She bore holes into the slim gossip magazine as she gawked at pictures of herself. They were from last night. One was her and Chris in the parking lot when he was leaving and the other was of her and Tommy who was holding her by her hand and taking her to his car. She saw the anguish in the first picture. It leaped out so fast, Jude almost got whiplash from looking at it. Her face was etched with hurt and guilt, and Jude had to double check to make sure it was really her. The second picture she looked less tormented, she may even use the word content. Tommy's face however screamed possessiveness and overprotectiveness. It was the way his hand held hers, the grip could be seen as firm and tight, and the way he lead her to the car, it almost looked like he dragged her, and she was letting him. All of a sudden the moments seemed so foreign to her, as if they weren't hers. Like she didn't just live them last night. She slowly gazed towards the caption.

The title read, "MUSIC STAR JUDE HARRISON DUMPS BOYFRIEND ACTOR CHRISTOPHER LINE FOR EX BOYZ ATTACK/PRODUCER TOMMY "LIL TOMMY Q" QUINCY." She almost laughed at that. If they were going to trash her life they could have at least come up with something clever. She looked back at the pictures She wondered how they got those, she hadn't seen anyone around last night. But she knew she was so preoccupied that she wouldn't have noticed anyone anyway. If she could be honest, she wasn't even shocked that they were there. Sometimes they'd leave her alone and other times, not so much. But looking at it now, looking at her feelings plastered on the front of some gossip magazine made her feel dirty, made everything that happen last night tainted. They seemed to sum up everything that happened in some neat, little title, when everything was so much more complicated. At that moment she had never hated the press more.

She went back to the note. Who would have sent her something so, so vile? It dawned on her as she felt alarm creep up on her. Chris 'Oh God. Tommy was right..'

"Jude?" The man himself called out as he walked towards her and stood above her. "Is Jamie there?" She'd been at the door for about 5 minutes, and he hadn't even heard Jamie's voice.

"Uh, no. It was nothing, just my imagination" She began nervously as she quickly stood up, folded the paper and lamely hid the things behind her. There was no time to get rid of them, Tommy was right in front of her. 'There is no way Tommy can see this. He'd lose it.' Jude thought anxiously.

Tommy faced Jude and gave her a funny look. "What's behind your back?" He questioned curiously.

"Oh, ah, nothing just the newspaper you know." She said as she hurried past him, backwards.

Tommy raised his eyebrow. "They leave it on your backdoor step?" That didn't make sense. He followed her and grabbed her forearm to stop her.

"Yeah, well with the press and all, we ask them too." She shrugged him off, and attempted to explain, lying as she went along. "We give him a big tip, so the newspaper boy doesn't care." Jude laughed a little.

"How'd he get it back here? It's fenced in and there's a dead bolt on the gate." He asked, now suspicious. He could tell she was lying, but why and what about?

Jude didn't think of that. She absently wondered how whoever dropped it off got in. 'Probably the same way Jamie will come, and the same way Tommy and I will leave.' She figured silently. "Ah, uh, we gave him a key?" She finally tried, weakly.

Tommy gave her 'I don't believe you for a second.', but shrugged and turned away, looking as if he gave up. Jude sighed in relief and leaned against the kitchen counter. 'That was too close'. She was about to walk away when, Tommy whipped back around, pinned her wrists lightly against the counter and wrestled the paper out of her left hand, ignoring her right which had the roses and note. She squealed and tried to fight him off, but he won.

He shot her a triumphant gaze as he unfolded the paper and read the headlines. His face twitched in anger as he saw the pictures of him and Jude and her and Chris. "He doesn't waste time, does he?" He said bitterly, referring to Chris. He opened the paper and skimmed through the cover story, as it went on and on about how Jude "cheated" on poor Chris, and the magazine speculated that Tommy and Jude have had a relationship since she was 15. Tommy wanted to laugh at that. 'Yeah right.' He thought ruefully. Disgusted, he threw the paper on the nearby table and sighed heavily. He was about to say something, when he saw that Jude was still hiding her right hand. "What's in your other hand, Jude?"

"Nothing, it's not important." She said hastily.

He just stood there and held his hand open. Knowing he wouldn't let up, she hesitantly brought the couple of black roses and the note. Tommy's face buried in confusion as he took it. He slowly opened the note as he took in what was typed on it.

Jude looked at him, worried. 'How is Tommy going to handle this?' She frantically thought as she intently stared at him waiting for his reaction. She knew he'd flip.

Tommy's face darkened as he read it. 'That son of a...' he thought dangerously as he noted that there was no signature. He didn't need one to know who it was from. Soundlessly he crumbled the note, and headed for the front door. He'd take care of that kid right now.

Astonished that Tommy didn't even say a word, and even more surprised that he was making his way to the door, she quickly ran after him. "Tommy!" She grabbed his wrist to make him stop. "Where are you going?"

"To see your ex boyfriend." He bit out, without even looking at her.

'Oh God.' She thought nervously. She had to do something, she couldn't let Tommy go like this. She ran past him and plastered herself against the front door, preventing him from leaving "Tommy you can't! He's might have left already and besides there's about a million people out there waiting for you to leave, waiting for the picture of you walking out of my house. Imagine what they'd print if they saw how angry you were!" She tried reasoning with him.

Tommy looked at her as he tilted his head slightly. "Do you think I care? Do you really think that's what I'm worried about? Right now, all I'm concerned with is you! That damn boy threatened you, Jude. Do you finally get what I've been trying to tell you?" Tommy asked, stressing his words.

"Yes, yes! I do, I believe you now, okay? But please I just want to get out of here. I don't want anything else to happen." She went towards him as she feverishly grabbed his hands in hers, hoping to make him understand "Please, I just want to escape it for a few days, if you go over to Chris's, you'll just be adding fuel to the fire." When she felt like she was getting nowhere, she moved her hands up to his face, cupping it. "Please Tommy, I can't deal with anything else right now. Just take me away, okay?"

Tommy sighed heavily, not wanting to put Jude through more than she had to. He placed his hands over where hers laid on his cheeks. "Fine, but one more thing..." He began in warning.

Jude nodded her head. "Okay, fine, you do what you have to do then." She relented. She leaned her head against Tommy's and thought she'd do whatever necessary to keep him away from Chris.

"Guys?" Jamie's voice came in. He appeared slightly out of breathe. He looked between the two, sensing a moment. He wasn't sure if he should interrupt, but they needed to get going.

They pulled apart as they both stared at him. "Oh, hey Jamie. I didn't hear you come in." Jude said softly as she went towards him and hugged him tightly.

"The back door was opened, so I just let myself in." He told her as he hugged her back. He stepped away and got a good look at her. "You okay?" He wondered, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She murmured. "Is Kat at your house?"

"Yup she's waiting for you guys. You ready to role?" He asked as he looked between a quiet Jude and a brooding Tommy.

"Yeah, lemme just go clean up the kitchen, I'll be quick." Jude disappeared from the room, leaving the 2 guys staring at each other.

"So," Jamie began uncomfortably. Tommy was just standing there, staring at him. He saw him fish something out of his pocket and Tommy produced a car key.

"Listen, Jamie. You're to treat this car better than you do your own mother." He began, his voice strong with apprehension. "I want it to be the same exact way I left it. If the car even smells funny, I'm coming after you" Tommy threatened. All he could think about is somebody like Jamie driving his cool Viper. It totally killed it.

"No problem. I'll treat as if it's gold." Jamie smiled happily. "Besides, I only got my license suspended that time when I crashed into Kat's mailbox for only, what 8 months?" Jamie laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

Tommy's face turned into sheer terror. His grip tightened on the key. "Forget it. You're not driving it. We'll figure something else out." He said gruffly. He went to pocket the key when Jude's voice prevented him.

"Tommy, stop it. Jamie's just playing around. He never got his license suspended. Chill." She told him lightly as she came into the room. When Tommy still appeared hesitant, Jude continue. "Give him the key, Tommy."

He huffed as he held out his hand. Jamie stepped towards him and grabbed it, but Tommy wouldn't relinquish his hold. "Um, you need to let go." Jamie told him, trying to pry it out of his hands.

Jude sent Tommy a look. He loosened his grip somewhat, as the key fell into Jamie's outstretched hands.

"Jesus, man. It's just a car. Relax." Jamie said, not seeing the big deal. When Tommy gave him a deadly glare, he quickly retracted his words. "Well, maybe not for you, uh.." He said nervously.

"Don't worry, Jamie. He'll get over it." Jude went to him and put a friendly hand on Jamie's shoulder. "You know what to do?"

He nodded his head as he pulled out a baseball cap from his jean back pocket and placed it on his head. Tommy silently went to the living room and handed Jamie his jacket. Jamie shrugged it on and Jude surveyed him. When he zipped up the red track jacket, Jude concluded that clothes wise, he looked like Tommy the night before. She had told Jamie to wear a faded pair of light jeans that matched what Tommy was wearing. She then looked at him in just a white t-shirt and remembered how he looked without a shirt on.

She shook her head and spoke. "Perfect. So just run out the front door, push through the paparazzi, and take off in Tommy's car, got it? At this point we don't even care if they think you're him or not, just as long as you get Tommy's car out of my driveway." Jude thought for a moment. "You may have to get around a few paparazzi if they decide to chase you. Just speed away if you can, the car goes pretty fast."

Tommy winced at this. He didn't want Jamie in his car, let alone speeding.

"Be careful, all right?" She said as she hugged Jamie. "And thanks for helping." She said sincerely as he made his way towards the front door.

"Anytime." He grinned. He took a deep breath. "Here goes nothing." Jude and Tommy stepped away from the door as Jamie flung it open and a sea of flashes went off. He closed the door hurriedly and left Tommy and Jude to themselves.

"Okay, lemme just grab my bag and we're off." She said as she locked the front door. She absently remembered she needed to call Sadie, but she'd do it later. She went to the living room grabbed her duffel and they both went towards the kitchen. She looked sideways at Tommy who was still upset. "The Viper will be fine, Tommy. Jamie's a good driver. He even knows how to drive stick." She comforted him.

"It's not just that, Jude." He said, facing her. "I don't think you're taking this Chris thing too seriously."

"Tommy, I am. I now know that you were right about him. He obviously left that note, but I'm not worried, okay? We'll be gone for a few days, and hopefully Chris will just let it all die then." Jude reasoned as she unlocked the back door.

Tommy sincerely doubted he would, but he knew that getting Jude away for a few days would help his peace of mind. He eased up a little. "Okay, let's make our exit then." He said as they left the house.

As soon as they stepped outside, they surveyed the fence. It was the only way they could get out of Jude's house without letting the paparazzi see them. They'd have to go through four backyards to get to Jamie's. Jude judged her own fence, it was probably about 5 feet tall, nothing impossible.

"Okay, Tommy you ready? Think you can handle it?" She gave him a look as she walked towards the wooden fence.

"If Jamie could jump over all these fences, I think I can." He said confidently as he followed her.

She easily climbed over it and hopped into her neighbors yard. "Tommy?" She called quietly. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming." He grumbled as he looked at the fence. He flew over it and landed on his feet.

"Impressive Tommy." Jude smiled at him as she looked at the next metal fence. Barely 3 feet. 'Piece of Cake.' She thought happily. They both got over it with no trouble.

"I never thought it be so bad that we'd have to hop fences in your neighborhood to get away from the press." Tommy complained as they easily made it over the third fence which was painted white.

"Shh, Tommy. It's early, but we can't let anyone hear us, or we're screwed." They walked across someone's lawn and stepped over a few toys. The fence was just as simple as the others.

"Hey this ain't so bad." Tommy commented, as they all but stepped over the fourth fence.

Jude didn't answer him as she came into the next backyard and took in the fence that separated Jamie's house with his neighbors. It was about 10 feet tall, all black. She knew this one would be the hardest. When Tommy got a look at it, his mouth dropped open.

"Oh, great." He said as he looked around the yard. "How are we going to get over that?"

Jude threw her duffle bag over Jamie's fence with all her might, as she heard it plop on Jamie's lawn. She wished she could have just walked out her front door like a normal person, instead of making a getaway by sneaking into people's backyards. "Hm, I don't know." She said thoughtfully, as she tapped her finger over her chin. She couldn't climb that by herself.

"I think I can make it, but I'll give you a boost in case you can't, all right?" Tommy told her as Jude nodded her head in agreement. The walked over to the fence and Tommy crouched down a little, laced his hands together, and held them palms up. Jude hesitantly brought her foot up into his hands, and then cautiously brought up her other. Tommy made a "howwff" sound as he sprung Jude up in the air. Jude tried to catch onto something, but stumbled.

"Whoa girl, careful." He said as he tried to support her. He grunted a little. "You know for someone who looks like nothing, you sure seem to weigh a lot." He said, making an offhand comment, as he tried to balance her.

"Hey!" She looked down at him, defensive. She scoffed and looked back towards the fence, as she attempted to scale it one more time. She lost her balance again, but this time as she tried to make footing on it, her feet dangled and her left foot made a clear impact with Tommy's face.

"Ow!" He yelled out as he brought his hands to his face in pain. Without Tommy to hold her up, Jude went flying down and landed right on him, bringing them both to the floor. Tommy "wooffed" as Jude fell on him, stumbling to the ground first with Jude on him, chest to chest. She laid on top of him and her hand flew to her mouth in shock.

"Tommy! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" She asked frantically, hoping she didn't kill him.

"I think you broke my rib." He cried out in agony. Jude face filled with concern. When Tommy saw this, he continued. "Maybe you should kiss me to make it feel better." Tommy slowly grinned as he winked at her. "You know you never did when you hit me in stomach and then shoved me into a desk the night I came back. So technically you owe me two."

"Dream on, Quincy, you're a piece of work. And you deserved it that time." She said, trying to sound stern, but failed miserably. "I thought I really hurt you."

"You did, but I'll live." He casually said as he felt his cheek where she had smacked him with her foot. It throbbed dully. He mentally thanked Jude for not being the type of girl who insists on heels, but the thought didn't make it hurt less. He suddenly noticed how Jude's face was right above his and he stared at her lips. He couldn't be this close to her and not take advantage of the situation. Even he wasn't that much of a gentleman. "But a kiss would sure make it feel better..." He trailed off as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Jude laughed at that and huffed. "Fine." She said as she gave him a quick peck on the lips and then went to get up.

"Uh, uh, uh." Tommy tsked as he pulled her back down to him. He felt slight discomfort as her weight was back on his aching chest, but he ignored it. "I said two kisses. You owe me."

And I said you deserved it. I don't owe you." She shot back at him, staring him in the eyes.

He flinched a little in mock pain. "Oww, maybe I won't live." He moaned as he squeezed a hand in between him and Jude and laid it over his stomach.

Jude bit her lip to keep a smile from forming. "I know what you're playing, Tommy. And I'm not biting."

Tommy looked at her innocently. "Who said anything about a bite? I just want a kiss."

She exhaled and conceded saying, "Okay, but then we're even." When Tommy nodded his head, she kissed him lightly again. When she was about to stop, Tommy's arms wrapped around her, preventing her from getting up. He deepened the kiss, before finally stopping. "Mm, much better. I feel brand new. It must be a miracle." He joked, keeping his arms around Jude.

"You pick the weirdest times to make a pass at me, Thomas Quincy." She murmured as she brushed a lock of his hair off his forehead. She wished she could stay like this forever.

Tommy made a face at the use of his full name. "Don't call me that, it makes me think of my father." He said as he shifted a little to get up. Thinking of his dad killed the mood. Jude wiggled off of him, and Tommy had to quell the urge to wrap his hands around her again anyway. She drove him crazy.

"You're named after your father?" She asked as they tried a go at the fence again.

"Yeah." He said as he hoisted her up.

"What's he like?" She said curiously as she grabbed onto the fence and climbed up. She closed her eyes as she jumped over the fence and landed with a thump on Jamie's grass. Her ankle twisted a little, but it wasn't sprained or broken. She moved and waited a few seconds for Tommy as he soundlessly jumped the fence and jumped down next to her. "Wow, you're really good at this, huh?" She realized he'd done it with little effort.

He held a hand to his rib as he landed on the ground. It was kind of sore, but he'd get over it. When Jude asked him the question, he smiled thoughtfully. "Yeah, I did a lot of sneaking out when I was younger."

"Lemme guess, to go see girls or something like that?" She implied, not knowing why she felt a small, tiny pang of jealousy.

He shrugged and grinned. "Or something like that." He picked up Jude's bag as he walked towards Jamie's back door.

"You didn't answer my question." Jude spoke as she hurried after him.

"What one?" He turned around, confused.

"About your father. What's he like? Is he into music like you?"

Tommy gave a hollow laugh. "No, he thinks its ridiculous." He went towards Jamie's door again and knocked.

"Really?" Jude asked, shocked. She figured someone as good as Tommy would come from a long line of musically talented people. "How come?"

"He's a lawyer." He replied, somewhat exasperated as he rapped on the door again. 'Where was Kat? Jamie said she was here' He recalled silently. "He wanted me to follow in his foot steps, I didn't" He simply explained.

Before Jude could ask another question, Kat whipped the door open and ushered them in. She threw her arms around Jude in comfort. "You okay, girl? Jamie filled me in on everything." She gave her a sympathetic smile as they walked towards Jamie's living room.

"Uh, yeah yeah. I just wanna get out of here." She absently commented. She pondered about what Tommy said of his father. It sounded like they didn't have a good relationship.

Kat sliced her thoughts as she spoke. "Well, that's what you have me and Jamie for. Jamie's car is in the garage, I'll drive so nobody sees either of you. We'll have to past your house and all." She talked so fast, Tommy almost didn't catch everything.

Jude nodded her head at this. "Did Jamie call yet? Is he there?"

"Nope, but we should go ahead anyway." Kat responded as she locked the doors, and made her way towards the garage.

Jude and Tommy went behind her, and he turned to Jude and asked, "Where's Jamie's parents?"

"They work at a ridiculously early time." Jude explained as they walked into the garage and saw Jamie's car which was a sensible black Jetta Volkswagen. She glanced at Tommy who was already making it his way to the passenger door. Jude climbed in after him, as Kat hopped in the driver seat and backed out.
Kat pulled into one of the underground parking lots forty minutes later. They had successfully driven passed her house, the press never even realizing they were gone. Somehow the amount of people and cameras had doubled since they last checked.

Tommy breathed a sigh of relief as they saw Jamie leaning against the Viper in the empty garage. He quickly opened the door and almost ran to his car. He circled around it slowly, inspecting for any damage. When none was visible, he turned to Jamie and held out his hand. "Keys." Tommy demanded.

Jamie dropped them in Tommy's hand. "Man, does that car drive, it's a real beauty." He commented.

"Never again." Tommy warned as he hopped into the driver seat and checked the inside.

Jude rolled her eyes and walked over to Jamie, with her bag. "Did you have any trouble getting here? Did the press follow?"

"A little, but I think they realized soon that I wasn't Tommy, and they left. I haven't seen them for the last 20 minutes of the ride." He took off Tommy's jacket and threw it in the back seat.

"Come on, Jude. We got a long way to go." Tommy called from the car, as he revved the engine.

She gave Jamie and Kat a quick hug. "Thanks so much. It means a lot to both of us. Tommy isn't good at expressing his gratitude." She shot a look at him.

"Hey. That's not true." He looked towards them. "I do appreciate it." He gave Jamie and Kat a sincere look. "I just wanna get out of here before the press somehow tracks us down.

"He's right, Jude." Kat said. "Call us when you get there, just so we know you're okay." She stood next to Jamie as Jude walked towards the car.

"I will." She smiled and waved as she plopped into Tommy's car. Tommy shifted the car into drive as he peeled out.

Kat sighed as Jamie put an arm around her waist. "I hope she'll be okay."

Jamie nodded thoughtfully. He wasn't Tommy Quincy's biggest fan, but if he let Jamie drive his car, he knew Tommy would take care of her.

Jude looked out the window as Tommy zoomed on the highway. They'd been driving for about a half hour. She was finally coming to terms with all that had happened in the last 12 or so hours. She was accepting that she hurt Chris, and he was angry about it. She was accepting that Tommy would be the one to help her get through it all. She turned towards him and studied him. His face was intense and his focus was on the road. She couldn't help but feel a tingle of, of something whenever she was near him. She felt foolish for ever thinking she'd be over him. How could she after he'd been there for her since last night, comforting her when she needed it, and ultimately helping her escape. She wondered silently what she ever did to deserve him. She couldn't believe they were going to be together the coming days, stashed away somewhere alone. When she thought of this, her eyes flew to Tommy. She couldn't believe she forgot to ask.

While Tommy seemed to be concentrated on the road, he was really thinking about Jude. It was going to be tough to spend the next few days together. Tommy needed to respect the fact that she did just break up with Chris, even if the kid was slime. He wondered silently how he'd be able to go through these upcoming days without kissing her every waking moment. It probably be the hardest thing he'd ever have to face. He suddenly felt Jude's eyes on his, so he looked her way.

"Tommy, where are we going?" She inquired, ripe with curiosity

ommy looked her way. "It's a surprise." He said as he turned his attention back to the road.

Jude scoffed. "That's it? That's all you're going to tell me? What if I don't like where we're going?" She questioned.

"I guess it be too bad for you then, huh?" When Jude just stared at him, he offered a little more. "Okay, I'll give you this much. It's scenic. There's trees and deer, and even furry little rabbits running a long. Very remote, nobody is really around and nobody is going to be able to find us. Satisfied?"

There was only one place that came to her mind when he described that. "Oh, God, you're not doing anything crazy like taking me camping or something? Cause if that's what you're planning you can turn this car right around and I'll take my chances with the press." She said nervously. She wasn't suited for nature, not in the least.

Tommy laughed when he saw how frantic she became. "Chill, girl. I'm not taking you camping. I don't do camping."

"Whew, cause for a second there I was ready to jump out the window and hitch hike home." She shuttered at the thought of sleeping outside. Not wanting to let the subject drop she further prodded. "So really, where are we going?"

"Don't you want to be surprised?" He sincerely asked her.