~ Chapter 16 ~

Back at the studio, Renee and Isaac were working on the track listings for their (* Far From Reality’s) CD while Ali and Zac were drawing the cover (*well, a rough draft of the cover.) Tay sat on the couch annoyed that he couldn’t spend anytime with Renee or Ali, or even talk to them, b/c he just didn’t know what and how to say anything to them, without screwing it up.

Chrisso walked in and said,

"Well, I have news for both bands. First, Hanson, ‘MMMBop will be released tomorrow, March 16. Far From Reality, also tomorrow, they said that we can start recording!"

"Yes! Finally!" Annie cheered, and then high fived Katey.

"Yaaaayyyyy!" Ali squealed.

"Also, I’ve made some calls around, and we’ve found us a condo to live in for the summer! It has plenty of room in it for Julie, you gals, me, and you guys," Chrisso pointed out. "It even has room for Ms Martin and Ms Weber, who is both of your tutors (*both bands tutors) and you will start schooling again next week. Any further questions?"

"Um . . . yeah, when do we move in?" Renee asked.

"It may be a week or two, I’m not sure, but I’ll tell you when," he answered leaving the room again.

"Have you decided what to call your CD yet?" Isaac asked Renee.

"Um, I think we decided on Teenage Superheroes." She answered.

"That’s cool. Lets see, ‘Teenage Superhero’ then, ‘Different Endings’, the ‘Adam Song’, and wait a minute," Isaac said going over all the tracks he and Renee listed.

Renee turned to everyone.

"Should we rename the ‘Adam Song’ b/c it doesn’t say anything about Adam in the song besides the fact that I dedicated it to him?"

"You have a point," Katey said thinking of a cooler name.

"How about ‘Soothe Me’ since that is the beginning of the refrain?" Ali suggested.

"That works," Renee agreed, and then turning back to Isaac, "Okay, write that down."

He did and then said aloud, "Okay, here’s the track listings, so far. Track one, ‘Teenage Superhero’. Track two, ‘Something Strange’. Track three, ‘Different Endings’. Track four, ‘Soothe Me’, and Track five, ‘Trapped’. Sound good so far?"

Everyone nodded.

Suddenly Ali burst out laughing. Renee, Isaac, Katey, Annie, and Taylor turned her direction.

"What’s so funny?" Annie asked.

"Look at what Zac drew!" Ali giggled as she handed Annie the paper.

Katey, Renee, and Isaac crowded around Annie, and Tay, not caring what it was, decided to walk out of the room while no one was looking. He was just pissed at his brothers right now, and didn’t want to make a scene. When it came to girls and things like that, Taylor could have a major attitude. He doesn’t mean to, it’s just a part of teen life.

The picture was of a superhero trying to be a "Homey" (* you know, like a person who only listens to rap crap, where’s Tommy Hilfiger, and sags big time!) He had really big pants that were sagging so far to the ground. Renee and Isaac both rolled their eyes at how stupid Zac was, but Annie and Katey laughed at it. Suddenly Ali did her piglet laugh (* this laugh, well, it’s more like a shriek, is something Ali made up when she sees something funny she does this shriek/squeal that is ear popping, but very funny. And for some reason we call it the piglet laugh.) Zac gave her a weird look and started cracking up. By this time everyone was laughing, except for Tay, who was crying in the bathroom? He loved both Renee and Ali, but Isaac and Zac, he knew loved them, and he was jealous of the fact that Ike and Zac were not as shy as he was, and could talk to them easier. He was afraid that he would get turned down by both of them. Little did he know that Renee and Ali both love him, and would say yes any day! (* Doesn’t this just remind you of a soap opera?)

~ * ~

After a tiring day of listing tracks, deciding singles, calling’ people, and other fun recording responsibilities everyone headed back to the hotel. It was about 9:00, but Ali, Zac, and Isaac were still ready to have fun. So they went down to the hotel’s arcade for a while. Renee and Julie went up to their room. Renee quickly got changed into a red spaghetti strapped tank top, and her fave Coca-Cola boxer shorts. She put her long, black and purple hair up in one of those big clips (*the ones that look like claws.)

"Well, I’m going to go get some ice. Be back in a minute," Julie said leaving the room as Tay was coming in.

"Oh, hey Taylor," Julie said leaving the door open for him.

"Hey," he smiled as he came into the room, and Renee’s heart began to pound.

"Hey, how’s it going?" Renee asked him taking out her nose ring in front of a mirror.

"Fine thanks, and you?" he said sitting on her bed.

"Hold on a minute," she told him as she took the ring fully out, and dropped it on the floor.

"Ouch! Doesn’t that hurt?" he asked admiring her ass as she bent down to pick up the ring.

"God, I’m such a dumbass! No, it doesn’t hurt at all." She told him, starting to feel more relaxed.

"Oh, well I don’t think you’re a dumbass," he reassured her.

"Well, I am," Renee replied stubbornly.

She sat down beside them and it was quiet.

He scooted close to her and whispered, "No, your not."

Then their eyes met and they were just staring at each other.

Renee’s heart pounded, and she thought, That’d be cool if he kissed me. A slight smile formed on her lips.

Should I kiss her? Taylor thought. Half of his brain told him that he was heading for dangerous ground, but the other told him to be a man and go ahead and do it.

Finally he leaned over and kissed her deeply, which soon turned into a French kiss. Renee was totally unexpecting this, but was enjoying every minute of it.

Chapter 17