"Jade?" Perrie looked around her, and in a split second, everything changed. She kept on calling Jade's name until she realized she's in a different place. She's in the middle of a deserted highway. No car was in sight. The tree where Jade was slumped against wasn't there anymore.
She kept on going in circles trying to figure out what the heck just happened and where the hell she was. The air was chilly, that was her clue that she wasn't in LA anymore, mostly because LA doesn't have that kind of weather.
She hugged herself and rubbed her hands up and down her arms in an attempt to warm herself up. She was about to go on the side of the road when she saw bright headlights of a car coming her way.
Perrie squints her eyes when the driver drifts the car sideways, perfectly making a doughnut shape and stopping in front of her. The passenger door opened.
"Jesy?!"
"Get in!"
Even if Perrie was confused, she got inside the car. And she could swear her soul felt like it was being left on the highway at the speed that Jesy was driving.
"You're early," Jesy comments. "And that's not supposed to be the spot where I'll pick you up. That's five meters away from your spot. I almost ran you over!"
Perrie was still confused at what Jesy was saying. "What are you talking about, Chief? And...I didn't know you could drift?"
"Huh? What's–" Jesy was cut off when someone spoke from her ear piece.
"Jesy! Where are you? You're two minutes late!"
"W-Wait...Perrie?" Jesy answers and presses the earpiece so she can hear better.
"Uh...yeah? Did you–"
The other Perrie on the line continued ranting when Jesy hit the brakes hard. If it wasn't for the seatbelt, the Perrie beside her would've almost kissed the windshield of the car! She then looks at the blonde who was sitting on the passenger seat as she listens to the other Perrie on the comms line.
"What the fuck! Who the hell are you?" she asks the blonde. "W-Why do you look like my best friend Perrie?"
Perrie was stunned. She was right all along, she felt in her gut the first time she met this woman that she wasn't Jesy, The Chief.
"I–I wanted to ask you the same thing. I don't know where I am," Perrie explains. "I'm Perrie Edwards, Sergeant Perrie Edwards, FBI." She then showed her badge, which seemed to have calmed Jesy down, but she was still stunned, nevertheless. "I'm from LA. Something weird happened to me back there and uhm...I thought you were my friend, Jesy, The Deputy Chief of the FBI."
"Jesy? What's going on?" Perrie on Jesy's intercom spoke again. "Who are you talking to? Will you come and get me, please? I need to pee."
Jesy remembers that Perrie, her best friend, was still on the other line. "Uhm...something came up, Pez. Can you call your wife to pick you up? I'll explain later." She then switches off her comms and removes it from her ear.
"Are you sure you're not...an impostor?" Jesy asked with a raised brow. "Is that your real face?" She reached out her hand to touch Perrie's face but she was a bit hesitant to do it, so Perrie grabbed her hand so Jesy could touch her face.
"I'm not. Why would I pretend to be somebody else?"
Jesy shrugged, "I don't know, but you really look like my best friend...except that–" she glances down at Perrie's abdomen. "...she's pregnant and you're not."
It was Perrie's turn to raise a questioning eyebrow. "And you really do look like my friend, Jesy...except that–"
"She's pregnant, too?" Jesy asked with wide eyes.
Perrie shakes her head, "No, no...she doesn't drive a car this way. Are we getting away from someone or something?"
"Oh, no. I was just practicing to be the Getaway car driver. My friend, Jade, she's an expert at this. And she's Perrie's wife, by the way, they're going to go on leave next month because a new member of our family is on its way," Jesy happily told her. "Oh! Interesting fact – the sperm donor is Jade's step-brother, Alex–good guy, gorgeous man, perfect genes! Not that you care, I just wanted to tell you."
Perrie was still stunned. The other woman only chuckled and continued.
"Anyway...so, they're going on vacation mode and somebody has to be a reliever – moi. We're members of Interpol, by the way."
Perrie blinked a couple times at the amount of information that Jesy willingly shared with her.
"Jade?" Perrie repeats.
"Yeah?"
"Are you talking about a brunette – very expressive brown eyes, sun-kissed glowing skin, and a perfect body?"
Jesy's eyebrow shot right up but ended up smirking a little. "That's a very specific description, but yes, how did you..." Jesy turns her head at Perrie for a bit. "Oh! You have a Jade in your life, too? Is she your wife? Is she pregnant?"
"Oh–no! No...she's uhm...part of my team – a detective. W-We're not–" Perrie slowly breathes out. She's surprised at the flow of their conversation. She just met this version of Jesy, and here she is, asking her about personal stuff which no one has ever tried asking her before. "Can you please tell me what's going on? Where am I? How can I go back to LA?"
Jesy revved up the engine and drove again. "I believe you were transported here through a portal. This is New York, but this isn't the same NYC from where you're from. This is another earth."
"Another earth?" Perrie echoes.
"Have you heard about the Multiverse?" Jesy asks.
"Yeah, in movies and series."
Jesy snorts, "Oh, honey, it's real. It exists not just in movies. And I believe that's what happened to you. This is a parallel world."
Perrie holds her temple and lightly massages it as it was starting to throb. "Seriously?"
"Yup. I was you a month ago when we were called for a briefing to discuss the multiverse," Jesy began. "It was really ridiculous and I laughed really hard until we were sent to investigate a special case and found out that the suspect isn't from this universe, either. So...yep, you're not the first one."
"How do I go back to my–you know, world?" It was a bit weird for Perrie to utter the words 'my own world' literally because she never thought something like this would happen. She never thought in a million years that the multiverse thing in the movies was real.
"How did you get here in the first place?"
Perrie tries to recall the things that happened before she popped up in the middle of the highway. Then, she remembers Jade's expression. She gasped, "It was Jade!"
Jesy glanced at Perrie for a bit before she turned her attention back to the road. "Judging by the way you look, you didn't know that someone like your Jade could open a portal to another world?"
"No...but–how?"
☆
Jade woke up in a hospital private room with a bandage around her head. It still hurts a little, but it's not making her feel dizzy anymore.
She looked around her to see if anyone's around but found no one. Then, the door opened and a tall, blonde girl came in.
"You're finally awake!" Jade squints her eyes to try to remember why this woman looked familiar, her vision was a little hazy. The woman approached her, clicked on her pen which shone a bright light. "Can you follow the light for me, please?" The woman checked both of Jade's eyes. "Perfect. You're doing great. Do you remember what happened?"
Jade blinked a couple of times trying to recall what happened. Then she remembered she sent Perrie to another world. She was supposed to follow the blonde but because of the accident, she was too weak to even perform another spell.
She abruptly sat upright, "Oh my God! Perrie! I–I need to go."
The woman held both Jade's shoulders in an attempt to restrain her. "Woah! You can't. You're still weak."
"I have to find Perrie! She needs me!" Jade argued.
"I'm sure she'll be fine in another world where you sent her."
Jade froze in place. How in the hell did this woman know that she sent Perrie into the portal? No one knows her abilities and who she is.
"How did you–who are you?"
The woman only smiled at her. "You've been in this world for a long time, Jade...that you already forgot your own people."
Jade stares at the woman, and little by little the woman's face becomes clear to her. And she definitely knew her. Jade gasps, "Oh my God! Tay-Tay?!" The woman beamed at her. "Taylor? Swifty?!"
Taylor chuckles, "Yeah!" she playfully rolled her eyes. "Finally!" She then stepped closer to Jade's bed to hug the brunette.
"Jeez! You dyed your hair blonde..." Jade comments, partly touching Taylor's hair after she lets go. "...and you...gained weight. I didn't recognize you! How are you here?"
"Well, I've been here for a long time, too." Taylor gave her a sheepish grin.
"I mean...how did you get here? Did you open the gate?"
Taylor scoffs, "Of course, you would ask that! No, I didn't. I don't exactly have the ability to do such a thing – that, however, is your expertise. When you opened the gate to this world, you failed to notice that I was just right behind you. I snuck out to follow you."
"So my parents sent you?" Jade raised a delicate eyebrow.
"Nuh-uh. Nope. If your parents sent me...you won't be here this long. I would've dragged your sorry ass back to Haeream City right at that moment when you secretly opened the gate."
"But you won't. I know you won't do that."
"I won't because you're my best friend," Taylor corrects her. "I knew you'd been studying different sorts of spells to open portals – to get away from our world. I wanted the same thing. I was actually waiting for you to tell me your secret but you never told me. I was kind of upset that I almost told your parents about it, but I stopped myself...and just decided to follow you instead."
"I...I didn't know you wanted the same thing, Tay. Believe me, I almost told you about it, but because what I was doing was forbidden, I didn't want you to get involved. If somebody finds out, you'll be in big trouble."
"So are you!" Taylor huffed and crossed her arm across her chest. "Don't worry, that was years ago. I understand. Took me a while, but now I do."
Jade studied Taylor for a while before she spoke again, "So...you followed me here but didn't show up until today?"
Taylor bit her lip and made a face, "I was...afraid you'd bring me back to Haeream City. I kinda like it here – the trends, the fashion, the music. And, oh my God! The foooood! Damn..." Taylor pauses for a second to daydream about her favorite food before continuing. "People are sometimes mean, but they'll only get on your nerves if you let them."
"And what makes you think I won't bring you back to our world after all these years?" Jade challenged.
"Oh, I still believe you'd do that, but when I sensed you used your magic, I just knew you were in trouble. Otherwise, you wouldn't use magic at all. And I'm still your best friend, Jade, you still have my back and I'll always be there for you when you're in trouble. I could care less if you sent me back, as long as I know you're okay."
Jade became speechless from Taylor's words. She didn't make a mistake when she decided to keep Taylor as her best friend – she's a true friend no matter how long they haven't seen each other. It's as if nothing changed, it's as if they never parted ways that long.
Then, Taylor suddenly knelt beside Jade's bed and held the brunette's hand. "But please don't send me back...please...please...please..." she closed her eyes as she begged.
Jade on the other hand, only laughed at how her best friend is still a dork. "I won't."
Taylor looked up at her with eyes twinkling like the brightest star in the night, "You won't?"
"Under one condition..." Jade added. Taylor stands up and sits on the bed beside Jade.
"What condition?"
"Let me out of this hospital to get Perrie back in this world."
"Perrie...you've been saying her name over and over again while you were sleeping. Is she your girlfriend?"
"Uh–no...She's my boss."
"I don't think I uttered my boss' name when I was asleep. That's not normal, unless you got it bad..." Taylor smirked, making Jade cover her now scarlet face. "Oh, c'mon! You can't hide it from me."
Jade then shakes her head and tries again, "You're stalling me. I need to find Perrie!"
Taylor hums as she recalls why that name sounds familiar. "Wait...is she the head of...special agents...something in the FBI?"
"Supervisory Special Agent."
"Yeah, that one."
"Wait...you know her?"
Taylor shakes her head, "Not personally. My friend from Forensics, Hailee, really likes her."
"You're Hailee's friend?" Jade's voice raised an octave higher. Taylor was startled at the brunette's reaction.
"W-Why? Is that a crime? Should I stop being her friend? I–I met her last year when she had to use our lab for further specimen testing."
"No, it's not like that. I worked with her once in our recent case and she also visited Perrie in our office. I was just wondering if–"
"If they're together?" Taylor finished Jade's sentence. "No, they're not. Hailee tried but...the Sergeant seemed too guarded and very reserved. That's just based on what Hailee told me, okay?"
"What else did she tell you?"
"I thought you needed to find Perrie first?" Taylor teased.
"C'mon! Just tell meee..."
Taylor laughed, "Okaaay. Well, according to her, she tried to make a move on Perrie. She asked her out. Perrie went with her but Hailee said she's just naturally nice. She tried to ask Perrie some–you know–personal stuff, but she never opened up. And their conversation became...dull. Perrie's answers were just plain 'yes or no', and Hailee took it as a cue."
"Cue to what?"
"Cue to stop pursuing Perrie. Because when a person can't even tell you anything personal about themselves – that, my friend, is definitely a red flag. Otherwise known as – she's not into you." Taylor's words made Jade think and speechless for a second.
"She's too guarded. I don't even know what we are. She never opened up to me, as well."
"You know the most beautiful part of loving a guarded girl is when she lets you in. Not because she needs you, because she stopped needing people a long time ago – it's because she wants you, and that's the purest love of them all." Jade stares at Taylor. "And you know why she's a very reserved person?"
"No..."
"It's probably because she thinks you can't handle her thoughts, or the things that made her...her. It's one of the reasons why some people don't share things with other people."
Jade was still staring at Taylor. "That makes a lot of sense. I guess it has something to do with the mark on her wrist."
"What mark?"
Jade got up from the bed and changed from the hospital gown to her casual clothes she wore in the accident. "Long story. Remind me to tell you everything after all of this is done. I gotta go find Perrie."
"And how do you plan to do that?"
"I just need something that belongs to her."
"And?"
"I have one, but it's in my apartment," Jade huffed after she tied her hair. "Hey, can I borrow your car?"
Taylor eagerly tossed her car keys to Jade. "If you have something that belongs to the person you love, you should always bring it with you. It'll come in handy one day!"
"Well...I can't always bring with me her thong, can I?"
Taylor was shocked, "Excuse me, her what!?"
Jade quickly holstered her gun and badge inside her leather jacket and walked to the door. "Next time you ask questions, make sure you can handle the answer, Tay-Tay!" Jade laughed. "I'll see you when I get back!"
Taylor stands up from the bed and chases Jade before the brunette can get out of the room. "Jade! The more you use magic, the more they can sense and easily find you."
"I know. But that's not my concern right now." Jade reassured her. "Oh! And thanks, Tay!"
"Anytime! Go get your girl!!" Jade jogged out of the hospital room.
Her destination is her apartment, and she needs to get there fast and get the blonde's undergarment so she can use it to locate her.
-
♫ It's You - Ali Gatie