"Aaaaa! Oh. My. God. Taylor Hanson."
Angel edged around Taylor, still screaming, and ran off toward the front gate. He was still to stupified to even try to stop her. Reaching the front gate, she stopped abrubtly, and looked calmly back to where Rachel was still trapped. Making sure that Taylor couldn't see her, she waved at Rachel, trying not to laugh at the look on her friend's face.
Trying to ignore Angel, Rachel looked around rather desperately. Thinking back to her research on Taylor Hanson, she wracked her brain to remember the typical fan reaction. Over his shoulder she could see Isaac and Mr.Hanson approaching. Gulping, she decided it was time to put her acting skills to the test.
"Oh, wow! I just can't believe I finally get to meet Taylor Hanson!" she gushed, inching closer tho the door. Just then Isaac reached the doorway. Rachel stared at him and froze. His eyes...
She shoke herself, and tried to regain her composure, and continue her teenybopper act. Feeling Ike's eyes apon her, though, she couldn't manage to go on. Those eyes seemed to look right through her, and her act.
"I, I have to go now," she whispered, trying not to let her uneasiness show. She tried to go around Tay, but he stepped in front of her.
"Don't you know it's illegal to trespass?" Taylor asked, sounding angry now that he had gotten over his shock.
Rachel sighed, suddenly feeling very tired. Looking around, she realized they were all looking at her as if she was a small- and not very pleasant- bug. She sighed again. She didn't like using magic in front of humans, but...
The sound of a crash swept through the room, and then that of a woman screaming. The three Hanson's all jumped, and then, forgetting her, ran toward the road. Angel saw them coming and scrambled out of the way before jogging back toward the garage.
"Come on. We'd better go before they realize it was a trick," Rachel said, starting to float.
"Yeah...we'd better go," Angel agreed, surprised to realize that she was reluctant to leave, despite the fact that she definitely didn't want the Hanson's catching her again. She walked over to where Angel was floating. Casting one last longing glance toward the direction that Isaac had gone, she slowly started to float next to her.
"Come on! They're coming!" Angel sped upward, to fast to even see.
"Yeah...I'm coming," Rachel said, almost to herself, fighting back the unexpected urge to cry. She swallowed hard, then jumped stright up after Angel.
"Rachel! Rachel! Are you even listening?" Angel demanded. "You've been spaced out since we got back from the Hanson's house. Now listen. We have to go check out my person. Rachel?" Angel began to look worried. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah. I think so. I don't know. Have you ever felt like someone could just see right through you?"
"Yeah," Angel said wryly. "My parents whenever I do anything wrong. They seem to know about it almost before I do." She smiled. "Why?"
"No reason. Just... no reason." Rachel appreciated Angel's attempt to lighten the mood, but she didn't really feel like joking at the moment. "Um, let's go check out your person now. What did you say her name was?"
"Margaret. She has an older brother named Joshua, and a younger brother named...uh...oh, yeah! Phillip. Her parents' names are Sarah and Tony. She goes to-"
"What'ja do, memorize her file?" Rachel teased.
"Not quite. I'm working on it, though," Angel grinned back. "Besides, you know a lot about the Hanson's too."
"That's different. I knew a lot about them even before, because I like their music." Talking about the Hanson's naturally reminded her of Ike, and she stilled. She still didn't understand her reaction to Isaac, but there was definitely a reaction. She sighed.
"Ok, whatever. Let's just go. At this rate, we'll both have gray hair before I actually see her." Angel trotted over to the window, and tugged at it. "Hey, do you think your mom is still mad at you for getting caught by a human?"
"I don't think she was really mad. She was just annoyed with me for not being more careful. And for using magic in front of humans, even if they didn't realize. Why are you trying to open that window?"
Angel sighed, looking around the bedroom. "I want to go out the window so that we can avoid being lectured any more. The stupid thing's stuck, though."
"Hit it," Rachel suggested. "That usually unsticks it."
Angel whacked the window viciously with the palm of her hand, by this time fed up with it.
"Oooowwwww! My hand!" she howled, bending over and clutching her wrist.
"I should probably feel sorry for you or something," Rachel remarked. "However, I cannot help but remember seeing you standing by a certain fence, smirking, while I was being cornered by angry Hansons. The really funny thing is that you did this to yourself."
Rachel looked at Angel, who was by now glaring at Rachel and shaking her hand around to try to get the pain out.
"At least I got the window to open." They both looked at the window, which had swung open gently while Angel had been hopping around the room.
"Yes. You did." Rachel laughed. "I feel so much better now. Nothing to cheer you up like watching your friend make an idiot of herself! Now, let's go. Do you want to see this girl or not?" Rachel grinned.
Sticking her tongue out at Rachel, Angel climbed over the window sill and tumbled to the ground. Seeing that Rachel was buried in her closet, looking for her purse, Angel decided to take this opportunity for revenge on the offending window. Checking one more time to make sure Rachel wasn't looking, Angel gave the side of the house a spitefull kick. Then she clapped her hand over her mouth to muffle her shout of pain.
Rachel popped her head out of the window, waving the bag triumphantly.
"Got it. Let's go," she said, hopping onto the window sill. Using a bit of magic, she floated gracefully to the ground, and then grinned at Angel.
Angel nodded mutely, and then followed Rachel down the road toward the oversky subway.
back to the Hanson Warehouse
back to the story page
