Ally opened the door to the practice room and took a deep breath as she walked over to the piano bench to sit down. Today had been a stressful day at work. She eased into the piano bench, and at once began playing melodies. " Hmmm.. Lyrics. What can I do for lyrics.." Ally had seemingly lost all inspiration for the time-being so she got up to get some pickles from the fridge. She turned immediately when she heard the door open, hoping it was Austin.
Austin had been gone for a few weeks promoting his upcoming album release... But he had no idea when he would be back. Ally had been clinging on to her hope that he would be back in time for her birthday, but that didn't seem likely. It was February 23, two days before her birthday, and no sign of Austin.
She turned around and to her disappointment, it was Trish and Dez. Her smile faded, "Oh. Hey guys." Trish frowned and put her hands on her hips. " Well, it's nice to see you too Ally." Dez was completely clueless and wandered off to the corner of the room where he had been keeping yet another gingerbread house. "Sorry Trish, it's just that-" she was cut off by Trish who held her hand up, clearly not wanting to hear Ally's excuse. "I know, I know. You were hoping it was Austin, your knight in shining armor. Am I right?" Ally was about to argue, but then closed her mouth and nodded in agreement. Trish rolled her eyes, "Look, I know you've been saying the reason you've been missing him is just about you guys being friends. But, we all now Dez is the only idiot here." The girls glanced over to Dez, who was still clueless about the whole situation. "Anyways… I know you still have feelings for Austin. Maybe he has feelings for you, but you need to let it go." Trish stopped, ready to take on a completely unreasonable counter-argument from Ally. To her surprise Ally just stood there nodded, and sat down glumly on the piano bench. Trish was going to be a good friend and comfort her. But she knew Ally didn't want to talk so she signaled for Dez to come and she walked out of the practice room. As soon as the left Ally laid her head down on the piano keys, creating a mess of notes, and sobbed quietly.
"I'm getting kind of worried about Ally. She hasn't come down yet and it has been nearly 2 hours." Trish glanced up at the practice room door, as if expecting the brunette to pop out any second. Dez nodded his head in agreement, although he wasn't sure why Trish was so worried, of course maybe Trish said something to her that made her upset. Suddenly, the petite little brunette opened the practice room door. "Ally!" Trish gasped. She looked awful. Her eyes were red and puffy, her nose was red, and she had a few lonely tears on her face. Ally ran down the steps and out of the store. Dez was about to go after her but Trish stopped him, "Don't go after her bozo. It will just make things worse." She said with a sharp remark.
Ally ran all the way home and as soon as she got to her room she flopped down on her bed. She picked up her phone from the nightstand and dialed Austin's number. It rang endlessly and she was about to hang up when she heard the unmistakable sound of Austin's voice. "Heeeellllooo?" She gasped.
"Austin! I-"
"This is Austin Moon's voicemail. Sorry I can't answer you're call right now. Try texting me or leaving a message. Thanks. Cya."
She was about to hang up when she heard her name.
"If this is Ally, I'm sorry I haven't been able to contact you. But, I've been really busy. I'll be back for your birthday, I promise." The message ended there and she couldn't believe what she had just heard. She scrambled off her bed and rushed over to the mirror in her room. She did look awful. Her hair was all tousled, her eyes red and puffy, and her face completely red and wet with tears. She quickly walked to the bathroom and splashed some cold water on her face. It wasn't until then she noticed her pounding headache. She walked down the steps and opened the cabinet with medicine in it. She settled on some Aspirin, since it usually works in about 15 minutes, and swallowed the two pills. The ice cold water chilled her throat as she swallowed. She shuddered, and then hurried back upstairs to fix the mess that she was. She pulled her hair back into a pony tail, cleaned her face, and put a warm washcloth on her eyes. She looked at the result in the mirror and wasn't completely satisfied, but it was a major improvement. Her eyes were still a bit puffy and red, but she looked 10x better than she did just a few minutes ago.
She silently sat in her room while watching some random movie that happened to be on. She figured Trish would be a bit worried by now so she picked up her phone, just to set it back down. If she called her voice would be all shaky and she might end up crying her eyes out again. She picked her phone up again and decided to text her.
(Plain – Ally; Underline – Trish)
Hey. Sorry about that earlier. I had a bit of a meltdown.
Hey! I was getting worried. And a bit of a meltdown? You practically sprinted out of the store.
I know. I know. I'm just upset that Austin has been gone so long. Although I have semi-good news.
Do tell!
Well I got home and tried to call Austin but he didn't answer. His voicemail picked up and at the end it said something along the lines of "If this is Ally, I will be back by your birthday. I promise."
Ooh! Wait. Why is that semi-good news… Not completely good news?
Well my birthday is in less than 2 days and there has been no sign of Austin, what-so-ever. Plus, promises aren't always kept you know
Good point chicka, but with you and Austin there is some sort of connection. You guys make promises and you keep them.
I don't know about this time Trish. I think he would have called or at least texted by now. Even when you guys were on tour you guys found time to talk to me. If I am that important to him he should at least find some way to show it, besides saying something over a voicemail recording that I might have never heard.
Wait. I said he kept his promises… I never said that you were important to him. Not saying you aren't but your response has nothing to do with what I said. Now you have to spill, I can tell something is up.
Shoot. Ok. Well before Austin left he gave me another card. Like the one he gave me before you guys went on tour. But this time it said something along the lines of how important I was to him and how he hoped we could be something more than friends again.
I KNEW IT! I KNEEEW IT! He is definitely coming back in time.
Whatever you say, Trish. I gotta go. Text you later.
Bye Mrs. Moon ;)
Oh shush.
Ally couldn't help but laugh at Trish's last text. "Maybe someday." She mumbled to herself. The only reason she had stopped talking to Trish was to avoid more freaking out. Now what to do… Ally opened her songbook to a new page. Somehow, amongst her meltdown, she had remembered to bring her book home with her. She had lost every bit of inspiration. She need the special blonde haired boy back for more than one reason. She knew Austin could write some of his own songs now, but she still felt that she should write him some songs. Plus, she missed sitting by him at the piano and brainstorming with him. She got up and set her book on the piano in her room and ran her hands over the keys. She thought about how Austin was probably travelling around promoting his album without a care in the world. But what if he actually thought of her. If he wished he would have stayed in Miami. What if he saw a beautiful sunset, but couldn't focus on its beauty since she wasn't there. She gasped as she finally started forming lyrics in her head. She scribbled them down, just legible enough to read and started to find a perfect melody to match. It needed to be slow, with just the right amount pop in it. She struck a few keys and they blended together perfectly. "Aha!" She then began playing and sang along.
I don't wanna be famous
I don't wanna if I can't be with you
Everything I eat's tastless
Everything I see don't compare to you
Paris, Monaco, and Vegas
I'd rather stay with you, if I had to choose
Baby, you're the greatest
And I got everything to lose
And I just wanna be with you
And I can never get enough.
She stopped there, the chorus should be after that but she only had fragments of that made up. She looked down at her ideas. Sun doesn't shine. If I can't be with you… She knew Austin would immediately recognize this as a song supposed to be from his point of view. He would probably be able to write more lyrics that flowed well with hers.
She heard her phone ring and figured it would be Trish or Dez checking up on her again, but it was her dad. "Hey dad!"
"Hey sweetie! Listen, I have to go to a convention, and I won't be back until Sunday."
"Oh.. Uh.. I guess that's fine." She sighed. Yet another person who won't be there for her 18th birthday. Just great.
"You okay, honey?"
"Uhm yea. Just fantastic" She said as she strolled downstairs into the kitchen.
"Ok. So sorry honey. I won't be missing anything too important. Just make sure you cover the shifts at the store."
She nearly choked on air. Nothing important?! Now she knew why he had agreed to go to a convention out of the blue. He had forgotten her birthday. Her breath hitched, she hoped he hadn't heard, and quickly gasped out a goodbye.
The tears came without warning they rolled down her cheeks and onto the marble counter. She picked up her phone to text Trish and only managed to type out 'Come over. Now. Please." She sent and within 15 minutes her best friend strolled into the house and gave the petite brunette and hug. "What's wrong?" Ally could only stutter out a few words that made no sense. "Come on. Let's go sit on the couch. Trish guided Ally to the cream colored sofa in the living room. "Ok. Ally, I know you're a wreck but you need to say audible words." Ally gave a slight smile to this remark and finally calmed herself down a bit.
"Okay. After I texted you I was writing a song, and I finished part of it, but then my dad called. I answered and he said he was leaving for a convention, which I thought was no big deal because they only last for a day or two normally. Then he said he wouldn't be back until Sunday. Well, my birthday is on Friday. I was fine, and I was figuring we could just have a small little party on Sunday with just me and my dad. But then, he said it was fine because he wouldn't be missing anything important. He forgot Trish. He didn't remember his daughter's birthday." Tears began streaming down her face again and she just felt so tired and awful. "Trish, I'm sorry. You can leave whenever, I just needed somebody to rant to." Trish smiled at her friend and said, "I'm staying as long as you need me." With that they both decided to watch a movie. Trish let Ally pick because of the circumstances, and Ally decided on Beauty and The Beast. The watched it, and soon enough both of them fell asleep. Ally was lying in the armchair whilst Trish was sprawled out on the sofa.
The next day Ally woke up with another pounding headache. She groaned as she sat up in the chair, which made her head pound even more. "What a great way to spend the day before my birthday. Trying to get rid of a headache." She wasn't that worried about her head of course, because she knew it had to be stress related. That, and the fact that she had to have spent at least 3 hours crying yesterday. She took some more medicine and realized that Trish must have left sometime last night or in the morning. She then turned to the clock and to her surprise it was 10 o'clock. She gasped and raced upstairs to get dressed. She had to have the store open by 10:30. Sure it didn't hurt for her to be late, since her dad was the boss and he was gone, but she had a reputation for being punctual and that wasn't about to end. She knew she should probably take a shower but she didn't have time. She threw on coral colored skinny jeans, and tank top and some wedges. She sprayed some perfume and walked out the door with only 15 minutes to get to Sonic Boom. She climbed into her car and rushed off to the mall.
She arrived with 2 minutes to spare. She unlocked the glass doors and turned on the lights. She sighed as she changed the sign in the front to 'Open' and walked behind the counter to start handling customers. Customers began trickling in one by one as they all seemed to have something they needed. By lunch she had sold $800 in merchandise, which was a lot considering she hadn't sold any majorly expensive instruments. She closed the store for her lunch break and walked up to the practice room to find Trish and Dez sitting upstairs. "Hey guys." She hurriedly walked over to the fridge hoping to give them a hint that she wasn't looking for a conversation. "How are you doing?" Trish asked.
"Fine. Why?" She said harshly.
"Cool it Ally. We just wanted to make sure you're okay."
"I'm sorry. I'm just having a bad few days. This will probably all blow over by tomorrow."
"Speaking of which. What are you doing tomorrow?"
Ally shrugged and turned back to the fridge and pulled out a jar of pickles. She quickly ate nearly half the jar then rushed back out of the practice room to open the store back up. When she walked downstairs she saw that there was a note stuck to the door on the outside, she opened the door and grabbed the note.
Dear Miami Mall Store Owners,
The mall is having its annual cleaning for the rest of today and tomorrow. We have made the decision to shut the mall down for February 22 and February 23. Please note that individual stores will not be cleaned unless you paid the fee of $50 earlier this month. Thank you for your understanding, and have a nice day.
Miami Mall Head Council
"Well this is a nice surprise." Ally walked back up to the practice room and gave Trish the letter. "Looks like I have the next 2 days off. You guys wanna come over?" Ally asked Trish and Dez as they both skimmed over the letter. "Sure." The trio walked out of the store and got into Ally's car. They soon arrived at Ally's house and they decided to order pizza and watch a movie.
It was late when the movie finished and Dez decided to go home, while Trish yet again slept on the couch. Ally walked up to her room and laid on her bed. She stared at the ceiling until her eyelids became heavy and she drifted off into sleep.
Ally was awoken by a knock at the front door. She hurriedly ran down the steps and opened the door to see Dez with donuts and Ally's favorite peppermint caramel mocha. "Happy Birthday Ally!" Dez smiled. Ally gave him a big hug. "Thank you!" They sat down in the living room, and Trish slowly woke up. They all talked and laughed whilst eating. "Guys. I know you want me to be happy and have a good day with friends, but I kinda wanna go to the practice room and be by myself for a little bit." The other two nodded and allowed her to leave.
Ally was relieved to have a bit of quiet. She loved her friends but sometimes they could be a bit overwhelming. She wandered up to the practice room where she sat at the piano bench and let her head rest gently on the keys. She sat up and began playing a slow, sad melody. To complete the melody she added a bit of fast pace to it as a harmony. It showed how she felt, dead-on. She stopped and let her head fall back onto the keys playing sour notes as she cried. She heard the door to the practice room open, but she didn't really care. It was probably Trish or Dez. She felt someone sit next to her and wrap their arms around her. She placed a hand on their arm, and immediately felt a muscular arm. She gasped and slowly glance next to her to see… "Austin!" She shrieked hugging him. "Hi Ally."
"I missed you so much."
"I missed you a lot too. I'm sorry I didn't call. I would have. I was just really busy."
"I understand Austin it's okay. I'm sure you completely forgot about me with all the beautiful things you saw."
"None as beautiful as you."
Ally gasped. And immediately jumped up and grabbed her song book. "Austin! That's perfect!" She started scribbling down lyrics, and sat back down at the piano. "Now I just need to piece to chorus together." Austin glanced at the lyrics. 'Ok. What if the chorus went like…" He played a melody and sang.
Baby, I'd give it all up, up
I'd give it all up
If I can't be with you
All of this stuff sucks
Yea, all of this suck, and
No Oscar, No Grammy, No mansion in Miami.
The sun don't shine the sky ain't blue
If I can't be with you
"That's perfect!" Ally exclaimed, she looked at Austin and her breath hitched as she realized how close they were. Austin smiled, "I hope you know that I mean what those lyrics say." Ally blushed and leaned a bit closer to Austin. Austin was so close to Ally that he could make out every tiny little freckle on the bridge of her nose that he hadn't even known were there. His eyes met hers and she had a sparkle in her eyes that he had missed while travelling to promote his album. They both leaned in and their lips connected. Both of them could feel sparks, and it was breathtaking. Their lips moved in perfect sync and Ally had instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, while Austin's had wrapped around her petite waist. The eventually broke apart and they smiled at each other. "Ally. I got you a birthday present." She looked at him and said with a small smile "But you being here is enough of a present. I thought this entire time you wouldn't show up." Austin put his hand up to his chest in a mock offended way "Ally Dawson, have you not learned that I always keep my promises?" She chuckled and looked where he brought out a small box in music note wrapping paper. She gently took the box in her hands. She tore the paper and it revealed a white square box. She took off the lid to reveal a golden treble clef necklace with a heart. On the back of the heart there was a little "A&A Forever" inscribed in it. "Thanks Austin." She gave him a hug, and they both stood up so he could put the necklace on her. As soon as if was fastened around her neck she turned around and gave Austin another kiss. They both sat down and began playing the piano. Ally for once had a big smile on her face. It was a true smiled, one people hadn't seen in a while. Austin looked over at her and the began singing their new, and best song yet.
I don't wanna be famous,
I don't wanna if I can't be with you
Everything I eat's tasteless
Everything I see don't compare with you
Paris, Monaco and Vegas,
I'd rather stay with you
If I had to choose
Baby you're the greatest,
And I got everything to lose,
And I just want to be with you
And I can't ever get enough!
Baby give it all up, up, I'd give it all up,
If I can't be with you!
All of this stuff sucks, yeah all of this sucks
If I can't be with you!
And,
No Oscar,
No Grammy,
No mansion in Miami
The sun don't shine the sky ain't blue,
If I can't be with you!
I could sail around the whole world
But I still won't find a place,
As beautiful as you girl!
And really who's got time to waste?
I can't even see a future,
Without you in it, the colors start to fade,
Any way I'm gonna lose you,
And nobody in the world could ever take your place!
You're the kind I can't replace!
And I can't ever get enough!
Baby, I'd give it all, up, I'd give it all up,
If I can't be with you!
All of this stuff sucks, yeah all of this sucks
If I can't be with you!
And,
No Oscar,
No Grammy,
No mansion in Miami
The sun don't shine the sky ain't blue ,
If I can't be with you!
Oh oh oh, oh oh oh,
If I can't be with you!
Oh oh oh, oh oh oh,
If I can't be with you!
If I can't be with you!
Oh if I can't be with you!
If I can't be with you!
Oh, all of this sucks, if I can't be with you!
All of this stuff sucks, yeah, all of this sucks!
If I can't be with you!
And,
No Oscar,
No Grammy,
No mansion in Miami
The sun don't shine the sky ain't blue
If I can't be with you!
Oh oh oh, oh oh oh,
If I can't be with you!
Oh oh oh, oh oh oh,
If I can't be with you!
With you
They finished and looked at each other. "So what do you say to going out for dinner, and then watching a movie at my house?" Austin said casually. "Austin Monica Moon, are you asking me on a date?"
"If you accept, then yes."
"Then I accept."
She gave him a hug, and she immediately felt his arms wrap around her. She walked out of the store holding hands, to their date.