Happy Place || A Jerrie Fanfiction

VIII - NO SHIT, SHERLOCK

 I arrived at her comfortably-looking cottage exactly thirty minutes later, knocking on the door once, twice, until she stands in front of me sporting her blonde waves that cascaded all over both her shoulders, white t-shirt, and what seems to be women basketball shorts (incidentally, I successfully suppressed the urge to ask her if she's an athlete).

     "Jade Thirlwall." Her smile flashed before me.

     I expected a bit of confusion along the way on her part, knowing that it has been awhile since our last talk - even though it was less than an hour ago, it was enough for her to forget who I am. But her facial expression defied my usually accurate expectations, and piqued my curiosity.

     "Aren't you supposed to forget me?" I asked, dumbstruck.

     She flashed me a shy smile. Did my eyes deceive me or was I really watching her cheeks turn red? "When someone plans to visit me, I'd write it down on a post-it in case I forget about it so I won't be confused, or, in your case, weirded out by the fact that the Jade Thirlwall is at my doorstep."

     I snorted at the last sentence. "The Jade Thirlwall? You make it sound like I'm a force to be reckoned with."

     She shrugged her shoulders lamely, a lopsided smile resting on her lips. "Cait loves you too much."

     "I saw her poster of myself in her room." My smile widened. "I know she does."

     Then in an instant her grin disappeared, followed by her perfectly-trimmed eyebrows that knitted together, her expression showcasing disorientation. I was about to tell her what happened but the transition of her confusion to epiphany prompted me to stay quiet instead.

     "Ah, I remember that," she snaps her fingers as she says so. "Cait told me that awhile ago, I remember."

     I let out a nervous chuckle, scratching the back of my neck and letting my hand fall beside me. "Thank God for your little sister, right?"

     She beams at me. "Thank God for Caitlyn."

     Perrie led me in, and I find myself inside her home for the second time. Perhaps this morning I was too preoccupied with the desire to go home, or perhaps it was the fact that there was still some residues of mortification for staying inside a stranger's house that I hadn't fully surveyed Perrie's home. But whether it was the latter or the former, all thoughts have vanished when I took in the living room.

     It was as simple as it can be - a brown couch on the right with a polished-to-look-modern wooden coffee table in front and two other polished-to-look-modern wooden, cushioned chairs on each side of the table. And a flat-screen T.V. sitting in front of all of them, the blackness of its screen reflecting me.

     Two rows of shelves, filled with DVDs, lined up on the walls, its height enough for a person to reach. My eyes caught sight of What A Girl Wants. Caitlyn must really love me in that movie, that's for sure. My character was the protagonist, and everyone loves the protagonist, so for sure Perrie does, too.

     But why the hell would I care if Perrie loves me - my character?

     "I'll get you a glass of water and some snacks for the both of us," Perrie announces, disappearing inside the kitchen before I could even respond.

     I plopped myself down on the couch, having nothing to do but skim through my phone. Just when I was about to turn to my purse, my eyes landed on a picture frame, installed on a plank just underneath the coffee table, facing upside down.

     My eyebrows rose in curiosity, and I look over at Perrie at the kitchen. She still seems to be pretty busy, so a part of me wanted to observe the picture. But another part of me didn't want to intrude. This is her home, after all. And I literally just met her and had just become friends with her.