On The Road

Chapter 3

Kaitlyn looked behind her, and saw Miranda watching them. " You drove my car?" She asked angrily.

" Hey, don't get mad at her. I asked her to, okay. It's my fault. Blame me." Zac said, wiping away her tears. " Now come on. I'm going to bring you home to pack up some stuff. Miranda is going to pack some things too, and your coming on the road with me and my brothers. Your students can live without you, they have other teachers who can take over until you get back."

With a nod, she followed Zac to the car and he got in the drivers seat. Miranda sat in back, not saying anything.

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Zac hadn't been kidding when he told Kaitlyn that he wanted her and her sister to go on tour with him and his brothers. It was the following day, and they had just left Michigan. They were on the road, heading towards Ohio. She had been sleeping off and on since the previous night, as she had been exhausted from the days events. Now she was going to be forced to get up. Zac knew she was worn out, but he wanted her to get up now and join in on the fun of being on the road. Pouring her a cup of coffee, he walked to the bunk they had put her in, and waved it in front of her face.

The smell woke her up, and she looked up at him sleepily. " Go away. I'm sleeping."

" Not anymore your not. You are going to join the land of the living." He told her. " Come on. It is time to get up and get some coffee in your system, along with some food."

" I don't want to get up, Zac." She told him, pulling the covers over her head.

" Too bad." He sat on the edge of the bed. " You can't sleep forever. You have to deal with this at some point, Kaitlyn. I know it's tough, but you need to be strong for your little sister. She is upset too."

She sat up finally and took the cup of coffee from him. " I somehow doubt that. She's the reason that Britney left." Sipping on the coffee, she looked into Zac's eyes. She could see the worry there, and it warmed her heart. " Thank you for caring so much."

He smiled at her, and wiped a strand of hair from her eyes. " That's what friends do." He said, not taking his eyes off of her.

She gave him a little smile. " I guess I could eat something. What is there?" She asked.

" I could make you some toast and eggs. That's what most of us had for breakfast earlier." He kept his eyes on her, thinking how pretty she was when she did smile.

She nodded. " That would be great. I'll just... go into the bathroom and change into some clothes." Handing the cup of coffee back to him, he stood up and let her get out of the bed. She grabbed an outfit from her suitcase, and headed towards the bathroom. She threw on a blue embroidered top and a pair of black jeans, and brushed her hair out before joining everyone.

" Hey. Welcome to the land of the living." Taylor joked with her, smiling. " I'm glad you could join us finally."

" I just needed to sleep. I was so tired." She said, sitting down next to him. Zac set down a plate of toast and eggs in front of her. " Thanks Zac." Smiling at him, she saw the jelly on the table and made a grab for it.

" Well, you had a very stressful day yesterday." Isaac said, looking her way. " But today will be better. We had a really good talk with Miranda and she agreed to be on her best behaviour. She knows we won't tolerate her bringing strange men onto the tour bus to sleep with them."

Miranda looked up at her sister. " I... I'm sorry, Kaitlyn. I never meant to chase Britney away."

" But you did. She is gone, and you have yourself to blame." Kaitlyn snapped at her. She took a bite of toast after spreading the jelly on.

Zac sat across from her at the table. " I get that you are upset at your sister, but..."

" She doesn't deserve my forgiveness. She ruined the only family we had left." Kaitlyn interrupted him. " Now I would like to eat in peace please." She took a sip of her coffee and started in on her eggs.

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Once they arrived in Ohio, they had some time to pass before the sound check. They stopped at Cafe Toscano for some lunch, an italian restaurant. They had let Miranda pick what she was hungry for the most, since she was pregnant herself and they knew there was something she had to be craving. It wasn't really what Kaitlyn was hungry for, but she enjoyed some chicken marsala for lunch while Miranda had a grilled chicken pesto sandwhich with shoestring potatoes.

When they were finished with their lunch, they went straight to the venue. With Hanson's family being on tour with them, they had the kids with them and had gone somewhere as simple as mc donalds for lunch. They met them there at the venue, and Kaitlyn found herself enjoying some time with their kids as they practiced for that nights show.

Zac was the first one to catch her with the kids when he walked off the stage all hot and sweaty from practice. The sweat dripped from his face, but he barely even noticed as he watched her with them. He smiled to see her tickling Shepherd, who was giggling like crazy.
She looked up at him a moment later, and smiled back. " Hey. You sounded great." She told him.

" Thanks." He locked eyes with her. " You really are great with kids."

She blushed. " Thanks. I... I think your kids are great. They all are." She said. Her eyes stayed locked with his. They just stared at each other a moment, not saying anything.

Natalie broke the silence, who surprised them. Both were startled to see her there all of a sudden. " Is everything okay?"

" Yeah. I just... was commenting on how great she is with kids." He told her. " But I... I better go change." Zac walked away, and went into the dressing room.

Kaitlyn forced herself to look up at Natalie, who didn't look too happy with her. " I am watching you, Kaitlyn. You can say all you want that I don't have to worry about you, but I do.
I've seen you watching him." Natalie told her.

" Wow. Are you paranoid much? There is nothing betwen me and Zac. I've only known him a few days." Kaitlyn stood up, and Wilhelmena looked up at her. She went to pick her up, but Natalie made a grab for her.

" Stay away from my kids." Natalie walked away, telling her kids to follow her.