[Edward POV]
It was finally lunchtime. I sneaked with Jacob to the library as my fans were still crowding the hallways and the cafeteria – 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– 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.
"Is your wrist hurting?" I asked.
" A little bit. Mrs William wanted a 20 page History essay on the Battle of Gettysburg. So I finished it last night."
I stared speechlessly at Alex after I heard it.
"What?" She asked in confusion.
"She gave the assignment yesterday?"
"Yeah. So? If I do it earlier, I can use the time to edit it, do more research, then submit it for full marks before the deadline."
She turned to the pages again, and I grabbed her hand this time.
"Hey, What gives?" She asked in irritation.
"Don't write now, let your hand heal first. Otherwise, you will need to take 3 days off to recuperate instead of a few hours just because you're too stubborn to let it go."
"I'm not stubborn-"
"You're. Let me help you massage it. I can make it better."
Alex snorted as she heard it and said sarcastically, "You're a genius masseur now too?"
I just laughed it off before she thought of something and asked me hurriedly, "Do you want to be a doctor in the future? Then, you can be the first Medical Doctor/ Artist in the world-"
I pushed my sandwich into her mouth to gag her before I said, "Relax your arm. Follow my guide."
She nodded while nibbling at the sandwich slowly and I gently put pressure on her forearm using my fingers. Alex wanted to scoff and rebuke me to say that it was her wrist that was hurting, but my electrifying touch made her brain filled with pleasure instead.
I didn't know what I was doing to her brain, and I used my [Murim beautifying massage] skill to her right arm slowly and gently. As I reached her wrist, my every touch made her squirm at her seat. Blood rushed to her face and brain, and her mind was totally blanked out right now.
"I…feel a little sick." Alex said suddenly before she accidentally let out a cute burp. Both of us were stunned and looked at each other before I laughed and she became embarrassed by it.
"I- I don't want to be late to class. I will go now-"
She tried to stand up and ran away, but I pulled her back down and said, "Lunch isn't over in 5 more minutes."
"N0- I need to…Humm~" Alex let out a cute moan as I started massaging her palm. For someone that writes as much as she does, her hand was the most sensitive place to get a massage.
"Don't squirm. Be still." I said as Alex's face had turned as red as a tomato as I massaged her palm. I changed my skill and used my interphalangeal joint on my thumb to put pressure on the muscles underneath her thumb.
"AHHHH!" Alex screamed as her brain was overloaded as I did the move. Her scream made the old Librarian startled, and she wanted to check up on us, but at her speed that was as fast as a turtle, I had time till lunch was over before she could finally arrive at my spot.
"Hey are you okay?" I released my hand after she screamed. With teary eyes, Alex cursed, "Damn YOU!" and ran away quickly from there without even storing all of her books and utensils.
Her chair was a bit wet, but I didn't notice it. The bell rang soon after, so I helped her to pick up her stuff and placed it all in her locker before I walked to the classroom. I texted her, but she wasn't replying to my messages.
"What the hell did I do?" I asked, confused. I understand that the massage skill could beautify someone, but I greatly underestimate the effect it has on the person getting massaged.
[Alex's commentary]
Covering her face in embarrassment, she said, "My life…is over…"
"I can't…see him again…"
"Not after…(Softly) I peed myself…"
[Commentary ends]
[3rd Person POV]
As Alex ran to the bathroom, she passed by Jacob who was trying to talk to Elsa at the moment. None of them noticed each other, and it was a good thing for her as she didn't want anyone to know about her predicament right now.
"I'm sorry. Please take me back." Jacob begged Elsa, but she only snorted and walked away, leaving behind a depressed Jacob. He had been trying hard, but he still hadn't spoken the right words yet. It was an ordeal for him, and although he could ask Edward for the hint, this time he wanted to receive Elsa's affection back on his own efforts.
Jenna looked at Jacob as if he was an idiot– which she was not wrong about, and walked with her friend.
"Why are you ignoring him? You said you want to get back together with him?" Jenna whispered to Elsa.
"I…I don't know. Stop asking me! Or I'll tell Edward you…you…you keep a lock of his hair and sniff it daily!"
"HEY I DON'T SNIFF IT DAILY!" Jenna shouted in anger before pinching Elsa's bare waist. She huffed away, but stopped and said, "And I don't have a lock of his hair yet!"
'Yet?' Elsa thought in confusion.
[Edward POV]
After school was over, I wanted to meet with Alex, but she was walking hurriedly away from me. I followed her while calling her, but she ignored me. And while I was following her, I accidentally walked to the school front where the paparazzis were waiting for me to come out.
"Oh shit." I said while tipping my baseball cap down to avoid getting detected. Alex turned to look at me and saw my predicament, her feet stopped without her consent.
"Hey. Is that him?!" One paparazzi noticed my figure among the students.
"It's him! EDWARD LOOK OVER HERE!" They shouted and started breaching the school's fence to take a better shot of me with their cameras. I smiled wryly as I waved at them before Alex suddenly screamed, "Help. The PEDOFILES are entering the school!"
"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."