"Isaac!" she said. "Thank you so much! I love him....he's adorable." She reached over and gave him a big kiss.

"Well," he said, "I can't take ALL of the credit. It was Zac's idea. And Taylor went out and bought him."

"Thank you all," she said, forming a group hug with the three brothers. The party went on from there, with everyone playing LaserTag and arcade games, taking turns playing with the puppy, and trying to decide on a name for him. Every person at the party seemed to have a different idea for the dog's name.

Soon Isaac and Nicole found almost everyone around them asleep, for it was already four thirty in the morning. The snuggled together on top of their sleeping bags and made plans of how they would spend the next six months of their lives.

"I'm going to e-mail you everyday, and so is Taylor," Isaac said. "And I'll call whenever mom and dad let me."

"Me too," Nicole said, absently twirling a lock of his curly blond hair around her index finger.

Isaac sighed sleepily as he felt Nicole's body rise and fall rythmicly. She was asleep. He leaned down and kissed her cheek softly, and she made a cute noise and smiled before rolling over, her back facing him. He smiled and shook his head. As he laid down and draped his arm around her, he couldn't believe that all of this would be taken from him in two days. Sometimes two days could seem like forever, but now they seemed so short. A familiar tune popped into his head, and he began to hum it.

"All the minutes in the world could never take your place," sang a familiar voice softly across the room. "There's one thousand, four hundred, forty hours in my day."

"You still awake Tay?" Isaac whispered.

"Yes," Taylor called across the room, melodically from his burst of song. "I can't believe she's only got two more days here," he said.

"Man, you must have read my mind," Isaac said. "That's exactly what I was thinking."

"You guys are going to stick together, right?" Taylor asked. "I mean, you aren't going to see other people."

"God no," Isaac said. "I don't want anyone else Tay. Why did this have to happen?"

"It's life Ike," Taylor said. "You can't change it; just take it as it comes. We'll get through this somehow. We have to, for Nic's sake."

As Isaac sat pondering his brother's words, he realized how wise those words really were. He had to be strong, not only for himself, but for Nicole too. The two boys soon fell asleep.

"In that box with the photo albums and video tapes," she said, gesturing to an overflowing box on the bed. Taylor grabbed the box and moved things around until there was just enough space for the pictures. "Thanks Tay," she said.

"No problem," he said, walking over and putting his hand on her shoulder. "So how are you doing?" he asked seriously.

"Not good," she said. "I feel like I could burst into tears at any second, but I'm so mad at my parents that I know I won't. When is Ike coming?"

"One of his brackets came loose from his tooth, probably due to too much tonsil hockey," Taylor said, jokingly gesturing to his mouth. "Mom had to take him to the orthodontist." Nicole smiled at his joke and Zac made a disgusted face.

"Tonsil Hockey?!" Zac cried. "Ugh!" Taylor smiled wickedly.

"One day, my brother, you too will enjoy it like we do." Nicole brushed the hair from Zac's forehead and kissed it softly.

"I'm going to miss you guys so much," she said. The three of them resumed to packing until Nicole's room was bare of everything but her bed and dresser. Ike returned soon and the four of them sat out on her porch and played with the puppy until her parents loaded the last box into the moving van. Her father and mother came over and acknowledged that it was time to go.

"Good-bye boys," her mother said, hugging each of them. "You guys have been around more than our real son. I'm going to miss that."

"So will we Mrs. Bauer," Taylor said.

"We'll be seeing you soon, right?" Mr. Bauer asked as he shook their hands.

"Yes sir," Isaac said. "We're going to visit as much as possible."

"Good," her father said. "Come anytime."

As her parents walked back towards the truck, Zac wrapped his arms tightly around Nicole. When she looked down at him, she realized that his eyes were flooding with tears.

"I'm not letting you go," he wailed. "You can't go." She bent down and hugged him close, whispering into his ear.

"Zac, you can talk to me over the internet, and we're going to visit each other. Please don't cry." She wiped away a few of his tears and kissed his cheek. This time as she stood up, he let go. Next she walked to Taylor, who grabbed her and held her tightly.

"You're going to call me as soon as you get there, right?" he asked. She nodded solemnly as he kissed her on the cheek. "We're coming to see your new house on Friday," he said. He held up his wrist, revealing his worn out friendship bracelet, and she showed him her own. He hugged her one more time before directing her toward Ike, who was standing solemnly, averting her eyes.

"You're coming Friday?" she asked, walking toward him.

"Every Friday," he said, taking her hand. "You better make us a room."

"You got it," she whispered as his lips brushed hers. She pulled him closer for a deeper, more passionate kiss, and then pulled away and crouched, picking up the puppy.

She turned and walked toward the car, balancing her backpack on her back and the big puppy in her arms. As she placed both into the car, she turned back and waved. A single, solitary tear ran down her cheek as she surveyed the scene. Zac had his face buried in Taylor's chest, violently shaking with sobs. Taylor himself was crying, but trying not to be too noticable to Zac. Isaac was standing behind them, his hands on each of their shoulders. He blew a farewell kiss in her direction and she held up her hand in the 'I Love You' sign language, placing her middle and ring fingers in her palm and leaving the other three up. Isaac repeated the sign as she saw a tear roll down his cheek too. A thought suddenly occurred to her and she rolled down the window as her dad pulled out of the driveway.

"I decided on a name for the puppy!" she yelled.

"What is it?" Taylor yelled back.

"TULSA!" she yelled.

And with tears pouring down his cheeks, Taylor flashed her a thumbs up. She knew that she would never, in her whole life, forget that look on his face.