Yay, first chapter. Luckily, I've been writing during my fourth period, so I'm able to upload it. Don't expect a second chapter for a while, until my laptop is fixed cause it's highly corrupted at the moment. Sorry. And I'm hoping to hve Third Time's the Charm up and finished by the weekend, so look out for that.
Jamie stood at the reception desk, waiting for Sadie, when a gorgeous brunette walked into G-Major on a Friday afternoon. "Can I help you?" he asked her.
The girl ignored him and walked into the lobby, looking around, a slight smirk plastered on her face. She wore purposely ripped jeans, a lemon yellow tunic, and her hair was long and wavy.
"Who is she?" Wally asked, joining Jamie to hand in some files from Georgia, who'd recently re-acquired the label. "She looks familiar."
"Very," Jamie agreed, walking towards her. "Hi, I'm Jamie. Are you looking for something?"
She turned to face him. "I'm looking for Spiederman?"
"Really?" Wally scoffed. "Down and depressed Spiederman?"
"Uhh, sure?" she shrugged.
Jamie hurried back over to the reception desk and spoke into the intercom. "Spiederman, you're wanted in the lobby."
A moment later, Spiederman shuffled slowly out of studio B, dragging his feet. "What do you want, Andrews?"
"He doesn't, I do," the girl explained.
Spiederman's face brightened. "Wow. You actually came."
"I wouldn't put in all the work I've already put in and then give up," she told him wisely. "Can we talk?"
"Yeah," he nodded, leading her into an empty office. "This used to be your brothers."
Nic Quincy smiled. "I'm sure it was. There are no windows, the door locks immediately, and it's probably sound-proof. He's such a little recluse."
"He only ever let Jude in," Spiederman added. "Their private, little room."
"Okay," she breathed, settling in at the bare desk. "What did you figure out?"
"Jude's down," he told her. "So are Sadie and Kwest. Kyle's coming and Wally's still clearing it with his parents, because he's late on rent and they pay for everything else, but he'll probably be there, too. What about you?"
"Tommy's a little bit tougher," she admitted. "He's quote 'suffering' unquote still from the divorce, so he'll be last minute. But, don't worry, he'll be there."
Spiederman had stopped listening. Instead, he was staring off into space.
"Sorry," she apologized quietly. "I keep forgetting you're going through a divorce, too."
He shrugged. "Hey, it happens."
"No kidding," she muttered.
"Huh?" he asked.
Nic took a deep breath before changing her mind. "It's nothing, forget it."
"All right," he agreed, knowing not to push a girl into something she didn't want. "Well, as long as he eventually comes around, I think we're good to go, right?"
"Yeah," she confirmed. "Just have everyone on a plane to Savannah on Monday afternoon. Well, my plane, but whatever. You'll land at the airport there and be ushered into a rented black Range Rover and a Jeep Wrangler."
"Sweet," he smiled, leading her back into the lobby. "Oh, God."
Nic looked up to see that Spiederman's estranged wife, Karma, was stomping her foot as she spoke with Georgia and EJ. "Ahh, the ex."
"The ex," he nodded. "And I don't think I can avoid her."
"What do you mean you're not going to renew my contract?" Karma demanded. "I won Instant Star, just like Mason and Jude did!"
EJ nodded. "You're right, you did. But, unlike Jude and Mason, you don't sell. And you're getting us bad publicity with your divorce because you're seen as the bad guy."
"Bad guy?" Karma repeated. "How?"
"Well, we were given a TV show, complete with furnished mansion and whatnot, and you then chose to cheat on me with one of the cameramen in a closet," Spiederman spoke up. "That's maybe why you're getting the bad rep. Maybe, though," he added sarcastically. "Just maybe."
"No one invited you into this conversation, Vin," Karma snapped.
"Don't call him that!" a voice cried from studio A. "Only I can."
Nic spun to see Jude standing under the threshold, her hands on her hips. Her hair was limp and she wore a simple black t-shirt and old jeans. Even though she didn't know her personally, Nic could see that Jude wasn't her usual self because people just didn't look like that on a regular basis.
"Oh, the Princess of Darkness emerges," Karma smirked. "Looking good there, girl."
Suddenly, the tension in the room heightened. Nic heard quiet gasps and murmurs as Jude stepped forward into the lobby. For as bad as she looked, her eyes were on fire.
"Was that bad?" Nic whispered to Spiederman.
"Tommy used to call her 'girl,' and everyone, including Karma, knows that," he explained in a hushed tone. "We're about to see a Jude Harrison meltdown in five, four, three, two, one..."
"Don't you ever call me that ever again!" Jude screamed. "You self-absorbed, lying, cheating, manipulative bitch!"
Instead of reacting, as everyone expected, Karma just laughed. And then, suddenly, she was crying.
"Uhh, what are you doing?" Kyle asked.
"I'm sorry!" Karma sobbed, turning to her estranged husband. "I'm sorry I cheated on you with that guy and I'm sorry I made a big deal of it to the press. I'm sorry I've been causing all these problems for you and that you're depressed. I'm just… sorry." She noticed Nic for the first time and her face became cloudy as she saw how close she stood to Spiederman. "Who are you?"
"A friend," Nic answered vaguely. looking around so it was hard to focus on her face. "Does it matter?"
"I don't like that you're standing so close to my husband," Karma admitted.
Spiederman sneered. "Your husband? Please, Karma, I'm not your husband anymore. I was just the guy who was stupid enough to let you trick me into a marriage a year ago. Now, I'm just the guy waiting for you to sign the papers."
"Then that's it?" Karma muttered, pulling a packet of papers from her Gucci tote bag. "Here."
He accepted the papers and scanned them. "Thanks."
"I can't force you to stay in a marriage you detest," she said quietly. "So, I guess that's that?'
"Yeah," he nodded. "Bye." He turned and headed back into studio B where he'd come from earlier.
"Can I see you in my office?" a familiar voice called to Nic from behind her.
"Uh-oh," she muttered, turning to come face-to-face with Georgia, who was standing between Portia and Kwest. "Hi, guys."
"Office, now!" Georgia barked, pointing to the large oak doors.
Nic hung her head and followed Portia into the office, flinching as Georgia slammed the door.
"Are you stupid?!" she roared. "Do you know how Jude would react if she knew who you were?"
"Calm down," Portia advised. "Your blood pressure was so high at your last visit to the doctor that you're rivaling my brother these days."
Georgia took a deep breath and sat at her desk, folding her hands. "Nic, I understand you're working with Spiederman to get Jude and Tommy to your houses in South Carolina and while I commend you for the effort, you'll only be making things worse."
"Yeah, cause Jude is looking so peachy these days," she muttered. "God, don't you guys think she deserves something? Even if she freaks out that Tommy ends up there, she'll be in Hilton Head! It's like, the greatest place on the planet."
Kwest smirked. "I've been there, Nic; it's not that great."
"It would've been if you hadn't gotten so sunburnt that you spent the weekend cooped up in the house, bathing in aloe," she shot back.
"Nic," Georgia sighed. "Getting off the Jude subject momentarily, let's focus on Spiederman. When he married Karma, he wasn't up for getting divorced or having it annulled, but then she cheated and he had to go against something he's always stood for so strongly. To make a long story short, he's a mess."
"Okay?" Nic said in confusion. "That pertains to me how?"
Portia smiled. "Nic, you are this gorgeous socialite who's kinda waltzing into his life when he's vulnerable right now and that's worrisome."
"I'm not here to take advantage of him," Nic explained. "I'm here to get Jude and Tommy back together so my brother comes back to Toronto and leaves Montreal to me."
"I told you," Kwest smirked. "Spiederman's not really Nic's type, anyways."
"He wasn't Karma's either," Portia pointed out. "And look what happened to them."
"Regardless of why I'm here, it's not like Jude knows who I am and I'm not out in the lobby, dancing around, trying to get her to figure it out," Nic told them. "Tommy's my brother, and I love him, so I just want him to be happy. He hasn't been happy since before he left here three years ago."
Georgia stared at her. "Nic, he was married."
"Yeah, and they're now divorced," Nic nodded. "You know the story."
Kwest shook his head. "All we know is that he's divorced."
Nic started laughing. "Wait, you don't know the reason they're divorced?" They remained quite. "He called her 'Jude.'"
"And she divorced him?" Portia wondered. "It took him ignoring me and a tryst with Angie for me to do it."
"No, no, no," Nic shook her head. "He called her 'Jude'… in the act." She paused. "And her name is Megan."
Kwest couldn't contain his laughter longer than a second before he started cracking up. "Are you serious? He did that?"
"He did," Nic confirmed. "And she went crazy. That could've been because he's talked about Jude a lot over the years and Megan just got fed up, so she left him. It was, by far, the fastest divorce I've ever seen."
"You mean it didn't take eight months like someone else's I know?" Kwest smirked smugly. "Must've been weird to see that, huh?"
"Kwest," Nic sighed, closing her eyes. "Let's leave the past in the past, okay?"
"We'll leave the past wherever you want," Georgia cut in. "People make mistakes when they're young; sometimes they can handle, sometimes they need help."
Nic placed her hand on the door. "Can I go now? I've got arrangements to make before I leave on Sunday." She looked to Kwest. "And if you don't like it so much, why take a month off work to come?"
"And miss out on the biggest reunion in G-Major history?" he scoffed, making his way past her and out the door. "Please. I'll be there," he called over his shoulder.