Hello all--so here's the next part, with her acceptance speech. I hope you like it! The next part or two are both a little mushy, you know I love the mush! Thanks again for your reviews, they're so great. BTW, I really liked the last episode. Speid and Jude are cute together, for now at least. Until Tommy gets his act together and goes after the Harrison he really wants! And April 7th is totally cruel, although the next episode looks really good! I kind of like seeing bad Tommy :) Anyway, enough rambling, here's the next update. Hope you ENJOY!
"Wow…" Jude started, hearing her voice echo throughout the hall. People slowly sat down, although she vaguely noticed that G-Major and her family were still standing and cheering for her, yelling her name.
"Thank you…I don't think I can say that enough…for somebody who usually doesn't shut up, I think I'm finally speechless," she said unthinkingly. She heard a few laughs and laughed nervously herself, looking down at the gold statue in her hands and remembering her list of names for thank-you's.
"I wrote down a few names to thank in case I would actually be up here," she started. She unfolded the paper and put the statue on the podium. She took a deep breath and smiled widely, feeling a sudden rush of excitement from having all eyes on her and knowing she had won.
"First, I'd like to thank my family and friends for standing by me over the past year and a half. My life has changed so drastically, but my parents, my sister Sadie, my best friends Jamie and Kat have all managed to support me unconditionally and are still my strongest influences. You all are the reason why I'm still standing and able to make music."
"Almost of equal importance, I need to thank my record company, G-Major. They have been so supportive of me in everything I've done. I am beyond thankful that they took a chance on me, even if I wasn't the typical pop star they were looking for from the Instant Star contest. I appreciate everything they've done and how they've welcomed me as a member of their family."
She smiled warmly and took a deep breath, reading the list of names on the note. "To Georgia and Darius, for all of their guidance and direction. They can be tough, but I'm grateful to have management that cares so much about me. To EJ, for all of her energy and motivation. And for getting me here on time," she added with a giggle, hearing it echo throughout the hall by the audience.
"To Kwest, my friend and sound engineer, who makes the music come alive and always provides me with an objective, valuable opinion." She paused and took a deep breath, smiling.
"And to my producer, my co-writer, and my closest friend, Tom Quincy," she said, feeling the tears of happiness surface and trying to make out his face in the crowd. "There is no way I would be here without you. Working with you on this album has been the most amazing experience of my life and I have been inspired by you in more ways than you know. This award is just as much yours as it is mine," she said, pausing and meeting his eyes through the audience. "And you're not allowed to argue with me this time," she concluded, smiling meaningfully at him. She heard a few laughs as she finished.
"And finally, to all of the fans. Thank you so much for listening and appreciating the music. You are really the reason why I'm up here and I thank you all for your motivation and support."
She looked around, glancing one last time at the crowd and taking a mental picture of the moment. "Well, I guess that's it, thank you all so much!" she yelled before flashing her elated smile. She grabbed her crumpled note and trophy and was ushered backstage by the two announcers. The audience resumed applauding as she left the stage, Tommy and the rest of her friends and family standing up again and screaming her name.
About ten minutes later, after EJ had rushed to join Jude backstage, there was a short press conference where Jude got to answer more questions from eager reporters awaiting her reaction to the award. Jude stood on a small stage surrounded by journalists and told them how ecstatic she was and how thankful she was. She held the award close to her, smile plastered on her face the whole time, and answered each question with poise and sincerity. As she finished the last question and thanked everyone, Jude made her way off the stage towards EJ. They hastily adjusted her hair and reapplied more lip gloss, as Jude smiled for a few more photos.
EJ chatted with one of the reporters as Jude continued to answer more questions. As she recounted her feelings accepting the award, she saw a distant figure waiting patiently in the back of the room. She moved slightly to get a better view and saw that it was Tommy. She automatically smiled and felt her nerves flutter in eagerness to reunite with him. She quickly finished the interview, politely excusing herself. Not wanting to draw more attention to herself, she walked back casually towards him, meeting his gaze and sensing his anticipation and enthusiastic smile at seeing her. She walked a little faster, smile glowing and weaving between reporters, as he moved out from his corner to meet her midway. Feeling her patience decreasing, she jogged lightly in her heels, her eyes locked on his as she approached him. Without thinking, she jumped into his arms, wrapping her arms tightly around him and squealing in delight. He beamed at her actions but felt a hard knock on his back as her trophy hit him.
"Ouch…" he quietly muttered, holding her tightly and lifting her off the ground.
"Sorry," she murmured, head buried in his shoulder and moving the trophy away from him. As she shifted it, he moved one hand to the back of her neck and the other to her lower back, pulling her in closer. He closed his eyes to memorize the moment, feeling her happiness emanate through the hug. Her tears re-emerged, overwhelmed by emotion, as she squeezed him tightly.
They stayed in that position for at least a minute as all eyes focused on them. Despite not wanting to draw attention to herself, her shriek had caused the reporters to whip out their cameras, snapping photos of their embrace. They didn't care though—neither noticed the reaction, and even if they had, it wouldn't have mattered.
He slowly put her back on the ground, not wanting to let go. She sniffled a little, feeling the tears fall on her cheeks, and loosened her grip on him. He felt her relax and pulled back too, looking into her teary eyes and feeling the emotion overwhelm him too. He gently wiped a few of her tears and smiled affectionately at her.
"Do I always ruin your makeup?" he asked softly.
She laughed lightly through her tears and released her arms from around him, clutching the trophy. Still caught up in their own world and not noticing the people gawking around them, he glanced down at the award and smiled in pride at her achievement.
"Wow, you really did it," he remarked quietly.
"None of that," she quickly responded. "We did it, remember?"
He smiled humbly and looked into her eyes. "How could I forget?"
She grinned and bit her lip, wanting to kiss him more than anything. He recognized her craving and desperately wanted to kiss her too, but suddenly felt the eyes of the reporters and onlookers. She looked around the room too, smiling faintly for the cameras. He wrapped his arm around her and smiled as the cameras went off in a frenzy. They stood there for a moment, in their pose, until he grabbed her free hand and dragged her out of the room. She willingly followed him, fleeing the flashes behind them, into the lobby and down a deserted hallway. Neither one spoke a word as he searched for an empty space, preferably one with a lock.