I trudged up the walkway to the door, lugging my suitcases behind me. I had a tan I'd long since missed and the barely supressable urge to run after the cab driver screaming "WAIT! TAKE ME BACK!". With this in mind, I pushed the doorbell, begging for assistance through the door to no avail.

For a minute there, I just stood there. Then I started speaking. "Pleaaaaaaaasee... someone come get the door... I can't open it...."

After two minutes, no one was coming. I released my grasp on a handle and twisted the door knob, pushing the door open and lurching forward with my crap in tow.

"WELCOME BACK!" People jumped out at me from all angles, the lights flipped on, and confetti went everywhere. Needless to say, I passed out. Dead cold, right there in the middle of the floor with two hideously bright orange suitcases sitting there.

Isaac peered down at me and I could only guess that my head was in his lap. His forehead was etched with concern, and I tried to smile but it wasn't exactly successful. The pulling of muscles over my temples made me want to howl in pain.

"What is it with you people and throwing me these damn parties? I never throw them for anyone else," I groaned, watching him.

Wow... from down where I was, you could really see the warmth in his brown eyes and the caring that coursed through him, offered to anyone on bad times. I also knew he'd had a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich for lunch.

"Just showing we care.." He whispered, stroking my hair back from my face. If I didn't watch myself, I could easily get used to this. Just like I could easily fall for him.

I stayed quiet. It was my own little way of submitting to that answer and acknowledging it. Of admiting that it was exactly what I wanted to hear. And maybe I'm wrong, but that look in his eyes seemed to tell me that he knew and understood that.

I just laid there for a while, staring up at him and after the sun was visibly changing shadows in the living room, it finally occured to me that there wasn't anyone there. Certainly not that huge crowd of partiers that seemed to show up at my house. I didn't even know where Lindsay, Jen, Taylor, or Zac were though if I was correct in my thinking, they'd probably all gone out and done something. On a double date.

So now it was just me and Ike. Just me and Ike. I rolled this over in my mind, thinking about it. Everything screamed "no" and beseeched me to stand up and go about everything like it was normal. I ignored the voices. Instead, I managed a smile and reached up, twirling a strand of that short hair around and grinning all the more.

Going against my better logic, I couldn't help but want to kiss him. I knew I shouldn't, I knew I was a journalist, I knew journalist should NEVER date people that they're likely to interview, and I knew that it was TOO.. freaky for Jen, Lindsay, and I to all be dating Hanson brothers. I knew this. And yet, I found my lips pressed to his and that headache gone.