MOVING ON ELSEWHERE (MOE)
by: Erin(AndForAllThis@aol.com)
CHAPTER One: Pictures
"I'm in a mental room and I cannot find the door..."
"Hey Isaac, get a move on. We're flying out to London in about 3 hours and you need to pack still" went Zac's friendly greeting as Isaac walked in the front door. Ike nodded and walked past the chaos and mayhem up to his bedroom, which was silent save the noise of clothes being thrown around. Isaac swung open the door and saw a blur shaped like his brother Taylor running around hurriedly packing. Isaac acknowledged his brother's quick "hi" and, flipping on the TV, sat down on Zac's trundle bed. He was in no hurry to pack, it would only take him about 15 minutes to do so. He watched The X-files until a commercial came on. "The new band, Gem, consists of Stacie, Moriah, and their lead singer and guitarist, Katie!" Isaac flipped the channel at the mention of his girlfriend's name. Saved By The Bell was on Trouble. He watched as Kelly, Zack's love interest, introduced her sister who was visiting from up north. "Hey Zack, Screech, Slater, this is my younger sister Kate. Maybe you guys could show her around?"
"What a Babe-" Slater was cut off as yet again Isaac changed the channel.
He watched the Corr's latest video on MTV, then MTV news came on. Kurt Loder did his usual greeting, and then "As most of you all know, Katie Dawes, Isaac Hanson's girlfriend, died as of 2 days ago from lung failure. The Hanson family, and her best friend Gwen are mourning their loss, but that isn't standing in their way of work, as of tonight, the band fly out to London to finish their tour." Isaac had had enough. He turned the TV off, threw the remote to the floor, and buried his face in his arms. He felt a comforting hand on his shoulder. He lifted up his face and saw Taylor standing there, his blue eyes filled with concern for his brother.
"Are you gonna be okay?" he asked.
Ike nodded. "I'll be fine" he managed to get out.
"Are you sure? Do you want me to leave you alone?"
"Please, would you?" he requested. Tay nodded and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Ike brushed away the two tears that had fallen, and started to pack his suitcase.
* * *
"Flight 783 for Gatwick now boarding, I repeat Flight 783 for Gatwick now boarding" went a woman's voice over the intercom of Tulsa Airport. Diana rounded up Jessica, Avery and Mackenzie, whom were all involved in a huge game of tag, and everybody marched towards the gate. Upon boarding the plane, everybody noticed they were not seated together. Diana, Jessica and Avery went in the very back, left of coach, Walker, Mackie, and Gwen were in the very back, right of coach, and Isaac, Zac and Taylor were up in the very front of the Coach section. The in-flight movie was 'City of Angels' starring Meg Ryan. Ike didn't really like the movie but watched it anywise. After it had finished, he checked his watch. Still 9 more hours until they landed.
"Hey Isaac?" asked a very fidgety Zac.
"Yea?"
"If we're traveling to London, how come we're gonna land at Gatwick airport?"
"Coz Gatwick is an airport outside of London. Then we take a cab into the city"
"Oh. Isaac?"
"What?"
"What airport do we usually land at?
"Heathrow"
"I thought so. Ike?"
"What do you want Zac?" Ike said through clenched teeth, Zac was getting on his nerves.
"What hotel are we staying at?"
"I don't know Zac"
"Ike?"
"WHAT DO YOU WANT NOW?!?!" Isaac nearly screamed. The people around them were starting to stare. Taylor scrunched down in his seat, pretending he didn't know them.
"Sorry" Zac said. "I just wanted to know the time"
"11:30, now be quiet!"
"Okay"
Zac reached into his bag and put his headphones on. Soon he was asleep.
Ike sighed and leaned back. Taylor and him found it impossible to sleep on airplanes. Even if he would've been able to sleep on planes, he couldn't cause soon after...
"Oh my God!!!" a girl's voice said at once. Taylor and Isaac immediately turned to their right. A few aisles away, a13 year old girl, obviously a Hanson fan, judging by her outfit, was making her way towards the band.
"Oh God, please no" Taylor muttered, a fake grin plastered on his face. Normally he liked the fans, but not when he wouldn't be able to sleep for the next 9 hours.
The girl reached Ike, Tay and the sleeping Zac, and stood there for a moment, staring at them.
"Are you..." she asked.
"Hanson? Yeah" Taylor replied.
"Wow, cool! Can you sign my 'Ever Lonely' single?"
"If you have it"
The girl reached into her pocket and pulled out the CD version of the single. 'That one had been released right before Katie had joined' Isaac thought, then sighed. When would he stop linking anything and everything to his dead girlfriend? Taylor scribbled his name and handed it to Ike. Isaac signed it and passed it back. The girl motioned to Zac.
"What about him?"
"He's asleep"
"No I'm not" Zac replied grumpily, his eyes still closed. "It's impossible to sleep while y'all are jabbering away over there. Here, give it" Zac reached for the girl's CD and, opening his eyes just wide enough to see, signed his name.
"Thanks! Well, I'm gonna let you three alone now" she girl said.
"Thanks" Ike said.
"But first, do you mind if I....touch you?"
"T-touch us?" Taylor asked.
"Yea, like your arm or something?"
Hesitantly, Taylor stretched his arm out and let the girl touch him. She squealed and immediately ran back to her seat.
Taylor rubbed his arm and grimaced. "Okay, I don't really like it when people start to pinch." On his arm was a red mark.
"She didn't get me" Isaac replied, then turned to stare out the window.
CHAPTER Two: With You in Your Dreams
"Don't cry I'm with you/Don't cry I'm by your side, and though my flesh is gone/whoah hoah/I'll still be with you at all times..."
"Excuse me, you can't get out just yet" said a stewardess, stopping Isaac, Taylor and Zachary from getting off the plane.
"Why not?" Zac yawned, rubbing sleep from his eyes.
"Coz there's alot of people out there and we'd like to get our other customers to safety first."
The boys nodded, and flopped back down in their seats. They slowly watched as everybody else exited, including their family.
"We'll meet you by customs" Walker said as he passed by, holding a sleeping Mackenzie. Gwen rolled by, and noticing Isaac's downcast face, patted his arm in silent comfort. Everybody slowly filed off, and the stewardess beckoned at the three boys. They stood up, and grabbing their backpacks slowly filed off the plane.
They all were tired, since their bodies were thinking it was 8:30, when in London it was 3:30 in the morning. The trio stumbled off the plane, and were greeted by screaming and flashes. They were each thinking the same thing; 'Thank God for sunglasses'. That way, nobody could see their bloodshot eyes. Ike, Tay and Zac smiled and waved at the shrieking fans behind the barrier for a minute, before heading toward baggage claim, and meeting the rest of the family at customs, like planned. They had already gone through, so they waited for the band to get checked in.
"May I see your passport please?" Asked an elderly lady with a British accent.
Three passports, all overflowing with visas from other countries, landed on her table. Without looking up, she said "My daughter loves you guys, even though she's 26. She plays that 'MMMBop' song non-stop" She stamped Zac's passport, then Taylor's and then Isaac's.
"Thanks" Ike grabbed his passport and walked out. He met his 3 brothers, 2 sisters, parents and Gwen and together they all walked outside the hotel to the waiting tour bus, which would take them to the arena. They had originally planned to stay in a hotel, but the hotel they were at had accidentally overbooked, and it was too late to find another hotel. So, they had to sleep in the tour bus.
"Are we a bus?" the driver asked, meaning 'Is everyone here?'
"We're a bus" everybody hollered from every single corner.
"Alright then" he turned on the engine, and pulled out of the parking lot.
"Hey Ike" Gwen rolled over towards Isaac, who was sitting in the bus' kitchen, looking for something to eat. Basically the only thing you got aboard airplanes were peanuts and limp chicken.
"Hey"
"Mind grabbing me that Dr. Pepper way up there?"
Isaac tossed a can of Dr. Pepper to Gwen, who caught it.
"Thanks"
Isaac nodded, and reached for the can of Pringles above the fridge.
He sat down by Gwen's wheelchair and for awhile, the two slurped and crunched in silence.
"Gwen?" Isaac said unexpectedly.
"Yeah?"
"Do you think it'll ever stop?"
"What stop?"
"The pain" Isaac said softly. His tone and the painful look on his face cut Gwen to the heart. She leaned over and put both her hands on his.
"Isaac, it WILL go away. Just give it time. She just died, it'll take awhile. But eventually, you will feel happy again. Eventually."
Ike gave a weak grin "Hopefully, or else I'll..." his voice trailed off, and he turned around.
"Going to sleep?"
"MmmHmm"
"Goodnight" Gwen called after his disappearing figure.
* * *
Isaac wearily crawled into his bunk, and ignoring the pain his heart was in, fell asleep.
* * *
"Isaac! Isaac!" a girl's voice called. Ike rubbed his eyes and sat up in his bunk-banging his head on the ceiling.
"Ow!" he rubbed his head.
"That wasn't very smart silly!" the voice said again. That voice sounded so familiar...
"Katie?" he asked, without opening his eyes. If his guess was wrong he thought he'd keel over with disappointment.
"What?"
"Is it really you?"
"Doh! I think that hit really DID injure you!"
Ike opened his eyes to see Katie sitting on his bunk, next to the curtain she had just closed. It really was her, after all. He jumped on her, sending her flying down onto the bed.
"Ike!" she giggled. "I didn't know you were THAT happy to wake up. What if somebody walks in?"
"So? I just wanna be as close as possible to you." He was laying down, and he was laying half on her. His arms propping him up were the only thing keeping him away from completely laying on her.
"Hey...come here" he sat up, and motioned towards his lap.
She got up and sat on his knee, and Isaac enveloped her in a huge bear hug. Her hair smelt so nice...like roses.
"I love you" he whispered into her ear.
"I love you too" she said. She turned around to face him, and hugged him, burying her face in his chest.
"Mmm...you just woke up and already you smell good"
"Well, I try"
"As much as I hate this, I have to leave now..." Katie said.
"No! Just stay here with me!"
"But Isaac, I'm dying. I have to go"
"No, don't go! Don't go! KATIE!!!!" Isaac yelled.
He sat up, all sweaty and shaky.
"Isaac?" a voice called from outside his little cubbyhole.
The curtains were thrown open to reveal his mother. Seeing his tear-streaked face, she crawled in beside him, drawing the curtain shut.
"Oh honey...what happened?" she asked.
"I had a dream, about...her. She was just fine, and then suddenly she said she had to go cause she was dying. It was horrible..." Isaac broke down, and tears started streaming down his face. Diana instinctively leaned over and wrapped her arms around him. She stroked his hair and murmured soothing words into his ear. She waited until his tears subsided, and then pulled back to look at him. His eyes were red, and his nose was starting to run.
"Here..." she reached into her pocket, pulled out a tissue, and handed it to him. He blew his nose, and, reaching around her, threw it into the garbage can on the far side of his bed.
"You gonna be alright?" she asked, tucking a lock of his hair behind his ear. He turned to her hand, craving touch.
He leaned over and hugged her. Pulling away, he tried to grin but it wouldn't come out right. He nodded.
"Call me if you need me, okay honey?"
"Okay"
Giving him one more hug, she climbed off his bed and left him to himself.
Too afraid to go to sleep again, he crawled under his covers, wishing he could die.
CHAPTER Three: More Than Anything
"And I'd give anything and everything I have, just to be with you..."
"You guys have been a great audience! Hopefully I'll be back soon to see y'all" Gwen said, before rolling offstage. The boys gave her a thumbs up, and took their places behind their instruments.
As the beginning chords to Gimme Some Lovin started, the screaming got even louder.
'I think I've finally found the loudest bunch of fans' Zac thought, behind his candy apple green drumset.
"Come On!" Tay shouted to the already hyped up crowd. Zac silently cursed his brother for saying that. He had forgotten to put his earplugs in, and so, to him, the noise was beyond deafening. It was earshattering.
"When I heard about the fellow you'd been dancing with..." Tay said, launching into 'Shake Your Tailfeather'. Isaac forgot to do his bit during the harmonizing part, and also forgot to sing the "shake it" part. Zac stepped in for him, and saw Tay silently applauding his move. They finished the song, and after welcoming everybody to the Tour, saying how they rock, etc, Tay told the crowd to hold on, and walked over to Isaac.
"Hey, come on, why didn't you sing?"
"Oops"
"Ike, pay more attention, okay?"
"Sorry, I'm kinda out of it"
Taylor walked back to his place behind the keyboards, and started 'Thinking Of You'.
* * *
"Man, you guys need to stop it, cause it sounds like a huge stampede. It's like, really awful. I like it." Taylor said to the crowd, who were, in fact, stampeding in the aisles to the front. (Ed: He actually said that at the London Concert) "Well, we're gonna turn the spotlight over to Isaac for a minute" Zac and Taylor walked off the stage. Isaac swallowed, and sat his guitar down. Walking over to the piano, he tried out a few keys before introducing the song.
"This was originally off of our first independant record, Boomerang, it's called More Than Anything"
Isaac played the opening, and began the first verse: "I love you, more than anything, than anything, I do. And I'd give anything, and everything I have, just to be with you...these feelings I hold inside..." every word he sang he meant it for Katie. A single tear slipped down his cheek, unchecked. Soon, more followed.
When he got to the part that went "And I...can't imagine life, without you, you are my strength, the thing that keeps me holding on..." he couldn't help it. He was sobbing so hard that he couldn't see the keys and had to stop playing. For once, the arena was completely silent as the crowd watched Isaac have a battle with his emotions. Zac and Tay ran out on stage.
"It's okay Isaac, you don't have to finish if you don't want to" Zac said, putting his arm around his brother.
"Yea, the fans'll understand" Taylor concluded, leaning down towards Isaac and looking him directly in the eyes. Isaac shook his head. "No, I'll finish it."
He wiped his eyes, and took a ragged breath. After a few more consoling words, Zac and Taylor went backstage again.
Taking another deep breath, he continued playing.
Every note sent a pang of pain into his heart. But he didn't stop. He played on. For Katie.
* * *
"More than...anything" He finished. The applause was ear-shattering. Tay and Zac ran back out. Tay slapped Isaac on the back, and Zac jumped on him.
"We're proud of ya" Tay whispered. Isaac smiled. "Ya gonna be okay?"
"Can we just skip With You in Your Dreams?"
"Sure" Taylor smiled, and they each went to their respective places. Zac threw himself behind the drums, Isaac picked up his guitar, and Taylor went over towards the keyboards.
"This song was originally the first song released on Motown records, and it doesn't really mean anything, we just like it. It's called 'Money' " Tay said, before launching into the song.
* * *
"We'll see ya real soon!" Zac called, as the band ran off stage. Once backstage, the band posed for a few photos, then went off in search of their family. They found everyone in the dressing room.
"Honey, I'm real proud of you" Diana went over and hugged Isaac as soon as he walked in. The two swayed for aminute, then Walker stepped over.
"Good job son" Isaac gave him a brief hug, and then Avery jumped on him. He carried her over to a chair and sat down, she still on his lap.
"Why were you crying out there? Is it because you miss Katie?"
"Yeah. You saw, huh?"
"Yeah. I miss her too" Avery gave Ike a kiss on the cheek, and then jumped down, suddenly very shy.
"Come on guys, let's go." Gwen said from the doorway. Everyone followed her lead, and soon the group was outside. After signing a few things for the fans, the bus soon pulled out. The roadies had gotten ahold of a hotel for the group, and so they headed there.
CHAPTER Four: Surely As The Sun
"Coz as surely as the sun rises each day/so my love will never change/ and though the years may come and go/my love will only grow and grow..."
"Zac! WAKE UP!" A voice screamed in his ear. Zac blindly groped for his pillow, and using all his strength, swung it at the annoying person. A loud thump told him he made contact. He snuggled back down under the covers and sighed in contentment. He wanted to live the next 30 remaining seconds of his life as well as possible. He knew when whoever he had hitten got up, he wouldn't be well off. Zac was right on target. The next thing he knew, he was being drenched by a jug full of icy water. He jumped up, eyes flashing.
"Hey!"
"Hey nothing!" Tay said. He was clutching an empty juice pitcher. His hair was decidedly messy.
"Zac, we have to leave for a press conference in one hour, ONE HOUR Zac! Breakfast is in 40 minutes, so hurry up!"
Zac sighed and drug himself to the bathroom to clean himself up.
* * *
"So, when's the next single due out, and what's it gonna be?" asked a man with a thick british accent. The boys were nearly finished with their press conference at Planet Hollywood.
"Well, we haven't decided for sure yet, maybe 'Love Song'. We're still thinking though. The release date should be January at the latest, though" Taylor replied.
Isaac and Zac were silent. Ike didn't feel like talking, and Zac was still mad at Taylor for the recurring events of this morning.
"Everybody, thanks for coming, we appreciate it!" Walker said, standing up from his seat on the corner, signaling that it was time to go.
The group stood up and said goodbye, and headed towards the van.
In getting back to the hotel, they saw the ever-present Green Jello standing outside there. Through clenched jaws they said hello, and then made a hasty exit.
"God, haven't they ever heard of lives?" Zac grumbled. Green Jello upset all the members of the Hanson clan, but Zac especially.
"Or privacy?" Taylor chipped in.
Zac nodded in silent agreement. Walker unlocked the door to the hotel room, expecting to find chaos, but instead it was peaceful.
Diana had wanted to go for a walk, and so left Gwen babysitting. Gwen was feeding Zoe her bottle, Avery and Jessie were playing with some Furbies, and Mackenzie was watching Johnny Bravo on cartoon network.
"Hey...I can do that!" Ike said, listening to the show. "You just stay right there in that seat cause I'm coming baby!" Isaac did a perfect impression, much to the amusement of his 3 brothers. Jessica and Avie were lost in their own little world, not paying much attention to anyone or anything.
Zac plopped down to watch the cartoon with his younger brother, Taylor and Gwen started talking about something, and Isaac, feeling all alone, decided to write in his notebook. Pulling out his green journal, and that infamous 'K loves I forever' pen, he settled down to write.
Hey Journal, December 6
Sorry I haven't written in ages, things have been kinda hectic around here lately.
First off, we've finished our tour, ending in London. Although we've gotten several, okay, 36 petitions at Hansonline from fans demanding we extend the tour, we can't. Number One, we have to start working on the next album, cause we're on a deadline, so it has to be out by September of next year. Second, Christmas is coming up and we kind of wanna spend time with our family. Third, all of us are physically and emotionally ready for a break. After Katie left us, everyone seems to have been alot more tired than normal. I never realised how much she cheered everyone up and made us all laugh when we were sad. But, now she's not here to do that, and she's the cause of our sadness. Taylor isn't hugely affected by it. Yeah, sure, he was her friend and he DOES miss her, but he's not like, having an emotional breakdown cause of it. Gwen is kind of quieter around everyone, and mostly spends her time writing songs, or singing. She told me that's how she gets rid of her pain. She's gonna need alot of songs to sing then, considering Katie was her best friend. The little ones do miss her, but aren't affected much. Mom cries every now and then. Katie and her had become kind of close right up until the kidnapping, and I know that she misses her loads. Zac seems to have changed the most. Instead of being all hyper, wild, and just generally Zac, he's quiet, thoughtful and just basically seems to have grown up alot. Sure, he does have wild spasms sometimes (Like last week, when he drank an entire 2 liter bottle of Surge in one go. We didn't get to sleep until 5 AM!) but they're not as often. I talked to him about this, and he said that there were now some thoughts he'd rather keep inside him, instead of spreading them around to everyone. Sounds logical to me. And how am I? Well, even I don't know that. Sometimes I'm just fine and normal, and other times, I miss her so bad that I just want to hurl myself off a cliff. (Don't worry, I won't) Well, I'm gonna go now.
~Isaac
CHAPTER 5: Mmmbop
"You have so many relationships in this life/only one or two will last....so hold on to the ones who really care, coz in the end they'll be the only ones there..."
"Hey Gwen" Taylor said, walking into Gwen's room. The Hansons had flown back home for alittle break before jetting off to Los Angeles to finish the new album.
"Hi Taylor" Gwen didn't waste anytime with that sentence.
"I was wondering if you wanted to go do something?"
"No, not really"
"Why not?" Tay was becoming exasperated. Over the past month he had asked Gwen 26 times if she wanted to go somewhere. And 26 times he had been denied.
"I just don't feel like it, that's all"
"When do you ever, huh? Gwen, our relationship is falling apart here, we never do anything anymore, all you do is sit in your room and mope! You need to get on with your life" He said the last sentence in a gentler tone.
"Can't you be supportive that my best friend just died?"
"I am being supportive! I understand where you're coming from. But you're supposed to try and get over that person, not just sit around and pout all day, expecting everyone to cater to you"
"I don't expect anyone to cater to me at all! I'll get over Katie when I'm damn good and ready!"
"Gwen, sitting in your room all day won't do anything but make you miss her more!"
"Get out" Gwen said, her tone deadly. All she knew right now was that if she was around Taylor for one more minute, she'd kill him.
"W-what?"
"GET OUT. You heard me. Just go, leave. I won't have a boyfriend that can't understand my feelings!"
"Bu-"
"GO" Gwen pushed Taylor out of the room and slammed the door on his face, leaving a very confused boy in the hallway.
* * *
Ike sat in the living room, watching Friends. It was the episode where Ross finds out Rachel likes him. Right now, Rachel was drunk at a resturant, and had "borrowed" a person's cellular phone to call him.
"...Ross, I am SOOO over you. And that, my good friend, is called 'closure'"
Closure. That word rang through Isaac's mind.
"Maybe that's what I need. Closure. Yeah...but how?" he asked himself out loud.
Then it hit him. "Ow!" he rubbed his head where the sharp object had hit.
He turned around to see his mom grinning at him. He looked down and saw the keys on the couch. "Go ahead and use the car to get your closure. Just make sure you're home by dark."
"Thanks!" Ike grabbed the keys off the couch, planted a quick kiss on his mother's cheek, and ran out towards the car. Soon, he headed in the direction of the county jail.
* * *
"Yessir, Vanessa. Vanessa Leope" he said to the officer in the front hall, who, by the looks of it, enjoyed doughnuts a little too much.
"MURPHY!!!" he yelled to an armed guard standing by the door.
"Take this man to a visiting box, and then bring Vanessa Leope in to talk with him. She's in cell 960-3" the man asked. Murphy nodded and lead Isaac down a few winding halls before leading him into a black room, divided into 2, with a telephone on each side. It was dimly lit in there.
"Wait right here" Ike nodded and the officer left. A few minutes later, Murphy, dragging Vanessa by the arm, walked into the room, threw the girl in there, and left.
"Oh. It's you." Vanessa said. She sat down, and picked up the reciever.
"So, how ya been?" she asked sarcastically.
"Great" Ike said, as sarcastic. "How else would you think I felt? Ya know, grey's not really your color" he said, referring to her uniform.
"I've always been more of a blue person myself. Look, Isaac, don't get so worked up, ok? I'm sure Katie will recover just fine."
"Katie's dead." Ike said simply.
"H-how? We didn't hurt her that bad, only knocked her up alittle"
"Alittle, yeah. You gave her a fractured arm, 4 busted ribs, a collapsed lung, and a concussion. But the collapsed lung was eventually what killed her. It got infected and spread to her other lung, causing both of them to fail. Yeah, you only hurt her alittle bit."
"Ike, I-"
"Save your bullshit. All I wanna know is why. So, you wanted Taylor. Do you somehow think that beating the shit out of my girlfriend and eventually killing her is going to make Tay propose to you?" Ike couldn't speak anymore, so he just spat at the pain of glass seperating them.
"Whoh, your facts are wack, boy. First off, like I said earlier, I didn't mean to kill your girlfriend, just knock her up alittle. I'm sorry, God! What else do you want me to say?"
"You're sorry? You carved a stupid shape into Katie's arm, you hit her with a baseball bat many times, you cussed at her, you sent her threatening notes which scared her half to death, you drugged her, and you killed her? And you think a little 5 letter word makes up for all of that? I don't think so! Did you even consider the other people's lives you were ruining? My whole family, Gwen, Katie's mom...ya know that Katie's dad isn't alive anymore either? Katie was all she had left in the world, and you took that away. I heard that the shock was so big she had to be put into an institution" by now Ike was crying so hard he couldn't see and every sob threatened to tear him apart. "And me! What about me! Did you know we were going to be engaged? I planned on asking her on her 17th birthday! And you took her from me right before all of that!" Isaac couldn't stand to see Vanessa anymore. He shoved up from the table and blindly ran through the hallway and out the front door of the jailhouse. He turned the key-which was still in the ignition, and pulled out of the parkinglot, driving whereever his emotions took him.
CHAPTER 6: Thinking Of You
"Coz all I know is that I'm in love with you, oh, fly with the wings of an eagle no matter how high I'll be thinking of you the whole time"
"I'm gonna call the police" Diana said, pacing back and forth. It was already 12:16, and Isaac still wasn't home. Walker finally nodded his head in defeat. Diana picked up the phone just as the door slammed, her with her finger poised over the 9 button.
Into the kitchen walked a dripping wet Isaac.
" Clarke Isaac Hanson, where the hell have you been? We've b-" Walker was cut off by Diana.
"Isaac, I want you to get out of those soaked clothes. Then I want you to come down here, eat some hot food and explain where you were. Go" Diana pointed upstairs. Ike just nodded and slowly headed towards them.
'I wonder what happened to him? God, he's dripping wet and looked like he's seen a ghost' Diana thought
She went over to the microwave and warmed up some leftovers for her son. A few minutes later, Ike came back down, in dry clothes.
"I'm gonna leave you two, I think this is a mom thing" Walker said in his wife's ear, slipping out.
"Are you cold?" she asked.
"N-no" Ike replied, his teeth chattering.
"Come here" She lead him into the living room where a fire was roaring in the fireplace. She set him down in front of it and handed him his plate.
Sitting back, she watched him eat and didn't speak until his plate was clean.
"So, where were you?" she asked. Isaac sighed.
"Well, I went to visit Vanessa in the jail"
Diana nodded. She had a feeling that that was what he was planning on doing.
"And..." she prodded gently.
"I couldn't stand her. Just being in the same room with her gave me jitters. I finally couldn't take it and ran out to drive around and sort myself out."
"Why were you wet?"
"After driving for awhile I got out of the car and walked around"
"But it's not raining"
"It is in Louisiana"
She grinned in spite of herself.
"It's not very smart to walk in the rain in the middle of December."
"No, not really"
"I want you to see a therapist"
"No!" Isaac's head shot up.
"I think you need to"
"No, I don't. Mom, the last thing I need is to re-live all this personal stuff with some stranger who only cares because she's getting a big fat paycheck. I mean, you don't even know all the details, I'd rather tell them to you than someone else."
"Well, tell me then"
"Got about 3 hours?"
"Sure do"
"Ok" Ike laid down on the floor and began relating the events of the past year.
* * *
"OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOD, IT'S THEM!!!!!!" a voice, or rather, 5 voices yelled. Isaac, Taylor and Zac were running for their lives. They dashed down 76th street and hid in an alley until the group of fans had passed.
"Can't even go to Lazerquest anymore" Zac grumbled to himself.
Tay was bent over trying to catch his breath.
"Ike? Zac? Tay?" a voice said. Everyone tensed up, preparing to run again.
"No-don't, it's just me" Aveline stepped into the alley. Wearing nothing but black clothes and having black hair, she was almost invisible.
"Hey Aves! Where ya been recently?" Zac asked of his old friend.
"Visiting relatives, and the same old boring stuff. What about you?" she asked, knowing full well what they had been doing.
"Oh, same old boring stuff. Concerts, interviews and the like"
"Fun?"
"You know it"
Aveline was their longtime friend of about 7 years. She had known them since before the first Mmmbop.
She saw Ike and immediately rushed to his side, ignoring Taylor who was still gasping for breath.
"Yeah, ignore me, I'm just dying here" Tay said.
"Hi Tay. Ike, how ya been holding up? I'm so sorry about what happened." She walked up to her friend and gave him a hug. The two swayed together for a minute before pulling apart. Both Isaac's and Aveline's cheeks were moist. Aveline had only met Katie once or twice, but liked what she knew of her.
"Guys, I hate to interrupt this gooey moment, but we'd better go before the fans get wise on us" Tay said. Everyone else nodded, and using the nearby woods as cover, sneaked off peacefully.
"So, Taylor, how's Gwen? Did I tell you that you guys make such a cute couple?" Aveline asked as the foursome strolled leisurely through the woods.
"Yeah, well we don't make such a cute couple anymore. We don't even make a couple anymore" Tay said, his turn to grumble.
"What do you mean Tay?" Zac asked as all eyes turned to his brother.
"We broke up"
"Why?" came the unanimous question.
"I don't know"
"Well, what happened right before the breakup?"
"Well, I asked her if she wanted to something, which, like all the other times, she's said no. So I told her our relationship was falling apart and that she needed to get over Katie an-"
"Whoah, whoah, whoah. First mistake right there" Aveline said, shaking her head. "You shouldn't have said she needed to get over Katie, you came across as an insensitive fool. Continue."
"And then I said that I DID understand, but sitting around just grieving and expecting everyone to cater t-"
"Second mistake. You shouldn't have said that catering bit. She's probably not looking for sympathy, just support. Go ahead."
"To her. Then she said she didn't want everyone to cater to her, and she'd get over Katie in her own time. So I said that she still needed to get out a-"
"Third mistake"
"Now what?" Taylor was becoming exasperated.
"You should've sympathized with her there. She's right in the fact that she needs to get over Katie in her own way. And you were right in the fact that she needs to get out some more."
"Hmmmm...maybe I'll go talk to her tonight" Taylor said.
Aveline smiled. "Good"
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MOE part one
MOE part two
MOE part three
MOE Epilouge
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