Chapter Four

*~* Chapter Four *~*
*~* Willow *~*
The time had passed faster than I ever thought imaginable. The entire afternoon had been washed away in a sea of James Bond movies, and before I knew it, it was going on 10:00. I knew that Ike and Zac had an early plane to catch, and I also had to get up early the next morning, so I decided to call it a night. I was sitting on the floor with my back against the couch, where Zac was sprawled out, and as I moved a little, I could feel the stiffness in my lower back already. Great, I would definitely be feeling this 10 times over in the morning. I attempted to stretch, but decided against it seeing that I was flanked on both sides by Isaac and Jonny, and stretching would most likely disturb both of them. I cleared my throat a little.

"I gotta go," I whispered in Isaac's direction. He waved his hand at me a little, his eyes engrossed in the movie. I couldn't help but smile a little. I never knew Ike was such a James Bond buff. After a couple more moments of silence from him, I leaned over and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Have a good flight. Call me sometime."

This got his attention, and he finally turned towards me. "Oh, yeah. I will. Do you have to go so soon?" he asked. I nodded and he stood up, then helped me up. I turned to say goodbye to Jonny and found him standing up as well. Behind us, Zac was becoming very disgruntled at not being able to view the television.

"Hey! Y'all make better doors than windows!" he informed us, putting his hand on my leg and forcing me aside a little. I laughed.

"Gee, thanks Zac. I'll miss you too," I teased. He grinned up at me.

"I know.' He jumped up and threw his arms around her in a goodbye hug, then fell back down onto the couch to finish watching the movie. I followed Isaac to the door.

"Do you want me to walk you home?" he asked. I shook my head.

"Nah, I'll be fine," I assured him. I turned to Jonny with a smile. "It was very nice to meet you."

"Likewise," he replied, nodding a little. Ike opened the door and I stepped out into the hallway.

"I'll be right back," he said, then closed the door behind us. He put his arm around my shoulders as we slowly walked down the hallway towards the elevators. I grinned at him.

"Well, this has been quite a week," I said. Ike nodded in agreement.

"I'm glad we ran into each other again. Now that I know where you live…" he trailed off teasingly, then laughed.

"Hey, you're welcome in my apartment any time," I told him. He sighed a little as the elevator doors opened, and I turned to give him a hug. "Well, I guess I'll talk to you later. Say goodbye to Tay and Megan for me, okay?"

"Will do," he agreed, hugging me tightly. He turned his face and grazed his lips across my cheek. "Don't work too hard."

"You either. I'll see you next time you're in New York," I said.

"Maybe sooner," Ike replied mysteriously. I narrowed my eyes playfully at him as I stepped backwards into the elevator.

"What are you planning, Isaac Hanson?" I asked. He held his hands up, smiling.

"Hey, if I told you, then I wouldn't be such a man of mystery now, would I?" he joked. I just shook my head and waved a little. He waved back, and the elevator doors closed.

*~* Reagan *~*
I paced back and forth in my room for about 2 minutes before checking my watch, looking anxiously at the phone, then out the window, and then taking up the pacing again. This routine continued for nearly half an hour as I waited. He hadn't called, he hadn't e-mailed, I didn't even know if he was back in Tulsa yet or not. I hated not knowing things. Instinctively, I reached for the phone and picked it up. There were voices on it, and I recognized one as my father. Hanging up the phone, I groaned in frustration.

"Mom!" I yelled. A minute later, she poked her head into the door of my room.

"Don't yell like that. Your father's on the phone," she scolded. I gave her a wide eyes look.

"I know! And Zac is probably trying to call me right now, and he can't get through, and-"

"Actually, I didn't call. I just came right over," a voice interrupted. A familiar blonde head appeared in the doorway beside my mother's, and he smiled. I squealed a little in excitement and ran over towards the door, throwing myself into his arms. He laughed as he hugged me. "Whoa, too teeny-bopper-ish for comfort there, Reagan. I'm gonna start having bad flashbacks in a second."

I just grinned and hugged him tighter. My mother patted Zac's shoulder, smiling. "Welcome home, Zac," she told him, then left us with some privacy. I pulled Zac into my room and closed the door part way, then looked at him for a good 2 seconds before putting my arms around him again.

"I missed you so much! Never leave me again!" I insisted, laughing, as I jumped up and wrapped my legs around his waist. He put his arms around my back to support me, grinning.

"Man, if I knew that I'd get a homecoming like this, maybe I should go away more often," he joked. I scowled at him playfully.

"Don't you dare!" I stated, then let my legs down to stand again. I lead him over to my bed and we sat down, keeping our hands tightly clasped. "So, tell me everything. I need details. What shows really sucked, which ones were awesome, did you see any famous people?"

"Um, none, all, and a few," Zac answered, laughing. He took his hands away and placed them on the side of my face, and I instinctively blushed a little. "Calm down. I just got here, and I'm not going anywhere."

"I know-" He cut me off with a tiny kiss, and I smiled, then rested my forehead against his. "Have I told you yet that I really missed you?"

"Yeah, I think so," he answered, rubbing his nose against mine a little. "I missed you too."

We sat in silence for a few moments, just holding hands. I moved me head to rest it on his shoulder, absently tracing a circular pattern on his knee. "Hey, guess who we ran into in New York?" Zac stated out of the blue. I gave him a curious look.

"Who?" I asked. He scowled playfully at me.

"You're no fun, that's not a real guess," he complained. I smiled.

"Okay. Regis Philbin?" I guessed. He made a face.

"Um, no."

"Umm… Carson Daly?"

"Not this time."

"Zac! Just tell me," I exclaimed, gently hitting his arm. He grinned.

"Willow Carter," he said. My eyes widened in surprise.

"Willow? In New York? I thought she was in Boston?"

"Yeah, well, I guess her father had a job for her in New York. So she's living there now. She's got this really cool apartment…" Zac trailed off when I raised one eyebrow at him. "What?"

"Well, how do you guys feel about that? What does Ike think?" I asked.

"Ike? He was happy to see her, I guess. What should he think?"

"I don't know… It's just a little strange. She always used to say how much she missed Tulsa and that she wanted to move back as soon as she could, and now she's living in New York. Isn't Isaac upset at all?" I questioned, feeling confused as to what was going on in Willow's mind. Zac shrugged.

"I don't know. He hasn't outright said anything."

"I'm just concerned for Ike, that's all."

"He's a big boy, I'm sure he can handle it. Besides, you shouldn't concern yourself with him. It's me you should be worrying about," Zac stated, raising his eyebrows mischievously and wiggling his fingers at me. I gave him an uncertain look, then burst into giggles as his fingers attacked my most ticklish spots. But in the back of my mind I just couldn't shake the weary feeling I had about Isaac.

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