[Edward POV]
My mind froze a little when Annie laid down on my bed.
"Um, Annie, what are you doing?" I asked, smiling awkwardly.
With a red tint on her cheeks, she shyly said, "I can't sleep alone… without my plushies. So can I sleep with you?"
"Errr…" I hesitated. "This might not be a good idea, since we're employer and employee—"
"But there are no rules against a boss and employee being close. And this isn't even a relationship. We're just going to cuddle and sleep," Annie said nervously.
"We're just going to cuddle?" I couldn't help but snort in amusement.
"You want to do something else?" She perked up slightly, biting her lower lip.
"Annie—" I sighed heavily. She quickly added, flustered, "No. We're not going to do anything. We're just going to sleep."
"Alright. We're just going to sleep."
Annie grinned. As we laid down next to each other, she asked, "Hey, do you remember when you took me out on a date?"
"Yeah. At Greendale Community College."
"At that time, it almost drove me crazy that the date didn't go very well," Annie admitted.
"It did… go well? Did it not?" I chuckled.
Annie shook her head. "No. I was too obsessed with Troy, and you were…"
"I was just trying to prove a point to Frankie back then," I muttered, a little apologetic. "Sorry, Annie."
"I don't mind it!" She flushed, then began daydreaming aloud. "I just wonder sometimes, if we actually went to college together, what would've become of us?"
"Well, I never actually went to college. I was just visiting. But I get what you're saying."
What if I didn't have any system… just went on as an ordinary student?
"One thing's for sure—it wouldn't take me six seasons to try and get with you." I cackled.
Annie laughed, sarcasm dripping: "Yeah right. You'd never actually do anything. Maybe just think about asking me out in your mind."
"No. I'm pretty sure I'd ask you out the moment I saw you in a tight sweater roaming the halls."
Her cheeks flared as she blinked in surprise. "So once you ask me out, what happens then?"
"We'll start slow. A few dates. Then, when the time's right, you're going to spread your legs—"
"Pervert—"
"—and join me for my daily yoga lessons."
"Ah!" She gasped then whispered, "Jerk." She chuckled, embarrassed she'd fallen for the trap.
"What about you?" I asked. "What do you think would've happened?"
"Well…" Annie smirked. "I'd probably baby-trap you within a couple of months. You're too hot, so I'd feel insecure and end up being toxic and draining."
"Will you have the 'crazy eyes'?" I asked casually.
She replied, "Yup. I'm sure I will have that."
I raised a brow, amused. Annie leaned in with a mock glare, voice rising, "You'd say, 'She's just working on an assignment with me!' and I'd scream, 'Why are you even in college looking at other girls!'"
I burst into laughter, "I don't think it would come to that. That's really bad."
"Yeah, it definitely would've been bad," Annie giggled.
We bantered a while, and she rested her head on my shoulder.
I sighed. "Too bad I'm never going to experience normal again."
"Nor—Normal is subjective," Annie stammered. "It depends on how you were raised. And when your surroundings change… won't that become your new normal after a while?"
I guess that was true.
"You're quite wise, Annie."
Her eyes sparkled. "Really?"
"Yeah." I patted her head. "Now, go to sleep. I'll leave once you're out."
She pouted and clung to my arm. "Are you sure you don't want to do anything?"
"I can't. I'm sorry."
Suddenly, Ness and Haley chimed in from the doorway.
Haley smirked. "Forget it, Annie. You're not breaking through his defenses. He's gone voluntarily celibate for whatever reason."
Ness added, "Yeah. He really thinks he's a messiah, so he has to act all pure and dignified—"
"Okay, both of you are drunk. And I'm not trying to be pure or anything." My patience frayed. "Also, most of the resistance came from you two. I could feel your eyes on me the whole time."
My observation haki told me they were there, which killed the vibe.
"We're not that drunk," Ness grinned, ignoring most of my words. "I only had one glass of wine. Then I pretended to sleep so I could see what Annie was planning."
"Ditto," Haley said.
Annie was aghast. "I—Um—"
"Don't worry, Annie. We totally get it." Ness sat beside her, Haley joining in.
"Great. Now everyone's in my room," I muttered, throwing my hands in the air defeatedly.
Haley rolled her eyes. "Edward, are you dumb, or did you reset to being a virgin? Do you really not know what we want here?"
She ran a hand up Annie's thigh, making her stiffen—then relax.
Ness gasped theatrically. "Oh, Haley. Do you think… he's like this because… he can't get it up anymore?"
"Oh that must be it." Haley giggled.
The jab stung my ego. I grabbed a glass of Euphoria I kept hidden, downed it, and wiped my mouth.
"Alright. That's it. Since you girls want this so badly, don't blame me when things get awkward later."
Even though I was the strongest man in the world, I was still a man.
And the rule the girls made—nothing counts during the pandemic—had never sounded more tempting.
"Just so you know, if everything becomes awkward tomorrow, I'm not going to take any responsibility for it." I said to all three of them.
…
[General POV]
The next morning, Edward's first music video for the Pandemic album dropped.
He promised his fans to do one song per week. Edward used his duplicates to shoot the music video while he was working on the tv show.
Edward woke up with a groan, and found the three naked girls laying their heads on his body. They woke up from his movement, and he smiled at them as he greeted, "Good Morning."
"Morning Edward." Haley replied first. "You made me so sore…" She complained, her hair was extremely scruffy from the aftermath.
Ness slid next to Edward and continued sleeping, "I don't want to wake up yet. And don't bother Annie too since it's her first time and you went really rough on her."
Edward kissed the girl's cheek before he went to make them breakfast.
While he was baking them bread, the music video was already watched by millions of people. Oracle played the song as he slammed the oven door.
[Tear In My Heart– Twenty One Pilots]
The upbeat drums and the piano harmonized together, creating an energetic start for the song.
Edward puts emotions into his vocals, "♫♪ Sometimes you gotta bleed to know ♫♪"
"♫♪That you're alive and have a soul♫♪"
Mitch and Cam watched the music video as they woke up, and they were instantly mesmerized by it.
"God, did he shoot it in Korea? Or did he use his Canvas studio again?" Cam muttered in shock as he saw Edward breaking the pandemic restriction to record the music video.
"Obviously he used the studio." Mitchell said.
"♫♪But it takes someone to come around, to show you how! She's the tear in my heart, I'm alive~! ♫♪"
♫♪ She's the tear in my heart, I'm on fire
She's the tear in my heart, take me higher♫♪
♫♪Than I've ever been ♫♪
"Ohh! Gossip! Who is she?" Claire muttered.
Alex rolled her eyes and said, "Your daughter's been there for about a week. Shouldn't your first guest be–did Haley do that?"
Claire said casually, "No it's not Haley." She was so confident in it that Alex was taken aback by her response.
"♫♪ The songs on the radio are okay
But my taste in music is your face♫♪"
"Pfft–" Abby couldn't help but laugh when she heard the lyric. Not only her, but a lot of the girls giggled at this line.
♫♪ And it takes a song to come around to show you how ♫♪
♫♪ She's the tear in my heart, I'm alive
She's the tear in my heart, I'm on fire
She's the tear in my heart, take me higher♫♪
♫♪(Than I've ever been x4)♫♪
Edward opened up his album with an upbeat song to keep the morale up during the pandemic. He knew that a lot of people would feel low and depressed, so he was trying to cheer them up.
"♫♪ You fell asleep in my car, I drove the whole time
But that's okay, I'll just avoid the holes so you sleep fine♫♪"
Lily, his fanclub president, sobbed and wept as she saw him. "Edward! I miss you a lot!" She cried. "When are you going to hold another fanmeeting?"
"♫♪ I'm driving here I sit, cursing my government
For not usin' my taxes to fill holes with more cement ♫♪"
Alex was aghast when she heard the lyric, "Oh my god. Is he insane? He's already in trouble with them, yet he's taunting them in the song?!"
Phil muttered with a proud expression, "Alex. You just don't understand it. Rock and Roll is all about rebellion."
"He's not a rock and roll icon! He's a teen popstar!" Alex retorted angrily.
A group of people in social media began to dissect Edward's 'scriptures'. They were really fixated on these lines.
"♫♪ You fell asleep in my car, I drove the whole time
But that's okay, I'll just avoid the holes so you sleep fine ♫♪"
Cultist1: He's telling us to follow him blindly, he's going to guide us into utopia.
"♫♪ I'm driving here I sit, cursing my government
For not using my taxes to fill holes with more cement ♫♪"
Cultist2: The government has run out of their usage. He will take over soon.
Lily commented on the cultist's posts, "Are you guys mentally ill?"
"♫♪ Sometimes you gotta bleed to know, oh, oh
That you're alive and have a soul, oh, oh♫♪"
While Edward was spreading jam on his bread, Ness, Annie, and Haley joined him in the kitchen.
"♫♪ But it takes someone to come around to show you how ♫♪"
"♫♪She's the tear in my heart, I'm alive♫♪"
Edward laughed with the girls as they ate breakfast together. Vader joined in, and they were having an incredible morning.
"♫♪She's the tear in my heart, I'm on fire♫♪"
Annie wiped the smudge on Edward's lips with a napkin before proceeding to kiss him.
"♫♪She's the tear in my heart, take me higher♫♪"
Ness also kissed him, and lastly Haley did too.
"♫♪Than I've ever been ♫♪"
In the music video, Edward held the microphone as he sang.
"♫♪ My heart is my armor
She's the tear in my heart, she's a carver
She's a butcher with a smile, cut me farther♫♪"
The chaotic energy in the music video made a lot of people smile.
"♫♪ Than I've ever been
Than I've ever been
Than I've ever been♫♪"
In just one short morning, the music video was already watched by 50 million people, and was streamed online on the Spotify apps over one hundred million times.
"♫♪ Oh, than I've ever been.♫♪ "
"♫♪ My heart is my armor♫♪"
"♫♪She's the tear in my heart, she's a carver
She's a butcher with a smile, cut me farther
Than I've ever been♫♪"
Maybe there would be a lot of problems from the way Edward was handling his relationships—he realized it, but at the same time, the girls wore him down.
Lily commented on the music video, "The song is really awesome! I love you, Captain!"
The comments poured in—ten thousand of them in just one morning.
However, not everyone was enjoying the special event.
"God!" Chloe, the detective who had worked with Edward before, groaned as she got another death threat on her computer.
"Are these people serious? They know I'm a cop, right?" she muttered. "I'm the police, not the government."
Her partner sipped his coffee. "They don't care. Our state arrested their idol. And the government's only throwing worse stuff at them now. Like, literally."
Outside the California State Government building, an angry protester dumped 100 tons of fresh manure at the entrance.
"Take that, you disgusting fascist!" the 40-year-old balding man shouted.
Even if people couldn't go outside, many still bombarded their local government with calls and emails, reporting potholes that needed fixing.
Since roads were nearly empty, people were frustrated that the government wasn't taking advantage of the downtime to do repairs.
Almost everyone had faced traffic jams caused by maintenance during peak hours.
With the song, many political commentators guessed that Edward was truly distancing himself from politics, having been stabbed in the back.
"What can we do?" A government official asked another.
"We can do this to get back at him. Have you seen Taylor Swift's new story?" A young man in a blue suit replied.
The old official looked at the photo and said, "Why is this relevant to the topic?"
"See here?" The man zoomed in, and Edward's face was seen at the back of Selena, Taylor and Barbara Palvin selfie.
"Edward Newgate broke the lockdown rules. We can use this so smear him, take that little bitch down his pedestal a notch." The man said excitedly.
An old lady official said, "Won't that bring more backlash to us?"
"We're not going to say it. I have a friend at the New York Times. I think they will be really interested in this discovery."
At Cam and Mitchell's house
Mitchell read an Entertainment Weekly article about the new song and grimaced. "Wow. They're talking about him every single day this month."
"At least they're talking," Cam quipped from the couch, watching TV with Lily.
Mitchell rolled his eyes. "All I said was, give me space when I'm working!"
Cam huffed. "I worked too, Mitchell! You didn't hear me bitching about it when you barged into my office!"
What they called the office was just their dining room area.
The toddler, Lily, gasped. "Daddy said a bad word."
Cam immediately picked her up. "Honey, do as Daddy says, not as Daddy does."
"But you say 'bitching,'" Lily protested.
Mitchell crouched to smooth things over. "I know, sweetie. That's still a no-no word, okay?"
He turned to Cam. "I work with professionals. You told high school kids how to work out once a week. There's a huge difference. If you can't tell what's important, maybe it's better for us to—"
Cam gasped. "You're breaking up with me?" His voice trembled.
Mitchell rolled his eyes. "No. We'll just work in different spaces. I'm buying the upper-floor house so we'll have room for both of us to work."
"Oh…" Cam giggled nervously. "That's a good idea. But I'm still shaken by the thought of—" His voice broke, and he began to sob.
Mitchell rolled his eyes again. Lily pointed at Cam and giggled. "Little bitch."
Cam froze, glaring at Lily.
[Mitch and Cam's Commentary]
"The lockdown is taking its toll," Mitchell said.
Cam added, "We're very social people. Being stuck inside messes with your brain. It's like living in solitary confinement."
"I'm fine with it," Mitchell replied. "I've got books I've been saving for free time. I've been taking online classes—"
"Our friend Jamarcus is crying all the time," Cam interrupted. "He has to live in his big mansion alone."
Mitchell blinked, then chuckled. "Crispin got so lonely he moved in with a woman."
"WHAT?!" Cam turned to him in shock.
[Commentary ended]
Alex and Enid watched the music video over a Zoom call Edward had set up.
Enid squealed. "AHH! I really miss him!"
Alex shook her head. "Really?"
"You talked to him yesterday. I haven't spoken to him in two days! So shut your mouth, flooz," Enid pouted.
"I'm not a flooz! He walked in when my sister was calling me," Alex retorted.
"Your sister's a floozy too! Though I admit, she's a genius for packing her bag and moving into Edward's place. Still, Edward deserved better," Enid grumbled.
"Why are you so snappy today?" Alex asked, a little taken aback.
"I just… really miss him!" Enid deflated on the table and admitted.
"Well, Jenna's going to his house tomorrow after work. Why don't you go with her?" Alex suggested.
"Yes! Definitely! It's a perfect excuse. Thank God Jenna caught the virus and almost died, or I wouldn't see Edward for two whole months," Enid said excitedly.
"Please don't say that in front of Jenna. Like… ever," Alex warned with a horrified look.
Enid shrugged, not really understanding what she had said.
Suddenly, her phone notification sounded. She checked it immediately and gasped in exasperation.
"What is it?" Alex asked curiously.
Enid replied, "The New York Times came out with a hit piece against Edward: 'Rules Don't Apply to Me; Edward Newgate's Latest Hypocrisy.' These fucking—"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Alex calmed Enid down before saying, "Send the link to me first so that we can get mad about it together."
Enid was taken aback, then said, "Alright."
She waited for Alex to read it before they both cursed out The New York Times together.
In the span of an afternoon, the media company lost half of its subscribers for attacking the most beloved artist of all time.
They received so much backlash over it that they pulled the article on the same day. However, the damage was done.
The blue-suited official secretly called someone after this happened. "I've done my work. You're going to delete my pictures now, right?" He was sweating the entire time.
On the other line, Robin smirked and said, "Sure. I'll delete the pictures you took at the furry convention. I'm not like you guys who stab people in the back."
Robin had created the chaos by leaking the picture Taylor never meant to post, in order to attack The New York Times.
Although Edward was having a gathering at his house, it made sense since it was the premiere of the TV series, and the actresses were watching the premiere together.
Also, he had the cure back at his place. It was like getting mad at people for going to the hospital when they got sick.
Taylor was taken aback by the article at first, but then she tweeted something that caused even more controversy.
She said that all of the girls were staying at Edward's mansion for the span of the lockdown.
And the crowd was stunned again.