Raychel stepped back and looked at her dress in the mirror. She had gone with a traditional look.
"Does this look okay?" she asked. "I'm not sure about the shoes. They're kinda...funky."
Laura looked at the shoes as Raychel lifted the bottom of the dress a little to show her.
"Raych, your dress is way long. No one is ever going to see your shoes. And at the party, you'll be taking them off."
Raychel smiled, not really sure what to think.
There was a half an hour 'till the ceremony. Raychel's stomach was filled with butterflies.
Alexis sensed her nervousness and gave her a small hug. "Everything is gonna be perfect, Raych. Don't worry."
Raychel held back from mentioning what Zac, well, Angela had told them. She feared for Taylor's safety. But since there was celebrities coming, that would mean even more security. Somehow, that didn't reassure her.
On Saturday, he slept in. Twenty minutes before the wedding, he was in a deep sleep. It was a dream...or a memory.
"Tay, are you sure this is okay?" Zac whispered to his brother.
"I guess. I mean, Chrissy has done it before, so what's the big deal?" Taylor replied, pushing his long blond hair out of his face.
"So there's gonna be another girl there?"
"Yeah, she's your age." was his reply.
Soon the door opened, and in walked two girls. They each were holding drugs.
The next part was a blur. Suddenly he saw Alexis and Isaac, teenagers again, leaning above him. Taylor was there, dazed. He didn't know what was going on.
Zac felt hot and cold. Every feeling you could have, he felt right then.
Then was him lying in a bed at the hospital. His family was around him.
"I'll miss you..." floated through his head.
The last face he saw was Taylor's. Tears were running down his brother's face as blackness engulfed Zac.
Zac awoke with tears running down his face and sweat all over him. He looked down and saw he was wearing a tux.
"I'm late!" he cried, jumping off a bed in a guestroom in Isaac's house, where he had been staying.
As he stood up, he looked at the clock. It read 2 o'clock.
As was he going to snap his fingers and go to the wedding, something came to mind. He remembered a picture hanging downstairs. For some reason, he felt the need to see it.
He went downstairs and looked at the picture that hung above the dining table.
There were two angels on it. They looked oddly familliar. Especially the one on the left. Then Zac read what was written beneath the picture: You cannot control fate.
Zac gasped and looked back up at the angels. They moved, and disappeared from the picture. Zac realized why they seemed familliar. It was Angela and her sister. Angela...Angel...why didn't he put it together?!
Zac imagined the place of the wedding and tried to send himself there, but it wouldn't work. He tried again, and still, he remained in Isaac's dining room.
He knew he would have to rely on his feet to get him there on time. As he ran, he noticed people looking at him oddly. He realized he could be seen. Did this mean he was human again? Was his life returned because...Taylor's was being taken?
The organ music swelled around him. After a moment, Raychel joined him and they faced the minister. As he began talking, the doors burst open. Gasps went through the crowd as they recognized the young boy. It was Zac.
Mrs. Hanson, sitting in the front row, jumped up. "Zac?!"
Zac ran into his mother's arms, but after a second, withdrew, gasping for breath after the long run. He tried to tell Taylor.
"Tay, I can't...control....the fate..." Zac wheezed, but before he could finish, the doors opened once again. A large man entered the room. He appeared very drunk. And high. He held a gun.
Several guards jumped at the man, their guns out and ready to shoot, but the man jumped out of their path. He aimed his gun staright at Taylor and shot.
Everyone was silent and looked at Taylor. Zac ran to his side, where Raychel already was. Taylor had been hit.
He was lying on the floor, his face white. He was clutching his chest. Blood was pouring out.
The security guards were pulling the man out of the room, and he was shouting "Raychel, I loved you! I just wanted you back!"
Zac looked at her. "He was my old boyfriend. He was always drunk....and high, so we broke up. I knew he was jealous of Taylor. I had seen him around, but I didn't know this would happen."
Mr. and Mrs. Hanson were now kneeling by their sons, along with the rest of the family. Laura was holding Mackie and Zoe back, along with her husband holding baby Zac.
"Baby, speak to me!" Mrs. Hanson begged Taylor. He stared at her. "Mom?"
She nodded, crying so hard her body was shaking violently. "Are you okay?"
He looked down at the bullet wound, then at Zac. "What...? I thought..."
"I just figured it out. I just learned...you can't control fate. Every single thing you do has already been planned. I couldn't change the fate by telling you. I had to do something. But I didn't have time. I didn't know."
Mr. Hanson was also crying, and was now staring at Zac. "How..how is this? I don't understand what's going on!"
Taylor spoke, his voice barely audible. "Am I okay?"
He removed his hand from his chest and everyone saw the whole, blood spilling from it. Jessica, who was looking on, turned around and threw up. She couldn't bear to see her brother so hurt.
Raychel was talking to herself. "How could this happen? We could've stopped it. Oh my God, is Taylor going to live? He has to.."
Mrs. Hanson pulled Taylor close. "You'll be okay honey." she whispered, rubbing his hair.
But she knew it wasn't true, and moments later, Taylor died in her arms.
"Taylor!" she screamed. A second child. Killed. She couldn't take it. She broke down on the floor hysterically, Raychel almost in the same condition.
"Lord, please...no! Don't take my baby. Please!" she screamed. She patted Taylor's lifeless face, and Mr. Hanson tried to pull her away a little. "Honey, he's gone."
Raychel leaned her head on his chest listening for a heartbeat.
Zac stood back while all this happened. He couldn't believe it. How could he have let this happen? Why didn't Angela help him?
"Zac," a voice said from behind him.
Angela was standing there, wearing a white robe. "Zac, are you okay?"
Zac fell to his knees. "It's my fault. I wish I could go back to that night. The night we all made a mistake. I wish I could go back and change everything. I would do better this time!"
All of a sudden, he and Angela were in a white room. He looked around, and saw a door. It opened and Taylor walked in.
"Hi Zac." he said.
Zac blinked. Hard. Was he dreaming again?
He hurried to his brother and hugged him. "I'm so sorry Taylor. Like I just said, I wish we could go back to that night when we did those drugs. We could change. I would never ever touch drugs again if I got another chance."
Taylor nodded, his own tears sliding down his face. "I would too, Zac. But we can't go back. We just have to live..well, not live, but deal with what's happened."
Angela interrupted. "No, you don't."
Zac turned his brown eyes to her crystal ice ones. "What?"
She raised her hand. "Remember the lesson. This is your last chance."
A light flashed and Zac and Taylor were in a hotel room. Taylor was fourteen again, and Zac was eleven still.
Taylor looked in the mirror above the dresser. He had long hair again. He was wearing skin tight pants and a semi-tight shirt. He was young. He looked at Zac, who was as amazed as he was.
The door opened and two girls walked in, carrying drugs in their hands.
When Zac saw them, he jumped up. "Don't you come near us with that!" he screamed.
The girls were taken aback by his outburst, but looked to Taylor. The look he gave them was pure ice. "Please take that with you on your way out. And if I were you, I'd get rid of. That stuff ruins your life."
They were very surprised. The taller one, who Taylor remembered to be Chrissy, pulled the other one with her out the door.
When it shut, Taylor looked at Zac. "Is this what I think it is?"
Zac nodded. "I think we do get another chance. Like Angela said."
There was a knock on the door, and slowly, Taylor went to it to answer it. It was Isaac.
Taylor hugged him, as well as Zac did.
"What was that for?" Isaac asked when they finally let go and he could breathe again.
Taylor and Zac laughed, tears streaming down their faces. "Oh my God, I can't believe it! Thank you so much!"
Alexis walked in the room and looked at them strangely. "What are you talking about?"
Zac looked at Taylor and winked. "Nothing. Just...it's so good to be back."
Isaac sniffed the air a little. "Were you doing drugs? Like, I heard that Chrissy had some and stuff..."
"NO!" Zac screamed. Then he lowered his voice. "Don't ever try drugs. You could die from them. They're so horrible and..."
"Zac, we know. That's why we came here. To make sure you guys were okay." Alexis cut in.
Zac nodded and looked at Taylor, who seemed to be thinking what Zac was thinking.
"Ya know, you two should get together." Zac said breezily.
Alexis's face registered sock, but she didn't say anything.
Isaac blushed and grined a little.
"Oh, admit it. You two like each other." Zac said.
Alexis looked to see Taylor's reaction. He looked completely calm.
Then his face brightened. "I have to go look up someone." he said, going to the telephone. Then he turned to Zac. "Do you remember where in Oklahoma Raychel lived?"
