Chapter 1
Bored, bored, bored, bored. Isaac Hanson watched the water drip
from the faucet in the kitchen. Everyone else was busy, and he was the
only one with nothing to do. Taylor was on his computer, Zac was watching
Power Rangers on television, Jessica and Avery were playing with their
Barbie dolls, and his mother, Diana was busy with his little brother, Mackenzie.
He wasn't sure where his father, Walker was, probably closing some business
deal, which meant that they would have to move again, sooner or later.
Maybe he could go rollerblading or something, with his friend, Mike. But
then he remembered that Mike was visiting his grandma in Oklahoma City,
and wouldn't be back until next week. He sighed. Bored. Bored was definitely
the word. Just then, Taylor bounded into the kitchen.
"Is there any coke left? I'm really thirsty!" He
said. Isaac shrugged.
"I dunno. Do you want to go blading or something?"
He asked. Taylor had his head in the fridge. He came out with two cokes,
one for Isaac, and one for himself. He tossed Isaac one.
"Uh, yeah, sure. Want to see if Zac wants
to come too?" Taylor answered.
"Okay." Isaac said. Yes! He was finally going to
get a chance to do something, instead of sitting around the house. He went
into the T.V. room, and found Zac sitting in front of the T.V., watching
the end of Power Rangers.
"Hey, Zac. Wanna go blading with Tay and me?" He
asked him. Zac nodded, and turned off the television. They all went to
get their blades, and headed out the door.
Chapter 2
Taylor's POV
"Hey, Tay! Check this out!" Zac yelled. He jumped off of
the curb, touched his wheels in mid air, and landed flat on his butt. I
laughed, so did my brother, Isaac. I had just happened to look over at
the house across the street, and I noticed that the garage door was open.
I couldn't see anyone inside, so I just ignored it. There had been a 'For
Sale' sign on the front lawn, but now in its place was a 'Sold' sign. The
place had been up for sale for months, ever since the couple that lived
there moved out.
"Hey." I said, trying to get their attention. "I
wonder who's moved in." Ike looked up, and saw where I was pointing.
"Oh. Mom mentioned something about new neighbors
yesterday at dinner. Weren't you listening?" He said. I blushed.
"I guess not." I was very much a dreamer. "Want
to go over there, and see who moved in?"
"YEAH!" Zac yelled. We all agreed and headed across
the street.
Chapter 3
Isaac's POV
The garage door was wide open, but I couldn't see anyone around.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." I wondered
outloud.
"You wuss, don't be such a chicken. It's not like
some old witch moved in or anything." Tay teased.
"I'm not afraid." I countered. "Watch." I headed
right up to the open garage and called in. "Hello? Hey! Is there anyone
home?" No answer. "Well, I guess they're not home." I started to leave,
but Tay stepped infront of me.
"If there's nobody home, then why is the garage
door wide open Sherlock?" He said. "And why would they leave it open with
those bikes inside?" He gestured to a couple of Thin Blue Line bikes, and
one Trek. "They're home." He said, and stepped into the garage.
"Tay!" I called after him. "Wait!" I went in behind
him. Zac was still waiting outside. I turned around towards him. "Are you
coming?" He shook his head no.
"Uh-uh. That place is dark, and looks creepy. You
and Tay can go in, but I'm staying out here!" He said. I rolled my eyes.
"Fine you big baby." I said. Tay turned around too.
"There is absolutely nothing to be scared-"
"BOO!!!" A loud voice interruped him, we all yelled
and jumped back. A girl, I couldn't tell how old she was, stepped out from
behind a big box, laughing her head off.
"That was NOT funny!" Tay whined. Zac was laughing
too, like he was in on it the whole time. That made her laugh even harder.
"Yes it was, it was extremely funny!" She said.
I just stood there, stunned. She stopped laughing long enough for her to
say something. "Wha-what are you three doing in my garage?" She asked.
I could feel my face getting red, and I could see that Tay was blushing
as well. Zac was the only one who kept his cool.
"We wanted to see if anyone lived here." He explained.
"We saw the open garage, and called in, but no one answered, so Tay went
inside, and then Ike. But I stayed out here, 'cause I'm not a total dork."
Thanks a lot Zac. I could see Tay shoot him a dirty look.
"What are your names?" She asked.
"I'm Isaac Hanson, and this is my brother Taylor,
and my other brother Zac." I introduced us. She smiled.
"I'm Arri. Arri Cetrisone." She said. What kind
of a name is that? She obviously saw my confusion. "Arri was my great grandfathers
name. He was from England, and no one knew where his mother and father
got that name from, so it's sort of a mystery. My mother was going to call
me Gaeriel, but then she remembered Arri. It's a boy's, or girl's name,
like Alex, Ashley, or Kelly. I hate it, and when I'm old enough, I'm going
to change it to Gaeriel." She explained. She seemed to know how to tell
the story. People probably looked a bit confused when she told them her
name. She smiled again. "It's not really all that important." She said.
We talked for a bit longer, until she said that she had better go inside.
We said good bye, and left.
Chapter 4
Zac's POV
It was just after dinner, and Tay and I were stuck
doing the dishes. We had told our parents about our encounter with Arri.
They thought that she sounded nice.
I thought that she was really cool, for a girl. I couldn't remember
how old she said she was, I think about 14. She had just moved down from
Oregon with her mom and dad and older brother, Dimitri.
Tay was drying, and I was washing. I picked up a
bunch of bubbles, and threw, or tried to, them at him.
"Zac!" He shrieked. "Quit it!" I laughed, and threw
some more. He ducked, and they landed on the counter top. He started laughing,
and took the dishtowel and snapped me with it.
"Hey! You perv!" I yelled at him. He laughed some
more, and tried to hit me again, but I moved, and he knocked one of Avery's
juice cups to the floor. We continued our little fight for a couple more
minutes, until Ike came in, and I accidentaly hit him with a handful of
soap suds.
"What the-? Zac! Taylor! You guys are gonna be in
A LOT of trouble when mom and dad see this!" He yelled, trying to sound
authorative. We both looked around. The kitchen was soaking, and there
were two plastic cups on the floor. Ike was right, if mom and dad see this,
they'll spaz out! I looked at Tay. He turned to me with wide eyes.
"Zac! grab a towel and help me clean this up!" He
ordered. I was in too much of a hurry to argue. I grabbed the closest dishtowel,
and started wiping things up.
Ike was laughing at us. Tay turned to him, red faced. "Shut up Isaac!"
He yelled. I stopped cleaning to look at Tay. I had never heard him yell
at anyone like that before, especially Ike. They were best friends. Ike
looked just as shocked as I did, then he got a really mean, and surprised
look on his face.
"Make me, Taylor! You're just angry because you're
too young for Arri-!" He stopped himself in mid-sentence. Taylor got an
enraged look on his face.
"GET OUT ISAAC!" He screamed. Ike stepped back.
"Fine." He growled. "Loser." Ike stormed off, and
out the door. I was stunned. I had never heard Tay, or Ike talk to anybody
like that before. I didn't know what to make of it. I looked at the floor,
and continued scrubbing. Tay went back to wiping the wall, muttering to
himself. A few minutes passed, until I said anything.
"Tay?" I said, very quietly, so he wouldn't yell
at me.
"What?" He asked.
"Uh. Why did you yell at Ike like that?" I asked.
"Because he's a jerk."
"Oh. Are you mad at him, or something?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"What the hell is this, the third degree?"
"Uh, no. I'm sorry."
"It's alright." He paused for a second. "You remember
Arri?"
"Yeah."
"Well, Isaac and I both like her."
"Oh. Both of you?"
"Yeah. He said that she was too old for me, since
I'm only 13, but I wasn't planning on going out with her or anything, at
least not now. Maybe in a year or two, but not now."
"Does Ike wanna ask her out?"
"I dunno. He probably will now, just to get me peeved
off."
"That sucks. Are you still best friends?"
"I think so. I dunno. If he wants to be, yeah. I
don't really care."
"Why'd you get so mad at him?"
"Because he was rubbing it in that she's a year
and a half older than me."
"Oh. An older woman. Too bad."
"Yeah."
We continued cleaning for a couple more minutes.
Finally, the kitchen looked like it had before we had had our little 'war'.
Tay threw his towel onto the counter.
"I'm going upstairs. If you see Ike, tell him either
to apologize, or leave me alone." He said, and left. I was standing all
alone in the kitchen. What was happening?
Why did Ike and Tay have to be so competitive? I kept on thinking about
Arri. She was okay looking, brunette with green eyes, but nothing really
special. Of course I wasn't as attuned to what a girl should look like.
Tay and Ike had their own preferences, but she obviously had something
that turned them both on. I went into the T.V. room. Mom and Dad were both
there, with Avery, Jessica, and Mackie. They were watching some kids show.
"It's Dudley The Dragon!" Avie said. I smiled.
"He's pretty cool, for a lizard." I joked. Jessie
laughed, but Avie just looked at me, with a worried expression.
"He's not a lissard. He's a dragon!" She said. I
laughed.
"Okay, Avie. He's a dragon." I agreed. "Where did
Ike go?" I asked.
"He said he was going out to shoot some hoops. He
seemed pretty angry about something. What were you boys fighting about
in the kitchen?" Mom asked.
I shrugged.
"It was Tay and Ike. I had nothing to do with it.
They were just mad about something that had happended earlier." I explained.
She got a worried look on her face.
"They were yelling awfully loud, especially Tay.
Are you sure that they're okay?" She asked again. I sighed.
"Yes, mom. They're fine. Nothing to be worried about.
Tay just uh, wanted to be heard, that's all." I said. Why bother to explain?
"I'm going to play basketball with Ike, if he'll let me. Hasta la vista."
I left the room, and headed towards the front door.
Chapter 5
Ike's POV
What the hell's his problem? I'm only saying what's true! He's got the
biggest spaz attack around, even worse then Zac when he gets crazy. Swish!
The ball sailed through the net, a perfect three-pointer. I heard the front
door close. I turned around, and Zac was coming towards the driveway. What
does he want? Thock, pwang! bounce, bounce, bounce... The basket
ball hit the backboard, and bounced to the ground.
"Nice shot. NBA material." Zac joked.
"Ha ha." I said, rolling my eyes. He looked around.
It was almost dark.
"Tay told me what happened." He started.
"Oh." I really didn't want to talk about it.
"He said that you both like Arri."
"So?"
"So, why don't you ask her out?"
I stopped to think about that. Why shouldn't I?
Tay treated me like crap just because he likes her. She's too old for him
anyway, almost two years!
"Maybe I will." I said.
"Maybe? Tay'll be mad if you do. That's what he's
expecting."
"So? Who cares if Tay gets mad? He already wants
to kill me now anyway."
"You don't know that."
"Uh, yeah I do. " I took a deep breath. "I'm not
an idiot, I realize that Tay really likes Arri, but the thing is, that
I do too. He's got to learn that he can't always have what he wants. It's
not like he'd have the guts to phone her up and ask her out or anything,
he's only 13."
"Are you afraid that Tay'll try and uh, beat you
up or something?"
"What?! No way!"
"Than, go up there and apologize!"
"No! He yelled at me first! I'm not apologizing
for something that he started!"
"Fine. Then you two can hate each other forever."
Zac said, and went back inside. I sighed, and sat down on the curb. I was
right, wasn't I? Of course! Tay is wrong. He should never go for Arri.
She seems too mature for him anyway. I sat there thinking. About Tay, Zac,
and, of course, Arri.
Chapter 6
Tay's POV
"Clackity clack clack clackity clack clack..." The sound
of my hands typing on the keyboard was the only sound that could be heard
in Zac, Ike's and my room. I liked to work in complete silence. Actually,
what I was doing couldn't really be called work. I was looking around the
chat rooms on the internet.
I hooked into the teen chat in Yahoo! and looked up people's profiles.
There was one girl, Gari69, who seemed to bee the kind of person who'd
listen. I connected to the chat room that she was in and searched for her
name. I found it.
Tayles14 - hey gari69, want to chat?
Gari69 - oki-doky. stats?
Tayles14 - 13 m/oklahoma. you?
Gari69 - 14 turning 15 f/oklahoma. what part are you from?
Tayles14 - Tulsa, you?
Gari69 - Tulsa! way cool! What school do you go to?
Tayles14 - I'm home schooled.
Gari69 - I'm going to roadside high school in a week.
Tayles14 - that's about a 30 minute drive from my house.
Gari69 - cool. what kind of music do you like?
Tayles14 - all different kinds, oldies, spin doctors, counting
crows, everything. you?
Gari69 - silverchair, nirvana. rock mostly. you got anything
you really wanna chat about?
Tayles14 - kinda yeah. this new girl moved in across the street,
and my older brother and i both like her. we got into a big fight earlier
because of it. she's two years older then me, but i really like her.
i dunno what i should do.
Gari69 - i wish that i had two brothers fighting over me! i
think that you should just let her decide who she likes more. if it's your
brother, then that's her decision. if it's you then YAY!:o)
Tayles14 - thanks gari69. see you later. my little pain-in-the-behind
brother wants to use the computer. talk to you later!
Gari69 - bye!
"C'mon Tay! Lemme use it now!" Zac whined. I logged
off and got out of the seat.
"What are you going to do? Play video games?" I
said.
"Yeah." He answered. I shrugged, and sat down on
my bed. I picked up my headphones, and started listening to 'Two Princes',
by Spin Doctors.
Chapter 7
Ike's POV
This is it. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna tell Tay that I'm sorry.
I found him in the T.V. room, watching cartoons.
"Uh, Tay?" I began. He didn't look up.
"What?"
"Uh, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I didn't
mean to say that you'd never have chance with Arri. I'm sorry." He turned
to look at me.
"Thanks. I'm sorry that I, uh, yelled at you. You
can go for Arri if you want. You probably have a better chance with her
anyway."
"I don't want Arri. She's not really my type, anyhow."
"Well, she's too old for me." I smiled.
"Then we'll both stay away from her." I said.
"Okay." He agreed. Good. Everything was back to
normal. Zac soon figured out that we were friends again, and seemed much
more happy.
Chapter 8
Two Months Later
Zac's POV
I heard the doorbell ring, and rushed down to answer it. It could be
Arri. We usually went blading with her and her friends on Saturdays, because
she has school durong the week. Over the past couple of months, we go to
know her better. We weren't best friends or anything, but we wounld hanf
out together on weekends sometimes. Ike and Tay both got over her, and
I had started to think that she was 'okay'. My brothers and I had all gotten
more serious about our music, and had even played at several events around
town, but nothing big.
I got to the door, and opened it to find Arri standing
on the stoop, looking very sad.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"We're moving to England in three days." She said.
"What? Wow. Come in." I moved over to let her in.
We had had a party last week, and I remembered how happy she was.
Playing video games and hanging out. Now she was moving. And to England!
That was pretty far away! I called Tay and Ike downstairs. She told them
the news herself, and how this was probably the last time that she would
see any of us before she left, since she had so much to do. We talked for
about an hour, until she said that she had better go because there was
still so much stuff to pack. We hugged her goodbye, and wished her luck.
She left and we all just sat there.
A few weeks later, she was just a memory, a special
one, but a memory nontheless. We still missed her, and she promised to
write every two months, and we'd write her back. I got the feeling that
I missed her more then Ike and Tay, but I could never be sure. I think
that they thought of her as the girl who almost tore their friendship apart,
but I'd never say that outloud.
Tayles14 - hey Gari69, how's it going?
Gari69 - hi Tayles14! pretty good, you?
Tayles14 - okay. i really have to ask you something. . .
Gari69 - sure, what?
Tayles14 - well, on your Yahoo! profile, it says that you moved
from tulsa to england a few weeks ago. and the girl that lived across the
street, arri, moved a few weeks ago to england so. . .
Gari69 - oh my god! taylor? it's me, arri!
Tayles14 - oh wow! that is really cool!
Gari69 - so it was me that you were talking about you
and your older brother liking?
Tayles14 - uh, i was hoping that you'd forget about that. uh
yeah. but we both decided that it would be better if we both stopped liking
you.
Gari69 - it's good that you managed to resolve your little quarrel.
Tayles14 - yeah. but uh i was wondering. if we had followed
your advice, who would you have chosen?
Gari69 - i really don't know. you were both so nice to me. i
don't think that i could have gone out with either of you. i had a boyfriend
back in oregon, and now i've met this guy, sidney here in london. so i
don't know.
Tayles14 - oh. that's good. well, i'd better go now. . . my
brothers are probably waiting for me downstairs. we hafta practice for
a gig in a couple of weeks.
Gari69 - cool. where are you playing?
Tayles14 - the blue rose cafe. i'm hoping that this will be
our big break.
Gari69 - cool! good luck. see you, or talk to you later!
Tayles14 - yup. bye.
Taylor logged off to tell his brothers the news.