Status: ACTIVE.

Learn to Fly

seventeen

John smiled as he looked at the small girl next to him who was literally swimming in his clothes. His jeans were hanging on her hips, and she had cuffed them to her mid calf, wearing a pair of plain black combat boots. She had one of his thin, white tank tops over her torso that was hanging to her mid thigh.

“What do I do about my hair?” Peyton asked, combing her fingers through it lightly.

John’s lips pulled together in the corner before he smiled and grabbed a grey beanie, “Tuck it into here.”

The laughing girl nodded her head and did as told, pulling all of her long blonde locks out of her face and into the beanie. She turned to him with a copy of his smirk on her lips and placed her hands on her lips. “What’s up? I’m John O’Callaghan,” she said a faux breathy voice. “I’m sexy and I know it.”

John smiled, moving forward and placing his hands on her thin hips, “You think I’m sexy?”

Peyton laughed and placed her hand on his chest, “Oh, save it.”

He watched her as she walked over to a mirror and surveyed herself, twisting to where she could see her butt—that looked amazing in his skin tight jeans. He walked up next to her and wrapped his hands around her hips, “Whose idea was it to be a man for a day?” He laughed.

“Mine actually,” Peyton smiled, her cheeks blushing. “It’s one thing that Georgia never wanted to do, so naturally, since I was always doing the dumb shit she wanted to do I chose one thing she didn’t to make her suck it up.”

“Look at my girl, taking charge,” he laughed, enjoying being this close to her. He could smell her strawberry shampoo and her fruity body spray. God, he could bathe in her scent.

Peyton turned is his arms with a serious look on her lips. “I want a mustache,” she said simply, her face straight.

John felt his chest rake with laughter as she handed him brown eyeliner, puckering her lips and instructing him where to put it on. He smiled and cupped her cheek in his hand, using the pencil to draw on fur. Her blue eyes were boring into his with a small, innocent smile and he wanted to lean forward and kiss her so badly, but he couldn’t.

Not yet, he wanted this kiss to be perfect.

Or, maybe he was just nervous, which was more likely, but it wasn’t the moment. He didn’t want to kiss her when any of the guys could walk in and ruin their moment. He wanted everything to be flawless—for her. She deserved that much.

“All finished,” John said in a breath, staring down at her, plump, pink lips trying to control his thoughts.

Peyton smiled and turned around surveying herself in the mirror before turning to face him with an approving grin, “Let’s go show everyone!”

John grabbed her hand in his as she led them down the hallway of the venue, peeking in doors for the boys. He could hear Eric and Pat’s voices coming from inside Rocket’s dressing room, and he pulled back on her hand. “I’ll go first, then just walk in like it’s nothing,” he chuckled, kissing her cheek and leaving her in the hallway.

John walked in, mumbling a ‘hey’ to his friends before joining their conversation. All he heard was ‘heart, broken, and Delilah’ before he tuned out, and glanced at the door. He smirked as the girl came walking in with nothing but a small laugh on her lips that she was desperately trying to hide. She mumbled a deep ‘what’s up’ before sitting on the couch and letting her hand fall between her legs like a typical man.

John felt himself stifle a chuckle as he watched Eric and Pat stare at her, confused, laughing, and in disbelief. They were speechless.

“What?” Peyton asked in a deep voice, “Do I have something on my face?”

“What the hell are you doing?” Eric asked a few moments later, after his laughter had calmed down.

“W-What do you mean? I’m John fucking O’Callaghan, I can do whatever I want,” she mumbled, her cheeks turning red as she smirked.

John started laughing, followed by Pat and Halvo, “God, am I that much of a douche?” He laughed, throwing a bottle of water at the girl.

Halvo laughed, “You’re worse! She’s being nice!”

He punched his best friend’s arm before sitting next to the girl on the couch, across from where Eric and Pat were sitting on stools. They all started talking in normal conversation, as if Peyton’s outfit wasn’t unusual.

John smiled as she joked around with his friends, looking at her shamelessly. It was weird how far they had come in just a short matter of months. Only a while ago Peyton was sitting on a street talking to a bum, and he was planning for a baby—but now everything was different.

There was no Melissa, no baby, no more negativity. Now, all he had was his band, himself, and Peyton—and honestly that was all he really needed anymore.

He was falling for her, and he was falling hard. There was just something so admiral about her. He didn’t know if it was the way she seemed to open up to him so easily and put all of her trust in him, or if it was the way she just seemed so innocent, but something about her was so addictive.

He couldn’t have stayed away from her if he had wanted to.

“What would you like?”

John smiled as Peyton ordered two passion fruit teas for them from Starbucks and then led them over to a table in the corner of the small shop. He laughed as she itched at her hair that was pulled back, her lips pulling tight together accentuating her mustache.

“So, how do you like being a boy?” John asked, sipping on the sweet tea.

Peyton shrugged and he took notice of how when she drank she chewed on the tip of her straw intensely. “It’s kind of weird. Haven’t done much besides scratch myself in public,” she laughed.

“Awesome, huh?”

She giggled before fiddling her hands nervously in front of her, “John, can I ask you something?”

“Of course, Hayes, what’s up? Everything okay?” He asked nervously, worried that she was breaking them off or something.

“Why did you stay Melissa?” She asked, her voice soft once again.

John took a deep breath. Honestly, he had been wondering when she would ask this. She knew so much about him, maybe it was superficial stuff, but this was the one subject she hadn’t touched the entire time they had known one another—and he was waiting for it; the dreaded question. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, “I-I, uh, it’s complicated you know?”

Peyton looked at him interestedly, “Try me.”

John bit down on his lip nervously, staring at the table below his fingertips. “Tanner introduced us,” he said honestly, knowing she would probably understand right then.

He remembered the day like it was yesterday. He was sitting on his couch when the door bell rang. He was only in boxers and when he opened the door, expecting his best friend but instead being met with a pair of stunning, deep chocolate eyes.

It was infatuation at first sight. John had never really had much luck until that day with girls, and from the moment he met Melissa it didn’t matter because he had her. She, John, and Tanner did everything together. They would get drunk, get high, and even get arrested. They were like the three musketeers.

He knew that was why once Tanner was gone it didn’t matter if she had cheated on him, or if she was a complete bitch—Melissa was all he had left of who he was, his old self.

Melissa was the only one who knew exactly what he was going through, and how to help him. She kept Tanner alive; she kept him from losing himself. But as time went on, and they graduated, John went on tour and well, he had to learn to depend on himself with or without her. She wasn’t there to help him every day, hell, she barely answered her phone. So, he learned to preserve Tanner inside him. All the moments that the two had were in his heart, the only place left for him.

But when he saw Melissa she just completed the puzzle for him, it was like Tanner was back.

“You know, man to man,” Peyton joked quickly before her voice became more serious, “Just because he supported it then doesn’t mean he would have now. If Tanner cared about you the way I’m sure he did he wouldn’t have wanted you dating her. It’s kind of dumb you know—she was horrible to you. He would say bros before hoes.”

John chuckled lifelessly, knowing that that’s exactly what Tanner would have said. But, the truth hurt. “Well, it’s the same way you act, Pey. Whenever you see Nick with another girl you freak,” he said gently, watching her face fall. When John would look at Melissa and see Tanner, Peyton would look at Nick and see Georgia—it was part of realizing that they were gone. “She’s not coming back, and neither is Tanner.”

Peyton was silent for a moment and he was honestly scared that he upset her. But then she spoke, “You’re right, I guess. We have to stop living in the past.”

John nodded his head in agreement. The words always seemed simple, but they weren’t. He could honestly say that after two years he had accepted it. True to the books, he had healed.

He had been in denial. And he supposed that for the longest time, that was what the worst stage of grief was for him. He would wake up in the morning, and for months he would wait outside Tanner’s house in his old pickup truck, waiting for him to come out so they could go hang out.

He was angry, God was he angry. He would throw things around the room when Tanner wouldn’t answer his phone. Melissa would cry as he would yell about anything at all—mostly at her for things she may or may not have even been responsible for. It didn’t matter, it felt like the world was on his shoulders. He felt like it was his fault Tanner was gone—if he had gone that night, maybe he could have helped him somehow.

He had bargained. He asked God everyday to exchange the things he had just to live a few more years himself. He would see Tanner’s mom, and the heartbreak in her eyes and he would fall to his knees, pleading God for just a few more years so that his mother would never have to be that way. He feared death and he wanted to escape it.

But then, he fell into a depression. He started drinking, and with that came cigarettes—anything to take away the emotional pain he was feeling. But with all the hangovers and numbness the alcohol created he became idle. He would lie in bed for hours—days even, just staring at his ceiling not seeing the reason to try. He would lay there and think. Think about the thing he feared most and the more he thought about it—the more he realized that he didn’t actually fear death. If anything he understood it. It was inevitable and with each passing day, he felt closer to it. He craved death almost—until he would see his mother; then he realized how death was just a friend that came at the most random times, and although he wasn’t yet sure why, there had to be a reason.

And after he saw light again even when his mind was full of dark skies, he was able to see that no matter what he did—cry, plead, and even nothing at all, Tanner wasn’t coming back. His best friend was now just a memory that lived inside of him.

And that was when he discovered that he found the memories inside of Melissa as well. Then it all played out from there.

John knew how hard it was for him to experience all these emotions, and he wondered how many of the stages Peyton had gone through herself, even though to him, it seemed like she was still somewhat in denial.

Sometimes when they were drinking he would hear her speak to a girl who wasn’t beside her. Her phone log was full of dials to a number that never picked up—and her nightmares in the car were rarer, but still there. She wasn’t even close to accepting it, no matter how hard she tried to pretend she was.

John followed Peyton’s gaze out the window, laughing as he saw a kid in tight black jeans fall off his skate board and onto his face. She giggled before looking back at him, puckering her lips and looking down at her mustache, her eyes crossing.

“I remember one time when I was little Georgia told me that if I stayed like that for too long my eyes would permanently stay that way and that I would end up ugly,” the blonde laughed, shaking her head from side to side. “I was so scared.”

He cocked and eyebrow, laughing, “Wait, that’s not true?”

Peyton giggled, shaking her head and pointing at him as if to say ‘I know!’, “No! It’s just a lie your mom told you so that you wouldn’t do it in public,” she laughed. “You actually have muscles in your eyes that are made to keep your eyes centered. Although, if you do it too often your eyes can become fatigued and become independent of one another.”

John shook his head, chuckling, “How the hell do you know all of this?”

“Yahoo! Answers knows everything,” she replied simply, shrugging and biting her straw. “Tell me something about Tanner, something that only you knew.”

John racked his brain before his mouth broke out into a smile, “He would say ‘ow’ for inanimate objects. Like, if he would drop a pen, he would say ‘ow’ when it hit the floor.”

Peyton started giggling, “That’s kind of adorable. He sounded so sweet.”

“He was a good guy,” he smiled, thinking back on his best friend, his brother. “What about Georgia? What was something only you knew?”

“Hmm…” she began, putting her finger to her chin before laughing in remembrance, “She was obsessed with peanut butter. You know how when girls are heartbroken and they shove their faces with ice cream? She shoved it with peanut butter. She ate it every single morning for breakfast and every single night for desert. One time, she ate an entire Jiffy bottle in a sitting.”

John started laughing and the two sat there for hours, reminiscing in the people they loved most—smiles on their lips. Eventually they made their way back to the venue, hand in hand. They didn’t care about the weird looks they were getting from strangers because of the way Peyton was dressed, they were just happy to be together.

“Hey John can you—what the hell?” John watched as Nick stared at his cousin with a confused look on his face. His lips were slightly parted and his eyes narrowed, his head cocking to the side. He raised his hand and pointed at her, “What is this?”

“I’m John O’Callaghan,” Peyton replied on cue, sticking her hand out for a shake.

Nick stared at her silently before turning to John, “I’m ignoring whatever that is, the guys want you for sound check.”

He nodded his head and laughed, giving Peyton a kiss on the cheek before going to find the rest of his band who were tuning their guitars and speaking into microphones. It was as if hours had passed quickly. Now as he stared at the venue from the stage, the arena was filled, the crowd screaming for The Maine to come on.

John and the guys were standing on the side of the stage, doing their annual ritual which they had let Peyton join in on since she was ‘John O’Callaghan’. The guys all ran out on stage as the lights dimmed, and John waited on the side holding Peyton’s hand tightly.

“You should go out there for me,” John laughed, looking at the girl.

She shook her head in protest, “I don’t really feel like having a bunch of fan girls hating me.”

“Who cares! Come on, you have to do this big! Do it for Georgia,” he smiled, lifting his eyebrows, with a smirk.

She punched his chest, laughing lightly, “I hate you.”

“No you don’t, now go!” He yelled, pushing the girl back onto the stage.

Peyton straightened her shoulders out and tried to ‘walk like a man’ as she sauntered to the center of the stage gracefully, the guys all beginning to laugh. The crowd was still yelling although he could see confused looks on everyone’s faces.

She grabbed the microphone and held it a few inches from her lips, her smile brightening with the lights, “What’s up guys? I’m John O’Callaghan!” She yelled, laughing with all of the guys. “I’m a total hipster and do so by smoking American Spirit cigarettes and pretending I don’t give a rat’s ass about anything besides my music!”

He could hear the crowd joining in their laughter and a few seconds later he ran onto the stage himself. High pitched squeals could be heard around the room as walked out, a smirk on his lips as he looked at the girl he was lucky enough to call his, smiling like an idiot in the center of the lights. She handed him the microphone and he laughed, looking at her from the corner of his eye.

“My friend Peyton here has a bucket list, and we’re finishing it, and one of her items was to be a man for a day,” John began, laughing. “So, we figured why not let her be the most amazing boy in the world?!”

Peyton scoffed and punched his arm, rolling her eyes, “You’re not that cool, John!” She laughed, the crowd following in suit.

He pushed her shoulder towards the edge of the stage, “Get out of here, you’re just scared of my awesomeness.”

The crowd started cheering her as she walked off, waving and smiling at him from next to the stage. He stared into her eyes for a moment longer before turning back to the crowd and basking in the lights.

And he couldn’t help but to think that life couldn’t get better than this.

*

John laughed as he and Peyton stumbled into the room, a wine bottle and a stop sign in her hands. “Tonight was so successful!” She yelled as he took a seat on his bed. “I was a man for a day and I stole a sign! I feel so productive right now.”

John laughed and then bit his lip as he looked at the girl in front of him, shimmying the jeans he had given her down her legs and onto the floor. She was only wearing his oversized white tank, her blonde hair falling into waves as she pulled it out from his beanie.

She leaned against the brown table behind her, smiling at him as he lay back on his bed shirtless. “Where are the guys at?” She asked, opening the bottle with an opener.

“Open bar downstairs,” John laughed, smirking at her, looking at her long legs shamelessly. “They brought some girls back from the show earlier.”

Peyton rolled her eyes with a small smile, “Not bringing any girls home tonight, JohnOhhh? Come on, you must have gotten that nickname somehow,” she giggled, crawling onto the bed and lying next to him, pressing the bottle of wine to her lips.

God, she looked so amazing—just so natural. Her pink and white boy shorts were sticking out from where the tank top had ridden high on her hips and she wasn’t wearing makeup—minus the mustache that was still above her upper lip.

John smiled and winked at the girl, lying on his side to face her, “Maybe I’ll show you how sometime.”

Peyton’s cheeks blushed and she bit her pink lip, “Is that an idea or a promise?”

He felt his heart start beating faster as he listened to her words. Peyton wanted to have sex with him. She wanted him to take her virginity someday. “It can be whatever you want it to, baby,” he said softly, his chest filled with butterflies.

She giggled and closed her eyes, laying her head back onto the pillow. “This tour has been amazing so far, you know that? And I think it’s in large part to you, John.”

John felt his cheeks blush and his pulse start racing. If he had ever needed one thing in a relationship it would be a reassurance, and she always gave it to him—it made him feel so strong when he was with her. He was able to be a man for her, and right now that was what she needed. “I can honestly say that this has been the best tour I’ve ever been on in my life,” he replied, placing his hand on her waist and touching her bare skin with his calloused fingertips. “You’re amazing Peyton,” he whispered, smiling as her eyes closed and her lips pulled up as well.

“I’m really nothing special,” she said back softly, her voice cracking. “I’m just a normal kid—a normal girl.”

“You’re not though, Hayes,” John said honestly, closing his own eyes. He may have been a writer, but when it came to girl, he was never good with his words. “I-I, I’ve met anyone like you before. You’re beautiful, smart, witty—sexy…you’re not like any other girl I’ve met I promise. You’re so strong, baby girl. Even when you’re hurting you try your hardest to not let it show. You smile at everyone even if you don’t like them. You’re honest…you’re just, everything about you is breathtaking to me,” he continued in a whisper.

A smile broke out on her lips as she smiled, tears welling in her eyes, “Thank you, John.”

He nodded his head and stared at her, licking his lips softly. She stared at him for a moment, and his head was spinning as he gazed into her baby blue eyes. Within seconds he had closed his eyes, and in a tentative motion he pressed his lips against hers, his hand resting on her cheek pulling her closer to him. She kissed him back instantly, her hands finding their way into his hair, her fingertips pulling gently. Their tongues flickered slowly before they pulled away, their breathing ragged.

“I’ve wanted to do that for a while now, John,” Peyton breathed, her smile broadening.

He grinned, not caring that his cheeks were bright red. He ran his thumb on her upper lip, brushing against the mustache that was now smeared. “I’ve never kissed someone with a mustache before,” he chuckled.

The blonde giggled, “I’m glad to hear that.”

“Number thirty three: fall for someone when you leave expect it,” he spoke. John looked at her, sincerity in his eyes, “I’m falling for you, Peyton Hayes.”

She smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him again, “I’ve fallen for you.”
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...don't hate me! Oh my God, you guys I am so sorry for the small hiatus on this story. I just seriously lost all motivation. Please don't hate me! Buuuuuut, you can say thank you to keriberry234 because she basically wrote this chapter and the rest of the story for me, haha. She helped me figure out where I was going with it again. I built the house and she painted it...and mowed the lawns (;

Anyways! I am back now! I hope you like this chapter! Let me know how you're feeling about it! They finally kissed! Happy? Or still Team Eric?! Tell me here!

Now, it's two in the morning but I had to finish this! Please comment!

I love you all! <3