AN: OMG, you guys, I have been uber-busy as of late, and I had this chapter written but no time to put it up. So here you go. I hope you like it. I'll try and write more when I get a chance, and also catch up on reviews (haven't read them yet, even though I'm dying to see what you think so far).
Special Note: Happy birthday, Tim! (For those of you who don't know, today, June 4, is Tim Rozon's birthday).
Disclaimer: Of course I don't own Instant Star or any of the characters. If I did, our favorite punk princess and her beloved blue-eyed prince would live happily ever after in their rockin' realm.
Chapter 12: Chills and Thrills
I sighed against Tommy's mouth as I heard my cell phone go off.
"Ignore it," Tommy commanded, even as I looked to see who it was. Sadie's picture flashed on the screen, and I reluctantly broke it off.
"I'm so gonna kill your sister," Tommy said, still in a romantic mood. I could tell by the way he looked at me that this was going to continue later.
I ignored him as I picked up the phone and said, "Sades, what do you want?" I held the phone away from my ear as Sadie screeched into it, "Jude, where are you? I've been trying to call you for the past 10 minutes. Are you deaf or something? You're supposed to meet me in 5 minutes, remember?"
I laughed at the situation I was in, and snuggled closer to Tommy. Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around me so that I'd be more comfortable. "Sadie, chill, OK? We're stuck on the Ferris wheel. We'll get there when we get down, OK?"
I hung up before she could say any more, and minutes later, I looked down and saw her standing near the exit.
The operator pulled out some tools and tried moving the lever up and down. Eventually, the lever gave way, and the Ferris wheel started moving again. People cheered as everyone was let out, and the second Speed, Wally, and Kyle touched down, they jumped up from their seats and ran as fast as they could toward the nearest bathroom. The crowd that had gathered either laughed at their actions, and received glares from the three boys, or quickly moved out of the way and pointed them in the right direction.
Tommy and I were still wrapped up in each other, and judging from the look in his eyes, he didn't want to let me go anytime soon. So I put my hand in his, and removed myself from his embrace. I saw Sadie walking in our direction, and Tommy's grip tightened on my hand as if to give me moral support.
"As soon as they get back, we're going home," Sadie said.
"What? But I want to see the fun house," I protested. I secretly wondered whether
Tommy was afraid of clowns like I knew Speed was, but the only way I'd know is if I got to go in.
"Come on Sadie, we'll make it quick, OK?" Tommy urged, and for a minute, I watched as Sadie contemplated his argument. He must have given her his trademark Tommy Q pout, which would make anyone give in to his demands, but Sadie could be stubborn when she wanted to be. Finally, I threw in my puppy dog eyes, and Sadie crumpled.
"Fine, just hurry it up, OK?" Sadie said, as Speed, Wally, and Kyle came back.
"Dude, where're we going?" Kyle asked, smiling at Sadie.
"What did I tell you before?" Sadie ignored his question.
"Oh, uh, right. Sorry Sadie," Kyle looked apologetic.
"It's OK. Tommy and Jude want to go to the fun house. I'll give you 40 minutes, then I'm leaving." Sadie said.
"40 minutes it is then," Kyle said, hoping to score points with her. He grabbed her hand, and said, "Come on, Sadie. It's time for you to have some fun in the funhouse."
Before Sadie could object, she was dragged off by Kyle and Wally. Speed, not wanting to leave me alone with Tommy, stayed behind.
"Jude, come on," Speed said, as he grabbed Jude's hand and pulled her behind him.
"Dudes! Wait up!" I glanced apologetically at Tommy as he glared daggers at Speed, and followed close behind us.
--
At the funhouse, we caught up to Sadie and the guys, and were ushered into a dark corridor as circus music played.
"Hey! Watch your hands!" I heard Sadie exclaim as the sound of a smack echoed.
"Ow!" Wally said, as Kyle laughed. The sound of scuffling ensued, and Sadie was pushed into us.
"Mind if I stay with you guys?" Sadie said, trying to avoid getting stuck with Kyle and Wally.
"No, not at all," Tommy said, trying not to smile, even though I could tell he was.
The four of us followed Kyle and Wally at a distance, and I was so busy taking in the sights and sounds that I hadn't realized Speed and I were lagging behind.
"Aaahhhhh!" Speed screamed in fright. Clowns had popped out of nowhere and started cackling at us.
"Speed, it's just a couple clowns. Nothing to worry about," I said to Speed. But Speed had thrown himself into my arms and tried to keep from bawling.
At last, he calmed down long enough to say, "Jude, let's get out of here." I'd really wanted to see the distorted mirrors, but decided against them just this once.
"OK," I said, knowing better than to argue with him. Anyway, his grip on my arm was so strong that I was beginning to lose feeling in it.
We walked outside, and I tried to calm him down even more.
"You OK, Speed? You look like you've seen a ghost," I laughed at my own feeble joke, and Speed still looked afraid.
"Sure, go ahead. Hey everyone, come pick on me, since I'm so afraid of a bunch of evil clowns who're plotting to take over the world, that's all," Speed mimicked me. He sniffled, still traumatized by what had happened.
"Wanna talk about it?" I coaxed, knowing if he did, maybe he wouldn't be so afraid anymore.
"OK," Speed said, sounding as if nothing he said could make him get over his fear.
"I was 5 when my parents took me to the circus. They brought me, Wally, and Kyle to the funhouse, and I loved it. Until we got to the part where the clowns jumped out at me and yelled, "HI, KIDS!". Wally and Kyle cracked up, but I was scarred for life." He smiled weakly at me, hoping to reassure me that he was OK, but I knew he wasn't.
"It's OK, Speed. Everyone's got something they're afraid of. Wanna know a secret?" I leaned in closer.
"What's that?" Speed looked at me, waiting for a response.
"I'm afraid of spiders," I actually wasn't, but I wanted him to feel better.
"Really?" Speed said, a mischievous smile coming on. "I'll have to remember that…"
"Speed, if you pull a couple of fake spiders on me, I'm so blabbing to everyone about your fear of clowns," I said, and smirked as Speed's smile disappeared.
"OK, your secret's safe with me," Speed said. He saw Tommy, Sadie, and the guys approaching, then pulled me into his lap.
"Guys, what's going on?" Tommy looked at me and Speed suspiciously, thinking there was something going on.
I glanced at Speed in curiosity, also wondering the same thing, but Speed had quickly shrugged it off.
"Nothing, it's just everywhere else is filthy. There's no clean place for punk princess Jude to sit down."
"I didn't have to sit down," I said, as Speed instantly looked up and his eyes locked with mine. "Really, I'm OK."
"That's great, because we should probably get going. Same as before?" Sadie asked Tommy. Tommy nodded, meaning that I'd be driving Tommy's Viper back with Speed and Wally, and Tommy would be driving Sadie and Kyle back.
The 6 of us drove back to Sadie's house, and began setting up for dinner.
"Sadie, need any help?" I offered, as Sadie smiled at me in relief.
"Thanks, Jude," she said. I knew the guys would eat a lot, so I began setting out plates, glasses, and utensils.
"What are these for?" Wally asked, as Tommy bit back a laugh.
"Dude, I think it's for decoration, but I'm sure no one really uses them," Speed said.
"Who needs forks and knives when we're eating burgers, hot dogs, and pizza?"
"Yeah, you're absolutely right, but you forgot the other main food groups…chips, drinks, ice cream…pretzels, cotton candy, and cake." Kyle said, proud of himself for remembering stuff that his friends didn't.
Sadie and I bit back a smile as they overheard the boys talking. I motioned for her to follow me back in the kitchen, where we could talk.
Tommy came in just as we were about to burst from holding it in.
"Hey, what's so funny?" Tommy said, giving me a hug.
"I can't wait to see their expressions when I serve this…" Sadie took off the lid to the pot that was steaming before us. The smell permeated the kitchen, and Tommy inhaled and smiled.
"Wow, for being months on your own, you've actually learned how to cook properly," Tommy teased, as Sadie glared at him. But she couldn't stay mad long.
"What do you say we take these out to the guys?" Sadie asked us. "They must be starving right about now."
"You know what? I think you're right," Tommy said, and I nodded, barely able to conceal my laughter.
We took out the food to them, making sure to leave the covers on.
"Hey guys, it's chow time," Sadie called out. The guys made a beeline for the table.
"Whatever it is, it smells really good," Kyle said.
"Yeah, what is it?" Wally said.
"Here it is," Sadie and I said, reaching over and taking off the covers.
I heard strangled gasps as the guys' mouths hung open in shock.
"That's nasty," I heard Wally whisper to Kyle. "It's still got the head on."
"Yeah, but that's not the bad part. At least it's not looking at you," Speed said. "Do I really have to eat this?" He looked at Sadie, hoping she'd come out and say, "It's all a big joke."
"Yeah, I'm not gonna let you guys throw away my creations when I've spent hours slaving away over a hot stove," Sadie replied.
"Guys, why don't you have the first choice," Tommy offered, pretending that it was perfectly edible. But I'm sure he could eat this, since they probably eat a lot of weird things, like Boyz Attack probably had to eat when they went on their world tours.
"Jude?" Sadie asked, hoping that if I ate something, they'd probably be OK with it.
I nodded and took a piece from the middle, far enough away from the head and the feet.
I poked my fork into a piece and brought it up to my mouth. The guys watched my every move, especially Speed, whose gaze was firmly fixed on me.
I put it in my mouth, and felt the juices come out as I chewed. It was absolutely delicious.
"Guys, it's really good. You should try it," I laughed as I looked at their expressions. No longer did they have one of horror at what we had to eat, but now their expressions were shocked and worried.
"You actually…picked it up…and ate it?" Speed said, amazed that I didn't keel over and die.
"Yeah. Here, try it," I suggested. When they didn't respond, I cut pieces for them, ignored their looks of protest, and stuffed a piece into each of their mouths. After a few seconds, they managed to get it down without choking and looking cross-eyed.
"There, you see, it's edible," Sadie said, grumpy that her meal didn't go over as well as she'd hoped.
Tommy fed me a piece of his, while I did the same to him. Speed started choking, but I wasn't sure if it was intentional or not.
"Speed? You OK?" I ran up behind him, and gave him the Heimlich just in case. Just then, I caught Tommy's gaze. It was one of anger because I'd quickly run to save my lead guitarist from choking.
"Tommy, can I talk to you for a minute?" I said, making sure Tommy knew exactly where I was coming from.
"Yeah, girl. I've got all the time in the world for you," Tommy said as I grabbed his hand and pulled him into the kitchen. I saw him smirk at Speed, and Speed glared at Tommy.
My POV: Man, is there enough testosterone in here? I mean, cut it out already. I'm with Tommy, aren't I? Wait…what am I thinking? Of course I'm with Tommy, but I've gotten to know Speed pretty well, since we've been on a few tours together, which Tommy also came on. But Tommy never came to rehearsals, whereas Speed was always there practicing. Argh! Stop it, Jude! Don't do this to yourself. Wait, Tommy's saying something. I'd better listen in…