Learn to Fly

Peyton looked at the boys around her that were laughing hysterically at her expense. “This is ridiculous. It’s a waste of money and it’s extremely irritating!”

Halvo rolled his eyes. “Seriously, I’m actually agreeing with her for once. I don’t understand why you a holes always room her and I together!”

“Alone!” Peyton added on.

Nick laughed and patted his cousin on the shoulder, “None of us want to room with Halvo, so we found the person who hates him the most!”

Peyton grunted and covered her arms pouting. “Let’s go Eric.”

The two begrudgingly grabbed their luggage and carried them to the elevator that would take them to the fourth floor of the Holiday Inn. They stood in the elevator quietly and walked out of it accordingly following the signs to their room. Eric opened the door and laughed as he saw the single queen sized bed. “I call the side closest to the window!” He yelled before running into the room and jumping on the bed. “Oh! And I call first shower,” he smiled, smugly before walking into the bathroom and locking the door.

Peyton rolled her eyes and walked over to the small bed and laid on it. Her legs were tired from the long show that night and her feet were beginning to become sore from running all over the venue. She figured that since Nick was letting her accompany him and escape from Braintree that she’d help him with whatever he needed—something that Eric Halvorsen took complete advantage. He asked her for cold water from the van, Subway from across the street, and even new under wear from the Walmart two miles away. It was the least she could do she supposed, considering the boys were allowing her to take up room in their already small van.

Peyton walked out onto the porch of the hotel letting the cool San Diego air hit her skin. She suddenly realized her opportunity and walked quickly to her bag and put on her running shoes. Every muscle in her body was pleading for her to just go back and lay in bed but her heart reminded her why she was doing this task and she was hastily out the door.

She jogged down to the beach that their hotel overlooked and she stared at the setting sun. It was about seventy degrees here and the air felt refreshingly nice from where they had began their summer tour—Arizona.

Peyton stepped onto the sand and walked down to the ocean. She bent over and touched the cool water with her hand, not caring that he shoes were getting soaked. She could smell the salt in the air and the humidity created her sticky feeling on her skin. Peyton looked back at the hotel once more before she began to run.

She felt the cool breeze hitting her skin as she jogged down the beach. She had always wanted to do this—they had always wanted to do this. She smiled at fellow runners next to her and she followed in their pace. She ran down about a mile before she hit the pier and she caught her breath as she leaned against the brown posts that held it up.

Seagulls danced through the air, their calls echoing in her ears. Small children played as their parents beckoned them for the sun was almost down and it was time to go home. Peyton looked at the setting sun before quickly jogging back to the hotel. She walked back into her room, surprised to see that Eric was still in the shower, even an hour later. At this point she didn’t even want to know what was taking him so long.

She pulled her shoes off her feet and let them hit the floor. She pulled off her tank top that left her thin body in shorts and a sports bra. She swept her blonde hair off her neck and put it in a messy bun on the top of her head; she honestly did not care if Halvo saw her looking like this. She wasn’t here to impress him.

Peyton jumped as she heard a knock on the door. Her sock clad feet carried her over to it and she didn’t check the peep hole as she automatically assumed it was Nick. She opened the door nonchalantly and was surprised when she saw who was on the other side. “John?” She questioned.

John laughed and she watched as he took in her appearance—cloth booty shorts and a sports bra. His eyes lingered on her small waist and glanced at her scantily clad chest. “Uhm, hey Peyton. Am I interrupting something?” He laughed.

“No, I-uh, just got back from a run,” she smiled innocently, annoyed at how he always made her lose her words somehow. Her hands went naturally to fix her hair and she cringed as she realized that it was in a bun on the top of her head.

John grabbed her small hand and pulled it away from her messy hair, “Your hair looks fine,” he smiled honestly. Butterflies arose in her stomach from his simple gesture. It had been awhile that she had been touched by a guy.

They stared at each other innocently before John spoke again, “You’re roomed with Halvo?”

Peyton laughed, “It’s some kind of cruel joke that the band plays on us…every single time we’re at a hotel I might add.”

John chuckled, “Well, I am very sorry for you. I live with him and I know how frustrating it is. I feel for you.”

She stared at him shyly a blush on her cheeks. “Do you want to come in?”

John nodded his head, smiling at her nervousness that was apparent around him. He was used to it with girls but this girl was different—he just couldn’t put his finger on it. Peyton cleared off her and Eric’s bed and John took a seat next to her. She took the silver remote in her hands and began flipping through channels and finally deciding on watching Fired Up! She normally would have decided against it because it reminded her too much of Georgia, but for some reason tonight she didn’t mind.

“Are we seriously watching a cheerleader movie?” John laughed, rolling his eyes at her.

She let her mouth fall open in protest, “It’s not exactly a cheerleading movie!”

“Really? Because it looks like a cheerleading movie to me,” he said pointing at the screen where Eric Christian Olson and Nicholas D’Agostino were doing a routine with their fellow “Tigers”.

“It’s about two guys who go to cheer camp to get laid,” Peyton laughed.

John looked at her curiously, “Does this plan work?”

She nodded her head and stared at the screen. She could feel John’s gaze on her and a blush crept up her neck. She watched the screen and laughed at the parts she new by heart. “I’m gonna have to go ahead and ask you both to go ahead and leave right now to leave now,” Peyton said along with the movie laughing.

John stared at her, “You would know all the words!”

“This is my favorite movie!” She giggled. “It gets funnier just keep watching.”

By the end of the movie John was laughing out loud with the girl next to him and Eric had finally made his way out of the bathroom, his hair perfectly styled. He had a large bottle of shampoo in his left hand a large bottle of conditioner in his right hand. “Nice to see you again, Halvo,” she chuckled. “You’ve been in there for like two hours.”

John looked at his best friend, “What the hell have you been doing for two hours in a bathroom?”

Halvo lifted up the bottles in his hands, “Marrying shampoo and conditioner.”

“Like…ceremonies?” Peyton asked confusedly.

“No, like pouring small bottles of shampoo from the hotel into this bigger one so that we can all have shampoo on the tour,” he said in a ‘duh’ manner.

“Wow, I’m sorry we didn’t know what you meant by that, grandpa,” John laughed.

“Hey! I’m doing this for my band! Don’t come running to me when you run out of shampoo and conditioner O’Callaghan!” Halvo yelled defensively. “Why are you even here? I’m just trying to bond with my best friend Peyton, okay? No one needs you here.”

Peyton and John began laughing, “Oh best friend?” He asked sarcastically.

“Yes, best friend,” Eric repeated. “Now why are you here John?”

“I was wondering if you had talked to your sister at all,” John started and Peyton could hear nerves in his voice.

Halvo rolled his eyes, “Yes, but she hasn’t said anything about Melissa. Don’t you think it’s bad that you have to ask my sister to keep an eye on your girlfriend?”

Peyton looked between the two best friends and she could automatically tell by Halvo’s body language that he was annoyed with ‘Melissa’ who she presumed was John’s girlfriend.

“I’m not having her keep an eye on her, they’re best friends,” John retorted.

“That should be a warning enough right there. My sister is a whore, John,” Eric laughed.

“Melissa isn’t a whore though,” he replied. “I just haven’t talked to her in a few days and I wanted to make sure she was okay.”

“No,” Halvo responded, pulling a hoodie over his thin body. “You just want to make sure she’s not with Trent right now.”

John rolled his eyes, “I hate that guy.”

Peyton sat quietly in the room before walking over to her bad and searching for pajamas. She searched intently for long pants and an oversized t shirt in hopes that her legs wouldn’t touch Halvo’s throughout the night.

“Peyton, I sleep naked. So, you’re welcome to join me if you would like,” Eric said simply.

She looked at him, her mouth open in detest. “Uh, yeah I’m okay. Thanks for the offer though.”

“Wait, Peyton you’re a girl!” He said a second later as if he had just realized this.

“I find it interesting that you realized that after you told her to sleep naked with you,” John pointed out.

“Shut up and listen. If you had a boyfriend who was on tour and you called him maybe once a week what would that mean?” Eric said.

“That I’m not really interested in him all that much,” Peyton said honestly.

“Okay and what if you worked at an office with a really hot guy that wanted you…what would that mean?” He continued and John groaned.

“Well, I wouldn’t cheat,” Peyton said. “I’m not that kind of girl.”

“Well that’s because you’re weird,” Halvo said matter-of-factly as she rolled her eyes at the boy. “If I was Melissa I’d be banging Trent right now.”

John rolled his eyes, “You would bang Trent now, Halvo.”

Eric used his finger to point at John but then put it to his lips, “That’s not what we’re talking about right now okay?”

Peyton laughed at Eric, gathering her clothes in her arms. “Well, I’m going to go take a shower. Good luck with your girlfriend and with this kid,” she laughed and he gave her a small goodbye.

As she was in the shower all she could think about was what John’s girlfriend looked like. She wondered if she was tall—something that Peyton didn’t have. She figured she had the perfect hour glass figure and long lean, tan legs that would go on for miles. She would have a voice of velvet and always know what to say. Peyton was never good with her words around boys.

Georgia was the one who was always good with boys—particularly one boy. Peyton knew if she was here that she would be drooling over John and constantly be pushing her to go and talk to him. She wished she was here to do just that at that moment.

Peyton stepped out of the shower and dried off her damp skin. She blew her hair dry before stepping out back into the room she shared with Eric. The lights were all off but she could see the bed from the light on the television screen. She laughed quietly as she listened to Lea Michelle singing on the screen. “You like Glee?”

Eric grinned, “Don’t tell, but yes.”

She giggled and lay next to him in their bed, “You’re dressed right?”

“Yes,” he laughed. “I was just messing before.”

She smiled at the fact that they actually seemed to be getting along pretty well. She chose not to consider the fact that it had only been like two minutes.

“Hey Peyton,” Eric said quietly.

“Yes?”

“Remind me to thank the guys tomorrow,” he said simply.

“And why’s that Eric?”

He propped up on his elbow and stared at her, “Because I get to stay in a room alone with a pretty girl. I took that for granted before.”

She smiled and looked at him from the corner of her eye, “Are you flirting with me Mr. Halvorsen?”

“Is it working?” Eric smirked.

She rolled her eyes with a small smile on her lips, “Go to bed, Romeo.”