So I am on my spring break right now, which means—hopefully—there will be more chapters posted in a short amount of time. Fingers crossed. Now is where real drama begins to unravel…we'll see where it goes from there. TTFN

Part 5: No Surprises (Part 1)

"Alright, Jude," Tommy's soft voice sounded through the sound room. "Let's take it from the top one more time." Jude waited a few seconds until she heard the music surge through her headphones.

Why you always trying to make me something that I don't wanna be?
Ooo, push me over, make me over, try to make a joke out of me

There's something you should know
I won't change and I'm not letting go
There's something you will see
You can't turn down cuz I'm breakin free ya

You just can't take the me out of me
Cuz that's what I need the world to see
You just can't take the me out of me
Oh there's no one else I'd rather be

I won't change my hair, I don't care if you call me a freak (freak)
Won't change my attitude, no I'll never change the way that I speak

There's something you should know
I won't change no I won't let go
There's something you will see
You can't turn down cuz I'm breakin free ya

You just can't take the me out of me
Cuz that's what I need the world to see, ya
You just can't take the me out of me
Oh there's no one else I'd rather be

Can't make me
Won't make me
Can't shake me
Won't break me down
Won't break me down

You just can't take the me out of me
Cuz that's what I need the world to see
Ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya
Oh there's no one else I'd rather be

Jude set her headphones on the stool, walked over by Tommy, and sat on the edge of the soundboard while he finished 'tweaking', as he so delicately called it. She loved watching him deep in his thought. On the night of Jude's birthday Tommy was quickly forgiven for his stupid mistakes and Jude even did him one better by agreeing to be a GMajor artist. Tommy was completely stunned when she told him this. His birthday gift to her was originally planned as a plea for Jude to forgive him, but it obviously had done more than that. He was thrilled that she had decided to live up to her true potential as a musician.

It had been roughly three weeks since that night in question, and Tommy and Jude were currently working on the third song for her first official album.

Tommy finally looked up at Jude, who was watching him intently. "Something on your mind?"

Jude smiled and shook her head. She continued staring at him, this time with a grin serenely plastered on her face.

"Okay, that's gotta stop…it's starting to creep me out because you have this, somewhat, sinister look in your eye." It really wasn't bothering him, but Tommy didn't want to tell her the truth, which was that it made him feel a little flustered.

Jude began giggling uncontrollably. "I'm sorry…I'm just in really good mood!" She took deep breaths to calm down her laughing fit. "Do you want me to be in a bad mood instead?"

"It's okay. I'm pretty content with your current temper. You're more fun to be around when you're like this." Tommy smiled at the adorable expression on her face.

"But I thought I was always fun."

"Well, I don't know about 'always'. I mean, sometimes you can be a real pain in the ass."

Jude glared at Tommy. "I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear you say that." Jude pushed herself off the soundboard and ran her hand furiously through Tommy's perfectly gelled hair before heading toward the couch where her jacket and purse were situated.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Tommy groaned while attempting to fix his quaff.

Jude put her jacket on and turned around to face Tommy again. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe cuz that's what a pain in the ass does."

"I thought you were gonna pretend I didn't say that."

Jude stared off into space trying to think of a clever response, but failed miserably. Instead, she started laughing again. This time, Tommy joined in on her hysterics.

After they both regained their composure, Tommy was the first to muster up a new conversation topic again. "So, rumor has it that you and your idol exchanged cell phone numbers after the show?" After the concert that night, Jude and Kim talked for a good half of an hour while Tommy helped the band pack up their equipment.

Jude shrugged her shoulders and, while fiddling about with her contact list on her cell phone, answered as if it was nothing. "Yeah. Kim's coming back to town next month, so we're probably gonna have a couple of jam sessions or whatever."

Tommy was amused by Jude's casual attitude toward the situation. "I see. So, you guys are like, what, BFF now?"

"Shut up, Tommy. Mockery is not appreciated. Look, she's just really cool and I don't want to sound like one of those annoying fan girls in love with how Boys Attack! looked in their shiny parachute pants." Jude smirked because of how easily she was able to turn the tables.

"Ah! I was wondering when that was gonna come up. I have to be honest, you've been a little off your game with 'Boys Attack!' references, lately."

"I know…but I think that grand slam I just hit really boosted my average." Jude grinned and picked up her purse so she could start heading out the door.

"Hey, before you go, I got a question for you. Darius' Valentine's Day party is in two days and he wants you to debut your first single by performing it there." Tommy noticed Jude make a gagging motion at the mention of Darius' party. "Which of the three songs we've recorded so far do you want as your single?"

"I don't know. I haven't really thought about it much." Jude rolled her eyes. "Gosh, why do I have to go to this stupid thing? Valentine's Day is quite possibly the worst holiday mankind could have created. It makes single people feel inadequate and it makes couples work way too hard to express their 'love' to one another. It should be called 'Who Can Buy the Most Lavish Gifts for Their Loved One' Day. It's probably why Darius loves it so much…because he could out-do a lot of people in that department."

Tommy stretched out in his chair. "Trust me; I don't want to go just as much as you do. It's one of those parties where going stag is not an option." He looked at Jude curiously. "You have a date for this thing, right?"

Jude glanced around the room apprehensively. "Yeah…of course I do. He…well, the thing is he…"

"Doesn't exist."

Jude picked up the closest thing to her, which happened to be her notebook, and chucked it at Tommy's chest. "Ha, ha. Laugh all you want. But no one told me we had to bring a date, okay?"

Tommy was able to suppress his laughter when an idea came to him. "Listen, I don't have a date either."

Jude folded her arms to her chest. "Pssh! And you were making fun of me. Real smooth, cowboy."

"Anyway," Tommy continued, "why don't we go together?"

"As in: me and you?" Jude tried to act uninterested when he asked the question, but on the inside she was dancing.

"Yeah, why not? It could solve both of our problems and we'll probably be spending most of the time together anyway since we have to make our rounds talking to corporate execs and what not. This way our dates won't feel awkward and left out." Tommy looked at Jude expectantly. "What do you say?"

Jude didn't want to sound too eager to accept his offer, so she decided that the best thing to do in this situation was to mess with him some more. Jude had a fake look of stern contemplation on her face. "I don't know, Quincy. I mean, what if you turn out to be a really bad dancer. I'd rather not have to deal with the humiliation that would come with being your date."

Tommy raised himself up and out of his chair to walk up to Jude. "I'll have you know, that I am a terrific dancer. Many women have witnessed and, in fact, praised this crafted skill of mine. Unfortunately, it was more difficult than I thought to get any of them to sign an affidavit regarding this achievement."

"Well it looks like your proof is shot to hell then, isn't it?"

"True." Tommy inched closer to Jude, gently removed the purse slung over her shoulder, and placed it back on the couch. "I guess I'll just have to show you, then." Before Jude could protest, Tommy began whisking her around the room. He was a terrific dancer, of course. All those dance lessons he went through during his Boys Attack! days had really paid off. Jude brought herself back to when she used to slow dance with her father as a little girl while standing on his feet.

Tommy's face was inches from Jude's. "And now for the finale." With those words, Tommy spun Jude out at arm's length. She giggled as she spun back toward him. The second spin caused Tommy and Jude to be inadvertently closer than they were before. Their proximity was the reason Jude's smile faded and the reason all either one of them could do was stare into each other's eyes. Without even realizing it, they both had stopped dancing. The staring contest had lasted for more than 30 seconds, but Tommy decided it would be worth it to lose at this game. He swiftly leaned in for the kiss he had longed for since…well, since he first saw Jude appear in that hallway over a month ago.

Jude's breath hitched in her throat and she didn't have time to process, any further, the emotions that were racing around in her head, because Tommy's soft lips were now on hers. She closed her eyes tightly due to her sudden inability to contain her feelings anymore; she found herself letting go. Tommy brought both of his hands up to cradle her face as he began to intensify the kiss by tenderly sucking on each lip. All of the passion Jude had held in for Tommy all these years was released in this kiss. She snaked her arms around his torso, grasping handfuls of his shirt firmly as things began to heat up.

Other feelings she had about Tommy had unexpectedly crept into Jude's brain. Without even intentionally thinking it, she was filled with anger and sadness. Jude snapped her eyes open and immediately pushed away from Tommy. They both stood a foot apart, making an effort to control their unsteady breathing.

It was the most uncomfortable silence either of them had ever felt, and Jude had to break it. "I have to go." She quickly picked up her purse again. "I…I just can't do this." Jude ran out of the studio and out the front doors of GMajor before Tommy even had a chance to get a word in.