How To Make Lemonade-
These days, Ally's life hasn't been the easiest, or the happiest to say the least. She's ready to quit, to just take whatever life can throw at her and deal with it. That is, until she meets Austin, the charming guy at the coffee shop. And all he wants to do is teach her how to make lemonade. AU
I know I said I wouldn't start anymore stories until I finished Green but you don't control me ok and obviously i lied what are you gonna do? sue me?
also, so i dont get sued, i do not own the characters of the lovely tv show austin & ally
Ally did not want to get up out of her warm, cozy bed. The still somewhat new mattress was comfortable and the blankets were soft and reflected most of her body heat back to her (she was a very cold person, okay?). Her bed was her safe haven, she felt like as long as she was in bed, her thoughts couldn't hurt her. This is the prime reason why she slept so much.
Sounds kind of silly huh? To be so scared of your own mind that you slept to face it? Yes, Ally is aware of how dumb this is. No, she does not care.
And on a kind-of-but-not-really related note, she didn't want to face reality. Getting up would mean having to live, and Ally wasn't sure how to do that anymore. It seems like when her mother, Penny Dawson, passed away she took her daughter's ability to do anything with her. Ally knew her mother wouldn't be around forever, she wasn't stupid. She knew that someday she was going to have to say goodbye.
She just never thought that day would come so soon.
Ally was only 21 years old, she wanted her mom to watch her do a lot of things. Like get married, her mom wouldn't be at her wedding. She wouldn't be the one to help her find "the dress", she wouldn't be there to see her try it on. She wouldn't be there to see her walk down the aisle with her father and stand before the man she would be with forever.
Of course, if Ally could trick some idiot into marrying her.
Her mom was her lifeline, her rock. Her best friend. Of course, she had Trish, but there are just certain things you talk to your mom about. You know?
But now she didn't have a mom. She would never feel her mom wrap her arms around her again, and her mom would never give her a kiss on the cheek when she left their house. She wouldn't be able to help her make her banana pies anymore. One day, Ally was happy. She had a good job that she managed to tolerate, she had a couple good friends, and her parents. These things made her life worth living. Especially her mom.
Once, when Ally was in 3rd grade, a girl told Ally she wasn't pretty. Ally believed her.
She burst into their house in tears and her mom gathered her up in her arms, asking what was wrong. When Ally told her, she took her daughter into the bathroom and stood her in front of the mirror.
She brushed Ally's hair until it was soft and silky and then kneeled down so they were eye-to-eye.
"Ally, you're beautiful," her mother said, "that girl that said that to you was probably jealous."
"Jealous of what?" Ally asked.
Careful not to degrade the other girl (because Penny would never teach her child that type of thing), she thought for a minute and finally said, "Because you have confidence. Maybe she doesn't. Maybe she believes she's not pretty, and she wanted to make you feel the same way. Just be nice to her, make her feel good. In turn, she'll be nice to you."
"Our teacher told us about the golden rule," Ally said to her mother, "treat others how you wish to be treated."
"Exactly! Treat others with respect and you'll be respected, maybe not immediatly. But eventually she'll see that she can't hurt you and leave you alone."
Ally know she will never forget that day. She took her mother's advice and complimented that little girl every single day. She was still mean, but 2 years later when they were on the playground in 5th grade, she walked up to Ally and apologized. Ally realized that all she had needed all along was a friend. That little girl is named Trish de la Rosa, and she's Ally's best friend.
Alas, Ally does have to get up now. Her week off from work to grieve is over and she must return. Right now, she feels like she could throw herself out a 24 story window. It's not that she didn't like her job- oh wait, that's exactly it.
Saying she didn't like her job would be an understatement, but she couldn't afford to be picky. Jobs in Miami were getting hard to find, even Trish was having trouble getting new ones, which meant that she had to start learning how to do what she's asked and avoid getting fired. You see, Trish had a talent for getting new jobs and then getting fired from them in 2 days, tops. She'd been like that since kindergarten. She was still good at it, but there just weren't any jobs available to gain and then lose anymore. She was currently working at the bookstore in the mall.
Ally waited for it, she waited for the sound that would tell her it was time to stop feeling sorry for herself and get up to get ready for another day of working at her dad's music store.
Oh, dad. She'd have to see him today too. Ally knew he'd be torn up, even if he and Penny weren't married anymore, they were still important to one another.
One step at a time, Ally told herself.
"Okay, Ally, you have to get out of bed now," she said quietly. And this is how it went all morning. Telling herself what to do, because otherwise she couldn't do it.
"Eat your breakfast now, Ally."
"Brush your teeth now, Ally."
"Get dressed now, Ally."
"Brush your hair now, Ally."
"Lock the front door now, Ally."
She felt so dumb doing this, but if she wanted to make it to work on time, there was no other option.
The work day went slowly and whenever she tried to remember anything that had happened that day, her mind would go blank. It was as if whatever part of her brain controlled her memory was still grieving and there wasn't much she could do about it. Of course, some things stuck out. Like when her dad was so out of it he knocked over a shelf of trumpets. Normally, Ally would've been upset because she was the one who had to clean them up.
Today, she didn't care. She walked over to the shelf and kneeled down to gather the trumpets one by one and place them back in their place. She tried to be angry, because she knew that's what she was supposed to feel. But she felt nothing, no emotion at all.
She knew neither her nor her father were in any condition to be at work, but it's not like they had a choice. Being closed for a full week was bad for business. They couldn't make money if they weren't open.
Is this how the rest of her life would be? Feeling no emotion? Ally had to admit that to her, feeling nothing was better than hurting and longing for someone who couldn't come back.
Then again, if she couldn't feel anger, could she still feel love? Happiness? Would she just be a hollow shell forever? Her friends would say, "Remember when Ally was bright and full of smiles and laughs". Then they would talk about how empty she is.
When the day ended and the 'open' sign was switched to 'closed', Ally let out a sigh of relief. One more day closer to the weekend, when the part time girl would work and Ally could lay in her bed all day and cry some more.
When she got home, she unlocked the door to her house and tossed her things in a pile on the floor, something old Ally would never dream of doing. Old Ally would hang everything up where it belongs, because she hated messes.
New Ally went upstairs and sat down on the bed, she didn't know what else to do. She didn't want to watch TV or read a book. She just wanted to sleep. So she ignored the little voice in the back of her head telling her to "do something productive" and got under the covers. She couldn't fall asleep though, but she was happy to be back in her bed.
Ally could remember one of her favorite things about her mom was her smile. She could just smile and the whole world would light up. Saying she was Ally's sun would be an understatement, but that's the only way to put it.
She also loved her ability to cook. Her mom was an awful cook, honestly. But Penny already knew that, so it was okay to think it. Ally loved this about her because her father would spend countless nights in the kitchen trying to teach her to make dinner. They would laugh and smile as she messed up every single night, and Ally would sit at the table and laugh too. Their kitchen was always like that, full of happiness and warmth.
Ally still doesn't understand why they divorced, they never argued or seemed to show any dislike towards one another. The thought dawned on Ally that maybe it was her fault? At the time of the divorce, people kept reminding her that it wasn't her fault, so she believed them. But had they been lying? Was her mom tired of Ally? Is that why she wanted Ally to stay with her father? She'd overheard her parents say that Penny's pregnancy wasn't planned, and they weren't ready for a baby. Had her mom never wanted a child? Did Ally ruin her parents relationship?
She threw the covers off of herself and jumped out of bed, pacing around the room at an inhumanly fast rate. Her breath was shallow and ragged and she had to know. She had to know if it was her fault, and if her mom really loved her. But there was no way to know, because her mom wasn't here anymore.
Then the thought hit Ally like a truck, it came out of nowhere... the funeral. It was tomorrow.
Why are the first chapters of my stories always so short?
This chapter originally had a different ending, but I decided to save that part for later because Ally and Austin meeting doesn't need to happen right now. At the moment it's about Ally dealing (or at least attempting to deal) with her mom's death, how she feels, what she thinks.
Anyway, I hope you're excited about this story. I know Green (sad faces) will be ending soon and I wanted to give myself something to work on. No, I'm not done with The Best Times To Kiss A Girl or 26 Things I Love About You, those are side projects.
Okay and good bye.