Jerrie Oneshot Book

Cassiopeia

Summary: For as long as she remembers, the night sky has brought Jade peace. She has always looked for comfort in stars, especially after a rough day. But when things get extra rough, is it enough?

Luckily, she has something else to comfort her now.

Jade loves the night sky.

She has been fascinated with the stars since she was a little kid, all those nights when her father took her outside at their backyard and lay on the grass beside her, teaching her everything about the universe.

"Look, Jade." He pointed to a very bright star. "Do you know which one is that?" He observed his daughter and waited until midnight eyes turned to look up at him as Jade shook her head. "That's Sirius. The brightest star in the sky from any part of Earth."

"Even more than the Sun?" she asked.

"Yes, even more than the Sun. You can spot Sirius as it ascends in the east before down, before it settles in the South in the evenings. If you can't spot Sirius someday, you can use Orion's Belt to find it." Jade didn't even blink, paying attention to every single word her father was saying. Her eyes watched her father's finger as it followed each little star in the sky, forming drawings in her head. "If you know how to read the map in the stars, you'll never get lost."

Those nights spent with her father at the backyard were Jade's favorite ones. Her head didn't stop working in the minute she went to bed. She spent countless hours awake, making wishes to the stars and trying to map the whole sky, feeling incredibly amazed by the constellations and their stories.

Orion, Lupus, Cassiopeia, Lynx.

Draco, Delphinus and Lyra.

Each one belonging to the zodiac.

They were countless, but there wasn't one Jade didn't know about. The more she grew up, the bigger was her interest on learning more about the hidden stories in the stars.

Then her father left when she was fourteen.

She remembers coming home from school to find her mother sitting at the front door waiting for her. Glassy eyes looked up to meet Jade's and then she just knew.

"He left."

And as she lay on the bed late in the evening, finally allowing her eyes to shut, she thought about how ironic it was that the stars were still shining when she felt surrounded by complete darkness.

----

Shortly after her father left, Jade let go of astrology and found comfort in art. She poured her heart into the easel with each brush of color. It made her feel electric, like she could take the world if she wanted to.

When Jade went to college, the stars followed her. Of course they did, Jade knew they would never leave. She could spot Sirius every night and make a wish. One single wish, the same one every night, and she wished with everything she had deeply in her heart.

I want to go home.

The thing is, Jade never thought she would find her home exactly where she was.

----

The first time Jade kissed Perrie was under the stars.

The party was in full swing, music blasting and people laughing.

Jade was feeling dizzy because of the alcohol she had been consuming since the time they arrived. It was late enough for slow songs start to play around, bringing the couples of the place to hold tight on each other as they slowly moved their hips from side to side, lost inside their own world.