~ Last day in New York ~
{ P E R R I E }
"Where are we going, Jadey?" I groaned, glancing at the time on my phone.
"You'll see."
I rolled my eyes, glancing in the reflection of the window. I looked like I just got dragged out of bed, because I had. Jade physically yanked me by the arms out of bed, not giving me a chance to do anything but brush my teeth and pee. So here I was, sitting in the backseat of a cab, in my pyjamas. It was obvious how exhausted I was, and my hair was a mess.
"You couldn't have warned me you'd be taking me out at freaking 6:30 in the morning? I look awful," I whined, resting my head against the cool glass.
"You look beautiful," Jade chuckled, kissing my cheek.
"Yeah, sure," I grumbled.
***
Finally, the car sopped.
"Put this on," Jade said, holding out a blindfold.
I started at it. "How about no."
She said nothing, just held it in front of me, waiting. I groaned loudly, then took it and hurriedly slapped it on.
"Thank you." She took my hands, leading me forward. I heard a swoosh, then cool air against my face. I sniffed. Is that . . . metal?
Jade let go of my hands. "Wait here." She pecked my lips then walked away, her footsteps fading with every step.
"Just peachy," I grumbled, sitting down cross-legged. I tried to listen to the conversations of the people walking around me, but since it was so early, the building was next to empty.
Finally, I heard Jade laughing as she came closer, then grabbing my hands and pulling me to my feet.
"Ready?"
"Well I don't know, for what?" I snapped. Before I could continue, she swooped me off my feet and into her arms.
"Okay, now I'm worried," I said quietly. She just chuckled and started walking. I noticed after a while that she was climbing stairs.
"Listen, I don't want to be a bother, but I sense we're going up stairs, and I'm not the lightest, so if you could just put me down and let me walk, that'd be great."
"Can't risk you getting hurt," she said, not slowing down.
"This is kidnapping, you know."
"No, it isn't."
"How so?"
"I don't think you're supposed to date your captive," she joked.
"Haven't you heard of Stockholm Syndrome?"
She laughed. "Please, calm down. You're gonna love this, I know it."
I sighed. "Fine. I still love you."
"I know."
"Shut up."
"Okay."
***
"Okay, you seriously need to put me down," I said after about 30 minutes of straight climbing up stairs. Jade had to be exhausted; she was only tiny and carrying me wouldn't be easy. All I could smell was loose change.
"Nope. Almost there."
"You're going to have a stroke," I warned, then my ears popped.
"How high up are we?"
She chuckled. "Took you long enough."
My eyes widened under my blindfold. "Jade Amelia Thirlwall, where have you taken me?"
"You'll figure it out. Think about where we are at, what we've talked about . . ."
I didn't answer, instead went through all my memories of New York. When Jade and I first got here, dinner at the Hard Rock, the play, the concerts, Good Morning America . . .
"I got nothing."
She signed. "I think you're just tired."
"You're not wrong," I mumbled, yawning.
"We're almost there."
"If you say so."
She kept going for a couple minutes, teasing me every once in a while. finally, after an hour of almost straight climbing, she stopped, setting me down.
"We're here."
"Can I take my blindfold off?" I asked, already reaching for it.
"If you want."
I immediately whipped it off, looking around the room. Directly behind me was a long, winding staircase. It was pretty dim, except for the flickering fluorescent lights that were spread out around the small area. I looked at Jade, who had been watching me expectantly. She pointed at the wall, lifting my hand and laying against the cool . . . copper?
Holy crap . . .
"Jade, please tell me we're where I think we are."
"I don't know; where do you think we are?"
My eyes were as big as saucers. The loose change smell, the stairs, New York . . .
"Um, at the top of the Statue of Liberty," I whispered.
She smiled and pulled me into a hug and passionate kiss.
"You're smarter than you look," she teased. I didn't bother reacting like I usually would; I was too busy freaking out.
"Ohmigosh, ohmigosh, ohmigosh, ohmigosh you didn't! You didn't!" I squealed, holding her hand and jumping up and down.
She smiled. "Just wait 'til you see what's through that door," she said, pointing. I turned around to see a single metal door, just sitting there, unnoticed by me. I hesitantly walked towards it, laying my hand on the knob. I stopped before opening the door.
"It's not going to bite," Jade whispered, her warm breath hitting my neck.
"Are we supposed to be here?" I asked, my voice dropping several volumes.
She sighed. "Does it matter?"
I turned around to look at her. "Yes, it does."
She shrugged. "Then no. Sam told me I couldn't take you to the top; she said it was too dangerous."
I gasped. "You're going to get into trouble!" I whisper-shouted at her.
"I just wanted to make you happy," she said, hanging her head. My heart squeezed.
"AWWWW!" I cooed, cupping her cheeks. I kissed her gently, then pressed my forehead to hers.
"WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!" I boomed, my voice echoing menacingly around the room. "DO YOU WANT TO GET FIRED? OR WORSE, KILLED?"
She winced. "Can we just go through this door? Then you can yell at me all you want."
I huffed. "You can bet I will." Without another thought, I threw open the metal door to the view.
My breath caught in my throat, and a gust of wind blew in, whipping my purple hair around.
"Oh my gosh," I breathed, looking at Jade, who looked equally as enraptured.
"Yeah," she said quietly.
I took a hesitant step closer to the balcony; a little put off at how high I was. We were reeeeeealllly high.
"Here," Jade said, placing something in my palm. My camera. I smiled and took it, taking several pictures of the sunrise. Jade wrapped her arm around me when she noticed me shivering. I think I would've stayed there all day, if I had the option.
"Ready to go?" she asked, kissing me lightly.
I sighed. "I guess. It's just so pretty!"
"You have pictures to remember it by."
"Pictures are nothing compared to actually being here. With you . . ." I hugged her, kissing her cheek in the process.
"Are you still going to yell at me?" she asked.
I shook my head, smiling ruefully. "No, but please, no more cute stuff if it's going to get you in to trouble. Sam is going to rip into you for this one."
She shrugged. "Maybe so, but I promised I would take you here before we left. Today's our last day before we go to Philadelphia."
"You really gotta stop being adorable when I'm trying to be mad at you," I pouted, crossing my arms. She chuckled, draping an arm across my shoulders and leading me back through the metal door.
"It's a gift."
"Or a curse," I retorted, unhappily following her back down the stairs.
"You say potato . . ."
***
"WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU TWO?!" Sam screamed, the vein in her neck bulging.
"Ummm . . . a leisurely stroll?" Jade offered, fiddling with her fingers.
"Then explain this," Sam said, shoving her phone in Jade's face. There it was, plain as day, Jade leading me through the doors of the small building at the base of the Statue of Liberty. Damn paparazzi...
"Okay, fine, so we went there. But nothing happened!" Jade said, holding me closer to her.
Sam glared at me. "I'm surprised at you. How could you let her do this when you knew it was against the rules?"
Jade cut in before I could explain. "It's not her fault; I didn't tell her where we were going."
I shook my head. "No, it is. I should've known something could've happened."
Before Jade could protest, Sam started talking again. "Well, if you both say it's your fault, then both of you will be punished. You two are not permitted to hang around each other for the rest of today and tomorrow. No texting either, so hand over your phones. Perrie, you're sleeping with Leigh-Anne. Jade, bunk with Jesy."
Leigh walked into the room at the sound of her name. "What's happening with me?"
Jade's hands were in fists at her sides. "Nothing is happening with you. At all," she seethed.
I raised an eyebrow at Sam. "Don't you think this is a little extreme? She was just trying to do something sweet for me."
Sam shook her head. "I'm sorry, Perrie. But Jade has disobeyed me too many times. This is the last straw."
It was my turn to raise an eyebrow at Jade. "When have you disobeyed Sam?"
She sulked. "You don't want to know." I decided she was probably right, so I dropped the subject.
"How are we supposed to not be around each other? We've got a concert tonight!"
Sam shrugged. "I don't know, and I don't care. All I know is that if I catch you two even looking at each other, there will be hell to pay." I frowned - this wasn't like Sam.
"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder. Her eyes softened for half a second.
"I'm fine, just peeved," she said, lowering her voice a little. I had a feeling that wasn't the whole truth, but there wasn't much I could do about it now.
I sighed, pulling away from Jade. "Looks like we won't be together again until Philadelphia."
Jade leaned in and kissed me quickly. "Yeah, sure," she whispered in my ear sarcastically. I gave her a warning look. I didn't want to feel the Wrath of Sam if Jade tried to pull some stunt to see me.
"Be good," I hissed, walking towards Leigh. I threw an arm around her shoulder. "Come on, Leigh Leigh. Let's go to the gym, yeah?"
She frowned. "Are you calling me fat?"
I laughed, throwing my head back. "No. I just want to go." I looked over my shoulder and waved at Jade, who was watching me, frowning. I blew her a kiss before walking through the door of my bedroom to change into sweats.
"Meet me downstairs," I said to Leigh, who nodded and disappeared into her room.
***
"Boy, Jade is pissed," Jesy said, increasing the speed on her treadmill. She had decided to join Leigh and I when she heard we were going to the gym.
"It's just for two days. Besides, maybe we need some time away from each other. I miss my other girls," I teased, adding a weight to the bench press.
"That's not how Jade feels," Leigh said slowly, watching me from the elliptical.
I quickly backtracked. "Don't get me wrong, I love her to pieces. But she has to take care of her other priorities. When's the last time she called her mum?"
"Good point," Jesy grunted. "It's healthy to spend some time apart from each other and not be joined at the hip 24/7."
I nodded. "Exactly. We have all the time in the world to be together, so why rush?"
Leigh smirked. "Yeah, soon you'll be living together. All alone. No distractions."
I rolled my eyes, letting out a fierce groan as I lifted the weight up, then set it back down.
"Sheesh, you're bench pressing my body weight," Leigh said, hopping off her machine.
I sighed and sat up, drinking some of my water. "Really?" I asked, calculating how much I had been lifting. "You're much heavier than I gave you credit for."
She smiled, then realised what I said. "Hey!"
I giggled, laying back down and closing my eyes. "Besides, I've got to keep up with my family and friends too. I haven't called my mum, or Bella, or Katherine in at least a week. What kind of a daughter is that?"
"A busy one," Jesy said, frowning. "We usually don't have time to call, and when we do, they're already sleeping."
I smiled sadly. "I'm sure they understand."
"That doesn't make me feel any less guilty."
Just then, my phone rang. I glanced at the caller I.D, and chuckled.
"Speak of the devil," I said. "Katherine is calling."
I answered the phone and pressed it to my ear. "Hello?"
"Hey, gurl, hey!" Katherine drawled.
"Hi babes! What's up?"
"So, I just happened to arrive in New York right now, and I know you're here too. So I just wanted to know if you wanted to go grab lunch and catch up! Maybe we could do a little shopping and sightseeing as well?"
I grinned. "Sounds awesome. I'll meet you at the Hard Rock in an hour."
"Yay!" Katherine cheered through the phone. "See you there!" I ended the call and put my phone in my pocket.
"Katherine just arrived in New York and we're gonna catch up!" I told the girls excitedly, putting the weights back and collecting my stuff.
"How fun!" Jesy exclaimed, hopping off the treadmill and taking a swig of water.
"I'm gonna go shower and get changed, " I said, giving each of them a hug. "Bye guys! Love you!" I called over my shoulder, walking through the automatic doors of the hotel gym.
"Love you too!" they chorused back.
I love my girls.