"Hey, we're goin' out." Taylor explained as he moved quickly in the room. He kicked a pair of jeans under the bed as he tugged his covers up and half-hazardly made his bed. His pillow dangling from the top-corner.
   Heading back towards the door, he looked over his shoulder. Isaac still lay in his bed, unmoving. "Coming?" He asked curiously.
   Isaac shook his head, "Nah. Mandy's supposed to come over in a few. She wants to go to the mall."
   Taylor pressed his lips together in a tight line for a moment, "Man, she sees you more than your family does." He announced dryly. "And all you ever do is go to the mall with her, or some chick flick, or a guru coffee shop."
   He shrugged carelessly, "She likes that stuff." He remarked before he looked up from his magazine. "Besides, it's not like we never hang out. You, Zac, and I went out last weekend with Jason, Chris, and Ashley."
   "No. That was three weekends ago." Taylor corrected, his arms crossing in front of him. "Last weekend, you and Mandy went to see 'The Wedding Planner'. Then the weekend before was 'What Women Want' and the month before that was 'How The Grinch Stole Christmas', which by the way, Avie will never forgive you for since you promised to see it with her first. And then all the weekends before that, you not only went to the mall with Mandy, but you also went to some of those antique stores too."
   Isaac counted those down in his head, then shrugged again, "Is it wrong to spend time with my girlfriend?"
   Taylor glared at him, "No, it's not. I think it's a great thing to spend time with your girlfriend. But it's wrong to ignore your friends and your family just to spend time with your girlfriend. Whom you said wasn't all that serious just a while back."
   "Well maybe it's gotten serious!" Isaac flung at him, anger welling up inside at the verbal attack by his younger brother.
   Rolling his eyes, Taylor headed back towards the door. "Mark my words, Ike. She's changing you into what she wants you to be."
   "Oh, Tay. She is not!" He denied sharply.
   Taylor shrugged this time, "Whatever, man. You'll see it sooner or later."
   Slamming the door behind him, Isaac shook his head and sighed before lifting his Seventeen magazine again. "Ten five-minute exercises to firmer thighs." He rolled his eyes and looked at the cover, "Okay, so maybe he was right."
   Walking down the stairway, Taylor glared at Mandy as she walked up.
   "How's it going, Tay?" She asked him tonelessly; her eyes raked him over before dismissing him.
   Clenching his fist he answered, "Better than Ike is evidently." His smile, though sweet, was false and he knew she knew it.

   Storming from the house and off the front porch, Mandy crossed her arms and huffed down the driveway. Stopping only when she spotted Zac and Taylor piling out of a car full of guys. Her narrowed glared zeroed in on him.
   With a renewed purpose, Mandy stalked towards him.
   "See ya guys Thursday!" Taylor called out as he nearly fell getting out of the SUV. Tempted, he nearly flipped off his friend who tripped him.
   "Later!" Zac yelled over his shoulder as he gave a wave of his hand, already walking off.
   Laughing, Taylor turned and started walking up the drive as his friend honked and sprayed asphalt.
   "You did this!" Mandy accused as she jabbed a sharp pink nail into his chest.
   Rubbing the now tender spot, Taylor rolled his eyes. "Exactly what did I do?"
   "You changed Ike. We didn't go to the mall, we don't go see a movie, we didn't even go get coffee!" She whined pathetically.
   Knowing that he shouldn't, but couldn't help it, Taylor grinned. "What'd you do then?"
   Frowning, Mandy wailed, "We stayed home to play pool and watch HBO!"
   Hearing the disgust in her voice momentarily offended him. Those were some of his favorite things to do! "And because today wasn't all about you, you're upset about it?"
   Her jaw clenched, "we didn't do a single thing I wanted to do!" She took the magazine from her bag and waved it in front of him. "He wouldn't even take the comparison quiz! To see how well matched we truly are!"
   Ignoring her now, Taylor walked past her. "Don't expect me to feel guilty or sorry for Ike finally did something he wanted to do."

   Running up the stairs, Taylor slammed into his room he shared with his brothers. "You actually did it?" He cried out happily.
   Isaac jumped from his spot in the beanbag chair, his guitar banging on the table, causing him to wince.
   Zac looked up from picking up a pair of pants from the floor. "I have cleaned up my side of the room before, Tay." He replied indignantly.
   Taylor shook his head, "That's not what I'm talking about!" He answered, then grinned, "though you cleaning isn't an everyday occurrence. Ike actually did something he wanted to do while he was with Mandy!"
   Zac dropped the jeans, "Ohmigod… are you serious?"
   Isaac rolled his eyes, "Yes. We stayed home, played pool, and watched 'Austin Powers Two'."
   Taylor grinned broadly. "Felt pretty damn good, huh?"
   He was quiet for a moment, before Isaac leaned back, smiled up at him and nodded. "Oh yeah."