Part 7: I'm Fried

Tommy was sitting in one of the chairs in Studio A at GMajor. It had been approximately 41 hours since the debacle at Darius' Valentine's Day party, which Tommy only knew off the top of his head because he hadn't been able to think of anything but that night for the past two days. His thoughts were so consumed by the disaster he accidentally created that he hasn't even slept in the last three days, and even though he showed up to work today, it didn't mean he brought his A-game with him.

One of Tommy's artists, Carly, wanted his help laying down what she hoped would be the final track for her album. She sang through the whole song without Tommy interrupting her once, which was a bit odd for his style.

"So, I guess that means you like it?" Carly was surprised by his lack of instruction and wanted some kind of feedback for her song, even if she had to squeeze it out of him. Tommy didn't respond though. He just continued to stare at the ground absent-mindedly. "Tommy, did you hear me? I would really like to finish this song up, I mean, I'm almost done with this freakin' thing…Earth to T-o-m-m-y?"

Tommy finally snapped out of his trance. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Have you taken a trip to la la land recently, cuz you were totally spacing on me a second ago."

Tommy began massaging his temples, attempting to clear his head. "Sorry, Car. I've just been thinking about a lot of shit, lately. We can start that song over again if you want." Tommy reached for the phono record so they could start from scratch.

"Okay. But feel free to tell me if you think the intro sucks or the chorus is too slow, cuz without your brutal criticism I'm lost…And no more thinking about whatever the hell it is you're thinking about. Apprehension is not a good look for you."

Tommy lightly chuckled at Carly's comment, but started to really think about what she had said. As much as he wanted to stop thinking about that night, it was near impossible for him to actually do so. So much of what happened didn't seem to make sense and it baffled him. Tommy didn't seem to know why he didn't just tell Sadie in the first place that he couldn't be anything more than just friends with her, why Jude changed the song she was going to perform at the very last minute, and especially why Jude said the things she said to him after her performance that night.

As Darius, Jude, and the rest of the band walked off the stage to join the crowd, Jude made brief chit-chat with more guests to keep up her image, and then bolted out of the stuffy room without a moment's hesitation. She was trying to locate the existence of a bathroom in giant building they were in so she could finally be alone with her thoughts. However, when she turned into an unknown hallway, Tommy's prominent form was suddenly feet away from her and inching closer. Jude immediately turned and began speed walking in the opposite direction, but Tommy was quicker, and he was able to gently grab her arm before she could make her desperate escape.

"Jude, please. I know you don't want to talk to me right now, but I really need you to just hear me out for a second so you're not mad at me for the rest of the month." Tommy let go of Jude's arm, hoping she wouldn't try and run again. She didn't.

"I'm not mad, Tommy. I'm just unbelievably surprised that I spent the whole evening with you, yet you didn't even tell me you were dating my sister again." Jude was more sad than anything, but she wasn't going to let Tommy become aware of that fact. "I just…I thought we were friends…you know, really good friends. And friends usually tell each other important things like, oh I don't know, a blossoming relationship with a close relative?"

"See, that's exactly my point, Jude. I didn't tell you, because there wasn't anything to tell. Sadie just thinks we're back together, but I never actually said anything to that affect." Tommy stared at Jude sincerely.

Jude felt Tommy's sincerity and knew he was telling the truth, but knowing this wasn't just going to solve everything. "Okay, well if that is the case, why didn't you tell her this?"

Tommy hunched his shoulders, unable to think of a proper response to this question. "I don't know. I sort of chickened out, I guess."

Jude began processing in her head everything Tommy had recently told her. There was a long silence until Jude decided she had something worth saying. "Maybe you chickened out because you do want to get back with her…which, now that I think about it, wouldn't be that bad of an idea considering you already got Sadie's hopes up about the two of you. You can't just shoot her down now, Tommy…that would be way too cruel."

"I'm not sure I get what you're trying to say here, Jude." Tommy was puzzled by Jude's sudden change in demeanor.

"I'm saying…go take Sadie out for a cup of coffee. I know she'd really like the gesture. Now I, on the other hand, need to do some last minute mingling before crashing on my bed and sleeping through Tuesday. It has been a very long day." Jude slowly began her trek back towards the room the party was being held in.

"Jude?" The tenderness in Tommy's voice was enough to make Jude stop in her tracks, even though she wished her feet would take her anywhere but here. "What about us?" Jude closed her eyes tight after hearing Tommy ask the question, that, for the longest time, was so important to her. "I mean…we kissed."

Jude didn't want to face Tommy because she knew she would crack. So, she answered his question from exactly where she stood, with her back towards him. "A kiss is just a kiss, Tommy." Jude couldn't believe she was actually saying these words, because they weren't even close to being true. She was, apparently, stronger than she thought. "It was an accident…accidents happen when you're in closed corridors like that. But the sooner we can both forget it happened, the sooner we can work together again. Okay?"

Tommy was not expecting this confession, but didn't want to disregard her wishes. He said the only thing he could at the time. "Okay."

The clicking of Jude's retreating heels resounded in Tommy's head.

As much as Tommy had thought about this particular moment a lot recently, it, at least, wasn't heightened by Jude's presence. She wasn't intentionally avoiding Tommy—at least he didn't think that was the case—but Darius wanted Jude to promote her first single "Let Me Fall" to as many radio stations as possible, so that had kept her busy, and away from Tommy, for a few days.

Tommy did what Jude told him to do and took Sadie out to a café after the party, and it ended up being surprisingly fun. He could tell that Sadie had changed significantly; she wasn't the snobby, selfish teenager that he used to know. Other than a few guilty pleasures—53 pairs of shoes and an odd fascination with reality tv—Sadie had turned into someone who had a general thirst for knowledge and a need to nurture and care for others.

It was also very considerate of Sadie to let Jude move in with her when she finally got her own place. Actually, it was kind of amazing how the sisters' relationship was now, given the past quarrels that he recalled happening frequently between the two of them. Tommy wondered what changed Sadie's attitude toward her younger sister.

Tommy hadn't talked to Sadie since that night, because he still wasn't sure what he wanted to happen between them. He felt like dating Sadie was, in a way, like he was cheating on Jude, but choosing not to would break Sadie's heart. This was a decision he didn't want to make just yet.

Back to the present situation in the studio, Tommy focused his mind enough to help Carly with her last song. He then headed out of GMajor, in hopes of dousing down a few sleeping pills and staring at his bedroom ceiling until his eyelids get heavy enough to finally allow him a few moments of peace.

After sleeping for what seemed like three hours, but in actuality ended up being 16 hours, Tommy awoke with a clear mind and a few decisions that needed to be executed. He showered, got dressed, and drove his viper as quickly as he could to GMajor. Once there, the first stop he made was at the receptionist's desk.

"Hi."

"Hey, Tommy. We were wondering where you've been. You didn't show up for the meeting this morning."

"I know. I was kind of tired, so I slept in." Tommy paused for a second, preparing for what he was going to say to Sadie. "Look, I first want to apologize for the past couple of days. If it seemed like I was ignoring you, I wasn't. I just had a lot on my mind, that's all."

Sadie gave Tommy a concerned look. "I didn't think you were ignoring me. I was just worried something was wrong. But you're okay now?"

Tommy smiled. "Yeah. I'm doing a lot better, actually." He stuck his hands in his front pants pockets, which was something he always did when he was nervous. Sadie noticed and was intrigued. "Um, yeah. So, the second thing I wanted to talk to you about was…us."

Sadie maintained a straight face, so as not to misinterpret whatever he was going to say about 'them'. "Alright, what about us?"

"Well, I was just thinking that we haven't officially gone on a date to, you know, mark the beginning of our new relationship."

Sadie grinned from ear to ear. "Pick a time and a place, and I'll show up."

"Great. Well, I'll call you later on tonight with the details. Sound good?"

Sadie nodded animatedly. "You bet."

Tommy started slowly walking backward. "Okay. I should probably get to work now, since I was a tad bit late. But I'll see you around." He turned on his heels and walked in the direction of Studio A, hoping to find Jude there so he could play out the second part of his plan.

The plan hit a glitch. Jude wasn't there. Once Tommy walked in, all he saw was his friend, Kwest, working with a new band. He did what he could to grab Kwest's attention and ask where Jude was.

"I think she's in Studio C."

"Thanks, man." Tommy left the room and began wondering why she chose to practice in the tiny, cluttered studio no one ever elects to use. That girl better not be avoiding me.

When Tommy located the room, he pushed the door open and slammed it shut behind, distracting the blonde temporarily from her notebook. She was about to say something to Tommy but his lips were able to form words before she could. "I decided I'm not gonna let you speak right now. It is now my turn, and you're gonna listen to everything I have to say."

Tommy allowed time for a slight pause to make sure she understood. "Now Jude, I'm real tired of playing your little games and having to chase after you constantly. We have a lot of work to do if you want this album finished in time for a release before the end of the year, and in order to accomplish that you need to stop running away and picking ridiculous fights with me. Now, since nothing was set in stone earlier, I want you to be the first to know that your sister and I are seeing each other again. It was a mutual decision and we need to all act like adults about it."

Jude's only movement during this announcement was a slow shift of her eyes so she wouldn't have to remain looking at Tommy. He continued. "I also want you to know that…I miss you." Jude darted her eyes back up at Tommy upon hearing this. He sat down in a chair so he could be eye level with her. "Jude, you are my best friend. I love spending time with you and making music with you. In the past few days, I've even begun to miss your criticizing jokes about my boy band past."

Jude found herself cracking a smile. "I miss you too. And I have to admit, my songwriting skills have improved a lot since I started working with you."

"Well, I can't deny that this gift of mine has helped many an artist over the years."

Jude playfully kicked Tommy in the shin, but not hard enough to cause any real pain. For the next few hours, Jude showed Tommy some of her old songs, as well as new ideas that were recently popping in her head, and Tommy helped her with making them come to life.

Jude lay on her bed, the sounds of Tommy by The Who echoing throughout her room. Even though she got Tommy back as a friend, it still hurt her to see him with her sister. The pair went out every night he wasn't working with Jude, so Jude tried to milk the studio time she had for as long as she could.

Initially, Jude thought she'd be okay with Sadie and Tommy dating again, especially since she gave him the go ahead. But the more time went by and the more often Tommy 'slept' over, the more Jude's sadness and loneliness grew. Things hadn't turned out how she wanted, and she felt like she only had herself to blame for that.

Jude awoke one morning to Sadie making final touches on breakfast and Tommy sitting at the kitchen table reading the paper. Jude rolled her eyes because she didn't know Tommy was here but should have assumed.

Tommy caught Jude's little eye roll out of the corner of his eye. "And what was that look for?"

Jude didn't think anyone had seen her, but she thought up a quick lie. "Just the fact that you reading a newspaper, Quincy. I always thought you couldn't read."

"Cute." Tommy didn't even look away from his reading material when he said this.

Sadie finally turned around and put two plates down on the table. "Okay. Breakfast is ready!"

Jude took a seat at the table across from Tommy. "Wow. Only you can make breakfast sound so exciting and so scary at the same time, Sadie." Jude noticed Tommy's body jolt a little, which she assumed was a laugh he was trying to prevent from coming out.

Sadie turned back to get her plate before joining the others at the table. "Well, if you haven't noticed already, I made you're favorite: French toast with a side of hash browns."

"Actually, if you remembered correctly, I said I liked French toast and hash browns on Wednesdays. And today's Thursday, so…darn it, Sadie, you missed it by one day."

Tommy couldn't hide his laughter as easily this time, and Sadie just briefly glared at him before looking back at Jude. "Why don't you lay off the sarcasm pills you're taking for a little while, okay? Just eat your breakfast; you need your strength for that history test you have today."

Jude pushed her plate toward the center of the table. "That's okay. I'm actually not that hungry this morning. I should probably start getting ready for school anyway."

Sadie froze mid-chew. She continued chewing and swallowed before speaking again. "So it's true then?"

Jude was confused by what Sadie was asking. "Yes it is. I usually do take at least 45 minutes to get ready for school in the mornings. Which would make now the perfect time to start this morning's routine."

"Jude, stop goofing off for just one second, please." Jude could tell Sadie's tone was serious, so she kept her mouth shut. "I was skeptical at first, what with the couple of times this occurred last week, but I take the time to make your favorite meal and you won't even touch it." Tommy now noticed the exchange between the two women and listened intently to find out why Sadie looked so mad and sad at the same time. "I thought you said it was gonna happen anymore?"

Jude instantly knew to what Sadie was referring, and her eyes grew wide with shock. "Sadie! It's not happening again, okay? Oh my god! I can't believe you're actually saying this!"

"Well, you're showing all the tell-tale signs, Jude. I'm just looking out for you because you know how much I care about you."

Tommy gazed back and forth between each of them, looking more confused than he was previously. He felt like they were speaking in some kind of code so that he couldn't understand. "Uh, guys? What's going on?"

Both of the sisters responded in unison. "Nothing."

Jude threw her hands up in the air. "Ugh. You know what? I'm not in the mood for this right now. I'm going to take a shower." She looked back at Sadie. "I've got a big history test today and I can't be late for it." Jude stalked her way to the bathroom around the corner.

After a couple of seconds of silence, Sadie turned toward Tommy, who thought he was finally going to get some answers. "Tommy, I think you'd better go. I kind of need to talk to Jude alone, if you don't mind."

Even though Tommy was extremely curious to know what they were arguing about, he wasn't going to pry into their personal affairs. He got up from his spot at the table. "That's cool. I should probably get to the studio anyway. I got to find time for my other artists before Jude arrives after school lets out." Tommy made his way to the front door, but didn't leave before glancing in the direction of the bathroom. He started to feel like, for some reason, he should be concerned about Jude.

"I'll see you later at work."

Tommy looked back over at Sadie in the kitchen. "Okay. Bye." And he left the Harrison home so the sisters could work out whatever it was they needed to work out.