Chapter Three
Zac lay back on his pillows and thought about things in general…something he didn’t do often, granted, but something he was good at. Wind still wasn’t back yet and he could hear his mother in the main room freaking out.
“What do you mean you got in a snipe with her and let her storm out? This is California, for Christ’s sake, if she ends up on the evening news as a rape victim, it’s YOUR head, Sarah! I mean it! That poor girl has said barely twelve words since she got here, you fight with her, and let her go! The poor thing is probably having a nervous breakdown! It’s bad enough you keep Taylor up until the small hours of the morning doing God knows what sick things so he’s tired and cranky all through rehearsals, but you can’t do this to your friend like that!”
Zac heard Sarah mumble something at Diana, but didn’t make the words out. He knew, however, that the silence following meant she’d said something that had royally turfed Diana.
“Excuse me? Young lady, if I ever hear anything like that come from your mouth again, you’re on the next plane home and you’re never seeing Taylor again, do you understand?”
Zac grinned a little and turned up his Walkman.
Isaac was sitting on his bed reading a magazine at about 11 when he heard a knocking on his window. It was actually a balcony, so he wasn’t too surprised when he pulled back the curtain and saw Wind standing there.
“What the hell, Wind?”
She blushed.
“Sorry, Ike…I didn’t want to wake anyone else up and yours was the first balcony I noticed with a light on. Shouldn’t you be asleep?”
Ike raised an eyebrow at her, but smiled.
“Aries went out to go get some things at the corner store, so I said I’d stay awake for awhile. Better get into bed before Mom comes back and realizes you still aren’t back yet.”
Wind nodded and smiled a little.
“Yeah, I know…Ike…did Sarah say anything?”
Isaac shrugged.
“Sorry, all I know is that she got yelled at royally by mom for saying something really crass to her.”
Wind suppressed a smile and went on her way to get into bed, turning around to smile at Isaac on her way out. Isaac sat on his bed and picked up the magazine again, but thought about what was going on with Sarah and Wind lately. It probably wasn’t what it seemed.
Wind was squished on the plane between Walker and Diana, and she kept wishing she could at least have gotten squished next to Aries or one of the little kids. But no, she was next to Diana and that was that.
“Honey?”
Wind turned to Diana.
“Yes?”
“I was thinking, dear, about you and Sarah…if you two get into so many snips, then how did she manage to convince you to come along with us?”
Wind shrugged.
“I guess I wanted to see if she was lying again or not. Apparently she wasn’t.”
Diana touched the yellowish-purple bruise on Wind’s temple gingerly and sighed.
“Honey, she doesn’t seem like the right kind of best friend to me.”
Wind nodded.
“I know, I know. But I can’t really do anything about that right now, I guess.”
Diana nodded.
“You’re right. I guess you can’t. Try not to get into any more fights, though, all right? It was all I could do to keep poor Avie from crying when she found out that Sarah hit you.”
Wind blushed a little and poked the bruise on her face just to feel it sting.
“Well,” she started. “It’s a dog eat dog world. What you gonna do?”
Diana nodded solemnly and let Wind go back to her book, which she was reading for the fifth time since she got there.
“Wind is such a bitch,” Sarah muttered in Aries’ general direction, though she knew Aries was fast asleep in Isaac’s arms. Isaac himself didn’t hear her, he was trying to write his novel in a tattered notebook much like Wind’s, over top of Aries. He wasn’t succeeding very well. Sarah sighed raggedly. Why wouldn’t anyone talk to her? Even Taylor had gone to sit with Zac behind them. He could hear Zac mumbling something about Wind, but couldn’t make it out. Hmmph.
“Miss? MISS! Miss, can I speak with you for a moment?”
Wind turned around and looked at the odd woman with her hair piled high on top of her head in a mess of wisps and grimaced.
“Yeah?”
“Are you Wind Harper?”
Wind nodded and scratched her temple absently, then realized she was being filmed by a television film crew and self-consciously pulled her over shirt closed over her tank top and hitched up her jeans a bit, covering up her navel ring.
“Yes, I am.”
The woman smiled a fake smile and continued, obviously miffed the girl wasn’t willing to show any skin for Entertainment Tonight.
“Yes, I’m a reporter for Entertainment Tonight…so you’re one of the three girls allegedly touring with Hanson right now?”
Wind nodded again, shielding her eyes from the bright rays of light from the setting sun and pulling hair from her eyes that the breeze was blowing in her face.
“Yeah…we’ve been touring with them for 3 days now.”
The girl smiled again.
“Well then. Now, are any of you … ah … romantically involved?”
Wind snorted rudely.
“You think I’m going to tell you that on national TV? You’ve got to be kidding! I have respect for the guys I share a room with, man!”
The girl and her crew looked a little stunned at the outburst, but regained their composure and kept rolling.
“Alright, that’s alright…well then…have you been getting attacked much by fans?”
Wind did her third nod.
“I almost had my butt kicked by some delusional chick back in Nashville…”
The woman nodded sympathetically.
“So what’s it like touring with HANSON?”
Wind shrugged.
“They’re normal teenage guys, okay? I don’t see why no one understands that. Isaac cracks really bad jokes really late at night, Taylor is hilarious to watch when he’s been into the jellybeans, and Zac wakes me up every morning at six to tell me to move over so he can watch the early morning cartoons in boxers and the occasional South Park t-shirt.”
The woman didn’t say anything. No one had ever described Hanson like that before to her. She recomposed.
“Oh…well…thank you…”
She turned and left…and left Wind standing in the shadows, totally confused.
“So does this mean I actually get a bed?” Wind looked around the tour bus anxiously. Taylor nodded.
“You get your own bed. There’s only four beds, though, so Ike and I share with Aries and Sarah…just don’t tell mom that.”
He went off to find his bag, and Wind smiled faintly. At least now she wouldn’t have to worry about Zac shoving her feet out of the way to watch TV anymore.
Wind heard the television click on but opened her eyes to slits and realized it was still dark out. The bus was moving, but it was still dark out and someone gently tapped her foot, the same impatient but careful tap that distinguished it as Zac’s. She opened her eyes halfway to realize the television set sat perfectly in alignment with her bed. She groaned a little and curled up, letting Zac sit down and start flipping channels.
“Zac… can’t I have one morning this summer where I can sleep fully stretched out until about nine a.m.?”
Zac looked over at her, curled up uncomfortably, and softened a little.
“Well,” he started, “Here.” He stood up, pushed her feet back where they were before, and moved to the other end of the bed. “Sit up a little.” Wind looked at him oddly, but shoved herself up on her elbow. He slid in where her pillow had been and got comfortable.
“There. Now go back to sleep.”
Wind looked at him, not completely conscious; her hair a mess and sleep still in her eyes, but laid her head down on his lap and within seconds was out like a light. Zac looked down at her with a faint hint of a smile curling across his lips and let his hand rest on top of her head.
“Well, hey, if it’s as close as she ever gets her face to my crotch…” he grinned evilly. “So be it.”
"I've figured it out. She puts crack in her website to keep her visitors coming back for more."
- Dot Com. *laughing*
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Chapter Two
Chapter Four