(A/N: Remember this while reading – 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–swirling 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 – 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– 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.
"They didn't know each other until this week. She's not important." Elsa said.
"Really?" Jenna brightened up.
"Yes. If you really want Newgate, he'll be yours. Don't worry about it." Elsa said.
"Hmm…I believe you." Jenna said and then she entered the English class – the same class Edward was having right now. She ignored the balding male teacher who's teaching the class and stood next to Jacob who's sitting next to Edward.
"Will you move?" Jenna asked nicely. Jacob quickly stored his stuff and changed his seat to the ones behind Edward without even denying the popular girl's request even once.
"That potato bitch." Edward cursed his traitorous friend.
"Hmm… Hi Edward." Jenna greeted shyly and continued making eyes at Edward during the entire class session. Elsa stared at her friend in wonder. 'Did she really lose her mind?'
…
-Dunphy's house-
Haley was laughing madly at the gossip circulating amongst the children in the town.
"She asked a gay kid to be her boyfriend." Haley couldn't stop herself from laughing until her stomach hurt. Alex finally arrived home after her cello lesson and entered their shared room.
"What are you laughing about?" Alex said with a grimacing face as if allergic to Haley's happiness.
"Do you know what happened at your school cafeteria today?" Haley asked, face full of excitement. Alex suddenly became guarded and asked, "What did you hear?"
"Apparently a popular girl's confession was shut down by the arrogant bastard Newgate. She'd made a fool of herself- Pfft- Hahaha!" Haley laughed again.
Alex asked, "Really? That's it?"
"Yeah. Why? Do you know something more?!" Haley asked, face full of anticipation. She leaned forward to hear what Alex was going to say more clearly.
"Nothing else was mentioned? Maybe the friend Edward was sitting with?" Alex asked sarcastically. Haley turned to her phone and rechecked the message, "No. I don't think so. They only said he was sitting with a boy."
Alex rolled her eyes and quickly became disinterested in the conversation.
"Oh yeah. Mom is going to the cafe tonight to follow Dad. She is bringing all of us with her." Alex said.
"What?! No. I'm not going!" Haley tried to object. "Don't tell me…tell mom. She's downstairs." Alex said without looking at Haley and opening her books to do her homeworks.
"Moooom!" Haley called out and rushed outside.
"Mom had left 5 minutes ago to go to the mall. With her searching for mom, I think I'll have one hour of peace and silence to study."
From afar, Alex heard Haley call out, "Moooom!"
"Well. Maybe peace." Alex mumbled as she shrugged her shoulders. "MOOM!" Haley yelled out louder than before.
-Edward POV-
"Finally the day is over." Edward sighed as he cycled back home using his bike. "That girl's brain couldn't comprehend the meaning of the word 'No'."
After I got home, I texted Alex asking if she was fine, but she didn't reply to any of my texts. I sighed and placed my bag on my desk table as I entered my room.
I got cleaned and continued sewing my outfit for the show.
"Hmm. I don't think I will get it done in time."
I may have Edna's talent, but it was my first time sewing after all.
"It's a shame as I'm almost done with it too." I muttered as I picked up the brown jacket I'm currently sewing.
The doorbell rang at 6 o'clock in the evening. I opened the front door to see Luke and Phil already dressed and ready for the showing tonight.
"You know the show's not till 9 right?" I asked.
"We know. We're just here to see if there's anything we can help you with – to get ready for the show." Phil replied.
"I'm just here for more cakes." Luke said. I rubbed his head and said, "You shouldn't eat that everyday. It's unhealthy."
The kid grimaced, but he nodded obediently.
"Manny called. He said he will be sure to come." Phil said as they were invited inside the house. Manny would come to the show with his new step-dad Jay and his mother Gloria.
I turned to see where Luke went, but he'd disappeared. "Luke? Where are you?" Phil asked.
"I'm using the toilet." Luke replied from afar.
Luke went straight to the fridge and opened it up without an ounce of shame in raiding another family's fridge.
"Jackpot." Luke muttered as he saw a whole oreo cheesecake inside the fridge. He sneaked the cake out of the fridge, and into his clothes.
"Dad, I forgot something at home. I will come back later." Luke said to Phil from afar before he ran to his house. I was confused by Luke's action, but I had more important things to focus on now.
My phone started ringing. I saw the names Steven and Stephan on the screen and picked it up quickly. The cafe owner was calling, but I'm not sure why.
"I'm sorry, Edward. But there's a small fire in the cafe. It'll need to be shut down until the weekends." The voice from the other line said.
"What? Seriously?" I asked. "Is anyone hurt?"
"No. The fire didn't spread out too much. The firefighters are here…"
I then heard the owners giggling as they greeted the firefighters in their burned down cafe at this moment.
'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.