Jamie woke up in an unfamiliar room, alone. His head hurt like hell as he desperately tried to remember the previous night.
Okay, start from the beginning. Had lunch with Jude, drove to Manitoba… wait, why'd we drive to Manitoba? That's right, she was avoiding somebody at G Major. Drove to Manitoba, checked into a hotel- he glanced at his surroundings- this hotel,… and then what?
Jamie looked more closely at the room. He walked up to the windows and opened the curtains. The light initiated a blinding pain in his head, and he quickly closed the curtains again. Right, we went to a bar… after we bought fake ID's. Wait, holy shit, I bought a fake ID! After a few calming breaths, Jamie looked for Jude. There was no sign of her in the other bed, or the bathroom. Oh my god, I lost Jude Harrison. I am going to be murdered by her dad, and then brought back to life and murdered again by her producer. I-
There was a thump in the hallway, and then… "Jamie?" someone slurred, loudly. "Jamie, the walls don't look right. And I think my legs don't work. Hey Jamie, have you ever thought about legs before? They're so… awesome." Jamie rushed towards the door. This can not be good. She sounds…high. "I mean, they hold you up, right? But it's so much harder to stand on your arms." Jamie opened the door and saw Jude, clearly high, staring at a ceiling light. He picked her up and brought her inside.
"Jude, what did you have?" he whispered.
"A few too many drinks, I think." Her eyes widened. "It's true, what they say. I was a poet, and I didn't even know it!" She giggled. "And, when I was walking home from the store, there was this man. He was nice! Really, really nice. He said that he knew somebody who had something that would make me feel. It sounded like the perfect way to be to make music! So perfect, Jamie." She sat up and turned to him. "I forgot the vodka."
"What?" Jamie asked.
"The vodka. Remember, we got back to the hotel, and I went out for vodka. I was walking home from the liquor store." Jamie faintly remembered this, and nodded.
"What happened next?" he asked. He had to figure out what they had given her.
"The man brought me to his house. There was another man -his son, I think- and he gave me a pill. I told him, 'no sir, I don't do drugs!' but he insisted that anything that made you feel so wonderful couldn't be harmful." She stood up and walked to the window, opening the curtains. "We made love Jamie –the son and I, not the old man- and it was wonderful. It was so… intimate." Jamie's eyes widened. Ecstasy, they must've given her ecstasy.
Jude turned to Jamie, and stared at him intensely. "I wonder what it would be like with you." She came up to him and traced a finger down his chest, and Jamie's eyes widened. "I wonder…"
Jamie felt so guilty about what happened next, but it was Jude. He'd had a crush on her ever since he heard 24 Hours. How was he supposed to stop himself?
--
Jamie awoke once again, an obviously sober Jude coming in the door. "Dude, you slept for, like, ten hours," Jude said.
"Jude…" Jamie trailed off awkwardly, not sure what to say.
"Jamie, it's fine, just forget about it." At those words, Jamie felt both relief and hurt. To her, he was forgettable.
"Pack up," Jude said, walking over to her suitcase and grabbing some new clothes. "We check out tomorrow morning."
--
Jude was glad Jamie hadn't asked where she had been for the ten hours he had been asleep. She didn't know if she'd be able to lie to him.
The man had been all too happy to sell her some more ecstasy and give her the number of a guy he knew in Toronto.
Jude knew it was illegal, of course, and yes, it's supposed to be bad for you, blah, blah, blah… But this was perfect. It was the exact escape she'd been looking for.
--
"Jude!" someone roared as soon as she pulled into the driveway. Jude winced at the familiar voice of her producer, one Tommy DuTois… Quincy.
"Hey Tommy," Jude said happily, smiling. And for once, Jude really was happy to see Tommy. Her experience over the weekend had convinced her to just let everything flow nicely. Life was a river, and who was she to stop it's course?
"Jude, what the hell! You can't just cancel sessions like that. They have to be booked in advance, and they have to line up with my schedule and Kwest's schedule and-"
"I'm sorry Tommy, I just forgot. Jamie and I went to Manitoba over the weekend." Tommy frowned. He felt as if he was slowly being replaced by Jamie as Jude's best friend. "Besides, I wrote a new song…" She smiled, and he grinned back.
"That's great Jude. Hop in, we've got a session later today anyways."
--
"Try it again, Jude, but do 'let me breathe' instead of 'let me be.'" Jude nodded, and Tommy started counting down from three.
"Wow," Georgia said when Jude finished the first chorus. "She just took your suggestion. She didn't fight for it or anything."
"I know," Tommy said quietly. He paused. "I'm worried, G. Jude just isn't like this, normally. She isn't so… bland. She's usually full of passion and… music. She can't nail a take because she's not pouring her energy into it. I just don't get it, G."
"Maybe Temporary Insanity wore her out for a bit, passion-wise. Maybe she needs a break. After all, she's an amateur artist."
"Jude never runs out of passion, G. It's just not… Jude."
"Tom, I hate to say this, but you knew Jude seven years ago. Maybe she's changed." Georgia patted his back once before heading towards the door. "Just give her time, Tom."
--
When Jude got home, she raced upstairs. Sadie and Dad weren't home, which meant she could go to her spot.
When she got to her room, Jude grabbed an extra coat; her spot was cold. Before leaving she stuffed the bag of pills in her coat pocket and slapped a note on the fridge.
Going hiking with Jamie. Going to be out of cell service.
-Jude
Of course, Jamie had absolutely no idea where she was going, or what she was doing, and she wasn't about to tell him so he could cover for her. As he and Jude were riding the bus back home, he'd turned to her and made her promise she'd never take anything again. She'd smiled and lied through her teeth, and Jamie had fallen for it.
--
Ahem, so, two camps… those who totally hate Jamie for taking advantage of Jude and those who, well, don't. I'm still not sure which camp I'm in.
I totally love Jamie, though. He's awesome.
Wow, this fic went from really light (as was originally intended), to really heavy. Oh, and no worries, it's going to go back again.
