Arthur slid the tape into the player and shut the thing tightly. After adjusting a few knobs, he turned around and eyed the crowd, which was standing in the doorway.
"Well, what are you doing standing around for? Everybody, sit down!" They arranged themselves around the room. Randy, Matt and Trevor took on the floor with Avery and Mac, while Walker and Diana sat in the loveseat. Jessica sat in Taylor's lap, while Zac was in Destiny's, Isaac between them on the couch.
Destiny chewed her lip nervously. She knew her songs were good. She wasn't one to make false modesty. She just didn't know if anyone would like them, or approve, which she hoped they would. She also didn't know how well the tape player had recorded. Zac gave her a pat on her head to reassure her.
Arthur pressed the play button and sat back in the armchair. After a few seconds, Precious Dream filled the room, and Destiny was lost in her own voice. When the last note died away, she glanced at Isaac.
He was looking at her with an amazed expression. "What?" she whispered, barely disguising the strain in her speech. He just shook his head as Random started to play.
Destiny winced when she heard her twelve-string skip a beat. Zac noticed it too, and squeezed her hand to comfort her. Randy also missed a note on the drums, but Destiny knew they wouldn't be able to tell that one, because it had been an out of place note to begin with anyway.
Inside Out's beat played around the room, with a strong drum and bass background. The tempo was fast, extremely fast, and Taylor's foot bounced up and down a mile a minute as he concentrated on the song. The almost techno sound of the tune beat into her mind, and she listened to the two-chord song march on.
After three minutes and fifty two seconds of that, Rainbow Spectrum lit her up. Her voice was in falsetto for this one, and it was mainly a vocal song, although there was a little bit of drumming in the background. She had written it to show off her vocal talents to the labels she sent the tape to. For the chorus, her voice dipped down into alto, and managed to bring a good deal of emotion out.
The last drum beat faded away, and Spark came from the speakers. It was her favorite yet, and she didn't know why. The way each insterment blended together, the way her voice was sometimes drowned and sometimes drowning, the way the keyboards kept the beat, instead of the drums...
And the tape went on, covering her other two songs. When Last Wish was completed, Zac started bouncing up and down. "Wow, Des, that was good, really good! You're sure to get signed!"
Destiny smiled. "Nothing's for sure, Zac, but we'll see." She barely managed to keep herself from croaking again. She really wanted a glass of water.
Walker cleared his throat, and everyone turned to him. "Now, Diana and I have an announcement to make," he said, looking around the room. "We've talked to Lynette and Randall, and after a bit of arguing, we're going to adopt Destiny." Several of the people in the room looked shocked, and Zac almost fell out of Destiny's lap. "We're signing the paperwork tomorrow."
Destiny stood up, gently depositing Zac in the position she had been in. Crossing the room, she squished herself in between Diana and Walker, suffocating herself in their arms.
That night, Destiny was lying in bed. She knew Lynette and Randall weren't happy. They would, eventually, probably try to find out some way to get her out of the family. She sighed, hugging her pillow tightly. The next day, she would be sister to Isaac, Taylor, Zac, Avery, Jessica and Mackenzie. Officially.
Groaning, she shifted to the opposite side of her bed and stared out the window at the moon. She didn't believe in heaven, but she knew the Hansons did. 'If there really were one,' she thought miserably, 'my parents would be watching me right now.'
A knock on the door disrupted her thoughts. "Come in," she called softly, not wanting to wake anyone already asleep. The door swung open, and the soft light of the hallway illuminated Taylor's form. He made his way into her bedroom, then closed the door with a soft click
"Destiny? I just wanted to come see how you were doing.." he whispered gently. He crossed over to her bed and sat beside her, forcing her to roll over again so she could look at him. With the moonlight flowing in behind her, it lit up Taylor's face, so she could see him easily.
"I don't know, Taylor. It was a good idea before.. but now that I've thought about it, it'll be sort of... weird..." She sighed. She realized that she just wanted to live with them, not actually become a part of their family. Something inside her told her it wasn't quite right.
Taylor reached over and carefully took her hand in his own, stroking it gently with his thumb. He didn't talk, but Destiny felt comforted. Sighing contentedly, she closed her eyes, letting the events of the day float around her mind like a halo of thought. She was vividly aware of Taylor's hands on her own, and something about it caused her to understand, just slightly more, of why she wanted to live with them.
Destiny's inner mind reached out and plucked a thought from the surrounding halo. She remembered that Arthur would be sending out her demo tape the next day, early in the morning, by FedEx. The three different labels would listen to her music and send back word as soon as they could. If none wanted her, they could always send her tape out to other labels. But if more than one did, she would have to carefully read the contracts over with Arthur and decide.
Opening her eyes, she sat up restlessly. Taylor quietly watched her stand and move to her window. She looked out it, up at the moon, which was a thin sliver of silver hanging there, peacefully watching. The stars all around twinkled merrily, completely absorbed in their own way of life. Destiny could hear Taylor rise from her bed and move to stand beside her. Then his arms were around her, reassuring her. They stood there, bathed in the light of the moon, both thinking completely separate thoughts.
Morning found Destiny stumbling down the carpeted stairs and into the huge kitchen, which was a cheery yellow. 'Too cheery,' she thought miserably, 'Much too cheery for eight in the morning.' She hadn't been able to sleep, and when she finally had, it hadn't been for long. Isaac looked at her, amused. Her hair, which she hadn't bothered to brush yet, was knotted and tangled to a frightening degree. Her eyes were puffy and bagged, and glared around the room with a dead sort of look. Blotchy skin was also in evidence, although Isaac didn't know why that was.
"Good morning, Des," he said, already perky from a cup of coffee he'd had.
"'Morning," she mumbled, crossing to the counter with the morning's food on it. Passing up the donuts, which she found overly sweet, gooey, and disgusting, she picked up a cinnamon raisin bagel and stuck it in the microwave to heat it up. She blinked several times, trying to clear her jumbled brain. She was NOT a morning person.
Zac flounced into the room a few seconds after Destiny poured herself a cup of coffee. With the steaming mug under her face, she couldn't see the eleven year old clearly.
"Destiny, I forgot to show you. Look at this article from the tabloids they had about my accident in the tree," he sniggered, passing off the torn newsprint.
Destiny read it over carefully, trying to absorb every word. The coffee helped her senses wake up, but not completely, and she had slight difficulty. Two paragraphs into the article, she had to get her bagel, because the microwave was beeping at her. After that, she read it without being interrupted.
"Natural Disaster:
Last Saturday, outside the local high school, and earsplitting scream was heard. Zachary Hanson of the music group Hanson was found alone and suffering underneath an oak tree he had apparently fallen out of. Numerous broken bones caused his suffering to be great, as he was transferred in and out of unconsciousness.
He was immediately wheeled to the local hospital by a caring teenager, by the name of Martha Roderri. After numerous hours in the emergency room, the results were displayed.. Zachary is to remain in a full body cast for the course of seven months. Martha has offered to stay by his side night and day, feeding him cookies, and, of course, milk. He is now in intensive care, and getting marginally better by the day.
Who is to blame? Who left him alone for such a long period of time? Did someone push him out of the tree? Some people blame Zachary's parents, Diana and Walker Hanson. Many children's rights activists are outraged at this display of unparental behavior. Some have threatened to even take Zachary away from the family and place him in a proper, loving family.
But for now, the debate is unresolved. Zachary and his nurse, Martha, will continue to remain in the intensive care section of our local hospital. Taylor and Isaac had no comments on the subject. --Frank Doright."
Destiny found herself helpless with laughter at the stupidity of the tabloid. "Well, Zac, you got what you wanted, a place all over the news." She smiled at him, taking another sip of her coffee.
Jessica soon came into the kitchen, looking eagerly for breakfast. She stole three donuts, two chocolates and one glazed, and sat on a stool next to Destiny. The four sat in silence for a while, just letting the events of the previous two and half months settle.
Eventually, Destiny's mug was emptied, and she stood up and stretched. Isaac didn't look up from the paper he had begun to read. Destiny roamed around the house, glancing out windows and taking it in all over again. Sighing, she sat herself down on the couch in the living room. Minutes later Zac followed her in and sat beside her.
"Des...?" he asked, not quite sure of himself.
"Hmm?"
"Are you really gonna be my sister, soon?" He looked kind of confused by the prospect, and Destiny couldn't blame him. She was too. She thought she would tell Walker and Diana that morning that she wanted to wait before she signed anything, and that she would rather just be in the same house with them for a while.
"Well, maybe. Right now I'm thinking I just may want to stick around and live with you guys for a bit, but not be your sister. It would be sort of..." she paused, once again striving for a good word to fit the same sentence she had said to Taylor the night before. "Awkward," she finished.
Zac didn't stop to think of why it would have been awkward. Instead, he looked slightly relieved, then asked, "Well, wanna come with us to a gig we have this weekend? It's in Boston, so we'll be staying there overnight, but there'll be a lot to do."
Smiling she replied, "Well, I'd better go, or Lynette and Randall would throw a fit!"
The Hansons' huge red van pulled up at the hotel in Boston. Hundreds of screaming fans in a sea of color lined the sidewalk, all pushing and shoving in the attempts to get close enough to possibly touch the brothers. Taylor shook his head in disgust at the obsession of all the girls.
Destiny herself was in awe. All the girls, fighting for the chance at three guys they hardly knew? It was over her head. Sighing, she allowed the three to get out of the van first. Screams poured in the van door, and Destiny pulled out the ear plugs they had given her as a present before they had left. She had raised her eyebrow at them then, but now she put them on in relief.
After a few minutes, she herself got out of the car, followed by Avery, Jessica, Mackenzie Diana and Walker. Destiny just stood, shocked, as the rest of the family walked around her and into the hotel. Taylor, Isaac and Zac were signing autographs and flashing smiles at the mob of girls straining against the ropes. Destiny passed them by, shaking her head in disgust.
Before she made it into the hotel, she saw a girl sitting very off to the side, leaning against the wall of the building. She had very light brown hair, cut just above her waist. She had a cute face, with slight freckles dotted here and there over a button of a nose. She was wearing a white tank top with a blue plaid flannel over it, and flared stonewashed jeans. Destiny looked at her curiously. She wasn't in the mob, but she was watching the Hanson brothers closely, and smiling ever so slightly.
Destiny crossed over and sat next to her, though she didn't dare take out her earplugs. The girl smiled and extended her hand, which Destiny shook firmly.
"Hey, I'm Destiny," she introduced herself. She suspected she'd said it a bit loudly, because the girl winced. Frowning, Destiny decided that she would invite the girl in. She certainly wasn't an obsessed screamer, and Destiny wanted to talk to her. She motioned to the door of the hotel. The girl's eyes widened slightly, and she stood up, following Destiny through.
As soon as the doors drifted shut and the girls' screamings were drowned out, Destiny pulled the earplugs out of her ears. The girl laughed, suddenly understanding. "Hi," she said, smiling at Destiny. "My name's Taylor. But that's going to be confusing, so just call me Alyne.. it's my middle name. Actually, do Al for short." She smiled.
Destiny suddenly felt very self-conscious in faded, ripped jeans and a baggy yellow T-shirt. She scolded herself mentally, knowing she was being silly. "So why were you just out there staring at them, Al? There were so many people screaming to meet them.."
"And if I did that, I'd just be part of the crowd anyway, which is pretty stupid," she retaliated. "Screaming isn't natural," she went on, "I just can't do it. And I can't stoop to the level of standing in a sea of teen girls just to get a signature. It's a name, darn it..." she sighed, then brightened considerably, startling Destiny. "Sorry, I tend to do that. It's a bad habit of mine, switching topics randomly..." she shrugged.
Destiny smiled, liking the girl more by the moment. It was nice knowing the Hansons, but she suddenly realized that she needed a girl around, someone to talk to and totally share her secrets with. She didn't feel comfortable doing that with the guys.
"So where do you live, Al?" she asked, feverently praying.
"Here. Why would I fly from some remote city just to sit to the side and watch Hanson walk into a hotel?"
"Umm, good point," Destiny returned, baffled at the reasoning. Before she had any chance to talk to Alyne further, the Hanson brothers walked into the hotel, each flopping down on the lobby couches.
Zac looked up at Destiny and the girl. Tiredly pointing at Al, he asked, "Who's that?"
"My name's Taylor," Alyne said, smiling.
Zac groaned, falling off the couch with a loud thump. "You're kidding?"
"Nope. Call me Al, though, okay? I'll probably learn to respond to it in a few days." She sat down on a small arm chair, and Destiny squashed in next to her.
"Why Al?" asked Taylor, curious.
"Alyne's my middle name, but Al's faster, so why not?" she said simply.
"Okay," said Isaac, too bushed to argue. "At least you're not screaming. That's a definite plus."
"Like I told Destiny earlier... screaming just isn't natural. I don't know. Seems to weird to me. What good does it do anyway but deafen you? Why on earth would girls scream except for wanting to be noticed, which they wouldn't have been anyway? I find some girls pretty pathetic. It's scary the way they do things like that, you know?" she finally paused, seeing the expressions on the boys' faces. "Sorry," she muttered sheepishly.
Isaac just shook his head. "Nahh, it's okay, we're too tired to talk anyway, you may as well do it for us." He grinned at that, and Destiny could feel Alyne relax beside her.
Then Walker called across the lobby, "Boys, Destiny, let's go up to our rooms!"
The five stood up, and Alyne was turning to go, but Destiny stopped her. "Say Al, what're you doing for the next few hours?"
Alyne shrugged, "Nothing. It's so boring... I wish I could just walk outside and there was something to do, you know? But there's not. Oh well, I'm not doing anything." She smiled widely, and Destiny tried hard to keep from laughing.
"So you want to come stay with us for a bit? I've got nothing better to do anyway, and it'll be good to gossip a bit with a girl, if you take my meaning."
Alyne's eyes twinkled mischievously. She grinned, showing a pair of ceramic braces that Destiny hadn't noticed before. "Sure," she said, and the two girls followed the Hanson family to the elevator.
Arthur had rented them five rooms. One for Destiny herself, one for the boys, one for the parents, one for younger children, and one for himself. Destiny was in awe of the fact that she had her own room. It was gorgeous, with potted ferns, lacy curtains, a huge comfortable bed, and soft carpeting beneath her feet. The television had the option of cable, but after a few seconds clicking around, Destiny gave up with trying to find stations with the new channels.
Alyne plopped herself down on Destiny's bed, then started fiddling with the edge of the comforter. She stared out the glass door on to the balcony, which didn't offer a very good view, but instead gave a nice place to relax on. Alyne sat up, leaning on her arms, which were spread behind her.
"So, how'd you get involved with Hanson?" she asked, curious. She kicked off her tennis shoes and curled her feet under her, in a weird version of cross-legged.
"It's a weird story," Destiny began, but proceeded to tell Alyne everything that had happened, including recording her demo tape. "Trevor, Randy and Matt went back to Maryland the day after... they claimed that since they already had jobs, they weren't going to ruin my music career," she said, grinning widely. She sat down beside Alyne and yawned loudly. "Ahhg... it's only six o'clock, and I'm tired beyond belief," she muttered, trying to suppress still another yawn.
Alyne smiled. "Well, then just sit there and I'll tell you about myself. You deserve to know, anyway, since you spilled your guts to me."
She proceeded to unravel her own story, which went something like such:
Alyne's parents were rich. Filthy rich. They'd won the lottery two years before she was born. Her mother pretended she didn't exist. Her father, to make up for Alyne's mother's ignorance, spoiled the girl rotten, trying to shield her from the disappointment of her mother.
Because of this, by the time she was eight, she expected absolutely everything money could buy. She had three horses, five dogs, and twelve cats. She had two television sets, and one of her walls was a Plexiglas (for safety) aquarium, with near thousands of tropical fish. She vaguely remembered trying to name them all one day, but she had failed miserably. She even had her own game room, which was filled with a pool table, (her height) a miniature golf course, and several virtual reality simulators.
Eventually, her mother got sick of even having her in the house, and sent her away behind her father's back. She was put on a plane to Boston, which was halfway across the United States, and sent to live with her aunt and uncle, Barbara and Scott. They weren't rich in the slightest, and Alyne had had to make major adjustments to fit into their lifestyle.
She had lived with them for the past six years, and was no longer the same spoiled brat she had been. She hadn't heard from her parents at all, and didn't care in the slightest. Scott and Barbara treated her like a daughter, and she called them Mom and Dad. Alyne had made friends in Boston, which was sort of new to her, since she hadn't had any in her previous home of Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Most of her friends had been in the mob of screaming girls, and had actually dragged Alyne along, even though she had protested and stated that they wouldn't even get to talk to them. She had sat at the side, waiting for the crowd to clear so that she could rejoin her friends and go back to what they had been doing before.
"But that's okay," Alyne said, grinning. "They'll be pretty jealous I'm even in the same hotel as Hanson, much less talking to one of their friends." She rolled her eyes. "Obsessors," she muttered disapprovingly.
Destiny sympathized with the girl, but she was confused on one point. "Don't you like Hanson?"
Alyne looked surprised. "Well of course. I'm just not a freak obsessor, you know? I mean, it's sickening... sometimes I call Deborah on the phone and all she'll talk about is how fine Taylor looked in some performance on TV, or something. It's sad." She shook her head, smiling slightly. "But they're my friends, so that's okay. How long are you all staying in Boston?"
"Just tonight. I think that's why Arthur went all out on hotel accommodations, but I'm not sure," Destiny said, laughing.
A knock sounded on the door, and Destiny could hear Zac and Jessica standing outside, arguing good-naturedly with each other. She stood up and crossed the room, opening the door for the two, who grinned innocently up at her. Destiny smiled, and stepped to the side so they could come in.
"So Des," Jessica began, curiously eyeing Alyne, who was still sitting on the bed. "Ready for dinner?"
Destiny frowned, then asked, "Only if Al can come."
Zac shrugged. "Why not? I doubt Arthur would mind." He glanced over at Alyne. "Can you sing?"
Alyne made a face. "That depends on who you ask," she answered, brushing over the question. "I can do plenty of other stuff, though. Like, I know karate, I can cook almost anything, and I've repaired everything in our house." She rattled off some of the things she'd fixed. "The sink, Mom's discman, the washing machine.. that was a chore... Dad's computer, the window.."
Zac picked up where she drifted off. "Spiffy!" He ran over and launched himself onto Destiny's bed, bouncing up and down on all fours. Alyne giggled, rolling off the other side of the bed and throwing herself into a backwards somersault, standing up at the end.
"So where are we going?" Destiny asked, trying to cut off the two's antics. "Hopefully not somewhere far away..."
Jessica had a good suggestion. "Well, Alyne's lived around here, so she probably knows the good restaurants. How about you pick one, Al?"
"Hmm. Okay, well, if I would pick a good family restaurant... I think I'd pick... what price range?" she interrupted herself.
"Something in between. Not like, fancy," ordered Zac, "but not cheap, like Burger King." He just lay on Destiny's bed, staring at the ceiling.
"Cazzway, then. It's really neat." She went off, starting to explain what the restaurant was like, getting really enthusiastic about the prospect of going there. She described plenty of different meals, the way the seating was arranged, and even the decorations in full detail. Zac liked her, as did Jessica, but at times like these, she was rather tedious and annoying.
Zac raised an eyebrow at Destiny, and she shrugged back, after flicking a glance over to Alyne. After a few more minutes, she broke in to the girl's monologue. "Al, that's okay, we'll see it for ourselves." The other girl stopped, suddenly realizing what she had been doing, again. She grinned sheepishly. "Are there any private rooms, or anything? Because these guys are going to be open targets to any girls that happen to see them."
Alyne paused for a second, thinking. Then she carefully picked her words, so that she wouldn't go into another random bout of gibberish. "I think so, but we'll have to call beforehand and ask." She paused. "Their number should be in the phone directory, somewhere."
Zac and Jessica set off to inform the others of what was going on, each taking a different direction down the hallway, while Destiny and Alyne both started searching for the phone directory to call the restaurant.
