"Ike," Taylor said exasperatedly, "next time, remember where you park the van, okay?"

"Sorry guys," Isaac said. "I was so caught up in the thought of our CD going on sale today that- - -"

"There it is!" Zac shouted, interrupting him, pointing to the white van, one lane away. Isaac shook his head and strolled towards the car, unlocking the door with the keyless entry while Zac beat on the door.

Taylor and Nicole got in the middle seat again, but Zac sat up in the front passenger seat, messing with the radio. Obviously being tired actually made him even more hyper. He finally leaned back in his seat, leaving the radio set to a popular rock station.

"Up next," the announcer stated, "we have a band that hits close to home. This teen trio is none other than Hanson, native brothers of Tulsa. And this is their smash hit, 'Mmmbop' which is already crawling up the Billboard Charts at number sixteen. The CD, Middle of Nowhere went on sale today, so go out and get it!"

The man's voice was soon drowned out by the pumping beat and Taylor's angelic voice. Zac started shrieking hysterically, Isaac grinned in the rearview mirror, and Taylor began singing along, snapping his fingers to the beat.

"This has been such a great day," Nicole said. She reached over and gave Zac a hug, from where he was lying in the floor of the van. Soon Taylor joined in for the second group hug of the day. When Isaac dropped Nicole off at her house, she was in a great mood. As she opened the door of her house, humming Mmmbop, she heard the phone ring.

"Hello," she said, quickly answering it.

"Hey Nic," she heard her brother say, sounding as if he was at a party from all of the noise in the background.

"Hey Matt," she said. "What's up?"

"Well, I just wanted to check in on you," he said. "I'm at a friend's house, so I might not get over there tonight. Is that cool?"

"Sure," she said, not caring whether or not her brother checked in on her or not. It was just some stupid rule that her parents had come up with any ways. She could take care of herself.

Nicole had been left alone for as long as she could remember, whether it was with her brother when she was younger, or all alone, as she was now. She had a hired tutor who came by every weekday from nine until two, to home-school her, since her parents had pulled her out of the public school system when she was eleven, right before she was to start the seventh grade. But she didn't mind; the Hansons and some other kids who lived near her were home-schooled too.

Nicole soon became bored again, so she called one of her friends, Casey, to come over and hang out. Casey lived just down the street, so a few minutes later, she was knocking on Nicole's door.

Casey had moved to Tulsa two years earlier, from North Carolina. She was petite and cute, with curly blond hair, big blue eyes, and an accent that all the guys loved. Casey herself hated it though.

"Hey Nic," she said, stepping in from the rain. "Did you hear the Hansons on the radio?"

"Yeah," Nicole said. "Isaac, Tay, Zac and I were in their van, on our way back from the mall! It was so wild," she said excitedly.

"My mom's taking me tomorrow to get the CD," Casey explained.

"Oh, I got it today," Nicole exclaimed. "Want to listen to it?'

"Of course!" Casey said happily. It was no secret to Nicole that Casey had been crushing on Isaac as long as she had lived in Tulsa. He was probably the only one who didn't know.

They talked and listened to the CD all the way through, each song triggering different emotions in them. They oohed and aahed over Thinking of You, Lucy, and Madeline; they danced to Mmmbop, Speechless, Where's the Love, Look At You, A Minute Without You, and especially Man From Milwaukee; and they both got a little teary over Weird, I Will Come to You, and With You in Your Dreams.

"Ike sounds sooooo great in 'A Minute Without You'," Casey said dreamily.

"Yeah," Nicole said, "but I think I liked 'I Will Come to You' and 'Madeline' the most."

Casey began looking over the pictures on the CD cover, laughing or smiling at each one. She slowly sat up on the bed, looking first at Nicole, who was stretched out on the floor, and then at the CD cover, and back to Nicole again.

"I know I've told you this before," Casey started, "but I just think.....You and Taylor would be SUCH a cute couple Nic," she finished pleadingly.

"Come on Case," Nicole said, rolling her eyes. "Taylor and I are just friends. We wouldn't want to wreck that by going out. Who knows what could happen then."

"But I've seen the way he looks at you Nicole," Casey explained, for about the millionth time since she had met Nicole. "You should see it; you're like, the sun or something to him. Without you, he wouldn't survive."

"Now that's a little extreme," Nicole said. "I'm sure that Taylor's going to start going out with some bimbo sometime, and he'll forget all about me." She didn't notice what she had said until it had already come out of her mouth.

"Oooh.....I sense some jealousy, don't I?" Casey prompted.

"No," Nicole said, throwing a pillow at her, "you sense some hunger. I'm going to get a bag of chips downstairs. Want anything?"

"Nah," Casey said. "I have to get home anyways. It's already eight, and I'm supposed to babysit for Mrs. Johnson down the street. I'll call you tomorrow."

"Okay," Nicole said, letting Casey out the door. As she shut the door, she slid down to the floor. "I don't like Taylor," she said to herself for the second time that day. She believed it, so why couldn't anyone else?