I stepped out of the bathroom, while still running a brush through my hair which was currently a wild mess of tangled knots. The hotel room carpet felt relaxing to my sore feet. The concert had been one big bash! Even after the incident before the show, we had still managed to rock the night away as good as ever before.
I put down my brush onto the bedstand beside me and flipped back my hair behind me. I decided on a blue rubber band and quickly tied my hair up.
There was a soft noise behind me, and I quickly turned around. Rayma, Jen's friend, was standing in the doorway. She smiled shyly. Over the few hours that she'd been around us, I had already gotten to know her pretty well.
Rayma and Jennifer were originally friends who happened to meet online and keep in touch. She lived in a nearby town in Michigan and was a definite Hanson fan as well. I had also been able to pick up another small fact in a short time. Rayma was head over heels for Zac.
Or at least it seemed that way. At first, she stayed near him as much as she could, just wanting to be around him. And it was really easy to tell that she liked him from the look on her face everytime she looked in his direction. I don't think Zac noticed yet, and Rayma hadn't really said much to him either.
"Hi Taylor," she told me in the same tone of voice she had been using to speak to me all night. It was soft and quiet, and shy. From what Jennifer told me, Rayma certianly didn't seem like the speechless type, but I guess everyone gets a little shy at times.
"Hey," I said and started rumaging through my book bag, pretending to be looking for something.
"Do you know where Jennifer is? I can't find her," Rayma asked, still sounding very quiet.
"Oh, yeah. I do. She told me she went down to the restraunt to get a late night snack."
"Oh, ok."
Rayma looked around briefly, not knowing what to say or do. I decided to help her out.
"You can wait in here if you want," I offered.
A look of appreciation spread across Rayma's face. "Thanks," she whispered and stepped inside the room. "So, what's up?"
"Nothing much. Just trying to relax."
"Cool. So, um, are you and Jennifer going out?"
The question popped up suddenly and unexpected in the middle of our small conversation. I paused and thought for a moment. Did she already know, or was she just guessing? I wondered if it was really that obvious.
"Yeah..." I said slowly.
Rayma only smiled and congradulated me. I let out a deep sigh, since I was only expecting something more... well.... a more surprised reaction. Turns out, the question entered her mind when she saw Jen and I holding hands after the concert. Duh! I told myself, and made a mental note to try and do a better job keeping my personal life... personal.
"Please don't tell anyone. I don't want news getting around that I'm taken and then suddenly every single teenage girl goes crazy as a result. If you kind of get what I mean?"
I asked her, just praying to myself that I could trust her. I was betting that I could. If she was anything like Jennifer, then I could definitely rely on her.
"Don't worry Taylor. Your secret's safe with me. I wouldn't want to be guilty of ruining two of my friends' lives," she said with a smile that was sincere.
"Oh, so you've known me for like, what, an hour and I'm already a close friend? Aww, that's so sweet!"
I felt like saying something sarcastic. Then my laughter stopped when I realized that Rayma's cheeks were now a light shade of pink. I felt like banging my head against a door. I guess I wasn't making a good impression.
Rayma shurgged and smiled once again.
I opened my mouth to say something when suddenly the door to our room burst open and in came Zac, already talking his mouth away. Rayma and I both jumped from surprise.
"Hiya Taylor! What's up? Okay, you don't mind if I ask you a few things do you? Okay, I don't think you'll mind. Alright, what I want to know is..."
Suddenly, out of nowhere, he stopped. His eyes were focused on Rayma, sitting silently on the bed.
"Oh, uh, hi Rayma. I'm sorry, Tay. I didn't know I was interupting anything. That's okay. I'll leave now," Zac said and turned for the door.
Rayma stopped him. "Zac. Wait, I was only in here waiting for Jennifer. You stay. I'll just leave you two alone, okay?"
"Are you sure?" Zac asked her cautiously, not knowing whether to be grateful or to turn down her offer.
"I couldn't be more positive."
"Oh," Zac looked back, frozen in his pose. "Okay then. Just as long as you don't mind-"
"I don't! Don't worry about me..."
I saw the nervousness in Rayma's eyes and wondered if it had to do with the fact that she liked Zac. Zac on the other hand, seemed surprised that this girl was so being so persistant.
Zac let go of the door handle for a second, and then changed his mind and decided to be a gentleman for once. He held the door open as Rayma left the room in a hurry, like she had somewhere else that she had to be all of a sudden.
Zac still looked puzzled when he closed the door and locked it. I pretended not to notice the strange way he was acting. Then again, it could be just me overreacting. Zac is always strange... isn't he?
A few minutes later, I found myself sitting on one of the beds in our room, with Zac staring across at me from the opposite bed. He made himself as comfortable as possible by snatching up every pillow in the room and placing them around him, with one to hug, like a little boy, pretending to build a miniature castle wall.
"So, Zac, what were you so determined to ask me just a while ago?"
Zac, for one of the first times in his life, looked shy. I could definitely tell that something unusual was going on that I didn't know about.
"Alright, what did you do wrong?"
Zac's head shot up in shock. "Nothing!" he said quickly. "It's just that..."
He stopped. I waited for him to go on, but instead, he just sat there and hugged the pillow a little tighter.
"Well...?"
"Well... I need to ask you about something." He paused for a moment, studying me closely. "I need to ask you about girls..."
My hand shot up. "Wait a second! Hold it! Don't go any further!" I stopped him. "If this has anything to do with anything more than kissing than I suggest that you go ask dad, or even Isaac, but definitely not me! That is way beyond my league."
I spotted a small hint of humor in the look that Zac gave me before it disappeared. "No, nothing like that. I just need your advice."
"On what?"
"On Rayma."