The First Flight Out

By: Jennifer White

(-(-\)\)

Welcome! Let me start off by introducing myself. My name is Elexis Josephine Jordan; some people call me Lexi or Joey. I am about to tell you about the summer that changed my life forever. The summer of 2000.

I live in the town of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Heard of it? Of course you have. I lived here in Tulsa my whole life and the strange thing is, I never met the music group Hanson... Until that summer.

_______________

I work at the local taco bell with my best friend Tristin Joy Thomas. We’ve worked there for about a year and a half. Anyways... on with the story.

I went into work on July 31st around 12:00pm. I thought that day was gonna be a normal and simple day. Boy I guess I was wrong. I went into work and clocked in.

“ It’s gonna be a quiet day” I said to a co-worker named Jason.

“It’s always quiet on Fridays” he said sarcastically.

“Yeah right!” I replied.

As I walked to the back with the rest of the workers. I turned my hat around backwards and with a tough voice I said “ Wazzup Peeps? Lexi’s in the house!”

Everyone started laughing. Jason came up behind and put his arm around me and asked “ why do you insist on doing that every day?”

“Because I want to, got a problem?” I said while knocking off his hat.

As I went to work, Jason picked up his hat and walked towards the radio and turned it on. Surely enough ‘This Time Around’ by Hanson was on the radio.

“Yuck” Jason screamed as he went to turn the radio station. But before he could turn the station I threw a wet rag at him hitting him in the back of the head.

“What the...” he said in shock as he turned around in a flash.

“If you change the station I will slug you HARD!”

He backed off with a smile on his face. As he walked past going up to the front to finish working, he threw the rag back at me. Jason knew I have liked Hanson since the begin of their career. So I know he wouldn’t have turned the station because he knew I really would have slugged him.

As I was singing the song, and co-worker named Mindi came over to me and ask “ Is Tristin coming to work today?”

“No she called in saying something came up. She is trying to find someone with concert tickets.”

“Hanson?”

“Yeah, the Hanson concert is tomorrow.” I replied

“Are you going to go to the concert?”

“Unfortunately, No. They sold out one person ahead of me.” I said with a very sad look on my face.

“That Sucks!” She said as she went back to work.

Well at 3:30pm I went on my break. I grabbed a magazine I brought with me from home and ordered my food. I usually eat a number three, (three soft tacos and a Dr. Pepper.), But since Tristin wasn’t there to help me eat it I just got a Dr. Pepper. After I got my drink I went and sat down at a booth near the back of the restaurant.

As I was reading an article about Hanson and drinking my Dr. Pepper, people walked into the restaurant. I didn’t bother looking up from reading so I didn’t know it was Hanson.

“What do you want to eat?” Isaac asked Taylor and Zac

“I want a number one with Mt. Dew” Zac said abruptly

“I want a number three” Taylor said while turning around and spotting me sitting there alone.

“And to drink?” Isaac asked in question

“Huh.. Oh.. Uh.. Dr. Pepper. I am going to go sit down now.” Taylor said walking away.

While Isaac and Zac gave their orders Taylor came walking towards me.

“Hello” he said to me.

“Hello” I answered back not looking up to see who it was.

“Um... good article?” He asked noticing it was about the group.

“Yes it is. Hanson is the best group around.” I said as I looked up noticing it was Taylor Hanson. I sat there with a shocked look on my face.

“May I sit down?”

“Yeah sure why not”

The weird thing was instead of sitting on the other side of the booth he sat next to me on the same side.

Out of the whole restaurant Taylor Hanson sat next to me, Little ole’ me. I was so excited. I could barely move, but I got enough strength to move my drink.

“What do ya got there?” Taylor asked looking at my drink.

“Dr. Pepper.” I replied.

“My favorite!” He said.

“What’s your name?” He asked me while reaching out his hand to shack my hand.

“My name is Elexis Jordan” I said shacking his hand. “But some people call me Lexi or Joey.”

“Joey?”

“Yeah my middle name is Josephine, Joey for short.”

“Oh, I see now, by the way my name is Taylor if haven’t already noticed. ” He said with a smirk.

“Oh I’ve noticed who you are.” I said trying not to blush. But I already felt the redness coming about.

“Are you always this red in the face?” He asked trying not to laugh.

“No, Just when I am around someone I like.” Then I thought to myself ‘I couldn’t believe I just said that out loud!’

Just then I could see Taylor starting to blush. Even he knew it.

That’s when Isaac and Zac made their way to our table. When they got there Zac asked “Can we sit with you guys? This food is heavy.”

I immediately said “Sure!” While Taylor grabbed his food from Zac’s arms.

They sat down at the table. Isaac sitting in front of me and Zac sitting in front of Taylor.

“Hey Guys, this is Lexi” pointing at me. “And this is Isaac and Zac but of course you knew that.”

“Hello, Lexi” Isaac said shacking my hand.

“Hey!” Zac said grabbing my hand.

“Where do you live anyways?” Taylor asked me

“I live right here in Tulsa.”

“How come we’ve never met before?” Asked Zac.

“I don’t know, I’ve often wondered the same thing.” I replied

“Have you ever been to one of our concerts before?” Taylor asked me

“Nope, can’t say that I have.”

“Are you going to go to the concert tomorrow?” Isaac asked me

“Unfortunately I’m not. I stood in line for 3 hours at ticket master and the concert sold out one person in front of me.” I replied after taking a drink of my pop.

“Ouch! That must suck!“ Zac replied in disappointment.

“Yeah! It really does.” I said with a saddened look on my face.

“Maybe we can help!” Zac said almost jumping out of his seat.

“How can you help me, the show is sold out?”

“Well Aunt Sharon can’t go because she can not find a babysitter. So... Maybe Lexi can use her ticket.” Zac replied to his brothers

“Yeah that’s a good idea.” Taylor said jumping out of his seat. “Is there a pay phone around here?”

“Um.. Yeah.. over there.” I said pointing to the phone by the bathrooms.

Taylor walked quickly to the phone grabbing change from his pocket, while Zac tagged along behind him.

“I never seen him this excited about finding someone a concert ticket before.” Isaac said. “Are you doing anything tonight?”

“Well... I get out of work at 6:00pm and I don’t think I have any plans after that. Why?”

“Well, maybe you and I can do something tonight.”

“I wouldn’t mind!” I said with a smile. I grabbed a napkin and a pen from my pocket. I wrote my Name, Address and my phone number on the napkin and gave it to Isaac.

That’s when Taylor and Zac made their way back to the table with the news about the ticket.

“Good news! Aunt Sharon said she can use her ticket” Taylor said sitting down next to me.

“That’s so cool, I can’t wait!” I said ecstatically

“Does anyone have the time?” I asked

“It is five minutes to four.” Zac said after grabbing Isaac’s arm to look at his watch.

“Well I should get back to work now.” I said

“Yeah well we should get going also.” Zac said

We all stood up from the booth. Isaac took out his car keys out of his pocket. “Will you go start the car?” He asked Taylor but before Taylor could grab the keys, Zac grabbed the keys and said “Gotcha.” and took off towards the door. Taylor took off after him.

“You want me to call you before I pick you up?” Isaac asked me while we were laughing at his brothers.

“Yeah, sure.” I replied through my laughter.

“Well... I gotta go before they hurt each other.” Isaac said with a smile. Then he walked away.

“Bye!” I said loud enough that he could hear.

I turned around and grabbed my stuff from the table. I walked towards the counter and looked up. I noticed that all the workers were watching me.

“What are you looking at?” I asked as I started to blush

“Did I hear right? Are you going out with Isaac Hanson?” Jason asked me.

“Yes, Is there something wrong with that?” I asked

“No, I always thought you would get with Taylor.” He said

“Oh man! Tristin is gonna flip when she hears about this!” Mindi almost yelled.

“Don’t tell her! I want to!” I yelled.

I walked back behind the counter and went to back to work as if nothing happened. I didn’t know what to do. I was still in shock over what happened. Just meeting them was amazing enough, but going out with one of them was a miracle!

The time went by so fast. The next time I looked at the clock it was 6:00pm. After I clocked out of work I took out my new Zoomee (a scooter), and walked out the door totally forgetting about going out with Isaac. I took the long way home that day. I went by Tristin’s house so I decided to drop by.

I knocked on the door and Tristin answered. “Hey girl! Come in.” she said. “What are doing here?” She asked me

“Oh.. Well I took the long way home so I decided to drop by and see what you are doing.” I said as I parked my Zoomee by the door.

The whole time I was there I forgot to mention the things that happened at work. I was there for about 10 minutes.

“Well I should get home now.” I said

“Hey I can walk ya home.” Tristin said to me grabbing her Zoomee from the closet by the door.

We rode our scooters down one road from my house. At the time I didn’t know it... But guess who lived on that road? That’s right Hanson. I didn’t know that until I heard someone yelling “Hey!”. I turned around to see Zac standing there waving his arms madly above his head.

“Oh My God! It’s Zac Hanson!” Tristin yelled covering her mouth “Let’s go over there!”

On the way over to Zac, everything that happened at work suddenly came back to me.

“Lexi! Isaac, Taylor, Lexi’s here!!” Zac yelled so loud Taylor and Isaac came out wondering what was going on. Zac ran over to me and asked “Can I ride your scooter?”

“I guess. Don’t brake it!” I replied as he took it from my hands.

Tristin was in shock.

“Lexi...” she said

“Huh?”

She leaned over to me and whispered “ How do they know you?”

“Long story!” I replied with a smile on my face as I turned my head to see Isaac and Taylor walking up to us.

“Hello Ladies!” Isaac said to us

Then as Taylor grabbed my hand he said “Hello Lexi.” Then he gently kissed the top of my hand as he looked up at me making eye contact.

When his lips and my hand made contact I felt a rush of joy run through my body.

I looked up at Isaac to see a shocked look on his face. “Um... Lexi can I talk to you for a second Please?” Isaac asked me

“Sure” I said as we walked up to their porch

“What’s up?” I asked Isaac

“I got a vibe that my brother has a little crush on you! I think if we go out tonight it might hurt him inside and I don’t want to hurt him. Ya know?”

“Yeah. So what are you saying we should do?”

“Well maybe you and Taylor should go out tonight instead of you and I.”

“You would do that for your brother?”

“Well... Yeah...” he said starting to blush. “Plus I don’t want to hear him Bicker for hours.” Isaac said as we both started to giggle.

We walked back to where Taylor and Tristin were standing. “What’s so funny?” Taylor asked “Nothing... um... Taylor can I talk to you for a second please?” I asked him. Even though I was extremely nervous I grabbed his hand and we walked over to the porch.

“Um... What’s on your mind?” Taylor asked me with a nervous look on his face.

“Well are you doing anything tonight?”

“Uh.. No.. Why?” He asked me

“Maybe we can do something tonight. What do ya say?”

“Yeah, that sounds great!” He ecstatically replied barely letting me finish what I was saying. “I mean sure!” He said trying to cover up that he was excited.

“Okay, cool why don’t you pick me up around... let’s say... 7:30pm.”

“Okay, wait I don’t have your address!”

“Oh, don’t worry, Isaac has it. Later!” I said as I walked away. I walked by Isaac saying Bye. I walked over to Zac (who was still riding my scooter) I put my arm around him giving him a noogie, saying “I need my scooter back now dude!”

“Okay, Okay...” He replied as I let him go, he ran behind me returning the noogie. We both started laughing!

The whole time Taylor was still pondering why Isaac had my address. He walked up to Isaac “Why do you have Lexi’s address?” He asked Isaac with a confused look on his face.

“BYE Lexi!” Zac yelled waving his hands in the air above his head.

Taylor and Isaac sat on the porch. “Well when you and Zac used the phone at Taco Bell I asked Lexi if she wanted to do something tonight, So I got her info.” Isaac said

“... And that’s all?”

“Yeah dude, Don’t worry, she’s all yours!” Isaac replied

Zac walked by them going into the house. He had a big grin on his face. “Man! I gotta get one of them things!” He mumbled

“Hey Zac!” Taylor yelled

“What?” Zac yelled back while walking back to them from the house.

“What do you think of Lexi?” Taylor asked

Zac stood there still with a big grin on his face. “She’s so awesome!”

“You think she’s cute?” Isaac asked Zac

“Well duh!” Zac said while turning around and walking back into the house.

“Now if there is anyone that you should watch out for, it’s him!” Isaac said while getting up and walking into the house.

On the way to my house I told Tristin everything that happened.

Taylor just sat there for a while.

Zac and Isaac were in the house talking “Hey Isaac we should plan something romantic for Tay and Lexi” Zac mumbled so Taylor couldn’t hear.

“I got an Idea, hand me the phone” Isaac said to Zac while grabbing the napkin from his pocket.

“Do you think she’s home yet?” Zac asked

“She should be home” He replied

Isaac and Zac took the phone into the kitchen (the rest of the family was in the living room.)

As Tristin and I walked in the front door to my house the phone rang. I ran to the phone and picked it up to hear Isaac’s voice on the other end. “ Is Lexi there?” He asked

“This is Lexi”

“This is Ike; I just wanted to know if you like Turkey or Ham sandwiches?”

“Umm... Turkey, Why?”

“No reason, I got to go Taylor’s coming in the room.” He said as he hung up the phone.

“Who was that?” Tristin asked me as I hung up the phone.

“Isaac Hanson... I ...I Think!” I replied with a confused look on my face.

“Let’s go find an outfit for you to wear!” Tristin yelled going up my stairs.

“Ok I’ll be up there in a minute” I yelled back as I walked in the kitchen. I saw a note on the refrigerator with an envelope. It read:

I had to go on a important business trip, You know my work is important. Sorry to leave without saying goodbye. I’ll be home Saturday night. I left money for food. Be good!

Love Always, Mom

I grabbed the envelope and looked inside. I found a $50.00 dollar bill. If this was the first business meeting she went on I would have been shocked. I’ve talked to my mother on the phone more than I have face to face. Either I am at work or she is away on trips.

I put the envelope in my pocket and ran upstairs. I went into my room and say Tristin going through all my clothes.

“I found some cute outfits for you to wear.” She said throwing clothes onto my bed.

“That’s great.” I muttered.

“What’s wrong?”

“The usual!” I sighed

“You’re moms gone again?” She asked

“Yup!” I replied

“Forget about it! You’re dream is about to come true! Dude you’re going out with Taylor Hanson! Thee Taylor Hanson! I am so envious of you.” Tristin stated.

All I could do was smile because I knew she was right like usual.

I looked at my clock next to my bed and it read 6:56pm. I remembered I told Taylor to pick me up at 7:30pm. I started looking through the clothes Tristin threw at me. I picked out a pair of blue jeans with the cuff folded once and a green long sleeve shirt with a black strip down the arms. I washed up and changed my clothes.

“You look great!” Tristin said as she was leaving.

Taylor came to my house around 7:20pm. He knocked at the door and I ran downstairs to the door.

“Hello.” I greeted him.

“You look beautiful!” Taylor exclaimed

“Thanks, So do you!” I replied

“Oh before I forget. Here is a backstage pass.” He said as he handed me a pass. “When you get to the concert just ask someone to tell you where the green room is. That’s were we will be.” He added.

I hung the pass on the staircase so I would remember to put it in my room.

Taylor drove us to a small quiet place that looks over the city of Tulsa. The lights were fantastic. When we got there Taylor ran around the car and opened my door.

“Thank you.” I said to him.

We walked over the where we could see the view of the city.

“What is that?” I asked pointing to the picnic basket he was carrying.

“My brother’s made us food for a picnic.”

“That was nice of them.”

We laid out a blanket and the food. There were sandwiches, grapes and Dr. Pepper. After we ate the food we stood up and were watching the view in front of us.

“It’s a nice night out isn’t it?” I asked him.

“Yeah it is, but being here with you makes it nicer.” He replied with the sweetest smile on his face.

“Do you come here often?” I asked

“Well... I come here sometimes when I need to get away from everything. But I never brought anyone else here.” Taylor said. “What does you’re parents do?” He added

Well... I am nor sure what my mom is anymore I know it has her traveling a lot and my dad is dead.”

“Really?”

“Yeah he died from Cancer when I was five years old.”

Wow, so no parents around huh?”

“Nope!” I giggled. I got lonely a lot so that is why I got a job at Taco Bell. Not much of a job but it gets me out of the house.”

Taylor just nodded.

The rest of the night we talked about anything and everything.

_______________

It was the next day, The day of the concert. I woke up around 10:00am, took a shower and got dressed. I went down stairs to once again find my mother gone. I got out my toaster strudels and ate my breakfast. I decided to watch television for awhile. 5 o’clock rolled around, I decided to get ready to go to the concert. I went upstairs to get my stuff. I grabbed my ticket and shoved it into my pocket of my jeans. Then I grabbed the backstage pass off of my dresser and put it around my neck. I sat there for a second on my bed contemplating how I was supposed to get there.

‘I know the dome isn’t that far from here, I could walk.’ I thought. I decided not to ride my scooter, for I didn’t have a place to put it. It took about 10 to 15 minutes to get to the dome. I walked through the front entrance on the East Side. There was a swarm of girls and a few guys in between . I looked around for a second and I found a service desk.

“Can you tell me how to get to the green room?” I asked the man behind the desk.

“I’m not sure, but I think it is through those doors on the south end. Can I see your pass?”

I held up the pass that was around my neck and then he waved me through.

“Thanks” I replied as I walked through the doors he talked about.

I walked down the hall for a few minutes until I saw a sign that said ’South Entrance’. I also saw a lady who was walking around that worked at the dome.

I went up to her and asked “Can you tell me where the green room is?”

“Yeah, go down the hallway until you get to another hallway that crosses. Turn right and it is the 5th door on the right.”

“Thank you” I replied as I walked away.

I was surprised that she didn’t ask me for my pass. I kept walking until I got to another hallway. I turned right and I began counting the doors. 1...2...3...4...5. I stood in front of the door and knocked.

“May I help you?” A big man asked me after he opened the door.

“Hanson asked me to come here”

He shut the door for a second and came back and opened it.

“What’s your name?”

“Elexis Jordan.” I replied

The man shut the door again. As I stood there I thought to myself

‘Why am I here?’ Then I realized my answer when the door once again swung open but instead of the man it was Taylor standing there.

“Hey come in!” Taylor said as I walked in the room.

The room was a fairly large room with the whole Hanson family inside of it.

“Let me introduce you to everyone.” Taylor said as he came up beside me putting his hand on my shoulder.

“This is my mom Diana, My dad Walker, my sisters Jessica, Avery, and Zoe.” He said “And this is my brother Mackenzie but we call him Mac.” He added picking him up in his arms.

“Hello everyone!” I exclaimed

“Taylor talks highly of you.” Diana said to me.

I smiled and looked over at Taylor. He had a slight grin upon his face but blushing bright.

“What are you doing after the concert?” Isaac asked me

“Umm....Walking home.”

“Do you have to be home right after the concert?” He asked

“No, I can be home at any time.” I answered

“Maybe all of us can do something after the concert.” Isaac said.

“Can we mom?” Taylor asked

“Yeah, just take your cell phone and pager with you.” Diana replied

We sat in the room talking until it was about time for Hanson to prepare for the concert. It was almost time for the opening acts to go on. When I left I walked out by the stage. As I was looking for my seat in the front row, I spotted someone I didn’t expect to see. Tristin was just a few rows back from me.

“Tristin!” I yelled and waved to her.

She waved back to me and yelled “Did you go back stage?”

“Yeah” I replied holding up my pass

Just then the first group came out on stage, it was N-TYCE. They sang a couple of songs. Then the second act came out, it was Kina. Then finally the last act before Hanson came on and it was Sweetbox. After the acts they had a 10 minute intermission. I stood there next to the stage as a security guard came up to me.

“This is from Taylor!” He said as he handed me a note.

I opened it and read it.

Lexi,

After the song Man From Milwaukee come straight to the green room, so we can head out fast. Hope you enjoy the concert!

Love,

Taylor

I shoved the note into my pocket just as the lights shut off and the lights on the stage grew bright. Hanson came out running across the stage spraying silly string at the audience. The first song they sang was ‘If Only’. Taylor, Isaac and Zac sang and led the audience for many of their songs and covers. Finally the song ‘Man From Milwaukee’ started. I looked at Taylor, he smiled and winked at me.

I looked around and girls were looking at me with the look of wonder.

The song ended and I said excuse me and made my way through the crowd. I walked past the stage while Hanson was introducing the last song.

“This is a song everyone should know! It’s from the summer of ’97”

Then they began to the song ’MMMBop’.

I walked into the green room where the family was waiting. I sat down on the floor with Jessica, Avery and Mac where they were playing ‘Mario Race Cart’ on Nintendo 64.

Minutes later Taylor, Isaac and Zac ran through the door laughing. They all sat down on chairs trying to catch their breaths.

“What did you think of your first Hanson concert?” Zac asked me

“Oh I thought it was the greatest! You guys play great music live and I liked it when you guys got the audience into the music.” I replied

Just then the security guard came in the room and said “The tour bus is ready for you.”

“We’re gonna go in the car out other entrance.” Walker said walking out with Diana and the kids.

“Lexi you can come with you” Taylor said as he grabbed my hand.

He smiled at me as we walked down the hall ‘til we got to a doorway.

“There is security out there holding the fans back, just run fast.” A security guard stated.

That’s when Taylor tightened his grip with my hand.

“Hold on tight!” Taylor told me.

The doors opened and we began to run towards the tour bus. I could hear the fans yell comments to Hanson. It was exhilarating!

I got on the bus and sat down. Isaac, Taylor and Zac stuck their heads out the windows waving to the fans as the bus pulled away. When the fans were no longer in sight, they made their way back into the bus. To make sure no one would follow us to Hanson’s House, they pulled the bus behind a building and we got out and got into a white van.

From there we went to Laser Quest for a couple of games. Then we went to Play land and drove around in go-carts. We had so much fun until the wee hours of the morning.

__________________

I woke up the next morning to the sound of someone knocking at the front door.

“Hey” I said to Tristin who made her way into the house.

“Spill it!” She giggled

“Huh?”

“I called you after the concert and no one answered! Were you with Taylor?”

“Yeah I was with Hanson” I replied walking into the kitchen.

“Ooh...What did you do? Don’t leave anything out!” Tristin said as I poured me some Orange Juice.

“Do you want some?” I offered

“Yeah, Now tell me all the details.” She giggled

We sat down at the table

“Well...after the concert we went to Laser Quest” I said yawning “The we went to Play land” I added “What time is it?”

“10:30am. Did Taylor kiss you?”

“No.” I giggled in reply

“Oh, I almost forgot, What do you wanna do for your birthday?” Tristin asked me.

“Nothing, I just want to vegetate.” I replied taking a drink of my Orange Juice.

“Ha..Ha...Yeah right!”

For the past couple of years I said I wanted to do nothing, but Tristin always made sure I had something to do or somewhere to go.

________________

‘Morning’s come too soon’ I thought to myself as I sat up in my bed.

“Oh My Gosh!” I said in shock. There were about 50 balloons scattered throughout my room.

I put my socks on and walked downstairs. I walked into the kitchen with my eyes slightly closed and still half-asleep.

“Happy Birthday!” I heard familiar voices say.

I opened my eyes to see Tristin, Taylor, Isaac and Zac walking around in my kitchen.

“Why do I think Tristin had something to do with this gathering?”

I giggled.

“You know me, Full of surprises!” She replied.

“Get dressed! We’re going out” Zac said running towards me. He grabbed me and gave me a noogie. Everyone started laughing. “Happy Birthday” he said as he hugged me.

“Ah, Group hug!” Isaac said as everyone hugged me.

I went back up stairs to my room to change my cloths and brush my hair. Then I walked back down stairs.

“Ready?” Tristin asked me.

“Yeah” I replied

We all walked out the door and crammed into Isaac’s car.

“Can we stop at home first? I forgot my money?” Zac asked

“Yeah we can.” Isaac replied

After we pulled into the Hanson driveway, everyone got out of the car. Instead of walking through the front door, we walked around the side of the house. As we walked into the back yard, I saw tons of familiar faces. Everyone yelled “Happy Birthday!”

“You surprised?” Taylor asked me

“Yeah” I said in shock.

I was surprised once again to see all my friends and co-workers there to celebrate my birthday.

Walker had the grill going and everyone was chatting among themselves.

I walked around saying ‘Hello’ and ‘Thank You’ to everyone.

“Thank you for doing this.” I said to walker and Diana.

I got a hamburger and some kool-aid. I sat down on the grass off to the side and started to eat. I was sitting there thinking when Tristin can came over and sat down next to me.

“Stop thinking about your mother and enjoy the party.” She stated

I didn’t know how but Tristin knew what I was thinking when I thought it.

Just then I felt a water balloon burst on my arm soaking my shirt. I looked up to see Taylor with another water balloon in his hand. I got up and ran over to him. I wrestled him to the ground making the balloon burst on him as well as me. Everyone started laughing including Taylor and I.

“Now we’re all wet!” I said laughing.

“Why don’t you guys go change your shirts before catch a cold?” Diana said.

Taylor and I got up from the group and walked into the house. We went into his bedroom where he gave me one of Zac’s t-shirts.

“Turn around” I said

After he turned around I hurried and changed my shirt.

“It’s okay now” I added

He took off his shirt and turned around facing me bare chested. He walked closer to me held my hands.

“Lexi, you’ve been the greatest friend to me. You treat me like a human and not just a famous musician and I very much appreciate that. I was hoping we could move past friendship” Taylor softly said.

“You mean date?”

“Yeah, that is if you want to.”

“Taylor.... I would like to but...I don’t want to ruin the great friendship that we have. What if it doesn’t work out? Nothing would ever be the same.” I replied.

We were interrupted by voices coming down the hallway. We let go of hands right before Isaac and Tristin were in the doorway.

“It’s time for presents!” Isaac and Tristin said.

Taylor put a shirt on and we all walked outside. It took me awhile but I opened up all the gifts. I got tons of great things. Jessica, Avery and Mac got me a friendship bracelet.

It soon got late and everyone started to leave. After I said goodbye to everyone, Mac came up to me and said “My mommy said you can spend the night.”

Tristin soon came up beside me.

“Tristin, you can stay the too.” Mac said.

“Where gonna have a sleep over!” Mac yelled running into the house.

“Did you have a good birthday?” Tristin asked me.

“Yeah! It was the best! Thanks again Tristin.” I said as I gave her a friendly hug.

We both walked into the house. Diana called us into the kitchen. When we made our way into the room, they started singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to me.

“Thanks.” I said with a blushing face.

Later that night everyone laid out blankets in the living. Taylor and I were the first ones to fall asleep, but I could faintly heat voices in the background.

“Dude look at that.” Zac said pointing to Taylor and I.

After Taylor and I fell asleep, Taylor moved closer to me and we ended up in each other’s arms.

The next morning I was one of the last people to wake up. I laid there next to Taylor thinking of what be had asked me.

I turned over facing Taylor to notice him looking at me.

“Good Morning.” I said

He just smiled and closed his eyes.

I got up and walked out of the living room. I walked into the kitchen where everyone else was.

Everyone said “Good Morning” and I replied with a “Good Morning”.

“What do you want for breakfast?” Isaac asked me

“Nothing...I’m not too hungry.” I replied.

“Do you want anything to drink?” He asked

“Do you have Orange juice?”

“Yeah” he answered getting me some.

“Thank You.” I said after he gave me a glass.

Taylor finally walked in the kitchen. Got some breakfast and sat across from me at the table. He never said anything, I figured he was upset with me or he was in really deep thought. I went into the living room and folded the blankets I slept on. Then I thought I would be nice and folded the rest of them. So I did. Then I helped Diana put them away. By that time everyone was done eating.

“ I should be going home now.” I said

“Me too.” Tristin said

“I’ll drive you guys home. You do have a lot of presents to take.” Isaac said to me.

“Taylor you coming?” Isaac said as we were walking out the door.

Taylor slowly came and sat in the back seat next to me because Tristin jumped in the front.

We got to my house and I gathered my stuff.

“I’ll help you carry your stuff.” Taylor offered.

We both walked into my house and sat my stuff in the living room. I walked Taylor back to the door where we stood.

“Taylor...I am sorry if I upset you yesterday.”

“Lexi you know how you said you didn’t want to ruin our friendship?

“Yeah”

“Well I like you so much I am willing to take that chance.”

“You’re serious?”

“Taylor just nodded his head.

I smiled “Come here!” I said as we hugged.

When the hug ended, I put my hands on his face and gently kissed him on the lips.

I left Taylor in shock, but just then he kissed me back passionately.

Shouting and Hooting came from the car.

Taylor and I starting laughing.

“Does this mean we’re boyfriend and girlfriend now?” Taylor asked

“Yeah” I giggled as he hugged me.

From then on we became a perfect couple at least in our eyes. I understood that music came first for him like it always have but he some how tried to include me in everything. He visited me a work sometimes with his brothers. Of course we weren’t together 24/7. I still hung out with Tristin like I have before. Nothing really changed except for I had a great boyfriend now.

_________________

Sometime has now past and it was now one day before Christmas Eve. Before I went into work at 11:00am I got a phone call saying my mom once again had to go on another business trip. This time to New York. She would have to be gone for a week maybe even longer. That meant I was going to be alone over Christmas. That really upset me. Soon I went out the door with my scooter in hand. That whole day I was sad but I tried not to let it get to me. I worked my whole shift without taking a break. I figured if I kept busy I wouldn’t think about my mother leaving. But the thought still lingered through my thoughts.

Tristin came in to work at 3:00pm that day. She was very happy because her family was going to Disney World for Christmas. She was leaving that day after work. I didn’t let my sadness interfere with Tristin’s happiness so I just played it off as if I wasn’t hurting inside. She asked later what I was doing for Christmas, I replied with “Nothing, my mom will be out of the state.”

The whole day went by slow. I felt the minutes pass. It was 7:00pm and time for me to get out of work. I clocked out and said ‘Goodbye’ to Tristin.

I grabbed my scooter and left. I wasn’t in any hurry to get home because I knew no one would be there anyhow. I decided to go to where Taylor took me on our first date, the hill that looks over the city. When I got there I saw Taylor sitting there on the ground looking at the lights glowing from the city.

“Hey” I said quietly as I walked up to him.

He jumped to his feet and hugged me. I hugged him back but not as hard as I would have.

“What’s wrong?” He asked me

“Oh..nothing” I replied

“Why are you here?” I asked Taylor

“I just had to get away from everything to think.”

“You want me to leave you alone?”

“No, I would love it if you would stay here with me.”

You do not know how good it felt to hear those words being said to me. I was in pure bliss but still saddened by pure heartache.

We both sat there on the ground looking at the lights hand in hand.

“Lexi?”

“Yeah?”

“You know you can tell me anything.” He said

“I know that, but I rather not talk about it right now.” I replied

“Ok, we don’t have to. But I am here to talk to.” He said while putting his arm around me.

“What are you doing for Christmas?” Taylor asked me

“Nothing” I said starting to cry. I tried to hold it in but it all came out. He heard me cry and lifted my head to look at me.

“Please tell me what’s wrong.” Taylor said with a saddened look on his face.

“I got to go now!” I said as I got up and took off on my scooter.

“But...Lexi...” Taylor yelled while jumping up. Taylor went straight home. I went straight home. I stopped crying a little bit. As soon as I got home I went right to my bedroom and laid down on my bed and cried. The phone rang a few minutes later. I looked at the caller ID and saw ‘Hanson’ I knew it was Taylor. I never picked it up. The phone rang 4 different times in a ten minute period.

Taylor was getting worried about me. ‘What person would know what’s wrong with Lexi?’ Taylor thought to himself. “Tristin!” He yelled as he grabbed Isaac and his car keys and ran out the door. Isaac drove Taylor up to Taco Bell to find her.

Tristin was on break and she was sitting at a table. The place was deserted. Taylor went up to her and sat down with a worried look on his face.

“What’s wrong?” Tristin asked taking a drink of her beverage.

“It’s Lexi, What’s wrong with her?” He asked abruptly.

“It’s her mother, She is always gone on business trips. I mean ALWAYS”

“So...”

“She left this morning and won’t be back until after Christmas. She has never been gone for Christmas.”

“So she will be alone on Christmas?” Taylor asked

“Yeah, Why do you ask about her?”

“Well I was just with her and she broke down crying then took off.”

“Oh that’s bad. She never cries in front of people. Well I can tell you she will want to be alone.”

“Well I don’t want her to be alone on Christmas.” Taylor said while getting up. “Thanks for the info, Bye.” He added as he left.

Back at my house I fell asleep crying. The next morning I was awoken by a doorbell. I went to the door still half-asleep. I opened the door to see no one standing there. I looked down and I saw single red rose and a card on my porch. I picked it up and went back inside. I read the card to see whom it was from.

I got a happy feeling inside me. I went back to the door and opened it. To my surprise I saw Taylor standing there. I wrapped me arms around him and hugged him.

“Come with me.” Taylor said to me

“Where?”

“My mom is cooking breakfast and well...we all want you to come over.”

“I don’t know”

“Please, Please, Please. I’m not gonna stop until you say will come over to my house.” Taylor giggled

“Okay I guess I can go over for a while.”

As I started up the stairs Taylor shut the front door and soon followed me up the stairs. When I got to my room I grabbed my keys and started to put my shoes on. When Taylor got to my room he stood in the doorway for a second and then walked in.

“So this is your room, I finally get to see it.” He said with a smile.

I stood up from tying my shoes with my back towards Taylor. I stood there for a second as Taylor walked towards me from behind. He stood in front of me as I looked down at the floor. He put his arms around me and pulled me closer to him. I laid my head upon his chest.

“How come you never told me about you mother?” Taylor asked me as he was rubbing his hands on my back.

I didn’t know what to say to that question. I got the courage to speak. “ It was always too hard to talk about.”

“It’s okay now. I will never leave you!” He said as he kissed me on the top of my head. Then he soon moved the hair from my face, he looked at me, and then with a second he kissed me on the tip of my nose. That made me smile.

“Are you ready to go?” He asked

“Yeah”

We walked out of my room and down the stairs. As we walked out the front door Taylor noticed that there was only one Christmas present under the Christmas tree. We walked to his house. When we got there, everyone was sitting at the kitchen table.

When we walked into the kitchen, Mac jumped out of his seat and ran to me saying “Lexi! Lexi!” He hugged me as if hasn’t seen me for awhile.

We went and sat down at the table. There was tons of good food and when everyone was done eating there was barely any leftovers.

“You wanna go play Lego's?” Mac asked me

“I would love to!”

So we went to their play room and we played the Lego's. Soon Jessica and Avery came in to play Lego’s also. We built things with the Lego’s for about an hour when Diana came in.

“Hey, Your dad is going to Aunt Sharon’s do you wanna go?” She asked her kids. They all got up and ran out of the room. “Taylor wants to talk to you. He is in the boy’s room.” She added as she walked out of the room.

I got up and walked to the boy’s room. I saw Taylor sitting on his bed.

“Hey, what do you wanna talk to me about?” I asked Taylor as I walked to him and sat next to him on the bed.

“Did you know during the whole time we knew each other, I’ve only seen your room once.” Taylor said.

“Yeah...So...” I replied with a grin

“Well since your mom’s out of town and your gonna be alone, Maybe I could stay the night.”: Taylor replied kissing me gently on my neck.

“Oh....as good as that offer sounds...I think I’m gonna have to refuse.”

“Oh.”

“I just feel I should be alone, That’s all.”

“I see”

“I think I should be going home now anyways.” I replied getting up from the bed.

“Well hey I will walk you home.”

“Okay” I replied with a smile.

He told his mother he was walking me home. The walk to my house was kind of quiet. He walked me up to my front door. I unlocked the door as we stood in the doorway. As we stood there looking at each other Taylor reached up and put his hand on my cheek. I felt his warmth as I put my hand on top of his. He leaned in and kissed me.

As I pulled back from the kiss Taylor looked at me with the look of warmth and comfort. I ran my fingers through his hair as he kissed me again but this time with full tongue. After the kiss ended Taylor spoke. “My offer still stands.”

“Thanks but now thanks”

“Okay, if you need anything just call me.” Taylor said

We hugged and then he left.

It was now around 1:00pm. I didn’t know what I was gonna do to pass the time. I walked into the kitchen and I noticed there was a sink full of dishes. I ran the dishwater, washed them, dried them and put them away in the cupboards. That only too about an hour because I took my time. I walked around the house and just picked up things lying around.

I decided to clean my room since I had nothing else to do. After I made my bed I looked on my dresser and I saw a picture. I picked up the photo and noticed that it was Taylor and I at my birthday party at his house. I picked up more photos. One was of Taylor, Zac, and Isaac flexing their muscles; another one was of Jessica, Avery, Mac and me holding Zoe. Then I saw a photo I never seen before

(Or at least I didn’t remember it), It was of Taylor and I sleeping together on the floor the night I spent the night over Hanson’s house.

I sat down on my bed looking over the photos. I noticed as we laid there in each other’s arms sleeping we both had faint smiles on our faces.

“I wonder who took this picture?” I said to myself as I started to smile.

I took a couple of tacks and I tacked the pictures on the wall next to my bed.

Around 3:00pm I decided to go for a walk. I didn’t want to go anywhere unparticular, just around. I went to the local park and swung on the swings for a little bit. Then I decided to go walking around again. I found myself walking to Taylor’s quiet spot. I sat there on the ground looking over the city. The sun slowly turned to the moon and light slowly turned to dark. I looked at my watch on my right wrist. It read 6:37pm.

‘Wow, I have been walking for about 3 hours.’ I thought to myself.

I decided to walk home before it got any darker. A I walked home I watched all the pretty Christmas lights on everyone’s homes. I saw families together and people singing. I got a sad feeling that came across. The feeling of being alone. ‘I never felt this way all the other times my mom left, Why now?’ I asked myself. But no matter how hard I thought I could not come out with an answer.

I got back to my house around 7:00pm. I was hungry so I decided to make some cookies. I got out the ingredients to make two batches of chocolate cookies. Before I started baking I turned on the CD player and put in ’Snowed In’. Listening to my boyfriend’s voice made me feel at ease with myself.

I finished the first batch of cookies; they turned out pretty good. I put the cookie out to cool and started the second batch. I put the cookie dough on the pan and stuck it in the oven. After I set the timer I went into the living room around 7:40pm. I turned on the Christmas tree lights . I stood there for a second looking at the lights shine in the dark room.

I jumped from the sound of the doorbell in the distance.

“I wonder who that could be.” I said walking to the door.

I opened the door to see Taylor standing there with a small present in his hands.

“Hi come in. I said to him as he walked in the door. I shut the door behind him.

“Why did you come over?” I asked

“I was sitting at home and I felt alone, all I could think of was you. My mom asked me what was wrong and I told her how I felt. I wanted to be with you!” He said as he held my hand. “She told me that she thought it would be a good idea if we were together. So I grabbed your present and came right over. I didn’t call because I wanted it to surprise you.”

“Yeah you surprised me” I replied with a smile.

“Mmm..... What smells good?” He asked

“I’m making cookies, Want one?”

“Are they eatable?” He jokingly asked

“Yeah. Come on” I said as we walked into the kitchen

Taylor grabbed a cookie off of the pan that was on the cupboard cooling.

“I am gonna go put your present under the tree” He said while eating the cookie.

When Taylor walked into the living room he squatted down and read the name that was on the one present. It was to him. I was in the kitchen taking out the cookies from the oven when Taylor came back in the kitchen.

“How come there is only one present under the tree?” He asked

“Do you see anyone else here?” I asked back

Taylor came up behind and put his arms around me while saying “ I can’t wait till you open your gift from me!” He exclaimed while kissing me on the back of my neck.

He started singing to the music on the CD player. I sat the cookies down and turned off the oven. With his arms still around me I turned around to face him. I put my arms around him and started playing with his hair.

“What did you get me?” I asked with a smile

He leaned in and lightly kissed me on the lips twice. All I could do was smile at him.

“Dance with me!”

“What?” I giggled as he swirled me around the kitchen.

We both started laughing, when we stopped dancing I turned the CD player off. When I turned around, Taylor was gone. I looked around in the kitchen but he wasn’t there so I went into the living room. There he was, I saw Taylor laying on my couch. I walked over and stood next to him. He grabbed my hand and pulled me on top of him. I didn’t want to hurt him so I went to get up but he held on to my waist and held me there. But hey I wasn’t complaining.

“I wanna be close to you.” Taylor said.

“I don’t think you can get any closer.” I replied with a smile.

Taylor started singing in his sweet and sensitive voice. “I want to hold you and love you in my arms and then - I want to need you ‘cause I need to be with ‘til the end.”

He stopped singing and sat up. We were both sitting there looking in to each other’s eyes. His face turned serious as he began to speak.

“Lexi, you mean the world to me. I always wanna be with you!” He paused. “ I.....I love you!”

“I love you too!” I replied.

Our eyes got teary as he hugged me tight as he could.

“Please don’t ever leave me” Taylor whispered into my ear.

Taylor started softly kissing my neck working his way towards my mouth. He slowly laid me back on the couch. We kissed for awhile. As Taylor’s hand began to travel he looked at me.

“Do you wanna go to your room?” He asked in a hot and heavy tone of voice.

“Yeah” I replied through kissing him.

We got up from the couch and went up the stairs hand in hand. As Taylor passed the front door, He swiftly unlocked it knowing he has a plan. As we got in my room Taylor shut and locked the door behind him. He rushed over to me. He put his arms around me as he started kissing me. I put my hands on his shoulders and slowly slide off his over shirt. As I threw his over shirt on the floor he took off his black tank top. Then I slowly ran my hands town his chest.

I began to kiss his chest ever so lightly; he ran his hands down my sides until he got to the bottom of my shirt. He slowly lifted me shirt off over my head. Taylor began to kiss me again. He slowly laid me down on my bed and slowly crawled on top of me.

“You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me!” Taylor whispered as I gazed into his gorgeous blue eyes.

I leaned up and kissed him on his lips. He started kissing me all over my neck. As he was kissing me my hands flowed down to his zipper of his pants. I undid his pants and slowly slid them off revealing his silk Christmas boxers that said ‘Kiss Me’ on them. They to slowly came off. Taylor put his hands on the top part of my body. He slowly took his hands and glided them down my body taking my silk pants and underwear with them. He kissed his way up to my mouth. Our bodies began to press against each other with sweat forming. As we became one with each other a little pain came but pleasure soon followed.

We started breathing harder and harder as I let out a small groan then so did Taylor. We stopped for a second as Taylor began to speak.

“Are you alright?” He asked out me out of breath.

I could barely speak but I managed to say “Yeah” as I kissed him.

He kissed me back very passionately as he began to writhe.

After awhile it was over. We laid there side by side facing each other. Taylor and I just experienced the purest love for one another. Taylor laid there looking at me with a smile on his beautiful sweaty face while running his fingers through my hair. My eyelids grew heavy as I closed them. As soon as I closed my eyes Taylor wrapped his arms around me pulling me closer to him. I opened my eyes to see Taylor still looking at me. He slowly leaned in and kissed me on my forehead. I laid my head closer to his and I drifted asleep. I could feel his body and warmth next to mine the whole night.

The next morning I was awoken by a light coming from the window. I slowly got up and put on my pajamas. After I put on my shirt I turned around to see Taylor watching me.

“How long have you been watching me?” I asked him crawling back into bed next to him.

“Since you got out of bed.” He answered.

He leaned over and kissed me gently on the mouth.

“Merry Christmas Beautiful” Taylor said

“Merry Christmas to you too.”

As we laid there, the phone rang. I crawled over Taylor and got out of bed. I picked up the phone on the third ring.

“Hello...Merry Christmas to you too...”

As I was talking Taylor came up behind me and started kissing my neck giving me the chills.

“When will you be back?...Oh okay...No I’ll be fine.....Okay see ya then....Bye!”

“Who was that?” Taylor asked me.

“It was my mom”

“When is she coming back?”

“Thursday” I said as I pushed his naked body back on the bed. I laid next to him.

He got up and straddled me. He started kissing my upper chest as I began to feel his hands begin to tickle me. It turned into a tickle fest. Then we started kissing again. He stopped kissing me and looked at me.

“Do you think Santa came?” He asked

“I doubt it.”

He jumped up and grabbed me.

“Come on let’s go check!” As he ran to the door.

“Wait!” I yelled

“What?”

“Don’t you wanna put some clothes on? Your still hanging free!’ I giggled.

“Oh yeah.” He replied while putting on his boxers.

He held my hand as we went down stairs. Taylor seemed to be excited. As we turned the corner and came to the living room, I turned my head to see tons of gifts under the Christmas tree.

“Huh?...Wa....How?!?” I stuttered with a huge smile on my face.

“Now that smile makes everything shine!” Taylor exclaimed looking at me.

We walked closer to the tree.

“I guess you’ve been good this year!” He said kissing me on the cheek.

We both sat down on the floor in front of the tree. I was still in awe of how the gifts got there in the first place. All the gifts weren’t just for me, Taylor got some as well. Taylor loved the gift I got him, it was a black chocker with a cross on it.

As we sat there on the floor, Taylor handed me the last gift as he said “I saved the best for last!”

I ripped the wrapping paper off to reveal a small black box. I slowly opened the box and inside were two rings.

“They are promise rings. I’ll wear one and you’ll wear one to let everyone know were together. And maybe some day we can get married.” He said taking one ring out. He slipped it on my ring finger. Then I took the other ring out and slipped it onto Taylor’s ring finger.

“Do you like it?” He asked

“I love it! and I love you!” I exclaimed as I immediately grabbed a hold of Taylor.

“I love you so much!” Taylor whispered in my ear as he embraced me in a hug.

Both of us jumped to the sound a doorbell. We both got up from the floor and walked to the door. I opened it up to see Jason and Mindi standing there.

“Merry Christmas!” They both said.

“Merry Christmas” I replied as I hugged them both.

“Won’t you come in?” Taylor said.

“Nice boxers you got there!” Mindi said smiling.

Taylor started to blush.

I told Mindi to come with me so she could see all the presents I got. That left Taylor with Jason.

“Oh look what Taylor gave me.” I said to Mindi pointing to my ring.

“Is that a promise ring?” Mindi asked

“Yeah and he said maybe one day we could get married!”

“Oh my god girl, You are so lucky!”

“So how long have you known Lexi?” Taylor asked Jason

“About 4 years” Jason replied.

“You know you got a great girl, trust me, don’t ever let her go!” Jason added as Mindi and I walked back to the door.

“Well we should be going now. Mindi said as they walked out the door.

“Bye” I said as I shut the front door.

“So what did you and that girl talk about?” Taylor asked

“About how I have the greatest boyfriend in the world” I replied putting my arms around him.

“I have the greatest girlfriend in the world!” Taylor added

“You gave Mindi the second greatest sight in the world!” I said to Taylor

“The second? What is the first?”

“What I saw last night is the greatest sight in the world!” I said as i started kissing his chest.

“Wanna see it again?” Taylor asked pulling me close to him.

“I am kind of hungry right now.” I replied

“So am I, that’s why I asked.” Taylor said with an evil grin on his face.

The phone rang and Taylor picked it up as I walked to the bathroom.

“Hello...Merry Christmas to you too mom...Tell everyone I said Merry Christmas...She’s in the bathroom...Okay I will...Hey can you tell Zac and Ike I said ‘Thank You’ for what they did?...Yeah she was very surprised...Yeah okay...I love you too...Bye...”

“Who was that?” I asked Taylor as I came out of the bathroom.

“My mom, She said Merry Christmas.”

“Did she say anything about you staying over last night?”

“No, I told her I might of if you wanted me to. She said that was fine.” He said walking into the kitchen. “It seemed you wanted me to stay last night.” He added with a grin.

“Oh I did!” I replied following him into the kitchen.

“I’ll make us something for breakfast. Do you like eggs? How about pancakes?” Taylor said.

‘Yeah that sounds good.”

Taylor and I got out all the stuff he needed to cook with. He started making the eggs first and I stood there watching him. It suddenly hit him that I was the luckiest girl in the world to be with Taylor Hanson. We met in a rare way but yet it all makes sense.

“What are you thinking about?” Taylor asked me.

“Not much. It’s weird, this time last year we were completely strangers and now your here cooking for me.” I replied

Taylor took the food and put it on the plates. He walked over to me and put his arms around my waist.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He said kissing me. “Now let’s eat.”

I walked to the kitchen table and sat down. Taylor brung the food over to the table and sat across from me. We started eating.

“This is good food.” I said

“Thanks.”

“What do you wanna do after we eat?” I asked Taylor.

“I don’t know, how about we go for a walk?” Taylor said before taking a bit of his pancakes.

“I am going to go change my clothes now” I said after I got done eating.

I went to my room and changed. I could hear Taylor walking up the stairs singing ‘Silent Night’. He came in my room and laid next to me on the bed as I was putting my socks on.

I laid back next to Taylor on the bed, we laid there for a while. I looked over at Taylor and I noticed that he was sleeping. Just then I heard the phone ring. I hurried to the phone not waking up Taylor.

“Hello...Yeah he is sleeping...Yeah no problem....Okay...Bye”

I hung up the phone and walked over to Taylor and sat down next to him.

“Taylor, you have to get up” I said running my fingers over his chest.

He moved a little covering himself up with a blanket but still did not wake up.

“Taylor...Taylor you have to get up” I whispered.

He turned over on his side looking at me with his eyes half open.

“Why?” He whispered.

“Your mom just called and said that you have to go do some interview soon. So you have to go home and get ready.”

“Don’t wanna go, You go for me!” He said covering his head with a blanket.

“Oh yeah that’ll work. I am sure I’ll pass as you.” I jokingly replied.

“I don’t wanna go.”

I stood up in front of Taylor. I grabbed his feet and pulled him out of the bed on to the floor.

“Ouch!” Taylor giggled still wrapped up in the blankets.

I bent over and started to unwrap Taylor form the blankets. He grabbed my hand and pulled me down next to him. He covered both of us up and used me as a pillow.

“Taylor you have to get up.” I giggled as Taylor started to pretend snoring. “C'mon on...You can come back later”

“You promise?”

“Yeah I don’t plan on going anywhere.”

Taylor finally got up from the floor. I sat there and watched him. Taylor started shacking his butt around as he got dressed making me laugh hysterically.

I got up and we walked down the stairs. We stood at the front door as he hugged and kissed me goodbye.

I shut the door behind him. I walked around the house and picked it up some. I put all my presents in my room and put away all the Christmas decorations. About three hours later Taylor called me saying he wasn’t gonna be home until late, so he wouldn’t be able to come over. I didn’t hear from Taylor again until Wednesday around 8:00pm. He told me he wanted to come over on Thursday.

When Thursday rolled around my mother got home around 2:30pm. After she put her things in her room she said “We need to talk!” We went into the living room and sat down.

“Lexi...You know how important my job is right?”

“Yeah I know”

“Well, I got a promotion.”

“That’s great!”

“Elexis, They want me to relocate to New York.”

“New York!?! I don’t wanna move!”

“Well I have already made up my mind; we are leaving as soon as possible.

“You. You.. You...It’s always about you! Maybe you should think of me for a change!”

I went to my room and laid down on my bed. About a half-hour later my mom knocks on the door.

“Go away!” I yelled with my face in the pillow.

My mom came in anyway carrying boxes.

“These are for your things.” My mom said putting the boxes on my floor.

“Do we have to move?” I sadly asked

“This will be a great opportunity for you!” My mom said sitting next to me.

“How?” I questioned sitting up.

“Just think you can start over, meet new friends, get a new job and maybe you can get a boyfriend.”

“I don’t want to start over, I like my friends, I like my job and I love my boyfriend!”

“When did you get a boyfriend?” My mom asked with a shocked look on her face.

“It’s one of my friends, his name is Taylor. We started going out around my birthday but you wouldn’t know that because you weren’t here for my birthday along with other special occasions.” I snapped at her.

“I know I’m not here that much, but you turned out good.”

“Mom I started cooking when I was six. I was taking care of the housework and of myself when other kids my age were outside playing.”

“I’m so sorry.” She replied hugging me. “When we’re in New York we’ll spend more time together.”

“Seventeen years too late!” I snapped as I got up and walked out. I went down stairs to get a drink.

I don’t know if I made my mom cry or not but she deserves it for what she put me through. For the first time in my life I was happy and she wanted to take it away.

My mother later came in the kitchen to started packing things.

“So when will I meet your boyfriend?”

“Tonight, he is coming over.” I replied walking back up the stairs to my room to start packing.

I packed for about two hours. I basically had my whole room packed, except my bed stuff and my clothes.

I walked down stairs and noticed there were boxes every where. I heard the doorbell as I was coming down the stairs. My mom opened it and there were two moving men standing there. They started taking boxes and putting them in the trucks in the driveway.

“Mom is there anyway I can talk you out of this?” I pleaded.

“Sorry Lexi, we have to move.”

“Where you going?” Taylor asked with a confused look on his face as he came to the front door.

I ran to him and hugged him.

“Mom this is Taylor, My boyfriend!”

“Your Taylor Hanson, It’s nice to meet you” my mom said shocked to see the famous Taylor Hanson.

“It’s nice to meet you too.” Taylor replied

I grabbed Taylor’s hand and we went upstairs to my room. I shut and locked the door behind us.

“What are all those boxes for?” Taylor asked still looking a little confused.

“My mom is making us move!”

“What?....Where?” Taylor said while tripping and falling onto my bed.

“New York!”

“New York?” He yelled “why?”

“For her job!”

Taylor grabbed me really tight. I could hear him start to cry.

“Just hold me!” Taylor whispered in my ear.

As soon as I heard those words I felt the tears start to fall.

We held each other for a while. The hugging ended and we walked over to my bed and sat down to talk. We sat there as close as we could and He held my hands.

“Do you want the ring back?” I asked him with tears in my eyes.

“No, It’s a promise I made to you!” Taylor replied strongly.

“What are we gonna do? Most long distance relationships don’t last.”

“This one will..” Taylor said. He looked at me with his tear filled eyes and said “Just because we will be miles apart doesn’t mean our love won’t last.”

I put my hand on his face as I kissed him on the check. I laid my head on his shoulder.

Knock...Knock...Knock... came from the door.

I got up and opened it, my mom stood there looking in.

“What’s wrong with him?” She asked pointing to Taylor who was still on my bed with his hands over his face crying.

“Oh just that his girlfriend is moving far away.” I said. “What do you want?”

“I am going to work late, I will be home late to finish packing our stuff.”

“Okay, Bye.” I said as I hugged her goodbye.

I shut the door and sat down next to Taylor on the bed. I put my arms around him.

“Should we go over to your house and tell them the bad news?”

Taylor shock his head in agreement. We got up from the bed holding hands. We walked down the stairs. We walked to Taylor’s house, It was a quiet walk. I think we were both thinking of how everything is going to change, at least I know I was.

Taylor and I walked in his house. Everyone looked at us with a shocked looked because we had both been crying. Mack ran up to us and asked “What’s wrong?”

I picked him up and we walked into the living room where the rest of the family was.

“I have some bad news!” Taylor whimpered to the family.

“Lexi has to move away!”

Everyone got a shocked look on their faces when Taylor delivered the news.

“When?...Why?...When?” Zac yelled

Taylor and I sat down on the couch.

“My mom came home from her trip saying her job compelled us to move to New York.”

“When?” They all mumbled

“Leave either tomorrow or early Saturday morning. She has to leave as soon as she can.”

Mack (Who was sitting on my lap) turned around and hugged me.

“He is gonna miss his playmate.” Diana said about Mack.

“Hey you wanna go play Lego's before I have to leave?” I asked Mack.

“Yeah!” He yelled as he jumped off my lap into the playroom. I got up and followed him to the playroom. Mack was sitting on the floor dumping out the Lego’s.

“What do you wanna build today?” I asked him.

“A city!” Mack bellowed

I sat down on the floor by the Lego’s. We started making big buildings, and then we made small houses and roads through out the city.

While Lexi and Mack were building the city Taylor came and stood outside of the door to the play room, where no one could see him standing there.

“Why do you have to leave?” Mack asked me

“Because my mom’s job is there.”

“What about Tay?” He asked while putting cars on the roads.

“What about him?”

“Are you guys gonna brake up?”

“No, how did you know about Taylor and I?”

“He’s always talking about you, I mean ALWAYS.” Mack giggled.

I turned around and saw Taylor standing there with a smile on his face. I turned back around to face Mack.

“So what does he say about me?”

“Well...” he started but was cut off by Taylor.

“Hey!” Tay said

“Well the city is all done!” Mack yelled.

“Mack mom wants you in the kitchen” Taylor said.

I got up and stood in front of Taylor. He put his arms around my waist and put his head on my right shoulder. I put one arm around his neck and the other arm around his waist.

We stood there for a couple of minutes until we heard Diana yell from the kitchen. “Who wants Ice Cream?”

We walked into the kitchen holding hands. She was dishing out bowls of Cookie Dough Ice Cream. Everyone got a bowl and sat down at the kitchen table.

As I was sitting at the table with everyone, everything seemed to be perfect as if I wasn’t leaving. Everyone was laughing at Zac and Isaac’s jokes.

As we were still sitting at the table, Jessica busted out with “Mom can Lexi stay the night?”

“She probably has to pack!” Diana replied.

“Do you?” Jessica asked me ecstatically.

“Well I should but...She can’t expect me to do everything.”

“Can she mom?”

“Sure why not.”

“Can I use your phone?” I asked Diana and Walker.

“Yeah it’s on the living room.” Walker replied.

I got up from the table and called my mom on her cell phone.

“Mom...Can I spend the night over a friends house?...Jessica...Yeah I packed my room...Okay...Bye” Then I hung up the phone. I walked back into the kitchen. Everyone was looking at me.

“What?” I said as I stood there.

“Can ya stay?” Jessica asked with atheism

“Yeah I can” I answered

“Yippee! Can we make a fort?” Mack asked

“It’s up to your mom.” I answered as I sat down next to Taylor.

“I’ll think about it” Diana replied.

Everyone just sat there as quiet as can be.

“Oh alright go get the stuff you need for the forts!” Diana replied laughing a little.

Zac, Jess, Avery and Mack ran out of the kitchen dragging chairs behind them.

“I never saw them so quiet!” Walker added

As we sat there at the table Taylor grabbed my hand. He got up taking me with him and we walked to his room. We walked in and he shut the door behind us.

“What’s up?” I asked

Without any warning Taylor grabbed me and held me close. He put his head on my shoulder and said “I don’t want you to leave!”

“I don’t wanna leave! Trust me if I had a choice I wouldn’t leave your side.”

“Will you come back to visit?”

“Of course I will and you can come see me when you’re on tour.” I added.

After I said that the door swung open. There stood Zac with tons of blankets in his arms. “We’re ready to make a fort” Zac said

“Aren’t you to old to make forts?” Taylor asked Zac

“Aren’t you to old to cry?” Zac snapped

Taylor tried to go after him but I grabbed him first. Zac started running down the hallway but soon tripped over some blankets that were dragging on the floor. He fell forward but good thing he was carrying so many blankets that softened his fall. We all started snickering. I turned back to Tay.

“Come help us make a fort.” I said

“Nah.” He replied

I heard my name being called from the other room. I kissed him then I walked out of the room. I walked into the living room and saw about six chairs and a pile of blankets. Zac and I put the chairs around the room.

Mack was running around the room with a blanket around him yelling “ I’m Superman! I can fly. Whoa!”

Everyone started laughing. We had so much fun putting together the fort. It turned out to be very big. We put blankets over everything. After everything got settled down we all got into the fort we made. Mack was carrying a flashlight and a book in his arms.

After we all sat down, Mack turned on the flashlight and asked “Can you read us a story?”

“Sure.” I replied as he handed me the book. The book was a love story called ‘In a New York minute’.

Zac, Jessica, Avery and Mack all laid down in the blankets. I started reading through the book, but before I could finish the story, I looked up and noticed that everyone in the fort was sleeping. I slowly put the book down and turned off the flashlight. I quietly crawled out of the fort to see Taylor sitting on the couch with his head resting on his hand, falling asleep. I sat down next to him on the couch. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at me.

“Why aren’t you in bed sleeping?” I asked him

“I didn’t want to go to bed without you.” He said, then after a short pause “This is our last night together!” He added as he hugged me.

“We have to think positive.”

“I am gonna come visit you every chance I get!” He whispered trying not to wake anyone up.

We both started yawing.

“Want to go to bed now?” He asked me.

“Yeah” I answered

We both got up from the couch. While we held each other’s hand, Taylor walked in front of me down the hallway to go to his room.

When we got in there, Taylor shut the door behind us. We almost had the whole room to ourselves. Zac was sleeping in the fort we made but Isaac was sound asleep in his bed. As we stood there, Taylor took off his shirt and pants just leaving him standing there in his boxers.

“I have nothing to sleep in.” I said.

Taylor walked over to their dresser. He grabbed a pair of his boxers and one of Zac’s jersey’s. He walked over to me carrying the clothes.

“Now you do.” Taylor said with a tired smile.

I took the clothes and went to the bathroom and changed. I walked back to the bedroom. I went into the room and shut the door behind me. Without the hall light gleaming in, the room got dark. I started to walk but tripped on something on the floor. I looked down to see what it was and seen it was a pair of boxers.

I looked up at Isaac’s bed and noticed he was gone. I swiftly looked over at Taylor’s bed. Taylor was laying there in his bed under some blankets.

I stood there thinking when Taylor began to speak.

“Lexi, Is that you?

“Yeah” I answered as I walked over to Taylor’s bed.

Taylor lifted the blankets enough for me to get underneath them. As I slide in I felt the bareness of his soft skin. I knew then that the boxers I tripped over were Taylor’s.

‘Where’s Ike?” I asked him

“He was nice enough to leave us alone.” He answered with a smile.

“Oh...and what do you plan on doing?” I replied grinning.

Without any warning, Taylor leaned over and gently kissed me on the lips.

“I got the urge to kiss your soft and sweet lips” Taylor whispered as he ran his hand over my cheek.

The night grew long and heavy. The morning slowly came as I was awaken by a little glare of light coming from the window beyond the bed. Taylor’s arm was over my stomach and our legs were intertwined.

I slowly got up and got dresses before anyone came in then I laid back down next to Taylor. I gently kissed the tip of his nose as he still slept. I watched him sleep to soundly as I ran my fingers over his face and through his hair. While Taylor was still sleeping, he put his arms around me and began to cuddle. I know I had to get up and leave but I didn’t have the strength to leave my love’s arms.

I heard voices going up and down the hallway and I felt Taylor begin to move. I looked at him and his tired eyes began to squint open.

“Taylor.” I whispered then with a pause. “I have to leave.”

Taylor didn’t speak, He just responded with a long hard hug. We both got up and Taylor put his boxers and pants on.

“I can not believe this day came.” Taylor whispered. “It’s too hard to say goodbye to the one person I love more than life.”

“I love you so much Taylor!”

“I love you too” He whispered into my ear as we hugged.

We walked out to the living room so I could tell everyone goodbye. Within 15 minutes the goodbyes were over. Taylor slowly walked me over the to front door.

“When you get all settled down in New York, I want you to call me.”

“You’ll be the first person I will call!” I replied as I hugged him.

“When you see Tristin, tell her what happened and that I will call her very soon.”

“I will.”

We said our final goodbyes. We both looked at each other with teary eyes as we said ‘I love you’. I began to walk ways towards my house. Every time I looked back I saw Taylor there watching me walk out of his life.

As I walked closer to my house I saw two moving trucks in my driveway. I walked into my house to see many delivery people walking through my house. I walked up the stairs to look for my mother. I went into my room and I noticed everything was gone except for the few things in a bag. I picked up the bag and out it on my back. I ran down stairs and into the kitchen. There was my mom talking to the head delivery guy and filling out paper work.

“Hi baby girl!” My mother loudly said as she hugged me.

“Is there anything you want me to do?” I asked

“No, The moving guys just have to put the rest of the boxes in the truck....The we can start our move.”

“Yippee” I said sarcastically

“Everything packed!” A mover said interrupting our conversation.

My mother and the movers started talking about directions and the news house. While they did that, I walked around the open and empty house. The old memories ran through my mind. I walked upstairs and I stood in the doorway of my empty room. I walked over to my window and just stood there looking into empty space and thinking about Taylor and my best friend Tristin.

“Elexis!” My mother said interrupting my train of thoughts.

“Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah I guess so” I mumbled.

My mother and I both walked down the stairs. With one long last look of our empty house and with one last sigh, we walked out the door.

“Did you get everything?” My mother asked me as we got into the car.

“Yes” I said taking my bag off of my back.

We began to drive our long journey to New York.

We were in the car for about 36 hours excluding the pits stops along the way. We pulled on to a semi crowded road and we stopped at a fairly large house with light gray trim. We walked into the house to look around. We put our things in the house later.

- About a week later - Back in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

“Taylor, are you alright?” Diana asked as she stood at the doorway of the boy’s room.

“Mom....I miss her!” Taylor sighed.

Diana walked over to Taylor and hugged him. Just then the phone rang.

“Taylor it’s for you!” Walker said walking into the room with the phone.

“I don’t wanna talk to anyone!” Taylor stated.

Walker tossed the phone at him anyway.

“Hello? Taylor asked hesitantly on the phone.

“I told ya I would call ya!”

“Lexi!” Taylor said, as he seemed to cheer up

“I miss you!”

“Oh my god, I’ve missed you so much!”

“Do you want my address and phone number?”

“Yeah!” He said as he grabbed a pen and some paper from his dresser.

I gave him my address and phone number. We talked for about a half-hour.

“Taylor I have to go, Some neighbors came over.”

“I love you Lexi, With all my heart!” Taylor stated

“Oh Taylor, I love you too!”

We said goodbye and we hung up.

Taylor just laid there on his bed with the phone still in his hand.

___________________

Two weeks have passes with a few phone calls here and there. On the way back from the recording studio, Taylor sat in the back of the van quiet as can be. Diana and Walker were extremely worried about him. For he has not been himself since Elexis’ departure.

“He has been in so much anguish since Elexis left to go to New York.” Walker said.

“I wonder what we could do to make him feel better?” Diana said

As Diana and Walker were whispering so no one could hear them. They drove in the opposite direction of their house. But no one seemed to notice.

“I can’t believe we’re doing this.” Diana said as they pulled into the local airport.

When they parked the van, everyone was wondering why they at the airport. Everyone got out of the van and followed Diana and Walker inside asking them questions.

“Taylor, This is for you! Buy Elexis something.” Walker said handing him a credit card.

“In the airport?” Taylor asked in pure confusion.

“No when you get to New York!” Walker replied.

“What?...Oh My God!” Taylor yelled as he hugged his parents.

“When is the next plane leaving to go to New York?” Diana asked the lady behind the counter.

“There is one in an hour and one tomorrow morning.” The lady replied.

Taylor looked at the lady with an extremely happy face and began to speak. “I’ll take the first flight out!”