A/N: I'm really sorry that this has taken so long. At first I was just working on the other stories and stuff and then Sunday night…I got this weird headache. And before I knew it, I was in bed Monday after work wishing someone would shoot me cause I was getting sick.

Normally I have a great immune system (which is weird cause I do horrible things to my body like not eat and pull all-nighters for no reason), but when I do get sick, I get sick. So this entire week I've been in bed trying to get this thing to go away and I finally got a prescription from the doctor so now, I feel pretty good.

And it hasn't been until now that I've actually felt up to working on this and thankfully, I finished. So there you go.

And then I decided to watch IS on The N…and now I'm all depressed. I want the damn show to come back! LOL.

Anyway…I hope you like this chapter!

Oh yeah, last thing...any mistakes, I apologize for. I just really wanted to get this out so I didn't really look over it all that well. Sorry!

THANKS:

scrubslover: Thank you! She will…kind of. LOL. No, they shouldn't. Which means he should be up front with her too. Which will happen eventually. I'm updating now!

miss massacre: Thank you! LOL. I feel bad for Kwest. LMAO. Yeah, I think that would happen. I didn't want their talk to be serious. I wanted some comic relief. LOL. I thankfully have never had that happen to me. That was who I had in mind when I wrote it even though I knew it was actually him calling. I just wanted to see what it would seem like. I agree. But he has his reasons. I'm posting now!

alexzrules: Thanks! Well, Angie has some things she's not spilling either. Besides what you already know. She did cheat on Tommy. I think there's on open position in the I Hate Kwest club. It's ready when you are. ;D Nope. That's not his reason. As for Jude…maybe. Maybe not. ;D

brandnewx3: LOL. Yeah, I know. I wrote some of the thanks a while before I posted the last chapter (obviously) cause I thought I was gonna be done fast. Obviously not. LOL. Thank you! He had to. It's in his nature. Stuart trusts Jude to the nth degree. She's never done anything that would make him think otherwise. Until now. ;D

umagoshh: You're welcome. Thank you! LOL. One of a few people who don't hate him, I'm sure. No history between them. At least not anything that doesn't have a direct connection to Tom. Angie just the type of person that connects to everyone and everything within her reach. Which is a lovely attribute, but also pretty suffocating. Thanks for the new songs! I'll check out Kate Nash. I've never listened to anything by her before.

mullets: And you would be right about that quote. Thanks! Yeah. But he was worried. LOL. As for Jude seeing Tom and Angie…maybe. Maybe not. But if she did, it wouldn't be because she was trying out. G-Major has nothing to do with school in this fic.

mandy1485: I know. She should have. But he needs to be upfront too. LOL. That's okay. No, he doesn't. He was just joking around. But when people say stuff like that…it does make you wonder. LOL.

Carlz02: Ohhhh….is that what its called? LOL. OMG! Bad! Yes, that's my feeling too. LMAO! Only if my friends were with someone like Tommy would I ever ask something like that. Under normal circumstances, boys unlike Tom don't make a peep on my radar. Thank you!

chocolateelephantz: Thank you! I'm sorry to make you wait. LOL. It's understandable. Kwesst makes you want to hurt him. I'm posting now!

bbybty9: I know. Sorry! LOL. Maybe one day she'll surprise you.

JommyIS4ever: Thank you! LOL. She did cheat on him. Tom never betrayed her. He did something else. I'll clear it up soon…or I might make it even more confusing depending on how you see it. Thank you! I love their relationship. Minus the drama most of the time. ;D Thank you! Here is more.

madisonko: Thank you! They are similar in some aspects so I guess it's not that surprising. Here's more.

TommyQsSexyashell: That is so true! LOL. I think that is why!

brandnewx3: I did a double take when I saw your name because I realized that you had already sent a review, but this one was for another chapter, so thanks! Anyway, you might be on to something with the 'teacher' thing, but I also did it just to push home the fact that he is her teacher (not that you need that much reminding, I'm sure). I'm sorry this took so long.

Jessie's girl15: Hi! Okay, I'll try! Here is your post!

Raylo94: YAY! LOL. I know. I liked their conversation too. I'm glad you liked it!

Bella11356: LOL. It's understandable. There's a lot of stories out there. Thank you so much! YAY! I love that! You'll have to wait for any sexing up…sorry. Here's the next chapter!

InStrFan: Thanks! I love her. I kind of found her to be a bit annoying on the show. But I think that's just me. Eh. Johnny Depp…hot. Orlando Bloom…not so much. And I don't see Tommy mixed in there at all, but it might just be me. But yeah, the comment is officially dead. LOL. She does and it will…to an extent. Yeah, she'll have someone to vent to which is always nice. She was scared. That's it. She did bring it on herself. But sadly, now she just has to deal with the problem head on. Yeah, keeping secrets in a relationship is never a good idea. LMAO! Yeah, Kwest. He has a life, but it's not as exciting as Tommy's. He won't do any permanent damage to Jommy. I promise. He just isn't as wholesome as they come either. He'll get some more face time soon though. Thank you! Here's the next chapter!

bigsis0829: LOL. That was so funny! Thanks for being so blunt! I'm posting now!

Disclaimer: I don't own Brad Pitt, A River Runs Through It, Berklee, NYU, UC Berkley, CAT 6.

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

R&R or R&L please.

THANKS MUCHO!!

"Boys Will Be Boys":

When she couldn't see his brake lights anymore, Jude headed back inside. A sudden inclination to study floated into her head. Just in case he actually did get around to making a pop quiz.

But Jude shrugged it off. If he did make it and she didn't do well, she figured Mr. Quincy would be open to some persuasion if need be.

She was his girlfriend after all.

Don't Stand So Close To Me

Chapter 16

"The Secret's Out"

He was stuck, sitting in the Teacher's Lounge with a group of other teachers who had decided to be on the Senior class committee. While his class was watching a movie in his absence.

While Jude was sitting in the dark watching Brad Pitt in his younger days, strut without his shirt on. While he was sitting in a stuffy, tomato soup fragrant room with Angie by his side.

One of the only other recognizable faces at the table was Mr. Torres who was heading up the committee, since he apparently had enough school spirit to spread around.

"Last thing on the agenda. Talent show."

Tom looked up immediately, his interest piqued to outer space levels. Angie smiled at his side, noticing the sudden interest. Talent usually meant music and that was Tom's forte.

"We're going to be holding auditions at the middle of March so that we have spring break to look over them. Then we'll do rehearsals in April all the way up 'til Senior Week."

"Can you explain this whole thing for us newbies?" Tom asked from the opposite side of the table.

Mr. Torres smiled widely and nodded. "Yeah, Senior Week is the last week in April. While the rest of the school is working on the CAT6, the seniors have a free week since they've already completed all of their testing as juniors. During this week, the school, rather this committee, provides forms of entertainment and such to keep them occupied. One of them being a talent show."

"Got it," Tom said, nodding. He was practically salivating at the idea. Angie shook her head slightly, a smirk formed on her face.

Mr. Torres nodded once and continued.

"This year's talent show will be a little longer. About an hour longer. So to fill in that time, I was thinking we add a teacher performance. We haven't done that in awhile so I'll be placing sign-up sheets in everyone's boxes to get volunteers. I figure this will be a good chance for the seniors to laugh at us, rather than the other way around."

A few laughs resounded through the room and it was time to head back to class. Mr. Torres shuffled a few of his papers before he remembered something important.

"Oh. One more thing." The group, who was already standing up, looked at him.

"There will be one person who won't have to audition. She's a shoe-in."

"Who?" Angie asked.

"Jude Harrison. She's performed every year since her freshman year. I figured we'd cut her some slack since she was just accepted into Berklee."

- - - - - -

She had been so antsy as she sat and watched A River Runs Through It, that she couldn't even concentrate on Brad Pitt. How unfair was that?

She just wanted Tom to get back to class so she could tell him the wonderful news.

She had been accepted to Berklee. And NYU.

The only problem was that she now had to make a decision.

5th Avenue or Beantown?

He barreled down the hallway, looking for her as the classes had just been let out for lunch.

As he looked to his left, he spotted her at her locker.

She turned around just as he walked up beside her.

"Hey-"

"My room. Now!" he seethed. He turned around and walked away angrily.

She walked fast behind him, her face confused. She didn't know what was wrong. She couldn't think of – oh no! Someone found out about them! This was not good.

He practically ripped the powder blue door off its hinges causing a few students near it to jump. He grabbed Jude's arm and pulled her through the threshold before slamming the door shut.

Jude jumped suddenly, her books close to her chest for comfort. If someone found out about them, they were dead. This was not how it was suppose to happen.

He silently seethed next to the door before turning around, his hand still tightly wound around Jude's arm.

He let go suddenly, seeing the contact and the look of slight pain on Jude's face.

He walked past Jude trying to dissipate the anger that was coursing through his veins.

"Shit. I figured you like it rough, but I don't like bruises," she commented, rubbing her arm.

"Were you ever gonna tell me?" he asked over his shoulder. Jude placed her books on the nearest desk and looked at him. When she didn't answer, he continued.

"You keep saying we're gonna talk about it…but we never do. So let's talk about it. Now."

"Talk about what?" Jude asked, shrugging.

Tom turned around and glared at Jude. "Don't act stupid, Jude."

Her eyes widened. Why couldn't he believe her? Why was he acting like this? Was it not what she thought it was? "I'm not acting, Tom!" she exclaimed.

He took two large steps toward Jude and she backed up suddenly against the desk behind her. "Tell me."

His gaze was unwavering and she did everything she could to keep her stance. She stared back at him. "Why are you mad? What did I do?" she asked.

"Why are you avoiding the subject?" he asked, glaring at her. He began pacing the length of the room, running his hands though his hair.

She had had enough. He needed to stop what he was doing and just tell her. This was too hard. "Maybe because I don't know what the fucking subject is?!" she yelled. She breathed heavily, trying to calm down. She didn't want anyone to overhear her and she realized the more she let herself get angry, the louder she was going to get.

Tom stopped pacing and stared at Jude again. "Then let me lay it out for you. NYU. Berklee," he offered lowly.

Oh.

That's what this was about.

Her future.

She was lost in her own thoughts, so he continued with his. "Were you ever gonna tell me you were going?"

"Yes," she responded numbly. She was. Today had been the day actually. But now she didn't have to. He already knew. She was off the hook. Sorta of.

"When?" he pressed.

"When we had a chance to talk," she offered, shrugging her shoulders. She pulled her gaze from Tom, trying not to look him in the eyes. His staring was making her feel guilty. Even when she knew she should.

"We've had plenty of chances to talk."

"Well, I'm sorry that I didn't feel the need to add problem after problem on top of each other at once. I'm sorry, okay!" she exclaimed, her face flushed. Then it hit her. He said going. As in gone. "Wait. You said going."

"Yeah, you're going, aren't you?" he asked, sneering at her.

She paused, slightly shaking her head before she replied. "I don't know." It was the truth. She didn't know.

Tom folded his arms against his chest and continued to stare at Jude. "What do you mean you don't know?"

"Exactly that. I barely got the acceptance today. I haven't made up my mind where I'm going. If I'm going. I don't know," she said lowly as she looked at the carpet. Her head suddenly shot up as she realized why he had become so heated so quickly. "Is that what this is about? You thinking I was leaving and not going to say anything."

Tom shrugged his shoulders, his arms still across his chest. "I don't know. Maybe."

Jude shook her head. "I couldn't do that."

"It sounded pretty easy," he commented.

"You make this hard," she admitted.

Tom scoffed. "Oh so now it's my fault," he said, pointing to himself.

Jude rolled her eyes and walked a few steps towards him. "No. I mean this entire thing makes it hard."

"Yeah," he breathed. He knew he shouldn't have yelled, but she made it so damn easy by just holding in everything. But he was partially thankful they had waited to talk about things. Everything had just been so crazy he couldn't think straight and this would have just added more strain.

She stood in front of him, crossing her arms across her chest like he had. "I don't want to walk away from this just because I may or may not be going away."

"May," he stated.

She furrowed her eyebrows. "What?"

"You're going," he said, closing in the space between them. He wasn't as afraid anymore of people walking in on them. He didn't know where the surge of confidence came from, but he was going to use it.

"That's my decision," she countered.

"I know. And I'm making it for you. You're going. I don't care where, but you're going," he said officially.

"And that makes this my decision how?" She wasn't complaining. At all. In fact, she was thankful that he was so willing to push her towards her goal. What scared her was once he found out what the goal was.

"It does. Because this is what you want. I get that you didn't want to add more stress to an already problematic relationship. No offense."

"None taken," she said, slightly smirking. She knew their relationship was difficult. She'd be naïve to think otherwise.

"But I don't want you to regret any of this. Or more importantly me. I don't want you to say all of this stuff because you think that's what I want to hear. Because it isn't."

"Excuse me?"

"I mean, I love you Jude. I do. I really do. But this is bigger than me. Bigger than us. This is your future. And if I'm a part of it, cool. If not, at least I was along for the ride," he said, shrugging.

Her eyes widened. He was letting her go? That easily? That was not happening. "So that's it. If we make it, we make it. If not, no harm no foul? Well, I for one think that sucks ass," she commented as she backed away from him.

He reached out and tugged on her arm. She stopped moving. "I'm not saying I'm not going to fight to make it work, but I know that this is a big deal and I don't want to be the one to mess it up."

That was it. He didn't want to mess things up. She could deal with that. "Okay," she said, nodding.

"I'll be there for you whether you're studying medicine or math or history or textiles or whatever-" he started.

She started to nervously chuckle causing him to stare at her curiously. "Actually, that's the other part of this."

His eyes widened. "There's another part of this?"

"Yeah," she breathed, nodding.

"Hold on," he said pausing. "Let me sit down. I don't need to have a heart attack."

"Yeah, we wouldn't want that, Old Man," she said, laughing.

"Hah," he responded as her leaned against one of the student's desks. "So?"

"Yeah, um. I won't be studying textiles or medicine," she said, standing in front of him.

"Then what?" he asked, shrugging his shoulders.

She raised one eyebrow slightly, hoping she wouldn't have to say it out loud. He sat for a few seconds, thinking as he looked at Jude's shoes. Then he thought about the schools. And it hit him.

She gazed at him, biting her bottom lip. She was getting even more nervous as waited for him to understand what she was talking about.

Suddenly he looked up and her breath caught in her throat.

This was it.

He either understood or she was going to have to say it.

"We weren't talking about the Berkley in California were we?" he asked.

A small smirk formed on her mouth. Yes! He understood. But did he really? "No. We weren't," she stated, shaking her head.

"So you're music."

"What?"

"I mean. Music," he restated. It was something he hadn't said in forever. At least it felt like it. But it also felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. She was majoring in music. And he loved it. It was perfect. But he wasn't going to say anything yet. He'd wait it out and show her like he meant to months ago.

"Yeah," she said, nodding. She waited with baited breath. Was he ever going to have a reaction to her major? Or was he going to stay calm? Cause she honestly preferred a reaction. It made things easier. She could deal with emotion rather than the lack there of.

"Okay," he said, a wide smile present on his face. She wasn't paying attention to him and she didn't look at him, instead deciding to sit next to him.

She felt as if she didn't say something to add to her choice as a major that he would be disappointed. She didn't know where the feeling had come from, but she felt like it was the right thing to do.

"I live it," she blurted. "And if I can be completely honest, I probably love it more than I love you."

Her eyes widened. Sometimes when she was nervous, she really needed to learn to control her mouth. It could get her into to trouble sometime. This being a key example.

Tom placed his left hand on her knee. "That's okay. I probably love it more too."

She picked her head up and looked at him. His face was bright and full of color, he was no longer mad or worried, but utterly happy. And she had a feeling it was because of their talk. Maybe even from the fact that they shared a love of music. "Really?"

"Yeah, remember the second day when you asked what my other love was?" he responded.

And then she realized she had nothing to worry about. That she was just being a kid who thought she understood something that wasn't even a problem. She nodded her head. "Yeah. So it's music?"

"Yeah," he admitted.

"Well, now you just have to show me," she said, placing her hand on top of his.

"I will."

Jude sighed. She wasn't nearly as worried as she had been. Because if someone found out about them, it would have been so much worse. "At least that's out of the way. Now I just have to figure out where I'm going."

"You will," he said, squeezing her knee. A tingle ran up Jude's leg. Her knees were always sensitive. But Tom's touch was welcomed. "You have time."

"It's not about time. It's about making the right choice."

"For you," he added.

"Yeah, but they both feel right. New York means my best friends. Boston means music lovers," she reasoned.

"Kat and Jamie will be living their lives too. And yours won't always coincide. You'll grow apart, but because you are best friends, you'll make it work somehow. You can't stop living your life for them," he offered, trying to comfort her. He couldn't let any stand in the way of her future. Not even him.

"Yeah. I know," she said, absentmindedly tracing circles on his hand. He grabbed her hand and held it in his, causing her to look at him.

"This is isn't kindergarten. You can't be held back forever," he commented, his eyes sparkling in the light. She smiled widely.

"This time I don't think I wanna be," she said, as he pulled her from the desk she was leaning on and into a tight hug, her face against his chest.

"Good. You'll make the right choice. You'll do what's right for you," he said, his back to the door as he rubbed her back.

"And what exactly are the two of you doing?"

A/N:Preview:

Chapter 17

"Three Strikes"

"It's not what it looks like."

She leaned against the blue door, pushing it open with her weight. Just as her body passed through the threshold, she caught his eye and winked. He involuntarily shivered. She really needed to stop doing that. It was making him think bad things. Well, bad things that always ended good in his mind, but that wasn't the point.

"Your girl is either really torn up or a really great actress. At this point I can't tell, but I will be watching you two."

- - - - - -

"Jude, here. I have something to give you."

"Oh my – wow! What did I do to deserve this?"

"By just being you."

Oh. I haven't made the official decision yet. But I think I know what songs I'm using for that future chapter. Because it'll be here before I know it. LOL. And I've listened to both songs until my ears have bleed and I think they fit. One more than the other, but at this point I don't care. I'm just trying to get it right. Somehow.

Oh, I have something extra for you. Kind of. Since this chapter took forever. Here is a list of some songs. Songs that will be included in the future somehow…by either someone singing or the radio or whatnot. Just thought you'd like to see something…

1.) Burn Station: Closer (this is a HUGE one…)

2.) Garth Brooks: Shameless (won't come for awhile)

3.) Michael Bublé: Lost (semi-big one)

4.) Peter Cetera: Glory of Love (I almost forgot about this one.)

Now I guess you can find the songs if you don't already know them and think about how they fit into the future of this fic. :D