A/N: Um, I work nights now. Totally effs up my writing schedule. :/

THANKS: I've decided to stop posting my thanks and review replies in the actual chapters that I post because sometimes there are questions that I feel, when answered, could help me with the storyline/characters and such so I'm just going to answer you as you review from now on. I know – better late than never, right? ;]

Disclaimer: A/N at the bottom.

R&R or R&L please.

THANKS MUCHO!


"And The Men And Women Are Merely Players"

As Jude closed her eyes, she could feel the warmth of Tom's skin against hers and her breathing slowly beginning to match his. Even though she could also feel sleep pulling her, there was one thought she couldn't push away.

He hadn't worn a condom.

Don't Stand So Close To Me

Chapter 27

"Prom Night" Part 1

Victoria Harrison sat at her kitchen table, her bottom lip between her teeth as she watched her husband, Stuart, water a few of her potted plants. Before her sat a black cordless phone. The house was quiet except her breathing. Fast. Sharp.

She repeatedly told herself that she had nothing to worry about – that Jude would never know. It wasn't a big deal. It was a high school ritual. One that she knew Jude did not want to partake in, but she didn't want her daughter to look back on her high school days, regretting that she hadn't joined in.

Victoria brushed back a piece of her blonde hair and picked up the phone. With a shaky hand, she dialed a number.

The phone rang a few times before someone picked up.

A soft sigh filtered through the phone and Sadie Harrison spoke.

"Mom?"

Sadie lay across her living room couch, a cashmere blanket splayed over her body and a cup of green tea sitting on her coffee table. Spring in Toronto did not equate to the sunny skies and warm winds of Southern California, she was sure.

"Hi honey."

Sadie sat up, the blanket falling off her lap.

Honey?

"What's up, Mom?"

Victoria exhaled a low breath. "Why does something have to be up?"

Sadie chuckled softly. "Because I know you."

Victoria rolled her eyes. "Fine. You caught me."

A smile slowly formed on Sadie's face and she picked up her tea. "So…"

"Can you buy me a dress?" Victoria said in a rushed voice. Her back turned rigid as the sliding glass door opened and Stuart walked into the kitchen. Victoria forced a smile on her face, hoping he would leave the room quickly.

She knew how protective Stuart was of Jude and if he knew what she was up to, he'd stop her immediately. If only he saw the things she did.

The silence. The lack of appetite. The jumpiness. The dark circles under her eyes. Jude was not happy.

And Victoria's maternal instincts blamed herself for not noticing it earlier.

Jude needed this whether she knew it or not.

"Buy you a dress?"

Stuart smiled and shut the door. Noticing the phone in Victoria's hand, he silently walked away. Victoria turned and watched over her shoulder as Stuart walked through the living room and upstairs. The moment she heard their bedroom door closed, Victoria let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding.

"Mom?" Victoria turned around in her seat and resumed staring at her backyard.

"Yeah. I mean, no."

"Wait, what?" Sadie furrowed her brow and walked into her kitchenette.

Victoria sighed heavily. "I need you to buy a dress for Jude."

Sadie held her silver kettle in midair. "A dress – "

"For prom."

"Oh." As softly as she could, Sadie placed the kettle back on the stove and walked away. The tea could wait. This was important.

Jude. Prom.

That was all that needed to be said.

- M -

Cool, spring winds blew through the halls of Carson Hill High School. With them came the notorious spring fever and no one was immune. It seemed the farther the school year plunged into May, the more the word Prom flowed from everyone's mouths.

Everyone except for Jude Harrison of course.

There seemed to be more important things on her mind.

Like her rocky relationship with her teacher.

Or perhaps the idea of being pregnant.

Or not being pregnant.

The inner debate had infiltrated her head since the moment she and Tom walked hand in hand out of her loft some week and a half prior. But everyone seemed to have an opinion about her lack of enthusiasm at the idea of Prom.

A blank stare coupled with a long pause was all she could muster at the thought.

To put it simply – she just didn't give a fuck.

"So will you?"

Jude turned her head and glanced at her two best friends. What were they talking about again? Oh right, how could she forget?

Prom.

Shifting her position on the cold concrete they had decided to inhabit for lunch, Jude answered. "Will I what?"

Kat sighed. For the third time in a matter of minutes. The fact that Jude seemed to get lost in her own head on a regular basis now was not lost on Kat. She knew her best friend better than that. And she could tell something was wrong. And if she was honest with herself then she knew why. "Go dress-shopping with me."

Jude shrugged, half-heartedly. "Sure."

"Look, if you don't want to go, I'm not going to force you. I – "

Jude clenched her jaw and placed a hand on Kat's knee. "I want to go."

"Okay," Kat said with a wide smile. She could see the lie radiating from Jude's eyes, but she didn't care. They hadn't done much of anything since the whole Mr. Quincy debacle and Kat knew they needed this even more. School would be over soon and they'd all be moving on. This was one of the last things they'd get to experience together – even if Jude insisted on not going.

Kat would find a way to make her see – no matter the cost.

The lunch bell rang and Kat stood up, waiting for Jamie and Jude. A few teachers passed by and waved in their direction before Kat could register the idea that floated into her head.

It was perfect. And probably the only way Jude would even go.

Kat watched as Jamie and Jude headed to their last period of the day before turning the corner in the opposite direction of her class. This was more important.

This was about her friend's happiness.

- M -

He tapped his pen to the beat in his headphones before he registered the small girl walk into his classroom. She stood before him, proud and determined. He placed his pen down and took off his headphones. Pressing pause on his laptop, he looked up and glanced at the girl.

She jutted out her jaw, crossed her arms across her chest, and waited for his full attention.

His chair creaked as he leaned back in it and then spoke. "Can I help you?"

Kat narrowed her eyes. "You don't remember me?"

"Am I supposed to?" he asked.

Kat rolled her eyes. This was beyond ridiculous. It was clear he didn't remember her from all those months ago. But he would remember her now. "Jude Harrison is my best friend."

Her voice was crisp, clear, and had just enough venom in it to make him squirm. Tom Quincy was not easily swayed, but the look in the girl's eyes as she said Jude Harrison made him flinch.

Tom cleared his throat and a faint smirk painted Kat's face. "I guess I have your attention now."

Tom nodded shortly. "I'm not here to bust your balls or call you out for all the pain you've caused her. I'm here to ask a favor."

Tom leaned forward in his chair and placed his elbows on his desk. "I'm not sure I follow."

"I want you to persuade Jude to go to prom."

His brow furrowed slightly. "She needs persuading? I thought going to prom was every high school girl's dream?"

A sardonic chuckle escaped from her lips and Kat walked toward him. She leaned against a desk, her arms still crossed over her chest.

"Then you don't know Jude as well as you think you do."

Tom clenched his jaw tightly. "I'll see what I can do."

Kat gazed at Tom, long and hard. This was important. He needed to see that. "Thank you…Mr. Quincy."

Kat turned away and walked toward the door.

"Kat?"

She stopped mid-step and turned around quickly. Now he remembered?

Tom glanced at her and lowered his head. "I am sorry."

Kat unfolded her arms and stuck her hands her jean pockets. "As much as I'd love to wring your neck for what you did to her – I'm not the one you have to make this up to." Kat took a long, deep breath. "And whatever you've done now – you need to fix."

Tom looked up suddenly, but before he could respond, his classroom door was already closing.

He had messed up – again?

- M -

The day had started out as normal as it possibly could – they hit two dress stores, Jude kept her complaining to a minimum, and they even snuck in lunch. It was at the third dress store as Kat tried on her sixteenth dress of the day that things got a little messy.

"I talked to Tom on Monday."

Kat waited patiently, counting to ten in her head. And just as she reached eight, the fabric wall of her dressing room was pulled back roughly, revealing…well, almost all of Jude.

Jude stood barefoot in front of her in a black strapless bra, one hand tightly holding the fabric curtain from Kat's dressing room, the other holding up the fabric of a strapless black chiffon dress.

"You did what? Kat – "

"Will you just listen to me before you start freaking out?" Jude entered the dressing room and closed the curtain before glancing at the parquet floor; her jaw clenching, her hand still holding up part of her dress. "Please?"

"Fine." Jude didn't look up or unclench her jaw.

Kat sighed. "I didn't want to go behind your back, but I felt like it needed to be done. I asked him to get you to go to prom." Jude looked up, some sort of response ready on her tongue, but Kat was just as quick. "Not for any other reason than you are my best friend. Besides…what would prom be like without you?"

Kat forced a smile on her face and Jude rolled her eyes. If Kat only knew exactly what was running through her mind, Jude was positive prom would have been the last thing Kat would have talked to Tom about. But she didn't. Did she? "For no other reason?" Jude eyed Kat.

Kat bit her bottom lip. "Well, there…I worry about you, Jude."

Jude shook her head slowly. "You don't have to. I worry enough for the both of us."

"It shouldn't be like that."

"I know. I just need time," Jude said, shrugging.

A short silence filled the room before Kat said something that was on both of their minds. "We don't have a lot time left. Have you guys even talked about – "

"No. I've been lagging." Which one of the many topics rolling around in Jude's head that Kat was talking about, Jude wasn't sure. All she knew was that talking about anything with Tom had been a hard thing to do in the last couple of months.

"Why?"

Jude let out a deep breath. "Because saying it makes it real."

"You're going to Berklee, aren't you?" Kat asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Before Jude could respond with something other than a breath, Kat decided to change the subject. This was not prom dress shopping conversation. This was bigger than that.

Kat cleared her throat. "So I think that dress is hot. You should get it."

Closing her eyes, Jude laughed. At that moment, there was something far more important than college brewing in her head. How had she let it get this far? And why couldn't she just tell Kat the truth?

Maybe it was because she was afraid of losing everything she had worked so hard for. Or maybe she was just scared of the truth.

- M -

The mustang was ready to go. Her friends were patiently waiting downstairs. Her dress couldn't have been more perfect if she picked it out of her dreams.

Then why couldn't she get her feet to leave her bedroom?

Her hand shook when she reached to pick up her black clutch off her bed. She bit her bottom lip, tightened her grasp on her purse, and turned around.

The door looked so far away. But if she took a mere fifteen steps, she'd be there already.

Her knees tightened as she took in a deep breath and started the colossal walk to the door.

They would be wondering what she was doing if she didn't move fast. She had to get downstairs.

In a matter of seconds, the silver door knob was in her free hand.

She turned the knob and pulled. The door creaked.

"Jude!"

Before she could think about what she was doing, Jude ran out of her room, slamming the door and headed to the stairs.

One short glance from Kat and a smile from Jamie was all it took for Jude to make her descent down the stairs and out the door.

The Mustang roared to life and Jude faintly smiled at her parents and her sister, Sadie, as she pulled out of the driveway some twenty minutes later. Her mother and sister were way too camera happy.

Putting the car in drive, Jude stepped on the gas and turned up the volume on the radio. Anything to drown out the voices in her head that continued to remind her of the test that lay beside her.

The one that fit snugly in her clutch.

- M -

The night had been fine so far – nothing spectacular or out of the ordinary. Jude was pretty sure she could have watched all that she had experienced thus far in some crappy teen movie that had come out that year. That might not have put a smile on her mother's, Sadie's, or Kat's face, but it would have kept her from having to fight the urge to grab her purse and hightail it out of there.

She still couldn't believe that all it took to get her into a dress and out the door was an ambush by the three most important women in her life. She should have seen it coming. Especially since Kat had pulled out the big guns – Tom Quincy.

Jude rolled her eyes at herself. Pathetic. After their conversation in the dressing room at Jude thought that maybe Tom would have taken Kat seriously, but nothing happened. No texts. No calls. No emails. No handwritten notes on her homework.

It was as if he didn't care if she attended Prom. Bastard.

Or maybe he had been reeling from their mishap. The one she couldn't get out of her head.

A soft hand wrapped around Jude's elbow causing her to turn to her right. Kat stared back at her, a large smile inhabiting her face.

"We're going to dance. Want to come?"

Jude's eyes darted around, barely noticing that the lights had dimmed. Taking the time to process Kat's question, Jude shook her head fervently. "No." She wouldn't enjoy it with all the thoughts in her head.

"Are you sure? I don't – "

"Kat, go. Don't worry about me," Jude said. "I have to go to the restroom anyway so – "

"I'll go with you."

Seeing the determined look in Kat's eyes, Jude nodded once and then pushed back her chair.

Clutch in hand, Jude walked away without bothering to check if Kat was behind her. All she really wanted to do was get away. To think. To know. She bit her bottom lip, taking in the lights and mediocre decorations that covered the ballroom.

The theme was A Midsummer Night's Dream, but this was more like Jude's worst nightmare. A door exiting the ballroom came into view and Jude pushed passed her peers, her fingers tightening their grip on her clutch.

She needed to know. Now.

- M -

Kat leaned on the wall opposite Jude and smiled more reassuringly than she felt. They had been standing in the handicap stall of the women's restroom for the past five minutes and neither had said a word.

Kat had waited, hoping Jude would say something when she was ready, but that hadn't happened yet and Kat's patience was wearing. Before Kat could find the words to approach whatever situation she had put herself in, Jude reached into her clutch and pulled out a box.

Jude shoved the box at Kat and all she could do was take it. She didn't need it in her hand to know what the box contained.

"How long?" Kat asked, taking a deep breath. What she really wanted to say wasn't nearly as short, but they were in the girls bathroom on the night of the their prom. Was there really anything appropriate to say?

"Almost a month."

"Take it." Kat stepped forward to hand the pregnancy test back to Jude.

Jude swallowed hard. She didn't expect Kat to be so straightforward. This was not so black and white.

When Jude didn't immediately reach out to take the box, Kat knew why and she wasn't surprised in the least.

"You have to tell him. It's not fair," Kat said, folding her arms over her chest, box still in hand.

Jude nodded and bit her bottom lip. "I know."

"Then why is it so hard for you?"

Jude shrugged. "He's already lost one baby."

"But that's not your fault, right?"

"No."

"Well then that's his problem, not yours." Kat unfolded her arms and tossed Jude the cardboard box.

Jude caught it with both hands. "But – "

"I know. You love him." Kat sighed. "God, I can't believe I'm even saying this but because you love him, you have to tell him – regardless of the outcome. He deserves to know."

"Okay." Jude smirked. Kat made it simple. Love was all she needed to hear.

"So take the damn test because you're killing me here."


A/N: Preview

Don't Stand So Close To Me

Chapter 28

"Prom Night" Part 2

Is she or isn't she? :]