Happy New Year everyone! I'm back from an amazing vacation and have been catching up on my sleep all day. But I wanted to make sure I posted this next part.

When I got back from vacation, I looked at my story and saw over 150 reviews, which completely blew me away! You guys totally rock. It's so nice to see new people reading and commenting, and I love seeing the same people posting their thoughts since the beginning--you all are the best and I'm truly thankful for your responses.

The feedback to the last chapter was interesting--some were upset about the T/J fight and others liked how Jude stuck up for herself. And some of you are on the same page as me in terms of how Jude's reaction is going to unravel, which you'll see in this next post. But don't worry, I have some upcoming twists and turns that will keep you all on your toes :-)

Two last things--in this next post, I "borrow" a line from another of my TV faves, Alias. It's a question that Kwest asks Tommy about how starting something with Jude would impact their careers. It's tweaked to fit this situation but it's a great line that's entirely attributed to JJ Abrams. Also, there's reference to something in Tommy's past that will be further discussed in later chapters. Don't worry, all in good time...

I can hear you all saying, "Enough rambling already!" so here goes the next chapter...enjoy!

"You did what?" Kwest asked taking a bite of his mac and cheese lunch, as Tommy splashed his face with cold water from the sink.

"We were together…sort of…and then I told her we need to cool off. The timing just sucks," Tommy said, wiping his face with a towel.

"So you led her on and then dumped her?"

Tommy looked at Kwest angrily. "No! I didn't dump her, I just told her we need to put whatever we started on hold."

"You do realize--that's basically the same thing."

Tommy sighed as they headed into the empty dining room. Jude was in her bedroom but everyone had witnessed their exit scene—her storming out of the basement and running upstairs, followed by Tommy emerging from the basement moments after. He kept his voice quiet, feeling all eyes, yet again, on him.

"Yeah, well, that's pretty much how she took it too. She said something about me not being ready in a few months and that she wasn't going to wait around."

"That's fair," Kwest agreed, grabbing the nearby Checkers game. Tommy glared at him. "It is! Why should she wait around for you when you can't make up your mind? Besides, that girl is a lot of things but patient isn't one of them."

"It doesn't matter, this can't happen. Not now at least. And I don't need to list out the reasons."

"They're all crap," Kwest responded.

"Excuse me?" Tommy asked setting up his side of the board.

"Your rationalizing—it's all crap. Here's how I see it," Kwest started. "Your big issues are her age and working together. Both valid reasons." Tommy nodded, prodding Kwest to continue.

"Okay, the age thing. She's turning 18 in what—six months?"

"Five," Tommy clarified.

"Even better. Those five months won't mean anything one way or the other. As long as you can control yourself, you know—physically—you're technically not doing anything wrong."

Tommy grumbled. "Go on," he instructed.

"Now for your career issues, don't you think that the reason your music is so good is because of the feelings you have for each other?"

Tommy looked up, eyebrows raised.

"It's true, man. You two have something, and it keeps you going, it keeps you inspired. If anybody doubts it, they just have to listen. And if they threaten to toss you, the music is the thing that would suffer the most."

Tommy sat contemplating his words, liking the spin Kwest had put on the situation.

"Your only other issue is how people are going to react. But do you really care? People have been disagreeing with your decisions your whole life and you've managed to deal with them." Tommy nodded, sensing Kwest's reference to his parents' disapproval of his career choice.

"So yes, all of your excuses and logic, it's all crap," he concluded, folding his arms and looking satisfied with himself.

"Wow…that was pretty good," Tommy commented. "But weren't you the one who told me to wait a few years?"

"Yeah, and I still believe that. It would be much easier on both of you if you could put this thing on hold. But let's be honest, if you put it off any longer because you can't get past your issues, you may be throwing away your shot with her," Kwest added, before starting the game.

"Sounds like you've thought about this a lot," Tommy responded.

"Maybe I have. Hey, I gotta think about something while you two are flirting and I'm stuck there too," Kwest said.

Tommy spent all afternoon thinking about Kwest's opinion. He made some convincing points, but would it all be worth it? At the end of the day, he'd be putting both of their lives and careers at risk. He needed to be positive that he wanted to be with her before he put her life on the line too.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Jude was furiously strumming on her guitar as Kat entered holding a bowl of mac & cheese.

"Jude?" she asked, not getting a response. "Jude!"

Jude jumped and stopped playing, looking up at Kat. "Oh sorry, I didn't hear you. Come in," she urged as Kat took a seat on her desk chair and handed Jude the bowl of pasta.

"Thanks," she said, moving the guitar aside and digging in to her lunch.

"Everything okay? It sounds like you're trying to injure your guitar."

"Just frustrated. You know, it's a shame, this song was going to be really upbeat and sweet. Not deserving of him at all."

"Not deserving of who exactly?" Kat asked.

Jude rolled her eyes, "I'll give you one guess."

Kat knew it immediately, "Tommy."

"The one and only."

"What did he do now?" Kat asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

Jude stopped chewing. "It's not what he did, it's what he didn't do. Or what he decided not to do. Although he never said he wanted to do it in the first place, so…"

"Okay, Jude—English?"

Jude sighed. "He was just…so cute…so sweet…and then he ruined it."

"Does this have anything to do with last night?" Jude raised her eyebrows at Kat's reference, knowing she hadn't mentioned one word of her night to Kat. "Oh, don't look so surprised. You had this goofy grin plastered on your face this morning and I happened to notice that you weren't in your sleeping bag last night."

Jude smiled. Kat was so smart. "Yeah, sort of. I'll spare you the details but basically, he wanted me last night, today he doesn't."

"Jude—no offense, but isn't this your normal cycle with him? One minute you think he's into you and then the next—"

"No, Kat, this time, it was real," Jude stated, looking into her eyes.

Kat sighed and moved down next to Jude. "I know I've said this before, but this thing you have with him, you deserve better. You deserve somebody who genuinely wants to be with you, not just when it's convenient," Kat said sensibly.

"You know," Jude said considering Kat's perspective, "you're right. I'm not going to wait around for him. Why do I deserve this? I want someone who really wants to be with me, without doubt."

"Exactly! You deserve to be treated better."

"Right! I can date whoever I want to and he's going to have to deal with it!" Jude said, feeling empowered.

With that comment, Jude hugged Kat, thanking her for her help, and they both stood to go downstairs. Jude felt confident in herself and in her decision.

And besides, a little jealousy never hurt to move things along.

So she walked straight into the living room, avoiding Tommy's eyes, and took a seat next to Drew. She smiled and grabbed his hand as she sat, saying, "I'm so sorry I left before. I had to take care of something, but it's done now. Want to keep playing?"

Drew nodded with a smile and led her back to where their card game was still set up. She smiled following him, knowing the effect her actions would have on Tommy.