"Well, are ya going to knock or are we going to stand out here all night?" Zac asked, stepping up to the door. He quickly and effortlessly knocked on the door and stepped back. Taylor gazed in amused shock.

The door opened abruptly, and Hunter stuck his head out. He smiled at them and ushered everyone inside. It looked as if the rest of the group was already there.

"Hey guys," Drew said, coming out of the small kitchen. "Welcome to the party. We were just about to order some food and drinks." His blue eyes sparkled mischieviously.

"Cool," Nicole said. "Is everyone else here already?"

"Yeah," he said. "Um, Ike...can I talk to you in the kitchen for a sec?"

"Sure," Isaac said, and he followed Drew into the kitchen. When they came back out, Isaac shared Drew's knowing grin.

"What's the secret?" Zac asked curiously. "What's goin' on Ike?"

"Nothing Zac," Isaac said. Then he led Zac, Taylor, and Nic into the main room where everyone else was. Isaac and Nicole joined Christen, Shannen, and the guy named Nick who were sitting on one of the beds, talking. Taylor and Zac stood awkwardly for a minute before sitting down on the other bed with a few more of the people from the group.

"Hey," a girl Taylor knew he had met said, flipping her reddish-blond hair.

"Hey," he said politely. "You're....Laura, right?"

"Yeah," she said. "I just have to tell you how much I love your music. I listen to your CD all of the time."

"Thanks," Taylor said. He hoped she was interested, not obsessed, with him and their band.

"Okay guys," Drew said, interrupting the buzzing conversations in the room, "the stuff is here. We've got food from the Mexican Restaurant, and lots of drinks. Everyone thank Josh for walking down there and getting everything." There was a chorus of 'Thanks Josh' and then everyone hurried to the coffee table, where everything was.

Taylor piled up his plate with a burrito, two quesadillas, and some chips with salsa. He walked to the bar and was surprized not to see anything alcoholic. Until he saw Ike, who was in front of him, reach down and pull a beer out of a cooler on the floor.

"Ike," he said, giving his brother a confused look.

"Chill out Tay," Isaac said with a grin. "It's a party. Have a drink."

Taylor swallowed hard and reached down into the cooler. He came up with a silver-canned beer. It felt cold and new to his palm, even though it was the exact same as a regular Coke or Pepsi can. He trembled as he walked back to his seat and hoped that no one noticed. Nicole and Isaac came over and sat with him this time, and Zac followed soon.

"Zac, what the hell are you drinking?" Taylor asked, pointing to the frosty-looking drink his younger brother held in his hand.

"I think it's a wine cooler," Zac said. Then he twisted off the top and drank some of the slushy liquid. "Mmmm," he said, licking his lips. "It tastes like a snow cone!" "Just don't drink too much of it Zac," Nicole said worriedly. She raised her drink to her lips and took a small sip. "It is pretty good, actually," she said.

"Ike," Taylor said, tapping his brother lightly on the arm. At least, he tried to do that. His fingers felt heavy and numb, and they only brushed Isaac's shoulder before dropping down on the bed. Isaac was in some sort of trance with the television. Taylor repeated his try at getting his brother's attention, only to have the same result. "Well you're sure a lot of help," he slurred to his dead-weight hand. "Ike. Ike. Ike. Ike. Ike!" he chanted. Isaac turned around, annoyed.

"Waaassup Tay?" he asked.

"Where'sss Nic at?" Taylor said.

Isaac bit his lip. "Owwww," he said, rubbing it. "I dunno Tay. Maybe I should go find 'er. Yeah." He heavily stood up and placed his feet on the ground. He wondered why they seemed so far away.

Suddenly, they came at him very fast. The next thing Isaac new, he was lying on his stomach on the floor, laughing his head off. Everyone around him was too.

"Sorry man," Hunter said, laughing hysterically. "My foot musta been in your way."

"Umm....Tay?" Isaac said quizzically, as if he was thinking very hard.

"What?" Taylor asked from the bed above him.

"I don't think I can get up," Ike said sheepishly. He grinned up at Taylor's angelic face. "Can you go find Nic for me?"

"Sure bro," Taylor said, staggering to his feet. After searching the main room, he found her listening to the radio in the small kitchen. "Whatcha doin' in here Nic?" he asked.

"I'm bored, and I'm looking out for all of you idiots so you don't kill yourselves," she said blankly.

"Aw Nic...," Taylor said, "those guys can't help it that they're idiots."

"How much did you drink Tay?" she asked, wrinkling her nose up. "You reek."

"Well thanks babe," he said sarcastically. "I saw you drinkin' too."

"I had one beer Tay," she said. "You and Ike probably split a 24-case of Budweiser between yourselves.

"Oh...," Taylor said, not getting what she had said. "So are you drunk?"

"God Taylor," Nicole said. "No, I'm not drunk!"

"Oh," he said as if he understood. "I'm not drunk either." Nicole rolled her eyes, because he was visibly wasted. "I think I got tha flu though," he said. "I've gotta puke."

"NOW?" Nicole asked. She realized that he was turning a pale shade of green, and just as he put his hand up to his mouth, she was up and dragging him to the bathroom by the back of his collar. His slender frame clung to the toilet as he brought back everything he had eaten that whole day. She tenderly pulled his hair behind his head and patted his face with a wet paper towel. When he finished, she gave him a glass of water and led sat down on the floor beside him. As she looked sadly into his glassed over eyes, he said something she had never expected.

"You fucked everything up Nic," he growled angrily, staring up at her.

"What?" she asked, truly shocked.

"I loved....I love you....so much!" he whispered loudly. "And you screwed it up! Why did you pick him? Not me, my brother. You picked him but I love you. Why?" What Taylor had said had been a burst of drunken blabber, but she understood perfectly.

"Taylor, you know I did what I had to!" she whispered angrily back at him. "So what if I'm to blame though! You never did anything to stop me from going out with him in the first place!"

"An' I gotta live with that forever now, so just leave me alone! Stop helping me out and stop lookin' at me like you're so sad. I know you're happy! You got everything you wanted. I lost everything. Leave me alone Nic." He was almost in tears now, but the anger seemed to have hold over him. "Leave me alone!" he cried again, shoving her out of the way and bolting from the bathroom.