A/N: I, unashamedly, love A Cinderella Story and watch it nearly every time I see it on television. So after watching it a few more times on Netflix and then reading some stories on here, I decided to form a story around a single idea: What if Austin and Ryan had known Sam and Carter as kids because of Hal Montgomery and Andy Ames being friends, and because of Andy bringing Austin with him whenever he goes to see Hal at the diner; what if someone else was trying to uncover Cinderella's identity because Austin knew but refused to tell? Here is what I have to answer my idea/questions, and I hope you enjoy it; R&R!
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
Once upon a time, in a far away kingdom, there lived a beautiful little girl and her widowed father. Okay, so it wasn't really that long ago, and it wasn't a far away kingdom. It was the San Fernando Valley, and it only looked far away because you could barely see it through all of the smog. But to a young Samantha Montgomery, the Valley was her kingdom.
When Sam, as she liked to be called, was three years old, her mother was killed in a tragic car accident. Growing up, Sam had three friends she was really close to; but no one, no one could have been closer to her than her father, Hal Montgomery. He was Sam's real best friend, and Sam was his. Sure, he would tell you it was Rhonda, who worked at and managed the diner he owned, or Andy, his teammate from his high school football days who owned a local car wash. Sam would tell you that Carter, Andy's son Austin, or Ryan was her best friend; but everyone knew the truth. No one understood them more than they understood each other, and that was a fact.
Sam had everything she could have ever wanted as a girl. Hal owned the coolest diner in the Valley; Austin's dad, Andy, always brought him and Ryan by to see Sam after his son's little league football practices; and Carter was always willing to play whatever part Sam assigned him in their many games of make-believe. The diner's staff were like a second family to Sam, and Rhonda was the closest thing she had ever had to a mother. Her life was perfect, until Fiona that is.
Hal met Fiona at Sam's eighth birthday party. Everything had been going fine. Carter had been blowing one of those party horn/whistle things into the side of Sam's head, Ryan was making faces at her from across the table, and Austin was smiling so wide at her that she couldn't not smile back. Her other friends were all around the table, too, and Elanor, one of the waitresses, brought out the cake. Hal was taking a picture of Sam blowing out her candles when Fiona, who was leaving the diner, literally bumped into him. The two had a whirlwind romance, which Sam couldn't stand, and were soon married. Along with her new step-mother, Sam gained two step-sisters. Brianna and Gabriella were not the most in sync of twins, so Sam would secretly (as in only to the three boys) refer to them as her "out-of-step-sisters." Fiona was not exactly kind to Sam, but the girl tried to brush it aside.
"As long as my dad is happy, I'll be okay. I know I can handle however Fiona treats me.", she had said one day to Austin, as the now-ten year old boy had seemed concerned with how his friend was being treated.
"If you say so, Sam. I'll ask you that question again someday, and I bet you anything you'll have a different response!", he said, looking up at her from his place on her bedroom floor.
"Oh yeah, what's your wager?", the now-nine year old girl asked.
"You learned that word playing poker with your dad, didn't you? Anyway, I bet you...hm, I bet you a free chocolate milk shake from the diner that your answer will be different!", Austin responded.
"So what if I did? And you are on! If my answer hasn't changed, you are going to buy me a chocolate milk shake from the diner! Why are you on my floor again?", Sam asked, looking at him from her place on her bed.
"I'm down here because you said we couldn't let Bria and Gabby know I sleep in your bed when I stay over. You said they'd make fun of you and say you got weird, and totally not real, boy germs from me. May I climb up to your tower now, Rapunzel?", Austin replied with a roll of his eyes.
Sam nodded, and the two of them went to sleep almost as soon as Austin was under the blankets, though she was quick to tell him. "I'm not Rapunzel, Austin; I'm Cinderella."
When Hal went to wake them up the next morning, he smiled at the sight of Sam curled up in Austin's arms. They were just kids after all, and it was completely innocent. Before waking the two children, Hal decided to take a picture to show Andy later on. So, grabbing his old, but trusty, Polaroid camera, he snapped a picture of the two and let it develop.
Austin and Sam didn't know about the picture when Austin went home that afternoon. Andy had no clue about it because Austin's mother had been who picked him up. Hal never showed anyone the picture because he never had the chance.
The night after Austin slept over, the Northridge earthquake struck the Valley. Hal had moved Sam underneath her doorway, and he heard Fiona calling for his help. He was conflicted. His little Sam was scared and shaking, but his wife was also scared.
"Don't go!", Sam cried.
"I'll be right back!", Hal assured her, but he was wrong.
Hal Montgomery died in the earthquake. His will was never found, so Fiona got everything. She got the diner, the house, and (much to her dismay) Sam. Fiona insisted that Sam move all of her things into the attic and use that as her bedroom so the twins could have their own rooms, and all Sam could do was neatly pack everything she owned into a cardboard box and walk up the stairs.
When Sam turned fifteen, Fiona forced her to start working at the diner, which had been renamed Fiona's and had a completely different menu. That wasn't the only thing new, either. As soon as Fiona could get her hands on Hal's money, she had plastic surgery done, dyed her hair, and got contacts to replace her glasses. As far as Sam was concerned, Fiona was one botched surgery away from looking like Donatella Versace.
When she turned sixteen, Sam had been given Hal's old Mustang under the pretense that Fiona thought the car was old and ugly, therefore it was only worthy of Sam. She would have sold it had she known where its title was; but she didn't, so it went to Sam.
Along with the Mustang, there were very few things Fiona could not take away from Sam: the diner staff, Carter, Ryan, and Austin. Don't think that she didn't try, but it never worked. The three boys would stand by Sam and the diner staff no matter how pointless an argument got, and the diner staff treated all four children as if they were their own, which they kind of were. Fiona managed to gain the upper hand slightly, as she had made it to where outside of the staff and the children, she was the only one who knew Sam had friends. Everyone else believed her when she said Sam only had Carter, and no one thought to question the statements she made. No one, except perhaps Rhonda, wanted to argue with Fiona Montgomery.
On the morning on which our story starts, Sam was woken up at six o'clock in the morning by Fiona screaming over the intercom system she had installed to make ordering Sam around easier. Sam brought Fiona her breakfast, and then hurried off to the diner where she had to work until eight, not that Fiona cared that it would make Sam late for school.
"People go to school to get smarter so that they can get a job. You already have a job, so it's like skipping a step.", her step-mother had told her.
Rhonda, on the other hand, was a completely different story. She caught Sam still at work at 7:10, and she stepped in and told the girl to go to school before she was late. Sam tried to argue, but Rhonda wouldn't let her.
"No buts. You just leave Fiona and her big butt to me.", she said in a no-nonsense tone that made Sam unable to go against Rhonda's word.
So, Sam left and made her way to Carter's house to pick him up for school. It was the unspoken rule that Sam picked up Carter for school and Austin picked up Ryan because the football players were a year ahead, technically, than Sam and Carter. Although, some days, Sam wished they didn't have that rule. Like today, for instance, when Carter walked out of his house in a red and white outfit with a gold chain that was his "Snoop-dizzle" look, as he put it.
"Dad, you see what I have to ride to school in? No offense, Sam. Don't you feel at least a little sorry for me?", Carter asked his father, who was waxing his Mercedes in the driveway.
"No, I feel sorry for the three cars we bought you that you totaled.", Mr. Ferrell responded.
"Carter, I am not riding to school with you while you are dressed like that.", Sam added, and Carter huffed.
"Fine. Take two!", he called before the so-called method actor marched inside his house to change his outfit.
By the time the morning announcements had started, Sam and Carter were pulling into the student parking lot. Sam went to pull into the spot beside from where Austin usually parked, but a white convertible swerved and took up both of the available parking spots.
"Snooze you lose!", the girls inside it had yelled.
"Shelby wants me so bad!", Carter pined as he gazed at the girl driving the car.
"Carter, if Austin believes he can do better than Shelby Cummings, so can you.", Sam said with an eye-roll that rivaled Austin's.
"Whatever, look there's another space.", Carter said, pointing to where a car was backing out of its spot, the driver obviously going home sick for the day or skipping school.
Sam went to pull into the spot, only to slam on her brakes to avoid a crash with a very familiar Mercedes SUV. It was Austin, Ryan, and their teammate David. Sam shot Austin a "You're going to be sorry when I get a hold of you" glare, and the older teen had to fight back a blush.
"The white zone is for cool people only! No geeks!", Shelby yelled to them through her friend's megaphone, and David looked over at Sam and Carter.
"Hey, Diner Girl, can I get a breakfast burrito to go?", he called sarcastically.
Sam drove away, missing what was said next.
"David, dude, I swear that if you ever call her that again, I will find some way to make your life miserable for as long as humanly possible. Her name is Sam.", Ryan had growled.
"Aw, Ryan has a crush on Diner Girl! Not! That's just, ew, Ryan!", Shelby responded.
"I don't have a crush on her, Shelby. Sam and I have been friends since we were kids. If you don't remember, before it was Fiona's, the place was called Hal's Diner. Her father owned the place, and I used to go there after every little league football practice. A real friend will always be there for you, so maybe you should get some and find out what that's like.", Ryan was so angry at this point that Austin was secretly praying he didn't reveal the biggest secret the group of four friends had.
"I have real friends!", Shelby said with a big smile, gesturing to either girl beside her.
"Really, because I'd bet you anything these two wouldn't stick around if your parents cut you off or lost all of their money. Austin, let's get out of here before I slap someone!", Ryan was almost at his breaking point, so Austin followed his friend, leaving a dumbstruck quartet in their wake.
"Are you going to text her and apologize for almost smashing the front end of Hal's car?", he heard Ryan ask him as he pulled out his cell phone.
"That is something I need to do in person, Ry. I'm asking her to meet me at Friendship Circle in a few minutes.", Austin answered.
Ryan nodded before heading off toward his AP Chemistry class. Austin, meanwhile, sat down at Friendship Circle, a circular bench that wrapped around some plant life. He had barely sent his text to Sam when the girl sat down beside him. She looked upset, and Austin sighed before pulling her close.
"I'm sorry I almost hit your car with mine earlier. David was being his normal, idiotic self, not telling me about the parking spot until I had almost passed it. To be fair to David, it wouldn't have mattered if Shelby hadn't taken up two parking spots.", he told her, not caring who saw him hugging the blonde girl close to his chest.
"I forgive you, but what do you plan on telling anyone who asks why you're squeezing me to death?", Sam asked him with a laugh.
"Simple, I'll say I was apologizing to my best friend for almost totaling her Mustang which is one of the only things she has left of her father, who was an awesome man who wouldn't want his daughter to put up with the treatment she gets from Fiona.", and they were back on that topic.
"Austin Ames, it has been eight years. I still haven't changed my sentiments on being able to survive Fiona, and you are still not getting a free milkshake.", Sam retorted, and she felt Austin's chest rumble beneath her as he laughed.
"One of these days, Sam, when I do actually ask that question, you are going to see that I am right. Are we still on for tonight?", he asked her as he gently ran his fingers through her golden hair.
"Yeah, we are. I'll text you when Fiona and the twins go to sleep.", she replied quietly.
Every year for the past eight years, Fiona, Ryan, Sam, and Austin had a ritual they followed. On the anniversary of Nicole Montgomery's death, Fiona would go out and party from seven o'clock P.M. until midnight at a friend's costume party, as she was blissfully unaware of the significance the day had for Sam. The twins never waited up for their mother and always went to bed around eleven. Fiona would get home around a quarter after midnight, and Sam would text Austin. He would be at Ryan's house for a "sleep over" that was always a cover for Austin spending the night at Sam's house because Ryan lived down the street from her. As soon as he got the all clear from Sam, Austin would go to her front door and wait for Sam to disable the alarm system. Once that was done, he would go inside, go up to her room, and would either hold her all night long while she grieved for the mother she barely knew or read her to sleep. The next morning, they would wake up at five-thirty in order to hide Austin's being there from Fiona and the twins. Austin would go out the front door and make it back to Ryan's by six, and Sam would get started on making breakfast for her step-family. If the anniversary fell on a Friday or Saturday, they would sleep in until seven; Austin was always gone by eight. Only Ryan and Carter knew about these yearly sleepovers, but neither of them knew about what was inside the bottom drawer of Sam's dresser.
You see, while the sleepovers were the biggest secret the group had, Sam and Austin shared an even bigger secret. Neither she nor Austin had found it necessary to tell their two best friends that they had been dating for four years or that Sam's bottom drawer was full of nothing but Austin's clothes for the secret sleepovers that happened at other times throughout the year. Only Rhonda knew, and she had kept closer watch on Austin from the very moment they told her.
"As long as I don't have to sleep on your floor, I'll be waiting.", he said with a chuckle, and Sam shook her head at him.
"When have you ever actually slept on the floor, Austin Ames? Even when it was all four of us at my house, we shared the couch and made Carter and Ryan sleep on the floor.", she reminded him with a smile and a laugh.
"And they hate us for it, still, this very day!", Austin said jokingly.
"You can be such a dork sometimes.", Sam told him.
"All for you, my princess, I promise.", he said, much was to her amusement.
"How kind of you, my prince.", she said as Shelby and her minions stalked over to them.
"Austin, what are you doing with the looser?", Shelby's screeches reached their ears, and Austin let out a groan before turning to face his, basically, number one stalker.
"Shelby, to add on to what Ryan said earlier, Sam is my best friend, too. You will not call her names, and you will not bully her. If you continue to do so, Ryan and I can just quit hanging around all four of you, David included. Oh, and before any of you even think about it, her friend Carter, the drama geek, is my friend, too. I don't tolerate bullies, especially when my friends are their victims.", Austin said in a barely civil tone.
"But, but…", Shelby trailed off, unable to form a coherent thought or sentence.
"No buts, Shelby. So go on and take your skinny butt to class before the bell rings. Oh, and because I know you all so well at this point, Sam and I have the ability to be late to class because we both happen to have free period/study hall first period. Now, go!", Austin ordered, and Sam giggled.
"Do you and Rhonda spend that much time together?", she asked him.
"Why are you asking me that?", he replied.
"This morning, while I was at work, she told me to get to school and leave Fiona's 'big butt' to her. I know, I know, I shouldn't have been at work because we have an AP English test second period. But I've told you before, no working means no Fiona, which (as glorious as 'No Fiona' sounds) means no money for Princeton. Have you got your letter yet?", she asked him, and he sighed.
"No, but I'm expecting it soon. I just hope I see it before my dad does.", Austin said, only for Sam to smack him upside the head.
"You haven't told him about wanting to be a writer yet? Austin Michael Ames, you can't be a closet poet forever! Look, you know how I feel about you and your choice in college; but if you don't tell your dad soon, you'll find yourself as USC playing football and waiting to declare for the NFL draft.", Sam's words were harsh, but they were true.
"I know, I know, but my dad quit trying to get to know me eight years ago tomorrow. He still thinks that's my dream, and he won't shut up about football long enough to hear me out about my real dreams.", Austin said, and Sam caught on to the plural form his last word took.
"You have more than one dream, Austin?", she asked him.
"Yeah, and I'll tell you about it tonight, okay? As for tomorrow night, would you be so kind as to accompany me to the Halloween dance, my princess?", he asked, and Sam smiled.
"I'd love to, Austin. By chance, would you say no if I asked you to study for the aforementioned English test with me until the period is over?", she asked in response to his asking a question in response to her original question.
"No, I would say yes if you did.", he answered, and that was how they spent the remainder of first period.
That night, like clockwork, Fiona passed out in her room just after she got home at midnight. Sam was ecstatic that her step-mother had gotten home and gone to bed earlier than usual. As soon as she heard Fiona's snores, Sam texted Austin and turned off the alarm system. Within five minutes, she saw Austin jogging up to the door as she looked out the front window.
Silently, Sam let Austin into the house, and the two went up the stairs and into Sam's bedroom after Sam turned the alarm system back on. With nothing more than a look from Austin, Sam got into her bed, got under the covers, and waited on him to get into bed beside her with her fairy tale book; it was the very book Hal had read to Sam the night he died, but Austin didn't know that. What Austin did know was that Sam kept the book hidden away in order to keep it from being taken by Fiona.; the horrible woman had tried to go through all of Sam's belongings after Hal died, not that Sam actually ever found out why.
"You've been either at work or doing chores for Fiona all day, aside from when Shelby and her so-called friends were tormenting you. I am going to read you a story, and then we are going to sleep. It's been a long day, my darling princess, and I have waited all of this entirely too long day just to fall asleep with you in my arms.", Austin told her softly, and Sam smiled a sad smile at him.
"I love it when you read to me, my prince.", she said, barely able to keep her voice level.
"Sam, what's wrong?", he asked, hearing the sadness in her voice.
"I haven't touched that book since the day I put it on that shelf. It was the last book my dad read to me before the earthquake.", she told him, and Austin set the book down at the end of the bed before turning to face Sam.
"Do you want me to pick a different book?", he asked, but she shook her head.
"No, because I can't avoid a book of fairytales forever. That would be something so childish that even my dad would be upset with me for doing.", Sam insisted, so Austin opened the book to what he knew was Sam's favorite story: Cinderella.
"Once upon a time…", he began to read to her; and before Sam knew it, Austin was saying the final sentence of the tale and closing the book. "And they lived happily ever after."
"I love you, Austin.", Sam said sleepily as her boyfriend moved from the bed to place the book the corner of her desk.
"And I love you. That brings me to what I said I'd tell you about tonight. Sam, you are my best friend, you know things about me that I've never told anyone, and you are the best thing that's ever happened to me. If we hadn't been introduced by our dads as kids, I don't even know who I'd be right now. I don't ever want to lose you, so this is my way of trying to prevent that.", he said as he pulled a black velvet box from the pocket of his sweat pants (A/N: Those do exist, people! Take it from a theatre kid who's gone through a Hell Week or two, sweat pants with pockets do exist!) and handed the box to his girlfriend.
Sam opened the box with one hand to find a beautiful silver ring shaped like a tiara in front of a second ring which was a bit larger and a bit more masculine. She felt the tears spring to her eyes as she turned to face Austin. At this point, Austin had taken Sam's free hand in his own.
"Samantha Helene Montgomery, I love you with all of my heart, and I would be honored if you would accept this promise ring.", Sam barely heard his words before she kissed him.
"Yes, Austin, of course I will.", she said quietly as they broke apart, and Austin slipped the first ring onto Sam's finger.
The ring was a perfect fit, and Sam loved the way it looked like a tiara. She found herself starring at it, and its match that now rested on Austin's ring finger, when she woke the next morning with her boyfriend's arms around her. Her girlish giggling was what woke Austin from his peaceful slumber and sweet dreams of going to Princeton with his girlfriend.
"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty.", Sam told him, to which Austin did the most Austin thing he could do and rolled his eyes.
"Though I am not a princess, good morning to you, too, Cinderella.", he replied as he placed a kiss on her temple.
"As much as I'd love to stay here and debate the likely hood of you being a princess all day, we have to get up. It's already eight, Fiona and the girls will be awake by ten in order to get to the salon by eleven, so you have to be out of here by nine.", she said, and Austin let out a dramatic sigh.
"Fine, I understand. I will be gone before the hour is upon us, my princess.", he said, his words sounding more like the (as Sam called it) closet poet side of himself.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Please don't forget to review, and I shall try to update soon!