chapter 327: chapter 327: nypc (3)

    (see you guys next saturday. there will be 10 chaps for the entire arc.)

    [general pov]

    as edward entered the party with his group of friends, he caught the attention of phil and claire, who were sitting at their dinner table.

    "oh, they''re finally here!" claire stood up and threw her napkin onto the plate after wiping her mouth. phil quickly calmed claire down, saying, "honey, don''t yell at them. maybe her phone has no battery; that''s why she didn''t answer any of your text messages or calls."

    "i called her 17 times, phil. every single time it connected, but she rejected it. she only sent me one message: ''i''m not dead yet, don''t worry about it.'' she wouldn''t even tell me where she was going," claire replied, her expression angry.

    jay swirled his drink and said, "what are you worried about? she''s been with edward the whole time. that kid is trustworthy."

    gloria looked at jay with slight confusion. "jay, are you drunk? why are you being so nice?"

    the whiskey mixed with euphoria had made jay tipsy, which led him to engage in every conversation. cam, phil, and mitchell felt that they had finally broken down the innate barrier jay had placed in their relationship and were warming up to him.

    jay waved it off, saying, "i''m not. i''m being rational. it''s not like they''re doing anything wrong. they''re just hanging out."

    claire sighed. "well, i hope so." gloria noticed edward and haley at that moment, precisely when edward wrapped his hand around haley, pulled her close, and kissed the back of her hand.

    "ay," gloria muttered in surprise. "are they dating now?"

    "what?" claire scrunched her nose and immediately looked where gloria was pointing. everyone at the table followed suit, their expressions baffled by the sight before them.

    jay suddenly chuckled. "oh, i thought this would happen. i was right."

    alex walked toward her family with enid and jenna to greet them, but before she could say anything, claire grabbed her and pulled her in close. "alex, what just happened? why did edward kiss your sister''s hand in public?"

    "oh, they went on a date today," alex replied casually. "apparently, it''s going pretty well."

    cam immediately squealed, "oh-ho~ that''s why she''s not answering her phone. she''s having a great time!"

    mitchell added, "her mother''s constant distraction must''ve annoyed her very much. you shouldn''t have bothered her, claire."

    flabbergasted, claire stammered, "i wouldn''t have bothered if i knew!"

    "oh, edward didn''t tell me about it, even though we met this morning. i would''ve taught him a few moves," phil muttered, disappointment evident in his voice. claire quickly reminded him, "phil, he''s dating your daughter. you don''t want him to make a move."

    on the opposite site of the vip section, taylor was having fun with selena until she froze when she saw the scene. selena stammered as she looked at taylor worriedly, "um, le-let''s be rational here. you already expected this to happen, right?"

    ...

    [edward pov]

    most of the vips had their own private spaces, as they came with family or friends. those who wanted to socialize could do so in another section.

    the first people pepper led me to were the couple who had arrived earlier in the evening, john krasinski and emily blunt, at their own private table. the couple stood up to greet me happily as i approached.

    "hi, em. hello, mr. krasinski. thank you for coming," i greeted her casually and offered him a firm handshake while nodding at emily.

    "please, just call me john," he said with a smile. "mr. krasinski feels too formal. it''s like i''m a school teacher," he joked.

    "you can just call me edward too. this gorgeous girl is my date, haley dunphy," i introduced haley to the duo.

    "hello," haley said shyly, while i added, "aspiring fashion designer. she''s already had her designs in magazines twice and just created her own studio."

    "ed, stop," haley grimaced. "you''re putting so much pressure on me," she joked slightly.

    emily smiled softly and said, "nice to finally meet you, haley. i''ve heard about you from edward."

    "really?" haley replied, a bit skeptical, but she didn''t press further as pepper started talking.

    "john is very thoughtful, ed. you should talk to him. i have somewhere else to be," pepper said with an adoring expression as he glanced at john before he left.

    "he definitely has a crush on you," i teased john, which made everyone chuckle. then i continued, "i have a question. john, you''re going to direct your first episode of the office?"

    john widened his eyes in surprise, clearly taken aback by my knowledge. "yes. i hope so," he replied awkwardly.

    emily turned to him and asked, "you''re going to direct an episode? why don''t i know about it?"

    "i didn''t tell you because it''s not confirmed yet. also, i have no idea how he knew about this," he replied seriously, though maintaining his smile.

    "i know a lot of things, john. i''m like liam neeson in your debut work in that kingsley movie. remember what he asked you in your scene?"

    startled, john immediately burst into laughter. "oh god. you know about that too? you know you shouldn''t watch the movie yet."

    "that scene itself is quite prophetic, isn''t it?" i teased.

    "what''s prophetic about it?" emily asked, prompting me to burst into laughter. john, a little frazzled, tried to change the subject. "emily told me ''self made'' finished filming yesterday. i hope the movie will be well received."

    emily, pulling herself closer to john, confronted him with a british accent, "what are you not telling me?"

    ...

    [general pov]

    ''take a deep breath'', vanessa closed her eyes slightly as she calmed herself before going onto the stage. ''everything will be okay.''

    putting on a brave facade, she waltzed into the stage as the crowd cheered for her.

    "my first song after a long period of waiting for my return to the stage is called, ''brutal''. enjoy." vanessa spoke using the microphone, a small smile on her face as she remembered her heated discussion with edward when he told her to sing the song.

    [olivia rodrigo– brutal]

    a soft violin melody filled the stage which made the crowd think it was going to be a ballad. then she suddenly declared, "i want it to be messy."

    the band finally revealed themselves and they played the beat for the song. the percussive beat created an edgy and almost aggressive sound. the lights on the stage danced around as vanessa stood still, only tilting her head as she sang lightly.

    "??i''m so insecure, i think??"

    "??that i''ll die before i drink??"

    she finally moved and walked to the center of the stage, pointing her finger at the camera acting as if she was pointing at someone, "??and i''m so caught up in the news. of who likes me, and who hates you??"

    maggie thought of the media coverage of vanessa and zac efron''s breakup as she heard the lyric.

    "?? and i''m so tired that i might. quit my job, start a new life ??"

    "?? and they''d all be so disappointed. ''cause, who am i, if not exploited? ??"

    the fast paced song made the crowd fall into a trance, not wanting to miss a word of the lyric. the verse made people imagine vanessa''s experience as a child star working in a tough industry.

    "??and i''m so sick of 17. where''s my fucking teenage dream? ??"

    "?? if someone tells me one more time. "enjoy your youth, " i''m gonna cry ??" vanessa traced her finger underneath her eyes, gesturing to the tears.

    selena looked around anxiously and muttered to herself, "no one is reacting. this is kinda bad."

    taylor just smirked and said, "just wait."

    vanessa stomped her feet, acting like a whiny brat, "?? and i don''t stick up for myself. i''m anxious and nothing can help ??"

    "?? and i wish i''d done this before. and i wish people liked me more ??"

    the lyrics laid all of her insecurities and made her shout it to the world. the unfair treatment she had been through from something that wasn''t even her fault. she let it all out on the stage.

    the crowd finally reacted as she finished the first verse. claire muttered, "that''s quite raw isn''t it?"

    phil got some tears in his eyes then he shouted, "go nessa!" as a fan of the high school musical franchise, also part of the dad group that learns all of the dances in the movie, he knew very well about vanessa''s past.

    alex distanced herself from her dad and moved closer to her boyfriend as they enjoyed the music. the crowd then erupted into cheers as she sang the chorus.

    "??all i did was try my best. this the kind of thanks i get? unrelentlessly upset (ah, ah, ah)??" vanessa sang while bouncing her body slightly.

    edward chuckled excitedly as he saw vanessa''s pouty expression as she performed.

    enid was really surprised by the song that she didn''t react for almost a minute, just standing still with her jaw dropped.

    "??they say these are the golden years. but i wish i could disappear. ego crush is so severe??"

    she paused slightly before singing, "?? god, it''s brutal out here??"

    the crowd cheered loudly as they enjoyed the song. vanessa smiled in satisfaction as the catchy beat played.

    as she heard the cheers, she became more confident in her performance. "??i feel like no one wants me. and i hate the way i''m perceived. i only have two real friends. and lately, i''m a nervous wreck??"

    maggie and edward both raised their hands to cheer for her performance. vanessa even turned to edward slightly as she sang, which made edward startled. ''focus on the stage you idiot.'' he scolded her slightly.

    "??''cause i love people i don''t like. and i hate every song i write. and i''m not cool and i''m not smart. and i can''t even parallel park ??"

    "that last line wasn''t necessary." maggie muttered to herself. "even though it was true. still... it''s unnecessary."

    the pouty way of performing, the little eye roll, the teenage angst vibe made the younger member of the crowd love her new image and supported her greatly.

    "?? all i did was try my best. this the kind of thanks i get? unrelentlessly upset (ah, ah, ah) ??" she sang it in front of the cameras, which made the screen filled with her manic expression.

    "??they say these are the golden years. but i wish i could disappear. ego crush is so severe. god, it''s brutal out here ??"

    as the music slowed down, vanessa stood at the front of the stage, underneath the spotlight, singing to the sky.

    she crooned, "?? got a broken ego, broken heart~ (it''s brutal out here, it''s brutal out here)and god, i don''t even know where to start ??."

    as the music fades away, the crowd exploded into thunderous cheers for her. sweating slightly, vanessa reveled in the crowd''s reaction, her heart beating widely. her eyes were slightly moist, but she didn''t succumb to her emotion as she continued her performance.