A/N: Ohhhh hey, remember me? The girl that sometimes updates her stories apparently? I'm back! For how long? Well, who really knows, with the holidays, but I do have every damn intention of finishing this story. I swear.
QUESTION FOR THE READERS: Ya'll are so great with reviewing anyway, I was wondering if maybe you could answer me a little question on the story. I do have a lot of this story already written, but reading it right now, it does go into a darker area. I had told you all previously that this story was originally written for another fandom, but I decided to switch it to IS because I am much more involved in this fandom. Do you think that is something that you will all be able to read? I know that there are some incredible AU stories, and this will sort of branch off into an alternate IS universe. I'm really quite proud of this story, but I don't want to drive any readers away. I'm not talking about character death per se, but it will be delving into the action-y side of things. So I suppose my question is this:
Would you, as a reader, be okay with Jude dealing with the more intense aspects of stalkerdom? As in the sort of psychotic torture – messing with Jude's mind (god, the word psychotic is pretty intense. It is NOT a horror by any means). Gosh, I am wording this terribly. Tell me if you understand what I'm asking first, and then let me know
Anyway – enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: Not miiiiine.
Jude's room was a mess. The mattress was flipped and ripped down the middle, clothes were strewn everywhere, drawers were left hanging open haphazardly, and her closet door had been taken off the hinges completely.
Jude was choking back the sobs. She wanted so badly to just release them and let it all out, let out all the hurt and frustration and fear, but she felt like she couldn't, or shouldn't, rather. Suddenly she was whisked away – Tommy guided her into Sadie's room and sat her at the foot of the bed. She wasn't sure if he just didn't know what to say, or if he was mad at the situation, but either way Tommy opened and closed his mouth a few times before leaning out the door and calling Kwest upstairs calmly.
Jude sat there silent and still, in a haze of what happened. She caught bits and phrases from Tommy and Kwest's hushed conversation in the hallway, but not all of it. Suddenly Tommy was back in the room kneeling in front of her. His mouth was moving but no words were coming out. Jude blinked slowly and realized he had been talking the entire time.
"Sorry…what?" Her voice was soft and hollow, emotionless.
"I said that Kwest is convinced that someone has been home at all times since they returned from the Bay. When's the last time you were in there?"
"Um. The morning before I went to your place. So, uh, Thursday? I guess?" Tommy nodded thoughtfully.
"And didn't you say you thought you saw someone outside the house that night? Wasn't that why you didn't want to stay there?" Jude nodded tiredly.
"Okay, well, we should probably call the police, but until then-"
"No," Jude said plaintively. "We can't call the cops. We can't turn Sadie's sanctuary into a media parade, Tommy." Jude practically begged. "Besides, it was before the cops were involved with the Hummer, we don't even know if it's the same guy."
"Jude."
"Okay, so we sort of know it's the same guy. Why don't we just get it cleaned up and let me grab some things, okay Tommy?" He still looked skeptical. "Please?"
"Jude, this is your life."
"It's their life too, Tommy," she said in a quiet voice, looking down.
"Go grab some things. I'll go talk to your father and let him know to be on his guard." Tommy was clearly upset with this decision and he turned away to leave. Jude quickly stood and grabbed his hand, forcing him to turn towards her.
"Thank you," she said quietly, looking into his eyes. Before she could even blink he had pulled her to him tightly, wrapping his strong arms around her. He threaded one hand through her hair, the other wrapped firmly around her waist. She couldn't have moved if she wanted to, not that she was complaining. Her own arms gripped him so tight that had he been aware of anything except the strong beat of her heart thumping against his skin, he'd have been amazed at her strength.
Neither were quite sure when Jude started to cry, or when whispered words of reassurance started coming out of Tommy's mouth, but it seemed so commonplace, so right, that they couldn't bring themselves to stop.
"It'll all be okay," he whispered into her hair. "I promise you."
"How can this be okay?" She sobbed. "How can this get better?
"It will, I promise. I promise…"
Tommy set Jude down on his couch and touched her cheek gently. It was about two hours after they had found Jude's room upside down, and after the long, grueling process of dealing with Stuart Harrison and gathering up what he could of Jude's belongings, the pair had finally made it back to Tommy's place.
Tommy knelt in front of her, content just cradling her face and having her there, in front of him. The two sat in silence for a while, each enveloped in their own memories of the day. Tommy kept replaying the entire ordeal in his head – the police station, the Harrison's house, Kwest and his conversation (Kwest's voice echoed in his head, "And Jude is your life.") and to top it off, the look on Jude's face when he found her in the hallway, staring into her room. It was enough to kill him, but he just constantly reminded himself that he had to be strong for Jude, not the other way around.
Jude's head was in a sort of slow motion picture, the menial events of the day sliding by, frame by frame. She remembered the banter her and Tommy had shared that morning, the way it felt to wake up next to him. She remembered his husky voice in her ear, saying "The Corvette's not what I want all to myself," and she remembered the way her heart beat faster at that, and didn't slow down until she found herself recanting her story to the police officers. She vaguely remembered that, and she barely remembered finding her room in such disarray.
"What do we do now?" Jude asked in a barely audible voice.
"What we always do," Tommy said just as softly, resting his forehead against hers. "We go to the studio, we practice, we laugh. We go on living life."
"With me…staying here."
"Can't get rid of me that easily, Harrison."
"Won't things be different now?" At Tommy's slightly apprehensive look, she continued. "I mean, with…whoever's out there, being out there. Won't things change?"
"Not if we don't let them, girl."
"Let's go to bed, Quincy."
Tommy just nodded and led the way.
A week had gone by, with no new action from the Hummer bomber. Jude and Tommy's living situation was working out better than either of them had expected – they had fell into a comfortable routine, with occasional dinners out or in, and, not unusually, spending all their free time together.
Jude flounced into G-Major, looking forward to seeing Tommy, as he had started his day a few hours before her, and hadn't bothered to wake her.
"Any news?" She asked as she came up behind him in Hospitality, making him splash coffee out of his cup. He took a deep breath but turned around like she hadn't just scared the daylights out of him.
"Same as always," he replied smoothly.
"No news is good news, right?"
"A watched pot never boils," he answered cryptically.
"Not exactly the right motto for this situation, Quincy."
"…Fair enough." He flashed a smile at Jude, causing all coherent thought to be whipped out of her head. "So, how'd you get here this morning Ms. Harrison, because, as I recall, I tried to wake you up to come with me earlier, and you did not want that."
"You tried to wake me up?" Jude scoffed.
"Wasn't one of my finest ideas, trust me."
"I took Cab Sadie, since she wanted to look at the final dresses from Portia."
"You ready for today, girl?"
"It's 10 a.m. and I've only had two cups of coffee, how 'ready for today' do you think I am?"
"Well, Darius was thinking since you're all healed up and feeling better, you might be up for practicing a bit for the launch. He even has thoughts about the first single and a music video."
"Really?" Jude hadn't made a lot of music videos, despite her pleas. Darius had always insisted that her album sales weren't doing well enough to warrant videos and that she herself wasn't ready to take direction like that, because, well, everyone remembered the Shay video. "Any idea which song?"
Tommy was about to answer when Darius' voice echoed throughout the hallways.
"Jude, Tommy, get in Studio A and let me see what you've got!"
The two shared a look before trudging into the studio to see Darius looking comfortable in front of the soundboard and SME already in the recording booth.
"You bellowed?" Tommy asked sarcastically.
"Jude," Darius ignored Tommy, "now that you're feeling better, I was hoping you'd be interested in another shot at a music video."
"You know I'd love that, Darius," Jude said earnestly.
"Okay, well, you get in there and show me what you got with this song live, and I'll see what I can do."
"What song?" Jude was a little hesitant in asking. She had a few album favorites, and although she couldn't really picture 'Home' (or as everyone else called it, 'The Hidden Track') as a music video, she figured it'd be just her luck that D would insist on it.
"I was thinking 'Wishing I Was There.'"
"Okay!" Jude was instantly happy and rushed into the recording booth, greeting SME with big smiles and hugs, despite the slight ache that still resonated in her body.
"She got offered a live acoustic set for MTV," Darius confided in Tommy from behind the glass, neither taking their eyes of the girl in front of them.
"That's great, she'll be thrilled!"
"If she does it, she performs the hidden track, T."
"D, you can't make her…"
"I think you'll both find that I can, and I will. That song's going to sell, Tom. Just a thought."
Before Tommy could respond, Jude leaned into the mic.
"You guys all set out there?"
D gave a curt nod, a contrast to Tommy's soft smile and "perfect."
"One, two, one, two, three, four," Spied counted off, bringing in the band. Jude bobbed her head with the introduction beats and guitar, foregoing her own guitar for the song, since she hadn't recorded with it anyway.
The song was one of Jude's favorite off the album. She had written it after Jamie had broken up with her for a G-Major intern, who apparently was learning a lot more about G-Major than she had initially let on. Jude had to give them props, they were still together, and from what she heard, the girl was really nice. Jude just wasn't about to forgive and forget that easy. Her and Jamie had dated for eight months, and besides the fact that she was merely 'settling' with Jamie instead of actually going for what she wanted, she had thought they were happy. She had been confused and hurt when she had discovered him cheating, and her and Tommy came up with Wishing I Was There a few days after to cope with that hurt.
She grasped the mic with ease and sung/spoke the words that were always on the tip of her tongue.
"Take your hand
And place it in my pocket
Flick your eyes back in their sockets
Put those thoughts away
Sometimes they're much too loud.
I'll take a breath,
And cradle your sweet head
Should've stayed at home in bed
Put that face away
I'm melting for you,"
Jude couldn't help the way her eyes drifted to Tommy's as she sang the last lines of the first verse, but she was pleasantly surprised to find him staring right back at her, a large grin overtaking his face. It gave her a renewed sense of empowerment, and she gave him a cheeky grin before continuing to belt out the song.
"I know, I get cold
'Cos I can't leave things well alone
Understand I'm accident prone.
Me, I get free
Every night the moon is mine
But when the morning comes
Don't say you love me
Don't say you need me
I really don't think that's fair
Boy, I'm not so dumb
But when you leave me
I'll be wishing I, wishing I, wishing I was there."
Darius had started to get into the song as well, loving the fact that Jude clearly felt a connection with the song.
"Girl's got definite presence, T," Darius commented offhandedly.
"That she does," his eyes still locked on the girl singing in front of him.
"Nice to see the two of you still happy together."
Tommy didn't bother responding, just rolled his eyes at the older man and continued watching his girl belt out her song.
"I dreamt about another girl in bed with you
You just laughed and smiled
Denied the proof
Which is fine 'til I think of the problem
I wish you made sense
You're like a joke that no one gets
It's a life without regret
I want it to feel that way
Forever and ever,"
Jude had to admit that while performing for Tommy and Darius wasn't exactly the same rush as performing for thousands, the live action of just performing with SME was enough to get her blood pumping. Usually she was locked in the recording studio with just playback in her ears of the instrumental track. Now, singing one of her favorite songs with her favorite band – it didn't matter if there were 2 or 2 million people watching – she was having a ball. She was grinning with Speid and winking at Wally and it was the most fun she had had in a couple of weeks; it was just the kind of carefree atmosphere she had been trying to obtain since the stalkerazzi scare.
"I know, I get cold
'Cos I can't leave things well alone
Understand I'm accident prone.
Me, I get free
Every night the moon is mine
But when the morning comes
Don't say you love me
Don't say you need me
I really don't think that's fair
Boy, I'm not so dumb
But when you leave me
I'll be wishing I, wishing I, wishing I was there."
As Jude finished the bridge and echoed out, she looked up expectantly at Darius, trying to control the grin threatening to overtake her face.
"So?"
"Jude, you know how hard it is to impress me."
Tommy's jaw dropped a little and Jude's face fell.
"Which is why you should really take it to heart when I say that I love it, and it's going to be your first single."
Tommy hit D lightly on the arm as he rushed into the recording studio and enveloped Jude in a big hug. When he finally pulled away, he held her at arm's length, a proud grin slapped on his face.
"And that is why you're a performer."
"I thought it was 'cause she had an awesome backup band?" Wally piped up.
"Yeah, dude. We bring out the performer in her," Kyle said.
"Now we might not bring out the sex kitten in her," Spied trailed off suggestively.
"But you're doing a good job at bringing out the pissed off bitch in her," Jude said brightly with a smile.
"Oookay then, boys, let's go celebrate with some food," Spied suggested, leading the members of SME out of the booth towards hospitality.
"Things are starting to look up," Jude said quietly to Tommy once they were alone.
"Ah, you say that," Tommy said with a flirtatious grin. "But once this wedding thing gets underway, I'm sure there will be different words floating through your head."
"I can't believe it's next week," Jude moaned, thumping her head against Tommy's chest.
"It's your birthday, too, girl."
"Yeah, but 19 ain't no big deal. Besides, Quincy, nothing gets me more excited than the idea of me forcing you to dance with me throughout the entire reception."
Tommy hung his head, a groan escaping his lips.
"No, no, Tommy. You and I are going to dance."
"What happened to you thinking that all I could do was shake my ass?"
"Well, when I underwent three weeks of torture a few months ago because D said that I needed to know how to 'properly dance' for my own birthday party, he informed me that it was pretty standard for all G Major employees to get some sort of formal dance training. You included."
"That was a long time ago," Tommy insisted.
"It's like riding a bike! You never lose the groove," Jude teased with a smile as she did a little dance step.
"Well, Miss Harrison," Tommy said as he grabbed her arm and spun her out before pulling her back towards him, "be prepared to be embarrassed with me then, because all I can do is spin."
"Yeah, yeah," Jude called over her shoulder as she walked out of the booth. "I'll see it when I believe it. I bet you'll whip out all your dance moves for some cute little bridesmaid."
Tommy trailed behind her as she made her way out to the lobby, flopping on the couch.
"Now why would I be interested in a bridesmaid who, let's face it, probably adores me," Jude rolled her eyes at this as he leaned against the couch, "when I could have a maid of honor who so openly lives to torment me?"
"I will never pretend to understand how your mind works when it comes to women, Quincy. You sure know how to pick 'em."
"Hey, you'll always be number one, you know that." He flashed a boyish grin at her before rubbing his hands together. "So how about me and my number one girl go get some McDonalds? I'm craving."
"Gosh, when you twist my arm like that," Jude smiled as she got up. "But don't breathe a word of this to Portia. If I gain one pound before the wedding, I won't hesitate to say you force fed me M&Ms, got it?"
"How 'bout you just cut it down to one double cheeseburger, girl?" Tommy slung an arm around her shoulders and led her out of the building.
"No way! They're only a dollar, it's more economical to…"
"To what? Buy more? Not sure if it works that way, girl."
"Sounds like somebody's jealous that their metabolism is slowing down in their old age," she teased.
"Hey, I'd rather have that slow down than other parts of my body."
"Men," Jude sighed as she went to go open the passenger side door to the current car of the week they were using. "Hey, what's this?" She asked aloud as she snagged a note that was tucked under a windshield wiper.
Tommy stood with one foot in the car watching her read it. Her face visibly paled and she fought to keep her hands from shaking.
"Babe…what is it?" Tommy asked slowly.
"Does D have video surveillance of the parking lot?"
"I think so…why, girl?" Tommy quickly made his way around the car and took the note from Jude's hands, reading it for himself.
He took a couple deep breaths, pulling Jude closer to him, thinking of what to do.
"I know you're not going to like it, but we're still at G Major. D's going to want to call the cops."
"I know," she replied softly, leaning heavily on Tommy.
"Let's go," Tommy said, leading her back into the studio, straight to Darius's office.
"If either of you try to get me buy Sadie an island for a wedding gift, I will fire her." D deadpanned before breaking into a grin. "That girl's got some cajones…must run in the family."
Tommy practically threw the note at Darius, who read it and then looked at the pair in front of him like they had two heads each.
"Uh, I want to get to know you guys, too?" The grin slid off of his face as he took in their serious stances – Tom's barely concealed rage and Jude's nervous fidgeting, as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
"We found that. Tucked under the windshield wiper of my car." Tommy spat out as Jude sunk into a couch on the far side of D's office.
"And you think it's from whoever-"
"It's the same thing that the guy who broke into the Hummer with Jude in it said to her."
The note lay on the desk, conspicuously blank amongst the other busy paperwork that surrounded it. Solid white paper with two lines typed onto it. No signature, not even hand written. Perfectly folded and perfectly crazy.
I won't do the begging anymore, Jude, it read. I am going to get to know you.
Darius sighed before leaning back in his chair, rubbing a hand across his face.
"I'll call the detectives and get them over here. Go see Hank, the security guy, have him get me the surveillance tapes, ok T?"
Tommy nodded before leaving the office, and Darius placed a lot of brief calls as Jude lay back on the couch. She half-expected Darius to kick her out as he talked, but he let her stay, casting sideways looks towards her as she stared aimlessly at the ceiling.
"Jude," he finally called her name softly across the room.
"Hmm?" She looked at him through tired eyes.
"We're gonna…" he reworded himself in his mind before continuing, "How about we do your video shoot after all this craziness has gone down?"
"Sure," she said dejectedly, closing her eyes again. "I understand."
Tommy returned shortly after, placing the tapes on D's desk before sitting next to Jude, wrapping an arm around her. The detectives weren't far behind, knocking curtly before letting themselves into the office and closing the door behind them.
Jude didn't speak as they questioned her and Tommy about their day and the previous week. She just shook her head or nodded at the appropriate times.
No, she hadn't experienced anything strange or out of the ordinary in the past week. Yes, the doors of the car were opened before they read the note. No, G-Major did not have any problems with the paparazzi since relegating them off their property. No, it did not seem as if the paparazzi had located Tommy's apartment, or had any reason to think she was staying with him, although they hadn't made any effort to conceal that fact. But it wasn't in any tabloids so it was safe to say the press hadn't picked up on that juicy tidbit.
When the questioning turned more to G-Major facts and relied heavily on Tommy and Darius's answers, Jude let herself drift off into a daydream where she and Tommy lived together, but without imminent fear of stalkerazzi, and her sister was getting married leisurely, and her birthday was going off without a hitch. She was thoroughly enjoying herself before loud voices jarred her back to reality.
"Seriously!" Tommy stood up from his place next to Jude and slammed his fist against the wall. "Some crackpot security team you got here, Darius!" He spat out sarcastically.
It took a second for Jude to realize that they were supposedly watching the parking lot surveillance tapes on the TV across the room. Except it wasn't the parking lot – just a clear shot of the skyline with a counter at the bottom of the screen.
"Rewind." Darius bit out to Detective Costanza, who currently had the remote. He did as he was told and after a bit, the tape blinked and a clear shot of the parking lot was on the screen. The detective stopped and played the tape in slow motion, stopping suddenly.
"3 a.m. this morning, Mr. Mills," he said matter-of-factly.
"Huh?" Jude said quietly, confused on the topic.
Tommy threw himself back down onto the couch a few inches away from Jude and ran a hand through his hair, frustrated.
"Someone moved the cameras this morning. Someone planned leaving you a note, and planned for the cameras to not catch them."
"Oh." Jude closed her eyes tightly before opening them again, a different look in her eyes. "I need a water," she said suddenly standing abruptly and leaving the room.
The four men left in the office shared a bewildered look.
Jude had only made it about fifteen feet out of the room before she cast a glance outside, surprised to see cops crawling all over the parking lot.
"Hey," she grabbed a sound engineer she didn't know by name as he walked by. "How long have they been out there?"
"They came a few minutes before those two guys in D's office came. Sirens and everything – it was pretty neat."
"Pretty neat," Jude got out between clenched teeth before walking purposefully outside.
"Can I help you?" A young uniformed cop asked as Jude approached the car. He was kneeling beside the driver's side door, seemingly dusting for fingerprints.
Jude blocked out the sound of shutters clicking as the huge crowd of not only paparazzi cheered as she made an appearance outside. It seemed as though it was 2 times the normal amount of paparazzi Jude usually had, but she assumed that's what cops did – brought them all out.
"Yeah, I'm sorry, I'm just wondering if you guys are going to be much longer?" Jude forced a pleasant smile on her face as she watched the cop's face garner recognition and his cheeks flushed.
"Oh, Miss Harrison! Yes, um, we'll be done shortly. Yeah, not too much to find, but you know, we're doing everything we can." He nodded enthusiastically and Jude felt a real smile tug at her lips.
"No rush, just wondering is all."
She left the cops by the car to do their thing, before wandering around a little bit. There were cops everywhere. Looking under other cars, searching around the building, questioning the paparazzi – it was organized chaos. She plopped down on the keys in front of G Major, surveying the scene. She felt so disconnected suddenly, like this wasn't her life. After all, how could it be? Yes, she had won Instant Star, and yes, her life was somewhat surreal all the time, but this? This was Emmy-award-winning, daytime-soap-drama, episode-of-the-OC type of stuff. This was anyone's life but her own.
She was sitting, watching someone else's life go by in front of her, as a slightly frustrated yet pleading voice drifted into her ears.
"I swear, I don't even know what you're talking about! I run here everyday, and I just wanted to help!" Jude looked up to see a woman, early to mid-twenties at most, being questioned by an older uniformed cop. She recognized the woman, clad in sweat pants and a sports bra, shivering as she answered the cops questions.
Jude stood and brushed herself off, making her way to the woman and officer.
"What's going on here?" She asked as she sidled up to the pair.
"Oh, gosh…you're Jude Harrison!" The runner breathed out, excitement flushing her face. Jude smiled softly, nodding.
"And you are?"
"Oh, I'm Chelsea Rollock, I'm a big fan!" She gushed, nervously tugging at her hair and her clothes. "Sorry," she gestured to her outfit. "I was just out running and I saw the scene and I wanted to help. I swear, I'm not a paparazzi, I'm not a crazed fan or anything, I just always run this route and I cut through the G Major parking lot to get an afternoon coffee across the street."
"We'll be checking your story out, Miss Rollock," the officer interjected, looking skeptical at the story.
"Oh, that's not necessary, Officer…?"
"Perryman."
"Right, Officer Perryman. She really does run this route everyday, and she has for as long as I can remember. Can't see why she'd choose today to turn stalker," Jude joked weakly. The officer just scoffed and walked away, clearly discouraged.
"Sorry about that," Jude waved a hand towards Officer Perryman's back. "Things are just really tense around here lately, and as much as I hate to admit it, I'm the cause of it."
"Oh, yeah, I heard about that car bombing thing…pretty scary, huh? I'm really sorry."
Jude just shrugged, not wanting to think about it.
"I just wanted to tell them that I saw a man on my first run through here earlier, but no one wants to listen, they all just sort of assumed I was a criminal."
"Well, you know, your outfit does sort of scream 'Catch me if you can, Toronto's finest!'" Jude said with a laugh, looking at the woman's choice of black sweatpants with a neon orange iridescent sports bra, drawing a laugh out of Chelsea as well.
"Yeah, you know, it's good for not getting hit by cars, but it makes it pretty hard to be stealthy." The two shared a laugh before Jude realized what Chelsea had said.
"Wait, I'm sorry, you said you saw someone in the parking lot before?"
"Yeah," Chelsea nodded. "Now he looked creepy. All black and a windbreaker on with the hood up – totally sketch."
Black windbreaker, Jude thought. Just like my Hummer-hopper. Figures.
"Hey, I know this is probably the last thing you want to do right now, but, do you think there is any way that maybe I could getyourautograph?" Chelsea asked in one rushed breath, looking nervously at Jude.
Jude just beamed at the girl, grateful for anyone just making her feel normal again, or as normal as she'd ever felt, being a star and all that.
"Well," Jude looked at the still chaotic affair of the parking lot and turned to Chelsea. "Since it seems like you're not going to be getting to the coffee shop anytime soon, with that lovely hoard of paparazzi over there, why don't you come inside and I can get you an autograph and a cup of really bad coffee?"
"An offer I can't refuse!" Chelsea answered with a laugh, following Jude up the stairs. "Are you sure it's okay for me to go in? I mean, with what I'm wearing?"
Jude held open the door and laughed. "Trust me, you're still more fashionable than I usually am."
They hadn't made it halfway through the lobby, as Jude pointed out the finer points of G Major to Chelsea, when Jude was suddenly pulled into a familiar pair of arms.
"I just searched the entire building for you, what were you doing outside?" Tommy asked frantically into her hair. Jude momentarily let herself forget the situation and allowed her body to meld into his and she breathed in his scent deeply. She wrapped her arms just as tightly around him and nuzzled his neck subconsciously.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled into his neck. "I just couldn't breathe in here."
Tommy slowly pulled back, resting his forehead against hers. "I was so worried, girl."
"I'm sorry," she repeated, causing Tommy to pull back completely.
"What did I say about…" he stopped suddenly and Jude looked up at him, only to see him staring at the woman she had completely forgotten about.
"Oh, right, sorry! Tom Quincy, this is Chelsea Rollock. Chelsea, this is my producer, Tom Quincy."
"Nice to meet you," Chelsea said politely, shaking his hand. If he was confused as to why Jude was giving strangers tours of G Major, he didn't let it show, and he simply turned back to Jude and pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead.
"I'm going to go finish up with the police and see when they'll be finished with my car. Think you can wait a half hour for McDonalds?"
"Can you, Quincy?" Jude teased.
"Careful, or I'll only order one burger for you," he smiled at her before turning to Chelsea. "It was nice meeting you, and Jude, I'll be done in a bit – don't wander off, okay?"
Both girls nodded at the man, albeit only one rolled their eyes at him, but eventually Jude was done with watching Tommy disappear back into D's office and blushed as she returned her attention to Chelsea.
"See? Very tense around here."
"Huh?" Chelsea shook her head and looked back at Jude.
"Oh, don't tell me – a Little Tommy Q fan?"
"What? Oh, no, not really my thing. But come on – to have a man that looks that good look at me that way? You, Jude Harrison, are a lot luckier than the magazines make you out to be!"
"Oh, Tommy? Ah, trust me – everyone looks at me that way lately. Everyone's scared I'm going to run away or be abducted or beamed up or something. One little car goes boom! And suddenly I'm the walking time bomb."
"Well, I'm not sure how anyone else is looking at you, but he was looking at you like you were the only woman on the planet." Jude let a small smile cross her face as she dwelled on the woman's words. "And those eyes! And the hair! Makes me think I should make my boyfriend grow his hair out."
"Oh, you have a boyfriend?" Jude felt an unexpected feeling of relief at that, which she shook off. She didn't have any right nor reason to be jealous of girls around Tommy.
"Fiancé, actually," Chelsea said with a laugh, showing Jude the sparkling ring on her hand. "It's sort of recent, so I always forget to introduce him as that. Drives him up the wall!"
The two maintained their chatting as Jude led the way to hospitality, introducing her to a few people here and there. They talked and drank the bitter G Major coffee before exchanging numbers. Jude was glad that she had met another person that was outside the realm of fame and fortune. With Kat living in New York and Sadie getting married, her female friends list had significantly dwindled. She still had Jamie, of course, but Jamie wasn't a girl, and even Jamie was getting swept up in G Major and all that came with it. He might not be in the spotlight, but he was feeling it the same as Jude.
After about a half hour, Jude and Chelsea said their goodbyes and Jude waved her out of the studio.
"Taking on strays now, Harrison?" Tommy taunted as he sauntered up behind her.
"I believe that's you, Quincy."
"Oh yeah, you consider yourself a stray?"
"Well, just let me know if you have any plans to adopt me or something, ok?"
"I have a lot of plans for you, Jude. None of them are real familial," he breathed into her ear.
"Good to know," Jude said, mentally berating herself for letting her voice quiver, belying how Tommy Quincy really makes her feel.
"C'mon girl, let's go get some Mickey D's and pretend this day never happened, how's that sound?"
"More perfect than you know."