I unlocked the door and trooped up the stairs to my room, forgetting to take off my shoes and leave them in the laundry room.
As I set my backpack down on the ground of my bedroom floor, I looked over at my answering machine, which was blinking furiously.
"If you'd like to make a call, please hang up and try again; if you need-"
Ugh, skip that.
"Kim, it's Jen, call me when you can. See ya!"
"Oh, good, she's back from Florida." I said out loud.
"Kim! We're back! Why don't you come over? See ya whenever!" said an all too familiar Isaac. Or maybe it was Taylor...
As I stood on the porch, waiting for a Hanson to answer, I stared at the "Welcome" mat that I was standing on. I looked at my watch and listened for any tell-tale signs of any footing coming to the door. I soon heard a patter of feet coming closer and closer.
Then the door flung open, and I found Jessica standing in front of me.
"Kim!" she shreiked, opening the storm door.
"Hey, sweetie, how are you? Gimme a hug!" I said, leaning in for an embrace. "How was California?" I asked with a toothy smile.
"California was awesome, and warm." she replied, and led me inside the house, continuing with her adventures of the West Coast.
Another Hanson came flying down the stairs; it was Avery.
"Kimmie! I knew I heard your voice!" she exclaimed.
"Avie, come here!" I greeted, my adrenaline rising. Avery jumped into my arms for a big bear hug, and held on to her for a minute.
Then Diana and Walker came in, and we said hello and chatted briefly, continuing with the hugs. I knew there were still more Hansons to come.
Out of nowhere, Zac zoomed down from the stairs, filled with excitement and his blonde hair flowing like water, and Isaac carrying Mackenzie followed him.
"Zac! Hey Squirt!" I said as he embraced me.
"I'm not a squirt, I grew an inch and a half." he said a matter-of-factly, pointing his finger for acknowledgement.
I took one good look at him. "Yep, you're not a squirt anymore. You're a greenbean. I hearby announce you the Jolly Green Giant. All hail!" I shouted, and got down on my knees, praising before him
"Uhh, Kim? No. But hey, thanks anyway." he said, smiling.
I went over to Isaac and took Mackenzie away from him.
"Hey Mac, how are ya?" I asked.
"Fine, tank you." he said in his little sweet voice, squirming around, sucking on two of his fingers.
"I missed you." I cooed.
"I missed you, too." he replied.
"Oh, you did?" I exasperated, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"Eeew, now I got girlie cooties." he said, wiping his face with his smooth arm vigorously. Isaac and I laughed. I put Mackenzie down.
"Where's my hug?" Isaac asked.
"Hey! Right here," I said, embracing him, "How are you?" I finished, holding his shoulders.
"Oh, you know, doing the same as always." he replied.
"And that's...?" I asked.
"Well, I cook now." he included.
"Oh no way! That's awesome. Teach me, ok?" I asked.
"Sure thing." he agreed, smiling.
"Great! Where's Tay?" I asked.
Before anyone could answer, a "Right here." was heard. I turned around and found myself staring into a pair of blue eyes, eye to eye.
I just stared at him for a second, then my eyes widened and a "Tay!" escaped my mouth, embracing him. I started to pull away from his presence, but I felt him not let go. The room was silent when we disengaged. I turned around and looked at everyone, along with Taylor.
"Well, we have to help Mac, Avie, and Jess unpack. Come on, let's go." Diana said, picking up Mackenzie. Walker took Jessica and Avery to their room, with Diana following behind them.
Issac, Zac, Taylor and I walked into the living room quietly. "Wow, it's been awhile," I spoke up. "Even Zac isn't talking, as he usually is." I finished, taking a place on the loveseat.
I felt all their six eyes boring into me. "What?" I asked.
"You've changed." Taylor said.
"What do you mean?" I asked again.
"You died your hair blonde." he said.
"You got braces." spoke up Isaac.
"You're taller." Zac said.
"You just...look...more different." Taylor said.
"Is it really that obvious?" I asked, vainly and defensively.
"No, we just happened to notice. I mean, we haven't been here for who knows how long. And if you don't mind me saying so, you have more of an attitude, which isn't bad." Isaac explained.
"Well, so what? Y'all have changed too-"
"Y'all?" Zac interrupted, snickering.
"Oh pbbhht to you," I replied, blowing a raspbery at him. "Ah, anyway, I guess it has been too long. I mean, you've gotten taller, and you look older," I said to Isaac. "Same with Zac, he's changed. And Taylor, look at him." I continued, now kind of talking to him. "I mean, he's changed the most. He's taller, as tall as me now, and, if you don't mind me pointing it out, his voice is so much deeper." I observed.
"Not again, God, please don't discuss about my voice." He said, rubbing his hands up and down his face, falling back onto the loveseat.
"Why? What?" I asked.
"He already got enough of it in California; people continually argue and bugged him about it." Isaac explained.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know." I said.
There was a pause. For once, again, we were speechless. It had been so long.
"Um, guys, someone say something." I said, starting to feel uncomfortable.
"Something." Zac said. I giggled. Isaac looked at Zac.
"What? She said to say something." he explained.
"Well, I'm going to ask something. How was California?" I asked.
"Where do we start?" Isaac asked, shifting, looking at Zac and Taylor.
"Well, in the house that we stayed in, you could see the Hollywood sign from the backyard." Zac said.
"Wow, really? How awesome!" I said "What about the record? How did it go?"
"It was a long process. I mean, we must have wrote fifty songs and only thirteen were accepted." Taylor said.
"Yeah, but it was probably even longer recording the album. We had to go from studio to studio." Isaac said.
"So, would you say that all that work had paid off?" I asked.
"Definetly." they said in unison.
Again, another pause rose among us, setting the tone in an uncomfortable silence. Over to my side, I noticed Taylor fidgeting.
"Well, I have to go do something in my room, so I'll be outta here." Isaac said, getting up.
Taylor and I looked at Zac, and he looked back at us. Then Isaac just stood there, looking at Zac too.
"Zac, you have to come and help me." Isaac said.
"Why?" he asked, annoyed.
"Because, you just have to." he said more sternly.
Finally getting the message through his head, "Oh, okay." he said, and got up.
"I'm glad you're back." I said to them.
"We are too." Zac said, then both of them headed upstairs.
"Well, um, are you doing anything else today?" I asked Taylor, seeing that we were the only ones in the living room.
"Do you want to take a walk, and talk, catch up on each other?" he asked.
I looked at him, a sly smile rising over my face. I quickly stood up and grabbed Taylor's hand. "Come on, let's go." I helped him up, and we ran out the front door.
"So, what happened when we were gone?" Tay asked as we walked, his hands in his pockets.
"Oh, you wouldn't believe what happened!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands in the air. "So much happened, I don't know where to start. Well, here it goes." I said, building up excitement in my voice. "I went to school, came home, did homework, and went to sleep. Went to school, came home, did homework, and slept some more. Oh, did I forget to mention that I did some homework?" I said, sarcastically.
Taylor laughed. "You know, you've changed, but your still the same person." he stated, smiling at me.
But his smile was different, one that I couldn't recognize. I thought about this. He smiled like he was in love or something. I was caught.
"Hey, Kim, are you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah," I said dreamily. "I mean, yeah, of course, I'm fine," I said normally.
We got to talking again. Somehow, we came across relationships. I just couldn't keep it in when Tay took my hand.
"Tay? I have to tell you something." I said, looking at his hand holding mine.
"Anything." he replied.
I took his free hand into my hands. A smile rose upon his face.
"I have a boyfriend." I confessed. His face started to fall.
"Who?" he asked, smile disappearing.
"Jeff." I replied. There was a pause.
"Cool, I'm happy for you." he said nonchalantly, taking his hand away from mine.
But he sure didn't seem all that happy.