A/N: Thank you guys for the comments, they're always welome and I hope to see more of them! Hope you enjoy this chapter too!

Chapter Seven

Mask of Confusion

Jude embraced Tommy, loving the feeling of safety. It's something that she never really had throughout her life, let alone from a guy. All the men Jude had known through her life had been screw ups or criminals, always hurting her or disappointing her. Slowly realization dawned on her again about her no named stalker. Someone knew where she lived and was able to break into her apartment. The thought came bluntly and filled her with an uneasiness that wouldn't go away.

She clung onto Tommy tighter, taking in the scent of his cologne. It made her feel relaxed somehow and helped slow down her breathing back to normal. Suddenly an eerie thought filled her mind. How did Tommy know where I live? I'm almost positive that I lost him on my way here. And…wait a minute. Mike knows my cell phone number? Jude pulled back unsteadily, looking him in the eyes with a questioning look of fear.

"How did you know where to find me?" Jude asked slowly, scared of his answer. Tommy stared at her for a second, before realization of what she was insinuating dawned on him. He quickly shook his head then looked her square in the eye.

"You can't possibly think I was the one who left the message, do you? I didn't even know you lived in this building until I saw your car entering the parking garage," Tommy explained in his defense. Jude looked at him with a different expression, one of confusion.

"How did you see my car? I thought I lost you with all of the turns?" Tommy looked at her and gave her a half smile.

"You did. That's when I gave up, coming back to my apartment. But that's also when I saw you coming into the parking garage and realized that you lived in this building too."

Jude looked at him in disbelief, not really knowing if she could trust him. Tommy pulled his keys out and showed Jude that he actually did live there. Jude looked at them, finally believing that he lived in that same building; however it only creating more suspicion. Everything seemed too much like a coincidence to her. Tommy still noticed her questioning glare, not believing she'd actually accuse him of being a stalker.

"Are you seriously thinking that I'm stalking you? How crazy is that? You have to be obsessed with someone for that to happen, and I'm clearly the farthest thing from it," Tommy rambled on.

His words hit Jude like a blow to the stomach. Well, okay, maybe not a blow per say, but she did feel a sag of disappointment. She didn't know why, she didn't want Tommy to be her stalker. That would just give her all the more reason to hate his guts; which she didn't need any more reason to. What surprised her more was the fact that she didn't want to hate him. She shook her head trying to get rid of her confusion. Jude decided to believe Tommy for the time being.

"I'm sorry, I'm just a little bit paranoid right now," she spoke walking into the living room, falling down onto the couch. She glanced over at her bedroom door, shuddering at the thought of the note still being in her room.

Tommy walked in after her, following her gaze to the open door at the end of the hallway. Turning around and walking down the hallway he entered her freezing bedroom. Why is it so damn cold? He asked himself, walking over to the window and quickly shutting it. A small piece of paper caught his eye as he walked around Jude's King sized bed reaching down for it. Picking it up he noticed it had the same message scrawled across it as the answering machine did. This must've been the note she was talking about. Who would want to stalk Jude, of all people anyway? Tommy glanced over to the doorway with the note still in hand. She has to have at least some clue of who did this to her, why else would she be so scared? He thought ripping the note to shreds. Opening the window again he threw the shards of paper out, letting them blow away in the wind.

Entering the living room again, Tommy sat on the couch next to Jude. Jude was sitting straight up looking forward, emotionless. Sitting in silence all Tommy could think about was how there was so much to Jude that he did not even come close to understanding. I wonder what's going on in her stubborn little head…he thought with a small smirk wondering why she had come to hate him so much. Jude turned her head to meet Tommy's eyes, noticing him staring at her.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Jude wanted to know.

"Like what?"

"Like I'm a strange fascination to you or something."

"Well, you are a strange fascination. I mean you're the first person I've met that wants to kill me, then act like a normal person, only to go bipolar on me and accuse me of being their stalker," Tommy explained. Jude looked at him, and gave a weak smile, "All in a course of 3 days," he added.

Jude scoffed and hit him in the arm. Tommy flinched, a smile spreading across his face. "Don't start this again, you know what happened last time," Tommy said not so much referring to the almost kiss as to him chasing her down.

Jude's expression froze remembering well what had happened. He almost kissed me that's what happened. Turning her head from him, she resumed her earlier position, staring straight forward. Tommy's brows furrowed, Jude confusing him once again. Oh well, no use in figuring her out now…he thought remembering the note and the reason why she was sitting in the living room scared to death.

"The note's gone," he spoke in a serious tone. Jude snapped her head towards him, glancing back toward her bedroom door. Suddenly her apartment didn't feel like a home to her anymore. It felt like a place where she couldn't feel safe, couldn't be protected.

"Thanks," Jude replied reluctantly, but gratefully. She, once again, resumed her silent treatment state, shutting Tommy out. However Tommy was curious and wanted some answers.

"Are you sure you have no idea who could be doing this?"

Jude's head snapped up to meet Tommy's gaze again, her eyes slowly growing wide in realization. She did have someone in mind. But she hadn't seen him in seven years…

"Jude Harrison?" a man asked stopping Jude and her best friend Kat in the food court of Tower City Mall. Jude turned toward him with a smile on her face. Winning Instant Star a few weeks ago had surely put her in the spotlight. She never thought she would like the media, but she loved meeting new fans of her music.

"Yeah, that's me," Jude replied.

"Hey, my name's Cole. I'm a big fan of your music," he said extending his hand out to hers. Jude grabbed it and shook hands. His hand was firm and tough, very confident, Jude thought. Cole was about 5'11'' with shaggy brown hair that fell over his ears and just above his electric green eyes. Kat and Jude couldn't help but smile at him, he was gorgeous, but rough around the edges. Kat turned to Jude.

"Hey Jude, my shift at Subway starts in a half hour, I have to get going."

"Okay I'll see you later Kat," she replied giving her a hug. "I have to get going too."

Cole's eyes lit up. "I can walk you out of here, Jude. Too many strange people around, you have to be careful. Especially with winning Instant Star and everythin," he offered. Jude knew she should say no, she doesn't even know this guy. But looking into his hypnotic eyes she found herself being escorted out of the mall with Cole by her side…

"Jude? Jude?!" Tommy yelled, kneeling over her. Sitting up, Jude realized she had broken out into a cold sweat. Jude's hands trembled, wiping sweat her off her face.

"W-what happened?" Jude asked trying to get her bearings and catch her breath. She was on the floor next to the couch. Her vision was blurry but was soon clearing up. Looking into Tommy's eyes she saw the concern and worry in them. Jude felt a knot tighten in her stomach but she couldn't tell if that was from the look Tommy was giving her or from the fact that she had almost gone into a full out panic attack.

Tommy breathed out a sigh of relief. It scared the shit out of him when she passed out on the floor. He'd never seen anyone pass out right in front of him, and when he saw Jude go down he was right there in a second.

"I asked you a question and you looked at me weird. Then you zoned out all of a sudden. I tried to get your attention but you stood up and started hyperventilating. Then you just passed out and fell on the floor," Tommy explained.

"How long have I been out?" Jude wanted to know.

"Only a couple of minutes. Jude you scared the hell out of me," Tommy confessed trying to help Jude off of the floor and onto the couch.

Tommy left for the kitchen and came back with a cold wash cloth and a glass of water. He handed her the water and put the cloth on her forehead. Sitting on the coffee table across from the couch he looked at Jude, not bothering to mask his concern. Whoever was doing this was really taking a toll on her.

"Thank you," Jude said taking a sip of the water. Leaning her head back she took deep breaths trying to calm herself. Having a flash back of Cole was the last thing she needed right now. Her life was rapidly becoming way too complicated for her. With Tommy, the movie, and now this, she didn't need anything more to worry about.

"Are you going to be okay? Do you have someplace else to stay?" Tommy asked. Jude turned her head to look at him.

"Why would I need someplace else to stay?" she questioned.

"You can't honestly be considering staying here. Even if whoever this is doesn't come back, you might pass out again, or worse," Tommy explained, trailing off.

"And where do you suggest I stay?" she snapped.

"I don't know, a friend's house? Relatives?" Jude laughed shortly at his suggestions. None of the people she knew in New York would, or would have room to, take her in. And the thought of her staying with someone from her family back in Toronto was just crazy. She hadn't seen anyone in years and needed to be nearby for the movie production.

"Yeah right, like that's going to happen," she replied sarcastically.

"Well then stay upstairs in my apartment, I have an extra guestroom," Tommy offered. Jude's eyes shot open in protest.

"NO! No, no and um….wait let's see…NO!" Jude yelled, clearly not wanting to take up his offer. She had enough to worry about without Tommy staring at her with his ocean blue eyes, let alone live with him. Tommy rolled his eyes at her stubbornness.

"Jude, just think about it. I mean it's convenient; we live in the same building. You can come down here get clothes and whatever you need. You'll get your own room and you won't even have to talk to me. Plus, we need to follow Dave's orders or it's my ass that will get kicked by my agent," Tommy explained.

"If it's Dave's orders you're worried about, then let's go out for ice cream or something. He didn't mean that we had to live together," Jude defended bitterly.

"I'm not just worried about Dave. I'm worried about you," Tommy said to her. Jude made a mental note to go to a cardiologist. She could've sworn her heart was failing on her the way it kept skipping beats. That should've said something to her, but like everything else in her life, she put it in the back of her mind to deal with later.

"Why are you worried about me?"

"Well, let's see. Someone broke into your place, left a creepy note in your bedroom, and then you passed out while going into a panic attack," Tommy explained. Jude looked at him, knowing that he was right. What if she went into another panic attack? What if Cole, or whoever this guy was, came back for her? What would she do then?

"No I can live here on my own," Jude said stubbornly. Tommy sat still for a second before standing up, raising his arms up in surrender.

"Ok fine, be stubborn. I was just trying to be nice," Tommy said. He turned around heading for the foyer, but looked back to Jude. "Just…be careful."