"Man, my voice was high, wasn't it?" he said aloud, causing Nicole to jump.

"Tay!" she cried, turning around. "You scared the crap out of me."

"You know," Taylor said, sliding off the couch and down beside her, "you're cute when you're annoyed." He playfully squeezed the tip of her nose.

"And you were cute when you were snoring," she teased.

"I don't-" Taylor began.

"I told you he snores," Zac said, entering the room. He was followed by Isaac, who nodded, laughing. Taylor looked around helplessly.

"I don't snore," he repeated.

"Zac, I think we're going to have to bring out the TalkBoy," Isaac said.

"What?" Taylor cried. "You guys taped me sleeping?"

"Hey, it was Nic's idea!"

"Don't blame it on me!" Nicole cried, giggling. "You guys are the ones who told me you had a TalkBoy!"

"I don't believe this," Taylor said, leaning back on the couch.

"Got it!" Zac cried, retrieving the TalkBoy from the nearby armchair. He turned it on, pushed play, and set the volume on high.

The room was immediately filled by the sound of Taylor's soft snoring. He made a small moan on the tape, and they all burst out laughing, including Tay.

"Oh my god," he said when he caught his breath. "Never, ever do I want to hear about that tape again."

"I was thinking of making copies and giving them out at concerts," Zac said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Do that and I'll make a tape of you TALKING in your sleep. What would your fans think when they find out that the whole MotherBird/BabyBird thing on Man From Milwaukee is something you said aloud in your sleep one night?" He and Isaac collapsed to the floor again in laughter. Zac turned bright red.

"That was a long time ago guys!" he cried.

"Zac, that was last summer!" Isaac said, sending Taylor and Nicole into another fit of giggles.

"Oh yeah," Zac said sheepishly. Then he burst out laughing. "Okay, okay. Here's the tape Tay." He handed Taylor the voice recorder. Taylor turned on the talkboy and sang a few lines of MMMBop into it to cover the snoring. Then he turned it off and slid it under the couch.

"I can't believe I snore," he said, shaking his head and smiling.

"Don't worry about it," Nicole said. "We've all got sleeping issues. I slept with the same 'blankie' until I was twelve, remember?"

"Ike and Tay used to wet the bed," Zac said nonchalantly.

"ZAC!" they both yelled at the same time. Isaac's eyes grew as big as saucers and Taylor turned bright red. Zac instinctively stood and bolted from the room, but they were quickly on his heels. Nicole followed and joined in as they tickled him mercilessly.

"Guys...stop....can't...breath....dying....last...breath....of...air...," Zac gasped dramatically. Finally they stopped and let go of him, and he was out of there and up the stairs in a flash.

"He's gonna get us back good for that one," Taylor said.

"You watch my back, I'll watch yours," Isaac said.

"Hey! What about me?" Nicole asked in mock-anger.

"He likes you," Taylor said, putting his arm around her. "He'll probably kidnap you."

"Oh, okay," she joked. "Just kidding!" she said, kissing Taylor quickly and laughing at the shocked expression on his face.

"I'm going to Eric's house to shoot some hoops," Isaac said, grabbing his keys from the table. "You guys want to go?"

Taylor and Nicole looked at each other. "Nah," they said at the same time. Isaac shrugged. "Okay," he said. "Tell mom and dad I'll be home around ten." He left a few minutes later. Taylor and Nicole went back into the living room and sat down on the couch. The video was still playing in the VCR. Ike, Tay, and Zac were performing for YTV, and they looked like they were having a blast interacting with the sea of fans.

"What's it like Tay?" Nicole asked, leaning back onto his shoulder.

"What's what like?" he asked.

"That," she said, pointing to the television. "What's it like to have a million people in love with you, and even more showing up just to see you and sing along with your songs? I can't even imagine it."

Taylor thought for a moment. "Well, it's pretty weird," he said. "It's like, this is the music we've been making all of our lives, but it's different now. It was always the three of us and the music, and that was it. But now it's so much more. It's the three of us, the music, the crowds of fans, the tv shows, the concerts, the recording studios, the publicity, and everything else. It gets old sometimes, but then I start thinking about it, and I wouldn't change any of it for the world. I love everything about what we're doing now. And then we're starting our tour in a couple of months, and that's going to make everything so much more real. It's like, we've finally made it. All of our dreams are coming true."

"I'm going to miss you so much when you tour," Nicole said, cuddling closer to him and breathing in his fresh, clean scent.

"Then come with us," he said. "I know Ike told you that a million times, but I really think it would work. You're already home-schooled, so that's taken care of. You'll be in the care of your godparents, my mom and dad. And you'll get to see the world as you've never seen it before. It's an opportunity that most people can only dream of. How can your parents turn it down?"

"You really think that they'll let me?" she asked, eyeing him curiously.

"They'll probably make sure we have separate rooms, but you could share with Jess and Avie, since Mack and Zoe will probably be with mom and dad-"

"That's it!" Nicole cried, sitting up. "Taylor, you're a genius!" Taylor looked confused, so she explained. "Talk your mom into letting me go as the babysitter!" she said. "God knows she's going to have to stay with Zoe the whole time, and your dad won't be able to control all three of the other plus you guys by himself. It's the perfect plan."

A smile slowly spread across his face. "Nic, I think you just may be right. I never even thought of that though."

"What can I say," Nicole said. "You inspire me." He pulled her back down onto the couch and they shared a heart stopping kiss. "Okay Romeo," she said, pulling back. "I've got to go and convince my parents that I'm the perfect babysitter, and you've got to do the same. Think you can handle it?"

"Nic, for you to be able to come with us on tour, I would sleep in a room with all of them."