I wiped my eyes impatiently. Here I was, actually meeting Isaac Hanson, but I was just so upset at everyone's carefree moods that I felt like I didn't belong.
"Gabby, are you okay?" I whirled around to see Ellie standing in the doorway. with the guys. Everyone was glancing at each other. I was guessing they knew.
"Yeah, I just needed a minute," I said.
"A minute without us?" Zac joked. I smiled at Zac's joke.
"How about something to drink?" Taylor asked me.
"Sure, thanks." I smiled briefly at Taylor. He was being so nice. Zac goofily grabbed me and gently shoved me inside, where I almost collided with Isaac. I looked up into his eyes and then looked away.
"Is Sprite okay?" Taylor asked.
"Yup," I said, accepting the soda. "You guys are really awesome. Your music has comforted me a lot."
All three guys looked at each other. I looked down at my Sprite and took a sip.
"Um…so, Ellie, how exactly did you plan all this?" Zac asked.
"Celine really did it. You guys know Celine Dion?"
"Near, far…" Zac started singing.
"Zac," Taylor and Isaac warned. Zac laughed.
"Anyways, I got the tickets and she got us back here. I owe her one."
I just kept drinking my Sprite. I knew my terrible low self-esteem and trust was bringing everyone down. I felt bad because I was disappointing Ellie, who had tried so hard to get me to meet Isaac. I glanced at him. He was wearing a white shirt underneath a see-through patterned black one, black pants and his hair was pulled into a ponytail. He glanced at me and I felt the tears coming because of all the things I was feeling.
I bowed my head and Ellie looked at me. "Gabby, maybe we should leave," she said, taking my head. I looked at her.
"Don't let me spoil this," I said. I turned to the guys, who were watching us. "Zac, Tay, Isaac, I'm really, really sorry. I know my attitude is bringing everyone down…"
"No, Gabrielle," Taylor said. "We understand." Zac smiled comfortingly at me. I looked to Isaac.
"We all understand," he said quietly. There was a silence. "How about a song before you go?"
"Yeah, that sounds cool. How about M…" Ellie began. I knew what she was about to suggest. I didn't feel like hearing More Than Anything, although I ached to hear it. I didn't want to cry anymore.
"A Minute Without You," I cut in.
"Sure," Taylor said. Ellie looked at me strangely. Ike grabbed his acoustic guitar, Taylor got a tambourine and Zac got his castanets. Ike kneeled down beside his brothers in front of me and started to play.
Ellie and I clapped along. She nudged me. I smiled at her, and looked back to the guys. Their eyes were watching both of us, and I noticed Zac glancing more at Ellie than me. I almost snorted with laughter.
After the song, Ellie got to her feet. "That was great, guys. Thank you so much for letting us come."
"Our pleasure," Taylor said. Zac got to his feet and came over to me.
"Gabby, I hope you feel better soon. Whenever you feel down, remember the song I Will Come to You."
"Thanks, Zac," I whispered. He squeezed my hand. Taylor wished me well, and Isaac was busy putting away his guitar. Ellie got her goodbyes and we walked to the door. I turned one last time and looked back. Isaac raised a hand and waved at me. I waved back and followed Ellie down the hall.
I heard someone calling my name. "Gabby, go ahead onto the limo. I'll be there in a second. Maybe I left something."
"Sure," Gabby said. "I'll tell Celine."
I turned and jogged back down the hallway to the room we had just left. Right before I got there, I heard a "Pssst, Ellie, over here." I looked around but didn't see anything. Suddenly, an arm reached out and grabbed me, pulling me back behind some stage equipment.
"Let me…" I started to shout, but a hand slipped over my lips.
"Hey, don't worry, it's just me. Well, actually, maybe that is a reason to worry, but don't," a familiar voice whispered. I turned to see Zac standing in the shadows. "You, uh, left sort of fast and, well, I didn't really get a chance to talk to you."
"Oh," I said, a little speechless.
"So, where do you live again?" Zac asked me.
"Oh, about two hours away from here in a small city," I answered.
"Hmmm, how old are you? I don't mean to be personal or anything…" He looked into my eyes.
"I'm fifteen," I said, blushing slightly. "Actually, my birthday is only two days after yours."
"Hey, really?" Zac's eyes lit up. "That's so cool! Um, Ellie, I was wondering if I could get your address. I'd sorta like to write to you."
"Oh, sure," I answered. My heart pounded as Zac pulled out a pen and a crumpled piece of paper. I couldn't believe it. Zac Hanson had just asked me for my address. I quickly gave it to him. Then he tore off a piece of the paper and wrote something on it. He handed me the paper, saying, "This is my personal address. I'll get everything you send me, but please don't share this with anyone except Gabby. You know what would happen if that got out!"
I nodded. "Thanks, Zac. This is great, but Celine and Gabby are waiting for me, so I should probably go."
"Okay. Can I walk you out?" Zac asked.
"Yeah, that's fine," I said. When we got to the limo, Zac reached over and opened the door for me. I hopped in.
"Hi there, Celine!" Zac said. "Once more, I open the door," he sang. Celine laughed.
"Bye, Zac," I said.
"Bye!" he called.
Gabby didn't speak for the rest of that night. I sighed as she got out of the car, quietly thanked us and went slowly into her house. "Celine, what did I do wrong?" I groaned as we were driving away.
"You did nothing wrong, Ellie."
"But she looked like she didn't care!"
"Ellie, she does, but she's just in so much pain. Seeing Isaac may have really hit a few chords with her."
I looked at Celine. She looked so confident. "I guess. I'll talk to her tomorrow. Thanks, Celine."
"No problem." Celine smiled warmly. I turned to the window and thought about Zac, holding his address tightly. I would always remember this night.
"Hey, Gabby, want to hang out today?" I asked her the next morning. I had just woken up and was sitting in my bed with my mom's cordless telephone.
"Sure. Hey, we should go out to the mall."
"Okay!" There was a pause.
"Ellie, I'm really sorry about the way I acted last night."
"It's okay." I propped the phone on my shoulder as I got out a t-shirt and shorts.
"No, it's not. You worked so hard for those tickets. I guess…I don't know. Everyone was so happy that I felt like I didn't belong."
"We all understood. Isaac especially. When you left the room, all the guys looked like they wanted to follow you and make sure you were okay, but I bought you some time with a question."
"Zac was looking at you when they sang A Minute Without You," Gabby said. "I think he finds you attractive."
"I wish…"
"Oh, come on…"
"Don't start, or I'd have to tell you I think Ike likes you." There was a dead silence. "Gabby? You there?"
"Oh, yeah," came the reply. "See ya in a little while."
"See ya," I echoed. Maybe my suspicions hadn't been the right thing to say. I shrugged and went to brush my hair.
"Gabby! What are you doing?" I screeched that afternoon as she dragged me away from the Celine CDs I was browsing through.
"Look!" She pointed at a poster. I read it.
"Oh, my gosh…this is awesome!" The poster was advertising an episode of VH1's "Storytellers", being taped in a small community center in a few days, starring Hanson! Gabrielle turned to me.
"We get to see them again!" We ran out of the story and squealed in the hallway of the mall. I was glad Gabby was getting a second chance to see them. I wondered if Zac had written me yet…
