Wanna Be Yours

chapter thirteen: Jude

Part Three:

August 21st, Tuesday, Five Days Before the Second Show

Jude sipped on her coffee as sat at the dinner table; her notebook blank before her urging her to write any piece of poetry she could find inside her brain. It wasn't going very well, and though it was only ten in the morning, Wren sat at the chair beside her, reading out loud any and every post on Instagram made about Jude and Cardan, the karaoke night, and the upcoming competition.

Jude hadn't bothered with social media since that night. She was not going to fall into the deep black hole that would be nitpicking that performance. She tried to remember the fun she'd had, kept repeating to herself that it was simply karaoke, that Madoc wouldn't care about the sloppiness of the show, that he wouldn't judge her newly starting career based on how viral they had gone online...

Jude sighed, closing her notebook. She'd write later. She sat back on the chair, listening to Wren's voice hoping it would take Madoc and his judgment out of her mind.

"' By now,'" read Wren, "' we've all seen the endless clips of Jude and Cardan singing together the upbeat Smith's song There is a Light that Never Goes Out! We've all stopped and watched, because of their chemistry, and dare I say... Tension? It's undeniable. Both band leaders and opponents in the Fall/Winter Festival were the two people we did not expect to see all happy singing together. Not after Cardan, or should I say, The King, walked out of Nightfell's performance in the first show on August 12th! With the second and first serious show coming up this Sunday, the 30th, we see all tensions rising. Are these two band leaders really friends? Is this a stunt to get Cardan out of the bad rep he got from Nightfell hardcore fans? Are they, as some fans say, dating?"

"Dating?!" Jude interrupted.

"Yup," Wren grinned, "dating rumors. You two played it well."

Jude thought of Ignacio immediately, she knew he had a big mouth... The closet incident. Jude flushed at the memory, and Wren kept on reading.

"' Who knows! This competition just got juicier, and it is safe to say, that Nightfell and Court of Shadows are the talk of the town and show, in popularity, no other band has had this much attention. I almost feel bad for the rest, but it seems we've got our two finalists chosen before the actual competition even began! Remember though, even though half the voting is based on the audience's choice, there are still judges, and they'll give the final say music and performance-wise! Follow for more Court of Shadows, Nightfell, and the festival's updates!'" Once finished, Wren grinned at Jude, her wide blue eyes staring right patiently as Jude took another sip of her mug.

"That's something," Jude muttered.

"We're the talk of the town!" Wren said excitedly.

"We are," this brought a smile to Jude's lips. Although there was also Court of Shadows up there with them, it was undeniable the public loved Nightfell. The rest shouldn't be too hard. Beating Cardan should come easy, right?

"Have you talked to Cardan?" Wren asked.

"Nope, haven't seen him since then. I'll see him today," Jude sighed, "it will probably be weird."

"You two aren't friends yet? Not after that performance of yours? I still cannot believe that was improvised!"

"Me neither," Jude cringed, trying not to think of all the things that could have gone wrong. Fighting the urge to find a video and see all the mishaps and everything wrong with it.

"You two have crazy chemistry, Jude," Wren went on, "I don't believe you two aren't friends."

"Well, I don't have time for such silly subjects. When I talk to Cardan, there are always two things at the top of my mind," Jude held up a finger, "our upcoming prank," and then another, "how he walked out of my show."