Hey, guys! This was actually supposed to be up three days ago, my bad. Ah weeeell. Merry Christmas!
This chapter actually isn't really Christmas, but the next few are. Enjoy!
In which they all grow a little older, do things a little dumber, and get a little wiser. Christmas AU. Sequel to SACC.
Disclaimer: oh-oh I don't own anything! Those elves and reindeer are running...
Super unedited, sorry guys! Fair warning, this is rated T, so they're a little more mature than in SACC...
Sweet Dreams Can't Wait 'Till Morning
Chapter 1- I Know this Couldn't Fade
See, I gotta tell you girl,
There's nothing quite like you,
I love the things you do.
I think I'm falling head over heels.
-R5 "Wanna Be Your Everything"
can feel the ground shake. The rumbling of bouncing feet, the uproar of screams, the vibrations from the adrenaline coasting through my veins as my feet pound on the worn-down wood in anticipation.
And then I'm running. Running out, right before the crowd of unsatiated fans, the ones who show me their posters and t-shirts and cell phone cases, the ones who buy glow sticks to hold up through the slow songs, and whip out their phones for the fast ones. They're the people who blow up my Twitter, and have made me chance cell phone number twice already.
These are the people who keep me on my toes, who keep me running.
They're the people who have lost their voices by the end of the night, despite the fact that I can still hear my name as I stumbled backstage, sweaty and dazed, the adrenaline still pumping through my veins as I high-five each of my band members, my shirt thrown over my shoulder, my hair a wet mess that's been pushed away from my forehead.
And as soon as the drummer has turned on his heels for the buffet table, a sudden weight drops on my back, two thin arms wrapping around my neck, two legs around my waist. My hands instinctively grab the girl's thighs as she leans down, her mouth beside my ear as she whispers excitedly, "Did I scare you?"
I smile, a chuckle erupting from my throat as she pouts. "Sorry, Alls. I told you, it's impossible to scare Austin Moon."
She scoffs, jumping off my back, and I swing around to face her. "I would've sworn I was incognito..."
Her small nose wrinkles as my face leans closer to her. "I have a sixth Ally sense, Babe."
Ally's small hand pushes my face away, claiming, "Ew. You're smelly," although she doesn't make a move to restrain me when I lean down for a quick kiss. "And you taste funny."
I quirk an eyebrow. "But you like it."
She shakes her head. "You need a shower."
My arms tighten around her, and I lean closer. "Course. Care to join?"
And then she's shrieking and whacking my chest, turning the shade of Tobasco as I try and fail to contain my inevitable laughter.
"Austin! That's not funny! Now let go of me before your scent rubs off on me!"
And of course, she comes to regret those words as I pull her tighter to me, effectively rubbing my sweaty face in her hair and my moist arms all over her top.
She's practically crying now, so I throw her over my shoulder and take off down the hall, until I reach my dressing room.
She lays on the couch as I take a quick shower, and she's writing something in the book I gave her for Christmas, already a third of the way full. Slowly, I slide in behind her, watching as she stares at the page intently, tapping the pencil on her chin and nibbling her bottom lip.
We sit silently for a moment before she looks up.
"You smell much better now."
"Thanks."
"So, I talked to my music theory professor today..."
I place my chin on top of her head. "Oh yeah? What'd they say?"
"He said that Starr Records is looking into fresh songwriters, which I suspect is the doing of Kira. And he said that they've been checking out my reputoi and might consider me, which I also suspect is having to do with Kira. So I need to write a new song for them to check out."
My arms snake around her, right beneath her chest. "That's amazing, Alls. I'm so proud of you."
She shifts a little. "Yeah, that's what I thought at first. But then I started writing and it's all turning out as scraps and I'm so stressed under all this pressure. They need it by next week, and I feel like I'm becoming an insomniac because of it."
I shake my head and press a kiss to her temple. "Why don't you actually get some sleep tonight? I'll help you work on it in the morning if you want."
She looks up at me. "Are you staying over?"
"If you want me to."
She nods. "Okay."
It's when she asks me something that I understand her worries a little more.
We're resting soundly, surrounded by warm covers, and she's tucked into my side, Little Nelson sleeping peacefully in the next room over.
"Austin?" She whispers, her breath grazing my chest as she tangles her legs with my flannel-covered ones.
"Hmm?" I mumble, my cheek resting on top of her head, my thumb drawing lazy patterns on the back of her shoulder.
She moves he head to look up at me in the dim light. "What if Starr doesn't hire me? What if there's someone better?"
I move my hand to her back, rubbing soothing circles through the cotton material of her shirt. "Then we find somewhere else. Bleu Records isn't too far from here."
She sighs and looks back down. "I guess. I just really want this to work."
I kiss the top of her head. "It will."
"You promise?" she mumbles weakly against my chest.
"I promise."
•
I walk into her apartment, holding the check that Nelson's mom had written for her. She's jumping around the room, her arms flailing about while some song blasts through the speakers attached to her phone. The Christmas decorations have been gone for about half a year, and the whole place still feels bare without the excessive green and pine and cinnamon scent.
Leaning in the doorway, I watch her dance around, her arms and legs flying about I uncoordinated bursts. Her eyes are closed and she's singing at the top of her lungs, a song she claims that she doesn't love. She does her best to strike a strong pose as she shouts, failing as she does.
OOOOOH HOOOO!
SHUT UP AND DANCE WITH ME!
I laughed and stood straight, my voice taking her by surprise. "Alls, that song is like a year old."
She looked up at me and stumbled. "I'm trying to get in the mood," she giggled.
Walking up to her, I grabbed her by the hips and pulled her into me "You want to get in the mood with that song?"
Ally slapped my chest. "No, not that mood! For the song!"
I laughed again, nuzzling my nose into her smooth neck. "Shame," I mumbled, pressing a soft kiss to her skin. She giggled at the feeling, tilting herself back away from me. I simply raised an eyebrow, tightening my arms around her and pulling her in for a proper kiss. Despite her protestations, she eventually melted into it, her hands running up my chest, into my hair.
She lets out a small whine as I pull away, her eyes still closed and her hands lightly tugging my hair. Chuckling, I press one last kiss to her lips before leaning my forehead against hers.
"So, how about that song?"
"It can wait."
I laugh. "Now you're in the mood."
"I feel like I shouldn't even a argue with you anymore."
"It's been six months."
"It's been way too long."
"Oh?"
She blushes bright red. "Wha- Aus- you know what I mean!"
I barely hear her, as I'm laughing way too hard. "Okay, okay. At least you're finally on the same page as me."
She huffs. "Why am I even dating you again?"
"'Cause I love you."
"Austin, please," Ally sighs, shutting Nelson's bedroom door behind her. "Something's up, I know it. Last time you acted like this, the media released all those rumors about me, and Nelson being my son and you tried to lie about shoving that reporter."
I shove my hands in my pockets as I approach her.
She'll never live that one down, will she?
"Alls, I always act like this."
"Austin, you would've beat him up if it weren't for Dez. And that was eight months ago."
"So I may have overreacted once. But that was personal. They can't say those things about my girlfriend."
Ally shoots me a look as she makes her way to her bedroom door. "Austin, everything the media says about you is personal."
Before she can open her door, I sidestep and catch her wrist, pulling her into me. "Yeah, well this is different."
"Care to tell me why?" She asks, as I press a featherlight kiss to her neck.
"Later," I mummer softly, kissing up her jaw to her lips.
"Austin-"
"Ally, we haven't gotten a minute to ourselves for the past two months since I went back to the studio and you started working on the label applications. It can wait."
This seems to shut her up, and she looks like she might even smile as I lean down to seal our lips together. Her arms sling around my neck and my hands slide down to her hips as I take a step, pressing her against her bedroom door. My lips travel over to her neck, biting and nipping as I kiss my way down.
A sound a of content escapes Ally's mouth, and I squeeze her hips and press her harder into the door. She sighs a breathy version of my name, stretching her neck as I scrape my teeth along her sweet skin. Working back up, I place open kisses along her collarbone, up to her jaw, back to her lips.
Arching her back, her hands trail up into my hair, tugging roughly and pulling a growl from the back of my throat. Ally tightens her grip around me, before hopping up and wrapping both legs around my waist. I wrap one arm around her, holding her closer as my other hand reaches for the doorknob.
Ally's always had a thing for falling asleep on the left side of the bed. No matter what, she must have the left edge. Not the center, or the right- she can't stand the feeling. Although, she has no problem waking up in any of those three places. Especially if I'm there.
My arm extends beneath her head, having lost circulation a while ago. Her breath tickles my chest, warm and light. My fingers twirl her tangled hair, and I know that she's about to wake up. She's always been a light sleeper. Moving my hand, I run my thumb over her hairline by her temple, and we lay in silence for a few minutes before I speak up.
"How long do I need to pet you before I get a good morning?"
She giggles, her eyes still shut. "Meow."
I laugh myself, pulling my arm back to get up. Ally's hand instantly flies to my chest, pulling me back down for a sweet kiss before I get up. Fishing my jeans off the floor, I slide back into them before making my way back to the bed. Ally reaches up and latches onto my hand, and I climb back on top of the sheets, hovering over her.
"You want pancakes?" I ask, resting my forehead on hers.
Her eyes flutter shut and her arms wind around my lower back. She opens her mouth to speak, but suddenly shuts it and opens her eyes with a look of confusion.
She's found it.
She pulls the envelope from where it stuck out of my back pocket, and I roll off to her side so she can read it.
"Ally Dawson...519 Warwick Avenue... New York... Starr Records... Wait, Starr Records?"
Her eyes flicker to me as I prop my head up with my arm and gesture for her to open it.
Carefully, she begins to tear open the envelope. Her hands awkwardly fumble with the paper inside, and I softly stroke her hip with my thumb to calm her. She begins to read the letter upside down, and I realize just how nervous she is. I gently take it from her hands and flip it, handing it back for her to read.
"Miss Allison Dawson," she begins aloud, her voice unsteady and low. "I would like to personally write to you in regards to your songwriting application, sent in about two months- ohmygod. Oh my God. Wha- Austin!"
Skimming down the page as fast as I can, I panic and hurry to read what she saw. And then I see it.
In the very last paragraph, the very last sentence, it says clear and unmistakable, "We look forward to working with you."
We look forward to working with you.
-Jimmy Starr
Her eyes must have jumped to the bottom of the page. Still, we both saw it. She got the job. She got the job.
Ally squeals in excitement, tossing the paper into the air and throwing her arms around me. I wrap her in the tightest hug I can muster without hurting her, a smile overtaking my whole face.
"I got the job," she sighs into my neck, almost as if she can't believe it. "I got it."
"I know," I say, running my fingers through her hair. "I'm so proud of you, babe."
I feel her eyelashes flutter and her eyes close as though she's dreaming. "It's going to be so different," she states. "All of it." Her lips curve against my skin and she hugs me closer. "So this is why you were acting up yesterday."
"Yup, pretty much."
"You know you can never keep a secret from me."
"I know."
Thump-thump.
"Ally? Are you awake?"
Ally quickly pulls away and looks up at me in a flash of panic, but I simply send her an easy smile, getting up and tossing her my shirt from the floor before opening the door.
Nelson warily stumbles into the room, carefully looking around as he makes his way to the bed.
"Hey, little Narts. Are you okay?" Ally asks, lifting him up onto her lap.
He nods and rubs his tired little eyes. "I heard a scream and I thought you got scared."
"I'm okay, sweetie," she assures him. "I just got really excited for something."
He nods again before slumping against her chest.
She looks up at me and smiles like a kid on Christmas. Who says Christmas in August can't be a thing?
Ya guys like? This was kinda just the starter chap, so don't worry, Christmas is coming!
Reviews could be a cool Christmas present, don't ya think?