Don't Forget You're Mine || Jerrie

29

January 27, 2016

Jade is sitting on the couch in the dressing room next to Jesy and Leigh-Anne as Jesy tells a funny story, and Jade tries her best to focus on it, but she is lost. All she can think of is that Perrie was already supposed to arrive to the photoshoot today, and she is not here yet. What if she decided not to show up to work again? Did Jade hurt her so badly that she is willing to give up on her career? The panic in Jade's eyes is clearly visible, and just when Leigh-Anne is about to comment about it and try to calm her down, the door is opened and Perrie walks into the room.

She does not seem like her usual self. Instead of giving each of her bandmates a big hug and immediately beginning to chat, she sends shy smiles to Jesy, Jade and Leigh-Anne, and sits down the on couch, as far from Jade as possible. Jade's heart is racing, and she desperately wants to look at Perrie, to make up for all of the time she had only seen her on a screen, but knows she cannot do that. She is definitely going to talk to Perrie today, but staring at her does not seem like a good way to start the conversation. Jesy and Leigh-Anne try to save the ongoing chat, although they know Perrie and Jade are not paying any attention. The conversation is interrupted when the door is opened and Sam asks two of them to go get their hair and makeup done. Jesy and Leigh-Anne volunteer right away, in order to give their bandmates some time alone to talk.

The first few seconds are silent and awkward, and Jade thinks that they might never end. She can tell that Perrie, just like her, wants to say something, but cannot bring herself to do so.

"It's been a while," Jade finally breaks the silence and awkwardly laughs.

"Yeah," is Perrie's only response, and Jade grows more uncomfortable with each moment that passes. She decides to get straight to what she needs to talk to Perrie about, because she has no hope of saving this embarrassing conversation any more.

"Sam talked to me the other day, about you and I," Jade begins. Perrie lifts her gaze and looks into Jade's eyes, and even though the two are sitting quite far from each other, Jade remembers just how beautiful Perrie's blue eyes are. She takes a moment to collect herself, then continues to talk. "She said that because I have Jed now, the rumors about us aren't relevant anymore, and that no one is going to really believe them. So that means you and I are free to act however we want in public, and in front of fans, and when we're being filmed and everything. But I understand that you're probably mad at me right now, and I don't want to put any pressure on you, because I deserve it and that's-"

"I'm not mad at you," Perrie assures Jade with a sad smile. She takes a deep breath before she keeps speaking. "I'm actually quite worried about you, to be honest. I know we haven't really talked in a while, but I do care about you. I keep thinking about how I have the time to take things slow and think about everything that's happened between us, but you don't. You have Jed, and he doesn't know, and… yeah. And I can't lie, that kind of worries me, that you had no choice but to move on so quickly."

Jade could not have worded her own feelings better. She finds great relief in Perrie's words, because they are completely honest and true. She really does hate pretending that everything is alright when she is with Jed, denying the fact that there is a tough breakup she needs to process. This relief translates to tears, which appear in Jade's eyes even though she tries her best to remain calm, at least on the outside.

Perrie cannot stay indifferent; she stands up and walks over to Jade, then sits next to her, as close as possible. She wraps Jade in her arms and holds her, and it does not feel weird at all, not even odd in the way she thought it would probably be. It feels natural, and nice, and like something is finally right. Even after Jade relaxes, Perrie keeps holding her, since she simply does not want to let her go.