Fear not, I'm back from my trip and from my writer's block. Anyways, this is sort of a filler chapter, but the next few will be pretty exciting. Sadly, though, it's coming to an end. There will be about five more chapters, maybe more, but no less. Thanks for all the ideas, a few of which I'll probably use. And to everyone who reviews, I love you. You know this.
Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.
Jude, Tommy, Sadie, and Kwest watched out the window as the Ranger Rover pulled into the guest house. Wally got out of the passenger seat and Kyle climbed out of the driver's side.
"Great," Sadie muttered. "I've been using that car and now I have to hose down the back cause God knows what the two of them did in it while they were together."
"Oh, they wouldn't do anything in front of Kyle and Wally," Jude stated. "Even Spiederman has boundaries."
"You sure about that?" Tommy joked as the front door swung open and the four of them made their way inside. "Oh, look, the Stooges are home."
Spiederman laughed sarcastically. "I knew I missed you, Squinty."
"Oh, I'm sure," Tommy murmured. "So, before I go sleep in your bed, I'll need you to change your sheets."
"Why?" Spiederman smirked. "Nic and I had sex in her bed, not mine."
"Vincent!" Nic scolded. "Not in front of the older brother."
Tommy's face was now bright red and he looked furious. "You slept with my sister?"
"Uhh, dude, we kinda knew," Kwest pointed out. "They're not completely subtle."
"I still don't want to hear about it!" Tommy yelled. "Nicole Elaina Quincy, what were you thinking?"
Nic stared at her brother in disbelief. "You know, I'll answer your question: what do I know that no one else knows? If you yell at me, I might just let it slip, brother dear."
"You wouldn't," he said.
"Oh, I would," she assured him. "Now, if you'll excuse us, Spied's got some unpacking to do before he takes some things over to our house." She winked at Tommy and followed Spiederman up the staircase to his room.
"What does she know that we don't know?" Kwest demanded. "I'm your best friend, man."
Tommy shook his head. "It's nothing. You'll all know about it soon enough; I just don't want to jinx it and Nic found out by mistake."
"Are you two hungry?" Jude asked Kyle and Wally. "Plane food isn't the best."
"Starving," Wally confirmed. "Who's cooking?" he immediately asked, eyeing Jude.
"I will," Sadie laughed, opening the refrigerator. "How about spaghetti and meatballs?"
Kyle sighed. "Yes, real food. All we ate in New York was McDonald's and Sbarro."
"You guys love fast food," Jude pointed out. "I can't tell you how many pounds I gain every tour because you want Taco Bell and Arby's all the time."
Wally shrugged. "Sometimes, that's just good eating."
Once Tommy had changed the sheets on Spiederman's bed, he settled down and turned on the TV. E! News Weekend was playing and because there was nothing better on, he didn't change it.
"On Sunday afternoon, multiple sources confirmed that Tom Quincy and Jude Harrison were seen having lunch together at the Old Seafood Factory, a restaurant in Hilton Head where their group is vacationing this month. Whether or not it was anything more than a friendly afternoon is a mystery, but the sources claim they both looked quite happy in each other's company and Jude couldn't keep the smile off her face if she tried. In related news, the reunion of Tom's sister, and Montreal socialite, Nic Quincy, and Spiederman Mind Explosion front man Vincent Spiederman was a true sight to see, as airport officials claim their kiss just beyond security was so steamy, a guard had to ask them to take it elsewhere. Seems as though things are really heating up down there in South Carolina," Giuliana Depandi reported.
"Great," Tommy muttered. "Glad I missed that."
"Missed what?" Jude wondered, letting herself into the room.
He muted the television. "Apparently, Nic and Vin's little airport reunion was so 'steamy,' a security guard told them to take it somewhere else."
"Wow," Jude breathed. "Well, I'm not surprised. They were both so friggin' depressed while they were apart."
Tommy sighed. "I'm just afraid she's rushing, like she did with Chris, and she's gonna get hurt."
"Spied won't hurt her," Jude assured him. "He loves her way too much."
"I hope so," Tommy mumbled. "So, did anyone see you come in here?"
She grinned and shook her head. "Sadie and Kwest are watching The Notebook and Wally and Kyle are already asleep, so it's just us." She tilted her head up to kiss him.
"I like when it's just us," he told her. "No interruptions."
"Me, too," she agreed. "And I think that by Friday, which is when Nic's planned for us to go to the Salty Dog for karaoke night, we can tell everyone about us."
He rolled his eyes. "Really, karaoke? She's so dumb sometimes."
"She's your sister," Jude warned. "You can't call her that."
"Whatever," he murmured, kissing her again. "What are you going to sing?"
"I don't know yet," she answered. "Maybe something really funny, that nobody would expect from me."
He laughed. "So almost anything Nic listens to?"
"Surprisingly, since she likes Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake so much, Nic has really good taste in music," Jude stated. "She likes Boys Like Girls and Cute is What We Aim For and Fall Out Boy; those are all good bands. Plus, she's into Nirvana, Rancid, the Clash, and the Ramones, too."
"Eclectic," he noted. "She has an entire wall of her apartment covered in vintage vinyl that you would love; she inherited it from my grandpa, or Pops, as we called him."
"And Honey," she nodded. "She told me about them."
They sat in silence for a while, watching the entertainment news, before Jude decided to take a shower and Tommy wanted to send some files to his job as a behind-the-scenes executive in Montreal.
"What are you doing here, Karma?" Nic overheard Spiederman demand on the beach down below the balcony to her bedroom.
Nic, in just a yellow bra-and-underwear set, slipped into his hooded zip-up jacket and walked outside to watch the encounter.
"I just came to tell you that Chris, Megan, and I are leaving for the airport in 20 minutes," Karma explained. "So this is your last chance: take it or leave it."
"I had you once and it wasn't so great," he admitted. "Now that I've upgraded, I think I'll leave it. I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm not."
Karma placed her hands on her hips. "And what is it that you love so much about some socialite? She's rarely ever on the radar, except when she does charity work or gives money to some boring foundation."
"You mean like St. Jude's or the San Diego Zoo?" he scoffed. "Nic's a philanthropist, Katherine, something I wouldn't expect you to understand. She likes giving back to those who need help. And that's one of the things I love about her. Besides that, she's not stupid and she's gorgeous and she doesn't use me to get exposure. All you wanted from me was my celebrity."
"That's not true!" Karma explained. "I did like you, Spiedy. You were just, well, you were boring. I mean, it got to the point where all you cared about was music, Kyle and Wally, and Jude. I was your wife and you didn't even care."
"I didn't love you!" he cried. "I was so tainted by your appearance that I believed you when you said you wanted to be married and make it work. Then, having seen my parents go through such an ugly split, I couldn't get divorced and I occupied myself with things that made me happy cause I knew it was all so fake. Luckily, I caught you cheating and I found my out. Now, I'm really and truly in love, so why would I let you ruin that?"
Karma, Nic noticed, even as the sun was setting, fumed. "You love her? You barely even know her!"
"I feel like I've known her my entire life," he said. "And that's good enough for me."
"This is ridiculous!" Karma yelled, looking around. Her gaze landed on Nic. "You'll get bored with him, just watch! He'll ignore you, like he ignored me, and you'll look for a way out."
Nic smirked. "Karma, why don't you just leave? He clearly doesn't want you anymore and he has better things to do, like get his ass back up to my bedroom."
"Katherine, go back to Toronto," Spiederman advised. "Find yourself a new label and just start from scratch." And with that, he turned and walked inside, making his way up to Nic's bedroom, as she'd demanded.
Tommy had walked down to the beach to watch the tides change and he found Megan, sitting on the sand. It was the first time he'd even seen her since she'd come to Hilton Head.
"Megan," he whispered, standing behind her. "What are you doing here?"
She stood up to face him. "To be honest, I have absolutely no idea. I thought I came down here to win you back, make you see what you gave up, but then I saw all the tabloids and news reports about you and Jude and I gave up. You're giving her that look; that look I only ever saw you give once, when you looked at a picture of her. You love her, Tommy, and while it hurts to admit that, I'm not going to stand in the way of it."
"Yeah, I do," he told her. "Megan, I did love you. I just don't think I was ever in love with you and it wasn't fair to string you along anymore. Yes, I messed up that night, but I think we knew our end was coming."
She smiled softly. "Well, I just came by to tell you that we're all leaving tonight. I wanted you to know that I'm gracefully stepping aside for you to be with Jude and I wish you nothing but the best, Tommy."
He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "The same for you, Megan."
Jude watched from the kitchen as Tommy's ex-wife walked away. He looked out at the water and settled himself onto the sand. For as much as she wanted to go talk to him, to see what had happened, she held back. She knew he loved her and she just had to trust him.
Just as another sexy rendezvous with Spiederman was ending, Nic's Sidekick buzzed on her nightstand. She rolled her eyes and put it on speakerphone. "Yes, Christopher, darling?"
"I'm leaving," he announced flatly. "We're in a limo to the airport and I'm done with you. I never loved you, Nic. I just fooled you into thinking I did when I was really in love with your money."
Nic couldn't contain her light laughter. "Chris, I'm not fooled. For a while, I was, but I haven't been in over two years. To you, money means everything; to me, it's just something I have. One day, I think you'll find someone, probably older, with money that you can take advantage of and they won't mind because you'll be their hot, younger boy toy. Thank God, I'm just not that girl."
"You're gorgeous, Nic," Chris assured her. "Maybe the hottest girl I've ever known, but my shallowness goes beyond that to the material possessions and you just weren't giving in anymore."
Nic rolled her eyes. "Chris, just go home. I'm happy now, you're moving on, and we'll both survive. Who knows? Maybe one day, we'll see each other again; I'll be married to the guy in my bed right now and you'll be wearing an expensive Armani suit while your woman is at home on an oxygen tank." Before he could respond, she ended their connection. "Now, where were we?"
"Wait," Spiederman said. "You want to marry me someday?"
"Is that bad?" she wondered quietly. "Cause if it is, I take it back."
He shook his head. "No, it's good. I want to marry you, too."
"Are we crazy?" she smiled, laying her head on his bare chest. "I mean, we've only been in Hilton Head for a little over a week and we're talking marriage already."
"I'm impulsive," he shrugged. "I take an idea and I run with it. Sometimes that's good, sometimes that's bad."
"At my high school, I was voted 'Most Likely To Do Something Spontaneous At Any Minute,'" she reported. "And also 'Most Attractive,' but that one is boring."
"Maybe so," he nodded, "but it's very true."
"You didn't know the other girls in my class," she giggled.
"Don't need to," he replied. "You're definitely enough for me."
She kissed his shoulder. "You know, it's still early."
"All righty then," he laughed, pulling the sheets up over them.
"I saw you talking to Megan," Jude said when Tommy made his way back into the house that night. "Anything good?"
He just looked at her. "She said she was going to step aside and let us be together cause she knows I'm in love with you and not her, that's all."
"Really?" Jude smiled. "Well, that's good to hear."
"I thought so, too," he agreed, leaning down to kiss her.
"Ahem," Nic cleared her throat, entering through the back door. "What if I had been Kwest or Wally or someone else?"
Jude pulled away. "Hi, Nic."
"Hello, Judas," Nic joked. "How would your best friends feel if they knew you were keeping your relationship a secret from them?"
"Not good," Jude murmured. "She's right, Tommy, I have to tell Spied."
He sighed. "Fine. But can't it wait until morning? I want you all to myself in one more night of secrecy."
"Ugh," Nic gagged, getting a bottled water from the refrigerator. "Can't you at least wait until I'm gone before you talk about that?"
"I believe I heard all about your sex life today," Tommy remembered. "And besides, you're wearing underwear and Vin's jacket, which only implies one thing. Now we're even. "
Nic shuddered and left them alone again in the kitchen.
"So, your room or mine?" Jude whispered.
"Mine is two double beds and you have the master," he stated. "Which would I rather go to?"
"Very funny," she said dryly. "Come on, old man, you'll be falling asleep soon."
"Ooh, there's that bite," he teased, chasing her all the way up to her bedroom, where he locked them in for the night.