I woke up and looked around. The phone had been placed back in it’s normal spot on the nightstand. I smiled and got up walking downstairs. Everybody was in the kitchen getting breakfast ready. I sat down at the table in my pj’s. I turned around to see Tay and Chris in the corner sitting on the floor. They were holding hands and smiling at each other. I missed Zac so much. I had been invited to a party that Laura was having but I really didn’t want to go. It was more of a couples thing and my boyfriend was in Oklahoma. Tay and Chris had been trying to get me to go for days. But I didn’t want to. I looked up to see everyone at the table.

“Ash, what are your plans for today?” Ike asked.

“Nothing.” I replied.

“Then u can come to the party with us.” Tay said.

“Nah.” I replied.

“Why not?” Tay asked.

“Because I don’t want to go.” I said calmly.

“Why?” Tay asked again impatiently.

“Taylor.” I said warningly while looking at him.

He returned to his eating and talked to Chris. I knew they wanted me to get out some since I hadn’t been out much lately. But I didn’t want to. This was my life. This was how I liked it. With a few exceptions. I also wanted Zac to be here, but our families wouldn’t budge. Making it harder on us. I looked around at the table everyone was talking. I stood up and took my plate to the sink. Dumping the leftovers into the garbage, and placing my plate in the sink. I walked upstairs and changed into some real clothes.


1 hour later:

I sat on my bed writing Zac a letter. I heard a knock on the door and watched as Tay walked in. I knew he would bug me about the party.

“Howdy.” He said sitting down on the other end of my bed.

“Hi.” I replied.

“Watcha doing?” Tay asked.

“Writing Zac a letter.” I replied. “What are u doing?”

“Talking to u.” he replied.

“Smart ellic.” I said.

“Yeah, I know.” He said. “Why won’t u come to the party?”

“Tay, we’ve been over this.” I told him.

“No we haven’t.” he replied.

“Yes, we have. I told you it was a party that u needed a date for and I don’t have a date.” I said.

“So what if you don’t have a date. Tell em your boyfriend is in Tulsa.” He said.

“Yeah right.” I repeated.

“Come on. Please.” Taylor said.

“No.” I replied as the phone rang. I looked at the caller id it was Zac’s number. Tay smiled.

“Hello?” He asked with it on speaker phone.

“Tay, is Ash there?” Zac asked.

“No, she moved to Albertane.” Tay replied.

“Funny.” Zac said. “Where’s she at?”

“Right here.” Tay said.

“Well, lemme talk to her.” Zac said.

“Not until u can convince her to go to a party with us tonight.” Tay said.

“TAYLOR!” I yelled.

He grinned at me.

“Why won’t u go Ash?” Zac asked.

“Because you’re in Tulsa.” I replied.

“So?” He said.

“It’s like a couples party.” I said.

“Oh.” Zac replied. “Sorry.”

“It’s ok I don’t want to go n e ways.” I said. “Tay is just like annoying.”

“Yeah, I know he is.” Zac said.

“NO I’M NOT!” Tay yelled.

“Yes u r.” Zac and I replied at the same time.

“Shut up! I’m older than u 2!” He said.

“Taylor, will u get mom and dad to let me come back?” Zac asked.

I looked at him. “We’ve tried.” Tay said.

“U have?” Zac asked.

“Yes.” I replied.

“What’d they say?” He asked again.

“They said that your aunt and uncle haven’t seen u in forever. And that u should stay there.” I replied.

“I saw them a week before we left for ur house!” Zac yelled.

“Man.” I said.

“Ok, well here goes my backup plan. Are u 2 ready to listen?” Zac asked.

“Yeah.” Tay and I replied.

“Ok, tonight I’m gonna go to the airport. Get a ticket to Maine, and u guys can pick me up at the airport. K?” Zac asked.

“Zac, I dunno. U could get in some serious trouble. Tay said.

“Not if u guys help me out.” Zac said.

I looked at Tay and we gave each other unsure looks. Then I smiled at Tay and we agreed to pick Zac up at the airport.

“Ok, you guys I’m gonna tell Aunt Becky that mom and dad said I could. Then u guys leave that party and come pick me up.” Zac said.

“ASH! You’re going to the party!!” Tay said.

“Yeah I know. When is your flight?” I asked.

“Well, I called the airport and they said the earliest one they have is at 6. So I should be there at 9. What time does the party start?” Zac asked.

“8 our time.” Tay said. “And we don’t have to be home until 1.”

“Ok, so u can come get me and we’ll go back to the party.” Zac said.

“Okie dokie.” I replied.

“I gotta go c ya soon. Bye!” Zac said.

“Bye!” Tay and I said at the same time.

We ran down the stairs and explained the plan to Chris, Jules, and Ike. They weren’t to keen on it but we convinced them. I was so happy and excited, I couldn’t wait until tonight.


8 o’clock:

We went to the party and hung out for a while. I looked at the clock at least a million times. So did everyone else though. We were all anxious and u could tell. Everybody asked us why we had mischievous grins on our faces. We just smiled and said, “U’ll see.” 30 minutes before 9 we all jumped into the van and drove to the airport to pick Zac up.


20 minutes later:

We sat in the chairs at the airport waiting for Zac’s plane to get in. When it finally arrived we watched a lot of ppl get off. No Zac though. I sat there thinking that maybe he was just getting off at the end of the long line of ppl. But we watched as the plane flew off again.

“Where is he?!” I yelled.

“I don’t know.” Ike replied walking up to the desk.

“Umm.. do you know what plane Zac Hanson was supposed to have been on?” Tay asked.

“Lemme look.” The lady said. “Aw yes. Here he is. He’ll be on the next one that arrives at 9:45.”

“What?” We asked. “He said he would be here at 9.”

“Well, he’s coming from Tulsa. He probably meant 9 Tulsa’s time.”

We all felt so stupid. We sat back down and talked about stuff. Tay got up and ran from the chairs to the wall and back. I sat there giving him a weird look.

“Why’d ya do that?” I asked.

“Nothing to do.” He replied.

“Ok.” I replied.

“I never realized how boring the airport actually is.” Ike said.

“Well, it’s different when u don’t have screaming fans around u.” I replied.

“True.” Ike said.

I turned around to look at Chris who was sitting behind me. She just looked at me and smiled. I watched as a young girl about Tiffany’s age came up to Taylor.

“Can I have your autograph?” She asked shyly.

Tay smiled and signed the paper. “Do you want Ike to sign it?” He asked.

The little girl nodded her head. Ike took the paper from Tay and signed it and smiled at the little girl. She said thank u and walked back to her mom. Her mom mouthed a thank u and walked off. I smiled and waited for Zac to arrive.

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Chapter 25