Sweet Things

21

"Let's break up."

Jade had stopped eating and talking. She was no longer the teasing, smug and life of the party Jade everyone loved. The funeral happened after a week of her father's death and her family mourned for another week. Jade had fallen into a depressive episode to the point where her brother had to force her out of her father's bed.

"Are you sure, Jadey?" Karl calmly asked Jade as she sat on the bed. Her heart ached at the sound of the nickname. Her father used to call her that. "He wouldn't want you to miss your graduation."

Graduation. She forgot about that. She forgot about everything. She forgot about Perrie.

Karl sighed, "Think about it again, okay?" he whispered before leaving her alone again.

She took a long look at the framed picture on the night stand. It was a photograph of her and Karl with their father when they were kids. She remembered that day exactly and almost smiled at the look of her fathers face. But she couldn't bring herself to. When she felt tears building up in her eyes she walked out of the room and headed to where Karl sat. He watched a game of football on the static box television. Jade slumps beside him and tries to enjoy a bit of the game herself but she ended up getting lost in her thoughts again. Karl turns the volume down and clears his throat to get Jade's attention, "Have you talked to Perrie?"

Jade leaned her head back on the cushions of the couch and watched the old broken clock tick, "Yes." she lied.

"How did she take it?" he tries to get more words out of her but it doesn't seem to be working because there was another long pause before she opened her mouth again but it was only to sigh heavily, "Jade." he warned.

"I haven't talked to any of them in weeks." she crossed her arms and placed her legs up on the old coffee table in front of the matching couch they sat on.

"It's not like they haven't tried contacting you." he was right. They all tried to contact Jade but she refused and although they gave her space to mourn, a single hello wouldn't have hurt. Jade felt the guilt eating her up. She hated herself for being happy during those times her father was alone. She could have been with him for his last breaths. "Don't blame yourself." Karl spoke like he was reading her mind, "Take it easy. And eat. You've lost a lot of weight." he glances at her figure.

Jade had already felt defeated from the moment she heard her mother cry to the moment she saw her father in his coffin. She had fallen deep in a black hole and couldn't find the light to help her out. She wanted to end it all but what would that do? A part of her wanted to call Perrie. Tell her, lie to her, apologise to her. Tell her that she was alright, tell her that she wanted to get back together but she knew that it would only hurt the two of them. She wasn't in a good place. She felt like a burden even around her family. She needed and wanted to be alone.

-

Two years later.

Jade never showed up for graduation day. Perrie's fake smile started to feel permanent. No matter how hard she tried to contact Jade, she couldn't get a hold of her. On graduation day, she was taking pictures with her family and friends but not with the one person she wanted to be with the most. The group of friends were just as devastated as Perrie since Jade was always their go to girl. It wasn't the same without her but they tried their best to distract Perrie from her missing half.

Her relationship with Harry stayed the same while Jade was absent, although he would tell her that he was right about Jade, her hope that she was going to come back was always there.

Eventually, Jade never came back. Time has passed and Perrie ran away after revealing Harry's past during a heated argument with her parents. They were both in disbelief and Perrie couldn't take living with them anymore. She decided to stick with the plan and move to London but this time with Alex, they decided to live together since they had gotten a lot closer.

Nobody had heard from Jade since. She had completely cut everyone off including her family. There was no way of contacting her and when they called her brother, he told them that he didn't know where Jade had went. There was a point where the gang was angry with the brunette. They hated her for being so selfish and not even once bothering to explain to them what was going on. But sadness took over their anger. They knew she was going through something that had controlled her and it was hard to help her when she would refuse to get help.

Perrie spent nights crying, longing for her other half. Those days missing Jade went from weeks which soon turned to months then finally to none. Perrie started to hate her, or maybe she hated how everything turned out. She hated how she left her and she hated how she broke her heart and her promise. Perrie thought she deserved it for a while, but later blamed it on time itself. She was always a strong believer of 'everything happens for a reason'.

Right now Perrie was living her best life. She had a part time job at a coffee shop below her apartment that she shared with Alex and she was studying to become a teacher. It wasn't her original plan but after years of helping her friends study in high school, she realised that she loved teaching.

Like Jade herself, she had cut out her family but still kept in contact with the rest of their friends. She was happy and for once in her life she felt free. There would be nights where she wondered where Jade had went and if she was okay. Those simple 'what if' moments would linger at the back of her head but she would always shake them away before it could take over her again.

She left you, Perrie. She doesn't care about you.

-

Perrie was now sat at the couch of their apartment while Alex cooked dinner. They took turns in making dinner to cut down on spending money on take away. It worked but they would always have their cheat days.

"Dinner is ready!" Alex yelled from the kitchen, although it was an attached kitchen and there was no need to shout, he said his favourite part of making dinner was shouting that it was ready.

"What's this?" Perrie sat down and inspected the dish in front of her.

"Spaghetti carbonara!" Alex beamed before digging in but halting at the sudden bitterness that hit his tongue, "Mmm..." he cringed, slowly forcing himself to chew. Perrie laughed at the sight before tasting it herself and repeating his actions unintentionally.

"Pizza?"

"Pizza." Perrie nodded. They simultaneously pushed their plate aside and jumping on the couch. The pizza came in no time and they finished it just as fast as it came while they flicked through the channels.

"Liam's party is on Friday, are you coming?" Alex asked, leaning closer to wrap his arm around Perrie. She hesitates for a split second before placing her head on his broad shoulder. Perrie had a habit of comparing Alex with Jade, which she knew was a horrible thing to do but she couldn't help it. They've only started going out for a few months but everything was still new to her. She reluctantly told him that it would take time but he didn't mind waiting, so Perrie gave it a shot.

"I don't know," she began, "I have some assignments and studying to do." she sighed at the thought of the pile of work she still has yet to finish.

"Oh come on, you're always studying. It's his birthday and you have all weekend to finish them." he encouraged. She bit her lip and thought for a while, she has been doing a lot of work recently. She could use a break and have a little fun.

"Alright, but I'm not getting drunk. The last thing I want is a hangover when I should be working." she points her finger at Alex and he nods in agreement.

-

Boy oh boy, where did Jade go... also, thoughts on Alerrie? They're pretty cute, aren't they? :0

Thanks for voting, commenting and reading! :) xx