I would just like to thank both my loyal readers who have been with me from the start, and my new readers who have given me praise and criticism. I appreciate all of you, and I would just like to let you know how much your feedback has helped me to grow as a writer. I know it seems really sad to read these now, due to the recent news of the show ending after this season, but I still see this show as an inspiration to me as a writer, musician, actor, and director. Hopefully, my stories will continue to be enjoyed by readers even after the show has faded from the spotlight (which, if I had my way, would never happen). But this note wasn't meant to be about that. I just would like to warn my readers that this is, in my opinion, my most emotional and dramatic chapter that I have written in this story so far. A lot of things are going to happen to our characters in the next few chapters, both good and bad, and I have worked very hard to bring these next moments to you in the best way I possibly could. I hope you enjoy this chapter and the many more to follow. Thanks again!
Your always loyal and grateful storyteller,
SF.
Chapter 21
Pieces Don't Fit Anymore
"Hey ready to go?" Jamie asked as he reached the three musicians in the lobby, a forced smile plastered on his face.
"The pizza..." Wally said longingly as he stared out the doors separating him from the awaiting food, "It calls to me..!"
"I'll take that as a yes," Jamie laughed as they walked out of the building and down the street to the small restaurant.
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"Hey, there you are..." Tommy said, slipping his arms around Jude's waist from behind, "Hungry?"
She peered over her shoulder at him, offering a small smile.
"Not really..." she replied simply, taking comfort in his warm embrace, and she suddenly felt the urge to just stay as close to him as possible, "Can we just go somewhere we can be alone..?"
Tommy looked at her curiously with a hint of concern in his eyes.
"Yeah... Of course..." he nodded, slipping away and taking her hand, "Come on..."
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"It must be weird coming back… You know, with Jude and Tommy being all joined at the hip…" Spiederman said carefully, looking over at Jamie, who was seated beside him at the table.
"I don't think it's the hip they've been joining at!" Kyle laughed.
"Dude," Spied replied as Wally hit Kyle in his arm.
"Man, I'm sorry…" Kyle added, his face quickly changing as realization set in, "I don't know what's wrong with me…"
"It's okay…" Jamie replied with an uneasy laugh, "It's… weird… But I don't know, I mean, I had to face it sometime…"
After Jamie received an understanding nod from the guys, silence fell over the table. Each of them lost in their own thoughts.
"…What happened to everything..?" Wally asked finally, voicing his thoughts and causing the others to pull their eyes upward toward him, "To all of us…"
After another moment of silence, as everyone absorbed the depth of the normally soft-spoken bass player's question.
"I don't know, Wall… things change…" Spied replied quietly, looking back down at the food.
"People change…" Kyle added more angrily than he intended, as he threw a glance toward Spied.
"I'm not the only one who's changed," Spied shot back at him as he glared at the drummer resentfully.
"Guys, don't start this again…" Wally pleaded, but before he could even finish speaking, Kyle was already jumping in.
"No, You're just the only one who abandoned your friends in the process," Kyle shot at him.
"Man, I'm sick of this!" Spied replied loudly, slamming his hands down on the table and throwing his chair back as he rose to his feet.
His voice came out louder than he intended which, along with the screeching of the chair as it slid back across the floor a few inches, caused the diners around them to go silent.
Spied stood frozen for a few moments, in shock at his own actions, before turning and striding quickly out of the restaurant.
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"Jude, what's wrong?" Tommy asked the blonde seated in his lap on the couch of the rehearsal space as she nuzzled her face into his chest.
"Nothing…" Jude replied, lifting her head to bring her eyes to his as he gave her a skeptical look.
They stared at each other like that for a moment, feeling each other's breathes on their skin as Tommy's expression slowly fell, and his eyes changed to a darker shade of blue.
"I just needed some 'us' time… to be with you… in your arms…" she added, her voice low and seductive, only stopping as Tommy's lips collided with hers.
She could feel the passion in his kiss, and she didn't hesitate to return it. After a few minutes, she leaned back against his strong grip, allowing him to slowly lay her down onto the couch.
"Be with me…" Tommy said, parting the connection between their lips and looking deeply into her piercing blue eyes.
"What?" Jude asked in confusion, still recovering from the moment that had been suddenly put on hold.
"Be with me," he repeated, his eyes vulnerable and pleading, "Forever…"
Jude's eyes widened in shock, and her mouth fell open a little.
"What..?" she repeated breathlessly, certain she'd misunderstood him.
"Jude, I meant what I said to you the night I asked you to go away with me… I want you to be in my life… Part of my life forever…" he said as he sat up on the couch, pulling her up with him.
"I'm confused…" she replied, her eyes wide in shock, "What are you doing..?"
Tommy let out a small laugh and looked deeply into her eyes.
"I'm asking you to marry me…" he answered softly, reaching over to his coat lain over the arm of the couch and pulling out a small, black box from the pocket.
He turned back to her and, removing a beautiful, diamond ring from the box and taking her hand in his.
"Oh my god…" Jude gasped as tears filled her eyes.
"So..?" Tommy asked after a moment, and she could no longer hold back her tears.
"Aren't you supposed to get down on one knee?" Jude chocked out, half-laughing and half-crying, as a wide smile broke onto Tommy's face.
"Anything for you, girl," he replied as he moved from the couch to the floor at her feet.
"No Tommy, I was just… kidding…" she laughed, but her voice trailed off as Tommy looked up at her adoringly, and once again took her hand in his.
"Jude Harrison… Will you marry me?"
She bit her lip in an effort to stifle the urge to squeal, scream, or do something, anything to release the energy building in her, but she finally gave up the fight.
"Jude..?"
"Yes!" she squealed, throwing her arms around his neck.
Tommy's arms wrapped around her waist as he lifted her off of the ground and spun her around the room. He set her back down onto her feet after about three or four spins and took her face in his hand, his bright smile still mirroring her own.
"I planned on doing that tonight…" he laughed, "We have reservations at Bodette's… But I couldn't wait…"
Jude joined in his laughter, gazing lovingly into his eyes.
"I'm glad you couldn't," she replied genuinely, wiping away a stray tear before Tommy's hand pushed hers out of the way, and his thumb grazed her cheek, "This was perfect..."
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"Jamie," Kyle called as he walked into the lobby, bringing his attention up from the document Sadie had handed him.
"Hey, what's up?" he asked as the drummer approached him.
"Wally just called... He found something at the rehearsal space..." Kyle replied with a worried look on his face, "He said it was important and to get there quick..."
"Let's go..." Jamie nodded, setting the document down on the desk and following quickly behind him through the doors and down the sidewalk.
After about five minutes, they parked Jamie's car and rushed into the apartment where they found Wally sitting on the couch, holding his head in one hand and a piece of paper in the other.
The bass player's head shot up when he heard the door close and his body followed soon, rushing over to Kyle and pushing the paper into his hand.
"Read this," he stated flattly, a mixture of sadness and worry in his eyes, "I found it on the table..."
Jamie took a step toward the two musicians so that he could read the page over Kyle's shoulder.
"Mean mr. mustard says hes bored of life in the district..." Jamie read aloud, looking up at Wally with a questioning look, "What is it?"
"It's a song..." Kyle spoke up, his eyes never leaving the page in front of him.
"We had a joke... Me, him, and Kyle used to say our band was like the perfect sandwhich..." Wally explained, "He said I was the mayonaise cause I'm like a subtle hint of flavor, Jude was the big cheese, he called Kyle mr. meathead for the obvious reasons, but Kyle claims it's because he's bold and everyone's favorite part..." he let out a slight laugh but quickly shook his head to bring himself back to the seriousness of the situation, "But anyways... he was the mustard..."
"Because he sticks out most and has the strongest personality of the group..." Jamie cut-in, starting to understand.
"Something like that..." Wally nodded.
"So this is Spied's..." Jamie asked, looking back down at the paper Kyle was now holding out to him before taking it into his hand.
"Yeah... It's Spied's..." Kyle answered somberly as he turned away from the others, pushing his hand through his hair and taking a few steps away to distance himself from them.
Jamie nodded before looking down at the words that had been scribbled down on the paper in his hand.
"Mean mr. mustard says hes bored
Of life in the district
Cant afford the french quarter high
Says it gets old real quick
And he pales up next to me
Scrawled on the pavement
It says: son, time is all the luck
You need.
And if I stay lucky then my tongue
Will stay tied, and I wont betray
The things that I hide.
Theres not enough years underneath
This belt, for me to admit the way
That I felt.
Mean mr. mustard says dont be
The wave that crashes
From a sea of discontent, he says
Hes wrestled with that blanket...
It leaves you cold and wet
Any way you stretch it
Divine apathy, disease of my youth
Watch that you dont catch it.
And if I stay lucky then my tongue
Will stay tied, and I wont betray
The things that I hide.
Theres not enough years underneath
This belt, for me to admit the way
That I felt...
And I'm the wave that crashes
From the sea that turns itself
Inside out every chance i get to
See what it's like in hell...
And if I stay lucky then my tongue
Will stay tied, and I won't betray
The things that I hide.
There's not enough years
Underneath this belt,
For me to admit the way
That I felt."
"Wow..."
Author's Note:
There it is! Sorry, it took so long to update, but I had it typed up on my new laptop but couldn't get online from it til now lol but anyways, I hope you like it, and I should have the next chapter up very soon! Also, the song I used in this chapter is called "Lucky" and it's by the band Seven Mary Three. Thanks again for the reviews (and not to mention your patience lol), and I hope you like the update:)
-SF