Chapter 24

"Who's back there?!" Jacqui questioned, desparatley trying to become reinvolved in the storyline.
"As if you didn't know!" Taylor laughed as if it was the stupidest thing he'd ever been asked... but then there was that one girl who thought she was so cool when asking "How did you guys meet?". Blonde!
"I think I know chica," Becca jumped in. "Remember when I got in correspondence with that one guy online... my friend Christina told me about the guitarist who gave me all those tips that helped like jack!?" Becca said, motioning for the wheels in Jacqui's head to start turning.
"Oh my gosh... are you saying it's...!".
Becca cut her off, keeping the story more exciting. "Exactly!".
"Then we've got real trouble on our hands!" Jacqui said, stating the obvious.
"Well that's bright, Einstein," Isaac stated in a Mr.Know-it-all fashion, as he accelorated to 120 mph.
"You know maybe instead of all your smart mouth jack @$$ comments, you should stick to driving away from Ravi!" Jacqui shouted.
"Chika! You spilled!" Becca whined.
"Yeah well if they were fans they would have figured it out anyway," Jacqui rolled her eyes as she spoke.
"Hold on tight guys, here we go!" Isaac exclaimed, swerving in and out of fast-moving traffic, attempting to lose the insane Ravi on their tail.
"AHHHHH!" Becca and Jacqui screamed, not quite in unison.
"Chika let's try that again, 1... 2.. 3..."
"AHHHH!" they screamed in perfect accord.
"Much better!" Jacqui said whole-heartedly.
"Shut up dammit!" Taylor said, ending the pathetic humour aimed towards the readers.
Jacqui & Becca watched as Ravi became closer and closer to the back of the car. After a moment, Ravi looked at Becca instead of at the road.
"She looks familiar!" he said, unintentionally removing his foot from the accelorator. He paused in his thoughts. "She's the girl who sent me her online pic! She's the one who used me for the tablature to Hanson songs and then when I got 'kicked out' she ditched me! It's her!" he yelled, replacing his foot in its proper place.. and putting the pedal to the metal.
"I think he recognized me," Becca said, frowning. "I never liked him anyway he thought he was all hot stuff because he was with Hanson. Now we're hot stuff because we are!" she said, smirking.
What came next told her that was the wrong thing to say. "So you're only in this car because we are famous? Is that it? I knew all you fans were the same. You think we're sexy and you want to get us in bed. There's nothing wrong with wanting that, but when you just flat out say something like that--- it just disgusts me!" Isaac fumed, becoming enraged, and driving more insanely to show it.
"You moron you know that's not what I meant. And since when is being with you so cool? You know, no one likes you guys anymore . You're the ugly one Ike, and you know it. Or maybe you don't but it's time now. I'm so sick of putting up with all the Hanson Haters and being a 'loyal fan' when all you do is give us this buttload o' crap about how cool you are. Well why don't you just rub it in my face! Oh wait you just did. Isaac you suck, let me out of the car, now!" Becca bee-otched, making a dumb-founded expression on poor rejected Isaac's face.
He slammed on the brakes, shoved on the parking break, and Taylor screamed as they all lurched forward. Then, there was a crash behind them, crushing the back of the tiny blue bug. Then everything went black.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"Alright Alright! Let go of me and tell me what the heck is going on!" Vega yelled at Sandra who had seemed so nice in the beginning. "What are you doing you freak?"
This obviously did not please Sandra. She slapped Vega across the face. "You come to Tulsa, invade our home, our lives, it's people like you that mess up everything we've worked for! We've spent years trying to keep it quiet and you just waltz in here pretending you're all innocent! Well I know better Miss What's-Your-Name. I know better," she exclaimed tightening her grip and leading Vega out the door. She tossed her viciously onto the sidewalk in front of the Hanson home and exclaimed, "Stay away from Taylor, Stay away from Isaac, Stay away from Zac, Steph, the parents, the relatives and most of all stay away from me! Get lost you little pathetic fan! You call me a freak?! Who came all the way to T-town? Loser!" Sandra screamed, slamming the door in Vega's face.
Vega was in shock. She continued crying softly, and then more loudly until it brought on the resemblence of a howling. Suddenly a hand grabbed at her arm. Vega was too weak from crying to look up, but she felt herself land on a soft-cushion material. She looked up and noticed herself in the back of a familiar vehicle. She glanced up at the driver.
"Why did you do that?" she asked the girl.
"Us Hanson 'girlfriends' have to stick together," the girl said in a perky sarcastic voice.
"Well, thanks for getting me... umm... what's your name again?" Vega asked, confused as usual.
"Annie, of course," Annie said non-chalantly. "It happens to the best of us posers. The stupid aunt always gets you in the end," she said.
"Poser? What are you talking about?" Vega asked, making herself more comfortable.
"Ha you're not seriously Taylor's girlfriend are you? You were just making that up right?" Annie smirked as if the idea was too crazy to be true.
"Umm.. nooo... I wasn't joking.. I am his girlfriend.. sorta..." Vega said shaking her head.
"Right, and I'm Uh Tant," Annie rolled her eyes. "Who's Uh Tant?".
"Well, he was the second... forget it. But you've got to be kidding me though. Taylor doesn't date. He's never been with anyone seriously on a one to one basis. He doesn't like to commit. He's just a fruity messed up guy who thinks every girl and even some guys on the planet are in love with him. He just needs to pop that bubble fantasy world that he lives in, and wake up to reality!" Annie finished.
Vega looked at her suspiciously. "How do you know so much anyway?" she questioned.
"Vega, you can't tell me you don't recognize me," 'Annie' said sternly.
Vega studied her face. "You can't be... oh my gosh Michelle?! What the heck are you doing? Why did you pretend to be someone else; how did you know i was coming to Tulsa; you've lost so much weight oh my gosh.. just tell me what the heck is going on, Please!" Vega finished.
Annie/Michelle turned around to look at her and said, "You'll see."

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
Becca awoke with flashing lights around her. She tried to move but nothing happened. "I can't feel my legs!" she tried to scream, but her mouth wouldn't budge. Only her eyes remained open, not focusing on anything in particular save the lights. Her head hurt more than any pain she had ever felt. Struggling to keep her eyes open, she heard a familiar voice yelling "Why?! Why dear Lord don't let it be true!".
Jacqui was crying her eyes out, upset that al of her friends were suffering, and angry at herself for being contented that she was the only one who had been wearing a seatbelt. She stared at the 4 bodies laying in front of her with people leaning over each one of them.
She first looked at Becca, who's eyes were open but not blinking, with blood on her head and no motion anywhere throughout her crumpled body. When they had stopped so suddenly, Becca was yelling at Isaac, unaware that he would make such a mindless move. She was leaning over with her neck by his shoulder, not with her seatbelt on, and she had almost flown into the dashboard, hitting her head incredibly hard.
Jacqui then looked at Taylor, who's head had gone through the windshield. He lay at her feet, not singing, not smiling, not even standing. Just laying there motionless like Becca, but looking more and more pale by the second.
Then there was Isaac who's body had been crushed underneath the steering wheel when the bug had stopped at such high speeds, and then rear-ended by 'Ravi's Jimmy'. His hands were what upset her most. Will he ever play again? she thought, knowing how upset it would make Becca.
Then there he was. Ravi. The cause of all of this. She went over to his still body and spit in his face. The paramedics that were surrounding him looked up at her like she was crazy. She stared right into his open untwitching eyes and said, "If any of them die..." and couldn't finish her sentance due to the tears that followed.
An attractive senoir named Mickey whom Jacqui knew at her high school pulled up next to the accident in his red car to get a better look. He immediatley recognized Jacqui and ran over to see what was going on.
"Hey Jacqui, are you ok?" he asked, concerned.
She didn't even look up to see who had asked. "Okay? Okay?! My 2 favorite musicians and my best friend are lying on the ground knocking on death's door, and you ask if I'm okay!?". She continued bawling and he moved in and held her close to him. Jacqui didn't know who was hugging her, and for that moment she didn't care. All she knew was that this must be a dream. It had to be. Becca, Taylor, and Isaac were not dying at her feet and she was not close to Grand Rapids. She was at home in her bed, dreaming this terrible night-mare struggling to pinch herself to wake-up. But she pinched and pinched at herself and the only effect that had was to make her cry harder. This was not a dream. It was reality. And her best friend was dying, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
A cry of help interrupted he thoughts and cuddle. "Ch- chi- chika?" a groan came out of Becca's lips. Jacqui ran down and sat by her on the ground.
"Are you okay?" Jacqui asked trying not to notice the blood trickling out of Becca's head. She looked up desparatly to the paramedic next to her and whispered, "Will she live?". The shake of the head 'no' from the paramedic almost put Jacqui over the edge but she looked at her friend and said, "You can't go, you have to stay. You've got so much to live for don't you dare die!"
"Shh chika. Listen hard. Tell mom and dad I love them, and tell Guime I do too. And all our friends back home. Tell anyone I hurt that I'm sorry. But, I have to go now. Someone needs me.. up there. I can't believe the... day.. has.. come," she finished, as her head dropped onto the hard cement. Jacqui's face fell too and she leaned on Mickey again, crying silent tears, and wishing this day had never happened.