Prologue

After the rooftop

Max practically shoved his friend down the stairs, but Jude didn't protest. He was going as fast as his legs would carry him—it just so happened that Max was still faster.

"Go, go, go!" in minutes Jude was through the door, where he pushed his way past the police officers gathered at the foot of the building and flew to the building beside them, where she was just coming out, her face flushed from the speed at which she'd run down and the excitement at seeing her lover again.

Lucy ran into him—and nearly knocked him down—but he didn't mind in the least. His arms held her about the waist and pulled her as close to him as he could manage. She was sobbing and laughing at the same time, into his shoulder, before he lifted her chin up and kissed her gently.

She pulled away from him slowly, and murmured, in a barely audible whisper, "I'm sorry, Jude. I'm…"

"I'm sorry too." He interrupted her.

"We were both wrong."

"That's it." He nodded in agreement and grinned, "Now stop your babble and let's go home."

Above, Sadie and her gang had begun to pack up, and the crowd that had gathered below the building began to disperse after realizing the concert was over. And for the first time in months, Jude was content.

It was a little odd for Jude, seeing the apartment that had changed a good bit of his life. But Sadie's was just as bright, just as obnoxiously colorful, as it had been when he left it.

"Welcome home, Judy," Sadie told him, patting him on the back and heading off into the kitchen.
"Good to be home." He grinned again. He just couldn't stop, it seemed. "This place 'asn't changed much." Lucy came up beside him, and he automatically reached his arm out to pull her close.

"No," she murmured peacefully, "It's still beautiful, huh?"

"And the view is still amazing!" Max shouted out the window. There was an angry hissing noise from the cat, huddled in the corner, and an old woman on the street yelled up angrily at them, five stories away. Max smiled cockily and went back to his best friend and sister.

"So," he yawned typically and ran a hand through his shaggy hair, "When's dinner?"