Coat (Jerrie AU)

Chapter Seven

Ever since she woke up this morning, Jade had a weird feeling. She woke up later than usual, and didn't do her makeup at all. She just grabbed her bag and walked to the bus station, and headed towards the opposite direction of what she's used to. Everything felt wrong. She knows cakes aren't her thing; there is a little demon inside of her which makes sure to fuck up everything she bakes. Just for a moment, she thinks she might wreck Perrie's business with her lack of baking skills.

Now, standing in front of Chocolate & Chocolate, Jade gets takes out a tube of lipstick and a small mirror from her handbag. She puts the nude lipstick on, just because it feels so odd going to work without it. She steps towards the cakery and puts her head up.

"Jade!" Perrie swiftly walks to her girlfriend, then gives her a tight hug. Perrie has looked forward to today, she can't wait to see Jade being happy instead of tired after work. "I'm so, so happy that you're here," she says, not letting go just yet.

"I'm happy too," Jade quietly replies. They let go, and Jade puts one finger under her eye. "See these eye bags? I was so happy I couldn't sleep." They both laugh as Ellie comes in. She embraces Perrie first and then Jade, and tells her how excited she is to work with her.

The next hour passes by way too quickly for Jade. Ellie shows her the huge refrigerators and the kitchen, and tells her where everything is. She also fills Jade in about how often she should wash her hands, and what to do in case there's a surprise visit from the health department. Even though Jade's head feels like it's about to explode with all this information, she still manages to stay calm and act like she knows the first thing about baking. She had stayed up late last night watching cake decorating tutorials thinking it would help her somehow, but she feels lost right now.

After the little tour at the cakery is over, Jade makes her way to Perrie's office. She has never been here before, and seeing this room for the for the first time is pretty exciting for her. The design is simple and has the same colors as the rest of the cakery. There is a desk with a laptop on it, a white chair next to it. There are two small couches facing each other, with a coffee table between them. Two notebooks and two pens are on the table, and Perrie is sitting on one of the couches.

"How's it going so far?" Perrie asks as Jade sits next to her.

"I'm kind of considering becoming a stripper, but it's alright I guess." The surprised look on Perrie's face says it all, and Jade realizes she needs to calm her down. "I was just kidding, Pez. Don't worry." Perrie tries forgetting about this moment and changes the subject.

"I need to talk to you about a few things now that you officially work here," she says and Jade nods. "Since you're treated like any other staff member, you're going to spend the next week right next to me so I can teach you everything you need to know. That means you will be working with me on cakes from beginning to end, and since the meeting with the wedding cake guy is today you're going to join me for that one, alright?"

"Sounds lovely," Jade says with her sweet smile. "When's that meeting?" Perrie takes a look at the clock hanging on the wall in front of her, then speaks.

"It's already ten thirty?! I was doing taxes all morning and didn't notice the time," she says. "Anyway, it's supposed to start in five minutes but he should be here any moment, I guess."

Ten minutes later, a knock on the door of Perrie's office is heard. A mam comes in, and it takes about three seconds for Jade and Perrie to realize he is, and for him to recognize them.

"My whole life is a fucking high school reunion," Perrie whispers under her breath. As everyone in the room stare at her, she comes to her senses and puts a smile on. "Alex! It's so nice to see you!" Perrie can't decide if she should hug him or go for a handshake; she dated this guy for a whole year, and even though it was a long time ago, a handshake feels too formal. She decides to go for a hug, and it ends up being awkward, but it's over quickly.

"Pickle?" Alex asks as he notices Jade.

"It's Jade," She corrects him. She stands up and offers her hand for a handshake. Never, in a million years, she would want to hug this guy. Just the thought of his lips on her girlfriend's lips makes her want to throw up.

After a few minutes of small talk, they finally get to the cake. Perrie and Jade sit next to each other on one of the couches, facing Alex. Each of the two women holds a notebook and a pen, sketching a possible cake based on Alex's requests. He talks about his fiancèe with admiration in his eyes, which causes Perrie pain, but she knows she can't say sorry, I don't bake for assholes, because this wedding cake is a huge opportunity. Every guest at this wedding will see her creation, and it's going to stay in their minds and pop up the next time they need a cake for an occasion.

"She loves blueberries. Actually, any kind berries in general is great," Alex says. "Maybe you could draw a flamingo? She thinks they're really romantic." Jade reminds herself she must stay professional in order to keep this job, so she draws what she has in mind; it's a cake with three tires, each in a different flavor. The first tier is blueberry cake, but she can't decide about the other two. That's the kind of stuff Perrie knows how to do. There is a flamingo-shaped silver decoration at the top, and just one thing is missing.

"What's her name?" she asks Alex.

"It's Penelope." Jade draws A & P on the top tier. "Can I see what you're thinking of?" He asks, referring to the notebooks in which the two women are writing. Jade waits for Perrie to offer her notebook to Alex, but she stays still. Jade peeks in her girlfriend's notebook; there is a sketch of a three tier cake, but it is surely different than her own. The bottom tier has the word fuck repeatedly written on it, and the top tire has a drawing of a very bad looking flamingo. Dead flowers are surrounding the cake, and the whole thing looks nothing like Perrie's usual bright, happy cakes. Since Jade realizes Perrie can't really show her sketch to Alex, she offers hers instead.

They chat about flavors and structure for a while, talk a bit about money, and the meeting ends. The moment Alex is out the door, Perrie fights her tears. She doesn't want her girlfriend to see her cry; Jade has about ten valid reasons to brust into tears right now, but she doesn't. Therefore, Perrie souldn't do so either.

"I know it sucks," Jade says, breaking the silence. "But you'll get through this. It won't be that bad if you'll think of it as nothing but a professional opportunity. Imagine it's for someone else."

"Her name is Penelope. You know what that means?" Perrie asks, then puts her finger on Jade's sketch, on the top tier, where the initials of the couple are. "That means that could have been my name up there." Even though Perrie knows her ex doesn't mean that much to her, there is something unbelievably painful about knowing he is happy without her.

"I thought you broke up with him." Jade quietly replies. She is uncomfortable and doesn't really know what do or to say. She realizes she doesn't know Perrie as well as she thought, because if she did, she would have known how to act right now.

"I was. I remember feeling like we had nothing special, just regular love. Eighteen year old me wanted to be knocked off her feet, not just feel nice." As Perrie puts these words in the air, they go straight into Jade's brain, the part which makes sure she feels like she is a failure who sucks at everything, and refuse to move. Reality hits her once again; two regular girls can't have extraordinary love. They have love that makes you feel nice, like a gentle touch of soft lips. In that moment, something in her relationship with Perrie changes for worse.