"Ike, I swear!" Zac cried. "We talked to her on the phone today! Me and Tay did. She's coming home on Monday!"

This caused Ike to throw down his pen and notebook, jump up from his chair, and rush to where Zac was standing in the doorway.

"Monday! Ohmygod! She's coming home on Monday! What did she say Zac?"

Zac sighed with exasperation. He could see that this was going to take a while. "She said," he repeated, "that she will be home on Monday. Her family is staying in Muskogee until next week, but SHE is coming home. They're moving into the Greene's house, behind us. She is happy and healthy, and her brain is functioning fine, unlike yours." He giggled at the dazed expression on Ike's face. "Deep breaths Ike. Calm down." Then he saw his brother do something that he hadn't seen him do in a long, long time. Probably not since MMMBop had hit #1 on Billboard. "WOO-HOO!" Isaac yelled, running out of the room. He ran down the stairs, probably around the first floor of the house, outside, back in, back up the stairs, and collapsed on his bed only seconds later.

"Wow," was all Zac could say. "You aren't going to be able to talk tomorrow Ike," Zac said. And that's when she's coming."

"OH man!" Isaac cried. "I forgot that today is Sunday! Zac, we have to think of something special to do for her!"

"For Nic?" Taylor said, stepping into the room and entering their conversation.

"Yeah," Isaac said. "She's coming home tomorrow! Oh, you already knew that though. What can we do? This has to be perfect."

"I don't think Nicole would mind if it was just us there when she shows up," Taylor said. "Right Nic?" Isaac and Zac looked at their brother as if he were insane. Why was he talking to Nic when they were the only ones in the room?

"Absolutely," came another voice from the hallway. And then in the same instant, she stepped through the door. Zac gasped, Taylor grinned, and Isaac rushed over and swept her up off of the floor where she stood, swinging her around in his embrace.

"I got her to come a day early and surprize you guys," Taylor explained.

"It worked," Zac whispered, still in shock. He totally had not expected this.

"You guys wouldn't believe how much Taylor begged my parents to let me come home early," Nicole said. "And it worked!"

"Thanks Tay," Isaac said, playfully punching his brother in the shoulder. "Sorry I've been in a bad mood the past few months. I have a feeling everything's going to be much better now."

"No problem bro," Taylor said. He smiled as he caught Nicole's eye, but she saw the sadness in his baby blues. When he realized this, he quickly looked down at his Airwalks.

"It's great to be back!" Nicole exclaimed. Isaac squeezed her hand and kissed her quickly.

"Well, it looks like Zac's passed out, and I'm about to be too," Isaac said, "so I'm going to bed. You guys coming?"

"I'm not really tired," Nicole said.

"Me neither," Taylor said. "I'll probably be soon though."

"Okay," Isaac said, picking up Zac and starting towards the hallway. "Last door on the right, right?" he asked.

"Right!" Nicole and Taylor cried at the same time, grinning like idiots.

"Oh no," Isaac said. "I guess I almost forgot that you two get hyper late at night."

"And this chocolate cake Mrs. Davenport made me isn't calming us down either," Nicole explained, licking some dark icing off of her finger.

"Well, if you guys decide to have any more of those destructive pillow fights at three in the morning, I'll ignore the screams," Isaac said, yawning.

"Okay," they said at the same time, thinking back to when they were younger and would destroy their rooms in massive pillow fights.

"Remember when I accidentally broke one of Zac's lego towers with a pillow?" Nicole asked Taylor.

"Yeah!" Taylor said, laughing. "I thought he was going to murder you for that one!"

"He might have," Nicole said, giggling, "but you hit Ike with a pillow a second later, and Zac was laughing so hard that he completely forgot!" The two collapsed into a fit of laughter, and Isaac left the room, laughing to himself and shaking his head. It was great to have Nicole back; he hadn't heard Tay laugh like that in months.

When Taylor and Nicole recovered from laughing, Taylor came over and sat down on the couch with her.

"I know what we have to do," Taylor said seriously.

"About us?" Nicole asked. She had been hoping that Taylor would bring it up, and she wouldn't have to.

"Yeah," Taylor said. "What we have right now, it's good. We have to leave it like this Nic. As friends. I can't hurt Ike, and I know that you don't want to hurt him either. And who knows. Maybe we'll have a chance one day. But even if we don't, I want you to know that I'm okay with that. You're my best friend Nicole, and if that's all I can have, that's all I could want. I want you in my life as much as you can be without hurting anyone. Especially Ike. He would never do anything like this to us, so I'm returning the favor."

Nicole was speechless. This was probably the hardest decision that Taylor had ever made in his life, and it was the sweetest and nicest thing that she had ever witnessed. Taylor was willing to step aside and hide his feelings for his brother's sake. The weight of everything Taylor had said came down on her then, and she began to cry.

Taylor wrapped his arms around her in a friendly hug and then wiped her tears away. Nicole let him hold her for a minute before sitting back up.

"Taylor, I don't know what to say," she whispered. "That is the sweetest...."

"Nic," Taylor said, "I didn't do it to be sweet. I did it because I care about Isaac and I care about you. It's a hard thing to do, but I know in my heart that it's right."

"I understand," Nicole said. But as she leaned back onto the couch, she realized that she didn't understand at all. She and Taylor were going to walk away from this and she would go back to Isaac. But Taylor was left with nothing but her friendship. It was a decision that no one should have ever had to make, and she wished with all of her heart that she could do something to ease Taylor's pain. But she had no idea what to do.

And what would happen in the days, weeks, and months to come. Would she and Isaac stay together? Or would Taylor get his chance? These questions and more swirled around in her brain as she drifted off to sleep. A new part of her life was beginning, and an old part was ending. And she was completely unprepared for what would happen next.

-The End Of BOOK TWO-