Chapter 206: Fast Forward. (1)

[General POV]

-Monday-

As the concert went viral, a lot of people were tagging Edward's profile on Twitter with their post.

NotABaldy: I hated this guy @EdwardNewgate…Mainly because my girlfriend won't stop talking about him. But I changed my mind. He's a pretty cool guy.

InfluencerCynicalGirl: How can anyone be sure that this isn't something he planned for? I don't believe in the streak of coincidences. Wake up people! This is just marketing! Like what the president does!

NeilGaiman Replying to Cynical Girl: Yes. I guess he is planning to announce his candidacy. It is the only reason people would do nice things. Just in case it wasn't clear, I was being sarcastic.

NickJonas: I really love what you're doing @EdwardNewgate. If you want to do something like that again, hit me up.

In an apartment in Pasadena, Sheldon read the comment on Twitter with a conflicted expression. He placed his hand under his chin while sitting at his spot on the couch while scrolling on his phone.

"Huh. That was sarcasm. I am fortunate he said that or else I would start to hate Neil Gaiman." Sheldon muttered subconsciously.

Leonard heard it and turned from his work desk to look at Sheldon with a wide smile on his face, "Does that mean you're thinking on behalf of Edward? Did you finally relent and become his fan like the rest of us?"

"Don't be silly. Even if the whole world likes him, then even if I would stand alone, I would still hate that precocious kid!"

Leonard scoffed and said, "Sure, grandpa. Then, I guess you will hate what he sent to us via email."

"Hmm? What did he send?" Sheldon asked with intrigue.

Leonard suggested, "Let's wait. Raj and Howard also received the email. They stopped me from reading it and asked us to wait until they got here to see our reaction."

Feeling anxious, Sheldon took charge of Leonard's laptop, pushing his friend aside, and exclaimed, "Then we better check the email now. Wait! It's only addressed to you."

Sheldon's aggression dissipated as he turned to his friend. Leonard then asked with nervousness, "Well, what does it say?"

"I don't know what it says. It's addressed to you," Sheldon replied with an annoyed tone. He added, "My mother told me that reading other people's letters and emails is rude, unless you're a mother and you need to check if your children and spouse haven't gotten into some sort of unholy trouble."

Ignoring Sheldon's comment, Leonard proceeded to open the email after Sheldon stepped away. Suddenly, he screamed like a girl, taking a step back and covering his mouth in disbelief.

Just then, Howard and Raj arrived at the house, having heard Leonard's voice from outside the door. Hastily, they swung the door open and exclaimed in disappointment, "Damn it! We're too late."

"What is it? What's happening?!" Sheldon asked with anxiety. "Is it the wait-for-it type of video again, and when you wait for it, something scary will pop up on the screen?!"

Howard, wearing a gloating expression, remarked as he enjoyed his friends suffering, "Check your email."

"Right. I can do that," Sheldon responded as he opened his email. "I got it—AHHH!!!" Sheldon screamed like a girl. "It's a picture of an autograph! FROM GEORGE LUCAS!! DIRECTED TO... SHELDON LEE COOPER!!!"

The email contained a selfie picture of Edward and George Lucas, along with the autograph attached to it.

Sheldon's chin quivered as he read the tagline in the email, "I will send it to your house soon. Did you guys hear that? SOON!!"

Leonard, with tears in his eyes, asked Sheldon in a shaky voice, "Not hating on him so much now, huh?"

Sheldon nodded and said, "If he were here... with MY autograph, I might even consider giving him a hug."

Howard continued to gloat and said, "Then you're going to love this!" He displayed a package in his hand and declared, "I intercepted the delivery guy downstairs! It's here!"

"OPEN IT, OPEN IT!" Raj, Sheldon, and Leonard exclaimed simultaneously. The commotion attracted the attention of their attractive neighbor Penny, who had just had a rough night at the Cheesecake Factory. She approached their door, wearing only shorts and a white tank top.

"Why are you guys being so loud? It's only 10 in the morning!? I was planning to sleep until noon." To her surprise, it was the first time ever that the guys– minus Sheldon, ignored her– especially in her sexy outfit as she came to the house. "Guys?"

"Penny, we just got the most amazing gifts in the world." Leonard said as he kept his eye on the package Howard was opening. "That's mine!" He snatched the first framed paper from the jumble with ferality as his name was at the top.

"Mine!" Howard said as he took his.

"Min–" Rajesh almost finished his words when Penny stood beside him to take a look at what the guys were so excited about. She saw the sender's name and said, "Oh. Is this a gift from Edward? How is he?"

"No idea." Sheldon replied callously as he looked at Howard with expectancy. Howard knew what Sheldon wanted, but as he looked inside the package, he realized it was empty.

"Sorry. That was it." Howard replied.

"WHAT?!" Sheldon asked in shock. "But he said it's going to be here soon. It doesn't make sense not to send it all at once. Unless…The delivery guy's name is also SHELDON! And he TOOK A LOOK INSIDE THE PACKAGE. I'M GOING TO CALL THE COPS!"

As Sheldon started to freak out, none of the people there were reacting to him as they were reveling in their own gifts. "WOW." All three of them said at the same time.

Penny stepped in quickly before Sheldon could accuse the delivery guy, "Stop. Sheldon, he might've made a mistake and forgot about putting it inside the package. I did it a few times before. Why don't you call him before calling the cops on an innocent man?!"

Sheldon finally calmed down a bit and said, "You're right. I should call him first."

5 minutes later, Edward was in the between classes break when he received a call.

"Where's my autograph you butterhands!?" Sheldon yelled angrily as soon as Edward picked up.

Edward was taken aback by the shouting and said, "Wow. I thought you're going to thank me. But instead I got an angry call."

Penny took the phone from Sheldon before he could answer, "Edward. Hi. This is all just a misunderstanding. Sheldon is only angry because his gift is not inside the package."

Leonard, Howard and Raj started ganging up on Sheldon. Leonard said, "How could you do that to him? After he gave us the greatest gift we have ever gotten from anyone!? Including…THE GIFT OF LIFE!"

Penny was the only one talking to Edward as the other guys scolded Sheldon. Then, Penny explained casually, "Edward checked, and apparently there's a mix up. He accidentally sent your autograph to Dr…Who?" Penny asked Edward again in confusion.

"Dr Amy Farrah Fowler. He is texting her and you can meet her at the coffee shop to get your autograph." Penny continued as she was listening to Edward. She then smiled and said to Sheldon, "Also, it's going to be a date, so wear your best shirt to make a good first impression."

"What?! I need to go on a date, just to get George Lucas's autograph?!" Sheldon was shocked for the second time.

Howard snickered and said, "Why are you saying it like you aren't going to go on the date? We all know you will."

"I–" Sheldon opened his mouth in anger, then he thought about it and said calmly, "I will, I will definitely go on the date."

Penny clapped her hands in excitement and said, "Great! I'll help you pick out your outfit! This is so romantic! Missing packages that lead to a first date. It's like watching a romcom movie played out in real life!"

As Penny walked away to dress, Leonard said as he looked at Penny with a longing expression, "I pretended a lot of her packages and mail were misplaced. Where's my date?"

…

Edward smiled as his scheme succeeded. Taylor, lying on the bed next to him with her head lazily propped up on her hand, noticed it and asked, "What are you smiling about?"

Dressed in a satin pajama tank top and shorts, lazily wrapped her arms around Edward as they sat in her cozy bedroom. Her hair tickled the back of Edward's neck as she kissed him in the cheek. 

"I managed to set up some soulmates together."Edward answered curtly before asking, " Aren't you getting ready for your interview?" Edward turned towards Taylor and gently brushed her hair back behind her ear.

Taylor blushed a bit before pouting in disbelief, flopping back onto the bed and whining, "It's so boring! I have to go through interview after interview, all by myself. While you get to hang out and have fun! My legs are killing me from all the running around. I'm not going to the interview today!"

Edward laughed as he watched Taylor squirm around on the bed in protest. Then, he said, "You know, I kept telling you I'm great at massages."

Taylor's eyes lit up and she sat up quickly, "Really? Now?" She said suggestively.

Edward rolled his eyes and said, "It's not that– Wow, You really don't believe me do you?" Then, he grabbed her leg and started squeezing them. Taylor yelped in pain and tried to kick Edward away, but he caught her leg.

"Hey! Stop trying to get me to go to work! Slave Driver! I'm going to unionize!" Taylor joked as she laughed out loud. She knew that she had to be at the interview today, but she still wanted to mess around. It was still early after all, and she couldn't meet him for an entire day yesterday.

Edward smirked and said, "Of course I'm going to get you to work! I'm your boss!! Now, be a dear and stop resisting."

Taylor burst into laughter, ticklish from Edward's touch as he played with her feet. Blushing, she surrendered, saying, "Fine, fine! I'll go to work now!"

Edward finally ceased the tickling and proceeded to give Taylor a proper leg massage. Affectionately, she looked at him, feeling a sudden jolt of electricity from his touch.

Startled, she exclaimed, "What was that?"

"I told you I'm great at massages," Edward replied mischievously, causing Taylor to squirm once again. Breathing heavily, she obediently flopped back onto the bed, saying, "Then, I'll take advantage of the company's benefit and ask for a full-body massage."

"I can certainly do that, but whether you can control your impulses afterward depends entirely on your willpower," Edward warned playfully.

Confused, Taylor's body heated up, and she exclaimed with a grin, "This is dangerous." 

The bedsheet becomes wet from her detoxifying sweat and her mind becomes dazed after a few minutes. Glancing at the time, she realized she was running late. 

Unfortunately, she couldn't resist the stimulation and ended up missing her interview. Fortunately, Robin had rescheduled it for the afternoon when she realized that Taylor was preoccupied with sticking close to Edward.

When they were done, as Taylor was hugging Edward and kissing his neck, she suddenly went to his ear, and then whispered, "I know Selena kissed you yesterday."

Edward froze a second before replying, "It meant nothing, and you know what the cause of that, right?"

"Still…you could've told me… Should I be worried about you and her?" Taylor asked as she looked at Edward with worry.

"No. Not at all." Edward replied honestly. As he gave her a comforting hug, her face changed instantly and she grinned, "Good. Because you said your massage could help her. I was worried that she's going to risk it all because of how godly it feels, but I can be at ease as you said that I don't have to worry about it. Ah, if she's really desperate, you can get her off, but don't stick it in–"

Edward's expression turned serious as he responded, "I will if you keep talking about it." His playful words, meant to establish boundaries, struck a nerve with Taylor. Fueled by a mix of frustration and playfulness, she pounced on him, sinking her teeth into his shoulder in a playful act of anger. 

"Ouch, you bad kitty!" Edward exclaimed as he played along with her act. 

-Tuesday-

Inside Edward's basement lab, a collection of wooden crates lay open, revealing the received parts of his orders. Edward was hard at work, meticulously upgrading ROBIN's hardware.

Once he completed the upgrades, Edward shifted his attention to tinkering with a few new inventions. Among them was a projector drone, designed to be as small as a bird. He carefully fine-tuned its mechanisms, eager to see it in action.

"ROBIN, initiate the first flight test," Edward commanded as he removed his goggles and set aside his soldering tools.

"Commencing first test run on the 'Megamind Presentation Buff' Project," Robin announced before adding, "Initiating propeller synchronization. Synching... 88%... 92%... 95%... Synchronization complete."

The drones swiftly took flight, displaying agile maneuvers reminiscent of the snitch in the Harry Potter movies. They circled around Edward a few times before gracefully descending onto his open palm.

"Great job, Robin," Edward praised, a playful smile forming on his face.

"Most of the credit goes to you, sir," Robin replied modestly.

"I know that. I just thought you would feel bad otherwise." Edward joked.

"Next project is the Continental Link," Edward informed Robin, as a blueprint of a 2-storey tall satellite link appeared on the screen monitor, generated by his voice command.

Robin responded promptly, "Completing the project would require an estimated budget of 20 million dollars, sir. It would be nearly impossible to carry out discreetly. If I may suggest, perhaps we could utilize the technology to attract investors to support the project?"

"Let's leave the task of attracting investors to Harvey. And don't forget to notify Mrs. Saltzman about it as well. We wouldn't want to make her sad and feel as if we didn't think about her."

During lunch, Edward's aunt, Camila, brought some food into the basement for him to eat. She brought him some tortilla wraps and then said, "Hey, I saw you on the news again. Some old white dudes are talking about you."

Confused, Edward turned to Robin for more information. To his surprise, an interview with George Lucas appeared on the screen. In the interview, Lucas revealed that he had decided to cancel the sale of his company to Disney, thereby nullifying the acquisition process that would have taken several years to finalize.

Kathleen Kennedy was also interviewed and she expressed regret to George distrust of her, while subtly hinting that he did so because she was a woman. Edward frowned at her words and then contacted George Lucas.

He talked to him for 20 minutes, but all the context of his discussion with him could be summarized in two sentences. "Hi George, your interview sucks, and you seem like a bad guy because of it. I'm going to lend you Robin, and she could help you manage your image and company management better."

Robin was programmed with Lex Luthor level image management knowledge and skills, so she could be really helpful for George.

"I was just about to ask." George said jokingly.

The phone call was cut short because George was still under fire at that time. Edward decided to take his mind off it and continued his lunch. 

"By the way, I figured it out," Edward said, capturing Camila's attention.

"Huh?" Camila responded, clearly confused. She was unsure of what Edward was referring to.

Edward turned his monitor screen to Camila and played a video clip. The footage showed Camila fleeing from the police after they had stormed into a street racing event, attempting to apprehend those involved. 

Her figure darted under an overpass, followed closely by a helicopter. However, to the surprise of the officers, she seemed to vanish from their surveillance as her car emerged from the other side of the overpass with no one in the driver's seat.

"It was easy for me to find this. I just needed to cross-reference an incident that happened on the day you came home with a bruise on your cheek, and this video popped out. That was awesome, by the way," Edward said, referring to Camila's escape.

Camila's eyes widened in surprise and concern as she watched the clip. Her actions were caught on camera, revealing a part of her life she had kept hidden. She took a moment to compose herself before speaking.

"I... I didn't expect this to come up," Camila admitted, her voice filled with a mix of regret and realization. "It was a reckless and foolish mistake, Edward. I was young, and I got caught up in the wrong crowd. I've learned from my past, and I've worked hard to leave it behind."

Edward interrupted her with a snort of derision. "Stop acting," he said, a playful smirk on his face. "I can figure out what really happened, do you really believe you can trick me with that D-list actress-level acting?" He said with sarcasm. 

Camila pouted and crossed her arms, feeling caught. "Um... Are you going to rat me out? Or worse, are you cashing in on our bet?" she asked, her tone filled with a mix of concern and curiosity.

Edward chuckled and shook his head. "Nah, I had to change the prize. It felt too weird, especially since you're my aunt," he explained. "Taboo thing does sound nice, but it will be hard for you to stay here anymore. So how about this? The next time there's a race, you're going to bring me with you. Or else, I'm going to send this video to my dad."

Camila thought for a moment, considering Edward's proposal, and then pouted in dissatisfaction. "Just to be clear, I'm only bringing you to watch! You can't participate in the race!" she clarified firmly.

"Sure," Edward replied curtly, accepting the terms. Camila pursed her lips, unsure if she could trust him, and whispered, "I'm so going to regret this."

She then told Edward, "We can only go when the heat dies down. So in a few weeks, not right now."

Edward shrugged nonchalantly. "I can wait," he said, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Camila was still crossing her arms when she suddenly realized something. Her eyes widened, and she blurted out, "What do you mean 'Taboo things sound nice'? You little pervert! I'm your aunt! Even if we're not blood-related--"

Edward's eyes widened in shock, interrupting her. He asked with disbelief, "What did you just say?"

Camila froze, realizing her slip of the tongue. She looked at Edward like a deer caught in headlights, her face turning pale. Without uttering another word, she turned on her heels and ran away in a hurry, leaving behind a dumbfounded Edward, trying to process what had just transpired.

Later that night. After Edward finished massaging Taylor, he received a text from his dad, requesting him to come home. Edward glanced at the heavily breathing Taylor, but before he could reply to his dad, Taylor's expression suddenly changed, and she rushed into the bathroom.

"What's wrong?" Edward called out from outside the bathroom door, concern evident in his voice.

"Umm... You better go home," Taylor replied after a moment of hesitation.

"Why?" Edward asked, his disbelief evident.

"It's... my time of the month," Taylor responded, her voice slightly muffled. Edward was taken aback once again by the unexpected revelation.

"I'm going to go home for a bit. Then, I'll come back and stay with you tonight," Edward assured her, trying to be understanding.

Taylor opened the door and looked at him in disbelief. "Wait. You're still staying over?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Edward replied, his tone reflecting his confusion. With that, he left Taylor's place and headed back home. As he opened the door to his house, he saw his dad and Frankie standing together, holding hands. They both looked at Edward with a hint of hesitation.

Edward immediately realized what had transpired and grinned. "Congrats, Dad! You finally have a girlfriend! Took you long enough."

Frankie chuckled and replied, "Without your song, it might have taken even longer."