Taylor's point of view: I was sitting in Economics class when I thought about how I was going to get Madison to be with Zeke. I realized then that I was going to need some help. Garrett? No, he would probably tell Peyton. Brianna? Nah, she would probably tell Garrett or Peyton. Keeley? No, she would most likely tell Peyton. Logan? Logan would work. He and Peyton aren't exactly on friendly terms anymore. I grabbed my phone and text Logan:Hey we need to talk. Logan text back:Sure. Where? I thought for a moment and texted him:Music room. After school. He sent back:K. Well looks like my plan might be put into action soon. I put my phone up and smiled. This was going to be good. Peyton's point of view: I was so ready for this school day to be over with. I mean come on it was ****ing APRIL! In two months I would be a senior and living large. Man junior year has taken a lot of twists and turns but it's been completely awesome. Well minus the fact that I almost went mental after Kate broke up with me but still it's been awesome. The baseball scouts saw me play and said I would be getting scholarships from them pretty soon, I was finally able to break away from Logan, and my music is getting ten times better. The only bad thing is that my dad is getting deployed again this month. The bell finally rang and it was time for our lunch period. I grabbed my stuff and walked to my locker. I got to my locker and put my stuff in and got my guitar out. When I shut my locker I jumped when I saw Garrett standing there. Garrett laughed,"Dude I got my bass let's rock this school." I sighed trying to get my heartrate to go down and said,"You almost gave me a ****ing heart attack. Yeah I'm ready you ***hole." He laughed again and we walked into the cafeteria where everybody had already gotten their food and were sitting down eating and more than likely talking about what they were going to do this summer, who they were going to **** with tonight or tomorrow or whatever, who cheated on who, and my absolute FAVORITE topic, what happened between me and Logan today. Yeah high school is a *****. Garrett and I went through the line and got our food and went to an empty table. We sat down and started eating and Garrett said,"Do you know what the big surprise is from mom and dad?" I shook my head,"Nope. Hey maybe it's a new amp for our guitars." Garrett rolled his eyes,"Doubt it but that would be cool." I nod and we continue eating in silence. As soon as we both finished I got my guitar out and he got his bass out and we both started playing just to get them in tune. By then everyone was quiet because they knew we always played but no one knew we could sing so today we were going to sing. I looked at Garrett,"You ready." He looked at me and let out a deep breath and gave a crooked smile,"As ready as I'll ever be." I nod and started playing Call Your Name by Daughtry and then I started singing and Garrett joined me in the chorus: You never said, you never said, you never said That it would be this hard Love is meant to be forever, now or never seems to discard There's gotta be a better way for me to say What's on my heart without leaving scars? Can you hear me when I call your name? [CHORUS] And when you fall apart Am I the reason for your endless sorrow? There's so much to be said and with a broken heart You walls can only go down but so low Can you hear me when I call your name? Complicated situations are the makings of all that's wrong And I've been standing in the river of deliverance way too long There's gotta be a better way for me to say What's on my heart without leaving scars? Can you hear me when I call your name? So, can you hear me when I call your name? [CHORUS] And when you fall apart Am I the reason for your endless sorrow? There's so much to be said and with a broken heart You walls can only go down but so low Can you hear me when I call your name? You never said, you never said, you never said (When I call your name) You never said, you never said, you never said (When I call your name) [CHORUS x2] And when you fall apart Am I the reason for your endless sorrow? There's so much to be said and with a broken heart You walls can only go down but so low Can you hear me when I call your name? As soon as Garrett and I finished the whole cafeteria erupted with cheers. I could feel my cheeks getting hot. This is the first time I have ever sang in front of people and they actually liked it. Hopefully this will be the start of something good.
Garrett's point of view: As soon as Peyton and I finished I stared at him completely shocked. Peyt has never ever in his entire life sang in front of people I mean come on he rarely sings in front of us and usual it's by accident. As everyone cheered for us I could see Peyton's cheeks turning about 18 different shades of red. Yeah he was that embarrassed. He looked at me with a sheepish look,"I think they liked it." I nod,"I think they did too." He was about to say something else when the bell rang signaling us to finish and get back to class. He let out a deep breath and started putting up his guitar and I got off the table and started putting up my bass. When we got our instruments in their cases we wiped them down like all good musicians should do and shut the cases and locked them in place. I looked at Peyton,"See ya after school man." Peyton nodded,"Yeah. Make sure you get Brianna." I nodded,"Yeah yeah I know man." We walked to our lockers and put our instruments back up and grabbed our stuff and went to our separate classes. I didn't know about Peyton or Brianna but I was ready to find out what the big surprise was from mom and dad.
Logan's point of view: The rest of the school day I just zoned out on everything that the teachers said. I didn't care what they said. They all annoyed me. The final bell rang and I went to the music room to wait for Taylor. I walked around and looked at all the instruments and saw a guitar and picked it up. I hadn't played a guitar in three years so I figured I would be a little rusty. I started playing Eye of the Tiger because well it was a beast song. When I got to the chorus I messed up a bit but I kept going. It felt good to play again. I finished up the chorus and decided to stop there and I got up and put the guitar back where I found it. I turned around and I was startled by Taylor who was standing there surprisingly quiet. She kept looking at me and I sighed,"Why did you want to talk with me?" She walked towards me and when she was a few feet away from me she said,"I need your help getting Madison with the new guy Zeke so I can be with Peyton again." I scoffed,"Why do you want to be with Peyton?" The look on her face was like shut up you little prick and let me finish. I cleared my throat at the awkward feeling in the room now. Taylor gave an annoyed sigh and said,"I want to be with Peyton because I still love him. He's sweet, athletic, a great guitar player, a great singer, he's honest, and he puts others before himself." I rolled my eyes and was about to say something when Taylor spoke up again,"You know you could learn something from Peyton if you would just stop trying to act like you are better than him. Newsflash Logan. You aren't better than Peyton. If anything, Peyton is better than you." I stared at Taylor completely shocked and a little hurt that she would even say that to me of all people. I mean come on I was Logan. The guy every girl wanted to **** with and if I wouldn't **** with some girls they would usually go around the whole school and said they did which didn't bother me. Taylor was about to walk away when I lunged for her. I grabbed her by her hair and pimp slapped that ***** She looked at me completely shocked and afraid. I got in her face and said in a hushed angry voice,"I swear to god if you ever say some stupid **** like that I will beat the ****ing **** out of you *****. And from now on you do what I say when I say it! You got that! You're my ****ing ***** so get you **** *** used to it." I didn't wait for her to reply. I just simply threw her on the ground and walked out. I have had enough of Peyton. His sorry mother ****ing *** was going down. Permanently.
Peyton's point of view: It was finally the end of the school day. Thank God. It's not that I don't like school it's just that it gets boring with the same old teachers, the same old lectures, and the same old students. I was tired of hearing everybody's drama. Especially girl drama. I swear if I hear that some guy who was dating her but slept with another while he was with her and then slept with a totally different girl and now both the girls he slept with are probably pregnant I'm going to shoot myself. I mean ****. If he cheated break up with his sorry *** but don't tell everybody about your stupid sex life. I walked to my car and unlocked it and got in and waited for my brother and sister. While I was waiting I rolled down my windows and pulled out my cigarettes. I hadn't smoked in about a week but after having to hear about everybody's stupid drama I think I deserved a little nicotine in my system. I put a cigarette in my mouth and started looking for my lighter. Great. Just ****ing great. My lighter was nowhere. What good is a cigarette without a ****ing lighter. I put the cigarette back in the box and laid my seat back. I might as well close my eyes for a bit while I wait. At that moment I heard something that sounded like somebody hitting the hood of my car. I jumped up and saw that it was my brother. Stupid idiot. He knows better than to hit my car. I unlocked the doors and Garrett and Brianna got in. I looked at Garrett,"Do you know where my lighter is?" Garrett smirked and put his hands behind his head,"Yeah I took it out." I was po'd now,"Dude I need my **** lighter so I can have a cigarette." He shrugged his shoulders,"Sorry man. No can do. I'm trying to help your *** quit. Now drive." I rolled my eyes still po'd and started driving home. I wanted my lighter. I finally got us home and Garrett looked at me and Brianna,"Y'all ready to find the big surprise?" Bri and I both nodded and I killed the ignition and got my stuff out of the trunk and waited for them to get their stuff and we walked in to the biggest surprise of our lives.
Holly's point of view: After the night that I told Zack that I thought I was pregnant he told me he would be right back and left. I waited for 45 minutes and he finally came back. He handed me a box and I looked at it to see what it was. It was a pregnancy test. I looked up at him,"You want to know now don't you." He nodded and his eyes looked like they had a hint of pain in them,"Yeah I do." I went in the bathroom and took the test but I still had to wait a few minutes for the results. I went back into the bedroom and laid down beside Zack,"Something's wrong with you Zack." He had his head against mine and he shook his head gently,"Nothing is wrong baby. I promise you." I turned so I was facing him and put my hand on his face and turned his head towards me,"Don't lie to me Zackary Lawrence McGee. You know you're a terrible liar." He sighed and waited for a moment and then said,"When are we going to tell Peyton." I looked at him confused and his eyes filled with so much pain,"Holly you know what I mean please don't make me say it." I shook my head,"We are never going to tell Peyton. You've been his father for 17 almost 18 years and no one will take that away from you." He looked away from me and whispered,"I think you should go check the test." I touched his cheek and then got up and went back to the bathroom. I took a deep breath and looked down at the pregnancy test. It was positive. I went back in the bedroom and sat in Zack's lap,"We're going to have another baby." Zack smiled but it was obvious it was fake. I sighed,"Do you want to tell Peyton?" His eyes clouded with so much pain and he shook his head and said,"No. But Peyton deserves to know the truth even if it means him being angry with us he still deserves to know."
Zack's point of view: My head was spinning. Holly and I were having another baby and we had to tell the kids and we had to tell Peyton something that we have been keeping from him for a very long time. Great. Holly and I were sitting in the living room when the kids came home. They all came in the living room and Holly and I got up and I looked at them,"Kids sit down." Garrett and Peyton exchanged looks like what the fuck did we do. I was keeping a straight face but I was laughing on the inside at how guilty they looked. I put my arm around Holly,"Your mother and I have something to tell y'all." Holly looked at me with a pleading look not to tell Peyton but I had made up my mind. I was going to tell Peyton when it was just the three of us. I gently nudged Holly to tell them and she took a deep breath and said,"As y'all know your dad is getting deployed sometime this month." They nodded and Peyton said,"Yeah we know but what's the big surprise?" She smiled slightly and looked up at me, her blue eyes were sparkling with excitement. She looked at them and said,"We are going to have a new addition to the family." They all looked at each other and Garrett said,"Are we getting a dog." I laughed,"No we aren't getting a dog. Y'all are going to have a new little brother or sister." Silence. Dead silence. Garrett, Brianna, and Peyton all looked at each other and then back at us completely shocked and Peyton said,"You're joking right?" Holly left my side and sat down beside Peyton,"No we're not." Peyton sighed and looked down and said,"I'm happy I really am it's just by the time he or she gets to high school all of us will be gone so we won't be able to protect him or her." I nodded,"I know Peyton but you won't think about that when the baby comes." He nodded and and Garrett and Brianna got up and hugged Holly. It was obvious they were excited. After Garrett and Brianna hugged Holly they left and went to their rooms. Peyton was about to get up and I said,"Peyt there's something your mother and I need to tell you." He looked at us completely confused and I hesitated. What was he going to say when we told him the truth? What was he going to do? I was lost in thought until I felt Holly pinch me. I shook my head and took a deep breath...... "Peyton....I'm not your biological father."
Peyton's point of view: You know that earth shattering, feel like shit feeling you get when something bad happens and it's to you. Yeah well that's how I felt. How in the ****ing **** did that happen?! And more importantly who in the ****ing **** was my real dad and why hasn't he tried to find me before?! I don't know what happened but I just got up and grabbed my keys and slammed the door behind me. I got in my car and cranked it up and threw it in reverse and back into drive making my tires squeal as I tore out of the driveway. I didn't care. My parents kept something crucial from me so now I was going to go find him. I was going to go find my real dad.
Peyton's point of view: I had no idea where I was going but I knew I had to start somewhere. I saw a sign point to which lane I should be in to go to Alabama and I decided right there I was going back to Mississippi. Back to my old life. I swerved over quickly causing quite a few people to honk their horns at me. One guy drove up beside me and was shaking his fist at me and I just lifted up my middle finger at him and mouthed:"Eat it bitch." He seemed a little offended but then he got mad and decided he wanted to swerve at me so I sped up and left his stupid *** behind. I was getting closer to Alabama when I looked down to see how much gas I had left. I had a quarter of a tank. Shit. I took the next exit and got to a gas station and filled my car. It took $48 to fill my car up but I had a full tank of gas so I was good. I got back in my car and started driving again and got back on the interstate. Everybody kept honking at me and in turn I would flip them off because I was in no mood to be messed with. I drove all night and part of the morning and made quite a few rest stops and gas stops along the way but I finally arrived back in the place I call home. Philadelphia, Mississippi. I knew this is where my dad had to be. I didn't know where but I knew he had to be and I was going to find my dad to figure out why the **** he didn't want to be my dad.
Zack's point of view: After Peyton had slammed the door I knew he was probably going to try to find his real dad which meant he would probably go to Mississippi. It was 3 in the morning and I finally had to tell Holly to go to bed. She was going to argue with me but decided against it and went upstairs. I sat at the table with a cup of coffee and waited. I could feel my eyes getting heavy and I tried to stay awake but sleep overcame me.... *~*~*~*DREAM*~*~*~* I got up and looked in the mirror at my 17 year old self. I was in love with the most amazing girl ever, Holly. We had already done "the deed" and she was pregnant but we were still going good. I started getting ready for school and saw my phone light up. It was Holly calling me. I answered,"Hey." "Hey," she said uneasily. I got worried then,"Holly what's wrong?" She paused and said,"Zack I don't know if the baby is yours." *~*~*~*REALITY*~*~*~* I was awoken by Holly shaking me awake,"Zack wake the **** up! Peyton still isn't home!" I shook my head to clear the dream and said,"He might have gone back to Mississippi to try to find his real dad." Holly froze and by her expression you could tell she was not happy,"He cannot find his real dad." I looked at her a little ticked off,"You think I don't know that? You think I want him to find his arrogant, self-centered, deadbeat ***hole of a dad? You think I ****ing want that?! Well I don't so stop *****ing about it to me!" As soon as I said those words I regretted them. Holly's expression showed that what I had said hurt her deeply. Her blue eyes started tearing up and I wrapped my arms around her,"I'm so sorry baby. I didn't mean to snap on you. I'm sorry." She buried her head in my chest and I held her there while she cried. I knew I had to find Peyton and I was going to no matter what. I'll be ***ned if Peyton wants to stay with his real dad.
Peyton's point of view: I had nowhere to go and I knew it. If I went to any of my family here they would call my parents and I didn't want that. I couldn't go to any of my friends because their parents would call my parents so either way I didn't win. I drove around town and decided to go to the court house to find out who my real dad was. It only took a couple of minutes to get there but when I did I went to straight to the lady who kept all the records. She looked at me and immediately said,"What can I do for you Peyton." I had forgotten that she knew my family and I sighed,"I want to look at my birth records." Her face fell and it was obvious that she knew because she said,"Peyton thats not a good idea. Once you find out what you want to know it will change you." I shook my head,"I want to know who my real dad is and where he lives." She sighed,"Okay Peyton but I must tell you that your real dad isn't someone to be proud of." I shook my head getting a little impatient,"I don't care. I just want to know why he didn't want to be my father." She sighed and pulled up my birth records and wrote down my dads name and address and handed it to me,"Just be careful Peyton." I nodded and said,"Yes mam." I walked quickly out of there and got in my car. I had my real dads name and address. I cranked my car and started driving to his house. I knew exactly where it was since one of my friends lived down that way. I finally got there and my heart started beating 90 to nothing as I walked to the door. I got to the door and knocked slowly. This is it. I'm finally going to meet my real dad. I heard the doorknob turn and heart felt like it stopped when I saw the person who was my dad standing in front of me.
Peyton's point of view: The door opened and my heart stopped. I couldn't believe how obvious it was that he was my dad. I couldn't speak. It was like I was too nervous to speak. My dad looked at me and said,"What do you want kid?" I shook my head still a little nervous and took a deep breath,"I....um....I'm looking for my....um.....dad....my real dad and...I...I think you're my......my real dad." He looked me up and down and said,"How old are you kid?" I quickly said,"17. I'll be 18 April 21." His eyes widened and he started growing pale and he whispered,"Who's your mom." I look at him a little worried and said,"Holly McGee. Her maiden name is Holly Stevens." He grew paler and said,"Shit. You're my kid?" I nodded and unfolded my birth records,"It says my real dad is Jerame Coats and I'm guessing that it's you." I handed him the birth records and he just stared at them like they were written in some kind of foreign language and he finally nodded,"Yeah. I'm your dad." We stood outside a few minutes longer and the atmosphere was....well....awkward. Jerame looked at me with a hint of confusion still on his face and said,"You know what why don't you come in so we can both make sense of this." I nodded. I didnt know what to say I mean here I am face to face with my real dad who I didn't know about for 17 almost 18 years. We walked in the house and it was a really nice house. I could see that it wasn't just him living here since there were pictures of him and some woman and a little girl. Every picture I looked had him and that woman and girl in it and then it was just him and the girl and the girl looked strangely familiar. Jerame cleared his throat and I turned around and saw him holding out a beer to me. I took it and opened it and took a big swig. At times like this you need a little something extra to help you get through. I sat on the couch and Jerame sat in one of the chairs and he leaned back,"What do you want to know Peyton?" I thought for a minute and said,"I want to know why you didn't want to be my dad." His expression was hurt and he leaned forward and looked me straight in the eyes,"Peyton I wanted to be your dad. Trust me I did. But Zack, the guy who has been your dad, didn't want me in your life and neither did your mom." I didn't know what to say I was confused. Why didn't mom and dad want him in my life? It seemed like he could read my thoughts because he said,"Your mom and dad didn't want me around because of something that happened years ago. I can see why they didn't want me in your life now but then I was angry at both of them. I hated Zack with every fiber of my being and I didn't want him to be your father. To watch you grow up. That was supposed to be me. I'm sorry for not trying to be the dad I was supposed to be Peyton but I also had a family of my own to take care of and still do. My daughter is 16 so I always have people keeping an eye on her for me so I won't lose her like I did her mom." I nodded trying to take all of this in. I would have to ask my mom about what happened when I saw her again but right now I wanted to spend time with my dad. I looked up at Jerame and said,"Do you think I could stay here for a while?" He laughed and nodded,"Yeah kid you can stay. You're my son after all." I smiled weakly and took another sip of the beer. Three hours went by and Jerame and I talked about everything that has happened to me from the time I could remember to now. He seemed impressed that I was playing baseball and soccer and running track and he even told me he had done all of those sports when he was in high school. I thought that was pretty cool myself. We were still talking when I heard the door open and I saw a girl who I assumed was his daughter and I froze. We both looked at each other and she said,"Holy ****ing shit."
Peyton's point of view: **** it. I looked at the girl in front of me and felt sick to my stomach. Don't get me wrong she's a pretty girl. She has brown wavy hair and brown eyes and a really cute smile. On a scale of 1 to 10 she was a **** 10 but now that I know she's my sister it changes everything. Jerame got up and said,"Peyton this is your half sister, Allison. Allison this is your half brother, Peyton." She looked at Jerame and said,"Yeah we know each other dad." He looked at Alli and me and I said,"We dated for a week a couple of years ago. If I would have known she was my half sister I wouldn't have dated her." She nodded,"Me too." Jerame laughed at that and Allison and I just looked at each other awkwardly and Allison said,"Dad it's not funny. It's horrible and embarrassing." He continued laughing and said,"I don't know kid it's pretty **** funny. Good thing you two didn't **** with each other." I grimaced at the thought and thanked God that I wasn't that stupid. Allison looked at me and said,"So what is he doing here?" Jerame finally caught his breath and said,"He's going to stay with us for a bit." Allison looked at me then back at Jerame and said,"Ok. Fine." She turned around and went upstairs to what I guess was her room. Jerame got up and said,"Did you bring any clothes with you?" I nodded,"Yeah I brought a few that were already in my car." Jerame sighed,"I got some of my old clothes you can wear." I followed him and pulled out what he called his old clothes but **** they looked like they had never been worn. Some even still had a pricetag on them. He picked up the clothes and said,"Come on kid." I followed him to another room and he put the clothes down on the bed and walked back to the door,"Alright kid this is your room." I nodded,"Thanks." He turned and left and I looked around the room. It was a big room. It had a king size bed which I thought was awesome and a desk with a brand new laptop. It had a few guitars in there and a huge tv with a wii and a ps3. It had an awesome stereo system and about 7 shelves full of movies that looked ****ing awesome. I picked up the clothes on the bed and put them up where they were supposed to go. I decided to sleep since I was riding on 2 hours of sleep so I changed into my Neshoba Central soccer shorts and got in the bed. As soon as I laid down I was asleep and didn't wake up until the next day.
Peyton's point of view: BEEPBEEP I rolled over and slapped the alarm clock. It was way too **** early to be getting up for school. I rolled over to the other side of the bed but misjudged the distance and busted my *** on the floor. I stayed down there for a minute partly from the pain and when I finally got up I looked at the alarm clock and it read 6:30am. I looked around and saw that I was not in Georgia anymore. I looked around the room and remembered everything that had happened in the past two days. I was in Mississippi with my real dad. I went downstairs and saw my half sister and she looked me up and down and said,"You look awful." I glared at her and mumbled,"Shut up." She laughed and said,"Can you give me a ride to school?" I yawned and stretched and through my yawn I said,"Sure." She smiled,"Great. You need to go get ready though. You might want to see some of your old friends again and you're not going to go looking like you haven't slept in a week." I rolled my eyes at her and turned around and walked back upstairs. **** she was a ***** in the mornings. I got to the bathroom and took a hot 20 minute shower to wake myself up. I looked in the mirror and saw that she was right. I did look awful. I splashed some cold water on my face and dried my face off and looked back in the mirror. I looked better but still. I went back to my room and pulled out a red polo aeropostale shirt and some tan cargo shorts and put them on and then put on my tan canvas flip-flops. I went to the mirror to look at myself. **** I looked good. I grabbed my aviators and my keys and looked at the clock. It was almost 7 and it took almost 30 minutes to get to Neshoba from here. I went downstairs and Allison was still sitting there. I looked at her and said,"Ready to go?" She looked at me and her eyes got wide and she said,"**** Peyton. Who are you going to impress today? Hmm?" I rolled my eyes at her,"Shut up. Let's go alright." I walked out the door with Allison following behind. We both got in my car and I drove the 30 minutes to Neshoba in anticipation because I knew I was going to see Kate again and that made me nervous as ****.
Peyton's point of view: I pulled into the school parking lot and parked in the spot I used to park in. Allison and I both got out and I still had my aviators on and Allison turned to me,"Where are you going to hang out at until the classes you and Kate used to have come around." I shrugged,"Probably go down to the baseball field and sit there. I got my guitar." She nodded,"Ok Peyton. See you later then." I nodded and popped the trunk of my car and got my guitar out. I looked around to see if I saw some of my friends and I didn't see any of them. I sighed and started walking down to the baseball field. I passed a bunch of people that I knew and they had to look twice to figure out who it was but I had changed since I moved to Georgia. My skin was darker from always staying out in the sun practicing and my hair had gotten lighter so it had a little blonde in it and my hair was short but not too short since I liked to flip my hair out of my eyes. It was hilarious that people didn't recognize me but also kinda disappointing. I finally got to the baseball field and I got in the dugout and looked across the field. This had always been my home away from home. I pulled my guitar out and just started playing. It was nothing specific but it sounded good. I played for almost 5 hours and I looked at my watch and saw that it was getting close to 5th period so I put my guitar up and made my way to what used to be my 5th period class. I got up the stairs when the bell rang to go to 5th period and I smiled. This was gonna be good. I slipped into what used to be my 5th period classroom without the teacher noticing and sat down in Kate's seat. No one would recognize especially with my sunglasses on. Everybody started coming in and the annoying group of girls that always talked were talking very loudly trying to figure out who I was. I didn't care though. I looked at the door and saw Austin, Colby, Chase, and Julie come in and they all saw me and stopped trying to figure out who I was. Only one person would figure it out. Colby, Chase, Austin, and Julie were trying to get me to talk but I just sunk a little in Kate's desk to relax and when I turned my head I saw Kate standing there and I smirked at her. She didn't like that too much and she said,"Um you're kinda in my seat." I smirked and patted my leg and said,"Come on Kate don't be like that to me." Her eyes widened and the whole class gasped. I was just getting started.