There had been times in the past, as there were times then, that my world seemed ripe with possibility and bliss. One of those times happened that day. I felt happy, serene, enjoyed. I felt like I was somebody. Turning to Zac, without moving my lips at all, I put my arms around him and closed my eyes. He seemed surprised, and I felt him jump a little. But he didn't pull away. He wasn't the type of person to do that to me, and I knew that. Even when he didn't know why, didn't understand what was going on, he was there for me.
"I feel so alive, Zac," I wondered outloud, by accident. He laughed and kept walking. "Well, I hope you feel alive. You haven't felt dead." His voice was playful, but sympathetic at the same time. I could sense that he knew the truth, but just didn't want to face it. I didn't want to argue.
"Hey, can I tell you something?" Abruptly, a powerful wave of strength washed through my body, like lightning. Naturally, I fell into it's trap, unable to resist what felt so right. As I looked into his eyes, I swear we became one being. One soul, one complete person, blending together like two fallen stars on some great journey home. I had never before, in my entire life, connected so well with any human being.
"I really did miss you all of those years. I loved you, as a friend and a person, so deeply, but I also hated you for abandoning me. And, honestly, I'm glad your back. This feels like some absolution I've wanted forever. Thank you. I think you're an angel sometimes, I swear I do." He laughed so tenderly then, closing his eyes and letting my words sink in. "Ah. It's so obvious you're a writer, Abby. Everything you say sounds like it's straight out of some story." I smiled, letting my face feel the sunshine. "I am such a writer. It's all your fault, you know." He eyed me suspiciously, wondering, as always. "Oh yeah?" I cleared my throat. "Yeah." Lowering my voice, I quoted, "Whatever you do, just keep writing. Whether you think it's good, or you think it's bad--just keep writing."
Zac stared at me, shaking his head, astonished. The light in his eyes seemed brighter as he was faced with how much he had truly inspired me. "God, Abby, you are so amazing. I mean, seriously--you have so much life in you. You're just like a little kid. How do you do it?" As I opened my mouth to protest, unable to handle the compliment, I heard a horn honking behind me. Zac and I both spun around, only to see a large silver bus rolling down the street, in our direction.
"Hey, loverbirds!" Jessica Hanson, Zac's beautiful, childlike younger sister, hung out the window. Her river of blond hair, much like her mother's, blew freely in the wind. I could see Taylor and Avery Hanson sitting beside her, and Isaac Hanson, the oldest of the clan, in the driver's seat. I laughed with joy as Jessica pulled out one of the notorious Hanson waterbombs and shot it at Zac. He was soaked, and it was hilarious. He growled playfully and ran at the stalled bus. Isaac threw open the doors and rushed past Zac, outside, to embrace me. He was followed by the other three, who I hadn't seen since the record deal. I hadn't thought I would ever see them again. My family, the family I had craved, was back, at last--I was so happy.
"Hey, Jess, catch!" We all ducked as another waterbomb flew at us, this time hurled by Zac. More and more came at us, and we began catching them and shooting them back at him. Taylor and Isaac were very good at catching them so that they wouldn't break; Jessica and I tried, only to fail and end up with our fronts completely soaked. Avery scurried around us, trying to avoid getting wet. When we ran out of "weapons", the bus was sopping on both the inside and the outside, as were we.
We piled back into the bus and let Isaac drive us back to my house, where we met Reenie, Mackenzie, Mr. and Mrs. Hanson, my parents, and baby Zoe, who I had never seen before.
They weren't very pleased to see me; apparently, as soon as the Hanson family left town, I was grounded for two months. The first month was for staying out until morning last night and scaring my parents half to death, and the second was for not telling them I was leaving the house that morning. They broke the news to me in front of everybody; including Zac, who felt terrible because he had been out later than me and had gotten no punishment whatsoever. I had never before felt so jealous of what Zac had.
Chapter 6-Love
