They strolled down the somewhat crowded airport hall.
"I'm so excited! After everything, we finally get a break! And that too, to one of my dream destinations..." the brunette excitedly rambled. A chuckle was heard from the tall blonde beside her.
"I still don't get what is so exciting about Paris. Sure, there's the Eiffel Tower, but that's it. Thank God we are going to go to Italy right after." Austin nonchalantly said. He really didn't get how Paris was special. Shopping? He's a guy. Love? Oh please. It's only called the city of love because many couples decide to go to Paris for their honeymoon and whatnot.
"It's called the City of Lights too you know!" Ally retorted. "You were thinking out loud again."
Before the conversation could go any further, they had arrived at their gate.
"Flight JK 749 to Paris, France is now boarding."
...
...
"Austin, why didn't we take the business class seating? This is taking too long. And I'm uncomfortable." Ally whispered, leaning over to Austin's seat.
"You wanted to 'fly the normal way'. It was your choice, not mine," he reminded her. Austin had gotten a window seat (score!) and Ally sat beside him. Only thing is, they were sitting in rows of three. They didn't know who was going to sit beside Ally. At least, not yet.
"Here, take a stick of gum. It'll help with your ears," Ally said, holding out a stick of gum to Austin. He accepted and stuck it in his mouth.
A minute later, a man slipped into the aisle seat beside Ally. The smell of alcohol faintly wafted up to Ally's nose, and Austin noticed it too. Both of them sealed their lips and said nothing, as the man was not doing them any harm. Ally tried to relax and shut her eyes.
Austin, on the other hand, gazed on. Her earphones were plugged in, as Ally was listening to music. Her head bobbed up and down to the beat. A small smile was evident on her face.
God, she was beautiful.
He tore his eyes away from her. No. He had to control himself. She couldn't know. She has a boyfriend anyway (the guy was a class A jerk though). Austin instead looked at the other passengers still boarding.
Ally was peacefully listening to music when her phone buzzed, signalling she had a text. Austin noticed, but didn't say anything. She could still use her phone. She opened up the conversation.
I told u I didnt want u 2 go 2 thT trip with him. Y did u go?
She grimaced at the sight of the message (mostly because of the amount of 2's and u's the guy used).She was getting sick and tired of this guy. Once he got a date from her, he just wouldn't leave her alone. She liked someone else anyway. Now enough is enough. With a scowl on her face, she started typing.
What are you going to do about it? Break up with me?
She quickly pressed send.
Ye. Thts what I gonna do.
Her fingers seemed to have a mind of her own.
Good bye Kevin. I'm glad I've gotten rid of you.
She wasn't kidding about the last line. She deleted the conversation, and put her phone into airplane mode. She sighed happily.
"What happened?" Austin asked.
Ally, still in a happy daze, hummed joyfully. "I got rid of an extremely annoying pest. Kevin is out of my life!" She shut her eyes once again. Everything was going right for her. She was going to Paris with her favourite guy in the world. Nothing was going to bring her down.
Austin relaxed into his seat while a grin slowly creeped onto his face.
...
...
Austin woke up to a snoozing Ally on his shoulder. The plane was beginning to descend onto the runway. Austin didn't have the heart to wake up Ally, she needed her sleep. She couldn't sleep last night because of her excitement, and kept him on the phone the whole time she ranted. Not that he minded it. He couldn't sleep anyway.
He felt Ally lift her head off his shoulder. She let out a great yawn.
"Did you have a nice little nap?" Austin asked Ally, teasing her.
"Yeah, I did," she replied drowsily. All of a sudden the plane jerked and she let out a small squeal. Some people looked to Ally, as a rose tint appeared on her face. Austin let out a little snicker, followed by a glare from the brunette. Man, she had sharp ears. Austin sheepishly smiled, and Ally lightened up. She could never stay angry at Austin for long. She'd just crumble under his gaze.
She's beginning to think Austin is a hypnotist. Although, it only works on her. She wonders why (but deep down, she knows exactly why).
"Good morning everyone and welcome to Paris, France. The local time is now 10:53. Enjoy your stay..."
...
...
Austin was scrambling to get his tie done. Ally was almost done getting ready. Austin wanted to be ready before Ally. He just thought it was the right thing to do. He just got to sloppily do his tie when she finally called out "Ready!". He straightened out his tux and waited for her to be done.
They were slightly caught off guard by the fact that they were sharing a room (with two beds). Austin actually liked the arrangement. Secretly, Ally did too.
Austin held out a hand for Ally.
"Ms. Dawson," Austin began in a faux British accent. "Would you do the honour of going to dinner with me?"
Ally played along, with an accent of her own, "Hmm, it depends. Where are we going Mr. Moon?"
"Why of course, at the top of the Eiffel Tower. We shall have a romantic dinner under the stars!"
"Why that sounds lovely Mr. Moon! I shall go with you!"
Both of them walked to their destination. Their hotel was just a block away from the tower. In no time, they were at the base of the tower.
"Lift or stairs?" Austin asked. He looked at his watch. They still had a lot of time until their reservation time.
Ally lightly chewed on her lip. "Stairs."
"Ally, are you sure? You have flats...I don't want your feet to hurt afterwards."
"Don't worry Austin. I'm up for it! We have roughly two hours. We should be able to make it, no problem." Ally said. Austin hesitated for a minute, he looked like he was in deep thought.
"Fine. But if you feel the least bit tired, I'm going to have to carry you up I guess..." Austin flashed her a smile that made her heart stop beating for a second.
Ally shook her head and laughed. The things this guy did to her...
Linking arms, both of them started climbing. They went at their own pace, stopping to look down once in a while. People gave them odd looks because of the way they were dressed as they climbed the stairs.
Obviously, they didn't care.
"Austin, your tie isn't done properly. It's sloppy," Ally noticed.
"Oh. Right." Austin began furiously unknotting it, when Ally's fingers stopped his.
"I'll do it," Ally stated. Both of them noticed the lack of space between both of them. At such a close proximity, it was hard for them to contain themselves. Ally tried her best to focus on tying the knot. Austin, on the other hand, briefly stared down at Ally before doing his best to have his eyes wander elsewhere.
Ally was curious. Could Austin see the tint of pink that would surely be on her cheeks?
Austin wondered. Can Ally feel his heart beating quicker than usual?
Ally finished knotting the tie. Austin could almost swear that her hand lingered on his chest for a bit. It could be just his imagination.
"Thanks," Austin managed to croak out. They continued up the stairs.
...
...
"Thank Goodness they let us here earlier than our booked time. I'm starving!" Austin exclaimed. Ally giggled.
"Austin, I don't think there is a time when you aren't hungry..." Ally said. "I think they let us in early because there is not much of a rush. Not many people come to Paris in early spring."
The waiter came back with a plate of spaghetti. It looked like Austin's order for pasta would come later than expected. Ally took her spaghetti and began happily chewing away. She ate really slow, just to tease Austin.
"Allyyy..." he whimpered. "Stop that! I'm hungry. And you aren't helping it one bit."
Ally laughed and kept eating. Don't look into his eyes, she reminded herself. That is his secret weapon.
Austin smirked. Ally was intentionally avoiding his eyes. He knew that she would crack under his puppy dog eye gaze. He kept his eyes on her. She would inevitably lose her resolve. And she did.
"OKAY! Okay. You can eat some from mine. But only one bite!" Ally exclaimed. Austin thanked her and softly pressed his lips to her cheek in appreciation. She sat there for a while, focussing on the slight tingle his lips left behind. Dull, yet still there.
She liked it- actually, she loved it.
"Here you go Alls. I only ate a bit," Austin stated. He stayed true to his word. Ally didn't respond. Austin got a bit worried.
"Ally?" He waved his hand in front of her, which jerked her back to reality. "Ally, is anything wrong? You kind of zoned out..." Austin asked.
"What? Oh! Oh no, everything is fine. Don't worry!" She responded. "My mind kind of blanked out for a bit."
Lies.
How could she tell him why she was zoned out? She felt like she was catching some kind of fever. A good fever. She was becoming more and more aware of Austin. It drove her crazy, a good kind of crazy.
Austin was very perceptive when it came to Ally. He knew she was lying. He could see a slight rose hue on her face when she was zoned out. He couldn't help but wonder why that was. He decided to ignore it and focus on the food.
...
...
Austin noticed when they were in the hotel parking lot. Ally was walking carefully and winced whenever she walked. Without a word, Austin hoisted her up and hooked his arms under her legs, picking her up bridal style.
"I wasn't kidding when I said I would carry you if your feet started hurting." Austin softly reassured.
Ally whispered. "You don't have to..." Austin just chuckled and went into the hotel lobby with Ally in his arms. Some stared, thinking about how odd it looked. Others stared, cooing at the couple silently. Once they got to the elevator, Austin put her down.
When they stepped out, Austin fished for the access card from his pocket. Once they finally got in, Ally collapsed on the bed. Austin soon did the same (on the other bed, of course). By then, it was close to eleven, yet neither Austin nor Ally felt sleepy. Tired, yes. But not sleepy.
"Hey, if you're not sleepy, there are fireworks going on at midnight today. Something about a spring festival or something. Wanna watch?" Austin asked.
Ally smiled. "I'd love to. Just let me change my clothes first."
"Um yeah. Yeah. Of course. I'll do the same."
When both of them were ready, Austin in jeans and a plaid shirt and Ally in jeans and a red shirt, they both set off. Austin called a taxi, and whispered something in the driver's ear. Ally was straining to listen to what Austin was saying. He wouldn't tell her where they were going.
"Ally, I want you to cover your eyes," Austin stated.
Ally protested, "Why? Austin, where are we going and why-"
"-Ally, please! Trust me on this.
Once the driver arrived at their destination, Austin and Ally got out. Ally still had her eyes closed. Austin slowly took her hands while facing her.
"Okay," Austin started. "We're almost there. Keep your eyes closed. And no peeking!" After a while, Austin let go of her hands. Ally took that as the cue to open her eyes.
Austin had taken her to the River Seine. It was a spectacular view. The Eiffel Tower could be seen from the distance. The city lights gleamed like stars. The moon shone bright in the night sky. It was just...perfect.
Austin was enjoying the view. Though it was a different type of view. He watched as Ally's eyes lit up with amusement. Her mouth hung slightly ajar. The wind pushed her hair backwards.
Ally muttered, "Austin, this is beautiful! How'd you find this place?" She turned around to face him.
"I..I pulled a few strings," Austin stuttered.
Then the fireworks started.
Splashes of red, green, yellow and other colours painted the sky. Bursts of sparkles illuminated the darkness. Yet for both the blond and the brunette, it got boring really quickly.
One look.
One look was all it took for Austin's self restraint to fade away.
He cupped the base of Ally's skull and she moved closer to him. Her name rolled off of his lips in a low yet soft voice. Her forehead rested against his as both of them drank in the sight of each other. Austin subconsciously licked his lips, and then gently pressed them to Ally's.
He felt like he entered heaven.
Both the brunette and the blond kissed other with fervour, spilling out all they wanted to say with their lips. The romantic tension between them all these years had gradually built up, and this was the result of that. Ally's arms were wrapped around Austin's neck, one hand trailing up to play with the ends of his hair. Austin tilted his head to deepen the kiss, tongues now brandished as a weapon for gaining dominance. His hands moved from Ally's face to her waist, gradually pulling her closer and closer to him.
Ally didn't mind.
The fireworks stopped (the ACTUAL fireworks). Austin broke the kiss, breathing heavily and taking a step back. Ally was flustered, her condition the same as Austin's.
Austin got down on both knees, and took Ally's soft hands into his own.
"Ally...will you let me call you mine? Do you want to be my girlfriend?" Austin softly asked. Of course, Ally's answer was obvious. Wordlessly, she embraced Austin, hands resting on his chest. His nose nuzzled her neck gently. She gently muttered 'yes', loud enough for Austin to hear.
They shared another searing kiss that left both of them starry eyed.
As they went back to the hotel, Austin believed. There was something in Paris he couldn't quite put his finger on. Perhaps Paris IS the City of Love.
...
...
I know, I know. The ending was a bit rushed, I think. That was probably the longest one shot I have ever written...
It feels nice!
Oh, and just for your information, both Austin and Ally are twenty years old in this story.
I know I haven't updated in a while or done anything for a long time now. Even for my other stories...whoops! But you know, school and stuff. I find no time!
Stay awesome,
ClearSkies-L