[Edward POV]
After the party, I hung out with my dad, Frankie, and my sister, Heidi.
"Eddy!" Three-year-old Heidi fed me a grape. I almost ate it when she pulled it back and ate it herself. Then she snickered mockingly.
I grimaced at her.
She had blonde hair and piercing green eyes, like mine. Her cuteness made her seem like a living doll.
She had already been offered modeling contracts whenever Frankie brought her to the park, but Frankie and my dad rejected them since she was too young.
"Sing Let It Go again," Heidi demanded as she sat on my lap. We were in the living room of my childhood home.
"Really? First it was Baby Shark. Then Wheels on the Bus. Now Let It Go? My voice is expensive, little lady."
"Dad!! Ed's not singing for me!" Heidi tattled immediately.
I looked at her in disbelief and said, "Fine. I'll sing."
"Edward, are you getting bullied again?" Frankie asked as she walked toward me.
"As usual," I said with a sigh. Heidi pinched my chin as she played around while I talked to Frankie.
"So, baby number two?"
"No. False alarm," she replied in a whisper. "What about you, Ed?"
"You're asking if I impregnated any woman recently?" I was slightly stunned.
"No. The thing with you and Alex."
"Ah. That false alarm." I leaned back, picked up Heidi, and tickled her mercilessly. "Alex said she was drunk, so she didn't even remember what she said."
"Was she drunk?"
"She didn't even drink a drop," I said with a sigh.
Frankie sighed and said, "Your long list of workout partners has finally given you consequences for your actions."
"It's not that long," I said with a nervous laugh. "Also, Heidi's here."
"She doesn't even know what we're talking about," Frankie said with a warm smile as she picked Heidi up from my lap.
"No! Mama! I want Eddy!" Heidi protested.
"It's time for your bath. You can be with Eddy later."
"He'll go away again!" She pouted. "Eddy, bath… with me."
"I don't want to. I already took a shower today!" I stuck out my tongue and teased her. She sulked, puffed up her cheeks, and stomped her right leg.
"I hate Eddy!" she shouted, mocking me back.
"Please stop being a bad influence and go to Alex already," Frankie scolded me.
I laughed wryly and went outside. In the last four years, a lot of things had changed in the world.
There were worker robots everywhere in the neighborhood. They were doing landscaping, fixing houses, walking dogs.
If there wasn't an existential threat, people would've already gotten fat and ridden around on scooters.
When I held concerts, I was the one who sang, not the other me with all of my powers. Still, my follower count grew.
Not the one on Instagram, but actual, real-life followers. I had 1.5 billion followers all over the world. It was basically a whole religion.
The media harassment was really bad, especially when I went to college. They stalked my teachers and group members and tried everything they could to get any details on me.
The free press was the free press. I couldn't really do anything about it.
But once I explained to my followers to stop clicking on articles about me that were sourced from harassment, even magazines that bought photos taken that way, the paparazzi began to back down, since it hurt their income.
I went to the Dunphys' house to meet Alex. Haley had moved into a house down the street. It was bigger than her childhood home, and she had a boyfriend now named Andy.
I bumped into Haley as I entered the Dunphys' house after Luke opened the door.
"Oh. Hey." She widened her eyes slightly.
"Hey. I'm just looking for Alex," I said, pointing upstairs.
Haley nodded and said, "Um… I think she's upstairs… so…"
Luke chuckled, interjecting teasingly, "Wow. Still awkward, huh? Even after all this time."
"Um… I'm going to go," I said and left.
Haley also panicked. "I'm going to go."
"Wait." I stopped her. "I saw the new magazine interview. Congratulations for being one of the 30 under 30 picked by People Magazine."
She giggled and said, "That's like, two days ago. But thanks anyway."
In the past four years, Haley was in demon mode, hustling and expanding her fashion brand. She went to Paris, held a few runway events, and her brand had grown into something worth 700 million dollars.
She herself was already worth 300 million dollars. Haley became a part-time model, and people could see her on fashion billboards.
That was even richer than her grandpa.
…
I knocked on Alex's door and saw her flinch as I entered casually.
"What— What?" She became guarded immediately. "Hey, I didn't say come in."
"I don't care." I sat next to her on the bed. "Why are you being so weird, you weirdo?"
She gasped, fully offended. "I'm sorry. You're calling me a weirdo? You're the weirdest person on the planet."
"Just answer my question. Why are you trying to avoid me?"
I held her hand and said, "I thought we were closer than that."
Her eyes went dazed, and she forced herself to snap out of it immediately. "Stop that." She slapped my hand away. "This. This is why I'm being weird. Stop being affectionate, and so handsome, and annoying."
"I felt like one of them is not the same as the others," I retorted.
"Shut it… Listen, we're friends. So let's just keep—"
I leaned in close, grabbed her by the side of her head, and pulled her in for a kiss.
Alex was surprised, yet she kissed me back almost instantly.
"Let's date," I said firmly.
"O–Okay." She blushed and agreed to date me instantly.
I smiled in satisfaction and said, "Good. Now, what were you talking about before?"
"Um, about how you and Haley… the weird atmosphere between the two of you, and the fact that she finally just managed to move on. Now, her sister is dating the guy she had such a hang-up on for a couple of years. That will be weird, right?"
"Oh. That." I was taken aback too. "That is a major concern. Should we try, like, soft-launching it? Slowly test out her reaction first?"
"I'd love that. Also, to make it very clear for you: if my sister isn't okay with this, I'm not going to date you. At all."
"That's fair." I agreed, hugging her buttock slightly and squeezing it.
She laughed and said, "So, we should do it now?"
"You little sex addict. You can't go one day without a dose of me, can't you?"
"Shut up. Do you want to do it or not?" She took off her clothes instantly.
"I want to," I agreed with a smirk. Suddenly, I saw something weird.
"Hey, Alex. Did you get a new lamp?"
My vision tunnelled. And my heartbeat got quicker.
THOMP THOMP THOMP
My heart felt like it was trying to get out of my chest. My entire world started spinning.
"Oh yeah. I got it yesterday. It looks a little weird. Like a Minecraft lamp," Alex giggled.
A sense of relief washed over me. "Oh, thank God." My knees buckled, and I flopped on the bed.
"What— What's wrong with you?" Alex was surprised when I suddenly went limp. "You're all clammy. Are you having a heart attack?" She began checking my pulse instantly and took out a medical kit.
"No. Just a bit of a panic attack. I'm fine. Help me shut off the alarm in my watch," I told her as I lay down on the bed weakly.
"What alarm?" She was confused. Suddenly, the roof of the house burst open in a perfect circle. The ceiling and the roof basically disintegrated, and a man in black entered through the ceiling on a rope.
"AHH!" Alex yelled in fear. "What's going on!?" she shouted.
"Woo-Jin. False alarm," I stopped the man instantly.
"Sir." Woo-Jin approached me. "Are you sure? Your vital spike is off the chart."
"Nothing. I was just really, really spooked by the lamp."
Alex was baffled. "Really? A lamp? Why?" Her mind couldn't comprehend it.
Woo-Jin shot the lamp, which made Alex yelp again. Then he left after picking up the pieces.
"Hey! My roof!" Alex shouted to him. "FIX MY ROOF!" She stood under the hole, cursing the helicopter that flew away.
…
Alex tended to me on her bed, putting a cold towel on my forehead and bringing me some water.
"What caused a reaction like that?" she asked. "Enlighten me."
I sipped on the cold water with a straw and said, "Well, Alex, it's just a crippling fear of 'this was all a dream.' It's a fairly common fear in human beings."
She grimaced angrily and snatched the water from me. "Fine. Don't tell me."
"I'm being honest," I said, pulling her by her wrist. As she turned and looked at me, I said, "I guess we have a lot of good times together. I'm really afraid that I'm just dreaming about this."
She pushed her glasses upward and asked with disbelief, "Your fear of us not being together was enough to give you a panic attack?"
"Apparently."
She blushed slightly, a small smile escaping her lips. She cleared her throat and said angrily, "I don't believe you. This is just a line… You're trying to get the dominant position in our relationship. So, I'm going to ignore you."
"If I have a panic attack over the worry of leaving you, doesn't that mean you're already holding the dominant position?" I asked calmly.
Alex blinked twice, and finally the realization hit her. "Oh my God. I control your ass. I have a trillionaire in my grasp."
"I'm not a trillionaire, though," I said with a cheeky grin.
She sneered and said, "Sure. You're capping yourself at 999 billion, right? You bitch."
I threw my hands up, wondering what I did to deserve that.
In the past four years, the moon base was finally completed, and my company began mining deuterium. The entire world has changed from using fossil fuel to clean nuclear energy.
We even had flying cars now. Although the price was too steep, so not a lot of people could afford them.
Speaking of flying cars, one just landed in the driveway. Phil had just come home from work, and he swung by the bedroom.
"What's going on?" he asked, his eyes shifting slightly until he saw the giant hole in the roof. "Did a meteorite strike our house?"
"I'll call the construction bot now to fix it," I said apologetically.
"Alright." He smiled and asked, "What are you doing on Alex's bed?"
"We're dating now," I replied.
"Sure you jest." He laughed, not believing me in the slightest. Then he walked away.
Alex turned to me and said, "It seems like you have a challenge in front of you too."
"Yeah…" I agreed with her. "It'll be hard to get your parents' blessing."
"The only other alternative is that we date in secret for now," she suggested.
"Should we?" I asked.
"I guess we should." Alex shrugged slightly. "That way, we can know where we stand before we tell people about it."
"Hmmm…" I thought about it and said, "Alright. It's a secret relationship, then."
…
California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, the place where the Los Angeles NFL team, the Rams, trains for their regular season.
Jacob ran on the treadmill shirtless, with an oxygen mask hooked up to his face and monitors placed on his muscles to check his stress level.
"So, you're really getting married?" I asked with slight shock. "I guess it made sense since you have been engaged for two years."
Jacob gave Elsa a ring two years ago, and they got engaged before he even got picked for the NFL team.
That happened this year, since the rule said only third-year college students could be drafted for the NFL.
Before that, Jacob was obliterating college football as a hybrid linebacker and running back.
He got first pick in the NFL, entering the league with the highest rookie contract in NFL history — a six-year, roughly $80 million deal, with a total of $50 million guaranteed.
He hadn't played any games yet, but people were really looking forward to seeing him on the field.
Jacob paused the treadmill and opened his gas mask. He grinned childishly and said, "I finally got her to say yes to setting a date. She always steers the topic away when I broach it."
"It's because she thinks you guys are too young," I said calmly. "But now, she's already made detective, so it doesn't matter to her anymore."
"That's right."
Elsa sashayed into the room, wearing tight jeans, a vest, and carrying guns on her belt. She kissed Jacob and glared at me. "Why are you here, Newgate?"
"I don't know. Your fiancée called me," I shrugged.
Jacob said to Elsa, "I called him here because I wanted to pop the question."
"What question?" I was confused.
Jacob turned to me. "Edward Newgate, will you be my best man?"
I paused for a bit and then turned to Elsa, asking, "Is he being serious?"
"He truly is," Elsa sighed slightly.
Jacob was astonished. "What— You don't want to?"
"Dude. You already asked me to be your best man, like, just five minutes after you got engaged… TWO years ago!"
"Oh." Jacob exclaimed flatly and laughed.
Elsa jeered at him and said, "We need to check your head. Maybe you're brain-damaged from all of the collisions."
"I'll set up the doctor's appointment." I took out my phone and told Oracle to do it.
Jacob was frazzled. "Wait! I do remember! I'm just refreshing… your memory about it! I don't want to bring it up again, and you don't remember about it, and then I'll just be so ashamed of myself."
Elsa narrowed her eyes at Jacob. "Alright. I'll trust you… for now."
"Me too." I replied and put my phone back into my pocket. I smiled suddenly and said, "Of course I'm going to be your best man! YOU'RE GOING TO GET MARRIED!"
"WOOOOO!" Jacob exclaimed excitedly.
"So what's the wedding going to be like?" I asked after Jacob spun me around for a few minutes. "Should we get Pepper to plan the wedding? After he retired, he got pretty deep into wedding planning."
Elsa shook her head and said, "We're keeping it small—"
"We're having a big wedding," Jacob interjected.
"What?" Elsa was taken aback. Jacob held her shoulders and said, "Babe. I'm going to marry you, the girl of my dreams. I'm going to want to rub everyone's face in it. So we're having a big wedding."
"I don't know whether to consider that romantic or bleurgh," I teased, shuddering in disgust playfully.
Elsa laughed and said, "Alright, Green. Since you have a lot of money anyway, we're going to have a big wedding… 200… 150 people, max. That's it."
"I want to do two thousand—"
"Just 150!" Elsa said adamantly.
"Fine!" Jacob pouted. "I love you."
"I love you too."
Both of them leaned in to kiss each other.
"Ah, my heart is brimmed up in joy seeing you two kids finally tie the knot." I held my chest slightly.
Elsa rolled her eyes, but her smile grew. She said suddenly, "You're not going solo again. I don't want another instance of Max's wedding going on."
"You mean, the one where all the bridesmaids were trying to sleep with me?" I said with a laugh. "That's four years ago. Move on already. Besides, two of the bridesmaids are your best friends."
"That's why you're not coming solo again. Jenna and Enid are definitely going to be my bridesmaids, so you better find a date for the wedding," Elsa said firmly.
Jacob added, "I just want you to be happy, Eddy. Stop whoring around and settle down already. We can turn this into a double wedding—"
Elsa elbowed him immediately. "Okay, we're not going to do a double wedding."
He said with a choked breath, "But we can do a double honeymoon. Our kids are going to be born together, and they are going to grow up to be best friends!"
Elsa rolled her eyes as she realized she couldn't do anything about Jacob's ambitions. She turned to me and said, "What are you waiting for? Go find a skank that will carry your child. That shouldn't be too hard."
"You too?" I was shocked.
"Yeah, I want what my husband wants. Try Jenna. She has been talking consistently about having babies," Elsa said with a scowl as she thought back about her interaction with her bestie.
"Ugh, I can't stand to hear another sentence coming out of her, talking about how babies' cheeks look so squishy. I almost arrested her and put her in jail."
I smiled slightly. "And then, you'll, like, act out some prison fantasy where you're the overbearing prison guard and she's the poor prisoner who has to obey your every order?"
Elsa glared angrily at me. Suddenly, Jacob asked, "Are you going to do that, babe?"
"What— NO!"
"That can be like a wedding gift to Jacob," I added.
"Both of you are sick. Stop talking, or there'll be no wedding!" Elsa pointed her index fingers at both of us. "I'm leaving."
"Babe. It doesn't have to be Jenna. I can be the prisoner," Jacob whined. "Just make sure to be gentle with me! Ow— That's not gentle!"
Elsa kicked him in the shin as he was talking.
I wasn't lying when I said watching them filled my heart. Seeing those two picking each other from the very beginning, and sticking to each other for years, despite many challenges, was inspiring.
A lot of girls threw themselves at Jacob on account of the fact that he was going to be a big football star. Many of whom were California tens, but he rejected them mercilessly.
Elsa had a lot of challenges too at the police academy, but she also rejected all of the advances and stayed loyal to Jacob.
They had a rough spot while Jacob was in college and Elsa was in the police academy, but I made sure to help them see each other on the weekends. That was why I was the best man.
And it was also why Finneas was so pissed off when I told him.
"I can be the best man!" Finneas whined.