I'd like to start off by saying I'm very new to this fandom and I've not written any fanfiction for 4 years now, so please bear with me. I just had a bit of an AU plot bunny that I wanted to explore. :) So, I hope you enjoy this.
AU, so some stuff will be familiar. For the sake of this story, let's pretend that Sonic Boom is in L.A and Austin and Ally have never met before. :P
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the clothes on my back.
Chapter 1- Rebels & Revelations
"It's definitely what I'd recommend for a beginner flautist," Ally explained to the harried mother, who was desperately trying to wrestle her two-year old toddler into the pram whilst hanging onto her nine-year old son so he wouldn't cause a ruckus, "it's not too expensive, good tonal quality and the price includes insurance because, well, you know what kids can be like!"
Ally chuckled awkwardly and patted the eldest boy's head but stopped short as the nine-year old growled at her and proceeded to have a tantrum.
"Um, I'll just leave you to think about it," Ally stuttered, snatched her hand back and retreated nervously, narrowly avoiding the child's flailing limbs as his mother attempted to control him.
She ventured back to the counter at the centre of the store and approached Trish, her best friend of eighteen years, and attempted in vain to try to distract her from the magazine she currently had stuck to her nose.
"Trish!" Ally snapped her fingers impatiently.
"What?" came a very disinterested reply.
Ally sighed in exasperation before looking around the store, apart from the mother and her two children, there was only one other guy in the store and since he had been staring at the guitars for the last half hour she didn't think he'd be buying anything anytime soon. Her gaze eventually rested upon the ever-growing pile of boxes at the entrance to the store. Closing her eyes, she willed the boxes to disappear into thin air.
She opened her eyes expectantly. Nope, still there, in fact the sheer number seemed to have doubled in that millisecond.
Great.
Delivery day, or as she liked to call it, D-Day.
She turned once again to her best friend and snatched the magazine out of her hands.
"Hey! I was reading that!"
"Well, you can read it after you've helped me with these boxes." Ally flashed Trish her best smile and the cutest puppy dog eyes she could muster. "Please."
Trish, unfortunately, did not fall for such tricks.
"Or," Trish started, whilst snatching her magazine back and grinning victoriously, "I could read it now while you pick up those boxes. Seriously, people will start falling over them soon if you don't get rid of them!"
Ally snorted, "Please, who would miss those-"
A loud crash caused Ally to stop mid-sentence as she watched the nine-year old boy trip over the boxes and go flying into the cymbals neatly stacked on the rack behind the family.
"Never mind," Ally squeaked and attempted to nod politely as the mother sent her an apologetic look before dashing out of the store, kids in tow.
She heard the soft strum of an acoustic guitar and whipped around, "Please read the signs, you cannot play instruments in the store."
She jabbed her finger accusingly at the weathered, yellowing paper sign peeling off the walls and glared at 'guitar guy' until the instrument was safely back in the stand. "Thank you."
"I don't know what Dad expects!" Ally muttered angrily as she grabbed a box. "While he's off gallivanting in the Amazon with, Miranda," her lip curled in disgust, "I'm stuck here in Sonic Boom! And he has the gall to get a delivery done when he's not here!"
Ally suspected Trish was listening to her, even with her nose glued back to the glossy pages of her gossip magazine, and so she continued on with her rant.
"Yes, I know Dad has practically written Sonic Boom off to me but that doesn't mean I can be here all day, every day. I'm not in high school anymore, I'm twenty three! I've already got a job, I don't need more responsibilities! And he still isn't letting me hire anyone, it's not like we can't afford at least one other employee anymore. Dad has no idea how much effort it takes to run this store!"
Trish let out a gasp of horror and Ally smiled happily whilst rushing over to throw her arms around her best friend, "Thanks Trish, I knew you'd understand."
"What?" Trish looked up and began extracting herself from Ally's embrace, "Oh no, I was talking about this."
She turned the magazine on the counter and Ally was immediately blinded by the largest blond head she had ever seen on a spread in a magazine.
"Ugh, Austin Moon. Seriously, that's what has had your attention for so long? He's on par with Miranda for pole position in the list of things I dislike. What's he done now?" Ally shuddered, while grabbing her box and walking up the stairs to the store-room.
Trish followed her eagerly, excitedly reading out of the magazine, "Austin Moon, has once again infuriated 'Austies' around the world by cancelling yet another L.A. concert. The angst ridden young star was booed off stage just as he began his opening act after he made a rude gesture at an audience member. This has been Austin's third cancellation this month alone. Frustrated fans are demanding they get their money back and have asked for a public apology from Moon himself. When confronted about his lack of performances Austin has remained aloof, however, his manager, Zac Heysham, spoke out today about the trouble he has had with the young star and his rebellious attitude. It seems like there's a hell of a lot of trouble in paradise. Is this the end of Austin Moon."
Ally giggled and rolled her eyes at Trish's gleeful expression. "That's it? I expected something a little more, juicy!"
Trish scanned the page again, "Yeah, pretty much. There's a whole eight page interview with his manager and then a couple of pictures of Austin smashing his guitar and swearing at someone in the audience before storming off stage, that's about it."
Ally snorted, "What a drama queen! It's all just a ploy to get attention because of his robbed childhood!"
"Please! Just because you've read one book on psychology, doesn't make you an expert! And you know Ally," Trish smirked and waggled her eyebrows suggestively, "if I remember correctly, you used to have quite a crush on this 'drama queen'. In fact, didn't you pretend to make out with that life-size poster on your bedroom wall-"
Ally slapped her hand over Trish's mouth and turned bright red, "Trish, could you be any lounder! I don't think people in Africa quite heard that!"
'Guitar guy' snorted and Ally whipped her head round to glare at him. His laughter immediately turned into a fake coughing fit as he quickly shuffled away towards the drum kits.
She suddenly felt a wet sensation on her palm and recoiled in disgust, wiping her hands furiously on the back of her printed floral dress, "Eww, I can't believe you licked me."
Trish shrugged indifferently and proceeded to take her seat back on the counter, lazily flipping through the rest of her magazine.
Ally groaned in frustration, clearly she wasn't going to have any help from Trish today.
"Might as well just do it myself," she mumbled bitterly, whilst gathering a few more boxes in her arms.
She's just managed to successfully balance three boxes precariously when Trish emitted an ear-splitting shriek, that coupled with a loud crash of a cymbal caused her to drop everything with a loud thump.
"Are you alright?" Ally asked Trish worriedly before turning to 'guitar guy' and calling on every ounce of patience left in her body.
"The 'no playing' sign applies to the percussion instruments as well," she spoke through gritted teeth.
Ally huffed as he shrugged indifferently. Trish had backed away from the chair and was pointing at the magazine innocently lying open on the counter, her other hand clenched in a fist at her side.
Ally sent a concerned glance at Trish before cautiously approaching the magazine, wondering what could have possibly made Trish react in the way she had. As soon as her eyes scanned the headline of the article her heart had sunk right down to her feet and wedged itself somewhere in between her toes.
"Dassidy!" Trish seethed menacingly from behind her. "Fucking Dallas and fucking Cassidy! If I ever get my hands on his neck, I'll wring it-"
Ally's knees began to buckle and she reached out for the support of the counter beside her, tears blurred her vision.
How did he manage to wrangle his way back into her life? She'd been trying so hard to erase the memories.
She shakily sat down on the chair, blinked back the tears and breathed deeply, before reaching out for the dreaded article, wincing as she re-read the headline: 'Dassidy to tie the Knot'.
"Dassidy may only be seven months old, but Hollywood's hottest new couple are already ready to tie the knot," Ally's voice shook slightly as she read the piece aloud.
Trish slung her arm around Ally's shoulder and squeezed gently, urging her to continue. Ally attempted to lift the corners of her lips to smile at Trish for her supportive gesture, but even tensing her facial muscles seemed too much of an effort.
She cleared her throat before continuing, "Cassidy, who was previously engaged to L.A.'s very own Austin Moon, commented on how her relationship with Dallas was 'exciting' and 'new'. She was also extremely eager to tell us all about the record deal she has gained at 'Shine Records', the label owned by her new father-in-law. We can only wish her good luck in her upcoming nuptials and wish her all the best juggling her new, blossoming musical career with the difficulties of navigating married life. There will be live coverage of the wedding this weekend, so make sure you tune in to see the happy couple." She trailed off helplessly.
Ally groaned loudly and buried her head in her hands, she felt Trish rub her back soothingly and tug the magazine out of her hands. She managed a small smile as she heard the satisfying 'thump' of the magazine falling into the trash can and slowly raised her head to see Trish dusting her hands off.
"I think I need a drink, something with lots and lots of alcohol in it." Trish swung herself up to sit on the counter.
Ally snorted in agreement.
"You know what the worst thing about it all is. They've only been going out for seven months before he popped the question; we'd been together for seven years."
"No, I'll tell you what the worst thing about it all is," Trish said, shaking her head in repulsion, "Cassidy's taste in men. Austin Moon and now this bozo!"
"Hey I was with that bozo, and I had a crush on Moon, when I was like sixteen!"
"Ally, I never said your taste in men was any better."
"You know, I am happy for Dallas."
Trish snorted," You don't have to be nice all the time, Ally. He's been toying with your emotions since we were seventeen, yet you're still hopelessly in love with him."
"I am not!" Ally denied, shaking her head fervently.
"No matter how much you say it, it doesn't make it true." Trish whispered. "Besides, I'm your best friend, Ally, you can't hide anything from me! I've heard you crying at night when you think I'm asleep, all the failed attempts to write songs littering our floor, I've not seen you scribble in that songbook so much since we were teenagers!. I know he was a big part of your life, but you have to move on, let it go."
Ally turned away, refusing to meet Trish's penetrating gaze.
"I'm fine," she stated stubbornly.
Trish rolled her eyes in frustration and hopped off the counter. "Come on, let's go home early. I think it's an 'order a few large pizzas and rent out our favorite romantic comedies' day!"
"Go ahead, I'll lock up and meet you there. Make sure you get 'Bridget Jones'!"
Trish rolled her eyes and walked out, whilst shouting, "Why bother, you know it off by heart, anyway!"
Ally grabbed her handbag and began to lock the till before remembering that 'guitar guy' was still hanging around.
"Excuse me, sir," she called out, trying to inject some cheeriness into her tone, "the store's closing early so if you would like to make a purchase you'll have to do it now or come back tomorrow."
The guy turned around and approached the counter slowly, Ally raked a critical eye over his appearance. It was one of the hottest days in summer yet this guy looked like he'd stepped right out of a winter wear catalogue. A dark leather jacket, dark jeans underneath a long coat, his face partially obscured by a baseball hat.
"Yeah, I'd like that guitar," he pointed at Lester's pride and joy, an $850 bright red Fender in the middle of the display cabinet.
Ally bit back a patronising smile, "Of course, that $850."
She waited with bated breath for his reaction, the gasp of horror, the nervous sweating and the apologetic 'sorry, that's not quite within my price range.'
He barely reacted at the price, opened his wallet and handed her his credit card, "Is it alright to pick it up tomorrow?"
Ally nodded dumbly, but his words were barely registering in her brain because she was too busy staring disbelieving at the name etched into the thin piece of plastic, clutched tightly in her fingers.
Austin Moon.
Please review! I'd love to hear your thoughts! :)