the Parent Trap {My Way!} **DISCONTINUED**

Chapter 1: Meet the Boys

The bus for Camp Arawak left in half an hour and 10 year-old Isaac Salapatek was all packed and ready to go. Well, almost. He just had to say goodbye to someone special. Isaac could be seen now in the larger than usual backyard of the house he shared with his dad John, riding on the back of one of his best friends in the world: his black Thoroughbred, He Who Walks Behind the Rows.

It's a long name for a horse, I know, but Isaac decided to give the name to his friend after re-watching his father's debut role in Stephen King's film adaptan of 'Children of the Corn' for the millionth time and it didn't help much that his horse's color was black, a rare color for a Thoroughbred horse.

Isaac took one hand off the reins, and stroked the horse's maine, sighing sadly as he did so. He Who Walks Behind the Rows looked at the boy out of the corner of his dark eyes, knowing, in a way only an animal friend can, that something was upsetting him.

Isaac smiled a little. "I'm going to miss you, boy", he said softly causing the horse to huff in response, knowing what Isaac was talking about. Isaac told his horse everything, good or bad and even though He Who Walks Behind the Rows never talked back, Isaac knew he understood and considered him one of the best listeners he knew. Isaac leaned down and hugged the Thoroughbred's neck, wanting to consider skipping camp and staying home with his dad and his horse for the Summer.

They could go camping all summer. Just the three of them. Isaac and John always went camping before they both had to go back to school anyways. John taught Shakespeare and Play Writing at a high school nearby.

Isaac's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the sliding glass door opening. He turned his head and saw his dad standing on the back porch. "Hey Isaac!" he called. "We gotta go, son! We have to get you on the bus to camp!"

Sadly, Isaac looked down at his horse and slowly climbed off, causing He Who Walks Behind the Rows to nudge the boy gently in the back with his cold, wet nose as if to say 'Don't leave me, Isaac.'

Isaac turned around and wrapped an arm around his horse, placing his cheek to the side of the Thoroughbred's face. "I know, boy", he whispered. "I know." Isaac took a hold of the reins again, leading his horse into the stall inside a barn he had helped his dad and his dad's best friend Courtney Gains build back when Isaac first got his pet.

Before closing the cold steel gate and walking away, Isaac told his horse, "I'll be back in a couple months I promise."

~*~*

Isaac and John made it to the bus station just in time. The bus was leaving in five minutes.

John smiled and looked down at his son, seeing a perfect mirror image of himself. Isaac smiled back, slinging his backpack over his shoulder.

"Have fun", John told him, pulling him into a hug. "And let me guess", Isaac added with a slight laugh, "write you every day, right?" John nodded as they pulled apart. "Right."

Isaac quickly hopped on the bus, waving at John from the bus stairs. "Love you, Dad!" he called over the calls of goodbyes from the other kids and their parents.

And the bus was off.

~*~*

Several states away, 10 year-old Malachi Long sat in one of his favorite spots in the world: the back porch of the large country home he lived in with his mother, playing a new song he had just written on his guitar. He stopped playing for a moment and looked around his large backyard, listening to the birds chirping in the trees.

Malachi sat back against the soft pillows that rested in the couch he was sitting in, shutting his eyes for a moment as the warm summer sunshine touched his face.

"Malachi", Malachi heard his mother's voice say softly in his ear. "Malachi, wake up Sweetie. The bus for camp leaves in half an hour." Malachi stirred as his mom ran her fingers through his dark brown hair before kissing the top of his head as he opened his eyes.

"Ok", Malachi replied sleepily, not realizing he had fallen asleep.

~*~

"Do you have your guitar?" Deidra Long asked Malachi when they got to the train station. Smiling, Malachi nodded. He wouldn't dare go anywhere without his most prized possession. Ever since he was little, Malachi had a love for music and films, his favorite genre being horror.

After going through a list of all of Malachi's much needed items, Deidra pulled her son in a tight hug which Malachi gladly returned. "Have fun", she told him, breaking the hug and kissing his forehead. For a moment, Deidra took a step back and just looked at her son. At times it hurt just to look at Malachi because he looked like the perfect mirror imagine of his father, Deidra's ex-husband. "And don't forget to write me-", she started. "I know, I know", Malachi interrupted with a smile. "Every day. Don't worry Mom I will." Deidra gave Malachi one final hug and kiss before he boarded the train.

Quickly finding a seat on the train, Malachi smiled and waved good-bye to his mother from the window, not realizing that this would be the summer everyone's lives changed...