You Shine So Much Brighter
"Okay, okay! I have another one!" Ally said in between giggles. Her trio of friends just stared at her, shaking their heads.
Dez glanced at his best friend with a pathetic frown. "Austin, please make her stop."
"Yeah Austin, control your woman. Please." Trish, for possibly the first time in her life, begged.
Austin simply shook his head a smiled lightly at the girl snuggled into his side. "Alright Ally, lay it on us."
His two friends groaned while Ally laughed excitedly. "Okay, how does the man in the moon cut his hair?"
Trish and Dez stared at the petite brunette, clearly not amused and Austin smiled. "How, Als?"
"Okay! Are you ready for this? Hear it is!" She paused for a moment to laugh. "Okay. Eclipse it! Get it? Because of the eclipse that happens with the moon and eclipse sounds like he clips?" She then doubled over in a fit of laughter, drawing the attention of other customers in the café.
Trish leaned over the table and grabbed Ally by the shoulders, making said girl cease her laughter. "Ally, please. No more jokes, sweetie."
Ally frowned at her curly haired friend. "Why? They're funny. Right, you guys?" She asked, looking at the two men at the table, expectantly.
Dez simply stared back at her blankly as Austin ran a hand through his hair. "Man, when do you think our smoothies are gonna get here? It's been a while." The blond nervously laughed.
"We just ordered them a few minutes ago." Ally deadpanned.
"Right, so Ally-gator, how's dress shopping going?" He asked, hoping she'd take the bait, which she did.
Her face immediately brightened up and she bounced excitedly. "Me, Trish, and the other girls have found so many beautiful dresses, it's so hard to choose. There are so many different colors and designs and…" Ally then began to drone on about all of the different kinds of dresses they've seen with Trish jumping in every now and then to add anything her best friend might have missed out on regarding the topic. Austin and Dez of course tuned their girlfriends out and began their own conversation about two things they were just as passionate about: music and directing.
Dez had just started diving into new special effects he had learned online when he suddenly stopped with wide eyes and his mouth agape. Austin looked at his friend confusedly, as did Ally and Trish, wondering why the red head had suddenly stopped his heavily animated talking.
"Dude, what is it?" Austin asked before attempting to turn around to see what his friend was staring at when Dez grabbed him. "Woah, dude what the heck!" He exclaimed when he was suddenly whirled back around.
"Uh, it's nothing! Absolutely nothing! Oh look, our smoothies are here!" Dez grabbed the tray of drinks from the waitress and shooed her off.
Ally raised an eyebrow and looked behind her. "What were you staring at?"
"No one-!"
"He was staring at some blond chick and I want to know why." Trish glared menacingly at her boyfriend. "Do you two know her or something?" She leaned back and crossed her arms.
Austin looked confused. "What blond chick?" He said as he turned around, ignoring Dez's warnings not to. "Oh wow." Austin said with a grimace.
Dez sighed. "Told you not to look." He said shaking his head.
Ally frowned as she looked back at the girl the two boys were staring at. She was tall and thin with long blond hair and perfectly tanned skin. She looked like a model. Ally suddenly felt self-conscious as she looked at the beautiful girl. "H-how do you know her?" She asked, absently running a hand through her which she believed was nowhere near as thick and shiny as the unnamed girl's.
Austin seemed to sense her insecurities and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. Dez looked at him sympathetically and Trish just looked suspicious. "She's my ex-girlfriend. I dated her from my sophomore year in high school up to the end of my senior year."
"O-oh." Ally looked down and began twirling a strand of hair on her finger. She suddenly looked up at him curiously. "Wait, was she the one who-?"
"Yep." Austin sighed.
"The one who what?" Trish said looking between her three friends. "What does everyone here know that I don't?" She looked at her own boyfriend expectantly.
Dez scratched the back of his head. "You remember back in our first year of college when we met each other? Remember how Austin was…" He trailed off, looking at his blond friend who just shrugged, as if he knew what the red head was thinking. "Okay, he was downright depressing, and I said it was because of some girl. Well, that's her: Rebecca Mitchell."
Trish's mouth formed an 'o' as she tried to sneak a peek at the gorgeous girl sitting at another table with her friends. She certainly did remember that. It at first didn't really concern her when she had first met the Dez and Austin because she had hardly known the boys, but now that Austin was her friend, she felt a spark of animosity towards this girl who had hurt him.
Ally's frown only grew deeper as she looked over her shoulder. Whatever hatred Trish was feeling could not be topped by the things Ally felt inside of her. The girls did not know what went down between Austin and this Rebecca girl, but whatever it was must have been serious because Austin was so down during the first few months of their developing friendship that she had been shocked that when he finally got over the girl, Ally discovered Austin to actually be a very lively person and nothing like the heartbroken boy she had grown to known. "She's pretty."
Austin kissed her on her cheek. "But you're beautiful."
She smiled, and then quickly frowned. "What happened?"
Austin shrugged. "It's a long story." Dez nodded.
Trish shook her head. "Oh, we've got time. Right Ally?" She asked with a smirk.
Ally nodded and looked up at Austin with her big, doe eyes. He sighed, "Alright. Dez, you help me out with this."
Dez sucked up the last few drops of his berry blitz. "Alright, but I'm gonna need more sugary beverages for this." He said as he called back the waitress.
Austin let out a long sigh and looked at the two girls who were waiting to hear the story. "Okay, so I met Rebecca when I was in tenth grade. She was new and I was her guide. She was really sweet, and after about a month we started dating. Everything was going great until she started hanging out with these really mean, popular girls…"
Austin frowned at his girlfriend, who was taking part in picking on a freshman. "Rebecca, don't you think that's a bit harsh?" He asked as he pulled her away from the crowd.
She yanked her arm out of his grasp and flipped her blond, bone straight hair. Austin briefly remembered how just a few months ago her hair was thick and curly. And also red. According to her new "friends" however, that didn't suit her. Austin thought it suited her just fine. "Ugh, Austin please! That freshman is a pathetic nerd! Look at those owl glasses." She then began laughing.
Austin just frowned. "You know, you were a freshman a year ago. And you had glasses and braces just a few months ago-"
"Oh shut up!" Rebecca snapped. "That was the old me, and this," She gestured to herself. "Is the better me." She then dramatically flipped her hair again and walked back to her new, popular friends who apparently weren't done tormenting underclassmen.
Austin felt a hand on his shoulder and looked back. "Hey Dez." He sighed.
Dez shook his head. "I saw your little talk with Rebecca. Man, maybe you should consider-"
"I'm not braking up with her man. I know she's still the same girl she was when we first started going out."
Dez raised an eyebrow. "Uh, that girl you dated had curly red hair, glasses, and used to wear jeans and a t shirt every day." He then raised a hand in the direction of his best friend's girlfriend. "That right there is a real life Barbie doll."
Austin just shook his head and smiled. "I know she's still in there, Dez. Trust me on this one." He said rights as the bell rang.
…..
They were in their junior year when Dez began to notice his best friend slowly losing his spark. No doubt Ms. Rebecca Mitchell was the cause of his friend seeming so down. The girl was so cruel to everyone, including her boyfriend, who still cherished and loved her. Austin was still determined to bring his girlfriend back, but Dez thought that that was a loss cause, and he told him that.
"Come on man, she treats you like a slave and she won't even let us hang out anymore. You really want a girlfriend that hates your best friend and bosses you around, and let's not forget bullies most of the kids in this school mercilessly. You hate bullies."
"Say all you want, you just don't know her the way I do. Yeah, sometimes she can be a bit mean but I know deep inside she's-"
Dez snapped. "Oh enough of that deep inside crap you keep spouting out! I know at some point she was really sweet, but that was in the past, Austin, this is now! She's an awful person!"
"Just shut up! I've had it with you and everyone else trying to force me to break up with her! None of you know her! Rebecca is a great person, and if you refuse to see that, then I don't think I can hang out with you anymore!" Austin shouted, but immediately regretted it when he saw the hurt in his best friend's eyes. "Dez, I-"
Dez held up a hand to cut him off. "No. You want to choose a girl you've known for a year over a friend you've known since preschool, a friend you claimed was like your brother, then fine. I hope you and your precious girlfriend have a nice life." And with that, he walked away, leaving Austin with his mouth slightly open, not knowing how to respond.
Rebecca came out from behind the lockers and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "You didn't need that freak anyway, baby. You shouldn't be hanging around him anyways, I mean look at the way he dresses. Now, come walk me to class." She demanded before shoving her books into his arm.
Austin sighed and did as he was told.
….
By senior year, Rebecca and Austin had become the school's star couple. It was no longer just Rebecca who had changed, but Austin, too. Whether she made him change or he just gave up trying to change her back and just decided to join her in the popular life, no one knew. The only thing the school knew was that those two were not the people you'd want to cross.
They would skip class, pick on underclassmen, and talk back to teachers. Austin and Dez hadn't spoken to each other since the year before, but Dez still watched his former friend closely. It was obvious to him that Austin did not enjoy doing this, but Rebecca had been such a nasty influence on the boy. If Austin and Dez had one thing in common, it was their ability to trust too easily. Austin was a friendly boy who attempted to see the good in everyone, which is why he stuck with Rebecca for three years. He also could occasionally be easily persuaded into doing things, like stealing his former best friend's lunch money every day and tripping him in the halls.
…..
On the night of their senior prom, Austin and Rebecca had of course been crowned king and queen of the dance, although the queen was missing. Austin searched the crowd in the gym for his date, and had finally found her.
Making out with Dallas Centineo, who he later discovered she had been cheating on him with for the past year and half, in the janitor closet. After this revelation, there was yelling and cruel words thrown around on Austin's part, and shrugging and smirking on Rebecca's part. What hurt the most was the fact that she didn't seem to care she had just broken his heart. In fact, she seemed annoyed that he had interrupted her time with Dallas.
Needless to say, Austin finally dumped her, though she didn't take it well. Rebecca later announced to everyone that Austin was the one who had done the cheating, and in addition to being crowned prom king, had also been crowned a huge jerk.
Austin was sitting outside, eating lunch by himself. He had lost all of his popular "friends" after his "cheating" on Rebecca. The whole school had gone from worshipping him to hating him within a few days. And he didn't even do anything to Rebecca! He angrily stabbed at his salad with a fork. "Man I am an idiot."
"Yeah, you are." Austin didn't need to look up to know that voice.
"Alright man, let's hear it: you were right, I was wrong, I had this coming, I should've-"
"Just shut up and eat your salad." Dez said as he sat next to the blond with his own tray.
Nothing else was said.
…
The next time Austin saw the she-devil, as Dez had said that name was the most fitting for her, it was in his freshman year of college and he was walking into a book store hoping to find some books he needed for his classes. She was sucking face with some guy, and Austin felt like he was going to puke.
Even though he now knew the girl was a horrible person, some part of him was still hurt. He did care about her, and he liked to think that at some point she had, too. Although by the way she treated him after their breakup, and most of the memories he looked back on of the two of them, he wasn't so sure.
Yeah, she had shown her true colors, but she was his first serious girlfriend, and he didn't even know if he was completely over her. How can you tell with these things anyway?
Austin had walked out of the store right after he saw her and her new "friend", and walked right into someone. "Oh sorry." He said absently before attempting to walk away, until he felt a small hand on his wrist.
He looked down into a pair of big brown eyes. Standing before him was an irritated looking girl. "I don't think so, mister. You just bump into me and mutter a pathetic little, barely heard sorry then try to walk away? You didn't even look at who you bumped into! What if I was an old lady? I could've fallen and broken a hip and you would've just kept on walking- oh my god, are you okay?" She quickly asked, her irritated look changing into one of concern.
Austin just frowned. "What do you mean?"
The girl tilted her head. "You look really sad. It isn't any of my business, but are you alright?"
Austin looked down at her or a second before shaking his head. "Nah, I'm fine. And I really am sorry for bumping into, uh-."
"Ally" The girl said with a smile.
"Alright, Ally, I'm sorry for bumping into you. I'm Austin by the way."
"No problem Austin." Austin found himself staring at this girl a little longer than necessary, so he glanced at the books in her hand and noticed they were the same ones from his school, which means they'd most likely be seeing each other more often.
Maybe getting over Ms. She-Devil won't be so hard.
…..
"Ugh, that little skank!"
"Ally!" Austin exclaimed while Trish laughed and Dez just stared, shocked.
Ally shrugged and sipped her smoothie. "What? It's true."
Trish shook her head. "But in all honesty, I'm glad that girl didn't go to my and Ally's high school, she would've been dead in a day."
Dez sighed contently and wrapped an arm around Trish. "Oh, how I would've loved to see you beat that Barbie doll to a pulp."
"Austin I can't believe you let some girl influence you like that." Ally scolded.
"I can't believe Dez forgave you so easily. I mean you ditch him and then started picking on him, I would've at least smacked you around a few times before allowing you to be my friend again."
Dez smirked. "You know, maybe I should do that."
Austin ran a hand through his hair. "I know I know, I was an idiot. I was way too trusting and forgiving with her and looking back on it, I really wanna smack myself for sticking with her for so long."
"But, you really did care about her didn't you? I mean you were so sad for a while and-."
"Ally, I was sad because I thought that I was in love with the girl, which I eventually realized I wasn't."
Ally smirked. "Oh, and what made you realize that?"
Austin smiled. "I met this amazing girl that shines brighter than anything in the world."
The table was silent for a moment, until the other couple sitting across from them started laughing hysterically.
"She shines brighter than anything in the world? That was so cheesy!" Trish laughed.
"Hey, that was sweet! Austin, it was sweet." Ally tried to convince the boy, but he shook his head.
"Nope. This is why I can't be romantic around them. I just can't."
Ally tried to stifle her giggles, only to end up laughing along with her two friends.
The three continued laughing until they heard a voice interrupt them.
"Um, hey Austin. Dez"
It was silent. The subject of their conversation had just walked up to the gang. Dez and Trish glared at her, Ally shifted uncomfortably, and Austin just looked at her with a blank stare. "Hey Rebecca."
As Austin saw Rebecca up close, he noticed she didn't look as perfect as she did from a distance. Her hair seemed a bit damaged from the amount of heat she used to straighten it, and her red roots were showing at the top. She was also very skinny. She had always been thin, but he noticed she had lost some more weight.
Rebecca looked around the table and noticed Trish and Ally. "Um hi. I'm-"
Trish snorted. "Oh we know who you are. Austin's told us a lot about you. Right Ally?"
Ally just shifted more and covered something on her left hand.
Rebecca looked confused for a moment but quickly brushed it off. "So Austin, I noticed you sitting here, and, well, I've been thinking." She looked at the other occupants of the table, then back at Austin. "Can we maybe talk alone?"
Dez smirked. "Anything you can say to Austin, you can say to us." Austin nodded and looked up at Rebecca with a raised eyebrow.
"Okay." She said, suddenly looking nervous. "Look Austin, I'm sorry for what happened back in high school. Really sorry. I've been thinking about you a lot these past few years, and I've realized that you were right: I had changed and not for the better. But if you could just give me one more chance, I know that we can-" She was suddenly cut off by a loud snort.
Trish was doubled over laughing and Dez was shaking his head, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Rebecca looked offended and slightly appalled and almost said something until something caught her eye.
"A- Austin, is that a ring." She asked quietly.
He smiled and wrapped an arm around Ally, who had been shrinking into her seat through the whole exchange as if she were attempting to make herself disappear. "Yep. Rebecca, meet Ally, my fiancé." Ally just waved awkwardly.
"Hey, Rebecca. Nice to meet you." She said, causing Trish to laugh even harder.
To say Rebecca Mitchell was shocked would be an understatement. The girl looked like a deer caught in headlights. "Oh. Oh! Okay, well, congrats. I'm just gonna go. Yeah, that's what I'll do. Leave, right. Bye." She stuttered before quickly running off back to her friends, completely red faced.
The four friends laughed hard as she left. "Serves that skank right. Right, Ally?" Dez exclaimed.
"Heck yeah!" She said high fiving him.
Trish tried to recover from her laughs to no avail. "Did you see her face, though? Oh my god!"
Austin just shook his head, a smile on his face. "Man this was a great day." He said as he pulled his fiancé even closer to him.
The four friends continued slurping their smoothies and laughing at Rebecca until a worker came over and told them they needed to leave because they were disrupting other customers, which only made them laugh harder as they walked out.
"Hey, hey Austin!" Ally laughed out, clinging onto his arm.
"Yeah?"
"I just remembered this joke I heard! Wanna hear?" She asked excitedly, ignoring the groans coming from the other couple.
Austin shrugged. "Sure, babe."
"Okay, You ready for this? What do you call a pile of garbage? Your ex-girlfriend!"
It really wasn't that funny, but they still laughed their heads off because they were still on the high of watching Rebecca scurry away so awkwardly and getting thrown out of a café.
As he watched his adorkable fiancé laugh hysterically from her own stupid joke, Austin couldn't help but smile.
He didn't care how cheesy it sounded: Ally Dawson certainly did shine brighter than anyone in this world.
He just won't be saying that aloud again anytime soon.
But it was still true.