Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Album Recording.

    [3rd Person POV]

    Whitebeard crew office. 9 am.

    As Ted had come to work today, he sighed at the packed schedule he had for the ship.

    ''I want to go and see Edward''s recording session..'' Ted sighed in his heart.

    "Hello, are you the ship''s captain?" Suddenly, a tall, african/Samoan-American man with buff muscular stature walked up to Ted.

    "Wait. Are you the little Johnson?" Ted asked curiously while looking at the bald man. "Yes I am." Johnson smiled and both men shook their hands forcefully with one another.

    He could see some tattoos on the man''s left chest, and even though the man was smiling kindly, Ted couldn''t help but to be a little bit intimidated by the man – not because of his muscle, but Ted''s training in the Navy had warned him that the man in front of him was one of similar training as him.

    "Military?" Johnson asked.

    "Navy."

    "Oh, where did you serve?"

    "On the East coast. You know, when my son looked at your picture, he spat his drink and lost his composure for the first time ever." Ted suddenly said as his instinct was telling him the man could be trusted.

    "Oh. Really? How old is he?" Johnson asked. Suddenly, a blonde woman who came to the pier with her husband and her 10 year olds sons interjected into the conversation.

    "He''s 14." Claire said from afar.

    "Oh hey Claire." Ted turned to the sound of the voice, finally releasing his handshake with Johnson. "Why are you here?"

    "I came here to look around." Claire said.

    "And also check up on the potential captain." Phil muttered underneath his breath. Claire turned to him and asked while still maintaining the facade of a coincidental encounter to Ted. "You want to stay in the car?"

    "No Ma''am." Phil replied seriously.

    Luke turned to Johnson and said, "Edward''s the Grand Captain by the way."

    "Edward?" Johnson was confused by the sudden intrusion. He thought that the boy had mistaken something, but then Claire, Phil, and Ted nodded at the same time.

    "Ted''s son." Claire explained to Johnson, causing him to finally nod in understanding.

    "That''s true. Also, he broke composure. Why?" Phil asked curiously. It was rare to see Edward being panicked or losing his composure, so the Dunphy''s were intrigued by the conversation.

    "This might sound racist, but he yelled, "Black Adam?" by the time he saw your resume." Ted explained. While Claire was feeling iffy, Luke suddenly turned to Johnson and studied him while looking at him up and down. "Yeah. He''s Black Adam." Luke suddenly said.

    "Luke!" Claire called out in a horrified tone, wondering if racism could be infected on others.

    "You mean, the comic book hero?" Phil asked Luke, causing Claire to realize that she had been overreacting.

    "Ah. He''d called me that? That is really nice of him." Johnson said, flattered as he was compared to a superhero by a boy.

    A bit unsatisfied by his son calling others a hero, Ted asked, "So Johnson-"

    "Please. Sir. Just call me Dwayne." Dwayne Johnson said. (A/N: Kevin Hart is Phil''s neighbor in this universe, so I guess The Rock could be an ordinary ship captain right?)

    "So Dwayne, tell me more about yourself. Are you familiar with the sea routes around here?"

    "Yes sir. I am familiar with all of this."

    "When can you start?" Ted asked.

    "To be honest with you, I can start today." Dwayne replied confidently. Ted paused for a moment as he started to think.

    "Well. You really know about the sea routes around here?" Ted asked again for confirmation.

    Dwayne chuckled as he understood Ted''s suspicion – or what he thought was suspicion. "I got a Navy Distinguished Achievement Medal for my 5th year of working sir. I would not lie."

    "But you got dishonorably discharged." Ted said. Dwayne opened his mouth, but he couldn''t refute it.

    Ted suddenly called the woman beside him while Dwayne was looking dejected, "Hey Claire. Do we still have the spare captain''s uniform in storage?"

    Although taken aback, Claire replied, "Yeah. We do."

    "I see. Johns- I mean Dwayne. The clothes will be a bit tight, but can you start today?" Ted asked, shocking Claire and Dwayne both while Phil and Luke just smiled in support.

    "Ted. I mean... Captain. He didn''t have the training...nor did he know the crew yet!" Claire said hurriedly.

    "He will get to know them when he works with them. It''ll be fine." Ted said.

    Dwayne was shocked as even though his resume was filled with flying colors, the dishonorably discharged label had cost him to fail more than 100 interviews before this – if he had managed to convince them to give him an interview in the first place.

    "S-Sir. Are you serious?" Dwayne asked in disbelief.

    "Yes Captain, are you serious?!" Claire asked anxiously. Phil brought Luke away from his wife and they stood overlooking the ocean together. "The sea is nice, right Luke?" Phil asked.

    "Yes dad. I wonder if a seagull ever gets tired of flying in the sea. You know, when there is no land nearby." Luke asked. Then, Phil and Luke started a conversation together that included submarines, sea monsters, mermaids, and even pirate treasures.

    "Yes. I am serious. After all, the ''Grand'' captain was the one who asked him to come here. Ed also wants me to hear your story first before deciding, but I know that you''re not the type to get dishonorably discharged, so I''ll put my trust in you."

    "How could you POSSIBLY KNOW...I mean...How could you possibly know that sir- I mean Captain?" Claire tried to be polite, but she just couldn''t comprehend the thought process of the father and son.

    "My story sir? You''re the first one to ever ask me that." Dwayne said, visibly touched by Ted''s kindness and trust in him.

    "If you''re uncomfortable with it, you don''t have to tell me." Ted said comfortingly while Claire was taken aback at the side.

    "No. I think...I can tell you..." Dwayne said. After taking a deep breath, he finally shared his secret, "When I was serving...I...had a relationship with my superior officer. We dated for 2 years without anyone knowing."

    "That seems hardly a dishonorably discharged type offense." Claire interjected.

    "Yeah.. but once the others finds out, my partner blamed me and said that I had sexually assaulted him-"

    "I''m sorry. Him?" Claire asked again ''cause she couldn''t believe her ears.

    "Yes. Him." Dwayne answered honestly.

    Ted placed his hand on Dwayne''s shoulder and said, "I''m sorry that the Navy''s bigotry had destroyed your life like this. You can start today right? If you can, I want to go to my son''s recording session and watch him sing."

    "Really? Sir. You''re not joking right?" Dwayne asked again.

    "By the way, Eddy. Harvey here is going to be the official lawyer for the company. You can even spit toward the crowd or get caught possessing an illegal substance – not that I''m cordoning you to do those things, but Harvey here could get you out of almost anything."

    "I...kinda know about it. She looks...very dependable." I said.

    "Are you flirting with me Mr. Newgate?" Harvey teased. "If you were. It''s working." She said, licking her lower lips seductively.

    Mitchell rolled his eyes at his friend from his college days and said, "Back off cougar, or I''ll spray you with a hose." Harvey shrugged while I chuckled. My eyes widened as I continued reading the contract.

    "22% royalties? You know that even Taylor Swift has 20% right?" I asked in astonishment after I read about Pepper''s generosity.

    Before Harvey could say anything, Pepper spoke up, "I''m doing all of this...just for you." He said, pointing at the entire studio. "In fact, you will hold 20% of the shares inside the company before you''re 18, and 40% after."

    "Pepper!" I widened my eyes in shock.

    "What? This is a fair deal on my behalf. It''s not like I need the money. I already have enough on my own." Pepper said gleefully. "This is the time you say thank you instead of fighting me on this."

    "I..." Losing my words, I take a moment to think about the matter then turn to Pepper with a determined look on my face. "I will make sure that you won''t regret this. In fact, I will make you the most influential man in the entire music industry by the time I''m done with this."

    "That''s such a big...BIG word. Can you really do it?" Pepper instigated with a smile on his face. I smirked and I said, "Yeah. I can."

    The entire group of lawyers there was taken aback by my confidence. Although most of them thought that it was just a kid''s daydream, people such as Mitchell, Harvey, and Pepper couldn''t help but see a vision of the future as I announced my promise.

    Pepper smiled and put his hand on my shoulder. "I don''t need much. You should do whatever you want to do. Just don''t lose sight of yourself when you''re famous and lose what makes Edward."

    "I understand." I replied.

    We signed the contract and now, I have officially become the sole artist of the entire company. Not first...but sole. The entire company was created just for me, and it would only belong to me – that was what Pepper promised.

    ...

    "Am I late?" Ted arrived at the studio at 2.30 pm because the car tyre popped on route.

    "No. He''s just starting." Abby said excitedly as she pointed at me behind the glass wall. Wearing headphones on my head, I held a ukulele and took a deep breath.

    "Why are you still here?" Mitchell asked Harvey. All the other lawyers had already returned to their firm to finalize the contact, but Harvey kept lingering around.

    "Why can''t I be here? I''m a lawyer here. You''re the one whose presence is weird. He had already signed. We don''t need you here anymore." Harvey admonished.

    Mitchell opened his mouth to refute, but I started to strum the ukulele string, attracting the attention of all the people there. A song that would become the trigger for Haley''s change.

    [Toxic- Boy with Uke]

    Edward: ??All my friends are toxic, all ambitionless...So rude and always negative...I need new friends, but it''s not that quick and easy...Oh, I''m drowning, let me breathe...??

    "What?" Haley widened her eyes as the song''s meaning caught her off guard. It was as if the beginning was aimed directly for people like her.

    Edward:?? I''m better off all by myself...Though I''m feeling kinda empty without somebody else...Oh, I hear you crying out for help...But you never showed for me when I was ringing your cell phone... Oh, you don''t know how it feels to be alone...Baby, oh, I''ll make you know, I''ll make you know, oh...??

    Pepper took a deep breath and said to Mitchell. "You want to know why I''m not letting him be left alone now?"

    "I do. He''s mimicking toxic people. In the end, he will become like them. I mean..In the lyrics. I still don''t know if Edward is writing this based on him or anyone else." Mitchell said.

    Edward: ?? I''m drowning, let me breathe...I''m drowning, let me breathe...I''m drowning, let me breathe...I''m drowning, let me breathe...??

    Ted needed to sit down as he heard the song as he knew perfectly who I was referring to in the song.

    "He is...begging." Abby said, her eyes started to be glassy. "Damn it. I heard this song before, why am I still emotional now." She muttered to herself.

    Edward: ??But life is immaculate, backing it up a bit.Counting my hours and knocking on wood. ??

    "A little bit of luck huh." Ted muttered.

    Edward: ??Avoiding my opposites, chewin'' on chocolate. Had a bit limited time, but I should, Be good for a minute, don''t want to admit it, I''m running on seconds, I''m rigid, I''m screwed, Don''t know what to do, I''m thinking of you, I''m drinking up bottles and bottles of booze...??

    "Thank god mom isn''t here." Haley muttered as she heard the last bit. Ted turned to look at Haley weirdly, wondering why Edward should fear her mom rather than his own dad. "I need to lock up my liquor cabinet better." Ted muttered to himself.

    I continue singing despite the myriad of reactions the song received. Instead of me using my future knowledge to create a song, Toxic was one of the original songs the previous me had created before my other world knowledge became active. It contained all of the parts of my life that I wanted someone else to hear about.

    ?? I''m better off all by myself...Though I''m feeling kinda empty without somebody else...Oh, I hear you crying out for help...But you never showed for me when I was ringing your cell phone...Oh, you don''t know how it feels to be alone...Baby, oh, I''ll make you know, I''ll make you know, oh??

    ?? I fell into your river...That''s where you told me lies...you said that I''d feel better...But this is where good guys die...You took my pride away, but...You cannot take my life...I''ll find another way...I''ll wonder if you''re takin'' my life ??

    "Hmm..." Ted rubbed his forehead, wondering if he needed to do something about my mental state.

    ??Don''t you see how I...I''m better off all by myself...Though I''m feeling kinda empty without somebody else...Oh, I hear you crying out for help...But you never showed for me when I was ringing your cell phone...Oh, you don''t know how it feels to be alone...Baby, oh, I''ll make you know, I''ll make you know, oh??

    ??I''m better off all by myself

    Though I''m feeling kinda empty without somebody else

    Oh, I hear you crying out for help

    But you never showed for me when I was ringing your cell phone

    Oh, you don''t know how it feels to be alone

    Baby, oh, I''ll make you know, I''ll make you know, oh??

    Finishing the song, I took a step back from the microphone. When the music engineer gave me a thumbs up, I finally said, "How is it?"

    Pressing the button on the control panel to speak to me, Pepper said, "It''s...so great that I am at a loss for words!"

    Finally I saw my dad through the glass. I waved at him and asked, "Did you already hire a new captain?"

    Ted walked to the control panel, pressed the button as Pepper did and said, "Yes. I did. I can''t miss your album recording, can''t I?"

    "So you''d save 15 bucks to listen to it live." I teased.

    ...

    [3rd person POV]

    Outside the studio, a Mercedes-Benz Viano pulled up into the parking lot and a blonde, curly haired young woman exited the car.

    "So. He is recording now right?" Taylor S. – a popular pop artist asked her entourage that consisted of her co-songwriters and concert planner.

    "Yes. We already got permission from the entertainment CEO to sit in to watch." The concert planner replied.

    "Good. Let''s see what he''s made of." Taylor said and walked to the front door with her people.