A.N - This story should wrap up next chapter, with a possible epilogue to follow. So, thanks to everyone who's reviewed and stuck with the studpily long wait between updates! Love you all. XD

Thirteen

Shot through the heart
And you're to blame
Darling, you give love a bad name
-- Bon Jovi

Sweat soaked, hair messed and eyes drugged with ecstasy, Jude fell into the arms of her equally as exhausted Instant Star boyfriend. The end of the tour was near and after two and a half solid months of living on a tour bus, dashing in and out of venues before collapsing into a dreamless sleep as the bus whisked them to their next destination, Jude and Tommy more than welcomed the break.

"Tired, Jude?" Tommy laughed at his girlfriend's closed eyelids as she lay her head on his shoulder, strumming the guitar in her hands sleepily.

"Little bit," she murmured. "But I'm as ready as ever to play tomorrow."

Performing was fast becoming something akin to a drug; for the both of them.

"I'm sure you are," he placated her, pressing his lips to her forehead and closing his eyes as he tasted the salt of her sweat against his tongue, showing the exertion at which she had been working. "But sleep for now, and when you wake up, there'll be a shop nearby so you can buy your daily dose of sweets."

Jude grinned widely, nodding enthusiastically, and stood up to leave the small communal area of the travelling tour bus. Stretching, her top rode up as her jeans rode down, providing Tommy with a completely unobstructed view to her flat, toned stomach. She turned, letting Tommy see her midriff, complete with inscription in black ink:

Property of Vincent Speiderman.

"Speed!" Tommy bellowed as Jude laughed, winking at him.

The guitarist laughed and ducked out of sight. "Sorry, dude," he called back to the Instant Star. "It was her idea!"

"JUDE!"

Her giggles followed her out of the room, forcing Tommy to smile and shake his head at her adorably juvenile games.

It was almost a cliché. In order to not be spotted by the already excitable public – just because the Instant Stars were performing that night, and it was their last gig of the tour – both Tommy and Jude donned beanie hats and sunglasses. And, unbelievably, it appeared to be working.

"Do you remember the last time we came out to a shop together, Tommy?" Jude turned her wide eyes on him, watching as his irises darkened.

"Unfortunately." He growled, reaching out to take her hand and clasp it tightly in his own, wanting to forget the time that followed those painful days afterwards.

"Well," she laughed. "I hope you've learnt your lesson."

She pulled back her sleeve, revealing the bracelet that she had refused to remove, briefly, and letting the charms glint underneath the light. That bracelet had received a remarkable amount of press coverage: once people had discovered who it was from, and what it had been a gift for. If anyone saw that bracelet, their cover would be blown.

Taking her wrist in his hand, he kissed her pulse point and pulled her sleeve back over her hand. "Of course." He grinned in response to her statement, revealing a set of perfectly white teeth against the tanned face that was so often curled into a frown.

"So," he spoke quickly, avoiding the silence that was threatening to overcome the couple. "What sweets are you after today?"

"Not sure," Jude replied distractedly, eyes wandering over to the newsstands. "I'm more interested in the magazines, actually."

"Jude," Tommy rolled his eyes exasperatedly at her retreating back. "Come on. You know they're full of rubbish."

But then he saw the headline screaming at him from the paper she'd picked up; the headline that had his heart pounding at its accuracy.

QUINCY INCARCERATED
Instant Star has an unforgivable past that no one was aware of.

Jude didn't look at him, her eyes engrossed with what she was reading, widening as they travelled through the article and more and more details were revealed.

Horrified, Tommy picked up a copy of his own, and read the words with increasing dread.

Tommy Quincy, 20, known globally as one half of the winners of Instant Star – the other half in fact being Quincy's other half, Jude Harrison – has a criminal record, reports have shown.

Two years ago, Quincy was involved in a bar fight, the likes of which unrivalled throughout Canada. What's so bad about that, you might say? Well, nothing, unless you count the man who ended up in hospital with a broken jaw and multiple fractured ribs.

Not enough to convince you that your golden boy is trouble? Well, when the aforementioned anonymous male's girlfriend attempted to prevent the unstoppable and enraged Quincy from attacking, unprovoked, her partner, she too found herself on the receiving end of a blow or two. She was also admitted to hospital with the less-serious case of a head wound, which is rumoured to have been caused by a stumble into a nearby table as a result of Quincy's attack.

For his actions, Tommy Quincy found himself in jail for two nights, awaiting bail from his next of kin, and a criminal record drawn up.

Let's hope Jude Harrison gets out of there before anything too bad happens, right?

A look of terror was etched into Tommy's face as Jude glared at him; tears streaming silently down her angrily blushed cheeks.

"Well?" She demanded, crossing her arms. "Was that article 'a load of rubbish' too?"

The urge to lie and pretend that that had never happened was strong in his chest; to lie and still be able to hold and kiss Jude, rather than admit the truth and have her leave him, was an extremely good compromise, in his opinion.

But they'd promised to sort out the rumours from the facts in the newspaper when they'd started this up again. To lie now and be found out later would break up his relationship even more irreparably.

"No. It's true."

Jude gasped, eyes flaring wide and swimming with tears as her hand cam up to cover her mouth.

"Look, Jude," he began, all too aware of the looks focused on them. "I can explain. That guy, he provoked me. He was hitting on my girlfriend – that was the girl, the paper got it wrong. And, Jude, I was only eighteen!"

"You really sent those people to hospital?"

Controlling his anger had never been his strongest personality trait, and that particular incident had driven him to the edge.

"Yes." The word was strained through gritted teeth.

"And you were arrested?"

"Yes."

Silence. Thick, powerful silence that choked the both of them as each stared at the other; Jude with a mask of mixed emotions and Tommy with a look of fear tearing at his furrowed brow.

"I need to think." Jude finally said, averting her gaze from him. "It's not the end of us – I've been apart from you as much as I can stand. But, it's a lot to take in. I need to go, I need to … think."

Tommy nodded sadly and understandingly as Jude dashed past him and out of the shop. Angrily, he threw the paper back on the pile, staring at the article in disgust. It was only then that he realised who has written the article. The letters were printed in bold black letters, taunting him as he recognised the name they formed.

Hunter.