The mid-summer Tulsa air was hot and dry upon Taylor Hanson's skin and the sun beat down a ray of deep heat directly over the town.

Glancing over at his mother, he envied her position under the huge old oak tree which provided her with a brief escape from the smoldering sunlight. Nothing however would protect her from the heat, Taylor realized, and he almost wanted to laugh with heartiness at her misfortune. He could see the beads of sweat running over her pores and spilling down the sides of her face near her cheek, much like he could feel his own, and he smiled to himself with the knowledge that even the paper fan she cooled herself with did only a slight bit of good. In fact the slightness was so small it could hardly be called slight, but more a morsel of slight and utterly unworth the effort.

"Walker!" Diana Hanson called from under the tree. Taylor noticed an uneasiness in her voice as she called her husband's name.

Walker pulled his head up from the mound of suitcases lined in the back of the van. Diana fanned herself.
"Yeah, honey?" he asked irratably.

"Where could that key have gone? It is so damn hot out here!"

"If I knew that I wouldn't be busting my ass trying to find the damn key now would I, Diana?"

Taylor snickered. Apparently his parents were amidst a bit of a squabble that surely went deeper than the whereabouts of the missing house key.

"Dad...." Jessica Hanson spoke from the inside of the van. Her hair was held up by a scrunchy and the sides were a mess with sweat and new found curls caused by the weird positioning. Her eyes pleaded with her father's. "Can we please please please shut the doors and turn on the air? Please!" She begged. Walker Hanson shook his weary head. "Dad! It is so hot! I'm going to pass out and you'll be sorry!" He did not respond. "Please? You can look from the inside!"

"Jessie? Do you not understand what I have been repeatedly telling you?" Walker snapped from outside the back of the van. "The van will overheat. Deal with it a little while longer. If I can't find the key we'll head over to the realtors to see about a spare."

Taylor let out a long deep breath and let his eyes trace around the figure of the new Hanson house. It was big with three stories and made of wood. A wrap around porch and the all around stature of the house itself made it look older than it in fact was. Being completely honest, Taylor didn't care for the house. In fact he cared for little of anything lately.

Taylor shifted uncomfortable and groaned inwardly at the unbearable heat. He had not yet even seen the interior of the new home and already the house key had been mysteriously misplaced.

Mysteriously, Taylor thought. Ha. The way my luck runs these days, this is just another ploy in the curse that haunts me.

A sudden hum of aproval given off in the form of an odd sigh caught Taylor's attention.

"Look at that," Zac said in a low voice. Taylor followed his dear brother's gaze to a house diagonally positioned across the street. A slim woman or girl, wearing short shorts and a yellow tank top sat down on her own deck, the one that looked very much like the deck of the new Hanson family house, and put her head in her hands. She seemed not to noticed the staring eyes of Taylor and his younger brother, but Taylor had secretly hoped she would.

"I've got it!" Walker Hanson exclaimed with excitement. He let out a small laugh and peered around at his motionless family. "Kids you're gonna love this house. Promise."

Although he heard his father's words, Taylor could not bring himself to look at him. Anger seared within him as he remembered the night before, and recalled the events that had taken place in an Oklahoma City hotel. He had opened up his soul, beared it's contents in it's entirety and Walker, his dear father, had nearly spit in Taylor's face.

"Dad. Can I talk to you?" Taylor had asked the previous night. With a welcoming smile from his father, Taylor wandered farther into his parents hotel suite. It had seemed like perfect timing to talk at that moment. All the other members of the large clan of Hansons were out somewhere or another, and only Taylor and his father were left in the hotel. Walker Hanson was the perfect person for this discussion, Taylor had thought. He was the parent who would listen, mentor, and understand Taylor's newfound plight. Taylor had always been closer to his father than his mother. He guessed the reasoning for this was simply that they were both men and they understood things in a different light than Diana Hanson ever had or ever would.

"Sure, Taylor. You don't need to ask. I'm never too busy to talk to my son."

Taylor nodded and took a deep breath. "Dad. I have to quit the band," he began. His father looked out the window at the bustling city below and Taylor continued, feeling oddly more relaxed. "I can't handle it anymore. I want to go to college and be a normal person. I'm 18 now and I'm out. I can't take it anymore."

"Don't be ridiculous, Taylor," Walker said to his son. He still let his eyes follow the cars below.

"I'm serious, dad."

"Listen to me," Walker said finally. He turned toward Taylor. "You must not realize how lucky you are. You are a selfish child, and a naive one at that, if you think I'm going to let my son give up all he's worked for." Taylor took a sharp inward breath and watched his father point his pointer finger in anger at his son. Taylor would never forget the look on his father's face or the waving finger.

His looked turned to a type of disgust Taylor could have never even begun to imagine. "You're weilling to give up all I have helped you to achieve. No Taylor. I come with the band. It's a package deal here and your selfishness is all I need to disown you. Understand me? Your brothers need you. You've got heavy responsiblities here and you're not going to blow them. I want to see you do the right thing. I know you will. Are we understood?"

Taylor had nodded faintly and he'd hauled out of the room with a hurt and anger on his mind. The truth was he did not understand, and he didn't know if he wanted to. His father had always been gentle and understanding, the ideal parent for any kid. But not now, Taylor realized. The fame had taken it's toll on his father and he knew it was only one more reason to want out. At the same time, he couldn't do anything about the dilema. The disaproval of his only father sent a shiver down his spine and propelled him to keep on with the ritual.

A movement in the general area his eyes were focused to brought Taylor from his thoughts. He'd been staring at the girl across the street with blind eyes. It was only when she glanced up and met his glance from across the distance that he truly saw her. And what he saw, he wanted. Something was different about her and something was different about the feeling Taylor recieved while looking at her. He felt a need in the pit of his stomach, a need to help her up and a need for her to do the same to him in return. He felt a longing to hold her and feel the power of everthing good in the world make everything in the world seem good, the way it should. He felt everything in an overwhelming dizziness that threatened to knock him over. She gave a slight wave and he waved back.

"Taylor! Come on man!" Taylor was again knocked from his train of thoughts. Zac was calling him from near the front door and the entire remainder of his family had already retreated into the house.

Taylor let his eyes fall onto the girl across the street once more before following his family inside.

Stop

More to come soon!