I looked up from my keyboard when I heard footsteps on the basement stairs. Abby came into view and she smiled at me.
"Hey, stranger. Whatcha up to?"
"Not much. Just messing around with a few song ideas. Was Rachel surprised?"
Abby laughed. "She looked like she was about to pee in her pants! It was great. And now, she's in Zac's clutches."
I grimaced. "Poor thing. I hope he doesn't mar our image."
"Yeah, well, I don't think that Rachel would think anything Zac did was bad. She worships the ground you guys walk on!" Abby came over and sat down on the piano bench next to me. "So, what kind of songs are you working on?"
I sighed. "I'm not really sure. I have a melody stuck in my head, but no words to go with it. It's really frustrating."
"Sorry. I'd help if I could, but I don't think I'd be any help."
"Yeah, well, I'm ready to do something else. What do you want to do?"
Abby grinned. "Play me a song."
"Huh?"
"Play me a song."
"Which one?"
"Um.....I don't care. Surprise me."
I changed some of the settings on the keyboard and began playing. After playing the intro, I began to sing.
"When you have no light to guide you
And no one to walk beside you, I will come to you
Oh, I will come to you
When the night is dark and stormy
You won't have to reach out for, I will come to you
Oh, I will come to you
Sometimes when all your dreams may have seen better days
And when you don't know how or why
But you've lost your way
Have no fear when your tears are falling
I will hear your spirit calling
And I swear that I'll be there, come what may
When you have no light to guide you
And no one to walk beside you, I will come to you
Oh, I will come to you
When the night is dark and stormy
You won't have to reach out for me, I will come to you
Oh, I will come to you
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na
I will come to you
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na
‘Cause even if we can't be together
We'll be friends, now and forever
And I swear that I'll be there, come what may
When the night is dark and stormy
You won't have to reach out for me, I will come to you
Oh, I will come to you
We all need somebody we can turn to
Someone who always understands
So if you feel like your soul is dying
And you need the strength to keep trying
I'll reach out and take your hand
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na
I'll reach out for your hand
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na
I will come to you
When you have no light to guide you
And no one to walk beside you, I will come to you
Oh, I will come to you
When the night is dark and stormy
You won't have to reach out for me, I will come to you
Oh, I will come to you
I will come to you, oh, I will come to you
I will come to you, oh, I will come to you"
When I finished the last note, I looked at Abby. She had a dreamy look on her face. Her green eyes were bright and she almost looked like she was about to cry.
"How did I do?" I asked.
She smiled. "That was the most beautiful performance ever."
"Thanks. I try."
She gave me a mock glare. "You're awfully full of yourself."
"I know. It's hard not to be."
Abby picked up a pillow and threw it at me. "Yeah, well, keep it to yourself."
I went over and picked Abby up, like a sack of potatoes, and threw her over my shoulder.
"What are you doing?" she shrieked.
In answer, I took her over and threw her down on the ratty old couch. Then, I picked up a pillow and began to hit her with it. She picked up another pillow and began to defend herself. We finally collapsed in a fit of laughter. I laid down on the couch with my head in Abby's lap. She began to play with my hair.
"Do you ever cut this stuff?"
"What? My hair? Of course."
"It doesn't show. It's always really long. Longer than mine, even."
"Yeah, well, I like it that way."
"Why? Do you have something against short hair?"
Abby was stepping into dangerous territory. I was very anal about my hair and didn't appreciate anyone giving me any grief about it. "No," I replied testily.
"Sorry. It was just a question. I mean, I like it long. If you cut it short, it would just be kind of weird. You know what I mean? You wouldn't be you."
I laughed. "That makes no sense at all."
"Shut up. Yes it did. You're just not intelligent enough to get it."
I was about to respond with a witty comeback when Zac and I presumed Rachel came bounding down the stairs. "Hey, Tay. Can we borrow your girlfriend?"
"She's not exactly my girlfriend, Zac, but no you can't borrow her. Why do you need her anyway?"
"Rachel and I want to go to the mall and we need someone to drive us. Ike refused and Mom is taking a nap. Abby is the only alternative."
I looked at Abby. She just shrugged her shoulders. "I don't mind driving them, Tay," she said.
"Okay. Well, let's go to the mall. Again."
In preparation for the trip to the mall, Zac and I grabbed our hats and sunglasses. These were imperative if we were going together. They were our means of a disguise. Zac and I suited up and went outside, where Abby and Rachel were waiting.
Abby laughed. "What in the world?"
"It's so we don't get mobbed," Zac explained.
"Oh. I guess we don't want a repeat of last time, Tay, do we?" Abby questioned.
"Exactly." We walked in a line down the street to Abby and Rachel's house to get the car. I grabbed Abby's hand and held it during the short trip. Zac called shotgun as we walked into the garage, so I had to sit in the backseat with Rachel during the trip to the mall. I took advantage of this to really examine Rachel. She had the same dark brown hair as Abby, except hers was very long. Her eyes were the exact shade of bright green. The only feature which Abby and Rachel didn't share was the shape of their faces. Abby had a round shaped face while Rachel's was more of an oval shape. Regardless, both girls were very pretty.
During the car trip, Zac made a nuisance of himself, changing the radio station every five seconds. I was glad when we finally reached the mall and could get out of the car. We walked to the mall entrance together and as we walked, I questioned Zac.
"So, why do you want to come to the mall anyway?"
He shot me a withering glance. "Because, I want to get that new N64 game that came out yesterday."
"And you had to drag the rest of us along to get it?"
"Well, Rachel is helping me buy it. She's paying for half."
"What!?" Abby exclaimed.
Rachel looked at Abby sheepishly. "I didn't think anyone would mind. It'll work out fine, though. One week, I'll get it, and then next Zac will get it."
"And what happens when you go back to Greensboro?"
Rachel's face fell. "I guess we didn't really think about that."
Zac broke in. "Well, that doesn't matter. We can, like, mail it to each other or something. We'll work it out!"
Abby threw her hands up in the air. "Fine. Do whatever you want. It's your money."
Rachel threw Abby a smile. "Thanks, Ann."
Abby and I followed Zac and Rachel through the mall to the electronics store. They stayed a few feet in front of us the whole time. They seemed to have already bonded. I could tell from Rachel's behavior that she adored Zac. And it seemed to me that Zac liked Rachel a lot. He didn't usually like to spend much time with girls, but Rachel seemed a bit tomboyish to me, so maybe that helped Zac a bit.
"Hey, Tay! Look!" Abby pulled me to a jewelry store window. "That's my birthstone," she said, pointing to a silver locket with a diamond in the middle. "It's so pretty," she sighed dreamily. "But it's so expensive. There's no way Dad will ever buy it for me." She shrugged her shoulders. "Come on. The little squirts are waiting."
I followed Abby as she went after Zac and Rachel. We waited as Rachel and Zac pored over the selection of video games before selecting the one they had originally come for.
"Okay, we're ready to check out," Zac said. He and Rachel pooled their money together and went to get in line.
"Hey, Abby, wait here with them. I saw something in another store that I want to get for Ike. I'll be right back."
She smiled. "Okay. We'll be here."
I quickly left the store and hightailed it back to the jewelry store. I went inside and asked the salesclerk to see the locket with the diamond. She pulled it out of the case.
"How much is it?" I asked.
She checked the tag. "$1300."
I gasped in surprise. It was only a little necklace! Then I remembered Abby's face as she had looked at it. It was definitely worth it. "I'll take it." I pulled out my wallet and flashed my Mastercard--one of the perks of being a well-known musician. Mom and Dad had given one to me, Ike, and Zac a few months back. We had all had about $4,000 in our accounts when we got the cards. Our parents had told us that we could use the money for whatever we wanted. Zac had quickly blown his on video games and toys and stuff like that. Ike had gone out and bought a new closet of clothing, most of which didn't match. I on the other hand had just spent about two hundred dollars buying CDS and other things that I wanted. Now it had paid off. I had enough money to buy the necklace for Abby.
The salesclerk raised her eyebrows. "Is this your parents' card?"
I shook my head. "No, it's mine."
"Do your parents know that you are spending this much money?"
Jeez. You'd think she didn't want the jewelry store to be making money. "Yeah, they do. It's a present for my grandmother's 90th birthday." A little white lie couldn't hurt anybody.
The clerk smiled. "Now nice." She took my card and quickly rang up the sale. A few minutes later, I was heading back to the electronics store with my purchase. Then I remembered that I'd gone to buy something for Ike. I quickly ducked into the Gap and bought Ike a horrible sweater. I was sure he'd like it, though. I was walking back to meet up with Abby and the others when I heard someone call out my name.
"Taylor!"
I turned and saw a girl running toward me. My first thought was that it was a fan and that I should bolt, but as she came closer, I realized that it was Jenna, one of my oldest friends.
"Jenna! Hey! It's been a long time!" When she finally reached me, I hugged her. She'd been my best friend since we'd been three. She'd lived next door to me until her dad had been transferred to California when we were 12. We'd kept in touch for awhile, but since I'd been so busy lately, our correspondence had waned.
"It's so great to see you! How've you been?" she asked.
"Pretty good. How about you?"
"Great! It's been so weird, seeing you on TV and everything. I keep telling all of my friends that I know you, but they never believe me." She frowned.
"What are you doing back here?"
She smiled. "I'm staying with my grandmother for the summer! I just got here a few days ago. I've been meaning to call you, but I was kind of afraid that you wouldn't remember me or something."
"Hey, I've never forgotten you. I still remember how we used to play He-Man and She-Ra in my backyard!"
Jenna laughed. "Yup. Those were the good old days! But, hey, it'll be great this summer! We can spend all of our time together, that is, of course, if you're not busy."
"Nope. We're gonna be here all summer, thank god. We're not doing anything major until fall. That's when we're going back into the studio to record our next album."
"That's really cool! I can't wait for your next album. I love Middle of Nowhere. Oh, and I went to see your concert at the Hollywood Bowl."
"Really? If I'd known, I would have given you good tickets and backstage passes."
"Oh well. Next time. So, what are you doing? Are you here at the mall by yourself?"
I suddenly remembered that Abby and Zac and Rachel were still waiting on me. "Shit! I'm late. Someone's waiting for me!"
"Really? Who? Is it anyone I would know?"
I shook my head. "Well, actually, you know Zac, but you don't know the other people. They're just visiting. Anyway, um, give me a call and we'll get together, okay?"
She smiled. "Definitely. It was great to run into you!"
"Yeah. See you later!" I didn't look back as I ran toward the electronics store. Zac and Rachel were standing outside the store, talking and examining the box of the video game they'd bought. "Hey, guys! Where's Abby?"
Zac looked up. "Oh, there you are. We've been waiting FOREVER!"
"Where's Abby?" I repeated.
"She went to go find you," Rachel said.
"Which way did she go?" Rachel pointed in the opposite direction from which I'd come. "I'm going to go find her. Wait right here. I'll be back in a sec." I took off, walking quickly in the direction Rachel had indicated. I saw no sign of Abby. I reached the end of the floor and turned and began walking the other way. As I was walking by the pet store, I glanced in and caught a glimpse of Abby through the door. I went inside quickly and walked up behind her.
"Hey," I said.
She whirled around. "Oh, there you are! I thought you'd gotten lost or something."
"Nope. Just a bit sidetracked. Sorry."
"It's okay. Let's just get going." She turned and I realized that she had been talking to Ryan.
"Hey, Tay," he greeted me.
"Hey, man. How've you been?"
"Good."
I nodded and took Abby's hand in mine. "C'mon. Zac and Rachel are probably going to kill us."
Abby smiled at Ryan apologetically. "We'll have to finish our conversation later."
Ryan nodded. "I'll call you."
I practically dragged Abby out of the store. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Abby demanded.
"What are you talking about?"
"Does it bother you that I have guy friends other than you?"
"Is that all I am?"
"Huh?"
"A guy friend? Is that all I am to you?"
She raised her eyebrows. "Well, you're not my boyfriend, because I distinctly remember you saying to Zac today that I wasn't your girlfriend. Would you care to explain to me how it's possible for you to be my boyfriend when I'm not your girlfriend?"
I just looked at her. "Well, that's not what I meant. I'd like to be your boyfriend, I just thought we were working up to it."
"Well, if we're working up to it, that means it isn't official yet, and that means that I'm allowed to talk to other guys. Besides, I saw you talking to that other girl a few minutes ago. You looked pretty close."
For some odd reason, it really pleased me that Abby seemed to be jealous. "That was Jenna. She was my best friend when we were younger. She moved away and now she's back visiting her grandmother."
Abby just looked at me. "Whatever, Tay. Let's just get out of here."
I realized that we were standing in the middle of the mall, having an argument. She was right. We needed to get out of there. We walked back in silence and collected Zac and Rachel. Abby dropped me and Zac off at our house.
"Do you wanna come in and play the game?" Zac asked Rachel.
She shook her head. "I can't.

My dad is taking me and Abby out to dinner tonight. Sorry."
"That's all right. We have all day tomorrow."
Rachel smiled at Zac. "Yup." Zac returned the smile and then ran into the house. I looked at Abby.
"Will you call me tonight?" I asked.
"I'll try, but I don't know if I'll be able to."
I wanted to say more, but since Rachel was in the car, I refrained. Abby pulled out of the driveway and drove down the street to their house. I sighed as I went inside my house. I didn't know if I'd ever understand girls.

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