Golden

4 - Do You Have A Minute?

"A relationship exists between two people. We will always know what it was. The narratives that are out there altogether have been extrapolated from pictures that were taken without consent or permission, with no context. Nobody had the context for that story." Tom Hiddleston about his relationship with Taylor Swift.

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Twelve photos. That's all the media has about Perrie and Jade. A dozen innocent looking pictures of them holding hands as they walk a few feet from the studio into the car. These were enough to change Jade's life.

After her writing session with Perrie, Jade was overjoyed. She couldn't have been more grateful for how it went, and knew that one of Perrie's assistants will call her soon in order to schedule another session.

The next day, all hell broke loose. The paparazzi photos of Perrie and her were published, and have quickly made it to what felt like every corner of the internet. The contact of their hands and the fact they have never been seen together before led to the rumor that they are dating. It's bizarre and doesn't even make sense, and as soon as Jade woke up and saw the news, she wished she would have never gotten out of bed. How is she going to look into Perrie's eyes the next time she sees her?

As if that wasn't enough, Perrie's fans managed to track down Jade, probably because she is listed as a staff member on the studio's website, and there is a headshot of her up there next to her name. All of Jade's social media accounts were flooded by a wave of new followers, comments, tags and private messages. At this point, she is even slightly worried about her phone number possibly getting leaked somehow. Jade doesn't know how to handle all of these changes. If that's the effect of a dozen photos, then what would be the impact of their song potentially being released? All of these thoughts and wonders were starting to become overwhelming, so Jade decided to do what she always done when she's nervous, and drove over to Lily's house.

Unlike Jade's apartment, Lily's flat is never quiet. She is permanently caring for her three year old sister, Clementine, Clem for short, which Jade would definitely consider as one of her best friends. Clem is a cheerful kid with a heart of gold, and Jade has known her since the day she was born. She feels lucky to have her in her life, and her existence only strengthened Lily and Jade's friendship. Right now, Jade is sitting on the living room couch, as Clementine on her lap watches cartoons on the telly, and Lily is sitting next to them.

"It was so amazing, honestly," Jade tells Lily as she gently strokes the little girl's back. She is referring to her writing session with Perrie, which she has promised to tell Lily about. "We actually started working on a really, really nice song. Did you know that she can actually write? I didn't know that. And she can identify every single note she hears. She's incredible. And she's so nice, I wish you could meet her. I had so much fun with her," she says with a shy smile.

"And then she just casually held your hand?" Lily asks in a playful tone. Blush rises to Jade's cheeks as she recalls this moment. She still doesn't know why Perrie took her hand like that, even though she thought about it a lot. "I wouldn't say you're the only one with a crush here," she continues and giggles.

"Nah, I don't think so," Jade replies as she imagines the impossible reality of Perrie liking her. Their conversation turns to music, and Lily tells Jade about some new career opportunities she has gotten. Jade couldn't be happier for her, and they're both talking about how for once, everything is going so well for the both of then at the same time, when Jade's phone rings. The number is not in her contacts, but it's nothing new, probably a call from work. Jade answers the call with a neutral hello, which quickly changes when she hears the voice of the person on the other side of the phone.