"Okay, Taylor, here's the room key. Don't lose it!" My dad instructed me.
"Thanks," I told him as I felt the power grow in my hands after taking hold of the key to my room in our newest hotel in Boston. We left Toronto earlier that day and still had two days before our next concert.
Zac began to grab at the small card in my hand before I quickly held it above his reach. I shot him my best 'I have it and you don't' look and slid the card through it's slot to unlock our room. Zac stuck his tounge out at me and placed his stuff onto the bed by the porch window.
Isaac was still in the hallway talking to Jennifer as they made their way down the hall. I leaned out the door and glared at him.
"Hey Ike! Stop flirting with my girlfriend!" I joked.
Isaac looked up at me with an innocent and confused expression. I laughed and Jennifer blushed.
"Oh yea, Tay, really. I'm really flirting with her, aren't I?" Ike smiled at his sarcastic remark and placed his arm around Jen's shoulder.
I saw Jennifer look up at him in surprise. "Infact, Taylor, I like her so much that I'm going steal her from you," he snickered.
"You wish!" Jen told him and shoved his arm away before running up to me and giving me a quick hug.
She waved a card of her own in front of my face. "I guess I'll be alone tonight. I have a room to myself," she informed me.
"Lucky duck! I have to share this room with Ike and Zac!" I exclaimed and dragged her inside.
She held back in the doorway for a moment. I turned around to face Jen and recognized her little pleading look.
"Jen... what?" I asked her, my voice full of concern.
"Tay, I... I think I just want to go to my room right now and lay down or something. I'm tired," she said innocently.
"What? Why?"
"Well, I'm tired. What more can I say?"
"You're tired after that long plane ride?"
"Well, you kept me awake," she insisted.
I smiled innocently. "Sorry, but I just couldn't leave you alone for so long!" I told her. "Besides, I needed someone to talk to!"
Jennifer's expression didn't change. "Maybe I'll go call my friends or something, but, really, I need some rest. I need to be by myself sometimes!"
Jennifer seemed to determined and I decided that I couldn't stop her. Eventually, I gave in. Jen left our room to get settled in hers. Isaac laughed to himself when he saw how depressed I looked. I shot him a 'shut up' look, but he ignored me and placed his travel bag into a dresser drawer while continuing to tease me.
Zac was busy jumping up and down on his bed as if it were the only way to keep himself busy. I sighed and stuffed my head down on the pillow nearest to me. There just had to be something to do! We had enough time to build a skyscraper and I didn't have any idea as to what I should do with all the time!
Ike came over to the bed that I was on and stood over me like a hawk.
"Taylor! That's my side of the bed. I already claimed it, so scoot over!" Ike gave me a quick shove.
I groaned. Why couldn't he just leave me alone?
"Taylor! Move!" Ike continued.
Instead of starting another annoying arguement, I obediantly rolled over to the other side of the bed and fell off onto the floor with a thud in the process.
I let out another groan just as Isaac and Zac let out a chorus of giggles. I looked up and saw Ike lean over the side and peer down at me with a humorous smile plastered across his face.
"Having fun down there, Tay?" he asked me.
"Shut up," I mumbled and slowly picked myself up off the ground.
Zac leapt into the air and landed on our bed. He began jumping up and down again. I managed to climb back up onto the bed which was now being occupied by all three of us. Zac was busy jumping, I was leaning against the backboard, and Ike was sitting comfortably at the edge of the bed.
I sighed. Only then did I realize what was about to happen to me. There was Zac, flying in the air and coming down on top of me like an asteroid piercing the earth! Out of shock, I only managed to let out a squeal and hold my arms up to block my brother's landing.
It didn't help much. Zac came at me while laughing viciously. He landed on top of me. I groaned and rolled over while clutching my stomach.
"Idiot!" I cried and launched a pillow in Zac's direction. "What in the hell did you do that for?"
"Sorry," he squeaked as a broad grin appeared on his face. "Just trying to wake you up."
"Wake me up!?" I could easily tell that he had intended for that to hurt.
"Yea. you seemed tired," he grinned wickedly.
"Uh-huh. Whatever. Just try not to kill me next time."
"Next time? There can be a next time?" Zac began jumping up and down again in delight. "Woo-hoo!"
I turned and glared at him. "No, there will not be a next time! I would really appreciate it if you just left me alone."
Zac's sudden pause between a bounce caused me to look up at him again. The smile on his face disappeared.
"Geeze, Tay! Where's your sense of humor? I expected you to shoot me some wisecrack comment!" he folded his arms across his chest with a look of complete disapproval.
Ike, who had been watching silently the entire time decided to speak up. "Hey, I'll just leave you two alone, okay? I'm going to get some fresh air," he said and made his way over to the our privte balcony.
He slowly made his way out of the room. I watched him lean over the edge and take in all the sweet air. Zac began jumping up and down again. He bounced over again in my direction. I backed away before he could do me anymore harm than he already had. Surprisingly, this time, the only action Zac displayed was forming a cheesey grin before opening his mouth to say something.
"So, Taylor, what do you want to do?" he asked me.
I shrugged. "I don't know. Are we supposed to be active at all times?"
"Well, I'm bored," he supplied a quick reason.
"Bored? You looked pretty entertained a second ago!" I told him.
"I did?"
"Yea, the jumping show you were putting on. Wasn't that fun?"
"No."
I frowned. The day I'll be able to understand what goes on in Zac's little mind will be the day I roll over and die. He smiled at me again in that big toothless way of smiling.
"So... what do ya wanna do?" he asked, obviously not about to give up anytime soon.
"Look, why don't you just go ask Ike."
"No, he just wants to sit outside and admire mother nature's work," Zac snapped. Then, after a moment of careful consideration, a lightbulb clicked on in his little head. "I know.... Taylor, oh might big brother, will you come with me to the gift shop?"
Gift shop? I hadn't noticed any gift shop. "There's a gift shop?"
He nodded. "Yea, it's on the first floor. I saw it when we came in!"
"Oh."
"So, will you? Please?" he begged and tugged on my sleeve.
I jerked away from him. "Fine, fine. I will, okay? Are you happy?"
"Cool!" came his reply.
Before I could even say another word, he pulled me violently off the bed by my sleeve and dragged me across the room and out the door.
"Bye Ike! We're going to explore!" he yelled.
Isaac didn't even turn to watch us leave. I stared helplessly back towards our room as I was carried away.
"Hey Zac. Can you squeeze my arm any harder? Geeze, you're gonna pull my arm off any second now!" I cried and pulled away from his tight grasp.
I could still feel my arm swelling up as Zac punched a bunch of random buttons in the elevator. I could tell that he was in hyper mode.
* * *
"Tay? Could you possibly cough up five bucks so I could take home this lovely little stuffed seagull with me? Please?" Zac began his usual begging again.
The poor guy never seemed to have any cash around. Instead, he figued he could get away with borrowing a small amount from the nearest person and never bothering to pay them back.
I rolled my eyes and reached into my jean pocket to retreive some money for Zac. Seeing the sparkle in his eyes when I handed him the five dollar bill made me feel good for once. I was proud of myself.
But the feeling soon went away as I turned my attention back to the little puter statues that I had been admiring before I was interupted. I guess I just felt like using up my money. I was planning on buying one for Jennifer as just a small plesent gift to tell her I cared. I enjoyed being the nice guy!
There were lots of different pieces of work to choose from. Mostly they had animal statues, like segulls, fish, racoons, parrots, whales, dolphins, crocodiles, horses, and things like that. There were so many to choose from that I was beginning to think I would be there all day!
The little carved animal eyes stared up at me with curiosity. I studied the few shelves that were currently being used to hold the miniature treasures and pondered over which statue Jen would like best.
I glanced up at the sound of a cash register and saw Zac paying for the stuffed animal he picked out. The lady working at the counter was eyeing Zac suspiciously. I wondered if she had figured out who he was. Zac just smiled up at her politely and took his bag along with the seagull. He slowly made his way over to where I was and I decided that it was time for brotherly advice.
"Okay, Zac," I stated. "Which statue do you think Jennifer would really love to see inside a small box that I'll be handing her soon?"
Zac peered down at the small rows of creatures and paused to look back and forth between a few, wondering whether or not they were good selections. After a few minutes of deciding, he looked back at me.
I shrugged. "Well? What do you think?"
"I think you should go with the little parrot over there. Jennifer likes parrots, you know? I mean, she's got PJ and all," he suggested.
I looked in the direction that my brother was pointing to. There it was, in the corner amongst a seagull and a bunny rabbit. It was small, about the size of my thumb. The parrot resembled PJ, Jennifer's pet parrot. The bird was positined on the limb of a tree and had fixed its gaze on an object off in the distance.
I smiled and bent closer towards the object. I don't know where he got it from, but I realized suddenly, that Zac has very good taste. "It's perfect," I breathed out slowly and carefully picked up the delicate statue and cradled it in my hands.
"Thanks Zac!" I said quickly and took off towards the counter.
Zac, who wasn't even given the time to answer, stood dumbfoundedly in the same spot as before as he stared after me.
"Uh... you liked my choice?" he questioned in surprise.
But I didn't answer. I was already hurrying over to the front counter to pay for the small gift. Once again, the lady gave me the same exact look she had given to Zac earlier. I shrunk back when I saw the questioning glare appear in her eyes. Hopefully, she wouldn't make a big scene if she realized I was in a band.
Luck must have been with me. I got away easily, actually, but before I managed to do anything else, Zac grabbed me by the arm and wisked me off to the restraunt in the hotel. He was now busy babbling on about getting something to eat... and making me pay for it.
I held back and handed Zac some more money. I just wasn't in the mood for food and didn't feel the need to follow him. He smiled and took off out of the lobby. Instead, I plopped into a nearby chair, set up for the hotel guests, and picked up the latest issue of Music World, which was laying on the coffee table in front of me. I began flipping through the pages of the magazine and waiting for Zac to show up again. There wasn't anything really interesting to look at. It was basically the usual articles.
I had barely gotten halfway through when the sudden sound of my name being said caught my attention. I paused between turning pages and looked around. There weren't many people there... no one looked like they were trying to get my attention. Zac wasn't in sight either. Confusion spread over me. Maybe I'm hearing things, I thought. I have got to get some more sleep!
I turned back to the magazine and tried to concentrate on the small print again. Only a few moments had passed when I heard my name again! With frustration, I threw down the magazine and continued to look around again. That's when I spotted her. A girl, who looked about my age. She was posed on the tips of her toes in order to reach eye level with the person at the front desk. I could hear her loud and clearly as her lips moved to say the word 'Hanson.'
My ears were now in tune with her voice as I strained to make out what she was saying. The employee in front of her looked fairly interested in what she had to say. I crouched lower in the chair, just in case she decided to turn around and glance in my direction.
"Yes, I told you, Hanson. You know, the band that sings MMMBop," I heard her tell the hotel staff at the front desk. She saw the confused expression in the ladies face and continued. "Taylor Hanson is the lead singer!"
"Yes, I know who Hanson is," the employee replied.
"Well, what I want to know is if they're staying in this hotel. Well, are they?"
"No, I'm sorry, but that is classified information that I am not able to give you," the lady reported in a voice that said she was bored of this girl.
"Oh come on, I know better than that! They are staying here, aren't they? Well, what floor? What room?" the questions flowed out of her.
Nervously, I slid down further in my chair while trying to act naturally by literally sticking my nose back into the magazine. No one could see me that way. This girl was obviously a fan who had somehow found out that we would be staying at this exact hotel. I shuddered, just imagining how fast word could possibly get out.
"I'm sorry, but we are not allowed to give out that info," the conversation continued.
I sighed loudly in relief.
"Oh, come on! I'm not going to hurt them or anything! All I want to do is tell them how much I love their music!" she cried stubbornly an stamped her foot hard on the ground.
I pulled down my cover-up and turned around. I had to get a better look at this girl. As I leaned over the back of the seat, I could just make out her basic features. She was average height, about as tall as Zac, with long brown hair and everytime she shook her head it flopped about as if protesting along with her. When she slightly turned her head, I could catch a glipse of her face. Her skin was delicate and soft looking, the same way as Jennifer. She looked friendly enough and I seriously doubted that she'd hurt me if the employee let her have our room number.
Suddenly, the sound of another familiar voice startled me and caused me to jump up in shock. It was Zac. He had left the restrasunt and was now proceeding to get my attention by yelling across the lobby. No Zac... no!
"Hey Taylor! I figured you might like a muffin too so I bought you one with the leftovers!" he called out to me.
I couldn't respond at the moment. He had given me such a startle that I was suddenly falling foward, having lost my balance after his first greeting! I toppled foward, along with chair and found that the ground was now flying up at me with speed. I managed to let out a quick yelp before colliding with the carpet.
Zac ran over to me in a flash. He beant down to ground level and handed me the muffin.
"Taylor you better get up off the floor," he stated simply. "Now, would you like a muffin."?
Food was the last thing on my mind at the the time. I struggled in a hurry to get to my feet, but found myself glancing in the direction of the front desk to make sure that the girl hadn't heard my crash.
That's when I realized that her long brown hair was no long completely visible. Instead, I had a perfect view of her face. Her mouth, open in shock at the sight of a boy on the floor and a second by his side. Her eyes had grown wide with surprise. I made eye contact with the girl for a split second. Her face, I would never forget it for some reason. She's beautiful, I thought before chasing the sudden thought from my mind.
The rest of that very moment came to me in slow motion. Zac followed my gaze and immediately realized what was happening, and grabbed me by my arm.
"Make a run for it," he whispered in my ear, but I didn't need reminding.
I had already found my feet. The girl pointed at me with an almost accusing finger.
"You're Taylor Hanson!" she yelled in shock.
Zac tugged at my sleeve. I barely managed to nod to her as she started her way towards us. Stay.. give her an autograph like she wants, I ordered myself. It couldn't hurt, could it?
That's when I noticed the whispering and sudden conversations around us. There were more girls there than I had spotted earlier. Zac and I were surrounded.
"Hanson... Taylor... Zac..." came the hushed whispers as they closed in on us like cats cornering two mice.
"Where's a bodyguard when you need one?" I whispered to Zac jokingly.
"Can we leave?" he replied in the same soft voice as I had.
It didn't take us any longer to think. The girls began to dash towards us in a big rush like a swarm of bees. I grabbed my ift bag off of the coffe table and followed Zac out of the lobby and into the elevator where were safe. My brother and I both let out sighs of relief. We were safe.. for the moment.
"No one pulled my hair!" Zac cried in disbelief.
I stood there silent for a moment. "That girl there wanted a simple autograph. Why couldn't we have given it to her?" I asked no one in particular.
Zac shrugged. "She ruined it for herself by telling the world where we stood," Zac replied.
"But, I mean, she... she... nevermind."
I gave up. It was useless explaining to Zac what had been going on inside my head. I'm going out with Jen now! I have to stop thinking about other girls!
I felt the bag in my hand and let out another sigh. Jen mattered... a lot. She'd like the nice surprise. That girl deserved an autograph. But at the time, I guess I didn't realize how much trouble a fan looking for an autograph could be...