Strength Of The World

After dropping Peyton off, Zack headed toward Matt's house. He really needed someone to talk to about the morning's events, and Val was the best person. Who better than the one that's known her the longest, right? When he got there Val answered the door. "Hey Zee, Matt is in the shower, but he should be out soon. Come on in." "Actually," Zack said as he followed his friend in the house, "I came to talk to you if you've got a minute." "I bet I know what this is about." The blonde smiled knowingly. "Go ahead and have a seat in the living room. I'll get you a drink. Val walked into the kitchen and came back holding two water bottles. She handed one to Zack and sat down on the couch beside him. "So, what's going on in the world of Zack and Peyton." "She told me she loves me." Zack said quietly, playing with the label on his bottle. "Wait, what?!" Val asked, clearly surprised at what he had told her. "This morning, I was making breakfast and she just came down stairs and blurted it out." "This MORNING? She stayed the night?" She questioned. It was at that time Matt decided to make his appearance. "Whoa, what did I miss? Peyton stayed with you last night?" "Yeah. I was driving her home when she asked me if she could stay with me, because of the nightmares. She said she didn't want to ruin her good day with one. So she slept over and when she woke up this morning she came downstairs and blurted out that she loves me." The guitarist explained to his friends. Val couldn't contain the excitement in her voice, "I knew it! I knew you guys would get back together!" "Yeah but that's the thing Val, we aren't back together." Zack told her. "She wants to take things slow. Hell a week ago she was living in LA and engaged to someone else. She's been through a lot. She just needs her space. I told her to take all the time she needs." "Don't worry Zee, she will come around sooner rather than later." She said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "And when she does, you better be ready dude." Matt spoke up, "A girl like her doesn't come around often. And the love that you two share is a once in a lifetime love. Trust me, I know." "Oh I'll be ready, you can count on that." Zack said with a smile. They continued talking for a little longer until Val said she needed to go to the grocery store. Zack stuck around to play Xbox with Matt, when he received a text from Brian. He opened it and raised his eyebrows. "What's up Vengeance?" Matt asked, curious about his friend's message. Zack looked up at him and turned the phone around to show him. Brian had sent him a picture of Peyton washing her Jeep, wearing short shorts and a cut off avenged tshirt. Her hair was in a messy bun and she had her aviators on, but she looked beautiful. "That girl and her damn Jeep." Matt laughed, shaking his head. "Guess she isn't too hungover." "Nah, she wasn't too bad this morning once she got some food in her system, and if I know Peyton she's going to want to take the top off that Jeep once it's clean. And she doesn't need to be doing it by herself." Zack stood up from his spot on the couch, "I'm gonna go help her. Thanks for the chat man. I'll see you later." He said goodbye to his friend and made his way to Peyton's house.

When Peyton woke up from her nap she felt energized. It was the best she had felt in days. Summer was coming to an end in Huntington, and she decided she was going to make the most of it, by taking the top off her Jeep. And that meant it needed to be washed first. She got out of bed and grabbed her favorite frayed denim shorts and an old avenged concert tee she cut the sleeves off of, and threw her hair up into a bun. She headed out to her dad's garage, turned on some music, and got started on her Jeep. She was singing along to her 90s alternative station, when she heard a low whistle from behind her. She stopped washing and slowly turned around, seeing Brian standing there with his signature smirk. "Well someone looks like she's feeling better today." "I am actually. No nightmares and I slept off the rest of my hangover, so I'm feeling pretty good." Peyton said to her pseudo brother. "Dad said you didn't come home last night." He said suspiciously. "Nope, stayed with Zack last night. Hence the no nightmares." She replied, focusing her attention back on her vehicle. "And nothing happened? I don't need to kick his ass do I?" "No, Brian." She sighed, "Nothing happened. ExceptItoldhimilovehim." She said really fast, hoping he wouldn't hear her. "You told him you LOVE HIM?" "Shut up you jackass! I don't want all of the neighbors knowing how my brain to mouth filter betrayed me!" She yelled at the brown eyed man, "Well what happened after that? You can't leave me hanging!" He laughed, putting his arm around her shoulder. "Nothing happened, I told him I'm not ready for a relationship yet, and he completely understood." She shrugged. Brian walked over to her and pulled her into a hug. "You're right, you're not ready. You need time to heal. And I can almost bet that he will be right there waiting when you are ready." He kissed the top of her head and released her, "You planning on taking the top off this thing?" "Well yeah. Don't I always take it off when I wash it?" she said sarcastically. "Hey you better watch it, short stuff. I'll sick Johnny on you!" "Ohhhhh I'm reeeeeeeeeeal scared of the guy that's like three inches taller than me." She said with a laugh. "Come on kid, I'll help you finish washing this beast so we can get the top off." They were almost done washing the Jeep when Zack pulled up, Brian was currently chasing Peyton with the water hose. "Come on you fucker! We're not in middle school anymore!" Zack walked up to his friend laughing. "Decided to torture her today?" "Hey, she started it when she put soap in my hair" Brian said, pointing to the section of soaking wet hair on his head. "Oh hey, Zee! What are you doing here?" Peyton asked him, grinning brightly. Brian looked at him with a knowing smile and a wink. "Yeah, Zee. What ARE you doing here?" Zack rolled his eyes at his bandmate, "Just thought I'd come see what you're up to. Maybe see if you'd like to go get some food. Taking the top off today?" "Yep, I'm gonna soak up the last few days of summer. And yes, I'd love to get food! I'm starving." She said with a smile. "Oh, I want to go get food too!" Brian said eagerly. "Well let's get the top off this damn thing so we can go eat." The other man suggested. "Uh yeah, I'm actually going to have to take another shower before we do that. Why don't you guys call the others once we're done here and we can all go eat together?" Peyton suggested, going back to work on her vehicle, leaving the guys standing there watching her. "She's obsessed with that damn thing." Brian mumbled, "So I heard you had an interesting morning?" "Yeah," Zack sighed, "It was pretty damn interesting." They talked a little longer, until Peyton had finished cleaning the wheels on her vehicle. She stood up, holding her sore ribs. "You okay Pey?" Zack asked, walking over to help her clean up the mess. "Yeah, I'm just a little sore. I still can't do a whole lot without my ribs hurting." "Well, you can come sit your ass down and me and Zack will do the rest." Brian insisted, pulling a chair out of the garage. The two men finally managed to get the top off of her Jeep, with minimal supervision from Peyton, who was tasked with calling the rest of the gang to ask if they wanted to grab dinner. When they finally got the top off, the guys headed home to take a shower, while Peyton went into her parents house to get ready, promising her friends she would be there on time.

After her shower, Peyton left her hair in its naturally wavy state and threw on some makeup. She found a pair of destroyed skinny jeans and a red long sleeved shirt and put on her vans. She looked at the clock when she was finally ready. "Oh shit." She gasped, knowing that it would take her more than 15 minutes to get to the restaurant. She shrugged, grabbed her phone and keys, and headed to the restaurant, music blaring the entire way.

Notes