Sorry about the wait!!! First it was Harry Potter (had to read the whole thing in one day) and then I got busy...this chapter has been done for a while but I haven't been able to get on here to post it!! So nice guesses on who the person is that walks in on Jude and Tommy…but I guess it's not as dramatic as everybody thought :P. This chapter is mostly about Tommy and his visitor….who knows everything that is going on, like always. The next chapter I'm working on should have some more Jude and Tommy flirting- who doesn't like a little Jommy right? Thanks again for reading!
Disclaimer: Don't own Instant Star. Own my storyline. That's about it. :P
Jude turned to see a man with short, brown, curly hair about Tommy's height standing in the doorway. He wasn't exactly hard on the eyes, either. Taking her hands from his face, she turned to Tommy to find that he was smiling. He walked up to the man, giving him a brotherly hug.
"Kwest man, how are ya? I haven't seen you in ages!" Remembering that Jude was in the room with them, he turned to her and introduced his best friend of 10 years.
"Jude, this is Kwest Taylor. Kwest, this is Jude Harrison, my new artist and…er…neighbor." Jude could see a silent conversation going on between the two. Tommy gave a slight shake of the head and then moved aside for Jude as she stood up to shake the man's hand.
"Nice to meet you, Jude." As he said her name, his brow creased for a moment. A moment later, though, it was gone, leaving Jude to believe she had just imagined it. "So, you two live near each other?" Kwest had given Jude a sincere as he spoke. But then he had turned to Tommy, a knowing look on his face. Jude had decided she didn't want to be left out of the conversation, and answered Kwest instead.
"Yea, we both live on the second floor in our building. Unfortunately, he found me at my uncoordinated best when we first met…but it's all good now." She had a feeling that Tommy would be telling Kwest all about the incident once the two were alone. It wouldn't hurt to get it out in the open first.
Kwest had listened intently to Jude as she talked, nodding as she did so. But then once again, as soon as she was done, he tuned back to Tommy, this time with a smirk forming on his lips. Just as he was about to speak Tommy piped in.
"Jude, why don't you go get set up," he pointed to the room through the glass, "and I'll be there in a minute. I'll just finish things with Kwest here and then we'll get started, okay?" Truth was, he wanted to know why his friend was here. Even more than the need to be informed, however, was the want to set him straight. Tommy had known Kwest long enough to realize that his friend was about to get on his case; and he had no doubt in his mind that it was about the scene he had walked in on minutes before.
As Jude looked at Tommy, she noticed that he had an almost pleading look in his eyes, even though the rest of his face was stoic. She hadn't wanted to leave, but she could tell that if she didn't willingly, Tommy would probably pick her up and shut the door behind her. Jude nodded, finding the guitar that she had brought with her and walked out the door, appearing moments later into the soundproof booth.
Tommy pretended to be looking at something on the soundboard, flicking off the intercom in the process. He didn't want Jude to hear what Kwest was undoubting going to say next. And he didn't have to wait long.
"So, you are working this close with THE Jude Harrison, and you're her neighbor? Man, T, from what I see, you are one of the luckiest guys in the country…You wanna explain what I saw when I came in here?" The words had come off casually enough, but Tommy knew there was an underlying sternness in them.
"Look, man, she was just…comforting me. I got something in my eye and she took the liberty to try and get it out." Kwest was in the business with Tommy, and he trusted the guy with his life, not to mention the fact that he had been friends with him since they were both 16. But even Kwest didn't know about his mom; and he didn't feel like sharing that again so soon.
"But why did she look like she had been crying?" Kwest knew Tom wasn't telling him the truth, but he had been put on the case same as Tommy, and he didn't want to see the girl get hurt.
"You know how girls are, Kwest. They get all emotional at the smallest things…" Yea, the excuse was pathetic. Tommy wouldn't have believed it himself. But right now he just wanted to get Kwest off his back.
"Sure, T. Just remember the rules. I've only seen the two of you together for a second, but I can tell something's there. You're pretty lucky that it was just me walking through that door right now; imagine if it had been Darius." So Tommy wasn't going to spill. That was fine with Kwest; he knew Tommy would have to talk sometime. But he couldn't help but remind his friend about the life of an agent. It meant keeping emotionally unattached to the person you are keeping watch over. And in Tommy's case, with Jude, that must have been enforced 100 times over. He still couldn't believe it when he had heard the name from Darius's lips. To know that this was the REAL Jude Harrison, the girl who had touched the heart of the nation, was almost unfathomable. Kwest gave Tommy a pat on the shoulder, then turned to leave.
About halfway to the door Tommy called out to him. "Kwest…you won't tell D, will ya?" Tommy didn't believe his best friend would tell Darius that he was getting too close to Jude, no doubt resulting in him loosing the job, but he had to make sure. He knew that in a case like this, everybody was dead serious about keeping things straight and D would not give him another shot if he screwed up.
Kwest turned around, a smile lighting up his face. "You think I've kept your secrets for a decade to throw it all away on one case? Cmon, man, you know me better than that. I'm just saying, there's something in your eyes when your around that girl. Don't get your hopes up." He didn't say it in a mean way, but Tommy felt deflated nonetheless. Was it that obvious that Tommy felt so close to Jude? Well, this WAS Kwest. The guy knew him better than anyone.
"Yea, yea. So, one more thing: since when did D put you on the case? We haven't worked together since that mob incident a year ago."
"Oh, you know D; he wanted me to keep an eye out for you. That and the fact that almost everyone from the agency is working on Jude's case right now…So, I gotta know, what did Jude mean by "uncoordinated best?" Kwest asked, the corners of his mouth lifting to form a grin. He had been interested the words had left Jude's mouth. He wasn't worried that it had been something dangerous because, obviously, Tommy had been there. But curiosity urged him to find out exactly what had gone on between the two.
Remembering the first moment he had met Jude, Tommy smiled. He had to admit, it had been cute to find his newest case tangled up in the luggage that was way too heavy for her small frame. "Oh, you know. She picked a fight with all her suitcases as she was walking up the steps. Guess who won?" Thinking back to, was it only yesterday?, Tommy remembered the look of surprise in her gorgeous blue eyes and how she had only stared after him once he picked up her bags for her. Lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice Kwest was once again speaking him until a hand was waving in front of his face.
"T…T…Tommy! What's with you, man?" He examined Tommy's face, noticing the vague, distant look in his eye. It wasn't hard to tell that Jude had been the cause. "Are you sure you can handle this mission? Jude deserves everyone to be at the top of their game, especially you. I'd hate to see you leave because you couldn't pull yourself together." Kwest looked at Tom for a second, then turned, leaving the room for good.
Tommy sat down and thought for a moment. He had to maintain an extra tight rein on his emotions around Jude if he wanted to stick around. And now that he had met her, he couldn't see her working with anyone else but him- and he planned to keep it that way.
...And that's it!! So right now I'm still working on the next chapter...It might take a little bit cause I've got a bunch of stuff going on right now and inspiration hasn't hit me in a while-but I'll try for all those people who read my little story!!! Thanks again!!
