Chapter 1
Thursday
New Start
I yawned, and stretched out across my new room. We had moved into
our Aunt Ellen and Uncle Marty's house about five days ago. I wouldn't
be starting school until Monday, so I had about four days to relax, and
try to get a grip on things. Stuff hasn't been easy, but I think talking
to Zac at the hospital really helped me out. I heard a knock on the door,
and my fifteen year old cousin, Ginny came in.
"Hey Aries. How ya doin'?" She asked. I shrugged
"Okay. What's up?" I asked. She cocked her head to the side.
"I think, nothing. Just the sky." She answered. I smiled. Ginny
wasn't all there. I had gotten used to her abstract way of thinking years
ago when we were just kids.
"Wanna watch some T.V.? " I suggested. She didn't answer, but
just looked around my room. She went over to a picture of me with my brother,
Drake and our parents.
"I like this picture. You're mother was so pretty." She said.
She was the only one that could talk about my parents, and not make me
angry. She didn't say, 'I'm sorry', or go into a whole speech about how
tragic the whole ordeal was, she just said simple things. She was my favourite
cousin.
"Yes. She was.:" I said. She put the picture back down on my
desk, and came back over to where I was sitting.
"I know! Let's go over to our neighbors! I think you'll really
like them." She said. The idea of meeting someone new interested me.
"All right. Do you want to go now?" I asked. She nodded.
"Yes. I'm sure you'll like them. It's a family of seven kids.
They're all very nice." She said. I got up, and we went downstairs. Aunt
Ellen was reading in the living room.
"Mom, we're going over to the Hanson's. I want then to meet Aries."
She said. Aunt Ellen nodded. Aunt Ellen pretty much let Ginny do whatever
she wanted, party because she knew Ginny couldn't get into any trouble.
"Okay, and ask Diana if they'd all like to come over for a Barbeque
next Saturday afternoon, would you dear?" She asked. Ginny nodded.
"Okay." She said. We put on our shoes, and left. It wasn't a
very far walk to the Hanson's, just down the road. Ginny lived in the rural
part of Tulsa. I was used to downtown Tulsa. But I liked the trees and
openness. The Hanson's house was brown, with a big circular driveway. There
was a red Camaro parked in the driveway, and a white van. We walked up
the driveway.
"They're really nice. Especially Taylor. I think he's wonderful."
Ginny said. I smiled, and nodded. Hanson. I knew who they were. They're
the all brother band that sings 'MMMbop'.
Ginny rang the doorbell. A guy, about 13 or 14 answered the door. I
immediatly recognized him.
"Hey Ginny, what's up? Come on in. Who's your friend?" He asked,
and then gave me a good look. "Aries?" He asked slowly. I nodded.
"I'm okay, thank you. Nothing's up, but the sky. This is my
cousin, Aries. She lives with us now. Do you all ready know her?" She asked.
Zac nodded.
"Yeah, we met in the hospital. About a week ago. How're ya doin'
Aries?" He asked. I shrugged. I couldn't believe I didn't recognize him
at the hospital! I'm so stupid!"
"I'm doing okay thanks." I answered. Ginny smiled.
"Good. You two know eachother. We came over here so you could
meet Aries, but you all ready know her! Where's your mother? I need to
ask her something very important." She said. Zac motioned to the kitchen.
"In there. Go on in." He said. Ginny nodded.
"Zac, could you introduce Aries to your brothers? I'm sure she'd
like them. Especially Taylor. Everyone likes him." She said. I could feel
my face go red.
"Uh, I well...." I started. Zac cut me off.
"Okay. We'll be upstairs. C'mon Aries." He said, and led me up
the short staircase. We went into a room with light blue walls. It was
a typical boy's room. There were three beds. I guess the three boys all
shared a room. I saw the back of a blonde head sitting at a computer console,
and feet dangling over the top of a bunkbed.
"Hey guys! This is Aries. Remeber the girl I met at the hospital?
We'll, she's Ginny's cousin. Ginny brought her over here to meet some new
people, and those new people are us. Look alive, gentelmen!" He said, trying
to sound like a drill sergent. I stifled a laugh. A boy, Isaac I guessed,
the guitar player, jumped down from the top of the bunkbed. He had brown
eyes, like Zac, but a longer face then Zac's round one. I smiled.
"Hi. I'm Aries." I said, and immediatly felt stupid. He all ready
knew that.
"Nice to meet you, Aries. I'm Isaac Hanson." He said, and shook
my hand.
"Tay?" Isaac asked the boy sitting at the computer.
"Yeah?" Came the hurried reply.
"Tay, aren't you going to say hi to Aries?" Isaac asked him.
"Hi Aries." He said, still not turning away.
"Taylor! Turn around!" Isaac ordered. Taylor swirled around.
His face filled with anger.
"Yes, your majesty!" He hissed. I was surprised. He seemed awfully
mad about something. He turned to me. His expression softened a little
bit.
"Hello, Aries. It's very nice to meet you." He said, and whizzed
back around. Isaac sighed, and rolled his eyes.
"He's been having a few bad days recently. I think it's hormones."
He whispered. I stifled a laugh once again.
"I heard that! That's not true, Ike! I'm not the one drooling
over every girl I see!" He snapped. Isaac sighed.
"I see what you mean." I muttered. There was an uncomfortable
silence for a moment. I could hear someone come running up the stairs.
"Hey guys!" Ginny said.
"Hey Ginny." Isaac said, and smiled.
"Hey." Taylor mumbled. Ginny's smile faded.
"Taylor, are you still mad?" She asked uncertainly. He shrugged.
"Nah. I'm okay. Don't worry about it Ginny." He said. He smile
returned. She turned to me.
"See? Aren't they just so nice?" She said. I nodded.
"Yes. Very nice." I replied. She turned to Isaac and Zac
"You guys are coming over for a Barbeque soon. I can't remember
when." She said, a look of puzzlement crossed her face. Isaac got a look
of concern.
"Are you okay Ginny?" He asked. She nodded.
"Yeah, but I can't remember when you guys are coming over. Oh
well, I'm sure mom'll remind me." She said. I felt bad for Ginny. On the
outside, she was like any other fifteen year old girl, but on the inside,
she was different. She couldn't remember simple things, and usually couldn't
tell when something was wrong.
"Well, we'd better go. We'll see you, uh, whenever you guys come
over!" She said, and smiled, brightly. Isaac smiled, he had a slight look
of sympathy on his face. Zac nodded.
"Yeah, we'll see you later." He said. Ginny and I went downstairs.
I saw a woman with long blonde hair in the livivng room.
"Good bye Mrs. Hanson. We'll see you later." Ginny said.
"Good bye Ginny. Oh, who's your friend?" She asked. I could feel
my face go red.
"This is my cousin, Aries. Aries, this is Mrs. Hanson, Ike, Tay
and Zac's mother." Ginny introduced us. I shook her hand.
"Oh yes, that's right. Ellen mentioned something about you coming
to live with them. It's very nice to meet you, Aries." She said, and smiled.
She had a warm smiled. I immediatly liked her.
"Buh bye. Mrs. Hanson." Ginny said.
"Bye, it was nice to meet you." I said, and we left.
Chapter 2
Friday
Can you tell me who will still care?
Ginny was at a dentist appointment, Uncle Marty was at work, and
Drake was strumming on his guitar in his room, so I was all alone. I thought
about going to the mall to see what was up, but then I realized I didn't
want to spend any money. I looked over to the corner of my room. My rollerblades
had been dropped there when I had unpacked.
"What the heck." I said, and picked them up. I buckled the straps,
and rolled down to Drake's room. I pounded on the door. The electric guitar
noise (he called it music, but I called it noise) stopped.
"Come in." He said. I opened the door a crack.
"I'm going rollerblading. See you later." I called in.
"Yeah, okay, whatever." He answered, and went back to his ffeble
attempt at making music. He should take some lessons from the Hanson's.
I thought, and went down the stairs, on my rollerblades. It was not easy.
--------------------------------------------
This is fun. I thought sarcastically. I had been blading around
the neighbouhood for the past twenty minutes, and I still hadn't seen a
single person my age. Well, of course not. They're all in school. I went
back to our street, and headed in the opposite direction from which I had
started. I saw the Hanson's house. Someone was shooting hoops outside in
the driveway. It looked like one of the boys. But shouldn't they be in
school? He looked in my direction. I looked away, and pretended that I
hadn't noticed he was there. If he wants to play hookey, that's none of
my business. But it's pretty stupid to cut school, and go home to play
basketball. He waved at me. I bladed up to him. It was Taylor.
"Hey. What's up?" He asked. I shrugged.
"Nothing much. Just blading around the neighbourhood." I answered.
I still remembered how cold he had been yesterday. He wiped his face, which
was very sweaty and red, with his shirt.
"Shouldn't you be in school?" He asked. The nerve! He's cutting,
and he's asking me why I'm not in school!
"Shouldn't you?" I shot back. He looked at me for a second, and
laughed.
"I'm home schooled. We just fininshed our morning lessons about
half an hour ago." He said, and grinned. "Are you skipping?"
"No!" I yelled. "I would never do that. I don't start school
here until Monday." He nodded, and took a shot. It bounced off the backboard,
hit the rim, and fell to the ground. He grabbed the ball.
"Want to take a shot?" He offered. I shrugged, and took the ball.
This isn't the same guy that I met yesterday. Even so, I was still weary
of him. I aimed, and took the shot. It sailed perfectly into the net. He
whistled.
"Swoosh! Three pointer. That was pretty good. Do you play?" He
asked.
"I play all sports. Except curling and golf. I consider those
hobbies." I said. He nodded.
"Yeah, golf can be pretty boring. Mini Putt is okay though."
He said. I shrugged.
"Football's better." I said. He didn't answer, and took another
shot. This one bounced off the backboard, and went into the net.
"Yout know Zac from the hospital?" He asked. I nodded.
"What were you doing there?" He asked. I winced.
"Nothing." I answered. He shrugged.
"Okay, you don't have toi talk about it." He said.
"Good." I told him.
"So, you're living with Ginny and her parents now?" He asked.
I nodded. Boy, is he nosy!
"Yes." I answered, getting irretated.
"Look, I'm just trying to make conversation. I don't mean to
be nosy or anything." He said. I smiled softly.
"It's okay. It's just, well, you seemed to be in a bad mood yesterday."
I said. His face fell to a frown, and his brow furrowed.
"Yeah. I haven't been having the best of days lately." He said.
I nodded.
"Yeah, I know how that feels." I muttered. He sighed, and plopped
onto the grass beside the driveway.
"It's just, well, everything's been going great with the band
and everything, but, I feel as if it's slipping. You know? Like, tomorrow,
I'll wake up and it'll be gone. And I don't know what I'll do if that happens.
I sorta want to keep on making music for a long time." He said. I sat down
across from him, but I kept my distance. He needed his space. He sort of
half laughed, at himself mostly. "I thought that you were just another
teeny bopper that wanted a piece of Hanson when I first met you." He said.
I was surprised at this.
"You think I'm a teeny bopper?" I asked. He blushed, and nodded.
"Yeah, I thought you were." He said.
"Well, I'm sorry to inform you that I'm not particularly fond
of your music. Or you for that matter." I said, and got up. He looked at
me, his face filled with surprise.
"Me? What did I do to you?" He asked.
"You stereotyped me. And I hate that. I can understand why you
were angry, but taking it out on me, your brothers, and Ginny, will not
make it go away. I personally don't think that your fame will go away anytime
soon. But if you keep on acting like this to your family, friends, and
people you don't even know, and if you act like a little golden boy to
the press, then everything you've got will be gone so fast. It's like that
song you sing, 'MMMbop', when you say '...and you turn your back, and it's
gone so fast...' or something like that. Can you tell me who will still
care, Taylor Hanson? No, I don't think so. You say you can but you don't
know." I said. Proud of my use of his song againt him. He just stared at
me. Then looked at the grass.
"I think you're right." He said. Now it was my turn to be surprised.
"You do? I mean, of course you do!" I said. He started to pick
the grass from the ground.
"It's exactly like you described it. When I'm old, and losing
my hair, who will still care? No one, if I take out all my problems on
other people. Thank you. You are so right." He said, and got up. "I'm sorry
I was so mean to you, and I'm going to apologise to Ike and Zac. And when
I see Ginny, I'm going to apologise to her too. And, I'm sorry I was so
mean to you. I didn't even know you. I know I'm not better then everyone
else, and I don't think I ever thought that, but I guess I was acting that
way. Thank you so much, Aries. Thank you." He said. I shrugged, and turned
to leave.
"No problem." I said. Then I stopped. I turned back to
him. He was still standing there.
"You're brother, Zac helped me out, in the same way I just helped
you. I was cold and bitter, and angry at everyone. I took my aggression
out on the doctors, when it wasn't their fault, and that there was nothing
they could have done." I said. I felt tears start to form in my eyes. He
took a step closer. I didn't move. I just stared him right in the eyes.
"My parents both died that night. And I hated everyone and everything.
Even myself. Zac made me realize that it wasn't my choice to be made for
them to die. And I know see how right he was. I guess, you're supposed
to help someone every so often. And now, it was my turn to help you." I
said. He looked so sad, and I knew that sympathy was for me.
"Thank you. I had no idea." He said, and hugged me. At first
I didn't hug back. But why shouldn't I? It's not a romantic hug, more of
a spiritual hug, So I hugged him back. I was crying.
"It's okay. Don't worry. You really helped me." He said. I nodded,
and let go. There was a awkward silence.
"I'll see you later." I said. He nodded, and I left.
Chapter 3
Next Saturday.
BBQ Time
"Hey, Zac! Catch!" I yelled, and shot the football at him. He
caught it.
"Ooof! Where'd you learn to throw like that?" He asked, and shook
his hand. I laughed
"My dad taught me!" I told him. He nodded, then turned to his
dad.
"How come you never taught me how to throw a football like that?
" He joked.
"Because, so I didn't have to teach you and Tay, I taught Ike,
so he could teach you." He said, and grinned. Zac looked ot Ike, who was
playing water volleyball with Ginny in the pool.
"Hey Ike! How come you never taught me how to throw a football
properly?" He called to him.
"Because! I could tell from the moment I saw you, that you would
throw like a girl! And I was right!" He yelled and laughed. I smirked.
Tay was laughing too. Even Ginny was giggling.
I'd become pretty good friends with the Hanson's since Drake
and I moved here. Drake hangs out with Ike a lot. Ike's teaching him how
to make actual music, instead of just noise. For once, Drake sounds half
decent. Taylor and I have never talked about what happened that day, there
really hasn't been any need to. I did what needed to be done. He seems
to be enjoying life more. Ginny can see a difference in him, and she asked
me about it. I told her I had no idea what changed him. But somehow, she
knew. Maybe she's different, but not in the way I thought. Zac and I will
always have something, that I don't think anyone else has. I've had many
long talks with him over the past week, mostly about school, which hasn't
been going so great. I've made a few friends, sure. But no one like Taylor,
Zac and Isaac. Or Ginny, for that matter. I had my bathingsuit on underneath
my shirt and shorts. I pulled off my shirt. Zac started to laugh.
"I know you want me, Aries, but I didn't know it you wanted me
that bad!" He joked. I laughed, and ran into him. He fell into the pool,
with his clothes on. He was splashing around in the water.
"Aries!" He yelled, half laughing. I smiled, and pulled off my
shorts, and jumped in beside him.
"Gotcha!" I said, and swan down, to the bottom of the pool. I
contemplated not coming up, ever, but then I saw Taylor dive in, and he
and Zac swan down beside me. They looked so funny underwater, and I realized
that I had too much to live for, so I swam back up to the surface.
I took a long breath of fresh air. It felt good to be alive.
The End.