Disclaimer: I do not own Austin and Ally, or the characters. But I do own the plot.
Word count for this chapter: 1,370
Warning: This story is somewhat AU
Note: Yes, Ally's mom isn't named Lee Ann; but I changed it for a purpose in this story.
The cool July air surrounded 16-year-old Ally Dawson as she shuffles down the sidewalk. A breeze blows by and a chill runs down her spine; making goose-bumps rise on her arms. She pulls her jacket tighter around her torso and takes in a deep shaky breath.
Her nose starts to run and she look up into the black starry sky. Was she having second-thoughts? Maybe. But she knew this was better. She tears her gaze from the sky and focuses it back on the ground, her dark brown eyes stinging from the cold wind.
Flashback:
"For gods sake, Lee Ann, let it go! That was two years ago!" Lester Dawson's voice cuts through the thick air like a knife. Even if you were deaf, you'd be able to hear the blatant anger in Ally's father's voice.
"How can I let it go?" Her mother's shrill voice rings out. Ally sits on her bed, playing with the frill on her comforter; trying to concentrate on her biology homework. It was beyond hard for her, when-ever she tried to reread a problem she'd get cut off by her parents argument.
She thought she's get used to them by now, this happens almost (if not every) night. She taps the eraser end of her yellow wooden pencil on her chin.
"You cheated on me!" Her mom screams, they weren't even trying to be quiet now. Ouch. Ally cringes at that and sighs. She sets her books on the spot next to her and stands up; the fringe of her spiral-edge paper she tore off hours ago falling to the ground.
She lifts her school bag from the ground and dumps the contents onto her purple and red bedspread.
Her pencil bag, an old calculator, old reports and grade sheets, tampons, and old crumpled up pieces of paper dumped out. The shouting fades to the back ground as Ally flutters around her room. Her thoughts were clouded as she grabbed shirts, pants, under-clothes and socks and crammed them into her now empty bag.
The yelling from downstairs fills her mind and a tear escapes her eyes. And just as quickly as it appears, it disappears. She wiped it away with the back of her hand; unwilling to let her self cry.
She shoves any other valuable items that can fit into her bag and shoves it under bed with a huff. And only then did she stop to think about what she was doing.
She opened the second drawer from the bottom of her nightstand and pushed aside her old brown stuffed bear. She pulled out a wad of money she had been saving up. There was maybe 600$ in all. She tucked the money into her shoes she was wearing and slipped into bed. Her biology books and papers falling to the ground; but she didn't hear them. All she could hear was the constant shouting downstairs, and her heart beat in her ears.
End of Flashback.
Ally stopped at the bus stop. This was it, she thought. Once I get on the bus, there's no turning back. Ally lived in Pasadena, California. And she was going to go to Hollywood.
What was in Hollywood? Well, she didn't know, but hey, maybe she'd meet a rock star and they'd fall in love! Ally gives a snort and rolls her eyes at the stupidity of that thought.
Bright lights fill the empty night and a rusty-sounding breaks skitter down the road. Ally gives a sigh, half of relief and half of despair. She hopped her parents would be okay, she didn't leave a note; because then they'd try to find her. Maybe. They'd maybe try to find her.
The bus rolls to a stop in front of Ally, its old metal doors creaking open. She bends down and pulls the rumpled money from her shoe. She stands back up and hikes her bag up on her shoulder.
"Thanks" she mutters as she steps up on the creaking steps of the big red bus. She pulls out a hundred dollar bill and hands it to the driver, grumbling a quick "keep the change" as she passes by.
Ally makes her way to the back, the bus was almost empty; so it didn't matter where she sat. The seats were grey and probably had gum stuck to the bottom.
The back of the seats had sharpie on all of them. A few hearts surrounded initials, and crude drawings that made Ally cringe in disgust.
She sat down in one of the seats with a huff, pulling her bag tightly into her lap, hugging it harder than she thought possible. Fear crept into her mind and she found it incredibly hard to shake away as the bus hit pot-holes in the road.
Across the isle sits a man-wait, boy-no, man. He looks about 21. He has straight red hair that hangs over his eyes; but not in a menacing way. It makes him seem more friendly. If that's even possible.
He has freckles scattered across his face. He stares straight ahead, his eyes scanning over the drawings and words printed on the seat in front of him.
Ally takes note of how his forehead is creased and eyebrows are furrowed. His tongue sticks out like it's hard for him to understand what the words mean.
The bus is silent, seeing as it's only them, the bus driver, and an old man asleep a few rows ahead of them. The mans phone breaks the silence. Justin Bieber's "Somebody to love" blares out of its speakers.
Ally cover her mouth to hide the laugh that escapes. Because, Bieber, really?
The red-headed mans face lights up and he pulls his phone out of his jacket pocket. Taping the screen of his yellow IPhone, he holds it up to his ear.
"Hello? Hot diggity! Is that you, Trish?"
She loses it. She throws her hand from her mouth and lets out a loud laugh. She was sure she'd gain at least a glare from the man, be he didn't seem to notice. Hot diggity?
"Yeah, I'm heading to Hollywood now." Hollywood? Ally gives a small smile, though she knew the chances were very slim, she thought she might be able to make a new friend. After all, she knew nothing about the town she was heading to. It was just the first one on the bus schedule.
"No, I don't think I have any parasites..well, that was your fault! Hmph!" His expression goes sour for a second before back into its happy smile. "Tri- yeah, Trish, the bus is stopping." Ally looks up and sees that the bus wasn't stopping, not even for a stop sign. "Yeah, alright. Bye."
He taps his screen again before sliding his phone back into his pocket.
Ally was still staring at the strange man. She doesn't know his name, but she wants to. He looks up to see her staring. His face breaks into a big grin and he extends his hand; leaning over the isle.
"I'm Dez!" He announces happily. Ally takes his hand in an unsure manner and replies with a simple "Ally." "Well, where you headed, Ally?" Dez asks. "Hollywood," "me too!" Dez shouts, his voice was loud enough to wale up the man in front of them.
"I heard." Ally replies, maybe he wasn't the best person to make friends with..
"What brings you?" Ally tries to start a conversation. "Oh, my friend Austin lives up here, I'm visiting. But, Austin's famous. Ya' know, Austin Moon," he looks to Ally, but she only shakes her head.
"Austin is a singer." Dez clarifies, and this time Ally nods. "So, I haven't seen him too much, so I thought, 'hey, time for a visit!'" Dez ends with a smile. "You?" Ally thinks for a minute. You can't exactly tell a stranger you're running away. "Relatives." She responds. Faking a smile, that not too surprisingly Dez buys.