“Hey! I’m Taylor-“
“I’m Isaac-“
“And I’m Zac.”
“And we’re Hanson,” the three brothers grinned at the camera. I sat on the couch in my living room, watching. I shook my head and exhaled, getting up from the new, hard couch. My sister stayed in her position in the La-Z-Boy chair.
“Where are you going, Corrine?” my sister asked, following me with her eyes.
“To the kitchen.”
“Why?”
“To clean up. Even though mom won’t be back for a few days, we still have to keep the house clean,” I lectured. Serena rolled her eyes, and turned her attention back to the heartthrobs. Serena had been obsessed with them for three years now- ever since “MMMBop”. It got on my nerves. I liked them too, enjoyed their music, and thought they were cute- but she just ruined it.
“Aw, come on! You’re missing it! They’re going to present their new video!” I turned around.
“Really?” I asked suspiciously.
“You bet so!” I ran back over to my spot and watched with amazement. How they did it, I would never know.
Serena and I lived with our mom in Tulsa, Oklahoma. All three of us wished we could somehow bump into Hanson- but it was very unlikely. People had said they were building a new house right next to ours, but we doubted it. We had never seen them there, so how could it be?
The doorbell rang, and I jumped up. Serena kept on watching, and I ran through three rooms just to reach the door. I flung the door open. A lady with long blond hair tied in a braid and a toddler on her hip smiled at me. There was a man standing behind her, smiling an equally big grin, and some more kids were gathering around the man. There must have been at least six of the kids, not to mention two very tall boys, all looking at me. I blushed, as I always did, and smiled back.
“Hey!”
“Hi! We’re your new neighbors. We thought we’d introduce ourselves.”
“Well, welcome to the neighborhood, come on in!” I grinned, opening the door wider and stepping aside. There was something vaguely familiar about the boys, but I shook off the feeling.
“Thanks! I’m Diana Hanson, and this is my husband Walker. This little girl here is Zoë, that’s Mackenzie, that’s Taylor, this is Avery, that’s Zac, and the girl behind Zac is Jessica,” Diana said, pointing out all of the kids to me. I was right- it was the Hanson’s. I heard Serena yelling, and I motioned for the Hanson’s to follow me into the living room. There were just enough couches in there. As soon as Serena saw we had company, she clicked off the TV and stood up. I prayed to God she wouldn’t scream or faint, or one of the kids ask to see Serena’s room. I gave Serena a warning look, as the Hanson family sat down on the couches. Serena and I sat next to each other on some chairs.
“So, when did you guys move over to the street?”
“Well, we’ve had people move our stuff and just recently we got situated. But those two,” Diana pointed to Zac and Taylor. “And my oldest son have just got back to Tulsa yesterday.”
“Really? Where’d you guys go?” I asked Taylor and Zac, giving them a warm smile. My head was exploding, and I was afraid my heart would jump out of my neck. Serena sat next to me with huge eyes.
“All over. Have you heard of the band Hanson?” Taylor asked casually. Serena started nodding furiously, and I laughed.
“Yeah, we’ve been in Brazil promoting.”
“Brazil, wow!”
“Yeah, it was pretty cool,” Zac nodded, starting to chuckle at Serena, who had sunk lower in her seat, her eyes growing bigger every word the two spoke.
“Where are your parents?” Diana asked kindly.
“Our mom is in New York, and my dad doesn’t live here.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. What does your mom do?”
“She’s a photographer. Her name is Joanne Roth.”
“Joanne? Oh my word, we went to school together!” Diana exclaimed. I smiled, and Serena’s eyes kept on growing. I nudged her, and Taylor and Zac couldn’t keep their laughter inside any longer. Obviously they found Serena’s reaction to them sitting on our couch humongously funny. I joined their laughter, and Serena’s face went the shade of wine.
“Now what is your name, dear?” Diana asked me once I had subsided to giggles.
“I’m Corrine, and that’s Serena.” I looked over at Zac and Taylor, and noticed Taylor mouthing my name. I smiled at him and he blushed furiously, hiding it by staring up at the ceiling.
“How old are you?” Jessica asked with a smile playing on her lips.
“I’m seventeen.”
“Taylor’s age,” Avery nodded. I smiled.
“How old are you?” Zac asked, looking directly at Serena. He had the hots for Serena, if I was reading his actions correctly, and I laughed inside my head, wondering how Serena would react if she could tell. Serena’s eyes became almost impossibly large, and I couldn’t help it any longer. I cracked up, and covered my mouth. Taylor laughed along with me.
“She’s fifteen,” I said when I realized Serena wasn’t going to be talking. I chuckled, and asked if they wanted anything to drink.
“Oh no, we need to get going. But we just thought we’d come by and introduce ourselves.”
“Okay! If you ever want to stop by feel free,” I smiled. Everyone got up and walked to the door. I noticed Taylor and Zac lingering.
“Hey, you guys want to stay and do something?” I asked the two. Serena glared at me.
“Sure, if that’s okay with our parents. I think they could do with out us tonight,” Taylor smiled, then called to his mom, who was already half way down the porch. She turned and looked at her seventeen-year-old son.
“Mom, can Zac and I stay?” Diana nodded, said good-bye to Serena, her two boys, and me then continued on down the path. I shut the door and looked at Taylor and Zac.
“Are you guys hungry?” Taylor and Zac looked at each other.
“Yup!” Zac grinned. Serena seemed to come out of her little world and shifted her eyes between Taylor and Zac.
“I, um, I love your guys’, um, uh, new song.”
“Thanks!” Taylor smiled. Zac put his arm around Serena and gave her a little half-hug. Serena just about turned blue. Zac loved what he was doing. Taylor’s face turned red keeping the laughter inside, as did mine and I managed to tell them I would be in the kitchen without bursting out into another fit of laughter. Taylor followed me, and once inside the kitchen, we both broke down laughing. I doubled over and shook my head, as if throwing up the merciless giggles. Taylor sat down on the linoleum and kept on laughing. As soon as I calmed down, I rushed over to the cupboard and opened it.
“What do you have in mind?” I asked the now standing, but still chuckling Taylor.
“What do you have?”
“What do you want?”
“How about chips.”
“We have Doritos, Lays, and Tim’s Chips.”
“Um… Doritos.”
“Okay.” I handed him the Doritos, and shut the cupboard. I turned around and faced Taylor.
“Are you ready?” I asked with a smirk.
“I think…” We walked out of the kitchen and to the living room, where Serena and Zac had seated themselves. It was such a hilarious sight: Serena was squashed up at one end of the couch, and Zac had plopped himself down, right next to her. Before we were noticed, Taylor and I spun right around, and ran back to the kitchen to laugh some more.
“Oh my God, that is so funny… and your brother is just basking in it!” I laughed. Taylor nodded his head.
“He loves doing that to fans.”
“Yeah, I bet…”
“So, how big of a fan is… Karina?”
“Serena. She’s a pretty big fan… actually; she used to be so obsessed with Zac! She claimed she was going to marry him! So this is so funny… I’m surprised she isn’t trying to make out with him!” Taylor laughed.
“That reaction is common. Just wait for the shock to wear off.”
“Oh my god, when you guys leave she will never let up about Zac. Even if I lock myself in my room and stuff the cracks with blanket and plug my ears, I will still be able to hear her!” I laughed.
“So this is what it’s like at a fans house. So what about you? Are you a fan?” Taylor sat down on a stool, and looked at me curiously.
“Yes, I like your music, but I got seriously annoyed with MMMBop because of your future sister-in-law in there!” I cracked. Taylor laughed and shook his head.
“What about the new stuff?”
“Oh yeah, I really like your new album! It's really good!”
“Thanks. I’m glad you like it.” Taylor smiled at me, then stood up. “Shall we go back?”
“Yeah, I guess.” Taylor and I strolled back out for the second time to see a different placement of Zac and Serena. Serena was rolled up in a ball in one of the chairs, staring at Zac with a mixture of amazement and shock. Zac, you could tell, was bathing in the shocked state my sister was in, and loved every minute. He was gazing around the room. As soon as we entered the room, Zac turned around and wiggled his eyebrows at us. Taylor rolled his eyes and I smiled at him.
“What did you guys get?” Zac asked, searching for food.
“Doritos,” Taylor sighed, tossing the bag to his hungry brother. “You realize you will probably never see those chips again.”
“Yeah, well, that’s kind of how it is with Serena. I’m surprised there were any!” Serena glared at me and stood up, walking over to me. Taylor situated himself on one of the other couches after grabbing some chips out of Zac’s hands. Serena pulled me into the kitchen.
“Why did you do that?” she hissed.
“Do what?” I put on my innocent face and shrugged my shoulders. I went back over to the cupboard the chips came out of and opened it.
“Invite them to stay!”
“It was the polite thing to do,” I replied, grabbing two more bags of chips.
“No, it wasn’t to me! He’s terrorizing me!”
“’He’, meaning Zac?”
“Yes!”
“Sari, he’s not terrorizing you, he’s teasing you!”
“He sat on me!” she insisted.
“You gave him a reason to tease you, and he took it!”
“Tease?”
“Well, it’s more like flirting. But if you’d treat him like a regular person, he might be a little, um, calmer.”
“This is Zac Hanson we’re talking about. Over half the girl population wants him!”
“I realize that. That doesn’t make him not a person.” Serena scoffed, and stalked out of the kitchen, taking one of the bags of chips from my hands. I shook my head and sighed. I followed Serena with the latter bags of chips, and walked over to Taylor.
“Here ya’ go. Eat up. Hey, do you guys want to order pizza?” I asked, looking around at the three. Taylor nodded his head, his mouth full of chips, and patted the couch for me to sit down. I took the offer and picked up the phone once Serena and Zac had clarified their answer. I ordered the pizza and hung up. Taylor looked at me confused.
“You have the pizza place on your speed dial?”
“Yeah. Mom leaves a lot for her work, and we’re left alone. You think we’re going to cook? Better think again!” I laughed. Taylor chuckled, and continued eating chips.
“I really like your new album. It's great,” Serena smiled. Taylor and Zac looked amazed to hear her talk to them like normal people. I winked at her.
“Thanks.”
“No problem.”
“Hey…” Taylor looked at Zac, and Zac exchanged the glance. “You guys want to hear a part of one of our songs?”
“Sure… which one?” I asked, getting excited.
“Wish That I Was There… it won’t sound full, because Ike isn’t here…”
“Where is he?”
“Off visiting his girlfriends house!” Zac grinned. Taylor glared at him.
“Oops…” Zac concluded.
“He has a girlfriend?” Serena asked, alarmed.
“Yes, but please don’t tell anybody!” Taylor pleaded, shooting a deadly look at Zac. Serena and I agreed.
“But, if he has a girlfriend,” Serena started, and then paused when I shot her a look. “Nevermind.”
“I know what you’re asking. We tell people we’re single because they’ll want to know who it is, and then they’ll stalk her. It’s just easier to tell people we’re single.”
“But that’s lying!”
“Serena, quit it!” I frowned at my little sister, hoping she’d quit prodding.
“No, it’s okay. Look at it this way. How would you feel if, um, Zac had a girlfriend? You would want to get rid of her, right? Well, we wouldn’t want to get rid of her, so… You see what I’m saying?” Taylor explained. Serena nodded slowly, keeping eye contact with Taylor.
“And the question gets a little annoying!”
“Oh, sorry…”
“Nah… it’s okay.”
“So, do you guys want to play a game or something?” I asked, looking around at the three. Taylor looked at me with his eyebrows raised, and was about to say something, but his little brother beat him to it.
“Do you have any video games?”
“Um, a Nintendo 64.”
“What games?” Zac asked, with an interested look on his face.
“We have a Basketball game, that Bandicoot thingy, Mario Cart, and Mario Party. That’s all I can think of at least.”
“Cool, can we play?” Zac asked with a smile.
“Fine with me.” Zac got up and looked around for the machine, spotted it, and sat down.
“So, who’s the video game freak in your family?” Taylor asked me teasingly, and smiled.
“Serena. She plays all the time and always wants new games and new systems, or whatever they’re called,” I laughed. Serena had settled down next to Zac, not too close, but still not too far away, and was working on plugging the system into the TV. Taylor and I watched, as Serena started melting and even started to flirt with Zac.
“What’s it like to be famous?” I asked Taylor, with my head cocked to one side. He slowly looked at me and inhaled deeply. His eyes seemed to laugh, the blues looking amazingly happy. He smiled at me and sighed again.
“We’re not famous… But if you mean what’s it like to have girls always running after you and screaming in your face, it’s okay. I mean, it kind of is bad for our ears ‘n all. I don’t know. It has its good points. We just like playing the music.”
“I know what you mean,” I chuckled.
“What?”
“Playing music. That’s practically the only thing I do besides… school,” I explained, looking down at my hands.
“What instrument do you play?”
“Piano, or the keyboards, electric organ, guitar, acoustic and electric, drums, and vocal chords. I used to play viola but… it got old.”
“Cool. Are you in a band?”
“I used to be, used to be. About four years ago. We broke up after like, six months!” I laughed. Taylor laughed along with me, and looked at me curiously, for the second time that night.
“Did you, or do you, write your own music?”
“Yeah! Do you- well, I know you do!” I bonked my head jokingly and Taylor laughed. All of a sudden a shriek came from Serena.
“No! You! I was so close to killing you and you killed me! How could you?”
Zac howled with laughter. “Mwahahahahahaha! You will never escape me, my pretty!” Zac crowed. Serena shook her head and laughed.
“Oh well, just wait until the second round!” she threatened. Taylor and I rolled our eyes at each other. The doorbell rang and I ran to the door, grabbing my purse along the way. It was the pizza guy, as I suspected. I paid for the pizzas, and when the pizza guy was satisfied with his tip and halfway to his car, I shut the door and took the pizzas to the living room.
“Pizza!” Zac yelled, and scrambled to shut off the Nintendo. He ran over to me with Serena trailing him, and started to grab a pizza box, but I turned around quickly.
“Not so fast, pizza boy. I need to get plates and napkins otherwise I’ll be in the doghouse the moment mom comes home.” Zac scowled and walked sluggishly back to his previous spot on the couch, and Serena followed me.
"Corrine! You could’ve just let him have the pizza!” Serena whispered to me, more hissed, as we made our way to the kitchen.
“Remember the last time we had pizza without plates and napkins? Don’t you remember? I paid for that couch because YOU and what’s-his-face couldn’t control your pizza hormones! I don’t want that to happen again!”
“His name was Will, and dropping the pizza was an accident!” Serena insisted.
“Oh well, it’s a lost cause.”
“And, that is ZAC HANSON! Zac Hanson is in our living room right this very second, hungry for pizza! And what do you do? Make sure that-“
“I don’t have to pay for another couch. You know I’m saving up for college!”
“Everything is always about college for you! When was the last time you bought a CD?”
“I don’t know. And I don’t care. Just because I have an ambition doesn’t give you the right to make fun of me. Okay? So let’s quit bickering,” I got down the plates. “And go have fun. Deal?” I stuck out my hand from the bottom of the plates. Serena grabbed my hand.
“Deal.”