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| Taylor called every day for a month. It was obvious Natalie was blowing him off, but he still couldn�t stop himself from trying. The Hanson boys left Tulsa again three weeks after they had arrived back from Chicago, journeying this time to London to film a video for the new single. Taylor had actually written �Unfading� for Natalie, and each time he heard a chord from it on playback at the shoot, he would have to bite his tongue to stop from crying. After three days of agony trying to get Taylor to do what was planned, the director gave up and decided that maybe a shot with tears would bring a new dimension to the work. To date, it�s the Hanson video with the least footage of Taylor. He didn�t sleep well after it all, either. Rarely did he actually get more than five hours of solid sleep, and this kept Taylor in a perpetual bad mood for months. His parents tried to get him to see someone who could prescribe medication, but Taylor refused, citing a broken heart as his only psychological problem. He was right in his diagnosis. ********************* For the first few months after we broke up, Taylor still called. I had my mom tell him I wasn�t home (when she was actually there to cover for me) or I�d wait until the caller ID flashed the Hanson�s number and just not pick it up. He took the hint eventually, and we haven�t spoken for a full four months. It�s tough sometimes, especially when I see them on television or hear his voice on the radio. Their new single �Unfading� still brings back memories, and when I hear it in the car, I have to pull over. MTV has permanently been banned from my television set, and it seems America has decided to rekindle their love affair with Hanson right when I decided to end mine. ********************* Taylor didn�t date much right after the break up. In fact, he still didn�t call it an actual break up. It was refereed to in the Hanson house as �the incident.� He went out with girls here and there, but none of them could ever measure up to the precedent Natalie had set. It was on one of these random dates that Taylor saw Natalie for the first time in five months. ******************* Brady and I had dated casually after his party and when I got to know him better, I discovered that I really cared about him. We�ve been �together� together for about two months, and I was with him when I ran into Taylor. We were at the art museum. A traveling exhibit on VanGogh was in town and I was completely excited to go. Brady was hardly enthused, but he humored me and came along. I was standing with my fingers laced through Brady�s, staring at �Starry Night� when I saw a flash of blonde hair to my left. I looked and there Taylor was, standing right next to me. He had his arm around a girl in what looked like a forced display of attention, and immediately my heart went out to him. He hadn�t noticed me yet, so I decided to break the ice. �Hey, Taylor�� I said softly. He looked at me and smiled. �Hi Natalie.� We did a bit of catching up and introduced our dates. Seeing Taylor just�man, I don�t know� He looked so thin and tired, but then again, he was always thin. When I saw him run his thumb over the new girl�s hand, I nearly slapped her. It wasn�t my place and I knew it, so I backed off. When Brady noticed how uncomfortable I was, he made some excuse about our need to get back home. I nodded and turned to Taylor. �We can still be friends�call me sometime,� I said. �Sure, Nat. I�d like that. Bye,� he replied. I knew he�d never call. ******************************** Natalie had looked beautiful the day Taylor saw her, and it made his heart scream to see her with another guy. But he knew it was over. He had done it to himself and it was over for good. He never called. |
| Epilogue |
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