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.
"Don't be so dramatic. It isn't the time." Pepper said while purposely slapped the paper on Haley's hand to smack Cam's face as he walked past them.
"I got Harvey on the line. She'll listen to the conversation." Pepper said as he finally reached my spot.
"So, among the 4 choices, I think we can eliminate two of them, as they didn't meet the theme requirement." Harvey said using a calm tone as she tried to be as rational as possible in the matter.
"And the other song…did you make it about Taylor?" The lawyer asked in a concerned voice. "If you did, I need to know about it to make some preparations just in case someone gets funny ideas." She added.
"It's not about her." I said in a dismissive tone.
Pepper was concerned and he asked, "Then, did you make the song…on purpose…for a marketing strategy? If that's true, then that's genius, but are you really going to manipulate someone's feelings like that? You are really close with her, am I not right?"
"I can just change it to 'Treat You Better' if you guys feel this way. And if I need to confess, then yes, I did make it as a part of a strategy. We were supposed to use 'Two is better than one' to attract the listeners and, most importantly to prop up the rumors and chatter in order to build up hype over our upcoming collaboration project after all that pairs us up with a HUGE label and we NEED that to be a hit so we can make a name for ourselves since it's going to need a big budget on our part with two music videos, as well as the funds to meet our minimum participation in the marketing budget, but now…"
Pepper nodded in understanding and Harvey went silent.
The lawyer said soon after, "Ed. Even your Youtube videos are viral. And that was an amateur production through and through. You don't have to worry about it. If you want to release the song, then do it, but don't do it because you want to use Taylor or you have to meet a deadline. Do it because you truly believe in that song."
"I guess I agree with Harvey on this one. You don't have to be worried. Like I said, you're a superstar. I already know that your Singles will be successful." Pepper said with one hand holding my shoulder.
As I was getting swayed by the adult's words, suddenly Haley and Abby interjected, "Nah, that song isn't that great."
"Really?" I asked as I turned to look at them. "Should I just release 'Treat you better?'"
Haley opened her mouth to answer, but her guilty conscience stopped her from doing so. She didn't like the lyrics of the song, as she knew it was about Taylor, but should she really sabotage his future just because she was jealous? Abby thought the same way, and both of them turned toward each other.
Harvey asked hurriedly. "Ed. Does this mean you're accepting the studio's request? You're not releasing 'Two is better than one' right now?"
I realized that I still haven't given my confirmation, and I turned to look at the clock. It was almost 6 pm, and I still haven't made the edit yet.
"I want to, you know…for money reasons." I said to the phone. Harvey said, "I know. Ka-ching."
She was at the studio building right now, trying to finalize the terms of the contract – If I push back the release for the song. The studio was willing to let go of the box office cut my agency requested as the first vampire movie only earned them 400 million in the worldwide box office, and they didn't have much confidence on the second movie given the uncertainty of sequels and the "flimsy" market teenage entertainment presented.
However, I knew that it would reach over 700 million at the international box office, therefore I was taking all I could get from the movie as the executives there were pissing me off.
"By the way, I managed to drag the percentage to 6.9, but they aren't budging much after that."
I thought a bit and said, "But what if…I don't give them an answer until almost midnight. Could you use that to pressure them?"
Harvey chortled and said, "Nice idea kid. But if you don't have a replacement song, it'll just be a waste of my effort. So finalize the decision first. 'Can I be him', or 'Treat You Better'?"
I was torn between the two songs, and Cam suddenly stood back up as if he was never fainting before, and walked towards us.
"You may feel indecisive about it, but let's take a look at this thing as a whole. The other song, Grenade and the other one-"
"Me and my broken heart." Haley helped.
"Yeah. that." Cam said as he prepared his debate. "Theme wise, Can I be him is more compatible with them than Treat You Better. Grenade gives the vibes of a broken man, Me and my broken heart made it that you're healing, but Treat you better is about friendzone-"
"Same as Can I be him. Both songs are similar." Pepper said, causing Cam to lose his momentum. Cam cleared his throat and said, "But the other one…it suits Ed's theme more. The mature kid theme."
"Ahh.." Pepper exclaimed in realization.
"The lyrics were more mature, his vibes weren't clingy, and most important of all, Can I be him? Taylor- Wait. No, sorry spiraling." Cam giggled and then rearranged his sentence, "If we put it to a vote, then I will put mine on Can I be him. Definitely."
"That's a nice idea. Why don't we put it on a vote?" I said as I turned to Pepper, "which one?"
"Can I be him." Pepper voted. I turned to Haley, and she said, "T-Treat you better."
Abby was torn, but then she followed Haley's vote, Harvey abstained from voting as she needed to be the rational one in the discussion.
"Damn it. A tie then. So the vote is useless." Pepper said angrily. Suddenly, Leo- the sound engineer who was supposed to be in the desert studio popped out of nowhere and said, "Can I be him."
All of us were shocked by his sudden appearance, but he only bit his sandwich and walked past us without saying anything else.
"Holy- What just happened?" I exclaimed as I was incredibly puzzled by the development.
"Who cares? Now it's 3 to 2. Can I be him, won." Cam said with a wide grin on his face.
(A/N:After sleeping on it, I think that song fits more with his vibes rather than Treat you better.)
…
Before I finalized the decision, I called Taylor secretly to talk t0 her about it.
"Hey. What are you doing now?" I asked as the call was picked up.
"Getting dressed. I just walked out of the shower. I'm not wearing anything-"
"Stop it skank!" Another voice–Selena stopped her from going further as Taylor was currently in a shared space. She was currently in Ohio as part of her "Fearless" tour, and Selena would be her guest in the concert she had tomorrow.
"That's nice. Anyway, I need to talk to you about something." I said with a solemn tone.
"What's the matter?" Taylor realized that it was an important topic, therefore she didn't tease me anymore and turned serious too. "Is this about Two is better than one? I told you not to care about the studio. If they really want the song, then they'll take it, even after you've released it. Don't cater to them. They asked at the last minute, it was their own fault."
"I actually managed to pick a replacement song. And I'm currently negotiating about the cut I'll get if I push back the release. Harvey is making them bleed, and I like that more than to just ignore them."
Taylor chuckled and said seductively, "You bad boy."
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."