The Amazing Technicolor Love

Trouble in Paradise #2

Trouble in Paradise #2

Peyton's POV

I woke up around 8 in the morning due to the bright sun shining in through our dorm window. I rolled over in bed to see that Allie was already gone. Two weeks had passed since we first moved into our dorm, which meant classes had started too. My first class wasn't until 10 so I was able to sleep in, unlike Allie who had a class at 8. I stared up at the plain white ceiling as I woke up. No matter how much sleep I got, I always felt tired and sort of empty. The week before classes had started, Allie and I had gone out every night to different parties. We met a lot of cool people and had fun but I never felt fully there. My mind was constantly wandering to Jack and what he might be doing. I was trying to stop those thoughts from occurring so I found myself partying more to get out of my head. Running also helped clear my head so I decided to crawl out of bed and go for a run. It was the last week of August which meant it was extremely hot. I put on a sports bra, running shorts, and my shoes. I then grabbed my head phones and left the dorm. The sun immediately felt hot against my skin. I put my headphones in and turned my music up loud, in an attempt to drown out any of my thoughts. College was supposed to be fun, I kept telling myself. I should be enjoying myself and making new friends, not constantly thinking about Jack and how terribly I missed him. However, being my stubborn self, I refused to cave in and call him, so instead I would continue partying, studying, and running and hopefully that would be enough to distract myself from the one person who had my entire heart in the palm of his hands.

Jack's POV

"Yo Jack. Dude you seriously have to get with it. This is our career now." Johnson said to me while we sat in a recording studio in Los Angeles. I nodded. "I'm sorry," I mumbled. "I just need five." Johnson sighed but allowed me to leave the booth. I walked outside into the sunlight. 'Get with it, Jack.' I kept repeating to myself. Why was I acting like this? Why couldn't I function? It was as though I needed Peyton in my life to even get my body and brain to work together. Break ups weren't supposed to be like this. Any other break up I had never left me feeling empty and like I had physically lost an arm or something. Without Peyton, I felt like I was missing half myself. Except, I wasn't about to admit that to anyone. All my guy friends would just tell me I was "whipped". I pulled my phone out of my pocket and contemplated just calling Peyton. The irony was that the silence between us was so loud, it was deafening. 'Maybe if I just broke the ice everything could somehow fall back into place?' I kept wondering. The door opened and closed behind me and Johnson appeared next to me. "Let's sit down," he said, nodding towards the bench in front of the studio. "Okay, what's up? Talk to me. You know you can tell me anything." He said to me. "It hurts, man." Was all I could say to him. "Peyton?" Johnson asked. "Yeah, I don't know how we messed it up so badly. I just didn't expect it turn out like this." Johnson nodded. "And I'm sorry I've been so out of it, it's just I can't even think straight when Peyton isn't apart of my life." I apologized. Johnson just shook his head, "No, bro, don't apologize. I can tell you're hurting, I know you like the back of my hand. And I hate seeing my brother like this. I'm here for you. I wish I could fix it but just know I'm here for you. And hey, maybe just give her a call. I'm sure she is sitting in Arizona hurting just as much as you are. Take you're time, we'll be inside when you're ready."

Peyton's POV

I ran until my lungs were burning and I was dripping sweat. A palm tree was providing some shade so I walked over and sat down underneath it, attempting to catch my breath. A guy with short blonde hair, buff arms, and green eyes came up to me. He was wearing a cut off shirt and gym shorts. "You look like you could use this," he said to me while handing me a fresh water bottle from the street vendor down the street. I smiled up at him. "Thank you," I said while taking a long drink of water. "Pretty hot out here, huh?" He asked me while sitting underneath the palm tree with me. I nodded. "But that's the best time to work out, you sweat even more." I told him. He laughed. "Exactly!" He agreed. I fidgeted with the hem of my shorts while we sat there in silence. "Well listen, I've got an apartment off campus and bunch of people are going to come over tonight. You should stop by." He offered. All of a sudden I felt uncomfortable. Whoever this guy was, he was super sweet and attractive and I knew his intentions were good, but something in me just didn't want to deal with it. I stood up. "Thanks for the offer, but I've got a lot of studying tonight. Thanks for the water, see ya." I said while walking away, leaving him sitting under the palm tree. I didn't want to be rude but I realized I didn't want to focus on another guy or relationship. Any other relationship seemed pointless if it wasn't with Jack. I knew that no matter what, I wasn't going to get Jack out of my head or heart. I didn't know if I should hate him for making me fall so crazy in love with him where I couldn't see straight when we weren't together or love him for teaching me how to open my heart in a way that I never knew was possible. As I approached my dorm, I decided I would call him and apologize for reacting the way I did. That I was sorry for not supporting him on going on tour rather than going to school. A smile spread across my face just thinking about hearing his husky, sexy voice again. As thoughts of Jack ran through my head, my phone started ringing. I glanced down to see "Jack Gilinsky" across the screen. He was calling me? I was shocked but quickly answered. "Hello?" I asked. Johnson's voice came through the phone, "Peyton, it's Jack. He's hurt."