"Florida is going to suck ass," Taylor growled shoving his clothes back into his suitcase. I bit my tongue.

"Don't spoil the surprise Zac," I repeated over and over in my head.

Isaac sighed.

"Tay, calm down, okay? I'm sure it won't be that bad."

"Easy for you to say, Ike! You weren't the one who had to stay on the run the last time we were there. You weren't the one who fell down a flight of concrete steps when a bunch of people who claimed to love you WERE CHASING YOU!"

Dad walked in at that moment

"Is everything okay in here, guys," He asked.

"Yes," we all replied lying through our teeth, correction Ike and I through our teeth, Taylor through his gritted teeth.

"Alright, we're going to get in around noon Monday, and we don't have anything scheduled until Tuesday. So once we get settled in the hotel you guys are free to do whatever you want."

"Yeah, we have to stop by a friend's house," I commented before Ike or Tay could possibly think of something else to do.

"What," My brothers asked giving me a weird look.

"WHAT? We're going to visit a friend of mine…"

"Who," Ike questioned.

"Um, you'll see," I replied.

Dad spoke up.

"Okay, since Zac isn't going to say - it's fine with me if you decide you want to go, but all of you have to go OR no one goes. Oh and keep your cells on you at all times just in case your mother and I have to get in touch with you."

"Dad, don't mention this to Jammer," I asked with a pleading face.

"It's ok, he won't be in until late Monday night anyway," he replied walking out the door.

*          *          *          *          *

"It'll be a week tomorrow." Taylor sighed looking at the count he had made on the wall calendar.

"I'll be leaving tomorrow," I laughed.

"No, stay, Daph. Come on! You've met them before, why not again?"

"Hmm, let's see, because they're coming to see you!"

"Ha, ha, no. You're staying. You practically live with me anyway. It won't matter."

"Still Amber, Cristin, and I really need to focus on the group right now. I don't have time to mess around with Hanson - no matter how cute or talented or funny or sweet they are in person. Plus, they probably won't even remember me."

*          *          *          *          *

"Please, Daphne, when I first met you, you had just been hanging with them in their hotel room, and they do not seem like the guys who just bring random girls up to their hotel room and then forget about them the next day."

She shrugged.

"I guess I'll stay until they get here, but then I leave."

"Yeah right," I thought to myself. The minute Zac walks in that door she'll be lost.

*          *          *          *          *

"Where are we going?" Isaac asked as we all piled into the white van we had rented for the week.

"Um, I have the directions right here." I pulled them out of my pocket.

"Okay, we're going to leave this parking lot and turn left and then we're going to go about a half a mile and turn right and then -"

"ZAC! Slow down! Wait until I at least turn left out of the parking lot."

"Oh yeah, sorry," I glanced back at Tay.

A lone tear fell from his eye. He sniffled.

Ike looked in the rearview mirror.

"Tay, you okay?"

"You know where we are? We're so close to him I can just feel it."

Isaac was about to ask who and then stopped.

"I'm sure we'll find him, Tay." He whispered. Tay nodded leaning his head back against the seat. His right hand rested on his stomach. I watched as he absentmindedly scratched his stomach. It was a hot day in Florida and the three of us were in jeans and beaters. Ike was blasting the air conditioning but it was no use. We were all sweating a bit.

"I knew I should have worn shorts today…" He mumbled wiping a bead of sweat off his brow. He shot me a look.

"You must be dying Zac."

I pulled my hair off my neck and held it up for a few seconds and then let if fall back down.

"I am, but hopefully, when we reach our destination I can like borrow something to pull my hair back with."

One of Ike's eyebrows shot up, and I knew he was trying to piece together an image of who we were going to meet. No doubt he figured that I had probably fallen for some chick or something. I smirked. Let him think whatever he wants. I'm not saying anything until we get there.

*          *          *          *          *

"Are you sure they're coming today," Daphne yelled from the other room.

"Yes," I replied.

"Zac called me earlier today and told me they had just checked into their hotel and would be over soon."

"Okay, then," I heard her footsteps approaching the bathroom and she leaned in a bit.

"You descent?"

"Yeah," I replied as she entered.

"How do I look?" she asked.

My mouth dropped open.

"If Zac doesn't fall over the minute he sees you then he's gay," I said looking her up and down.

Her long dark hair fell over her suntanned skin and the tips were all naturally curled. She was wearing a red halter-top with blue flames on the front, a pair of black shorts, and a pair of black Sketchers sandals on her feet. She shook her head, smiling.

"You always say that! You do realize Tay. That just because a guy isn't attracted to me doesn't always mean he's gay. Anyway do you think I should put my hair up?"

I shook my head.

"No! Your hair is perfect! Come here though. I want to put a little bit of makeup on you," she shrugged and came over.

"Whatever you say," she glanced me up and down.

"You look nice, but aren't you afraid you're going to be a bit hot."

"I hate wearing shorts," I replied.

"I do too, but it's ninety three degrees outside and it's only going to get hotter!"

"So we'll stay in the house then. No problem," I answered pushing a strand of her hair out of the way as I applied some eyeliner.

When I had made the finishing touches on her I applied a little bit of foundation around some areas of my face where I knew had a tendency to get a bit flushed. The doorbell rang while I was finishing up.

"I'll get it," Daphne yelled running for the front door.

*          *          *          *          *

I pulled open the door and nearly died of happiness. There, standing before me were Isaac, Taylor, and Zac. All of which looked very surprised to see me.

Zac spoke up.

"Uh, I think we might have the wrong house…"

"No! This is the right one. You're hear to see Tay - eh, Will, right?"

Taylor's eyes lit up at the mention of Tay's name, in fact it looked like he staggered backward a bit too..

"Wow, this is weird. Taylor and Taylor," I thought to myself.

"You guys want to come in? Or do you just want to stand on our front porch?"

"Your front porch?" Tay asked as I led them in.

"Oh, yeah! Sorry! Let me introduce myself. I'm Daphne, Ta - uh, Will's friend. Sorry, but I hardly hear anyone call him Will 'cept his mom, but I think in order to keep the confusion down it will be necessary that I refer to Taylor as Will. Anyway, I'm Will's friend. We met at one of your concerts where I, um, well…nevermind…" A light seemed to go in Zac's head.

"HOLY SHIT! DAPHNE!? I hardly recognized you! I thought you lived in New York!"

"Um, I do, but my group brought me down here. We're probably going to leave later this week. We're looking for management, and we need to look into doing our own mini tour and possibly opening for or co-headlining with someone. No idea who though. I um, I can't believe you remembered me…"

Before any of them could say anything, Will walked into the room.

*          *          *          *          *

We approached the door of the condo in Florida. It was pretty normal on the outside. I saw Isaac try to catch a glimpse of the mailbox, but thankfully there was nothing written on the outside except the street number of the house. I rang the doorbell and heard a female scream.

"I'll get it!"

The door swung open. There was a moment of shocked silence as we all stood there looking at each other.

"Uh, I think we might have the wrong house," I finally said.

"No! This is the right one. You're hear to see Tay - eh, Will, right?" She rushed out.

"Why did she look so familiar," I asked myself.

Taylor's eyes lit up as Will's name registered and kinda fell back. He shot me a look that I will probably never ever forget, and I'll never forget the sight of Ike's mouth hanging open, which might have looked inviting to a lost fly.

"You guys want to come in? Or do you just want to stand on our front porch," the girl asked.

"Your front porch," Tay asked as she led us in.

I knew exactly what he was thinking. Who was this girl and why was she sharing a house with Will? Truthfully, just from the looks of her I could understand, but something just didn't seem to add up.

"Oh, yeah! Sorry," she said breaking the silence once again.

"Let me introduce myself. I'm Daphne, Ta - uh, Will's friend. Sorry, but I hardly hear anyone call him Will except his mom. But I think in order to keep the confusion down, I think it will be necessary that I refer to Taylor as Will. Anyway, I'm Will's friend. We met at one of your concerts where I, um, well … never mind…" My heart stopped. I couldn't believe it, Daphne?

"HOLY SHIT! DAPHNE?! I hardly recognized you! I thought you lived in New York!" I had never seen this girl wearing makeup. Not that she really needed it, but the way it was done really highlighted all her amazing features, and the backless halter top had me thinking really bad thoughts.

I fidgeted a bit. She had a really nice slender back. WOAH! Get it together Zac. What the heck was happening? I was here to help Tay get back to normal, not to get some.

"Um, I do, but my group brought me down here. We're probably going to leave later this week. We're looking for management and we need to look into doing our own mini tour and possibly opening for or co-headlining with someone. No idea who though. I um, I can't believe you remembered me."

I was about to tell her that she was one of those cool people you meet at a show or appearance who you just can't seem to forget when Will walked in.

Taylor's whole face lit up and he was happier than I had seen him in a long time. He flat out raced over to Will.

"Hey man!" He said holding out his hand. They shook hands and then actually had a weird awkward hug that lasted a little too long for the rest of us in the room. Isaac walked over and also shook Will's hand and gave him a quick short hug. I walked over and held out my hand.

"No offense, man, but you're not getting a hug," I laughed.

He laughed shaking my hand.

"That's okay. I'm sure I'm not the one that wants one."

I shot him a confused look and then saw him motion with his head a bit to look behind me. Daphne was standing there smiling. Obviously happy that Will was so happy.

"Oh, Daph, do you feel neglected," I teased rushing over to her, pulling her into a tight bear hug.

She got a shocked look on her face.

"Uh, gee, thanks, Zac. Anyway I should probably get going -"

"NO! STAY!" I slapped my hand over my mouth.

What the heck was I doing? Both Isaac and Taylor gave me a confused look. At that moment, Isaac's cell phone went off. Thank God! He answered it.

"Hello? Yeah, oh, hi mom. No, we're fine. Yeah, just stopped by to visit a friend.

You remember Will, don't you? You know long brown hair... Yeah, that's him. Oh, okay, sure. No, it's fine. I'll go get some right now. Tay and Zac should be fine over here alone for a little bit. Okay. Okay, bye."

"What's the matter, Ike," Tay asked and I noticed that his arm was around Will's waist. I felt my eyebrows furrow together just above my nose. That was until I realized my arm was still around Daphne and she was eyeing it strangely. I was just waiting for her to start poking at it or something.

"Oh, sorry," I mumbled removing it from around her waist.

"That's okay," She whispered back her eyes shining. She has such beautiful eyes.

AH! What the heck!? I snapped back to reality in time to hear Ike.

"I just have to go pick up some snacks at the grocery store for mom. She said the kids are getting really cranky. She would have Dad pick up something, but he went to check out the studio with Ashley, and she can't seem to get a hold of either of them. So I'll be right back."

He paused, turning to Will.

"I hope you don't mind, Will. It shouldn't take me long. If you want I can take Tay and Zac with me."

Will shook his head his eyes still locked on Taylor. What was with that googley grin anyway?

"No, it's fine! Take as long as you want. I'm sure we can find something for all of us to do while you're gone."

Tay's eyes twinkled, and he whispered to him.

"I'm sure we could."

I felt my mouth drop open. I can't believe him! I mean, yeah, Tay has always been a flirt, but I wouldn't exactly call him forward and DAMN! What it looked like he had mind was VERY forward!

Ike fished the car keys from his pocket.

"Great! Thanks so much, Will. If there are any problems, I have my phone, and you guys know the number."

"Don't worry," I teased, "we'll be sure to inform you if the teenies surround the condo and get their 'I LOVE TAYLOR' signs out to use as shields as they try to break the front door down."

Will laughed, commenting, "And then after they do break the door down, they'll try to assimilate us into one of them, like the Borg."

We all laughed and Isaac replied, "Or you can call me if I am taking to long and Will is sick of your ass and wants you out."

I shrugged and said, "Yeah, true, or that."

"Okay! I have to go before I waste anymore time talking about the Teenie Borg. Later, you guys," Ike opened the door and left.

Daphne turned towards me.

"So now what?"

I turned to see what Tay and Will were doing, but they were gone.

"Where'd they go?"

She turned to look where they had just been.

"I have no idea," she said with a shrug.

"You want to go look for them or something," Daph asked.

I shook my head.

"No, I'm sure Tay wants to be alone with Will right now."

She nodded biting her lower lip.

"Um, so you want to watch TV? Play video games? Get online," Daphne asked.

I looked into her eyes, and we just stared at each other for a few minutes.

"Huh?" I finally mumbled snapping out of it.

"Oh, uh ... I guess we could watch some TV, I'm feeling a little out of it."

"Me too," she whispered as we walked towards the living room couch.


On to Chapter Five

Back to Chapter Three

Chapter Index

Taylor Quest Home Page

Memories ... Of A Forgotten Past 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.

Home Page | Authors | Christmas Stories | Stories by the Writer Suggested Reading | Suggested Viewing | Links Privacy Policy | Terms of Service Send a Comment All Site Content © 2003 - 2024 Tarheel Writer unless otherwise noted Layout © 2003 - 2024 Tarheel Writer