Chapter 73: Smooth sailing. 

[Edward POV]

"This is…"

As I saw the prop piano that I need to drag around in the shoot today, I was greatly surprised when I saw that it was a real piano instead of a fake one. Of course, it's just a small piano, not the grand one.

"Seriously?" I asked the prop crew in dissatisfaction.

The 4 bald men sweat through their forehead and one of them said, "T-This is the best we could do…on such short notice." He said and pointed at the bottom of the piano. "See, it has wheels."

"I can see that. It's almost 200 pounds I- Hmm…Never mind."

Although I wanted to scream at the men, what they said was true. The preparation was indeed last minute. I tried to pull the piano using a rope, but it was even heavier than I expected.

"Damn. I'll sweat a lot today." I muttered.

There were only 3 main themes to the shoot today. The first part was a scene with me inside a bedroom, frustrated as my girl had left me– in the music video. Not real life.

The second part was me lugging the piano around the streets. And lastly the ending part where I finally reached my ex's house, only to realize that she had found happiness with someone else.

'In the original mv, Bruno went to stand in front of a train as the ending after he got cheated on by his girl. His efforts meant nothing to her. He basically killed himself as he couldn't live without her. But, I'll change a few parts from that as I didn't want people to misunderstand me.'

"Where's the actor?!" Pepper suddenly yelled out from afar. I raised my hand for him to notice me, and he ran towards me quickly.

"We have a problem. Your aunt broke the nose of the actor who was supposed to play your ex's new boyfriend." Pepper said in a hurry.

"I'm sorry…what?"

I couldn't believe my ears as I heard that, and turned toward Auntie Camila with a look of surprise. She had an apologetic expression on her face as she walked towards me with Penny by her side.

"I'm sorry Ed-"

"What happened?" I asked her without getting angry.

"He groped your aunt's ass-" Penny tried to explain, but my aunt stopped her.

"Ahh. Don't worry then. I don't mind." I said as I realised the situation. Aunt Camila, Penny and Pepper were surprised when they saw how easily I had accepted the difficult situation. Pepper had already prepared a speech to convince me not to be furious at my aunt.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there. I wanted to break his nose too. Give me his name." I said calmly as I tried to convince my aunt she had done nothing wrong.

"That was just a pig being a pig. I don't blame you. Seriously. I wouldn't want to work with someone like that too. So if someone tried to do something inappropriate to you, and you worried about what I might think if you retaliated, then don't."

I smiled at my aunt and said, "In fact. I think you're even more of a badass now."

"Hmm…She does have a nice ass." Pepper said.

"Hey-" Penny tried to retort.

"Relax. He's gay." Aunt Camila said to Penny while smiling in relief.

Of course, when I find out the actor's name, I will make sure to make his life a living hell.

"But now, who is going to kiss her? You in a wig?" Pepper asked while scratching his head. The others looked at Pepper with a deadpan expression, while I thought about the possibility of the matter seriously.

"Sure. I'll do that."

"I'm sorry. What?!" Pepper exclaimed.

The group was surprised when they heard that. "I guess I will play 2 characters in the music video." I continued with a sly smile.

…

[First scene]

"Hurry up! We need to hurry to catch the train. Otherwise, we have to wait till tomorrow!" Pepper yelled to the staff as we recorded the first scene.

Penny was wearing a red dress that accentuated her figure, at the same time a low cut on the collar that made her chest more prominent. Meanwhile, I was wearing a simple grey shirt and jeans, and my hair was styled to look like an innocent boy.

Penny and I were laying down a queen size bed in the middle of the set that looked like a bedroom. The lighting was sunny, and we were both looking at each other with an expression that we were falling deeply in love.

"Stop making me laugh." I said to Penny as I saw her awkwardly acting up close. She was stunned before she said, "Sorry. I'm a bit nervous."

I smiled and said, "Just consider this a normal conversation instead. You don't have to worry about the camera. Just look at me."

She followed my instructions, and we locked eyes while facing each other in the bedroom.

The director was watching the scene from the camera, and he couldn't help but lean forward as he saw Penny and mine's expression. She slid into my arms as she nuzzled her face inside my chest. I held her close as I kissed her forehead. But as I closed my eyes, her gaze changed into looking like a villain, as she was only faking her happiness with me.

"Damn. This kid is a natural." The director exclaimed. "OKAY CUT! Next scene! Playful fighting."

We ran around the bedroom while laughing, I caught Penny from behind and threw her into the bed before inching our faces closer together.

"CUT! NO! TOO AWKWARD! AGAIN!" The director yelled and the camera stopped recording.

"You're fine. It's her. Don't flinch when he gets closer. You guys are supposed to be lovers in this scene." Pepper said to Penny as he had the same thoughts as the director.

"Sorry. It's just…he threw me so suddenly…" Penny said, not continuing her next words which would be she had gotten turned on after I jumped on top of her.

We shot the scene again, and this time Penny had prepared herself. She wrapped her arms around my neck as she pulled me closer to her chest. But before I could bury my face in them, the director yelled, "CUT. It's perfect. The cheating scene now!"

The camera recorded how Penny was always on her phone while we were spending some time together, and was stealthily talking to someone behind my back. She did it perfectly this time, and we didn't have to reshoot the scene. The lighting on the scene gradually turned dark, signifying a doomed relationship.

"The fight scene!" The director said.

"Really, do I need to change into my martial arts outfit?" I joked.

The director was unamused.

"..."

After the awkward moment passed, Penny and I just shouted random words at each other in the bedroom as we needed to show that we were fighting.

"HE'S JUST A FRIEND!" Penny yelled.

"I SAW YOU IN THE APE MOVIE!" I yelled.

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO SEE IT!" Penny yelled back.

"THERE'S A TOPLESS SCENE OF YOU IN IT. OF COURSE I'LL SEE IT!" I shouted as I grabbed the pillow and threw it to the lamp, breaking it. Although it was unplanned, the director decided to just go through it.

Dialogues other than the first line weren't important to the story, so we just did whatever we wanted.

"URGH!" Penny grunted in frustration before walking away from me. I tried to stop her, but she pushed me away.

"Okay . CUT! Now, we need to show a scene where she rides in a car with someone else- You drove a Plymouth right?" The director turned to my aunt as he asked. My aunt nodded in confusion as this part wasn't in the planned scenes, but Pepper trusted the director's instinct.

"Okay. Penny out. We're shooting the misery scene. Ed, try to lip sync to the lyrics while you act. We'll take bits from that." The director said.

"Okay." I said obediently. Even though I knew what to do as I planned the whole storyline, I appreciated the advice from the director and wasn't behaving like a dick in this shooting.

"I thought that he'd be an entitled little cunt. But, he's a nice kid." The director said to Pepper in a whisper as I was focused on my performance.

"I told you. Now, who's the crazy one now eh?" Pepper smirked and fanned himself with a paper fan.

"Still you." The director retorted.

"Excuse me?!" Pepper let out an offended gasp, before the both of them chuckled together.

Rain poured from outside the window as I screamed-slash-sing my frustration in the bedroom. Finally, we finished the scene on this set.

"We're changing the location!" The staging director said as I rested beside Penny near the director's chair and we were looking at the shots together.

"Next scene will be a bit tricky as you're playing both of the guys. So what are you thinking about it?" The director asked me.

"I need fake tattoos on my arms, a magnetic 'cross' earring, and my hair needs to be styled a little bit messier. If I can change the colour to black, then it'll be better." I said as I imagined a 2020's fuckboy to refer to.

"TATTOO! You still haven't given up on that?!" Pepper yelled in astonishment.

"And we're going to put the tattoo on my neck too." I continued.

"NO!" Pepper screamed in frustration while I laughed at his reaction. The director nodded to my suggestion and some of the staff members were sent out to gather the material for the fuckboy character.

…

While we were waiting for the staging to be finished, I checked on my Flappy Bird game download statistics, and already 500,000 people had downloaded the game.

"Making my first million never felt so easy…not that I was ever a millionaire before." I muttered with the edge of my lips curling up as I looked at my bloated account number that barely passed the 1 million dollars mark.

Despite my casualness of the matter, I was feeling extremely happy on the inside and could barely hold myself together from doing a happy dance.

"Ed. We're ready for you!" Penny said. She was still in her previous outfit, while I needed to change into my other character outfit. An oversized tee that made me seem bigger, fake tattoos on my arms and neck, and the make up artist made my eyes smoulder using her makeup skills.

"You're going to lift her up and sit her down on the window sill, making out with her while trying to remove her clothes." The director explained.

"I'm sorry. What?!" Penny was confused at that last part.

"Not truly taking off your clothes, just act it out. We'll cut it before he takes it off." Pepper said.

"Or would you." I said slyly to Pepper, making Penny blush a little. He smacked my head with the paper fan before Penny and I walked in front of the camera together.

'This state's law was a bit weird about this particular case. See, It's not actually a crime if a 14 year old makes out with a 22 year old, as long as we film it. Well…that's an oversimplification, but yeah. It's basically like that.'

"Aaaaand. Action!" The director shouted the cue.

Penny and I locked eyes with each other before I grabbed her and sat her on the window still before bending down slightly to kiss her. Our tongues entwined with each other, but then Penny suddenly let out a fake laugh.

"Sorry. I'm sorry." She said as she tried to control herself.

"What?" I asked.

"No. Your change is just…too drastic. I can't hold it in." Penny said as she tried to be professional and hopped down from the window sill.

[Penny POV]

'Oh my god. The smolder in his eyes. He's turning me on. Also, I can do the kissing scene two or three more times before it gets suspicious, right?'

I couldn't pry myself away from his charisma right now. I wanted to push him down on the bed and let him have his way with me. But I was lucky that the fact that we were on a film set helped me keep my sanity.

'If this was back in Nebraska…' I thought as I bit my lower lips while looking at his lips seductively. The camera caught my reaction, and the director loved it as he thought I was still acting.

Ed grabbed my bottom and brought me to the window sill again as the shooting resumed. The more he kissed me, the more I wanted to keep kissing him. Our saliva mixed with each other, turning into a bridge connecting our lips as we separated. He started kissing my neck, and slowly moved to my shoulder as he tried to undress me.

My hands automatically groped his body, and as I had forgotten that we were still shooting, the director yelled, "CUT! Nice! Now, Penny would look through the window and see a piano there. And then your role is done."

I was stunned when I heard that, my hands were still feeling his bulge. Luckily my hands were covered by the camera's angle, so no one else knew about it except Ed and I. I removed my hands in embarrassment and hopped down the window sill.

"Could…Could I stay and watch?" I asked while blanking out as I watched Ed's flirty smile.

"Sure. You can stay." He said as he took off the fake tattoos on his arms.

[Edward POV]

I was surprised when Penny couldn't control her hands, but I only thought that it was a compliment to my acting skill and that she immersed herself into her acting too. The more I spend time with her, the more I realise she was just a normal girl without the laugh track in the background.

After changing into a light grey suit and washes away the black dye on my hair, I finally moved on to the last scene where I needed to drag the piano around.

"Damn, this is worse than I thought." I muttered as I held the rope and was pulling the piano through an uphill street. We changed the location to a real street in which we already applied for the permit to shoot, and the passerby was gawking at me to watch the music video filming.

I gave them a wave while we paused the shoot for the assistant to wipe off my sweat, and Pepper's staff mingled with the crowd that were trying to see the filming while we were at it.

"Oh. Romeo from Taylor's concert!" A female member of the passerby suddenly screamed as she finally realised who I was.

I dragged the piano through a dangerous street, where I met a homeless guy and a Mexican gang– all paid actors of course, and the most dangerous part of the shoot was when I needed to drag the piano through a working tunnel.

We applied for the permit to use one of the lanes there, and even though some traffic police were helping us to film the scene by redirecting traffic. It quickly became a zoo there, and I knew I had to finish the scene in one take to move on.

Some lucky fans managed to take a photo with me on set after I finished my work. Most of the photos were uploaded on the fan club, and Pepper's staff had to do crowd control when the fans started to arrive in droves after prolonged filming.

Finally, after 7 hours, the filming was done.

(Not going to make the filming scene longer as you guys wanted the final product anyway. LOL)

…

I walked to the waiting room and changed out of my sweaty suit. Suddenly, Penny walked into my room while I was shirtless and said, "Um…Nice… Also, the guys are here to pick me up, so I'll be going now."

"Oh. Okay then. I'll text you when we finish editing the video. Or you can watch it on Wednesday when it's being released on Youtube." I said.

Penny turned downcast, making me curious by her change of reaction.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"N-Nothing. I just thought…we were becoming friends, but you said the 'let's keep things professional'... line."

"Ahh.. Sorry about that. Also, we are friends now." I said with a sly smirk. "Quite close actually given that you actually got to cop a feel on m-"

"OKAY! STOP!" Penny covered my mouth hurriedly. "I'm sorry for that. I was in the zone. You know. Actresses…acting zone." She tried hard to convince me, but all she did was make me laugh harder.

"Stop laughing!" She said cutely. I calmed down after a while and looked her straight in the eyes.

She took a deep breath and said, "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For keeping your promise. Despite only ever meeting me once before."

"Ah that. It's nothing much."

She took a step nearer and unconsciously placed her hands on my bare chest.

"Really. I'm grateful for what you have done. Although I don't know if the music video will succeed or not, I can at least put it on my resume. Then, I'll have something other than the stupid ape movie."

The vibes got weird as she kept staring at my lips. We slowly moved closer towards one another before Pepper suddenly knocked on the door. Penny pushed me away, and I fell on the sofa nearby.

"Kids. Don't stay there too long. It's fine while filming, but it's not now." Pepper said with a sing-song voice before he skipped away.

I saw Penny blush, and she proceeded to run away quickly from the room.

"Damn. I really missed an opportunity there." I muttered as I laid down tiredly on the sofa.

"Ed. Come on. Chop Chop. We're getting out of here." My Aunt said as she entered the waiting room and saw that I was resting on the sofa.

"Where are we going?" I asked her.

"To get some proper food." She said with a smile.

…

"I'm cutting out the fight scene." The director said as we reviewed the edited video.

"Okay. I agree, I think it feels off too." I said.

Currently, we were at Pepper's house where the final edit would be done. The gorgeous mansion made me a bit intimidated when I walked in, but Pepper was a good host and managed to make all of us feel welcomed there.

"The fight takes away from the feeling of betrayal, and it lowers the impact when the innocent guy sees his girlfriend with another man after going through so many challenges to get to her."

My Aunt suddenly chimed in, "So…No car?"

"We can add in the car scene. But it won't be necessary." The director said. My aunt got depressed, and I patted her back to cheer her up.

"It'll take some time to align the lip sync with the music, but I think I can do it tonight." I said to the director.

He was puzzled and he turned to Pepper.

"It's fine. He wanted to edit it on his own. And he has the skills to do it. Do you know that new game, Flappy Bird? He's the one who created it, made it all alone too."

The director just smiled wryly at Pepper's explanation. Inwardly, he was thinking about how Pepper could compare making a game to editing a video, but he let me edit it on my own as he wanted me to learn a lesson when I finally broke down and gave up on the matter.

Not that he was maliciously rooting for me to fail, but he wanted me to understand that one man couldn't carry so many responsibilities, so he just let me be. As long as the original footage was safe, he could let others edit the video before we launched the singles.