(By the way, I went wild for the next 10 chapter or so, got called out, and rebooted the fanfic at chapter 450.)
[Edward POV]
Finneas swung the guitar from behind me.
I had sensed it, but I let it happen. However, he stopped like an inch before it hit my back.
I turned to him with slight confusion. "Why are you stopping?" I whispered.
"I don't know. It doesn't feel right," Finneas whispered back.
"FINNYYYYY!" Enid dashed into the room, jumped, and did a flying kick aiming at Finneas's face.
But I grabbed her leg and caught her before she could do it. I held her upside down like a fish and said, "Calm down, Enid."
She thrashed around, trying to get to Finneas and kicking him with her other leg.
Alex and Jenna joined in, while Billie sipped on her bubble tea calmly.
"Finneas! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Jenna used a motherly scolding voice on him.
Alex's face was stunned, and she turned to me for answers.
Instead, Finneas stood in front of her and said, "Alex! I still love you! And I want you back! I'm prepared to fight Edward for you!"
"No… You weren't!" Alex said with a grimace. "You stopped at the last second."
He turned to me with eyes that were asking for help. I shrugged and said, "You should've just hit me, man."
…
"So, your fake dating thing didn't work out?" Jenna teased Alex as she sat at the side with the girls.
"Shut up. It's all Edward's fault for doing too much," Alex grimaced, slightly embarrassed.
Enid laughed out loud for a long time before she said, "Thank God it wasn't real. When I heard it, I almost made a voodoo doll—"
"You made what?" Jenna was astonished. Enid froze a bit before replying.
"Nothing… I didn't do anything."
Alex rolled her eyes at them. Then, she looked at Finneas, who was getting punished by me.
Alex told him to do 1000 pushups if he wanted to get back together. He was on number 70 now, and his arms were already shaking.
"Seventy… one…" Finneas said, sweating heavily.
"Come on, Finneas. You can do this," I said encouragingly while standing next to him. "Imagine hugging that soft, supple… brain." I changed my words mid-sentence as Alex was glaring at me.
"SE…venty… two…" Finneas did one more pushup.
Billie joined me and said to Finneas, "Come on, you worthless piece of scum."
"Billie?" I was puzzled.
Billie turned to me with a shy face and said, "Sometimes he responds better to negative encouragement."
"Oh. Okay! Come on, you sniveling pussy!"
"GAHHHH!" Finneas did another pushup.
Jenna nudged Alex using her elbow and teased, "When he does 1000 pushups, are you going to bone him?"
"What– No!" Alex was taken aback.
"I want to bone Eddy," Enid exclaimed with longing eyes.
Alex grimaced and hit her in the arm. "Oww… Alright– I deserve that." Enid accepted the punishment easily, then she laughed.
Finneas did another pushup and said, "I didn't think getting someone's back would be this hard."
"It is sometimes," I agreed with him.
He snapped at me, "What do you know about pursuing girls?"
"Well, I've dated a few," I chuckled.
Finneas shook his head and looked upwards slightly to meet my eyes. "Yes, you've dated them. But you never really made an effort to be with them."
"I've made a lot of effort," I replied, slightly dissatisfied. "And are you sure you want to attack the person helping you right now?"
Finneas did another pushup and said, "You're helping me. That's why I want to return the favor. You told me, you need to be a fool when it comes to love. Have you ever been a fool in all of your relationships?"
His thin arms shook as he did another pushup. With a groan, he said, "You're always the cool guy, right? You didn't… pursue. You let them go so easily."
"Shut up, Finneas." Billie was slightly surprised and worried as she saw I was silent.
"I mean, how can you ask me to be a fool when you never did that yourself? Never fight for the one you want," he added.
"Alright. I might've done that, but it's different with me," I said. Billie immediately rushed to the girls to tell them about the conversation.
"Different how? Are you not a guy like me? Do you consider yourself better than the girls since you're at the top of the world?" Finneas asked without malice.
I shook my head and said, "I've never considered that."
"Then, you're a bigger fool for not fighting for them…. Wait, what number am I at right now?"
"I don't know. I forgot to count," I said.
"Damn it… 83?" he guessed.
"No! It's 80!" Alex shouted from afar.
Finneas grinned in excitement. His hands were shaking, his hair wet from sweat. Yet, he was smiling.
He turned to me, "See. She's counting. So I have some hope left in getting her back."
I looked at Alex, who was pretending not to care about it, but deep down, she wanted him to succeed.
"To be honest with you, you had some hope in getting her back at the camp. But you gave up so easily," I teased.
"Well, I spent most of my life emulating you. Even mimicking your lifestyle with women… and it cost me the girl who I loved the most," Finneas said with a struggle.
He turned to me again and said, "So, aren't you going to be a fool too?"
"Like I said, my case is different."
"Sounds like an excuse to me." Finneas went down, but he struggled to get up.
I kicked his back in anger, which made him flop down on the ground.
"Hey!" Alex scolded.
"Calm down. I'm going," I said and left Finneas's side.
He was pissing me off a bit, but when I kicked him, I put some energy inside his body to make sure he would finish the pushup challenge.
His words made me think for a bit, but I stand by my decisions. I wasn't exactly a normal man, so I had to be extra careful with this.
And by not normal, I meant with my abilities, not my social standing or wealth.
Enid rushed to sit beside me as I sat on the piano bench. She whispered, "Edward, do you think he can do it?"
"Well. He just needs to do the best he can. I think Alex will give him another chance as long as he's sincere about it," I muttered.
"Aren't you sad? You almost became Alex's boyfriend," Enid teased.
I laughed. "Yeah. I sure do will miss… not kissing her."
Enid bit her lower lip, took a deep breath, and said, "You can kiss me if you want."
I turned to Enid with a raised brow. If anyone here was a fool for love, she is. To put herself out there, to try and fight for her crush's attention, she was truly brave.
Still, I didn't have any feelings for her. So I had to shut her down gently.
Suddenly, I received a text message. My eyes widened as I read it.
Barbara: A model at my work suddenly went berserk and threw stuff around.
Barbara: She has extraordinary strength after surviving the alienpox, and she threw a sofa at a producer.
Barbara: I'm hurt as I was close to him. I'm bleeding too.
"Wait. Um. I need to go." I stood up urgently. Enid asked, "What's wrong?"
"Barbara got attacked at her job. So I'm going to go see her," I replied.
Alex and Jenna approached me quickly. Jenna asked with concern, "Attacked how? Is she alright?"
"I'm going to go see her now," I muttered urgently. Alex nodded in understanding and said, "Go then."
I left my house on a sleek, black Kawasaki bike and opened a portal as soon as I rode down the hill.
I reached Barbara's place in Burbank in just a couple of minutes and immediately entered her house.
As I opened the door, I saw her wearing a bandage on her head. She wore a bathrobe, and she drank wine as she watched TV.
"Hey, are you fine–"
"Ed– Look, look!" She pointed at the TV.
The news anchor covered the story.
"The Victoria's Secret model Catalina claimed to have been tricked into an unfair modeling contract and lashed out with her newfound strength."
The model's picture was shown on TV, along with the recording of her throwing the couch like it was nothing.
The announcer continued, "Catalina was just one of the many, many cases of what experts called 'Alien Resentment Syndrome,' where people with newfound extraordinary strength after surviving the alienpox virus went berserk and began attacking–"
I turned off the news and went to her. "Are you alright?" I asked with concern.
Barbara smirked before she pretended to be a baby about it.
"No. It hurts so much." She hugged me slightly and complained. "I was so scared."
I touched her bandage with my hand and began checking her head with my chakra.
"Hmm?" I was confused when I realized there was nothing there. No wound, no bruise, or contusion. Nothing.
'Did she wear a fake bandage to get me to come to her house?' I was amused but pretended to be concerned on the surface.
I stared into her eyes intently. There was no ounce of guilt there, only expectation and satisfaction.
"Should I take a look at it? It will be bad if it gives you a scar," I told her.
Barbara flinched slightly and said, "No. I already had a doctor take a look at it. I just need you to take care of me while I'm recovering."
"I see," I muttered with understanding. Barbara smiled and pulled me to sit next to her. Then, she laid her head on my chest as she turned the TV back on.
I instinctively patted her head as we cuddled, with her inching closer and closer until she was on my lap.
'Should I just say I know what happened and leave?'
As I sensed her body's warmth, my eyes became conflicted.
'Or do I want to stay with her?'
The news was covering the story about the alienpox virus cure side effect.
As the cure made the patients assimilate with the alien DNA in order to save themselves, a lot of people came out of their coma with superior strength.
Those who were usually powerless began to hunt the ones who had hurt them before—a rape victim confronting their rapist and breaking every bone in their bodies.
An orphan searching for their parents' killer, mowing down cartels as he went on his journey.
There were a lot of cases like that. I began to see the duality of mankind, where some used their powers for good, some for personal gain and bad stuff.
Barbara nestled her body onto mine, latching on as if she never wanted to let me go.
"Hey Ed. Someone offered me a million dollars to do a topless photoshoot," Barbara suddenly asked.
I was taken aback by her words.
Before I could respond, she pulled her head away and looked me in the eye. "Ho-ho, my ear is on your chest, and I heard your heart jumping out when I said that."
She gazed into my eyes intently and said, "So, you do have feelings for me. Possessive feelings."
I sighed as I was caught and said, "Yeah. I kinda do. You happy now?"
"Really… really happy." She grinned and laid her head on my chest again.
Her smile slowly disappeared and she asked, "Wait. I'm not taking you away from your concert planning, am I?"
"I was going to practice some songs with my friends, but that wasn't going to happen even before you texted me," I said simply.
Barbara went silent for a while before she asked, "The topless shoot. That's real, you know?"
"Are you going to do it?" I asked carefully.
She asked back, "Do you want me to do it?"
"Honestly–"
"No. Not honestly. Selfishly. Do you want me to do it or not?" she asked without looking at me.
I went silent for a while before I selfishly said, "I don't want you to."
She grinned and said, "Thought so."
"You know, I became a model because it's easy work. And it's easy to meet a rich man. Or it will slowly make me popular and pull me into TV shows… But, I don't even care if my career went downhill."
She looked into my eyes again and said, "I just want to stay with you, like we're doing right now."
"You're a sly little minx aren't you?" I said with a chuckle.
She wasn't offended, and instead batted her eyes at me. "Of course, you being a rich man make me think that if I landed you, I won't have to lift a single finger for the rest of my entire life."
"If you don't move and exercise, you'll get fat." I teased.
She rolled her eyes and said, "You created Ozempic. I think I will be fine. In fact, if I wasn't a model, I don't have to starve myself consistently anymore."
We laughed together and she laid her head on my chest again.
I asked, "Hey, did you ever resent me?"
"For what? I have, a lot of times. Like, when you didn't give me jewelry when I suck your–"
"I mean like, for not pursuing you hard enough." I interjected.
She pulled her head again and looked at me with major disbelief.
"I'm the one pursuing you dumbass." She scolded. "Sure, I want to be the catch, but you made me feel like one when we're hanging out, so I just need to break through the barrier you put around you."
She touched my chest and said, "And then, I'll be golden."
"Barrier?" I was confused.
"Yeah. You're like… someone not from this world."
"What?" I was confused.
"Not like, you're an alien or something. Or the fact that you're smart. It's more like, how do I put this… Um, you see things like its fiction, not reality. Like, you're more of an observer… barely a participant."
"Oh…" I was taken aback by her words. "My therapist said the same thing." I added.
Barbara smiled and said, "See. But, we're not blaming you for it. Since we know you're more tormented about it than we do."
She fingered me– I mean, nudged her index finger at my heart and said, "So Edward. What would it take for you to be in the same world as us? To care about the small thing rather than the grand idea."
I studied her face intently and said, "Wow. You're really beautiful."
Barbara was taken aback and blushed slightly. "What the– Don't change the subject. And I already know I'm beautiful."
I laughed slightly and held her hand. Her eyes flickered, and she stared at me with anticipation.
"Also, your bandage is loose, and I can see your head." I said as I showed her the bandage in my hand. When she was nuzzling her head on my chest, the clip was separated and it slid off her head.
Barbara widened her eyes and quickly touched her head.
"Damn it." She cursed. "Alright. FINE! I wasn't next to the producer at all."
"I saw the footage on tv. You were standing at the side. And I know what blood smells like. Your bandage is too clean so I knew it when I stepped into the house."
"I told Catalina this is a bad idea. She said I can trick you with this." Barbara pouted cutely. "Why do you have to be so smart? And smell blood? What are you, a dog?"
"I have an even better sense of smell than dogs." I told her casually. "I even know what you ate today by the small on your hair."
"Really?" She was surprised.
"No." I smirked. "I'm just teasing you."
She rolled her eyes and let out a burst of mirth. "God. Alright, you can go back now."
"Why would I go back?" I asked.
She was taken aback, and a smile tugged on her lips. "Aren't you going to go practice like you said you would?"
"Eh. They are going to be fine. I have to take care of my sick friend, so…" I tapped my chest lightly, hinting at her to lay down again.
She giggled and nuzzled her head on my chest before saying, "Your sick friend is also hungry."
"Cause she just had a caprese salad for lunch?" I asked.
"Yea– Wait." Barbara was shocked. I smirked and said, "What do you want to eat?"
"I want your meat." She replied.
"What?" I blanked out for a bit.
"Yeah… Your meat… You know, the one you give all of us in your house." Barbara clarified, but it didn't clear anything up.
"You know, the one where you put it into a sandwich… And then give us a creampie after…"
My mind was running 1000 miles per hour. Then, it clicked.
"O– Oh, you mean the meat from my ranch."
"Yeah. The delicious meat. I don't know if I want steak or something else, but I want that." Barbara said, not understanding why I was so relieved.
Honestly, I wasn't 100% relieved. Maybe 55% only.
I wrapped her up like a burrito with a blanket and brought her to the kitchen. A drone sent me the meat in an ice box, and then I began cooking for her.
"Ahh." She opened her mouth as she wanted me to feed her.
As I put meat into her mouth, the juices dribbled all over her chin– That sounds wrong again. I was 100% talking about meat here. I made her a steak.
"Maybe I was a fool for love too." I muttered as I watched her eat with satisfaction.
"Damn, I have to break the news to my fake girlfriend about this and ask her to break up."