Strength Of The World

Once they arrived at the zoo Peyton was in a much better mood. She was currently singing Margaritaville as loud as she possibly could, with Michelle in the back seat singing just as loudly. Zack was laughing hysterically and trying to sing along, while Brian looked extremely uncomfortable. Once Zack pulled into a parking space, Brian was out of the vehicle before Zack even put it in park. “Holy Jesus my ears are fucking bleeding.” He groaned. “Aw come on babe, we were great!” Michelle said with a laugh. “You guys sounded like a bunch of dying cats.” He said to his fiancée. “Hey! Not nice! Not everyone can be Synyster Gates, guitarist extraordinaire.” Peyton said with an eye roll. “Plus, why be Syn when you can be Zacky V.” Zack said, wrapping his arm around Peyton’s shoulders. “Or, if you can’t be him, do him.” Peyton shrugged. Michelle busted out laughing, and Brian looked uncomfortable again. “Okay. Now my ears really are bleeding.” He whined. “Don’t worry, Gates.” Zack said, “I take really good care of her.” He wiggled his eyebrows at his friend, who groaned and walked away from the laughing group of people, toward Matt’s SUV that had just parked a few spaces away. “What the hell’s wrong with him?” Johnny questioned as he got out of the vehicle, seeing the look on Brian’s face. “He’s thinking about me and Zee doing it.” Peyton said nonchalantly. Johnny’s expression when from happy to disgust. “Aw come on, Pey. Nobody wants to think about that.” He whined.

Once everyone paid their admission they headed through the front entrance and Jimmy made a beeline for the flamingos. “James Owen Sullivan.” Peyton said sternly, making Jimmy stop in his tracks, “If you get me kicked out of the zoo before I even get to see the baby gorillas I’ll never forgive you.” Jimmy’s shoulders slumped and he turned around and stalked back toward the group, pouting the entire way. “Aw come on, big guy.” Leana laughed, taking his hand. “You can play with the flamingos later.”

They walked through the zoo and had seen the giraffes, zebras, lions, and a shit ton of birds before they made it to the gorilla habitat. Peyton and the rest of the women were gushing over the babies and the guys were talking about cars. Zack walked up behind Peyton and put his arms around her waist, resting his hands on her bump. “Just think Zee, pretty soon we’re gonna have a little one of our own.” She said excitedly. “Wait a second, you mean it’s going to be a fucking gorilla? And here I thought it was gonna be a girl.” He said jokingly, making her smack him on the arm. “Shut up, ass.” She laughed. “You love me. So much.” He said, kissing her cheek. “I do. For some reason I really do.” She grinned.

From the gorillas they saw a few orangutans and otter, and they were heading for the reptile house. Peyton absolutely hated snakes. Lizards and frogs she was okay with, but she couldn’t deal with snakes. As the group got closer her palms started sweating and her heart rate picked up. She could feel her anxiety rising, and it wasn’t just because of the snakes. There was a huge crowd of people around the reptile house, where there had been hardly anyone around the rest of the zoo all morning. “You guys go ahead, I’m just gonna sit right here.” She said, walking over to a bench. She felt like her legs were going to give out. “Baby? You okay?” Zack questioned, following her to the bench. “Yeah. You know, snakes.” She chuckled weakly, “I’ll be fine. You guys go ahead.” “Aw come on Pey. They’re in aquariums.” Johnny whined. “No I’m good. I need to rest anyway. You guys go, I’ll be fine right here.” She insisted. She went to brush the hair out of her face, and Jimmy noticed her hand was shaking. “You guys go ahead. I’ll sit with her.” He volunteered, sitting down on the bench. “Jimmy,” she sighed, but was cut off by her tall friend “Don’t sweat it, P. Besides, there’s spiders in there.” He cringed, causing her to laugh. “Go on, get out of here. Go look at the creepy crawlies.” He said, shooing their friends away. They all promised to not take long, Zack kissing Peyton before walking away. When they were alone Jimmy spoke again. “Want to tell me what’s really going on?” He questioned, looking at her through his sunglasses. Peyton let out a heavy sigh. “I’m trying to hold it together. I just needed to take a beat.” “You seem like you’re doing okay today, or is it just a front?” Jimmy questioned the brunette, he and Brian could read her like a book. They have always been able to. “I can’t break again, Jim. I can’t do that to Zack again.” Her voice started cracking. Jimmy wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed her gently. “We won’t let that happen again, Peyton. We’ve got you. You can yell and scream and cry all you want, but please don’t close yourself off again. We need you.” Jimmy’s words brought tears to her eyes as she smiled at her lifelong friend. “Thanks Jimbo. I need you guys too. Now more than ever.”

They continued talking until everyone returned from the reptile house and made their way through the rest of the zoo, finishing where they started at the flamingos. Jimmy looked over at Peyton with a twinkle in his eye, and she smiled and nodded. Jimmy took off in a blur of black, arms flapping and making this horrendous screeching noise. “Come here you fucking flamingo!” He shouted, running toward the fence. He managed to climb over and chase the group of flamingos around until they all turned on him. He let out a girlish scream as he realized what was happening, and took off for the group. “ABANDON SHIP! ABANDON SHIP!” He shouted, and the entire group took off toward the exit, laughing the entire way. They made it back to the parking lot where they were all laughing hysterically and that’s when Peyton decided she wanted pizza. “Whaddya say bitches? Pizza time?” She asked with a grin. “YES!” Lacey shouted, “I am starving!” They all piled into their vehicles and went to their favorite pizza place. Afterward they all wound up at Brian and Michelle’s house, where everyone was hanging out, talking and playing video games. The women were sitting at the table planning the upcoming Thanksgiving dinner, and the guys were sitting in the living room goofing off. “Hey girls. You guys want to order Chinese and watch a movie here tonight?” Matt shouted from the living room. They all looked at eachother and nodded, while Leana responded. “Yes! But we pick the movie!” The women laughed when every single guy in the living room groaned. “Not Magic Mike again!” Johnny whined. “No. Not Magic Mike.” Peyton laughed. “I don’t want to watch that shit. We watch The Fast and the Furious or I’m going home.” “Oh god. Paul Walker.” Zack rolled his eyes. “She loves him so much.” Matt laughed loudly. “I wouldn’t mind seeing some Vin Diesel honestly.” Val said with a shrug. “Jesus Christ.” Matt said, running his hand down his face. “You two are ridiculous.” “What? We have good taste in men.” Peyton grinned. Matt opened his mouth to argue, but closed it realizing she had a point. “Okay. Fine. The Fast and the Furious it is.” Brian said, grabbing the movie from the shelf. Peyton grinned triumphantly and plopped herself down on the couch between Zack and Johnny, wrapping an arm around each of their shoulders. “I love you guys. Thanks for a good day. I needed it.” She said, looking around the room. “I’m so glad I have all of you in my life.” Zack placed a kiss on her cheek and Johnny squeezed her knee. “We love you too Peanut. And we’re always gonna be here.” Johnny said. “FOREVER EVER!” Jimmy shouted from his spot in the floor. Peyton grinned at her goofy friend and snuggled into Zack’s side, spending the rest of the evening watching movies and hanging out with her crazy ass family.

Notes