Sure About It (Hanson)

Chapter 16

Whitney walked into the other extra room, where Ike and Zac would be staying. Making sure the two beds had fresh sheets and blankets and doing a last-minute check. Five minutes later she and Tay were sitting in the living room waiting. Whitney looked at the clock above the TV: 8:47 She was just as anxious to see Ike and Zac, but she was also nervous. Sure, she had talked to Ike on the phone and all that, but they hadn't seen each other for so long. And as for Zac, well, she hadn't even talked to him at all. So she was really jumpy. She kept looking out the window every time a car's headlights would shine in the window.

Finally Taylor laid a hand on her arm and said,"Calm down Whitney. They'll like you just as much as I do."

She gave him a sort of smile,"I hope so."

Just then, they heard a car stop in front of her house. They both jumped up and half ran, half walked to the door. Whitney quickly composed herself, then opened the door as Ike and Zac were walking up the sidewalk.

They saw her before Tay. "Hey,"Ike smiled,"I take you to be Whitney."

She smiled nervously, still trying to calm her stomach,"Yep."

She let them in and they sat their bags on the floor for a minute so Ike and Zac could each give Whitney a hug.

"I missed ya," Zac said as he hugged her.

This time her smile was genuine and more at ease,"Me too."

She led them into their room so they could get some rest. As Taylor and his brothers talked for a couple minutes, Whitney looked Zac over. Wow, she thought, he's grown so much. She couldn't believe this was the same little Zaccy she had once been friends with. She quietly slipped away to give the Hanson brothers privacy.

Just as she had put on her nightclothes, blue shorts with a stripe on each side and a shirt that said 'I Survived the Hanson Depression of '99', and had started taking out her braid, there was a knock on her half open door and then Tay walked in, followed by Ike and Zac.

"Hey,"Taylor said,"we wondered where you went to."

Zac straddled her desk chair and Ike and Tay sat on the edge of her bed next to her.

"I just thought I'd give you guys some time to catch up."

"That's cool. But you could've stayed," Zac replied,"we WERE friends once upon a time."

She smiled,"Yeah, I know.....so how was you two's trip here?"

"Good,"Ike said,"It's great to be back in California."

"It's great to see you again," Zac put in. He was obviously driving at something.

All three brothers glanced at each other, then Tay said,"Whitney, we want to have our friendship with you back. That's what Zac is so DISCREETLY (he shot his brother a look) driving at." Zac glared back. She had to laugh at that,"Wow, it's just like I remember. Brotherly teasing, communicating without saying anything, and all that. Only you guys have gotten older."

Tay grinned,"That's us alright."

"I'd Love to be friends with you guys again. I've missed you three SO much."

"And we've missed you," Ike replied.

They talked for a little bit more, and around 11:00 they were all getting sleepy. So they said goodnight and one by one filed out of her room. Zac was the last to go. "Nice shirt," he teased her. She looked down and laughed,"Yeah, and it's true."

Zac just rolled his eyes and shut the door behind him.

Whitney turned off her light, crawled into bed, and immediately slipped into dreamland.