The Amazing Technicolor Love

Distance #17

Jack's POV

I pulled up outside Johnson's house. Mallory and him were standing out on the driveway with all their stuff around them. Mallory held her pillow in her hand with suitcases all around her feet. I pulled into the driveway and hopped out of the front seat. It was a beautiful June day. The skies were pure blue without a cloud in the sky and the sun was shining. It was around 80 degrees but a cool breeze blew threw the trees. "Yo, dude, what's up!!!" Johnson basically yelled while pulling me into a bro hug. "You as pumped as I am!?" He asked. "Hell yes." I responded. I turned to Mallory. "Hey, Mall," I said and gave her a hug. "Hey Jack," she said while awkwardly hugging me with her pillow. "You boys ready to hit the road?" Mallory asked, beginning to pick up her bags while Johnson helped her with the others. "We've got a long drive," I laughed. It had been about three weeks since graduation and it was finally the weekend we were all going to Sammy's beach house. Instead of flying, we decided to roadtrip there. It was about a three day drive from Omaha to Ormond Beach, where Sammy's house in Florida was. I was driving Johnson and Mallory in my car and Sammy was driving with Erin, her boyfriend Jake, and his friend Claudia. Then there was one more car with Emily, Chelsea, and our friend Brock. To say the least, we had a ton of people going. It was our last big hooray of high school plus our last summer together before college. Except I wasn't excited about any of that, all I could think about was how in one day we would be in Chicago, picking up Peyton to come with us. I was so happy her mom had agreed to let her come with us. A whole week with my best friends, the beach, and my favorite girl sounded like complete paradise. Mallory, Johnson and I loaded into my Jeep and settled in. We turned the radio on and headed out to the highway. Sammy followed us and Emily followed him so we could caravan out. We hit the highway and headed towards Chicago.

Peyton's POV

Grace lay on my bed while I sat on the ground, deciding what to pack. Thankfully my mom agreed to allow me to go with Jack to Florida. I felt like a little kid on a Christmas Eve, the excitement was physically taking over my body. It seemed unreal that Jack and I would get to be together for a solid week straight. I started smiling just thinking about it. Jack said he would pick me up tomorrow so I was trying to pack everything I needed. "Gracie, I don't know what to pack!" I panicked as I looked through my closet. I was nervous to spend the week with a bunch of new people, all I wanted was to be with Jack, and anything was worth that, but I was still nervous. "Girl, don't pack anything, Jack would love it," Gracie winked at me from the bed. I picked up a magazine from my desk and chucked it at her. "Shut up!" I laughed. She started laughing too before getting off my bed. "Move aside," she said while taking my place in my closet. Grace looked through my clothes before deciding on some options. She took them off the hangers and laid them on my bed. "Boom. Perfect." She said while resuming her position on my bed. I sighed but figured it was good. I folded them all and placed them in my bag. My mom knocked on the door then. "Come in!" I called. "Why hello lovely ladies!" She greeted while strolling into my room. "What's up Mama L," Grace said while my mom gave her a kiss on the forehead and sat down next to her. "How are my favorite girls doing?" She asked. "Nervous." I told her. "Aw Peyton, honey you have nothing to be nervous about! Jack will be with you the whole time," she told me. I knew she was right but I was never good at making new friends and a week with all new people was intimidating. Ryan walked by my room then and quickly turned back around and peeked his head. "Looks like a party in here, may I join?" He joked. "Heck yes you may!" Grace said while laughing. Her crush on Ryan had never been a secret so we all always joked about it. Ryan laughed and joined my mom and Grace on my bed. "Oh Gracie, will you ever get over me?" He playfully asked while tickling her stomach. She giggled and pushed him away. "You all packed Pey?" Ryan asked me. "I think so..." I told him while recounting everything I had. "Man, I'm so jealous. Mom never would have let me take a 16 hour roadtrip to Florida with a ton of friends at your age." Ryan said. My mom just laughed. "Well Ryan, that's because you didn't have someone like Jack in your life. I'm telling ya, Peyton, that boy is a keeper. I haven't been fond of your past choices to say the least, but this one, this one I couldn't be happier about." I smiled at my mom's comment. It made me happy she approved of Jack so much. I was happy I wasn't the only one who could see how utterly amazing he was. Everyone hung around in my room for a while but eventually Ryan went out with friends and my mom went to bed. "Ready to get some sleep?" I asked Grace while pulling back the covers on my bed. "Absolutely, I am exhausted. Watching you pack is tiring." She said while crawling under the covers. I laughed at her while climbing in next to her. I wore Jack's tshirt, just like I had every night since prom. Grace turned off the light on the nightstand. "Goodnight, best friend," she said to me. "Goodnight, Gracie." I responded. Ever since we were little, Grace and I would sleep in my bed together. She slept over almost every weekend and now that it was summer it became an almost daily thing. With the familiar feel of Grace's body next to mine, I settled in and fell asleep, thinking about how in less than 24 hours I would be with Jack.

Jack's POV

We stopped at a Holdiay Inn in Davenport, Iowa for the night. We were about halfway to Chicago so we would drive the rest of the way tomorrow. Johnson, Sammy, Brock and I all shared a room. Sammy and I were exhausted since we had done most of the driving today and tomorrow Johnson and Brock would drive. I fell into bed and began to drift off to sleep. I thought of Peyton and how close I was to getting to see her. I kept fantasizing about all we would get to do while in Florida. Peyton always told me how much she loved the ocean and the beach. She said it made her feel free. I was so happy that we would get to go the ocean together, I wanted to see her in a carefree environment with nothing but just us on her mind. It was going to be incredible. Johnson was already snoring next to me and I could hear Sammy and Brock's heavy breathing from the other bed. I decided I should probably go to sleep, too, since we still had a lot of traveling. I rolled over and closed my eyes. I fell asleep in an instant, my body exhausted from the long drive and the constant thought of Peyton.