Chapter 79: Singles Released!

(Sorry for the late chapter, I fall of my bike and I'm pretty sure I'm a bit concussed lol. I'll be back after Labor day)

[3rd Person POV]

-Ed's Fanclub Leader Bedroom-

"IT'S OUT!" Lily exclaimed in excitement as she bought all of the songs and opened the Youtube video to spam views to help Edward. She has 4 open laptops in front of her that would help her in her ventures today. She also bought all of the digital copies of the songs the second it was released on Itunes.

After setting up for getting the views, she clicked on the Grenade music video for real this time, and watched it properly instead of running it in the background.

The scene finally showed the player Ed, and Lily bit her lower lips and repeated the scene over and over again.

"Damn it." She cursed softly as she realized she had fallen for the player. After leaving a comment, she realized that she was late in commenting as the video already collected more than 1000 comments in less than 10 minutes of being published. Most of them were discussing the 'player Ed' though.

"Can't really blame them." She muttered to herself before biting her lower lips.

Then she listened to the other new song, 'Can I be him' instead of Me and My Broken heart as she had listened to that song in the concert before.

-Taylor's hotel room-

"KYAAHH~" Taylor screamed in excitement like a little girl as she heard Ed's new songs while wearing headphones.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Selena asked with widened eyes as Taylor had suddenly started screaming. She was checking out the Grenade music video and had her headphones on, but Taylor's scream startled her greatly.

Taylor took off her headphones and her face blushed red. She turned to Selena and said, "HE'S CRAZYYY!! HAHAHA!! I LOVE IT!"

"Love what?"

"His song. That's why he said he wrote it for me!" Taylor muttered in realization.

"Did he?" Selena said as she bought the song quickly to hear it. It cost her 0.99 $ on Itunes, and when she checked the downloads, it had already been downloaded more than 10,000 times in less than 10 minutes.

"He said no, but I know now… for sure he was pretending. AHH~ I'm so happy I could die now!" Taylor said as she lay on the bed to indulge in the special feeling. She laid on her stomach and swayed her legs as she gleefully downloaded Ed's drippy poster and made it her phone wallpaper.

Selena rolled her eyes at her friend before listening to the song by herself. She clicked play on the Itunes download, and wore her headphones again.

[Can I Be Him- James Arthur]

"♫♪You walked into the room

And now my heart's been stolen♫♪"

Selena exclaimed, "Oh damn." She swayed to the music and listened to the lyrics intently now. His deep and velvety voice transported her, and she quickly became a fan of him. His vocal changes in every song had greatly shocked Selena, and she admired his skills in manipulating his voice.

♫♪You took me back in time to when I was unbroken♫♪

♫♪Now you're all I want

And I knew it from the very first moment♫♪

♫♪'Cause a light came on when I heard that song

And I want you to sing it again♫♪

Taylor grinned widely and sent a text to Ed about the matter– continuously teasing him about the lyric.

Taylor: You like me.

Ed: Not about you.

Taylor: YOU LOVEEE ME.

Ed: (sigh.emoji)

[Chorus]

♫♪I swear that every word you sing

You wrote them for me♫♪

This was the part that made Cam faint before this. The country farm boy felt that his fantasy had come true. He even used an app to merge Ed's and Taylor's faces together to see how their babies would look when he got home.

♫♪Like it was a private show

But I know you never saw me♫♪

♫♪When the lights come on and I'm on my own

Will you be there to sing it again?♫♪

♫♪Could I be the one you talk about in all your stories?

Can I be him?♫♪

Selena blushed hard from the lyric and was amazed by Ed's skillful vocal manipulation. As she enjoyed the song, she kicked the squirming Taylor from the bed, making her fall down to the floor. "Oww what was that for?!" Taylor asked while rubbing her sore legs.

"I'm…jealous." She muttered as she wanted someone to make her feel special too.

-Taylor's Fanclub chat- (A/N: Swift**s)

BadBoyEd: He's confessing right? I knew Taylor and him were dating.

♫♪I heard there was someone but I know he don't deserve you

If you were mine I'd never let anyone hurt you♫♪

♫♪I wanna dry those tears, kiss those lips

It's all that I've been thinking about♫♪

♫♪'Cause a light came on when I heard that song

And I want you to sing it again♫♪

Lily: Definitely.

She chuckled at the lyrics and the Taydward shippers were having a field day with the song .

"Seems that a lot of us won't go to sleep tonight." Lily muttered to herself. The theories about h0w Edward came to fall in love with Taylor filled the group chat, and the fans were going crazy by making up impossible scenarios such as Taylor was there when Edward was born or Ed grew up in the same countryside as her.

[Chorus]

♫♪I swear that every word you sing

You wrote them for me♫♪

♫♪Like it was a private show

But I know you never saw me♫♪

♫♪When the lights come on and I'm on my own

Will you be there to sing it again?

Could I be the one you talk about in all your stories?♫♪

-Dunphy's House-

Although it was midnight, none of the house members had gone to sleep right now.

"Oh my god." Claire muttered. "She gave him a private show? I knew it!"

Phil would've rolled his eyes at Claire if he wasn't losing himself in the songs right now.

While talking loudly, Phil said, "Honey, the song is soo good!"

Alex nodded to Phil's words. Although the song was great, she felt jealous of Haley as she could follow him to the studio while she could only listen to the song by buying it in the Itunes store.

'He's going to pay for this.' Alex vowed internally before getting back to hearing the songs while reading her books at the same time.

[Bridge]

♫♪Can I be the one?

Can I be the one?

Can I be the one?

Oh, can I, can I be him?♫♪

Ed played with his voice skillfully as he sang the bridge, making Alex have goosebumps. But then, Phil tried to sing the same way as Ed does behind her, making her angry and shooting a glare at her dad. Phil flinched and walked away quickly before Alex exploded in anger.

-Jay's house-

"Manny, can you please stop the caterwauling?" Jay said in agony as Manny kept singing at midnight.

"Sorry, I just want to practice this song to sing to Alicia tomorrow." Manny replied.

Gloria was confused and asked, "Songs?"

"Yeah. He just released it."

"AYY GREAT! LET'S GO LOOK!"

"Hear." Manny corrected his mom.

[Refrain]

♫♪Won't you sing it again

Oh, when you sing it again

Can I be him

Won't you sing it again

Oh, when you sing it again

Can I be him?♫♪

Gloria smiled widely and said to Jay, "Why can't you be that romantic?"

"Maybe because…I'm not a teenager anymore." Jay retorted before turning his back against Gloria and walked away.

'Damn it kid. Now I'm in trouble.' Jay thought to himself.

[Chorus]

♫♪I swear that every word you sang

You wrote them for me

Like it was a private show

But I know you never saw me

When the lights come on and I'm on my own

Will you be there, will you be there

Can I be the one you talk about in all your stories♫♪

♫♪Can I be him

Can I be him

Can I be him

Can I be him♫♪

-Jenna's house-

Jenna listened to the song with a complicated expression on her face. As she took off her headphones, suddenly her mom walked into the room.

Alexandria Karlson, the ex-playboy model and now a D-list actress was wearing a satin white robe with a short skirt. Her chest was bare, and her frilly white bra could be seen. She had blonde, curly hair, and her curvaceous figure would make all the men whom she invited to the house drool as they took a look at her.

She sat next to her daughter and asked, "Is the Ed Newgate you always talk about the same Ed that just released the songs?"

"Yes." Jenna answered without thinking much. Alexandria paused and asked, "How is your relationship with him?"

"He's my friend."

"Good…Very good…" Alexandria mumbled to herself as she watched Penny's scene in the Grenade music video. She saw that her acting was mediocre, therefore she suspected that Penny had provided some 'service' to the singer in exchange for the job– it wasn't something that she hated, but she felt as if she had lost an opportunity instead.

'If only I listened to Jenna's story properly.' She thought.

"Why don't…you invite him here? I want to meet him." She asked. Jenna narrowed her eyes at her mother, but she had no change in her expression, making Jenna feel that her request was a genuine one.

"Why?" She asked to get confirmation.

"I'm just… his fan." Alexandria said while licking her lips.

-Taylor's room-

"He's outstanding. I can't wait for Friday." Selena muttered. Taylor looked at her in dissatisfaction and warned her, "Don't seduce him. He's mine."

Selena rolled her eyes and said, "It makes much more sense for him to be with me. We're around the same age, you know?" (E/N: 14 and 16(17 in July the 22nd) lol but still closer than Taylor's 19)

"NO!" Taylor said and pounced on Selena on the bed before tickling her till she gave up on her intentions with Ed.

'Maybe…I can make a response song for him.' Taylor thought as she finally won in her battle with her best friend.

Back at the studio, Abby and Haley hugged Ed to congratulate him for a successful debut before they returned home with Cam and Tara as it was almost 1 am. Luckily Claire understood that Haley was with Cam and her intention of going there was only for supporting Ed, so she didn't freak out or try to track her phone.

…

[Edward POV]

"Should I just hack Youtube and increase the views by 100 Million? I shouldn't…right?" I muttered to myself with a wide grin on my face as I watched the worldwide reaction to my songs. Of course, I was just joking.

'Or am I?'

Despite not fixing the views, I did however hack the recommended list of the Youtube users and Itunes algorithms so that it would boost my songs and music videos.

'In Pewdiepie's fight against T-Series, the blue clothes boy said that whenever a user in India registered with the internet, they'll be bombarded by T-series's videos in the front page. Therefore, the company's subscribers climbed up like mad.'

" I was just doing the same thing." I muttered as I saw my subscribers count quickly breached 1 Million.

"Will I get a plaque from Youtube afterward?"

"Ed, what are you doing here all alone? Let's go home." Pepper said after he caught me grinning while reading a few articles about my debut. Despite the clock being almost 3 am, the debut hype still hasn't died down yet. In fact, it rose up even more as the international community joined the fray.

"Okay~" I replied happily before approaching him.

Pepper grinned and said, "Ed. What do you think about this year's Best New Artist Grammy Award?"

"Unless I can beat Adele , I won't get it." I muttered casually as I referred to my previous life memory. Pepper was stunned and opened his mouth a few times, but no words came out.

"Calm down. I know that you're a fan of Adele. I'm a fan too." I said with a mischievous smile.

Pepper paused for a bit as he fell into a deep thought before saying, "No. I think…you'll get the award. Wait- I'm sure of it."

P.s. You know what "falsettos" are right?? That means singing overly high notes, usually tenors do this.)

"Yeah Yeah. Let's go home." I muttered dismissively and walked ahead of Pepper to get to the car.

After Pepper entered the car, he said, "By the way, the meeting tomorrow will be postponed. So, you have to go to school."

I looked at him with a horrified expression and said, "Are you crazy?"

He smirked and said, "Why? Afraid that you'll be surrounded by your fans?"

"Of course." I said before both of us laughed together. Pepper turned solemn afterward and said, "Ed. If you want to continue being an artist, maybe public school wasn't the right choice for it. What do you think about going to a private school? I can get you into Dryden Academy. It'll be far better than going to Palisades–both in safety and quality of education."

I remember Dryden Academy from the series. It was a private school for the elite, and only the richest of the rich could go there. Manny tried to apply there, but he botched the interview for it.

"I don't know. I'll leave that thinking for the future. For now, I just want to enjoy this feeling of happiness and avoid things that could make it go away."

Pepper smiled and said, "Oh. And the studio also asked if you want to be cast in the Twilight movie as one of the wolves-"

"And now the feeling has gone away." I muttered.

…

(Bonus Reaction)

2231 Los Robles Avenue Building, Apartment 4A.

Penny was watching the music video on the big screen tv inside the apartment with 4 male geeks.

Sheldon Cooper didn't know how to properly react as he watched the music video. He kept glancing at Leonard and Penny for them to show him the way he needed to react.

Leonard Hofstader scrunched his eyebrows as he saw Penny's makeout scene with the successful artist.

"Ohh that can't be good for you." Howard teased Leonard with a slight chuckle.

"Can't be good for what?" Penny asked as she didn't hear what Howard said properly. Howard decided to change the topic for Leonard's sake and say, "Can't be good for the artist. Now, he'll be drowning in women. He's going to be the most popular kid in highschool now…(sigh) and living the life."

Penny was disgusted, and it showed on her face.

"Also made Sheldon shut up and made out with Penny. Yeah…He's my idol now." Howard muttered.

Rajesh whispered to Howard's ear as he still couldn't speak in front of Penny. Howard flinched as he did it abruptly before snapping, "YEAH I KNOW I played in high school too. You can't compare us. Did you see what he looks like? Even at 14 he's taller than me."

Sheldon interjected, "To be fair, he's not the only 14 year old who's taller than you."

Penny and Leonard laughed out loud and Rajesh only laughed with only his expressions. Leonard calmed down and said, "He's a nice kid. I'm happy for him."

"Nice? He's pompous and rude." Sheldon retorted.

"No. He just can notice a crazy person before he was trapped in a long term relationship with one." Howard added, making Rajesh laugh.

Sheldon was unamused and he waited till the laughter died down before saying, "I'm not crazy. My mother had me tested."

"And I really want to see the doctor's report." Penny added, causing laughter again. Suddenly, her phone rang and she excitedly stood up from the sofa to pick it up.

"It's my dad. This means all my family has already watched it." Penny said before biting her tongue cheekily and ran out of the apartment to get to her own apartment right in front of Leonard's apartment.

Rajesh could finally speak after Penny was gone. He turned to Leonard and said with an Indian accent, " Now that he's famous, will he still remember you?"

"Of course he will." Leonard answered after hesitating. "In fact, I will text him right now."

…

[Edward POV]

I wore a mask and a baseball cap today before going to school. As Abby dropped me off, there was a crowd of photographers camping in front of the school– trying to get a picture of me as my explosive debut was currently the hottest topic to talk about in the entire country.

The Grenade music video had broken the record for the fastest Youtube video to reach 1 Million views, and several radio and media entertainment companies had shown interest in me and the agency.

'It'll be tough from now on.' I thought as I stealthily snuck into the school by walking by with a group of ordinary looking kids.

Many kids asked for my autograph, a picture with me, and even my used underpants, making the hallways turn to chaos by the time I reached my locker.

"ED! I WANT TO BE IN A MUSIC VIDEO TOO!" Barnes yelled out before he got pushed to the side.

Even Alex was startled when she saw the crowd gathering around me. The commotion gained the interest of the teachers, and the school bell rang at the same time. However, none of the kids wanted to let me go before getting what they wanted.

Mrs Henderson walked to the crowd and said, "Enough. All of you. Go to class right now. Those who don't will be put in detention."

Her ice-cold tone made the kids shudder and the crowd parted like the red sea as she walked towards me.

"I believe Congratulations are in order Mr Newgate." Mrs Henderson said with a soft smile before adding. "Why aren't you getting to class? Do you want to get detention?"

I gulped my saliva and said, "I'm-I'm going now."

I let out a sigh of relief as I entered the class.

'Finally. Some peace.'

I sat next to Jacob as usual, but I was shocked as I saw his face. He had deep eyebags and his cheeks were hollow.

"What the hell happened to you?" I asked with a low tone as the class was currently in session.

"I…broke up with Elsa." Jacob replied before he sobbed and wailed, startling the old teacher who was writing on the board.

Greatly shocked, I asked, "How the hell did that happen?"

While still crying, he turned to me and said, "Con..(S0b)grats…on your…Singles…(Sob) release-" Before he could finish, he cried loudly once more, annoying the teacher in front.