Chapter 285: Dragon

(I'm back. I am still in pain lol)

[Edward POV]

As we prepared to shoot the first scene of the film, a team of hairdressers surrounded me as I sat on the makeup chair. 

One of them touched my hair and said with a latina accent, "Such beautiful hair! Do we really need to cut them short?"

"It's short in the poster, so we have to!" A man in a pink blouse said sympathetically as he held a scissor. 

I chuckled and said, "You don't need to cut it short. Make it darker, and also, a 7:3 part like I said before."

"Not middle parting?" The curvaceous latina asked in confusion. The gay man slapped her shoulder lightly and said, "I know what style he wants. Like in your Rolex advertisement, right Edward?"

"Exactly. I'll leave it to you guys." I said as I laid back on the chair. After a short transformation, I entered my character as Colt Seavers. My youthful brown hair was now gone, and it was also straightened a bit. Standing in front of a mirror, I button my blazer as I check out my new image. 

My straight black hair fell over my forehead, partially hiding my sharp green eyes, which seemed to pop against my green tie. A neatly folded handkerchief peeked from my pocket, and a silver cross hung around my neck. 

The hair color changes made my eyes seem even more mesmerizing. The hairdressers couldn't stop staring. Pepper, Paige and Judd Apatow crashed into my dressing area, shooing the gawking staff members away.

"My god. How did you suddenly age 10 years?" Judd exclaimed in shock. With contouring on my cheek, tired eyes, sharp gaze, I immediately entered the realm of the young adults, losing all of my innocent characteristics before.

Pepper took his phone and started snapping some pictures while I posed in front of the mirror. "Hmm, Gladys, see if I can get the fake tattoo around my neck too. I need to be more charismatic– Menacing. I need to be more menacing."

The tattoo artist flinched as I used my deep, bassy voice as I ordered him. Paige was shocked and exclaimed, "Is this an actor's capability! You changed everything about you!"

It was my first time to use my Chameleon acting skill to the fullest. Internally, I was also a bit surprised by the changes, but the skill helped me in managing my facial expressions, keeping me in character at all times. 

I turned to her and smirked– the new look made me seem quite devilish, which made the girls there feel flushed, including Paige. I stepped towards her, held her chin lightly, and said, "Is this character your type of man? Why are you blushing so hard?"

Pepper was elated, "Right into character huh Ed! Come on! Let's take a few official pictures at the set. I can't wait to show this to your dad and my mother!" Paige breathed in relief as I released her. She walked to the side and lowered her head as she processed her embarrassment. 

(A/N: Kinda Like This)

Vanessa also had her character preparation today. After adding some hair extensions, her hair was curled with a hot iron, transforming it into a voluminous mane. She also had to dye her hair, from black to slightly brownish. 

It became fluffier and curlier, cascading down and almost reaching her belly button. The dramatic change added a lively flair, perfectly fitting her character's vibrant, kind and loving personality.

Her character traits were a stark contrast of mine. The idea of setting her up as my character's love interest was based on the golden retriever girl and black cat boy tropes in anime. 

Emily Blunt was ready in her character, exuding a sharp gaze that hinted at her inner strength. Her slightly messy dirty blonde hair framed her face, and with only light makeup, she looked like someone who had faced many challenges. The layers of her clothing—sweatpants and running shoes—added to her rugged appearance, emphasizing her fortitude and resilience.

Lastly, it was Ryan with a youthful and sunny temperament, dressed in navy blue shirt and white trousers and wearing loafers. 

The movie couldn't really work with only 4 main characters, so there were multiple supporting characters that would appear in the movie. Donald Glover, a writer for 30 rock, and the future Childish Gambino, was casted as one of my assistants in the movie. An aspiring actress who didn't have any roles yet, 18 years old Margot Robbie, as my other assistant who has a crush on my brother Tom Ryder.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Scarlet Johanson, Emma Stone, Christina Applegate would all be cameo-ing in the movie as Tom Ryder's past lover. They were convinced to appear when Judd told them that all they had to do was to come, beat up Ryan Gosling, and go. All of them were pretty excited to do it, which made Ryan a bit depressed.

"Ed, there's a problem." Judd suddenly pulled me aside after I did the photoshoot Pepper wanted. He glanced around and said, "I kinda want to have an actress for 'Marissa'."

I narrowed my eyes a bit in shock before asking, "She's a running joke in the script. I don't think we need someone to play her."

Judd explained, "When someone is nominated for an Oscar, they'll show a snippet of his acting performance right? We have that with Scarlet, but I think we need another one for Tom's breakout performance."

"Do you have any ideas?" I asked.

"Honestly, not yet." Judd smirked. I rolled my eyes and said, "Me?"

"Yes you! It's your movie! Like I said before, I'm only here to make your creative vision come true–"

"Alright stop." I said with a serious tone. He chuckled sheepishly while I rolled my eyes at him. 

After thinking about it for a few seconds, I said, "Breakout roles huh. We already have that Star Wars one. I guess we can make it from D&D. However, it will need CGI, so we'll shoot that first, and Marissa's scenes– only if we can manage the short clip. Otherwise, we'll scrap the idea…or put it only on DVDs."

"Sounds like a plan." Judd replied. Vanessa intercepted my path as Judd walked away. Holding her fluffy hair, she grumbled, "You know I can't wash my hair for days after this."

I chuckled and said, "You look like you haven't washed your hair today."

"Ugh!" She stomped away in dissatisfaction. In front of the director, she appeared grateful and polite, but in front of me, she always complained incessantly. I was a bit confused by it. 'Doesn't she know that I was the biggest boss she actually had to appear grateful and polite to?'

"Wait Vanessa." I called. She turned quickly, which made her hair swat her face, even a few strands entering her mouth. As she spat it out, I chuckled and said, "Never mind. I just want to see if that will happen."

"You–"

As she was pissed, I walked away to get to the set while laughing. Vanessa didn't have any scenes to do today, so she went home after getting fitted for her wardrobe. 

20 minutes later, the first scene– the introduction of the main characters, and the deal with the devil type contracts which forces Tom Ryder to date Emily Blunt's character– Jody Moreno, began filming. It took 13 takes to finish that 10 minute scene, which took almost 3 hours. 

Maggie documented the entire process on her camera for her documentary. She approached me with it after the director went to direct Emily and Ryan. "Ed, what are you doing now?" She asked.

Flipping my notebook, I replied casually, "Preparing for my SATs."

Maggie widened her eyes in surprise, "You're doing it right now?!"

"I have to study in between takes." I closed the book with one hand and turned to her, "So, go bother someone else."

Pouting, Maggie grumbled as she walked away. I escaped the film set as they were taking a break and walked to the music studio. On my way there, I unexpectedly met Taylor and Selena in the hallways, right in front of the recording studio's door.

"Um, this is awkward." Selena joked to break the awkward silence between all of us.

"Are you going to record the reply song now?" Taylor asked with a rushed tone. I smirked and said, "Unfortunately, no. I'm just here to record the opening song for the movie."

Taylor and Selena widened their eyes as they heard my voice. "Selena, can you come closer?" I asked using a polite tone.

Taylor's eyes were affixed on me, which made Selena glanced at her a few times warily as she stepped forward. "What do you–"

Before Selena could finish her sentence, I grabbed her face and pressed down the skin on her cheek with my thumb, moving my face closer to her, and began inspecting her eyes.

Selena's mind short-circuited as we locked eyes in a very close distance. Taylor fumed and stomped towards us, but halted her steps as I broke off the eye contact and began inspecting Selena's skin instead.

"You don't feel any bloatedness or anything? Sluggish? Nauseous? You are still taking the pills right?" My hand was still grabbing her wrist as I checked her pulse. Selena stammered as she tried to recollect herself, "I– I'm quite energetic, see?" She flexed her muscles, and became deflated immediately after, "S-So, can you stop examining me every time we meet?"

I released her hand and said, "Sorry, but there's no way that's going to happen." Selena smiled in exasperation, however, her eyes were filled with affections as she gazed at me.

Taylor interjected, which made Selena snap back to reality, "Are you checking her lupus?"

"Yes." I replied easily. "As long as she's taking the pills, then that's great. You should go to the doctor for a follow up." I said the last sentence to Selena. She nodded obediently and turned to Taylor, "This must be killing you."

"Hmm…" Taylor exclaimed with a poker face, which made Selena shudder. Taylor suddenly showed her hand towards me, "Hey my hand is hurting too. So give me an examination."

"Yes, I should give a lot more care to my top income earner for the company." I said as I grabbed Taylor's hand. She seemed surprised by my skin and said bashfully, "I'm just playing around. You don't have to do it"

"No, no. It's my responsibility to ensure you're in your top condition. So after this, you're going to the doctor and take an X-ray scan, before going to the physical therapist to get another opinion."

Dumbfounded, Taylor protested, "I'm just playing! It DOESN'T HURT!"

"See, I wanted to believe you, but this is the company protocol. You don't have a choice. I'll wait for your x-ray scan to be placed on my table this evening." I said with an authoritative tone.

Taylor panicked, "YOU'RE THE ONE WHO MADE THAT PROTOCOL!"

"Actually, it's Harvey. If you have a complaint about it, go see her." I said dismissively before entering the recording studio. "See you guys later~" I waved at them.

Selena stopped me and said, "Hey, can I–WE… watch the recording session?"

I rubbed my chin and said, "It's better not. I'm in character right now, but the song is pretty energetic, so I don't want anyone to see me record it. It'll break the character."

Taylor scoffed and said, " It IS the reply song isn't it?! That's why we can't get in."

"You would never have the chance. I'll need that doctor's note before I can let you do anything." I said teasingly before entering through the door and locking it behind me.

…

[General POV]

Taylor and Selena were in a daze after Edward entered the room. Taylor turned to Selena and asked excitedly, "Did you notice that?"

"That he have become incredibly sexy?" Selena muttered with astonishment. Taylor nodded and said, "The tattoos, the black hair, the cross necklace– I almost grabbed his leg and begged him to take me back."

Selena brushed her hair behind her ear before she said playfully, "Tay, from now on, we won't be friends anymore. Hot guys like that worth more than our friendship."

Taylor wrapped her hand around Selena's shoulder and said cheerily, "What are you saying? We're friends till the end! We're best friends that will always get each other's back." She quickly dragged Selena away from the studio, even though Selena kept turning and wanting to stay.

Later that night, when the clock past midnight, Alexandra Daddario, an aspiring actress with glossy skin, piercing blue eyes, and reddish hair, walked into the company building not accompanied by her agent. 

Despite her mesmerizing eyes, her gaze seemed a bit lifeless and dull, as if she was forced to be there. She tightened her jacket and made sure to wear long pants as she prepared herself to meet the casting agent who specifically called her agency to offer her a role. "I wore the wrong dress today." She mumbled.

'Please, don't be another pervert.' Alexandra thought as she went to the reception desk. However, she was a bit surprised to see the company building full of hustle and bustle even when it's midnight.

"Um, I have an appointment for the casting of Marissa." Alexandra politely told the female receptionist. 

The receptionist brightened up and said in a friendly manner, "Yes, you're finally here. He's been waiting for you. Get on the middle elevator and take it to the 17th floor. He's waiting for you inside conference room 1."

"Who's waiting for me?" Alexandra asked warily. The receptionist showed a fanatical smile and said, "Who else? Our CEO."

Alexandra's heart fell as she thought it was another skeevy old man who wanted to have sex with her in exchange for a role, however she became surprised when the receptionist continued, "Mr Newgate. Edward Newgate!"

"Oh." Alexandra relaxed a little, but not completely. Even though she knew about Edward's song and had bought his album, she didn't know about his personality in real life. After taking the elevator, she braced herself as she knocked on the conference room door.

"Come in." Edward called. Alexandra opened the door and was taken aback when she saw Edward sitting on the couch, surrounded by books and stacks of work related documents. 

Edward smiled as he saw her and greeted her warmly, "Ah, Miss Daddario. You're here. Sorry, I don't have much time so I'm going to go straight to the point. I wanted to hire you to become a dragon."

"EXCUSE ME?!" Alexandra widened her eyes in disbelief. Edward smirked, which made her heart throb a little. 

"For the movie." Edward continued, which made her feel embarrassed as she thought Edward could see through her and knew what she was thinking about.

"We're on a really tight schedule, so I'm going to explain to you clearly about the role." Edward said before he stood up and gave a few stacks of papers to Alexandra. The script clearly only contains her part, that's why it's so thin. However, it made Alexandra feel tremendous relief knowing that the role was legit.

"You have to be a bit quirky as the dragon. I want the few short minutes of Marissa to be really likable." Ed said as he grabbed a script too. "You can take some time to prepare. I'll also record the entire casting process."

Alexandra sat down on the single seat couch that was facing Edward's 3 seater couch and started reading her role. "It's simple enough." She commented as she was reading the script. "But, I have to wear a horn?" She looked at Edward in confusion.

Edward smiled softly and said, "It's a different take from the Knight saving the Princess from the dragon's grasp. The nervous knight made a mistake and accidentally shouted, "Dragon, I'm here to take you to be my wife", rather than 'Dragon, I'm here to kill you and make the princess my wife.' It's an accidental slip of the tongue."

Alexandra broke into a smile and held back her laughter, "It's really a comedy movie huh. So, the dragon, feeling flattered that someone finally saw her, turned into a humanoid dragon which is even more beautiful than the princess, and accepted his proposal?"

"That's right." Edward nodded.

"So why me?" Alexandra asked curiously. Her heart was beating quicker the more she saw Edward's face. 

Edward turned to her and said, "You have a face that suits this kind of fantasy setting, so I thought about you. Ah, her character in the movie and in real life is different. You have to show that you can act out 2 completely different characters if you want the part. I thought you are suitable for it, but if you don't have the ability, I'm not going to give it to you–"

"I CAN!" Alexandra shouted urgently.

It was an official breakout role for her to get into movies. With huge names in the film– Director Judd Apatow, Ryan Gosling, Edward Newgate, Vanessa Hudgens, Emily Blunt, even RDJ and Scarlet Johanson cameo-ing, the opportunity was huge.

She did act in supporting roles before, such as 'Pretty Girl' in The Squid and The Whale, a horror movie, but she didn't have any roles that made her stand out. 

Edward also felt a bit bad because he took the rights to the Percy Jackson movie and cut off her breakout role, so he was trying to make amends.

Alexandra kept squirming on her couch, which made Edward feel bothered. He turned to her and asked, "Wouldn't you feel more comfortable if you took off your jacket?"

She was taken aback for a bit, "This? No– I came here from the club, um, I guess it's fine. It's quite hot in here." Slowly untying the knot on her jacket, Alexandra took it off only to reveal a blue crop top with a deep cleavage that made her assets prominent. 

Edward looked at her with disbelief, and Alexandra meekly replied, "I was, um, clubbing–"

"You were going to hook up didn't you?" Edward said with a teasing smile as he propped his head with his hand as he looked at her playfully. Alexandra became abashed and said, "Well, I never expected to receive a casting call so late at night."

"Well, sorry that I disturb your little me time." Edward teased again. Alexandra's face became flushed and she giggled, "Don't be sorry. This is better than my 'me time'."

Edward didn't gawk on her body and continued working on his documents, which made Alexandra admire him more. After a while, Alexandra and Edward did some line reading for the role, which she nailed perfectly under Edward's strict guidance.

"Alright, go to costume fitting. We'll do your scene tomorrow." Edward said. Alexandra brightened up and rushed towards Edward before giving him an abrupt hug.

"Thank you!" She exclaimed happily. Edward grunted and didn't reciprocate the hug. Alexandra quickly realized that she had crossed the line and pulled herself back in embarrassment.

"Um, sorry." She apologized. Edward sighed and said, "Don't worry about it. You can go now. I'll notify the designers. They are on the 14th floor."

"T-Thanks!" Alexandra quickly ran out of the room. Edward mumbled as she left, "Damn. It's so soft. I hate my teenage hormones."

Days passed by, and it's now Thursday.After Taylor dropped her song, the internet and tabloid media have been having a field day with it. Fans were begging to have some context about what happened between Taylor and Edward. 

Photos of Edward talking, laughing and joking with Vanessa Hudgens on the filming set became viral on social media, some anonymous posters also voiced that they had seen Vanessa coming out of Edward's house. 

They also said that;

Anonymous 1: Edward and Vanessa shared the same car! 

Anonymous 2: Edward and Vanessa acted in a movie together!

Anonymous 420: Edward and Vanessa ate at the same restaurant! ( with the rest of the cast from the movie!)

For the Hollywood tabloid media, these posts just meant one thing. Edward was a despicable man, jumping from girls to girls– A future Hollywood Playboy in the making.

Days passed by, and there were still no comments from Taylor or Edward about the matter. Media hype slowly died down. 

Just when the fans thought that the matter would be brushed aside, Edward released a video on his Instagram on Wednesday. It was an ASMR video of him cutting firewood at the ranch with no caption other than the date, 12.4.2009 (Month first cause of US). 

4th of December, 2009. It would be exactly a week after Taylor released her song. Although the media was speculating what it meant, loyal fans understood it immediately– there would be a special thing happening on that date, presumably a song from his side.

Then, the dying embers of the scandal erupted again, becoming an even hotter topic this time, breaching even the Fox news and other mainstream media.