The Amazing Technicolor Love

Distance #12

Distance #12

Jack's POV

Peyton and I stood there on the track for what seemed like forever, talking and laughing. She had been so surprised to see me it took her a while to accept I was real. A lady and a college guy approached us then, I assumed it was her mom and brother. The lady had about shoulder length hair that was the same dirty blonde as Peyton's. She came over and embraced Peyton in a hug. "Oh sweetheart, you did amazing! I am so so so proud of my little girl," she congratulated Peyton. "Thanks, Mom," Peyton laughed and pulled away. "Nice job out there little sis, you killed it," her brother smiled and pulled her in for a hug, too. He was a little taller than me and extremely muscular. Peyton then turned to me. "Mom, Ryan, this is Jack Gilinsky," she said motioning to me. Her mom's face lit up. "Ahhh so this is the boy Peyton is constantly talking to, nice to meet you," she smiled at me while extending her hand. I smiled back and shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Logan." Ryan then extended his hand. "What's up, Jack," he gave me a head nod. "You treat my little sister right, okay?" He told me. "Of course, she deserves the best," I said while smiling at Peyton. Her cheeks flushed red and a smirk spread across her face. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my sisters walking towards us but I quickly realized my parents were with them. "Oh shit..." I said under my breath. Peyton turned to me, "What's wrong?" She asked, concern consuming her features. I didn't have time to answer before my parents and sisters were already next to us. "So this must be the infamous Peyton, I'm Jack's mom," my mom greeted her friendly while extending her hand. Peyton shook it and smiled, "It's nice to meet you." I could tell Peyton was confused as to why my parents and sisters were all here. My sisters and dad all took their turns introducing themselves. Then Peyton introduced them to her family. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know you were all coming, I would've had you stay at our house!" Peyton's mom told my family. My mom gave me a look. "We didn't know we were coming either!" She joked. "Oh goodness," Peyton's mom laughed, catching on to what my mom meant. "Well since we are all here and Peyton just did such an amazing job, let's all go out to eat," Mrs. Logan suggested. "That sounds like a great idea!" My dad said. "C'mon everybody let's go get to know each other," he made everyone laugh. We all began walking out of the stadium after Peyton had put on her sweats and grabbed her gym bag. While she was doing so, my mom pulled me off to the side. "Do not think your father and I forgot about what you did, so enjoy yourself now because you're not off the hook." I nodded. I knew it was coming, there was no way they weren't furious about what I did. After Peyton got her award and sweats, our families walked together in front of us but we hung in the back. "So I get the feeling you didn't tell your parents you were coming here?" Peyton asked me once we were alone. I rubbed the back of my neck. "Uh yeah, I guess you could say I've been grounded for some time and they wouldn't let me come..." I told Peyton honestly. "Oh no! Is Jack Gilinsky a bad boy!?" She playfully acted shocked. "I am not!" I defended myself. She linked her arm with mine then and laid her head on my bicep. "I know you're not, you're a great guy. And I'm so happy you're mine," Peyton told me. I leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

Peyton's POV

Jack's family and mine all went to a burger place in the downtown. It was surprisingly really fun. I had been nervous my mom would embarrass me, she was so outgoing I never knew what to expect but her and Jack's mom, who told me to call her Katherine, hit it off. I was also nervous that Ryan would be all over protective and immediately hate Jack before getting to know him but they talked a lot. Ryan told him some fun stories from college and Jack talked to Ryan a lot about his music because Ryan seemed really interested. I couldn't help but smile at that, I loved that Ryan genuinely seemed to like Jack. That was new for me. Ryan had hated all the other guys I dated, especially my last boyfriend, Nick. Even though Nick and I dated for three years and were serious, Ryan never ever liked him. I was so happy to start off on the right note with Jack. While they were talking, Molly, Laura and I were getting to know each other. They were super fun and easy to talk to. I was quickly finding that's how everyone in Jack's family was. "So Peyton, any plans for the future? I know you probably get asked that all the time but I just had to," Mr. Gilinsky chuckled while asking me. I smiled. "As of right now, I've been accepted to University of Kentucky and University of Arizona, I'm just trying to decide between the two, and then I'll hopefully go into children's therapy," I explained to Mr. Gilinsky. I saw everyone's face in Jack's family change. All their eyes grew wide and Jack's jaw dropped. "Pey, really?" He asked me. Suddenly I was nervous I said something wrong. Katherine looked at Jack and me. "Have you two never talked about college?" She genuinely asked us. We both shook our heads. I guess it just never came up. Jack and I preferred just living in the moment and talking about anything but school. "Well, then I guess you wouldn't know that Jack is going to University of Arizona in the fall," Mr. Gilinsky told me. I turned to Jack. "Seriously?" I couldn't believe it. How had we never thought about going to the same school? We would never deal with distance again. Jack's whole face lit up. "Hopefully Arizona is the decision you make," he said winking at me. I felt my face blush and I looked down at the table, laughing. I would be lying if I said the fact Jack was going to Arizona wasn't going to affect my decision. We finished our dinner, Mr. Gilinsky treated us and we headed out of the restaurant. "Why don't you all stay at our house for the night instead of going to a hotel?" My mom offered. "There's a lot of us, we wouldn't want to intrude," Katherine said. "Oh please, we have plenty of space, it would be nice to fill it for once. And it's our treat, in return for dinner!" Katherine and Mr. Gilinsky looked at each other. "Are you sure-" my mom cut Mr. Gilinsky off. "Absolutely. Come on, were all going to our house." Jack intertwined his hand with mine while we all walked to the cars. "Our families are hitting it off well, huh?" He whispered to me as we walked. "Tell me about it, you're already moving in!" I joked with him. He just pulled me closer into his side and laughed. I couldn't be happier. From hardly ever seeing Jack, to him randomly showing up and getting to spend the weekend at my house with me was incredible. He kissed my neck, tickling me. "Jack! Stop I squealed!" He just continued laughing. "We're with our families, behave yourself!" I scolded him while climbing into the backseat of the car, he slid in next to me and immediately put his arm around my shoulders and I laid my head on him.

Jack's POV

Ater a quick drive, we pulled into Peyton's neighborhood. It was a gated community and when we pulled in, the houses were massive. It seemed like a Beverly Hills of Illinois. Every single one of them was beautiful and had at least a four car garage. It seemed like a peaceful neighborhood though. It was lined with trees and traditional street lamps. The road curved upwards and sloped back down as we slowed down. Peyton's house sat in the back corner. It was tucked away but it was easily one of the biggest houses in the development. It was white stone and beautiful. We pulled into the driveway and unloaded the cars. Ryan let us in through the front door. The inside of the house was even more incredible. It had a huge winding staircase in the front entry that was a deep wood. Peyton came in the door behind me, her gym bag in hand. "Here, I can show everyone to their rooms," she said while beginning to walk up the giant stair case. Once upstairs, I realized Mrs. Logan wasn't kidding when she said they had plenty of space. They had three guest bedrooms which meant they had a total of six bedrooms. I was in complete awe of Peyton's life. I never imagined a down to earth girl like her, would be living like this. We all settled in. A little later, our parents and siblings were all sitting, talking, and drinking beer and wine in the cozy but large living room. I sat out on the back patio, waiting for Peyton to finish showering. Our parents made it clear that the same rules applied, meaning no being in her room alone together. The sky was clear and the stars were visible. Peyton's backyard was spacious, she had a pool with a stone waterfall that was lit up. The sound of the water was peaceful and was the only sound besides the crickets in the night. Peyton walked out then, adorned in leggings and a big hoodie. Her hair was in a messy bun. "Pardon my ratchet attire," she told me while curling up onto my lap. "You still look flawless to me," I told her while kissing her lips gently. We sat together in silence for a while, Peyton laid her head in the crook of my neck. "This is still unreal, I can't believe you're actually here, and your parents agreed to stay at my house..." Peyton said. I couldn't agree more with her. It seemed so unreal but I was so happy how everything worked out. I remembered something important then. "The night is not over yet though," I told her. "Wait here," I said while lifting her off my lap and standing up. "Where are you going?" She asked me. "You'll see!" I told her before walking back into her house.

Peyton's POV

I sat out on the patio for what felt like forever waiting for Jack to return but he never did. Instead Molly came out, "Hey Peyton! Come out front," she told me. I followed her through my house and out the front door. When we walked out, Jack was standing out on the driveway. A bouquet of flowers in his hand and a poster in the other that read "I have taken 'flights' to travel a 'distance' to be in 'paradise' with you at prom. I know I'm late, but please say you'll be my date?" My jaw dropped. "Yes!" I shrieked while running over to Jack. I flung my arms around his neck, ignoring his full hands. My heart was racing, the night had been beyond perfect. I never wanted to let go of Jack.