The Quiet One -- Chapter 27

Chapter 27
At 6:00 Isaac located Taylor in the basement. He was in the studio playing the piano. There were papers lying about and when Taylor saw his brother, he hurriedly gathered them up and shoved them in the worn out old journal, that, other than Sparky, he spent more time with than anybody.
"What are you working on?" Taylor just shook his head. Oh God, Isaac thought, I'm going to be stuck with Moody Man tonight. "Are you ready? We need to leave in a half hour."
Taylor sighed then asked, "Why?"
"Why, what?" Isaac asked.
"Why do I have to go?"
Isaac looked at his little brother. Taylor had always been a bit of a paradox, shy, yet flashy, quiet but talkative, fiercely intelligent yet sometimes slow somehow. "Because I want you to." He answered. "I miss you and our friends miss you. You're not dead Tay. You didn't get off that easy." The look Taylor was giving him was unsettling. "Stop looking at me like that, just get ready and let's go." Isaac turned to leave and Taylor slapped the top of the piano. "What?" He said and turned back to face him.
Taylor signed, "Why M-A-R-C-Y ? She'll probably hit me in front of everybody."
Isaac smiled and shook his head, "She is not going to hit you, so just chill out." He looked at his watch. He knew his kooky brother and sometimes it took him forever to dress and primp and other times he was ready in two minutes flat. "Hurry up, for crying out loud. Dad wants to talk to you before we go." As Taylor rushed past him he said. "And change your sweater, it's covered in dog hair.   Hey! That's my sweater!"
Taylor ran up the stairs before Ike could scold him about his sweater borrowing. In the kitchen, Zoe was already seated in her chair, she'd graduated to the big table but still in the tall chair that put her at everyone else's level. "Taylor eat." She said to him. As Isaac came up behind him, "Ike eat."
"Mom, where's dad?" Isaac asked. "I finally found him downstairs hiding."
Taylor rolled his eyes. "He's in his office." She looked at Taylor. "Chris called about something and your father wants to ask you about it."

~~~~

Walker looked up from the paperwork he'd been reading as he heard the footsteps of his son. "Ah, they found you."
Taylor was about to get irritated. He hadn't been hiding in the first place. "What's up?" He questioned his father.
"Sit." Walker said, and pointed to a chair. Taylor sat and immediately began making galloping horse sounds, with his fingers on the desk. "Stop that. Now, Chris called and said he got a call from the people at Calvin Klein." Taylor shook his head. "Just listen. I know you turned them down before, but things are different now, son. I just think you ought to give it some thought. You could do as little or as much as you wanted. It's your decision though. Give it a couple of days, then we'll call Chris back. Ok?"
Just then Isaac poked his head in the door. "You've got 12 minutes."
Walker looked at Taylor then smiled. "Have fun."
Taylor gave his father a sideways glance. "Is this some sort of C-O-N-S-P-I-R-A-C-Y ?" He signed.
His father laughed and said, "Yes son, we all got together and decided what you needed was to go bowling."
"Whatever." Taylor went up the stairs and into his room.

~~~~

Jessica was there looking in his closet. She turned towards him and held up a maroon, velvety looking shirt. He stood with his hands on his hips. "Don't just stand there, come on."
He shook his head and walked towards her. As he gingerly pulled the sweater off, trying not to bend his arm, she finally just grabbed it and tugged, pulling it off over his head leaving his hair an electrified mess. "Jess!"
"God, you're skinny Taylor." She said as she put both hands on his head trying to make his hair lay back down. "So, are you going to tell me what happened in here?" She asked as she handed him the clean shirt.
"I broke the window."
"No kidding."
"Does Mom know?" He asked her.
"Mom's too busy to notice stuff like that."
"Good."
"Here." She said and she helped him get the shirt on. "How bad is it? I'm not sure we can get this shirt on over all that gauze. Who fixed you, Ike?"
"Yeah, and Lee."
"Lee was here?" She asked, surprised.
"Damn! You sure are a snoop."
"Did you just say I was a snoop? I'm not a snoop, you're just crappy at hiding stuff."
"Don't tell."
"I'm not gonna tell, sheesh!" She stood back and looked at him. "Those pants look like crap."
He shot her a look. "They do not!"
"You need black pants."
"Jess..."
She quickly looked at the four pair of black pants hanging in his closet and chose a pair of soft cords. "Yeah. No woman will be able to resist you in these."
"You'd be surprised." He said.
"What?" She asked.
He just shook his head. They were interrupted by Isaac yelling up the stairs. "Four minutes!"
Taylor stuck his tongue out.
"Here!" She thrust the pants at him. Since she couldn't hear his protests, she ignored them. Finally, he unzipped his jeans and started pulling them off as best he could. As he bent down to unlace his boots, he heard Jessica gasp behind him. He turned quickly to see her eyes wide, one hand over her mouth and the other pointing to his rear end.   "Ooooh my Gooooooood….."
"What!?"
"You've got a tattoo!!!"
"SSsshhhhh!!! Shut up, shut up!!!" He rushed over and clamped his hand over her mouth.
The glee which shone in her eyes was unmistakable and he knew he would be paying for her silence for a very long time as she was a master of blackmail and this was most probably the greatest discovery she'd ever made on one of her brothers. Sparky stood up on the bed, curious about what was going on.
"Tay..." Isaac suddenly walked in finding Taylor with his pants half on and half off holding his hand over his sister's mouth. "What the..."
Taylor quickly removed his hand and as fast as possible using only his left hand pulled up his pants. The shirt he was wearing couldn't compare with the shade of red his cheeks were turning. The smile on Jessica's face only confused Isaac more.
"No! Take those off." She said to Taylor. Isaac looked at his sister, wondering who was crazier. "Ike," she said, "do those ugly pants look better with that shirt or these nice black ones?" She held up the cords.
"Uhhh, I guess the black ones."
Taylor, feeling faint had ambled over to the bed and flopped backwards, shutting his eyes, his ears were burning he was blushing so furiously. This day can not possibly get any more bizarre, he thought. When he opened his eyes, both his sister and his brother were staring at him.
"See? I told you so." Jessica said and the smile on her face reminded him of the grinch when he got that "wonderful, awful idea". She grabbed his boots and pulled til they came off, then tugged on the pants, getting nowhere as Taylor was still in shock. "Good grief Taylor! Are you alright?" She said as she peered down at him. He shook his head. "You're fine, now get those pants off and put on the pretty ones. Ike," she said, "make sure he brushes his hair before you go." Then she left and her brothers were left watching the empty doorway.
"What was that all about?" Taylor covered his face with his hands, sighed, then sat up and looked at Isaac. "Nevermind, I don't want to know. Hurry up!" Isaac said to his exasperated brother.
Taylor had become a master of facial expressions and the one he wore now was warning Isaac that irritation was about to turn to anger. He kicked his boots out of the way, wiggled out of his pants and pulled on the black ones bitching the whole time. Isaac smiled. Sometimes, silence was a good thing.

~~~~

When they got to the living room, the rest of the family was there watching the Power Puff Girls. Diana, who'd been reading a magazine, got up and walked towards Isaac. Avery handed Taylor a hairbrush. "I think you forgot something." She said and she and Jessica giggled.
"Isaac," Diana said quietly, "if reporters or photographers recognize you all, I want you to come home. I don't want him put through that."
"Ok, Mom."
"Fans too."
"Alright. He's doing ok Mom." He tried to reassure his mother, though he wasn't so sure himself.
Diana turned and watched Taylor awkwardly brushing his hair. "What's wrong with you?" She asked him.
He gave her his best befuddled look but he felt like he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Nothing."
She began to walk towards him. "You're not left handed. What's wrong?"
He was on the verge of a panic attack, but at the last possible moment, his mind snapped on. "Well, they," and he pointed at Zac and his father who were both on the couch, "tried to kill me with the Christmas tree!"
As predicted, Zac got the giggles and his father tried to defend himself. He shot a look at Isaac, pleading. "Mom, we gotta go." Isaac said and he intercepted her with a hug.
Taylor pitched the brush at Avery and hurriedly grabbed his coat from the closet. He put his sore arm in first, but when he went to put the other one in, he was just barely able to get it on. The shoulders were so tight he couldn't move either arm. He looked down at himself. The sleeves now ended a couple of inches above his wrist. He looked up and his whole family was staring at him. Realization struck him, he'd thrown his wool coat in the dryer. It had shrunk at least two sizes. Zac got up off the couch and helped him get it back off again.
"Taylor! What the heck..." His father asked as his mother just stood there with her mouth open.
"I put it in the dryer." He said sadly.
"Here," Zac said and grabbed his own coat and helped his poor brother get it on. "hurry up, if you're late there's no telling what Marcy'll do to you."

~~~~

Once in the car, Isaac headed towards the Gutman's house. "Pick up Lee first." Taylor signed.
"Huh? I wasn't watching."
Taylor grabbed a napkin and a pen out of the glove box and wrote very big and very messy, LEE FIRST.
"Tay..."
"Please..." He looked like he might burst into tears at any moment, he was downright frazzled looking to Isaac.
"Alright. Y'know, you don't have to be so nervous. It's not a date."
Taylor snapped his fingers at Isaac who turned to look at him. "Then how come everyone is acting like it is?" He signed.
Isaac looked back to the road. "I don't know, man. I guess because it's been a while since you went anywhere. Everybody's just worried about you. You can't hardly blame us."
They stopped at a stoplight and Isaac looked again at his brother. "I feel like a freak, Ike."
"Tay, you're not a freak..."
"Everybody knows what happened."
"So what?! It doesn't matter." Taylor pointed at the light. It had turned green. As they pulled into the mall parking lot, Isaac decided to change the subject. "What did Dad want with you, anyway?"
He pulled up behind Lee's car. She was already there, reading a book. She looked up, threw the book in the backseat and grabbed her purse. Taylor got out of the passenger side. When she saw him she put her hand on her hip and said, "Whoa, this Marcy must be something."
Taylor looked back at Isaac accusingly. He tried to look innocent, but he didn't have the face for it. As Taylor got in the back, Lee got in, reached over and kissed Isaac and said, "Hey cutie."
"Hey. How was work?"
"Swamped. It's only two more weekends 'til Christmas."
"Ooooh, I guess it is." He smiled at her.
"So Tay," he continued, "what'd Dad want?" He turned to look back at him only to find him slumped over in the seat as if he'd passed out. "Dude! Pull yourself together." Isaac said.
Lee looked back now, "Oh God, whatsa matter?!" She sat up and turned to face the backseat.
Taylor's long legs and body were laying across the entire seat and his face was covered by his arm and a lot of hair. He pushed his hair out of his face and looked up into the concerned eyes of his brother's girlfriend. Her dark eyes looked kind and it was a relief to see someone other than his family. "Bad day." He said.
"I'm sorry. We're gonna have fun now though, and you don't have to worry about a thing." He couldn't help it. He smiled. He wasn't sure whether she really was sincere or if she was making fun of him, but either way, he didn't have much choice in the matter, he was going out or facing his mother and father when Isaac "told" on him.
"Well? You still haven't told me what dad wanted." Isaac said, unphased by his brother's distress.
"Chris called. I got a job offer."
"Same ol'?"
Taylor nodded and Isaac laughed.
Lee watched them but was confused. "Did you say someone offered you a job?" She asked Taylor.
He rolled his eyes as Isaac explained. "Every six months or so Tay gets a call from Calvin Klein."
She couldn't believe her ears, they were so casual about it. "Are you serious?!" She looked from Taylor's uninterested face to Isaac's.
"Yeah, he always says 'no thanks' and they say they'll call back in the future to see if he changes his mind."
"What are you going to tell them?" She looked back at Taylor again.
He sat up and looked out the window, he looked sad, or nervous, or troubled... maybe all those things. Suddenly, he turned and looked back at her. He had a way of looking at a person when he talked to them that could be very disconcerting. "I don't want to."
"Why not? It's not like you're not used to having your picture taken."
He shrugged. "I don't like it." He said.
"Maybe you should do it," Isaac joined in. "I'm sure the money's good and it's not like it would take you away from the band now."
Lee saw the hurt immediately. He actually flinched as if from some physical pain. "I don't need money." He said and looked back out the window.
Lee decided she'd try to lighten the mood. At this point, she could see a long night ahead of her. As they pulled out of the parking lot, she said, "Well, I'll tell you what, Taylor. You let me manage you, I get you in with Cindy Crawford, Tyra Banks, whoever you want, and they can give the money to me. That way, you won't be bothered by it."
Isaac looked over at her, "Cindy Crawford? Tay, could you tell 'em they can't have you unless they take me too?"
Taylor smiled, remembering the time they'd met her. He had thought her to be the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.
"Ha!" Lee said. "I knew that would make you smile! Cindy Crawford can always cure you guys. If she weren't so damned perfect, I'd be jealous."
Just then, they pulled into Marcy's driveway. Taylor got out and walked up the steps and rang the doorbell. Promptly, Tim came to the door. "Yeah?" He said.
"Is Marcy here?" He asked.
"What? I didn't hear you." He said and he cupped his hand over his ear.
Suddenly, he was shoved hard and there stood Marcy. She wore jeans and a black sweater. Her reddish hair hung loose and wavy down her back. As always, she had that fiery glint in her eye—the perfect opposite to the defeat that was now ever present in Taylor's. "Hi Taylor, let me grab my coat." As she turned toward the hall closet, Taylor found himself getting very ugly looks from both her brothers now. "Mom! I'm leaving!" she called and hurried out the door, separating Taylor from her over protective siblings. "Sorry about that."
He shrugged and gestured for her to go ahead of him. When they got to the car, he opened her door for her. Once in the car, Isaac introduced her to Lee. "Lee, this is Marcy. Her brothers and my brothers are mortal enemies." He smiled back at her. Taylor reached up and slapped him on the shoulder and shook his head.
"How old are you, Marcy?" Lee asked.
"Seventeen. How 'bout you?"
"I'm twenty two." Lee answered.
"Cool." Marcy now turned to Taylor who looked a bit like a scared rabbit. "Taylor," she asked, "how old are you now?"
"Sixteen." He said, praying she would be able to read his lips.
"Sixteen? Why aren't you driving then?" He waved his hands and shook his head. "You have your license though, right?" He nodded. "Can I see it?" she asked. She watched him as he reached into his back pocket for his wallet. She noticed his hair was shorter than it had been. She hadn't really kept up with their careers and so that morning had been the first time she'd realized he'd cut it. Once a bundle of energy, he seemed much more subdued now and she wondered what all had happened. She only knew what she'd read and the little bits of information, albeit unreliable, that she'd heard through the gossip mill at James C. Hill High School, where she was a senior. As he handed it to her, she could swear he was blushing. Lee watched her. Marcy snickered as she looked at it.
"Lemme see it!" Lee was dying of curiosity. Marcy handed it to her. "Oh my gosh, they can take a supermodel like him and make him look like a convict. How do they do it? Let's see yours Isaac."
"No way. We are not going there. It's not fair to compare a regular guy with somebody that looks like him." Taylor rolled his eyes again and looked at Marcy. Lee handed his license back to him and she watched him as he put it back in his pocket.
"So," she said, "what the heck is 'glow in the dark bowling'?" She was still looking at Taylor who shrugged his shoulders and pointed at the two up front.
Lee turned to them and said, "Well, it's just bowling, only they turn out the lights and turn up the music. It's dark and they use black lights so everything looks freaky."

~~~~

Sure enough, things looked freaky. Including the people. Lee's friends were of the dyed, tattooed, pierced type. At first, Taylor felt intimidated and he wondered how his straight laced brother had fit in, but as he was introduced and they shook his hand, he noticed they were all polite and seemed genuinely interested in him. Marcy too, was pleasantly surprised. The only problem was, in the dim light, other than Isaac when he signed to him, no one could tell what he was saying and in his rush to leave the house, he had forgotten to bring the small pad of paper he always carried with him. As everyone started looking for balls of suitable weight and size, Taylor realized there was no way he could throw a ten or twelve pound ball with his right arm in the condition it was in after the last night's adventures. He walked over to his brother. "Ike, how am I going to bowl?"
"Well," he answered, "you pick up the ball and you throw it at the pins at the end of the alley."
Taylor was not amused. "My arm smartass!" He said back.
"Oh crap. Sorry, I forgot." Marcy and Lee walked over.
"What's up?" Lee asked.
"We forgot he hurt his arm." He looked over at Taylor then back to her. "I guess he could bowl left handed." Now he looked back to Taylor, "Can you do that?"
He nodded, but didn't look happy about it. Marcy was puzzled. "Cool," she said, "now maybe I can beat you."
Isaac laughed, "It wouldn't be the first time." He joked.
"Hey! I'm not proud of that... Please don't hold that against me." She looked over at Taylor. Before he could answer her, he heard his own voice as the familiar strains of "Cried" were broadcast over the sound system.
He and Isaac locked eyes and, strangely enough, it was Isaac who got teary eyed. "Mom told me they'd been playing that..."
Marcy watched the exchange and Lee looked at her, questioning, "What's going on?"
Marcy pointed at the speaker hanging overhead and said, "That's them."
"Really?" she said, "I heard the tail end of it on the radio the other day but they didn't say who it was." She reached over and hugged Isaac, "That's a great song, you guys sound so good."
"Thanks." They both said at the same time. Taylor put his arm around his brother's shoulder and for the first time realized how much Isaac missed the music as well. Their friends had noticed but didn't want to intrude on the brotherly moment and so they went back to the search for the perfect bowling ball, a task that is not as easy as it would seem to be.

~~~~

Marcy found one that was orange and Taylor's was sky blue. Everyone in their group had chosen balls, gotten shoes, and entered their names in the scoreboard and now it was time to get down and dirty. They decided to go guys against girls and the losers would buy dinner across the street at McDonalds for the winners. Taylor vowed if he were on the losing team there would be no McDonalds, it was worth breaking into his checking account to keep from eating there again.
By the sixth frame, it looked like he might get his wish. So far, BillyBob, as the scoreboard called him, had thrown nothing but gutter balls, though they struck with a mighty bang, one even jumping into the girls' lane. When he got hot and took off his over shirt, Marcy noticed that to go along with the black t-shirt and the glowing white bandages on two of his fingers was another one covering his elbow and stopping a few inches before the wrist. She knew she would have to ask him about it, it was just her nature. Eventually, he hit a few pins prompting cheers from all those watching and he finished out the game with a score of 39. When they all decided on another game, Taylor bowed out. He was hungry and his arm was hurting him. Marcy, who had indeed beaten him with a score of 68, watched him put his shirt back on as he walked into the little diner and sat on one of the stools at the front counter. She found Isaac with Lee sitting on his lap. "Hey Ike, is Taylor alright?" she asked.
"Yeah, I think so. He's had a few late nights recently and I think it's catching up with him.
"At least he's eating today." Lee said.
"You don't know the half of it, Zac said he ate four hotdogs this morning." He commented.
"Lee, do you have some Tylenol in your bag? He said his arm was giving him fits." She got up and grabbed her purse, which was actually more of a backpack containing enough supplies to last her a week or so if she ever got lost in the wilderness. "Be prepared" was her motto but more often than not, it was other people who'd needed things from her, but she was generous and it was one of the qualities Isaac loved most about her. She came back with two red and yellow capsules in her hand. "Isaac, should we take him home? I have a feeling it wasn't actually his idea to come tonight..." and she looked at him accusingly.
"Hey," he said back, "I am not gonna let him sit at home and hide from the world. Maybe if we can wear him out he'll be too tired to hang out with that nocturnal gang of so-called friends of his."
Lee looked at Marcy. "Do ya think I just touched on a sore spot there?"
She smiled and said, "I believe you did. And that's a good thing."
Isaac looked at her. "Marcy, would you do me a favor and give these to Tay?" He handed her the pills.
"Sure." She said and she left the two of them standing there.

~~~~

"Your brother asked me to give you these." Marcy said to Taylor as she stood next to him. He looked at her and she handed him the pills.
He shook his head. "People are always giving me pills." He said.
"Pills?" She questioned, not certain she'd understood him correctly. He nodded then held up the two shiny capsules, raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders. "It's Tylenol. For your arm." She said.
"Ah, I see." He smiled. He set them on the counter looking as if he had no intention of taking them. She looked at him, wondering.
"So," she said, "you'll take hallucinogenics, or amphetamines, but not Tylenol."
He looked at her with an expression that showed no emotion whatsoever. If she hadn't known better, she might have thought he hadn't heard her.
"What did you do to your arm?" She asked bluntly.
"I cut it." He said back, not seeming to care whether she could understand him or not.
"How?" she asked.
He really looked at her now, her face was not perfect like a model's but she had a certain no nonsense look about her that he admired. Where as people constantly called him beautiful, his features were delicate and fine, Marcy's were bold. Big brown eyes and full lips framed by wavy reddish brown hair, but without the pale complexion that usually accompanied redheads. But, he knew her temperment was much more in line with the stereotype, and so he decided to be just as blunt as she was obviously going to be. "I put it through a window."
"A window?" She asked, looking confused. He nodded. "I don't get it." She said.
Just then, the waitress walked from the back and set a big cheeseburger and a plate piled high with french fries in front of Taylor. He smiled and before she could walk away, he touched her arm prompting her to turn back to him. "Do ya need somethin' else?" She asked.
He used his hands to show her he needed paper and something to write with. Marcy thought it interesting that it seemed so easy for people to understand him. She supposed everyone had played charades before and so, most could figure out his signs. The woman reached in her pocket and handed him the pad she used to write customers orders on and a pencil from the cup by the cash register. He smiled and mouthed a "thank you."
"No problem sweetie." She said and walked away.
He took a big bite of the burger and began to write. What do you mean?
"About what?" she said.
He was getting frustrated, he wrote: You said you didn't 'get it'. What don't you get?
"How you hurt your arm with a window." She said after reading his messy handwriting.
He took another bite then stuffed some fries in his mouth as well. I told you I put my arm through a window, the glass cut me.
She looked at him. "I know you think I'm dense, but, are you saying you put your hand through a window on purpose? Why the hell would you do something that stupid?"
It wasn't that he didn't realize it was a stupid thing to have done, he just didn't appreciate her phrasing or her tone of voice. She watched his eyebrows crease in the middle and she saw anger in his blue eyes. I was pissed off, locked out and I'd had way too much to drink. Isaac was being a dick and it was cold, so in order for me to come into my own room, I had to break the window and unlock it. He shoved the pad at her, then finished off the cheeseburger in one big bite, looking away from her.
She read what he'd written. "Are you ok?" She asked him softly.
He looked back into her eyes and shook his head. At that moment, a girl walked up beside him. They both looked at her. She looked nervous and when she spoke, Marcy had a hard time even hearing her. "Excuse me, but, are you Taylor?" She asked. He nodded and put his hand out for her to shake and raised his eyebrows. "Oh, my name's Ann." She said as she took his hand in her own. Marcy watched and noticed he was looking at the girl with that same intensity he seemed to give everyone he spoke with. "I just wanted to tell you how much I love your music." She said. A smile crossed his lips and the girl went on. "I just... I mean... when I heard..." Marcy knew exactly what the girl wanted to say, but her emotions were so strong she just couldn't get it out. As usual, tears began to form and Marcy watched Taylor stand up and look down at her. "I'm sorry," she said and she furiously wiped at her face. "I just wanted to tell you... how much I'm gonna miss..." and that was as far as she got.
Taylor pulled her over to the end of the counter and gave her a napkin from the stack that had been neatly placed next to the bottles of ketchup and mustard. Marcy looked up as Isaac and Lee walked up next to her. "Who's that?" Lee asked, looking over at the girl standing before Taylor.
"A fan, I think." Marcy answered.
Isaac looked over at the two, "Is she ok? I mean, she looks like she's crying."
"I think she was trying to comfort Taylor, but I think he's the one doing that now." Marcy watched him sign something to the girl.
"Ike," she asked, "why does he use sign language if she doesn't know it? I was doing better reading his lips, I think."
"Well," he answered, "we've all been working so hard at it, I don't think you even realize you're doing it anymore."
"Yeah," Lee said, "Isaac does it when it's just me and him sometimes." They continued to watch as the girl gazed up at Taylor as he spoke.
"He just said to her 'At least I'm alive'." Isaac said.   Taylor looked over and motioned for Isaac to come over.
Lee watched them, "Taylor just told Isaac her name is Ann."
"Man," Marcy said, "I feel left out. So you know it too?"
"Nope. Just a few basics actually, but when he spelled A-N-N, I did know those letters. You should see their little brother, He's six and it's amazing how he understands Taylor. I guess Zoe will learn it at the same time she learns to talk."
"Did they ever catch the guy that did it?" Marcy asked.
"No. They have a name and they know who he is, but he's disappeared."
"That must've been awful. Can you imagine someone doing something like that to one of your brothers?" Marcy asked.
"Well," Lee said, "I'm an only child and I can't even imagine having brothers, but, I can tell you, Isaac was in bad shape and he said Zac was even worse."
Marcy smiled and shook her head. "I'll bet. He thinks the sun rises and sets on Taylor."
Lee smiled. "So does Isaac, that's why he's wanted to kill him lately."
"I hear they got into it last night."
"Did Taylor tell you?" Lee was surprised. Taylor usually kept things to himself.
"He said Isaac locked him out and he put his hand through a window."
Lee looked over at the two talking to the girl, glad they were getting along. Those two could get mad at each other in an instant, but it was always over almost as fast. "God, it was scary. I've never seen either of them like that, of course, I haven't known them that long. How long have you been friends?"
"I met them when they moved to our neighborhood, about two years ago, I suppose." Just then, the guys returned.
"Tay..." Isaac said as he picked up the two tylenol still laying on the counter, "take these right now." And he put them in his brother's hand and gave him the soft drink. Taylor looked at Marcy, who grinned then put the capsules in his mouth and downed the entire drink. He handed the empty glass back to Isaac then opened his mouth as wide as he could and Isaac smiled and peered into the darkness. "Hey, you act like a mental patient, I'll treat you like one." He said. As Isaac looked down at his watch, Taylor stuck his tongue out at him. "Crap! We gotta get to McDonald's, everybody's already there." He looked over at the girls, "And you two have to pay!"
Taylor looked at Lee. "Yeah, even with you on their team, they won." She said to him. He laughed and shook his head.
Marcy said, "Taylor already ate, does that get me off the hook?"
"Ha!" Isaac laughed. "What makes you think he won't eat again? He has to gain some weight for his modeling gig."
Taylor put his hands on his hips and looked at him. "Ike..." he said, "don't make me kick your ass in front of Lee."
"You don't scare me." He smiled. "Let's go, there's a Big Mac with your name on it across the street."

~~~~

When they got to McDonalds, the others were already seated and eating. Lee and Isaac ordered their usuals and Marcy looked at Taylor. He looked at her and spoke slowly. "Fish, fries, chocolate shake."
She looked at him wide eyed then turned to the girl who was waiting for their order. She placed his order, then added on a "hamburger happy meal, Hotwheels, please." Taylor looked at her questioning. "Greg collects Hotwheels." She said.
He nodded in understanding, pointed to Isaac and said, "Legos."
She laughed and asked Isaac, "If you collect Legos, what does he collect?"
"Clothes." They all laughed and took their food to join the others.
Taylor surprised Marcy and Lee, not only by finishing his whole meal in record time, but also because he managed to have a good time and he participated in the various topics discussed around the table. In fact, he could be downright opinionated and twice got Isaac to translate when he felt he was being misunderstood. Marcy wasn't sure if he'd gotten over his bit of anger at her earlier questions, but she didn't feel like she'd been out of line.
When Kim Jones and her friend walked up to the table, Taylor watched Marcy's face go from happy to pissed in 3 seconds. "Taylor!?" The long-legged beauty stood at his side as all the guys at the table oggled and received mean looks from their girlfriends. He smiled at her and she reached down and hugged him. Lee and Isaac both were more interested in the smaller girl in the pink Sailor Moon t-shirt. "Taylor, I just keep running into you today!" Kim said to him. "Hi Marcy." She said.
"Hi Kimmy." She said back feigning disinterest. Taylor stood then, and escorted Kim away from the table, knowing the looks flashing between the two girls just meant trouble. Besides, he could tell she was high and he didn't want any lectures from Isaac.
"Taylor," she said, "Why don't you come back to my house? We could have fun, the last time you, me, and Sherry got together we had a blast, remember?"
"I can't." He said, hoping she'd understand.
"Please? Why not?" She pleaded.

~~~~

Isaac was watching the exchange. "Marcy, who's that?"
She looked at him, unable to hide the disgust she felt. "That is bad news and her friend the bitch." She narrowed her eyes at him and he understood. By now, everyone was curious and the table had gotten quieter.
Isaac started to get up and Lee pulled him back down, "Let him handle this Isaac. He's not a baby. They're his friends." Isaac looked over as Kim kissed his brother in the middle of McDonalds and in front of everyone. The girls then left and Taylor came back and sat down.
"Well?" Isaac said to him.
"What?" Taylor suddenly felt very embarrassed.
Isaac watched the inevitable blush make it's way upon his cheeks. "Why didn't you introduce me to your friends?"
Taylor signed, "Only one is a friend and you do not like her. She has been there for me and I care about her." Isaac started to say something and Taylor put his hand up. Everyone looked on, fascinated. "NO. I told her no more. I won't be bad to her and you won't either, so that is all." He looked at his brother and then at Marcy who, obviously, didn't understand what was going on.
"Whatever." Isaac said and he turned back to Lee and the drama seemed to be over as the group returned to their conversations. Taylor looked over at Marcy. Though they both knew they weren't on a "real" date, everyone had assumed and they'd been treated as if they were. He knew she'd been as embarrassed by the situation as he had.
He put his hand on her shoulder and she looked at him. "Sorry." He said. She shrugged her shoulders. "Do you want to go get some ice cream?"
"Ice cream?" She said back. He nodded. "Well, they have ice cream here..." He rolled his eyes and shook his head, smiling. "Oh. Ok, that sounds good."
Taylor smacked the table and Isaac turned to him, "Yeah?"
"Can I have the car?"
"What for?" Isaac asked.
Taylor signed, "Don't say anything..." and he gave Isaac a look.
"Ok...." Isaac said.
"I think M-A-R-C-Y is mad at me—"
Isaac interrupted, "Ya think so? I wonder why?!"
"Shut up." Taylor's eyes were warning him. "I asked her to go get ice cream and she said ok. Can I have the car and you get a ride?"
Isaac signed back, suddenly realizing how strange it was to be having this secret conversation while surrounded by people. "Can I T-R-U-S-T you not to go off and P-A-R-T-Y ?" Taylor nodded. He turned to Lee. "Do you think somebody could take us home if Tay takes the Jetta?" Lee asked the group and there was no shortage of offers. He handed the keys to his brother, hoping he wouldn't regret it. "Have fun. Don't be too late or Mom will kill you and me both."
Taylor nodded again. "Thanks, Ike." He stood up putting on his coat and waited for Marcy to put hers on and grab her purse.
He waved at the group and Marcy said, "It was nice to meet you guys, we're gonna take off." There were waves and "see ya later" and they took their leave.

~~~~

Unfortunately, Baskin Robbins closed at 10:00 and it was now 10:20 according to Taylor's watch. Though the sun had warmed up the day, now, the wind was blowing and Taylor and Marcy were both glad to get back in the shelter of the car. He looked at her and shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry." He said.
"Oh, that's okay, think how much colder we'd be if we'd eaten ice cream, we're better off this way." She smiled at him.
He nodded then reached into the glove compartment and pulled out the notebook where Isaac kept records of oil changes, tire rotations, and every other little thing he had done to the car. He found a blank page, wrote quickly, then handed it to her. She had to turn a bit to get the glow from the street light in order to read it, Do you have e-mail? It said.
She turned back towards him, took the pen and wrote princessmarcella and her isp as well. When she handed it to him, his face lit up. He wrote again, If I take you home, would you send me an instant message so we could talk?
"Sure! I hadn't thought of that..." He started the car and was already heading out of the parking lot before she could finish her sentence. When they pulled in her driveway, she saw the curtains on the front window of the house fall back into place. Her mother and father hadn't been concerned about her going out with the Hansons, they were acquainted with their parents and knew the boys were no threat to their daughter. Her brothers, on the other hand, were certain that Isaac, Taylor and Zac were slimy, rich, spoiled rock stars who'd had everything handed to them on a silver platter. Taylor's recent escapades had just added fuel to the fire. Knowing she was being watched, Marcy figured she'd better keep this short, plus, she wasn't sure that Taylor considered the outing anything more than hanging out and she didn't want to assume anything. So, she quickly reached over and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, saying "11:00, you be at your computer and we'll chat, ok?" He nodded while writing his screen name and email address down—he smiled and handed it to her, then waved as she got out of the car. She waved back and headed up the steps to her porch and in the front door.

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