‘Alright Guys..Itz Now Or Never...Are You Ready?’ Ike Asked Nervously. ‘As Ready As
I’ll Ever Be’ Zac Said Quietly. ‘Tay? You Ready?’ Tay Looked At Ike Sad And
Dismayed. ‘Yeah..Lets Do It..’ They Called A Press Conference To Say Something
Important. It Was Going To Be Televised But No Fans Were To Be There. Of Course,
A Couple Couldnt Bear Not Being There, So There Was About 20-30 Girls Outside.
Usually, That Would Be A Small Number For The Boys, But Under The Circumstances,
They Didnt Want To See Even One Girl. ‘Alright Boys. Mic Check’s Done..Are You All
Ready?’ Walker Asked. They All Nodded. Taylor Was Afraid If He Spoke, He’d Cry. It
Was The Same For All 3 Boys. They Got They’re Cue And Walked Out. The Press
Were Snapping Pictures Like This Was A Press Conference About A New CD Or
Something, If Only They Knew Tay Thought. They Took They’re Seats And Isaac
Cleared His Throat. ‘As You All Know..We’ve Assembled Here To Announce
Something Of Great Importance. My Brothers, Taylor 17, Zac 15 And Myself 20, Have
Decided As One That It Would Be Best For Us To Take A Leave Of Absence From
Music.’ The Press Went Crazy And Started Asking Questions Left Right And Center.
They Had Agreed On No Questions Because It Would Be Too Hard, But As Ike Started
To Tell Them This, Tay Picked Someone In The Front Row With His Hand Up. ‘Yes?’
He Asked. Ike And Zac Looked At Him Funny. The Man Stood Up With His Pad Of
Paper And A Pen And Said, ‘I’d Like To Ask The Question On Everyones Mind And
Tongue. Why?’ He Sat Back Down. ‘Well, At Our Ages, Especially Zac’s, Dealing With
This, The Fans, The Traveling, The Stress..Itz All Very Hard. Were Not Sure If We’ll Be
Back, And We Know That We’ll Loose A Ton Of Fans, And Respect From People If We
Do Decide To Come Back, But Itz Something We Feel We Need To Do, And We Hope
We Have Your Support.’ For A Second, It Was Silence. Tay Got A Little Nervous At
What He Said Until One Reporter Stood Up And Said, ‘Mr.Hanson? Is This Really
Because Of That? Or Do You Feel Success Has Gone To Your Head And You Need A
Reality Check?’ He Sat Back Down. ‘Listen, We Agreed On No Questions. But Tay
Was Right To Answer Why. You Deserve That. But Thats It..No More Questions
Please..’ Ike Said Standing Up. As The Boys Walked Out, Questions Were Shot At
Them, Pictures Were Taken And The Three Blond Brothers From Tulsa Oklahoma,
Who Had Once Taken Over The Music Scene, Left. When They Got Backstage It Was
Quiet, Which Was Very Unusual For Right After A Press Conference, Usually There
Was People Everywhere Talking All At The Same Time. The Hanson Family Piled Into
The Minivan After Signing The Little Mob Of Girls Autographs. All The Girls Were
Crying Because They Heard About The News. The Boys Thanked Them For Coming
And Apologized For Cutting It Short But They Had To Go. The Drive Home Was Quiet,
The Hansons Had Gotten A Baby-sitter For The Younger 4, Because They’re
Questions Might Be Too Much For Ike, Tay And Zac.’Who Wants A Double Double For
Dinner?’ Diana Asked Trying To Liven They’re Spirits. ‘Sounds Good Mom..’ Tay Said
Also Trying. They Pulled In The Restaurant And All Piled Out. Zac Walked Slow
Behind Everyone. ‘OH MY GOSH! THATS ZAC HANSON!’ He Heard Someone Behind
Him Yell. The Girl Walked Over And Shakily Approached Him. ‘Hi, I’m Really Really
Sorry To Be Rude, Especially Because Your Going To Eat, But My Friend And I Are
Here From Canada And We Were Just Wondering If We Could Get A Quick
Autograph, We Really Love You’re Music...’ The Girl Asked. ‘Sure, Why Not? How
Come There’s Not More Fans Like You Guys?’ Zac Asked As The Other Girl
Approached Them. ‘If There Was, We Prolly Would Keep Doing Music..’ He Took The
Girls CD Insert And Sharpie Marker. ‘Keep Doing Music?’ She Asked Confused. ‘What
Do Ya Mean?’ Her Friend Asked. ‘You Didnt See The Press Conference?’ He Asked
Taking The Other Girls Insert. ‘No..’ They Said In Unison. ‘We’ve Decided To Stop..For
A While..Even Though We Do Risk Loosing Fans And Respect If We Decide To Come
Back, Itz For The Best.’ He Handed Back Both Inserts To The Girls Who Had Tears In
They’re Eyes. ‘Well You Wont Loose Us..We’ll Be Waiting And Hoping..’ One Girl Said,
Voice Cracking. ‘Well..Thanks..That Means Alot!’ Zac Smiled. ‘Could We Please Have
A Hug Before You Go?’ One Girl Asked. ‘Sure, What The Hell..Yawl Werent Like
Screaming In My Ear And Look, 5 Minutes Without Someone Telling Me They Wanna
Rape Me!’ He Said. ‘I Hate People Like That, Itz Awful...We Both Think If You Love A
Band As Much As People, As Well As Ourselves Love A Band, You Respect Them As
People, Not Objects..’ Zac Smiled At Her. ‘That Really Means Alot, It’ll Be People Like
You Two That We Come Back For..’ Zac Said As He Gave Both Girls Hugs. ‘Well,
Thanks For The Autographs And Hugs..And Sorry For Keeping You From You’re
Dinner..’ One Said. ‘One Sec, I’ll Go Get Tay And Ike And You Can Meet Them Too..’
Zac Said Cheery. ‘Naw, Itz Alright, You 3 Have Had A Rough Day, And They Prolly
Wanna Eat..’ One Said. Zac Smiled, ‘Naw, The Wont Mind..One Sec..Dont Move..’ Zac
Ran Into In And Out And Came Back A Spilt Second Later With His Two Oldest
Brothers. Ike And Tay Smiled At The Girls. Zac Had Explained Everything One The
Way Out And Over. ‘Hey!’ Ike Said To Both The Girls. ‘How Are You Girls Doin?’ Tay
Asked. ‘Good..We’d Ask How Your Doing, But We Know You’ve Had A Rough
Day..And Were Really Sorry About The News Of Not Doing Music Anymore..’ One Girl
Said. ‘Oh Thats No Problem...Were Dealing...Im Sorry, Zac Never Told Us Your
Names!’ Ike Said. ‘Thats Because We Never Told Him, I’m Lyndsay And This Iz Laura!’
Lyndsay Smiled. ‘Hey!’ Laura Chimed! They All Smiled. ‘Sooo..You Wanted Some
Autographs?’ Tay Asked. ‘Trying To Get Rid Of Us Already Tay?’ Laura Joked. ‘Noo..I
Just Dont Wanna Keep You All Waiting!’ He Said, Taking Her Seriously. ‘Tay, Dude,
She Was Kidding!’ Zac Clarified For Him. Tay Went Quiet..It Was Cute. The Girls
Handed Ike And Tay They’re CD Inserts And Markers And When Each One Signed It
And Handed It Back Zac Said, ‘No Hugs? Oh Nevermind..You Just Wanted ME To Hug
You Cause Im Hot Right?’ The Girls Laughed. ‘Damn Laur, He Guessed It!’ Lyndsay
Joked. ‘Yea Right..Your Not The Heartthrob Zac..Tay Iz!’ Laura Joked. ‘Of Course We
Wanna Hug The Hanson Heartthrob!’ They Laughed. ‘Hey What About Me? I’m A Nice
Lovable Guy..Come On!’ Ike Said. ‘Awwwe..Of Course We Wanna Hug Ike!’ Lyndsay
Said Holding Her Arms Out To Him. They Hugged Them And Zac Stood With His Arms
Waiting For Another One. ‘Aw, Lookit That Lynds, He Thinks We Want Him!’ Laura
Joked Around.Zac Started To Pout And Lyndsay, Being The Zac Fan She Was,
Couldnt Resist! ‘Awwwww’ She Said, Reaching Out And Hugging Him Again. ‘OH
PICTURES!’ Laura Said. ‘Could We Jus Get A Couple Pictures Then I Swear We’ll Let
Yawl Get Back Inside.’ ‘Sure, No Problem!’ Ike Said. They Took A Couple Pictures And
Said They’re Goodbyes. The Boys Walked Into The Resturant To Meet Up With
They’re Parents. ‘Did You Guys Know Them?’ Walker Asked. ‘Naw, Some Super Nice
Fans..Dad They Werent Like Spazy Or Anything! They Were SO Nice!’ Zac Said
Enthusiasticly. ‘Wow Zac..You Havent Smiled In Like A Week...They Must Have Been
Nice..’ Diana Said Smiling. ‘No...They Just Had Big Boobs!’ Ike Muttered Under His
Breath. Tay Laughed And Walker Said, ‘What Was That Ike?’ He Or Diana Had
Honestly Not Heard Him. ‘I Said They Uh..They Were Nice Girls!’ Ike Smiled. ‘Aw,
Thats Good!’ Walker Said. ‘Im Happy Yawl Have Seen That Not All Fans Are Crazy!’
‘Most Of Them Are!’ Zac Chimed In. They All Finished They’re Dinner And Piled Back
Into The Van. When They Got Back To The House, The Younger Kids Had Already
Been Fed. Walker Drove The Baby-sitter Home And Paid Her. Ike, Tay And Zac Went
Up To They’re Room And All Sat Down. Ike Went On The Computer, Zac Sat At His
Lego And Tay Laid On His Bed And Picked Up His Half Finished Book. Zacs Cell
Phone Rang And He Grabbed It Right Away. ‘Hello?’ He Asked Excitedly. ‘Yeah One
Sec..Gimme Like 5 Minutes To Change...I’ll Be RIGHT There..Dont Leave!’ He Hung
Up And Ran To They’re Closet And Grabbed A Shirt And Some Pants Off The Floor
And Ran Into The Bathroom. He Changed And When He Walked Back Into The Room,
Tay And Ike Were Staring At Him. ‘What? I Gotta Go Out!’ He Said. ‘Jesus Zac, You
Dont Have To Bite Our Heads Off..No One Said Nothing, We Werent Questioning
You!’ Ike Said Defensively. ‘Yeah I’ll Bet..And Anyways, Like You Should Talk About
Biting Heads Off..Your The Jerk That Yells At Everyone For Anything!’ Zac Said
Yelling. ‘Like When Zac?’ Ike Said Just As Loud. ‘My God Isaac! ZOE Picked Up Your
Guitar Pick You You Freaked Out! Shes TWO!’ Zac Said A Little Louder. ‘Thats Right!
Shes Two! She Would Have Prolly Lost It!’ Ike Said. ‘Shes Two, Shes Not Stupid! And
Anyways, If You Were That Worried, You Could Have Asked For It Back..You Didnt
Have To Yell At Her! I’m Outta Here!’ Zac Said Exiting. Tay Sighed. ‘What The Hell’s
Your Problem NOW Tay?’ Ike Said. Tay Looked Confused. ‘Nothing, Im
Just...Nothing..’ Tay Got Up As Well, Leaving His Book On His Bed And Walked Into
The Bathroom. He Walked In And Shut The Door. He Looked Over At The Sink And
Down To The Drawers. All Three Boys Each Had A Drawer Where They Put Theyre
Own Stuff In. Suddenly, Tay Got Very Curious About Zacs. He Locked The Door And
Went Over And Opened It Slowly. ‘Oh My God..’ Tay Said. Zac Had About 20 Bottles
Of Visene In There, Plus Breath Freshness, And About 10 Bottles Of Cologne. ‘Some
One Who Only Smokes Pot OCASIONALLY Doesnt Have All This Crap!’ Tay Said To
Himself. He Closed The Drawer And Sat Down On The Floor. He Put His Hands Over
His Face To Think For A Minute. At First He Thought Of Calling Zacs Cell, But He
Seemed To Be Going Somewhere Of Great Importance...And Tay Was Worried That If
He Called, Zac Might Not Come Home. ‘God Dammit!’ He Said Kicking The Drawers.
He Stood Up And Looked At Himself In The Mirror. He Turned The Water On And
Splashed It On His Face. He Wiped The Excess Water Off With A Towel And Opened
The Door. Walking Down The Stairs He Decided That He’d Go For A Walk, And When
Zac Got Home They Were Gonna Talk. ‘Mom, Im Goin For A Walk, I Need To Think, Iz
That Alright?’ Tay Asked. ‘Sure Hunnie! Be Careful!’ She Said Cheerfully. ‘I Will’ Tay
Said Opening The Door. He Walked Out Closing It Behind Him. He Walked Down The
Street And Turned The Corner. He Walked And Walked For About 2 And A Half Hours
Before Even Looking At His Watch. ‘Holy..’ He Said To Himself When He Realized The
Time. He Started Back To Himself And Composed What He Wanted To Say To Zac In
His Head. Nothing Too Forceful, He Just Wanted To Know What Was Going On With
Him, What Was Bothering Him. ‘Maybe I Can Help’ He Thought. ‘I Mean I AM His Big
Brother..The Closest In Age, And Ikes No Real Help Now..What An Ass’ Tay Walked
And Finally Got Back To The House. He Opened The Door. ‘Mom, Did Zac Come
Home Yet?’ He Asked Hanging Up His Sweater. Diana Walked In Crying. ‘No
Hunny..He Didnt..We Gotta Call About An Hour Ago From Someone Saying Zac Was
In Trouble But He Couldnt Tell Us What Was Wrong..And His Cell Phones Off..Tay I
Dont Know What To Do..’ Diana Sobbed. ‘Oh Man..Alright, I’ll Go Look For Him..I Have
My Cell So If He Comes Home Call Me And If I Find Him I’ll Call You..I Promise!’ Tay
Grabbed His Sweater And Ran Out The Door. He Looked For An Hour Before Finding
Zac At A Park. ‘Zac? Iz That You?’ He Yelled Running Up To Him. It Was Dark And He
Could Barely See. ‘Tay?’ Zac Said Standing Up. ‘TAY!’ Zac Ran To Him And Tay
Stopped. Zac Ran Till He Got There And Then Threw Himself At Taylor, He Wrapped
His Arms Around Him And Tay Looked Down At Him. ‘Holy Shit Zac! What Happened?’
Zac Looked Had Gotten Beat Up And Was Afraid To Go Back. ‘Tay, Oh My Gosh.
Some Guys Came...And They Just Wouldnt Stop!’ Zac Said Crying. ‘Why The Hell
Would They Beat You Up?’ Tay Asked Worried. ‘They Said, It Was My Fault They’re
Girlfriends Were Upset...I Guess They Were Fans..I Dont Know..Tay They Wouldnt
Stop!’ Zac Said Sobbing. ‘Oh God, This Iz PATHETIC!’ Taylor Said Helping Zac Walk
To The Road. Tay Aided Zac Back To They’re House And Helped Him In The Door. It
Looked Worse In The Light, Just What Tay Feared. ‘MOM! DAD HELP!’ Tay Yelled
The Minute They Walked In. Diana And Walker Came Running Down The Stairs And
Diana Screamed When She Seen Zac. Tay Explained What Zac Had Told Him And
Diana Called The Doctor. The Doctor Came Over And Looked At Zac And Wrote Diana
A Prescription For A Cream For The Cuts On His Face And After Cleaning Them Told
Zac He Didnt Need Stiches Or Anything Except A Good Nights Rest. Diana And Walker
Walked The Doctor To The Door And Thanked Him. ‘Tay?’ Zac Said Weak When They
Left The Room. Tay Looked Over At His Brother Who Lay On The Couch Drained Of
All Energy. ‘Yea Zac?’ He Asked. ‘Thanks..For Helping Me..’ Zac Said. ‘Thank You?
For? All I Did Was Help My Little Brother, I Wasnt Gonna Let You Stay There Like
That..’ Tay Said Walking Over And Sitting Next To Zac. ‘Yeah But Tay It Was My Own
Fault. Tay I Have To Tell You Something..’ Just As Tay Was About To Ask Him What,
Diana Walked In And Told Zac He Should Go To Bed..It Was A Long Night And He
Needed Rest. Tay Said He Was Tired As Well. They Both Kissed Her Goodnight And
Walked Upstairs. The Minute The Door Was Closed Zac Started Talking. ‘Tay, It
Wasnt Some Guy Whos Girlfriend Was Fan..I Lied..But I Couldnt Tell Mom And Dad
Who It Really Was...’ He Said. ‘Well, Who Was It?’ Tay Asked. A Million Things Went
Through His Head. ‘Promise Not Tell?’ Zac Asked. ‘Yea...’ Tay Replied With Caution.
‘Well, He Was A Dealer...And I Didnt Have Enough For What I Bought...’ Zac Said.
Tays Arms Flew Up In The Air. ‘Jesus Christ Zac! You Coulda Got Your Self Killed!’
Tay Said Exasperated. ‘I Know Tay I Know..But I Needed It..’ Zac Said Trying To
Defend Himself. ‘Goodnight Zac’ Tay Said Taking Off His Shirt And Getting Into Bed.
‘Tay...’ Zac Said. ‘GOODNIGHT Zac! I’m Sick Of This And I Cant Put Up With It
Anymore!’ Tay Said Before Turning The Lamp Off. Zac Climbed Into His Own Bed And
Closed His Eyes.
