Happy Valentine's Day! I hope it is/was fun!
!-!-! WARNING !-!-!
This story contains ALCOHOL and DRUNK PEOPLE and mentions, I guess, of making out. Not the normal kind where it's just a kiss but something more...intense, for lack of a better word.
This story is darker (I suppose) than most of my stories but it ends sweet. Nothing happens beside kissing, though.
I wrote this awhile ago and was debating whether or not to post it but Beanka Juarez convinced me I should.
For that reason, I dedicate this to Beanka Juarez. Best FIPOAT ever. :)8
That jerk!
He swore he would never forget again but yet he does!
And worse, he blew her off to go to some party!
Ally Dawson storms through the open door into the packed, stuffy house. Dozens of people are in every direction and music booms so loud you can hear it two houses down, not to mention the bass, which you can feel down the block. She pushes past clumsy bodies, elbowing her way to find Goldilocks. When she gets her hands on him, oh, she's going to-
She sees him and freezes.
There he is, in his smoldering black leather jacket, leaning against the wall, chatting up, more likely flirting, with some bombshell blonde with long legs and long hair and a figure worth flaunting, which by the way she dresses, she most likely knows.
Suddenly, she feels like she can't breathe and feels steaming hot. The walls feel too close and the people seem to invade her space. Everything feels too cramped and she needs to get out of there. Now!
Before he sees her.
She stumbles back before clawing her way back. When she finally gets view of the door, she hears shouting, "Hey Ally, wait up!"
Oh no.
Unfortunately, he gets a hold of her.
"Hey Ally!" he smiles, genuinely happy, "I didn't know you were gonna be here!" he shouts over the music.
"Neither did I!" she responds, nervous, and he looks confused, "I thought we were gonna write tonight!"
"Oh my gosh, was that tonight?!"
She nods.
He smacks his forehead, groaning, "Uhhhg, I thought that was tomorrow! Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" he actually looks apologetic.
"I-It's OK," she still just wants out of here.
"No, it's not! I promised I wouldn't forget and I did! And worse yet, you find me at a party so it looks like I just completely blew you off! I'm so sorry, Ally!"
Why does he have to be so nice right now? She wants to be mad at him, dang it!
Is that enough reason?
No!
Is that?
"I-It's alright, I forgive you! W-We can just write tomorrow," she goes to leave but he pulls her back.
"Hey, while you're here, do wanna hang out?!"
"I don't know...!"
"Ah, come on, it'll be fun!"
"The thing is…" she resists the urge to bite her lip as she shrinks, and shyly confesses, "I've never been to a party like this before!"
He's not sure why he's shocked. He expected Trish to have dragged her to at least one, "Really?! Well, then you have to stay!"
"I'm not so sure...!"
"Please?! For me?!"
"Austin-"
"As your partner, I say you need to live it up a bit! Loosen up! It'll make for better songs and easier to write for me! Every good writer has to have life experiences to draw inspiration from! What better way than to go to a party?! Come on, Alls! Let your hair down! Have a little fun!"
She sighs. She's going to regret thinking this, but he's right. "...Fine!"
"Yes!" he throws his fists up in celebration but quickly stops himself as his drink, which she just noticed him having, starts splashing.
She looks at it and he reassures her, guessing what she's thinking, "It's just Fruit Punch! You want some?!" he offers out his cup and she leans back. "There's nothing in it! I know, I bring my own drinks just in case! Come on!"
He leads her into the kitchen where bowls of salty snacks are set up and multiple drinks, most open. He grabs a cup from the middle of the stack before opening the fridge. He sets a six pack (with one can missing) of canned Fruit Punch on the counter. He opens one before pouring it into the cup, "See? If someone put anything in them, the metal would be broken but it's not, so we're good," he hands it to Ally, who tentatively takes it, "You can trust me."
He puts the drinks back in the fridge, then throws the can away. "Now, never leave your drink unattended. Don't let anyone touch it or be near it. Well, except me, I'm safe. Don't be alone with anyone. Don't go down the hall. I strongly advise not going to the bathroom, but if you have to, make sure the door locks and tightly. Avoid closets and don't use any stairs. Make sure someone knows where you are at all times. Don't agree to anything you're not completely sure of. Don't sit on the couches. Be aware of your surroundings. Have a little bigger personal space than normal. Assume people have the worst intentions. Keep your belongings close. Cell phone on at all times. And no matter what, we leave at 11:30. No later."
"W-Wow, that's a lot of rules."
"Yeah, they are, but they're to keep you safe. Things can get bad at parties. My mom tells me those rules every time I come to these things. She won't let me come if I don't know all of them. Also, just from personal experience. I figured those rules would serve you well, too. Take a drink, it's cool."
She takes a sip, surprised at how good it tastes considering it came from a can, but she's still shaking on the inside.
"Now come on, let's go dance."
"Uh, um, Austin," she follows him into the living room and sees him already busting a few moves.
She tries to start dancing, which is far more difficult with her drink and Austin freezes before pushing her arms down and looking her dead in her eyes, "What was that?"
"I was dancing."
"That...was dancing? Oh boy..." he groans under his breath and you can tell he's running a hand along his face in his mind by his voice. "Alright, try this," he does a dance move involving switching feet, leaning towards the dominant foot and extending the opposite arm.
She tries and fails horribly.
"OK, stop!" he frantically shouts, then takes a deep breath, "Alright, you're a songwriter. Find the beat of the song, the drums or bass, just find it and nod to it, OK?"
He does it with her, it's sadly harder than it should be.
"OK, now try jumping slightly with it."
She does, raising on the balls of her feet, careful of her drink.
"Good. Now try adding some hips."
She kinda succeeded, but it does make his breath catch.
"G-Great. Now sway."
Kiiida...
"Good. Now try switching feet to the beat."
It takes her longer but she gets it.
"Awesome. Now add some arms. No, not those arms! These arms."
He demonstrates.
"Much better. Now just loosen it up a bit."
...Eh, better than before.
"Awesome!"
She smiles wide, matching him, and she hates to admit it, but she's starting to have some fun.
After their dance lessons, they had taken a break and talked. After awhile they found two open chairs and sat. They've barely stopped smiling the entire time. It's nice how easy it is have a fun conversation with the other and make the other laugh.
"No way, you didn't!" Austin exclaims.
"Oh, but I did!" Ally smugly leans back in her chair, making their knees bump even more, and goes to take a sip of her drink.
"Wow, I never knew Ally Dawson had a bad streak. If you can call correcting a teacher on grammar 'bad', but still that's gutsy. Especially with Mrs. Lowenski. How she got married, I will never know," he, too, takes a sip, leaning back so their knees touch even more.
"Hey, don't make fun, it's like the most rock-and-roll thing I've done so..."
He almost chokes, shooting up, "The most 'rock-and-roll' thing you've done?" he laughs.
"Yeah. It is. Got a problem, Moon?"
He just shakes his head, laughing, "Not one, Dawson," he nudges her knee with his own.
Just then, as he takes another sip to help the cough calm down, a girl comes up.
"Hey Austin," she purrs, which is hard to do loudly, and she plays with his collar and shoulder.
"Hey Jessica," he smiles, friendly, "This is Ally. Ally, this is Jessica," he introduces.
Ally recognizes Jessica as the girl she saw him with earlier. Jessica gives her a disgusted, dirty look before using her energy to flirt with Austin, "So, Austin, do wanna go talk?"
"Why can't we sit here and talk?"
"Because, you know..."
"What do I know?"
"I just...don't like the scenery."
Ally knows that's pointed to her.
"OK, fine," he laughs, confused, then stands, "Come on, Ally-"
"No!" Jessica interrupts and he looks at her weird, "It's just...it's private..." she gives him a pouty look while moving much closer to him.
"Oh. Is it an emergency?"
"No...it's just...private."
"Oh."
'Oh no, he's gonna go with her, isn't he?' Ally worries, 'Why wouldn't he? She's prettier, cuter, hotter, taller, more popular, a much better flirt and has far more curves.' She looks down at her feet.
"Well, I'm sorry but I can't go."
Ally's head snaps up.
"You see, I'm kinda here with Ally and I can't just leave her-"
"She's your date?!" she snaps, her sweetness quickly draining.
"Well...no-"
"Then why can't you come? She's a big girl, I'm sure she'll be fine alone."
"Well, this is her first party and I don't wanna leave her all by herself. If you wanna hang out with us, cool! But I can't leave Ally."
Really? Awww!
Jessica stands there for a second, seething inside, before giving Ally a look and storming off.
"Wow..."
"Yeah."
Jessica stomps up to a group of guys, "Hey! Who here wants a little lip action tonight?"
One leans forward, "I do, baby," his words slur together slightly, so subtly it's hard to notice.
"Not me, you idiot!" she pushes him away, "I mean from someone else!" she points across the room to Austin and Ally.
"Where is she? Is she behind the frumpy librarian?"
"No, she is the frumpy librarian."
"Ew! Why would I wanna kiss that?"
"Because...this is her first party. She's naive and clueless. A.K.A. the only way you can get a girl aside from desperation, and sometimes not even then."
He scowls, "Oh yeah, and what do you get out of this?"
"That hunk of beef," she bites her lip, pointing over at the two again. The look drops when she sees him lean forward and place a hand on the brunette's knee, a large smile stretched across his face.
Oh, she's going to regret ever meeting him.
"So you in or not?"
"Hey, you wanna go dance again?" Ally stands.
Austin looks up at her, "I don't know...you gonna embarrass me again?"
"When have I ever embarrassed you?"
"When you started, quote-unquote, 'dancing'," he air quotes the word.
"Ah come on, I'm not that bad."
"You sure about that, Ally?"
She gives him a look.
"Fine!" he takes her outstretched hand and stands and they both walk over to the dancing area again. Their cups are long gone.
Ally does better this time, but not by much. Austin just let's it slide. As he does (slide, that is) a body moves in closer to her and she steps forward and accidentally runs into Austin's chest.
"Woah, you OK?"
"Yeah. Just fine."
"Good," he smiles, taking her hands and twisting her so her back is facing him, then twisting her back.
He barely lets go of her hands for the next few minutes as he spins her, pulls her close, then away, and just playing lifting with her arms up. Despite Ally being a terrible dancer, this is the most fun he's had. He feels all bubbly and he can't stop laughing even if he tried, and not smiling is out the window.
He actually really likes that feeling.
He lets go to do a more difficult move. As his back is turned and his attention shifted, more bodies crowd her. Her good mood is instantly wiped and she tries to keep them away.
It doesn't work and she feels overwhelmed and overheated again. She can't take it anymore, she has to get out. She runs out of the room, hopelessly looking for some kind of escape. She bursts out onto the open deck doors, embracing the cool air. She leans against the rails, looking out at the property, trying to catch her breath.
Wow, this place is actually really nice.
"Hey, cutie," a voice says, making her jump.
"Oh," she breathes out, a hand on her chest, "Hello," she backtracks, "Wait, did you just call me cute?"
"Yeah, I did. I also think you're hot."
She coughs on air as her eyes widen and her cheeks turn red, "U-U-Um, th-thank you."
"No problem," he smiles wryly.
By the time Austin looks up for Ally and her reaction, she's gone.
"Ally?!"
"Wait, what?!" Ally exclaims, confused and alarmed, but mostly secretly scared.
"I said...kiss me."
"Th-Th-Th-That's what I thought you said. Um," she takes a deep breath, clearing her throat a bit, "I'm flattered, but no thank you."
"Ah, come on, beautiful, just one little kiss," he moves in a few inches.
"Um, no. No, no thankyou."
"Pleeaassee, baby?" as he gets closer she smells what she's pretty sure is alcohol on his clothes and breath.
"No," Ally's voice turns very firm, "No, I will not kiss you."
She tries to move away, to get away, but is yanked back and finds herself hunched back over the railing with a pair of lips on hers.
Austin runs through the house, desperately trying to find his songwriter. No one's seemed to see her. He spots Jessica, someone who he knows has had a good look at her.
"Hey, Jessica, have you seen Ally?"
"No, can't say I have," she plays with his tie.
He's disappointed but doesn't have time to waste feeling like that, "Alright, let me know if you see her."
He gets pulled back by his tie. "Where do you think you're going?" she purrs.
"To find Ally."
"Oh, I'm sure she's fine," she drags him closer by locking her elbows around his neck, her hands starting to creep into his hair.
"I don't know-"
"Let her breathe, will you? You've been hovering. She's at a party, I'm sure she wants to have a little fun but she can't do that if you stalk her," she whispers in his ear.
"I thought she was having fun with me," he's dejected, so much so that he's oblivious to her actions.
"Yeah, maybe, but not that kind of fun."
"Then what kind of fun?"
"This kind," she goes to kiss him but her pushes her away. Not before she can set a messy kiss to his face, almost his jaw, though.
"Woah, what do you think you're doing?!"
"Just tryi-"
"You know what? I don't want to know! But Ally isn't the kind of girl to have any kind of "fun" like you were doing. And neither am I!" he backtracks, "You know what I meant!"
He storms off, continuing his search for her, looking through every cranny for her to be and passes the open deck door. A jock stands hunched over slightly and there's a muffled screaming.
Ally.
He marches up, furious. "Hey, get off her!" he tears him off and sets a firm punch to his jaw, sending him over the banister. Ally breathes heavy but he ignores it as he snatches her hand and drags her through the house, out the front door, and down the street. Nothing else matters right now but getting her out.
They get a good distance from the house that they can't feel the throbbing music anymore, when he hears a sob. She had been slowing slightly so it was more of a drag but crying?
He stops and turns to see her eyes watering and a miserable look on her face. "Are you OK?"
She nods.
"Ally," his voice is stern.
She shakes her head, her face contorting painfully.
He looks for a place for them to sit and spots a bench a few paces away and seats them down.
"What's wrong?"
She's silent, pressure building up.
"Ally..."
"...I don't want to tell you," the tension breaks and she starts sobbing, the tears falling free.
He has no clue what to say.
He hugs her instead.
She cries harder, racking with emotion. He worries she would fall if he wasn't there to hold onto.
She finds the courage to speak, "Tonight's been horrible. First, I'm furious at you for blowing me off and storm over here to give you a piece of my mind but then I see you flirting with that girl and I feel like I can't breathe and I don't want you to see me anymore and I try to leave but the next thing I know, you're chasing after me and you felt so bad for forgetting and you were being so sweet and you wanted me to stay and I wasn't sure but we were having such a fun time, teaching me to dance and just talking and laughing and that girl came up and she's prettier and cooler than me and I was so sure you were gonna ditch me but then you didn't and I started loosing up and I was actually quite enjoying dancing but those guys were so close and keep almost bumping into me and I couldn't take it anymore and I had to get out so I went to get some fresh air and this drunk guy came up and-and kissed me and-"
She breaks down again. He hugs her tighter. They stay that way for a long while.
"I'm sorry," he speaks up, his voice slightly hoarse from not using it and the nervous swallowing, "I'm sorry I forgot that we were writing tonight. This wouldn't have happened if I would've remembered."
She mumbles something he doesn't really make out.
"And I'm sorry for making you stay. I should've just left with you and we could've been writing right now, and none of this would've happened."
"...I forgive you," it's barely discernible. A part of him can't believe she does.
No words are exchanged, the sounds just being cries.
"I'm sorry about the kiss, that sucks, but at least it was just a kiss, it could've been a lot wors-"
"You don't understand, Austin!" she explodes, breaks out, yelling, "That wasn't just some kiss! That was my first! And I can never get that back! From now on, whenever I think about my first kiss, I'll be forced to think of him and a lingering taste of alcohol on my lips and on his clothes and breath and everything else that went along with this night! For the rest of my life, I will be haunted by this memory!"
He's silent. She goes back to crying on him.
He musters up the strength to talk, jumping on a different train, "She's not prettier than you. Or cooler. Sure, she may be on a higher rung in the high school popularity ladder but she's not better than you. You're smarter, you're kinder, you're more thoughtful, you're more talented and...you're beautiful and awesome. You're amazing."
Her crying hushes slightly.
"And that feeling? That you can't breathe? That's jealousy. I know, I've felt it plenty of times... Around you."
She sits up in shock.
"And as for that first kiss," his hand sets along her jaw and under her ear and he presses his lips to hers for a long, slow, beautiful 15 seconds, then pulls away softly. His lips are more gentle than she could ever imagine. "I know we can't go back and change what happened but if you want, we can forget it ever happened and say this was your first kiss. No one has to know."
She's still in shock, so it takes a moment to respond, "...B-But the best lies always have a kernel of truth and I just had my first so-"
"It was mine," he admits.
"...What? You haven't-"
"No."
"But I thought-"
"I know...I was saving it for a very special girl."
It hangs in the air.
He grabs her hand, "Come on. Let's get you home."
As she trails behind him, she tentatively licks her lips.
They don't taste like alcohol anymore. They taste like fruit punch.
And syrup.