Chapter 78: Relying on a vote.

Chapter 78: Chapter 78: Relying on a vote.

I hitched a ride with Abby while the rest of the group was riding with Cam as they had no excuse to cram the car with him going in the same direction. They looked at me with puppy-dog eyes, but my comfort mattered more than their enjoyment.

"I talked to my mom about it." Abby said as she stole a glance at me while driving.

"Talk about what?" I asked in a casual tone.

"About our topic last night. I realized a few things afterward. I was really unfair to you before."

"Well...That's nice to hear, but I don't blame you for it."

Abby smiled and said, "Good-"

"I blame your dad." I said, interrupting her.

She giggled and slowly reached out her left hand before touching my hand with it. I just let her do that, and she looked me in the eyes and said, "Thank you Ed. Seriously."

It was only a short drive to the tiny music studio Pepper rented so we couldn't actually get deep in our conversations.

I nodded my head while she gave me one last squeeze before releasing my hands.

As she was parking the car, she hesitated and asked with a tiny voice, "If...possible, could I be your-"

"ED!" Pepper shouted for me the second the car was put in park. I waved at him to make him wait there before turning to Abby.

"Sorry. What were you saying?"

"N-Nevermind." Abby said with a stutter before we both walked to the studio.

[Abby's POV]

How dumb was it for me to actually want to ask him to be my boyfriend, right here, while he was already troubled by his song's release dilemma. I nodded at Pepper as I saw him, and thanked him in my heart as his shout had helped me avoid making a huge fool of myself.

That last song was nice, but I kept wondering what other options he had in mind. I hate Haley's uncle for making us change spots, but it made sense as he needed to release the songs in just a few more hours.

He didn't have much time now. I couldn't help but feel worried for him.

'Can't someone else take the burden?' I thought while watching his every move as we all entered the music studio.

[Edward POV]

"Ed. I wouldn't want to rush you, but..." Pepper said as he glanced at the wall clock. The time was almost 4 pm, and the entire company was working overtime to handle the marketing for the new Singles. However, it was hard for them to do so without the name of the latest track.

"We're promoting that one as a mystery right?" I said to Pepper.

"Yeah. We followed your plans, and to be honest, the reaction from the younger generations is great, but the older ones..."

"It doesn't matter much as long as we do release it afterward." I said dismissively.

"Some loudmouths and no substance critics had been barking around, trying to damage your debut. I let Harvey handle all of the ramifications, but it looked like-"

"Like someone was manipulating everything from behind. You got that right." I said as I knew for sure who the "mastermind" was. It was the same person who tried to get dirt on me before. Through some intense digging, I managed to track down the "breadcrumbs" to the Vice Director of Taylor's agency. His motive in doing so was to undermine Pepper's agency and ruin my debut to make their agency "come in to the rescue" and use their "connections" to make themselves look more impressive in my eyes.

"Too bad for them though. I'm not a naive kid." I said as I tapped my IPhone keyboard and sent a few emails to the press and the authorities. They contained the details of a few entrapment cases and sexual misconduct that could be used to file charges against the Vice Director and basically end his career, but I still couldn't touch other core members of the agency just yet since they'd made sure to keep their own hands "clean" from this whole situation dumping all the "blame" on their chosen pawn.

'At the very least, I can take out one of my enemies. I got to look out for myself more.' I thought.

"Pepper, do you want to hear the song I played before?" I said as I relied on Pepper's opinion more compared to the others inside the cramped studio, after all he was the one with the connections in the music industry. I regretted my decision to invite the girls a little, as the studio was only as big as my living room. But I appreciated their support even more since I really needed it right now.

I played the song for Pepper, and his reaction was a bit different from Cam and the others.

"It felt...a bit weird. Like you're an obsessive guy, only hanging out with the girls just to swoop in when her relationship crashes and burns."

"That's...specific...But I understand what you are talking about. I do have a few more songs in mind."

"Let's hear it all. I don't think it'll take more than an hour, right?"

"It won't. It'll barely take 15 minutes." I said as I reached for a bottle of water.

"Don't strain your voice. If we actually do change the released song, then we're going to need you to be in tip top shape."

"I'll be fine. It'll hardly chip at my stamina." I said cockily but my expression betrayed me. Pepper understood and sighed.

"Just...keep that in mind."

"Thanks Peps."

As I picked up the guitar again, I saw the girls were whistling and applauding my performance. Cam however was feeling a bit dissatisfied as he wanted me to continue with the first song, but Pepper smacked his arm and said, "Don't pick the first choice without hearing the others. It's the same as outfits. But I guess, your opinion, and your taste in clothes, was always like that huh, rushed without thought." Pepper then whispered, "I guess that's why all your shirts look tacky."

Cam was stunned and angry soon after as he was offended by Pepper's words.

"I firmly believe in my natural, illuminating, charismatic, and excellent taste. So I wouldn't change my mind at all. I still think that the first song should be released today."

"Illuminating? Yeah right. What are you? A lightbulb?"

"It means I light up the room when I walk in- You know what, just wait till I can rub it in your face about this. Rub it over and over and over-"

"That's too much Cam. For God's sake, we have children here!" Pepper said, causing Cam to freak out. Luckily for him, Pepper was just teasing. The others had absolutely no interest in their conversation as I was going to start playing.

Fast forward another hour, we were now knee deep in debate about the song's selection. Cam, however, almost passed out when he heard my final song, and Haley needed to fan his face to make sure he didn't lose consciousness.

I shrugged and said, "Anyway, about the replacement song. There's a high chance that people will think it is about you."

"What do you mean?" Taylor asked, her tone becoming increasingly excited.

"You're...not mad?" I asked in confusion.

"NO!" Taylor exclaimed in excitement. "I feel honored that you think about me so much-"

"It's not about you. It just seems that way."

"I'm currently occupying most of your mind, that you can only make songs about me-"

"Listen here Taylor-"

"Ahh. I'm so happy right now. I could even dance."

Taylor and I chuckled together before she took a deep breath and turned serious again. "I don't mind. Do it."

"Thank you Taylor." I said sincerely.

"If you want to thank me, why don't we go on a date this Friday after the recording?"

I thought about it and said, "How about this? I'm an excellent cook. So, wanna come to my place for dinner?"

It was the safest option given that the paparazzi were continuously stalking the teenage pop star.

"Wait. You're going to cook?...For me?" she giggled hard afterward and said after collecting herself, "Sure."

"But it won't be just the two of us."

"Awww." Taylor exclaimed in disappointment. "Then I'm bringing my friend with me."

"Sure. Just text me how many the day before so I can prepare the food."

We talked for a while and I confirmed multiple times that she was okay with it. However, she didn't want to hear the song before I released it, and wanted to feel the same excitement that the rest of my fans would.

"Okay~ Anyway, I need to go. I've been standing naked in the middle of the room for 10 minutes now."

"That's...not a joke?"

"Nope." Taylor said before ending the call abruptly.

"Damn." I muttered before I returned to the room. "That image is going to stick with me."

...

It was an hour till midnight, and I was working hard to edit the song. With Leo popping out of nowhere, it was easy for me to finalize the song and I was currently making a lyric video for the song.

"Why is it so easy for you to do this? Do you know how long it takes for a normal person to create a lyric video?" Cam said as he viewed me as an abnormal monster for actually managing to finish the edit.

I had prepared a few templates for the music video, and my algorithms managed to cut off the time needed for me to finish the edit. The song lyrics were on the same level as the previous lyric video from my previous life, making those who watched it for the first time feel the freshness of the idea.

'Although Youtube pays less than the other exclusive sites, it was an investment for the future as I know digital platforms will bring out massive success soon.'

Pepper walked by and notified me, "Ed. They are prepared to give you a 7.7% cut. So should we proceed?"

"Yeah. You can tell them we're pushing back the song release. I'm going to upload the video to our official Youtube channel, and I have already sent an email to the publishers containing the Singles."

"My my. Are you even adding "secretary" to your list of jobs?" Pepper teased.

I just smiled and got back to my work. Haley entered the room with a glass of lemonade and handed it over to me. However, I drank it through the straw while she was still holding it. She was in disbelief, but she didn't pull her hand away.

"Thank you." I said.

"Ugh!" She exclaimed and huffed away.

"Damn. She's really disappointed about the song huh." I muttered to myself.

The clock almost strikes midnight, and all of the preparation is done. I sat on the couch while shaking my legs as I waited for the songs to be released.

"Nervous?" Abby asked.

"Excited..." I replied. " But also a bit nervous."

She smiled and said, "Want me to give you a massage?"

"Sure. That'll be great."

She walked behind me and was massaging my shoulders as I tried to relax myself. Haley rolled her eyes at us before saying, "The fan club is ready. They'll help you to spam views after you upload the videos."

"Did Lily say anything after hearing the song?" I asked in concern as my fan club president had gone silent after I sent her the song copy an hour ago.

Haley looked at me as if I was dumb, and said, "She got too excited, and had a nosebleed. She was the one who rallied the fan club members, not me."

"Ah. I see."

The clock finally struck 12, and the songs were released to the public!

"Let's hope everything goes well."