hot chocolate ➸ jerrie

[2.]

chapter two
first impressions

happiness
/ˈhapɪnəs/
(n.) the sense of well-being, joy, or contentment.

JED WAS SITTING ALONE at the coffee shop when I walked through the door to this particular Starbucks for the first time. I walked up to the barista and after mentally preparing what I was going to say, I ordered my usual: a latte over ice, two pumps of caramel and almond milk instead of dairy.

I took my drink from the counter and sat on the chair opposite my 'boyfriend'.

"Hi, I'm Jade." Why? Why did I think it was a good idea to lead the conversation?

Jed opened the menu and ducked behind it slightly, "there are paps, smile like you mean it."

I nodded and plastered a wide smile upon my face. "Why?" I asked, through gritted teeth.

"Publicity," he said, sipping his cappuccino. I pretended to laugh. Fake it until you make it, right?

I finished my drink and threw the cup into the bin as we braced ourselves for our walk through the paparazzi. "Here goes nothing," I muttered under my breath.

I smiled as I faced the mics being pushed towards me.

"Jade! Jade! What do you think? Who is he? was that a date?" The pap interrogated.

"Jed Elliot, he's the bassist for The Struts." I took a deep breath, "it was if he wants it to be."

He took my hand and helped me into the car. as we pulled up to the flat, the flashing of cameras began.

He kissed my cheek.

I didn't know what to think. I was shocked. "Uh, bye." So I did what I always do when I panic.

I ran.

I quickly unlocked the door and bolted inside, closing it behind me. I leant against the peeling white paint and sank to the floor.

Perrie immediately rushed to my side the minute she walked into the apartment. "Bambi! What happened?"

My voice came out as a whisper as I told her what had just happened. My story was accompanied by excited squeals from the younger geordie.

"I'm so happy for you!" She clapped her hands like a child and hugged me, "I think I might like Alex."

This was my turn to be happy for her. I gasped, "Do you really? Is he cute? What's he like? What did you do?"

Her laughter was melodic, "He's so cute," she said dreamily, "but you know I'm bi, right?" she looked at me for a moment before shaking her head. "Of course you know, you're my best friend! Sorry, I'm being stupid again. We went to the cinema and saw The Fault in Our Stars, it was so good! I especially love the part when-"

her words began to sound muffled as if she was speaking underwater, as I focused on the perfection of her lipstick. People seem to think that just because we're 'famous' we don't do anything by ourselves. Sometimes that's true.

However, today we did our own makeup, and she did amazingly. I watched her do it. She spent an unnecessary amount of time making sure her lip liner was perfect, before carefully filling them in with her favourite lip colour: a deep burgundy.

"-and then I cried so hard that my makeup began to go all streaky, I looked so bad! I looked worse than I normally-"

Without thinking, I cut her off with a kiss.