The next night, around 5:00, Taylor arrived at the Edison High soccer game. He had been to one before, when his cousin had played on the team, but he felt a little out of place as he took a seat on the bleachers. It looked like the whole town was there to support their beloved Eagles. They were playing the big school rival, the Booker T. Washington Hornets. It was probably the biggest game of the season. The teams were warming up on the field and Taylor looked around for Scott. He spotted him over by the gate, talking to someone. As he looked closer, he saw that it was Phoebe Andrews, Tamara's best friend. With her was her sister Mia and close behind was Tamara herself. Taylor drew in his breath and made his way over to where they stood.
As he approached, Tamara turned and looked straight at him and ran towards him.
"Hey!" she yelled as she smiled at him. Taylor relaxed and opened his arms to hug her. Instead she ran on past him and into the arms of Justin Mundy, who was behind Taylor and dressed in his soccer uniform. Taylor turned around in shock and gaped at Tamara and Justin. He felt like a retard and he slowly made his way to Scott and Phoebe.
"Hey guys," Taylor said weakly.
"Oh, hey Taylor. You know Phoebe?" Scott said. Taylor nodded and gave her a small smile. He wanted to talk to her and ask her about what was going on with Tamara and Justin, but Scott was still talking to her. Then Taylor remembered that Scott had liked Phoebe since last summer. He smiled to himself and walked back to his seat. Someone was following him so he turned around and Mia was standing behind him.
"Hi Mia. How's it going?" he asked her politely.
"Good. Is Ike here?" she asked.
"Uh, no, he's at home, I think," he answered. "Why?"
"Oh, no reason. I was just wondering. Tell him I said Hi."
"Yeah sure."
"Phoebe and Scott look cute, don't they?" Mia went on.
"Yeah, I guess," Tay said unenthusiastically. He didn't really want to talk about his best friends love life when his own was in shambles.
"She really likes him a lot. He's all she talks about sometimes," Mia continued.
"Really?" Taylor said. "He likes her too."
"Are you serious? That is so awesome! We have to get him to ask her out."
"Yeah, well, I'll tell him to ask her out."
"Okay, cool. See ya later, Taylor," Mia said as she walked away.
"See ya," he replied. But his mind was somewhere else. He watched Tamara and Justin from his seat. They were by the sidelines talking with a bunch of people and Tamara was laughing and looked really happy. Taylor felt even worse than ever. Suddenly the referee blew his whistle and Justin trotted out to the center of the field. Taylor groaned when he saw that not only was Justin the star player, he was the team capitan as well. Taylor couldn't compare to this guy. Just then he felt a shadow over his face and he looked up. There were two girls standing by him, one about eight years old and the other about 13.
"Hi," the older one said shyly. "Can we have your autograph, please?" Taylor was brought back to reality. He was Taylor Hanson, the guy who had sold over 8 million albums world wide, who had just completed a sold out national tour, who had thousands of fans, who was talented at something besides a stupid sport.
He smiled. "Yeah, sure, no problem." They held out a napkin and he signed his signature.
"Thank you," they said in unison. They walked away, giggling. That made Taylor feel a little better. Here he had been feeling sorry for himself, when he had so much more than this Justin guy would ever have. The game had started and the fans were on their feet, cheering for their team. Taylor stood there for a moment and then made his way to a pay phone and dialed his home phone number. Zac picked up after two rings.
"Zac? It's me," said Taylor. "Is Ike still there?"
"Yeah, I think so," said Zac.
"Look, you guys gotta get here right away. I'm at the soccer game at Edison."
"Why do we have to come?" whined Zac. "Mackenzie and Zoe are watching a Telletubies marathon on T.V and I don't want to miss any of it. It's actually quite interesting..."
"Zac! Please, can you guys just get here? A favor for me?" begged Taylor.
"Okay, okay. Do we have to bring anything?" asked Zac.
"Just your voices. I'll meet you by the gate," Taylor said as he hung up the phone. Now for his part of the plan. He ran up to announcement booth at the top of the stands. He talked to the guy in the booth and he agreed to Taylor's plan. Taylor ran across the street to the Florist store and grabbed a bunch of flowers. On his way back to the game, he bumped into the leader of the marching band. Taylor told him about his plan. The guy liked it, so he agreed to help out. Tay spotted his brothers making their way into the game and he caught up with them.
"So what's going on?" asked Ike.
"Yeah, I brought my voice!" Zac said, pointing to his throat.
"Okay, here's the plan..." Taylor told them his idea.
At halftime, the score was Eagles-3 and Hornets-2. Justin had scored two of the goals, and right now the team was inside the locker room discussing strategies. Taylor watched to make sure he was out of sight and then he signaled to the booth. The announcer's voice came over the speakers.
"Well, folks, as a treat for that exciting first half, we have Tulsa's own band with us, Hanson!" The crowd cheered, for they were used to Hanson, but still loved and supported them. Taylor and his brothers ran out to the center of the field, where three microphones were set up for them. Taylor grabbed his mic and looked around for Tamara. There she was, sitting alone on the bleachers, and she felt faint when she saw him. Taylor glanced at her and then spoke.
"Hey everyone! It's great to be back in Tulsa, we always miss it when we're away. We especially miss the people," he said, looking right at Tamara. "We're just going to do one song for you, before the game starts again. I'd like to send this song out to someone I really care about. She's sitting in the stands right now, and even though she probably wouldn't want me to say her name, I'm going to anyway. Tamara, this song is for you. I'm sorry about everything and I want you to take me back. I love you." A few people in the crowd 'ahhed' and an old lady wiped her eyes. "Okay, guys," Tay said to his brothers. They broke out into an acapella version of "I Swear". Their voices rang clear across the quiet stadium and echoed in the silence. They harmonized perfectly, hitting the right notes. After the first verse and chorus, the Edison Marching Band joined Hanson on the field and formed a heart, playing the music to the song. Taylor looked at Tamara, who was staring at them in wonder.
"Please," he mouthed to her. She got up and started working her way down the bleachers.
"Excuse me," she said to people as she pushed her way through, tears streaming down her face. She wiped them quickly away and ran to the field.
"And I swear, by the moon and the stars up above. I'll be there," sang Taylor.
"I'll be there..." echoed his brothers. They sang the last note, holding it out along with the band and then it was over. The crowd erupted into cheers and whistles. Tamara ran out to the center of the field and flung herself into Taylor's arms. The crowed roared even louder. Taylor held her for a long time, and he looked at her.
"Let's never break up again," he said.
"Okay," she laughed through her tears. Zac and Ike walked embarrassedly away, giving Tay small smiles.
"Come on," Tay said. "We have to get off the field." He put his arm around her and led her off the field. As they were leaving, they passed Justin getting into his position on the field.
"Tamara?" he asked confused.
"Sorry Justin," Tamara said. "It was fun while it lasted, but this is my boyfriend," she said as she smiled at Taylor.
Justin looked confused. "You have a boyfriend?"
"Of course, silly! You didn't think I actually liked you like that, did you? Didn't you know, we're cousins! I just found out this morning actually and I was going to tell you, but I guess I forgot."
"We're cousins?"
"Yeah, cool huh? Well, see you at the reunions," she said as she walked away with Taylor.
"Oh, here, I got these for you," said Taylor as he held out the flowers. She took them and started crying again.
"What's wrong?" asked Taylor, alarmed.
"Nothing, nothing. It's just that, I was so stupid. I'm sorry Taylor, I was retarded."
"No, no. I'm the one who was retarded. And honeslty, Haley meant nothing to me. You mean everything...I mean, who else knows every dumb thing I've done since I was two?" They both laughed. "Tamara, I don't want to every lose you, ever. Okay?"
"Yeah, I feel the same, Tay." They both looked at each other shyly and then hugged again.
"Well, let's get out of here. This game sucks anyway." They both laughed and then got into the car where Ike and Zac were waiting.
Maybe things could get back to normal now.