Chapter 284: A short break. (Patreon)

[Edward POV]

I scribbled on a piece of paper while Vanessa practiced taking my blood pressure. She struggled to unwrap the inflatable cuff, using too much force, which made her stagger and nearly fall. “Owie..” She whined as she grabbed her shoulder, the sudden movement made her muscles hurt. 

“I’m okay!” she exclaimed hurriedly, her arms flailing before stopping abruptly. I looked at her in disbelief after a short awkward silence ensued. “That’s just the very first step.”

With a hint of self-deprecation, she replied, “I know. I suck at this. Um, do I even need to use the stethoscope? Why should I?”

She touched the stethoscope around her neck and looked at me, seeking an answer.

“It’s for listening to specific sounds called Korotkoff sounds. It’s an old method for assessing cardiovascular health, but you don’t need to dive into it too deeply,” I said dismissively. Then, I pointed at my inner elbow.

“When you place the cuff on me, make sure to position the stethoscope over the brachial artery in the inner elbow. That’s where nurses listen for the sounds. I don’t want you to make a mistake and have people think the studio has no idea what we’re doing, even in something as simple as this.”

She rolled her eyes and said, “Fine! I will try not to embarrass you. What else should I pay attention to My Great Master?”

I accepted her sarcasm and said, “Change Master to Overlord. Come on, do it properly this time. Starting from the very beginning.”

After 10 tries, she finally managed to place the cuff around my arms in an acceptable way. While she was pumping the inflatable cuff, she stared at my arm and said, “You have a really nice arm.”

“Don’t flirt. Practice.” I said sternly before scribbling some notes onto my notebook. 

“I’m not going to flirt.” She said disdainfully. “What are you drawing anyway? Who’s that guy? Spiderman?”

“Oh, it’s Deadpool.” I said with a grin as I showed my drawing to her. It was the latest movie I had watched. Now, the song Bye Bye Bye by NSYNC has become an earworm in my mind. 

Confused, Vanessa asked, “You said you want to work on your song.”

“I am…not.” I said playfully. Vanessa groaned before she said, “You know, this stethoscope is actually pretty loud.”

I picked the stethoscope head and flicked it twice. Vanessa was startled and she retorted, “Hey! I almost got deaf!”

“Talk about exaggeration.” I pursed my lips and teased. Annoyed, Vanessa said, “I think I have got the idea now on how to do it. I’ll practice on my own.” She grabbed her shoulder again, her face grimacing in pain.

“What’s wrong with your shoulder?” I asked with a slight concern.

“Huh? Um, It’s just tight from all the practice. It’ll be fine tomorrow.”

“You haven’t practiced for a few days though. I gave you a break for Thanksgiving, remember?” I exposed her lies. 

Vanessa was taken aback and she dodged my eyes. Narrowing my gaze at her, I asked, “What did you do?”

“I mean..I might got into a little fender bender…” She said guiltily.

“When?” I asked.

She looked at me with a worried and pitiful expression. My heart skipped a beat, not because of her cuteness, but because of the sudden realization. “When Vanessa?”

“J…Just now… But I DIDN’T HIT ANY OF YOUR CARS!...”

“Then, what did you hit?” I asked, slightly agitated.

“Um..the wall?” I sighed and suddenly turned to the side, “Robin, damage report.”

“None sir. The wall is still intact. Only her car bumper become slightly loose.” Robin replied.

Vanessa already knew about Robin’s existence as she’s always here. She defended herself hurriedly, “See, I didn’t damage anything.”

I sighed and said, “You did. You damaged one of my important products. Sit here, let me take a look at your shoulder.” I stood up from the bed and forced her to sit at my spot. She blushed a bit as I ran my hand on her shoulder.

“Hmm, luckily it’s just whiplash. You’ll be fine in a few days. Or, you can be fine tomorrow if I massaged it today. You want me to do it?”

“S-Sure…Nothing lewd, right? I don’t want to be like Taylor.” Vanessa teased.

I smirked and said, “Yes, she did become infatuated with me, borderline obsessive, because of my massage skills. Take off your shirt and lie down on the bed.”

Vanessa was startled and immediately hugged her body, “Hey! You said you don’t need me to sacrifice my body.”

I looked at her with disbelief and said, “For the massage you dumbo.”

“Ah.” Vanessa exclaimed in realization before she became embarrassed. 

Pushing the paper away, I turned to her and asked, “I’m going to have all of my friends over tomorrow for Thanksgiving dinner. Do you want to come?”

Vanessa laid down with her back bare, and she replied nervously with a blushing face, “Why do you want to make me come! You said this is a normal massage–”

I hand-chop her head, making her exclaim in pain. “What do you have in your mind? I’m asking if you want to come to Thanksgiving dinner.”

“Sorry, I’m nervous.” She said as she hid her face in my pillow. “It’s just a massage.” I said as I placed some lotion– made from the alchemical formula I received, on my palm. 

“It’s just…I heard crazy things about– UHMMM!” She moaned instantly as I rubbed the lotion on her shoulder and pulled on her muscles.

30 minutes later, she became breathless, her hair unkempt, and her skin was glistening from the oil and sweat. “I think I need a smoke.” She said as she laid down casually on my bed, pulling a blanket to cover her body. Within seconds, she fell asleep.

Maggie entered the room a minute later, “Ed! What have you done to Vanessa–” As she saw the sight of her friend on my bed, Maggie’s face became flushed in anger. She stomped towards me and before she could accuse me of anything, I stopped her with one sentence. “My clothes.”

Maggie froze in her spot and her anger dissipated. She immediately smiled and asked me properly, “Ed, what are you doing with Vanessa?”

“We were practicing for the movie, the nurse stuff. She got into a little accident and hurt her shoulder. I just finished giving her a massage. She fell asleep during.”

“Ah.” Maggie exclaimed in relief. “Get her back to your room…You know what, just let her stay here. I don’t want to sleep tonight anyway, so I’m going to go to the living room.”

“Why aren’t you sleeping?” Maggie asked curiously.

Gesturing under my eyes, I said, “Colt's character has an eyebags, a really tired face too, so I’m not going to sleep until the shooting starts to get ready. It’s called method acting.”

“It’s called Lunacy. There’s makeup for that.” Maggie said angrily as she slapped me on my shoulder. I turned my head upward slowly as I stared at her. She flinched and immediately ran away before I could reciprocate. I stood up and walked slowly to get her.

“Uncle Ted! Help!” Maggie shouted desperately. After everyone had slept, I stayed by the pool, working on a few of my projects, until the sun rose up.

…

Sunday morning. Today was the last break I could have before 1 month of full filming schedule. My dad, Phil, Luke, Manny, Jay, my grandpa, Uncle Jim, basically all the guys, we went to watch the football match at school today.

My dad, Phil and I went to the bench to meet Cam and the team. Jacob, Tyler, Tyrone, Kyle, and everyone else were excited to see me.

Tyler asked, “Are you joining the match today Ed? The opposing team is pretty tough to beat. We had never once won against them during my entire time playing.”

Kyle interjected, “He can’t. He has the movie shoot. Nothing can happen to his face. We don’t have the money to fix it back again.”

Everyone burst into laughter, except for Jacob. He was extremely depressed not being able to play with me on the team. I pulled him to the side and whispered to him, “You know, I want to play too. But I contractually cannot… So, you have to play for me too, alright?”

His eyes lit up, and then it became a fiery determination. Cam asked me in shock, “What did you say to him? Why is he suddenly filled with a murderous aura?”

Jacob stared at the opposing team with his eagle eyes, which made them shudder. I chuckled and said, “Nothing. Cam, I’ll help coach. Everyone huddle up!”

It was a tough match for our team, however, our school won in the end. Finally, we broke the curse of 3 consecutive wins. Cam was pretty elated by it, but his excitement dissipated when everyone attributed the win to my presence rather than his strategies.

Everyone on the team went to celebrate together, and I picked up Sage and Mrs Henderson before returning home. 

We hung out by the pool before dinner time. Even though I wanted to cook for all of my friends, my grandma decided to kick me out of the kitchen to bond with Frankie. Mrs Henderson and Sage for some reason, were implicated by it, and they were all helping in the kitchen.

“Ed! Why do you look tired?” Enid asked in concern as she paddled the donut float she’s on to get to me who was sitting by the pool. She was in her swimwear and she tied her hair into a ponytail. Jacob and Elsa were giggling and playing in the water together. 

“Method acting.” I replied with a smirk before I drank a can of Redbull. Enid suddenly became dejected and asked, “Ed, if you take the SAT this week, then you won’t be at school anymore right?”

Jenna, wearing a one piece swimsuit, heard it and slowly walked towards us. She sat next to me and said, “He’s not even in school right now.”

“Officially, I am still a student there.” I replied with a slight guilt in my heart. “But next year, I’m going to start the world tour, so it’s kinda hard for me to go to school.”

“But you’ll come by if we ask you to, right?” Enid asked with a pout. I smiled and said, “Sure. I’ll come if there’s a special event.”

Enid brightened up and said, “Great. Don’t break this promise. I’m going to need you to take me to prom.”

“I promise, I promise.” I said dismissively then I kicked the donut float away. 

Dinner time was quite awkward for my friends given that their teachers were there. I told my grandparents about how Mrs Henderson and Sage took care of me, which made them instantly being welcomed by the family. 

During dinner, Vanessa suddenly asked, “Um, Ed, did you pick the song for the movie yet–”

I shook my head nervously, gesturing for her not to continue, but my grandmother heard it and interjected, “Oh, Ed you made a song for the movie?”

“She’s talking nonsense grandma. The cocaine got to her head.” I turned to my grandmother and waved my hand dismissively. 

“HEY!” Vanessa protested in anger.

Sage smirked and said, “Why so embarrassed Edward? Could it be, is it something not appropriate?”

“It’s appropriate. I just don’t want to spoil the mood.” I turned to Sage and threatened her with my facial expression.

Vanessa thought about it and said in realization, “Oh, yeah. It’s definitely not appropriate.”

My dad smirked and joined in, “Should you break out the guitar and sing it to us? If you haven't picked it yet, we can help you.”

“Oh, we have already picked it–”

“There’s like 5 songs he sampled yesterday.” Vanessa took her revenge by making sure I couldn’t talk my way out of it.

I sighed in defeat and said, “Alright. We’ll do it when we finish eating.”

“Liar. He’s going to run.” Mrs Henderson suddenly spoke up. Everyone turned to her in a daze, then they looked at me when they realized she was convinced it was going to happen.

“Grab him!” Enid quickly grabbed my hand before I could stand up from my chair. The plate and silverware clattered as my friends held me down.

“Even you bro?” I looked at Jacob with disbelief.

He smiled apologetically and said, “Sorry, I can’t go the opposite of the public opinion.”

Elsa whispered to his ear, “Great Job baby.”

“Damn! He’s seduced!” 

The adults laughed at the situation, and Aunt May asked, “What kind of songs is it for Ed?”

“It’s a parody song. In the movie, he’s supposed to be holding the song back from release because it’ll ruin his brother’s reputation.” Vanessa explained.

I looked at her with disbelief and said, “You can’t even remember your own lines, but you can remember that?”

Everyone relocated to the living room with a full belly. I sat with a guitar on top of a wooden chair, “I never thought that I would be this nervous sitting in front of people. Anyway, here’s…something. I’ll start you off light.”

Enid squealed as she turned to Jenna, “I’m so excited.”

“I want to record this.” Jenna said.

“No recording!” I pointed my finger at her, making her startled. “Just enjoy it with your eyes.”

“Jenna, don’t worry, Robin is always recording, and it’s in HD.” My dad said to her.

I was setting up the beats with Robin before I strummed the guitar. And of course, she was recording the whole thing.

“This sample is of Tom Ryder creating his own boy group.” I said as the music slowly came in. 

[Rock My Kiss– Super Sweet (The Boys)]

“♫♪ I first saw you in my study hall, that's right ♫♪”

With a sweet, melting voice, the song immediately attracted Vanessa, Enid, and Jenna. 

“♫♪ Now you're at Abercrombie in the mall tonight ♫♪”

“♫♪ I wanna love you just like Brad loves Jen. Like Megan Fox, you're my perfect TEN~~~!! ♫♪”

The song entered the chorus, and the girls swayed along their bodies as they listened. “ ♫♪ You can be my favourite girl. Then you can rock my world! I've never felt like this, Baby, Rock My Kiss!♫♪”

My grandmother was enjoying the song until the ‘can rock my world’ part. She made a praying gesture and held her cross necklace as she continued listening. 

“♫♪Got such a crush on you ! Make all your dreams come true! Now's my chance, can't miss! Baby, Rock My Kiss! Rock My Kiss!♫♪”

Before I continued the song, I turned to the crowd, still strumming the guitar, and asked, “Do you want me to stop or continue?”

“Continue!” Most of them replied at the same time. 

I smiled and sang, “♫♪Kick off those Uggs and slide up next to me, alright.Got Netflix in my mailbox with some DVDs, alright.♫♪”

Jenna scoffed, “He still needs to advertise his Netflix business huh.”

“♫♪How 'bout dinner, just you and me? You're the girl of my dreams at the Cheesecake Factory~~~!!!! ♫♪”

“♫♪You and me are front pagе news! Like Katie Holmеs loves Cruise! I've never felt like this! Baby, Rock My Kiss!♫♪”

“♫♪My island dream came true. Like Lost I'm stuck on you. I'll take my chance, won't miss! Baby, Rock My Kiss!Rock My Kiss!♫♪”

I stopped strumming and went to Enid, grabbed her hand, and pull her close to me, “♫♪ I will be your Edward, be my Bella tonight, I could pull you close, give you a vampire biteee~~!!”

Enid squealed and her face flushed. “You can bite me Ed!” She shouted as I returned to my seat. Sage shook her head in disbelief at me when she saw it.

“♫♪You can be my favourite girl! Then you can rock my world! I've never felt like this

Baby, Rock My Kiss!! Just want a love so true! Like Ross and Rachel do!I've never felt such bliss! Baby, Rock My Kiss! Rock My Kiss!♫♪”

They applauded me as I finished the song. My Aunt May commented, “You should probably use other examples than Ross and Rachel. Their relationship is not that great.”

“Next one!” Enid demanded. “Alright, next up, ‘MotherLover’.” I said as I picked up the guitar again. Sage quickly ran towards me and stopped, “Alright, I think you can skip that one.”

Vanessa shouted, “Ed, sing Nice Guys or S.W.G. (Ryan Higa)”

Maggie was confused, “You mean, S.W.A.G? You know, like swag?”

Vanessa shook her head, “No, like Sweet Wholesome girl.”

Jenna’s eyes lit up and she shouted, “I want to hear that!”

“I want to hear Nice Guys!” Amy said. 

“Let’s vote, who wants to hear Nice guys, who wants to hear SWG?” Uncle Jim took charge and made them raise their hands.

“Do I get a vote?” I asked with disbelief.

“No! Just sing Monkey.” Amy teased. 

“Nice guys won. Sing that first, then you can sing S.W.G.” Uncle Jim said mischievously. 

I sighed again and mumbled, “At the very least, Max isn’t here. Or else, I’ll die from embarrassment.”

Frankie suddenly pointed to a laptop sitting on the stand next to her and said, “She’s been here the whole time.” Max was on the screen, laughing until she lost her breath from the first song. Frankie unmuted her and said, “I called her when we left the table.”

Max couldn’t even talk properly as she would burst into laughter, “Bella (Laugh)...You said you hate Twilight…(Laugh)...”

“Look! Edward’s face is red!” Enid pointed out while laughing. I covered my face with my hand and said, “Is this bad karma? Have I done a bad thing recently?”

Maggie was extremely satisfied by the performances today. Finally, she got her revenge on me. 

Elsa commented, “You were the one sampling these for the movies. If anything, you did it to yourself.”

“Sing Nice guys!” Enid demanded again. Everyone was clamoring for me to start, which made me helpless.

“Alright Alright.” I said with a grimace. “The song is part vocal part rap. So, enjoy.”

[Ryan Higa – Nice Guy. (Youtuber)]

I sang with a sweet vocal, “♫♪  Nice guys finish last~ That's why I'll treat you like trash.”

Everyone grimaced as they heard the lyrics. Maggie curled her fingers as she cringed, and Amy desperately tried to hold her laughter. 

Even with a red face, I continued, “♫♪ It's not what I really wanna do, but~ You only date bad guys, so, I'll give it my best try to, Treat you the way you want me to…♫♪”

Then, I rapped even while strumming the guitar, “♫♪  I never open a door or pull out a chair. You can tell me how your day was, but I don't really care. And if you ever get cold, you'll just have to hack it,'Cause I'd be cold too if I gave you my jacket.♫♪”

“That’s true.” My dad commented, which made Frankie turn to him in shock. “I agree.” My Uncle Jim blurted out, which made him get pinched by Aunt May.

The rap continued, “♫♪Like, "Woah, you ain't sittin' upfront".Front is for the homies, you can sit in the trunk.♫♪”

Jacob gestured by hitting his chest 2 times. I pointed in agreement with him slightly, which made the girls there roll their eyes.

“♫♪ I never answer my phone, whenever you call it. And when the waiter brings the bill, I never reach for my wallet. ♫♪”

Vanessa mumbled, “Why am I briefly attracted to Ed just now?”

Maggie rolled her eyes and said, “How bad a boyfriend Zac can be?”

Max turned to Frankie and asked, “Isn’t that how a date usually went?”

Frankie sighed and said, “No…it's not.”

The chorus repeated, “ ♫♪Nice guys finish last. That's why I'll treat you like trash

It's not what I really want to do, but, You only date bad guys, so, I'll give it my best try to,Treat you the way you want me to.♫♪”

I hesitated for a bit before continuing. Everyone caught it and prepared themselves, most were trying to control their laughter. 

I rapped abruptly, “♫♪And I'ma beat you!♫♪”

“OH DAMN!” Maggie widened her eyes.

As I continued, everyone breathed in relief,“ ♫♪…in every competition. Going out with the girls? You better get my permission, Wait, no, I take that back, you can’t go. Breaking Bad is on tonight and that’s my favorite show♫♪

“Again with the advertisement.” Jenna commented.

I mimicked a girl’s voice, "♫♪Do I look fat in this dress?♫♪"  before turning it back to normal, “♫♪Hell yeah, you do.Wait, lemme speak your language, cows go, MOOO!!♫♪”

Everyone gasped in disbelief and bewilderment. Maggie’s and Vanessa’s jaw dropped in shock. I lowered my head in embarrassment, letting the beats loop on its own. Everyone desperately tried to hold back their laughter, but then, they failed.

I took a deep breath and finally raised my head again, “♫♪ Nice guys finish last

That's why I'll treat you like trash. It's not what I really want to do, ho-oh. You only date bad guys, so. I'll give it my best try to, treat you the way you want me to♫♪”

As I sang the bridge, my embarrassment was finally gone. “♫♪But behind the scenes

She means the world to me.♫♪”

“Aww.” Jenna and Enid exclaimed at the same time. 

“♫♪I wanna tell her that she's beautiful, And show her that she's loved.♫♪”

Max commented, “He ruined it now.”

“♫♪Hold her hand when she’s scared'. Tell her how much I care. But that won't win her heart because~~~!!!♫♪”

“♫♪ Nice guys finish last! That's why I'll treat you like trash! It's not what I really want to do, ho! You only date bad guys, so, I'll give it my best try to!! Treat you the way you want me to!!♫♪”

I turned to Max and said, “Hoe.”

Max gave me a thumbs up and said, “He saved it.”

“I’m going to the bathroom.” I said before I left the living room. Everyone was still laughing at the performance, and they kept discussing the song lyrics. After I washed my face, I bumped into Mrs Henderson in front of the door.

“You have a nice little group right here, right Edward?” She said with a smile. I turned to my family and friends and said, “Not all of them could be here, but yes.”

She rubbed my hair and said nothing. I turned to the little group again and smiled softly. An idea started blooming inside my mind as I walked back towards them.

“Now, I’m just going to sing MotherLover(The Lonely Island) and end this.”

My next song resulted in a 2 hour long lecture from my grandmother. Everyone had to listen to it, not just me. When I came to the movie studio the next day, Pepper was startled to see the prominent eye bag underneath my eyes. 

“Oh this? My grandmother decided it wasn’t enough for me to listen to a 2 hour long lecture, so she gave a special session, just for me.” I said as I pointed at my tired face.