Simon's Rules

5

Jade POV

Over the last week of prep before we leave for tour, I have been keeping extra close watch of Perrie. I still don't think Jesy believes Perrie when she said she hasn't been dieting because she hasn't shown any interest in the blonde's health. Leigh-Anne and I have forced Perrie to take some extra breaks in rehearsals when she starts lagging behind, off the beat and more out of breath than she should be. And normally we go out a lot just before we leave for tour, seeing all of the friends we will be apart from for months. But this week we have stayed home and spent time with each other and Hatchi, having many late movie nights on the sofa, taking turns on who is the little spoon. My protectiveness appears to be successful because Perrie's eyes are brighter, more alert, and the spring is back in her step. The only thing that I'm not happy about is her appetite but she isn't complaining of stomach pain anymore and is eating more than she was.

Zack and Jamie did an incredible job adjusting all of our tour outfits and the second fitting only took an hour. The costumes are boxed up ready for transport to our first venue, along with the rest of our stage equipment. Before the four of us can fly we have to do the one thing we despise more than anything else, have a meeting with Syco. This has been hanging over us for a couple of days now and the anxious anticipation has caused all of us a lot of stress. When we are stressed each of us shows it differently and I have identified this behaviour in all of us. Jesy was the first one to crack, being so pessimistic about our rehearsals, sleeping arrangements, and everything else that has come up. That woman has a talent for catastrophizing but we are all used to this and know how to handle her, letting her get it out of her system and staying silent, any agreement fuelling her negativity and any counterpoints interpreted as an argument.

I realised I was next one night when I couldn't sleep, the clock on my bedside table kindly letting me know it was three am. When I am stressed my brain keeps churning over the information that is causing me to feel this way, which in turn keeps me awake long after I should be in dreamland. With my girlfriend being a heavy sleeper she is able to sleep through all of my tossing and turning, only realising what happened when she wakes up and sees the regretful dark rings under my eyes. I must be extra restless this time around because every night I manage to wake Perrie up with my movements, and despite trying to sleep off her exhaustion she gets up to make me a mug of hot milk and listens to me ramble through my thoughts, nodding along reassuringly. Verbalising what bothers me unburdens my mind and allows me to fall asleep wrapped up in her arms.

Leigh-Anne and Perrie didn't start showing their nerves until yesterday when they morphed into polar opposites. When we arrived at the studio Leigh-Anne was already warming up, unable to sit still. She becomes so antsy and restless when she is stressed, energy filling her entire body and keeping her going. Perrie didn't say a single word all morning, shutting down with dread. With both of them now off, Jesy irritable, and me still a bit tired, we didn't get anything done all day. Our crew was expecting this though, it happens before every meeting with Simon and his henchmen, so we spent most of the day discussing plans for group activities on tour and what we have all packed.

As usual all of the dancers will be sharing a large bus with us so we make sure to bring some games, speakers, and party lights for the tour bus. On long drives we enjoy tournaments of games like Uno and chess, and always have Mario Kart and Super Smash Bro championships with some friendly betting. The speakers and lights are for late night parties on overnight journeys, parties that I can partake in without breaking any of Simon's Rules and risking everything we have. When we land in Berlin some of the dancers will go and buy lots of snacks and alcohol for our bus parties.

Before that though we have our first show at Prenton Park, Birkenhead to kickstart the tour with a huge home crowd. After two shows in Germany and one in Austria we have to fly back to the UK for a show in Hull because management were unable to schedule the Burton Constable Hall for any other time. Then we're back in mainland Europe for the second and third weeks of the tour until we fly back for a show at Wembley Stadium. Following that we have almost two weeks in the studio and Jesy's birthday then three and a half weeks touring England, Scotland, and Wales. I wish we got to play in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland but Simon doesn't want us performing in a country that our international fans associate with Niall Horan and One Direction. Many of them still blame Perrie for Zayn leaving the band and the later disbandment of One Direction, so I don't want her to face more rumours about that. However Simon's motives are purely financial, and us in Ireland detracts publicity from One Direction and himself. We only get to tour Australia and New Zealand for ten days before we are scheduled to fly to Japan to start two weeks touring Asia before flying straight back to the UK for more studio work.