Jade took a shower to freshen up while she was waiting for Taylor, Jesy, and Leigh-Anne to arrive. Whatever was Taylor's plan to contact Perrie from the spirit world, they need to do it in the lab where Perrie's body was.
Jade's in her room, she's thrilled that Taylor was going to help her reach Perrie, but at the same time, she doesn't want to feel disappointed if she ever won't get to see or talk to the blonde. But as long as there's this small spark of hope in her heart, she knows it's not impossible no matter how bizarre and crazy it may sound.
She's sitting on the vanity, looking at the mirror while she's combing her hair. It has been a while since she's had a chance to take a good look at herself in the mirror. Her eyes weren't as bright as they once were, her smile wasn't as radiant as before, she just wasn't the same Jade as before.
As Jade was deep in thought, brushing her hair, the comb got stuck in her hair, causing her to drop it. It happens, there's always that one time where she's such a klutz she wonders how she'd managed to capture Perrie's attention in the first place.
Absent-mindedly, she picks up the comb from the floor. But what she wasn't prepared to see was Perrie's reflection in the mirror. Perrie was standing behind her with a blank expression on her face.
Jade froze for a moment, wondering if it was her brain playing tricks on her again, or maybe her eyes were getting too tired that she's starting to see things. Her heart stopped beating for a second, if that was ever possible. When she stood up and spun around, Perrie wasn't there.
She swears she could hear Perrie's heartbeat in the room. Her heart sank after she looked back at the mirror again only to find Perrie's reflection wasn't there anymore.
Jade takes a deep breath a couple of times as she closes her eyes in an attempt to calm herself. Then she opened her eyes and–
"Hey, babe!"
Jade gasps longer than intended, it's as if she forgot to breathe. Perrie's right beside her, and she just whispered into Jade's ear.
She's frozen in place, trying to get a look at Perrie without moving her head. She's afraid that if she made any sudden movements, Perrie might disappear again, and she doesn't want that to happen. Jade's lips were shaking, her hands were clammy, and it wasn't helping either that her heart was beating at an abnormal rate.
"Jade...baby, look at me. I'm not trying to scare you," Perrie cooed..
"B-But...I–"
"Oh, come on, Jeeeeeed! I finally found a way to show myself to you and you're just gonna snob me? Do you want me to take off my clothes just so you'd look at me?"
That ought to be enough for Jade to finally turn her head at Perrie. "No! OH MY GOD!!!" Jade's hand flew to her mouth when she finally saw Perrie. The blonde didn't appear transparent like what most ghost movies depict. She looks very much real but with a hint of golden light that seemed to surround her. "Perrie..."
After all the years of trying and failing, all the sacrifices Jade has made, all her sleepless nights and mundane days spent alone, this moment is exactly what she needed. She couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by Perrie's presence alone when she started to sob. She slowly lifts her hand to reach Perrie but the blonde shakes her head and gives her a small smile.
"I'm sorry, babe...I wish I could hold you, hug you, and kiss you, too. But I...can't," Perrie sighs. "Not in this state at least."
"I miss you..." Jade says, her voice breaking a little as tears ceased to fall from her eyes.
"I know. But...uhm, can you get yourself together and listen to me, please?"
Jade abruptly wiped the tears from her cheek and sat up straight. "No, you listen to me! I love you, okay? But I still hate you for playing the hero and for leaving me just so you could save the world!"
Perrie groaned, "I know that, too! I heard you the first time you yelled in front of my frozen body."
"You did?" Jade blinked a couple of times.
Perrie nodded, "Uh-huh. I was there. Before you came to Exobase City back in 2021, when you tried to fix the time device that my sister sneakily gave you, I was also there."
"You–"
"When you stayed at my sister's place, then moved to your own place here, and when you created those crazy cool car upgrades, I was there. I've always been there..."
"But...how?"
"Remember the last words I said before I left you?"
Jade pursed her lips as she tried to recall their last memory together, the most painful and gut-wrenching moment she had with Perrie. The last kiss they shared together.
☆
Perrie pulled Jade and kissed her lovingly and passionately, to make her feel that she hadn't taken for granted the times they've spent together.
Jade kissed her back with just as much fervor. Both of them knew that it would be their last kiss.
When they broke apart, Perrie kissed Jade's forehead before she slowly backed away, taking two steps away from the brunette. Jade was holding her quivering lips, her tears never ceased. Perrie looks at Jade with her crushed heart. She loves the girl so much, but this time, love just isn't enough.
"I will always be with you..." Those were Perrie's last words before she disappeared right in front of Jade.
☆
When Perrie knew that Jade finally realized what her last words were, she spoke first.
"I will always be with you – that was a promise. I never left, Jade. You just thought I did but I was always with you."
"Why didn't you show yourself sooner?" Jade's gaze was downcast. "And if you never left me, why show up now after all this time? I felt so cold and alone and borderline crazy from thinking about you."
Perrie dipped her head, searching for the brunette's eyes. "Because you never let me in. You were so caught up in fixing the time device so you can come here, and when you did, you were busy trying to find ways to bring me back. You lost yourself, Jade. You're like a lost soul in your own world."
"Because when you left, it wasn't just a part of me that died – I died with you, Perrie. My whole being died with you." Jade's tears started to fall again, only this time; she had a hardened expression on her face.
Even if Perrie is a ghost, she feels guilty for doing what she did. And at the same time she feels pity for the girl she loves the most who had to suffer the consequences of her actions.
It is true, she witnessed everything that Jade did ever since she died. Jade may not be a robot, but she somewhat became like one – she never stopped working, she never stopped doing things, she made herself busy, just so she won't have time to think of the pain that came with losing Perrie.
Perrie held out her hand and opened them. Jade looks at the palm of Perrie's hand in confusion.
"What are you doing?" Jade sniffled, wiping a stray tear that rushed down her cheek. "I thought we couldn't touch each other. I mean...hold each other."
Perrie smiled. "Just...try to reach my hand, Jade. Look at me and focus on reaching my hand."
Although confused, Jade did as she was told. She gazed into Perrie's ocean blue eyes and tried reaching for the blonde's hand. But for some reason, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't seem to reach Perrie's hand. She tried and tried and kept on trying.
Then, she noticed that her surroundings looked different. Her eyes were still trained on Perrie, but from her peripheral, she could see that everything around them changed; like when she first time-traveled with Perrie.
She's just trying to reach Perrie's hand, yet it's as if she's moving in her own will, like a speed of light. It was like that for a minute or so, but to Jade it felt like hours. Her eyes never left Perrie even when her heart was beating fast.
And when she felt that her surroundings weren't moving anymore, she finally reached Perrie's hand. She can feel it – she's holding Perrie's hand!
She then noticed that they weren't in her room anymore. It's like they were teleported into a different dimension of some sort. The odd thing about it is that she could hear the chirping of the bird and the coolness of the breeze. She can feel and smell the fresh air. There were tall trees around them. And to top it all off, she can finally feel Perrie's hand holding hers, gently squeezing as a sign of reassurance that what she's seeing was all real.
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♫ Enchanted - Taylor Swift