Excerpt: These Were Once Friends Of Mine

14. Zac

After a while, we just fell back into routine. Taylor and I did our band and label stuff, and Samantha did her school stuff. We kept an ear and eye out at all times though, in case something came up and we found her again. Two months moved on into three months. We would occasionally get something that we thought was from her, but without a name or a return address, we couldn't tell for sure. Samantha had gotten flowers from her at one point. And I've been getting letters. Letters from all over. They all said the same thing. "I am fine. I will be home when I am ready"

I have to admit I was worried about it. I didn't know if she was traveling all over and sending me letters from her different destinations, or what. I was worried, but I tried to keep from worrying too much. We had a lot to take care of in the studio. Lots of studio work, EP work, international things. Plus setting up other walks and running the music end as well. A lot of stuff for just three guys to handle. We had set up the camera for a live stream, although it wasn't on all the time. That could be chaotic, and Taylor and I would be on pins and needles the entire time, trying to make sure that we weren't near it when we got together.

We were on speaker phone with our some of our affiliates at New Medio when I heard a loud banging at the door. Frowning, I excused myself and headed to the door. Peeking out, I noticed that no one was around. Shrugging and assuming that it was someone just walking by and knocking to play a prank, I turned to go. As I turned, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. Turning back, I opened the door and peeked out, noticing a small blue basket. Grabbing it, I raised my eyebrow. Coming to the conclusion that it wasn't a bomb, I brought it inside with me and placed it on what used to be Claudia's desk.

Going back into the main room, I forgot about the basket as we finished our conference call. It wasn't anything new. It was all stuff that we already knew, but we still had to do the conferences. After we had finished up and discussed a couple other things, I went to the main room, it dawning on me that I hadn't checked out the basket yet. Poking it with a pen at first, I took off the cellophane and looked inside. It was just cookies. Nothing but cookies and a note. Confused, I grabbed a cookie and opened it, not noticing anything weird about it. Sniffing it, it smelled like a normal cookie. So I took a little bite, which probably wasn't the smartest thing in this day and age.

But nothing was wrong with it, as far as I could tell. I brought it back into the studio, still munching on it. It tasted good, and it reminded me of something but I couldn't think of it. Setting the basket down, I raised an eyebrow when I noticed that there was an article on the Philbrook Museum Of Art on the table. Picking it up, I looked at it. Isaac had gotten married there. For some strange reason, someone had abbreviated it as the PMOA. Blinking, I glanced at my phone, checking the time. Going wide eyed, I flipped through my pictures, going to the one that I had taken at the Tulsa Little Theatre. Looking between the line and the initials, it almost fit. The MOA could fit rather well for the Museum Of Art but the I was a bit of a stretch. In fact, the whole thing was a bit of a stretch.

Glancing again at the time, I noticed it was past closing time. I'd have to check it out tomorrow. Hopefully, this would put me one step closer to finding her, and our lives going back to normal. Sighing, I looked at my brothers and munched on another cookie without thinking about it. Damn these cookies were good. Shrugging, I looked at the mini fridge in the corner that Claudia used to place her crock pot with yummy goodness. Placing a hand on my stomach, I bit my lip. None of us had really been eating regularly since then. Sure we'd eat when we were at our respective homes, but when we were at the studio, all thoughts of food had gone away.

Sighing softly, I grabbed my laptop and looked for recipes for the crock pot. I decided I could figure out the basics and start bringing in food myself. I know it wasn't much, but it was something. We all needed that something to help us cope. I was certain that Samantha wouldn't mind me borrowing her crock pot. I don't even know if we have one at home! Finding a number of them that sounded good, I bookmarked them and jumped when someone sent me a link on messenger.

Biting my lip, I clicked it, only to be looking at a bare room. Raising an eyebrow, I watched it, unable to look away. I turned the sound off just in case it was one of the those screamer videos or something. Deciding I would come back to it, I went to the restroom, and did a number of other things before coming back. There was now a sign there with the words "come play with me" written in a similar way that we had done one of our EPs. Hitting the appropriate buttons so that I could get a screen shot, I watched it. Taking a chance, I turned on the sound to notice that there was singing going on. Frowning, I listened to it.

It took me a little while to realizse that it was Claudia singing. She wasn't a bad singer, but she wasn't good either. Her voice wasn't awful, but it was a flat kid's voice that had never been meant to front a band. I watched it curiously, ready to jump at a moments notice if something was to pop up on the screen. I tried to catch the lyrics. It wasn't a song I was too familiar with. I knew I had heard it somewhere before, but I couldn't quite place it anywhere.

Shrugging it off momentarily I got up and listened to it idly as I took care of some items around the studio. Humming along with it after a while, it stuck in the back of my mind as I put things away. Looking up at the clock, I noticed it was twenty minutes until three. Three! The song! Going back to my laptop, I listened to it, turning it up a little louder to hopefully hear some of the lyrics. Now I know the song. It was from some Japanese animation movie that we had watched, and the kids in the movie were singing about a 'three o'clock fairy'. What it had to do with anything? I'm not sure, but I'm sure I'll figure it out later.

I continued to keep the live stream on, wondering if anything else was going to happen. After a while, I realized the song was on a loop. Frowning, I clicked my computer to see if there was a way to record it. Short of me setting up the other camera to record it, I couldn't figure anything else out. Sighing, I kept it on and finished what I was doing. My brothers had disappeared without so much of a goodbye. Pretending to pout, I went to shut down my computer when I noticed that although the loop was still the same, there were words typed out into the messenger screen. It only said ten words: 'do not pout Zackie, soon, it will be all right'

Never have I been more confused.

15. Taylor

We were all hanging out at the studio. Not doing anything to terribly important, just discussing things with New Medio and each other about upcoming plans. It felt good to finally do what needed to be done. We were discussing different things, for the upcoming tour, upcoming record, traveling, different things. Zac kept playing with his laptop as we discussed things. But, he was paying attention to everything, so Isaac and I didn't say too much about it.

Zac disappeared momentarily then came back, carrying a small basket and placing it on Claudia's desk. None of us thought anything of it. We were a buisness after all, so we got a number of packages to begin with. But never a blue basket. Shrugging it off, we went back to the meeting.

It was the same old stuff that we always talked about, but it was still the same stuff we always had to talk about. Finally, the meeting finished and we were able to go and do what we wanted. Zac went back to the main room where Claudia's desk was, and Isaac went to step out the back door of the studio for some fresh air. I shrugged and headed to the bathroom.

As I did what I needed to do, I thought about different things, such as trying to figure out just what had happened to Claudia to make her leave. It was something we all wondered. Every week it seemed we had a new theory. I think Zac's favorite theory was that she was abducted by alien Elvis impersonators. Yea. I didn't know either.

Finishing up, I came out and went around back to where Isaac was sitting on the concrete slab. He was staring off into space when I placed my hand on his back. He jumped and narrowed his eyes at me. "Woah, time to switch to decaf, Ike" I joked as I sat next to him.

"Not fucking funny Taylor," He grumbled as he got up and walked, running a hand through his hair. Frowning, I watched him. Where had this anger come from? I didn't say anything as I watched him. I was confused and curiousl.

"I.. Ike... what's going on?" I asked him cautiously. Isaac turned on his heel and walked up to me, smacking me full across the face. Jumping back, I placed my hand on my cheek. "What the fuck?!?!" I asked him, standing up, trying to use my height as a advantage. But I don't think it worked very well.

"You don't know? You don't fucking know?" He asked me, his dark eyes muddy with anger. I shook my head. How could I know? Most of my energy as of late has gone to trying to find Claudia. He knew that. I watched him curiously. What was going through his head?

Isaac shook his head and went back to pacing, his whole body trembling. I wish I knew what was going on. I watched him as he'd walk to one part of the fenced in, make shift yard, then to the other. As he walked around, I remembered how Claudia had wanted to make this into a mini oasis for us, with flowers, a gazebo, even a decorative fountain. She had said that it was a place that she would go when she was stressed. She could only go mentally, but she had said it was her dream at one point to have what could be considered a faeries glen.

As I watched Isaac walk, I knew better than to get up and try to comfort him. So I waited paitently. Soon, he was able to talk. "It isn't you ... I promise" He sighed. "It's just ... been rough" He said, sitting down next to me. I nodded and kept quiet. Isaac was the type of person that if you tried to make him talk, he would only get angry. And an angry Isaac is never fun to be around. He was the quiet, brooding type. Or dynamite. Or something. Once you lit his fuse, he had a short temper, and it wouldn't be long before he blew up and took those around him along for the ride.

I sat and waited for him to continue. I wasn't going to be the one to speak first. Soon, Isaac wrapped his arm around me, pulled my head practically into his armpit and ran his knuckles against my head. I scrambled to try and get out of his grasp. As I as struggling, I could smell the mix of Isaac's aftershave and deoderant. I have to say I was thankful that he wore that today. When I finally did, I landed on my ass, staring up at him and rubbing my head. Isaac was laughing hard and laying on his back on the concrete slab. Standing up, I dusted my ass off, looking at him curiously.

Isaac finished laughing and got up, shaking his head and walking back inside. Raising my eyebrow, I watched looked around and shook my head sighing. What in the world had gotten into him? I wondered to myself as I kicked a pebble around. Nodding to myself I grabbed my mini notebook out of my back pocket and started jotting down notes. I wanted to make Claudia's faerie glen a reality.

Isaac came back out with a grin, holding a tape measure. I looked at him confused. "Wanting to make her glen?" he asked me, motioning to my notes. I nodded and smiled softly. And the two of us measured the area and started planning things. We forgot all about Zac inside unfortunately. We were so wrapped up in what we were doing that the sun was starting to set before we realised that we had been outside for nearly six hours. Laughing, we headed back inside to find Zac taking a nap on the couch.

"He came in with you today, didn't he?" Isaac asked me. I nodded. "I ... kinda forgot he was here" He said sheepishly. "I didn't mean to ... but with everything outside ... it just kinda happened."

"Yea, Same here" I said running a hand through my hair. I didn't want to wake him. So I didn't. Instead, Isaac and I sat around the table and continued planning out the faerie glen, doing research about flowers and trees and gazebos. Even sketching out how it could look. I used my interest in design to help out. Soon, we had a basic idea as to what it could be. I knew I would have to run it by Samantha as well, to see if she had any input. But I knew she too would want to do anything that would help lead her home.

We kept hearing some song in the background, but we didn't think anything of it. Figuring it was just something on Zac's itunes, we mostly tuned it out as we continued planning everything. Grabbing my own laptop, I started a search of the local lawn and garden shops that could at least give us a head start as to what we could do. I made a list of what I thought she would like, what flowers, what trees, what benches, the whole nine yards.

Knowing that we would probably have to do some minor construction, Isaac grabbed his phone and called to get some information on building permits and the like. We worked long and hard into the evening. I couldn't imagine working this hard on any of the albums. Well I could, but this was a different kind of hard work. While it was still enjoyable, we were still going towards an amazing product, a product that could benefit all of us, not just me, or Ike, or Zac or Samantha, but everyone.

I think we had a mentality of 'if we build it, she will come' about us. I realize that we totally ripped off the point of 'Field of Dreams', but hey, it worked for us. Zac woke up and watched us curiously before joining in, and discussing about getting faerie statues to hide in various places in the glen. He seemed put off and confused, but we didn't ask him. Zac was always confused about something or the other. I noticed he was munching on a cookie and wondered where he got it from. Zac shrugged and motioned to the basket. I went over to look at it. I didn't see anything weird about it, so I took a cookie and nibbled on it. It was oatmeal raisin. I have to admit it wasn't one of my favorites, but a cookie was a cookie was a cookie. And I could tell they were home made, which made them that much better.

Between the three of us, we ate the cookies as we planned. It was almost funny in the sense that we went into the studio to work on music and buisness stuff, and instead, we worked on the space behind our studio. Maybe Claudia was right when she said it would be a cause of inspiration and eternal calmness. As I flipped through things, I noticed a cute garden set. I showed it to my brothers, and we all agreed that it could be relaxing to take up gardening, raising vegetables or something. Figuring that it could come in handy with the meals that Claudia made us. Zac mentioned something about doing the crock pot meals himself, that we figured it would help him too.

But, as they say, time will tell.

16. Samantha

When the guys told me about their plans to make a garden behind their studio, I looked at them as though they were crazy. I mean, their plan made sense, but I couldn't help but wonder what was going through their minds when they came up with it. But once they explained it to me, I agreed to help whole heartedly. If it helped bring back the love of my life, then who was I to argue? I helped with planning, and thankfully there was a break from school, so I could be home more often to help.

Taylor, Zac and I moved out of our apartments and into a house, a three bedroom with plans to put our instruments and various things in the third bedroom and other places inside. It turned out to be a blessing. It was close to my school, and close to everything the guys needed. Plus walking in, it just felt like home, even before we had everything moved in. It was cozy, and we could easily spend hours just relaxing in the den in front of the fireplace. That's not to say that Taylor and Zac haven't taken advantage of the fact that they could now make love in front of a roaring fire.

Taylor and I accompanied Zac to the Museum. Unfortunately, he didn't find her. Somehow, I think we all knew that we wouldn't find her. At least, not yet. Zac found what he thought to be a clue, but given the way that the museum was set up, it was hard for him to tell. He continually would sing a song about a three o'clock fairy, both in English, then somehow, he learned the lyrics in Japanese. I think he thought there was a hint in the song for him.

His laptop was constantly on some video. No one could ever really tell what it was. It appeared to be a webcast, but it was hard to tell, as there was always a sign. Some days it was a different sign, but there was always a sign, no movement, except the changing of the signs. Some times, it was song lyrics, other times, just a simple 'do not worry about me' kind of sign. We believed that Zac thought of it as a connection to her, despite the fact that we had no proof that it had anything to do with her at all. For all we knew, it was someone playing a cruel trick on us.

It took us nearly five months to finish the 'faerie glen' behind the studio and offices. Isaac had trouble getting what paperwork he needed to actually have the permission to build there. That alone took nearly two months. Then we had to get everything brought in and constructed. Taylor, Zac and Isaac only had limited time to work on this as they had to finish working on their actual lively hood.

Summer was just coming to a close as we finally put the finishing touches on it. It was purely magical looking. Just walking into the area, one could feel calm, cool and collected. It was gorgeous. I knew that when Claudia finally came home, she would love it too. Just the thought made me upset. Like Zac, I thought I saw her in various places. The supermarket. The bookstore. The mall. You name it. After a while, it started feeling like a huge game of hide and go seek. But someone lost count or forgot that they were hiding.

There were days where I was close to giving up. Then something would happen and I would regain my hope, regain my strength and belief that one day, she would be home and in my arms again. I loved her with everything I was but it hurt some days. Knowing that she willingly left us without so much of a note or a warning, it pissed me off more than I let on. I went through the stages of grief as though she didn't just leave us, physically, but as if she would never come back. It hurt to think about that most days, but I think it helped me cope.

It hurt me to watch Zac go on from day to day. He'd get a new idea as to where she was, and we'd go only to discover that she wasn't there. And we'd see his face going from one of excitement and anticipation, to one who had every thing shatter around him. He wrote a lot of songs. Some of which made a number of fans email him asking him if he was okay. We had thought about making a post on the website, looking for her, as the fans all knew and loved Claudia, but we weren't sure if it would work out or not. We mused that some of the over zealous fans would see this as an opprotunity to replace her and therefore have the job instead.

Currently doing the job was their sister Jessica. The guys loved having her around, and she loved being there. She and I always got along rather well as we had some common interests. She would come to me if she needed advice that she couldn't ask her brothers or her mom about. I, along with Claudia, were like her older sisters, there when she needed us. That's not to say she didn't ask her brothers for help, but sometimes, one needs their older sister, so to speak, to show them the ropes.

She was a bit of a kinky little minx. Much like her sister in law. Nikki, Jessica and I had a day out, just the three of us. The boys were left to their own devices, watching the kids as we went to the mall and got manicures and pedicures. We went shopping, each of us choosing out various skimpy outfits to wear for our other halves. At this point I was wearing them for Taylor and Zac, but it didn't matter. A few of the outfits I bought were actually for Taylor to wear.

Jessica was wearing this low cut top and cute jeans that just accentuated her body just right. She had an ass that just wouldn't stop, and I found myself, on occasion, drooling over her. I drooled over Nikki plenty of times, and she knew it, but Jess was like unclaimed territory. That new stretch of land that you just couldn't wait to explore. But she was straight, and engaged to what equated to be her high school sweetheart, Joe. But that didn't mean I couldn't look and admire her body. She danced, and kept in shape.

The three of us were just hanging out, having girl time when Jessica randomly mentioned how she had made out with someone she shouldn't have. Gasping at her, Nikki and I looked at each other first, then at her, staring agape as we tried to figure out where that came from. Blushing as she saw us staring at her, she shifted nervously then continued walking, continuing to the resturant that we were headed to. Eager for details, Nikki and I practically raced after her.

Once we were seated and settled in the booth, Jessica proceeded to tell us about how she had tried drugs and ended up making out with her younger sister, Avery. Avery was sober at the time, but had been hiding a secret for a while at that point. Once Jess had sobered up, she and Avery discussed things, and had started a bit of a friends with benefits relationship with each other. There was no doubt that they loved each other, but it was completely different than how Taylor and Zac loved each other. Jessica and Avery loved each other as sisters, and the occasional bed partner, but that was as far as their relationship had gone. After Jessica had gotten engaged to Joe, they stopped, and that was that.

Both Nikki and I stared at her. Never in a ten thousand years would we had guessed it. Jess blushed and tried to occupy herself with her napkin. Soon, the three of us were talking about our various experiences through the years. Our appetizers had come and gone, as did most of our entrees. Nikki had given us the good news that she and Isaac were expecting another child, so admist the squealing that came soon after, we moved our discussion to baby talk. How far along she was, and when she was due and how Isaac thought about it. She was only a couple months along, she had found out about a month after Claudia had gone missing. Jess had made a joke about how Claudia thought she was going to be replaced by the baby and ran off. We all knew it wasn't the case, but it was amusing to a point. Not completely, but enough to make us smile.

Dessert came, and that was when Jessica had told us that she wanted one last fling before she got married. One last fling, with us. I dropped my ice cream down my top and Nikki had spilled her ice tea. Us? She wanted us? In bed? With her? Naked? I hesitantly asked her that, trying to make sure that I had heard her correctly. Jessica nodded and said that she had noticed our glances and had glanced at us as well. Nikki smirked and leaned over, kissing her full on the lips. Watching my pseudo sister in law and pseudo sister make out was surely a sight to see. If that was a hint as to what was to come, bring it on. After our desserts were finished, and we paid, we all headed out to Jessica's apartment, as it was the only one that none of us would have to worry about someone randomly walking in on us.

The entire ride there, I couldn't stop touching them. I kept it pg while we were in public, but once we were in the car, all bets were off. I groped Jessica through her top, and rubbed along Nikki's thigh carefully as she was driving. I had to be careful that she didn't get too distracted and crash. Jessica whimpered as she watched me tease Nikki through her skirt. Nikki groaned softly and rocked slightly against my fingers as I snuck them between her legs. Instead of driving all the way home, she drove to the nearest hotel. I handed Jessica some money to run in and get us a room. As soon as she came back, Nikki drove around and we went up to the room. We didn't care that we had to go up to the top floor, it was a nice room. Smirking as I noticed the hot tub in the corner, I pinned Nikki to the wall and kissed her hard.

Jessica locked the door behind us and started tugging at our clothing. Soon, we were all naked and laying on the bed, three sets of hands touching and groping each others bodies. I felt fingers sneak between my legs, and I parted them to let the hand there rub against me. I whimpered out and opened my eyes to see that Jessica had her face buried between Nikki's legs as her hand was wiggling up inside of me. Whimpering out, I clenched around her fingers and pulled Nikki to me, kissing her deeply. Nikki moaned against my lips and shuddered as she used her hand to push Jessica's face closer to her.

Jess pulled back and blushed, grabbing her purse and grabbing a double ended dildo. I went wide eyed. Who carries a dildo with them in their purse. Deciding not to think about it too much, I watched as Jessica pushed the head of the dildo into Nikki, making her moan loud and shudder. Grinning, I leaned over and kissed Nikki eagerly, inviting Jessica to replace her hand inside of me once more. Jessica did one better and guided me to straddle Nikki, and once I was in position, she slid the other end inside of me. Moaning out, I kssed Nikki hard, clenching around the thick rubber inside of me.

Shuddering, I felt as Jessica wiggled the toy inside of both of us. It was hotter than words could ever start to describe. I moved my hands to grope and tweak at Nikki's nipples as we kissed eagerly. It felt hot knowing that neither of us had to do anything to achieve the orgasm that Jessica was so desparate to give us. I could tell that Nikki was close, the way her breath felt against my skin and the urgency of her kisses. I clenched around the toy and hoped that I would be able to come at the same time. Jessica moved the toy out of us until just the head was inside of us, then slammed them back in, making Nikki and I moan out in near unison.

Nikki came hard and squirted, an ability that I had always thought was hot. Shuddering, I kissed her hard and came as well. I kind of squirted as well, but not as far as Nikki could. Shuddering, we trembled and kissed each other as Jess pulled the toy out and began to lick both of us up eagerly. Soon we moved and pinned her down to the bed, both of us kissing and licking and worshiping her body. Jessica moaned and squirmed as we both took a nipple into our mouths and sucked on them, teasing it with our lips, teeth and tongues.

Two hands went down and teased Jessica's inner thighs, both of us taking turns pushing a couple fingers deep inside of her and wiggling. We continued along this line until I was able to get two fingers in, along with Nikki's fingers. Four fingers deep inside of Jessica was all it took to send her into a wailing orgasm. The feel of her walls clenching around our fingers made both Nikki and I moan loudly again. Surprisingly not ackwardly, the three of us shared a kiss before we cuddled into the bed and fell asleep, curled up in one anothers arms.

17. Claudia

As the months went by, I became more and more of a hermit. I only left if I absolutely had to. I was careful on my spending. I would only take money out of my account at the bank itself, and not use my card. Everything I bought was in cash, so that no one could trace my card purchases. Most of my trips out were to the doctor, but I was stubborn. I didn't want to go, but I knew I had to.

I still left clues for Zac. Although he seemed slow on the uptake. It took him nearly a month to figure out the Phil Brook Museum of Art. I had sent the link to my webcam, where I had my signs set up. The signs were more for inspiration than clues. To be honest, I was surprised that no one had thought to try and run my IP address. Not that it mattered, I tended to swipe the wireless connectioned sfrom my neighbors. Every day I could watch those who were once friends of mine as they went in and out of the offices of 3CG.

Spring turned into Summer, as the seasons tended to do. Samantha would be off from school for nearly three months. She would still have some classes to take care of, that I knew, but for the most part, she would be free. I would keep a steady watch on her, Taylor and Zac, much like Obi- Wan Kenobi kept an eye on Luke Skywalker, there, but at a distance. I tried to make sure that I blended in with my surroundings. I changed my hair and my clothing like clockwork. Sometimes, I changed them at the same time, but for the most part I changed them seperately. I had a few tried and true styles. But going with the fact that I didn't exactly go out much, if at all, part of me wondered if it was worth the hassle.

I had a track of me singing '3 o'clock fairy' on loop on my web cast. Part of it was a hint, the other part was so that they could hear my voice and be comforted. The track was both of me singing it in English and in Japanese. The lyrics could have been clues but I couldn't figure out just how to make any clues out of them just yet. Lyrics about chocolate and apple pies only made me hungry. I knew I would figure out a clue eventually. I felt like a secret agent, or a bad guy you would see on television, leaving clues for the good guys to find.

I knew that eventually my time would be up, that I would be found. Would they let me back into their lives or would I be forced to etch out a new way of living? I knew my slightly nomadic lifestyle wasn't the best at this point in time, but I knew it was something I needed to do. Jumping as I suddenly had an idea, I hopped onto the internet and did what reasearch I needed to set my newest plan into action. As I set things up I felt my stomach rumble. But I ignored it. I would eat when I was ready, and being in the middle of a plan was not what I caled ready.

I felt the unmistakeable pang of hunger periodlically through the night. I continued to ignore it. I knew if I stopped what I was doing then, I would never start back up. By the time I had finished, sunlight was starting to peek through the curtains. I laid out on my air mattress and rubbed my swelling belly. I contemplated calling for delivery, then decided to instead go to the diner a few blocks over for something I didn't have to make or throw away afterwards. So I got up, got dressed and walked the couple of blocks over to the diner that usually delivered to me.

A guy I had nicknamed Mot was there. He owned the place, and he lived just upstairs. He was a charming Englishman who reminded me of Patrick Strewart, specifically on Star Trek. I took a seat in my favorite booth and lookced over the menu. I couldn't quitre decide what I wanted. After much deliberation, I finally decided what I wanted, so I ordered it. It was still early enough that there really weren't a lot of people there. I love to people watch. I like making up stories about those I saw. Sometimes I had my notebook with me, and I would write about them. I thought it was fun, and it helped to stretch my imagination.

Like the family that came in to get eggs and toast. They had the table next to mine. Two little girls, twins, I think. Long blond hair and bright blue eyes. They reminded me of Penelope, Taylor's little girl. She was truly the apple of her daddy's eye. These girls were cute, and very polite, saying please and thank you to the waitress, Molly. I imagined that they were home from school, trying to convince their parental units that they should get a numbat, similar to that of an anteater. But it was from Austrailia, and ate termites. The parents, of course, didn't think it was a good idea, but that didn't quite stop the girls from trying to get one.

Then there were the students, carrying books and laptops, getting their amazingly addictice coffee before heading to class. The three of them seemed to be of different cliches. A goth, a football player and a stereotypical geek. It made me smile as the three of them talked happily amongst themselves. As they walked by me to get to the door, I heard them discussing techniques and strategies in Dungeons and Dragons. My food had come by that time, but I was not able to eat just yet. Instead, i tried to figure out how to hide. Zac had walked in with Taylor and Samantha. They took a table on the other side of the diner, partially hidden from me, and me from them. Thankful that I could somewhat hide from them, I decided to try and quickly eat so that I could leave.

But of course, life never works out the way you planned. I ate and watched for them. As I was near the bathroom, I knew, in time, they would have to pass me. Unless Taylor was being weird about taking a leak in public bathrooms again. I ate my food and my stomach cheered. It had been almost twenty four hours since I ate last, unless you counted the tea I drank almost constantly. I gasped and bit my lip as I saw Zac walking by. Using the menue, I hid behind it. I knew if Zac saw me, and knew it was me, then he would make me come home with him. I wasn't ready to come home just yet. I quickly made my escape byt not before leaving a note for Zac. Hopefully he would notice the note before they cleared the table.

I regained my perch in my window, cup of tea on the window sill next to me as I wrote things out on the notepad on my lap. The next phase of my plan was in full swing. I had finally figured out just what I was going to use for the chocolate and apple pie that were mentioned in the lyrics. Setting everything up, I turned on my laptop, watching the live stream from the camera that I had hidden in the various places in the studio. I kept it on in the background as I finished setting things up. I heard a noise from the screen and smirked as I looked over. Taylor and Zac had bustled in, Zac straddling Taylor on the couch as they made out eagerly. From their position, and where the camera was, I was able to record it in perfect quality.

I got so caught up watching, that I nearly forgot what I was doing. Startled by a knock on the door, I went to the door. PLacing a surgical mask on my face, I peeked out , only to be relieved that it was only the delivery guy. Taking the box from him, iI grinned and unpacked it, squeeing like a school girl as I went through the contents of the box. I had used paypal through my bank account, still actively not using my card. Smirking at what I had bought, I went about, dressing it up and rigging it to hang from my ceiling. Cruel? Probably, but it was inflatable, so I figured that it wouldn't really care that much about the pain.

I got everything set up and yawned. I had been awake for a while, surviving on one meal and tea. Lots of tea. Making sure that no one was watching my stream, I changed the signs, yawning. Stumbling, I nudged the table slightly as I headed towards my comfortable mattress. Figuring I would only be taking a couple hours of nap, I stretched out on my bed, not even thinking to check to make sure that my webcam was on the sign. Soon, I had fallen into a deep sleep.

18. Zac

I kept a steady eye on Claudia's webcast. At least. I thought it was hers. All of the hints she had given me had made me think it was her. From the link she sent me, to the notes that were on the web cam, to letters that I would still occasionally get. I kept the faith that she would be home safe and sound. While I still worried about her, I still did everything I could to make sure that I was certain that she would come home. I know I've seen her in various places at various times, but I could never talk to her. Just when I think I've seen her, she would disappear once more, like the faeries she so idolized.

My brothers and I spent a long while working on the glen behind 3CG studios, hoping that it would help attract Claudia to come home. I missed her so much it hurt to the point it made me sick. I still wondered why she left. I couldn't for the life of me figure out if it was anything I said or did to make her leave. I was still upset but I tried to make sure that I didn't let it affect my life.

Samantha, Taylor and I had gone to Louie's diner a few blocks away from the studio. We were all up early and it just sounded good. We had a table in the corner, and for once, Taylor actually ordered what could be considered a lot of food for himself. Samantha ordered a waffle, toast and jam, and I had steak and eggs. There was someone rather familiar looking in the corner, but I couldn't quite place her. Sighing softly, I tried to keep an eye on her.

I had to use the restroom before we left so I made my way there while Taylor and Samantha paid and chatted. I knew I had to walk by the table in which she was sitting, but I couldn't get a good look at her. She had the menu in front of her. All I could see was the top spikes of her hair. Sighing softly in defeat I had gone into the bathroom to take care of my buisness. By the time I had come out, she was gone, just an enevelope on the table with my name on it. Smirking, I pocketed it and headed back to the table.

I didn't want to read it until I got somewhere private, not because I didn't trust Samantha and Taylor, but because I wasn't sure if it was something just for my eyes, like the website, or the tape recorder, or if it was something that all of us could see. I had a feeling that if it were for all of us, then it would have more than just my name on it. We all finished eating and headed back to the studio, chattering about various things. Just before I walked into the offices, I had the strangest feeling that we were being watched. Biting my lip I looked around, frowning when I thought I saw someone in the window across the street. Waving nonchalantly, I headed inside and set up my laptop.

I looked at it and bit my lip, noticing that while the sign was up, it was placed haphazardly. I frowned and watched it for a moment, trying to see if I could see anything out of the ordinary. On the side of the screen I could see feet. They just laid there, and it took me a few moments to realize they were laying on a bed. Clicking a few buttons, I was able to enlarge the screen, so that I could see the feet and bed closer. I thought I recognized Claudia's tattoo on her foot, a tiny smiley face. It was the most random place for a tattoo but it worked. Since she had left, I had the design that she had painted on me tattooed onto my skin. It added nicely to the other two tattoos I had on me. Nothing had happened, so I opened the envelope that had been left for me. It wasn't much, just a card with a bear on it. It made me smile as sometimes Claudia had called me bear, as she said I was like a teddy bear to her. Glancing at the screen, I noticed nothing use was there, I continued to look over the card. It seemed to be an invitation to some kind of celebration. It looked familiar, and it took a few moments for me to realise it was the same type of invitation that my sister Avery had sent everyone for her art show a while back. It was cute, but still nice. I noticed the date and the time, and the location, and made a mental note to go there when it said I had to be there. I just couldn't think as to where the place in question was.

I watched for a while, but it seemed as though all she was doing was sleeping, but I wanted to make sure. I did other stuff on the computer as well, but I still kept it on in the background, watching. At one point, she got up, and I saw her. She was skinny, skinnier than I remembered her being. Before she left she was delightfully pudgy, but now she appeared to be skinnier than even Taylor, except for her stomach. The lighting was weird, so it was hard to get a good look at her. But her stomach seemed to be rounder than it used to. I watched as she got up and padded off to some place off screen. I figured it was the bathroom as I heard the unmistakeable sounds of liquid hitting the water, then the flush of a toilet then I watched as she came back, licking her fingers. Shielding my own webcam so that she wouldn't know I was watching her, I bit my lip as she slowly stripped and laid back down on the bed, completely naked.

It almost felt kinky, watching as she caressed her skin, scratching herself idly in different places. She let out a soft, contented moan as her fingers went around her belly gently and began to caress her hairless self. It was hard to see, given the fact that the camera was only haphazardly in her direction. Shifting slightly, I adjusted myself as I felt myself getting hard in my pants. I whimpered and watched as she grabbed a toy and ran it along her wetness. Gasping out, she pushed just the head of the toy inside of her. I noticed that it was the mold of my cock that I had given her a number of years ago for her birthday. The only way I could tell was the stuff I had placed on the base of it. Bringing the screen up to be the full size, I watched and wished I knew how to hack into her system and move the camera to face me.

Her body shuddered as she fucked her self with the toy, moaning out as she thought no one was watching her. She was louder than I remembered. I guess it was because she didn't know I was watching her. Shifting again, I watched as I got harder than I thought possible just watching her. I began to wish that I was there, thrusting into her eagerly as I moaned out and kissed her. Looking around, I undid my pants and pulled myself out of my pants, stroking my thick length slowly, currently matching her speed. I imagined that my hand was her tight, wet, self. I grunted softly as I continued to stroke. I knew I probably shouldn't have been doing it, but I couldn't help it, she was just so damn hot.

I chewed on my lip, trying to stay quiet as my brothers and Samantha were all hanging out in the other room. For the moment I'm alone. Claudia too, is alone, but now that I can see her, and know that she's alive, shuddered and tugged faster on my length. When she slowed down, I slowed down. When she sped up, I sped up. When she smacked her own ass, I smacked mine. It wasn't the same as being with her, I knew, but it still felt pretty good as I grunted and shuddered with her. I tightened my hand as I heard her whimper out, the same sound she used to make when she would clench around my hard shaft, or around Samanthas hand. The thought of Samantha fisting Claudia's womanly insides made me groan and jump closer to the finish line. I watched as Claudia pulled the toy out and rubbed herself with her hand, tweaking her clit for a few moments before pushing her own hand inside of her, up to the final set of knuckles.

I bit my lip hard as I watched her, trying to keep from making a sound. I made sure that the volume on my laptop was lower so that I didn't attract the others in the building to what I was listening to. I watched as her body tensed up and she arched her back, coming hard and collasping on the bed. I would like to think that we both came at the same time, groaning and shuddering as we let our orgasms take us. Panting, I watched as she got up and looked at the screen, trembling with a goofy smile on her face. "So you found me" she whispered, panting just hard enough that I could see the steady sway of her tits. Going wide eyed, I looked around, trying to figure out just how she would know I was watching her. My own webcam was covered, I knew she couldn't see me through that. In a scramble, I turned the laptop off, my heart racing as I tried to figure out what the fuck just happened. Did she really know I was watching her? And if so, what did that mean? I had never been so confused in my life. And that is saying something!

19. Taylor.

I knew what Zac was doing in the other room, but I didn't let on that I knew. Samantha and I busied ourselves doing other things around the studio. Ike, too, knew what was going on and actively avoided that room until Zac appeared, slightly flushed. His eyes were a bit dialated, but he said nothing as he wandered off to the restroom. Chuckling, I went back to cuddling with Samantha. We were just listening to the sounds around the studio. Isaac was talking guitar stuff with both Will and Demetrius, our techs were messing with different things as they checked sounds and stuff.

The three of us had been up a while by this point. We had stayed up until four in the morning, watching movies, then we were too loopy to try and sleep. So we decided to head into the studio a little early. Halfway there, we decided we were hungry, so we went to the diner a couple blocks away from the studio. After bidding hello to the owner, we sat in the booth in the corner farthest from the door. It appeared that Zac kept looking at someone but neither Samantha or myself could see who Zac kept his gaze on.

When Zac went into his office, he had a frown on his face. I watched him from the doorway as he opened a cherry red envelope and pull out a blue card. I didn't ask what he had, I figured that he would tell me when he was ready to. Zac didn't seem to share much with me anymore. He had been recieving things in the mail, but he never told me or Samantha anything about them. Zac had started to becom distant, distant like Claudia was before she left. That scared me to no end. He became secretive, going placess without telling me where he was going or why, or when he would be back. Thats not to say he wasn't affection at times. There were days where he would want nothing more than to stay in bed with me, and make love for hours on end. I, of course, had no complaints about that, but I had to wonder if he was imagining me or if he was imagining Claudia.

As a result of Zac pulling away from me, I spent more and more time with Samantha, much to the annoyance of my wife, Natalie. The marriage between myself and Natalie was more of one of convienence than of love. That's not to say that I don't love my wife, because I do. It's just our marriage was hastily planned due to her getting pregnant with our first child. Over the years, I have gotten to love my wife, even when she drives me up the wall and we'll get into the dumbest fights, we still have a decent life together with four beautiful kids. Both Natalie and Kate, Zac's wife, knew of our relationship, not only with each other, but with Claudia and Samantha. They didn't like it at all, but knew that if they were to divorce us, they would lose everything. So there wasn't much they could do about anything.

As much as I didn't particularly want to, I asked Kate if Zac was being distant with her. She played it off as though he wasn't, that he was lavashing her with loads of attention, showering her with gifts of gold and diamonds. I could tell by the sound of her voice that she was lying. I called her out on it and she became defensive, almost possessive over Zac. The only thing that Zac's attention was on when he was home with her, was their son, Shepherd. But Zac wasn't home most of the time, which made Kate assume that he was with me. Little did she know that he wasn't usually home with me either.

Whenever any of us would ask Zac where he had been, he would gruffily reply with that he was out, and not to worry our 'pretty little heads' over it. I didn't like it one bit. But there wasn't much of anything I could do about it. There wasnt much that any of us could do. I felt helpless. Not only was Zac my lover, my husband of nearly ten years, he was my little brother. We've been best friends nearly all of our lives. I would do any thing for him, and I knew he would do the same for me.

But why the secrecy? Why all the hiding? I thought about spying on him, tracking the GPS on his phone, to see where it was that he went. But that would cause Zac to lose trust in me. We've been together long enough to know how to piss each other off. I knew, or rather, hoped, that Zac would come to me and tell me what was going on he was ready, but that didn't make me any less impaitent, any less worried. The last time he hid stuff from me was when Kate was pregnant. I really hoped from the pit of my soul that that wasn't the case this time. But what was it? Why would Zac keep stuff from me. I was hurt, and confused. I felt as though I was losing my best friend. He was more than just my best friend, he was my mind, body heart and soul. I hope that everything is alright with him, and that he remembers that we're all here for him when he needs us.

20. Samantha

Taylor and I both noticed that Zac had been pulling away. At first, it didn't seem to be be much of anything, just a little iffy here and there. But as time went by, he was pulling back more and more until finally, we barely saw him except in the morning and at night. He still cuddled in the bed with us as we slept at night, but during the day, we didn't see much of him, except at the studio. But even there, he had an air of aloofness. It was as if he had taken Claudia's mannerisms into himself. He was acting a lot like her, it was almost surreal. Some days, it felt as though he had split personalities, and that Claudia had never left. The thought made my heart ache. I still missed her. I wasn't mad at her anymore. I have to admit I was pissed at her at first, because she left, but I couldn't hold it against her currently. Not until I knew she was back home and safe.

Zac refused to let anyone see his laptop. Before, he had no problems with it, he would leave it out and about where anyone could get on it without a second thought. Then, it went where ever he went. I think if he could have, he would have slept with it. The few times we were able to peek at him when he was online, he was on a website. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, looked like a fan site for Star Wars. But what would be so intriguing on a fan site that someone would be on there for hours upon hours upon hours in a day? I wondered if he even slept when he laid with Taylor and myself. The three of us changed positions nightly. Some nights, I would be in the middle, others, Zac would be in the middle, and then the rest of the time Taylor was in the middle. It wasn't scheduled in the least, it just happened.

Zac left early one morning. It was a Saturday. I was grading papers from the summer school class I had taken up to make a bit of extra cash. Taylor had his kids over, and was preparing to take them out for a 'daddy and kids' day. I loved watching Taylor when he was with his kids. It was one of the few times he let his guard down. When he was home with me, or with Zac, he still had a tiny bit of an edge on. Not major, but just enough to be guarded. But, this was something that we all knew, and was used to, so it didn't bother us. But, when Taylor was with his kids, it was as if he was a child himself. I have a picture of one morning, Taylor was sitting on the floor, cross legged, with all four of his kids climbing over him. The older three are careful of the baby in his lap, but they're still climbing over him as though he were some kind of human jungle gym.

Zac had left without so much of a word. Taylor frowned and looked at me, and all I could do was shrug. We didn't know what he was planning, nor where he went. It went against Taylor's better judgement to track Zac on his phone. But I kept a trail on him. Just in case. Taylor didn't know about it, or, if he did, he didn't let on that he knew.