They landed safely. From the plane window, August could see the large mass of girls that had showed up for Hanson's arrival. She turned to Isaac, who was still cleaning the Whip Cream from his face. Taylor had moved next to her to avoid a beating from Isaac.
Taylor turned to her.
"You ready?"
"I guess"
"here" he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small plastic bag
"Whats this?"
"Earplugs, you'll need them"
"Ok, thanks Tay"
"Anytime"
They smiled at each other. "Maybe he doesn't hate me" thought August.
The pilot told them that he was going to open the door to the tunnel. Mr and Mrs Hanson and they younger kids went out first. Once they were safely through the tunnel, and into the gate, the boys and August started down the tunnel. They reached the gate and were greeted by about 2 hundred screaming girls. They all waved and hurried through. They were almost out of the roped off area, when a guard grabbed August.
"Where do you think you're going little lady?"
"I'm with them!"
"That's what they all say, get back behind the rope!"
"But sir!!"
"No, you stay there with all the other fans."
"Taylor!!! She yelled"
He didn't hear her. He kept walking with Zac and Isaac. August continued to yell. She yelled until she couldn't see them anymore. She started to cry.
--------------------
"Hey August?" asked Taylor
"August?"
He turned around, expecting August to be following him. She wasn't there.
"Mom! Dad! Guys! Stop!!!!"
"Tay? Honey, whats the matter?"
"August is gone!!"
"Oh dear. Tay, go back and see if she's still at the gate. Be careful" called Diana.
Taylor started running as fast as he could back to the gate. When he returned, he was greeted with Squeals and screams. He quickly glanced around for August. Then, he saw her. She was behind the ropes, crying.
"August!" he yelled
She looked up. She lifted the rope and tried to get to him, but the guard stopped her.
"What did I tell you? Stay behind the rope!"
He pushed her back behind the rope. Taylor saw this and got extremely mad. He stomped over to the rope and grabbed August's wrist. He started to pull her under the rope. Again, the guard stopped her.
"Miss, you don't follow directions do you?"
Then he saw the hand on her wrist. He looked up.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Mr. Hanson! I'm sorry sir, This young lady got out from behind the ropes..."
"No. She wasn't supposed to be behind the ropes in the first place. She's with us. I suggest you treat these girls in a respectful manner, sir. Do you hear me?" demanded Taylor
"Yes Mr. Hanson, I'm sorry, it won't happen again."
"Yes, see that it doesn't, or I'll be speaking with your supervisor"
"Yes sir. Miss, I apologize."
August nodded. Taylor continued pulling her through the rope and pulled her into a hug.
"I'm sorry" he whispered.
"Its not your fault Tay"
"Not just this, everything"
They pulled away from each other.
"Tay, its ok. I should be sorry. I shouldn't have run away from you yesterday."
"August?"
"Yes Tay?"
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure"
"Ok," he took a deep breath "will you be my girlfriend?" His face turned bright pink
"Of course, Tay, Thank you."
He sighed with relief and smiled. They embraced again and left, hand in hand, leaving the fans and the guard stunned.
---------------------
They hurried through the airport, and out to the car. They jumped in. Taylor looked over to Zac and Isaac, each had a curious look. Taylor just grinned and nodded. Isaac smiled and Zac started laughing hysterically.
"Shut Up Zac"
It continued like that until they got to the hotel. It was huge. It had a doorman and everything. There were people lined up behind ropes, just like Hollywood premieres. The Hansons stepped out of the car and were greeted by screams. Taylor took August's hand and pulled her out of the car. The walked into the hotel.
The rooms were huge! There were two suites. One was for Mr & Mrs Hanson, Jessica, Avery, and Mackenzie. The second suite was for August, Taylor, Isaac and Zac. There were four bedrooms, with a bathroom connecting every two, a common room, a small kitchen and a bathroom. The common room had a balcony that overlooked Central Park.
Once they got into the room, each scrambled to a bedroom. Isaac and Zac ended up sharing a bathroom, which left August and Taylor sharing one. After August got settled in, she wondered out to the common room and turned on the TV. She flipped through until she found something interesting. She clicked it to channel 7, which had a picture of a crashed plane. She kept it there.
"There are few survivors.........." said the TV anchorman.
"Oh man" muttered August
"Again, the flight was delayed about an hour and a half because of technical difficulties in the control tower. The plane crashed in central Illinois, on its way to the O'Hare Airport in Chicago."
"Where in Illinois did it crash?" she whispered
"Again, the plane, which was flight 889 from Tulsa International to Chicago's O'Hare Airport. For a list of survivors, please call this 800 number."
"NO!!!" August screamed.
She started crying hysterically as she punched in the numbers of the 800 number. The list was read off. Julie's name was not read.
"NO!!!" she screamed again. Taylor rushed into the room
"August whats wrong?!?"
"No" she whimpered
"Babe, what happened?!?"
She looked up at Taylor. She reached for him and he pulled her into his arms and she cried into his shoulder.
"She's gone Tay"
"Who's gone August?"
"Julie"
"What?"
"Lll..look..look at the TV Tay"
Taylor turned and watched the news report. After hearing the report, held August tighter and began to cry himself. By this point, he and August were collapsed on the couch, crying. The shoulder of Taylor's shirt was wet from August's crying, but he didn't care. He kissed her forehead.
"Its gonna be ok, I promise"
He held her tight. Isaac and Zac wandered in to find out what the commotion was all about. They were met with Tay and August on the couch, August crying hysterically, Tay's eyes watering.
"Man, who died?" asked Zac, meaning it as a joke.
Taylor's eyes got wide right away and August cried even harder.
"Julie" Taylor mouthed.
"How?" mouthed Isaac back
Taylor tilted his head towards the TV, where the news report was still playing.
"Oh man" whispered Isaac. "I'll be right back"
He ran out of the room and across the hall to his parents' room. He pounded on the door until someone answered
"Ike, honey, whats all the pounding for?!?" answered Diana as she threw the door open.
"Turn on the news, channel 7." he said
"Walker, turn on channel 7, quick"
Walker quickly flipped it to channel 7, where the report was still going.
"889, that was, Oh My God...."
Diana rushed out of the room and into the other suite. She hurried into the common room, where August was crying into Taylor's arms. He was stroking her hair, and trying to calm her down.
"Father" Diana whispered "Please give us all strength during these hard times. Thank You, Amen"
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Index
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