"My eye itches," Perrie mumbles, half asleep. She changes her position so that she is no longer wrapping Jade in her arms under the covers, but it is no use. She cannot get rid of the uncomfortableness, and her right eye burns and makes her feel uneasy. "Jade," Perrie tries waking her girlfriend up by getting a light grip of her shoulder. "Jade, I can't sleep."

"Shh," Jade replies. She is exhausted from the amount of work that the girls and her have been doing non stop for months now, and definitely will not let anything cut off her time to sleep. She is not sure what time it is, but her alarm has not rang yet. Perrie calls her name again, and when she gets the same response from Jade, she has no choice but to get up. Perrie stands on her feet, and waits a few moments for the dizziness she is experiencing to pass. Once it does, Perrie fumbles her way to the bathroom connected to Jade's bedroom. She is familiar with Jade's flat, but not enough to confidently walk through it in the dark. After knocking her toe on the bed and quietly swearing, Perrie makes it to the bathroom. She turns the light on and studies her face in the mirror above the sink.

"Fuck!" Perrie calls, then immediately regrets the volume of her words and whispers the swear word a couple more times. Her right eye is pink and slightly swollen, and all she can think of is the meeting and all of the interviews she has scheduled for today.

"Pez?" Jade's sleepy voice says. She is standing at the door with her hands on her face, hiding her eyes from the light. "What's going on?" She asks, and Perrie turns to her. There is a moment of silence before she lets out a quiet oh. "I think you have Conjunctivitis."

"What?" Perrie asks with a disapproving expression. Tears are coming down from her right eye, and she wipes them off using her fingers.

"It's also called Pink Eye," Jade explains and steps closer to Perrie. "And I think it's better if you don't touch it," she continues. Jade takes Perrie's hand and slowly guides it off of her face.

"Doctor Jade for the rescue," Perrie jokingly replies. She takes another look in the mirror, and her face falls again.

"Pez, don't worry, it's okay. I think that it's supposed to help your eye if we put something cool on it," Jade calms her and exits the room. She quietly steps into the kitchen, careful not to wake Danielle who is sleeping in her room. Jade opens the one of cabinets and grabs a clean kitchen towel from it. She soaks it in water, then squeezes the excess water out of the towel. She brings the towel back to her bedroom after leaving a trail of small drops on the wooden floor, and finds Perrie on her back laying on the bed. Her eyes are closed, and Jade gently lays the towel on the right side of her face. Perrie giggles as she feels the weight of the cloth on her skin, and a smile spreads on her face.

"You look so cute," Jade says with a grin. She lightly taps with her index finger on the tip of Perrie’s nose and laughs. Jade feels like she has never experienced anything more charming than the sight she is lucky enough to see right now.

"Jade, half off my face is literally covered by a towel," Perrie replies and laughs. The vibration of her body makes the towel fall off to the bed, near Jade's hand, and Jade picks it up and replaces it on Perrie's eye.

"Don't. Move." Jade manages to let these words out while laughing. Both Perrie and her are trying to keep quiet in order to not bother Danielle, and the result is two airy, synchronized laughs.

"I can't," Perrie replies. "Jeez, I probably look ridiculous," she continues.

"You look perfect," Jade tells her and leans in for a kiss on Perrie’s lips.

×××

A few hours later, the four women are sitting next to each other on a beige couch. Perrie chose to keep her sunglasses on for today's meeting and interviews, since there is only so much a wet towel can do. This interview, on Loose Women, has been stressful for Jesy since her future mother in law, Coleen, is one of the interviewers. However, everyone seems to be handling it well. Most of the conversation revolves around Jesy and Jake's engagement, but it is not a proper interview nowadays unless Zayn is somehow mentioned.

"Now, when you're so well known," one of the interviewers begins, directing her words towards Perrie. "It must be hard when guys check you up and things, to know, are they really chasing up..."

"I would know!" Perrie replies and laughs.

"You don't tell them you've gone off men, have you?" The interviewer continues. Luckily, Perrie was prepared for this question. Sam had previously warned her about it, following her answer about Margot Robbie the other day. However, she still fails to hide her nervousness and pulls at her dress in order to busy her hands.

"No, not at all," Perrie answers and Jade fakes the most surprised look she can achieve.

"I take her out," Jade says. "See, I was the only single one. I felt a bit lonely. But now I've got her," she points at Perrie.

"This one is a bad influence, let me tell you," Perrie says and grins at Jade. "We have fun, don't we?"

"Yeah, we have fun," Jade agrees.

When the interview is over a few minutes later, the girls are back in their dressing room, getting their hair and makeup fixed. Perrie has the least amount of makeup on, because of her covered eyes, so she is the first one out of the four to be ready to head out. She sits down, pulls out her phone, and is faced with a missed call from Lydia Connell. They have been texting lately, and Perrie likes Lydia more every day. They have agreed to meet up sometime, and Lydia does not hide how badly she wants it to happen, but Perrie is too busy. She has got work, tour preparations, and tomorrow she will be moving back to the house she used to share with Zayn. Lydia calls her almost on a daily basis, with Lucy by her side at all times, but Perrie does not always have the time to talk. She feels bad for it, and just wants to schedule some time with them like she had promised to.

"Perrie, can I talk to you?" Sam asks as she sits down next to Perrie. She unbsentminsedly places a hand on her abdomen while looking over to Perrie. Perrie nods as a sign for Sam to go ahead, and Sam begins talking. "Since you and Jade clearly chose to ignore my advice about stopping this joke of yours, I came to the conclusion that we need to involve a third party in this, something that will silence the rumors about you, specifically. We need to remind everyone of your past relationship, in order to divert people from all of this speculation. So I wanted to ask if you would be okay with me contacting Malik's team and asking him to say a few words about you, publicly. Both of you can benefit from it."

Perrie is unsure of how to reply. Would she want to ask for something from Zayn ever again? Absolutely not. She would hate to show him that she needs him in any way, but Sam does have a point. The media is never tired of Zayn and her, they always want to hear more, to see more content of them. Perrie experienced the down side of it, but now, maybe she could use it for good. Sam is good at her job, and if she says that this is the right move, it probably is. Perrie will do anything if it means that Jade and her can be as openly together as possible in public.

"Go ahead, you have my approval." Perrie finally answers with a quick nod. Sam wastes no time and immediately exits the room and starts ringing all sorts of people, while Perrie begins feeling stressed. She does not know what kind of things Zayn will have to say about her. They broke up in the most hurtful way, after all. Today is already emotionally loaded, thanks to the fact that Perrie is moving tomorrow, and it all feels like too much.

Perrie barely pushes through the meeting, and then another interview, and when it is all finally over, she is exhausted just like her three bandmates. Leigh-Anne and Jesy's flats are on the other side of the city and they are too tired to get a cab home, so Perrie invites them to the hotel she staying at. Jade lives close by, so she decides to go home and get some snacks before coming over to Perrie’s as well.

Perrie, Jesy and Leigh-Anne are sitting cross legged on the bed, laughing and gossiping, when Perrie’s phone rings. She sees Jade's name on the screen, goes over to the bathroom and closes the door to take the call.

"What's up?" Perrie says with a small smile on her face. She is unable to stay indifferent when she is talking to Jade.

"Have you seen the stuff online?" Jade asks right away. Perrie can easily sense the mild panic in her girlfriend's voice.

"No, I haven't seen anything. Wait," Perrie replies. She does not hang up the call, but takes her phone away from her ear and searches for anything new online. It takes no more than a few seconds to find just what Jade was talking about. It is an interview with Zayn, done today. It covers a lot of things regarding of his solo career, but there is one answer to one of the questions that caught the media's eye.

Perrie reads the paragraph three times before she can fully understand what is written in it.

"Pez?" Jade's voice is heard through the phone,and Perrie brings her phone to her ear again. "Did you see it?"

"Yeah, I just did," Perrie replies, still confused. "I don't get it... Is he talking about that day I went to grab my stuff from our house and he showed up? Is that what he thinks of as our official break up?"

"I guess so," Jade agrees with a quiet voice. "I'm so sorry, Pez. It's so unfair. He can't just dismiss that text like it's nothing."

"That's exactly what he did," Perrie states. "He makes me seem like a liar! And what fucking respect is he talking about? All he ever did since March is hurt me over and over again!" Emotion is bursting through Perrie. She feels like every time she forgets Zayn, he finds a way to hurt her again. Her wounds will never get the time to heal.

There is not much Jade can do right now to make her girlfriend feel better, so she just listens. Perrie goes on about how Zayn and hers relationship and break up were nowhere as mature as how he describes them, but there is something else that bothers Jade about Zayn's words. He still loves her, and always will.

×××

"Honey, are you sure that this is all necessary?" Debbie asks Perrie as Perrie puts another toaster in the cart.

Today is moving day, and Perrie is shopping for house essentials with her mother while her belongings are being moved to her house.

"Yes, mum," Perrie firmly replies. "These always break and I need to have a backup in my house for when that happens." Debbie silently shakes her head as they keep walking down the aisle. It does not take long before something catches Perrie’s eye, and she places another item in the cart. "This is going to look so good in my backyard," she says while glancing at the decorated bucket.

"Perrie, do you have any furniture in the new house?" Debbie asks. This morning, when she suggested Perrie to go out shopping together for Perrie’s new place, she did not expect this to be the type of things they would be shopping for.

"Um, now I obviously do," Perrie replies and gestures at the foot piano mat in the cart.

"Do you have a couch? A fridge? A bed to sleep on?" Debbie questions, a bit impatient. She knows that this move is nothing but easy to Perrie, and Perrie would have avoided it if she could, but Debbie cannot shake away the feeling that her daughter is completely unprepared.

"Yeah, I ordered all of these and they're supposed to come in today," Perrie replies as she picks up two white candles from one of the shelves.

"How about food for you and the dogs? Do you have any of that?" Debbie continues.

"Mum, I'm twenty two! I can take care of all of these things on my own! There, I got a vacuum cleaner. Are you happy now?" Perrie asks while placing the vacuum in the cart. She is on the edge of emotional breakdown. She is terfiffed of the possibility that she would reenter that house and be hit with all of the memories all over again. Memories of wedding planning, of crying and screaming, of watching TV together after a long day apart - it does not matter what. She is simply extremely scared of remembering.

Perrie picks up a few more decorations for the house before paying for everything and bringing it to the car. Debbie is driving, and Perrie’s phone rings. She sees Lydia's name on the screen and answers the call.

"Hi Pez, how's it going?" Lydia asks. The fact that she is already calling Perrie by her nickname makes Perrie like her even more.

"Hi Perrie!" Lucy chimes in.

"I'm good, how about you two?" Perrie replies with a small smile.

"We're great!" Lydia enthusiastically informs her. "Are you busy today? Because we have to see you before you go on tour." Perrie is definitely busy. She obviously has lots of work in the house, and Jade also promised to come over later tonight, but Perrie knows that she is always busy. Building a friendship takes effort, and she has to put in some time if she truly wants to connect with the twins.

"I actually moved today, but you can come to my new house if you want," Perrie suggests.

"Sure!" Lydia replies. "At what time?"

"Thirty minutes from now? Is that okay?" Perrie asks, and the twins are quick to agree. She gives them her current address and hangs up the call. Perrie then looks over to her mother with a guilty, yet amused grin on her face.

"Can we make a stop at the pet store?" She asks, and her mother confirms with a laugh. She knows her daughter too well, and Perrie did actually forget to get food for her dogs. Perrie goes in and gets the needed products from inside the store, then sits back in the car. The drive from there is short, and soon after, Debbie parks the car in Perrie's familiar driveway.

"I know that this is harder for you than you're willing to admit, honey," Debbie tells Perrie. "And you probably don't want to listen to your mum right now, but just try not to think of the past of this house. Make something new out of it."

"I know, mum," Perrie replies a bit impatiently.

"Maybe it doesn't feel like it right now, but you're going to move on eventually," Debbie advises, and Perrie feels as though she cannot listen to her mother's words any more.

"I've moved on," Perrie says without giving it much thought. She grabs the bags from the pet store and is ready to exit the car, but her mother's voice interrupts her.

"What do you mean you've moved on?" She asks, and confusion and curiosity are clearly present in her voice. Perrie realizes what a reckless word choice she had made, and begins feeling slightly nervous. She was definitely going to tell her mother about Jade, but did not plan on doing it today, because of how loaded this day already is. Despite that, it seems like she has no choice but to reveal her secret now.

"I have a girlfriend," Perrie quickly says. She does not see to watch her mother's reaction, so she lays a hand on the car door and opens it. What just happened was nothing like how she wanted to break the news to her mother, and all she wants is to be out of here right now.

"Wait, pet," Debbie calls and lays a hand on Perrie’s leg before she can exit the car. "Who is it?" Perrie is unable to say Jade's name. She just cannot bring herself to do it. This is too much information in just a few short minutes, and she does not want to give too much detail. Her mother knows Jade, and Perrie is scared that the fact that they are more than friends now might be unacceptable in her mother's eyes. Perrie does not say anything, and the silence is only interrupted by the chatter of two blonde women entering the house through the open gate. "Is it one of these two?" Debbie tries asking.

"No, no," Perrie immediately clarifies. "It's Jade," she quietly reveals. Before Debbie had the time to react, Perrie says a quick goodbye, exits the car and closes its door behind her.

"Pez!" Lydia calls and walks over to embrace Perrie. Perrie tries to forget what just happened in the car as she wraps her arms around Lydia, then around Lucy as well. The sound of the engine fills the air, and Debbie drives away. Perrie glances at the car one last time, and goes over to the front door. She lays the bags she is holding on the ground, and takes her house keys out of her back pocket. She enters the key into the keyhole, but her hand does not move. She just knows that she will not be able to handle going inside as if it was nothing but a casual action. She needs to have Jade by her side when she steps back into this house after so long, not Lucy and Lydia.

"Do you girls want to see the new garden furniture I just bought?" She asks the twins. Perrie takes out the key and brings it back to her back pocket. Just like she had expected, Lucy and Lydia would very much like to see Perrie’s garden. They compliment on every single detail about it, from the colour to the angles of the chairs. The three women chat for about an hour about nothing, getting to know each other better. Perrie learns that Lucy and Lydia have a YouTube channel, and that they are very much into fashion. They seem comfortable with the setting and it does not appear that the fact that they are sitting outside is bothering them, but Perrie is sure it does. The weather is cold, and spending time outside is just plain inconvenient. Perrie feels like a crappy host, but there is nothing she coulg do, since she definitely does not want to go into that house like that.

There is a short pause in the conversation when Perrie receives a text from Jade, saying that she is waiting outside of the locked gate of the house. When Perrie stands up in order to walk over to the gate, Lucy and Lydia join her and say that they need to head out anyway. They follow Perrie until they meet Jade, and each gives her a hug. Lucy and Lydia say their goodbyes, and Jade and Perrie are left on their own.