I'm not affiliated in any way with Instant Star, nor do I own it (I wish...). This takes place during Unsweet Sixteen and continues from there. Read, review, and enjoy!
Jude stood out in the alley, the cold rain pelting her back and plastering tendrils of hair to her cold skin. She didn't care that the rain had soaked straight through her emerald silk dress to chill her skin, nor did she care that Georgia, E.J, her parents, and everyone at the party was probably engaging in a frantic search for her. She didn't even care that it was her party that she had run out on; she needed to get away from Shay, the cameras, the lights, the guests standing around and staring in the lobby of G Major. She had just needed to get away, and the first place she had thought of was the back alley. It was rare that anyone came out here, and Jude definitely needed the privacy tonight.Thunder boomed in the distance as lightning lit up the night sky, but she barely heard it over the blood pounding angrily in her ears. Why tonight? Why, when today had started out so wonderfully, had everything fallen to pieces? Fresh tears spilled over her lashes and mixed with the rain, silently trailing down her pale cheeks.
The back door opened suddenly, and Jude slowly turned to see Tommy slowly making his way down the stairs, concern etched into his features. She didn't even bother to wipe the tears off of her face, figuring that the rain hid them easily enough. The last thing she needed right now was for anyone to feel sorry for her.
"Go ahead. Tell me I told you so," she whispered. The quiver in her voice gave away more about her current emotion than she wanted, but she figured that it was useless to hide what he already knew. Tommy could always see right through her, somehow. She rested her forehead on the railing as exhaustion suddenly took over her, not responding when Tommy placed his suit jacket over her shoulders and only looking up when she heard him begin to speak.
"For what it's worth", Tommy said as he walked up beside her, "Shay's a kid, and an idiot. And he made the wrong choice."
Jude couldn't help but let out a dark laugh at his words. "That's not worth much coming from you," she spat.
Tommy reared back, surprised by her sudden attack. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I'm just so tired of falling for guys that don't fall back. It hurts," she choked out. The tears that had ceased when Tommy approached came back in full force, stinging her eyes with their heat.
"Jude, I…"
"You all say the nicest things! 'You're so great', 'You're so nice', but none of you want to date me!" she said, her volume rising. She turned to him, letting him see the hurt and anger simmering in her hazel eyes. "So you wanna help me, Tommy? Tell me what I do wrong. Tell me why I'm so easy to give up and then maybe I can fix it!" She let her tears flow freely now, uncaring of whether or not he noticed. Even in the darkness she could see Tommy's jaw tighten, and she assumed that he was about to let loose an angry stream of words in retaliation. The air between them was tense and electric, and she wasn't sure if it was anger or something else.
"You are asking…the wrong…guy!" Tommy ground out. Jude had barely enough time to process his words before he grabbed her by the lapels of the jacket around her shoulders and crushed his lips against hers.
Every one of Jude's thoughts disappeared the moment her mouth touched his, except the flashing neon signs screaming "OH MY GOD" in her mind's eye. Soon those thoughts were erased as well, and all she could do was revel in the sudden warmth radiating through her body and the feel of his lips caressing her own. They broke apart suddenly, and she barely had time to suck in a breath before Tommy darted in for another searing kiss. This time she felt his tongue sweep across her bottom lip, and accepted the unspoken request with a newfound eagerness.
The rain continued to fall on the pair, doing nothing to quench the heat that had sprung up between them.
"This whole night has been a waste of frickin' time," Trey muttered to himself around the cigarette tucked between his lips. The entire time he'd been outside flirting with one of the female valets, Shay had dumped Jude Harrison and he had missed his opportunity to catch it on camera like the other paparazzi had. Frustrated and pissed off, he'd headed towards the back of G Major to indulge in a (hopefully) calming smoke. He let his camera rest against his side, reaching into his pocket for his lighter, when something outside the window caught his eye. As he slowly wiped the condensation from the window with his sleeve, he began to make out the forms of two people wrapped in an embrace. As the image began to clear, Trey's eyes widened in surprise at the sight he took in.
The camera's shutter clicked repeatedly as the cigarette fell to the floor, forgotten.
Jude was sobbing full force back in Studio C as Tommy tried to hold his own tears back, forehead resting against hers. "We have to agree that that kiss never happened," he pleaded, his heart breaking with every fresh wave of tears he saw pouring from Jude's eyes.
Jude shook her head vehemently, crying "no!' as rainwater flew from her tangled hair. Her mind tried to come up with a reason why she deserved this, why two of the men that meant the most to her could tear her heart to pieces in one night.
Tommy sighed internally, hating himself for what he was doing to her. What he had to do, to save them both. "Jude, say it." Please Jude, for both our sakes. She fought him then, standing up and trying to push him away. He held on to her coat, not letting her leave until she made that promise.
"Okay," she whispered, eyes downcast and defeat radiating from every inch of her body.
"Jude, say it! I need you to say it," he urged. She looked up at him then, and he was struck speechless by the unadulterated pain reflected back at him; what was normally an ever-changing hue of blue-grey had darkened to almost black.
"Okay. Okay! It never happened," she sobbed. "Okay?" She tore herself away from his grasp, running out the door before he could say another word. Tommy shuffled over to the nearest chair and sat down hard, taking his head in his hands and breathing deeply. This is all for the best, he kept reassuring himself.
