I squeezed my eyes tightly shut trying to get her to go away, “Marion… think about Marion.” My eyes flew open and I cursed myself. Why in God’s name would I do a stupid thing like that?!? “No Zac try a completely different girl. Someone who hasn’t hurt you… Michelle Branch… much better.” I grinned and started to brush my teeth, “You’re everywhere to me! When I close my eyes it’s you I see!” the words came out muffled and disoriented seeing as I had a toothbrush and toothpaste shoved in my mouth.
Isaac knocked on the bathroom door and popped his head in, “Dude, everything alright in here? You only sing while brushing your teeth if something’s wrong.” My eyes went wide, how the hell did he know that?
I rinsed my mouth and looked at him; I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. “Uh… you get dressed in the dark again?”
He looked down at himself, “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” I couldn’t hold it in any longer; and I burst out laughing. “Orange Dress shirt, Navy pants. I don’t see what’s so bad about it.”
I shook my head…see, the thing is, if you put Ike and a dresser of clothes in a freak show, you’d have a main attraction. “Ike.” I put my arm around his shoulder, “This is why you don’t draw. You see; if it were up to you, people would have orange skin with navy polka dots. Do ya get me Sparky?”
He looked at himself again, and a red hue crept over his face. “It doesn’t work does it?”
I grinned, “Nope. Try that light blue shirt you’ve got, it looks good.” Then I realized what I had just done; I had given Ike fashion advice… I was turning into Taylor. “Oh God… Ike?”
He turned around in the door grinning at me, “No Zac, I won’t tell a soul about this. No one will ever find out that Tay was rubbing off on you. I promise!”
I leaned against the counter and nodded. Tay wouldn’t let me live it down; I had called him a Woman too many times.
Suddenly, Libby came running back into my thoughts. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I wanted to tell her. I really wanted to tell her, but I knew it wasn’t right for me to do that to her. It could confuse things, and make for an incredibly uncomfortable situation. I had to tell someone though. I really couldn’t keep it bottled up inside me much longer. Ike! My roommate and phenomenally smart brother could help me figure this one out.
I ran a brush through my hair and went and knocked on his door, “ Sparky, can I come in?”
He gave me an evil look, “Only if you stop calling me Sparky. I’m not a Dog.”
I grinned at him, he had just walked himself into a trap, “Fine, you’re not a dog. I’m sorry.” He nodded, “So Mr. Ed I have this problem…” He picked up a dirty sock and threw it at me.
“Don’t start with me. I’d be a dog before I’d ever be a talking Horse.”
I crinkled up my eyebrows, “Really? But Horses get ridden almost every day! Are you sure you wouldn’t like that?”
He laughed, “I get ridden almost every day anyway there’s no need to be a horse. But you’re stalling, I can tell. What’s on your mind?”
Every day?!? Damn lucky Hanson, that wasn’t fair. But, there was no time to think about that; I had to get this one out. “I’m still in love with Libby."
He looked at me through his dresser mirror, “You screwed it up for yourself if you can remember that far back. But I’ve known for a while.” He sprayed a little cologne on his shirt and turned around to face me. He had a quizzical look about him and I got the funny feeling he was judging me. I knew that was a ridiculous thought but nevertheless I couldn’t shake it. I slouched over and started chewing on my nails, “So what do I do about it? You’re the wise older brother, gimme your wisdom please.”
He started fixing his hair, “Nope. This one is something you’ll have to figure out on your own.” Grabbing his coat, he came and sat down beside me, “You’ll be fine, and you’ll figure it out, I promise. I’ll tell you this though, remember that Taylor is your brother. He’s not a friend; he’s family. You can’t avoid him Zac, he’s always going to be there.
That wasn’t something I wanted to hear. I stood up, and headed for the door, “We really should be going, I know it’s early but Taylor’s always late.” Isaac nodded his agreement, and the two of us left the apartment in silence, neither of us wanting to continue the conversation, and not knowing what else to talk about.