"I want to open it." Zac made a grab for the house key.

"Isaac should open it, he's the oldest." Taylor quickly scolded.

"Let one of the girls open it." Isaac rolled his eyes and took the keys.

"Um…that's okay, I think that one of you should open it." Tiffany said, practically to the ground.

"And carry us over the threshold." Eriqa laughed.

"Well, if you insist." Isaac inserted the key into its hole and Zac walked over to Eriqa and picked her up.

"Okay hurry and open the damn door! She's heavier than she looks!" Zac stumbled into the house and nearly dropped Eriqa on the floor.

"Good God Zac! I wasn't serious, you didn't have to."

"It's okay…I thought it would have been easier."

"You're pretty weak ya' know that? I only weight 118 pounds." Eriqa laughed.

"Only?!?! That's how much Tay weighs."

"I weigh 124 now, thank you very much."

Eriqa and Zac ignored Taylor and continued to argue playfully amongst them, while Taylor approached Tiffany, contemplating an attempt to do as his younger brother had done.

"How hard can this be?" Tay asked himself. "If Zac can do it, then so can I."

"What are you doing?" Tiffany whirled around, to face a startled Taylor.

"Um...nothing, I was just...um..." Taylor turned back around. So maybe getting up nerve enough to do something Zac would do was a little bit hard.

"Are you okay?" Tiffany eyed Taylor.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Hey, if the fact that Zac and Eriqa are teasing you a lot is buggin' you I don't think you should worry..."

"It's not that." Taylor smiled. "I've known Zac since he was born, and after living with the king of 'smart assism' I'm sure I can handle whatever they're gonna throw."

She laughed. "Hey, Tay?"

"What?"

"Can you...um...nevermind."

"Sure I can." He smiled, then he picked her up and carried her through the door. Tiffany giggled with surprise.

"Would you like me to carry these to your room?" Isaac asked Chelsea.

"I don't have one yet."

"Well then go get one."

"Okay we have a problem." Eriqa stomped into the room. "We can only put two into a room. So two of the girls get to stay together and then the extra will stay with Zac. I'm assuming that you and Isaac will be sharing?"

"Yeah."

"I don't want to share with Zac." Chelsea announced.

"I'll stay." Tiffany smiled and took her luggage from Taylor and handed it to Zac.

"Let me show you to our room." He announced extending his arm in mock chivalry.

"So then you and I are sharing?" Chelsea nodded in agreement. "Okay, let's go drop off our stuff and then check out the house."

"What the hell is this for?" Zac poked at a gel pad type thing on the counter top.

"I think it's a new model of sponge or something. I don't know, but my grandma had one. They smell kind of bad sometimes." Tiffany and Zac explored the kitchen. Isaac and Taylor had gone down to the music room and Eriqa and Chelsea were examining the pool and tennis court.

"Hmm…wow. This toaster has 6 slots! One for each of us!"

"Why do we have a tennis court? Does anyone on this trip actually play tennis?"

"We could learn."

"They should have put up a gym, so I could do my kick boxing." Chelsea kicked into the air. "God I could use a good work out right about now."

"You kick box? That's awesome. My boyfriend does too."

"You have a boyfriend?"

"Yeah."

"How long have you been together?"

"A little over 7 months."

"Do you miss him?"

"A lot."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Well at least she's taken care of and I won't have to worry about her interfering with my plans for Taylor and I. Chelsea smiled. "Let's look at the pool."

"So, what do you think?"

"What do I think of what?"

"Of this whole thing. Of the house, of the girls, of everything."

"I think it was a great idea, with great intentions. But this won't end up as anything more than a mock soap opera of our lives."

"Hey, that's what our lives became when we got into this business."

Taylor shook his head. "I like the girls. But I feel so weird around them."

"That's just because you're shy."

"No, it's not just that. I feel so uncomfortable. I can't look at them, or talk to them without having my stomach churn and having this little voice in my head say 'This isn't good Taylor.'"

"Uh, oh, my brother's going skitzo on me."

"Ike, I'm not joking."

"Okay, what makes you uneasy about them."

"I don't know where to start."

"We'll start with Chelsea, she'll be the easiest to figure out."

"She believes all the stereo types that we've created for ourselves. She also is a disgustingly horrible flirt, who is so obviously trying to seduce me I want to gag."

"Now, tell me how you really feel." Isaac smiled. "And Tiffany?"

"She reminds me so much of me, that I feel like she's faking her real personality because she thinks it will help her to get along better with me."

"Taylor, I think you're just paranoid. Wait you're not paranoid, that's when you think everyone is out to get you. You think that everyone is out to get with you. Lighten up." Isaac chuckled.

"Why is everything such a joke to you?"

"Sorry, I'm just in one of those moods."

Taylor sighed and walked out of the room.

"We have 115 channels and still no good TV?"

"Hey." Tiffany looked, from her seat on the couch, to see Taylor standing in the doorway.

"Hey, want to um…come sit down?"

"Sure." Taylor walked over and took a seat. "How do you like the house?"

"It's so big! It's gorgeous though. It's going to be horrible when we have to clean it."

"We won't have to clean it. That's what the maids are for."

"What maids?"

"The maids that come in every Tuesday to clean everything."

"Wow, we get maids."

Taylor laughed. "I can see someone's got a bit of getting used to the high life."

"Yeah."

"Don't worry, it's cool."

"So I've heard...I'm not really used to this...but I think I can manage." Tiffany said, smiling.

"We have to cook for ourselves?"

"God, Chelsea, it's not that big of a deal. You find a recipe that looks good, you throw the stuff together, you follow the directions, and then no matter what it looks like you eat it."

"Well Miss Eriqa, aren't we just the Martha Stewart wannabe of the hour!"

Eriqa laughed. "That was pretty good."

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to figure out something to cook for dinner."

"You guys are hungry?"

"Yeah."

Isaac rolled his eyes at the two girls scouring over cookbooks. "Cook for yourselves if you're really hungry. I don't know how hungry Tiff is, but Tay, Zac, and I don't usually eat until about 8."

The girls looked at the clock. 6:15. "Too bad. We're cookin' and you're eatin'." Eriqa laughed. "Hey, this looks good."

"I don't even know how to say it, let alone cook it."

"Who cares! It doesn't matter if you can say what it is, as long as you can eat it."

"So what is this again?"

"It's a chicken kind of thing with tomato sauce and broccoli, I think. But the chicken was put in this nifty powder coating stuff."

"Is it edible?" Zac poked at his chicken with a fork.

"Of course it's edible." Chelsea replied, with a smile.

"Why isn't it cutting?" Tiffany stabbed her fork into the meat and then attempted to jab her knife, furiously into it.

"Maybe you're doing it wrong."

"How many ways are there to cutting a damn chicken?"

"You could try a jack hammer." Zac interjected.

"Ha ha ha. Next time you try cooking." Eriqa returned.

"I will. It'll be grilled cheese for everyone."

"Why didn't we do that?"

"Because we thought we could cook."

"So what are we supposed to do with this?" Taylor picked up his chicken and knocked it against the plate. "It's hard as a rock."

"Dude! I did it!" Tiffany held up a piece of cut chicken, triumphantly.

"You're not going to eat it are you?" Isaac eyed her suspiciously.

"Sure, why not." She stuck it in her mouth. "Oh God." She grimaced and continued to attempt to chew. "This is so dry, and coarse. Are you sure it's chicken and not cardboard?"

"Okay! Fine, we can't cook!" Eriqa threw her hands in the air.

"We? You were the one who was supposed to make the chicken."

"Traitor. Someone try the vegetables, see how bad those are. Chelsea made those."

"I don't eat green things." Zac uttered.

"I will. Since I ate the chicken, I might as well." Tiffany timidly pushed a sprout of broccoli into her mouth.

"Well?"

"Not too bad. At least it's edible."

"See, I told you I can cook."

"Fine, I can't cook! I admit it! God, all I wanted to do was something nice." Eriqa sighed and went to her room.

"Now I feel bad." Zac stared at his plate. "Maybe I should go eat it to make her happy."

"I wouldn't." Tiffany mumbled. "I think it just cracked one of my fillings."

"Oh, so um…anybody want pizza?" Taylor held up the phone.

"Eriqa?"

"Yeah."

"How ya' doin'?"

"Okay."

"Is everyone treating you good."

"Yeah."

"What's the matter? Why are you so quiet?"

"I tried to cook dinner and it didn't work out so well. Everyone made fun of me."

"Oh, baby. I'm sorry."

"I guess mom was right when she said I could never make anything that wasn't pre-made or from a box."

"Honey, that's not true. Remember when you made me that homemade soup?"

"That was Campbell's homemade soup." Eriqa hugged the phone to her ear.

"Well, in any case, it's the thought that counts right?"

"I guess so."

"Call me later."

"I will."

"I love you, don't ever forget that. I'm just a phone call away, and I love you."

"I love you too."