[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!"
…
[Edward POV]
I traced my hand on Abby's jaw, slowly moving it towards her chin. She blushed and tried to move her face away, but I forcefully made her look into my eyes. Her face turned extremely red and then she said, "Okay. You win! Stop!"
I laughed and released her before turning to the kid around us and said, "See. I told you I can seduce her without even saying anything."
"Dude. You're a GOD! Next, Truth or Dare! ABBY!" Derek called out.
Derek, one of Haley's normal high school friends, had approached us and invited us to his game before this. Haley, Anais, Tara, and even a few others also had joined the game.
"Wh-what?!" Abby replied with a stutter. "Tru- NO DARE!"
"Edward Newgate will ask you now." Derek said with a grin.
I furrowed my brows for a bit before I turned to Abby and said with a sly grin, "You need to make out with Haley."
The group exclaimed while both Abby and Haley turned bewildered.
"Why me?" Haley tried to protest.
"I don't know. I just wanna see it." I replied casually.
"Hey… Can I get a picture?" A blonde girl in a summer dress suddenly crashed the party and sat in the middle of Abby and I as her friend snapped a picture of her and me together without my consent. Not stopping after that, she changed her position with her friend even though Abby was glaring daggers at the girls.
"Damn. They're too much." Haley muttered in dissatisfaction as the game was ruined.
"Well you guys can still kiss tho." Derek said playfully. Abby and Haley turned and locked eyes with one another, but seeing that I was preoccupied, they said, "Nah/Useless if Ed can't see it."
"I need to go to the bathroom." I sighed and stood up before walking away from the 'fans' as they were crowding the group. Haley's eyes trailed my back, and she whispered to Abby, "Does he seem tired to you?"
"Yeah. A little bit. He turns into a bit of a whore when he's tired, so we need to be careful." Abby replied. Haley's eyes shook, but she nodded regardless.
I heard what they were talking about and gave them a side eye as I walked away, but I couldn't really say that what they were talking about was untrue. 'Whenever I'm feeling vulnerable, I do turn into a flirtatious man.' I thought secretly.
Now that I had realized that, I knew I had to be more careful while staying at this party as I didn't want my inner lust demon personality to descend into… this earth. Otherwise, I would hook up with someone random at this party. Casual hook up sure was fun, but I didn't want to turn my life here into a shitstorm of a mess just because I couldn't hold myself together.
I didn't go to the downstairs bathroom, but I used the one upstairs where there were less people around. However, as I walked through the corridors, I came across Jenna who was just getting out of the toilet.
"Hey." I called out to her, but she ignored me and showed her middle finger up in the air again. I smiled wryly, but at this time, an Indian girl suddenly called out to me to get a picture together. "Edward Newgate…Can I?" She asked shyly.
I sighed inwardly and faked a smile before saying, "Sure." She snapped the picture before shyly bowing at me and went away. Jenna rolled her eyes and tried to move past, but I grabbed her wrist, causing her to be taken aback.
"Hey. Did you notice that?" I asked.
"Hmm?" Jenna was confused. Although she was still mad at me, she still stopped to hear what I said.
"The more famous I am, the more people will call me by my full name whenever they want to talk to me." I said with a hint of sadness in my voice. "They stopped thinking of me as just an ordinary kid, and would only see me through rose tinted glasses from now on."
And to be honest, it felt kinda lonely for me as I was treated this way.
"I don't want to talk to you until-" Jenna said something to me for the first time in a while.
"Shhh- Listen to me first." I shushed her by putting my finger at her lip. She widened her eyes at the touch, and glared at me angrily as I stopped her from talking.
"What I'm saying is that, the more famous I am, the less likely it is for me to get someone who wants to be my friend for…you know…me."
Jenna's anger dissipated a bit as she sympathized with my situation. I continued, "So I will apologize to your mom."
"Huh? Wh-...What did you just say?" Jenna widened her eyes in disbelief after she heard that.
"Yeah. Also, I don't want you to think that I was late to apologize because I don't like you or don't want to be your friend. If anything, I have…I think I 'had' now, a major mommy issue that prevented me from doing so."
It was the truth. Although I knew that I could appease Jenna by making some perfunctory apology to her mother, I still couldn't bring myself to do it. My foggy trauma had prevented me from doing so. I could see more clearly now that when everything had been brought to the open.
Before, I did apologize for Dede, for something far less serious than physical assault.
'Maybe I have a bias towards the family?' I thought. For some reason, I didn't have any issues with Gloria and Claire compared to any other mother figures in my life.
Now, I could see that I was behaving like a brat, and I didn't want to do that any longer. I should treat people fairly after this. Even though I did slap Jenna's mother for her sake, it still wasn't my place to do so.
"No matter how good my intention was behind the slap, I did cross the line by being physical with your mother– a stranger that I had just met for the first time. I realize that now. I will go and apologize to her… "
"Yeah. You really crossed the line!" Jenna pouted angrily while crossing her arms together. Her mood was lifted, it was clear to see in her facial expressions.
"Well I know that now." I said jokingly. Her lips curled up a bit, but she hid it and said, "Okay. Do it now."
"Wait. You mean, Right now?...At this party?...With countless kids walking around?"
"Yeah!" Jenna said and she pulled out her phone and wanted to dial her mother instantly, but stopped at the last second. "Or, did you lie to me about wanting to apologize to her?"
I rubbed my head in frustration before saying, "No-No. I do want to apologize to her. Call her."
She smiled brightly and pressed the call button without hesitation now.
…
[General POV]
Inside Alex's room, the teenage girl was finally finishing her lecture about sexuality and manners as she sat her friend down on her bed.
"No 'Chilling'. No 'talking'. No 'hand stuff'! You got that?!"
Enid tried to defend herself, "I didn't say that I WAS THE ONE who thought of it like that! That was what the senior told me!"
"And I'm telling you it's wrong!" Alex said decisively.
After a thorough lecture, Enid slumped down on Alex's bed and said whiningly, "Okay. You win. YOU WIN! I won't say that again, so can you let me go now?"
Alex smirked and said, "Sure. If you really have learned your lesson, then we can go out."
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– 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.