get pride: get pucked sequel - lh

19

The night air was cold, making Jude shiver. She wasn't really sure why she sat outside, but it helped to clear her head. She was way over the whole crying spell, now she just sat, pissed off that she waisted so much time and effort in to one person. She wanted to forget Ayce no matter how hard it would be and no matter how hurt she would get. It was time for her to move on to focus on her again. That was what she did when she was suffering. She worked on herself to come back as a better her.

She looked up at the stars. For once the clouds on the sky were cleared away, making it that much colder. Jude didn't mind as she sat, bundled up on the old, rusty swinging bench that sat just outside of the backyard door. She enjoyed the peace and quiet as she sat alone in the dark.

She thought of a time right before Luke and her spit up. They sat out on the bench and made out the whole time. When he left, she couldn't even look in the direction of the same bench again. She chuckled at the thought of how broken she was at the time. She tried to compare it to her situation now, but something  seemed so much worse about when Luke broke up with her. She wasn't sure if it was because it was her first break up, or because she may have loved Luke more.

While looking around at the night sky, Daniel walked out and sat down next to her. "You okay?" he asked.

"Not at the moment, but I'll be fine soon," Jude shrugged.

"Good, because I don't want you to be sad for Christmas," he poked at her arm. There was a moment of silence between the two of them and Daniel leaned over on to Jude's shoulders.

"It's weird, because I am so heart broken. But I don't know... there's a peace I feel right now. No matter how bad my heart hurts, I think maybe this could be looked at as a good thing," Jude explained.

"Wait so did you love him?" He asked.

"Of course I did. I still do," Jude said. "But things were just... different.."

Daniel thought for a second. "Apposed to what?"

Jude realized what she had said and didn't have an answer.

"Luke?" He guessed.

"I don't know.... I guess..." She shrugged. "Maybe? It's hard not to compare a relationship to mine and Luke's..."

"How are you two by the way?"

Jude thought before answering. "Good, I think?" She wasn't sure how to answer this either. "I've gotten over the whole being mad thing... I'm over it now. And I was over at his house earlier tonight. I went to go find Ashton after I found Ayce's letter and I found Luke instead, so we talked and it was normal for once."

"So everything's good then?"

"I think so."

"That's good, I missed you two together," Daniel chuckled.

"We're not back together!" Jude clarified quickly. "Just friends. Just friends."

"I know, that's what I meant," Daniel laughed.

Jude stayed quiet after that, taking in the silence.

"Do you want to get back together?" Daniel asked suddenly, breaking the silence.

"Dan, I just got dumped. I'm not really thinking about my next relationship."

She hadn't really thought of getting back together with Luke. That was never an option for her. The only thing that crossed her mind was if they'd ever be friends again, but once Daniel had mentioned it, it seemed to stick with her. She just needed to decided if it was for better or for worse.

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The next day, Jude stayed inside the whole day. She sat in her room from the moment she woke up until the moment she went down stairs for food. Once she finally got food, she moved to the couch in the basement and watched three movies. By the third movie, Michael and Luke had joined her.

"Judith," Michael said as they both walked in.

"Hey guys," she said lazily.

"Have you gone outside at all today?" Michael asked.

"No," Luke answered for her.

"He's right," She sighed.

"What a life," Michael shook his head. "Anyways, what time are we going tonight?"

"I don't know, Ashton's the one with all the superstar plans so don't ask me," Jude chuckled.

"Do you have food?" Michael asked as he got up.

"Are you forgetting who's house this is?" She asked as though it should have been obvious that they did.

"Right," Michael confirmed as he walked up the stairs.

"So what have you been up to?" Jude asked Luke.

"Enjoying the fact that I can sleep in until twelve," he answered honestly.

"It's the best. This whole responsibility thing is shit," Jude said as she shifted the way she sat.

"I agree," he stifled a laugh.

There was a moment of silence between them as Luke looked through his phone and Jude watched the TV. She glanced over at him sitting there peacefully. Even after all this time, even after all of this heartbreak, he still took her breath away. She shook the thought out of her head, but before she could get away with her stares, Luke noticed.

"I know it's nice to stare at pretty people, but it's rude."

Jude blushed madly and looked down at her phone in her hands.

"See, I always stared at you when you weren't looking," Luke explained.

"I thought you said it was rude," Jude reminded him.

"I'm an asshole, what do you expect?" He asked.

She sighed in agreement and started going through her phone for something other than the TV to keep her busy.

"Jude,"

"Hmm?" She asked.

"About what I said last night, about me still loving you," he began. "I'm sorry I said that to you then. It was the worst moment possible. Ayce just ended it with you and that wasn't what you needed to hear. I shouldn't have said that.. it just came out of no where and I wasn't thinking."

"It's okay," She assured him. "Don't worry about it."

"I just don't want to push you away after I just got you back," he admitted. "As a friend, I mean."

"I don't see how you would," Jude told him.

"Well, I always tend to surprise myself, so," Luke shrugged.

She couldn't disagree with that.