Okay, so I'm alive. And I didn't forget about this story... well, I did. But I want to thank a bunch of you guys for PMing me and reminding me to get my butt in action. I told someone it would be up this past weekend... and it wasn't; so I'm SORRY! But I promise, as long as I know people are still reading (meaning review!) then the next chapter will be up ASAP. Meaning this week.

Oh, and the reason it took so long? I couldn't decide on the song. So I kept the original one. Disclaimer : I don'town it.

One last thing: Please disreguard any grammatical or spelling errors. I was in a hurry to get this up! Thanks!


Chapter 10 - Living Gets Comfortably Open

Tommy sat down on a log and unintentionally let his eyes watch Jude as she finished going through the multitude of bags. He had to admit, they did a good job at robbing that plane clean of luggage. But as glad as he was over that, he was even more pleased by the fact that he and Jude had spent the entire morning unpacking, and had not once gotten into a disagreement. In fact, they had so much in common it was almost unbelievable. Even more unbelievable though, was how open she had been with him. They shared their life stories with each other and he couldn't help but hang onto every little detail. She was too perfect.

" Tommy?"

Her voice brought him out of his dreamland, and she grinned at him.

" I'm sorry, musta spaced out.. Did you need help with something?"

" Oh no, I was just pointing out how sweaty I'm getting... I was askin if ya wanted to get another shower, but I'll just take your silence as a no.." she teased, trying to keep a straight face while she removed her jacket, revealing a tight tank top underneath. Her cheeks were slightly burnt from being out in the sun, and she pulled her hair into a pony, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand as she sat next to him for a break.

" Wha- take my silence as a yes. A very enthusiastic yes..." he replied, somewhat shocked.

" Ever hear of a joke, Quincy?" she laughed, "But now that I have your attention, maybe you'll be so kind as to answer my real question?"

Tommy chuckled, realizing she was teasing, and replied, " Sure, what was it?"

" Well, we told each other all about our lives and our pasts, and I officially know more about you than any BoyzAttacker, including my overly obsessed sister, but what about your present? What do you really do? What's an average day in the life of the Grown Tommy Q?"

He smiled, breathing deep, and thought for a minute before answering, " Well, I'm a free-lance producer. And I sign artists to a friends management label."

She nodded, motioning for him to continue.

" Everyday life is... well, hectic I guess. I work a lot, and I'm not home too much, but I wouldn't change it for anything. It took me awhile to get where I am now, and it's not something I wanna give up any time soon. And I don't know, hopefully I can start a solo career later down the line, I don't want to give up singing.. What about you?"

" Me? I guess you could say I'm still trying to get where you are.. I've wanted to be a singer since I realized I could sing. I never looked back after that. I was on my way home to start my album... I don't know what will happen now. I suppose I'll go back and try and see if they'll still have me. Maybe I'll finish school before continuing to pursue it.. I don't know. "

" Maybe I could help you out... with the singing thing, ya know?"

" I.. wow, um, I don't know? You mean, like sign me?" she said, shocked. She knew he had connections, but she didn't expect him to offer to help her, especially considering he had heard very little of her work.

" Well, I don't know.. I'm sure we could work something out... And that's only if your other offer isn't still standing."

" That would be so perfect," she thought carefully. So either way, when she left, she had a label. She was making her album.

Tommy smiled at how excited she seemed to be; he had heard her play and sing, and saw lyrics she had written; plus her personality screamed, hit. But just in case...

" Can you play again?"

" Oh well, I guess.. I mean, I haven't really worked on anything for a while..."

" Okay... well you go warm up, are we done with the bags?

" Sir, yes, sir! Everything's organized according to your sadistically specific plan, sir!" Jude answered, taking on a military stance and tone, resulting in Tommy rolling his eyes.

" Come on, I'm not that bad... this way everything's together..."

" Yes, because it all has it's own 'special place,' right!" She said laughing.

" Jude, Jude, Jude... you'll see.. Being organized comes in handy."

" Fine, some stuff I can see... like the food and tools and stuff, but I don't think it matters if our clothes are organized according to color, size, material, and so on.. The freakin' picks I brought along have their own special bag! It's ridiculous..."

Tommy burst out laughing at this, but Jude continued on, completely unabashed.

" I'm not kidding... are you obsessive compulsive? Cause I won't hold it against you...and now that we know pretty much all of eachother's secrets.. It's really crazy how free time can open people up, even strangers," she grinned. "I might go to the tabloids when we get home, with some of the stuff I pulled out of you..."

He ignored her question, smiling at her playful manner, and continued to stand up.

" Right, cause I couldn't turn around and inform your entire town of your own secrets," he threatened.

" I guess I'll head out to collect more logs or something... go for a walk while you warm up... is there anything I'm supposed to be doing? I feel like we need something..."

She raised an eyebrow at him, " We're stranded in no man's land, Tommy.. Of course there's stuff we need!" she laughed before continuing, " But I guess I know what ya mean... There's not really much else we can get.. Those bags really helped.. But I don't know... usually we're so busy, and now, we have a heck of a lot more than what we started out with.. I don't think we're doin' too bad for ourselves," she smiled widely, very proud of where they had come since they had arrived about 10 days ago.

" We make a good team, I guess," he replied, his smile as big as hers.

" Remember that when you sign me pal."

" Will do, ma'am."

" Ma'am! A couple more years and you're a decade older than me. I should be calling you sir," she joked.

" You better get warming up.." he said, rolling his eyes, and with that he turned to take his walk.

She got up from her seat by the nonexistent fire, grabbed the guitar case, and walked towards the lake, sitting on an oversized rock that jetted out above the water. Removing her newly found sandals, she let her feet rest in the water beneath her, and started strumming the guitar he once again lent her. To her surprise, she was actually kind of nervous about singing for Tommy. She wasn't sure why exactly.. Mostly she just wanted to impress him.

" Okay... now what song should I sing?" she said to herself, racking her brain for a good song.

Tommy watched her from a distance, not sure if she was finished practicing, but decided now was a good a time as any. She'd had plenty of time, surely she was warmed up by now. He walked towards her, sitting on the rock, her back turned to him with her cute feet dangling in the water below.

"Ooooh...
Prayed for an angel
To come in the night and shine some sweet light on me
Found only strangers then you came to me
Just when I'd given up
You gave me love
My world was tumblin' down
You turned it around, baby

You...are...you're some kind of miracle,
You...are...you're a miracle to me."

Her voice was simply angelic, he couldn't get enough of it, and continued to listen to her, unnoticed.

"Sweet revelation
That look in your eyes
Your touch in the night
I find the sweetest salvation
In your arms, baby
Warm as the morning sun
Your tender love
Came and just lifted me up
Look what you've done, baby

You...are...you're some kind of miracle, oh
You you you you...are...you're a miracle to me."

He'd never heard the song before, but it didn't matter. Her voice was unlike any other, and the emotion she put into the lyrics was incredible.

"Ohhh...

You brought joy to my heart
I found love in your arms
See what you've done to me?
You set my soul so free
You came and you gave me the love that I need

Oh

You...are...you're some kind of miracle, baby yeah
You...are...you're a miracle
A miracle...
To me.

Baby you are
Oh, a miracle to me"

Tommy clapped, recognizing the end of the song, and she turned around, caught off-guard at the site of him.

" You cheated!" she said, pointing at him. He held his hands up in defeat.

" Maybe, but I'm glad I did... that was amazing, Jude, I'm in complete awe right now."

" Really?" She smiled happily, setting the guitar down and putting her sandals back on.

" Yes, really, and if you don't have a producer when we get out of here, you're looking at one."

" No way! REALLY!" her face lit up completely, he'd never seen her so happy, and that alone made him all the more positive.

" Yes, I'm serious!" he chuckled as she continued freaking out, jumping up and down. Then she stopped.

" You swear?" This made Tommy laugh out loud, but he answered anyway. " Yes, I swear."

" Sorry, I know this isn't professional, but this is so awesome... Okay, sorry, I'm done now.." She said, calming down, but flinging her arms around him in a bear hug. Her previous disposition was already gone, and she quietly whispered thank you.

" Hey, I'm happy to do it... come on, I fixed up camp a bit, I wanna show you.." She smiled again, stepping out of his embrace, but took his hand in her as they headed back to their camp.

" Oh God, Tommy... where are our bags?" She asked, rolling her eyes.

" No, really... this is cool.. You'll like it I swear.."

He led her about 20 feet away from their cave, and stopped in front of a section of the wall that was covered by grass. In one swift motion, he swept the grass aside, which acted as a curtain, unveiling a cave almost identical to their own. Inside, all their bags, which had once been scattered out on the shore, were piled up neatly, and a row of backpacks were lined up, Jude's in front.

" You have GOT to be kidding me, Tommy!" She said, laughing hysterically. " You are insane, did you know that?" He just shrugged, bending over and moving a rock the size of a melon.

" Ta-dah," he smiled, letting her look in the hole that was now apparent in the ground.

" Tommy, you have serious, serious issues... but I'm willing to forget it, if you explain what THAT is.."

" Food storage !"

" Again.. I'll reiterate.. Serious, serious issues.."

" No way! We can keep berries and stuff in there, and plus, I found a hell of a lot of goodies in..." he grabbed the backpack right behind Jude's, " Ms. Eileen P. Moore's bag... Let's see.." he started pulling things out.

" Box of fruit roll ups... they don't go bad, right? Hmm, chips.. I guess those are okay.. Oh ew, a banana.. Not so good," he tossed it over his head. " A can of soup... Family sized ! There's ton's of stuff in here, Jude. And now it's ours, and even better, it's organized. We'll find everything we need. Plus, you said there wasn't much else we could do around here.. I was pretty bored waiting for you to warm up... This kept me occupied.." He explained as he tossed everything back in the bag and lined it back up.

" Hey, I don't care what you do in your free time, but don't yell at me if it gets messed up. I'm not anal about things like you.. I'd be happy with all that stuff thrown in the sand."

" I'm not anal, I was bored... and I like things organized.."

" And you're obsessive compulsive.." She teased.

" Watch what you call your boss, Jude Harrison."

" Oh, he brought out the full name. Looks like I'm in trouble!" she laughed, walking away from Tommy's masterpiece and sitting in the sand.

" Hey, just don't say you weren't warned.."

" Okay, I was warned!" she stuck her tongue out at him and he sat next to her in comfortable silence that was soon broken.

" Why didn't you want to talk about your management before, Jude?"

" I don't know.. It's been a touchy subject with my family.. And it's not like I wanted to tell my problems to a stranger.." she sighed. " But I guess you're not really a stranger anymore.. My mom wanted me to finish high school, full time, you know? But I just wanted to sing. And when I won this contest, that's how I ended up getting a label, my mom was naturally excited for me, but I think she just wanted me to have a back up plan. And I don't want one. I don't want to wait. I was stubborn, I've always been that way. And it's not like my management, what I met of it, was the greatest either. I mean, it is a big deal. It's a really good company, but the workers that I was dealing with, and the ones my parents met.. They weren't exactly the kind of people I associate with. I mean, I'm not familiar with these things, so maybe all business men are like that.. But they had a lot of rules for me, they were just rude. They wanted me to change. They STILL want me to change, but I haven't. I don't want to. I just wanna sing. And I mean, obviously the bigwigs there didn't have a problem with me, if I won, right?"

" Right... they sound like a bunch of idiots to me, Jude. You're perfect the way you are, stick your ground, sometimes it's good to be stubborn."

" My mom would probably hit you for saying that, but I agree.. Stubborn is good," she laughed. " Besides, I got myself a new management, don't I?"

" Yes you do, Jude Harrisson, newest client at G Major," he proclaimed, proudly.

" I'm sorry, did you say, G Major?" she asked, tensing up a bit.

" Yeah, that's my friend Georgia's label, why?"

" That's my management."

" Yeah, new and improved management."

" No, Tommy.. That was my old management. I'm the Instant Star winner."


Now it's time to review... I swear the next chapter won't take half as long as this one did. It's already being edited right as soon as I close this page.

Thanks to everyone who's still reading!