Hanson stood staring at the Moffatts for a few seconds, then ran into their studio, the rest of the clan following behind them. Taylor shut the door and gave a sigh of relief.
"What was that all about?" Tamara asked, confused.
"The Moffatts...they..." Taylor tried to say. "I can't even say it! Ike, you tell her."
"They want to be just like us," Ike explained.
"So?" Tamara shrugged. "What's wrong with that?"
Taylor's eyes got wide. "What's wrong with that?! Everything! We had to spend a week with them before in Canada and they followed us everywhere! They kept asking for tips and help and stuff."
"They tried to cut their hair like us and make their voices sound like us," added Zac.
"AND," Ike interuppted. "They make their music the same as ours! They steal our fans, our look, our music..."
"The list goes on and on," added Taylor. Tamara looked at them.
"But aren't they more countrish?" she asked. "Like, they're not famous or anything."
"Not here," Taylor said. "But over in Europe and Canada they're the number ones. And now they're at the same studios as us!"
"It's terrible!" said Zac.
"Well, they don't seem so bad to me," Tamara argued. "They haven't done anything yet."
"YET is the key word here," Taylor said. "You just wait. By the end of the day they'll be driving you mad."
Tamara spent the morning watching the guys record some vocals and after hearing Dying To Be Alive for the 43rd time, she decided to go for a walk around the studio. Zoe was sleeping in a corner and Avery and Mackie were watching TV on a little portable screen. Jessica was the only one who would come with her, so they set off exploring the A&M Studios.
"Whatever you do, stay away from the Moffatts," warned Taylor. "We'll just pretend they aren't here." Tamara just shook her head and whispered "jealous" to Jessica. They walked down the hall and found the studio that the Moffatts were recording in. The door was open, so Tamara and Jessica stuck their heads inside to see what was going on. The Moffatts were in the back with their intruments, not particularly doing anything at the moment. Scott spotted them and waved for them to come in.
He smiled as they walked into the studio. "Checking out the compitition?" he asked, fixing on of the strings on his guitar.
"Something like that," Tamara answered. "Just going for a walk around the studio. Our guys are working on a vocal for the millionth time."
"Yeah, it can get pretty boring in here sometimes," Scott said. "You're welcome to hang around here if you want, seeing that we're more interesting that Hanson," he joked. Tamara laughed and looked up. Scott was looking right into her eyes. Uncomfortable, she cleared her throat and looked around the room.
"Um, so, oh, I'm Tamara," she said. "And this is Jessica."
"You're not related to the Hanson's, are you?" questioned Scott to Tamara.
"No, I'm their babysitter," she said.
"She's Taylor's girlfriend," Jessica said. Scott looked back at Tamara.
"Are you really?" he asked. Tamara nodded.
"Yes, I am."
"I thought you looked familiar then. I saw you on Acess Hollywood one time," he said, going back to his guitar.
"Great," sighed Tamara. "Glad America knows who I am."
He laughed. "All the girls hate you?" he half said, half asked. "That's how my girlfriend felt before she dumped me. So I wrote the song Misery."
"I have to go to the bathroom," Jessica announced. "Be back."
"Anyway, we were just finishing up here and we were going to go get some ice cream down the street," said Scott. "Wanna come?"
"Well..." Tamara knew she shouldn't. Taylor would be mad and jealous and she was supposed to be babysitting. But ice cream sounded so tempting! "Sure, why not?"
"Cool. I guess we can go now," he said smiling. "Guys, let's go!" Clint, Bob and Dave came over to them and they all walked out of the studio and down the street.
"This is Tamara," introduced Scott. "She's Taylor Hanson's girlfriend."
"Oh, lucky you," said Clint, laughing. Tamara gave him a funny look.
"What's wrong with that?" she asked.
"Oh nothing," he replied. "Taylor's cool. He can just be, well, competitive and too serious sometimes."
"He thinks we try to copy Hanson," Bob added.
"Well, he's very serious about his music," frowned Tamara.
"Enough about Taylor," Scott interuppted. "What kind of ice cream do you want, Tamara?" They had reached the Dairy Queen.
"What? Oh, you don't have to pay for me," Tamara argued. "It's okay."
"No, let me treat Taylor's girlfriend," Scott said, pulling out his wallet. "Don't worry, I won't tell him," he said, winking at her. Tamara's mouth dropped open a little. He was deliberatly trying to steal her away! Her mouth curved into a small smile. Might as well use this to my advantage, she thought.
"Okay, I want a large Peanut Butter milkshake, no chunks of ice, it hurts my teeth, one of those really long spoons, the other ones always sink to the bottom, and a Root Beer Float, vanilla ice cream, chocolate sprinkles and NO FOAM. Got that?" she smiled sweetly. Scott raised his eyebrows a little.
"Uh, okay," he said, fumbling for his money. He handed her the ice cream and they walked back to the studio. "How is it?"
Tamara nodded, her mouth still on the straw. "Werry good," she mumbled. Scott laughed.
"You have a little piece of ice cream right here," he said, pointing to the side of her mouth. He took his finger and gently wiped it off. Tamara started to get red. She backed away from him a little as they walked inside of the studio.
"Um, well, thanks for the ice cream!" she said as she ran back to the Hanson studio. She burst through the door and slammed it shut behind her. "Oh man," she said as she took a seat behind the sound board.
"Where were you?" asked Taylor, coming out from the recording stage.
"You will not just believe what happened," Tamara said. "Scott Moffatt was hitting on me!"
"WHAT?!" yelled Taylor. "I'll kill him!"
"No, Taylor, it's okay," Tamara calmed him down. "I mean, maybe he wasn't trying to on purpose, but it sure seemed like it." She shuddered. "He bought me ice cream!"
"And you let him?" Taylor said increduosly.
"I was hungry," she shrugged. "But don't worry Taylor, you have NOTHING to worry about."
"Scott Moffatt is something to worry about," Taylor argued. "If he tries to steal you away from me, I don't know what I'd do!" He paced around the room. "Those Moffatts! They probably have this room bugged so they can hear what our music sounds like so they can steal it too! They stop at nothing!"
"I see what you're saying," Tamara said. "Which is why we need to find a distraction for them. Like, a girl."
"Hmmm, good idea. Anything to keep Scott away from you!" he glared.
"Taylor's jealous!" Tamara teased.
"I am not," he said.
"Yes you are. You have that look on your face. Don't worry Taylor, I won't let Scott Moffat get to me."
"Neither will I," Taylor growled. "And I'll make sure of it."