Chapter Text
Jade and Perrie had broken up.
It was messy. The doors-slamming, mascara-running, fight-after-fight kind of messy. As Jade packed up her things in her and Perrie's, or rather just Perrie’s, apartment, ready to beg to crash on Leigh-Anne’s couch, she decided she was ready to never see Perrie again.
The English National Ballet had a different opinion on that matter.
“Jade,” Jesy, the ballet director, begged. “You have to put aside personal feelings right now.”
“Personal feelings? How the fuck am I supposed to do a pas de deux with her now?” Jade said.
“Figure it out. You’re not throwing away being part of the first female pas de deux in the history of the English National Ballet because of this.”
“We aren’t a couple anymore, Jess.”
“Act! Act your hearts out, I don’t care. Suck it up and make it look real.”
Jade groaned.
“If I don’t see both of you at rehearsals tomorrow, I’ll drive over and drag you there myself,” Jesy said. She hung up.
Jade glared at her phone, fighting the compulsion to throw it out the window.
“Jesy called you too?”
That voice. That sweet, airy, gentle voice. Perrie leaned against the doorway to the bedroom where Jade was finishing packing.
“She said to suck it up and make it look real,” Jade replied monotonously, not looking up from where she was placing clothes into a box.
“Said the same to me,” Perrie said. “Almost done?”
“Yeah, I’ll be out of your hair soon,” Jade said. By the tone of her voice Perrie could tell the conversation was over, which just made her want to egg her on more. She figured that was too childish.
“I’ll be in the living room,” Perrie said instead.
Jade didn’t reply. Perrie turned around with a sigh.
“Don’t fucking do that,” Jade shouted.
“Oh, do what? What have I done now?” Perrie said, turning back on her heel to glare at her ex-girlfriend.
“Fucking sighing at me like that, like I have no right to be short with you.”
“I’m not having this conversation,” Perrie threw up her hands turning back around to leave. “You know what, no.” Perrie faced Jade again. “You don’t have any right to be short with me. You fucking broke up with me.”
“Because you hate being around me!”
“God, how many times can I say -”
“It doesn’t matter what you say. We agreed we’re done. So we’re done. Now let me fucking pack, jesus christ.”
Perrie scoffed, finally turning and leaving down the hallway.
Jade finished packing, staunchly ignoring Perrie each time she carried a box past her and down the stairs to her car.
Jade arrived at Leigh-Anne’s place late that night after having another fight with Perrie before leaving. Frankly, she was exhausted.
“Hey, babes,” Leigh said as she opened the door, pulling Jade into a hug.
“Hi,” Jade hid her face in Leigh-Anne’s neck.
All night, Leigh kept Jade distracted with movies and ice cream. Jade fell asleep as the credits of the third movie they had watched played on the TV.
Jesy greeted Jade similarly to Leigh-Anne the next morning, pulling her into a sympathetic hug.
“It’s just a few weeks, you can manage a few weeks,” Jesy whispered.
She held Jade by the shoulders. “I need you two. Play nice at rehearsals for just a few weeks and act your asses off on stage. You can do it.”
“Thanks, Jess,” Jade said.
Just then, Perrie walked through the door.