Chapter 5: Crushcrushcrush pt. 1
"I've got a lot to say to you, yeah I've got a lot to say,"
Well it's official. The Temporary Screw Ups are my first official artists of my own to produce. And I couldn't be any bit more excited than I already am.
Jude walked into G Major and saw that the band was already making a home out of the studio. Derek and Brent were adding some snacks of their own to the refrigerator. Kristen and Greg were going through some chords, writing some bass lines. Brent was sitting on the couch playing a gameboy with his iPod turned up.
And Jude couldn't help but notice that Dani and Speed were looking awfully cozy together on the opposite couch. Jude smirked and then tapped on Greg's shoulder.
"Alright, wanna call everyone together so we can get some songs done, today?" Jude asked as she nodded over to studio one.
Greg nodded and together, he and Kristen, whistled. That was their signal to head to the studio. Dani reluctantly got up from her spot and started to walk away, looking behind her to catch one last glance at Speed, who still had his eyes on her.
"I've noticed your eyes are always glued to me. Keepin' them here, it makes no sense at all,"
"So, what are we working on today?" Brent asked still playing his gameboy. Kristen stealthily reached over and turned it off, causing Brent to groan.
"Hey! It's recording time, you can play again once you've laid down your part," Kristen responded.
"Well, about that. Me and Kristen actually have some music, just no lyrics yet," Greg said grabbing his acoustic guitar.
"Alright, let me hear what you guys got and then we can get some lyrics going," Jude said. Kristen grabbed her bass and plugged it into her pocket amp and Greg started the lead guitar part.
The whole band and Jude were listening to what they had down so far, nodding in agreement. Jude then waved her hand under her chin, signaling them to stop and grabbed her own acoustic guitar.
"Try this instead for the transition from the chorus back to the verse," Jude played a different variation and Greg nodded.
"Hey, I like that. It sounds a lot smoother," Greg played it back a few times to get it burned into his brain.
"Awesome, alright, now let's get to the lyrics. Who's our subject?" Jude looked to Dani for an answer. Dani was sort of spaced out, staring out through the glass door.
Spiederman was leaning over the island in hospitality talking with Wally and Kyle. He glanced over and gave her a small sweet smile and then continued his conversation with the boys.
Jude caught what she was doing. "Sounds like our girl is crushing,"
"Ooh, big time too." Derek teased quickly passing by her ear.
"Shuddup! I am not crushing!" Dani remarked sitting down on the back couch and folding her arms across her chest.
"I know that look." Jude said. "Alright, quick break. Greg, why don't you take the guys over to studio three and try to figure out another guitar part and some drum lines,"
Greg nodded and the boys left. "Now as for you two. Well, more like just Dani, but she could use another friend in this." Kristen nodded and pulled up the other rolling chair. "Looks like you're jonesing for some Speedy,"
Kristen laughed and looked at her friend, "Oh Dani, stop being stubborn and just admit it. Ever since that morning when he gave you a lift so you wouldn't be late you two have been attached at the hip."
"Okay okay, so I do have a crush on him. But he wouldn't go for me, he's 19 and I'm barely 17, I won't turn until next month!"
"Ha! Are you kidding me? Just between us three, he's been crushing on you since he first saw you at Robbie's parlor!" Jude exclaimed.
Dani looked at her in disbelief. Spiederman wouldn't do that, to Dani, he seemed way too cool of a guy for that. "No, he's more mature than that."
Jude laughed again and then stifled it once she saw the looks the two girls were giving her. "Okay bad time to laugh. I'll admit that touring for over a year has granted Spiederman some time to mature. But Dani, not that much. He's still a goof ball at heart. And he's a sucker for girls who can totally rock out,"
"Example A: Jude Harrison." Kristen joked.
"Hey! We were in high school then! And it was just a fun kind of thing. Nothing serious." Jude remarked.
"So you really think I've got a chance with him?" Dani asked. "I mean, you would think he'd have girls lined up around-"
"Dani Dani Dani, you have to remember that Spiederman isn't as shallow as he lets on. Once he sees what an awesome girl you are, which I'm sure he already has, he'll forget about all the groupies and just focus on you," Jude explained.
"Okay, fair enough. But since we're on the subject of crushes, c'mon Jude, let it out, what happened between you and Mr. Quincy?" Dani asked.
Kristen suddenly decided to add in. "Yeah, seriously now. You two were cozy for a few days and then you come by the parlor and see Robbie and now you two aren't really talking?"
"And let's not forget that look you had on your face when I interrupted-"
"Okay okay, this stays in studio one," Jude looked between the two of them. "The night of my sophomore release, Tommy was supposed to take me out for dinner. As a date."
Kristen and Dani's eyes widened and their mouths opened and they decided to focus their attention back to Jude.
"Something came up, he had to leave, and he didn't tell me why," Jude said looking down and playing with her hands.
Kristen noticed the discomfort and said. "I'm taking it was a very dramatic exit?"
"Something to that effect," Jude then looked up. "We were both gone for the same amount of time and didn't talk at all through out the break. When we got back, we talked and it seemed things were going to pick up where they left off, and then he started to pull away."
"Jerk off," Dani said.
"Dani!" Kristen backhanded Dani's arm.
"What? It's true, no offense Jude, he's an ass for pulling that card," Jude smirked and then continued.
"He started to insinuate that me and Robbie were more than friends. Which is absolutely ridic-"
"Ahem! It's not ridiculous," Dani added.
Jude glared at Dani, and then sighed. "Okay, I'm not even going to comment on that. What part of 'friends since before I was conceived' don't you understand?"
"I see the glint in his eye that he gets whenever your name is mentioned, and the change in your voice when he becomes the subject of conversation." Dani observed.
"Face it Jude, we got you here. You guys have some repressed emotions going on," Kristen added. Dani and Kristen high fived and then snapped their fingers.
Jude looked at the two and covered her face with her hands. "You guys are insane,"
Dani and Kristen laughed. Kristen then added "Insane and absolutely correct, you mean,"
"Well enough about Dani and me. What about you Kristen? Is there anyone in particular sparking your inspiration?" Jude asked nudging her arm with her elbow.
Kristen looked down with a small grin and started to play with her ring. Jude knocked her head back and laughed while Dani grew impatient.
"She's been crushing on this guy who used to work with her. It's completely and utterly hopeless, he's the worst guy anyone could find, and she needs to get over him," Dani remarked.
"Ouch, harsh much?" Jude added.
"She's partially right," Kristen interrupted. "I mean, he's got the reputation of someone who gets around. But I don't know, we talked a lot when he used to work at the parlor. But he got fired,"
Jude nodded. "For what?"
"Drugs. His drug test came up positive," Dani added. Kristen slapped her arm and glared at her. "What? It's the truth! And honestly, that's all the more reason why you should give up on him,"
"Jude, please tell her that it's not exactly something you can just throw out the window!" Kristen said still glaring at Dani.
Jude held her hands up and waved an imaginary white flag. "Hey, don't put me in the middle of this. You both have your points on this,"
Dani and Kristen both just sighed and folded their arms over their chest. Just then Jude received an idea. "I got it!" the two looked at Jude as if she were crazy. "Don't give me that look quite yet. Why don't we go out Friday night? The whole band, we can go out, hand out some flyers about your show at the parlor, get some publicity, some buzz going. All the while, having a good time,"
Dani held her hands out as if she were tipping the scales. "Question is, where are we going?"
Jude bit back her sneaky smile. "I may not be the party type, but I know a few good spots around here we could get into. Just three rules. No booze. No drugs. And no skank or whore-ish activity of any kind." The two shrugged and looked back at Jude. "We clear?"
Kristen nodded and Dani said "Crystal, chief."
Spiederman was in Studio 2 with Kwest, recording his 3rd track for his solo record. He had his eyes closed as the words continued to pour out of his mouth.
Karma peaked into the studio and motioned to Kwest that she would be right out. As she was grabbing the microphone Tommy had asked her to grab, she eyed Spiederman and agreed to herself. He was definitely her kind of man. She winked at him and smiled. Just as she turned to leave, she made sure she had put a little skip in her step, something just to tie him over until he needed a break.
Spiederman noticed her actions. He may be a goofball, but he could definitely tell that there was something that Karma wanted him to have. He grinned to himself and continued to nail his third take.
The next day at school Dani and Kristen were talking with the guys. Kristen and Dani had just finished up a lab in chemistry, seeing as they were only sophomores along with Brent. Greg was a senior and complaining about his history test.
"Seriously! If I don't pull an A in this class by the end of the month my mom's going to make me stop recording," Greg remarked.
"You do understand that's a bluff? She was at the meeting, we're under contract and can get sued if we don't record." Dani placed a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"Oh, right. But still, she'd probably ground me from everything else,"
"Whatever, I just gotta worry about passing. That's all my parents care about," Derek stretched out his arms, as if standing still for 45 seconds made him spry. The hardest class he had was AP Junior English.
"Oh hey, there's Jennifer…you know what the drill is," Brent said quickly leaving the group as he went and talked with Jennifer.
Greg mouthed 'watch this' to everyone as he grabbed a piece of paper out from his notebook, wadded it into a ball and tossed it far enough to still hit Brent square on the head. Brent looked over confused.
"Don't forget you've got that physical for that tiny problem! Remember? Dr. Davidson said not to do anything that might irritate the infection!" Greg shouted to purposely embarrass him.
Brent made a face saying 'you're so dead when we get home' and then turned back to Jennifer and acted as if nothing happened. Kristen, Derek and Dani were all laughing hysterically.
"You're such a jerk to him, you know?" Kristen said nudging Greg.
"Hey! As the older brother, it's my prerogative to watch his back," Greg shrugged his shoulders as if that wasn't anything out of the ordinary.
"Well hey, we'd better get to AP Music Theory, dude. Last time we were late, Mr. Tinsen threatened to give us detention," Derek said tapping Greg on the arm with his notebook.
"Oh right, see you guys today after school. Which track are we gonna record today?" Greg asked.
"Not sure! Let's see what we can come up with with Jude!" Dani shouted. She looked over at Kristen was grabbing a book out of her locker. "So, what are we planning on wearing when we all go out with Jude tomorrow night?"
Kristen wrinkled her nose and then shrugged. "Not too sure, probably just my favorite jeans, those cute flip flops I've got, and that one halter top. You know, the one that gives me amazing cleavage,"
"Oh! That one! Damn, I was hoping to steal that from you for tomorrow," Dani snapped her fingers. "I'll probably just wear that one blue top, with the pretty sequins,"
"Ooh, good choice." Kristen said still rummaging through her locker.
Kristen closed her locker and then turned back to Dani. Dani was yapping away about the latest 'amazing Speed moment' from their last recording session. But as Kristen looked away for a second, she caught Jack's eye. Kristen felt her heart skip a beat and then she looked back to Dani. But not fast enough for Dani to miss the moment.
"Please tell me you're over him." Dani remarked.
"Not…entirely?" Kristen answered. Dani groaned and gave an exaggerated look up.
"Kristen, not only does he have the WORST reputation out there, not as in the classic "I'm so misunderstood," but as in the "Yeah, I've been in any as many people's pants you can think of" reputation," Dani exclaimed.
"I know, but, just, he's got those gorgeous honey brown eyes. And such pretty li-"
"Okay! You're done. Let's get to English before I barf of gushing overload," Dani said pushing Kristen into the class room.
But unaware to both of them, Jack was still in the hallway that he had just passed Kristen moments before. He slipped by the aides and slid a note into Kristen's locker. He was the classic bad boy of their high school, doing whatever it was he wanted, and getting what ever, and who ever he wanted.
Jude was sitting at the counter of the parlor, reading an entertainment magazine when Robbie came in from the kitchen. He leaned against the doorway, with the towel over his left shoulder. He smiled as he admired her. She sipped her iced tea as she flipped through the music reviews.
"Always come here for lunch?" Robbie asked, breaking Jude's concentration. She looked up and smiled softly.
"Actually, I'm a new customer. I had heard of this place a couple days ago, the band drew me in. Otherwise, this place is kind of…"
"Charming?"
"I was going with dingy?" Robbie faked pain and put his hand to his heart as the two laughed.
Jude looked into his eyes and couldn't help but feel a tug at her heart strings. There was something about him that was just unforgettable. He had that safe, yet unknown vibe about him. No matter how long she had known him, a lot had changed for the two in the last 4 years, who knew what could have happened to each other.
"So what will it be? Usual three slices of ham and cheese? Soft crust, crunchy on the outside though?" Robbie asked, pulling the pen from behind his ear and the notepad from his back pocket.
"Sure that'd be great." Jude still smiled at him. He chuckled at this.
"Why are you smiling so much?"
Jude quickly bit her lip and took a sip of her iced tea. "I am not!"
"Yeah you are, you look like you slept with a hanger in your mouth," Robbie teased.
Jude fake gasped. "Oh, you caught me. This is how I manage to always have a smile on for the paparazzi."
"You know what, I always knew there was something phony about those pictures." Robbie said pointing the pen at her.
"Now who's the one who needs ice for that burn?" Jude laughed.
"Hey, you set that one up all on your own," Robbie chuckled and tore the order off the pad. There was a silence between them.
Jude looked down at her magazine as she tugged on the necklace around her neck. She was starting to fidget, something she only did when she was nervous. Robbie knew the signs, he knew almost everything about Jude. Jude swallowed the lump in her throat and decided to just ask him already.
"What are you doing Friday night?" Robbie cocked his head to the side, acting as if he were actually confused.
"Just, working the parlor. Why?"
Jude looked down at her magazine and then back up to Robbie, biting her lip "Well me and the band are going to this, sort of club type of place, to you know, hand out flyers and publicize for their show here on Saturday. We could use the help, if you'd want to join us,"
Robbie laughed again and then leaned toward her a little bit closer. "Is that code for a date, Cherryhead?"
Jude looked down, she was trying not to give into the feelings starting to surface, but she decided against it. "And if it is? Would your answer change?"
Robbie had a glint in his eye as he pulled in a little closer, to get a better look at her. He was trying to see if there was any hint of a bluff in her eyes. He saw none. Robbie pulled back a little and then answered.
"Nope. It wouldn't change it at all."
Jude knew he was purposely delaying the answer just to mess with her nerves. That was something he had always done to her when they were younger, and she was for some odd reason, relieved that he hadn't let that habit die. "Are you going answer the first question or what?"
Robbie rubbed his chin and then heard the bell ding, signaling an order was up. "Yeah, but it looks like I'm saved by the bell,"
Jude gave him a frustrated look as he sauntered out of the kitchen with two plates. He grinned at her discomfort and then set her plate down and leaned in close to her ear, "You're still the same ol' Cherryhead at heart. And yes, I'll come along,"
He smirked at her as he delivered the other order to a table at the other side of the restaurant. Jude smiled to herself, she felt the classic butterflies fluttering around in her stomach wildly. There was just something about Robbie, she wasn't sure what, but he was someone she'd always wondered about. He seemed so safe, but she also knew that he had some things about him, due to having a life separate from her, just as she had from him, that she had yet to learn about.
The final bell had sounded and Kristen headed to her locker to put her books away, grab her back pack and then meet up with everyone to head over to Robbie's for pizza and homework before going to the studio. When she unlocked it, an envelope fell out with her name written in an unfamiliar scribble on top. Kristen's puzzled face said it all and she tucked the envelope in her back pocket and headed for the exit.
"There is my greatest friend in the world," Dani said as she hooked arms with Kristen who just rolled her eyes and sighed.
"It's just so good to be out of that building," Brent said with exaggerated arms to the sky.
"Dude. You do that every day." Derek said with his arms folded across his chest.
"So what? It's true. Let's hurry up and go so we can head to the studio sooner," Greg said pushing everyone off the steps and towards his van.
Jude was at the rehearsal space writing down some more lyrics that came effortlessly to her. Her songwriting had hit an all time high lately. She wasn't sure whether it was because of the disappointment she's faced with Tommy, or the unexpected signs of affection from Robbie. Or, what she had at least thought were signs of affection. He did end up saying yes to the date for tomorrow night.
Just as she had finished writing down the last word, Tommy entered the studio space with a curious look on his face. Jude nodded for him to enter and he did so.
"So what brings you to this lovely neighborhood?" Jude asked leaning back into the sofa.
"Just wanted to hang out I guess. We haven't really talked or anything since your band's first day recording," Tommy said sitting on the arm rest.
Jude nodded and then said "Well, I wasn't sure if there was anything left to talk about Quincy. I mean, you made it pretty clear that we're just," Tommy looked over at her, sending her the look he only saves for her. He hoped it wouldn't allow her to finish her sentence. "friends," but he was wrong.
"Since when do friends stop talking, Jude?" Tommy asked.
"Well I've been busy, you know helping the band get used to the recording process-"
"They do have lives outside the studio as well Jude," Tommy added.
"Okay, well on my spare time I'm writing. You always said I was prolific,"
"Writing? Can I see?" Before Jude could object, he had grabbed the journal from the table and started reading.
"Meet me in outerspace
We could spend the night, watch the earth come up
I've grown tired of that place, wont you come with me
We could start again..."
Tommy nodded. He wasn't sure whether to allow himself to ponder the idea of the song possibly being about them. He knew that if he allowed himself that much, he would also allow the idea of the lyrics to be about Robbie to be thought about.
"They're good, Jude," Tommy sheepishly handed Jude back the journal. "You've really gotten better while on tour,"
Jude looked down at the journal held before her as she took it from his grasp. "I had a lot of inspiration,"
The two sat in silence and then Tommy looked around the rehearsal space. "A foosball table? Since when did you get that?"
"Random much?" Jude asked and then decided to answer the question. "Just recently actually. C'mon let's play. I'll totally school you,"
Tommy let his head fall back and laughed. "You wish, girl. I'm King of the foosball table,"