The first group of girls walked up to the table. Starting with Ike and working their way down. I noticed that while they seemed to be excited to see Ike and Zac that they were itching to get down to Taylor. The three girls that stood in front of him were actually quite pretty.

"Hi, I'm Carrie, and this is Mary Anne and Eve," she said reaching out to shake Tay's hand.

He shook their hands and started autographing the CD that they each handed to him.

"Will, could you and Tay both sign this too," Eve said as she walked over to me held up a copy of the National Inquirer.

On the front page was a photo of myself and Tay locked in a sloppy kiss standing outside of MTV studios the day before. I flinched a little but smiled and winked. I signed my name and handed it back to her.

That first group had to have been the easiest to handle. The rest were pretty demanding of what should be signed. Finally an announcement was made that only one autograph from each was allowed along with one photo. After that it seemed like everything flew by in a blur. The next thing I knew Tay was leaving the table heading down the stairs, and a still rather large crowd of fans.

"Could we get a photo with you guys," a few all asked at the same time.

"Yeah I guess so," I replied looking at Tay who seemed to be enjoying himself.

They stood in front of us and someone snapped a photo.

"Do you think we could get a kiss," another asked.

"Oh, no I'm sorry," Tay replied quickly.

"You did a few hours ago," she replied a little disappointed.

"Oh you mean you want a photo of us kissing," Tay replied a bit surprised.

"Oh hell yeah," they all chimed.

"Well, I guess so," Tay said looking at me with a puzzled look.

"Cool with me," I replied with a smile.

We kissed and they snapped their photo, along with a few other people.

"What time is it," I asked Tay as we walked into a back room and sat down for a few seconds.

"Two fifteen," he replied as he laid his head against my shoulder.

"You ok dude," I asked.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine, I just get wiped out by all that," he replied.

"You were the popular one today," Ike said with a smirk has he flopped down on the couch beside me.

"Oh yeah, I hope that's the bulk of it, I don't like people paying attention to me at one of your events," I replied.

"Hey don't sweat it, we've got more than we can handle," Ike said with a grin.

Before I could say much more Sly returned and informed us it was time to go.

"Well dudes, time to go, MTV awaits us," Zac said jumping up and running out the door.

"Are you ok," Tay asked me.

"Oh yeah, but I keep hearing the death march in my head, I feel like a pig being lead to the slaughter," I whispered.

"Here lemme soothe your nerves," Tay said as he leaned in and kissed me deeply.

It did help wipe away some of the jitters I had.

"Whoa, that really did help," I giggled as he pulled away.

"Think you're gonna make it," he asked with a smirk.

"I think so, but you'll have to keep me in check around Britney," I giggled.

"Ugh, why would you want her," he asked smugly.

"Oh dude I was just kidding, I'm more of a Jennifer Love Hewitt kinda guy," I smirked.

"Well, that I can handle," he smiled.

"Ok guys, time to go," Ike called back as he stuck his head around the corner.

"Ready to make that trek through the tunnel of arms," Tay asked as we headed out.

"Oh man, that again," I winced.

It was twice as thick and loud outside. The crowd must have been fifteen times larger than at the hotel. We made our way through in a blur.

Each time seemed to last only a split second before we were encased in the dark leather blackness of the van. Inside it was calm, quite, soft and safe. Outside the roar of the fans split through the air. Pupil paralyzing flashes emitted from masses of cameras. What some would consider love and adulation, others would consider frightening and horrible. For the first time I began to understand what Tay had been going through.

For months he and his brothers had lived between worlds. Definitely their home life was very different from anything it had ever been. No longer were the days they would wake up. Have studies with their mother, eat and play outside. Now their hours were whiled away singing in dark studios which were hidden from the public. Dashing from hotels through mobs of screaming people, only to find refuge in the time it took their limo or van to get to the next destination.

Truly a life of solitude. True they had each other and their parents. Not to mention a select group of close friends. But the thought of being unable to be yourself in public, or curb what you said to whom impacted me at that point. My head spun and I rested it on Tay's shoulder.

Ike seemed to be resigned to the life he had. Occasionally you could see a glint of envy as Tay and I made out. Not that he was envious of me or Tay personally, but envious of the relationship. As if he wished he had been lucky enough to have found someone himself. Always dependable and sweet. Backing Tay and myself up at every chance. I knew that Ike wasn't far from finding a girl that could handle everything I was going through.

Zac on the other hand, was difficult to pin down. While his demeanor seemed to flux back and forth from shy and quiet to loud and amusingly obnoxious he seemed to hide his feelings toward their life at the moment. He never seemed too tired to sign autographs or act like a dweeb when the moment called for it. His youth was on his side. Not to say that Ike or Tay were aged old men, but in comparison to Zac, their energy was either lower or more reserved.

Zac, while everyone seemed to call him the 'nut' of the family, and the most likely to harness the energy to send a rocket to the moon seemed to live an entirely different life away from the public. Curbing his energy more when the camera wasn't on or when no one was watching. Many times he was quiet and still during the treks from location to location. Sitting silently, rocking back and forth slightly while his headset blasted his 'music of the moment.' How anyone could pop on a headset after beating the hell out of a drum set for two or more hours, I had no clue. I knew it would take more time to figure him out.

Then there was Tay. Always the diplomat at events. Always the one trying to tell the teenies to 'please stop screaming.' While he knew the public eyed him as the unofficial lead of the group. He disliked that immensely. He stressed the fact, whenever he could that Hanson was a band, and all three members were of equal importance and no one was the 'lead.' It seemed now that he had given up on that argument. The only time he felt bad was if at any given event the crowd might have more 'I Love Tay' banners than Ike or Zac. Which always made him feel guilty for looking, acting and nearly always being himself. Even though I had seen Tay in action, in public and in private I knew there was still a few facets of him I had not seen yet.

The van rolled up outside MTV Studios in Times Square. There was a limo and a tour bus parked out front as well. Not to mention what had to have been more than a few thousand screaming people. I knew our mad dash from the van to the entrance was going to be slowed by a sudden surge of fans. They wore shirts that say 'Lime Squad.' It felt like the girls all seemed to be more angry than excited. One in particular had this look in her eye that really rattled my nerves. She seemed to be saying "I hate you" without even opening her mouth.

"You're gonna have a blast you know," he said smiling at me.

"Yeah I know, it's just happening so fast," I replied rubbing my nose against his.

Tay hugged me tight as I looked out the window at the mass of people waiting for us to get out. There were a few upset looking girls, probably because they could tell it was Taylor and me making out through the window, they weren't that tinted after all.

"Come on," Tay grinned as he got out and pulled me along behind him.


On to Chapter Fourteen

Back to Chapter Twelve

Chapter Index

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The Day the Earth Moved is Copyright © 2000 by Taylor W. Quest.
This work may not be duplicated in any form – physical, electronic, audio, or otherwise – without the author's written permission.
All applicable copyright laws apply. All individuals depicted are fictional with any resemblance to real persons being purely coincidental.

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