Strength Of The World

While they were at the restaurant, Peyton received a few more gifts. Michelle and Brian had gotten her a gift card to the new maternity store at the mall, Leana and Jimmy gave her a new pair of Vans, Johnny and Lacey gave her a gift card to a makeup store she loves, and Matt and Val surprised her with tickets to a Korn concert. "Oh my god!" She squealed, "This is the best birthday ever!" "You know you don't have to actually use those tickets, right?" Johnny pointed out, "You know you can just stand to th side of the stage with the rest of us." "Johnny, when has Peyton ever wanted to not be in the crowd during a concert? She's always gotta be up front, where the action is." Brian laughed, ruffling Peyton's hair. "Yeah except this year there will be no action." Zack said sternly. "Exactly. Which is why we got floor seats." Matt grinned. "Dude. As long as it's the front row of the floor I'm good. No pit or pushing up on the barrier for me, promise." Peyton said, holding her hands up innocently. Peyton had always loved going to concerts. Even when she went to Avenged shows she would be out in the very front row, screaming along with the fans to every word of every song. She loved the whole concert experience. "But once the baby comes you better believe my ass will be right back out there the first chance I get." She grinned at Zack, who laughed and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Yeah yeah I know. You can't be tamed.

The rest of their dinner was full of laughter, jokes, and conversation. Once they paid their tabs, they headed for the pumpkin patch. They walked around and looked at different animals, and Johnny and Jimmy got kicked out of the bounce houses. They even went on a little hayride around the patch, Peyton snuggled into Zack's side with his arm around her throughout the entire ride. She looked at the man beside her and the friends she had around her and decided that life could not get any better than this. Well, until the baby was born.

After the hayride the sun was going down, so they headed across the property to the corn maze. Walking up to the entrance, Peyton read the sign. "Shit. Shit shit shit." She grumbled. "Who picked this pumpkin patch?" She said angrily, turning around to look at her friends. They all looked shocked, and pointed to Johnny. "I thought it wouldn't be too bad." He chuckled weakly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Really Jonathan? You picked one with a HAUNTED FUCKING CORN MAZE?" She shouted. "Holy shit she's pissed." Brian whispered to Jimmy. "Hooormooooones." He whispered back in a sing song voice. Peyton sighed angrily, and turned so her back was facing the group, blinking back tears. She felt stupid for being so upset about a corn maze. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Johnny staring down at her. "We don't have to do this, Peyton. I figured you'd need a little bit of fun. I'm sorry." Peyton's eyes filled with more tears and she sighed heavily. "No. We're already here. I'm just going to need to be surrounded by at least 4 people." She said, making him laugh loudly and pull her into a hug. "We'll protect you, Peanut." "I'm sorry I yelled at you. This baby makes me a little crazier than normal." She said, feeling a little embarrassed. "Don't sweat it kid. I get it. Let's go have some fun." Johnny motioned to the rest of the group and they all headed into the maze. Peyton had just gotten through the entrance and her palms were already sweating and she had Zack's arm in a death grip. "Babe. You're okay." He chuckled, pulling her close. "I got you. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you." They walked through the maze and Peyton realized it wasn't as bad as she thought. Sure there were some super scary parts, but she didn't feel panicked like she did the last time the guys took her to a haunted house.

They were finished with the maze and she had just stepped out of the bathroom to meet everyone at the pumpkin buying part of the patch when her shoulder bumped into someone. "Oh shit, sorry I-" was all she got out before she looked at the person. She froze where she was standing and her blood ran cold. "Jason." She whispered. "You know, Peyton. You should really watch where the fuck you're going." He said, gripping her arm tightly. "Let go of me." She said through gritted teeth. "Let go or I'll fucking scream." Jason only squeezed her arm tighter. "I meant what I said to you. You're coming back with me." "No, actually I'm not." She growled. "Yes, you will. I'll be back soon." He said as he dropped her arm and casually walked away. Peyton didn't know how long she was standing there until she heard someone behind her calling her name. "Peyton! Pey! Hey! P.Smith!" Matt shouted, walking toward her. She slowly turned around and looked at him. She was afraid to move. "Matt" She whispered. He caught up to her just as she took her first step forward and lost her balance. "Whoa. Peyton are you okay?" He asked as he caught her. "Jason is here. I saw him. He touched me." She said quietly, grabbing a handful of Matt's shirt. "What?" He asked, looking around angrily. "Come on. Let's get you to Zack. He's paying for some pumpkins. You need to get out of here." He wrapped his arm around her and led her to her Jeep, where Zack and Val were loading pumpkins and the rest of the group was just hanging around. "Zack. Dude." Matt said loudly when they were close enough for him to hear. Zack turned his attention toward his friend and his face fell when he saw Peyton. "What happened? Why is she crying?" He asked, jogging over. Peyton wiped her eyes quickly, not realizing that she had been crying. Matt explained what she had told him and Zack was furious. "He fucking touched her?" He fumed. He held his hand out to Peyton, who immediately darted into his arms and he wrapped his arms tightly around her. "Baby, you okay?" He asked into her hair. Matt went to fill the others in on what happened. Zack squeezed tighter when he felt Peyton's tiny body shaking underneath him. "Baby you're okay. I got you. He's not going to touch you again." He said softly to her. "Come on, let's get you home." He led her to the passenger side of the Jeep and helped her in the back seat. Val climbed in before he shut the door and grabbed Peyton's hand. While Zack and Matt were outside the vehicle talking to the guys, Peyton let out a strangled sob. Val quickly wrapped her arms around her best friend as she cried quietly. When the guys got into the front seats, their hearts broke at what they saw. Peyton was crying in Val's arms, and Val had tears rolling down her face as she looked at her husband. Matt climbed in the back seat and wrapped his arms around both of the women, and Zack drove them all home. Once they got to Matt and Val's house they helped Peyton into the front seat before heading inside, Val promising to come by and check on her best friend the next morning.

Once they made it home Peyton clung to Zack's side. They showered together, he sat with her while she took her makeup off, and they laid in bed together. "Peyton, what happened? I saw the marks on your arm." Zack finally asked once they were in bed and she seemed calm enough. "I was coming out of the bathroom and bumped into him. I didn't know it was him until I looked up. He grabbed my arm and said he meant what he said about coming back for me. Before Matt found me he said he would be back soon." She explained, fear creeping back into her voice. "Like hell he's going to come back. From now on you don't go anywhere alone, okay babe? I know you can take care of yourself, I just don't want you alone." "Okay." She said quietly. "I don't want to be alone anyway." They laid in bed, watching movie after movie until they finally dozed off in the early morning hours.

Notes