"i can't believe i'm babysitting your sister," i huffed as i plopped myself down on the blonde's bodacious body on the couch, throwing my arms and locking them around perrie's shoulders as she hummed in response and cradled my torso. "and may i add, i'm babysitting her on our anniversary! love, are you trying to kill me?"

"why are you so scared of my sister?" perrie chuckled, nuzzling her face underneath my jawline and pecking it. "she's literally the cutest and the most lovable human being in this planet!"

"you describe her as if she's the only cutest person you've seen," i frowned, gesturing to myself. "i'm probably the cutest one for you surely."

"nah."

"pez!"

perrie fell into peals of laughter as i tried my hardest to glare icily at her but to no avail once i see her smile adorably.

i rolled my eyes and shoved her playfully. "nothing's funny at all, edwards."

"aside from the fact that my 20-year-old girlfriend is so ludicrously intimidated and cannot abide my little sister?—" perrie shakes her head and giggled once again "—nothing seems to be making me laugh at all."

"little? that 13-year-old kid is undoubtedly going to slice my throat once i even lay my eyes on her and you call her little?" i scoffed and flail my hands up in the air. "unbelievable!"

"babe, trust me, she will slice your throat if she finds out my girlfriend's talking shit about her," perrie laughed and looked at me.

i frowned in disgust. perrie has got to see what her own sister is doing to me!

kate has been nothing but becoming the daughter of satan to me this whole week. i didn't know what the reason is. whenever i tried to ameliorate her antipathy toward me, it seems like it just aggravated it even more. if anything, i bet my whole entity that this girl won't even dither about killing me twice in an hour.

perrie must have been cognizant of my trepidation as i felt her arms tightened themselves around me. i heaved a sigh and leaned further against her in satisfaction, grateful that perrie did not waste a second knowing what to do mollify me.

"kate loves you, babe," she says, and i just had to shut my mouth not to blurt any unnecessary sayings to her.

and so instead i say, "okay. if you say so."

~•~•~

"what the fuck, kate! where have you been!?" i incontinently grasped her arm and propelled ourselves towards the egress of the club and i just realized that i have been holding my breath for so long as i search for the little twat. as soon as we exitted the building, i made sure i did not avert my eyes from the younger edwards.

"what the hell is wrong with you?! you're fu—freaking 13 years old for crying out loud! you seriously can't party at that age cohort—it's against the law, kate!" i sounded relieved but felt like the anger just sort of filtered my emotions.

kate rolled her eyes, obviously not bothering to at least show me that she cared for both herself and me. she quickly dislodged her arm from my clutch and sighed, frustrated. "you could've picked a better time to drag me out. i was with my fucking boyfriend!"

"don't you dare cuss at me."

"you think i'd follow you?"

"what the hell do you want from me?!"

"i don't want anything from you. i just want you to leave me alone and then maybe i won't be like this to you!"

i stared at her in unfiltered contempt and disdain. i have never met any kid this obnoxious but that doesn't mean that i'll let this deteriorate my dignity. i stepped forward and let my hands grab her shoulders, not letting kate dislodge herself from them this time. "kate, i am 7 years older than you and whether you like me or not, i deserve some respect here."

"yeah, sure," she says sardonically.

i remained staring at her for a good minute, until i feel my heart starting to rupture within me. this has got to be my first time confronting my girlfriend's younger sister and frankly, this must be the first time i felt heartbroken. kate never liked me, in fact, she abhorred me so badly and the fact that i couldn't do anything about it just made me feel impotent. all i've coveted was her approval of my being perrie's girlfriend but given the current situation i am in right now, it seems like the possibility is so remote.

i sighed heavily and meekly nodded my head. "kate, i know you hate me. i know that and i'm sorry for ruining your night but guess what? i'm not sorry for caring for you. you're perrie's sister and even if she tells me not to look out for you anymore, i'd still do it because you're like my sister, too, okay?"

kate didn't know how to respond to this, she just stared back at me as well. i finally released her from my hold and held her hand, leading ourselves to the parking lot to go home before perrie starts fretting over our whereabouts.

once we reached home, i didn't feel like going out of the car, and to my surprise, neither does kate as i hear her take a deep breath and exhaled loudly. i slowly twisted my head to see what she's doing and she faced me with her head. she smiled sadly.

"perrie loves you, jade. so, so, much," she said. she glanced at her clasped hands and started speaking again. she asked, "i'm sure perrie told you about the wreckage of her previous relationship, right?"

i nodded, "she did."

"but i'm more than certain she didn't tell you how many months she had to tell herself that she's fine . . ."

i knitted my eyebrows. "what? what do you mean—"

"perrie was devastated and depressed," kate spoke ever so slowly only for me to absorb the mere words. and when she knew i got it (from the frightened look of my face), she sighed heavily. "i . . . i didn't know what to do to cheer her up. perrie loved luke more than she loved herself, jade. she would always visit him every day just to catch a glimpse of her so-called 'gorgeous and trustworthy' boyfriend. and as cringe-y as it sounds, perrie claimed that he was the one."

i nodded for her to continue, feeling so intrigued by perrie's story and somehow felt guilty for even doing so because it feels like i'm intruding her privacy. but i just couldn't help it. i love perrie so much that i just wanted to hear everything that happened to her prior our relationship.

"i know i'm being bitchy to you," kate said, and i felt completely immersed in our conversation that i merely shrugged the deliberate slip of profanity off. kate faced me again, and i've never seen her so vulnerable and frail. "but i just presumed that if i do act bitchy to anyone who wanted to become romantically affiliated with my sister, then perhaps they'd be intimidated by me and they'd leave me and perrie alone before perrie gets hurt. and then you came along and . . . i don't know. perrie personally told me that you were the one this time and i was so ready to give you the benefit of the doubt but, like i said, i didn't want anyone hurting my sister."

"kate . . . ," i whispered, feeling remorseful of ever interpetting her repugnance for me wrongly. i removed my hands off the steering wheel and threw my arms around the younger blonde, embracing her as to manifest my apology. "i'm so sorry. i didn't know you felt that way. i was so self-righteous that i didn't know where you stand this whole time."

i felt kate's body tensed at my unanticipated action but i felt my smile grow wider once i felt her hands immediately hugged me back and her head burying itself under my chin. she didn't say anything to me, but i'm glad she didn't because i didn't have anything to say either.

"baby? is that you?"

kate and i let go of each other and discerned my beloved girlfriend waiting by the treshold of the door patiently. i smiled at kate then at my love before we both disembarked my vehicle and treading towards the house.

perrie stared at the both us alternately, perplexed and at the same time i knew she kind of figured out what happened already the moment i saw her happiest smile.

and before i knew it, perrie hugged me and kate so tightly i couldn't breathe.

"please tell me you guys are in good terms now," perrie practically begged.

kate smiled and let go, looking at me briefly and nodded her head at perrie. "i think she babysat me very well, sis."

i smiled back at her before kate excused herself and sauntered to the kitchen.

i looked at perrie adoringly, the same way she looked at me. "hi, baby."

"i told you she loves you," perrie teased and pecked my lips.

i smiled and pulled her in for an embrace, attempting to bask in the temporary physical contact especially after i knew about perrie's remission of depression. i hugged her as if she was the most imperative human being i was determined to keep in-between my arms every single day. i hugged her as if the only person that mattered to me right now is solely her.

i leaned my head back and pressed my lips against her forehead, fluttering my eyes closed. "happy 1st anniversary, baby. and advanced happy 1000th anniversary as well because i'm never going anywhere."