detective as an idea struck her. "Yeah, it checked out. The gas station was also robbed that night��under $800 too. They held the store at gunpoint and stole from the cash register."


    I nodded in understanding. "Alright, is there any footage from that place?"


    After a while, we identified a suspect from a tattoo that was exposed when the suspect was robbing the gas station. It wasn''t particularly unique, but as I reviewed the surveillance footage leading up to the crime to see if anyone had canvassed the store, I spotted someone with a similar tattoo. From the plate number of the car he was using, we found a name.


    "David Swimmer," Chloe muttered.


    "Ross?" I replied, shocked.


    "Swimmer, not Schwimmer," Chloe corrected me. "Right now, we don''t have any conclusive evidence that he did it. He could just be an ordinary guy��"


    Before Chloe could finish her words, I pulled up the guy''s Instagram page and checked his stories from two months ago. To my astonishment, he had filmed the crime he committed and posted it on his stories. It was sheer dumb luck that we managed to solve the case.


    Chloe''s eyes widened in shock, then she became elated. "It is him!"


    "And we found all of his other friends too," I said with satisfaction. The gang was all there, making the investigation easier.


    Suddenly, I turned to Chloe, confusion etched on my face. "Hey, it took me longer than I thought. Why aren''t there any more cases like the ones I solved at the police station before?"


    As I wanted to win the bet, I was curious why I was stuck with this cold case from two months ago. Chloe looked helpless and said, "Sorry, the captain only allowed me to take cold cases with me."


    "Damn that fatso!" I cursed out loud.

 Chapter 292: Investigation (2)

    Chapter 292: Chapter 292: Investigation (2)?


    [Edward POV]


    Chloe slumped over the table, her head drooping low as she rested heavily on her crossed arms, a faint snore escaping her lips. The sun slowly crept over the horizon, brightening the living room inside the seaside villa.


    Suddenly, a tall stack of case files was slammed onto the table where Chloe was sleeping. She jolted awake, her hand instinctively reaching for her gun, but then she froze as she recognized me.


    I rolled my eyes as I pressed the papers down with my right hand. "What are you going to do, shoot me?" My left hand held a can of Red Bull��something that made me talk twice as fast as usual.


    Chloe blinked, befuddled, and calmed herself down. Moving her hand away from her gun holster, she asked, "When did I fall asleep?"


    "Around the third case file. So, about six hours ago. It goes smoother without you bothering me every two minutes, I even managed to solve seven more."


    Chloe widened her eyes. "You solved seven cold cases in one night?"


    I waved my hand dismissively with my right hand while taking a sip of the Red Bull with the other. "No, only three. Then I got bored looking at a case from 1999, so I called your captain last night and asked him to assign you new cases. After my twentieth call of the night, he relented and let me take a look at all the ongoing investigations."


    I flipped through the stacks of papers, explaining each one. "Murder, murder, murder, assault, robbery, robbery, and lastly, a pervert. Now, I need you to go and arrest all of them. I can''t claim that I solved all of this before you did."


    Chloe was speechless for a moment as she scanned the case files. I cracked open another can of Red Bull and added, "I went through everything in the cold case box, but it''ll take time to solve them, so I set them aside for now. I have a bet to win, you see."


    Once the perpetrators were arrested, only then could I log the case in for the bet. Otherwise, I would''ve won tonight cause based on the value of cases we settled on, I had solved 24 cases tonight. Misdemeanors count as 1 case, felonies as 3 cases, and serial offenses as 10 cases.


    Chloe rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that ridiculous bet."


    I wagged my finger at her while taking a sip. "It''s not ridiculous. This means that when they write their wedding vows later on, they''ll have to acknowledge my contribution and put my name in there."


    "You seem so sure that they will end up together," Chloe said, a hint of awe and disbelief in her voice.


    I chuckled. "Isn''t that obvious? Alright, chop chop! These criminals won''t arrest themselves. By the way, where is your partner? How come I''ve never seen him?"


    Chloe sighed in exasperation. "I work alone."


    I hummed in objection. "Hmm, no, you shouldn''t work alone. It''s dangerous, and you definitely need a partner. But I also know your reputation at the station, so let me call you some backups."


    "No need��" Before she could finish, I pressed my finger to her lips to silence her. "Shhh, don''t fight it, baby. There''s only one way this thing is going to work. It''s either you go with your partner or the other uniformed officers, or you go with me. Which one do you want to pick?"


    I had recently grown to hate the trope of cops working alone because their superiors deemed them ''loose cannons'' or ''mad dogs.'' In movies, it seemed cool; in real life, it was just stupid��not to mention life-threatening.


    Chloe slapped my hand away, grimacing as she warned me, "Don''t ever do that again."


    Without missing a beat, I called the police captain, whose number I had on speed dial. "Sup, Captain?"


    "It''s 6 in the morning! Please don''t��"


    I ignored him and continued, "I''ve solved every case you gave me last night."


    "...What?" he asked, disbelief evident in his voice. "Those cases I just gave you four hours ago?"


    "Yeah. Anyway, the judge said, ''It''ll be Chloe''s arrest,'' so give her a task force." I said this casually.


    Even Chloe looked incredulous at my statement.


    "We can''t just��"


    "You know it''s going crazy right now about women''s rights on social media. Imagine the backlash when people find out there''s a police detective being sidelined by her captain just because she wants to ensure equal treatment. Can your department take that heat?"


    "Is that a threat?" he asked, trying to sound tough, but his voice faltered at the end.


    I chuckled. "Threat? No, it''s not a threat. It''s just a concern. I''m worried about the police department, that''s all."


    The captain was silent for a moment before he made a decision. "Alright. She can have her own team. Not a task force."


    "Thanks. So she''ll bring the cases to the police station, and her team needs to be ready by then. I can''t legally work on a case without her supervising me, but screw that. Ah, that serial arsonist case looks interesting. Give me a copy of the case. Bye~"


    I hung up the call before the captain could get a word in. After tossing all the cases to Chloe, I said, "Remember, do not do it alone. Alright, look at me, being all fatherly. Did you have a daddy issue perchance? Would this be turning you on��"


    She turned around and stomped away. I chuckled and waved goodbye to her before heading out for a run by the sea.


    I had some excess energy to burn from the Red Bull, and I hadn''t done any cardio in a while, so I put on my running shorts, a black tank top, running shoes, and a black cap. Wearing headphones, I started jogging through the neighborhood.


    The neighborhood was gated, but that didn''t stop some paparazzi from camping out where they could see my house from outside the gate. Some even broke through the gate occasionally, dealing with the legal repercussions afterward.


    After running for a mile, I finally reached the beachfront near my neighborhood, where the morning sun glinted off the waves, creating a beautiful shimmer. The warm California sun rose higher, casting a golden hue over the sandy shore. The sound of waves crashing mixed with laughter and chatter as people jogged, walked their dogs, and set up for yoga classes on the beach. Surfers dotted the horizon, waiting for the perfect wave, while families spread out their blankets for a day of fun in the sun.


    My breath was steady as I jogged alongside the beach, passing other runners and people enjoying the morning. The air was filled with the salty scent of the ocean, mingled with the aroma of fresh coffee from a nearby cafe?.


    Suddenly, I heard barking behind me. "Hmm?" I turned around and saw a golden retriever chasing after me, his tongue hanging out and tail wagging furiously.


    Bursting into laughter, I stopped running and turned to the dog. He wagged his tail happily as he stopped in front of me. Crouching slightly, I started rubbing his face. "Why are you following me, big guy? Where is your owner?"


    "Woof!" The dog barked, moving left and right anxiously, seemingly trying to complain to me about something. I checked his collar and figured out his name.


    "Roxy!" I heard a woman''s voice shouting from afar. She was running straight toward me as she spotted the dog. Surprisingly, it was someone I knew.


    Then, I left the basketball court. After 20 more minutes of running, I finally returned to my house.


    "Should I sleep or continue working on the cases? Hmmm.... I guess I should sleep for a bit." I walked to the couch from the front door, and immediately activated the [rest skill], making myself fall to sleep before my body even hit the couch cushions.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Brooklyn, 99th Police Precinct


    "You''re not assigning us more cases? But why? I need that to win the bet!" Jake argued with Captain Holt while inside the captain''s office. Amy, Boyle, Rosa, and Terry stood by Jake''s side, all of them having been called into the office.


    Holt explained in his usual monotone voice, "Do you know what will happen if you win the bet?"


    Jake interjected hurriedly, a huge grin on his face. "There''s no ''if,'' Captain. I, Jake Peralta, the most brilliant detective in this building, will definitely win."


    "That''s quite a big talk from someone who struggled to keep up with my points," Amy said with a slight smirk. Jake turned to her and replied, "I know you''re excited about going on a date with me, Amy, but be professional. We''re in front of the captain."


    "I wasn''t��" Amy widened her eyes and stammered. Captain Holt raised his hand and interrupted, "Enough. I don''t have time for this childish game you all made with a literal child. You are not to continue with this bet."


    Boyle asked, "What''s the concern, Captain? Why are you so against it?"


    Holt explained, "Because the outcome will surely raise potential bribery concerns about our department. Police departments have strict policies regarding gifts and donations."


    Holt stood up and continued, "It may require a formal review process to determine if the donation aligns with departmental guidelines and ethical standards. In this case, I do not think tricking an adolescent into buying our department''s new luxury vehicle is ethical."


    "Wait, so you want us to stop this bet because you think we might win, not because you think we''ll lose?" Terry asked, a mix of confusion and admiration in his tone.


    Holt replied casually, "Yes. All of you are accomplished professionals. I expect you to act that way and not take advantage of others." Everyone exclaimed as they thought Holt was being sweet, all except Rosa.


    Suddenly, Rosa received a text message while the others were snickering. She sighed and said to Holt, "Captain, while you were having your moment, that Newgate prick updated his case board."


    Holt smirked. "See? It''s now noon, and he only solved one case��" His smile froze when Rosa interjected, "He solved nine. The total value is twenty-four based on what we agreed on. He already won."


    "IMPOSSIBLE!" Jake whined in a high-pitched voice. "Amy only got eight! And she''s the frontrunner out of all of us!" Boyle added.


    "Nope. All the perps already confessed to their crimes. He won while we were arguing about professionalism. Good job, everyone." Rosa said curtly and sarcastically.


    "Oh," Captain Holt exclaimed curtly, his expression shifting to one of humiliation. "I guess I was wrong."


    With his hands on his hips, Jake turned to Holt, trying to contain his anger. "You think?"


    Rosa suddenly received another text. She sighed and read it aloud. "Newgate said, ''Chloe only arrested four people, while the others were arrested by other detectives. He thought about it and decided to only submit those points.''"


    "Is he pitying us?" Boyle asked, a hint of humiliation in his voice.


    Terry sighed. "He might be trying to be kind and let us save face, but this feels worse than him already winning the bet!"


    Holt suddenly said, "Then what are you waiting for? GO! Take as many cases as you want! You need to maintain the dignity of the police department and not let him win without giving him some competition!"


    "Thanks, Captain," Jake said.


    "No time for gratitude! GO AND SOLVE CASES!" Holt chased everyone out of his office. "GO, GO, GO!"


    Jake stopped Boyle when they got outside of the office, "Boyle, I''m sorry that I''m asking you this, but I think the reason we are so late in solving the cases, is because all of us are working on our own. We should work with our partners if we want to win"


    Boyle gasped and said, "You want to do it together? What happened to ''I''m a lone wolf''?"


    Jake waved his hand dismissively and said, "Eh, I don''t care about not being called that if I can win. Let''s go. I already solved 4 more felonies, but I haven''t arrested the perps yet because I want to stack them and win all at once."


    Back to California, Edward stretched his arms in the air as he let out a huge yawn. He was at the movie set where he would record a short scene today. Pepper slapped his back and scolded him, "You have already won, why did you make things difficult for yourself?"


    "Oww." Edward rubbed his sore bicep and replied, "It''s too boring to win without any competitions. Besides, I have my eye on that serial arsonist case. I want to solve that one as the last case to win the bet."


    Pepper scolded him again, "Why did you even decide to start the bet when you''re busy enough as it is! You''re making me worried sick! Take better care of yourself!"


    "I will!...In about 5 years." Edward replied mischievously.


    "What?!" Pepper retorted angrily. Edward ran away hurriedly before Pepper could get mad again. When he returned home, the case file for the serial arsonist case was already at his house, and on top of the case file was a note from Chloe telling him that he could work without her.


    "I''m not going to wait anyway." Edward muttered before he opened the case files. "7 fires, all have the same MO, even clues and a calling card left behind by the perp. This sounds interesting."


    Edward turned to the clues left behind by the perps with a face full of excitement. "The clues are written in hieroglyphs and ancient sanskrit? I need to decipher it to��"


    Before Edward could even try to decipher the clues, Robin suddenly chimed in, "The culprit responsible for the recent fires is Emily Wallaby, 29 years old, daughter of Professor Walla Walla Wallaby who has a master''s degree in Ancient Languages and Cultural Symbolism."


    Robin pulled up the picture of the woman using the hologram projection, even her AI body appeared too, "Based on her GPS records, she was at all the places when the crime happened. I also found several internet searches in her laptop pertaining to methods of starting fires."


    Flabbergasted, Edward widened his eyes and asked, "Robin!? What are you doing?!"


    Robin was confused, "Solving cases sir. I wanted to lighten your load. You seem to be doing too much recently, and you need some rest."


    "I�� Wha�C How�C I�C" Edward stammered for a while, he couldn''t even respond properly to the situation. "I...Ugh!" He stood up from the chair and pouted. "I wanted to solve it by myself!" He whined and accidentally knocked on the cold cases box Chloe brought over last night.


    "Ugh." He groaned again and went to pick up the cases from the floor when his eyes caught something strange. "Unsolved case...Serial Killer...Code- Tea Time Strangler?"

 Chapter 293: Investigation (3)

    Chapter 293: Chapter 293: Investigation (3)


    [Edward POV]


    "Tea Time Strangler?" As I read the file, memories from several months ago flooded back��specifically, the car trip I took with Taylor. I first heard the name of the murderer from a police officer who stopped our car. I never expected to see the case file for this case now.


    "Appearance; unknown. Age; unknown. They have absolutely no clue about this person huh." I muttered as I flipped through the case files.


    Other than the victims sharing the same traits�C white woman in her late 30s till mid 40s, living alone, in a position of authority, a brunette. "Robin, take notes," I said as I read the case file out loud. Robin''s holographic body appeared next to me, in a detective''s assistant getup, flipping her notebook as she pretended to write it there.


    "Psychological profile: The perpetrator, dubbed the "Tea Time Strangler," exhibits a complex psychological profile shaped by past trauma and a need for control. The choice of victims��women in positions of authority��suggests a deep-seated resentment and a desire for retribution against figures who represent authority and perceived abuse."


    "All victims share a history of abusive behavior, either toward their children or students, indicating that the perpetrator targets those who have exploited their positions of power. This selection reflects a calculated approach, suggesting the killer seeks to address injustices inflicted upon vulnerable individuals. The specific targeting of authority figures may signify unresolved issues stemming from the perpetrator''s own childhood experiences with authority figures, possibly including maternal figures who were abusive or neglectful."


    "The choice of a "tea party" setting for the murders is particularly telling. This ritualistic aspect may indicate a desire to recreate a childhood scenario, transforming a traditionally innocent and nurturing activity into a scene of horror."


    "The juxtaposition of the tea party��often associated with civility and femininity��against the brutality of the murders suggests a profound psychological conflict within the perpetrator. It may also signify a twisted form of justice, where the perpetrator enacts a form of punishment in a setting that should embody comfort and safety.


    I had to stop as I read the rest of the criminal profile. "Wow, who is the profiler for this case? Why is it so good? Is this really the level of a police profiler?"


    As I checked the name, disbelief washed over me. "Dr. Linda Martin... my therapist?" My mind quickly blanked out, leaving me standing there motionless.


    "Sir? Should I continue writing?" Robin asked, waving her hand in front of my face, trying to get my attention.


    Thanks to her voice, I finally snapped out of my deep thoughts. "Ah, thanks, Robin. No�� I mean, yes, you just need to scan everything and create a murder board."


    When Robin finished her work, I stood in front of the holographic board displaying all the dates and locations of the murders, including the names of the victims. Robin held a red thread and asked me excitedly, "Should I connect the murders together like in TV shows, sir?"


    "No need. That''ll make it too messy," I replied casually. Robin''s enthusiasm deflated, and she slumped away. As I studied the murder board, I noticed something. "So, he planned the attack dates too."


    "Why did you say that, sir?" Robin asked, her curiosity piqued.


    I turned to her with a smile. "See here? Every single victim lived alone. The criminal attacked them on the first day of any holiday, which meant it would take days, or even weeks, for their bodies to be discovered."


    "Mrs. Reyes, the latest victim, was supposed to go on a cruise. Her body wasn''t found until the smell of her rotting corpse disturbed the neighbor. None of her friends tried to contact her because she warned them not to do so," I said, pointing to the location of the murder nearest to my city.


    "It''s almost the holiday season, so I guess Detective Deckard thought the culprit would strike again," Robin chimed in.


    I nodded in agreement and teased, "So, how is it, Robin? Can you solve this one instantly too?"


    Robin pouted. "Whoever this person is, they didn''t use any phones."


    "How about credit cards? Car rentals? Nothing?" I pressed. Given the suspect''s familiarity with the victims'' daily routines, I suspected he had stalked them for a while. I asked Robin to check for any overlapping credit card transactions to see if someone had been present around all the victims'' daily activities.


    Robin shook her head and said, "There''s nothing, sir. He must''ve used cash for all his transactions."


    "Hmm, this is quite intriguing. If he used cash, then where did he get his money from?" I muttered.


    "Robin, pull out the witness interviews," I ordered before suddenly thinking of something else. "Before that, in the serial arsonist case, did the culprit work alone?"


    Robin looked into it for a moment and said, "There''s nothing to signify that she was working with someone."


    "It might seem that way, but didn''t you see her disability card? She hurt both of her legs in a car accident. She can''t drive anymore. Based on the tire marks left at the scenes, the police guessed that she used a truck to get to the crime scenes."


    "Do you think someone is helping her?" Robin asked. "I''ll check the CCTV footage again."


    My heart raced with anxiety as I asked urgently, "You''ve already given the arsonist''s name and location to Chloe, right?"


    "Yes, sir," Robin replied.


    "Call the Captain," I ordered. Robin dialed the police captain''s number, and as soon as it connected, I asked, "Cap, have you seen the arsonist?"


    The captain answered with a sleazy, sycophantic tone, "Yes, you really are a prodigy��"


    "Stop that. Did Chloe go to arrest her yet? Because I think she might have an accomplice."


    The captain sounded shocked. "What?! Seriously?!"


    "Did she go there yet?" I pressed anxiously. "She remembered to bring her partner with her, right? I warned her about not going in without backup. She must''ve remembered that." There was hope in my inflection, as I thought that the situation could still be salvaged.


    Before she could reject his offer, Edward said, "You didn''t listen to me once. Do it a second time, and I''ll partner up with the Captain instead."


    Edward carried her out of the warehouse under the gazes of the uniformed officers, which made Chloe extremely embarrassed. No one dared to say anything as they understood how much danger Chloe was in.


    Edward placed her inside his Audi and then took the removable cherry light from Chloe''s car, attaching it to his own. "Now, I can legally speed through the streets," he muttered.


    Although her mind was hazy, Chloe retorted, "You''re impersonating a cop..."


    "I''m a detective intern, so I won''t get into much trouble." He pressed on the accelerator and drove Chloe straight to the nearest medical center.


    As he carried her through the emergency ward door, a nurse immediately catered to Chloe. Edward told the emergency room doctor, "She''s suffering from a head injury, being hit hard by a pipe. She has a laceration on the back of her head and is bleeding profusely. Vital signs are stable, but she''s disoriented and may experience dizziness or nausea. She needs a CT scan to rule out any intracranial bleeding."


    The female doctor quickly asked as she checked on Chloe''s response, "She got hit by who?"


    "By a criminal. She''s a detective." Edward replied quickly. As he placed Chloe on top of the hospital bed, her blood was all over his shirt and hand.


    The doctor nodded, quickly assessing Chloe''s condition while the nurse prepared to transport her for imaging. Edward added, "Also, monitor her for any signs of increased intracranial pressure. She might need a neurology consult."


    "We got it from here!" The doctor replied with annoyance. Edward sighed as the doctor''s left, mumbling to himself, "What should I do now? Should I contact her family?"


    He looked at his half-ripped shirt and muttered, "I''m cold." The nurses and other patients there giggled as they looked at him, some even started taking pictures. Soon, Edward''s bloody abdomen went viral on social media, with a lot of people asking the question, ''What happened to him?''


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Randall came by bringing me a change of clothing. He wanted to move me away from the hospital as the reporters were congregating there, wanting to know what happened.


    The only reason they couldn''t get into the emergency ward was because of the crowd of police officers who came to support Chloe. It seemed that she had people''s respect even though she was always discriminated against by the Captain.


    I decided to wait until Chloe came out from the treatment room. Sitting on the metal chair nearby the ward, I sipped on some coffee Randall gave me before I asked, "Hey, Chloe''s daughter. She''s in school. Did Chloe pick her up or did she arrange someone else to pick her up?"


    "I think the father will pick her up. He''s a police officer too, right? I''m sure he knows what happened to her." Randall replied.


    I nodded in understanding and complained, "It''s taking so long." I rubbed my sweaty palm on my jeans before chuckling slightly.


    Randall looked at me anxiously and said, "You should go home. I can take care of the situation."


    "I think I should wait," I replied with a beleaguered smile. "I won''t be able to relax if I go home."


    After seven hours, she finally emerged from the emergency treatment room and into the monitoring room. I walked inside to check on her. She had fallen unconscious after the treatment, and it didn''t seem like she was going to wake up anytime soon.


    An old, bald doctor wearing glasses entered the ward. He introduced himself as Dr. Vijay Kapoor from the neurology department and asked, "Are you her family member?"


    Outside the ward, a few nurses and female patients grimaced at the question. "Doesn''t he even know who he is?" one patient whispered mockingly.


    I shook my head and replied, "I''m not, but her ex-husband will be here soon. You can tell me, and I''ll relay the information to him."


    Dr. Kapoor took off his glasses, preparing for what he had to say. "We found some concerning issues. She sustained a significant head injury from the impact. While the initial scans didn''t show any major bleeding, there are signs of diffuse axonal injury, which can cause widespread damage to brain tissue."


    He took a deep breath. "This type of injury can lead to cognitive impairments. She may experience difficulties with memory, attention, and problem-solving skills. In some cases, it can result in permanent damage."


    "We''ll need to monitor her recovery closely, but she may face significant challenges," Dr. Kapoor continued. "I recommend a comprehensive rehabilitation program, including physical, occupational, and cognitive therapy. However, depending on the severity of the damage, there''s a possibility that she might not be able to return to her previous role as a detective."


    "But it''s still not definitive, right?" I asked, hoping for some reassurance.


    Dr. Kapoor replied with a strained smile, "We both share that hope. I want her to make a swift recovery, but in this case, it''s really hard to say."


    "Thank you, Doctor," I sighed before I fell deep in thoughts. ''I think I still have the Minor Heal spell I got from the gacha. Should I use it on her? Gong Shin told me it can heal gunshot wounds. Can it even heal brain injury?''


    As I thought about the plot for the series Lucifer, without Lucifer, Chloe would''ve been dead several times in that series. ''Maybe it is the best choice for her to quit being a detective?''


    My finger was placed on my chin as I contemplated the situation. "Hmm, what should I do?" I mumbled. Suddenly, a small child ran into the room while crying, "Mommy!"


    Her latino dad grabbed her before she could hug her mother, picking her up to stop her, "Trixie, stop. You cannot be rough with her."


    Trixie burst into tears, "Mom...I promised I won''t be mad at you anymore for making me sleep at dad''s! Please wake up!"


    "Yeah, I can''t watch this." I muttered suddenly before cracking my fingers, "One healing spell, coming up."

 Chapter 294: Investigation (4-F)

    Chapter 294: Chapter 294: Investigation (4-F)


    [Edward POV]


    As Chloe''s monitoring room had glass walls, allowing doctors to respond immediately if something was wrong with the patients, I couldn''t cast the healing spell on her right away.


    Chloe lay motionless, her mouth intubated to assist her breathing. Her life was in danger due to the blunt force trauma to the back of her head. Trixie cried non-stop, only stopping when she fell asleep from exhaustion.


    Around midnight., the blue wave��the influx of police officers checking on her��finally died down. They had collected donations for Chloe, filling a bucket with contributions. With no work to keep me occupied, I found myself bored and began counting the money. They had donated $1,200 for her hospital fund, which made me scoff in derision.


    The ER was closed to visitors, allowing only close family members inside. I flirted with some nurses in hopes of getting an exception to stay, but Randall and my security had to wait outside.


    "Finally, I have a chance," I mumbled as I snuck into the monitoring room after the foot traffic in the ward had lessened.


    However, just as I stood in front of the door, several car crash victims were rushed into the emergency room by doctors and nurses, causing the ward to erupt with activity once more.


    "Damn it," I muttered, giving up on trying to cure Chloe for now. I waited an hour until the ward returned to its calm state. But just as I walked past the door, it slammed open again, this time admitting gunshot victims from a drug deal gone wrong.


    I tried for the third time, and Chloe''s blood pressure crashed before I could get to the door. The nurses and doctors got there first, and they spent around an hour getting her out of the danger zone. It was a tough night for the doctors and Chloe too.


    Exhausted, I slumped on the metal chair nearby, wanting to wait for another chance when the emergency room doctor, Dr Lauren Bloom, approached Trixie and Chloe''s ex-husband who was sitting nearby.


    Detective Dan Espinoza immediately became alert when the doctor came and slightly moved his daughter''s head from sleeping on his lap and stood up to talk to her.


    I couldn''t hear the beginning of their conversation, but I caught the last part of what Dr. Lauren said: "...I understand this is difficult to hear. Unfortunately, at this point, it''s important to prepare for the possibility of saying goodbye..."


    "NO!" Dan shouted, frazzled by the doctor''s words. His outburst startled Trixie awake. "You��You need to keep trying!" Dan struggled to hold back his emotions, tears pooling in his eyes as he grabbed the doctor''s coat collar, threatening her.


    "Sir��" Dr. Lauren widened her eyes. "Please calm down."


    I quickly grabbed his arm to prevent the situation from escalating. "Dan, let Dr. Lauren go."


    As he turned toward me, I became the target for all his anger. He grabbed my collar with both hands and shouted, "THIS IS ALL YOUR FUCKING FAULT��"


    I interjected, my expression cold and I spoke in a low chilling tone. "My fault? Was I the one who made her so fucking bullheaded? And..." I twisted his hand violently behind his back. He winced in pain as his knees buckled to the ground.


    "Get your fucking mind together. Your daughter is watching you," I whispered in his ear before pushing him away. He stumbled forward, landing on all fours. As he panted, his mind reset, and he regained his composure. He turned to Trixie, who was watching him with fear in her eyes.


    I picked Trixie up into my arms and turned to Dan. "Go wash your face, apologize to Dr. Lauren, and then join us inside the room. Don''t worry. Chloe will get through this. She''s pretty fucking tough."


    Trixie gasped. "You said a bad word."


    Flabbergasted, I turned to her. "Your dad did it first."


    "Yeah, but you''re a kid. Kids shouldn''t say bad words," she lectured me.


    I was in disbelief. "Adults shouldn''t either. And definitely not in front of kids, or to one." My words seemed to prick Dan''s guilty conscience.


    Ignoring him, I went inside the room and set Trixie down. She moved toward her mother but hesitated, afraid to cross the last 20 centimeters.


    Trixie turned to me and asked, "Is my mother dying? Is that why Dad..."


    "Nah, she''s just asleep," I interjected casually. "If you''re worried, you should close your eyes and pray for her."


    What I needed was for her to close her eyes for a moment so I could cast the spell. Trixie took some time to collect herself before asking, "Pray for what?"


    "For your mom to open her eyes," I added, my tone slightly anxious. Dan could come into the room at any moment, and I really needed Trixie to close her eyes now.


    Trixie clasped her hands together but didn''t shut her eyes, keeping her gaze fixed on her mother, which made me roll my eyes. I knew she was going through a tough time, but I was desperate.


    I gently closed her eyes with my left hand. "Don''t peek. It won''t work if you peek."


    "Not even a little?" she asked in disbelief.


    "Yeah," I replied casually, placing my right hand on Chloe''s head. As expected, a shiny glow erupted as the spell took effect. Chloe''s entire head lit up in a golden hue, and the wound healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.


    Trixie seemed to sense the glow but forcibly kept her eyes shut, continuing to pray. The light spilled out of the monitoring room and flowed into the lobby. Some nurses and Dr. Lauren caught a glimpse of it, but it disappeared within seconds, leaving them puzzled about what had just happened.


    Trixie peeked with her right eye after the glow disappeared. Her mother was still sleeping on the bed, but her vitals signs and her brain activity had gotten to the normal range. I breathed in relief after I checked the monitors.


    I turned to the kid and saw that she was on the brink of crying. "It didn''t work!" She cried before she turned to hug me. "Cause you didn''t poke her, that''s why." I added in a casual admonishing manner.


    "What?" Trixie was stunned, and she turned to her mother. "Poke her where?"


    "I don''t know. You choose." I replied. Trixie was confused, but then, she slowly moved her hand towards Chloe''s head, and poked her cheek with her index finger. She poked it multiple times, but Chloe was still unresponsive.


    Trixie turned to me angrily and said, "You liar�C"


    Before she could finish, Chloe abruptly sat up, which made both Trixie and I yelled in horror. I cleared my throat immediately and called for the doctor as Chloe was struggling with the intubation. Dr Lauren was close by and she immediately ran to Chloe.


    "Nah, she woke up. She''s fine. Just a few days of observation, and she can go home," I replied dismissively.


    "Then what seems to be the problem?" Dr. Linda asked in a calming voice.


    I chuckled self-deprecatingly. "Well, I don''t think I suit the police genre. I''m too anxious to function properly."


    "Oh��oh! Because sitcoms are your thing," Dr. Linda said, already understanding my point.


    I nodded, unaware I was being led on. "Yes. In sitcoms, you don''t have to think about your favorite characters being shot to death in a police shootout. The worst death in a sitcom would be from a piano falling, excessive masturbation, or an offscreen elevator mishap. You wouldn''t actually see people you like bleeding out, their family members crying desperately for them."


    What followed was a lengthy rant about TV tropes and the stark differences between television and real life. Linda listened attentively, allowing me to express my thoughts without interjecting. I told her everything that happened with Chloe, not omitting any details.


    "Ah, I really can''t handle it��the weight of someone''s life on my shoulders." I let out a beleaguered sigh before lying back on the couch.


    Linda leaned forward and asked, "Aren''t you holding that weight right now?"


    "I mean, I feel pressure when dealing with the company, too. People''s livelihoods depend on me. I can''t make a mistake. One wrong move, and poof��everything I''ve worked hard for will crumble."


    "Let''s focus on that for a moment," Linda said, catching something in my response and trying to help me delve deeper into my concerns.


    ...


    [General POV]


    In Taylor''s apartment, Selena walked toward Taylor, who was absorbed in her phone, texting someone.


    "Is he still not answering?" Selena asked.


    Taylor sighed in frustration. "No. Pepper couldn''t get in touch with him either. How can I release the song if he''s not even in the right frame of mind for it?"


    The picture of Edward at the hospital had gone viral, sparking countless speculations about what had happened. The image, showing his bloodied, torn shirt and worried expression as he brought Chloe into the hospital, had been uploaded to social media by someone present at the scene.


    News of Edward staying overnight at the hospital had also circulated, leading to a crowd of fans gathering outside the Entertain company building, eager to know if he was alright.


    "Just postpone it," Selena suggested. "You haven''t even finished the song yet."


    Taylor fell silent for a moment, contemplating. "Should I go to his house?"


    Selena rolled her eyes. "Why would you? You''ll just add to his stress."


    Finally looking up, Taylor said, "You go then."


    Baffled, Selena stammered, "W-Why should I go?"


    "You said I shouldn''t go! Then, you go!" Taylor insisted. "Check on him! Make sure he''s alright!"


    "Just ask his cousin Maggie!" Selena retorted. Taylor looked taken aback. "Oh, right. I can do that." Though she quickly realized that Maggie didn''t know anything either��she was just as in the dark as everyone else.


    Meanwhile, after school, Jacob climbed into the backseat of the car and asked his mother, Mrs. Green, "Can you drive me to the hospital?"


    Flabbergasted, Mrs. Green turned from the driver''s seat and frantically caressed Jacob''s arm. "Why do you want to go to the hospital? Did you break something in practice?"


    "No. I need to see Ed," Jacob replied. Just then, he received a text in the group chat. As he read it, he said, "Ed has already gone home. Can you drive me there instead?"


    "Honey, I think you need to give him some space. He just got home. He needs rest," Mrs. Green said. "School''s over for the year. You can see him tomorrow."


    "MOM!" Jacob protested. "How can I be his ''bro'' if I don''t check on him?"


    "Hmm, why don''t you take care of your actual brother instead?" Mrs. Green suggested casually. "Edward will be fine. He''s very smart." She added before driving away.


    As everyone speculated about Edward, he finally returned home after his session with Linda. After parking the car, he called his dad. "Can I take the ship out tonight?"


    "When?" Ted agreed easily. The ship in question was the flawed vessel Edward had bought and modified to make it seaworthy again. It was the family''s personal ship, not for business use. So far, Ted had only sailed it four times in three months since its reconstruction.


    "You''re not going to ask why?" Edward inquired.


    Ted smiled. "You want a short escape to clear your mind. We''re similar in that way. But you can''t sail by yourself since you don''t have a license, so you''ll need someone to go with you."


    "I''ll ask Dwayne if he can do it," Edward mumbled, unaware of his dad''s disappointment.


    "Or I can do it," Ted suggested.


    Edward furrowed his brows. "You have two trips today. Don''t play hooky. Do your work properly."


    As Edward stepped into the living room, he was surprised to find someone sitting on his couch.


    "Why are you here?" he asked, taken aback.

 Chapter 295: ID. (1)

    Chapter 295: Chapter 295: ID. (1)


    [Edward POV]


    "You want a short escape to clear your mind. We''re similar in that way. But you can''t sail by yourself since you don''t have a license, so you''ll need someone to go with you." My dad said through the phone call.


    "I''ll ask Dwayne if he can do it," I mumbled.


    "Or I can do it," he suggested.


    "You have two trips today. Don''t play hooky. Do your work properly," I admonished him. As I stepped into the living room, I was surprised to find someone sitting on my couch.


    "Why are you here?" I asked, taken aback. "Should I call the cops and tell them there''s an exhibitionist inside my house?"


    Brenda Song grinned as she stood up and walked giddily toward me. "You''re finally back! I''ve been waiting anxiously for you!" She grabbed my arm and jumped slightly, pushing her body closer to mine.


    Taken aback, I moved my head back slightly and shot her a weird glare. "What are you doing? Also, answer my question first."


    Vanessa ran into the living room, shouting triumphantly, "I found my... um," She waved a black lacy bikini in the air before hurriedly hiding it behind her back upon seeing me. "Ma�C MAGGIE...um, give me the key." She forced out an explanation.


    Although I already realized that Vanessa had let Brenda inside, Brenda answered my question. "She let me in to wait for her to get ready. We''re going to a party! P.A.R.T.Y! A grand! Luxurious! Elegant! PARTY!"


    I chuckled a bit at Brenda''s energetic reply. She kept holding my arm throughout all of it. Suddenly, she turned to me, leaning in closer; she had to look up as she was almost a foot shorter than me. "I hoped I would run into you. Do you still have the chocolates from your party? Or do you have the number for the vendor? I want to bring some of those to the party I''m going to."


    Finally understanding her intention, I chuckled and said, "Ah, that. Sorry. Even I can''t decipher what''s in that chocolate, so there''s no way to replicate it."


    "Really? You didn''t add any drugs or anything?" Brenda asked, confusion and disappointment evident in her voice.


    I shook my head and chuckled. "Do you really think I''m an idiot enough to drug everyone at the party? I''m not Diddy."


    Brenda suddenly froze, and Vanessa approached us after hiding her bikini in her bag. Having only heard the last part of the conversation, she grinned and said, "Oh, how did you know we''re going to Diddy''s party?"


    My eyes widened in shock and I turned to Vanessa, "You''re going there? Why?"


    Vanessa was confused, "Is there something wrong?"


    Brenda caught on, but she was way off the mark. "You want to come to the party too? I can get you in!"


    I shuddered and shook her hand away. "I''m NEVER going to a Diddy party. Not after I know what happens there."


    Brenda giggled, dismissing my concerns. "What are you talking about? Let''s go together! It''s the hottest party in Hollywood! Everyone our age wants to get in!"


    I held Brenda''s shoulder and looked into her eyes. She became bashful at first. "Why are you touching my arm?"


    "Do you know what happens there? And who invites you?" I asked seriously. Brenda looked shocked at first before mumbling, "One of the executives at Disney. He said he wants to get to know me better."


    "Well, you better block that guy from your contacts and never get involved with him," I warned her earnestly. Vanessa, puzzled, asked, "Ed? What happens there? Why are you so spooked?"


    I released Brenda''s shoulder and turned to Vanessa. "And you! You''re at the center of an ongoing movement right now. Do you really think it''s a good idea to go to a party?"


    Vanessa was flabbergasted. "I''m going to ask you first! If you said no, then I won''t go!"


    "Who am I, your father? Why do you need my permission?" I shot back.


    Vanessa looked bewildered, her mind short-circuiting. "THEN WHAT THE HELL SHOULD I DO?"


    I disarmed her concern with a casual tone. "Well, you should know what happens over there first and make the decision for yourself. First of all, let''s talk about the baby oil and its functions..."


    I took ten minutes to explain what could happen at a Diddy party��everything from drugged-up, nonconsensual sex to being blackmailed into signing contracts. I shared everything Eminem had warned me about and explained why no one did anything about it, and how deep those issues really go.


    As I spoke, Brenda and Vanessa''s faces grew paler. "Oh my god! That''s so scary!" Vanessa exclaimed, rushing to hug me for comfort. Our bodies bumped for a moment, but she quickly released me, stepping back and looking at me with disgust.


    Confused, I turned to Brenda, who hugged me next, but the same thing happened again. "Save me, prince��wait," she gasped excitedly. "Did you have a boner?"


    "What? No, I don''t!" I replied, bewildered.


    "Really? Because I swear I felt something hard!" Brenda teased. "AND TINY!" She burst into laughter.


    I checked my pants and pulled out a pill case from my pocket. "You mean this?"


    Vanessa breathed a sigh of relief. "AH! Thank GOD! I really thought you were a freak who got turned on by messed-up stuff."


    Flabbergasted, I asked in disbelief, "WHAT?!"


    "I don''t believe it!" Brenda hugged me again, trying to confirm. "Yeah, he''s not hard. But it feels quite big��"


    "Get off me." I pushed her away with a grimace. "Go on, go to the party. I don''t care. I''m going to play on my boat." I turned and walked away from the giggling girls.


    Vanessa whispered to Brenda, "Is it really?"


    "Yup. Um, So, I guess we shouldn''t go to the party," Brenda said, slightly disappointed.


    "Of course we shouldn''t! Or Ed will actually kill Diddy," Vanessa replied.


    Brenda scowled at the delusional Vanessa. "He protected you once. He won''t kill a guy for you. Besides, aren''t you two friends?"


    Vanessa looked taken aback and embarrassed. She decided to change the topic. "Wait. Ed said he''s going yachting. So he''s taking his ship out?"


    As I entered my room, I checked the label on the pill bottle I was holding. It was an anti-anxiety medication that Linda had prescribed for me. I popped a couple into my mouth and swallowed them.


    "Diddy, huh? That was surprising," I mumbled to myself before taking a sip of water. The pills worked quickly, and I felt a bit better already. I could finally listen to what my body was telling me: it needed food and some rest.


    "No, he didn''t. Why?" Sarah asked, confused.


    "It''s a mess, to be honest. You can take it back home and work on it with Chuck. He''s watched a lot of movies, so he''ll understand what I''m talking about." I handed the papers back to her.


    Frazzled, Sarah accepted the papers. "Um, I��"


    "Now that that''s out of the way, why don''t you tell me the real reason you''re here?" I asked, crossing my legs and leaning back on the couch. Sarah''s eyes widened slightly as she took out a USB drive.


    "I''m actually here to ask for your help," she said, her face turning serious. "We need to crack the password-protected file on this drive, but it''ll take too long for us. The person asking you for the favor is in dire straits. He can''t hold the line much longer."


    "Stop talking in riddles," I interjected, my tone flat. "But let me be clear: I''m not interested. What''s in it for me?"


    She tried to reason, "He''s someone in a high position in the government. Him owing you a favor won''t be detrimental."


    "Oh, I would strongly disagree," I replied, my gaze steady as I sipped my whiskey. "Given that he''s in a precarious situation��let''s say there are individuals targeting him for his position or even his life��if it were to come out that I assisted him, I would become a target as well."


    I continued, "So why would I involve myself with an anonymous man who MAY owe me a favor when I would undoubtedly find myself in a perilous situation by stepping into this mess?"


    Before she could respond, I added, "I''m sorry, Agent Walker. I''ve had enough of dangerous situations for one day." I made my rejection clear.


    Sarah lowered her hand in disappointment. "It might be too dangerous for you after all. I understand what you''re saying. I won''t push the matter anymore."


    "The door is on the right. If you choose to jump from the balcony, make sure you have your parachute," I said, finishing my drink. As I walked away, I paused and called out, "Wait."


    Sarah had started to open her paraglider but stopped abruptly. "Yes?"


    "He''s not the President, is he? Because if he is, I have a moral obligation to help him." I asked casually, my expression unchanged.


    Sarah faced an internal struggle, her eyes shifting left and right as she weighed her words. Finally, she said, "I can''t answer that, but you MAY be RIGHT!" Her insinuation confirmed my suspicion.


    "Fuck," I cursed. "There''s a USB port next to the TV. Plug it in." I instructed her. Sarah perked up and rushed to connect the USB before I could change my mind. Robin immediately began decrypting it while Sarah attempted to explain the protection.


    "It''s a 16-digit password protection, and��"


    Before she could finish, I interjected, sitting on the couch and pulling out a keyboard from seemingly nowhere, using the 100-inch TV as my screen. "Oh, it''s useless to crack it."


    Sarah looked surprised and disappointed. "You can''t do it either?"


    "Not that I can''t crack the password. The file you gave me is a copy of a copy, right? It''s empty. There''s nothing inside, even if I manage to crack it," I replied casually, pulling the USB from the port.


    This thing was riddled with malware and viruses, meaning every computer the CIA used to crack the code would be rendered useless. Fortunately, Robin managed to catch every single one of them. Nothing could get through her defenses. The USB was like a driveway filled with dirt, and she pressure-washed everything in seconds.


    "What?!" Sarah exclaimed, shocked. "It doesn''t allow copying." I explained a bit.


    "Bring the original if you want me to crack it," I told her, tossing the USB back.


    Then, I advised her, "You''d better get rid of every laptop you plugged that USB into. They have programs that can track it and malware that allows them to take control. Any data on those devices is now compromised. I''ve cleaned this one, so you can understand what I''m talking about when you check it later."


    ...


    Sarah paraglided away after promising to bring me the original. I told her not to try too hard, but I doubted she''d listen. Vanessa and Brenda finally emerged from the room after Sarah had left. They had tried to eavesdrop and even opened the door to peek, but Robin had locked them inside to prevent that.


    When we reached the garage, Vanessa asked, "Is Maggie coming?"


    "I hope not," I replied, placing my bag in the trunk. Vanessa blushed slightly before saying, "So this is a hookup trip�C?" She tried to play off the sentence, but I didn''t let it.


    "Where did you get that idea?" I asked flirtatiously.


    Vanessa responded bashfully, "You don''t want your family there. Um, not with me, right?"


    She seemed a bit hopeful, but she also knew I wouldn''t hook up with my employees... anymore. It was just too stressful.


    "Yeah," I said, causing disappointment to wash over her. "Brenda?" Vanessa asked in a whisper.


    "Yes?!" Brenda suddenly interjected, surprising Vanessa. "Ed, if I can''t invite a lot, how about just three?" she asked eagerly. I didn''t reply but simply stared at her. Brenda tried to haggle, "TWO! Just TWO! They''re my best friends!"


    "Sure, if they can be here in an hour," I told her with a helpless sigh.


    "Great!" Brenda exclaimed enthusiastically. "But Maggie will be really mad if we don''t invite her," Vanessa whispered.


    "It''s fine," I replied casually. "Right, I''ll see you at the yacht." I told the duo as we took separate cars. I went to pick up ten boxes of pizzas and some beers for myself. I was planning to relax.


    However, when I arrived, I was surprised to see the number of people on my yacht. There were at least twenty people partying inside��mostly girls. Britney''s song blared through the speakers as the girls danced in their bikinis, doing shots and playing games.


    Dwayne looked helpless as he explained the situation to me. "I was skeptical at first, but Miss Brenda said YOU planned the party."


    Brenda noticed me and walked over with a slightly worried smile. "Don''t be mad. They were all going to Diddy''s party, so when I told them what you said��don''t worry, I didn''t say your name��they needed somewhere to go."


    "So you brought them here? On a trip where I just want to relax and clear my mind?" I asked in disbelief. Brenda chuckled nervously. "All of them said they know you. Don''t worry��at the rate they''re partying, they''ll all pass out in a couple of hours, so you''ll have the night to yourself."


    "That''s not really reassuring," I muttered. But for some reason, I didn''t find the situation entirely repulsive. "Alright. Just make sure they know it''s not some yachting thing. It''s just a simple party."


    "Alright��" Brenda turned to declare it but paused, looking confused. "What''s a yachting thing?"


    "Oh, that''s another degenerate scene where rich guys invite celebrity girls onto their yachts and do messed-up things with them. They pay the girls at the end. It''s basically an escort gig," I explained.


    "Really? Damn, I really live in a well. How much do they pay, exactly?" Brenda seemed a little too interested, so I pushed her face away. She didn''t expect it and giggled before heading off to explain the situation to her friends.


    Before long, Dwayne moved the ship out of the harbor, and we started our trip.

 Chapter 296: ID (2)

    Chapter 296: Chapter 296: ID (2)


    (It''s my birthday yesterday.)


    [Edward POV]


    Paparazzi swarmed the port area, snapping pictures of the yacht as people boarded, capturing every moment of our departure. A few relentless photographers attempted to follow us in a rented boat, but my security team, along with the vigilant FBI agents watching over me, swiftly handled the situation.


    For the partygoers, this was a rare escape��a time when they could let loose without the scrutiny that usually accompanied their lives in the limelight. The yacht itself was a marvel of luxury, comfortably fitting into the superyacht category.


    Inside, the lounge featured long couches that could accommodate fifteen people, perfectly positioned to face the kitchen and bar. As guests moved to the deck, they were greeted by a couple of lounge chairs and an infinity pool shimmering at the center, with stairs on either side connecting the upper and lower decks.


    Below deck, five rooms provided plush accommodations: one master cabin, three ordinary cabins, and a specially renovated cabin for my dad. To decide who would claim the master cabin, we played a round of rock-paper-scissors, and luck was on my side��I won.


    I had taken the time to upgrade my dad''s simple cabin, ensuring it wouldn''t feel too shabby compared to mine; it now featured its own bathroom and a cozy lounge area. My cabin was spacious enough to house a pool table if I chose to put one in... but I hadn''t yet.


    The yacht was a source of envy for many, with an estimated market value of a staggering $80 million. Little did they know I had acquired it for less than $8 million and poured an additional $3 million into refurbishing and modifying it.


    It was still a hefty sum, but as someone with the second-best-selling albums of all time and the master of new era technology, I could afford to indulge in a little luxury once in a while.


    "Oh my god, this shrimp is so big!" Brenda exclaimed, her mouth full as she savored the seafood. She had changed into a blue-black polka dot bikini and topped her look with a large sun hat that bounced lightly with her animated gestures.


    I, on the other hand, kept it simple in a white shirt and jean shorts, complemented by a pair of classic sunglasses to shield my eyes from the sun. The atmosphere was lively, filled with laughter and the sound of waves lapping against the yacht.


    The staff had stocked the yacht with some food for my trip, so seeing her dig into the provisions didn''t bother me; I had my pizzas waiting. The staff had prepared an impressive spread��meat, fresh lobster, shrimp, my beloved ramyeon, chicken, vegetables, ice cream, and lasagna. They even got me some rice.


    Before we set sail, I had enlisted two more helpers from my dad''s tourism business��a chef and a bartender��who willingly volunteered for the occasion. I paid them generously, of course.


    The chefs continued cooking and served the hungry guests some food. The shrimp platter was one of them.


    Brenda jogged towards me and stuffed the prawn into my mouth, "It''s great isn''t it?"


    "Free food is always great." I mumbled as I chewed on it. "For the freeloaders at least."


    Brenda giggled, not bothered by the hidden sarcasm and said, "


    As Brenda shared her shrimp bounty with the others, I sipped a non-alcoholic cocktail, keeping my beer stash hidden away in the master bedroom.


    Glancing around, I spotted some familiar faces among the crowd. Emily Ratajkowski lounged near the hot tub on the upper deck, while Danielle Panabaker chatted with Brenda, both of them enjoying the shrimp.


    Justin Bieber stood alone by the rails, engrossed in his phone. Ashley Benson caught my eye, her excitement evident every time I looked her way as she conversed with another actress whose name eluded me, though her face felt oddly familiar.


    Vanessa approached me, clad in a thin, one-piece purple swimsuit, a fruity drink in hand. "Are you searching for your targets?" she teased, noticing my scanning gaze.


    I shook my head. "Just looking for people I know. Not much to see."


    She shrugged apologetically. "Most of them are Brenda''s friends. I have no idea how Bieber ended up here. I''m going to apologize for her."


    I chuckled, turning my attention back to her. My eyes instinctively roamed her figure, and she arched her back, leaning closer to me. Confused at first, I soon understood her intent as she whispered in my ear, "Taylor''s here."


    "What?" I widened my eyes and scanned the ship, finally spotting him��Taylor Lautner, shirtless and chatting with a group of European models on the deck.


    "Are you kidding me right now!" I exclaimed, turning to Vanessa, who burst into laughter and darted away. My heart almost jumped out of my chest from the shock.


    In her haste, she almost slipped, and I instinctively wrapped my arm around her waist to steady her. My center of gravity and hers rubbed against each other accidentally.


    "You alright there?" I asked, amusement lacing my voice.


    Vanessa felt the heat of embarrassment creeping up her neck. "I''m��I''m fine," she stammered, quickly retreating to join Brenda, who was giggling at the entire scene with her friend.


    I walked to the deck, greeting a few partygoers along the way, but before I could reach my intended target, a tall blonde girl grabbed my arm from behind.


    She stood at 177 cm with frilly hair, freckles dancing across her nose, and piercing blue eyes that seemed a little dull and lifeless. A pearl necklace adorned her neck, and her polka-dot bikini held up her D-cup bosom, epitomizing the stereotypical beach babe.


    "Hi. I''m Luna," she said, extending her hand and speaking with a vocal fry that was jarring.


    "Hello, Luna. I''m Edward," I replied casually, shaking her hand.


    "So, when''s the party going to start?" she asked with a slight alarm in her tone, her smile wide.


    "Hmm? It''s already starting now," I replied, slightly confused.


    Luna suddenly guffawed, her laughter erupting in a way that caught me off guard. She laughed so hard that tears formed in her eyes, slapping my bicep as if it were the punchline of a great joke.


    I stared at her, my brows furrowed in bewilderment. Once she calmed down, she leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, "Not that. The true party! Is it an anal party?"


    "What?" I widened my eyes in shock. She continued blithely, "Then, pee party��I need to know the vices first before I can decide to participate or not. I may be open-minded about new things, but I draw the line at shitting in the mou��"


    "What in the world are you talking about?" I interjected, desperate to redirect the conversation before it veered any further. "This is a normal party." I stressed out.


    "Or anything to do with shit." Luna didn''t seem fazed. She winked at me, using air quotes as she said, "Yeah. I get it. ''Normal'' party." Her expression was playful, but I could sense she was serious about her inquiries. "Slime party? Masked orgy? Furry? Baby oil? What is it? You''re taking us to an unknown location and start hunting us one by one? Just don''t kill me, okay?"


    I sighed, feeling helpless from her lack of trust. "Go ask Brenda. It''s her party. I don''t have the heart to deal with this."


    "Wait. Is it really a normal party?" She asked, her voice turned into a normal voice as she was surprised.


    "What else?" I asked with frustration. "I''m not a degenerate."


    "Really?" She looked at me with suspicion. "But you know Diddy?" She added.


    I was flabbergasted when I heard that, "I don''t know him! When did I ever know him?!" I left after grimacing at the girl. As she watched me walk away, she mumbled to herself, "It''s not? Seriously?" Then, she walked toward some other girls and told them. They even shouted together in celebration after that.


    I fished out my anti-anxiety pills and popped two more into my mouth. With my Steve Rogers-level metabolism, I knew the effects would be dulled when taken orally, but I needed a little something to take the edge off. With that, I made my way over to Justin Bieber.


    I walked back inside and took a look, only to discover that the pull was indeed missing. "Oh, it''s gone," I said casually.


    "Really? WHEN?!" she exclaimed, her urgency growing as she struggled with the wet fabric that clung to her skin.


    "How should I know? Maybe when you were swimming in the ocean? Honestly, this is what happens when you buy cheap swimsuits."


    "It''s a $300 Victoria''s Secret swimsuit!" she shot back, clearly irritated. "I can''t take it anymore. You need to cut me out of it."


    "Wait. Really?" I asked, surprised. "You''ll be naked in front of me, though."


    She shot me a disdainful look. "Then it won''t be the first time."


    "Huh? When did that happen before?" I asked, genuinely confused.


    Vanessa went momentarily speechless before finally saying, "My nudes were leaked, remember?"


    "That''s different, though. You weren''t within grabbing range then." I chuckled teasingly.


    Vanessa blushed but tried to act casual. "Well, it''s you. I trust you��"


    Before she could finish, I grabbed both parts of the zipper teeth and ripped it off. Her eyes widened in shock at my sudden action. "This is enough, right?" I asked nonchalantly.


    She turned toward me and hit my chest in frustration. "I just got it! Now you''ve ruined it!"


    "It''s not like you had any bright idea to salvage it. What''s the difference between this and cutting it off with scissors?"


    "CONSENT!" she argued, her nostrils flaring in exasperation. I cackled and then walked away, "Problem solved anyway."


    "Wait," she called out just as I reached for the door handle. I sighed in exasperation and turned back to her. "What is it now?"


    "Um, I don''t have any change of clothes. They''re in Brenda''s room. Can you go pick them up for me?" She tried to act cute, clearly hoping to win me over.


    I rolled my eyes. "There''s a towel robe in my closet. Use that and get your own clothes after you finish showering."


    "WAIT!" she called again. Frustrated, I turned back to her and asked, "Why? What now?"


    "Um, can you just stay here until I finish showering?" she asked, her eyes darting away as if hiding something.


    I caught on and pressed her, "What''s going on? Why don''t you want me up on the deck?"


    "Um, who said anything about not letting you see the sunset? I just need some company, that''s all," she said, avoiding eye contact.


    I chuckled, "I didn''t say it was about the sunset." Her eyes widened in shock. I leaned in closer, teasingly, "So you don''t want me up there, why? Tell me, or I''ll go there now."


    With her back bare, Vanessa took a step back, trying to avoid my gaze, but she seemed mesmerized and couldn''t look away. I moved forward, applying gentle pressure, and suddenly her bottom fell onto my bed. Vanessa sat on the edge, and I stood right in front of her, placing my hand on her chin to guide her gaze up.


    Her face flushed, and she bit her lip, glancing slightly at my crotch area before her sanity seemed to return.


    "Um..." Vanessa hesitated, then sighed. "Alright. Cat''s out of the bag. I can''t let you go up there. I overheard two or...more girls saying they were going to make a move on you right then. It''ll be too messy when you reject them, and it''ll ruin the trip."


    I raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Really? And what makes you think I''d reject them?"


    Her expression fell slightly, and I smirked. "Thanks for the tip, by the way. There are a lot of girls who want to make a move on me. I''ll be sure to think of you when I bring them back into my room later on."


    Vanessa scoffed, disdain evident in her voice. "Stop pretending. You weren''t going to hook up at all. Otherwise, you''d have done it already."


    I shrugged. "Why would I hook up in broad daylight?"


    Vanessa''s eyes widened as she realized what I meant. She stammered, "Wait. So you do want to?"


    "Not with you," I teased, giving her nose a gentle bop.


    Vanessa grumbled in dissatisfaction before shouting angrily, "Go on! Leave the room, you pervert!"


    "You''re the one topless on my bed," I said as I turned to walk away.


    "Topless?" she echoed, confusion filling her voice.


    She glanced down, and her eyes went wide as she realized her top had fallen off, exposing her breast. Panic set in as the realization hit her. "Oh my God!" she shouted, cursing my name multiple times as she scrambled to cover herself.


    "I''m going to use up all the water, you hear me!" Vanessa shouted in my direction, clearly wanting to punish me for not telling her about it earlier.


    As I made my way back to the deck, the sunset had begun. The horizon was painted in vibrant oranges and pinks, casting a warm glow over everything and creating a beautifully romantic atmosphere.


    But I couldn''t enjoy the view for long; I soon felt predatory gazes coming from all directions. I chuckled to myself, "Maybe listening to Hudgens won''t be so bad after all?"


    Walking to the side of the deck, I settled into a lone lounge chair. I poured myself a glass of my Euphoria mixed drink, the shimmering liquid catching the fading sunlight before it glowed slightly inside the shot glass.


    I downed another shot of my drink, savoring the flavor as I hissed in satisfaction, "That really hit the spot."


    Suddenly, I heard someone clear her throat beside me. I ignored it, pouring another glass of my concoction, but the throat-clearing grew louder.


    Raising an eyebrow, I turned to see Ashley Benson standing there, adorned in a one-piece white gown, a large white hat perched stylishly atop her head, and white high heels that accentuated her long legs.


    She acted as if she was enjoying the view, but I could tell she was aware of my gaze. As she ''caught'' me looking, she grinned and sauntered over, sitting down on the same lounge chair, her back to me but her face turned slightly my way.


    I had to admit, she had planned this beautifully. The sunset bathed her in golden light, reflecting off her features in a way that made her look almost ethereal.


    "Hi Ed. We meet again," she said, her voice smooth as she lightly touched my hand. "We met by accident on the beach, and now here... I didn''t believe in fate, but it does make one think, doesn''t it?"


    "Damn, that was good." I mumbled as I applauded her opening line inwardly.

 Chapter 297: ID (3)

    Chapter 297: Chapter 297: ID (3)


    (last chap before break. decided to end this first.)


    [Edward POV]


    "Did you take long to plan that? Wow..." I teased, a playful smirk on my face.


    Ashley blushed slightly, a hint of embarrassment creeping onto her cheeks. She chuckled dryly, but her expression quickly shifted from disappointment to elation when I continued, "Lucky for you, I''m a sucker for stuff like that. It reminds me of the anime I''ve watched."


    "Oh, that works? You''re easy," she teased flirtatiously.


    I pretended to be baffled, raising an eyebrow. "I''m a man. We will talk to a tree if they start a conversation with us. This is the first time a girl ever tried to pick me up, so I''m really looking forward to what you have in store."


    "Sorry to disappoint, but that''s it. I didn''t plan further than that." Ashley said with a slight smirk, her hand resting gently on my forearm.


    I scoffed, feigning offense. "You already threw the conversation to me?"


    "Isn''t that a man''s job?" she shot back playfully. "I tried using the old subtle look at you, but you ignored it all."


    "Yeah, I did that on purpose," I admitted with a grin, enjoying the playful back-and-forth. She looked a bit taken aback and said, disappointedly, "Should I take that as a hint to get lost then?"


    I didn''t respond directly to that. Instead, I said, "I had a plan in mind to decompress alone, but the plan has changed. Want a drink��wait, I shouldn''t offer you this one." I turned, scanning the deck for a staff member to bring her a drink, but I couldn''t find anyone.


    "Why not?!" she asked incredulously. "Are you the type not to share your drinks?"


    I turned back to her and replied, "This is almost pure vodka. I know I''m drinking it, but I don''t want to be the one who offers it to underage girls."


    She exclaimed in realization, slightly nodding her head. "I was thinking it was weird that you were drinking sparkling water like taking a shot. It''s fine. I can drink it."


    "Yeah, you look like you do," I said seriously.


    She looked befuddled. "What does that mean?"


    "I don''t know. You just have that vibe. Like you may have liver problems. Or was just done with life."


    "AT MY AGE?!" she asked, shock evident in her voice. "Ah, I get what you mean," she said, suddenly nodding in understanding. "A lot of people ask me if I''m tired even though I''m at my peak form. Like this." She dropped her smile and put on a poker face.


    I scrutinized her, chuckling lightly. "Yeah... definitely not tired. More like you''re mad at the world and everything in it. Or... just hungry..."


    "Wait, really?" She cupped her mouth, then touched her face slightly. "Did it reveal too much?"


    I snorted, laughing. "It really does."


    "So, want to get something to eat?" she suddenly invited me.


    "Are you asking me to dinner?" I asked, disbelief coloring my tone. "You said you had no more plans, but that was pretty smooth."


    She clicked her tongue in satisfaction, shrugging as if enjoying the compliment. "It wasn''t a plan. I''m just that smooth."


    "For someone who doesn''t like to socialize with people, you kinda are," I noted, genuinely amazed.


    Ashley looked befuddled. "H-How did you know that?"


    "You don''t like socializing?" I replied. "I noticed it from the very beginning. You''re someone who would rather spend your days alone inside your house, watching TV and eating snacks than going to a party. I can bet you were only here because you were dragged into it."


    She blinked, taken aback. "Wow, you really read me well. Shay dragged me here."


    "Shay? Shay Mitchell?" I mumbled, finally recalling the girl Ashley had been talking about. She was one of the cast members from Pretty Little Liars. Then it hit me that Ashley was in the show too. The series had a great start but suffered in the last few seasons.


    I poured myself another glass and downed it, feeling the warmth spread through me. Ashley''s eyes were glued to the drink, and she asked, "Can I try that? You seem to really enjoy it."


    "I can honestly say that the best drink in the world would pale in comparison to what I''m drinking," I replied with a slight smirk, feeling my mind begin to feel hazy as I started to get drunk.


    "Now I definitely have to try it," she said, picking up my empty glass and gesturing for me to pour more. I shrugged and said, "Well then, don''t blame me if you can''t handle it."


    "I usually do just fine with alcohol," she bragged, confidence brimming in her voice. I hesitated for a moment before finally deciding to share. "Only one glass, alright?"


    "Stingy," she teased as I poured the drink for her. She took a sip, her eyes widening in surprise. Even her pupils seemed to enlarge. Then, she quickly downed the entire thing and exclaimed in satisfaction, a drunken blush immediately appearing on her face.


    "Oh my god, that was great!" she declared, her head dropping onto my arm as she laid down next to me. Her words slurred together as she added, "Once more pleashh~"


    We shared another drink as we enjoyed the sunset, however after that second one, her body swayed and she fell asleep.


    I snorted derisively. "And you said you can handle your alcohol."


    The solution was 70% Euphoria and 30% sparkling water and lime. No one could handle it other than myself��and surprisingly, Max. I figured the effect wouldn''t last long; she''d wake up in about half an hour.


    I glanced down at Ashley, bemused by how quickly she had succumbed to sleep. She had picked a great spot to rest her head��right on my bicep��though her face was turned away from mine. I could feel her nuzzle in closer, pushing her back against me as if she wanted to settle more comfortably on the lounge chair.


    The chair was made for one person, but it was big enough for both of us. I shifted slightly to make room, even considering sitting up. However, she grabbed my arm and wouldn''t let go. Then, unexpectedly, she turned over to get even more comfortable.


    From across the deck, Brenda and Vanessa both fell into disbelief as they noticed Ashley lying down next to me. They weren''t looking at the situation together; Vanessa was with Shay, and Brenda was with Danielle.


    Vanessa mumbled with a slight furrow on her brow, "She''s so... forward."


    Brenda muttered, "That''s very romantic. Sharing a lounge together, cuddling while watching the sunset. Ah, I want a boyfriend so bad."


    In a way, I did get my wish to drink alone without any interruptions. Ashley didn''t wake up until after the sunset was over. Feeling a bit famished, I wanted to go inside and eat, but she hadn''t woken up yet, so I had to wait.


    Time passed, and people had gone inside the yacht to drink, change their clothes, and party. But Ashley''s eyes remained closed.


    "Are you afraid that I''ll think of you as a whore?" I asked with a slight chuckle. Ashley grimaced in dissatisfaction before saying, "I''m telling you I''m not a slut."


    "Then, I''ll believe you." I said reassuringly. Ashley smiled in satisfaction as she believed me easily before she drifted off to sleep while I spooned her. Soon, I activated my rest skill and followed her into slumber, content and at ease.


    (A/N: I tried really hard not to make it romantic lol)


    ...


    Four hours later, I woke up feeling refreshed. My skin even had a slight glow, and my mind felt clear. "Wait, was I just pent up?" I mumbled in surprise.


    I checked on Ashley and found her deep in sleep, so I quietly left to take a shower before heading outside my room. There were still three hours until sunrise, and I wanted to see what was going on with the party.


    To my surprise, I spotted only one person on the lounge and deck. Vanessa was lying on the lounge chair I had used earlier. She noticed me approaching and said, "The return boat got here an hour ago. A lot of people have gone too. Only Brenda, Shay, and Danielle stayed behind since they don''t have any plans for tomorrow."


    I had arranged transport for JB to get back to the port the night before. After the party on the yacht died down when Brenda and I went to our room, some of the party enthusiasts decided to jump on the return boat to go party at the clubs.


    "I don''t care about that," I said, dragging another chair over to sit down. "Why are you out here?"


    With a sarcastic tone, she replied, "I can''t sleep. The people in the next room were really noisy. She kept moaning and screaming, so I had to escape."


    "Sorry, that was my id. I lost all sense of reason there," I replied casually.


    "Huh? What''s an id?" she asked, confusion flickering across her face.


    "It''s a psychological thing. It''s boring," I said dismissively, but she urged, "I''m not dumb. Explain."


    "Well, if you really want to know... Simply put, Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, identified three components of the mind: the id, the ego, and the superego. The id represents instinctual desires, the superego embodies our moral standards, and the ego acts as the mediator that balances the two."


    "Freud compared the ego��in its relation to the id��to a man on horseback: the rider must restrain and direct the superior energy of his animal and at times allow for a satisfaction of its urges if he wants to keep it alive and the species healthy." I continued with a slight smirk.


    Vanessa made a disgusted face and mumbled, "Don''t use science to defend why you''re a man-whore."


    "I''m not the one who got turned on by a little moaning," I teased. Vanessa looked at me with disbelief before saying, "Aren''t you the least bit apologetic? And it''s really loud, like animals in heat��"


    Before she could finish, she realized she was about to support my point, grimacing and stopping herself.


    "I''m not sorry at all," I replied casually, lying down on the chair next to hers. Vanessa furrowed her eyebrows and sarcastically guessed, "Ah, so you shot your humanity inside her too?"


    "I didn''t finish ''in'' her," I smirked. Vanessa got irritated, saying, "Stop talking about your sex life! Are you trying to make fun of me because I didn''t have any?!" She grabbed my arm, forcing me to look into her eyes. "I can if I want to! I''m just choosing not to!"


    "You seem pent up. You definitely should try it. I mean, I did it, and now I''m more chill," I said teasingly.


    Vanessa scowled before standing up. "I''m going to go to bed! Your party sucks!"


    "It''s Brenda''s party," I corrected her as she walked away. "Shut up Jerk!" she cursed before she entered the lounge again. I chuckled and then mumbled to myself, "Ah, she''s going to miss the best part."


    I signaled Dwayne to turn off the lights other than what''s necessary. In the darkness, the hidden beauty of the sea was finally revealed. The sky was a breathtaking tapestry of stars, shimmering like diamonds scattered across velvet. The half-moon cast a silvery glow, illuminating the area surrounding the yacht.


    I stayed there until the sun rose before having breakfast. Danielle and Brenda joined me, and Vanessa didn''t come out until 11 am. Ashley�C not being a morning person, kept sleeping until I returned to the room, trying to wake her up.


    "Hey Benson, we''re going home now." I told her. She grumbled before opening her eyes and asked, "What time is it?"


    "Noon." I replied. "12.30."


    "We''ll be back at?" She asked groggily.


    "Around 2." I replied.


    "Great, then, there''s time to do it once more." She said before she sat up and hugged me from behind, her hand slowly caressed my abs before she snuck it inside my pants.


    We did it once more while we were changing our clothes. When we arrived at the dock, Benson asked for my personal number.


    "We should definitely become friends," she suggested.


    "Friends... with benefits?" I said. She nodded slightly, and then I thought about it before replying, "Alright. Deal."


    We decided to become casual friends for now, as we were both single, and she wasn''t interested in having a real relationship.


    The yacht sailed toward a private port in Malibu, a different one from the one in Los Angeles where we started our trip. As the port there was filled with paparazzi, I decided to anchor the ship to avoid the unwanted attention.


    Brenda asked worriedly after we docked, "We don''t have our cars. How can we go home now?"


    Danielle also expressed her concerns, "There will be traffic. It''ll take a long time to get back."


    "Don''t worry about that," I said with a smile. "Our transport is here." As I looked at the sky, a black helicopter flew toward us. There was a helicopter landing spot 200 meters away from where we were.


    All of us walked to the helicopter after it landed. Vanessa''s face was pale as she climbed aboard. As she strapped on the seatbelt and wore the microphone and headset, I asked, "Are you afraid of flying?"


    Vanessa sat right in front of me, and Benson sat on my right. Brenda, Danielle, and Benson were excited to fly, but Vanessa became increasingly pale by the second.


    "A little bit!" she replied. I smirked before saying, "Then, don''t look outside."


    "Why? Are we already in the air?" she asked fearfully. The door wasn''t even closed yet, but she already thought we were flying. I grabbed her hand and made her focus on me. "Hey, look at me. You''re going to be alright. It''s only for 20 minutes. Okay?"


    She nodded without a word. But she didn''t let go of my hand and kept holding it throughout the whole ride. Benson noticed and smiled. She didn''t ask her question before we landed, but then she whispered it in my ear.


    "Are you sleeping with Hudgens too?" she asked. I was startled and turned toward her. "No, we''re just friends."


    "Really? Too bad. I''m pretty sure there''s something there between you two. Or maybe I''m mistaken?" she mumbled.

 Chapter 298: Untitled.

    Chapter 298: Chapter 298: Untitled.


    [General POV]


    When JB and the other partygoers returned to the port, there was a swarm of reporters and paparazzi camping out in front of the dock.


    "Justin! Did you have fun at Newgate''s party?!" a middle-aged paparazzo said sleazily as he snapped pictures of the partygoers.


    "Where''s the yacht?" another shouted.


    "Did you hook up with anyone?" A paparazzo shouted invasive questions without even a change in his expression.


    Justin and Taylor Lautner, being the most famous people there, were encircled by the paparazzi as they asked questions about the party. Most of them were curious about where the yacht was and why they had come back early.


    "Was the party a bore?!" a reporter shouted as she pointed a recording device at Emily Ratajkowski.


    Emily was startled, and she blurted out, "No. It was very fun." The reporter quickly took some notes and quoted her for the article she was going to write.


    Edward''s security helped the guests get away. Taylor Lautner just walked on by without caring about the paparazzi, but Justin smirked and went to talk with one of them. He remembered one of the pieces of advice Edward had given him and wanted to try it out.


    The paparazzi''s eyes lit up, and they ignored the other guests as they caught a big fish. "JB! Who invited you there?! Was it Edward?!" a reporter asked.


    Amidst the flurry of questions thrown at him, JB focused on that and replied, "No. It''s actually Brenda Song''s party."


    "Then, how come it''s held on Newgate''s ship?" another reporter asked. JB explained, "First, Ed wanted to go on a trip to clear his mind, but Brenda called several people over, turning it into a party. In fact, we don''t even party much."


    "What did you do instead?" the same reporter asked.


    JB replied with a chuckle, "We played games, watched the Spider-Man movie, watched the sunset, and ate good food. That''s all."


    -Flashback-


    On the ship, during dinner, JB asked Edward, "Man, how do you handle the press so well?" JB was sitting on the kitchen counter while Edward was rinsing off the crabs.


    Edward turned to him and replied, "First of all, you have to understand something. Your fans are obsessed with you. They want to know everything you''re doing��your underwear brand, your hair products, everything they can get."


    "The press has the same desire, but they have their own agendas. So you have to make sure to choose how to disseminate your information so that they will suffer if they try to paint you in a bad light," he continued.


    "Who will make them suffer on my behalf?" JB asked, slightly raising his eyebrow. "Should I get in contact with some thugs?"


    As JB didn''t have any contact with Diddy yet, he didn''t really know how to navigate Hollywood right now. Edward licked the curry paste he had made off his finger before replying, "The one that will make them suffer is your fans. So put your trust in them. One day, you could even become a modern slave to the people you trust, but your fans will be the greatest help you can get to get through that." (Example: Free Britney Movement)


    Brenda raised her hand as she listened in on the advice and asked Edward, "Um, how can we choose to reveal the what-not?"


    Edward looked towards her and realized that not only Brenda, but also Taylor Lautner, Danielle Panabaker, Vanessa Hudgens, and Emily were listening in on the conversation.


    Edward sighed and said, "Let me give you an example. A reporter asks you about this party. What should you say?"


    "Nothing, right?" JB replied.


    Edward shook his head and said, "You should tell them what''s going on from your point of view. Share things that won''t bring you any trouble. You can say you enjoyed the delicious dinner I cooked, but don''t mention that you paired it with some wine or who you were eating it with. Just keep it general or vague."


    "Won''t they press on, though?" Brenda asked.


    Edward replied, "They would, but they''re going to be so busy writing it down that you can take control of the situation. At that gap between questions, take the initiative to bring it to another topic. Something more interesting, weird, or surprisingly fresh, or something very shocking that will divert their attention from the first question."


    -Flashback Ends-


    The reporters paused, intrigued by his response. "Why Spider-Man?" one of them asked, clearly curious.


    As the paparazzi continued to bombard JB with questions, he chuckled and replied, "I never watched it, so Ed made me. My hands are tied! Literally. He forced me to watch it." He laughed, trying to keep the mood light. He pointed to the camera and said, "Now I''m hooked. Remember this, my fans: if I become a nerd, it''s all Newgate''s fault."


    -Flashback-


    Edward leaned in, chuckling softly. "Listen, there''s a line in that movie. The Green Goblin says, ''The one thing they love more than a hero is to see a hero fail, fall, die trying. In spite of everything you''ve done for them, eventually, they will hate you.'' Well, we''re not heroes, but that''s relevant to us too."


    Edward continued, "This is important for you. Your public image matters. Protect it, or it will affect your whole life. You can socialize and get to know people, but never let your guard down unless you are absolutely certain you can trust them."


    "W-what''s the quote again?" JB asked, puzzled. Edward raised one of his eyebrows and asked, "It''s Spider-Man. You don''t remember Spider-Man?"


    "I think I watched it when I was a kid. I don''t remember much. Or maybe I never watched it? I don''t know," JB replied, a bit abashed.


    Edward looked at him in disbelief. "You NEVER WATCHED SPIDER-MAN!? No wonder your childhood sucked!" Edward exclaimed, shaking his head. "Spencer." Edward turned to the staff member, "Start up the projector. JB needs to watch the movie tonight."


    "I don''t want to��" JB was startled. "You don''t need to��"


    Edward interjected, clarifying, "You don''t have to actually watch it. It''s just one of the cover stories you can use later on. You can do what you want."


    JB breathed a sigh of relief after hearing that. He planned to try and pick up the girl he had been talking with; however, when the movie played, the girl wanted to watch it. JB reluctantly watched it with her and found himself hooked on the story.


    Near the climax, the girl suddenly raised her hand and forced out a yawn. She turned to JB and said, "I''m feeling quite tired. I''m going to my room." She hinted at JB by touching his arm slightly and asked, "Want to come with?"


    I was startled at first before I asked, "Santa?"


    "It''s like a Secret Santa thing. I have no idea what she wants to do," Jacob said.


    I talked with him a bit more before calling the others and reassuring them that I was fine. After that, I sighed and said, "It''s tough when you know a lot of people. In my previous life, I just had to care about one."


    A wave of nostalgia hit me, and I began to miss Nonni. "I guess I''m going to cook Nonni''s favorite recipe tonight," I mumbled before my phone rang again. Terry finally called me back.


    "So, you won," Terry said with a depressed tone. Then, he suddenly got a bit hopeful. "But do you even remember what the bet prize is��"


    "You''ll go a week without suspenders. Rosa will send me a selfie of her smiling, which I will frame and hang on my walls forever," I muttered. Rosa interjected, "Do that, and I''ll gut you like a fish."


    "Are you going back on your word, Rosa? I thought you were better than that," I said snidely. Rosa growled and didn''t say anything, expressing her silent agreement that she would honor the bet.


    "Boyle will eat whatever Jake is eating," I continued. "And lastly, Jake and Amy will have to go on a date together. I have booked the restaurant, and it''s hella classy."


    Jake begged, "Wait. Can you do it somewhere where I only need to spend 20 dollars?... ''Cause that''s all I have right now."


    "Don''t worry about it. I''m covering the bills. I''ll also be sending you guys the attire you''re going to wear for the evening," I said confidently.


    Jake and Amy exclaimed excitedly, "Wooo��" But as they turned their faces and met each other''s eyes, they stopped abruptly, becoming awkward instead.


    "You guys also have to answer 20 questions before finishing up the date. I''ll update the questions in real time, and Gustav, the manager of the restaurant, will make sure you guys answer them all honestly before you can leave."


    I wondered if the questions designed to accelerate intimacy that Penny and Sheldon would do in the future would help bring those two together. Right now, their relationship was plain awkward.


    They accepted the consequences of their betting after a thorough discussion. Amy made sure I wouldn''t add anything else about the matter when I suddenly heard Jake grumble, "This is all Holt''s fault. If he doesn''t mess around, then we won''t fail spectacularly like this."


    "Wait, Holt interfered?" I asked with intrigue. "So does that mean he''s part of the bet?"


    Jake suddenly became excited and said, "I like where you''re going with this."


    "So, if his interference is the cause of you guys losing, then make him accept the punishment too," I said. "Let me talk to him."


    After the squad hassled Holt about his involvement, he finally became defeated and said, "FINE! I''ll admit that my interference became a major factor in causing you guys to lose. Even if you were going to lose, you deserve to have a fair fight in it. I accept responsibility for it."


    "Enough talk, Captain," Jake said excitedly. "We are all in this together��not High School Musical, but as a detective squad. Edward, please present Captain Holt with the whip."


    "Whip?" I asked, fully shocked. "Is that a racial thing? Is it because he''s black?" I asked, pretending to be innocent. Jake was flabbergasted and said, "NO! I meant the punishment thing."


    Holt piled on, "It''s kinda weird to categorize a whip as a punishment for a black man anyway."


    "I''M NOT RACIST! I WAS TOO EXCITED!"


    I chuckled and said, "Because of that, I have to tweak Captain Holt''s punishment a bit. I wanted to make him listen to my album and slowly seduce him to become my fan, but instead, there''s a barrel exhibit in downtown New York. Holt is going to take Jake there and explain all about the barrels displayed in the exhibit."


    Holt asked, slightly surprised, "Wait. So for my punishment, you want me to teach Jacob about barrels?"


    I agreed with him, "Yes, and later that night, Jake is going to bring Amy there after their dinner together, and he''s going to repeat everything you said to her. I know that extensive knowledge about a certain studious topic will surely turn Amy on."


    "It will?" Jake asked. Amy shouted into the phone, "No, it won''t!" but her tone was unconvincing.


    "I will honor my punishment fairly," Holt said. "I''ll make sure to hammer all the knowledge I have onto Jacob before the date begins."


    "He can use ''hammer''! Is hammer not racist?" Jake mumbled to himself.


    "Great. Then you''ll have 4 hours. The restaurant reservation is tonight." I said before I cut the call and arranged everything for the date. I managed to sneak in a bath and change my clothes before my phone rang again.


    "It''s Priority 1." Robin alerted. "Answer it."I replied.


    "Hey, Peps, I''m going to go to the company now��" Before I could finish, Pepper interrupted me, saying, "We finished��DON''T COME! REST! WHY ARE YOU COMING HERE?!"


    He scolded me first before continuing with his initial topic. "We finished the trailer for the movie. If you say it''s okay, then we can release it."


    "Already?" I asked, slightly surprised. "You don''t sound confident. But that''s fine. I know you have a really high standard. We are confident that we''ve reached it with this trailer edit. I''ll send it to you now."


    "Okay, I''ll wait," I replied. Pepper cut the call, and I loitered around the living room, waiting for the file to arrive. I even had time to eat some bread before Pepper finally figured out how to send the file using email. He didn''t��he asked Renaldo for help.


    As I watched the trailer, I scrutinized it and gave my notes to Pepper through a phone call. "The music came in way too early. It needs to be at the one-minute mark. And the trailer gives away too much. I want it to stop abruptly and trigger people''s desire to know more about it. I don''t want a trailer that reveals the entire plot. Then what''s the point of watching it? Less me, more Ryan and Emily in it."


    Pepper said sternly, "No. We already felt that there''s not enough of you in the trailer. SunHee wants to cut out Ryan''s screentime to only 20 seconds."


    I was startled and asked, "She''s from the gaming division. Why is she even there?" Rubbing my sore forehead, I said, "I''m coming to the company. Judd is there too, right?"


    "He is; he''s laughing at me the whole time," Pepper said with dissatisfaction.


    "He already expected I won''t like it, didn''t he?" I asked Pepper knowingly. "He said it''s fine enough for a trailer. Not good. Fine."


    Grabbing my car key, I said, "I''ll be there in 20 minutes."

 Chapter 299: Crossing off my to-do list.

    Chapter 299: Chapter 299:?Crossing off my to-do list.


    [Edward POV]


    "It''s finished!!!!" Pepper hailed the sky and shouted dramatically. Sitting behind him on his CEO desk�Cat his spot, I retorted, "The trailer only! The movie is still halfway done."


    We were inside the CEO''s office. There were empty sushi boxes on the coffee desk on the receiving guest''s couch from where we had dinner and discussed the trailer. Judd was here for a bit before he went to the film set an hour ago.


    We could''ve done the trailer edit in 20 minutes, but I wanted a scene which has unfinished CGI to be inserted in it, so it took longer. I used Robin''s help to complete the CGI and it only took half an hour. I took only 3 seconds of it for the trailer.


    After hearing my retort, Pepper widened his eyes in disbelief and turned towards me, "I thought we only had 3 more days of shooting?"


    I nodded, understanding where he was coming from. "Three days to film the scenes. Then editing, CGI, test screenings, reshoots if necessary, background music, marketing��"


    Inside my mind, I was wondering if I could use the Unreal Engine to actually make an animated movie. With Robin and myself collaboration, maybe? But even if I do try to make an animated film, it wouldn''t be at this period of time.


    Pepper held his head in agony and said, "Stop! You''re making my head hurt."


    I continued without sympathy, "We still have merchandising, and also, this is a very important part: the deal with the cinemas. Harvey almost finalized that, so we don''t have to worry about it."


    As I sent the trailer to Judd Apatow for evaluation, I said, "Wait, two days... Then release the trailer." It''s now December 13th, so it will be released on the 15th.


    Pepper grinned in satisfaction, pride radiating from him. "Finally! My dream will come true!"


    "I thought your dream was to become richer than Britney?" I said with a slight chuckle. "Speaking of Britney," Pepper sat down in front of me, across the table, and said, "Her business manager, Lou Taylor, wants a meeting��"


    "Definitely not." I widened my eyes slightly and said decisively. "Especially not her. No matter what comes out of her mouth, don''t believe her in the slightest."


    "Why? What has she done?" Pepper asked, intrigued by the potential drama. I smirked slightly and said, "If you''re interested, then let me tell you the horrifying story of Lou Taylor."


    (YouTube it if you want. I can''t explain it simply.)


    Pepper''s face became increasingly paler as I told him the story. He then stammered and shot up from his chair. "T�CThis, and the Diddy thing... This industry... I had no idea there was so much darkness hiding in plain sight. Did I really make the right choice helping you step into this cesspool of filth��"


    "Pepper, will you do to me the things they did to Britney or the other victims?" I interjected, cutting through his spiraling thoughts. He snapped back, "Of course not��"


    "Then you have nothing to worry about." I aimed to soothe him. "Don''t worry, Peps. I''m wrapped in protection��like a condom��while I waddle through this pool of waste. Besides, you''ve forgotten one crucial point."


    "What is it?" He looked at me, still concerned. "Also, never forget your protection, especially when you go on a trip again," he chimed in sarcastically, but I ignored that.


    I leaned back and replied with a smirk, "To trap me in their webs, they''ll need to be at least smarter than I am."


    Suddenly, the door burst open, and Frankie stomped inside. "If only they could see how clueless you''ve been these last few days, then that statement is invalid. "


    "Um." Stunned, I turned toward her and said, "I''ve been meaning to call. I did text you back, didn''t I?"


    "A few hours ago," Frankie said with a stoic face, but anger radiated from her. I gulped and turned to Pepper. "Um, Peps, some help?"


    "No, you are on your own." Pepper, also fearful, slowly walked out of the room. Before he left completely, he turned to Frankie and said, "Right, now that both of you are here, I''m reminded of that college you guys bought. What happened to that?"


    Frankie turned to reply, as Pepper was still legally the boss. "The reconstruction is 50% complete. It''s expected to be finished by next year."


    "Oh, right. The community college. My way out of this," I muttered aloud without realizing it. Frankie turned back toward me with a look of confusion, but I was already calling someone through Pepper''s laptop.


    Within five seconds, Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler��Sheldon''s future girlfriend and wife��answered the call. "Hello there, celebrity entrepreneur and budding scientist, Edward Newgate." Her face appeared on the screen as it was a Skype call. She wore her glasses and her lab coat as usual.


    Frankie placed her hands on her hips and said angrily, "Really? You''re calling someone right when I want to talk to you?"


    "No, Frankie. I just remembered something urgent when you mentioned the college," I said, turning back to Dr. Amy. "How''s the research going? Did you find a way to help Britta?"


    The monkey bite and whatever toxins were flowing in Britta''s bloodstream would require extensive research to address. So I outsourced it to the future Nobel Prize winner, and she did an amazing job.


    "Britta?" Frankie mumbled, then she remembered the infected girl. "Oh, right. I can see why that''s more urgent." She calmed down a bit and stood beside me.


    Amy said in a matter-of-fact tone, "I was going to email you about the subject later tonight. In my report, it''ll state that while I''ve identified the chemicals affecting the patient, I''m unable to provide a solution."


    "Why?" I raised an eyebrow. "Can you send the report to me now?" I asked, urgency creeping into my tone.


    "Certainly," Amy replied before she started typing. Soon, I received the report.


    My brows furrowed deeper as I read the pages. "Does the cure require Strontium-90?" I asked, halfway through the report.


    Amy nodded. "Yes. The harmful chemicals have already penetrated her brain. Only Strontium-90, used as a catalyst, can help her. However, at the moment, the byproducts from nuclear reactions are not available��"


    "Let me guess, they won''t give it to you," I interjected with a heavy sigh. Amy nodded slightly. "I have no influence over the Institute of Nuclear Energy. I''ve asked them to procure it for me, but all available Strontium-90 reserves are currently being used for high-energy nuclear experiments."


    I thought about it briefly before asking, "How long does Britta have before it becomes irreversible?"


    "About a week," Amy replied in a slightly somber tone. "After that, her brain will be severely damaged. She could experience hallucinations, dissociative identity issues, manic behavior, paranoia, and possibly suicidal or murderous thoughts."


    "Poor girl," I mumbled to myself before turning to Amy with a smile. "I''m bringing her here. And I''ll see if I can obtain the Strontium-90 myself."


    "There are no legal ways to procure it right now," Amy warned.


    I smirked and said, "Legality is just something poor people worry about. Anyway, the less you know, the better."


    "I agree with that arrangement," Amy said easily before adding, "If there''s nothing else, I''d like to focus on my experiment now."


    "Where is Jeff going to find a Chinese girlfriend?" Pierce asked. Everyone looked at him weirdly for a second before turning to Abed. Jeff said, "Abed, you cannot stop it, and there''s not going to be an external force�C"


    Before Jeff could finish, Britta''s phone rang. Jeff''s smile dropped instantly as he turned to Britta. Britta widened her eyes as she looked at Jeff before she turned to Abed. Abed pointed to the phone and said, "See. It''s not time yet."


    Britta stood up from the couch to answer the call. After a short conversation, she turned to the study group again. Pierce asked impatiently, "Is that the Chinese girlfriend�C"


    "That''s Frankie. She told me to fly to LA today." Britta said before her knees faltered as she felt relieved, and she flopped down on the previous seat�C next to Jeff.


    "Do they have the cure?!" Shirley asked gratefully, "Oh lord! You answered my prayers! Thank you!" She started praying.


    Jeff''s expression froze as he watched Britta''s excited face. Britta was on the verge of tears as she replied to Shirley, "I''m not sure. But they asked me to come there, so I guess they found one."


    "I knew it." Abed celebrated with a fist pump when he suddenly got a notification on his phone. He didn''t tell anyone about the content, but he asked Britta, "How will you get there?"


    "I''m just going to find an economy plane ticket," Britta replied with a slightly pained expression. "I don''t really have a lot of savings right now."


    Abed nodded and said, "We can meet on the plane, and I''ll send you some wet towels from first class."


    Everyone turned to Abed with confusion. Jeff finally snapped out of his state and asked, "What are you talking about, Abed?"


    Abed explained, "Edward invited me to come too. He even sent me the plane tickets."


    "REALLY?" Britta was flabbergasted. "But I need to pay on my own?!"


    "I guess it''s because you need to be there. I''m invited," Abed replied casually as he opened the ticket link Edward sent him.


    Britta was still in disbelief. "I mean, if he''s going to invite Abed, then why not me too? I''m the one who needs a cure."


    Troy suddenly had a thought. "I guess it''s understandable." Everyone turned to him, making him startled for a second before he explained, "I mean, I don''t think the cure is cheap."


    Abed pointed to Troy in agreement before he said, "He told me he sent the research work to a prestigious neuroscientist. He had to donate a new device to her lab to get her to accept it."


    Britta finally accepted it. "Oh, that''s quite understandable. He has already spent too much."


    Jeff said, "I don''t think you have to worry about his finances. But you do need to worry if he sends you the bills. It could be in the millions range."


    Abed suddenly spoke, interrupting Jeff''s words. "Oh, he sent me two plane tickets. So, who wants to come with me?"


    Everyone turned towards Abed in disbelief and spoke at the same time, "The extra ticket is obviously for Britta!"


    "Let''s eat!" Pierce shouted, feeling hungry. As everyone sat at the dinner table, Annie whispered to Abed, "Did he say anything about me?"


    "He did," Abed replied casually as he ate some food. Annie waited, but Abed didn''t explain, so she asked again, "What did he say?!"


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    I returned home around 9. Dad, Frankie, and Maggie were at the house. I was nagged by Frankie for going no contact; however, I didn''t dislike it. Not that I was a masochist, but it was nice to feel cared for. While we were eating, the doorbell rang.


    "I''ll get it. Frankie, don''t stop nagging him," Maggie said as she volunteered to check the door. I stopped her by grabbing her arm when she was wiping her mouth with a napkin and barely standing up.


    "I already know who it is," I said. Robin told me. "It''s Chloe."


    "The detective? Is she already out of the hospital?" My dad asked, disbelief evident in his voice.


    Frankie suddenly stood up and said, "I''m going to have a word with her too." I quickly grabbed Frankie''s arm to stop her. "Calm down. It''s official business."


    I stood up and walked slowly to the front door after grabbing a box of files from my desk. As I opened the door, I handed the files to Chloe. "Ten more cases as part of my deal. It''s all new, so you''re going to have to open new investigations for them."


    "Before that," Chloe stopped me, "I''m sorry." She apologized with a sincere expression. I was a bit taken aback. "What?"


    "I''m sorry for not taking your advice and going alone. I almost lost my life, and worse, I placed you in danger too. Not to mention the things that happened at the hospital. You have every right to be mad at me." Chloe continued apologizing.


    "It''s fine. I accept the apology." I said dismissively. "It''s not like we''re going to see each other again, so you don''t have to worry about it."


    Feeling helpless, Chloe finally grabbed the box I handed to her. "What''s these cases?"


    "Oh, I don''t want to deal with violent cases, felonies, misdemeanors anymore, so I decided to investigate the things I''m best at. Numbers. Here are 10 cases of frauds, embezzling, and other financial crimes. I already reached out to my contacts in the FBI, and they are going to work on this case with you. You definitely can''t do this on your own. It''ll do great for your career as I know you won''t stop being a cop. The FBI are salivating on this evidence. Don''t do the stupid thing and just give it to them."


    "I�C" Chloe was flabbergasted, "I don''t know what to say."


    "You don''t have to say anything. I did this for Trixie." I said with an irritated expression. "She deserves to grow up with her mother. And as far as I can see it, you are a great mother to her. Remember this whenever you decide to do the stupid thing again."


    "Are you giving this all to me to make sure we never meet again?" Chloe asked, a little depressed. I scratched the back of my head and said, "Not like this. If you invite me for a birthday party, I''ll try to stop by, but I have had enough of investigating already."


    Chloe showed a painful smile and said, "I see...I guess, I''ll see you around."


    "Goodbye Chloe."


    "Goodbye Edward."


    She gave me a light hug after putting down the case files and then left the house. I sighed in relief after everything was over. As I got back into my room, I noticed a case file on my desk. It was the TeaTime Strangler''s case file.


    "I forgot to give this back...Hmm, Eh, I''ll do it when she asks for it." I mumbled dismissively before putting it back in its place.

 Chapter 300: Company Benefit.

    Chapter 300: Chapter 300: Company Benefit.


    [Edward POV]


    "It''s already 9 AM," Robin chimed in as I sat on the couch cross-legged, my eyes fixed on the front door. "Everyone''s late," she said with a cute pout.


    I smiled and replied, "Well, they are busy people. I didn''t expect them to be here on time." I stood up, walked by the coffee table, which had several goodie bags on it, and headed to the pool.


    Dad was grilling some burgers and hot dogs by the pool while Frankie helped him with the drinks. I cringed slightly and told them, "They will not be staying. What''s even the point of all this?"


    "Manners," my dad said assertively, pointing his spatula at me. "Ed, is this done yet?" he asked. "I usually can tell, but your burgers are a bit different," he added.


    When we woke up this morning and he knew about the plan, he wanted to make a good impression on the guests I told him were coming, so he bought all the ingredients at the grocery store.


    I helped him create the patties and make other appetizers against my will; now he was excited to have a barbecue. Still, it had been a while since he grilled something. I was afraid it would go badly, but it turned out he wasn''t rusty.


    I checked the grill and told him, "Yeah, it''s done. You can take it off now. Should we invite your friends to come?"


    "What about your guests?" he asked. I rolled my eyes and told him, "They aren''t staying. They are all busy people."


    While I was saying that, the first person to get to the party appeared in a unique way. She was sleeping inside the house after all. With disheveled, frilly, puffy hair, Maggie walked groggily to the poolside.


    "I smell burgers," she mumbled.


    "Get your hand off it." I swatted her hand with annoyance as she reached for the burger I was holding.


    "Ow! Uncle Ted!" She tried to get me in trouble, but my dad smiled and said, "You''re the one who tried to touch his food. Ed only shares food with the people he likes."


    "AH!" Maggie looked at my dad with disbelief. Frankie and I snickered as Maggie stammered, "Not you too, Unc!"


    "Maggie, go wash up. Otherwise, you''ll be embarrassed," Frankie advised her, but she was being stubborn and said, "No. It''s my house��"


    "My house," I corrected her.


    She was speechless for a second before she said, "Well, I live here now. And if the guests have something against that, then they can leave."


    As soon as she finished saying that, the first guest arrived. I had already given Robin the guest list, so she just invited them inside the house.


    "Hello~ Good morning~" Ryan Gosling appeared in his casual sportswear. Maggie widened her eyes and immediately hid her face as Ryan came to the pool. "I hope I''m not late," he said cheerfully.


    I shook my hand slightly and said, "You''re the first one here. Grab a bite if you want. Ignore the girl with the lion''s mane behind you."


    "Who?" Ryan immediately turned to the lounge chairs, but Maggie had run away. He only saw a silhouette of her as she got back into the house.


    Albeit confused, Ryan didn''t pursue the topic and said, "I have to be at the set this afternoon, so I''m only going to be able to stay a while."


    I smirked as I turned to my dad. "See? I told you."


    He rolled his eyes and said, "Then he can take the food home. You have a lot of disposable containers. I can just pack it for him."


    "Oh no, I still have some time to eat," Ryan interjected quickly. "Ed, you''re coming to the set too today, right?" He asked me whisperingly.


    My dad brightened up, and his face became a bit smug. I grimaced as I told Ryan, "Yup. Let''s grab your company''s benefit first. We need to get out of here before he starts bragging."


    My dad snided, "I told you people would eat."


    I ignored him and went inside with Ryan. Then, I gave him a goody bag and an explanation. He left after eating the burger and even taking one home with him, but not before he saw the 100 inch TV on my living room wall.


    "What''s that?" He asked, his eyes glued on the screen. "I thought it was a painting at first, but it changed."


    "It''s a TV." I told him with a bragging smirk, "I had it installed yesterday." I turned it on and played a basketball game. Ryan was thoroughly impressed as it felt like we were watching from the courtside itself.


    "Where can I find one?" He asked immediately. I told him that it was not yet released, but I could get him one as a favor.


    At 9:45, two more guests arrived: Margot Robbie and Emily Blunt. Both had hair appointments that morning and left excited after receiving the company benefit. They didn''t eat or bring any food back with them, as they were dieting, which saddened the cook.


    After they were gone, my dad, noticing the women''s excitement, asked, "What are you giving them exactly?"


    I smirked and replied, "Nothing for you, though, so don''t even bother."


    Frankie, standing by my father''s side, asked, "Ed, you said only certain people would get the benefit, right? I assume everyone will be celebrities. Does that include, hmm, I don''t know��your ex-girlfriend?"


    "I did. I don''t know if she''ll come, though," I muttered casually. Then, I took my shirt off and lay down on the lounge chair.


    My dad looked at me in disbelief and scolded, "Put your shirt back on. Do you really expect me to think you''re just trying to tan?"


    "I kinda am," I replied nonchalantly as I put on my sunglasses. I then slathered sunblock and tanning oil on my torso, making it glisten in the sun.


    Guests came and went as I enjoyed the morning with my dad and Frankie. Donald Glover, Judd Apatow, Jessi J, Chris Martin, Pepper, Harvey, and Renaldo also stopped by to grab some food.


    "What?" I turned to the TV immediately, as it was Robin''s procedure to show everything there instead of using holograms when people were inside the house.


    It was footage from the front of the house. Agent Walker and Agent Casey stood at the door, blood splattered across their clothes.


    Sarah had a deep cut on her forehead, causing blood to flow down the left side of her face. Casey grimaced, revealing a severe wound on his leg where he had been shot by a shotgun.


    "Oh shit." I cursed before I ran to the front door to help them. Frankie saw it and immediately shouted, "Ed! What''s going on? Who''re these guys?'' I help carried Casey inside the house and laid him down on the couch. The blood from his leg stained the floor, which made it look like a scene from a horror movie.


    "He lost a lot of blood." I told Sarah. "Why are you guys here?"


    Sarah panted heavily and replied, "We were hunted down by a team of black ops when we were transporting the black box to you. Casey got shot trying to protect me."


    "Where''s the box? Give him the box!" Casey grumbled, mission was the only thing in his mind even though he was on the brink of death. I cut off his pants and checked the wound, "You have a partially ruptured artery. You''ll die if you don''t get surgery."


    Sarah immediately turned to Casey, "We need to get you to the hospital now."


    "NO!" Casey grunted as he stopped Sarah. "Newgate, you need to decrypt the password on that file immediately. The fate of the entire country rest on your hand."


    "What do you mean? What''s happening?" I asked with a slight urgency. Robin suddenly turned on the news.


    The reporter on the TV stood in front of the White House as she reported, [" What we''re witnessing today is nothing short of a national crisis. Just moments ago, armed assailants breached the security perimeter of the White House, taking control of the premises and holding hostages inside."]


    The screen cuts to aerial footage of the White House, smoke rising and sirens wailing in the background. The camera shakes as it captures frantic scenes of security personnel rushing to the scene.


    ["The situation escalated rapidly. Reports indicate that several gunmen entered through the front gates, overpowering Secret Service agents in the process. Eyewitnesses describe a scene of chaos��gunfire, explosions, and panic as staff and visitors attempted to flee."]


    The footage shifts to terrified civilians running from the building, some stumbling as they escape.


    ["Sources confirm that the President and key officials are currently inside the White House, and their safety is our top concern. Security teams are working tirelessly to regain control, but reports suggest that the assailants have taken strategic positions throughout the building."]


    "Shit, it''s White House Down," I mumbled as I understood the situation.


    Casey suddenly shrieked, "Newgate. Ignore me and decrypt the password now. In your hand is the only thing that can save the President of the United States��"


    "Shut up. I got it," I interjected, cutting him off before he could finish. "But you''re going to die if this continues. Sarah, go to the basement and create a clean room. I have everything down there. Frankie, can you help Sarah? You''ll need to prepare for surgery. Robin will guide you on what to do."


    I turned to the others, who wore terrified expressions. "I''m sorry for this, girls, but can anyone help me clean up the blood on the floor? I''m pretty sure someone will pay us a visit, and I don''t want to be caught with my pants down."


    "I''ll clean it up," my dad said, emerging from another room in his captain''s uniform. He loosened his tie and added, "Ed, you''re going to explain to me what exactly is going on after we get through this."


    "Alright," I replied, turning back to the girls. "Gloria, we need a distraction."


    "Me? ...Okay!" Gloria agreed eagerly. "What do you want me to do?"


    "Wear an itsy bitsy bikini and go sunbathe. Daddario, can you do it too?"


    "What?" Both Daddario and Gloria looked bewildered. Selena and Taylor exchanged glances, caught off guard by the request. Selena offered her help in exchange for one of the goody bags, while Taylor remained silent, her expression a mixture of confusion and disbelief.


    Just then, Vader ran toward me, purring and rubbing against my leg, trying to offer some comfort. I reached into my pocket and swallowed two more anti-anxiety pills, feeling a surge of determination ignite within me.


    "Robin, they''re going to track the agents. I need you to do this��"


    ...


    [General POV]


    "Do you have any clues on the whereabouts of the agents?" a stern-looking agent barked as he stepped out of a black SUV.


    "No, sir. We lost track of them," his subordinate replied gruffly. "We''re scouring the area and checking potential locations, but it''ll take some time."


    "What about Newgate?" the agent pressed. "They''re definitely going to reach out to him for help. Not many people in the world can solve the Rubicon."


    Just then, a black helicopter flew overhead, circling Edward''s house. Agents inside used binoculars to scrutinize the scene below, but one agent''s gaze was immediately drawn to a woman suntanning by the pool.


    "Anything to report?" another agent asked as he activated an infrared scanner, scanning the house for heat signatures. "Nothing except I''ve interfered with the goddesses'' fun time."


    The faint outlines of bodies appeared on the screen, revealing movement inside the residence. "We''ve got heat sources," The infrared agent said, eyes narrowing. "Looks like there are at least three people in there, but the layout is unclear."


    Those three heat signatures were only from Maggie, Selena and Taylor who were sitting in the living room. The scans couldn''t penetrate deep enough to get to the basement.


    "Keep a close watch on those signatures," the lead agent ordered, his expression hardening. "We need to make sure those agents don''t come here. Otherwise...we might have to kill everyone inside."


    (This arc only has 3 Chapters. I won''t drag them out. Just want to do a blockbuster like thing for the 300th Chapter.


    Seriously, how did we even got to 300th Chapter when we''re still not even halfway through season 1 of Modern Family Lol.


    For those who enjoyed this story so far, do consider supporting me on Patreon. Even a month of support would mean so much to me.


    you can support me at patreon. com/ relifewithkarmicgacha minus the spaces. )

 Chapter 301: White House Down

    Chapter 301: Chapter 301: White House Down


    [General POV]


    "I have to warn you, I have the knowledge, but this''ll be my first surgery��ever," Edward muttered casually as he slipped on a pair of gloves and donned a surgeon''s gown. He even wore a hair cover.


    Edward first hooked up a blood pack to counter Casey''s blood loss, then grabbed the portable X-ray machine to scan Casey''s leg. The images revealed several bullets lodged inside, and as he expected, the artery was partially ruptured.


    The room was meticulously organized, with surgical instruments neatly arranged on a tray beside him. A bright overhead lamp illuminated the surgical bed, where Casey lay, his face pale and sweat glistening on his forehead. The surgical area was constructed using plastic covers, ensuring a sterile environment before Edward even brought Casey inside.


    "Are you sure you can do it?" Sarah Walker asked worriedly, standing just outside the room. Edward already dealt with the cut on her forehead, so her bleeding had stopped. Then, he plastered a cute cat bandage on her head.


    Casey chuckled, his voice strained but lighthearted. "Heh~ He already has everything you need for a surgery, kid. You''re even better prepared than some hospitals. But remember, if it comes down to saving me or decrypting that thing, you know what to choose, right?"


    Edward ignored him, focusing intently on the task ahead. "The surgery will take at least an hour, assuming no complications arise. This will be off the books, so make sure it doesn''t come back to bite me later." He negotiated, injecting anesthetic into Casey''s body, using a primitive method to knock him out since there was no anesthesiologist present.


    Casey nodded, his voice growing delirious. "Don''t worry. Technically, I don''t even exist in this world. If I die, just throw my body into the ocean."


    "That''ll just pollute the ocean. It''s dirty enough already." Edward checked Casey''s vitals on the monitor before sterilizing the wound. "


    Sarah, have you connected the cube to the central processor?" he asked, making a straight incision on Casey''s leg. Blood spurted onto his medical gown, but Edward didn''t even flinch.


    Incredibly worried, Sarah replied quickly, "It''s decrypting. You just need to focus on the surgery"


    Edward had mentioned earlier that he wrote a program for this, but the actual decryption was being handled by Robin, who was working diligently to crack the code.


    "I know~I know." Edward said dismissively. Sarah had seconds thought about the whole thing and mumbled, "Maybe this is a bad idea."


    "A miniscule chance to live if he did this surgery with me, 100% chance of death if he went to a hospital. Even if this is a bad idea, you don''t really have a choice."


    Sarah also understood the situation but she couldn''t help but make a small request, "Maybe you shouldn''t talk while doing this?"


    "I wear a face mask. It''ll be fine."


    "That''s not what I was worried about." Sarah replied defeatedly.


    As Edward continued with the surgery, he was thoroughly impressed with his own skills. In a matter of minutes, he removed five bullet shards from Agent Casey''s leg. Even Agent Sarah was entranced by the skillful procedure unfolding.


    ''I think I underestimated my abilities'', Edward thought to himself as he searched for the ruptured artery.


    ''Kuroo Hazama... I never considered it before, but isn''t he the miracle doctor from the Black Jack manga? I didn''t think much on those emergency first aid skills, but it''s already enough to handle a complicated surgery.''


    With precise movements, he tied off the partially ruptured artery to control the bleeding, ensuring that blood flow to the surrounding tissues remained intact before sealing the incision with stitches. It took no longer than 45 minutes for him to complete the surgery, alone.


    "Call me the miracle doctor, Black Jack from now on Sarah." Edward chuckled as he finished stitching Agent Casey''s leg.


    "It''s done?" Sarah widened her eyes in horror. "Are you sure you did it right?" She asked skeptically and with concern.


    Edward scoffed and gave her a stink eye, "It''s done. The bleeding has stopped. While he won''t be able to use his legs normally for a few months as he undergoes physical therapy, he will regain full mobility and be able to walk normally again... I think."


    "YOU THINK!?" Sarah exclaimed, frazzled. Edward chuckled as he removed his mask. "You can pray for his health if you want, but you also need to do your job. You have to get the files to the right place after they''re unlocked, don''t you?"


    Meanwhile, the helicopter monitoring the house captured a playful scene: Selena and Maggie were using sofa cushions to hit each other and running toward the cliff edge.


    Maggie teased Selena from a distance just as Selena threw a pillow at her, missing and sending it plummeting into the sea. Both girls perched on the balcony, gazing at the lost cushion in disbelief, before Maggie tossed her own cushion overboard. Their laughter echoed as they headed back inside.


    "This is quite risky," Frankie muttered, turning to Ted. As Maggie and Selena entered the living room, they gave him a thumbs-up.


    Ted noted their success and explained to Frankie, "It''s easier to say they tossed it in the ocean in a moment of excitement than to hide it. It might raise suspicions, but at least there''s an explanation."


    Maggie shot Ted a disbelieving look, scolding him, "Now I see where Ed gets his smug, ''smarter-than-thou'' attitude."


    Selena, looking worried, asked, "Will I get in trouble for this?"


    "No. We''ll arrange transport for you to get away," Frankie replied. "They''ll be here soon, but we need to wait for the perfect moment for you to leave."


    "Why?" Selena questioned. Ted responded, "Because everyone will be glued to the TV during this historic event. Right now, we can play it off as if we didn''t know anything was happening, but we need to act like ordinary people would."


    "Right now?" Maggie asked, slightly confused.


    "Yeah, right now. Frankie will pretend she just turned on the TV. We need everyone to focus on it when the moment comes. Call the others sunbathing, too, in an urgent manner. Typically, they use infrared sensors to monitor what''s happening inside a target''s house, so we have to play our parts well."


    With a solid plan in place, Edward remained focused on the surgery, while Ted took charge of everything else. Everyone knew their roles, creating the illusion that they had just realized what was happening in the country.


    "Damn, the babes have left," one of the agents grumbled as Gloria and Daddario entered the house. "Anything unusual?" he asked his partner, who was monitoring the infrared scan.


    "Nothing out of the ordinary. They seem to be aware of what''s happening. I can''t make out the male in the living room��it could be the dad or the son," the partner replied, his expression serious. "They look pretty frazzled, and a few of them are on the phone. Can we tap into that conversation?"


    "Negative. Newgate''s house blocks all espionage efforts. We can only rely on visual surveillance," his partner responded, frustration evident in his voice.


    ...


    (A/N: ''White House Down'' movie as a reference for this. I do not know anything about how the White House works lol)


    -White House-


    As chaos erupted around the White House, John Cale''s heart raced. The man who looked like Channing Tatum had come to this place for an interview to become a Secret Service agent, eager to show his daughter, Emily, the White House in the process. He had brought her along for the trip, but now he couldn''t find her.


    Agent Wainwright looked into the sofa direction, and his nose smells the cleaning chemical left by Ted cleaning up Agent Casey''s blood. " Was someone injured?" He asked Edward, his gaze piercing.


    Edward didn''t even flinch and said, "How did you know? Yeah, it''s me." Edward showed his bandaged barefoot, which still has blood marks on it. "Selena crashed some plates, and I stepped on the broken glass." He explained it simply.


    It wasn''t fake blood. To ensure the story was genuine, he actually stepped on a broken piece of glass. There were glass shards in the trash can, even tissues with his blood on it inside.


    Two agents went to confirm Edward''s story, and it all checked out. However, Agent Wainwright was still skeptical. "Mind if we look around?" He asked.


    Ted, who was hiding with Agent Casey and Agent Sarah, gulped his saliva as he heard the conversation. Edward waved his hand dismissively and said, "Not at all. Mi casa en su casa. You can look around if you want. Just don''t touch anything. Most of my stuff is expensive. Also, take off your shoes. I don''t want you to track dirt in my home."


    Edward suddenly turned to the group of girls, most of whom looked horrified as they saw the agents and comforted them, "Don''t worry. He''s one of the good guys."


    As the agents split up and went to search the house, Edward stayed behind with Agent Wainwright. He suddenly whispered to him, "Any idea when this will all die down?"


    "We''re working on it." Agent Wainwright replied casually. From all of Edward''s reaction, he could sense that the ''rogue'' agents hadn''t contacted him yet, nor he knew what was going on in the background. However, he still has a nagging feeling that something was amiss.


    "You seem chipper for a citizen who''s watching his country in tragedy," Agent Wainwright said, his tone instigative. Edward chuckled, turning to the agent and speaking in a low voice, "I know this is a tragedy and all, but I''m actually quite excited about the prospect."


    "What prospect?" the agent asked, raising an eyebrow.


    Just then, Gloria walked toward them, intending to ask a question when she accidentally overheard Edward''s words.


    "You''re such a naive Agent Wainwright. Don''t you know what happens when these things settle down? Let me tell you about it." He wrapped an arm around the agent, leaning in conspiratorially. "After 9/11, do you know what people did? They hooked up."


    "What?" The agent was incredulous.


    Edward nodded, enthusiasm spilling over. "Yeah. They hooked up. There''s something about tragedy and death that makes people... well, you know... horny. Right now, I''m the only man in a house full of gorgeous, famous, enchanting women. By the time this is over, I''d have probably slept with all of them��"


    "EDWARD!" Gloria shouted suddenly, grabbing his ear and pulling him upward. "OW��OW��OW! Gloria��"


    "You disgusting pig!" she scolded. "I can''t believe you!"


    "What happened? What did he do?" Taylor asked, a smirk creeping onto her face.


    "No, don''t tell them��" Edward begged, but Gloria turned to the girls and revealed his plan. Gasps of disbelief filled the room.


    Selena stepped forward and slapped him across the face. "People are fighting for their lives, and all you can think about is sleeping with us? You make me sick!"


    "Me too," Taylor added, delivering her own slap. Daddario, Selena, and Maggie all walked toward the door, disappointment etched on their faces.


    Edward knew that they were afraid; to be part of the conspiracy and even helping, that''s why he stood in the front, facing the agents himself. If anything goes wrong, he can use the protection spell he has to protect everyone. Robin could also handle the threat within seconds if it was necessary.


    "Wait, girls! Where are you going? Alex, you said you wanted me to show you what I can do with the Doritos! Girls? Girls?... Come back!" Edward pleaded, but they ignored him. Agent Wainwright tried to intervene, but seeing the angry expressions on the girls'' faces, he stepped aside. The target was only Newgate, after all.


    "Um, don''t forget your goody bags!" Edward called out apologetically. He turned to the agent with a slightly dissatisfied expression. "Damn it, man. You sold me out."


    "I didn''t even do anything," the agent retorted in disbelief.


    "The house is clear," another agent announced after finishing his search. The basement Edward used was hidden by a concealed door, so they hadn''t found the agents hiding there. Edward plopped down on the couch, grumbling as he stared at the TV.


    A few moments passed before Edward, looking annoyed, asked, "Now that you''ve ruined my party, you''re sure the agents will come here, right? I hate to think my ''sacrifice'' was worthless."


    Just then, Agent Wainwright received a phone call. "Hello, what do you have for me?"


    The technical agent responded, "We have a facial recognition ping. Sarah Walker was stopped at a pharmaceutical store in East Burbank. She bought a few bandages and an emergency first aid kit."


    Wainwright turned to his team, urgency etched on his face. "Two of you stay here. Everyone else, come with me." Even the helicopter team left as East Burbank was 2 hours away. They realized that they had made a mistake, but agent Wainwright still wanted to cover every bases.


    "Wait! For real? You''re leaving now!?" Edward shouted, disbelief and anger boiling over. "Fucking hell!" He cursed, his dissatisfaction evident. "Why the hell were you even here!?"


    The two agents exchanged uncomfortable glances at Edward''s outburst. He continued cursing as he approached them, "I could''ve been drowning in boobs. Instead, all I get is a sausage fest!"


    "Sir, for your safety��" the African American agent tried to calm him down, but he didn''t expect Edward to retaliate. In a swift motion, Edward stabbed the bald agent with a poisoned needle, targeting his neck. The sharp needle penetrated his throat and he took a step back as he gurgled in his own blood.


    The African American agent quickly pointed his gun at Edward, but before he could fully aim, Edward kicked the back of his knees, bringing him down. He then delivered heavy punches to the agent''s face, disarming him momentarily.


    As the agent struggled, Edward stabbed his arm with a scalpel, forcing him to drop the gun. Before the agent could cry out, Edward landed another punch, knocking him out cold. The first agent lay paralyzed from the poison, while the second was left unconscious on the floor.


    Edward straightened up, breathing heavily, and glanced around to ensure his surroundings were clear.


    Once they were gone, Edward''s childish tantrum shifted into a cold demeanor."Both of them actually slapped me." He contacted Robin and said, "They are out."


    Sarah and Ted came out of hiding and immediately went to the living room.


    "Where''s the Rubicon?" Sarah asked anxiously.


    Edward shrugged, a playful glint in his eye. "Who knows?"


    "Ed," Ted called, trying to get him to take the situation seriously.


    Edward smiled and shrugged. "I''m just playing." He pulled out a small black cube, tossing it to Sarah. "Here. How you''re going to get that to D.C., I have no idea. But my part is done."


    (For those who enjoyed this story so far, do consider supporting me on Patreon. Even a month of support would mean so much to me.


    you can support me at patreon. com/ relifewithkarmicgacha minus the spaces.)

 Chapter 302: Burning.

    Chapter 302: Chapter 302: Burning.


    [Edward POV]


    After the agents were knocked out, Sarah took Casey and the hostile agents with her, borrowing my dad''s Lexus to drive to a secure location.


    I crouched near the bloodstains on the floor, watching as they dried and seeped into the wood. Blood was also splattered on the walls, slowly flowing down, staining white wall in its path.


    My dad walked beside me, hands on his waist, and sighed. "Don''t worry, Ed. You didn''t do anything wrong��"


    "Do you think the blood can be cleaned up completely?" I interrupted, focusing on the stains.


    If he thought I regretted my actions, he couldn''t be more wrong. I hadn''t killed any agents. I''d given them emergency first aid to prevent blood loss before tranquilizing them to ensure they wouldn''t wake up during transport. I even provided the poisoned agent with an antidote.


    Startled, my dad glanced at me, then at the bloodstains. "It can be cleaned."


    "I just think there''s too much blood in the house," I muttered, standing up to face him. "I''m already feeling quite detached from this place."


    With all the blood��Casey''s, my faked blood, and the agents''��I felt mentally checked out, revolted even. My body physically rejected being in this place. Maybe it was my OCD, maybe it''s because I was tired.


    "You want to move again?" My dad asked, a hint of worry in his voice.


    I shrugged and replied with a blank face, "It was... fun here. We could find another place by the beach, preferably not on a cliff. It''s no fun not being able to swim or surf."


    My dad sighed helplessly. "Alright. We can look for another place after this. For now, it''s best to hide until the situation settles."


    I explained the Rubicon and my concerns about the agents. He understood the danger we were in and didn''t blame my choices��in fact, he supported them.


    "I know," I replied curtly. "I already called the ship crews," I added, surprising him.


    Suddenly, Dwayne, Glenn, Dina, and the other veterans entered the living room one by one.


    Dina, licking her knife in a bloodthirsty manner, asked, "Who do you want us to kill?" Glenn cocked his double desert eagle, and Dwayne tied a headband on his head, wearing a tank top that revealed his marine tattoo while cocking a shotgun.


    "The storage boxes are in the garage," I said casually, breaking the serious atmosphere. "I need to transport some radioactive material to a lab in Pasadena to save a girl''s life. I also need you guys to keep my servers until I find another home."


    "Ed, you already planned to move out?" My dad asked, a hint of sadness on his face. I realized he had started to see this place as home.


    "I had to," I said decisively. "Dad, can you take care of them for me? Even if the situation settles down, I need to lay low for a few days.


    "Oh come on! I never get to fight properly!" Dina complained. The muscular woman pouted and pointed her finger at me, "The last time too. I only get to threaten people. Let me fight!"


    "Well, I can find out if there''s any underground fighting ring around here�C" Dwayne tried to help, but my dad stopped him immediately, "No. Dina. Stop complaining. We need to move quickly before Agent Wainwright realizes that he had been tricked."


    "Who''s Agent Wainwright? Can I fight him?" Dina asked excitedly.


    "If he comes back, then... sure." I replied honestly. While the others were packing up my stuff from the lab, I stood facing the ocean from the living room, and held a microphone in my hand.


    "Robin, play track 74." I muttered. "I feel like this song is appropriate for this moment."


    Robin replied cheerily, "Sure Edward."


    ??????????


    [Matt Maltese�C As The World Caves In]


    As I looked over the ocean, I began to sing softly, karaoke style, "?? My feet are aching... And your back is pretty tired... And we''ve drunk a couple bottles, babe... And set our grief aside ??"


    "What the hell is he doing?" Dwayne muttered in disbelief as he helped Glenn lift the heavy, radioactive container. Glenn grumbled, "He''s being melodramatic. Who wouldn''t? Move! THIS IS HEAVY!"


    I closed my eyes, feeling the weight of the lyrics, clenching my left hand into a fist as I swayed slightly, "?? The papers say it''s doomsday, The button has been pressed... We''re gonna nuke each other up, boys, ''Til old Satan stands impressed... ??"


    "Ed. Pack up," my dad scolded, but I couldn''t stop.


    With a powerful voice that resonated through the empty mansion, I sang, "?? And here it is, our final night alive... And as the earth burns to the ground!! ??"


    "?? Oh, girl, it''s youuuuuu that I lie with, As the aaatom bomb locks in, Oh, it''s youuuuu I watch TV with, As the world, as the world caves in ??"


    Without me noticing, everyone around had paused, their work forgotten, as they turned to stare. I continued singing, my back to them, lost in the moment. The veterans who had participated in wars before, were all captivated by the song.


    "??You put your finest suit on... I paint my fingernails ??" I turned back and saw they weren''t working, so I furrowed my gaze and reminded them, "We don''t have much time, people."


    "Oh right." Everyone mumbled before they continued packing.


    Without missing a beat, I continued singing while making my way to the kitchen, " ?? Oh, we''re going out in style, babe...And everything''s on sale...??" I took out some pies and cakes out of the fridge and placed them on the box carrying my servers.


    The veterans slowed their steps as they enjoyed the mesmerizing vocal,"?? We creep up on extinction, I pull your arms right in... I weep and say Goodnight, love"...While my organs pack it in...??"


    "??And here it is, our final night alive... And as the earth burns to the ground!!??"


    Once again, my vocals made everyone stop moving and stare. They started to remember the person precious to them, and some even had tears in their eyes.


    " ?? Oh, girl, it''s you that I lie with... As the atom bomb locks in... Oh, it''s you I watch TV with... As the world, as the world caves��"


    Dwayne wiped his eyes and mumbled, "Damn it." as he desperately try to keep his tears back.


    With my open robe and shorts short, I stood in front of the ocean again as I sang the last verse, "Oh god, it''s you... that I lie with...As the atom bomb locks in...Yes, it''s you I welcome death with...As the world, as the world caves in..."


    I ended the song with a velvety, comforting vocals,"??As the world caves in??"


    Before anyone could react, Robin chimed in urgently. Red alarms flashed in the living room as she informed us, "Sir, two missiles have just been launched. One of them is heading here. You have 1 minute and 30 seconds to evacuate if you want to escape the blast radius."


    CNN: "Pop Star Edward Newgate Survives Missile Attack Amidst Terrorist Strike��How Is He Involved ?"


    BBC News: "Edward Newgate Escapes Fiery Inferno as Vice President Falls Victim to Terror��Public Questions Singer''s Role"


    NBC News: "Mansion Attack: Edward Newgate Unscathed While Nation Mourns VP��Investigations Open on Possible Involvement"


    While Edward conquered the headline, another story could''ve broken and shared the limelight, however, it was smothered before it could even have a chance to breathe.


    Emily Cale�C John Cale''s daughter, recorded the bad guys inside the White House and uploaded it to her Entertain Channel where she talked about bureaucracy and history. The video would''ve become viral immediately, garnering her hundreds of millions of views, but Edward''s protocol stopped that from happening.


    Not that he was trying to destroy the girl''s future career, but it would be dangerous for the girl if her identity was reported to the news. The media outlet has no regard for her safety and would''ve exposed her.


    Edward just directed the video to his contacts. It reached Norad command center safely without needing to endanger the girl''s life. Once the incident is over, then Edward would let the video be published. Emily also has no way of knowing the status of her video as her phone died, so it all worked out.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    I received calls non-stop while I was driving. From Haley, Claire, Jay, Mitch and Cam, Enid, Jacob, and every single person that I know and drove to a little cottage house in Pasadena.


    It was a quiet neighborhood, and I parked my car casually in the house''s driveway. Grabbing Vader in my arm, I slugged the sleeping cat on my shoulder, took my laptop bag and guitar before walking to the door.


    I knocked on the door three times before the owner opened the door. Sage,wearing a simple white shirt and shorts, blinked twice in confusion as she saw me.


    I grinned and said, "I''m kinda wanted by some bad guys, so can I lay low here for a few hours?"


    Sage grumbled but let me in. "Ugh, don''t make a mess."


    "I wouldn''t." I stepped inside, furrowing my brows at the dozens of boxes scattered around the living room. "Why did you choose my house?"


    "You mean the mystical shelter that doesn''t show up on satellite scans and provides no records when someone searches for it? I''m definitely choosing this place to lay low. AHH~ I can already feel my cortisol level going down." I walked to the couch, slumped onto it, and let out a relaxed sigh.


    Still in my robe and shorts, I crossed my legs, revealing my bunny-eared indoor slippers. My dad had pulled me out of the house before I could even put on my shoes.


    "You''re hurt," Sage said, pointing to the bandage on my foot.


    "Oh, that''s nothing. I stepped on some broken glass... on purpose," I replied casually. "Do you have any shirts I can borrow? It''s a bit chilly in just my bathrobe."


    Sage rolled her eyes. "Wait here. I''ll check. Do you want some tea?"


    "That''d be nice. Thank you." I accepted her offer readily. She returned with a black V-cut shirt and a pot of chamomile tea, pouring it while watching an old Spanish telenovela instead of the news.


    I looked at her, slightly bewildered. "Sage, do you know what''s happening��"


    "Shhh! Mirabel is about to find out who her true father is." She shushed me, fully engrossed in her show.


    Holding back my laughter, I picked up the cup she offered. Her TV was an old CRT model, tapping into free networks with an antenna that sometimes needed fixing.


    "It''s been over a decade since I last saw a grainy TV picture. You really are a granny," I teased. During the commercial break, she finally turned to me. "What''s happening? Explain."


    "Nothing. Just another terror attack," I replied casually. She accepted the explanation as it is, as she wasn''t really interested in current events. To my surprise, Sage told me to place my hurting leg on the coffee table.


    "I ran out of money buying stuff from TV I don''t need," she said. "I''ll heal it for you for 100 bucks��"


    I shook my head, making her hesitate. "50 bucks?" She offered a discount.


    "No, I meant it''s too low." I reached into my laptop bag and pulled out a stack of cash. "Here, 10,000 dollars in untraceable cash. It''s payment for giving me shelter."


    I prepared it in case I needed to lay low in hotels or any other shelters, but since Sage took me in, it wasn''t necessary anymore. Her house was untraceable. Just like Mrs Henderson''s house. I only knew it because I sent them home before.


    "I''LL TAKE IT!" Sage exclaimed, grabbing the cash immediately. "I can''t survive in this world on just a teacher''s salary." She waved her hand over my leg, and I felt the wound heal. After I opened the bandage, it confirmed my guess.


    "You''re pretty casual using your ability in your house. Won''t you get in trouble for it?" I looked at her with a slight admiration, but she was already looking back to the tv.


    She waved dismissively. "It''s my sanctuary. I can do whatever I want. Now be quiet. The show''s back."


    Vader jumped onto my lap, fully awake now. I stroked her fur as I watched the telenovela with Sage, quickly getting absorbed in the drama.


    "Wait, Mirabel is Luisa''s sister, but Luisa is Mariano''s mother? But Mirabel is dating Mariano," I muttered, shocked and intrigued. Time flew by as I immersed myself in the unfolding plot.


    Eventually, the incident that had shaken the country came to an end. Emily rushed out of the White House, waving a flag to call off the bomb strike. The President arrested the White House Speaker, revealed to be the mastermind behind everything. The Head of Secret Service, who had betrayed the President, was dead, along with the hacker responsible for the missile strike on my house.


    As the country celebrated, I turned to Robin to check on our financial situation. "What''s our haul?" I asked.


    "We have a 150% profit in the stock exchange, but trading was stopped at 5 PM. We''ll need to wait until tomorrow to calculate the profits," she replied.


    During the last economic crisis, traders in Wall Street�C Micheal Burry, got a 489% profit for the investment fund he managed. 150% were still low compared to the expert traders on Wall Streets.


    "How about the currency exchange?" I inquired through my mobile. I had entrusted Robin with all the trading, providing her with a fund of $100 million and she created 1,000 accounts for it.


    "I lost $50 million," she informed me.


    I felt a twinge of helplessness. "That''s fine. We can cover the loss through stocks..."


    "But I earned $1.1 billion," she dropped the bombshell, leaving me stunned.


    During the political chaos, she took advantage of her trading speed which no human could match, exploited short-term fluctuations in currency values, taking advantage of assets that drop in value while others rise, and made tremendous profits over that.


    (A/N: Ultron and Jarvis can do it. Moneys are basically just numbers for Ai on that level lol)

 Chapter 303: Homeless.

    Chapter 303: Chapter 303: Homeless.


    [General POV]


    *Click Click Click Click*


    Non-stop photography filled the air as reporters captured the aftermath of the fire at Edward Newgate''s house. All that remained was a charred remnant, with part of the cliff crumbling away and taking one-third of the house with it.


    One daring journalist broke through the firefighter line, desperate for the perfect shot of the wreckage. He stepped over burned cat toys and dashed past the charred remains of a piano, making his way inside the house. He snapped a few intriguing photos, grinning to himself as he imagined the money they would bring.


    Meanwhile, FBI agents worked swiftly, apprehending a photographer who had crossed the perimeter. They handcuffed him and confiscated his camera.


    "No one gets past the perimeter!" Agent Smith barked at the patrol cop stationed nearby.


    The arrested man struggled, shouting frantically, "There''s a metal surgical bed! There''s a hospital in��"


    Before he could finish, the FBI agent covered his mouth and shoved him into a waiting black SUV, destined for a black site. Would he ever see the light of day again? Who knows.


    There was a short investigation open for the case until the President''s representative told the people why Edward''s house was attacked. Of course, the information was heavily manipulated.


    Using a live press conference, a government employee stated, "Skip Tyler, a well-known technological terrorist, took advantage of the tragedy to launch a missile at Edward Newgate''s house. The attack was personal, as Skip has repeatedly attempted to breach Newgate''s company website but failed disastrously��"


    They wanted to take no responsibility for it and made it as a personal thing between Edward and the terrorist instead. It was the truth, but they didn''t actually know that and just concocted their own story.


    Before she could finish, the President approached the podium, smiling as he gestured for her to step aside. Leaning in, he whispered, "No, we''re not doing that. I''ll take over now."


    "But sir��" the woman protested, trying to change his mind, but it was futile. The President was resolute. He stood behind the podium, scratches visible on his face from earlier altercations, and smiled at the cameras.


    "Edward Newgate is an American hero," he declared, dropping a bombshell. The reporters were baffled, their questions erupting from behind the President''s security line.


    Undeterred, President Obama continued, "He saved the lives of two federal agents who were being pursued by affiliates of a terrorist organization. Not only did he assist them in their escape, but he also recovered crucial information that has been instrumental in dismantling this threat. The missiles aimed at his home were intended to silence him, but he managed to evade that fate."


    He paused, his gaze steady but there was a cold glint hidden inside his eyes. "I want to assure you all: I have no intention of covering up the truth. We will confront the mastermind behind these attacks. I know who you are, and I promise you, justice will be served. You should say your prayers, because I will be coming for you soon."


    With that, the President dropped another bombshell and exited without taking questions. All eyes remained on him, shifting the focus away from Edward and helping him slip out of the limelight.


    In Selena''s apartment, the young Latina watched Edward''s Instagram story. The first post showed him escaping the explosion, captioned, "Future Album Cover? Should I use this one or my mugshot?"


    The fans loved Edward''s stories and how he handled the situation. Next Instagram story he posted the President''s article about him, captioned; ''Will I get a medal for this?''


    Selena scoffed, a mix of disdain and amusement flickering across her face at Edward''s self-indulgence. Still, she couldn''t help but smile, relieved to see he still had a sense of humor. She glanced at another story��a black-and-white picture of Vader showing her belly with the caption, "Homeless Couple of Strays."


    Turning to Taylor, who sat quietly absorbed in her phone from a chair across the room, she asked teasingly, "Hey, Ed has no place to live. Should I offer him to stay here and give him the American Hero treatment?"


    Suddenly, Selena noticed tears streaming down Taylor''s face. Alarmed, she sat up and retracted her words urgently. "Hey! Don''t cry! I was just messing around!"


    Taylor blinked, finally returning to reality as she turned to Selena. "What? What did you say?"


    "N-Nothing! What''s wrong? Why are you crying?" Selena rushed to comfort her, but her question only made Taylor sob harder.


    "He grabbed the guitar I gave him as he escaped," Taylor choked out, her voice high-pitched and trembling as she struggled to hold back her tears. She covered her mouth, squinting her eyes as she whimpered, "But I was so mean to him."


    Since the incident, as the fear faded, Taylor was overwhelmed by guilt. All this time, she thought Edward was milking his abduction for fame, but today, she finally understood��he wasn''t taking advantage of anything; that was just his life.


    Edward lived in danger, and she hated herself for feeling relief at not being part of it. She realized he might have felt the same way when he distanced himself from her.


    Seeing the guitar in the picture made her heart ache. She couldn''t help but cry, thinking about how she treated him and the long-overdue apology she owed him.


    "I need to tell him I''m sorry." She cried as Selena hugged her. However, the apology wasn''t aimed to get him back. For the first time in months, Taylor finally understood why Edward left her...or so she thought.


    Later that night, she decided to set aside the song she wrote for him titled, ''Last Kiss'' and decided to write down another song called, ''Back to September (December)''.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    As I took a shower at Sage''s place, I started to cook for the both of us. We ate in front of the tv while continuing watching her telenovela. When it was finally over, I asked her a question during the end credit.


    "Sage, how did you make this house hidden?"


    Sage turned with a blank expression, "You want to turn your house into a sanctuary too?"


    "Is there a way?" I asked with some expectation. Since I became famous, I couldn''t be at ease in my own house. It felt like it was made of glass. Every single little thing was reported by the tabloid media.


    "Is there a spell or something I should try to get in the next session?" I continued asking. Sage thought about it before she said, "You won''t be able to get it."


    My excitement died down and I replied sadly, "Oh. That''s fine then."


    Sage continued while I slumped back on the couch, "It''s a ritual. I did it myself. I don''t know if there''s something like this on the karmic roulette."


    I immediately leaned towards her and whispered, "Well, then, can you do it to my next place, or is it not possible?"


    Sage sighed and shrugged, "I cannot interfere with your life."


    "Damn it." I cursed slightly, lowering my head in disappointment. Sage suddenly said after a long pause, "But I''ve been known to bend the rules."


    "Can you not jerk me around and tell me the whole thing?" I retorted with some annoyance. She narrowed her eyes at me and said, "it seem that you don''t want my help-"


    She tried to stand up, but I grabbed her hand immediately, stopping her from walking away, "Wait. I''m sorry. Please stay and tell me."


    "Hmm," She slowly walked down and then thought about it, "If, let''s say if. If you bought a house that already has the sanctuary, then, it''ll not be you who asked me to put that on your house, but, you have great luck, right?"


    Before I could reply, both Sage and I were shocked to see Gong Shin appeared out of knowhere. Sage yelled in horror, and I almost did too, but I realized who he was in a split second.


    "Oh, it''s you." I muttered casually. Sage stopped shouting and placed her hand on her chest, "You scared the shit out of me."


    "Sorry. I can''t find him anywhere, so I wanted to ask if you knew. Turns out he''s here," Gong Shin said, adjusting his suit. He suddenly fixed his gaze on me. "Edward, did you blow up your own house and mask it as a missile attack?"


    "Huh? No," I replied, slightly confused.


    "Oww! How can you hit a homeless man? Where has humanity gone to?" I winced exaggeratedly. Alex looked around urgently, then pulled me inside the house. "Get in," she urged, worried that someone might spot me and I''d get into trouble again.


    As I stepped inside, I noticed pillows and blankets strewn across the living room couch. "Did you sleep in the living room?" I asked, surprised.


    "That''s... Ugh, I don''t want to talk about it." She quickly changed the subject. "Why are you here?"


    "Oh, I''m here to meet your dad," I replied. "And see if I can grab some of his clothes. I can''t go to work like this."


    Alex smirked slightly, sarcasm lacing her words. "Why, you look like yourself."


    "I look like the guy from The Big Lebowski. Can you check if your dad is up yet? If he''s still sleeping, just let him be." Alex picked up Vader while I was talking and hugged her tightly.


    The kids were on holiday, so the parents usually took the chance to sleep in. Claire typically woke around 6 AM to prepare for the kids'' school, but today, she set the alarm for 7:30. I didn''t want to disturb them.


    "I heard Ed!" Phil called, rushing down the stairs with Claire close behind. They had been startled by the doorbell and the muffled voices of Alex and me.


    Phil tripped and rolled down the last few steps. "Oh my god!" Alex exclaimed in disbelief. "Phil!" I was concerned, but he quickly stood up, brushing himself off. "I''m okay."


    He rushed in and, like Alex, wrapped me in a bear hug. "Ed! We were so worried about you yesterday." Claire joined in, making it a group hug.


    "Meow! (Release me kitchen wench)" Vader struggled within Alex''s embrace, trying to get free.


    ...


    After changing into normal clothes��a brown sweatshirt and jeans��I thanked Phil for his help. Unfortunately, none of his clothes fit me, so I ended up wearing a shirt he had ordered in the wrong size from an online shop.


    "Ed, I''ll make some pancakes. Don''t go to work yet. Rather, don''t go to work at all. Get some rest today. You''ve been through a lot." Claire said, giving me extra affection today.


    I replied, "Oh, I really can''t do that, Claire. I already missed yesterday''s filming."


    Claire scoffed and said, "No one worked yesterday. Everyone was glued to the TV. They didn''t even shoot one scene."


    I said wearily, "That''s why I have to be there today."


    Alex snorted and added, "Yeah, Mom. Don''t get in the way of Ed making money. You''ll do more damage to him than the terrorists."


    Phil patted my shoulder before massaging it from behind. "Alex, be careful how you speak about an American hero. You don''t want to attract the ire of the country."


    "Yeah, Alex. Watch out." I backed up Phil, earning a challenging look from her. "Hmm, tell me, Ed. How much did you make participating in the event yesterday?"


    "Directly? None��um, minus twenty million," I replied casually. "Indirectly, well... a whole lot."


    "See?" Alex pointed a finger at me. "Not a hero."


    "Stop being a hater, Alex," Claire admonished her. "Yeah, Alex. Stop being a hater." I chimed in teasingly. Suddenly, Luke appeared out of nowhere and said, "Alex, stop being a hater."


    "Hi, Luke."


    "I smell pancakes." Luke ignored me and headed straight for the food. But Claire slapped his hand and said, "Go brush your teeth."


    "Oww." Luke whimpered and walked away. I looked at him, puzzled, before turning back to Alex. "Did he even know what happened yesterday?"


    "He played games all day. I don''t think he does," Alex replied, equally confused by Luke''s reaction.


    "Alex, can you get Haley? She was so worried yesterday." Phil asked Alex slowly. Alex suddenly grumbled and said decisively, "No."


    "Huh? Did you guys fight again?" I asked, excited for the tea. Alex rolled her eyes and said, "How can we not? She''s so thoughtless�C"


    Claire interrupted immediately, "Pancakes here!" Realizing that Claire did that on purpose to make Alex stop, it seemed that the tea was piping hot. Or dumb. It could be both.


    Then, I suddenly got a moment of clarity. ''I shouldn''t hang out with Pepper too much. Now I look forward to hearing the gossip too.''


    ...


    In Haley''s bedroom, as she slept, she suddenly felt a gentle brush of her hair. A smile crept across her face, enjoying the sensation, until she realized it wasn''t a dream. She opened her eyes slightly and saw me sitting on the edge of her bed, brushing her hair.


    "Good morning, sunshine. Happy birthday��"


    "Ed!" Haley pounced on me, wrapping her arms around my neck in a tight hug. Clothes were strewn all over the floor and bed��bags of fabric, a half-body mannequin, needles and thread, even a project board cluttered her room.


    There was barely any room to walk, which probably explained why the sisters fought. They shared the same room, and Haley''s stuff was encroaching on Alex''s side.


    Suddenly, Haley released me and flopped back on the bed, looking at me in confusion. "My birthday is tomorrow, though."


    "Yeah, I know. I just wanted to give you a sexy memory," I joked flirtatiously.


    "Sexy? While wearing my dad''s clothes?" she shot back playfully. Then she realized something, her eyes widening as she covered her bare face with her hands.


    "Turn around! Don''t look!"


    "Don''t worry. You''re still beautiful," I said with a slight chuckle before adding, "Get downstairs after you wash up. We''re eating pancakes."


    She giggled slightly as she watched me leave, and I couldn''t help but smile at her teasing expression.


    "What?" I asked.


    "No. I can''t just get that wake-up call out of my mind," she replied.


    I chuckled. "I told you it''s a sexy memory."


    Downstairs at the dining table, the topic of their shared room came up again. The conversation heated up as both sisters turned to their parents, declaring, "I can''t live in the same room with her anymore."


    "Um, honey, we talked about this," Claire said, gritting her teeth. She clearly thought it wasn''t a topic that should be discussed in front of guests.


    "Claire. Don''t worry about me. As your boss, I should get personally involved in the employees'' home affairs to enhance efficiency in the workplace," I said, slathering butter on my pancakes.


    "You do?" Phil and Luke asked at the same time, their eyes wide.


    Alex grimaced at them, shooting a disdainful look. "NO!"

 Chapter 304 - 304 : Convincing.

    Chapter 304: Chapter 304 : Convincing.?


    [Edward POV]


    "Here is the solution to all of your problems." I directed the family members to a dark room filled with dust.


    "The basement?" Haley asked, confused. "Alex''s going to move here?"


    Alex rolled her eyes, arms crossed. "You''re the one moving here!"


    Claire shook her head, "Uh-uh, there''s no way any of my daughters are moving here."


    "What about me? I like it here." Luke chimed in, looking around. "Then Alex can move into my room."


    "Your room is filthy!" Alex grumbled. "But I''ll take it."


    "No one is changing." Claire was clearly anxious. Haley grumbled, "Mom, no one is against this but you."


    Claire shot a glance at Phil and said, "I''m not alone in this. Your dad feels the same way."


    Phil sighed and turned to Claire, whispering nervously, "You''re kinda alone in this, hun."


    "No one is moving rooms! No one is getting the independence they want without showing they are ready for it." Claire made a zipping gesture. "This is final."


    "Oh, so that''s it? The matriarch of the family speaks, and no one can go against her?" Alex said sarcastically. Phil mumbled slowly, "Hey!" but as he saw the matriarch''s glare, he kept quiet about his opinion.


    "Alex!" Claire looked at her with disappointment. "I''m not wrong for this!" The room erupted into clamoring and arguing.


    "Alright, everyone. Stop." I clapped my hands, quieting the discussion. Everyone turned their attention toward me as I looked at Claire with a smirk. "To be honest, I understand what your mom is worried about."


    "You do?" Claire asked, disbelief evident in her voice.


    I nodded. "You have three children. Let''s say, if Luke moved in here, he would definitely turn it into his man cave��TV and game setup everywhere. You wouldn''t see him as much anymore. Your mom just hates to lose you, Luke; that''s why she doesn''t want you to move."


    "Oh," Luke exclaimed, turning to Claire. "I guess I won''t move out right now, Mom."


    "This is never about moving out," Alex grumbled, but Claire and Luke were already embracing.


    "Let''s say Alex moved out here," I continued. "With her antisocial tendencies, her science experiments, and being in a basement��it could interfere with her mental health. Plus, her middle child syndrome... Alex is sure to become a mad scientist or a comic book villain."


    "Nooo!" Phil exclaimed, fully believing my fib. Haley, Luke, and Claire took a step back from Alex. She rolled her eyes at her dad. "Don''t believe everything he says!"


    I chuckled and corrected myself, "Eh, some of those points are legit. Otherwise, they wouldn''t believe me so easily. Anyway, Alex needs a place with sunlight, somewhere people won''t forget about her. Treat her like a houseplant; otherwise, she''ll wilt."


    Phil hugged Alex, saying, "I won''t let you turn into a villain, Alex."


    "I''M NEVER GONNA!" she protested, but Phil hugged her tighter.


    "Now, let''s talk about the final daughter: Haley." I turned to her.


    Haley grinned, brushing a stray hair from her forehead. "I don''t have any big problems, right?"


    "Nope. Yours is the biggest concern your mom could have," I corrected her.


    "What?" Haley mumbled in disbelief.


    "First of all, with direct access to the door, you can sneak out easily��or even sneak someone in. At the height of your teenage rebellion and sexual promiscuity, your mother''s worst fear is that moving down here equals getting pregnant in high school."


    "MOM!" Haley shot an angry glance at Claire, who nodded firmly. "That''s right. So none of you are suitable to move down into the basement."


    Alex burst into laughter. "So what Mom is worried about is that you''re too slutty!"


    "Shut up, house plant!" Haley retorted.


    The argument flared up again, but this time, I let it happen. As they bickered, I looked around the basement. Descending the stairs from outside the house, I noted that the basement was split into two parts. Both were used for storage, but one of them was emptier than the other.


    I checked the structure, even taking some pictures with Robin for potential improvements. It was a basic AI remodel project in the works. There weren''t a lot of databases for renovations she could learn from, so the remodel was pretty straightforward. Robin could also scan the house''s structure, giving me insights into any hidden or modified areas.


    Suddenly, Claire grabbed my arm and said, "Let''s get out of here. You don''t have to worry about us, Edward. You already have a lot on your plate."


    Claire wanted to wrap up the discussion and headed upstairs again.


    [Claire''s Commentary]


    "His house is gone, yet he''s worried about us?" Claire thought, a hint of sadness in her eyes. With a slight smile, she added, "He''s a sweet kid. But I hope he''ll take care of himself, not just others."


    [Phil''s Commentary]


    "How did I never see it before... I need to give extra attention to Alex from now on, or... she''ll destroy the world."


    [Commentaries End]


    "Alex, do you want to go to an amusement park with me and Luke? Or should we check out the science museum you always wanted to visit?" Phil asked.


    Alex rolled her eyes and shouted at me, "Edward! Whatever you''re planning to do, do it now!"


    Everyone paused when they heard Alex''s shout. "Plan what?" Claire pulled back, a skeptical look on her face as she gazed at me.


    I shrugged and said, "Well, the basement room plan, of course."


    "I thought we already decided not to do that," Claire replied, slight irritation in her tone.


    I smirked and said, "Can you keep an open mind and let your children make the case first? After that, if you really think it can''t happen, then they''ll just give up on the topic."


    "I won''t give up!" Haley and Alex chimed in at the same time. I called the three kids to my side. Claire and Phil exchanged glances, and then Phil said, "Alright, we''ll hear you out."


    "Upstairs! Not here! There''s too much dust down here," Claire insisted, leading us all to the living room.


    She returned to the living room and continued, "Alex and I promised not to fight anymore if I move out. Um, errr..." She stammered, momentarily forgetting her talking points.


    But then her eyes lit up. "Tomorrow''s my 16th birthday. Mommy, Daddy, your little girl''s growing up. I want to know what I''m capable of, and I want to do that with peace of mind. Even if there are no renovations, can I still move to the basement? I''ll even clean up the place myself."


    In the future, Haley did move to the basement. It was messy, but still, it was her own space. That''s all that mattered.


    Inside my mind, I gave Haley an 8.5/10 score for her speech. If she hadn''t made the mistake at the beginning, it would''ve been higher. She didn''t demand the room as a birthday gift, which showed her maturity. Asking to move even if she didn''t get it because she wanted to work on her craft showed initiative. If that didn''t move her parents, I didn''t know what would.


    "No." Claire suddenly spoke up with a serious tone, interrupting my thoughts. Haley deflated at the sound of it. I was shocked too; I really thought it would work.


    "The place is too dilapidated. Wait for your dad and your grandpa to work on it first, then you can move in," Claire added with a slight smirk. Haley brightened up and rushed to hug her parents. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"


    Phil beamed and immediately stood up from the couch, walking toward me. "Ed, do you really think I can get my own TV show?"


    "There''s a chance," I replied simply. "But don''t be sad if you don''t get it. Creating an online channel is still a good thing."


    Phil continued, fully excited about the premise. "Jay and I can work on it together. Also, Ed, when the room is finished, you can use it as a safe house in case you''re in trouble again."


    Claire liked that idea. "Ooh, that sounds nice."


    I suddenly said, "No. I won''t come here. Ever." My rejection stunned them, and then they turned depressed.


    "Why not?" Haley asked, incredibly concerned.


    I scoffed. "Why would I want to put the people I love in danger? If anything were to happen to you guys because of me, I don''t think I could live with myself��"


    Haley and Claire hugged me suddenly before I could finish my sentence. "Ugh, enough with the mushy stuff," Luke grumbled.


    I checked my watch. "I have to go now if I want to make it to the shoot early. I''ll have to leave, but we''ll discuss more about it later."


    "Ed, you want to work on this too?" Claire asked with disbelief. I chuckled. "Claire, my therapy is breaking stuff and building it back up. I did that with my first house too. I need this." My therapy was also being with those guys, but I didn''t want to told them that lest Luke said I was being mushy again.


    "Alright, Ed will be part of the project!" Phil declared. "Oh, do you have anywhere to stay tonight?"


    "On the yacht, maybe," I replied. I wanted to check on my lab stuff too, so I needed to go there anyway.


    "Why don''t you stay here with Luke?" Claire offered. "I''ll make up a bed for you."


    "Ed, what about Jenna''s party?" Alex asked with a slight concern. I muttered exasperatedly, "Oh yeah. That too. I don''t know if I can make it."


    "WHAT?!" Alex was anxious. "But you said you will come."


    "I will try. It''s just that the movie shoot was delayed yesterday. No one could work because of the terror attack. We''ll have to make up for the delay today," I replied apologetically.


    "Hmm..." Alex slumped in disappointment and said, "Break the news to Enid yourself. I can''t do it to her."


    As I said my goodbyes to the family and walked toward the living room, Haley asked me in a whisper, "So, if you can''t make it to the party, I guess you can''t celebrate my birthday with me tomorrow, right? There will be a small party at Grandpa''s house. They want to make it a surprise party, but I already know about it."


    "You''re not throwing a birthday bash?" I asked teasingly. "Hundreds of people will be invited? It''ll become the talk of all high school kids?"


    Haley rolled her eyes and said, "I don''t feel like it. You have any problems with that?"


    I chortled and said, "No, of course not."


    [Haley''s commentary]


    "Rather than having a lot of people at the party, I''d rather be with one, but I cannot tell him that."


    [Commentary ends]


    Before I could respond, Phil called out from afar, phone in hand, "Ed! Are you sure you only want a beach house?"


    "Yeah. Nearer the better. Oh! If the mansion looks like Batman''s house up in the hills, I can consider it too," I replied to Phil before turning back to Haley. I had mentioned my intention to buy a new house, and he was excited to help.


    "You know what? You''re already busy enough," Haley interrupted. "It''s just a birthday. We can hang out later when you''re less busy."


    I chuckled a bit and said, "It''s your birthday. I want to take you out. If you don''t mind, can we go to McDonald''s after I get back? What do you think?"


    She beamed and teased me slightly, "You''re the richest kid on the planet, but you''re taking me to McDonald''s? You''re lucky I''m not that hard to please."


    We both laughed a little before I remembered something. "Oh damn. I forgot about your present."


    "It''s okay. I don''t need one," she replied honestly. "You don''t have to get me anything~"


    "No, what I meant is, I forgot your present inside the house," I said, stunning her. "It''s burned to the ground now."


    Haley was shocked. "What? What did you get me?"


    "A Birkin bag," I replied with a wry smile. Haley gasped, her eyes wide. "You got me a Birkin?!"


    "But it''s burned down." I stressed it out.


    Haley was speechless for a second, her face blanked out. Her face contorted a few times between sadness and acceptance before she finally accepted it.


    Her voice cracked, "I''m fine."


    "I mean, I can buy you another one��"


    "NO!" She stopped me immediately. "I didn''t want you to spend more money on it. 10...15 thousand�C Urk�C Promise me!"


    "Alright alright. I promise you not to buy you another birthday present this year." I said defeatedly. Both of us laughed a bit before she sent me off to go to work.


    "I''ll watch your movie trailer when it comes out!" She said as she waved me goodbye.


    The trailer for the movie, ''Self Made'' was finally released to the public when I was shooting my scenes. And the review was...mostly positive.

 Chapter 305: Movie Trailer.

    Chapter 305: Chapter 305: Movie Trailer.


    [General POV]


    "It''s out!" Phil shouted to the family members gathered at Jay''s house, eager to watch the trailer release together. He watched the release on his phone and immediately snatched the remote from Luke.


    Cam walked into the living room, where Jay had installed his own version of a smart TV, a huge grin spreading across his face. "If Edward is here, we can make it like a movie premiere��with a red carpet and projector screen!"


    Mitchell scoffed slightly. "It''s just a trailer, Cam. And Ed would actually go to the premiere, not a house premiere."


    Cam nodded in agreement, excitement still bubbling. Alex, Haley, and Luke sat together on the couch with Jay. As Phil pressed the trailer thumbnail��which featured RG in his fur coat and sunglasses, wearing a haughty expression��Gloria shouted from the kitchen, "WAIT! CLAIRE AND I ARE NOT READY YET!"


    "Come quick! There are a thousand views already!" Phil urged, his excitement contagious. Claire rushed into the living room just as the family settled in to watch the trailer together.


    Haley giggled. "I''m so excited!"


    [The trailer opens with upbeat music playing in the background, leading into the logo of the Entertain company.


    "Multiple Oscar nominations this year alone," the interviewer began, his voice smooth and enthusiastic, " From an ordinary kid from Malibu to the biggest star in Hollywood. Tom Ryder is the man of the hour!"


    A text frame appears, boldly showcasing "Directed by Judd Apatow."


    The screen flashed to clips of Tom waving to adoring fans, striking poses on the red carpet, and accepting awards, kissing beautiful girls and signing autographs.


    This is followed by another frame text, "Created by Edward Newgate and Page Swanson."


    "What now for you?" the interviewer asked...


    Finally, the screen presents the title: "Self Made" in an eye-catching display.]


    "Is it me, or does the shot in this movie look incredible?" Mitchell pressed the pause button after taking the remote from Phil. The lighting and tone of the movie, the camera shot, everything signified that this was not a rushed movie but it was made with great care.


    Everyone protested, eager to watch the trailer, making him sigh in defeat. "Alright! Alright."


    "Keep your opinion to yourself for just two minutes, Mitchell. It''s not even a movie yet," Claire said mockingly.


    "I was just��"


    Mitchell tried to defend himself, but Jay, Haley, Alex, Gloria, and Luke shushed him. Cam laughed at his misfortune and took the remote from Mitchell to resume the video.


    ["Maybe I''ll finally try to get married," RG joked in the interview, a slightly melancholic expression crossing his face. "I still haven''t experienced what true love is like."


    The audience ate up his words, collectively exclaiming, "Aww!"


    The scene immediately cuts to an office where Donald Glover rebukes RG. "So you lied to everyone."


    Before RG could respond, Edward, seated at the desk, interjected. "It''s not a lie. It''s marketing. He can be a petulant child in a man''s suit, with the emotional maturity of a toddler, indulging in tantrums and whims behind the camera."


    The scene then cuts to several quick clips showcasing RG''s childish antics before returning to the office scene.


    Edward continued, "But as long as he pretends to be human on screen and people buy into it, then it doesn''t matter."


    As the scene continued, the background song filled the trailer. (Bruno Mars�C Runaway Baby)


    ?? Well, looky here, looky here, ahh, what do we have?


    Another pretty thang ready for me to grab


    But little does she know that I''m a wolf in sheep''s clothing


    ''Cause at the end of the night, it is her I''ll be holdin'' ?? ]


    "That song is so catchy�C What song is it?" Jay commented.


    Mitchell was excited to see someone else get scolded, but Claire replied to it casually, "It''s Edward''s song. It''s titled Runaway Baby."


    "Really? So it''s fine if Dad talk�C"


    "SHUUSSHHH!!" Everyone shushed him at the same time, making his expression fall in disbelief.


    [?? "I love you so" (Hey) That''s what you''ll say (That''s what you''ll say)


    You''ll tell me, "Baby, baby, please don''t go away" (Don''t go away)??


    Donald Glover asked Edward, "How did you get your brother to go along with this?"


    "I blackmailed him with a mistake from his past." Edward''s character replied. It cuts into a scene where Emily widened her eyes in shock as she watched the TV. RG immediately ran and tackled her to the sofa to prevent her from doing so.


    But when I play (But when I play), I never stay (I never stay)


    So every girl that I meet, yeah, this is what I say... ??


    The scene shifted to Emily and Ryan, who were initially bitter and resentful toward each other but gradually began to open up. Ryan was headbanging to "Cotton Eye Joe" in the car when Emily asked, "Do you really need me here for this?!"


    "You can break up with me if you don''t like it," he replied.


    "Never mind. The song is pretty catchy," she admitted, joining in the dance. Ryan looked at her incredulously, saying, "Stop enjoying it!"


    ?? Run, run, run away, run away, baby


    Before I put my spell on you ??


    The scene then transitioned to Edward and Vanessa in his office, where she was taking his blood pressure. Their focus shifted to each other as Edward pulled Vanessa closer.


    ?? You better get, get, get away, get away, darlin''


    ''Cause everything you heard is true


    Your poor little heart will end up alone??


    The main cast members, Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling, settled into their seats across from a female interviewer for a brief ten-minute chat about their upcoming film.


    "Ryan, I heard that the director, Judd Apatow, personally reached out to you at the beginning, and the whole movie signing took place in just a day?" the interviewer asked, her smile inviting.


    Ryan raised an eyebrow, feigning surprise. "Wait. How did you know that? Did Emily tell you?"


    The interviewer chuckled, and Emily joined in, "Don''t look at me. It might just be you who spilled it."


    "It''s the director," the interviewer confessed with a playful grin. Laughter erupted between the three of them before Ryan finally answered. "I guess. Yeah. But I wasn''t cast by the director. Neither was Emily. We were both... cast by the same person."


    Emily tilted her head, confused. "I interviewed for the part?"


    Ryan shot her a knowing glance, then realized, "Oh yeah. You didn''t know! When I got the call, I already saw your name on the storyboard. It was Newgate who wanted us. He just made you go through the interview for formality."


    Emily''s eyes lit up, her excitement palpable. "Oh, really? I didn''t know that!"


    Ryan shrugged nonchalantly, a smirk playing on his lips. "Yeah. He thought we were like big stars or something. I didn''t want to tell him in case he snapped out of it." His blend of sarcasm and self-deprecation earned more laughter.


    "What can you tell us about the movie?" the interviewer asked. The conversation flowed effortlessly, with Emily and Ryan showcasing their chaotic chemistry, making it clear why they were cast together. They answered some vague stuff about the film but didn''t tell the core element of it.


    "And Emily, you play Jody, who becomes entangled in Tom''s chaotic life. What was it like working with Ryan on this project?" The interviewer turned to Emily.


    Emily was smiling, "It was fantastic!It''s our first time acting together. Ryan brought so much energy to the role. Jody is strong and independent, but she definitely finds herself challenged by Tom''s immaturity. Their dynamic is hilarious."


    Ryan shared a few funny anecdotes about Edward while filming, causing the interviewer to burst into laughter. "The sandwich was in my seat, so I thought it was for me," he defended himself, slightly agitated.


    Emily guffawed until she lost her breath, mimicking Edward''s tone, "When Edward came, he was like, ''Dude!''" This made Ryan crack up as well.


    Still laughing, Emily added, "Ed called Ryan a sandwich thief."


    Ryan quickly retorted, "I explained to him that I really thought it was from the cart or something my manager put in my chair. He will not trust me!"


    As the interviews gained traction online, drawing significant views on YouTube and other platforms, they created a buzz for the movie.


    However, the playful interactions between Ryan and Emily sparked some trouble for Gosling. His current girlfriend, seeing the flirty and fun chemistry in the interviews, confronted him, leading to a heated argument.


    "We don''t have anything going on between us! She has a boyfriend!" Ryan defended himself.


    "Oh, don''t be so naive Ryan. This is Hollywood. No one cares if someone has a partner or not!" His girlfriend rebuked him.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    After enduring so much, the media was relentless in their pursuit of my side of the story and exclusive interviews about the incident. It would be better for me to get in front of it rather than let people speculate.


    As I drove to Jenna''s place, I called Pepper and said, "You know those interviews? How about reaching out to Conan? He''s not working on anything right now, so he can fly out here. I can''t go to New York to let Jimmy interview me again."


    Pepper replied nonchalantly, "Fallon would actually come here if you want him to. But do you really want Conan?"


    I agreed immediately. "Yeah, why not? He''s been out of the biz since I got famous, so I''ve never met the guy. Tell him we''ll do the interview in a spicy chicken wing style."


    "What''s that?" Pepper asked, confusion evident in her voice.


    "I''ll text you the details later. I have a party to drop by, but I''m not sure if everyone''s still up yet." I replied, a hint of worry creeping into my expression.


    "When will we do it?" Pepper asked, slightly excited as he was a huge fan of Conan.


    After some thoughts, I replied, "After my fan meeting? I want to take it slow for the next few days."


    "Great idea. Get some rest," Pepper said before his tone shifted as if he were speaking to someone else. "Uh, alright, alright, I get it, I get it. I''ll tell him."


    "What''s wrong, Pep?" I asked, sensing the change in his demeanor.


    "That''s Harvey. He was calling about your house. The insurance company is being difficult��they don''t want to compensate you without a thorough investigation first."


    "It''s fine. I didn''t expect anything to come through this early," I replied, nodding slightly. "But there''s no trouble finding a new place, right?"


    "I don''t know about that," he said honestly. "There isn''t much property that fits your requirements. You might have to move in with me for a while."


    Pepper had been the first to offer his home after the incident. His mansion had plenty of space, enough for both me and my dad. If I couldn''t find a place quickly, it made sense to accept his offer.


    "Okay, Peps. I''ll talk to you later." I ended the call as I arrived at Jenna''s house. "Is anyone still up?" I pulled out my phone to text the group chat, checking if my friends were still awake.


    The boys weren''t supposed to stay past ten, but Jacob and Finneas were there, waiting for me. Jenna and Enid rushed out the door after I texted them, and Enid leaped into my arms.


    "EDDD!! YOU''RE ALIVEEEE!" she shouted dramatically. Both Jenna and Enid were in Santa-themed outfits, with Jenna''s costume a bit more conservative.


    "Enid! Are you crazy? Don''t expose him!" Jenna scolded, still hugging me tightly.


    Then Alex and Elsa appeared, Elsa also in a Santa costume while Alex wore casual clothes.


    "Oh look, it''s Santa''s three little ho''s," I quipped, smirking. Enid shot me a glare as she released me.


    "Oh look, it''s the he-whore," Elsa shot back, her tone playful.


    "Is that a lisp, or do you not know how to say ''hero''?" I teased again, eliciting groans from the girls. They burst into laughter and pulled me inside the house.


    Jacob and Finneas were there, but Billie had stayed home; her mom thought she was too young for the sleepover.


    "Ed, we''re playing Secret Santa. You''re the only one who hasn''t pulled a name yet," Enid said excitedly.


    "Really? That''s what you guys were doing?" I asked, slightly confused. "Alright, I''ll pick a name. So I assume someone already picked mine?"


    "It''s a secret draw. You could end up with your own name," Alex interjected. I nodded, reached into the hat, and pulled out a name . It was Enid''s. Then, I noticed that she was staring intently at me with a face full of anticipation.


    "Um, are you guys sure the draw wasn''t rigged?" I teased slightly. I slowly sat down on the couch as I got settled in.

 Chapter 306: Camping.

    Chapter 306: Chapter 306: Camping.


    [Edward POV]


    "Come on, sit on Santa''s lap and tell me what you want for Christmas," Enid beckoned, slapping her thigh twice to get my attention. We were all still in the living room, even though it was nearly midnight.


    I chuckled as I sipped my soda. "Santa''s eyes look dangerous. I might get felt up, so I won''t."


    Enid gasped in mock offense, and laughter erupted around the room. "You''re a naughty boy then. No gifts for you this Christmas!" She laughed, however her eyes were still dangerous.


    "Oh come on. I''m nice... at times," I joked, eliciting more chuckles from my friends.


    Jacob picked up several camping bags from the floor and gave me a knowing nod, urging me to head outside. The boys had permission from Mrs. Alexandria to stay over��honestly, she didn''t really care.


    We decided to camp out on the lawn, right by the pool. Jacob brought his camping gear, claiming he was going to camp with me tonight at the ruins of my house. Finneas did the same. Both of them were finally becoming rebellious teenagers, lying to their parents without a second thought.


    "I want to see this." Enid said as she followed the boys outside. Elsa grabbed Jenna''s hand and said, "Let''s go see the boys set up their tents too."


    "No, we shouldn''t go outside this late at night, especially with boys. The devil is everywhere and he will try to tempt us." Jenna said with a blank stare. Elsa narrowed her eyes at Jenna, "Girl, who are you!?"


    Jenna just shrugged in response. Alex joined Enid as we headed outside, and Elsa pulled her best friend along too. Jacob began setting up the tent, laying down the poles, when I suddenly placed my tools back on the ground.


    Jacob and Finneas looked up at me, confusion written on their faces.


    "Can you give me a minute?" I checked the time and excused myself, walking to a quieter corner.


    "What are you doing?" Finneas asked, his tone slightly raised. Jacob added, "If you don''t know how to build a tent, that''s fine. You don''t have to be embarrassed about it."


    "Who doesn''t know how to build a tent? Edward? That''s refreshing," Alex chimed in, walking beside her boyfriend.


    Enid shouted, "Ed! Don''t be shy! I''ll love you no matter what!"


    "Shh!" I shushed them while dialing a number. "Oh, it''s a phone call," Jenna exclaimed simply. "You guys jumped to conclusions fast," she added, turning to Jacob, Finneas, Alex, and Enid, who all looked a bit embarrassed.


    "Who''s he calling?" Elsa asked. Alex suddenly remembered something and scowled, "Ugh. I know who he''s calling."


    The call picked up after a moment, and the voice on the other end sounded urgent.


    "Hello? Edward?" Haley asked, anticipation clear in her voice.


    "Were you out jogging? Why are you out of breath?" I teased.


    "I just got out of the shower," Haley replied, taking a deep breath to calm herself.


    My eyes widened slightly as I smirked. "So you''re in your birthday suit for your birthday?"


    "I am wearing a towel," she replied cluelessly. "I''m not wearing a suit."


    "That''s not... Nevermind. I''m just calling to wish you a Happy Birthday."


    "Aww. That''s so sweet. You''re the first one to do that," she said, a bit bashful.


    I was skeptical. "Really? I thought your parents��especially your dad��would want to be the first."


    Haley agreed. "I thought so too. So I changed his wristwatch to 20 minutes earlier, and all the clocks in the house. He wished me 20 minutes ago with my mom. I felt bad for him. He almost nodded off a few times."


    "That''s��genius. Although it''s an evil genius kind," I said, impressed.


    Haley giggled. "Hmm, It''s so you can really be the first�C No, I mean, so you''re the first."


    "Excuse me?" I asked, my lips curled upward, "So you knew I''d call?"


    Haley was silent for a moment before replying, "I have an inkling about it." Her tone was excited, even though she tried to play it cool.


    We didn''t talk for a while, just laughed with each other. "So I''m the first, huh? I''m really glad to be the first one to call."


    "You can be my other first too," Haley suddenly said in a seductive tone. "Oops, my towel dropped. So I am wearing my ''birthday suit'' right now."


    "This turned out to be rated R fast," I said, taking a deep breath. "I guess I can only see you when there''s daylight tomorrow."


    Haley instantly became excited again. "Wait, you said you''re working till late."


    "Those guys decided to shoot all of my scenes today, so filming is wrapped up for me. I''ll stop by the lab for a bit before I go to your house."


    "Oh, the insane girl," Haley remembered what I told her before. "She''s going to be fine now?"


    "I think so, as long as there''s nothing going wrong with the cure." I said before changing the subject. "Now that we can spend some time together, I''ll take you out tomorrow for a birthday lunch, how about that?"


    Haley agreed excitedly. "Yes! Although we can still go to McDonald''s. I don''t really care which restaurant it is."


    I smiled and said, "No-no, Mac and Donald only opened their place at night, so I''ll reschedule it with them."


    "Mac and Donald?" Haley was confused. "Wait, it''s not a fast food restaurant where you planned to bring me to?"


    "No, these are two chefs that I invested in. Their restaurant became pretty famous recently. It''s called Le Ciel." It meant ''The Sky'' in French.


    Haley was startled. "You mean the new restaurant up in the hill? That''s a four-star restaurant. Grandpa has been trying to get a reservation for weeks!"


    The restaurant was a French cuisine dining experience with a backdrop of the Pacific Ocean. It was a romantic spot where people went to enjoy special moments. I was explaining it simply, but it was a place that had become quite famous in the area.


    "If you really want to go there, I can speak with them," I said with a slight smile. "You can bring your grandpa too if he wants."


    Haley thought for a moment before replying, "If it opens during lunch, then all of my family can go there for my celebration. My night will be free, and I can spend it exclusively with you."


    "Wait��" I was stunned at first before I thought about it. "Alright then. I''ll try to speak with them."


    "Great. Don''t worry, my grandpa will be paying for it," Haley teased. "You''re homeless now. I can''t take money from the homeless."


    I played along and said, "You want to know something?"


    "What?" She was interested.


    "I''m camping out tonight, sleeping in a small tent with a bunch of guys."


    "Oh, you poor thing," she cackled at my misery. "I got a room all by myself tonight." Then she invited, her tone turning seductive, "Want to come over?"


    "Is this what''s going to happen for the entirety of your birthday? You keep trying to get in my pants?" I teased lightly.


    For the last few days, she had joked about losing her virginity when she finally turned 16, repeatedly hinting it at me as we chatted. It was hard to tell where the joke ended and the truth began, leaving me feeling helpless in the situation.


    "Guess what I''m doing right now," she said suddenly. "I''m locking the door. Alex is gone. I have no clothes on and am laying down on the bed."


    "No. Don''t��stop, I mean, don''t do it. Stop." I stammered, pulling at my collar as I needed air. "I couldn''t take three attacks all at once."


    Haley hummed seductively. "Come on~ I''m just a hot girl laying down alone in my room. I want to spend some last moments here..., making some memories. I never had a... personal time here because Alex is always around. I had to always use the bathroom for it."


    "My friends are waving at me right now. You''re being crazy." I said, waving back to Enid and Jacob, who were trying to get my attention, wanting me to help set up the tent.


    "Hmm..." Haley moaned playfully. "Guess where my hand is right now."


    "I''m in a dilemma here. I want to end the call, but my finger won''t move." I confessed, slightly torn. Haley giggled, "My fingers are moving pretty fast right now. Stay with me; I want to hear your voice when I��"


    "Haley! I was at the wrong time before! My watch was fast by 20 minutes!" Suddenly, Phil banged on the door. I felt a wave of relief, mixed with a hint of disappointment.


    "Your dad''s here," I said in a calm tone.


    "Damn it! How did he know?!" Haley sounded frustrated.


    "Maybe someone texted him? Who knows?" I replied, trying to defuse the situation, knowing I didn''t have it in me to end the call myself. If that wasn''t clear, I meant I texted him, telling him that I saw his watch was 20 minutes fast when I met him in the morning.


    "Honey! Open the door." Claire also called her. "Ugh!" She groaned slightly before shouting, "I''m on a call with Ed!"


    "Then let us in! We can all wish you a happy birthday together!" Phil shouted happily.


    "I think I have to open the door." Haley told me with a pitiful tone. I chuckled a bit and said, "Look on the bright side. At the very least, you locked the door."


    Haley laughed a bit and said, "Or I''ll be like Jenny from ''Not Another Teen Movie''."


    I burst into laughter and glanced at my friends. Both Jacob and Enid wore dissatisfied expressions as the tent was almost built. "I better go now, or else they''re going to kick me out of the tent too. Then I''ll truly be sleeping outside."


    "That can work." I nodded before all of us snickered. As we talked, Jacob suddenly smacked his lips and said, "I''m thirsty."


    "You need to go inside to grab a drink." Finneas said with a slight depression, also smacking his lips.


    "Or, you guys can drink the pool water." I suggested jokingly. "I''m sure only a small percentage of them are urine." I added.


    Both of them grimaced slightly at that thought. "Gross." Jacob commented. "Immature." Finneas also commented.


    "You say it now, but who knows what kind of adults you''d be." I said before standing up. "I''m tired. We should go to sleep."


    "You go first." Finneas said.


    I grimaced and said, "And risk being the first one to fall asleep? I''m not falling for that."


    Before they could react, Enid rushed to the lawn, wearing a unicorn pajama. We all turned toward her, and I asked, slightly confused, "Hey, what''s wrong?"


    "Elsa and Jenna are having a huge fight. So I''m hiding out here," Enid said, sitting down near us.


    Finneas ignored her and turned to me first. "What do you mean you''re not falling for that? We''re not immature enough to draw a penis on your forehead while you sleep."


    "Yeah, we''re only going to draw the balls," Jacob snickered. Then, noticing Enid staring at him, he flinched and said, "Foot...balls."


    "Nice save," Enid replied, looking at him with disgust. "Cause, you know... he plays football with us." Jacob tried to defend himself.


    "Enid!" Alex called out from afar as she too needed a break from Elsa. "Oh, you guys aren''t asleep yet? What trouble is bothering you?" she asked with a slight sarcastic tone.


    "A lot. We don''t have any covers. No blankets. We can''t even grab a drink," Finneas said with a smirk, already used to Alex''s attitude.


    "We also can''t go to the toilet, no matter how badly we need to," Jacob added.


    "Yeah, Jacob has to relieve himself by the bushes like a puppy," I teased. Jacob looked at me in disbelief, his mouth breaking into a smile.


    "Ew, Jacob," Enid and Alex groaned in unison.


    "I didn''t!" Jacob protested, startled, and turned to defend himself.


    Enid then asked Alex, "What should we do about them?" referring to Jenna and Elsa.


    "I don''t know. They won''t talk to each other," Alex replied.


    "Ed! What should we do?" Enid asked me.


    Alex interjected before I could reply, "You''re asking the boys? They won''t know how to handle the delicate situation."


    "I mean," I cut in, "that may be right. Girls are more emotionally mature." I started with a compliment.


    Alex nodded in agreement. "See," she said, turning to Enid, wanting her to see her point.


    "I mean, we boys play rough with each other. How can we possibly know what''s going on inside the girls'' minds? Sure, I can say something like, ''Elsa felt rejected by Jenna''s change. They did everything together before, and now that Jenna is denying her past, Elsa feels rejected too. So she lashed out, wanting Jenna to be her past self, to be her best friend again.''"


    Alex was left speechless, and Enid paid close attention to what I was saying.


    "And Jenna, too. She wanted to change her ways. But as Elsa kept bringing it up, Jenna felt she couldn''t escape her past. None of us were supportive of it, and it makes things worse. She tried over and over to show she had changed, which maybe is because she''s conflicted and deeply ashamed of herself. She''s feeling lost. She doesn''t know what to do to make things right."


    As I said that, I paused momentarily, feeling a connection to the topic.


    "Ed?" Enid called out, pulling me back.


    "Oh, sorry. So if they actually talk to each other about this, maybe, just maybe, they can become good friends again. They don''t even need a solution. They just need to understand each other. Or what do I know? I''m just a boy. I don''t know what girls are like." I played it off coyly, which made Alex roll her eyes.


    "I get it, I get it. Stop looking so smug." Alex pointed at me with dissatisfaction. "One day, I swear I''m going to psychoanalyze you next."


    "Just take care of your boyfriend," I said, which irked Alex. "His brain is fried by all of this." I added, glancing over at Finneas, who wore a blank expression. Alex couldn''t help but smile and called him out, "Finneas. Droll!"


    "OH, sorry!" Finneas quickly wiped the saliva from his mouth. Jacob bragged to Finneas, "Man, you cannot even comprehend what girls are like."


    "Jacob, repeat what Ed just said," Enid challenged him.


    Jacob was startled and replied, "Elsa and Jenna need to get into a ring and hash it out."


    "Oh, that''s kinda correct," I exclaimed. Enid gave him a suspicious stare before standing up to leave with Alex. Before she left, she said, "Ed! If you''re correct, we''re taking the credit."


    "But if you''re wrong, you''ll get the blame!" Alex teased. As both girls left, I turned to Jacob and asked, "Your mind is still thinking about the girls'' fight club, isn''t it?"


    "I take a shot. And I scored," Jacob bragged. "I honestly didn''t hear anything you were saying. I blanked out after, ''Elsa felt rejected.''"


    "Yeah. Me too!" Finneas agreed excitedly with Jacob. After a moment, I turned to the door again and sighed, "I thought those two would actually bring us a drink or something, but they didn''t even look back after they were gone... Heartless bitc�C"


    ...


    Morning came, and I stretched as I crawled out of the tent, feeling sore all over from sleeping on the thin mat. Finneas and Jacob were still sound asleep, their faces adorned with doodles. Finneas sported a Hitler mustache, while Jacob had glasses drawn on him. Of course, reproductive organs were a necessity in their artwork.


    I sat alone by the pool, waiting for everyone else to wake up. Mrs. Karlson was not the type to rise early, and the girls had a late night, so they were still sleeping.


    "This is awkward," I mumbled, realizing it might take a while before anyone else stirred. I quickly got over it and headed to the kitchen to make some food for myself. By 10 AM, with no sign of life, I went to wake the boys.


    "Hey, I have to head out now. I made some breakfast for you guys and left it in the oven," I told Jacob and Finneas, who were still groggy and wiping their eyes.


    "So early?" Finneas looked at me, confused. "It''s only 10," he added.


    "He''s a busy man," Jacob chimed in for me. "We need to get up, too. Our parents are picking us up at the bus stop at 11."


    "Right. We still need to pretend we were camping elsewhere," Finneas muttered sleepily.


    "I''m sorry for this. I can drive you if I don''t have any prior commitments," I said with an apologetic expression. "I just have a bad feeling something will go wrong at the lab, so I need to be there in person."


    Finneas and Jacob waved their hands dismissively. "It''s fine. It was never supposed to be a sleepover for you," Finneas said.


    "Tell the girls I''m sorry, alright?" I said before I left the house. I didn''t even see Mrs. Karlson from start to finish��she was in her room using the face masks I had given her.


    I drove to Dr. Fowler''s lab in Pasadena, where I finally met up with Abed again. To my surprise, my security team was already waiting for me.


    It wasn''t just Abed there; Annie, Pierce, Jeff, and Troy were also present. Shirley didn''t come, as she had her kids to take care of.


    Abed made a finger gun gesture at me and said, "We''re on a road trip episode... even though all of us took different planes."


    "Everyone except Abed and Annie has to stay behind. The patient can only bring two people with her inside," I told everyone, much to their disappointment.


    Jeff grinned and said, "Lucky. I was thinking about ways to avoid this. I''m finally in California. It''s time to hit the beach and see how many rich girls I can pick up in an afternoon."


    Annie gasped and turned to Jeff, "You said you wanted to be here for Britta. That''s why Pierce bought all of us tickets!"


    "I''m only here for the fun of it," Jeff replied with a smirk. Troy added, "I only want to ride a plane. I''ve never ridden one before."


    Pierce said, "I come to California all the time. But Abed, can you let me enter the lab with Britta? I''m worried about her and want to be there... you know, in case anything happens."


    "Oh, that''s��" Abed hesitated. Pierce saw it and instantly turned to Annie, "Or maybe you can stay behind. Let''s be honest, you''re only here because you want to see the boy again. You already met him now."


    "Pierce!" Annie was embarrassed and hid her eyes from me. "Don''t say that in front of him," she whispered.


    "Wait, before you guys decide who''s going to enter, you''re forgetting the most crucial thing here," I interrupted.


    "Huh? What did we forget?" Troy asked, confused.


    "Um, the patient?" I pointed out. "She''s not here."


    Everyone looked around instantly. Jeff chuckled derisively, "What a bad joke. Of course she''s here��"


    "She''s not here," Annie muttered in shock. "SHE''S NOT HERE!" she shouted, entering full-on panic mode.


    "Oh my god! We lost Britta!" Troy exclaimed in horror.


    "Worse, if she''s already lost her mind, she''ll be... gone forever..." Pierce said ominously.


    "Who''s responsible for keeping an eye on her?!" Jeff asked, concern etched on his face.


    I rubbed my sore forehead and said, "Damn it. I knew something bad was going to happen. I thought it would be during the thing, not at the beginning. Robin, see if you can locate her."

 Chapter 307: Birthday and Japan tour

    Chapter 307: Chapter 307:?Birthday and Japan tour


    [Edward POV]


    Turns out, Britta only went to a nearby bathroom inside the building, bumped into Dr. Farrah Fowler, and was brought to her lab without a chance to tell her friends what was going on.


    By the time I arrived at the lab, Dr. Fowler had already started the procedure.


    As I entered, I saw Britta sitting in a chair with electrodes connected to her head, while Amy monitored her brain synapses on a screen.


    Smiling at me, Amy reported, "I have administered the first dose for the treatment, and we''ll continue to observe her for the next few days before introducing the second dose."


    "That''s not all of it?" Britta asked, a bit confused.


    Amy turned to her, adjusting the electrodes. "No. Life''s not that simple. It''ll take a month before we can see the results."


    "Oh, I have to stay here for a month? What about community college?" Britta''s eyes widened with anxiety.


    Amy replied sternly, "I think you should be clear about where your priorities lie."


    "It''s fine. That''s not going to be a problem. I''m closing down the college until after the 20th anyway," I said casually as I picked up Amy''s research report. "Also, you might need to be here for a month. If nothing goes wrong, you can actually go back within a week."


    The lab fell silent, broken only by the rustling of papers as I flipped through the report. After an hour, Amy finally took off the electrodes.


    "I''m already feeling better now," Britta said with a fake smile.


    Amy burst her bubble immediately, saying, "The medicine would interfere with your brain hormones. That might be the dopamine release you''re feeling. Here."


    She handed Britta a notepad. "You need to record your experiences when you''re by yourself."


    "Is it necessary?" Britta asked, reluctant.


    "You can do this, or we put you in a box with a full monitoring team. Which one works best for you?" I casually threw out the threat.


    Britta quickly grabbed the notepad. "I''ll write down everything."


    "I don''t really believe you. But luckily you brought Annie here, so she''ll be responsible for you," I said.


    "Now, about the bills?" I turned to Amy. Britta''s face paled, and she stammered, "Bil��Bills? You''re billing me?"


    Amy smiled, knowing what I was doing, and handed me a contract. "Here. I made her sign this before administering the meds."


    "That''s not a release form?" Britta asked, her voice shaky.


    "Of course not. This is an agreement. The research, the materials for the drug you''re using��all of it needs funding. You don''t expect me to do it all from the kindness of my heart, do you? I mean, I just lost my house. I can''t afford to do any charity right now."


    "Umm... H-How much is it��in total?" Britta''s heart raced, and her palms became sweaty. She kept drying her hands on her jeans, leaving a wet mark behind.


    "Not a lot," I replied with a casual expression. Britta''s hope flickered as she asked again, "How much?"


    "Two fifty," I said. Britta''s eyes lit up. "Wait. Only two fifty? I can pay that right now��"


    "Thousand," Amy interjected, stunning Britta into silence. "Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars��after the discount." She added this with a casual smile and a slight nod.


    Britta went speechless.


    The data from Britta''s treatment would be useful for Amy in her neurological studies, so I decided to deduct the value of the data from Britta''s debt.


    I snapped my fingers a few times in front of Britta''s face to bring her back to reality. "Britta? Britta? You there?"


    "Is this a side effect of the medicine?" Amy began checking Britta''s pupil dilation, but her touch was enough to bring Britta back.


    "Wh��Two-fifty. TWO FIFTY!?" Britta bolted upright from the chair, panicking. "I don''t have any money to pay for that!!"


    "I''m sure we can come to an arrangement," I said with a smile. "Or, you can play along with me, and have someone else foot the bill." My words carried a sinister tone, but for Britta, it sounded as pleasant as an angel''s call.


    After explaining to the duo, Britta was a bit reluctant to play along at first, but as I flashed the bills at her, her sense of morality quickly corroded.


    "If you don''t want to do this, then I can contact your parents. They are pretty well off so I think they can pay me back the money." I shrugged as I saw her conflicted expression.


    "Wait, if I do this, then, I don''t really trick him or anything." Britta''s sense of morality finally broke down at the mention of her parents. "He''s doing it to himself."


    "''If'' he does that." Amy corrected her. " If Edward was wrong, and he doesn''t do it. Then you''ll have to pay for it yourself."


    "Either way, I''m still going to get my money back," I added.


    "Let''s do it. If he actually goes through with this, it means he doesn''t care that it''s my last chance. He''s selfish enough to send me to the pits of hell if it benefits him."


    I smirked, amused by Britta''s roundabout justification. "Sure," I replied.


    Soon, the plan was set in motion. Pierce, Annie, Abed, and Troy entered the lab, with Troy and Annie rushing to Britta.


    Alex immediately exposed her lie. "Ed''s not coming. She made sure of that."


    Claire turned to Haley with disbelief, "Why didn''t you want him to come?"


    "Um," Haley stammered a bit, and Alex immediately jumped in to reveal everything, "Because she wants to see him tonight."


    Claire smiled a bit and said, "Oh, so you guys already made plans huh?"


    Gloria interjected, "Is he taking you somewhere romantic?"


    "Huh? Ed will come to the house tonight though." Phil suddenly poured cold water to the woman''s enthusiasm. Claire turned to Phil who sat next to him, "What?"


    Haley widened her eyes slightly and said, "Did he tell you that?"


    "Yeah. Edward said he''s coming over to work on the house. We''ll start today." Phil replied nonchalantly, unaware of the girl''s feelings.


    Jay also didn''t notice it and asked, "Phil, how''s the search for Edward''s new house going?"


    Phil grimaced a bit and said, "Not that great. I found a nice house by the beach. But it is too small for his status, and lacks privacy."


    Gloria interjected excitedly, "Speaking of houses, do you know what happened today? The house in front...of our house... Ay, how do I say it?"


    "It''s listed for sale today." Jay continued as Gloria faced some difficulty. "But I don''t think Ed will be interested in that." He continued.


    Phil was a bit excited and said, "It''s listed for sale? That''s actually a really good thing. You guys can be neighbors!"


    Manny was finally interested after hearing that, "That will be a great opportunity for me to learn more from Edward."


    Luke added, "And we''ll finally have a reason to come to Grandpa''s place other than to use the pool."


    While the family were having lunch, Edward brought the four people to his studio where he introduced them to the movie set.


    Judd was confused when he saw Edward there, "What are you doing here? Your work is done! Go home!"


    "I''m only here to show my friends around and to show Donald something," Edward pointed at Troy as he said that. Judd was stunned when he saw Troy. "Donald?" he muttered in confusion. "He looks younger... Donald''s long-lost brother?"


    "I''m here to beat his racist allegations against me," Edward joked. He enjoyed bringing the four people to the studio, but he didn''t stay with them for long.


    Around 3 in the afternoon, Edward told the guests, "I''m sorry I can''t hang out longer. I have some plans. If I still had my house, I would''ve invited you there, but right now, I don''t have a place for guests to stay."


    Abed didn''t mind that and asked, "I have a question. If you built a house set inside the studio, would you consider staying there if you had no other place to go?"


    Edward fell into deep thought for a moment, then replied, "If it has a fully functional bathroom and I''m desperate enough, then I''ll consider it."


    Abed said, "That''s something to look forward to."


    In disbelief, Edward said, "Yeah��I don''t want to look forward to that. That''s horrible."


    "Edward, what plans do you have now?" Annie asked, gazing intently at him.


    Edward replied casually, "I''m going to a recording studio to record a song right now."


    The group immediately showed interest. Troy asked in a monotone voice, "Can we see that?"


    "Sure," Edward said casually. "I don''t think you guys will enjoy it, though. I will be singing in Japanese, so you won''t know the meaning of the song."


    "Japanese? Why?" Annie asked, incredibly confused.


    Edward explained, "I''m starting my world tour there, so I''m thinking of releasing a short album in Japanese to ensure the Japanese people actually care about the tour."


    Even with that self-deprecating joke, the tickets for the world tour in Japan were already sold out. The songs were Edward''s attempt to connect and have fun with the citizens there.


    Video messages where Edward spoke fluent Japanese to the Japanese citizen were already spread throughout the country. Edward also recorded an interview in Japanese and answered the questions from the interviewer, also telling the citizens there that he was looking forward to seeing the country. Edward spoke about what anime he likes, which earned him another wave of admiration from the countrymen. All the preparations were complete.


    "Come on. Annie and Abed can ride with me," Edward said casually as he walked to his car. After a short drive from the movie studio, he arrived at the company building.


    Edward performing in Japan would have a total of 17 concert days across eight major venues. He would spend 3 days at Tokyo Dome, which has a capacity of approximately 55,000 attendees per show, resulting in an attendance of 165,000.


    Next, he would perform 2 days at Kyocera Dome, accommodating around 40,000 fans, totaling 80,000 attendees. The tour would also include 1 day at Nissan Stadium with a capacity of 72,000, bringing in 72,000 fans, and 1 day at Saitama Super Arena, which holds 37,000, contributing 37,000 to the total.


    Additionally, there would be 1 day at Nagoya Dome (40,000 capacity) for 40,000 attendees, 1 day at Fukuoka Yahuoku! Dome (38,000 capacity) for 38,000, 1 day at Osaka-jo Hall (16,000 capacity) for 16,000, and 1 day at Budokan (14,000 capacity) for 14,000.


    In total, this concert schedule would allow for an approximate attendance of 462,000 people, making it a significant event in an artist''s world tour. He didn''t reveal the numbers to the public yet as he knew he would be a source of envy from the other artists.


    Edward could potentially earn approximately 60 million dollars from his world tour in Japan when considering ticket sales, VIP seats, fan meet deals, merchandise, advertising, and video rights�C all in the minimum projection range.


    A lot of people came to the recording studio to watch him record the song. Pepper smiled at SunHee and told her, "I''ll be counting on you to translate the song for me."


    SunHee was baffled. Then, she retorted, "I''m not Japanese. I''m Korean!"

 Chapter 308: Ordinary Night.

    Chapter 308: Chapter 308: Ordinary Night.


    [Edward POV]


    I knocked on the door of the Dunphy house, and a moment later, Haley opened it, a mischievous smile on her face. "Hey, you''re finally here." I steadied myself with my right hand on my back, returning her smile.


    "Sorry, I got held up by some work," I replied, glancing at her. She wore an oversized, semi-transparent white tee that draped casually over her shoulder, revealing her left shoulder and the dark tank top underneath, which read ''Hungry.''


    It was clear it was her work outfit, complete with a headband and a smudge of dirt on her nose, which confused me since we had some plans to go outside.


    "Here. Happy Birthday!" I extended my hand to give her a bouquet of flowers. Haley''s eyes widened slightly, and she swooned at the gesture.


    "Oh, thank you! You shouldn''t have! Come on in." She took the flowers from my hand, inhaling their fragrance as she grabbed my hand and pulled me inside, closing the door behind her.


    As I stepped in, I teased, "So, we''re not going out?"


    Haley smiled bitterly, but before she could reply, Claire walked toward the front door. "Edward! I''m so sorry, dear! We lost track of time cleaning out the basement. If only the clocks in our house showed the correct time."


    That was definitely a dig at Haley''s antics with the clock last night. Grabbing my arm, Haley complained, "She''s forcing me to clean up the place after we get back from the restaurant. I''m... exhausted." She slouched her body a little, pulling her chin up and sighed helplessly.


    Claire interjected, "Oh honey, since you''re so tired, you two should just hang out here." She whispered while scratching her nose and glancing away, "...where there''s supervision."


    Phil then sauntered over. "E-Money! You''re here! Thank you so much for getting us into that restaurant!" He wiped his dirty hands on a towel and tossed it over his shoulder. "What do you kids have planned for tonight?" he asked casually, completely out of sync with Claire.


    "What? Phil��I told you��" Claire tried to remind him, but I jumped in. "I was thinking of taking her to an arcade, or maybe IKEA since she''s going to move out of her room."


    Claire''s expression shifted as she processed what to address first��Phil or me. After a moment of confusion, she settled on me. "Honey, IKEA is in Burbank. It''s 15 miles away, and it closes at 10."


    I understood her concerns and replied, "I figured, which is why I called ahead. They said they can keep it open until 11, but I''ll need to take some pictures."


    Phil chuckled a bit at my joke, but Claire said in an endearing tone, "Ed, sweetie, you just got home from work. Haley saved you some chocolate cake from her party, so why don''t you stay here, hang out on the couch, watch some TV with her instead��and��and brainstorm ideas for the room?"


    I turned to Haley and said, "You''re the birthday girl. You decide."


    Haley thought for a moment and suddenly held her back as she said, "I think I''m too tired to go out anymore."


    "Yeah, early onset arthritis at 16. You had a good run," I teased.


    Haley glared at me for a bit before she turned to her parents, "We didn''t need to clear out the basement today! The contractors are coming tomorrow!"


    "Then the room will be ready for them to work in!" Claire shot back.


    "It''ll be dirty anyway, so why did we even need to clean it?!" Haley argued.


    I had to agree with Haley on that point. "Yeah, Claire, why did you clean it?" I asked, slowly turning to her. Phil seemed to share my sentiment, adding, "Yeah, why do we need to clean it?"


    Claire looked stunned by the sudden questioning. She stammered, "Becau��Because! It''ll be embarrassing when other people see how dirty it is! They''ll think I can''t take care of the house! That I''m a lousy housewife!"


    Phil immediately tried to reassure her. "Honey, no one will actually think that. You''re doing the same thing when we had that housecleaner�C" He stopped as Claire glared at him.


    Haley chimed in, "Yeah, Mom. No one will actually think that..." Then she added, in a low voice, "Unless they''re crazies too."


    I retorted, trying to make fun of her, "What do the contractors care about? They just want to get paid. This is just... you..." I trailed off as Claire shot me a glare.


    I could see the vein throbbing in her forehead and her eyes twitching, indicating she was holding back her anger.


    As I abruptly stopped mid-sentence, she smiled��a bone-chilling, fake smile��and gave an ultimatum: "You can stay here, eat cake, and discuss, or you can go home and get some rest. What do you choose?"


    "I''ll choose the cake," I replied instantaneously.


    "Y-Y-Yeah, we can eat cake," Haley echoed, nodding vigorously.


    Phil nodded profusely and added, "I''ll watch them, so you can go upstairs and clean up."


    "Hmm..." Claire walked past us and stepped on the stairs. We didn''t continue talking till we were sure that she was gone.


    "Crazies." Haley muttered underneath her breath again.


    ...


    I sat at the kitchen table, the cake placed enticingly in front of me. It was a three-layer chocolate cake topped with fresh strawberries and sprinkled with chocolate shavings. We sat at the kitchen island in front of the fridge as I ate.


    As I grabbed my fork, I sat there motionlessly. Haley''s excited gaze slowly turned to confusion. "Why? What''s wrong?" she asked, frowning slightly. "Don''t you like chocolate?"


    "I kind of feel like this is a scheme of yours," I said accusatively, slowly cutting off a small piece of the cake.


    "What scheme?" she furrowed her brows, tilting her head cutely as she tried to read my expression.


    I chuckled, leaning back as I continued to tease her as I took a bite of the cake. "This chocolate cake gesture! You know I like Ursula better than that b�C Mary Jane, so you decided to give me a chocolate cake just like she did. Now I can''t help it."


    Haley scoffed, her smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "You know when you talk about Spider-Man, you sound like a giant nerd!"


    I pointed my fork at her playfully. "What''s wrong with being a nerd? "


    "It''ll make you unpopular! And your entire career needs you to be famous," she teased.


    "Then how about you? You got the reference in a split second, so that means you''re kinda a nerd too."


    Haley widened her eyes slightly in disbelief and scoffed as she looked away from me. "I�� I''m not a nerd! I just happened to watch that movie before."


    "Don''t worry, a beautiful nerd can still be famous," I said, trying to coax her into admitting it, which only made her more frustrated.


    "Sorry to not meet your expectations! I''m sure you''d prefer to be with a girl who''s another huge nerd!"


    Confused by her sudden outburst, I gave her a blank look and asked, "Where did that come from?"


    "Ugh. Do you want some milk with that?!" she groaned, angrily offering.


    "Yes, please," I replied casually.


    The kitchen became awkward for a minute as she prepared the drink. When she came back, she tried to move on from the awkwardness with another topic, "I heard you recorded a song today."


    "I told you it is. Don''t you believe me?"


    "Not 100%." She said teasingly while sticking her tongue out. "What''s this song about, she asked?"


    I paused for a bit and said vaguely, "Dancing."


    [ " ?? Mada tomatta kizamu hari mo. Iribitatta chirakaru heya mo. Kawaranai ne omoidashite wa. Futari toshi wo kasaneteta. ?? {The clock hands are frozen again. The frequented, cluttered room. Nothing changed, but as I look back. We both had gotten older} ]


    I wrote the song a week ago when I was preparing for the world tour.  With a singing voice that included both falsetto and chest singing, Haley immediately became immersed in the song.


    She gazed at me slightly, and caught that I was staring at her. Her cheek blushed as she looked forward again. I smirked as I too enjoyed the song.


    [  " ?? Mata tomatta otosu hari wo. Yoku nagashita kiki akiru hodo. Kawaranai ne...kawaranaide...Irareta no wa kimi dake ka ?? " {The music stops again, you drop the needle. We''ve replayed it so much, we nearly grow bored of it. Nothing changed, please don''t change. You''re the only one who''s stayed.} ]


    Both of us swayed our bodies, dancing slightly to the tune. "It''s very catchy although I don''t understand any of it." Haley said.


    [ " ?? Mudabanashi de hagurakashite. Fureta saki wo tamerau you ni. Ashibumi shite zureta hari wo yoso ni. Soroi hajimeteta iki ga ??" { We avoid the topic with small talk. We hesitate to touch the subject. We stop to push the hands forward. Our breaths start to sync.} ]


    It was as if the verse was narrating what we were doing. Both Haley and I gazed into each other''s eyes. Her hand slowly moved towards mine, and mine too inched towards hers.


    [ " ?? Dou demo ii you na yoru dakedo. Doyomeki kirameki to kimi mo (odorou). Dou demo ii you na yoru dakedo. Futari kizamou.??" { It''s an unexceptional, ordinary night, Dance with the noise, the sparkle, and you. (Let''s dance) It''s an average, boring night. But let''s move forward together} ]


    Haley broke eye contact and breathed heavily. "Hmm, I really want to know the meaning of it."


    [" ?? Sukitootta shiroi hada mo. Sono waratta mujaki na kao mo. Kawaranai ne kawaranaide . Irareru no wa ima dake ka. ??" { Your translucent, white skin. Your carefree smile. Nothing changed, please don''t change. But this is only just for now.} ]


    "Your skin, your smile." I translated a bit. "And my desire for things to still be the same."


    Haley widened her eyes slightly, "What? Is this song�C" Her focus went back to the song as she heard familiar words.


    [" ?? Mitsumeru hodo ni. Afureru memorii. Uwatsuku kokoro ni koohii wo. Midareta heya ni kasureta merodii. Mazariatteyou mou ichido. ??" {The more I stare. The more memories that overflow. A cup of coffee for a wavering heart. A disheveled room, a scratchy melody. Let''s blend together, one more time} ]


    "I heard memories, coffee, and melody. Wait, will you be called racist if you sing it like this?" She asked.


    I was speechless for a second before I replied, "I...didn''t think about that."


    ["?? Dou demo ii you na yoru dakedo. Tokimeki irom��ki to kimi mo "odorou". Dou demo ii you na yoru dakedo. Futari kizamou. ??" {It''s an unexceptional, ordinary night. Dance with my beating heart, my elation, and you. It''s an average, boring night. But let''s move forward together.} ]


    Both of us burst into laughter as the song became background music.


    ["?? Yoru wa nagai obotsukanai. Ima ni mo tomarisou na myuujikku. Kimi to itai oboret��tai. Ashita ga konakutatte mou ii no.??" {The night is long and uncertain.


    The music could stop at any moment. I want to be with you, to drown with you. I don''t care if tomorrow never comes.} ]


    "Translate more." She asked. "Even just a little bit."]


    [" ?? Dou demo ii you na yoru dakedo. Doyomeki kirameki to kimi mo "odorou". Dou demo ii you na yoru da kedo. Aishite.??" ]"


    "It''s an unexceptional, ordinary night. Dance with the noise, the sparkle of the lights, and you. It''s an average, boring night. Love me." I translated the verse as I looked at her face.


    Haley''s eyes became dazed and she leaned forward for a kiss. I too leaned forward and kissed her on the lips.


    ["??Dou demo ii kara boku dake wo. Furatsuki yoromeki nagara mo "odorou". Dou demo ii you na yoru dakedo. Futari kizamou ??" {Who cares anymore, just look at me. Let''s dance as we sway and stumble. It''s an unexceptional, ordinary night. But let''s move forward together}


    We stopped kissing as the song ended. Haley smiled shyly and said, "Well, I finally got my birthday present."


    ...


    [Flashback.]


    The roar of the brand new chevrolet camaro ''Bumblebee'' passed through the highway as I made my way to the Dunphy family''s house. The car was a present from someone anonymous, but I knew who sent it. Casey and Sarah delivered it themselves to the company building after all.


    I checked, and there were no bugs on the car. My phone rang as I stopped at a red light and I answered it using the bluetooth car system.


    "Ed, where are you?" my dad asked, his tone excited.


    "Huh? I just got back from work." I replied. "I''m going to pick up Haley now�C"


    "Good!" My dad suddenly shrieked. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. My dad continued, "Drive by the house when you come back."


    I grimaced a bit, "And get mobbed�C"


    "I know I know. There''s too many people there." My dad interjected, already knew what I was going to say. "But, listen. Right now, I''m in front of the house."


    "So?" I was confused.


    "Do you hear something?" He asked leadingly.


    "No?" I replied with hesitation.


    "That''s right. There''s no other voices other than mine." He said excitedly.


    "You mean? There''s no one there?" I widened my eyes slightly. "That''s impossible."


    "Yeah, that''s what I''m trying to say! There''s no crowd here anymore! You can actually sleep here tonight." He declared. "I can even dance in the yard, and no one will bother me."


    "We''ll see. Try dancing." I replied coyly. He grimaced and said, "I''m not gonna."


    "Coward. This could be a farce. They''ll regather when I get there." I said skeptically.


    "I don''t think so. It feels different. It feels... calm. After your teacher comes by this afternoon with Phil, people have been leaving the place one by one."


    "Teacher�C You mean Sage? Sage was there?!" I asked with shock.


    "Yeah." My dad replied. "Maybe your fans finally realized that they need to give you some space. Or the paparazzi�� Even I don''t believe what''s going to come out of my mouth, so I guess, the paparazzis has something else to cover tonight."


    My smile wouldn''t disappear since I heard that Sage was there. "I owe her a credit card." I mumbled to myself. Since the search for the new house was taking a long time, Sage decided it was best for me to get a place where I can relax myself.


    Or maybe she was too lazy to go around looking for houses, who knows? Anyway, we weren''t supposed to talk about it.


    [Flashback ends]

 Chapter 309: Breaking Bad Reaction.

    Chapter 309: Chapter 309: Breaking Bad Reaction.


    [Edward POV]


    Three days passed quickly. The basement renovation was in full swing. Six egress windows were installed to bring sunlight into the room, and after some persuasion, Phil and Claire agreed to knock down a wall, merging two rooms into one, which meant installing six more windows on the other side of the basement.


    The new space would feature a sliding, foldable barn door, and a bathroom would be added as well. A team of 20 contractors was hired to handle the renovation.


    Phil and Claire were speechless at first by the sheer number of workers, but after seeing their ''discounted'' price, he decided to hire them all to work on the house.


    Most of them had worked for me before, whether on my house or the company building. This was a huge opportunity for them since I usually hire people I know for my other projects. A project manager was hired, and, of course, it was the reluctant grandfather, Jay.


    Seeing Jay wanting to work while Phil filmed the process for the channel provided great entertainment for me. I even helped edit the finished videos��all one minute each��for Instagram. Jay appeared in the videos a few times, and people loved his interactions with Phil.


    Six videos had already been uploaded for this project, and the number of followers Phil had gained was skyrocketing. He went from around 5,000 as a realtor to almost 20,000 followers after the project started. In this 2009 pre-iPhone 4 era, that was tremendous growth.


    The YouTube video was also uploaded and was slowly gaining traction, with over 300,000 views after just three days. Phil definitely couldn''t recoup his money from the renovation, but he was enjoying the process immensely.


    It was the first time his skills as a realtor and his knowledge about houses were showcased in full. Phil''s video was highly praised by commenters as he discussed the cost of the renovation, the legalities involved, how to obtain permits, and more.


    After seeing all of the comments, Phil suddenly had an idea to buy a house, flip it and record all of the process before selling it back. However, since it was too risky, he didn''t proceed with the idea yet.


    While the renovation was ongoing, Abed and I found ourselves deep in an interesting discussion about TV shows.


    Inside the office building, Paige, Abed, and I gathered around my laptop to watch Abed''s amateur production series, "Study Group."


    Abed had already made five episodes of the series, with each one garnering between 200 to 500 views on the community college art department''s website. As we started the first episode, Paige watched with an awed expression, her eyes glued to the screen.


    When the episode ended, she turned to us and said, "It''s... um, rather than feeling like an amateur production, it seems more like a low-budget TV show. The writing works��it''s really good." She paused, clearly impressed.


    Abed retorted, "It doesn''t achieve the level I want it to yet." He was referring to the occasional poor lighting and filming conditions that appeared in the video. Since he shot it in a real college, various factors sometimes ruined the filming.


    "It''s like a Community TV show," I mumbled to myself, "but more unhinged."


    I thought about how Dan Harmon had created Abed and Jeff''s characters based on himself, and now Abed was taking on that role in his own show.


    As Abed just started his directing journey, he didn''t have a lot of professional equipment or a budget to produce an actual TV show. That''s why he only posted his work on the art department website.


    Watching the show with Abed sparked an interesting idea in my mind. If Abed could produce Community-style shows, why not create something like The Big Bang Theory or even Modern Family?


    There was a huge demand for new types of TV shows in this world. I realized I didn''t even need to use the same characters��just their personality types and the plotlines of the TV series could work.


    "Let''s try it with The Big Bang Theory first." I mumbled. "Paige, Abed, I have an idea." I grinned as I leaned forwards to the both of them, disrupting their discussion.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Since the first episode of Breaking Bad aired, viewers have been hooked. Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Faced with financial struggles and the burden of impending medical bills, Walter decides to secure his family''s future by using his chemistry skills to produce methamphetamine.


    The idea itself was absurd, but it worked. Audiences loved how Walter snapped out of his own mediocrity. The concept of a man with nothing left to lose finally realizing his potential excited viewers.


    He partners with former student Jesse Pinkman, a small-time meth manufacturer. Together, they cook meth in an RV in the desert. The episode introduces Walter''s family, including his pregnant wife, Skyler, and his teenage son, Walter Jr., while setting the stage for Walter''s transformation from a mild-mannered teacher to a drug manufacturer.


    The last scene of Bryan Cranston in his underwear, preparing for a confrontation with the police, was a peak cliffhanger that sparked endless conversation about the show.


    By the time episode two aired, the show already had a large fanbase, with 20 million views on Netflix alone. People worldwide were eagerly awaiting the next installment. As interest grew, Netflix subscriptions climbed to 50 million.


    At the time, Netflix was privatized by Edward, who chose not to disclose user numbers publicly, eliminating the need for external investment. Traditional media had yet to recognize the threat Netflix posed.


    In episode two, after a violent encounter with two drug dealers, Walter and Jesse are left with a dead body and an unconscious man, Krazy-8, in the RV. They must figure out how to dispose of the evidence. Walter struggles with the moral implications of his actions, while Jesse tries to manage the situation. Back at home, Walter''s family grows suspicious of his erratic behavior.


    What made the show unique was its commitment to having characters face the consequences of their actions, rather than resorting to contrived plotlines to resolve conflicts.


    When episode three premiered, the Breaking Bad cult following truly began to take shape. Walter grapples with the reality of his situation as he keeps Krazy-8 captive in Jesse''s basement. He is forced to confront the consequences of his choices and their impact on his family.


    Meanwhile, Skyler becomes increasingly worried about Walter''s health and behavior. Walter''s moral struggle culminates in a tense decision about Krazy-8''s fate, deepening the exploration of Walter''s transformation and the lengths he will go to protect his family. When Walter decides to kill Krazy-8, viewers are left on the edge of their seats.


    Mrs Alexandaria''s character; Skyler, became widely talked about by the audience. Her name was in the articles, which she later printed out and framed it in her house.


    Even though she was paid only 100, ooo per episode, Jenna''s mother was extremely satisfied by the critic''s praise of her performance and her name entering the mainstream media network. Finally, she felt like a true actress rather than a cheap escort.


    TwitterUser122: Hopefully they keep the quality till the end of the season.


    TomHolland: I still can''t believe Edward made this show. Isn''t he still a teenager?


    JaimeFox: Now I can''t wait to see his upcoming movie.


    Many actors started praising the show, in hope to gain some points from Edward, for him to consider them for his next project.


    Taylor''s heart beats quicker as she suggested it. With a look of anticipation, she said, "You know, since we can perform by ourselves...but still keep the narrative that we were once...together." A wave of melancholy flashed in her eyes before she shook it off and returned to her casual expression.


    "I''m listening." I said with some interest. "Now then, I already know you wrote another song about me." I said, which made Taylor laugh awkwardly. "We can lead with that. But, you might regret it cause I could write something really scathing and hurtful�C"


    Before I could finish my sentence, Taylor hugged me. "Hmm? What is this for?" I was confused by her suddenness.


    "I''m just really glad that you''re safe." Taylor tightened her embrace and said, "I also want to say that I''m really sorry."


    We talked about the incident leading to the breakup in September, and Taylor apologized for the way she acted at that time. Never once did she mention during our conversation, anything about getting back together.


    She just wanted to apologize for hurting me, and told me that her words have haunted her ever since. We finally made up and Pepper was really excited by it.


    "Oh! It''s a Pre-Christmas Miracle!" He hugged both of us at the same time.


    "Don''t lie, you hate this." Taylor exposed him.


    "Yeah, there won''t be any more dramas for you to enjoy." Harvey also exposed him. Pepper gasped in offense and looked at Harvey and Taylor with bewilderment.


    ...


    I returned home just in time for dinner. My dad and Frankie were working, and Maggie went out to play with Vanessa, so I thought I only needed to cook for myself.


    As I was parking my car, suddenly, Haley and Alex approached my house. "Hey!" Haley greeted me cheerfully as I got out of the car.


    "Hey," I replied, smiling back. "You guys want something to eat? I''m going to make dinner."


    "That''ll be great. It''s so dusty in the house," Alex complained. "I wonder what would happen if I confronted my parents about it being preferential treatment to only give the room to Haley."


    Haley ignored Alex''s comment and asked, "What are you making?"


    I also chose to ignore Alex and said, "Beef braciole and caprese salad."


    We walked toward the door together and entered side by side. As I began cooking, the familiar scents of garlic and herbs filled the kitchen, and I engaged in conversation with the girls. They sat at the kitchen island as they watched me cook.


    Haley turned to Alex, a playful glint in her eye. "When I''m gone, you''ll have the entire room to yourself. You can decorate it however you want."


    "I know, I''m counting the minutes until you''re gone." Alex said mischievously, even though I knew she felt a bit sad about it.


    "You can have a reading space. A comfy couch, a mini library." I added.


    Alex was excited by the prospect of having a lot of books in her room and said, "Where can I get the books? It''s pretty expensive if I want to make a mini library. I''m not even sure if mom and dad will buy me those."


    Haley turned to me and grimaced, "You know when she has that, she will no longer get out of her room, right? She''ll become the lonely loser again."


    "I was not a loser!" Alex defended herself. Suddenly, Alex got a text message from her boyfriend. "Oh, Finneas wants to have a video call from Switzerland. I''m going back home."


    "Keep your clothes on." I shouted at her as she left. Alex showed me a middle finger and retorted, "You guys are the one who needs that advice."


    Haley and I exchanged confused glances before bursting into laughter at each other''s expressions.


    "So, have you thought about what you want to do with your room?" I asked Haley as we shared dinner.


    Haley replied coyly, "Hmm, I''m not sure. I kind of want to put up a picture, but I don''t know what yet."


    "I was thinking about themes, but we can start with pictures," I teased. "Do you want me to paint a picture of you?"


    Haley''s eyes widened in excitement. "Really?! You can paint?"


    "I can try," I replied vaguely.


    She giggled and flirted, "So, you want to draw me like one of your French girls?" referencing the iconic scene from Titanic where Leo drew Kate Winslet as she lay there nude.


    I smirked and replied, "I''ll draw you like Jenny drew her mother in Not Another Teen Movie."


    "Hmm? I don''t remember that," Haley said, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.


    After dinner, I set up a canvas and had her sit in front of me as I began to draw. Haley''s heart raced as she modeled.


    "Done!" I announced after a few moments.


    "That was fast," she said, surprised, and rushed over to see. Her excited expression changed into disdain when she realized I had drawn her like a child would��a stick figure with oversized eyes.


    "See? Same eyes!" I pointed at the exaggerated features.


    "I''m leaving," Haley said, slightly offended, and stormed out of the house. I couldn''t help but burst into laughter before setting up another canvas to draw more seriously.


    The next day, I flew to Vegas for a Christmas concert with my fans. The hall erupted in thunderous cheers as I walked onto the stage.

 Chapter 310: Vegas Fan Meet.

    Chapter 310: Chapter 310: Vegas Fan Meet.?


    [Edward POV]


    The crowd erupted in thunderous cheers as I stepped onto the stage. Dressed in a leather jacket with my hair slicked back and wearing ripped jeans, I could see the girls swooning at the sight of me.


    "Eddy! You''re so handsome!" one girl shouted.


    "Make me your girlfriend!" another voice chimed in. A gruff masculine shout followed: "Let me ride your��" but his words were abruptly cut off as his friends silenced him.


    Ignoring the interruption, I walked to the center of the stage and took a seat on a tall stool. Next to me stood a beautifully decorated Christmas tree, adorned with twinkling lights and surrounded by a sea of presents. The instrumental version of Mariah Carey''s "All I Want for Christmas" played softly in the background, barely audible over the cheers of my fans.


    The gifts were wrapped in vibrant green and red paper, tied with shiny ribbons. Among them were gift bags, teddy bears, and even practical items like coffee makers and cozy blankets. Some fans had been thoughtful, remembering that my house had been lost.


    Behind me, my band members stood ready, and the atmosphere was intimate, with only 300 people filling the hall. Colorful lights flickered above the stage, illuminating a backdrop adorned with posters and memorabilia.


    In the front row, familiar faces smiled back at me: Haley, Tara, Jenna, Enid, Billie, Finneas, Alex, Elsa and even Mitch and Cam with little Lily. It felt like everyone I knew was there, though a few had chosen to hide backstage��Selena, Taylor, Vanessa, and even Maggie�C who didn''t really need to hide.


    Before 2010, Las Vegas had been diligently establishing itself as a party hub, with luxurious clubs and celebrity endorsements attracting large crowds. Icons like Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, and the Kardashians all contributed to the city''s allure. We received some invitations and decided to check it out.


    "Hello Treasures! Mer��" Before I could finish my greeting, the crowd erupted in excitement, drowning out my voice with cheers. I chuckled, my happiness evident as I teased, "At least let me finish my sentence first! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone. I''m so glad to meet all of you here today."


    "Oh Captain, my Captain!" a girl shouted, sparking a lively chant. Some of them even stood up on their chairs as they chanted. It went on for about 5 minutes before the emcee stopped them.


    "We appreciate your enthusiasm, but we only have the venue until 4, so please take your seats. Today, we have a special treat: Edward will perform a medley of his most famous songs. Everyone, give a warm round of applause for Edward!"


    As the crowd erupted in cheers, I grabbed my guitar and began to play. I started with "7 Years," followed by "Grenade," and continued through snippets of my songs, wrapping up with my latest hit, "Daylight."


    The emcee for the event, a friendly woman in her 40s named Karen, sat near the stage with a microphone in hand. She ensured the event flowed smoothly, positioning herself just far enough away to avoid blocking anyone''s view. "Please give another round of applause for Edward!" she announced.


    Suddenly, a gruff voice rose from the crowd, filled with frustration and mockery. "Oh, I can''t take this anymore! This primitive, animalistic caterwauling��enough with this foolishness! Gimme a ride!"


    With eyes that barely blinked and a face full of ticks, the man stared at me from afar.


    "What?" I asked, my expression blank. The other fans were furious at his words, hurling objects in his direction. But before I knew it, he dashed from his seat and rushed toward me.


    ''Wait, is he trying to attack me?'' I thought as I instinctively stepped back.


    "Oh no, you don''t!" Mickey exclaimed.


    Mickey, my personal bodyguard, along with two others, quickly moved to protect me. They managed to halt the man for a brief moment, but then Mickey was flung aside like a ragdoll.


    The other two bodyguards struggled to restrain the man, grappling with a surprisingly strong individual despite their height advantage. His face seemed familiar, but I couldn''t quite place it.


    Looking directly at me, he said, "I''m (gibberish). I''m stranded here. Can you give me a ride back to my place?"


    "Huh? What did you say your name is?" I asked, genuinely confused. Holding my microphone, I knew everyone could hear our exchange. He repeated himself, but his words came out as hisses, tongue clicks, and sounds that resembled a cat choking, accompanied by exaggerated facial expressions as if he were having a brain aneurysm.


    "What?" My expression twisted in confusion. "NO! You''re joking with me!" He smiled slightly, as if he thought I was just playing around. "Humans aren''t at the technological level of building quantum channels yet. STOP JOKING AROUND!" He yelled, his anger palpable and causing some fans to look fearful.


    Narrowing my eyes at him, I shot him a look that made him pause and fall silent for a moment.


    Meanwhile, my bodyguard patted him down and discovered an ID. The emcee helped Mickey to his feet, while the man began sniffing the air around me. "His name is Harry Vanderspiegel. He''s a medical doctor," one of the bodyguards informed me.


    "Doctor?" I asked incredulously, unable to believe it. "Are you on drugs?"


    Harry glanced down and muttered a short, "Fuck," before breaking free from my bodyguards and running toward the exit. As he bolted, I teasingly called after him in a mock alien voice, "(Tss, click click, Donkey noise) Wait!"


    "YOU DARE CALL MY MOTHER... FATTY!?" He stopped at the door, turning around, clearly offended. "YOU HUMANS ARE THE ONES WITH FAT CELLS!"


    The bodyguards chased after him, but he darted away quickly. The commotion began to die down, and I chuckled as I faced the crowd. "Remember, kids, drugs are bad for you!"


    Suddenly, Harry reappeared at the window, pausing in his escape to mock me. Flailing his arms around like a monkey, he said, "Oooh, look at me! I''m a descendant of the apes! I have hair all over me��"


    The bodyguards caught up with him again, and he took off once more. Moments later, he popped up again, shouting, "Ooh, look at me! I need external appendages to reproduce my genetic material, making ONE baby at a time! I CAN HAVE HUNDREDS DECENTDANTS AT THE SAME TIME, YOU FATTY FAT FATSO!"


    Then, he ran away for good. I looked at the crowd incredulously; they all wore expressions similar to mine. "If anyone recorded that, please tag me when you post it," I said, earning some laughs. As a rule, everyone agreed to post on social media after the event, not during.


    After that brief incident, the fan meeting continued. I asked the audience which songs they wanted to hear, and I made their wishes come true. We opened presents, took pictures, signed autographs, and recorded short videos for their friends and family.


    A freckled 15-year-old girl with braces stood up shyly after the emcee pointed at her. She grabbed the microphone handed to her by a staff member.


    "Enid! Sit down!" I scolded playfully. "That''s my best friend anyway." I muttered dismissively, rolling my eyes, which made the crowd laugh at Enid''s fiery spirit.


    "I don''t want to make this event political or depressing. I want to enjoy the evening with you guys," I said, prompting swoons of agreement from the audience.


    "They are just suckers in front of Ed huh." Alex exclaimed to herself.


    The event ended with a performance, and after singing my hit song, even taking suggestions from the fan for what I should sing, the event was finally over.


    ...


    After the event, I met up with my friends backstage. Wiping the sweat from my brow with a wet towel, Enid suddenly snatched it from my hand, grinning. "Imagine how much money I''d make if I sold this on eBay!"


    Jenna rolled her eyes while Elsa chimed in, "Are you sure you''re not going to keep it and sniff it?"


    Enid chuckled nervously, bringing the towel to her face. "I''m not a pervert! Sniff I can control myself."


    Mitch and Cam, ignoring Enid''s antics, turned to me. "Ed! That was an amazing event!"


    "Except for the political part in the middle," Cam added. I slumped slightly, replying, "I wouldn''t have had to address that if they hadn''t blown the issue out of proportion."


    Mitch nodded thoughtfully before asking, "You asked the audience to calm down, but what about those outside?"


    I widened my eyes at the thought but quickly pushed it aside. "Well, if they really want to sue, that''s on them."


    Haley turned to Mitch. "Uncle Mitch, do they actually have grounds to sue?"


    "Claiming treason and telling Ed he needs to apologize��it''s libel, and yes, there''s grounds to sue," Mitch explained.


    Cam said, "They didn''t really claim it was treason, but rather insinuated it."


    Mitchell was a bit confused by his own knowledge and muttered, "Wait. Does he have any grounds?"


    "Shit. Pepper," I muttered, immediately checking my phone. Robin quickly notified me, "It''s too late. He already submitted the case."


    I was speechless for a moment, then sighed helplessly. "Anyway, are you guys heading back now?" I asked Mitch and Cam as I picked up Lily from Cam''s arms and hugged her. She giggled, playfully touching my face and even trying to bite my chin.


    "We have to," Mitchell said. "We promised the kids'' parents we''d be back today." Cam added that they had flown in on the jet, so they weren''t tired from the drive. Although I wished they could stay longer, I nodded. "Randall will drive you to the airport��if you can get Lily to let me go, of course."


    "Lily! Come here!" Cam clapped his hands to get her attention, but she was completely focused on playing with me. Mitchell tried the same, but Lily was having none of it. It took some time before they finally left Vegas.


    Around 10 in the evening, I went to the club with the girls. They didn''t even check my Id as they let us in. None of us should even be there, but we were. Privilege of being a celebrity I guess. We did it anonymously without any paparazzi catching our presence there.


    The girls wanted to check out the club scene, but honestly, it was too freaky for us. Not on Diddy''s level, but still, there was some really disturbing stuff, so we got out immediately after not even 2 minutes inside the club.


    "Can''t believe these are the types of clubs I got invitations into." Vanessa grumbled as we sat in the car. I chuckled and said, " Marshall wants me to stop by if I can. I''m going to his hotel, what do you girls want to do?"


    "Can you send us back first? There''s a lot of paparazzi at the club there, so I''m not going to risk it." Taylor said. Amongst the four of us, she has the greatest priority to keep her image as a ''good'' girl.


    "Us?" Selena turned to her, confused. Both Taylor and Selena sat at the back of the car together. Selena then realized that she had a contract with Disney, so she pouted as she accepted the fact that she couldn''t go.


    Taylor scolded her, "You won''t even get inside the club. They check your id there. None of us can get inside."


    Vanessa said, "I''ll go with you." Taylor rolled her eyes slightly but she didn''t say anything.


    "It''s not a club. I''m going to his suite to meet Snoop." I explained. "So we''ll probably get high." Vanessa smiled with anticipation.


    I paused for a bit before I replied, "Possibly."


    Not long after we arrived there, both of us already had a blunt in our hand.


    Snoop complained, "I''m sick of the Empire State of mind song. We Californians need our own songs." We were sitting in a conversation pit with Eminem, Dr Dre, Snoop, some girls, and other rappers.


    Vanessa nuzzled her body against mine, even resting her head on my shoulder.


    "Oh, Edward has an idea about that!" Vanessa immediately chimed in. I looked at her with disbelief and said, "What?" Everyone looked at me, and Marshall immediately leaned forward, looking at me with some anticipation in his eyes.


    "You told me before. "California Girls". Tell them." Vanessa grinned before resting her head against mine again.


    "Edward. You seem like a nice kid. And if you have an idea that can go bigger than the Empire, we can collaborate." Snoop said playfully.


    I let out a burst of mirth as I myself was in disbelief of what''s happening. "Alright then." I leaned forward, putting my blunt out on the ashtray. "We can talk about collaboration. But, we need to have another person. That is, Katy Perry."

 Chapter 311: Dangerous Visitor.

    Chapter 311: Chapter 311: Dangerous Visitor.


    [Edward POV]


    We stayed at The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, a stunning replica of Venice featuring intricate Italian Renaissance architecture, soaring ceilings, and beautiful frescoes.


    The girls and I booked the executive suites��not that we couldn''t afford the presidential suites, but the executive suites faced each other, and we were the only guests on the floor, which provided greater security. Several guards patrolled in front of the elevator as it was the main point of entry.


    The girls shared an executive two-bedroom suite, which boasted nearly 2,000 square feet of living space, with each bedroom featuring twin beds. Maggie and Vanessa shared one, Selena and Taylor shared the other.


    I stayed in the Executive King Theater Suite, which had the same square footage but included a theater and a gym, along with a king-size bed.


    The hotel has a strict rule about privacy, so we could hang out together without needing to always be looking over our shoulders for paparazzis and guests filming us�C not that we ever went to the common area.


    Vanessa and I came out of the elevator together around 3 in the morning. Both of us were laughing at an incident that happened at Snoop''s, and we walked in the same direction.


    "How can you roll a blunt faster than him? Snoop had a really weird look on his face after he lost." Vanessa cackled. I smirked and said, "He kept wanting to go again, not wanting to accept it."


    "He blamed it on his ''old bones''!" Vanessa laughed after she mimicked Snoop, covering her mouth with her left hand slightly while her right hand was hitting my arm.


    As we stood in front of the door, she calmed down slightly, still smiling as she said, "Aww, I don''t want the night to be over."


    "Easy for you to say, you didn''t have a 5 hour long event just this afternoon." I said with a playful disdain. She stuck her tongue out slightly and said, "I haven''t seen your room yet. But you have seen mine. That''s pretty unfair."


    "You can see it in the morning." I replied casually, snubbing her intention of continuing to play. Vanessa pouted slightly and crossed her arms together, "At the very least, you should walk me to my door."


    "You didn''t pay attention didn''t you?" I turned to her with a grin. Vanessa was confused, and she asked, "Pay attention to what?"


    I pointed at the door and said, "This is your room."


    Speechless for a second, Vanessa used her keycard and the door opened. She looked at me with a slight shock and then accused me, "You planned that didn''t you?"


    "Don''t blame me! I just followed you when we walked."


    "And I followed you!"


    Both of us burst into laughter before saying goodnight. As I returned to my room, the cheerful mood vanished.


    "Took you long enough," said the mysterious man in a fedora, impeccably dressed in a suit, as he swirled the drink in his hand.


    "I helped myself to your minibar, if you don''t mind," he added casually, crossing his legs as he set the drink down on the side table.


    "That''s a little rude. People will think I''m the one who drank," I replied, greeting him casually as I sat down in front of him.


    "But sure, I don''t mind since I''m the one who kept you waiting. So, to what do I owe the pleasure of a visit from the most notorious man in the world, Mr. Raymond... Reddington?" With a smile on my face, I looked straight at the man in the fedora, who resembled James Spader.


    He chuckled in disbelief, "My god, you''re just like your mother."


    That comment soured my mood a bit.


    "Calm, composed, and most importantly, extremely bold," he continued. "Your mom, however, never reeked of marijuana. She''d be quite disappointed if she found out." He teased, a slightly concerned expression crossing his face.


    A pang of guilt assaulted me even though I tried not to care about it. "Can you tell me why you wanted to meet?" I asked, getting straight to the point. A few hours after we checked into the hotel, he had come with his aide, telling my security that he wanted to discuss an important issue. My security detail contacted me as he warned them not to call the cops or else someone close to me would die. They had no choice but to contact me about it.


    Raymond nodded slightly before he said, "Alright then, we should talk. It''s very late, and we don''t really have time for chit-chat. I assume you''re aware of the events happening in your mother''s country?"


    I nodded and replied, "I have a brief overview of it," which was a lie.


    "That''s good enough," he said casually before turning serious. "In less than 12 hours, the freedom fighter bases all around the country will be raided simultaneously. There''s little opportunity to get your mother and the rest of the patriots out of the country before that happens, and that''s what I''m here to discuss."


    I felt a bit confused. "Huh? Why me?"


    Raymond looked taken aback. "Because it pertains to the safety of your family."


    "Ugh," I groaned disdainfully. Raymond seemed puzzled and asked, "You don''t care what''s going to happen to her?"


    "She made her bed. Now she has to lie in it," I replied indifferently. "You cannot save someone who doesn''t want to be saved."


    He stared at me intensely before responding, "Two times."


    "What two times?" I asked, still confused.


    "She saw her friends die... from starvation," he added casually. "Do you know what that''s like? Seeing the lights go out from their eyes, their bodies becoming thin husks of what they once were?"


    I fell silent as he continued, "When the Soviets fell in 1991, your mother smiled for the first time, thinking that the stalled gears of her country would finally move again."


    Not breaking eye contact, he said, "You have no idea what she has been through. I''m sure you have resentment towards your mother, but I also know there''s no way you''re going to abandon her."


    I sighed, thinking for a moment, and took out a small card from my wallet. I handed it to him before leaving the living room to pour myself a drink in the pantry.


    "Laminated?" Raymond looked at the card and saw it contained the details of a trading account along with its password. "Get a new card maker!" he shouted from afar.


    "None of your business kiddo! Continue walking." The old man continued gruffly, his leg was still limping. I approached him slightly and shouted, "Do you need�C"


    Before I could finish my words, he already closed the door behind me. "Why did he take off his lights? " I mumbled to myself.


    "Oh my god, my inner, Hallmark movie character personality is coming out." I widened my eyes in shock before I rushed to Haley''s place.


    Walking down the basement, I saw the renovated room and Jay working hard to build the closet with the rest of his contractor. "Hey Jay!" I greeted casually. "What''s the emergency?"


    Jay turned around while still holding the shelves, "You''re here. Quick, help me install the closet before Phil comes by."


    "What?" I was confused when Phil burst through the door, shouting, "Stop! I told you! We''re not using Pritchett Closets stuff!"


    "You don''t even pay me! At the very least, you could market my product in the video!" Jay argued.


    Phil shot back, trying to remove the closet, "I told you we''re going to discuss sponsorship deals first!"


    "We''re family!" Jay exclaimed, aggrieved. He turned to me and said, "Can you speak some sense to this guy? He thinks he''s such a big shot after he got 150,000 followers."


    "160 thousand!" Phil corrected him. "Wait, how did it increase so much?" I asked, intrigued by their argument.


    "The project got featured in the news this morning," Jay explained. "And a morning talk show!" Phil added excitedly.


    "Really?" I googled it instantly but couldn''t find anything, so I asked Robin to look it up for me. It turned out it was covered on several talk shows. Phil''s video had managed to break into the mainstream, which wasn''t surprising.


    An elderly talk show host watched Phil''s renovation video and commented, "See? That''s a good father. He listened to his daughter and built her a studio just for her to follow her dream. I''d marry a guy like that in a heartbeat."


    Another host added, "This is the most cost-effective renovation I''ve ever seen! Not to mention it''s very creative. I can''t wait to see the end result."


    As the renovation started, Phil introduced the episode, saying, "Welcome to another episode of basement renovation, where I use my real estate skills to build a fashion workshop for my teenage daughter who loves making dresses."


    It was a simple enough introduction for the short video, but as the series continued, many viewers recognized the good-hearted intention behind Phil''s renovation, and it was even mentioned on Ellen.


    Jay, initially skeptical about the entire project, finally changed his mind and wanted to promote his product through the channel.


    Just then, Haley walked down, barely paying attention to Phil and Jay''s argument. She focused solely on me. "You''re here! How is it? Did you check out the room yet? What do you think?"


    "I just got here. Why don''t you give me a tour?" I smiled softly at her.


    Haley smirked with excitement and grabbed my hand. "Okay! I''ll give you a tour." Turning to the bickering duo, she said, "Dad, Grandpa, Mom wants to see you upstairs. Also, Dad, I want Grandpa''s closet. He custom made it for me."


    Jay looked smug as he glanced at Phil. Phil sighed and said reluctantly, "Okay, honey. Whatever you want. I can get us a better deal, but it''s whatever you want, sweetheart!"


    Haley smiled obliviously, not grasping what Phil was saying. Jay guffawed loudly as he walked upstairs with Phil.


    "First of all, the studio." She linked her arms with mine and pulled me into the next room. The studio was already completed��a simple space with two half-body mannequins and a measurement table for cutting fabric.


    "Take off your shirt." She suddenly picked up a brownish waffle shirt from the table and turned toward me excitedly.


    "Okay." I slowly unbuttoned my shirt and took it off. Haley inhaled sharply as she gazed at my body and said hesitantly, "This...I might have made a mistake here. You don''t actually need a shirt."


    I grabbed the shirt from her hand and said, "Don''t be silly. I get cold like everyone else."


    As I put on the shirt, I suddenly felt my belly button chill. "Wait, is this a crop top?" I was shocked to see two of my abs visible as the shirt stopped halfway.


    "Wait. Did I measure it wrong? I tried to make a perfect fit." Haley pulled the shirt down, but in doing so, the stitches on the shoulder ripped. She widened her eyes in shock before laughing dryly.


    "This...is a failure," she muttered with a self-deprecating tone. "Maybe I don''t have what it takes!" she mumbled.


    "Don''t be silly. It''s great for a first try�C"


    "That''s my 10th." She interrupted me.


    "Um...It''s still great. You just need to learn more." I comforted her by patting her head softly. She looked up to me with her big eyes and said, "Really?"


    "Yeah. It''s great. When you finally have your own collection, I''ll model for you."


    Haley smiled slightly before she became determined, "I need to make more slutty shirts."


    "No�C Not that." I was startled for a bit.


    Haley grabbed my arm again and brought me to the bathroom, "Grandpa installed a shower here, so I don''t need to share it with anyone else. I chose that wallpaper myself. What do you think?"


    The bathroom has bronze pipes and a moody look, which was something Haley loved. Then, she showed me her bedroom, which was the room we were in before.


    "It''s still empty, but I think I can move in here before Christmas." She said excitedly. Then, she flirted, "When my new bed come, do you want to�C"


    Before she could finish, my phone rang. My dad was calling me at an unfortunate time. "Sorry, I have to take this." I said. Haley was dissatisfied but she didn''t say anything.


    While we were talking, the two other siblings, Alex and Luke, concocted a plan together and began acting it out upstairs where all the adults were in discussion.

 Chapter 312: Conan (1)

    Chapter 312: Chapter 312: Conan (1)


    [General POV]


    Three days before Christmas, the production crew at Entertain worked diligently to build an interview set for Edward''s talk show. The host, Conan O''Brien, wore a puzzled expression as he spoke with Pepper.


    "So, instead of a prepared question, I can ask him whatever I want?" Conan narrowed his eyes slightly, leaning forward in confusion.


    Pepper chuckled, replying, "Yeah. Ed said it''ll be fine. We can always edit out anything too personal, so you don''t have to worry about that."


    Conan smirked, "Yes! The billionaire''s support for the studio budget��something a public network will never have. Can we have caviar or a lobster menu instead of chicken wings?"


    Pepper responded casually, "Okay, I''ll get you some."


    "I was just joking." Conan''s astonishment turned into excitement.


    As Pepper set up the stage, taking suggestions from Conan, Edward sat in a small room with Taylor.


    Taylor paced back and forth behind the couch, shaking her hands nervously in a self-soothing manner. Edward flipped through a script, humming casually.


    Suddenly, Taylor snapped at him, her head whipping around almost 90 degrees. She winced in pain. "How are you so calm��Oww��... Bitch..."


    "Did you just call me a bitch?" Edward looked up, astonished.


    "Owww~" she whined, sitting beside him and massaging her neck while shooting him a glare.


    "We''re going public without adequate preparation! You''re fine with it, but I don''t have improv experience!" she scolded.


    Edward waved his hand dismissively. "It''s fine. You''re going to do great."


    "I don''t think any celebrity has done this!" she fretted. Edward placed the script down and beckoned her to sit closer.


    He began to massage her neck and shoulder, saying, "Actually, there have been a lot. You don''t remember because there''s not much to recall. Once they confirm it on air, people lose interest after they get their fair share of drama."


    Just then, Harvey entered the room without knocking. She paused, confused at the sight of Edward massaging Taylor.


    "What happened? Were you guys boxing in here? Do you need to file a lawsuit?" she teased.


    Edward scoffed. "She did this to herself. I had no part in it. Also, Harvey, we need to produce this, too."


    Harvey raised an eyebrow as she approached the couch. "Again? This is the tenth movie you''ve approved this week alone."


    Edward nodded slightly. "I can''t help it. They write great stuff."


    To become a scriptwriter in Hollywood, luck and connections are crucial. However, Edward expanded his search beyond the city, attracting talented writers who had never had the opportunity to showcase their work.


    Entertain needed its own content. The movies wouldn''t be produced all at once but over the span of six months.


    "Especially this one: Psychopath Diary. I love it." Edward grinned as he pointed to the script. The thick, 500 pages script on the table.


    "The witness to a murder scene runs off with the killer''s diary, and after getting hit by a car while trying to escape, he suffers from amnesia. When he wakes up, he mistakenly believes the diary is his. I love the internal struggle between the man he is and the man the diary makes him out to be," he added.


    Edward thought he had seen a similar show before, but he couldn''t recall the details.


    "If the story is that good, then why hasn''t any producer picked it up?" Taylor asked, her tone laced with sarcasm.


    "Because it already has an ending. The plot is too expansive for a movie but too contained to stretch out over multiple seasons," Edward replied casually.


    Stories like Chernobyl, Queen''s Bandit, which have a short amount of episodes, become a huge success in the future. Edward believed that he should never underestimate the consumer''s thirst for quality content�C which he aimed to make.


    Noticing Edward''s enthusiasm for the script, Harvey asked, "Ed, do you want to play this role?"


    "I mean, I do, but it would have to be filmed in London due to the gun control laws to make the story credible. If this were shot in America, it''d end within an episode," Edward chuckled, imagining the psychopath murderer being taken out with a gun bought at Walmart.


    "And honestly, I don''t have the time to commit to it in the next two years," he shrugged, masking behind his disappointment with a poker face. Suddenly, Edward turned to Harvey, "By the way, why are you here?"


    "Ah, I talked with some friends about the capital gain tax. Take a low interest loan. Since the revenue pays for the project and then some meaning you grow your assets and can take even bigger loans and debt isn''t taxable. That''s how rich people do it. Or you can pay a quarter billion dollars as capital gain tax."


    Flabbergasted, Edward turned to Harvey with disbelief, "Pay the quarter billion?-- Do you even know me? Use the LOOPHOLE! "


    "Got it." Harvey winked, pointing her finger at Edward snappily at the same time before she walked away.


    ...


    200 people were brought into the studio as the live audience for today''s shoot. Conan was already ready at his host''s table, greeting the audience before finally welcoming the guest.


    The camera started rolling as Conan began.


    "Welcome to a very special episode of ''Hot Ones,'' where the wings are hot, and the guests are even hotter!" Conan said with a playful grin. "As you can see, even though this is set up like a late-night show, there''s a bucket of chicken on the table in front of me, making it an eating show instead." He added with a sly side-eye. "A loophole!"


    The audience chuckled, aware of Conan''s recent ban on late-night shows after parting ways with NBC.


    The audience erupted in laughter, and Conan joined in trashing the network, "Look what you did, NBC!"


    Edward suddenly turned serious and looked at Conan, "Wait. Didn''t you sign a contract that prevents you from talking smack about the network?"


    "I''m not talking smack. I''m just asking them some sincere questions," Conan quickly deflected with a sly grin. He turned to Edward and added, "I''m impressed you even know about that."


    "Nosy is one of my prominent traits," Edward replied, prompting chuckles from some audience members.


    Conan seized the moment and said, "You have a lot of traits. One of them is heroic. Can we talk about what happened at that time now, or should we wait until the finale?"


    "Let''s test your luck. If you get a mild one, we''ll wait for the finale. If you''re going to suffer, then we can dive in now," Edward replied, subtly nudging Conan to eat the chicken first before asking his question.


    Conan groaned in dissatisfaction, staring into the bucket bowl. "Eghhh..." he scowled, prompting laughter from the audience. "You''re making me wish for torture while acting like it''s a sweet deal. You''re like the devil!" he remarked, eyeing Edward.


    Edward smiled innocently. "Of course, you can choose not to do it."


    "I''LL DO IT!" Conan declared, grabbing another wing. After taking a nibble, he smacked his lips a few times. "Oh, this one''s one of the milder ones. So we''ll wait for the finale."


    As he inhaled sharply from the spiciness, Conan asked, "In your Instagram feed, there are a lot of pictures of your cat. Are you only a cat lover?"


    Edward smirked. "That''s a really mild question. Yeah, I love cats. But I also adore all kinds of animals."


    He proceeded to share stories about his family dog on the ranch, as well as Ace, his panther. He recounted how he met Vader after fleeing from a paparazzi and discovering Vader rummaging through the trash for food.


    As the audience got a glimpse into Edward''s personal life and saw how genuine he was being, their admiration for him grew.


    The next question was also mild, where Edward talked to Conan about his VMA award. Conan expressed regret for not inviting Edward to his show, but he defended himself by saying he didn''t think Edward would come. They acted out what could have been, leaving the audience feeling a bit melancholic.


    While the interview continued, executives from TBS suddenly approached the company with an offer. Renaldo whispered to Pepper hurriedly, "TBS wants to buy the rights to broadcast this interview."


    "For how much?" Pepper asked, intrigued.


    "Twenty million dollars," Renaldo replied, his voice slightly shaky, clearly surprised by the high offer. Pepper smirked and muttered, "Eddy really understands this industry. He played them like a fiddle."


    Among the audience, a few industry ''plants'' from major cable networks were present, eager to see how the interview would unfold. However, witnessing the audience''s reaction and experiencing the fun of the interview firsthand convinced them that the money would be well spent.


    With Edward''s exclusive interview drawing immense interest, several major cable networks were vying for the rights to broadcast it. TBS, Comedy Central, MTV, VH1, E!, CNN, FX, and A&E all recognized the potential for high viewership and buzz.


    What started as a million-dollar offer quickly snowballed to twenty million, the maximum a cable network would pay for this kind of interview in 2009. It was an ''insider'' story about what really happened at that time and why his house was targeted by a missile��how he escaped death itself.


    Not only that, but many producers were also interested in securing the rights to his story for potential movie adaptations.


    "Although there''s this big story we''re all dying to know about, there''s something else too," Conan slowly led into the question. "In the first and second weeks of November, you and your friend Taylor S. both released singles, and the lyrics matched up with each other."


    The audience was intrigued as they remembered that, and the interest from the cable TV representatives grew more and more.


    "But neither of you spoke up about it. Usually, people talk, but you guys have kept mum. What happened there?" Conan pressed on. "And remember, you promised to be honest."


    Edward pretended to be a little helpless and uncomfortable. As he adjusted his seating, he let out a beleaguered sigh and told Conan, "That''s actually quite a sad story."


    The crowd exclaimed, "Uuuuu," as they highly anticipated the answer.


    "I wanted to sympathize, but right now, I feel like I can hear my own brain waves moving around." Conan said, with a reddish face as he got another extremely hot chicken wing. "I cannot drink the milk, but can I just dip my tongue in cold water?"


    "Yeah, I can excuse that." Edward said. A staff member quickly ran into the set, placing a tall glass of water on Conan''s table. Conan dipped his tongue in that water and glanced at Edward, "Continue."


    The audience laughed and Edward advised Conan, "Why don''t you keep an ice cube inside your mouth."


    "You''re trying to trick me. Once I drink that melted ice, you''ll nullify the question. I can see through your trick, you sadist." Conan accused him. Edward smirked and said, "I said milk. Not water."


    "WAIT! DAMN IT!" Conan exclaimed as he quickly downed a glass of water, glaring at Edward in frustration. "I could''ve done that from the start!" He finished the entire glass in one go.


    Edward chuckled and replied, "It''s not my fault you didn''t think of it."


    "God! Why am I being punished like this?" Conan lamented, before turning to the camera again. "Why''d you do that, NBC?"


    Edward joined in, "Why''d you make him suffer, NBC?"


    The two exchanged amused glances and chuckled together. Conan said, "Are you trying to avoid answering the question?"


    "I''ll answer it, I''ll answer it. Jeez," Edward groaned.


    "But before I do, I''d like to ask for a lifeline," Edward said, eliciting laughter from the audience. To their surprise, he suddenly turned to the side and called out, "Taylor, do you want to come out here so we can talk about this together?"


    Moments later, Taylor S. stepped onto the stage, her presence instantly lighting up the room. The crowd gasped and applauded enthusiastically. Wearing a simple yellow dress and with her blonde hair curled into locks, Taylor waved to everyone before sitting next to Edward.


    Conan pretended to be surprised as well, shouting, "What?!" multiple times, exaggerating his shock as if his mind had been blown.


    Renaldo whispered to Pepper again, "They offered 25 million now."


    "If they knew what''ll happen later, I wonder if they would still offer the same amount." Pepper waved his paper fan and laughed deviously.

 Chapter 313: Conan (2)

    Chapter 313: Chapter 313: Conan (2)


    [General POV]


    "But before I do, I''d like to ask for a lifeline," Edward said, prompting laughter from the audience. To their surprise, he turned to the side and called out, "Taylor, do you want to come out here so we can talk about this together?"


    The audience fell silent, holding their breath as they looked in the direction Edward was facing. Some were skeptical, thinking he was just acting out another skit, but their eyes widened as they spotted a streak of blonde hair moving toward the stage.


    Moments later, Taylor stepped onto the stage, instantly lighting up the room. The crowd gasped and applauded enthusiastically. Dressed in a simple yellow dress with her blonde hair curled into locks, Taylor waved to everyone and walked to Conan and Edward, both who were standing as they welcomed her to the stage.


    Conan feigned surprise, shouting, "What?!" several times. In the audience, Annie dropped her jaw at the sight of Taylor, and her eyes became dazed.


    The daring scene made the fans want to snap some pictures, however, as there was a no phone ban inside the studio, they squirmed restlessly in their seats, with a lot of them having extreme reactions�C silently.


    "Oh my god, what''s happening?" Lily, Edward''s fan club president, asked anxiously. "Are they going to announce they''ve broken up publicly?" She mumbled, saddened by the sinking relationship.


    As Conan reacted, he said, "This is not... what I had in mind when I asked the question. Wings?" He offered the bucket of chicken to Taylor, and she instinctively reached for it. "Oh��okay��"


    Before she could grab it, Edward stopped her with a look of disbelief on his face. "Don''t take that."


    "AH!" Taylor exclaimed in realization, drawing laughter from the audience. She narrowed her eyes and scolded Conan, "You tried to pull me into your suffering!"


    "A drowned man will always pull someone down with them," Conan replied dramatically, followed by an evil laugh. "Muahahaha!" He then abruptly stopped and greeted Taylor politely. "Also, this is our first time meeting each other. Nice to meet you."


    "Nice to meet you too," Taylor responded politely.


    "Please, have a seat," Conan said, resuming the interview as the audience quieted down.


    "I guess we should get right into it. So, the big question is: Are the songs you both released in early December��''Hate U Love U'' by Taylor and ''Daylight'' by Edward�� have anything to do with one another?" He asked.


    The audience held their breath as they waited for the answer. Taylor and Edward glanced at each other before Edward told her, "Go ahead. You started the whole thing."


    Taylor turned to Conan and finally answered, "Yeah. It has something to do with us."


    The audience gasped and exclaimed in amazement and shock as they heard the confirmation. Many theories were floating around online, however, hearing it from the parties involved made it all official.


    Conan widened his eyes slightly before he leaned in closer to Edward and whispered to the duo, "Are you guys sure you can talk about this?"


    Edward shrugged and said casually, "We are going to talk about it when the whole project is finished, however, we don''t think we''re going to have a chance to do that anymore."


    "Project? What project?" Conan asked, pretending to be confused.


    Conan leaned forward, a playful glint in his eye. "Before we get into that, shouldn''t you eat another chicken wing?"


    The audience erupted in laughter, sensing the playful tension.


    "OH COME ON!" Conan exclaimed, slamming both hands on the table, causing the crowd to roar with laughter. "This still pertains to the question! It doesn''t count!" He whined dramatically, feigning exasperation.


    Edward chuckled, glancing at Taylor. "Should we give him a chance?"


    Taylor smirked mischievously. "We should. There''s a lot to unpack here."


    The audiences laughed, and Conan finally felt relieved. He leaned back, crossing his arms. "Alright, start from the beginning. So we can ALL be clear about this."


    Edward nodded, his tone shifting to serious. "It all starts with the release of ''Tenerife Sea.'' During that time, we hinted at a collaboration between the two of us at the end of the year."


    Taylor continued seamlessly, her enthusiasm infectious. "We wanted to do something special for the fans. But, well, circumstances got in the way. Mostly because of Edward."


    She shot him a playful glare, and the audience chuckled knowingly.


    "What did he do?" Conan asked, leaning in with a gossipy grin, prompting more laughter from the crowd.


    Taylor smiled, clearly enjoying the moment. "First of all, we planned to release six songs��one per week��until the end of the year. We challenged each other on songwriting, creating songs with the same theme."


    The audience gasped in unison, intrigued by the planning. Lily, who has been speculating that the song was part of their collaboration, felt that she had hit the mark and celebrated silently, "I knew it!"


    "Let me guess, the first theme is Love and Hate?" Conan speculated, raising an eyebrow.


    "Exactly!" Taylor confirmed, nodding enthusiastically. "Both ''Daylight'' and ''Hate U'' mirror each other."


    Edward added, chuckling, "Taylor called it a challenge, but it''s actually a bet. "


    Taylor looked startled. "No! It''s not a bet!"


    "It is a bet. A songwriting bet. We were arguing to see who''s the better writer between the two of us, and it just happened. " Edward insisted, grinning.


    "We checked the streams, and if Taylor lost, she''d dye her hair blue and wear cat ears."


    Laughter erupted from the audience, and Taylor rolled her eyes playfully. "If Edward loses, he''ll shave his head bald."


    The crowd roared with laughter, enjoying the backstory. Those close to the duo knew they were being untruthful, so did some of the fans as they saw the startled expression of Taylor, acting as if she had just heard the story at the same time as them.


    Just throwing out the fact that Edward and Taylor weren''t together might divide the fans. They felt that it''s not worth the risk considering the fact that both of them were still ''newbies'' in the industry. Right now, they might be incredibly famous, but fame is momentary. They had to plan for the future too.


    "So, who wins?" Conan asked, leaning back with an evil grin. "On a side note, I always carry blue dye and a shaver with me."


    Edward laughed, shaking his head. "Neither of us won because someone can''t go a week without stirring up controversy." His tone was laced with sarcasm.


    Edward turned to the audience again and said, "So, we''re thinking... maybe we can''t release all of them as we has missed the timing and ruin the project, but how about we perform the last two songs here in the studio��"


    Before he could finish his thought, the crowd erupted into a deafening roar of approval, cheers and applause filling the air as everyone enthusiastically agreed with his suggestion.


    Conan smiled in satisfaction and turned to the crowd, "After the break, Taylor and Edward are going to perform the last two songs live right here in the studio!"


    The filming stopped even though the camera was still rolling. Edward and Taylor talked with Conan for a while before both of them went to prepare for the show.


    ...


    Beside the talk show set, there was a stage which was split into two sections. Taylor stood on the left side of the stage underneath the spotlight, while Edward''s stage was still darkened.


    "The song is called, Back to December." Taylor announced. Holding a guitar in her hand, she strummed the melody to the song as she stood in front of a microphone.


    Even though Edward claimed that the entire songs were made up, Taylor didn''t act like that. She sang, full of sincerity.


    "?? I''m so glad you made time to see me. How''s life? Tell me, how''s your family? I haven''t seen them in a while??" The crowd became silent as they enjoyed the song.


    Taylor glanced upward, thinking about her memory with Edward. "??You''ve been good, busier than ever. We small talk, work and the?weather. Your?guard?is up and?I know why ??"


    Closing her eyes, she sang, "??Because?the last time you saw me...Is still burned in the back of your mind...??" . In the darkened stage, Edward gazed at her intently as he watched her performance.


    "??You gave me roses and I left them there to die??" Taylor turned her head to the next stage slightly, as if telling it to Edward. Lily, the fanclub president caught it, and so did the camera.


    As the cameraman moved behind Taylor, recording the performance facing the audiences, Taylor sang the chorus, "??So, this is me swallowing my pride. Standin'' in front of you sayin'', "I''m sorry for that night"??"


    "??And I go back to December all the time??"


    "??It turns out freedom ain''t nothing but missin'' you wishin'' I''d realized what I had when you were mine??"


    "??I go back to December, turn around and make it alright...I go back to December all the time??"


    Edward chuckled slightly, thinking about his advice to Taylor, prompting her to change the song name from September to December.


    The crowd began to enjoy the song immensely, however, they were directed not to make loud noises during the performances.


    "??These days, I haven''t been sleeping. Stayin'' up, playing back myself leavin''. When holidays passed and I didn''t call ??"


    "?? Then I think about summer, all the beautiful times. I watched you laughin'' from the passenger side. And realized I loved you in the fall ??"


    "?? And then the cold came, the dark days When fear crept into my mind??"


    "?? You gave me all your love and all I gave you was goodbye. ??"


    As the chorus began, the background singer also joined in to provide some harmony.


    "??So, this is me swallowing my pride. Standin'' in front of you, sayin'', "I''m sorry for that night!!" ??"


    "??And I go back to December all the time?? It turns out freedom ain''t nothing but missin'' you. Wishin'' I''d realized what I had when you were mine??"


    "??I go back to December, turn around and change my own mind. I go back to December all the time??"


    ''My personal song was made for him, but I can''t even claim that. I''m so pathetic.'' Taylor thought sadly. She felt her breath choke, but she quickly suppressed her emotions as she continued to sing.


    "??I miss your tanned skin, your sweet smile??"


    "?? So good to me, so right??"


    "??And how you held me in your arms that September night. The first time you ever saw me cry??"


    The memory of the breakup they had after the VMAs flashed in her mind.


    ''Maybe, if I didn''t act so childishly back then...We might have had more time together.'' Taylor glanced at Edward again before she turned to the audience.


    "??Maybe this is wishful thinkin''. Probably mindless dreaming. But if we loved again, I swear I''d love you right ??"


    "?? I''d go back in time and change it, but I can''t. So, if the chain is on your door, I understand??"


    Even though she understood that they couldn''t be together anymore, a part of her still wanted to hold out hope.


    "??But this is me swallowing my pride


    Standin'' in front of you, sayin'', "I''m sorry for that night"??"


    "?? And I go back to December??


    "??It turns out freedom ain''t nothing but missin'' you


    Wishin'' I''d realized what I had when you were mine ??"


    "??I go back to December, turn around and make it alright...I go back to December, turn around and change my own mind... I go back to December all the time??"


    "??All the time??" Taylor stopped strumming and closed her eyes.


    The crowd applauded and cheered supportively after she finished her song. Taylor smiled and waved at them in gratitude as her stage light slowly dimmed. As the stage darkened, a single teardrop fell from her eyes.


    The other side of the stage brightened, revealing Edward sitting in front of a piano.

 Chapter 314: Conan (3)

    Chapter 314: Chapter 314: Conan (3)


    [General POV]


    The crowd went silent again after seeing Edward underneath the spotlight. Wearing sunglasses, Edward''s finger pressed gently on the piano keys.


    "The song is called, ''When I was your man''" Edward whispered seductively at the microphone as he turned his head to the crowd.


    [Bruno Mars�C When I was your man]


    "??Same bed, but it feels just a little bit bigger now??" He crooned, which made a lot of the female fans swoon. Taylor, who was feeling a bit sad before, immediately became absorbed in the music as it was the first time for her to listen to it too.


    "??Our song on the radio, but it don''t sound the same??"


    Taylor flinched slightly as she heard the verse. ''Didn''t he say he''s going to make it up?'' She thought by herself, her heart beats quicker.


    As Edward sang, he glanced at the audience slightly before looking straight forward. "??When our friends talk about you, all it does is just tear me down!! Cause my heart breaks a little when I hear your name??"


    The spotlight shone on the background singer, revealing their presence on the stage. Conan become mesmerized by the narrative Edward had created and mumbled, "NBC really fucked up considering Edward has a bad impression of them now."


    "??It all just sounds like (Ooh, ooh)...Mm, too young, too dumb to realize!! ??" Edward''s powerful voice transported the audience. His [Soul Voice] resonated, and it made some of the fans become dazed.


    "??That I should''ve bought you flowers... And held your hand... Shoulda gave you all my hours...When I had the chance??"


    Taylor looked affectionately at Edward, however, her immersion would soon be ruined by the next verse.


    "??Take you to every party, ''Cause all you wanted to do was dance... Now my baby''s dancin''...But she''s dancin'' with another man??"


    "As if!" Taylor retorted by her lonesome. Taylor knew that she had never danced with someone else.


    As the piano melody continued, Edward glanced at Taylor slightly with a smirk on his face, knowing that she''d be pissed off by the lyric. However, he aimed to make her mood change again.


    "??Uh, my pride, my ego, my needs, and my selfish ways... Caused a good, strong woman like you to walk out my life??"


    "That''s better." Taylor exclaimed to herself.


    "??Now I''ll never, never get to clean up the mess I made, oh...And that haunts me every time I close my eyes??" Edward''s bellow made the crowd let out a small gasp.


    "??It all just sounds like (Ooh, ooh)...Mm, too young, too dumb to realize!!??"


    The way Edward played with his vocals made the crowd extremely impressed. If Taylor''s performance was considered great, Edward''s performance was phenomenal.


    Edward dropped his head slightly as he sang, "??That I should''ve bought you flowers...And held your hand... Shoulda gave you all my hours... When I had the chance??"


    "??Take you to every party... ''Cause all you wanted to do was dance...Now my baby''s dancin''... But she''s dancin'' with another man??"


    He pressed the piano keys passionately as he raised his head and bellowed, "??Although it hurts!!!! I''ll be the first to say that�C I was WROooOOOooOOOng!??"


    "Wow." Annie, who has her first experience watching Edward performing live today, felt breathless as she looked at him.


    "??Oh, I know I''m probably much too late... To try and apologize for my mistakes... But I just want you to knOOOWWW- OH! ??"


    The melody slowed down as Edward continued. The spotlight turned on at Taylor''s stage, revealing her lone figure standing there. The crowd had to cover their mouths to prevent themselves from screaming.


    Taylor wasn''t surprised with the sudden exposure as Edward had told her about it before. She gazed at Edward, and he too, looked intently at her.


    "??I hope he buys you flowers... I hope he holds your hand... Give you all his hours


    When he has the chance??


    ??Take you to every party... ''Cause I remember how much you love to dance??"


    Taylor walked towards Edward''s stage, and the two headlights slowly merged into one.


    "??Do all the things I should''ve done...When I was your man??"


    "??Do all the things I should''ve done...When I was your man??"


    Edward grabbed Taylor''s hand and kissed the back of it. The crowd erupted thunderously as he finished the performance.


    Taylor pretended to smile as people applauded her. She whispered to Edward, "Huh-humm, what''s with the dancing part? I''m going to beat you up."


    "Just a hook for the song. Don''t think too much about it," Edward replied casually.


    She faked a laugh and said, "I''m going to beat you up twice now."


    Edward turned toward her and asked, "You want to stay after your part is done?"


    "No. I''ll just watch from backstage," Taylor replied casually. Both of them returned to the talk show together and sat in front of Conan again.


    Conan did his crowd work first to ensure a smooth transition between the performance and the talk show. "Welcome back! What an incredible performance from Taylor and Edward! Let''s give them another round of applause!"


    The crowd cheered joyfully, finally releasing their pent-up excitement after being kept quiet during the performance.


    Conan turned to Edward and Taylor. "So, the songs are the last ones from your project, right? What''s going to happen to the ones you didn''t perform?"


    Edward widened his eyes in realization and said, "Oh, I''m going to include those in my next album."


    "Oww!" Conan exclaimed in disappointment before turning to Taylor. "What about you?"


    "I''ll do the same thing," Taylor replied with a chuckle. The audience reacted with disappointment before laughing again.


    Conan rubbed his sore forehead, disbelief evident. "Wait... they infiltrated your house before?"


    "Kinda. But it''s just a game between me and the feds. If I didn''t catch the spies, they''d put 24/7 security details around me. Since I caught them, they just watch me from afar now."


    "Wha��Huh..." Conan shook his head in confusion. "You have this whole international spy, infiltration mission, secret identity kind of life on the side while also being a singer? You know what? Before they make a movie about the missile, we need to make a movie about your spy games first."


    Edward shrugged and replied, "I don''t care. All I want is for them to pay me back for breaking my glass wall back then. The second time they came, I lost a house."


    "So these two people are responsible for it all?" Conan asked. "Are they the ones who made your house blow to smithereens?"


    "I don''t think so," Edward replied. "They just came by because of a medical emergency. The injured guy was dying. I checked up on him yesterday, and he''s still on bedrest. At that time, they couldn''t go to the hospital, so they had to trust me."


    Edward pointed at the screen when he mentioned Casey. Conan was elated and asked, "So what did you do after they came by?"


    "People thought that I alone fought off the terrorists, but actually, a lot of people were involved. Not just me," Edward said as he resumed the video. "My dad cleaned up the blood on the floor. I helped the female agent perform surgery on the dying guy. My close friend Selena and my cousin Maggie disposed of the bloodied couch by throwing it into the ocean."


    Edward showed footage of Selena and Maggie giggling as they watched the cushion dropped onto the sea. Conan was flabbergasted and said, "Wait. I know her. She''s the girl from Disney."


    "Yeah. Selena''s a singer. She''s also a good actress. My cousin too I guess." Edward said. Maggie got pissed when she saw it. "You guess?!" She mumbled angrily.


    Edward shared a lot of things about the incident. How the girls were trapped too, and how a Colombian step-grandmother helped to distract the agents together with Miss Daddario.


    He continued till the part where 8 armed men entered the house, clutching their guns. During this time, the value of the interview had jumped to over 40 million dollars from a bid by TBS as they desperately wanted the exclusive.


    Conan continued interviewing Edward, "They already have the place surrounded. How did you guys escape? Did you jump into the ocean? Please tell me you jumped into the ocean."


    "Actually, I escaped using a slap." Edward said with a grin. "You slapped them all?" Conan widened his eyes.


    "No, I got slapped." Edward said, which elicited some forcefully held back laughter from the audience.


    "Wait what?"


    "Yeah-yeah. I got slapped by Taylor." Edward skipped the video forward until it reached the part where Taylor slapped him. He replayed the slap a few times which surprised the audience.


    "Why did she slap you? It seems...quite deserved, but why?" Conan asked in a teasing manner. "Should we use the lifeline again?" He added.


    "There''s no need. The slap is quite deserved, as I planned it to be," Edward said casually. He then explained, "When the terrorists came, they acted like federal agents, so I just played it cool. They warned me about helping the two real federal agents, saying they had gone rogue and were highly dangerous."


    Everyone held their breath as Edward recounted the events of that day. "I pretended not to care and told them that even if the rogue agents showed up, I wouldn''t risk it because I had something better to do."


    "And what was that?" Conan asked, intrigued.


    "Breeding," Edward replied nonchalantly, prompting gasps from the audience and confused looks from some. "What?" Conan did a double take, unable to believe his ears.


    Edward laughed out loud. "I pretended to be a horny teen. I told them that statistically, after a terror attack, people seek reassurance and affirmation of life, so they tend to hook up. I had a lot of beauties in my house, so I didn''t want to help."


    "Why would you say that? And why admit it? That''ll just make the girls mad," Conan pointed out, confused.


    Edward chuckled slightly. "That was the aim. Even if I whispered it to the guy, I made sure it was loud enough for the girls to hear. That way, they had an excuse to get out of there without raising suspicion."


    The crowd admired Edward''s openness about the tragedy. He skipped over the part where he knocked over two agents, but people still caught glimpses of the fighting inside the house.


    "So, everyone was gone, and you even sang a song. Why did your house still get attacked?" Conan asked.


    "To be honest, I didn''t really know at the time," Edward replied, shaking his head slightly.


    "So you know about it now?" Conan prodded.


    "Yeah, that bitc�� Sorry," Edward quickly apologized after almost cursing. Conan immediately defended him, "Why are you apologizing? Your house is gone! You can get worked up and curse the one sending the missile. No one will blame you for it."


    Edward laughed a bit before saying, "Alright then. That bitch, Skip Tyler. He''s the one responsible for the attack on my house. He''s one of the reported casualties inside the White House, if you remember."


    "Yeah, the hacker. Why was he targeting you?" Conan asked.


    "I''m sure Apple and Microsoft will remember him. He used to cause a lot of trouble for them," Edward continued. "He loves to infiltrate company systems and create chaos. But he couldn''t get past my defenses, so I guess he threw the missile at my house as part of his tantrum."


    "Is that a brag? Are you bragging?" Conan asked incredulously.


    Edward smirked. "It''s not really bragging if it''s the truth. Also, my aim isn''t bragging; it''s just to make some money."


    Conan was a bit frazzled but kept his composure. "You want to make some money from this interview?"


    Edward nodded. "Yeah. My house is gone, and now the insurance company keeps postponing my payout, so I can''t buy a new house. I''ve been sleeping in hotels and crashing at friends'' places. The media keeps trashing my name. Overall, December is not a very good month for me."


    Conan leaned back in his chair, looking at Edward with a mix of admiration and sympathy. "You know what. I feel really bad for you now."


    "I feel bad for myself too." Edward laughed at his own misery.


    ...


    As the interview ended, TBS cable network representatives quickly sent a contract to get the rights for the show, and they paid Entertain 45 million dollars for it.


    Although it sounds impressive, it still wasn''t the highest bid in history. For example, Oprah Winfrey''s interviews or those related to major scandals have fetched high prices, sometimes exceeding $50 million.


    Edward knew that he could get people to bid more, however, TBS made another offer. They wanted to set up a talk show for Conan.


    Edward told Conan about it and asked for his opinion even though Conan has no deciding power for what to use the interview for. He only asked Conan because he respected him.


    In less than 3 hours after the interview ended, the whole thing was broadcasted to the TBS cable network.

 Chapter 315: Conan (Final)

    Chapter 315: Chapter 315: Conan (Final)


    (I''m taking a break this week. I''m working on an important arc, and since it''s the holidays anyway, I decided to take some time off. I''ll see you guys back next Monday.)


    [General POV]


    {Edward nodded. "Yeah. My house is gone, and now the insurance company keeps postponing my payout, so I can''t buy a new house. I''ve been sleeping in hotels and crashing at friends'' places. The media keeps trashing my name. Overall, December is not a very good month for me."


    Conan leaned back in his chair, looking at Edward with a mix of admiration and sympathy. "You know what? I feel really bad for you now."


    "I feel bad for myself too," Edward laughed at his own misery.}


    TBS broadcasted the interview immediately after they won the bid. Without any promotional efforts, Edward didn''t think the interview would be a success; however, he was wrong.


    "I guess we were so focused on the cool things he did that we ignored what he had to go through," Leonard commented as he watched the interview with his friends and Penny.


    Sheldon added, "I heard from Amy that he helped someone cure their degenerative brain maledictment. She''s bound by her NDA from telling me the details, but he funded the research using his own money and never took any credit for it."


    Penny looked at Sheldon in confusion and asked, "Why are you speaking so highly of him? Didn''t you think of him as a rival?"


    Howard interrupted, answering the question for Sheldon, "He did. But when Sheldon realized how similar Edward''s life is to that of a real superhero, he became his little fan instead."


    "Hey! I resent that! I''m not his little fan. I just don''t hate him as much as I did," Sheldon protested while his friends laughed at him before they continued watching the interview on TV.


    {Conan asked, "Don''t you feel scared when the whole thing goes down? I mean, I would freeze and wouldn''t even know what to do until it''s all over. You stepped up to help when you could have just turned them away and enjoyed the evening with the ladies. Why did you decide to take them in?"


    The viewers and the studio audience were curious about this. Many wondered why Edward put himself at risk; he could''ve just walked away from it all.


    Edward thought for a moment before replying, "I guess... it''s because they need help? I didn''t think much about it at the time."


    The audience exclaimed in amazement. Conan asked, "You weren''t scared?"


    "I was scared. I was scared shitless at that time," he added with a distressed expression and a forced smile. "I had my close friends inside the house, and they could be implicated too. I could have jumped into the ocean as a last resort, but Taylor doesn''t know how to swim..."


    The crowd chuckled at his remark. Edward turned to the audience, laughing, "I''m just kidding. She does know how to swim."}


    "The person who helps others simply because it should or must be done, and because it is the right thing to do, is indeed, without a doubt, a real superhero," Sheldon suddenly said.


    Leonard turned to him and asked, "Where is that from? I think I''ve heard it before."


    Sheldon replied, "Stan Lee."


    Penny looked at the screen in amazement and said, "So he''s like someone who escaped from a comic book."


    "Based on what he''s done, it could be," Sheldon agreed with Penny.


    {Conan asked, "Luckily, everything turned out well. I don''t recommend that you or any of the viewers try to do what he did, but at the same time, it''s really amazing what you have done."


    The crowd applauded and cheered for Edward, supporting and admiring him. The applause went on for quite a while, almost five minutes, but Edward cut it out of the final interview and made it time for a commercial instead.


    Conan changed the topic after a while, "So, you''re thinking about buying a new house. Why is it taking so long?"


    "I still want to live by the beach. I love watching the ocean," Edward replied, slightly adjusting his seating.


    Conan smirked and said, "It''s because you grew up around ships, isn''t it?"


    "Kinda," Edward agreed, which made the audience chuckle a bit. "I''m used to watching the sea whenever I wake up in my seaside villa. I wanted to be able to do that in my new home. However, I don''t think I can do that anymore."


    "Why not? Is it too expensive? That''s impossible for you," Conan teased slightly. As the audience laughed, Edward replied, also laughing, "Not that. I''ve already looked at several places, but when the people there find out it''s me, they get scared and beg me not to move in."


    The audience furrowed their brows, expressing frustration on Edward''s behalf.


    "Why not? Why don''t they want you there?" Conan asked again, his eyes filled with confusion and slight irritation for the people who treated Edward that way.


    "Don''t get mad. I''m fine with it. I''m not mad," Edward reassured Conan.


    "NO! I want to get mad!" Conan exclaimed exaggeratedly, which shifted the audience''s mood. "You''re not my therapist. You can''t tell me what to feel," he added playfully. Then he asked again, "Why didn''t they want you to move near them?"


    "It''s not that hard to figure out. They''re scared another missile will hit, and the property values around the area will go down. Some of my neighbors in the seaside villa area even planned to sue me to make up for their losses, so I guess��"


    Conan interrupted, "They wanted to sue you!?"


    "That''s not important; they dropped it after finding out there was no basis for their lawsuit," Edward said dismissively. He then added, "For my next home, I guess I''ll have to find something in the mountains, you know, somewhere I can be isolated."


    The crowd reacted to Edward''s experience and his saddened expression when he mentioned the isolation. Some expressed anger, while others showed deep sadness for him.


    Edward noticed and turned to the audience, "Don''t worry, it''ll be fine. Despite not being able to live by the beach anymore, I can trade it for Batman''s house, so it''s a fair trade."


    The audience chuckled at Edward''s words. Conan nodded slightly and asked, "You found Batman''s house?"


    "No, so far, I only found some land," Edward replied with excitement. "I''m going on a world tour for two years, so I''m not in a rush to find a new place. I decided to build one for myself."


    "I wouldn''t be surprised if, in two years, he actually builds a Batman house," Jay muttered after watching the interview.


    Phil commented, "With the Batcave underneath it."


    Luke added, "With the Batmobile parked in it."


    The interview ended after Edward discussed his world tour with Conan.


    {Conan asked, "You mentioned the world tour. What kind of world tour takes two years? No one has actually done that before."


    "Oh, it''s not a work-only world tour per se. It''s more of my dad and me touring the world over two years," Edward clarified with a smile.


    However, acquiring an entire hill would require a lot of work and paperwork. Harvey needed to find the current owner of that hill as it wasn''t owned by the city.


    The landscape was filled with natural vegetation and wildlife, making it a beautiful yet challenging site for development. Even if I started building the house immediately, it would take at least three years for the place to be livable.


    Now was the best time for me to snatch up some property. After the 2008 economic market crash, the housing market hasn''t recovered fully yet. I even bought some plots of land in the inner city that were sold for cheap. I planned to build some libraries or a basketball court there.


    "You''re a weird dude." Taylor looked at me with disbelief. "Buy sports cars! Be normal. Don''t buy properties like an old guy!"


    "Even I don''t snatch up properties like you do." Pepper grimaced. I shrugged and joked, "Well you should. I''m going to buy a lot of places all over the country, make the college kids who''re learning tradework fix it for me for credit score, and then flip it for money without offering them any profits."


    "You''re diabolical." Conan, who just entered the room, scolded me playfully. We talked for hours inside the room, and I even brought out the last bottle of Euphoria with me.


    "I really need my lab back." I muttered with a depressed look on my face as I watched the last drop of Euphoria disappear from Conan''s glass.


    ...


    It''s finally Christmas eve, and I was running around buying last minute presents for my friends. My family from Wisconsin had come to California to spend Christmas with me, although they stayed in a rented house by the beach rather than staying at my place.


    Amy and Maggie helped me to decorate my house and the Christmas tree while I watched TV on my laptop.


    "Why isn''t he helping?" Amy whined as she complained to my grandmother.


    "Honey, Edward is working." Grandma Jules explained.


    "He''s watching SouthPark!" Maggie exposed while pointing her finger at me.


    "They are making a special episode with me." I argued back. "Of course I''m going to watch it."


    SouthPark made an episode based on the terror attack which was initiated by Cartman. He found a secret missile base and attacked my house just for shit and giggled.


    Then, I began hunting him in his city, turning all of his friends against him one by one. Cartman made amends with me by whooping ''Whoopi'' on her ass, which was hilarious.


    I voiced the character myself, which earned me a lot of respect from the audience of the show as I was okay with making fun of myself. Family Guy also has planned a special episode with me, but it will air after Christmas.


    After I finished watching it, I picked up the gifts I had wrapped and walked towards the Dunphy''s house. The door was unlocked, and it was open slightly ajar, so I just walked in.


    However, when I entered the house, I saw the three kids sitting on the couch and the parents were scolding them, standing beside the Christmas Tree.


    "This is unacceptable,and I want to know who did this." Claire scolded, crossing her arms together. Haley stared at her parents rebelliously while Alex looked distressed.


    "Nobody, huh? I guess the couch did it to itself. It came home after a tough day, lit up


    a cigarette and then burnt itself. Is that what happened?Because that makes no sense." Phil scolded.


    "If whoever''s responsible doesn''t come forward, we''ll punish all three of you." Claire gave an ultimatum.


    "What?" Haley exclaimed. "That''s not fair." Luke retorted with a sad face.


    Phil smiled as he saw he was in the children''s head, "I can forgive the smoking,but I can''t forgive the lie..." As he was stared at by Claire, he quickly fixed his wording, "or the smoking."


    "No one wants to confess?" Claire stared at her children and asked with a slightly shaky voice.


    Phil got irritated and said, "That''s fine, because you know what happens next? We cancel Christmas."


    "That''s not fair." Luke exclaimed immediately.


    "Okay, Dad, sure." Haley said, thinking that there was no way it would happen.


    Claire looked at Phil with a slight concern, her eyes shook as she thought about the implication.


    [Phil and Claire''s commentary]


    Claire said, holding Phil''s hand, "Phil has a habit of making big pronouncements to the kids."


    Phil chuckled and said, "One time, I told Luke that if he didn''t put his dirty dishes in the dishwasher, we would put them in his bed."


    Claire sighed, "Phil''s problem is...follow-through."


    When this happened, all of the dirty dishes were placed in Luke''s bed, which meant that the family had no more plates to use.


    Phil sighed, "We had no more dishes, so we were eating cereal out of the goldfish bowl."


    [Commentary ends]


    "Okay, guess where I''m headed. To take down the tree." Phil walked beside the decorated Christmas tree, " Right, this is your last chance."


    "Come on, guys. Whoever it is, just take responsibility. Don''t put the rest of us through this." Claire stammered. As a parent, it was important for them to stay on the same side. That''s why she''s supporting Phil even though she felt that he was being excessive.


    Phil looked at his children, his eyes shook slightly, "This is really it." He waited, but no one fessed up. "Here we go.Three... two... one...Goodbye, Dunphy Christmas." His voice broke a bit as he began to dismantle the tree.


    "Haley, I guess you''re not getting that car." Phil told his eldest daughter


    "I was getting a car?!" Haley exclaimed unfairly.


    "No, I was lying, because that''s what we do now. Dunphys are liars." Phil said as he dragged the tree out of the living room. "Oh Hi Ed." He walked past me casually as he took the tree outside of the door.


    "Hi Phil." I greeted casually.


    "Ed. When did you get here?" Claire widened her eyes slightly, embarrassed by thinking that she had made a spectacle in front of me.


    "Just now. The door''s open so I just walked in to drop off the gifts." I replied, "But then I heard Christmas is cancelled over here at this house. Should I bring these back?"

 Chapter 316: Undeck the hall.

    Chapter 316: Chapter 316: Undeck the hall.


    (I''m back.)


    [Edward POV]


    "Ed, when did you get here?" Claire widened her eyes slightly, embarrassed at the thought that she might have made a spectacle of herself in front of me.


    "Just now. The door was open, so I walked in to drop off the gifts." I replied, pulling my red wagon filled with numerous presents, while carrying another wrapped painting in my left hand. "It wouldn''t be Christmas without gifts to show that I care."


    Using cheesy lines, changing my way of talking to become more gleeful; on purpose, I walked towards the siblings and saw that Luke was on the brink of tears. He leaned back on the couch, closing his eyes, and his chin quivered.


    I looked down, inhaled deeply, and then looked back up. "But then I heard Christmas is canceled over here at this house. Should I bring these back?"


    Claire hesitated, glancing at her children. Accepting the gifts would imply the possibility of Christmas, but rejecting them would be a rude gesture.


    "You can put them in the kitchen for now," Claire said affectionately, before immediately shifting her tone to scold her children. "Christmas is still canceled! If no one comes out and takes responsibility for this, I''ll send all of the gifts back to Edward myself."


    With a slight nod of satisfaction at her own answer, Claire huffed off to the kitchen.


    "Is it me, or did your mom seem extra sexy today?" I turned to the girls and teased them.


    Haley rolled her eyes. "It''s not even funny. You just showed that you''re attracted to insane, neurotic women."


    I nodded slightly in agreement. "Yeah, my therapist said that before. So, what happened?"


    As Alex and Luke sat, visibly saddened by their parents taking away Christmas, Haley stood up and pointed at a burnt mark on the couch. "This! Christmas is canceled because of this small thing! I can''t believe them!"


    I already knew that the burn mark was caused by sunlight refracting off a glass ornament on the Christmas tree��an ornament that Frank Dunphy, their grandfather, had given them��but Phil had already pulled the tree away, cutting off my chance to point it out simply.


    "So who smoked?" I asked, feigning a puzzled expression.


    "It''s not me!" Alex defended herself, a hint of panic in her voice as she glanced my way.


    Narrowing my eyes at her, I said, "Really? Overlooked middle child. High levels of stress from academic pressure. Trouble with your boyfriend. I could keep listing reasons, or you could just admit that you smoked."


    "I DIDN''T SMOKE!" Alex jumped from her seat, confronting me with manic energy. "WHAT AM I, STUPID? Developing a dependence on nicotine at an early age? You think I WOULD risk destroying my brain cells? Why don''t I just get pregnant at a bus station! Walk around barefoot! And only wear booty shorts?!"


    I turned to Haley, raising an eyebrow. "I think that''s a dig at you."


    Haley looked at me with disbelief, her expression a mix of frustration and exasperation. "What are you even doing? Why are you making things worse? Do you not care about this?"


    I blanked out for a moment, taking in the scene��the tension in the room, the disappointment on their faces. "Um, you know I still have my Christmas, right?" I finally said, trying to lighten the mood.


    "Yeah, but we don''t!" Luke chimed in, his voice small but filled with a sense of loss.


    I waved my hand dismissively at him. "Don''t look so glum, Luke. Remember, if you ever need help solving a case, who should you call?"


    Luke looked confused and guessed, "A detective?"


    "Right..." I waited, hinting at myself with a subtle gesture.


    "What?" Luke asked, still not getting it. Alex rolled her eyes and said, "He wants you to call him Sherlock, idiot!"


    In the kitchen, Phil and Claire stood by the wall, peeking at what we were doing. Claire muttered, "I told you Ed would sniff it out for us. We just have to wait."


    Phil replied, placing his hand on Claire''s shoulder, "Yeah. In Edward we trust."


    "Detective Sherlock. Please help us," Luke begged.


    "Alright. So, can someone tell me what a cigarette smells like?" I asked the room. No one answered for several seconds before Haley said, "Pungent."


    "It''s her!" Luke pointed at Haley. "Get her!" He lunged at her, well-intentioned but with murder in his eyes. Haley immediately backtracked and hid behind me. I held Luke by his head, stopping him from moving closer.


    "Calm down, Luke. You don''t want Santa to put you on the naughty list, do you? It doesn''t take a detective to figure out that killing your sister will land you there permanently."


    "I didn''t do it, you maniac!" Haley scolded Luke while still hiding behind me. Alex moved closer to the couch, sniffing the burnt mark. "There''s nothing left behind other than some charred fabric smell."


    "Good! Alex''s brain is finally working," I teased. "You''re pretty smart yourself. Did you panic too much and forget to check the crime scene��gathering the evidence needed to defend yourself? You might need to cross Lawyers or Forensics off your future career list."


    In the kitchen, Claire mumbled, "It''s not a cigarette?"


    Phil sighed and replied, "We kinda jumped into accusing the kids without checking the sofa first."


    Alex glared at me. "How can I think straight when Mom and Dad are constantly yelling at us? I didn''t even want to enter either of those paths in the first place."


    The parents felt a pang of guilt at her words. Alex continued to touch the burn mark, running her finger over it. "There''s no flaky ash, either. So this is definitely not from a cigarette."


    I nodded. "Focus on the burn mark. Look at the intensity of the charring in that circular area. Did you see anything strange there? Luke, you do it."


    Luke calmed down and inspected the mark. "It''s just black."


    "Pay attention to the degree of the charring. Some spots are more charred than others," I instructed.


    "It''s all the same." Luke muttered with a slight frustration. "Wait. This part is harder than the rest."


    "That must be the focal point." I muttered.


    Alex''s eyes darted as she thought it through, and especially after hearing ''focal point''. Then she exclaimed, "Oh my god. I figured it out. Mom��" She dashed toward the kitchen.


    Not wanting to pull the parents into it just yet, I instinctively reached out to stop her. Unfortunately, all I could grab was her ponytail, and I accidentally yanked her hair back.


    "OW! Motherfu��" Alex almost cursed when Claire, who had been watching the whole thing, instinctively interrupted, "ALEX!" She quickly cupped her mouth and pulled her head back from peering around the wall, taking Phil with her.


    "What?" Alex turned toward the kitchen, confused. "She can hear that?" she mumbled.


    Chuckling slightly, I said, "Since Alex figured it out. I''ll just go home now. I hope that you guys will work together to save Christmas in your house! I still have to drop off the presents to your grandpa, then your uncles,...you get it?"


    Alex, Luke and Haley looked at me with confusion. Luke asked, "Why are you speaking all weird?"


    Alex nodded in agreement to Luke and said, "Yeah. His pitch is higher. He smiles all the time."


    "And you seem weirdly absorbed in Christmas..." Haley muttered. She looked at my smiling face and then she figured it out, her face shifted as if she was looking at an idiot,"Oh my god, are you really doing this?"


    "She''s onto us," Claire said. "She knows we''re in the wrong," she added, panicking. Alex''s innocent smile felt like something out of a horror movie to Claire.


    Phil sighed. "We''re fuc��"


    [Commentary ends]


    "That is very noble of you to care about the family, but you still smoked and lied. That''s really bad," Phil scolded her in a low-energy voice. Claire was silent for a moment before she asked again, "Alex, did you really smoke?"


    Startled by her mother''s serious gaze, Alex remembered Edward''s advice and nodded again. "Yeah. I did it."


    Suddenly, Haley pulled on Alex''s wrist, causing her to turn to her sister. "Alex, I can''t let you do this. Mom, Dad, I was the one who burned the couch."


    "What?!" Claire and Phil exclaimed in astonishment at Haley''s sudden confession. Alex grimaced in confusion and said, "What?!"


    [Haley''s commentary]


    "I don''t know who burned the couch," she admitted. "But I know how to read Alex," she added. "If this is a real smoke burn, then she''ll shiver and speak timidly, not tackle it head-on like she is right now. Whatever she has planned, I want in too."


    [Commentary ends]


    "Haley? You burned the couch?" Claire asked, disbelief evident in her voice.


    Haley nodded and said, "Yeah. I was using a curling iron in the living room, and I guess I must''ve touched the couch with it for too long. I''m sorry, Mom, Dad."


    Claire smiled slightly. "Curling iron?"


    Alex was horrified. "No! It was me! I burned that couch!"


    "No. It was me! I did it!" Haley argued back.


    Luke suddenly chimed in, "No. It was me. I played with some matches and burned down the entire house."


    Phil and Claire blanked out again. "What?" Claire grimaced in confusion.


    Alex looked at Luke in disbelief. "No one burned down the house."


    "Ah, right. The couch. I burned the couch," Luke corrected himself.


    [Luke''s commentary]


    "I don''t know what''s going on, but I want in."


    [Alex''s commentary]


    "They''re going to ruin everything!"


    [Commentary ends]


    With a slight smirk, Claire suddenly yelled, "Enough." Everyone stopped arguing and quieted down. Phil smiled and said, "First of all, I just want to say how proud I am. All of you are prepared to sacrifice your Christmas for the sake of your siblings."


    "No��that''s not��" Before Alex could argue, Claire hugged all three of them tightly. "I''m sorry for yelling at you guys. Obviously, none of you did it. We should''ve believed you when you told us that."


    "We''re really touched, so we''ve decided to bring back Christmas for you all. We won''t bring up who burned down the couch anymore," Claire added. "We''re dropping it, so none of you will be punished for it."


    "We won''t?" Phil was confused at first but then realized he could use this as an opportunity to escape trouble. "We won''t! Now, everyone! Help me grab the tree! We''re bringing back Christmas!"


    "Yay!" Haley and Luke cheered, excitement bubbling over as they followed Phil out of the kitchen, leaving only Alex and Claire behind.


    Claire glanced at Alex, a knowing look in her eyes. "Nice try."


    "I''m sorry, what are you referring to?" Alex asked, already resigned to the fact that her attempt to outsmart her mother had failed.


    Claire knew that if she brought up the incident again, Alex could easily point out that they had all been accused despite their innocence. They stared at each other intensely, the air thick with unspoken words and the sparks of their silent standoff.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    I fixed the tv by climbing on the roof and fixing the antenna, however, his VCR was also broken. That''s why he was so frustrated in not getting a channel before.


    "Here." He handed me twenty bucks as I climbed down from the roof. "For your troubles," he said.


    "Thank you," I replied, accepting the money even though I didn''t need it. I knew better than to mess with an old man''s ego. "I''ll come back with some tools to fix the VCR after I drop off the presents."


    "You don''t have to do that," Mr. Kleezak said, his tone dismissive. "Go home."


    "Don''t feel bad thinking I was going to miss out on Christmas by being here. My grandmother kicked me out because I was bothering her. I''d rather be doing something than just wandering around."


    Mr. Kleezak paused, then asked, "Really?" By framing it as a favor to me, he seemed more comfortable with letting me return.


    "Yeah. Also, when I come back, I''ll bring you some of her brisket. It''s so good and tender that you won''t even need your dentures." I exaggerated a bit, which made him let out a small chuckle.


    Before I left, I made sure to grab some keys in case he fell asleep. It seemed I had gained his trust, or maybe he was just confident that nothing valuable was in the house. I wasn''t sure which.


    His children didn''t want to come to his house, and he couldn''t travel to theirs, so he was spending Christmas alone. When I returned, I planned to bring my grandpa with me. They were both veterans, and I was sure my grandpa would invite him to our place for Christmas.


    If I did it, it might feel insulting to him��like a kid inviting you over on a holiday because you looked lonely.


    Driving to Mitch and Cam''s, I ran into the "Skinny Santa," Scott, who Mitchell and Cam had gotten fired from the mall for not looking like Santa. Then I headed to Jay''s place, where Manny was pranking Jay as part of a Christmas tradition from Colombia. I wasn''t sure if that was true, but Manny believed it.


    "You should come by our house tonight when we set off the fireworks," Manny said as I was leaving, standing in the open doorway.


    "I''ll be there. Midnight, right? I''ll make sure��" Before I could finish, I noticed a white raven perched on the hood of my car. As if to deliver a message, it took off into the sky.


    "Um, Manny, I don''t think I can make it," I told him. "I have somewhere else to be, and it''s pretty important so I can''t skip it."


    ...


    [General POV]


    Inside a small, white room, a giant man with sheep''s horns curling from his head busily decorated the space with wreaths and vibrant red and green flags. As he worked, he sang cheerfully, "''Tis the time to be jolly... Falalalala, la la la. Edward is coming to be punished. Falalala, la la la."


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 Chapter 317: Christmas Eve.

    Chapter 317: Chapter 317: Christmas Eve.


    [Edward POV]


    Mr. Kleezak stayed for an early dinner at 5, and by 6, he was spent. My grandpa walked him home; they had become friends during dinner. I had fixed his VCR and DVD player, and he looked much happier sitting on the couch watching TV than doing anything else.


    Surprisingly, there were some programs on his VCR that had been lost during the programming shift in the ''70s. He gladly gave them to me to make copies.


    "Ed, did you send out all of your gifts?" My grandmother, Grandma Jules, slowly sat next to me on the couch. We were gathered around the TV to watch a Christmas special��A Charlie Brown Christmas.


    "Yeah. Grandma, are you sure you don''t want a mansion? I can get you a mansion," I said with a mischievous smile.


    Grandma Jules laughed. "I appreciate the offer, but I don''t want to move to California."


    My grandpa chimed in from the single-seat couch on the side, "I told you, Ed, stop trying to get your grandma to move here."


    Just then, the doorbell rang. "Hello! Everyone! Merry Christmas!"


    "Why don''t you offer me a mansion?" Amy interjected, looking annoyed.


    "Why would I?" I looked at her with disbelief. "By the way, Amy, I''ve been meaning to ask."


    "Ask what?" she replied without turning away from the movie.


    "What''s it like working as an elf in Santa''s factory?" I asked casually as I grabbed some popcorn.


    "WHAT?!" Amy shot back, irritation in her voice. "Is this because I''m short?" She turned to glare at me.


    "I mean... yeah..." I teased. Amy threw a cushion at me, which I caught just in time. I placed it behind Grandma for support. "Here you go, Grandma."


    "Aww. You''re so sweet, Edward," Grandma said affectionately. Amy shot me a burning look, but I ignored her.


    Just then, my dad and Frankie entered through the front door. My dad gleefully said, "Hello, everyone! Merry Christmas!"


    "Dad, you''re done with the Christmas party?" I asked with a teasing smile. "Why didn''t Frankie come back with you?"


    He looked startled, glancing to the side, and then startled again as she saw her standing there. Frankie raised an eyebrow, confused about why he fell for that. "You didn''t drink there, did you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.


    As he took off his coat, my dad replied awkwardly, "No. I didn''t. I''m just tired, that''s all."


    Grandma Jules excitedly approached Frankie. "Frankie, my dear, I''m very much looking forward to spending Christmas with you today." She gave Frankie a slight hug, which Frankie awkwardly accepted.


    "Thank you, Jules," Frankie replied. "Though I have to admit, I felt a bit bad sleeping here when there''s already no more room."


    "Don''t be ridiculous! You can stay with me in the guest room. Maggie and Amy are sleeping in Edward''s room. Edward can stay with his grandpa in Ted''s room."


    "What about me?" my dad asked, disbelief evident in his voice. "I don''t even get to stay in my own room?"


    "Ted, you can sleep on the couch," Grandma said dismissively, her focus still on Frankie.


    "Grandma must be aiming to get more grandbabies," Amy whispered teasingly. "You won''t be the favorite anymore."


    "What are you talking about? I''m always going to be the favorite," I replied, confused as to why she thought my throne would be usurped by a baby. No little one could threaten my position.


    "By the way, it''s lucky Uncle Aaron didn''t come," Amy added. "Or he''d have to sleep in the hot tub."


    "He doesn''t want to leave his ''backdoor.'' I already invited him��" I suddenly remembered that Taylor owned the house next door, which had been empty for a while since she either lived in Texas or with Selena.


    "Backdoor?" Amy asked, puzzled.


    "His girlfriend," Grandpa Sam explained, having listened to our conversation. "It''s fine. May and Jim are staying behind to celebrate with him. Amy, don''t you feel a bit sad your parents aren''t here for Christmas?"


    "No. Not at all," Amy replied, her expression souring as she clearly didn''t want to discuss her parents. They had argued again before she came here��she was practically escaping. Grandpa sighed, choosing not to pursue the topic any further.


    "Why don''t Ted and I just sleep together in the same room��" Frankie started to say, but I widened my eyes and shook my head urgently at her. She stopped abruptly, noticing my grandmother gasp.


    "You mean, sleeping together in sin before you get married?" Grandma looked horrified.


    "No��no, no! I''m not saying that!" Frankie stammered. My dad suddenly laughed, adding, "Frankie, she''s messing with you."


    Grandma chuckled after Dad''s revelation. "I''m just kidding, dear. Of course, no one will sleep on the couch. Edward has a spare mattress in his room," she explained.


    "Yeah, the two girls are going to share that on the floor," I teased.


    Amy shot back, "Don''t make me put a pillow on your face when you sleep."


    "Since we''re all here, why don''t we have a proper dinner this time?" Grandma suggested.


    "Maggie''s not here," Amy corrected her, but Grandma chose to ignore that.


    Grandma clasped her hands in excitement. "Oh! After dinner, Edward can play the piano, and we can all sing ''Silent Night'' together."


    "Grandma, did you hear me?" Amy asked, puzzled.


    My grandpa looked shocked. "What? Jules, we never did that. All we ever did for Christmas Eve is stuff ourselves and go to sleep."


    "I think it''s time for a new tradition, Sam. All I can think about these last few weeks is how horrible it is what Edward has to go through. We need this. It''s either this or we can go to midnight Mass��"


    My grandpa quickly interjected, "Alright." He turned to me and said, "Ed, you''ll play the piano and sing after this. I''m not singing."


    "I have no problem with that," I replied casually. Just then, Maggie came home during dinner, slightly drunk, and excitedly gorging herself on the food. Grandma nagged at her the whole time, in disbelief that she went drinking when she''s only 19.


    While we were eating, I suddenly received a text message from Robin. My eyebrows furrowed as I read it. "Excuse me, but I think I have to excuse myself right now. I need to check something out."


    "Huh? Why?" My dad asked, confusion evident in his voice. "What about the sing-along?" Grandma added, her eyes full of disappointment.


    I smiled slightly and reassured her, "I''ll be back in an hour tops. Maybe less." I walked over to Grandma and kissed her gently on the cheek.


    Frankie and Dad followed me to the door as I put on my coat. "What happened? Where are you going?" Dad inquired.


    "Uh, the company," I replied curtly.


    "Is it a cyberattack again? You know Robin can handle that," Frankie interjected, trying to gauge the urgency of the situation.


    "You are." I replied decisively.


    Vanessa shook her head vehemently and said, "Over my dead body."


    "Then you''re going to die today."


    "You''re not making me."


    "I kinda am."


    "No."


    "Yes."


    "Never." She protested, and we went silent for a while before I said, "I think Amy''s clothes will fit you... Maybe."


    ...


    Vanessa ended up on the piano seat with me despite her protests. My grandma welcomed her with open arms, showering her with love.


    And she insisted that Vanessa take a shower first when she first arrived before giving her a pink unicorn pajama. Vanessa practiced her dance routine for hours, so she has that sweaty smell following her around.


    Extremely embarrassed by her own state, she couldn''t say anything to protest that lovely woman. Only after that did we all sing together, drinking eggnog and hot chocolate together.


    Grandma bought pajamas for all of us. Mine was a black set with horizontal stripes, Amy''s had kittens, and Maggie chose one decorated with cakes. Even Vader got dressed up for Christmas tomorrow, thanks to Grandma.


    We all stood together and took some pictures for the family album, titled "Christmas in California."


    After breaking into Taylor''s place, Maggie, Amy, and Vanessa decided to sleep there instead of sharing a room with me. Maggie walked in with Amy first, shouting, "Ness! I''m going to make hot chocolate. Or should we drink the eggnog I swiped from the house?"


    Vanessa ignored her and turned to me.


    "Thank you... for inviting me," Vanessa said, standing in front of the door.


    "You''re welcome. Don''t run away tonight. My grandma wants you there in the morning too," I teased.


    Suddenly, Vanessa leaned in closer and kissed me on the cheek. "What was that for?" I asked playfully.


    "We''re under a mistletoe," she replied, blushing. "Goodnight!" Then she slammed the door before I could see inside.


    I smiled after she shut the door. "Taylor''s not here for months. There''s no way she could''ve put up any decorations."


    It was almost midnight when they arrived at Taylor''s place. I told my dad I was going to have one of my ''episodes'' again tonight, and he insisted on watching over me.


    "A creepy old man staring at me while I sleep? Can I say no to that?" I joked.


    "This is the last time. If this goes smoothly, I''ll finally accept it as one of your special traits and stop worrying about it," Dad replied.


    "What would Frankie think? Leaving her alone on the bed on Christmas night while she wears her special nightie, waiting for you?" I planted that image in my dad''s head, but he managed to resist temptation.


    "Frankie will understand," he said sternly. I groaned and slumped to my room when the doorbell rang.


    "Huh? Who is it?" Dad asked, alarmed, and walked to the front door, with me closely following. As he opened the door, a brunette woman exclaimed, "Surprise!"


    "Max!" I widened my eyes and broke into a smile. "Edward!" She rushed over and hugged me tightly. "Hunky Daddy." She then hugged my dad after releasing me.


    "You said you couldn''t make it," I said, surprised.


    "I already made a few plans to get my revenge, even starting the process to buy your building to kick you out," I added playfully.


    "I��You did what?!" Max exclaimed in shock.


    "Not important," I dismissed the topic. "How did you get here?"


    "I drove here," she replied with a toothy smile.


    "From New York?!" Dad was astonished. "It took three days to get here," Max grinned.


    "What��" I turned to see Caroline passed out in the driver''s seat, her mouth wide open with drool flowing out, not even realizing that they had arrived. They borrowed an early 2000 KIA VISTO from a friend since there weren''t any cheap flights left, and both of them were broke.


    "You should''ve texted me. I can arrange a flight for you both." I hugged her again. Max smiled and said, "Now now. I didn''t want to come in the first place, but since the crime scene is now gone, I can finally return."


    "Crime scene?" My dad mumbled in confusion.


    I laughed slightly while Max awkwardly tried to distract my dad. Suddenly, I felt my eyes getting hazy.


    ''Huh, this has never happened before...I usually sleep on my own.'' That was my last thought before my eyes went dark.


    ...


    [General POV]


    "Ed? ED!" Ted quickly caught Edward''s body before it hit the ground. Max widened her eyes in shock as she saw Edward passed out. "Edward!"


    "Max, hold his other arm," Ted asked as he crouched on one knee, pushing Edward''s chest upward as his body went limp. "O-Okay!" Max quickly complied, her voice trembling. "Is he dead?!"


    "No. It''s just his low-energy mode." Ted forced a smile to calm Max down. "We should get him to his bed."


    "Are you sure? Should we take him to the hospital?" Max asked anxiously. "Let''s check his pulse first," Ted replied. "Ed told me to do that before doing anything else."


    As he placed Edward onto the bed, he attached a heart monitor to his chest. "There is a pulse," Ted announced with relief. Max breathed heavily and said, "Oh my god. That was so scary."


    "Max, can you monitor him for a minute? I''ll bring Caroline in and shut the door," Ted said. He arranged for Caroline to sleep with the girls and reassured Maggie and Vanessa, who were worried about Edward after hearing what happened.


    Inside the room, Max poked Edward''s cheek and called out, "Edward? Are you pretending to sleep? Are you in the afterlife?" She poked his cheek repeatedly, but the heart monitor showed no changes.


    "I need to pee," Max whimpered, clasping her knees together. She had been on the road for eight hours without a toilet break. "Ted, come back," she whispered.


    Suddenly, Edward''s body jolted, pushing Max away. "What?" Max gasped in shock. "Te��" Before she could call for help, Edward''s body floated off the bed, and her mind went blank.


    Like a scene from a horror movie, Edward was levitating above the bed. Max''s eyes rolled back as she fainted on the floor beside him. Then, Edward''s body fall back down and everything seemed normal again.

 Chapter 318: Krampus (Gacha) – Promotion Test.

    Chapter 318: Chapter 318: Krampus (Gacha) �C Promotion Test.


    (3 Chapter today)


    [Edward POV]


    Although I imagined waking up in a white room, I found myself in the middle of a snowstorm instead, stranded in the middle of nowhere. Shivering intensely, I trudged through the storm until I spotted a cottage nearby.


    My teeth chattered, and my face paled; my skin felt like it was turning blue from the cold. I approached the cottage slowly and knocked on the door.


    *Bang bang bang!*


    The door creaked open without anyone answering, so I hurried inside and shut the door behind me.


    "Good God! At least give me a horse I could cut open and sleep inside," I muttered, rushing to the fireplace to start a fire. My hands shook as I fumbled with the matches I found nearby. The first match broke as I tried to light it.


    Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I struck the second match and successfully lit it before tossing it into the fireplace. Before long, flames flickered to life, and warmth spread throughout the cottage.


    Wrapping myself in a checkered blanket I found, I stood in front of the fire, trying to soak in the heat.


    "I thought I was supposed to be in the afterlife, spinning some roulette. Why am I here?" I mumbled, glancing around the cozy space.


    Suddenly, I noticed a stack of files on the table alongside a glass of milk and a cookie that definitely hadn''t been there before. The file had my name on it. I picked up the warm glass of milk to thaw my hands and bit into the cookie before opening the file.


    However, I was distracted by the carving on top of the fireplace that I couldn''t see when it was still dark before.


    "Belsnickel Cottage?" I was surprised when I read who the cottage belonged to. "Am I in the North Pole? Will I meet Santa here?" I chortled a bit before reading the file.


    [Name: Edward Newgate]


    Affiliation: Senior Agent of the Afterlife Corps. (Level 2)


    Current Status: Singer / Game Maker / Inventor / Apps Developer / Chef / Role Model / Government Precious Asset / Influencer / World Famous Celebrity / Caltech Aspirant / Scientist / Backstory Addict / Storyteller / Cult-Like Leader / Survivor; (4 more).


    Positive Karma: 2.3 Billion (500 million in storage)


    Negative Karma: -72 million


    Followers: 30 million people.


    Afterlife Benefit:


    Ability to trade with the afterlife using karmic points, two times per year. (1?2 used) Storage increased to 1 Billion karmic points. Access to Samsara tree.Participation in the next nexus event.


    "Followers? I have 75 million followers on Instagram, though, so this number isn''t accurate," I mumbled as I flipped through the pages.


    "How did I get to level 2?" I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. "Maybe this followers thing has something to do with it?" As I scrutinized the sheet, I inhaled deeply and took another bite of the cookie.


    The cookie was so dry that I needed half of the milk in the glass to wash it down. It wasn''t even sweet; it tasted like bark. But I''d been raised by Sanji not to waste any food, so I kept going until I finished it.


    "Nexus event? Samsara tree?" I muttered in confusion after reading the upgraded information. My eyes widened slightly in excitement as I saw the trading ability.


    "That means I can buy another talent shredder, right?" I said excitedly. After reading my gacha list, I focused on the two talents I wanted to remove.


    [Purple Quality Gacha �C ''Joey Tribiani �C 3 Month Expiry Date for Relationships'' Special Talent]


    [Red Quality Gacha �C ''Joey Tribiani �C Enjoy Life by Never Finding the One True Love, or Getting Married'' Talent]


    "Should I remove the time limit or the certainty that the one I dated won''t be ''the one''?" I mumbled to myself.


    As time dragged on, there were still no signs of the gacha session. "How do I get out of this?" I muttered, glancing around the room while still wrapped in the blanket.


    "Is it the Christmas tree?" I approached the tree adorned with red and gold ornaments, but when I touched them, I realized they were just ordinary decorations.


    "What''s going on?" I asked, frustration creeping in. "What am I supposed to do here?" My teeth chattered as the room remained intensely cold despite the fire. I settled in front of it, the only place where I could feel any warmth.


    Suddenly, the lights flickered, and the fire went out. "What?" White smoke escaped my mouth, and frost began to creep across my skin. "Damn it." I tried to reignite the fire, but it was no use.


    Ice started to form around the room, slowly encroaching on where I sat. "Damn it. I want to end the��!" I shouted, realizing I could escape if I could just end the session. But before I could do that, a huge, bony hand shot out of the fireplace, emerging from the chimney. The wrinkled, monstrous hand with long nails wrapped tightly around my head.


    Before I could react, it yanked me into the fireplace, and I disappeared from the cottage. Meanwhile, my body floated in the real world, scaring Max unconscious��a fact I wouldn''t learn until later.


    "EDWARD NEWGATE!" Krampus, the demon of Christmas, loomed over me, his half-goat, half-demon form towering at ten meters tall. He pulled me slowly toward his giant, sharp-toothed mouth, invoking a primal fear within me.


    "Ahh!" I shouted as he nearly swallowed me whole. But just before he could do that, I heard a German accent shout, "Release him, Krampus! He is not impish this year!"


    I turned to see Belsnickel tied to a Christmas tree, gingerbread demons poking at him angrily.


    Krampus halted, turning his attention to Belsnickel. In a deep, grating voice, he said, "He... IS... IMPISH."


    "Nuh-uh. I''m not naughty." I shook my head vigorously, my face devoid of color. Krampus looked surprised and replied, "That''s impossible."


    He placed me down roughly, making me stumble to the ground. Then he slid over to Belsnickel and growled, "He''s here to be punished."


    "But he''s not on ze naughty list," Belsnickel protested, despite his evident fear.


    "Um, sorry. But I''m supposed to be here for the afterlife session. I didn''t know I would be judged," I interjected with a wry smile as I stood up properly. "At the very least, it isn''t very cold here," I muttered.


    The room was filled with snow globes, the size of a beach ball. I peeked into one of them, I saw the silhouette of a human, presumably punished by Krampus. My heart raced as I walked toward the two towering beings.


    "So I think I''m just going to go." I gulped my saliva despite trying to look calm, and then said, "I want to end the session."


    After I read his letter, I studied a bit about Krampus. He was Santa''s counterpart who would kidnap naughty children and drag them to the underworld. Many people thought of him as a monster.


    I had some reservation on making judgement as he was part of the Afterlife Corps, but now that I''ve met him... there is judgement.


    Krampus was surprised that I asked to end the session, however, he just laughed disdainfully as time passed by and I was still there. "You cannot get out without my permission." Gleeful at my misery, Krampus''s shoulder moved as he laughed.


    "Um, I''m going to run." I pointed at the door casually. "Nice to meet you, Belsnickel." I waved at the dirty bearded man and he looked blankly at me. "Bye�C"


    Krampus''s hand reached out for me again, and I ducked instantly before running away. The gingerbread man tried to block me, but they were 10 inches tall. I crushed one of them with my leg and grabbed the knife he had with him.


    "GET. BACK. HERE!" Krampus shouted, swinging his massive hand around the room in an attempt to capture me. I grabbed multiple butter knives and sharp objects, hurling them at Belsnickel to try and cut the ropes binding him.


    The gingerbread man regenerated and charged at me again. I scoffed, "This might be a problem for me if my mentor wasn''t Luffy. I wonder if you can still regenerate once I eat you."


    Horrified by my threat, the gingerbread man stopped in his tracks, gasped, and bolted in the opposite direction.


    The sharp objects I threw did nothing; the rope was too thick, and the utensils were too small. "Why do I feel like I''m in Jack the Giant Slayer?" I muttered, running in circles as Krampus chased me.


    Grunting with frustration, I yelled, "Ahh! How can I get out of here?" I picked up random items and threw them at Krampus, but none were effective��until I grabbed a snowglobe.


    "Herghh..." Grunting as I picked up the heavy snow globe over my head, I threw it far towards Krampus, however, it was leaning left and wasn''t going to hit him.


    "Hup!" Krampus leaped to the side to catch the snowball, finally pausing for a moment. "Oh-ho?" I smirked devilishly, noticing the sweat on his forehead.


    "O-Okay. You can leave��" Krampus stammered, but I seized the opportunity and threw another snow globe to his left.


    "Hup!" He jumped again to grab the globe. I dashed through the shelves, pushing every snow globe I could reach.


    "Motherfu��" Krampus cursed as he scrambled to collect the globes before they shattered. With him distracted, I rushed to Belsnickel and began untying the ropes around him.


    "Use ze scissors!" Belsnickel urged. I snatched a golden pair of scissors, larger than my torso, and cut the restraints. Belsnickel laughed as he broke free. "Judgment is nigh, for Belsnickel is��"


    [Green Quality Gacha �C Nezuko �C Ability to look cute while being muzzled]


    The quality of the gacha is ranked in ascending order: White, Green, Purple, Red, and Gold. Each color represents a different level of power or rarity, with White being the lowest quality and Gold being the highest.


    "Is the quality labeled using the ribbon color?" I asked Gong Shin.


    "I couldn''t tell you, but since you guessed it, then yeah," Gong Shin agreed easily.


    "Oh, I will open the white ones first," I muttered as I walked toward a present with a peculiar wrapping that had pigeons on it. After I opened it, I found a top hat inside.


    [White Quality Gacha �C Rob Lucci �C Pigeon''s Ventriloquism.]


    "Maybe I can try it out with Vader," I mumbled. I decided to open all the green and white quality presents first, saving the red and gold ones for last.


    [White Quality Gacha �C Lauren LeFranc �C The Penguin Series Production and Complete Show Memory]


    [White Quality Gacha �C Reinhardt van Astrea �C Blessing of Mist: Mist does not hinder his view (Talent category)]


    [Green Quality Gacha �C Saintess Lua �C Special Passive Ability �C Saint Halo; Exorcising ghosts in a 200-meter radius]


    [Purple Quality Gacha �C Nero �C Perfect Mechanical Sense Ability: Increases total Machinery Affinity by x1.4 (The legendary mechanic)]


    When I opened the next box, it was empty. Gong Shin snickered at me and said, "That''s why you should check first."


    I sighed and tossed the empty box aside. "Still, I got a nice haul."


    "If you weren''t nice this year, you wouldn''t get to pick from the good pile," Gong Shin remarked. I nodded in understanding and opened another purple quality gacha.


    Inside, golden and black eyes floated around, some dripping with what looked like blood. I picked it without thinking, but now I was worried it might not be good.


    [Purple Quality �C Uchiha Shisui �C One Tomoe Sharingan (Ability)]


    "Oh shit." I turned to Gong Shin, who wore a surprised expression. "Can I give this back? I don''t even have chakra to use it." With a worried expression, I handed the present box to him.


    "It''s useless without chakra. Just pray that you don''t get any chakra or any other sort of internal energy," Gong Shin said, holding his palm up as if to say he couldn''t take it back. Unless I used the shredder, I couldn''t return it.


    I sighed and opened another box adorned with flower petals.


    [Purple Quality �C Ino Yamanaka �C Genin Level Chakra]


    "Fuck." I turned to Gong Shin, my eyes filled with accusations. He shook his head immediately and said, "No. I really didn''t plan this."


    Gong Shin read the inscription and added, "Oh. You might still be fine. It''s not regenerating chakra. It''s just a genin level chakra volume. Without the chakra extraction technique, you cannot regain what you have lost."


    I felt only slightly relieved. "If the next box contains the extraction technique, then I will write a formal protest to the corporation," I threatened, even though I knew it was a meaningless threat.


    "You chose it," Gong Shin mumbled under his breath. "Why are you blaming me?"


    I had five more boxes left��two red and three gold. I decided to open the red box first and was pleasantly surprised by what I found.


    [Red Quality Gacha Consumable �C Fix It Felix �C Special Skill: Fixing (Three-time use)]


    "Oh, this one is great. Shouldn''t I have the hammer too?" I asked.


    "Use any hammer you have," Gong Shin replied.


    "Can I use this to fix my villa?" I asked with an expectant smile. "Oh, but then people would be suspicious if it was restored so quickly."


    Gong Shin shook his head. "The range isn''t that big. It can fix anything up to a car, but nothing larger."


    "Damn it. It''s still a great prize, though," I muttered before picking up another red quality gacha. But it was empty inside. Or so I thought.


    As I flipped the box, a small piece of paper dropped to the ground.


    [Red Quality �C Knowledge �C Craftsman Robot (Doraemon)]


    "Doraemon? So it''s a gadget from the 22nd century?" I was excited because Doraemon''s gadgets were often considered Black Technology. I didn''t know exactly what it was, but I was sure it was something good.


    Finally, it was time for the main prize. "Hurry up, Edward. You have three minutes left," Gong Shin reminded me.


    I nodded and said, "First things first, I want a talent shredder."


    "Which talent would you like to shred?" he asked.


    "Let''s go with the expiry date. The other one says ''One True Love,'' but that doesn''t mean I can''t still find love, right?" I asked Gong Shin for a hint, wondering if I was making the right choice.


    "Okay. I''ll deduct one billion karma for the exchange," Gong Shin said.


    "Thank you," I replied before opening my golden boxes.


    [Gold Quality Gacha �C Knowledge �C Hyperdyne Systems Model 120-A/2 Android �C Weyland-Yutani (Alien Franchise)]


    "An android? Another piece of broken technology. I don''t know if I''ll ever get to the level to create these things," I mumbled before opening the next box. Inside was a book.


    [Gold Quality Gacha �C Special Ability �C Teacher''s Aura: 300% boost in student understanding when taught face to face, 150% if taught indirectly]


    "I guess my community college course plan will be easier now," I said, tucking the book into my pocket.


    "Nice. Now, the last one," I muttered in excitement before opening the final box.


    [Black-Gold Quality Gacha Consumable �C Van Hohenheim �C Philosopher''s Stone Level Large Scale Transmutation]


    "Nice. I can build the Batcave without anyone noticing," I said excitedly, rubbing my hands together to remove imaginary dust. However, as I moved, I felt a small box hidden inside my clothes.


    "Hmm? Did something get in?" I said, pulling a ring-sized box from my shirt. I opened it without checking the quality, as there wasn''t much time left.


    [Special Consumable �C (One-time use) Talent Shredder]


    I was skeptical about my own luck as I read the prize. "I don''t even remember picking up that box," I muttered. But I was grateful regardless, considering I could remove both of the troublesome talents at the same time.


    "Wait. Since both of them are removed now... does that mean my two-year plan is useless?"


    After some thoughts, I muttered, "So Gong Shin guessed right. I did get 14 prizes."


    After removing my negative karma and donating my positive karma, my session finally ended.


    [Flashback]


    While Edward was stuffing a small circular box inside his t-shirt, the wind nudged the small box to fall from the top of the present hill. It bounced on several gifts before landing inside Edward''s t-shirt without him knowing.


    [Flashback ends]


    ...


    As I opened my eyes, I saw my grandmother sleeping on the chair next to my bed. Smiling softly, I looked around the room and saw Amy, Maggie, my dad, and Frankie standing around.


    Suddenly, I smelt something acrid, but the smell was fleeting. I quickly lifted up my blanket to check if I had peed myself.


    The sudden movement alerted everyone, and woke up my grandmother. "Edward!" My dad called as he rushed to the bed.


    "Why am I smelling pee?" I asked my dad before he could even say anything. My dad was startled and smiled wryly, "Long story."

 Chapter 319: Christmas.

    Chapter 319: Chapter 319: Christmas.


    [Edward POV]


    Apparently, there was a huge storm while I was under. Even though it wasn''t snowing, the temperature fell down to 10 degrees celsius, which made it a cold Christmas morning in California.


    "How many presents did you get this year?" Amy asked as we all gathered around the Christmas tree, still wearing our pajamas.


    "I don''t know," I shrugged, estimating, "4 or 5?"


    "Damn it. I only got 3," Amy grumbled as she picked up one of her presents. I smiled and said, "That''s actually from me."


    Amy''s excitement was palpable, though she pretended to be indifferent. "I''m going to open this first."


    Maggie jeered from her spot next to us, "Aren''t you both too old to be so excited about Christmas?"


    Amy immediately turned to her, anger flashing in her eyes. "You''re��"


    "Don''t disrespect Christmas, Maggie. Belsnickel didn''t fight Krampus to save Christmas for nothing," I interjected, defending both Amy and myself.


    "What?" My dad, Frankie, grandma, grandpa, Vanessa, Maggie, and Caroline all looked confused. Max whispered to herself, "So that''s why he floated."


    Max didn''t share what she had seen, still unsure if it was real. Even though she was beginning to believe, she kept it to herself.


    "Ed? What?" My dad asked. "Belsnickel who? Krampus who?"


    "Germany''s Santa Claus," my grandpa replied. I turned to him with a mischievous smile. "Oh, how did you know that, Grandpa? Did you perhaps have a liaison with a beautiful German girl during the war?"


    "Not German. But there was an Italian girl�� I mean, no. I did not," my grandpa almost blurted out his 60-year-old secret before stopping himself at Grandma''s warning glare.


    Meanwhile, Amy opened her present and fumed. "Height growth fertilizer! WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THIS?!"


    Everyone laughed as Amy pushed the box against my cheek. With a slightly muffled voice, I replied, "What? I was thinking about you."


    Amy stood up abruptly, reading the box aloud: "Instruction: bury your feet in soil before pouring the fertilizer beneath your feet. Stand in the sun for three days straight. Repeat until success."


    I stifled a laugh and said, "Yeah. It can guarantee 3 inches of growth. You definitely need that."


    "GRANDMA!" Amy ran to Jules with a choked voice and hugged her, begging for comfort. Grandma scolded me, "Edward, you shouldn''t pick on Amy so much. She''s sensitive, you know."


    I shrugged. "The box is fake. The real present''s inside."


    Amy perked up immediately and turned back to me. "Really?"


    "Yeah. Open it."


    "And it''s not going to be fertilizer?"


    I scoffed disdainfully. "People are not plants. I should''ve given you Science books instead."


    Amy held the box with an expectant smile. "He~" She hummed cheerfully as she ripped the box to shreds as it was too hard for her to take off the tape.


    "Ohh, it''s an Ugg. Thank you! Mom wouldn''t buy these things for me no matter how much I asked her." Amy thanked me and she immediately tried to wear the fluffy shoes.


    "Really? She''s the one who told me you''d like this," I said, picking up my present. "This feels like a book. Is it a book?" I glanced at the tag and turned to my dad. "Did you get me a book?"


    "Open it," my dad urged, leaning forward to catch my reaction. As I unwrapped it, I said, "If this is another self-help book, I''m talking to Linda about you in therapy."


    "It''s not a self-help book!" My dad scoffed. "And you didn''t need to throw that book away." He was referring to the earlier book he had given me.


    "I didn''t throw it away; I re-gifted it to Claire," I replied casually. "Oh, it''s The Velveteen Rabbit." My excited smile turned to confusion as I stared at him. "Why?"


    "Y-You said you wanted it when you watched Friends, so I got it for you. Y-You said you wanted to make it happen. I listened... and I made it happen," my dad defended.


    "Thank you, Dad. It''s a nice gift," I said gratefully. Frankie chuckled and turned to my dad, "I told you that wasn''t it."


    "Then what did you mean when you said you wanted to ''make it happen''?" my dad asked curiously.


    "Oh, Frankie meeting Paget Brewster. I want that to happen," I replied with a mischievous smile.


    "Why?" Frankie looked confused.


    I paused for a moment before saying, "Because you both look exactly the same?!"


    "No, I don''t see that," my dad said, shaking his head in agreement with Frankie. Everyone murmured in unison, insisting she didn''t resemble the actress.


    "Okay, you''re all insane. Frankie, I''m opening your present now. It''s a big box, and I''ve been holding myself back long enough." I reached for the gift and opened it to find numerous Naruto manga volumes, from 1 to 47, the English-translated versions.


    Frankie smiled widely as she saw my excited face. "How is it? Do you like it?"


    "I love it," I replied. "Tell me if my dad ever hurts you. I''ll terrorize him for you."


    "Hey!" My dad protested, eliciting laughter from everyone. My grandparents gave me a sweater, and Pepper gifted me a custom-made fedora from that little shop in Washington. I received a lot of presents from various people, but I didn''t want to open them all at once this morning, or Amy would get jealous.


    "Here," I said, handing Vanessa a present as she sat near the kitchen while Amy and Maggie fought in the living room. "Merry Christmas."


    Vanessa opened the gift bashfully. "You shouldn''t have."


    "Sorry I didn''t wrap it; I didn''t have time," I said, watching her take out the protein shake from the bag. Vanessa looked at me in disbelief. "Thank you for the protein shake?"


    "I also didn''t have time to shop for you, so I just picked something random from my room," I said mischievously.


    Vanessa scoffed and brushed her hair behind her ear. "Well, thanks anyway. Wait, you sent me a present to my house yesterday, right?"


    "Yeah. It''s a bear onesie. It''s comfortable to sleep in if you''re in a cold place. In California, not so much��more like a sweat fest. It will be great to wear it this morning though." I explained a bit about the present and tried to make her feel included in the holiday gathering.


    "Okay, everyone. Remember, after breakfast, we''re all going to go to the photo studio to snap a family picture." My grandma said excitedly.


    "We did that yesterday." Amy protested.


    "Yeah, that was for Christmas Eve. This one''s for Christmas day." My grandma explained to Amy affectionately.


    My dad asked after he received a text from Phil, "Ed, what exactly did you give Alex and Haley?"


    "Just some ordinary stuff. Why?" I asked in confusion.


    ...


    [General POV]


    In the Dunphy house, Phil exclaimed excitedly, "Oh hey! Edward gave me a yogurt maker!"


    Then, she included another picture. "Also, he included this card of Gold Roger in his execution stand inside all of our presents. Nothing else. I have a feeling that it''s a challenge, but I''m not so sure about it."


    [Commentary ends]


    In an apartment in Pasadena, Leonard talked with Sheldon who was in Texas and showed him the card .


    "Did you also get the card from Edward?" Leonard asked.


    "Yes." Sheldon replied curtly. "I think it''s an invitation to watch the anime One Piece. I am searching for the DVD now." Sheldon added.


    "No need. He''s going to have them on Netflix on the 31st." Leonard stopped him. "I''m just curious. Why is he sending us these? Raj, Howard, even Penny got one."


    "Amy got one too. I wonder what it is." Sheldon said excitedly. "Is it like a clue card?" Leonard guessed.


    Jenna, Enid, Jacob, Finneas, Billie, Elsa, Abed, Annie, Troy, and two-third of the company staff got the cards. But, no one knew what it was for.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    I had a great time with my grandparents and family members. In the afternoon, Uncle Jim and Aunt May came from Wisconsin, using my jet that I prepared for them to celebrate Christmas here with their daughters.


    When the day ended, my grandparents, my uncles and Amy all had to go back home to Wisconsin. Amy sniffled as she sobbed, not wanting to go back home.


    "Amy, you do need to understand. Your dad has his work in Wisconsin. He cannot just leave everything behind and move to California." Grandma tried to comfort Amy.


    "You''re a big girl. Why are you still crying about this?" Maggie asked Amy, her own eyes glossy.


    Amy didn''t want to go back home; she felt friendless there. "But Dad only works as an accountant," she whined.


    I turned to Uncle Jim and asked, "Is that why you lost all your hair?"


    "Yes��What!? NO!" Uncle Jim protested, touching his balding head.


    "And I will be bald too," Amy continued, tears streaming down her cheeks.


    "NOO!" Uncle Jim spun around, clearly stressed. He then turned to my dad, jokingly asking, "Do you have any job openings at your work?"


    Amy''s eyes lit up as she turned to her dad. "Really? Can we move here?"


    "Well, your mom and I talked about it," Uncle Jim replied, "but we haven''t decided anything yet."


    "Aww," Amy said, slumping her shoulders.


    Grandpa chimed in, "If you decide to move, don''t go to Hollywood. That place gives me the creeps."


    "Or Beverly Hills. That''s where godless people live," Grandma added.


    I could have offered Uncle Jim a job, but I left that to Pepper. We were expanding our company and needed a team of accountants. Uncle Jim would be a good fit.


    Max and Caroline were planning to head back home since they needed to drive the car to New York, but I stopped them.


    "Go home and work at the GAP again?" I said, incredulous. "I thought you were coming with me on my tour?" I turned to Max.


    Max smiled slightly. "I don''t even have a passport."


    "I can handle that. No problem," I replied.


    Caroline realized something and turned to Max. "If you''re staying behind just for me, Max, you don''t have to do that. I''ll be fine living alone in New York."


    "No, Caroline. I don''t want to go because there''s nothing for me to do. I''m just going to follow him around for nothing," Max argued.


    "You''ll be part of my entourage. That''s really important," I tried to convince her. Then I turned to Caroline. "You, Miss Channing. You have an MBA?"


    Caroline jumped at the opportunity. "I graduated from Wharton, top of the class in 2009. I speak French, Japanese, Korean, and I dabble in a bit of Spanish."


    "What is this, a job interview?" Max mumbled to herself.


    "I''ve always been driven and resilient, qualities that have only strengthened after facing unexpected challenges in my life. My creativity shines through in everything I do, whether it''s developing new business ideas or finding innovative solutions to problems. I thrive in fast-paced environments and love to collaborate with others to achieve common goals," Caroline added, her words flowing non-stop.


    "Now it really is a job interview," Max whispered, amazed at Caroline''s rapid-fire speech.


    "Stop." I gestured with my hand for her to pause. "I can''t bring you with me on business deals, but I need an assistant manager to handle the procedures during the tour."


    Channing''s family name carried some baggage, and I didn''t want it to affect my negotiations later on. Caroline was well aware of this; she had been rejected from Wall Street, and many of her wealthy friends had turned their backs on her because of it.


    "Everyone''s expenses will be covered for two years, and once the tour is done, I''ll write you a $250,000 check for both you and Max to open your cupcake store. You''ll have to work for it, though. Max, do you have any issues with that?" I asked, but she didn''t respond.


    "During those two years, I''ll arrange for your horse to stay at my grandfather''s ranch and give him the best care. How about it? Do you want to work with me on the tour?"


    "You mean actually working, right? I can even carry your luggage around if I can''t do anything else," Max said, wary of taking advantage of me. She didn''t want charity, especially from someone so close to her, which was causing her internal conflict.


    "Yeah, you can carry my luggage if you want. And I definitely need someone to look after Vader, whom I''m bringing with me on the tour."


    Max grinned. "Oh, so I''ll be like your cat sitter? Okay! I love that! I''ll do it!"


    "Nice." I nodded, satisfied that Max agreed to come with me. "It''ll be fun."


    "What about the car?" Caroline asked after Max pushed her away, trying to hug her.


    "You know what?" I turned to Max. "Call him. Tell him I want to buy the car from him. You guys can use it as your car here."


    "Really? That beat-up old car?" Caroline looked incredulous. "I''ve fantasized about beating that car with a bat thousands of times in the last three days."


    "Hey! Don''t talk bad about Laura! She brought us all the way up here!" Max defended the car.


    The next day arrived, and I went to Haley''s house in the morning. However, when I got there, Mitchell, Cam, Jay, Gloria, Manny, and Lily were also visiting and brainstorming.


    Jay asked, "Hey, Ed! Let me guess: compare the scene on the card and the actual scene, and you''ll get the clue for the next thing, am I right?"


    "I won''t tell you about it," I shrugged. "No hints."


    "That''s a yes!" Jay said excitedly. "I was correct!"


    "At the very least, tell us what the card will lead to?" Mitchell asked slyly. I looked at them, confused, and said, "Just open the card. It''s written inside."


    "The card opens?" Phil muttered in shock, while I stared at all of them in disbelief. "I know everyone else might not see this, but even you, Alex?" I looked at her, disappointed.


    "Shut up! It was Christmas, so I didn''t focus on the card!" Alex retorted as she tried to open it.

 Chapter 320: Hill House (1)

    Chapter 320: Chapter 320: Hill House (1)


    [Edward POV]


    I smiled as I watched them try to solve the quiz in the living room. Gloria ignored the quiz and played with Lily, while Manny and Jay worked hard together, standing by the fireplace mantle.


    "Is it origami?" Cam whispered to Mitchell, acting as if everyone around was a competitor.


    "Gold Roger? Gold in the periodic table is Au. The atomic number is 79..." Alex racked her brain alone, trying to make sense of the picture I used. Her instincts told her the picture played a role, which was accurate; however, her methods of deciphering the clues were not.


    "Atomic number?" Phil turned to Alex, wanting some clues.


    The puzzle itself wasn''t very difficult. After they opened the card, they found a picture of a Christmas wreath on one side and a misdirection clue on the other, disguised as Christmas greetings.


    They needed to notice the thin layer of transparent film on the wreath, take it out��and then they would see a donut-shaped thin line on it, which they needed to place on top of the initial Gold Roger execution picture to reveal the coordinates for the prize.


    They were all very excited to solve the puzzle, but that made me feel disheartened. How could I tell them that the top prize was already gone?


    "Hey, Ed!" Haley gleefully appeared from behind me. "Thank you!" She immediately hugged me, wrapping her arms around my neck and placing her head on my chest.


    Then she grabbed my arm, clinging to it, and told her parents, "Dad, Ed and I will be in my room."


    "Sure, honey," Phil replied dismissively. "Ed! Is it origami? Do I need to fold the card?" He turned to me, asking for help. Cam flinched and turned toward me too, trying to get an answer.


    "Not telling," I jeered.


    "Damn it." Phil cursed softly. Suddenly, Alex stood up from the couch and yelled, "I got it!"


    "Ignore them. Let''s go," Haley said, pulling me into her room while everyone else focused on Alex.


    I glanced at Claire and Phil and muttered, "Wow, they don''t really care about you bringing a boy into your room."


    The stairs to the basement were finally completed. We entered through what used to be a closet in the hallway between the kitchen and the living room, then descended the stairs to Haley''s room.


    "This is just a Christmas miracle. When Mom realizes it, I''m sure she''ll start checking on us every minute," Haley replied with a mischievous smirk. "Make sure to lock the door."


    "When did you put a door here?" I asked as she opened another door at the bottom of the stairs.


    Haley glanced at me and said coyly, "Yeah. I told my dad I would be afraid if the space was open. In reality, I just want them to knock on the door first. I don''t want them to waltz in here."


    "Yeah, you need them to knock in case they catch you..." I trailed off, which made Haley curious. "Catch me what?" she asked.


    "Lacking," I added, which left her confused.


    The door opened to a lounge area between her studio and her bedroom. A single luxury couch and a coffee table were positioned beside it, creating a cozy nook for relaxation. It was intended to be a reading spot, but Haley figured she could add a TV there.


    "Come on! I want to show you where I hung the painting," Haley said, grabbing my arm and rushing me to her room. "Ta-da!" she announced cheerfully as she revealed the painting hung above her bed.


    Laughing slightly, I told her, "That looks pretty great."


    "You don''t like it?" She caught my subtle glances and turned hesitant. I quickly shook my head and said, "No, it''s good. It''s just... the painting is too small to be the center of the room."


    Haley grumbled and turned to the painting. After scrutinizing it for a few seconds, she looked back at me and said, "I don''t see anything wrong with it."


    "It''s too small," I reiterated. "You should hang up more pictures��family pictures, with friends��and make it bigger."


    Haley brightened and asked, "Is this your way of saying you want to put a picture of us there?"


    "Maybe," I replied vaguely, then asked, "By the way, when is the room going to be completed?"


    Haley pouted and said, "I could''ve moved in yesterday, but Dad wants to shoot the big reveal for the renovation, so I have to wait."


    "It won''t take long. You just have to decorate it," I said, looking around. The bed was already here, and the wardrobe was fixed. Only the little things, like decorations and curtains, were left.


    I pressed down on the bed and asked, "Is this the one from upstairs, or did your dad buy a new one?"


    "The one from upstairs. Only the frame is new," she replied. "Oh, what is the card about?" she asked curiously as she sat on the edge of the bed and pulled me to sit next to her.


    "Just a treasure hunt," I replied casually.


    "Huh?" Haley looked confused.


    I shrugged and said, "Do you remember the picture after the missile exploded?"


    "Yeah, the one where you and Vader are wearing sunglasses," Haley recalled. "What does that have to do with the treasure hunt?"


    "For some reason, Dodge''s market share spiked by 10% after the picture hit the internet. I also had another viral photo of me sitting on the car, so I became kind of like a brand representative for them."


    "Yeah, so?" Haley urged me to continue. "What''s the connection to the treasure hunt? Hurry up!"


    I chuckled a bit and said, "Anyway, Dodge began sending me free cars: the unreleased 2010 Dodge Viper and three more Dodge Challengers, each from different branches of the company. They didn''t even think to check with headquarters before sending me those."


    "A CAR?!" Haley exclaimed, flabbergasted. "The treasure hunt leads to four cars?!"


    "Fifteen cars," I revealed. "Dodge wants me to keep using those. Ford sent me their Mustang, Chevrolet sent me a Bumblebee, and for some reason, a billionaire who supports the president sent me a Bentley, but that was just a gift."


    "YOU GAVE THOSE AWAY?!" Haley shouted, almost bewildered by my decision.


    "Of course not," I said casually, watching her expression deflate. "I kept the nice cars. But Ford gave me a 30% discount on their products, and Dodge did the same. Chevrolet offered a similar deal, and many more followed suit. So, I bought five of each and make them the treasure hunt prizes."


    Haley was stunned for a moment, then she gave up trying to figure out my thought process. "How much did you spend?" she asked.


    "Around $300,000."


    I smirked and replied, "Usually, the heartthrob gets saved until the end." Both Vanessa and Haley rolled their eyes at me.


    "Not if he''s part of the horny couple. They usually die first," Maggie interjected. I nodded, acknowledging her point. "That''s true."


    "Only the alternate girl, the kind-hearted one, the outsider of the group, will survive. All of us won''t make it," Maggie added.


    "Maggie, you kind of will survive," I said, turning to her.


    "Huh? Me? So I''m kind-hearted?" Maggie asked bashfully.


    "No, they''ll just think you''re one of them when they see you without makeup," I teased.


    Maggie shot me a glare while Vanessa and Haley laughed. "We won''t stay there until it''s dark out, right?" Vanessa asked worriedly.


    I fell into disbelief and replied, "It''s 12 in the afternoon."


    "If it gets dark, I''m going to take the car and leave," Vanessa threatened.


    "Relax. We''ll have some fun there," I said dismissively. "Put that on your tombstone when you get killed by a headless ghost." Vanessa grimaced.


    "I didn''t know you were superstitious," Haley said, giggling with Vanessa.


    "We''re here," Maggie announced as we drove up the hill. "What''s the name of the hill again?" she asked.


    "It''s called Wildflower Hill, but the locals call it ''Whispering Pines.'' That''s a pretty dope name," I smirked as I navigated the dilapidated road.


    "Okay, I need to go back. Turn the car around," Vanessa begged as the trees grew thicker, blocking out more sunlight.


    "We can''t make a U-turn here. The road is too small. We have to drive all the way up to turn around," I replied casually. "I should make a new road once the process is settled."


    Suddenly, a furry figure jumped in front of the car. I slammed on the brakes, jolting the vehicle forward. My dad''s car nearly collided with mine, and he yelled from the window, "Edward! What is it?!"


    "Don''t know! Maybe a dog!" I shouted back, rolling down my window.


    We continued on as if nothing had happened, finally arriving in front of the mansion.


    The estate featured a stunning fac?ade of dark stone and weathered wood, giving it a gothic yet regal appearance. Towering spires and intricate ironwork adorned the roof, while gargoyles and ornate carvings lined the entrance.


    Lush, overgrown gardens surrounded the property, with twisted trees and dense foliage creating an air of mystery. Winding pathways led to hidden nooks, where statues and fountains lay shrouded in shadow.


    "Oh my god. This place is giving me the creeps," Maggie exclaimed, taking in the mansion.


    "Hmm, we can''t get through the front gate," I said, stopping the car in front of the black iron gate. I got out to wait for my contact.


    Blackthorn Estate was rumored to be haunted, with whispers of ghostly apparitions and unexplained phenomena. The library, with its towering shelves filled with dusty tomes, was said to be a hotspot for paranormal activity.


    "The place looks surprisingly in good shape. You said it was dilapidated," Haley remarked as we got out of the car. Maggie filmed the surrounding area and said, "Ed, if you shoot a horror movie here before you gut it down, it could be really successful."


    "You can be the main actress. You just need to stay here for a month," I told Maggie.


    "Main character?!" Maggie exclaimed in disbelief. "But it''s haunted!" She was distressed and overwhelmed with indecision.


    Suddenly, we heard a loud bang coming from inside the manor. We all turned toward the mansion at the same time. After a moment of rattling, the manor grew quiet again.


    "We-We-We-We-We��" Vanessa stammered, and I teased her by making police car sounds: "Wee wee wee wee..."


    "Shut up!" Vanessa shot back, blushing. "We need to get out of here. Whatever is inside isn''t very welcoming to visitors."


    Caroline approached me and asked, "Sir, why do you want to buy this place? There are lots of mansions for sale in Bel Air, Beverly Hills, Hollywood... It''s not cost-effective to rebuild the entire place."


    Max turned to Caroline and asked, "Why are you calling him ''Sir''?"


    "Yeah. Just call me Edward." I echoed, equally confused by Caroline''s sudden formality.


    Caroline wasn''t embarrassed and said, "I mean, he is our new boss. As a more experienced person dealing with tremendous wealth��"


    "You mean the money your dad scammed from the people?" Max interrupted her to tease.


    "Well, I still grew up rich," Caroline replied with a smile. She turned to me and said, "Buying properties in these neighborhoods��Bel Air, Beverly Hills��will be much better than buying this hill. In terms of value alone, you can double what your house is worth in just ten years if you buy it at a strategic location."


    "Caroline, shut up," Max whispered to her. "You don''t want to get fired on the first day."


    My dad and Frankie laughed after hearing Caroline''s words. Frankie then said to Caroline, "We already know all of that."


    "But Edward is a sucker for a good deal," my dad added.


    "Hmm, we should eat first. Casey is running a little late," I said as I opened the car trunk and took out some sandwiches I had prepared. There were also folding chairs in my dad''s car, which we set up by the car for a little picnic.


    Suddenly, we heard the banging coming from inside the house again. Crows flew out of the mansion''s window, causing Vanessa and Haley to get closer to me.


    ''It seems that my passive skill is working,'' I thought secretly. ''So, there is a ghost? Well, there is an elder god using my credit card to shop online, so I guess I shouldn''t be startled by it.''


    Around 2 in the afternoon, a black van pulled into the estate''s driveway. It stopped behind my car before Casey stepped out of the driver''s seat.


    Without saying much, he walked to the passenger door and opened it. Six people were crammed inside the van, all with bags over their heads and their hands tied with zip ties.


    "Move!" Casey told them gruffly.


    Startled, I immediately walked over to him. "Casey, what the fuck!? Did you kidnap them?!"


    Casey took off the bag from the oldest one of the bunch, introduced him to me, "This is the dad. He''s the owner. These are his children. They are leverage ; in case he doesn''t want to sign off on the property transfer contract."

 Chapter 321: Hill House (2)

    Chapter 321: Chapter 321: Hill House (2)


    (Sorry I was gone for so long. I''m sick.)


    [Edward POV]


    (Based on Haunting of the Hill House on Netflix.)


    "Leverage?!" Max gasped. "Oh my God, are we accessories to a crime?" Caroline whimpered, holding her stomach and breathing heavily.


    "Dad!!" I shouted to my dad. He reached into his pocket and threw me a pocket knife.


    "I''m so sorry about this, Mr. Crain," I said urgently as I removed the bag from the old man''s head and cut off the cable tie on his hands. My dad removed the bags from the man''s children and apologized profusely to them.


    "You... are... I know you..." The old man, Hugh Crain, stammered as he looked into my face. Despite being kidnapped, he didn''t seem rattled; he had experienced more terrifying events in his life.


    "I''m Edward Newgate. I don''t have anything to do with all of this. All I told him was to find you since you went off-grid. I didn''t know he would bring you here by force." I explained slightly.


    As the man''s children adjusted to the light, their faces paled even more at the sight of the mansion before them.


    The eldest daughter, Shirley Crain, walked up to Casey and slapped him across the face. My friends gasped, while I admired her tough attitude. "I''ll make sure to press charges against you for this!" She scowled.


    However, Casey growled at her and stepped forward menacingly, causing her to ran away behind her eldest brother, Steven.


    Nell, the youngest daughter, who was a twin to Luke Crain��a drug addict��suddenly fell to her knees. Theo, the middle child who wore elbow-length black gloves, immediately rushed to check on her.


    "Nell, are you okay?!" Theo asked in concern, but she didn''t touch her. The oldest brother, Steven, an aspiring novelist, hugged Nell and urged, "We should get out of this place now."


    Everyone agreed with him, except for Nell. "Wait. Steve. Bring me close to him." She pointed at me.


    "Nell, you''re not well," Steven tried to persuade her. "We need to get out of here." Theo said urgently, fearing the house they once lived in.


    "Nobody is leaving." Casey suddenly pulled a rifle from the car, cocked it, and threatened the family to stay. "Casey! Enough!" I yelled in frustration, feeling a headache coming on.


    "Everyone, let''s all take a deep breath and see if we can work this out calmly," Frankie suggested, stepping in to control the situation.


    Luke, the drug addict, suddenly fell to the ground, his entire body spasming. "Luke!" Shirley and Theo rushed to help him. Nell whispered in a strained voice, "Steve... bring Luke... to him too."


    "What?" Steve looked confused. "Hurry!" Nell urged. Their father heard her and immediately helped Luke to his feet, bringing the twins closer to me.


    "Um, what''s going on here?" Max asked, bewildered.


    "This is weird," I mumbled as Max laughed at my predicament. My dad went to talk with Casey and the old man, Hugh, working things out for a while. I offered the other children some food while they waited.


    Steven and Shirley felt awkward, unable to leave without any transportation.


    "So, Steven, you''re a writer?" I asked, trying to ease the tension. Nell''s eyes were still closed as she held my right hand. After getting a good look at her face, I realized she resembled Victoria Pedretti, the actress from the series You.


    "Ummm... we don''t have to make small talk," Steven replied, slightly guarded. "Why do you even want to buy this house? I assume you know what happened here." Shirley''s tone was full of hostility.


    "You mean the death of your mother?" I smiled at them. "That happened 14 years ago."


    "You''re only saying this because you don''t know what really happened in that house," Theo said while sipping whiskey she had taken from my dad''s trunk.


    "Hey, that''s my whiskey!" I scolded her but didn''t let go of Nell and Luke''s hands to reach for the bottle.


    Frankie scolded me as she overheard, "Ed! Why did you bring that whiskey bottle here?"


    "That''s not for me. It''s for Casey. I wanted to give it to him to thank him for his help��You know what? You can drink it, Theo." My tone shifted when I realized I didn''t have to think about Casey anymore.


    Theo smirked and said, "I just realized this. Aren''t you that celebrity kid?"


    No one among them knew who I was, except for their dad, who recognized me slightly from the news. The siblings didn''t follow entertainment news, so they had no idea I was a singer.


    "Yeah. That''s me," I replied easily. "Celebrity kid?! You have no idea who he is, do you?!" Haley fumed on my behalf. "And you, stop holding his hand." She scolded Nell, but Nell didn''t respond.


    I sighed and asked Haley, "Do we still have any sandwiches?"


    Suddenly, we heard an incredibly loud bang coming from inside the house. Nell and Luke collapsed to the ground, unconscious.


    "Nell! Luke!" Their father immediately ran to check on his youngest children.


    The door to the house burst open, one of the doors breaking its hinges and falling forward. "Oh, I guess it''s completed now," I mumbled to myself, watching the entire house shake, creak, and rattle. Some windows cracked, and a gargoyle statue on the roof fell, shattering on the ground.


    Maggie, Vanessa, Max, and Caroline were terrified. Haley and Vanessa hugged me in fear, shrieking, "Ed! We need to get out of here!" Max shouted incessantly.


    "No. It''s fine. It''ll stop soon." I replied casually. And just as I said that, the rattling stopped.


    "We should probably check on these two. It doesn''t seem like they''re breathing." I pointed at the twin.


    "Nell!" Steven immediately did CPR on her, and but she wouldn''t wake up, so did Luke. I squatted next to Nell to check up on her, but Shirley grabbed my hand before I could, "What are you doing?!"


    Casey suddenly laughed at Shirley, "Possibly saving her life. He saved mine before. If you care about your little sis, I think you should let go of his arm."


    Shirley''s eyes shook and she slowly let go of my wrist. I placed my finger on Nell''s wrist, and checked on her pulse. "Well there is a pulse...Um, this kinda reminds me of something."


    "Remind you of what, Edward?" My dad asked.


    "Well.... Me." I said with a grin. My dad widened his eyes in shock and exclaimed in disbelief, "What?"


    "Just put them in a safe spot. They''ll wake up soon." I stood up and turned to Hugh. "Did my dad tell you about the deal?"


    "Um." Hugh replied hesitantly. "No deal. I can''t sell the house in good conscience."


    "Even though the house is breaking down?" I said, pointing at the direction of the house.


    Knowing that it would take some time to convince the old man, I told Casey to bring the twins to a hotel first. However, they woke up by the time Casey placed them inside the van.


    Nell suddenly jerked up and said, "Dad! Steven! Shirley, Theo! We should go inside the house, right now."


    "This doesn''t seem like our issue, so we should go now." I told the others as I was feeling quite hungry even though I had just eaten. I gave Nell my phone number and told her, "Call me when you''re done."


    Nell blushed a bit as she accepted my card, and then she said with a determined expression, "Okay. I''ll be sure to call."


    ...


    [General POV]


    Edward left the family on their own after they started arguing about entering the house. He left the van for their use and took Casey with him as he went back home.


    "I could''ve made him sign the property transfer today," Casey grumbled as he sat next to Edward, while all the girls who came with Ed sat in the backseat.


    Casey felt he owed Edward a debt. After his leg surgery, the doctor said he could quickly regain function since the operation had gone perfectly. Even the CIA surgeon who checked on him was impressed with the work. Casey never revealed where he had the surgery, and General Beckman, along with Chuck and Sarah, kept it a secret.


    Despite this, Casey was frustrated for involving a civilian in the spy world. He vowed to repay his debt to Edward, even if it meant killing someone. That''s how significant he considered Edward''s favor.


    "Sure you could. But that''s not how I wanted it," Edward said casually, then turned to Casey. "They have already gone through so much. I don''t want to add to their trauma."


    "Also, money," Haley interjected curtly.


    Edward nodded and said, "Yeah. Rather than keeping that house, which has no value, I''m sure I can convince him to sell it to me once I have a one-on-one conversation with that old man."


    Casey grumbled in frustration, but then Edward turned to him. "I already called Chuck to come pick you up. I''m not driving you to Burbank."


    "You can drop me off here. I''ll take a cab," Casey said casually. Since they were already in the city, he could get a taxi anytime.


    "No. Chuck is almost here. Just wait for him," Edward replied.


    Edward dropped Casey off at Chuck E. Cheese, which irked him greatly. When he arrived home, the Dunphys and their extended family had already returned from their treasure hunt in Santa Monica.


    "We couldn''t get the car, but we did get $100 worth of gift cards each," Phil explained, not really excited about the gift cards. A lot of things happened during the drive, which Alex happily shared with Edward.


    The next day came quickly. After spending the night inside the interrogation room, the family was finally released as someone posted bail for them. They still had to go to court, which made the property transfer even more difficult.


    "I swear I''m not giving up on this!" I muttered as I sat in front of Steven, the aspiring writer.


    "Not giving up on what?" He smiled awkwardly, having overheard my mumbling.


    "The story." I took out a pen and paper before saying, "I want to know about what happened there. Also, are you interested in creating a TV series with me about your family''s experience? I''ll pay you nicely for the story rights."


    After discussing with Steven, I finally connected the storyline when he confessed something. "Honestly, I am in the middle of writing a novel about our family''s experience in that house. I''m going to name it, ''Haunting of the Hill House.''"


    Bewildered at first, I became intrigued and said, "Let''s publish that book first. Then, we will discuss the TV series."


    As the family had confessed to setting the house on fire, they received the court date early. I sat amongst the audience members as the court was in session.


    My dad was called as a witness by the lawyers, and he showed them the aerial footage of the house, which was in a state of disrepair, taken slightly before the family entered the house yesterday afternoon.


    My lawyers searched for the therapy records of the five children, which showed extensive therapy documentation, arguing for long-standing emotional trauma that could only be resolved when the house was gone.


    The African American, slightly obese, old judge knocked on his gavel as he came to a decision. "Based on the testimonies presented and the emotional distress experienced by the defendants, I have decided to impose a sentence that reflects both the seriousness of their actions and the circumstances that led to them."


    Everyone held their breath as they waited for the sentencing.


    He paused, allowing the weight of his words to settle in the courtroom. "While burning down the house was undeniably a crime, the evidence suggests that it was also a desperate act born from years of trauma and suffering. I heard all of your testimonies, and I have to admit, it took guts to return back to that place. Therefore, I will not impose the full penalties associated with arson."


    The family broke into smiles as they realized they had managed to escape felony charges. To be honest, if the lawyers defending them weren''t highly capable, it was highly likely that they would go to prison.


    The judge looked up, making eye contact with each family member. "Instead, I am sentencing each of you to two years of probation. During this time, you will be required to complete 200 hours of community service. I expect you to engage in activities that benefit your community and help others who may be facing similar struggles."


    He continued, "Additionally, I am ordering you to participate in counseling sessions to address the emotional scars left by your experiences in that home. It is crucial that you seek the help you need to heal and move forward."


    The judge then addressed the financial aspect. "You will be required to pay a fine of $1,000, which will go toward community programs for mental health support. Furthermore, if restitution is deemed necessary for the damages caused, I will allow the court to determine a reasonable amount in a separate hearing."


    As he concluded, the judge''s tone softened. "I hope this sentence serves not only as a consequence for your actions but also as an opportunity for healing. You have a chance to rebuild your lives and support one another as you move forward. Now that the house is gone, I hope that all of you can move forward in your life, unperturbed by the trauma of the past."


    With that, he rapped his gavel once more, signaling the end of the proceedings. Everyone dispersed as the judge left his seat. Outside of the courthouse, Nell hugged Theo and Shirley happily as they managed to get out of jail.


    I was also happy when I heard the news from Harvey. "So can I finally buy the house now?!" I asked, slightly surprised.


    "Yeah. Hugh Crain wants to just give the land to you, but I assume you don''t want that. Your dad will sign a deal to buy what''s left of the house from him. They are going to meet tonight." Harvey said with a smile. "Congratulations. You can move in once the contract is approved."


    "YESS!" I raised my hand upwards in celebration. "How long will it take for everything to settle?" I calmed down and asked Harvey again.


    "Around 4-5 months," she replied.


    "Fuck!" I cursed out loud inside the courtroom. Nell and Theo approached me when they noticed my presence there.


    "Oh, hello there. Congrats on getting the arson charges dropped." I shook hands with Nell after I turned immediately, and I even kissed the back of her hand. Nell blushed a bit and said gratefully, holding back tears, "Thank you!"


    "You''re welcome��" Before I could finish, Nell rushed and hugged me tightly. Slightly taken aback, I patted her back and said, "Oof��You don''t have to do this. I''m only helping because it benefits me too."


    "Still. What you have done for us... No one in my family could ever repay your kindness," Nell said while slightly choked up. I sighed and waited patiently for her to release me, which took quite a while, and it only stopped when Theo reminded her.


    "Nell, you''re troubling him," Theo said, slightly pulling Nell away with her gloved hand.


    Nell''s chin quivered as she released me, her eyes full of tears. "Edward Newgate. If there is anything, anything at all I can do to repay you��I will do anything!" Nell vowed.


    I laughed slightly and said, "Well, if you can act��"


    "I will learn and become an actress, just for you!" Nell vowed again. "I promise!"


    Slightly taken aback, I smiled wryly and said, "Don''t push yourself too hard. Now that you''re finally free, just do what you want to do, not what I want you to do. Remember what that judge said?"


    As Nell talked with Theo, Harvey nudged me with her arm and whispered, "We can get a free actress."


    "I don''t want to take advantage of the vulnerable," I whispered back to Harvey.


    Suddenly, Theo took off her glove and extended her hand to me, wanting to shake it. "I, too, am grateful for your help, Mr. Newgate."


    "Thank you, Theodora. I hope that you will get your PhD soon." I shook her hand, unaware of the special ability she possessed. It was why she always wore gloves. Backed by her intense curiosity, she finally used her ability on me.


    ...


    [Theo POV]


    I was told by my mother about a gift our family possesses. Like my grandmother, I learned that I have the ability to sense and absorb the emotions and physical sensations of others through touch.


    This empathic skill allows me to understand the feelings of those around me, but it also exposes me to their pain and trauma, making it both a gift and a burden. Another term for this ability is psychometry. I didn''t tell anyone about it, but my sister Shirley has a vague idea what I could do. Nell also knew slightly about it.


    With this gift, I have helped many people in my therapy practice, especially children who suffered abuse at an early age.


    Since yesterday, my world has been turned upside down. Nell and Luke brought us to the spirit of our mother, who explained how the house had driven her to madness, nearly leading her to harm them. She revealed that the reason Dad doesn''t share much is to preserve our memory of her as the kind, smart, and caring mother we all remember.


    Mom told us that the shackle the house had on her spirit was broken, all because of the presence of a special individual. It shocked me to think that someone could possess such an intense aura that it could cleanse a haunted house filled with over fifty ghosts.


    Although she didn''t reveal his identity, I could figure it out myself. Nell and Luke had escaped being the house''s sacrificial offerings simply by holding his hand. I was curious to know what kind of person he really was.


    I removed my glove to shake his hand, driven by an urgent need to understand.


    ''I want to know.''


    ''I need to know.''


    The moment I touched his hand, my entire world was blinded by a radiant light. In an instant, I found myself transported to a vast field of blooming flowers, their colors more vibrant than anything I had ever seen. The air was thick with an otherworldly warmth that enveloped me, wrapping around my heart like a soft embrace.


    As I stood there, awe-struck, an overwhelming sense of peace and love radiated from him, a presence so pure it seemed to exorcise the very shadows lurking in my mind.


    Drawn by an inexplicable force, I looked up, and my breath caught in my throat. Above him was a glowing ring, shimmering with ethereal light that pulsed in rhythm with my own heartbeat.


    ''Ah, it''s so beautiful.''


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Theo?" Nell called out to her sister, who was acting strangely. Theo''s entire body jerked, and she looked up at the sky. Suddenly, she flopped down onto the floor, landing on her knees.


    Blood trickled down her nose as she panted heavily, clutching her chest.


    "Hey, are you all right?" I asked, my voice laced with panic. Theo stopped me from helping her and slowly stood back up. "It''s fine. I''m all right."


    "Are you sure? You should go to the hospital," Harvey urged. Theo wiped the blood from her nose with a tissue and replied, "Seriously, I''m fine. It''s just that my nerves can finally relax��"


    No one believed her, especially since she wore the same fanatical expression that Nell had when she looked at me. To be honest, many of my fans had that same look on their faces, so it wasn''t entirely unusual.


    Theo also promised to do anything for me for some reason, but I didn''t really have anything for her to do. After we got back from court, Theo applied for a job at my company in a position for which she was overqualified, demanding only the smallest salary possible.


    Shirley and Steven returned to their respective families, but Luke and Hugh stayed behind in California. Nell, Theo, Hugh, and Luke all rented a house together, and Luke never touched drugs again after this.


    "This has been a weird couple of days," I mumbled to myself on the drive home.


    After the incident, I left the courthouse and returned home, fully aware of the work awaiting me. The quantum channel network was set to officially launch in just three days, and the distribution of the SIM card was now nationwide. We had also executed an intensive marketing campaign for the new telecom network.


    I even collaborated with Marvel to hire RDJ as Iron Man for an advertisement, which garnered a lot of positive feedback from the public. Currently, 300,000 SIM cards have been distributed, and I strive for at least 2 million people to subscribe to the network within a month. I thought it would be a slow start, but we had actually gotten more than 1 million people paying to use the network in just three days.


    "Once I finish this, I can finally rest easy until it''s time for the tour," I murmured as I settled into the CEO''s chair in the company building, towering stacks of documents piled in front of me.


    As I was working, I suddenly received a text from Jenna. "A New Year''s Eve party at her house? I guess I can go." I replied and accepted her invitation, but just minutes later, I received another invitation from Selena. Then, Haley mentioned that she was hosting a New Year''s Eve party at Jay''s house.


    "Now, which of these parties should I go to?"

 Chapter 322: Article.

    Chapter 322: Chapter 322: Article.


    [Edward POV]


    Early morning. An article about me went viral on the internet and then breached mainstream media, making me the most talked-about celebrity in the world that day��yet again.


    As I was eating my breakfast after finishing a heavy workout, Luke suddenly walked into the house.


    "Oh hey, Luke," I greeted him casually, as Robin had notified me of his arrival. I had an automatic door opener set up, controlled by Robin, so she was the one who let Luke inside. He immediately sat on my kitchen island and asked, "What are you having for breakfast?"


    "Veggie Sausage Strata." I handed him a fork, implying that he should have a taste. Luke groaned in disgust at the word ''veggie,'' but the intoxicating smell compelled him to try it.


    As he took a bite of the dish, Luke widened his eyes in amazement and nodded slightly. "It''s veggie, but it''s good."


    "You want a plate?" I offered, having made enough for Max, Caroline, Maggie, and Vanessa, who were all still asleep.


    Not only was there veggie sausage strata, but there were also freshly made croissants, cappuccinos, fruits, bread, jam, and some biscotti.


    "Can I get it to go? Mom asked me to invite you for pancakes," Luke said casually, taking another bite from my plate. Laughing in disbelief, I rubbed his head to mess up his hair and said, "Sure. I can do that. I''ll just bring the food there."


    Luke struggled to carry all the food in his arms as he walked back home. Claire greeted me as I entered her kitchen. "Edward, have you had breakfast yet?"


    "I was in the middle of it when Luke called me here." I took a seat at the dining table with the rest of the family. "Luke stole my breakfast, by the way," I teased as I watched Luke covering the Tupperware with his arm.


    "What did he make?" Alex asked curiously, trying to peek at it, but Luke hissed at her and said, "Nothing delicious. Go away!"


    "Fine!" Alex raised both of her hands, trying to disarm the hostility.


    Phil greeted me excitedly while Alex and Luke had their conversation. "Hey Ed. We''re having chocolate chip pancakes."


    "Again," Alex mumbled under her breath. Haley smiled at me and asked, "So how does it feel to be in the news again?"


    "He''s on the news again?" Claire widened her eyes slightly as she flipped the pancake. "For what this time?" she asked.


    "He��" Haley started to explain, but I interjected, "Instead of Haley telling us, why don''t we all take a guess?"


    "You don''t know either?" Phil was excited. I shrugged and said, "No. I haven''t checked what it''s about yet."


    "This seems fun. I''ll start first," Alex grinned mischievously. "Edward entered the news because he committed a crime again."


    "No! And what do you mean again?!" Claire protested while I laughed. Alex continued, "He''s quite a hothead. Maybe he hit someone again."


    "Yeah, it''s going to be you!" I shot back at Alex as I karate chopped her head. She was sitting next to me, while Haley sat in front of me. Luke was next to Haley, and Phil occupied the head of the table.


    "Ouch. MOM!" Alex turned to her mother to complain, but Claire snorted and said, "You kinda deserve that. And he didn''t hit you hard."


    Phil guessed, "Oh, I know! Edward received recognition from the Academy of Magical Arts��"


    "No," Haley rejected the guess coldly, not even allowing Phil to finish guessing.


    "Merlin Award��"


    "He''s not getting an award for being a lame magician!" Haley interrupted her father. "Aww," Phil exclaimed in disappointment.


    "The sketches on his Instagram?" Alex guessed again, this time she did it properly.


    Yesterday, I posted several design sketches for the new house and created a poll for people to vote on which design they liked best. The vote wasn''t concluded yet, but so far, the Batman-style manor was leading, with an Italian-style mansion following closely behind.


    There were more than 100,000 comments on my Instagram post, igniting an intense debate among my fans. The comment section quickly turned into a battleground, with two factions emerging.


    One group passionately advocated for the Italian-style mansion, arguing that it would elevate my image and reflect sophistication. This faction mostly consisted of teenage girls and the female side of my fandom.


    On the other side, the chaotic fanbase rallied behind the idea of the Batman manor, insisting that I embrace my inner superhero since I already had a Batsuit. The manor would cement my superhero origin and turn me into a real life Batman.


    They flooded the Thread with memes, fan art, and even mock-ups of me in a cape, claiming that a bat-themed home would be perfect for me.


    The arguments escalated, with fans hurling insults at each other, each side convinced that their vision was the only right choice, and no one would want to keep an open mind to listen to the argument of the other side.


    "No. Not that. Although it was covered in the morning show, it''s not the news we''re talking about," Haley explained, scrunching her eyebrow as she rechecked the article, and also replying to a comment from the other faction underneath my post, using a different Instagram profile.


    "How is it that you know more about Edward''s activity coverage than he does?" Claire looked at Haley in disbelief. Haley was a bit shy as she said, "A lot of people send me everything about Edward, even if he was mentioned just a tiny bit."


    "I got it!" Phil suddenly slammed the table, shocking all of us. "It''s about his movie!" Phil was excited, but he quickly deflated when Haley replied nonchalantly, "Nope."


    "Are they covering the treasure hunt?" I asked casually as Claire placed a plate full of pancakes in front of me.


    The sweet smell of the still-hot pancakes made me impatient. The butter melted slowly as it was laid on top of the stacked pancakes, and Claire smiled happily as she saw me enjoying it.


    "Not as the main topic, but they do cover it a little bit."


    Luke suddenly chimed in, still holding his fork, "Edward went street racing and got caught."


    "Please, Luke. I would never get caught," I replied confidently, with a sly smirk. Alex rolled her eyes at me while Haley giggled.


    Claire thought about it for a while before asking, "Could it be about his wealth again? Last time there was an article about his billionaire status��even though he doesn''t even have a million in his account."


    "Not about the stock value, but that is...." Haley scrolled on her phone for a moment before confirming, "Yeah, it is mentioned too."


    "So, we know it''s about his wealth. Since it''s not what he''s gained, maybe it''s about what he''s given back?" Alex guessed.


    "Ding ding ding!" Haley made the winning sound, and Alex raised her hand in celebration. She turned to me and said, "In your face!"


    Slightly taken aback, I ignored Alex and turned to Haley. "What''s the article say?"


    "I think this is from the same guy who wrote your billionaire status article," Haley mentioned before she read the article.


    "Oh, Edward got a stalker." Phil commented.


    Haley said, "The title is: [The Benevolent Captain: How Edward Newgate''s Family Has Shockingly Donated Nearly $99 Million Since His Rise to Fame!]"


    "Also, the stand-up show is for people over 18," Caroline added with a sympathetic smile.


    "Yeah, but do you think they''ll stop him if he wants to get inside?" Max argued with a grin.


    "Max isn''t wrong," I agreed with her. "She''s a bit of a wild one, but she''s not wrong."


    "Why did you even bring that up?" Vanessa looked at me in shock. "Of course, the other wild one will come to her defense," I shot back at Vanessa.


    "Everyone should go now. I have an interview here in a few minutes, so you guys should leave," I told them.


    "Interview with who? 60 Minutes?" Max asked excitedly. I shook my head and said, "No."


    "TMZ?" Vanessa guessed.


    "No. More prestigious."


    "CNN?" Caroline guessed.


    "I told you more prestigious, and you guessed CNN?" I looked at Caroline in disbelief. "What?" She didn''t understand what she just did.


    "Oprah! Is it Oprah!?" Maggie was incredibly excited.


    "Nope," I replied instantly. "More prestigious than that."


    "More prestigious than Oprah?! You''re messing with us, right?" Max rolled her eyes and scoffed.


    "Tell us then, who''s coming to interview you?" Maggie asked with derision.


    I smirked and said, "Palisades High School Newspaper Club."


    Everyone was baffled by the reveal. After sending everyone away, I checked in with Robin regarding something I had asked her to do in the living room.


    "Did you find out who informed the writer?" I asked.


    "The paper mentioned one of them, the store owner. The charity funds are public access, and he got that information from there. However, he obtained the loan numbers from an executive in your company."


    "Who?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.


    "Brett Anderson, Portfolio Manager. She''s responsible for filtering out the loan applications," Robin said as she pulled up the employees'' information through holographic projection.


    "Should I send her an official reprimand about this?" I asked Robin with a slight wry laugh. "Even if her intentions are good, she still leaked company secrets."


    It was a fireable offense and could potentially ruin her career, as no other companies would want to hire someone who leaked confidential information. I still didn''t know if she did it subconsciously or on purpose, and I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt until I knew the truth.


    Robin agreed immediately. "Yes, sir. I''ll notify her superior."


    "Don''t make it so one-sided. I want to hear why she felt the need to do this. Allow her to defend herself. If her manager feels she has a good excuse, then turn it into an unofficial reprimand."


    As I was letting the matter rest, Robin suddenly chimed in again, "Sir, it seems that Brett handed in her resignation letter this morning."


    "Hmm? Why? For what reason?" I asked, confusion creeping into my voice. "There''s no formal record, but her manager discovered the source of the leak and forced her to resign under the pretext of being overwhelmed."


    "Make both of them hop on a conference call in five minutes," I instructed, my irritation growing. "I want to know exactly what happened."


    Robin quickly set to work, and moments later, the holographic projection flickered to life, revealing the anxious faces of Brett and her manager.


    Brett looked pale, her eyes slightly reddened, while her manager, a weary middle-aged man, bore the weight of the day''s stress.


    "Since you''ve already submitted your resignation, I trust you won''t mind explaining why you leaked sensitive data to the journalist," I said, fixing my gaze on Brett.


    "Um..." she stammered, clearly flustered. "I didn''t mean to! It was just... I got a little carried away. I was so excited to be part of the company, and in a moment of enthusiasm, I accidentally bragged about our projects to that��uh, journalist. I didn''t even know he''s a journalist!"


    I raised a hand to pause her. "Okay, that''s enough for now." Her voice wavered as she added, "I''m really sorry for this."


    "Look, if this were a public company, you''d be fired on the spot and blacklisted everywhere. But luckily for you, it''s not."


    Confusion flickered across her face as I continued, "Instead, you''ll face a 10% pay cut for a month, and I expect you to take on additional responsibilities to prove you can handle this. You''ll also be placed on probation for another two months."


    I decided to keep the incident under wraps, ensuring it wouldn''t tarnish her record. The only people who would know about the leak were Brett, her manager, and me.


    "So, are you going to quit, or are you going to accept your punishment and keep working here?"


    Brett chose the latter. Robin would monitor her closely for the next few months to determine whether her remorse was genuine or just an act.


    "The journalist is another thing." I narrowed my eyes as I looked at his profile. He has a classically handsome look, which was why Brett had fallen for his flirtation and goading. But, it''s not like he has some animosity towards me.


    "Still, he''s giving me a bad feeling." I said as I scrutinized his face.


    *Ding Dong*


    Just as I wrapped up the call, Tara and Haley arrived at my place and rang the doorbell. As I opened the door, Enid immediately rushed to hug me, "EDWARDD!!!"


    "Oh, Enid, you''re also here." I said as she dangled over my body, wrapping her arms around my neck.


    ...


    [General POV]


    "I did what you asked me to do," the journalist said, speaking into his phone after his article about Edward gained traction in mainstream media.


    A notification chimed on his phone. He checked it and saw that $1 million had been transferred to his offshore account.


    "Pleasure doing business with you..." he paused, then added, "Wainwright."


    Agent Wainwright''s voice came through cold and sharp. "Never mention that name again. This is your last warning." The agent abruptly cut the call.


    "Scary," the journalist muttered, feigning fear as he set his phone down. "I wonder why he wants me to build up that kid''s reputation. Is he trying to atone, or is he planning a payback?"


    "Well, I don''t care anyway." The journalist shrugged before he laid down casually on his living room couch.

 Chapter 323: New Year Eve (1)

    Chapter 323: Chapter 323: New Year Eve (1)


    [Edward POV]


    "So, how much will you be paying me for the interview?" I asked Tara teasingly, though I acted as if I were serious.


    We were sitting on the couch, with Tara diagonally across from me, while Enid and Haley stood by the living room, watching the interview from afar. Tara didn''t want them to disturb the interview, so they had been kicked out from her ''set'' and asked to keep quiet.


    Taken aback by my question, Tara placed her notebook down and stammered, "P-Pay? We never discussed...um, any�C any payment..."


    "We are discussing it now," I said seriously. With a smug look, I said, "I mean, my last interview sold for 40 million dollars, resurrected Conan''s talk show, boosted both Taylor''s and my careers, and even got some billionaires to send me gifts after they heard about my story."


    Tara smiled in disbelief, her mouth slightly dry. "Ummm..."


    "Now... I agreed to do the interview with you. I don''t expect the same compensation as the previous one, but I don''t want to walk away empty-handed." I paused to let her think.


    Haley rolled her eyes, aware that I was playing around with Tara, who looked quite helpless.


    Enid raised her hand, trying to say something. I turned to her and pointed out, "Yes, the sister."


    "Don''t call me ''the sister,''" Enid shot back, giving me a dirty look, though she couldn''t maintain a straight face. "I just want to ask if you have something in mind," Enid said, trying to help her sister and wanting to see the interview.


    Tara widened her eyes slightly in realization and turned to Enid, snapping her fingers at the same time. "Yeah, thank you, sis." She turned back to me and asked, "What do you want?"


    "What can I get? I''m not the one who''s supposed to think about that. You should. You''re the one who wants this interview," I replied while sitting cross-legged.


    "Alright, I see where this is going," Tara mumbled in exasperation, slowly unbuttoning her shirt. "Will this be enough?" she asked, displaying her white undergarment. She batted her eyes at me and said, "Um, then after the interview is over, I can stay behind�C"


    Haley and Enid fumed. Haley scolded, "Bitch, button it back up. That''s not even funny."


    "I''m not interested in your A-cup," I said teasingly. "Also, do you really think that will suffice?"


    Tara looked offended. "You know what? In one of the questions I want to ask you, I was going to ask about your sexuality. I don''t have to ask that anymore now that I know you''re gay."


    "It''s not gay to not be attracted to a man''s chest," I shot back, which made Tara gasp wildly in disbelief. "A man!? A MAN!?"


    "Sup, Edward! Don''t mind me, I just need to get something," Max suddenly walked in, heading straight to the kitchen from behind me, so I hadn''t seen her yet. Wearing a push-up bra and a tight, low-cut top, Tara''s eyes were glued to Max''s chest as she rummaged through the fridge.


    I looked at Max in disbelief. "What the hell are you doing?"


    "I''m hungry! I think I left half a croissant back here," Max shouted. As I watched her, I asked with confusion, "Did you just get back from selling your body on Figueroa''s streets?"


    That was the neighborhood where prostitution is rampant. Basically, I was calling her a hooker.


    Max closed the fridge with her leg, holding basically everything in her hands. "I''m meeting with someone later," she said, slightly embarrassed.


    "A John or a date?" I teased.


    "A date, but when I''m done with him, he''s going to wish he had money to pay me," Max snorted, chuckling as she left the house.


    After Max left, I turned back to Tara, who was still in shock. "Still want to argue that I''m gay and not accept your own shortcomings after seeing that?"


    "Never mind!" She accepted her fate instantly. I snickered and said, "I''m just messing with you. Just ask what you want to ask."


    "No. I don''t want to ask you anything now." Tara sulked, not wanting to continue the interview any longer. Her expression made me laugh. I thought of something then I said, "Well, if I were you, I would stop the interview right now anyway. It''s not the right timing yet."


    "Huh? Why is that?" Tara raised her eyebrow. Haley and Enid were both curious to hear my defense. Enid asked, "What''s about her timing?"


    Haley asked, putting her index finger on her chin, "Should she do something else first before conducting the interview?"


    Tilting my head lazily and resting my head on my right hand, I said calmly, "Don''t misunderstand, I said if ''I were her''. I have no intention of teaching you anything, for free."


    "Again, I can do this." Tara unbuttoned her shirt again, but Haley approached her and grabbed her hand to stop her. Haley looked at Tara angrily and turned to me again, changing her expression into a smile, "Ed, don''t speak in riddles. I know you''re dying to let it all out anyway."


    I laughed in amusement and said, "My therapist told me to stop trying to add on responsibility for myself, so I''m not going to do anything anyway."


    Enid waved the topic off and tried to defend me, "If he doesn''t want to say it, then that''s his choice."


    Tara narrowed her eyes sharply and said, "I''ll offer you both my friend and myself. "


    Haley darted her eyes between Tara and me as we locked eye contact and asked, "What exactly is going on here?"


    I chuckled and replied, "I''ll do this only once, but remember, once you get inside my mind, there''s no turning back. It might destroy what''s left of your childhood, but it will also lead you to amazing wealth."


    "Question: will it make us as stressed out as you are?" Haley interjected.


    "Yeah, definitely. You will be stressed out." I nodded easily as Haley giggled. "Then I don''t really want to know," Tara said, pulling out her notebook.


    "As the representative of a school paper, I have to ask you a few questions that pertain to that."


    "Okay, shoot." I leaned back and relaxed as the interview began. "The last time you went to school, it was for the SATs. What do you think your SAT result will be?"


    "Top nationwide," I replied curtly.


    "Next question: why are you still single?" Tara asked casually. Slightly taken aback, I said, "That question is important for the school paper?"


    "Yes," Tara answered seriously. Haley looked baffled, glancing between her friend and me with interest.


    Enid was also intrigued by the topic. I huffed slightly and replied, "Timing."


    "What about the timing?" Tara pressed, putting more pressure on me.


    Pepper propped his chin on his hand as he contemplated and asked Renaldo, "Find out if CEOs usually throw New Year''s Eve parties."


    Renaldo let out a long sigh, which made Pepper more frazzled. "Don''t sigh! My professional image is at risk here! I need to know if I have to hold a party or not!"


    Harvey suddenly walked into the office with some documents Pepper needed to sign. "What''s with the yelling?"


    Pepper turned to Harvey and said whiningly, "Harvey, you''ll know this. Do CEOs usually throw New Year''s Eve parties?"


    Harvey replied casually, "It''s not uncommon. Usually, Silicon Valley CEOs and companies with incredible growth..."


    Pepper''s eyes widened in realization as he muttered, "We had incredible growth."


    Renaldo was shocked too. "Silicon Valley companies are usually tech companies. We are... um..."


    "We make most of our money from software sales and tech grants," Harvey said, furrowing his brows.


    Pepper suddenly slammed his hand on the table. "No wonder he called me! I forgot my huge responsibility as a CEO!"


    "It''ll be hard to find a venue," Renaldo paled, fearing more work. "We can throw it at my house," Pepper suggested gleefully.


    Pepper''s mansion sat on five acres of land, covering 55,000 square feet, which he had bought for $70 million in Beverly Hills.


    "I don''t think that''s a good idea," Harvey said. "Employees usually know the CEO is rich, but they don''t want to know how rich they actually are. It''s better to find a different venue."


    Crestfallen, Pepper protested, "What''s the point of me buying that house then?"


    "You can make your friends feel weak in the knees��realizing how they are all peasants, but definitely not your employees," Renaldo said sternly. "I''ll get to work on finding a venue for the party."


    "We need performers too!" Pepper said excitedly. "It would be great to hear one song from each year of this decade."


    "And the original artists should perform them," Harvey added, raising the stakes and making Pepper even more enthusiastic.


    "I love it��"


    Before Pepper could fully react, his excitement dimmed as Renaldo interjected, "That means we need to call Britney. She''s kind of the queen of the early 2000s."


    Pepper bit his lip in frustration but finally decided, "Then so be it. Call Britney."


    News about the CEO holding a party spread quickly throughout the entire company. Many employees were elated about the upcoming event. Pepper made attendance optional, ensuring those who didn''t want to go didn''t feel obligated.


    Meanwhile, a buzz was happening inside the marketing department.


    "He''s really daring," a tall, lanky man said in disbelief as he read Edward''s Twitter post.


    [@EdwardNewgate: ???? #CallChallenge ????


    Think my StarLink sucks? Prove it and win $100,000,000! ????


    Rules:


    Confirm that you''re using the line.


    Must be within the American continent.


    Call someone else who uses the same network provider.


    Upload your test to social media and tag us!


    Can you handle it? Let the challenge begin! ????????]


    "Hundred��hundred million dollars?" Annie stammered in shock, her fingers trembling as she grasped the implication. "He��he didn''t even say the first one to do it. Everyone��" Her voice broke as she continued, "Everyone who proves it will win!"


    SunHee giggled madly at the post. "Oppa is really cocky. LOVE!!" She liked the post and retweeted it.


    In the StarLink department, phones rang nonstop from media companies wanting to verify the validity of the challenge. News outlets began to cover the story, and various videos popped up on social media.


    One video showed a fully equipped man crossing a desert.


    [Location: Mojave Desert, California]


    Video Caption: "Trying to outsmart Edward''s challenge in the Mojave! ???????? #StarLinkChallenge. 100 Million dollars is mine!"


    A tanned man set up his phone on a rock, aiming the camera at himself.


    "Alright, everyone! Testing my Star Link in the middle of the desert. Let''s see if this works! No other networks could have any reception here. However, StarLink does have reception��still showing 4 bars. I''m going to call my pal in New York. He''s using the same SIM card. Let''s see if Newgate is just another cocky kid, or if StarLink is really as outstanding as he claims."


    He called his friend and shouted, "Can you hear me?!"


    "Why the fuck are you calling me, Josh!? I don''t want anything to do with you after you fucked my sister��"


    Josh quickly cut the call and said, "The call connects perfectly. Fuck... Who else can I call?"


    Suddenly, a gust of wind knocked the phone over. "Fuck! I have to go back now. A sandstorm is approaching!"]


    Many people participated in the challenge, and the number of users registering for the network service increased tenfold in just one day.


    Participants challenged the network from places like Hawaii, deserted islands, rocky mountains, and deep within forests. Some even got lost and required search parties to rescue them. Fortunately, they could call for help, showcasing the network''s capability and reliability.


    As the challenge began, Starlink popularity rose up drastically, which made all other network providers feel threatened.


    They tried to lower their prices, create a challenge on their own, but no one has the same guts as Edward to offer up 100 million dollars for the prize.

 Chapter 324: New Years Eve (2)

    Chapter 324: Chapter 324: New Years Eve (2)


    [General POV]


    "We have twelve hours left before the party kicks off. There''s no need to rush, but please ensure you''re following all safety measures. We can''t afford any accidents with our top performers on stage," Renaldo instructed the team.


    "Ahem," Pepper interjected, clearing his throat to get Renaldo''s attention. Renaldo sighed and added, "And Britney too..."


    The New Year''s Eve venue buzzed with activity as staff, technicians, dancers, and construction workers filled the space. Located in the Palisades, the grand mansion featured an oak wood exterior and an infinity pool, sprawling over 30,000 square feet and enclosed by a gated stone wall.


    "When will the caterers be here?" Pepper asked, his irritation simmering, though he wasn''t yet yelling since time was still on their side.


    "The caterers are scheduled to arrive at noon. Max is also preparing 500 cupcakes for the event," Frankie replied casually as she flipped her notes. "So far, 50 VIPs have RSVP''d, 23 are attending," she added.


    "Why? I invited them specifically, knowing they might not show up," Pepper said, confused.


    Various executives from TV networks, distribution companies, and studios were on the guest list, including a Disney executive.


    Edward had ensured Pepper built relationships with these individuals over the past three months, which Pepper had done, albeit reluctantly. Though he found their behavior off-putting, he believed in Edward''s vision and formed casual acquaintanceships with them. They weren''t bad people per se, just a bit eccentric.


    "I think it''s related to Edward''s search for a new CEO," Frankie remarked nonchalantly. Pepper''s eyes widened in shock as he gasped, "He''s replacing me?!"


    Startled, Frankie quickly clarified, "Oh no, not at all! He''s just splitting the telecommunications division from Entertain��"


    "Oh right, he mentioned that to me," Pepper said, visibly relieved. His focus shifted to a staff member carrying a white lily.


    "What''s this?! I specifically asked for tulips! And the tablecloth is off-white?! Why didn''t you just tattoo ''POOR'' on my forehead?! I can''t take this! I''M DONE DELEGATING!"


    Frankie let out a sigh of relief as she watched Pepper storm away in frustration. "Wait, I still need your confirmation��" she called out, but he disappeared into the throng.


    Determined to find him, she followed the sound of shouting. More guests were arriving that she needed to update him about, including some of Edward''s connections from Marvel: RDJ, Don Cheadle, Jon Favreau, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, and Samuel L. Jackson.


    Additionally, Edward had invited Eminem, Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dogg, all of whom preferred to stay in New York rather than head to Vegas for the celebrations. The cast members and director of his new movie were also coming by and they brought guests with them.


    Maggie and Penny had also invited club girls from their favorite clubbing spots. Brenda Song, Ashley Tisdale, Ashley Benson, Shay Mitchell, and several other young actresses eager to meet Edward, all confirming their attendance for the New Year''s party.


    With a mix of tech enthusiasts, academics, models, and photographers, the guest list had ballooned to over 500 attendees.


    "Can we even fit all of them in the venue?" Renaldo muttered anxiously as Frankie caught up to Pepper, forcing him to halt.


    Pepper collapsed onto a sun chair, a handkerchief shielding his face as he tried to calm down from the stress of party planning. Renaldo and Frankie fanned him to help cool him off when Randall jogged over, slightly out of breath.


    "H-Hey, bosses," Randall stammered, drawing Pepper''s attention. He pulled down the handkerchief and groaned, "Oh great, what now?"


    Randall scratched his head nervously before continuing, "Um, it''s the Billboard guys again."


    "Edward and Taylor didn''t want to go to their party, even after winning Artist of the Year," Frankie replied matter-of-factly, noting that Billboard had announced Taylor as the best female artist and Edward as the best male artist.


    They were set to present the awards at a broadcasted event, but since no appearances were mandatory for collecting the awards, both decided to send representatives instead.


    "No, not that," Randall interjected quickly. "Well, it is about that, but not in that way. They said since both will be at our party, can they�� No, they asked, not outright said��"


    "Just spit it out, Randy," Frankie urged firmly.


    "Okay," Randall took a breath, still speaking quickly. "They want to send a cameraman and an award presenter here to record Ed and Taylor receiving their awards��live, or not live; they said they could record it and insert it into their live show later."


    Frankie considered the request, but Pepper firmly stated, "They can record it at the company. No press will be present here."


    "I''m on it," Randall replied, dashing off to handle the situation. "By the way, is the party kid-friendly?" Frankie asked Pepper, her concern evident. "Ed wants to bring his friends��will it be appropriate?"


    Pepper''s eyes widened as he pondered this, then decisively replied, "We''ll split the party. Outside for adults, inside for the kids. Concerts will be open to everyone."


    Frankie nodded in approval, praising him, "Good thinking, Pepper. I''ll take it from here, if you don''t mind."


    Pepper groaned sickly, "Ugh... Alright."


    As Pepper lay down, suddenly, Emily Blunt approached him. "Hi, Peps," she greeted cautiously, slightly waving her arm as she bent forward to meet Pepper''s eye line. Frankie stopped walking away and immediately turned back to see what was going on.


    Pepper jolted upright from his chair and looked at Emily with shock. "Hey, Emily. How��why are you here so early?"


    "Oh, I''m not really here��I just stopped by because there''s something you might want to hear," Emily said, her face burdened with concern.


    Pepper and Frankie exchanged glances before Pepper asked, "What is it?"


    "First of all, I should introduce him." Emily pointed at a tall man waving from afar, covering his face from the sun glare. The man approached Pepper and greeted him politely, "Hey there. You must be Pepper Saltzman. I''ve heard so much about you."


    "Jim Krasinski?" Pepper widened his eyes in shock as he shook hands with the man. John Krasinski chuckled and said, "It''s John, by the way... John Halpert."


    "Oh, sorry. John Krasinski." Pepper blushed slightly as he was teased by the man. "Are you the bearer of the bad news, John?" Pepper asked.


    John nodded with a strained smile and said, "I''m afraid so. Should we talk somewhere private?"


    They moved to the mansion''s reading room. John and Emily sat together on one side, while Pepper and Frankie sat on the other.


    "I hate to be the one to tell you this, but your kid has pissed off a lot of people at NBC with his joke in Conan''s interview," John said calmly.


    John was referring to the time Edward called out NBC for not honoring their contract and canceling Conan''s show to give the slot to the previous host, Jay Leno. Both Jay and the NBC executive were friends, and they felt slighted by Edward''s comments.


    "Also, you invited a CBS exec, but there wasn''t anyone from NBC on that list," John explained. "So they are going to renegotiate contracts for airing The Office from your Netflix streaming site." John smiled slightly and added, "Which is troubling for us because, you know, the royalties have been nice."


    "They are so petty," Pepper grimaced. "Even though it was their own actions that led to this. How about Leno''s ratings��isn''t that abysmally low?"


    John snorted and said, "See? That kind of thing. It may be true, but don''t say it in front of them, or on air." John made Pepper and Frankie chortled a bit with his joke.


    He added, "Emily spoke highly of Edward; she kept telling me how nice he is, and she also mentioned he can be vengeful. Never to cross him. So instead of it turning into an all-out war between NBC and you guys, maybe we can figure out an alternative way? A way that I can keep getting my royalties?"


    Max stammered and said playfully, "Um, how did you know? Also, I caught you doing that too yesterday, so you''re in no position to stop me from doing that."


    Shrugging slightly, I said, "That''s true. Alright, I promised my make out partner to take her out today. I''ll be back around 3 and then we''ll go to the party."


    "Wait, are you telling me that you are going on a date? Like, a date- date?" Max grinned as she looked at me with excitement.


    I nodded slightly and said, "A date�C date."


    "Oooh�C Edward is finally going to get some." Max jeered.


    ...


    I adjusted my collar one last time, ensuring the V-neck shirt sat perfectly against my chest. Glancing at my reflection in the car window of the new sleek 2010 black Dodge Viper, I checked my hair before stepping out.


    ''Why am I even nervous?'' I thought as I walked to her door.


    Slowly, I took a deep breath, and pressed the doorbell. The chime echoed softly inside, and I could hear the faint sound of footsteps approaching. My heart skipped a beat as I sensed her opening the door.


    Moments later, the door swung open.


    "Hi." Haley smiled bashfully as she saw me. She wore a short skirt that danced around her thighs and a halter top that accentuated her figure while revealing a hint of her belly. Her smile was bright, and infectious which made me smile too.


    "Wait." However, Haley''s smile soon froze as she saw what I was wearing.


    "Hey, Haley. You look�C" I greeted, but Haley showed her palm, prompting me to shut up.


    "You''re wearing a classy outfit!!" She accused me. "You told me ; casual clothing!" She huffed angrily.


    "This is my casual outfit." Slightly confused, I glanced down at my green fitted shirt before turning to her again.


    "No! It may even be Old Money style. Now compared to you, I just look trashy." She complained as she ran her hand on her outfit.


    Stifling my laughter and slightly covering my mouth as Haley kept getting angrier, I tried to comfort her. "You look gorgeous. That''s what I was trying to say before you stopped me."


    Haley widened her eyes slightly and became abashed, "Oh. Thanks. Um, do you want to come in?"


    Slightly taken aback by her action, I reminded her, "I thought you don''t want me to come in?"


    "That was before I needed to change my outfit again." Haley said as she directed me to her room while holding my hand. Haley paused slightly and whispered, "I''ll let you watch me change if you are patient about it."


    "Who am I to rush a lady?" I joked, following Haley obediently when Phil suddenly appeared in front of us, munching on a popsicle.


    "Oh, hi, Edward," Phil greeted cheerfully. Haley froze, pulling her hand away from mine. "Phil. Hi."


    "What are you kids up to?" he asked casually. Haley quickly replied, "We''re going shopping for the New Year''s party."


    That''s when I realized Phil didn''t know about our date. "Edward, are you going to wear a suit?" he asked, still cheerful.


    "Of course he will," Haley chimed in for me. "But we don''t have much time, so I''m going to change my top first." With that, she left me behind, darting off on her own.


    "Why is she so jittery these days?" Phil mumbled, glancing at Haley before turning to me. "Do you know anything, Ed?"


    Just then, I received a text from Pepper, reminding me to accept an award at the company building before heading to the party. "Oh, it''s Pepper. I need to take this. Looks like I''m getting an award," I said, pointing at my phone before he could ask more.


    Phil''s face lit up. "ANOTHER ONE?! Oh my god! That''s wonderful! You''re amazing, Edward, you know that?"


    The more he complimented me, the sharper the prick in my heart felt. I smiled wryly as he asked, "What award is it?"


    "I don''t know yet. I''m finding out now."


    "Oh." Phil took a step back, urging me, "Well, what are you waiting for? Call him now!"


    Haley returned within 5 minutes and we left the house in a hurry. Inside the car, Haley fluttered her eyes apologetically at me from the passenger seat and said, "I mean, we did agree to keep it a secret."


    I nodded slightly and said, "Don''t worry, I''m not mad. A bit disappointed, but not mad."


    "Don''t use ''mom talk'' on me." Haley pouted, then quickly changed the subject. "Where are we going now?"


    "We''re going to have lunch first." I replied. A silence fell between us, and then she suddenly confessed something.


    "I don''t know why, but I''m feeling a lot of pressure right now to make it work," she said, a mischievous smile playing on her lips.


    [Haley''s commentary]


    "I couldn''t sleep last night. This didn''t even happen when I went on my first date ever," she admitted with a strained smile. "I''m excited about it... but it''s also making me really anxious."


    [Commentary ends]


    "Yeah, I''m the same. I couldn''t even sleep last night," I told her. She widened her eyes slightly and turned toward me. "Really?"


    "Yeah. I kept tossing and turning." Then a thought struck me. "If we''re both feeling pressured, maybe it''s not a good idea to go through with this lunch date."


    Haley slumped in her seat, mumbling in disappointment, "Oh."


    I turned to her and suggested, "Maybe we should go to a batting cage instead? We can work off some of this nervous energy before lunch."


    "Yeah! We should go there." Her eyes lit up, excitement returning. But as I laughed at her, she suddenly became bashful, our eyes locking for a brief moment.


    "Don''t look at me, look at the road. I don''t want us to get into a car accident." She pushed my face to look forward.


    I grabbed her hand and held it along the way as we went to the batting cage. We had our short, yet great date before we went to the company building. I recorded the short speech thanking Billboard and my fans as I received an award.


    "Let''s go to the party now." I said to Haley after I finished with the video.

 Chapter 325: New Year Party Concert- NYPC (1)

    chapter 325: chapter 325: new year party concert- nypc (1)


    [edward pov]


    "ouch," haley whined softly as she sat next to me in the car. "does it still hurt?" i asked gently as i looked at her with concern.


    haley pouted adorably, displaying her slightly reddish finger. "it does."


    a splinter had lodged itself in her finger while she seductively cradled the baseball bat at the batting cage. she placed it between her thighs at that time and moved her hips back and forth. it was lucky that no splinter was lodged there and only her finger was affected.


    "blow on it again?" she batted her eyes at me, bringing her finger near my lips. i smiled, took her right hand in my left, and slowly blew on her finger as i drove up the hill.


    behind us, max and vanessa were horrified, rendered speechless by our exaggerated, sexually charged, flirtatious antics during the drive. after just five minutes, they seemed at a loss for words and they just stared at us with disbelief.


    as soon as the car stopped, vanessa and max rushed out, eager to escape. i turned to call after them, but they were already gone. 30 guards, dressed in black suits, stood in front of the mansion as part of the security, and they made way for us.


    "see you inside, ed," vanessa said, her tone laced with embarrassment. max grinned, joking, "can you believe them? even i got turned on. i think i''ll have to make sure not to push down a waiter on the bed before the event starts."


    "that''s quite rude. they didn''t even thank you," haley grumbled, maintaining her adorable demeanor as we exited the car. "maybe they really needed to use the bathroom?" i guessed then turned my attention back to haley, ignoring the others.


    "i still can''t believe you managed to fit an entire dress inside your tiny purse," i marveled with some disbelief as she twirled playfully, showcasing her stunning outfit with a stunning smile.


    her long, strapless black dress hugged her curves perfectly, the bow detail at her chest adding a touch of elegance while lifting her bosom. with each confident step in her black high heels, her hips swayed enticingly.


    "is this house similar to what yours is going to look like?" haley asked as we arrived at the venue. her golden mascara highlighted her expressive eyes, her face framed by her wavy brown locks, her dark red lipstick completed the sultry look. haley''s mole in the upper right lip added on to her appearance tonight.


    "it does a little bit." i said as i stood next to her and raised my hand slightly, "shall we go inside milady?"


    "yes my prince." she added gleefully before she took my arm. the gentleman offers his arm, the right one to be specific, with the elbow bent. the lady then delicately puts her hand under his arm and curls the hand back over it.


    we entered the mansion acting as if we were the owner of the place. as we walked by, some of the staff actually stopped what they were doing and waved. we didn''t spend much time indoor and walked straight away to the outdoor area.


    at around 3 pm, the outdoor dining area was a serene blend of rustic charm and sophisticated elegance, softly illuminated by the afternoon sun. a classical musician played gentle instrumental pieces, creating a soothing backdrop as a handful of early guests mingled, sipping on champagne and enjoying light hors d''oeuvres. there were already a lot of people there, standing at the standing desk, drinking champagne and talking with each other while in a good mood.


    the neatly arranged tables, adorned with white linens and delicate floral centerpieces. staff members moved among the guests, making last-minute adjustments and preparing for the party.


    "pepper!" i waved to him as he was directing some people. his face brightened when he saw me, but traces of concern and tiredness lingered. "edward! you''re early! why?! why are you here early?!"


    i was slightly taken aback by his sudden questions, especially when he grabbed both of my biceps and shook me slightly.


    "also, haley, dear, amazing dress! you look incredibly stunning." he turned to her with a smile. haley giggled and replied, "aww, thank you! ed bought it for me."


    "um, is there something wrong with coming early?" i asked hesitantly, forcing an awkward smile.


    renaldo interjected, explaining the situation to me, "people coming early to a party is a sign that the party won''t go very well. only losers will come to a party early."


    the programmers and other employees who were within earshot were startled and they lowered their heads in depression.


    my eyes darted around in confusion before i said to pepper, "but i''m one of the organizers. so that doesn''t count, right?"


    "it counts!" pepper, renaldo, caroline, max, and several other staff members shouted in unison.


    "jeez." i groaned in disbelief before saying, "alright then. haley and i will stay in our room for several more hours until it''s late enough for us to join the party."


    "and go change your clothes too!" pepper shouted irritably, then walked away before making a u-turn to return to his original position.


    "what?" i asked, confused.


    his tone shifted to a friendlier one as he asked, "forgot to ask you about your date? how did it go?"


    haley and i exchanged glances before i replied with a smile, "it went well. maybe there will be a second date? i don''t know yet, depending on whether she takes my call after this."


    haley grimaced in confusion as she looked at me. "we already had our second date."


    "we had?" i stared at her, puzzled. "you had?" pepper seemed just as confused.


    haley started counting on her fingers. "we went to the batting cage; that was the first date. then we had a lunch date, which was the second date. new year''s eve will be our third date. and you know what people do on their first date?" she looked at me suggestively.


    "learn math again so we can count properly?" i teased. pepper chimed in, "oh girl, you''re thirsty. a little advice: don''t seem too desperate. it''ll give him all the power."


    haley looked startled and hesitantly glanced at me before whispering to pepper, "did i seem that desperate?"


    "peps, i have something for the party in my car." i quickly changed the subject. pepper turned to me slowly and asked, "what is it?"


    "my last bottles of euphoria," i said casually. "offer them to the vips."


    pepper nodded in understanding. "alright. give it to one of the staff��you there, waiter!" he called out to a blonde waitress who, by sheer coincidence, was the disguised agent sarah walker.


    sarah looked startled and approached us casually, maintaining her persona. "what can i do for you, sir?" she asked politely, casting a wary glance at me.


    haley and i glanced at each other, but we didn''t correct him as we too didn''t have an answer.


    jeremy left after telling me to pick out my outfit for the day and so did caroline as they had to do some more work. max went with them, taking vader with her.


    before caroline left, she ominously said, "there''s a red button on the side of the bed. don''t ever, in any circumstances, press the button."


    haley and i were both dumbfounded when we heard it. i placed a ''do not disturb'' sign on the front door and locked it. it wasn''t for anything, i just don''t want anyone to get in while i was changing my clothes.


    "we have 6 hours to kill before the party. i could even take a nap." haley pretended to be tired and sat on the bed. she considered laying down, but it would ruin her dress.


    "i''m taking it off. i wore it wayyy too soon." she said as she began to unzip her dress. i grabbed a shirt from my wardrobe and threw it at her. "wear this for now."


    as i turned, her dress fell flat on the floor. i was stunned for a few seconds, realizing she was going commando beneath it. haley grabbed the shirt midair and slowly began to put it on.


    when she was finished, she turned to me with a teasing smile and asked, "what?"


    "nothing. just that the shirt is also quite see-through." i grinned before shifting my attention to the rack of clothing.


    "i''ll give you the job of picking my outfits for the day��one for the concert and one for the party," i told her as she slipped a bathrobe over her shirt.


    "and what will i get? if it''s just your gratitude, then i''m not interested," she joked. i sat down on the bed next to her to rest for a bit. then, we both glanced at the big red button at the same time.


    "is it wrong for me to want to push that button?" haley asked.


    "no, i feel the same impulse. if caroline hadn''t said anything, i wouldn''t even care about it, but right now, it''s all i can think about," i replied.


    haley began to speculate about what the button might do. "maybe we''re supposed to lie on the bed and push it, and then the bed will drop, revealing a hidden panic room."


    "if it''s a panic room, i doubt caroline wouldn''t tell us about it. no, i think it''s far worse than that. maybe it''ll launch us out of the room?" i guessed.


    "ooohhh! like a catapult?!" haley exclaimed excitedly. "or maybe it''ll suck us into the wall, like into a secret vacuum tunnel that shoots us out of the house!" she added.


    "the roof could open, and we''d be abducted by aliens for probing," i joked.


    haley laughed and then said, "maybe a butler will come out from the walls."


    "we''d gain 10 million dollars but lose 10 years of our lifespan," i guessed, posing like rodin''s thinker.


    "fireworks?!" haley suggested, her excitement growing.


    "launching a nuclear missile."


    "reviving abraham lincoln."


    "creating a zombie apocalypse."


    we stared at each other, trying to hold back our laughter. suddenly, haley said, "too bad we''re never going to find out."


    without saying anything, i pressed the button.


    beep. a beeping sound echoed as the blinds fell, plunging the room into pitch blackness. a deep, bassy voice came through the speakers: "oooh yeahh baby!"


    sultry background music played, blue lights illuminated the room, and the jacuzzi turned on by itself, spotlights shining down on it.


    "oh, baby~" the voice sang again. the ceiling opened, and over a thousand condoms of various colors rained down from the hole. haley and i jumped up from the bed, staring in disbelief at the chaos unfolding.


    "this is way worse than what we guessed," i commented.


    "it''s not too bad��" before haley could finish, the nightstand lifted as if it were an elevator, revealing a hidden compartment filled with sex toys, whips, gag balls, dildos, and an enormous supply of lubes and baby oils.


    "it is worse," haley immediately agreed with me. although it was gross, the whole thing felt like a bizarre joke. or so we thought.


    suddenly, a projector lit up, casting a video onto the wall. it was the 94-year-old mr. rosenblat, who began his recording by asking, "is this thing on?" he took a few steps back, revealing himself in leather boots and leather underwear, holding a whip in one hand while remaining topless.


    "close it! ed! close it now!" haley stammered anxiously. i grabbed a nearby vase and hurled it at the projector.


    "ewww ewww ewww gross!!!" haley curled her fingers together as she cringed.


    ...


    "i think washing our eyes for an hour is enough, right?" i asked haley as we changed into a smaller room, devoid of any extra entertainment.


    haley grumbled, "we need holy water. i still feel unclean."


    time passed as we hung out in the room. the party started at 9 in the evening, but pepper wouldn''t let me make an appearance until 10. it was now 8:30 pm, and many guests had already arrived, making the entire outdoor area packed.


    jenna, jacob, enid, alex, finneas, billie, elsa, and abraham were all here with their respective guardians, and we gathered together in the lounge area as we waited for the concert to start.


    as i was shooting pool with jacob, vanessa quietly approached me. "edward, can we speak in private?" she asked, her face a little pale. i was taken aback when i saw her and then agreed to her request, "yeah. let''s talk."

 Chapter 326: NYPC (2) – Trust.

    chapter 326: chapter 326: nypc (2) �C trust.


    [general pov]


    at 9 pm, when the party had barely started, phil and claire walked side by side as they entered.


    claire styled her hair into a classic chignon��gathering it at her nape and tying it into a knot. she wore a classy peach-colored dress with a leg split and carried a small red pouch.


    "they have a free sundae bar! i love it here!" phil exclaimed, his eyes glued to the ice cream cart. he didn''t even notice scarlett johansson standing beside it, eating a sundae with a spoon before she walked away to join her friends.


    "hey, guys! over here!" gloria waved her hand excitedly, calling them over as she sat with the rest of the family. mitch and cam, gloria and jay, ted and frankie were all gathered at the same table in the vip section.


    gloria wore a tight-fitting blue dress with a deep cleavage that made people think she was one of the models or celebrities at the event. she definitely eclipsed some of them in presence.


    "look, look, look! britney''s here!" mitchell whispered to cam in excitement, both of them giggling as they saw britney walking toward the backstage, escorted by her security team.


    "mitchell, this is literally the best party i''ve ever been to in my entire life," cam squealed before turning to frankie. "can i get a peek at the list of all the celebrities coming?"


    "that list is private," frankie replied curtly, leaving ted amazed by how she wasn''t a people pleaser. frankie excused herself to resume her work coordinating the party and greeted claire briefly before she left.


    cam giggled in embarrassment and exclaimed deflatedly, "oh. i guess that wasn''t really appropriate for me to ask."


    jay grumbled to cam, "don''t bother them, cam. it''s an important party for edward."


    "i''m not going to bother them!" cam defended himself hurriedly.


    "hey, guys!" claire greeted her family members as she and phil reached the table. "the party is quite crazy, isn''t it?" claire snickered, bragging to her family.


    "yeah, pepper really knows how to throw a party," jay agreed with a smile. "the drinks, especially, are outstanding." he raised his glass before sipping his whiskey.


    the hidden cia agent sarah walker smiled in satisfaction as she saw jay''s reaction while holding a bottle of euphoria drink.


    near the stage, abed was holding a camera as he filmed maggie.


    as they paused the recording, abed told maggie, "next time, try not to stare directly into the camera for longer than three seconds."


    "stop criticizing my work, or i''ll quit," maggie threatened abed.


    "you hired me," abed replied casually. "also, when are we getting the backstage shots? we need to get a few of those before the performance starts."


    "let''s go backstage, then," maggie sighed slightly as she led abed to the location. she had access, so abed needed her to get inside.


    the recording was just a hobby for both of them, and the video was for personal use only. despite their frequent creative clashes, they had become quite close during their time working together.


    however, as they entered the backstage area, britney''s security immediately pushed the camera away to prevent any footage of her and chased them out violently.


    mickey, edward''s head of security, immediately intervened, placing himself between the mean-looking security guy and abed.


    "no cameras!" the aggressive guy said gruffly.


    "okay, you can calm down now," mickey said intimidatingly. "why don''t i let him talk first? oh, miss newgate. it''s you. i didn''t notice. i''m sorry."


    maggie was a bit taken aback by the sudden politeness but played along immediately. "that''s okay, mickey. just call me maggie as usual."


    the security detail suddenly hesitated, wondering if they had messed with the wrong person. they speculated whether maggie had a connection with ''the edward newgate,'' which made them change their attitude immediately.


    abed quickly explained the situation. "i needed to take some shots before the concert and also get some background footage."


    "you guys cannot film britney. it''s not in our contract," the security detail said gruffly.


    "we''re not here to film her. we didn''t even know she was here. why is she even here?" maggie complained. even mickey was confused by that.


    "she''s supposed to be at the party or resting in her waiting room in the house." mickey turned to the security and interrogated them. "the concert is in two hours. she''s not called up here yet."


    "miss spears is familiarizing herself with the stage," the security detail replied. "just wait until she''s done."


    mickey didn''t press further and took abed and maggie with him as he left. inside the backstage area, chuck talked to sarah using his earpiece as he glanced secretly at britney.


    "she looked dazed, and she''s also crying." chuck reported. "we should get her to a doctor too to see what they have her on." he was referring to any potential medications that were prescribed to her.


    time passed by and the party was in full swing. edward however, had to watch everyone having fun at the party from the window as he had to hide himself first to make an even greater appearance later.


    "i feel like ''squirdward watching spongebob and patrick having fun'' meme." he muttered to himself. even though he was surrounded by many people, the entertainment was without a doubt targeted at the outdoor party. he wanted the sundae too.


    "edward, can we talk?" vanessa asked before the concert, and edward went inside a room with her.


    as edward went to the other room with vanessa, tara teased haley about it.


    "your date left you alone at a party and went into another room with another pretty girl. hmm, what could they possibly be doing there?" she snarked sarcastically, clearly dissatisfied with edward''s decision to leave haley by herself.


    haley, however, didn''t really care. "he''s ed. it will be a lecture or a pep talk."


    "all i heard is that she''s going to make him give her a ''penis talk.'' are you really not jealous?" tara looked at haley incredulously. "whenever a girl even tries to talk to your ex-boyfriend in high school, you used to unleash hell on him��" she added.


    "i''d never unleash hell! when did i ever unleash hell!?" haley was taken aback by the accusation.


    tara recounted, "you made it seem like it was his fault for her talking to him. you started fights and threw things around��"


    "okay, stop!" haley cupped tara''s hand and continued in a whisper, "i have changed. besides, edward isn''t like the other boys."


    "oh, what''s he like?" tara asked playfully.


    "trustworthy," haley replied curtly. suddenly, everyone in the room heard piano music playing. the sound was coming from the room where edward had gone.


    "what song is this?" jenna asked in confusion. finneas replied, "i think it''s debussy''s clair de lune."


    "eww, finneas, why are you saying ''the pussy''?" enid scowled at him. flabbergasted, finneas tried to defend himself. "not ''the pussy''! debussy! he''s a classical musician!"


    "he must''ve had a rough childhood," jacob muttered with some empathy for the classical musician.


    "not really," alex chimed in. "the word only took on the meaning of female genitalia in the 20th century. so i think in his childhood, it only meant ''cat.''"


    "no one is interested in the history of the word, alex. god, both you and your boyfriend are real perverts." elsa grinned as she sipped her drink.


    i scoffed and asked, "why are you so jittery now? have you changed your mind?"


    "i needed to," vanessa said seriously. "but if i fail again��" her eyes trembled.


    i interjected quickly, "then there will be a third, fourth, and fifth chance. you don''t only have one chance, you know?" i stood up and smirked while patting her head.


    vanessa went silent for a moment before saying, "okay then. no take-backs, and i''ll perform today! but not the dance ones. i think i still need some practice for that." she raised her pinky, trying to negotiate a deal with me. i sighed as i interlocked my finger with hers and said, "alright, i promise."


    "and you promise you will become my boyfriend if your date doesn''t go well today," she added.


    "i pro�� wait, what?" i was taken aback by the sudden addition, but vanessa sealed the deal with her thumb, saying urgently, "no take-backs! a promise is made!" she quickly separated her hand and stuck her tongue out at me.


    although i was initially surprised, i smirked at her and teased, "i mean, you kinda did a pointless thing. there''s no way the date won''t go well today."


    "really? if i come out of the room with my hair slightly disheveled or my lipstick ruined, do you think she will still be cool?" vanessa smirked evilly.


    then, she dismissed it before i could react, "i''m not going to do it, of course, but if i were her and you left me to be alone with another girl at a party, i wouldn''t be cool about it."


    her words made me realize my mistake. "i didn''t think about that before," i muttered, swallowing hard.


    ...


    after convincing vanessa to perform again, we both walked out of the room together, only to find a crowd had formed in front of the door.


    my eyes immediately searched for haley, only to find her crossing her arms and tapping her feet in dissatisfaction as she glared at me and hudgens.


    "ness, by any chance, will you talk to her first?" i asked vanessa.


    vanessa rushed away, saying, "sorry, i have to prepare for the concert. i have to start it, so i have no time to mingle."


    i walked up to haley and greeted her, "did you wait long? i''m sorry."


    "what were you doing in there with that exotic girl?" tara asked, interrupting.


    my group of friends joined us, and jenna suddenly said, "why are you the one who''s irritated? didn''t edward show us that nothing happened inside?"


    everyone looked at jenna in confusion. alex asked, "what do you mean by that?"


    "well..." jenna stammered a bit, but her answer left me speechless. "he showed us where his fingers were the entire time, didn''t he? they were on the piano keys. so nothing happened inside the room."


    haley widened her eyes in realization and disbelief, immediately relaxing her arms. "oh my god. that''s why you were playing the piano?" she seemed flattered. tara''s eyes darted around as she searched for other points of attack. "he can use other things than his fingers," she countered.


    enid nodded in amazement, essentially ignoring her sister. "that''s really a genius move. although other parts of him can move, there wouldn''t be any disruption to the melody, which would certainly happen if he did anything with the girl."


    elsa joined in, "that''s true. i don''t think he could control it so well if he were making out with her or his penis is ins��" she couldn''t finish her sentence as enid cupped her mouth, stopping her.


    finneas mumbled to himself, "is this how girls'' delusions work? they create excuses that even edward never thought of."


    alex muttered in relief, "thank god i''m not part of edward''s groupie."


    "what were you doing with her?" haley asked me whisperingly as she approached her, holding my sleeve and looked upward to my face.


    "just discussing her performance." i whispered back.


    "i think we can all move outdoors now. the performances will start in half an hour. you guys need to find a good spot for you to watch the new years countdown." i checked the time on my watch and told everyone.


    "do you have something special planned for it? should i record your performance?" jenna asked. enid widened her eyes and scolded jenna, "why are you even asking about that? record it always!"


    as i led the group outdoors to where the main party was, i pulled haley to the side and whispered to her, "look, i don''t want to lie to you, so i''ll just tell you what happened. only if you promise not to tell anyone else."


    "oh no, i''m fine with it already," haley replied casually, which took me aback.


    "really?" i asked incredulously.


    [haley''s commentary]


    "i''ve been friends with edward for a while, so i kinda know how he works. he gets up close and personal with his employees; he''s friendly with everyone except those he can''t stand or who have a personality he hates. he can be a great listener... i like him because he does these things."


    haley smiled sincerely as she crossed her arms. "also, his face," she added playfully, "and his hands."


    [commentary ends]


    "yeah, that''s between you and her. you don''t need to tell me anything," haley stressed again with a smile on her face. my expression froze slightly.


    the whole situation felt like a trap for me. if i told her, she could say, "i told you i''m fine with it," and get angry. but if i just played it off and said, "alright," she''d turn it around on me, saying, "really? you''re not going to tell me anything? you have something to hide?" and got angry again.


    i couldn''t win either way, so i created a different route. i wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her close. embarrassed, haley blushed as everyone watched, clamoring at our interaction.


    "i thought you weren''t going to do anything in public?" she asked, warily glancing around, but her breath became heavier with anticipation.


    "well, i know everyone here, so i don''t really care," i flirted as i slowly brought her hand to my lips and kissed it, essentially announcing to everyone that she was my date for the night. a lot of girls there glared at haley from afar and murmured in dissatisfaction.


    "are you trying to make up for leaving me alone?" haley swayed slightly and whispered flirtatiously, "i told you i''m fine."


    "yeah, i know you are. but you''re also my best friend, and i want to tell you stuff. can''t i tell you stuff?" i asked flirtatiously too.


    she nodded and grinned widely. "okay, you can. but we can wait until the party''s over. we have to hit the pause button on what you''re telling me, ''cause i''m pretty sure a lot of people want to talk to you this evening."


    i finally took my eyes off her and looked around, noticing that many people were waiting to strike up a conversation with me.


    the ''pause button'' was something we agreed on beforehand. since there were a lot of important people at the party, networking was crucial and directly affected the company, so haley suggested we pause the date so i could focus on that instead.


    pepper walked toward me gleefully and said, "edward! you finally made it!" acting as if i hadn''t been shoved inside the house for over five hours.


    "there are a few people i want you to meet," pepper said as he scanned the surroundings to get the location of where those people were.


    haley cleared her throat and tried to move away, "i''ll find a spot to watch the performance��"


    "you''re coming with me," i told haley with a smirk, tightening my grip on her palm.


    "i can''t let people think my date left me behind. i''m not a loser." i said teasingly before pretending to realize i was talking about her, "oh. sorry. that happened to you before. i shouldn''t have brought that up. "


    "ass," she giggled in disbelief. i grabbed her hand, and we walked to the first couple pepper led us to.

 Chapter 327: NYPC (3)

    chapter 327: chapter 327: nypc (3)


    (see you guys next saturday. there will be 10 chaps for the entire arc.)


    [general pov]


    as edward entered the party with his group of friends, he caught the attention of phil and claire, who were sitting at their dinner table.


    "oh, they''re finally here!" claire stood up and threw her napkin onto the plate after wiping her mouth. phil quickly calmed claire down, saying, "honey, don''t yell at them. maybe her phone has no battery; that''s why she didn''t answer any of your text messages or calls."


    "i called her 17 times, phil. every single time it connected, but she rejected it. she only sent me one message: ''i''m not dead yet, don''t worry about it.'' she wouldn''t even tell me where she was going," claire replied, her expression angry.


    jay swirled his drink and said, "what are you worried about? she''s been with edward the whole time. that kid is trustworthy."


    gloria looked at jay with slight confusion. "jay, are you drunk? why are you being so nice?"


    the whiskey mixed with euphoria had made jay tipsy, which led him to engage in every conversation. cam, phil, and mitchell felt that they had finally broken down the innate barrier jay had placed in their relationship and were warming up to him.


    jay waved it off, saying, "i''m not. i''m being rational. it''s not like they''re doing anything wrong. they''re just hanging out."


    claire sighed. "well, i hope so." gloria noticed edward and haley at that moment, precisely when edward wrapped his hand around haley, pulled her close, and kissed the back of her hand.


    "ay," gloria muttered in surprise. "are they dating now?"


    "what?" claire scrunched her nose and immediately looked where gloria was pointing. everyone at the table followed suit, their expressions baffled by the sight before them.


    jay suddenly chuckled. "oh, i thought this would happen. i was right."


    alex walked toward her family with enid and jenna to greet them, but before she could say anything, claire grabbed her and pulled her in close. "alex, what just happened? why did edward kiss your sister''s hand in public?"


    "oh, they went on a date today," alex replied casually. "apparently, it''s going pretty well."


    cam immediately squealed, "oh-ho~ that''s why she''s not answering her phone. she''s having a great time!"


    mitchell added, "her mother''s constant distraction must''ve annoyed her very much. you shouldn''t have bothered her, claire."


    flabbergasted, claire stammered, "i wouldn''t have bothered if i knew!"


    "oh, edward didn''t tell me about it, even though we met this morning. i would''ve taught him a few moves," phil muttered, disappointment evident in his voice. claire quickly reminded him, "phil, he''s dating your daughter. you don''t want him to make a move."


    on the opposite site of the vip section, taylor was having fun with selena until she froze when she saw the scene. selena stammered as she looked at taylor worriedly, "um, le-let''s be rational here. you already expected this to happen, right?"


    ...


    [edward pov]


    most of the vips had their own private spaces, as they came with family or friends. those who wanted to socialize could do so in another section.


    the first people pepper led me to were the couple who had arrived earlier in the evening, john krasinski and emily blunt, at their own private table. the couple stood up to greet me happily as i approached.


    "hi, em. hello, mr. krasinski. thank you for coming," i greeted her casually and offered him a firm handshake while nodding at emily.


    "please, just call me john," he said with a smile. "mr. krasinski feels too formal. it''s like i''m a school teacher," he joked.


    "you can just call me edward too. this gorgeous girl is my date, haley dunphy," i introduced haley to the duo.


    "hello," haley said shyly, while i added, "aspiring fashion designer. she''s already had her designs in magazines twice and just created her own studio."


    "ed, stop," haley grimaced. "you''re putting so much pressure on me," she joked slightly.


    emily smiled softly and said, "nice to finally meet you, haley. i''ve heard about you from edward."


    "really?" haley replied, a bit skeptical, but she didn''t press further as pepper started talking.


    "john is very thoughtful, ed. you should talk to him. i have somewhere else to be," pepper said with an adoring expression as he glanced at john before he left.


    "he definitely has a crush on you," i teased john, which made everyone chuckle. then i continued, "i have a question. john, you''re going to direct your first episode of the office?"


    john widened his eyes in surprise, clearly taken aback by my knowledge. "yes. i hope so," he replied awkwardly.


    emily turned to him and asked, "you''re going to direct an episode? why don''t i know about it?"


    "i didn''t tell you because it''s not confirmed yet. also, i have no idea how he knew about this," he replied seriously, though maintaining his smile.


    "i know a lot of things, john. i''m like liam neeson in your debut work in that kingsley movie. remember what he asked you in your scene?"


    startled, john immediately burst into laughter. "oh god. you know about that too? you know you shouldn''t watch the movie yet."


    "that scene itself is quite prophetic, isn''t it?" i teased.


    "what''s prophetic about it?" emily asked, prompting me to burst into laughter. john, a little frazzled, tried to change the subject. "emily told me ''self made'' finished filming yesterday. i hope the movie will be well received."


    emily, pulling herself closer to john, confronted him with a british accent, "what are you not telling me?"


    ...


    [general pov]


    ''take a deep breath'', vanessa closed her eyes slightly as she calmed herself before going onto the stage. ''everything will be okay.''


    putting on a brave facade, she waltzed into the stage as the crowd cheered for her.


    "my first song after a long period of waiting for my return to the stage is called, ''brutal''. enjoy." vanessa spoke using the microphone, a small smile on her face as she remembered her heated discussion with edward when he told her to sing the song.


    [olivia rodrigo�C brutal]


    a soft violin melody filled the stage which made the crowd think it was going to be a ballad. then she suddenly declared, "i want it to be messy."


    the band finally revealed themselves and they played the beat for the song. the percussive beat created an edgy and almost aggressive sound. the lights on the stage danced around as vanessa stood still, only tilting her head as she sang lightly.


    "??i''m so insecure, i think??"


    "??that i''ll die before i drink??"


    she finally moved and walked to the center of the stage, pointing her finger at the camera acting as if she was pointing at someone, "??and i''m so caught up in the news. of who likes me, and who hates you??"


    maggie thought of the media coverage of vanessa and zac efron''s breakup as she heard the lyric.


    "?? and i''m so tired that i might. quit my job, start a new life ??"


    "?? and they''d all be so disappointed. ''cause, who am i, if not exploited? ??"


    the fast paced song made the crowd fall into a trance, not wanting to miss a word of the lyric. the verse made people imagine vanessa''s experience as a child star working in a tough industry.


    "??and i''m so sick of 17. where''s my fucking teenage dream? ??"


    "?? if someone tells me one more time. "enjoy your youth, " i''m gonna cry ??" vanessa traced her finger underneath her eyes, gesturing to the tears.


    selena looked around anxiously and muttered to herself, "no one is reacting. this is kinda bad."


    taylor just smirked and said, "just wait."


    vanessa stomped her feet, acting like a whiny brat, "?? and i don''t stick up for myself. i''m anxious and nothing can help ??"


    "?? and i wish i''d done this before. and i wish people liked me more ??"


    the lyrics laid all of her insecurities and made her shout it to the world. the unfair treatment she had been through from something that wasn''t even her fault. she let it all out on the stage.


    the crowd finally reacted as she finished the first verse. claire muttered, "that''s quite raw isn''t it?"


    phil got some tears in his eyes then he shouted, "go nessa!" as a fan of the high school musical franchise, also part of the dad group that learns all of the dances in the movie, he knew very well about vanessa''s past.


    alex distanced herself from her dad and moved closer to her boyfriend as they enjoyed the music. the crowd then erupted into cheers as she sang the chorus.


    "??all i did was try my best. this the kind of thanks i get? unrelentlessly upset (ah, ah, ah)??" vanessa sang while bouncing her body slightly.


    edward chuckled excitedly as he saw vanessa''s pouty expression as she performed.


    enid was really surprised by the song that she didn''t react for almost a minute, just standing still with her jaw dropped.


    "??they say these are the golden years. but i wish i could disappear. ego crush is so severe??"


    she paused slightly before singing, "?? god, it''s brutal out here??"


    the crowd cheered loudly as they enjoyed the song. vanessa smiled in satisfaction as the catchy beat played.


    as she heard the cheers, she became more confident in her performance. "??i feel like no one wants me. and i hate the way i''m perceived. i only have two real friends. and lately, i''m a nervous wreck??"


    maggie and edward both raised their hands to cheer for her performance. vanessa even turned to edward slightly as she sang, which made edward startled. ''focus on the stage you idiot.'' he scolded her slightly.


    "??''cause i love people i don''t like. and i hate every song i write. and i''m not cool and i''m not smart. and i can''t even parallel park ??"


    "that last line wasn''t necessary." maggie muttered to herself. "even though it was true. still... it''s unnecessary."


    the pouty way of performing, the little eye roll, the teenage angst vibe made the younger member of the crowd love her new image and supported her greatly.


    "?? all i did was try my best. this the kind of thanks i get? unrelentlessly upset (ah, ah, ah) ??" she sang it in front of the cameras, which made the screen filled with her manic expression.


    "??they say these are the golden years. but i wish i could disappear. ego crush is so severe. god, it''s brutal out here ??"


    as the music slowed down, vanessa stood at the front of the stage, underneath the spotlight, singing to the sky.


    she crooned, "?? got a broken ego, broken heart~ (it''s brutal out here, it''s brutal out here)and god, i don''t even know where to start ??."


    as the music fades away, the crowd exploded into thunderous cheers for her. sweating slightly, vanessa reveled in the crowd''s reaction, her heart beating widely. her eyes were slightly moist, but she didn''t succumb to her emotion as she continued her performance.

 Chapter 328: NYPC (4)

    Chapter 328: Chapter 328: NYPC (4)


    [General POV]


    The excitement from the previous performance was still palpable. Eminem scrutinized the song with a stoic face, judging the entire performance.


    "It was good," he said curtly. "Immature. Yet raw," Katy Perry commented. Snoop laughed slightly and added, "It''s too short for me. I can''t wait for the next one."


    The light show suddenly bathed the stage in red. "The next song is titled ''I See Red.'' Enjoy," Vanessa announced before the music kicked in. A team of dancers entered the stage, dressed in black outfits and red fox masks.


    [I See Red�C Everybody Loves an Outlaw]


    Vanessa sang with a sexy, soulful voice, "?? Did you really think, I''d just forgive and forget, no~ ??"


    The stark contrast from the earlier performance surprised the audience. If the previous one was a whiny teenager, this song made her seem rageful.


    "?? After catching you with her, your blood should run cold, so cold ??"


    The cold delivery induced goosebumps among the crowd. The female audience members who had experienced similar events immediately became immersed in the song.


    "?? Youuuuu... you two-timing, cheap-lying, wannabe ??"


    The biting line was delivered soulfully as Vanessa recounted catching her ex in the act.


    "?? You''re a foolllll~, if you thought that I''d just let this go ??"


    Vanessa moved to the center of the dance choreography and bellowed, "?? I see red, red, oh reeeeeeeed ??"


    The audience erupted in cheers of excitement. Vanessa''s vocals travelled across the entire party which was a treat to the ears.


    "?? A gun to your head, head, to your head ??" Vanessa made a gun gesture paired with a playful smirk.


    "?? Now all I see is red, red, red ??"


    Her vocals had transformed dramatically since her Disney days. Rather than the breathy singing voice she usually used, Edward had personally taught her to control her vocal range. It took months for her to achieve this stage.


    "Hard work always pays off," was what Edward often told her during their training.


    "?? Did you really just say she didn''t mean anything, oh ??"


    "?? I''ll remember those words when I come for your soul, your soul ??"


    Edward felt a burning gaze on him and turned to see Taylor staring. She slowly gestured a ''slit at the throat'' and pointed at him. Edward fell into disbelief as he turned his attention back to Vanessa.


    ''No wonder she wanted Hudgens to sing this one,'' he thought.


    Vanessa walked to the left side of the stage, flanked by two dancers, bending slightly at the crowd and singing to them. "?? Know that you dug your own grave, now lie in it. You''re so cruel, but revenge is a dish best served cold ??"


    She immediately moved to the center of the stage. The mesmerizing choreography by the dancers and her stage presence kept all eyes on the performance.


    Ashley Tisdale, Shay Mitchell, Ashley Benson, and Brenda Song shouted in excitement, rooting for Hudgens.


    "?? I see red, red, oh red!!!! A gun to your head!!! Head!!! To your head, oh ??" Hudgens sang soulfully, and most of the female members of the crowd sang along to the chorus.


    "?? Executioner style, and there won''t be no trial. Don''t you know that you''re better off dead? ??"


    "?? All I see is red, red, oh red. Now all I see is red, red ??"


    As Penny watched the performance, she subconsciously muttered, "Damn. Being friends with Edward is like getting a first-class ticket to Fame-town."


    The aspiring actresses around Penny perked up at this, their eyes lighting up with a not-so-good idea.


    One petite blonde woman with an innocent demeanor turned to Penny and asked, "Hey, you''re friends with him, right? He waved at you before. Do you think you can introduce me to him? I really want to meet him."


    Penny was startled and blurted out, "Oh�� Um, I don''t know. Maybe."


    "Can you get me in too? I also want to meet him," another actress chimed in. In the acting industry, there was a lot of competition, and people would do anything to gain a head start.


    "?? Run, hide. Oh, you''re so done. Oh, better sleep with one eye open tonight ??" Vanessa sang excitedly. Edward moved his shoulders slightly as Abed held his camera in front of him to record his reaction to Vanessa''s song.


    "?? I see red, red, oh red. A gun to your head, head, to your head, oh ??" The drones flew up, blending into the night sky.


    "?? Executioner style, and there won''t be no trial. Don''t you know that you''re better off dead? ??"


    The drones projected the name ''NESSA'' into the night sky, alongside a holographic projection of Hudgens''s new image.


    "?? All I see is red, red, oh red. Now all I see is red, red ??" As Vanessa finished up the song, a firework-like shot erupted from the stage, adding excitement to the finale of her performance.


    "NESSA! NESSA! NESSA! NESSA!" The crowd chanted her name as she breathed heavily.


    Vanessa finally let her tears fall, a mix of joy and relief washing over her. She smiled widely, waving at the crowd with a radiant glow. The emotional moment struck Maggie, who broke into tears for her friend, followed closely by Taylor and Haley, their voices ringing out in unison, "NESSA! WE LOVE YOU!"


    As Vanessa and the dancers took a graceful bow, the audience erupted into applause. Maggie quickly wiped her tears, her eyes shining with pride as she hugged Vanessa tightly. "You did really great, Ness!"


    "Go do your job! There are 15 more minutes left," Frankie chimed in, a hint of urgency in his voice. "We need to make it in time for Edward to be here at midnight."


    Maggie leaned in, her voice brimming with excitement. "Gotta go! I''ll tell you how proud I am of you and that I love you and all that later. Wait for it. It''s coming."


    "No. Don''t," Vanessa whined, but Maggie turned a deaf ear, leaving Vanessa smiling as her eyes followed her friend before she turned to Edward, who was applauding enthusiastically.


    "Great job! I think I can get my money back. Maybe," Edward joked, a playful smirk on his face. Vanessa''s chin quivered with emotion as she dashed towards him, enveloping him in a bear hug.


    "Oof! You''re so sweaty," Edward chuckled, having expected the embrace. "Shut up. I''m not." Vanessa retorted, not letting him go that easily.


    "This is my performance outfit." Edward muttered. "Don''t get your makeup on it." He added worriedly.


    2 years ago, Edward ran from his stage.


    2 years ago, Vanessa fell from grace.


    2 years ago, Edward lost all of his purpose.


    2 years ago, Vanessa lost all of her heart.


    2 years ago, Edward was alone in the world.


    2 years ago, Vanessa was abandoned by the world.


    Edward took the microphone from the stand and said casually, "I love you too, Enid. Also, Maggie needs to learn more about improv after this." He turned to Maggie and teased her.


    Enid felt bashful as she was singled out, surrounded by the jealous gazes of the girls around her.


    Edward joked with the crowd, "Those who didn''t cheer when I walked in and are working for me, you guys are all fired."


    Maggie was taken aback and replied without using the microphone, "I can improv."


    For Pepper, it was essential for everything to go perfectly, but Edward was relaxed since the event was a company gathering. There were no cameras, no one to impress��just people having a good time.


    "Why do human beings celebrate New Year''s Eve? Why do we make resolutions and act like we''re going to stick with them? Why does it seem like I''m vamping? Because I am." Edward nodded as he answered his last question, making the crowd laugh.


    "I just need my first act to end 10 seconds before the countdown." Edward exposed himself before returning to his initial topic, "New Year''s. It''s the time when we lie to ourselves and say, ''I''m not worried about my problems anymore. They won''t follow me into next year.''"


    "I will perform two newly written songs tonight��" Edward couldn''t finish his sentence before the sound of the crowd cheering drowned out his voice.


    He smiled and said, "I''ll be starting with one written just for us to kick off our New Year more positively. The song is called ''I Ain''t Worried'' by OneRepublic. Enjoy."


    The crowd cheered as the lights began to flicker. Edward grabbed the microphone and whistled a beat casually, doing it live instead of using a prepared sound stage.


    "?? I don''t know what you''ve been told ??" Edward''s mellow voice was infectious. "?? But time is running out, no need to take it slow ??"


    "Ah, it''s been a while since I heard him sing live," Jenna muttered. "I miss this."


    Edward tilted the microphone and waved his finger at the camera while posing, "?? I''m stepping to you toe-to-toe. I should be scared, honey, maybe so~ ??"


    The band members became his backup singers and harmonized with him.


    Edward crooned melodiously, "?? But I ain''t worried ''bout it right now (right now). Keeping dreams alive, 2009, heroes ??"


    "?? I ain''t worried ''bout it right now~~ (right now)??" The crowd began to mumble the words together during the chorus and swayed their bodies to the song. Katy Perry, Snoop, and Rihanna danced together, feeling the music course through them.


    Edward opened his arms wide and swayed slightly, singing in a relaxed manner, "?? Swimmin'' in the floods, dancing on the clouds below ??"


    "?? I ain''t worried ''bout it ??" Edward whistled again, and the crowd was amazed at his impeccable timing.


    "I ain''t worried ''bout it." The backup singers echoed as Edward continued whistling. (Hey)


    He took the microphone from the stand and walked to the front of the stage, interacting with the crowd, "?? I don''t know what you''ve been told. But time is running out, so spend it like it''s gold ??"


    The song struck a chord with the partygoers as they felt the anticipation of entering the new year.


    "?? I''m living like I''m nine-zeros~ ??" Edward sang in a high falsetto voice before lowering it back to normal. Alex scoffed and said, "He already has the nine-zeros status."


    "?? Got no regrets even when I''m broke, yeah ??" Edward nodded slightly, making a statement to everyone that he was going to live his life to the fullest.


    "?? I''m at my best when I got something I''m wanting to steal. Way too busy for them problems and problems to feel, (yeah-yeah) No stressing, just obsessing with sealing the deal ??"


    Edward pointed at Haley from the stage, which took her by surprise. "Wait. He doesn''t mean��" Phil scrunched his face as he recalled the lyric and then gasped.


    "?? I''ll take it in and let it go ??" Edward smirked as he sang.


    "Sing it with me!" he shouted at the crowd to encourage them to join in.


    Everyone sang together, "?? But I ain''t worried ''bout it right now (right now) ??"


    Edward sang alone, "Keeping dreams alive, 2009, heroes ??"


    The crowd echoed, "?? I ain''t worried ''bout it right now (right now) ??"


    Edward sang alone, "Swimmin'' in the floods, dancing on the clouds below ??"


    "?? I ain''t worried ''bout it ??" Edward whistled as the background singers and the crowd repeated the lines. "?? I ain''t worried ''bout it ??"


    The beat slowed down, and Edward crooned, "?? Ooooooooh~~, I ain''t worried ??"


    Everyone was transported by his melodious voice, and their stress melted away. They raised their hands and swayed to the beat, barely even noticing that there was one minute left on the countdown clock.


    "?? Ooh (ooh), oh, no ??"


    "?? I ain''t worried ''bout it right now (right now) Keeping dreams alive, 2009, heroes! I ain''t worried ''bout it right now (right now) Swimmin'' in the floods, dancing on the clouds below ??"


    "?? I ain''t worried ''bout it." Edward continued whistling and then sang the last line, "I ain''t worried ''bout it ??"


    The crowd cheered in excitement. Finneas nodded in acknowledgment and said, "It is a simple song, but his execution is great as always."


    Edward glanced at the clock and began the countdown, "Everyone! 10 seconds before 2010! Let''s count down together."


    "10!"


    "9!"


    "8!"


    Edward added a comment while the crowd counted down, "If you want to kiss someone, make sure to have their consent."


    "7!"


    "6!"


    "5!"


    "4!"


    "3!"


    "2!"


    "1!"


    Everyone cheered in excitement, blowing their horns and releasing confetti. The drone changed the "2009" label floating in the sky to "2010" in golden font before the fireworks began.


    Numerous fireworks shot into the sky, and people were kissing in the audience. Phil and Claire kissed each other. Ted and Frankie, Jay and Gloria, Mitchell and Cam, Pepper and Renaldo, Alex and Finneas, Elsa and Jacob, Penny with a random girl, and so on.


    Suddenly, a loud melody from the stage attracted everyone''s attention again.

 Chapter 329 - 239: NYPC (5)

    Chapter 329: Chapter 239: NYPC (5)


    (dedicated to the one guy in the comment section lol)


    [General POV]


    While most everyone was distracted by the fireworks and the drone light show, Edward quickly changed his wardrobe on stage.


    He removed his jacket and shirt, slipping into a dazzling golden sequin tuxedo jacket that he left unbuttoned, wearing nothing underneath.


    He donned brown sunglasses with golden rims and topped off his look with a white hat that read "MMX," representing 2010 in Roman numerals, which made his entire image dripping in swagger.


    Enid''s eyes were glued to the stage the entire time, and she whimpered while fanning her blushing face at the sight of Edward''s bare body.


    It took several minutes for the crowd to calm down as they celebrated the new year. The fireworks sputtered out, and for a moment, the sky became still, with only wisps of white smoke lingering to remind everyone of the fleeting spectacle as the stage lights dimmed.


    As the spotlight shone on Edward once more, the audience took in his new look with curiosity. Four backup singers stepped onto the stage, dressed in matching outfits similar to Edward''s, but each added their own personal flair.


    Philip Lawrance, one of the original singers for this song. Brody Brown, another original singer. The other two were new talents that Edward found and he signed on to his company, named G-Rate and Larry.


    "Happy New Year, everyone! We''re going to kick off this party with my new single, ''24 Karat Magic,'' which will be released this year," Edward announced through his microphone. The crowd erupted with excitement, cheering wildly.


    A vibrant sound resonated throughout the venue as Edward''s voice filtered through the talk box, giving it a synthesized quality reminiscent of autotune. He bellowed, "??Tonight~~~~~~~~~~~!!!!??"


    "??I just want to take you higher~~~??"


    The background singers harmonized with Edward, singing, "??Throw your hands up in the sky??"


    "??Let''s set this party off right~~~~??"


    The strong opening sent the entire crowd into a frenzy, bursting into cheers once again. The lights flickered like a disco, while the drone light show displayed logos of gold bars, ''24 Karat Magic'', ''Edward Newgate'', and even his cat.


    A smooth, funky instrumental backdrop filled the venue, blending synth elements, bass, and a classic disco groove. This combination contributed to the upbeat, retro feel of the song, reminiscent of 1980s and 1990s funk and R&B.


    "?? Players~~! Put yo'' pinky rings up to the moon!! ??" Edward sang, dancing in perfect synchronization with the backup singers. His female fans squealed in excitement, the image forever etched in their minds.


    He flashed a charming smile and waved his fingers at the camera, "?? Girls, what y''all trying to do? ??"


    With a fluid motion, he threw his hand in the air, moving effortlessly with the melody, "?? Twenty-four karat magic in the air ??"


    "?? Head to toe so player. Look out! Uh! ??" Edward grunted mischievously.


    "?? Pop pop, it''s showtime. (Showtime)" Edward sang, with the background singer echoing his verse energetically, acting as his hype man.


    "?? Showtime (showtime), guess who''s back again? ??"


    Edward acted playfully with the background singers, singing as if he were having a conversation with them, "?? Oh, they don''t know? (Go on, tell ''em) Oh, they don''t know? (Go on, tell ''em) ??"


    "?? I bet they know as soon as we walk in (showin'' up) ??" He looked at the crowd, singing confidently.


    "?? Wearing Cuban links (ya)! Designer minks (ya)! Inglewood''s finest shoes (whoop, whoop) ??"


    Flexing his designer clothes as he sang, Edward acted coyly, making the girls fall even harder for him.


    Jenna muttered, "Enid! Take more photos! MORE!" Enid was busy snapping pictures with her phone and shouted urgently to her friends, "My storage is full! I need a few new phones! NOW!"


    Jacob immediately threw his phone to Enid, fearing her reaction.


    "?? Don''t look too hard, might hurt ya''self. Known to give the color red the blues ??"


    Sage excitedly danced along to the song, while Mrs. Henderson simply sat there, sipping her drink.


    As the melody slowed for the transition, Edward swaggered to the front of the stage alone. The cameraman, Abed, followed him from below the stage, projecting his performance on screens for those who couldn''t see it.


    "?? Oh shit, I''m a dangerous man with some money in my pocket (keep up) ??" Edward confidently spat out facts, making his friends scoff and giggle.


    "A dangerous man who loves cats," Max commented sarcastically. "Well, statistically, most evil masterminds have that trait," Hudgens replied as they watched the performance together from the VIP section.


    Edward continued, pointing at Penny and her group of friends, "?? So many pretty girls around me, and they waking up the rocket (keep up) ??"


    "?? Why you mad, fix ya face, ain''t my fault y''all be jocking (keep up) ??" Edward sang coyly, irking several people.


    "?? Players only, come on." He gestured to invite the crowd before bellowing, "?? Put your pinky rings up to the moon!!! Girls, what y''all trying to do? ??"


    The choreographed dance prepared for his world tour was unleashed that night. "?? Twenty-four karat magic in the air~~~!!! Head to toe so player ??"


    "?? Uh, look out! ??"


    "?? Second verse for the hustlas (hustlas). Gangstas (gangstas). Bad bitches and ya ugly-ass friends (haha) ??" Edward swaggered to the left side of the stage, facing the VIPs.


    He pulled back and rejoined the backup singers'' circle again, "?? Can I preach? (Uh oh) Can I preach? (Uh oh) I gotta show ''em how a pimp gets it in ??"


    "?? First, take your sip (sip), do your dip (dip). Spend your money like money ain''t shit (whoop, whoop) ??"


    The backup singers chimed in, "?? We too fresh. Got to blame it on Jesus. Hashtag blessed ??"


    Edward continued gruffly, "?? They ain''t ready for me ??"


    "?? I''m a dangerous man with some money in my pocket (keep up) ??"


    Everyone danced together as the New Year''s party reached its climax. A few who had come merely as a polite gesture to the rising conglomerate company were genuinely glad they did.


    "?? So many pretty girls around me, and they waking up the rocket (keep up). Why you mad, fix ya face, ain''t my fault y''all be jocking (keep up) ??"


    "Edward! WOOO!" Penny yelled as she took off her brassiere from under her dress and spun it into the sky.


    "?? Players only, come on. Put your pinky rings up to the moon!! ??" Sweating slightly, Edward unbuttoned his jacket to cool down, but it only made the girls heat up even more.


    "?? Hey girls, what y''all trying to do? (What y''all trying to do?) ??" Edward sang sweetly as he looked in the girls'' direction.


    "?? Twenty-four karat magic in the air!!! Head to toe so player!! Uh, look out! ??"


    Taylor furrowed her eyebrows and muttered venomously, "So is this your New Year''s resolution? To become a player?"


    "?? Everywhere I go they be like!! (Ooh, so player) Everywhere I go they be like (ooh, so player, ooh) Oh, everywhere I go they be like (ooh, so player, ooh) ??"


    Edward excitedly jumped before walking to the center of the stage, "?? Now watch me break it down like (uh) ??"


    Mitchell whispered to Cam, "He''s trying to get his future girlfriend''s dad to like him."


    Cam whispered back, "Phil already loves him. He should''ve aimed for the mother."


    "We all heard that," Claire squinted angrily as she turned to glare at the two.


    "Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, you should go to Haley. I know you''re only talking to us because you don''t see her," Jay suddenly interjected, his face flushed from drink.


    "Where did she go?" I smiled awkwardly, realizing I had basically announced to the entire party that I was going to kiss a girl, yet I didn''t even know where she was.


    Claire grinned mischievously and said, "Oh, she''s sitting right there," pointing to a table. I followed her finger and gasped in disbelief as I saw Haley sitting awkwardly between Sage and Mrs. Henderson.


    [Claire''s commentary]


    "Try to do something in front of your teachers," she challenged. "Only the boldest, most courageous, or the stupidest person in the world would actually try."


    After calming herself from laughing, she whispered looking down, "Phil was not on board with the plan."


    [Commentary ends]


    "Oh, finally." I started to walk toward Haley, but Claire grabbed my arm urgently. "Edward, the party is great, but I think it''s time for us to go home."


    I was taken aback. "Wait. Really?"


    "Yeah. Alex looks quite tired." Claire said sympathetically. Alex, flabbergasted again, exclaimed, "No, I''m not! I took a four-hour nap this afternoon!"


    "Sorry. I meant Luke. Luke is definitely tired. Where is he, anyway?" Claire looked around, suddenly uneasy as she glanced at my friends.


    "Wait, where are Manny and Luke?" Cam asked, sharing Claire''s concern. "Weren''t they with you guys?" Gloria was alarmed and panicked.


    "Huh? They''re with you. They weren''t hanging out with us," Alex replied.


    Phil immediately shouted, "LUKEEEEE!" in an effort to locate his missing son.


    Jacob spoke up shyly, "There''s a huge arcade room in the basement. I''m pretty sure I saw them there when I checked it out."


    "Let''s go!" Gloria grabbed Jay''s hand and pulled him along as she stomped toward the mansion. Phil and Claire followed suit. Mitchell offered his help and tagged along, "We''ll check the other floors."


    "And maybe hit the bathroom first because I''ve been drinking ten of these strawberry daiquiris," Cam commented, hurrying after Mitchell with his knees bent closely together.


    I was confused, "We don''t have strawberry daiquiris. What the hell has he been drinking?


    Seeing her parents leaving, Haley excused herself from the table and quickly returned to us, eager to see what was happening and to get out of there.


    [Haley''s commentary]


    "I sat there for 2 minutes. It was the greatest suffering of my life. I can use that moment if I ever need to write a college essay about the greatest suffering I went through."


    "It was New Year''s Eve. I had to sit in between the school teacher awkwardly for 2 minutes..." She trailed off and finished unconfidently, "Well, I''m not going to write the essay now. I will put in a lot more words when I need to do it. Or ask Alex to write it for me."


    [Commentary ends]


    As Haley approached me, I smiled and gently took her hand. "Happy New Year." She leaned in closer and gave me a soft peck on the lips right in front of my friends.


    Enid groaned in disgust, her face contorting with distaste. "That''s a child''s kiss," Jacob commented. "Kiss for real!" Billie scolded.


    "OHH, TOP G IS FINALLY GETTING SOME!" Clarence and Larry walked by, teasing me loudly. Haley looked confused by their comments.


    "Top G?" she asked. "Why are they calling you Top G?"


    "Is it Top Gun?" Jacob guessed.


    "Nope. It''s actually Top Gate," I explained with a smirk.


    Haley let out an understanding sigh. "Aahh, because you can beat Bill Gates in a bare-knuckle fight?"


    "Obviously," I replied matter-of-factly. "It''s scary how you managed to guess that instantly." I chuckled a bit as I looked at her.


    "Wait. That''s really it?" Alex asked, looking incredulous.


    I nodded and explained, "Yeah. It started with New G, then N Gate, then Kid-Money, and finally NBG��New Bill Gates. I protested against that, so it became Top G."


    "N Gate is kind of an awesome nickname, I''m not going to lie," Finneas said.


    "Thanks, F-Word," I nodded at him, which made him flustered, and everyone laughed. Jenna chimed in, "Yeah, F-Word!"


    "Ha-ha! You''re the F-Word," Billie teased her brother.


    "Okay, I think it''s an appropriate time to share my New Year''s resolution. I''m not going to be the butt of the joke anymore," Finneas declared with determination.


    "Whatever, F-Word," Elsa dismissed him with a smirk.


    "Well, Enid fainted when she saw Edward''s abs on stage." Finneas tried to move the heat to someone else.


    "Really?" My eyes lit up as I looked at her. Haley furrowed her eyebrows and asked with a laugh, "Why are you so happy about that?"


    Enid giggled and said, "My knees got weak a little bit."


    "Oh. There is the validation I wanted for a long long time." I finally breathed in relief and hugged Enid slightly. "My hard work in sculpting my body was finally justified."


    Everyone laughed again as I said that. "Let''s go, I want to meet everyone else." I told Jacob and Finneas while holding Haley''s hand.


    My football team had come with their dates, and I was eager to meet them. However, Jacob sadly informed me, "They left immediately after your performance in their rented limo."


    "Wait, they already left?" I felt a pang of disappointment. This party would be my last chance to have a conversation with them before I left for the world tour. Haley caught my change in expression.


    "I wonder why they are in such a hurry." Haley muttered, trying to comfort me by patting my arm.


    "I don''t know. Tyler only sent me some emojis when I asked." Jacob replied casually.


    "What emoji?" Elsa scrunched her face and asked.


    Jacob read the text again, out loud this time, "Tounge Out Emoji. Peach Peach Eggplant Eggplant, Drizzle Drizzle, And. It''s just random."


    Everyone stared at Jacob for a while. "What?" Jacob was confused by the reaction.

 Chapter 330: NYPC (6)

    Chapter 330: Chapter 330: NYPC (6)


    [Edward POV]


    "We should hide in the house," Haley urged, pulling my arm. She didn''t want her parents to take her home early.


    "This is why no one should go to a party with their parents," Jenna scoffed teasingly.


    I rolled my eyes and pointed toward the concert. "Yeah, because no one wants to see their mother grinding provocatively with a hunky topless guy at a party."


    "WHAT?!" Jenna''s eyes widened in horror as she turned to look where I was pointing. Instead of her mother, she saw a random girl doing just that.


    Jenna shot me a glare, and I smirked. "Why? I never said it was your mom. She''s inside the house, doing who knows what."


    Jenna puffed her cheeks sulkily. "Oh, it''s Sal," Haley muttered, realizing who I was pointing at.


    I took a second glance and exclaimed, "Oh my god, it really is her! I thought it was a stripper. That reminds me, I need to talk to her about something."


    "Hey, my mom is asking me to go to the car now," Jacob said with a sad sigh before I could walk away.


    Elsa chimed in, "Yeah, my mom wants me to go home too. She told me to go back with Jenna, and she''s coming to pick me up at her house."


    "Wait. So I have to go back too?" Jenna looked bewildered at Elsa.


    Enid added with a slight protest, "My mom too! Can you believe them?!"


    Finneas and Billie''s parents were at the party as well, and it seemed their time was up too.


    "It''s because you guys are all kids," I teased, prompting a chorus of protests.


    "We''re the same age!" Jacob raised his hand. "BOO!" Jenna and Elsa both gave me thumbs down.


    "Where is Tara?" Enid mumbled, looking around. "My mom told me to bring her with me."


    I turned to Haley, who had been hanging out with Tara before. "She''s enjoying the concert with our friends the last time I saw her," Haley shrugged.


    "Edward, are you going back up there?" Finneas asked suddenly. I nodded, "Yeah, at the end. Maybe an hour from now."


    Alex grumbled, "So we have to miss it because Mom wants to stop you guys from doing it?"


    Haley looked flabbergasted, while I chuckled. "Yeah, absolutely," I replied, and Haley blushed.


    "I really want to stay," Jacob whined, interrupting the conversation. Elsa added, "Me too. I want to stay, but my parents won''t let me."


    "I want to stay too," Enid said, grabbing my arm. "Can''t you talk to our parents?"


    Flabbergasted, I responded, "I''m not going to. They''re worried about you and want to protect you. I respect that. I''m not going to manipulate them into letting you stay." I turned to Haley. "And that includes you."


    "Really?" Haley whined, her eyes sad. "Are you sure you don''t want me to stay?"


    I smirked and gently guided her away from my friends for a private conversation. "I want you to stay."


    "Then why don''t you want to talk to my mom?" Haley asked sulkily.


    "I could, but even I know that manipulating a mother to let her daughter stay and then have my way with her is morally wrong. It''s degenerate behavior. I''m not going to do that." I said calmly, brushing her hair behind her ear and placing my hand affectionately on her cheek.


    [General POV]


    After Luke and Manny were found, the family returned to the outdoor party. Claire noticed Edward and Haley talking from afar. She hesitated to call out to them, observing the way they looked at each other. Instead, she pulled Alex aside and whispered, "What''s that all about?"


    Alex grumbled, "A farewell, maybe."


    "Wait, so...Haley is going home?" Claire asked, confused. "They''re not trying to stay?"


    Alex looked at her with disbelief. "Mom, you know that Edward really respects you, right?"


    Claire was taken aback, and Phil joined in, listening to the conversation. Alex continued, "You said you want to take us home. He''s not going to argue with that, although it will be dangerous for him."


    "That''s great��what do you mean dangerous for him?" Claire felt relieved at first but then became skeptical. Her nerves were telling her that Alex had done this on purpose, but she couldn''t help but take the bait.


    "Rich, tall, hot, very influential single guy at a party with a lot of aspiring actresses and fame seekers. He won''t get out of the party alive," Alex sighed, glancing at Edward with concern.


    Phil gasped. "They will kill him?"


    "What?! NO, Phil!" Claire stammered before turning her attention back to Alex. "I think you''re exaggerating. Besides, his dad won''t let anything happen to him."


    [Alex''s Commentary]


    "Although I hate the idea that Haley is dating one of my friends, I''ve been watching Edward for a while and read a lot of psychology books. I wanted to see if I could be like him and nudge my parents into seeing things my way," she gleefully said.


    "If I nail this, then there will be no more curfew..." She giggled. "And I can read my books all night long in my room without them asking me to socialize more."


    [Commentary Ends]


    "Watch where his dad is sitting," Alex said, guiding Claire with her index finger. Claire followed it to see Ted sitting with a group of older women.


    They were giggling and touchy with him as he sat there with an uncomfortable smile on his face.


    "Is that the woman from The Sopranos?" Claire widened her eyes in disbelief, seeing the curly-haired woman flirtatiously touching Ted''s bicep and leaning closer as she laughed.


    "Drea De Matteo," Alex explained, pushing her glasses upward. "On Ted''s left is Eva Amurri. Most of them are single TV actresses, but there are a few married women making googly eyes at him too."


    The women were dressed provocatively, showing Ted what they could do with their tongue, trying hard to get him to fall for them. If they couldn''t target Edward, Ted was the second best choice.


    Claire was confused by the scene in front of her. "What does this have to do with Edward?"


    "Nice timing. Watch." Alex pointed as Frankie walked toward the table, ready to rescue Ted from the clutches of the thirsty Hollywood hyenas. They scattered immediately, as if fearing her, and went off in search of another target.


    "Just like pigeons," Alex commented with disdain. She turned to Claire. "Look at them now." She pointed at Haley and Edward, who were still gazing at each other.


    "And look at the girls nearby." Alex added, and Claire turned to see several girls intently watching Edward, waiting for him to be alone so they could strike up a conversation.


    "So, Haley''s like his shield," Phil muttered in understanding. Alex nodded. "Once the shield is gone, it''s open season for some fresh Edward meat..."


    Claire gasped. "Alex! That''s very sexual!"


    Phil and Alex looked confused. Phil explained, "Honey, it''s like deer meat that was hunted. They''re not going to eat him."


    "I didn''t mean��" Claire stammered, hesitating before giving up and saying, "There''s still another option. Edward can go home with us."


    "Oh, that would be nice," Phil exclaimed in relief. Alex shook her head. "No, he can''t."


    "Right, he can''t." Phil agreed immediately without even hearing the reason.


    "No," Haley replied curtly. "If he liked me, he wouldn''t ask me to become his girlfriend." She shook her head slightly in despair, leaving Tara baffled.


    "T-That''s... like the opposite of what he would do if he liked you," Tara muttered in confusion just as her mother called for her. "I''ll be right back. You mull it over some more; let some other girls take a crack at Edward first and see if they can become his girlfriend," she said sarcastically, prompting Haley to curse under her breath, "Bitch."


    One thing Edward forgot was to clarify his ''curse'' status with Haley. She had kept that secret for a while, not even telling her best friend, making it hard for her to explain to Tara why she thought Edward asking her to be his girlfriend was a bad thing. She felt he didn''t really care about her if he would inflict the curse upon her too.


    As Tara left, Haley lowered her head, contemplating the matter seriously, when she suddenly found herself surrounded by two people she didn''t want to see the most at the party: Sage and Mrs. Henderson.


    "Are you having some problems?" Sage asked, sitting down next to Haley.


    Haley immediately stood up, her eyes shaky as she stammered, "Oh, um��I have too��"


    "Sit down," Mrs. Henderson ordered coldly. Haley plopped back down obediently. "Yes, ma''am," she said, surrendering to her fate.


    -Flashback, 10 minutes ago-


    Sage had asked Henderson while sipping her cocktail, "Edward has broken free of the self-destructive talent, but now he''s in real trouble."


    Henderson nodded slightly in agreement. "How does he logically and rationally tell his date that it''s gone? He is now... ''curse-free.'' The answer is, you don''t."


    "We''re lucky that he only told one person about it," Sage smirked, looking at Henderson. "You know, I love hanging out with you when you''re inebriated. We should do it again sometime."


    "Don''t get your hopes up," Mrs. Henderson replied coldly. "Did you bring it?" she asked.


    Sage clutched her purse. "Yeah, I do."


    "I guess this will be my last help to him as his ''First Guardian.'' Now that he''s growing up, he won''t need me anymore," Mrs. Henderson said.


    -Present time-


    "Haley, why don''t you get your fortunes read for the New Year?" Mrs. Henderson suggested, pointing at Sage.


    "What?" Haley was confused by the invitation. Sage took out a deck of Tarot cards from her purse and said, "Come on. It will be fun. For you, no charge."


    "You''re charging people?!" Haley retorted, then sighed. "You know what, this might seem rude, but I don''t have time for this." She slowly tried to stand up, but Sage smirked. "Really? Too bad. Edward got his destiny read a few days ago."


    Haley sat down again, her interest piqued. "How can I get my fate read?"


    Sage laughed slightly, placing the deck of cards on the table. "Shuffle it before picking three cards."


    Haley complied, intrigued. Edward noticed the commotion and became confused.


    As he watched them, he suddenly heard Taylor talking into the microphone and turned his attention to the stage.


    Haley drew three cards from the deck and laid them in front of her. However, her second and third cards fell together. In a hurry, she picked up the two that fell to complete her trio.


    Sage took the remaining cards. "Flip the first one over."


    "It''s The Fool," Haley said, slumping as she read the card.


    [Haley''s Commentary]


    "Okay, so even the cards are insulting me."


    [Commentary Ends]


    Sage nodded. "Although it might seem offensive, this card is the best you could hope for in this new year."


    Haley perked up. "Really?"


    Sage held the card between her fingers, showing it to Haley. "The Fool represents new beginnings, having faith in the future, being inexperienced, not knowing what to expect. It doesn''t show that you''re dumb, but more like a blank slate."


    Haley was absorbed by the reading. "Should I flip the second card now?"


    "Sure," Sage replied, her air of mystery growing.


    "It''s The Empress," Mrs. Henderson muttered, slightly shocked by Haley''s fate.


    "What? Is it bad?" Haley asked urgently.


    Sage was momentarily taken aback before smiling. "Oh, Eve is surprised because this card symbolizes fertility, abundance, and nurturing."


    "Huh?" Haley was dumbfounded. "I''m going to get pregnant?" she asked in shock.


    "Thankfully, the card follows The Fool, so the meaning is a bit different," Sage explained, making Haley breathe a sigh of relief. "So what does it mean?"


    "Following The Fool, it may indicate that the new journey you''re on will be a path of abundance, growth, and creative potential." Sage said mysteriously. "I noticed that the cards fell together with the third one. So it could still be about pregnancy," she added seriously.


    Haley sweated slightly, turning her attention to the third card. Sage opened it to reveal The Lovers. Haley grinned widely. "So, I''m going to find a boyfriend?"


    "Not quite," Sage said, deflating Haley''s happiness. "But it is connected. The Lovers represent choices and harmony. In this card placement, The Fool, The Empress, and The Lovers mean that journeys initiated by The Fool will lead to meaningful connections or important choices in love and in life."


    Haley fell into deep thought before asking, "How accurate is the reading?"


    Sage smirked. "That''s not how it works. The cards provide guidance; they cannot tell you completely what your fate will be."


    Mrs Henderson quipped, "But since Sage is the one who did this, then it will be 99% accurate."


    Sage was baffled by Henderson''s remark. Haley''s eyes glittered as she basked in the happiness before she asked meekly, "Um, then... Can you tell me what Edward got when he did this?"


    Sage smiled. "I cannot tell you. But it has something to do with his cursed love life and the reversal of fortune, which means his dark days are over."


    "Wh-When did he do this?" Haley stammered slightly and her heart beat quicker.


    "Around Christmas time." Sage replied. Haley thought about it and said, "That''s when he started to�C Um, I need to go. Thank you Miss Anna! And you too Mrs Henderson!"


    Haley grabbed Sage and kissed her on the cheek, but failed to do the same thing with Mrs Henderson as she pulled her head back. She rushed to the house after telling her mother that she needed to use the bathroom.


    "I''ll grab my stuff and meet you guys at the car." Haley told her parents before leaving.


    "Oh, okay honey. We will say goodbye first and then meet you there." Claire replied awkwardly. As soon as Haley left, Claire asked Phil, "Did I do this? Did I ruin her thing with Edward?"


    Phil replied, "I hate to be the one to say this Claire, but you definitely did."


    ...


    Edward suddenly received a text message from Haley, asking him to meet her in their room before she would go home.


    However, as soon as Edward entered through the door, Haley grabbed him and kissed him.


    "I do want to be your girlfriend." She said after separating for a while, her hand still wrapped around his neck.


    "But before that, you need to show me that you really like me." She said before she started to kiss his neck. Edward smiled and said, "That won''t be a problem." He took off his coat and pulled her close.

 Chapter 331: NYPC (7)

    Chapter 331: Chapter 331: NYPC (7)


    [Edward POV]


    "Let''s not tell anyone about this for now," Haley said as she changed into the casual clothes she had worn earlier. Her green sequin dress was ruined during our escapades and she had already tossed it in the trash.


    Lying shirtless on the bed, I watched her fix her hair and makeup in front of the large mirror. "Why?" I asked, curious about her desire to keep our relationship a secret.


    Haley walked slowly back toward me, jumped onto the bed, and kissed me on the lips. "I don''t want anyone to know because they''ll try to get involved, and I''d rather not deal with that. There''s not much time left, and I want the rest of it to be just for us. Do you get what I''m saying?"


    I nodded slightly. "I get it." I leaned in and kissed her again. "It''s just too bad. Having a hot boyfriend and not being able to show off."


    Haley raised an eyebrow, surprised, and pinched me playfully, tickling me in the process. "Shouldn''t it be having a hot girlfriend? I''m the one who needs to show off!?"


    I laughed, rolling away from her on the bed and quickly standing up in just my boxers. "I mean, you''re cute and all, but I''m definitely cuter."


    "Come here!" She chased me in mock anger until her phone rang. "Oh, damn, they''re already in the car," she muttered, pouting. I grabbed her hand, pulled her close, and gave her one long kiss.


    As we separated, I looked into her eyes and smirked. "Once I''m done with the party, I''ll sneak into your room. So don''t go to sleep until I''m there." I whispered.


    "No, I''m going to sleep," Haley said with a mischievous smile. "I already got what I wanted. Your body doesn''t have value anymore."


    "Oh really?" I asked, laughing. She giggled and replied teasingly, "Yeah, for real pal. I''ll leave you some money on the nightstand and sneak out before you wake up. You''ll never see me again."


    "So I''m a prostitute now?" I laughed. She eyed me up and down. "You definitely have the makings of a male gigolo."


    "You don''t have to add ''male.'' That term is exclusively for men," I said before sighing at the goodbye. I want to spend more time with her, but now, it seems that time is our greatest challenge.


    She whispered coyly, "I''ll come to your house tomorrow."


    "And I''ll wait for you," I whispered back. She gave me a goodbye kiss before heading off to meet her parents.


    "I should say goodbye to them," I muttered as I put on a solid brown sweatshirt and comfy pants. It was the third outfit change for me that night, and the last.


    I walked to the car park where the entire extended family was gathered, minus Lily, who stayed home with the babysitter.


    Haley looked flabbergasted when she saw me there and quickly turned her face away, wanting to get into the car, which made her parents misunderstand the situation.


    I laughed wryly and said to the family, "Thank you all for coming to the party. I hope you had a nice time."


    Luke smiled mischievously. "I definitely did."


    Manny sighed. "I missed the entire party because Luke wanted to get the top score in Space Invaders."


    "Hey, you played it too," Luke retorted.


    "Are there any other games there?" I asked Luke.


    "There''s a lot. Even a punching machine. I got 300 on the score."


    "I got 302," Manny added with a teasing smirk. Luke grimaced. "No one asked you about it."


    Gloria rushed over and hugged me. "Ay! Edward! Don''t be sad." She pressed my face into her chest dramatically, saying, "There''s still a chance."


    "???"


    Confused at first, I responded calmly, "I''m not... sad."


    "He''ll get over it. He''s tough," Phil said with teary eyes before giving me a hug too. He looked at me seriously. "I still have one more daughter��"


    "DAD!" Alex interrupted, pulling him away.


    "So, everyone knows, huh?" I finally understood the situation and smiled slightly. To them, it looked like I was forcing myself to smile.


    I glanced at Haley, who subtly shook her head, mouthing, ''Not me'' to clarify she hadn''t told them anything, but I could''ve guessed that one of them overheard me asking Haley out if they were reacting like this.


    Claire was silent for a moment, her eyes filled with complicated thoughts. Finally, she hugged me and said, "Cheer up, Edward! You''ll be on stage after this. We wish we could stay, but I think we need to leave."


    I guessed Claire felt Haley wanted to leave the party, so she brought her family back with her to make things less awkward.


    Cam said, "Yeah, Lily must''ve been anxious. It''s the first time we''ve left her for this long."


    Mitchell added, "Yes, we''re leaving because of Lily. Nothing else."


    Jay, still drunk, blurted out, "I thought we were leaving because he got rejected��"


    "AY JAY! You''ve lost your mind from drinking too much! Vamos, we need to go home so you can sleep it off!" Gloria pulled Jay''s hand and placed him inside the car. Then she returned to hug me, saying, "Great New Year party, Edward! We''ll see you again, yes?"


    "Probably," I replied vaguely, just to mess with her. Gloria widened her eyes in shock, mumbling, "Probably as if we don''t know what will happen tomorrow. Not that he''s never coming to us again."


    As everyone got into the car and drove off, I waved goodbye. The Dunphy''s car was the last to leave the estate driveway. Haley waved at me with a mischievous smirk before pretending to be forlorn, staring at the trees with depressed eyes, which made her mother even more uncomfortable.


    I chuckled softly as I imagined Phil and Claire''s reaction. I knew for sure they would want to talk to Haley about it when they returned home tonight.


    My friends also left around the same time, so I walked over to say goodbye, promising to hang out at Jenna''s place on Monday before returning to the party.


    "Edward! I want to stay!" Enid whined as she hugged me. Jenna turned to her mother and said, "I thought you were cool! Why do we have to leave early?"


    Mrs. Karlsen smiled wearily and replied, "I''m just too tired, hun. Besides, we need to drop off Elsa."


    "If I leave, you leave," Elsa said, putting her arm around Jenna''s shoulder and teasing her.


    Billie''s eyes sparkled as I told her about the visit to the set of The Office. "When should we go?" she asked excitedly.


    "Let''s go on Monday. Maybe we can meet Rain," I said with a smile. Billie loved the character Dwight, played by Rainn Wilson, even more than John Krasinski''s Jim Halpert. I didn''t know if they would be filming that day, but since John invited me, I held onto some hope.


    Finneas and Jacob were quite dissatisfied that only Billie received the invitation from me. They were fans of the show too, but Billie was a die-hard fan. If I could bring more people with me, I wouldn''t hesitate to ask them to come.


    Tara furrowed her brows as she scrutinized my face while the others got into their cars. Left alone with me, she asked, "Did something happen between you and Haley?"


    "Edward''s cat. She just ran off," Vanessa explained.


    Max complained, "Vader is usually more docile. What even happened?"


    Taylor suddenly said, "It''s a period of activeness for a feline��" She stopped abruptly, catching the ''is it really the time?'' looks from Max and Vanessa, and coughed twice.


    "Edward has that tracker on Vader''s collar. Just check that," Taylor suggested.


    "Maybe she went to find Edward. I''ll go check the stage," Vanessa said before hurrying off. Her guess was correct; Vader had gone backstage after sensing something was amiss.


    Rewind a few minutes: as Edward reached backstage, he saw a short, stubby man wearing thick glasses sitting beside Britney. The pop star was still visibly drunk, but the man said, "You need to take your medicine."


    "Are you her doctor?" Edward asked casually, even though two bodyguards were blocking him from getting close to Britney.


    "None of your business, kid," the man replied condescendingly, trying to shove the lithium into her mouth. Britney resisted, albeit drunkenly, which made Edward raise an eyebrow.


    "If you force her to take the pills while she has alcohol in her system, there will be side effects," Edward warned, already aware of the pills the man was holding.


    Edward had a lot of questions. One, why were they backstage when they had already been kicked out after Britney was found drunk? Two, had Britney drunk until she blacked out to avoid taking the pills? Three, who was this guy? He certainly didn''t look like a doctor.


    "I''m her manager. I know what to do," the man said, waving at the bodyguards to chase Edward away.


    "Please leave us," one of the bodyguards, the same one who had previously scuffled with Abed and Mickey, said as he reached for Edward.


    Edward smirked. "Where do you think you are?" He grabbed the man''s hand and twisted it. "Ow��" the bodyguard squealed in pain as Edward shot a warning glare at the other guy to remain still.


    "This is my party. This is my stage. How brazen are you? Especially since I witnessed you drugging an inebriated girl. I have no choice but to intervene." Edward twisted the bodyguard''s arm further, forcing him into an awkward position as the pain became unbearable.


    The other man hesitated, realizing Edward''s identity. Sarah, Chuck, Mickey, and Edward''s other security members soon arrived, standing behind him, which made the so-called manager back off from Britney.


    "What are your fingers made of, metal?!" the twisted-arm bodyguard yelled in pain, desperately trying to pry Edward''s grip off with his other hand.


    How could he? With the genin-level chakra he''d acquired, Edward had practiced his chakra control, currently strengthening his grip.


    He threw the bodyguard to the ground and casually passed the other one, who stood frozen in fear��not because of Edward, but because he noticed a red dot on his chest. Casey had aimed his sniper rifle at that guy, ready to pull the trigger at any moment.


    "Sarah, if they do anything funny, beat them up," Edward said as he walked toward Britney. Sarah drew her knives, pressing one against the kneeling bodyguard''s neck. "Sure thing, boss."


    ''Who the fuck did I provoke today?'' the bodyguard thought alarmingly, feeling the cold metal against his skin.


    "This is lithium, isn''t it? Are you fucking dumb? You want her to eat this?" Edward snatched the pill from the manager''s hand. "You�� You don''t have any right to interfere with our business��"


    "Like I said before, I do have that right. It''s a responsibility. I don''t know who the fuck you are, but I know you''re doing something stupid. I can get you arrested right here and now. So speak another word. I dare you."


    The man fell silent under Edward''s threat and backed off. Edward checked on Britney before telling Mickey, "Bring her back to the house. Keep them away from her until she''s sober and can confirm their identities. Detain the rest of them."


    "I�� I''m calling my lawyer��" As the man reached for his phone, Edward snatched it away and crushed it in his grip. The man was speechless as Edward destroyed his lifeline.


    "Oops�� Sorry. I didn''t know your phone was so fragile. Invest in a better one next time," Edward said with a devilish smirk.


    Sarah had followed Edward''s lead, confiscating the bodyguards'' phones as well.


    "Meow?"


    Edward suddenly heard a familiar sound from the floor. The manager jolted as he spotted Vader, shouting, "Where the fuck did the cat come from!? Shoo! I fucking hate cats!"


    He swung his leg quickly, almost kicking Vader''s stomach, but the cat was too quick, dodging the attack.


    BOOOOM!


    The man was sent flying by a punch, his nose breaking, glasses shattering, and front teeth splintering. His eyes rolled back, revealing only the whites as he fainted instantly.


    Everyone stood wide-eyed at the sudden turn of events. One moment, the man was right in front of them; the next, he was flung three meters away, crashing onto some boxes.


    Edward retracted his fist and scooped up Vader from the floor. "You fucking dare!?" he snarled, checking on Vader before handing her to Mickey. He then strode toward the unconscious man, a storm of fury brewing inside him.


    "You dare try to hurt my family!?" Edward''s voice dripped with menace, his anger clouding his rationality. "Shit!" Mickey cursed, rushing to grab Edward and slow him down, his eyes wide with concern.


    "Calm down, Newgate!" Chuck joined in, gripping Edward''s arm as he yanked the unconscious man by the collar, lifting him slightly off the ground.


    Edward''s eyes were bloodshot, a magatama almost forming in that moment, instilling a deep-seated fear in those around him. Most froze in place, paralyzed by the palpable tension.


    From a distance, Maggie and Vanessa witnessed the unfolding chaos.


    "Edward!" Ted finally arrived on the scene, his voice cutting through the turmoil.


    The sound snapped Edward out of his rage-fueled haze. He glared at Ted for a moment before his fury began to dissipate. The magatama flickered but eventually faded as he calmed himself.


    "Oh shit." Realizing his surroundings, Edward relaxed his grip and dropped the manager back onto the floor, prompting sighs of relief from Mickey and Chuck, who quickly released him.


    Yet, Edward felt no regret. "Bring him to the hospital or something. I don''t think he''s dead yet," he instructed, glancing at the man, who groaned weakly in response.


    "What happened?!" Ted asked urgently as he approached Edward.


    Edward sighed. "He tried to kick Vader. I lost control��"


    Before he could finish, Ted seized the manager by the collar, raising his fist to deliver a punch, rage burning in his eyes. Mickey and Chuck immediately intervened, shouting, "Oh come on!"


    "Um, Frankie��" Maggie called out to Frankie with a shaky voice.


    Frankie, already attuned to the situation, replied calmly, "I noticed Jessie is set to sing another song. Edward can take his time to calm down. If necessary, we can end the performance right here."


    "No-No. That won''t be necessary. I can close the concert. I have already calmed down now." Edward said as he put on his earpiece. He heard what Frankie said and was thankful for her quick response.


    "Are you sure?" Frankie asked.


    "Yeah, I''m sure." Edward replied casually as he rubbed his sore forehead. "Fucking sharingan and their mood swings." He grumbled.

 Chapter 332: NYPC (8)

    Chapter 332: Chapter 332: NYPC (8)


    (Imma take a break after this season.)


    [General POV]


    "Hmm..." Sage hummed as she sipped her drink, then said to Henderson, "He did pull his punch, but just a little bit."


    Henderson''s eyes flickered for a moment before returning to their usual stony expression. With a poker face, she commented, "He may get brain damage." There was no trace of concern in her tone; it was merely an observation.


    "That would be quite bad," Sage remarked nonchalantly. "It''ll be troublesome for Edward, and for me too. I''m counting on him to make money so I can buy things. I''m quitting teaching, so I need that income."


    Unlike Henderson, who found fulfillment in teaching, Sage viewed it as a nuisance. It was hellish for her since she disliked meeting other people. With Edward no longer around, she had submitted her resignation and wouldn''t be returning this year.


    The reason she had acted as a teacher was to create a logical excuse for her proximity to Edward. But now that Edward had given her another identity to work with��being his godsister��she could resign smoothly without facing reprimands from upper management.


    "Maybe he can hire me as a nurse? Or a medical assistant?" Sage pondered before standing up, slightly shaky from having had too much to drink. "I''m going to the powder room for a bit." She left Henderson alone at the table and made her way to the mansion.


    As she passed through the bodyguards surrounding the room where the victim was, Sage was stopped by Randall at the door.


    "Um, Miss Anna. You cannot be here," Randall said, his voice tinged with distress.


    Mickey suddenly interjected, "It''s okay. She can go anywhere she wants."


    "Huh?" Both Randall and Sage looked confused. Sage turned to Mickey and repeated, "I can go anywhere I want?"


    Mickey smiled, "Yeah. Mr. Newgate told us not to bother you for any reason and gave you free access to anywhere, including this room filled with our detainees."


    He opened the door for Sage, allowing her to enter. Inside, a few of Edward''s security were present, ensuring her safety. Sage noticed an emergency aid nurse wrapping bandages around the self-proclaimed manager''s face.


    "Hmm, this is doable," Sage muttered before asserting, "Everyone leave the room, except for that guy." She pointed at the injured man.


    Meanwhile, at the outdoor party, Mrs. Henderson suddenly spoke to the empty table. "Are you not going to interfere?"


    Gong Shin appeared out of thin air, a Pina Colada in hand. "I''m on a break. Do whatever you guys want." He walked over to the waitress, smiled, and said, "I need more of this."


    "Sir, that is your 49th cup of drink today. How are you still alive?" the waitress asked, shocked.


    Mrs. Henderson suddenly took out her phone and dialed 911. "Hello, I''d like to report something," she muttered.


    ...


    "There''s pretty privilege, so your fans won''t really hold it against you. Plus, there''s the defense of him trying to hurt your cat," Vanessa tried to comfort Edward, noticing he seemed a little out of it.


    Backstage, Edward, Max, and Vanessa stood together, with Vader jumping onto Edward''s shoulder. Vader nuzzled her face against Edward''s cheek to show her gratitude while Edward looked something up on his phone.


    "Huh? No, I''m not bothered by the punch at all," Edward said, snapping out of his thoughts as he heard Vanessa''s concerned voice. What he cared about was his eyes.


    Using his phone, he searched for Naruto fandom pages, hoping to find a detailed record of jutsu. He wanted to try it out, to see if it really worked. So far, he had only used 5% of his chakra reserve. The reserve wasn''t regenerating, which made him hesitant to play around with it, but right now, he changed his mind.


    Max tearfully said, "This is all my fault. I can''t even handle being a cat-sitter. This wouldn''t have happened if I hadn''t lost her." Her nose was reddened, and she felt responsible for the incident.


    "Nah, it''s no one''s fault other than that guy," Edward said casually, taking some cat treats from his pocket to feed Vader.


    "I''m already disgusted by what they were doing, so the punch made me feel much better." He smiled slightly to comfort Max before giving Vader back to her. "Don''t lose her this time. And Vader, don''t run away alone in strange places."


    "Meow (Aye!)" Vader nuzzled Max''s face, trying to cheer her up. Edward laughed and then walked to the stage as Maggie called his name.


    "It has been a really fun night. For the last act, the main character is returning to close the concert. Give it up for Edward!" Maggie announced cheerfully as Edward stepped onto the stage.


    The crowd, unaware of what had just happened backstage, cheered thunderously upon seeing Edward. Many of them already had hoarse voices from the concert.


    It was a rare experience to see this number of artists all in one event. The uniqueness of the experience made the employees even more excited. The guests were having the time of their lives.


    Edward stood in front of the microphone, searching the crowd with his eyes. There were a few familiar faces, but they weren''t what he was hoping for.


    The crowd laughed and smiled as they waited for him to speak into the microphone. They waited for a moment and turned confused when Edward didn''t move.


    Ted noticed it and muttered to himself, "Edward? Is he okay? I knew it was too soon for him to get up there."


    Pepper was also confused. "Alright. We can stop the concert now��" People were clamoring, whispering about the situation.


    "Hold on. I''m just thinking." Edward suddenly said into the microphone, making everyone alert. "I wanted to sing songs from my album��the fan favorites��but I just experienced something that makes me want to sing something else. You guys have never heard it before��"


    The crowd cheered in excitement at the prospect of hearing a new song. Edward laughed slightly and said, "But the song isn''t really made for parties, so that''s why I''m hesitating a bit. Do you guys even care about the genre?"


    "We do not!" many people shouted laughingly, which made Edward smile in satisfaction. "Alright then. I''ll talk with the band for a bit."


    Lowering his microphone, Edward walked over to the band members and whispered, "I''m going to play track number 56. Are you guys familiar with it?"


    "Demons, right?" the drummer asked for confirmation.


    "Yup," Edward replied casually.


    "We never practiced it with you, but we know the song," the pianist said.@@@@


    "We can do it," the bassist added. Edward picked up a guitar and said, "I''ll play too. Follow my lead."


    Edward smiled softly, wiping the sweat from his forehead. The crowd applauded for a solid two minutes before he could finally get a word in. Not wanting to ruin his clothes any further, Edward took off his sweater and continued his performance topless.


    Before he sang his next song, Edward noticed flashing blue and red lights in the distance. "Frankie?" he asked through his earpiece.


    "Cops came. They took the guy away. You don''t have to worry; they don''t want to talk to you," Frankie replied casually.


    "Seriously?" Edward was confused.


    "Yeah. Apparently, he''s not injured at all. You have a very soft fist."


    "Huh?" Edward blanked out for a moment before realizing the crowd was chanting his name. "That song was titled ''Demons.'' Next up, I''m going to sing the song that started everything: ''7 Years.''"


    Ignoring the situation for now, Edward continued his performance until the concert ended.


    Meanwhile, Detective Chloe arrived at the party with her partner after receiving a 911 call. She walked straight to the room where the detainees were, leaving Mickey confused.


    "Who called the cops?" he mumbled to himself, his heart racing as the detective approached.


    "We got a call about harassment and disturbance. The perps are in the room?" Chloe asked casually, reaching for the door handle. Mickey couldn''t stop her as she opened the door.


    The detained bodyguards perked up at the sight of the detective. However, the one who seemed most excited was the ''victim'' lying on the cold floor, bandages stained with blood wrapped around his face, leaving only his eyes and nostrils visible.


    "Mmph�C Mphhmp!" he muffled, rushing toward the detective to report a crime.


    Chloe looked confused. "What happened here?"


    One of the bodyguards replied, "Thank goodness you''re here. These men held us in this room against our will. They even pressed blades threateningly against our necks, preventing us from protecting our asset, stashing her god knows where."


    The muffled man glared at the bodyguards, desperately trying to communicate his situation. He pointed his fingers at his own face, hinting at the guards to tell them about him.


    "Oh, yeah. He was punched, broke his nose and five of his teeth, and even lost consciousness for over ten minutes," the guards replied casually, showing no concern for the manager.


    Infuriated, the manager pulled parts of the bandages covering his mouth before spitting slightly. Then he reported everything.


    "NEWGATE PUNCHED ME! I WANT TO PRESS CHARGES! HE BROKE MY NOSE! AND MY TEETH!" he shouted.


    "Huh? Which teeth?" Chloe asked casually.


    "These teeth��wait." As the manager touched his teeth, he found that all of them were still intact. "It didn''t break? It felt like it did?" he muttered, confused.


    "It broke, right?" He turned to the bodyguard and asked. The duo nodded, equally confused.


    "D-Doesn''t matter��he also broke my nose��" He opened the bandages on his nose, revealing it to be perfectly intact.


    "Yeah, I''ve heard enough. Turn over, hands on your back," Chloe said callously as she grabbed a handcuff from her waist, cuffing the manager, who was still baffled by the situation.


    "What?!" The manager was shocked by the turn of events. "I received a call about disorderly conduct and attempts to drug an inebriated girl. The caller was very formal about her choice of words too."


    After informing him of his Miranda rights, Chloe instructed the other officers to escort the bodyguards with them. Mickey was confused but didn''t say anything, letting the situation unfold.


    "Edward, Anna... What kind of people are you guys?" He shuddered, imagining a hidden organization of medical professionals or assassins capable of hiding someone''s injuries in minutes. Mickey knew for sure that the guy was injured; he had held the guy''s teeth in his hand before.


    "No! That''s not what happened! I was just trying to give her��her medicine!" the man protested as he was led away by Chloe.


    "Oh, so you admit it. We already procured the compound you were trying to give her. You can defend yourself at the station."


    "No! Listen to me! The one you need to arrest is Edward Newgate! He punched me in the face!"


    "Why?" Chloe asked casually.


    "Because I was trying to kick his cat��"


    "Oh, so I should add animal abuse to your list of crimes." Chloe smiled in excitement as she pushed the man, urging him to walk toward her patrol car. The man felt baffled that he was tricked by the police.


    "I need to call my lawyer! Let me call my lawyer!" He shouted incessantly.


    She arranged for someone to pick up Britney and escort her to the hospital. As long as the doctors could prove that giving the compound was harmful, they would have a case to hold the manager at the station longer.


    They wouldn''t be able to keep him there for long, as he had powerful lawyers. But in another twist of fate, the car driving him back would get into a traffic accident, and his teeth, nose, and all previous injuries would reappear in the exact same condition.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Waving my hand at the crowd, I shouted, "That''s it from me and for the concert! I''ll hand over the stage to DJ Sasha. You''re all in great hands. Now I can finally enjoy the party. I hope you all have a wonderful year��2010 is going to be lit!"


    The crowd cheered excitedly as the DJ began spinning some tracks. With a satisfied smile on my face, I left the stage and wiped my sweaty torso with a towel.


    "I need a shower," I muttered as I made my way backstage. Vanessa''s hand moved toward my abs, her eyes dazed.


    "What are you doing?" I asked, staring at her.


    She finally snapped out of it and said, "Oh��OH! You''re back! I blanked out there for a moment."


    "Huh." I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at her. "Let''s go. I need to meet Sage and ask her for the details of what just happened."

 Chapter 333: NYPC (9)

    Chapter 333 - 333: NYPC (9)


    [Edward POV]


    Loud thumping music, party girls dancing, and the DJ spinning his turntable became the spotlight after the concert ended. A lot of people wanted to talk to me afterward, but I headed to the VIP section, causing them to halt their approach.


    They had to speak with the security guard about their intentions, and only if I approved would the guards let them into the VIP area to talk to me.


    I walked straight to Mrs. Henderson''s and Sage''s table. They were munching on snacks while sipping their drinks. As soon as I arrived, I snatched a chip from Sage''s plate and popped it into my mouth, feeling hungry.


    Sage didn''t mind and said, "That was for you." She had already anticipated my hunger and ordered the snacks for me.


    I raised an eyebrow and asked the duo, "So... what''s going on? I thought you guys couldn''t be involved?"


    "I think the first word that should come out of your mouth is ''thanks.''" Mrs. Henderson said sternly. I gulped and replied, "Oh. My bad, Sage. Thank you for ordering this for me and for handling that guy before I could."


    Sage smiled and feigned innocence, "What guy? I didn''t do anything."


    "So I should act ignorant too, huh?" I smiled wearily, looking at her with disbelief.


    Sage rubbed her chin in contemplation before replying, "No. I did help you. I made it seem like he''s not injured right now. He''ll have the same injuries after he gets out of the police station��so he can''t claim it was from you."


    "Won''t you get in trouble for helping me?" I asked, feeling warm inside. Sage crossed her arms and said coyly, "No. There are no repercussions for doing things on my days off."


    "Days off?" I was confused.


    Sage smirked and said, "We''re a corporation. We can apply for PTOs (Personal Time Off). The bosses aren''t slave drivers who make us work 24/7, seven days a week."


    "...PTOs?" My mind was blown for a second. "Anna, talk to him about the job," Mrs. Henderson reminded Sage.


    "Job? What job?" My curiosity piqued, and I leaned forward interestedly.


    Sage looked at Henderson in disbelief and said, "Really, right now?"


    "There''s no difference in doing this now or any other time. So why not let your mind be at ease and just ask him?" Mrs. Henderson advised.


    Sage pondered while I called a waitress and ordered some food.


    "Alright, I''m doing it now," she said as she turned to me.


    "Shoot." I ate some chips as I waited for her to speak.


    "I think I''m not suitable for a teaching job. So I have a proposition: I''ll be your nurse for the duration of your world tour."


    "Question." I interlocked my fingers, leaned forward, and grinned, "Will you wear a nurse outfit?"


    She smacked my forehead as retribution for my perverted question. Mrs. Henderson added, "She has to be near you for her job. If you hire her, she''ll be allowed to use her ability to heal any sort of physical ailment while fulfilling her responsibilities to the corporation��"


    "Stop��" I raised my hand and shook my head dizzily. "You can be my nurse. Just make Mrs. Henderson stop talking."


    Sage smiled excitedly as Mrs. Henderson gave me a death stare. "You know what? I think we should have a talk about your impulsivity and general course of action over the last few weeks."


    "What''s that? Pepper is calling me? Sorry, Teach. I need to go now." I attempted to stand but found I couldn''t move my lower half. Shocked, I looked at Mrs. Henderson in disbelief.


    "I''m also on a break, so I was granted permission to use my abilities too," she said, slurping her drink.


    "So we''re going to have a talk, Edward. Whether you like it or not." She grinned devilishly as I sat there, sweating heavily. Chilled by the sudden turn of events, Sage stood up and excused herself, "I''m going to go get some drinks... maybe make sure no one comes near you guys."


    "Sage, come back." My voice cracked as I whispered, calling her for help. But she ignored me.


    I avoided Mrs. Henderson''s gaze as I turned back to her. She stared at me and began her lecture. "First off, I''m going to commend you."


    "Really?" My body perked up, and I looked at her expectantly, finally meeting her eyes.


    She nodded and said, "Even though you were anxious and wanted to interfere, you trusted your friends and the adults around you. Even if you eventually break down and become nosy in their work, you still try... to let them do their own jobs."


    "Isn''t that normal?" I asked in confusion.


    "Not for a control addict," Mrs. Henderson said casually, her words digging deep into my heart. Suddenly, she patted my head slightly before pulling her hand away and continuing.


    "Nice job. You tried really hard to let go," she complimented, making me feel giddy like a little boy.


    "Now, let''s talk about what you did wrong," she said sternly.


    My face froze, and I lowered my gaze, accepting whatever was coming my way.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Ted and Frankie walked together, intending to talk to Edward when they suddenly bumped into Sage.


    "Oh no, you don''t want to go there," Sage said, stopping Ted in his tracks.


    "Why not, Anna?" Ted asked, confused.


    "I know you want to talk to him about what just happened, but believe me, he''s currently getting the lecture of his life. If you go there, you''ll just get caught in the crossfire," Sage explained with a mischievous smile.


    Ted chuckled and replied, "Really? Who��oh, it''s Henderson. I guess she found out what he did."


    Sage smirked. "Exactly! Now you can still be the ''fun'' dad without dealing with the serious talk."


    As the duo giggled, Frankie raised an eyebrow at them. "I do want to be the ''fun'' dad. I guess that''s alright." Ted joked.


    [Frankie''s Commentary]


    "Am I feeling jealous right now?... I didn''t care about him talking to other pretty girls throwing themselves at him all night, but... Anna?"


    [Commentary Ends]


    Oblivious to the thoughts brewing in his girlfriend''s mind, Ted joked around with Sage.


    "Oh, I need to say this. Edward just hired me to be his nurse during the world tour. So I guess we''ll be traveling together," Sage said casually.


    An angry vein popped up on Frankie''s forehead, and her left eye twitched slightly as she glared at the duo.


    "I know you helped Edward just now. Thank you for that. Did you learn medical skills before?" Ted asked.


    Sage nodded. "I did two years of medical school." She submitted her request before she even talked to Edward, and now, all of her files and abilities were updated by the corporation.


    "A kid''s curiosity shouldn''t be punished. If he had encouraged the kid to experiment on his own, it would have led to a much better outcome," Mrs. Henderson argued.


    I nodded in agreement. "Spoken like a true teacher. If I run into any problems during my tour, I''ll definitely fly back to speak with you."


    Suddenly, Mrs. Henderson fell silent. "Can I not do that?" I asked with a wry smile.


    "No. It''s not that you can''t. I might not be here anymore," she replied.


    "Are you leaving?" I furrowed my brows, concerned.


    "Yes," she said after a moment of silence, looking deeply into my eyes.


    "Does this mean I won''t be able to see you again?" My chest felt heavy at the thought.


    "It will be a long time before we can meet again," she replied, a kind smile gracing her face. She reached out, taking my hand for comfort. "For my last piece of advice, you need to learn how to let go."


    She patted my hand gently before pulling it back. "People will come and go in your life, Edward. You need to learn to let them live their own lives. The sooner you learn to let go, the better."


    I couldn''t say anything after that. I sat in silence for a while with Mrs. Henderson, tapping the table with my fingers as I fell into contemplation.


    "Aren''t you going to continue eating?" she asked.


    "In a moment," I replied.


    "I sense that you have some scruples about what I just said," she noted, fully aware of my thoughts.


    "What if I don''t want to let go?" I asked solemnly.


    "Then you''ll just end up hurting the person you''re holding onto and yourself," she replied.


    Before we could speak longer, Sage returned to the table, worry etched on her face. "Um, it seems that I might''ve done something to your dad''s relationship."


    "Don''t worry; they will be fine," Mrs. Henderson said comfortingly. "I think we should go back now."


    Sage nodded. "Yeah, I''m already tired." She turned to me. "Edward, I''ll see you on the tour."


    I smiled at her. "Yeah, I''ll see you later." I stood up and walked over to Mrs. Henderson, extending my hand for a handshake. "And I really hope that I can see you again."


    Mrs. Henderson glanced at my hand, then approached me and gave me a light hug. "You won''t," she whispered. "But I''m glad that you wanted to." She smiled softly, tightening her embrace.


    After she left, I felt an emptiness settle in as I sat alone, finishing my dinner. Vanessa approached me as I was done eating, sitting across from me with Ashley Tisdale.


    "Edward. Why do you look so glum?" Vanessa asked, while Ashley greeted me awkwardly, "Hello."


    "Hello, Candace," I replied playfully, smiling at Ashley.


    Vanessa looked confused. "Her name''s Ashley?"


    Ashley rolled her eyes. "Candace from my voice acting character��from Phineas and Ferb."


    "Oh," Vanessa exclaimed shyly. "I forgot."


    "She''s plastered, I think. She''s been smuggling Mai Tais from god knows where, and we don''t even serve that here," I said seriously, making Ashley gasp in disbelief.


    "Really? You did that?" she asked, astonished.


    "Oh, you''re like a lamb to slaughter in front of him," Vanessa teased, rolling her eyes at her friend. Ashley realized she''d been tricked and sulked slightly. "No wonder V told me I should be prepared when I''m talking with you."


    "V, huh? That doesn''t suit you at all," I joked, looking at Vanessa while laughing.


    Ashley was confused, so Vanessa explained, "They all call me Ness here."


    "Ness? Like the Loch Ness monster?" Ashley was taken aback by the connection. "Are you being bullied here?" she asked Vanessa with concern.


    I chuckled at their interaction when suddenly someone shouted from afar, a bottle of vodka in hand.


    "BRO!" Jacob shouted, his skin glossy with sweat, wearing pajamas that clung to him. He sprinted closer.


    "What the?" I sat up immediately, preparing myself. "BROOOOOO!!!!!" Jacob tackled me, causing me to fall backward and crash into the table. Vanessa and Ashley jumped up, retreating from the crash site, eyes wide in surprise.


    "Oh god, Jacob, how are you back?" I groaned, not trying to get him off me.


    "I ran," Jacob replied, grinning as he stood back up.


    "You ran?" I looked at him in shock as I stood up, dusting myself off. Mickey and my other bodyguards exchanged glances, unsure whether to intervene. I waved them away and asked Jacob, "You ran 15 miles to come back here?"


    Some staff members immediately cleared away the broken table and replaced it with another one.


    "No, bro. I ran 15 miles to come hang out with you," Jacob said cheerfully.


    "Bro..." I grinned at him, then my gaze shifted to the vodka bottle in his hand. He caught my look and quickly explained, "I was thirsty, so I grabbed a bottle of water."


    "That''s... not water." I snatched the bottle from him and noticed it was already half empty.


    "No, it''s clear water. It just burns when I drink it," Jacob said, trying to process it all.


    "I guess it makes sense you picked this one. It''s made from potatoes," I joked, and we both burst into laughter. Then Jacob suddenly went silent and whispered, "I don''t get it."


    "Bro, you drank vodka," I teased, still chuckling.


    He smiled back, "Really? Vodka... vodka?"


    "You need to sit tight. I''ll get you some coffee," I said, calling over the waitress.


    "Water. I want water," Jacob whimpered before his head dropped to the table��he''d fallen asleep.


    Vanessa and Ashley were still dumbfounded by the situation. "That was scary," Ashley commented. Vanessa sighed and pointed at me, "What''s even scarier is that he just tackled you, and you sat here like it''s nothing."


    I shrugged and replied, "I was already prepared for it, so I''m not going to hurt myself."


    I checked my watch and realized it was almost 3:30. Many partygoers had already passed out from exhaustion or intoxication. I told the bodyguard to let in anyone who wanted to meet me; I needed to send Jacob back to his house, so I was planning to leave soon.


    "I should meet with them now."


    Vanessa looked confused. "Wouldn''t you be going there to make it simpler?"


    I grimaced and said, "When have you ever seen a VIP mingle on his own? It''ll ruins the whole concept of being... a VIP."

 Chapter 334: NYPC (10-F)

    Chapter 334 - 334: NYPC (10-F)


    [Edward POV]


    "Penny!"


    "Eddy!"


    Penny gave me a bear hug as she approached the table with her friends. I hugged her back, excitement bubbling over. She then leaned in and whispered, "Um, I lost my bra because I threw it on the stage. Do you think I can get it back? I just bought them."


    "I''ll see what I can do," I replied, smirking. "No wonder it was so soft." Penny released me, grinning in disbelief and asking, "What did you say?"


    "Nothing," I played it off as I turned to her friends. "And who might you guys be?"


    "Hi, I''m Laura. Laura Wiggins," said the petite blonde next to her, shaking my hand eagerly.


    "Oh, can I hear your full name?" I asked playfully.


    Laura sighed, "So you knew..."


    "Knew what? Do you have an awesome middle name? How would I ever know that?" I feigned ignorance, making her chuckle.


    "Laura... ''Slade'' Wiggins," she replied, cheeks reddening slightly.@@@@


    "That''s pretty cool. I want a cool middle name like that too," I joked. Vanessa furrowed her brows, whispering to Ashley, "Is he flirting? On the night he made a girlfriend?"


    "Make one?" Ashley looked shocked. "Like Frankenstein?"


    "Got... he got? Or get?" Vanessa seemed perplexed.


    Penny introduced the other girl, "Eddy, this is Addison��um." She paused, unsure of the last name.


    Addison took the initiative, shaking my hand. "Timlin. Addison Timlin."


    To my surprise, I recognized both of them. Laura was from Shameless, and Addison from Californication. Both shows were still not created yet, so they were working on smaller roles. Laura''s character�C Karen, scared me a little in the show. I really hope that there''s no similarities between her and her character.


    "It''s nice to meet you," Addison said, releasing my hand.


    "Nice to meet you guys too. Please, have a seat," I gestured to the three empty seats next to Hudgens and me.


    Penny laughed, "Great party, Eddy," as she sat next to me. Touching my arm lightly, she added, "I just met them today, and they really wanted to meet you. I hope that''s okay."


    "It''s fine. I wouldn''t ask you guys to come if I wasn''t okay with it," I said playfully, relieving the two girls. "But I am curious. A lot of girls want you to introduce them to me, so why did you pick these two?"


    Both actresses exchanged glances at Penny, their eyes sparkling with curiosity.


    Penny hesitated, then said, "Um, among all of them who asked, I think these two are the only great actors. I have acting class with Laura, and I saw... Addison starred in a short film before."


    "That''s not it." I saw through her attempt to deflect. Penny looked taken aback, but before she could defend herself, I moved on.


    "But I don''t really care about the true reason. I only care about why you two want to meet with me today," I said, turning to the girls with a polite smile. "You have two minutes." I checked my watch.


    Startled, both girls widened their eyes, and Vanessa scrunched her face at me in disbelief. "What are you doing? Aren''t you supposed to get to know them first?"


    "I have a lot of people to talk to. I need to move it along. If they have something worthwhile, I''ll invite them to the company for a deeper chat," I explained.


    The girls felt a mix of relief and anxiety at my directive. Laura was definitely not expecting the situation as she thought it was a simple introduction, but now she had to rack her brain trying to give a presentation. It was definitely one of her nightmares that ended up in real life.


    "Who wants to go first?" I asked, holding my face steady to keep them focused. I knew it was a bit of a jerk move, but that was the reality for a busy, influential man.


    Time is precious, and I couldn''t waste it on small talk with strangers. This was a lesson Harvey drilled into me; I had a tendency to yap too much. Seriously, she lectured me so much about the subject.


    "Yapper" had become a term for me in the company, just like "simp," which I regretted popularizing among my inner circle. They never called me a simp though, so I was proud of that.


    "I''ll go first," Addison said, taking the initiative. "I noticed a trend with Entertain and Netflix casting only people you know. My dad told me you follow more of the old Hollywood style in talent management. Don''t you think it''s unfair to cast only from your circle? There''s still a lot more talent out there."


    "Let me reply to your question with a question. Your dad was an actor, right?" I asked with a bored expression.


    Addison was taken aback, "Yes��but I still auditioned for the part��"


    "Really, can you honestly say your connections had nothing to do with it?" I pressed.


    Interview time, getting an in for the audition, all of those needed connections. It was hard for a total newbie to break through the competitive industry without appropriate connections. So they went to acting coaches, networking with producers and casting agents at parties, and if necessary, even dating them.


    Even I needed a connection to start. Without Taylor''s help at the beginning of the career, it would have been harder for the company to grow as big as we are now. Not impossible, but harder.


    From Taylor''s connection, I met the Marvel executive, which made me friends with RDJ, and lead to him cameo-ing in my movie, and I changed the plotline for Iron Man 2 albeit a little.


    Vanessa noticed my gaze and felt sympathy for Addison, assuming I was already crossing her out of my mind. But I wouldn''t hold it against an 18 year old girl.


    A lot of people in Hollywood like to hold themselves in a position of moral superiority, especially those who came from privilege.


    They were used to having Yes Man''s all around them, so whenever someone tried to object their opinion, they stammered and couldn''t articulate an argument�C Just like how Addison was doing now. I already met several of them, and wasn''t really interested in trying to win them over.


    "It''s Hollywood; there''s not much fairness here. Having connections isn''t bad. Not having capability��that''s the real sin. If they can''t do their job, I won''t cast them, no matter how close they are to me," I replied.


    "But about that old Hollywood style management��actors branching out can offer more versatility and influence. I''m not restricting my talents at all. They can do what''s best for their careers, even if it means leaving the company. Alright, your time is up. Mrs. Slade, you go."


    Laura exclaimed in disbelief, "Please call me Laura. Only... Laura."


    "No," I rejected her curtly, leaving her baffled. Addison looked at Laura, her face still confused. "Um, I''m not finished?" she said.


    "I''m not really interested in hearing what you''re saying now," I replied with a smirk.


    Ashley, hanging out with me for the first time, was clearly taken aback by my behavior. She gasped and whispered to Vanessa, "Is this really the guy you''re speaking so highly of?"


    "Yeah..." Vanessa replied, hesitation in her tone. "Well, at least he''s not in his villain mode," she added.


    "You''re quite an ass," Addison shot back in irritation before standing up from the table. "Goodbye, small minded nepo-baby." I said casually, which made Addison''s jaw drop, and she gasped in offence before walking away.


    "That''s really rude... Do it more," Vanessa said mischievously as Addison left. Laura, left alone, sweated heavily.


    "Um, I don''t really have anything to say. I just want to get to know you and see if there''s any potential job for��You know what, I''ll just let myself out."


    "Wait a sec. That''s already fine enough," I told Laura before she could stand up. Confused, she blinked a few times, "But Addison��"


    "Addison tried to antagonize him. You just spoke honestly. You don''t really have to ''wow'' him, you know?" Vanessa comforted while teasing Laura.


    "Nah, he''s legit," I told her casually.


    "I''m going to report this to your dad," she threatened.


    "Zombie movie?" Ashley prodded again, undeterred by our argument.


    "Oh yes. It''s called Warm Bodies. It''s kind of like Romeo and Juliet, but Romeo is a zombie. I already procured the rights for the story, which is based on a book. If you want details, just read the book," I explained.


    "That doesn''t sound very good," Vanessa said, pursing her lips.


    I ignored her and continued, "I plan to get you into three pictures minimum over the next two years. Maybe even a limited series too."


    "What''s the series about?" Vanessa asked, intrigued.


    "I''ll tell you when I''m finished with the storyline," I teased, smiling at her.


    As the other guests arrived, I mingled, listened to a few pitches, and even managed to scare off a few girls who declared their love for me.


    "Are you guys going to act together in the TV show?" Ashley asked.


    "I thought about it, but I''m too handsome to play a struggling poor man," I joked, feigning a torn expression, which made Vanessa roll her eyes. "I''m thinking of getting Andrew Garfield for the male lead. But let''s not get ahead of ourselves."


    "WHAT SHOW?! WHAT IS IT ABOUT?" Vanessa exclaimed, disgruntled.


    "Oh, I think that''s the last one. We should head back now."


    "TELL MEE!!!"


    But I held off until the end. After saying goodbyes to Pepper and the others, I finally headed home at 4:30 in the morning. The party was winding down, and most guests had already left.


    ...


    Before I left the party, I sought out someone alone. Sal was perplexed when I stopped her in her tracks, just as she was about to leave with a burly man.


    "Psst, hey you, ravenous blonde vixen preparing her next meal. Yeah, you!" I called out to her.


    Sal weighed her intrigue against her lust, confident the man wouldn''t go anywhere. "Stay here. Be a good dog, and I''ll make you slobber later," she whispered seductively to him.


    "That actually works?" I asked, shocked, as she approached me. She glanced back at the man and replied, "Only when he''s been teased mercilessly all night. Right now, he''s just an animal who knows only how to mate."


    "You know what? You really are like a hitman. A sex-machina."


    "What do you want, Newgate? I''m busy here," Sal said through gritted teeth, clearly annoyed as I stopped her from getting some.


    "Don''t you feel bored, Sal? I mean, you have skills, a sexy mind... Yet no one challenges you. They buckle whenever you''re around." I slowly flamed her ego, guiding her thoughts.


    Sal fell into a deep realization, "I never thought about it that way."


    "Of course not. You don''t consider the talent you were born with. You just accept it as part of yourself." I continued buttering her up.


    "What do you actually want?" Sal asked, her guard slightly up as she sensed an ulterior motive behind my words. "If it''s a threesome, I''d much rather your dad join us instead of you."


    I ignored her and said, "Don''t you think it''s time to use your gifts for good?" I pulled out my phone and showed her a picture of a guy. "What do you think about him?"


    "Cute. Not really my type, but I wouldn''t mind some caramel now and then," she replied mischievously.


    "Gross," I said curtly before elaborating. "His name is Rajesh Koothrappali. An astrophysicist. He''s a bit broken��has selective mutism, can''t talk to women. Unless..."


    "Unless what?" Sal asked, intrigued.


    "There''s a theory he can overcome it if he falls in love."


    "So, you want me to fix the defective product with my effective product?" Sal replied, using innuendo while running a hand along her body seductively.


    "Rather, I need you to break his heart. I think you can do it." Well it wouldn''t be hard to do it. As long as the girl showed a little bit of interest and was not ugly, Raj would definitely fall for her.


    "What''s in it for me?" she asked, showing no reservations against the morality of what I was asking her to do.


    "First, his family is rich. So he''s probably going to buy you stuff while you date."


    "Date? I don''t date��I devour. I don''t keep them around."


    "You''re going to have to��at least for a month. You need him to think there''s a future together. Then the pussy hitman strikes, and you unload him��sorry, I couldn''t find the right words for this."


    I paused, then continued, "Release him back to the wild. That''s it. I''m sticking with that."


    I was curious to see what would happen if they actually hooked up. Sal wanted a straight guy who acted like a gay guy��good at listening, fun to be around, loves things that she loves, and dresses well, though Rajesh''s fashion sense was controversial. Rajesh, in turn, wanted someone who loved romance as much as he did.


    "Hmm... I''ll do it," Sal agreed after a moment. "I''ve been doing bad things my whole life. It''ll be nice to do something good for a change."


    "Great! I hope you break his heart soon." I shook her hand, and Sal grinned, "That''s not the only thing of his I''ll break."


    Just then, Sarah Walker, an actual federal agent, caught sight of my mission briefing with Sal and muttered to herself, "... What the fuck?"


    ....


    As I got home, I collapsed into bed, exhausted enough that I didn''t need to use my rest skill. I planned to sleep until noon, but at 8 AM, the doorbell rang, jolting me awake.


    Groggy, I shuffled to the door and was taken aback when I opened it. "Annie? What are you doing here?" I asked in shock.


    "Um, you said you''d teach me how to use Excel today? Can I come in?" Annie asked, flashing her shy smile. I stared at her incredulously, momentarily speechless. "It''s 8 am in the morning." I asked in disbelief.


    "Yeah. It''s 8 am." Annie replied with an innocent smile, not understanding why I might have a problem with her being here so early.


    Finally, I sighed and say, "Y-Yeah, sure. Come on in," stepping aside to let her in.


    As Annie stepped into the living room, her excitement quickly turned to shock. "Oh my gosh!" she yelped, covering her eyes.


    Sprawled on the couch in only his boxers was Jacob, completely oblivious to the situation. I had tried to send him home, but his parents were asleep and couldn''t open the door, so I ended up bringing him back to my place.


    "Oh right. The living room is already full." I said casually. Abed suddenly sat up from behind the couch and said, "Can you guys keep it down? People are trying to sleep here."


    "Abed! This is where you went?!" Annie asked in surprise.


    "Let''s go to the kitchen. You did bring your laptop right?"

 Chapter 335: Teaching Mishap.

    Chapter 335 - 335: Teaching Mishap.


    [General POV]


    "I wonder how many people are going to the gym today," Edward muttered, sipping his coffee as Annie set up her laptop.


    "Annie, what''s your New Year''s resolution?" he asked casually, sitting next to her on a kitchen island stool.


    "Um, I haven''t had time to think about it," Annie replied, a slight blush creeping onto her cheeks as her eyes briefly wandered to Edward''s muscular torso in his black tank top.


    "Liar," Edward teased, catching her off guard.


    "There''s no way you don''t have a New Year''s resolution list. I bet the only reason you won''t tell me is that it''s filled with embarrassing stuff," he added with a playful smirk.


    Annie let out a burst of laughter, shaking her head in disbelief as she turned her gaze back to her laptop. "I really didn''t write anything down."


    "Alright, I won''t push it," Edward said with a mischievous smile, pretending to let it go. "Just make sure you didn''t put it in your laptop, because you know I''ll be able to see that."


    As Annie opened her notes, her heart raced. There were nearly 40 resolutions listed. She scrolled down, feeling a mix of excitement and trepidation. Just as Edward leaned in closer, she quickly closed the app before he could read the last resolution.


    "You''re going hard at it, Annie. It seems like you''re planning to completely reinvent yourself," Edward remarked, genuinely impressed but respecting her privacy.


    Annie smiled shyly. "No. I''m not just planning; I''m going to do it for sure."


    "But why? I think you''re already pretty awesome," Edward replied, his casual compliment making her heart flutter.


    Edward suddenly shifted his focus back to the laptop. "We should start. I think we can wrap this up in an hour and a half. Then, I''m going to take a nap."


    Annie''s face flushed with guilt. "I''m really sorry��I wasn''t thinking about your rest time. It''s too early for me to be here. You can sleep; I''ll just stay here and watch. I mean, I can wait."


    Edward noticed her slip of the tongue, chuckling softly. "Nonsense. We''re going to get this done now."


    "Can you please choose another word other than ''bang''? It made my mind confused for a bit," Annie said, trying to mask her embarrassment.


    Just then, Abed walked into the kitchen and headed straight for the coffee. "Pound it out?" Edward suggested, confused.


    "No," Abed replied casually, which only made Annie more shy.


    Edward turned to Abed. "You''re not going to sleep?"


    "I can''t with all this noise and the smell of lust. I''m going to edit the movie from last night," Abed replied nonchalantly.


    Annie frowned. "Abed! Go to sleep! You''re tired!"


    "I already had my coffee. This is great, by the way. Where can I get this?" Abed asked, his attention fully on the coffee.


    Annie looked at him incredulously, pursing her lips in anger, but Abed, oblivious, continued chatting.


    "Oh, I roasted them myself," Edward said with a grin. "I''m not giving you any to take home," he added teasingly.


    As Abed set up his laptop at the edge of the kitchen island next to Annie, Edward asked, "Abed, do you have a New Year''s resolution?"


    "Yes. Be a movie director," Abed replied simply.


    Edward paused, then asked in confusion, "That''s it?"


    "That''s the only thing I care about," Abed said, prompting Edward to fall into deep thought.


    Abed then turned to Annie. "I can''t believe you still need to learn, even after taking several classes and an online course about the program."


    "Shh! SHHH!" Annie quickly shushed Abed, alarmed at his revelation.


    "Hmm? What?" Edward zoned out, his fatigue causing him to miss Abed''s exposure.


    "Nothing! Abed''s just being Abed. We should start now," Annie insisted, eager to redirect the conversation.


    "Okay, sure. Let me text someone first, then we can continue," Edward said, standing up to pull out his phone. "What do you guys want to eat? I''m ordering breakfast."


    "Oh, I want�C" Before Annie could answer, Edward shouted loudly, "MAGGIE! LOCH NESS! WHAT DO YOU WANT TO EAT!?"


    Maggie shouted back from her bedroom, "SHUT UP! I''M TRYING TO SLEEP!"


    "DON''T CALL ME LOCH NESS MONSTER!" Vanessa shouted too, her voice coming from the same direction as Maggie.


    A few hours later, at a gym bustling with people eager to keep their New Year''s resolutions, Mitchell bumped into Claire as she was running on the treadmill.


    Mitchell laughed slightly and said, "I had a feeling you were going to be here this year too."


    Claire, however, didn''t match his energy and continued running; her skin glistened with sweat. Her hair was tied in a ponytail, and her blue sweater was already drenched.


    Mitchell waited awkwardly for a while before he gave up and took the treadmill next to her. "Something on your mind?" he asked as he stretched his arms and started up the machine.


    "Hey! Quit bothering her, you clown-haired creep!" a blue-haired girl suddenly shouted at Mitchell. Flabbergasted, Mitchell turned to her. He quickly said, "This is my sister."


    "Oh." The girl exclaimed slightly before walking away. Mitchell saw that people were looking at him, pointing their fingers while whispering, and he became self-conscious.


    "Um, Claire, please say something. People are staring at me and judging me," Mitchell begged.


    Claire rolled her eyes and waved to the crowd to dismiss them. "Go on. Mind your own business," she said sternly. Mitchell was finally relieved and started to run along with Claire.


    As they were running, Claire finally opened up. "After we said goodbyes last night, Edward ''allegedly'' punched a man backstage."


    Mitchell was shocked, and he almost tripped on the treadmill. "Because he got rejected? He doesn''t seem like a violent guy."


    Claire replied without looking at Mitchell, "No, it''s because of something else. That guy tried to hurt his cat. But I''m thinking that if the earlier rejection doesn''t happen, maybe the outcome will be different."


    Mitchell connected the dots. "So you think that the rejection pushed him to the brink, and then he lashed out at the guy? For me, I think it''s a valid outburst. He tried to hurt his family member. I don''t think it has anything to do with Haley at all."


    "Maybe it has something to do with it," Claire argued, confident that she was right in her guess.


    "Let''s say that you''re right. So do you think stopping them from becoming a couple is a mistake, or are you sticking by it?"


    "Obviously they shouldn''t be a couple. Edward is really nice, but he''s too..." Claire trailed off, which made Mitchell finish her sentence. "Amazing? Handsome? Thoughtful? Family-oriented?"


    "I was going to say busy." Claire gave Mitchell a bombastic side-eye before she continued. "I love Haley. But I don''t think she can keep up with him. It''ll really be a blow to her self-confidence when she realizes that."


    "They live in two completely different worlds. Edward made the front page of the news every week. He managed a billion-dollar company at 15 years old. He''s a scientist, he''s an inventor, he''s a world-class artist. Not only Haley, but I don''t think that there''s any girl on the entire planet who can keep up with him��not unless she discovers the cure for cancer."


    "Well, only if he didn''t find it first," Mitchell joked. Claire sighed, as she thought that possibility was high.


    "Let''s switch up that thinking. You''re only seeing him through rose-colored glasses right now. You''re only focusing on the good stuff. What about the bad stuff? Maybe that can balance it all out."


    Claire thought about it for a while and said, "Well, he''s violent at times."


    Mitchell exclaimed, flabbergasted, "He''s not violent."


    "I said at times!"


    "It still sounds awful. He''s a sweet dude," Mitchell defended Edward. "Maybe he can be a little hot-tempered at times. Like, only specific times when his family or friends are in danger." He helped Claire find the right words.


    "That made him seem heroic! You told me to find the bad stuff!" Claire glared at Mitchell with disbelief.


    "Yeah, sorry. I''ll��I''ll think with you," Mitchell said, and then both of them thought in silence. After five minutes, Claire asked Mitchell, "Do you find anything yet?"


    "No," Mitchell replied with a sigh. "The only bad thing I can think of is that he''s nosy at times. But he has good intentions, so it cancels each other out."


    "Damn it," Claire mumbled.


    ...


    Haley put on some blush on her cheeks and checked her makeup in the mirror again. Her hair tied up in a sideway ponytail and she wore a simple floral yellow dress with a deep cut.


    However, as she was excitedly preparing herself to sneak into her boyfriend''s house, Phil stood behind her with an exasperated expression.


    "You''re really going on a date with someone else?! You just broke Edward''s heart. At the very least, wait until he goes to Japan!" Phil exclaimed beggarly.


    Haley smiled mischievously and said, "He''s fine. He''s already moving on too. We''re both fine with it."


    Alex walked into the basement bedroom, clutching her phone in her hand. "Um, what''s with the yelling?" she asked.


    "Your sister is being so inconsiderate of other people''s feelings," Phil tattled to Alex. "Honestly, it''s very disheartening to watch."


    Haley scrunched her eyebrows as she looked at Phil with disbelief. "I''m not being inconsiderate. And also, why would I need to be considerate of Edward''s feelings?"


    "Not him! Mine!" Phil corrected Haley''s assumption.


    "She''s going on a date with Brian," Phil tattled to Alex again.


    Taken aback, Alex muttered with an incomprehensible expression, "You''re going on a date with Foot Fetish Brian?!"


    "Foot Fetish Brian?" Phil was horrified. "Why do you call him that?" he asked hurriedly.


    Alex was exasperated and said, "''Cause he likes feet. He kept commenting on girls from the school''s posts, asking if their feet were sweaty and if they could send him a picture of their toes."


    "But he''s kinda cute though," Haley pretended to be oblivious, which made Phil gag.


    Phil suddenly held Haley''s shoulders and said seriously, "Honey, you didn''t send him any pictures of your feet, right?"


    Taken aback, Haley grinned and replied, "Not for free. I made 5000 bucks from the sales alone."


    "NO�C Wait, 5000 bucks?!" Phil almost melted down before his mind focused on the numbers instead. Haley rolled her eyes in disdain and said, "That was a joke. I''m joking."


    "So you''re not going out on a date?" Phil asked, his eyes hopeful. Haley smiled sadly and said, "I''m going out with Tara. There will be boys there."


    "Alright. I don''t want to have to resort to this." Phil suddenly changed his tone and said assertively, "Haley, you''re grounded for a week!"


    "WHAT!?" Haley widened her eyes in disbelief. "WHY!?" she asked.


    "Um, try not answering your phone for the entire day yesterday," Phil said sternly. Alex smirked in satisfaction as she saw Haley''s troubled expression and added to the flame, "Mom was worried sick. You could''ve at least sent us a text."


    "I DID!" Haley was frazzled by the accusation and defended herself hurriedly. Realizing that she would just dig a deeper hole for herself by continuing, Haley changed her strategy.


    She took a deep breath, made her voice shaky, and her eyes forlorn before turning to Phil and said, "Dad, I just need some time to myself. That''s all. Possibly a place away from this house... because, you know, there are a lot of memories of me and Edward here... I just need to escape for a bit. There aren''t any boys; I''m just kidding with that."


    "Aww..." Phil immediately became relieved and hugged Haley affectionately. "Of course, hun. I''m just worried because you weren''t reacting normally. I thought you were really moving on, and that scares me a little."


    "Why does that scare you?" Alex asked, interrupting the moment between the two. Phil replied without releasing his embrace, "Because then my daughter will be a sociopath. Don''t worry, even if you really turned out to be one, I''ll still love you guys with all of my heart."


    "What if she''s killing puppies?" Alex asked teasingly.


    "I''ll grab a shovel, and we will dig a hole together." Phil said casually, then his tone turned serious, "Then, we''ll plant some endangered plants on top of the soil to prevent anyone from digging up the spot. We''ll move to Miami, where I teach you how to live life with a code. You''ll become a blood spatter analysis expert while hiding your true self behind a well-crafted mask that I made�C"


    "Isn''t that from the Dexter TV Show?" Haley asked, fully confused by her father''s plan.


    Alex cackled loudly and then commented to herself, "I guess Haley''s fine, but Edward needs to learn how to live by the code." She thought that if Haley wasn''t a sociopath, then maybe Edward was.


    "Hmm? What do you mean?" Haley asked, curious.


    Alex laughed slightly and revealed, "Well, he''s already having a hot girl over. That girl Annie that he went on a date with in Colorado. She''s over at his house right now."


    "WHAT THE FUCK!?" Haley cursed out loud, not even caring that her father was right beside her. "Honey, language," Phil scolded her. "Sorry," Haley apologized. Then Phil reacted to the news, "WHAT THE HECK!?"


    Jacob told everyone in the group chat after he woke up at around 10 a.m. He shared it using Edward''s phone because he was dejected that his mother wanted to disown him after he snuck out of the house to go back to the party last night.


    He couldn''t even go back home for now because his father wouldn''t let him. He was being punished by his parents, which made him really depressed. Only after Edward told him that he would drive him back himself and help him apologize to his parents did he cheer up a little bit.


    After some discussions, Phil decided to leave the matter to Ted, unaware that his daughter had already snuck out of the house during his phone call. Haley rang the doorbell furiously as she arrived at Edward''s house, crossing her arms as she tapped her fingers in irritation.


    As Edward opened the door, he beamed with a smile as he saw her face. "Hi. What are you doing here so early? We promised to meet at noon. There''s still half an hour left..."


    "Busting you!" Haley said before she entered the house in a hurry. Edward laughed obliviously and said, "Mind your words; there are still some people inside my house. You can make me bust later��oh, that''s not what you meant." He finally noticed her angry expression.


    Haley, however, turned incredibly frazzled when she walked to the living room. Annie was lying on the couch with some tissues up her nose, stained red from a nosebleed. Abed lay down sideways in a fetal position, rocking himself slightly as he mumbled some nondescript words.


    Jacob''s eyes were unfocused, and he kept smiling and talking to the air like a mentally ill person.


    "What happened here?" Haley asked in shock. Edward ignored her question, eyed her up and down, and then complimented her sweetly, "You look really cute."


    Haley blushed a bit, almost forgetting about the tragic scene in front of her, then she heard Abed shouting, "I can see it even when I close my eyes! THE CODES! THE CODESS!!!! They are drilling themselves into my brain!!"


    "What the fuck is happening��" Haley grumbled and pouted slightly as she glanced at Edward. "Explain it."


    "Well, it all started with teaching Annie some simple Excel shortcuts... Autosum and other functions to help her with her remote job." Edward took Haley''s hand and led her away from all of the crazies.


    " It only took her 30 minutes to learn everything, which shocked her and me. I guess I''m a really good teacher... So I started to teach her more..." Edward scratched his cheek in embarrassment as he continued his story.


    "I started to teach her C++, the programming language. She was doing really well, and I became even more confident. ''Maybe Annie is just smart and has a knack for programming,'' I thought. So I made Jacob and Abed learn it too because I wanted to have a bigger sample size," Edward trailed off slightly.


    "After two hours, they turned out like this." Edward pointed at them casually. Annie raised her hand weakly and said, "I can still continue..."


    Edward''s [Teacher''s Aura] from his karmic gacha made it possible for him to teach his students at an elevated rate. The skills promised a 300% increase in comprehension ability when Edward taught them personally.


    An ordinary student''s comprehension level when they are focusing was around 30% to 60%. However, with Edward, their brains started to overclock. Not because of the skills, but he kept hammering down knowledge into their brains to test the limits of the skills.


    As he was excited, he didn''t realise that he was slowly melting their brain�C figuratively. Overall, they will be fine after resting for a short while.


    "Oh," Haley exclaimed simply and her eyebrows ceased to crease. "You''re training her on computer stuff.."


    Edward inched closer to her, asking suggestively, "Why? Did you think that there''s something else going on? Is that why you marched over here?"


    "N�CNo..." Haley couldn''t meet his eyes and she lowered her head in embarrassment.


    [Haley''s commentary]


    "It hasn''t even been one day, and I''m already acting like a crazy, jealous bitch..." She muttered with some disappointment. Then, she smiled happily and said, "Still... he said I''m cute. I knew that dress was the right choice."


    [Commentary ends]


    (A/N: Don''t expect a healthy relationship between them. It''ll be more of a teenage love mess.)


    Annie and Abed left soon after, and Edward went to Jacob''s house to help him face his parents. Haley went back home for a bit and returned after Edward made sure the house was empty��which meant that he kicked out Vanessa and Maggie too.


    There was some biting silence as they sat on the couch together. Haley suddenly turned to Edward and asked, "So, Annie''s pretty. Don''t you think she''s pretty?"


    "So, is this how we''re going to start our first day as a couple? We''re going to fight?" Edward said playfully as he turned to her.


    "No, we''re not going to fight. You did ask her out on a date. So you must''ve thought she was attractive too," Haley said, looking a little sulky.


    Edward hesitated for a bit before he sighed and said, "She''s a little bit pretty��"


    "I KNEW IT!" Haley stood up and immediately became annoyed. "Who do you think is prettier? Me or her?" she asked dramatically.


    Edward smirked slightly, holding back his laughter as he saw Haley''s lips curling upwards. She stopped herself from smiling, trying to keep the facade of the jealous girlfriend.


    "Hmm... It''s quite hard to compare. Try to make a cute pose," Edward said as he placed his finger on his chin, pretending that he was thinking about it.


    Flabbergasted by his reaction, Haley placed her hands on her cheeks. "Like this?"


    Instantly, Edward''s hand moved, and he snapped a picture of her as she was doing the pose. Haley smiled as she gasped in elation, asking, "Wait. Did you do that on purpose? Let me see that picture!"


    "Wait, I need to set it as my lock screen first," Edward said casually. His gesture made Haley swoon, and she just stared at him, stunned. Edward grinned as he showed her the photo, and also his lock screen.


    "Isn''t she cute? That''s my girlfriend," he said, pretending that she was a stranger.


    "Oh, you smooth bastard." Haley immediately jumped on his lap and gave him kisses after he did that.

 Chapter 336: Gift.

    Chapter 336 - 336: Gift.


    [Edward POV]


    "There''s this new movie, Sherlock Holmes. Have you seen it?" Haley asked after we shared a kiss on the couch. She sat on my lap, her arms around my neck, resting her head slightly on my shoulder.


    "RDJ''s the lead. He''s probably a little pissed that I haven''t seen it yet," I said playfully.


    The movie had been released during Christmas, and I hadn''t gotten the chance to see it. Although I had watched it in my previous life, RDJ wouldn''t let me off the hook so easily without proof.


    "Oh, wait, we probably shouldn''t go to the movies by ourselves," Haley trailed off, her eyes darting around as she searched for another idea.


    Brushing her hair behind her ear, I smiled and said, "Not to worry. I can just buy all the tickets in the theater. We can have the entire place to ourselves."


    Haley, however, got mad and said, "No! Don''t do that. That''s really wasteful."


    I pretended to sulk for a bit and replied, "This is something I''ve been wanting to do for a long time! Now that I finally have a girlfriend, no one can stop me from doing it. We''re going to have that romantic, luxury flex moment in the movie theater that only rich bosses or billionaires get to experience in movies."


    Haley chortled and said, "Oh, so the next thing will be flying to Italy for a pizza in your private jet? Is that what you want?"


    "Depends. Do you have a passport?" I asked, looking at her seriously. Haley was taken aback and exclaimed in disbelief, "Don''t do that��no, don''t even think about it!"


    "Wait. We''re both underage, so we can''t keep the traveling a secret," I muttered. Haley finally breathed a sigh of relief, thinking I had regained my rationality.


    "I should fly a chef out from Italy to cook for us here," I said after thinking for a moment. Stunned, Haley exclaimed playfully, "Tch��I don''t really like the rich guy flex in movies. I prefer intimate moments."


    I smiled and said, "Me too." I reached for the table beside the couch and pulled out a small box. She didn''t notice as she rambled on, "Don''t turn into the guy who tries to buy the girl''s feelings. I''ll pay for every outing from now on. You just need to sit tight and look pretty��"


    Finally, she saw the present I was holding and was stunned again. Her lips curled into a smile, and her face lit up. "What''s this?" she asked coyly, pretending to understand the situation.


    "Open it." I smiled charmingly as I handed the present to her. Haley giggled and then untied the red ribbon before opening the box.


    The necklace featured a stunning teardrop emerald, its rich green hue radiating. Set in a delicate platinum filigree, the emerald was elegantly suspended from a fine chain. Surrounding the emerald, small diamonds enhanced the overall opulence of the piece.


    Haley blinked quickly, thoroughly mesmerized by the gift. She looked at me instantly for an explanation. I smiled affectionately and said, "I bought that the second you agreed to be my girlfriend. It''s my gift to you��"


    Haley hugged me tightly before I could finish my sentence. "I love it!" Touched by the gesture, Haley kissed both of my cheeks in gratitude before hugging me again.


    I smiled teasingly as she rested her head on my chest. Then I said, "Really? I''m worried you won''t like it because you said you didn''t want me to spend any money on you."


    Haley flinched a bit and pulled her head back up before smiling, "I''m not touched because you bought me an expensive thing. I''m touched because of the gesture. You''re so happy that we are a thing now that you had to give me this necklace."


    "Pfft��" I held back a laugh. My reaction made Haley frown. She pouted and said, "What? Don''t you trust me?"


    "I do��I do," I said dismissively. Offended, Haley gasped and said, "You know what? I was planning to do something for you too, but you can forget about it now. You lost your chance." She crossed her arms, moved away from my lap to sit next to me, and pouted.


    "What? What did you have planned?" I asked playfully as I grabbed her hand, interlocking our fingers. Haley blushed a bit and whispered in my ear.


    "As a thank you?" I looked at her in shock. Haley grinned and said, "Or we can do it like in Titanic, where I... only wear this..." She held up the necklace.


    We looked into each other''s eyes, and the air started to heat up as our faces inched closer together. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. We paused, and I said, "Let''s ignore it."


    We continued to lean in, tilting our heads slightly as we prepared to kiss. Just as our lips were about to connect, the intercom rang.


    "Edward! I know you''re in there! Open the door! I forgot my stuff! Let me in; I''ll be out of your hair immediately after I get it," Max shouted, her tone full of urgency.


    I sighed and said, "I think the moment''s passed."


    "Just send her away quickly. The moment''s still there for me," Haley urged. I widened my eyes slightly and immediately ran to the door. "Be right back."


    As I opened the door, I said to Max, "You have 30 seconds to get it and then get out of here."


    "Geez. Okay, I won''t interrupt your love fest," Max sighed and entered the house with a playful smile.


    "Oh hey, you have your top on this time," she said as she noticed Haley sitting on the couch. I pushed her, saying, "Hurry up. Don''t disturb us."


    "Okay, I''m going��I''m going," Max exclaimed as she hurried up the stairs. Just then, Caroline entered the house, and I was so focused on Max that I didn''t realize she was behind her.


    "Max, I told you not to disturb them," Caroline said as she walked into the living room. Haley was holding her phone, trying to get a photo with the necklace.


    Suddenly, Caroline''s eyes were drawn to the necklace in Haley''s hand. Caroline began hyperventilating at the sight, leaving Haley flabbergasted. She wheezed, and her entire shoulder went up and down.


    "What''s wrong? Are you having a panic attack?" Haley asked, confusion and worry etched on her face. I turned my head from the stairs to check on them. "Caroline, are you okay?"


    "Is that...?" Caroline trailed off as she walked closer to see the necklace. "Isn''t it pretty? Edward just gave it to me," Haley said giddily. I nodded in satisfaction as I watched her brag about the gift.


    We hadn''t hidden our relationship from Max, and by extension, Caroline knew about it. By "hadn''t hidden," I meant we "couldn''t hide." Max came down in excitement, waving her small metal box.


    "I found it! Let''s go!" she said hurriedly. Caroline ignored her and continued studying the emerald necklace. "Crafted in 18k gold and platinum, teardrop cut emerald... I saw this before I went broke. I almost bought it, but I chose another one instead."


    "Really? Is it special?" Haley asked curiously. Caroline looked at her with disbelief. "This is a one-of-a-kind emerald. Do you even know how much it costs?"


    "Caroline, shut your trap," I interjected quickly. Caroline swallowed her words, but they seemed stuck in her throat. Finally, she breathed out, unable to hold it back any longer. "Three hundred..." she whispered at the end, "...grand..."


    "Three hundred?" Haley asked, not catching the last part.


    Max turned to Caroline, "What did you say? Three hundred grams or three hundred grand? Like my rent for three hundred months or how much weed I could buy with one week''s pay?"


    Caroline stared at me, her expression filled with shock and disbelief. "It''s three hundred dollars," I told Haley, knowing she wouldn''t accept it if she knew the truth.


    Caroline quickly shut her mouth, following my lead. She understood that if she went against my intentions, her job as my assistant for the world tour would be in jeopardy.


    Max was still elated, looking at the necklace as if it were a precious gift. No one ever gifted her anything before in a romantic sense.


    "You got a necklace when you become someone''s girlfriend? The only things I''ve ever gotten from my boyfriends are pregnancy scares and restraining orders." She said with a genuine smile, happy for Haley.


    "Oh, I thought you were going to say STDs," I commented, glancing at Max. She grimaced and replied, "That never happened. I''m proud to admit that I''ve never had an STD, even though I''ve had a very low bar for hooking up." She grinned, bragging.


    As she was distracted, I snatched the metal cigarette box from her hand and opened it. "What do you have here?" It was filled with joints.


    "Hey! Give that back!" Max tried to snatch it back, but I held my arm up, preventing her from reaching it.


    "Were you the one who stole the joints from Snoop? He told me to watch out for thieves in my crew last night," I asked Max assertively.


    Max was stunned and immediately became meek. Smiling slightly, she said, "I mean, for a pimp, he sure leaves his bags defenseless."


    Meanwhile, Haley was trying to get more details from Caroline. "Is it really three hundred bucks?" she asked in a whisper. Veins were popping on Caroline''s forehead; her teeth clattered as she held her stomach, which began to churn after forcing herself to stay quiet.


    Noticing something strange, Haley held the necklace with two fingers. "So it''s fine if I drop it on the floor?"


    "NOOO!!" Caroline immediately stopped her. Haley narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Why? I thought it was only three hundred dollars?!"


    "Haley, I have to say, that hurts my heart a little," I interjected, looking at Haley with a hurt expression. Baffled, she immediately defended herself, "I''m not actually going to drop it!" She held the necklace properly again and walked toward me.


    "Edward~! Tell me the truth. Did you overspend on this necklace?" Haley asked, getting in my face. I smiled and gave her a peck on the lips, which stunned her.


    "I''m not telling. Besides, you''ve already accepted it, so you can''t give it back. I also swallowed the receipt, so you definitely can''t return it," I said playfully before turning to the duo. "You should go. We''re having a nice moment here."


    "Oh, you guys are going to do it��" Before Max could finish her sentence, Caroline grabbed her right arm and pulled her out of the house.


    "We''re so sorry to disturb you!" Caroline called as she closed the door behind her.


    "You heard Max; we are going to do it, right?" I said playfully after we were alone. However, Haley grumbled, "I''m going to find out! You better tell me now."


    I laughed and said, "Alright, I''ll tell you... after I go to Japan."


    "NO! NOWW!!" Haley pressed on, fully agitated. "Are you not telling me because you don''t trust me?" she asked, her eyes shaking slightly.


    Realizing that I might have pressed the wrong buttons, I sighed in defeat and said, "It''s quite expensive, but you have to remember that my sense of money has been completely broken lately."


    "How much?" she asked again, calmer this time.


    "Three hundred thousand dollars," I replied with a wry smile.


    "THREE��" Haley froze in shock. It took a few seconds for her to recollect herself. Her fingers started to shake as she held the necklace.


    "I''m holding in my hand... a family heirloom?" she muttered in disbelief. I smirked and said, "It could be a family heirloom, but to do that, we need to make a family first."


    "No. Ed, the mood is ruined," Haley said with a blank stare, holding the necklace in her palms as if presenting it to me. "Take it back. It''s too much." She said this with her mouth, but her fingers held onto the necklace tightly.


    I rolled my eyes. "This is exactly why I didn''t want to tell you the price. Come on, it''s not even 10% of my daily salary. You can have it. Sell it if you want to use the money for something else."


    "I''m not going to sell it!" Haley exclaimed, taking the necklace back and hiding it behind her. Suddenly, she realized something. "Oh no. I posted a picture of the necklace on my Instagram just now."


    "Oh shit." I cursed, my expression blank as I anticipated the fallout. Then I sighed and smiled, "It''s alright. No harm done." I knew that it would have some implications, but I ignored them for now.


    Haley beamed and became elated again. "Really? Is it really that expensive?" She took the necklace out of the box and admired it gently.


    I took it from her and whispered, "Turn around."


    Haley blushed slightly before holding her ponytail up, freeing her neckline. I placed the necklace around her, causing her breath to quicken.


    "Thank you. I''ll treasure it always," she said affectionately, turning to gaze into my eyes while holding the necklace. I patted her head and smiled mischievously. "You''re welcome. Of course, I meant it when I said you can do whatever you want with it."


    Haley just smiled and hugged my arm. "By the way, where''s your dad? I haven''t seen him around," she asked curiously.


    "Oh, Dad? He and Frankie went to Skywalker Ranch this morning as my representatives," I replied casually.


    "Why did they go there?" Haley asked again.


    I smiled and said, "Because your boyfriend wants to buy Lucasfilm, so his dad and his company representative need to lay the groundwork."


    "Oh. Is it hard to buy?" Haley blinked innocently, which baffled me.


    "I guess? It''s not really hard since Lucas wants to sell it��but do you understand what studio I''m talking about here?"


    "I don''t know." Haley grinned mischievously. "I think I''ve heard the studio name before. I also saw the logo..." She thought seriously as I walked to the kitchen island and took out some snacks from the fridge, with Haley following me.


    "Um, this may jog your memory: Star Wars." I smirked as I saw her eyes light up in realization.


    "YOU WANT TO BUY STAR WARS!? Seriously!?" she shouted in shock, though it was less than her reaction to the necklace.


    "Yeah. George Lucas called me last week, hinting at it. After some calculations, I decided to take out a loan to buy the studio," I said casually.


    Haley looked at me in disbelief. "Seriously? And I actually felt bad that you bought this necklace for me before. No wonder you said your sense of money is broken."


    I nodded in agreement. Haley asked, "I''m actually curious. If having some money makes you splurge on buying a few movie studios, why don''t more billionaires do that?"


    "Well, my dear," I said, popping a grape into my mouth, "frankly, it''s because it''s not worth it."


    "Not worth it?" Haley asked, confused. "Consider this: I take a $4 billion loan to buy Star Wars. Then, the first movie we release makes $2.5 billion globally. So it seems like we''re on track to pay off the loans quickly. We just need another film to cross it off, right?"


    "Right." Haley nodded in agreement.


    "Ekk��wrong." I made a buzzer sound, rebuking her. "There''s the theater cut. Fifty percent of the collection will go to them. In some cases, it may even go as far as eighty percent. Distribution contracts are crucial to negotiate before the movie release."


    "Also, they get 80 to 100% of all profits for the first weekend, more if your studio is a new studio. Let''s say the movie makes $250 million on opening weekend. The studio will only get a small profit from that."


    Haley blanked out and looked at me suspiciously. "You''re lying," she accused.


    "I wish I were lying," I said with a scornful look, not at her but at the system. "Then we have $1.1 billion left. Still a nice profit, right?"


    "I''m not answering that if you''re just going to say I''m wrong again," Haley said sternly.


    I chuckled. "It is a nice profit. But you''ll have to cover the budget for the film. Let''s say another $250 million. Plus $100 million for marketing. So you have $800 million��not too shabby."


    "I sense you''ll have to share it again," Haley added.


    I nodded. "Yeah. The directors, the actors, the movie staff, the investors. So you''re left with around $500 million for profit. You''ll need to set aside some money for the next film��around $250 million more��and you''re left with $250 million that you can actually use to pay off the loans."


    "From $2.5 billion?" Haley asked, frustrated.


    "Yup. If that was actually used to pay it off, they could split it and only pay $125 million. Back to your original question: the reason billionaires don''t often want to buy out studios is that it''s not really worth it."


    I continued, "It takes over a year to make a movie, which means they have to cover the loan payments themselves during that time. If they don''t have money to burn, they won''t really care about it."


    Then, I thought of something else, "There are a few more revenue streams, like DVD sales and broadcasting rights, but that''s not really important here. Buying a movie studio is a huge risk; not many sane people would do it. It will be much cheaper if they just start a studio themselves and create new stories."


    "So, it''s the established characters that are expensive?" Haley asked.


    I grinned and replied, "Yeah, that''s accurate. They are the biggest factor in determining how well the movie will perform at the box office. No one wants to see a Spider-Man movie without Spider-Man in it."


    "You must be thirsty from all that talking," Haley said suddenly. I laughed slightly and said, "Sorry, I must''ve been boring you."


    "No! Not at all. I enjoy listening to you talk. I could do that for hours," Haley said affectionately as she poured a glass of water for me. "We can continue talking in your bedroom if you want," she added suggestively.


    "Yes, we should definitely do that," I played along mischievously. Later that afternoon, I received a text message from my dad, telling me that George was open to my first suggestion. Instead of me buying out the studio completely for 4 billion dollars, we would do a 50-50 ownership for 2 billion dollars instead.


    Suddenly, Robin chimed in with an emergency notification. Both Haley and I were dumbfounded when we heard it. "Sir, I need to notify you of an urgent matter," Robin said.


    "What is it?" I asked calmly.


    "The black ops teams moved the extraction date up by a day, and they''ve already taken Britney away from her compound," Robin said urgently. I was confused at first before I asked, "So? What does that have to do with me?"


    Robin was speechless for a while before she replied meekly, "Just thought that you would be interested in it." She went silent after that. Haley rebuked me immediately, "Ed! You made Robin sulk! Apologize right now!"


    "Robin! I''m sorry! Please tell me more about it!" I shouted hurriedly.


    ...


    [General POV]


    "Hah!" Taylor exclaimed in disbelief as she saw Haley''s Instagram feed. "He didn''t even give me one gift, but he gave her a necklace worth 300 grand?!" She muttered irritably.


    "HAHA!" She laughed in a deranged manner.


    Selena made a prayer gesture as she stood beside Taylor. "Please don''t do anything stupid. Please don''t do anything stupid." She prayed for Taylor.


    "You know what I should do? I should tell him his cat is actually dead!" Taylor said with an evil grin.


    Selena immediately scolded her, "You don''t mean that."Taylor dropped her head and said, "Sure. I don''t mean that."


    At the New Years Eve party, Taylor greeted Vader in excitement while Max was carrying Vader around. Then, she noticed something wrong.


    "That cat has claws. The real Vader was declawed. That''s actually an identical cat, not Vader." Taylor muttered sadly.


    As there was no precedent of a cat regrowing its claw, she assumed it was a different one. Edward''s usage of the bone regeneration spell was great for Vader, but it was impossible for him to explain the situation for anyone else.


    Taylor pressed her head as she moaned loudly, "HOW DO I TELL HIM THAT HIS CAT IS DEAD~~"

 Chapter 337: Murder! (Southern Accent)

    Chapter 337 - 337: Murder! (Southern Accent)


    [Edward POV]


    Two days have passed since New Year''s Eve. Today''s a Sunday, the last day of the holidays. I promised my friends I would hang out with them before they all went back to school.


    However, an hour after I arrived at Jenna''s house, I was suddenly shot. Clutching my stomach, I fell to my knees as Jacob ran toward me.


    "EDWARD!!! STAY WITH ME!!!" Jacob begged, tears in his eyes, clutching my increasingly cold body as I lay on the floor next to Jenna''s pool.


    I coughed twice and held his face, whispering my last words, "I''m sorry, partner... I can''t be here to meet your son..." Then, I coughed violently.


    With a shaky voice, I added, "Make sure to bring our team to the Super Bowl with me." My hand went limp, and my eyes rolled back as I took my last breath.


    "EDWARDDDD!!!!" Jacob yelled to the sky, tears flowing freely down his cheeks.


    Elsa sighed and looked at us with disdain. "Calm down. It''s just a fake death."


    "Don''t kill the mood, Elsa," Enid scolded her, wiping her teary eyes as she watched my dying performance. I propped my head up and muttered helplessly, "I can''t believe I got murdered. I thought I was going to survive till the end."


    It seemed that despite all my genius, I still couldn''t escape the mind of a dedicated 14-year-old fantasy addict and fell into a trap that led to my demise.


    "There''s a label on the big red button that says ''Don''t Press,'' but you still pressed it. You can''t blame others for your death," Elsa said with a disdainful expression.


    "Now you have to lay there for an hour until the perp is caught. I''m really jealous of you," Alex scowled enviously, wearing a transparent veil on her head.


    The game is called Belles, Bourbon, and Bullets, a murder mystery game from the South. Everyone needed to speak in a southern accent while playing. Well, that was how it started. Then, Enid wrote a new script and planned the whole thing. She also made us draw lots for our roles.


    I promised everyone I would do something with them before I went on my world tour, and Enid picked this game.


    "At the very least, you can die normally. We found my corpse dead from being sodomized by a horse!" Finneas shouted angrily as he lay on a floating mattress in the pool.


    "More accurately, a centaur," I smirked, which made him even angrier.


    I wasn''t the first one to die in the game. Finneas picked the victim role that started the whole thing. Next was Jenna, who was hung on a chair like a dirty rag. She too had died a violent death after being seduced by an incubus.


    Only Alex, Elsa, Enid, and Jacob were left in the game. Among them was the perp who had killed us all. I already knew who they were, but I didn''t want to spoil the game for everyone else.


    Wearing a top hat and a metal tobacco pipe in her mouth, Enid muttered with a poor southern accent, "I do declare~ The third victim is quite handsome, even in his death. Should we resurrect him as a vampire familiar and make him serve us for eternity?"


    "There are no vampires! You promised there would be no vampires!" Jenna propped her head up, scolding Enid before falling limply again.


    Jacob pushed his fedora up and said, "We should see if there are any clues around the scene of his death. I swore to my best friend that I would get justice for his unjust death."


    "Again, he brought it on himself," Alex shook her head, wearing a fake mustache and pretending to be a skeptical old man. It was the perfect casting choice for all of Enid''s game characters today.


    They found a clue that led them to the kitchen, leaving only us ''corpses'' outside by the pool. Jenna suddenly whispered to me, "Psst�C Psstt�C"


    "You can just speak normally, you know? Us dead people can converse with each other. We just can''t speak to the mortals," I said with a smirk. Jenna giggled and asked, "Have you ever watched Inuyasha? Do you want to watch that with me later on?"


    I looked at her in confusion. "I thought we were going to watch One Piece: Strong World?"


    "We can watch both," Jenna said with a mischievous smile. Finneas floated right next to me after he paddled the floating mat with his hand and joined the conversation. "How long will it take? I want to go jam with Ed."


    "You guys can have your jam session tomorrow," Jenna scolded Finneas. "He''s not around tomorrow!" he argued back.


    I received a text while Finneas and Jenna were arguing.


    [Haley: Mom suddenly called me. I think she''ll finally try to talk to me about the whole thing.]


    I replied back.


    [Seriously? She waited for 3 whole days before talking to you?]


    [Haley: I think Dad stopped her before. Now she''s finally going to do it.]


    [Edward: Should I fess up?]


    [Haley: No. I want to see if she''s going to take my side or your side. If she takes your side, we''re over. Done-zo! No more cuddling! No more (censored emoji).]


    I chuckled slightly at her response before joining my friends'' arguments. "Jen, I think we should table Inuyasha for later. It has quite a lot of episodes."


    Jenna became deflated and pouted slightly after hearing my rejection. "There''s no more later~" she whined, which made me smile wryly.


    For some reason, after Jacob''s inevitable death, the plot went astray. Enid exploded an antimatter bomb, killing all the inhabitants of Fantasia, and ended the story after it was revealed that she was behind it all.


    Extremely dissatisfied with the conclusion, Alex shot a barrage of questions at Enid. "Why did ''The Widow'' want to destroy the world? What could she possibly gain from that? Where did she even get that antimatter bomb?! None of this makes sense!"


    Enid''s eyes darted around in confusion before she replied, "How should I know!?"


    "You WROTE HER!" Alex grimaced in frustration. I laughed a bit before teasing Alex, "What do you think her motivation was?"


    Alex was taken aback and guessed randomly, "I don''t know. She''s a widow, so maybe she wanted revenge on the world for killing her husband?"


    Enid nodded subconsciously and muttered, "Oh yeah, that makes sense."


    "Who knows? Maybe she just likes to see everything burn down. Not everyone has a reason behind their actions. Some people just suck," Elsa argued pessimistically.


    "You have a very depressing way of viewing the world," Jacob teased his girlfriend. Elsa smiled in disbelief and said, "I''m not depressed. I''m just rational."


    Jenna thought for a bit before she added, "She might be throwing a tantrum after not getting what she wanted. I know I would." Jacob and Elsa stepped away from Jenna after she said that.


    "Do you really think a person could commit such an atrocity just because of a tantrum?" Alex looked at Jenna with disbelief. Jenna shrugged and said, "People are complicated. Maybe."


    Enid cackled mischievously and said, "Why are you guys trying to get an in-depth look at her character?"


    Finneas smirked and said, "I think this is because of what we learn in English class. Trying to get something out of nothing. ''Oh no, the door is red. The author is trying to convey anger.'' Well, sometimes the door is just red Mrs Johnson! That''s why he''s said it''s red!"


    Alex looked at Finneas with disbelief and said, "You really need to let that go. That happened in class a month ago."


    "I''m not wrong!" Finneas whined.


    Confused, I began to ask them, "Is this really a conversation a group of 8th and 9th graders usually have these days?"


    I was shocked by the flow of conversation among them. A few months ago, it was hard to get them to open up and share their opinions. Nowadays, they just throw their thoughts around whether people want it or not.


    All of them turned to me simultaneously with angry expressions, shouting, "Whose fault do you think this is!?"


    Wearing a disdainful expression, Alex rebuked me. "If you didn''t start talking about random things all the time, we wouldn''t be this way."


    I guess they had been trained by me. It made me feel quite proud. It was lonely being the only one talking passionately about something.


    Jenna joined in the scolding. "Yeah. I used to talk about high school gossip, who screwed with who. Look at me now! I''m an anime geek! Are you proud of yourself for turning me into this!? HUH!? Answer me, Eddy!"


    Baffled by Jenna''s sudden accusation, I tried to defuse the situation. "But you know, whenever you called me to discuss your thoughts on the show, you became really attractive in my eyes."


    Jenna was taken aback, and a huge smile bloomed on her face. "Eh? Really?" It started with just watching anime to have something to talk about with me, but now, Jenna had truly grown to love the genre. She even thought about cosplaying the characters.


    "Stop! He''s trying to manipulate you to ensure your full transformation into a geek!" Alex tried to warn Jenna, but it was too late. By the look in her eyes, I knew she had fallen deep.


    "When you meet Oda-sensei, can I get a signature? I want him to draw Ace for me! Please!" Jenna hugged my arm and begged.


    Well, episode 483 hadn''t arrived yet, so Jenna only knew that Ace was captured in Impel Down. She had faith in Luffy trying to save his brother. Right now, the episode where Luffy meets Bon Clay in Impel Down had just been released, so Jenna didn''t know the full storyline. Even in the manga, it hadn''t reached the Marineford War.


    ''When the time comes, I wonder if she''ll beat me up because I made her watch the show,'' I thought secretly as I agreed to her request. "Yeah, sure. I''ll try to get the autograph for you."


    Finneas asked with a skeptical look, "Edward, can you even meet with him? Won''t he be really busy working��as you should be?"


    I looked at him with disbelief as I replied, "I can spare a few hours. I''m not going to work 24/7." Then, I smiled and continued, "I wrote to him before. A heartfelt letter. He already agreed to meet with me. Also, since I want Netflix to get the rights to broadcast One Piece, he definitely needs to meet with me."


    "So blackmail, huh?" Alex muttered in understanding. Jacob snickered and said, "As expected of Edward."


    "I''m not blackmailing anyone!" I defended myself, but everyone looked at me with suspicion in their eyes.


    We entered the house and watched the One Piece: Strong World movie together. After finishing the movie and discussing it afterward, Jenna asked, "Is your studio going to make animation after this?"


    "Yes. Definitely. But it''s a little tough to start. There aren''t a lot of experienced animators available for hire, so I have to create the entire studio from scratch��including training the animators. It''ll be one or two years before we can get results," I replied casually.


    "What''s your first show going to be?" Alex asked, sounding a little bit interested.


    I replied as I ate popcorn, "It''s based on the League of Legends game I own. The show will be called ''Arcane.'' I''ve already completed the storyline for the first season, so I just need it to be finished now. I wish I could do it faster, though."


    Alex narrowed her eyes at me and quipped, "You realize that your company''s growth is tremendously fast. But you want it to be faster? Are you insane?"


    "Not insane. Ambitious. And I don''t want to create a culture where fans have to wait 3 or 4 years for a new season of a show they love," I said with a weary sigh.


    Everyone was confused, as there wasn''t any real precedent for that yet, so they didn''t know what I was talking about.


    "I wish there were a machine that could just connect my brain to the computer. It would make my work so much easier than physically working on it. Like VR, but instead of games, it brings me into an alternate space where my imagination builds the world instead," Enid suddenly said.


    "So you want to be God?" I looked at her and chuckled.


    Enid blushed slightly and said, "Nothing too blasphemous. I just want to create an alternate reality where vampires, werewolves, and all sorts of mythical creatures exist."


    "Just go and watch Twilight again," Jacob teased. Enid rolled her eyes and said, "I''m already bored. I''m watching Vampire Diaries these days."


    Finneas accidentally blurted out, "Nina Dobrev is hot."


    "Excuse me?" Alex asked with a scowl. Flustered, Finneas stammered, "No��Wait, Alex. You''re definitely hotter than her."


    "That''s a blatant lie. Don''t grovel that much," Jenna teased. Alex glared at Jenna, but her lips curled into a smile. "That''s fine! I know I''m not hotter than Nina Dobrev!" Alex sulked.


    "Oooh, a lover''s spat. Nice work, Enid," Jacob said, sniping at Enid, which made her flabbergasted. "What��Oh! This is not my fault, okay!"


    "It wouldn''t have happened if you hadn''t brought up Vampire Diaries," Elsa joined in the teasing, which made Enid''s cheeks turn slightly red. I laughed out loud and said, "Finneas is the one who got the hots for Nina Dobrev. And I agree with him. She''s really hot. Even Jacob told me he thinks Miss Dobrev is sexy before."


    "I NEVER��" Jacob was taken aback and immediately defended himself, but his frustration made him look guilty in Elsa''s eyes.


    "What''s this? Are you jealous of our relationship that you had to drive a wedge between us?" Elsa sniped at me, her tone laced with mockery. "I heard your confession got rejected at the New Year''s Eve party. Is this why you''re acting out?"


    "Uuuuu!" Everyone exclaimed excitedly, turning their heads toward me.


    I smiled and said, "If that''s all it took to drive a wedge between you guys, then maybe your relationship isn''t as strong as you think it is."


    "At the very least, we have a relationship," Elsa added with a smug expression.


    "Touche?," I relented, which made Enid, Alex, and Elsa jump up and celebrate in excitement.


    "HE LOST!" Enid muttered as she high-fived Elsa and Alex. Alex added, "He''s speechless! We finally won for the very first time!"


    Elsa gleamed with excitement. "Finally. It feels like all of the frustrations are going away."


    "But you''ll have to face my revenge next," I interjected, making the girls freeze. Elsa blinked quickly and asked, "Excuse me?"


    "You didn''t think that winning would come without a cost? You now have my animosity. I''ll have to do something to make sure we''re even." I said casually, though my words were full of threat.


    Elsa gulped and asked slowly, "What are you going to do?"


    I just went silent and didn''t answer, which made her even more anxious.


    "Even if he couldn''t get Alex''s sister, he''s still doing well with the girls. I mean, he had that brunette at his house the next day," Finneas reminded everyone with a mischievous smile on his face.


    "He really won''t have a problem getting a girlfriend if he wants. Just say the words, Edward! I will be your girl��" Enid jumped on my arm, but I casually pushed her face away before she could finish.


    "Don''t try to take advantage of my heartbreak. I''m not ready for a relationship," I softly rejected Enid, which made her whimper sadly.


    Alex suddenly asked Jacob, "Is Annie the only girl you saw in his house?"


    "No. I saw Maggie. Vanessa... Um, then when I was disoriented, I think I saw another girl in a bright yellow dress. But I can''t remember who she was," Jacob replied after mulling over his memory.


    Startled, I immediately interjected, "But you remembered Annie because she''s hot, right?"


    "Yeah. Annie''s pretty hot," Jacob replied subconsciously. Then, he felt a cold stare coming from his side. His girlfriend was glaring at him, muttering, "Strike two!"


    "NO! I mean, she''s conventionally attractive! But I''m not attracted to her at all!" Jacob tried to defend himself.


    "OH! SO YOU DO THINK SHE''S ATTRACTIVE!?" Elsa asked in disbelief, which quickly escalated into a fight. I made a peace sign and stuck my tongue out, reveling in my success at disrupting their romantic atmosphere.


    While I was enjoying the chaos, Alex fell into a deep thought.


    [Alex''s commentary]


    "Oh... So that''s how it is." She smirked knowingly. "So, they are going to hide it, huh? I think I can have some fun with this."


    [Commentary ends]


    After that, we left Jenna''s place and headed back to mine. I had set up the garage with drums and amplifiers, making it an ideal spot for a jam session.


    "What do you want to sing?" I asked Finneas, as it was his idea to have the jam session.


    "What about pre-2000 rock?" Finneas replied after thinking for a while. I furrowed my eyebrows and asked, "With only the two of us?"


    "That would be quite hard to do," Finneas agreed. "Alex, do you want to take the keyboard?" he asked his girlfriend.


    "I''ve been practicing, but I don''t think I can play it perfectly yet," Alex replied, crossing her arms to reject the offer. "Oohh��oohh! I can play drums," Jacob volunteered.


    Not replying to Jacob, I turned to Alex and said, "Come on. It''ll be fun. We''re not taking it too seriously."


    "What about me?!" Jacob whined. Finneas sighed heavily before saying, "Sure. You can take the drums. It''s my own fault that I didn''t bring Billie with me."


    "Any requests? Finneas will sing," I said to the audience��Elsa, Jenna, Enid, and Alex.


    "What''s that song? Um... I don''t remember," Enid muttered in confusion.


    "Why don''t you hum the tune?" Finneas asked her.


    "Errr... Um... Like this? Wani nano ninu ninu..."


    All of us almost burst into laughter at Enid''s surprisingly clear depiction of the tune. Enid blushed and threatened to hit everyone who was laughing at her. I played it on my guitar before Finneas started to sing.


    We sang "Sweet Child of Mine" by Guns N'' Roses, followed by "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC. While singing the second song, our audience suddenly grew. My dad, Frankie, Phil, and Claire walked into the garage after hearing the music.


    Speaking of parents, they made our couple''s life a little challenging because they kept wanting to talk and be there for me. My dad spent the entire day with me yesterday, which meant I could only see Haley at night. I snuck into her room through the basement window and left before the sun came up. I regretted hiding the relationship��just a little bit.


    Even Vader and Max joined in, watching the performance together, with Vader being held in Max''s arms��almost suffocated in her fleshy air bags.


    Suddenly, I stopped playing the guitar and walked to the garage door. Phil brightened up, thinking I was trying to greet him. "Edward��"


    Before he could finish, I pulled the garage door closed and told them, "Sorry, I''m not entertaining people today. This is a closed jam session."


    As I fully closed the door, everyone was stunned by my actions. Vader managed to escape from Max''s embrace and darted into the garage before I could close it completely. She meowed loudly, demanding attention, but I mimicked her meowing sound with my guitar, which left her stunned.


    Enid burst into laughter and started filming the entire thing. Vader didn''t give up and tried again, but I mimicked her sounds yet again. On the fourth try, Vader looked at me with a deadpan expression and mumbled a meow of disbelief.


    Then, she bit the guitar cable and pulled it out of the amplifier in protest. "Vader, no!" Enid shouted desperately, but it was too late. We all laughed at the petty revenge, and I finally picked up Vader into my arms. It took a while to placate her before she finally joined our jam session without making any noise.


    "Edward, do you think you''ll be fine after doing that to your dad?" Enid asked, a little worried for my well-being.


    I replied casually, "I already told him not to disturb us. He did that anyway. So I don''t regret it."


    Alex joined in, "Yeah. No one wants to have a jam session with their parents around. Believe me, if my mom were still here, she''d try to police the songs we''re singing. Anything she thinks is bad, she wouldn''t let us do."


    ...


    [General POV]


    "I told you this is a bad idea. They don''t want us here," Frankie muttered, fully understanding the teenager''s mindset.


    "Are you sure it doesn''t have anything to do with the fact that Haley rejected him? He didn''t even smile when he looked at me!" Phil said anxiously. "He must be hurting a lot," he added.


    Claire rolled her eyes and replied, "No, Phil. I think it''s because they just don''t want any supervision."


    "But I am his buddy!" Phil whined.


    "What about me? Am I part of the parents'' group?" Max kicked the garage door angrily and shouted, "Edward, you little brat! I''m not that old! Don''t lump me in with them!"


    "Hey! We''re also not that old!" Phil said defensively.


    "I think we should invite Edward for dinner at our place tonight." Claire said. "It''s time for us to air everything out."

 Chapter 338: Emergency (Up All Night)

    Chapter 338 - 338: Emergency (Up All Night)


    [Edward POV]


    Holding my phone against my ear, I talked with Haley as I walked to her house.


    "Mom''s planning something. I''m sure of it," Haley said worriedly. Scrunching my eyebrows, I replied, "I think maybe she stumbled into something? You cleaned up your sheets yourself, right?"


    "After we did stuff? Yeah, I threw them into the laundry immediately," Haley replied innocently.


    "And?" I asked, a little worried. "You washed them yourself, right?" I continued hinting.


    Haley went silent for a moment before she replied hesitantly, "Well...."


    I rubbed my forehead in frustration and said, "It''s fine. It might not be about that. Maybe she just wants to do an intervention or something. Or a goodbye dinner with the whole family."


    Haley''s tone fell flat as she said, "I guess. Um," She suddenly thought of something and added, "Mom is at Uncle Mitchell''s house for now. He wants to ferberize Lily, so she''s helping him. If you come in early, we... have the entire house to ourselves."


    "What about your siblings? And your dad?" I asked with a slight chuckle.


    Haley replied, dead serious, "Mom''s the only one I''m worried about. Dad won''t even notice. Wait, I see you! I''m opening the door�� Nope, I cannot. We have to still pretend. Just ring the doorbell, and I can come to greet you."


    She waited in the living room for a while since she knew I was coming. Her parents were hiding the truth from her, so she had to pretend she didn''t know anything about it.


    As I rang the doorbell, I heard Alex''s excited voice from inside, "I''ll get it!" As she opened the door, her expression deflated, "Oh, it''s you."


    Behind her, Haley looked at Alex with disbelief. I asked Alex, "Who did you expect?"


    "Finneas. My mom invited him for dinner. I guess she invited you too." Alex guessed accurately and invited me inside, "Come on in. Mom and Dad are outside right now, so you should go back first."


    "I should go back?" I looked at Alex incredulously.


    Alex smirked, "Yeah. Without my parents around, I guess it''ll be too hard for you to be in the same place as Haley. Or am I wrong, and you''ve already moved on emotionally?"


    Speechless for a moment, I realized Alex might have noticed something from her teasing expression. I said, "Sure. I''ll go back home. I was just dropping by to be polite. Since they aren''t here, they can''t blame me for leaving."


    Flabbergasted, Alex grabbed my shirt to stop me from turning around, "Wait. Co�� Come in! You ARE NOT going to put the blame on me for this!"


    "I really can''t stay," I replied again. Alex stammered and rushed to call her mother, "I''ll tell them to come back quickly. Just wait here!"


    I walked into the house and flashed a victorious smile at Haley before turning to Alex again, "Can''t I just go back now? You can tell them I dropped by."


    "No! Just wait! They''ll be back soon." Alex stammered before she was interrupted by another guest. Finneas walked to the open door and greeted casually, causing Alex to flinch.


    "Hey, sweet pea," Finneas called. Alex grimaced and said, "I vetoed that. You cannot call me that, ever."


    "Okay, chickpea," Finneas teased as Alex grabbed his arm and pulled him inside. "Nice timing! You can wait with Edward and keep an eye on him until my parents get here."


    She shoved him toward me and ordered, "You guys wait in the den. Watch some TV if you want."


    "What are you going to do?" Finneas asked.


    "I''m going to call my mom," Alex replied before running to the kitchen.


    Finneas looked at me in confusion, "Why are you here?"


    "For the pizzas," I replied vaguely and added, "You could''ve just come here from my place."


    "I would''ve if I knew I was coming here," Finneas retorted. He looked at me and said, "I''m very nervous. This is the first time I''m going to spend time with Alex''s parents."


    I nodded in understanding, "It will be weird if you''re not nervous. Why don''t you go check on Alex? I''ll handle the awkward conversation with that girl." I pointed at Haley, continuing, "Of course, if you want to back me up, I''d really appreciate it."


    "And take part in the weirdness between you two? No thanks! Alex, where are you?" Finneas said before rushing to the kitchen, leaving me alone with Haley.


    Haley smiled giddily and approached me, wrapping her arms around mine and giving me a kiss. "Hi. I missed you," she whispered.


    I whispered back, "I missed you too. And I''m worried about what your mom has planned."


    ...


    As I walked into the kitchen, I saw ingredients halfway prepared on the kitchen island. I asked Alex, who was trying to reach her mother, "What does your mom plan to make?"


    "I don''t know," Alex replied anxiously before disconnecting the call. "She''s not answering."


    "She must be on her way back," Finneas commented. Haley, seeing me studying the ingredients, used a mocking tone. "Why are you trying to help prep the ingredients? You can''t keep your nose out of other people''s business again?"


    I shot back, "Would you rather we wait until your mom comes back and starts everything from scratch, or have me be a little nosy and help her so I can get out of here earlier?"


    Alex was taken aback by our tone and fell into thought.


    [Alex''s Commentary]


    "Wait. Was I wrong? Do they really loathe each other now?" Alex wondered, furrowing her brows. "The air around them is making me really uncomfortable."


    [Commentary Ends]


    "I guess your mother wants to make some roast beef. Alex, Finneas, spoiled brat, come and help me. We can get this done sooner." I said as I put on an apron.


    Haley breathed heavily, her eyes dazed as she watched me fold my sleeves, but quickly shook it off when she noticed Alex staring at her. "I''m not spoiled."


    "Bet you can''t even cook," I said, handing her a knife from afar. Haley grumbled and stomped her feet as she moved toward me, grabbing the knife forcefully. "Move! This is my house; I''ll do it," she ordered, pushing me away with her hips.


    I chuckled but quickly hid my reaction from Alex and Finneas, maintaining a cold expression. "Alex, I need you to clean the vegetables. Finneas, boil some water for the spaghetti. Haley... just don''t get in the way."


    Within five minutes, the kitchen became a well-oiled machine. "Alex! Wrap the fillings inside the cabbage and steam them after you finish washing them!" I ordered.


    "Yes, Chef!" Alex replied.


    "Finneas! I''m making Aglio Olio. I can do seafood or regular. Which one do you want?" I asked rapidly. "Do you have any seafood allergies?" Finneas muttered a quick "No," before I cut him off. "We''re having seafood Aglio Olio. Haley! Clean some mussels."


    "We don''t have any mussels!" Haley replied with an attitude, holding the knife with a relaxed wrist.


    "There''s some at my place. LUKE! COME ON DOWN HERE!" I shouted hurriedly. Luke rushed into the kitchen, casually greeting me, "Oh, you''re here, Edward. I''m playing a game��"


    I handed him my house keys. "I need some mussels, mushrooms, and ask Max where the freshly baked bread is. I need it back here within ten minutes. Now go!"


    Luke was taken aback but quickly ran off, agreeing, "Ok��okay."


    "Shoot! Alex, have you finished with the cabbages?" I asked hurriedly. Alex placed the metal bowl filled with cleaned cabbage leaves down within two seconds.


    As everyone focused on their tasks, Haley nudged me secretly. "I can cook! And I''m not spoiled."


    I whispered back, "I didn''t mean it. It''s all just an act. Now clean the seafood for me, please. I need it in five minutes." I said before giving her a playful slap on the behind. Haley was taken aback, then grinned in disbelief, pointing the knife at me again. I gently grabbed her hand and lowered the knife. "You really need to be careful where you''re pointing that."


    "Oh, is the poor little baby scared of a little knife?" Haley teased in a baby voice. I looked at her incredulously, which stunned her. She turned and started chopping the vegetables quickly.


    I leaned in and whispered to her ear, "Don''t be too cute. I might blow our cover and take you right here on the kitchen island." Haley blushed and stammered incredulously but I already moved on to Finneas to check on the spaghetti.


    In How I Met Your Mother, they proposed the Dobler-Dahmer theory. Ted Mosby explained that a romantic advance could be "Dobler or Dahmer"; it''s charming if the recipient finds it charming (Dobler), but creepy if they don''t (Dahmer).


    I usually hated baby talk and playing around in the kitchen, but I couldn''t get enough of her doing that.


    We made stuffed cabbage rolls, seafood Aglio Olio, pot roast, steamed eggplant with chili garlic dressing, rolled eggs, and stuffed calamari. Luke even returned with cakes from Max for dessert.


    The dining table was filled with various dishes, and we all sat around, waiting for Claire and Phil to return. Since the table only seated six, we had to add a circular one at the end for Luke and me. Alex and Finneas wanted to sit together, and Luke joined them, leaving only Haley and me on the other side of the table.


    "They are really late. It''s been almost an hour," Alex said, a slight smudge on her cheek. Finneas took a napkin and gently wiped it off for her, making her blush.


    Haley, feeling a bit jealous, shot me a glare. I ignored her and asked Luke, "Did you eat some cupcakes while we were cooking?"


    Luke replied, green and yellow frosting smeared around his mouth, "No. I didn''t."


    "Really? Are you sure?" I asked playfully. Alex looked at him and scolded, "You have frosting on your lips, you dumbass."


    We all laughed as Luke frantically tried to wipe off the evidence. Just then, Claire and Phil finally returned. "Alex, honey, I''m so sorry. I put my phone on airplane mode by accident and didn''t see your texts until I was on my way home."


    As Claire walked into the kitchen, she was stunned to see the ready meals on the dining table. Phil followed behind, phone to his ear, asking, "I''m ordering pizzas��Wait, the meals are already done?"


    "Yeah, we all worked together to make it," Alex said excitedly. Claire melted a bit at the gesture. "Aw, I''m really sorry, you guys. We would''ve gotten back sooner if your dad hadn''t had a stomach ache."


    "Turns out, it''s just gas," Phil added, which made everyone except me exclaim in disgust. "Ewwww."


    "Honey, are you sure we don''t have to go to the ER?" Claire whispered to Phil worriedly.


    "No, it''s really fine. It''s not hurting anymore," Phil replied calmly. Then it clicked for me.


    With the ferberizing and Phil''s abdominal pain, we were currently in the episode "Up All Night."


    "Maybe it''s kidney stones. You should go to the doctor," I said to Phil with a worried expression.


    Alex grinned and said, "I''ll call 911. Maybe the firemen will come."


    "NO!" Phil immediately stopped her from getting up. Haley perked up at the mention of firemen, and I stared at her. "Oh, so you have a crush on the hot firemen too?" I teased.


    Taken aback, Haley replied defensively, "No. I''m just worried about my dad."


    "You''re smiling from ear to ear, and you''re even blushing a bit," I pointed out.


    "It''s a smile of worry!" she insisted anxiously.


    "And the blush is sympathy?" I added mockingly.


    [Haley''s Commentary]


    "I wasn''t blushing because of the firemen," she confessed. Then she added shyly, "I accidentally imagined Edward wearing fireman clothes, but his top is�� Anyway, I''m not thinking of the firemen!"


    [Commentary Ends]


    "Edward, are you jealous?" Alex snickered at me. I told her, "You better check on your boyfriend before backing up your sister."


    Alex turned to Finneas and saw him picking at his bread with a depressed expression. She panicked, "Wait. Finn, you''re definitely hotter than them."


    "Don''t lie," Finneas said, defeated. "It just makes me seem more pathetic."


    [Phil''s Commentary]


    "The firemen in our town have a reputation for being hot," he said with a worried expression. "Do I resent that? Of course not. These guys are my friends. I play basketball with them. I bake for ''em. I never bought any of their calendars, but that''s just because I know they have other charities going on for them��not because I felt threatened and didn''t want their pictures in my house."


    [Commentary Ends]


    "We should start dinner, or else the food will get cold," I suggested, trying to preserve what was left of Finneas''s dignity.


    Phil jumped at the invitation. "Don''t mind if I do. What do we have here?"


    "Oh, you mixed different cuisines together?" Claire asked, pointing at the spaghetti. "Italian," she said, then pointed at the stuffed cabbage and steamed eggplant, "Chinese," and finally at the egg rolls and calamari, "Japanese?"


    "Western," I said, pointing at the pot roast playfully. "I thought you guys would come back early, so I pumped out several easy dishes. I didn''t think you''d take almost an hour. I could''ve made more if I knew."


    "No, this is more than what Claire usually makes. She wanted to make a pot roast and a salad for tonight''s dinner��" Phil excitedly began, but stopped when Claire glared at him.


    "It''ll probably taste better than Mom''s too," Luke chimed in, which made Claire flabbergasted. "Luke!" she exclaimed. Everyone laughed, and after saying grace, we began to devour the food.


    While we ate, I suddenly flinched as I sensed something riding up my pants. I turned to Haley immediately, and she pretended not to know anything.


    "So, Edward," Claire began, noticing my gaze on Haley. "What do you think about Haley?"


    Everyone froze, except for Luke, who was still inhaling his food. Alex dropped her fork, producing a loud clatter. She gasped loudly, watching the drama unfold.


    Haley widened her eyes in astonishment and stood up, yelling at her mother, "Why��why��why are you even asking that?!"


    Claire placed her utensils down and wiped her mouth with a green napkin before continuing, "Well, Edward is a smart kid. I''m sure he already knew my intention of inviting him here, so I''m not going to waste his time."


    "I think Haley''s cute," I replied honestly, making Haley stammer in disbelief as her face turned slightly reddish.


    Claire nodded and asked again, "Is that why you asked her out? Just because she''s cute? There are a lot of cute girls around you, so why not ask them out?"


    "MOM!" Haley yelled in shock. Phil suddenly groaned in pain, but it passed quickly. "I''m okay," he said as everyone looked at him.


    "Because they are not her," I replied curtly. Haley was stunned, her eyes sparkling with happiness. She looked at me intently, making me think, You remember we are dating right now, right?


    Greatly satisfied with my answer, Claire finally said, "Well, after thinking about it, I realized that I have been unfairly trying to keep you two away from each other. But I''m not going to interfere anymore. You guys should sort this out on your own after dinner. I give you my blessing."


    Haley and I breathed in relief, not because of the blessing, but because Claire wouldn''t bring this up anymore.


    "We''re not going to change our minds just because you give us your blessings," Haley said to her mother, but Claire ignored her.


    Alex cackled and teased, "Good for you guys. Now you don''t have an excuse anymore."


    "Why are you giddy? It''s your turn now," I told Alex, making her freeze.


    Claire then turned to Alex and Finneas, doing the same thing to them. It was fun to watch when you weren''t the one on the spot. Finneas was sweating heavily, and Alex paled at Claire''s questioning. He got interrogated at the dinner table while I got away easily.


    Phil didn''t join the conversation as he fought back pain, and I finally decided to speak up. Even though I wanted to see if Claire would flirt with the firemen later, it would be better if Phil went to the hospital sooner rather than later.


    "Phil, you know, I was reading an interesting medical article recently," I said, pretending to recall the information. Alex was interested but too drained to join the conversation.


    "It''s about kidney stones," I hinted. "The article discussed malpractice in inserting a tube into the urethra for kidney stone extraction, which made it swollen for months."


    "What''s swollen?" Haley asked. I hinted at her with my eyes, making her realize it. Phil and Claire were flabbergasted, and Claire said, "Edward, that''s not an appropriate topic to discuss at a dinner table."


    "I''m not discussing anything. I just think it''s sad for the patient. Because of what happened to him, he couldn''t do anything for months, and his wife got a little lonely."


    "Stop!" Alex covered her eyes and blushed. Phil was listening intently and asked, "But his wife waited until he recovered, and they lived happily ever after?"


    "No. She left him to be with a fireman," I replied. It was all made up, like coaxing a little kid to go to bed, but in this case, it was an adult kid.


    "If he actually gets there a little early, they can use a shockwave to break down the stones, and he can pass them easily without any extra assistance. But since he was too stubborn, he lost everything," I said with a sympathetic expression.


    Claire looked at me in disbelief. "Ed, that was a blatantly obvious lie. No one''s going to believe you��"


    "Honey, I think I need to go to the doctor right now. Can you call 911?" Phil said quickly.


    "Phil!" Claire looked at him in disbelief, but before she could rebuke him, I asked, "Claire, do you really want him to suffer in pain? I think it''s better for you to drive him to the ER now. That way you''ll save some money on the ambulance."


    "It''s covered (groan) by insurance," Phil said as he convulsed in pain. His children rushed to him, calling out worriedly, "Dad!"


    "I''ll call 911 now!" Claire said hurriedly. "Just drive me there!" Phil begged. Claire relented and grabbed Phil''s arm to help him walk. "Kids, I''m bringing your dad to the hospital. Haley, you''re in charge until I come back. Finneas, honey, it''s nice to meet you. Edward, sort it out with Haley."


    Claire and Phil left the house in a hurry. Luke watched his parents drive away and asked, "Will Dad be okay?" The sky was still bright outside, but it was nearing sunset.


    "It''s fine. It''s just kidney stones," I said, patting his head to comfort him.


    "How can you be so sure of that?" Alex asked skeptically.


    I grinned and replied, "Because I know the future. Or do you want to make a bet with me again?"


    "No. I''m never going to make a bet with you again." Alex shook her head and retreated.


    "Coward," I teased, which made her fume in anger. Suddenly, Haley said, "Alex, why don''t you bring your boyfriend out for a walk?"


    "What?!" Alex grimaced. Finneas, a bit excited, said, "Yeah, I could use that. I think I ate too much."


    "But�C" Alex tried to protest, so I whispered to her, "It''s a romantic walk, you dumbass."


    Alex froze and exclaimed in realization, "Oh. Um. I think I need to walk it off too. But what about the dishes?"


    "Luke can handle that," Haley replied.


    "Hey!" Luke protested. "It''s not like you did much during the cooking." He shot back at Haley.


    Haley gasped in offense. "You know what? Mom let me be in charge, so I''m grounding you. Go to your room!"


    "Fine! At least I don''t have to do the dishes!" Luke said as he stomped up the stairs. I looked at Haley with disbelief, wondering if she planned that or if Luke had really outsmarted her.


    "Ugh!" Haley stomped her foot in frustration. Alex immediately grabbed Finneas''s arm, and they went for a walk outside.


    "Don''t go too far!" I called after them. Finneas waved back, but Alex grimaced and said, "You''re not my dad! Don''t tell me what to do!"


    "Robin will protect you guys!" I added, not minding Alex''s quips. A stealth drone flew out of the house to follow Alex and Finneas. This was a relatively safe neighborhood, but it wouldn''t hurt to be cautious.


    After everyone left, I helped Haley load the dishwasher in the kitchen. Not really helping, I stood by her side, teasing her.


    "I can''t believe you let Luke get the best of you," I said, shaking my head slightly.


    Haley slammed the dishwasher door angrily. "Shut up. It''s all part of my plan. You should be afraid of my genius mind."


    "Oho~ What plan?" I asked.


    Haley suddenly grinned and said, "We''re alone in the house right now, so am I not a genius?"


    Before I could respond, she knelt on the kitchen floor and pulled my pants down. "Wait. Right here?" I asked in disbelief.


    "Yeah, I can''t wait anymore," Haley replied. "I''ve been holding myself back since you were cooking for my family."


    "So this is your way of showing your gratitude?" I teased. Haley didn''t say much after that.

 Chapter 339: Human Factors.

    Chapter 339 - 339: Human Factors.


    [Edward POV]


    Laying side by side with Haley on her bed, we both looked upward with smiles on our faces��our naked bodies hidden by the white blanket.


    Haley turned slightly toward me and asked, "We managed to do it before Alex came back."


    "She came back half an hour ago. She''s in her room right now, studying," I replied casually. Taken aback, Haley sat up quickly and said, "Wait. She''s back? Do you think she knows?" She held the blanket over her chest, though her back was bare.


    "Absolutely not," I said, shaking my head with a slight chuckle. Alex went straight to her bedroom after entering the house.


    Luke wore headphones as he played on my PlayStation, which I had lent to him. I didn''t have any time to play it, so it was basically his now.


    Haley sighed upon hearing this and asked, "We need a place of our own. I can''t really enjoy it with the anxiety of people walking in and catching us in the act all the time."


    I looked at her in disbelief and said, "You couldn''t enjoy it? Really?"


    Haley blushed slightly and replied, "Hey! I have some morals."


    "Said the girl who pulled down my pants in her mom''s kitchen," I teased. Irked, Haley pressed her body against mine and warned, " I''m not the one who put my girlfriend on the kitchen island and ate her��"


    "Alex is coming here!" I said urgently as Robin notified me. Haley and I immediately jumped from the bed and put our clothes back on. By the time Alex arrived, we both stood by Haley''s designer table, pretending to discuss her future.


    "Like I said, we just have to build a simple recording studio. You can show your designs to the world and gain subscribers. If you level up your articulation, maybe you can even become a famous internet star," I said as I glanced around the room. In my mind, the blueprints of a talk-show studio were formed.


    Haley gave me a ''what are you talking about?'' look while Alex joined in unprompted, "Maybe she can write it down first before recording it. Then it may seem like she can articulate properly, even though she can''t."


    "I''m thinking more of a live podcast thing, but we can use that for her normal videos," I agreed slightly, turning to Alex.


    Confused, Haley furrowed her eyebrows and said, "I don''t think I want to be an internet celebrity." Haley rejected it without thinking further.


    "Are you sure? You might not get anything now, but you''re at a great starting point in the industry. You''re cute, and you''re smart��"


    Alex interjected as Haley blushed slightly, "That can be debated."


    I continued without minding Alex, "You have great fashion sense��maybe you can make some episodes where you teach people how to dress. And you could roast celebrities'' fashion whenever the Met Gala season comes."


    Haley blinked twice, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "Really? I can do that? Won''t their fans attack me for it?"


    I chuckled and said, "Maybe. But you will also attract people with the same mindset toward your channel. After you struggle for 2-3 years to build a strong fanbase, then you won''t have to mind the haters."


    As social media continues to grow, the bubble in which the celebrity worship happened will pop sooner or later. She''s going to play the long game if she wants to do this.


    Haley thought for a while and asked meekly, "Do you want me to do this because of my status? Like, I have to have some sort of status to be on your level��"


    Startled, I immediately cut into her train of thought, "N��No. Not at all."


    Alex suddenly interjected again, "Not to back Edward up or anything, but in his mind, there are always ways to make money. It cannot be shut down no matter what. Also, what''s with your tones? Why are you guys talking affectionately now? Are you really dating now that mom gave you guys her blessing?"


    Haley and I both turned to Alex simultaneously. Haley acted annoyed and said, "We just decided not to fight anymore!"


    I spoke at the same time as her, "I usually have this tone. Haley''s the one who keeps antagonizing me."


    "What did you say?!" Haley turned to me again, actually annoyed this time. I smirked and said, "Isn''t that true? You''re always trying to pick a fight with me."


    "I NEVER did!" she defended herself. "If anything, you always picked a fight with me!"


    "What do you mean I picked a fight? I just gave you ways to make millions by the time you''re 18 years old!"


    Alex nodded slightly in agreement, "Yeah, Haley. He literally just helped you create a future career path��because God knows you won''t go anywhere with your current academic prowess."


    "Humph!" Haley stomped away angrily and shouted at us, "Both of you, get out of my room!"


    Alex ignored her and asked, "Hey, Billie has been searching for you in the group chat. She wants to know when you guys are going to the TV show set."


    "Oh, right. I''ll reply to her. I have to see if your dad will be hospitalized tonight. If so, I want to visit him in the morning," I said as I took out my phone. However, something was stuck on the phone case as I pulled it out of my pocket.


    A golden Magnum condom slid out and fell to the floor. Alex immediately noticed what it was and froze. Stunned, I froze for a few seconds too. Haley gasped and held her breath as she watched it happen.


    "Co��Co��Co��" she stammered, her face bright red from embarrassment. I picked it up casually and put it back into my pocket. "Sorry about that. That was embarrassing. But my dad told me never to go out without protection."


    Alex fell into confusion before her mind clicked, "He meant your security details!"


    "It still protects me, though. I managed to escape from my hostage situation before using this."


    "CONDOM!? YOU USED CONDOMS TO ESCAPE?!" Alex looked at me in disbelief.


    I nodded and said cheekily, "Condom wrappers to be exact. But it may not have rubbers inside it."


    Haley finally breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Alex slowly accepting that fact. I wasn''t even lying; it was really my escape gadgets disguised as a condom. I did freeze a bit when I thought it was the real one, but that one was hidden underneath Haley''s bed.


    "It''s a secret, so don''t go around telling people. Otherwise, the next time I''m kidnapped, I can''t use it anymore," I told Alex seriously.


    Still skeptical, Alex challenged me, "Let me have a look. I want to see if it''s real."


    "No��" Haley tried to stop her, but her words got stuck in her throat. I took out the condom casually and handed it to Alex. She pressed on it and sensed a hidden rectangular compartment inside instead of the usual rubber.


    "Oh," she exclaimed curtly, giving it back to me. "There''s really something inside. A tracker?"


    I nodded and said, "Yeah. I''m tinkering with a ring that can shoot lasers to cut through metal in case I''m handcuffed, but that''s not possible in a short period of time."


    "Instead of lasers, you could also use liquid nitrogen. It uses less energy," Alex said excitedly, clearly invested in the tech creation.


    I nodded slightly, replying, "It''ll be a little dangerous if I shoot it at my skin, but I think I''d face similar risks with a laser cutter. You know what? That''s a really great idea. But to ruin the durability of something like handcuffs, it''ll take quite a lot of liquid nitrogen��"


    Alex suddenly sniffed something and said, "What''s that squid smell��"


    Haley grimaced and interjected quickly, "It''s you! You''re the one who smells!" She hurriedly opened the windows and declared, "All geeks need to get out of my room! Now!"


    "Alright, alright," Alex agreed, rolling her eyes. "I can''t believe I ever thought you guys would date each other. There''s no way your personalities are compatible." She climbed back up the stairs.


    I smiled and gave Haley a hug before leaving the house. "Call me if there''s any new development with your dad," I told her as I exited.


    "Be more interested in me than my dad. I''m getting a little jealous now that you''re so worried about him," Haley said, playfully grimacing.


    I chuckled and replied, "Bros before hoes. Your dad is my bro, so I have to worry about him more. It''s in the bro code."


    Haley burst into laughter. "Did you just call me a hoe? You''re really getting on my nerves now."


    I waved goodbye with a smirk. "Well, with everything you did today, can you even refute that?"


    "I can! But I''m not going to!" Haley giggled again as she waved me off. "Bye~!" she shouted.


    For some people, the jokes might be too much, but Haley loves that kind of humor where you imply things. If I had said, "Your dad is my bro, and you''re my hoe," it would have turned into a huge fight between us.


    Phil returned home two hours after I left. After shockwave lithotripsy, most patients can go home the same day, as the procedure is typically done on an outpatient basis. However, some may require a short period of observation in the recovery area, depending on their overall health and any potential complications.


    He would pass the broken-up stones in a few days or even weeks, but it wouldn''t be painful anymore. It was quite sad because I wanted to see the tall, blonde, gorgeous family of four women in the ward next to him, but I guess this was a better outcome overall.


    If Claire were still a housewife, maybe she''d change into sexy clothes for the fireman, but right now she''s a high-achieving professional, and a lot of people look up to her. So I didn''t think she would do something like that again.


    For Phil, he couldn''t nullify the act he made by entertaining the four girls in the next ward with his magic tricks, especially with Claire''s intention to flirt with the firemen. So getting back early was a good thing for him too.


    ...


    The next morning, Billie and I went to the set of The Office together after I got the invitation from John Krasinski.


    They were filming for the episode "The Banker" in Season 6. The episode was criticized as the worst of the season, but that was only after binge-watching became normalized.


    In the current era, the episode, which consisted of excerpts from the previous episodes and seasons, was actually received well. Almost 7 million people watched the show on TV when it aired.


    Not everyone would buy the DVD or tape the show, so they only watched it on TV when it was premiering. For ordinary fans and TV watchers, seeing flashbacks and popular clips from the show in a compilation wasn''t that bad.


    This episode had the lowest budget among all the others in the entire run of the show, and it was the one that aged most poorly�C mostly because of streaming services.


    "Hey! You''re here!" John greeted me as I entered the set with Billie. He had an excited smile on his face, then turned to greet the girl next to me, "You must be Billie. Edward told me you''re a huge Office fan."


    A little embarrassed, Billie hid slightly behind me and replied to John with a nod. I glanced at her in disbelief and said, "Why are you so shy now? You told me you were going to give him hell with your piece of mind."


    Billie pinched my back in anger and said, "I never said that! That didn''t come out of my mouth."


    "That''s what she said!" I teased, leaving Billie stunned before she laughed. John laughed too and said, "Your favorite character must be Michael Scott. I''m really sorry, but only Rain and I are here right now."


    "Really? Why?" Billie asked, a bit confused. John was taken aback by her sudden change of personality and said, "Um, we have to delay the shoot a little bit. But they will come around noon��well, some of them."


    John didn''t tell me this, but Steve Carell, who played Michael Scott, didn''t quite like the script for today''s shooting. He wanted to get involved with the creative process, but the budget was too restrictive for them to actually do anything.


    "Can you tell us a bit about the episode you''re filming?" I asked. Billie nodded eagerly, wanting to know more.


    John was taken aback and stammered a bit before replying, "Um. Basically, an investment banker will come to the office to check on the inventory and see if there are any HR liabilities."


    "That... sounds pretty boring," Billie blurted out subconsciously, which surprised John. He sighed wearily with a strained smile.


    I admonished Billie, saying, "That''s just the description. Your favorite episode can be described as having fire-safety training in the office. That too sounds boring on paper."


    Billie thought about it before nodding in agreement. "Sorry," she apologized to John.


    John waved his arm to dismiss the apology and said hurriedly, "No. You don''t have to apologize. It did sound boring. I should''ve explained it better."


    Rain Wilson, a.k.a. Dwight Schrute in the show, walked toward us with a solemn expression and asked, "Why is there a pipsqueak on the set? John, you should tell us first before you bring your niece to your workplace."


    "Sorry about him; he''s already in character," John said without even turning to Rain.


    Rain burst into laughter and extended his hand towards me for a handshake, "Wow, what an honor to meet the guy who helped save the President of the United States."


    "I did nothing much. Here, meet Billie. She''s going to be one of the top pop singers in the world in the next five years," I said, pulling Billie to stand in front of me.


    Dwight was her favorite character in the show, so she was starstruck as she met him.


    "Really? Five years, huh? I''ll be sure to remember that name," Rain said, taken aback by the introduction, then focused on Billie, shaking her hand. Billie laughed meekly and said, "He''s exaggerating."


    "Are you exaggerating, Edward?" Rain turned to me and asked aggressively.


    I shook my head and said, "Not at all. She definitely will become one."


    John chuckled and said, "Well, future pop star, current pop star, do you want to tour the set?"


    "Yes, please!" Both Billie and I said at the same time.


    We toured the conference room, the main office space, Michael Scott''s office, the annex, and the break room. The interior set was located inside an actual office space in Panorama City, which was a 20-minute drive from my house.


    "It''s actually a clip episode?" Billie furrowed her eyebrows, her expression slightly disheartened.


    John and Rain were taken aback by her reaction, and John asked, "Why? You don''t like clip episodes?"


    "I watch the show daily. Why would I want to watch a compilation of episodes I''ve just seen?" Billie replied.


    I stayed out of the conversation, letting John stammer while he explained things to Billie. He could argue with me since I understood the industry, but he seemed hesitant in front of her. She was a genuine fan, and he didn''t want to let her down.


    "I guess it serves as a transition from Dunder Mifflin to Sabre," I chimed in, noticing John was losing ground.


    John perked up and agreed with me, "Yes, definitely that."


    "Oh. I guess that''s fine then," Billie replied, her demeanor shifting.


    Rain pulled me aside and asked, "Hey, the writer mentioned you''ve bought a few companies. Among us on set today, you actually have real-life experience in this matter. Do you want to read the script? I can''t promise any credits, but I''m sure the network won''t refuse if��"


    "Oh, no, I really don''t care about the credits. I''d love to read the script," I said easily. If I were just an ordinary fan or star, Rain wouldn''t be careful with his request, but I was kind of a big name, especially since they were making good money from Netflix.


    It wasn''t Rain who wanted my opinion; it was Jason Kessler, the writer, who had previously worked as a script coordinator. This was his first writing credit, and Rain was just helping him out.


    In Hollywood, credits are taken seriously. If I contributed to the production, I was legally entitled to a writing credit and compensation. But honestly, I didn''t want the reputation of bulldozing my way through productions��unless they specifically asked me.


    The script was straightforward: Michael tried to impress the investment banker who came to fact-check his data about the branch. He even hired a fake Stanley and installed an AI program called ''Computron''��actually, Dwight Schrute behind a microphone��to make the office seem futuristic and highly capable in sales.


    Since the banker wasn''t actually responsible for the sale, Michael''s entire presentation was pointless. It was merely a setup for the clips��nothing more.


    Finally, around noon, I met the other cast members. Jenna Fischer and Steve Carell (Michael Scott) were there, although not many were needed for this episode.


    "Hey! It''s the creator and writer of Breaking Bad!" Steve rushed toward me as soon as he saw me. Billie gasped quietly, "It''s Michael Scott."


    I chuckled at her reaction and introduced myself to both Jenna and Steve.


    "I talked with the network executive, so we might get some extra budget for the episode and not do a clip episode after all," Steve said to the cast and writers after our chat.


    "We don''t have most of the cast members," Rain replied. "Are you sure we can pull this off?"


    Steve shook his head, "There are three more weeks before the premiere, so yeah, I think we can."


    "That would be awesome," I blurted out, catching their attention.


    "Wait, you said the episode is good," John looked at me skeptically.


    I smiled wryly, "Well, I don''t want to hurt your feelings. Changing it would be better for Netflix audiences too. We don''t want to see clips of stuff we just watched."


    "Don''t want to hurt my feelings��" John muttered in disbelief, then chuckled wearily.


    "Edward, do you want to write the episode?" Billie suddenly asked.


    I turned to her, uncomfortable. "Me? I don''t want to do any work right now. I want to enjoy the time before my world tour in peace. They have all the talent they need for the show."


    "How about a cameo?" Steve joked. "I can be your nephew, and we can do a whole episode about nepotism." I agreed easily, catching him off guard.


    "Wait. Really?" Billie''s eyes lit up with excitement.


    Before I left the set, Jenna hinted, "You know, I met Emily Blunt the other day, and her skin looked incredible. She said she only uses the products you made. She was so happy about it."


    I laughed slightly, "Yeah. Too bad my house is destroyed; otherwise, I could make more."


    "Ever think about selling it? And the pills too?" Jenna asked playfully, though she was serious.


    I pretended to think it over and replied vaguely, "I might. But for now, it''s just a privilege for the people who work for me."


    Don''t underestimate celebrities'' pursuit of beauty; they''ll go the extra mile to enhance their charisma. Jenna got the hint that she needed to get into my inner circle if she wanted the products.


    "Maybe one day we can work together," she added with a coy smile. "Maybe we will." I smiled coyly too. Then, she gave me her personal number. I also got Angela Kinsey''s phone number.


    As I returned from the set, I headed straight to my high school to play football.


    "Wait. Edward?" Tyler muttered in confusion as he changed into his gear and walked onto the field. The rest of the team looked equally puzzled.


    "You really think I''d let you go so easily? You left the party without saying goodbye. You came to my place and disrespected me. So today, Jacob and I are going to destroy you." I said, acting out like Marlin Brando from the Godfather.


    Jacob walked beside me, cracking his knuckles to project a menacing stance. It didn''t quite intimidate the team, but it showed everyone he was on my side.


    Tyrone muttered, "Edward, will it help if we say we''re sorry?"


    "No." I shook my head decisively.


    Tyler grinned, "There are only two of you. Are you sure you want to go against all of us?"


    "Do you really think you can stop me?" I grinned devilishly. "You''ve been too cocky with your win streak, so this will teach you a lesson you won''t forget."


    Kyle said with a deadpan expression, "Oh no. He''s going crazy."


    Tyler pursed his lips, "Well, we''ll see about that. Just don''t cry like a little baby afterward. I''ll have mercy and only let five of my team play."


    I shrugged and readily agreed. "Five, eleven, it doesn''t matter at all. Do whatever you want."


    Provoked by my words, the entire team had a fiery glint in their eyes as they prepared to face us.


    Jacob muttered with slight concern, "Are you sure about this, Edward?"


    "Yeah. I''m sure. Don''t worry; you just need to hold them off for two seconds at the start, and your work will be done," I replied casually. Then, I narrowed my eyes at him, "Besides, it''s your idea."


    "Yes, but I didn''t think that you would actually do it." Jacob exclaimed wryly.


    ...


    [General POV]


    "Holy shit. Edward''s fucking destroying them," Tara muttered in shock as she saw the scoreboard from the bleachers.


    Edward intercepted every run and predicted every throw. As soon as he got the ball, no one could stop him. The scoreboard read 36:6. Edward let them have the first touchdown before completely dominating the game.


    Tyler shouted anxiously, feeling a flicker of hope as he saw Kyle catch the ball he threw. "Come on, run faster!" he urged. However, as Kyle ran, he made a 45-degree turn and stopped right in front of Edward.


    Everyone was confused as they watched the situation unfold. Edward pulled out $100 and gave it to Kyle in exchange for the ball before he dashed off with it.


    "YOU BETRAYER!" Tyler shouted at Kyle, who rubbed the money on his cheek with a perverted grin. Edward looked at Tyler smugly after scoring another touchdown.


    "That doesn''t count!" Tyler protested. "You clearly bribed him!"


    "What bribery? Don''t start accusing people just because you''re a sore loser," Edward taunted.


    Tyler nearly exploded with frustration before he decided to substitute Kyle for another player.


    Haley, watching from the bleachers, said, "He''s completely letting himself loose, huh? And why does he look so happy about it?"


    Tara, immersed in the game, replied, "I wonder if he bribed any other players. Tyler must be so high-strung right now��he doesn''t know who he can trust."


    Selena, Tyler''s girlfriend, muttered, "Honestly, he deserves it. He''s been too cocky and hasn''t practiced at all."


    Before leaving, Edward decided to coach the team one last time. He wanted to remind them that hidden factors could influence a game, and they couldn''t afford to be too cocky.


    In the past few days, Edward hadn''t focused on social media or his career. He just wanted to spend time with his friends and family before leaving.


    Despite this, he kept making headlines. Since the New Year''s Eve party, tabloids speculated about who he kissed. Some said Hudgens, others said Selena or Taylor.


    Addison Timlin went on TMZ, claiming she had a negative interaction with Edward, but that article didn''t gain traction since few knew who she was yet.


    Hudgens made public appearances, discussing her upcoming singles in interviews. She praised Edward extensively, showing her obvious crush on him in the footage.


    Additionally, Enid''s short video of Edward interacting with his cat��mocking her meowing sound with his guitar��went viral. It was featured on various talk shows focused on celebrities.


    Everyone wanted him on their show. Edward was a hot commodity in the entertainment industry, and every tidbit about him was valuable. Paparazzi swarmed his company building. If he hadn''t asked Sage to protect his house, he might have never lived normally till now.


    No drama. No conflicts. No problems.


    That''s how Edward wanted to spend the remainder of his days. But sometimes, fate can be cruel.


    Franklin Middle School, parking lot. As Mrs. Henderson got into her car to head home for the day, she suddenly heard a gun cocking behind her.


    "Don''t scream. Don''t look behind. Just look straight ahead," warned a mustached man wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, pointing a gun at her headrest.


    "If you do anything I didn''t tell you to do, I''ll set off the bomb I left underneath the theater stage. The little kiddos are excitedly practicing for their Peter Pan performance. You don''t want it to turn into the darkest day of their lives, do you?" he said menacingly, with a hint of amusement.


    Mrs. Henderson sighed and agreed to his demands. "I got it."


    "Good. Now drive us back to your place. Any detours, and I''ll blow your head right off," he warned. Mrs. Henderson drove away from the parking lot, adhering to his orders.


    "Huh? Mrs. Henderson and the janitor?" Enid accidentally spotted them while waiting for her sister to pick her up from school. "Where the fuck is Tara?" she cursed.

 Chapter 340: Tea-time Strangler

    Chapter 340 - 340: Tea-time Strangler


    [General POV]


    The man in the janitor uniform dragged a metal chair across the living room floor. Mrs. Henderson eyed him defiantly. Her legs and arms were tied with white rope, and duct tape covered her mouth.


    Grinning as he took off his cap, sunglasses, and fake mustache, he revealed a skinny, gaunt 40-year-old man with yellowish eyes. He had a tattoo around his neck��an Ouroboros��and a few smaller ones on his hand.


    "The name is Kim," he said casually.


    Then, he became slightly confused. "Wait. Is it James? Hmm... Toby? To be honest, I''ve already forgotten what my true name is."


    Placing his hand gently on Mrs. Henderson''s head, he ran his finger along her cheek. "It''s warm," he added as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the sensation. Her eyes followed his fingers; however, she didn''t flinch or try to pull away from his gaze.


    "Strange. You''re really strange." He suddenly gripped her face, forcing her to look into his eyes.


    "I expected you to act more... human. Usually, they heave their breaths quickly, sweat, and fidget��trying to break free of the restraints. They all want to live by any means necessary. But you?"


    She just sat there, staring at him motionlessly. Her eyes made him feel afraid, as if she could see through him.


    He grabbed a trash bag he had brought with him and took out teddy bears from inside it, beginning to decorate around Mrs. Henderson and himself.


    Then, he sat up a small orange teddy bear at the side. It was old and worn down, with its eyes ripped out and its mouth sewn together.


    The killer dragged a small coffee table in between them and placed a teapot and cup on top of it. He added a third table at the side, telling Mrs. Henderson, "That''s Jaime''s spot. He loves to watch. Wait. I finally remembered my name."


    Inside his mind, there was another person sitting with them in the third chair��a 15-year-old boy with a bruised neck, smiling innocently at him. He grinned creepily as he turned to Mrs. Henderson and said, "He''s here. We can start now."


    Mrs. Henderson still didn''t react to anything he was saying, which infuriated him. He leaned forward with a dangerous glint in his eyes and ripped off the duct tape from her mouth forcefully.


    Not even a small yelp came out of Mrs. Henderson''s mouth.


    "There, now you can respond. You can just shut up, but remember: I still have a bomb waiting to be detonated at your school��" He wanted to threaten her. He wanted her to be scared, as he wanted to know her true personality.


    From his experience, people''s true faces are usually revealed during moments of distress.


    "It''s already 4 o''clock. Mr. Martin has to go on a dental checkup today, so he''s letting the kids go back home early. Press it, and you''ll still kill no one," Mrs. Henderson interjected, speaking in a calm manner without rushing anything.


    "Really? Then it''s fine to press it, right?" he said as he pressed the detonator on his hand. In Franklin Middle School Theater Hall, the bomb hidden underneath the stage exploded, taking half of the theater hall with it.


    The loud sound could be heard from miles away, and it made Edward��who was playing football with his friend��pause his running and turn towards the sound. Unfortunately, he was tackled at that moment by Tyler.


    "Wow, you can actually see the school from here," the man said as he saw the smoke from the living room window.


    However, he was soon disappointed as she didn''t react at all to the explosion.


    "Did you never doubt that the bomb was real?" he asked, taken aback. "Did you ever think that I was lying?" he said jokingly.


    "Would I drive us back to my house if I did?" Mrs. Henderson sighed and replied noncommittally.


    Irked by her tone, the man stammered, "T-Teddy. My name''s Teddy." He scratched the skin on his neck uncomfortably. He didn''t like the feeling of losing control. A red streak appeared underneath the snake tattoo, and he went silent for a moment.


    "You must be dying to know what''s going on," he said tauntingly, trying to take control again.


    "Not really. Just get on with it," Mrs. Henderson replied with disinterest.


    "Anyway," he quickly changed the conversation and took out an A4-sized brown envelope from his inner jacket.


    The envelope was folded in two, and he straightened it out as he said, "You might think that no one could see through the act. But I can see it clearly: the reason why you don''t fear dying."


    He took out the contents of the envelope and laid them on the table. Tapping his finger on the medical report, he smirked and said, "You only have two more weeks to live. Although you seem healthy, I wonder if the doctor diagnosed you properly. He said, ''Brain tumor,'' didn''t he?"


    "You''re going to die soon anyway, so you think it won''t matter if you die today," he said, acting as if he had exposed something grand.


    Mrs. Henderson yawned and didn''t focus at all on what he was doing, which made him explode in anger. He slammed the table and shouted, "LOOK AT ME!"


    "Is that the reason you''re doing all of this? You... desperately want someone to recognize your existence," Mrs. Henderson said, gazing into his eyes.


    Taken aback, Teddy''s mind blanked out for a few seconds. He stomped his feet and stood up, walking towards Mrs. Henderson angrily. Then, he placed his hand on her neck.


    Mrs. Henderson just waited without looking at him. He tried; his hand shook madly; however, he couldn''t put any strength in his grip.


    "Damn it!" He gave up and returned to his previous spot.


    Mrs. Henderson blinked twice in confusion and asked, "You''re giving up so easily? I know it''s hard to kill someone without a valid reason, but it''s not any reason to stop killing people. You can do it. Strangle me. I believe in you��"


    "What the fuck��" Teddy was baffled by her encouraging words. His mind short-circuited for a moment before he fell into a deep rage.


    He flipped over the table and started to destroy everything he could get his hands on in Mrs. Henderson''s house. After throwing his tantrum, he breathed heavily as he gazed at her from afar.


    Fear crept into his heart. He couldn''t break her. The entire vindication of kidnapping criminals and striking fear into their hearts was that it gave him a sense of existence and control. He couldn''t do that with her.


    Sighing loudly, he slicked his hair back before walking towards the kitchen, giving up on maintaining a tough facade. "What kind of tea do you want?" he asked casually.


    "Did you always have tea with your victims before you killed them?" Mrs. Henderson asked in confusion.


    Teddy took out a sachet from the cupboard and cheered slightly, "Nice. You have Earl Grey. I love this tea." As he placed it into his teapot and poured hot water inside, he answered her question, "Yes. I always have tea first. It gives them the illusion that I''m hearing them out as they defend their actions."


    He added as he watched the tea seep into the hot water, "They''ll beg for mercy; they''ll try to make me understand why they did what they did. Most of them will say that it''s mutual love, but that just makes me gag."


    Mrs. Henderson furrowed her eyebrows as she listened. Teddy noticed it and asked, "What?"


    "I need more context to actually understand what you''re talking about," Mrs. Henderson replied honestly. That''s when Teddy realized that she didn''t know anything.


    Embarrassed, Teddy contemplated letting her go and digging a hole deep enough to bury himself in.


    "Maybe I should tell you my story. I don''t owe it to anyone else, but I think you deserve to know."


    Her eyes glanced at the door, and then she sighed.


    "Something on your mind?" Teddy asked with a chuckle. Mrs. Henderson didn''t reply and let him tell his story.


    Although she looked calm on the surface, her palms were sweaty.


    ''The longer I have to wait, the more hope will bud in me. My mind''s building scenarios where someone will kick the door and save me. Even though it''s a useless thought, and I know it''s illogical... I still...''


    "Where should I start? Hmm, probably from the very beginning." Teddy recounted his past and shared it with Mrs. Henderson.


    ...


    Back to the football game. After the explosion occurred, the game was paused, and Edward''s security team surrounded him, trying to protect him from hidden threats.


    "Sir, we''ll escort you to the safe house now," they said decisively. However, Edward stopped them and asked, "Is there anyone injured? How did it happen?"


    Edward suddenly realized something and added a question, "We have a safe house?"


    "It was arranged by the CEO," Mickey, the head bodyguard, answered. "We have no information about the situation yet, but we are going to figure it out now."


    Edward suddenly smiled, which made Mickey break into a cold sweat.


    "Why don''t we go over there and check things out? If there''s anyone injured, I can be of service."


    Tyler suddenly interjected into Edward''s conversation.


    "Hey, what about the football game?!" He took off his helmet and asked cautiously. Despite wanting to finish the game, he too was curious about the whole incident. Everyone on the field could see the smoke billowing from the middle school even though it was 3 kilometers away.


    "The score is now 108 to 6. Do you really want to continue? Can you bridge the gap in just 10 more minutes of playtime?" Jacob looked at Tyler with disbelief. Tyler gritted his teeth and said, "Fine! But since you want to go, it counts as a forfeit!"


    Edward replied, "No. We destroyed you guys. You lost. Jacob and I won. Deal with it."


    "DAMN IT!" Tyler covered his face in embarrassment and cursed out loud. Tyrone tried to comfort him, and Kyle said, "Don''t be sad, I''ll buy us food. I just got paid a nice paycheck from my part-time job."


    "You mean selling out your team!" Tyler retorted. "You''re buying food for the entire team." Tyler said decisively, punishing Kyle for his action. However, Kyle wasn''t deterred as he knew he had enough to feed all of them.


    "Well, punishment fits the crime," Kyle said with a thumbs up, gesturing that he was okay with it.


    Suddenly, Edward heard a cry that made his heart sink. With a pale face, Tara muttered, "E�CEnid... I forgot to pick her up... She''s still in school."


    "What��" Edward turned to Tara instantly; however, he froze as he saw the tiny figure standing beside her.


    "I''m right here?" Enid muttered with disbelief. Tara looked at her with shock and immediately went to hug her. "Enid! I''m sorry!" she apologized.


    Preoccupied with the game, Tara hadn''t even seen Enid''s countless text messages. Thankfully, Finneas''s mother offered her a ride, as the high school was on their way back home.


    Edward rubbed his chest in relief and muttered, "Thank god. For a second there, I thought this would turn into a tragedy."


    After a simple cleanup and changing his clothes, Edward drove with Enid, Alex, and Haley to the middle school to see what was happening there.


    He saw a familiar face at the entrance of the school and a police barricade preventing citizens and reporters from getting close to the destroyed building. They weren''t the first to react to the sound of the explosion.


    "It''ll be bad if you go there, right, Ed?" Haley guessed, concern etched on her face. Edward, however, smirked and turned to Alex. "Maybe. So I need someone to go bring Chloe to me."


    "And you pick me?!" Alex protested.


    ...


    Back at Mrs. Henderson''s house, Teddy recounted his past.


    "Jaime and I lived in a small town in Florida. We were homeschooled at first, but my mom''s friend convinced her to send us to elementary school. There, we met a teacher who looked just like you."


    Mrs. Henderson listened with empathy. Teddy gritted his teeth. "Eerily similar. You could be twins. But that would be abnormal considering she died 25 years ago."


    Her eyes lit up as she connected the dots. Teddy continued, his voice heavy with memories.


    "After school, she would keep my brother behind and raped him. It went on for months until he finally told our parents. He showed them his bruises and said he was scared. No one believed him��until the other students caught on."


    "Word got to her husband, and he wanted a divorce. ''Finally, someone with common sense,'' I thought. But she had a backup plan: ''Let''s tell people that he��my brother��raped her instead.'' She played the perfect victim."


    Teddy struggled to continue, his voice breaking. "Her husband believed her. He ambushed my brother while we were playing in our bedroom, strangling him to death as I hid beneath the bed, watching the light fade from his eyes. I was seven years old."


    Teddy remembered that night. How his brother struggled for air. How his body fell lifelessly on the ground. How his parents didn''t even try to seek justice for his death.


    Teddy sighed. "I loved my brother. He was the kindest person in that godforsaken town. He didn''t deserve that ending. Do you want to know the worst part?"


    "What''s the worst part?" Mrs. Henderson asked.


    "The perpetrator went on to teach for the next ten years, even winning ''Teacher of the Year.'' She acted like the incident never happened, and my brother never existed."


    "I tried to tell people the truth. I wanted them to care about my brother. I showed them evidence, but no one listened. So I decided to take matters into my own hands."


    "When I turned seventeen, I broke into the teacher''s house and tied her up, just like I''m doing to you. She confessed immediately, but I knew that as soon as I let her go, she''d act like a victim again and point her finger at me."


    Teddy locked eyes with Mrs. Henderson. "So I killed her, the same way my brother was killed."


    "I see," Mrs. Henderson said, understanding. "You were seeking vengeance for his death. I guess that''s when you started down this path?"


    Teddy grinned. "Yeah. There are many cases like this across the country. I killed them all��men, women. Gunshot to the head, car accidents, suicide by sleeping pills... strangulation. But that''s only when I found a case similar to my brother''s. They called me the ''Tea-time Strangler,'' which is such a bullshit name."


    Mrs. Henderson tilted her head. "I mean, you did set up a tea party here..."


    Teddy became crestfallen. "It might seem unfair, but I have to eliminate you to continue my mission."


    "You''re condemning me to death, just because I have the same face as her?" Mrs. Henderson studied him intently.


    He couldn''t meet her gaze. "Your existence made me waver. I keep thinking about that day."


    As Mrs. Henderson listened to his story, she couldn''t help but see similarities with someone else she knew.


    ''Ironic. Fate is such a bitch. I didn''t help him when he was young, so I guess fate is trying to show me what my actions could lead to. If someone��just anyone��had offered him a helping hand... would he have made a different choice in life?''


    A memory popped into her mind. It was Halloween, and she held little Edward''s hand as they went around trick-or-treating. Mrs. Henderson smiled softly at the recollection.


    ''It''s too late now. Time won''t turn itself back just from one person''s regret.'' Mrs. Henderson sighed slightly. ''Besides, he''s bettering his life, even without my help. I... am not needed by him anymore.''


    The memory was interrupted by Teddy''s scoff. The serial killer touched the teddy bear beside him. "Years later, I found this teddy bear that belonged to my brother. He kept evidence that could''ve convicted her, but it''s too late now. It''s too late for me to turn back."


    It was a nanny cam. He sewed the teddy bear''s mouth shut and ripped off its eyes as punishment for not speaking up when needed. He lost sight of reality years ago, living in his own world filled with pain and torturous guilt.


    Mrs. Henderson''s eyes filled with pity, her expression crestfallen. She wondered if the evidence was the last thing his brother left him that could change his path, but alas, it arrived too late. It led her to envision Teddy wearing a detective badge and bringing the assailants to justice.


    In Teddy''s vision, his brother cried as he saw him hold that doll while sitting next to them.


    His eyes flashed with newfound determination. "I''m sorry. I have to sacrifice you to save more people down the road."


    Mrs. Henderson''s expression faltered. "I pity you. You''re desperately trying to defend your existence, even if it means breaking every rule you created."


    Teddy''s eyes filled with sadness. "You don''t know what it''s like to be alone your entire life and have the only person who''s ever been nice to you die unjustly! So what if I broke my own rule? I need you to not exist for the rule to make sense."


    Her resemblance to his past trauma juxtaposed with her caring nature, challenging his motives. He couldn''t let her live; he couldn''t let her be kind; he couldn''t let her destroy the construct in his mind, or else he himself would be destroyed.


    "I know someone who went through the same things you did, but he would never make the same choices you make." Mrs. Henderson''s words pierced his guilty conscience.


    "It doesn''t matter. For me, you''re her. I can''t wait for you to become a monster first." Teddy walked to the kitchen abruptly.


    Mrs. Henderson''s eyes widened as she realized his plan. "You��"


    Teddy grabbed the unplugged air fryer. "I noticed you have the original version of this machine. You never returned it despite the recall notice. This... starts a fire easily, right? Well, even if it doesn''t, I have ways to make it happen."


    "Don''t worry. I won''t make it painful for you." He took a chloroform bottle from his bag, wetted a clean rag, and covered her nose and mouth until she passed out.


    As her head fell limply in the chair, he caressed her face one last time. "I''m sorry."


    Turning on the air fryer, he stabbed a fork into the wire, causing sparks to fly. The fryer caught fire quickly, spreading to the magazines and newspapers around it. The flames grew stronger, engulfing the kitchen cabinets.


    Teddy untied Mrs. Henderson''s limbs, took one last look at her, and left the house. The fire spread rapidly, consuming everything as Teddy drove away.


    The teddy bear that contained his brother''s evidence also caught fire, and the last connection for him to his past was gone.


    "Oh shit. I forgot. My name is not Teddy." He mumbled as he drove the car away. "I think it''s... um... What is it? I know the last name is Franzetti..."


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "A bomb?" I asked, incredulous as Detective Decker explained the situation. I got out of the car and spoke with her while the others stayed inside the Mustang.


    "We''re looking for more evidence, but we found the janitor tied up in the janitor''s closet, stripped of his clothes. He showed signs of dehydration, so I guess he had been tied up for a while."


    Chloe sighed as she looked at the smoke billowing into the air. Firefighters worked hard to contain the blaze, their faces glistening with sweat in the oppressive heat. The police were asking around for any witnesses to the incident or if anyone had seen the impostor.


    Chloe''s partner, a middle-aged man in a beige trench coat and fedora, sporting a handlebar mustache, jogged over. As he saw me, he asked immediately, "Hey, did you find a witness? Homeland is coming here right now to take over the scene, so we can pack it up soon."


    "No��not yet," Chloe replied before turning to me. "By the way, did you��"


    "Nope. I didn''t see anything weird. Also, I don''t go to school here anymore," I shrugged. Chloe furrowed her brows and said, "I can''t help but think there''s something else to this entire case."


    Noticing her worries, I thought of my friends in the backseat. "Enid and Alex go here, so maybe they saw something? I''ll go ask them."


    Tapping on the backseat window, Enid rolled it down cautiously. "I didn''t do it!"


    "I''m not accusing you of anything. Did you guys see anything weird happening today? Something that felt out of place?"


    Alex thought for a moment and replied, "I have no clue. I don''t really care about what''s going on around me."


    Enid smiled at her and suddenly remembered something. "Oh yeah. If we''re talking about things out of sorts, then I saw something weird. Mrs. Henderson went home with the janitor today. I wonder if they are dating."


    My eyes widened as I heard her. "Oh shit. CHLOE!" I turned and called the detective immediately as I got into the driver''s seat.


    Chloe rushed toward me and bent slightly to ask, "What is it?"


    "The janitor guy��he went home with my teacher. She might be in danger." I spewed urgently. Chloe was taken aback and immediately said, "I''ll notify the station, then I''ll follow your car. You know where she lives, right?"


    "Yeah, follow me." I agreed easily. Chloe put on the police cherry lights on her Lexus, and we rushed to Mrs. Henderson''s place.


    "Oh my god! The house is on fire!" Haley exclaimed, her eyes widening as she saw smoke curling menacingly from the house.


    My heart sank as I remembered the way Mrs. Henderson said farewell at the party. I stopped my car right in front of the house and exited hurriedly.


    "I''m calling the firemen right now," Detective Decker said urgently, but I couldn''t hear her.


    My mind was focused on the inferno before me. Flames licked the walls, casting an eerie glow against the darkening sky. My feet moved without thinking, and I rushed to the front door, drawing surprised expressions from everyone.


    "Edward!" Haley called out in concern, wanting to follow me, but Detective Decker caught her immediately. My security guard was following me from behind, but they were too late to react and I was already inside the house.


    "Stop! EDWARD, IT''S TOO DANGEROUS!" Alex shouted. Enid''s face paled, and her knees weakened as she pieced the information together. "The janitor is the bad guy?" she mumbled.


    I kicked down the front door and was greeted by thick, acrid smoke that stung my eyes. Covering my mouth with a rag from my pocket, I rushed inside.


    The structural integrity of the house��ruined by the fire and made worse by my entrance��caused several wooden beams to fall, blocking the front door and trapping me inside.


    The deeper I went, the stronger the fire became, heat radiating against my skin like a furnace. However, the smoke didn''t interfere with my vision at all.


    ''Is this the effect of [Blessing of the Mist]? It works for smoke too?''


    My eyes widened as I saw the state Mrs. Henderson was in. She lay on the floor, a thick wooden beam pinning her down. Her left hand was badly burned, as were her clothes.


    "Eve!" I called as I knelt beside her, trying to snuff out the flames on her clothes with my bare hands. My [Flame Immunity (One Time Use)] kicked in, and I no longer felt the heat.


    The fire had caused the beam to fall and hit her as she tried to escape. I slapped her face lightly, trying to wake her. "Eve. Can you hear me?!"


    "Ugh..." She groaned softly, struggling to open her eyes. I turned to the wooden beam, but as I tried to move it, I noticed a pool of blood seeping from underneath it. Mrs. Henderson grunted in pain, screaming as I attempted to lift the pillar.


    "Shit." I cursed, letting go of the wooden beam. "You..." I turned to Mrs. Henderson, my gaze faltering. Her abdomen had been penetrated by a steel rebar, causing her to bleed excessively. The rebar was connected to the pillar, making it impossible to move without causing her more damage.


    Mrs. Henderson slowly blinked her eyes open and whispered, "Edward?"


    "Hey! You''re awake. I''m going to find a way to get you out of here." I muttered urgently, calling for help, "Robin. Come on in."


    A sleek, black drone with a red camera flew in through the broken roof and hovered next to me. "Scan the rebar. I want to know how deep it has gone through her abdomen."


    A blue scanning light appeared as Robin complied. A holographic blueprint of the wound and the cross-section of her body displayed through holographic projection.


    "Damn it. It went through her kidney." I gritted my teeth at the scan results. Robin notified me urgently, "Sir, the firemen are arriving in 3 minutes."


    "She doesn''t have the time. Robin, see if you can find any fire extinguishers." I ordered.


    I knew of the drone''s capabilities, but I couldn''t depend on her to fix the situation.


    The drone could move objects weighing up to 30 kilograms, shoot tranquilizer darts, provide medical diagnoses, and infiltrate computer systems. However, it still wasn''t finished yet. I hadn''t had time to upgrade it with advanced weaponry to help with the situation, especially after my lab was destroyed.


    ''Is it my fault? Because I wanted a break from this kind of life?''


    I began wondering what would happen if I prepared more.


    Two mechanical claws extended from the drone''s underside, and Robin flew away to get the fire extinguisher immediately.


    By the time she left, Mrs. Henderson said, "Edward. It''s useless. Save yourself."


    "It''s just a rebar." I forced a smile to calm her and said, "I will get you out of here, I promise."


    Mrs. Henderson looked at me intently. "Even if you did, I won''t be able to survive."


    "Yeah, the kidney thing is quite troublesome," I agreed. "But I have something I can use. The transmutation skill. I can rebuild your body so you can recover from your injuries."


    Slightly shocked, Mrs. Henderson said, "Don''t do that. You should keep it for other uses. Even if I survive this, I still have... I''m going to die, Edward."


    "Don''t say that. I can save you." I said urgently as I focused on her injuries.


    "Edward��" She tried to speak again, but I snapped at her, "DON''T SAY THAT YOU''RE GOING TO DIE AGAIN! If I can''t even save you, then what''s the point of having all the extraordinary skills I got from the gachas?!"


    Mrs. Henderson was silent for a while, then coughed up blood. Turning toward her hurriedly, I noticed she had inhaled too much smoke, and her body was deteriorating rapidly.


    "Fuck!" I cursed and wanted to pick up the wooden beam, but it was still stuck. Racking my brain, I thought of a way to move it away from her.


    "I need to cut the rebar or the beam," I said as I walked to the kitchen to grab a knife. Mrs. Henderson coughed violently, her eyes begging me to stop.


    "Stop speaking. Save your strength," I urged, holding the kitchen knife in my hand.


    What I was about to do was either foolish or... well, it was foolish. I had practiced the Shigeru Kosaka sword skills through the knowledge I received. She could cut through iron with a spoon and even sever a tank''s nozzle with her sword.


    I had never tried it before, so I didn''t know if I could do the same. Holding the kitchen knife steady, I took a deep breath and focused on the rebar. If I couldn''t do it, the momentum would hurt Mrs. Henderson even more.


    Tears flowed from her eyes. "Edward. Even if you could do it, you cannot save me. I''m supposed to die here today."


    "What?" I looked at her, dumbfounded. She continued, "Even if I escape, even if you rebuild my body, I will still die. That... won''t change as fate needs it to happen."


    "Why?" My expression faltered as I gazed at her, crestfallen.


    "To teach you... one final lesson before I go," she said, spitting out more blood.


    Maybe it was a lesson to let things go and not everything is in my control. Maybe it was something else, but I didn''t care.


    "If you wanted to die, you should''ve done it where I couldn''t be. Even if it''s useless, even if I can only prolong your life for just ONE more day! I would do it, even if I had to use all the cards in my hand."


    My voice shook as I said, "I... cannot have another family die in my hands again."


    Mrs. Henderson went silent and broke into tears. My heart raced, but I tried to keep my mind calm. "Huuuuh..." Exhaling softly, I swung the kitchen knife with all my strength.


    Through external medicines, bodybuilding skills from Mash, and pink muscle training from Kennichi, my strength had long surpassed that of an ordinary teenager.


    However, as I swung, debris from the rooftop fell, interrupting my motion. It landed in front of me, causing me to jam the knife into the wooden beam. The impact hurt my hand like I had just been hit by a truck.


    "ARGH!" I yelled in pain. My fingers shook, and it began to bruise. Mrs. Henderson begged, "Edward! See! Even the world is trying to stop you from saving me!"


    "Shut up! If I can''t use my right hand, then I''ll use my left! If I lose that, then I''ll use my foot! Just shut up and trust me!" I shouted at her before grabbing another knife from the kitchen.


    Sweat dripped down my chin as I focused for a second time.


    ''Just one moment. I just need my mind to shut up, just this once,'' I begged inwardly.


    Taking a deep breath, I closed my mind and focused on my memories with Mrs. Henderson. From the first classroom lecture to the after-class lessons she gave me to help me keep up with my friends, the advice she provided��I owed her too much.


    Gritting my teeth, I opened my eyes and swung the knife held in my left hand toward the rebar. It drew a semicircular arc before it stopped. I breathed heavily, looking at the rebar in disbelief.


    "Did I miss the mark?" I muttered in shock.


    Suddenly, the rebar snapped in half. I immediately grabbed the burning wooden beam and threw it far away from Mrs. Henderson.


    Robin returned with the fire extinguisher and began spraying the area around us. The firefighters arrived, sirens blaring as they rushed to contain the fire.


    The wall collapsed, and the drone immediately shielded me from the falling debris.


    "Sir, please exit the building now," Robin urged.


    "I need to heal her first before bringing her out," I muttered as I placed my hand on her wound. Her breath weakened, and her eyes grew dazed. If I took her out first, I might not make it in time to save her.


    Despite having the philosopher''s stone-level transmutation ability, I lacked knowledge of human transmutation. However, I did have extensive knowledge of surgical procedures and human anatomy.


    "Mrs. Henderson, can you hear me?" I called out, needing her to be awake for this. "You cannot go right now. Not for me, obviously. I will be sad, but seriously, it''s not for me."


    I racked my brain and said, "Enid saw you going back with the bad guy. If you die now, she''ll blame herself for not telling anyone what she saw. So if you want to keep her bubbly self, you have to wake up��just for a second."


    Mrs. Henderson reacted to my words, slowly opening her eyes. I smiled and said, "Good job," as I activated the transmutation circle. Electrical sparks flew around us as I focused on healing her.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Outside the house, Haley and the others waited anxiously for Edward to come out, their eyes filled with tears.


    The time it took him to enter and exit the house was less than five minutes, but for Haley, time felt like it was standing still. The firefighters sprayed water on the house, desperately trying to contain the flames that licked hungrily at the structure.


    "There are still people inside!" Chloe told the firefighters urgently. Several onlookers began recording the scene when suddenly someone shouted, "There! Someone''s coming out!"


    All eyes turned to the front door, widening in shock at the sight before them. Edward''s shirt was ablaze, burned off to reveal his sweaty, muscular torso. He held Mrs. Henderson in his arms, cradling her like a princess as he walked slowly toward the paramedics. Traces of transmutation marked her arms and abdomen.


    Her body was limp and covered by a blanket. Enid faltered to the ground, her voice shaking. "Is she dead?" she muttered.


    Her eyes followed Edward as he placed her on the paramedic''s stretcher, then turned to her with a smile. Her fear washed away, replaced by relief.


    Haley rushed toward Edward and hugged him tightly. She flinched slightly as his body felt too hot, but she didn''t pull away.


    "We made it. She''s safe now," Edward comforted the girls, patting Haley''s head.


    "Edward, your hand��" Alex exclaimed, noticing his injuries. Haley finally realized it and broke into tears, saying, "Edward! You''re injured."


    "I may have some fractures, but it''s not that serious," he replied casually. His adrenaline was still pumping, so he didn''t care about the pain yet.


    "Holy shit. I snapped a pretty good picture," a reporter muttered as he checked the images he captured��Edward carrying Mrs. Henderson outside, flames swirling around them.


    Edward went with the paramedics to the hospital to prevent any more accidents, and his hand was placed in a cast.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Oww-Oww-Oww!" I whined as the doctor checked my hand. Right now, I was in the VIP room of the hospital, with Mrs. Henderson admitted to the ward beside mine.


    "The specialist will come take a look at it tomorrow, so you have to stay here for the night," the doctor said, removing his glasses. The middle-aged doctor turned to my dad, who nodded slightly in agreement.


    I raised an eyebrow. "I''m fine, actually. I don''t really have to stay here. I still need to find the guy who created this entire mess."


    "Sit down." Frankie scolded me, while my dad stopped me from getting off the hospital bed. I pouted and said, "At the very least, let me go to Mrs. Henderson''s room. I want to hear about the case."


    "It''s fine. They don''t need you there. She remembered everything. Chloe already has a lead on the suspect, so you don''t need to be involved anymore."


    I looked downward, saying, "If I solved the case before when the files were in my villa, do you think that��"


    "It''s not your fault, Edward." Frankie interrupted, pulling me into a hug. I sighed and then smiled again. "I''m going to Mrs. Henderson''s room," I said decisively.


    "Ed��" My dad called, but Frankie stopped him. "It''s fine. Only his hand is injured. He''s perfectly healthy everywhere else."


    As I opened the door to the ward, I saw Enid lying on top of Mrs. Henderson, having just cried herself to sleep. Her parents were waiting outside in the waiting room to take her back home.


    Mrs. Henderson looked at me with a conflicted expression as she brushed Enid''s hair lovingly.


    "I''m sorry that you wasted such a precious ability on me," she said apologetically. "But I''m still going to die. You know that, right?"


    I had learned about her brain tumor when we arrived at the hospital. I smiled and said, "I have no regrets. Do you?"


    She looked at Enid and smiled softly. "No. This... borrowed time... is precious to me. I still... I want to see my student..." Her voice cracked and tears flowed freely from her eyes.


    She sobbed as she said, "Even though I had prepared myself...I still..."


    I smiled sincerely and said, "No one will ever be prepared for death. I should know; I''ve experienced it before."


    Mrs. Henderson wiped her tears and replied, "Thank you, Edward." I grinned and added, "Don''t worry about it. I''m just glad I could finally save someone close to me."


    She gestured for me to come closer and gave me a hug. I smiled as I embraced her in return.


    As I lay down on my bed, I reflected on the events of the day. What started as a simple day of playing football and hanging out with friends had almost turned into a tragedy.


    It filled me with fear.


    "I think I need to stop messing around now," I muttered to myself. "Or else, who knows what''s going to happen?"


    While I was sleeping in the ward, it seemed that the day''s tragedy wouldn''t end there. In front of my house, a Cuban woman wearing a floral dress and a large white hat that obscured her face stood after getting out of a cab, carrying a suitcase.

 Chapter 341: Packing.

    Chapter 341 - 341: Packing.


    [General POV]


    Mrs. Henderson lay alone in the VIP ward, feeling a mix of loneliness and anxiety. After the transmutation, she looked like she had rewound her appearance to her mid-twenties, which made several doctors nearly fall for her as they came to check on her.


    Suddenly, Gong Shin appeared beside her, and she jumped up, her eyes wide. "Are you here to take me back?" she asked, worry etched on her face.


    Gong Shin smiled, shaking his head. "No, I''m just here to check on my friend."


    "Friend? We aren''t friends," Mrs. Henderson shot back, narrowing her eyes.


    "That''s cold," he replied, shrugging. "We''ve known each other for centuries. Where''s the trust?"


    "It''s hard to trust someone who put me through a nightmare," she snapped.


    Gong Shin settled into the chair next to her bed. "Just so you know, I had nothing to do with what happened."


    "Really? You know I can''t stay here. Why would you let him save me?"


    Gong Shin shrugged again. "I didn''t let him do anything. You made that choice."


    "Me?" she asked, puzzled.


    "You can''t save those who don''t want to be saved," he teased. "Because of your ordeal, I applied for sick leave on your behalf. You can take up to a year off if you want. Oh, and I''ve removed the restrictions on your powers."


    Dazed, Mrs. Henderson blinked. "Why did you say that? I... wanted to be saved?"


    Gong Shin smirked. "Yesterday, when Edward came to save you, the only thing that could have stopped him was... ''I wanted this.'' Yet, you never told him that."


    Her eyes widened, and her heart began to race. "He noticed it too. You blamed fate, saying this was supposed to happen, but you never told him it was a way for you to go back."


    "I... was injured," she said defensively, her chin quivering. Gong Shin just smiled and let her process her thoughts.


    "Was it... because of that?" she mumbled, mystified by her own subconscious actions.


    Gong Shin peeled an apple from the fruit basket beside her as he waited. Finally, she noticed and shot him a death glare. "That''s mine."


    Startled, Gong Shin said, "Sorry." He handed her the peeled apple apologetically.


    After she grabbed the apple back, she asked carefully, "Why are you helping me?"


    Gong Shin slightly pointed at her heart. "Because I''ve already gotten what I wanted."


    Her heart had warmed enough that she was now eligible for a promotion in the afterlife corporation. He wanted her to experience what it felt like to be powerless, to be human, and to rely on others.


    "My breast?" Mrs Henderson looked down at where he was pointing and guessed.


    "No. That''s not�C" Gong Shin was flabbergasted, but Mrs Henderson smiled and said, "That''s a joke."


    After the incident, she had changed. Her face was more expressive, and she no longer shied away from socializing. Experiencing a true human connection made her wanted to stay longer in this world.


    "Rest up. When you return, you can take my job, and I''ll finally get a vacation," he said longingly.


    "Ah, by the way, if Edward realizes it, he will say that you''ve had your Robin moment," Gong Shin chuckled teasingly. Henderson pouted and glared at him, making him flinch and slowly disappear as he wanted to escape.


    "I want to live~~ like that," he teased, but Mrs. Henderson had already regained her powers. She threw the apple at his face, hitting him even though he was already traveling between dimensions.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Last night, I had a strange dream. I was with my friends from the orphanage, laughing as we watched a TV show together. It never really happened; we didn''t have a TV, but it felt real, and I missed those moments.


    I woke up to find my cheek wet. "Tears?" I muttered, confused, as I sat up in bed.


    Mickey, my bodyguard, stood at the door, keeping watch.


    It had been a while since I''d had a quiet morning. Usually, I''d be making breakfast for the girls and chatting with them. It wasn''t visiting hours yet, so they couldn''t come into the ward.


    Suddenly, my phone buzzed. It was Enid, sending me a link. I picked it up with my left hand since my right was in a cast.


    "''Burning Love: Edward Newgate''s Bravery in the Blaze Captivates the People''s Hearts!'' Huh? What''s this?"


    The picture of me carrying Mrs. Henderson out of the fire, topless, had gone viral. News outlets covered the incident in detail, and everyone already knew about it.


    Enid had sent me a headline from my fansite. The girls there had swooned and spent a restless night because of the picture.


    Many wondered how I''d survived without burns, but since my hand was injured, no one accused me of being an alien this time.


    Ding! Ding! Ding!


    Enid sent link after link, startling me.


    "Edward: The Flame-Wielding Heartthrob Who Defies Danger!" "Heroic Hunk: Edward Emerges from Flames, Saving Teacher in Daring Rescue!" The headlines kept coming, including some about my injury and my upcoming world tour.


    Enid: Edward! You''re really handsome yesterday! ????


    Edward: I''m handsome everyday.


    I ignored the media noise and lay sideways on the bed. Enid texted me again even though she was in class right now.


    Enid: They caught him at a train station.


    The assailant yesterday was already arrested. Because Mrs Henderson saw clearly what he looked like, they put out APBs and the citizens�C mostly my fans who heard the news, all were on the lookout for the suspect.


    I didn''t even have to do anything to bring him in. He even surrendered and confessed everything after he heard that Mrs. Henderson was still alive. The police would come out with the official statement in the afternoon about the entire case.


    Less than ten minutes later, an elderly doctor walked in.


    He examined my hand. "You have hairline fractures in your thumb, middle finger, and index finger. You''ll need to wear this cast for at least six weeks."


    Randall, my manager, was concerned and he asked the doctor, "Are you sure, doctor? 6 weeks?"


    "I wouldn''t use your right hand for a while. It might be better to postpone your tour," he added.


    I shrugged it off, remembering my deal with Sage��she''d treat me if I hired her for the tour.


    Randall placed his finger on his chin and said, "We should tell the fans. I think we can still refund the tickets."


    I waved him off, saying, "I can just sing. I don''t need my hand for that. The concert will proceed as usual."


    The doctor sighed, knowing I wouldn''t listen, and handed me a prescription for pain meds. I asked Randall to start the discharge paperwork and decided to visit Mrs. Henderson before leaving.


    For VIPs, the rules were flexible. When I found her, she was ready to go home, but she had lost her house in the fire.


    "It''s fine. I''m staying with a friend," she said casually when I asked where she''d go.


    "Wait, you have... friends?" I was surprised.


    "Is that so hard to believe?" she replied, scowling slightly.


    "Is it Mrs. Johnson?" I guessed. Startled, she nodded, confirming my hunch. "Am I being too easy to read?" She mumbled.


    The muscular "muscle mommy" was waiting for her in the lobby. I chuckled and said, "Great! But if you need a place, let me know. I''ll make Max bunk with Caroline so you can have her room."


    "Don''t just throw Max under the bus," she scolded. "With everything going on, I don''t think it''s a good idea for me to go there anyway."


    "Huh?" I was confused, but she didn''t elaborate. She stepped closer and placed her hand on my cast. "Hold on for a second."


    "Uh, okay," I replied, surprised by her sudden move. My right hand felt itchy, like a deep itch I couldn''t scratch.


    Fifteen seconds later, she removed her hand. I flexed my fingers in amazement. "It doesn''t hurt anymore!" My innocent excited face made her chuckle in satisfaction.


    "You''re healed now." She patted my head, even though I was taller than her. "I''ll repay you for using those abilities on me. You have my word." Her gaze told me of her sincerity, which put me at ease.


    I laughed. "I didn''t do it for that. Just hang out for a while. That''s my only request." I meant every word of that. I could always gain new abilities from the gacha, but if she went back, then I couldn''t see her anymore. It''s a fair trade from my standard.


    She looked taken aback, then smiled softly. "Okay, I will. Still, I wanted to do something for you."


    She touched my forehead with her slender finger, and suddenly a flood of information crashed into my mind. It was knowledge on how to use the sharingan and some genjutsu knowledge.


    "Oh fuck�C" I immediately became nauseous from the knowledge bestowment and had to grab a trash can to puke in.


    She became apologetic and said, "Sorry. I forgot to tell you that it might feel weird for first timers."


    "It�C It''s fine. It passed very quickly." I said as I wiped the puke from my chin.


    "Edward! You''re sick! DOCTOR!" Randall opened the ward door and was alarmed when he saw my state. I had to cover his mouth and drag him inside the ward to stop him from turning this into a big deal.


    Pepper called as I got into the car, "Edward? Where are you? I''m at your ward right now."


    "Oh, I''m already going home." I replied casually. Pepper was dumbfounded, "Already? Did the doctor approve of this?"


    "Yup. My hand is already fine." I met with the doctor and used the knowledge I had to hypnotize him. I did it on Randall too for them to forget about the fracture. That took 20% of my chakra reserve, putting me on the 60% line for my genin level chakra.


    When I got home with Mickey, the atmosphere felt strange. My dad looked exhausted and surprised to see me back. He was standing by the door, crossing his arms as he was thinking deeply before he noticed me.


    "Edward? I was going to check on you at the hospital!" he said, worry evident on his face.


    "Turns out I''m fine now." I took off my cast in front of him and moved my hand smoothly. His eyes widened in disbelief. "But how? I saw fractures on your X-ray!"


    "Oh, that? I had a... device in my pocket that messed up the scan. We checked again this morning, and everything disappeared. It''s still painful though. I hit it hard yesterday. It''ll heal in a couple of days."


    He sighed in relief and grabbed my shoulders. "I''m glad you''re okay."


    "Uh, thanks," I said awkwardly, taken aback by his sincerity. Although I felt bad for lying, it was the simplest way for me to explain the whole thing.


    "Anyway, what''s for breakfast? I''m starving." I asked, changing the subject as I calmly brushed his hand away.


    Frankie walked downstairs, also shocked by my early return. "Edward, did you run away from the hospital?" she accused me with an angry face.


    I laughed dryly and said, "I signed the discharge paper properly."


    I prepared myself to answer their questions, but it didn''t come. Instead, Frankie turned to my dad and asked him worriedly, "Did you tell him?"


    "No. I haven''t." He replied.


    "What''s going on?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows.


    My dad looked me in the eyes, sighed and said, "It''s not like we can avoid this. Edward, calm down and listen to me till the end first."


    "I''m listening." My heart beats quicker and my lips curled up as I looked at them with anticipation.


    "Your... Mother is here." My dad said.


    "Hmm? I''m sorry, I didn''t hear that properly. You''re saying something about I''m going to have a little brother, right?"


    Frankie realized what I was thinking, blushed slightly and then gave me a glare. She said after exhaling, "Not that. Your mother. She''s back."


    My face went blank and my heart sunk. My chest hurts slightly and I felt quite nauseous.


    "Did she�C"


    "No. I didn''t let her get inside the house." My dad interjected quickly, trying to reassure me. Relieved, I nodded slightly and said, "Good."


    "She is next door though, and she wants to meet with you." Frankie added.


    My mood soured and I said, "I don''t have anything to talk about with her. Just tell her to go away."


    "About that..." My dad hesitated a bit before finally telling me the whole story.


    ...


    My heart beat rapidly as I entered the house next door. There she was, sipping tea while sitting on the couch. Wearing a strapless, tight-fitting dress, her eyes glittered as she saw me.


    "We''ll make this quick," I said in a cold tone as I sat down in front of her. My aunt gulped nervously at the sight of me, but I wasn''t paying any attention to her.


    My gaze was complicated as I took in my mother. Her eye bags were prominent, and her face looked thinner. Small scars dotted her hands and legs.


    Miranda Newgate, my mother��a woman who resembled Eva Mendes, right down to the mole on her cheek. She stared intently at my face and placed her teacup down with elegance.


    "Is that how you''re speaking to your own mother?" she scolded, raising her eyebrows. If this were the past, I would''ve become nervous and changed my tone immediately, but right now, she had no power over me.


    I sat silently, waiting for her to state her intention.


    "It''s understandable, I left you all alone after all. You deserve to be angry at me," she added, crossing her legs.


    "What. Do. You. Want?" I enunciated each word. "You even resorted to blackmail to force me to sit down with you. I''m sure you didn''t come here for chit-chat."


    "And what if I do?" she replied suddenly. "What if I came here for chit-chat? Can''t you spare some time for your poor mother? The way you''re acting... you''re really hurting my heart."


    She acted pathetically, as if trying to gain sympathy from everyone around. However, aside from my aunt, no one was really buying her act.


    I laughed derisively. "Don''t kid around. You don''t have a heart."


    Stopping her sad act, she became stern. "That''s not a nice thing to say to your mother."


    "Can you stop with the ''mother this,'' ''mother that'' and get to the point? I have things to do today."


    I rolled my eyes and turned to my dad. "Are you seeing this?"


    Dad sighed. "Bear with it for a minute."


    If she hadn''t said she was going to complicate things, I wouldn''t even be here.


    Even though she had signed away her parental rights, as long as a judge heard her out��cultivating some sob story about her fight for independence in Cuba��it was highly likely she''d return to our lives. And I didn''t want that.


    I had to sit in this meeting with her today to keep that from happening. That''s what she promised my father.


    Her eyes turned cold again as she scolded me. "I see that you''ve stopped practicing classical music."


    "What did you expect? I never loved it in the first place."


    "Hmm..." she hummed for a moment before sighing. I was taken aback by her sudden change, as was my dad. Then she said something that tightened my heart.


    "I''m sorry for forcing you to only practice classical music."


    My eyes widened at her words, and before I could begin to feel hope, she continued.


    "I shouldn''t have limited you to just one path. It messed with your potential."


    The air felt stagnant again, just like when I lived with her.


    She muttered coldly, "If I had been more observant, the world... might have already changed. Science, technology, politics, business... You excel in all of those. Even martial arts. I was short-sighted, so I''m sorry for that. You could''ve become so much more..."


    Her disappointed tone triggered memories of my past. All I did was never enough for her.


    "Miranda!" My aunt Camila was baffled by my mother''s words.


    Speechless, I lowered my head and clenched my fists tightly. Then I sighed, giving up on trying to hear an actual apology from her.


    I stood up from the couch, my expression flat. "Now that you''ve said your piece, I''m going to go."


    "Wait, Edward," she called, raising her voice slightly. "I''m not done speaking."


    "But I''m done." I turned to look her straight in the eyes. "I''m already done with you. Go back to Canada. Don''t come into my life again."


    "Well, if that''s your wish, I have a wish too," she said, her face turning crestfallen. It seemed that she had given up trying to get close to me again.


    "Hmm?" I was confused by her change in tone and stopped walking away. I turned to her, waiting for her to continue.


    "You fulfill my wish, and I''ll fulfill yours. Then... we won''t have anything to do with each other anymore," she said with a determined expression.


    "If doing so can get rid of you permanently, then tell me."


    My dad tried to interject. "Edward, don''t be rash."


    Frankie also urged me, "Don''t come to an agreement so easily. It might be an impossible wish, so you have to investigate it first."


    My mom suddenly spoke to Frankie in a cold tone. "I don''t think a stranger should interfere with someone''s family business, don''t you think?"


    Frankie turned to my mother, and they exchanged deadly gazes. I ignored everything happening on the side and turned back to my mother. "What is your wish?"


    She paused for a moment, her eyes turning melancholic. "Help me... free my country..."


    ...


    Back at my house, my dad admonished me as I sipped on a cup of coffee. "What are you even thinking, Edward? You''re a kid. What can you actually do to help her?"


    I ignored him and said, "Well, I told her I can''t do it right now. But soon. In the meantime, she''ll get out of my hair, so it''s a win-win."


    "But��" My dad was momentarily speechless. I sighed and looked out the window.


    "You know what? I can''t do this. I need to get out of here. If you want to find me, I''ll be at Haley''s." I stood up and walked out of the house.


    Although I expected her to be at school, Haley played hooky today with Tara to visit me at the hospital, so she was home when I arrived.


    "Edward��" Before she could greet me cheerfully, I rushed in and hugged her as soon as she opened the door.


    ...


    Time passed and it''s nighttime. Inside my bedroom, I opened up an empty suitcase as Haley laid down on my bed, watching me pack my stuff.


    "What are you bringing to Japan? It''s winter there, right?" Haley said, sadness hidden in her eyes.


    "I don''t really have to carry much stuff as my company is handling it all." I said as I checked the dimension of the suitcase.


    "So you''re going to bring your laptop and such?" Haley guessed. I stood up and picked her up from the bed in a princess carry, which made her blush.


    "What are you doing?"


    "I''m packing you up." I said as I placed her down inside the suitcase. She laughed out loud as we played around.


    As soon as we got tired, we laid down on the bed sideways, looking intently at each other.


    "One more day huh." Haley muttered as she touched my cheek, studying my face diligently.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Miranda and Camila were left alone in the house after Edward and the others had gone.


    Camila looked at Miranda questioningly and asked, "Why did you do that?"


    Miranda was silent for a moment. Suddenly, she smiled derangedly and said, "Did you see him?"


    "Edward?" Camila was confused.


    "He''s so big now," Miranda breathed heavily, clutching her heart as she obsessed over her son. "He''s even taller than me."


    "Of course. You two haven''t met in years," Camila replied, concerned about Miranda''s change.


    Placing her hand on her cheek, Miranda smirked and said, "Ah. My son. My lovable Mijo."


    "He''s going to become the ruler of the world," she added, her breathing heavy.


    Camila felt goosebumps rise and widened her eyes, shuddering at a glimpse of Miranda''s true nature.


    "But it seems he''s been lagging behind recently. He''s not trying hard enough," Miranda continued, a cold glint appearing in her eyes.


    "It must be because of the people around him. Those... flies... parasites... All of them are holding him back. He needs someone to give him direction."


    "Miranda��" Camila called worriedly, concerned for her sister''s sanity, wondering if the recent loss had affected her mind.


    "I think Edward is doing really well nowadays."


    "You don''t know anything!" Miranda snapped. "I''m his mother. I know what''s best for him. He needs to get rid of all the distractions around him if he wants to succeed."


    Miranda thought of the girls that had been hanging around her son and her expression soured.


    "Distractions? Do you really think that his friends are a distraction?" Camila shot back, angered by her sister''s careless accusation. "The only reason he''s doing so well is because of them. So whatever your opinion is, just keep it to yourself. Because Edward will not take it lightly if you mess with what he has now."


    Camila continued, "Honestly, I only agreed to help you get back because you said you won''t bother him. But the first thing you asked of him, is to help you topple a regime. There''s a reason why we lost�C"


    "We lost because we didn''t have him. If we have him, then it''ll all work out." Miranda interjected, a fanatical look on her face.


    "Miranda!" Camila snapped at her. Miranda giggled and said, "Camila. You don''t get it, don''t you?"


    "What don''t I get?"


    "My mijo... He''s special. He''s been blessed by the heavens. He''ll be able to do things that no human on earth could ever do."


    "You crazy bitch!" Camila cursed her sister.

 Chapter 342: Last day.

    Chapter 342 - 342: Last day.


    [Edward POV]


    "I stayed up all night."


    Lying on my bed, I stared at the ceiling, unable to manage a wink of sleep as I tried to rest normally.


    "And here I thought I was getting better."


    Mumbling to myself, I slowly sat up and got out of bed. For one thing, since I couldn''t shut off my brain, I managed to think of a movie plot for Vanessa, a storyline which would make her acting capability shine.


    After taking a long shower, I bumped into my aunt as she walked past in the hallway.


    "Edward," she called out carefully. When I remained silent, she continued, "I just need to talk to you for a minute."


    "Can''t it wait until I get dressed at least?" I said teasingly.


    A little embarrassed, she nodded and averted her gaze after glancing at my body. "S-sure."


    A few minutes later, we sat together in the kitchen, drinking coffee.


    "For starters, I want to say I''m sorry." She held my hand affectionately as she apologized.


    "What for?" I asked casually, sipping my coffee. "After yesterday, I kind of need to hear the apology in full before accepting it."


    Her face faltered at my remark, and her chin quivered. Taken aback, I quickly added, "Not that I''m blaming you or anything."


    "Really? You''re not angry at me?" she asked, her eyes teary. "I really thought I was doing the best thing by bringing her here." She leaned back and wiped her eyes.


    "She lay in bed, not eating. Sometimes she threw things and destroyed entire rooms. She kept crying, saying it was all her fault."


    My forehead furrowed as I heard her recount the story. I tend to relate to people, trying to understand their experiences, but I didn''t want to hear about my mother.


    "Stop," I said in a cold tone. With a biting remark, I added, "Are you trying to emotionally manipulate me with her sob story? Do you want me to open up my heart to her so we can all laugh and joke together?"


    Taken aback, Camila''s face paled. "I''m... I''m not trying to do that. I just��"


    "You want me to understand your actions. You want me to understand my mother too, maybe even forgive her. But the more you try to nudge me in that direction, the angrier I become. So stop trying to talk on her behalf. In fact, don''t talk about her at all."


    Her eyes reddened, and she bit her lip, stopping herself from arguing.


    She forced a smile and struggled, "I''m sorry. I just... like you said... I''m being unfair to you."


    Based on the bits and pieces of information I had about her, I realized I may have gone too far. Like me in my previous life, she was an orphan. Miranda had taken her into the family as a teenager.


    Everyone has an image of the ideal family in their mind, especially those who have never experienced that kind of love before.


    Before I found TV shows and anime at the age of nineteen, I didn''t know about it either. After watching those shows, I built up an image of a perfect family and perfect friends in my mind.


    A dad like Phil, a mother like Gloria and Claire, siblings like Luke. That''s how those shows became special to me. Then, I got a grandmother/mother who took me in and made me feel loved��my Nonni.


    My aunt continued, "I just... wanted... you to not hate me." She could no longer hold back her tears and began to cry.


    My heart felt wretched as I watched her sob. Guilt and anger bubbled up together, tightening my chest. But I soon ignored all of that since I considered her part of my family.


    Without a word, I leaned in closer and hugged her. She cried in my arms as I reassured her, "I don''t hate you. I don''t hate you at all. I love you, my naive, speed-racing aunt."


    I gripped her tank top tightly as I hugged her, tears forming in my eyes.


    Despite knowing her for only a short while, I was truly scared for her safety as she planned to return to Cuba to join the freedom fighters. The regime there wasn''t kind to its own people; imagine their harshness toward dissidents.


    When she was out of my reach and I couldn''t help her, I felt anxious the whole time, even if I didn''t show it.


    That''s why, when it became too dangerous, I didn''t hesitate to make a deal with the most dangerous man in the world��Raymond Reddington.


    Even though it might come back to haunt me in the future, I made this choice to save her��well, her and everyone with her.


    I tried not to care, but I couldn''t. Yes, this was about my mother.


    Despite my anger and frustration toward her, I couldn''t just let her die.


    When my dad walked into the kitchen and saw us crying while hugging, he looked baffled.


    "Edward? Camila? What''s wrong?" he asked, concern evident in his tone. We immediately separated and wiped our tears, trying to hide our faces from him.


    My aunt cleared her throat and said, "Um, I''m just apologizing to Edward. I think you should do it too."


    My dad turned serious. "Yeah, I think we need to talk."


    He apologized for his inaction yesterday. "Frankie did more than I did," he said, crestfallen. "You don''t have to worry about what she said; I''ll make sure she can''t get near you anymore," he added, determination shining in his eyes.


    My aunt scoffed, "How can she expect you to solve something she herself can''t handle? She''s delusional. I think bringing her to therapy for a few years might help her regain her sanity."


    My dad frowned at her. "Edward, you don''t have to bother with her at all. It''s an impossible request in the first place."


    I shrugged dismissively. "It''s not really that hard to topple the regime. It just means taking care of the people at the top. But that won''t help save the country."


    My aunt''s hand grew sweaty as she asked, "What do you mean by that?"


    "Listen, the country has far more problems than just the government. Let''s say all the leaders are replaced by Miranda''s faction. Then what? What will you do next?"


    She remained silent. I continued, "Food, energy, the ideological brainwashing from the previous government, the trade embargo, and so on. How will you handle that? Do you have a plan?"


    Still, she didn''t answer. "It''s easy to topple a regime; it just means a new one will take its place. Unless you address the deep-rooted issues that plague the country, toppling a regime will change nothing."


    As I said that, a few images flew in my mind. They were characters that I knew from my previous life.


    For example, Saiki Kusuo has an ability to brainwash an entire world. His ability even changes the fabric of reality , prompting people to have advanced regeneration, born with out-of-the ordinary hair colors and so on.


    Hashirama or Admiral Ryokugyu could grow plant life, Iron Man could build an arc reactor, or Hiro Hamada with his microbots could revolutionize construction. There are infinite possibilities in the multiverse, waiting to be explored.


    I already have several advanced knowledge that could change the world, my android and worker robot blueprints. I just needed time and effort to bring those things to life. With only two of those, I could already take over Cuba if I wanted to.


    So yeah, my mother''s request�C it''s not that hard to do.


    ...


    *Snap *Snap *Snap


    A photographer captured my images as I stood in front of a firetruck, posing in a fireman uniform��not the sexy kind.


    "Nice! Hotter! More fiery!" he shouted, panting heavily as he pressed the shutter button non-stop. We set up a photoshoot in the fire department, where I stood in front of the firetruck.


    After the fire incident, the fire department asked for my help in containing the trend of glorifying fires on the internet by advocating for the department.


    I also had to give a speech about fire safety, and I suggested selling a photo calendar for charity. That''s why I had to pose for the camera early in the morning.


    "Eight hours left before you go, and you still have to work. Poor guy. I hope this doesn''t break your spirit," Harvey teased.


    There were many impressionable kids among my fans, and the discussions they were having online were worrying. They wanted to start fires so I could come and save them, just like I did for Mrs. Henderson.


    "I just needed to do this so that there''s no ''jumping in the fire'' movement created because of my actions," I replied to Harvey with a smirk.


    "Yeah, that would be bad for your image," Harvey said as she handed several documents to me. "Are you sure you want to do this now?" she asked, concerned.


    "Well, Dad already agreed to it, and we both think it''s the right choice. Strike first, you know?"


    In my hand was an emancipation document. My dad signed those after meeting with my mother yesterday. He felt guilty because he couldn''t put his foot down and stop the meeting. If we did this, my mother''s threat wouldn''t work anymore, as I would be officially recognized as an adult.


    There are pros and cons to this, and I would be rid of the minor protection privilege I currently received in legal matters, but if I didn''t commit any crimes, then it wouldn''t matter.


    My dad was crestfallen, but he still signed the papers. It wouldn''t change our relationship as father and son, but it made him feel awful that he wasn''t able to protect me properly.


    "Actually, there is something else," Harvey suddenly added.


    "Hmm? What is it?" I asked as I took off the fireman uniform and changed into a simple gray fireman shirt.


    "The telco company got a buyout offer��$150 billion from Comcast," Harvey said casually.


    Our conversation was heard by Randall, whose jaw dropped at the figure. He held his breath, waiting for my reply.


    I shrugged casually and said, "We can actually get that number in three years, in terms of pure profits. So I don''t think it''s necessary to sell. It''s not like we don''t have any money." If everything went according to plan, there would be some variables, but I was confident that I could do it.


    Billions are invested annually in developing telecommunication technology worldwide. Still, many places lack reception even a decade later. That''s why the potential of the company is endless. It would be foolish for me to sell it right now.


    We returned to the company building after the photoshoot. The deal with the firefighters was good PR for both myself and the company.


    "I should develop more fire suppression technologies," I suddenly muttered as I entered the company. Randall looked at me strangely and asked, "What makes you say that?"


    I shrugged, unsure why I had that intention. We live in the Pacific Palisades; although wildfires are common in California, it is still within the capabilities of the firefighters.


    ''It''s not like the entire city would burn down, right?''


    As I entered the CEO''s office, Pepper lit up upon seeing me and rushed over, giving me a bear hug. "Edward! You did it!!"


    "Did what? I''m juggling so many things right now that you''ll have to be specific," I replied playfully.


    Pepper let me go and said, "Number 2 on your list."


    My heart skipped a beat in excitement. "The Super Bowl?"


    Pepper grinned. "Congratulations! You''re shortlisted for the halftime show performer."


    This year''s Super Bowl was set to be the most viewed in history, with the underdog narrative of New Orleans versus powerhouse Indianapolis. It would be watched by 100 million people, significantly boosting the performer''s name recognition.


    My brief football career had made this possible. I had garnered a lot of goodwill from football fans, which is why I was considered for the halftime show performance.


    "There''s also another thing," Pepper said, smiling widely, clearly buoyed by all the good news.


    "The Grammy Award selection has begun, and I''m pretty sure you''re a strong contender in all categories." My expression froze slightly. "Well, don''t get your hopes up."


    From what I knew, the award show was highly rigged, so I wasn''t looking forward to it at all.


    "You''re going to the Grammys, aren''t you, Edward?" Pepper asked, his voice shaky as he sensed my hesitation.


    I smiled wryly. "Well..."


    Even Harvey was taken aback. "You''re not going? It''s the Grammys!"


    "I''ll go to support Taylor and Chris (Coldplay), but I''m not going to lobby for myself," I replied casually.


    "It''s the Grammys!" Pepper exclaimed, exasperated. "It''s the FREAKING Grammys!"


    I shrugged. "It''s really not a big deal." Pepper slumped to his knees, whispering and sobbing, "It''s the Grammys." I ignored him and spoke to Harvey about Vanessa''s album preparation.


    I left Pepper to process the news and went to meet with Paige Swanson, the scriptwriter. The first movie Entertain ever made, ''SelfMade,'' has already finished production and we''re doing an audience test review today. I''ll be able to get the movie reaction before I fly to Japan.


    "You really are eccentric, you know that, right?" Paige commented as I entered her workspace. "Shouldn''t you be at home packing up your stuff?"


    "Paige, between fantasy/romance and romcom, which do you prefer?" I asked, ignoring her question.


    Paige narrowed her eyes. "Isn''t that obvious? Fantasy, of course."


    "Oh right, you were a nerd," I recalled, remembering she''d been a child genius.


    Flabbergasted, Paige struggled to respond. "Nerd, am I?"


    "Yoda you are becoming," I teased, thinking she was joking. Stunned, Paige froze for a few seconds.


    "I have an idea for a movie, but I need your input. It''s going to be female-led, so I need you involved in the script as well."


    "For political reasons?" Paige raised an eyebrow.


    I shrugged. "If you think I''m doing this just to check boxes for awards, throw that thought far away. It''s not going to theaters��only Netflix."


    It was about time for the streaming service to have its own original movies. We had original TV shows but no films yet.


    "I have dignity too, you know. You can''t keep making me take credit for your contributions," she said, annoyed.


    "We''re sharing it. We''ll split the work, right?" I smiled, trying to coax her.


    "You did 90%, and I did 10%. That''s not splitting the work," she retorted, frustrated with herself and blaming her lack of capability.


    I ignored her and asked, "By the way, you''re working on a script of your own, right? Do you have a working title?"


    "Huh? Oh��right. It''s called The Night Witches," she pouted, turning her laptop screen toward me.


    "Hmm, is it a biopic or a fantasy?" I asked, intrigued.


    "Biopic," she replied curtly, which told me everything I needed to know.


    I thought for a moment and muttered, "It''s going to be hard to get this into production. Anything pro-Soviet will undergo severe scrutiny; even the government will likely interfere."


    Paige furrowed her brow. "Should I write about the WASPs instead?" she suggested, referring to the American female aviation pilots who contributed during World War II.


    "No, the WASPs only transported cargo. The Night Witches were the ones who bombed the Nazis," I replied thoughtfully. "Still, it could be good if you write it well."


    "Well, just write about the Night Witches first. Propaganda is propaganda, but we''re already writing about Chernobyl, so we''re in hot water as it is. Just proceed with it; I''ll ensure the project passes production scrutiny."


    Paige sighed and covered her face with her hand. "Maybe I should stick to writing romances. Anyway, what are you planning on making?" She changed the subject to my idea.


    We had a brief discussion that lasted only an hour before I left the office. Outside, SunHee was already waiting for me, tears in her eyes.


    "Oppa! When you leave, I''ll have nothing else going for me! I might just quit this job!" she whined, acting out a K-drama scene again.


    I flicked her forehead and said, "Just update me about the LOL World Championship. I don''t have much time."


    She pouted, rubbed her sore forehead, and snarked, "You have time to discuss things lovingly with Paige, but not me."


    "Believe me, there''s nothing loving or even remotely kind in our previous discussion."


    We both kept attacking each other''s points without mercy, pointing out logical fallacies in order to come up with the best storyline. It would take many more discussions and rewrites before the project could start.


    "That is proceeding smoothly! Just trust me, Oppa!" SunHee grabbed my hand and said flirtatiously. Then she sighed, "The problem is with Arcane. It will take years before it can be completed."


    "Yeah, starting an animated studio from scratch will do that," I agreed. "But it doesn''t matter; it''s better to drag it forward until every household has a smart TV and Netflix becomes a household brand."


    Her emotions shifted again, this time to annoyance. "Oppa, what''s with that Mythic Quest game you just approved? Are you abandoning us? We''re just getting started!"


    "No��no, I just... am not limiting myself to only one AAA game. Besides, LOL and Mythic Quest are in two completely different genres."


    "They''re still going to compete with each other, though," SunHee grumbled, pouting her cheek adorably.


    I smiled and teased, "Afraid of a little competition? I''m going to be participating directly in the development of Mythic Quest, you know?"


    SunHee widened her eyes, her expression screaming betrayal. "I''m going to quit!" she threatened, feigning seriousness.


    After I settled the affairs at the company, I returned home to grab my bag.


    "Surprise!"


    As I opened the door, all of my friends cheered for me. "It''s a Bon Voyage Party!" Enid yelled cheerily.


    From Taylor, Selena, Vanessa, Maggie, and Haley to Tara, Jenna, Elsa, Jacob, Abraham, Alex, Luke, Phil, Claire, Manny, Gloria, Jay, Mitch, Cam, and Lily, my dad and Frankie, Dwayne, and several crew members, Pepper, Harvey, Renaldo, Randall, and Aunt Camila��there were so many people in my living room.


    Max and Caroline were also going with me, so the party was for them too.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Before Edward arrived at the party, Taylor and Haley stood facing each other in the living room. Sparks flew as they locked eyes. Taylor forced a smile and said, "So, you''re his girlfriend now. Weird, considering no one here actually knows about it."


    Haley smiled back and replied, "The same can be said for you."


    Though irked, Taylor maintained her smile, her breathing quickening. "He couldn''t tell anyone he''s dating me because of a legal issue. He didn''t do so with you because he''s embarrassed."


    Haley chuckled, causing Taylor to raise an eyebrow. "He didn''t tell anyone because I told him not to. He''s so in love with me, don''t you think?" Haley said, her finger tracing the necklace around her neck.


    A vein throbbed on Taylor''s forehead, but she kept her smile. "Hmm..." She feigned admiration for the necklace. "It''s pretty, but also a bit dull. It... suits you."


    Suddenly serious, Taylor leaned in and warned Haley, "Edward''s going away today, so keep something in mind. There are many temptations out there. Even if Edward promises to stay loyal, who knows how long that will last? Just don''t be too heartbroken later on."


    Haley scrunched her eyebrows, fear evident on her face. Taylor smirked and whispered, "You know what? I think I''m going to buy a jet too. When he''s lonely, maybe I''ll go and visit him."


    "Slut," Haley mumbled after Taylor walked away. Her mind was filled with conflict as the moment of separation drew closer.


    [Edward POV]


    As I packed my bags into the car, Enid cried while hugging me goodbye. Jenna, Alex, Billie, and Jacob all had tears in their eyes��Jacob was crying gut-wrenchingly while kneeling on the ground. His girlfriend had to drag him away, embarrassed by his display.


    "I''m not gone forever, you guys know that, right? It''s a world tour. I''m not going to some isolated place. I''m still contactable. Just call me if you miss me," I said, sniffling secretly and clearing my throat afterward.


    "I''m still going to miss you," Jenna said as she hugged me tightly.


    "I''m going to miss all of you too," I replied.


    "What will I do if I have a nightmare?" Jacob asked. Elsa shot him a death glare. "That''s enough already!"


    I also stared at Jacob with a deadpan expression. He and Finneas gave me a short goodbye hug, and after everyone else did, I left.


    Haley was the only one who joined me for the drive to the airport. We were alone in my Mustang, with an assistant set to drive my car back home later.


    As we got onto the highway, Haley suddenly said, "Edward, can we make a stop somewhere?"


    "Oh, one last make-out session before I fly out, huh? Let''s do it," I teased. However, Haley didn''t respond to my joke.


    "Hey, are you alright?" I asked, concerned.


    "Edward... I think we should... break up," Haley managed to say.


    I immediately pressed the brakes and pulled to the side of the road, bringing the car to a screeching halt. Haley looked frazzled and turned toward me hurriedly.


    "Wh��Why are you stopping?"


    My eyes widened as I looked at her, unblinking. "What made you say that?" I was genuinely caught off guard. "I thought we had a really nice week together."


    Haley stammered, her voice slightly shaky. "We did! We had a really nice time!"


    "So why do we need to break up?"


    Haley lowered her head slightly and said, "Edward, I... can''t wait that long."


    I realized what she meant and asked, "Even if I came back regularly?"


    "Coming back once a month will just make me feel cheap. Like I''m just a hookup. I don''t mind actually hooking up when you''re here, but I don''t want to be the girlfriend you visit once a month, have sex with, and then leave again."


    "Oh, it''s fine if we have sex, but only if we aren''t in a relationship?" I pointed out.


    Haley looked annoyed. "You know I can''t speak the way you do. I just mean, I... cannot keep waiting for you to come back."


    She continued, "From the beginning, I knew this was only going to be a week-long thing. I don''t want to take it further than that."


    She placed her hand on my cheek and said, "To be honest, even though I''m happy, I feel miserable at the same time. I... don''t know what to do when I''m around you. You have so much to do, so much more to achieve."


    My mind took a moment to process what she was saying.


    "I''m not saying I don''t like you. I''m just saying we shouldn''t be boyfriend and girlfriend anymore. If after two years we''re still in love with each other, then we can start again. We only dated for a week, so I don''t think it will be hard for you to get past this."


    She acted like the breakup didn''t bother her, but I noticed moments where she tried desperately to hold back tears. I fell silent and drove to the airport without saying anything. We were already close, so it didn''t take long to arrive.


    "Edward, are you mad at me?" Haley asked, her voice shaky as I parked the car near the private plane hangar. With a sigh, I turned to her and said calmly, "You could''ve warned me if you wanted to do this and not waited until the very last moment."


    "Have you already accepted it?" She was taken aback. "You don''t want to fight for us?"


    "Is that what I should do? Would you take me back if I did?" I asked, flabbergasted.


    Haley thought about it and shook her head. "No...?"


    I rubbed my face in frustration and looked at her again. "What exactly are we supposed to do here?"


    "I think we''re supposed to say goodbye," Haley said, faking calmness as she handed the necklace back to Edward.


    ...


    [General POV]


    �CFlashback to early morning-


    Haley paced toward Edward''s house, phone pressed to her ear. "I''m thinking of hiding a few photos in his bag. When he pulls them out, he''ll remember me," she said giddily, her heart set on a romantic gesture. Breaking up was the furthest thing from her mind.


    Tara chuckled. "Yeah, he''ll find them and remember he has a girlfriend, so he shouldn''t be talking to any other girls. He watches a lot of anime��maybe he has a crush on Japanese girls. You need to make sure he only thinks of you."


    Haley laughed confidently. "Of course he''ll only think of me. He''s head over heels in love."


    "Stop talking about the necklace, please," Tara pleaded, her voice tinged with exasperation. Haley smiled and said, "I will never!"


    As Haley neared Edward''s house, she collided with a Cuban woman in a floral dress. Startled, she widened her eyes and instinctively stepped back.


    The woman smiled softly. "From that reaction, I think you already know who I am?"


    "Um, you''re... Edward''s mother, right?" Haley asked, curiosity mingling with caution.


    "Exactly. You can call me Miranda. I''ve heard a lot about you, Haley Dunphy."


    "Yo�CYou do?" Haley stammered, taken aback. Miranda smiled warmly. "I have to know the girl who''s stolen my mijo''s heart. You''re pretty cute; I can see why he''s fallen for you."


    Haley felt a blush creep up her cheeks. A thought flickered in her mind: Edward''s mother isn''t so bad after all.


    "If you have some time, why don''t we have tea together? I''ve missed out on so much of my son''s life. I know he sees me as the enemy, and he''s probably shared stories with you too," Miranda said, her expression tinged with nostalgia before she turned heartbroken.


    "Um... Okay. I guess tea is fine..." Haley agreed, albeit reluctantly. Her empathy was pricked and subconsciously, she couldn''t help but wanting to gain Edward''s mother''s recognition.


    Haley grew up hearing her mother talk badly about her grandmother, but she herself didn''t have much animosity to her. So she wanted to know Edward''s mother too, trying to see if what he''s saying was true.


    Although, Edward never really talked about his mother, so she didn''t know much about her.


    Miranda beamed and led her inside, where they settled in the living room while Miranda poured the tea.


    "How did you meet him?" Miranda asked, leaning in with genuine interest.


    "Um, actually, we met when he was trying out for a band��Dylan''s band, I mean," Haley stammered, realizing too late that mentioning Dylan might not be the best idea.


    Miranda smiled, allowing Haley to elaborate. Haley shared their rocky start where they had beef with each other and how they had gradually become friends. Miranda listened attentively, subtly steering the conversation toward Edward''s romantic life.


    "I''m sure he''s very happy that his first girlfriend is such a considerate girl," Miranda said, her admiration evident.


    But guilt gnawed at Haley, prompting her to blurt, "I''m not his first��"


    "You''re not?" Miranda gasped, feigning shock as her hand flew to her mouth. "Has Edward pursued a lot of girls?"


    Haley felt a wave of discomfort wash over her. "He has..."


    "Really? That boy! He got that from me, you know? I was quite the player back in the day," Miranda quipped, her tone lightening the mood, which allowed Haley to exhale.


    Still, the thought lingered��how many girls had come before her? It kept pricking Haley''s brain, and then she thought, ''Should his one night stands count? How much has he done exactly, are they girls he never told me about?''


    Like a dam bursting, the thought kept popping up one after another.


    "I''m sure, among all the girls, you''re the smartest and kindest," Miranda said, attempting to reassure her.


    "Huh? Oh, not at all. Abby''s trying to become a forensic scientist, and there''s another girl... she''s a pop star..." Her voice trailed off, and she mumbled, "I''m just an ordinary girl compared to them."


    Miranda leaned closer, her voice soothing. "It doesn''t matter, as long as he picked you. He''s most comfortable when he''s with you."


    Haley smiled, and her mind thought, ''Yeah. That''s true.''


    But her expression faltered when Miranda suddenly added, "After all, he''s dating someone so far beneath his status��it''s laughable if he thinks he needs to try hard to keep you."


    "What��?" Dumbfounded, Haley sputtered, tea spilling from her cup as she stared at Miranda in disbelief. Miranda kept her smile even though she was saying vicious words.


    "Oh, I shouldn''t have said that. You should keep the illusion that you belong with him, that you actually deserve him. It''ll help him manage his stress whenever he wants," Miranda continued, her tone chilling.


    "Y-You think he''s just using me?" Haley felt her pulse quicken, anger surging as she stood abruptly. Miranda''s smiling facade struck some fear into her, and she finally understood why Edward didn''t want to say much about his mother.


    Miranda leaned back, her voice icy and reminiscent of Edward''s. "Am I wrong? I don''t think there''s much more to this relationship than physical benefits. And honestly, I think it''s healthy for him to release some stress now and then."


    Then she added a biting remark, "Just remember, the toy should know her place and never get in his way. There are plenty of other options to replace her."


    Haley''s breath quickened, her face flushing. Miranda''s words pierced her insecurities, nearly bringing her to tears. Without another word, she fled the house, racing back home.


    In the week they had spent together, every time Edward and Haley hung out, she had found ways to tease and seduce him. Deep down, she feared she had nothing else to offer.


    The compliments Edward had given her about her fashion sense felt hollow, mere niceties. Despite her father building a studio for her, she hadn''t completed a single design. Failing days after days, Haley finally felt that Edward was lying.


    ''Maybe I''m not good enough,'' the thought came back to her.


    Everything seemed effortless for him. Until now, she hadn''t compared herself to him.


    In the tv series, or one of her potential futures, Haley would run every time things got real in her relationship. Maybe, even with her ambitions too as she kept changing her jobs and aspirations.


    At the party, Haley absentmindedly touched her necklace, lost in thoughts of her earlier conversation with Edward''s mother. Suddenly, Taylor approached her.


    "Even if Edward promises to stay loyal, who knows how long that''ll last?"


    "I think I''ll buy a jet too. When he''s lonely, maybe I''ll visit him."


    Those words deepened her insecurities, and she noticed the love in Vanessa''s eyes as she spoke to Edward. She saw the same expressions in Jenna''s, Enid''s, and Selena''s.


    "I''m deluding myself, huh?" she muttered, her heart breaking.


    Her Peter Pan persona��the part of her that refused to grow up��had been shattered, leaving her feeling hollow. Before the goodbye party wrapped up, she made a decision. Removing the necklace, she placed it inside her purse.


    As Edward''s plane ascended into the sky, Haley broke down, kneeling on the hangar floor. Her sobs were drowned out by the roar of the plane''s engine.


    One of Edward''s bodyguards noticed but Haley implored, "Don''t tell him about this. Please. I beg you."


    The bodyguard hesitated but ultimately agreed to her request. He drove her home, where Phil rushed to the driveway, concern etched on his face.


    "Wh��How did you know?" Haley was shocked that Phil knew about her relationship with Edward.


    "Edward called and told me everything. He said you needed me, so I canceled the open house today. Let''s go inside, and you can talk to me about everything. Thank you, Clark, for bringing her back."


    Haley sobbed as she heard what Edward had done, wrapping her arms around her father. She cried in his embrace while he comforted her.


    Clark, the bodyguard, nodded to Phil before departing to store Edward''s Mustang. Moments later, he returned, bringing Edward''s blue Ford convertible with him��the first car Edward had driven, a birthday gift from Abby.


    "He wanted you to take care of this for him," Clark said, handing her the keys after ringing the doorbell.


    "What? He''s giving me this car?" Haley was astonished, her eyes still red and puffy from tears.


    "It was his instruction to bring it when I drove you back. He asked me to give this to you, along with a message."


    "What message?" Haley asked, her curiosity piqued. Clark handed her a note, its words carefully penned:


    "I know you like the car, so after you learn how to drive, use it. And every time you do, I hope you remember the happy memories we''ve shared. I don''t know what the future holds, but I''ve cherished every moment with you. I have no regrets. I hope you feel the same."


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    At exactly 4 PM, the plane rolled down the runway and took to the skies. I sat facing Max, who had Vader sleeping on my lap. Max asked worriedly, "Edward, are you sure about this? Breaking up with her?"


    "I think... it''s the only thing left to do," I replied, my tone turning cold subconsciously. "She wanted this, so we''re ending it amicably."


    Max pointed at my face. "With that expression, I would never in a million years think you guys broke up amicably. It''s so cold, like you''re about to murder someone."


    I changed my expression and sighed. "I should''ve brought her dad here. He could''ve comforted her."


    I had asked a favor to Mrs Henderson, to send a message to Haley and to give her the Ford convertible. It was a gift I prepared for our first week together, which I had to alter the message because of the breakup.


    Max was taken aback. "You''re still worried about her?"


    I didn''t reply.


    Who knows when we''re going to see each other again?


    Rather than torturing her with a long-distance relationship, it''s better to end things here, no matter how terrible I felt.


    "Let''s just hope you''ll get cheered up in Japan," Max said playfully. "I heard there''s a hostess bar there. We should go to one."


    I smiled slightly, amused by her priorities.


    I guess I''ll blow off some steam fighting the yakuza or something, I thought secretly.


    The world doesn''t know it yet, but chaos is coming in the next two years��chaos and performances.


    Max shouted after her 13th cup of whiskey on the flight, "Let''s take over the world!!" It amused me, and perhaps, I could actually do it.


    (Season 4 ends. See you guys next month. I''m taking a break until after Eid)

 Chapter 343: January– Japan.

    Chapter 343 - 343: January�C Japan.


    (I''m back.)


    - Timeskip Chapter -


    [General POV]


    55,000 fans erupted in cheers inside the Tokyo Dome as Edward stepped onto the stage. By the third day of his concert, the Japanese audience was completely enamored with him.


    "(In Japanese:) After coming to Edward''s concert, my shoulder felt lighter. I don''t have a migraine anymore, and I can sleep well now. It''s like he has taken away all of my troubles. I love you, Edward!"


    The Japanese college girl squealed during an after-concert interview. Initially, many thought her reaction was exaggerated, but soon hundreds echoed her sentiments.


    "How do I describe his performance? It was outstanding. He''s like a Japanese person with Western facial features, rather than an American," she continued after being prompted.


    "?? Dou demo ii you na yoru dakedo. Doyomeki kirameki to kimi mo (odorou). Dou demo ii you na yoru dakedo. Futari kizamou.??"


    {It''s an unexceptional, ordinary night. Dance with the noise, the sparkle, and you. (Let''s dance) It''s an average, boring night. But let''s move forward together.}


    The crowd went wild as Edward sang "Night Dancer." His performance video went viral on Japanese social media. His looks, wolf-cut hair, physique, and engaging interview style contributed to a surge in his fanbase in Japan.


    Through word of mouth and media coverage, everyone began to pay attention. Edward even collaborated with Yui, performing the song "Again" together.


    On the third day of his concert, he surprised everyone by taking off his shirt to reveal a temporary tattoo of the Whitebeard Pirate Crew on his back, further igniting social media.


    The next day, before his concert, he posted a video of dining with the famous mangaka, Oda Eichiro.


    However, the seemingly calm meeting was anything but.


    "Oda-sensei, I''m doing this for your own sake," Edward said, raising his hand perversely as he approached the mangaka.


    "Stop! Help me! What are you doing with that needle!?" Oda-sensei exclaimed, trying to fend him off, but Edward was too strong. He injected Oda with various enhancement fluids, restoring his health and alleviating his arthritis.


    "Just so you know, I wouldn''t do this if I weren''t desperate. I just need you to fix the pacing of the series a little bit," Edward said, activating his Sharingan. Oda''s horror deepened as he recognized its power, but before he could react, Edward ensnared him in a genjutsu.


    Edward deleted the memory of him being injected and also sent him images of the anime until the Wano Kingdom Arc.


    By 2017, the One Piece anime would catch up to where Edward left off, at Egghead Island. He executed similar tactics with Toei''s boss and several key animators, significantly enhancing the animation quality for the next decade.


    Netflix signed a contract with Toei to stream the anime on their platform. With Edward''s advanced AI, Robin, subtitles in multiple languages were created for the show.


    Additionally, Edward cleverly baited Funimation to expedite the English dubbing for the series.


    Edward''s escapades in Tokyo didn''t stop there.


    "What?" A store cashier was taken aback when Edward made his request. "You want to buy everything in the store?" he asked in disbelief.


    Standing inside a manga store filled with figurines, Edward nodded, holding his limitless credit card. "Yes. Ring it all up."


    "Arigatou gozaimashita!" The cashier, along with the staff and the boss, bowed as Edward left with his team, carrying boxes of merchandise.


    With Max, he visited several nightclubs while in disguise. However, Max found herself entangled with the Yakuza for some reason. A fight broke out, and Edward single-handedly took down thirty armed men, even putting a knife to the Yakuza boss''s neck to force his surrender.


    The Yakuza boss was arrested, and the incident was quickly swept under the rug by the police.


    Next, Edward met with several ministers responsible for the country''s communications, but they were being purposefully difficult during negotiations.


    Caroline seethed with anger after the meeting, cursing the government representative.


    "They won''t cooperate unless it benefits them. They''re basically asking for bribes if we want to build the communication tower here," she said disgruntledly.


    "We?" Edward glanced at her playfully, causing Caroline to shrink back in embarrassment. "I''m... part of the company too? Am I not?" she asked meekly.


    Though she wasn''t officially hired, her experience with the company fostered a sense of belonging. No one cared about her past or whether her father was a felon; they treated everyone equally, valuing capability over background.


    Edward smiled at Caroline and reassured her, "You are. Don''t worry about this. I''ll handle it myself."


    Without any genjutsu or hypnosis available, Edward opted for a different approach that had a similar effect.


    That night, while the minister was sleeping, a mysterious figure appeared, lasers pointed at his heart and head. Realizing he was messing with the wrong person, he quickly changed his mind, and the mobile network was established in Japan in less than a week.


    With the groundwork laid, they only needed to set up the remaining infrastructure.


    Lastly, in Tokyo, Edward met with bank representatives and the finance minister to discuss his next project: a PayPal alternative.


    After his concert in Tokyo, Edward took two days off to explore the city. He was surrounded by fans at Shibuya Crossing and visited clubs, mingling with several figures from the Japanese entertainment industry.


    Ted and Sage visited Edward''s hotel room to wake him up the next morning. When Ted opened the door, several pretty Japanese girls hurried out, blushing.


    Ted was flabbergasted, and Sage muttered in shock, "S�CSix people?"


    Edward greeted them casually after stepping out of the shower. "Oh hi. Are you guys ready to go?"


    "Edward��who are they?" Ted asked, concerned about Edward''s mental health and general well-being.


    Rubbing his wet hair with a towel, Edward replied, "Just some people I met last night."


    "They look familiar," Ted mused, stroking his chin as he tried to recall.


    "They''re from an idol group. You might know them," Edward said, dismissing the situation casually.


    "By the way, can we find a recording studio around here? Last night gave me an idea for a song," he added, his tone nonchalant.


    For some reason, the creaking of the mattress springs had sparked his creativity.


    Before he could start working on the song, a white raven appeared, signaling the start of the next gacha session. Edward found himself in a white room filled with floating dartboards.


    A Kitsune Youkai supervised the gacha session, explaining how it worked. "The boards will float in a circular pattern. You need to throw darts at the targets three times to receive a prize. If you miss a target, the quality of your prize will be reduced. However, if you hit all targets on the same board, you''ll receive a better reward."


    The Kitsune also elaborated on the Samsara Tree. "You''ll learn more as you go, but for now, think of it as a recycling unit."


    The handsome youkai, with white hair and fox-like eyes accented by red eyeshadow, tossed Edward a translucent ball.


    "What''s this?" Edward asked, catching it smoothly. He examined the ball, noting its golden tinge despite its translucence.


    "That''s a quality cast," the youkai explained casually. "If you recycle 100,000 rewards, you can obtain one golden quality cast. Ten for white, 100 for green, 1,000 for purple, and 10,000 for red..."


    Kitsune yawned. "Well, it''s not like you have the karma to do this, so just throw your darts and get lost. Each set of darts costs 100 karmas��"


    Suddenly, a file materialized in Kitsune''s hand, silencing him.


    "You have... 8 billion positive karma?" the fox demon exclaimed, shocked. "But a high-level afterlife agent can''t be here��You''re only level 2?" He scrutinized Edward''s face, narrowing his eyes. "Are you the son of humanity''s monarch people were speaking about?"


    "I''m not the Emperor''s son, if that''s what you mean," Edward replied easily. "So, I can upgrade my skill quality with these casts?" He felt a surge of excitement.


    "Yours... and your karmic connection," the fox demon clarified, realizing Edward was being truthful.


    "Karmic connection?" Edward asked, perplexed. "You mean like mortal enemies who meet in different lives? I have a mortal enemy?"


    The Kitsune nodded, causing Edward''s jaw to drop. "It''s amusing how your mind went straight to enemies," the demon remarked.


    He showed Edward the Samsara universe, where everything was interconnected. Edward noticed his tree was a tall pine among many others, serving as an umbrella that protected the smaller trees beneath it.


    "Hudgens?" Edward gasped, recognizing one of the names connected to him. Kitsune smirked. "You changed her entire fate. Is it really that hard to accept that she''s your karmic connection?"


    Edward also spotted Amy and Maggie''s trees, along with those of his father, Frankie, his grandparents, Jacob, Jenna, Enid, Haley, Alex, Luke, Manny, and others. While he couldn''t grant them new talents, he could recast their existing ones.


    For instance, he was surprised to see that Alex Dunphy''s [Scientist] talent was only rated green quality, one tier higher from the bottom. Given Alex''s reputation as a genius, this was shocking.


    As he examined her other traits��[Studious], [Competitive], [Hardworking], all have golden qualities��he realized these traits likely helped her exceed her talent limits.


    Edward pondered, If she can become one of the most sought-after talents in the world with just a green-quality Scientist talent, what would happen if her talent were recast to golden?


    Edward also peeked at Maggie and Amy''s talents, and were surprised. Amy has a golden acting talent while Maggie''s acting talent was only a green one. Hudgens also only has green quality acting and singing talent. Edward rubbed his chin in confusion, mumbling to himself, "But their skills aren''t that bad. Are they already at their peak before they even start?"


    Kitsune interrupted his thoughts. "Recasting doesn''t guarantee a change. If you recast without tempering the talents, it won''t work."


    (A/N: Easy enough to understand right?)


    "I''ve heard enough. Keep the darts coming, and only stop when I say so," Edward smirked, turning his attention to the dartboards. "By the way, can you switch them to kunai instead of darts? I don''t see why it needs to be a dart, as long as I can hit the target."


    "Sure," Kitsune replied easily. "I''ll let you know when there are ten minutes left. If you don''t finish in time, everything will be integrated into you all at once when you wake up. Trust me, you don''t want that to happen." The youkai warned.


    Edward nodded and began throwing the kunai at the dartboards, not caring whether he hit or missed. He focused solely on the act of throwing. Each time a prize dropped, its name floated in front of him.


    Using his parallel thought ability, Edward quickly sorted the prizes he wanted to keep from those he intended to recycle, discarding them at an impressive speed.


    With both hands, he threw three kunai simultaneously. Though he struggled at first, his skills improved rapidly, shocking Kitsune as he observed Edward''s remarkable growth.


    "That madman," Kitsune sighed, lighting up a cigarette.


    "Trash! Trash! Trash! Trash! Trash!! Keep! Trash! Trash! Trash!" Edward shouted while he continued to throw the kunai for 3 and a half hours.


    "Time''s up," Kitsune announced to Edward. As he stopped throwing kunais, Edward shook his hand a few times and turned to Kitsune, confusion etched on his face. "Why am I not tired at all?"


    "How should I know?" Kitsune shot back, glaring at him. "Just imagine the trash going to the Samsara trees." Edward smiled and nodded as 22,000 gachas floated into the Samsara Universe, disappearing beneath the roots of his tree.


    Suddenly, two red-quality casts appeared in Edward''s hands. "How do I use these? Do I have to enter the Samsara tree universe myself?" he asked.


    Kitsune rebuked him. "Your very soul would disappear if you went in there right now. At most, you can peek at the trees from afar. Unless your soul becomes ten times stronger, you shouldn''t even think about going. Just give them to the Afterlife Corp with a written request. They''ll handle it for you."


    "Oh, got it." Edward accepted this easily, making the fox demon uncomfortable.


    "You have 25 gacha rewards, 2 memories, 7 skills, 4 talents, 9 knowledge pieces, and 2 special abilities. Wait, 1 grand prize?" Kitsune''s eyes widened as he turned to the dart boards, noticing three boards with kunais hitting the bullseye.


    "What?! I won!?" Edward exclaimed, equally surprised. After he left, Kitsune spoke to the thin air, "I was wondering how he got in here. So, it''s your intervention, Eve..."


    "Call me Henderson." The teacher appeared next to Kitsune, manifesting out of thin air.


    "I was curious why he wasn''t tired. I guess you cast a recovery spell on him."


    "I don''t know what you''re talking about. So, what did he get as a grand prize?" Eve asked, intrigued.


    "Something really overpowered in his universe," Kitsune sighed. Mrs. Henderson peeked at the prize and scowled. "But it doesn''t really have any use right now. So it''s useless."


    "Virtualization ability by Han Xiao! Do you know who that is? He''s the Legendary Mechanic! Your kid can turn himself into data! He''ll be a god in the technological world!"


    "But you can only use it for 24 hours. It''s not that great," Mrs. Henderson muttered, concern etched on her face. "This doesn''t help me erase my debt to him."


    Kitsune scanned the list of prizes Edward had kept and muttered in confusion, "Why did he pick this one among all the others? I can agree with a few of them, but the rest seem like trash."


    The prizes Edward received were as follows:


    Golden Quality Special Ability �C Bishounen (Pretty Boy) Aura �C Teruhashi Makoto (Daily Life of Saiki Kusuo): Increases charm by 100 points; an illusionary golden aura envelops the user.White Quality Ability �C Quirk �C Shark Teeth Gene (A random person in My Hero Academia): Grants a shark healing factor for teeth; new teeth grow infinitely when lost.Purple Quality Talent �C Cooking �C Komatsu (Toriko).Red Quality Talent �C Creative Vision �C Denis Villeneuve (Director for Dune).Purple Quality Talent �C Breaking the Limit Teaching �C Terence Fletcher (Whiplash).Green Quality Talent �C Gardening �C Hercules (One Piece).Green Quality Knowledge �C Snapdragon Chipset Gen 8.White Quality Knowledge �C Lithium Polymer Batteries.White Quality Knowledge �C Ozempic Fat Loss DrugGreen Quality Knowledge �C Stem Cell Treatment for Type 2 Diabetes.Purple Quality Knowledge �C Nuclear Fusion Technology.Purple Quality Knowledge �C Blimp Tethered Wind Turbines (Big Hero 6; other knowledge is from his previous world).Purple Quality Knowledge �C Cybernetic Energy Core and Enhancement�C Dr Kuseno (Saitama)Red Quality Knowledge �C Chakra Extraction Method �C Kakashi Hatake.Red Quality Knowledge �C Assassination �C Koro Sensei (Assassination Classroom)Green Quality Skill �C Observation Haki �C Helmeppo.Purple Quality Skill �C Soul Musical �C Brook (One Piece): Ability to imbue soul in his voice and instrument, creating hallucination based on the skill user intention)Red Quality Skill �C Black Leg Style Kicking Martial Art �C Vinsmoke Sanji (Pre-Grand Line).Consumable Gold Quality Skill �C Technology Generation �C Lex Luthor/Brainiac fusion (20 minutes): Can create any technology from a lower technological level. Consumable Gold Quality Skill �C Pearl Jam �C Tonio Trussardi. (3 times use) : Pearl Jam has the ability to infuse itself into culinary creations and cure the consumer''s ailments upon ingestion by enhancing the natural curative properties of the ingredients in a particular dish.Red Quality Skill �C Sculpting �C Weed (Legendary Moonlight Sculptor)  Red Quality Skill �C Disguise �C Loid Forger: Including Skin Mask creation.White Quality Memory �C Fighting Monsters �C Percy Jackson (A compilation of Percy battling monsters at age 13).White Quality Memory �C Illusion Fighting �C Loki Odinson.Consumable Grand Prize Gacha �C Virtualization �C Han Xiao.


    ...


    "So I guess I''m a mutant now." Edward muttered after integrating the shark gene quirk he received from the gacha. He pulled his cheek with a finger hook as he checked his teeth on his mirror reflection.


    "My canines became a bit sharper." He said before he picked up a tissue box. He managed to bite through it like it was made of tofu and spat out the box and tissues after.


    "The bite strength also became stronger. I need to be careful with it. Don''t want to make an issue where I accidentally bite off someone''s finger." He mumbled.


    "Why are their fingers in your mouth in the first place?" Sage suddenly interrupted his thought by entering his bedroom.


    Edward just smiled and said, "You know it, so don''t pretend to be naive."


    Back to the Japan tour.


    Despite the busy concert schedule, he spent a week producing the music video for his new song, all filmed in Japan. He even invited the idol group AKB48 to star in the music video.


    The choreographed dance quickly took over the world, becoming a viral trend on social media as fans attempted to mimic it.


    Edward released two versions of the music video, one in Japanese, one in English. In the US, Enid pressed play on the music video the second it was uploaded. Alex and Jenna were by her side, watching the music video together in Alex''s house.


    [Bling Bang Bang Born �C Creepy Nuts]


    ??Chiito, gifted, arawaza, wanted ??


    Cheating, gifted, rough techniques, wanted


    ?? Kinki, kinjite, akiraka mouten ??


    Contraindications, prohibitions, clearly a blind spot


    ?? Hansoku, ijigen, kono yo no mon de wa nai desu ??


    Violation, different dimension, it''s totally out-of-this-world


    ?? Muri gee, sore kiitenai tte??


    Impossible game; I never signed up for this with my name


    The AKB48 idols appeared behind him as he sang in the set, which made Enid scowled in jealousy. "Why are all of them touching him?!" She muttered, glaring at the 6 idols from the 48 people idol group and smiled whenever Edward was on the screen.


    ?? Ay, raibaru kuchi wo soroete ??


    Ay, my rivals are all telling me


    ?? Wow, raibaru kuchi wo soroete??


    Wow, my rivals are all telling me


    ??Bagu de, magure, mitomenee zettee ??


    Error struck, pure luck, never gonna admit


    ?? Maji de? Kore wo ma...zenbu nanami de? ??


    Seriously? You''re doing all of this... all brawn?


    The fast paced Japanese style rap, the aesthetic music video with various anime-style shot; Edward wearing a Kitsune (Fox) mask on the side of his face, the dance at the Shibuya Crossing, his mesmerizing vocals, the guest idols, all of it made the music video went viral and crossed 100 million views in less than a day.


    Eminem sat in front of their laptop, his fingers interlocked together as he glared at the screen. Dr Dre teased him, "You''re mad he rapped in Japanese instead of having rap beef with you? Just forget what you''re hoping for. You know his personality."


    Eminem sighed and said, "I get it, but I still want it."


    ?? It''s namami, it''s namami, yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah ??


    It''s brawn, it''s brawn, yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah


    ?? Bling-bang-bang, bling-bang-bang-born


    Bling-bang-bang, bling-bang-bang-born ??


    The song swept the entire world, just like Despacito and Gangnam Style did when it was released. Edward used his soul musical skill when singing, which hypnotised the audience.


    ?? Jitsuryoku wo hakki shikiru mae ni??


    Before I show them my true ability


    ??Aite no hou ga bakkurete kurashii ??


    My enemies run away without using their capability


    ?? Agarikiru haadoru very happy ??


    Raising the bar makes me very happy


    ?? Akiraka ni dantotsu de pikaichi ??


    Cause I''m outstanding, absolutely at No. 1


    ?? Aika warazu dappi shiteru mainichi (Bling, bling, bling) ??


    As always, I upgrade myself every day (Bling, bling, bling)


    Alex almost burst into laughter and commented, "That''s actually not a lie. "


    ?? Dare no nanahikari mo iranai omae no ice yori icy (Icy) ??


    Don''t need anyone''s support cause I''m icier than your ice (Icy)


    ?? Ore, patto mi dekinai koto bakkari da kedo very happy ??


    Might seem useless at first, but still, I''m very happy


    ?? Aa, kiret��ru, akireteru mawari ??


    I''m crazed... My crew is fed up


    ?? Megu mar��teru kazoku tomodachi (Happy) ??


    Blessed with great family and friends (Happy)


    Jenna and Enid danced together to the song. Jacob, Finneas, Billie were all excited to be mentioned in the lyric.


    ?? Mou hansoku teki tachiichi, mina ore ni makase tokeba ii (Bang-bang-bang) ??


    I''m illegally invincible, so guys, let me be in charge (Bang-bang-bang)


    Pepper smirked and said, "I guess that''s why he''s taking charge of everything all of the time."


    Harvey replied, "Based on his result, I guess he really is invincible."


    ?? Kyoukasho ni nai, mondaishuu ni nai ??


    You won''t find them in any textbooks or drill books


    ?? Chou bad na majinai, listen??


    My words are a curse with truly BAD looks, listen


    Edward stood in front of a full size mirror, with one of the idol members becoming the entity inside it.


    ?? Kagami yo kagami kotaechatte ??


    Mirror, mirror, on the wall, just answer me


    ??Who''s the best? I''m the best! Oh yeah ??


    Who''s the best? I''m the best! Oh yeah


    The mirror changed to his reflection as he answered his own question.


    ?? Namami no mama ikeru toko made??


    I''m gonna go with just brawn


    ?? To the next, to the ichiban ue ??


    To the next, to the top of the world


    He punched the mirror and took out the girl inside it, looking at her intently as their face moved closer. It ended and cut to the next scene without even showing anything else.


    ??Now singin'' ??


    ?? Bling-bang-bang, bling-bang-bang, bling-bang-bang-born??


    (Now singin'')


    ?? Bling-bang-bang, bling-bang-bang, bling-bang-bang-born??


    (Now singin'')


    ??Bling-bang-bang, bling-bang-bang, bling-bang-bang-born ??


    All of them danced together in the music video�C stoic faces and moving their bodies cheekily.


    ??To the next, to the ichiban ue ??


    To the next, to the top


    In front of the crowd in Kyoto, the crowd sang along to the lyrics as Edward performed this song there.


    ?? Ey-day, ore no mama de iru dake de chou flex ??


    Ey-day, just staying the way I am is a daily flex


    ?? Ey-day, daremo kuchi wo hasamenai (Don''t test) ??


    Ey-day, no one in this world can interrupt me (Don''t test)


    ?? Ey-day, ore no mama de iru dake de chou flex ??


    Ey-day, just staying the way I am is a daily flex


    ?? Ey-day, daremo kuchi wo hasamasenai (Don''t test) ??


    Ey-day, no one in this world can interrupt me (Don''t test)


    Taylor scowled and said, "Just by breathing is a flex huh!? He''s so contentious."


    The skillful ways of Edward changing his vocals throughout the entire song mesmerized the crowd. It felt like multiple people were singing the song instead of just one.


    ?? Yeah, yeah, yeah, Gakureki mo nai zenka mo nai yoyuu de bling-bling ??


    No academic background, no criminal records. It''s a piece of cake; bling-bling


    ?? Kono sonzai jitai ga bunkazai na noumiso bling-bling ??


    My brain, no need to explain. Itself is a cultural heritage; bling-bling


    ?? Koukyuusha wa kaeru menkyo wa nai aisha green, green ??


    I can afford luxury cars without a driver''s license; my car is green, green


    ?? Zenkoku kakuchi yurasu ippin ??


    My masterpieces shake every region of the country


    Hudgens suddenly received a text from Edward, telling her to come to Japan. Blushing heavily, she began to prepare and went to meet with Edward in Okinawa.


    Unfortunately for her, the romantic gateway event that she imagined didn''t happen. Instead, Edward was giving her acting lessons instead. Maggie received the same fate as her. Although they did enjoy going to the onsen together.


    ?? Kono bero ga bling-bling ??


    This tongue is my weapon; bling-bling


    ?? Baretto nara mantan ??


    My bullet, of course, is fully loaded


    ?? Kansai namari namami no kotodama ??


    My words are Kansai accent-coated; they have raw power-coded


    ?? Ongaku, kouun, shouri no megami, koyoi mo sanmata bang-bang ??


    Music, fortune, goddess of victory; every night I cheat with all three, bang-bang


    "Did he just add a verse about threesomes in there?" Tara looked at Haley with worry, but then she realized Haley wasn''t bothered at all. In fact, she was enjoying the song.


    ?? Manga mitai na yakara to manma de hariaete shimatteru manga ??


    I''m the man who can compete with guys who totally look like manga characters


    ?? Attou teki chikara kono atama to kuchi kara ??


    Absolute power that flows from my head and my mouth blows your mind


    ?? Kono karada tattoo wa haittenai ??


    No tattoos on my body, none


    ?? Kono tsura ni kizu mo tsuitenai ??


    No scars or scratches on my face, none


    ?? Kurikaeshi yarakashiteku dameeji ga ??


    Damages repeated throughout the years


    ?? Ikatsui nenrin wo kizamu shiwa ??


    They carve deep wrinkles and prove my careers


    ?? Bling-bang-bang, bling-bang-bang, bling-bang-bang-born ??


    ?? Ore no mama de bling shite, bang shite, bang suru tame ni Born shite kita nippon, ay! ??


    ?? I bling and bang just the way I am; I was born to bang here in Japan Ay! ??


    "Ayyo�C That was really awesome!" Snoop muttered in shock. "That rhyming... That was fucking crazy! He''s not even Japanese!"


    ?? Kagami yo kagami kotaechatte ??


    Mirror, mirror, on the wall, just answer me


    ?? Who''s the best? I''m the best! Oh yeah ??


    ?? Namami no mama ikeru toko made ??


    I''m gonna go with just brawn


    ?? To the next, to the ichiban ue ??


    To the next, to the top of the world


    Edward''s concert tour made a deep impact on the Japanese people. From exorcising the spirit haunting them, igniting their spirit and passion, even getting everyone to dance together, Edward became a household name in Japan in just 3 weeks of touring the country.


    ?? Now singin'' ??


    ?? Bling-bang-bang, bling-bang-bang, bling-bang-bang-born??


    (Now singin'')


    ?? Bling-bang-bang, bling-bang-bang, bling-bang-bang-born ??


    ?? (Now singin'') Bling-bang-bang, bling-bang-bang, bling-bang-bang-born ??


    ??To the next, to the ichiban ue ??


    To the next, to the top


    There was an incident in the Nara Deer Park incited by Edward that made the Japanese mainstream news. The deers were standing in line as Edward came to visit the place, all ignoring the other tourists and wanting his attention.


    ?? Ey-day, ore no mama de iru dake de chou flex ??


    Ey-day, just staying the way I am, extremely flex


    ?? Ey-day, daremo kuchi wo hasamenai (Don''t test) ??


    Ey-day, no one in this world can interrupt me (Don''t test)


    ?? Ey-day, ore no mama de iru dake de chou flex ??


    Ey-day, just staying the way I am, extremely flex


    ??Ey-day, daremo kuchi wo hasamasenai (Don''t test) ??


    Ey-day, no one in this world can interrupt me (Don''t test)


    In the past 3 weeks, all of the business negotiation was settled, and the company even started to sell the mobile network in Japan. After a week, 4 million simcard were sold, and the numbers kept growing.


    "I think I need to go back to the US for a bit." Edward sighed as he wanted to continue his travelling in Japan for a few more days.

 Chapter 344: February – Grammy and Movie Launch

    Chapter 344 - 344: February �C Grammy and Movie Launch


    [General POV]


    At the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Edward sat next to RDJ and Taylor Swift, waiting for the ceremony to begin.


    "How many awards do you think you''re going to get?" RDJ teased. He was invited to introduce a performance and had requested to be seated with Edward. "Also, are you glowing?" He asked, confused.


    The Bishounen Aura made him even more eye-catching when he wanted to be. His style and appearance alone made the viewers of the award show looking forward to him. Everytime the camera panned to Edward, the ratings spiked immensely.


    Edward sighed. "To be honest, I don''t care." His focus was on helping Taylor, not on his own accolades. He didn''t lobby for himself, but he ensured she was properly considered for her nominations without buying awards for her.


    He just wanted her to be judged fairly, which made Taylor feel touched after she heard about it. Although she still picked a fight the second she saw him.


    After all, connections often dictated the awards.


    If Edward bribed the event manager, it was solely to secure a stage for Hudgens to showcase her comeback, despite having only released her songs a week prior. It was an awkward moment for Zac since he was invited to the award show too.


    With the music video released, Hudgens immediately welcomed her popularity back. "Brutal", "I see Red", and her third single, "Fight Song". The songs went viral worldwide, and ''Nessa'', her alter-ego, became the icon of a comeback song.


    Despite his indifference, Edward found himself walking up to the stage four times that night to accept his awards: Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, Best New Artist (having debuted just nine months earlier), and Album of the Year.


    He also won Best Duet with Taylor, sharing that honor with her on stage.


    Taylor, too, had a successful evening, winning Best Country Album, Best Country Song, and Best Female Country Vocal Performance. In total, she took home four Grammys.


    Beyonce? led the night with five wins and 10 nominations. Even Edward only got 7 nominations.


    There was confusion surrounding Beyonce?''s win for Song of the Year with "Single Ladies" by the fans. Many felt Edward''s song "7 Years" had more impact, but the Grammys had considered songs from early 2008 to September 2009, which dulled the outcry.


    "It''s definitely rigged. Song of the Year is meant for songwriters. But you didn''t get it? Even though you wrote all your songs?" Hudgens grumbled, her eyes sharp as she watched the show. Edward laughed and playfully pushed her eyebrows up, signaling her to control her expression.


    Hudgens blushed a bit, but when she remembered the hellish training she had with Edward in Japan, she shuddered.


    Taylor added, "They should add a few more awards��Best International Singles, Best Cultural Appropriation, Best Ballad."


    "One of those isn''t like the others," Edward muttered in disbelief, realizing Taylor wasn''t joking.


    "What? Ballad?" she asked, confused.


    "No. Not that," he replied.


    "Appreciation. You meant Cultural Appreciation," Vanessa corrected Taylor after thinking for a while.


    Embarrassed, Taylor''s cheeks flushed red. The moment was captured on camera, igniting speculation: [...Taylor''s little crush on her CEO reignited?]


    The event concluded without incident, and Taylor asked Edward if he wanted to attend the after-party thrown by the organizer.


    "No, I have to go to Florida right now. I need to visit the Percy Jackson set," Edward said, shaking his head slightly.


    Vanessa, intrigued, asked, "Why Florida?"


    "I didn''t pick it. Jon did." Edward sighed. He left the Staples Center and flew directly to Florida. On February first, he finally met the cast for the Percy Jackson movie.


    Timothe?e Chalamet, just 14, played Percy Jackson; 13-year-old Elle Fanning portrayed Annabeth Chase; and Thomas Brodie-Sangster took on the role of Grover Underwood.


    Edward also recognized many familiar names on the cast list: Mackenzie Foy as Talia, Tom Hardy as Ares, Mads Mikkelsen as Hades, and Jon Hamm as Poseidon, leaving him breathless. Even RDJ had agreed to play Dionysus, which made Edward break into a cold sweat.


    "How much money will I actually need to spend on casting alone?" he mumbled, fearing for the future.


    "Who''s playing Zeus?" Edward asked Jon after finishing a discussion with the construction crew about the set specifications.


    "How about Jeff Bridges?" Jon suggested, which puzzled Edward.


    "What''s with that suggestion? Is there an issue with the casting process?" Edward raised an eyebrow.


    Jon sighed. "We have Robert Redford, but he dropped out because of commitments. The backup, Sean Bean, is busy with Game of Thrones and isn''t sure he can commit to five movies with us. We''re still waiting for confirmation from him." Despite his disappointment, Jon wasn''t worried at all in his tone.


    "I think it''s better to wait for Sean Bean. I''m sure he''ll agree once he sees the script," Edward said with a smirk, already settling on Sean Bean as the man for Zeus. After all, he would die in just a season.


    "LALALA~ NO SPOILERS!" Jon joked, covering his ears.


    Jon''s confidence stemmed from his trust in Edward''s capability and passion for the project. Edward had planned all five movies together, which shocked Jon.


    Typically, studios wait to see the first movie''s results before deciding on sequels, but Edward''s approach was refreshingly bold. He even told Jon not to care about the profits, just aim to get the money back.


    With a 200 million dollar budget, incredible CGI, competent staff members, Jon was excited to start filming for the movie. But he still needed to give the actors time to prepare, so the shoot would start in March.


    "You''re still going to play Luke Castellan, right?" Jon asked.


    Edward watched a few stuntmen conducting mock sword choreography and replied, his expression slightly disdainful.


    "...Yeah, I will. And I''ll be personally responsible for all the fight choreography from now on." Edward replied to Jon after a while.


    The choreographer, dissatisfied, challenged him, "Oh, so you think you can do better than this?"


    "Better than that sloppy swordsmanship? Of course I can," Edward taunted.


    "Show us then," the choreographer pressed, his frustration evident. Entitled, condensing, presumptuous, the choreographer''s mind was filled with the synonyms for the word brat�C which he used to describe Edward.


    Edward smiled and called out to one of his bodyguards, "Woo-Jin, come forth."


    The choreographer was taken aback by Woo-Jin''s imposing presence��6 ''6'' tall, muscular, and radiating confidence. He looked like he stepped out of a manhwa.


    Edward had designed Woo-Jin based on a character he admired, Sung Jin-Woo from Solo Levelling, the manhwa version. Of course, only the physical characteristics were similar.


    Two days ago, when Edward landed in California for the Grammys, he had stopped at an isolated warehouse in Van Nuys.


    "Sage, if anything goes wrong, you can undo it, right?" Edward asked, a hint of worry in his voice.


    Sage replied casually, "I''ll be prepared."


    In the 50,000-square-foot warehouse filled with obsolete technology, Edward activated his skill, Technological Generation, a power he acquired from the gacha. For 20 minutes, he felt like a god.


    The Lex Luthor/Brainiac fusion skill lifted him slightly off the ground, his eyes glowing bright. He felt his body strain as the skill took its toll, blood trickling from his nose.


    With a wave of his hand, the obsolete tech disintegrated and regenerated into new, advanced technology.


    He created an android assembly line, a quantum computer, 50 million Snapdragon chips, a cybernetic energy core, 50 million lithium polymer batteries, and various android weaponry, such as hyper sensors, energy swords, and rocket punches.


    After 20 minutes, Edward''s body reached its limit. He collapsed to the ground, exhausted, having created ten advanced androids wrapped in high-quality silicon skin to mimic human appearance.


    He split the genders evenly, resulting in five males and five females. Their brain matrices were connected to the quantum server, yet they remained disconnected from the mainframe.


    "You should rest before using the other skill," Sage advised, treating his injuries.


    Edward wiped his bloody nose and replied, "I don''t have a lab, so I need to settle this now. These androids aren''t complete yet. I still need to code them, so I think I can use virtualization to finish my work right now."


    "You only have 24 hours. You''ll be inside the mainframe for 24 hours... Well, what you think is 24 hours in that world," Sage explained.


    "Huh? What do you mean?" Edward asked, confused.


    "It means that the 24 hours aren''t in the real world but in the digital world. Time moves quickly there. It could be two minutes before you return, or even two seconds, depending on the technology''s power."


    "Oh, for real?" Edward was excited. "Then it won''t interfere with my schedule at all. That''s the most advanced computer in the world. I think I can get out in just five seconds."


    As he activated his virtualization, Edward''s entire body was digitized, and he disappeared from the physical world. Sage watched his data fly into the mainframe and sighed. "Just come out while keeping your sanity intact."


    In the digital realm, every piece of knowledge, every skill, and even his senses were digitized. He had truly become a digital life-form.


    "Robin, are you there?" Edward called out as he floated in the sea of data. Suddenly, he spotted a small matrix floating by his leg. "Robin, is that you?" He smiled, greeting the blue-colored artificial intelligence matrix cheerfully.


    The codes for the androids were completed after 18 hours. Edward upgraded all of the codes and transferred his skills to the androids and Robin.


    From sculpting to karate, and various combat techniques, the androids learned swordsmanship, cooking, disguises, assassination skills, business acumen, acting, massage techniques, and more. While he couldn''t transfer his supernatural abilities like chakra and Sharingan, the androids were already formidable with their cybernetic weapons.


    Of course, he ensured they would have absolute obedience to him to prevent any future troubles. Robin integrated herself into one of the female android bodies, resembling her character from One Piece.


    Without the virtualization process, it would have taken him 5 to 10 years to develop the codes for the androids. While it was still possible to do it without the skill, it would take a significant amount of time.


    "I think I could take over Cuba in just a day with them," Edward said casually. Then he decided to dive into the internet.


    "There''s so much filth here; about 80 percent of it is trash," he scowled, disintegrating all the filth without a second thought.


    Edward scoured the internet, deleted every copy of Hudgens'' leaked photos, and created a virus to prevent anyone from ever uploading those photos again. It took him just a few seconds to accomplish that. He also targeted the dark web, destroying it and causing mass confusion worldwide.


    With some time left, he opened the Unreal Engine world he and Robin had created together.


    "Open the 3D modeling and animation software," Edward muttered. As the software popped up in front of him, he found that he could create animations with just his thoughts.


    He decided to try creating Arcane Season 1, finishing an episode in just 20 minutes. In three hours, he completed nine episodes, a task that would typically take an entire team of animators three years.


    "Hmm, three hours left. What else should I do?" he pondered, focusing on other CGI models, particularly the monsters for the Percy Jackson movie. He completed their models, ensuring they integrated well with the live-action footage and green screen.


    It took him only 20 minutes to create over 100 monster models and various sceneries in the Unreal Engine software.


    "What else? Oh, I can do this." Edward smirked mischievously and began creating an animated movie he had seen in his previous life. The progress was faster than with Arcane, as he had already become proficient with the skill.


    He was pulled out from the mainframe after finishing the animated movie and its sequel, waving at Sage excitedly as he regained his body.


    Sage looked at him with confusion and asked, "The world doesn''t bother you?"


    "Why would it bother me?" Edward replied, puzzled and alarmed. He patted his body and found everything normal. After taking a breath of relief, he looked at Sage, asking for an explanation.


    "Some people went crazy in there because their minds couldn''t comprehend the change. You... handled it so casually. I think hyper-focusing on the codes at the beginning allowed your mind to adapt easily."


    Edward nodded, not overly concerned. He hadn''t experienced any problems, so why worry unnecessarily?


    Back in Florida, where the set of Camp Half-Blood was being constructed, Edward sparred with Woo-Jin using a wooden sword. Every swing could potentially kill a human.


    Woo-Jin employed a double sword style while Edward used only one. Their clashes mesmerized the audience, including Timothe?e Chalamet and Ella Fanning.


    "I should learn how to do this?" Timothe?e muttered nervously, his hands trembling slightly. However, he couldn''t hide his excitement. Most of the kids there shared his expression as they watched Edward''s fighting skills.


    Edward grinned and decreased the chakra enhancing his body while combating Woo-Jin. He, a human, managed to pin down an enhanced android defensively.


    Woo-Jin parried and swung his sword downward, but Edward backflipped with insane air time, which made the audience all exclaim in admiration. Woo-Jin''s sword sliced a wooden chair, surprising the audience members.


    "Wait, are they fighting for real?" Jon mumbled before he widened his eyes as he saw another one of Woo-Jin''s attacks destroy the wooden beam.


    Edward appeared beside him and sliced his sword horizontally, clashing with Woo-Jin''s sword. His blade almost hit Woo-Jin''s neck before Woo-Jin managed to push Edward''s sword away.


    "Don''t hold back, Woo-Jin," Edward instructed, grinning happily.


    "I''m not holding anything back, sir," Woo-Jin replied stoically, even from a disadvantageous position. Eventually, Edward''s strike broke Woo-Jin''s wooden sword, and he placed his blade at Woo-Jin''s neck.


    "I won," Edward said easily, sweat dripping from his chin. He had thoroughly enjoyed the 15-minute fight, relishing the challenge of having an opponent again.


    Everyone applauded at the victory, and the swordplay choreographer''s jaw dropped. His mouth stayed open for a while before he finally regained his mind.


    Holding my shoulders, the instructor shook me slightly as he asked with a burning gaze, "Where did you learn how to do that? Also, why not star in an action movie!? With your skills, it''s definitely easy for us�C I mean, you, to create a legendary action sequence! The movie will definitely be a hit!"


    "What?" I was taken aback at the direction his mind went. I thought he was going to get mad.


    Woo-Jin glared at the man as he touched my body, causing the instructor to flinch and take a step back, hurriedly calming himself down.


    "I actually agree with him," Jon suddenly said, joining the conversation.


    Ella Fanning had stars in her eyes after the exhibition match ended. Timothe?e noticed this and vowed, "I swear I''m going to do my best for this movie."


    "An action movie, huh?" I rubbed my chin as I left the movie set. Two of the androids, Ban and Weed, stayed behind in Florida to help build the set. They could have finished everything in just a day, but with so many people around, they had to hide their capabilities, taking five days to complete the entire project instead.


    Edward used his memories from Percy Jackson to understand how demigods fought monsters and to visualize the infrastructure of Camp Half-Blood. After discussions with Rick Riordan, he planned a new blueprint for the entire camp.


    When not used for filming, the camp would generate significant revenue and become a major tourist attraction in Florida in the future.


    To escape winter, Edward traveled to Australia��his next destination on the world tour from Florida. During his ten days there, he and his dad encountered several dangerous animals, yet none attacked them.


    Edward went hiking, surfing, and more in Australia. Each day, his posts went viral, and his attitude and way of speaking around dangerous animals reminded Australians and the world of the late Steve Irwin. On an Australian talk show, Edward shared how Mr. Irwin had taught him to appreciate animals.


    Upon returning for the Super Bowl on February 6, Edward waited at the Camp Half-Blood set since the game was in Florida.


    The next day, during the halftime show, Edward''s performance, featuring his songs "Counting Stars," "Believer," and "Enemy," was hailed as the best halftime show of the decade.


    107 million people watched the game, and that number jumped to 120 million during the halftime show. One in every three Americans now knew who Edward was, as his performance resonated deeply with the audience.


    Finally, the release date for the self-made movie approached. Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, and Vanessa Hudgens flew to Australia to promote the film before returning to the States together.


    The movie was released on February 12, 2010, alongside "Valentine''s Day." Ryan and Edward appeared together for the press junket to promote the film.


    "So, Edward, what are your plans for Valentine''s Day?" the interviewer asked.


    "Throwing rocks at happy couples in the park," Edward replied with a deadpan expression, his tone slightly sad. This struck a chord with Ryan, who laughed heartily.


    "That''s a trigger question for him; his wounds are still fresh," Ryan commented playfully. Edward chuckled and added, "To answer the question, I don''t have any plans for Valentine''s Day."


    "That''s too bad," the interviewer said.


    Edward acted annoyed and replied, "Don''t look at me with pity in your eyes." The interviewer burst into laughter again as Edward continued joking around during the press junket.


    At the premiere, Edward invited all his friends and connections. Steve Carell, John Krasinski, Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, and Scarlett Johansson attended to support Edward and see how his first movie turned out.


    On the first day, the film received a 67% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, but over 85% audience approval.


    After the movie ended, RDJ was baffled when he saw Edward''s character on screen. "How did you age ten years to prepare for this role?" he asked.


    "Mostly a lot of night shifts," Edward replied playfully.


    The first ten minutes of the movie depicted a naive, romantic boy hurt multiple times, blaming everything on the curse his father told him he had. He decided to shut his heart off from everyone else.


    While it started as a typical rom-com, the story delved deeper into themes of selfishness, narcissism, and dating as it progressed.


    After Ryan Gosling''s character was blackmailed into dating Emily Blunt''s character, people became skeptical of Edward''s character, the one who orchestrated it.


    Edward played the CEO of the agency representing Ryan''s character, and audiences were left unsure whether he was good or bad. He acted like an antagonist in the beginning.


    Margot Robbie''s character was jealous of Emily, wanting to get the opportunity to date Gosling herself, to propel her career upwards and maybe even broke into the acting industry like everyone of his ex-girlfriend that was famous because of him.


    Gosling tried to force Emily to break up with him as he couldn''t do it himself because of the deal, but after he opened up to her about his nerdy hobbies, she accepted him. After he showed his vulnerability that usually turned his other girlfriend off, she accepted and comforted him.


    Suddenly, he found himself deeply enchanted by her.


    During the honeymoon sequences, Emily and Ryan discussed Edward''s character��Ryan''s brother.


    "He came by my place one day and decided to stay. I couldn''t kick him out since he had no one else. He smoothed the deal�� I take him in, and he''ll repay the favor later," Ryan replied casually.


    "I hated him at first; he nitpicks everything I did. "Clean your room", "Wash your dishes", "Take a shower", he was insufferable." He said, rolling his eyes as he reminiscence back in the day where both of them were poor.


    " But he had my back. I was jumped by five guys and chased around the block. My brother jumped into the fray without hesitation."


    "Oh, so did you guys fight them off?" Emily asked, curious but slightly concerned, even though the incident had occurred long ago.


    "No, both of us got beat up," Ryan replied with a deadpan expression. A flashback showed Ryan and Edward lying on the cold hard floor of an alley, bruises on their faces.


    Ryan suddenly laughed, saying, "I''m so glad I have a brother this time." His words left Edward''s character in shock as he looked at his brother in disbelief.


    The flashback ended, and Emily, slightly confused after hearing the story, asked, "If you trust each other that much, why is he doing this?" She referred to the blackmail his brother used to force him into the relationship.


    "I tend not to think too much about what my brother does; he usually has a reason for it. Why stress myself out when I can just stress him out?" Ryan''s character replied easily.


    As the romance between the two began to bud, a sense of looming tension hung in the air behind the scenes.


    Ryan realized her feelings towards Emily, however, he also found out from Margot Robbie''s character that Emily has another deal with Edward, which was why she stayed with him despite him trying to push her away.


    It leads to a confrontation where Ryan went to the CEO''s office in the middle of the night to meet with Edward.


    "Did you really do it? You''re going to produce her script if she stays with me for 3 months and proves that the curse isn''t real?"


    Edward''s character was confused, "Isn''t this what it was all about?"


    "So, it''s all fake?" Ryan heaved slightly, his anger palpable.


    Edward signed on some papers and said, "Don''t try to turn this on me. All of us knew what we''re doing when we started this."


    "What�C"


    "Is that really why you''re storming in here? Or, are you trying to find an excuse to break up the relationship, like you always did?" Edward placed his pen down and walked towards Ryan.


    "I always did?"


    Edward nodded and said, "Yeah. You always do. Use the curse as a crutch, finding ways to blame others for your actions. In this case, there''s absolutely nothing wrong with your relationship, so you''re trying to find a cause...a justification to end things."


    "Why would I do that?" Ryan''s eyes shifted around, baffled by the accusation.


    "Because, if you don''t, then everything will fall apart. The construct you made about the curse being the thing that kept destroying your relationships will falter. You''ll start to actually grow and learn, instead of blaming everyone else for your own actions."


    "Stop talking." Ryan seethed in anger, but Edward didn''t stop and continued taunting him, "Why? Did I striked a button? Weren''t you the one who came in here, armed and ready to blame me for everything that went wrong with your life?"


    "Maybe you''re the thing that went wrong with my life. I should''ve never agreed to let you stay with me when you knocked on the door to my place 10 years ago!"


    Immediately after that, Ryan was punched in the face. He was baffled as his brother never hurt him physically before, holding his sore cheek as he sat on the floor in confusion.


    As he looked at his brother, his eyes shook. The expression Edward has was gut-wrenching and it made the audience teared up slightly.


    "You son-of-a-bitch!" Ryan tackled Edward in anger, and the two brothers had a fallout.


    While they were fighting, the song, [Brothers (Kodaline)] played in the background while they fought in slow motion, and snippets of Edward''s character life appeared, mirroring the same flashback his brother had at the beginning of the movie.


    However, Edward''s backstory carried heavy intonation of emotional abuse, living in a toxic family household, and abandonment.


    His mother decided to swerve the car while having a heated argument with his father�C a man his brother idolized, and killed both of themselves. He was in the backseat at that time, and he saw his mother and father death.


    "I wish you were never born." His father told him before during one drunken night after he fought with the mother.


    As the fight finished, both of them laid down on the floor of the office, broken glass and furniture everywhere, mirroring the alley scene.


    "Why did you take things so far?" Ryan Gosling asked.


    Edward didn''t reply and just stood up slightly, took out a resignation paper from his hand, and handed it to Ryan.


    "You�C"


    "I lied. I destroyed the tape years ago. So whether you broke up with her, or you want to continue dating her, it''s all in your hands now." Edward said before he walked away.


    That was the big scene of the movie. Ryan continued the experiment to test out the curse legibility after confronting Emily about the deal she made with Edward. Turns out, Edward was only helping her search for producers and nothing else. He didn''t promise her to produce her scripts or a successful future if she did this for him.


    Ryan realized it was all a misunderstanding, and after the 3 months passed by, he asked Emily out properly to be his girlfriend.


    He also searched for his brother who was living together with Hudgens at that time, and was shocked, almost fainting when Edward opened the door with a baby in his hand when he came there with Emily.


    It was Danny Glover''s son in the story, and Danny was inside the house visiting at that time.


    Ryan begged for his brother to come back to the company after apologizing for the distrust, telling him that he cannot live without him. Edward didn''t want to at the beginning, but Vanessa rebuked him and made him work with Ryan, or else she''s going to kick him out of the house.


    The story ended with Ryan telling everyone what he had learned from a narrator''s perspective. The music video that Emily watched at the start of when she found the dvd in Ryan''s house played while the credit rolled.


    [Train �C 50 Ways to Say Goodbye]


    Ryan Gosling sang after meeting with his friend at the grocery store and he asked about his girlfriend, "?? My heart is paralyzed. My head was oversized


    I''ll take the high road like I should??"


    "?? You said it''s meant to be. That it''s not you, it''s me. You''re leaving now for my own good ??"


    "?? That''s cool, but if my friends ask where you are I''m gonna say. She went down in an airplane. Fried getting suntan.Fell in a cement mixer full of quicksand. Help me, help me, I''m no good at goodbyes!??"


    "??She met a shark underwater. Fell and no one caught her. I returned everything I ever bought her. Help me, help me, I''m all out of lies. And ways to say you died ??"


    The Official Music Video was also released after the opening weekend as part of the promotional marketing for the movie. It was recorded as if it was part of the movie universe, so everyone was still in their character.


    "?? My pride still feels the sting. You were my everything. Someday I''ll find a love like yours (a love like yours) ??"


    "?? She''ll think I''m Superman. Not super minivan. How could you leave on Yom Kippur? ??"


    Ryan brought out a Rabbi, acting as if he was trying to guilt-trip his girlfriend.


    "?? That''s cool, but if my friends ask where you are I''m gonna say.??"


    "?? She was caught in a mudslide. Eaten by a lion. Got run over by a crappy purple Scion. Help me, help me, I''m no good at goodbyes!??"


    Penny became the ex-girlfriend in the music video, and every death she allegedly had was shown in a comedic manner.


    "?? She dried up in the desert. Drowned in a hot tub. Danced to death at an east-side night club. Help me, help me, I''m all out of lies. And ways to say you died ??"


    "?? I wanna live a thousand lives with you


    I wanna be the one you''re dying to


    Love, but you don''t want to??"


    Edward played in the mariachi band with Donald Glover, with a deadpan expression, acting as if they didn''t want to be there.


    Ryan excitedly sang, "?? That''s cool, but if my friends ask where you are I''m gonna say. That''s cool, but if my friends ask where you are I''m gonna say ??"


    "?? She went down in an airplane. Fried getting suntan. Fell in a cement mixer full of quicksand. Help me, help me, I''m no good at goodbyes! She met a shark underwater. Fell and no one caught her. I returned everything I ever bought her


    Help me, help me, I''m all out of lies??"


    "?? She was caught in a mudslide. Eaten by a lion. Got run over by a crappy purple Scion. Help me, help me, I''m no good at goodbyes!. She dried up in the desert. Drowned in a hot tub. Danced to death at an east-side night club. Help me, help me, I''m all out of lies. And ways to say goodbye ??"


    Ryan alone was excited to conclude the song, acting melancholic while Edward just left the second the beat ended. Donald said, "Can I go now? This sombrero is making my head sweat."


    The movie was received well by the general audiences. Edward''s portrayal of the character was praised highly by his fans.


    As Edward had just finished performing at the Superbowl, the country still remembered him and a lot of people supported the movie.


    After 8 weeks of it being released in the theatre, Pepper shared the movie reception with Edward.


    "The movie opened with a strong 70 Million dollars on opening weekend, just 2 million under Valentine Day Movie."


    "Oh, that''s great." Edward was elated as he heard it. Then, he asked nervously, so, how much did it drop off the second week? 70%?"


    Pepper grinned and said, "10%."


    "10% drop off? That''s awesome." Edward was astonished. Valentine''s Day had a 70% drop off, which meant they earned 20 million in the second week.


    Pepper shook his head and clarified, "No. 10% more! We collected 77 million dollars in the second week! The movie made 580 Million dollars in global box office collection for its entire run at the theatre!"


    The movie propelled Ryan Gosling''s career to become an A-List actor in Hollywood. Blunt still needed another movie success to get to that level, but Blunt, Hudgens, and Edward''s actor prestige were all increased by the movie''s success.


    The Blu-Ray version also sold pretty well. A lot of the factors that contributed to the success of the film have something to do with Edward. The fans were looking forward to seeing more of him in movies in the future.


    4 months have passed by since Edward started his world tour. He finished his shooting for Percy Jackson and the movie would be released in November. He also toured the Philippines, Mongolia, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and many more countries while filming for his next movies.


    It was an incredibly straining schedule that most of his staff members had to rest and change to his backup staff, but it was also really rewarding.


    In August, Edward released another movie. "Warm Bodies", in which he acted as the main character, a zombified young man, and Hudgens as the heroine. It gained 660 million dollars at the box office, which cemented Edward''s and Hudgens career as an A-list actor.

 Chapter 345: Hawaii (Part 1)

    Chapter 345 - 345: Hawaii (Part 1)


    -Timeskip-


    [General POV]


    May 23, 2010. 4 Seasons Hotel, Hawaii.


    The entire extended family gathered at the hotel in Hawaii for a vacation and Jay''s birthday. Gloria had paid for everything��using Jay''s money.


    After arriving that morning, they lounged by the pool in the afternoon.


    "I want the biggest cheeseburger you''ve got. Instead of salad, I want fries. And skip the fruit; give me chili fries," Jay ordered the Hawaiian staff member while reclining on a sun chair.


    "Haley, sweetie, put the phone down and put on some sunscreen, please?" Claire said, handing Haley a bottle as she sunbathed in a bikini. She sat in the middle, with Jay on her left and her daughter on her right.


    Haley groaned and dropped the sunscreen to the side, continuing her conversation with her new friend, Sydney.


    "We have to keep an eye on these kids, or they''re going to burn," Claire complained to her husband. Phil sat in front of her, sharing the same chair but not lying down, his eyes fixed on Claire''s sunglasses.


    "Totally," Phil muttered, his attention captivated by Gloria, who was emerging from the pool like a scene from a magazine.


    Claire continued, "They put on just a little sunscreen this morning and think they''re covered for the day��Are you watching Gloria in my sunglasses?"


    "Is she moving in slow motion, or is my brain doing that?"


    Even after Gloria walked away, Phil''s gaze remained on her reflection in the sunglasses.


    "Phil, this is important," Claire said, her tone sharp.


    "Go ahead. I''m glistening." His mind was still on Gloria''s sun-kissed skin.


    "Hey, everybody! We''re on our way to see the world''s largest banyan tree. Does anyone want to join?" Cam announced, pushing Lily in a stroller.


    "Now, why in the world would anyone want to leave paradise to take a hot bus ride to see a tree?" Jay teased, looking at Mitch and Cam as if they were out of their minds.


    "I don''t know. If it''s a really cool-looking tree, I might consider it," Mitch replied.


    Suddenly, a voice interjected. Everyone turned to see Edward strolling toward Jay, sipping a drink from a coconut.


    "Happy Birthday, Jay," Edward said before anyone could react.


    The family smiled widely, welcoming his presence in an instant. Luke and Manny rushed from the pool, bright-eyed at the sight of him, while Alex stood speechless, wondering why he was there.


    [Alex''s Commentary]


    "I''d seen Dad secretly calling Edward over the past few days. I couldn''t quite figure out their plans, but I was sure it was something ridiculous if Dad was involved."


    [Commentary Ends]


    Phil walked over to Edward, eyes darting nervously. "Hey, Edward! What a coincidence to see you here!"


    "Hey, Phil," Edward replied curtly. Phil turned to the family, saying, "Well, I have an exciting new real estate opportunity I want to discuss with Edward. Claire, we''ll be back in 20 minutes."


    Gloria, Jay, and Claire exchanged glances of dissatisfaction. "Don''t do that! Let him relax! It must be exhausting being in the news all the time," Gloria protested.


    "Wait, Edward, have you grown taller?" Cam asked, scrutinizing him.


    Edward''s face fell. "Yeah. I grew almost two more inches."


    "Why are you sad about that?" Mitchell asked in confusion.


    "If I get too tall, I can''t accept roles for certain types of characters. If my co-star is too short, it becomes a problem," Edward explained.


    In the past five months, Edward had grown to nearly 1.9 m (6''2"), now taller than his own father.


    As Phil dragged Edward away, he whispered, "We''re not caught, right?"


    "You''re acting really suspicious, Phil. With that excuse, if they thought I was here coincidentally before, now they''ll think we set this up," Edward replied.


    Alex narrowed her eyes, mumbling, "What are they planning?"


    Haley had been excited but looked forlorn after Edward left. "He didn''t even talk to me."


    At the hotel bar, Phil met with Ted and Frankie. Ted smiled and pulled out a small ring box. "I already picked up the ring. The suit and the wedding dress are ready. We even hired a seamstress for fittings, just in case."


    Phil and Claire were supposed to have their honeymoon in Hawaii but missed their wedding due to Claire''s pregnancy with Haley.


    Edward had nudged Phil toward a vow renewal ceremony here, inviting Ted to be his best man.


    Frankie sighed as everyone grew excited. "I know you wanted to make a thoughtful gesture, but keeping a bride away from her own wedding... I don''t think that''s the right move."


    Edward was stunned. "Great catch, Frankie. So I guess you''ll be responsible for telling her about this."


    "Yeah, that sounds about right."


    "I agree with Edward," the other men chimed in, pushing the responsibility onto Frankie, leaving her speechless.


    "A wedding? Whose?" Claire asked, a smile spreading across her face at the prospect of seeing her friend in Hawaii.


    "...Yours," Frankie hesitated before replying. Claire''s eyes widened in disbelief. "Excuse me?"


    "Is my ear tingling? What''s this about a wedding I hear?" Cam interjected, purposefully stalling from joining the tree tour, while Mitchell looked on, equally curious.


    Frankie explained everything to Claire, and soon Gloria, Jay, and the rest were in on it.


    "So, is that why he came here despite his busy schedule?" Alex finally pieced it together, nodding in satisfaction. Haley, Claire, and Alex rushed to see the dress inside the Presidential VIP suite.


    "This room is way better than ours!" Haley exclaimed in delight as they entered. It featured three bedrooms, an eight-seater dining table, a brunch area on the balcony, a mesmerizing ocean view, a ten-seater couch, a luxurious tub, and even a sauna.


    "Ted and Frankie aren''t sharing a room with him. So who is he sharing with?" Claire wondered aloud, slightly nosy.


    Just then, a girl with pink hair and turquoise eyes skipped out of one of the rooms, humming happily. The three ladies were stunned.


    "Hello! You guys are the Dunphys, right? I''ve heard so much about you! I''m Zero-Two!" She smiled brightly, inching her face closer to Haley, disregarding personal space. "And this is just fake, not a real horn." She removed her headband, revealing a tiny red horn.


    Haley stammered, "Are��are you his girlfriend?"


    With Zero-Two''s perfect features and body proportions, it was a logical assumption. Haley initially thought she was an Asian model.


    "Huh? No, I''m his bodyguard," Zero-Two replied cheerfully. Just then, another girl entered the room. Unlike Zero-Two, she had a more introverted demeanor, but both of them had similar military semblance outfits.


    "Mikasa, are you done cleaning up the... ''trash'' around?" Zero-Two asked, censoring herself in front of the children. Her expression grew cold at the mention of trash.


    Mikasa Ackerman wiped a blood splatter from her cheek and replied casually, "Yeah, I''m done. I''ll be taking a bath now."


    A few weeks ago, Edward had announced two new projects: an AI helper app and the establishment of a scientific lab promising cures for incurable diseases.


    He also revealed a breakthrough treatment for diabetes, which made him a target for insulin pharmaceutical companies that lobbied against him to block its availability in the U.S.


    However, with the President on Edward''s side, their lobbying efforts failed, leading to harassment and assassination attempts.


    It was the first time Edward had opened his companies to the public��the AI company, funded by grants from Microsoft, which owned 15% of the company, while Edward retained 51%. The remaining shares were allocated for stocks.


    While the potential was immense, especially being the first to market with a mature AI solution, the company had to navigate regulatory hurdles with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This process would take time, often several months or even years, before it could officially sell shares to the public.


    Before it could be official, Edward is in a lot of danger.


    Mikasa got out of the bathroom while only wearing a towel, which made Haley''s entire mind freeze as she saw the perfect muscles on her body.


    [Haley''s Commentary]


    "Is she a Russian soldier? Or a model too? Why are both of them so enchantingly beautiful!? I know I swore not to be jealous...BUT COME ON!"


    [Commentary Ends]


    Gloria, Mitch, Cam and Lily joined in as they watched Claire fitting into the wedding dress. After they were done, Zero-two suddenly gave Claire a pamphlet.


    "My master would like me to remind you that it''s customary to be pampered before your wedding. He has already prepared a massage and spa treatment for all of you. You should all go and enjoy yourself."


    Gloria immediately snatched the pamphlet from Zero-Two as Claire was hesitating.


    "Free massage and spa!? Let''s go!" Gloria said excitedly.


    While everyone was enjoying themselves, Edward sat at the balcony table, with a tablet in his hand. Suddenly, he moved his head backward in an instantaneous manner.


    A bullet flew past his face and landed on the hotel wall. Zero-two and Mikasa immediately protected him afterward.


    "Sir, are you okay?!" Mikasa asked anxiously.


    Edward fixed his posture, unfazed by the assassination attempt and said, "Yeah. I''m alright."


    "Detecting the sniper''s position. Got it. 3.422 kilometers away."


    Hearing the numbers from Zero-Two, Edward got a bit intrigued. "That''s some nice skill. They targeted my head too. Find them, and bring them to me."


    "Got it sir." Zero-Two said before she jumped from the 15th floor of the hotel. She entered camouflage mode and flew towards the sniper at high speed.


    ...


    Before dinner, Edward wanted to shower and change his clothes when someone knocked on his room door. He opened it and to no surprise, saw Haley there, slightly tipsy. He invited her inside and closed the door.


    "Hey, you said we''re going to hook up if we meet again, right?" She said seductively, pushing her body at Edward and gave him a puppy-dog eye.


    "Not while you''re drunk. Also, you should''ve never gone to get a drink with strangers alone, definitely not while you''re in a strange place. That''s just bad things waiting to happen."


    Haley lowered her head, nuzzling her face into Edward''s chest, hugging him without saying anything.


    In actuality, she only drank a sip of the alcohol. What she wanted was to meet him, and needed an excuse for that. Anything can be blamed on the alcohol, but the distance she felt with Edward made her chest tightened.


    He didn''t see her once for the last 6 months, even though he was in California, shooting for his movie.


    "You Jerk..." Haley cried, not releasing her arm around him.


    "Yes. I am a jerk." Edward said while comforting her.


    "After being a jerk, you suddenly did a nice thing for my family. If I hate you now, then I''m the jerk."


    "Yes. It was all a part of my diabolical plan."


    "You gave me a gift on Valentine''s Day, but you didn''t even call. You never even asked if I have gotten my licence yet."


    "I..."


    Edward realized that his actions had confused her.


    "I just... I don''t know how to face you yet." He hugged her slightly and whispered, "I don''t know if I can see your face and still have the heart to leave the next day."


    They didn''t talk after that and just embraced each other for a while. Alex suddenly came to the room, realized that the door was unlocked, and saw the scene.


    In her mind, Edward''s new song that he sang at his Australia concert resurfaced.


    [Someone you loved �C Lewis Capaldi]


    "?? I''m going under and this time I fear there''s no one to save me ??"


    Edward''s velvety voice paired with his melancholic facial expression turned the entire noisy crowd silent.


    ?? This all or nothing really got a way of driving me crazy??


    ?? I need somebody to heal. Somebody to know. Somebody to have. Somebody to hold ??


    ?? It''s easy to say. But it''s never the same. I guess I kinda liked the way you numbed all the pain ??


    Haley and Edward separate when they see Alex and have a strained smile on their faces as they look at each other.


    ?? Now the day bleeds. Into nightfall. And you''re not here. To get me through it all?? ''


    ?? I let my guard down. And then you pulled the rug ??


    ?? I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved ??


    Alex has multiple questions she wanted to ask Edward tonight.


    Why did chaos follow in every country he visited?


    What''s the science behind the diabetes treatment, and how does it work?


    Alex was concerned about him. Although Edward answered in the groupchat, he always dismissed the ''unimportant'' question.


    ?? I''m going under and this time I fear there''s no one to turn to ??


    ?? This all or nothing way of loving got me sleeping without you ??


    ?? Now, I need somebody to know. Somebody to heal. Somebody to have. Just to know how it feels ??


    But, Alex didn''t care about the questions she had. All she cared about was the two people in front of her who kept hurting each other.


    ?? It''s easy to say but it''s never the same. I guess I kinda liked the way you helped me escape ??


    Most of Edward''s friends realized it. He became colder as time passed on, burdened by a great pressure. Every negotiation needed to be perfect. Every decision carried the fate of the 20,000 people working for him.


    ?? Now the day bleeds. Into nightfall. And you''re not here. To get me through it all ??


    Edward was also known as a ''Kingmaker'' in Hollywood from the way he completely changed Hudgens'' career trajectory which was in a freefall to become one of the most popular singers and actors worldwide.


    ?? I let my guard down. And then you pulled the rug. I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved ??


    A lot of people were throwing themselves at him. From popular celebrities�C even married ones, aspiring actresses, models, fame seekers. But, he ignored everyone with malicious intentions. He did entertain his lusts, but only if they wanted the same thing.


    ?? And I tend to close my eyes when it hurts sometimes. I fall into your arms.... I''ll be safe in your sound ''til I come back around ??


    Edward looked into Haley''s eyes and said playfully as he turned his head, "Alex. Your sister is drunk. If you report it to your mother, she''ll get into big trouble."


    Alex was astonished by his sudden change and said, "Mom already knew she drinks. They drank together after you guys broke up."


    ?? For now the day bleeds. Into nightfall. And you''re not here. To get me through it all. I let my guard down. And then you pulled the rug. I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved ??


    The situation was reversed, and Edward was completely stunned afterward. "Claire lets Haley drink? That''s... new..."


    ?? But now the day bleeds. Into nightfall. And you''re not here. To get me through it all??


    Haley smiled, however her eyes were glossy. She playfully said, voice shaking slightly, "We drank a lot you know. It was the first time I ever thought Mom was cool."


    ?? I let my guard down. And then you pulled the rug. I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved??


    Edward snickered and said, "Damn. I didn''t think of her capable of something like that. Was it a one time thing, or will she let you drink again at the wedding tomorrow?"


    ?? I let my guard down. And then you pulled the rug. I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved ??


    "Don''t beat around the bush and say what you guys want to say to each other!" Alex rebuked the duo.


    Although Haley and Edward were startled by Alex''s words, both of them just smiled and playfully dismissed it.


    "What are you talking about Alex? Are you crazy?" Haley scolded her.


    Edward''s phone suddenly rang and he went to pick it up in a hurry, "Sorry. This is about the FIFA World Cup. I need to answer it."


    "O�COh, we''ll leave you alone then." Haley stammered, grabbed Alex''s hand and left the room despite Alex''s protests.


    Edward''s gaze turned cold after they left. "Did you find them?" He asked.


    Zero-two replied, "It took some time. But yeah."


    ...


    Inside an abandoned warehouse, Agent John Casey stood inside the dim lit room, his right hand placed on a woman''s shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.


    Britney, who disappeared from the public eye 6 months ago, held Casey''s hand as she waited anxiously to meet her benefactor.


    Edward appeared from the shadow, startling both of them.


    ''I didn''t even hear the door open,'' Casey thought to himself.


    "Mission accomplished. Her brain activity has returned to normal. The lithium inside her body was purged, but the side effects will always be there." Casey reported to Edward.


    Edward didn''t care about the report as he already knew everything from monitoring Britney''s health himself. The two lived together for 6 months inside an isolated mansion located in Italy, near a small village where no one knew who they were.


    Britney didn''t even want to come back after getting her peace there. But as she wanted to get her revenge, she finally decided to return.


    Edward handed Britney a thick stack of documents and said, "This evidence will help you with the lawsuit against your asset manager and fight against your conservatorship. My help ends here, from now on, you''ll have to do everything yourself. Are you ready for it?"

 Chapter 346 : Hawaii (Part 2)

    Chapter 346 - 346 : Hawaii (Part 2)


    -Timeskip Chapter-


    [General POV]


    Ted, Phil, and Jay gathered for a toned-down bachelor party, indulging in steak, scotch, and cigars.


    "Ted, how are you coping with all the traveling?" Phil asked, concern evident in his voice.


    "Geez, can''t we just drink and smoke in silence? Why do you have to ruin the mood with small talk?" Jay grumbled.


    If Phil had asked about the best moments of traveling, Jay might have been more receptive. It was clear that the travel was taxing for Ted, and Phil''s concern was heartfelt.


    Putting his scotch down, Ted stared into his glass and said, "Honestly, I''m barely keeping it together."


    "Is it really that tough?" Phil pressed, intrigued. Jay rolled his eyes, finishing his drink, and almost stood up when Ted said, "To start off, something weird happened to me in Japan."


    Jay immediately sat back down, realizing this wasn''t the emotionally vulnerable sharing he dreaded.


    "Something weird?" Phil asked, leaning in with interest.


    "More like horrifying," Ted replied, his complexion paling. "I went to a Japanese bar and ordered some udon. While eating, I suddenly felt... strange."


    "Food poisoning?" Jay guessed. Ted shook his head.


    "No, not that. It felt like something was wiggling inside me��mostly in my liver."


    "Then my entire body burned up. I had to take off my clothes. And then I saw it��my entire right stomach... it disappeared."


    "WHAT?!" both Phil and Jay exclaimed, shock etched on their faces.


    "My skin cracked, and I almost fainted. I ended up collapsing at the toilet."


    "That sounds like food poisoning or maybe hallucinations. Did you eat something weird, like pufferfish?" Jay suggested, visibly nervous.


    Ted replied, "I wish it was food poisoning. I woke up in the hospital, and the doctor told me I was fine. Too fine..."


    "Why do you say ''too fine'' so ominously?" Phil asked, anxiety creeping in.


    "Like, perfectly healthy. Even my liver... the cirrhosis damage... it''s gone." Both Phil and Jay shuddered at Ted''s revelation.


    "I thought maybe there was something wrong with the restaurant, so I went back the next day. But the place had been closed... for 40 years."


    "STOP! I''m getting married tomorrow! I can''t handle this right now!" Phil shouted, fear evident in his eyes.


    Jay, however, had a different reaction. "You went to a restaurant in Japan, got healthier after that, and you''re worried? Send me the address! I need to go there too."


    Jay''s father had died at the same age he was now, 63. After receiving a wake-up call about his health, he was anxious and determined to live a healthier lifestyle to spend more time with his goddess-like wife.


    "I can do that," Ted smirked. "Though, I don''t think the restaurant will open its doors to you."


    "Why not?" Jay retorted, annoyed.


    "I think the only reason I stumbled upon that restaurant is because of Edward," Ted replied, pride evident in his tone.


    He hadn''t realized that the chef at the restaurant was his own son. Edward had used his Stand, Pearl Jam, to heal Ted''s ailment, choosing to disguise himself to shield his father from the horrifying experience.


    "He did a lot of good work��helped many people, sponsored orphanages, fought off the yakuza, uprooted corruption... I think I''m healed because of Edward''s positive karma."


    If Edward heard his father''s words, he would definitely flinch. Ted continued sharing stories of their travels, filled with both good and bad experiences.


    Finally, the moment of the bachelor party arrived. Phil turned to Jay, determination in his eyes.


    "Jay��Mr. Dunphy, I want to ask for your blessing to marry your daughter!" Phil requested earnestly.


    Jay was taken aback, then felt a mischievous spark. "Well, after 17 years, now you finally want my blessing? I''m not giving it to you!"


    "WHAT?!" Phil slumped, dejected.


    ...


    "What''s up with him?" Alex asked, eyeing her despondent father at the ceremony venue the next day.


    Haley shrugged. "I don''t care. How do I look?"


    "Nauseating," Alex scoffed.


    Haley wore a green dress with a daring neckline, her hair styled in an elegant bun. She completed the look with large earrings and high heels to accentuate her figure.


    Alex wore a similar dress but felt it was dull in comparison.


    Edward entered the venue, his presence commanding attention. He approached Phil with a playful smile. "I heard you couldn''t get Jay''s blessing. Should we cancel the marriage renewal and get a divorce instead?"


    "Heck no! I''m marrying Claire no matter what!" Phil said instinctively, then paused as he realized the hidden meaning behind Edward''s words.


    Edward smirked. "Good! Because if Claire''s single, I''m snatching her up immediately. So be warned!"


    "I''ll never divorce her!" Phil declared, determination shining in his eyes. Suddenly, he smiled and asked, "Are you going to sing to bless us today?"


    "Of course! I''m not letting anyone else perform today. Only me! I''ll even play the violin to accompany the bride as she walks down the aisle."


    Phil grinned and said, "I''m looking forward to it. Oh, yeah. How much should I pay you for it?"


    "I''ll give you a discount. Give me everything in your savings account and we''ll call it even."


    "EVERYTHING?!" Phil was shocked to hear Edward''s performance rate.


    "Just kidding. Right, Gifts. I have prepared a gift for your wedding. It''s not extravagant, but I hope you�C as an early tech adopter, will enjoy it."


    Mikasa approached them and handed Phil a bag. With a star in his eyes, Phil peeked inside the bag . Alex and Luke got curious so they went to see it too.


    "Is this... Phones?" Phil breathed heavily, his finger shivered slightly as he took out the boxes from his hand.


    "I''m launching a new line of smartphones. Well, it''s a short term thing. I just can''t wait for technology to catch up." Edward sighed wearily.


    Alex was thoroughly flabbergasted as she observed Edward''s casual reaction to his endeavor.


    [Alex''s commentary]


    "Why is he trying to play it off like he''s being forced to do it? HUH?!" Alex exclaimed, irritation evident in her voice. "I''ve seen the specs! The entire world will take at least a decade to catch up to him!"


    "I feel bad for Apple. They''re really proud of their latest product, and it''s selling well, too," Alex sighed, holding her forehead with a pitying expression for the company.


    [Commentary ends]


    "Harmonics? Why did you pick that name?" Alex asked, jumping into the conversation.


    Edward shook his head pitifully and said, "I wanted to call it ''Pear,'' but the company wouldn''t let me."


    "Please don''t fixate on that name anymore, sir. It''s best to forget it forever," Mikasa chimed in, disdain visible on her face.


    Edward ignored her and continued, "So they decided to pick the name that suits me best. There are going to be three models: Adagio, Legato, and Crescendo. Adagio is more for leisure, so the price will be under 200 bucks. Legato is for people who want something more. And Crescendo will be the climax��I mean, the peak of the tech. I''m giving you five Crescendo units so everyone in your family can have one."


    Phil breathed heavily, his voice turning raspy. "How about the specs? Can you tell me about them?"


    "Sure! Let''s start with the basic Adagio: a 50-megapixel camera, 48 hours of battery life with fast charging capability��you can get to a full charge in 20 minutes."


    Edward continued without noticing Phil''s dazed eyes.


    "Snapdragon chipsets offer advanced multi-core performance, AI capabilities, and quantum connectivity, vastly outperforming the single-core Apple A4 chipset that''s just been released. As soon as this comes out, Apple will feel ancient. Should I elaborate more?"


    A little taken aback by Phil''s stoic reaction, Edward nervously waved his hand in front of Phil''s face.


    "Oh no. He''s dead," Alex remarked flatly.


    When Edward sold his brand in September after the initial marketing, the entire world would be in an uproar to get one of those phones, especially since they knew Edward only had 50 million units available.


    Alex pulled Edward aside while Luke took one of the phone boxes. That snapped Phil out of his stupor, and he snatched it back from Luke. "No! Don''t open it now. We''ll have to film an unboxing for these!"


    "But if I boot it up now, I can take pictures of the wedding. We didn''t have a photographer, right?" Luke begged.


    There were still half an hour until the wedding. At this time, Claire was getting her hair and makeup done by a team of professionals.


    Claire flipped a document; the nervousness of a first-time bride walking down the aisle wasn''t evident on her face. She turned to Frankie and said in shock, "Is he crazy? He''s buying that much land? Is it necessary? The current building capacity can still support the company''s growth."


    "Not for the next two years. Edward''s thinking about the future, so he''s going to build a new company campus. It''s going to be split into two locations: one in Silicon Valley and one in... that''s a secret for now."


    "A secret even from me? I''m the VP of Logistics!" Claire was flabbergasted.


    "Please don''t move; you''re making our job harder," the makeup team begged politely.


    "Ah, sorry about that," Claire apologized and kept still, only moving her mouth for conversation.


    "Did you see that article? Edward is likely to enter the Forbes 100 list next year."


    Frankie nodded and said, "Yeah. But the main question is, what will his ranking be?"


    Outside the wedding venue, Phil felt a bit dejected, even though everything was going well. Ted noticed and asked, "What''s wrong?"


    "Ah, since the wedding renewal is becoming more real, I''m regretting not including my dad and my mom in this," Phil replied, a tinge of sadness in his tone.


    Ted snorted and said, "About that..."


    Phil suddenly heard his dad''s voice coming from afar. He looked at Ted in shock.


    Ted smirked and said, "As the best man, do you really think I wouldn''t have your dad at your own wedding?"


    Phil hugged Ted before running to his parents. Edward saw this and a sincere smile bloomed on his face. But he soon turned shocked when he saw Phil''s mother.


    "Betty White? Oh my god..."


    ...


    Edward played his violin to create the atmosphere. Everyone had gathered inside the hotel wedding hall, waiting for the bride to enter. They were having an outdoor wedding facing the ocean, which provided a beautiful backdrop for the ceremony.


    "Looks like I finally get to walk you down the aisle," Jay said proudly as he escorted Claire to Phil, who was waiting at the end of the aisle. A Hawaiian priest had been hired to officiate the wedding.


    "We''re here today to celebrate the renewing of the marriage vows... of Phil and Claire. On this day, they''ve chosen to reaffirm their love for each other..."


    The ceremony continued with Phil and Claire exchanging vows. Edward felt satisfied as he managed to witness this special moment. Then, they exchanged rings.


    "You may kiss your bride."


    Claire wrapped her arm around Phil as he leaned in to kiss her.


    "I present to you, still as husband and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Dunphy."


    Everyone cheered as the officiant finished the ceremony. Edward, Haley, and Luke took pictures, with Haley''s photos turning out the best. Her dad even decided to print out the renewal ceremony picture from Haley''s collection.


    They moved to the gazebo for lunch, and while everyone was eating, Edward walked onto the stage.


    "Hello, everyone. This morning, I heard an interesting story from my dad, which inspired me to finish this song. I hope everyone enjoys it," he said, full of sincerity.


    Edward sat atop a stool, holding a guitar and lowering the microphone to his position.


    "Is it about the bride and groom?" Phil asked excitedly while everyone jeered at him.


    Edward shook his head and said, "No. It''s about the groom and the father-in-law."


    "What?!" Jay was shocked to hear the answer. Edward didn''t wait long and began to play a melodious tune on his guitar.


    [Rude�C Magic]


    He crooned with a charming expression, swooning even the waitress who''s handing out the food.


    "?? Saturday mornin'', jumped out of bed...And put on my best suit ??"


    "?? Got in my car and raced like a jet... All the way to you ??"


    "?? Knocked on your door with heart in my hand... To ask you a question ??"


    "?? ''Cause I know that you''re an old fashioned man...??"


    Edward looked at Phil and Jay, smirking as he sang.


    "?? Can I have your daughter for the rest of my life? Say yes, say yes, ''cause I need to know ??"


    "?? You say I''ll never get your blessin'' ''til the day I die. "Tough luck, my friend, but the answer is no" ??"


    Mitchell realized something and said, "Wait a minute. He didn''t give Claire and Phil a blessing, even though they were in a fully committed heterosexual relationship?"


    "Imagine if we''re the ones asking." Cam finished Mitchell''s thoughts. Jay felt that his conscience was pricked, and he was a bit irritated. He only wanted to tease Phil, but now he was put on the spot with the song.


    "?? Why you gotta be so rude? Don''t you know I''m human too? Why you gotta be so rude? I''m gonna marry her anyway ??"


    "?? Marry that girl... marry her anyway... Marry that girl. Yeah, no matter what you say. Marry that girl and we''ll be a family ??"


    Haley chuckled and said, "No wonder he''s singing this one. It really suits mom and dad''s story doesn''t it?"


    Alex nodded in agreement and said, "Definitely."


    Edward''s angelic voice mesmerized the audience, "?? Why you gotta be so rude? ??"


    Frank Dunphy tapped Phil''s shoulder, "He is incredible. I''ve never seen your mother smile like this."


    Edward winked at Grace Dunphy who he thought looked like Betty White. The elderly lady was smitten with Edward instantly.


    "?? I hate to do this, you leave no choice. Can''t live without her??"


    "??Love me or hate me, we will be both...Standin'' at that alter??"


    "?? Or we will run away. To another galaxy, you know. You know she''s in love with me. She will go anywhere I go??"


    Cam recorded the performance with his digital camera, but Luke used the new phone, which allowed for a better quality video.


    "?? Can I have your daughter for the rest of my life?


    Say yes, say yes, ''cause I need to know


    You say I''ll never get your blessin'' ''tll the day I die


    "Tough luck, my friend, ''cause the answer''s still no" ??"


    Jay finally sighed and told Phil, "I already gave you my blessing 17 years ago."


    Phil grinned and said, "Really? I''m really touched, Jay!"


    "Don''t cry! You''re making me want to take that back!" Jay retorted,


    "?? Why you gotta be so rude?


    Don''t you know I''m human too?


    Why you gotta be so rude?


    I''m gonna marry her anyway ??"


    "?? Marry that girl marry her anyway


    Marry that girl no matter what you say


    Marry that girl and we''ll be a family


    Why you gotta be so rude???"


    "?? Rude??"


    Edward picked the guitar skillfully, which enchanted the audience with his skills. He smiled and sang cheerfully.


    "?? Can I have your daughter for the rest of my life?


    Say yes, say yes, ''cause I need to know


    You say I''ll never get your blessin'' ''til the day I die


    "Tough luck, my friend, but no still means no" ??"


    "?? Why you gotta be so rude?


    Don''t you know I''m human too?


    Why you gotta be so rude?


    I''m gonna marry her anyway ??"


    Everyone clapped rhythmically as they followed the song beats. The other guests from the hotel peeked at the gazebo as they too was infatuated with the performance.


    "?? Marry that girl !marry her anyway!


    Marry that girl ! no matter what you say!


    Marry that girl! and we''ll be a family!


    Why you gotta be so rude???"


    "?? Oh, yeah, oh


    Why you gotta be so rude? ??"


    "?? Why? Why you gotta be so rude? ??"


    Everyone cheered as the song ended. Claire rushed to the stage and gave Edward a bear hug.


    The celebration continued, and Edward slowly excused himself from the wedding, only to be caught by Haley at the door.


    "Are you already leaving now?" she asked, a bit worried.


    Edward smiled and said, "I stole some time to attend the wedding, but I have a lot of work to do. I actually need to go to Africa right now."


    "Oh." Haley exclaimed disappointedly. "I thought you''re going to stay longer. I still haven''t been able to talk with you.N�CNot just me, Alex too."


    They fell into an awkward silence before Edward said, "I''d seen your videos. It''s very entertaining."


    Haley had launched her own Entertain video channel in February where she shared fashion tips to her fans. Her subscriber count grew larger and larger everyday, already surpassing the 1 million subscriber mark.


    "You''re watching my videos?" Haley was surprised as she didn''t think he would have the time.


    Edward grinned and said, "Of course I am. I''m also quite intrigued. Never once did you bow slightly on camera and show your cleavage, but your channel are growing really fast."


    Haley was irked and said, "What did you say?! I''m not going to prostitute myself online!"


    "Then you better make sure you end the recording after your live show. I had to intervene everytime." He teased.


    Haley was speechless. Annoyed, she puffed her cheeks sulkily and said, "The camera will stop recording when I go to a different tab!"


    "Yeah, it doesn''t work that way. Thank god Robin noticed it." Edward teased again.


    They argued for a while, with Edward even delaying his flight by an hour because of her. He was caught by the other family members and was forced to say a proper goodbye to them before leaving for Africa.

 Chapter 347: Worldwide

    Chapter 347 - 347: Worldwide


    -Timeskip-


    [General POV]


    "?? Tsamina mina, eh eh! Waka waka, eh eh! Tsamina mina zangalewa! This time for Africa ??"


    Edward visited various places across South Africa for his world tour, including Cape Town, Durban, and Johannesburg.


    During the FIFA World Cup, he cheered for Spain, even predicting their victory, as there was a trend of making predictions at that time.


    The octopus Paul became famous during FIFA 2010 for accurately predicting the outcomes of several matches. Edward joined in the fun and playfully claimed he had a higher success rate than the octopus.


    Edward felt bad for Paul considering a lot of people across the world were sharing octopus recipes, holding their resentment at the octopus. A lot of superstitious people out there, thinking that an octopus could actually influence the outcome of a match.


    For the final match, Edward planned to go to the stadium and invited his friends to join him. However, he was soon disappointed to find out that his friends couldn''t travel out of the country for the World Cup since they were minors.


    Instead, Maggie, Amy, Vanessa, Taylor, Selena, Ashley Tisdale, Max, and Caroline got the tickets, joining Edward and his father in the VIP section of the stadium. Just a few days prior, Edward had met with the President of the country to discuss network installation, allowing him to secure all the tickets for free.


    "They could''ve done this earlier. I wasted a lot of money buying tickets myself," Edward grumbled.


    However, it wasn''t for nothing. Staff members with outstanding performances during the world tour were rewarded with those tickets. Forty tickets were distributed to the company back in LA, including first-class tickets, five-star hotel accommodations, and even a couple of days off for them to enjoy a vacation in South Africa��security included.


    After the World Cup concluded with the Spain team''s victory, Edward accepted an invitation from the football team manager and met with the Spain National Team before they flew back home.


    "Why don''t we see the field one last time?" Sergio Ramos suggested.


    Edward was elated; his inner fanboy came alive. Living in Europe, these guys in front of him were legends.


    "Have you played football?" Gerard Pique? asked politely. Although they were veteran players, they realized that the person standing in front of them had a higher status��not because of his skills, but because of his wealth!


    Their manager had informed them that Edward had expressed several times in his Instagram Live that he was interested in acquiring a football team for himself. Even if he couldn''t do that, Edward''s wealth made it possible for him to become a team sponsor. The players were reminded by their managers to be polite to Edward.


    Currently, Edward revealed that he had around $20 billion in personal wealth, showing the world only the tip of the iceberg.


    "I played rugby before, but I''m a really fast learner," Edward replied to Pique?.


    Edward trained briefly with David Villa and Andre?s Iniesta, astonishing them with his quick reflexes and highly developed skills. And with his friendly attitude, the players quickly opened up to him. The image of a rich entitled kid was gone, replacing it with a capable, athletic kid who loved football.


    [Golden Skill��Seishiro Nagi (Bluelock)��Football]


    "With your skill... I think you could try out for our club," Iniesta said, bewilderment in his tone.


    Edward wiped his sweat and said, "I''m not going to. I''m too busy. Besides, my best friend will cry if I abandon American football."


    A paparazzo managed to capture a picture of Edward and the team playing football together. It was a photo of Edward pulling his shirt up and wiping his face with the hem of his jersey. The picture garnered a lot of attention, especially from his female fans.


    "His body! Wha�� I can''t even�� Is he photoshopped?" Lily, the fan club president, had another nosebleed and fainted at the sight of the picture.


    Edward toured as many countries in Africa as possible, including South Africa, Tanzania, Morocco, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Egypt, Namibia, Kenya, Botswana, Mozambique, Uganda, Ghana, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Seychelles, and Madagascar.


    Although there were political instabilities and a lack of infrastructure in many of the countries, Edward still went there to perform, even if he could only support a crowd of hundreds.


    Many of the countries turned over a new leaf after Edward met with their presidents. Even the international agents lurking in the governments were confused by the sudden changes, but they never connected it to Edward, as the changes began to appear a few months later.


    In Africa, no personalized songs were created in the countries'' languages, mostly due to Edward''s hectic schedule, which made learning a new language almost impossible.


    After the World Cup, Edward went to San Francisco for the League of Legends World Championship. Millions of fans around the world gathered to see who would win the $1 million cash prize for first place.


    The event started with Edward singing the song "Rise," and Vanessa finally unveiling her song, "Legends Never Die." It was held in the Moscone Center after some upgrades by the entertainment staff. The stage was moved to the center, and an esports Jumbotron made of LED screens was installed above the stage. Four screens ensured that everyone in the hall could see what was happening on stage.


    �C San Francisco�C


    Vanessa wore a stylish blue-ish purple short skirt dress as she sang in front of the crowd of 10,000. Dorning a twin-tail hairstyle, her hair bounced around as she performed.


    "?? Legends never die??" Vanessa crooned, her voice melodious. After getting a Spartan training by Edward, Vanessa found her skills had grown leaps and bounds.


    "?? When the world is calling you... Can you hear them screaming out your name? ??"


    Her charisma took over the stage immediately. The 10,000 fans�C mostly men, started to fall for her.


    "?? Legends never die... They become a part of you ??"


    While she was singing, Vanessa had a mischievous idea and walked right to Edward who was standing beside her. Edward was shocked as Vanessa pulled his tie and lead him to the center to sing with her.


    "?? Every time you bleed for reaching greatness! Relentless you survive! ??"


    The beat dropped and the entire crowd became excited. Edward sang without missing a beat, "?? They never lose hope when everything''s cold


    And the fighting''s near ??"


    Vanessa nodded in satisfaction, locking her eyes on Edward as she continued the verse, " ?? It''s deep in their bones, they''ll run into smoke When the fire is fierce. Oh, pick yourself up, ''cause�C??"


    Both of them sang together in harmony.


    "?? Legends never die??


    ?? When the world is calling you (the world is calling you)


    Can you hear them screaming out your name? ??


    ?? Legends never die


    They become a part of you (they become a part of you) ??


    ?? Every time you bleed for reaching greatness


    Legends never die ??"


    Olivia Munn, the official emcee for the event, was agape as she watched the performance. "This isn''t planned, right?"


    ''I''m going to scold her seriously after this.'' Edward thought angrily albeit keeping a performer''s poker face on stage.


    Vanessa continued alone as Edward slowly moved away from the spotlight, "?? They''re written down in eternity! But you''ll never see the price it costs! The scars collected all of their lives ??"


    At the beginning, Vanessa was at a loss to find the emotions relating to the song. She thought it was just a stupid game song.


    However, the more she listened, the image in her mind became clearer. The hard work she put in behind the stage, the excruciating dance practice, every hour she put in.


    "?? When everything''s lost, they pick up their hearts! And avenge defeat ??"


    "Is she crying?" Taylor was stupefied when she noticed Vanessa''s eyes. She came there for fun with Selena, and didn''t expect to see the scene in front of her.


    "?? Before it all starts, they suffer through harm! Just to touch a dream ??"


    Vanessa was deeply emotional that it impacted the audience too. Edward noticed the audience reaction and was elated. To sway an audience''s feeling with her voice, it meant that Vanessa''s skills were growing again.


    "Finally! She reached the Red Quality!" Edward mumbled in excitement.


    ?? Oh, pick yourself up, ''cause! Legends never die ??!!" Vanessa bent slightly as she reached for the sky. The heart of the players inside the hall beats quicker.


    "No one would ever imagine an E-sport championship will be like this! 88 million people are watching the show live on Netflix!" Sun-Hee muttered excitedly, jumping giddily which made the other staff members flustered. She was in charge of everything so they didn''t want her to fall down, or worse, get tired early.


    "?? When the world is calling you (when the world is calling you)


    Can you hear them screaming out your name?


    Legends never die


    They become a part of you (they become a part of you)


    Every time you bleed for reaching greatness


    Legends never die


    When the world is calling out your name??"


    Vanessa turned to the players and sang, "?? Begging you to fight ??"


    "I think I''m in love." One of the younger players said with a dazed expression.


    "?? Pick yourself up once more! Pick yourself up, ''causeee Legends never die ??"


    The music ended early as the emcee walked onto the stage to announce the start of the World Championship.


    Vanessa and Edward left the stage while the crowd cheered enthusiastically for the League of Legends players. Eight teams, only one champion.


    As Edward went to his waiting room, Vanessa entered the room behind him.


    "Edward! That went really well!" she said cheerfully, her face beaming like a puppy expecting praise. However, as she met Edward''s irritated expression, she inched closer to him, meekly adjusted his tie, and said, "Hmm~ I guess I should''ve discussed it with you before I pulled you in, huh?"


    "And?" Edward raised an eyebrow.


    Vanessa chuckled slightly and said, "I could''ve botched the opening performance. Sorry! I won''t do that again."


    "As long as you''re reflecting on it," Edward smirked. He untied his tie, and while hanging it up, he asked, "What happened with your audition yesterday?"


    Vanessa flinched, her mood souring. "Don''t talk about yesterday. I don''t want to relive that moment."


    "Is it that bad?" Edward looked at her with concern. "If you''re actually bad, then I''m going to be worried about our zombie movie."


    "That will be fine! It has you in it!" Vanessa replied cheekily. "But it''s not a question of whether I''m bad or not."


    "Ah, so he''s the problem," Edward figured out after noticing her discomfort when recalling the memories. He placed his hand on her shoulder and said, "I''ll deal with it. I have to make sure people know not to mess with my people."


    Although Edward''s voice was crystal clear, Vanessa heard something different, with a flowery background emanating from him as she looked at him with dazed eyes.


    Delusion��Edward: "I have to make sure people know not to mess with my girl."


    The next day, the director of the upcoming film surrendered himself to the police, his cheeks sunken with horror. He confessed everything he had done, wanting protection from someone he could not name.


    Literally, he could not say the person''s name. Every time he wanted to, his tongue would lock up, and he would be out of breath.


    "Where are you going next?" Vanessa asked.


    "It''s summer, so I''m going to Coachella. But during my time in the Philippines, I promised the fans there a song. So I''m going to keep my promise. Next is the recording studio."


    Vanessa''s eyes lit up before she slumped her shoulders in realization. "If I had learned Filipino before, I could''ve helped you."


    "You know what? This is a pretty fun challenge even if it will take some time." Edward smiled sincerely, which made Vanessa''s heart skip a beat again.


    Edward stayed until the end of the event and handed out the trophy to the winners. It was a historic moment in esports, where they finally reached the world stage. Almost all media companies were covering the event, which was a great opportunity to market the game.


    "I feel pretty bad. They just started, but they are going to fall off when Mythic Quest is finished," Ian Grimm commented. SunHee perked up and stomped toward Ian to give him a piece of her mind.


    As the two studio heads argued, Edward had a conversation with Olivia Munn.


    "Here, your payment." He handed her a collection of beauty products tailor-made for her. Olivia smiled gratefully and accepted the bag with an excited expression.


    "I was prepared to go through a lot to get these. I''m even considering seducing you to make it happen."


    Edward chuckled and said, "Luckily, it didn''t have to come to that."


    "I would still do it if you want me to," Olivia flirted with Edward, insinuating heavily. Batting her eyes at him, she inched closer and ran her finger along his shoulder. "Maybe we can talk about your next film in my room?"


    Edward stared disdainfully at her and said, "Stop trying to seduce me to get a movie part."


    "Well, can''t blame a girl for trying," Olivia shrugged the matter off casually. She already knew he would reject her; she was only doing it for fun.


    "But I do need an Asian American actor for Vanessa''s next project��"


    "I''LL DO IT!" Olivia exclaimed, agreeing to the role immediately.


    Edward pretended to be distraught. "But you always try something. I don''t know if us working together is a good idea."


    "I''ll join the church and be a nun! I can even wear that chastity underwear for the entire filming process," Olivia negotiated, half-joking. Her contract with G4 ended in December 2010, so she was looking for new opportunities.


    Usually, her agents would take care of it, but she wanted to work with Edward after hearing great things about him from the film studio staff. In Tinseltown, everyone knew everyone, and words traveled fast.


    There was also a line of actresses who wanted to work with him to gain recognition and benefits.


    Afterward, Edward hung out with Vanessa, Taylor, and Selena in a hotel room to get some rest before flying back to California.


    Taylor asked, "You''re going to start building your house now, right?" as she poured a glass of orange juice for herself.


    Edward sighed, throwing his head back over the couch. "Finally. I had to wait six months just to get all the paperwork sorted."


    Vanessa walked behind the couch and began massaging Edward''s shoulders. "Hmm~ You know, I really miss the villa by the sea."


    "The one that got blown up?" Selena asked incredulously, her gaze judging Vanessa for acting like a kiss-ass.


    "Yeah, there was a calming factor in that house. I really loved waking up to the ocean," Vanessa replied.


    Edward sighed and said, "This one won''t have any ocean sounds. Maybe crickets, since it''s going to be up a hill."


    Taylor suddenly said, "I have a lot of money. I want to build a house too."


    "Not right now. It doesn''t suit your style. After you completely transition from country to pop star, then you can do it. We want to keep your self-made label, after all, even though you''ve made a hell of a lot of money after leaving your finances with me."


    Selena raised an eyebrow and asked, bewildered, "Really? How much did she make?"


    "Do��does it even matter?" Taylor immediately shut her down. Edward smirked at Taylor, making her flinch. "Shut up! Tell her, and I''ll kill you."


    "I don''t negotiate with terrorists. She made around $200 to $300 million. It''s in that range," Edward exposed Taylor playfully.


    Taylor''s face fell flat, and she looked at Edward with disdain. "That''s not even close��wait, that was four months ago. Is it��Is it really?" Her expression changed as she considered the possibility he was telling the truth.


    "Pepper made a whole lot more," Edward laughed in satisfaction at seeing Taylor''s reaction. Vanessa hit Edward''s shoulder with her fists in a playful manner and asked, "What about me? What about mine?"


    "You start a lot less than her, so��" Edward turned and whispered to Vanessa, shocking her when she heard the numbers.


    Taylor suddenly accused Edward, "The only reason I can think of how you can pull this kind of growth is that you fixed the charts, right? You bribed the company for information, didn''t you?"


    "I''m not telling you my secret," Edward jeered.


    Selena, who had been listening intently to the conversation, clenched her fist and suddenly had a determined look in her eyes. She walked toward Edward and sat on his lap, shocking everyone in the room.


    "Hey, I have a preposition for you," Selena whispered seductively. Taylor fumed, "Bitch, get off him."


    Intrigued, Edward said, "I''ll hear it first."


    Selena gritted her teeth and said, "How about, we dated for a while? Not for real, but just... on the surface."


    She needed a breakthrough to get to the mainstream. Although Wizards of Waverly Place was popular, her popularity was focused on the Disney audiences. She wanted more, and dating Edward would help with that.


    Edward nodded in understanding and interrupted her, "You were talking about what you''re going to get from this, but how does it benefit me? I''m getting nothing from this, just attacks from Taylor and mine''s obsessive shippers."


    "Even though we''re friends, I''ll have to draw the line here." Edward said decisively.


    "You''re not... my people after all." He continued, which shook Selena to her core.


    After forcing her to move, Edward stood up and prepared to leave the hotel room. Taylor felt bad for Selena, but she also thought that she had crossed the line there for suggesting that.


    Vanessa looked at Selena pitifully before deciding to follow Edward, leaving the room in a hurry.


    [Vanessa''s commentary]


    "I wanted to ask him something similar, but thankfully I didn''t get the chance. I... don''t think he wants to date anyone right now, so I''m keeping my mouth shut. If I shoot my shot and ruin my relationship with him... I''m afraid of what will happen to me."


    She quickly waved her hand, "No! Not like, ''he''s going to hurt me'' kinda context. But like, my mind. I''m not prepared. Let me be delusional a little while longer. Just until this crush... goes away."


    [Commentary ends]


    As Edward opened the door, Selena suddenly said, "What if, I became one of your people?"


    Edward thought about it and asked, "When will you renew your contract with Disney?"


    "I still have one season of Wizards left. Then, it''s renewal period. I can get a clean break from them and join your company agency." Selena said decisively.


    "Hmm..." Edward thought about it while Selena waited for his decision anxiously. Edward tried to remember Selena''s past work, but none come to mind except maybe the Spring Breakers movie and voicing Mavis in Hotel Transylvania.


    ''I didn''t watch Only Murders in the Building, so I have no idea about her capabilities.''


    "Hell, it''s not like I''m going to lose anything with it. Alright, we''ll do it after your contract is over."


    "Dating?" Vanessa breathed heavily, her eyes shook anxiously.


    Edward looked at Vanessa disdainfully and said, "Agency signing."


    "Oh, right�C right." Vanessa stammered, a happy smile escaped her lips for a second.


    Time passed by, and it''s almost 2011. Entertain has had tremendous growth for the year.


    "Let''s release another album for 2011." Edward said to Pepper after reading the company''s revenue.

 Chapter 348: 2011

    Chapter 348 - 348: 2011


    -Timeskip-


    [General POV]


    -Philippines-


    "It took me some time, but I finally finished the song." Edward said to the thousand of fans who came for his make-up concert. The crowd waved his banners around, his posters, even fluttered the t-shirt with his face on as the camera moved past them.


    The song was finished 3 months earlier, but he postponed the release till the time he could return to the country.


    [Binibini�C Zack Tabudlo]


    "?? Binibini~, Alam mo ba kung pano nahulog sayo~ ??"


    {Miss~, do you know how I''ve fallen for you?}


    The Philippines crowd turned silent, mesmerized by his soft, sweet voice. Most of the girls there swooned as they saw his sincere effort in crafting the song. It made them feel special.


    Edward continued crooning as the fans swayed their hands to the song. Regret boiled up in Hudgens'' chest as she heard the song. "I should''ve learned Tagalog!"


    " ?? Naramdaman lang bigla ng puso ??"


    {Just a sudden feeling of the heart}


    " ?? Aking sinta ikaw lang nagparamdam nito ??"


    {My love, you''re the only one that gave that feeling}


    Suddenly, a drizzle poured down from the sky. It fell onto the crowd inside the open air stadium, however no one reacted to it. Some began to put on raincoats as they enjoyed the song.


    " ?? Kaya sabihin mo sakin ??"


    {So tell me}


    " ?? Ang tumatakbo sa isip mo ??"


    {Things that are going through your mind}


    The slow build up began to climax. The crowd had heart in their eyes as they watched as Edward got drenched by the rain, his hair falling perfectly covering his face and his white shirt stuck on his body, revealing his muscle lines.


    " ?? Kung mahal mo na rin ba ako ??"


    {If you love me now as well}


    ?? Isayaw mo ako ??


    {Dance with me}


    Edward sang expressively, enchanting the audience.


    " ?? Sa gitna ng ulan mahal ko ??"


    {In the middle of the rain, my love}


    " ?? Kapalit man nito''y buhay ko ??"


    {In exchange, I will give you my life}


    It was a legendary performance in the Philippines, something that would be talked about for years in the country.


    " ?? Gagawin ang lahat para sayo ??"


    {I will do anything for you}


    " ?? Alam kong mahal mo na rin ako ??"


    {I know you love me too}


    Edward continued singing the song as the crowd swayed their body, dancing together with him. After the concert, he went on a tour in the Philippines. People on the street, even the old ladies knew who he was. It became chaotic everywhere he went, but he didn''t mind it.


    Edward signed over 5000 signatures for his Filipino fanclub that came to meet him in the span of 3 days. After fully conquering the country, Edward went back to the United States to film for his Percy Jackson movie.


    ...


    Edward Newgate''s new album would feature 12 main tracks and 8 bonus tracks. The album, "Mood Swing," took the world by storm after its release.


    The tracklist included:


    I LivedSomeone to YouSweater WeatherI Ain''t WorriedJust the Way You Are24K MagicDemonsWhen I Was Your ManCounting StarsRunaway BabyRudeSomeone You Loved


    Bonus Tracks:


    Darte Un Beso (Spanish)Night Dancer (Japanese)Bling Bang Bang Born (Japanese)Binibini �C Philippines (Hidden) (Hidden)


    The first day released sold around 10 million copies, and the pre-order numbers reached almost 60 million.


    A media commentator said in a podcast, "If the first album is a success, the price for the second one will be increased. But he didn''t do that. He kept the price at 19.90, which is a stupid thing to do."


    The guest�C a well-known figure in the music industry, immediately disputed him, "He kept the price for his fan''s sake. We can see that he''s not greedy for their money�C"


    "Because he already has his own money!" the commentator argued.


    The entertainment figure argued heatedly "And that is a great thing! For his acting fee, he only took 60,000 dollars, which is the industry Mi.Ni.Mum! Money isn''t a factor for him, and that''s a great thing. He can pursue his passion without any concern�C That is, performing!"


    The fans loved the new album. All 12 songs became a worldwide hit, which elevated his album prestige greatly.


    In Japan, Edward recorded an interview to market his album wearing a thick sweater as he faced the snow in the snowy alps in Switzerland. Crossing his arms together, Edward looked at the Matterhorn with a reddish nose and cheek, apologizing to the fans.


    "I wanted to come back to the US and go on a talk show, but my schedule won''t let me. If there''s any talk show host willing to come here, I''d be glad to pay for your travel." Edward joked slightly as he talked to the camera.


    But then, Conan O''Brien entered the shot wearing a talk show host suit and aggressively walked towards Edward holding a microphone.


    The skit greatly enhances Conan''s popularity. The interview took place inside a warm cottage where they drank hot chocolate together and talked about the album.


    Conan asked, "How did you come out with the title, ''Mood Swing''? I listened to the entire album�Ctwice, so I understand it, but how did you come out with it?"


    Edward smirked and replied, "Because I''m a teenager going through puberty right now."


    Conan snapped his fingers and said, "I knew it! The mood changed a lot in the album."


    "So did my body. I even got a zit yesterday." Edward joked.


    ...


    Inside a mansion in Lake Como, Italy. Edward wore a suit akin to that of a mafia don, sitting on the couch with one leg crossed over the other. The Godfather theme song played in the background as Maggie stomped into the room, holding a piece of paper.


    "Two hundred thousand? He only offered me two hundred thousand and wants me to be fully nude?! Guess who he''s casting as the lead? Himself!"


    "What do you expect? He''s a sleazy movie director. I already told you not to go to the audition," Edward replied before flinching and resetting his persona.


    With an Italian hand gesture, he said broodily, "He insulted my family. Now I have to get involved. Tomorrow morning, there will be a horse''s head on his bed��"


    Before Edward could finish, Robin��the mature, tall, extremely gorgeous, tanned-skinned Russian��walked into the room and interrupted him. Robin had used her previous Nico Robin appearance for her android body, which even Edward found powerless to resist.


    Edward immediately became listless as Robin entered. "O��Robin, I thought you were coming tonight."


    "I finished the negotiations early. We have permission from the Italian government, but they have a request: one, to limit the range of the network to only their country; two, I have to have dinner with the representative."


    Edward raised an eyebrow and asked, "Is he stupid?"


    "Very. That''s why every bone in his hand suddenly broke when he tried to touch my thigh," Robin replied with an innocent smile.


    Edward nodded in satisfaction. "Great."


    Robin continued with the report, "I managed to fast-track the filming approval in the city."


    Edward was confused. "But we didn''t have any requirement for that, though?"


    "I made an arrangement with the official. The approval status is pending. We might not need it now, but if we need it in the future, it will be approved instantly," Robin said casually, crossing her legs and supporting her head with her left hand.


    "Nice, Robin." Edward nodded in satisfaction. At Christmas 2011, he received another useful gacha prize��Mechanical Life Tinder.


    It upgraded his androids into mechanical lifeforms. Just like human beings, his ten androids became their own unique species, capable of evolution and critical thinking. It also connected his soul to the androids, making it impossible for them to betray him.


    Robin experienced insane growth after becoming a mechanical lifeform. Now, Edward no longer had to instruct her; she would find the best path for the company herself.


    This led to Edward''s presence being less necessary, and it was no longer required to conclude deals with the world government''s representatives.


    Robin was appointed as the CEO of the new branch company��DeepSearch (AI), Ohara Foundation��an education firm and scholarship provider, and she was also responsible for the mobile network company.


    Her sudden appearance, combined with her exceptional beauty, led to many speculations of a romantic involvement with Edward and unfair hiring practices, but after witnessing her terrifying skills, everyone dismissed those sentiments.


    As Robin and Edward discussed the business with each other, Maggie became baffled.


    ''Wasn''t I the one who talked to him first? Did they completely forget about me? Did I disappear into the background?'' Maggie was questioning reality at that time.


    "One of the groups on the watchlist you gave me has started moving. The King''s family. They are... targeting you."


    Edward listened to Robin''s report with a solemn expression. The King''s family was one of the villains in The Blacklist TV series.


    The King family dynasty dates back centuries, building their great fortune on slave labor and less-than-legal means. They were infamous in the criminal world for their grand black market auctions, where they sold highly valuable and illegal commodities, such as stolen art, radioactive materials, weapons, and even persons of interest, to the highest bidder.


    "They were even daring enough to kidnap Redmond Reddington to sell him as an auction item," Edward scoffed, a condescending look on his face.


    "Robin, since they have been doing this for centuries, how much do you think their wealth has accumulated?"


    Suddenly, an interesting idea struck Edward.


    Robin chuckled cheerfully and said, "I''ll take care of them." She pulled out a piece of paper from her bosom, making Maggie flustered at her ''obscene'' act.


    "Hey! Why are you keeping stuff there?!" Maggie exclaimed.


    Both Edward and Robin turned to her with shocked expressions. "You''re still here?" Edward asked.


    Maggie almost ripped her own hair out upon hearing that and then stomped away, "Forget it! I''m going to search for your dad!"


    "Call the girls too! It''s almost time for dinner," Edward said, exuding a maternal aura that irked Maggie greatly.


    ''I hate to admit it, but the main reason I''m here is for the food! And he''s the greatest chef around!'' Maggie controlled her fist, slowly putting it down before walking out of the mansion.


    Robin, with a rageful look, said, "This is the list of items for this auction. It seems they need to be dealt with soon. They are even auctioning a child."


    Edward looked at Robin in astonishment and pointed at his own face. "Are you calling me a child?"


    "Not you, Eddy. The 11-year-old Bulgarian boy, son of a whistleblower. Since his father died, the King''s family put him up as an item for the Zmiya gang to buy. They will enact their revenge on the son instead of the deceased," Robin explained.


    Edward nodded. "Well, let''s destroy them. The Zmiya gang and the King''s family."


    Suddenly, Edward spotted a familiar name on two of the item lists. One of them was the Davidov Stradivarius, a violin made in 1712, stolen from its owner, Roman Totenberg, 29 years ago. The whereabouts of the violin had been unknown ever since.


    The last item was someone he recognized. ''Barbara Palvin? Why is she here?'' Edward was greatly confused. Barbara Palvin is a Hungarian supermodel known for her outstanding beauty.


    The only explanation Edward could think of was that she had encountered some unsavory characters on her path to becoming a model. Discovered at the age of 13, Barbara had maintained a steady stream of bookings, even becoming the cover of L''Officiel, Vogue, Marie Claire, Glamour, Elle, Allure, GQ, Harper''s Bazaar, and Nume?ro.


    Without the King''s family intervention, Barbara could have become the ambassador for L''Ore?al Paris, which is why Edward vowed to eliminate as many villains as he could remember from The Blacklist and Chuck.


    ''They were unsalvageable monsters anyway. Let''s just consider them trash and clean up a little.''


    Edward''s eyes suddenly lit up, and he leaned forward to Robin. "Hey, since it''s about stealing stuff, I think ''Agent Twilight'' would be a great addition to the team, right?"


    Robin sighed. The mechanical lifeform capable of ruining an entire city sighed, largely due to her creator''s unique hobbies.


    Agent Twilight was an alter ego Edward had created based on Loid Forger, in which Edward disguised himself using face masks to steal from the evil in the world.


    It was an enjoyable pastime for Edward, but he didn''t know that Robin had labeled his endeavor as an 8th grader syndrome (Chuunibyou) moment from his puberty.


    On a side note, Twilight had climbed to the top 3 of the FBI''s most wanted list, especially after he stole from the head of the CIA�� a member of the shadow government in The Blacklist TV series. In fact, he had stolen from five people in the shadow government, causing losses of over 50 billion dollars.


    Even if they were powerful people, they cannot recoup the losses as it was earned illegally, which made them very hateful towards ''Agent Twilight''.


    ...


    A few days later, Barbara Palvin woke up in a hospital ward.


    ''Huh? Where am I?''


    Her mind was in chaos after being put under a date-rape drug for five days following her kidnapping. The last thing she remembered was someone knocking out her manager and placing a damp rag drenched with chloroform over her mouth and nose.


    After checking the calendar, her breath nearly stopped. She sat up immediately and ran her hands over her body to check if anything was wrong. Her hands trembled as she clutched her knees, fear washing over her.


    Suddenly, a familiar face entered the room. "Hey, are you alright?" Edward came to meet her himself. Barbara was astonished and stammered, "Ed��Edward Newgate?"


    "You must''ve been scared out of your wits. Don''t worry, nothing happened to you. The kidnappers were caught before they could do anything."


    "Lies." Barbara''s lips quivered as she gazed intensely at Edward. "How are you involved in this?"


    Edward shrugged. "I''m telling you the truth. They couldn''t do anything to you because you were part of the commodity they wanted to sell. They have a rule not to touch the product before the client, so you were saved when the FBI raided the whole scene before anyone could buy you."


    Barbara was in disbelief. She clenched her fists, almost crying from frustration.


    ''I shouldn''t have trusted that bastard!''


    She had been lured into this mess when she and her manager were baited by a guy pretending to be a staff member of a prestigious modeling agency in Seoul. It was supposed to be a turning point for her career, but now she felt her entire image was ruined.


    Collecting herself, Barbara looked at Edward and asked carefully, "I''ll ask again, how are you involved in this?"


    "Oh, I got caught too," Edward said casually, leaving Barbara stunned.


    "What?" she asked, shocked.


    Edward wasn''t lying. To figure out the venue for the auction, he had allowed himself to be kidnapped. The location would only be decided on the night of the auction, so no one could know anything beforehand.


    Thirty minutes after Edward was caught, his entire security detail was mobilized, along with the FBI, CIA, and Interpol.


    But when they arrived, it was too late. Everyone inside the mansion with a criminal track record was already dead, including the King''s family.


    The representatives had lost their memories of that day, and no one could recall what they were doing. The representatives were ordinary people, so Edward didn''t ''off'' them, but he did make them tell him who they were working for.


    Edward had hypnotized the father and two sons, making them reveal every single asset they had acquired. He transferred everything away under a pseudonym and completely cleaned up the operation.


    Barbara''s gaze softened when she heard that Edward was a victim too. He recounted the story of his vacation in Lake Como, where he had been kidnapped while ordering gelato ice cream and crepe.


    Barbara began to cry afterward, and Edward comforted her. Her manager was killed by the kidnappers, she lost one of her best friends.


    "Are you going back home? I can take you home with my plane." Edward offered, slightly pitying her. Barbara shook her head and said, "I think that''s the only option for me now that I have to retire."


    "Why do you have to retire?" Edward asked, puzzled by her decision. Barbara replied, "My manager is the CEO of my agency. I only trust him. And with the articles that will come out from this incident, my image will crash."


    Her answers made Edward even more confused. "There will be no articles that will come out though." He said casually.


    The FBI, the CIA, and the Interpol all wanted to cover up the incident to avoid public''s scrutiny. After all, there were records of their agents working together with the King''s family. Edward copied every single transaction record they had before the authority came, so he knew how to blackmail them into covering up the incident.


    ''I have to protect my image too. If it gets leaked that I got kidnapped again, people will start to think that it''s a marketing stunt.''


    Edward stared at Barbara and realized that she was still scared.


    ''Hmm, I guess I can help a bit more.''


    "Do you have anything on your schedule for next week?" Edward asked. Barbara was confused, "Huh?"


    Next week, the Hollywood media would be in Frenzy as Edward brought Barbara as his date for a charity auction to raise money for Aids research located in Los Angeles. It was a charity with multiple celebrities supporting them, so the event has paparazzis all over it.


    TMZ headline: [Edward Newgate and Barbara Palvin�C Dating Rumors?!]

 Chapter 349: Movie and Europe.

    Chapter 349 - 349: Movie and Europe.


    -Timeskip-


    [General POV]


    Inside Edward''s private jet, he sipped champagne while reviewing a few documents.


    The first Percy Jackson movie had performed surprisingly well at the box office, contrary to Edward''s predictions, though he was rarely accurate in his assessments of such matters.


    "650 million? How?!"


    Edward crumpled the box office data in frustration, feeling lightheaded. Rubbing his sore forehead, he sighed and asked, "Is this because of the follower count?" His sharp gaze fixed on Sage, who was sitting across from him.


    Whenever he checked the employee file for his Afterlife project, he noticed that Sage''s follower count was rapidly increasing. She now had almost 40 million followers, which puzzled him. His own Instagram followers had reached 500 million, so what did the 50 million indicated in her file mean?


    Sage sipped her tea casually and replied, "They are your die-hard fans... Your Swifties, so to speak. They would do anything for you, even support your less-than-stellar movies."


    "So the movie is bad?" Edward asked, his concern palpable.


    Sage shook her head. "It''s good. I went to see it in theaters. You really nailed the Chimera fight, and I loved that you included an ''eyes-lighting up'' moment whenever Percy accessed his demigod powers."


    Suddenly, Caroline and Max popped out from behind Sage''s chair.


    Caroline exclaimed exaggeratedly, "In that dark, rainy night scene when he ripped out the Minotaur''s horn with a cold expression, and the thunder illuminated the dead Minotaur after he stabbed it with its own horn��that sealed the deal for me!"


    "That Chalamet guy really knows how to act. His sadness after his mom''s death felt real," Max added. However, what truly sold the scene was Edward as Luke Castellan, comforting Percy by sharing a similar experience. This decision had been supported by Rick Riordan after thorough discussion.


    "When did you two become movie commentators?" Edward asked, disbelief evident in his voice.


    As the movie was targeted at young adults, Edward had decided to insert some fantasy-like scenes. It was a gamble, and the director took risks. The camera work during the sword fights was inspired by battle manhwa, creating a unique fighting experience that was exclusive to Entertain Studios.


    In 2010, the studio had released five movies: Self-Made in February, Warm Bodies in August, Percy Jackson 1 in November, the animated movie Frozen in December, and a few Netflix specials, such as Geek Charming.


    Frozen had climbed to $1.5 billion in box office collections, making it the highest-grossing movie of 2010, surpassing Toy Story 3.


    Queen''s Gambit Limited Series became a worldwide hit after it was released in September 2010, which brought Maggie a lot of fame. Edward got her a role in Ted afterward, replacing Mila Kunis as the female lead.


    Edward invested in a lot of movies and studios, bringing up multiple movies to the big screen ahead of its time.


    Arcane was released in February 2011 on Netflix, and it was praised for the great storytelling and writing. Edward received multiple awards for Arcane Season 1, and together with Breaking Bad, he cemented himself as a superior Screenwriter and Director.


    Both Arcane and Frozen were created by Edward while he digitized himself. It took almost no budget except for voice actor''s payments.


    "But right now, I''m not sure if the success was due to my influence or skills.," Edward mumbled.


    Sage replied lazily, "Like I said, the movie is really good. Your fans aren''t brain-dead; they know how to discern quality. If it were a bad movie, they wouldn''t have liked it so much."


    Edward felt comforted by Sage''s words, but he decided to test things out.


    "I think I''ll make a bad movie on purpose, just to see if my box office influence is real or not."


    Despite saying that, Edward became engrossed in the filmmaking experience.


    It was his directorial debut��a vampire movie suitable for all audiences. Enid was extremely excited when she heard that Edward would play the Vampire Duke himself; she got a nosebleed and fainted.


    Edward even visited her in the hospital, greatly concerned for her well-being.


    "Who''s going to play the female lead?" Pepper asked. "Vanessa is working on her TV series, Diner, and Maggie''s busy with her next movie, The Hunger Games."


    Diner was an original netflix limited series, just like Queen''s Gambit. It was basically the plot to ''Senorita'' music video adapted to become a series.


    Hudgens acted together with Lucas Till, who would become Havoc in X-Men in the future. It was a female focused movie like Queen''s Gambit with relatable writing that resonated with the blue collar and female audiences.


    "I guess it will be my first time interacting with Hollywood''s agents. I usually pick the actresses I wanted, so I never experienced it. I guess I should experience it once." Edward said with a smirk.


    He slapped the script and said, "But, since the script isn''t that great, I don''t think many would react to it."


    He was wrong, yet again.


    Edward was forced to attend another gala in Hollywood after Pepper noticed his low public appearances in the country''s media. Actors, public figures, entertainment moguls, and top agents all attended the gala as it gave them a great prestige boost and appeal.


    Even if Edward attended the Gala with Taylor, Vanessa and Maggie, it didn''t stop the other actresses from actively flirting with him. After a tumultuous week, Edward finally decided on the actress.


    "Won''t it interfere with your current work?"


    "No, we''re already finishing that up."


    Emma Stone replied to Edward as she came to the movie set. The movie, ''Draculein'', focused heavily on the connection between the vampire�C Draculein, and the heroine�C Catherine.


    A romantic fantasy with a class disparity subplot, romance element straight out of a female lead manhwa. With Emma Stone''s skillful acting, it complements greatly to Edward''s masterful personification of the inhuman character.


    The story started with Catherine, a homeless girl, running away from a bunch of ruffians in New York city. Then, she climbed down the sewer to prevent herself from getting caught. However, the ruffians followed her inside the sewer tunnels.


    She ran desperately until she accidently fell into a secret part of the tunnels. There, she saw a handsome young man, dressed like an aristocrat in the Victorian era, sleeping soundly with a stake penetrating his heart.


    As the ruffians encircled her, she took out the stake from Draculein''s body to use as a weapon, unaware that she had awakened something terrible.


    The movie took only 20 million dollars to produce. There were a few incredible scenes such as Draculein summoned two bloody hands to rip off a building wall, exposing the gang member and Catherine who was kidnapped inside of it.


    Another one was Draculein summoning a dark sphere, separating him and the villain inside it from reality.


    The image of a vampire nobility appeared in one''s mind as they watched the movie. There were a lot of action scenes, a huge twist where Catherine was the girl who stabbed his heart in his past life�C both of them bound by a cruel fate to see each other again and again.


    Her fate was to always be killed, and his fate was to always see her die in his arms. The movie ended with Draculein taking a different path, sacrificing himself instead in order to save the girl.


    As he died, the girl''s fate finally corrected itself, but she hugged his body while he was engulfed in flames from standing underneath the sunlight.


    "I''m happy when I''m with you! So don''t go!" Catherine cried, begging Draculein to stay. It brought tears to the audience''s eyes, especially for those who loved fantasy�C such as Enid.


    Not only that, Edward also filmed another movie during the same time. A full action movie. A highschooler''s sister was bullied and threatened by a gang, which led to him enacting his revenge after the police closed the case without finding the culprit.


    If Draculein was a cheery character with a dark side, the highschooler�C Cale, was a cool delinquent character. In fact, it became one of the characters a highschooler would try to emulate in growing up.


    He was smart in concocting his revenge, he did it step by step, gathering evidence, snapping pictures of the police taking bribes, and handing it all to the FBI. The fight scene where Edward faced off against the gang members were masterful action sequences, which was the highlight of the story.


    Many fans thought of the story as Batman without his wealth and in a world where law works. They came to the conclusion after falling for the ways of him using his intelligence to take down an entire crime ring.


    Edward released the action movie in April, which made 670 million dollars at the box office, and Draculein in the summer, which made over 1.1 billion dollars at the box office.


    Directors all over the world were confused by the popularity of the studio. Some even accused them of manipulating the box office themselves by using slush funds to buy out empty seat in theaters.


    They were clamoring about it so much that it irked the fans and the ordinary people online.


    Netizen1: Compare your movies to his. Yours is about two cannibals falling in love with each other, an 18+ snuff film, yet you''re confused on why people didn''t go and see it?


    LilyFanPresident: Edward''s movies have a lesson, yet it didn''t make us feel uncomfortable. You guys can never do that if you try.


    Netizen2: Edward made movies for the people to enjoy. That''s all there is. Not only are the fight scenes great, and the vampire''s skills are really creative. We have never seen that on the big screen before, that''s why it feels really refreshing and we went to watch the movie.


    Netizen3: I love the movies so much! I hope that Edward will keep acting, because he''s really great in all of it!


    Netizen1: Yeah, I hope he acts more too.


    LilyFanPresident: I wish for that too. But his songs are also great, so I hope he will hold more concerts too!


    ...


    In Germany, Edward and his dad went to a pub for his 16th birthday party. It was legal for Edward to drink beer and wine in the country.


    "I guess this is why you kept pushing Europe''s schedules until 2011 huh?" His dad said with disbelief after he sipped his own beer.


    Edward smirked and said, "Of course not. Well, maybe a little~"


    He wasn''t bothered while he drank there in the small town despite people knowing who he was. Attack on Titan mangaka used the town No?rdlingen as his inspiration. Edward wanted to see the town with his own eyes.


    In France, Edward collaborated with a French musician�C Indila. He used her song, ''Tourner Dans Le Vide'' for Draculein, so he was familiar with her.


    Indila, who hasn''t debuted yet, was baffled when she heard Edward wanted to collaborate with her. She might have collaborated with other French musicians before, but she wasn''t at the forefront of anything.


    So she was skeptical when an Entertain employee reached out to her and said Edward Freaking Newgate wanted to collaborate with her.


    ...


    Stade De France stadium. 80,000 people cheered as Edward walked onto the stage after Indila opened the concert for him. He grabbed her hand and started to sing with her.


    [Indila�C Dernie?re danse]


    Edward crooned sweetly, "?? Oh, ma douce souffrance ??"


    {Oh, My Sweet Suffering}


    He dismissed her hand and walked to the side of the stage while the fans cheered loudly for him, singing, "?? Pourquoi s''acharner? Tu recommences ??"


    {Why must you persist? You''re doing it again.}


    "?? Je n''suis qu''un e?tre sans importance ??"


    {I am just a being without importance;}


    Indila continued without missing a beat, hugging Edward from behind, which made the fans squealed.


    "?? Sans lui, je suis un peu paro ??"


    {Without him, I feel a bit unhinged.}


    "?? Je de?ambule seule dans le me?tro ??"


    {I wander alone through the subway,}


    "?? Une dernie?re danse ??"


    {Seeking one last dance}


    Edward turned to her and took her hand again as the background dancers entered the stage.


    "?? Pour oublier ma peine immense ??"


    {To forget my immense sadness.}


    "?? Je veux m''enfuir, que tout recommence ??"


    {I long to escape, to start anew.}


    "?? Oh, ma douce souffrance ??"


    {Oh, my sweet suffering.}


    The impeccable French pronunciation made the girls in his audience melt.


    Indila sang while holding Edward''s hand.


    "?? Je remue le ciel, le jour, la nuit ??"


    {I move the sky, the day, the night.}


    "?? Je danse avec le vent, la pluie ??"


    {I dance with the wind and the rain.}


    "?? Un peu d''amour, un brin de miel ??"


    {A bit of love, a touch of honey,}


    "?? Et je danse, danse, danse, danse, danse, danse, danse ??"


    {And I dance, dance, dance, dance, dance, dance, dance.}


    Both of them sang together, crooning melodiously while staring at each other.


    "?? Et dans le bruit, je cours et j''ai peur ??"


    {Amidst the noise, I run, and fear grips me��}


    "?? Est-ce mon tour? Vient la douleur ??"


    {Is it my turn? Here comes the pain.}


    "?? Dans tout Paris, je m''abandonne ??"


    {In all of Paris, I let myself go,}


    "?? Et je m''envole, vole, vole, vole, vole, vole, vole ??"


    {And I fly away, fly, fly, fly, fly, fly.}


    The catchy lyrics and the beat broke the local chart immediately and the song went international. Basically everything that Edward did went international at this point.


    Edward started the next verse, his voice seemed to transport the audience.


    "?? Que d''espe?rance ??"


    {So much hope}


    "?? Sur ce chemin en ton absence ??"


    {On this path, even as I toil.}


    Indila continued as soon as he stopped. Edward went behind her, dancing expertly as he locked eyes with her.


    "?? J''ai beau trimer, sans toi, ma vie n''est qu''un de?cor qui brille ??"


    {Without you, my life is merely a bright, meaningless stage.}


    "?? Vide de sens ??"


    {(Empty of meaning)}


    Edward danced together with the background dancers, putting Indila as the center of the performance. He sang the entire chorus alone.


    "?? Je remue le ciel, le jour, la nuit ??"


    {I move the sky, the day, the night.}


    "?? Je danse avec le vent, la pluie ??"


    {I dance with the wind and the rain.}


    "?? Un peu d''amour, un brin de miel ??"


    {A bit of love, a touch of honey,}


    "?? Et je danse, danse, danse, danse, danse, danse, danse ??"


    {And I dance, dance, dance, dance, dance, dance, dance.}


    "?? Et dans le bruit, je cours et j''ai peur ??"


    {Amidst the noise, I run, and fear grips me��}


    "?? Est-ce mon tour? Vient la douleur ??"


    {Is it my turn? Here comes the pain.}


    "?? Dans tout Paris, je m''abandonne ??"


    {In all of Paris, I let myself go,}


    "?? Et je m''envole, vole, vole, vole, vole, vole, vole ??"


    {And I fly away, fly, fly, fly, fly, fly.}


    Caroline clapped like a seal as she knew French while Max was confused by the lyrics, but she still danced and enjoyed the song.


    "Too bad we only have 6 more months of this. I''m going to be sad when it''s all over." Max mumbled.


    Indila started the last verse with sadness in her voice.


    "?? Dans cette douce souffrance ??"


    {In this sweet suffering,}


    "?? Dont j''ai paye? toutes les offenses ??"


    {I have borne every offense.}


    "?? E?coute comme mon c?ur est immense ??"


    {Listen to how vast my heart is;}


    "?? Je suis une enfant du monde ??"


    {I am a child of the world.}


    Edward provided harmony for her part. Their voices resonated melodiously, deeply rooting itself inside the audience''s mind.


    "?? Je remue le ciel, le jour, la nuit ??"


    {I move the sky, the day, the night.}


    "?? Je danse avec le vent, la pluie ??"


    {I dance with the wind and the rain.}


    "?? Un peu d''amour, un brin de miel ??"


    {A bit of love, a touch of honey,}


    "?? Et je danse, danse, danse, danse, danse, danse, danse ??"


    {And I dance, dance, dance, dance, dance, dance, dance.}


    Both of them sang the last verse at the same time.


    "?? Et dans le bruit, je cours et j''ai peur ??"


    {Amidst the noise, I run, and fear grips me��}


    "?? Est-ce mon tour? Vient la douleur ??"


    {Is it my turn? Here comes the pain.}


    "?? Dans tout Paris, je m''abandonne ??"


    {In all of Paris, I let myself go,}


    "?? Et je m''envole, vole, vole, vole, vole, vole, vole ??"


    {And I fly away, fly, fly, fly, fly, fly.}


    As Edward took control of France��something that wasn''t difficult since they had already surrendered to him��he went sightseeing in Paris with Barbara Palvin.


    Sitting together at a cafe? near a bustling street, it almost seemed as if they wanted their meeting to be visible to the world.


    "I became the L''Ore?al brand ambassador, just like you said I would," Barbara said, looking at Edward with adoration as she rested her head on her hand.


    Edward dipped his croissant into his coffee before taking a bite. "I knew you could do it."


    "Really? You didn''t bribe them or anything?" Barbara teased.


    Edward scoffed, "You''re pretty enough, so I didn''t have to."


    Barbara felt her cheeks flush slightly as she lowered her gaze to her cup.


    Is he flirting with me, or is this just his personality?


    Conflicted, she suddenly remembered something. "Oh, right!" She pulled out a piece of paper from her purse and presented it to him. "I got my visa, so I''m going to be living in LA starting next week."


    "Oh," Edward replied flatly.


    Barbara hesitated, feeling a bit down. "Aren''t you glad?"


    "I''m glad for you. It will be a good breakthrough for your career," he said, sipping his coffee.


    Barbara understood the implication in his words. He was happy for her, but not necessarily thrilled about her moving closer to him.


    That didn''t deter her, though. With a coy expression, she said, "It will be a good breakthrough, as you said. But I don''t know how to navigate the industry there. What if I run into another sleazebag who drugs my coffee? I need help from a local to show me around."


    Edward smirked, amused by her cleverness. "Alright. I''ll arrange for some people to show you around. You can relax; I trust them with my life."


    "Okay~ But since you''re vouching for them, I''ll call you whenever I want to vent about them. Is that alright?"


    Edward laughed. "Sure. You can complain to me if they''re lacking."


    "Now I have an excuse to call you," Barbara said gleefully.


    "Should we go to Notre Dame next?" Edward asked after finishing his food.


    Barbara feigned surprise. "You''re inviting me out on a date? Finally?"


    "Do you want to go or not?" Edward asked, inching his face slightly closer to hers. Barbara was taken aback, her heart racing.


    In France, laws prohibited taking pictures of someone on the street without permission. Even journalists or paparazzi could face fines of up to 45,000 euros and a year in jail for publishing unauthorized photos.


    Yet, some people decided to risk it all when they saw Barbara and Edward holding hands in front of Notre Dame.


    Time passed by, and it was already 2012. Edward spent 5 months in Europe until May to film for his new project, ''Psychopath Diaries'' in the UK. Edward rented out a building in Chelsea as he didn''t want to stay at a hotel for the duration of the visit.


    However, the location of the house was leaked in the first week he was there, so he bought a 15 million pound stately home miles away from London. The house was built in 2006, but it has the character of an old aristocrat home.


    Edward held a few parties at the house while he was there.


    ''I''m finally 17 years old.'' Edward said as he checked the calendar.


    "I''ve been away for so long, and I''ve already gotten what I wanted. I guess it''s time for me to go home." He muttered with a longing smile.


    -Timeskip ends-


    (A/N: Next Chapter will open starting from a concert in Italy and he will finally go back home.)

 Chapter 350: Return.

    Chapter 350 - 350: Return.


    [General POV]


    San Siro Stadium, Milan, Italy. 80,000 people bought tickets to see Edward''s last concert in Italy, with an additional 50,000 waiting outside the stadium to catch a glimpse of him.


    The police were having a headache trying to control the crowd, but their enthusiastic vigor made things more challenging. However, there weren''t any incidents at the stadium; it was as if everyone who heard Edward''s voice was exorcised of any evil thoughts.


    The mainstream media were in a frenzy, vying for exclusive interviews with Edward as he concluded his show, but all requests were rejected.


    Shirtless, Edward clutched his guitar after finishing a performance, which made the entire crowd cheer thunderously. The stadium shook from their energy, and the vibrations could even be felt on stage.


    Edward was taken aback, smiled, and retreated a few steps backward while playfully saying, "Wow, you guys are insatiable. Are you all enjoying the concert?"


    "YESSS!"


    "WE LOVE YOU, EDDY!"


    "EDWARD! EDWARD! EDWARD! EDWARD!"


    "SELL ME THE GUITAR! I WANT TO LICK THE SWEAT OFF��"


    They shook their banners and snapped pictures of Edward, expressing their affection for the artist. (A/N: Sus)


    Edward laughed, his smile enchanting the audience. With his wolf-cut hair, muscular torso, and prominent canines, it was highly debated that he was the most handsome man in the world at that moment.


    In fact, he even beat out Bradley Cooper in 2011 and was named the Sexiest Man Alive.


    "It has been quite a journey. I traveled across 100 countries, performed in 60, and met many interesting people. But it''s time for me to go back home."


    The crowd whined, and some even wailed and cried.


    "No!"


    "Don''t stop the tour!"


    "We still want to hear you sing live more!"


    "I''ll buy all of the extra merchandise; continue with the concert!"


    Edward smirked and said, "Sorry, but I want to rest a bit."


    Desperate wails echoed inside the stadium, but then they turned into laughter as the audience understood him. For two and a half years, Edward had been working relentlessly, and it showed.


    "I''m going to leave with a bang! For the last song, I''ll sing... well, you guys can guess it. Enjoy, and goodbye!"


    [Zitti E Buoni �C Ma?neskin]


    Edward grabbed his guitar and strummed the catchy upbeat intro to the song. The rock music invigorated the crowd, which made them cheer until their voice turned hoarse. Most of them lost their voice after the concert ended.


    He closed his eyes, placing his lips close to the microphone, and smiled.


    "?? Loro non sanno di che parlo ??"


    {They don''t know what I''m talking about}


    "?? Vestiti sporchi, fra'', di fango ??"


    {Clothes are dirty, bro, of mud}


    "?? Giallo di siga fra le dita ??"


    {Cig''s yellow in between the fingers}


    "?? Io con la siga camminando ??"


    {I''m walking with a cig}


    His mesmerizing voice and bad-boy like persona made many girls blush. Edward rocked the guitar and walked to the side of the stage, singing using the head-microphone instead.


    "?? Scusami ma ci credo tanto ??"


    {Pardon me, but I really do believe}


    "?? Che posso fare questo salto ??"


    {That I can make this jump}


    "?? E anche se la strada e? in salita ??"


    {And even if the street is uphill}


    "?? Per questo ora mi sto allenando ??"


    {I''m training for this now}


    The girls at the end of the stage reached out and touched his leg, but they didn''t grab him as he came near them. Edward smiled and patted one of the young tween''s heads before making his way to the microphone stand again.


    "?? E buonasera signore e signori ??"


    {And good evening, ladies and gentlemen}


    "?? Fuori gli attori ??"


    {Bring out the actors}


    "?? Vi conviene toccarvi i coglioni ??"


    {You better hold on to your balls}


    "?? Vi conviene stare zitti e buoni ??"


    {You better keep quiet and be good}


    "?? Qui la gente e? strana, tipo spacciatori ??"


    {Here people are weird, like drug dealers}


    Edward left the guitar melody to the band and focused on singing. Pointing his finger at his temple, he acted disgruntled and rebellious. Sage recorded the performance, feeling satisfied by Edward''s growth in the last 2 years.


    "?? Troppe notti stavo chiuso fuori ??"


    {Too many nights I''ve spent locked outside}


    "?? Mo li prendo a calci ''sti portoni ??"


    {Now I''m kicking these doorways}


    "?? Sguardo in alto tipo scalatori ??"


    {Staring up like climbers}


    "?? Quindi scusa mamma se sto sempre fuori ma ??"


    {So sorry mum if I''m always out, but}


    Linda, Edward''s therapist, took notes as she translated the lyrics. "I guess he''s fine now. He doesn''t need therapy anymore."


    The crowd cheered enthusiastically, but Edward''s voice wasn''t drowned by them. A normal human being''s voice would drown, but not his.


    "?? Sono fuori di testa, ma diverso da loro ??"


    {I am out of my mind, but I''m not like the others}


    "?? E tu sei fuori di testa, ma diversa da loro ??"


    {And you are out of your mind, but you''re not like the others}


    "?? Siamo fuori di testa, ma diversi da loro ??"


    {We are out of our minds, but we''re not like the others}


    "?? Siamo fuori di testa, ma diversi da loro, no ??"


    {We are out of our minds, but we''re not like the others}


    Suddenly, Edward rapped in Italian.


    "?? Io ho scritto pagine e pagine, ho visto sale poi lacrime ??"


    {I''ve written pages and pages, I''ve seen salt, then tears}


    "?? Questi uomini in macchina e non scalare le rapide ??"


    {These men in cars don''t climb the rapids}


    "?? Ho scritto sopra una lapide, in casa mia non c''e? Dio ??"


    {I''ve written on a tombstone, "In my house there''s no God"}


    "?? Ma se trovi il senso del tempo, risalirai dal tuo oblio ??"


    {But if you find time''s meaning, you''ll climb back up from your oblivion}


    "?? E non c''e? vento che fermi la naturale potenza ??"


    {And there''s no wind stopping the natural power}


    "?? Dal punto giusto di vista, del vento senti l''ebrezza ??"


    {From the right point of view, you feel the intoxication of the wind}


    "?? Con ali in cera alla schiena ricerchero? quell''altezza ??"


    {With wax wings on your back, I''ll go look for that altitude}


    "?? Se vuoi fermarmi ritenta, prova a tagliarmi la testa perche? ??"


    {If you wanna stop me try again, try cutting my head off}


    The fast paced rap made the audience''s blood boil. A deacon from the Vatican clenched his fist, but he kept a poker face.


    Edward took off his guitar suddenly and jumped to the crowd. They caught him and pushed him backward before turning back to the stage.


    ''Crowd surfing is fun. But they kept trying to touch my private part." Edward lamented inside his mind.


    As he got back to the stage, he continued with the chorus, asking the audience to sing along with him.


    "?? Sono fuori di testa, ma diverso da loro ??"


    {Because I am out of my mind, but I''m not like the others}


    "?? E tu sei fuori di testa, ma diversa da loro ??"


    {And you are out of your mind, but you''re not like the others}


    "?? Siamo fuori di testa, ma diversi da loro ??"


    {We are out of our minds, but we''re not like the others}


    "?? Siamo fuori di testa, ma diversi da loro, oh ??"


    {We are out of our minds, but we''re not like the others}


    A few staff members came out carrying a shirt gun and blasted the merchandise to the fans. More than 1000 shirts were given for free at the concert.


    Slightly arching his back, Edward lowered his head and sang before going around the stage to greet the fans again.


    "?? Mmm, parla, la gente purtroppo parla ??"


    {Mmm, unfortunately people talk}


    "?? Non sa di che cosa parla ??"


    {They talk, they don''t know what they talk about}


    "?? Tu portami dove sto a galla ??"


    {Bring me where I float}


    "?? Che qui mi manca l''aria ??"


    {Cause I lack air here}


    The concert was at its peak as Edward screamed, "?? Parla, la gente purtroppo parla ??"


    {Unfortunately people talk}


    "?? Non sa di che cosa parla ??"


    {They talk, they don''t know what they talk about}


    "?? Tu portami dove sto a galla ??"


    {Bring me where I float}


    "?? Che qui mi manca l''aria ??"


    {Cause I lack air here}


    "?? Parla, la gente purtroppo parla ??"


    {Unfortunately people talk}


    "?? Non sa di che cazzo parla ??"


    {They talk, they don''t know what the fuck they talk about}


    "?? Tu portami dove sto a galla ??"


    {Bring me where I float}


    "?? Che qui mi manca l''aria ??"


    {Cause I lack air here}


    He waved at the fans, which confused them. Suddenly, a helicopter flew on top of the stage. They dropped a rope for Edward, and two staff members on stage quickly placed a harness for Edward.


    "He''s escaping through the air!"


    "NOOOO! DON''T LEAVEE!!!"


    It was already an hour after the concert was supposed to end. Flying out of the stadium was a necessity at this point.


    "?? Ma sono fuori di testa, ma diverso da loro ??"


    {But I am out of my mind, but I''m not like the others}


    "?? E tu sei fuori di testa, ma diversa da loro ??"


    {And you are out of your mind, but you''re not like the others}


    "?? Siamo fuori di testa, ma diversi da loro ??"


    {We are out of our minds, but we''re not like the others}


    "?? E siamo fuori di testa, ma diversi da loro, ah ??"


    {We are out of our minds, but we''re not like the others}


    "?? Noi siamo diversi da loro ??"


    {We are not like the others}


    As the song ended, the rope quickly pulled Edward up into the air.


    "Thank you for coming to my concert, everyone! Goodbye!"


    "COME BACK!!!"


    "WE NEED MORE!!!"


    "PLEASE DON''T STOP THE CONCERTS!"


    Edward just smiled amidst his fans'' shouts of desperation. He continued waving until he reached the helicopter. Some fans even ran after the chopper, but they lost sight of Edward soon enough.


    Many fell to their knees, eyes filled with despair.


    "One year~! I think... I can survive one year!" One of them tried to reassure themselves and slowly got back up from the ground.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Are you a cult leader?" Randall asked as Edward got into his private plane.


    I sighed, throwing my head back haughtily, and replied, "Yeah. So? You got a problem?"


    Randall pursed his lips and replied disdainfully, "Yeah, I got a problem, you punk."


    "Want to jump off the plane?" I asked, tilting my head slightly.


    Randall immediately went into apology mode. "I shouldn''t have called you punk, even though it''s true."


    "Mickey, throw him off," I ordered my security, annoyed by my manager''s antics. After almost three years of working together, we had all developed a pretty close relationship.


    "Are we going straight back?" Randall asked with a pitiful expression. "We''re not going to stop anywhere else, right? Or my wife will kill me before any of you guys could."


    "Yeah, we''re going straight back."


    My lips curled into a smile. Maybe I was feeling homesick after all these years, but I couldn''t wait to get back home.


    "My house is already finished building, but I still haven''t spent one day there. I couldn''t wait."


    Randall nodded in agreement, "You even went crazy, building the furniture to your house yourself. And even sculpted something�C Um, insan�C I mean, quirky."


    "You have to handle your mother''s unreasonable requests now too. I heard her condition is getting worse. She even needed to be admitted to the hospital," Mickey commented after taking a sip of whiskey from the side of his seat.


    Randall immediately turned to him, gesturing with his fingers to stop talking.


    My mood worsened, and I chuckled dryly, looking at Mickey with an ominous expression. "I guess Randall will have company when he''s skydiving."


    Suddenly, I thought of the Nevis Swing��a giant swing in New Zealand that drops people from 130 meters high, allowing them to swing for 300 meters, completing an arc before they go back.


    ''I think I''ll send both of them there under the guise of a work trip.''


    After yawning, I grabbed some documents from my bag and opened my laptop. Randall looked at me with disbelief but didn''t say anything, knowing it would be useless.


    "I miss Anna," Randall sighed.


    Anna��Sage��had returned to LA five months ago after her contract with me ended. I offered to extend it, but she rejected my offer, saying that her services were no longer necessary. I probably shouldn''t have learned how to heal, but I was too curious.


    "I miss her too," I responded, refocusing on my work. I missed her nagging every time she felt I was pushing myself. But that old lady probably wanted to enjoy her retirement without any more hassle.


    In the last few years, I had received several energy cultivation techniques from the afterlife corp. However, all of them were useless, except for chakra cultivation. Chakra combined physical energy from my own cells with spiritual energy from the mind, which didn''t require any external energy.


    I tried mana cultivation, murim world cultivation, heaven and earth energy, Taoist practices, and laws of heaven energy, but the world itself was devoid of all things. I could sense a little bit of natural energy, but it wasn''t worth doing anything with.


    However, I did manage to combine the energy systems with chakra, leading to the discovery of many new possibilities, including healing.


    ''By mixing magic circuits and murim healing knowledge, I developed my unique system. I could bestow traits on items, heal people both mentally and physically, and even concoct potions and unique pills.''


    "I probably shouldn''t be thinking about that now and should focus on my work," I said as I put more effort into finishing my workload. I wanted to rest for an entire month, so I needed to make some preparations.


    "Those bastards did it again," Mickey suddenly said, piquing my attention. Randall and I both turned toward him as he showed us his phone screen.


    "Mad Dog Publishing exposed Senator Kelly Johnson''s illegal use of government property, bribery, sexual harassment... They really went all out," Randall read the article on his own phone with admiration.


    "It''s been a year since they launched, right? At first, I thought these suicidal journalists who dared to poke at the CIA were your subsidiary company, but it''s an entirely independent publishing company," Mickey commented.


    "Wolfgang Grimmer is really bold, but he''s unbiased in his reporting and seems to have a strong moral compass," I said with a smirk.


    Randall nodded and whispered, "So I guess it''s just a matter of time before he aims for our artist."


    "Pilot, open the door. Someone is jumping out now," I shouted to the cockpit.


    Wolfgang Grimmer was one of my subordinates. Starting with an entertainment video channel, he grew his company into a large publishing firm. He broke the Weinstein story and several others, won a Pulitzer Prize, and caused the CIA a lot of trouble.


    After poking the hornet''s nest, the CIA came knocking at one journalist''s door, unaware that he was filming the entire incident. The agents killed the journalist, and the whole story was reported by Mad Dog.


    The CIA tried to sweep it under the rug, but public outrage was directed squarely at them. Then, a conversation between two agents was leaked, revealing that they were planning to release a collection of celebrity nudes to deflect attention away from themselves.


    As a result, the CIA underwent multiple internal investigations and lost a significant amount of power within the United States��all because of a lone publishing company.


    ''Which is backed by me.''


    A few months back, they even released a negative article about Entertain and another focusing on my new TV series, Psychopath Diaries. It mentioned my hostile relationship with the lead actress��Emma Watson.


    ''A full-on diva. Fucking deplorable. To think I had a crush on her when I was younger. Give me back my delusions.'' I loathed her inwardly.


    After I arrived in LA, I drove straight to my mansion up the hill. I wanted to tour the place, but I was already too tired. Dozens of staff members followed, carrying my belongings into the house.


    As I opened the door, we were greeted by a statue of a red dragon. The details of the statue were immaculate, giving the impression that a real dragon was guarding the entrance of the house.


    "You can put all of my stuff in the living room. I''ll take care of it tomorrow��" Before I could finish speaking, a black shadow jumped toward me. I immediately grabbed it mid-air and greeted her with excitement, "Vader! I missed you!"


    "Nyaa!" Vader meowed in excitement. She returned with my father three months ago, as she was showing signs of getting stressed out from the constant moving.


    After hugging her gently, I placed her on my shoulder and addressed the staff members.


    "All of you have been working hard for the last two years. I promise that I won''t let your efforts go in vain. If you have any requests, or if there are any departments you want to transfer to, just tell me. I''ll do whatever I can to repay your hard work."


    I wanted to give them job promotions and pay raises, but none of them wanted it.


    "Traveling the world, seeing your performances... We''ve already received our rewards. Rather, we''ve been spoiled," a young Chinese woman said with a cheerful expression.


    They all left quickly, knowing that I wouldn''t go to rest if they lingered inside the house. After two years, they were well aware of my personality.


    "Ah! I''m tired." I laid down on the king-sized bed in a messy room with luggage and storage boxes scattered all around. Vader nuzzled her head on my shoulder as we went to sleep.


    I slept for 20 hours that day after a week of managing only two hours of sleep each night.


    The next day, before I could wake up on my own, my dad came into the room and opened the curtains, causing me to groan in dissatisfaction.


    "Come on, Edward! We''re going to Disneyland!" he said cheerfully.


    "Go by yourself," I groaned, covering my eyes with Vader.

 Chapter 351: New Home.

    Chapter 351 - 351: New Home.


    [Edward POV]


    "Ah~, I''m going to do nothing today!"


    I groaned while stretching my arms in the air, with Vader lounging on my shoulders. As I walked toward the kitchen, I yawned and poured myself a cup of coffee. It was raining hard this evening. There''s a storm coming.


    I wandered into the living room and sat on the couch, turning on the TV to watch the news.


    {...Harmonics Smartphone brand announced an additional release of 40 million units of smartphones after a huge public demand.}


    I flipped the channel even though it was covering my phone company. After the first version was released in 2010, the second version was finally unveiled in January 2012 and became available for purchase in March. So far, 120 million units of the Harmonics phone have been sold worldwide.


    The company now could compete with Apple; however, the main difference between us was that Apple was a public company, while mine was private.


    {... Edward Newgate finished his two-year-long world tour.}


    I flipped the news again.


    {... It is estimated that he earned almost 300 million dollars from his tour alone.}


    "It''s much more than that," I quipped before switching the channel once more.


    {... The United States Government is wary of the Ohara Foundation��Senator XX said. "If the information is disseminated freely, how can we be sure it won''t fall into the hands of the enemies?"}


    {... Harvey Weinstein and P. Diddy are sharing the same cell block��}


    {... Britney Spears finally wants to reveal her escape story.}


    "Huh?" Finally, I stumbled onto something interesting. Britney has escaped her conservatorship and sued everyone involved into oblivion. Her story has become a Hollywood cautionary tale, and a documentary was released about her entire lawsuit.


    But people were still curious about the five months she disappeared from the public eye, as her absence was initially labeled a kidnapping. Even during the lawsuit, the opposition claimed that she was brainwashed during her time away and even daringly suggested that she was replaced by a clone.


    Suddenly, my phone rang. "Oracle. Pickup," I muttered. Oracle was the new AI managing my mansion after Robin''s evolution.


    Pepper''s face appeared on the holographic projection floating in front of me.


    "Edward~! Nice to see you taking a rest!" Pepper said gleefully, his face skinnier than before.


    "You''ve lost a lot of weight, Pepper," I commented. Pepper smiled and said, "All thanks to you. I''ll get straight to the point; I don''t want to disturb you. Britney''s here with an offer."


    "Here? You mean like right now?" I asked, slightly surprised. Pepper turned his phone to show Britney sitting awkwardly on the guest couch in his office.


    "Hello, Mr. Newgate," Britney greeted.


    "Okay. Let''s do it. We''ll have to hide my involvement, so the script needs a bit of tweaking. Ask Paige to help," I said.


    Both Britney and Pepper looked confused. Then Pepper grumbled and said, "You already knew she was coming today to pitch the movie idea to us?"


    "Nah, I just saw it in the news. Connected the dots myself," I replied cockily with a playful smile.


    Britney''s eyes lit up as she asked, "Are you sure? I didn''t tell anyone anything like you told me to. But I want to share the story with everyone."


    I smirked and said, "Sure. Let''s do it. Are you going to act as yourself?"


    "I want to be a producer," Britney declared with determined eyes. Chuckling slightly, I responded, "Yeah, let''s do that. Do you have a script yet?"


    "No."


    "What about the story rights? Are you financing it yourself, or do you want us to be the investors?"


    "Honestly, I didn''t think that far ahead, so I don''t even know how to answer your question," Britney admitted with a wry smile.


    I covered my mouth slightly to prevent myself from laughing.


    "Pepper, let Paige handle it. She doesn''t have anything else to do right now. We''ll start with a draft first. I''ll call Casey and get clearance from him."


    Britney slammed the table as she quickly stood up from her seat, stopping halfway. "You can contact Casey? How is he? Is he doing well? Is he on a dangerous mission? Is he seeing anyone?"


    Britney actually planned to make the movie as a love letter to Casey. After spending months together in the Italian countryside, feelings were bound to develop.


    "Him? I''m sure he''s kicking ass somewhere. I haven''t heard from him in a year, but I do know how to contact him. Come up with a draft first so I can discuss it with Casey. I don''t want to leak his secrets, as it could endanger his life."


    "I''ll be sure to come up with a script in a week!" Britney smiled slightly, then blushed and added, "If��if Casey can��um, I want to be there for the discussion to meet him? Can I?"


    "I''ll ask him," I responded, not rejecting her request.


    Suddenly curious, Britney scrutinized the screen. "You''re sitting on the couch��who''s holding the phone?"


    "It''s a webcam," I lied. Britney nodded immediately, while Pepper snickered to the side.


    Pepper took the phone again and asked me in a whisper, "You didn''t go to Disneyland today? Your dad was really excited to go there with you when you came back."


    "I wanted to get some rest, so I rejected him," I replied.


    "Really? You''re going to miss your dad proposing to Frankie?" Pepper asked, expecting me to be shocked, but I sighed instead.


    "I already talked some sense into him. Who came up with the idea of proposing at Disneyland anyway? It''s not like Disney is a fundamental part of their relationship. There''s no connection at all."


    Pepper held his chest, feeling as if a needle had stabbed his heart. "Three years as a CEO, and I''ve lost all my touch as a gay man. I guess it''s a good thing I''m stepping down from my position after this week."


    Pepper''s retiring. The entire company now falls into my hands.


    "Maybe go to Casablanca with Renaldo for a week? You deserve some rest," I suggested.


    After ending the call, I received a text message from Enid, wanting to come over. I glanced outside; the rain wasn''t letting up.


    "Do you want me to pick you up?" I asked her via chat.


    Enid replied, "Jacob has gotten his driver''s license, so he''s driving all of us."


    "Alright. Come on over. I''ll cook some dinner for you guys."


    "No need! We''re bringing pizza!"


    Twenty minutes later, Enid, Jenna, Jacob, Elsa, and Alex arrived at the house.


    "Edward! I MISSED YOU!" Enid rushed in and gave me a hug, just like before. She had grown to 1.72 m tall and now sported blue and red highlights at the edges of her blonde hair. She rubbed her cheek on my chest, sniffing at me with a perverted expression.


    Before she could release me, Jacob pried her away, shoving her to the side before taking over.


    "Bro!"


    "My god, what did you eat to grow this tall?" I asked, shocked by his growth. In the past two years, I had grown to 1.95 m (6''4"), but he shot up to 2.10 m (6''9").


    Jacob released me, an excited smile on his face. Before he could say anything, Jenna shoved him aside. She had to do it twice before he actually moved.


    "Hi~" Jenna grinned and hugged me slightly. Wearing a low-cut top, Jenna had grown into a stunning tall beauty, but her change paled in comparison to Alex''s.


    "What? I''m not going to hug you," Alex said as I looked in her direction.


    Instead of being short and stacked like Ariel Winter, Alex had grown to almost 1.75 m tall, matching her mother''s height, and had inherited Claire''s beauty as well. With luscious black hair, Alex wore a tight-fitting black sweater and thick-frame black glasses, but her figure was reminiscent of Gloria.


    "You definitely won the best glow up amongst all of these guys." I said, holding a thumbs up at Alex.


    Alex widened her eyes, taken aback by the sudden compliment and blushed slightly.


    "What the hell are you even focusing on?" Alex grumbled, masking her shyness with annoyance.


    Enid pouted, slightly depressed, "I wanted to catch your attention, but I guess I cannot fight against the double D''s�C"


    "Enid!" Alex covered her mouth quickly. Elsa suddenly chimed in, "You''re not even looking in my direction huh? Especially after what you have done to me?"


    "Again, Frozen''s Elsa has nothing to do with you." I shook my head, smiling apologetically at her. Elsa braided her long hair, wearing her signature jacket on top of her crop top as usual.


    "Edward, this place is amazing." Jacob said, changing the subject inadvertently.


    "Who wants a tour?" I asked. Everyone raised their hands up in excitement. Alex pushed her glasses up and said, "I want to see your lab."


    "Legally, there''s no lab inside the house. But yeah, fine. I''ll show you." I agreed easily.


    Enid walked to my side as we started the tour, asking with a whisper, "You''re moving out from your dad''s place?"


    "I asked him to stay here, but he said I''m already an adult and I need my own space. So I''m living here by myself."


    Alex snorted and said, "That won''t be very long. I''m pretty sure some people will take advantage of you and move into one of the empty rooms."


    "I want to move here!" Jenna raised her hand. Enid joined in, excitedly jumping up and down, "Oh! OH! Me too!"


    I smiled and joked, "And get me arrested?" Both of them laughed.


    "We''ll start with the living room since you guys are all here."


    "I want to see the bedroom!" Enid chimed in.


    "We''ll get there." I scoffed, rubbing her hair vigorously as a punishment, which made her pout.


    "Don''t treat me like a kid," Enid gritted her teeth in anger. But instead of being threatening, she just looked adorable.


    With a floor-to-ceiling glass window on one side of the living room, the view showcased the mesmerizing flower garden cultivated outside the house.


    A massive chandelier hung from the 20-foot ceiling, and a fireplace featured a sculpture of a lion. The art wall added a touch of elegance, and the highlight of the room was undoubtedly the conversation pit filled with 12-seater couches and two 85-inch OLED TVs mounted on the wall. The living room also boasted wainscoting painted in a deep shade of green.


    "The dining room can seat 20 people," I said as we moved to another area. This dining space was positioned beneath a rectangular skylight that flooded the room with natural light.


    Every nook and cranny of the house displayed a meticulous amount of detail, featuring artworks, sculptures, ornaments, and furniture. Although the teenagers following me couldn''t fully appreciate the arrangement, they were undeniably impressed by the grandeur of the house.


    "There''s a bowling alley," I said as we descended to the basement area. "And an arcade!"


    Everyone''s eyes lit up at the mention of the entertainment options.


    "A movie theater!"


    Enid bounced on the sofa bed, while Jacob eagerly put on the 3D glasses. Alex and Jenna busied themselves making popcorn before we moved to another spot.


    "I have a sauna and an indoor pool, but they''re in a detached house. I''m too lazy to walk that far right now."


    "I guess having a big mansion has its own cons too," Alex said sarcastically.


    Jenna then asked, "You do have a housekeeper, right, Edward? I don''t think it''s a good idea to manage this entire house by yourself."


    "Yeah, I have housekeepers. There are six of them that I''ve hired for maintenance around the house. Oh, speak of the devil, we''ve stumbled upon one of them."


    An elegant, black-haired beauty wearing a maid''s costume approached us with impeccable manners.


    "Good evening, Sir Newgate," she greeted me with courtesy. I waved slightly at her with a smile. The others were surprised to see her and nodded in greeting as well.


    She only smiled politely at them before walking away. "Who''s she? She looks gorgeous," Enid whispered while hugging my right arm.


    "That''s Yuri Alpha. She''s the head of the maid squad. She prefers to work in the background, so it''s hard to see her around," I replied casually.


    We arrived at the library on the first floor, where Alex became starstruck at the number of books I had collected.


    There''s a gym, a salon with an android worker, and the girls decided to have a manicure. Oh, and there''s a 10-car parking garage.


    "Lab! I want to see the lab!" Alex demanded, whining slightly.


    "I don''t want to go; can I stay here and bowl instead?" Enid asked.


    "Sure. Everyone can do their own thing," I replied. Only Alex wanted to visit the lab. We exited the house and walked along the pathway leading to the lab. I entered the access code to open the door, which caused Alex to quip.


    "How long is the password?"


    "It''s a combination of 69 letters and numbers," I replied, making Alex''s jaw drop. As the heavy metal door opened, we stepped inside the lab.


    Alex''s eyes widened as she took in the highly futuristic laboratory. She skipped giddily to the first piece of equipment she saw.


    "Is this an atomic force microscope?" she asked, admiring the equipment for a moment before her gaze shifted. "Flow cytometers? These things cost millions!"


    Next-Generation Sequencers (NGS), Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Machines, Electrophoresis Equipment, Microarrays, Capillary Electrophoresis Systems, High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), CRISPR/Cas9 Systems, Cell Culture Equipment, Bioinformatics Software��Alex checked out the equipment one by one.


    "This is a lab focused on the study of biology, more accurately, the human genome. You''re not studying anything dangerous here��like a zombie virus or supersoldier stuff?" Alex asked, her eyes full of suspicion.


    "Because if you are, I want in," she declared with determination.


    I chuckled and replied, "I''m studying an HIV cure based on a unique human genome I found. This individual is impervious to the disease, so I''m trying to figure out how, then replicate it to use as a cure."


    Alex looked at me with disbelief, then she said with annoyance, "You''re not satisfied with curing diabetes, you also want to cure aids? What will be left for me to work on when I graduate?!"


    She bit her thumb nail anxiously, her eyes kept darting to the lab. I smiled and patted her head softly, "There''s a lot more to work on, like cancer."


    Alex brushed off my hand and said, "I will graduate early too. I can''t wait for 2 more years. I won''t be able to be a Valedictorian, but if I can get special admission into Caltech, it won''t matter anymore."


    "I can write you a recommendation for Caltech. I know a lot of people there, even the Dean. You can get into college quite easily."


    Her eyes widened, "Really? You think I can get in?"


    "Yeah. Definitely." I said with confidence.


    She suddenly said, "I will get my driver''s license soon. Then, I can come by your house to be your lab assistant. Intern even. Let me play around�C I mean, help you research the cure."


    Even though she was excelling in school, Alex felt like she was being left behind in the scientific community. She has the capability, not the opportunity.


    With 20 patents to her name, Alex could''ve gotten into Caltech or any Ivy Leagues universities with full scholarship if she wanted to.The problem was, there''s no way Claire would let her 16 years old socially awkward go that easily.


    "Come by next week. I''m not going to start this week." I told her.


    Alex grumbled and argued, "Why not?"


    "I just finished my world tour. Let me rest a little!" I snapped slightly.


    As we got out of the lab, the rain had already stopped. Alex saw Vader jumping on the passageway wall and asked, "Are you letting Vader explore around freely? Isn''t she an indoor cat?"


    "The entire hill is mine. She can go wherever she wants here, there''s no danger at all." I replied as I picked up the cat.


    Jenna, Enid, Elsa, and Jacob continued exploring while we were gone. They headed to the indoor pool, changed into their bathing suits, and used the sauna while a maid served them snacks.


    Meanwhile, Alex shared her plans with Enid about becoming my research partner/intern as she dipped her leg into the jacuzzi.


    "Won''t that be dangerous? You two, alone in the same room for hours..." Enid let her imagination run wild, which Alex quickly shut down. "We''ll only be talking about science and nothing else."


    "Really? Two single people spending a lot of time together? Do you really think nothing will happen?" Jenna teased with a knowing smile.


    My ears perked up, and I asked, "Single? Who? Alex?"


    "Wait, you didn''t know?" Enid exclaimed, her eyes widening in surprise. "Alex broke up with Finneas a year ago!"


    "Seriously?" I was genuinely shocked. "No wonder he''s only sending me breakup songs to check out."


    "How did it happen?" I asked, concerned.


    "You really didn''t know anything?" Enid was intrigued. Alex appeared uncomfortable and quickly said, "We don''t have to talk about this."


    "I won''t push it now, but we are going to have a conversation about this later," I said, pointing my finger at Alex.


    "Edward, do you have any plans tonight?" Jenna asked, changing the subject.


    "I do. I''m meeting Sage here."


    "Aww. I wanted to ask you to go to a party with me," Jenna whined, disappointment evident in her tone.


    "Why are you meeting with Sage so late at night?" Alex narrowed her eyes with suspicion.


    Jacob suddenly commented, "Ever notice how easily we transition from calling her Miss Anna to Sage just because Edward is calling her that?"


    "Shush! I want to hear his answer," Elsa flapped her hand, gesturing for her boyfriend to be silent.


    "There''s just this thing we do together to relieve some stress," I replied ambiguously, unaware that my answer sparked wild imaginations among my friends.


    Everyone left around 9:30 after we finished bowling together. They wanted to spend the night this weekend, which I gladly agreed to.


    Sage arrived at the house around 11, and I greeted her at the door with a warm smile.


    After leading her to the living room, I leaned forward, grabbing her hand and asked with a desperate expression, "We are going to do it today, right? I can''t take it anymore."


    "I''m really tired," Sage complained, her eyes showing fatigue.


    I narrowed my eyes and begged with a sad look on my face, "Please! I''m going crazy without it. You''re the only one I can do this with. And don''t pretend you don''t enjoy it too."


    Sage hesitated but eventually sighed and said, "Alright. But just one time. I don''t want it to be like last time when we destroyed an entire room."


    Smiling happily, I pumped my fist in celebration. "Yeah!"


    Sage slowly unbuttoned her oversized sweater and tossed it aside. Suddenly, she lunged forward at high speed, trying to knock me out with a punch. I bent my knees, avoiding it Matrix-style before twisting my body and kicking her with my left leg.


    Sage blocked the blow with her arm, but the impact forced her to slide backward.


    I laughed maniacally and said, "You really tried to end this with one punch, huh? We''re not doing that today."


    Sage sighed and grabbed a staff from the weapon rack in the gym. I opted for a pair of daggers and coated them with chakra. We both lunged forward, and the fight began at speeds that were almost impossible for the naked eye to see.


    Only Sage could match my abilities nowadays. She used a [Copy] skill to lower herself to my level, and I had been sparring with her for almost two years now.


    The newly built gym quickly turned into tatters from our intense battle. After I reached a certain level, I found myself to be incredibly bored when faced with other people.


    I fought a bear in Russia, fought in an underground fighting ring, and had gotten into a lot of scuffle in the last two years, but it always ended too easily.


    After an hour, I laid down on the floor, sweating heavily and gasping for breath.


    "That was the best fight ever." I said with a maniacal grin on my face.


    Sage squatted down beside me, her palm beneath her chin. "You have become stronger again. I don''t know if that''s a good or a bad thing for you."


    "I''m bored!" I whined.


    "Hmm..." Sage thought about it before saying, "I probably shouldn''t tell you this, but if you become a level 4 afterlife agent, there''s something called the ''Travel Ticket''."


    "Travel where?" I sat up slightly and looked at her with intrigue.


    "You''ll find out where. But to get to level 4, there''s still a very long road ahead." Sage stood up and brushed the dust off her legs. (A/N: No World travel, don''t worry)


    I stopped her before she could leave, "Sage. Can you help me with something?"


    Sage figured out my intention without me even telling her, "You want me to help heal your mom''s mind. It won''t work. I already tried. I could hold it off for about a month, but she will have her episodes again. Without completing her obsession, her mental health won''t get better."


    I sighed and laid down on the floor again. "Please, help me take care of her. I''ll complete it within the week and send her back to her hometown."


    "Her obsession isn''t about her country�C Forget it. I don''t think that you''ll listen to me." Sage sighed and picked up her sweater.


    "Transfer 100,000 dollars to my account for the sparring fee." She said.


    I waved my hand, and Oracle transferred the money to her bank account. Sage kissed my forehead before she left the house.


    "Goodnight Edward. Get some rest."


    "Even if I wanted to, I couldn''t." I said after she left the house. But before I could do anything, I received a text message.


    Barbara: Are you asleep?

 Chapter 352: Heavy Breakfast.

    Chapter 352 - 352: Heavy Breakfast.


    [Edward POV]


    It was raining again when I woke up this morning. Thunder roared and lightning flashed, making it a perfect morning to sleep in.


    After brushing my teeth and taking a warm shower, I headed to the large kitchen to cook.


    "I should bulk up again," I said as I took ingredients out of the fridge, which was fully stocked by the maids before I got home.


    "Should I cook Italian, Korean, or Japanese-style breakfast?" I pondered as I checked the freshness of the ingredients. Then I decided to prepare all of them.


    Grilled mackerel, potato paille, bibimbap, seafood fried rice, rolled eggs, miso soup, and some croissants for dessert.


    Lightning flashed through the large kitchen window, and I noticed a plane landing vertically on the helipad in the distance.


    As I set up the food on the kitchen table, the guest finally arrived.


    "Robin-chan, I''ve prepared your portion too. Let''s eat breakfast together," I said, smiling at the elegant woman in a business suit and gesturing for her to sit.


    Robin accepted the invitation, resting her head on her palm as she gazed at me. "I don''t need to eat to live, yet you keep cooking for me."


    "It''s pretty lonely to eat alone," I replied. "Vader''s still sleeping, so you''re all I''ve got."


    Robin giggled. "Won''t it feel weird to discuss overthrowing a country while enjoying a meal?"


    "Why not? The Illuminati did it. Why couldn''t we?"


    We both chuckled, reminiscing slightly about the time we went against the secret organization. They were poorer than I had thought.


    "Although I already know what I need to do, I''m going to throw out multiple ideas, and I need to hear your opinions on them," I said as I mixed my bibimbap with a spoon.


    "Just eliminate all of the government members and start fresh."


    "It''ll be hard for the new power to gain legitimacy. Some may demand accountability for the horrific violence."


    I furrowed my brows in dissatisfaction, muttering, "That will take less than an hour to finish. I still have to do a lot for this, huh?"


    "You can opt out of interfering with another country''s problems. Their suffering is not your responsibility," Robin replied callously. "But your well-being is mine."


    She interlocked her fingers, resting her elbows on the table and leaning forward slightly. "If it affects your mental health, sir, then I suggest we table this matter."


    Robin was equipped with an emotion sensor, a feature I had acquired during my trip to Greendale Community College. After upgrading the sensor, it could detect subtle changes in brainwaves, which later evolved to recognize emotions. Robin sensed my reluctance to undertake this work, so she suggested that I shouldn''t push myself.


    I rubbed my chin and said, "I''ve been interested in some kingdom-building novels recently, so I want to try it out on my own��just for six months. Then I''ll wipe my hands of the country''s matters."


    "Highly unlikely, but sure," Robin teased.


    "I will," I said decisively, but Robin wouldn''t believe me.


    As Robin ate her food, she asked, "What other ideas do you have for taking over the country?"


    "Civil war and revolution. I''m picking the latter."


    Vader jumped onto the table as he woke up. I broke off half of my grilled fish and hand-fed it to him.


    "To restart the country, we need a third party to take over the government. I need a list of public figures in Cuba and influential community leaders. We also need a catalyst to start the revolution."


    "It''s essential for the revolution to be televised. I''m putting Mad Dog at the forefront," Robin added.


    I nodded, saying, "I need to go there to handle a few things. We have to make the revolution as peaceful as possible. I''m going to take care of those in charge to ensure they don''t wipe out all of the dissidents or commit any insane acts before they fall from power."


    "You''re going to visit Cuba by yourself?" Robin asked, slightly surprised and worried.


    I ate the seafood fried rice and replied, "Yeah. I''m the only one who can do this." I activated my three tomoe sharingan, which made Vader jump in surprise.


    Robin narrowed her eyes. "You''re eating two portions of rice early in the morning?"


    "You know my body needs around 10,000 calories per day just to maintain my muscle mass. Blame my Uzumaki Physique."


    Robin giggled, and I finished my fried rice before continuing, "Let''s see. The Illuminati has around $400 billion in assets and $200 billion in cash. Cuba''s GDP is around $25 billion per year. I don''t know what to do with the money anyway, so it''ll serve as the initial kingdom-building fund."


    We talked for a while, and Robin brought up another subject. "It seems that the agency will have a lot of guests this week."


    "You mean Britney?" I asked casually.


    "One of them. There''s also Johnny Depp, who''s coming by today��"


    "Why is he coming by?" I asked, confused.


    Robin replied, "It''s to put his name in the running for the new movie."


    "Isn''t he supposed to be working on Dark Shadows��"


    As I said that, I remembered the movie''s plotline was close to Draculein��my previous film, which had reached a billion dollars at the box office. I guessed the producer of Dark Shadows must have scrapped the movie because of it.


    Even though he wasn''t currently working, it still felt suspicious for him to throw his hat into a low-budget film with a $30 million budget. The lead was a drunk who was constantly drunk on rum��wait, I guess that made sense?


    "Who leaked the information about the movie? It''s still in the initial phase, and we don''t even have a script yet."


    "Who knows? It''s Hollywood; they won''t disclose their informants so easily," Robin replied before coldly asking, "Should I check who the spy is?"


    "Forget about it. Just let Pepper handle Johnny. He''s a very bankable actor but I don''t want to blow up the movie''s budget just to cast him."


    "He''s offering to take a pay cut to be in the movie," Robin interjected.


    My face broke into a smile. "Then it''s fine. He will be very welcome to join. Let Amy be the female lead��the daughter. She''s waited long enough."


    Robin nodded in agreement. Amy�C my cousin with the Gold Quality acting talent started working as an actor a year ago. She worked on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Modern Family (Reimagined), getting the part of Alex. Amy also worked on a couple of indie movies, in which she received great compliments for her acting.


    The movie was selected from a script sent to Entertain, and it was one of those stories that truly moved me. The plot centered around an amendment in which a father tried to reconnect with his daughter.


    He believed his entire family had perished but was tricked by his sister-in-law after an accident that killed his wife. He was accused of something he didn''t do and spent about twenty years in prison before the police found new evidence proving his innocence, leading the court to pay him compensation.


    The story was based on a true event that had occurred a couple of years ago. (In this Universe)


    "However, it will be a pressuring environment for the screenwriter if he wants to direct the movie himself. I should pair him up with a veteran director," I muttered.


    Robin continued her earlier topic, "Miss Emma will also come by."


    I furrowed my eyebrows, keeping my guard up, "Stone or Watson."


    "Watson."


    "Why is she coming by?" I asked, disdain apparent on my face. I loved working with Emma Stone. She was hella funny.


    "Your series ''Psychopath Diaries'' will be released this weekend, Eddy. Are you forgetting about that?" Robin chuckled, enjoying my reaction.


    I shook my hand dismissively and said, "It''s a Netflix series. The premiere isn''t that important."


    "You should bury the hatchet with her, Eddy. Isn''t she your crush growing up?"


    "She delayed the production by two months. Went behind my back to persuade the director and scriptwriter with her agents, but couldn''t deliver on the emotional acting. I wanted to cast Juno Temple instead of her, but I had to relent because the director and the scriptwriter are her fans."


    Not satisfied, I continued complaining, "She cut her hair into a pixie cut in the middle of production! We have to write them into the script! Then she flew to the US for 2 weeks while we were filming a crucial scene. I thought it was for something important, but articles started popping out from her time at some nightclubs."


    Stabbing the rolled egg angrily with my fork, I gritted my teeth and said, "Yet, she still acts like she''s innocent. Let us not meet anymore."


    "You have to, at the premiere." Robin giggled.


    I dropped my head down and cursed underneath my breath, "Fuck."


    ...


    After we finished eating, Robin and I walked to the helipad together, sharing one umbrella.


    "When you get there, Woo-Jin and Weed will escort you to the government building," Robin said as we walked through the back storage area of the jet. As I sat in the pilot''s chair, I asked her excitedly, "How''s the Quinjet performing?"


    I had acquired the blueprint last year and had built ten of these jets since then. The stealth jet features a cloaking function, vertical takeoff and landing capability, and built-in weapons such as missiles, a Gatling gun, and even energy weapons.


    Cloaking devices surround my hill, preventing drones or satellites from capturing images of my house. With Sage''s sanctuary spell and the cloaking, I can truly rest easy while I''m here.


    "It''s great," Robin replied curtly. "Test it out, and you''ll see for yourself."


    She left the plane to start my blue Maserati in the garage, driving off to the company while I took off into the sky.


    "Damn, Robin, I haven''t even driven that yet," I grumbled as I flew away. However, my destination wasn''t Cuba.


    "Let''s create some chaos first." A creepy smile spread across my face as I headed to Nevada. "Area 51... What''s actually inside?"


    Using the scanners, I tried to determine how deep the military base went. However, their advanced technology seemed capable of catching a glimpse of my plane.


    I laughed as I deliberately kept the cloaking level low.


    Quickly, I turned back and headed toward Washington, D.C. The military scrambled three F-16s to follow my trail.


    "Heh-heh," I cackled as they began shooting at my jet. Their bullets couldn''t penetrate my shield, so I went supersonic, leaving them behind in the dust.


    Pilot One: "This thing is heading to Washington! Deploy all of our jets! We need to catch him before he does!"


    Command Center: "Affirmative. Deploying all units right now."


    The country was in chaos for a few hours as the government tried to figure out the imaginary enemy. Meanwhile, I had already landed in Cuba and started my infiltration.


    Wearing a straw hat, I strolled around the streets, disguised as In?aki Godoy using a transformation jutsu, complete with a red vest shirt and short jeans. The slippers completed the outfit.


    "Time to do some sightseeing," I muttered cheerfully.


    Around noon, I finally returned home. "There''s no one who would give me all their food in exchange for destroying their government. What a wasted day."


    However, I gained insight into what the media wouldn''t cover about Cuba. I saw people living in oven-like houses with poor infrastructure and observed the low quality of food and the resentment in people''s eyes.


    Political dissidents faced truly horrifying consequences. I witnessed young girls being arrested and raped repeatedly by the secret police, and I freed as many prisoners as I could.


    "I guess this is what my mom was fighting for, huh?" I muttered with derision, reluctant to give her any credit.


    "Most of the young people resent the regime, but the older generation is the troublesome bunch; they have been thoroughly brainwashed. It will be hard for a revolution to happen naturally."


    After jotting down some notes for my revolution plan, I headed to the artificial hot spring next to the sauna.


    As I glanced out the window, I muttered in confusion, "Why does it keep raining here? I thought California was experiencing a drought right now. It''s been raining since I got back home."


    The next day, I drove to the company in my Audi R8. The sky was still raining.


    The meteorologists couldn''t explain the situation. On the news, people were clamoring that the incident from yesterday proved the existence of extraterrestrial life, with many questioning why it originated from Area 51.


    The government was working hard to cover it up, but internet sleuths, YouTubers, and social media influencers made the situation worse. A movement began to form��"Storm Area 51."


    Memes had already circulated widely. The government was anxious, unsure if these people were joking.


    Instead of heading to the entertainment company building, I drove straight to the laboratory.


    A tall doctor with glasses and her hair tied up in a messy bun greeted me at the door.


    "Dr. Hofstader," I said, giving her a perfunctory nod.


    She checked her watch and remarked, "9 a.m. You''re exactly on time."


    Betty Hofstader��Leonard Hofstader''s sister��was a medical researcher. Previously, she had been growing pancreases in adolescent gibbons to cure diabetes before she quit her job and joined my laboratory.


    When I asked how she found out about my work, she said Leonard had told her about my stem cell research.


    Betty resembled a younger version of her mother and inherited her cold, calculating personality.


    "How''s the patient''s condition today?" I asked as I donned a lab coat over my gray suit.


    "We''ve completed Phase 3. Everyone in the treatment group has been cured of their ailments after three months of treatment," Betty replied, pulling out a chart.


    We walked to the testing area together while I reviewed the information.


    To get approval for a stem cell treatment for diabetes in the U.S., the company must conduct clinical trials mandated by the FDA. These trials consist of several phases, beginning with safety tests on small groups and progressing to larger groups to assess the treatment''s effectiveness and side effects.


    The company needs to clearly describe the method of treatment during these trials, detailing how stem cells are collected, processed, and administered, ensuring compliance with safety and ethical standards.


    To protect the treatment method from being duplicated, we have applied for a patent, granting us legal rights to the specific process. If certain elements cannot be patented, we keep them as trade secrets and utilize non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to share information only with trusted parties.


    "Great. This concludes the clinical trial," I said with a smile.


    Betty sighed and replied, "You''re being naive, Eddy. The battle has just begun. There''s a lot of public pressure for us to release the treatment method, which I''m sure is being manipulated by��"


    "Shhhh!" I placed my finger on her lips, effectively silencing her. Taken aback, Betty widened her eyes in confusion.


    "The battle is over. I''m the winner. There won''t be any problems at all," I said with a mischievous grin.


    "Just be there when the FDA official signs off on the documents," I told her with a tired groan.


    Highly suspicious, Betty had many questions, but she knew it would be futile to ask them.


    She said, "I checked the cost of the treatments. Are you sure you want to keep it as it is? The company wouldn''t make any profits if you do that."


    "But we will be able to help a lot of people," I interjected. Betty was speechless, looking at me with bewilderment. "Also, we''re already making a lot of money." I added, making a money gesture with my fingers.


    The lab was part of a pharmaceutical company, and we had already released numerous beauty products into the market.


    With Hudgens, Gomez, Palvin, Daddario, and Scarlett Johansson as brand figures, we dominated 85% of the beauty market in the United States and 50% globally. The profits we had generated were astronomical.


    "We can''t reach the entire world by ourselves, so we''re going to collaborate with hospitals in various countries. It will be hectic for you in the coming weeks. Good luck," I said, patting her shoulder before I dashed out of the lab.


    "Hey! That''s your job!" Betty finally realized it, but I was already on my way to the fourth floor, where the Ozempic clinical testing was being conducted.


    "We''ve already solved the issues with bone mass and muscle mass loss. The strain on the internal organs is negligible. After we finish the clinical trials, the products will be available to the public," Dr. Rostenkowsi explained.


    "Thank you, Dr. Rostenkowsi. How are you handling your husband being in space right now?" I asked as I poured over the files.


    "Howie is having a tough time up there, and so am I," Bernadette replied, her high-pitched tone tinged with slight sadness.


    The petite, yet curvy, blonde researcher had a PhD in microbiology and had married Howard Wolowitz after a year of dating (from The Big Bang Theory).


    "Yeah, is he asking you to drop a pencil just because he misses gravity? I can imagine there''s a worrying sexual factor that makes you concerned about his mental state," I asked casually.


    Bernadette widened her eyes in surprise. "How did you know that? Did he call you too?"


    "Nah, we''re not that close. I''m just guessing," I replied, holding back my laugh.


    She rolled her eyes but managed to smile slightly. "Oh, there''s something I''m supposed to ask you on behalf of everyone."


    "Shoot."


    "What''s next after this?"


    "Next?"


    "What''s after solving obesity and diabetes?" Bernadette smirked cutely. "Are you going to get a Nobel Prize? Are we going to work on another cure? We''re all curious to see what you''ll do next."


    "I''m going to take a year off to make movies," I replied with a quizzical look, causing her to inhale sharply and slump with disappointment.


    Everyone on the team would still have their jobs, as there would be plenty to do even after the medicine hit the market, but the excitement of working on something that could change the world was addictive.


    "Since you look so sad, I''ll tell you a secret, but you have to keep it between us, okay?"


    Bernadette perked up quickly and nodded furiously. I leaned in and whispered, "I recently made a breakthrough in studying a cure for HIV."


    Bernadette''s eyes widened, and she breathed heavily. I smirked and said, "Shh... Don''t tell anyone, okay?"


    "Okay!" she agreed easily.


    ...


    In the afternoon, I went to the Entertain company building. We would be moving out in a year after completing the new campus in Silicon Valley, but the company building would not be disregarded; the game division would take over after everyone else left.


    Pepper and Harvey were both out for lunch with some powerful figures in Hollywood.


    Paige nearly cursed when she saw me. She was sitting amidst tall stacks of unstable script towers, her hair messy and dark bags under her eyes from her workload. "You''re finally here, you��" she began, but before she could finish, she accidentally bumped one of the script towers, causing it to topple over her.


    "Hey, are you alright?" I quickly entered her office and helped her remove the scripts that had fallen on her.


    After I helped her, Paige grabbed my collar and threatened, "If you don''t help me with Britney''s script, I will quit!"


    "I''m here to help you! So, please calm down first," I said, patting her hand to signal her to release me.


    For the past two years, Paige had been my confidant and my harshest critic as we worked together to create multiple Netflix shows and movies.


    As she complained about her workload, Paige began listing her responsibilities.


    "Two movies, ''Now You See Me'' and ''The Big Short,'' and five ongoing series: ''Modern Family,'' ''The Big Bang Theory,'' ''Community,'' ''Suits,'' and ''Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.'' I have to deal with everyone while you''re off gallivanting around the world."


    "You''re only the main producer; I don''t expect you to manage the series yourself," I replied in disbelief.


    I maintained the mockumentary style of the Modern Family series, casting Ashley Tisdale as Haley, Amy as Alex, Aidan Gallagher as Luke, Kristen Wiig as Claire, Jason Sudeikis as Phil, Dan Levy as Cameron Tucker, Max Greenfield as Mitchell, Salma Hayek as Gloria, Craig T. Nelson as Jay, and Rico Rodriguez as Manny.


    Of course, everyone''s names were also changed in the series. When it premiered, I received a call from Claire, who suspected that the family in the show was based on hers, but I managed to change the subject. That was two years ago.


    As the lives of the family members significantly changed due to my presence and intervention, I used the original storyline as the basis for the TV show. Claire''s suspicion died down because of that.


    The trouble arose with The Big Bang Theory. I had to change the format and plot substantially.


    After filming three episodes with a live studio audience format, the reviews weren''t very positive. I didn''t give up and shot the show again, this time in the format of Young Sheldon, ditching the live audience laugh track and the set.


    For Community, I hired Abed to direct the show. He transferred to a community college in Pasadena after I purchased the college. Annie followed him and moved to California, too, as did Troy. The three of them shared an apartment near where Sheldon lived.


    Paige continued complaining about her meeting with Britney while I organized the scripts on her desk.


    "She doesn''t remember the beginning of her own story, so a lot of information is missing. I asked if we could make things up, but she wants the story to be authentic."


    "Oh, I can fill in the gaps," I replied casually. Paige was taken aback, narrowing her eyes as she picked up a piece of paper. "The mysterious helper. Is it you?"


    "Don''t tell anyone, or I''ll be in serious trouble," I chuckled. Paige sighed wearily and said, "Okay. At least we can solve one problem. The second one is genre. What will the story be categorized as since it starts with an action scene?"


    "You mean the kidnapping?" I asked in disbelief. "She wants to include that?"


    Paige nodded. "She also wants to add a hallucination scene she had while she was in treatment. It''s all very scattered."


    I mused for a moment and then said, "Horror? No. Sci-fi? Um, that doesn''t fit either... We''ll just keep it as a biopic with action sequences here and there. Let''s not focus too much on the genre."


    "Speaking of biopics, your movie �� Night Witches, is premiering next month. Are you excited for it?"


    It took a year and a half for her to finish the movie as it involved real aviation scenes. Initially, she wanted to release it on Netflix, but after reviewing the film''s quality, I decided we should release it in theaters instead.


    It was a fantastic movie with deep emotional scenes, although the production faced numerous challenges, starting with casting the Night Witches. Only Yuliya Snigir had notable recognition in the film; the others were all new actresses.


    It was a risky move to release it in theaters now, considering that The Avengers was currently showing and The Amazing Spider-Man would be released a month after Night Witches hit theaters.


    As a side note, both The Avengers and The Amazing Spider-Man involved my contributions.


    "It''s fine if it flops. It''s only $50 million. I can recoup that in a week," I said with a cheeky smile.


    Paige looked annoyed. "You''ve spent almost $2 billion on production costs in the last three years. Do you realize how insane that is?"


    "It''s either that or pay taxes. I''d rather support creatives who have no chance of getting their films made because no one is willing to take risks on them. Otherwise, in the next decade, we''ll face a shortage of experienced filmmakers and producers. I can''t let that happen," I replied firmly.


    Paige regarded me with disdain and said, "Look at you, acting all philosophical. Just don''t bite your tongue when the movie flops. I''ve already warned you."


    "Believe in yourself more," I teased.


    Paige shot back, "I believe in myself. I don''t believe in you. Every single one of your box office predictions has missed the mark. How much do you expect this movie to make?"


    I paused for a second before responding honestly, "Maybe around $20 million? It is a biopic, so I don''t think it will attract a huge audience."


    Paige dropped her head in disappointment, thinking I had already dismissed the movie as a tax write-off.


    "But, given that my predictions have never come true, maybe it has a chance?" I chuckled, attempting to lighten the mood.

 Chapter 353: Orchestra.

    Chapter 353 - 353: Orchestra.


    [Edward POV]


    Living Room


    I sat on the couch, playing Mythic Quest on my PS5-inspired console, dressed in a tank top and shorts. The actual PS5 wouldn''t be released for another eight years, and the PS4 was still a year away from its November 2013 launch.


    I couldn''t wait that long. After receiving a blueprint for the PS5 in gachas, I decided to build it myself, renaming it the DreamConsole and producing 30 million units for sale. It sold out in just one day.


    Currently, my name is synonymous with innovation and quality in the tech world, leading to every item I launch selling out almost instantly.


    "Edward, what do you think of this dress?"


    I turned to see a girl posing as she walked into the living room, wearing a white polka dot dress.


    "The color makes your skin look darker," I replied. "Why don''t you try that aubergine dress you have?"


    "Aubergine?" She looked confused.


    "Dark purple," I clarified. Her face lit up in realization as she accepted the suggestion and went to change.


    I refocused on the game, and fifteen minutes later, she returned, asking for my opinion on her necklace next.


    I sighed and said, "Go do your hair first. That will take a while. You can wear one of my handmade pieces if you''d like."


    Excited, she squealed and ran to the hairdresser android��who she believed was a human��and allowed herself to be pampered.


    Last year, I received several craftsmanship-related awards, including [Dwarven Craftsmanship Skills], [Dwarven Craftsmanship Talent], and [Kim Hajin (The Novel Extra) �C Trait Bestowment].


    So far, I''ve created around twenty pieces of jewelry despite my busy schedule. It''s all thanks to the [Metallurgical Manipulation Skill] I''ve acquired, which allowed me to craft items without the need for fire. However, that skill only worked for a year, and I''ve since lost it.


    If I wanted to craft items now, I would need to use the forge, which isn''t a big deal; it just takes more time.


    In the basement storage room, hidden by a secret entrance, there was a backlog of artwork, sculptures, and jewelry stashed away. I had created them while still learning, so many of the artworks had become somewhat obsolete.


    "Maybe I should sell them all at an auction. Before that, I should open a gallery to showcase them��increasing their value."


    "What are you thinking about so deeply?" the girl asked as she returned from getting her hair done.


    My heart skipped a beat when I saw her. The tight dress with a low neckline and high slit accentuated her figure, and her hair was tied up in an elegant bun, adorned with a ruby and silver necklace.


    "You look stunning, Hudgens," I complimented her, pausing my game. Hudgens looked taken aback and turned a shade pink.


    "Really?" she asked, fixing her hair.


    "Absolutely," I replied, standing up and walking toward her. Hudgens was undoubtedly the greatest beneficiary of the massage skill I had. Over the past two years, I had massaged her using chakra twelve times. Her beauty soared, and she became one of the prettiest women in the world.


    She had grown two inches taller, but that didn''t change much since she started out at 5''2". Her chest had become slightly more voluminous, and her skin had transformed into a flawless caramel tone.


    "You picked the Ruby Spider set. There''s a spider lip ring in the set; why not use that?" I suggested as I examined her appearance. When I touched the ruby on her necklace, Hudgens'' face flushed bright red.


    Hudgens shuddered and said, "T��the spider''s so realistic that I got goosebumps when I put it on my lips."


    "Oh, that''s a pity," I replied, lightly brushing my fingers against her lips, which made her look dazed. I did it to feel their elasticity.


    "Is it dangling from your lower lip? How does it feel in terms of weight when you wear it?"


    My questions seemed to fade into the background as Hudgens'' mind went blank from our close proximity.


    ''As expected, I''m useless at appraising it,'' I thought, feeling disappointed.


    Sage had helped me appraise my items before. The Ruby Spider set would grant the wearer a +20 Burning Charm��though I had no idea what that meant until Sage explained it to me.


    The set increased the wearer''s initial charm while amplifying their ferocity. An introvert would become an extrovert while wearing this item. Since Hudgens wasn''t wearing the full set, the burning traits weren''t activated, but she still received a +10 charm.


    As I studied the set, trying to assess its characteristics, Hudgens waited patiently, her lips pursed and eyes closed, seemingly lost in thought. She stood on her tiptoes despite wearing high heels, inching her face closer to mine.


    However, she soon looked disappointed when she found nothing. I had already stepped back, giving her space, unaware of her intentions.


    "I should get ready now. Our transport will be here any minute," I said, stretching my arms upward.


    Hudgens exclaimed in disappointment before realizing, "Wait. Already? I haven''t finished my makeup yet!" She rushed away hurriedly while I went to change my clothes.


    In less than ten minutes, I was dressed. I chose a classy black suit with a gray vest. On the lapel, I fitted a Caduceus staff brooch with hanging chains��one of the accessories I made, and it had the most powerful effect among them.


    [Inviolability +30]


    Inviolability refers to the state or quality of being safe from attack, infringement, destruction, or interference��or being held in reverence as something that must never be violated.


    "I waited until the last moment, but I still have to wait for her to finish getting ready, huh?" I sighed, sitting back on the couch to wait for Hudgens.


    Twenty minutes later, she was finally ready. However, I''d made the mistake of not wearing my shoes, so she blamed me for us being late.


    "Wait," I called to Hudgens before we left the house.


    "Hmm?" She turned, her eyes widening in surprise as I placed a green silk scarf on her head. She looked confused when I tied the scarf beneath her chin.


    "What are you doing?" she asked, suspicion evident in her voice.


    "Um... Just some preparation. Otherwise, your hair will get messed up."


    "Messed up? Why��OH NO YOU DIDN''T!?" Her face paled when she heard the sound of blades cutting through the air from the sky.


    "You didn''t tell me we were going there by chopper?! I''m not getting into that death trap! Let me drive instead!"


    "It will take three hours to get to Costa Mesa by car. The orchestra starts in an hour; we won''t make it if we drive." I smiled and grabbed her wrist, preventing her from bolting.


    "NOOO!!" Hudgens protested vehemently, but it was all in vain. She grabbed my hand and wouldn''t let go during the entire ride. As we arrived at The Pacific Symphony Orchestra Hall in Costa Mesa, we were escorted to the seating area reserved for VIPs.


    It was situated in the middle of the audience, a special area with the best acoustics in the hall.


    "What piece will they perform?" Hudgens whispered before we were seated.


    "Dvor?a?k''s Number 9��Aus Der Neuen Welt. Translated to: From the New World."


    I spotted General Beckman in the VIP section, accompanied by some Chinese ambassadors. She was the CIA director who worked with Chuck, Sarah and Casey before.


    The Chinese Ambassador lit up upon seeing me, wanting to stand, but the diplomats quickly stopped them, reminding them that it was rude to speak while the performance was about to start.


    General Beckman gave me a slight nod in gratitude for doing her a favor. This year was particularly special since it was an election year.


    As an influential figure among both the public and the elite in the country, many interested parties were trying to draw me into their camp, but I wasn''t going to switch sides so easily. I kept hiding behind the identity of a minor, but the politicians were unrelenting.


    The President had been doing an excellent job over the past three years��thanks to my influence��and I wasn''t about to abandon him mid-journey as he worked to improve the country.


    "How long will the performance take?" Vanessa asked as we sat a fair distance from the Chinese delegation and the General.


    "About an hour, I suppose. It depends on the orchestra," I replied. "How long are you going to hold my hand?" I asked teasingly.


    Vanessa grumbled adorably, "I''m still shaking." She was referring to the flight. I suddenly sensed the cold air blowing down on us. It had been raining for three days straight, and the air was quite chilly. Although she wore a jacket, it was rather thin.


    I took off my blazer and offered it to her ten minutes into the orchestra as she shivered.


    "What''s this? I''m just your date substitute for the night. If you keep being lovey-dovey, I might get the wrong idea." Vanessa hid her face in the sleeves of my jacket and tried to act confident. I just smiled at her.


    The darkness inside the hall concealed her features, and she kept glancing at me throughout the performance, seemingly unconcerned about the orchestra.


    "Oh, someone slipped up, but they regained harmony in an instant," I commented, intrigued by the orchestra.


    Half an hour passed, and the orchestra entered the fourth part of the piece��Allegro con Fuoco. The music, which means "fast, with fire" or "lively with passion," even mesmerized Vanessa.


    Suddenly, I noticed a commotion near the General''s seating area.


    ''There are about 15 minutes left. What''s happening over there?''


    I felt irked as they were interrupting a crucial moment of the piece.


    "Is that Chuck?" I was astonished when I recognized familiar faces near the General. They were pulling a box from beneath her seat, and all of them had troubled expressions.


    ''Wait, isn''t this the final episode of Chuck?''


    I figured out what was happening instantly: a pressure-sensitive bomb had been placed under General Beckman''s seat, set to detonate when the orchestra ended.


    "Should I interfere?" I mumbled, rubbing my chin in contemplation.


    "I''m curious about the bomb." I slowly stood up, prompting Vanessa to turn toward me and ask, "Where are you going?"


    "Ah, it seems there''s some trouble over there. I''ll be back in two minutes," I replied casually, walking toward General Beckman.


    Sarah muttered, "I''ll get Quinn," as she stood up and rushed toward the exit.


    "Who''s Quinn? The villain?" I asked, surprising Chuck and Casey. Sarah didn''t look back, even though she noticed me; her gaze seemed unfriendly.


    "Hmm? Why is she looking at me like that?" I asked Chuck casually.


    "Um, she lost her memories, so she doesn''t know you. It''s a long story," Chuck explained before he stood up, needing to retrieve the Intersect glasses from Quinn��the only way to restore Sarah''s memories.


    The Chinese delegation began to retreat as Casey told them to evacuate. The General instructed Casey to evacuate everyone, but he reminded her that interrupting the orchestra would still set off the bomb, making it a bad idea.


    "We don''t have time, Chuck," Casey said, trying to dissuade him.


    Chuck replied decisively, "Then get me more time! I have to get the passcode from Quinn. It''s the only way for us to stop the bomb."


    He rushed away before I could say anything. Casey glanced at me, an idea forming in his mind. "Edward, the bomb is wired to explode when the music ends. Can you do something about it?"


    "You want me to get on stage��for free?!" I feigned shock.


    "Come on!" Casey groaned in frustration.


    I laughed, grabbed my watch, twisted the case, and pressed the crown to open it. Grabbing the USB wire inside, I connected it to the bomb case controlled by an encrypted computer.


    "What are you doing?" Casey asked, surprised by my actions, and he glanced at my watch. It was a mini computer disguised as a watch. It took me 2 million dollars just to create one of these.


    "I told my date I''d only be gone for two minutes. I won''t waste any time here." I began decrypting the password to open the case.


    "It will take too long to hack in��" Before Casey could finish his sentence, I had already opened the case. Inside was a laptop controlling the bomb beneath the General''s seat.


    "It''s an old Prism laptop; this might be tricky." I pursed my lips slightly before connecting my USB to the laptop.


    Casey immediately reported back to Chuck. "Edward managed to open the case. It''s an old Prism laptop."


    "Casey, go somewhere else. You''re distracting me," I admonished him. Casey stepped back, taken aback, as I focused on the screen.


    My fingers flew over the keyboard, the adrenaline from the thrill fueling my enthusiasm.


    "Ah, I don''t want this moment to end," I whimpered playfully.


    Casey looked at me incredulously and asked, "What''s wrong? Can you do it or not?"


    "It''s done," I replied, shutting down the entire bomb sequence with ease. Relief washed over Casey, and I noticed the General had tears in her eyes from the tension of the moment.


    "I''ll be going back to my date now. We can talk once the concert is over," I said before leaving them and heading back to Vanessa.


    As I settled back into my seat, Vanessa raised an eyebrow. "What were you doing with the laptop?" she asked, glancing around at the people exiting the hall, curious but not panicked.


    "Just saving the concert hall and everyone in it," I grinned mischievously, eliciting an eye roll from Vanessa.


    The concert concluded without a hitch, and the audience applauded the orchestra for their stellar performance.


    ''Wasn''t there supposed to be a song? "Take on Me," if I''m not mistaken. I also don''t see Morgan anywhere.''


    Once the crowd dispersed from the venue, Vanessa and I lingered behind to converse with the agents. A bomb squad arrived to dispose of the explosives and carried the case outside.


    "Thank you so much for your help, Mr. Newgate. You saved many lives tonight," General Beckman said, extending her hand in gratitude.


    I shook her hand and replied, "I didn''t do much. But what''s the story here? How did Sarah lose her memories? You forgot our beautiful moments together too, didn''t you, Agent Walker?"


    Sarah looked taken aback, prompting Chuck to clarify for her. "We infiltrated his house before, got punished, and had to work as waitstaff at his New Year''s party. Then there was the time the president was attacked, and we went to his place for help."


    "Did she lose all her memories?" Vanessa asked, looking at Sarah with sympathy. She remembered her and had even spoken to her before.


    "No. I only lost the past five years," Sarah said, realizing that Vanessa and I were familiar faces. She felt genuinely bad for forgetting us.


    "Have you tried a true love kiss?" I suggested, causing everyone present to stare at me in shock.


    "Edward, what the hell are you talking about?" Vanessa asked, disbelief written all over her face.


    "I''m just saying. Chuck and Sarah are married. Perhaps their love for each other will help restore her memories without needing the Intersect." I gestured toward the glasses in Chuck''s hand.


    The villain had met his end on the roof, dying a pitiful death. Chuck hadn''t used the glasses this time, which meant he had a shot at restoring Sarah''s memories through the Intersect since she had lost them in the first place.


    Chuck''s face lit up as he imagined reuniting with his wife. Meanwhile, Sarah appeared conflicted.


    "Why don''t you try it out?" I urged Chuck with a teasing smile. "Maybe you can save the use of the Intersect."


    "Um," Chuck hesitated, turning to Sarah but ultimately rejecting my suggestion. "No, sorry. I won''t force her to do anything she doesn''t want to." He meant restoring her memories.


    Without those memories, Sarah seemed to have returned to her previous life as an agent��unbound by her feelings and solely focused on her missions.


    "I mean, I just helped you all prevent a major disaster. The least you can do is humor me," I pouted childishly. Vanessa was skeptical, knowing I wouldn''t make such a boorish suggestion.


    The General sided with me, feeling indebted. "I don''t think it''s hard for two seasoned agents to pretend for a moment. We owe him our gratitude after all."


    Sarah nearly rolled her eyes and grabbed Chuck''s arm. "Let''s just do it. I don''t think he''ll let us off the hook if we don''t."


    "Um. Seriously��o��okay?" Chuck was visibly puzzled, hesitating as he leaned in slowly. But Sarah, irritated, pulled him in abruptly and gave him a deep kiss while everyone watched.


    I smirked secretly and activated my Sharingan, diving deep into Sarah''s subconscious.


    ''I cannot take an open ending to a love story that has played out over five years.''


    She had some mental defenses in place as a seasoned agent, but it was easy for me to navigate past them.


    The five years'' memories hadn''t been deleted by the Intersect; they had merely been isolated. Restoring them back into her main memories was straightforward for me as I rewired the connections in her mind.


    As Sarah kisses Chuck, waves of memories flood back to the surface. Her eyes filled with tears of recognition, and she pulled him even closer.


    "I remember," she whispered to Chuck before hugging him tightly in excitement. "I remember everything!" she exclaimed.


    Everyone in the room was taken aback by the sudden turn of events. Casey stood there, bewildered, mumbling, "It was that easy?"


    "So the main reason Sarah couldn''t remember anything was that Chuck had no game and couldn''t seduce her?" the General remarked, flabbergasted while I kept laughing.


    "Oh. By the way, Casey. I need to talk to you about Britney. Can you swing by my house tomorrow?" I turned to Casey after I was done with Chuck and Sarah.


    Casey was still speechless, but he agreed to my request, "Okay. I will be there."


    ...


    Vanessa and I took the car route as we went back home. I hired a limousine service before the concert ended, and it arrived exactly on time when we got out of the building.


    "It''s really fortunate that there''s a bomb inside the concert venue. Otherwise I would have to talk with the Chinese delegations, which will take a long time." I breathed in relief as I cracked a Fanta taken from inside the limousine''s minifridge.


    Vanessa crossed her hands together, staring at me skeptically. "Did you bring me there because you know this will happen?"


    "No. I told you. I have to be there as a favor to the General. I hate going alone, and you don''t have anything to do. I also thought it would be fun for you since you have never experienced an orchestra live before."


    "Hmph!" Vanessa didn''t believe me.


    "I''m telling you the truth." I chuckled at her stubbornness to accept the fact.


    "Don''t be mad. The night''s still young. Want to go to an art gallery together?" I invited her. Vanessa''s eyes turned sharp, she turned towards me, leaning her head close to mine.


    "Tell me properly. Are we going on a date together? Or is this just a casual friend thing? Because you already have Barbara�C"


    "I''m not dating Barbara." I replied truthfully, which shocked her.


    "What�C But the articles... And you guys even went on a date together�C"


    "I''m only helping her a bit with her career. It got derailed because she got kidnapped before." I replied.


    "So�C Are we.." Vanessa blushed slightly.


    I leaned on my hand and gazed at her intently, "What do you think we were doing?"


    "Umm..." Her face flushed red and she stammered while avoiding my gaze, "I thought you are not going to date your employees."


    "Officially, I''m not your CEO. But in two more days, I will be. So I don''t want to miss the chance." I flirted slightly.


    "I�CIs this the reason you don''t want me to act in Spring Breakers?" Her eyes lit up in realization and she asked me excitedly.


    I was slightly taken aback, "Why did you bring that up? You''re the one who rejected the part."


    "Yeah, after you told me that it''s not worth it."


    "I stick to what I said." I said haughtily.

 Chapter 354: Awkward Premiere.

    Chapter 354 - 354: Awkward Premiere.


    [Edward POV]


    Two days after the orchestra, it was time for the series premiere. Emma Watson and I stood in front of the photographers on the red carpet, posing for pictures together.


    She whispered while my hand wrapped around her waist, "I came to your office the day before, but you''re not there."


    "Oh, I have something else to do that day." I replied dismissively.


    Emma glanced at me for a second before focusing on the cameras again, "And this has nothing to do with our talk before you flew off to London?"


    "You can paint it as a talk or maybe a heated conversation, but we both know it''s a bloody argument." I replied, which made her get taken aback.


    As soon as we finished taking the photo, I left her behind. She seemed a bit taken aback, but her attention quickly shifted to the reporters who were asking her questions.


    It was a small premiere, as the show was only available on Netflix, attended only by reporters and close friends.


    "Mr. Newgate! Mr. Newgate! Can I ask a question?!" A zealous reporter raised her hand and called out to me desperately from afar, blocked by two bulky security guards.


    "Sure. Which media outlet are you with?" I replied casually, walking toward her.


    "Mad Dog," she said, a maniacal glint in her eyes hidden behind her innocent youthful facade.


    ''Am I about to face the consequences of my actions now? I''m looking forward to it,'' I thought secretly. I was the one who had allowed Mad Dog into the premiere; otherwise, they wouldn''t have been here.


    "Is there a special reason why ''Psychopath Diary'' was picked as your next project?" she asked.


    "Shouldn''t this question be asked once production starts?" I chuckled slightly.


    "Yes, but no one could track your location, and you didn''t do any interviews pertaining to this project. After the success of your other projects, this is the first one where you left all the creative control to others. Is there any reason for that?"


    "Because I loved the script. It was unscrupulous and witty. That''s all." I smiled charmingly.


    "Oh��um..." After a moment of fluster, she quickly regained her composure. "Is there a special reason you cast Emma Watson in the project?"


    That was a fairly standard question, which made me slightly disappointed.


    "I had no part in the casting for this project. As mentioned before, I left all the creative control to the director and producers. All I did was act."


    "Are you going to focus more on acting while you take a break from music?"


    "Not quite. This was filmed before I announced my break."


    "Last question: what can you tell us about the rumors that you were donating money to charities to launder the money you made through dirty deals? Why aren''t you paying your taxes in a normal way?"


    The security guards were baffled when they heard her question, almost dragging her out of the event. I smiled and said, "The answer to that is simple: transparency. I just wanted my money to go somewhere that could help people, not elsewhere."


    Her eyes lit up. "Can you elaborate on that��"


    Another reporter intervened by pushing Sarah aside, asking me questions about the TV series instead. The security grabbed the opportunity and pulled her away from me.


    After answering a couple of questions, the premiere was finally starting. Inside the theater, all the participants of the project, entertainment critics, and close friends of mine gathered to watch the show.


    RDJ sat directly behind me with his wife at his side. "Newgate, if this sucks, I''m walking out of here," he warned me after tapping me on the shoulder.


    "I hope it doesn''t come to that," I replied, feeling a bit anxious.


    He caught on to my expression and teased, "What, didn''t you check it out first before this?"


    "Yeah," I replied, stunning him. Pepper gave me a thumbs-up from a distance, signaling confidence. Maggie sat on my left, and Jenna on my right. My cousins snickered and teased my hairstyle the moment the show started.


    "What''s with the hair?" Maggie whispered.


    "Is that a bird''s nest?" Jenna added.


    "No, it''s fringe but slightly puffy��stop talking!" I shushed both of them. The character I was playing had a slightly gaunt appearance, wearing a cheap suit and appearing somewhat hunched.


    "Did he cut a lot of weight to play this character?" Pepper asked, astonished. To portray him authentically, I lost around 15 kilograms. He''s a depressed stockbroker��a pushover and a coward. I couldn''t embody him with my muscular physique; no one would buy into that premise.


    The first episode began by showing the main character, Travis Duncan, being an outcast on his team, burdened with the responsibility for a failing stock he had nothing to do with. Articles circulated, mentioning him by name as the person responsible for the incident.


    As a pushover, he was tricked by his only friend in the office, who didn''t share his sentiments, into staying behind to do his job while the friend went drinking with others. While performing his friend''s work, Travis stumbled upon an email regarding the pharmaceutical stock incident and realized he had no one to trust.


    He went to a construction zone to commit suicide but was too cowardly to actually go through with it, instead collapsing to his knees and crying over his fate.


    "Huh? The car wasn''t there before?" he noticed something unusual as he fell onto his butt at the edge of the unfinished building floor. Then, he heard someone pleading for their life from the floor beneath him.


    Curious, he moved to check on the situation and witnessed a serial killer finishing his gruesome ritual��stamping the victim''s bloody thumb into the pages of a diary where he kept information about his murders.


    Summoning all of his remaining strength, the victim managed to kick the diary away from the killer, and it landed right at Travis''s feet. Grabbing it, he hurriedly ran away to call for help. However, in his panic, he was struck by a police car��driven by none other than Emma Watson, a rookie officer who had gotten distracted while driving.


    "So far, it''s alright," RDJ commented from behind me.


    At the hospital, Travis was diagnosed with memory loss; while he forgot his identity, he retained his skills and hobbies.


    Emma decided it was fortunate for him to lose his memory and lied, telling him that he had jumped in front of her police car to save her job. She sent him home with her, leading to a discovery that he was an avid movie fan and a casual reader of advanced books.


    {"I know what this is! This is just like Leonardo da Vinci''s backward mirror writing style," Travis exclaimed excitedly as he read the pages in the diary that the police officer thought belonged to him.


    Emma''s character, feeling a bit anxious, asked subtly, "Oh, can you regain your memory when you read that diary?"


    "I don''t know. I can try." Travis quickly rushed to the mirror, opened the red leather notebook, and held it to his chest as he attempted to read the reflection. Emma waited curiously, standing at a distance near the main door.


    "24 April 2011. Today I..." Travis''s expression suddenly froze.


    Emma asked, "What is it? Did you remember something?"


    "Um... No... I don''t think so." He placed the diary down and told Emma that he was tired. Sensing his discomfort, she understood and left him alone.


    After Emma exited, Travis read the diary properly: "24 April 2011. Today I killed another person."


    ...


    Episode 1 ended with a cliffhanger in which Travis picked up a ceramic toilet lid and terrorized his team leader in the restroom while the team leader was drunk. Believing he was the predator mentioned in the diary, his entire personality changed.


    The lights turned on, and there were many disappointed groans from the audience.


    "Come on, continue with the next episode!" RDJ shouted. The director and production crew took the stage to discuss the series before encouraging the audience to watch the entire show when it drops tomorrow.


    "Edward! I''m excited for tomorrow," said Tom Hiddleston, the villain in the story, as we exited the theater. Some people were filming reactions and providing comments on the first episode, but I stayed behind, not particularly wanting to participate.


    "Me too! I''m going to binge the show with my friends at my house," I replied with a cheeky smile. "I''m not inviting you, though, as all of them are kids."


    "I don''t want to hang out with a bunch of teenagers anyway," Tom chuckled. "So I guess you''re not going to the wrap-up party?"


    "I can''t even enter the club since I''m not 21 yet." I pursed my lips in dissatisfaction before both of us laughed together.


    On the drive home, Maggie suddenly said, "Oh, you know Emma''s only 20."


    "Where are you going with this?" I looked at her skeptically.


    Maggie casually remarked, "She can''t go to the club either, so I invited her to join our small party."


    "We''re having a small party? Where?" I was flustered, as I had already planned to do something else tonight.


    "Where else? At your place, of course. Your dad, Frankie, Pepper��all of them are going to be there."


    "I think at some point, we''re not going to have these celebratory parties anymore. We can also do it tomorrow when the show actually drops."


    "That would be rude to Emma since I already invited her tonight," Maggie replied.


    I gritted my teeth, annoyed. "Yeah, that''s right. You invited her. So why am I responsible for it?"


    Amy peeked her head from the backseat and asked, "Are you guys fighting?"


    Maggie gasped, ignoring Amy as she replied, "She''s your castmate. I was just being polite! Why are you being so prickly?"


    "Just take her to a club somewhere. Don''t bother me," I said decisively, dropping off Maggie at her home before driving Amy back to my old neighborhood.


    My uncle and aunt had bought a house there��my ex Abby''s old place where she lived while she was in California. The entire house was remodeled before the family moved in.


    Amy asked as she sat in the front seat, "Do you hate Emma Watson?"


    "I don''t necessarily dislike her," I replied.


    "Why? What did she do to make you hate her? I thought she acted quite well in the first episode."


    "I don''t know. I just don''t want her around me," I said as I stopped the car at a traffic light.


    "You realize she''s a lot like you in terms of personality, minus the pathological liar thing," Amy teased. "Maybe that''s why you dislike her."


    "You think I''m like her?" I snapped, feeling irritated.


    Amy widened her eyes in astonishment and said, "You''re mad about that and not the pathological liar part?"


    "I''m getting there. I''m going by the sentence order. How am I similar to her?"


    Amy chuckled and said, "You really don''t see it? Both of you are nosy and very opinionated."


    "That''s hardly a fair comparison. I''m opinionated about the right and factual things."


    "Which is why you and she don''t get along. She thinks the same way, but you are more mature, so you listen to others'' points of view and don''t attack them for thinking differently," Amy said, surprisingly mature in her analysis of the tension between Emma and me.


    "Also, I''m pretty sure you''re being more annoying than usual because you got rejected by Vanessa," Amy added, giggling as she playfully slapped my shoulder.


    I clarified, "She didn''t reject me. She said she would answer next year when I''m 18."


    "Nah, she rejected you," Amy pointed out mercilessly. "But I''m not going to rub salt in your wound, or even provide medicine to help it heal. I enjoy seeing you suffer."


    I rolled my eyes and said, "Speaking of broken hearts, didn''t you just get dumped?"


    "Hey! I wasn''t dumped! It was a mutual break��NO! I DUMPED HIM!"


    I thought back to what Amy had said on the drive home.


    "Maybe you just have to talk to her in a different setting��not at work. The party, perhaps."


    Frowning, I sped up the car as I drove through the empty streets in the rain.


    ...


    The next day, before the series dropped, I went to the office to meet with Pepper.


    "These are the things you need to settle in the next two weeks. It''s a lot, huh?" Pepper said, glancing at the stack of documents on his table with a sympathetic gaze.


    To be honest, I usually managed double that amount in a day, but I didn''t want to diminish Pepper''s efforts on his last day.


    "Yeah, it''s daunting to look at," I played along. Harvey scoffed, knowing my capabilities, but she didn''t call me out.


    Pepper gave me a tour of his office, saying, "So, that''s about it. The entire company is yours now."


    "It was his to begin with," Harvey commented playfully. Pepper joined in, saying, "That''s true. I have no idea what I was doing; I just did what he told me to do for the last three years."


    "That''s not true at all. The company owes you a lot," I reassured Pepper, who seemed to underestimate his own contributions.


    "After you sign this, you will officially take over as the CEO of the company." Pepper''s voice trembled slightly as he handed me the file.


    "Are you alright, Pepper?" I asked, concern creeping into my voice.


    Pepper covered his mouth, whimpering, "Nothing. I''m just really proud. It feels like my son is growing up."


    I hugged him tightly. "Just don''t have too much fun in Milan that you forget about me," I teased.


    After settling the transfer process, Pepper commented, "Well, this feels a bit anticlimactic."


    "Yeah, definitely. We could''ve had a party if we hadn''t scheduled it for Sunday." I agreed with him. "There''s no way the employees will show up unless they really like you."


    Pepper snorted, saying, "Never in my life have I loved my boss so much that I was willing to sacrifice my weekends."


    I shrugged. "I guess that''s that."


    "I guess that''s that too," Pepper''s chin quivered. Although he hadn''t enjoyed the work, he loved being the boss of the company. The three of us walked out of the office together.


    Harvey suddenly said, "I should file the paperwork first to make it official." She pressed the button for the 20th floor in the elevator.


    As the door opened, hundreds of employees yelled, "Surprise!"


    "What?!" Pepper''s eyes widened in shock as he saw the "Farewell" banner hanging across the office. There was even a documentary showcasing Pepper''s time as CEO playing on the projector.


    "See? They love you!" I teased, placing my hand on Pepper''s shoulder and nudging him out of the elevator.


    After 30 minutes, the party was in full swing. Pepper had gotten drunk and was singing ''Kiss from a Rose'' with Renaldo at the karaoke machine.


    "Ah, I miss Max," I muttered as I watched the chaos from afar. "She would''ve loved to see this."


    "Why are you talking about her like she''s dead?" Claire approached my side with two champagne glasses in hand. I instinctively reached out to grab one, but she pulled it away hastily.


    "No. Both of these are mine," she said with a glare. Claire had cut her hair short and wore office attire for the occasion.


    "No wonder there are rumors you''re an alcoholic," I said in disbelief.


    Claire looked flabbergasted and asked, "Th��There are rumors of what?! Who did you hear that from?!"


    "I won''t snitch on my informants. But why aren''t you at Disneyland with your family?" I changed the subject.


    Claire waved dismissively. "It''s still raining, even in Anaheim. We''re postponing our trip. Maybe you can come with us too."


    "Maybe I will," I replied with a smirk. Just then, Frankie joined us, looking worried.


    "I still think hiring another CEO is the right thing to do. Your life is already hard enough with the plethora of projects you''re juggling," she said.


    Claire agreed, adding, "Unless you cut something out."


    "I''ve already delegated a lot of my work to others. Don''t worry; being a CEO is easy when you don''t have any shareholders to appease."


    During our conversation, I suddenly noticed something different about Frankie.


    "You''re not drinking any wine. And your boobs are getting bigger."


    Claire was taken aback, exclaiming, "That''s quite a rude thing to say out loud!"


    "It''s just an observation. I regret nothing," I said decisively, turning to Frankie, who looked a little anxious and was sweating slightly.


    Her reaction made me even more suspicious. Suddenly, the answer to why my dad wanted to propose to her so urgently became clear as day.


    "Are you... pregnant?" I blurted out. The reason I came to that conclusion was because of the Afterlife effect. I became extremely sensitive to everything that involved life and death so I could sense the life growing inside her belly.


    Frankie''s eyes widened in shock, and she hesitated before answering. "Um... well..."


    Claire gasped, putting a hand over her mouth as she caught on to what I had just said. "No way! Are you serious?"


    "Guys, it''s personal�C" Frankie''s startled, the expression on her face spoke volumes.


    "It is! Oh my God, this is huge!" Claire exclaimed, her excitement overriding her initial shock. "Frankie, why didn''t you tell us sooner?"


    ...


    Back at my house, I shouted at the top of my lungs as I stood on the outside deck, facing the garden.


    "I''M GOING TO BE A BROTHER!! HELL YEAHHH!!!!"


    My friends were taken aback at first, but then they quickly joined in, shouting with enthusiasm.


    "EDWARD''S GOING TO BE A BROTHER!" Enid and Jenna bellowed.


    Jacob cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "MY BRO''S GOING TO HAVE ANOTHER BRO!"


    Finneas stayed back, rubbing his sore throat. "If I didn''t have a sore throat, I would''ve joined you guys."


    Only Elsa, Jacob, Finneas, Jenna, and Enid could make it to my place for the screening. Alex had earlier plans with her grandpa, so she couldn''t be here. As for Billie, her mom wouldn''t let her stay until 2 am at a boy''s house.


    Once everyone entered the home theater, Jacob immediately made a beeline for the popcorn machine. "There''s caramel, salted, and plain! I WANT ALL OF THEM!"


    "You guys can order some food if you want. The maid will deliver it to your seats," I said, showing them the tablet with the menus. Their eyes lit up with excitement, and they exclaimed, "This is the best movie theater I''ve ever been to!"


    "Oh, and check this out." I demonstrated how the chairs could turn into beds. Then I warned them, "But if I hear any clapping while we''re watching the show, I''m going to kick you out of the house. Got that, Jacob and Elsa?"


    "Why are you targeting us?" Jacob asked innocently. "I won''t clap inside a movie theater. That''s just a lame thing to do."


    "If you didn''t get it, then I guess I have nothing to worry about," I said, nodding slightly as we settled into our seats. Jacob and Elsa picked the first two rows, converting their chairs into beds.


    Jenna and Enid sat in the same row behind them, while Finneas took a seat next to me.


    "It''s a ten-hour-long binge with three bathroom breaks. No one''s allowed to leave while the show is playing," Enid declared with mock seriousness as she set down the rules.


    I chuckled. "Don''t be silly, Enid. Just ask me to pause."


    "Can we skip ten seconds forward if it''s a slow scene?" Finneas teased, earning a glare from Enid. At 6 PM, the show premiered on Netflix, and everyone was excited to see it.


    But before I could press play on the tablet, Maggie opened the door to the theater room. "We''re here to watch the show!"


    "You weren''t invited��wait, who''s ''we''?" I narrowed my eyes at Maggie with suspicion.


    Suddenly, Emma Watson and Amy entered the room. "Finneas, go sit somewhere else." Maggie shooed Finneas away and placed Emma next to me. Her excuse was, "You''re the only one here who actually knows her. So sit next to her."


    "What the fuck��"


    ...


    After the fifth episode, the series finally showed us why it was rated 18+. There was a scene where Tom Hiddleston and his secretary got into bed together.


    I wanted to skip it, but everyone protested. Despite their squeals, they still watched the show with excitement.


    "Edward, is there a scene where you were the one doing it?" Enid asked, a bit flushed.


    "No. Just some topless makeout scene," I replied honestly.


    "With�� with Emma Watson?" Finneas breathed heavily, his childhood crush on Emma making him feel as if he was getting cheated on.


    Emma blushed slightly and replied, "Well�� I�� I didn''t take off my clothes."


    "We don''t care. We want to see Edward''s body," Enid said snappily, which made me chuckle as I saw Emma taken aback.


    "Hey, are we going to talk or are we going to watch?" Jacob asked with frustration.

 Chapter 355: CEO

    Chapter 355 - 355: CEO


    [Edward POV]


    "How did you think of putting the VCR image composition whenever he''s playing a character? I love it," Enid commented as we were watching the series.


    "Again, I have nothing to do with the show except for acting," I replied to Enid with a chuckle.


    As the memory-loss patient didn''t know how to actually be a psychopath, he used the movies he watched��American Psycho, Silence of the Lambs, Saw, etc.��as references to play a terrifying character in order to scare off the bad guys coming at him.


    The characters also helped him challenge his position as the black sheep in the company. The first four episodes were quite fun; they showed how his belief that he was a psychopath changed his life for the better.


    However, the guilt of murdering someone kept gnawing at him. He started to ponder if he was actually a psychopath, even second-guessing whether the diary was his.


    We arrived at a mirror scene where the main character Travis spoke with his reflection. (Like Homelander)


    {Normal Travis: Why!?? Why can''t you just let me go! Why can''t I be happy�CWHY!?!!


    His expression was heartbreaking, tears slightly formed in his eyes.


    Travis Reflection: Do you think you deserved happiness? You''re just a psychopathic serial killer, do you really think that those people you just found will still smile if they know who you are?


    The reflection was cold and logical, his words made the real Travis had a mental breakdown.}


    "Sorry�C Sorry." Enid suddenly stood up from the seat and walked towards me, grabbing the control tablet from my hand.


    "I want to see it again." She said shyly all while taking control of the screening.


    "I agreed with her!" Jacob raised his hand. "By the way, Edward. Is that really you? I know you can act, but not to this level." Elsa asked sarcastically, but her face showed that she was impressed.


    "I''m always at this level." I joked around with Elsa.


    The series continued. While the internal reflection was going on, the actual psychopath became obsessed with Travis, thinking they were birds of a feather��a predator, too.


    Emma''s character began to piece together the clues and realized that there was a serial killer in town, but she lacked evidence. Then, she witnessed a few unusual interactions surrounding the main character, in which he was at the center of a couple of incidents.


    The VP of the stock brokerage was kidnapped and almost killed, and he claimed that the main character was the killer.


    But the case was dismissed when it was revealed that he coerced his employee into accusing the main character of sexual assault to get him fired and sent to jail, thereby protecting his mistake from being uncovered��the pharmaceutical stock fraud that had started the whole thing.


    There were even some homoerotic elements that made Enid squeal incessantly. When the psychopath villain realized he had lost his memory and was in possession of his diary, he decided to plant a few fake pieces of evidence, leading the main character to go to jail.


    It turned into a spectacle, and it was revealed that he had killed over 20 people. However, before that happened, the main character began to remember his past, revealing that the actual psychopath��the director in the brokerage��was the true villain, but no one would believe him.


    During the crucial part of the story, Emma''s acting started to go downhill. She couldn''t portray the conflicted character in a believable way and suddenly cut her hair short like a boy. Her acting range, especially during the pivotal moment of her father''s death, was so jarring that it actually pulled the audience out of the story.


    "Heh." Finneas accidentally laughed at her wooden acting. Emma noticed it and excused herself from the theater.


    Maggie looked at me and urged, "Edward! Follow her."


    "Why should I? I want to finish this!" I protested, slightly taken aback.


    "Go!" Maggie yelled. "Go, or I will tell Grandma what you did in Japan." She threatened.


    "Fine." I sighed and walked out of the theater, punching Finneas in the bicep as I passed him.


    "Ow." He winced.


    Enid said, "You deserved it. We were all holding back our laughter, but you cackled out loud."


    "I let out a low ''heh,'' not a ''HA! HA! HA!''" Finneas defended himself.


    "That''s worse," Enid argued.


    Emma walked away to the backyard and sat at the outdoor table, watching the rain pour.


    "Hey, you alright?" I asked perfunctorily as I approached her.


    "Is that a sincere concern, or are you just doing this because someone asked you to?" Emma''s gaze turned sharp as she awaited my answer.


    I furrowed my brow and said coldly, "Of course it''s because someone asked me to. I don''t care about you enough to care about how you''re feeling."


    "See! You''re really rude!" Emma exclaimed, her face aghast. "When we first met, you were nice and polite. You joked around a lot. But you''ve changed since I cut my hair."


    With an edge in her voice, she added, "Or were you just lashing out because I wouldn''t sleep with you?"


    "If you think I ever flirted with you or found you attractive, then you''re more delusional than I thought," I replied calmly.


    "Then what is it? That''s the only explanation I can think of!" Emma stood up, moving closer until she had to look up to meet my gaze.


    "It''s the lack of respect you show the people around you," I stated, my tone icy.


    She gasped, defending herself, "I''m fair to everyone! You might think otherwise, but that''s your opinion!"


    "Fair? Really? You''ve taken advantage of everyone you work with, and it''s not just my opinion��it''s the truth. You''re entitled and condescending, thinking the world owes you something because you played a popular character."


    Emma flinched at my words, her eyes widening. "I''m not like that! Why do you hate me so much? What have I ever done to you?"


    "It''s not about hate��it''s about calling out the truth. You''ve used your status to coerce those around you while wearing an innocent facade. You might be unaware of it, but it was disgusting to look at."


    I moved closer, my expression hardening. "Life should have been smooth sailing after Harry Potter, yet now people see through your mediocre abilities and question if you deserve any of it. ''Oh, she''s just lucky to be cast as a kid,'' they think. "


    Tears glistened in Emma''s eyes as she clenched her fists. "Are you done attacking me? Does this make you feel better?"


    "No, I''m not done, and it has nothing to do with feeling better," I shot back. "You called yourself fair, but if you truly believed that, you''d consider the actress who was supposed to be the lead."


    Emma flinched again, "It was my manager��" She couldn''t find any arguments for that. The actress who''s supposed to be the lead took a job as a side character�C the villain''s secretary, and she performed incredibly well in her role.


    "No. I don''t blame you for fighting for roles; that''s how the industry works. But to claim you were fair is laughable. You could have tried harder with your acting, but instead, you took the easy way out, running away when things got tough. You''ve disrespected the crew and yourself."


    I turned, ready to leave, and said, "My people will send you back to your hotel. Let''s hope we never meet again, Miss Watson."


    As I walked away, I knew she would fade into obscurity in a few years, unable to grasp the mistakes she''d made. I wouldn''t waste my time trying to help someone who didn''t want to be helped.


    The funny thing is, if she had an ounce of effort put into her work, I would''ve helped her.


    Emma burst into tears and stomped toward the door. I returned to the theater room, only to bump into the others in the hallway. They were peeking at the argument, too slow to hide after it was over.


    "Um, we didn''t hear anything," Maggie said, looking away, not daring to meet my gaze as I stared at them.


    Maggie felt conflicted inside. She wanted me to have a good relationship with Emma since she believed Emma was a nice person. But after hearing the argument, she stopped pressing the issue.


    Maggie was crystal clear about my attitude when I was working on a studio set. After three years in the industry and achieving fame of her own, she understood why I was so upset.


    The work culture at Entertain Studio couldn''t be compared to other studios. The company strived to get the best stories out there, requiring everyone to produce their best work.


    In the last three years, I had fired over ten people��even the lead actor in a story��because they were intentionally difficult to work with. I wouldn''t hesitate to restart a project if it meant removing the "tumor" from the production.


    "That was brutal," Enid whispered as she sat down. "I hope Edward would never go off on me like that."


    Jenna added, "I hope he would get me off��" She was cut off before finishing her sentence as the series resumed playing.


    There was an air of awkwardness in the theater, but it didn''t take long for the atmosphere to become lively again.


    We watched as Travis broke out of prison and faced off against the psychopath inside an escape room. He used the camera in the room to tear off the mask the psychopath hid behind, revealing his true self��even confessing to being the owner of the diary by allowing the psychopath to stab him.


    But in a twist, Travis managed to convince Emma before everything was set up and received a bulletproof vest from her, which stopped the knife. The villain was caught and sentenced to life in prison.


    In the end, Travis wrote about his experiences in a book and became a bestselling author. His book was titled Psychopath Diary. That''s how the story concluded.


    [A/N: A K-drama titled Psychopath Diary, but set in England in this universe.]


    "Ahh! I''m so tired!" Jenna yawned as the credits rolled. "Edward, can I just sleep here tonight?" She turned in her seat and asked.


    I laughed and replied, "Wasn''t that your plan��yours and everyone else''s? Just go to sleep now, or you''ll suffer at school tomorrow."


    "There''s no school tomorrow," Enid chimed in cheerfully, which confused me.


    "Why?"


    "Because we''re not going," Jacob snickered.


    "Then you can''t stay. I don''t want your parents blaming me or painting me as a bad influence," I said, furrowing my brow decisively.


    "What the hell are you talking about? It''s too late for that if you don''t want to be seen as a bad influence," Jenna teased. "By the way, Enid and I are sleeping in your room tonight."


    I rolled my eyes. "The maid will bring you back to your own rooms."


    Finneas pulled me aside and told me the truth as everyone left the room. Principal Brown had shut down the school for an urgent pest control mission. The rats had chewed through a lot of the wires, leaving the school in pretty bad shape.


    "I donate a lot to the school each year. Yet the rats caused it to shut down? Where did all that money go?" I muttered in disbelief.


    "That''s the problem. They probably used your donation to buy more snacks, and the rats came as a result," Finneas joked.


    I wanted to retort, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it might be the truth.


    We didn''t go straight to sleep; instead, we hung out by the indoor pool. Jacob and Elsa went missing for two and a half minutes and returned looking disheveled.


    "God. I hope they clean up after themselves," I muttered with concern. Jacob wanted to give me a high five, but I wouldn''t touch his hand until he washed it first.


    The next day arrived, and I had to leave the house early in the morning. By the time I drove out of the parking garage in my blue Maserati, no one was awake. As I entered the company building, the employees smiled brightly upon seeing me.


    I rode the lift directly to the CEO''s floor and entered the office. I placed my foot on the table and leaned back in the chair, enjoying the feeling for a brief moment before realizing I needed to start my work.


    After a few hours with my nose buried deep in files, I sighed and said, "I should get a secretary."


    Renaldo was Pepper''s secretary, so the position was vacant since both had gone to Maine for the summer. Having a secretary was crucial for a CEO; it would make my work much easier and serve as a symbol of authority.


    There was currently a recruitment interview being held in the marketing department for an entry-level position at Entertain Studio, so I decided to stop by.


    "Mr. Newgate!" A mid-level manager hastily stood up from his desk when I entered the marketing department.


    "Ah, Steven. I''m here to observe the interview. You can relax," I greeted him casually.


    "Of course! Anything you say, sir. If there''s anything you need from me, just let me know."


    "Oh��right. I do have something. Could you ask someone to pick up the report for the new series? I haven''t checked the reviews yet," I requested, taken aback by his enthusiasm.


    "I''ll do it right now!" The mid-level manager quickly dashed out of the department. Fortunately, the analysis department was on the same floor, so he didn''t have far to go. Moments later, he returned with the analysis department manager, both of them looking a bit sweaty.


    Although one of the actors received mixed reviews, the show did exceptionally well on Netflix. Within a day, all ten episodes had accumulated 50 million views each, which meant fans finished a ten-hour-long show in just one day.


    Numerous articles were published, many praising the series. As I anticipated, a few criticized Emma''s acting, but I didn''t care about that.


    "Shocking Twists and Psyche Unraveled: Psychopath Diary Keeps Viewers on the Edge of Their Seats"


    "From Confrontation to Redemption: How Psychopath Diary Redefines the Thriller Genre Across Ten Gripping Episodes"


    "Emma Watson''s Bold Performance Under Fire: Is Psychopath Diary a Signature Success or a Misstep in Her Career?"


    "Thriller Meets Emotion: Psychopath Diary Captivates Fans with Its Unpredictable Plot and Complex Characters"


    "Psychopath Diary Breaks Streaming Records: Analyzing Its Rise to 50 Million Views in Just One Day"


    Liu Park, the analysis department manager, excitedly reported, "We have officially surpassed the 400 million subscriber mark on Netflix. The top ten most popular shows today are:


    Black Mirror


    The Big Bang Theory


    Breaking Bad


    Diner (Hudgens)


    Community


    Modern Family


    Psychopath Diary


    Atlanta


    House of Cards


    Chilling Adventures of Sabrina."


    Liu flipped through his document. "Psychopath Diary managed to climb to the seventh spot in just one day. If the viewing trend continues, it could easily reach the number one spot within a week."


    "That''s just the series list. What about movies? Who''s in the top five right now?" I asked.


    I swung by the analysis department and then visited the script department to talk with some showrunners and offer direction.


    Not finding anything of interest in the marketing department, I returned to my office. It was almost lunchtime when a visitor entered, bringing food.


    "Our CEO has been working hard! Have you had lunch yet?" Vanessa said cheerily as she placed a takeout bag on my desk.


    "What''s this?" I asked.


    "Some tacos!"


    I stared at her in disbelief and said, "Did you choose tacos because of my Latin heritage? Were you stereotyping me, Hudgens?"


    "WHAT?! NOO!!" She was taken aback and immediately defended herself. "The restaurant has a lot of good reviews! I just thought you''d like it!"


    I laughed out loud before replying, "I''m just joking. Tacos are fine. I like tacos."


    "Jerk," she muttered under her breath, but a smile crept across her face. We took a seat at the coffee table and enjoyed lunch together.


    "By the way, did you see the articles about you?" Vanessa asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "All of them were talking about your series."


    "I''ve seen them," I replied nonchalantly. "But I didn''t see you at the premiere last night at my place. Do you have any excuses to defend yourself?"


    Vanessa hesitated, stammering, "I��I wanted to go, but��you know..."


    "Ah, you must mean when I asked you out. So you were cautious about coming to my house in case you couldn''t control your urges and push me onto the bed."


    Vanessa snorted and said, "Yes. I''m a sexual deviant who can''t contain myself around pretty boys."


    "Glad to hear you admit it," I joked. "But about us... You don''t have to worry about that anymore."


    "Huh? What do you mean?" Vanessa''s heart skipped a beat as an ominous feeling lingered in her chest.


    "Yeah. Since I''m already a CEO, I have to follow the rules. No dating employees, especially talent."


    "W��what? When did that rule come into effect?" she asked, alarm flashing in her eyes.


    "Quite a while ago." I flashed a mock sad look and continued, "It''s too bad. We could''ve been great together."


    "Wait a damn second! Are you serious?" Vanessa asked in shock.


    I shrugged. "I am. I asked you out before becoming your boss to work around the employee dating rule since I was still considered talent back then. Now, I can''t ask you out with so much red tape and HR intervention."


    Vanessa''s face turned slightly pale as she mumbled, "So...that was my final chance?"


    "Right now, even having lunch with you in public spaces is complicated. I have to protect my talent''s reputation. I don''t want people to badmouth you," I said, placing my hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her.


    Of course, I was actually joking. I had learned from Maggie that the reason Vanessa had rejected me wasn''t my age, but because she wanted revenge for having pined over me for the last few years.


    She wanted to revel in the feeling of being chased after, and wanted me to lose my mind over her. But with this, I destroyed all of her plans.


    While I smirked secretly, Vanessa suddenly stood up and walked toward me.


    "What are you��" Before I could finish my question, she grabbed my collar, pulled me closer, and kissed me on the lips.


    She paused slightly, staring intently into my eyes and said, "We started dating five days ago! Before all the promotional events! So��"


    I cut her off by pulling her close and kissing her back.

 Chapter 356: Revolution

    Chapter 356 - 356: Revolution


    (Sorry for the late update. I''m quite depressed this past few weeks because of my health problems.)


    [Edward POV]


    "Why now?" Vanessa asked after we kissed, her curiosity evident. "You didn''t respond to any of my advances in the past few years. It feels sudden."


    She leaned in closer, pressing her body against mine as she sat on the office couch. "Is it because I''m prettier now?"


    I chuckled and brushed her hair behind her ear. "Remember four months ago when I went to Worcestershire?"


    "Yes." She nodded slightly, clenching her fist against her chest in anticipation.


    "Well, remember when you tried to pronounce it?"


    "THAT''S THE REASON WHY?!" Vanessa exclaimed, aghast. Annoyance was palpable in her expression, and I couldn''t help but laugh at her reaction.


    While I found her numerous attempts to say the word correctly endearing, the actual reason for my change of heart was something deeper.


    At that time, I was left alone in England. Everyone had something to do��Max had returned to New York, Sage couldn''t take the cold winter air anymore and went back to California, and Randall was busy preparing my concert venue in Bulgaria.


    Vanessa had come to England to keep me company, even though I never asked for it. She was like Joi from Blade Runner 2049, saying, "You look lonely." I hadn''t realized it then, but that''s when I started to fall for her.


    "Worcester sister��AHH! I give up!" Vanessa exclaimed, wanting to stand up. I quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her closer.


    "Lunch will be over in five more minutes. Let''s just stay like this until I have to get back to work," I said affectionately.


    Vanessa was taken aback for a moment before she smiled and rested her head on my chest.


    "Anyway~" she suddenly elongated her words. "I''ll be your girlfriend, but we won''t tell anyone about it yet."


    "No. We''re telling everyone," I replied playfully.


    "Not yet!" She glared at me adorably. "Let''s just wait and see if this works out first."


    "You mean in public, right? We can tell our friends. I know for sure you''ll tell Maggie," I confirmed with a teasing grin. Vanessa flinched slightly before trying to play it cool, saying, "I won''t tell her�C I promise I won''t tell her."


    "Are you sure?" I asked with mock seriousness.


    "I''m positive," she replied, her eyes darting away.


    Vanessa had a script reading for her new project, so she left shortly after lunch. Ten minutes later, I received a text message from Maggie.


    "See? You can''t stop yourself from telling her," I smiled to myself as I read her message, asking me to confirm if Vanessa and I had started dating.


    I sighed heavily before typing my response. "What will Vanessa think when I ghost her for a week after we finally get together?"


    Placing my fingers on my chin, I mumbled, "I guess I should turn it into a 9-to-5 thing. Can a revolution be successful if I only do it from 9 to 5? Let''s just see what happens first."


    After deciding one difficult thing, I sighed as I had to face another.


    "Now that I''m official, I guess I should stop meeting up with those girls, huh?"


    As I said goodbye inwardly to the 6 person idol group in Japan and a couple of my friends with benefits, I checked the time for my departure.


    "I should go to Cuba now. The preparation is done, so I guess I can handle it in a week?"


    Slightly unconfident, I added, "Hopefully. I really want to take a vacation."


    ...


    [General POV]


    A week ago in Cuba, Woo-Jin��Edward''s personal android bodyguard and one of his creations��met inside an empty church. Woo-Jin sat behind the tall, tanned man with scruffy hair and an extremely muscular body.


    The sunlight penetrated the coloured glass, staining the inside of the church with various hues.


    "Sado (Bleach), are you ready?" Woo-Jin asked the introverted man.


    Sado replied, "I''m ready. Call me Fernando while we''re here."


    Woo-Jin nodded slightly in agreement. Then, the air turned awkward again between the two as they have the same personality type. They only talked if it was absolutely necessary for them to.


    A local guide rushed into the church and ran straight to the duo. The man with a bloated belly panted heavily as he said, "The secret police are coming. Both of you need to get out of this town now."


    Sado and Woo-Jin glanced at each other and exchanged a subtle nod.


    "Thank you for your warning, Yaniel," Woo-Jin said to him with a soft smile. "You''re an honest man," he added.


    Yaniel exclaimed with disbelief, "You need to run! Once they catch you, they will beat you up and may even kill you. You started a fight with them��one fight that you won''t ever win."


    "Unfortunately, there''s nothing I can do better than take a beating," Sado said as he walked out of the church. "I''m the one they want. I won''t drag all of you into this."


    "You beat them up because they tried to assault our village''s girls! They''re the ones who are at fault��yet we''re the ones who have to suffer?"


    "Unless someone stands up to them, that will always be the case," Woo-Jin said to Yaniel as Sado left the church. Yaniel, a hardcore supporter of the regime, began to see cracks in his beliefs and the authoritarian reality he was living in.


    At a Cuban university, ZeroTwo disguised herself as a lecturer and began inciting the students toward revolution by teaching them the history of the world, the weaknesses of the government, the corruption within it, and more.


    After a week of lectures, the entire university felt like a bomb waiting to explode. The fuse was lit when the secret police came and arrested the lecturer.


    As she struggled and tried to escape, they placed a bullet between her eyebrows while being watched by the entire student body. The police had no idea what prompted him to do that. It was like his entire body was taken over by a different person.


    A riot erupted, and the government shut down the internet and phone networks. However, thousands of illegal Starlink SIM cards were distributed, and a local man, guided by someone in the shadows, created VPN software to bypass Cuba''s restrictions.


    A documentary team led by the Mad Dog media company began reporting on the unfolding events in Cuba while simultaneously documenting the entire revolution.


    A government official attempted to get ahead of the scandal and address the public through a state speech. However, during his address, it became apparent that he couldn''t hide the truth. A Mad Dog reporter barraged him with questions, exposing incriminating evidence.


    "Why did you kill Professor Agueda?" the reporter asked, referring to the disguised ZeroTwo. The pink haired android was actually waiting for a chance to kidnap a military general while everyone was mourning her death.


    The short-statured man with a white mustache replied, "Because she refused to keep her mouth shut."


    His answer fueled the raging fire in the students'' hearts. The riots escalated into insurrection, evolving into revolution.


    "DOWN WITH THE REGIME! VIVA LA REVOLUTION!" A 20-year-old hot-headed young man with a crush on the professor threw a rotten egg on the government official''s head.


    The regime''s soldiers were quickly dispatched to regain control of the situation. However, when they reached the crowd, they soon discovered that they couldn''t shoot their rifles.


    "Ah... they really tried to kill the protestors, huh? Dumb move," Edward muttered as he hid among the crowd, wearing his Inaki disguise and secretly casting a spell��Fire Silence (Academy Undercover Professor)��to disable the firearms.


    Even without rifles, the well-trained soldiers posed a threat to the ordinary people. However, Sado took the lead and became a shield that separated the two parties. People knew him from clips of him fighting the secret police with his bare hands, and he alone could handle a group of 30 soldiers.


    Starting as a village legend, he became a renowned figure in the country. During the protests, he protected the organizers of the revolution multiple times, and his fame grew rapidly, prompting people to trust him in the confrontation against the regime.


    "FERNANDO! FERNANDO! FERNANDO! FERNANDO!"


    People chanted his name as he threw a fist at the final soldier''s face. After a thorough investigation, it was revealed that Fernando held a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Tokyo.


    Edward felt a pang of guilt as he brainwashed a couple of hundred people to have the memory of Sado using his Sharingan. He also published several dissertations under Sado''s pseudonym and connected him with various elites from different backgrounds around the world, which made his status viable as someone who could take over the country. Politics were all about connections, after all.


    In the present day, at an inpatient facility in Canada, Edward''s aunt, Camila Monroe, brought a laptop into the ward and placed it in front of Miranda.


    Miranda was hooked up to an IV drip, her eyes dazed and her cheeks sunken. Her collarbones and ribs were visible. Camila grabbed a brush and helped Miranda with her hair as she watched the laptop screen.


    "What is this?" Miranda asked, her sanity briefly returning.


    Camila replied, "Edward gave it to me. He said to wait until it''s time."


    "Until it''s time for what?" Miranda asked, slightly disappointed. "He''s already broken his promise to me," she added, turning her head away from Camila.


    Camila sighed and said, "First of all, asking him to take down a regime��something even the American government couldn''t do in over 60 years��is not feasible in the first place."


    The laptop screen suddenly turned on, broadcasting footage straight from Cuba''s capital.


    Both Miranda and Camila were taken aback by the suddenness. Miranda stared at the screen intently, trying to understand what was happening.


    Edward snuck inside the capitol building where an emergency meeting was being held.


    "We need to shut down this revolutionary idea. We''re prepared to use bombs��"


    "Use bombs! Are you crazy? The people are angry enough as it is!"


    "We have no other choice. We''ve lost contact with all the soldiers we''ve sent out. Reports indicate they''ve chosen the side of the revolution."


    The regime president sat silently as his generals bickered.


    "I can''t shake the feeling that a certain party is pulling the strings behind all of this. It might be the CIA," one general slammed the table, addressing the president directly.


    "We must contact our allies and retaliate against the Americans!" another shouted.


    "Why aren''t you saying anything?!" His closest confidant lost his temper as he watched the president remain silent throughout the meeting.


    "Because he thinks everyone here is a moron," Edward suddenly chimed in, revealing himself from behind the president, holding the regime ruler''s shoulder with his left hand.


    "Who the fuck are you?" one of the generals asked angrily. He drew a gun from his holster and aimed it at Edward. "You dare insult me? You''re asking for death!"


    "Did you perhaps just come out of a Chinese cultivation series?" Edward snorted and laughed at the absurdity of the situation. "You still don''t understand, do you?"


    The general''s face flushed red with anger. He didn''t care anymore about the regime ruler; he pressed the trigger, wanting to kill the young man who dared insult him.


    "Hmm?" The general was confused. He swore he had shot the pistol, yet the young man was still alive and laughing. He glanced at his gun to check if it was functioning properly.


    "Where is my hand?" His eyes widened in horror as he saw his hand had fallen to the floor, severed at the wrist.


    "Bastard��"


    "DEMON!"


    "MONSTER!"


    They shouted insults in their anger, wanting to hit Edward, but those who dared to raise their hands lost them. After the fourth person became a one-handed man, the generals stopped trying and wanted to flee, but found that they couldn''t move their legs.


    "Hmm... None of you here are innocent. I hoped to save at least one person, but I guess I should''ve expected too much from this rotten institution," Edward mused before he activated his Sharingan.


    "From now until the revolution breaches the gates of the capitol and takes power, there''s a special punishment for you all."


    [Demonic Illusion��Hell Viewing Technique]


    He activated a genjutsu technique that would pull the targets into their greatest nightmares. It didn''t matter whether or not they were aware of what their fears were; for the next few hours, they would relive the illusion over and over again until all that was left was a husk of the men they used to be.


    "Snakes��snakes are everywhere! It''s swallowing me whole!"


    "Fire��I''m being burned alive!"


    "Diddy��what are you doing with that baby oil? You swore you''d only do it once!"


    Edward was a bit startled as he heard a bizarre nightmare among the cacophony of groans and shouts. He cleaned his ear with his finger and waited until Sado breached the capitol.


    As he felt that his job was wrapping up, Edward changed the footage from outside the capitol to the area where he was waiting. Miranda widened her eyes as she saw the image, her fingers trembling as she recognized the familiar faces around her son.


    "Kill them! Kill them all!" she shouted urgently. Edward glanced at the camera and said casually, "Um, if you''re saying something, just know that this footage is only one-way. Anyway, the regime is falling today, so I''ve kept my promise."


    "Call��CALL him now!" Miranda begged Camila, desperately wanting Edward to finish off those people inside the room.


    Camila suddenly slapped Miranda, stunning her. She looked at her with disdain and said, "I don''t know what Edward did to get into that room, but Miranda... do you really want your son to kill people in cold blood? To become a murderer?"


    Miranda stammered slightly but couldn''t find an answer. Camila continued, "He has done what you asked him to do. He kept his promise. You better keep yours and stay out of his life."


    "I don''t think I can do that." Miranda''s voice shook as she began to choke her own neck. "I did everything��just to��return. But there''s... no place for me to return to... anymore..."


    "Miranda!" Camila quickly intervened, trying to stop her sister''s recurrent self-harm episodes.


    But before she could pry her sister''s bony fingers off her neck, Edward spoke on the footage, "Ah. The protesters have breached the gates. My job is finally over. My eyes hurt so freaking much."


    There was a trail of dry blood beneath his eyes as he overexerted his abilities. Although his chakra levels were nearing depletion, Edward didn''t feel tired; instead, he was quite excited.


    "After a hard-earned battle, it''s time for a banquet and a song." Edward chuckled in anticipation before he left the house through the window.


    Less than five seconds later, Sado entered the room. A Mad Dog reporter filmed his breakthrough, closely following Sado as he entered. The elite powers of the country were gathered inside the room.


    Suddenly, the president declared, "We surrender," shocking the entire civilian crowd. "Arrest them all," Sado ordered his team of disguised mechanical soldiers.


    They handcuffed the generals and the leader one by one before escorting them out of the capitol, while the entire crowd cheered at the sight.


    "FERNANDO! FERNANDO! FERNANDO! FERNANDO!"


    ...


    On the street next to the capitol building, a huge crowd celebrated a successful revolution��something they had never imagined would actually come to pass. What was even more remarkable? No lives had been lost during the revolution.


    The news spread throughout the world. The U.S., in particular, wanted to intervene, disguising their intentions as ''offering help'' to stabilize the country. Russia was furious, considering all of their allies and connections in Cuba had been eradicated.


    "Everyone! Pass out the beers! We''re going to toast to the beginning of a new country!" Edward, disguised as Inaki, handed out numerous beers and spent a lot of money to celebrate the success with the protesters.


    The problem was that there were around 200,000 people on the streets right now, celebrating their freedom from the oppressive regime. The crowd kept growing, and it was highly probable that they would stay out for the entire night.


    Suddenly, a young man wearing a straw hat jumped onto one of the vans located near the Capitol, drawing the attention of everyone nearby. Edward, still in his Inaki disguise, complete with sandals, a red vest, and short jeans, grabbed a microphone and spoke directly to the crowd. The vans beneath him were revealed to be a series of speakers strategically placed among the throng.


    Although the initial sound was shocking, it started out slow, allowing time for the crowd to create some space. After reaching a level where everyone could hear, Edward cast a sound amplification spell (Sonorus��modified version) he had received from the gacha.


    This would help him control the sound waves around him, ensuring his voice wouldn''t be drowned out by the sheer volume of human voices in the area.


    "?Viva la revolucio?n!" he shouted in Spanish, which instantly reverberated through the crowd. Edward had to place a chakra barrier over his eardrums to prevent them from being damaged.


    "?El re?gimen ha terminado! ?Castro esta? arrestado! The regime is now over! Castro is arrested!"


    The crowd cheered thunderously as Edward addressed the people in both English and Spanish.


    Sado would take over after he handled his affairs inside the capitol building. There was a temporary unease before the current leader would share information, so Edward decided to placate the masses first while they waited.


    "?Man?ana, un sistema de dos partidos tomara? su lugar. Se llevara? a cabo una eleccio?n burocra?tica en una semana, ?y el pueblo cubano finalmente elegira? a nuestro li?der! Tomorrow, a two-party system will take its place. A bureaucratic election will be held in a week, and the Cuban people will finally elect our leader! We will adopt democracy for our country!"


    "Todos los canales de televisio?n ayudara?n a difundir la informacio?n. Los detalles de los dos partidos se transmitira?n man?ana. Nuestro li?der temporal, Fernando Torres, se encargara? de toda la transmisio?n de man?ana. Yo solo estoy aqui? para transmitir la informacio?n de e?l."


    "All of the TV channels will help in sending out the information. The details of the two parties will be broadcast tomorrow. Our temporary leader, Fernando Torres, will handle the entire broadcast tomorrow. I''m here only to convey the information from him."


    Edward used dual languages because he knew everything was being recorded and broadcast to the world.


    The current global landscape was in turmoil, with various revolutions and riots erupting, regimes being toppled, and civil wars raging. The Arab Spring was still ongoing, so international citizens were curious to see if Cuba would succeed where other revolutions had faltered.


    "?La comida y las bebidas sera?n distribuidas por la comunidad y los voluntarios que se han reunido para apoyarse mutuamente durante esta transicio?n! Food and drinks will be distributed by the community and volunteers who have rallied together to support each other during this transition."


    The androids and trustworthy locals began to distribute the food Edward had purchased a week earlier. Stalls were being set up where food was being cooked on the spot, with roasted goat and chicken added to the menu. One of the main factors behind the revolution had been the food shortage, so the sight of plentiful food greatly appeased their weary souls.


    "?Todos! Para comenzar el di?a de la mejor manera, cantare? una cancio?n junto con la orquesta cubana��mante?nganse atentos para una actuacio?n inspiradora que nos unira? a todos mientras celebramos nuestra recie?n encontrada libertad!"


    "Everyone! To start off the day right, I will perform a song together with the Cuban orchestra��stay tuned for an uplifting performance that will unite us all as we celebrate our newfound freedom!"


    As he spoke, the crowd erupted in cheers, their spirits lifted by Edward''s words. The atmosphere was charged with excitement and anticipation.


    Edward spoke in English, "Three days ago, a Cubanese�C American singer uploaded a song to support us during our revolution. His name is Edward Newgate."


    Of course, Edward would not let the chance to promote his name go to waste.


    "I will be singing that today to show him how much his support meant to us. This is also the song Fernando had been listening to constantly in the last three days. Without it, he might have even given up fighting the difficult fight."


    Woo-Jin and Sado were astonished when they saw their master being frivolous when facing a crowd of 200,000 people. "What the hell is he doing?" ZeroTwo furrowed her eyebrows and was worried for Edward''s safety.


    If the American government found out that he had interfered with another country''s political strife, he would be greatly punished by them.


    "Drums! Start!" Edward sends the cues. The marching band marched to his side and began to circle the van he was standing on, hitting the drums in a perfect symmetry.


    [The Score�C Revolution]


    Edward crooned charismatically, surprising the crowd with his unique voice. "?? All my wolves begin to howl! Wake me up, the time is now! ??"


    The marching band acted as a choir, harmonizing beautifully as they sang the next verse, "?? (O-oh) Can you hear the drumming? (O-oh) There''s a revolution coming! ??"


    Edward took center stage, "?? Wide awake, the fever burns, Sweat it out, wait my turn! ??"


    The choir chimed in: "?? (Can you hear the drumming?) (There''s a revolution coming!) ??"


    Edward continued, "?? All this doubt is creepin'' in. Inside out, I shed my skin! ??"


    The choir responded, "?? (Can you hear the drumming?) (There''s a revolution coming!) ??"


    Fireworks lit up the night sky far from the crowd as Edward performed passionately, a trail of excitement in the air.


    Holding his microphone with one hand, he used the other to guide the crowd, moving them up and down with the rhythm as he sang, "?? I''ve been waitin'' all my life! To live, when I''ve only been dreaming! Get love when I''ve only been stealing! ??"


    As the beat intensified, Edward crooned loudly, "?? Can''t let time keep passing me by! Run down what I''ve always been chasin''! Black out every fear I''ve been facin''! ??"


    "?? All my wolves begin to howl! Wake me up, the time is now! ??" he sang, rallying the choir once more.


    Choir: "?? (O-oh) Can you hear the drumming? (O-oh) There''s a revolution coming! ??"


    Edward passionately continued, "?? Wild things that turn me on! Drag my dark into the dawn! ??"


    Choir: "?? (O-oh) Can you hear the drumming? (O-oh) There''s a revolution coming! ??"


    The decades-old wound began to heal with Edward''s voice. Although they know that their struggle was far from over, the citizens of the country wanted to hold on to the hope that everything would get better.


    As the performance was broadcasted throughout the nation, the other 10.8 million people in the country, whose heart had been closed off, began to tear up and cheered for the revolution.


    Edward continued, "?? Body aches, I''m bound in chains, But there''s a fire in my veins, yeah! ??"


    Choir: "?? (Can you hear the drumming?) (There''s a revolution coming!) ??"


    Edward raised his hand up, gesturing victory,"?? Like every king who lost a crown, And all those years are history now! ??"


    The choir: "?? (Can you hear the drumming?) (There''s a revolution coming!) ??"


    Edward smirked and took off his vest, revealing his skinny upper body. "?? I''ve been waitin'' all my life, Run down what I''ve always been chasin'', Black out every fear I''ve been facin''! (Facin'') ??"


    With the marching band drumming and the choir singing, the entire scene became a historic moment for the world. Historians would later name the event "The Bloodless Revolution Concert."


    The crowd joined Edward as he sang, "?? All my wolves begin to howl, Wake me up, the time is now! ??"


    The choir joined in: "?? (O-oh) Can you hear the drumming? (O-oh) There''s a revolution coming! ??"


    Edward smiled at them, sweat dripping from his chin as he continued, "?? Wild things that turn me on, Drag my dark into the dawn! ??"


    The choir echoed, "?? (O-oh) Can you hear the drumming? (O-oh) There''s a revolution coming! ??"


    An epic marching band performance took the stage for about a minute. Edward had trained the members intensively over the past week, so everyone worked together flawlessly, never missing a beat.


    The choir and the citizens sang together, "?? There''s a revolution coming! There''s a revolution coming! ??"


    "?? (O-oh) Can you hear the drumming? (O-oh) There''s a revolution coming! ??"


    Edward took the stage again as the marching band finished their solo, "?? I''m rising up, up from the ground! From the bottom, can''t hold me down, hold me down! I''m rising up, up from the ground! From the bottom, can''t hold me down, hold me down! Hold me down! (Down, down, down, down, down) ??"


    Even without Edward, the crowd continued to sing. He gazed at them with satisfaction and pointed his microphone at the audience, feeling the weight of controlling a crowd this size. Every effort had drained his stamina even before the concert began.


    "?? All my wolves begin to howl, Wake me up, the time is now!


    (O-oh) Can you hear the drumming?


    (O-oh) There''s a revolution coming! ??"


    "?? Wild things that turn me on, Drag my dark into the dawn!


    (O-oh) Can you hear the drumming?


    (O-oh) There''s a revolution coming! ??"


    Edward sat on the van, his legs dangling from the rooftop as he sang softly, bringing the song to a close. "?? There''s a revolution coming! There''s a revolution coming! ??"


    After finishing the song, Edward casually performed a few motivational songs from various artists before Sado arrived.


    Funding the revolution had cost him over $50 million. Another $50 million had gone to feed the crowd of 300,000 people. But Edward didn''t care; the money didn''t put a dent in his wealth. In fact, he considered it cheap to acquire a country in this way.


    "You can leave the rest to us. You''ve done the best you can, even flying around the world searching for talents to help in the country''s reestablishment. It''s time for you to go back and rest," Sado said to Edward apologetically.


    Edward staggered as he walked toward the QuinnJet��ZeroTwo would take him home. "Oh, right. The Denmark delegation will arrive today to help you draft the constitution. Since we want to form a new government similar to theirs, I contacted them in advance, and they''ve agreed to assist."


    "There will be remnants of the regime, third parties with dubious intentions, and disgruntled citizens who will try to sabotage your consolidation of power. So, act quickly and efficiently. I''ve already extracted data from the previous rulers. Use their hidden wealth as your initial funding."


    Edward continued to talk despite his fatigue, like a father reluctantly leaving his child to manage a difficult task alone. He felt anxious about leaving the country in the hands of his android at such a delicate time.


    "They pocketed around $2 billion in black money, which is quite disappointing, to be honest. I''ve inflated it to about $30 billion, adding funds from my own slush funds��"


    "Sir, with all due respect, shut up and let us handle it," ZeroTwo interjected sharply, escorting Edward into the jet. The moment he lay down in the cargo area, he fell asleep.


    Two years had passed by since Edward was tasked with an impossible mission. Despite having fun touring the world, the nagging thoughts kept tormenting him, not letting him fully relax himself.


    For the first time in two years, he couldn''t hear the nagging anymore.

 Chapter 357: Worms

    Chapter 357 - 357: Worms


    [Edward POV]


    Three days after the Cuban revolution took place, Vanessa and I sat together on the living room couch at her place. She wore a large jersey with a tube top underneath and short pants, resting her legs on mine as we watched the morning news.


    Vanessa, Maggie, and a couple of other actresses lived together in the $30 million Beverly Hills mansion I had purchased a year ago.


    It was a French chateau with eight bedrooms, eighteen bathrooms, a swimming pool, a yoga room, a sauna, a spa, and a beauty salon for the girls. The blue roof and beige walls had attracted Vanessa to choose this place.


    Since the actresses under the agency needed to travel frequently, the house served as a temporary haven for them to unwind when they didn''t have any scheduled appointments. While Vanessa had bought her own home, it was a penthouse in New York City instead of Los Angeles.


    "Are you really not mad?" I asked skeptically.


    Vanessa shrugged lightly and replied, "I''m not mad. You have work to do. I''ve seen you work for years now; I know the drill."


    I smirked playfully, "Really? You''d be getting the drill if you keep talking like this, you know that?"


    "So it''s small and twisted?" she grinned, teasing. "It''s not sharp, is it? Because that''s a dealbreaker for me."


    I pulled her in close and gave her a quick kiss. Vanessa giggled and said, "But someday, you''re going to let me have a peek at your secret life, right? I don''t want to be the dumb, bimbo trophy girlfriend who can''t support what her boyfriend is doing."


    I thought about it for a moment and replied, "Then do you want to shadow me today and see what I do all day?"


    Vanessa''s eyes lit up. "Yes! I definitely want to. And then I''ll sell the secret schedule to the CIA. I don''t even need the extra money; I just want to do it for the giggles."


    "Oh really? You''re already planning to betray me?" I wrapped my arm around her waist, pulled her in close, and began to tickle her.


    Maggie unexpectedly walked toward us, scowling in disdain at our giggly, flirty exchange.


    "No! I''ll take it back! I''m not going to tell the CIA about it!" Vanessa exclaimed, giving in, breathless from the tickle torture. As I stopped, she teased again, "Maybe Interpol? Let''s see what crimes you''re committing first before I reveal it to the world."


    "You''re really bold to tell a criminal your exact plan and not expect any retribution from him."


    Maggie snapped, "It''s ten in the morning! Don''t make me throw up again!"


    Maggie was wearing an oversized satin pajama set with nothing underneath. The see-through fabric would make a normal man drool, but I felt nothing but disdain for her.


    I turned to the hungover Maggie and scolded her, "You kept drinking until you blacked out at clubs. Control yourself. Don''t overindulge and become the new Hollywood brat."


    "It was my friend''s birthday party! I only let myself go a little bit! I''m not usually like this!" Maggie defended herself and ran away to escape further criticism.


    "You kinda are! I''m going to put you in rehab if you don''t get it under control," I called after her.


    "What time are we going to Grandpa''s?" Maggie shouted while pouring herself a cup of coffee from the kitchen. She returned to the living room but kept her distance to ensure she was close to her escape route.


    "We were supposed to fly there an hour ago," I chastised her. "Amy''s already waiting at the hangar."


    Maggie snorted, saying, "You could''ve woken me up as usual, but you wanted to spend some time with your girlfriend too, right? Don''t put all the blame on me."


    Vanessa was astonished and said to Maggie, "Didn''t you remember our wake-up call? Edward almost broke the lock on the door. You replied and said you were awake, so we waited in the living room."


    "Really?" Maggie was taken aback. When she saw my annoyed expression, she immediately felt anxious and ran away. "Give me ten minutes! I''ll get ready now!"


    I turned to Vanessa and asked, "Do you want to meet my grandparents?"


    Vanessa widened her eyes, saying meekly, "Are we already at that stage in our relationship? We wanted to take it slow, right?"


    I rolled my eyes. "You visited my grandparents last month because you missed them and even stayed at the ranch for a few days. So we''ve definitely passed that point in our relationship."


    Vanessa added a beanie and long sweatpants to her outfit before following us back to the ranch. After our plane landed at the airport, we transferred to a helicopter and flew for ten minutes to reach the ranch. I had arranged a helicopter landing pad near my grandparents'' house, as I couldn''t afford to waste another hour driving there by car.


    Upon arrival, we met my grandparents and enjoyed lunch together before I went horseback riding with my grandpa in the pasture. Vanessa wanted to join us, but my grandmother dragged her away to help with preparations.


    "Moo~~" The cows rushed toward where my grandpa and I had stopped the horses. I jumped down from the saddle, gave the horse a carrot treat, and walked over to the cows.


    "They''re enormous!" I exclaimed in astonishment as I gazed at the new batch of cows. They were one and a half times larger than a typical cow.


    My grandpa chuckled. "Really? You''re surprised? I thought you had a hand in whatever happened to them. They were just voted as a prized Wisconsin breed a few months ago."


    In truth, I did have something to do with their exceptional growth. Twenty months ago, when the new batch of breeding cows became pregnant, I cast an [Optimal Growth] spell for monster reproduction on them.


    Sage had informed me that the newborn calves carried a barely perceptible monsterization trait, which made their meat more delicious than that of any other cow in the world.


    Now that my grandpa had slaughtered a few of them, I planned to cast another [Optimal Growth] spell for the remaining pregnant ones to see if they would evolve further.


    The spell wouldn''t grant them intelligence or turn them into carnivorous monsters; its purpose was solely to enhance their species'' traits, such as producing creamier milk and more tender meat.


    "I''ve butchered around 5 of them, 20 are added to the dairy farm, and 30 more are selected for breeding. Their meat is the best batch of meat I''d ever come across."


    I grinned at my grandpa and asked, "Really? How much did it sell for?"


    Unexpectedly, Grandpa shook his head and replied, "I didn''t sell any of them. You bought all of them from me, so you''re the owner. Besides, this kind of meat��it''d be a waste to sell it to those who don''t recognize its value."


    I nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it has become a high-class luxury item. It''d be a shame to just sell it to local vendors. Maybe Gordon Ramsay would want to feature this in his restaurant."


    I also had a few poultry farms located in Florida. I didn''t want to operate anything in Los Angeles, given the abundance of mentally ill vegan activists there and the constant harassment they inflicted on local poultry farms.


    "Maybe I should open my own restaurant?" I mused.


    Suddenly, my grandpa asked, "Isn''t it amusing? Just a year ago, one of the ranch hands here quit his job, and a year later, he led a revolution in Cuba and became the president of the country."


    I turned slowly to gauge my grandpa''s expression. It wasn''t one of amusement; he wanted me to share the whole truth. I had recommended Sado to the ranch to ensure my grandparents'' safety while I fought off the assassination attempts during my struggle to release the diabetes treatment program.


    Sado had foiled multiple attempts to kidnap my grandparents from those seeking to blackmail me, fostering a debt of gratitude between them. He and my grandpa had become good friends, so imagine my grandpa''s surprise when he saw Sado on the news under a different name with his newfound accomplishments.


    "He''s full of surprises," I replied casually. "Two years ago, the freedom fighters'' organization led by my mom failed, and they had to flee the country." I added this curtly.


    My grandpa''s eyes lit up, and he stopped me. "Okay, I get it now. No wonder he''s so good at fighting."


    He pieced together his own conclusion with limited information. It was a manipulative technique, and I felt guilty about lying to him. However, it was the best decision for now.


    "How is he doing right now?" my grandpa asked.


    "He''s fine," I reassured him. "He has a lot on his plate. Various intelligence agencies are funding the opposition in order to take him down. They''ve supplied tanks, weapons, and even black funds to destabilize the country."


    My grandpa''s face turned solemn as he took in this information. "So, how is he faring against them?"


    I smirked and responded, "He''s accepted it all. They''re giving away money and weapons for free, so he''d be an idiot to turn them down."


    "But��what about the opposition?"


    "They were loyal to him in the first place. The agencies made a stupid mistake for their country, but it ended up being beneficial for Sado."


    We rode back home after we finished talking. A few of my workers came and picked up the meat, the milk and some cheese to transport it back to my house in L.A.


    When I began to return back, Grandma prepared a delicious brisket from the V1 monsterized cows for me to take home in a tupperware.


    "I wish I could stay longer, but I still have several more places to stop by," I said apologetically as I hugged Grandma.


    "Aww, that''s too bad," Grandpa said, comforting me by rubbing my back before letting go. "Come back often, okay? Now that all of my grandkids are in L.A., it gets pretty lonely out here."


    "I can let Amy and Maggie stay for another two days. It''s not like they have any prior schedules," I mentioned to Grandma. Amy and Maggie shot me looks of betrayal. Grandma turned toward them with excitement, causing them to quickly hide their expressions.


    "Really? That would be wonderful!"


    Amy laughed dryly, accepting her fate. "Okay, Grandma. Because I love you so much, I will stay."


    Maggie exhaled in defeat before adding, "I can use the time to practice my horse riding. I need to relearn that for my next movie."


    Grandpa smiled and patted Amy''s shoulder excitedly. "Do you still remember how to lasso a cow? I''m going to need some help with the pasture."


    Maggie looked taken aback. "I think so?"


    "Great! We''re going out at 5 a.m. tomorrow morning, so don''t stay up too late."


    Maggie was astonished by her grandpa''s words. I smiled in satisfaction, knowing that Grandpa would help instill some discipline back into Maggie''s everyday life.


    "Grandpa, Maggie''s free for the entire week, so you can take as long as you��" Amy started to say, but Maggie stomped on her foot, causing her to wince in pain.


    My grandma hugged Vanessa and said, "Edward can be a bit brash, hot-headed and kinda a jerk, but he''s a nice kid. I support the both of you in your relationship."


    "Thank you Jules." Vanessa was a bit bashful to hear the encouraging words from my grandma. I furrowed my eyebrows and said, "Did my own grandmother just called me a jerk?"


    Everyone laughed at my question, yet no one answered it. "I''m going to sulk now."


    "Aww. Eddy~" My grandma hugged me again to comfort me, "I didn''t mean you''re a jerk. But you have to admit sometimes you''re being intentionally difficult."


    I was greatly taken aback by the accusations. Amy agreed with grandma, based on the fact that I had just sold them out to stay there while I went back home alone.


    I didn''t argue with my grandmother and got on the helicopter with Vanessa. My grandmother looked worried and said to Grandpa, "Did I go too far in teasing him? He looked quite hurt."


    "Really? I don''t think he cared at all," Grandpa shrugged. Suddenly, he remembered something and added, "Before he left, he mentioned he''s going to move his cows to Arizona or New Mexico since Wisconsin is too far away."


    "He is hurt! I should talk to him before he leaves��"


    But Jules was too late. The helicopter was already in the air. I returned to California after another three-hour flight and went to a brewery in Sacramento. I had bought a couple of farmlands in the area, which were managed by my androids and held many secrets.


    Using [Leaf �C Plant Modification Skill (Release the Witch)], I evolved the wheat to have more ears, which in turn produced more grains. Then, it was brought to the beer processing factory, where it was fermented with an evolved yeast [Castle of Black Iron]. The product quickly took the number one spot as the most delicious beer in the world, but we weren''t ready to launch it on the market just yet.


    "We''re expanding the farms and the beer factory tenfold. Only then can we start to sell it to the public," I told the staff, which consisted of androids and ordinary researchers.


    As Vanessa followed me from behind, she inquired about my work. The researchers filled her in on our soil health research, aiming to address the multifaceted challenges facing modern agriculture.


    "First and foremost, we are investigating soil degradation��a pressing issue," began the researcher, my number 7 android based on Leaf from "Release the Witch."


    "Many conventional farming practices, such as monocropping and excessive chemical use, have led to the depletion of essential nutrients and increased erosion. Our research focuses on regenerative practices that could restore soil health and enhance fertility over time."


    She showed Vanessa the soil ratings we had established in various farmlands across the country. Vanessa was stunned by the topic; she had never truly considered farming to be such a serious issue until Leaf explained it all.


    "We also explored the importance of biodiversity in our farmlands. By introducing a variety of cover crops and rotating our main crops, we aim to create a more resilient ecosystem that can better withstand pests and diseases while improving overall soil structure. This diversity benefits the crops and nurtures beneficial microorganisms and fauna in the soil."


    Leaf then showcased the genetically modified earthworms, though she omitted the fact that I had created them. The worms would help fertilize the land more efficiently. She also presented our research on new fertilizers and genetically modified crops, leaving Vanessa with starry eyes.


    "Finally, we are addressing the issue of carbon sequestration. Through our regenerative practices, we aim to pull carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in the soil, actively contributing to climate change mitigation. Our goal is not just to grow high-yield crops but to cultivate a healthier environment for generations to come," Leaf concluded her lecture after nearly three hours.


    I interjected, "We''re still at the beginning of that research, so it will take a lot more time before it''s put into practice."


    Cracking open a can of cold, brandless beer, I offered one to Vanessa. "Want some?"


    We drank beer together while we rested at the guest house. Vanessa thoroughly enjoyed the new brew, and her face was slightly flushed after just four cans.


    "Edward~ Why are you doing all of this?" she asked suddenly.


    Confused, I replied, "You need to specify what you''re talking about."


    "The farm. Leaf told me that the government doesn''t really care about farmers too much. Many of them are in debt, and crop yields are dropping annually. Billionaires are grabbing the depreciated farmland by buying it cheaply."


    Vanessa gazed at me intently as she continued, "But why are you trying to save them?"


    I shrugged and said, "I''m the grandson of a ranch owner. I know how farmers live and how important they are to the country. That''s why I''m doing this. Ness, make sure not to tell anyone what you saw here today. A lot of what we''re doing isn''t exactly legal yet."


    "I''m not going to tell anyone." Vanessa grinned mischievously. "Blackmail material will only work if I use it as my leverage, not others."


    I rolled my eyes and asked, "And what are you going to use the blackmail material for?"


    "Mainly to get your body," Vanessa replied seductively.


    "Pervert," I shot back curtly. "Just drink your beer; we need to fly back soon."


    "Can we rest a bit with the air travel? I don''t really like traveling by plane," Vanessa said sulkily.


    "Maybe I can drive us back home. It''ll take a while, but I guess the night drive can be pretty enjoyable."


    "You just drank some beer, and you plan on driving?" Vanessa was flabbergasted.


    I shrugged and said, "It''s only six cans. If I blow into the breathalyzer right now, it won''t even detect it. I have tremendous alcohol resistance, and my body doesn''t register these beers as alcohol."


    Vanessa snorted and replied, "Sure you do. But I still don''t want you to drive us back."


    "So, the only option we have is air travel again," I smirked.


    "Fuck!" Vanessa cursed.


    ...


    A day passed, and I invited several people to my house for dinner��a gathering for an important meeting.


    "Congratulations on surpassing $1.5 billion in the worldwide box office!" I cheered for the cast and crew of The Avengers movie by raising my wine glass. The film had managed to hit the $1.5 billion mark two weeks earlier in this universe.


    RDJ, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Kevin Feige, the Russo brothers, Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Renner, Cobie Smulders, Mark Ruffalo, Clark Gregg, Alexandra Daddario, and Samuel L. Jackson accepted my dinner invitation and came to celebrate.


    There seemed to be an extra in the cast. Alexandra Daddario was cast as Amora the Enchantress, an Asgardian witch who helped Loki in his conquest on Earth.


    Infatuated with Thor, she caused some chaos during the battle.


    The storyline of the movie had some minor tweaks, primarily because I was adamant about changing it. The revisions focused on the Hulk and Captain America''s characters.


    For the Hulk, the scene where he says, "That''s my secret, Cap. I''m always angry," was revised. While it was a great scene for the movie, it didn''t accurately capture the relationship between Hulk and Banner, two beings constantly competing to become the dominant personality.


    After being dropped from the helicarrier, the Hulk roamed in his monstrous form until he neared New York City. He stopped at a diner, where he conversed with Banner in his mind. The scene was shot beside a window to allow the audience to see Banner''s reflection in the mirror and the Hulk''s mental state.


    When the wormhole opened, Banner told the Hulk that it was a chance for the world to see who he truly was. The Hulk went to fight the Leviathan after he saved a child from being crushed by falling debris.


    Captain America witnessed the Hulk''s actions and had a conversation with him. This dialogue was inspired by the animated series Avengers Assemble.


    [Hulk: "I can handle it."


    Captain America: "Sure you can, big guy. Now remember, watch out for the civilians."


    His casual advice irked the Hulk, making the green giant point a finger at Captain America.


    Hulk: "Is that why you came over here? To make sure the monster didn''t smash the humans too?!"


    Captain America didn''t cower in the face of the raging monster. He turned stern, showcasing his leadership and demonstrating why he was chosen as the leader of the Avengers.


    Captain America: "Stop that talk! I want you to protect the civilians from the aliens. They are the monsters here, not you. In my day, we had a name for someone like you."


    The Hulk was still fuming.


    Hulk: "Yeah? What''s that?"


    Captain America: "A hero."


    The Hulk was taken aback, and his anger diminished. It was the first time someone had an honest conversation with him and didn''t fear him.


    Captain America, heroically: "I''ve been watching you, Hulk. No matter how scared people are of you, no matter how much you''re hounded, you always do the right thing. And that makes you a hero in my book. Now, how about we smash some more aliens?"


    Hulk: "I''ll do that even without you telling me."


    The Hulk smiled and leaped into the air to fight off a Leviathan.]


    The scene where Tony and Captain America argued in front of everyone about SHIELD''s use of the Tesseract also received minor tweaks. Steve was a leader, and he understood the gravity of the situation.


    It wasn''t the time for him to engage in a pissing contest with Tony. Although the argument played out, Steve was the first to realize that everyone was under the influence of a spell. The serum brought out the best in Steve Rogers.


    His heart was what made him special. He also managed to fight off Amora''s enticement, highlighting his strength even more. This made up for his fighting performance against Loki at the beginning of the movie, showcasing to the audience what Captain America brought to the team.


    These tweaks highlighted everyone''s strengths and the complex nature of the heroes.


    I received a writing credit for the movie as well. RDJ kept wanting to add me to the Avengers roster and hoped I would join the MCU, but it was challenging for everyone to find a character that suited me well.


    At the dinner party, I brought out a variety of specialties. The tender steaks were softer than Japanese wagyu, and the wine��crafted from mutated grapes and enhanced with Euphoria��made everyone feel blissful.


    There was also wheat-based pizza topped with cheeses and sauces made from new ingredients, creating a culinary festival for the guests. It felt like their palates had returned to childhood, where every taste was eclectic and wonderful.


    "Be honest, did you drug the food? I''m not mad; I just want to know," RDJ asked after finishing an entire bottle of wine.


    "Sorry to disappoint you, but I used no drugs in the recipes," I replied playfully. After the satisfying dinner, they lounged around, sampling my expensive alcohol collection and even touring the house.


    RDJ stumbled into the arcade room and discovered the VR gear. I had received a Ready Player One universe VR gear blueprint from the gacha and created a virtual world based on my real engine. It was on par with Oasis��the VR universe in which Ready Player One was based.


    The men kept taking turns to play, as there were only two sets of equipment.


    "I need one of these. Where can I get one?" Chris Hemsworth asked excitedly after he took off the haptic suit.


    "I''m not selling it yet. I think I''ll wait another two or three years before releasing it to the public."


    "You made this?" RDJ was shocked. "I had a feeling since I first met you. You''re this world''s version of Tony Stark, aren''t you?"


    Scarlett joined the conversation, "Just look at his track record. He''s definitely the Tony Stark of this world."


    "Stop it," I said curtly. "I''m me, not anyone else. Okay, I have something to hound Feige about. He didn''t leave secretly, did he?"


    While the movie was in production, I had suggested to Feige that we add Ant-Man and the Wasp to the roster, as they were key members of the Avengers. However, Feige chose not to introduce them directly in the movie, believing they needed their own film first before entering the Avengers lineup.


    Having established strong trust between us, I wanted to use this occasion to convince him to create a Black Widow movie.


    When Captain Marvel was released and the marketing department labeled her as the first female superhero, I was infuriated. Black Widow deserved her own movie��one that didn''t suck.


    Perhaps it was due to her sacrifice in Endgame, but I had a lot of respect for the character. Even if making a movie about her at this stage seemed risky, I believed that with a solid plot, the film could be successful��at least grossing $400 million on a $100 million budget.


    Feige was still reluctant to take the risk. "Maybe I''ll do it if I can find a great enough script��"


    Before he could finish, I slapped a thick stack of scripts in front of him. I grinned as Feige looked astonished.


    "I have one here. A script. It may not be the best, but I think I can show you what I have in mind for the character and the cinematic universe going forward."


    In the last two years, I stumbled onto seven different kinds of Marvel''s cinematic universe. One of them had the mutants from the very beginning.


    Another featured Spider-Man as the main anchor of the story. Yet another revolved around the Fantastic Four.


    I saw many story reiterations from multiple universes, one of which had 30 years of content for comic book adaptations. One of the universes only had 18 adaptations of the stories. Two of them closely resembled the universe similar to my previous life but with some minor timeline changes.


    I found a Black Widow movie being conceptualized right after the events of the first Avengers movie. Black Widow had to recover stolen alien tech from Taskmaster, and she also stumbled into the Hydra organization in her venture.


    Under the orders of Nick Fury, Natasha killed her partner and became a double agent, infiltrating the Hydra branch led by Madame Viper. The storyline continued through the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier and the second Avengers movie.


    However, the second Avengers movie in that universe wasn''t about Ultron; it was about Baron Zemo and Hydra''s uprising.


    Feige was adamant about Ultron being the main villain for the second Avengers movie, so I couldn''t change that. But I could tweak the script for the Black Widow movie and push it out earlier in this universe.


    As Feige was reading the script, RDJ grew curious and asked, "I read a script that you wrote, Now You See Me. I had to learn about its existence from a friend of mine. Why didn''t you send the script to me?"


    I was taken aback and said playfully, "Are you interested in the movie? I wanted to keep the budget low, so there''s no way I''m going to spend the majority of the budget on your salary."


    "I made over $50 million from the backend deals for the Avengers movie. It made me feel really generous, so let''s talk about the movie, and maybe I will take a pay cut for the role," RDJ said while grinning.

 Chapter 358: Woman Troubles.

    Chapter 358 - 358: Woman Troubles.


    [Edward POV]


    Thursday night, Vanessa and I left my house to see a theater show. The show was awful��just as I expected from Penny. On a side note, I did manage to spot a familiar face on stage.


    After the performance, Penny thanked Vanessa and me for attending.


    "So, Edward, how do you rate the show?" Penny asked eagerly, feeling proud of her work.


    "The story: 3/10," I said mercilessly, which deflated Penny''s excitement. "But your performance is a solid 6. Just a little bit more, and I might cast you as a lead in Netflix''s new series," I added with a smirk.


    Penny almost squealed in excitement but quickly collected herself and covered her feelings. The industry was full of jealous, backstabbing individuals, so she had to be careful about her career prospects, especially since the deal was a private promise between the two of us.


    Vanessa raised an eyebrow while Penny and I talked, her eyes were focused on Penny''s deep cleavage.


    I asked her about the new actress on stage, Natalie Dyer. The future star of Stranger Things had just broken out in the acting industry at 17 years old.


    Most of the members of the theater troupe introduced themselves to Vanessa and me, hoping to catch my attention, which would lead them to an acting role. We slipped away early after I gave my agency number to Natalie.


    "Again, thank you so much for coming to my show!" Penny said as she gave me a tight, full frontal hug.


    In the car, Vanessa asked, pretending not to care��her furrowed eyebrows betrayed her��"What''s the deal you have with Penny?"


    "If she passes my benchmark, I''ll hire her for the series called ''Flight Attendant''. It will take some more time before she can take a lead role in anything, though. I only gave her a 6 to encourage her."


    After replying casually, I turned to Hudgens slightly with a smirk while driving, "What''s with your face? Are you jealous? Do you want to be the only one to gain my attention?"


    Vanessa pouted and said, "Isn''t that the normal thing to do? I''m your girlfriend, but you''re giving roles to others while I have nothing to do."


    She was exaggerating. Vanessa was currently showered with acting offers, but she rejected them all.


    I shrugged. "Since you''re my girlfriend, I have to be even more fair to you. Besides, you''re the one who said you wanted to rest after finishing your big project."


    Vanessa nodded, still sulking, but she had to accept it. "I did say that."


    I smiled and teased her, raising her chin slightly to cheer her up. "Don''t worry. You''re a bit of a special case, so it takes more effort to pick a suitable role for you."


    Vanessa smiled, thinking about the success of the series Diner. It was tailor-made for her, completely breaking her free from her Disney days and typecasting.


    Suddenly, Vanessa leaned toward me, putting her hand on my thigh. "I''m thinking that I should act in a rom-com next. You know, something fun. Maybe we can do it together."


    "Rom-com, huh? Maybe I can do it, but I still have Now You See Me and the Black Widow movie to work on. Unless you can wait until next year," I said with a difficult expression.


    Vanessa suddenly turned sulky again. After a brief silence, she said, "Is the reason you''re so adamant about bringing the Black Widow movie to production Scarlett Johansson? She recently had a divorce, so are you trying to hook up with her?"


    I furrowed my eyebrows in disbelief and turned toward her. "Why on earth would I try to hook up with Scarlett?"


    "Uh, her breasts?!" Vanessa replied matter-of-factly. "You can deny it all you want; I know you like it big. Even Penny has large ones. So that''s why you want to give the role to her."


    I opened my mouth, but acceptance came before the argument. Vanessa became irritable when I nodded slightly, agreeing with her words.


    I had seen the movie Serial Ape-ist��the D-tier horror movie Penny starred in featuring a topless scene. Even her minor roles in Netflix productions had her wearing bikinis and playing sexy characters.


    Then, Penny began to take many side character roles. Her exposure grew, and she started receiving more acting offers. Although her work mainly focused on TV roles, it was enough for her to afford moving out of her small apartment.


    At the time, she was dating Leonard, so I thought it was fine for her to leave, but they broke up seven months ago, and Leonard was currently dating Rajesh''s sister. Since then, Penny had stopped hanging out with Sheldon and his friends.


    "See��I was right!" Vanessa suddenly snapped me out of my thoughts, thinking my silence was acknowledgment.


    "As I know for sure I won''t win this argument since there''s irrefutable evidence of that, the only reason I want to bring the Black Widow movie forward is the scale of the cinematic universe," I said playfully.


    I continued ranting, unaware that Vanessa wasn''t really listening. "They are going to make movies with larger stakes and bigger battles, so there''s little gap in the timeline where the Black Widow movie can fit into the cinematic universe without seeming out of place."


    Vanessa silently mimicked my words with a mocking expression. "All that grand cinematic universe planning just to justify your love for big boobs."


    "Is the reason you''re lashing out because you can''t keep it in anymore? Will you be the one to break down first and throw yourself at me?" I teased.


    Vanessa was taken aback and immediately shot back, "You''re the one who''s going to break first, Newgate!"


    I shrugged again, which only frustrated her more.


    Although we had been dating for about two weeks, we still hadn''t slept together yet. It wasn''t because I wasn''t attracted to her, but because Vanessa had made a bet with me at the beginning of our relationship.


    The first person to make a move would have to do whatever the other asked, and the other person couldn''t weasel out of the penalty.


    I didn''t know what she wanted from me, so I was keeping my defenses up. It had started out as a playful thing, but as the bet dragged on, both of us were feeling a bit frustrated.


    "Do you want to go to Kiernan''s party?" Vanessa asked as she checked her phone, clearly tired from the earlier topic.


    "I wouldn''t go to any party if I had the chance."


    Vanessa sighed. "Did you develop agoraphobia from dealing with too many people? Some celebrities have that."


    I shrugged. "Maybe a little. I know for sure that the girls there will throw themselves at me all night long, and I don''t want to deal with it. Kiernan included, since she still thinks I''m single."


    Vanessa frowned and typed angrily as she replied to Kiernan Shipka. Although her words in the text were polite, I could sense her irritation.


    As we arrived at my house, Vanessa immediately rummaged through my bar and took out my beers and the rest of my alcohol. "Let''s see if you can still keep your guard up when you''re drunk!"


    "You sound like a sexual deviant, Ness," I said curtly before I ignored her and sank onto the couch. Vanessa was taken aback and pouted again.


    "Just kidding. Bring it over here," I called playfully. She smiled and skipped happily as she walked toward me before throwing herself into my arms.


    After downing three bottles of spirits, Vanessa and I started making out in the living room. She hinted heavily at wanting to take the night further.


    Although I knew I would lose the bet, I relented and finally made my move. We had a wonderful time that night, which led to us staying in, just enjoying each other''s company for two days.


    Sunday morning, Vanessa and I were making out in my bed, our naked bodies covered by a thin white blanket. Suddenly, Yuri Alpha entered the room, surprising Vanessa.


    She yelped and quickly pulled the blanket to cover her body, but in doing so, she inadvertently exposed mine. I grabbed a pillow and covered my crotch area before speaking to Yuri.


    "Why did you break protocol, Yuri?" I asked her calmly.


    Yuri bowed apologetically. "I''m sorry for being rude, sir. Your father and future stepmother, along with the rest of your family, are coming to the house in thirty minutes for Sunday dinner. They are bringing their friends with them. I assume you need the reminder since you''ve been��"


    "Friends? Who?" I interjected before she could finish. Vanessa covered her face with her hand, incredibly embarrassed.


    "The Dunphys and the Pritchetts, along with their respective families," Yuri replied, bowing slightly before leaving.


    Vanessa stammered once she was gone, "Y-Your entire family is going to be here?"


    I nodded slightly. "Yeah, I think so. Want to do it one more time before they get here?"


    She quickly crawled off the bed, anxiously saying, "No! I will not walk funny in front of your entire family! Or faint from pleasure again!"


    I laughed at her exasperation. "But we should still take a shower together."


    Vanessa was stunned and turned, biting her lips slightly. "I��NO! I''m not going to get seduced again, Newgate! You''re insatiable! I''m sore enough already."


    But despite her claims, she didn''t push me away when I joined her. We got ready at our own pace, even with the guests having already arrived before we even got out of the shower.


    It wasn''t until everyone was seated at the dining table and the food was already laid out that Vanessa and I finally joined them. Everyone greeted me excitedly, and Vanessa was quite embarrassed when she felt the eyes on her.


    Amy and Maggie pulled her away from me and forced her to sit next to them while I walked to my dad. I saw the ring on Frankie''s finger and smiled in satisfaction.


    "So, you finally listened to me and took her on a midnight cruise to pop the question, huh?" I said playfully, a grin spreading across my face. Both my dad and Frankie shifted awkwardly, a hint of embarrassment creeping into their expressions.


    The journey to this moment of commitment hadn''t been easy for Frankie. She had a sister with a mental disability, born when their mother was around Frankie''s current age. This weighed heavily on her mind as she faced the possibility of pregnancy at 40. The thought of bringing a child into the world with the same challenges her sister faced was understandably daunting.


    But before she could spiral deeper into worry, I introduced her to some procedures that could assess the fetus''s health and her genetic risks, should there be any.


    Knowing the risks brought Frankie a sense of calm, allowing her to embrace the idea of pregnancy. The fetus was fully normal right now.


    Ultimately, she agreed to my dad''s proposal after figuring out where she stood in the whole child rearing thing.


    To be honest, even though Frankie is 50, I truly believe she can have a healthy child. I have various methods at my disposal that could help her reclaim her vitality.


    Her physical health right now was similar to a healthy woman in her 20s after I gave her several supplements. Her back pain was gone, her eyes became clearer, even her hair became glossier.


    "Edward, it''s been a while!" Gloria hugged me excitedly after she stood up from her seat. I sensed something familiar inside Gloria, the same feeling I get when I realized Frankie was pregnant. I guess it was time for Joe to come out soon. However, it seems that Gloria didn''t realize it yet.


    Everyone in the family came, except for Haley who''s in college.


    "Luke! What happened to you?" I asked, surprised by Luke''s current appearance. He wore a large hoodie, his hair a little scruffy, and he had opted for a bad boy persona instead of his usual innocent character.


    "Things happened," Luke replied, attempting to act mature. Alex rolled her eyes and exposed him, "What do you mean, what happened? You happened. It was you who did this."


    "I did this?" I was thoroughly confused. Alex continued, "Your delinquent movie. He''s emulating your character."


    "No, I am not!" Luke immediately refuted Alex, revealing his innocent demeanor beneath his tough facade.


    "Aww... That''s pretty cute," I teased. Abashed, Luke grunted and whined, "I am not copying you. This is my life right now."


    "By the way, that''s a pretty nice hoodie," I said as I touched his dinosaur-print hoodie. "Aren''t you feeling hot? The sun is sweltering outside."


    Luke wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "It''s fine. I can take it."


    Although he wanted to act tough, he was only 13 years old. The hoodie was a gift from his sister�C Haley, designed by her for his birthday, just like many others sold on her fashion website.


    Manny laughed at Luke and joined in the conversation, "You sacrificed comfort for fashion. I guess you are getting more mature now Luke."


    Manny also has a major change after two years. He was no longer chubby, and he cut his hair short. The Gloria and Javier genes showed their effect on him, turning him into a pretty boy.


    Dad announced his engagement to Frankie after the Sunday dinner. Everyone was excited about the prospect of the wedding. Claire was picked as the maid of honor, and Phil became my dad''s best man.


    The wedding was set a month from now, so it would be a June wedding.


    "Edward! Pick me up!" Lily exclaimed, raising both her hands as she stood in front of me. I scooped her up and let her sit on my forearm. She giggled and nestled her head against my chest, wrapping her arms around me in a gentle hug.


    The sight turned Vanessa on for some reason. Her face flushed and she breathed heavily as she stared at me until Maggie snapped her finger in front of Vanessa, prying her focus elsewhere.


    "Lily, will you let me hold your baby brother or sister like this when they arrive?" I asked teasingly.


    "No baby!" Lily grumbled, her annoyance evident.


    Mitchell and Cam watched us with a mix of exasperation and affection. Their new child was due to arrive any day now, but they were having some difficulty getting Lily on board with the whole idea of having a sibling.


    The two of them had connected with a pregnant woman in Calexico and were in the process of adopting her child.


    ''I checked, and it doesn''t seem like it was the same woman from the TV series. This one has no close family, no sister, and definitely no grandmother who would insist on raising the family herself instead of allowing Cam and Mitch to adopt. Maybe in this timeline, Lily would actually have a sibling after all.''


    ...


    Afterward, everyone gathered at the house. Manny and Luke were torn between swimming in the pool or playing in the arcade, so they decided to settle it with a game of rock-paper-scissors and ended up opting for the VR game.


    As I put on my haptic gloves, I turned to Luke and Manny. "Pick the normal mode option, not the reality mode."


    Luke and Manny donned their waist harnesses and stepped onto the omnidirectional platform, preparing for their first VR dive. I had four of these platforms set up in my basement and had organized 200 of them at the gaming company for staff testing and feedback on the VR experience.


    "What''s going to happen if I pick reality mode?" Luke asked, his tone cocky.


    "When you get hit, you''ll feel it all over your body," I replied casually as they strapped on their haptic body vests.


    As I readied myself, Vanessa, Amy, Maggie, and Alex watched from a distance. Vanessa shyly waved at me before I adjusted my visor.


    "So, how is it?" Maggie whispered to Vanessa, the others leaning in with curiosity.


    Vanessa placed her hand on her back and replied, "He''s like a beast in bed. I''m feeling pretty sore right now."


    Claire noticed the girls gathering and felt an urge to join their conversation, but she quickly turned away upon realizing the topic at hand.


    As the visor settled into place, the scene transformed into a post-apocalyptic world. A massive dragon soared low overhead, its wings creating gusts powerful enough to threaten the players'' balance.


    Manny instinctively yelled, while Luke fumbled to understand how to handle his weapons. Their nervousness was unwarranted since they needed to set up their characters before jumping into the game.


    Luke chose an orc warrior as his avatar, while Manny picked a suave sniper complete with an eyepatch. I opted for a swordsman, and together, we launched into battle.


    The game thrust us directly into a campaign reminiscent of a classic Dungeons and Dragons adventure. Players could level up their characters, discover exclusive items, loot opponents, and even broadcast their gameplay to their Entertain livestream, although that last feature was still unavailable for now.


    We spent the entire day at my house, leaving only after sharing a meal together.


    "I really miss you guys," I said, giving Gloria a gentle hug. Manny replied, "You should come by our house more often."


    "Or we can come here to continue the campaign. Alex is stopping by for the lab, right? We can hitch a ride with her," Luke suggested.


    Alex rolled her eyes and replied, "If I could ever get started on the study. Edward keeps pushing the date back."


    Phil, unexpectedly interjecting, said, "He just wants to rest a bit more, Alex. Please be understanding."


    Both Alex and I were taken aback by Phil''s comment. Alex grumbled, "I didn''t mean to be difficult. I just want a starting date."


    "Come by next Tuesday. We''ll get started with the work then," I offered.


    Alex perked up and grinned, "Okay! I''ll come here right after school!"


    "Alex, what about your lacrosse practice?" Claire asked, her concern evident as she realized Alex might be overlooking her other commitments.


    "If I participate in the research, I won''t need to engage in extra co-curricular activities to boost my college admissions. So I''m going to quit lacrosse from now on," Alex declared with determination.


    "ALEX?!" Claire exclaimed, clearly taken aback by Alex''s resolute decision.


    "If you have lacrosse, just come after your game. I need to work on a few productions too, and if I can''t focus on that, I''ll have to push the work to my pharma company instead," I suggested, trying to provide a compromise.


    "NO! Then I won''t be able to participate!" Alex protested begrudgingly.


    I shrugged and replied, "You can still apply as an intern there. There are special programs available for the lab that you could benefit from. I''ll arrange a meeting with Dr. Rostenkowski��maybe you can impress her enough to take you under her wing."


    Eventually, Alex relented after I talked her through the options. Although I was eager to study the new cure right away, I had my hands full with other projects.


    First and foremost, I needed to finalize the casting for the movie Now You See Me and start production before June. I still had to follow up with Feige about the Black Widow movie and draft another script for Vanessa''s next project.


    Since she wanted a rom-com story, I would do my best to deliver that. I wanted to focus on one aspect of my life at a time; my life had felt scattered for months. Work haunted me even in my sleep.


    Even during moments with my girlfriend, like kissing her, my mind often wandered to upcoming projects. I longed to be present instead of obsessively planning my next big idea.


    "Maybe I''ll play Atlas in the Now You See Me movie. I think I''d enjoy that character," I mumbled to myself as I wrapped my arm around Vanessa''s waist, both of us walking into the house together after everyone had left.


    "Oh, by the way, what are you planning to ask me to do if you win the bet?" Vanessa asked as we reached the living room.


    I smirked and replied, "It''s not much. Maybe something fun while you''re cosplaying. What about you? Now that you''ve won, what do you want me to do?"


    "Cosplay? Who would I cosplay as?" Vanessa asked, momentarily diverting the question.


    "Maybe Khaleesi or Jinx. But it doesn''t matter now since I''ve lost anyway," I said playfully.


    Vanessa smirked, her eyes sparkling. "Don''t feel down. Maybe you haven''t entirely lost hope just yet."


    "Really? That''s nice to hear. Also, what''s my penalty for losing?" I approached her, wrapping my arms around her waist and drawing her close, maintaining eye contact.


    Vanessa giggled, wrapping her arms around my neck as she stood on her tiptoes to whisper in my ear, "I want you to..."


    My eyes widened at her words, disbelief washing over me. "Really? That?"

 Chapter 359: Politics

    Chapter 359 - 359: Politics


    [Edward POV]


    Inside my recording studio at home, which was built in one of the detached houses�� a dance studio on the bottom floor and the recording studio on top��Vanessa practiced her vocals in the soundproof room while I worked on the song with the synthesizer.


    She wore a white crop top, a short plaid skirt, and leggings, tying her hair into a double bun.


    "Brrr~~ Ahh~ AHH~ SHALALA~ UM! I think I''m ready." She gave me a thumbs up as she put on her headphones.


    I pressed the red intercom button to talk to her. "Good, we''ll start from the beginning."


    The recording session went smoothly, and it took only three hours to finish the entire song.


    "Ah! I''m starving!" Vanessa whined as she exited the soundproof room.


    "How about I cook some lunch? Now that we''ve finished your request, we can spend the entire evening together."


    Vanessa widened her eyes and gasped. "Don''t try to subtly change the terms of your penalty. I''m not the one who decided to create a new song this morning when I woke up."


    "Damn it. You saw through that, huh?" I said with a playful grumble. Vanessa smirked and hugged my arm, pressing her body close. "Are you really that scared? Should I be lenient and let you off easy?"


    "If someone overheard you, they might think the penalty is pegging. Not that I have any problem with that, just give me some time to prepare��"


    Vanessa suddenly bit my shoulder as I teased her. "Oww! Alright, you''re really hungry. We should go eat first."


    We had lunch next to the garden, underneath the shade, while I watched Vader play with a squirrel. With starry eyes, Vanessa snapped multiple pictures of Vader, overwhelmed by his cuteness, all while munching on her fried chicken drumstick.


    "I''ll set up the music video production for tomorrow. We should be able to finish shooting it in a day if nothing goes wrong," I told Vanessa after finishing my call with Randall.


    "Should I cut my hair?" she asked casually as she stood up from squatting on the grass.


    "Why would you cut your hair?" I asked, confused.


    "So, you like girls with long hair?" She grinned and walked back to her seat, acting coy as she opened a can of beer. I glanced at the can and saw it was my brand of beer, "Forgefire."


    "Oh, so you''re trying to ''gotcha'' me?" I opened another can of beer.


    She twirled her hair. "I just want to get to know you��what you like and dislike��"


    "I like you." I interjected before she could finish. Vanessa inhaled deeply, taken aback by my sudden confession, and her face flushed slightly.


    "Hmm..." She giggled happily and asked, "Do you like me with short hair or long hair?"


    I sighed inwardly, knowing her question wouldn''t be easy to answer. If I said I preferred long hair, she might cut it short just to see if I''d still like her that way. Although I wasn''t sure if she would do that, I had similar experiences before and didn''t want to risk it.


    "Hmm, I never really thought about it before. I''d have to check and see first," I said casually.


    Vanessa quickly untied her hair, letting it flow freely. "This is what it looks like with long hair, and..." She folded her hair in half and hid the top with her hand, trying to show me what she would look like with a bob cut. "...This is what I''d look like if it were shorter."


    "I still don''t see it. Why don''t you come closer?" I placed my finger under my chin, pretending to scrutinize her appearance. Vanessa excitedly walked over and sat next to me. "This is��"


    Before she could finish, I kissed her on the lips. Vanessa was stunned and immediately looked around anxiously. "What are you doing? Are you crazy? What if there are paparazzi stalking us?"


    "We could even have sex out here and no one would know. My security is more advanced than the U.S. military base, you know?" I said, grabbing her hand and kissing it.


    Vanessa bit her lower lip, tempted, but quickly shook her head as she fought off those thoughts. She slapped my hand away and said, "I''m being serious! I think it''s time for me to change my image."


    "Hmm, that might not be a bad idea," I finally took her seriously. "You''ve had long, wavy brunette hair forever. Instead of cutting it, why not change the color?"


    Vanessa''s eyes lit up as she embraced the suggestion. "I always wanted to do something like Enid, with two-tone highlights��um, but I don''t think it would work well with my skin tone."


    I stifled a laugh at her immediate change in enthusiasm and said, "You''re incredibly pretty, so I''m sure you''ll make it work. Do you want me to visualize it on my computer so you can see how it might look?"


    Vanessa eagerly agreed to the suggestion. We spent some time chatting and having fun until it was almost 3 PM. Suddenly, she stood up and declared, "We need to get ready now. Time''s up, Newgate; you need to pay the price."


    "If I give you 10 million dollars, can I escape my penalty?" I asked, flashing my best puppy-dog eyes. I wrapped my arms around her waist and rested my cheek against her abdomen, trying to appear pathetic, but Vanessa was merciless.


    She smirked and said, "If you do that, then I might be open-minded about the cosplay thing��"


    "Let''s do it!" I stood up abruptly and took the lead to head inside the house. Vanessa laughed and allowed herself to be dragged along as we went to get ready. We playfully goofed around a bit, which resulted in us needing to change our clothes.


    After getting ready for the second time, we hopped into my blue Maserati and drove straight to the event venue.


    The reception area turned chaotic as I exited the car and then escorted Vanessa out like a true gentleman. Even the organizers seemed surprised that we had shown up at the event, although my name was on the guest list.


    "It will be fun to meet the President again," I whispered to Vanessa as we arrived at George Clooney''s fundraising event for the Democratic Party, aimed at raising campaign funds for President Obama''s reelection.


    Celebrities like RDJ, James Brolin, Tobey Maguire, Jack Black, and many others were in attendance, along with high-profile figures such as fashion CEOs, the Mayor of Los Angeles��Antonio Villaraigosa��and the Attorney General.


    For some reason, representatives from tech companies were notably absent, leaving me as the sole tech presence at the event. The table wasn''t free; it cost $40,000 per seat, and the event was held in a tent set up inside George Clooney''s basketball court.


    The event was mind-numbingly dull. I found myself sitting at a random table with Vanessa instead of people I knew, sharing space with the Attorney General and the Mayor, which astonished many other guests.


    "Howard, how are your wife and kids?" I greeted the Attorney General with a cheeky smile. "Has she managed to get rid of the headaches?"


    "Yes, after changing her diet��which just meant drinking less��she doesn''t have frequent headaches anymore," the plump middle-aged man replied, clearly pleased.


    "Ah, I guess that''s still a bad thing for her. Now she has no excuses left," I teased, and Howard chuckled, his face turning a shade redder.


    As I cozied up to the Mayor, I noticed Vanessa looking at me with a bewildered expression.


    "Didn''t you say you didn''t want to come? Why are you so chummy with them?" she whispered while everyone focused on George Clooney''s speech.


    "One thing you have to know about me is that I''m a chameleon. Even if I really don''t want to do something, I''ll put on a good face to survive," I whispered back.


    Vanessa furrowed her brows, and I chuckled, finding it adorable.


    "Stop being suspicious," I said gently, playfully tugging her eyebrows down with my fingers��an act that caught the attention of photographers.


    After his tedious speech, the President made his way to our table. As soon as he reached us, he remarked, "Edward, it''d be better if you just yawned. I almost laughed when I saw you holding it back while I was speaking."


    Taken aback, I smirked and replied playfully, "You saw that, huh? Don''t get me wrong; it''s a great speech, but I''ve heard it before."


    Obama laughed heartily, while I noticed Vanessa felt a bit out of place among the country''s most influential figures.


    I teased her slightly, "I guess you''re regretting it now, huh? Cashing in your bet for this, and the worst part is that it''s not even your wish."


    Vanessa widened her eyes in shock. "You knew?"


    "That Pepper would pull something like this? Of course I did." I leaned in and whispered to her, "I won''t consider this your prize; think of something else. I''ll settle the bill with Pepper later."


    Vanessa blushed, feeling a ticklish sensation as I whispered in her ear.


    We enjoyed food prepared by Wolfgang Puck, though I still felt my cooking was superior. I handed out some gifts to the President, the Mayor, the Attorney General, and several other VVIPs��a bottle of Euphoria, a rare brand of alcohol so exclusive that people were clamoring to get it.


    As the guests began to mingle after dinner, I bumped into RDJ. While many people wanted to speak with the President, I was on their list too. I kept steering away from the people I found exhausting and exploitative, only meeting with those with a good reputation.


    The fundraiser raised 15 million dollars for the reelection campaign. To be honest, with the President''s current popularity, he would have no problem winning the next election.


    "Edward!" Emma Stone exclaimed with delight when she saw me. She excitedly jogged in her high heels and gave me a bear hug. "Ness!" Emma embraced Vanessa as well upon noticing her.


    "Oh my god, what did you do? How did you end up at the VVIP table?" Emma asked, clearly surprised by my unexpected seating arrangement. She was blonde, having just wrapped up shooting for The Amazing Spider-Man.


    "I''m just that important��practically irreplaceable to the country. The President wants to talk to me about reducing the unemployment rate. Although he''s managed to push it down to 2%, he''s still not satisfied."


    Vanessa interjected, exposing me, "They talked about alcohol. Didn''t even touch that topic. Don''t believe him."


    "You know what? I never did," Emma playfully replied, giving me a side-eye before the two of them giggled together.


    During the shooting of Draculein, Emma and I had grown quite close. I admired her acting talent and positivity; Andrew Garfield was right��she was like a shot of espresso in the morning.


    Of course, she could also be a bit unhinged. I saved her contact as "Emma Stoned," because her antics often resembled someone under the influence, even when she was perfectly sober.


    Our publicity tour for the movie was legendary. We joked around with each other constantly and exhibited an undeniable chemistry that led to rampant rumors swirling about us dating. However, the truth was that we were just really great friends��nothing more, nothing less.


    "By the way, I heard you bought Universal Studios? When did that happen?" Emma asked with a mix of disbelief and curiosity.


    I grimaced at her. "That''s old news��like a year old. Did you just hear about it?"


    "No wonder people keep throwing themselves at you," Emma said with a slight disdain. "With everything you own, they''ll be clamoring to be on top if they manage to land you. Just be very careful, okay? Don''t fall for someone like that bitch Amber Heard."


    Emma and I had encountered Amber during the filming of Draculein. Emma was vocal about her feelings towards her, especially after Amber had dismissed her face-to-face, claiming Emma wasn''t pretty enough to be my sidepiece.


    I kicked Amber out from the set, and she went to search for other targets after failing in her attempts to get together with me.


    "Emma, I need to tell you a secret," I whispered conspiratorially, lowering my voice.


    Her eyes lit up with excitement, and she leaned in closer. "Ooh! I love secrets!"


    "I''m dating someone," I confessed, keeping my tone low.


    Emma gasped, her surprise palpable as she urged me to spill the beans. Vanessa''s expression shifted to one of confusion, not expecting the conversation to take that turn.


    She remained silent, glancing at Emma and I with anticipation. However, I never revealed the name of my mystery date, leaving Vanessa feeling a little disheartened.


    When Vanessa noticed my teasing gaze, her shyness returned. "Yeah, I''m dating someone, but she wants to keep it a secret for some reason," I whispered, maintaining the playful streak.


    "Maybe she''s ashamed of you," Emma teased back, her expression mock-sympathetic.


    "Maybe she is," I replied, smirking. A slight cough from Vanessa broke the moment, and she attempted to change the subject, but she had missed her chance.


    "Oh, heads up. You might need to give your girlfriend a warning about this one," Emma advised, her gaze drifting to someone approaching us. "I don''t think you can handle the fallout by yourself."


    I hesitated to disclose that it was Vanessa I was dating, but I was curious as to why Emma felt that way. Suddenly, it became painfully clear when an older man accompanied by a young, voluptuous model approached us.


    The old man was Fred Upton, a former United States House representative, and the model was his niece, Kate Upton.


    "Edward! Great to see you here," Fred said, his voice booming with friendliness. I met him multiple times before.


    After he resigned, Fred acted as a consultant for various businesses. I met him through Eve��Pepper''s mother. It turned out that Upton''s great-grandfather was a co-founder of an appliance company, so the Saltzmans and the Uptons had a long history and were pretty close.


    "Good to see you, Fred. And Kate, you look fantastic," I greeted politely, offering a warm smile.


    Vanessa subconsciously squeezed my arm tighter as her gaze landed on Kate''s tight white dress, accentuating her gravity-defying bosom. The sight left her speechless.


    Kate brushed her hair behind her ear, feeling a bit shy as she met with me face to face.


    "Edward, nice to meet you again." She said with a slight blush on her cheek.


    ...


    During the ride home, the atmosphere was tense. Vanessa turned her attention to the window, avoiding any attempt at a conversation.


    "I didn''t do anything wrong," I sighed, feeling the weight of the moment.


    Vanessa turned completely away from me, her silence palpable.


    "She wants to meet for dinner," I explained, trying to clarify. "I rejected her and told her to come to the company instead. I kept it professional. She''s the niece of someone I know; I couldn''t just dismiss her like that." I attempted to defend myself, but Vanessa remained sulky.


    The mental clash of seeing Kate''s curves seemed to have left a mark, and Vanessa already had the sense that I''m a chest man.


    "Have you thought about what to do yet?" I asked, seeking to shift the topic. But Vanessa didn''t respond.


    "Maybe we can go to the amusement park?" I suggested, hoping to lighten the mood. It caught her attention momentarily, but she fell back into her sulkiness.


    "What about a club? A party? Or maybe get some food?" I ramped up my suggestions, eager to cheer her up.


    "Dance." Vanessa suddenly replied, her expression stoic. "I feel like dancing."


    I nodded, relieved at her shift. "Dance it is."


    "Not clubbing, though. We should go to a place where we can just dance," she clarified, her lips curving into a small smile as she witnessed my excitement.


    I reached for the radio. "Why don''t we listen to some music before we get there? Just to get the heartbeats going."


    But the moment I turned on the radio, I instantly regretted it.


    [Will.I.am �C Big and Chunky]


    "?? I like them big, I like them chunky! (Chunky) I like them big, I like them plumpy


    (Plumpy) ??"


    I quickly shut off the radio, glancing at Vanessa, who had once again sunk into her sulking demeanor.


    "Take me home, Edward," she demanded, her tone firm.


    "Ffffffuck," I cursed under my breath, feeling a sense of defeat.


    The next day arrived pretty quickly. There were a lot of rumors circulating online and a flirty picture of me and Vanessa was shared over a million times. But since there wasn''t any confirmation from any of the involved parties, the rumors couldn''t be confirmed.


    "Maybe her mood will get better today." I said, wishfully thinking.


    ...


    [General POV]


    New York, Saturday Night Live office.


    Bill Hader and Jason Sudeikis listened as another SNL cast member voiced their concerns.


    "The ratings keep dropping. We need to change the way we do things around here," one of the show''s producers said before turning to Jason.


    "Jason, you''re our only connection to Edward Newgate. Can you try to pull him in for a show? We need to bump those numbers up��otherwise, we''re going to lose half the staff."


    Jason had been working on this universe''s version of Modern Family, and his popularity had exploded. Still, he made a point of staying connected with his SNL family and had offered to help whenever they needed it.


    "I mean, I do have his cell number. But I don''t know if he''ll do it. Oh! I know how we might get him on board. There''s this guy he said he likes working with... Um... what''s his name again?"


    Jason snapped his fingers a few times, trying to jog his memory.


    "Right! Julio Torres. He spoke really highly of him."


    Bill Hader looked confused. "Julio, the new guy? How does Edward Newgate even know our newbie writer?"


    Jason shrugged. "I don''t know. That''s just what I remember��though I could be wrong. Why don''t we meet with the guy first? See if he actually knows him."


    The reason Edward wanted to work with Julio Torres was because Julio had created the iconic SNL sketch Papyrus. He had also worked on Santa Baby and The Actress. Edward admired his absurdist comedic style and would jump at the chance to collaborate on a skit.


    The SNL members were all confused when they met with Julio. They couldn''t see how this guy had gained Edward''s attention. Still, they decided to give it a try and offered Edward to become the guest host for the next Saturday Night Live.

 Chapter 360: Fight and Make up.

    Chapter 360 - 360: Fight and Make up.


    [Edward POV]


    Vanessa was still in a mood when we arrived at the production set for the music video, set up on the golf course. She tried to be professional, but I didn''t want to start the production like this.


    "Vanessa, meet me at your trailer. I need to talk to you about something," I said, stopping the production and giving the order.


    Vanessa''s eyes widened, and she became docile immediately. "Um... Okay." Seeing me act firm made her feel restless.


    The rest of the staff raised their heads like meerkats, but no one dared to question the director''s authority on set.


    "Is she in trouble?" Jaime, an Indian-American writer, asked her friend. The makeup artist scoffed and replied, "Hardly. They''re really close. But I guess he''ll talk to her about her attitude."


    "You mean bitchiness?" Jaime mocked playfully. "She''s not like that. I guess she''s on her time of the month," the makeup artist defended Vanessa. Jaime rolled her eyes and said, "I know. I''m just playing. I know she''s a nice person."


    "Not this morning she ain''t," the makeup artist clarified, and Jaime agreed.


    This was my personal production team, consisting of 15 humans and 15 androids. The humans were responsible for creativity��writing and props��while the androids handled the grunt work and stunts.


    Only the human staff were curious about the altercation between the main lead and the director; the androids didn''t even bother to turn their heads in our direction.


    As we stood face to face inside the trailer, I said, "We don''t have to do this now if you don''t want to."


    Vanessa''s eyes widened, and she grabbed my hand immediately. "I''m�� You don''t have to postpone the shoot because of this."


    I sighed and gently patted her head. "Don''t misunderstand me. I''m not angry. The reason I''m doing this is to have some fun with you. Forcing the shoot to happen is the opposite of what I intended today to be."


    Vanessa''s eyes glistened with tears, understanding that she had been unreasonable; yet it seemed a metaphysical force compelled her to continue acting out, pushing aside her affection and entertaining her insecurities instead.


    I chuckled dryly and urged, "Maybe you can tell me a bit about why last night triggered you so much? I''m a smart guy, so I just need some hints. We''re in a relationship after all, so let me understand your thought process a little."


    Vanessa pursed her lips, her eyes shifting with uncertainty. Then she sighed and decided to be honest. She took out her phone and opened her Instagram, showing me a girl''s profile.


    "Who�� Oh, is that Alyssa? The one Zack cheated on you with?" I saw the girl''s figure and immediately understood why last night had happened.


    "I''m�� I''m really sorry. I think I projected my last relationship onto you. It''s unfair since you''ve been nothing but wonderful." Vanessa''s voice broke, and tears began to flow.


    I wiped her tears with my finger and pulled her close. "Hey. Don''t cry. I''m not mad at all."


    "I know. That''s what makes me so disgusted with myself," Vanessa cried even harder, opening up about her scars from her previous relationship, sniffling as she told her story.


    "She''s not prettier, she''s not nicer. I did everything he wanted, but I still lost to that��"


    "Pair of melons?" I interjected, which earned me a glare from Vanessa. "I''m kidding," I said playfully, running my finger along her chin.


    "Well, if we want to do this for a long time, I guess it''s time for you to stop treating the relationship like it''s going to fail. You had this expectation that I''m similar to that guy, and it''s causing some trouble. I also became annoyed when you kept doing that sort of stuff. It''s like you''re purposely trying to sabotage... our relationship."


    "Do you hate me now?" Vanessa nearly cried again. "Do you want to break up with me��"


    I gave her a playful karate chop before she could finish. "Oww!" She winced in pain.


    "Stop that. We''re going to be a couple for a while, so you better rein in your craziness," I said lightly.


    Vanessa finally smiled and wrapped her arms around me, giving me a sloppy kiss. She playfully pushed me onto the trailer bed, wanting to go further when we heard a knock on the door.


    Randall called from outside, "Edward. Vanessa. I heard there''s some trouble. Are you guys alright?"


    "No trouble. We''ve already worked it out," Vanessa said with difficulty, not wanting to move her lips away from mine. I instinctively grabbed her waist, but snapped out of my horniness and stopped the kissing.


    "We should shoot the music video first before we lose sunlight. I promise I''ll make it up to you later tonight."


    "We''re postponing the makeup sex? Are you sure? That''s one of the best��" Vanessa tried to seduce me, but I scooped her up in a princess carry, walking toward the door before I placed her down. She laughed the entire time, showering me with kisses before we faced the others.


    As we walked out of the trailer, all eyes were on us. The makeup artist noticed the slight smudging of Vanessa''s mascara and assumed I had been harsh with her. They immediately pulled Vanessa aside to confirm her well-being.


    "This offends me a little," I muttered as I watched the women rally around her. Vanessa reassured them that everything was fine and that we had discussed a personal issue.


    Her bad mood disappeared, which eased the staff''s concerns. However, her smile vanished again when she saw the costume she would be wearing for the day.


    "A fat suit?" Vanessa was skeptical when I explained the concept for the music video.


    "There''s a beard and old man makeup too. Prepare yourself; this shoot will be quite straining," I said teasingly.


    Although reluctant at first, Vanessa became quite playful once she was in character. She kept swirling her plastic belly and even danced in a silly way, trying to get me to kiss her while she was in her old man makeup, acting in a playful manner.


    The shooting breezed by quickly. Before we broke for lunch, 90% of the filming was already done. Vanessa''s vast acting experience and my fast filming style made it possible for us to complete the music video in a single day.


    During lunch, Vanessa and I sat together outside of Arby''s. "The server doesn''t recognize me. This is so much fun," Vanessa said excitedly as she continued wearing her disguise while she ate.


    "Don''t get mustard on your beard��You know what? Do get mustard on your beard. I want to add this to the music video," I said, pulling out my phone to film her.


    Embarrassed, Vanessa giggled and tried to stop me while acting adorable. "Stahp~ Let''s not film it while I''m eating."


    I shuddered and replied, "It''s really disconcerting to see an old man acting cute."


    "Cute? I''m acting cute?" Vanessa placed her hand on her cheek, tilting her head slightly.


    "Stop that. See, I got goosebumps." I showed her the skin of my arm, making her laugh out loud.


    There had been a palpable gap between us before��maybe it was due to our years of friendship or the employer-employee dynamic. After our sitcom-style fight, we had gotten a bit closer.


    ...


    Back at my place, I was editing the music video when I received a call from Pepper. He greeted me from Milan, showing the beautiful beach in the background. He was checking up on me, which I suspected had something to do with my "altercation" with Vanessa that morning.


    "She''s still a talent in the company. You don''t have to make her cry," Pepper admonished me.


    I smirked slightly, leaning forward and feigning distress. "Why am I to blame here? It''s not like I yelled at her."


    "You''re the CEO of the company; you have to make some concessions." Pepper scolded while giving me advice. "If you can''t do it, then ask someone else to handle it for you." He added casually, sipping on his cocktail.


    I laughed inwardly, desperately trying to stop myself from telling Pepper about my relationship with Vanessa. "Ah, also, I found a secretary for you," he said suddenly.


    Confused, I raised an eyebrow and asked, "Really? Who? You know I have high standards for my employees, especially since I need someone capable to help me with my schedule."


    "Don''t kid yourself. You have your AI for that. The secretary''s function is just to be eye candy while you work." Pepper added sarcastically. "Mr. Upton contacted me yesterday. I think he wants Kate to be your secretary for a while to learn how the industry works��"


    "Kate��Kate Upton? No, no, no. Absolutely not." I rejected her instantly.


    "Tomorrow is the premiere for NightWitches. Are you going?" Pepper asked, sipping his cocktail, ignoring my rejection.


    "Of course I''m going��Don''t try to change the subject." I grimaced, looking at him in disbelief.


    Pepper laughed and said, "Why are you so against it? I thought you loved girls with big��"


    "Pepper," I called him out firmly, making him stop joking.


    "Alright. I''m sorry. I''ll still need to hire her, though, because I promised Mr. Upton," Pepper said apologetically.


    "I have nothing against that. Just don''t make her my secretary. Also, when did the rumors about me loving girls with big racks start? I haven''t heard anything about this!" I asked urgently.


    Pepper shrugged, as he wasn''t clear on it either. I vowed inwardly to track down the source of the rumors.


    Although I finished editing the music video that night, I decided to wait until June before releasing it, aiming for it to become the song of the summer.


    There was also another reason: I wanted to finish the choreography version of the music video. It wouldn''t be released at the same time, maybe around two weeks after the official music video drop.


    I contacted Lia Kim, the prestigious dance choreographer the company has on retainer, to create the dance for the song. It would be a waste not to use Vanessa''s pretty face to market it.


    ...


    The next day arrived, and the NightWitches premiere was finally here. I went to the premiere with Vanessa as my date, and the reporters asked us multiple questions about the movie and some personal ones.


    "You guys have been seen together a couple of times in the last week. Has your relationship changed?" a reporter from Entertainment Weekly asked with an excited, gossipy expression.


    Vanessa and I exchanged glances before I replied, "No, not yet. Although I would be blessed if I managed to land a girl like her."


    "Edward''s also a little bit okay. Maybe he needs a few tweaks, but I think I can fix him," Vanessa said playfully.


    The reporter and many others began showering us with questions. I stopped them and said firmly, "I''ll answer questions about the movie only. Let''s end the questions about me and Vanessa now. Otherwise, I''ll walk away."


    The reporters calmed down slightly after that.


    "Is it true that the crew of NightWitches filmed the aerial battle in Serbia?" a movie reporter asked. "There''s a statement from the Serbian government saying it was an honor for Entertain to use their country as the location for the aerial battle."


    "It is true," I said, dropping a bombshell on the reporter. "The aerial battle was filmed without any CGI. It was quite expensive since we had to build World War II Russian planes from scratch and then blow them up."


    Many thought I was emulating Christopher Nolan; however, I wasn''t the director of the film. Kate Bush, a director with five years of experience, four short films, and one indie film in her filmography, was hired to create the biopic. She looked just like the 1970s English singer-songwriter with the same name from my previous world.


    Kate had quit her work after getting sexually harassed by someone at Miramax, which we all knew who. She was blacklisted from Hollywood for about 4 years before Paige convinced her to return and became the director for the movie. Paige worked with the director before and knew of her capability, so she trusted her with the production.


    Although I planned the aerial battle and the war scenes, Kate was responsible for everything else. She has talent that I wish she would hone further.


    There were a lot of talents which were blacklisted by Hollywood execs for stupid and dubious reasons. Many talented actors quit halfway because of the high cost of living in LA and the rampant nepotism hiring practice in the industry.


    Thanks to social media, a lot of them started to produce their own skits and uploaded them on Youtube or Entertain Videos for monetization. Thanks to that, I managed to discover many talented actors and writers and brought them to the company.


    Back at the theater, Vanessa and I knew that if we vaguely confirmed our feelings for each other during the premiere, it would help with the marketing of the movie. It was a manipulative move since we were already dating, but it''s Hollywood, baby!


    The more people talked about us, the more exposure the movie would get. It took $50 million to produce the film, so we had to earn around $80 million to break even.


    "Any plans for Universal Pictures after the acquisition is complete?" a reporter asked.


    "There are no plans to change what the company has been doing, but I''m planning to raise the number of original screenplay productions. I want to support the creativity that has been overlooked in the past two years since the study came out."


    "Are you referring to the ''Economics of Motion Picture'' study conducted by SNL Kagan?" The reporter was surprised to hear I quoted the research paper.


    Films that cost more than $90 million to make generally produce the greatest profit, the report found.


    SNL Kagan found that the 83 films with budgets greater than $100 million averaged $247.3 million in net profit under a major-studio distribution fee structure, followed by those in the $90 million-$100 million range with a $117.9 million average net profit. The 764 films in the study averaged $50.5 million in net profit.


    The shift to high-budget blockbusters and the decline of mid-range budget movies began during the 2010s, and the study played a part in that.


    Major studios stopped taking risks and focused on guaranteed-profit blockbusters. While there were several exceptions, the production of mid-range movies became increasingly scarce.


    Buying Universal Pictures for $15 billion was a way to avoid that. Small studios suffered due to the uneven profit distribution when their movies were distributed by the Big 6 studios��Walt Disney, 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Universal, Sony Columbia, and Warner Bros.


    Universal was supposed to be acquired by Comcast back in 2010, along with NBC. However, due to my Starlink causing their customer base to drop by 85%, they could only buy NBC.


    Acquiring Universal wasn''t easy��not because of the high acquisition cost, but due to the egos of the Board Members. They kept interfering with the acquisition, demanding more benefits and control, looking down on Entertain and me because I was young��too young. Their pride couldn''t accept that.


    That''s why none of them remained with the company. Everyone quit ''on their own'' after being forced to sell their shares.


    In Hollywood, the degeneracy knew no bounds. Oh, so you''re a worshipper of Baphomet? The great demon lord has spoken directly to the high priestess, and he wants you to become Edward Newgate''s subordinate.


    Oh, you''re part of the Illuminati? Same thing��surrender everything to Edward Newgate.


    After I extracted every single thing they could offer, I sent them away to the wolves. Hollywood was a small town, and the other big studios decided to steer clear of anything I had my eyes on since they didn''t want to face the same fate as Universal Pictures.


    Suffice to say, the Hollywood elite were scared of me. But if there''s anything admirable about them, it''s that they had very thick skin. It wasn''t long before they changed their tune and welcomed Entertain as part of the Big 6 studios.


    Jurassic Park, Fast & Furious, Despicable Me, Addams Family, How to Train Your Dragon, The Purge, Halloween��all of these franchises came into my hands.


    It was amusing since Universal bought DreamWorks in 2008, and they were on the verge of going their separate ways in 2010. But because of my intervention, I managed to acquire both DreamWorks and Universal at the same time.


    DreamWorks was quite excited since I brought new animated technology with me, and I wasn''t like Universal, which interfered with their work at every step. They felt stifled under Universal, unable to make any decisions.


    But with me, they really enjoyed working together. The studio retained its creative control even under Universal, and I had no intention of changing that.


    Their next movie, Rise of the Guardians, was co-produced by Entertain, and I voiced the character Jack Frost in the film. The movie was set to be released in late November, just in time for the Christmas spirit.


    Of course, when too much power congregates in a single person, there are many voices of opposition. It wasn''t too much to bear, but it became bothersome at times.


    Well, after a decade, they would finally realize the benefits of what I was doing.


    NightWitches opened with an impressive $8 million at the box office on its opening night. It grossed over $40 million on its opening weekend, with only a 30% drop-off the following week.


    Paige was thoroughly shocked by the success of the movie. By the time the film finished screening, it was projected to have earned around $250 million in box office.


    Since I already bought Universal, I didn''t have to share the distribution profit with anyone other than the Cinema Alliances, which took 30%.


    The main reason I bought Universal was because I didn''t want to share the profits my movies made with the other studios. The big 6 relentlessly tried to bully Entertain while it was still in its infancy. Now, they didn''t even dare to look in our direction.


    NightWitches was part of the World War II biopic collection I had planned for the company. Following this would be The Imitation Game, along with stories about Alan Turing, Oppenheimer, Curie, and many more hidden figures of the World War II era.


    I also decided to reboot the Addams Family on Netflix. There were a lot of projects in pre-production right now, which led to an influx of invitations from talent agencies to go to a party and actresses sliding into my DMs.


    The premiere ended on a high note, and no one was sent to the basement. The actresses in the movie did invite me to a private afterparty, but I rejected their offers.


    "You must''ve been so proud of yourself when a lot of beautiful girls throw themselves at you." Vanessa rolled her eyes and snarked as we drove home.


    I smirked and said, "They saw me as their ticket to stardom. They don''t mind throwing their bodies at me if they can get it. But the only body I want thrown against mine is yours."


    Vanessa snorted, a smile creeping on her lips. She acted indifferent and said, "Too bad for them. I have already gotten the most perfect boyfriend ever."


    "Eh, you think I''m a fixer upper. I''m not letting that go." I shrugged slightly.


    "Oh come on! You know I''m joking when I say that!"

 Chapter 361: Casting.

    Chapter 361 - 361: Casting.


    [Edward POV]


    "Here''s the latest update on the Cuban situation," Robin said, adjusting her circular glasses. "Sado has faced criticism from several hawkish U.S. Senators who want to intervene in Cuba''s democratic transition."


    We were at my house, where I fiddled with some technology in my lab while Robin spoke.


    "Essentially, they''re trying to insert themselves into Cuba''s governmental processes to regain the influence they lost when U.S.-backed officials were ousted," I replied, nodding in understanding.


    "What''s been Europe''s response?" I asked, glancing up from the monkey-bot I was assembling.


    "Are you working on props for that magic movie?" Robin asked, her attention diverted by the various items on my table: four cards featuring images of Horsemen, a magic wand, a cape, and more.


    "Yeah, I think the movie wasted its potential with poor CGI, so I''m going for practical effects instead," I said, smiling with excitement.


    Robin nodded approvingly. "If anyone can pull it off, it''s you. As for Europe, the reaction has been largely positive. Denmark and Finland sent representatives last week. We''ve negotiated some deals that will not only justify their support but also help boost Cuba''s stagnant economy and assist local businesses in entering the European market."


    "But we need to establish those businesses first. We''ll start with hair transplant procedures and gradually expand into high-end goods. What about Cuba''s allies? Have they commented on the changes?"


    "They haven''t made any official statements, but they''ve strongly hinted at concerns regarding Cuba''s debt. They''re pressing for payment on what''s owed, especially since the previous government kept postponing payments and didn''t even pay the interest."


    "The total debt is $13 billion. We could pay it off immediately and cut ties with our allies, but that could lead to more negative repercussions than positive ones. Sado mentioned the previous government left behind a significant amount of wealth, but he hasn''t specified how much."


    "Right. He hasn''t," Robin confirmed.


    "So, we should settle the overdue debts while simultaneously initiating conversations with the other countries. We need to negotiate economic agreements with Spain, Japan, France, and Russia. We want to avoid hostility as we begin developing the country."


    "Let''s make a strong impression right from the start," I said, handing Robin the blueprints for a floating wind turbine. "This is the Altaeros Buoyant Airborne Turbine, or A BAT for short."


    Robin shot me a disappointed look at my pun. "Isn''t this a bit high-profile for our initial phase of development?"


    "Not at all. Several companies are already researching this technology. It''s essentially a wind turbine floating 600 meters in the air, which solves noise issues and generates more electricity compared to traditional turbines."


    "We could secure contracts with countries in need of this technology while gradually advancing our development plans. How''s the sewer line project progressing?"


    "Slowly. We''re still waiting on equipment deliveries from Europe. It''s challenging to move forward with the trade embargo still in place."


    "I''ve already discussed this with the President. He''ll meet with Sado next week and is prepared to pause the trade embargo against Cuba, pending confirmation of their democratic progress. The justification for the embargo has diminished since the regime fell. It''s only a matter of time before dialogue begins."


    Robin nodded. "Are you going with the President to visit the country?"


    I grimaced slightly. "Obama wants me to go since I have a strong impression on the citizens. Mad Dog actually leaked that my mom was a Cuban Freedom Fighter��the urban legend known as The Poison Rose."


    Robin continued, "She was reported deceased after the regime cornered and executed them all two years ago. The Mad Dogs are really reckless. They exposed all of this without even confirming it with you first."


    "But it works to our advantage," I said, my expression conflicted. "Families escaping Cuba to raise their children in America wasn''t uncommon. It humanized me in the eyes of the public. No one thinks I had anything to do with the revolution since I''m only 17, so I''ve gotten away scot-free."


    "Mad Dogs also reported on ''Fernando'' and exposed that he was working on your family ranch two years ago. They even claimed he was your economics tutor."


    "Basically, they''re doing everything they can to raise Fernando''s profile. They revealed his trading success under Goldman Sachs, claiming he turned $100,000 into $30 million in just two years. In total, they stated he has a net worth of $200 million from stock trading."


    I nodded, recognizing their strategic efforts. The more high-profile Fernando became, the easier it would be for him to engage with representatives from other countries.


    Mad Dogs even staged a photoshoot for Sado, showing him shirtless, wearing a hard hat and holding a pickaxe while helping to build roads. They claimed it was a picture from six years ago since he looked quite young, but Sado was only created two years ago.


    It wasn''t hard for the androids to craft the image of a hardworking, patriotic young man with an impossibly good physique that made women swoon worldwide.


    Standing 6''5", tanned, muscular, and handsome, Sado had stolen the hearts of countless women. Currently single, he received invitations from various CEOs, celebrities, and wealthy women��widowed, married, or young daughters of affluent families��to rendezvous in exchange for support for his country.


    At first, I was irked that Mad Dogs decided to release this profile and connect the dots to me. I didn''t want the public to know about my connections, especially regarding my mother.


    But Mad Dogs had a clearer understanding of my status and reputation than I did. They presented the narrative in a way that focused on the positives. If anyone tried to use my mother''s past against me, they would face the overwhelming wrath of the American and international communities.


    Just imagine the backlash against someone who lost their mother, who dedicated her life to freeing people from an oppressive regime. Many fans expressed their support for me on social media, which only added to my internal conflict.


    As a result, I had agreed to an interview with Larry King on Larry King Now to discuss my past and move beyond it.


    "I still think we could''ve waited about a year before doing all of this," I said to Robin.


    However, as Mad Dogs pointed out, the longer we waited, the more complications would arise. Right now, Sado had a clean political slate. He hadn''t committed any atrocities to gain power; he was elected by the people after the revolution, and he hadn''t made enemies among foreign powers. But that wouldn''t last forever.


    People are driven by self-interest. Once Sado started to diverge from the expectations of other powers, it wouldn''t be long before he faced slander and a damaged reputation.


    So, banking on his current status, I needed to resolve the connection between myself and Cuba and bring this issue to a close.


    "It feels bad in my mouth since my mom isn''t actually dead. I feel like I''m lying to my fans and faking sympathy." I mumbled.


    ...


    The last week before June. Inside a bustling production office, thick stacks of scripts towered precariously on desks, while a storyboard displayed pictures of potential actors, plot twists, camera angles, and cinematography directions.


    The entire office buzzed like a hive of bees because the boss was visiting today��myself. Dressed in a sleeveless black Metallica shirt and jeans, I lounged casually on the sofa, re-reading the script while employees busily ran around, pretending to work.


    To be honest, most of them sat at their desks all day, studying scripts, so I didn''t understand why they decided to act as if they were in a large corporate meeting, using dramatic jargon while discussing the plot for Pitch Perfect 2.


    The Pitch Perfect movie had achieved tremendous success at the box office, earning around $300 million worldwide on a budget of $20 million. Many credited the film''s success to my musical acumen, as I rearranged every a cappella rendition myself. I even made a cameo as a judge in the movie.


    I ignored the staff''s role-playing antics and waited for the chaos to settle in the boss''s office. This wasn''t because I looked down on them; rather, they never acted this way when I wasn''t around.


    "Oh, I thought the movie was going to be about magic, but it turns out it''s about a heist," Maggie said, flipping through the completed script of Now You See Me as she barged into the office, clearly eager to offer her unsolicited commentary.


    "So far, it''s you and RDJ who have been confirmed for the cast. When are you going to start auditions for the role?"


    Maggie was there to annoy me, not because she wanted a role in the production. She was adamant about maintaining boundaries and didn''t want to rely on my influence for recognition. Still, she wanted to shadow me to learn the inner workings of the industry.


    "More accurately, it''s a revenge story," I clarified, turning to face her. "Why aren''t you at the Spider-Man shoot?"


    With her striking red hair and model-like features, Maggie had auditioned for the role of Mary Jane in The Amazing Spider-Man. She had landed it.


    "The shoot was over months ago."


    "Wasn''t there a reshoot?" I asked skeptically. "To add more scenes of you? Although I felt it was unnecessary."


    Maggie gasped in mock indignation. "IT. WAS. NECESSARY!"


    "Not when the scene involves you sitting on the bed, wearing a Spider-Man shirt and holding a cup of tea." I shook my head slightly, looking at her with disappointment.


    "It''s a teaser trailer clip! It''s also going to play before the movie starts in theaters. They offered me a million dollars just for that. I''m going to take it!"


    Maggie suddenly pointed an accusing finger at me. "And don''t pretend you don''t have a part in this! You cut a deal with Sony to get 10% of the box office and made yourself the creative director of the entire movie! You''re the one who told them to ask me to make the trailer, didn''t you?"


    I smirked, caught in her accusation. "Well, it''s an iconic Spider-Man artwork, so I decided to recreate it."


    Maggie fumed and threw a tissue box at me, but I dodged it effortlessly, using my Observation Haki.


    The 2012 Amazing Spider-Man, set for release in just a month, was not the same as the version from my previous life. After all, I had penned the script for this reboot.


    "By the way, I watched the director''s edit for the movie. It''s really great." I told Maggie. She smiled and felt at ease after hearing my feedback. Being Mary Jane was quite a pressuring role since there was a lot of hate for this character back in the Raimi''s trilogy.


    I followed the route of Spectacular Spider-Man in creating the characters dynamic between Mary Jane, Gwen Stacy, Liz Allen and Peter Parker. The movie, which was heavily inspired by Insomniac''s studio Spiderman Game storyline, received an overwhelmingly positive response for the test audience.


    That''s why Sony decided to shoot more scenes with Maggie as they wanted to increase the promotion for the movie.


    Sony was ecstatic when they received my script back in 2010. They used it to heavily promote the film, attempting to deflect criticism that the reboot was unnecessary. Of course, this decision incurred the ire of many Sam Raimi fans.


    But Raimi himself came to my defense, stating he was done making Spider-Man films. The truth was more complicated: Sony was reluctant to pay him after the "failure" of the third film and didn''t want to offer the actors hefty salaries.


    Raimi had a plan for a fourth Spider-Man movie, but it was abruptly shut down by Sony. That plan would only be revealed years later during negotiations about Spider-Man returning to Disney.


    And if you think the leak happened naturally, think again. The reason those damaging details emerged was that Disney wanted to pressure Sony into relinquishing Spider-Man back to Marvel.


    They wanted to show fans that only Marvel could do their characters justice. Following the flop of the Amazing Spider-Man franchise, Sony had to sit back and endure the brunt of public criticism.


    In Hollywood, an incident from years ago could be buried by studio executives until they decided to use it to ruin someone''s life or until the individual ran out of usefulness. That''s how they kept directors and actors in line��through blackmail disguised as doing people a favor.


    "I really underestimated Marc Webb. I didn''t think he could film the movie properly at first," Maggie commented.


    I just smiled and didn''t respond. Maggie wasn''t being condescending when she said that. In the first week of filming, Marc was actually flailing around so much that it pissed Maggie off.


    Then, I met with him to check on the set and had a thorough discussion with him.


    After that, Marc was haunted in his dreams about how the movie should unfold. These dreams persisted for months, and at first, he thought he was going crazy. He told his psychiatrist and she told him it was his subconscious and he should listen to it.


    But then he realized he was absorbing a lot about filmmaking techniques through these visions. He kept this revelation a secret, believing it to be a special ability of his.


    Of course, I was behind all of this. I wanted to help him normally, but like many other directors in Hollywood, they have a lot of pride in their works.


    Over the past two years, I had gained multiple talents and skills in filmmaking through various gachas. I used that to help to develop Marc as a director.


    Right now, he was giving off the aura of a veteran director with 50 years of experience, making quick cuts while filming the movie, and even worked on another project with Entertain while filming Spiderman.


    It wasn''t hard to admit that I was now among the top directors in Hollywood since I managed to build Marc up like that.


    Marc Webb had only 500 Days of Summer in his filmography, and before that, he primarily directed music videos. That''s why The Amazing Spider-Man had such a convoluted plot that went nowhere in the first movie.


    This time, I decided to help him create an Amazing Spider-Man movie that was truly amazing.


    "Edward, I know a girl. She''s quite talented. I met her in my acting class," Maggie said casually while I showed her several actresses I was considering for the role of Henley Reeves. Isla Fisher had played the role in my previous world.


    I wanted to offer her the role, but she was deep into production for Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. She had landed the role Vanessa was supposed to play after some tweaks in the plot.


    "Hmm? Really? Are you trying to push talents onto my production right now? How much of the actor fee will you take?"


    Maggie gasped again. "Not for this movie! I''m just saying she''s really great. She''s almost on my level."


    "So not that great," I retorted.


    Maggie grumbled, revealing her eighth-grade mentality. "I''m one of the greatest actresses of our generation! Whenever the director yells cut, I completely transform into the character! I''ve got three Emmy Awards and two Golden Globes��"


    "Golden Globe nominations, not wins," I interjected.


    "STILL! It was a really amazing achievement!" Maggie yelled, almost storming out.


    "It really is amazing." I muttered to myself as she walked away.


    But she immediately did a 360 since she hadn''t achieved her objective yet and said, "Of course, who am I to compare with the greatest talent of the century? Five Golden Globe nominations, two Golden Globe awards and one Oscar nomination." She approached me gleefully, trying to flatter me.


    "And that''s just for me individually." I nodded in agreement with her praise and added, "When Amy starts to get awards, people will start to think it has something to do with our genetics."


    The company has received countless awards in the last three years. Most of the awards came from the animated movie: Frozen, which earned the company 14 awards from various awards programs.


    Self Made, the first movie the company ever made, got two Oscar nominations and four Golden Globes nominations, but we didn''t win anything though.


    Warm Bodies, although it made around 660 million dollars in the box office, didn''t receive any nominations. Popcorn flicks usually didn''t do well with the Academy Awards, so I didn''t expect anything from them.


    To be honest, I was only making movies for the public, not for the critics. So even if they called the movies brainless popcorn flicks, I wouldn''t stop doing it.


    "She''s going to need to play the main role first. She''s still working as an extra right now." Maggie said, referring to Amy.


    "Side character. Not extra. Don''t disrespect her like that. You know she has a weird pride about her work." I raised my eyebrows at her.


    Maggie sighed. "I know. I won''t say it in front of her or anyone else. I''m only joking."


    "Anyway, who''s the girl you''re talking about?" I asked curiously. Maggie smiled in satisfaction and showed me a video of her acting class.


    I grimaced instantly and scolded Maggie, "You could''ve just told me she''s Lyndsy Fonseca. What''s with all the build up?"


    Although she had played a few roles, I remembered her as Ted Mosby''s daughter in How I Met Your Mother. She also played Jenny in Hot Tub Time Machine.


    Maggie said while laughing, "I just want to see your face when you see it."


    "Why is she dressed in a chicken suit?" I asked with disbelief. "And making chicken sounds."


    "The teacher is trying to make us find our inner animals." Maggie replied.


    "You''re going to stop going to that class." I said firmly.


    The casting director contacted Lyndsy''s talent agency and sent her part of the script for the audition. I decided to hold an audition for casting for the role of Jack Wilder and Henley Reeves.


    Everything was going great until Pepper asked me to let Kate act in the movie. She eyed a minor role, the Daniel J Atlas groupie. The woman at the beginning of the movie picked a card for Atlas, and also went back to his house and made out with him in her underwear.


    Instead, I gave her the role of Catherine Tresser''s. She would be Michael Caine''s young wife in the movie. Morgan Freeman and Micheal Caine already signed on for the movie.


    I also got Melanie Laurant to play Alma Dray, the interpol agent, the same actress from my previous life.


    For Dylan Rhodas, I decided to go with Cillian Murphy rather than Mark Ruffalo.


    I casted Tye Sheridan for the role of Jack Wilder, and Lyndsy Fonseca got the role of Henley Reeves.


    "Finally, everything is set up for me to begin filming." I said in satisfaction.


    *Ring Ring*


    Suddenly, I received a phone call. It was from my aunt. My heart beat quicker and I answered the call hurriedly. "Hello. Aunt Camila?"


    "Edward. Something happened..."

 Chapter 362: Regression.

    Chapter 362 - 362: Regression.


    [General POV]


    Larry King Now is a dynamic online talk show hosted by the legendary broadcaster Larry King, where he engages in candid conversations with celebrities, politicians, and thought leaders.


    The show streams on platforms like Netflix and Spotify, allowing audiences to listen or watch at their convenience. On Netflix, it is broadcast live, attracting around 10 million eager viewers waiting for it to start.


    Set against a sleek, modern backdrop, the studio features a minimalist design, highlighted by a large desk where King conducts his interviews. Surrounding him are vibrant LED screens displaying graphics and highlights from the guests'' careers.


    Edward sat casually, a bright smile illuminating his face as he awaited the show''s beginning. Dressed in a leather jacket that accentuated his bad-boy persona, he sported a silver chain and rings that added to his edgy image.


    "Welcome to the Larry King Show," Larry announced, his gentle, slightly raspy voice resonating as he looked straight into the camera, his prominent wrinkles and receding hairline a testament to his years of experience.


    "My guest today is Edward Newgate: musician, actor, inventor, and international heartthrob. At just 17, Edward has already shattered the King of Pop''s record for the best-selling album worldwide, with over 400 million copies sold. He''s a friend of the President, the director and star of a billion-dollar movie, and the founder of a diabetes cure, among countless other accolades that would take up all our broadcast time if I listed them all."


    Edward nodded in acknowledgment, eliciting a chuckle from the audience.


    Larry turned to him, "Thank you for joining me. I know your schedule is packed, but you''ve still made time for this old man."


    "Oh, I''m a fan of your show," Edward replied earnestly, although he had never actually watched it before. His smooth delivery flattered Larry.


    "You''ve just wrapped up your tour. The last stop was in Italy, right?"


    Edward nodded. "Yeah. On the final day, there were over 300,000 people at the stadium."


    Larry was astonished. "They waited outside just to catch a glimpse of you?" Part of him felt starstruck, despite the vast age difference.


    "Yes, they did. I had to leave the venue in a helicopter. It was one of those moments when everything felt surreal, and I couldn''t believe I was receiving such love and affection from people around the world."


    They spent about five minutes discussing his world tour. With only 30 minutes for the show, they had to move through topics quickly.


    "Recently, an article mentioned your close connection to the Cuban revolution. You said you wanted to address that," Larry prompted.


    "Absolutely. I need to clarify that."


    "Is there any inaccuracy in the article?"


    "Well, the article claimed my mother was dead. I have no idea where that information came from. She''s at home right now, watching this interview live on TV," Edward replied casually, slightly waving at the camera.


    [Flashback]


    Inside the doctor''s office at a mental health care facility in Canada.


    "She regressed to her 6-year-old self?" Edward asked in disbelief as the doctor explained the situation. In the next room, his mother played with a Barbie doll, supervised by the nurses.


    "That''s our prognosis. It seems her mind couldn''t handle the pressures of the real world anymore. We''ve seen several cases where patients adopt this coping mechanism, retreating to a simpler time to escape the harshness of reality."


    Edward listened intently, worry etched on his face. Although he didn''t want to see her again, he envisioned her living peacefully in Canada, far from the memories of her attempted suicide and struggles with mental health.


    Guilt washed over him. After his meeting with the doctor, Edward slowly approached his mother in the other room.


    "Hello, Miranda. Do you know who I am?" he asked, hopeful.


    His mother turned to him, her eyes widening with childlike wonder despite her frail appearance from prolonged depression.


    "Ah! Edward Newgate! Mu?sico!" she exclaimed, rushing toward him with excitement, unaware of who he truly was beyond having seen him sing on TV.


    "Yeah, that''s me." Edward forced a smile and said, his voice cracking, "What are you playing? Can I join you?"


    "Yes! We can play together!" Miranda handed him a Ken doll and explained the background story for her role play. "See, Ken is Barbie''s dad. He won''t let her go play outside, so she''s going to find the winged pegasus to help her."


    Edward''s chin quivered slightly, but he maintained his smile as they played together.


    "I hope my dad will come pick me up soon! I hate it here..." Miranda complained while they played.


    Edward was stunned and slowly turned her body to face him. "Miranda, look into my eyes for a moment."


    She complied without saying anything. Edward activated his sharingan and entered her mindscape. His heart almost stopped when he saw it shattered into a million pieces.


    What Sage had told him came to mind: the resentment he felt��was it born from anger toward her, or from his own hurt at her leaving?


    After two years of therapy, Edward had gradually moved away from his anger, though some lingering feelings made it difficult for him to face his mother.


    He didn''t want to understand her, nor did he want to forgive her. But fate, the ever-cruel mistress, made it so that he was the only one who could save her while also forcing him to confront her memories.


    "Miranda, I''m actually your family," Edward said, tears welling in his eyes.


    Miranda''s eyes lit up, but before she could express her excitement, she noticed his expression and became emotional too. "What��why are you crying? Don''t cry; you''re going to make me cry."


    "Ah, sorry. Something got into my eyes." He quickly wiped away his tears and tried to act normally. "So, why don''t you come back home with me?"


    "Mom told me not to go around with strangers," Miranda replied, but then added, "You feel like family. So I guess it''s fine."


    "Definitely��definitely don''t go around with strangers. I''m going to tell your parents about it," Edward joked.


    Miranda looked surprised, her chin quivering before she broke into a smile. "Don''t tell them! I''m sorry!"


    She leaned in and gave him a hug. Edward was momentarily taken aback, but he couldn''t hold back his tears any longer. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly.


    "It''s fine. I''m sorry too. I was just joking, so don''t cry. I won''t tell your parents," he comforted her.


    Although the meaning of the apology was different, it struck deeply at Edward''s heart. He cried for a while as he hugged her, his guilt tortured him endlessly.


    He noticed the bandage on her right wrist, and he said to Miranda, "Let''s go home. I''ll take you home, so don''t feel like you''re alone anymore."


    "Really? You promise?" Miranda asked in a childlike manner. "Pinky promise?" She extended her pinky at Edward.


    Edward wiped his eyes and interlocked his pinky with her, "Pinky promise."


    As soon as he promised, he immediately analyzed Miranda''s situation. His rationale returned as he vowed inwardly to fix her broken mind.


    "She can converse in English, so her skills haven''t regressed. Otherwise, we''d be speaking in Spanish the whole time. If her mind has regressed as a coping mechanism, it will be hard for me to help her unless I can convince her it''s safe to come back."


    It took some time for him to persuade Miranda to come back home with him. His aunt followed, and they stayed at his house for now.


    Three days had passed since that day. Edward entered Miranda''s mind daily while she slept, trying to mend her shattered memories. He witnessed moments that made him cry and began to understand why she chose to hide in her 6-year-old self.


    While observing his childhood from his mother''s perspective, he pinpointed the starting point of Miranda''s parental issues and felt an intense anger rising within him.


    [Flashback Ended]


    Back to the Larry King show. Larry was surprised to hear Edward announce that his mother was alive.


    "She��she''s alive? The article stated she''s a freedom fighter who lost her life two years ago. Is there any hidden truth in that story?" Larry asked.


    Edward nodded and replied casually, "Yeah. She was fighting for Cuba two years ago. Then she was shot and went into a coma. When she woke up, months had passed, and her group had failed."


    "My mom spiraled after losing everything. She began showing symptoms of depression, and when the Cuban revolution ended, she tried to take her own life."


    Larry was momentarily mortified by Edward''s deeply personal story. He glanced at the producers, concerned that they had strayed off-script��this wasn''t what they were supposed to be discussing. But after receiving the producer''s nod, he regained his composure and responded with sensitivity. "If the country had toppled the regime she fought against, why did she decide to end her life?"


    "I think it''s because she felt there was nothing left to live for now that her obsession was complete."


    "What about family? That''s something to live for," Larry said with concern.


    "I guess I have a part to blame in this. I resented my mother; I didn''t even know what she was doing when she left four years ago. She never told us about her true identity. I only learned about it when my aunt contacted me and revealed my Cuban heritage." Edward''s voice was slightly agitated.


    In the Palisades area, the Dunphy family watched the interview live on Netflix, along with 20 million other viewers. This became the most successful episode of "Larry King Now," eclipsing the typical peak of 300,000 viewers.


    Cameron wore a worried expression. "Isn''t he oversharing? Shouldn''t they stop the broadcast?"


    Phil was concerned too. "It must be hard for him to open up about his past. Why is he doing this? And his mother attempted suicide? When did that happen?!"


    Claire feared for Edward, worried that the tragedy had affected his mental state.


    Alex, however, sensed another motive beneath her family''s worries. She felt Edward was intentionally agitating the listeners for some reason, but she couldn''t decipher why. Her palms grew sweaty, and she instinctively held her grandpa''s hand.


    Enid, Jenna, Haley, Abby, Taylor, Selena, Barbara, and especially his girlfriend Vanessa were all anxious about the outcome of the interview.


    Edward continued without interruption from Larry. "We don''t have a great relationship. But when she left without a word, that hurt me deeply. I felt... abandoned. I spent the next two years trying to fill the void she left. I did that when I met my neighbors."


    "I debuted as an artist and became quite successful, and then she came back. Imagine my irritation at that time."


    Larry nodded in understanding. "You felt like she was going to take advantage of your success. Did that happen before she left?"


    "Yes. I felt that way too. Nothing I ever did was good enough for her. She never once said ''I''m proud of you'' or ''I love you'' when I won the classical music competition or was recognized as a musical prodigy at age seven. I did everything to gain her love and recognition, but it never came."


    Larry deeply sympathized with Edward, as did millions of listeners. Lily, the fan club president, was already in tears.


    "I suffered mentally, thinking I was never enough, that she didn''t love me. So when she tried to return, I sent her away, telling her to never come back into my life. When she attempted suicide, I felt responsible."


    "But you know it isn''t your fault, right? You''re just a kid; it''s not your burden to bear," Larry said wisely as he let Edward vent.


    "But it felt like my fault. I should have tried to understand her. It''s easy to see why she did what she did; I just never tried to figure it out."


    Larry was intrigued. "Wait. So you believe there''s a reason why your mother never gave you the love you needed before she left?"


    "It''s not just ''a'' reason. There''s a whole book of reasons." Edward reached into his jacket and pulled out a book. "This is the entire reason for it: Needy Baby, Greedy Baby, written by Dr. Beverly Hofstader. This book is the reason for the rift in my relationship with my mother."


    In Pasadena, Leonard''s heart skipped a beat as the book was mentioned.


    "Oh no." He exclaimed, feeling that something bad was going to happen.


    Larry grabbed the book from Edward and said, "So you think the book was the reason you and your mother had a strained relationship."


    "I don''t think so. I know so." He was clear about it as he saw it in his mother''s memories. After the book was released, his mother became of the readers and she began implementing the techniques in the book to him. To live in a rewards based environment.


    The joke book from the Big Bang Theory had influenced his childhood greatly. Edward almost ended up like Leonard�C broken and without any sense of self esteem because of the damn book.


    Edward leaned forward, his voice steady but filled with passion. "You know, the more I think about Needy Baby, Greedy Baby, the more I realize how damaging its ideas can be. Take the story of the child who wore makeup and his mother''s bra when he was five. The book portrays it as a desperate attempt to get attention, but that child wasn''t seeking attention��he was trying t...o break free."


    Larry raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "What do you mean?"


    Edward continued, his frustration evident. "The child felt trapped in a suffocating environment. He wore green makeup to pretend he was the Hulk, emulating a hero who could escape his mother''s emasculating demeanor. It wasn''t about attention; it was about frustration. He wanted to be a child, but instead, he was treated like a science experiment. It was something that Dr Beverly Hofstader could figure out if she actually talked to her child."


    "Imagine a 5 years old child wanting to run away from the house because of the way his mother treated him. And I wasn''t making it up as I listened to the child''s story from the subject of the book himself."


    The audience was silent, captivated by Edward''s intensity.


    "When did I ever tell him that?!" Leonard exclaimed in frustration. Sheldon was astonished as he viewed Leonard''s mother highly, so seeing her get attacked on the TV show was unsettling for him.


    "So he lied? It wasn''t the truth?" Sheldon asked Leonard, wanting some hope.


    Leonard actually shook his head to Sheldon and said, "No. It''s the truth. I''m just not sure how he knew about it."


    "His mother constantly experimented on him, stifling his curiosity and putting down his natural instincts as ''stupid'' and ''exasperating.'' It was disheartening to read the book when you actually know the guy." Edward said with a sympathetic expression.


    "Can you imagine that? Instead of nurturing a young boy, she turned him into a lab rat, always comparing him to his siblings who excelled academically. It''s no wonder he started wetting the bed. The pressure was unbearable."


    Leonard was astonished at the second reveal and held his head in frustration, screaming at the screen, "PLEASE STOP TALKING!"


    Larry nodded thoughtfully. "That''s a heavy load for a child to carry."


    "Exactly! The book suggests that creating a reward-based environment is the key to success. But what kind of environment is it when the child can''t even celebrate his own birthday? His mother claimed it was her achievement, not his. On Christmas, they had to write research papers instead of leaving cookies for Santa. How is that nurturing? There were a lot of things being left out in the book in her attempt to sell the misguided technique of child rearing. "


    "That sounds incredibly harsh," Larry remarked, concerned. "What impact do you think that had on him?"


    "It stripped him of his self-esteem. He grew up believing he was never good enough, always in the shadow of his siblings. That almost happened to me because my mother was following the book''s advice. Instead of being a son, he was just an experimental subject, molded and reshaped into whatever his mother wanted him to be."


    Edward paused, taking a breath to steady himself. "This isn''t just a story; it''s a reality, and many children are suffering because their parents are following the book. They''re not allowed to explore their identities because they''re too busy trying to meet unattainable expectations. And that''s something I refuse to accept. "


    Larry leaned in, clearly moved by Edward''s passion. "So you believe that the book''s approach can harm more than help?"


    "Absolutely," Edward said forcefully. "It promotes a false narrative that emotional needs are a burden. Children need to feel loved and accepted for who they are, not just for their achievements. I know this firsthand. I''ve seen what happens when a parent prioritizes their own needs over their child''s emotional well-being."


    The audience was silent, absorbing the weight of Edward''s words as he continued to challenge the ideas presented in Needy Baby, Greedy Baby.


    "The book has sold a million copies. You''d think with that money, Dr. Beverly would try to pay for her child''s college fees, but no. He still had to take out a student loan, even though the book was about him," Edward added, his frustration palpable.


    Leonard, who was in a fetal state on the floor, perked up his ear at the mention of the book royalty. "Yeah. I''m the subject, why am I still paying the student loan?" He mumbled, slowly sitting upward.


    The interview quickly gained traction, and social media erupted. People began dissecting the book online, sharing their own stories of childhood trauma. Edward, fueled by a desire for revenge, didn''t interfere as Twitter users slammed Dr. Beverly Hofstadter.


    Children who had suffered in silence were now asking their parents if they had ever bought the book. They began sharing their experiences, recounting the ways they had been emotionally neglected or manipulated under the guise of fostering independence. And there were a lot of them.


    In response, Dr. Beverly Hofstader tweeted, "Edward Newgate''s ire is misguided. His anger and decision to attack the book is part of his traumatic response to his mother''s attempted suicide, and he is reaching for something to blame."


    She continued, "I was just an easy target for him to redirect all of his anger toward."


    However, many other psychologists began to speak out in criticism of her book. Though it had been released 15 years earlier, the resurgence of interest on social media brought to light a wave of criticism that had previously gone unnoticed.


    With the internet amplifying voices that had long been silenced, it became clear how many people had bashed the book when it first came out. Yet, despite the backlash, it remained on the shelves, untouched.


    Psychologists began to share their own analyses, pointing out the harmful effects of the book''s core principles. "A child''s emotional needs are not a burden," one psychologist tweeted. "They are a fundamental part of healthy development. Ignoring them leads to long-term mental health issues."


    Edward watched as the online discourse grew, feeling vindication. The tide was turning against Dr. Hofstader, and he hoped that her book would finally be held accountable for the damage it had caused.


    "Still, I don''t feel as satisfied as I thought I would be." Edward muttered as he began to drink straight from the wine bottle.


    Inside his house, numerous empty alcohol bottles were laid out all over the living room. Edward sat on the couch and finished his 31st bottle of wine, burping slightly, and finally began to feel drunk.


    He began drinking immediately after he finished with the interview. It was 8 in the evening, and someone pressed the intercom at the front gate at the foot of the hill, wanting to talk with Edward.


    (A/N: I know that fixing his relationship with his mom can cause potential backlash considering how I wrote her so far. I actually used the ''unreliable narrator'' technique when he was talking in a first person point of view, so his opinions were greatly biased while he was telling the story.


    I also had made several parallels between him and Leonard throughout the series and also made it seem like Edward felt a sense of connection to Leonard. This is the reason why. I didn''t go into details, but you got the gist of it, right?


    Edward''s spiralling moment will only occupy 2 Chapters. I won''t drag this out cause I know many of you are here for the light hearted stuff lol )

 Chapter 363: Dr Frankenstein.

    Chapter 363 - 363: Dr Frankenstein.


    [General POV]


    "Why don''t I come over? We can have dinner together and watch that Star Wars show you like," Vanessa suggested as she called Edward. Sitting cross-legged on her couch in the French chateau, she tried to persuade him to let her comfort him.


    Already drunk, Edward replied lovingly, "You''re really sweet, you know that?"


    "Aww." Vanessa felt flattered.


    " But I''m afraid I''ll have to decline. My mind is too high-strung right now, and I need some time to decompress."


    Vanessa wanted to say, "So you think you''ll be more stressed when I''m with you?" but she kept her mouth shut, knowing Edward was going through a tough time. It wasn''t time for her to pick a fight, yet.


    "Alright. But I''m coming by tomorrow morning, no matter what," she said decisively.


    Edward snorted and chuckled slightly; it was his first genuine laugh of the day. "Okay, I''ll wait for you to wake me up in the way I like."


    Vanessa blushed slightly, and they disconnected the call. Edward continued drinking and nearly passed out when his intercom suddenly rang.


    Yuri, his maid, responded immediately and tried to turn the guest away. "He''s not meeting anyone right now."


    Leonard insisted, "He just opened up all of my traumas for the world to see. He owes me a face-to-face meeting at least."


    Before Yuri could reply, Edward interjected, taking control of the intercom from his living room panels.


    He pressed the button and said, "Your mother sold your traumas for $29.99 for 15 years, yet you never said anything to her. I did it once and I''m the villain. Come on in, Leonard."


    Edward opened the gate remotely, and Leonard drove up the hill. After parking his car, he paused for a moment, immersed in the beauty of the mansion. When Yuri opened the main door, he was overwhelmed by her beauty.


    The manic energy he had dissipated, and he began to wonder where he had found the courage to storm Edward''s house for a word with him.


    As soon as Edward came into view, Leonard shrank back even more. Standing tall at 6''4", Edward looked down at the top of Leonard''s head, which barely reached 5''5". It intimated Leonard even more.


    "Um, I have something to talk to you about," Leonard stammered, fiddling with his fingers and unable to meet Edward''s eyes.


    Edward sighed. "Leonard, I just did something atrocious. You can get mad at me." Though drunk, he still understood why Leonard was there.


    Leonard nervously replied, "Y-you c-could''ve at least warned me! I''ve worked so hard my��MY entire life to move past my childhood, even without that damned book. I even moved all the way to C-California for a fresh start! But instead of locally induced trauma, you made it so the entire country��maybe even the world��now knows that I wet my bed until I graduated high school!"


    He took a deep breath and continued, "I had to turn off my phone because I kept getting calls from people I don''t know��radio shows, even freaking ELLEN��all wanting to get my side of the story! I��I don''t know what the hell I should do right now!"


    "You should definitely go on Ellen��go get that bag. I know your mother will never share the profits from her book with you."


    "So you want me to turn my trauma into a cash-making machine?!" Leonard asked, disbelief etched on his face.


    Edward smirked. "Why not? People do it all the time online. They post about their traumas, find others who relate, gain hundreds of thousands of followers, and then start selling online courses or monetizing their content."


    "W-What?!" Leonard was incredulous. The way Edward explained it made him feel like he was the weird one for having issues with this.


    "That''s not the point! The point is you have really hurt me!" Leonard pressed on.


    Edward was slightly stunned, his smile fading. "You know what? You''re right. I really crossed a line there. I''m truly sorry."


    Leonard calmed a bit. "I��I understand you''re going through something yourself, so I forgive you."


    "No��no, we''re not just going to let this go with a simple apology. I was so enraged that I didn''t think about how this would affect you. I''m deeply sorry about that."


    Leonard became slightly choked up. "Now that you''ve apologized, I don''t know what to do next. I feel like going away for a while until everything calms down."


    Edward''s eyes lit up with a drunken idea that he would soon regret.


    He suddenly grabbed Leonard''s shoulders, startling the experimental physicist.


    "Wh-What are you doing?"


    "Leonard, listen to me very carefully. I have an idea. You and I, we''re each other''s parallel."


    "Huh?" Leonard looked confused.


    "I could''ve ended up just like you��a sniveling coward with low self-confidence and no self-esteem."


    "YOU HAD JUST APOLOGIZED!" Leonard was startled.


    "The point is, I could''ve ended up like you. But I didn''t. You know why? It''s because I died once."


    Leonard''s fear grew. "E-Eddy... Just to let you know, I have Sheldon waiting for me back at the apartment. He knows where I��I went."


    Edward grinned evilly, making Leonard shudder. Edward let Leonard go, lightly brushing off the spot where he had grabbed him. "I''m not going to murder you, Leonard."


    Leonard still couldn''t rest easy and took a few steps back from Edward.


    Edward poured a drink for Leonard and said, "If we''re parallel to each other, it''s not fair that I''m the only one who could change my life. What if I told you that you could get rid of all your insecurities��height, dick size, your various allergies and ailments?"


    "This��this sounds like cult dogma. So I''m going to go home now." Leonard was resolute. He turned to leave, turning on his phone to contact someone, but Yuri appeared out of nowhere, grabbing his phone and twisting his hand so he couldn''t escape.


    "Ow��OWWW! What��Edward! Think this through! I accept your apology! In fact��In fact, you didn''t even have to apologize to me! Just let��let me go!"


    "Bring him to my lab. Oh, my real lab," Edward told Yuri.


    "L-lab? What are you going to do to me?!" Leonard asked, fear creeping into his voice.


    Edward chuckled slightly. "Well, I almost grew up to be you. But I broke free. So I''m going to give you the gifts that I have received, turning you... into me."


    "WHAT?!" Leonard was dumbfounded. He found himself being dragged by Yuri and couldn''t break free from the seemingly frail woman. They all stood in front of the lion statue by the fireplace.


    Yuri asked Edward worriedly, "Are you sure you want to reveal your lab to him, sir? This is crossing the line, even for me."


    "Yes! Edward! Listen to her!" Leonard regained some hope, but Edward crushed it instantly. "Don''t worry. The only thing he''ll remember is coming here, hearing my apology, and accepting my offer to send him overseas. Where do you want to go, Leonard? Lake Como, Sicily, Venice��"


    "I''m not going to go anywhere! I still have a job to do!"


    "You''ll apply for a sabbatical. Maybe take a few months off. Maybe a year if you feel like it. I''ll give you five million dollars; you''ll stay with pretty models and actresses, live the rich man''s life with no responsibility or concern, and come back when your mindset changes a little."


    "I''d rather die��Wait, what��" Leonard suddenly lost his resistance upon hearing Edward''s plans for him.


    The fireplace retracted into itself and slid to the left, revealing an elevator behind it. They all stepped into the elevator and descended deep underground.


    As soon as they arrived at the fourth basement floor, Leonard''s eyes widened at the sight within the lab. Yuri let him go, and instead of fear, he geeked out.


    "Damn! That looks exactly like the Vita Ray Chambers from the Captain America movie! I thought this was your lab! You''re just messing with me, aren''t you?"


    He beamed when he saw the Terminator robot, the hovercraft from Back to the Future, the Rejuvenation Chamber from Demolition Man, NZT 48-57 on a shelf, and much more nerd technology, even a life size model spaceship inside the lab.


    "Yeah��yeah, let''s go with that. Hmm, what should I use? The Super Soldier Serum still has some side effects. Rejuvenation chambers could work, but I have to make some tweaks." Edward grabbed a large syringe, making Leonard fearful again.


    Edward suddenly turned to Leonard and said, "Hey, are you still dating Priya?"


    "Huh�C Yea�C Yeah. I''m still dating her. We''re on a long distance relationship�C"


    "She''s cheating on you, like the second day she''s back in India. She slept with her ex-boyfriend, Ranjit." Edward exposed Rajesh''s sister.


    Leonard widened his eyes in shock, "Wh�C What are you saying�C Ho�C How did you even know about this!" He shot a glare at Edward, accusing him of messing around.


    Edward took out his phone and opened up his snapchat, "This is what Ranjit posted on his snaps." He showed the clip to Leonard, in which he could see his girlfriend getting backshots from her ex. She was even filming it for him.


    Leonard''s mind blanked out. He couldn''t believe this day was real. "Don''t blame yourself. She''s always a cheater. She cheated on her ex with you when she came to the US."


    "I�C I don''t believe she would do something like that. How�C How do you even follow her ex anyway."


    Edward ignored his questions and said, ""So, tell me, Leonard. If there''s a way you can actually change your physical attributes to be instantly attractive to women, will you not take it?"


    Leonard thought about it and said, "I will take it. Definitely. Without any hesitation."


    "Strip him and throw him into the chamber," Edward ordered Yuri immediately.


    "S-strip��" Before Leonard could even feel excitement��a little from his dream coming to life, and more from the thought of a beautiful woman stripping him��it was cut short as Yuri slashed at him multiple times, leaving him in his birthday suit when she was done.


    "AHH!" Leonard yelled, but Yuri was merciless. She threw him into the genetic solution and closed the lid to the transparent dome.


    "Edward! Think this through!" Leonard shouted, begging for mercy. But Edward ignored him, saying, "Sorry, Leonard. I wanted to put you down, but the machine needs you to be conscious. You will feel a shocking amount of pain��just grit your teeth through it. You''ll love it when you come out on the other side."


    "You mean when I''m dead! Edward! EDWARD!!!!!" Leonard shouted again, thinking about what Edward said before, but Edward had already turned the lever to start up the machine.


    "AHHHHHH!" Leonard yelled, feeling as if his entire body were being torn apart. It lasted about five minutes before he became dazed and silent.


    Edward clicked his tongue. "He can''t even get past the scans. But I guess he''s lucky."


    "Sir, I beseech you to think about this clearly," Yuri urged, bowing slightly, hoping to bring Edward to his senses.


    "Yuri, my mind is pretty clear. He needed this. A rebirth. Like he said before, I owe it to him. Besides, this will discredit his mother even more. The public will think that the support he got online actually made him grow taller."


    He smirked and added, "Psychologists will think he was repressing his own genetics due to parental pressure, and only released himself from the chains when everything was out in the open. They''ll see him as a psychological wonder. His mother''s life will be ruined when that happens. She can''t even defend herself then."


    "So you''ll waste tens of millions of dollars just to ruin someone''s life?" Yuri asked.


    "Absolutely," Edward replied before laughing maniacally. "Muahahaha! MUAHAHAHAHA!"


    Sparks flew as the machine went to work. Yuri disguised herself as Leonard and sneaked into his apartment to get his passport. Sheldon almost caught her, but she was skilled at slipping away.


    In Sage''s house, the old lady sighed as she witnessed everything Edward was doing.


    "Well, he''s not killing anyone, so I guess it''s fine." She yawned and went back to sleep.


    Gong Shin walked into her room out of nowhere and smacked her on the head, saying, "Do your freaking job, you lazy ass."


    "Tomorrow. I''ll talk to him tomorrow," Sage grunted as she pulled her blankets over her face.


    Inside the lab, Edward wore goggles as he injected his chakra into Leonard''s body. He almost injected NZT 52 into Leonard''s brain, but thankfully he managed to regain his sanity and mumbled, "Wait. I should delete his memory first. Otherwise, he''ll remember this night forever."


    By the time he left the lab, Leonard had already grown to 5''8", and his asthma was gone. Initially lactose intolerant, his body began to change. His sinuses cleared up, his myopia was fixed, his deviated septum corrected itself, and his allergies vanished, among other improvements.


    Time left before his genes settled: 16 hours.


    [Edward POV]


    The next morning, I was sleeping in my bed when I suddenly felt someone crawling on top of me. Then, I sensed a wet, warm sensation in my lower half.


    Immediately opening my eyes, I pulled back the blanket and saw my girlfriend hiding beneath it, her body laid over mine. She locked eyes with me before grinning.


    "Good morning," she greeted me. "I''m waking you up in the way that you like," she added.


    "Nice��what time is it?" I asked casually.


    "It''s almost 2 in the afternoon," Vanessa replied before doing what I liked. "Yuri said you slept at 10, so I didn''t want to wake you earlier. But I have a schedule at 3, so I had to."


    "Ah. Thank God you did." I smirked at Vanessa. But before she could do anything else, Yuri entered the room, urgency in her tone. "Sir, multiple people are coming to the house searching for Dr. Leonard Hofstadter."


    "Why are they looking for Leonard here��" Before I could finish, the memories of last night flooded my mind. I widened my eyes as I remembered what I had done.


    "Oh, fuck," I yelled.


    "I haven''t done it yet!" Vanessa grunted, thinking I was reacting to her.


    "I''ll take a rain check for this. We''ll do it later; I have something important to do." I said to Vanessa as I opened the blanket, revealing her figure to Yuri. Vanessa blushed a bit, but she reacted normally this time.


    After getting caught a few times, she didn''t mind Yuri''s presence during our intimate moments anymore.


    Sheldon, Amy, Bernadette, Howard, and Rajesh arrived, searching for Leonard. They were genuinely worried about him. Leonard had turned off his phone yesterday and hadn''t returned to the apartment last night. He also didn''t go to work today.


    "He left after I apologized to him. I suggested he stay under the radar, maybe go on a vacation to another country. Maybe that''s what he''s doing," I told the group.


    It took some time to convince them. Sheldon was especially enraged, believing I was the reason his best friend went missing��which, to be fair, he wasn''t wrong about.


    "I have compensated him greatly for his mental distress," I said.


    Bernadette interjected, "Really? You''ve compensated him? With what?" She didn''t think I was in the wrong here, and that wasn''t just because I was her boss.


    "I gave him five million dollars," I said, shocking the group.


    "Five MILLION DOLLARS in his account, just because you told everyone he wet the bed until he was 18?" Howard was in disbelief, laughing slightly. "I mean, I��I would definitely be okay with it if I had five million dollars in my hands. The search is over; Leonard is definitely out there partying."


    "Go back��we still don''t know where he is!" Sheldon rebuked Howard, who wanted to head home.


    They all requested a half-day to search for Leonard, and Howard wanted to use the time to catch up with his wife, especially since he had just returned from space four days ago.


    "What am I going to do with Leonard gone? How am I supposed to get to work now? Do I get a new roommate? What about The Amazing Spider-Man premiere? Will he return for us to watch the movie together?" Sheldon spiraled as he lamented the loss of his best friend.


    I felt bad for him, but there were still four more hours before Leonard could emerge from the genetic solution.


    After talking with them for a while, I sent everyone home. Rajesh had improved his confidence with women after getting his heart broken by Sal two years ago. They dated for eight months, and he almost proposed to her before she broke up with him.


    Surprisingly, Sal never cheated on Rajesh during their relationship. They had a genuine connection at first, sharing the same interests. Raj was like the perfect guy Sal wanted to date if he weren''t gay, and she changed him significantly.


    From the way he dressed to his hairstyle, Rajesh was definitely the most good-looking guy in the group right now��at least until Leonard finished his rebirth. He stopped straightening his hair, even got rid of his sideburns, opting for a beard instead.


    Raj pampered Sal a lot, and she loved it. He bought her a car with his parents'' money, even paid her rent, and showered her with jewelry.


    Even after his parents cut him off, Sal stayed with him, supporting him financially at times when he needed it. Sal may not look it, but she came from a wealthy family too, which is how she could help him.


    When Rajesh''s parents heard about her support, they even accepted her. I still wasn''t clear on why they broke up in the first place. Maybe Sal felt she couldn''t be tied down, or perhaps there was another reason.


    I wished I could investigate, but my mind was already preoccupied with another matter. After sending Vanessa away, I returned to the lab and stared at the naked Leonard floating inside the transparent circular dome, wondering what I had done.


    Seconds felt like minutes as I waited for him to finish his transformation. The chamber opened automatically after three hours, and Leonard jumped out of the liquid with a manic yell, "AHHH!"


    His sanity seemed gone as he lunged at me, wanting to punch me in the face.


    "Calm down, Leonard!" I grabbed his fist, and he couldn''t move an inch, as if his hand were enclosed in a metal block.


    "What��You tortured me!" Leonard yelled, tears in his eyes.


    "There''s a mirror next to you. Turn right," I told him.


    "Huh?" He followed my words instinctively and was stunned when he saw his transformation.


    Six feet tall, jacked, and quite handsome��Leonard relaxed his fist, and I let his hand go. He approached the mirror and said, "This��this is me? Edward! This technology is revolutionary!"


    Before he could start a lecture about using it for the benefit of mankind, I activated my Sharingan and put him to sleep.


    "Hmm, he''ll see his reflection as his previous self for now. He''ll notice the changes gradually over the next three months." I deleted his memory of the transformation and implanted false memories of traveling to Lake Como last night.


    He would think he was in a fugue state when he arrived there. Yuri had arranged for a Quinjet to come, and he would arrive in Lake Como in three hours.


    "There''s also this." I hold the NZT 52 in my hand, the one which I almost injected into his brain last night.


    It was the no-side-effect NZT, and it would also improve his brain permanently. (From Limitless)


    "This will only work for a month. I wonder how Leonard will change once this is injected into him." I mused myself before I stabbed the needle through his eye and into his brain.


    Then, I sent him away. I didn''t know yet the effect of giving NZT to Leonard. The drug works better when the subjects are smart. Without his insecurities and access to everything he ever learned before, I wonder if Leonard would turn out like Bradley Cooper when he was in Italy.


    One thing I know for sure, Penny would definitely regret breaking up with him now.

 Chapter 364: Start Filming

    Chapter 364 - 364: Start Filming


    [Edward POV]


    "I can''t believe she''s still surviving."


    A week passed since I decided to "cancel" Leonard''s mother. The immense pressure from the general public forced the publishers handling her book to pull it from the market.


    "I wanted to do more, but I''m afraid of getting another lecture from Sage."


    Sage had asked me to think about the plot of The Big Bang Theory and remember Beverly''s character development.


    But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that there was only Leonard''s growth as a character in the subplot, not Beverly''s. The conclusion of their relationship was Leonard accepting her as she is, not that she changed to become a better person.


    "What a bunch of bullshit. However, that''s considered normal in this country in this era."


    Even so, I decided to bow out and not cause any more damage. Some victims of the book also decided to sue her for the emotional trauma it caused, but due to freedom of speech protections, it would be difficult for them to file a successful lawsuit.


    The court might recognize that the book aimed to shed light on complex emotional issues, thus serving a greater good. This public interest defense can make it challenging for plaintiffs to prove that the author acted with malice or negligence.


    In other words, she got off scot-free in the legal battle. However, her work has been discredited, and she lost the contracts for her next book.


    She appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show after receiving an invitation, but that turned out to be a bad move. Her condescending tone, smug expression, and thinly veiled jabs at me caused public opinion to turn against her��even those who initially defended her fell silent this time.


    While she was fighting for her reputation, many major news publications seized the opportunity to scrutinize me.


    They claimed that I had used my fame to destroy someone''s life''s work, publishing a 3,000-word article filled with veiled contempt.


    The tabloids had a field day with unconfirmed rumors, even targeting my mother, which prompted me to retaliate against them.


    At 3 a.m., the writers of the article would wake up to someone dressed in black whipping them with a thick rope drenched in red paint��which they mistook for their own blood. They begged the intruder to stop, but he just laughed maniacally and continued.


    Some went to the police, but the harassment persisted even while they were under police protection. A few decided to run away, even entering witness protection, but it happened there too.


    I tormented them so much that they thought they were going crazy. From changing their shoe sizes to smaller ones, altering the hue of their living room lights, to the full terror of the whip, a few of them had to be admitted to a mental health facility.


    The attention on the issue lost momentum when news broke about Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart''s breakup.


    All the media focused their attention there, as it was a compelling drama. Kristen had been caught cheating with the director of Snow White and the Huntsman, after all. Within two days of that news breaking, no one was talking about the book anymore.


    After that, I continued with the movie production, putting the matter to the back of my mind. While on set, I received a video call from Leonard.


    "Hi. Italy seems to agree with you," I greeted him cheerfully.


    He smiled and said, "It really does. I don''t know why I waited so long to travel before."


    Suddenly, a girlish shout from afar attracted Leonard''s attention.


    "Leon, dai! Vogliamo farti vedere i nostri nuovi bikini!" (Leon, come on! We want to show you our new bikinis!)


    "Arrivo, mia cara," Leonard replied in perfect Italian. He had managed to learn the entire language and speak like a local in just two days while on NZT.


    He learned the piano, finally decided to pursue his dream�C writing a mystery novel��though it wasn''t finished yet. He began working out and solved several problems he had struggled with in his experiments.


    He even published a research paper on a method for generating high-intensity, ultra-short optical pulses. (A/N: Nobel Prize Winner 2018��Donna Strickland)


    Leonard suddenly became a high-profile name in science, which led to Sheldon feeling jealous of him.


    "I''ll make this short since I have an earlier appointment," Leonard said charismatically.


    "Appointment? Sure," I raised my eyebrows in teasing, but he didn''t mind.


    "After thinking about this, I decided to write a book from my point of view. The title is I Wish My Mother Is Dead, written under the pseudonym ''The Needy, Greedy Baby.''"


    "Banking on current public interest to make millions? I''m so proud of you," I said with an amazed expression. "Not to mention the really attention-grabbing title."


    "Well, you make it sound cheap, but I thought that since many people could relate to my childhood, I wanted to do something for them��to show them that lives can be better."


    Growing up, he heard a lot about his mother''s work and even followed her to psychology lectures. NZT made all that information flood back, and he used it to write a heartfelt, Chicken Soup for the Soul-style book that could help others heal from their childhood wounds.


    "Send me the PDF of the book. Do you want me to handle publishing in the United States?" I asked casually. The set director signaled to me that the set was ready, and Leonard saw it too, so he didn''t want to take up too much of my time.


    "I had thought about hiring a lawyer to handle all the work. But then I thought of you��someone who can teach me the impossible and make it possible." Leonard used a bit of flattery, playing to my ego to get the book out there as soon as possible.


    I grimaced and said, "You just don''t want anyone to bother you while you''re having fun with the Italian girls."


    Leonard was stunned for a few seconds before he smiled and said, "I''ll leave it all to you. I''ll give you 5% of the total profit from the book."


    "I''ll have a lawyer draft a contract and send it to you soon," I said before ending the call.


    To solve the problem with his shared apartment with Sheldon, Leonard considered buying the entire building for $4.4 million��from me.


    I owned the building they lived in, and after Penny was gone, I renovated her apartment into a duplex to tempt her to move back in. But that didn''t work, so I rented it out to another up-and-coming actress. Well, actresses. There were now two rooms in the apartment.


    The triangular-shaped apartment at the end of the street had been cheap in 2011. The owner had a massive gambling problem and needed the money fast, selling it to me for $4 million.


    I fixed the elevator and made numerous renovations to increase the building''s value.


    I founded a trade school where students could learn practical skills, and the apartment was used as one of the on-site practical training locations.


    With soundproofing technology, the learning process didn''t disturb the other tenants in the building. And of course, I paid the learners based on their work and not let them work for free disguised as teaching plans.


    Even if the students made mistakes, the android robots could fix them without any hassle. I currently own 15 buildings��10 in New York and 5 in LA. The five-story building in Pasadena was the cheapest among all my properties.


    After Leonard learned I was his landlord, he stopped trying to buy the apartment and discussed with Sheldon the possibility of letting his girlfriend Amy move in with him. Sheldon needed someone to help him get through his day-to-day life, and his girlfriend was the perfect person for that.


    Speaking of Amy, Sheldon''s frumpy girlfriend had recently undergone an image change. She no longer wore her grandmother''s sweaters and had cut her hair short, just like she did at the end of The Big Bang Theory.


    She was swarmed by reporters after receiving the Genius McArthur grant award, receiving $400,000 for her work on degenerative brain diseases. Thanks to her study on Britta''s brain, she achieved a breakthrough in her research.


    Amy was downcast when she saw her pictures in the news, taken from unflattering angles. Although she tried not to care, she began to cry when she read the comments about her physical attributes.


    Penny and Rajesh took her shopping and helped her change her image. Sheldon freaked out at first, but Penny helped him through it. Then Penny left, which made Sheldon appreciate Amy more.


    ...


    The scene I needed to shoot today was the apartment scene, in which Atlas was making out with a girl but stopped when he saw the horseman card in her shoes.


    "Well, this is awkward," I muttered as I turned to my dad.


    "This is awkward for me too," he said, discomfort evident in his voice.


    The girl next to me exclaimed, "This is actually quite a turn-on for me."


    I grimaced as I turned to her. "I can still change the actress, you know?"


    Willa Holland stuck her tongue out mischievously and teased, "Wow, straight to threats, huh? Will you be an overbearing director on set?"


    Known for her roles as Kaitlin Cooper in The O.C., Agnes Andrews in Gossip Girl, and future Thea Queen/Speedy in Arrow, Willa was popular enough not to take the role of an extra. But her agency had pushed her hard during casting for the movie, even lowering her asking fee.


    After a bit of investigation, I finally understood why. It was to foster connections between us and soon bring the relationship to her stepfather, Brian De Palma.


    Her stepfather was the director of the first Mission Impossible movie and Scarface. He had a long list of films in his filmography and was cited as an inspiration for directors like Quentin Tarantino, but currently, he was in a slump.


    His latest movie, Passion, starring Rachel McAdams, was an erotic thriller that bombed financially and received mixed reviews from critics.


    Although her stepfather split from her mother in 1997 after just three years of marriage, he still helped her break through in Hollywood.


    De Palma was basically funding all his movies himself right now due to a long list of box office failures after the 2000s. At 72 years old, he was still creating films.


    Maybe in his mind, letting his 21-year-old stepdaughter talk him up and arrange a meeting with me for funding for his next movie wasn''t such a bad idea. Although I didn''t think he knew that Willa had no plans of talking him up at all.


    The girl was...wild. After learning she had to strip in her role and make out with me, Willa became excited instead of downcast. She had a tendency to do risky stuff, which could lead to her downfall in the future��like when her sex tape was leaked.


    "Ready? Action!" The assistant director helped with directing since the director was in the scene.


    My hair was long, and I had a scruffy beard��which people thought was makeup, but I used a transformation technique to apply it to my face, aging me up a couple of years and adding a sense of realism.


    "I''m your biggest fan," Willa said, kissing me and wrapping her hand around my neck as we entered the tiny apartment.


    "I can tell," I replied curtly and closed the door behind me. "Close the door; bad neighborhood."


    "Magician, come here!" Willa grabbed my hand and pulled me to the couch. She pushed me down while she took off her dress, revealing her matching white underwear.


    "Wait��wait."


    "What?" I asked, disappointment on my face. My dad looked away and sighed. The reason he was there was that a minor couldn''t do this type of kissing or intimate scene without a guardian present. It''s the law here, although some directors ignored it. I usually followed the rules on set.


    She sat on top of me, and before we continued, she suddenly pressed her hand over my lips and said, "Shh! H-How did you do that��"


    "The seven diamonds at the side of the tower?" I interjected, playing my know-it-all smartass persona. While she was on top of me, Willa accidentally perched perfectly on my hips, and she could feel what was hiding underneath my jeans.


    Willa was suddenly stunned, momentarily forgetting to react.


    Confused, I glanced at her just as the assistant director yelled "Cut!" because she took too long.


    "Willa, you don''t have many lines. Just react if you forget," the assistant director rebuked her.


    "Oh��sorry! It''s not that I forgot the line; I was just surprised," Willa said, blushing slightly.


    "Surprised about what?" I asked, curious. Her face turned red as she looked away.


    "Take 2. Ready? Action!" the assistant director shouted. We continued where we left off, and she took off my clothes. Her eyes became dazed for a second, which was captured perfectly on camera. I decided to keep the footage.


    In the original scene, Daniel Atlas didn''t take off his shirt, only his jacket.


    The makeout scene continued, and Willa asked, "Can you do 52 different tricks on me?"


    "I''ll see what I can do," I replied.


    She giggled and exclaimed, "Oh Magic Man!" and leaned forward, kissing me on the neck. She was supposed to pretend to do it, but Willa actually blew air into my ear, trying to make me break character.


    However, I ignored her and focused on the cards in the shoe on top of the drawers instead, pushing her away from me.


    "You need to leave," I told her.


    She became mad and said, "Are you kidding me? Do you usually do this? Some kind of sick trick you play on women? Bring girls back to your home just to humiliate them?!" She put her clothes back on and stormed out of the apartment, only wearing her top.


    "I''ll call you," I said noncommittally, my focus still on the card.


    Willa turned around angrily as she opened the door. "You don''t have my number!"


    I shrugged, "I''m magic. I''ll figure it out." She puffed her cheeks and slammed the door as she left the room.


    "Cut!" the assistant director yelled.


    The short scene wrapped in just two takes. Willa still had another scene with me, which would be shot later in New York. Before she left, she said, "Ah, I''m supposed to ask you this: Do you want to have dinner with me at my place?"


    "I have a girlfriend," I replied curtly, shutting down her advancement.


    "Aww shucks," she snorted derisively. "Like that ever matters around here." There was a tinge of sadness in her voice. She had been in the industry for a long time and had seen a lot.


    "Well, it matters to me," I said as I turned toward her. Willa was stunned for a few seconds before she showed a sad smile. "That girl is so lucky." Then she began to tease again, "Like, I felt it on the couch. She must''ve been really, really lucky."


    She laughed while gesturing the size with her forearm. I rolled my eyes slightly and said, "You can go now. I''ll call you when it''s time to fly to New York."


    SNL contacted me a week ago, and I was supposed to be there today. But with the scandal breaking out, they decided to hold off inviting me as a guest host for two more weeks until the fire dies down.


    "That''s it? I kissed you and licked your neck for nothing?" she said playfully.


    I smirked and replied, "I mean, it''s not like you didn''t enjoy it. I saw you drooling when I took my shirt off."


    "When did I do that?!" Willa burst into laughter, delighted to find someone who played along with her jokes.


    "Yeah, you were undressing me with your eyes even before I took off my shirt. And you even got paid for it," I said, hugging my body slightly, pretending to feel molested.


    Willa laughed hard and said, "Yeah, I definitely should not take any money for it; otherwise, you''ll become a gigolo."


    "Please, if I''m a gigolo, you can''t afford my fee."


    The scene where Willa and I laughed together caught the attention of a certain petite girl who came to visit the set. Willa gave me her personal number and asked me to consider her for acting roles, although that was just an excuse.


    I spotted Vanessa waving at me from afar, and I walked toward her as the production crew wrapped up today''s filming.


    "Did you go to see the wedding dress with Frankie today?" I asked Vanessa as we walked to the car together.


    "No, not yet. Incidentally, Haley heard about the wedding and offered to design the dress for Frankie. She''s coming back home from college this weekend."


    "Oh," I exclaimed softly. Vanessa raised an eyebrow and scrutinized my expression before saying, "You know what? Willa looks a lot like Haley."


    I opened the door for her like a gentleman and closed it when she got inside, saying, "She does, a little bit."


    As soon as I entered the car, Vanessa asked, "Is that why you picked her to be your makeout partner?"


    And boom, the argument started.


    ...


    [Vanessa POV]


    I knew I shouldn''t have picked a fight with him, but I couldn''t help myself.


    Late at night, as I slept next to him on the bed, I turned to him and immersed myself in his dashing look.


    "You''re the mature one, as usual," I said, sighing slightly, disappointed in myself. The way he was making her laugh irked me a lot. I tried to let it go, but it still slipped out in the end.


    But I did make up for it with an amazing time, so I guess it''s fine. I think I''m getting addicted to the makeup sex that I wanted to pick a fight for no reason.


    When he was playing with his mother that evening, making her laugh while they watched cartoons together, my heart gushed with affection for him.


    But when Sage, his god-sister, came to visit and they had a mock fight in the gym, not letting anyone see it, I bit my fingers in frustration, my mind swirling as I thought about what they were doing in there.


    They came out sweaty and full of smiles, and God, her body. Can a human being actually look like that?


    They didn''t have any romantic feelings for each other from the way they interacted, but my mind couldn''t help but worry.


    "I think I think too much," I muttered. Then I realized something and took out my phone, opened the notes app, and wrote down what I just said in the lyrics I''d been working on.


    (A/N: Guess the song.)


    Looking at the screen, I whispered to myself, "What should I do with this? I''m too freaking embarrassed to ask Edward for help with creating it. Maybe Taylor? But she''s not speaking to me since I told her Edward and I are dating. Hmm, wait."


    Suddenly, I thought of someone. "Who helped Edward with his tracks before? The high guy... Leo? Should I ask Pepper to contact him? But Edward is the CEO now. It''ll seem like I''m undermining him. Ahh! What should I do?!"


    "Maybe you shouldn''t talk out loud when you''re in bed with me. I woke up because of you," Edward said suddenly, hugging me from behind and startling me.


    I smiled and turned to him, asking warily, "How much did you hear?"


    "Everything. What lyrics? Show me." He reached for my phone, and I flinched.


    "NO!" I instinctively pulled my hands away. "My notes app is private! I''m not going to let you see it!"


    There was a lot of embarrassing stuff in there that I definitely didn''t want him to know about.

 Chapter 365: Wedding Plans

    Chapter 365 - 365: Wedding Plans


    [Edward POV]


    My dad and I sat at the kitchen counter in my previous house, where he and Frankie were living together at the moment.


    As I sipped my morning coffee, I asked, "What''s the location of the wedding?"


    "Frankie picked the ranch, so we''ll have some work to do," my dad replied casually, drinking his own black, sugar-free coffee.


    "Date?"


    "June 24th, on a Sunday."


    I nodded and said, "That''s 10 days from now. Have you registered for wedding gifts yet?"


    My dad sighed slightly, as if he expected a reaction from me. "We think we''ll skip that since we already have everything we need."


    I raised my eyebrows at his reply. "Why are you against getting gifts? You know they are... gifts!? Like, where else would you find the tiny salt and pepper shaker set if you''re rejecting gifts at your own wedding?"


    "Besides, this is Frankie''s first wedding, even though it''s your second one."


    "Frankie is the one adamant about that. She didn''t want to burden anyone with the pressure of finding the perfect gift," my dad said, sounding defeated.


    "I''m still going to give her a present," I said firmly. "She deserves it."


    My dad nodded in agreement, but his eyes changed slightly, a tinge of melancholy crossing his face. "How is your mother?"


    Like me, he too suffered when he learned about my mother''s current condition. Although their romantic love had faded years ago, camaraderie and familial love still lingered.


    "She''s still the same. She''s happy, though. But yeah, she hasn''t changed at all," I replied, my tone downtrodden.


    I had tried to piece together her memories, and when I returned to her mind the next day, it was broken again.


    I realized why she subconsciously chose her 6-year-old self. That was before everything started��the vicious training her father put her through.


    After a few years of training, she underwent an initiation process at 14. She was locked in a basement with two guys who wanted to sexually assault and kill her. The only way she could escape was through death or by killing them.


    I sensed all her fears as I dove into her memories. She was terrified for her life, knowing her father would leave her ravaged and murdered.


    Her clothes were ripped off, and she was pinned to the ground. I couldn''t bear to relive all her experiences, but she managed to kill them both after a fierce struggle.


    And yet, I thought I was the one with a bad childhood.


    The reason I chose this memory was that it related to the day she left my family.


    Five years ago, when I was on stage at the violin competition, she was approached by a member of her fraternity. The member told her that her dad had left behind a will after he died, instructing her to take me back to Cuba to carry on his legacy and to train me as she had been trained.


    So my mother went back to the hellish life she had known to protect me. She had never intended to leave but was forced to. There, she stopped anyone who dared to follow my grandpa''s will.


    While in Cuba, her mind was filled with a desire to return home. Yet when she did, she found that her home was no longer there. Her own son had rejected her, leaving her all alone in the world.


    Still, she never thought her sacrifice was meaningless. The reason she asked me to free her country was that she thought it was an impossible task.


    Yeah, she just needed a reason to stay by my side.


    Yet I achieved the impossible, which led her mind to crumble.


    ''I swear I''m going to find her main consciousness in the millions of broken memories and bring her back to reality,'' I vowed inwardly.


    Understanding her side made me feel guilty, even though I wasn''t truly responsible. That''s why I didn''t want to understand her in the first place.


    It''s like when hating a villain character on a tv series, but when their flashback came on and it showed why they did the thing that they did, you empathize with them. For example, Anakin Skywalker and Severus Snape.


    Once guilt started, it bled into my brain and heart. But who knew that Leonard''s book would actually help me?


    The book, I Wish My Mother Was Dead, explored childhood guilt and unreasonable expectations of oneself. It was funny; I didn''t think that helping Leonard would help me back in a roundabout way.


    "Well, as long as she''s happy," my dad said with a strained smile. He felt the same way I did.


    At first, he wanted to postpone the wedding after learning of my mother''s condition. Frankie had the same idea. But I convinced them not to. It wouldn''t change anything, even if they postponed, so it was better to just proceed.


    Pepper returned from his vacation and made himself the wedding planner, so my dad and Frankie didn''t have to deal with the preparations themselves.


    "I''m going to meet with Phil now," I said as I finished my conversation with my dad. "It''s been a long time since I went to their house."


    "Oh, tell Phil that I definitely don''t need a bachelor party," my dad said before I left.


    "I''m definitely telling him you want one," I teased.


    "Forget it, I''ll tell him myself," he said, exasperated.


    ...


    *Ding Dong*


    Standing in front of the door, I mused myself while I waited after pressing the doorbell, "I wonder if I can still recognize the place. Everyone has grown a lot in the past two years. I think��"


    Before I could finish my thoughts, Claire opened the door with a manic expression, hair frazzled, flour on her face, holding her spatula menacingly.


    "AHHH! MOM! IT''S COMING AT ME!" Alex shouted from the kitchen.


    "KILL IT! KILL IT!" Luke cried.


    As Claire saw me, her expression softened, and she greeted me casually. "Oh, Edward. You''re here. Just wait five more minutes, then I''ll let you inside." She closed the door without inviting me in, and I heard more shouts while I waited patiently.


    "IT''S PLAYING POSSUM! DON''T BE TRICKED!" Phil shouted.


    Then I heard Haley''s voice. "It''s going for the fabric! NO! That''s for. THE. WEDDING!"


    Her voice turned angry from the initial fear, and I assumed the crashing sound was because she either kicked it against the wall, causing decorations to fall, or wrestled the bag from the possum, causing something to crash down. My money was on the latter.


    I waited for quite a while��more than 15 minutes��before Alex finally opened the door. She had smudges on her cheek and was wearing rubber gloves.


    "Why are you here?" she asked rudely.


    "Your dad called me here," I replied, pointing to her face. "You might want to wash up. If people saw you, they might think you''re doing blackface, and you''ll get canceled."


    "What?!" Alex was startled and immediately went to check her reflection in the mirror. I walked into the house as she left the door open and saw the aftermath.


    Alex snapped after checking her face, "I wasn''t doing blackface! There''s only a little smudge on my nose!"


    "And cheeks." I added. Alex grumbled and immediately went to wash her face.


    Claire was sweeping up broken glass in the kitchen, while Phil was fixing the cabinet door.


    Haley was checking the fabric of the wedding dress, and Luke was taking out the trash.


    "Eddy! Just wait a little longer. Then we can go," Phil smiled brightly and turned back, causing the shelf door to tilt.


    "I can wait. There''s no need to rush," I said, a smile tugging at my lips. "I was stupid to think they''d change."


    Haley and I locked eyes, and she was startled. She was only wearing a robe, having just gotten out of bed.


    "Oh... hi..." she said shyly, trying to cover her face with her palm, but she kept peeking with her big eyes.


    I smiled and replied, "It''s been a while."


    Alex and Luke squinted at us from afar. Alex commented, "Why does the air immediately become tense when they see each other? They broke up two years ago."


    "Is that what it is? I just thought he was shocked to see her without makeup," Luke added.


    "Wh-Where are you going with my dad?" Haley asked, not meeting my eyes.


    I shrugged. "I don''t know; he kept it a secret from me."


    Claire immediately connected the dots based on her previous conversation with Phil and rebuked him. "You''re not going to bring him to the Magic Society, are you? Because that would ruin his image!"


    Phil was baffled and defended himself, "He''s doing a movie about magic! He said he wants expert comments on the tricks he''s going to shoot, so I''m bringing him to the experts!"


    "Oh, I thought I was going to show it to you, not some strangers," I said, taken aback by his plans.


    Phil inhaled nervously. "Wouldn''t it be better to have opinions from different people?"


    I shook my head. "Not really. Then I''ll have to ask them to sign NDAs or put their names in the movie credits, even though they didn''t really do anything."


    Claire interjected decisively, "He can''t be seen hanging out with those dorks. One day with them, and the stock price could drop sharply."


    "I''m one of those dorks!" Phil said pathetically.


    [Phil and Claire''s Commentary]


    "The thing is, even I don''t get what he was doing when he sent me the blueprint for the magic trick," Phil confessed as Claire rolled her eyes at him.


    Phil continued, "And I don''t want to look dumb in front of him."


    Claire squinted her eyes skeptically. "What do you think is going to happen when you bring him to the magician gathering?"


    [Commentary Ended]


    ...


    I entered the basement room to see the wedding dress designs while Claire tried to talk Phil out of bringing me to the nerd gathering.


    "There are three designs. I''m going to ask Frankie to pick which she likes best," Haley said excitedly as she showed me her drawings.


    After two years of constant designing and making clothes, she had become proficient, no longer seeming like an amateur.


    Haley posted her designs on Entertain, YouTube, and Instagram, amassing an impressive 3 million subscribers on Entertain, 1 million on YouTube, and 5 million followers on Instagram.


    Not only dresses, she also posted skits and jokes, earning herself the title of OG creator in the early 2010s.


    In the TV series, Haley started to become an influencer, but that route fizzled out. Here, she actually succeeded.


    She launched her own brand and built her own clothing company, almost reaching $1 million in sales��sales, not profits.


    Alone, she might never have reached this level so quickly, but she signed a contract with an agency��my company. I helped her from the shadows whenever she needed it, but that wasn''t something that kept happening.


    Every time she made a mistake, she learned from it and didn''t repeat it the next time.


    Haley was also involved with a makeup company, contracted as a brand ambassador, promoting new lines and even posting tutorial videos. She was loved by millions of teenage girls because of it.


    "That''s great, but do you think you can make it in time before the wedding?" I asked, slightly teasing but mostly concerned. It wasn''t easy to make a complicated wedding dress on a tight schedule.


    Haley furrowed her brow, having similar concerns. "If I can''t make it in time, I''ll ask for your help."


    "I may be able to work miracles, but it''s going to take one or two working days��maybe three��to make it happen."


    Haley smirked. "I''m not going to ask you at the last minute! I know my limits."


    "Do you really?" I narrowed my eyes, asking her skeptically. She laughed and mumbled, "Not really. No."


    "Oh, what about the car?" I suddenly remembered. "You brought it to college; I guess you brought it back, right? Can I take a look?"


    Haley suddenly shuddered, her face paling slightly. "What��Is that my mom calling for me?" She turned and ran away immediately.


    [Haley''s Commentary]


    "I''ve taken care of the car perfectly!" she said, visible frustration on her face. "I didn''t get a parking ticket, didn''t scratch the paint, washed it frequently, and never missed a service."


    She grumbled in frustration. "Till last night when I got back home!"


    -Flashback-


    As Haley pulled into the driveway, a squirrel jumped into the car seat. She was startled and screamed immediately. She hit the trash can and the curb, causing a big scratch on the blue convertible.


    She stopped the car immediately and muttered, "What the hell was that? Is that a cat?"


    -Flashback Ends-


    "I need to send it to the body shop before Edward sees it. Otherwise, he''ll think I don''t appreciate his gift," Haley added.


    [Commentary Ends]


    "Well, that was weird," I muttered as Haley left. I snapped pictures of the designs and left the room as well.


    For their wedding, I had an important role��not as the best man, since I was only a groomsman��but I volunteered to create the wedding ring.


    Taking on more work in the middle of my busy schedule was taxing, but I wanted to do this for them. Besides, creating the ring would take a maximum of four hours.


    As I returned to the den, Phil finally relented and stopped trying to get me to meet the "magicians." They weren''t official magicians, just his group of friends who shared the same interest.


    Claire asked, "Edward, are you okay? You look tired."


    "I am a little, but I''m fine. Thank you for asking."


    Claire understood my situation and gave me an encouraging hug. "If you need anything, just let me know," she offered.


    I brought Phil to my house, with Alex and Luke joining us. We took Phil''s car since mine only had two seats. Luke and Alex sat in the back while I called shotgun.


    Luke wanted to play around, and Alex was curious about the movie, seeking revenge for earlier when I teased her. She figured she could make fun of me for doing a movie about magic, so she came along.


    "By the way, aren''t you the director? Why are you being so nonchalant about this? Shouldn''t you follow a strict schedule to get this out on time?" Alex asked as we arrived at my house.


    She wasn''t wrong. But after the whole fiasco, I decided to postpone the shooting. It would resume when I fly to New York and was done with my SNL guest appearance. Vanessa and I would fly there earlier to catch up with Max and Caroline, also to meet up with the SNL writers and prepare for the skits.


    I turned to her with a cheeky expression. "Are you worried about me, Alex?"


    "Shut up. I''m not," she replied, caught off guard. Phil smiled and joined the conversation. "She''s always worried about you. Especially since the interview with Larry King. She thought you had become unhinged."


    "I was a little," I admitted honestly.


    Alex nodded in satisfaction. "I still think that was a marketing plan to help Dr. Leonard Hofstadter launch his self-help book."


    "It''s not marketing," I said defensively. "I was out for blood at that time."


    Luke laughed. "You could''ve just sent CIA agents to her house."


    Alex ignored Luke and said, "You know, I''ve read her book before. I thought it was jarring, but I didn''t realize it had so much influence."


    I nodded slightly. "Psychology professors usually use that book in their lectures. They also make the students buy it because they get a cut of the profit."


    "Thank god that''s over now," Phil said as we entered my house on the hill.


    Phil worked hard to share his opinions about the tricks in the movie, but his enthusiasm got the best of him, and he geeked out over less than four tricks.


    Alex tried to mock me, but she couldn''t figure out the magic trick, which made it impossible.


    Luke, like Phil, was also geeking out, but on VR games. He had no interest in the magic tricks at all, even though he was a sleight-of-hand genius.


    After settling in, Phil decided to join Luke in the VR game. Alex came to my lab with me and said, "I read a study about turning ordinary skin cells into brain cells. Can I try to do that here?"


    "It''ll take a lot of work��maybe even weeks��before it produces results. I do have the equipment here, and it does sound fun," I said as I rubbed my chin in contemplation.


    We got to work without much talk. After harvesting our skin cells, each of us began our experiments.


    "Should we combine the genetic material? How is it going to turn out?" Alex asked excitedly.


    I widened my eyes and said warily, "Alex, I like you, but not in that way."


    "NOT LIKE THAT! OUR SKIN CELLS!" Alex blushed hard and rebuked me.


    "Ah, right. Since we''re doing brain cell incubation, sure, let''s do it."


    I asked Jacob, Enid, Jenna, and Elsa��who came with Jacob, Finneas, and Billie��to stop by my house so I could get their skin samples too.


    "Leaving immediately after you got what you wanted? I feel like a cheap whore," Jenna joked.


    Enid chimed in, "I want to see what you guys are doing too!"


    "It''s boring science stuff. Go watch football in the living room; I''ll join you after I finish," I said to all of them.


    "If the time comes and it''s necessary for me to clone them, I think I have enough genetic material to do so," I said seriously, which left Alex stunned.


    "I''m just joking," I clarified as Alex stood frozen.


    "It didn''t feel like a joke," she said seriously.


    That night, I asked Vanessa if she wanted to do the same, and she enthusiastically agreed.


    "It''ll be like knowing how our children will turn out in the future," she said giddily.


    "Umm..." I realized I might have made a mistake there.

 Chapter 366: Ring

    Chapter 366 - 366: Ring


    [Edward POV]


    In the living room, we were playing a game on the console together. My aunt and I sat back as we watched Vanessa play against my mother in Street Fighter.


    "Ness, how are you losing?" I asked Vanessa in disbelief.


    "SHUT UP! She spammed all the buttons at once! There''s no strategy at all!" Vanessa said, agitated.


    "There is a strategy! It''s called winning!" My mother replied before using her avatar, Cammy, to kick Vanessa''s Ryu and win the match.


    "NO!!!" Vanessa yelled in despair.


    "YESS!" My mother jumped up and raised both hands in celebration.


    My aunt suddenly said, "Miranda, it''s time for bed."


    "What��five more minutes!" My mother tried to persuade my aunt, who she thought was her aunt too.


    "That''s what you said ten minutes ago," I teased. Miranda glared at me and said, "Why doesn''t Ed need to go to bed?"


    "Because I''m already an adult!" I said, grabbing the controller from her hand.


    My mom gasped and teared up, but my aunt comforted her, saying, "It''s fine. You can play the game tomorrow. For now, let''s take your medicine and go to bed."


    "Hmmm... okay." She nodded obediently before waving goodbye, "Night night, Edward. Night night, Ness."


    "Goodnight, Mir," Vanessa said, while I casually waved back. After living with me for a while, she had regained her previous appearance before she left the family.


    We ate well in this house, and there wasn''t a day when my mother didn''t clean her plate.


    I turned to Vanessa and said, "Up for a game?"


    "For sure! I need to practice to beat her in the match tomorrow," Vanessa said begrudgingly.


    After twenty minutes, we weren''t playing anymore. My aunt came down and told me that my mom was already asleep. Aunt Camila had been quite stressed for a while; she sat by the pool and drank beer almost every day, which has nothing to do with the stress, she just liked the new beer.


    "Where are you going?" Vanessa asked as I left the couch where we had been making out.


    "There''s not a lot of time until the wedding. I think I''m going to focus on the ring before flying out to New York tomorrow," I replied with a smirk.


    Vanessa placed her finger on her lower lip and said, "Will you be making the ring topless, with sweat glistening on your abs as you face the forge fire, your arm muscles bulging as you strike the iron with the hammer?"


    Slightly taken aback, I stared at her blankly for a few seconds before asking, "Would you like me to make the ring like that?"


    "Yes. Definitely." She nodded excitedly.


    I smirked and said, "Too bad. I''m going to be wearing clothes. But you can still see my arm muscles if you''d like."


    Vanessa exclaimed in disappointment, "Aww."


    "Are you not going to come?" I asked after taking a few steps.


    Vanessa jolted up from the couch and ran towards me. "No. I''m going to see!"


    We moved to the detached house where there was a forge and all the equipment needed for me to do some metalwork.


    "Should I film this and post it online? Hmm, it could be dangerous for Frankie if some obsessive fans decide to target her."


    Vanessa agreed, saying, "You better not. But if you want to make something else, maybe you can post that."


    I smiled and turned to Vanessa. "Maybe something for you?"


    "A��A wedding ring? W��we''re still too young��I''m not ready yet. Am I not ready yet?" She whispered the last sentence to herself.


    I stared at her blankly again and said, "A normal ring. Not a wedding ring."


    "Aww..." She exclaimed in disappointment before smiling. "Okay. It can be my birthday gift."


    I grimaced. "Your birthday''s in December. And don''t say it''s going to be your last year''s gift because I gave you that Hermes bag."


    Vanessa bit her tongue playfully and kissed me on the cheek. "Right. And I love that bag. Although it''s not comparable to a ring you make yourself~"


    I almost rolled my eyes at her. She had been getting free access to many of my jewelry and ornament sets even before she became my girlfriend, but I guess she had been waiting for me to create something specifically for her.


    Vanessa recorded me as I lit the blowtorch and melted some gold in a crucible. Her work was sloppy, so Yuri took over the filming while she sulked on the side.


    "Don''t look at me like that. You kept breathing so heavily that it felt like I was being filmed by a pervert," I said to her as she glared at me.


    Vanessa posted a few images of the creation on her Instagram stories, which were viewed by 100,000 people in just under 15 minutes. She made sure to snap pictures from angles that showcased my prominent bicep muscles, causing a frenzy happening online.


    "Uh, why are there a lot of people DM-ing me asking for your number?" Vanessa groaned.


    I chuckled at her misery, "You''re the one who decided to post it on your story. So they know we''re hanging out together now."


    "So they''re hoping to get your attention through me? Damn, I can''t even block them cause then I''ll seem rude." Vanessa gritted her teeth slightly.


    I just laughed at her misery. In just under two hours, I was almost done with the ring to give Vanessa. It was a rose gold ring with a red ruby placed in the center of a treble clef.


    There were 4 thin lines on the ring, and music notes on the lines as it circled around back to the treble clef.


    Vanessa didn''t realize it at first and was at awe with the beauty of the ring. Yuri recorded the scene where I handed it to Vanessa before she uploaded the video on my Instagram.


    "Oh my god ba�C Ed, it''s so beautiful!" Vanessa squealed in excitement as she placed the ring on her left middle finger. It was specifically made for that position.


    Vanessa snapped a picture of the ring and uploaded it to her insta stories too.


    "Wait, the music notes�C Is it a score? For what song?" Vanessa finally realized it and she looked intently at the ring, trying to figure it out.


    "It''s the opening score of Sneakernight�C"


    Before I could finish, Vanessa chased after me with a fierce expression. I predicted it and ran away immediately. After a while, we returned back to the workshop and I finally stopped running away from her.


    After a while, she finally figured it out, "It wasn''t Sneakernight!" Vanessa grumbled as she watched me create the ring for my dad and Frankie.


    I smiled at her and asked playfully, "Did you find out yet which song is it?"


    "I just need a piano, then I''ll figure it out." She said before rushing out of the room. I mumbled to myself as I watched her walk away, "Or you can just check your comments on social media. I''m sure someone there has already figured it out."


    Suddenly, I stopped what I was doing and said, "I haven''t bestowed any characteristics on the ring yet. Should I do it?"


    There was another problem. How could I take it away from Vanessa since she was already quite attached to it.


    ...


    [General POV]


    People in Hollywood love to throw parties. Some do it to facilitate networking, some attend just to drink and do drugs, and some are the entertainment of the party.


    At a yacht party thrown by a foreign billionaire, Abed met Margot Robbie in the hallway where they could be alone.


    "Look at this camera angle; he definitely knew what he was doing. I''m sure many of his fans will have sleepless nights because of this," Abed said as he watched Edward''s jewelry-making video.


    There were tens of thousands of comments underneath the video. Edward captioned it, "Training ring before I make the wedding ring for my dad," receiving a lot of support and adoration from his fans.


    "Can you stop commenting on that for just a minute?" Margot said, exasperated.


    They had met at the party, and Margot knew Abed was one of Edward''s close friends and the director of the incredibly popular Netflix show Community.


    "When the main character of this fiction is posting a video to thirst trap his community of fans, I will comment on it," Abed said monotonously.


    "Main what��?" Margot was in disbelief. It was her first time talking with Abed, and she couldn''t follow his train of thought, especially as he broke the fourth wall.


    Abed returned to the topic and said seriously, "And to answer your initial question, no, I don''t trust that guy. He''s like the character in the beginning of a heist movie who seems trustworthy but will stab you in the back in the third act."


    "I... actually got that reference," Margot said, stunned at first but beginning to understand the subtlety behind Abed''s words.


    "And the entire Wolf of Wall Street production��the script is great, but as long as that guy is in it, I recommend you proceed with caution," Abed continued before he started to walk away.


    Margot suddenly grabbed his sleeve, prompting him to stop. "I''m not finished."


    Abed was taken aback and replied casually, "Oh, sorry. I thought that was my cue to exit the scene."


    "Shut��alright." Margot took a deep breath before saying, "We''re both suspicious of that guy, so why do you suggest I should still take the role?"


    "Oh, the production is under DiCaprio, so you don''t have to worry about the movie. However, the investor might try to solicit things from you. I''d recommend you talk with Edward. As long as he''s backing you up, people won''t try to bother you."


    Margot blinked twice before swallowing hard. "I''d like to talk to him, but I don''t think I can just pick up the phone and call him."


    "Why not? Based on his character, he''ll definitely answer your call," Abed said easily.


    "I''d��I''d hate to be a bother," Margot said, subtly trying to entice Abed by grabbing his hand and leaning closer.


    However, she chose the wrong guy. Abed wasn''t even fazed. After being convinced by her close friends, Margot wanted to create her own production company focused on female-led stories.


    She already had a name for it: "LuckyChap." She wanted her time in the spotlight to become the lead in a story instead of just receiving offers like the one for Wolf of Wall Street. But that''s just how Hollywood works.


    She feared that the memories of her wonderful time on the set of SelfMade would be tarnished if she met with Edward again, and he had turned into one of those Hollywood executives who always tried to solicit something from her.


    Abed said, "Just call him and stop being a bother. I''m leaving this party now; this isn''t my kind of thing. There are too many girls here throwing themselves at me to get a role."


    Margot smiled bitterly. Although she found Abed quite honest, she also understood the girls'' frustrations when trying to talk to him. There were thousands of girls in Hollywood wanting to be the next star, but there weren''t many opportunities, and the job was already hard enough with rampant nepotism in the industry.


    Maybe bagging a director or becoming the toy of a well-known actor for a while would help, but even then, the outcome was ambiguous.


    Abed added, "No wonder Edward just stayed at home instead of coming to one of these things. Hm, maybe I''ll roleplay a bit��"


    Margot interrupted his train of thought. She had an idea and wanted to test it out.


    "Hey, Abed. Why don''t you roleplay as my boyfriend for the night? I''ll be the ditzy blonde who needs saving, but I''m secretly a spy��"


    Abed responded excitedly, "Who''s using me to get to the party to kill her target, but unknowingly finds herself attracted to my kindness and gentleness, which is a refreshing change from the other people you surround yourself with. I like it. It''s very 2000s-style romantic comedy."


    Margot smiled in satisfaction, knowing her plan had succeeded. From her short conversation with Abed, she realized he was obsessed with movies.


    Margot is smart, but the less she revealed her capabilities, the easier her life would be in Hollywood. Smart people threatened the status quo, and she didn''t want to be kicked out of the industry before she could make her mark.


    Abed would serve as her defense for the evening. She just needed to wait for the perfect opportunity to leave the party without seeming rude or making Jho Low think she was leaving because of him. Until he was truly confirmed to be a bad guy, she would treat him normally.


    But what she underestimated was Abed''s commitment to the role.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    I suddenly received a call from Harvey just as I was about to go to sleep. It was 3 in the morning, and I wondered what it was all about.


    "Edward, I think you need to know about this," Harvey said urgently.


    "What happened?" I asked, glancing at Vanessa, who sat up and stared at me worriedly as my expression grew more solemn.


    I rubbed my forehead and let out a heavy sigh as I listened to Harvey''s story.


    "So Abed punched a sleazebag on a yacht while he was roleplaying, and now the guy wants to sue him? He doesn''t want to settle, huh? I''ll be right there."


    "I can handle this," Harvey replied, her tone slightly condescending. "He''ll settle," she said confidently.


    "Alright then. I''ll leave it to you," I sighed, letting Harvey do what she does best. Then I got a little gossipy. "Why is Abed hanging out with Margot?"


    Harvey was also interested. "I know, right? From the looks of it, I don''t think he has any feelings for her."


    "How about her?"


    "Maybe a little," Harvey chuckled. Her answer definitely piqued my interest.


    I grinned before saying, "Ask them to catch me before I take my flight tomorrow. I want answers."


    "Yeah, I''ll make it happen," Harvey replied before ending the call.


    I turned to Vanessa, excitement sparkling in my eyes. She looked worried and asked, "What happened? Is it serious?"


    "Nah, it''s just some sleazebag. Harvey is going to handle it. But what''s more important is the story behind it. For some reason, Abed is hanging out with Margot."


    Vanessa raised an eyebrow. "Really? How did he bag that?"


    "I know, right?!" I was thrilled to be gossiping about it with her.


    After a short four-hour sleep, I took the helicopter early in the morning to fly to Lucas Ranch while Vanessa was still sleeping.


    "Morning! I brought breakfast," I said as I greeted George Lucas. He smiled and replied, "I already had mine two hours ago."


    "Second breakfast then! I made some really great pastries; you have to try them." I handed him a paper bag.


    I met with George to discuss the production of the next Star Wars movie. I had been heavily involved in the Avengers and The Amazing Spider-Man, all for companies that weren''t mine.


    So, I decided to start the next Star Wars trilogy with George after we finished filming Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.


    There were a few changes in the Rogue One plot and casting. I chose Katheryn Winnick as Jyn Erso instead of Felicity Jones. While Jones was considered for the role, Winnick was more prepared in her audition.


    Moreover, the younger actress Beau Gadsdon looked quite similar to Katheryn Winnick, which made for a more immersive story.


    "I''ve seen your suggestions. I like these guys," George said curtly as he handed me the actors'' headshots.


    The actors were Anthony Ingruber and Sebastian Stan. They would be replacing Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill as Han Solo and Luke Skywalker, respectively, in the next adaptation of the Thrawn trilogy novel.


    I furrowed my brows as I looked at Sebastian Stan''s headshot. Even though I thought he was perfect for the role, he had a four-year contract with Marvel left, which would interfere with filming.


    Leia''s actress would remain the same as in Rogue One��Ingvild Deila��before they applied CGI to her face.


    There had been many discussions about recasting the original trilogy members back in my previous world. It was also a hot topic here.


    Some said that Solo failed because fans didn''t want to see new actors in classic roles; others claimed it was due to Solo being constantly emasculated in his own movie, the Harrison Ford factor, reshoots, and definitely the backlash from The Last Jedi, which divided the fandom.


    I was prepared for the backlash from Star Wars fans. Casting a 61-year-old Mark Hamill or a 70-year-old Harrison Ford to play young characters wasn''t feasible. It made sense to recast, yet there would be people who would strongly oppose it. Like Sheldon Cooper, for example.


    "If you''re in the film, I think the backlash will be less severe," George tried to coax me into joining the trilogy after our discussion about production.


    I grinned and said, "If I, the billionaire who bought Star Wars, cast myself in it, I''d be losing fans by the millions."


    Imagine Jeff Bezos buying The Lord of the Rings and making himself Gandalf or Frodo. It would be the most expensive self-insert fanfiction on the planet.


    People would think I was just a fan with too much money, potentially ruining what they love about Star Wars. I wanted to avoid that, maybe getting involved in something less controversial��definitely not the Thrawn trilogy.


    I returned home after talking with George using the helicopter. Vanessa was still sleeping when I entered the bedroom, and I woke her gently.


    "Ness, wake up. It''s time for you to lose the match again," I whispered sweetly in her ear, making her jolt up from the bed, annoyance written all over her face and her hair in disarray.


    "By the way, your music video will be released today. You''re going to have to do some interviews before we go to New York. Also, in New York."


    (One More chap tonight. I will return to the previous upload schedule from now on)

 Chapter 367: Dance Monkey

    Chapter 367 - 367: Dance Monkey


    [General POV]


    "Are you nervous?" Edward asked Vanessa as they climbed the stairs onto the jet, stepping into the cozy airplane. Edward had changed a lot of the plane''s interior. He added a separate room at the tail end of the plane, which had a bed and a toilet in it.


    It allowed him to catch up on his rest during his tour. Also for other stuff.


    "I''m more nervous about the song than the flying," she replied, rolling her eyes as they made their way to the back and sat at the couch, facing the tv.


    Edward paused, a look of disbelief crossing his face. "I was... asking about the song."


    "Oh��then, yeah. A little bit," Vanessa admitted, slightly caught off guard.


    The plane was parked in the private hangar, awaiting Abed and Margot''s arrival before heading to New York.


    Edward opened his tablet and scrolled through pictures of various buildings. He turned to Vanessa and asked, "Where do you want to stay tonight?"


    "Let me see��are all of these yours?" Her eyes widened in disbelief as she scrolled through the images. Clicking on one, she discovered an apartment that had just been renovated.


    "Isn''t it dangerous to live here? The security isn''t that strong," Vanessa frowned, scrutinizing the five-story building in Williamsburg that Edward owned.


    "You''re looking at the wrong pages. That''s Max''s building. Go back and choose the one on the Upper West Side or near Central Park. I have a place with a direct view of the park."


    "Huh? Why did you buy the building Max lived in?" Vanessa asked, locking her gaze onto Edward.


    He smirked. "The building was in such poor shape that the only residents were creeps and serial killers. I got it for a steal. Now its value has increased over four times what I paid."


    "Max lives there?" Vanessa said, incredulous.


    "I stand by what I said."


    A lot of Edward''s strategy in building acquisition was buying stuff nobody wanted and fixing it up for the people to live in. Most of his tenants were his workers, so its was like employee benefits for them.


    Edward had completely transformed Max''s building since purchasing it. The water was no longer rusty, the leaks and mysterious puddles in the hallways were gone, the air was cleaner, and the serial kidnapper had been arrested.


    "I still can''t believe she lives in a place like that." Vanessa exclaimed.


    "I can''t believe she''s still alive." Edward added.


    In New York, many buildings suffered from mismanagement, creating opportunities for someone with worker androids specialized in construction. They worked for no cost and could even create materials from scratch��though that wasn''t always necessary.


    Currently, most of the androids were busy on the new company campus in both New York and Los Angeles, while some stayed behind to manage the buildings, maintaining a ratio of one android for every three buildings.


    Edward bought properties where financially struggling families were forced to live and improved them, keeping the same rent for the residents. He didn''t evict anyone after the renovations.


    "Ahh! I''m so anxious I can''t even pick the place." Vanessa threw the tablet aside and leaned against Edward. She looked up playfully, meeting his gaze. "I don''t mind staying anywhere, as long as I''m with you."


    Flattered, Edward grinned and patted her on the head. Vanessa said coyly, pretending not to notice her effect on him, "Why are you looking at me like that? With love in your eyes?"


    "Nothing. Just thought you were cute," Edward flirted. Their faces were inches apart, but before their lips could meet, Abed and Margot arrived.


    "Oh, did we interrupt?" Abed asked, unsure of how to proceed as he stood at the door, causing Margot to bump into him.


    Edward smiled and said, "Just come in." He leaned in and kissed Vanessa anyway, which Margot noticed.


    "Are��are you two?" Margot stammered.


    "We''re dating, but don''t tell anyone," Vanessa said, a teasing smile on her lips.


    "So, Abed, what happened last night?" Edward asked, genuinely interested. He glanced at Margot, who blushed and looked away, leaving him puzzled.


    "Oh, last night I was roleplaying as Margot''s protector. That Fox exec was being sleazy and pretended to touch her buttocks by accident, so I punched him in the face."


    Edward interrupted, "No, what I meant is, who were you roleplaying as? I don''t care about the punch. Is it a specific character or a mix?"


    Margot''s eyes widened in disbelief. "You don''t care?"


    Edward shrugged as he turned to her. "Why would I? In fact, if he hadn''t done it, I would''ve done much worse to that guy."


    Abed interjected, causing a sudden silence. "Which is why last night I roleplayed as you."


    Vanessa became intrigued and asked immediately, "Explain!"


    "Thirty percent Edward in Self-Made, fifty percent of him in real life, nineteen percent Draculein Edward," Abed said rapidly.


    "What about the one percent?" Edward asked with a chuckle.


    "Tony Leung in Lust, Caution," Abed added.


    "Why?" Edward was in disbelief. "I thought I was going to be a mixture of a few people on tv, not only myself... and Tony Leung for some reason. I never even watched it so I didn''t get the reference."


    Abed said immediately, "I only added him for the spy factor. Your character is quite hard to role-play. I hope you''re not offended."


    "Not really. Margot almost fell for your character last night, so I''m really not offended." Edward said with a teasing smile.


    Margot widened her eyes and Vanessa narrowed hers. Margot defended herself immediately, "It''s only because he seems like a totally different man. And it was just for a moment, I don''t have any crush on him anymore!"


    Edward smiled in satisfaction and began his conversation with Margot in earnest. After discussing Jho Low and The Wolf of Wall Street, Margot wanted to hear Edward''s opinion.


    Edward thought for a moment before saying, "It''ll probably be a success. And you don''t have to worry about Jho Low. He''ll be out of the picture soon. His own country will be the one to get him."


    Feeling a little relieved, Margot asked, "And how do you know about that?"


    "Just that someone tipped off his countrymen about it," Edward scoffed playfully. "Are you going to take the role?"


    "I''m not sure yet," Margot replied, hesitation on her face.


    Vanessa turned to Edward and said, "I''m confused. You''re making a new movie, but why didn''t you call her?"


    Margot smiled teasingly and joined Vanessa, trying to catch Edward off guard. "Yeah. Why didn''t you, Edward? Then I won''t have to struggle like this and consider taking off my clothes for the role."


    Edward was confused. "I did offer you a role. Your agent said you were working on another project, so I just moved on and did an open casting instead. Otherwise, you would''ve become Henley Reeves, one of the main characters of the movie."


    Margot was speechless. Her agent never told her about the role. They even rejected Edward on her behalf, which infuriated her since it was the main role!


    Abed interjected, unaware of Margot''s emotional turmoil, and turned to Vanessa. "By the way, I watched your music video before I got here. I still have no clue what it''s all about, but it''s catchy."


    "Ask him about it. He''s the director of the music video," Vanessa said, pointing at Edward.


    Edward smiled and said, "Why don''t we all watch it together? I wanted to see people''s reactions to the song too. I think we''ve waited long enough."


    ...


    Fans were waiting on the official Entertain Music page for the song to drop. The release date had been announced about a week ago, making the die-hard fans of ''Nessa'' excited.


    The music video started with a shot of Vanessa in an old man disguise, sitting on a lone chair inside a retirement home.


    "Eurgh... Why does she look like that?" Taylor complained as she watched the music video. Selena chuckled and said, "Maybe her boyfriend has a thing for an old, wrinkly guy? Maybe that''s the reason he dated you before��"


    Selena''s face was met with a pillow swung by Taylor in full force.


    The piano riff immediately calmed them down, and they continued watching the music video.


    Vanessa''s unique vocal instantly pulled the listener into the song.


    "?? They say, "Oh my god, I see the way you shine! Take your hands, my dear, and place them both in mine" ??


    "?? You know you stopped me dead while I was passing by! And now I beg to see you dance just one more time ??"


    "Oh, this is nightmarishly catchy." Selena muttered, fully surprised by the song.


    "?? Ooh, I see you, see you, see you every time! And oh my, I, I, I like your style ??"


    "?? You, you make me, make me, make me wanna cry! And now I beg to see you dance just one more time ??!"


    Taylor grimaced and said, "Knowing Edward is the one who made it, I''m not even surprised. But I think there''s something more in the lyrics. I still don''t know what yet."


    "?? So they say; "Dance for me, dance for me, dance for me, oh-oh-oh


    I''ve never seen anybody do the things you do before" ??"


    "?? They say; "Move for me, move for me, move for me, eh-eh-eh


    And when you''re done, I''ll make you do it all again"??"


    Taylor furrowed her eyebrows, it was like the answer was right in front of her, but she couldn''t grasp it.


    "?? I said, "Oh my god, I see you walking by


    Take my hands, my dear, and look me in my eyes"


    Just like a monkey, I''ve been dancin'' my whole life


    But you just beg to see me dance just one more time ??"


    Cameron and Mitchell watched the music video together with Lily. The 4 year old greatly enjoyed the song.


    "Sad lyrics hidden in the background of a riveting, upbeat music; yeah this is Edward''s trademark." Mitchell commented smugly. "I wonder if he wrote this when he got tired of his tour." He added.


    Cameron scoffed and said, "I understand the lyrics and the melody clashing themes, but what''s with the music video? I mean, what''s the idea behind this? Why is Nessa in a fat suit!?"


    In the music video, Vanessa was acting unhinged, breaking a football club and getting chased by posh rich boys.


    "??Ooh, I see you, see you, see you every time! And oh my, I, I, I like your style!


    You, you make me, make me, make me wanna cry! And now I beg to see you dance just one more time ??


    The raunchy ways of Vanessa moving her tongue, her unhinged behavior, all made the audience very confused. Despite all of that, the rhythm still sucked them into the song.


    ?? So they say; "Dance for me, dance for me, dance for me, oh-oh-oh


    I''ve never seen anybody do the things you do before" ??


    ?? They say; "Move for me, move for me, move for me, eh-eh-eh


    And when you''re done, I''ll make you do it all again" ??


    ?? They say; "Dance for me, dance for me, dance for me, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh


    I''ve never seen anybody do the things you do before" ??


    ?? They say; "Move for me, move for me, move for me, eh-eh-eh


    And when you''re done, I''ll make you do it all again" ??


    Edward and Vanessa looked at each other before both of them burst into laughter as they watched the music video. Abed was confused and asked, "What''s the purpose of the cinematography? I kept racking my brain, but I don''t get it."


    ?? Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh


    Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh


    Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh


    Ooh, ah-ah, ah-ah ??


    Edward explained, "It''s about dancing." Then he added, "Feeling like you are made to dance like a monkey to just get through the monotony of life. The things we do to feel alive at the last moment of our life."


    Margot and Abed immediately changed the way they looked at the music video. Even though the music video was still goofy, they felt like it had a certain sadness to it.


    The song continued to its last verse.


    ?? So they say; "Dance for me, dance for me, dance for me, oh-oh-oh


    I''ve never seen anybody do the things you do before" ??


    ?? They say; "Move for me, move for me, move for me, eh-eh-eh


    And when you''re done, I''ll make you do it all again" ??


    ?? They say; "Dance for me, dance for me, dance for me, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh


    I''ve never seen anybody do the things you do before" ??


    ?? They say; "Move for me, move for me, move for me, eh-eh-eh


    And when you''re done, I''ll make you do it all again" ??


    The song''s reaction was inherently positive, but the audience was unaware of its impending consequences. It would soon dominate the entire country, then the world, leading some to develop a hatred for it due to its constant overplay.


    Still, they would find themselves hearing the song repeatedly, even while loathing it.


    Just like someone who has no freedom to pursue their own desires.


    Just like a monkey forced to dance for the entertainment of others.


    ...


    [Edward POV


    Margot and Abed left the plane as it was time for me to fly to New York. Vanessa and I spent most of our time talking on the plane��even taking a simple nap on the plane bed.


    "I feel like you forgot something," Vanessa suddenly said as the plane landed.


    "What?" I asked, slightly taken aback.


    "Weren''t you going to let Willa Holland come with you?" she asked curiously.


    "Oh," I breathed in relief before saying, "Nah, she''ll come here with Randall on Sunday. What''s the point of coming early? I''m here for SNL, not because of the movie."


    Vanessa nodded, and then she realized something. She crossed her arms, slightly annoyed, and accused me, "Why did you tell Abed about the meaning of the music video but not me? I''ve asked you about it all the time. He asked you once, and you just gave it away easily."


    I chuckled and said, "Abed has Asperger''s. He really can''t grasp things deeper than what''s on the surface��no emotional nuances, no irony. He needs the explanation served to him on a silver platter."


    Vanessa groaned. "Great, now I look like a bitch for bringing it up."


    "Aww babe, it''s okay. You''re my bitch, so I''ll still love you no matter what," I teased, patting her on the head.


    She got angry and playfully attacked me, trying to bite my hand.


    We stayed at my apartment in Central Park, as Vanessa wanted to sleep off the jet lag before meeting with the SNL writer the next morning.


    I met with Julio Torres and discussed several ideas for the skit. Julio had an idea to promote the series Psychopath Diary while making people laugh at the same time.


    It would start the same way as the TV series, but instead of a psychopath''s diary, I would find someone else''s diary. I suggested Gordon Ramsay from Hell''s Kitchen, while he suggested someone from Game of Thrones or Barney Stinson from How I Met Your Mother.


    We still hadn''t finalized the skit yet. He left to discuss it with the SNL head writer and get opinions from the other, more experienced cast members.


    "Why didn''t you go to SNL with him?" Vanessa asked as Julio left the penthouse.


    I turned to her slowly and replied, "Actually, I wanted to go. But he and Jason (Sudeikis) told me not to for now."


    "Huh? Why is that?" Vanessa approached me from the bar where she had been sitting and sat next to me on the couch.


    I shrugged and said, "I have no idea. If I had to guess, they''re trying to protect me. Otherwise, the senior comedians will push their comedy specials for me to put on Netflix. Then I''d have to shell out a few million just to be polite."


    Vanessa widened her eyes in surprise before nodding in understanding. Then she sneered, "You aren''t going to shell out anything. You don''t care if people think you''re rude."


    I nodded and grinned. "Well, it''s what Jason thought I''d do, not what I was actually going to do."


    Both of us went out to get some food before heading to Max''s apartment. I smelled the sweet scent of freshly made cupcakes as I stood in front of her door. After ringing the doorbell, I heard Caroline''s voice asking, "Who is it?"


    "Strippergram!" I shouted back. Vanessa chuckled and punched my arm lightly in annoyance at the bad joke.


    Max became excited and told Caroline, "Open it up! I want to see him undress!"


    "We DIDN''T ORDER ONE!" Caroline rebuked. "What if it''s a murderer?"


    "It depends if he''s hot or not," Max replied casually. "If he''s ugly, just kill me. If he''s hot, we might go on a few dates first."


    "I knew letting you see You was a bad idea," Caroline said angrily before using the peephole. She exclaimed in happiness before opening the door as soon as she saw who was behind it.


    "EDDY!" Caroline hugged me immediately. Max widened her eyes in surprise and said, "Edward! You''re the hot stripper killer?"


    "Ness!" Caroline hugged Vanessa next and stood beside us, all giggly. I narrowed my eyes at Max and opened my arms wide. "Aren''t you going to come hug me too?"


    "I''d rather jump off the Brooklyn Bridge than have Caroline''s sloppy seconds," Max grinned mischievously.


    "Come here or I''ll tell everyone what happened at the red-light district��"


    "Eddy! It''s been so long!" Max changed her tune and rushed to hug me. Both of them were wearing Max''s Cupcake black shirts, which were their shop''s uniforms. Caroline had a rounded neck, and Max, as usual, had a deep cleavage cut on hers.


    "Geez, two years together and I still had to resort to blackmail to get a warm welcome," I joked with Max.


    Max played along. "Yeah, that''s the only way you''re going to get anything from me. With crime! Now, when are you going to strip? We''re all waiting!"


    Caroline interjected, "I want to know what happened at the red-light district first before I can enjoy it."


    Vanessa grimaced and said, "He''s not going to strip for you guys!"


    I chuckled and exposed the secret to Caroline casually, "We saw someone who looked just like Max who worked as an escort."


    Max grinned and added, "People began to offer me money to see me dance with her. I would''ve done it if we''re only dancing."


    Vanessa and I sat at the couch I bought for them, and watched Max make cupcakes while we caught up.


    "Max''s Cupcake has been doing really well. It got really big! We''re even considering franchising." Caroline said gleefully.


    "Really? Big? It looks like it shrank a little." Vanessa said, looking directly at Max''s chest. It jiggled as she prepared the dough.


    "It doesn''t�C Oh, you''re looking at Max''s chest." Caroline almost defended her business before realizing what Vanessa was referring to.


    Max said disgruntledly, "I worked so much that I lost some weight. These puppies are the first to go!"


    (Support me on my pat.reon : relifewithkarmicgacha. I need support to continue writing. Even a month''s worth of support will help me a lot.)

 Chapter 368: Night in NYC (1)

    Chapter 368 - 368: Night in NYC (1)


    [Edward POV]


    Max''s apartment looked nothing like it did in the TV series, except for the kitchen and the yard where the horse slept. After I bought the building, I reconfigured the floor plan, reducing the number of apartments from eight to six per floor.


    "This place looks great." I said as I sat on the couch, placing my satchel beside me.


    "You really shocked me when you did this. I thought I was in the wrong house when I returned." Max grumbled despite her happiness. Caroline had her own room now so she didn''t sleep in the living room anymore. Even though the space felt smaller, it was her own, and she loved it.


    "Thank you Edward for the amazing surprise." Caroline hugged me from behind.


    The small one-bedroom apartment was expanded into a two-bedroom. The reconstruction was a grueling process, requiring the building to be emptied for almost three months for a complete overhaul.


    While the androids could slice through steel beams with lasers from their fingertips, speeding up the actual construction, securing permits and permissions in NYC was a nightmare.


    The safety officer demanded bribes, threatening to stall the project, and gang members tried to stir up trouble��it felt like every awful person in NYC was conspiring to sabotage an effort to improve Williamsburg.


    Of course, I wasn''t going to take that lying down. I had ten highly advanced androids, each capable of single-handedly taking over a country, working under my command.


    Robin worked for the tech company, Woo-Jin handled security for the employees and myself, Mikasa and Zero-Two managed intelligence gathering, Weed oversaw construction, Ban protected the younger actors on the movie sets, Wolfgang Grimmer founded Mad Dog Publications, and then there were three more.


    Two of them were stationed here in New York: Kingpin and Matt. They took control of the construction business and the city''s underground gangs, ensuring a peaceful working environment for all my subsequent projects.


    They also stopped the drugs from entering the city and also human trafficking, which after 2 years, had dramatically reduced the numbers of crimes in the city. The city had changed a lot thanks to the two of them, but no one could actually confirm their existence.


    "Where is Chestnut?" I asked Caroline, wanting to meet the horse. The horse lived at my family ranch for two years before Caroline brought it back.


    "He''s already asleep. Don''t bother him." Max warned me with a scary expression. She''s not playing around when it comes to animals.


    "Got an event to rush off to?" I asked, noticing Max and Caroline packing cupcakes into a black box with pink stripes.


    Max sneered, "Another rich jerk booked our two-person special for the night. Sorry, Edward, next time try calling ahead before dropping by."


    Caroline, ignoring Max''s jab, clarified, "We have a delivery for the Hilton. We''re hoping to promote our business to the partygoers while we''re there."


    Vanessa''s eyes lit up. "Whose party is it?"


    "It''s ''The Bey''," Caroline replied hesitantly.


    "The Saudi Arabian oil magnate''s heir with half a billion and a penchant for blowing it on ridiculous things? Max, you might actually land a special order tonight. Though I''m not sure if he will include Caroline," I said teasingly.


    Caroline gasped, her jaw dropping in mock offense, while Max laughed. Vanessa nudged my arm. "How do you know him?" she asked.


    "He wanted to hire me for his birthday party. When I refused, he called me, practically in tears, begging me to come. I still refused, so he called me a bitch and hung up," I explained.


    I continued, "He called back the next day to apologize and ask me to a party with him. I rejected him again, and this time, no apology."


    "With a mere half a billion, he dared to try and attach himself to you. The nerve..." Vanessa said sarcastically.


    I chuckled. "If he were a decent guy, I wouldn''t mind hanging out. But he''s the type who''d pressure his assistant to eat a hooker''s crab-infested... Well, you get the idea, and laugh at the humiliation. I don''t want to be around someone like that, even if he worships me."


    Caroline looked stunned. "Wait, he''s that kind of guy? Max, should we cancel the order? I''ve seen plenty of his type when I was rich. He''ll definitely try to corner us if we go."


    Max tossed the cupcake she was decorating back onto the tray. "Thank God. I can finally rest and stop making these stupid cupcakes!"


    I laughed at Max''s obvious fatigue. Since the store opened six months ago, they''d achieved considerable success, largely due to viral marketing and Max''s insult-laden cupcakes. Turning the store into a dessert bar after 8 PM had also drawn in a lot of party goers.


    "You guys should hire some help to alternate shifts. You''re burning yourselves out because it''s just the two of you. Max has even lost a cup size because of it," Vanessa suggested with a smirk.


    "Yeah! A few more weeks, and I''ll be as flat as Caroline!" Max retorted, embracing the joke.


    Caroline comforted Max, "It''ll get better once you finish culinary school. Hiring someone right now is too risky with our finances still unstable."


    Max glared at me. "I guess you''re right. It''s all thanks to him."


    Culinary school was my idea, and I paid for her tuition. She''s excelled there, thanks to the last two years with me. With my [teacher aura] and the time we''ve spent together, Max has picked up a lot of new skills, especially in cooking.


    "Really? Even after six months?" I asked, feigning disbelief. "Did you try expanding into other businesses and failed, burning your savings?"


    Caroline and Max exchanged stunned glances. Silence filled the apartment. I guessed I''d hit a nerve.


    My gaze swept around the room, landing on several boxes stacked near the bathroom.


    "Let me guess? T-shirt business?" I said, spotting the label on one of the boxes. Max tried to block my view, but she was too late.


    "Damn it. I knew we should have burned those," she grumbled.


    "We paid good money for them! We''re not burning them!" Caroline exclaimed, exasperated.


    "What if I paid you to burn them?" I suggested. Caroline looked taken aback. "If the offer is less than twenty thousand dollars, I''ll have to decline."


    I opened my wallet. "I have four hundred bucks."


    "Sold!" Max blurted out excitedly.


    "No!" Caroline interjected.


    Vanessa and I laughed. I pulled a bag of white powder from my satchel. Max''s eyes widened. "Edward! Are we going to party?!"


    "We are," I replied casually. Vanessa looked aghast, and Caroline was speechless again. "Cupcake party, since it''s just flour," I added, deflating Max''s enthusiasm.


    "Oh��thank goodness," Caroline breathed, visibly relieved. Vanessa relaxed as well and asked, "Is this the flour from your farm?"


    "Yeah, I''m thinking of selling it to Max. They could have a specialty item on their menu." I explained.


    Caroline perked up, grabbing the bag from me and handing it to Max. Max, who had just sat down, looked resigned. "I''m not making any more cupcakes tonight!"


    "I''m not asking you to. I''m just giving it to you," I smirked.


    Vanessa said excitedly, "Max, you won''t be disappointed. Ed did his insane science thing as usual and created a new breed of wheat. It''s really good."


    "If you''re going to do insane science stuff, make a zombie virus and unleash it on the world. Not mediocre stuff like new flour," Max teased.


    "Why do you think I''m not researching that?" I said playfully. Vanessa and Max laughed, but Caroline looked a little concerned.


    "Don''t research things like that, Edward. My life has finally gotten back on track, and I still don''t have a boyfriend. I don''t want the world to end." Caroline said solemnly.


    "Too bad!" Max leaned forward, poking fun at Caroline.


    After a short discussion, Caroline decided to deliver the cupcakes to the party since they''d already paid half the deposit.


    As Caroline packed up, Max asked, "Your dad''s getting married next Sunday?"


    "Yeah. You''re invited."


    We had been talking about the ring after I posted a video of it on my Instagram. Max wanted to know more about it when she saw it on Vanessa''s finger.


    "What about me?" Caroline asked from the kitchen, a hint of expectation in her voice.


    I turned to her. "I''m not sure..."


    Caroline''s face fell, and she mumbled, "So Frankie only invited Max? I thought we were friends."


    Vanessa scolded me. Turning to Caroline, she said, "Edward, don''t mess with her. Her life already sucks. Caroline, you''re invited too. In fact, Frankie needs people to be her bridesmaid."


    "ME ME ME! I VOLUNTEER AS BRIDESMAID!" Caroline raised her hand, her voice filled with glee.


    "You guys can come with me on my flight back. You''ll also need a dress fitting, so measure each other and send the measurements to Haley," I said with a soft smile.


    "Haley? Your ex...? Wow, you were so depressed after she dumped you that you terrorized the entire world, yet you''re working with her now?" Max said casually.


    My eyes widened. I glanced at Vanessa. She looked equally shocked and leaned forward, asking urgently, "He��he was depressed? Terrorized? Explain."


    I gestured to Max to stop, drawing a finger across my throat, but Max didn''t see it and answered Vanessa''s question with a laugh.


    "No girl was safe. As far as I know, he hooked up in every country he went to��"


    I threw a tissue box at her, cutting her off. "Hey!" Max protested angrily.


    Vanessa turned to me, her expression grim. "You never told me that."


    "I never did that!" I defended myself. "Max, before you go any further, I need to tell you that Vanessa and I are dating right now��"


    "NO! Don''t try to shut her up by telling her that! What else did you do during your world tour!? And why did you and Max even visit the red-light district in Europe?!" Vanessa stood up, looking anxious.


    "Whoa��whoa��whoa��whoa��" Max, realizing the situation had gone sideways, said quickly, "I was just joking! It''s our inside joke. He never did any of that!"


    "But you just said�C" Vanessa was annoyed, thinking that Max was keeping a secret from her.


    "When did people ever take what I said seriously? Most of the stuff that came out of my mouth is crap, everyone knows that." Max said, trying to persuade Vanessa.


    Vanessa calmed down a bit and she slowly sat back down, "Umm... Okay then."


    "Phew. Thank god I only said what happened between you and other people, not you and me." Max said casually.


    "WHAT?!" Vanessa was nervous again.


    I grimaced and said, "Nothing ever happened between Max and I. Stop falling for her words."


    Max cackled while Vanessa blushed in embarrassment. Caroline shouted from afar, "Max, are you going to let me pack up all the cupcakes by myself?"


    "Did you even participate in the making of the cupcakes?" I turned to Caroline and asked curiously.


    However, Caroline immediately said, "Never mind. I''ll pack it all up..." and acted quite guilty. I stared at her, which seemed to prick her conscience.


    Since I knew the hotel owner, I hooked Caroline up with a staff member who would handle setting up the cupcakes for the party. They''d be back in half an hour.


    "Edward, don''t do anything weird to my place while I''m gone," Max warned teasingly.


    "I''m not going to do anything to your place," I said, grimacing and feigning confusion.


    Max warned me again, gesturing with her fingers that she was watching me. "And don''t do anything with your girlfriend here either. There''s only one person who can indulge their sick kinks here, and that person is me."


    Max and Caroline left the apartment, shutting the door behind them.


    "I am going to see what kind of porn mags Max has underneath her mattress. Wanna come?" I immediately asked Vanessa after they were gone.


    "No. I think I''m just going to sit here," Vanessa said, her tone a little downcast.


    I sighed and sat down on the couch beside her. "What''s wrong?" I asked.


    "Nothing," she replied curtly.


    "Is what Max said earlier bothering you?" I asked gently.


    "No. I''m not that close-minded. I''m not going to care about what you did before we were a couple," Vanessa said, crossing her arms and looking away.


    "Your mouth says one thing, but your body language is telling me the opposite," I said, sighing wearily.


    "Don''t psychoanalyze me," Vanessa grimaced, glancing at me.


    "That''s not psychoanaly�� Never mind. If you''re not bothered by what she said, what is the problem?" I asked assertively.


    "Come on. Tell me." I touched her arm affectionately, trying to get her to open up. Vanessa''s expression shifted a few times before she let out a heavy sigh.


    "I guess it bothers me that you guys have so many inside jokes. You''re really close with Max," Vanessa admitted.


    I waited for her to continue, but she didn''t. "That''s it?" I asked, confused. "I have a lot of inside jokes with Enid, Alex, and even Jacob. It just means we''re best friends."


    "Yeah. I realized that. I just hope you''ll be that comfortable around me too," Vanessa said, pouting and looking at me with puppy-dog eyes.


    Taken aback, I said, "You want me to treat you like Max?... Hmmm... Why don''t we test it out, see if you actually like it?"


    Vanessa''s eyes lit up, and she said excitedly, "Yes! Come on, I''m ready."


    "It''s banter, I can''t just turn it on without a topic," I laughed nervously.


    Vanessa slapped my thigh repeatedly, unable to contain her excitement. "I''ll start. Um, hey Edward! Whenever you don''t sleep for a few days, you look and act like a raccoon."


    "Pfft��" I burst into laughter at how absurd it was. "Is that what you think we usually joke about?" I said, holding back my laughter.


    "Is it not? I figured it was something like that."


    "No, we''re more explicit. Like, if your ass became any flatter, it would be��"


    "YOU THINK MY ASS IS FLAT?!" Vanessa stood up and snapped. Chestnut was woken up by the sound and peeked his head through the kitchen backdoor.


    "See, banter," I said nervously. My phone suddenly rang, but since my girlfriend was mad, I hesitated to answer. However, it was Robin.


    "Ness, excuse me for a bit," I said as I walked away from the couch.


    "Nice! Walk away from your flat-assed girlfriend! It''s not like her butt is taking sooo much space on the couch!" She said sarcastically.


    I turned to her in shock. "You might be mad, but you actually did it. Max-type banter."


    "What��wait... What?" Vanessa looked confused. I answered the call from Robin; she wouldn''t be calling if it wasn''t urgent.


    "Robin, talk to me," I said hurriedly. Vanessa finally got it and her eyes lit up, "Oh."


    Robin said calmly, "Dr. Hofstadter is quitting his job at Caltech. He sent a resume to join the nuclear fusion team, but he''s going to do so in four months, and he only wants to become the lead researcher. He also won''t settle for a salary less than two hundred and fifty thousand annually."


    "The audacity of the guy... Hire him," I said casually. Since his brain was enhanced by NZT, I guess he managed to make some breakthrough and was using it as leverage to get the job. I severely lacked talents around me even with the androids by my side.


    Robin added, "We ran out of Helium-3 for the research again. I''m calling because Han Xiao wants to put the research aside and focus more on the moon mining mission."


    Han Xiao was the last of the androids I had that became a mechanical lifeform. He''s handling my research on nuclear fusion technology and space-mining technology.


    I managed to understand the billionaire''s obsession with rockets after I became one myself, but maybe our intentions weren''t the same.


    Helium-3 is extremely rare on Earth. It''s present in trace amounts in the atmosphere and natural gas deposits. This scarcity makes pure Helium-3 fusion impractical with current resources.


    Right now, we''re mostly studying nuclear fusion using Deuterium and Tritium. This reaction produces a lot of neutrons, which make the reactor parts radioactive.


    Helium-3 is a byproduct of Tritium decay. Merging Helium-3 with Deuterium gives a cleaner reaction because it produces fewer neutrons. Fewer neutrons mean less radioactivity and easier handling of the reactor materials. It also produces charged particles which are easier to control and use for energy generation.


    However, Helium-3 is rare on Earth. If we could mine it from the Moon, we could theoretically fuse Helium-3 with Helium-3. There''s millions of tons of it on the moon, carried there by the solar wind.


    This would be the cleanest reaction of all, producing no radioactive neutrons. But, it''s also the hardest to achieve, requiring much higher temperatures and more advanced technology.


    Once we overcome those challenges, Helium-3 fusion could be a game-changer for clean energy. I was already on the verge of sublimating all the technology I had to make the reactor, but I lacked the materials to test my experiments.


    In the last two years, I managed to get a few blueprints of spaceships, the most important of them all being the cleaner spaceship called ''The Victory'' (A/N: Korean movie called Space Sweepers).


    The reason it was so important was because the laws of physics in the universe were the most similar to my universe. I had a breakthrough with artificial gravity and a propulsion engine thanks to the spaceship. But the research for that took me almost ten billion dollars in the span of two years.


    "The current reactor capability won''t be able to make a two-way trip from the moon and back unless we finish the helium reactor or burn out our only ship with a uranium reactor. We also need to research ways to extract the Helium-3 gas from the moon. We cannot do anything right now without having enough helium-3... which we can only get on the moon. Fuck..."


    Robin suddenly said, "Han had a crazy idea. What if we only need a one-way ticket to get to the moon?"


    "He''s planning to do the research there?" I said flatly, overwhelmed by the sheer audacity of the idea.


    After talking with Robin for a while, I returned to my girlfriend, expecting her to still be angry. To my surprise, she seemed to have calmed down.


    "What is it? You looked really serious when you were talking to Robin," Vanessa said. She''d heard me say her name multiple times, so she''d figured out who I was talking to.


    "It''s... My lead researcher is planning a crazy stunt, and I might be left behind."


    Concerned, Vanessa said, "Did you goof off and that''s why you''re being left behind? I''m not the reason, am I?"


    "Nothing like that. The guy is just plain crazy," I said calmly. "I think we should take a walk together. There''s something I''ve always wanted to do in New York, but I could never do it alone."


    "Huh? A-Alright then," Vanessa stammered a bit before following me as we walked outside into the city.


    NYC at night was quite intimidating, especially in the Williamsburg area. Vanessa and I walked into a dark alley, and she hugged my arm, clearly afraid of what might pop out from the shadowy corners.


    "Edward, we should go back to Max''s," Vanessa said fearfully. "We might get mugged out here," she whispered.


    (Support me on my pat.reon/relifewithkarmicgacha . Even one month of support will means a lot to me.)

 Chapter 369: Night in NYC (2)

    Chapter 369 - 369: Night in NYC (2)


    [Edward POV]


    In the quiet alley, dimly lit, Vanessa held my right hand tightly as we walked to the middle of the path. The urine smell assaulted my nose so we walked further for the scent to become more acceptable.


    "There are no muggers. Not here, anyway," I said calmly, trying to reassure her. "But there''s a few rats."


    There''s a family of rats scattered around the trash cans, and one of them looked into my direction.


    "AHH!" Vanessa yelped and jumped at me. I accepted it, and held her in a princess carry as the rats walked by casually in front of us carrying their spoils.


    Vanessa glared at me. "Why did you bring me here? What do you want to do that requires us to come to this dark place?" She slowly moved away from me after the rats had passed by.


    Suddenly, her eyes widened. She released my hand, stepping back a few paces and covering her body with her arms, looking at me warily. "You''re not thinking of us doing anything... weird here, right?"


    I scoffed. "And risk getting HIV from the broken needles around? I don''t think so."


    "Then what do you want to do��AHHH!"


    I wrapped my arm around Vanessa''s hand and shot a grappling gun up to the 4th-floor balcony on the left side of the alley. We both flew into the air, and Vanessa screamed from the suddenness of it.


    "Edward, you jerk!" she screamed, fear evident in her voice as we dangled in the air, held by the tough cable wire. Vanessa clung to me tightly, refusing to look down.


    I grinned. "Aww, is someone scared?"


    "I just screamed! You''re the one who should be scared; the cops will definitely come to check out the noise," Vanessa said sulkily, punching my chest lightly.


    "It''s New York; there are screams everywhere at night. Just wait a minute, and you''ll hear another one," I said calmly. We waited for forty-nine seconds before another scream echoed.


    "See? A lot of crazy people here," I said, teasing her. Vanessa held back a laugh, rolled her eyes, and muttered under her breath, not wanting to give me the satisfaction of being right.


    "You crazy bastard..."


    Vanessa pursed her lips. "Okay, why are you dangling us here? What''s the point?"


    "Oh, this''ll make more sense if I wear this. Hold on, it''s a little tough to get" I wanted to take a red mask from my back pocket, but it was impossible to get so I descended back to the ground.


    "So you brought me up there for no reason?" Vanessa asked, raising an eyebrow as we touched down.


    "I wanted to see if it''s possible to kiss, or even wear a mask, while dangling on a rope, clutching someone. But unless I can hold the rope with my butt crack like Tarzan, I don''t think I can pull it off."


    I reached into my back pocket and took out the mask.


    Vanessa burst out laughing at the image, finally relaxing now that she was on solid ground. "You forgot another test. Maybe you can get the person in your arms to put the mask on for you."


    She grabbed the red mask from my hand and stood on her toes, but she still couldn''t reach without me shortening myself�C by spreading my legs widely.


    Vanessa hummed as she adjusted the mask on my head. "? Spider-Man, Spider-Man~ Does whatever a spider can. Spins a web, any size. Catches thieves, just like flies. Look out. Here comes the Spider-Man .?"


    "Stop singing that," I said, my voice muffled by the mask, the Spider-Man''s eyes narrowing slightly. "You''re turning me on right now," I added.


    Vanessa was taken aback for a moment, then smirked. "Just by me singing the song?"


    "You have no idea the power you have over me right now," I said, wrapping my hand around her.


    Vanessa quickly looked away, a blush rising on her cheeks. Then she asked curiously, "Is this the same mask you made for The Amazing Spider-Man movie?"


    "Yeah, pretty cool, right?"


    The mask looked more like Tom Holland''s Spider-Man mask, but the overall suit resembled the Spider-Man 2 game costume, with a white spider emblem on the chest.


    "It is pretty cool. It''s the first time I''ve seen it in person. I still remember when the articles came out; fans were going gooning to the mask


    "Yeah, they were excited�� Wait, they were gooning?" I asked, shocked. The eyes of the mask turned slightly circular, showing a surprised expression.


    Vanessa smirked playfully "No proof, but I bet a lot of them were so happy they, uh... busted."


    "You know what? I''m with you on that," I said, agreeing with her.


    There are sensors around the eyes, detecting movement in the eyebrows and neighboring skin, so it can make animated expressions such as shocked, swooning, skeptical, angry, distressed, and even happy.


    The director argued that Spidey was a poor kid, so he wouldn''t be able to spend much money developing his suit. I countered that he had a rich friend, Harry Osborne, who was going to be played by Dylan O''Brien.


    A hand-me-down game system or haptic gloves would be enough for Peter to reverse-engineer and build his own suit, assuming the universe has a VR system.


    The technology in the movie-verse would be quite advanced, and Peter had an IQ of over 250! If the movie was set in the ''80s or ''90s, maybe he would still be a poor nerd, but a tech-savvy kid with a desperate desire to help his aunt?


    He could build a few websites and sell them with just a laptop. Even if he wouldn''t become disgustingly rich, he would still be able to afford a lot of stuff, maybe even break into the middle class.


    If only he could break free of the "poor" attribute placed on him for relatability, Peter would''ve become a rich dude in his universe.


    I still remember an episode of the Ultimate Spider-Man animated series. It was a Christmas episode where Nightmare showed Peter what he could''ve become if he hadn''t become Spider-Man.


    He had a life similar to Tony Stark''s�C Parker Industries became successful, he became rich and famous, but because there was no Spider-Man, the other heroes were hunted one by one by the Green Goblin.


    In the end, Peter chose to fight the Green Goblin and returned to his ''normal'' life, knowing how necessary Spider-Man was to protect the city.


    "Huh? Why did you suddenly get so quiet?" Vanessa asked after I''d been lost in thought for a moment.


    "I''m just thinking about what would happen if Peter hadn''t become Spider-Man. He''d probably live a life like mine."


    Vanessa narrowed her eyes. "Peter is a huge nerd��wait, that''s similar. He can''t get girls��" She widened her eyes and whispered, "He gets a lot of girls."


    Mary Jane, Gwen Stacy, Liz Allen, Betty Brant, Ursula the landlord''s daughter... and that was without them knowing he''s Spider-Man.


    "Um... He can''t sing, that''s for sure..." Vanessa mused.


    I turned to Vanessa. "There''s also this: we both have an Aunt May."


    Vanessa widened her eyes in shock. "You''re Peter Parker! Also, what''s your IQ? I know he has a 250 IQ because you won''t shut up about it when you talk about the movie, but what''s yours?"


    "Only 227, so I''m dumber than him," I replied with a sad expression before jumping on the rope again and flipping myself upside down. Positioning my face close to Vanessa''s, I asked, "Even if I''m not as smart as him, will you still kiss me?"


    Vanessa giggled. "Lower your lips a bit more. I can''t reach that. Oh, wait."


    She suddenly reached behind her and unclasped her bra before pulling it out from her sleeve.


    "I''ve seen you do that a hundred times, and I still think it''s magic," I commented before asking, "Why did you take it off?"


    "Kirsten Dunst wasn''t wearing one during that kiss. You want to recreate it, right? Just give me a second to wake up the ''girls''. It won''t take long."


    Vanessa smirked devilishly, clearly enjoying the leering eyes that were now visible with the mask.


    "Oh, so you do usually look," she said playfully.


    I rubbed my nose. "It''s the first time I''ve ever been caught."


    Vanessa laughed and grabbed the edge of the mask at my neck, rolling it downwards to reveal my lips.


    She asked before she kissed me, "Is 227 IQ smart? I have no idea how IQ works."


    "To be honest, me neither," I said playfully.


    Vanessa''s eyes became dazed, and she leaned in closer. Cupping my face in her hands, she placed her lips on mine. I parted my lips slightly, and my tongue intertwined with hers. We kissed for over a minute before a harsh light interrupted us.


    "What are you kids doing here?!" a policeman asked, shining his flashlight at us.


    "Wait, are you guys recreating the Spider-Man kiss?" his partner, a large Black woman, asked sassily.


    "Yeah," I replied, still wearing half a mask while Vanessa tried to hide her face. "You guys are ruining it right now." I added.


    The Black woman smiled knowingly. "Don''t worry, we won''t disturb you. Carry on."


    Her partner turned to her with disdain before asking me, "We''re looking for the source of a scream. Did you guys see anything suspicious around here?"


    "Or did you already kick the bad guys'' asses and now she''s rewarding you with a kiss?" the Black woman teased.


    I smiled. "I wish, but I can''t seem to find any generic early 2000s bad guys hanging out in this alley. It''s just me and my girlfriend here."


    "Alright. You guys can keep doing whatever you''re doing, as long as it''s consensual." The tired middle-aged man lowered his flashlight. "Just don''t do it in public," he added sternly. "That''s how you get diseases."


    The Black woman suddenly asked, "Hey, you guys want a picture? I can take one for you."


    "Yes, please!" I agreed instantly. Vanessa, looking exasperated, tried to hide our faces. "No need! We''re already heading back now!"


    "Ah, you better listen to the missus. I think she''s embarrassed you got caught," the Black woman laughed before she left with her partner.


    "Shall we continue?" I turned to Vanessa, still dangling upside down.


    Vanessa looked at me in disbelief. "NO!" She spun me around angrily, a red blush on her cheeks from the embarrassment of getting caught.


    "Awww..." I exclaimed in disappointment, unfazed by the spinning.


    Vanessa and I walked around Williamsburg, enjoying the bustling city at night. We stopped by Baskin Robbins for ice cream, grabbed some pretzels, and even got a New York hot dog from a food truck.


    "Should we bring something back for Max?" Vanessa asked as we entered a convenience store.


    "Candy. Definitely candy. She needs the extra calories if she wants to inflate her funbags back," I said with a smirk.


    "I meant like shower gel or shampoo, but candy is great too," Vanessa added playfully.


    "We should definitely get her some toilet paper." I stretched my neck to peek at the next aisle, only to see a young Asian girl staring at me, unblinking.


    "Hi," I said warmly, waving at her. "Did you recognize us?" I lowered my sunglasses as I spoke.


    She nodded, a small smile on her face.


    "Shh, don''t tell anyone," I whispered.


    She laughed happily after getting my signature and went to her father�C who owned the store.


    When we got back to Max''s apartment, Max and Caroline returned at the same time, and we bumped into each other in the hallway.


    "Ice cream!?" Max jumped excitedly.


    "None for you," I said teasingly. Max exclaimed in disappointment but perked up again when I added, "But I did buy you some candy."


    "YEAH!" Max squirmed happily.


    As we got inside, Caroline mentioned there were a lot of celebrities at the party.


    But as soon as word got out that I was in New York, ''The Bey'' immediately canceled the party and announced he would throw the most epic, luxurious, explosive party of all time this Sunday.


    A party that would be written about in every news outlet. A party so big that everyone would be there. He was prepared to spend tens of millions for the party.


    "I have a feeling he''s going to do this, but he won''t invite you, just to be petty," Caroline said carefully.


    I shrugged. "I don''t care. I''m filming on Sunday, so I wouldn''t be able to make it anyway."


    "You should throw a better one. An even bigger party," Max said happily. Caroline got excited. "Ooh! I can help you plan it!"


    Vanessa interjected, "Girls, curb your enthusiasm. There''s no way he''s actually going to hold a party if it''s not necessary."


    I nodded in agreement with Vanessa and turned back to Caroline and Max. "See? Vanessa''s telling you guys to calm your tits."


    Max grinned. "Mine are calm. Caroline doesn''t have any."


    "They''re so calm they''re practically shrinking," Caroline shot back, which made Max laugh out loud.


    We talked for a while until midnight.


    "We should head back now. We''ll see you guys again tomorrow at your restaurant," I said as Vanessa and I stood by the door.


    "Mmm�C Mhmm�C" Max mumbled through a mouthful of candy, but I understood her. I replied, "I didn''t do anything to your house, you mustache lover."


    "Wha�C WHAT?!" Max spat the candy back into her hand. "Did you search my room?!" she asked angrily.


    "Definitely," I said easily. That''s how I found out she has a kink for mustaches and hairy men.


    Caroline looked confused. "What mustache lover?"


    "Her porn fetish," Vanessa clarified with an uncomfortable expression.


    "EDWARD!" Max rushed to attack me, but I pushed Vanessa and myself out the door and left the building in a hurry.


    The next morning, I worked out, facing Central Park from the apartment. Wearing a sleeveless, tight shirt and white pants, I was doing handstand push-ups when Vanessa finally emerged from the bedroom.


    "Morning," she said, heading for the coffee, wearing an oversized white shirt and nothing underneath.


    "Morning," I replied before resuming the push-ups. "443... 444... 445..."


    "Is it me, or does New York feel a little stuffy?" Vanessa asked as she pulled up a chair and sat right in front of me, enjoying the view.


    "The pollution index is higher, that''s why," I said, continuing to count in my head.


    As soon as I hit 500, I switched to one-armed handstand push-ups. Vanessa sipped her coffee loudly, her eyes glued to my bulging biceps.


    "Can I sit on your back when you do the regular ones?" she asked as I switched hands after reaching 300.


    "Sure. But it''s a little wet," I agreed easily.


    "Believe me, that''s not the only thing," Vanessa hinted mischievously.


    ...


    SNL writers'' room.


    Thursday afternoon, I arrived at the room after being invited by the SNL head writer, Colin Jost. The head writers were Colin Jost and Seth Meyers, but Seth wasn''t there.


    "Oh my god, I''m finally meeting the elusive billionaire singer-songwriter, inventor, actor, and god knows how many other titles you have," Colin Jost joked as we shook hands, referring to the joke Larry King made before on his interview.


    "And I''m finally meeting Scarlett Johansson''s future husband," I said, smiling back.


    Colin was taken aback, speechless for a few seconds before stammering, "W�CWhat? Sorry? What did you just say? Did she say anything about me��That''s a joke, right?"


    "Who knows? People say I have extraordinary prophetic visions. It could really happen," I said, shrugging before grinning mischievously.


    Colin didn''t take me seriously. "If that does happen, I''ll name my firstborn after you."


    "Deal. Even if it''s a girl," I said, shaking his hand again.


    "No�C Not if it''s a girl! Naming a girl Edward is just nonsense. Do you want me to get divorced right after the birth of my firstborn daughter?"


    "Wow, you guys are really clicking," Jason Sudeikis, who had brought me in, said, shocked by our exchange. He thought we were joking, but I knew I wasn''t.


    "Before we get into anything, there''s something we need to address," Jason said, his face turning serious.


    Colin sighed, seeing Jason''s signal. "About your skit idea..." It was clear he didn''t want to do this.


    "Is it that bad?" I asked, slightly worried.


    "No�C No, in fact, it''s really good," Colin said quickly, wanting to avoid any misunderstanding.


    Jason added, "So good that someone else already did it."


    He took out a tablet and showed me a video on Entertain''s website by Studio C, a studio that focuses on comedic sketches.


    I laughed at the execution of the idea �C them finding Ronald Reagan''s diary instead of the serial killer''s �C and how the video focused on the upcoming election. It had been uploaded six hours ago and already had a million views.


    "So, we''re going to have to scrap the idea. I hope you don''t take it personally. We really liked you and Torres''s initial pitch," Colin said, looking nervous.


    Even though he was the head writer, Colin knew I was higher than him in terms of status. In fact, that''s why Seth wasn''t here today. He didn''t want to be present when the news broke, in case it would damage his future relationship with me.


    "It''s fine. I''m not going to be mad if someone else does it first. There''s still a few more ideas we can use, right?" I said calmly.


    Colin breathed in relief before saying, "Thank god, I thought my chances with Scarlet will be over before it even starts."


    We brought back Julio for the meeting. I pitched the idea of ''Why do you like that'', where three contestants in a game show would reveal why they liked the pictures on their Instagram.


    Colin loved the idea, but Jason thought it would be too on the nose considering I was the owner of the apps.


    Julio suddenly said, "I have an idea, but I think it''ll be too difficult to do."


    "What is it?" I asked with expectation.


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 Chapter 370: SNL (1)

    Chapter 370 - 370: SNL (1)


    [General POV]


    Dressed in a green suit with a white vest, Edward stood backstage at SNL five minutes before the show started.


    "Remember, let the music finish playing before you speak," the staff member said as she fixed his microphone and adjusted his suit. "Keep direct eye contact with the camera if you can," she added.


    Edward nodded and replied, "Got it."


    He shook his hands, feeling nervous about his monologue. The cold open was currently playing, featuring an exaggerated skit about his interview with Larry King.


    Kirsten Wiig portrayed Beverly, Bill Hader played Edward, and Fred Armisen took on the role of Larry King. Edward wrote Beverly in a way inspired by The Big Bang Theory, making her an incredibly cold and brutally honest woman.


    Sheldon, Leonard, Penny, and even Beverly herself, who were watching the show, were in awe of how similar the character was to Beverly''s real-life personality.


    "It''s like Edward has an omniscient viewpoint and can see through the fabric of reality himself," Sheldon muttered, uncomfortable with the similarity. Sheldon looked around the room, and found himself to be alone.


    The cold open usually addressed current trends and events happening in the country, and Edward''s ''incident'' was too significant not to create a skit about it.


    As the staff moved away, Vanessa stood in front of Edward. "Good luck," she said, kissing him on the cheek.


    "Thanks. I really needed that," he replied, acting as if her kiss gave him strength. Vanessa blushed and playfully hit his chest, trying to cover her embarrassment.


    "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! EDWARD NEWGATE!!!"


    As his name was announced, Edward walked confidently onto the stage. He was greeted with thunderous applause, almost drowning out the loud jazz music accompanying him as he took his place in the center.


    Edward acted like a musical conductor, perfectly timing the moment the music would end. The live studio crowd cheered wildly at the sight of him, and some of the younger girls felt lightheaded. As the music stopped, Edward immediately addressed the crowd, "Thank you! Thank you so much!"


    The cheers grew even more fervent when he began to speak, prompting the SNL staff to hold up a cue card instructing the crowd to calm down.


    "Thank you!" Edward said to the straggler who was still cheering for him.


    "I LOVE YOU, EDWARD!" a loud girlish voice shouted from afar, completely breaking SNL rules. "I love you too, random citizen!" Edward pointed at her, eliciting laughter from the audience.


    "Wow, what a crowd! What an infectious energy! It''s great to be here on SNL! This is my first time hosting, even though I''ve been here twice before." Starting sincerely, Edward''s tone turned flat at the end, making it seem like he was holding a grudge against the crew.


    Everyone laughed at his delivery, and Edward continued, "But I''m fine with it... totally. Today, I will be your host and also the musical guest."


    "I just finished up my world tour��"


    The crowd cheered and applauded his achievement, which made Edward chuckle slightly.


    "A very successful world tour. I made some headlines, became the topic of some conspiracy theories, and have yet to become a sex symbol in the United States, no matter how many times I take my shirt off on screen."


    The crowd gasped in amazement and cheered for him. "Speaking of being shirtless on screen, my new series, Psychopath Diary, just hit 300 million views on Netflix in the United States alone."


    The crowd reacted again, showing overwhelming support for everything he said without even needing the cue cards.


    Edward smirked and playfully said, "Which confuses me because the subscriber numbers aren''t even half that."


    The crowd laughed again.


    Edward paused to let the audience calm down before continuing, "The internet theorists�� as I like to call them, which is basically just two people on social media��accused me of casting Emma Watson in the series just so I could kiss her."


    "To the two of them out there, I just have one word to say... Are you jealous?" Edward mocked, giving a teasing look at the camera, which made the entire crowd burst out laughing.


    "Since I have the opportunity, I''d like to address some of the conspiracy theories about me and settle this nonsense once and for all��"


    While Edward took a deep breath to continue, Keenan, the African American comedian, walked onto the stage and stood right next to him, causing him to fall silent.


    Edward was startled and turned to him in confusion, asking, "What are you doing, Keenan?"


    Keenan replied, "Hold on, I just need 10 seconds. Also, what''s my name?"


    "Keenan?" Edward was genuinely confused.


    "Again."


    "Keenan..." Edward was baffled, and even the crowd was confused. Keenan smiled in satisfaction before saying, "Thank you. Now I can go viral online." He shook Edward''s hand and left the stage.


    Edward watched Keenan leave and then said slowly, "That wasn''t in the script?"


    The crowd burst out laughing, as no one had any idea what had just happened.


    "Alright then. Moving on to conspiracy theory number 1." Edward jerked his head slightly, Jim Carrey-style, which caused an intense reaction from the crowd. The list was taken directly from the internet, which made the net-sleuths excited.


    Edward opened the folded paper and read the theories: "As long as you''re in the frame with Edward for 10 seconds and he says your name three times, your entertainment career will explode��OH."


    The crowd erupted with laughter, finally understanding Keenan''s intentions. Edward shook his head slightly in disappointment as he turned to look at Keenan again, which made the crowd laugh even harder.


    "Second theory: ''Edward Newgate is part of the government supersoldier program''��which isn''t true at all. I mean, did I grow up in a super-secret military lab located right next to Area 51? You know, just 20 miles away? You have to get to a weird-shaped rock in the middle of the desert to find the opening, walk two more miles in the tunnels, and finally reach an elevator to find the super-secret breeding site? This one is just baseless. Wait..."


    Edward pretended to realize something, which made the crowd giggle. Max and Caroline were given tickets to attend the show, and Max kept laughing at every jokes Edward made.


    Caroline asked her while holding her laugh, "Why are you so happy Max? You told me before we came in that this isn''t your type of comedy."


    Max cackle and said, "I know. But when others are laughing, I feel like laughing too."


    "Third theory: ''Edward Newgate is part horse.''" Edward''s face fell flat and he looked directly at the audience, "This may have some truth to it. I''ve been wondering the same thing, but it''s only when I look at one part of my body."


    Vanessa was laughing until she realized that many people might want him to prove it, causing her happiness to fade and be replaced with annoyance.


    "Yeah, my glorious mane," Edward said as he shook his wolf-cut hair seductively. He smirked and turned to a girl in the crowd, "What did you think I was thinking about?"


    The girl he was looking at blushed and covered her face instantly. Everyone gasped in bewilderment and embarrassment, feeling like Edward could see right through them.


    Taylor narrowed her eyes as she watched the show from her private jet, finally finishing up with her tour. "He''s flirting again. Now he''s doing it live on tv with a random bitch."


    In Palisades, Jay Pritchett''s house, the entire family gathered to watch Edward''s live performance.


    Alex grimaced and said, "He did that on purpose, just to make us feel like we''re perverts."


    The show continued: "Fourth theory: Edward Newgate is actually an angel in disguise. Oh, this one''s pretty nice," Edward exclaimed, flattered by the comment. "Maybe humanity is worth saving after all."


    "Okay, last one," Edward said as the crowd melted at his charisma. Every eyes in the studio was glued on him, even the cameramen were mesmerized.


    "Edward Newgate is a robot. Apparently, people can''t believe one person could achieve all the things I''ve done without being a robot." He squinted his eyes with disbelief.


    "Sure, I bought a few companies and created a few techs, but I''m not a robot. Can a robot do this?"


    Dance music played in the background as Edward danced like a robot on stage, earning amazed exclamations from the audience. But he slowly became more sluggish and then stopped right in the middle of the dance.


    Keenan returned with a battery, telling the audience, "Sorry, I forgot to charge him this morning." He flipped Edward''s suit to reveal a battery pack.


    The audience laughed in disbelief at the bit, and the monologue finally came to an end.


    "We''ve got a great show for you tonight!" Edward said, raising both hands after the battery was placed. The audience cheered in excitement.


    "The guys and I combined our brains together and prepared a special performance. So stick around! We''ll be right back!" Edward said, pointing at the TV audience. The camera pulled back as the music played, and the program cut to a commercial.


    Phil, Luke, Cam, Gloria, and Haley clapped their hands, enjoying Edward''s opening monologue.


    Claire smiled softly and said, "I still don''t know how he does it. He has a very strong mentality to perform stand-up like that in front of millions of people, live on screen."


    Mitchell added, agreeing with Claire, "Yeah. If they pre-recorded it, maybe it would be fine��"


    Jay interrupted Mitchell and Claire, saying, "It doesn''t matter if it''s pre-recorded or not. He''s done thousands of concerts in front of real people. I don''t think a short skit will bother him too much."


    Alex suddenly chortled, making everyone look at her. She held back her laughter as she said, "Oh no, Grandpa. He was definitely bothered. He was so nervous that he even butchered his grammar when we were talking in the group chat before he took the stage."


    Haley scrunched her eyebrows, feeling a little jealous of Alex''s connection with Edward.


    Back in New York, Edward hugged Vanessa as he arrived backstage.


    "You''re all sweaty," Vanessa said, taken aback when she touched his shirt under his jacket.


    Edward closed his eyes and placed his chin on top of Vanessa''s head. "I thought you liked sweaty people."


    "No, where did you get that idea?" she asked, pulling away and giving him a bewildered look.


    "Well, yesterday when you were licking��"


    Startled, Vanessa immediately cupped Edward''s mouth, not letting him finish his sentence.


    An SNL cast member walked up to the duo and said, "Sorry, am I interrupting your romantic moment?"


    Jason Sudeikis snickered as he teased Edward and Vanessa with a grin. Edward wanted to speak, but Vanessa had forgotten to remove her hand. He sighed, rolled his eyes, and gently moved her hand away, finally snapping Vanessa out of her dazed state.


    "Yes, you''re definitely interrupting," Edward replied to Jason.


    "Ah, sorry about that. I just had to make sure you were in the right place for the musical portion of the evening. But I guess I was wrong to do my job, huh?" Jason smirked, slightly sarcastic.


    "Yeah. Why are you doing interns work anyway? Did I not pay you enough for your role?" Edward pretended to be serious, but his smile betrayed him a moment later.


    Jason was playing Phil in the Modern Family series Edward was producing on Netflix. Technically, he was working for Edward.


    "I always need more money. Oh yeah, I''ve heard you''re looking to get into a wrestling event. Are you going to fight or just sit in the audience?" Jason asked, slightly mocking.


    Vanessa widened her eyes and turned to Edward. Sighing, he told Jason, "That''s definitely something you shouldn''t say in front of her."


    Jason seemed confused at first, then realized his mistake. "Oh��OH! I''m so sorry. I just wanted to tell him that my friend knows a club. I didn''t realize it was a surprise."


    Edward turned to Vanessa and said awkwardly, "Well, surprise?"


    "Did you find the ticket for me because I told you I wanted to see a wrestling match live?" Vanessa''s eyes sparkled with affection, and she didn''t seem bothered by the botched surprise at all.


    In fact, her affection made Jason feel a bit uncomfortable, as if he were third-wheeling.


    "Um, I''m really sorry to kill the mood twice, but there are two minutes left, and Edward still has to change his clothes," Jason said, pulling Edward out of the locked gaze he had with his girlfriend.


    As the five-minute commercial ended, Edward was ready at the center of the stage to host tonight''s show.


    "Tonight, we have something special planned. But it''s not an easy road to walk to get there. Here, take a look," Edward said, pointing at the screen.


    The show cut to a pre-recorded scene of the writers'' room a day before the live show started.


    -SNL Writers Room Sketch-


    [8:43 PM, Friday]


    Colin, Josh, Kate McKinnon, and Keenan waited inside the conference room.


    "Knock, knock," Edward said happily as he greeted them and walked into the room.


    "Oh hey! Edward Newgate, we''re huge fans of yours," Colin said cheerfully.


    "Thanks... Who are you again?" Edward asked politely, confusion etched on his face.


    Colin became awkward and replied unconfidently, "Colin��I''m Colin Josh, the head co-writer."


    The crowd snickered at his delivery. Although Colin already had some fame, he wasn''t on the same level as Seth Meyers and other SNL figures.


    "Oh, I''ve never seen you before. Don''t be discouraged; I''m 17. There are a lot of things I don''t know yet," Edward said as he sat in front of the three writers.


    "But you do know how to make a great song," Kate McKinnon said. "And you also produce new and exciting shows," Keenan added.


    Colin interjected, "Self Made, Draculein, Juvenile Revenge, Breaking Bad, Arcane, Frozen, Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory, House of Cards, Black Mirror, Queen''s Gambit..."


    "And the most recent one, Psychopath Diary. Basically, in the last two years, you''ve been at the center of everything in pop culture," Keenan commented.


    The crowd cheered in amazement, and some people were truly shocked by the number of shows Edward had a hand in creating.


    At Jay''s house, Alex continued listing what was left out. "Community, Suits, Amazing Spider-Man, Night Witches, Pitch Perfect��"


    "Alex, shut it," Luke said, annoyed as he wanted to focus on the skits.


    "Which brings us to our problem with your sketch pitch for tomorrow," Colin said, sounding pitiful.


    Keenan and McKinnon chimed in simultaneously, "There are too many ideas."


    The crowd laughed slightly at the sudden dramatic zoom on the comedians'' faces. Edward kept his straight-man persona as he faced the bizarre pitches the writers threw at him.


    "We picked the top three. First is a Frozen Let It Go song, the rap version," Keenan pitched.


    The video cut to a frozen landscape where Edward was wearing Kristoff''s clothes and Keenan was dressed as Elsa, complete with a wig.


    The beats from Chris Brown''s Look At Me Now played in the background as Keenan parodied Busta Rhymes'' part in the song. "?? Hey Anna, let me show you how to keep the ice rolling when you''re doing that thing over there, homie. ??"


    "?? Aye Aye Aye Aye Aye! ??" They sang together, then Edward shouted to the camera, rapper-style, "?? Let It Go! ??"


    Keenan joined in with the rap, "''Cause I''m feeling like I can''t turn it back anymore, anymore, anymore. Turn away, slam the door. I don''t care what they''re going to say�� the cold never bothered me anyway."


    The clip cut to Keenan biting his golden chains while Edward threw carrots to Colin, who was dressed in a reindeer outfit, like throwing money to a stripper. Kate McKinnon, as Anna, gasped upon seeing Kristoff grinding with Sven and ran away crying.


    "Stop! That was..." The video cut to real life, where Edward stopped Keenan from his pitch. He broke the silence by chuckling and saying, "...pretty good."


    Every writer in the room laughed together. Colin muttered, "Yeah? You like that one? Should we proceed with that?"


    "O��OR!" Kate McKinnon interjected quickly to pitch her ideas before anything was decided. "We could do a fusion of Arcane and Modern Family."


    The camera cut to a scene where Powder (Kate McKinnon) and Vi (Colin), both with blue and red wigs, fought over a t-shirt near the stairs before their mother (Keenan) walked down with a basket full of laundry.


    "Powder, stop trying to take Vi''s clothes! You''re either going to cut it or draw on it with neon paint! Last time you did that, the entire laundry turned neon!"


    "Ugh! I hate you!" Kate McKinnon shouted at Keenan before huffing up the stairs.


    [Powder''s Commentary]


    With perfect Jinx-like mannerisms��slouched, holding one arm, and looking like a mental patient��Kate said, "I didn''t mean what I said. Sometimes... there are voices in my head that make me lash out at everyone."


    [Commentary Ends]


    "So, what do you think?" As the video cut back to the meeting room, Edward had a fish-hook lips expression and looked at Kate with confusion.


    "That''s... fascinating," he said flatly.


    "If we''re going to do a fusion, then we can do a Breaking Bad and Frozen fusion," Keenan said urgently.


    Edward smiled again and said, "Oh, instead of Anna, Walter White was the one who knocked."


    The camera cuts again to Colin wearing Walter White attire, knocking on Jesse Pinkman''s door, played by Edward.


    "?? Jesse! Do you want to build a meth lab~~~? Come on, let''s go and cook~~~! ??"


    Edward looked at the trio, brimming with excitement. Colin, Kate and Keenan said flatly, "That''s interesting."


    "But!" Colin interjected with his idea now. It was Kate Mckinnon as Taylor S., singing a country song about a vampire while Edward lurked behind her.


    Kennan pitched a skit again, this time, it was The Big Bang Theory where Colin and Kennan watched Edward easily picking up Kate McKinnon as Penny.


    "Yeah, he''s too handsome to play a nerd. We didn''t think this through," Colin as Sheldon said.


    They started arguing about what idea was best for the sketch before Jason knocked on the door, face full of confusion, "Edward. What are you doing here?"


    Edward too was confused, "Should I not be here? I''m listening to the sketch pitch for tomorrow."


    Jason said with a sigh, "You''re a musical guest and the host. You don''t need to join in the sketch part too. Just prepare a new song to sing for tomorrow."


    "Oh." He exclaimed flatly before he turned to the three people, "Sorry guys."


    As he was walking out, the three followed him urgently, "Wait! Wait!"


    Colin begged, "At least listen to my movie idea!"


    Kennan shouted, "Mine too! I need my own Atlanta. Donald Glover isn''t the only black guy who knows how to make a show!"


    Edward''s voice sounded from afar, "Do I need to write a brand new song? I''m still going to hold the copyright for the song, right?"


    The video showed an empty room for a while before Andy Samberg rushed into the room, "I''m here! I''m here! Edward, you should collab with The Lonely Island�C" Andy realized the room was empty and his voice turned shaky, "Mr Newgate? Where are you? The LONELY ISLAND NEEDS A COMEBACK!"


    Julio Torres was finally relieved when the sketch had a positive reaction. They almost didn''t make it with filming the various skits needed for the video. Edward basically lived in the SNL building in the last two days to prepare for the show.


    The sketch ended with thunderous applause. The camera immediately cuts to Edward on the stage, with a synthesizer next to him. It was time for the half-show performance.


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