Strength Of The World

Peyton woke up the next morning with a groan. She opened her eyes and noticed that the other side of the bed was already empty. She rolled over to check the time, but couldn't find her phone. She sat up, a little too quickly, and grabbed her head groaning. "Holy shit I am never drinking again." She said to herself. She got out of Zack's bed and walked into the bathroom, where she saw a toothbrush, bottle of aspirin, and some water waiting for her. "Oh thank god." She sighed as she took 4 of the pills and washed them down with water. After using the bathroom and brushing her teeth she ventured out into the house in search of Zack and her phone. "Hey Zee," she called out to her green eyed friend, "Do you happen to know where my phone is?" "Oh yeah. It's in my office, I plugged it up for you. Get your ass down here, I'm making breakfast." Came his reply. She raised her eyebrows and set off to find the door that led to his office. "First door on the left, Peyton." She heard him say with a chuckle. She flipped him a bird that he couldn't see and walked into the office. She took a quick glance around the room before noticing her phone on his desk. The office was filled with awards and records, pictures, and of course his guitars. There were pictures of the band's early days, and recent pictures of them. The picture that stood out to her the most was the one on Zack's desk. It was a more recent photo, probably taken the last time she was home. She remembered the exact moment the picture was taken.

Everyone was over at Brian and Michelle's house for a barbecue. Summer had just begun and they had spent the entire day at the beach, and Brian and Michelle had decided to have a big barbecue for Peyton because it was her last day in town. Jason had already decided to go to the hotel, claiming he had "Had spent enough time with her childish friends." He said with an eye roll. Everyone was out in their backyard drinking and talking, and Val was walking around snapping pictures on her phone. "Aw come on Val, you take too many pictures." Matt whined, trying to pull his fiancée into a chair. "Oh stop it. These are the moments we want to remember. And besides, today is a good day. Peyton is home and we spent the entire day at the beach, what could be better than that?" "Oh, I know! Peyton would ditch Gayson and come home for good!" Jimmy spoke up, clapping his hands together. Peyton knew that most of the guys didn't like her fiancée, but if she was happy then they were happy. "Sorry Jimbo," Peyton said with a smile, "I won't be back home for a while, and I don't think Jason is going anywhere." She smiled when Brian walked over to her and put his arm around her. "He knows you're happy, he just misses you, we all miss you. But if you're happy, then we're happy with you living in LA. At least it's not halfway across the country." "That's right," Zack said, "And we can come visit you any time we want." Peyton laughed and agreed with him, knowing that her door was open to any of them any time they were in LA. It always had been and Jason hated it, she just couldn't understand why. "Okay you two, time for a picture!" Val said, standing in front of Zack and Peyton. Johnny had cracked a really funny joke right before she snapped the picture, and Val wound up getting a picture of Peyton and Zack looking at each other laughing hysterically. "It's perfect!" Valary said with a smile.

Looking at the picture now, Peyton could see exactly what everyone had been saying. There was so much love in Zack's eyes as he looked at Peyton, and her eyes reflected the same emotion. She sat down in Zack's chair and sighed. She had always loved Zack, she never truly stopped loving him. Yes, she loved Jason with all of her heart, but deep down she knew that she would never be able to love anyone like she loves Zack. She grabbed her phone and walked downstairs to the kitchen, to find Zack making some breakfast. Eggs, bacon, and cheese toast. Her favorites. "Good morning beautiful, did you sleep okay?" He asked her, looking over his shoulder. She just stood there quietly, staring at him for a few minutes. "Peyton? You okay?" He asked, putting the spatula down and turning toward her. She opened her mouth to say she was fine, but the words "I love you" came out instead. She immediately slapped her hand over her mouth and her eyes were as big as saucers. "What?" Zack whispered. Peyton cussed herself internally, her brain to mouth filter betraying her. "I said, I love you." she said quietly, sitting down at the breakfast bar. "BUT that does not mean that I'm ready to jump into this crazy whirlwind relationship that we have, Zack. I have to just, breathe a minute." She explained. Zack walked over to her slowly, and pulled her out of the chair. He wrapped his arms around her, and buried his face in her hair. "I love you too, P." He said quietly, "Take all the time you need. I'm not going anywhere." He kissed the top of her head and smiled down at her. She smiled back and sat down in her chair "Okay, Baker, what's for breakfast?"

After breakfast she decided that she probably needed a shower, since she swore she could smell the alcohol leaking out of her pores. "I can't keep up with you guys anymore." She laughed, and laughed even harder when Zack joked "Baby, you never could." Zack dropped her off at her parents' house, where she noticed the house was empty. "Oh, your folks asked me to keep an eye on you, they went to Tahoe for a few days. Dan said he told you last night, but that you'd probably forget before this morning." The green eyed guitarist chuckled. "You guys act like you know me or something." Peyton joked with an eye roll. The truth is, she had totally forgotten about her parents' trip, especially after her coming clean with Zack about her feelings toward him. She unlocked the door and walked inside, Zack carrying her things from last night behind her. He followed her upstairs to her room and sat her things on the bed. "Okay," he clapped his hands together, "I'll leave you to it. Call me if you need me, I'm sure I'll see you later today." He gave her a hug and kissed her forehead. "You got it. And Zee?" She said, as he was turning to walk out the door. "Hmm?" "I was serious about what I said this morning. But please don't think I'm leading you on. I would never do that to you." She said softly. He smiled back at her, "I would never think that. You've been through a lot and you just need to find yourself again. Like I said, I'm not going anywhere. I'll see you later." She smiled as he walked out the door. When she heard the front door shut she took a shower and dressed in an old tshirt that she had found in her drawer with some shorts. She laid in her bed for a while watching tv before she dozed off for an afternoon nap.

Notes