song selection: make believe by toto

Checking her watch again for what felt like the 40th time in the span of a few seconds, Jude continuing to swing her legs in her seat. She already felt embarrassed enough as it were to find herself here, let alone having to wait for him to actually show up. "Can I take your order yet ma'am?" The waiter came up to ask her.

She shook her head with a small smile. "Sorry, I'm still waiting for someone," She apologized and sighed, looking around the restraunt to see if he showed while the waiter left again. Jude took a long sip of the cherry coke she'd been drinking before reading his text over that had sent a few moments ago.

Sorry, things came up. I'll be there a little late.

She didn't see this meeting being anything less than two old friends catching up over lost time. Jude had no intention of it being anything more than that, finding the title of being the other woman in his life just leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. No one deserved that and Tracy deserved the all the respect in her eyes. So, she'd settle on these boundaries as soon as Michael would actually decide to show up.

The bell rang on the shop door and Jude looked up quickly, expecting to see him. Instead it was a family and she continued to sit in her own solitude. The minutes kept dragging on and she simply decided to just leave the restaurant, not wanting to feel more guilty the longer she waited around.

Jude stepped back onto the streets to be immediately greeted by the pouring rain and she sighed to take out the umbrella she put in her bag. The old, tattered piece struggled to open as she cursed under her breath over her lack of luck. "Looks like you need a little help," She heard a familiar voice say. Looking over to the parked car beside her, a pair of baby blue eyes shined back over to her despite the now gloomy afternoon surrounding them.

"Where the hell have you been Fox!" She began to yell at him.

He rolled his eyes with a smug smile. "Oh shut up and get in already." She looked at him, surprised at his words, and closed her umbrella to jump into the car. Michael started to drive once again as soon as she stepped into the car. Tracy has kept him busy yet again with planning, but he couldn't exactly admit this to Jude beside him. "Sorry I ran late."

Shaking her head to laugh over this, the tone of her voice showing this wasn't meant to be out of humour and more out of annoyance. "I'm surprised I decided to even go to lunch with you," She explained, "How's Tracy? She keeping you busy I see."

Michael stayed silent at the mention of her name. He had already felt guilty for meeting with Jude knowing their history. None of this was respectful in her name, that is, if it went two far as simply two friends meeting for lunch. "Can we not talk about Tracy?" He asked and looked over to her, "Just please Jude."

She didn't know whether to go along with this or be infuriated by it. Deciding on the anger quite easily, Jude looked back over to him. "Michael Andrew Fox, I hope you know I am not going to stop you from being engaged to a suitable young lady! You marry her even before I came to 1985 and I need it to stay that way," She admitted to him.

He tried to fixate himself onto the road hearing this. To have her say this now knowing she'd met Tracy and left the night after, it made sense to him now. Michael never needed an explanation to why Jude left, but this was still just as efficient. "Juju-"

"And don't start with the bullshit that you never wanted to be with her. That you only fucking proposed because she loved you and I was gone. Don't you dare!" Jude told him harshly and sunk deeper into her seat.

Michael shut his mouth again and turned on the radio so the silence wouldn't be so bothersome. "Where do you want to go?" He asked her.

"Just take me home," She said in annoyance and looked out the window, watching the rain droplets roll off the car window. He agreed to this, knowing she wasn't going to budge from the behavior she'd set, and asked for the directions to where she lived.

As soon as Michael pulled up to the apartment building Jude stepped out of the car, muttering a goodbye as she left. She didn't bother opening up her umbrella since the door was just a few steps away and decided to trudge through the rain. "Jude!" Michael called out and she turned back to see he was out of his car now.

"Go away!" She yelled at him and continued to walk up the steps.

"I know you don't mean that!" He told her and she stopped walking, knowing he was right. Michael didn't want to lose her again, he didn't want to miss his chance. Seeing her again shouldn't make him want to have her again but it did and he needed to act on it. He couldn't just let her leave this time, he'd never live with himself if he did. "You can act pissed off all you like but I know you don't really mean it."

Jude folded her arms and turned to him, her jacket now soaked and the water seeping down to her skin with Michael standing in front of her the exact same way. "Yeah, so what? Like it matters much?" She brushed off, trying to keep a good distance from him.

If she were any closer to him, things were going to get bad very quickly.

But he didn't seem to notice and took her hand from where she had folded her arms. "Don't try to push me away. You and I both know that doesn't work," Michael said, not helping himself to chuckle over this.

She shook her head, slipping her hand out of his grasp. "It's not right," Jude muttered but Michael still continued on. She looked up to him and knew she was going to do something stupid just by the way he kept persisting.

"God I hope he knows this is wrong. Let me just stay in a little hole to rot for god's sake!" Jude thought to herself.

The rain continued to beat down onto them as they stood there looking at each other again. "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn," He said and she smiled, shaking her head over the reference.

"No don't you dare bring Gone with the Wind into-" Jude was cut off with his lips meeting her finally and she couldn't help herself, deepening the kiss.

The two of them parted after what seemed like ages and Jude held onto him tightly, feeling cold after being in the rain for so long. "Don't you dare hurt me Foxy," She told him, their foreheads pressed together.

He kissed me again softly and shook his head. "Never Jujube. Never," He eased her and she kissed him again, not wanting to lose this feeling again.

"Fuck, I fucked up again didn't I?—"