From the midst of the quiet conversations in the living room the phone rang. Diana ran to answer it before it disturbed the calm of the room. "May I ask who is calling, please...Where did you two meet...Alright, just a second," she said into the phone as she grabbed Avery as she was passing. "Honey, go tell Ike that he has a phone call. And tell him to take it in his room and keep it short."

"'Kay Mommy!" she yelled as she jolted off to find her older brother.

The door to the boys' room swung open and Avery's little figure strutted in. Isaac sat on his top bunk flipping through a magazine. "Mommy says that there is a person who is on the phone for you and then she said that you have to keep it short and then she said to take it in here."

"Remember what I told you about knocking, Avie," he said as he jumped off the bed and picked up the phone.

"No." Avery then slammed the door shut.

"Hello?" Ike scrambled back onto his bed.

"Hi, Isaac? This is Ginger. Do you remember m>

Transfer interrupted!

"Good. Anyway, I don't really know why I'm calling. Well, actually I got your number from Amy and she told me that she heard you guys were leaving tomorrow."

"That's strange...I never gave her my number."

"You didn't? Well, that's where I got it from."

"Must have been James. He's always doing stupid stuff like that."

"Oh, gosh...I didn't mean to...I mean if I knew you didn't want me to call then..."

"No! That's not what I meant at all. I just didn't want Amy to have the number. She's kind of, well..."

"Obsessive?"

Isaac laughed. "I was gonna put it more delicately, but yeah. I'm surprised that my mom let me talk to you. Usually she screens our personal calls, just in case someone called that we didn't know."

"Oh, like a fan or something?"

"Yeah. Who knows how they find the number, but they do. They are very smart."

"You talk about them like they are some sort of different species or something. I am one you know."

Ike winced at his silly attempts at conversation. "I didn't mean it that way. But it can get crazy, you know?"

"No...actually I don't, but I'll take your word for it."

"So you called to say goodbye?" Ike tried to hide the excitement in his voice.

"Well, yeah I guess. I feel kinda stupid since I hardly know you. We only talked for a few minutes. I just felt like I wanted to call."

"I'm glad you did."

"Really?" Her voice raised two octaves and squeeked a little.

"Yeah." Ike layed back and rested his head on his pillow. "Um, so watcha doing?"

"Nothing much. I'm supposed to be doing this project for school but I just can't get into it. What about you?"

"We had to go to a friends funeral today and now there is this...I don't know what you would call it...a wake? No, a reception. Anyway, we're having it at my house."

"Oh my God! You mean I called in the middle of all that? I'm so embarrased! You're mom must have been so annoyed."

"No, no, don't even think about it. You couldn't have known. Besides, I'm glad you called because it's been the first halfway normal thing to happen today."

"I'm sorry about your friend."

"Thanks. I'm glad you called."

"You know that's the third time you've said that," she said giggling.

Ike shook his head in disgust of himself. He was sounding like an idiot. "I'm sorry. I don't know exactly where my mind is today."

"Forget about it. I kinda liked hearing it three times."

"Yeah? Well then I'm glad you called."

Suddenly the door flung open and Taylor and Leigh-Ann walked in. "Fabulous," Tay moaned when he saw Ike lying on the bed with the phone.

"Doesn't anybody knock?"

"This is my room too, you know. Plus, Dad needs you in the kitchen to help with some appetizer things."

Ike sighed and put the reciever back up to his ear. "Ginger? I have to go."

"Oh, okay. Well, have a good trip...tour, I mean."

"I will. And Ginger?"

"Huh?"

"I really am glad that you called." Ike hung up and jumped off the bed. "Bye Tay. Bye Leigh-Ann," he said as he swept past them.

Taylor sat down in the middle of the floor and began to rifle through a pile of clothes. "I know it's in here somewhere."

"Tay, that's okay. You don't have to give me back my sunglasses right now."

"Yeah, but I'm leaving for a month so I might as well give it to you now." He continued to throw things around the room.

"Forget it Tay, it's not that important. I don't even wear them that much."

"Well, that's good, because I'm afraid that there's been a little accident." Tay reached under the bed and pulled out a pair of crushed sunglasses. "Sorry."

"That's okay. I guess I really didn't like them anyway," she wimpered.

"Were they expensive?"

"Oh, they were only about $50 but I guess nobody should really own a pair of sunglasses that expensive. It's not natural." She held out her hand as Tay dropped the dead glasses in them. She quickly threw them in the trash in the hopes she wouldn't have to look upon them anymore.

"Well, I guess we better be getting back." Tay started to head out of the door when Leigh-Ann pushed in front of him and shut it. "And you would be doing what?"

"I want to talk to you." She stared up at him and then grabbed his hand. She sat down on the floor and pulled him down to the ground as well.

"I'm supposed to be out there."

"I'm really proud of you for singing that song today."

"I don't want to talk about this right now." He sighed and leaned against the bed.

"Well, I want to."

"When are you going to learn that the world doesn't revolve around what you want."

"Not that again."

"What?"

"The attitude. I'm just trying to talk to you." She scooted closer to him and grabbed his hand. He watched as she gently fiddled with his fingers. "I think you are very brave, you know that?"

"That wasn't bravery, Leigh-Ann. That was life."

"Yeah, but sometimes life requires us to be brave."

He reached over and put his other hand over hers. He looked at her face and remembered what she had told him just a week ago. It seemed like an eternity ago that she blurted out how she loved him. He didn't know if he loved Leigh-Ann, or if he could love her. He knew that when Rebecca was alive, he didn't have that kind of feelings for her. He just felt so attached to her, like she was a part of him. But it was never love. He didn't know what that felt like. But when Leigh-Ann talked to him, or listened to him it was with such an intensity. She was always thinking of him first and not herself. Whenever he caught her looking at him, she would blush. And she didn't even care that he cried on her shoulder, something that he was a bit embarrased about. "I'm gonna miss you," he said as he gazed at her right in the eye.

"Same here."

"Thanks for everything...you know, not getting weirded out by the way I've been acting lately."

"No problem, I don't get weirded out easily." She wanted so much to grab him at that moment and hold him as tight as she could. If she thought it was appropriate, she would have kissed him. But this was not the time to be making any moves on Taylor. So she was taken aback when he made the first move.

Taylor stared into Leigh-Ann's face and saw the comfort that he so desperately needed. She was there for him when nobody else seemed to understand. At that moment, he could think of nothing but her. He released his grasp of her hand gently swept his fingers through her hair. Butterflies began to swarm up in his stomach and he felt a knot in his throat. She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could get the words out he leaned in and kissed her. She let out a small gasp and then closed her eyes. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

Taylor and Leigh-Ann had kissed twice before. One was spontaneous and the other was friendly. This kiss was like neither. Taylor could feel it all the way up his spine. He didn't think about the kiss or wonder what to do with his hands. It just happened, the way a kiss should. He didn't notice that his mouth was open, or that her hands somehow found their way underneath his dress shirt. Everything he did seemed to just happen automatically as if it was all meant to be. He leaned forward and gently pushed her to the ground. His fingers and her fingers intertwined. He continued to gently kiss her lips. It seemed like it could have lasted forever, but then Taylor broke from his trance and stared down at her.

"What?" she asked, still stunned at what was happening.

"Nothing. I just like kissing you, that's all."

"Then why did you stop?"

"Because...I don't know." He pushed himself up off the ground and sat on his bed. "Where was that going?"

"What do you mean?" she said as she sat up.

"Were we about to...um...you know..."

"No! At least I don't think we were." She looked away nervously at the door.

"Oh, okay. Good." For the longest time neither said a word. Then Tay scooted off the bed and back onto the floor. He faced Leigh-Ann. "I didn't do that because of Rebecca."

"I know."

"No, I don't think you do. I loved Becca...like a friend. And yeah, I had a crush on her. I still can't believe she's gone and it will take me a long time before I'll feel okay again. But that's not why I kissed you. I don't think I ever felt before the way I just felt."

"When we were kissing?"

"No, before we were kissing. The reason I kissed you."

She didn't know what to say. Here was her best friend sitting across from her. He was the guy that she had been hopelessly crushing on for the past year. He was the only person she knew she could talk to and trust. She felt like this should be the happiest moment, but it wasn't. Although Taylor tried his best to convince her that his new interest had nothing to do with Rebecca, she still didn't want to take the chance of getting hurt. She didn't want to be anyone's replacement. And he was leaving tomorrow.

"Where does this leave us, Tay?" She stood up. He looked confused.

"I don't understand."

"Maybe it's best if I go." She opened the bedroom door.

"Wait. Why?" He sprung up and grabbed her arm.

"Because I think you need to think about things. The tour will be good Tay. I know that you'll figure stuff out."

"I don't understand. What did I do wrong?"

"It isn't what you did wrong, it's what we did wrong." She wanted so much to stay, but she knew that she couldn't. "We kissed...no, we more than kissed at Rebecca's funeral. At her funeral. Do you get it?"

Taylor was more perplexed than ever. He never claimed to understand girls or their moods, but he didn't realize how extremely confusing they could be. "No, I guess I don't."

She reached up and kissed him on the cheek. "Have fun, okay. I'll see you when you get back." And she left him standing in the doorway, his shirt wrinkled and his spirit torn. Tomorrow afternoon they would be on a plane, not to return for a month.