The Horror [ATTN: Eddie]

[Jude Sheffield]

"Jude!" a very distorted voice called out from downstairs and Jude frowned slightly. She got off her bed and opened the door. "Did someone call me?" She called down.

"Get down here quick! Oh my goodness I cannot believe they're actually showing it! Come on down!" So it was her mother. Jude did as she was told and the vaguely familiar sound of her number one hit in Georgia "Holiday Mall" tickled her ear. "Oh my God. No..." Embarrassed, Jude rushed to the TV and in the process almost knocked her mother down.

"How did they get a hold of that!" Jude shrieked, covering her face from the horror that was her twelve year old self with pigtails on both sides of her head and in a sports bra and track pants. "Oh my god mom just turn it off!" She cried out as her mother laughed out loud. "Mom! It's not funny!"

"It is a little funny." Mrs Sheffield said, nudging her daughter in the ribs lightly as she continued laughing. Jude was red in the face, completely embarrassed by how she was dressed and especially that music video. It was a hit among her age group in Georgia but apparently it had leaked out to Hollywood.

"Where is Jude Sheffield now? All of Georgia wants-" Jude grabbed the remote control and switched off the TV before turning to her mother. "Oh that was horrible. What if any of the kids I go to school with saw that?"

"They'll just commend you for having great style back then."

She looked at her mother incredulously. "Really mom...that's the best you can give me? Can we get Oliver on the phone? Maybe he knows who leaked the...oh that must be him." Her phone on the counter was ringing. She was ready to tear her manager into pieces for leaking the video.

"Oliver! How could you let that video leak out?"

[Eddie O'Flaherty]

Eddie arrived home after school with a spring in his step. The excitement he felt today was among the top two best moments of his life since he moved to California, the other being when he was cast as the lead in South Pacific. He was looking forward to seeing Jude again, and he hated that he had to wait until tomorrow. After dropping his bag off on the couch, he headed up to his bedroom to check out the rehearsal schedule he had posted near the mirror.

He had a big chunk of work at the beginning, but he did get to leave a little early. He might have time to hang out, though he'd end up staying awake later than he normally liked to. Still, what was the point of life if you were going to sleep through it? He dug his hand into his pocket and retrieved his cell phone. He started to feel a little giddy when he saw the name “Jude” in his address book.

He paused for a moment before hitting dial. Would it be weird if he called her to hang out tonight after they had planned on hanging out tomorrow? Eddie worried that it may seem a little over eager. Still, she had said she really was hoping he'd call her, and he hadn't yet. She seemed quite eager herself. And it was just hanging out, it's not like they were dating or anything. Eddie liked this girl, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to get into a full blown relationship quite yet. Still, he wanted her friendship, and he couldn't deny that he had quite a crush on her. He pressed the button, brought the phone to his ear, and waited.

The ringing stopped and was replaced with a delicate voice laced with a mixture of anger and distress. Eddie had most definitely not expected Jude to answer her phone in such a manner. Didn't she ever look at her caller ID? Perhaps he got the wrong number, though it sounded like Jude. “Umm... hi. Can I speak with Jude...” Eddie froze for a moment. What was Jude's last name? How could he forget something like that? Or did she even tell him? He wasn't sure. “Uh, Jude, please?” He really really hoped it was her, otherwise he'd feel quite embarrassed.

[Jude Sheffield]

Jude's eyes bulged and she almost dropped the phone when the voice over at the end wasn't the scruffy voice of her twenty-eight year old chain-smoking agent but Eddie's clear cut, just slightly nasal voice filled her ear. A squeak escaped her voice and the angry expression on her face crumbled to replace a blush and a slight pout as she tried to calm herself down enough to enable proper speech.

"Eddie?" she managed to croak out. She didn't expect him to call. Weren't they set for their date tomorrow? Why was he calling? Did he want to cancel? She hoped that wasn't why he was calling. She really liked him so if he cancelled, she'd be so disappointed.

"Hi, I'm sorry. I thought you were my ag...uh...I thought you were my mother's cousin...that's right. I thought you were my mother's cousin, Oliver." what? Why would her mother's cousin be calling her? She was an amazing actress, a talented singer and a brilliant musician. Why did she come up with such a lame lie?

"I'm sorry I screamed...I didn't mean to but cousin Oliver did something really stupid and I thought he was calling to apologise or something but it's not him obviously, I really am sorry I yelled at you."

Taking a few deep breaths, Jude wiped her forehead and sat down on the high stool by the kitchen counter. "Um...hi."

[Eddie O'Flaherty]

It was obvious his call had surprised Jude, but Eddie was just glad it was actually her. Still she seemed a little off, and her explanation of who Oliver was seemed... odd. Maybe he was an ex-boyfriend. If that were the case, what sort of video would Jude be talking about? Eddie could feel his face start getting warm just thinking about it. He ran his free hand through his hair and took a deep breath.

“Oh, it's okay, Jude. I just wasn't sure it was you at first.” There was a short pause before Jude said hi, and Eddie smiled. The girl was incredibly cute, he could not deny that. “Hi.” He tried to think of something much more interesting to say, but was stuck at the greeting. Why did he call her again? To hang out! Yes. He swallowed, still nervous though his brain told him that everything was going well and that the pretty girl did admit to liking him. “Uhh, well, I know we made plans for tomorrow night, but I was looking over my schedule, and I get out of rehearsal early tonight.”

Eddie moved over to his bed and sat down. His legs were starting to shake and he needed to find a way to calm himself. For all his confidence on the stage, sometimes in real life he was just a bag of nerves. “I was thinking, I dunno, if you wanted I could pick up a movie or something and we could hang out. It would be like 7:30ish or so. If you're interested.” Eddie swallowed again, waiting for the reply. He realized there was a lot about this girl he didn't know about, including where she lived and what her home life was like. They could easily hang out at his place, but would her mom let her? There were a number of flaws in his plan, and he was starting to fear that it might not work out.

[Jude Sheffield]

So he wasn't cancelling on her, that was a relief. It was even to hang out earlier! What luck. After the nerve wrecking revelation that some of her schoolmates might have seen that stupid video, she was being asked out on a semi date with a boy that she might be growing to like a lot even after they had set a date for a later 'hanging out'. She could dance right then. She turned to her mother who was looking at her expectantly when the mention of a boy name was heard.

Blushing something fierce, Jude took the call up in her room, signing to her mother that she will tell her all about it later after the phone call ended. Not wanting to be rude, she told Eddie to wait for a second. She ran up the stairs two at a time and locked herself in her room and jumped in bed. "Okay. So...you want to watch a movie? That would be cool." Lord help me, I'm turning into a love struck teenager!, she thought to herself in amusement.

"Um...I'd like that." Her voice softened before she realised what she had done. Why was she so willing to act all nuts around Eddie? What if he gets bored of her? And why was she getting ahead of herself? It was just two people hanging out! He already told her he liked her, what more could she ask for?

It was a school night but her parents were flexible enough since she pulled up good grades and have been since Georgia so she knew she wasn't going to have any trouble getting out of the house. All she needed was transportation since she just moved to Hollywood, and she didn't even have a learner's permit here. Maybe she could get her dad to send her to Eddie's. He's going to ask a lot of questions and she's going to answer them as truthfully as possible. She just hoped he wouldn't go any deeper with his line of questions.

"So 7:30? Where do you want to go? We could hang at my place since both my parents are in. We'll at least have parental supervision if your parents ask." She said, not knowing what her invitation would entail.