Perrie wakes up to the unpleasant sound of Jade vomiting everything she had had last night into the toilet. Perrie gets out of bed, then walks into the bathroom to hold Jade's hair. A few moments later, when Jade is done, she gets up and washes her face in the sink.

Last night, Perrie, Jade and Leigh-Anne went out to celebrate the end of their American promotion tour. They really did enjoy their time here, but home is always better. Today they have a day off, which is why Jade kept drinking last night even though she knew it was going to backfire, and tomorrow they will be performing here, in New York, and then head out to the airport shortly after.

"I'm going to get you something to eat," Perrie says and Jade nods. Perrie leaves the room, enters the elevator and gets to the hotel reception. There, she places an order for a delivery from Shake Shack to the hotel's adress for Jade and her. She waits at the reception for the next fifteen until the food arrives, and then takes it and goes back up to her room. Perrie places the paper bags on the table while Jade steps out of the bathroom, looking like she had just showered, and sends Perrie a weak smile.

The two women sit in front of each other at the small dining table in Jade's hotel room, each with her own burger and bag of chips. Jade eats slowly as her eyes remain close, since the light is bothering her and everything worsens her already bad headache.

"Jade," Perrie says with a smile. She laughs as Jade opens her eyes and looks at her with a tired look. "We won't see each other for like, thirteen days, starting tomorrow until we go back to work. So I was thinking maybe we should go out tomorrow, you and I. We've had so much fun this past month, we should celebrate it somehow. And I've got the perfect place."

"Like a date?" Jade asks. She laughs in order to make it sound like she is joking, but the truth is she does not want to joke about that at all. After everything they have done since that night in Sweden, how close they have grown, going on an actual date with Perrie feels like a dream.

"Yeah, let's make it a date," Perrie replies with a smile. She continues eating as if nothing happened, while Jade is filled with a wonderful feeling of joy. She is going on a real, proper date with Perrie Edwards. Maybe this whole thing could work out after all, maybe it is worth the risk. Jade kept telling herself this past month that kissing Perrie was nothing but a slip, but if it is so, she has had too many slips to count by now. Everything with Perrie is going so well, it feels natural and even right in some aspects. Maybe Jade should allow herself to fall for her bandmate; she knows Perrie - the blonde will not ever want to hurt her. It is scary, but when you put it like that, there is no real danger. "So I'll take you out tomorrow, after the Billboard Festival. The place we're going to is really perfect, you're going to love it."

"Wait, Pez," Jade says. All sorts of insecurities come creeping in again. "I think we should talk about this with Leigh and Jesy first. We don't really know how they would feel about their two bandmates going on a date. Like, it could be weird. I don't know."

"It doesn't have to be a date then," Perrie replies with an assuring grin. "And we can also invite Leigh and Jesy, they're going to enjoy it! Well, Jesy probably not so much but Leigh wi-"

"No, no, it's okay," Jade is quick to reply. "I want this to be a date, it could be fun. We just need to ask if they're comfortable with it. I don't want us to ruin the group."

"Jade, we're not ruining anything, stop saying that!" Perrie says and lightly laughs. "And yeah, if you want to let them know then let's just do it. I don't mind." Jade feels overwhelmed, though she tries to hide it as she nods in agreement. She is confused and afraid, but is also very excited. She needs to talk about her feelings with someone other than Perrie, and Leigh-Anne immediately comes to her mind.

"How about I'll talk to Leigh and you talk to Jesy?" Jade asks as she collects the now empty paper bags and used napkins from the table, then throws them in the trash.

"Sounds good," Perrie replies. She walks over to Jade and kisses her lips, then leaves the hotel room and walks into Jesy's room. Jesy is sitting on the bed watching TV, and sends Perrie a smile as she enters.

"Hi Jes," Perrie says and sits next to Jesy on the bed. "What are you watching?"

"Ugh, I don't even know," Jesy replies. "I'm so tired, I can't focus on anything."

"We have thirteen days off starting tomorrow," Perrie reminds her, trying to cheer her up. Although she herself knows these words do not offer much comfort, because after these thirteen days, there are months of work planned. "I need to ask you something," she continues. "Would you be okay with Jade and I going out on a date?" Jesy does not seem surprised or even slightly bothered, she just shrugs her shoulders as if indicating that this is no big deal.

"Sure," she replies. Perrie is satisfied with the response, thinking about how Jade worries too much about the whole thing. She stays to watch TV with Jesy, while two rooms down the corridor, Jade tells Leigh-Anne about everything that has been going on between Perrie and her.

"Oh wow," Leigh-Anne says when Jade is speaking. They are both laying on their backs on the bed, the light in the room off. Unlike Perrie, who stayed sober last night, they need to deal with consequences of drinking too much. At least there is something comforting about feeling horrible together.

"Yeah," Jade replies. She told the story from her point of view, and could not help but reveal everything, including her emotions.

"Okay, don't kill me, I might be wrong," Leigh-Anne carefully says. "But it kind of sounds like you're starting to like Perrie." These are exactly the words Jade is dreading.

"I'm just so confused," Jade honestly replies. "We've been friends for so long, what changed all of a sudden? If I do like her that way, I don't get why I'm starting to feel it just now."

"Maybe it started to make sense only after you kissed," Leigh-Anne suggests. "Have you ever thought about her like this before? Like, before that night you first kissed."

"Not really," Jade replies after thinking back about the X Factor and the past four years. "We've always had a connection, but it wasn't different from what I have with you and Jesy." She continues speaking after a short pause. "How do you think it's going to affect the group?"

"I have no idea," Leigh-Anne replies. "But the fans are going to love tha-"

"No, we're definitely not going to tell them," Jade cuts her. This option is too unrealistic to even be discussed. Because if things will not work out between Perrie and her, and the fans are going to know that, it is going to make everything awkward. Everyone will talk about how they are exes, not regular bandmates, and Jade does not want that. If Perrie and her decide that a relationship just is not for them, they will be mature enough to move on, and maybe even forget. The fans, however, will not.

"Okay. You should wait for tomorrow before you decide anything," Leigh advises. "I don't think this date will be awkward, because you've known each other for so long. It won't be like going out with some random dude for the first time. But you need to see how it goes. If it's friendly or something more. The most important thing is for you understand how you feel. We really need to figure that before anything else."

"I'll try," Jade replies. "You've just made everything simpler, thank you."

"No problem," Leigh-Anne says. "Oh, and Jade?"

"Yeah?"

"Try to not worry so much. It will be okay."

×××

"Close your eyes," Perrie tells Jade when the two settle in the cab. "It's a surprise," she continues as Jade does as she is told. They just played at the Billboard Hot 100 Music Festival, and while Jesy and Leigh-Anne drove back to the hotel to rest before the flight home, Perrie is taking Jade out as she had promised.

"You're peeking!" Perrie accuses Jade and laughs.

"No I'm not!" Jade replies, opening her right eye and then quickly shutting it back and laughing. Perrie uses her hands to cover Jade's eyes, and kisses her bandmate's cheek.

"You're going to find out where we're going in a minute, I promise," she says. A few moments later, the short ride is over and the vehicle stops. Perrie takes her hands off of Jade's eyes and pays for the ride, while Jade keeps her eyes closed. Perrie helps her out of the car, and when they are standing on the pavement, she allows Jade to finally open her eyes.

"Oh my God," Jade says as she stares at the huge sign in front of her, which reads Aladdin - The Hit Broadway Musical. "We're going to see Aladdin?" She asks, almost bursting of excitement.

"Yes, we are," Perrie replies, smiling widely. She takes Jade's hand and leads her inside, and Jade is almost unable to breathe when Perrie hands out two tickets to the man in the entrance.

"You actually planned this?" Jade asks. Everything feels so big, so impressive as they find their seats.

"Of course I did," Perrie replies. They arrived just in time - everyone is already seated, and the show is about to start. From the minute the lights are turned off, Jade is mesmerized. The costumes, the actors, the effects - everything is captivating. Even though Jade knows the plot by heart, she still feels scared when Aladdin gets stuck in the cave. Perrie senses it and puts her hand on Jade's, running her thumb in calming circles on Jade's skin.

The show is over too soon, and the two women need to hurry to the airport so they will not miss their flight. It is only during the ride there in which Jade is finally able to begin processing what just happened.

"That was so good," she says, looking at Perrie, who is sitting next to her in the back.

"It really was. But I wish we had time to grab something to eat as well," Perrie replies.

"I do too, but that was seriously amazing. This couldn't have been better," Jade says and kisses Perrie's cheek.

"We need to do that again sometime," Perrie states, making her bandmate's heart race. "Where are you going to spend our time off? Maybe we could hang out."

"I'm going to South Shields," Jade replies.

"Me too!" Perrie excitedly says. "I probably won't have lots of time, because I'm going to be looking at properties, but we should do something, just the two of us. We're going back to work on September fifth, so how about some time between tomorrow and then?" Jade nods and smiles in response. The cab stops and the driver lets the women know they have arrived at the airport. Jade grabs the small backpack she had brought along and takes out her wallet, but when she hands out the money, she sees that Perrie had already paid for the ride.

"I said I'm taking you out, didn't I?" Perrie jokingly says. "Got to do it properly." Jade cannot hold herself back from kissing Perrie's lips, and a smile spreads on her face as the two of them step out of the vehicle.

"I had a great time," Jade tells Perrie while they enter the airport. They meet with Jesy and Leigh-Anne, who look at them with knowing smiles on their faces but do not ask what went on. Three hours later, the plane has already taken off and three of the four members of Little Mix are fast asleep.

Jade has her eyes closed, and she pretends to be asleep as well, but she is actually replaying tonight in her head over and over again. From the end of the Billboard Festival performance to arriving at the airport. Every time she gets to the end of the night, when they step out of the cab, she suddenly remembers a tiny detail she forgot and has to replay the events all over again. It feels so good.

When she is sure she has not missed out on a single detail, Jade tries falling asleep but is unable to do so. She decides checking her phone, and connects to the in-flight wifi. There are texts from her mother and brother, as well as her flatmate Danielle and a few other friends. Once Jade is done replying to everyone, she notices a text from an unknown number.

Hi Jade! Jed here. I got your number from Jake. He keeps telling me what a great person you are, and I'm sure I'm missing out. So I was wondering if you still wanted to hang out sometime? I'm in LA for now, so I hope you guys aren't home yet!

PS. I was tired after the performance when we met (you know how it is) and I really shouldn't be taken seriously when I'm like that. Sorry!

Jade sighs and looks at the clouds through the window, as if asking for help from the sky. She cannot see a way out of the mess she got herself into.