A/N: I don't own Instant Star. Reviews are always welcome.

Episode 2 - Ask Me How I Am

Opening

Strangely enough things had gone back to normal. Well, as normal as could be under the circumstances. I went to school with Jamie and Kat, whose cutesy voices and public make out session were making me a little nauseous to tell you the truth. Worked on my second album with Tommy at the studio and occasionally had run-ins with she who shall not be named. And my parents were constantly bickering about my career. The only upside to all this was the massive endorsement deals I had snagged, which got Darius off my back, although he always seemed to have this smug expression, which I couldn't help but had the constant urge to punch him in the face to knock the smirk he had on his face. Sadie was still MIA. Tommy and I even slid back into the ease of our relationship; our platonic let's hang out, but I secretly love you relationship. My collaboration with Shay hadn't been mentioned again, but was assumed that I was going to do it. Everything was going great, but how long can it really last before everything blows up in my face?

Part 1

I had a meeting with Darius first thing the next morning. When I walked into his office and saw him, I half expected him to be stroking a cat a la Doctor Evil. I couldn't help myself and unsuccessfully tried to stifle my giggle. "And what's so amusing this morning," he asked me with one eyebrow raised. Shay had often given me that same look. "Um, nothing, sorry I was distracted," I muttered half-heartedly. I shuffled my feet and looked at the ground expecting a tongue lashing and what came next was totally out of left field. First, he told me how proud he was that I was meeting his expectations as an artist, and at that point I had to take a seat. Then, he went on about how he knew I was having a tough time at home with my parents' divorce and my lack-of relationship with my sister whom I still hadn't spoken to. "So, I wanted to give you something, a home away from home, a sanctuary if you will. This is a key to your new apartment downtown, already furnished with E.J.'s help. I know how you value your independence, so I got you a little something else, too. In fact let's test drive it now", he said nonchalantly. I was still in shock that there was no yelling that I just stupidly nodded my head as he steered me outside. Lo and behold was Tommy's car. Wait, scratch that; it was a viper just like his, but instead of being blue it was red and the license plate said "FRNCHISE". At that point I couldn't help, but groan. "Darius, I can't accept this. I mean what is all of this?" I said. "I told you, Jude, I just wanted to show you some appreciation and besides haven't you ever heard of a "company car", he said as if this was some normal everyday occurrence. At this point I get in the car with E.J., although I'm not sure where and when she came into the picture. She insisted on driving because my jaw was still on the ground at that point. She kept talking and talking and when all she could get out of me were one syllable answers she gave up.

Part 2

When we entered the apartment Kat and Jamie were making out on the couch with Jamie on top of Kat. "Um, guys? GUYS!" I say a little louder. "Hey Jude we were just ummm breaking in your new couch!" Jamie says enthusiastically. "Yeah", Kat chimes in breathlessly. "And besides we could always take our show on the road in your brand new guest bedroom, but wait there's more," Jamie pipes in sarcastically. "Yeah, let me give you a grand tour of your diva pad", says E.J. rolling her eyes. What I couldn't stop staring at was a huge frame of my album cover and album, which had gone platinum, twice since its release. Back to the apartment; it was a 2 bedroom apartment complete with living room, kitchen, den, and studio. Its décor was a mix of E.J., Jamie, and Kat. "When did you guys do this? I mean E.J. you never mentioned any of this while we were on tour," I say. "Jamie and I played phone tag for a while, then Kat came home and the three of us have been working on this little project." says E.J. "Jude I didn't forget that against all odds, well actually it was mostly me, we became friends," she replied. I couldn't help, but grin like an idiot and hug each of them much to their embarrassment. We were in the middle of group hug and were just about to start singing "cum bah yah" when Shay and Eden walked in the door, uninvited I might add.

Part 3

"This place has really gone downhill if you're living here now," Eden drawls. "I was wondering when Uncle D was going to give you a spot here," Shay said. He went on to elaborate. "Uncle D owns the building and has his up and coming artists stay here. It's a musical playground. I'm your neighbor down the hall and Eden is down the hall the other way," Shay said. "Yeah, so if you ever need a cup of sugar, just holler," Eden says with glee. "You know if you keep your face like that a little longer, it'll freeze that way," Jamie says seriously. At that point me, Kat, and E.J. just lose it. "Whatever," Eden says and drags Shay out the door.

"E.J., please tell me you also live in this funhouse?" I said hopefully. "Please, I have a much bigger, more fabulous apartment a few blocks away," she says nonplussed. "Anyway, I've gotta get back to the studio, see you later" she says before heading out the door. "Bye, E.J.", the three of us chorus. "This is really great guys, thank you!" I say. "No problem Harrison," Jamie says. "Anyway we thought ahead and ordered some pizza. And I brought some videos from Blockbuster," said Kat. We started talking and were about to pop in the video when the doorbell rang. "Finally, the pizza's here. Jamie get the door!" I said. Kat and I were still laughing about something when my parents walked in with Darius.

Part 4

"Uh, Jude we're just gonna go," Jamie grabs Kat's hand and bolts out the door. "Thanks for the support guys real…" the words die in my throat as my parents and Darius point to the couch. "You know we really have to stop meeting like this," I say casually. My mom gives me the "now is not the time" look, so I sit and play with my fingers. My dad speaks first, "Jude, tell Darius that you cannot accept this." Darius replies, "This is her decision." I take a deep breath and politely ask Darius if he can wait outside for a few minutes, so I could talk to my parents.

"Jude if your home life so bad with your mother you can always move in with me and Yvette, I mean there's plenty of room," my dad says. At that point my mom and dad start yelling. I let them go at for a few more minutes, and then yell, "Stop it! This is exactly why I'm going to accept Darius' offer. You guys can't go two seconds without fighting. And I'm not going to choose between you two. I love you both, but right now the way things are with you and with Sadie I cannot be there right now. There are just too many bad memories at that house. I have no home." The second the words left my mouth I saw both my parents visually recoil. At that point they left and I was left in my apartment sobbing. Suddenly, I felt someone's arms around me and looked up, but my vision was blurred with tears. When I could finally see again at first I thought it was Tommy, actually I wished it was Tommy, but it was Shay.

Part 5

"What are you doing here?" I sniffled. "Uncle D told me you might be in need of a friend, but then we've never been friends. But hold up, I told you that I had a lot of making up to you to do and so if you want I'm um uhhh here for you, or whatever" he said. "Oh man the tin man really does have a heart," I say sarcastically. "You know what, Harisson, I get that you're in a bad place right now, so I'll just let that one slide," Shay said definitely not amused. "I'm sorry you're right," I said ashamed. "C'mon" he says grabbing my hand. "We're going out" he said. "Where?" I asked. "I wanna see if you've been keeping up with your dance moves," he said with a laugh. Just then T-Bone walks in and gives me a bone crushing hug that knocks the wind out me. "Hey, Jude!" he says enthusiastically. "Hi, T-Bone," I say trying to force my lungs to work. "So, Shay we going out tonight, right?" he says. "Yeah and we're bringing Jude along, too," says Shay. "I don't know if I'm really feeling up to going out tonight," I say. "Oh no, Jude, you're coming with us," says Shay. At that point my world has been flipped upside down, literally. "Um, T-bone you can, um, put me down now, I'm getting a little dizzy", I say putting my hand to my head. "He'll put you down once we get to the car," Shay says flashing me one of his million dollar smiles.

Part 6

"Oh crap what time is it?" I say aloud. I grab my alarm clock and it's fifteen to nine. I rush into the bathroom, brush my teeth, take a quick shower, throw on my clothes, and jump into my viper. I'm on my way to school when I hear sirens. "Damn," I say. The police officer is walking towards me. "Oh man, my parents are going to kill me, plus I'm gonna be late on the first day of school," I groan. I have my head pressed to the steering wheel when the officer starts going into the "license and registration" spiel. When I finally look up and struggle to look for the registration. I hear an exclamation, "Oh my God! It's Jude Harrison, you're Jude Harrison!" "Miss Harrison you really shouldn't be speeding, you know," he says. I smile coyly at the cute young police officer and with my best pout explain to him that I didn't want to be late for my first day of school. I know it was a pretty despicable move on my part, but I really didn't want to have to deal with parents who would no doubt find out about my speeding ticket and insist that Darius take away the car. Anyhow, the officer was kind enough to dismiss the ticket saying with a wink that he would forget about it if I'd give him an autograph and if he could take a picture with me with his camera phone to show the other guys at the station, which I happily obliged. He even offered to escort me to school. I politely and with much effort on my part to stifle my laughter declined. I mean really, how would it look if on my first day of school I drove in with my brand new viper with a police cruiser on my tail announcing to the world of my arrival to school?

Part 7

"Do my eyes deceive me? Is Jude Harrison actually skipping in the hallways of school?" Jamie says with a smile. "Shove it Jamie, I could use a little normalcy in my life right now," I say as I playfully punch him on the shoulder. "Hey, only I get to assault Jamie's scrawny a", Kat says with a laugh. "Hey," Jamie says. "It's true Jamie," I say with an apologetic look. "And besides I'm not scrawny, I'm wiry" he said in his defense. "Well whatever you are we're gonna be late for class," I say.

Part 8

Jude had been staring at the clock wishing the bell would ring. Each tick of the clock seemed to be mocking her. Plus the fact that she was in her least favorite class, math, didn't help at all. "Miss Harrison, what is your answer to the equation on the board?" "I have no idea what the answer is. I mean, seriously, this normalcy crap I had been spouting earlier is overrated," I thought to myself. "The answer is…" I say. Someone up there must have been smiling down on me because just then the bell rang. I grab my stuff and rush to my locker only to knock over Jamie and Kat. "Hey what's the rush, Harrison?" Jamie says. "Oh sorry guys," I say distractedly. "I'm working on the new album today. I'll see you guys later," I say. I walk out the doors and stop in my tracks. Tommy is standing outside in front of his viper. "Need a lift?" he says casually. Damn, he looks good I think to myself. He's wearing his leather jacket, jeans, some designer tee, and his sunglasses while effortlessly leaning on his car. "I've got my own ride," I retort back. I'm almost floating when I get to my own car. "Nice, a present from Darius?" he asks. "Yeah," I say. "Jude, the license plate?" Tommy says. "Hey, I didn't pick it, alright?" I answer back. I get in my car and turn on the ignition. "Jude, wait" he says. "What? Look Tommy we're gonna be late," I say. "Just follow me; don't you trust me," he says. And with that he smiled at me. It was like the sun came out and all of a sudden there was music in the background. You know those cliché movie moments. I couldn't help myself, but grinned like an idiot and followed him. I mean wouldn't you?

Part 9

"Ready, Harrison," he says with a gleam in his eye. "Try not to choke on my dust," I say back. "You wish Harrison," he says. We went over the directions one more time. "Are you sure there won't be any cops," I say not wanting to relive that moment earlier today when I got pulled over. "Relax, I did my homework and scouted the route, which are all back roads and side streets that no one uses. I'll be a gentleman and even give you a head start," he says teasingly. The adrenaline was like a drug and left me breathless. I beat him to the parking lot of G Major by half a car length. "Don't pout Tommy, you lost and I won!" I say as I do a little victory lap around him. "Stop that, I'm not pouting, I'm scowling; there's a difference," he says with a harrumph. Not able to take much more of my victory lap he tackles me to the ground and we're both on the ground laughing. Then he started tickling me. And we started a whole new round of laughter, still on the ground I might add. Coming back from a coffee run Kwest stares at us with one eyebrow raised and dead pans "Um, am I interrupting something!" He winks at me and Tommy and the two of us unceremoniously and with much effort disentangle ourselves. I give Kwest a hug and kiss. "Nice to see you Jude," he says. His eyes widen as he takes in the red viper. "Oh man! Jude do you think I can take it for a spin? I mean I'm best friends with Tommy and he won't even let me ride shotgun," he says. "Yeah, here Kwest," I say and toss him the keys. He runs to the car like a little boy and takes off. "You really shouldn't have done that," Tommy says with a smile. "I'll never hear the end of it and eventually he'll guilt trip me into letting him ride shotgun and maybe even driving my car," he says in an agonized/joking tone. "Thanks a lot, Harrison." He says. He starts pouting again and I quickly take a snapshot with my camera phone. He notices and runs after me. "Hey, I thought your picture needing updating," I say innocently.

Part 10

I got home tired, but a good tired. Tommy and I had been close to completing a song. I still hadn't done any of my homework and because I failed to pay attention in class, my math teacher assigned me extra homework. "This is gonna take forever," I whine. Just then Shay walked in and said, "What's gonna take forever?" I tell him about what happened in math class and he offers to help me in exchange for pizza. "God, when it comes to eating you're like a black hole," I say. "That's the nicest compliment anyone has ever said to me about my eating habits!" he says jokingly. "Besides, you once called me a growing boy when you, awkwardly I might add, asked me out," he says laughingly. He explained in a way that made sense. And I found myself actually getting it. Not all the time though, but he was really patient with me, which was surprising. "So then f(x) 2," I say with my forehead creased in concentration. "Right, Harrison. Congrats girl you got it and I am exhausted," he says. I check my watch and to my shock it's four in the morning. "Shay, I'm sorry I didn't think it would take so long to finish that problem" I say. "Don't worry that's what friend's are for. Man, right out of an afternoon special," he says jokingly. "I guess I'm rubbing off on you," I say with a grin. "Anyway, really, thanks for your help," I say as I walk him to the door. When we reach the door he leans over and automatically reacting I duck out of the way. "This is awkward," I say. "Jude I wasn't going in for a kiss, alright. I was just going to give you a friendly hug, that's it," he says hurt. "See ya, Jude," he says. I hear his door close and I sink to the floor. "Nice one, Harrison," I say aloud.

Part 11

I was throwing out the pizza boxes down the garbage shoot when I hear a high nasally voice. Eden, in pajamas and pink bunny slippers throws open her door and starts verbally accosting me. "If you think I'll just idly stand by and watch you steal by boyfriend you are seriously deluded, Jude Harrison!" she yells at the top of her lungs while stomping up and down like a little 5-year old. Her hair is a mess and she's got a vein bulging on her forehead and she's pointing her finger at me. I couldn't help myself and just started laughing. She was about to rush me and slap me in the face when Shay grabs Eden's arm and whispers something in her ear. She then squares her shoulders and turns around and slams the door of her apartment. "What did you say," I asked. "I just told her the truth, that I was helping you with some math homework," he says with a shrug. "Listen, Shay about before I'm really sorry," I say apologetically. "Don't worry about it, Harrison, I get that I still need to earn your trust. I really want to make this friends thing work. I mean I've had girlfriends, but I've never actually had a friend that was a girl. And besides, you make life interesting," he says with a wry smile.