Sadie saw the broken expression on Jude's face as her fingers brushed over the ring. She had to admit, Tommy really had went all out with this. It was a 18-carat white gold ring, with sixteen princess cut and fifty-four small round diamonds, in an antique setting. The center stone was a round princess cut, about 2-carats.

Jude clasped the ring and chain in her hand as she began to read the note that came with it.

Jude,

I've never been very good at expressing myself, but you already know that. I love you Jude, plain and simple. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. But, the real question is, do you want to spend the rest of your life with me?

Love,

Tommy

Tears trickled down her already red cheeks as she looked around the room.

"Jude, what is it?"

She shook her head and handed her the card. Sadie's eyes got bigger with every word she absorbed.

"Oh wow," she said softly.

"He asked me to marry him, and the other night I told I never wanted to see him again."

"Please tell me you didn't."

"I was so mad at him Sadie, words just kept spilling out of my mouth."

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know, I don't even know where he is. I'm going to go call Jersey."

"Hello."

"Jersey, it's Jude. Do you know where Tommy went? It's really important."

"He didn't tell anyone Jude, I'm really sorry."

"Yeah, so am I," she said softly before hanging up.

Two weeks later, Jude was standing on stage, recieving her diploma, the ring around her neck. She scanned the crowd and saw almost everyone she knew, except for Tommy.

No one had heard from him, and Jude was beginning to lose hope. The only thing she wanted was for him to come home. She wore the ring religiously and only took it off when she showered. Kwest Jersey, and Sadie began worrying about her when she wouldn't come out of her room. She couldn't bring herself to face the real world, not without her wingman. Everytime she heard tires squealing on the highway, she jump off her bed to look out the window, and everytime it wasn't Tommy. Everytime her cellphone rang, she'd close her eyes before looking at the caller ID, hoping it was Tommy, but it never was.

Her graduation reception was being held at G Major, and Georgia and Darius had pulled out all stops for it. She mingled with the guests, put on the fake smiles, and the fake laughs, fooling most everyone. She could be talking to one person, but as soon as she heard the click of the door, her head whipped around, hoping Tommy would walk in the door, and take her into his arms. But, that was fantasy, this was reality.

"Congratulations Jude," Kwest said, giving her a hug. "And don't give me that fake happy look either."

"That obvious?" she frowned.

"To me, yes, to most of the people here, probably not."

"Sorry," she said softly.

"Don't worry about it. I don't blame you. I really thought he'd come back for this."

"Yeah, me too."

"Still moving to L.A.?"

"Yeah, in about a month. I need to get out of here. Too many memories."

"I asked Darius to move me out there, and Mason asked too."

"You guys can't follow me."

"Oh yes we can," Mason interrupted, slipping his arm over her shoulders. "Besides, who said we're just moving out there for you? I hear there's some pretty hot surfer boys in Cali."

Jude smiled and hit him. "Surfer boys, who like cowboys?"

"Hey, who knows."

Jude hugged both of them. "Really you guys, thanks, but you don't have to move out there."

"A change of scenery would be nice, and Jersey said she likes it down there."

"You and Jersey seem to be getting along pretty good."

"Yeah, I guess you could say that. She was served with divorce papers yesterday though. She's not taking it very well."

"Divorce? I didn't know she was married."

"Only for a year. Her parents arranged it."

"Oh," she said quietly.

"Now, that we're all done chitchatting, could you go cut your cake? I'm dying for a piece," Mason gushed.

"You're pathetic Mason Fox."

"I know."

That night Jersey drove over to Kwest's, in hysterical tears.

"Baby, what's wrong," he asked, taking her into his arms.

"T-Tommy, he's in Italy."

"What's so bad about that?"

"He's drinking again."

To any random person, or fan, that wouldn't have been a big deal. Another celebrity taking a vacation to have a little fun. But, to Kwest and Jersey, it was a big deal. Back in his BoyzAttack days, Tommy had gotten mixed up with the wrong crowd. Sex, drugs, and rock n' roll, was pretty much his life motto back then. Kwest had seen him at his worst, rock bottom. It took him a long time to get sober and kick all the drugs.

"Who told you?"

"One of his ex-girlfriends called me."

"You're going to have to be a bit more specific. We both know Tommy has gotten around."

"Nikala, you know, the supermodel, with the little girl."

"Oh, you mean the normal one?"

"Yeah, she was really one of the only normal ones wasn't she?"

"She was the only normal one," Kwest emphasized.

"Good point. Anyway, she said he called her, wanting to go out. She said he was drunk even before she got to the restaurant."

"Ya know, maybe I should take Jude to Italy with me."

Jersey shook her head quickly. "No way."

"Why not?"

"Because even though she loves him, and she misses him, she's going to be pissed at him for leaving."

"Never thought about that."

"You know what happened the last time he drank, don't you?"

Kwest solemnly nodded. It had taken a drug overdose, that landed him in the hospital, to make him realize he had a problem. Tom Quincy had finally realized he could die. Kwest quickly shook the thought away and looked down at Jersey. "It won't end up like that, okay? I'll fly over as soon as I can, I'll get him to come home, talk to Jude, and he'll be fine. Try not to worry so much," he said, brushing her hair behind her ear.

"He really does love her," she said randomly.

"I know, and she loves him just as much. They just don't admit it under the best circumstances."

"You've seen the ring she wears on a chain, haven't you?"

Kwest nodded. He'd noticed it before, but he'd never given much thought to it.

"It was from Tommy. Sadie read me the card he sent with it."

"Wait, what kind of ring is it?"

"You mean you haven't seen that rock?"

"You're not saying that he..."

"Asked her to marry him? Pretty much. I know Jude will say yes to him eventually, at least after she's done being pissed at him. Sadie told me she never takes it off."

"Jersey, I'm not meddling anymore. If Jude says yes to him, that's her problem. And besides, the rest of us move to L.A. in less than a month. Who knows what she'll find out there."

"So? What does that have to do with anything?"

"I'm just saying that, even though they love each other, they maybe aren't meant to be together."

"My brother is going to kill himself without her," she said forcefully.

"Jersey, he left her. And this isn't the first time he's done it. Each time he leaves, she suffers. Even though he may not know it, he takes a piece of her with him everytime he leaves."

"Tommy's not perfect, no one is."

"Jude's not asking him to be perfect. She's asking him to clean up his act and be there for her. He asked her to marry him, but he's not ready for marriage. He can't support someone else because he still acts like he's sixteen."

"So he's not exactly mature for his age."

Kwest shook his head. "I'm not going to fight with you about this. Besides, I'm extremely tired, so I'm going to go to bed. You're welcome to stay," he said quickly.

She looked down at her watch and noticed it was already midnight. "I will, thanks," she said as she laid down on the couch.

"Who said you were sleeping there," he asked with a gleam in his eyes.