Chapter 174: Eenie Meenie

Chapter 174: Chapter 174: Eenie Meenie

[Edward POV]

"Yo! Money Bag!" Sean Kingston cheerfully greeted me as I arrived at the film set today. He grasped my hand, and we bumped chests before he let go.

Finally, I reached Hollywood Hills, where we would film the music video for our collaboration song, "Eenie Meenie." It was a massive mansion atop the hill with infinity pools and mesmerizing views of the Pacific Ocean.

Initially, I was a bit irritated when the filming crew changed the location at the last minute. However, considering that the new place was closer and the mansion was the original one from the music video in my past life, I simply acquiesced to the change.

"What's up, Sean? Dude, how the hell did you get bigger?" I jokingly asked. "It's only been a few weeks!"

Sean laughed for a moment and said, "You want a hotdog?"

"Ah, so that's why..." I joked, causing him to roll his eyes at me.

There was a hot dog stand nearby, sponsored by members of my fan club, before the shooting started today. Their thoughtful gesture made me appreciate them even more.

"Yeah, put everything on it," I replied hungrily, licking my lips.

After meeting for the studio recording of the song previously, Sean and I hit it off and became friends. Despite his appearance suggesting he had two baby mamas, Sean was actually 19 years old. When I first told him this during our initial meeting, he nearly rolled around on the floor laughing.

Numerous people were involved in the filming today. We had nearly 50 dancers and background actors, the video's heroine, a filming crew of 25 people, the director, and staff members from our agencies dispersed around to protect both of us.

We quickly proceeded to the clothes fitting and tried out a few outfits for the music video. Sean easily found his clothes based on my advice, but I encountered a problem.

"You can't wear a suit!" Renaldo said.

Both Sean and I were confused. "Why not?" I asked.

"Same reason all the girls here are fully dressed, and nobody is showing excessive skin. It's targeted for kids! You should look like their peers," Renaldo explained, frustrated.

"But I want to do an Iron Man entrance. We even have an Audi here!" I whined.

Sean nodded in agreement and said, "Look, I even brought the sunglasses for him!"

He took out the same type of sunglasses RDJ always wears in interviews and showed them to Renaldo. "Oh, that's nice," I said, taking them politely from his hand.

Renaldo ignored me and asked, "Should I call Haley?"

I scowled and replied, "If you keep using that tactic to avoid arguing with me, then... I would have no other choice."

This wasn't the first time he had done this. Whenever I complained about an outfit I didn't want to wear, he would call Haley to get her on his side.

Since she was 'unofficially' my fashion coordinator, I wouldn't argue with her. It's not that I couldn't argue with her, but for some reason, I didn't want to give her any grief. I had no qualms about arguing with my dad or my aunt if Renaldo had them as his allies.

Renaldo looked a bit concerned. "Are you firing me?"

"No, I'll just talk shit about you to Dwayne."

"NO! Ugh. Alright, you can do whatever you want!" he said dramatically. I smiled and said, "Thanks. Now, let's take a look at the outfits you prepared today."

Renaldo rolled his eyes and said, "If you were going to agree with me anyway, why waste our precious time!?"

Sean and I both laughed, having successfully tricked Renaldo. The reasoning was simple: I wouldn't tease someone I wasn't close with.

"What about pink?" He handed me a pink jacket, which I immediately threw into the pool without even checking it out.

"The dark green one from Old Navy looks nice," I said, ignoring the sinking pink shirt.

Renaldo hesitated and said carefully, "It's... Calvin Klein."

"Really? Why does it look so cheap?" I asked, confused.

"We need something that'll make you stand out in the crowd. See, even Sean is wearing a silver one," Renaldo tried to convince me, ignoring my question. And since he already anticipated my actions, he took out the same pink jacket from the style bag.

I grimaced and coyly said, "It doesn't matter much. No matter what I wear, when I want people to see me, they will see me."

Renaldo was taken aback but eventually agreed with what I said. Even the aesthetics of my image in the live concert videos taken by fans couldn't capture my bad side. (Thanks to Barney)

Pepper always joked that I was born to be loved by the camera, and Renaldo finally admitted the truth.

"Nice! The uglier he looks, the more I can stand out," Sean said enthusiastically. I patted his back and gazed at him pitifully. "It was nice of you to have ambition."

"Mannn, go do your hair. We need to get started soon," Sean retorted irritably before going to get his makeup done.

I chuckled and replied, "It's easy for you to say. You don't have anything on top of your head."

"I am bald by choice!"

"Are you sure it's not male pattern baldness?"

"Imma throw you down this hill! BELIEVE ME! I WILL DO IT!"

While I was getting my hair done, the hairstylist commented, "Hmm... You really don't look like a teenager. Is there a particular hairstyle you want?"

"Hmm... Wait, I was wondering if you could do it like this," I said as I googled a hairstyle I wanted, but all that came up was a cartoon character's hairstyle. It was a parted hairstyle with waves, inspired by some Korean manhwa I had read in my past lives.

The hairstylist's eyes lit up, and she exclaimed, "Good! This will suit you well if you want to look more like a teenager!"

"It'll also give me a more approachable vibe. Alright, let's get started, or else Sean's hair will start growing," I joked.

"I CAN HEAR YOU!" Sean shouted from out of nowhere. I turned left and right in shock, but I couldn't find where he was.

...

After changing into my new outfit, I admired myself in the mirror, satisfied with the look. With confidence, I joined the rest of the crew on set. The dancers were already in action, showcasing their moves in front of the camera to capture the vibrant party atmosphere.

"Hey, D-Gate! You're looking good!" greeted a male hip-hop dancer, whose name was Ed. We had a friendly rapport since he was part of the dance crew with Kaya and Anna.

"Ed! Come join us and dance!" he invited me.

"Sure!" I readily agreed.

Renaldo, who was concerned, shouted worriedly, "Ed, don't ruin your makeup and clothes!"

I waved off his concern, assuring him that I had it under control. Ignoring his warning, I started dancing to the beats of 2Pac's "California Love."

?? California love! ??

With smooth yet sharp movements, I glided towards the circle of dancers. They cheered with excitement, and the girls around the house quickly turned their attention towards the dance floor.

?? California... knows how to party ??

"They sure do!" I joked, making a wave from my left hand to my right and then using the momentum to create a wave with my whole body.

?? California... knows how to party ??

The B-Boys joined in, dancing around me, and the crew accidentally captured the moment on film. We had an unspoken understanding, making it look like a perfectly choreographed routine to the audience.

?? In the city of L.A. ??

The girls cheered, and they also wanted to join in to dance together. Unknowingly, I turned a fake party into a real one in just under a minute, causing the floor director to have a headache arranging the positions later on.

?? In the city of good ol' Watts ??

Sean Kingston muttered to himself, "Damn, Ed! Don't dance too much. Otherwise, my agency will want me to dance too! I don't want that!"

Finally, we got to the chorus!

"??You can't make up your mind, mind, mind, mind, mind

Please don't waste my time, time, time, time, time

I'm not tryin' to rewind, wind, wind, wind, wind

I wish our hearts could come together as one??"

"Oh! That's me." I muttered in astonishment as the clip of me dancing with the B-Boys was shown shortly on the screen. The director smiled and said, "It was too good to be left behind."

??'Cause shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova

Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova

Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova

Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova??

Finally, it was my turn to sing the song. With a deep and seductive look on my face, I sang charismatically.

"??Let me show you what you're missing, paradise

With me you're winning, girl, you don't have to roll the dice

Tell me what you're really here for

Them other guys? I can see right through ya??"

"Damn boy! Why are you stealing all of the limelight?" Sean jokingly cursed.

I was sitting with Ashley near the piano, and my hand were wrapped around her. She bit her lower lips as she gazed into my mouth, which made the director paused the mv for a while.

The director said, "I put in the wrong clip."

"..."

He fixed it quickly and continued playing the song

"??You seem like the type to love them and leave them!

And disappear right after the song~

So give me the night~ to show you~, hold you~

Don't leave me out here dancing alone~~??

??Can't make up your mind-mind-mind-mind-mind

Please don't waste my time-time-time-time-time

Not trying to rewind-wind-wind-wind-wind

I wish our hearts could come together as one~??"

I smiled as I watched the video, "It is pretty great." The quality, the videography, all of it was upgraded from the original. I especially cut out the cringe part compared to the original one, so that it wouldn't be era specific.

??'Cause shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova

Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova

Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova

Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova??

Sean rapped a bit. In the scene that was split into two screens, Sean started doubting about why Ashley kept disappearing, and I was with the girl in the other picture. And when Ashley went to Sean, it was my turn to doubt.

??Eenie, meenie, miney, mo

Catch a bad chick by her toe

If she holla

If, if, if she holla, let her go??

While Sean finished, in the clip, I went to the poolside to seach for Ashley, and finally caught her playing with Sean.

??Eenie, meenie, miney, mo

Catch a bad chick by her toe

If she holla, lolla, lolla

Let her go??

We glanced at each other with hostility, before we decided that the girl wasn't worth it, and shook hands together. Ashley was fuming when she saw that we weren't going to fight for her, and left.

We duet together in the clip, standing side by side in front of the pool. It showed that it was almost sunset in the video, but honestly that was just a filter.

??Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova

Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova

Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova

Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova??

After we were done with Ashley in the video, I was talking with Jasmine who had took off her feathered earring, and Sean was talking with another hot girl. The girls were better than Ashley, and they didn't try to play us around. They also seemed kinder than her, which made it seem like we had gotten an upgrade.

??Can't make up your mind-mind-mind-mind-mind

Please don't waste my time-time-time-time-time

Not trying to rewind-wind-wind-wind-wind

I wish our hearts could come together as one~??

??Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova

Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova

Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova

Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova??

Then, before the ending, both of us left the scenes with our girls in our arms.

"YEAH! WE DID IT!" Jasmine and Ashley said excitedl before they each kissed me on the cheek at the same time.

I smiled and said, "Yes–"

"NOW, WE PARTYYYY!" Sean screamed, making the crowd cheer enthusiastically. He wrapped his arm around his current girlfriend, an african american girl, and they left the area to go to get some drinks.

Jasmine and Ashley looked at each other's eyes, before they said to me, "Ed, do you want to make out with us?"

"Umm...It'd surely be impolite to say no."