"Once again the nation is in uproar of the proposed bill to end America's involvement in the Korean War, but with an unlikely twist. After four months of trying to get the bill passed, not only was it vetoed by the president, it was thrown out of the House of Representatives with little to no chance of being revived. Upon hearing the news, I spoke with Zac Hanson on his view on this sudden turn of events," said the night anchor of CNN as an astute family watched. Zac's face which Madison next to him showed up on the screen.
"There's nothing I can do about it. The president vetoed it and the House threw it out. I can definitely say that I am not pleased; this was my one hope. I thought we were winning and suddenly everything changed and we're back to where we were. I hope something good will come out of this and I hope that everyone will not lose faith in the fight to end this war."
Zac and Madison walked in the front door and the family turned to them, waiting for an answer. Zac took off his coat and took Madison's, hung them up, and then walked into the living room. The both of them sat down before he spoke. "Yes, I know," he said. "It sucks. But it had to be done."
"What do you mean?" Taylor asked.
"It was either the bill or me," Zac said. "Either the bill gets thrown out or I go to Korea and in the words of the president get 'blown to bits.' I had to do it."
"You were the one who threw it out?" Taylor asked. Zac nodded, looking down. After the news was announced, Zac was leaving the city where he was stopped by reporters to get his thoughts on the situation. He outright lied about it, saying he had nothing to do with it, but he couldn't get out that he was the reason the bill was thrown out. After he had time to think about it, he never should have done it. It was stupid and it was the kind of thing that the president could, and most likely would, use against him. "So what's going to happen, Zac, are you going to Korea?"
"No. He threw out my draft. In return I have to stay out of his hair." Zac put his head in his hands. "I'm such an idiot. I'm his pawn now. If I do one thing to displease him, one thing wrong, he can send me off to Korea to die. This is all a fucking game to him!"
"Zac, he can't."
"Yes he can! And he will! I might as well just fucking go there myself and get it over with!" Zac said, getting up. "I'm going upstairs." He ran out of the room and up the stairs. Madison looked around at the family a moment before she ran up to talk to him. She ran to his room and tried the door but it was locked.
"Baby, it's me." The door unlocked and she went inside. Zac was walking to his bed. He fell onto it and put his pillow over his head. She sighed. "Baby, you did what you had to do. You knew you couldn't have gone to Korea�I know you couldn't have gone." She climbed onto his bed next to him. "I don't know how anybody here would be able to keep going if you went. Even if that bill were able to go into the House to overrule the veto, no one would have any faith any longer because you wouldn't be there. The entire country wouldn't able to fight without you leading them."
He removed the pillow from his face. "Madison, if it gets out that I tore up that bill�I'll be ruined."
"No you won't."
"Yes I will!" he said, sitting up. "And now the president has my dick in his hands and he's ready to twist whenever I screw up." Madison made a face.
"I don't like that expression."
"He still does! If I piss him off he'll tell everyone that I ripped up the bill. I mess up again and I'm in Korea."
"Zac, you can't be afraid of him. He's bluffing. You're going to have to call that. If you give up now we've lost." Zac turned away and put his pillow over his head again. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you." The phone rang and Zac winced. Madison got up off the bed and to answer it.
"No! Don't answer it! It's him calling for me."
"Zac, don't get paranoid on me now. I'm sure it's not even for you." She picked up the phone despite his objection. "Hello?" Zac bit his lip. He was afraid. He'd never been so afraid in his entire life. "Oh, hi! How are you?" Instant relief. "Oh sure. He's right here." She turned to Zac who immediately shook his head, barely visible with the pillow covering his face. "Yeah, okay, thanks. Here he is!" She forced the phone at Zac, who shook his head again. "It's Mr. Davis. He wants to talk to you." She forced the phone to his ear.
"Hello?" Zac reluctantly said.
"Zac! How are you doing?"
"Well I'm�okay, considering the circumstances. How are you doing?"
"Just great. I've made a decision that I think will help you out. I know this whole thing with the bill being thrown out sucks and all but we don't need the bill. We just need to get David Smith out of the White House."
"Yes, that is one way to solve a problem, but what about the problem of the war?" Zac asked.
"Well we need to get someone in the White House who'll end America's involvement in the war."
"And who exactly is going to do that? Me?"
"No. Me." Zac's eyes lit up and he sat up.
"You? Run for President?" Zac looked at Madison, who was just as shocked as he was.
"Hey, I've been in Congress for years, I was governor of Ohio before I was a congressman, I know what I'm doing. At least I know more about what I'm doing than that moron they've got in there now. I give you my word, first day in office�no, first moment in office�I will take the American people out of Korea." Zac's jaw dropped.
"Oh man that is incredible! You would do that?!"
"If I had your support. I'm not exactly a prominent person in the country, well, at least not before I proposed that bill, but if I had your support on my side, I would be able to sweep that election. What do you say? Will you help me?"
"Hell yes!" Zac said. "If you do what I've been trying to do you can have all the support you need, I'll be right there by your side."
"Perfect."
After a few more formalities Zac hung up the phone and Madison patiently waited for him to explain. "He's running for president," Zac said. "And he wants my support." A large smile spread across his face. "He said that if he gets elected, his first act of business is to get us out of Korea."
"Oh my God�"
"We've won, sweetheart. The president is obviously not going to get re-elected and with our support Davis could win this!" He kissed her. "I have to tell everyone." He let go of her and they left the room. Zac ran down the stairs, obviously happier than when he ran up them. "Great news," he said to his family. "That was Ralph Davis on the phone. He's running for president."
"Ralph Davis?" Diana asked. "Why does that sound familiar?"
"He was the guy who proposed that bill," Zac said. "He wants my support and I think if we're seen enough together we'll get enough of the country on our side and sweep this election."
"Do you really think that's going to happen, though?" Taylor asked. "It's a long process to become president and it's still almost a year and half before he'd be able to do anything."
"That doesn't matter! Do you want this asshole for another four years? I don't! The only way we'll have peace in this country is for Davis to get elected." His family looked skeptical. "Fine. Be that way. I have an election to sway."
"I'm Eve Swanson and I'm here with Mr. Zac Hanson, the most prominent political mind in the country, despite his young age. He and his girlfriend, Madison Ashton, who is just as prominent, have been routing the country for a year and a half now for their protest against the war in Korea. Now that it is an election year, the nation is wondering�who are they rooting for? Their support could decide this election," said an interviewer for CNN. Zac listened, unabashedly surprised by her introduction. "So, Mr. Hanson, your album is now the best-selling in all of history and hasn't been out a year. How does that make you feel?" It was obvious that she really didn't care about the musical aspect of his career. As everyone on the channel, all they cared about was his outstanding support for one Ralph Davis on his decision to run for president. Now that another year was over, it was finally 2004, the election year and because of Zac's support, polls were already showing Davis as the next president.
"Well, I think it's amazing. I knew I had a lot of supporters but I didn't know how many people there actually was. I'd never gotten figures from my tour so this was the first time I got a substantial number on it. I never imagined there would be so many."
"Over the past few months you've been seen quite a number of times with Ralph Davis of Ohio and just recently he's announced he's running for president. What's your position on him?"
"I support him completely," Zac said. "He's exactly what this country needs."
"Does this have anything to do with your very public feud with President David Smith?" she asked. Zac shook his head.
"I can see where you would think that," Zac said, "but no. I've been a supporter of Davis for a long time. He was the first politician that supported me in my cause and he was the person who presented the bill to take America out of the Korean War. The only way I know my cause wasn't in vain is if he gets elected."
"What is your stand on the current president, anyhow?"
"He's just doing what he wants to do. I can't sway him in a different direction�believe me, I've tried�so I've decided to leave him be. He'll be gone this time next year."
"What makes you so confident?"
"I don't know."
Madison sat in her hotel room, watching Zac's interview. It was long over and he was home, actually he was in the shower, but she hadn't been there and was waiting to see it. This was the first time he made an official statement of his support for Davis, and the first time he even spoke of David Smith since he was drafted. He'd been so paranoid about getting sent to Korea that he carefully avoided even speaking of the man until now. It wasn't anything like he used to say, and the interviewer even commented on that, but Zac put a smile on his face and blew the question off very well.
"What the hell are you watching?" Zac asked, coming out of the bathroom. Madison turned around and smiled.
"Just you interview. I wanted to see it."
"Ugh," Zac said, rolling his eyes. "Interviews are such crap."
"Why don't you get dressed? We'll do something," Madison said, glancing down at his clothing. He was wearing a towel and that was pretty much it.
"We can't go out, especially not after that interview. We won't have a moment's peace."
"Well get dressed anyway. Your nakedness is hurting my eyes."
"Kiss my ass."
"Too much white�" she said, shielding her eyes. "I'm being blinded�" Zac huffed and shook his head. "Seriously, do you ever go to the beach? Do you ever go out in the sun?"
"Look who's talking."
"Shut up," she said sheepishly, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Well if we ever did anything, we could go to the beach and work on that! But we don't do anything!"
"Madison, there are reasons behind that. We can't just go out like normal people. We're far from normal. When we're not together we're both hounded by press, and when we are together it's even worse."
"Do you honestly think there's going to be press at the beach?" she asked. " 'Hi, this is Eve from CNN, me and my camera crew decided to scope out the beach to see if any teenage political activists happen to show up.' "
"Well, you never know."
"You don't have a show tomorrow and we don't leave the city until six! Let's go to the beach. Just for a little while."
"Maddie, there are people at the beach. People recognize us. People bother us. People call news crew and we're interviewed when all we're trying to do is get a tan."
"There are private beaches, you know." Zac rolled his eyes. "Please, honey, I want to do something with you�"
"All right," he relented. "We'll go to the beach tomorrow."
"Thank you, honey."
"Can I ask you a serious question?" he asked, pulling a shirt over his head. Madison nodded. "Are you going to college?" Madison noticeably cringed. "You're not? Why not?"
"Well, not right away. I will eventually, but not this year."
"Why? Do you know how hard it is to go back to school after you've been away from it for a year?" he asked, giving her a look.
"Are you going to college?"
"I don't need to go to college," Zac said. "I have a career. I'm set. What are you going to do with your life? You can't spend the rest of your life touring around with me. You need a career."
"I don't want to think about that right now, Zac."
"Well when are you going to think about it?" She sighed and turned around. "I'm serious, honey."
"I just want a year off, all right? Then I'll go to college and I'll do what I have to do. I can be an adult then. Right now we have a battle to win, an election to sway, and a couple of million people to bring home. After that I can worry." He sighed. "And it's not like I don't have a plan."
"Well then what is your plan?"
"I'll take my year off, do all of those things I just mentioned, then go to college and become the first woman president." Zac groaned. "What? You don't think I can do it?"
"I know you can do it. I just don't know if I want you as president."
Madison grinned.