Chapter 17: Homecoming


**Author's Note: Hanson was only supposed to stay in NYC for 3 days. Since Julie died, they had to cancel shows, so they had to reschedule them, which means they stay longer. I just wanted to make this clear, cuz my "editor" person read it and it confused her, but lots of stuff confuses her.....**



The next few weeks were hard. They were hard on August and Taylor especially, but it was taking a toll on everyone else as well. August had flown back to Rockford for Julie's funeral and the wake. Taylor had wanted to go with her, but she had told him that he needed a break from all the sorrow, he needed to get back to his music. The Hansons had canceled 2 TV appearances because of the tragedy. The TV stations completely understood and offered their condolences to the Hanson family on live TV. Soon everyone knew what had happened, or at least they thought they did. Rumors were flying around that a family member died, or one of the Hansons died. Meanwhile, back home, August's parents were having trouble finding a house that they liked. Their house sold sooner than expected, so they had to move into an apartment.

**That brings us back to the present**

"August, are you sure you want to go with the Hansons?" asked Mrs. Mayer
"Mom, yes. This is an awesome opportunity. I get to go to New York, and L.A. and Europe! I don't want to miss the chance, I'm sorry."
"Oh baby, its ok. As long as you're happy."
"Mom, please don't do this to me, don't start the sappy stuff again" she laughed
"I've had enough crying for awhile"
"August, just be careful, give Taylor a chance, ok? You'll be around each other a lot, so I don't want you fighting."
"Mom, what are you talking about?"
"You told me that you and Taylor weren't getting along, remember?"

August laughed.

"Wow,"
"What are you wow-ing at?"
"I guess I forgot to tell you. About whats been going on with me and Tay." she laughed. "See, we don't hate each other, in fact, I don't think we did to begin with. The day that Julie........the day Julie ‘left', we were at the New York airport, and a guard wouldn't let me go, and he put me behind the ropes with the girls. I screamed for the guys, but they didn't hear me. A few minutes later, Tay came back for me. He looked scared when he came back. He pulled me from behind the ropes and gave me a hug. He even yelled at the guard that had put me behind the ropes. And then," she grinned "he asked me to be his girlfriend"

August's mom started to smile. They hugged.

"He's so sweet."
"Mom, I know!"

August's mom looked up at the clock.

"Honey, we better get going, your plane leaves in about an hour."
"Alright, let me grab my bag, and I'll be ready."

August jumped out of her chair and ran into the main room of her parent's apartment. She grabbed her bag off the floor and called:

"Ok! I'm ready!"

Her mom walked through the doors from the kitchen. You could now tell that she was pregnant. Her stomach was getting alittle big. They rushed out of the apartment and to the airport. August was reluctant to get one the plane, after what happened to Julie, but she knew she had to face her fear if she wanted to get back to Taylor in New York.

"Flight 544 to New York City is now boarding. All passengers please be ready to board, thank you."

"Well honey, that's your flight."
"Mom?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you"
"For what honey?"
"For choosing to move to Tulsa, and for letting me go with the Hansons everywhere."
"Well, I'm glad you're happy. I know the Hansons will keep you in line"

They shared a smile and August turned to leave

"Bye honey, love you"
"Love you to mom, see you in three weeks!"

August handed her ticket and boarding pass to the stewardess and began walking down the tunnel. She glanced back, only to see her mom smiling. She gave a small wave and walked onto the plane. She found her seat and sat down. She had a window seat. A few minutes passed, and more passengers got on the plane. A young woman, about 25, sat down next to her. She smiled at August. August smiled back.

"Hello" said the woman
"Hi" replied August quietly
"So, where are you off to?"
"Well, for now, New York, then to L.A., then to Europe and Asia" August replied with a small smile.
"Wow, that's sure a lot of traveling! Why are you traveling so much, if you don't mind me asking?"
"I'm staying with friends and they travel for their ‘family business'."
"Oh, that's nice. I'm headed straight to New York to interview a new group."
"Really? That's pretty neat"
"Yes, it should be fun. Whats your name?"
"I'm August, how bout you?"
"I'm Liz."
"Ok, hi Liz"
"Hi August. You know, now that I think about it, you look extremely familiar to me."
"I do?"
"Yea"
"How?"
"I'm not sure, it'll come to me."

Liz looked at August, her eyes squinted, in hard concentration. Her eyes lit up.

"I know!"

She reached into her bag and pulled out a copy of People magazine. She flipped it to the ‘Music' section and showed it to August. There, in front of her eyes was a picture of her hugging Taylor.

"Oh my gosh......" she gasped.

She started reading the article.

‘Hanson, the brother group, consisting of 16 year old Isaac on guitar, 14 year old Taylor on keyboards and 11 year old Zachary on drums, has scheduled multiple appearances in New York City to promote their debut album Middle of Nowhere. The boys arrived in NYC on April 13, and were greeting with around 300 screaming fans, as NYC International Airport reports. In addition to the boys, there are three other siblings. Sisters, Jessica 8, Avery 6, and brother Mackenzie 3. The Hansons were also in the company of a young lady, pictured above with middle Hanson, Taylor. The girl's name is reported to be August, as told by one of the many fans present at the airport that day. One of the security guards mistook August as another Hanson fan and placed her behind the rope that separated the Hansons from the fans. Soon after, Taylor Hanson came back and reprimanded the security guard. The above picture was taken right before they left. Taylor is said to be the "heart throb" of Hanson. Sorry girls, it seems he's taken.'

"Oh no!" cried August

She handed the magazine back to Liz.

"No, keep it. I think you'll want to show Taylor."
"Thanks Liz"
"No problem."

For the rest of the plane ride, August sat in disbelief. She read the article over and over. Soon, the ride was over. She clutched the magazine in her hand and walked off the plane. She looked around the terminal for at least one of the Hansons. She didn't see anybody. She sat down in one of the chairs to wait. About five minutes later, Diana appeared with Mackenzie. She put Mackenzie down and gave August a hug.

"Diana?"
"Yes?"
"Um, we, well, we have a slight problem."
"What do you mean?"

August set her bag down and opened the magazine to the page Liz had marked for her. Diana read the article quickly. A small smile crossed her face.

"Taylor never actually told me what happened that day. Walker and I were both oblivious to what was going on. I mean, I suspected something, but I didn't know if anything became of it, but it was obvious he liked you from the beginning. I didn't know if anything became of it, I guess it did."

Diana hugged her again. She picked up August's bag and August picked up Mackenzie.

"We're going to head over to downtown. Walker took the boys and Jessie and Avery sightseeing.
We're meeting them for lunch."
"Ok, that should be fun."
"Yea."

The two walked out to the parking lot and over to the van that the Hansons had rented. Diana strapped Mackie into his seat and climbed into the driver's seat.

"August?"
"Yea?"
"If you ever want to talk about anything, like about the accident or Taylor or anything that's on your mind, you can talk to me, ok?"
"Thanks Diana"
"You're welcome sweetie."

The drive downtown continued basically silent, except for the radio. They turned onto Border Drive (I don't know the streets in New York, so I had to make them up), and Mackenzie started clapping.

"Baby, why are you clapping?" laughed Diana
"Twrn up da wadio mommy"
"Ok" Diana reached over and tunned up the radio. They were greeted by a familiar tune.

Mmmbop.

"Baby, did you hear the song come on?"

Mackenzie nodded his head so fast, August thought it would fall off. She laughed. They continued down to the next intersection and found a parking spot. They got out of the car and August picked Mackenzie up. They walked into the restaurant to meet up with the rest of the group. August looked around. They weren't there yet.

"Oh Well" she thought. She walked over to where Diana was sitting and set Mackenzie down. Suddenly, she felt a pair of strong arms go around her waist. She smiled and turned around, to be face to face with Taylor.





Back to Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Index



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