Disclaimer: The characters you recognize here are not mine, never have been, and never will be. I make no profit from this and I'll put them back where I found them when I'm done, promise. I don't own anything you recognise and some things you don't, like We The Kings song, for example. :-)
Warnings: None in particular. :-)
Summary: Austin looks in Ally's book. He knows he shouldn't, but that had never stopped him before, had it? On the bright side, he might just find out something that could change his relationship with Ally. For good. Auslly one shot.
Author's Note: I'm actually really proud of this, whatever you guys think. It took me quite a while to write it, and I actually pretty much wrote the end before the beginning, because I know what I wanted to happen! I hope they're not horribly OOC. I tried to make Austin still a bit full of himself, maybe a little less clueless. And considering in this fic they've been friends for quite a long time, I'm banking on the fact that Ally probably would've loosened up a little after spending all that time with Austin. :-)
Please excuse any spelling errors. Thanks.
Correct me if I'm wrong
He couldn't. He shouldn't. He wouldn't.
She'd kill him.
But that had never stopped him before, had it?
And that was how Austin found himself holding Ally's book and roughly flicking through all the pages, looking for one in particular. It had to be in there, unless she had ripped it out, and Austin knew she wouldn't have done that. (It was her precious book after all.)
He just had to know what was in there. He had to know what she'd written and why it was so important to her.
Why she was so reluctant to show him, her best friend, what she'd been writing about.
It had all started when he'd walked into a relatively quiet Sonic Boom. He supposed it was a bit early to be out buying instruments, but he liked to get there early to see Ally.
Not because he liked her like that or anything, just because he liked to talk to her whilst Trish and Dez weren't around. You know, because they were best friends and he could do that, after all.
Yeah.
Austin looked around and he had immediately noticed something was up. His eyes widened a little and a small smile formed on his face as he watched.
Ally was sitting on the counter.
Sitting on the counter.
The only time he had been allowed to sit on the counter (because Austin Moon doesn't need permission to sit on a counter, even if it is Ally's) was when he had accidently fallen asleep whilst they wrote their first song together, and she then woke him up by clapping cymbals very loudly and right next to his face.
Good times.
She didn't even notice as he walked up to her, and when he stood in front of the counter, she was still unresponsive.
"Al?" He questioned, using his nickname for her. Nothing. "Als? Ally? Ally-Cat?" he waved his hand lightly in front of her face. She was still absorbed in scribbling on her book.
Ally was sitting with her legs out straight in front of her, ankles crossed. Austin decided he would have to do something about this lack of attention he was receiving. He pulled her bare legs forward (she was wearing a skirt okay) towards him, so she was now sitting on the edge of the counter, with her legs dangling off of the side and staring at him with wide eyes.
A lopsided smile appeared on his face, one he seemed to reserve for her. "Finally got your attention, have I?" His laughter bubbled up and she rolled her eyes and smiled, just as he had expected her to. "So, why is a book getting more attention than me?"
"I'm writing something in there."
"Duh." He said, with a hint of exasperation. "Is it that important?"
She hesitated. "Yes."
"Can I see?" He didn't wait for a response as he went to grab the book and she immediately snatched it and held it well out of his grasp.
"Don't touch my book!"
He should've expected that one.
"Ally please tell me?" She shook her head. "Ally!" He whined. "Why not?"
"Because, it's on a need to know basis, and you, mister, do not need to know." She smirked and went to put her book safely in her dad's office, knowing Austin could never get it because he wouldn't dare go in there, even if her dad was away at a convention.
Wouldn't want to upset the father of your potential girlfriend, would you? Austin promptly told his brain and subconscious thoughts to shut up and then he watched the shop until Ally returned.
Little did she know that he was already making a plan, not a particularly good one, but a plan nonetheless.
He felt quite bad as he rifled, not any bit carefully, through her book. She had been so nice to him today, and this was how he was repaying her. He promised himself not to read anything unnecessary, to spare himself of some guilt
He tried not to think about it as his mind left the book and the office and remembered what had happened earlier in the day.
It was lunch, and the shop was predictably empty as all the potential shoppers were out in the food court, eating.
Austin really didn't want to go to the food court today. Dallas was there and he just couldn't bear to see Ally look at him like that. But he doesn't like Ally, oh no of course not.
"Ally, can we order in pizza or something?"
"No eating in the shop." Was her distracted reply. She was fiddling with the cash register and trying to get the little draw to pop out.
"Please," he asked, "It's not like we've never done it before."
"Yeah, but that was at night, when the shop was closed and it was different." She smiled triumphantly as the cash register draw popped open with a little ding. "I don't want to set a bad example to my customers and let them think they can eat in here too."
Same old responsible Ally, Austin thought. "Well how about we close up for a lunch break and eat in the practice room?"
His eyes were pleading as she looked at him and contemplated his offer. "Okay." She caved and smiled as Austin fist pumped the air and pulled out his phone. "But I want Chinese food, not pizza."
Austin smiled lopsidedly. "Done."
Austin had found it.
The important page.
They had stuffed their faces with food and Ally giggled contentedly as she munched on anything and everything out of what they had ordered. Austin tried to impress her by throwing food in the air and then catching it in his mouth. The funniest part was Ally swiping the food out of the air nearly every time before it landed in his mouth.
He didn't mind, though. (It was kind of cute, but he'd never say it out loud.)
He was glad she was getting a bit more adventurous, a bit more open. It made her doubly fun to be around. He'd given up on her stage fright though. She had said there was a good reason, and she'd tell him someday, when she was ready. All he could do was accept that for now.
"What do you want to do now?"
Ally was lying on the floor, using her own arm as a pillow and looking up at him. He smiled. "Shouldn't we go and open the shop?"
"Austin, it's Friday afternoon, I doubt people are really that interested in buying instruments. Let's just leave it closed and they'll have to come back tomorrow if they're that desperate."
"What about your dad?"
"I hardly ever get a vacation Austin; I think I'm entitled to an afternoon off." He had to agree with her there.
"Well let's do something fun then!" Austin grabbed her hands and pulled her up off of the floor, taking in her smile and letting it wash over him in contentment. (That's okay Austin, his mind says you just keep pretending you don't like her and we'll supply the girly, lovey-dovey thoughts for you.)
Trying to regain some of his cool, even though to Ally he had never lost it; he flipped his hair and shoved his hands into his pockets. "We've already written the song for this week, I really don't know how we came up with two last week."
"Me either." She shrugged. "It means we have a week off though."
"Does that mean we don't get to hang out this week?" Austin asks, feeling bold. He tried to put on an easy going smirk as he waited to hear the reply.
"Of course not. Unless you don't want to hang out."
"I want to." He affirms.
They trailed off into silence and he thought about what he enjoyed doing most with Ally, other than writing songs with her (the fact she writes them all is unnecessary, he is a good distraction and helper, sometimes.)
"Do you want to dance?" He says suddenly and her eyes widen a bit because he knows she can't actually dance. "We never did actually get to finish our dance from Trish's quinceañera, and hey, you were good at dancing when it was with me." He winks and wonders if she would think he was really cocky if he popped his collar, or something of the sort.
Probably, he thinks and smiles.
"Do I have to?" Austin is surprised she keeps the whine out of her voice, make it sound rather bored instead.
"Of course you do." He says knowledgably.
"Or what?"
That sounds like a challenge.
"Or I'll just have to do this!" He reaches out, grabbing her by the waist and easily hoists her onto and over his shoulder. She hardly weighs a thing, he thinks. Her shrieks of 'Austin' are deaf to his ear, so he just smiles spinning around in circles. She's hitting his back, but he's not feeling anything. Her laughter is just a giveaway that she's enjoying this as much as he is.
"How do you like that?" He says triumphantly.
"I don't!" She yells, but she's giggling and they both know she doesn't mean it. "Put me down! Or at least stop spinning!"
He chooses to do the latter, not ready to put her down yet.
"That better?" He's smirking and he knows that she knows that, even if she can't see his face.
"A bit." Ally admits.
"I'll put you down if you dance with me."
"A slow dance?"
"That's what I meant."
There's a pause. "Okay."
Austin grins, but before he puts her down, he goes to the door and locks it for good measure. Wouldn't want Ally to escape now would we?
"Right, okay." When he's looking at her again she's smiling, still a head shorter than him and looking just like Ally should. He supposes he should get as much fun out of this as possible, so he does.
"May I have this dance?" he asks. He's bowing far too low and the fake English accent is so contrived but it's great because at least she can't see the way he is giggling like a girl.
"Of course, kind sir." She says playing along.
And they dance.
There's music coming from Austin's iPod, and it's great and fun and Ally really is a horrible dancer, but it doesn't matter.
And as Austin holds her, twirls her, dips her, he realises something. He's happy.
At the top of the page there was a little note to herself saying, new song? and what she had scribbled down underneath it was (what Austin assumed was) the new song.
I'm never going down,
I'm never giving up,
I'm never gonna leave, so put your hands up.
If you like me,
Then say you like me.
Austin thought that would be a good song. She took into consideration what he'd said about love then. Maybe we should write a like song. That day seemed like such a long time ago. Well, it was really. A good few months ago. Underneath the lyrics was her entry. What he had been dying to read since earlier in the day. He skim read the first part, it was pretty boring, and he wasn't really in any of it. He saw his name and started to read from there.
She talked about his recent concert, not a big one, but he did get paid for it. Then she moved on to talk about the song he had ended with, Not a Love Song. It was the next few sentences that has him wide eyed and confused but a little (alotalotalot) tingly all over.
I love the way you get me but, correct me if I'm wrong, this is not a love song, this is not a love song.
I'm correcting you, Austin, you are wrong.
It is a love song.
He knew the song had been about them, and that was why they had called it Not a love song. Seeing Ally writing this in print was confusing because one part of his brain was screaming YESYESYES and the other was saying just months ago you were turning yourself orange and sweaty to prove how much you didn't like her.
He dropped the book on impulse, the words flashing up under his closed eyes, heart beating far too rapidly because... the only reason it would be beating rapidly is because he cares and he's happy and she's right.
Austin leans against the desk in the office. It's ten o'clock on a Friday night and he's going to have to make some decisions. He's going to have to call his parents and say he's staying at a friend's house, and he's going to have to go to Ally's and pray that she won't kill him if he can come up with the right answer.
But for now, he's just going to lean against this desk and think, god damn think about this because this decision could change everything.
He thought about it.
Austin really thought about it.
As he walked towards Ally's house, with a back-pack filled with stuff he would need for an overnight stay, he knew he's thought about it long and hard and he'd made the right choice.
He didn't really think about what he was doing at first. He just knocked on Ally's door and asked if he could stay over and she said sure because Austin was always welcome there, with or without Ally's dad present.
He put his stuff by the sofa and sat on it, while Ally sat next him, curling herself into a little ball and he smiled, just watching her.
It was only when she asked "So is there a particular reason that you're here, Austin?" that he remembered he hadn't planned what to say and he would probably mess this up.
"Er, yes actually." He was not nervous, no he was not. "But if you could refrain from speaking, yelling and or physically abusing me until the end, that would be great, thanks." She just nodded and looked apprehensive.
"Well, this is going to consist of me speaking a lot, and probably quickly because I'm only letting my swagger abandon me for so long, okay Ally?" She nodded again and he sort of wished she would speak, but she was only doing as asked.
"Okay... go." Ally says and this time he nods.
"Don't hit me, but... I read your book." Her eyes flash, but she remains motionless and Austin thanks God for that. "I don't want you to be mad, because I'm not mad. I'm rather happy actually."
"When you were writing this morning, I just... I just had to know what you'd written. So I found out. And this isn't coming out as romantically as I'd hoped, but I saw..." Gulp. "I saw what you wrote about not a love song and I thought about it a lot and, you were right, like you usually are."
Her mouth drops open a little and he smiles because it's going to be okay.
"Ally, today, I had an amazing time with you, even though we didn't really do anything that special, it was special to me. I was wrong, all wrong about you. I know it's been a long time since I turned orange and sweaty for you," He hears laughter. Good. "But, I've changed my mind okay, and so have you."
"Austin." All she says is his name and he hasn't been looking at her, but now he looks directly into her eyes and she's looking at him like he's the best thing she's ever seen.
"That is so, so sweet of you and even though you had to read my book to act on this," Insert angry glare, "I'm really, really happy." Her smile proves it.
He stands up, opens his arms and says "Hug" and she all but leaps into his arms, and once again he's happy. He notices for the first time, how with her height, he can rest his head on top of hers perfectly and she can bury her face in his chest rather nicely too.
He's nuzzling her hair and being overwhelmed by strawberries as he says, "Well, that was so easy." And Ally swats his arm without even moving from his embrace. He can feel her laughing and he's laughing too.
"Thank you." Ally says, mumbling, and then: "I love you." That's almost a whisper.
"I love you too." Austin replies. Because even though they might be new to the whole dating thing, he did love her, as a friend, as a sister, so he knew it was going to be just as easy to love her a girlfriend too.
A/N: Tada! It's rather long and I considered splitting it in two, but yeah, I just couldn't! I hope you all enjoyed reading.
If anyone's really enjoying it, I had a little idea for a sequel, just random and probably very short, but if you're up for it then I am :-)
Please review and check out my other A&A story, thank you!
- Sophie.