New Beginnings. (Jiam AU)

Chapter 03.

Jade's POV

I could feel my heart stop as my eyes met his. Shit, I thought. He's here. In the very same room as me. After five years. It couldn't possibly be real.

I couldn't force myself to look away from him, and neither did he. We just started into each other's eyes, my gaze not leaving his. He had changed a lot since 2008, and it was noticeable. He had broad muscles, his hair was short, and gelled back, he had a SnapBack loosely placed on his head, which he adjusted every few seconds to keep it from falling.

Zayn replies, which of course snaps me out of my daydream. I feel my cheeks flush, hoping nobody saw what I had done earlier.

"How about lunch, everybody? The missus made something special," he says and I chuckle softly as he kisses her gently. I then scrunch my nose in mock disgust, shaking my head.

"I'm hungry, are we going go eat or not?" I whine, making Perrie and Zayn break away.

Perrie gives Zayn a playful slap, giggling as she presses a sloppy kiss to his cheek and gets up from the loveseat. I stand up as well and follow her to the kitchen, along with Jesy and Leigh, as the boys wait in the dining room.

"Someone's smitten," Leigh remarks as the door to the kitchen closes.

"Smitten? More like high on drugs. Sweetie, do you have a fever or something? Your cheeks are redder than ripe strawberries," Jesy, says, an amused smirk on her lips.

Perrie, covers her face in her hands, laughing. "Stop it, Jessica!" She says, shaking her head.

Once we recover from our little gossip session, we take the casserole that Perrie made out of the oven.

"Pez, why are there three casseroles? There's only seven of us," I ask, taking off my oven mitt.

"Well, I just estimated how much each person could eat, and Zayn loves my cooking, so I cooked three. I hope that's alright with you," she says, looking at me.

"Yeah, that's alright," I nod in response, not meeting her gaze.

"Is something wrong, Poopey?" Jesy asks, wrapping an arm around me.

"Yeah, what took you so long earlier? Is Jay alright?" Leigh-Anne asks, setting the casserole down on the kitchen island.

I nod and give the girls around me a small smile. "She's alright, she was just tired and wanted to rest." I turn to Perrie, looking at her. "Did you know that Liam was coming today?"

She gives me a confused nod, arching a brow at my sudden question. "Yeah, is something wrong with that?"

I shake my head, sighing. With Perrie dating Zayn, Liam and I were bound to meet again. I prepared myself for this moment for years after we had lost contact, but I felt as if all the years of preparation had dissolved along with seeing him.

"I guess I should tell you girls something now, yeah?"

"What is it?" Jesy asks, placing a comforting hand on my back.

I could feel all three of my bandmates' eyes on me, waiting for my revelation.

"I'm in love with Liam."