Author's note: It's been a while since I've posted on fanfiction, partially because I've been super busy with robotics and school (I had 6 tests last week and 3 this week), but mostly because I've been lacking inspiration. School must really be getting to me, because this new multi-chap is based on the play The Crucible (which I studied in English, of course). This is just another Auslly story. I hope you like it!
"Hey, Austin," Brooke said flirtily.
He grimaced. It had been three years since they'd dated for a short time, and they'd broken up pretty quickly. It was senior year now, and he was happily dating Ally. He loved her (Ally, that is), and under no circumstance would he ever choose Brooke again. He had made a mistake once already, and he wouldn't do it again. But he didn't know what he was doing in an empty Marino High classroom with his ex-girlfriend and no one else around.
"Brooke, please leave me alone." he said firmly. "I'm dating Ally, and I told you to leave me alone years ago."
"But I know you still like me," she implored. "Come on, Austin, you know you want to be with me."
"I don't." he emphasized. "Leave me alone! I told you already! Why won't you listen to me?"
"Pleeeeeease," she whined, advancing toward him and unashamedly getting way too close.
Austin grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back. "Go away!"
"Touching is a sign of physical attraction, Austin," she said, seemingly challenging him.
He groaned and let go of her. "Stop it, Brooke. Whatever you say, nothing ever happened between us."
"Don't deny it, Austin,"
"I am denying it!"
"Come on, just accept the truth, you like me-"
"I do not!"
"Austin, are you okay?" Ally said, walking up to her boyfriend. "You seem really worried."
"I'm fine, I just... I don't really want to talk about it." he said at last.
"Okay," she replied, frowning. "Well, do you want to work on a new song? Now that Jimmy's finally letting you perform again, we should come up with something."
When he didn't reply, she pulled the piano bench that he was sitting on, turning him around to face her.
"Um, okay, we can work on the new song," he mumbled.
She sighed but didn't say anything as she sat back down next to him. She knew something was up, but didn't want to pressure him when he didn't want to say anything.
"So, what did you think about my chorus idea?" she asked.
"Um, it's good, I guess," he replied unhelpfully.
She sighed again. "Austin, if you're going to be sulky all day, I don't know if we can get this song done. Will you tell me what's up, or should we just reschedule?"
"Brooke tried to talk to me today," he blurted quickly.
"Aw, she's an annoying one, isn't she," Ally replied sympathetically. "What's wrong? Did she say something mean? Austin, you know Brooke's insane. Don't take anything she says too much to heart. Just ignore her! Don't be so serious-"
She suddenly stopped and frowned, remembering their longstanding drama with the brunette. Brooke never liked them, and they never liked her. Well, Brooke liked Austin, but...
"Austin, did she do something?"
"No, not exactly..." he replied.
Ally turned to face him, deadly serious now. She knew something was up, and she didn't like that Brooke had to be a part of it. He was hiding something, and it had to do with Brooke. That was never a good sign. She would never suspect that he would give in to Brooke, but he was definitely uncomfortable.
"Austin, what did Brooke do?"
"She didn't do anything," he replied, semi-truthfully. "She was being her normal annoying and clingy self. She just kept bothering me."
"If it's really uncomfortable, we can probably report her for harassment," Ally suggested. "It'll be okay. Don't let Brooke get to your head. You don't need to worry about an annoying girl."
"I guess," he replied unconvincingly. "We can work on the song now. I'm sorry for being so bothered about this. You know I love you, and nobody's ever going to get in the way of that."
She smiled a little and hugged him. "That's sweet, Austin. You can come to me for anything."
"Do you have any ideas for a new song?" he asked, changing the topic.
"Well, I came up with a cool chorus melody," she offered. "Do you want to hear it?"
He nodded. She sat down at the piano next to him as he turned back around to face the keys. She played a short melodic motive, and he could immediately tell that the song would be less lyrical and more rhythmic. He liked that idea. It seemed to be the type of music he gravitated to more recently. It seemed to calm him more than the sweet love songs they had written in the past.
"Do you have any ideas for lyrics?" Ally asked.
"Well," he replied, "I was thinking something about starting over. Starting again. Since this is going to be my comeback concert and everything. I'm starting new."
"That's a good idea," she said, smiling. "How can we turn that into some catchy lyrics?"
"Can you play that melody again?" he asked. "Maybe we can think of something if we hear it again."
She nodded and played the short melody again.
"It's not much to work on," she admitted.
"It sounds great." he told her sincerely. "But since it's so short, can you play it again? You know how it takes us a while to figure out good lyrics."
She smiled, nodded, and played the melody again.
"Take it from the top!" he exclaimed.
She laughed at his enthusiasm, and started playing the melody once again.
"No, I mean, we can call it 'Take it From the Top'!" he exclaimed. "Would that work?"
"Yeah, that sounds so cool!" she replied, writing in her songbook. "That could totally work!"
"Take, take, take, take it from the," he sang, "take, take, take it from the top!"
"Hey, that's a great intro!" Ally exclaimed, frantically writing. "This is awesome!"
They continued to work on the song, having more fun than they'd ever had while songwriting. Their song was coming along very well, and Austin couldn't be happier. Suddenly, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He quickly checked it, and his mood dampened. He frowned.
"What is it?" Ally asked, peering over his shoulder. "Brooke? I thought you got a new phone and blocked her contact? How did she text you?"
"I, uh, nothing," he replied, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "I don't know. That's really annoying."
He quickly went into Brooke's contact and clicked 'block'.
"Austin, is Brooke up to something shady?" Ally asked suspiciously. "She seems to be causing a lot of trouble for you lately."
"No, she, uh, I mean," he stuttered, turning to face away from her. "Nothing. It's nothing."
"Austin," she sighed with an air of concern. "What's wrong? You can tell me anything. I won't intervene. I promise. But Brooke really seems to be worrying you."
"Ally," he said quietly, then stopped.
"What is it?"
"Remember, a couple months ago, when you were really busy with writing songs for yourself and I couldn't perform and I was just working at the music factory?"
She nodded. "What does this have to do with Brooke?"
"Well, every time you had to leave the music factory to work on something with Ronnie Ramone or write songs or pretty much do anything that didn't involve me," he said, then paused. "Brooke would always show up and demand that we get together."
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" she asked. "Did she eventually stop?"
He shook his head. "It happened every day. I didn't tell you because you would just worry about me. You were too busy working on stuff for yourself. So I had to put up with Brooke."
"That sounds awful!" Ally exclaimed. "But what does this have to do with her getting your phone number? I thought you hated when she texted you!"
"Well," he sighed. "She said she would bother me less if I gave her my phone number and didn't block her. So I did."
"Reasonable," she said. "Although it must've been extremely annoying!"
"It was!" he replied. "And the thing is, she bothered me less, that's for sure, but she still came every couple of days to the music factory. And she bothered me a whole lot by texting me. A lot."
"She's so annoying!" Ally exclaimed. "Although it does sound like something she would do. I'm sorry, Austin. I wish I could've helped you earlier. You could've told me, you know. However busy I am, I'll always have time for you."
"Thanks, Ally." he replied, then sighed sadly. "But that's not all. I mean, she... she..."
"What happened?" she asked in concern.
"I... I told her to stop bothering me." he replied hesitantly. "And she said that if I went out on a date with her, she would stop bothering me afterwards."
"Let me guess," Ally sighed, "you accepted. I don't blame you, I really don't. But she didn't stop bothering you afterwards?"
"No, she did," he replied, surprising her. "But it was during the date... during the date, she kept annoying me and asking super personal questions. The whole time, I felt super guilty for going on a date with her while I was dating you. It didn't feel like a real date, obviously, but the concept still bothered me."
"I don't blame you," she replied sincerely. "I'm not mad at you, believe me. Don't feel guilty. I know you were only there because you wanted Brooke to stop bothering you."
"Yeah, but then..." he continued, "I told her to stop annoying me and asking me personal questions. And she wouldn't stop. She told me that... that to get her to stop, I would have to kiss her."
Ally's eyes widened. "And... did you?"
He looked away from her. "I... did, Ally. I'm sorry, I really am! It was awful! I've never felt more guilty in my life. I wish I'd just put up with her daily visits. At least I wasn't feeling bad about myself, only annoyed at Brooke. Ally, I'm so sorry."
"I..." she said, "I... honestly can't blame you this time, either. I know you only meant the best for yourself. I can't believe Brooke. I don't blame you, Austin."
Eventually, after an awkward silence, they continued working on their song. Their moods, however, were dampened for the rest of the night. They didn't talk to each other, except about the song. They never smiled, laughed, or showed any signs of happiness. Because this would change their relationship, and it was scary. It might never be the same again.
Author's note: I hope you like it so far! I know it's not the best thing I've ever written, but I'm running out of inspiration so this is the best I could come up with for now. Hopefully I can update soon, but the chances are that I'll be super busy for a while. In the meantime, constructive criticism is appreciated! Any suggestions, ideas, or feedback! I'll take it all! :)