A/n: This story will follow a realistic timeline and real life events, but obviously the scenes are fictional.

As you have seen there will be photos in the chapters, but there won't be any videos because I think it interrupts the reading. So videos from the day will be uploaded up here, you can watch them if you want but they won't be necessary for the plot (specific parts will be written down in the chapter if they're important). In my opinion, these videos do make everything seem more realistic so that's why I am uploading them. Enjoy!

It has been three days since the break up, and nothing has become simpler. Perrie spends the nights at Jade and Danielle's flat, and it has been a great help, but is not ideal. She craves her own home more than anything, and misses the pets she left behind. Even more than that, she wishes she could fix things with Zayn, or at least say a proper goodbye. She knows that reviving this relationship will cause her more pain than happiness, but cannot give up just yet. It does not make sense for four years to end that way, without any closure.

The girls are flying Holland for promotion in a few hours, and Perrie is having a hard time packing. All of her belongings are in her own home, and she feels bad for having to borrow so many things from Jade. Due to her current state of mind, if Perrie could do it, she would cancel the trip and stay in London, but she has three other girls to think about. She must go.

Last night, Jade invited Leigh-Anne, Jesy and their manager, Sam, over. Perrie told them Zayn and her broke up, and they had to figure out what they are going to do with it, publicly speaking. The youngest member of the band does not want to share this information with the whole world, so the decision made was for her to keep the ring on whenever she is in public. Hopefully, no gossip will leak until she is ready.

"Do you think it will be okay?" Perrie asks Jade while the two close their suitcases, sitting together on the floor in Jade's bedroom. They have a short trip with a tight schedule ahead - one day in Holland, one day in Germany, two days in Sweden and then finally the flight back home. The thought of wearing the engagement ring, which symbolizes nothing but metal and precious stones right now, in front of the fans terrifies Perrie. She hates to be lying to them, and it is only a matter of time before they notice something is off.

"I don't think it will be easy, but you are strong. You can do it," Jade replies, looking into Perrie's sad yet mesmerizing blue eyes. Perrie slightly nods her head and stands up. She goes to the bathroom with the intention of checking for anything they forgot to pack, but the sound of a notification makes her forget it and check her phone. It is a text from the person who hurt her the most, who is the reason why she feels like she cannot have fun these days. It is from the the person she misses with everything in her.

Hi perrie, Zayn wrote.

These two words are enough to awaken strong feelings. For the first time in three days, she has actual hope to hold onto, that Zayn and her could work out after all. That was not the end of the story, she knew it. Although her fingers are eager to type a reply straight away, Perrie decides to wait at least a few hours before allowing them to do so. Zayn needs to understand that he cannot treat her so disrespectfully, break her heart so easily, and then expect her to be begging for forgiveness. She must wait.

As Perrie steps back into Jade's bedroom she tries to act as if nothing happened. She cannot tell Jade or anyone else about the text. Not yet, not before she knows what it means. Both women take their suitcases and leave the house. They get to the airport and meet with Jesy and Leigh-Anne, who are trying to make Perrie laugh throughout the whole wait to the flight. They succeed quite a few times, and Perrie does feel a bit better, though the two-word text is weighing on her. It is only when the four girls find their seats in business class when Jade finally expresses her concern about Perrie.

"Pez," she whispers to the blonde who is sitting next to her. "Are you okay? You seem a bit distracted."

"Yeah, I'm fine," Perrie replies, looking out the small window. "Just tired."

"You can take a nap now, we have about an hour," Jade advises. Perrie turns to face her, wearing a playful smile.

"I don't think I can fall asleep without you anymore," she says and laughs lightly. After only three days of living with Jade, some sort of routine was developed. They had gotten used to sleeping in the same bed, it helped them both not feel so lonely at nights. Each morning they woke up, the physical distance between their bodies was just an inch shorter. Despite everything Perrie is going through right now, her friendship with Jade is growing stronger.

Minutes later, the plane is safely hanging in the air and the passengers are allowed to take their seat belts off. Jade does so, stands up and walks the very few steps needed to get to Perrie's seat.

"What are you doing?" Perrie asks with a laugh as Jade sits on her lap and lays her head on the blonde's chest.

"You have about five minutes to fall asleep," Jade replies with her eyes closed. "Before one of the flight attendants will notice and tell me to go back to my seat."

"Are you serious right now?" Perrie asks, smiling. Naturally, her hand wraps around Jade, drawing invisible circles on the brunette's back with her index finger. Jade does not reply, she just stays in her position, cuddling into Perrie. It feels nice. Later, when the blonde's breaths calm and Jade senses Perrie is asleep, she goes back to her seat. She feels good, like she had truly helped Perrie somehow. Jade takes out the book she is currently reading and places it in her hands, pretending to not notice Jesy and Leigh-Anne's eyes on her.

×××

Jesy, Jade Perrie and Leigh-Anne are sitting at a silver van on their way to today's first destination, a fan event. Despite the flight being so short, they are all sleepy the way they usually are after landing. Perrie takes out her phone to check for any notifications, but everything is as usual. She decides to send out a reply to Zayn's text from earlier.

What are you up to? She types, but instantly regrets and deletes the draft. After a few more failed tries, she settles on the simplest option.

Hi, she sends.

Three dots appear on the screen right away, indicating that Zayn is typing. His quick response excites Perrie. They might still stand a chance, he really is trying. She knows it is wrong, but has her hopes up. Perrie does not believe her own eyes when instead of an incoming text, her phone is ringing with an incoming call from Zayn. She picks up, not wanting to draw her badmates' attention to her.

"Hi," the voice she had missed for so long says. Perrie's heart is racing and her palms are sweating. She cannot believe it. Zayn and her always had a roller-coaster of a relationship, they had up and downs. Maybe this past week and a half was nothing but another bump on the road. Maybe she was just overreacting to a meaningless text he typed out while drunk. "How are you?"

"I'm alright," she says, trying to not let her feelings show. She is ready to hear his apology, to apologize herself as well if needed. She wants him to say I'm sorry so bad, so she can run back into his arms as soon as possible. She wants to hear all about how it was all a misunderstanding, how lonely is the house without her, how he is waiting for her to come home.

"Well, I..." Zayn starts. "I was wondering when you could come to take your stuff." Just like that, Perrie has tears in her eyes. She understands that he never wanted to apologize. He just wanted to know how fast can she get out of his life, to be a part of the past. He never loved her as much as she loves him.

"That's it?" She asks with a broken voice as the van stops at a parking spot. There are people outside, girls excitedly talking. This situation could not get any worse, as they need to get out of the car now.

"What more do you want me to say?" Zayn impatiently asks, making Perrie be sucked deeper into the storm of emotions that is going on inide her. She cannot take it anymore, and hangs up the call.

She cannot stop herself from crying, breaking down, letting it all out. This is so unfair. She poured her everything for four years into this relationship. She gave up on her privacy, gave up on Christmases with her own family, on basic trust. And this is what she gets in return. Leigh-Anne pulls her into a hug as tears keep streaming down Perrie's face uncontrollably. The voices from outside are no longer distant, they are right on the other side of the darkened van windows. They are calling Perrie's name, saying aww, and talking in a language she does not understand about how she is crying. It is a mess, she cannot have people seeing her like that. Interviewers will ask her what is going on, her fans will be worried.

Jade takes off the red sweatshirt she is wearing and covers the window closest to Perrie, which fans are looking through. She stays in this position, standing up and holding the piece of clothing, for the next ten minutes as Perrie calms down with the help of Jesy and Leigh-Anne. She hates seeing Perrie so broken and not being able to ease her pain. The driver is getting quite impatient and the girls step out of the van. All except Perrie turn to say to say hi to the fans. Meanwhile, she just wants to disappear.

As soon as they are inside, different stylists are working on their hair, makeup and outfits. Jade does what she can to be there for Perrie - she holds her hand and brings her water. It is not much, but at least is something. Perrie knows that she cannot step out on the stage showing she feels sad. She needs to be the actress, the way she did with the performance in Plymouth yesterday, which went just fine. She needs to focus on nothing but her voice and dances, and it will be over quickly.

After the Q&A and the performance are over, the girls change into more comfortable clothes and go back to the van waiting for them. Perrie does feels better after seeing her fans cheering for her, a reminder that more people love her than she will ever know. However, she is not fine - not yet. During the ride to the airport, Leigh-Anne films Jade thanking their fans and shares it via Instagram.

"Hi! So here we are in Holland, we just performed for our Dutch mixers," Jade says to the camera. "It was lovely, they were lovely, we saw the sweet team, and now we're off to Germany! Woo!"

Everything is tiring once again - airport security, waiting to board the plane, waiting for the plane to take off, a sixty minute flight, security again, fans at the airport and the drive to the hotel. By the time each girl gets to her room for the night, they are all exhausted. Jade cannot sleep. She cannot stop thinking about how awful Perrie felt today. She replays that moment in her head, in which Perrie told her she cannot fall asleep without her. What if she is still awake now? They need a good night's sleep with their current schedule.

Jade gets out of bed, then out of her room. She walks down the corridor and finds Perrie's door. She softly knocks, not sure whether to expect a reply, but before she can go back, the door is opened.

"Couldn't sleep?" Perrie asks and gestures for Jade to come in. The brunette does so and nods. She goes straight to the bed and lays on its right side. Perrie is quick to join her, though this time, there is no distance between them. They are touching one another, cuddling. In the dark, Perrie wraps her arms around Jade, her hands meeting on Jade's abdomen. Jade places her own hands so they wrap Perrie's palms. "You are so sweet," Perrie says with a sleepy voice. "Thank you for this week."

"I hope it made you feel better," Jade replies, eyes closed.

"It did," Perrie states, cuddling even more into Jade. There is a short silence before Jade speaks again.

"You should know that you are so much better than that dickhead. You will find someone much better."

"I hope so," Perrie replies.

"Until then, being single isn't that bad, I promise," Jade says. "I don't know about you, but I'm having fun."

"Me too."

"You smell much nicer than all of my exes," Jade continues.

"I do?" Perrie asks, and Jade can hear the smile in her voice. She thinks about how weird it must be not truly knowing what smell is.

"Mhm," Jade mumbles, then talks again just when she is about to drift into sleep. "Nanite."

They fall asleep in this position, feeling like they both found some well needed comfort in their strengthening friendship.