It was the late afternoon of the second day in the car. Zac had gone cross-eyed, Ike had written 245 songs about a cat from Topeka and Taylor had counted everytime he saw a yellow VW Beetle with a liscense plate from Alaska, which had equaled one. Walker and Diana had switched driving on and off every six hours and Zoe had slept the whole way. Jessica and Avery had dressed Mackenzie up as a girl and had used up all of Diana's lipstick and powder. Nobody was sorry when they finally pulled up to a beautiful villa in the southern side of Beverly Hills, which would be their home for the next couple of months while they recorded the new album.
"Finally!" yelled Zac. "I was going cra-UAZY," he said, his voice cracking.
"Zac, what are we going to do about you?" asked Taylor.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Your voice cracking. How can we record with your voice like that?"
"Well, it's not like I ever get to sing that much, anyway," muttered Zac.
Taylor didn't hear him. "Guys, this place is even better than I remembered! Look, the pool in the backyard!"
"Yeah, well, we were here only two years ago," Ike said. "It wasn't going to change that much."
"I can't believe it's been two years since we recorded Middle of Nowhere. It seems like yesterday," Taylor said.
"Yeah, but so much has happened since then," Zac pointed out.
"Yeah, you're right. Let's go find our rooms," Ike said. "We finally get our own rooms!"
"For once in my LI-fe!" Zac sqeaked.
"You're pathetic," Taylor said, running by him. "I claim the room overlooking the pool!"
Taylor entered his huge bedroom with a small balcony that looked over the pool and the surrounding landscape. It was better than he remembered. A large canopy bed was in the corner, complete with fresh covers and some sample colones and shampoos. Across the room was a oversized couch with a entertainment system, complete with a TV, VCR, CD player and Playstation. But best of all, a brand new Nokia keyboard, complete with a miniture recording system and song paper.
"I wrote a lot of good songs in here," Taylor said out loud to himself. "This is gonna be great!"
"Wow, your room is cool too," Zac said, wandering into Tay's room. "Mine's huge!"
"Yeah, this house is awesome," Tay answered. "I can't wait until we start recording."
Zac nodded and walked over to the window. He looked outside and then took a double-take and looked out again. A scream sounded, followed by a whole group of screams. "Oh no!" Zac said. "They've found us!"
Tay ran to the window and looked down. Sure enough, outside the house was a group of about 20 fans, holding a sign that said, "WELCOME HANSON!" "Well, that took about six minutes."
"There goes our privacy," Zac moaned. "Darn."
Taylor gave a small wave to the girls and walked back to Zac. "Yeah," he sighed. He looked at the clock. "Three o'clock. That means it's about 4:30 back home. I'm gonna call Tamara."
"Okay, but then I get to call Holly," Zac said.
Tay picked up the phone and dialed her number. The phone rang six times and nobody answered. "Oh well," Taylor said. "You can have the phone now, Zac."
Zac dialed her number and nobody answered there either. "Hmmm. Our women have left us."
"Shut up, Zac." He walked back to the window. "Hey, Dad's getting rid of the girls. Maybe we will be able to have some privacy."
It was around 2:30 that morning and Taylor was asleep peacefully in bed. Out of the shadows crept a figure, a girl, dressed in black shorts and a black tank top. She had climbed up the balcony and entered Taylor's room through the window. She walked silently to the bed and climbed on top of Tay, until she was looking right in his face. He stirred a little, but did not awaken.
"Taylor, my soulmate," she whispered. "I have gone to great lengths to be here tonight. This is my special night, my fantasy come true." She pushed her black hair out of her face. "You look so innocent, sleeping here, no idea what is to come. If only you would stay that way forever." She gave him a light kiss on the lips and brushed her cheek against his. He stirred again and mumbled "Tamara." She glared at him angrily.
"No, that's not what you say. You say my name, Alison. I am the one you are meant to be with. And you'll be with me forever." She held a gleaming knife over Tay's throut and lowered it to his skin. "Don't worry, honey, it won't hurt a bit." She pulled the knife up and was about to strike when she heard someone coming towards the door to the room. Alison dove under Tay's bed and held her breath.
"Taylor?" Diana's voice came from the hall. "Is everything okay? I thought I heard some noises coming from here."
Taylor woke up, confused. "What? No, everything's okay...I'm fine."
"Okay, just checking. Good night," she said as she closed the door and left the room. Taylor turned around and went back to sleep. Underneath the bed, Alison waited for twenty minutes until she was sure everyone was gone and asleep. She crept out from under the bed and took one last glance at Taylor.
"Later, it will be time," she whispered. "Good night, love." And she was gone with the shadows.