I don't think that Jade particularly hates me anymore.
Well, at the very least I don't annoy her as much. I can tell she's biting her tounge occasionally (she opens her mouth to speak, makes a face, then closes her mouth like nothing happened) but the very fact that she is trying makes my heart soar.
She's been helping me transition to life in hell (her words, not mine) and I don't think I would be alive without her at this point. She's saved me from countless awkward and potentially dangerous situations, including grabbing me by the shirt to stop me from accidentally cutting in line for food. The girl who I almost cut also happened to be the one who wanted to beat me up earlier which would have almost certainly ended in some sort of altercation and that's the last thing I need. I've also figured out that Jade is actually pretty intelligent. Not that I ever thought she was particularly stupid, but based solely on the reason she's here in the first place, I didn't think she had the highest of IQ's. As soon as she started opening up a little bit to me, I realized that she teeters on the edge of doing things that are okay and not okay. She gets as close to that barrier as she can without crossing the line and it's kind of impressive. For example we're only allowed to have one bar of soap at the same time, but she's somehow managed to get her hands on two different types of soap that smell slightly different. When I asked her what she would do with the extra one if our room was ever searched, she showed me how she was able to mold them together into one medium sized bar that at first glance didn't seem out of the ordinary. Not particularly malicious or evil, but also not technically allowed.
"I've been able to fly under the radar," Jade shrugged, putting the soap back with her hygiene supplies, "I do everything they tell me to do so all the CO's just see me as a good kid but then that leads to more leeway with things I can do. Just nothing too serious, I don't want to stay here longer than I have to,"
She's also a master at hoarding snacks. Well, not hoarding, but technically we aren't supposed to take the provided evening snack back to our rooms, but once the door closes behind us, she pulls a bag of chips or an apple or whatever out of nowhere. She flushes anything left behind like a wrapper or the core, and just like that it's like there was never anything there. I haven't quite figured out how she does it but nearly every night she has a snack before she actually goes to bed.
Jade Thirlwall is incredibly interesting that way. I've never met anyone quite like her, and that's not a bad thing in the slightest. She won't completely open up to me on a personal level but I'm working on it. Anytime I ask her about her parents or any potential siblings she completely shuts me down. So, when she was given mail one day and her face lit up, it was only natural that my curiosity peaked.
My curiosity got even worse when she was called for therapy and instead of carefully putting her letter back with the rest of her stuff, she threw it on her desk and was out of the room in record time.
Honestly, I really didn't want to stick my nose into Jade's things. And I tried not to. For the better part of an hour I was catching up on school work. Unfortunately, Jade's desk is right next to mine. And the letter was practically calling my name.
I cracked after I finished a math worksheet. I picked up the letter and carefully unfolded it, glancing over the message.
Dear Jade,
Hi! I miss you so much and Karl says he does too. I also really liked the picture you sent me last week. Can you draw me next time? I want to show my friends.
Daddy and Karl were arguing about you yesterday. I tried to listen but Karl made me go back to our room before I could really hear what it was about. I tried listening at the door but it wasn't the same.
Karl also said not to mention this but daddy hit me the other day. He said it was an accident and Karl said it was because he drank a little too much of his juice. Whatever that means. But because Karl said not to mention it I thought I should probably tell you.
Since you're always sending me art, I drew you a dog because you like them. I also drew you our room because you haven't been home in a long time and I thought you might miss it. Oh and I drew a picture of Karl and I because we miss you.
When are you coming home? You've been away at school for so long and I want you to come home and visit.
I love you,
Jayla
As soon as I finished reading, the distinct sound of the door opening caught my attention. My eyes went wide as I hastily threw the letter back down on Jade's desk.
If looks could kill, I would be dead. Beyond dead. I would be six feet under and decomposing with Jade dancing on my grave. So much for our developing relationship.
At the same time, I had a million questions going through my mind. Are Jayla and Karl her siblings? Why does their dad seem so much like an asshole? And why doesn't it seem like her sister knows where she is.
Thankfully, Jade had to wait to get her handcuffs off before she could cross the room to get to me, so all I got was a glare from her until she was free.
I've never seen the girl move so fast. In the blink of an eye, she was right in front of me, snatching the letter off her desk.
"Jade, I am so sorry. I shouldn't have looked at your letter without your permission, it's just that I've been here for a month and you've told me nothing about your family so I kinda just assumed they were dead but then I got curious about who was writing to you and I read it and I'm really sorry," I couldn't make eye contact with her. How could I? I broke any pre existing trust with her by reading her letter without her permission. However, to my surprise (and definitely to my luck) Jade sat down at her desk next to me and sighed. Rather than yelling at me, she spoke is a surprisingly calm and collected voice.
"What do you want to know,"
I think I'm growing on her.
~~~~~~~~~~
I've never truly understood Illinois winter until living here. Sure, the negative temperatures suck when you live in the city but at least back at home we had a heater and good blankets. I had the ability to get warm if I needed to. Here, it's nearly impossible. The mattress itself was already freezing without at least two sheets on it and the blanket was incredibly scratchy and uncomfortable in general. The temperature of the room seemed to go down with the sun and it seems like the CO's seemed to forget to turn on the heater. I've tried everything to get warm. I'm using both of my sheets, I have two pairs of socks on, I'm wearing my issued sweatshirt and shirt with my white long sleeve underneath. Well, technically I haven't tried everything.
I could hear Jade tossing and turning bellow me, clearly as uncomfortable as me with the temperature. Human body heat actually would be beneficial in this context. But would Jade let me sleep down there with her?
Fuck it I thought.
"Jade?" I whispered.
"Yeah blondie?" She whispered back, still trying to keep quiet. I wasn't completely sure what would happen if we were caught, but considering how Jade acts when lights go out, I can assume that it's nothing good.
"Is it against the rules to sleep in the same bed? I'm really cold and I can't sleep," Jade hesitated before responding, making me completely second guess my question.
"Oh, um, well technically yes but if you don't get caught it's fine," I took a shaky breath before I spoke again.
"Can I come down there?"
"Yeah sure if you want," I tried to keep my cool as slid off of my bed and got into hers. Instantly, all I felt was warmth. More than physical warmth though, but that was definitely welcomed. It was a physical warmth, like as soon as I got close to her everything just felt right. And I couldn't get enough. I nuzzled my face into the crook of her neck and pulled myself as close to her as possible.
"Is this okay?" She nodded.
I was quickly getting more and more tired, a mixture of being warm and being in Jade's arms, but right before I drifted off, I felt Jade press a kiss to the top of my head.
"Goodnight Perrie,"
I smiled a little and drifted off to sleep, far more warm in Jade's arms than I've been in my entire life.
AN: sorry this took so long, writers block was awful again.
I've actually jumped ahead of myself and written the ending because I'm impatient like that but I'm really proud of it and I can't wait for y'all to read it :) It's literally like 3k words (maybe closer to 4k? idk really) and I shall grind out the rest of this story as best as I can (obviously I'll make it good still but grind none the less)
stay safe everyone!