Spoilers: Up to "Date With the Night". A lot of this is speculation based on the Season 3 commercials as well.

Disclaimer: Instant Star is the property of CTV, The-N, etc. No copyright infringement intended. I suppose, if you wanted to, you could sue me - however, including my schooling debts, I believe my net worth is most likely in the negatives.

Author's Notes: Oh dear god, this story is going to be the death of me. I don't know why I ever decided that writing 18 chapters was a smart idea. But I swear to you, this WILL be the series that I actually finish! I need to apologize now for the fact that the timeline gets a bit funky later on. Hopefully, it won't be too hard to follow along. I really hope you all enjoy, I've put a lot of effort into this one.

I know how this all must look
Like a picturette from a storybook
Got it easy
I've got it made

The first week at G Major is the worst; by Friday, Jude is barely functioning. She runs on a combination of caffeine and sugar, her tongue tripping over her words and her brain stuffed full of song lyrics and guitar chords, leaving little room for anything else. She's frazzled, exhausted, and feels like her head might explode at any moment.

Tommy isn't making things any better; he's obnoxious, arrogant, and in her face, but the worst part is that he's just as stubborn as she is. Jude is used to getting what she wants, and making sacrifices to Little Tommy Q might as well be a fate worse than death.

By the time the end of the first month rolls around, they've settled into a comfortable rhythm of give-and-take. There are, of course, the volatile unspoken feelings lingering and rumbling from deep within, but when they rise to the surface, they translate smoothly into heartfelt, explosive lyrics. It's giddy and thrilling and to say that Jude is happy seems like such an understatement.

It takes five months to record her first album. Jude is motivated and dedicated and so full of energy that sometimes Tommy can barely keep up with her. When they're not recording, she's dragging him somewhere new to write. Her parents initially express concern with how much time they spend together, but after seeing them in action a few times, leaning shoulder-to-shoulder on the living room couch and bouncing ideas off of one another, Stuart and Victoria seem to accept the fact that they do their best work together. Before the album is finished, Tommy has an open invitation to the Harrison household, and though he will never voice the sentiment out loud, he feels honored and slightly humbled by the gesture.

Jude tours for six weeks and Tommy misses her even more each of the 42 days. In the wake of their blowout, she doesn't write or call, but he gets plenty of details from appointed chaperone EJ. While there's no doubt that she's having fun, the venues aren't selling out and CD sales are peaking. When Darius comes in and buys out G Major from underneath an incensed Georgia, Tommy's sure that the end is in sight.

It's 9 and a half months before the sophomore album is released - 9 and a half months of fallouts and setbacks and angry lectures from Darius and Liam. Every time Jude screws up, Tommy forces himself to stay quiet and let her learn from her own mistakes, but it tears him up inside because each one seems like a personal failure on his part. It's hard to believe that the woman at his side when they come through it all - the soft, graceful blonde with her head in the clouds and mischief in her eyes - is the same pale, gangly little girl that wandered into the studio the day after the contest.

When the finished album is sitting between them, it feels like a lifetime's worth of effort. They stare at it in disbelief, hardly comprehending that all of the work and the fights and the disappointments were somehow worth it in the end.

"White Lines" is the first single to be released, to mediocre reviews. For two weeks, it hovers somewhere above the 75 mark on the charts, but then something happens. None of them are quite sure what, but the song starts climbing. Album sales skyrocket, calls start pouring in for interviews, photo shoots, and endorsement deals. The world is finally ready to take Jude Harrison seriously. When "My Sweet Time" debuts, it starts at number 13 and jumps to number 3 in less than a week.

"You did it girl, you're on your way up!" Tommy shouts, cranking his car stereo even louder.

"We did it," Jude corrects him. She hurtles herself forward and throws her arms around his neck and they hold onto each other despite the awkward bundles of thick winter coats and the gearshift poking into her hipbone. When she releases him, she collapses back into the passenger's seat, face still lit up with a grin.

Tommy reaches over and brushes a strand of hair off of her cheek. Jude turns, and they lock eyes. It's a moment of perfect clarity - now, more than ever before, they're a team. None of this would have been possible had they not gone through it together.

Tommy slips his fingers in-between Jude's as he pulls away from the curb, and despite the chilly air, he's quite comfortably warm.

It comes as no surprise, then, when everything falls apart.