Mid-June days are the best. Spring is almost over, but that doesn't matter. It will soon be replaced by summer. In my book, summer always starts when school is over. However, I prefer to call today a spring day.

"Hey, stop. What's that sound?" Jessica said suddenly from beside me, on the swing.

"Sounds like a car." I was barely paying attention, but it was difficult to ignore the loud tire squeals of a nearby reckless driver.

"I realized that, Haley. But Zac. He just went out an hour ago. Do you think that's him?" I opened my eyes widely.

"I hope not! Come on!" I grabbed her hand, and we ran off the Hanson porch. Zac drove into the driveway.

"I was right!" Jessica announced, proudly standing barefooted in the grass. I exhaled, thankful Zac was in one piece.

"Zac! I can't believe you!" I yelled at him over the base of the radio. He lowered the volume, and looked in my direction.

"What Haley?" He screamed.

"Zac, I can't believe you did that. Driving is a right, not a . . ."

"Privilege!" I smiled that Zac knew the quote my old Driver's Ed teacher made me recite, every time I got careless. "Haley, I know! I got enough of that at the DMV. Just get in the car!" I laughed, and told Jessie to go inside. She gave me an evil glare, but did as she was told. I climbed in the car, sandal footed, even though I had no clue as to where I was going.

"Zac, where are you taking me?" I said, as Zac backed the car out of the driveway.

"Where do you want to go?"

"Nowhere."

"Then, that's where we'll go." I rolled down the window, and stuck an arm out.

"Haley, if you keep doing that, I'm going to have to ask you to get out. You could lose a limb," Zac teased.

"If you keep nagging, I'll have to do to you, what I'm going to do to Tay."

"What is that?"

"Do you think you could drive me to the grocery store? I need to pick up a few things." I avoided Zac's question.

"What kinds of things?"

"Brownie mix . . . a little Ex-Lax."

"Oh, I see. What did Tay do to deserve that kind of treatment?" I couldn't tell Zac that. I just let myself remember while driving down the road. The wind blew back my brown hair, as I smiled in contentment.

Yesterday, Taylor did something I never thought he'd ever do. He put another girl before me. He always said, "Haley, you're my best girl." None of the girls he was with at UNC ever bothered me. In fact, I loved hearing stories about them. This one, though. This one was kind of getting to me. I wasn't his girlfriend, of course. I was only his friend, and I wasn't jealous. No, Haley Morgan was not jealous of some stupid girl named Helen. What an idiotic name. What an idiotic girl.

She walked into the house, as pretty as you please, yesterday. Thinking she was going to sell magazines to Diana, she knocked once, before stepping in. Instead of Diana, she found Taylor who seemed overly excited to buy magazines.

"Good Housekeeping? Um . . . Mr. Hanson, do you really want to buy Good Housekeeping?" she giggled.

"Call me Taylor. And I'll buy whatever magazines you want me to buy." He winked at her. In my plain view! He bought fifteen subscriptions! Fifteen! He paid a down payment of over fifteen hundred dollars, and handed her the check with a smug grin on his face.

"I've got the money, if you've got the magazines." I remember him saying it so vividly, and he made me so angry.

"Well, if it's magazines you want, I'll gladly take your money," Helen had giggled. That bitch did her share of giggling. I wanted to squeeze her throat, and make her bleed. I wanted to scratch my nails down her arms so hard, she cried for her Mommy. I wanted to--

"God, Haley. Are you okay?" I looked up, and saw Zac staring at me like I belonged in a mental hospital. My expression turned sheepish, as I realized I'd let out my last groan out loud.

"Sorry. I need to get to the grocery store, Zac. Now!"

"I'm going the speed limit. Haley, are you sure you're feeling okay?"

"Dammit Zac! Go faster!" I scared him; I know I did. His foot slammed down on the accelerator, and he grasped the steering wheel tightly. His eyes were very open, and his breathing quickened its pace. The wheels screeched across the pavement in front of the grocery store in a matter of a few minutes. Zac pounded the brakes with his foot, causing the car to move forward and backward in a manner similar to the way I used to stop, just after I received my permit. I opened the door, and slammed it behind me angrily.

I found what I needed very quickly. Thanks to Duncan Heins, I knew my payback would be especially spectacular. Zac walked in with me, just to make sure I was okay.

"Zac, what kind of Ex-Lax should I get?"

"Whatever you want, Haley." I read the labels to find the perfect one. The white bottle with the blue label caught my eye.

"Extra Strength," I read. "Zac, you know Taylor. If I back a batch of brownies, you're sure he'll eat all of them, right?"

"You'll be lucky if he saves any for Wickit."

"Make sure Wickit doesn't eat any. She's too good of a dog."

"Then, Wickit shall have no brownies. Listen, Haley? This isn't about Helen, is it?" He placed his hands on my shoulders, and massaged them lightly. I turned around.

"Helen? Who's Helen?" I gave away too much.

"It is. Haley, he just ordered magazines."

"Taylor doesn't read Quilting Monthly, Zac. Don't lie to me."

"Okay, I'll tell you what I know. He ordered more magazines than Publisher's Clearing House has rights to, because Helen's a babe. I mean, did you see the size of her chest?"

"Zac! I wanted the truth, but . . ."

"Haley, Tay appreciates a pretty girl the same as I do, but you're better than her." I gave him a pathetic look.

"I'm not jealous of her. Taylor is my friend."

"He likes you, Haley. You like him too. Simple as that." He seemed withdrawn as he said it, and his eyes flickered.

"But what about Helen?" He placed an amiable arm around my shoulder. "Don't worry. It's nothing a little Ex-Lax can't fix."

I smiled at him. Zac was definitely fun to be around. He could even be another Mike. No. He'd just be Zac to me. We walked to the cash register, so I could pay for my supplies.

"Haley, how much of this Ex-Lax should I put in?" Zac asked. He was overly eager to help me in my baking. I grabbed the bottle, and read the ingredients. 'Two teaspoons every four hours for adults. Do not exceed six teaspoons over twenty-four hours.'

"Ah, just put in the whole bottle," I said, combining the brownie mix with water. "I'm sure Taylor can handle it." Zac unscrewed the cap, and let the thick liquid flow out.

"Thanks for giving me the chance to do this."

"You're completely welcome, Zac. Maybe this will teach Taylor not to read so many magazines." Zac smiled, and I continued stirring. "Be sure to preheat the oven.

"Already did it. Mom would be so proud if she knew I was baking." He tossed the bottle in the trash can, making sure to conceal it with some old newspapers.

Isaac stepped into the kitchen, just as I finished pouring the batter into a baking pan. "My little brother? Baking? Haley, I guess that makes two new, very surprising things I've seen since you got here."

"Two?" Zac mouthed at me, wondering what on Earth Ike was talking about. I shook my head, and ignored him.

"Oh brownies! Haley, do you think you'd let me lick the bowl?" Isaac Hanson wanted to lick my bowl! Oh yes, Heaven is a place on Earth!

"Um, actually . . ." Ever since the jungle incident, I've found it difficult to construct full sentences in Ike's presence. No matter how much I wanted to see Isaac's tongue in action, I still knew that there was Ex-Lax in that bowl.

"Oh, I see. You're baking them just for Taylor." Zac grinned slightly at me. "Theresa would never bake me brownies. Tay's really found something in you. Brownies and well, I guess that's just between me and you, eh?" He said that eyeing Zac. One look at poor Zac and I could tell his curiosity was getting the better of him.

"Yep, just for Taylor. I love cooking for him." I was really trying to sound honest.

"Do you think you'd let me have a lick of that batter? I mean, come on, there's enough mix for the brownies in the pan. Just let me have what's left in the bowl.

"Ike, I would, but . . ."

"Taylor gets to have the batter, too?"

"Ike, I . . ." I sent brain messages for Zac to help me get out of this mess, but he wasn't responding. Zac just seemed content to watch me drown in my own pathetic existence.

"Please?" His eyes were shaped in the same way that Wickit's did when she wanted to be fed table scraps. His lower lip protruded, slightly. Oh, why did he have to do that to his lips? It took all the strength I had, to tear my eyes away from those lips, and focus my attention on his words.

"Oh, all right." I knew I'd regret it. Glancing at my watch, I realized that I'd regret it around midnight, to be precise. But as Ike took the spoon I'd been mixing with, and licked it slowly from bottom to top, I knew that regret was far off. Oh, to be that spoon. With a finger, he scooped up the remaining chocolate in the bowl. He popped it into his mouth, and sucked away every bit. Isaac wasn't aware that I was watching him so intently. Zac, however, noticed very much.

"Thanks, Haley. That chocolate is amazing."

"Um, yeah. Duncan Heins." He laughed.

"But it takes a special touch to make things truly wonderful." Ike smiled, licking his finger once more, and leaving the kitchen.

I rested my elbow on the counter, and propped my chin on my palm. I smiled, and gave a soft sigh. I suppose I resembled a young Marcia Brady after she'd just met Davy Jones. Zac shook his head at me. "Haley Morgan, explain yourself."

"Zac, he thinks I have the 'special touch.'" I sighed once more.

"Snap out of it, Haley." I closed my eyes, and stood straight. "Do you know that both of my older brothers will have diarrhea, and all because of your doing?"

"I couldn't help it. He pouted his lips."

"I thought it was just you and Taylor."

"Taylor's just my friend."

"Just your friend, huh? That's why you're viciously ruining his regularity for at least a week?" I sheepishly grinned, and attempted to hold some sort of defense.

"Well, Taylor deserves it. What would Diana say if she knew her son was off reading magazines like he does?"

"She'd probably be thankful he's made an effort toward reading."

"No, she wouldn't. Taylor can read anytime. Why do I get the feeling that Taylor wants to do more with the magazine lady than just buy subscriptions?" Zac smiled, and patted me on the back.

"The brownies should be done in an hour with giving 'em time to cool and all," Zac said, as he lifted them into the oven.

"Zac, don't ever act like Taylor."

"Are you kidding? Heaven only knows what you'd do to me then. Remind me never to eat anything you bake, too. I'll stick to Mom's cooking.

Taylor came home just in time: an hour and a half later.

"Oooh! What's that wonderful smell?" His nose led him right into the kitchen, where the brownies and I were currently holding residence.

"Brownies. Baked 'em just for you."

"Haley? Is this your way of asking for forgiveness, for smacking me the other day?"

"Well, actually it's payback for something else," I said nonchalantly. I flashed him a sweet smile, and handed him the warm plate of brownies.

"What?"

"For you being you, Tay." What? It was half-way true. I was enjoying this way too much. I grinned at him, and he blushed.

"I love brownies, Haley."

"Let me feed one to you." He smiled, and handed the plate in my direction. I picked up a rather large brownie, and set the pan on the table. Placing the brownie just in front of his lips, I let Tay bite at it. I pulled it away from him just before he could reach out to taste it. His hand went around my waist to steady himself, so I couldn't move. This time, I let him have one long, scrumptious bite.

"Oh, Haley. That's delicious. It's sweeter than Mom's; what did you put in the ingredients?" He spoke with his mouth full.

"That's my little secret." My voice was so seductive, the average person might've thought I actually wanted Tay. Of course, I didn't . . . but Taylor's hand on my hip was enough to almost make me change my mind.

"Aren't you going to eat any of these?"

"I made them just for you, Tay. In all honesty, I had one already, but I'm certainly not going to take them away from you now." I lightly pushed the last part of his second brownie into his mouth. He laughed, and if I didn't know any better, I could've sworn his hand moved lower on my hip. That is, if you could consider it my hip now. This was definitely the reaction I wanted.

He was on his fourth brownie, when I decided to sit down at the table. He took his place in the seat next to mine.

"Come on, Tay. Eat them. Aren't they delicious?" I batted my eyelashes, and allowed my voice to perfect the sound of a Fembot from Austin Powers, that old Mike Myer's movie. He popped a fifth into his mouth. I checked my watch. It was only one in the afternoon. There were nineteen left, but at the rate he was going, he'd be finished with the whole batch in time for me to watch Rosie.

"Haley, you are a wonderful cook. Mmmm." He licked his fingers, and threw a wicked grin.

"You just keep eating. Maybe I'll give you a surprise later." My fingers looped his hair through them.

"Do I have to finish all of them in order to get the surprise?"

"Well, maybe I'll cut you a couple brownies short. Otherwise, you have to eat every single one." I patted his nose with my finger. I knew I could go on like this until he was done. When he was done, well . . . he'd get his surprise. In fact, he'd probably still be getting it for a week!

"Tay, phone!" Zac entered the room. I hadn't even heard it ring. Tay stood up, and picked up the kitchen phone. He unraveled himself from the cord, and managed to move the brownie plate without intertwining it in the telephone wire. I smiled to myself. Mission Accomplished.

"Oh, Helen!" Hey!" I heard him say those words just as I exited the kitchen. My mission came to a halt. How could he flirt with me like he had, and then suddenly play up to Helen?

"I'm so happy you called. How should I say this? Um, I miss you." What a load of shit. He'd only been away from Helen for a day, and he was leading her on so. He had to be leading her on. He couldn't possibly have feelings with her.

"Did he eat them?" Zac smiled when I found him in the living room.

"Of course. I have the special touch," I laughed. Zac noticed I was slightly withdrawn.

"Who was that on the phone?" He was quite perceptive.

"Who do you think?"

"Helen?"

"Bingo. Zac, he makes me so angry sometimes. I was there when Helen showed up. She's an airhead; how can he like her?" I was feeling somewhere between depressed and guilty. I just couldn't distinguish the two.

"Haley, Taylor's not only the problem."

"What?" How could he accuse me of that?

"'Oh, Ike thinks I have the special touch,'" Zac duplicated my voice. "'I can't believe Tay is talking to Helen.' For all I know, Haley, you could be having steamy affairs with all of my brothers . . . except Mackie." I grinned.

"I'm sorry, but Tay has no right. Zac, you're supposed to be on my side," I whined.

"I am," he sighed. "Believe me, I am on your side."

Zac kept watch over me while Helen seduced my best friend over the phone. I glanced at my watch, and hardly believed what I saw. It was six o' clock. That meant Tay had been on the phone with Helen for a little less than five hours. Five hours! Had I been in here for five hours?

"You finally chose to wake up?" Zac said to me from across the couch.

"I was asleep?" This was news to me.

"Yeah. You've been asleep for three hours. We were talking, and you must've been really bored at what I had to say, because you turned your head away. Before I knew it, you'd fallen asleep. That's pretty rude, Haley."

"Oh, Zac. I'm sorry. There's just been a lot on my mind lately. Did Tay finish the brownies?"

"All except for three. He said he was full, and to save them for later." He winked at me.

"Is he still on the phone with Helen?"

"No, of course not. They hung up after an hour."

"Really?" I slipped it out before I had the chance to stop myself. My 'really' was just too enthusiastic.

"She did say she was going to call later, though."

"There's a chance she's not gonna' call, right?" Hopeful. That was the only word for my mood.

"I doubt it, Haley, but yeah. There's a chance."

"Riinngg!" Onomatopoeia from the phone broke the silence.

"Zac, things like this always happen to me. I'm starting to believe I'm actually psychic."

"I'll get the phone," he shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"Hello?" I heard Zac's voice from the kitchen. "Oh, um, yeah. Let me get him." He covered the phone and yelled, "The magazine girl wants you, Taylor!" I giggled. Zac was sixteen and Tay was nineteen, but they still played all of these childish games.

Tay's feet trampled down the stairs. I'd never seen him move so fast, and the jealousy existing in my body multiplied. He disappeared into the kitchen, but I kept my ears working.

"Helen! Hey! I didn't think you were going to call!" I shrugged my shoulders, as Zac returned to the couch. He tickled my feet, and I snatched them back.

"Haley, there's something Ike and I used to do to Tay when he was on the phone with girls."

"What?"

"In a family of nine, there's not going to be just one phone. In fact, there's one beside you." He spoke slowly, as if he was speaking to Zoë. My hand found its way over to the phone, and lightly picked it up. I was careful not to make any noise, because I've got sisters myself. I pressed my ear up to it, covering the receiver tightly.

"Taylor, I never really got a chance to thank you for your order."

"That's fine. I love magazines."

"No, really. Our French club is fundraising to take a trip there once semester starts again."

"I love Paris. You'll have a great time."

"How can I ever repay you?" She smoothed out all of the imperfections existing in her voice.

"I'm sure I can think of something," Taylor matched hers.

"Like what?" Her laughter was high-pitched and annoying; well at least to me, anyway.

"Oh, let's see." I slowly let the phone back down.

"Zac, I can't take any more of this." I truly felt nauseas.

"Ah, I see. Haley, do you realize you've been here for three weeks and a half already, and I haven't seen you do anything remotely courageous?" He always threw those 'do you realize' questions at me. Courageous. Who did he think he was? If only he knew how I'd embarrassed myself so far. If he only knew anything about me.

"You want courageous? I'll give you courageous." I've only ever gotten big things accomplished when people have told me that I couldn't. Maybe Zac had just learned how to test me.

I knew at that moment what my brave deed would be. Standing up, I exhaled once for good measure. I was about to let off some major steam. Zac Hanson thinks I'm not brave. My feet took control of their own, marching me into the kitchen with my eyebrows contracted in evil arches.

"I'm sick of this," I hissed once I'd gotten Taylor's attention.

"Sick of what?" He whispered, but still covered the receiver.

"This. I want you to stop it now."

"How can I stop what I don't know I've started?" Good old pathetic, poetic Taylor. I jerked the phone from his hands to show him I meant what I was saying. I dropped it, and left Helen hanging off the counter, slightly swaying back and forth. "What was that for?" Tay's eyebrows were attempting to arch like mine. Before he could say another word, I did what I'd wanted to do since I got in the car with Zac to go to the grocery store.

"Smack!" Onomatopoeia strikes again. The friction between my hand and Taylor's cheek created a noise louder than Helen's giggles.

"God, Haley. Are you possessed?" Red splotches rose up from his cheeks. For a moment, I thought he was about to cry.

"No. I just had to do that before I did this."

"Did wha . . ." My lips covered his completely, still open mouthed in formed shape. My kisses were demanding. Much rougher than the peck we'd shared under the stars. Running my hand across his sore, heated cheek, Taylor melted away from his frozen stone position. His lips helped mine do the work. His tongue slipped lightly through my lips; I'd been waiting for him to do it. There was no way possible I could step away from him, and break the tension that was racing higher and higher in our breaths.

At one point, I let myself go. Around the time his lips and tongue reached my neck, I think. The hot sucking, intertwined with gentle touches of his lips, made me lose all the mental stability I've prided myself on since the day I graduated kindergarten. Nothing made me lose control . . . nothing. Suddenly, Taylor was changing that, and I couldn't have cared less whether we were in the Hanson kitchen or the most boring Physics class in all of UNC. Just as long as Taylor didn't take away his kisses, I'd survive the end of the world.

His hands moved faster than I can recall. Never stopping to explore, only touching everything all at once. The element of it all was dangerous. Kitchens are frequently visited areas of the home, and we could've been caught by God knows who. We weren't, though, and I'm taking that as a sign. Intense was the only word to describe it all; the feeling of his tongue battling with mine. My oxygen intake was coming at harshly low levels. His was too, so I guessed that was the reason that without warning, we separated quickly.

Our hands both ended up on each other's shoulders, and I weakly looked at him, while trying to inhale as much air as humanly possible in the shortest amount of time. I succeeded, for in a few seconds my lips were again trapped in his. I heard footsteps nearby. Please don't be Diana. Please don't be Diana. I couldn't let myself look up. Stopping this, this wonderful thing, for only air had been the epitome of all that is wrong in the world. There wasn't a way I could stop it again.

"Um Helen?" I heard Zac's voice on the phone beside us. Thank goodness it wasn't anyone else. "I think you'll need to call back later. Taylor's sort of . . ." he paused, "indisposed at the moment." I could've laughed, but currently my tongue's position wouldn't allow it. Zac hung up the phone and briskly walked out of the kitchen. I could tell by his pace that he was anxious to get away.

When Tay and I parted once again, I guessed it was another oxygen break. The look on his face, though, told me differently. Pigment in his flushed cheeks turned pale, sickly green in color. Those cheeks had gone from normal to splotchy, red to flushed, and now were matching a shade similar to the color I'd been in envy for Helen.

"I don't feel so good, Haley," he said in the most pitiful voice known to man. He clutched his stomach, and tore off for the bathroom. The brownies. I ached to be in his embrace once more, but I knew with the amount of brownies he'd eaten, that wouldn't be in at least a week. I sighed, regaining my breath, but not my sense of reality. I highly doubted that would be returning for at least a week either.

"Taylor, are you feeling any better?" My maternal voice lightly invaded the room.

"Not really. Can I have some more water?" Upon returning to Taylor's room with the ice water, I almost regretted baking those brownies. Not for his good . . . for mine. He'd been using the bathroom across the hall from my room. I did feel sorry for him, though. It showed from the many ice water trips I'd made that night. I ran my fingers through his hair. He smiled a little. "Thanks Haley. I'm sorry I ruined the moment; I must've caught that bug that's been going around lately."

"It's okay, Sweetie. Just relax. Go back to sleep." I hadn't more than said it, when the sound of Taylor's rhythmic breathing gently began echoing across the walls, signaling he was asleep. I sighed, and stood up from the bed. I switched off the lights, and quietly stepped out of the room.

The doorbell interrupted my peacefulness, and I rushed downstairs to answer it. I found Diana had beaten me to the door, and she was talking to our visitor.

"Oh, hi Helen," Mrs. Hanson said. "Thank you so much for bringing this chicken soup. He's got the runs, you know." She whispered as if Taylor had overheard her. I was starting to become attached to Diana.

Helen had called earlier, and was shocked to discover that Tay was sick. She insisted upon bringing soup, and I realized that despite her chest size, maybe she wasn't such a bad girl after all. Besides, I didn't need to worry about her stealing Taylor away from me anymore.

"Here Haley, take this soup in the kitchen. No, wait. I've got something for you, Helen. I'll just go in there with the soup and get it." I had no clue as to what Diana was talking about, but stood in front of Helen, as an uncomfortable silence settled around us. When I saw Diana return to the living room, I thought I might faint.

"Now, I haven't tried any of these, but Taylor sure seemed to like them." Diana held out a small paper plate carrying the final three brownies, surrounded by a thin sheet of plastic wrap. "Haley made them. Taylor ate the whole plate, except for these three. You were kind enough to bring over the soup, so you must have these."

"Oh wow! I love brownies! Haley, you made these? Mmmm! I can't wait to try them. Thanks!" Her short, choppy sentences characterized by exclamation marks annoyed me. The limited vocabulary reminded me of something from a Spice Girl. I grinned anyway. She seemed nice enough, and I knew she'd enjoy the brownies. I had, in all actuality, made them 'because' of her. That had to count for something.

"I'm sure you'll love them," I said. "It's a special recipe. The secret's been in the family for a very long time."

"They look great, Haley! Seems like you have the special touch!"

"Oh, thanks again! Bye!" My smile increased after I closed the door behind her. Yes, I guess I definitely had the special touch.