Disclaimer: Sooooooo tired of putting this… I don't own the show.
Chapter 7: Tricks for the Best
Tommy was pacing around his room with wild thoughts floating around in his head. How could Kwest do this to him? He knew how he felt about her! What kind of friend was he? And Jude! How could she even want to be with him?
No matter how he thought about the situation, it seemed like he had lost Jude forever.
He woke up the next morning, hoping to see her. They hadn't talked since their encounter in the lobby the day before which was hard to do when they lived together.
She had left a note saying that she already left for G Major. The sheet of paper was crumpled and it looked as if she wrote something more but erased it.
Tommy jumped into his blue viper and headed towards G Major.
Jude entered the lobby and Kwest greeted her with a kiss. "How's my little rock star?"
"I'm okay…" She replied in an unconvincing tone. "Tommy is freezing me out. When I got home last night, he was closed in his room."
"I don't see why he's mad at you, I betrayed him."
"You don't have to step back just because Tommy likes me."
"C'mon let's get to work." He put his arm around her waist and walked her into the studio. "Just don't let it get to you."
"I won't."
Tommy entered G Major and removed his sunglasses. "Hey EJ," he called.
"Hey, how are you holding up?" She replied as she walked over to him.
He raised an eyebrow at her. "What are you talking about?"
She smiled. "It must be really killing you…"
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm not blind, Tommy."
"Okay, either tell me what you're talking about or I'm walking away."
"I'm talking about Jude."
"What about her?" He knew what she was talking about but he didn't want to admit it.
"Her… and Kwest."
"I still don't know what you're getting at."
"Stop playing dumb, you like her and you can't stand to see them like this."
"EJ, you can't tell anyone about this."
"I won't, if I can just hear you admit it."
"Fine, I really like Jude. It just really hurts that Kwest would do this to me."
"Maybe he's not doing it to you, he doing it for you."
"That doesn't make sense!"
"Just go and get to work." She pushed him towards the studio before walking off.
He rolled his eyes and entered.
Jude and Kwest were listening to a recently recorded song. They were leaning back in their chairs, with their feet up on the edge of the control counter and his arm draped around her shoulders. Her head was nestled against his neck and he ran his fingers through her hair. When they noticed that Tommy had showed up, they sat up straight, took their feet off the counter, and backed away from each other.
"Oh, don't stop on account of me!" He said sarcastically.
"Sorry, we were just listening to my latest…" She explained.
"You don't have to explain anything to him," Kwest said sharply.
"Shut up, Kwest," Tom snapped.
"Guys, don't start," she demanded.
"Tom, why don't you get out of here? I've got a handle on things here," Kwest added.
"You've sure got a handle on things," Tom replied, motioning towards Jude.
"Hey!" She barked.
"Jude, you need to stay away from a hostile environment. Why don't we go out tonight?" Kwest interrupted.
"Don't do this just to piss me off," Tom responded.
"Um, sure, Kwest, that'd be great," she answered.
Tommy scoffed and stormed off.
That night, Tommy heard her laugh through the door. She wasn't alone though, he could tell. All in all, she sounded happy and that was what was most important.
The door swung open and she stumbled in with Kwest right behind her. Her laugh stopped when she saw Tommy sitting on the couch. "Oh, sorry, Tom, I thought you would be asleep by now, it's like one in the morning."
"I was just up thinking…"
"Thinking?"
"About you."
"I'll be right back," Kwest said uncomfortably. He walked down the hall with no real destination.
He stood up and walked towards me.
"Tom, I'm sorry, but I can't be with you."
"You just need to know how I feel about you."
"You don't know! That's just it!"
"That's what I've been thinking about…"
"You know as well as I that even if you figured out that you really cared about me, that I'm with Kwest."
"But you just need to know!"
"I don't need to know!"
"Yes you do!"
"Why?"
"Because!"
"Because why?"
"Because Jude! I love you!"
Her breath left her for a moment of shock. "You… You what?"
His voice became soft. "I love you, Jude Harrison." He leaned towards her.
"Wait, Tom, what about Kw-" She was cut off by his kiss and her eyes drifted shut.
Then there was a clap of hands. Followed by another and another.
The two disengaged and turned to see Kwest standing at the end of the hall clapping.
"Oh, Kwest…" She squeaked.
"Finally," he replied with a smile.
"What?" She replied.
"EJ and I were so tired of you guys torturing yourselves. So we devised a plan to get you together and it finally worked."
"So that's what EJ meant by you weren't doing this to me, you were doing it for me?" Tommy broke in.
"She wasn't supposed to say anything but yeah."
"And everything that just happened was fake?" Jude asked.
"Sorry, Jude, you're just not my type."
"That's alright, Kwest," she answered with a smile.
"You brought us together, man, we owe you," Tom added.
"Just be at the studio tomorrow." He left the house without another word.
AN: Sneaky, sneaky. Anyways, please R&R!