HALO

So this is my first few shot. It started out as a one-shot, but it eventually got to be too long. It's still not finished, but I'm planning on wrapping it up today. Hopefully. Anyway, some background info: it takes place four months after "Date With the Night". Barrie happened, the pictures happened, and she posted them on her own website for the same reasons as she had in "Lose Yourself." But the plan backfired and her reputation was shot to hell. This is un-beta'd, so my apologies for any mistakes. My beta is extremely busy lately, but she did briefly look over it.

This few shot is set to the song "Halo" from the One Tree Hill soundtrack.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Instant Star or "Halo"

Now on with the few shot! Please give feedback! It really helps me improve with my writing and it's greatly appreciated!

I never promised you a ray of light,
I never promised there'd be sunshine everyday

It's been four months since he left. If she thought really hard about it, she could probably even give the hours and seconds, but who was counting? Certainly not her. After all, she was finished with the likes of Tom Quincy. Who needed him?

Okay, well maybe she did, but she would never admit that. She needed him to be there to call her out on her crap, to tell her that she was being stupid, because she knew that she was, but she was getting away with it, so she didn't stop. Nobody really bothered to set her straight. Sadie had tried, but the harder she tried, the angrier Jude got. Finally, after a nasty fight between the sisters, Sadie had stopped trying, which was like a slap in the face to Jude. Never in a million years did she ever think Sadie would ever give up.

The fact that her own sister abandoned her sent her spiraling even further out of control. The late nights partying increased, as did the random number of hookups. Half the time she didn't even know their last name. She didn't care. There was only one last name that mattered to her and he was nowhere to be found.

As she stared out at the water on the pier, she sighed sadly. It was really beautiful out here and the only place she found any comfort anymore. The peaceful sounds of the water hitting the dock soothed her mind and the scenery was so different than any other place in Toronto. She became entranced at the sight before her, watching intently as the moonlight sparkled on the water, creating a tranquil feeling, quite the opposite to her own.

I gave you everything I have—the good, the bad.

She had been coming here almost every night since he had left, hoping to find some peace, or at least be able to put him behind her. Obviously, he didn't give a damn about her, so why should she care about him? The reason eluded her, frustrated her, and angered her.

She had thought they were finally getting somewhere, and then out of nowhere, he just leaves. Poof. Gone. Possibly forever.

"Thought I'd find you here," a voice interrupted. She shut her eyes, willing him to go away. She was weak right now and knew she wouldn't be able to resist.

Why do you put me on a pedestal,
I'm so up high that I can't see the ground below,
So help me down you've got it wrong, I don't belong there.

"Please leave," she whispered.

"You and I both know that's not what you want, Jude." The sounds of footsteps grew louder, letting her know that he was about to close in on her. The muscles and nerves in her body instantly tensed, not wanting to feel his hands on her right now.

"Josh, I can't deal with this right now." She tried to sound firm, but tonight was worse than others for some reason, which caused her 'firm' protest to come across as weak and unsure.

"You know I have something that could make you feel better." His smooth hands traveled down her arm, sending shivers down her spine. She quickly slapped his hand away and evaded his grasp, trying to put much needed distance between them.

"I'm not in the mood right now," she said harshly. Usually, she was all for screwing Josh, anytime, anyplace. He was a frequent hookup and provided her with a twisted sense of security. She felt wanted when she was around him.

One thing is clear,
I wear a halo

Josh laughed and she couldn't help but noticed how the moonlight accented his gray eyes. He was hot; there was no denying that. His dirty-blonde hair, twinkling gray eyes, and strong build were enough to make any girl swoon, including Jude.

He smiled with amusement and shook his head as he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled something out. "I wasn't talking about sex for once, Jude."

Jude's eyes widened as she looked at the substance he was holding in his hands. "Coke?" she offered inquisitively.

Equal parts impressed and surprised, he nodded. "Indeed it is, Miss Harrison. This stuff is like magic," he promised.

Jude bit her bottom lip, torn. She had tried marijuana once before and didn't really care for it. She hadn't been in control of herself and the feeling had scared her. So she never bothered with drugs anymore after that.

But, maybe just one line wouldn't be so bad. After all, she had come here tonight, wanting to forget everything and everyone and maybe this was the answer to her problems. She swallowed. "How much?"

Josh smirked. "Tell you what. Since I know for a fact that this would be your first line, I'll let you try it for free. What do you say?" He dangled the bag in front of her as though she were a small child, reaching for a rattle. "You know you want it."

"Fine. But I won't do this shit here. I know a better place," she stated.

"After you," he gestured and was getting ready to place the substance back in his pocket when she stopped him.

"I don't want you there."

He frowned, angry. "Why not? I don't want you to get stoned by yourself, Jude. It's not smart." He rolled his eyes at his own statement and tried again. "Not that getting high in the first place is smart, but that would be even dumber."

"Just give me the damn coke and leave me alone, Josh." She smiled seductively and ran her index finger along the base of his throat, eliciting a groan from him. "I promise I'll make it up to you later."

He gritted his teeth, but eventually complied with her wishes, handing her the bag. "Fine."

She smiled in satisfaction, pleased that she could have so much power over somebody like him. "Thanks babe," she replied as she accepted the bag and kissed him on the cheek.

I wear a halo when you look at me
But standing from here, you wouldn't say so

Jude quickly walked to her car, suddenly eager to get away from Josh. Of course she intended to make good on her promise later, but as she told him earlier, she just wasn't in the mood right now. And she needed to get as far away from him as soon possible before he pounced on her.

The sound of the car engine roared to life and after Jude was all settled in and ready to go, she stepped on the gas and left the docks. She smirked as she headed to her new destination. She didn't know why she was headed there; her ass would be fired for sure if she were caught doing coke at G-Major.

But she realized right then that she really didn't care. In reality, it was probably the last place she would get caught doing a line, which was mostly why she was headed there in the first place. G-Major was the last place anybody ever looked for her now, that is if they even bothered to look for her in the first place.

The drive seemed to take forever, even though it only took about ten minutes. The familiar building came into view and she easily found a parking spot, as everybody had gone home for the night. Nobody was ever there that late, unless it was one of the producers or engineers working on an album.

She shut the engine off and quickly found her security card as she made her way to the large door of G-Major. When the light turned green, she swiftly walked inside and started making her way to Studio C, but stopped herself. She slowly turned, looked upstairs and her eyes fell on a door that she had been avoiding for four months.

"It's probably locked," she mumbled. Nobody had used it and she constantly wondered why Darius hadn't assigned somebody else to that office. However, despite her assertation that the door would be locked, she ascended the staircase and headed towards the office that she hadn't been in for a long time.

You wouldn't say so, if you were me
And I, I just wanna love you,
Oh oh I, I just wanna love you

As she reached for the handled and turned the knob, she was surprised to find that it was unlocked. What reason could there possibly be for his office door to be unlocked?

Ignoring the uneasy feeling she started to get, she proceeded into the room and softly shut the door behind her as she flipped the light switch. Her breath caught in her throat and she suddenly felt overwhelmed.

Nothing had changed. All of his things were still there, the big, black leather couch was still present, and it all even still smelled like him. She closed her eyes and inhaled the scent, inwardly chiding herself for doing something so juvenile.

She quickly pulled herself together and made her way over to the couch, pulling her little bag out along the way. Before she sat down though, she looked around for a disc and surprisingly found one on his desk, almost as if it were waiting for her.

Her face blanched when she saw who the artist was. It was her. It was her Learning Curve album. She laughed at the irony of the situation and quickly made her way back over towards the couch, ignoring the fact that she was about to do a line of coke on her own CD.

She got everything prepared, fully ready to do the line when the door flew open. She couldn't help but feel a little pissed off and let down that she had been caught. "What are you doing?"