"Isaac?"
Isaac looked up to see Taylor standing over him. He must have been dozing.

"Isaac, we have to go now. We have a show in an hour and a half," Taylor said.

Isaac sighed. "Ok," he said.

He waited for Taylor to leave, then stood up. He walked around the bus, silently and aimlessly looking at everything in it. He sat down again. He wasn't feeling too well. He didn't really want to do a show that night. He know he had no choice, but… He just wasn't functioning. Not after what happened. Sometime later he heard a door open and saw Zac there.

"Hey Ike?" He said carefully, "Are you coming? An hour before the show, you're gonna get mobbed out there." Zac laughed. Isaac was silent. "Well, whenever you're ready. Just make that under 45 minutes." Zac finished with and left.

Isaac got up and followed. About 20 minutes before the opening act was to go on, they went to go meet the fans with backstage passes. They all, or most, screamed when they came in. Isaac smiled politely, and shook their hands as they flew off the Taylor's side. Some tried to remain calm (the effort was in vain), some confessed their love (or lust), and a few just screamed gibberish and at some points, cried.

They went onstage. At one point during Speechless, Isaac looked out into the audience and noted that almost every sign he saw was addressed to Taylor. A few to Zac here, some to him there. But the majority to Taylor. He disregarded it without concern, but it still stuck in the back of his mind. He cringed every time he heard it shrieked out in the audience that they loved one of them. Zac looked at him questioningly, and Isaac realized that his utter disgust must have been showing. He looked away quickly and put his pleasant face back on. So what if he was having a bad day. He didn't have to take it out on them. After what seemed like forever, the show was over. They were all dead tired. The next morning at home, Zac came up to him and said,

"What was that all about at the concert, Ike?"

"What was what all about?"

"C'mon, Ike. Tell me what's wrong."

Isaac was just about to answer when their mother came in looking for Taylor. Zac gave her a look that said it was not a good time. She understood immediately, and left.

"Well, Isaac?" Zac said.

"It's nothing, forget about it," Isaac said and walked away. Isaac thought about it. About everything. Why he was really upset. It wasn't them, it was him. Yeah, he's heard that before. He was rushed back to reality when he bumped into something hard. He put his hand to his head to try and ease the pain. He hadn't been paying attention. He looked up, and there was Taylor, in that same position. They looked at each other, and both started laughing.

"Isaac," Taylor said quietly, "You know what mom and dad just told me?"

"What?" Isaac said concerned. "Is something wrong?"

"Well… No… Not exactly," Taylor said with his head down.

"Then… what is it?"

"Well… Or contract with Mercury is almost up, you know. And these other people… uh… Oh, I forget the name… but they, uh… wanted to sign me."

"Us?"

"No, just me. But I-"

"You?" Isaac asked.

"Yes, but-"

"What happened to the band, Taylor?! And mom and dad were ok with this? Oh, I get it, you're the favorite of the girls. You're mommy and daddy's little moneymaker. You have a face that sells, so why not go for it?"

Isaac was so angry, he didn't even know why he was angry anymore. Taylor stood there frozen, not knowing what to think, let alone what to say. Isaac ran out of the room. He ran to his room and closed the door. He put his back up against the door and took a deep breath. He slid to the floor and just sat there. Why did he say that? Why didn't he think? Why did it feel so good to say it? Why did he mean it? And at that thought he realized he did mean it, and that sent chills up his spine. He didn't know how long he sat there with his head in his hands and full of guilt when there was a knock on the door. Isaac got up and answered it. There stood Taylor, looking nervous. Isaac looked at his feet, the floor, the wall- anything to avoid eye contact.

"Taylor?" he finally said. Taylor looked up at him. "I'm sorry."

"No. I should be. Maybe you were right… But you know what?" Taylor asked, suddenly sounding angry.

"What?"

"Do you just think you can say whatever you want? I didn't know what to think after that. And you know what? It hurt. It really did, Isaac. I'm not as conceited as you think. I do have a heart, and I didn't even take it. I wouldn't think of it."

"Do you know why I said it? I said it because, at the time, I meant it. You know Carissa? Yeah, remember her? She called me yesterday and told me she couldn't stay with me because she thought she loved you. All the fans love you, more than anyone else…"

"What?!" Taylor said, astonished. That was Isaac's "girlfriend", and he couldn't think of why she would do something like that.

"That's right." Isaac said coldly.

"Why would Carissa do that?"

"She said she only said she loved me because she really wanted you."

Taylor was silent for a minute. Isaac looked at him waiting for him to say something. Anything.

"Isaac, you can't hold me responsible for that. I know you have a right to be upset, but you can't blame that on me!"

"Why not? It was because of you she left me!"

"Isaac…"

"Taylor, I don't want to hear it! I mean, how could you know what it's like? Everyone likes you."

"Isaac, I don't think you see how it is for me. I can't even really have a girlfriend, because of the fans." Taylor said. Isaac looked at him confused,

"Well, you could have whoever you wanted. Any fan would kill to date you."

"And what would happen if I did date one, though? There would be jealousy, and we even might lose fans. They would get suspicious really fast, you know."

Isaac thought about it a minute and said, "I guess you're right. But I still would rather…"

"Isaac, don't push it," Taylor said. They both laughed. All of a sudden, Taylor turned around and pulled the door open. Jessica, Avery, and Zac all tumbled in.

"Uhmm… We'll be going now," Zac said quickly and pulled his sisters down the hall.

"I don't even want to know," Isaac said.

"I don't know," Taylor said, "I think I heard Zac calling dibs on your CDs."

In a minute or two, Taylor left, and Isaac was left there alone again, but now he really didn't feel all that alone. He was happy that he and Taylor weren't fighting, but he felt kind of guilty. He had never really seen everything from Taylor's point of view, and had blamed him for what wasn't his fault. He didn't need Carissa. Carissa wouldn't get to Taylor, Isaac thought, since he wouldn't do that to his brother, or to the band. Isaac sat there and thought about it all for awhile. How much Taylor and Zac meant to him and how he almost let a girl get in the way of that. Isaac was glad, in a way, that he wasn't in Taylor's shoes.