[Edward POV]
Entertain Company building, inside the meeting room, an unexpected confrontation occurs.
"Like I said, push the ukulele song to the next album. It doesn't suit this one!" Paul Shaffer, a Canadian comedian/singer/others slammed his palm on the mahogany desk, only to pull it back quickly and squirm in pain as the hardness of the desk shocked him.
"I think you should keep it in. Just a few weeks ago, the song ' Somewhere over the Rainbow' by Israel…Kama…" Lional Richie, an American singer, songwriter, record producer, etc, struggled at his sentence.
"Israel Kamakawiwo'ole." I helped him.
He turned to me and nodded slightly, "Yeah. Him. Although the song isn't widespread yet, I think it's only a matter of time. Edward's song 'Toxic' has the same potential."
Both of them were invited by Pepper to the studio to help me in my album preparation, and surprisingly, Pepper had a close enough connection with Paul that he was here barely an hour after he called him.
Dr Dre was also forced by Eminem to take a look at the song's selection in their own studio so we were having the discussion as a pretty diverse group.
"But you have to remember, Edward's song isn't part of his single. 'Toxic' will only be released with the album." Paul Shaffer debated. "Besides Ed, I really think you should consider my suggestion."
"Putting some mediocre songs in the album cause I have too many great songs?" I chuckled at him, "I won't do that."
"That's a shame. If you do that and spread your hits around you won't need to stress about your career for at least 5 years. I won't deny that the Album will explode! But the pressure will pile up on you as soon as the next album is in production. It might even be enough to stop you from writing songs entirely."
"Paul's concern is valid." Lionel suddenly supported Paul, causing him to brighten up. "I've seen many young people burn out from the expectations placed upon them. Don't get me wrong, I am excited about the album. But I want to see you grow even more."
Pepper was so touched by Lionel Richie's words that he took out a white handkerchief to wipe his tears. I rolled my eyes at him before turning to Paul and Lionel, "Don't worry, I still have lots of…ideas."
"Let's refer to the list and continue listening to the songs. So far, we only confirmed 6 songs for the album, and all of them were from my previous singles." I muttered in exhaustion.
Today was the day for me to finalize the song list for my album, 'Breaking'. My debut album, Paul and Lionel, insisted that it only consist of 18 tracks. But for someone who was referred to as a 'song vending machine', it took a lot of effort for us to finally confirm what we should put in and what should be kept for a second release.
Honestly, I agreed that a few of the songs shouldn't be included in the first album as they didn't quite hit the theme, but now that I think about it, my album has no theme except for 'breaking the expectations'.
So whatever I put in, people would just think that it was a part of my artistic view. They would support me even when I wanted to put 'What does the Fox say', or 'Gangnam Style' or another such 'nonsense' song in the list.
So far, my whole repertoire looked like this:
Whatever It Takes.
Believer.
Me and My Broken Heart.
Enemy
7 years
Amnesia
Photograph
Count on Me
Just the way you are
Toxic
The lazy song
Before you go
Rhythms of Love
We are young
Can I be him
Grenade
Shivers
Something Just Like This
Cool Kids
Celestial
Viva la Vida
Check Yes Juliet
Your Man (Country)
It will Rain.
Two Is Better than One (Feat Taylor)
Natural
Tenerife Sea
One Call Away
Treat You Better
Peter Pan Was Right
Darte Un Beso (Spanish)
Piano Compositions:
Kiss the Rain
Rivers Flow in You.
I raised my eyebrow as I saw the two extra songs on the bottom of the list. Pepper saw my look and explained, "Well Claire told me about it. And I figured, why not? It could even be a bonus track in the Album. Besides you did leave the original sheet out on your piano, if you wanted that to remain a secret you should have been more careful."
Paul Shaffer highlighted a few songs with a neon marker, "First, The duet with Taylor is a must. I don't think anyone disagrees with this?"
All of us shook our heads. Paul nodded in satisfaction and continued, "Thus, Can I be Him, Tenerife Sea, and Check Yes Juliet should obviously be included too."
"I didn't think you were a shipper too." I teased Paul. He smiled and teased, "No. I know a fake public relationship when I see one. Although… I haven't seen you with Taylor in private yet, so my opinion could still change."
"Well you should keep the same opinion for now." I joked, but Paul caught the hidden meaning behind it and turned disappointed instantly.
"You have a studio contract with 'It Will Rain' and 'Enemy', so both of those should be included in order to boost visualization once the movies come out." Lionel suggested. "If I'm not mistaken, Celestial and Tenerife Sea are in your streaming sites right? So you don't have to put it in."
"HEY!" Paul retorted, but Lionel was right.
"Maybe people would want to hear the studio version instead of the live version, so we can put it aside first, and then come back to them later." Pepper suggested.
"So we have 5. Amnesia and 7 years are to be included no matter what." I muttered decisively. Pepper grinned as he knew the importance of my first performance, and teased, "Sure enough. A sentimental kid."
"I agree to it too." Paul said while Lional nodded along with him.
"Me and My Broken Heart, Grenade and Can I Be Him are part of my first single. Natural, Whatever it takes, and Enemy are the second one. So we have 6 confirmed songs there."
Lionel mumbled, "Minus the superimposed, 5 plus 2…add 6…minus 1… So…10!"
"Nah, it's basically 4, cause the other 6 have been released as singles." Paul joked.
After a thorough discussion, the final songs list to be included into the album is..
'Breaking's 18 songs list:
Two Is Better than One.
Can I be Him
Grenade
Me and My Broken Heart
Whatever it takes
Natural
Enemy
It Will Rain
Toxic
Lazy Song
Tenerife Sea
Viva La Vida
Before You Go
Celestial
Check Yes Juliet
7 years
Amnesia
Photograph.
Bonus Soundtrack: Musical Compositions
Kiss the Rain
Rivers flow in You
"Ugh. It's finally done." I groaned as I stretched my arms upwards. Paul and Lionel had already finished their discussion a while ago, leaving only me, Pepper, and Leo in the room.
The discussion wasn't a one time thing, and it had been going on for almost a week.
"We can re-release the album next season with the other songs as bonus soundtracks, and maybe even release it differently per season, making the album a limited edition." Leo muttered, which shocked me a bit.
"Nice. Then Imma get more monehh." I speak in an urban British accent, which made Pepper frown. "Please don't do that again." He muttered.
"It's almost 1.00 am. Let's get you home." Pepper suggested. Without me realizing it, it was already the 2nd of July, and when I returned home today after work, we were already getting into the third.
I stopped him and said, "Nah, we still have more work to do. Are you up for it, or do you need some rest, old man?"
Pepper gasped dramatically, "You take that back! I'm only 42 years old! I'm still young!"
Despite his forbearance, he passed out on his chair 30 minutes after I started mixing music and finishing up the sound for the songs. Then, I burned all of the songs into one CD.
"I'll let Haley test it." I muttered as I kept the ordinary looking CD into my laptop bag.
"Peps. The release date?" I asked.
"I'll call over some more professionals first before I send it to production and don't forget the meeting with the marketing team. Aaaannd, like you said, Amazon really has a large distribution channel, and they are willing to sell things other than books. Harvey is negotiating with them, and I believe we can get it done before the 12th."
"Great. So June 12th. I'll try to see if we can make a pre-order request on the website." I muttered.
"Ah Ed. There's something else. Do you want to go to Europe for your tour?" Pepper asked suddenly.
"Wait…what?" I was confused. Then I checked out the request we got for performance dates in a few European countries. It could certainly be included into my national tour, turning it into a 'world' tour but… "We don't have the time. Unless…I skip the first 2 weeks of school?" I was forced to tell Pepper
"Well…" Pepper was confused by the question.
He knew that school was basically useless for me now given my genius, but he still wanted me to experience it as it could help my social development. Otherwise, I would just be another Hollywood kid snorting heroin and getting Stds if he were to leave me alone.
"If it's the norm then-"
"NO!" Pepper stopped me immediately. "I'll try to see what we can do. In the meantime, you should go and enjoy the 4th of July celebration with your family."
"Peps, what about the Gala? Can I make it?"
"This-...I totally forgot about that. Let me check the schedule. Aha! The Gala is on the 7th of July. You only have a short interview in the morning, so we can still make it to the Gala. I'll notify Taylor too so that she can come with you."
…
[General POV]
-Dunphy's house-
"Has it started yet?" Phil asked in an urgent manner as he ran towards the couch in the second living room. Claire, Luke, Alex and Haley were already watching the Tv when Phil intruded their space and jumped in between his children, causing them to groan.
"Phil, at least take off your necktie." Claire rolled her eyes as she reminded Phil who just got home from an open house.
"I feel like I keep seeing Ed on the TV these days." Alex muttered. Haley replied, "Yeah, cause he did a lot of interviews to promote his album. And Mom and Dad want to watch every single one of them."
"This is the seventh time alreadyyyy." Luke chimed in. "I'm already bored. Can I go play in the backyard?" He asked Claire.
"Don't be silly Luke. You need to show your support for your big brother. I thought you guys were close." Claire replied.
Luke then said casually, "Well he's my friend, not my big brother. Maybe for Manny. But not me. Also, I haven't seen him in almost 2 weeks."
Alex then teased, "Aww, did you miss your 'big brother'?" While trying to pat Luke's head like a dog.
"Cut it out!" Luke brushed her hands away, and they started to fight. "Shh Shh Shh! It's starting." Haley had no interest in her sibling's squabble, as her entire attention was on the TV screen.
After the interview ended, Haley asked, "Mom. Can I follow Ed's tour?"
"W-what? Honey, you're too young. It's dangerous!" Claire tried to brush the matter away, but Haley wouldn't back down, "It's not like you'd have to pay for anything. Uncle Cam told me he can get me an internship at Ed's company. So I'll be getting a summer credit, and I can watch every single one of his shows too."
"But Honey, what about Family Camp? You promised your dad that you're going to join his team this year." Claire said, her voice shaking at the prospect of losing control over her daughter.
"I'll…I'll talk to dad. I'm sure he'll understand." Haley muttered and left, causing Claire to freeze in her spot.
[Claire's commentary]
"It's not that I don't trust Haley, or Edward. But I understand- I mean, I hear things, gossip really." Claire muttered with a guilty conscience.
"It's not that hard to imagine that Haley could very well be pregnant by the time she returns from the trip. Which is too dangerous. So…I have to get her to stay." Claire vowed.
She then sighed, "I keep using terms like 'family', 'brother', 'one of us' when I refer to Ed to prevent this sort of stuff, but it's all useless."
[commentary ends]
[Edward POV]
When I returned to my aunt's house, I was surprised to see that everything in my room was already cleared out.
"What's going on?" I asked Camila who was smirking as she carried a luggage bag with her. "Are you leaving me too?"
"Too? Wait. No, I'm not leaving." Camila was startled and she held my face as she explained it to me, "We're just moving back to your house."
My eyes lit up, "The construction is finished? I thought Jay needed another 3 days?"
"No. Turns out he's just dragging the time because he wants to boss people around and hang out with the construction workers. Gloria caught him in the act, when she thought he was cheating on her."
"Wait. What the hell did I miss!?" I groaned in frustration as I called Alex immediately. "My useless spy! This is the kind of thing I need to know!"
'It surely can make an episode! Argh! Wasted opportunity to watch it!' I thought to myself.
Camila was weirded out by my reaction, and she said, "Alex won't know. Even Claire didn't know. I only know this because I was there to witness it."
I grabbed my aunt's by her shoulders immediately, "Tell me everything."
[Camila's commentary]
"I'm worried. I think Ed's condition has worsened. I should follow Dr Linda's advice and slowly let him see that he's living in the real world, and not a Tv show. But honestly, I'm too scared to do it. What if I somehow break him more?"
[commentary ends]
"Jay had been texting, and laughing, while using your whatsapp beta app. You're still renaming the app right?"
"Don't change the topic. What happened next?" I asked, my eyes glittered from the excitement of a 'hidden' episode I'd never watched before.
Camila was disappointed, but she hid it and continued, "So Jay had been texting the construction crew, cracking jokes about wood and everything but he'd been hiding it from Gloria. He was also taking a few weeks off his work to finish the construction, so Gloria thought he was working hard."
"Honestly, What's the point of him still going to work after marrying Gloria? Umm…Sorry, continue." I rubbed my head apologetically.
Camila was excited, "You really like Gloria huh?"
"Well who wouldn't? Anyway, what happened next?" I changed the topic quickly as I sensed she was going to tease me about it.
After that she told me the full story. When Jay was trying to cover up his tracks, Gloria ambushed him near the hot tub, causing him to fall in the water.
Then Gloria got to know from the construction crew that the work was actually finished, and she scolded Jay for thinking that she would be angry when seeing that he was working on something that he loved. She thought it was sexy, and they made up right there in front of everyone.
"I never thought that I would be jealous of a relationship like Gloria's, but right now, I am." Camila confessed.
"Me too." I muttered.
"Should we both marry a rich older partner?"
"As long as she's still perky, I can think about it. Like Nicole Kidman, or Chandler's mom in Friends."
Camila rolled her eyes and we walked towards my new house together.
The new living room was designed to give a minimalistic, but elegant feeling to the household. A 56-inch Sony Oled flat-screen TV was mounted on sitting eye level just beside the gray brick fireplace, with a full entertainment system installed around it. The living room had plenty of natural light, and even some potted plants in the corner.
Camila gasped and jumped on the new couch immediately. "This is so nice!" She exclaimed. I laughed and pressed the switch on the side of the couch as I told her "Check this."
The couch turned into a bed, and she was dropped along with it. She glared at me before laughing as we continued our tour of the house.
"You're living here now, right?" I asked Camila.
"Huh? No, I was thinking-" She tried to reject my offer but I guess you could say that 'the cat got her tongue' when she saw my smirking expression.
"You're staying here. The guest room has already been turned into Camila's room, so you don't need to find a new place anymore." I said in a decisive manner before walking towards the basement.
Camila was touched, but then turned confused, "Ed. Where are you going?"
"Oh, I need to check up on the most important part of this whole project." I replied casually.
"The basement?" She followed me from behind, and once we entered the dark underground space, she prayed for her safety before I turned on the lights. A sparsely equipped laboratory space was revealed, surprising Camila.
"What? You're going to be the real life Iron Man?" She joked as she walked around the lab.
"Well yes…but actually no. I mean, I aspire to have the money part of Iron Man. Not the heroic self-sacrifice part of him. Although the playboy part does seem interesting too." I replied honestly. Camila laughed and then said, "Okay I'll go make lunch for us."
"You don't need to make any for me. I'm going over to Haley's." I replied.
"Huh? Aww…And here I thought we were going to have more aunt-nephew bonding time." She joked.
"We can still have dinner together. I already promised to eat lunch with my friends today, and Jenna's mom is going to pick us up."
"Jenna and who?" She asked.
"Jenna, Enid, Alex, and me. We're going to see Jenna's new house, and hang out by the pool." I explained. "And surprisingly, her new house is just a block away from Jay's."
Jenna's mom had sold her previous mansion to buy a slightly smaller one. It was a good thing for Jenna, and she wanted to invite all of us over to celebrate, but we could not all gather together until the 4th of July.
"Ah, tell dad not to store any fireworks in the basement." I reminded Camila before I left the house.
[Camila's POV]
I contacted Gloria after Edward left as I wanted to ask her for some advice– she was Edward's favorite person and I wanted to know why.
"Huh? Oh, Ed forgot his bathing suit." I muttered as I remembered Edward leaving the house empty handed. "He won't play in the pool nude…right?" I mumbled with some concern.