AN: OMG! I can't believe you guys. Seriously, you guys are the best reviewers in the history of the fanfic universe! Thanks to you, I'm now on 22 people's story alert lists (which went up from last time). Thank you, thank you, thank you! I've decided to do special ANs to everyone who reviews.
Special ANs:
Cecapo3610, I'm so glad you love my fanfic, and I'm so glad you reviewed. I was thinking about putting this on hiatus for a couple of days now, but your comments made me rethink my decision.
qc rocker gal 13, I'm glad I keep it interesting enough for you. Let me know if I ever sound blocked or boring, and I'll do whatever it takes to fix it.
Alexis (MG), thanks for your suggestion. And I know I haven't reviewed your fanfic yet, but will you be posting more anytime soon?
Rachel, "Ma'am, yes, ma'am!" Lol (I just watched Cadet Kelly, which explains my weird comment).
Criminal Insanity, I do have to admit, the thought did cross my mind. I guess you'll just have to read this chapter to find out (I know, I'm soooo cruel!)
Shannon, thanks for your compliment. Here you go, enjoy!
Biminigirl15, your wish is my command. On with the show! I mean, story!
Previously:
"OK," Tommy conceded. "Want to have a picnic on the beach?"
"That would be wonderful," I agreed, grabbing his hand and pulling him behind me. We went back to Sadie's place to change and grab a few things to eat. After we had finished changing, the guys got back.
"Hey guys, want to go to the beach with us?" I asked.
"OH. YEAH DUDE, GREAT IDEA!" Speed bellowed over the radio.
"OK, WE'LL MEET YOU THERE!" Tommy shouted, and grabbed my hand.
At the beach:
"Hey, guys, I have an idea," I said, hoping to distract them for some time. "Why don't you go search for hidden treasure?"
"You mean, like pirate's gold?" Wally asked, looking interested.
"Yeah, you'll never know what you'll find. Money, gold, a hidden treasure map…Anything's possible," I suggested.
A little later…
"Dudes, guess what I found!" Kyle said, not noticing the glares coming from both me and Tommy. "I found this abandoned crate, and it's filled with money! Lots and lots! Come on!" He yanked us both up, and dragged us, moaning the whole way, to where he found it.
"See what I mean?" Kyle said, pulling the crate out from where he had hidden it. He pried open a corner of the box, and as I peered into its contents, I saw something sparkling inside.
Tommy whipped out his Swiss Army knife, to which he had also added other tools. "Let me see that," Tommy commanded, as the guys stepped aside. Tommy used his set to unscrew the crate. It wasn't long before we'd gotten the cover off. Inside were shiny gems and jewels, and a whole lot of money like I'd never seen before.
"Damn," Tommy said, shaking his head at the sight.
Kyle paused, then said, "Wait a sec."
"What? What is it?" Wally asked, wondering what was up.
"Remember how we went to Madame Esmeralda? And she told us each of our fortunes? She said that Jude managed to stay strong, even when she was heartbroken, and that Speed loves to play jokes on people, and that he pretends to be something he's not. And she told me that I shouldn't go through with whatever I was planning to do, and that I'd hit the jackpot. And I did!" Kyle looked stunned by the fortuneteller's predictions, which had come true.
"Yeah, you're right," I realized. I thought back to when she told Tommy he had secrets that he hadn't told anyone, not even me, and she also said he would lose a lot of money. Maybe she really could tell people's fortunes. There was only one way to find out. We had to go back and see her. Tonight.
Chapter 19: Illusions, or Reality?
Tommy and I went back to the house, where I left Sadie a note that we were going back to the circus. Then we hopped in our cars, Tommy shooting me a sad parting glance as we got in separate cars (Sadie made us promise that Speed, Wally, and Kyle would remain unable to drive while staying at her place, and that went double for Tommy, who didn't want anyone besides himself (or me) driving his precious little Viper). Wally and Kyle jumped in Tommy's car, and I couldn't help but laugh at Tommy's expression, which quickly changed from a look of pure annoyance to something else. I couldn't place it exactly, but I swore I saw him glance enviously at Speed. Even if it was just for a split second. Then we went on our way.
Once we got there, we jumped out of the car, as we saw the tents coming down, and all the circus people packing up their stuff.
We ran over to the fortune-teller's booth, and burst through the entrance. A young woman around Jude's age looked at us, startled.
"Is Madame Esmeralda here?" Wally said, nervously running his hands over his shirt to smooth it out.
"No, she isn't. Hey, I know you. You're little Tommy Q, and you're Spiederman Mind Explosion," the girl gasped, looking around at us all. "Holy shit, you're Jude Harrison! I have your CD. Could you sign this for me?" She rummaged around for a little bit, then hastily pulled out a crumpled napkin. I smiled politely as she looked embarrassed, then she said, "I would've brought my CD if I'd known you were coming."
"That's OK. What do you want me to write on this?" I said, biting back a smile. She was just like every other fan of mine.
"To my #1 fan, Helene," Helene said, as I wrote as neatly as I could while trying to keep up. "Keep on rockin' girl! Lots of love, Jude Quincy."
I paused as I held my pen poised over the space at the end of my name. I decided to be blunt. "Um, Helene? Tommy and I aren't married." I saw Tommy bite back a laugh out of the corner of my eye. I decided to humor her, and signed my name as Jude Quincy.
"Maybe not, but it's so obvious you two were meant to be together. Guess Grandma was right about you two." Helene said, smiling. Now it was our turn to be shocked.
"Wait, so Madame Esmeralda's your grandma?" Kyle said, putting two and two together.
"Yeah. She couldn't be here tonight, because she wanted to get a feel for the new place, so she always leaves a day earlier than the rest of us. But she told me to tell you that the magic isn't in this place, it's in each of you. No matter what happens to you, you all have control over your destiny. And it's up to each of you to decide what that is. Now, if you'll excuse me…" Helene trailed off, satisfied that she now had a genuine piece of memorabilia from none other than Jude Harrison, punk princess extraordinaire. OK, I know I'm getting way off topic here, so back to the story…
"Wait!" Wally called out, running after her. He disappeared off into the night after making his exit.
"Dude, wait up!" Kyle and Speed yelled. They too took off.
Tommy and I looked at each other for a split second, then also took off running after them.
No sooner had we burst out of the fortune-teller's booth than we ran straight into the guys.
"OW!" The guys yelled, getting knocked over like a row of dominoes.
Helene stood there giggling at all of us, the moonlight reflecting off of her dark hair. "Did you want to ask me something?" she said. Even though we were in the dark, we felt her eyes probe into ours.
"Yeah, I wanted to ask you about the secrets," Tommy confessed. I heard the guys moving around, and I knew they weren't paying attention, just wrestling one another like they always were.
"Ah, yes. Now I remember," Helene replied. It was eerie how similar she could sound to her grandmother. "Secrets revealed should only be shown to the ones they affect. Does that answer your question?"
"Yes, it does. Thank you," Tommy said, his expression clearing for the first time in a long time. I'd noticed Tommy had been tense for weeks, and although I kept asking him about it, it wasn't until now that it was as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
"Need any help packing up?" Wally offered. Helene laughed, her hair dancing in the breeze. Her laughter sounded like tiny little bells chiming.
"No, but thank you for the offer," Helene smiled a mysterious smile, as Wally looked disappointed.
"Don't be so sad. You'll find love sooner than you think," Helene promised. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to finish packing everything up."
I nodded, and looked pointedly at the guys, daring any of them to defy me. Surprisingly, they didn't.
"What do you say we call this a night?" Tommy said, putting his arm around me. I snuggled closer to him.
"Dude, you can't be serious. You just want to get in her pants, don't you?" Speed said, as Kyle and Wally exploded with laughter. Speed burst out laughing a second later, as Tommy scowled.
"Don't pay any attention to them, Tommy," I said, taking Tommy's hand in mine. I could feel his muscles relaxing and the urge to flatten the guys fade away.
"Why don't we go visit Kwest?" I pulled Tommy into an embrace and whispered in Tommy's ear.
"What about the guys?" Tommy whispered back, pulling me closer.
"We'll drop them off. They should be out by 4 or so." I knew from past tours that they always said they stayed up all night, but they were bigger babies than they let on. Speed still slept with his blankie from when he was 4, Wally was afraid of the dark and had to have lights on before he could fall asleep, and Kyle needed to be tucked in tightly, since he moved around in his sleep and usually ended up on the floor. Since none of the guys would do it, but enjoyed embarrassing him about it, I always ended up having to.
Tommy slowly withdrew himself from my embrace, and although I felt the loss of his presence immediately, I also knew that he'd make up for it after we got back.
We drove back to Sadie's as fast as we could, then lingered around until SME started jamming. Once they got into their music, there was no way they would realize Tommy and I were missing. I walked over to Tommy, who was at the soundboard, and pulled him toward the door. He glanced back, shaking his head and smiling as SME started dancing around to their music and yelling at the tops of their lungs.
We quickly left in Tommy's Viper, then got to the hospital soon after.
We got to Kwest's floor, and asked a nurse who was passing by, "Can we go see Kwest Barnes?" (AN: Is this Kwest's last name, or is it something else?)
"Just a minute," The nurse replied. She strode over to her desk, then pulled out a clipboard. "Please sign in here, and I'll give you the room number shortly as soon as I pull it up on the computer."
After a few minutes during which Tommy and I couldn't sit still at all, the nurse came over. "OK, he's in the recovery room. You can both go on in."
I took Tommy's hand gently, knowing he'd need a lot of support at seeing his best friend lying in a hospital bed.
We walked in, and saw Sadie sitting there, her face expressionless. This scared me, since Sadie's one of the most emotional people I know. Kwest was lying there, his eyes closed, and they weren't holding hands. Was he sleeping?
Sadie broke the silence, as she noticed us there after about a minute.
"Hey, Jude," she said. I saw her tear-streaked face and hugged her, wishing I could give her the strength to keep going.
"Sadie, is everything OK?" I said, as Tommy watched us.
"Fine," Sadie said, pulling away abruptly. She didn't seem fine to me.
"Are you sure?" I asked again.
"Yeah, don't worry about me. Kwest's going to be OK, don't worry," Sadie tried to reassure me that everything would turn out for the better, but I wasn't sure who needed reassurance more…me or her.
"I'll leave you 3 alone," Sadie said, getting up and walking to the door.
"Thanks, Sadie," Tommy said, giving her a look. Something was definitely going on, but
I thought nothing of it.
"Kwest, man, are you awake?" Tommy said softly, after Sadie had left.
No response.
"Kwest, it's us," I said, shaking him gently.
Kwest's eyes fluttered open. It took him a moment for his eyes to focus, then his gaze settled on ours.
"Tommy, Jude, where am I?" Kwest said, obviously disoriented.
AN: So, what'd you think? Good? Bad? Love it? Hate it? Let me know by reviewing. I'll get back to Sadie in a couple of chapters, but I need a few suggestions. I have a vague idea of where I want to take this, and I want to know if youthink the same way. So please review. Thanks for reading!