Coat (Jerrie AU)

Chapter Four

Perrie turns her head to look at the clock on the nightstand. 1:06 a.m. It is terribly late, but she can't sleep. She pulls the blanket off of her and stands up. She grabs her soft pillow and blanket, and goes down the stairs to the living room. She lays the blanket and pillow on the couch, then walks to the front door and stares at it. The coat is still here. Perrie takes a deep breath of relief. The presence of the coat means Jade's coming back.

They haven't spoken in a week, and Perrie is about to go insane. She misses Jade, but knows that she would make the first move when she's ready, and until then, Perrie has to be patient. Though Perrie can not understand why it is taking so long. Last week, when she last saw Jade, they had a tough evening, but it ended on a nice note. She knows that Jade doesn't hold her accountable for getting her fired, so she has no idea what she did to make Jade that upset. Perrie turns to the couch, lies on it and covers herself using the blanket. She stares at the green coat until her mind fades into peace and she falls asleep.

At the same time, just a few streets north to Perrie's house, Jade finally gets to have a moment to relax. A fast-food restaurant may seem like a decent workplace, especially if you're inexperienced, but it definitely isn't. Other than shifts being so stressful, there's lots of drama and fighting between the co-workers. But these aren't the reasons why Jade hates her job at Dunkin' Donuts. The truth is, she is scared. Scared of her best friends' reaction when they find out she ditched fancy pastel dresses for a brown apron. Scared of someone she went to school with walking in and finding her there. Scared of preparing an order for a girl named Perrie, who she used to know once. In just seven days, everything has changed. She feels like she failed, saving every penny again and losing all the progress she had made in the last few years. She convinces herself no one wants to date a failure.

Jade takes a look at the clock on the wall in front of her. Luckily, her shift is over and it is time for her to go home. She mumbles a goodbye to her co-workers, then grabs her bag and leaves. She spends the whole way home thinking about what her next steps are going to be. She needs money. At Disney, she wasn't paid as much as she would have liked, but it was enough to buy food and pay bills and rent. She doesn't have any savings. If she'll keep this job at Dunkin' Donuts, she won't be able to pay rent at the end of this month, which means she needs to get a new job or a second one before the end of it. Only the thought of it exhausts her.

Jade is constantly tired, and isn't sure she can manage two jobs, but she still needs somewhere to live. So she does the worst, yet best thing she can think of, and pulls her phone out to text Holly. If she could write honestly, she would have wrote this: Hi Holly, I'm that small girl from work. I used to play Jasmine but I got fired, and I really need the money right now, so I'd appricate it if you could talk to Samantha and maybe hire me back so I can keep my tiny apartment. Thanks.

Unfortunately, Jade doesn't have that much courage. She deletes the text and types a different one instead. This one is a lot more formal, but doubt creeps into her mind. She can't ask for huge help like that. If she will send this text, she would soon become so dependant on others she wouldn't be able to survive on her own. That isn't how she'd want to spend her life, that's not how she was raised. So instead of doing something stupid, she texts Perrie.

Hi Pez, we haven't spoken in a long time and I really miss you. Can I see you anytime soon?

P.s. please don't be mad at me. I needed some time off to focus on work. I hope you understand xx

When Jade gets home, she throws her bag on the floor and collapses on her bed. She's tired and strongly craves some sleep, but her worries keep her up all night long.

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"I can't believe you tricked me into doing this," Jade says while zipping her black and blue surfing suit up.