Chapter 1

"Jude." He nudged the inanimate person next to him with his elbow. "Jude! Snap out of it! They're calling you--you won! Now move, you gotta go accept your award!"

She still sat there, unmoving. She couldn't believe it. She, Jude Harrison, the punk rock princess that was still pining for her blue-eyed prince, had just won a Grammy. And not just any Grammy--not that she'd ever refuse one--but the award for Best Album of the Year. How the hell did that happen? She didn't even know how she got nominated in the first place! But she did, somehow. The words were still ringing in her head in a familiar voice...

"And the Grammy for Album of the Year goes to...JUDE HARRISON!" And then there was the eruption of applause and whistles and screams, but she didn't hear any of that. All she was thinking about was hearing her name...her name, being announced as the person that won. She actually won. It was finally starting to click in her mind.

Holy fucking shit! I just won a Grammy, a Grammy!

Before she knew it, a face was nearing hers. A kiss was placed on her cheek, although dangerously close to her lips in her opinion. As he pulled away, she recognized the person as Tommy. If she was asked to describe Tommy in one word, she knew exactly what she'd say...forbidden. But that didn't stop her from hoping.

Realizing that Tommy had just kissed her and that she had pretty much missed it because she was completely zoned out in another world kind of pissed Jude off, but it definitely brought her attention back to the present.

"So there is life in there," Tommy teased her, and then added with a smirk, "I figured that would get your attention."

"You're full of it, Quincy," she replied with a smile. But the full realization of what had just happened to her finally hit Jude, and her eyes began to water.

"Damnit," she whispered under her breath as she tried to stop the tears from flowing down her face.

Of course, Tommy noticed this and stood up to give her a hug...something she'd never get tired of as long as it was from Little Tommy Q.

"Hey, girl," he whispered as he wrapped his arms around her. "Don't cry."

"I'm not," she replied softly but in vain as the first tear cascaded down her smooth cheek.

Tommy pulled back a little bit and wiped the tear away with his thumb, careful not to smudge her make-up too much. "You and I both know how much you deserve this. Everyone does. Now go up there and get your award, Jude, you've earned it. And don't forget to smile."

Jude smiled and laughed quietly at this. Taking a deep breath, she took a step away from Tommy as she straightened her dress out. "Thanks, Tommy."

"Anytime, girl. Now go!"

She flashed him a quick smile before turning around to head for the stage. However, she'd only taken a few steps before she turned around again to see him still standing there, watching her. "You haven't seen my mom and my sister yet, have you?"

"Sorry, Jude, can't say that I have. I'm sure they're around here somewhere, though, and that they'll come see you once you accept your award."

Jude's face fell a little at his response, but she recovered quickly and plastered on her smile again before giving him a nod and turning back around.

"What's going on, Shorty? You get lost or something?" Shay's voice boomed through the speakers. Of all the ironies in life, he was the one presenting this award. Jude's smile became a little more sincere as she hurried towards the stage, although not too fast so she wouldn't trip and fall flat on her face. Been there, done that...stupid heels she thought as the memory made its way from the dusty depths of her mind to her foremost thought.

Reaching the steps, Jude quickly shoved the not-so-fond memory from her mind and focused all of her attention on making it up the stairs safely and without any humiliation on her part. Achieving her goal, Jude smiled warmly at Shay as he came towards her to give her a congratulatory hug. However, he decided to take it a little further and picked her up and spun her around, making her laugh as her dress floated around gracefully.

It took them a year, but Jude and Shay had finally mended fences. They were friends, although not that close because Shay was continually traveling around the world on tours that Darius had set up for him. Still, it was nice to have one less person that you were supposed to be mad at.

Shay finally set her down, gently, and held onto her arms while she regained her balance and her breath. She leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek before he reached around and presented her with her award.

Despite what she had told herself before she got up here, Jude began to tear up. But before she could do anything about it, Shay was handing the award to her, it was actually in her hands. He gave her another smile along with, "Congratulations, Shorty, you deserve it," before he exited the stage, leaving Jude alone with the trophy, the microphone, and the crowd.

Another deep breath and she reached for the microphone, ready to begin the cliché, teary-eyed speech...and who was she to break tradition?

xxxxx

Still in a daze, Jude returned to her table with award in hand. She received several hugs from people before resuming her seat next to Tommy, whose eyes were shining with pride, elation, and...something else.

"You did great, Jude, you really did."

"Thanks," was her simple reply.

Tommy sensed that Jude needed a couple of minutes, just to let it all soak in, and that's exactly what she did. Jude just looked around and absorbed everything she was feeling, hearing, and seeing. She knew that later she'd want to come back to this moment, and she wanted to remember as much as she could.

Eventually she sighed and turned her head towards Tommy, giving him a simple, content smile. He recognized it as the sign that she was ready to come back to the real world, at least for a little while.

Suddenly remembering something, Tommy spoke. "Hey, um, while you were up there giving your speech your purse vibrated, so I'm assuming you missed a call. I didn't know how you'd feel if I dug through your bag to answer it, since I know how touchy girls are about that kind of stuff."

Jude laughed, while Tommy secretly reveled in the sound of it. "You know I'm not like most girls, Tommy, so I really wouldn't have minded. But thanks for respecting my stuff, anyway."

She grabbed her small purse and located her phone inside of it. Flipping it open and seeing a missed call alert, Jude frowned when she didn't recognize the number. A little confused, she hit send to return the call and waited for someone to answer.