CHAPTER 7


"She died." Carrie explained to Becky over the phone.

"Oh my gosh. I'm really sorry."

"Thanks." She tried to say with a little bit of expression.

"So, when do you think you'll be coming home?" she responded.

"Huh? Going home? Oh..." Carrie and her mother had never discussed this before. Everything was going so well, until, Grandma died. "We
haven't really talked about it." "Going home?" Carrie thought. "We can't...Taylor and me...." she continued on thinking. "I don't really think it will
be any time soon though, we want to get the funeral going and then settle down, and then head home."

"Oh, well, we all miss you here. Almost force your mom to come home as early as possible."

"What? Ya know Becky, I've got friends here too. My Grandma just died, it's not that easy. We can't just forget about our friends and sadness as
if it never happened. Besides, me and Taylor, are sorta....well, ya know...."

"No I don't. Please tell." Becky shot back.

"Well, he's a really nice guy, and we are sorta a couple thing....."

"Oh that's nice....GOOD HEAVENS....don't forget about the people in Tulsa that you've know for...humm..let's see...2 weeks. But the people back
here, who you have known for basically since birth, don't matter anymore?? I see your plan. It's okay....forget us...forget it. Bye."

"NO! Becky...you took that the wrong way. Taylor has been really nice about this whole thing...he's really sensitive. Becky?? Hello?"

"I'm here. Talk. I have to go soon." she said as she rolled her eyes and stared at the wall and twirled the phone cord in her fingers.

"Okay, well, I just would have expected you to be a little more supportive with this whole subject....ya know, making me feel like nothing more
than something in the garbage doesn't really help."

"Oh God, you are taking this the wrong way! That's not what I meant."

"That's what came out of your mouth."

"Well, I have to go. Bye." then, she slammed the phone down.

"Ugh." Carrie mumbled as she set the phone back in it's cradle. "Great 'friend'". she thought. She was in the middle of cleaning her room when
she had realized that she hadn't called Becky and thought that then was a better time than ever. She was wrong. As she started to clean out her
desk drawers, she found an envelope with something inside it. She carefully opened it, thinking something delicate was in it. She opened to find
a bracelet. A friendship bracelet. The one that Becky had made for her on the day she left. "Think of me when you look at it." she recalled Becky
saying. Then, she thought of Becky. Then, she thought about the fight she had just had with Becky, and stuffed the bracelet back in the
envelope and kept on cleaning. Their friendship was falling apart.
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A little upset by the fight she had had earilier, she wasn't the same when both families went for a picnic in the Hanson's backyard. They had
everything set up, the blanket was decorated with sandwiches and chips. The sound of bees buzzing and birds chirping filled the air. After they
had all eaten lunch, the older kids decided to play a game of basketball.

"I'm not really good at this stuff...I'm just a gymnast." Carrie shrugged as she said. "Don't expect my team to win..."

"What are the teams?" Zac asked. "I would like to submit a question." he said, trying to sound sarcastic.

"Do tell." Taylor said in his almost perfect English accent.

"Well, you see, I was thinking that Carrie and I should form a team...seeing how I would make up the difference...with me being so good you
know." he said, still in a sophisticated.

"I don't. You suck." Taylor said, carrying on the accent.

"No I don't!" he shouted back..now in his regular voice.

"Yes you do, you are so short!" Ike said. Zac gulped as he felt a little embarassed in front of Carrie.

"Fine." he reasoned.

"Okay, me and Carrie against you and Ike." Taylor said.

"Fine." Zac repeated...again thinking why Taylor always got the "good ones." The game was an easy win for Taylor and Carrie. Carrie wasn't as
bad as she thought, her aim was right on. Taylor and Carrie giving eachother a high five ended the game. The score: 59-34.

"Oh man Ike, we were so close." Zac said.

"No we weren't."

"I know, I was just saying that to make myself feel better." Zac groaned.

"Zac, we sucked." Ike laughed.

"Didn't you hear me?? I want to feel better, not worse. Ya see, I picture this as a war. We fight, they win. We suck, but I try not to think that,
otherwise......I DIE!"

"Zac, what are you talking about?? You're not gonna die..." said Taylor.

"Uh-huh. LORD BATHAGOMY says so. He's my leader. I come in peace." Zac sounded matter-of-factly.

"Zac, you need help. 1-800-CHARTER. Try it." Ike said.

"Get a life." Taylor said, laughing.

"Why? For it is true, LORD BATHAGOMY is my leader."

"Shut-up Zac." Ike scowled as Carrie laughed. They soon reached the place where the parents and younger children were.

"Who won?" Walker questioned.

"Us...59-34." Carrie bragged.

"You better watch it or LORD BATHAGOMY will get you too." Zac stated.

"It's getting old Zac..." Ike said. Zac shrugged.

Tayor, ignoring his brothers said, "Hey Carrie, wanna go for a walk or something?"

"Sure." Carrie said as she put the basketball down. Taylor watched her do this, and thought, "She looks great today." She was wearing a regular
white tee-shirt with some jean shorts. She had her hair in a loose ponytail, and she looked cute. She grabbed his hand, and they walked off. Zac
tried to ignore, and started to push Mackie on the swing, watching Taylor and Carrie walk off in the distance.

They walked in silence for awhile, until Carrie finally spoke up.

"It's really nice out today."

"Um-hum." Taylor said staring at the ground. "Do you want to walk by the creek?" he later asked her.

"Sure, that's fine." Carrie was nervous, she didn't know why, but she was. She was afraid that she would screw up in front of him and then be
embarrased. They reached a creek with a log streatching over it, and decided to go out on it. They sat it the middle of it with their feet skimming
the surface of the water.

"Carrie?" Tay questioned.

"Humm?" she replied with her chin balancing on her knee.

"I was just.....well, do you think you would like to go out to mall and then a movie on Friday?" he asked, with anxiety staining his voice. She looked over at him, into his cold, blue eyes.

"Yeah, that would be fun...." she trailed off......."Taylor...I don't know if we are going back to Colorado. My mom and I hadn't really discussed it." she sighed.

"I knew this was coming." he mumbled. "Carrie, you can't go....."

"I know." she said, raising her eyebrows, once again looking into his eyes and melting. "I just won't mention it. I'll wait for her to say something. IF we do move back, it won't be for awile, I mean, with Grandma just passing and all....."

"Yeah." They paused. "But....friday, you still want to, right?"

"Oh yeah. I just thought that I should tell you about moving back, just so we're prepared."

"You can't move back." he wispered into her ear, leaning over. She turned to him, and he stroked her cheek. "You can't." he repeated. Carrie, feeling tears coming to her eyes, just muttered, "I won't." Then they gently kissed, and then enveloped eachother in their arms.

CHAPTER 8

Carrie was laying on her bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking about how lucky she was to have Taylor. Just then, the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Carrie?"

"Yeah....?"

"Hi, this is Taylor."

"Hi!"

"Hi. Umm, I was thinking we could change the plans for tis afternoon...."

"What did you have in mind?"

"Well, I donno. There is a County Fair here for the weekend. I figured we could do that....the mall is always here, the fair only comes once a year...."

"Okay. No problem." she cheerfully added.

"Alright...Ike will be there at around 4:00."

"Okay, see you then."

"Yup. Bye. Oh Wait! You still wanna do the movie thing right?"

"Yeah...what time does it start?"

"Well, it depends. What movie do you want to see? Something scary?"

"Nooo. I hate scary movies."

"Oh come on. I'll protect you." he joked. Carrie smiled.

"Fine. How bout "I know what you did last summer"?"

"Lemme check what time it starts..." there was a pause. "7:00." And it's really close to the fair, so we can just walk from place to place."

"Okay, so 4:00 then."

"Yup. Bye."

"Bye." They both hung up the phone. Taylor turned to his brothers, who were sitting on their beds.

"Ike, me and Carrie are going to the fair at 4. Think you could take us?"

"What do I get out of it?" he smirked, but still looking at his magazine.

"Come on..." Taylor pleaded.

"Fine. Fine. But 4 on the dot...I have a life you know."

"Oh God, and just what did you have planned Mr.Popular?"

"A date."

"Oh sure. Whatever."

"I'm not kidding! I met this girl at the mall the other day. She noticed me...."

"NO NO. She noticed me." Zac cut in as he stopped working on his latest lego project.

"What?" Ike said with a confused face.

"She noticed me....cause, ya know, I'm so fine." Zac responded.

"Whatever Zac. She's like 17. Like she's gonna go for a little 11 year old."

"12. I am a 12 year old."

"God." Ike sighed. "Either way."

"Nuh-uh."

"Drop it. She wants me Zac."

"I am so sick of this! I never ever get a good girl! They always go after you guys! How come I always get the ones that scream or the obsessed ones? I HATE THIS!!!!!!!! I live such a sad life!" he screamed, pretending to cry. Isaac rolled his eyes, and then looked down at his magazine again.

"4:00 sharp." he mumbled to Taylor.

"Fine." Taylor grumbled as he bolted out of the room. Zac, after pouting, continued on working on his legos."

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

"Bye mom!" Carrie screamed as she rushed out the door. Ike and Tay were here.

"Ohh. They're here. Bye honey! Have fun!"

"Bye!"

"Love y.." Carrie's mom tried to say, but her daughter was already out the door. She watched her daughter step into the car...thinking of how the years have flown by. "She's so grown up. And she looks so happy. She's beautiful." she thought.

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

"Bye Ike, thanks." Taylor thanked as he stepped out of the car and slipping his arm around Carrie's waist.

"You two have fun!" Ike said, trying to sound "big-brotherly" like.

"Bye." Taylor mumbled as he rolled his eyes, knowing that his brother was faking everything. He watched Ike drive away, and then turned his attention to Carrie. "So, here we are. What first. Rides or games?"

"How about rides...BEFORE dinner." she responded.

"Okay." Taylor said with a smile. They grabbed hands, and headed towards "The Zipper".

"Oh God. I donno if I can handle this." Carrie uneasily stated.

"Oh come on...it'll be fun! Trust me." he begged with pleading eyes, making the puppy face.

"Alright." Carrie gave in. They gave the ticket person their tickets, and got into one seat. "I can't believe you talked me into this." Carrie said as she straped herself in.

"It'll be fun." Taylor smirked. Then, the ride started to move and they were headed towards the top. Suddenly they were zipped forward.

"Ahhh!!" Carrie screamed. The ride continued on and on, and Carrie hoped that it would soon end. "Oh my God." Carrie said as she stepped off the ride, holding her stomach.

"That was awesome!" Taylor screeched.

"Sure. Awesome." Carrie joked, but with a smile on her face.

"Aww, are you okay?" Taylor joked, seeing the look on Carrie's face. She playfully tickeled him in the stomach, and then they headed towards a different ride. They went on ride after ride, Carrie always feeling a little queasy after each one.

"Let's get something to eat...." Taylor suggested.

"Good. Food. Not rides. Food." was all Carrie could manage to say. They went to eat, each getting a burger.

"Alright, now for the games."

"Thank God. I thought you were still hooked on the rides." Carrie said with relief.

"Come on." he said, reaching for her hand.

"Right here! Come and win a prize or two!!! All ya gotta do is pop the balloon!!!! 1.00 for 3 darts, 2.00 for 5, 3.00 for 7!!" A gentleman shouted behind a counter.

"I'm gonna do this." Taylor said with confindence.

"Okay." He stepped up to the table, plopping his money down.

"All ya gotta do is pop the balloon!" the man repeated, handing Taylor the darts. He grabbed one, and shot at one of the balloons. POP! He made it....and still had 6 darts left. "Whoa! Right of the bat!" the man said. "Keep going! The more you hit, the bigger the prize!!" Taylor nodded and kept on popping and popping the balloons. He made 5 out of the 6.

"Well, take your pick of these prizes." the man said, pointing to a section of stuffed animals. Taylor immediately spotted a big bear with a heart in it's paws.

"I'll take that one." Taylor said, pointing to the bear. The man took it from the rack and handed it to Taylor. "Thanks." Tay said as he walked back to Carrie.

"Here. This is for you." Taylor offered, handing Carrie the bear.

"Aww. Taylor, you are so sweet." Carrie said as she smi led and looked at what he won for her. She gave him a hug, and a quick peck on
he cheek.

"So do you want to go to the Hanunted House that's over there?" Taylor asked pointing in the direction that it was in.

"Yeah. Sure. Anything but rides." was her response.

Taylor smiled. "Let's go." he once again wrapped his arm around her waist, and they were off.

CHAPTER 8--the rest

They gave the man their tickets, and waited in line for about 15 minutes.

"Do you two just want to go in alone?" The man asked.

"Sure." Carrie answered for the both of them, she knew Taylor would have wanted to too. He nodded for appoval.

"Okay, have fun!" the man said in a deep, scary voice. The two walked in...Carrie having butterflies in her stomach. They first entered a dark room, too dark to see anything. Then, a monster arose from an opening in the floor. He started to slowly walk towards them, and Carrie started to scream. Taylor wrapped his arms around her even tighter, and then they both started walking faster to what was ahead....another dark room.

"Oh God...." Carrie mumbled as she shivered.

Taylor laughed a little. "It's fake Carrie. It's okay. He wrapped his arms in front of her, kissing the top of her head softly. Carrie grabbed his arms and kept close to him as they proceeded.

Another monster came out of a corner, trying to frighten the two of them. Carrie again shrieked.

"Shhh." Taylor said as he smiled and laughed a little, resting his chin on her head. A strand of Tay's hair was dangling in Carrie face, and she blew it away. Taylor then went to Carrie side, again putting his arm around her waist and holding her close. Carrie put her hand in his back pocket.

"A little scared?" Taylor asked.

"No. No. I'm okay." was her response, her face sticken white.

"Sure." he said with a smile on his face. Then, another monster appeared. Carrie clenched on to Taylor's shirt, and onto his shoulders and chest. He loked down at her and smiled. She looked up at him, and even in the darkness she could see his ice blue eyes. He took a strand of her hair, and twirled it in his fingers. She just gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"You are so sweet Tay." she whispered into his ear. He laughed.

"I know." he looked down at her, and softly kissed her on the lips. It was a different kiss, so gentle and passionate. Then, another monster jumped out and they immediately broke apart. They ran out the exit of the haunted house, and again found themselves on the fair grounds.

"Well, that was fun." Carrie slyly stated. Taylor made a small little chuckle. He then looked at his watch.

"We better go if we want to see the movie."

"Okay...." she trailed off as they started walking.

**********************************************
"One large popcorn and a Dr. Pepper please." Tay ordered.

"Okay, that'll be 4.00." the man behind the counter stated. Taylor set the money on the counter, and received the foods.

"Alright. Here we go." he then said. They found seats in the back, the theatre was packed with teenage kids. "I guess this is the best we can do." he gloomily said.

"It's okay. We're here, together. That's all I need." she smiled as she said this.

"And you think I'm sweet?" he smiled back. They sat back and watched the movie, munching on their popcorn, and washing it down with the Dr.Pepper. At all of the scary parts, Carrie of course used Taylor's shoulder. He didn't mind. He just streched his arm around her, and smiled, thinking he was the luckiest guy in the world. He had a beautiful, nice, generous, sweet, loving, funny girlfriend. He thought nothing could go wrong. Then, it hit him. HARD. like a rock. "What about Colorado?" he thought outloud.

Carrie stopped munching, and looked at Taylor, surprised at his sudden words. "What?" she asked with curiosity staining her voice.

"What about Colorado?" he repeated. Carrie stared blankly at him. Taylor just stared straight ahead at the screen, not even looking at
Carrie.

"Taylor, look at me." she said, slapping a smile on her face. He obidiantly turned his head towards her. "I haven't really talked to my mom. But, I really want to stay here. But, let's not think abut it right now."

"Carrie, you can't leav...."

"I know." she cut in. "I don't want to. I'll talk to my mom tonight. But, all I really care about right now is that I am here with you...and no one else." she said with pleading eyes.

Taylor wanted to tell her how much he wanted her to stay, and that she couldn't go, that she had to stay. But he didn't. He just thought about that moment, and Carrie. "Yeah." he whispered with a smile on his face. He looked down at her pleading eyes, and leaned towards her and kissed her softly. She accepted, and they kissed for the remainder of the movie. On the screen, people were killing people and making the world worse. Before the screen, sat two teenagers, wrapped up in this little thing called love.

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

"Mom? I'm home!" Carrie bellowed as she walked in her home.

"Good hon. I need to talk to you."

"About what? Has somehing happened?" she questioned as she hesitantly sat down next to her mother.

"Well, you know, I've been thinking about it all day."

"About what?"

"About Colorado." Her mothers words struck Carrie hard. "I really think we need to move back...I mean, I have a job, and we have our home..."

"No mom."

"What?"

"No. I'm not leaving."

"Honey, if I choose that we go, WE'RE going."

"You can go without me."

Her mom was shocked, and speechless for awhile. "But....." she stuttered. "Why?"

"I have met some amazing people here. Better than the people I had in Denver. You can find a job here, I can go to school, or homeschool with the Hanson's...anything! But I am not moving after all this. I am too attached." she swallowed hard, hoping that her mother would allow and consider her rudeness.

"Well...what about Becky?"

Carrie pushed a deep breath out and brushed a peice of hair out of her face. She felt tears stinging her eyes. "I.....I found out that she's not a friend."

"Oh. I'm sorry." she took a deep breath, and thought about it some more. "So you really like it here?" she asked.

"Yes mom." she said with a lot of hope in her voice. Her mother thought some more as she stared at the ground. "Please." Carrie whispered.

"Alright. Alright. We'll stay." she gave in.

"Oh! Thank you so much mom!" she said as she hugged her mom.

"Yeah, yeah, now get to bed." she joked as she tilted her head towards the exit of the room.

"Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." She repeated as she walked out of the room.

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

Tay found his brother with a shirt off, flexing his muscles in front of a mirror.

"That's right. The old Ike is back." he said into mirror.

"Oh my God!!" Taylor laughed. "What are you doing?"

"Oh!" Ike grabbed his shirt quickly and wrapped it around him. "I was just...I was..."

"Don't explain." Taylor said as he shook his hand in his brothers face. "I think I'm in love." he said plopping down on his bed.

"Well, I just went on a wonderful date."

"Oh, then that would explain the little show you were putting on, Mr. Muscles."

"Shut-up. And, you can't be in love. You're too young."

Taylor thought about this. "He's right." he thought. "I've only known her for 2 weeks, it's not anything." he continued thinking.

"Maybe you're right." he said as he shrugged.

"I know I'm right."

Taylor laughed. "This coming from a guy that prances around half naked in front of a mirror." Ike gave him an evil look.

"What?" Zac screamed as he walked in.

"Oh, I was just saying how our demented brother here, has seem to have been "showing off" to the mirror."

"HA!!" Zac laughed.

"Well...talk about a 14 year old that thinks he's in love!" Ike shot back.

"Oh God." Zac moaned, and he stopped laughing. "Here we go again. I NEVER GET A GIRL!!! Tay, you're in love, Ike, you just went on a date....and what did Zac do??? Zac sat home and watched Barney re-runs with Mackie!! This isn't fair!!!!!!"

"Zac, calm down. When you get older, it'll happen."

"Well, it better come fast." was all he had to say.

Taylor again drifted off, thinking about Carrie. "Ike's right. I can't be in love." he thought.





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