"This is so boring, Ike." James looked over at his friend who was now busy examining guitar strings.

"Alright. I'm done." Isaac reluctantly pulled himself out of the music store and headed towards the far end of the mall. "There is nothing going on around here, is there? Could this be a more dull day."

"Well, it was a happening place when you were gone. Maybe it's just you Ike," James laughed.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Hey, at least I'm not offended by the fact that the only reason you're hanging out with me is because Tay is basically missing in action."

"That's not true."

"What? Tay hasn't completely lost it?"

"No, he's definately lost it, in a major way. I mean, I always hang out with you...it's my one downfall." Isaac slyly grinned. The mention of Tay, however, made him uneasy. He didn't feel like he could enjoy himself while Tay was so miserable.

"Let's go get something to eat. I'm aching for a chili dog."

They both ordered extra long coney dogs and sat down in Pete's Dogs N' Drinks. Just after Isaac stuffed the greasy, messy dog in his mouth he felt a hard slap on his back. He nearly choked on the peice of meat in his throat. He looked up to see Amy and another girl staring down at him. She flashed a huge grin at him. "Hi Ike!"

Isaac gulped down the peice of hot dog still in his mouth and managed to grunt a small 'hi' back.

"Can we join you?" Without waiting for an answer she pulled up two chairs and plopped down in the seat. Her friend did the same.

"Hi, I'm James," James said while sticking out his hand and widely smiling at the two girls.

"Oh, uh, James, this is Amy and..."

"Ginger. This is my friend Ginger. I think I told you about her. Yeah, I'm sure I did." Ginger just sat there looking at Amy.

"Yeah, I guess," Isaac mumbled.

James perked up and leaned back for the ultimate "cool guy" effect. "Well, I don't think my friend here has told me about you two beautiful ladies."

Amy and Ginger both blushed, turned to each other and giggled. "I'm sure he mentioned me. I mean, we went out a few days ago."

"No...I..." James glanced at Isaac who was giving him a frantic glare. "Oh, Amy. Of course he mentioned you. Yes, but he didn't say how stunning you were."

Amy seemed pleased at this and she reached over and started nibbling on Isaac's fries. Ike tried to hide his growing annoyance. He slumped down in his seat. Amy started to ramble. For some reason, James had a rapt interest in everything she was saying. Soon, it seemed like Amy didn't even notice Isaac was there anymore. Bored, Ike finally noticed the girl sitting next to Amy. She was pretty short, and very small in stature. She had long, straight, dark brown hair and big light brown eyes. She seemed just as bored as he did. She let out a sigh and rolled her eyes. Seeing this, Isaac couldn't hide the chuckle that escaped from his mouth. She smiled back.

"Do you want to go walk around for a little while? I mean, while these two are...whatever they're doing." Isaac held out his hand to her.

"Sure, I would love to."

They both got up and tried to motion to the others that they were leaving. James just waved Ike away and returned to his conversation.

"Well, I can see that we're really important," Isaac joked.

They started down the mall slowly. They didn't say anything at first. Ike pretended to be interested in every store window they passed. "So, um, Ginger right?"

"Yeah. And you're Isaac."

"Call me Ike. Everybody does."

"I hope I don't scare you are anything, but I just can't believe that I'm talking to you."

"Why?"

She looked at him as if it should be obvious. "Because you're Hanson, that's why."

"I'm not Hanson. I'm Isaac Hanson."

"You know what I mean." They continued to shuffle along down the mall.

"Yeah. All I know is that you're not freaking out. That's a good thing."

"I'm not the 'freaking out' type of person. I'm pretty mild."

"Nah, I bet you can be pretty exciting." He smiled at her.

She laughed quietly. "When I want to be." She started to look around. She counted at least 15 girls who were all staring in their direction. They were whispering and blushing. "Oh, goodness. Now that's strange."

"What is?" Isaac started to look around. "What?"

"All those people staring at you. Don't you see it?"

"Oh, that. Well, I'm kinda used to it...kind of. Sometimes it's pretty freaky. It's not as bad when I'm alone. A lot of people think of us as one entity; like I'm not complete unless Tay and Zac are stuck to my hips." He laughed at the odd picture he formed in his head of Taylor and Zac surgically attached to his body.

"So...Isaac, um, are you having fun being home?" She winced at her pathetic attempt at making conversation.

"Oh, yeah. You know. We get to relax and just hang out with friends and stuff. It's great. We don't get a lot of down time. In fact, we're leaving in less than a week to do a promo tour -- hopefully."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, nothing. We'll go. We have to. The album isn't going to promote itself." He headed towards the Radio Shack window and started staring at the camera equiptment inside. "Oh, that's cool."

"Oh, you're into that stuff?" She didn't even look at the window but continued to watch Isaac's face.

"Man, yeah. I love this stuff. If I wasn't a musician, I think I would be a director or something. Or a writer."

"My dad's a filmmaker."

Isaac turned and smiled at her. "Really? That's so cool. What does he film?"

Ginger giggled. "Potatoes." Her giggle turned into a laugh. "He's a documentary filmmaker for PBS and the last project he did was on bugs that invade potato crops. Thrilling, huh."

Ike watched her laugh and he smiled. "That's it! I'm quitting the band and I'm gonna start working for your dad. Think I can get into the competitive field of potato shooting?"

"Oh, most definately. The hard part is getting close-ups of those nesty taters. They are so tempermental!" By this time, they were both cracking up. People passing by started to stare, which made them laugh even harder. Soon, they settled down and began walking again. Again, there was an uncomfortable silence.

"Do you think they're done talking yet?"

"Why, do you want to get rid of me already?" He grinned.

"No. That's not what I meant. I was just wondering...making conversation." She looked down.

"Actually, we probably should head back. I'm James's ride and as much fun as it would be to strand him here, I better be a nice guy and give him a lift."

"Yeah, Amy's my ride so..."

They turned around and headed back towards their friends...as slowly as they could.

"I said I don't want to!" Taylor screamed back at his mother who was holding out a paper in front of her son.

"Don't you dare use that tone of voice with me. I let you out of your lessons for the past few days so don't say I've been pushing you. I am asking you to just write this letter. It doesn't have to be long."

"Why me?!"

"Because she knew you Taylor. I think that should be obvious. She's grieving. You can at least write her a note telling her how much you sympathize. She just lost her son."

"I can't deal with this right now, Mom." He flung his hands in the air and shoved his way past her. His father saw him walk away.

"Jordan Taylor Hanson! You get back here now!"

Taylor turned around to see his father hovering over him. "Never, and I mean, never do you push your mother out of the way like that. She is pregnant..."

Taylor cowered. "I barely touched her."

His mother grabbed ahold of his father's arm. "Walker, he didn't push me. Calm down." Walker backed away.

"Taylor, I know that you are going through a lot right now but that gives you no excuse to act like a baby."

"I am not acting like a baby."

"Don't talk back to me." His father gave him a stern look. "Go to your room."

"What?"

"You heard me. I said get to your room." His father pointed towards Tay's room.

"I'm not a child."

"You are a child and you are under this roof. So you will do as I say, do you understand?"

"Forget this!" he yelled before running out the front door. He half expected his father to come running after him and part of him wanted that. But his father didn't come out; the front door just shut behind him.

"I can't believe this," he whispered before sitting down on the grass.

Taylor layed back and closed his eyes. Suddenly a shadow hovered above him. He opened his eyes and saw Leigh-Ann looking down at him. "At least you're out of the house today. I thought you would be hiding out forever." She sat down beside him.

"It's only been 3 days." He sat up.

"You look better."

"As compared to what?"

"You're making sense. That's a good sign."

"What?" He looked at her.

"Well, when you came over a few days ago you weren't making a whole lot of sense. And you looked pretty pathetic."

"So." He sounded sarcastic, although he didn't mean to.

She shrugged off his rudeness. "Have you talked to anybody?"

He sighed. "About what, Leigh-Ann." He shot her an annoyed look.

"About Rebecca's death. What else?"

"She wasn't my girlfriend." He glanced away and stared at the tree across the lawn. He needed anything to look at besides her face. She felt sorry for him, just like everybody else.

"I know that, Tay. But you cared a lot about her. Everybody knows that. That's why everyone is concerned."

"Thanks for your explanation."

"You don't have to be mean to me."

He sighed again and looked at her. "Sorry. I seem to be making everyone mad at me."

"Tell me about her."

"Huh?"

"I want to know about her. Rebecca. I want to know why you liked her so much and why she was so special."

"I thought you hated her."

"Well, I'm not gonna lie, Tay. She didn't care for me and I really didn't care for her, but I'm not you."

He looked down at the ground and placed his arms around his knees. It took him a few moments before he said anything. "She made me feel like she needed me. Like I was...I can't do this." He shook his head.

"No, you can. Come on."

"She hated me."

Leigh-Ann looked around. She saw a few neighbors working in their front yard. "You wanna go inside or something? So we can talk," she whispered.

Taylor didn't answer but got up and he started towards the treehouse. Leigh-Ann followed. They both climbed up and Taylor leaned against a branch.

"Okay, go on."

"Why? Why do you want to know this?" His voice sounded so small.

"Because I'm your friend, Tay." She placed her hand on his shoulder. This time he didn't recoil.

He sighed. "I was so mean to her...when she came over. I blew her off." He stared down the palm of his hands and then moved his finger along the dusty floor of the treehouse. "She wasn't always like the way she was when you knew her. She could be very sweet. I...she was my first kiss." When he said this his face became flushed and Leigh-Ann thought she could make out a slight smile. But as soon as it came, it left. "I can't believe I yelled at her. She was leaving. But I didn't know she was really leaving." He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

The two sat there in silence for what seemed to be an eternity. "It wasn't your fault, Taylor. You couldn't have known. Tay, she...she knew how you felt about her." Leigh-Ann didn't really know how Rebecca felt or what she knew, but Tay needed to hear something comforting.

Taylor didn't respond, and his eyes remained closed. She glanced over the entirety of his face. His hair was scraggly and unbrushed. His face was flushed red. She stared for the longest time at the faded scar on the side of his face before a tear swept past it. Soon, his closed eyes were wet and he began to breathe harder as if he was gasping for breath. "She hated me," he said through deep breaths and sniffles. He opened his eyes, which were now red and swollen. "She's gone. Dead. She's gone," his voice trailed off. He tried to control the lump that was trying to escape his throat, but he couldn't.

Taylor couldn't remember the last time he had cried; and he had never cried in front of any girl, but it didn't seem to matter right now. Leigh-Ann leaned in and wrapped her arms around his neck and he rested his head on her shoulder. His tears soaked into her sweater. She didn't know what to say to him, but figured that he really didn't need to hear anymore anyway. They sat holding on to each other for what seemed forever. If Taylor had it his way, he would have never let go.

"Hello mother." Isaac swept into the kitchen with a smile on his face and kissed his mother on the cheek.

"You're in a good mood. Does this mean you'll help me with dinner?"

"Why, of course I will Mom." He grinned and grabbed a carrot and began peeling it.

"At least one of my boys is in a good mood." Mrs. Hanson got a concerned look on her face.

"Why, is Taylor still out of it?"

"Of course. He stormed out of here about an hour ago. Your father is furious."

"Come on, Dad can't really blame him, can he?" Isaac tried to change the subject. "So, I was at the mall today."

"And..."

"And nothing. I was just at the mall."

"Am I to believe that this is part of why you are in such a good mood?"

"Maybe," Ike said slyly.

"The funeral is on Friday. I just wanted you to know that."

"Mom, do we always have to talk about that. It's depressing."

"We don't always talk about it. I'm just telling you so you know." She waved a peice of celery at him. "Plus, maybe we should talk about it. I want to know how all of you are dealing with it. If we don't talk about their deaths, then who knows what feelings will be pent up."

"I'm okay, Mom. I'm sad but I'm okay. It's not me you should be worried about."

"You know that Avery came up to me the other day and asked me why Rebecca was in heaven? She thought that heaven was only for old people. That death was only for old people."

"Like Grandma."

"Yeah, like your grandmother."

They continued to fix the vegetables in silence. Suddenly, the front door opened and then slammed. They heard footsteps heading for the back of the house. "Three guesses who that is, Mom."

"Oh, that boy."

Zac stared out the window and into the window of the house next door -- Manda's house. They had company over. He could see the shadowed figures behind the curtains. He saw their front door open and two girls run out. One was Manda and the other was quite older. She looked at least 17 years old. "Ah ha! Now we have a show."

Zac watched them play basketball outside the house. For the first time he saw Manda smile and laugh hard. He could hear their voices, but they were too muffled to make out the exact words. Then, Manda pointed towards his house. He ducked behind the curtains so he wouldn't be seen. He peeked out to see Manda saying something and looking at his house. "They're talking about me, I bet."

From the muffled words, he could swear he heard 'Zac' and 'jerk.' "I can't believe that girl," he whispered to himself. "I'm not the jerk."

"My god Zac, you're a peeping tom!"

Zac jumped and clutched his chest. Taylor stood in front of him shaking his head. "I am not! I was just looking out the window. It's not my fault they happened to be outside."

Taylor smiled, for the first time in 3 days, and went up to the window. "So, what are they doing."

Startled by his good mood, Zac peered outside again. "Well, I don't know who the older one is. But the younger one is Manda, the witchy little girl."

"Come on Zac, she's not a witch."

"You're right, she's not a witch, but if I say what she really is then I would get in trouble." Zac looked up and noticed that Tay's eyes were red and bloodshot. "Have you been crying?"

"What? No," he said nervously. He hadn't looked at himself in the mirror since he got home, and had forgotten that once he gets flushed it takes him forever to return to a normal color.

"Yes you have." Zac peered closer at Taylor's face.

"Stop it, Zac. No I haven't."

"Well, you have but if you want to deny it then..."

"Shut up, Zac."

"Hey, it's not my fault you cried."

"Zac, if you don't be quiet then I'm going to go next door and tell them that you were spying on them." Taylor leaned over and tried to give Zac the most intimidating look he could.

"So were you!"

"Forget it Zac. Continue your devious ways. I just hope that you don't grow up to be some psychotic stalker." Taylor walked into their room.

"I'm not a stalker," Zac said as he turned to continue watching them.

When Isaac entered his room he saw Taylor lying on his bed with his eyes closed. "Are you asleep?"

Tay opened one eye. "Well, I wouldn't be anymore even if I was."

"Good. I need to tell you something."

Taylor sat up and leaned against the back of the bed. "What?"

Ike sat on the floor by the bed. "I met the most wonderful girl."

"You always meet 'the most wonerful girl'."

"No this girl is great. She's Amy's friend."

"Amy? You mean 'he he he he ha ha ha' giggling Amy?"

"Yeah, her name is Ginger. I only talked to her for a little while but she's great."

"I'm sure it's true love," Taylor quietly said before laying back down and closing his eyes.

"Man, you are no fun."

"I'm just tired, that's all."

"Fine. I guess I'll have to find somebody else to talk to, or do anything with seeing as you don't do anything anymore." Isaac got up and started to leave the room.

"Ike, wait." Taylor shot up.

"What?"

"Actually, I need you to help me with something because I don't think I can do it alone."

"What?" Isaac sat down next to him.

"I need you to help me write a song...for Rebecca and her parents...for the funeral."

"You're gonna write a song for the funeral?"

"That's what I can do. I can't do anything else for her except that. But I can't write it alone, I don't think I can handle that."

For the first time since the deaths, Taylor seemed to be opening up and accepting it. "Sure I will."

Taylor breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay."

"Okay." Isaac stared at Taylor's face. "What, now?"

"Yeah, now."

"Okay, um, now. Let's go downstairs then." They both got up and left the room.

Isaac and Tay zoomed past Zac as they headed for the garage. Zac just watched them walk down, confused as to what was so urgent. Suddenly, Taylor popped his head up from the stairs. "Zac, we're starting on a song. We need your help."

Zac jumped up and ran down the stairs. For the rest of the night, they holed up in the garage. Once in a while you could hear guitar strums or a melody from the keyboard. By 1:30 am they were done. The tired boys headed upstairs carrying scribbled notes and a song for Rebecca.