The Amazing Technicolor Love

Flights #10

Peyton's POV

"The white house in the corner, right there," I pointed towards my house so the taxi driver could drop me off. I glanced at my phone, it was around 4:30 in the morning. I was physically and emotionally exhausted. All I had been telling myself was to just to get home, just make it home and then I could break down. As I unloaded my luggage from the cab, I couldn't help but feel overwhelmingly confused with myself. I had chosen to leave the tour yet I wasn't at peace. I felt heartbroken. The kind of heartbroken where you feel a physical pain in your chest. That scared me. It had only been a few hours away and I already felt like total shit. I kept telling myself I made the right decision. I would find happiness with myself, not with Jack. I thanked the cab driver and he pulled away, leaving me alone in the dark, humid, July morning. I sighed and began hiking my things up the long driveway to the house. As I punched in the garage code, I prayed the garage wouldn't wake up my family. I didn't want to alarm them by randomly showing up at 4:30 in the morning. I cringed as it clattered upwards before coming to a halt. I walked through the familiar garage and opened up the door to the house. The cool air-conditioned air greeted me. I had been away for so long but it still felt like home, it always would. I closed the garage behind me and slipped out of my shoes. It felt good to finally free my feet. I had been in such a daze through the traveling process, I didn't realize how exhausted I was. Sam had ridden in the cab with me to the airport and walked me to security. I had told him he didn't need to go through security with me but he refused. He walked through the machines and then helped me to my gate. Sam sat with me while I waited for the plane. We had sat in silence, not wanting to discuss the reason I was leaving. Once the plane arrived, Sam made sure I got on before leaving the airport to head back to the hotel. He had given me a tight hug. "Take care of yourself, Peyton Logan." He smiled before walking away. "Thanks, Sammy!" I called after him before getting on the plane. As I remembered the long morning I had, I quietly made my way up to my room. My bags were heavy and I attempted to not run into the walls as I made my way through the darkness. Finally, I succeeded in climbing our large staircase and trudged into my room. I plopped my bags down and looked around. It felt so great to be home. I didn't even bother showering, brushing my teeth, or changing. I closed my door and pulled back my covers, crawling in completely clothed. I was exhausted and I hadn't realized how much I missed my own bed.

Jack's POV

I usually enjoyed bus rides. All the guys would hang out or I would take a nap. I loved the way the bus would lull you to sleep. But it was hell this morning. I felt like shit and everyone was angry with me. My mom came back into the bedroom at the back of the bus. "Jack, we're stopping in ten for lunch," she said coldly before turning to leave. I groaned. "You, too? You're my mom, aren't you always supposed to be on my side?" I whined. She chuckled. "Sweetie, it's not that," she said while walking over to the bed. I was laying on top of the sheets in just a pair of gym shorts, scrolling through my phone. I set my phone down as she took a seat next to me. "Jack, you've always been a mature boy. I've always been proud of how you handle yourself. But I'm not proud at how you handled last night. I understand that Peyton and you couldn't handle the tour anymore. It's not that. I just wish you would have made better choices. For one, not letting your eighteen year old girlfriend travel to Chicago, alone, in the middle of the night." I cut her off. "Yeah but Sam-" she gave me a look. "That should have been you, not Sam, and you know that. So don't make me even get into that." She said sternly. I gave up and laid my head back on the pillow. "And secondly," she continued. "You didn't need to go out and get drunk with some girls in a bar. That's not good for you or for the public to see. I just hope that when things get tough you make better decisions. I'm not asking you to keep your girlfriend on tour with you because I understand how that's difficult. I'm just disappointed in your actions, Jack." With that, my mom got up off the bed and walked out of the bedroom, leaving me alone. I stared at the ceiling. Growing up, the worst thing in the world was hearing your parents say they're disappointed in you. It was worse than any punishment or lecture. I hated hearing that I had disappointed them. Yet, my mom had just sat there and told me how disappointed she was. It was written all over her face and I didn't feel anything. I didn't feel guilty. Peyton freaked out, she acted like any normal girl would but Peyton wasn't any normal girl. She was my girl. She was supposed to be the girl I had fallen in love with a year ago. But she wasn't. She got jealous of fans and became clingy. Just thinking about it made me angry. I didn't care if I went out and got drunk. I was young and I had girls who wanted me, why shouldn't I take advantage of that? My family and friends could be as disappointed as they wanted, I didn't regret what I did. I glanced out the window at the passing trees. Peyton was gone and that was okay. I was going to live a new life, a life that didn't involve me being tied down.

Peyton's POV

"Those fucking Omaha boys." Grace said, anger dripping in her voice. I chuckled as I pulled a pickle out of the jar that was sitting on the counter. I began nibbling on it. "Grace Isabella Butler, language!" My mom scolded from the other side of the kitchen where she was making us sandwiches. Earlier that morning when I had woken up, I explained the long story to my extremely concerned mother and extremely angry brother. My mom felt awful and was upset with how Jack had handled things where as Ryan just wanted to beat the shit out of him. Grace had then come over and heard the whole story, too. We had decided we didn't need boys, we were going to have a summer just like the ones we had when we were kids...plus some other substances. I giggled. "Whoops..." Grace whispered. We both laughed. We were sitting at the counter in just our bikinis. It was one of the hottest days yet in the summer and we were spending it poolside. My mom walked over to us with our plates. "Eh, its okay Gracie. I'm with you on this one. 'Those fucking Omaha boys' don't know what they're missing because you two are the prettiest ladies I've ever seen." She gave us a smile. "Go enjoy the pool!" she called while walking away. Grace and I laughed while carrying our food back outside. We settled in on the lounge chairs. "So, lets have a party." Grace declared. I choked on my food. "I'm sorry, did you say a party?" I clarified. "Yeah," she said casually, taking another bite of her sandwich. "I mean, since you've been dating Jack, we haven't seen our high school friends much. You used to throw the best parties, remember? Let's get back to that. Have some fun, see old friends!" Grace encouraged. I chewed my food while glancing out at the pool. I never expected to agree with Grace, I was so over the high school party scene, but she had a point. Maybe a good party just like the old times was exactly what we needed. "Okay, lets do it. Tomorrow night, that'll be perfect because it's my mom's friend's birthday dinner or something." I said. Grace cheered. "Yay!!! We're going back to high school!" she screeched before jumping back into the pool. The sun was high in the sky and I felt my tan deepening. The trees were such a vibrant green and Grace's hair sparkled in the water. I laid back on the lounge chair and exhaled. I was going to try my best to make this summer a good one.

~

The next night, my house was crazy. Neither Grace or I thought it would be such a big turnout but tons of kids from our high school class showed up, plus some from the grade below us. Everyone was having a good time, dancing around by the pool or hanging in the house. I walked around, catching up with some people. Grace and I had taken plenty of shots before everyone had arrived so I was feeling good, and not totally with it, which was exactly what I needed. "Hey Peyton!" a kid called to me. I remembered him from high school, he played football. "We're going to smoke out front if you want to join us!" he said. I smiled, that sounded like an even better time. "Sure," I agreed before following him out to my front porch. I lived in such a secluded area, it was easy to smoke out front. I remembered all the nights Grace and I spent sitting out here staring at the stars while we smoked, it made me smile thinking about all the memories. As I sat down with the group of somewhat familiar boys, I looked up at the stars. I had prevented it the last two days but then it hit. The heartache. I missed Jack. I missed Jack like no other. I watched the guys around me and all I wished was that Jack was one of them. Whenever Jack and I smoked, we would lay together and stargaze while talking about the universe. It was always so relaxed and I felt so safe laying in Jack's arms. How could I be so angry and hurt by him yet still crave him so deeply? I was lost in thought and hardly noticed that I had been taking hits from the joint being passed around. A breeze finally broke through the heat, bringing a chill to my bones. The guys around me all talked and laughed. None of their voices were familiar, none of their stories interested me. I gazed upward when I heard a familiar voice. "Is that Peyton Logan?" I paused. My heart stopped. I pulled my eyes away from the sky and looked at the group of guys walking across my front lawn. There he was, walking in front. "It's been too long!" he said cheerfully while walking over to me. I felt frozen, I could hardly fake a smile. It had been two years since we had spoken. I never planned on speaking to him again. "Hi Nick," I eventually muttered. He smiled and pulled me into a hug. Nick. The only other guy I had dated besides Jack. I looked up at him. It was crazy how I used to have every feature of his memorized and now he was merely a stranger. As I looked at him, a genuine smile grew on my face. Nick...maybe he was exactly what I needed.