Sorry it took so long for me to crank this one out; the Fourth of July and nonstop working has thrown off my entire writing schedule...heehee. Congrats to Angel422 on her new nephews, hugs to you all (the reviews! Oh my GOODNESS!), and enjoy!


If there was one thing in the world that Thomas Quincy hated the most, it was feeling like he wasn't in control. All his life, he'd had a tight grip on his life and his goals; when he had wanted to be in the music industry, he had maneuvered his way into the boy band scene and hit it big. When he had wanted more control over his career than Boyz Attack had offered, he left the group and began his career in producing. All of the bad boy antics, the booze, the one night stands...all of them had been about control, power.

Everything in Tommy's life had been under his control until he met Jude Harrison; shortly afterwards, things had been slipping through his fingers. Emotions, words, and actions had begun to take a life of their own, whether or not Tommy had approved beforehand. There was something about her that whispered and tugged at his soul, and before he could stop himself he was wrapped in her. All of the control that he'd worked so hard to keep had evaporated in an instant, and he was jerked around like a puppet on strings. Jude had control of him now, and the scary thing about it was that Tommy didn't know whether or not he even wanted to cut the strings.

Tommy hated it when he wasn't in control of his surroundings, and at that very second in time, he could sense that he wasn't. The soft lighting at Club Sinaaia highlighted the happy faces of those present at Jude's CD release dinner party, and pleasant chatter filled the air along with the gentle ambient music in the background. At any other time, Tommy would have reveled in the intimate environment; tonight, he was too busy trying to figure out what was happening around him. He didn't understand why EJ and Georgia kept glancing his way and smiling secretively at each other, nor did he understand why Sadie looked like she was going to break into a fit of giggles whenever she looked at him. All he knew was that something was going on that he didn't know about, and he couldn't give it his full attention because he was too busy focusing on the lovebirds at the opposite end of the dinner table.

Jude and Marcus had been inseparable since the very second she had stepped out of the dressing room back at G-Major, and it was definitely starting to wear away at Tommy's calm mask. Amidst the multiple conversations, the clink of silverware against plates, and the chords of the song floating through the air he could pick out the tinkle of Jude's laugh every time Marcus made a joke. Despite the fact that he was at the other end of the table, Tommy could see the glowing smiles that graced Jude's face whenever she looked at Marcus. Tommy's nerves sang with a dark electricity every time he saw a hand that wasn't his brush against Jude's. Every ounce of his soul screamed for him to march over to Jude and steal her away from this asshole that dared touch his artist, that dared to try and take his place...but his mind took a hold of his body, demanding that he control his wild emotion and stay put. Do you really want her to win, Tom? If you give in, that's it. You're no longer holding the reins, my friend.

The music suddenly changed to a faster tempo, and guests began to rise from their seats and make their way to the small dance floor. Tommy watched helplessly as Marcus took Jude's hand and led her out to dance with the rest of them, quivering with anger as their bodies moved together in time to the music. For the love of god, man, get a hold of yourself!

"You look like you're REALLY enjoying yourself, Tom."

Tommy blinked, the voice breaking through his jealousy-induced haze and bringing him back to reality. "What?"

Sadie laughed, taking a seat next to him. "I said that you look like you're having lots of fun tonight...you know, picking at your food, watching my sister's every move, trying to liquefy Marcus' face with your intense glare," she drawled.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Sadie," Tom replied gruffly, his eyes still trained on Jude and Marcus.

"Don't worry, I can keep a secret," she said softly. He looked at her questioningly, eyes narrowed. She grew serious, her grin fading. "I think I'd know if someone was in love with my sister, Tommy."

"Sadie, it's not-"

"If you love her, which you obviously do, you have to get up and fight for her. You know better than anyone else that Jude isn't the timid type, so you have to know that shy and quiet isn't going to grab her attention. Stop moping around like an angsty teenager and do something; you never know what could come out of it," she interrupted.

Tom sighed heavily, gazing sadly out onto the dance floor. "What if I'm too late?"

Sadie smiled, rising out of her seat and smoothing out her skirt. "It's never too late, Tommy."

She left him alone to his thoughts and headed over towards the dessert bar to strike up a conversation with Kwest, who was popping strawberries in his mouth and bouncing his feet to the music. Tommy watched her go, trying to pick a side in the war raging in his mind.