At 4:45, I saw Zac come into the theater. He was talking to a girl that looked much like Joana and Nicole. Then I realized that the girl was Hillary.
“Hey, Zac, over here!” I shouted.
He waved, and started coming towards us.
Joana turned and saw Hillary. “Hey, Hill, over here!” she shouted from beside me.
She walked over with a confused look on her face. “What’s going on, guys?”
“Well, it’s a wicked long story. We’ll tell you the major details later. But it all started when Joana knocked Taylor over while looking for Abbie.. Don’t ask how.. I wasn’t here to see it. But she became friends w/ them, and Zac went home w/ Ike. Ike came back right after I joined them. Then, we went on our own for awhile. Ike and I are together, and so are Joana and Tay.” Zac and Hillary’s eyes grew wide. “And Joana got rid of Dave, and we saw Nick. It’s been an interesting day” Nicole said.
“I’ll say! That’s awesome guys! I am wicked happy for you!” Hillary said.
“Yeah, really. That is soo cool! I am glad that Tay finally has a girl, so now he can’t complain anymore.”
I hit him playfully. “Yeah, well now I’ll be even worse. I’m in love, and you’ll get tired of me and my romance stuff so fast you won’t know what hit you.”
He laughed. “So, I guess that’s Nicole. And Hillary and I met outside. So, everybody knows everybody now. Let’s party!”
Hillary laughed along with him. Even though they’ve only know each other for 5 minutes, I could tell that there was something between them. Almost like an instant attraction. They didn’t seem to notice yet, but I can only imagine what’ll happen when they do.
**********************************************************************
Hours have passed. It is now about midnight. I was completely exhausted. I have walked so much today. But we can’t stop ‘till we find Zac and Hillary. They didn’t show up at our meeting spot for 11:30. We are all worried.
“I swear, if I have to walk around this park one more time, I’ll scream!” I said. “Where the hell could they be?!?!?!”
“Don’t worry. They have to be somewhere. Who knows, maybe Nic and Ike have found them and are about to page us,” Tay said, trying to calm me.
That’s when I saw them. The little brats were hiding in a dark corner - making out!
“Tay, look! There they are!”
Tay followed my gaze. “Shit! I was right! I knew that he’d fall for her!”
I was pissed. “I don’t care if they hooked up or not! I have been worried sick and my feet are killing me!” I exclaimed.
“Come on. At least they’re ok. Just let it go. Just think, that gives me an excuse to carry you to the car.”
He was right. Besides, I can’t stay mad at Hill. She supported me so much last year. “Ok, I’ll let it go. But only because I can’t stay mad at my sister. And you helped to convince me, too.” I kissed him quickly.
“So, who’s going to get the two lovebirds?” Tay asked.
“Let’s go together.” I said.
Tay and I walked hand in hand to the dark corner where Hillary and Zac were... well... you know. Tay cleared his throat.
Hillary screamed, and jumped about ten feet. Zac was startled, too.
“We’ve been looking all over for you for the past half hour. We were worried sick! We’re going home now. You guys have a lot of explaining to do on the way home.” I said, holding back my anger.
Hillary looked as if she were about to cry, but then again, she had this sort of smile on her face. “I’m so sorry, Joana... It’s just....”
“Don’t worry about it, Hill... I was just scared. After all, what would I do with out my Hillary? I’d be lost!”
She smiled. “Ok... But, um...”
“No time for explanations. The park is closing in 10 minutes. I’ll page Nicki. I’ll tell them to meet us at Big Ben.” Tay ran to a phone, and paged Nicki, and ran back to us.
“Let’s go!” I took Tay’s hand, and we were off.
**********************************************************************
The four of us reached Big Ben, and Joana collapsed. “I am SO tired! I don’t think I can walk anymore!” she mumbled.
I laughed. “Don’t worry. Here come Nicole and Isaac now. We’ll be in the car soon. Besides, I already said that I am going to carry you.. Not that I mind.” I kissed her forehead.
“Hey, guys! Where were you?” Ike asked Hillary and Zac.
“Uh.. we... um...” Zac stuttered. Hillary just blushed.
“It’s a long story. We’ll talk in the car.” I told Ike.
“Ok. Let’s go!” Nicole took Ike’s hand, and they were off. Zac and Hillary followed, hand in hand as well.
“Let’s go. We don’t want to be stuck too long in traffic.” Joana said, as she took my hand and started to walk.
“Ok. Let’s go.” I out my arm around her, and kissed her forehead.
“You know,” she said, “you know so little about me! I bet you don’t even know what my favorite thing to do is.”
“I bet you’re right. But let me try and figure it out. I figure that I know you well enough to guess.” I thought for a minute.
She started to hum. I listened very closely. She was humming a song I had never heard before, but it was beautiful. “Let me guess.... You love music.”
“Yeah, doesn’t everyone? What about music? I’ll give you a hint. It takes talent.”
“You sing?” I said.
“Yeah! It’s my life! I’ve loved singing for as long as I can remember! So does Nic. She’s an Alto, and I’m a Soprano, so we always sing together.”
Wow. I never knew. “That is so cool! I have a girlfriend that can really understand me more that I thought! Let me hear you sing!”
She blushed. “Ok... But I’m really shy. I know this is an overplayed song, but here it goes:
I thought I saw a man brought to life
He was warm, he came around like he was dignified
He showed me what it was to cry.
Well, you couldn’t be that man that I adore
You don’t seem to know, seem to care what your heart is for
I don’t know him anymore.
There’s nothing where he used to lie.
Conversation has run dry.
That’s what’s going on,
Nothing’s fine, I’m torn.
I’m all out of faith,
This is how I feel.
I’m cold and I am shamed,
Lying naked on the floor.
Illusion never changed
Into something real.
I’m wide awake
And I can see
The perfect sky is torn.
You’re a little late,
I’m already torn.”
She stopped, blushed, and smiled. Wow. Her voice was like an angel. I couldn’t speak. “I........ Uh...... Wow....”
“Was it that bad?” she asked, obviously putting herself down.
“NO!!!!!! It’s just that I don’t know what to say. You’re amazing! Beyond amazing. More like heavenly!”
Her face turned bright pink. “Thanks... I didn’t think I was that good.”
“Yeah, right. You know you’re good. You just don’t think anyone else will think so. Well, SNAP OUT OF IT!!! I say that you are good, and that’s that!”
“The almighty Taylor Hanson has spoken!” Joana laughed.
“How long have you been singing?” I asked her.
She paused, thinking. “Well, Nic and I have been singing together for as long as I can remember. Mom says that we started singing before we began talking. All I know is that my whole life has been singing. I have wanted to be a singer ever since I was two or three. I know that my dream will never die. It’s been 13 or 14 years.”
“Wow! That’s a long time! What are you going to do?”
She looked at me. “I don’t know. This past year, Nic and I wanted to get an agent, but then....” She stopped.
“Go on, Joana. What is it?”
******************************************************************************
I let the past year run through my head. The dreams, the chances. The sorrows, regrets, and pain. I don’t know if I want Tay to know everything yet. I only met him today. I don’t want to totally freak him out. “Well, it’s a long story. I will summarize. There were some problems. I was unhappy, and I had no joy, no desire. Nicole and I fought all the time. She wanted to get a record deal, and, believe me, so did I, but I just didn’t have the energy to go through with it. So, our agent told us to come find him when everyone wanted it. Nicole was pissed. Hillary understood, though. She stood by me the whole time, knowing and understanding my pain,” I stopped, hoping that I wasn’t telling too much. His eyes told me that it was ok to go on. “After that, Nicole and I promised never to hide anything from eachother. She forgave me, and we are close still, but I feel like we are growing apart.”
He didn’t know what to say. He just walked alongside me, holding my hand, saying nothing. “I really don’t know what to say. I wish that I could make all of your pain disappear, but I can’t.”
“No, you can’t. But you can help by loving me for who I am. Just do what you have been doing all day. That’s all you need to do to help. Just love me.” I smiled at him.
He stopped. “I will. I will always love you. No matter what happens.” He kissed me.
“Guys! The car is right there! Let’s go!” Came the bellow of Zac.
Tay and I looked at eachother, and walked hand in hand to the car in front of us.
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