AN: OMG! I am soooooooo sorry for not posting earlier. But you know how school gets in the way of writing. Lol. Anyway, thanks to everyone who's reviewed! I love you all!
Special ANs:
judetomfan101, I thought Darius and Liam together were funny too! I so can't see Darius gay, but hey, it could happen…at least in my world!
angelbabby19, hmm…there's an interesting idea. I don't know if I'll be able to work that into the story, but it could happen. OK, I do know…lol.
Rachel, it's funny you mentioned that the studio is all coupled up. And I know exactly who Mason's gonna hook up with. FYI, it might be someone you never expected. Or maybe it is.
Seleana C, aww, thanks! I'm so happy you like it. And I found out that Kat's not coming back, at least not this season. But the next one, she might. We'll never know until it's on the web.
Carley, the fact Mason's gay is gonna play a huge role in this chapter. Plus you'll get to see Speed too. He's got an important role, and it's gonna be great!
Ally, you're gonna love this chapter. Darius + Liam are gonna be the stars of the show, so to speak.
Tanya, I think so too. Poor Mason needs a guy to be with. Everyone else in the studio's hooked up with someone else. Except for SME, but that could change.
Jess, you're soooo funny! I love reading your comments, especially the one you wrote for the last chapter. You know how much I love Jommy, so I'll repeat what you said too: JOMMY 4EVA BABY!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, except Tim. He's mine! And so's the plot.
Chapter 4
"Hey, Mason," Jude called out. She put on this cheery smile that she used whenever she wanted something from someone.
"Hi, Jude, Tommy," Mason greeted us back. He knew he was about to be cornered, the way he kept looking at one of us, then the other.
"So, Mason, how are your songs going?" I tried to keep the conversation light, but Jude cut to the chase.
"Mace, we need a favor," Jude said, staring him down like he was Karma.
"Oh no," Mason groaned, knowing that he was in for it.
"You're good with clothes, right?" I asked, hoping to flatter him and get him to do what we wanted.
"Yeah," Mason looked at us from the corner of his eye.
"Do you think you can put some outfits together? Patsy, well, she's this close to…" I didn't even want to finish my thought.
"I don't know, guys. Patsy's a tough one to make over," Mason said hesitantly.
"Whatever you want, you've got it. Except Jude, that is," I put my arm around Jude protectively, and she smiled and kissed me. Long and hard.
"OK, way too much PDA. How about you set me up with someone?" Mason asked hopefully.
"That depends. What are you looking for in particular?" I expected the typical Mason type. You know, gay, cowboy, easygoing + easy to work with. But I was completely wrong.
"Not a what, a who." Mason said, careful not to give more away. That is, until Jude pressed him further.
"So, who've you got your eye on?" Jude said, bouncing up and down, impatient.
Mason mumbled quietly to himself.
"What did you say?" I asked, not hearing.
"N-nothing. I didn't say anything." Mason was blushing now.
"Don't worry, Mason, whoever it is, we won't make fun of you. You're our friend. Right, Tommy?" Jude narrowed her eyes at me and put her hands on her hips to show she meant business.
"Yeah, right. So, who is it, man?" I was curious to find out myself.
"Shay," Mason whispered, then he looked quickly at Jude. "I mean, if it's OK with you, Jude."
"Of course it's OK," Jude reassured him. "I love Tommy now, and he's the only one for me. You can have Shay all to yourself."
"You know, that's not a bad idea," I said thoughtfully. If we played our cards right, I could use Mason's interest in Shay to my, I mean our, advantage.
"Now get shopping, Mason. I'll get things set up for you and Shay." I promised. I was gonna make this work.
"Sure thing, Tommy," Mason smiled in relief, and went off.
Later that day…
"No way! I'm not gonna wear some stupid dress!" Patsy screamed, as Mason and Jude tried to corner her and shove a dress over her head.
"Come on, Patsy, it's for the label. Please?" Jude begged, but Patsy wouldn't budge.
"Hell no! Just leave me alone already. And take those damn dresses with you!" Patsy flung Mason's choices into their faces, and tried to make her escape.
Jude and Mason tackled her to the ground, wincing as her fists connected with them, and managed to pin her down long enough to pull a dress over her head. Then they dragged her over to a mirror.
"See? Don't you look beautiful?" Jude beamed as Patsy scowled.
"I hate it, it makes me look like an overgrown tomato," Patsy complained. Mason and Jude managed to keep their smiles to themselves, and focused on Patsy's tea-length red dress.
"Not from where I'm standing," Mason said, giving Patsy an appreciative once-over.
"What, they paid you to say that?" Patsy wasn't fooled easily.
"No, it's the truth," Mason said. The truth was, Patsy wasn't as ugly as she thought she looked. Instead, she looked as though she were completely transformed.
"Now, for the hair and makeup…" Jude added.
"Whoa, I don't do all that stuff," Patsy said, putting her hands up in defense.
"Aww, c'mon, Patsy, it'll be fun. Besides, Tommy learned to like it," Jude pouted.
"Fine, but only because you've already ruined my look," Patsy groaned.
Jude smiled, and led her away to E.J.
Meanwhile…
"Dude, you got a sec?" I motioned over to Speed, whose favorite word seemed to be 'dude'.
"Yeah, dude. What's up?" Speed said, looking confused as always.
"I've got this project I'm working on, and I need you to do something for me," I said. That'll be the closest thing to actually saying I needed his help. Because actually, Mason was the one who needed it most.
"What is it?" Speed said.
"Can you pick locks?" I made it short and sweet.
"What, you mean like breaking and entering? Dude, I didn't know you had it in you," Speed was impressed.
"Yeah, I need you to be the lookout," I wasn't gonna trust him with my video camera.
"For what?" Speed wondered.
"Just…be there, OK? We'll leave in 10 minutes." I was all set to go.
"But dude, us dudes need to practice," Speed said. I thought their practices sounded more like goofing off, but it still sounded pretty good.
"Don't worry about it, you can skip a couple hours, can't you?" I suggested.
"If you say so, dude," Speed looked curiously at me, wondering what I was up to.
20 minutes later…
"You want me to what?" Speed asked incredulously.
"Just do it, OK?" I said irritably.
"OK, dude," Speed fell silent for once in his life.
I left Speed in the hallway, and made my way down to D's office, camera in hand.
I knew they'd be there, because I knew Liam lived in the office, and D liked to stay up late with him.
The door was cracked open, and the rest of the studio was pitch black. Slowly, I lifted the camera up and began recording.
"Ohh, Darius!" Liam gasped, as Darius straddled him, kissed him hard, and entered him. Darius moved up and down, as Liam's cries of ecstasy echoed in the large office.
"What do you say?" Darius urged, and Liam responded without delay.
"Please! Yes, please!" Liam cried, and Darius smiled. Liam got exactly what he wanted. And so did I.
I went back and got Speed, then we walked out quietly, making sure to hide the camera in Speed's car. I told him to guard it with his life, then walked back to the door. I knocked, making it look like I had just gotten there.
A few minutes later, Darius and Liam came to the door.
"T, what are you doing here, man?" Darius looked surprised. Liam just looked suspicious.
"Yes, what are you doing here, mate?" Liam said politely, though I could tell his comment had teeth.
"Is Shay around?" I asked casually.
"If you're here to try and steal Shay from us, you must be stupid," Liam said. "Shay listens to his uncle D, he'd never leave our studio to work for your…what's it called again? Pop-Tart Studios?" Liam laughed at the ridiculous name.
"JQ," I insisted.
"Like it matters," Liam answered.
"T, I'd like to know why too." Darius crossed his arms.
"I just have a message from Jude, that's all." I hoped my ploy would work.
"Yeah, he should be around somewhere. SHAY!" Darius thundered, and a minute later, Shay came out of one of the isolated recording booths.
"Yeah, Uncle D?" Shay said, used to Darius' explosions. Then he saw me. "Well, if it isn't Little Tommy Q."
"Ooh, the big Shay-Shay," I countered, knowing he hated his nickname as much as I hated mine.
"Uh, Liam and I have some more work to finish up, so we'll leave you alone," Darius said, Liam's hand already in his. The men made a beeline for Darius' office, but I knew it wasn't work they were interested in finishing up.
"So, what do you want?" Shay wondered.
"I know you're not with Eden anymore, and I know why, so how about calling a truce with my studio? I won't pick on yours, if you don't pick on mine. Deal?" That was as smooth as I could've worded it.
"What's the catch?" Shay was learning lots of things from his uncle, like knowing when there were strings attached.
"Only one. You and one of my artists announce that you're dating, and it'll boost your sales through the roof."
"Which artist?" Shay said, and I was beginning to see his nerves falter a bit.
"Mason," I said, and smiled inwardly as I saw Shay gulp.
"Mason?" Shay said, trying not to let his emotions show.
"The one and only," I said, knowing Shay was going to crack any second.
After what seemed like forever, I broke the silence again. "So, do we have a deal?"
"Deal," Shay said finally.
I walked away, and just before I opened the door to leave, Shay called out, "Wait!"
"What?" I said, interested.
"Here, can you give this to Mason for me?" Shay said, taking a CD from his pocket and thrusting it into my hand. "Tell him…it's from an admirer."
"OK," I said, taking the disc and slipping it into my pocket. I turned to leave.
"Tommy?" Shay called again. I turned around to look at him.
"Thanks." Shay smiled, and I left.
As soon as I was outside, Speed bombarded me with questions.
"Dude, what happened? Is everything OK? Did it work? Tell me already! What's going on?" Speed was like he was on speed or something. I mean, the guy could probably outlast the Energizer bunny. And without sugar, too.
"Relax, dude, it's perfect. Just the way I wanted it to work out." I took the keys from Speed's unsuspecting hand, and took the driver's seat. I hated riding with Speed. He drove like Patsy, thinking he was invincible.
AN: So, what'd you think? Was it good? PLEASE REVIEW!