Isaac
"Where's Britt?" Ike asked Taylor, who was slouched on the couch, eating Cheerios, even though they'd just finished breakfast.
"She's going to a party tonight."
"Without you?"
"We are two seperate people, you know. It's not like we have to do everything together," Taylor's tone clearly told Ike not to push this. Ignoring it, Isaac continued.
"Did you guys get in a fight?"
Taylor glared at him.
"We are just fine! In fact, I'm going to the mall with Josh and Becca."
Isaac nodded. He didn't like Brittany Thelmar, and that was all there was to it. He didn't like the way she treated Taylor. But Taylor had turned a deaf ear to all of Ike's warnings.
"Oh. That sounds like a lot of fun," Ike told him sarcastically.
Taylor muttered something and slouched down deeper into the couch. Isaac plopped down beside him.
"Shae had a small apartment, huh?"
"Shae who? Oh, her. Yeah, pretty much. Where's her husband, or boyfriend, or whatever?"
"Dunno. I didn't ask."
"Oh."
The doorbell rang and Taylor stood up.
"Josh and Becca are here. See you, Ike."
"Bye, Tay."
Isaac heard Taylor rummage around in the boot closet, yell something to their mom, and slam the door.
Smiling, Isaac decided to tackle his literature report. After all, the more you did out of school, the less you had to do in.
Taylor
"Isn't this cool?" Taylor asked, carefully inspecting a set of conga drums he'd found in the back of Mr. Entertainment.
Becca looked up from her sheet music and nodded. Josh hit one. Taylor hit the other a couple of times before saying, "Mine are better."
With that, he moved on to look at the keyboards. Suddenly, Becca giggled.
"Tay, look! It's the Where's the Love sheet music."
She flipped it over.
"Holy! It's $3.50!"
Giggling still, Becca went to find Josh. Together, they made their way back to Tay.
"Becca has to go to the bathroom, and I'm gonna walk her there. Wanna walk there with us?"
Taylor shook his head and tried to shake the feeling that he was butting in on their date.
"You go without me. I'll meet you guys at the food court at two, okay?"
"Sure, Tay," Josh said, giving him a confused look.
"Bye," Becca told him.
Taylor watched them walk away and went back to examining the instruments. He needed a new cord for his keyboard. He checked out a couple, but decided to wait and go with his mom, because she could help him find the best one.
Sighing, he left Mr. Entertainment and made his way to the sports shop.
This is really boring. I should have gotten Zac or Isaac to come. Boring, boring, boring! How do girls shop for hours? I'll-
"Excuse me?"
Taylor was jerked from his thoughts. He blinked and glanced at the speaker.
She was short, with a pleasantly round face and brown eyes. Her light brown hair was very, very long; longer than his mom's. Her hair went down about four inches below her hips.
"Hello," he said, preparing to sign an autograph, etc.
"Hi. Do you have the time?"
The time? Well, that was a switch.
"Uh, yeah," Taylor stuttered, glanced quickly at his watch, "It's 1:30."
"Okay, thanks."
"You're welcome."
Taylor watched her walk away, and decided to find Josh and Becca, say good bye, and just go home.
Zac
"Mom?" Zac called.
"In the kitchen, dear!"
Zac smiled and ran off to the kitchen, where he found his mom, making cookies with Avery and Mac. Zac grinned wider when he saw a batch fresh out of the oven.
Mrs Hanson caught her son grinning hungrily at her cookies and chided, "Don't even think about it, Zac."
"Me?" Zac exclaimed, smiling innocently at his mom, "Where's Tay and Ike?"
"Um, Tay is in the yard. Just got home. Ike went to Brad's this morning and I don't think he's back yet."
"Thanks, Mommy dearest," Zac told her, grabbing a hot cookie and sprinting out of the house.
"Mommy!" he heard Avery cry, "Zac took a cookie!"
Luckily for him, he was out of the house before "Mommy dearest" could say anything.
"Tay!" he called.
"What?"
Zac ran towards his brother's voice and called, "I have to talk to you, Taylor!"
Zac found Taylor, but he was kicking a soccer ball around with another one of his friends, Trevor.
"What about, Zac?"
Zac glanced at Trevor.
"Uh, nothing. It can wait."
With that, Zac spun around and skipped off to steal another cookie.
At 11:15, when Zac was sure all of the Hansons were fast alseep, he kicked off his covers and climbed out of bed. He was going to talk to Taylor.
This was one of the only things Zac hated about their new house. He missed sharing a room with his brothers. Well, he didn't miss everything about sharing a room, but he sure missed talking to them. He preferred talking to both of them at the same time, but that was next to impossible, now. He had to choose. Ike or Tay. Ike or Tay. Ike or Tay. He chose Taylor this time.
Taylor's door was closed, but light was shining out from under the door, so Zac knew that he was still awake. He pushed the door open and walked in, finding Tay on his laptop.
Taylor quickly closed his program, shut of the computer, and leaped from his chair to his bed.
"Mom, I was just going to bed! Oh, Zac. It's only you."
"Ha! Nice to see you, too."
Taylor made a face and sat up.
"What happened to lights out at 10:30?" Zac asked innocently.
"I don't know. Why don't you ask yourself that question?"
It was Zac's turn to make a face.
"What do you want?"
Zac plopped down on the bed beside Taylor and took a deep breath.
"How did you, um, know that Britt liked you?"
"Er, uh, um," Taylor stammered, obviously caught off guard by the question, "Why do you want to know?"
"Just answer."
"She, uh, phoned a lot, and so did her friends. But her friends always wanted to know what I thought of Britt, and who I liked. Why?"
Zac, who was not in the mood to answer, stood up and made a dash for the door. Taylor was faster and blocked his way.
"Tell me why."
Zac dodged the question.
"How do you know if she likes you for you, or likes you for being Zac Hanson?" Oops! So much for being unspecific and not using names. Maybe Tay won't catch it.
"So, this is about you, eh?" Doh!
"Please answer, Tay!"
"I don't know, Zac. You just know. Why the questions?"
Zac groaned.
"Cause this girl asked about me, and I don't know if she's just nice or if it means something else."
"Does this girl have a name?"
"Tay, what difference-"
"Oh, Zac, you don't have to be so damn secretive!"
"Fine! Her name is," Zac suddenly became interested in Taylor's floor, "Stephanie Alexander."
"Stephanie?"
"Uh huh."
"She's cute."
"Oh very! And nice, too!" Zac exclaimed, losing interest in Taylor's floor.
Taylor laughed. Zac had it bad. Taylor
"Who was she?" Britt demanded, slamming her hands down on the table so hard that it shook.
"Whoa, Britt! What the hell are you talking about?"
Taylor shot her a confused, innocent, yet annoyed look. He still hadn't forgotten that he had been practically forced not to go to the party, because he hadn't gotten an invitation. He was stubborn about that. One extra person, especially a guest's boyfriend, didn't ruin a party! Hmm! So there!
"Oh, don't play Mr Innocent!" Brit hissed, who shot Taylor a very annoyed look, "WHO WAS SHE?"
Taylor winced at her yelling. He was glad he was at her house, because if he wasn't the whole Hanson family would be down on them. Britt was an only child, and her parents had prestigous jobs and were hardly ever home.
The conversation was really starting to bore Taylor. He knew what Britt was implying, but hated it, and didn't even know who she was.
"Britt, who is she?"
Britt rolled her eyes.
"Don't be stupid! That girl who you were talking to at the mall yesterday, duh!"
"Britt, how do you know about the girl?" Oops. That didn't come out right.
"Oh! So, you're not denying it?" Britt fumed, "Alicia saw you."
Taylor stood up and went to put his shoes on. He had had quite enough.
"She was just asking the time. So, you can stop being so damn jealous! I don't even know her name," Taylor muttered, through clenched teeth, reaching for the door knob, "Oh, and one more thing. Tell your friends to stop spying on me!"
With that, Taylor stormed out of Britt's house and made tracks to his own.
Isaac
"Taylor, what's wrong?"
"Shut up, Ike! I don't want to hear it!" Taylor shouted.
"Tay, what's wrong?" Mrs Hanson called, from her place in the hall.
"Nothing, Mom," Taylor said, quieter, but just as angry.
"Are you sure, honey?"
"Yeah, Mom. Really. I'm fine. Just fine. Finer than fine."
With that, Taylor stomped out of the room. Mrs Hanson glanced at Ike.
"Girls?" she asked.
"Knowing Tay? Probably."
Mrs Hanson shook her head and went off to find her second son.
Isaac watched his mom leave. No doubt Taylor's problems involved the wonderful Britt. Isaac slouched into the couch and put his feet on the table. He had just gotten comfy when the doorbell rang. Groaning, he went to the door.
Not bothering to check the peep hole, Ike flung the door open. His mouth fell open, but he caught himself and shut it. "Good, thanks. You?" "Me too. I just came to say thanks again." "Oh, no problem. We save women with groceries and babies regularly." Right. Nice one. That was really believable. Not to mention lame. Strike one. Shae laughed a little and blushed. "Oh. I figured that since you're their mom and everything." Shae blushed harder and began to examine her shoes, clearly uncomfortable. Good save, Ike. Strike two. "So, do you wanna come in?" She smiled, "Yeah, sure." Woo hoo! He hits a homer! It's going, going, gone! Zac Somehow, Zac convinced Taylor to stop being a grouch and come to the music store with him. The two brothers were ready to go, but decided to find Ike and see if he wanted to come, too. Zac could hear his voice, so they trooped off to the kitchen. "Ike, wanna come to the music store? I need to pick out some-" Zac stopped when he saw some girl who looked vaguely familiar. "Hi, Shae," Taylor greeted, coming to Zac's rescue. Zac sighed in relief, and let Tay continue, "Where are Sam and Sydney?" As soon as Tay said Sam and Sydney, Zac remembered who she was. "Hi, Taylor. Hi, Zac. They're at my friend, Kim's." "Oh, cool. Anyhow, Zac and I are going to the mall. Bye!" "Bye, Taylor." Zac finally found his voice and said, "See ya, Ike. Bye, Shae." "Bye, Zac," Shae replied. Zac liked her voice. It always had a smile in it, even when she wasn't smiling. "See ya later, Zac. Bye, Tay." With that, Taylor and Zac booted it for the mall. "What's she doing here?" Zac asked, as soon as they were out of the house. "I dunno, but I think Ike likes her." "How do you know?" "I don't. Just a guess. I guessed you like Stephanie," Taylor told him, wisely. "No, you didn't. I told you that I liked Stephanie." "These look good to me," Taylor said, spinning a drumstick. "I think so, too. Give me that!" Zac exclaimed, grabbing the drumstick from Taylor, "I'm going to go buy them." Zac went to the cashier and heard a scream, followed by, "Oh my gosh! Aren't you Taylor Hanson? I absolutely love you! You are so hot!" Zac grinned. The fan had caught Taylor and not him. Grinning still, he paid for his drumsticks and went to find Taylor, whom the fan had abandoned. Taylor was not intersted in the congas, but somebody out in the mall. "Hey, Zac! Isn't that Stephanie?" Zac gulped, "Where?" "Over there," Taylor told him, nodding his head in her direction. Zac glanced at the girl and then back at Tay. He nodded. "Go say hi!" Taylor ordered, shoving Zac in her direction. "NO! Tay, I can't!" he protested. "Oh, yes you can!" By now, the protesting Zac had been pushed out of the store and was standing about four feet away from Stephanie. "Go away, Tay," Zac hissed. "Okay." Zac watched Taylor walk away and almost followed him. But, he stopped. Okay, Zac. All you have to do is tell her hello. Then leave. Can't be that hard. Okay, are you ready? Yup. Here goes! "Hey, Stephanie," Zac called, stuffing his hands awkwardly into his pockets. "Hi, Zac," she replied, kicking at a scuff on the floor with her toe. "What's up?" they asked in unison. "Nothing," they replied at the same time. "Jinx," Zac said. "Jinx yourself." The both giggled. Isaac "So, how'd you find our house?" Ike asked, passing Shae a Coke and sitting down across from her at the kitchen table. "It wasn't that hard. I just asked every girl in a Hanson shirt until one of them knew where you lived." "How many did you ask?" "Only two. I wouldn't have the patience to ask more!" "Isaac chuckled. "Ike, where did Zac-oh. Hi," Mrs Hanson interrupted. She was holding Zoe in one arm and a laundry basket in the other. "Oh, Mom! Shae, this is my mom." "Hi, Shae," Mrs Hanson greeted, putting the laundry down, "I'm Diana Hanson and this is my daughter, Zoe." "I'm Shae Morgan, Mrs Hanson. Pleased to meet you. Hey there, Zoe." Shae extended a finger for Zoe to play with and used her other hand to play peek a boo. Naturally, Shae's maternal nature pleased Mrs Hanson to no end. "She's nine months," Mrs Hanson boasted. She shot Ike a pleased look and retrieved her laundry. "Your sister's cute," Shae complimented, "She is 3 months older than mine." "Thanks. Shae, so you don't have to ask a zillion fans for this too, do you want my number?" "Yeah, okay. Mine is 747-2522." Isaac scribbled that down and wrote his for her, too. "Do you want to go and see a movie sometime?" "Sure, but what about the twins? Kim won't want them again." "Can't your mom watch 'em?" Shae looked alarmed, but said calmly, "No. She doesn't want to see them.....or me." Isaac wanted to ask about this, but knew Shae wasn't ready to tell him. "Don't worry. Tay and Zac could watch them." "Okay! Fine then! Sounds great!"