Perrie stared straight ahead the whole ride. Neither of them spoke a word and Jade didn't turn on the music like she usually does. It was precariously quiet and Perrie felt a bit uncomfortable all the time so she had to shift positions from time to time. Jade took sneaky glances at the blonde here and there but had no courage to prolong any of them.

Angry Perrie isn't something Jade wanted to deal with anyway.

Right now, the brunette attempts to reverse the car back into the parking space. Jade was that type of driver who holds the back of the passenger's headrest every time she does it, so it is getting quite difficult for her to reverse the vehicle without doing so. She did not want to bother the blonde any more than she did today.

Perrie noticed this, though, but didn't have the energy to comment on it. So she remained her position until the brunette successfully parked the car (which took five excruciatingly long minutes).

Jade turned off the car's engine, unclasped her seatbelt, and got out to open Perrie's door as usual - only to find the blonde already outside.

Before Jade could even hold herself back, she spoke abruptly, "I was supposed to open your door."

"You were too slow," Perrie replies flatly, fishing her phone right after and walking away.

Jade opened her mouth to reply, but closed it when the other woman seemed too far away to hear her. She rolled her eyes at how childish the blonde seemed to be when in fact Jade should be the one angry here. She can deduce from that alone that perhaps having Perrie as a girlfriend comes with losing to all arguments.

Jade quickly locked the car and jogged up to catch up with her, slowing down when she's already beside her as they walk towards the lifts. Their bodies were about a few inches away than their usual distance; Jade made sure that her arm doesn't touch Perrie's as they walk, not wanting Perrie to burst out with a 'don't touch me, we haven't made up yet' (Jade hasn't heard her say it, but she imagines her saying it anyway) .

The brief ride in the lift was just as frigid; Perrie pushing the buttons a bit forcefully with Jade leaning on the railing in the opposite corner, rolling her eyes at the woman's childish mannerism. Silence reigned, until there was a small chime and the doors opened.

Perrie stepped out first with Jade trailing behind. The pair approached the hostess, who smiled brightly at them.

"Good evening, do you have a reservation?" said the woman clad in a woman's suit.

"Nelson, table for four at seven pm?" Perrie answered. Jade was behind her doing God knows what in her phone. "She should already be here by now."

"Ah, yes. Please follow me."

Perrie returned the hostess' smile and followed her. She didn't turn back to check if Jade is following. Instead, she took a deep breath and prepared herself as they turned around the corner.

Soon enough, they spotted Jesy and Leigh-Anne seated at the rounded table. Jesy's back was facing them so Leigh-Anne was able to spot them first. A wide smile splashed across her features as she waves them over.

"Hey, girls!" she squealed.

Jesy turned around and giddily exclaimed, "Finally!"

"Hey, guys," Perrie exerted all her effort into the greeting, going around the table to hug her friends. In her peripheral vision, Jade is doing the same thing. "Have you guys ordered yet?"

"Not yet." Jesy gestured to the two empty seats on the opposite side. "Sit, sit!"

Perrie rounded and slid in to sit down, putting her cardigan beside her as to give her and Jade a little space in between. She's still a little mad about their argument earlier so might as well imply it to Jade. At the corner of her eye, she sees Jade pausing for a moment, probably looking at the cardigan, before promptly sitting down a few centimeters away from the piece of clothing.

"Here, skim over it for awhile to see if you'd like anything," Leigh handed over the menu to the both of them. "Jade, this place is known for their tasty lasagne so you can look it up, too."

"Ooh, I love lasagne," Jade chimes. "Let's get that."

Perrie looked over at her for a few seconds, silently but quickly basking in the adorable expression on the woman's face, then looked away before Jade could even catch her doing so. She then proceeded to open the menu, saying nothing and trying hard to seem calm when Jade reached out to steady the little book from the other side.

"You should try their peanut cookies, too."

Leigh's tone was light and teasing. But Perrie was quite sensitive when it comes to Jade. Instinctively, Perrie opens her mouth to reply -

Jade beats her to it, though. "I'm allergic to peanuts, doofus."

Perrie closed her mouth quickly and focused her gaze on the menu, mindlessly perusing over it. She tries to keep her heart from thawing when she hears Jade's angelic giggle.

"Perrie's gonna kill you if you order anything with peanuts in it," Jesy adds, a smirk visible on her face. "You know how overprotective she gets when it comes to Jade."

Perrie's laugh was forced, but she was thankful that the other girls didn't detect it. Jade notices it though as her grip on the menu tightened for a second before it slackened.

The food was finally ordered and conversation flowed easily afterwards. Perrie allowed herself to relax a little when none of their friends picked up on the tension between herself and Jade. She even found herself riding along with their jokes and banters; found herself smiling politely every time Jade speaks up, too.

"Yes, the food is here, people!" Jesy exclaims, fisting both her hands in the air like a kid who won a prize.

Conversation ceased for a moment; spoons and forks were all digging in and scooping some of the food on the table. Perrie was about to get a fried chicken but Jade was ahead of her, stabbing it with a fork and placed it on her plate before getting one for herself.

Perrie wanted to thank her for it but Jade was already in the middle of sinking her teeth in the meat so she held herself back instead. Not long enough though, the lasagne came, and Perrie was quick to slice a piece and give it to Jade as if to show gratitude for awhile ago. Jade solely flashed her a small smile as a 'thank you'.

Conversation resumed when their dessert came. Leigh was regaling everyone with her spiel about how she met her boyfriend's parents and embarassed herself by spilling profanities when her hot coffee burned her tongue. The whole table was struggling with a laughing fit and Jesy choking on her blueberry muffin did not help them at all.

Soon as time goes by, all their plates and glasses were emptied. Whilst listening to Jesy talk about her newly bought car being dented back in L.A., Perrie noticed that there was a small chunk of mushrooms pushed at the corner of Jade's plate.

"So I had to pay like how many bucks for it to be fixed," Jesy bleats, dramatically puffing out a deep breath. "My dad's gonna kill me for using his bank account."

"You didn't even use your own?" Leigh-Anne teased.

"Well, let's just say Jesy Nelson is a broke bitch now," Jesy grumbled.

While the rest erupted in laughter, Perrie quietly scooped the mushrooms onto her own plate. She was kind of struggling for a bit what with the distance between her plate and Jade's. So when she slid her plate nearer, the edges of their plates made a sharp but soft high-pitched sound. Jade glanced at her and their eyes met briefly before Perrie looked away, forcing her eyes to stay glued to what she's doing.

"Here," Jade says, before grabbing her spoon. She scooped the rest of the mushrooms and gently transferred it to Perrie's plate.

Perrie glanced up at her. "Thanks."

Jade simply nodded in response before joining in the conversation with the other two women.

Dinner has ended and everyone was leaning their backs against their chairs, feeling bloated.

"God, I feel so full right now," Jesy remarks, rubbing her stomach as if there is a child inside. "Are we gonna go home now?"

"Don't think we're done yet," Leigh playfully warned. "We're going to a club, people."

Jade saw Perrie twitch slightly. "Actually," Jade interjected, seeming apologetic. "We have to go now. Perrie has to be at the hospital at seven in the morning."

"For real?" Leigh groaned and faced the blonde, "Why is your job so demanding?"

Perrie flashes a rueful smile and shrugged lamely. "It is what it is."

"Doesn't it pain you? How about you, Jade?"

"It is what it is." Jade reiterated. She glanced at the blonde and their eyes met briefly before they both looked away. Jade shrugged her shoulders. "And besides, we're very considerate with each other. When I had to work some night shifts at the hospital and come home at three in the morning, Pez made sure not to wake me up. Same goes for her when she works the night shifts, too."

"It sucks how you guys work at the same hospital but have different work hours, huh?" Jesy conjectured.

Perrie and Jade looked at each other, both eyes looking apologetic. Perrie was the first to look away.

"It does suck," Perrie agrees, still sensing Jade's eyes observing her. "But we made it work, anyway."

"I envy you two," Leigh sighs, "Jordan and I used to fight when I had to work some night shifts. How do you guys not argue?"

Jade lets out a forced laugh and shrugs Leigh's response off with a "we're the best couple." Perrie smiles stiffly in response though.

"Anyway, just go already. Shoo! Shoo!" Jesy flicked her wrist, gesturing for them to do so.

The walk to their car was quiet, but the tension wasn't there anymore. Perrie was the first to initiate physical contact; her being the first to reach out and hold Jade's arm. Jade made the next move; her reaching out to slide Perrie's hand that was clutching her arm, down to her own hand so they can hold hands properly.

Once they reached the vehicle, Jade made sure to be the one to open Perrie's door this time, and Perrie, feeling a bit better now, allowed her to.

Jade didn't immediately turn on the engine when she got inside. Instead, she looked over at the blonde. Perrie sensed that Jade was peering into the side of her head, so she turned to meet her expectant gaze.

They stared at each other for a few seconds, before a soft smile tore through Jade's lips. "That was our first fight."

Her smile is being reflected on Perrie's face. "It was."

Jade reached out, held Perrie's hand that was resting on the blonde's thigh, and whispered, "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, too," Perrie whispered back.

It was silent for a moment before Jade spoke up again, "I know that there will be more fights in the future. And I know that some of them will be worse than this."

Perrie suddenly feels a lump in her throat. Tears are suddenly threatening to escape from her eyes. Her hand involuntarily squeezed Jade's hand for a second to get herself together; she was glad that Jade squeezed her hand back, too.

"So, I have a proposition to make," Jade continued. "After every fight, we say 'I love you'."

Perrie rolled her bottom lip between her teeth, staving off a sob. But Jade's loving gaze was too much for her to handle so she mentally blames it when a single tear sprung out of the corner of her eye and a sob absconded from her mouth. Jade lets out a silent chuckle and leaned in to wipe it away with her free hand, planting a kiss on Perrie's lips afterwards.

"I love you," Jade whispered against Perrie's lips.

Perrie wet her lips, and opened her eyes. "I love you, too."

"Let's end it that way, okay?"

Perrie smiled and nodded. "Okay."

The pair leaned in for a peck on the lips once more before Jade started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. When they got into the road, Jade turned on the radio this time. Her fingers tapping lightly on the steering wheel to the beat of the music. And Perrie wasn't uncomfortable anymore and didn't have to shift restlessly the whole ride home.