This is a shorter chapter, but is needed to for the plot to progress. I really enjoyed this chapter because although Lana was my inspiration for all of the music choices and keeping Tom this bad guy, Coldplay was the reason I made their love so blatantly complicated. I wanted this chapter to explain why everything had always been so bumpy and irrational and most of the time confusing. You being confused was what I wanted because this whole story is about Jude and Tom being confused; it's their first relationship.

Chapter Ten: Scientist

One week had passed, and although Jude appeared to be getting worse. She refused to eat and when she would Tom tried forcing every food he could upon her. Her body was experiencing malnutrition and her anxiety was getting the best of her. Tom thought she would be able to get through this, but as time progressed everything that had been going on in Jude's life slowly hit her. It had been weeks since they broke off the engagement, but today it was fresh in Jude's mind. Tom didn't know how to process her mood swings especially when they would relate to so many topics. One minute she'd be kissing him tenderly thanking him for everything, the next minute her tears wouldn't stop flowing, and right after that Tom was the epitome of an awful person.

Finally it was his chance at peace and quiet as she slept on the leather couch in his personal studio at home. Jude loved sleeping there and Tom knew exactly why. Even if she was not ready to record she still needed the presence of music in her life to cope. Tom took one look at the piano behind the glass walls of the sound booth and felt the urge to just play, something that hasn't happened in a long time. He found himself drowning in a melody lost in thought. As his eyes could still watch his sleeping beauty everything they ever went through played through his mind. He started seeing all his faults.

When he first met Jude he knew right away she was special, he even told Kwest after night one she was different. Tom sighed and pressed the keys harder; why had he been such a jerk? When Jude caught him with Sadie was the first time he knew, without a doubt, she had stolen his heart. He had suspicions before that very moment, but his denial was like a drug and he forced himself into his old habits and routine too scared to break it. He reflected on every fight, every time they ran to someone else, and even more recently tour. Once Tom had finally given in and broke down his walls to fall in love with Jude all he wanted to do was be the perfect boyfriend, the perfect fiancé. But that was where he went wrong. How can you be perfect at anything you never had practice at? It occurred to him now that love was not like a science, which he foolishly treated it like. There were no hidden formulas to make it work and no experiments to test any hypothesis he may have had to make them work. You could not just test love. He spent his time analyzing everything including age and that was his downfall. Tom looked too far into problems trying to find logical ways to solve them and so did Jude.

It started almost immediately with them; being so naïve to feelings. If someone did something there was always a more extreme repercussion. Both of them always felt there needed to be a catastrophic reaction for every fault. Instead of sitting back and realizing love is highly illogical they tried to play the game. Instead of talking out Tom's insecurities he tried solving them himself. His worries of Jude being too young and needing life experience turned into a torturous experiment of letting her go on tour by herself. He didn't do it to strengthen their relationship; no he did it for science. He did it to test if she was truly his or not, and that just wasn't fair. Jude went in blind not knowing either. Then as his concoction began to backfire he did the only logical thing; flee instead of cleaning up the mess. That should have never been used as an experiment, her tour should have been a given something he didn't have to process, but Tom had to make it complicated. He could never just take things, as they were, simple.

Everything finally made sense to him he understood his actions. All he had to do was just get himself to stop over thinking and then maybe she would too. But before he could begin to explain anything there had to be an apology. Tom ripped his iPhone from his jean pockets with an idea, a song. Music always made their connection stronger.

Jude rose from her lying position on the couch and at first did not see Tom in her direct view. She stood and stretched and her eyes ultimately fell on him vigorously working behind the piano. This was a sight she had not seen in a long time, but it had brought a smile to her lips. She sat behind the soundboard and placed the headphones on. He hadn't realized she was awake and listening he was too caught up. Jude heard as he struggled with chord variations and she could tell by the way his lips were moving with no sound that he was trying to find a melody for some sort of lyrics. Just when she was about to give up listening and try to help him herself, she heard his voice.

"Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry

You don't know how lovely you are

I had to find you, tell you I need you

Tell you I'll set you apart"

Jude's eyes began to tear; she knew right away where the inspiration had come from. Tom had set her apart. She was far beyond the whores of his past and so much more than the expectations he had for his future. She was different from anyone he had ever met back then, and she remained just as special if not more than ever now.

"Tell me your secrets and ask me your questions

Oh let's go back to the start

Running in circles, coming in tails

Heads on a science apart."

What both of them wouldn't give to go back and know what they do now? Tom wanted to change all of his actions in their relationship. He wanted to go back and not look at love as if it were some sort of class he desperately needed to pass.

"Nobody said it was easy

It's such a shame for us to part

Nobody said it was easy

No one ever said it would be this hard

Oh, take me back to the start."

Neither knew what to expect; it was both of their first relationships. Neither of them expected to fall so deeply either. Everything was chaotic and confusing and just when they got the hang of loving each other it would get torn apart. He knew love wouldn't be easy, but he never expected it to be so hard.

"I was just guessing at numbers and figures

Pulling your puzzles apart

Questions of science, science and progress

Do not speak as loud as my heart

Tell me you love me, come back and haunt me

Oh and I rush to the start

Running in circles, chasing our tails

Coming back as we are"

Jude watched and listened as the love of her life poured himself into this song. She took note of the lyrics and let them drift through her brain. She knew exactly what his soul was confessing. She knew exactly what he had meant about guessing numbers and figures. She knew Tom had tried pulling her puzzle apart, he tried understanding her and his love for her, but there is nothing to understand. Jude knew because it was exactly how she was towards Tommy. She spent so much time trying to figure out why he was the way he was, so much time trying to figure out how to change it, instead of letting love take its course. They ran around in circles constantly chasing their tails, just to come back to the same conclusion, they were in love. But it was never good enough before, they had to keep testing and hypothesizing, no matter how many times the answer appeared they would not accept just accept it; until now.

"Nobody said it was easy

Oh it's such a shame for us to part

Nobody said it was easy

No one ever said it would be so hard

I'm going back to the start"

Tom had let his head fall down after his fingers left the keys. He had tears staining his face. Jude tried getting herself together, but waking up and instantly being greeted with the reality of their relationship was a lot to process. She could only hope that in finding their problem, they were still willing to work at it this time without the games. Her finger pressed the intercom and the static noise forced Tom to jump and his vision concentrated to Jude. From the look in her eyes he knew she had heard the song.

Her voice was shaken, but her heart was sincere. "I love you Tommy."

A light of hope shown through his face; that was the first time in weeks she looked at him with so much vulnerability and said those words. He hadn't heard them since their 'break up'. He made his way out of the sound booth and offered his hand for Jude to latch on too. She accepted and stood up to face him both their hands holding one another's as they stared contently. "I love you too Jude, so much that I'll never be able to stop." His hand held hers tightly, never wanting to let go.

"What's the name of the song?" She whispered with shy eyes looking up at him.

"Scientist." He responded with equal hesitation.

Jude's lips tugged into a small grin, "I like it."

It was time to stop being scientist because love was not science. They understood that now.