Here's the next part. Two quick things about the next chapter or two: These are more like transitional chapters. This one in particular gives a lot of background info on where Jude is in her life which might be less exciting but is important to the story and where we're heading. I promise, there is a point! Second, I love dialogue (which you may have already noticed), especially between Jude-Tommy but really with everyone. So I may spend too much time on little conversations, but I love them.
Please tell me if you think this is dragging at all--I'm not objective, I can't tell, so let me know what you think.I do promise that regardless, we will get to the really good stuff--it's coming soon! And without further ado...
Disclaimer: I do not own anything associated with Instant Star, except for my own ideas.
Everyone was already asleep as Jude walked towards her room. She thought about the past year as she got ready for bed. Her mom and dad had officially divorced a couple of months earlier and since, her mom had started dating Steven. He seemed like a nice enough guy but Jude and Sadie avoided spending enough time with him to seriously bond. And her dad was still dating Yvette, the woman Jude had come to know as "The Other Woman."
Sadie had graduated from high school and was now taking classes at a local college. Jude thought back on how hurt she had been when she found out about her sister's relationship with Tommy. When they came back from Europe, Jude realized that she had no choice but to accept them as a couple. She let Tommy back into her life but kept her sister further removed, as all Sadie ever talked about was Tommy, which made Jude physically ill. They broke up about a month later, though Jude didn't know why—Sadie told her that "it just didn't work out." She didn't want to push it with Tommy, who got uncomfortable whenever Sadie's name came up. Sadie had been dating someone new for the last couple of months, Ryan, and seemed to be really happy.
Jude managed to almost fully convince herself that she and Tommy were never going to happen, although occasionally, she felt the pang of longing to be with him and quickly pushed it away, telling herself, "You're 17 and have embarrassed yourself enough already."
Getting into bed, Jude noticed the ticket to the Interpol concert sitting on her nightstand and remembered she and Jamie had agreed to go to the concert the next night. Things between her and Jamie were…weird. They dated for 4 months but Jude spent most of that time trying to convince herself that she loved him as more than a best friend, but after months of trying, she gave in and told him that they were better off as friends. But Jamie still loved her and Jude knew it.
Jude turned off the light. She had all of these thoughts running through her head…slowing down the song…Interpol…blizzard…Tommy…as she drifted off to sleep.
The next morning came too quickly, as Jude sleepily walked downstairs around 8:30 holding one shoe and trying to tie the other one. Sadie was sitting at the counter reading a newspaper and her mom was pouring milk into a bowl of cereal.
"Here you go," she said, handing the bowl to Sadie.
"'A minimum of 2 feet of snow," Sadie read, "and gusts strong enough to flip a car.' Wow, sounds serious."
"Oh please, you too?" Jude asked, slipping on her second shoe.
"What? It's not a bad idea to take these warnings seriously," said Sadie, shoving a spoonful of cereal into her mouth. "Id shez here," she continued, in between crunching, "that we should have plenty of firewood, flashlights, batteries, blankets, and canned goods on hand in case the electricity goes out. Do we have that stuff, Mom?"
"Well, I think your father had put some wood in the garage last year to prepare for another storm, we probably have some still there. And we should have everything else around here," her mom said as she opened up a cupboard to reveal a few rows of canned goods.
"Good," said Sadie, closing the paper. "Besides, I have a double date tonight. I'm setting my friend Kristen up with Ryan's best friend, Drew. They'd be so cute together…" reflected Sadie, imagining the couple as an item.
"Speaking of plans tonight, Mom, don't forget that I have the Interpol concert with Jamie," said Jude, putting on her jacket.
"Right. Steven's coming over so it's probably best that you'll both be out of the house." Sadie and Jude looked at each other with disgust. "It's not like that, girls, you would be more than welcomed to join us if you were around."
"Uh, no thanks, Mom, I don't want to think about what you two will be doing in an empty house," said Jude as a loud honk came from the driveway, causing them all to jump a little.
"Jude, can you please tell Tommy again to avoid the honking? I don't want to upset the neighbors," asked her mom.
"I'll try, but that's basically the same thing as asking me not to drink coffee. Or Sadie not to date. All virtually impossible," said Jude with a smirk as Sadie lifted her head from the paper and glared at her sister. "See ya later," said Jude closing the door behind her.
Jude stepped outside and paused for a minute breathing in the brisk air and watching her scarf blow around in the wind. She took a deep breath and walked towards the car. She went to get into the Viper when she found her door was locked. She tried two or three times to open it before leaning down and looking in the window to find Tommy laughing.
"Not funny," she said through the glass. "It's cold out here!"
"It looks like you were enjoying it," Tommy said laughing at her. "I thought you might want to spend more time bonding with nature."
"Let me in! My ears are about to fall off!"
"I'd like to see that actually."
"Tommy!" Jude started to get annoyed. Tommy could tell she was getting serious, so he pushed the button to unlock her door. She quickly got in and slammed the door as fast as she could. Tommy was still laughing to himself, looking at her ears and nose, which were both red from the cold.
"What?" she asked putting her hands over her ears, which were starting to regain feeling. "You think my freezing ears are funny?"
"Yes, I do," said Tommy, shifting the car into reverse and pulling out of her driveway. "Not just your ears though, your nose looks like it might fall off too."
Suddenly feeling self-conscious, Jude moved her hands to her nose, which was also lacking feeling. "Well if the door had been unlocked, I wouldn't look like Rudolph right now."
"No, but you would still look like Mickey Mouse," said Tommy jokingly.
"That's Minnie Mouse to you, Quincy," said Jude, feeling her nose and ears go back to their normal pale shade. They both laughed as they drove to the studio.
Ten minutes later, the blue Viper rolled into G-Major's parking lot. Jude and Tommy raced to get inside and away from the wind. They made it inside and went directly towards the smell of the brewing coffee in the kitchen. Approaching the coffee, Jude heard footsteps behind her.
That's it--hope you all enjoy:)