A.N – Okay, guys. This is a kind of jumpy chapter. Follow it if you can! Hope you like. (:

Nine

Something I've been keeping locked away behind my lips
I can feel it breaking free with each and every kiss
-- Yellowcard

Amazingly, it took just two days before their runaway world imploded.

It had been going so well. From the moment they had left, undetected, from the G Major offices, to the trip to the salon the day before which hade Jude's scarlet locks dyed a beautiful blonde.

But it was where they stood now, in a 7-Eleven, with a newspaper clutched in Jude's hand as tears welled in her eyes, which had Tommy's heart clenching in fear.

"What is this?" Jude demanded, refusing to give her tears life.

His mouth opened, and then closed again, no words escaping. Finally, all he could do was drop his head to the floor and bite back tears himself.

Two Days Earlier

Jude left the studio first, giggling as Tommy walked her to the door and kissed her, flashes exploding as she pushed him away lightly and laughter escaping her lips as Tommy pressed his lips to hers once again. Their lips met, eyes falling shut as they whispered goodbyes.

An hour following Jude Harrison's departure, Tommy Quincy strolled out of the building, hands shoved deep inside his coat pockets, a scarf wound around his neck as he braved the harsh winds. He left via the alley door, hoping to dodge the paparazzi, who were sure to be littering the outside sidewalk with cigarette butts.

His beloved viper sat in the space he was met with and Tommy smirked as he clicked open the car doors before sliding in behind the wheel, revving the engine with a cocky smile on his face before tearing out of the alley for – hopefully – the final time. He and his girl would be on the road to freedom within the next ten minutes.

The woman that stood at the door, waving him off with a deliriously happy smile on her face, and the dreaded flash which captured the moment, remained unnoticed as Tommy's thoughts remained on his future with Jude.

Present

"What's the matter, Tommy?" Jude laughed wryly. The sound was ugly as it fell off of her lips. "Cat got your tongue?"

His eyes fell shut, fists clenching at his sides. "Jude," He began. "I –"

"You what?" She cut him off. "Why don't you tell me, Tommy, just what you were doing on a date with my sister?"

"I wasn't –" The denial was ready on his tongue before he shook his head and remained silent. There was no point in even trying to explain that it had been a business meeting. The picture told her everything she apparently wanted to know. Her boyfriend and her sister sitting opposite each other, Sadie leaning closer to Tommy as she discussed the exploitation Darius had planned.

"Or, better yet, what you were doing with Portia Mills?"

His eyes widened at that, shock lining his features as he sputtered out refusals. "Jude, no. No!" The paper was snatched from her hands as Tommy quickly read the article before his eyes were drawn to the image of Portia and her stupidly happily smile waving him goodbye as her other hand touched her lips. "The thing with Sadie, I can explain. But nothing – nothing – has ever happened with Portia."

Her silence was horrible. He'd prefer her screaming, sobbing, hey, even throwing things at him. Jude's uncharacteristic silence cut at him like a knife, the tears streaming down her face stabbing at him.

"But, you …" Her voice caught on a sob. "You and Sadie?"

"Hey!" Tommy was saved from answering by a teenage boy, buying alcohol with a fake I.D, calling out to the couple. "It's Jude Harrison! I heard you were juggling two guys." He paused, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. "Fancy a third?"

Tommy's arm was around her in an instant, dropping the paper back on the pile as he glared at the teenager and led his girlfriend out of the shop. Jude's cheeks were stained a bright red, the colour resembling her hair of two days ago. Her blonde locks fell around her head, hiding herself from the enquiring gaze of her boyfriend.

His fingers forced her chin up so she had to look at him as he talked to her and each word he spoke, he spoke icily. "And just who," he inquired, emotionless, "Would this other guy be?"

One Day Earlier

"I can't believe that Jude Harrison dyed her hair blonde." Jamie's voice comforted her as he spoke to her through the phone. "I always thought you were so against the blonde bimbo image. You're joining them now, Harrison."

"Ha, ha." She said sarcastically, smiling. Jamie was the only person who knew what she and Tommy had done, in the running away sense. "You're hilarious, Andrews."

"I try."

Tommy was down at reception, checking in for the night. He thought that nobody knew of their plan, and that's the way it was going to stay.

"Hey," Jamie jolted her back to attention; the faint rustling of a newspaper could be heard through the phone connection. "I'm in the paper." He laughed. "'Jude's Hidden Lover.' Can you believe these guys?"

Jude froze. The day that she and Jamie had been in her bedroom, scribbling lyrics, talking, reflecting, jumped into her mind. The paparazzi that had been flocked outside and the rousing voices when Jamie had gone to the window.

"I mean," Jamie continued. "Sure, we used to have a thing."

"Briefly." Jude interjected.

"But, you're like a sister to me now. That's just … incest."

"Good thing it's not true then." The sound of footsteps approaching the hotel room filtered through her concentration. "I have to go. See you, brother."

His laughter was heard as she flipped the phone down and threw it aside, casting her gaze towards the door.

"Hey, baby."

She walked towards him, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, ignoring the thought of whom she'd been talking to mere seconds before. "Hey. What you got there?" She stood on her toes and rested her hands on her boyfriend's broad chest, tilting her head to try and see around him and to what he held in his hands.

"Exchange it for a kiss," he countered – a demand that Jude was happy to comply with. When they pulled apart, she felt a long velvet box, heavy in her hands.

Excitedly, she pulled open the delicate lid and the silver that glinted in the hotel lighting had her smiling in seconds. "You bought me a bracelet?"

Tommy smiled, taking the silver jewellery and fastening it around her dainty wrist. "A charm bracelet." He kissed her palm. "Complete with charms."

A tiny red guitar lay dangling from her wrist, a microphone and a heart keeping it company on either side.

"It's beautiful." She kissed him softly, lips lingering against each other's. "I love it."

"I love you."

Present

He was gone. He'd dropped her off at their hotel, shut the door and was gone, blending in with the night within seconds.

With her shoulders drooping, and her eyes half closed with exhaustion, Jude slowly made her way towards the room they'd shared.

The silver bracelet hurt her eyes and ears as the metal clinked against the door handle loudly and reflected harsh light into her eyes. That single red guitar – so similar to her own – taunted her with the need to play, write and sing. She twisted the door open easily, and instantly made her way to the bedroom.

She gasped.

Page after page of music lay on the bed, lyrics scrawled beneath the notes and chords intended for the piano to play. There, as a header, was her own writing, the words Love To Burn shouting out at her. But, to the side, there was a note.

Love to burn, it read in Tommy's handwriting. Our song. You can have it, record it. It's yours.

She smiled, her eyes once again filled with tears, and glanced over the lyrics they wrote. Reading the final line, the tears spilled over and Jude, finally, cried.

I only have love to burn for you.