Of course, as the night went on, Jude began to loosen up a little too much. One alcoholic beverage lead to another, then another and another. Pretty soon her wild dancing turned into a fight to keep her balance. Wally and Craig had to occasionally hold her up straight.
"Uh Jude, dude I think it's time to put up the cap." Kyle said as Jude stumbled back to the bar.
"What? I thought we… we were gonna *burp* have fun tonight." she giggled uncontrollably.
"Dude we had our fun. It's time to get you home, now." Spied said, throwing her left arm over his shoulder.
"No, no," she protested, still giggling.
"Come on Harrison," Kyle said, taking her right arm. Her strong breath made him wince.
"No!" she clumsily pushed them away, now apparently serious. "Look, I wanted to have fun tonight," she started. People were beginning to stare. "So, if you wanna be little, winey boys cause you can't get a couple of girls to look your way then…. take your lame ass' home. Cause I'm not gonna let you bring me down! Woo!"
Spied looked to Wally, then Kyle. "Fine. We're out then. Get home on your own. Come on guys." Spied headed the others off.
"Guys wait!" Craig shouted. "She's drunk! Guys!" they continued to walk.
"Oh… let 'em go." Jude waved them off and stumbled back one or two times.
"Can you tell me where you live so I can get you home?" Craig tried to keep her balance by holding her shoulders.
"What? Home? We're having fun here." Jude pushed him.
"Jude, come on I need to get you home."
"Oh please, Tommy." She mumbled.
"What?"
"Wait…I gotta," Jude paused. Her eyes dimmed. She held out her arms as if trying to keep her balance. "Uh Oh." She fell to her knees and began puking on the dance floor.
The Next Morning
It took her a while to come back to regain consciousness ; she awoke in a daze. Head ringing. Body Sore. Eyes nearly sealed shut. This was definitely a hangover, she remembered it well. What made matters worse, however, she awoke in a bed that wasn't her's. The surroundings didn't even seem familiar and neither did the smell. Where the hell was she?
Jude slowly sat up on the bed, head pounding horribly.
"Oh you're awake," the familiar voice made her jump.
"God," a startled Jude sighed. It was Craig; he'd just entered the bedroom.
"Sleep okay?" he asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Yeah, slept like Courtney Love on Saturday Night."
"Nah, I think Love was a pro at waking up wasted."
"Yeah," Jude smiled, but it soon faded when she remembered she wasn't in her own bed. "Wait. Did we have sex?"
"No, no." Craig chuckled. "No. After you spilled your guts on the dance floor, you couldn't stand up and you were kinda out of it. I picked you up, called a cab and we got here. I took you to my bed, tucked you in. I slept on the couch and I just came in to see how you were doing."
"Oh well, that's a relief… not that I wouldn't sleep with you. It's just that, we kinda just met and it'd be really awkward."
"Don't worry, I wouldn't have done that to you."
"Thanks," they exchanged smiles for a moment. "So tell me, how much of an ass was I last night? Yah know, minus the embarrassment of puking on a club dance floor."
"Well, Spied and the guys are a little pissed at you I think. Yah kinda dissed their womanizing skills."
"Oh… they'll get over it."
"Can I get you something? Water?"
"Uh, sure. Thanks. Wait, you have the time?"
Craig pointed to the alarm clock by his bed.
"Oh my god. It's ten o' clock. I have a meeting with Darius in 15 minutes. Oh god, oh god." Jude shoved aside the blankets and hopped off the bed. "Ooo," she winced. "Got up too fast," she rushed out the room, Craig followed.
"I think you might need these." He handed Jude her shoes.
"Thanks, I…" she paused. "Um, I don't think I."
"What's wrong?"
"Part two."
"Wait!" Craig grabbed his waste bag and held it out in front of her.
"Thank you." She mumbled. Before Craig knew it, she was throwing up in the bag.
Later
"You alright girl? You stumblin' a bit." Darius asked, noticing Jude nearly clambering into his office.
"Yeah, rough night."
"You're 20 minutes late, and you know I don't like to wait for anyone"
"Yeah," Jude said, taking the seat across from Darius. "But, I'm your girl and you love me. Remember?" she smirked. Darius looked at her for a moment, then he smiled along.
"Alright, out with it then."
"You know I'm thankful for everything you've done. With Instant Star, G Major and my second album. I owe it all to you."
"Well, you're part of the family Jude."
"Yeah. I just think it's time I did my own thing for now. Like not sing in the finale."
"Excuse me?" Darius frowned.
"I mean, I wanna be a star… just minus the instant. I just need time to work on my third album. Get all the Instant Star stuff out of my head, work on new songs, find new inspirations."
"Jude, your fans range from sweet ole' grandmas to their giglin' grand kids. You being a part of the game keeps you in touch with all of 'em. Plus, the ratings last week were crazy."
"So does that mean Instant Star was good for me… or I was good for Instant Star?" Jude questioned. Darius didn't say a word. "Look D, I just wanna take some time off. That's all I'm asking. I promise you I'll be back in that studio before you know it, with everything I've got."
Darius glared at her for a moment, but Jude could tell he was considering the idea.
"Alright, but I'm sticking you to that. I want you in that studio, working hard on your next album. And no playin' around. I want songs, good songs. We clear?"
"Yes sir." She saluted. "Thanks D," she stood from her chair and left the office with a confident smile.
"Hey! How'd it go?" she was approached by Jamie as she set foot out in the main hall.
"He said yes. Darius, said yes to me."
"That's great. You get to be your own independent woman again, Ana Matronic."
"I guess, but only until the finale is over. He wants me to work my butt off for this third album. Guess I'm gonna have to buckle down and get started with my song writing."
"Guess so," Jamie shrugged. "Anyway, I'll see yah around. Kwest and I have got some sound issues to work out with Patsy's single."
"Oh, how's that comin' along?"
"Pretty good. Yah know, she's determined… she's doing her own thing… it's occasionally sucky dealing with her attitude, but I love her.."
"Hmm, well tell her I said rock out."
"Cool," Jamie walked off.
"Uh Whitney Houston," came Sadie. Jude turned to see her sister holding an envelope. "We have a problem."
…