The Amazing Technicolor Love

Trouble in Paradise #16

Peyton's POV

The weeks passed and eventually the semester ended. I finished my first semester of college with all A's and B's which I was shocked about given the chaotic months I had. The last day Allie and I had said goodbye and she helped me pack up my things from the dorm room. Jack had flown back out to assist in moving all my things to LA. Thankfully, I mainly had clothes so it was an easy move. Jack and I had then flown back to LA together. It was a week before Christmas but it still felt like summer in California, quite different than the Chicago winters I was used to. "And here we are," Jack said while opening the door to the apartment, a couple of my bags in hand. I stepped in behind him and set my bags down, taking in the view. When you walked in, it was open with a large window straight ahead, looking out to the city and the mountains. "Jack, this is incredible," I breathed, in awe of the view. He chuckled. "Not a bad place to live, huh?" He asked while closing the door and walking in. The living room was in front of the window and the kitchen was to the right of it. Everything was very updated and contemporary. "Okay, down that hall," Jack pointed to a hallway off the left of the living room. "Is two bedrooms, Johnson and Sam have those rooms and share the bathroom down here." I nodded, looking down the hall to see the two rooms. "Upstairs, in the loft is one room and bathroom...that's our room." Jack smirked at me. A wide smile spread across my face as I wrapped my arms around Jack's waist. "I like the sound of that," I told him. I then walked across the living room to the free standing stair case by the large window. I climbed the stairs up to my new room. Jack had cleaned up, everything was in place and the bed was made. Jack came up the stairs behind me then, "What do you think?" he asked me. I turned to face him, "It's perfect," I told him while pulling his face down to mine into a kiss. He kissed back, smiling into it before pulling away. "Well let's get you unpacked." As Jack and I descended the spiral stair case, I couldn't help but feel an uneasiness in my stomach. The feeling had been occurring a lot lately however I knew what the cause of it was. I hadn't talked to my mom in over a month, after countless texts and calls she eventually stopped trying. Even though I wanted silence from her, when I achieved it, I didn't feel the success I was expecting to feel, rather I felt awful lonely. Once down in the living room, I stared out the open window at the California landscape. A wave of homesickness churned in my stomach. It was December 15th. This time of year Ryan and I were normally arguing over who should shovel the driveway and at night my mom and I would lay in her big bed and watch Christmas movies, Grace sometimes joining us in the festivities. It was odd looking outside and seeing palm trees and mountains rather than white snow everywhere. It was even more odd realizing this would be my first Christmas spent away from home, without my family...without even speaking to my family. I felt Jack's muscular arms wrap around me then. "You okay, Pey?" He asked me gently. I put on a fake smile and turned to face him. "Yep! Just taking it all in, let's get my bags!" I pulled myself out of his arms and went to the front door. Jack hung back and watched me for a moment, clearly doubting that I was okay. I ignored his uncertainty and began to unpack my things.

Jack's POV

I helped Peyton carry her bags upstairs. Peyton kept claiming she was okay, but I knew she wasn't. She would never admit it, but I knew her like the back of my hand, better than I even knew myself. She sat on the floor quietly taking clothes out of suitcases and refolding them. I sat next to her, trying my to best fold the clothes neatly. I knew Peyton was furious with her mom but I also knew how much it hurt her to push her mom away. My mind was having a battle with itself. I didn't know if I should tell Peyton to call her mom and fix things or to let her handle the situation the way she wanted to. All I knew was that I hated seeing Peyton hurting, I just wanted to take away her sadness. However, that was difficult to do when she tried to hide the fact she was even sad in general. The silence filled the room. I rattled my brain thinking of things to say or do to help. "So P, what do you want to do to celebrate your first night here?" I asked her. She got up from the ground and carried a pile of clothes over to the dresser drawer. "I'm fine doing whatever, I'm just happy to be with you." She smiled at me. "Well I want to treat my girl. Let's go on a date. To a nice dinner. You and me." Peyton shook her head. "Jack, I don't want you wasting money on me-" I cut her off. "It's not a waste, now get ready, I'll go make a reservation." With that, I went back downstairs to the kitchen to make reservations at Spago. It was a fancy restaurant in the heart of LA and Beverly Hills. I figured it would be romantic given the black and white dining room and the patio that was laced in twinkling white lights. After making the reservation, I hopped in Johnson and Sam's shower to get ready.

Peyton's POV

I quickly showered, feeling gross from traveling all day. I had used Jack's shampoo that was in the shower since I didn't have my own yet plus I liked having Jack's scent on me. Once out of the shower, I didn't have time to do anything with my hair so I just let my natural waves fall over my shoulders and applied some light make up. I then searched through my clothes that were still pretty unorganized. After some searching, I finally decided on a simple black dress. It had a fitted body with lace sleeves. I slipped into black heels. With one last glance in the mirror, I headed downstairs. Jack was sitting on the couch in the living room in a suit. My stomach did flips when I saw him. He looked so handsome. He turned to face me when he heard my obnoxious heels coming down the stairs. My face turned red when I felt his heavy stare on me. He got up from the couch and walked over to me. Nerves rushed through my body. "Is it too much?" I asked him, wondering if I had over dressed. He shook his head. "No...you're just...you're so...you look gorgeous." My cheeks flushed even more at his comment. "Thanks," I said quietly, looking down at the necklace I was holding in my hands. "Could you put this on for me?" I asked Jack. He nodded and picked up the little diamond necklace in his large hands. I turned around and swept my hair to the side. He gently clasped it around my neck, letting his hand fall down the side of my cheek, grazing it gently. I tried to steady my breath at his touch. "Ready to go?" He whispered through the stillness surrounding us. I sighed before smiling. "Yeah, let's go," Jack took my hand in his and we made our way out of the apartment, down to the garage where Jack's Jeep was. He opened the door for me before going around to the driver's side. We then pulled out of the garage into the LA night.

~

"But I called and made a reservation over three fucking hours ago." Jack angrily told the hostess at the host stand. "Mr. Gilinsky, I realize that but I'm sorry. There are no tables available." Jack looked like he was about to explode. His perfect jaw was clenched and he glared at the girl. "Then what the fuck is a reservation for?" He asked bitterly. She began to apologize more but I gently tugged on Jack's hand and pulled him away, mouthing "sorry" to the hostess at the stand. She smiled and moved onto the next guest, happy to be rid of Jack. I led Jack out the doors, onto the street. "Babe, it's okay. We'll just go somewhere else." I told him gently. "No Pey, I wanted tonight to be perfect. I wanted to take you out." He told me, sadness filling his voice. I reached up and ran my thumb across his cheek, forcing him to look down at me. "Jack, tonight already is perfect. I'm with you." I told him. Finally, his jaw unclenched and a smirk spread across his face. "Alright, let's find some place else," Jack said while pulling me into his side. We walked down Hollywood Boulevard and saw the Walk of Fame and continued walking for blocks. Jack's hand was interlaced with mine and we talked about everything. It felt so good to know we didn't have to say goodbye rather than just goodnight later. After stopping into a few restaurants it looked like we were out of luck. "Everything's packed, now what should we do?" I asked Jack. He thought for a moment before speaking. "I have an idea, come on," Jack took my hand again and we continued walking. I told myself to not complain about the throbbing in my feet since it was my own fault for wearing heels. Thankfully, our destination was close. After a couple blocks, Jack and I walked up to an In-n-Out Burger. "Our dining for the night, my lady," Jack joked, sounding all proper. I sighed. "Sounds great to me. I need a burger. I'm starving." So Jack and I walked into In-n-Out Burger, dressed in a dress and suit, we ordered our burgers and fries and sat down in a booth. People were giving us looks but we were too busy laughing and enjoying the turn out of our night to even care about anything else besides the moment.