Here you go, another update, I'm so proud. It didn't take me quite as long this time. LOL:) I really got into the story this past week, must be because I'm doing without my Jude and Tommy fix, right? So I have the next two chapters written out but I won't post them until I get some reviews. I know, pretty heartless of me but I love reading the reviews. So r and r so I can update even faster! Thank you to everybody who did review, you make me smile. Here you go!
Chapter 8
Jude looked at her reflection in the mirror in her tent/dressing room at Darius's party. She looked stupid as far as she was concerned. She was wearing this red jumpsuit type outfit that hugged her body way too tight for comfort; and it clashed with her red hair. Jude let them cut her hair and style it but nobody was coloring it.
"You ready, Kwest said you have five minutes," Portia said making one last adjustment to her jumpsuit before she nodded and smiled happily. "Girl, you definitely don't look like the garage princess anymore."
"Yeah, now I just look like a joke," Jude mumbled stepping out of the tent and made her way to the stage where SME was waiting for her.
"Wow," Tommy said following into step with her. "I don't know if I'm allowed to look at you."
"What?" Jude asked stopping so she could look at him.
"You are only 16 and you look like pure sin," Tommy said shaking his head. "But I only have one problem with this look."
"Yeah, what's that?" Jude asked waiting for him to make fun of her and tell her that she shouldn't try and play at being a grown up or that Sadie would make this look better.
"You don't look like Jude," Tommy said. "And what's this I hear about you playing a cover. What happened to I'll never play a cover as long as I have a hit inside of me?"
"According to Darius, I don't have a hit inside me," Jude said nodding at Kwest who was motioning her to take the stage. "Well, I have to go perform to Darius's satisfaction, excuse me."
"Never thought I'd see a day where Jude Harrison would just give in," Tommy said softly not sure if Jude even heard him. He hated to see her light, that special glow, that came from inside her be put out; and if she let Darius get a hold of her she would eventually bow down to him.
Jude blushed when Spied whistled when she took the stage beside him. "Well if it isn't the rock princess," he said winking at her.
She smiled and looked out at the crowd, looked around until she found Darius and gave him a smile. He was going to be pissed but she turned around and told her band their was a change, they would no longer be playing Stupid Girl. She nodded when they all smiled at her and then she heard Kyle start the countdown and she saw Kwest's face right before she started singing.
Late at night hear the song spinning in my head
Heaven knows I can't sleep it off
I'm thinkin 'bout all my stuff missing my own bed
And all my friends but it's too late to call
Hanging out all day at the Holiday Inn
Waitin's such a drag until the band kicks in
Jude watched as Darius made his way to Kwest and motioned for him to do something, but what she had no idea. He made a move to pull the plug but Tommy grabbed his arm before he could.
"Darius, look around, they love her, they love her music," Tommy whispered.
I don't know where the next road goes but I feel the wheels rolling down below me
Take my sweet time
getting it back again
What matters most will carry me
Through the night to where I wanna be baby
Take my sweet time
But I'll be home again
In my own sweet time
Tommy smiled at Jude and started bopping his head along with the music. It was good, he thought some of the words could use some work but for performing it for the first time, it was damn good. If anybody doubted Jude's staying power they were idiots.
Calling out every night and it feels so good
How it works is a mystery
But I believe in my heart I'm doing what I should
With all these lost souls following
Waiting all day until let's begin
I love how it feels when the band kicks in
"Jude's going to get friend for this you know," Kwest said walking up beside him.
"She's got them eating out of the palm of her hand," Tommy said rolling his eyes.
"That may be but Darius hates being surprised and she's going to regret this. Just wait and see bro, she's going to pay," Kwest said shaking his head from side to side.
I don't know where the next road goes but I feel the wheels rolling down below me
Take my sweet time
Getting it back again
What matters most will carry me
Through the night to where I wanna be baby
Take my sweet time
But I'll be home again
In my own sweet time yeah
Maybe when this is over I'll understand
What I've got right here in my hands yeah
Maybe I
I'll ooh yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
I don't know where the next road goes but I feel the wheels rolling down below me
Take my sweet time
I'm getting it back again
What matters most will carry me
Through the night to where I wanna be baby
Take my sweet time
I'll be home again
In my own sweet Time yeah yeah..
In my own sweet time yeah yeah
In my own sweet time yeah
Jude finished the song and she smiled and shared a hug with Spied and Wally. It had felt good to finally sing one her songs. It had been too long. She looked out at the crowd and saw them all cheering and everything just felt right again. Maybe she was staying in a rodent infested apartment, sleeping on a couch and sharing a bathroom with a man who did illegal drugs in his spare time. But for this moment, she was happy again. She wouldn't change that for the world.
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Jude put her jeans and t-shirt back on and grabbed her jacket and cell phone before hurrying out of the tent. She barely managed to stop right before she would have smacked into Liam. "Great, you," she said scrolling through the numbers on her cell for Spied's number hoping he hadn't left yet, she needed a ride.
"Yes me and be glad it's me and not Darius," he said grabbing her roughly by the arm and pulling her back into the tent. "Now listen here, Darius is ready to let you go. As in buy out your contract with G Major because he is sick of your insubordination." When Jude's eyes widened in shock he smirked. "I can see we finally got your attention. This isn't a game. This is your job and we are your bosses. Therefore you do what we say. Now I've manage to talk Darius into giving you one more chance. Be in his office by nine am. We have a career to make or break."
Jude watched him walk away and if her eyes had been laser, that little pocket protector ass would so be dead. How dare they decide to make or break anything? They needed her more than she needed them. She was a hot commodity right now. She could find another label with the snap of her fingers, probably, well…hopefully.
Jude thought of the many different ways she could physically hurt Liam and Darius the whole way home, once again in a taxi because everybody that could have possibly given her a ride had left. Well everybody except Tommy but he was the one who had gotten her into this mess. She'd heard that last comment 'Never thought I'd see a day where Jude Harrison would just give in.' Of course she would have to prove him wrong. If she would have just sang the damn song but the crowd liked her song.
Jude stormed through the open apartment building door and stomped her way up the stairs. She slammed their door and watched as James peeked out of the kitchen with a joint in his hand. He smiled and nodded at her before he went back to cooking something that actually smelled really good.
"Vegetarian lasagna for dinner, it's my ma's recipe," James said when Jude paused in the doorway to sniff appreciatively. "Your mom's in her room."
Jude nodded and made her way back that way. She hoped her mom had had a better day than she did. But after taking one look at her mom she could tell that her day had been worse than hers. "Mom, what's wrong?"
"I got fired," Victoria said tears running down her face. "Can you please tell me how you get fired from a diner? I worked my way through college at a diner and now they tell me that I just don't have what it takes."
"Mom…I really don't know what to say," Jude said sitting down beside her. "When did you find out?"
"They called earlier today, they left a damn message on the answering machine," she said taking a deep breath. "I don't know where I'll find another job that worked well with my day job Jude. I know I promised you that we weren't going to use your money but we might have to."
Jude could see her nice speech she'd been planning fly through the window as her mom said that. If her mom needed her money, that meant she would have to keep her job. Which meant that she couldn't tell Darius and Liam to take a flying leap. She might have to actually eat crow and damn did she hate how crow tasted.
"Only after I've used every bit of my paycheck will I even dip into your account, I swear," Victoria said reading the indecision in Jude's eyes.
Jude smiled reassuringly after she took a deep breath this time. "Mom, it's fine. I know we need the money and it's not like a I can get another job to help out. Between school starting soon and G Major drama, I have to be on call 24/7."
"Thank you so much for understanding Jude. Sadie has already split her paychecks with me so it's not like we'll have to use too much of it but it'll take a huge load off my shoulders," Victoria said smiling for the first time that day.
Jude tried to smile but she knew it lacked any real happiness or emotion at all. The only thought in her head was what in the hell was she going to do tomorrow. She didn't know how to tow the line and after watching Shay and watching Eden from afar this past week, that's definitely what you had to do with Darius. You did what he said, no questions asked. He was the boss, you were the lowly artist.
She had no idea how she was going to except doing that but she had less than 12 hours to figure it out; and it was going to take every minute of that time to do just that.
