A/N: I don't own Instant Star yaddh yadda yadda

My Stupid Mouth

Part 1

Jude woke up stiff and cold. Her stomach growled in protest as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She couldn't remember the last time she slept in a warm bed and had a full stomach. She had been living on the streets since she was a little girl; she didn't even know how old she was. The only father she knew had died in his sleep in the rundown car they had been living in. The only meager possessions she had were the clothes on her back and the acoustic guitar her dad had used to earn them a living. He would play and she would sing, but the last few months his drinking had worsened so while he slept off his hangovers which were becoming more and more frequent in occurrence she would go out and perform alone. He was the only kindness the world had to offer her, but his battle with the bottle had finally claimed him and now she was left to fend for herself.

She picked up the guitar case and wandered the streets of her neighborhood to look for a spot to set up. She must have gotten up later than she thought because there were a lot of people in the streets. She picked her spot and lifted her guitar from its case. She sat Indian style on the ground and began to caress the strings lovingly.

The dark haired light eyed twenty-something was on his way out of the lobby of the building when he heard the melody in the air. Instead of jumping headlong into his car and going hell for leather to his lunch date, which he was already an hour late for he slowed down and casually leaned back against the wall. She was pale with shockingly red hair and looked like she could use a meal or two, but her fingers were sure and when she began to sing…

(Love is a Marathon – Teddy Geiger)

You love to run into the arms of anyone take off your shoes and socks and stay a while

you like the adrenaline rush just a little too much you go from day to day, hand to mouth and wonder why you're unsatisfied cause love is a marathon that's why you get tired so fast of everyone slow down and pace yourself cause when it's good it's a long open road

you think still you find a soul behind a thrill you're just a cat chasing your tail round and round but if you relax something might last cause love is a marathon that's why you get tired so fast of everyone slow down and pace yourself cause when it's good it's a long open road

you're exhausted always coming down trying to come up for air trying to try to act like you just don't care

la da dum dee da da

cause love is a marathon that's why you get tired so fast of everyone slow down and pace yourself cause when it's good it's a long open road

it's a long long road yeah

He stood transfixed as if she had written the song with him in mind. He couldn't even remember half the names of the girls he dated. All he knew was that he never went home alone and in the morning his late night visitor would be gone and he would wake alone and full of regret from last night's debauchery involving large quantities of alcohol and some nameless gorgeous woman whose sole interest in him was to garner face time in Talk National as his arm candy for the night. He had everything he ever wanted, dreamed of, and more but something was missing and he couldn't put his finger on it. He was so caught up with his private pity party that he didn't see Kwest waving a hand in his face. "You alright, T, you had that and I quote "stormy look in your eyes that drives the women of Toronto wild" Kwest said teasingly. His only response was a glare in his direction. "Hey, Talk National's words not mine, man" Kwest said with a shrug. He grabbed the plastic bag out of Kwest's hands while Kwest stood there with his mouth agape. "T, man where you going with my lunch?" Kwest said as he watched his friend walk away from him.

He walked over to where the red head was packing up. He opened his wallet threw a few bills before offering her the contents of Kwest's lunch. She didn't hear him though because she was staring in amazement at the bills he had haphazardly and obviously had mistakenly dropped into her guitar case. "I think you made a mistake…" she said without looking up. He looked at the money she had thrust at him with a grubby hand. Without meaning to he had dropped four hundred dollar bills. "I don't perform those services..." she said in a loud tone that made him blanch. "I didn't…I wasn't…I liked your song" he said dumbly. She smirked and curiously looked at the contents of the plastic bag whose aroma was starting to make her salivate. She tore at the sandwich with a will. He watched in amazement as she polished off the sandwich after a few seconds time. She slurped the soda, belched, and giggled an apology. "I'm sorry you had to see that I haven't eaten in a few days" she said with a smile that regardless of the dirt made her face glow like the sun. "Anyway thanks for the lunch" she said as she walked away. He surprised himself when he grabbed her hand. Her eyes turned a dangerous shade of blue and her body stiffened coiled to either attack or run. He immediately dropped her hand as if it were a hot coal. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to….I'm Tommy" he said apologetically and made a mental note never to grab her ever again. "You would be sorry" she said with a feral smile. He had no doubt. She picked her guitar case and put some distance between them. "See you around Tommy" she said without a backwards glance. He glanced down at where she had been a standing a minute ago and picked up something off the ground; it was a journal. He put it in the inside pocket of his leather jacket and stared off into the distance for a time with a frown creasing his forehead. Time stood still for him as he replayed his encounter while it was fresh in his mind and his insides churned as he thought about his behavior. His cheeks burned as he watched her figure get smaller and smaller until it was gone. "She's gone man and apparently so is my lunch" he said without humor. "Now what am I gonna eat" Kwest said. Tommy shoved the empty plastic bag into Kwest's hands, looked at his watch, cursed under his breath, and jogged to his car. "What am I supposed to do with this!" Kwest said in disgust as he walked over to the trash can just in time to see the blue viper streak by him.