[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.
"Wh-Wh-Why the hell did I do that?! Urghhh!!!"
Although my brain was telling me it was wrong, my body was so turned on by it that I actually wished for Ed to be brave enough and enter the shower with me.
"NO ABBY NO!!!" I admonished myself as I gave my cheeks some slaps. "Wake up! Don't fall to your exhibitionist tendencies again! You're better than this!"
-Flashback, Mall-
As I went shopping with Haley's step-grandmother, who forbade us to call her by that name, she happily told us a few tips to get boys.
"See, that's where you went wrong! You should be there for him, but not all the time. You should…let him come to you too. Otherwise, he'll consider you… as a… aaahhh… how do you say?? Ahhhyy, solo amigos… Just a friend! ." Gloria said in a disappointed tone after Haley told her about a boy she was crushing on. It was Ed of course, but Haley didn't want Gloria to know that.
"So, he'll put them in the friendzone? But I don't think he did that. His gaze changed when he saw them. Even when he's tired, his eyes brighten up quickly." Tara said while holding her chin.
Both Haley and I blushed, and I asked her whisperingly, "Which one of us made him cheer up more?"
"I'm not going to fall in that trap. My point is, he clearly has feelings, so why isn't he making a move?" Tara asked Gloria.
Thinking what she was talking about was rhetorical, Gloria wantonly said, "Ayy They're boys. Not men. Boys don't know much about how to face their feelings. If you really want him, then YOU should be the one to make a move!"
Haley thought for a while before asking, "Then Gloria, have you ever been put in a friendzone?"
Gloria haughtily said, "No. All men who see me want me to be more than my friends." Her smirk made us feel helpless, and when Gloria's chest jiggled as she moved, we knew she wasn't lying.
"How about this? This one looks good, and doesn't make you look like a street prostitute like the one you're wearing now." Gloria said to me, making me freeze in my spot.
Tara chuckled and said, "True. But, he likes her that way."
"Ayy, he likes a prostitute!?" Gloria asked in shock and disbelief.
"Yes!" Tara replied mockingly.
"TARAAA!!!" I shouted angrily before I chased her around.
Gloria also brought us some food as we continued shopping. Putting the Victoria Secret bags on the floor next to her, Gloria continued giving her tips. "You see, You cannot give men the thing they he want so easily. You need to make him desperate. Crazy."
"Even if you like him more than he likes you, he doesn't need to know that. He needs to feel like you're a prize he HAS to fight for." Gloria added while holding her new brassiere. "You can, give him some glimpse…Tease him…But not go all the way."
"And when he is almost losing his mind, then and only then…" Gloria finally realized that in front of her, was her step-grandchild, and froze.
"Then…what?" Haley asked curiously as she took serious notes about the tips Gloria was talking about today. "Oh no. Claire is going to kill me." Gloria muttered fearfully.
-Flashback ends-
"Hmm…First step complete…I need to make him crazy enough before prom.." I muttered.
Then, I quickly took a cold shower to clear my head. But while I was showering, I finally realized a huge flaw in my actions today.
…
[Edward POV]
"That idiot. All of her clothes are outside the door." I muttered as I had the same realization as Abby who was still showering in the bathroom.
Abby took a while in the shower, but luckily for her, Desiree was looking at the garden in the backyard.
"Chris. Give me a sec." I said to the person I was chatting with.
"Okay. I'm looking forward to hearing about that "Yellow" song. Come back soon." Chris said playfully. As I talked to him, I managed to pry his ideas about some songs, and confirmed that the song I wanted wasn't produced by him yet.
I walked to the bathroom door and put a towel down, along with the change of clothes she forgot to bring in. I also took her old clothes before opening the unlocked door and kicking all of that stuff in.
"Mom?" Abby asked fearfully.
"No it's me, you horny idiot. Although I enjoyed the show, next time do it when your mom isn't around."
"T-Th-There won't be a next time!" Abby said anxiously before pushing the door close and locking it. I laughed and returned to the laptop where I continued talking with Chris.
Harvey found out that they were not under any agency, and they were independent artists going on tours across Europe.
"So Chris, can you take some time to consider my offer? I would really love you guys joining me in my agency."
Chris was a bit distressed and he asked, "Why are you inviting me? I mean, our band…Although I'm confident in it, we haven't really gotten big in almost a decade."
"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…"