"Alright Jude, for once we're on schedule. So, you'll be the opening performer at seven singing 'New Modern Love'. Then after you, will be Stunning November, Flight of the Cream Pigeons, Venus Panic, One Zilliondust, Matilida Talent, Karma, and C.H.O.R.D. And then you'll be back to do 'Hate It When You See Me Cry' and your new single 'Here's To Us'." Steve, the stage manger prattled off. Jude just stood there, nodding her head as he talked, not really listening to what he was saying. She knew what she was singing and when she was singing it. She didn't need him to tell her what she already knew. As he kept squawking about Matilida Talent's number, Jude was thinking about Tommy. She saw him on her way to the stage. As much as she wanted to run and throw her arms around him, she couldn't, so she flipped up her hood and walked with her head low. He was just as gorgeous as ever, his messy brown hair and piercing blue eyes. Her knees almost went weak as she walked past him. She could smell his aftershave and almost wanted to barf. This whole pregnancy and sensitivity to smell thing was awful. She used to love the smell of Tommy's aftershave and then smelling it now made her stomach curl with disgust.
She had to figure out a way to tell Tommy about the baby. She knew he'd be livid once he found out no matter how she told him. He will definitely have to be sitting down. Sadie's idea was getting better and better. Flash her belly at him and then run away as fast she can. She could see it now. She would be approaching him in the trailer lot and she would stop him, look him in the eyes and then point down to her stomach. When he would look down she would lift up her shirt and hoodie, watch his face contort with confusion and then run away. As. Fast. As. She. Could.
Jude started to giggle to herself as she thought about her flash and run scheme. Mary softly nudged her in the arm with her elbow. Jude looked at the brunette with annoyed eyes. She wished Steve would shut up and let her get on stage for her rehearsal.
Tommy went to go sit out in the arena after seeing Karma and Speid to their trailer. By looking at the schedule on his clipboard, he knew Jude was going to come on stage for rehearsal at any minute. He was anxious to see her again. He wondered if she really did miss him. Sadie was always telling him that when she talked to her sister on the phone, she was always told how much her little sister missed the ex-boy bander. If she missed him as much as he was told, wouldn't she have come and found him by now? Maybe Sadie was telling him lies because he was so pathetic and she felt sorry for him.
He sat in the last row of seats in the arena and stared at the stage as he saw three men setting up the musical equipment. He heard some strings of the bass being tuned and a few beats off of the snare drum. Then he saw her. Jude walked onto the stage from the right and walked up to the mic stand. He watched her carefully as she took the mic off of the stand and talked into it.
"Check. Check. Alright guys, let's get this started. We'll Start with 'Rock Show'. Nick, try and keep up with Barry; and Jon, try and slow it down on the beat, you have a tendency to go a half second faster than everyone else." She instructed. The man behind the drums nodded as the other two men handled their bass and guitar, ready to start. The shaggy blonde haired man holding the guitar started the song out with the dark haired Jon starting the drumbeat.
"Rock Show"
Little girl
You like it loud
Come alive in the middle of a crowd
You wanna scream
You wanna shout
Get excited when the lights go down
At the rock show
You'll be right in the front row
Heart and soul, they both know
It's where you gotta be
Little girl, there you are
All the lighters looking just like stars
Sing along, feel the sound
Take a ride on the hands of the crowd
And here it comes, the moment when
You know you'll never be the same again
Power chord, see the light
You found your place in the world tonight
At the rock show
You'll be right in the front row
Heart and soul, they both know
It's where we gotta be
Yeah at the rock show
Getting high on the solo
So what if it's crazy?
That's gonna be me
[Guitar Solo]
This goes out to anyone
Whose heart beats like a kick drum
When a bitchin' riff comes
Knows the words to every line, every time
And you know you gotta go and get some, get pumped
Find yourself and lose it
At the rock show
I'm looking at the front row
Heart and soul, we both know
It's where we gotta be
Yeah at the rock show
We're reaching for the high notes
So what if we're crazy?
You're coming with me
You're coming with me
You're coming with me
So what if it's crazy?
It's where we gotta be
At the rock show
Tommy sat in his seat squirming with anticipation. Her voice was as strong as ever as she sung into the mic. That song was more rock and alternative than her usual style of music. Apparently the song was written specifically for this concert. He noticed that as she sang, she had her hand on her stomach. He knew from years of experience that singers had a tendency to push on their abdomen to help their diaphragm while they were singing. Jude never had that problem though. He watched her put the mic back on the stand and turn around to direct her band. As he watched her backside from afar, he heard footsteps approach and then somebody sit down next to him.
"Hey man, how's it going?" Tommy turned to his right and had to blink and do a double take of his friend Kwest sitting next to him.
"Kwest, hey man, what are you doing here?" Tommy asked as he stood up, shook Kwest's hand and pulled him into a man-hug and then sat back down. "I haven't heard from you since you left G Major. Where the hell have you been?" he asked. Kwest looked at him and smiled a bit.
"I had to get out of there. I'm sorry I haven't contacted you since I left but I just needed to be somewhere new and start over again." He said with a timid expression on his face.
"Well, that's understandable after what Sadie and Darius were doing to you, but how did you end up here in London?"
"Well, would you believe it if I said Jude brought me here?" he said with a smirk. Tommy looked at him with puzzlement. Kwest continued on. "I saw Jude at the airport. I was there trying to figure out where to go, where to start over at. Jude saw me and came up to me and asked me what I was doing there. I told her what my plan was. She then invited me to come with her. She figured that since she was starting over, that I could do the same thing in London." At that statement Tommy grew more agitated. She didn't want him to go with her because she wanted to do this thing alone and then turns around to ask his best friend to go with her. What the hell? "I know what you're thinking." Kwest added. "She told me how she wanted to be here alone and try things on her own. Trust me, she has. Ever since we got here, she got me a job as a producer at her label and then after that we see each other only a few times week, depending on our schedules. We'll have lunch about once a week to catch up but other than that, she hasn't asked me for any kind of help or advice. Everything she's done, she's done on her own. She found her own house with the help of a realtor, she signed her own contract after she had her lawyer, one that she hired by herself, looked at it and then she's been writing her own songs and music with no help whatsoever from her band mates. Trust me Tommy, Everything she's done here in London, she has done on her own two feet. I've just been here witnessing her finally growing up and being her own person." Kwest said proudly. Tommy sat back and breathed out a sigh of relief. She has been on her own and doing it well. He was proud of her. As agitated as he was with Kwest being here with her, he was at least glad there was someone here for her if she ever did need help. She basically asked Kwest to come with her to help him out. Not the other way around.
As Tommy and Kwest continued to talk, he watched Jude walk around the stage, her hand over her stomach again. She turned to where Tommy had a side view of her and realized that her baggy hoodie was extremely padded. It was like 85 degrees outside; of course with it being an outdoor arena, there would be no air conditioning to cool it down. Why the hell is she wearing a hoodie?
Kwest stared at Tommy for minute and realized why Tommy had a bewildered look on his face. It was eighty something degrees outside and Jude was wearing her signature baggie hoodie to hide her baby bump. He knew. And he knew that Tommy didn't know yet. Jude told him that she was going to tell Tommy after the concert. Tommy was going to be in for a big surprise. Kwest turned to Tommy and tried to distract him again, asking him how World Instant Star was coming along. Tommy started to drone on about the stupidity of the contestants and Darius' views. And then he mentioned Sadie. Sadie was still a heart ache. He had run into Jude and Sadie the last time Sadie was in town. Jude was giving Sadie a tour of the studio when they had run into Kwest. Talk about awkward. Sadie couldn't even look him in the eyes and say hi. She must've been feeling guilty about what she did to him. Good. She should've.
As Tommy talked, they both watched Jude on stage; she still hadn't started her second song yet. They watched her pace back and forth; it seemed to be that she was lecturing her band. They watched her stop in tracks and crouch down to the floor of the stage and sit down. She put her hand to her head and used her other hand to wave over someone. A brunette went over to Jude and handed her a bottle of water and something else. It looked like Jude popped a pill before taking a drink of her water. The brunette helped Jude to her feet and then walked off of the stage with her. Tommy looked to Kwest and silently asked him what happened.
"She's been feeling a little rundown lately. With all of the rehearsing and recording, she's basically running on fumes right now." Kwest concluded. After a few more minutes of silence and watching other bands and stagehands set up the stage, the same brunette that was on stage with Jude approached Tommy and Kwest.
"Hey Kwest, how are you?" She asked in her homely British accent as she fanned herself with her clipboard.
"Hey Mary. I'm good. And you?" Kwest responded.
"Good. Um, You're Tom Quincy right?" she asked, turning to Tommy with a smirk. Tommy sat there and thought, 'Oh god, not another one'.
"Yeah, I am." Tommy said shortly, not wanting to deal with an obsessed fan.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Mary, I'm Jude's assistant. She has asked me to come find you and ask if you could meet her at her trailer." Mary said politely. Tommy's eyes lit up with excitement as he stood up quickly and followed Mary down the arena stairs. He stopped and turned to look up at Kwest.
"Sorry to leave you Kwest, but we should get together before I leave." He said and quickly continued to follow Mary.
Kwest stayed seated as he smiled to himself. Maybe Jude couldn't wait until after the concert to tell Tommy about her surprise.
"Rock Show", by Halestorm