AHH! C12/P2! YAY!111!1ONE! (Enough of the 14 year old cyber-tard impressions.)
But yes, my dears. It's part zwei. (This has been the LONGEST 5 days EVER.) I have to say that, while I flipping LOVE writing this story, this shit is hard. It's not my style, really. My style is, 9 times out of 10, what is showcased in my other whatever, "Verse & Point". (You know... no names, no real dialogue, action action action, description that borderlines vague while still being these random whatevers that lay it out in crystal.) I'm struggling with this here; ch. 12 was hell and a half. But I'm trying to work thru this creative roadblock. (New music always helps. lol)
To clear up previous confusions from pt 1: The scene took place outside of the café, yes, but was a good enough distance from the entrance as to not be seen. Not only that, but Victoria's back was to the door. I also would like to point out no yelling was in play. My fault for any fogginess.
And, oh yeah... those bits and pieces of lyrics are originals of mine. (COPYWRITTEN, BITCHES! haha) I won't say they are any good, just one of my hobbies.
But yeah... here ya go. Hope it's okay.
Chapter 12 / Fight Four
Pt 2: Perception is 9/10 of the Law
Jude stood at the entrance of G Major, looking behind her to make sure Tommy hadn't caught up with her. She tried to mentally prepare herself for the day: talk to Georgia, work on the album, get Kwest alone so she could talk to him. She didn't want to talk to Georgia; she'd ask too many questions. She didn't want to work on her album; she'd have to work with Tommy. All she really wanted was to close her eyes and find herself in her bed, alone, and everything to be ok. Her mom wouldn't be upset and she wouldn't have given The Ultimatum. Sadie wouldn't be hell bent on tearing her down. Tommy would be who she saw when they "ran away". Everything would be perfect. Perfect doesn't exist, Jude. She inhaled deeply, throwing her shoulders back and walking into the label, prepared for every trump someone would play. I'm good.
She scanned the open space expectantly. Everyone was busy, their back turned to their appointed tasks - the interns on their computers; EJ in a corner yapping away on her cell; Kwest pouring himself a cup of coffee. She looked towards Georgia's office and through the small windows flanking either side of the door. She seemed busy, engrossed in a million papers she shuffled around briskly. Jude strode towards her undesired destination, unsettlement making her nervous. Jude knocked on the door softly hoping she wouldn't hear her so she had an excuse to go into an empty studio and hide out.
"Come in." Jude's shoulders fell at her answer, opening the door and poking her head through.
"Hey... Georgia..." The woman looked up, surprised, a slight smile on the corners of her mouth.
"Jude! Come in!" She motioned towards a chair, stacking her papers on the corner of her desk. She leaned forward, resting against her clasped hands. Jude noticed how anxious she appeared.
"I just wanted to tell you I'm... back." Jude walked in, taking the seat closest to the door. She felt the farthest thing from "back". Her body sat in that chair but her heart was left at the coffee house and her mind was still with him.
"And we're glad you are." Her smile turned into her usual look of business. It annoyed Jude. "Are you ok, Jude?" She waved a hand, dismissing any wonderings that hung in the air.
"I'm fine. Really. My excursion did me good." Georgia's brow furrowed slightly.
"Anything you need to talk about? You know you can tell me anything." Jude wanted to open up and let everything out. Georgia and she had become rather good friends since her beginnings and she knew Georgia could give her some sort of logical reasoning to everything, but the fact of the matter was that this wasn't the usual issues. It was about Tommy, her 23 year old producer and whatever, and she wasn't sure how understanding Georgia would be when she heard the tawdry story.
"It was really nothing. I had a lot on my mind and just... I wanted to get away for a few. I'm sorry I didn't tell you." Jude played with her hands, a nervous habit she'd picked up over the past year. She felt twitchy even if she'd only been in that office for a couple of minutes. She suddenly wanted to work on a new song, find Kwest, do anything that would get her out of that smaller growing room.
"We were all worried about you." Jude shot her a fleeting look of urgency, hoping she would get the message that this was something she didn't really want to discuss. She picked up her vibe on cue, smiling. "But you're back so everything's ok."
"Yep." Jude forced an appeasing smile onto her lips. "I have a lot of new material I want to get to work on." Georgia's demeanor brightened to Jude's words.
"Great! Go! Don't let me keep you." Jude got up to leave, Georgia calling to her back. "I'm glad you're okay, but don't forget. I'm always here if you want to talk." Jude turned and gave her a final smile.
"Thanks. I won't." She left the office, breathing deeply as she closed the door. It hadn't been the scene she'd imagined - a scene of mock-concern with a hidden streak of anger and questions, a million questions. She didn't know why it made her feel so shaken up. Maybe because you lied? It's all about what she thinks, though. Jude shook her head to her thoughts as she made her way to Studio B, realizing how much she sounded like Tommy.
Tommy walked quietly along the back streets behind G Major. He kicked at the sidewalk, imagining it was himself at his feet. You are such an idiot! Where did your balls go? Where did they go? Had it been about anything else, he would have told the person dishing out their bullshit to go to hell and more than likely broken his hand against their jaw, but why this? Why did he give in? Why, why, WHY! He'd had good intentions going into that damned shop. He was going for coffee. Seeing Jude before he entered made everything seem better for a split-second until he noticed the other woman. Foolishly, he thought it was his ex. Had he known it was Jude's mother, he wouldn't have gone in at all. On the flip side, he thought they were on good terms, but that showed how little he really knew. When did she begin hating me with her daughter? It crossed his mind that this was his second daughter to be with. Dammit, Tom!
He silently slipped into G Major, restraining the door before it could slam shut. He looked around, not wanting to be seen. Fortunately, everyone was engrossed in whatever matters they attended to. He slinked around corners and walls, making his way to the mixing booth where he could finally talk to Kwest. Too much had happened and it was beginning to get to him. If he didn't spill soon, he'd implode.
Kwest sat at the console, twisting knobs and pushing buttons, tweaking treble and bass for a track Jude had laid the previous week. Tommy stood in the doorway, frozen against the jam. The words, they got to him.
"I've forever fallen, excuse me if I'm too far gone... Getting over you, it should be as simple as it is wrong. I have the reasons; lord knows I've heard them enough... A part of me believes them yet I still want to call your bluff..." Kwest noticed his presence, turning the music down to a faint cry.
'Hey there, man. What's up?" Tommy thrust his fists into his pockets, inner restlessness wishing for the bottle he'd thrown into the wall the previous night. He took a jagged walk towards the deck, turning a few of the dials, making Jude's voice pour through the speakers louder, the background fading away as the words rang in deafening decibels.
"Does it matter anymore? Joker's running cold... I'm turned over my last card... The game's gotten old... I can hide and I could run... I can plead and I could die... I know in the end it doesn't make me any better than I was that night..."
Kwest sat back from the console, resting his arm behind his head. He gave Tommy a well-known look. Tommy crashed down in the chair beside him, sighing raggedly.
"Way too much." With that, Tommy told him everything from that night of her party to why he went with Sadie in the first place; from the "disappearance" to what went down with Victoria. "There. Take it and for the love of god, tell me what's good." Kwest contemplated his response quickly, nodding in understanding.
"You're an idiot." Tommy squinted and glared at his friend.
"Thanks." He slouched farther down in her chair. "She doesn't get it though. I tried explaining it to her but..." Kwest cut him off.
"I'd be pissed too if someone I loved did some shit like that. Seriously, man. Do you NOT hear yourself? If a girl did that to you, you'd split before she could even say the first 'sorry'. You'd cut her off completely."
"But that's me. Jude's different." Kwest laughed at him.
"You're right, she is, but you overestimate her." Tommy's scowl darkened, defense edging his voice.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"You tell her you can't be with her because she's too young, right? Finally you decide it's the right time you but screw things up.Then you turn around and expect her to handle business like she isn't 17." Kwest leaned forward slightly, looking at his partner dead-on. "What are you thinking, man?" Tommy covered his face, ready to scream. He'd gone to Kwest for simple answers, to help him sort stuff out. Now, Kwest was playing shrink.
"I don't know!" His voice came out louder than he really wanted. "I don't know. Jude is so intense. She feels things on such a deep level. It's one of the things I love about her, but sometimes it gets to be too much. I'm not... used to it. "
"What do you want, Quincy?"
"Her." Tommy realized how quickly he answered the question. It came out so effortlessly it almost scared him. "I want her, man. I... I don't know." Kwest couldn't help but laugh.
"You know, but you're too scared and stupid to just say it."
"I keep screwing things up for us."
"That's your fault." Tommy rolled his eyes in exasperation.
"I know, I know."
"Honestly? I can understand on some level but I know Jude. Maybe not like you know her, but we talk. That girl is crazy about you." Tommy growled under his breath.
"And again, I know. There's the intensity I was talking about."
"And you like it." Kwest turned to the control panel, switching off the song. "Listen, man. I'm not gonna say that I support all this – you know what I think about the age thing – but Jude doesn't deserve to be hurt. Besides, you two were going to happen at some point. Just... relax. Quit thinking so much and watch your mouth. You have a way of always saying the wrong thing." Kwest's seriousness broke into a short laugh and smile. Tommy couldn't help but laugh either, knowing exactly what he was going to say.
"Because I'm an idiot." Kwest nodded, still smiling.
"Yeah. You're an idiot."