A/N: Jamie and Kat? No more. They stayed friends mainly for Jude's sake. I just don't wanna write a whole chapter about Jamie and Kat... so I'm cheating and just telling you now. heehee.

Also, do they even have The OC in Canada? If I had my way, Canada and the US would have all the exact same TV shows. And then that way, Season 1 of IS would already be over for us by now.

Also, you may have noticed that Tommy has yet to make an appearance in the story... But don't worry, he will. You're just gonna have to be patient. :-P And if I were you, I would be about ready to kill me. 'Cause I lack patience.

--Anyway--

I woke up from my nap at around 3PM. Feeling well-rested, I called up Jamie and Kat and invited them over. Who better to spend the next 3 hours with than my two best friends?

As soon as they both came over, I introduced them to my new bobblehead and we officially christened her "Kat". Well, sort of. I just got Kat's approval.

After the "christening" of Kat, we headed inside to chat and watch OC reruns (to Jamie's objections).

"So, Jude. Finally eighteen. We're all officially adults now!" Kat exclaimed. Me being the youngest of the 3 of us, my birthday was always the biggest because it was the milestone for all 3 of us. We'd all finally made it to adulthood.

"Yeah, Jude. Excited about tonight? Well, I mean, of course you are." Jamie grinned kind of sheepishly.

On the TV, The Mallpisode began. It's secretly my favorite OC episode. Who wouldn't want to be trapped in a mall overnight with your friends?

"Uh huh," I said, trying to pretend I was distracted by the show.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kat and Jamie raise their eyebrows. Damn best friends.They always know.

Jamie spoke first. "Jude, I mean, if you wanna talk-"

"We're here, and we're all ears," Kat finished.

Their eyes bore into my skull until I finally took my eyes off the TV screen. "It's nothing, really. I mean, I'm just nervous, okay? It's the big one-eight. This party's gonna be huge. Let's brainwash ourselves with OC-Goodness and not talk about it, okay?"

Jamie found this an acceptable answer (being Jamie) and went back to the show. Kat however, who is female and therefore better accomplished in the language of Girl Speak, grabbed the remote and hit pause.

"Hey!" Jaime protested. "What gives?"

"This isn't about him, is it?" Kat asked quietly.

Jaime immediately sat up straighter. "About who? Who is she talking about, Jude?"

I squirmed in my seat on the couch. "Do we have to talk about this? Now?"

Kat sighed. "Jude. It's been ages. You said you were over this."

"Over what?" Jaime cried. "Jude, who is this guy!"

"We're talking about Tommy, you nit-wit," Kat snapped. "Now shut up, unless you have something positive to put in. And Jude, don't say you weren't thinking about him," she said as soon as she noticed that I was about to protest, "because it's not Jaime you're talking to."

"Hey!" Jaime cried again.

"Shut up, Jaime. You're starting to sound like a parrot. Only a parrot probably would have caught on quicker than you," Kat mumbled.

"Ah, okay, I see how it is," he replied. "That was Girl Speak, wasn't it? Of course it was. And you expect me to understand Girl Speak!"

"No," Kat said with a smile. I couldn't help laughing at the offended look on Jaime's face. Leave it to my best friends to take my mind temporarily off of things.

Jaime got up. "Fine, I see how it is. I know when I'm not wanted." He headed for the front door. "See you at your party tonight, Jude."

"Bye, Jaime."

As soon as the front door shut, Kat pounced on me. No pun intended. "All right, so wht's been on your mind? It is Tommy, isn't it?"

When I didn't reply, she squealed. "I knew it! Oh man, but why? I mean, he didn't call you or anything, did he?"

"No..."

"But then, why are you thinking about him now? I mean, it's been so long..." she trailed off.

"I know. But it's my 18th, you know? And I guess..." She waited for me to finish. "I can't help wondering what could have been, you know? If we'd just stuck it out for a few more years," I said in a rush.

"Well," Kat said slowly, "It was his decision to leave, wasn't it? So it wasn't your fault."

"I know, but I could have pulled for him to stay a little longer, you know?" When Kat just stared at me, I said, "But what can I do about it. He's gone now. And I'm over him..."

"You sure about that?" Kat questioned.

I avoided her eyes and replied, "Yeah! Yes. Absolutely. I just couldn't help wondering."

"Since today you're officially legal," Kat added, figuring it out on her own.

I blushed and pretended I didn't hear her, picking up the remote. "Let's ditch the OC and make some sundaes. I'm really craving some ice cream right now."

For the next hour, Kat and I had Girl Time and talked about anything and everything not involving Tommy Quincy.I could tell she wanted to talk about it but I changed the subject any time we got too near his name.

But right before she left, she forced me back into the conversation. She was about to head out the door when she stopped and turned around. I knew she was gonna ask, but I let her anyway. "But you've read about Tommy in the papers and stuff, right?"

Of course I have, I thought. All the hookups, breakups, good news and bad. I owned multiple copies of his CD, DualDisc, Limited Edition, even the US version. I kept a poster from one of his concerts that I got from eBay rolled up in my closet. I almost went to one of his concerts, for Christ's sake, before I talked myself out of it. The last thing I want is to become another one of his fan girls.

"Yeah, every once in a while," I shrugged, as if it didn't matter to me. But if I was honest with myself, it did- the last thing I'd heard about Tommy was that he and his latest girlfriend broke up. Granted, that was a month ago. Who knows what he's been up to lately?

"He's single..." Kat said, almost as if reading my mind.

I felt my face get a little flushed, and I didn't doubt that Kat saw it. "Well, that doesn't really affect me, considering I'm no longer a part of his life..."

Kat gave me an apologetic smile while I avoided her gaze. "I'll see you in 2 hours. In the meantime, you go get all dolled up and ready for your party. Next time I see you, you'll probably be beating guys off with a stick."

"I'll just hire Jaime as my bodyguard for the night," I laughed, closing the door behind Kat. Jaime as a bodyguard...that'd be something.