Jade is sitting on the living room couch at her father's house in London as James is busy making them both tea in the kitchen. She is dressed in a floral top and a formal blazer, ready to head out to a relative's wedding soon. Jade looks around the room. There are lots of photographs hanging on the walls, all of them of Jade, her brother and his family. These definitely are a nice decoration, but the house as a whole could not be defined pretty. Her father moved here after her parents' divorce, and without Norma in the house, James did not mind the design much. There are odd colour combinations and the furniture could use a renewal, but Jade loves her father for trying his best.

Unlike any of the other times Jade came to visit her father, she is nervous. Yesterday, Perrie and her have decided that it is okay to start telling people about their relationship. The reason behind this decision is that both of them feel quite lonely having to hide something so big from the people they love. They have agreed to tell close family and very close friends.

Jade does not get to see her father often. They might be living in the same city, but she is almost always working, and he is busy with his own life. This visit was scheduled months ago, and it is probably going to be the last time Jade and James get together in a while. Therefore, Jade decided to use today as an opportunity and tell her father about her relationship with Perrie. She stayed up last night wondering how she is going to approach this in the first place. She wants to be direct, but not too straightforward. It all needs to be balanced and go smoothly.

Last night was also the first time that Jade had given much thought to the fact that Perrie is of the opposite sex of Jade's past love interests. Jade always saw her girlfriend as nothing but Perrie, her best friend which she had known for years. This did not feel different from starting to want more out of any friendship, but when Jade had to make a plan regarding of how to tell her father, this became an issue. She knows that James will most likely accept whatever she tells him, but how will he truly feel about Jade dating a woman? Will he find it weird? Or uncomfortable?

This sent Jade into further speculation. What does dating Perrie say about her sexuality? Is Perrie an exception, or is it rather a late-blooming reoccurring pattern? And as for right now, does telling her father about Perrie also means coming out? If so, what is she coming out as? She does not even know herself.

"There," James says as he enters the living room with two cups of tea in his hands. He hands one to Jade before sitting on the loveseat. "So how are you, sweetheart? How are things going with work?" He asks while Jade takes a sip from her cup.

"Really great, actually," Jade replies and hugs the cup using her palms. "Everything's been hectic ever since the lead single's release, and that's good. It means that we're working hard, and I'm really hoping that it's going to pay off when the album is out. The perfume launch is in two days, and we're also going be flying out to America in the beginning of November. I'm really excited about that. This is going to be our biggest trip - we'll perform at The Ellen Show and Good Morning America, and the album release will be on our last night there."

"That sounds like a wonderful trip," James replies. "And how are your friends doing? How's Danielle? I haven't seen he in a while."

"Yeah, we both have such busy schedules and they never match. I barely see her, too, only in the evenings. But she's fine, she's doing alright," Jade answers with a small smile. She truly misses Danielle. They are still good friends, but it is not the same now that they are both so busy.

"And the girls from the group? Jesy, Leigh-Anne and Perrie, right? How are they?" James questions, and he unintentionally makes Jade's heart race. She knows that this is her chance, since Perrie's name was already brought up.

"They're great. We get to spend lots of time together now that we do promo, so we've been really enjoying this time together," Jade replies in a slightly shaking voice. She knows what she should be doing right now, but is too scared to reveal something so personal and special.

"Jade, are you alright?" James worriedly asks. He knows his daughter too well to not notice her nervousness.

"I need to tell you something," Jade quietly replies. "I really, really need to tell you something important. It's about, um, one of my friends," her voice remains fragile as she speaks. She is avoiding her father's gaze, so there will be no chance of seeing the possible disapproval in his eyes once she tells him.

"I'm listening," James assures Jade. He leans in towards her just a bit, in order to hear her quiet voice better. It takes a few long moments for Jade to let the words out.

"So, um... Perrie. From the group. She and I, we're close. She's from South Shields, we've always been close," Jade avoids the right words on purpose and panickly tries to to earn some time. "But, some things changed, Dad. It's a long story and I don't really want to go into detail about it, but... we're dating now. Perrie and I." There is moment of silence, in which neither of the two people in the room changes their expression. Jade is waiting for something to happen, and when it does not, she repeats her speech in a much more direct way. "Perrie is my girlfriend."

"Oh really?" James asks. He does not show any negative nor positive emotion, but seems plainly curious and interested. "I thought she was getting married?" He finally says.

"She was engaged, but they broke up a few months ago," Jade answers as she still waits for her father's response. Each second feels like forever, and it is too much pressure to handle. Jade is trying her best to keep tears from forming in her eyes, but is unable to control it.

"Why the tears, sweetheart?" James finally breaks the silence. He puts the cup in his hands on the coffee table and moves to sit next to Jade on the couch.

"I'm nervous," Jade manages to explain through the tears. James pulls her into a cosy hug and runs his hand on her back.

"There's no need to be," James replies with a small smile as they let go. "You know I love you, and I want the best for you, and if this girl makes you happy - then let it be it." Jade is filled with the most wonderful feeling. For

once, it really does feel like things are working out and the coming together. James and Jade look at each other, and Jade speaks again with obvious relief in her eyes.

"Dad, the only people who know about this are Jeys and Leigh-Anne, from the group. We want to keep it down for now, until we have some things figured out," Jade emotionally says. She leaves out how they are not planning to tell everyone any time soon. "So could you... not tell anyone? Keep it a secret for now?" There is a short silence, and James looks away fron his daughter's gaze. Jade begins to suspect that her relief was too quick, and calls him. "Dad?"

James turns back to Jade. His eyes are red and a single tear is making its way down his face. Jade is a bit shocked, since the first time that she had ever seen her father cry was many years ago, when she was deeply struggling with an eating disorder, and the last time she saw him cry was at her niece Leoni's birth. Jade could not imagine that her words affect him as much as these emotional scenarios in the past.

"I'm proud of you, Jade. Thank you for trusting me with this," James says with a small nod and pulls his daughter into another hug. "I want to meet her again, your Perrie. Bring her here for dinner sometime, alright?" A wide smile spreads on Jade's face whilst the tears keep streaming down her face.

×××

"Hi everyone, and welcome back to our channel!" Lucy Connell says to the camera. She is sitting on the far right, next to her are Jesy, Leigh-Anne, Jade, Perrie and Lydia Connell on the far left. The twin sisters are interviewing Little Mix before the start of the group's Gold Magic Perfume signing shortly. "And today is a very special day, because we are joined with our favorites, Little Mix!" Lucy continues and the girls cheer.

"And we are here, at the launch of Little Mix's brand new fragrance, Gold Magic," Lydia says with a smile. Jade picks a perfume bottle from the table she is sitting at and playfully pretends to create a halo around it. "So first of all, can you tell us a bit about the fragrance?"

"Of course!" Perrie is quick to jump in. She picks up the same bottle Jade held earlier, and shows it to the camera while speaking in one of her accents. "It is a fruity, floral with a bit of musk kind of smell," she recites Jade's words from the day they went to create the perfume. Jade was trying her best to describe to Perrie what was going on, and eventually summarized it to this description.

The interview begins well. Jade and Perrie are sharing the bench they are sitting on with Lydia, and the couple sits close to each other. Perrie has her hand behind Jade's back, almost wrapping her. It becomes clear the Lucy and Lydia are longtime fans of Little Mix, and it makes the four women feel very comfortable, because lots of the people who interview them do not usually know much about them and their music. Perrie seems a bit too excited to Jade's taste, though. As the minutes pass, Perrie feels as though she has a natural connection with Lydia, and she sees a lot of herself in her - a sunshine like, bubbly, happy personality. She absentmindedly moves her from Jade's direction to Lydia's, and starting that point of the interview, Jade turns unusually quiet.

"Aw, I love yous!" Perrie tells the twins and hugs Lydia after all six women sing a few lines from Black Magic together.

"You're very happy," Jesy adds.

"Are you coming to the party later?" Perrie asks. She is referring to the Gold Magic launch party after the signing. Lydia enthusiastically nods her head. "We need to have a boogie. We need to have a girls' night." Jesy, Leigh-Anne, Lucy and Lydia immediately show their support for the idea. Jade mouths a quiet yes as well, even though she is not sure she wants to hang out with these two more than she has to.

The interview ends minutes later, and after taking photos with Lucy and Lydia, Jade, Jesy, Leigh-Anne and Perrie head back to their dressing room. They refresh their hair and makeup, with MTV playing in the background, ahead of the fans' arrival. It does not take long, and when they are done, they still have some extra time left. Jade goes to sit next to Perrie on the high, black chairs in front of the mirror. They both turn so that they are facing each other.

"Are we really doing this today?" Jade quietly asks as she leans in towards Perrie. They are sneaking glances at Sam, their manager, as they speak.

"Yeah, it's no big deal," Perrie replies with an assuring smile. After Jade's positive experience with her dad, they have decided to tell Sam about their relationship. It is a huge, scary step because that could affect their careers and the future of their relationship. Even though Jade was the one who brought up the idea, she now almost fully regrets it. It is the right thing to do, but she is just too scared.

"We should write down the names of everyone who knows, just so that we have control over everything and we don't forget who knows." Jade suggests and opens the notes app on her phone.

"Write Jesy and Leigh's names," Perrie tells Jade, and Jade types her bandmates' names in. She also adds the names James Thirlwall and Jake Roche, then looks back at Perrie.

"Have you told anyone else yet?" Jade asks.

"No, I didn't get the chance," Perrie replies. "So that seals the list? Four names? I'd say we're good."

"Well, I kind of tried to tell baby Karl, but he wasn't really listening so I don't think that counts." Jade says while she lightly laughs. Perrie joins in, and the two share a genuine, good moment. Then a knock on the dressing room's door is heard, and Leigh-Anne goes to answer it.

"Hi!" Two high voices call in sync as soon as the door is opened. Jade's body tenses as she sees the smile that spreads on Perrie's face. Jesy, Leigh-Anne, Perrie and Jade invite Lucy and Lydia inside, and hugs are given by everyone.

"You girls look even more gorgeous!" Lydia compliments with a wide smile that already irritates Jade. "Lucy and I just wanted to tell you thank you for sitting down and talking to us, we've been fans for a long time now so this really means a lot. And you're so nice, just perfect!" Lydia continues and giggles.

"You're so sweet," Perrie replies with an adoring smile. "I feel like we could be good friends, seriously," she says.

"We should hang out sometime!" Lucy tells everyone in the room.

"We really should," Jesy agrees. After satisfied goodbyes, the twins leave and the girls go back to their conversations with each other. Perrie turns back to Jade, and is unable to miss the look on her face.

"What's wrong?" Perrie asks. The smile she is wearing brushes off at the sight of her girlfriend's neutral expression.

"Nothing." Jade tries to avoid the question, but it is not easy. Perrie can tell she is lying, and her blue eyes remain on Jade in an intense stare. "I don't know about these two, Pez. They seem kind of... childish."

"Just because they're so happy?" Perrie asks with a frown. "I'm a happy person, too! And you like that about me, don't you?"

"Of course I do," Jade begins. "But it's not the same, I can't really explain it." Jade does not want to talk further about this, because she feels like there is no point in doing so. It is clear that Perrie and her are on different sides of this, and Jade does not want to make this unimportant thing an issue. Especially not today, which is stressful enough anyway.

"Just give them a chance, okay?" Perrie asks but does not wait for an answer. The Love Me Like You video starts playing on the TV, and wide smiles spread everywhere in the room. "Go dance!" Perrie enthusiastically tells Jade.

"I'm fine here," Jade replies with a small smile.

"But you look so good! And I love it when you dance!" Perrie protests and gives Jade a pleading look. Jade sighs with a smile which is meant just for Perrie as she stands up and begins to move her body to the music.

"You look like a goddess," Perrie giggles and tells Jade while filming her.

"Aw, you look lovely," Leigh-Anne adds.

When the song ends, Jade goes back to her previous seat. Perrie sends her the video she had just filmed, and while Jade it uploads it to Instagram, Perrie is on the app as well.

Perrie likes the first two photos to pop up on her feed, and they both were uploaded by two of her favorite accounts. One is a photo of Jade and Claudimar from Jade's account, and the other is of this model she has been following for a few weeks now, who goes by the name Jack Greystone.

She immediately receives a like on her latest post from the male model, accompanied by a comment. Perrie is not quite sure what this comment means, but it certainly amuses her as she types out a playful reply.

The four women are called outside to start the signing as fans are already waiting, and Perrie and Jade both head outside of the dressing room with Jesy and Leigh-Anne to go greet everyone.

×××

An hour later, when the event is over and the girls head back to their dressing room, Jade's nerves are almost getting out of control. Perrie and her are supposed to be telling Sam about their relationship right now, and they exchange looks as Sam gets ready to leave for the party, which takes place at a nearby hotel bar.

Jade is about to call Sam's name when her phone ringtone sounds. She picks up quickly, just wanting to be done with it already because she does not want to miss her and Perrie’s chance with Sam.

"Hello?" Jade says into the phone.

"Hi," Jed's voice says. Jade did not know that it was possible for her to become even more nervous today. Jed and her occasionally text, but phone calls between them are very rare, which means that this must be something important. She is terrified of the possibility that Jake might have told Jed about Perrie and her. "Can you, um, can you talk right now?" By the noise in the background, Jade understands that Jed is probably driving right now and is talking to her through speaker.

"What is it?" Jade asks in response. This definitely is not the best time to talk, but she cannot just let this call pass without knowing what it is about. Sam is already picking up her bag and gives goodbye hugs to Jesy and Leigh-Anne. Perrie, who is curios about Jade's sudden pale face and quiet phone call, steps towards Jade. She comes closer so that she can also hear Jed's voice through the phone.