A/N - I love Austin & Ally episodes...so much fanfic fodder! XD Anyway, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own.
"I want her to be my waitress." Austin said, pointing across the restaurant to the girl standing behind the counter. She was extremely pretty with light brown hair that fell down around her face. When she looked up, she had a huge smile and bright eyes.
At Trish's beck and call, Cassidy came over to the table. Austin's eyes just lit up. I felt like I was going to throw up. How could he like her? He didn't even know what she was like. It was just like Austin to be completely superficial. Sometimes I wondered why he of all people was my best friend. Then he looked at me and smiled. I suddenly remembered.
"I'm going to ask her out." Austin announced as soon as Cassidy walked away. He looked ready to jump up from his seat and run after her.
"Let us order first…" I said, quickly, my voice strained. He gave me an odd look, sinking back into his seat. His raised eyebrow told me that I was acting a bit odd. I was just trying to protect him though—he was going to make a fool of himself. And as his friend, I had to keep an eye out for him.
So we ordered our food, and Trish messed up our orders and brought me a chicken pot pie instead of the cheeseburger I ordered. She got mad when I mentioned it and went to get my burger, but I didn't eat it. I didn't trust that she wouldn't spit in it to spite me even though she was my friend.
I ended up picking off of Austin's plate. He tried swatting me away but I was relentless, and he finally gave up, setting aside some fries for me.
"You owe me, you know." He said.
"I already write all of your songs, what more do you want?" I laughed, kicking him under the table. He glared at me and kicked back. His foot connected with my shin and I squealed in pain. If he wasn't a singer, he might have a future in soccer because that hurt. A horrified expression flitted across his face.
"I am so sorry, Ally!" He said quickly, unsure of what to do.
"Why does it feel like you are always saying that?" I laughed, and he laughed too.
Trish at that point decided to return to the table. She looked at us and asked, "What's so funny?" Once she told me that she hated going to work because she missed out on things—I guess this was just one time where that happened.
"Austin kicked me." I said between my laughter.
Trish scowled. "If you two weren't playing footsie, this wouldn't have happened."
"What? I wasn't… I mean, we weren't… you're ridiculous." I stammered nervously because I realized that was exactly what it was.
"Don't be silly, Trish. Ally and I are just friends." Austin came to my rescue, like usual.
Trish rolled her eyes. "Whatever." Then she set down the check and walked away.
We all paid, except for Dez who only produced three bottle caps and a wad of gum. Austin and I ended up pooling our cash to pay for him as well. And we didn't even leave Trish a tip, though Austin did write on the back of the receipt: Be nicer to the customers.
Trish came and scooped up the bill, scowling at the lack of a tip, but before she could berate us, the manager came by to scoop up Dez. Told to get more pot pie for her Dezzy-roo, Trish shuffled off irritably.
"We are in so much trouble." Austin smirked. Then he looked across the restaurant, spotting Cassidy once more. "I'm going to go ask her out now."
"WAIT!" I shouted, jumping up from the booth.
Austin looked at me expectantly. Why did I say that? I stood there awkwardly, not sure what to say. My stomach was fluttering…or was that my heart? I couldn't think clearly. All I saw was Austin's eyes boring into me, hanging on my every word—or should I say, lack of words? His concern, his willingness to deal with my Ally-ness was touching, and I wanted nothing more in that moment than to kiss him.
My eyes went wide.
Kiss him?
No, no, no! This was bad. I didn't like Austin like that. Yes, he had gorgeous hair and breathtaking eyes. His voice was absolutely amazing and the way he met my eyes while he sang made my heart ache, but I didn't feel that way about him. Plus, he liked Cassidy, so it'd be stupid to like him—and Ally Dawson wasn't that stupid. Or perhaps she was.
"Woo-hoo. Earth to Ally." Austin was waving his hand in front of my face.
I felt myself flush. "Er…I have to go."
With that, I ran from the Melody Diner.
The next few minutes found me laying on the couch in the back room. The cushions were soft against my back, and with my songbook propped open on my lap, it was easy to forget all my Austin related problems. At least until the door opened. Speak of the devil…
I slammed the book shut and rolled over so that I could look at him without straining my neck. He looked right back at me, his expression telling me nothing at all. He came across the floor and sat down on the table. I wanted to tell him that it wasn't for sitting, but I didn't.
"What's the matter?" He asked.
"I don't know what you mean." I said, trying not to let my voice shake. He shook his head—he saw right through my lie.
"Ally." He said sternly with a slight whine. He just wanted the truth, but I wasn't ready to give it to him. He liked some other girl. And all those months ago, he went through great lengths to make me not like him. Yet, somehow that didn't work. I fell for him anyway.
"Shouldn't you be off swooning after Cassidy?" I snapped. It sounded more like Trish than me. I inwardly groaned.
"Is someone jealous?" He smirked, leaning towards me. I tried to disappear into the back of the couch.
I laughed loudly and nervously. "Of course not! Why would I be jealous?"
His smile fell. He had realized that he was right. He opened his mouth a few times, looked up at the ceiling, and then jumped to his feet. He paced for a few moments, his face taunt with concentration. A few times he paused and looked at me, then would return to thought.
"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked.
"Because you liked Cassidy." I said quietly. It was no point hiding it now.
"Yeah, but I only just declared that today. Why didn't you tell me yesterday, or a week ago?" He asked, his brow furrowed.
"How do you know I liked you a week ago?" I snapped. "Because for the record, I didn't."
He looked me dead in the eye and said, "Because I'm Austin Moon."
I rolled my eyes at him, and went to stand up. "I'm leaving."
"This again?" He said, grabbing my arm lightly. I turned and looked back at him. His face was drawn. "Ally, why do you always run away? When you had to sing in front of people on the radio, you ran away and hid behind a tent. When you felt the urge to play music, you ran away and hid behind me. Now, you're running away again. What are you going to hide behind now? The counter? The piano? We'll have to talk eventually. I won't just forget…I won't just go away."
That last sentence would be a great song lyric, but I restrained myself from writing it down. Instead I looked at him and shook my head.
"Ally…please." He said. "Talk to me."
"About what? You already know I like you."
"I don't know… when did this happen? Why? What…?" He trailed off and said nothing. He was waiting for my response.
"Remember Trish's Quinceanera?"
"How could I not? You broke my leg."
"It was only a fracture." I said. He kept looking at me. "It was after you gave up your big chance just to dance with me. No one has ever cared so much for me."
"Trish cares for you." Austin supplied, not even pointing out that I lied when I said I didn't like him a week ago.
"Are you saying I should have a crush on Trish?" I raised an eyebrow.
"NO!" He practically shouted. "No." I laughed at his expression.
"Trish, love her to death, but she is self-centered…only cares for herself. She only helps me out when it suits her or she gets to be devious." I answered.
We both walked to the piano bench and sunk down onto it. I think we were both feeling confused and unsure. I knew I was. Austin, who always had something to say, was silent. That spoke volumes, but I couldn't hear what the silence was trying to tell me. I kind of wanted to scream. I just admitted I liked him, and I had the sickening idea that he was trying to figure out the kind way of letting me down—I just hoped it didn't involve painting himself orange.
"Ally…" He said suddenly, and his hand was on mine.
I turned to him, and then his lips were on mine.
It was out of the blue, and felt so right. He seemed as surprised as I was. We sat there awkwardly, our lips pressed together but not moving. He looked at me, and I looked at him. I was afraid to blink, or move.
Just as I was about to pull back, the door slammed open. We shot apart and looked at Dez. He looked at us a moment. He said, "Wait…this isn't the bathroom." Then he shut the door and disappeared. I couldn't tell if he was excusing himself because of what he walked in on or if he was just being…well, Dez.
We looked at each other a moment and laughed awkwardly. It quickly escalated into a fit of laughter where our sides ached and we were nearly crying. I playful pushed Austin with my shoulder. He smirked and pushed back. Next thing I knew I was falling. In a panic, I grabbed him and we both went down.
There we were, just sitting on the ground next to each other laughing. He took my hand and we laughed at our awkwardness, how perfectly our fingers fit together, and how we both knew the second our lips met that we wanted to kiss again. So finally, when our mirth finally petered out, Austin had me practically in his lap, his lips on mine.
I kissed back, letting my fingers play with the ends of his hair while his hands kept rubbing circles on my inner elbows. I leaned back and giggled, before wriggling out of his grip. Standing, I reached down to help him up.
"So what now?" I asked.
"I don't know…but I might need my lovely songwriting to write me a song. I need to impress a girl."
For a moment, the weight of the world landed on my chest. I felt the air rush out of me. What was all that abotu if he was just going to go after some other girl? I wanted to slap him, but then I realized that there wasn't another girl. He was talking about me!
I shook my head. "You have to do that yourself. I am not writing my own love song."
"Hey." He said smirking. "No one said anything about love."
"I didn't mean that." I paused. "But whoever heard of a like song."
"When I'm done with my song, the world will." He said softly pulling me in and planting another chaste kiss on my lips.
Then jumping up, he grabbed my songbook and ran from the room. I ran after him. "What are you doing?" I shouted.
"I need inspiration!" He called back.
This song had better be good, I decided, because when he got back, I was going to absolutely murder him.
A/N - Murder is always the anwer, Ally. Good girl. Reveiw, please! (and maybe one of these days I'll learn how to write review correctly...but not today).