A/N: Short and simple: I'm sorry! Really. I am.

I had family drama and work and my mother on my case, so this went on the backburner AGAIN. I posted the first part of this chapter last night, but I don't think anyone noticed. So I deleted the chapter and added it the right way. I do have to apologize for the fact that I don't like this chapter all that much. Spending so much time away, I kind of lost myself and I'm still working on getting back. So I definitely think this chapter suffered and I'm sorry. But I think the next one will be better.

Moving on…

To the good stuff, like how you guys made me laugh and almost want to cry (good tears of course)! You guys are flippin' amazing! You guys are like the best readers EVER!

Your reviews…I am so grateful for them. You have no idea. I'm glad some people saw things like I have and that I'm not a complete loser for laughing at the really good parts. ;D

So I'll stop talking…since I have a feeling you guys want to know how this is going to turn out. And honestly, it's not bad. I'm saving that for later. :D

Thanks to Carlz02 for your input and thoughts about the preview(s). :D I REALLY appreciate it!

THANKS:

hales03: You're welcome! LOL. YAY! I am updating now…I'll try to go a little faster. :D

scrubslover: Ahhh…thanks! I was afraid everyone was going to dislike it as much as I did, but it's growing on me. LOL. Um, if the Victoria you met in like the 4th/5th chapter is any hint, I think you guys are all in the clear. :D Tom, on the other hand…well, he's a toss-up. :D

judetomfan101: I'm posting now!

McDreamylvr: LOL. It's a fact of life, I guess. I'm posting now!

up14: LOL. I'm posting now!

funnechick: Yes, they are. I told you it would eventually happen…I just needed some patience…:D Yes, it did. And keeping them on the same page is going to be an even bigger battle. Oops. I think I said too much. LOL. :D Yes, she was. I know. I know. But that's partially why she's here (I mean, not to try and have another kind with him…but for something else). Yes, I know. But Tom LOVED her. Jude and a sudo-boyfriend? Um, Jonathan, anyone? LOL. :D

InStrFan: I know. YAY! Thank you! I had to (you'll see why later). Oh, I understand. It's always gonna suck. :D Um, after. She found out then she had it dealt with. And then he found out. So in reality he couldn't have done anything to stop her, sadly. Angie didn't think it through, it was all about being with Michael and having a child with Tom would have complicated that love (no matter how short-lived it was). I can't. LOL. Because it really depends on how you look at it. Her involvement may be seen as a hindrance or a benefit. You'll have to wait for that though. :D LOL. Uh…I don't know?! LOL. I am the worst liar EVER! AHAHA! I'll shut up before I say anything else. :D Perfection?! YAY! Thank Goodness! I actually took out an entire scene because I thought it was too much. So I'm gonna use it for some other chapter I've decided. Which is good because what I had – in retrospect – is something I've realized probably would never have happened. Because it was all too much, like you said. Way too much to be divulged that night. I think the way Tom feels is how most people feel when they've had their heart broken. They want to trust this new person, but they can't fully even though they know that the person who hurt them and the new person are not one in the same. It's something I actually struggle with, but for some completely other reason. LOL. So it was natural for me. I had to do something that would flow into the next chapter. I had it planned differently in my head, where Tom would drop Jude off and then her parents would be waiting for her, but I've also decided that I don't think the Harrison's would act like that (given the whole "she has a boyfriend"- who cares that she's out with a strange boy at 3 in the morning and didn't tell us? – kind of a thing). You're so welcome! You guys totally deserve it. But I like long reviews, so it's totally acceptable! (And obviously, I like to write long Thanks!) :Dchocolateelephantz: LOL. Yay! I'm glad. Yeah, I had to give him some gushy-ness. I wanted her to be a bit juvenile for a second. I know. Typical Harrisons, I guess. Finally posting…

Princess of the Rogues: LOL. I had that planned in my head for awhile. But it started out different and then came back to the biting, but I liked this way better. Ahaha. I'm glad! Updating now!

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love2burn4tim: WOO HOO! I did actually. Chapter 5: One that proved she wasn't a delusional 18-year-oldJust thought you'd like to know. :D Tom is in his 20's. At least that's what he tells everyone else. Not that he isn't. He is. I think if I did my fictional math correctly, he's 28, maybe 29. I forget my Tom timeline, sorry. I'll look it up maybe. And that really depends on how you use the word 'boyfriend.' Loosely, perhaps?

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Disclaimer: Nothing.

A/N: at the bottom (It's another preview!) :D

R&R or R&L please.

THANKS MUCHO!!

"The Birthday" part 2:

Tom sat up straight causing Jude to fall back slightly and under less stressful circumstances would have been utterly happy to see what Jude was wearing underneath her silver dress. But this was neither the time nor the place.

Jude's mother was on the other end of the phone and from the look on Jude's face; Tom could tell she wasn't a very good liar.

Don't Stand So Close To Me

Chapter 13

"The Morning After"

"Jude?"

"Mom," Jude finally managed to breathe out. Her mother was on the phone. And she was straddling her teacher's lap. It was a recipe for disaster.

"Yes, it's me. Where are you?" she asked, her voice somewhere between sleep and annoyed.

Jude racked her brain, silently trying to think of something to say. "I, uh, I went to the, uh, the…loft?!" she said, her brow furrowed as if she wasn't even sure about what she had said.

Tom silently shook his head as he leaned on his arms. This was not good.

Victoria furrowed her eyebrows. Her daughter was at their loft. At three in the morning? "Why are you there?" she asked.

Stuart slipped out of the master bathroom and quietly got back into bed. He nudged his wife who silently nudged him back, not giving him the information he had tried to inquire.

"I, uh, I told you I couldn't sleep and so I decided to come here to, uh, work," she responded.

Tom cocked his head to the side as he looked at Jude, as if he was saying Really

Jude threw up one of her hands in the air and looked away. Tom was not helping. He was only making it worse.

But he didn't know what was going on, so could she really blame him?

"To work?" her mother asked. Jude silently nodded as she looked out to the water. Anything to dissipate the nervousness that was building in her chest.

"Yeah, on my stuff for my big day," Jude slightly whispered.

Tom looked at her, his eyebrows furrowed, wondering what her "big day" was, but didn't comment. He hoped he'd have time later to do that.

Jude turned back towards Tom as she thought about what she had said. It just came out. She hadn't really been thinking about it. But it was also the most believable.

Jude saw Tom's somewhat hurt look and felt instantly ashamed. It wasn't that she was keeping it all a secret from him; she just didn't know how to go about telling him. Music was her life and that now included Tom, but she didn't know how he was going to react to that. And she didn't want to know. At least not yet anyway, not when things were so good between them.

But she knew eventually she'd have to tell him, she just hoped it wouldn't be too late.

"Oh, you went to go practice your song?" Victoria asked. Stuart eyed Victoria, who nodded, and instantly realized who was on the phone.

"Um, yeah. I knew I couldn't practice while I was there since you guys were all asleep, so-" Jude started, looking over Tom's shoulder. It hurt too much to look at him when she knew she was keeping him out of the loop. A very big loop.

Jude heard her mother sigh heavily on the other line and instantly knew she was going to receive some Victoria Harrison advice. "Honey, I realize that your birthday might have struck a chord with you about growing up and all, but going to the loft to practice in the dead of night is not such a practical thing."

Instantaneously, Victoria's eyes darted to the street out in front of her house. From her position on her bed, she could spot a car sitting directly in front of her through her slightly open curtains. Her brow furrowed and she turned towards her husband, who looked up at her. "How did you get there anyway? Your Mustang is still here."

Jude's eyes widened and she sat up straight, making Tom even more nervous. She glanced at Tom, biting her bottom lip. "I, uh, I had a ride?"

"A ride?" her mother asked. Jude rarely left home without her Mustang. Something was wrong.

"Yeah," Jude breathed, her eyes hopeful. Maybe her mother would believe her. Maybe. Or maybe not.

"From who?" Victoria asked.

Jude eyed Tom who gave her a reassuring smile. It was all she needed. "A friend," she offered.

He playfully glared at her, knowing that now more than ever, he was more than a friend. Much more. Jude stuck her tongue out at him, her nervousness lessening as she realized Tom was with her. As if his presence calmed her. Made her less freaked out about their taboo relationship.

"A friend," her mother repeated. "As in a boyfriend?" her mother asked, her voice building in excitement.

Jude rolled her eyes. Her mother just had to ruin it, couldn't take friend for an answer. "Not a boyfriend, but a boy friend," Jude corrected her mother. Tom eyed Jude curiously and she shook her head, brushing him off.

"Oh honey, I'm so proud of you!"her mother cried. "Stuart, I think Jude has a boyfriend!" Victoria whispered to her husband, who was lying next to her.

Jude sighed and rolled her eyes, causing Tom to shake his legs to get her attention. He wanted to know what was going on too.

"Honey, that's great!" Jude heard her father whisper into the receiver.

Jude lowered her head and sighed again, bringing her hand to her forehead and rubbing her temple. Even in the midst of their interruption, Tom smiled at his girlfriend. She was so dramatic sometimes.

It was a very Victoria Harrison thing to do; of course her mother bypassed the fact that she was out at three in the morning, taking a ride from a boy she had never met, and was at a place completely across town. All because this boy may or may not be Jude Harrison's boyfriend.

Jude looked up for a second in realization. That was the exact truth. She was out at three in the morning. She had taken a ride from a boy – man – that her mother had never met. And they were somewhere completely across town.

And he in fact was Jude's boyfriend.

So maybe she hadn't lied as much as she thought she had then?

The kicker was that Tom Quincy wasn't just her boyfriend.

He was her teacher too.

Jude gazed at Tom who was no longer looking at her, but the water. A sudden rush fell over her. If her mom was going to assume she had a boyfriend, then things were going to be okay. For now. She was going to take what she could get and that meant more time with Tom. "Mom, can we talk about this later? I really-" Jude started.

Tom glanced at Jude from the corner of his eye, seeing her suddenly look up. A smirk formed on his face. They were almost home free.

Victoria nodded as she slid farther underneath her covers. "Sure, honey. Just get home safe." She had a few more hours before Sadie was leaving back to school and more sleep sounded like a good idea. "Whenever you get home," she added nonchalantly, shrugging her shoulders. She hung up her phone, placed it on her bedside table before lying back down and going to sleep with a large smile on her face. Because her baby girl had a boyfriend, she was sure of it.

Jude cringed in disgust. The tone of her mother's voice was so not appropriate. If she only knew how right she had almost been. Almost.

It was then that Jude reassessed her surroundings. For what had almost happened, if she had let it. Having sex on a public pier was not one of the things on Jude's to-do-before-she-died list.

Jude flipped her phone closed and placed it in her pocket, abruptly standing up, causing Tom to turn and look at her. She crossed over Tom who grabbed her ankle making her stop, but also making her almost fall.

"Hey, what just happened here?" he asked, looking up and trying desperately to look at Jude's face and not take a glance underneath her dress.

Jude looked down and smiled, the sound of his voice comforting her from thoughts that began to form in her head. She knew being with Tom was going to be hard, but she hated having to lie and scheme to make it work. But she also knew that until graduation, that's exactly what was going to happen.

She silently reminded herself to start a countdown on her calendar at home. She'd need the reassurance.

"Come with me," she said bypassing his question, holding out her hand for him to take. Tom eyed Jude curiously, releasing her ankle and instead taking her hand.

Using her legs for strength, she helped pull him off of the wool blanket.

Instinctively she leaned into him and he pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Come with me," she repeated, looking up at him.

Tom looked away as if he was actually contemplating her offer.

When he looked back at her, she smacked him on the shoulder. Hard.

His face broke out into a wide smile. "What was that for?"

"For taking so long," she responded.

He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "I was thinking."

"Do you have a headache now?" she asked jokingly.

His mouth opened, a wide gape forming on his face. "Hey," he sounded. He shook his head as he eyed Jude who only laughed loudly at his expense. But she wasn't laughing when he quickly released his hold on her as he turned his back towards her.

He haphazardly threw all of his belongings into the picnic basket and picked it up along with the blanket, which he gave to Jude who finally understood why he had let her go in the first place. If they wanted to leave, they had to clean up. Or rather he had to clean up. She wrapped the blanket around her shoulders even though she wasn't the slightest bit cold. Not now anyway.

As they walked up the slight incline to the parking lot, Jude grabbed Tom's hand and intertwined her fingers with his. A sudden thought floated into her mind. It would be awhile before she would be able to do anything in public with him. It wasn't something she wanted to dwell on at the time, but she knew eventually they'd have to bring it up and talk about it. About everything.

"So, you only keep me around for my car," Tom questioned, slightly nudging Jude, noticing how quiet she had become as they reached his Viper.

Jude glanced at Tom and smirked. "Among other things."

"Oh really?" he said as he pulled open the passenger door. He looked over his shoulder as Jude stood behind him. She dramatically shrugged her shoulders, a wide semi-innocent smile across her face.

After Jude got in the car, Tom closed the door and made his way to the other side of the Viper.

Where they were going, he didn't know. What they were doing, he didn't know. Why they were going, he didn't know. All he knew was that Jude was with him. And that was enough.

It always would be.

-+-+-+-+-+-

"Where to?" he asked, once he was settled in the car with the engine running.

"Just follow my lead," she said, looking at him from the corner of her eye. She smiled slightly and they were off.

They made it to her parents' loft without incident despite Jude's horrible directions. She instinctively knew how to get there, but telling someone else was so much harder.

Tom was apprehensive as he parked his Viper in the allocated spot for the loft. Once he had entered the parking garage, he couldn't shake a feeling that had come over him. He was scared to say the least. It wasn't about what had almost happened at the pier or what could happen in the loft. It was about what the loft represented. It was Jude's turf. He was infiltrating her life. They had stayed on neutral ground until now. Now, they were melding lives. And that scared the shit out of him.

Not that he would have admitted that, of course.

The elevator ride to the seventh floor was a silent one. All except the stolen glances, the wide, purposeful smirks, and the hand-holding.

Tom walked behind Jude as she pulled him along the corridor to the front door of the loft. He wasn't being reluctant, but he wasn't eager either. He would just have to suck it up and deal with it. It was Jude's idea after all and he had to remind himself that when he asked her to come with him, she hadn't been all that excited either. But now look at them. They were boyfriend and girlfriend.

He had nothing to worry about, right? Right.

They entered the spacious loft, full of color with its cream walls. An open floor plan let the baby grand piano scream at Tom from the corner of his eye.

Relief rushed over him. A smile formed on his face. It was a sign. He just hoped the Harrison's weren't the type of the family who had a piano just for looks. He hoped it was used. And used well. And often.

Jude led him farther into the living room, kicking off her heels at the small foyer.

"Home," Jude breathed, taking in the warmth of her forgotten love. She rustled out of her peacoat and tossed it on the nearest couch.

Tom lightly scoffed at Jude's comment. She looked over her shoulder at him, curiously. "What?"

"Home is about 45 minutes away, Jude," he remarked, slightly smirking.

"Yeah, you would say that," she responded.

"Excuse me?" he asked, walking up towards her.

She turned around and placed her hands on her hips. "I spent my earliest years here; birth until about the time I asked to be held back."

"So this is home," he commented.

"Yeah, then when we moved to the big house, my parents kept this as a little hideaway. And I've been coming here ever since." She shrugged her shoulders, looking down at the hard wood floors.

"I see." Tom nodded. "To practice at?" he added, his eyes hopeful.

She looked up suddenly and stared at Tom. She had thought just maybe she had gotten away with her conversation with her mom, but that was not the case as she looked at Tom. He was determined. "Yeah," she whispered, nodding her head.

Tom cocked his head to the side, gazing at Jude. "You know we are going to have to talk about whatever it is that you and your mom talked about, right?"

"Yeah. Can it just not be tonight?" she asked. She didn't want to get into a heated discussion about anything. She wanted to spend time with him without fighting or thinking about what happens when school came on Monday.

"That's fine. But someday," he said. He knew tonight wasn't the night for anything serious. They had already done that; they had gotten together. The rest would just have to wait.

"I know," she said, nodding. He pulled her into a hug and she looked up at him, smiling.

He smiled back at her before kissing her lightly on her forehead. "So, are you going to give me a tour or am I going to have to look around on my own?"

"I AM the Tour Guide," she said proudly.

"Let's get on with it then," he said, letting her drag him from the living room and down the first corridor.

Jude shared stories of her early childhood in practically every room that they entered. Tom's favorite? The bathroom. Where Jude almost drowned when she was two. At least that's what she said, but then spilled that it was more like Sadie splashed her with so much water in the bathtub that she couldn't breathe so she felt as if she was drowning. Tom found it hilarious. Jude did not, even 17 years later.

They finally made it to her bedroom which had been redecorated as she had aged. It was now cream walls with cream linens and black accents. Very Parisian.

"So, what do you think?" she asked as she fell onto her king-sized bed. Tom sat next to her, looking down at her, the constricting scariness and worry completely gone as he was in her presence.

"It's nice," he commented, shrugging his shoulders.

Jude jumped up instantly. "Nice?" she asked, somewhat angrily. She loved the loft. How could he not?

A smirk grew on Tom's face and Jude instinctively knew he was joking. She nudged him as he said, "It's beautiful. Just like you."

Jude rolled her eyes. "Gross. Don't get mushy on me, Quincy."

"Whatever," he said in his best valley-girl voice.

Jude's laughter bounced off the walls as she lay back down on her bed. Tom followed suit, their heads at the same height. Tom looked over at Jude and genuinely smiled for the first time since they arrived at the loft. She eyed him, licking her bottom lip, and decided to finish what she had started. She instantly sat back up and kneeled on her bed. Reaching over Tom with one of her legs, she was straddling him again. Like she had at the pier when her mother called. She now hoped there wouldn't be any more interruptions.

Tom smiled up at her, knowing what she was trying to do. She smiled back as she leaned down towards him, her smiling turning into a large yawn.

Tom smirked and slightly shook his head. He reached up and placed his hands on her forearms making Jude stop in place. She looked at him curiously.

"Get off of me," he said. Jude's eyes widened. She couldn't believe he had just said that. Was he worried? Scared? Or trying to be a gentleman? Nothing added up.

"What?" she asked, as if her ears had played a dirty trick on her.

"Get off of me," he repeated, this time gentler than before. But it didn't lessen the pain. Jude was still hurt.

"Okay," she breathed, her voice a mix of hurt and anger. She got up instantly, kneeling before him, her hands fidgeting in her lap.

Tom sat up and looked at Jude. "I'm not trying to be an ass," he commented.

Jude looked up at him and smirked. "Oh, you don't have to try," she remarked, her voice laced full of anger, her hurt completely gone.

"Jude-" Tom started, his head cocked to the side.

"What?" she snapped.

Tom sighed slightly. "It's five in the morning," he said, pointing to the numerous clocks on one of Jude's walls; each one displaying a different time zone.

Jude rolled her eyes and then looked at Tom. "And your point would be?"

"You need sleep."

"But I'm not tired," she whined.

Tom scoffed, a smirk forming on his face. "Cause your yawn proved that you could hang for another couple hours?"

"Fine," she conceded as she pouted like a small child. Jude pulled back the down comforter and scrambled to get underneath it. Another yawn formed and Jude smirked at Tom who looked down at her.

"Don't say it," she said as he took off his jacket and placed it on the floor.

"What?" he asked innocently, looking over his shoulder.

"I told you so," she mocked. He slightly shook his head as he tossed his shoes to the side of the bed and got in beside Jude.

Jude grabbed the universal remote off of her bedside table and shut her bedroom light off. The room filled with darkness minus the slivers of light the filtered through the curtains.

She laid her head on Tom's shoulder and within seconds gave in to the sleep that Tom had talked her so adamantly into.

It was minutes before Tom fell asleep as well, her steady breathing calming his nerves, a smile plastered on his face as he slept.

-+-+-+-+-+-

The sun brightened the room hours later as Tom slightly rustled awake.

He slightly moved his hand, feeling the softness of bare skin under his fingertips. Instantly, he opened his eyes, his surroundings still blurry, but his mind was clear.

The events from the hours before replayed in his head, a wide smile forming on his face.

He reluctantly pulled himself away, looking to his side, a consistent breathing echoing to his left. Her hair was mess of curls surrounding her face as she slept on her stomach, his arm underneath her. He wanted to watch her sleep forever. She was just as gorgeous sleeping as she was awake.

A buzz rang in his ear and trying not to wake her, he reached over his head with his right arm to silence the noise.

He pulled his phone out from under the pillow he had slept on and stared at the time.

His eyes widened, knowing he'd need to leave soon.

Slowly but surely he was able to pull his arm out from underneath her sleeping form without waking her. Having got himself together with his shoes on his feet and his jacket on his body, he searched for a way to say goodbye.

A yellow pad of paper on Jude's desk called to him and he left her a note, scribbling his thoughts down fast.

He tore the sheet off and placed it on his pillow before blowing her a kiss and silently walking out the door towards his Viper.

-+-+-+-+-+-

She moaned loudly as her body deemed it was time for her to wake up. She stretched noticeably, her arms and legs touching nothing but air. Her eyes instinctively noticed the loneliness that filled the room and now her bed.

Her eyes roamed the empty pillow beside her, the yellow reflecting distinctively off the cream coloring of the linen. She pulled the piece of paper closer to her and scanned it.

It was from him.

An instant laugh resonated from her, filling the room.

His opening line? "I'm not stupid. I've learned from experience. There was no way in hell I was going to wake you up."

His second line was even better. "And you said I might not ever get another chance to wake you up. Someone was wrong."

She continued to read his letter, with each word, the smile on her face grew.

It was the last line of his letter that made her eyes start to water, but it was her mind that understood.

"I love you. I'll see you on Monday. And only on Monday."

She tossed the letter aside and sat up quickly, a sob forming in her throat but she swallowed it away. She was beginning to hate the whole "student-teacher" thing. She couldn't wait for June to come so she could graduate and finally be with Tom the way she had imagined.

Tom.

He had made her birthday so much more than she could have ever imagined. And she was happy again.

Happy then sad. Happy then sad. Happy then sad. It was damn rollercoaster ride and she hoped she was finally off of it for good.

He made her so happy.

She lay back down and grabbed the letter again, trying not to damage it. She placed it against her chest, a small smile on her face.

She missed him. So damn much. And it hurt.

And he had only been gone for an hour.

This was harder than she thought it would be.

A/N: Preview:

Chapter 14

"Friendly Conversations"

"She's in high school."

"And?"

"High school as in the land of Friday night football games and SAT's."

"I still don't see your point. She's legal."

-+-+-+-+-+-

"Are we gonna make any more routine trips to the hospital any time soon?"

-+-+-+-+-+-

"Because she's different. Or because you wanna believe she is? Cause the way I see it is it doesn't matter who the girl is. You're still Tom."

I've only written a conversation in the next chapter, so your preview for it sucks. Sorry!