A/N: Here's chapter three! I hope you enjoy, and thank you so much for the great response I've been getting. I'm leaving town tomorrow for vacation and have every intention of writing chapter four while I'm there, so look for an update around the 13th, yeah? Please review!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Instant Star. Or the song You and I Misbehaving, which is by Tilly and the Wall.
Chapter 3
Jude started Tommy's Viper, loving the dull roar and vibrations beneath her fingers as they gripped the steering wheel. She moved her hands to the stick shift and grinned. "Any specific reason I'm driving, Quincy?"
Tommy chuckled. "I thought you'd enjoy it." He put on his seatbelt and exhaled deeply. "Just don't kill me, okay? You need a producer on your third album."
Jude shrugged casually, a sparkle in her eyes. "I guess. But I've been thinking about taking up the gig myself for a while…"
Tommy scowled. "Please?"
"Fine," Jude beamed. "You gonna tell me where to go, or are we going to sit outside my house all night? Because as much as I love my childhood home, I really don't think this street is date material."
Tommy rolled his eyes at her sarcasm. "Just go straight, Harrison. Once you're out of the neighborhood, turn left at the light."
Jude began to drive, no major errors made yet, and Tommy flipped on the radio. The DJ spoke in smooth tones, "And at number one for this week's top 100…Jude Harrison with White Lines!" The opening piano started the play.
Jude screamed, "OH MY GOD HOLY-"
"JUDE!" Tommy shouted, "CLUTCH!"
The car lurched as Jude did as he instructed. "Right. Sorry." She couldn't keep the infectious grin off her face as she watched Tommy's lips turn upward.
They reached a stop sign. "Turn right," Tommy instructed, breath still a bit shaky from Jude's driving skills. He continued with contained enthusiasm, "And congratulations, girl."
"Thanks," she replied with an easy smile. "Am I turning up here?"
Tommy nodded. "Left."
Jude's eyebrows shot up. "You're not taking me to the rehearsal space, are you, Quincy? Because as much as I love that place, I really don't see it as all that romantic…"
"Just keep driving, Harrison."
Jude sighed incredulously.
Tommy proceeded to give Jude directions to their destination, still heading the way of the rehearsal space. Each time she would ask if that's where they were going, he would irritatingly shrug his shoulders noncommittally.
Finally, they arrived at the same building as the rehearsal space.
"Tommy," Jude began as she parked the car. "We're here. There's no denying it now. What the hell could you have planned here?"
Tommy smiled secretively. "Trust me," he added, "You'll learn to like it." He continued, "Wait here; I'll only be a minute." He grabbed a hefty plastic bag from the trunk and left.
Jude sighed, but nodded. He was gone for nearly five minutes, leaving Jude time to contemplate his plans for their date. He returned, a soft smile playing on his features.
Jude exited the car, as Tommy arrived. He extended his hand to her.
"You ready?" he asked.
Jude took his hand and spoke, "Always."
They headed inside, and Jude couldn't stop thinking about what Tommy could possibly have planned at the rehearsal space, of all locations. She was, of course, surprised when Tommy's led her past the doors of the rehearsal space, and towards the stairs instead.
It clicked in Jude's mind. "The Chrome Cat?" she asked with anticipation.
Tommy smirked but said nothing, confirming Jude's beliefs.
Jude couldn't keep the nostalgic smile off her face. It was where the two had spent Jude's seventeenth birthday, all that time ago. It brought back some wonderful memories. The night had started off rocky, Jude screaming at him for being a liar, but eventually the truth came out, and Jude fell for him even harder. She could still feel the disappointment that had flooded through her body when Spied and Jamie had interrupted them. They were about to kiss, Jude had known, and despite the fact that Spied was her boyfriend at the time, she had rarely been so disappointed at the interruption. Maybe they could make up for it tonight.
They arrived at the doors of the Chrome Cat, and Tommy ushered her inside, closing the door behind them.
"Um, Tommy…"
"I fixed the door earlier today," Tommy answered her unasked question.
Jude took a moment to look around and gasped with delight. Candles were lit everywhere, similar to the last time they were there. It brought a very romantic atmosphere to the room, and Jude beamed with pleasure. On the piano sat a now-unwrapped Junior Bacon Cheeseburger, and what Jude could only assume was Tourtiere – the meals they had imagined the last time they were there. Two bottles of water sat next to the meals, and Jude let out a loud, excited laugh.
Jude gave Tommy a quick hug and dragged him over to the piano. They both sat on the bench together. They began to eat, and Jude had to do her best not to completely wolf down her still-hot burger for the sake of being proper, but that thought process lasted only the first few bites. By the end of her meal, she was practically licking her fingers. Not to mention eyeing Tommy's food, which looked like a meat pie of some sort.
Tommy chortled. "You want a taste?"
Jude smiled sheepishly, and Tommy held his fork out to her. It tasted good, surprisingly. She licked her lips and took a sip of her water. Once they were both done with their meals, Tommy reached into a bag behind him.
"And for dessert…" Tommy dropped a small package of Pop Tarts on the piano, followed by a package of red licorice.
Jude smiled with glee and eyed her dessert, "Are they Strawberry Frosted?"
Tommy replied, "Of course they're Strawberry Frosted."
After finishing their desserts, Tommy sharing the occasional piece of licorice with Jude, he cleared away the remnants of their meals.
There was a comfortable silence, and Jude's fingers grazed the smooth surface of the keys of the piano.
"You want to work?" Tommy asked disbelievingly. "We're on our first date, and you want to work?"
Jude shrugged. "I just feel like playing. I've had this tune stuck in my head for weeks but no idea where I'm going with it."
Tommy nodded, waiting to hear it. Jude began to play. They were just the opening bars, but it was powerful. It sounded like a song of…rebellion, maybe? It was intense, but not dark. It was fairly upbeat, but hardly happy. He liked it.
"It's good," Tommy stated simply. "It's really good. There's something about it. It needs to be…"
"Epic?" Jude supplied.
"Yes," he replied. "Not in the literal sense of the word. But yeah. Epic."
Jude nodded, her thoughts confirmed. "It should open with just the piano, but it definitely needs some guitar and drums in there. But the piano should be a constant."
"Definitely," Tommy replied.
They didn't even have lyrics yet, but still it felt like they had just embarked on a very important song. It would be huge, they both knew. It would be…
Them.
Tommy ran his fingers through Jude's hair lightly. He sighed with pleasure at the softness there. "I missed this."
"Me too," Jude replied as she relaxed into Tommy's body.
"So damn much," he continued.
Jude blurted out, unable to help herself, "You're the one that gave it up." She sat up, losing her warming contact with Tommy.
Tommy heaved a sigh. He had hoped that they wouldn't have to get into this on their date, but obviously that was wishful thinking. Very wishful thinking.
"I know I did," he replied softly. He ran a hand across his face in slight frustration. "But I had to go; you know that."
Jude stood up and paced around. She spoke quietly, "I know you did. It's just that…you hurt me, you know?
"And you have no idea how sorry I am for that. It keeps me up at night," Tommy admitted.
Jude's eyes softened. She whispered, "I missed you." Her voice gained confidence, "I need you to know what you did to me by leaving without a word. If we're going to work through this, I need you to know."
Tommy nodded silently, unsure of what was coming.
"The night you left," Jude began in a shaky voice, "I was in a bad state. Remember how Mason left for tour that day? I followed him." Jude bit her lips, obviously nervous to tell Quincy everything that happened while he was gone. "I skipped out on my release party and went to Barry to see Mason. I got trashed. This kept buying me drinks. I shouldn't have accepted them. I shouldn't have done it. I know that. But…anything to forget, you know?"
"Believe me," Tommy replied, "I know."
Jude continued, "I don't know exactly what happened that night, and I don't want to know. But the guy who kept buying me drinks took some…interesting pictures. Don't worry," she added, noting Tommy's concerned expression. "I didn't get naked." Jude let out a breathy laugh.
She kept talking, "I stayed in a bad state for a while. I didn't make a big routine of it or anything, but I got drunk several more times. I knew it was stupid, but I really didn't care." She sighed. "Spied was worried about me. He kept trying to talk to me about everything and get me to stop being such an idiot. I know you've never been a fan of Spiederman, but he really has been a best friend."
Jude ran a hand through her hair and continued her story. "About a month and a half ago, I got an interesting piece of mail. That guy from Mason's show blackmailed me. The pictures were bad. I didn't expose myself, thank god, but they were still bad. I went to Darius immediately. He took care of it. But it was enough to get me to change my behavior. I stopped getting wasted, and I started focusing on my music."
Tommy gave her that look of his, and it almost broke her.
"I hate that I was so weak," Jude whispered. "I hate that I let you leaving effect me so much." She added, "Don't go getting too arrogant, Quincy. Your leaving wasn't the only reason I did what I did. I had a lot of stuff going on. Stuff you don't know about. Did I ever tell you that my mom left?"
Tommy's eyes widened in surprise as Jude elaborated, "She married her divorce lawyer and ran off to Europe all in one day. Oh, and Sadie stole several thousand dollars from me," she added a casual afterthought, "But we're past that."
Tommy finally spoke, knowing Jude was done explaining, "I'm sorry, Jude. I can't say it enough."
Jude fiddled with the hem of her shirt, playing with it between her fingers. "I know," her voice cracked. She looked up at him, her eyes glazed over with tears she didn't want to cry for him. "I missed you. A lot. You hurt me, Tommy." She sighed in defeat. "But I'm glad you're back. At the end of the day, that's all that matters. I told you all this not to make you feel bad, Tommy. I told you this so we can move on. Move past it. Okay?"
Tommy nodded his response silently.
A look passed between Jude and Tommy, full of longing, passion, and barely-contained emotion. He was looking at her in that way again. Jude couldn't keep her eyes off of Tommy's lips. His sort, powerful lips. Silence resonated as Jude brought her hand to his face, brushing the pad of her thumb across his lips, tracing the outline. Such a simple touch, such a simple gesture, sent shocks through her fingertips and all throughout her body.
Jude wasn't sure how it happened, but it was only seconds before Tommy's lips fused with hers, tongues quickly dueling in a fervent, hungry kiss.
That's the end of chapter three! Hope you enjoyed. Please, please, please review. It's like crack for writers, and I kind of sort definately need my fix. Thanks.
-Laura
