~ * ~

'Lonely rivers flow to the sea, to the sea . . .'

Excerpt from Rhiannon Mary Lougher's diary

'What is love? Where does it come from, this unexplainable presence that a million wars have been fought and lost over? Is it locked away in some small unmapped area of our brains? Is it a force torn apart and stored within our souls, that yearns for its lost partner and makes our hearts quicken? Or is it a power beyond our own limited understanding?
Love can come with the force of an eruption, triggered by a glance, and buries its victims so deep they can never dig themselves out. Love can be like wading into a river, you get swept up in the current, never knowing whether the next bend will lead to calmer waters or raging rapids. Love can be like an earthquake, slowly building up until the realisation sets it free and the city of doubt crumbles to the ground . . .
Yet, love does not always last. The lava may cool and crack open, the river may dry up and the city may be rebuilt. Love's power is not infinite; it must be fed to keep it burning. Some fires can never be rekindled. Then why are wars fought over a thing as fickle as love? Is love then, merely an instrument of death. . . ?'

~ * ~
April, 1998
30 miles out of
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

"So you guys just drive around the country doing absolutely nothing except performing and TV appearances?"
"Pretty much, yeah,"
"Sounds painful,"
"No, just exhausting," Taylor answered. Liz smiled. They were on their way to Oklahoma City where the guys were doing a 'small' appearance. It was supposed to have been held at a mall, but it'd been shifted at the 11th hour to a football field just across the road. Their entourage consisted of two vans; the first driven by Walker, carried the family, the second, driven by Jason Browning - their body guard - carried all the guy's instruments. Elisabette was with them to. Invited on Friday night, she'd done all the work she'd planned to do Saturday that same night, and happily come along with a guilt-free conscience.
"How long before we get there Dad?" Jessie asked, brushing Wedding Barbie's hair.
"About ¾'s of an hour,"
"That long!"
"It's short considering how long we've been driving!" Zac replied, leaning over the seat in front of him, where Jessie sat. It was impossible to get Zac to sit still for fifteen minutes let alone hours at a time! Liz pitied the flight attendants on all the planes Zac had ever flown on! Gurgling, Zoë reached up and tried to grab a fistful of Zac's loose hair.
"Oh no you don't Bubs! You've already shown us how strong you are!" he quickly pulled his hair back, away from his baby sister's clutching fingers. Chuckling, Isaac returned to his notebook and wrote a few more lines for the next chapter in his book. Now, during the long car trips, was about the only time he got to work on it. But it was so hard to concentrate. Especially with Mackie yakking away to his imaginary friend on the left, Zac pretending to be a cave-man-cum-gorilla on the right and silverchair's 'Freak' escaping from Liz's discman. Would he ever get this one chapter finished? He'd been working on it for weeks!

"Are you as bored as I am?" Tay asked, staring out the window. The scenery was pretty, but how many times had he seen it before?
"Uh-huh," Liz answered. Neither said anything for a long while. If he listened close enough, he could hear the brain blasting noise coming from Liz's earphones.
"You haven't got anything to do?"
"Besides listening to my tapes," he eyed the open cassette bag. The Offspring, silverchair, Nirvana, Tool, Korn, Hole and Metallica. He smiled sarcastically.
"No Marilyn Manson?"
"Are you kidding? I can't stand him,"
"Yeah Liz, sure. I believe you," Liz shook her head and smiled.
"Are you always this sarcastic Tay,"
"Dunno. Never really thought about it before. Besides your absolutely delightful tapes, have you got anything else?"
"Cards and my book, that's it,"
"Go Fish?"
"Nothing else to do," and so for the next ½ hour, they played an intellectually challenging game of Go Fish, serenaded by the Smashing Pumpkins.

"Hey guys look!" Zac leaned over Ike as far as his seat-belt would let him and pointed out the window. Ike had given up trying to finish the chapter that didn't want to be finished ages ago, and had spent his time entertaining Mackie.
"Zac! Watch what you're doing!" he said, annoyed, as Zac accidentally bashed his shoulder.
"Look!" Zac pointed to a small park they were approaching.
"Yeah, what about it?" at Ike's less-than-totally-enthusiastic response, Zac turned to give him a strange look.
"Don't you remember?"
"Remember what?" not bothering to answer, Zac stuck his head over the back of the seat to stare at Taylor and Liz, who were still engrossed in 'Go Fish'.
"You got any fives?"
"Go fish. You got an Ace?"
"Go fish. You got -"
"Taylor?!" Zac interrupted impatiently.
"Mmm?" Tay still stared at his cards.
"Do you remember?"
"Remember what?"
"Argh! Have you all got abmesia?"
"That's amnesia,"
"Whatever! Have you all lost your memory?" still staring at Ike, Zac didn't see Taylor wince. But Liz did. That one had hit an exposed nerve. Rhiannon had lost her memory once . . .
"What are we supposed to remember Prozac?" Ike asked.
"We played a school fete there,"
"So?"
"So, it's important,"
"Oh really?"
"Yeah really," sticking out his bottom lip, Zac sat down to sulk. Chuckling, Ike turned back to Mackie. Taylor stared out the window, remembering . . .

~ * ~
October, 1995
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Smiling at her little sister, playing on the slippery dip, Jessie stood on a park bench and looked through the crowd. Snatches of her brothers singing 'Boomerang' met her ears.
"Jessie don't stand on the benches hon, people have to sit on them," Diana gently reprimanded her eldest daughter.
"I can't see them Mom!"
"Elisabette's with them, she'll probably find us first. Come on Jess, hop down," frowning with disappointment, Jessie jumped off the bench.

"Are you sure?"
"Yep,"
"Are you sure sure?"
"Yep,"
"Are you sure sure sure?"
"Rhiannon! It was her all right!"
"Fine! Just making sure,"
"You say the word 'sure' once more and I'm going on strike!"
"Okay, okay!" pushing through a group of elementary school kids about Rachael's age and their Moms, Rhiannon followed her best friend, who was steadily walking faster . . . and faster . . . "Liz, would you slow down?!" but Elisabette didn't hear. She kept going, and when Rhiannon looked around, Liz was gone. "Oh no," she moaned and started weaving her way through the crowd in the general direction Liz had been heading. She found herself getting closer to the stage.
'Oh you're kidding!' she thought to herself, 'If I hear Taylor sing "The Love You Save" once more I'm gonna scream!'.
Sure enough, Hanson had just started their final song for the day, 'The Love You Save'.
"I hope Mom's not listening to this," Rhiannon whispered to herself. But luck seemed to be against her today. There, close to the stage, stood Arian, with a look of total rapture on her face. She held her youngest daughter's hand. Rachael looked as if she was itching to get away. Lew and Carlton were nowhere to be seen. Not really surprising. Lew liked Led Zeppelin, while Carlton practically worshipped Metallica. Rachael had been brought up on Reba McIntyre and Patsy Cline from the local country radio station, while Rhiannon lived to hear Garth Brooks and the blues wafting in her open window at night from the Blue Rose. But she'd also been getting into a lot of other music that was in her parents' old record collection. They had hundreds of ancient LPs of Welsh music, all harps and reed flutes and kettle-style drums; she had been literally drinking those in. And she'd also found a batch of dusty old Pink Floyd albums that Arian'd said had belonged to her father before he'd become a drop-dead Led Zeppelin fan. Her favourite was 'Dark Side Of The Moon'. The ringing clocks at the beginning of 'Time' pretty much orchestrated what went on in her head . . .

Jumping around behind his keyboards, Taylor felt safe, protected. Nothing could hurt him up here. Soaking up the enthusiasm of the audience, he could let go. Performing was his outlet. Any anger or tension went into playing. Music was his way of relaxing. Holding the last note, he spotted Rachael Lougher in the crowd. She blushed, smiled and waved. The note faded in his throat and he smiled at the little girl. After the customary thanking of the audience, he beat Zac to the stairs and ran around to where Rachael had been standing. He crashed straight into a body that stepped in his way. They both went flying. He landed heavily on his shoulder.
"Ow!" he moaned.
"Are you okay?"
"I'll be right," quickly brushing the hair out of his eyes, he saw midnight blue jeans, a loose off-white hippie shirt and long dark hair. He laughed. Of course it had to be Rhiannon he knocked over. It couldn't have been anyone else, could it? She looked up and saw him. A small ironic smile graced her lips.
"We just keep running into each other don't we?"
"Literally," a pause. They both laughed. At what was anyone's guess. They didn't know themselves.
"Come on Tay, people are staring at us," Rhiannon suppressed her giggles and got to her feet, pulling Tay up with her.
"What are you doing here? Oklahoma City's a bit out of your way, isn't it?" he asked. Rhiannon gave him a puzzled glance.
"We were coming to see you,"
"Huh?"
"Liz kinda got it all going. She said you were performing here today, and Mom said she'd like to see your Mom again and meet the rest of the family,"
"How does your Mom know us?" smiling pitifully at him, she answered,
"Think Tay. Aren't Carlton and Ike friends?"
"Oh yeah," he looked surprised and a little dazed. Rhiannon just laughed.
"I think all that jumping around has bruised your brain. I suppose you wouldn't know where your family is would you?"
"Why?"
"Well that's probably where we'll find everyone,"
"What?" did this girl always talk so strangely? Well, it was strange to him, "Everyone's just here," he pointed over his shoulder to the stage; she just gestured for him to look. The stage was empty, the instruments were gone and his brothers were nowhere in sight.
"Crap!"
"Don't swear Tay. It doesn't suit you," she murmured.
"Huh?"
"Nothing,"

"There they are!" Liz turned around when she got no answer. No Rhiannon. "Crap!" where the hell was she?
'Elisabette Shephard, you stop right there! Your not Rhee's nurse-maid, she can look after herself. She's probably just seen someone she knows'.
'Oh yeah? Since when has Rhiannon liked just walking up to people and starting conversations?' Ignoring her conscience, she walked over to where Diana was sitting with the girls and little Mackie.

"Prozac, did you see where Tay went?" Ike stared around, suddenly noticing his brother wasn't following them.
"No,"
"Well where is he?"
"How should I know?"

"Hey Rhiannon -"
"Call me Rhee and I'll call you Tay, all right?"
"Okay,"
"So what were you going to say?" the two of them had been walking around for a while, looking for anyone they recognised. So far Rhiannon had only seen Carlton. She'd asked him where everyone was. He'd said he didn't know, he was looking for them himself, he suggested they look around all the stalls, and then walked off again, mumbling something about Tessa. So they started looking around the stalls. Rhiannon was actually starting to relax a bit. The day was warm - for mid-autumn - and the sound of dried leaves crunching under her feet was strangely soothing . . . and the Voices were still in hiding. They hadn't bothered her for weeks. But she wouldn't make the mistake of thinking they were gone. She couldn't. Too much at stake . . .
"Rhee?"
"Wha-? Sorry, yeah?"
"Wanna have a go?"
'Have a go at what?' she thought.
"Uh . . . you first," his smile was huge and mischievous.
"Gladly," he grabbed her hand and ran towards one of the stalls. Struggling to keep up, Rhiannon had to chuckle when she saw the sign.

"Mom?" Rachael tugged on her mother's hand.
"Yes Iseult?"
"Are we lost?" the question made Arian laugh.
"What makes you say that hon?"
"Well, we've been walking around for ages not really going anywhere," sometimes Rachael astounded Arian; the girl was so sharp and intelligent.
"We're not lost hon, we're just looking for Mrs. Hanson and her family,"
"Anyone my age?"
"I'm not sure. I know Isaac and I know Mrs. Hanson, but that's about it,"
"Rhiannon's friends with Taylor,"
"Who?"
"The one who played the keyboards,"
"Oh? She didn't tell me,"
"Does she ever?"
"I suppose you're right there," talking to Rachael was just like talking to another adult sometimes. They walked along the concrete path and looked around the masses seated around cane baskets on red tartan picnic blankets, eating cold chicken or leg ham on bread-rolls with sesame seeds on the top and drinking cheap white wine or Coke.
"Mom?" Rachael tugged on her mother's hand.
"Yes Iseult?"
"Is that them?" the little girl pointed to a group of blonds sitting under a tree on the typical red tartan blanket.
"There's no doubt about you Iseult," Arian smiled at her youngest daughter. Tucking her two braids back behind her ears, Rachael smiled back. She had no idea what her mother was talking about.

"Which tree did Mom say she was going to sit under?" Zac asked his big brother.
"Um . . . uh . . . I think she said . . . um . . ." every tree looked the same! "That one maybe?" he picked out a tree that looked nice. Staring at Ike strangely, Zac walked off to start looking for his parents. Shaking his head, Ike followed.

"Roll up! Roll up! One and all!" The voice of the clown sounded ridiculous over the megaphone. "The guy sounds like he's got a cold," Tay whispered. Rhiannon giggled.
"More like a monkey with a cold," she looked up at the sign and shook her head in mock disgust, "A pie-throwing contest? Jeez Tay, take pity on these poor souls," and gestured loosely to the two middle-aged women who looked like teachers.
"No way! Too much fun!" and the line moved up one more person.

"Diana! Hi!"
"Arian! How are you? Sit down!" clearing away some of the mess of stuffed toys, Barbie clothes and half-eaten food, Arian sat down. Rachael sat down beside her.
"Diana, this is Rachael Iseult. Iseult, this is Mrs. Hanson,"
"Nice to meet you Iseult,"
"Call me Rachael," Rachael said as she smiled.
"Well Rachel, my two girls are over there by the swings if you want to go and play," again, Rachael smiled and ran towards the swings. Within fifteen minutes, she and Jessie were best friends.
"Where're Elisabette and Rhiannon?" Arian asked, taking a sip of the chardonnay Diana had poured for her.
"Liz has gone off looking for Rhiannon actually. They got separated walking over here. Don't worry, Walker's with her. I'm sure they'll find her,"

"There they are!" racing towards the willow tree, Zac slid in towards the blanket like a baseball player going for the home-plate. Ike just sighed. This was the seventh tree Zac had run to, only to end up staring dumbly at people he'd never seen before in his life.
"Hey Ike! Come on! Hurry up!" snapped out of his daze, Isaac saw that Zac had finally found the right tree.
"Coming Prozac!"

"Four throws for two dollars," the clown told Tay as he stepped up. Gingerly handing over his life-savings, Tay grabbed the first pie. Judging by the smell, it was cheap apple. His favourite.
"Come on Tay, give these poor people a break!" ignoring Rhiannon, he threw. The old woman breathed a heavy sigh of relief as it missed by about six inches to the left. She was lucky again, when Tay's second throw hit about two inches below her head. Smiling as he looked at his hand, he said,
"What have I ever done to you?" Rhiannon chuckled. He was so weird sometimes, "You want a go Rhee?"
"No,"
"Oh come on! It's fun,"
"Uh-uh,"
"Please?" and he turned the baby blues on her.
"No way, Taylor Hanson, those blue eyes of yours aren't winning me over this time!" the truth was they were, "Uh-uh, no way -!"
"Please Rhee?" he stuck his lower lip out a fraction, and she melted.
"Oh all right!"

Warmly smiling at her two boys, Diana looked around for the third.
"Where's Taylor?"
"We don't know," Ike answered, shrugging his shoulders. Zac shook his head when his mother turned her eyes to him.
"Ike, could you find your father and please go look for your brother?"
"Mom, I -"
"Please hon?" he was outvoted. What was the point of making his mother upset?
"Okay Mom," he said reluctantly, resigning himself to the task of finding his younger brother.
'Like trying to find a needle in a haystack' he thought as he walked away.

Laughing, Rhiannon watched as the blackberry pie she'd thrown landed on the ground about a foot short of the target.
"You did that on purpose!" Tay shouted.
"I did not!"
"You did too!"
"Did not!"
"Prove it!"
"Fine," determined, she grabbed the loganberry pie from the clown and threw it. It caught the teacher smack in the centre of the face; a perfect throw.
"See!" was all Taylor managed to get out, before he collapsed to the ground in a fit of hysterical laughter.
"Stop it!" trying to stop herself from laughing, Rhiannon scolded him. She didn't succeed. Collapsing beside Taylor, tears worked their way out of the corners of her eyes she laughed so hard!
"There you are!" a slightly condemning voice sounded above the two laughing children. Snapping back to seriousness, Tay slowly looked up and guiltily smiled.
"Uh, hey Dad,"

Each with a blanket wrapped around them, Rhiannon and Taylor listened to the band that was performing. They were playing 'Unchained Melody'.
" 'Oh my love, my darling, I've hungered for, your touch, alone . . .' " the middle-aged lead singer crooned.
'He's not even half as good as Tay' Rhiannon thought, surprising herself,
" 'Lonely time . . .' " Smiling slightly as the singer went off-key, Taylor thought,
'Even Mackie could sing better than this guy!'.
" 'And time, goes by, so slowly, and time can do, so much . . .' " Rhiannon frowned,
'This guy's ruining my favourite song!'
" 'Are you, still mine. . . ?' " Taylor smiled,
'This guy's hopeless!'
A lot of people were dancing slowly on the grass, both their parents included. Tapping Tay on the shoulder, Rhiannon pointed over to where Ike and Carlton were sitting. Both Jessie and Rachael wanted to dance; they were pestering the two guys to dance with them. Eventually Ike and Carlton gave in . . . when the two girls sat in their laps.
" 'I need your love, I need your love, God speed your love, to me . . .' " the singer sang on. How could anyone put up with it, Rhiannon wondered. Looking over at her, Tay listened to her hum the tune.
"You don't . . . wanna dance, do you?" he asked hesitantly.
"No," she answered, as if he'd asked about the weather. Inwardly, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Good, neither do I," she turned to him and smiled.
" 'Lonely rivers flow, to the sea, to the sea, to the open arms, of the sea. Lonely rivers sigh, wait for me, wait for me, I'll be coming home, wait for me . . .' "

~ * ~
April, 1998
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

'Oh, my love, my darling, I've hungered for your touch, alone. Lonely time . . .' that song ran through Taylor's head as he lay back against the grass and watched the stars. 'And time, goes by, so slowly, and time can do, so much. Are you, still mine. . . ?' The performance today had been a success. The crowd had been enthusiastic - Taylor chuckled bitterly; maybe a little too enthusiastic - and they'd played all four songs perfectly. 'I need your love, I need you love, God speed your love, to me . . .' It was amazing how beautiful the sky looked at night. He picked out the constellations, the Big Dipper, the Little Bear, the North Star, and his favourite, Draco, the enormous Star Dragon that stretched across half the sky - or at least it seemed to. 'Lonely rivers flow, to the sea, to the -'
"Hey Tay!" Ike sat down beside his brother. The football field they'd performed in a few hours earlier sure looked different in the dark.
"Hi,"
"What you thinking about?" he didn't dare tell.
"Draco,"
"Huh?"
"Draco. The constellation,"
"Oh right,"
"What are you thinking about?"
"Tessa," since Ike was staring at the sky, he didn't see Taylor roll his eyes. The last thing Tay wanted to hear was Ike berate himself - again - for taking Tessa back. It happened every time and Tay had been dreading it like a maths test.
"How could I do it? I mean, she's so shallow, it drives me crazy! And she's so boring! All she cares about is her stupid friends and her clothes. I finally convince myself to dump her, and the second she comes crawling back, I melt. Am I that weak? . . ." Ike could go on for hours. Tay had heard it all before. Several times. Ike'd call himself an idiot a few thousand times and then say to himself he'd let her have one last chance, and if she screwed up again, that'd be it. No more Ms. Tessa Killaré Baxter. That's what he'd said the last three times. It wasn't Ike's fault really. The bitch was just too gorgeous. She was Tulsa's equivalent to Elle Macphearson. Tay smiled slightly, tuning out from Ike's little speech. He'd been so jealous when Ike had first invited Tessa for dinner. Tessa had chatted endlessly at dinner, Ike had practically drooled over her, and he'd sent envious death glares at Ike. But as the night had worn on, that envy had mutated into pity. He couldn't believe someone could talk as much as she could about the new jacket she'd bought the day before. 'Ike willingly puts up with this?!' had been the majority of his thoughts. By the end of the night he'd come to hate her. By the end of the night, 'Tessa' had changed to 'Cow'. By the end of the night, he called her the Queen of Planet Bimbo because he couldn't stand to say her name. By the end of the night, he'd already thought of several good ways to permanently shut that pretty little mouth of hers.
"Tay?"
"What?" he was snatched abruptly from his thoughts. Still staring at the North Star, Ike didn't notice, "Yeah?"
"Do you think I'm an idiot?" Taylor guffawed; it took all the strength he had not to laugh.
"What?!"
"Do you think I'm an idiot?"
"For taking Tessa back, yeah, I think you're either a goddamn fool, or someone who really likes to torture himself. You never know, they might just make you a saint. I swear, you've gotta have the patience of one to put up with her for as long as you have," Ike smiled slightly.
"I take it that was a very long-winded yes," Tay thought for a second.
"Yeah,"
"I'd have to agree with you," raising his eyebrow, Taylor turned back to the stars.
"It's not just you Ike, it's her. The bi - Tessa's too gorgeous for anyone's good,"
"Go on, say it,"
"Say what?"
"That Tessa's a bitch. The Queen of Planet Bimbo if I remember correctly," with a knowing little smile, Ike watched as his wide-eyed brother sat up and stared at him. Had Tay actually thought he hadn't known? A journal was a wonderful thing really.
"I . . . um . . . she . . . err . . ."
"You hate her Tay,"
"I -"
"I've known for years,"
"How -"
"You'd never make a good actor Tay. People'd see straight through you," if his hatred of Tessa was so obvious, could Ike possibly have seen what was going on his head right now? Bloody hell, if he had -
"Hey guys! What are you doing out here?" Zac's loud voice cut through the quiet air, sounding almost like an earthquake. Both Ike and Tay whirled around to see Zac and Liz coming around from the kiosk, where all the 'adults' were having one last coffee before the long trip home.
"Not a word," Ike warned his younger brother. Concentrating back on the stars, Taylor wondered how Ike could have known how much he hated Tessa when she didn't even know herself.
'The bitch must be dumber than I thought'.
That just disgusted him more. How could there possibly be anyone so stupid?

Liz sat down beside Zac, who'd flopped down on his stomach and was plucking at the grass, studying each and every blade, even though it was almost pitch black. Was grass that interesting? She'd never really thought about it before. They all sat in silence, listening to the sound of the grasshoppers chirping and the occasional car driving past.
"Whenever you're ready guys," Liz smiled. No one else smiled back. Exchanging glances, Ike and Tay both looked at Zac. As if sensing it, he looked up at them with a 'What?' expression on his face.
"You haven't got anything stashed away in the van have you Prozac?" Ike asked. Zac rolled his eyes, sighed and got to his feet.
'Don't think I don't know what you're playing at guys; I'm not as dumb as you think'
He knew exactly what they were doing. They just wanted to get rid of him so they could pay him out behind his back. At least they didn't do it to his face. But then, he couldn't defend himself, could he? They could say whatever they wanted and he wouldn't be able to stop them. Oh well, he'd get them back one of these days. How, he had no idea, but maybe he'd steal their journals and send photocopies of them to all those trashy tabloid newspapers. Nah, they'd kill him. Literally. There went Idea #381. Sliding the side door of the van open, he dived in and rummaged around.

'I know it was in here somewhere dont tell me mackies gone and stolen it or tays probably kicked it out or ikes given it to tessa why would he give it to tessa stupid cow or jessie and avie and rachael have hidden it as some stupid practical joke and theyve rigged the door so itll spill water all over me just like their last stupid joke did i hate girls i wish they didnt exist somebody oughta do some study on girls and prove that theyre all stupid and dumb and should be concreted to the bottom of ah hah here it is!'

"Come on guys, what were you talking about?"
"Nothing Liz, all right! We were just looking at the sky," Tay replied, trying to sound unworried.
"Yeah right! Please tell me,"
"Liz, it was nothing,"
"What were you doing?"
"Nothing,"
"Bull. What were you doing?"
"Nothing!"
"What were you doing?"
"Nothing!! Will you please stop asking?!"
"Not until you tell me what you were talking about," tired of the whole argument, Tay just said the first thing that came into his head.
"We were writing a new song,"
"That's all?" sceptical, Elisabette gave them the eye.
"Yeah," he jumped on the lie like a cat on a mouse, "We didn't want to tell you because it's not finished,"
"What have you got so far?"
"Pardon?"
"Tell me what you've done so far,"
"Uh . . . um . . ." glancing desperately at Ike, Taylor shut his mouth before it got them into any more trouble.
"Ah . . . let's see . . ."
"Hey guys! I found it! I found it!" racing down the path as if he were Carl Lewis, Zac bounded towards them. He had something under his arm.
"Whoa! Thunderbird you are approaching earth way too fast! Halt all acceleration!" Taylor called. Zac froze. Ike shook his head in incredulous bewilderment. Liz laughed.
"Walk Thunderbird," watching Zac trying to walk to where they were sitting was one of the most hilarious things Liz had ever seen. Despite the bad light, she could visibly see how hard the kid was restraining himself. Every now and then, he'd break into a run, only to immediately stop - and nearly fall over - and force himself to walk. She was in stitches by the time he'd covered the 50 yards between them. Zac grabbed the object from under his arm.
"Here," and he threw it at Taylor. Only quick reflexes saved Tay from being hit on the nose by the football.
"Here," and he threw it to Ike before jumping to his feet and running out onto the almost pitch black field.
"Here," and Ike threw the ball to Liz. She just looked at it.
"What do I do with it?"
"Throw it," Ike grabbed her arm and helped her to her feet.
"I don't know how to play football,"
"Neither do we,"
"What?"
"Just catch it and run, and then throw it before Zac knocks you over,"
"I -"
"Come on Liz! Throw the ball!" Taylor yelled. So she did. In the next half-hour, Zac succeeded in knocking over whoever had the ball, Ike dragged himself out of his own self-pity, Liz learned how to play football Hanson-style, and Taylor almost managed to forget about Rhiannon.

* * * *

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