Setting: The day before Jude's 21st birthday. Kwest and Sadie are talking to Tommy about his gift for Jude.
"I can't believe you actually bought that for her," Sadie stated shocked as she stared at the gift for her sister.
"Yeah man, that must have cost you so much." Kwest looked down at the gift in the box and couldn't help but gape.
"Let's just say that I'm going to fall behind on my rent for this month," Tommy stated truthfully. The gift he held in his hand for Jude cost more than anything he ever spent money on, excluding his precious viper. "But I don't care because she's worth it."
Kwest and Sadie looked up at Tommy as he grinned happily. His grin however, soon faded when a thought crossed his mind. "What if she doesn't like it?"
Sadie looked at him in disbelief. "That's impossible Tom, she's going to love it."
"No, I don't think she will. What if it's not enough? I mean, should I get her something else?"
Kwest shook his head at his friend's nervousness. "She's going to love the gift and you know it. I don't know why you're stressing out over this."
"It's just, her past birthdays have been hell for her and I want this one to be special. I want it to be one that she will remember."
Sadie and Kwest nodded before sharing a look in unison. Sadie noticed the light bulb lighting up in Kwest's mind and she smiled.
"I have an idea." Kwest stated confidently. "You got her the gift she's been wanting for months now, right?" Tommy nodded his head in agreement then let Kwest finish. "Well for the second one, why don't you give her something creative; something you know will hit her more emotionally than the first gift."
Tommy smiled. "Yeah, yeah I like that. But what do I get her?"
"That's the thing; you don't really need to get her anything." Sadie began. "When Jude and I were younger, we used to love the movie 'Selena' and Jude's all time favorite song was-"
"Dreaming of You," Tommy continued for Sadie. He knew that it was Jude's favorite and now Sadie and Kwest's plan was starting to register in his mind.
"Yeah," Sadie stated simply. "It was. It's perfect for you, Tom. It's Jude's favorite song from the movie and it explains exactly how the two of you feel about one another. Maybe this time you guys won't pretend those feelings aren't there like you have the past three birthdays."
Tommy dropped his head in sadness as he remembered Jude's past three birthdays. On her 18th birthday, he professed his love for her. He told her everything he had been dieing to tell her since day one and she just laughed it off, pretending to not care. Jude walked away from him that day leaving him alone in studio b, their studio, with nothing but his thoughts and a broken heart.
Jude's 19th birthday was almost the same as her 18th, minus Tommy professing his love. He gave up that year, he pretended not to care and whenever she came within a five mile radius of him he turned around and went the other way. It wasn't because of Jude; it was because Tommy wasn't sure that he could contain himself when he was around her. He wanted to take her in his arms and kiss away all the pain and sorrow she had. But just like always, Jude pushed her feeling aside and pretended to not be interested when inside she wanted the same things he did. She was just too afraid to admit it.
Her 20th birthday, however, was one for the record books. G Major had given her a big bash just like on her 16th clad with the press, the loud music and the star treatment she used to dream of as a child. As Tommy watched Jude walk down the same set of stairs she did when she was 16, he swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. Every fiber in his body was telling him to go up to her and kiss her like it was his last time but instead, he made her feel like how she made him feel on her 18th and 19th birthdays. Tommy smiled sadly at the woman before him and walked away, leaving the hopes of having his dream girl behind him. To this day he could still feel her eyes burning holes through his back as he left but it was what needed to be done. He couldn't stand there and watch her mingle with every guest besides himself. So, instead of intensifying the heartache he would've felt by staying, he left and walked out the double doors of G Major only to return the Monday after.
The snapping of Sadie's fingers in his face was what brought Tommy back to reality. Unfortunately, his heavy heart from the three years prior had followed him. Putting his head in his hands, he sighed heavily then said, "What am I going to do?"
"Give her this," Sadie said as she handed Tommy a small CD. "It only has one song on it but it's the song that will make her come to you."
Tommy smiled a bit sad and a bit unsure. "How do you know? She could just laugh in my face and walk away from me like she's been doing for the past three years."
"She won't," Kwest began. "She won't because I know how she feels for you. You're not there every night when she cries herself to sleep like Sadie and I are." Kwest and Sadie had been dating for about a year and a half and the two are still on their crusade to get Jude and Tommy together.
Tommy looked up at them with hurtful eyes. "She cries?" He questioned with dark eyes. He hated hearing things like that.
"Yeah," Sadie stated quietly. "She cries all the time. Mostly because she pushed you away and she's afraid that you won't come back. She cries because she knows the situation between the two of you is her fault. She knows that what she feels for you is exactly what you feel for her and it hurts her because she thinks she'll never be able to express them to you."
Kwest and Sadie allowed Tommy a few moments to compose his thoughts before Kwest finished speaking their last task for the day.
"Just give that to her, man. It may not seem like much but it will explain everything to her." Kwest looked at Tommy as he stared at the small CD in his hand.
"What if she doesn't want it? What if she tells me to go away again? I can't handle that you guys. I can't listen to her deny me any more." Tommy tore his gaze away from the CD and looked up at Sadie with hurtful eyes.
Sadie put a reassuring hand on Tommy's shoulder. "She'll take it Tommy; you just have to trust us."
After a moment of silence, Tommy placed the CD in his jacket pocket then stood to leave. "I'm heading home you guys; I have a big day ahead of me tomorrow." Kwest and Sadie stood up along with Tommy and gave him a reassuring hug as he exited the studio.
"I hope this works," Sadie stated.
"I know, babe. Me too, we're running out of options." Kwest wrapped his arm around Sadie's shoulders and gave her a small kiss on the temple before leading her out of the studio…