[Edward POV]
"Geez, it's a 6 hour drive. I can be there in less than an hour if I use the jet," I said, groaning in dissatisfaction as I slammed the hood of the car shut. I then walked over to my grinning dad.
"Come on, it'll be fun. We've never had a road trip before," he said as he walked to the driver's door of the black SUV.
"The only thing you're going to have is the never ending frustration when you find yourself stuck in an avoidable traffic jam, blaming yourself on why you didn't take your son's words more seriously."
As I was to enter the car, Maggie burst running from the house's door, rushing to where my dad and I were, with a huge luggage in her hand.
"Wait for me! I want to go too!" She shouted excitedly. My dad smiled, "Of course. Put your bags in the back," while I scowled and said, "You are running from your practice aren't you?"
Maggie hesitated and answered without meeting my eyes, "N-No! Don't get me wrong, this is just to show my support for your new project– Yes, that is the reason!"
Seeing through her lies instantly, I gave her a look of disdain which made her panicked and rushed to enter the car before I could say anything else. Then, I realized something.
"Alright, Maggie, you sit in front. I can use the time to make final touches."
I'd feel too bad letting my dad drive by himself while I do something else, so Maggie's presence there helped. Well it'd help better if she wasn't snoring 15 minutes into the drive.
"ZZZzzzZZZZzzzzZZZZzzzz…"
The sound from her snoring made me look up from my laptop, "Maggie wake up!"
Her eyes opened abruptly and she fell into confusion for a while. I sighed and said, "When we're getting gas, we're going to change seats."
She smiled apologetically as she turned to my dad beside her, "Sorry. It's just… It's 6 am…"
"Oh I'm not bothered by it. Edward does." My dad explained casually. Maggie glanced at the back seat and gave me a stink eye, "Uncle Ted is fine with it…"
I didn't respond and continued working on the project. Maggie scoffed and closed her eyes.
"If you sleep you're going to wake up with a mustache on your face. With permanent ink. " I warned her. Startled, Maggie rolled her eyes and looked at my dad, "Can we stop by to get some coffee?"
"Sure. Ed, do you want something too?" My dad asked after responding to Maggie.
"Give me my candies and I'll be fine." I said. My dad sighed and said, "No candy for a few days. Dr Oppen said so."
"Then some bread will be fine." I replied helplessly. "Robin, remind me to give a 1 star review on Yelp for Dr Oppen's office–"
"Robin, ignore him!" My dad yelled quickly and glanced at me with disbelief.
I smirked, "I'm not that petty. It was just a joke."
Maggie asked while watching a video on Youtube, "Edward, why is no one talking about the assassination attempt yet?"
"I don't know." I replied. I honestly didn't know what was going on in the White House, not because I didn't want to answer her. All I knew, there was a lot of support for the President after the incident, and a lot of conspiracy theories pointed out that America has a breakthrough in energy shield technology.
Other popular theories painted the President as a saint, some going on deep dive about what he was doing before, some fanatical worship appeared, and the whole country was in uproar.
"ZzzzZzzzZzzzZzzz" Maggie's snoring resumed shortly after while she was watching a video on Youtube to understand the issue, and I uncapped my magic marker.
…
[Maggie POV]
'Wait, when did I change my seat to the back?'
Suddenly, I found myself sitting next to Edward inside the extremely narrow car. Our shoulders were pressed together, and Edward kept squirming, trying to make himself comfortable. I too tried to move around, but we were stuck there in that position no matter what.
"Oh no, Maggie, why don't you hop onto Edward's lap? We're going through the narrow tunnel, and we need every inch of space we can get." Uncle Ted glanced backward, with his dark sunglasses larger than his head.
"What? No!" I tried to reject it, but I abruptly found myself sitting on Edward's lap.
"Uh-oh, bumpy car ride ahead!" Uncle Ted warned, and the entire car shook up and down. I could feel my body warming up as I sat on Edward's rock hard, pungent… Magic Marker?
The pungent smell of the magic market pulled me out of my ridiculous dream. As I opened my eyes, I was taken aback when I saw Edward's face really close to mine. He smirked mischievous as he capped his marker and returned to his seat.
"Done! You're now the proud member of the Order of the Phoenix."
"What the hell–" I checked my reflection on the back view mirror, only to find several doodles on my face. He etched a moustache on my lips, stars on the side of my eyes, and Harry Potter's Lightning scar on my forehead, on both sides! Well, the tiny stars were kinda cute, but everything else wasn't!
"Harry Potter Only Has 1 Scar!!!" I shouted at him angrily.
"That was a symmetrical choice on my part." He replied with a grin. "You bitch!" I shouted as I reached my hands to the back of the car, trying to hit him. I unbuckled my seat belt as I needed more reach, but Edward responded by grabbing my torso and pulling me to sit at the back entirely!
"Uncle Ted! HELP!" I shouted desperately, but Uncle Ted could only focus on not crashing the car from our fight.
"Don't make me turn this car around!" He warned.
"Great! Then I can use the jet!" Edward retorted, unintimidated by the warning in the slightest.
He stopped at the side of the road, and gave the both of us a stern scolding. In the end, I sat on the back, allowing me to take a nap there, and Edward sat on the front. Because of the whole situation, I kinda forgot about the doodle on my face, and I didnt realize it until we stopped by to get some lunch in San Francisco.
"It's your own fault to be sleeping in the entire ride here." Edward said annoyingly as I wiped down the magic marker on my face with a combination of rubbing alcohol and wet wipes. Luckily for him, he has all of those things. Or else….
Well, there is no 'or else'. I didn't think I could ever win. But I won't let these things go away so easily! He needs repercussions!
…
[Edward POV]
It was half past 1 in the afternoon when we arrived at Moscone Hall. Despite the game not being officially launched yet, the venue was already crowded with eager fans - a testament to the company's effective marketing strategy that had generated significant pre-launch buzz.
Moscone Hall is a large convention center with 4 main halls. The largest of these halls has a maximum capacity of 4,500 people. However, rather than booking the biggest hall, we – the organizers opted for a smaller convention space in the 2,000-3,000 person capacity range.
This strategic decision was based on the understanding that for this type of launch event, it's better to have a more densely packed, vibrant atmosphere, rather than renting out the largest hall and potentially having it not even half-filled. The better the number of people filling the seats, the more energy and excitement would be created for the launch.
"Ed, is there a place for us to get off?" Maggie asked, aware of my status as a celebrity, and was worried that we may get mobbed by the crowd.
I smiled and replied, "I don't know, maybe you can find a toilet somewhere?"
"Huh?" She was confused, and then blushed as she realized it. "I swear to god, one of these days." She mumbled to herself.
My dad chuckled and said, "That made me miss Max a little bit."
"I know right? She'll have even better dirty jokes if she heard that." I replied with a slight excitement.
"So, which way should I drop you off?" My dad asked.
"At the front will be fine. There's a valet for us." I replied as I pointed to the signs for the valet. That service was just there for the organizers and guests– if we had any.
Wearing a hoodie with a jacket over it and simple jeans, I blend in well with the crowd of gaming fans in the venue.
The crowd erupted into cheers as they saw me leaving the car with Maggie and my dad. The photographers excitedly snapped my pictures as I waved towards them, making my way into the venue.
My wolf-cut hairstyle, the silver chain around my neck, and even my sling bag were all scrutinized by the photographers, and it was posted into several news and tabloid websites minutes after I arrived there.
A few bodyguards created a perimeter surrounding me as I made my way through the crowd. The event would start at 3 pm, however, the launching of the game wasn't until 6 pm– marking its ending.
"Edward, can we get a picture?"
"Edward, can I get a signature?"
"Edward–"
The fans called my name a few times, but I just waved at them politely and walked straight to the hall, and entered the backstage with Maggie and my dad.
"OPPA~" SunHee saw me and rushed towards me dramatically, alarming Maggie. Maggie flinched a bit as SunHee gave me a bear hug. Suddenly, SunHee glared at Maggie, "Oppa, who's this pretty girl? Are you cheating on me?"
"Yes obviously." I replied with a serious expression, "Sorry you have to find out this way."
"Stop messing around you two." Harvey walked towards us and gave both SunHee and I a hit on the head with the roll of paper in her hand. Then, she gave me the paper, "Ed, do you want to go through the presentation?"
"I'm sure you guys can handle it. I just want to watch."
SunHee suddenly perked up after rubbing her sore head, "Oppa, can you do Q and A with the crowd? Just for a few questions."
"Sure." I replied casually. "Oh, right, here, the finished music video. You can use it in the opening." I gave SunHee a USB drive. She grinned and said, "As expected of Oppa!"
"Why is she calling you Oppa?" Maggie asked after SunHee left to get the kickoff presentation.
"She's just wired wrongly in the head." Harvey replied. "Brilliant, but…you know." She added, which made me chuckle a little bit.
"She's also vengeful, so if you want to mess with Harvey, just tell SunHee what she said." I told Maggie.
Maggie was taken aback before she smirked and said, "What if I told her you were the one who said that?" Harvey looked at Maggie with intrigue, while my dad lost interest in the conversation and left to go to the snacks bar.
"You can try, but she's not going to believe you." I replied tauntingly. "By the way, want to go to the stalls?"
There were a few stalls set up by the company to sell the merchandise in front of the convention hall, in the hallways and the lobby.
Maggie asked, "Are you going to buy me something?"
I frowned and said, "I'm going alone."
"WAIT! I want to go!" Maggie grabbed my arm to beg me. As we made our way around the convention hall, I could hear some whispers from amongst the crowd there.
"Is she his girlfriend?"
"She's making him buy everything. Must be a gold digger."
"They kinda look nice together, but I don't know why it's giving me an…ick…"
"Hey Edward–"
My massive, 6'7" bodyguard quickly stepped in and stopped the skinny man with a Beatles-style haircut before he could get within 3 meters of me. Howard Wolowitz looked up at the imposing figure with fear in his eyes and said in a shaky voice, "I-I'm his acquaintance."
"Back of the line, pal," the bodyguard growled, clearly not believing Howard.
I then noticed Leonard and Rajesh standing behind Howard. Scanning the crowd, I spotted Sheldon hiding nervously behind a nearby pillar, his eyes darting away as they met mine.
Seeing the foursome, I turned to the bodyguard and said, "It's fine, I know them. You can hit the guy if you want, but do it after."
Howard's eyes shook, "What– Don't make him hit me!"
"Relax Howard, it's a joke." Leonard chuckled nervously as he looked at me, "Right?"
"Of course." I smirked. "It's just a joke…Maybe." Howard was nervous and said, "I just realized I haven't paid for this merch yet." Then he rushed away.
Rajesh smiled politely at me and Maggie, then to my surprise, he spoke, "That was fun. He was getting too chummy, trying to make it seem like he knew you in order to pick up some fat girl." Enjoying the misery of others, Rajesh loved how I intimidated Howard and made him run off.
I smiled with disbelief and said, "I thought you can't speak in the presence of a woman?"
"Oh, he's fine if it's a crowd…And he doesn't look directly at her." Leonard explained and showed me that Rajesh didn't look into Maggie at all. His eyes were locked onto me.
"Hmm?" I moved Maggie in front of me, and Rajesh looked somewhere else. Leonard laughed, but as he saw Maggie's face, he lowered his eyes to the ground too. I sighed with disbelief and said, "Leonard, this is the reason Penny won't go out with you. Be a little bit more confident will you? Also, what is up with Shelly? Why is he hiding from me?"
"Um, Ahhh…." Leonard stammered for a while before he replied, "He thought you're on a mission to ruin his life. So he doesn't want to be near you."
"What did I do?" I asked with confusion. Leonard sighed and said, "For some reason, he thought that the purple nurple his sister gave him was a part of your malicious plan to ruin his life."
"What is a purple nurple? Maggie asked. "Twisting his nipple until it turns purple." I explained simply.
Leonard laughed and then asked, "Um. So…Um, is she…?"
"Is she what?" I asked.
"You know, your girlfriend?"
Maggie and I looked at each other, and then we both grimaced with disgust. "How can you even ask that?" I rebuked him. Leonard was startled and tried to defend himself, "Wait, y-you're n-n-not?"
"You're a disgusting pervert." Maggie scolded him, which made him fall into despair. I turned to Maggie and defended Leonard, "That's too much. Tone it down a little."
"He's a little pervert?" Maggie was puzzled.
"Sure, better." Then, I turned to Leonard and explained with a slightly raised voice, making sure that the others around us could hear me too, "She's my cousin."
"Ahh!" Leonard finally understood why Maggie called him a pervert. He turned to Maggie and apologized, "I'm sorry. That's just what everyone else says, so I just assumed– Anyway, I'm really sorry."
"It's fine." Maggie said with a kind smile. "Next time, ask first." She grinned teasingly. Leonard chuckled and said, "Sure. I will keep that in mind."
Although it would be interesting for me to tease Sheldon, I continued walking around the convention center, and finally arrived at the live demonstration of the game.
Two teams of beta testers, with 5 players per team. Some crowd members were recording the match that was displayed on the big screen, and exclaimed in wonder when they saw the smooth, extremely high quality game play, especially for a game made in 2009, and with the added bonus of mesmerizing special effects.
In front of the match stage, Olivia Munn and Kevin Pereira, the host of Attack of the Show! in the G4 TV network, were commenting about the battle. However, my attention was more towards the costume she was wearing. Olivia was cosplaying Sivir, the Battle Mistress, as she hosted the show.
A golden crown on her head with turquoise jewel in the center, somewhat revealing black and grey clothing, with black boots, gloves, a bra, and a black skirt with gold accents, a white scarf around her neck, Olivia was ogled by many of the nerdy fans as she hosted the show.
I was curious as I saw the TV Network camera so I asked the crew nearby. Turns out, as Olivia was hired to host the launch by me, she made a deal with SunHee to record some footage for the Attack On The Show!'s broadcast too.
Watching Olivia's seductive, yet humorous antiques as she hosted the show made me chuckle. Even Maggie giggled as Olivia said, "I should've worn Ashe, the Frost Archer's cosplay instead of Sivir, because at the very least my belly wouldn't be this cold."
It was really cold inside the convention center, and the stage she was hosting from was directly underneath the air conditioner. She jumped lightly to heat herself up, but that made the audience even more mesmerized.
"So we talked about gameplay–" Kevin dragged on with his words, playfully teasing Olivia who was restless at the moment. Her teeth chattering as she slowly turned to Kevin, "We already talked about that. All of it is….5 out of 5…Wait, no, it is extraordinary, so I'm going to give it 10 out of 5!"
Kevin laughed and said, "Alright, so Olivia, tell me something, doesn't this 5 versus 5 team match give you a championship vibe? I think that they are not telling us the entire plan they have for the game."
"It might be so, but they may just have wanted to wait for the kickoff to the launch." Olivia smirked directly to the camera. "And I'm the host there. No Kevin. Just me."
Kevin rolled his eyes, "Wonder if Mr Millionaire Teenage CEO-slash-Worldwide Famous artist, is a fan of yours."
"Right now I wonder if I can get a jacket." Olivia joked. But then, something interesting happened on the live broadcast. I walked into the shot as I took off my jacket, and placed it onto Olivia.
She covered her mouth as she giggled, bewildered by my action. Even Kevin was surprised. Both of them were so excited and Kevin said, "Oh my god, Mr CEO."
"Oh my god, the jacket is even making my face flushed." Olivia said as she touched her burning cheeks. "I can't believe my prayers were answered." She joked as she touched the jacket, putting her hand through the sleeves and hugged it close to get the warmth. "It even smells so nice."
"Mr Newgate, do you want to say something to the people watching?" Kevin asked before he pointed his microphone to me.
"Well, I just got here, so I don't know what you guys were talking about, I only caught the last few minutes." I replied and smiled as I looked at Olivia, "And yes, I am her fan. I like watching the show in my spare time."
Kevin and Olivia made an expression of surprise, with a mixture of disbelief. They became excited and Kevin said, "Wait, you watched the show?"
"Yeah. Sometimes." I replied honestly.
Watching Olivia Munn challenging how many sausages she can fit into her mouth, her jumping into a giant pie wearing a skimpy maid out, with the cream slathered on her chest, or any other insane stuff they recorded in there, was something most teenage boys living in pre-2010 would do.
Abraham wouldn't shut up about the show and would share with me in explicit details about how big Olivia's….breas– *ahem* presence in the show.
"We're running out of time, do you have something you want to say to our audience about the game launch today?" Olivia asked me as she received the cue from the cameraman.
I smiled at the camera and said, "If you want to watch the launching of the game, you can go to the website and click on the livestream link. We will share the entire kickoff in the livestream."
"We will absolutely watch it!" Kevin said. Olivia smirked knowingly at him, which made him roll his eyes, "I know you're the only host, don't rub that in." As the livestream was over, Olivia gave me a light hug, thanking me for the jacket. I told her she could keep it, which made her gleeful.
Maggie asked me incredulously after I got back to her. "Why did you crash on their broadcast? Isn't that dangerous?"
"If you don't know what to do, then yes." I replied casually. "Besides, it's good to do some crazy stuff related to the launch. If this goes viral on Youtube or other social media, then the game will get even more exposure."
Maggie rolled her eyes and said, "From my standpoint, it just seems that you went up there to flirt with Olivia Munn."
"That is my purpose too." I replied honestly.