Ok, so I officially suck, and I'm very sorry. I'm a huge procrastinator and things just got hectic for me. This is the very latest that I have written, I'm not quite as organized as a lot of the other authors on here who have stuff prewritten. Anyways, I won't bore you with a long AN because I've definitely made you wait long enough. I just hope people will still read this! Pleae R&R, even though I don't deserve it.

xx

Chapter 4

Once Tommy finished the call, the two men made their way back to the Cobra, which was still sitting in the middle of the 4-way intersection. Luckily, there was no one driving this late at night in such a remote area. Still, Tommy silently berated himself for being so irresponsible and careless and leaving Jude in such evident danger, especially when she was in such a fragile state. He increased his pace as his concern for Jude began to grow. Tommy was clueless as to how Jude was reacting to everything that had just happened. She could be hysterical, or she could've just shut down completely. He had no idea, but he intended to find out.

As they neared the car, Tommy held up a hand towards Mitch and looked him directly in the eye, signaling for him to stop. Mitch merely nodded at the silent communication, understanding that Tommy needed to check on the girl before he met her, and halted his progression towards the thankfully unscathed Cobra. Too bad he couldn't say the same thing about his car.

Tommy continued his trek towards his car, but more importantly towards an award-winning artist of his that was still seated inside of it. Instead of getting in the driver's seat and moving the car, Tommy walked around until he was standing by the passenger's side. He figured that this place was pretty much deserted and since no one had come this way so far, he doubted someone would in the next few minutes.

The ex-boybander turned his attention to Jude. At first glance she appeared to be entranced by something located directly in front of her, but upon closer inspection Tommy realized that Jude wasn't really seeing anything at all; she was in a daze.

Not quite sure what he should do, Tommy did the classic wave-your-hand-up-and-down-in-front-of-his/her-face.

No response.

Since movement didn't work, he decided to try sound. This time when Tommy put his hand before Jude's face, he slipped his thumb and middle finger together and snapped a couple of times.

Nothing.

Frustrated, Tommy couldn't figure out what to do to wake Jude up. After a minute of serious consideration, he finally came up with a solution to his problem. Tommy decided to revert back to his previous tactic of the night. It had worked earlier; why not give it a shot now?

In one graceful motion without the slightest hint of hesitation, Tommy bent his body and fused his lips with Jude's. When she didn't reciprocate anything upon the initial contact, Tommy decided he was going to have to get, um, a little creative.

He dragged his tongue across her smooth lips, asking to probe deeper. Instinctively, like a well-used reflex, Jude parted her lips. Tommy grasped the opportunity and plunged his tongue inside of her mouth and began to explore it, something he had only had the glorious privilege of doing twice before this. Once he got reacquainted, he let her have a turn. Jude's hand found a spot on the back of Tommy's neck, and his hand raked through her hair as the kiss became more heated, more urgent.

As he realized that Mitch was still waiting nearby--no doubt watching--Tommy felt a sharp, stinging pain on the side of his face. He recoiled in shock, eyes wide at what had just occurred.

Jude met Tommy's eyes as she spoke and he was surprised at the animosity he found in them, although it wasn't totally unexpected.

"Well, well, well, from the look on you face, I'd say that's the first time that's ever happened to you. But there's a first time for everything, right, Tommy?"

He just continued to gape at her, trying to accept the fact that Jude Harrison had just slapped him.

Jude released a mirthless chuckle. "You look like your dog ran away, Tommy."

"Jude, I can ex-" he tried to say but was abruptly cut off by a very irate brunette.

"What? Explain like you did the other two times? I think I've got it down by now. Don't bother to say it, I don't want any of this polluted air to be wasted on someone as pathetic as you."

As soon as the words came out of her mouth, Tommy winced, but Jude showed no emotion, other than the blatantly obvious anger.

"It's always the same with you! Every time something bad happens in my life, you think it's the perfect time to get out my heart and play with it. You toss it back and forth between your hands, throwing it hard, fast, up high, even under your leg. But you're such a heartless bastard that you don't pay enough attention--or maybe you just flat out don't care--and you drop it. And it breaks. Every. Single. Time. And you know what? The world is running out of super glue and duct tape. I'm out of super glue and duct tape." She took a deep breath and looked Tommy square in the eye before finishing off her rant in a flat, indifferent tone. "So screw you. I'm done."

Damnit, Quincy, you've done it again! Why? Why do you always do that to Jude? It's not fair, she deserves so much better...but she never gets it. All the guys she dates are jerks to her in the end. Shay, Jamie, Speed...Every guy she likes is a jerk to her, including me. So why did they do it? Why do I do it?

Tommy and Jude remained motionless, each waiting for the other to break the silence. Tommy was completely speechless. What could he say to that? Jude, on the other hand, was still angry as hell but she pretended to dismiss the entire thing, seeing as how there were more important things to worry about at the moment besides her poor, tortured, unimportant heart.

"How's the guy? Is he ok?" Jude finally asked.

It took Tommy a minute to figure out what she was asking about, but he finally answered. "Yeah, he's fine, just a nasty cut on his forehead. The car's totaled, though."

"Ouch. That was a nice car."

Tommy couldn't believe how Jude's disposition had changed in the last couple of minutes. First she was biting his head off, now she was inquiring after the welfare of the guy who had almost crashed into them?

It was at that moment that Tom Quincy finally accepted the fact that he would never understand women.

"Oh, um, you know how I said he had that cut on his head? Well I offered to give him a ride to the hospital since we're going there anywhere. Is that okay with you?"

Tommy's mention of the hospital really sobered Jude up. She had forgotten about the phone call and her mom and sister...but now it all came painfully rushing back. Still, she decided to play her uneasiness off. "Tommy, in case you haven't noticed, your car only seats two people, not three."

"I know, I was just hoping we could find a way for all of us to fit. If you don't want to that's completely fine, I just thought we could try."

Jude sighed, contemplating her options. She really didn't want to squish three people into Tommy's tiny car, but she didn't want to leave the guy stranded out here all by himself, especially with a bad cut on his head. The answer was obvious to Jude, but she still wasn't thrilled with the situation.

"It's fine, we can fit. I'll just sit on the counsel since I'm probably the smallest and he can have my seat. Sound good?"

"Yeah. But you're sure you're okay with this, Jude? Seriously, if it'll make you uncomfortable or anything, just say the word and we're off, just the two of us."

"Seriously, I'm fine with it. Just get him over here so we can all get in and get to the hospital."

Tommy nodded and turned towards Mitch, waving him over.

Mitch walked over and as he got closer, he realized who the girl in the car was: Jude Harrison. He tried to hide the smirk on his face, since obviously he had seen and heard what had transpired between Jude and Tommy. Now he had to control the laughter that was threatening to spill forth. Mitch had read about these two in the tabloids a lot, and now he got to witness them together in action. This was turning into one hell of a night. First he learns that his girlfriend was cheating on him with his best friend. Then he almost crashes into two celebrities--one of whom was his now ex-girlfriend's idol. And those same two celebrities are giving him a ride to the hospital after he totaled his car. Mitch was just along for this one hell of a ride. What else could he do?

When Mitch reached the car, Tommy made a quick introduction.

"Jude, this is Mitch. Mitch, this is Jude."

They each stuck out a hand to shake, but Jude and Mitch were completely stunned at the shock that went up each of their arms when their hands touched. It was like a jolt of electricity, and both were unnerved as to what it could mean. They quickly released their hands, acting nonchalant towards what they had just experienced.

Tommy was slightly suspicious towards the greeting. He noticed the looks on their faces when their hands met, and he wasn't sure he liked it. Something was off. But he pretended to be completely oblivious, not wanting to make something out of nothing. It's not like he had the right to, anyway.

"Okay then, everyone ready to go?" Tommy questioned.

Jude and Mitch each nodded, but their eyes were locked on each other. Mitch saw sadness, anxiety, and fear in Jude's, and surprisingly, he wanted to get rid of it all. He wanted her eyes to sparkle with joy and laughter, even though he had just met her. When Jude looked into Mitch's eyes, she found a well full of anger, hurt, and betrayal. She wanted to know what caused it, and she didn't want it to be present in this stranger. She wanted to fix everything for him, so maybe at least one person on this planet could be happy.

Tommy merely watched the two staring at each other, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.