The show must go on

Chapter 4 - rehearsals

Narrator POV

When they arrive in London, they all put on their sunglasses after the long flight, pull up their hoods or caps to hide from the paparazzi. Perrie protectively clutches Jade's hand, knowing full well that the brunette hasn't slept a wink and is still wobbly on her feet, and slowly helps her off the plane, which is sure to result in a few pictures, but Perrie doesn't care about that right now. She just wants to get Jade safely into the car and for them all to finally return to their own homes.

"Who's first?" the driver asks, bored.

"Jade!" all three girls say at the same time, to which Jade looks at them amused.

"Babe, you need to go to bed already," Leigh-Anne declares sympathetically, patting her leg, to which Jade says nothing back and just closes her eyes.

When they arrive at Jade's flat, the others offer to help her inside, but Jade insists she can manage the few steps on her own. As she lifts her suitcase from the car, her vision goes dark for a second, and she wobbles slightly. But thankfully, the girls are too engrossed in their phones to notice.

"Bye, girls," Jade says quietly as she comes back to the window.

"Get some rest!"

"We'll see you in a few days, Jadey."

"Call if you need anything."

Jade just nods and slowly makes her way to the door, opening it with trembling hands before slumping to the floor inside. She knew she was at the end of her tether, utterly exhausted. But now that she's finally home, finally alone, the full extent of her misery hits her.

Here on the floor she completely loses her sense of space and time. She can't tell how long she just sat there until she actually fell asleep with her hand still on her suitcase. When she wakes up, the hallway is completely dark, so she has to turn on the flashlight on her phone to get her bearings. She uses this to briefly check her messages. But apart from her mother asking whether she has landed and is at home, there's nothing. No one texts her, no one calls her. It's been like this since Jed and her were over. And since then she notices even more clearly how much she would be happy to receive just one text from Perrie. But again there is silence.

Groaning, she switches on the light so she can put the depressing phone away. She hears the grumbling of her stomach, but the mere thought of food makes her feel sick, so she decides to skip dinner for now. And despite the little nap on the floor, she is even more exhausted and even more tired. So she just strips down to her underwear, lies down in bed, covers herself up to the neck and immediately falls asleep again.

For two whole days she was to herself. The only text she sent was a reply to her mother. Otherwise, she ignored her phone. She literally lay in bed or on the couch in her pyjamas all day, watching Netflix. She didn't eat anything except for a few biscuits here and there since she's been home. She simply lacked the appetite. Every now and then she would check the new posts on the Little Mix fan sites, all of which had by now caught wind of her debilitating state of health and had come up with numerous theories. The most common was probably that she was pregnant. But many were also sure that she is depressed and will leave the band. Also, new pictures have surfaced of her arriving in London and for the first time she sees how she is clinging to Perrie as Perrie practically pulled her into the car. Of course, the mixers are going crazy again, commenting Jerrie on every picture, which normally makes Jade happy. But considering her current situation, it only depresses her more. So she put her phone away, ignored every message and just sank into her own world.