Don't Stand So Close To Me Chapter 25: All The Worlds A Stage, an instant star fanfic

A/N: I am nothing but apologies. I hate that it is taking me this long to churn out chapters. I get anxious just sitting here with a Word document open because I know how I want things to play out, but words are failing me. And words are like my best friends. Some best friends they are. ;]

Just so you know – since the tone of the story has changed within the last couple of chapters, I changed the way the Talent show went (in terms of song choices and such), but it's still in two pieces because I felt that Jude should have her own time to shine. Also, this chapter is the official halfway point in the story (at least with the way things are planned out now). However that might change based on a few later chapters.

Okay, I'm done. For reals. Here is the new chapter…finally.

Wait. You might like Angie when this is done. Just maybe. ;]

THANKS:

JENJEN87: Yeah, poor Jude. I was never gone – I just didn't know how to get the chapter out. I'm updating now. :]

LittleZurawski: Thank you! Now you don't have to wait – sort of. :]

btru2u: Thank you! I'm glad you are loving this. I hope so. Me either! Lol. I'm trying. I need to get the writing bug again. It's killing me not having anything to post. Thank you for loving this.

SoraXNamine: Aww, yay! I'm glad! Thank you very much. I'm updating now. :]

jacqueezy: Thank you! Lol. You'll find out a little bit in this chapter, but you'll have to wait for the rest. ;]

hales03: Thank you! I'm really glad you love this! I'm trying, I promise.

temporaryinsanity91: Thank you for loving this. Me too! Sometimes I just can't find the right way to write the chapter so it takes me awhile to get to the right place. I'm sorry!

Isabela is Online: Yay! Thank you! Yes, I do. I know. I'm really glad you are enjoying this. Thank YOU! :]

Joseph Santiago: I'm so glad! Here's another for you. :]

Disclaimer: I do not own the song used – "Another Heart Calls" by The All-American Rejects featuring The Pierces. Listen to it – love it – it is beautiful. :]

A/N at the bottom.

R&R or R&L please.

THANKS MUCHO!

- - - - - -

"The River"

Maybe Tom was right – she had to stay away. Maybe that was the way to sort everything out. To get better. Or to get over him.

Don't Stand So Close To Me

Chapter 25

"All The Worlds A Stage…"

The change in weather had occurred when he wasn't looking. He was sure. Not that this was the first thing to ever pass him by without notice. He had let a lot of things he supposedly cared about pass him by. When it was too late to do anything about it was when he finally fought for it – like Angie and now Jude.

This was why he had decided to talk to Angie in the first place. His head was so out of whack that he didn't think twice about her – his mind had only been on Jude. Which is how it should have been from the very beginning sans all the craziness. But now, after all the insanity, he finally realized he needed to let go – of his past, of Angie, of it all. It was the only way.

And now he was left staring at bright purple peonies and yellow roses in the early sunlight.

Spring reminded him of home. Of his childhood. Of staring out scratched window panes, waiting for his dad to let him outside and play rather than listen to him drone on to his English class.

"Just the way you like it."

Tom turned around, a faint smile playing on his face. He extended his hand and took the cup of coffee that Angie had made for him. He was going to need the caffeine in order to handle the rest of the day. When Tom left Jude in the auditorium, he was completely unsure of what Angie had needed help with. He only knew that he had to be the one to help her. What she told him, however, had caught him completely off guard.

"I need you to sing with me."

Her words led him to think of the day that Mr. Mills had caught Jude and him together in his room. He had mentioned something about Angie singing at the talent show, but Tom never thought to ask her. Now he knew she was serious.

He obliged because there was some hope within him that he could break the ties that he and Angie had together. Through singing – talking – music – whatever. It didn't matter as long as it happened. He owed it to Jude.

They had spent a majority of spring break working on a song that Angie had started to write a few months prior. When he first heard her sing the unfinished portion she had written, he was flabbergasted. He hadn't expected their thoughts to be on the same wavelength. And the more and more he listened to the lyrics, the more he realized he was the only one who could sing with her. Not because he had the best voice, but because this song was about them – their relationship – and it wouldn't have made sense to use anyone else.

While Tom thought the song was beyond amazing and would wow the crowd of seniors, it hadn't done much for his and Angie's relationship or whatever someone wanted to call it. There were times when they would be playing their guitars or changing a verse that had Tom wanting to stop everything and just talk, but every time he looked in Angie's direction, he stopped.

He didn't know why, but there was something in her eyes. Something that made him re-think the idea all together. It almost seemed as if she wasn't ready. Why? Well, that he couldn't understand.

The pair leaned against the porch pillars and stared out into Tom's backyard. At first he thought it was odd that Angie didn't want to work in her own house, seeing as the song they were singing was hers, but then he realized that her house had at one time been theirs – the one he had bought for the life that they were supposed to have. Together. And then he was thankful that they weren't working in that house because it would have been too much for him to handle, especially after everything that had happened recently. He didn't need to be reminded by his former life – by his former self. Now was his chance to change things – to make them better. And on his terms.

Angie took a long sip of her coffee before clearing her throat. She had never planned on going any farther than working on the song she had written all those months ago – when she realized Tommy was no longer hers. She had thought her music was gone – when she left Tommy all those years ago. But something in her changed and the song had been born. Thankfully, it was her way of letting go. But the more time she spent with Tommy, the more she realized she wasn't letting go of everything. And so her plan of staying far away from their past had to be broken because she owed it to people other than herself. Now that the day of the talent show had come, she no longer had time to think about whether or not the time was right. She had to do it now.

"Maybe we should talk?"

Tom glanced at Angie with a surprised look on his face. "About what?"

Angie bit her bottom lip. "Us?"

"There is no 'us', Ang." Tom took a long sip from his cup.

Angie sighed. "You're right, but I was talking about the 'us' from before."

Tom bowed his head, glancing at the wood planks beneath his feet. This was it. The end. Now he just had to see it through.

- - - - - -

She loosened the grip on her guitar and glanced at her hands – the color was finally coming back to them. To say she was a ball of nerves was an understatement. She had counted down the hours by seconds and had played her song over and over in her head until the words were practically engrained in her brain.

But the wait was almost over.

The auditorium was filled with seniors antsy to kick off their week of freedom and though Jude had been thrilled to be a part of it when she first heard, her mind could only concentrate on one thing now – Tom.

She hadn't seen him yet, but his reveal was making her extremely anxious. A very long Spring Break had finally ended and she wanted proof that he was better. That he had done whatever he was supposed to do with Angie and made things better.

For her. For him. For them.

That's what he had said. That's what he had meant.

This was all for them.

And though she wanted to whole-heartedly believe in him and his words – there was still a part of her that was waiting for the world to come down and remind her of the Tommy she had saw. The one who had made everything worse.

- - - - - -

The stage was set and Tom was anything but ready for it.

There were few times when he was speechless, few times when words had failed him.

This was one of those times and much to his chagrin; he was minutes away from stepping on stage and singing with Angie.

Angie.

God, this was all her fault.

Sometimes she had the worst timing.

The 'us' conversation that he had been looking forward to had ironically blindsided him. All the truth he had found in their relationship was actually all a lie. And then there was the cryptic 'I need to show you something' comment that she had left him with. He didn't know if he wanted to see whatever it was that she had to show him. It might make him face more of the lies and pain.

From the corner of her eye, she watched his knees bounce in his chair and his hand run through his already disheveled hair. The consequences of her actions, or rather words, hadn't seemed so large at the time. She had thought if she just said everything all at once, he would be able to move on – without her. Like he was supposed to.

But the look on his face had said it all.

She might have just made everything worse. Telling him he was the reason she gave up their baby might have been two steps backwards.

Angie sighed heavily and looked up at the lights above the stage. Could they do this now? After what she had said?

"Nervous?"

Angie's head turned quickly, a flash of blonde flying before her eyes. Before her stood a different girl – not the one she remembered from the bathroom or from the quick glance she had taken near the stage steps. This Jude looked fragile – even if her outward appearance of booty shorts and fake eyelashes said differently.

A faint smile formed on Angie's lips. "You could say that."

Jude smiled widely. "I'm sure you'll do fine."

Angie nodded and a silence passed between them. Jude stood forlorn, pulling down her shorts for the millionth time. Angie glanced back and noticed Tommy was still sitting in his chair. It was then that she knew what to do.

"Jude?"

"Hmm?" Jude looked up from the hem of her shorts.

"I – I just wanted to say – " Angie started, her voice slightly breaking. Jude's brow furrowed slightly. "I'm – I'm sorry."

"For what?"

Angie tilted her head slightly in the direction of a man they were both worrying about.

"I think you know."

"Um…" Jude folded her arms across her chest.

"Look, I know this isn't my place – not – not anymore, but I just wanted you to know that – " Jude's eyes darted to the floor. It had never occurred to her that Angie had realized there was a relationship between Tom and her. It had taken so long to get things right and now things were messed up and she had missed all the little things in the middle. Did anyone else see it? Did everyone know about them and she had just missed it? The funny thing was – she wanted those little things back. But at what cost? "That you are what's good for him. What's right."

Jude looked up, her eyes locking with Angie's. She didn't really know what to believe. The fact that Angie was apologizing to her was a little too much out of left field for Jude to even respond.

"I know that you probably don't like me a whole lot and I get it. I – I messed up. But I loved him. I really did. We – we just didn't work."

Jude could see Angie's eye begin to water and the sight made her oddly uncomfortable. She hadn't asked for Angie to spill her guts to her – not like this anyway.

"Tommy has a lot of demons he has to face and I know that I – I didn't help him face them the way I should have." Angie sighed. "I guess what I'm really trying to say is that you shouldn't let him go. I know he's stubborn and that he thinks he's always right, but you have to fight for him. He needs that. He needs you."

Jude bit her bottom lip and looked away, her eyes focusing on a velvet chair hidden in the wings of the stage.

"I see it. When he says your name, his eyes light up. That's how I knew you were the one. I just don't want to see you make the same mistakes I did."

One lone tear trailed the length of Angie's high cheekbone and after squeezing Jude's shoulder, Angie walked away, content that she had done what was right and salvaged something for someone else.

An act she hadn't done – for anyone. Ever.

- - - - - -

The house lights were at half and the crowd of seniors sitting before the stage was still clapping from the previous performance. Tom was standing in the wings, waiting for the moment he was silently dreading. He didn't want to get on that stage. At least, not anymore.

But he couldn't let Angie down. Wherever she was. He hadn't seen her in almost a half an hour.

The spotlight hit the apron of the stage and Darius Mills stood proudly behind a black microphone.

"I know you probably thought you'd get away with out having to see your teachers for a couple of hours here, but they knew you'd miss them too much. So a few of them wanted to wow you with the talents they possess outside of the classroom. Here are two of them now. Give it up for Mr. Quincy and Ms. Jones!"

A few seniors in the back stood up and began whistling while the rest clapped.

The moment was here. But where was Angie?

Just as Tom moved one step closer to the front of the stage where his guitar lay, Angie ran out in front of him and two hands touched his shoulders. Tom stopped suddenly as he watched Angie take the microphone Darius was offering her.

Jude squeezed his shoulders tightly once, whispering "break a leg" into his ear and let go. Tom turned his head slightly, ready to thank her for her sudden presence, but when he looked back, she was already gone.

Reluctantly Tom turned around and walked on stage toward Angie who had already taken her spot on a stool. He picked up his guitar, feeling the strings with his fingers. His eyes caught Angie's for a split second and some unknown relief rushed through him.

The song poured from his guitar as he found the right chords. Angie tightened her grip on the microphone in her hand and began to sing.

Do you remember when we didn't care
We were just two kids that took the moment when it was there

Do you remember you at all
Another heart calls

Yeah I remember when we stole the night
We'd lie awake but dreaming 'til the sun would wash the sky

She stood off to the side of the stage, behind a black curtain and watched. After Angie's sudden apology, Jude had told herself she wasn't going to watch, that she didn't want to see whatever it was that they had worked on together. That she didn't want any other emotional baggage than what she had just witnessed pour out of someone she had only met once in a public restroom. She didn't need it.

But the idea of Tom being in his element had been too much for her to handle.

So she positioned herself in the best possible light – no light – so that she would be as hidden as she possibly could – even if the light couldn't stop the words from infiltrating her head.

Just as soon as I see you
But didn't I, but didn't I tell you
As deep as I need you,
You wanna leave it all

What can I do?
Say it's true
Or everything that matters breaks in two
Say it's true
I'll never ask for anyone but you

The song wasn't even over and Jude had heard enough. Listening to it reminded her of all the things Tom had said about his relationship with Angie. And the more and more they sang, the more she could see things play out before her very own eyes.

She had always believed him when he threw Angie under the bus and made her seem like the villain, the bad guy. The one who had torn him apart and left him in shambles for someone else to pick up years later. And hearing Angie apologize made Jude realize that part of that was true.

But there was so much more to it – Tom had been at fault as well. He had tried the same things he had done to Angie and used them on Jude. The guilt. The love. And she had been so quick to give in. Because she loved him.

Standing there in the wings, listening to the song, realizing what Angie and Tom had shared hadn't changed that.

The only thing she was left wondering was why?

Talk to me
I'm throwing myself in front of you
This could be the last mistake
That I would ever wanna do
Yeah all I ever do is give it's time you see my point of view

Just as soon as I see you
But didn't I, but didn't I tell you
As deep as I need you,
You wanna leave it all

They had tried. So many times it was hard to keep up. And yet it wasn't nearly enough. Maybe that was the sign – no matter how hard they had tried, it would have never been enough.

She saw the way his eyes lit up and the way he smiled whenever he said her name. Jude. Not Angie. Jude. Maybe that's what he looked like when they had first gotten together, but wasn't that how it was with every relationship? When everything was so fresh and new and you were trying to figure your partner out? When everything wasn't so complicated and feelings didn't run so deep?

Maybe. Or maybe she had just missed it all when it came to Tommy.

They had had their good times and she was sure they loved each other at one point, but they were never a great match. Even then she saw it. But she thought if they tried hard enough they could make it work.

But Tommy's past had other ideas.

What can I do?
Say it's true
Or everything that matters breaks in two
Say it's true
I'll never ask for anyone but you

But I know what you want is to figure it out
And God knows I do too
What can I do?
Say it's true
I'll never ask for anyone but you

She hadn't been an angel – that much was true. But she never saw how much Tommy needed her at the time. She was young and free or so she thought and all he wanted was the stability he had dreamt about since he was five years old.

She hadn't realized being with Tommy would mean dealing with him.

She had heard the stories and saw the look on Tommy's face every time she brought him up, but she thought with time things would change. But they didn't.

He wanted more of her than she was ready to give at the time. He wanted that safety net. That sure thing. And she had never been sure of anything more than music in her whole life. And look how that turned out.

So when the opportunity arose to "spread her wings," she did so without thinking about the consequences. Little by little, she saw the change in Tommy, every time she came home. But she refused to believe that anything would come of it.

Until his dad died.

Then all hell broke loose.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Na, na, na, na, na, na

I'm sorry
So what?
But you don't think I've said enough
I'm sorry
I don't care
You were never there

Tom glanced a mere two feet away and could see the look in Angie's eyes. He could see the events he was thinking about play behind her lips, behind her high cheekbones, behind her entire face.

This was right. Right for her. Right for him. Right for them.

Finally after all these years, the air was clear, he realized.

She understood her part in the failure of their relationship and he understood his. He knew they had never been perfect, but who ever was? He had at least thought they were good enough to last.

But maybe he had put too much faith in a relationship he didn't know all that much about. Yes, he knew she was fiery and impulsive and he was stubborn and a perfectionist. But what about them together?

He couldn't say much on the topic.

When things had gotten bad, he had always fought for Angie because he thought he needed her. And at the time, maybe he had. But the problem was he never fought for them – for their relationship.

And he was willing to do that for Jude.

He was willing to do whatever it took to be better for Jude.

For them.

As soon as I see you
But didn't I, but didn't I tell you
As deep as I need you
You wanna leave it all

What can I do?
Say it's true
Or everything that matters breaks in two
Say it's true
I'll never ask for anyone but you

He needed her to see that she was the only one that mattered. That he would let her go if it meant they would be okay. That he would walk away if it meant getting better.

He knew she had no ideas of his plans for their future, but they had been there, always hiding in the back of his head.

He was ready to face his demons head on for Jude.

And walking away seemed like the best way to do that.

He knew it would take a lot for Jude to understand, but he knew her well enough to know that she would see what he was doing and how much it would help them in the end.

Because that's what he wanted now. An end that included her. Because that's where his heart was.

With her.

But I know what you want is to figure it out
And God knows I do too
What can I do?
Say it's true
I'll never ask for anyone but you
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

I'll never ask for anyone but you
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

The song ended and unsurprisingly the crowd erupted in applause. After taking in the crowd for a second, three bodies walked to various parts of the stage – their minds full of thoughts about the day, about the song they had just heard, and their hearts full of different people, people that they each hoped would have time to hear them out later.

There was still a lot that needed to be said.

- - - - - -

A/N: Preview

Don't Stand So Close To Me

Chapter 26

"And The Men And Women Are Merely Players"

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