Chapter 102: Decathlon begins! (Patreon)

[Edward POV]

“Ooo Jay’s going to get some~”

“Ed! That’s disgusting!”

Alex looked at me as if I was lesser than a vermin after I made that joke. Haley too got irritated, even though her reaction was more moderate compared to Alex’s. Despite them already knowing how human reproduction works, it was still too much for them to consider their old grandpa to participate in that sort of thing.

I made a zipping mouth gesture and threw away the key to calm them down. Despite that, my mouthole was opened just a few seconds later.

“Alex, when are you going to join me on stage?”

“Hmm?” Haley turned to look at us with a complicated expression on her face. Alex rolled her eyes and replied, “You should make a song first!”

“Hey. Alex, you’re going to play together with Ed?” Claire asked from the driver seat.

“Why? Am I not good enough?” Alex asked defensively. I flicked her forehead, making her groan in pain.

“What was that for?” She growled at me.

“Your mom is just asking, why are you so hostile to her?” I asked, making Alex freeze in realization. She turned to Claire and said in a tiny voice, “Sorry mom. I’m too anxious about tomorrow, so I took it out on you.”

Claire covered her mouth and had a touched expression. She said, “It’s okay Alex. You guys will do well tomorrow. Because why? Because you’re all a bunch of SUPERSTARS!”

Alex rolled her eyes while Haley laughed at her sister’s misery.

After we got to the Dunphy’s home, Claire immediately ordered us to go and sleep although it was only 11 o’clock. We didn’t argue with her though, and promptly went to the bed to get some shut eye.

“Damn. Where should I sleep?” I muttered helplessly as both beds were already taken by Luke and Manny. Not to mention their cacophony of snores, I saw Luke’s drool dripping from the top bed to the bottom, and the drops falling only inches away from where Manny's head was.

“So…I’m not going to bunk with Manny.” I muttered.

After changing my clothes into pajamas, I went back out and walked to the living room downstairs with a pillow and a blanket.

I activated the [Rest] skill as I laid down on the couch, and within 30 seconds, I was transported to dreamland.

‘That was a metaphor. In the 4 hours of sleep I got after activating the rest skill, it even prevented me from dreaming as it targeted the most efficient way for me to handle my sleep… or so I thought.’

“(Yawn) What time is it?” I muttered as I checked my phone when I woke up, feeling refreshed. “Oh boy. It’s 3 am. Time for a Krabby Patty.”

Although I was hungry and could eat at this time, unfortunately there weren't any burgers around. I went to brush my teeth and opened my laptop before studying about the competition.

“Although I joked about it before, I could use a burger right about now.” I said while holding my grumbling stomach. I went to the fridge, but I didn’t feel comfortable opening it and snooping around without the house owner’s consent, so I just picked an apple that was in a fruit bowl on top of the kitchen island.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed as I was reading about the expansion of the universe on the couch.

Taylor: Hey, you’re up?

I smiled at the text message and replied.

Ed: I’m always up.

Taylor: Good. Check this out. ‘EdwardNewgateFailedMarketingStrategy@buzzfeed.com’

She sent me a link, and I clicked on it quickly. But then, it redirected me to a youtube video about a goat screaming in full volume. However, the prank failed as I always kept the volume off in my phone.

Ed: Didn’t work~

Taylor: Damn it!

Ed: How’s your concert?

Taylor: It was fine. It’ll be better if you’re there though.

Ed: I know. Your fans love me more than you. So it’ll be a better experience for them too.

Taylor: GO F– Yourself!

Taylor: (Image.jpeg)

‘That reminds me. I should include more GIFs in the overall GIF’s collections.’

She didn’t stay online for long and went to sleep after talking about her day for a few minutes. She talked about a few things, such as how many men tried to hit on her today– which I presumed she shared with me to make me jealous, and about how tired she was from the concerts.

She would have to fly to Ohio later on, and next Philadelphia. It’ll take weeks for her to get back before she has to prepare for the summer concert and music festivals next.

Taylor: When will you start your tour?

Ed: Honestly, I don’t know yet. I could do it after this week, but I still wanted to participate in a few school events. I won’t get out of LA for now though. Maybe go to Las Vegas, but that’s it.

Taylor: WAIT! I know a few concert staff in Vegas! If you played it only for the VVIPs, you can earn an easy 10 million buck a night.

Ed: Should I strip for them too? Not that I have any reservation for it, but I just don’t want to be put on the spot while I’m there.

Taylor: Oh yeah. If you’re going to strip on stage, then the old money bags will throw their golden dentures on stage for you! I look forward to that. (LOL.emoticon)

Despite the jokes, I got to thinking about the matter seriously.

‘When should I start my tour?...And my next concert? Should I make Pepper prepare for it now? Ahh…I still need  to investigate Coldplay here and get in contact with Chris Martin.

Taylor: Hey, can we do a video call?

Ed: Sure.

The phone rang for a short few seconds before I picked up the Facetime request from Taylor. She was laying down on the bed and suddenly said, “Hey. Sing me something.”

“A lullaby?”

“No. The song you sang to me before. There’s no recording of it, so I cannot find it online.”

“Ahh. Okay. But I don’t have my instruments with me.” I said. “There is a piano in the living room, but I’m afraid of disturbing the Dunphys.”

Taylor scoffed and said, “You must be glad to be sleeping with two girls. Sisters even.”

“Well that is every guy's dream, but honestly, there's too many people here. I can’t wait to go back to my house.”

She smiled a bit before pretending to be angry again. “I don’t care. Sing it to me!”

I scratched my cheek and said, “All right. Just this once.”

She smiled from ear to ear with an expression that said, ‘As if’ , and waited patiently for me to start while hugging her pillow.

I cleared my throat before I started to sing using a calm and gentle voice as if I was singing a lullaby.

♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪

“♫♪I guess Peter Pan was right, Growing up's a waste of time, So I think I'll fly away,

Set a course for brighter days,  Find the second star, I'm soarin', And then straight on to the morn', I know that I'll be fine,  'Cause I know Peter Pan was right…♫♪”

I wanted to continue, but I saw Taylor had already fallen asleep. “Seriously? She must have been so tired.” I muttered as I waved at the screen a few times, but she wasn’t reacting.

Then, I heard a slight snore coming from the other side of the screen. I laughed a bit and screen recorded the video chat for half a minute before saying, “Good night Taylor. Sweet dreams.”

I cut off the call soon after. With a sigh, I returned to studying, and could only continue for 5 minutes before I was interrupted yet again. My heart almost dropped when the girl with messy hair suddenly appeared beside me with a glass of water in her hand.

“Hey. What are you doing up?” Haley asked groggily as she went down to the kitchen to grab a glass of water, but saw me studying in the living room instead of sleeping in the bedroom.

“You can’t sleep again?” She asked with difficulty of opening her eyes. One of her eyes was half open, and the other one remained shut.

“No- I’m already-”

Before I could finish my words, Haley had already sat down next to me and hugged me. She patted my arms comfortingly and said, “It must be tough, not be able to use your sleeping support when she’s just in the next room from you.”

I laughed a bit, but Haley suddenly dragged me to lay down on the couch. She intertwined her legs with mine, and nuzzled her head deeply into my chest as we fit together on the tiny couch.

“I’m already up, Haley.” I explained with a soft smile as I noticed what she was doing.

“It’s 4 am. You should go to sleep.” Haley said decisively and closed her eyes as she fell asleep while wrapping her arms around me. I sighed and cuddled with her, at least I planned on doing so until she got back to sleep. However, I underestimated her influence in my life.

Her hand suddenly grabbed my but and she gave a few tight squeezes while pretending to be asleep. “Hmm?” I looked at her ‘sleeping’ face before tracing her eyebrow with my fingers, and then traced her jawline lovingly. She flushed red despite trying not to care about it, but then my fingers turned vicious and I pinched her nose.

“Are you pretending to be asleep?” I asked.

“(Nasally)...No.” Haley replied with a tiny voice. I laughed and released my finger, leaving her with a perceptible red tint on her nose. I kissed it and pulled her closer to me before letting her be and reading the materials I had printed with one hand.

‘Damn it. Why am I sleepy?’ I thought with a yawn as I tried to read the study materials. Without me realizing it, I fell asleep soon after Haley. We stayed with each other for a few hours until the sun went up.

[Claire’s POV]

As usual, I woke up at 6 in the morning and began my daily struggle of getting my children out of the door in time for them to get to school. First, I began with preparing breakfast for them, and also to make some coffee.

Then, I turned on the laptop and checked the company's overnight trip and the ship's current status to make sure they weren’t lost at sea while I was asleep.

“Oh yeah. The maintenance is today.” I muttered before texting the ship repairer and cleaners to remind them about their appointment with us to prevent any delays in the schedules.

‘Did I put out the extra bed for Ed or not?’ I wondered as I cooked the pancakes. But, since Ed didn’t say anything last night, I thought I had already done so, and continued cooking with a peace of mind.

I placed the pancakes on the dining table, when I suddenly saw a male leg hanging from the couch.

“Ed?” I muttered as I walked to the living room. Then, I froze as I saw what was happening there. My face contorted in puzzlement as I tried to process the scene happening in front of me.

I stood there for over 20 minutes to process what was happening.

“Honey. I smell pancakes!” Phil, my husband ran excitedly to the kitchen after following the smell as if he was a cartoon character, and stopped as he saw me.

“What’s going on?” He asked as he walked near the living room. I pointed the ‘thing’ on the couch to him, in which he responded, “Aww…Look at them so cute together with their head nuzzling-”

“PHIL!” I shouted in anger before slapping Haley’s leg. “Wake up!” I shouted. Both Haley and Ed woke up with a jerk. They were both still groggy, and didn’t understand why I was mad.

“Mom. What’s with you? That’s a rude way to wake someone up-” Haley said with a  hoarse voice.

I fumed in anger as I said, “Explain yourself!”

“Huh? Explain what?” Haley asked in confusion.

“This might just be me…but I think…and seriously, this is just me…I think…she’s mad because she saw us sleeping together?” Ed said, acting as if this was all a big joke.

“ED! Do you even know what you were doing?” I said, moments away before having one of my big freak out episodes. Phil hugged me from the side and said hurriedly to comfort me and to allow the kids to explain themselves, “Haley. Why don’t you tell your mom what’s going on before she exploded into tiny little angry mom pieces?”

“PHIL!” I admonished him, but honestly I thanked his calmness in dealing with this kind of things.

“We-” Haley tried to answer, but Ed interrupted her. “It’s all my fault Mrs Dunphy. I…have insomnia. Last night, Haley saw me in the living room, so she tried go get me to sleep, and will not be going away if I don’t try. As you can see, she succeeded…That’s it.”

“That’s it?” I asked with a confused, but still angry tone.

“That’s it.” Ed replied decisively while Haley nodded. I calmed down a bit and processed the whole thing before asking, “Since when did you have insomnia?”

“I don’t know. 1 or 2 years.” Ed replied, making me feel a pang of guilt for suspecting him.

I crossed my arms and asked, “S-So you guys didn’t do anything else?”

“Do what?” Haley asked with a yawn, making me the one who’s embarrassed. “Don’t play with me Haley. Did you ONLY just sleep?”

Ed and Haley looked at each other for a while before turning back to me with ‘isn’t it obvious’ expression on their face and said, ““Yeah.””

Phil believed them almost immediately and said, “So that’s it. Who wants pancakes?”

“I do! I have been starving.” Ed replied before he got out of the couch and went to the kitchen. Phil met him halfway and greeted him with a pat on the shoulder, “If you’re hungry, why don’t you just eat a midnight snack last night?”

“Well…I don’t want to be rude. I had an apple last night, so I’m sorry for that.”

My anger went away quickly when I heard he had been starving himself just because he didn’t get my permission to open the fridge. I sighed and walked to the duo and said, “Don’t apologize. I’m the one who’s sorry. Just treat this like your own house next time Ed. If you're hungry, just find something to eat. I won’t hold it against you.”

Ed smiled helplessly and replied with an awkward voice, “O-okay.” I almost rolled my eyes at him, but at the same time I felt deep sadness inside my heart as I thought about the ways he had been living. ‘He must feel deep distrust for the adults. Thank god his therapy is tomorrow.’

…

[Edward POV]

“Hurry up Alex. We’re going to be late.” Claire shouted while Phil was in front of me, helping me fix my tie as I had changed into a black suit with green lining on the collar and front jacket, and the school emblem was sewed at the front pocket.

“We’re not late at all!” Alex said exasperatingly as she hurried down with a matching girl uniform, but with yellow lining instead of the green lining. “And, you. Seriously, you made yourself a Slytherin?”

“Yeah. It will be easy for me to… ‘Slyther in…your chamber of secrets later.”

Alex rolled her eyes before Claire caught her and said, “Now that Ed had designed a uniform that made you look pretty, you should at least do make up a little bit.”

“No- MOM!” Alex tried to protest, but Haley and Claire had already encircled her like vultures eating their prey. “Haley. Give me the maskara.” Claire asked.

“Which one?” Haley said as she took out 6 maskara tubes that she held in a wolverine pose. Alex couldn’t believe what was happening and glared at me as if saying this was all my fault. I rubbed my nose and said, “So. Haruna had gotten her uniform right?”

“Sanjay too, no thanks to you.” Alex replied. “Hmm? Why? What’s with Sanjay?” Claire asked.

“Can’t you believe he’s not going to give him a team uniform?” Alex said as she pointed at me. I coughed twice and defended myself, “The uniform isn’t obligatory. I only did this for fun.”

“Yeah. But if Mrs Henderson doesn’t catch you, you would only give the uniforms to Haruna, me, and the substitute player, leaving Sanjay out. I hate him as much as you do, but that's so childish isn’t it?”

“Like I said. I just forgot.” I argued. Honestly, I really did forget. Maybe it's because I didn’t treat him like a teammate at all, but I had sent the uniform that I designed to him– despite him being the  only one that had to pay for it.

I didn’t make it myself, but instead I ordered them from Pepper’s friend who ran a boutique.

“Is he a Gryffindor then?” Claire asked. “Griffindor doesn’t like Slytherin right?”

“Like hell Imma give him Gryffindor.” I retorted, causing Haley to laugh. “He’s…”

[General POV]

-Sanjay’s house-

“HUFFLEPUFF! HE GAVE ME HUFFLEPUFF!” Sanjay screamed in frustration as he put on his team uniform. His dad, an Indian neurosurgeon, rubbed the suit he wore and said, “This material is so nice. Is this suede? I want one too.”

“DAD!” Sanjay shouted before he rolled his eyes. The decathlon team meets up at the school before they ride a school bus together to go to the competition venue.

Edward was surprised when he saw the substitute player who came in with a matching Ravenclaw suit as Alex. “Hey-Hey-Hey ED! This is soo nice!” Enid said as she twirled to show off her uniform.

“Why…are you here?” Edward asked.

“The substitute dropped out. So I’m the substitute for the substitute.” Enid said casually. Edward smiled and patted her head before saying, “I’m glad it's you. And you look damn nice.”

“I KNOW RIGHT?!” Enid screamed in excitement as the bus entered Dryden Academy grounds.

“Wait. Did the venue change?” Ed asked as he noticed the school. Mrs Henderson who was dressed in a casual white blouse and long black skirt replied, “Yes. They sponsored the competition after all.”

The bus stopped at the parking lot near the football field. The group all disembarked off the bus in a calm manner as they were mesmerized by the surroundings. “The school is very beautiful.” Enid muttered.

“Too bad the benchmark for going here is that your parents must be a multi millionaire.” Alex scoffed despite the awe she felt.

“Hey look out!”

Suddenly, a stray football flew across the parking lot, and almost hit Alex’s face. She flinched in horror and closed her eyes, but the pain she expected to have did not come. She opened her eyes slowly, only to see Ed had caught the ball directing towards her in a casual manner.

“Let the mind games begin.” Ed muttered, confident that the ‘accident’ was a scheme by the opposition.

A young, tall african boy ran towards the team in a worrying manner and apologized the moment he stopped in front of them. In a Nigerian accent, he said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t look where I was kicking.”

Ed gave the guy another look, and replied with a smile, “Nah. It’s okay. People can make a mistake.”

The guy sighed in relief with a smile on his face. He put his hand out for a handshake and said, “I’m Sam Obisanya. I just came from Nigeria, and I really  thought the football club I registered too…is for football.”

Ed laughed without the others understanding why and he replied to Sam, “Yeah. Americans are weird. They call football soccer here. I’m Edward. You can just call me Ed.”

“Nice to meet you Ed.” Sam said.

Sam smiled at the friendliness and turned to Alex– the almost victim. “And you pretty girl. I’m really sorry.”

Alex was flabbergasted while Enid got excited for her. She pushed her friend forward, making Alex stand beside Edward. “Pr-Pretty?”

“You are very pretty.” Sam flirted. Alex turned to Edward to see if the football player was messing with her, only to find Ed nodding along to Sam’s word.

“Yeah. She’s very pretty.” Ed muttered, making Alex’s face turn red. Sanjay gritted his teeth before harrumping away, and Enid kept going ‘KYAAA’ in the background as she imagined the scene of 2 boys fighting for Alex’s affection.

“Can I get your number-” Sam tried to ask, but Ed pushed him away lightly and turned his body back so he would face the field. “See. Your coach is calling for you.”

“I have no coach-” Sam tried to explain.

“14 GO LONG!” Ed yelled to the team playing. The chubby boy with the number 14 on his shirt sighed and ran quickly before Ed threw the ball towards him with extreme precision and strength.

The entire football field was silent as they saw Ed’s skill. “How many yards is that?” The football coach asked hurriedly as he saw a potential star. The assistant coach anxiously replied, “It– It’s…wait a second…it’s…almost 65 yards…I guess…”

“AND HE DID IT WHILE WEARING A SUIT?!”

Back to the Franklin Middle school team, Ed whistled as he saw number 14 caught his throw. “You guys got skills.”

“How did you do that-” Sam widened his eyes in surprise and tried to ask, but Ed waved him goodbye and said, “Sorry Sam. We will talk later. I need to go inside the venue. The competition is going to start.”