CHAPTER 3

Carrie couldn't wait any longer, she HAD to tell Becky right then. She grabbed her towel and ran inside, picked up the phone and dialed.

"Hi, is Becky there?"

"This is me. Hi!"

"You are never going to believe it Becky."

"What? What? What? Tell me now!"

"Okay, take a deep breath, in and out, there ya go..."

"Just tell me!"

"Okay okay, I just thought that you would like to know that I LIVE NEXT DOOR TO HANSON! It's not a big deal or anything."

"Shut-up"

"It's true."

"Shut-up"

"Believe me."

"Hold on......" Soon, a loud shrill came across the phone. "The good stuff always happens to you! You know how I am obsessed with them."

Carrie looked at the clock...the boys would be back soon. "I have to go swimming with them, so I have to let you go, kay? I'll call you later."

"Tell me all when you are done."

"Beck, it's not that big of a deal. Really. They are nice guys."

"Not a big deal......I......and they........!" Her words were so fast that Carrie couldn't even understand them.

"I have to go alright?"

"Yeah, go and swim with HANSON."

"Stop it! I'll call you later."

"Fine, you always get the fun!"

"Goodbye Becky."

"Bye."

Carrie wasn't at all surprised at Becky's reaction...she was obsessed and was always talking about them...Carrie just liked them. She glanced again at the clock, oh,
they were probably there. She looked out the window....not there yet. This gave Carrie some time to do some touch ups...make-up, hair, brushing teeth, and all the
rest of them. And, once again, she was out the door. When she got there, she had to wait another five minutes for them to get there.

"Hey, I was worrying that you guys forgot or didn't like me or something."

"Oh no, that is pretty much IMPOSSIBLE." Zac said. Carrie blushed and Taylor nudged Zac as if to say, "That was sooooo obvious."

"Anyway, this is Isaac." Tay introduced.

"But just call me Ike, Isaac sounds so formal."

"Sure, whatever you feel comfortable with!" Carrie wasn't about to argue with him. Her smile comforted Ike, and he too was comfortable with her right away. "So,
do you want to swim for awhile, and then maybe we can go in my house after that and get something to eat?"

"Sure, that's FINE with me." Zac said, Taylor gave him another look. Carrie blushed once again, she thought Zac was cute, but Taylor seemed so much more like
her. And her impression concerning Ike was that he was a very nice guy.

"Last one in is the......whatever the expression is." Zac screamed.

"Rotten egg you dork!" Isaac filled in for him.

"Why can't you guys just leave me alone for once?!"

"Why can't you just be normal?" Ike asked as Zac and him started running in the water.

"I don't know. WHY CAN'T I JUST BE NORMAL???!!!!" Zac screamed in a funny voice.

Carrie laughed at his comment. "He's like that a lot." Taylor explained. Carrie laughed again. Her and Taylor started to walk towards the water...Zac and Ike were
splashing wildly at eachother. "So you used to live in Denver?" Tay asked.

"Yeah, but my Grandma is sick, so we are here visiting."

"Oh, so you aren't staying here for good?"

"No, and that's bad because everyone is so nice here."

"I know, we just moved here, and I have only met one person, and she is pretty nice." Carrie blushed. Then, a huge wave of water came flinging up at them and they
both screamed because it was so cold.

"Come on you guys....are you ever coming in here?" Zac screamed. He was the one responsible for the water. Tay ran in and started dunking his brother under
water, playfully, and then they had a water fight. Carrie later joined, but, as usual, when people are messing around, someone has to unfortunately get hurt. Zac and
Ike all piled up on Tay, and Taylor felt a pain in his ankle. Zac and Ike had pushed him in the water, and he felt the pain as he was going under. He sat up quickly,
and looked at it. There was no blood, but it hurt. "I think I twisted my ankle, you guys." He started wincing from the pain as it kept shooting and getting worse.

"Zac go get Carrie's mom or something!" Ike screamed

"No, she's not home!"

"Then go get mom or dad Zac, hurry!" Zac waded out of the water and ran as fast as he could home.

"Well, let's get you to the sand atleast." Ike said in a sophistacated way. He sounded like a Doctor. "Carrie, you take that side....and.....I'll....." Soon they had him
up, his arms were around them, and he used them for cruches. They made it to the sand, and they set him down gently. To try and keep his mind off the pain, Carrie
started to talk to him.

"So you guys are going to do an interview tomorrow?"

"Yeah, sometimes they get annoying." He responded.

"Do you....." Carrie's words were inturrupted:

"Over here!!!! Dad, he looked like he was dying!!!!! We have to hurry!!!!! Look, there they are on the beach.....I bet they are giving him mouth to mouth......oh
no....hurry dad!!!!!!!!"

"Zac, calm down, he's fine, they are just talking." his dad assured him. They reached them on the sand.

"Oh God, I thought you were dying man!!!" He reached over and gave Tay a hug. "I know I don't tell you this often, but I LOVE YOU MAN!" Tay pushed away
his brother and said, "I'm fine, it's just my ankle."

"I was just joking, I mean, I know that that's all it was." Zac said, but he knew that that wasn't true.

"Come on Tay, we have to get you home or to the Doctor." their dad said.

"Okay, sorry that this had to happen Carrie...."

"Oh, that's alright, I'm just happy that you're okay, and hey, it was fun while it lasted. And it's not your fault that it happened."

"I know but I still feel bad."

"Don't..... just go fix your ankle." She smiled, and he smiled back. His dad picked him up and they all walked home.

"Bye Carrie, maybe we'll see you tomorrow or something." Zac said.

"Okay, bye!"

"Bye" they all said at different times, and they started walking home.

******************

"And he hurt his ankle, so they had to go....I haven't heard how he's doing either."

"Oh, that's too bad." Becky replied.

"I know, well, I have to shower, so I'll talk to you later okay?"

"Sure, keep me posted."

"I will. Bye."

"Bye."

Carrie hung up the phone, but then, it started ringing, so she picked it up...

"Hello?"

"Hi Carrie?"

"Yeah?"

"This is Taylor, I just got back from the Doctor."

"Are you okay? What did he say?"

"It's just sprained."

"Oh, how does it feel right now?"

"Well, it's weird, it hurts."

"Are you guys still doing the interview?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Well, tell your mom that I'll be there at 4:30 tomorrow."

"Alright.....wait...can you hold on for a sec.?"

"Sure."

"Zac, no....give it.....Zac!.....geez.....fine....here. Zac wants to talk to you."

"Okay."

"Hi, Tay's okay. He'll live."

"Yeah, that's what I thought would've happened." They both laughed.

"Well, just thought I would tell you."

"Ummm, thanks." They laughed again.

"This is Tay again. So, I just thought I would tell you thanks for helping and how I was doing."

"Sure, no problem."

"I'll tell my mom about tomorrow, alright?"

"Sure."

"Bye."

"Bye.....oh wait Taylor?"

"Yeah?"

"I had fun before you were hurt....."

"Me too."

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yup. Bye."

"Bye."

******************

Carrie felt great, she was friends with Hanson, and she still couldn't believe it. And Taylor was so nice and sweet, Carrie knew she would like it here.

Chapter 4

"Mommy!!! Carrie's here!!" Jessica screamed. It was 4:30 the next day and Carrie was at the Hansons' door.

"Well, are you gonna let her sit in the rain or let her in?" Diana asked playfully.

Jessica laughed and let Carrie in. "Hi Carrie. AVERY CARRIE IS HERE!!!" Jessica screamed up the stairs. Taylor, Ike and Zac heard it too and jumped a little
because it was so loud.

"She's here. How do I look?" Zac asked his two older brothers standing up and modeling.

"Like a retard. Act normal Zac." Ike snapped.

Taylor, on the other hand was nervous. He liked Carrie and wanted to look good for her and make a good impression. He non-chalantly walked down the steps to
greet her. Zac was already downstairs in the kitchen looking for Jello. "MOM! I can't find any jello. I always have jello before an interview. Where is it?"

"Oh, I forgot to pick some up. Sorry. We can pick some up on the way there."

"How am I gonna eat it??? Just the powdery stuff? No sorry! We have to make it first!"

"Zac, just....UG! Not this time. Sorry."

"Mom!" Zac continued on bugging his mother, but Taylor ignored it and turned his attention to Carrie.

"Hi."

"Hey, how's your ankle?"

"Ummm, well, it just sorta hurts right now. But I'll live. Hey, do you think you would, well, I donno, just, well, like to go do something after our inteview?"

Carrie was a little surprised. "I ahhh, I guess so, I really don't have anything going. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, we could go for a walk or a movie or go to the beach or something."

"Sure. Zac and Ike too?"

Taylor had to quickly decide...."No, I asked them earlier and they said they were probably going to be tired anyway." Zac was listening in.

"Huh? Taylor, what are you talking about?"

Taylor quickly spun his head around. Zac was staring at him with googly eyes. "What I had said was....well remember how I asked if you wanted to do something
with Carrie after the interview?" Taylor gave Zac a wink. Zac wasn't going to be nice.

"Ahhh, let me think here. Hummm." Zac put his finger on his chin and scratched it and looked up. He looked like he was thinking. "Let's see.....NOPE! I don't
remember."

Taylor gave him a look. Zac smiled and laughed a little. Taylor mouthed: "you jerk" and then continued on: "Yah, remember you said you would be tired so you
didn't wanna go....REMEMBER???!!!"

"Sorry Taylor....I just can't recall this conversation! Did you possibly, well, I donno, MAKE IT UP???!!!" Zac started laughing and Carrie caught on. Taylor was
ready to smack his brother, and gave him an evil look. Carrie felt bad at how Tay had tried and Zac had ruined it. "Well, we don't need to do anything anyway,
Tay...it's ok." Tay swung around to see Carrie and she quickly gave him a wink without Zac noticing. Taylor caught on and winked back. Zac, on the other hand,
was laughing.

"Well, what she would do? Do you want to play dollies?" Carrie asked Jessica.

"Yeah, let's go!" Jessica grabbed Carrie's hand and started tugging her along. They swept past Taylor and Carrie whispered: "I'll call you later." as she walked past
him. Tay smiled and looked back at Carrie and smiled, she was smiling too. Zac happened to notice this and stopped laughing.

"What? I don't get this. I humiliate you and she....DOESN'T CARE??? I worked so hard!"

Tay smiled and started laughing at his brother. Zac, was jokingly crying.

"Alright in the car! Let's get going! Carrie, here's Mackie." Walker handed him over to her. "The car phone number and where we'll be is on the refrigerator."

"Okay, great." Carrie said.

"We should be home around 10:00" Diana added.

"Okay "That's fine." She gave Taylor a quick smile, he smiled back, and they were out the door.

Babysitting went great with Carrie. The kids were sweet and fun to be with and never misbehaved that night. They played dollies, they put on a play for Carrie and
they watched "Toy Story." Carrie got the kids in bed, and tucked them in. "Carrie, I think you are a good babysitter. And you are pretty."

"Well thank you. You were all very good today and I had fun watching you kids."

"Carrie, we want you to come again."

"Well, if you ever need me, I'll be happy to babysit you again." She turned off the lights, and said goodnight and they did the same.

10:00 soon came and Carrie was anxious to do something with Taylor. She was thinking of just talking on the beach or something...it was a little late to do anything
else. Soon, the door opened and voices filled the room. Taylor was first in line and immediately went to stand by Carrie.

"How did it go Carrie?" Diana asked.

"Oh, everything went fine. The kids were great."

"Oh, I'm glad they were good for you."

"I can't believe you told them that you didn't have Jello before we came and that that was why you weren't talking much Zac. Like they care!" Ike said to Zac.

"Well, it's true! That Jello gets me hyper, and I need that to get through those boring interviews."

"Well they don't care! You just came out and said it! They didn't even ask you why you were so quiet."

"Ike, just...leave me alone! Shut-up!"

"Ummm, hi. My name is Zac and I am not hyper because I didn't have jello." Ike said pretending to be Zac at the interview.

"Shut-up!" Zac screamed back. Ike laughed. Taylor, just stared in nowhere thinking about what Carrie and him were going to do.

"You two stop it and go do something else." Walker said.

"Well, Carrie, here's your money, and thanks again!" Diana said.

"No problem." Carrie accepted the money and Taylor walked her to the door.

"Umm, do you just...." Tay started.

"Well, I will call you when I get home and then we can decide what we can do because....well...look behind you." Zac was pretending to make his Jello, but was
really listening in again. When he saw Taylor look at him, he quickly jerked his head down and focused on what he was doing.

"God, he's always doing something to bug me." Taylor said. Carrie laughed.

"So then, I'll call you after I'm home and ready and stuff."

"Okay, bye."

"Bye." She walked out the door, smiling, and Taylor closed it behind her.

"Zac, I swear! One more time!"

"I'm not doing anything! I'm just making my Jello!" Taylor normally would have argued, but instead, went to get ready.

**************

Carrie walked in the door and quickly rushed to get ready.

"How was babysitting?" her mom called from the living room.

"Fine, the kids were great. Me and Taylor are gonna go do something like a walk or something...is that okay?"

"Just be home by a decent time." Carrie thought this was weird...her mom always told her to be home by 11:00, but not this time. "Weird." Carrie thought. But she
wasn't about to argue, she went to her room and dialed.

"Hi is Taylor there?"

"This is." His voice sounded different....

"Hi. So what do you want to do?"

"Ummm, I don't want to do anything anymore."

"What?" Suddenly, Carrie heard a scrambling on the other end.

"Zac! Give it here!" Zac cracked up laughing, and Carrie just giggled. "Sorry, that was Zac." Taylor said.

"That's what I thought...."

"So, umm, do you just wanna go somewhere on the beach or something?"

"Yeah, let's just go sit there and talk or something."

"It stopped raining a while ago, so I don't think we'll get wet or anything. If it does start to rain we can just run into someones house."

"Okay, so I'll see you there in like, 15 minutes?"

"Sure."

"Okay, bye."

"Bye." They both hung up. "Zac, I'm gonna kill you!" Taylor said jokingly. Zac quickly ran downstairs and him and Taylor started fighting...playfully.

Soon, it was 15 min. later. Carrie had changed and was already on the beach. Taylor ran up to her.

"Hey." He said.

"Hey." He took a seat beside her and for awhile, they didn't talk and just looked at the lake.

"Well, do you wanna go for a walk or something or is that too much for your ankle?"

"I should be fine...it's getting better." He got up first and helped her up, and they started walking.

"That is so pretty out there with the moon reflecting off it." Carrie said.

"I know, I always wanted to live by a lake." Up ahead there was a log streatching out over some of the water. They decided to head towards it.

"How did the interview go?"

"Oh, well, ya know, some old I guess. It sorta gets sickening after awhile." They reached the log and started walking on it. Taylor went first.

"Oh God, this is really slippery." Carrie said.

"Just give me your hand..." Carrie grabbed his hand and he helped her along the log as they both walked across it. Soon, a big wave came rushing up to the surface
and got their shoes wet.

"Ahh!" Carrie yelled. "Why don't we go back and take off our shoes and then come back."

"Okay." They ran to shore, he quickly splashed her, and she shreiked. They got their shoes off and headed back onto the log. This time, Carrie just slipped her hand
into his and they started off. There were a few times when they almost fell, but when they got to the end of the log, they stood there, holding hands, the wind blowing
in their hair, staring at the lake again.

"Ahh!" Carrie got some water splashed on her by Taylor and screamed. Then, she almost fell in, but he caught her just in time. They started laughing.

"You have such a pretty smile." Taylor said. Carrie blushed, and again, just looked at the lake. Everything was quiet for awhile, all they could hear was the rushing of
the lake going up to the surface. The water was tickeling their toes, and they jumped.

"I have an idea." Carrie said.

"Humm?"

"Let's go IN the lake."

"What?"

"Let's go IN the lake."

"Ummm, okay." They both waded in the lake and it was cold. As they went in, Taylor tripped over a stone that was at the bottom. Carrie grabbed on to him, and
they both fell in the water.

"Oh my God, this is so cold!" Carrie said as she came up from under the water. They started laughing, but then found eachother staring at one another. Taylor's eyes
were ice blue, and Carrie stared deep into them. Their hands accidently touched at the bottom of the lake, and Taylor grabbed her hand. He leaned in closer and
Carrie closed her eyes and then...

"HEY YOU GUYS!!!!!!!!!! LET'S GO SWIMMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Carrie and Tay looked up and saw Zac running towards them.

"God." Taylor said. They let go of hands and stood up. "Zac, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I just sorta, well, ya know, was taking a walk, ah-huh, and I saw you guys swimming, so I'm here to join you...umm...yeah. That's it."

Taylor scowled. "Are you sure, or did you just, MAKE THAT UP?" Zac looked down, and could tell that Taylor was mad.

"Well, then, let's go swimming." Carrie said trying to take the anger away from everybody. It worked on Zac who just jumped in, but not Taylor, after that he wasn't
himself. They went swimming and had fun, and Zac left earlier than Taylor and Carrie because he still felt guilty for disturbing them before...so he let them alone for a
while.

"Well, I'm getting tired, so I'm gonna walk home." Zac said.

"Okay, great, bye!" Taylor said. Zac got the hint, winked at Taylor, and then started walking away.

"Sorry, he....is a dork."

"That's okay. Well, I have to go, my mom will start to worry."

"Okay." Taylor helped her up, and they started walking. It was starting to rain outside...it was a good thing they were already wet. By the time they got to Carrie's
house, it was pouring.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll call you or something." She reached over to give him a hug, and then she turned and went in her house. As she got in, she looked out her window, and
watched him walk home.

******************
"Zac, that really made me mad!" Taylor screamed as he walked into the house.

"Sorry." Taylor could tell that he felt bad, but said nothing and went up to his room.

He layed on his bed, and just thought about Carrie...he really liked her.

******************

"Then, we walked home, and I just gave him a hug." Carrie said...she was telling Becky.

"That is so awesome! Well, listen, I have to go over to Lisa's house, I'll call you tomorrow or something."

"Okay, bye!"

"Bye." Carrie hung up the phone, and went to sleep smiling.

CHAPTER 5

"Da da da la la la. I have never been more bored in my entire life. Da la da la. A doo bop doo bop doo wup. Boring. Boring." Zac effortlessly sang.

The four of them, Carrie, Taylor, Ike, and Zac sat in the Hanson's tree house. It was a rainy day out, and the clapping sound of thunder filled their ears. Carrie was
bored too and just started to look around. It was a cute little tree house, it had three rooms. It was very large for a tree house, and had food, sleeping bags, and
magazines and scribbles of music on crumpled paper laying around. Zac was sitting in the "kitchen" and was just staring out the window. Ike, Tay, and Carrie were
sitting in the other "room."

"Me too." said Ike. Let's do something that involves more than sitting around and eating....Jello, Jellybeans, and chips.

"There isn't anything to do on a rainy day." Taylor said. Zac, was still singing a song about being bored in the backround.

"Well, we could play a board game or something."

"Or we could sing." Zac mumbled.

"We could do that." Ike said sounding more enthusiastic.

"Whoa guys, wait. I can't sing." Carrie interrupted.

"Well yeah, but we could sing to you." Tay smiled. Ike noticed that Taylor liked Carrie, Taylor hadn't mentioned it, but he could definately tell he liked her...he just
smiled at Tay's words. Carrie smiled too, and soon they were all on their feet stretching.

"Let's go!!" Zac screamed. That was what was weird about Zac. One minute he was quiet as a mouse, and the next, you couldn't shut him up. They started scurrying
into their house, and the light rain dampened them slightly. Zac slipped in the mud and started laughing. Taylor hysterically started to crack up. Zac...a little
embarrassed in front of Carrie, pulled Taylor down with him. Taylor's laughs were turned into a blank stare at Zac. They both sat there in the mud, just evilly staring
at each other.

"What's the problem Tay?" Zac laughed. He then picked up some mud and chucked it at him.

"You asked for it!!!!" Taylor shouted. Then, a mud fight began. Carrie and Ike later joined, and they were in the mud for about 20 minutes. They all were plastered
in mud, and when they tried to get up, they slipped. Ike finally managed to get up, and helped the others up, too. They ran inside, not knowing what to do with the
mud, and just tried to slip on by Mrs. Hanson.

"Shh, don't let mom hear us." Zac whispered. They quickly crept in the house where their mother was baking cookies. With her back turned to them, they thought
they would have the perfect chance.

"Hold it right there my little mud covered children." Diana turned to see the four of them, and gasped at the sight. They all held their breath, hoping that she wouldn't
blow up at them....but, she started laughing. With sighs of relief, they started laughing, too. "Go rinse yourselves off outside you guys," she said as she pushed them
out the door. "Yuck."

"That was so awesome! She didn't care!" Zac screeched. Carrie just ignored Zac, and contined staring at Taylor. His shirt was clinging to him, showing six-pack.
Their eyes met, and then both a little embarrassed, just went on rinsing off.

"Here are some towels." Mrs. Hanson offered as she stepped out of the house. After they were all done and in dry clothes again....Carrie wore some of Taylor's
sweats...they all gathered in the den. Carrie took a seat in a chair and listented to them tune everything up. She wasn't listening to anything...just staring at Taylor. Zac
tried to impress Carrie by playing the hardest thing he could on the drums...it did sound good, but Carrie didn't hear it. She was in her own little world...staring at
Taylor....

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard Zac yell "1-2-3-4." They began to sing a new song they had made up yesterday.

"And I cried, the day that our love died...." She listened to the rest of the song and thought it was good, a few times she caught Taylor glancing at her. Isaac was
being Isaac, and Zac was....well...Zac.

"Oh man, that was awesome!!" cried Zac.

"Yeah, but there is still room for improvement." Taylor said as he picked up a pencil and started scribbling things down.

"What did you think Carrie?"

Carrie broke her stare from Taylor. "Oh, I thought it was great."

"Well, that's because of my awesome playing." Zac said, pulling up his pants and raising an eyebrow. "You know, I have true talent on these suckers right here.
Yeah, I was born with these babies." He patted the drums and stared at them. "Oh, I LOVE YOU MAN!!!" he said as he hugged his...drums. He laughed. "I am
just so funny!"




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