"Oh look Christina. Looks like Kelly dropped off your present while we were gone," She said handing the box to Stina.
"Oh, ok" Stina said going up to the stairs to her room, Taylor and Zac close behind. She threw the box on her dresser and closed and locked her bedroom door.
"Aren't you gonna open that?" Tay asked, looking at the box. Stina had purposely tried not to pay too much attention to the gift. Kelly always gave her odd gifts. She didn't wanna open it in front of Zac and tay...Who knows what was in that little box.
"No, I'll open it later" Stina said, brushing her hair iin front of her mirror.
"i wanna see what Kelly got you," Zac whined. Stina shrugged without looking over at him.
"Fine then, I'm just gonna open it for you," Zac said, picking up the box. Stina whirled around.
"Zac!! Don't you dare!! Give me that, I'll open it!"
"Ok!" Zac said smiling. Christina silently scolded herself. As usual, Zac had managed to get her to do what he wanted. She couldn't say no to him, which was not a good thing. Christina took the little box out of Zac's hand and tore the paper off. She walked to the corner of her room before opening the little brown box. She had a really bad feeling about what was gonna be inside. She took the lid off. Inside was a box of Trojan condems. Christina cursed Kelly. There was also a slip of paper that read: "Christina, have fun with Zac. Your only young once!".
"Well?" Taylor asked, trying to peer over her shoulder. Stina crumpled the slip of paper in her hand.
"Well what?"
"what's in the box you sped" Zac said. Stina tossed to box at Zac.
"Catch"
Zac looked in the box and laughed. Taylor grabbed it from him to see what was so funny, and was very confused.
"Why'd she give you these?"
"kelly is a very very very odd person. She gives me scary gifts every year"
"Oh, ok..." Tay said, quite glad he hadnt met Kelly.
"you guys arrange your sleeping bags how you used to, I'm gonna go get changed" Christina said, grabbing a long white t-shirt and heading out her door. She closed it behind her.
"Why the third sleeping bag?" Stina asked when she returned to her room. Zac and Taylor had laid out three sleeping bags instead of two.
"Aren't you sleeping down here with us? The sleeping bags don't bite...hopefully..." Zac asked. Christina laughed.
"Yeah right. I'm gonna sleep in my nice warm cozy bed," She said sitting down on her sky blue bedspread.
"Oh come on! We slept on the floor when you and Mara slept over the other day," Taylor whined.
"So? Why is it so important I sleep on the floor?"
"Cuz it makes it easier to converse"
"No," Christina said. She didnt wanna tell Zac or Tay, but she couldn't rememebr the last time she had vaccumed her room and she was afraid of what was living on/in her carpet. She thought Zac and Tay had given in because neither of them said anything.
"Kick off your shoes, get on the floor, this is what we came here for" Taylor suddenly sang. Stina gave him a look of horror, and then immidiatly collapsed in giggles.
"What's so funny?" Taylor asked confused. Zac looked at her like she was a three headed fish as she continued to laugh uncontrollably. Finally, after like 10 minutes, she mananged to calm down.
"Tay--Tay--Taylor--" She began to explain what was so funny, but then she began laughing again.
"I'm sorry, you just have no ideas what kind of signals that song sends" She finally said.
"AHA! See Tay! i'm NOT the only one who noticed something odd about 'Look At You'!" Zac said jumping to his feet and looking at Tay.
"yeah, I'll say your not the only one. Everyone who's heard that song has noticed" Stina said, holding back the laughter that was trying to slip through her lips.
"i still don't see how you people could twist an innocent song like 'Look At You' into something sick and perverted. What exactly do you think it's about anyway?" Taylor asked.
"tay, to be perfectly honest, the first time i heard that song I thought it was about a guy and a girl getting it on in the middle of a dance floor," Stina said. Taylor raised an eyebrow. Now that she mentioned that, I guess that was kind of the impression the song gave. taylor felt himself beginning to blush thinking of all the fans that thought he was singing about doing a girl on a dance floor.
"Oh my god" He said. Christina would have started laughing again, but her stomach hurt way to much from her previous outbursts. Zac (who had joined Stina on the bed) stood up and pulled Christina onto the floor.
"This is where your sleeping, got that?" Zac said, playfully trying to act bossy.
"oh yes Zac anything you say!" Stina said as she rolled her eyes.
"Let's watch a movie or something," Taylor suggested. Stina and Zac agreed.
"Good idea, I just got a VCR up here. How about 'Scream'?" Stina asked.
"Ok," Zac replied. 10 minutes later Zac and Tay had stripped down to their boxers, and the three of them were lieing in their sleeping bags on the floor(Stina between tay and Zac) with a bowl of popcorn. Stina pressed play and the movie started. The three sat and silently watched the beginning.
"I love this movie, but it so totally freaks me out," Stina said with a mouth full of popcorn.
"Don't worry, the ever fearless Zac will protect you!" Zac said, putting his arm around her. She rested her head on his shoulder.
"Thanx i feel so much safer now" Christina said laughing, "But can't ya just see me being killed that way?"
The three of them sat and watched as Drew Barrymore became more and more freaked out by the phone man. Just as she broke down into tears, the phone in Stina's room rang. The three of them jumped simutaniously.
"Whoa, that was freaky. Should i answer that?" Tay asked, realizing he was closest to the phone.
"Nah, don't worry about it. My mom will answer it" Stina replied. Their focus returned to the movie. With her head on Zac's shoulder, she could hear him chewing his popcorn quite clearly. It was really annoying yet extremely adorable at the same time. She smiled to herself. There was a knock on her door.
"Come in!" Stina called as she shoved Zac's arm off of her. Her parents were really odd about guys sometimes, and she knew her mom would get the wrong idea if she saw Zac's arm around her. The door knob twisted but didn't open.
"It's locked sweetheart" Mrs Starrdust called. Stina paused the movie and got up to unlock the door. Mrs Starrdust came in.
"Zac, Taylor, your mom's on the phone" She said leaving again. Stina rolled her eyes wondering why her mom couldn't have just said that through the door.
"I'll get it, I'm closest" Tay said as he inched his way towards the night stand on his hands and knees. He picked up the receiver.
"Hello?"
"Taylor sweetie, I'm afraid i have bad news" Mrs Hanson said. Taylor's first thought was that something had happened to Isaac. Damnit Ike, he should have heeded dad's warning.
"Is Ike ok?"
"Yeah he's fine. Though his presence at the mall did cause quite an uproar, but that wasnt why i was calling"
"Oh. Why then?"
"I just got off the phone with Mercury...I'm afraid our 2 week vacation has been cut short. We're leaving the day after tomorrow on a flight that leaves at 6 AM. Tomorrows our last day"
"NO!!" Taylor exclaimed. Mrs Hanson continued to explain that it wasn't an option. When Tay hung up a few minutes later, he turned around to face Stina and Zac.
"Screw fame, i want my life back," He said. He repeated the entire conversation with his mother.
"Damnit, this sux" Zac concluded.
"When's your next break?" Stina asked. She didn't want them to leave. Somehow she and Zac had managed to make up for all that time they had drifted apart over the past year in just a few days. She didn't wanna lose their special bond again.
"Halloween. Then Christmas. Then God knows when," Taylor said grinding his teeth.
About a half hour later, Zac and Taylor had calmed down and everyone had resumed their spot on the floor and had begun watching the movie again a few minutes before. As Neve Cambell gave her description of a horror movie, taylor started cracking up.
"What's so funny?" Zac asked.
"Ya know Christina, maybe your right. i can picture you getting murdered in a horror-movie-like type way. i mean you totally fit the description. A big breasted girl that would be too stupid to run out the back door and you'd end up running upstairs instead. I mean, look at that slutty girl Tatam, you dress like her and you act like her in a not-so-snobby type of way. And she ends up getting murdered in the doggy door" Tay said jokingly.
"Shut up Taylor," Stina said, not taking her eyes off the screen. She decided not to mention that her friends Katie, Marie, and Chrissy had all said the same thing last time she watched the movie with them.
The movie continued and Stina felt herself getting drousy. She drifted off to sleep. She didnt know how much later it was, but she felt herself being poked in the arm.
"Pssst. Christina? Are you awake?"
"Yes taylor" She mumbled sleepily. She figured it was all a dream, for she was in that state of mind when your still partially asleep.
"Zacs asleep. We can talk without him hearing us" Tay whispered. Stina managed to say a muffled 'Mmmhmm'. Her face was buried in her pillow.
"I'm going to miss you so much while I'm gone. I'm going to try and call you this time. i didn't call you last time becuz i knew Zac would get mad at me, but he doesn't have to know. Don't forget what i said about the necklace, ok?" Taylor whispered.
"Right Tay, I'll miss you too. Go to bed" Stina muttered. tay sighed. He doubted she had heard a word he had just said. He'd try again tomorrow.
Stina sat up and looked at her clock. 4:31. She wasn't sure why she had woken up, but she knew she was wide awake. She looked and Zac and taylor. They were both sound asleep. Zac was snoring softly. Christina smiled in her dark room. She got up and walked across her room to sit on her bed. Her bare legs were cold, though it was a humid end-of-summer night. She realized that tomorrow at this time, she will have said her final goodbyes to Zac and taylor. A tear slid down her cheek. She sat sobbing silently.
"Christina?" A voice quietly called.
"What?" She said sniffling and wiping her face. Zac got up from the floor and walked across the room. He sat next to her on the bed. A faint beam of light was coming from the streetlight outside. He saw her face glisten as she turned to look at him, and he immidiatly knew she had been crying.
"Oh Christina," He said softly. He pulled her towards his chest. She buried her face in his bare should and cried as he hugged her tightly. She didn't hold back as the tears flowed down her face. She sobbed until she didnt have any tears left. She pulled away from Zacs grasp and reached for a tissue so she could wipe her eyes.
"Oh god Zac. I'm gonna miss you so much," She said burying her face in his shoulder again as somehow her eyes managed to leak out a few more tear droplets. Taylor sat up slightly in his sleeping bag and observed this scence. Stinas sobbing had woken him up. The streetlight provided enough light so he could see them perfectly. Christina was still crying, and he was sure he saw a tear sliding down Zac's cheek. Taylor silently lay back down so they wouldn't notice he was awake. He didn't want to interrupt this moment. It was then taylor realized that Stina and Zac were truely meant for each other. He wasn't sure what it was, but just seeing them like that. Zacs arms around her and Christina crying on him...it was truely a touching sight. Tay decided that if their was one thing he was going to do while he was gone, it was going to be that he would quit liking Stina, and help her and Zac get together.
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